The Summer series has come and gone for the New England Mountain Bikers and the Winter series is about to take off. This is a series of nine races held on the fantastic trails at the Armidale State Forest, better known as “The Piney’. Races will be held on Sunday afternoons starting at 2pm.
The first race is on Sunday, April 15. Then winter series of races are on April 29, May 20, June 24, July 15, August 5, September 16, October 14 and November 11. The race on June 24 will be consist of special two part Hill Climb and Super D (Downhill) races.
Scattered around these dates is a multitude of races at nearby clubs for those riders who would like to try different tracks. Many of these are part of the GNaTPACK (Mid North Coast) series where one round is held at Grafton, Nambucca, Taree, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Kempsey before the final round is held here in Armidale in September. Full details are available on the NEMTB website calendar http://www.nemtb.com.au/calendar-and-race-details.
As previously stated the local winter series starts on Sunday, April 15. The start line is through the second gate on the right as you go down Pine Forest Rd. Drive out Rockvale Rd until you get to Pine Forest Rd. Turn right then find the gate. The start line is under the powerlines at the bottom of the hill.
The main race grade (Men and women) is three laps of the full 11 km course. Under 19 is also three laps. The main track is very interesting with a variety of trail types. Rock gardens, wooden structures, skinnys, rocky rollovers, tight single track, switchbacks, uphill, downhill and fast flowy sections. This year we also have a shortened track, which avoids the more technical sections. This is called the green track and is about 5 km. Riders competing in this division need to do two laps. We will use this easier track for the kids race with them only needing to complete one lap of the 5 km loop.
Registration is on at 1.15 pm and needs to be completed by 1.45 pm. Riders need a MTBA licence to compete, otherwise a day licence can be bought on the day for $15. Members need to pay a race fee of $5, or they can pay $30 for all races on the series (9 races). Juniors (U19) need to be a member ($2 fee each race or $12 for the series) or pay for a $15 day licence.
Riders of all abilities are invited to race, especially those new to the sport. Check out the club website for more information www.nemtb.com.au
