Andersons and the Oaks Social Ride

Last Sunday while everyone else was dealing with butterflies and last minute mechanicals at the Highland Fling. A small group of us were rolling out of the carpark of the Grand View Hotel Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains aimed at the head of Andersons Trail.

After many months of chin waging about how good it would be I had finally got around to organising it. Our guide at the last minute had injured himself braking a leg literally in an event the weekend prior so we used a combination of combined vague memories of the group and a Garmin Edge 800 and ultimately found our way all the way to the bottom with no major dramas.

Having never riden Andersons before I had no idea what to expect. I had been told that it was mostly firetrail with a big ass climb out at the end. But I what I wasn’t prepared for was the amazing amount of descent in this trail. Some of the descents were eye blurring. I recall seeing fist size rocks being smashed aside out of the corners of my eyes as I tried to retain focus on what was fast approaching in front of me. Sitting on speeds of up to 60km at a time on these road was awesome fun but allowed you to easily forget that whilst as fun as all this descending can be…… what goes down, must at some stage again go up. The trail winds eventually down to a creek crossing at the bottom of the hills which then simply turns you back to the sky with a series of moral breaking climbs, thankfully my Specialized Epic Expert 29er was completely at home in these conditions. The temptation to put a foot down and simply push up the hills was many time tempting but the will to stay slotted in a comfy spinning gear and focus on the reward of getting to the top stayed with me and I was at the end stoked with my efforts.

We climbed all the way out into the sleepy back streets of the mountain town of Woodford then hunted down the trail head of The Oaks. Powering down the first descents was a welcome change to the climbing we had done out of Andersons. Despite having quite a few solid climbs on this trail I would definitely say that I had been desensitised to them from the scale of those I had just conquered on Andersons and was somewhat thankful for it. The Oaks has a somewhat infamous 5km downhill fireroad descent which was of course one of the most anticipated sections for the whole group. Not to disappoint, winding out as fast as I could in my biggest gears for 5 minutes on a downhill fire road was an amazing feeling which has to be tried at least once.

Leading finally to a sweet single track section of smooth bermed corners and rocky multi lined descent we made it to the Glenbrook causeway for the final brutal climb out to the train station home.

This ride is highly recommended whether it be for a great training ride or to look further into the history of the trails you are riding, but ultimately we enjoyed getting out there and riding something a little different to what we are used to riding around here locally at a leisurely pace . Above all any ride that includes 1600 meters of descending is alright in my book.
Special thanks to Peter McGill for guiding us to the relevant trail heads and Steve Rugen, Matt K, Big Stu and Robbie for being a great bunch of guys to ride with. Good times and here’s to more like it.

J.

Contour Roam Competition

Simply buy* a Contour Roam camera at Drift Bikes and go in the draw to win the value of your camera in accessories!

That means a chance at winning $299 worth of gear simply for purchasing the worlds lightest, feature packed high definition camera.

PLUS for a limited time you will also get a FREE Contour Backpack when you buy a Contour Roam Camera. Even better reason to get yourself the worlds lightest wearable camera.

*competition starts 17.11.11 and will be announced 28.1.12

Nicola Hogan Race Wrap Up

The 2011 Briars Highland Fling, the biggest Mountain Bike event in Australia and one I’ve never raced. This was only my 2nd 100km race (well, 112km to be precise). My preparation was not ideal leading up to Sunday’s race in both limited training and having to put my 2 beautiful puppies to sleep on the Wednesday. I was extremely emotional for the remaining days of the week.

We decided to leave just after lunch on Saturday after an easy ride through Glenrock in the morning. When we arrived in the small Southern Highlands town of Bundanoon about 5pm, the place was rockin! All the street corners leading in to town had bikes either on the road sides, in trees or on fences. There were exhibitor stands, music playing and the vibe was awesome. This really got us in the mood to race. “Lez get it awn”

We ate the best dinner we could find at the local Pizzeria, which was pasta, bread and salad.

Sunday morning – 5.30am rise and shine. I think I slept about 1 hour. I have never been so nervous before a race in my life. My hands and body were shaking and all I could think about was how I was going to tackle the start. I was not hungry but forced myself to eat something which consisted of cereal, fruit and half a piece of toast.

It was a mass start so we jumped the queue to get near the front (no time for a warm up). The gun went off and it was fierce. The pace was faster than any National round I have done with the Elite men driving it hard at the front. Nothing I had done could prepare me for the pain that I was about to endure, both physically and mentally. I managed to find last year’s winner and Single Speed World Champion, Heather Logie’s wheel and stuck on it like the proverbial. Naturally, the Elites of both 100k’ers and 50k’ers were up the front sitting well over 50km/hr. There was dust flying everywhere and it was hard to see.

We had travelled about 1km and I found myself being spat out the back of the lead group. I could see Michael sitting on the rear of that group, looking back in hope for me to re-join. My asthma was bad from the dust, so I was finding it hard to breath, my heart was burning and then my legs became so lactic, my pace was becoming slower and slower. I started to panic as I had lost Heather’s wheel and saw my heart rate above 200bpm! I was thinking “what the **** have I got myself in for?”, but then realised that I was still passing some of the other Elite riders. I managed to get on the back of another enduro specialist, Vanina Vergoz, calmed myself down and got into a rhythm. When the dust settled, Vanina and I rode together at a high, but comfortable pace. I soon began to get my breathing under control and my legs seemed to feel a lot stronger. I decided to go on my own and as I upped the tempo, my new Specialized Epic 29er from DRIFT BIKES just did the rest along the undulating fire road.

The first stage (27kms) was reasonably easy going comparatively, with a few hike-a-bike creek crossings and a lot of fire roads that had some very challenging hills – a lot of hills actually. I decided not to stop at the first transition as I had plenty of food and fluids on board.

The second stage (53kms) was really fun. It had some of the best single track I’ve ridden. There was a variety of flowy and fast single trail, rocks, technical sections, gullies and more undulating fire roads. There were long and fast downhill fire roads, but guess what? What goes down must come up! In this stage was the mother of all hills called ‘THE WALL’ – don’t need to say much more. The bike felt awesome, I rode fast and smooth and started to get some flow. I felt really good at this stage, but my legs were becoming fatigued and started to cramp. I stopped at the 2nd transition area this time to be greeted by my wonderful husband Michael who had completed his Half Fling (6th in Vets). I was very tired so he helped me load up with food and water for the remaining stage. He gave me some motivational words and sent me on my way. After 80kms, I was feeling pretty exhausted but soldiered on.

The final stage (32kms) was physically draining. There were sandy fire roads, steep paddock climbs, creek crossings – some you could ride, others you had to hike your bike through again, and rough, rocky single track. This stage seemed to take forever as the track was slow and did not have much flow. There were sections that were muddy and this is where I had the crash of the day. I came to a big pool of mud that looked rideable and had tyre marks through it, so I decided to ride it with little caution. BIG MISTAKE. My front tyre sunk completely, and over the handle bars I went, still clipped into my pedals, I was covered in mud. I could not move, and felt my right leg over extend, thinking at this point I had torn something. I could not unclip and there was nobody around. After a couple of minutes I finally felt relief so I yanked my bike up out of the mud and just gathered myself together. With at least 15km to go I was not sure whether I would make it back. I had some energy gel, food and plenty of water and thought to myself what Michael always tells me – ‘Toughen up Princess’ (actually I have changed his words to make it PG). I seemed to find some grunt toward the end and began to motor past people along the final, hard packed fire roads. I turned off into another paddock and at last I could see the tents and hear the Race Caller on the microphone. I can’t stress enough the relief I felt when I came up the last hill towards the finish line.

I was extremely happy to see Michael as he yelled out ‘You got 5th’, pointing to the electronic timing board in 5 hours and 31 minutes. Toughest race I’ve done and over the moon with my performance but very, very relieved to have finished – will I do the Highland Fling again? Yea probably!

Factory Pilots Unite!

I remember the day I bought my first pair of orange iridium frogskins with clear frames, they were to me at the time the best brand on the market. Oakley are still to this day releasing a high quality product and we are very pleased to announce that Drift Bikes is now an official stockist for Oakley. We have a range of all the most popular cycling specific styles and can also Special order custom made styles too. Come in and check them out in person.

Just another day in the Drift Workshop

Regan and Aaron hard at work on two side by side custom builds. A Specialized S-Works SL3 Tarmac and a 2012 Yeti SB-66. Pow!!! Stay tuned for the complete build photos.

Welcoming Holly Harris to the Drift team

Drift would like to welcome Holly Harris to the Drift team of riders. Holly’s results have been outstanding and we are very excited to see her flying our colours for us on her new S-WORKS EPIC. Read Holly’s brief race review from Stromlo 24hr this month below.

Photo by Sportograph

“We entered the Scott as a schools mixed team of 8 category with 6 people in our team, three guys and three girls. We managed to get second in our category which was a pretty good result since the only team that beat us only had one girl and seven guys. It was my first race on my new Specialized S-Works Epic and it was awesome!! “

Holly.

Stumpjumper FSR – Think Again

WHY STUMPJUMPER FSR?

In one word: Versatility. Inspired by the great outdoors and a love for mountain biking, these dedicated trail riders want a balanced bike that performs well on everything from steep climbs to flowy singletrack to technical descents. After 30 years, their bike of choice is still the Stumpjumper FSR. Since riding styles are as diverse as the trails they ride, the bike must be lightweight, durable, and stable for efficient climbing and high-speed descending.

WHAT: The most successful high-performance suspension system, continually refined since 1993.

WHY: Delivers unsurpassed comfort, control, and efficiency, for more energy effort on climbs, more traction on the descent and greater pedalling performance.

HOW: Strategic pivot points decouple suspension from drivetrain and braking forces to eliminate bob and squat, creating a fully active, fully independent system.

Ride one today!!

Ask about trying one of our Test Bikes.

Contour Roam

We now have the new Contour Roam wearable camera in stock! For a limited time we are giving away a Contour Backpack with every Roam sold. Check out these little beauties in store now or buy online

The ContourROAM is the ideal camera for a fun and easy experience capturing your adventures anywhere life takes you. Just slide the record switch and you’re instantly filming beautiful HD video. The award-winning design is tough, compact, waterproof to one meter, and versatile which means you can use your ContourROAM anywhere, anytime and capture all the action you want.

What’s in the box

ContourROAM Camera
Rotating Surface Mount
Profile Mount
USB Cable
+ A FREE BACKPACK

Easy to Use

Shooting video should be simple and fun. With the ContourROAM, we’ve introduced one-step recording. Just slide the record switch, and you’re instantly filming. Easy as that. It’s the ideal camera for a fun, stress-free experience capturing your adventures anywhere life takes you. The ContourROAM is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, with a sleek, award-winning design and a laser that helps you level the camera and get the right shot every time.

BEAUTIFUL HD VIDEO

The ContourROAM records the action with a 170° super wide-angle lens, capturing all the backgrounds and peripheral moments that can be missed with a narrower field of view. Sophisticated camera technology automatically adjusts the exposure and white balance, ensuring crisp, beautiful video every time. You can choose between three different video resolutions, 720p, 960p and 1080p, or shoot 5 megapixel photos enabling you greater creative flexibility.

Waterproof

No need to worry about your camera surviving your next big water adventure, the ContourROAM is waterproof to one meter. A sealed gasket protects the camera’s insides, allowing you to catch the action under water or in the rain, sleet, or snow. For full submersion sports, such as scuba diving or wakeboarding the ContourROAM Waterproof Case provides totally dryness up to 60 meters beneath the surface.

Variety Of Use

Shooting hands-free video shouldn’t be limited to just a few sports. We offer a full ecosystem of mounts, specifically tailored for a full range of activities and interests. From gun-sight, undercarriage, and roll bar connections to ski, skate, motocross, and whitewater attachments, Contour’s TRail™ Mount system automatically places the camera in the sweet spot for your specific sport. Rather than wasting time rigging something yourself, our sport-specific mounts are ready-to-use out of the box, and keep the camera steady from start to finish.

Super Tough

Mud. Dirt. Snow. Rain. The places you roam can be some of the roughest places on earth. The ContourROAM is made to withstand encounters with everything from eating mud puddles, to monster barrels at Teahupoo, to drops down the Khumbu Icefall. The rugged aluminum body withstands serious abuse, while the waterproof design keeps everything safe and dry up to one meter.

2012 Tarmac Range

WHY TARMAC?

Driven by speed and the thrill of competition, these diehard riders and racers won’t settle for anything less than the lightest, stiffest, and fastest bikes on the road—whatever it takes to secure the win. Whether it’s winning the Tour de France or a city-limit sprint, these athletes ride hard and fast, enjoying every minute they can make the competition (or their friends) suffer.

NOTHING IS LIGHTER AND STIFFER

SL4 FACT IS 11R CARBON FRAME

WHAT: High modulus carbon frame made from our most advanced carbon construction method.

WHY: Gives our Tarmac the highest stiffness-to-weight ratio ever—19% greater than last year’s S-Works—which makes for an insanely light and fast bike.

HOW: Divides frame into four monocoque sections (plus dropouts)—with carbon fibres running continuously from tube to tube within each section—for more precise optimization of tubes shapes, sizes, and joints.

See the current range in store now!

STUMPY MADNESS

In Conjunction with the Specialized Gift of Gear we can now offer the following gear packages and pricing on these stumpy models in store. (please note alternate sizes available at 10% off retail)

Stumpjumper Comp Carbon available in Medium was $4499 now $3800 with $700 worth of gear FREE!
Stumpjumper Comp Medium was $3800 now $3000 with $375 worth of free gear!

Also save a massive $1000 on Stumpy Elite, avail in Medium and Large, Was $4299 Now only $3200