December 3rd & 4th, 2005
24 Hour Kona Mountain Bike Enduro, Redesdale VIC:

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this years Kona 24 hr Mountain Bike Enduro, held over the weekend of December 3rd & 4th at Redesdale (just outside of Bendigo).

Kona is a huge bike brand out of Europe who sponsor a global 6 race series. As such, it is one of the largest mountain bike enduro events in Australia and attracted some major entrants from the factory teams from around the world (Felt, Giant, Cannondale, Kona etc). We set up camp the night before the event, choosing to settle into the atmosphere and soak it up – it all looked like part of one big hippy commune…it was amazing to see so many tents, event sponsors, stores, food vans and competitors (approx 700 riders + support crew) arrayed in the middle of nowhere. Mick and Andy tried the local pub with the Parma & Pint meal (4 pints each actually) and after this evening of sampling the local fare, it was a great effort just to wake up the next morning and make it to the start line!

Against this top quality field, we entered 2 teams,

“Private Quinny and the Rhino” (PQR – Private Andy Martyn, James Quinn & Mick Kolody)
“The Junior Vice Presidents” (Jackson Watson, Paul Quinn)

A “Le Mans” style start ie: running to your bikes, with J. Quinny getting a great start for our team, completing his first lap in under the hour mark. To his credit, and to put the difficulty of the course in perspective, this was the only lap for the entire event which we snuck under the one hour time.

The course was a gruelling 18km long, with some very technical mountain biking involved, taking approx 1 hr to get around. It was punishing on both riders and bikes if you pushed the pace.

From there it just got tougher and tougher, particularly in the evening between the hours 1.00am to 5.00am. Even equipped with some top quality bike lights, it really was quite a shock at how horrendous the terrain was at night, and how treacherous it was.

“Private Quinny and the Rhino” completed 20 laps of the circuit (total distance in 24 hours 360km) , finishing mid field in the class, with The Junior Vice Presidents a little further behind (much tougher for them in a two man team).

Overall a fantastic effort for all involved for our first time enduro event taking into consideration the expertise in the field and difficulty of the course .

It was an awesome event, much was learnt and taken on board for next time and all agreed they had a fantastic time and loved the experience.

Special thanks to Col for coming along and acting as support crew on the graveyard shift, he braved the guys wrath by dragging them out of their exhausted slumber and prepping them for their rides each time, waiting in the launch area for when they came in and making welcomed cups of hot tea. He helped us push the limit making sure we didn’t lose the opportunity to ride and do our best.

Next Event on the calendar is the Wildside Mountain Bike Race, scheduled for January 28th – 31st 2006.

It is a four day expedition style race targeted at beginner/intermediate level riders, located in Tasmania in the Cradle Mountain area. We will be taking the Ferry across with one support vehicle, Mick’s Scooby Doo mobile, packed with all necessary camping/repair/expedition equipment. The majority of the accommodation will be at campgrounds, with all the basic amenities available. Cost is $374 for the 4 days + costs for the ferry and food etc. .

This will be an absolutely awesome event to kick off the new year, with some amazing terrain (hills, mountains & beaches of Tasmania) along with the camaraderie of your mates.

For more information, check out the website www.wildsidemtb.com for event course, costs, fitness level needed etc. Give us a call if any questions. Mike is assured it is a novice to intermediate style race, and nowhere near as punishing as the Kona race. As long as base level of fitness ok, and reasonable on the bike (ie: you can stay on!), all will be ok.

Any interest in this event, please email or call before Xmas, as we will need to confirm numbers before entries close.

Regards,
Mike – 0411 888 735
Colin – 0412 859 209
‘Stay Strong, Stay on Target’