Mountain Biking Schools Nationals Days 1, 2 &3

For most cycling events you have to travel all over the country- this was no different. For the first time I was travelling to Dunedin- not by any means the longest roadie I’ve done. With a day on the ferry and a day driving down it was actually a pretty fun roadie. Dad and I got to see all the motels that we’d stayed in the year before when we drove down to Track Nationals in Invercargill.

The place in Dunedin we were staying was pretty flash- the shower had two heads, I had a double bed, all the important things. So I was pretty excited about this trip.

On the Thursday we had to get up early to pick George Jackson up from the airport. (George is one of Wellington’s keen and quick boys- on the Road, Track and Mountain.) After picking him up we got ready and headed off to pre ride the XC course, it was a neat, fairly easy course  but you could still get quite a bit of pace on. We rocked up to the course at a similar time to Robbie Bradshaw and his dad so we got a lap in with them at the end. Which was good fun- and it was fast (for me).  

We then headed off to try and have a look at the DH course before the predicted rain set in. But despite how much looking at the map we did, there were no sign posts (that we could see) so we pretty much relied on our memory of the GoPro-ed video on the MBO website. I’m not really sure how much of the course we actually rode. A piece of advice if your going to Signal Hill – figure out what tracks are what before going down them.

Huge thanks to Lisa for her super cool goggles that she lent me.  Ryan for some baggies, because there is no way I am buying a pair for myself -it’s a DH rule that with a full face you need baggies. Kim for her tips on how to be mentally prepared- it’s not just the legs that need to be tip top on race day. The guys at Mud Cycles for looking after my bike, and the super quick services when I need them - probably should’ve given them more than two days for a general service… Ricky for his descending coaching- probably wouldn’t have been able to ride significant amount of the DH course (that we rode) without it. Last but not least, Mum and Dad. Huge thanks to them for driving down to Dunedin and all the support they’re giving me down here.