N-Duro, Some of the sweetest single track I've ever ridden

Beware and fear the Angryman!!

The smile says it all, even after stacking it

about 30min into this race I was all teeth.

So my day started off a little slow due to a few to many liquid refreshments and dancing in a Tutu the night before... at a wedding (Pic of me in yet another dress...) Just to explain myself, 10 years ago in a moment of weakness I made a pact with a friend that if she ever got married I would wear a Tutu to her wedding... 10 years later there she was and there I stood in my skirt. Funnily enough the Wairarapa farmer she was marrying and his family took it rather well, one of the guys even asked how I keep in-grown hairs away LOL.

Right back to racing, Vegas had put on a fantastic day for us weather was good, company was great and the tracks were superb. I think part of my excitement was because I had had such a bullocks ride around Karapoti the weekend before, anything would be an improvement.

Earlier in the week I took the bike to the guys at Rocket Bikes and they fitted my favorite Larsen TT tyres and a Stan's Tubeless kit. Admittedly I was highly skeptical of the Stan's Kit at first but they worked perfect, don't be afraid to try something new I say. Thanks guys nice effort on the bike, only thing holding it back now is the fat heifer riding it, will get the bike off the heifer for Nats :)
If you have not already been in to Rocket Bikes Lyall Bay, stop in for a chat, their all top b@stards and about as helpful as you can be without getting a law suit against ya ;) Special thanks to Nathan & Mike.

The first 30min of the race were pain sureved up with a little "no sympathy" "for self infliction", until I came down a couple of drop offs and got the exit ALL wrong... over the handle bars resulting in a dirt mask for me. Best thing that could have happened, as it snapped me into aggressive ride mode. Away I went power to the hills and attacking the downs. Currently I was back in 10th place overall where I finished, but the track was so sweet and I had finally hit my stride I just gave it shit.

Cruised through to the finish to the reception of my family. Afterwards went for a sifty ride with my Nephew (DJ) who's a little gun on the bike, watch this space.

The rest of the evening consisted of food, beer, thermals pools, robbing a dairy, talking shit with Catherine (Top bird that one), Clive (Angry) and watching the local road workers on their road eater machinery thing.

N.B. No Native New Zealand birds were harmed in the writing of this posting.

Angry here, just hijacking Tigers (Not jacking Davo) thread.

I entered the main 45km race , leaving Tones to burgle the 25km beginners race, I was after a nice tough workout leading up to Poti and to test out how the knee was recovering.

I started off mid pack but was soon out front, this of course is ignoring Hiskey, The Clintons (NZ's first royal family), Cabin etc who were long gone.

The tracks where nice, I was climbing well, on Gunna Gotcha I came across Thomas who had loose nuts on his bike, someone lent him their tool and he was back off again, After about 30 minutes Anika past me going up a hill, sweet jesus that girl can climb. I then procceded to have a nice stack on A-Trail down a slippy rut, no damage.

The rest of the race was uneventfull until the last 10kms where I had someone steaming on my tail which caused me to increase my pace somewhat that I caught up with Thomas again, he must have been having a nap as when I past him he looked around decided he didnt like being past and shot off. I held off the guy behind me for the rest of the race to get 3rd by 1 second over 4th. Stoked with the result.

We drove home via Ohakune and Taihape for some interesting state sponsored fun.. Long story.

Top weekend.

Oh and somewhere in there ran over a Hawk trying to take off with a Rabbit, feathers everywhere and completely unrelated to that I need to join witness protection. Who's got the number?

Read more...

National Champs

Bushlove is a mighty mighty racing unit you say. Bushlove is always up for the races you say.

Well it appears from teh mighty ranks of Bushlove, that I, and I alone will be going to the National MTB champs this weekend in Nelson.

Square upon thy shoulders doth the glory of Bushlove rest. But have no fear, for I will not shirk my duty, the great Mo-llet, and the calves of doom shall represent the mighty, and stand for all that is good and true in our great and muddy world.

I have some picks for this weekend. Please bear in mind, that some people may not be racing, or even some that might, that I don't know about and hence have not crossed my mind. Prediction is not an exact science, and I'm just plain making this shit up

Elite men 1st, Stu Houltham FTW, followed in my Mikee Northcott, being chased hard by Big Gav in 3rd. Clinton if he races will twist his bike to bits with his mighty shanks.

Elite Ladiezzz, If Anika turns up all bets are off, and I hope like hell even my lap times beat hers

Under 23 men, Carlos to crash twice and win

Under23 Women, 1st Supa Sam, smashing everyone, with the fastest chick time overall, 2nd Monique Avery after giving Sam a good race, 3rd WILL BE Raerae Morrison

Juniors, Dirk and Paddy to battle it out at front, Dirk to clear out and smash it, Adrian Letiffe (sp) to pull 3rd with 1 broken spoke

Junior Girls, Saschato ride away from everyone

U17 men, Midget man Cooper to win by 6:34mins, 2nd fastest junior overall, Tom Tom Bradshaw for 2nd

Vet 1, If Cabin shows and races even given his dislike for nats races, he'll win (unless Broken Lung Crossling sticks a branch in his wheel, ya listening Ed!!) Slacky and the rest of the old people to fight the good fight. The glory of Bushlove should shine thru. But it should be a good close race otherwise, with Hiskey sitting it out, and prepping for his impending overall win at the Poti.

DH, well I barely know who's who these days, but K Bizzle for the mens win with a Rankin in 2nd (if he shows) and the balding Ginga Dodzy in 3rd.

Read more...

Slacky's Fashion tips

Many many people ask me, "Slacky, how can I be as cool as you". Well the short answer is, sorry, you can't. But people can get close. Here are some quick tips to help you on your way.

Get your self a fashion bike. Not only is it hip, cool and now!, but I ride one as well. This is reason enough. It also helps you aid in smoothing out your pedal stroke, scaring yourself and pedestrians, and increasing your leg size.

There are several ways you can get one. 

1/ Find an old road frame that has horizontal (ish) dropouts so you can tension the chain, and cobble something together. You'll still quite likely need to get a fixed hub tho.

2/ Steal one (this is not a reconmended option, it will end in pain)

3/ Find an old track bike (perfect, your all done, cept for a front brake)

4/ Buy a ready made fixie. There are several brands that do these, it's all the fashion to do a fashion at the mo.

My current Fav of these ready made fashions, is the SE racing Lager.

 Splashed with a liberal amount of Ano Red parts, steel frame for sturdiness, cool retro frame clips, check toptube pad so you don't scuff things up

 too much (helps protect and also stops the bike from sliding so much when 

leant against something). This is a pretty cool bike and will allow you to get all that much closer to the coolness that is Slacky. If I didn't already have my own hot fashion, this is what I'd buy.

Another way to bring up the style and cool point is the Musette bag, or feed bag. Small and light, it can fold up into a pocket nice and easily, it can fit a small amount of stuff, but it will up your cred immensly. These aren't overly common, and if you manage to find yourself a really cool old retro one, it will go a really long way to getting nearly as cool as me. 

The other type of bag you can get is the messenger bag. Used by couriers/messengers (smart that), it sling over the shoulders, meaning you can access the bag whilst still riding, and keeping the bag on you.

I gain extra cool points here, as this is my bag, and it has my birth year on it. Also from SE racingJust remember kids, it's not a competition, I'm just that much cooler than you all.

And the last Slacky fashion tip for the day, is hats. Cycling hats. You can wear them under your helmets, by themselves, wear it back to front, sideways (this is very very ghey) or the proper way. The peak althought small, can be worn flipped up, or down.

You may notice in some Bushlove Pics, Whacko is wearing one under his helmet, this makes him cool. However he looses what ever cool he has, cos he pulls his socks up his calves. This is wrong, very!!. But he is young, and will learn in time

This Broadcast is brought to you by the Bushlove Fashion Collective

Read more...

BushLove Spices Up The Sevens

Coach said "Let your hair down for the weekend..." So I did...

Which one is a Bush...Love














The opposition: Notice they were missing a Posh though, amateurs..

Read more...

No Pedalling Required! - A Wander On The Honda

The old mountain bike has been parked up for a little while and i`ve been enjoying getting out on the dirt bike again. Believe me its a heap easier! I`ve grown up with dirt bikes doing a bitta motocross etc in me younger days and being a farm boy generally riding everyday. So me and a couple of mates planned a weekend away, staying at a good country pub with plenty of riding, boozing and sport watching planned (what more can you ask for?). We decided to trip up to Owhango (between Ohakune and Taumaranui) and ride the 42 Traverse and surrounding tracks. We left early friday morning with 3 Honda`s in tow and arrived at the lovely Owhango at around midday. We sorted our room out then kitted up for a afternoon of dusty hot riding.

Having ridden up there before I pretty much knew the area fairly well and we set out cruising through the awesome native bush. The track is in great condition, almost like its groomed for riding, just flows beautifully! We passed a few groups of mountain bikers then stopped at about the half way mark at the river crossing and had a splash and a bit of a feed, can`t beat the crystal clear waters in the bush! We carried on through to the other side and detoured back through a more challenging overgrown track, which was a heap of fun apart from being about 20 degrees too hot.

On the return trip i upped the pace a bit as all i could think about was the cold Speights we had back in our room. Got back about 7ish and straight away downed a few coldies and moseyed on over to the pub for a good pub feed. Spent the evening trying to drink the pub dry and watching the cricket with a brief switch to the 7`s from time to time, the beers were flowing and then the bourbons came out round after round. Without a worry in the world, we finally retired about 2am (i think), waking up to a thumping head ache and my mouth so dry i was spitting dust. It was gonna be a long day!!

Went down the street to the only other shop in town and tryed unsuccessfully to down a coffee, i knew there was some reason i did`nt drink much anymore!I managed to compose myself after a couple of spits and a few hours later and jumped back on the bikes again. The noise of the bikes the constant jarring, bumping the intense heat and dust is definately no hang over cure it was bloody hard work!

We went deep in the bush and sussed out a couple of waterfalls and stumbled upon a mud track, but after a couple of hours i just wanted to lay down in the cool of the bush and die. Luckily i was`nt the only one that was crook, so we decided to call it a day and headed back.

All in all it was an enjoyable little trip with beautiful native bush, crystal clear rivers, views to die for, great tracks, great pub food, but don`t talk to me about alcohol!

Fully Recovered Goldie

Read more...

Skins Review

They are a little strange at first and little high around the hips (I prefer hipsters myself, Not Ghey At All). Anyway back to the review, so for a long time I was finishing running/mountain bike races and after smashing my legs for an hour or two, the next day they would be sore/very fatigued. Throwing the idea around about getting Skins I asked different people what they thought and about other products available on the market. I found a lot of support for Skins. So off I went for a recce around for prices, not bloody cheap I tell you!! I think the best price I came up with was from Rebel sport who had them for $169 for the long recovery tights.

Now you may or may not know but these are also known as compression tights and come in all sorts of different types, Bottoms, Tops, Arms, Shorts, Legs, even Cylce Shorts etc… the list goes on. The only ones I can truly comment on right now are the recovery tights. Unless Skins decide it a great idea to sponsor me some cycle shorts I would be happy to try them out ;o). The idea behind them is to promote circulation to muscles and aid in the fatigue recovery. This helps with back to back training and performance improvement.

The Technical Overview:
"Ongoing testing of elite athletes have proven that Skins™ BioAcceleration Technology™ creates marked improvements in reducing the build-up of lactic acid immediately after periods of sustained exercise (2hrs and 15 mins up to 37% ), and allows for more rapid return to normal levels (up to 38% at 20 minutes). You experience less fatigue, minimise soreness and recover faster.

Skins™ is body-moulded compression performance equipment manufactured from the finest Lycra and Meryl Microfibre, scientifically engineered to provide support and muscle alignment to the smart-fabric covered area of your body. Skins™ will definitely change the way that you train and play as well as speed your recovery. You will feel fresher after heavy bouts of exercise and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) will be minimised."

Other similar products:
CW-X (From what I understand these are good for during sport and not so much recovery)
Canterbury’s Base Line
2XU – (Also meant to be a good product)

IMHO. These do work I have noticed decreased recovery time an increase in training frequency and decrease in sore muscle fatigue the next day. They are ideal for the high performance, athletes that do not have time for “downtime”.
The price is high but if you are aiming for 5-6 days of training a week these are definitely beneficial, not so much for the ‘Rec’ rider in us all.

I am happy to answer any question about these, just write me a comment at the bottom of this review.

Chur Teh Tiger

Read more...

Akatarawa Attack - Bushlove Team Nearly Dies

Having just lost a really long, well written post and nearly burying my fist into the kitchen worktop - I'll be keeping this brief.

I teamed up with Nick K to compete in the Akatarawa Attack. A MTB orienteering event in the same region as the Karapoti. Nick won Open Men last year with former plumper, Mono Sharpe, and I was keen to give it a good crack to see if we could do a repeat and shower the team with more glory.

You get the maps for about 45mins to study them and work out your best route around the forest trails to collect the most 'control' locations, which have a certain number of points according to difficulty to reach, and a clipper to punch your card to prove you've been there.

We worked out a fairly good route (we thought) and moseyed off the start line feeling fairly confident and looking forward to a good time in the hills and exploring some new trails. After about 1km the no-expense-spared Bushlove Mapboard destroyed itself and jumped off my bars, meaning the rest of the event was spent trying to read maps which got slowly written off through sweat and repeated handling (a lot like Whacko's johnson). Keeping the maps in our pockets and up our short legs did nothing for their readability and made some areas tricky. Also a pain as we now have to buy more maps to keep so we can head out there again.



We got our first control which put us on a little high going in to the long 4wd forest climb up the Puketiro Loop. We got a good control in a ravine which no-one else appeared to have bagged so felt pretty good about things. We also felt pretty 'Sparta' as we were riding the singlespeeds at about twice the speed of everyone else up the climbs, which did wonders for our confidence.

It was a bloody warm day and we were thankful that a lot of the hard work was in the forest where a bit of shade saved our bacon. Out in the open you could feel the heat coming up off the track. The sweat dripping off our elbows and knees was turning to steam before it even touched the ground. Well maybe thats a little bit of bullshit, but you get the idea.

We nailed a bunch of controls but never got out as far as the water point as we thought we would run out of time. I also had two flats in the front, one of which nearly caused me to steam off track and huck-to-head in the rocks. They were fixed quick though and it was poor planning and a little bit of erroneous navigation that cost us time during the event.

We headed back down the descent of Puketiro Loop, nipping into the woods to claim more controls and then headed up Battle Hill to collect the remaining controls we could reach. We ended up back at the finish with 30mins to go. Easily enough time to pick up more than enough points to win the event, but we planned our route a bit poorly and all the remaining controls were out of reach. Shame, but it is that kind of event. The cunning can out fox the stupid singlespeeders - and they did.

We swam and put our gladrags on for the extremely well done BBQ. Plowed through much meat and fruit and then got awarded with some beers for getting 2nd in Open men and 3rd overall. A great result considering our amateur errors!

It was good to see Sifter and Simon come in. Sifter looked like he had been beasted by a rhino and Simon looked pretty good. Sifter said it was the hike-a-bike stuff that got the better of him in the end. They must have done some serious work, as John is an animal and not easily thwacked like that. Matt Farrar and Ian Paintin, seriously able Vet XC racers, got the 8hr win, putting Sifter/Simon into 2nd by about 10pts out of 1700pts!. Close stuff.

Next year we'll field more Bushlove Teams. It really was a mint event and was organised impeccably well by some very dedicated chaps. It was fantastic to get out and ride some unseen trails and never know what was round the corner for the whole time.

I felt pretty knacked by the time I got home, only to realise I was locked out. Luckily I have nice neighbours who fed me curry and beer while I waited for my wife, Amie, to return.

A cracking day out - Big ups to my Bushloving Team Buddy, Nick, for recruiting me. Nick is a champ to ride with, always in good spirits, never winced at the hardest sections and was bloody strong, riding his SS machine where I had to crawl on all fours. Good man.

Oh - The title bit about nearly dieing. I forgot.... Turns out there is a native nettle called the Ongaonga. It has killed animals and one person apparently. What a hard fecking plant. It was in the forest in certain locations which we advised to us by the orgs. Nick got a bit on his leg though we think and it gave him a bit of grief. So maybe we were not as close to death as the post title suggests, but you never know. At least we learned something about native killer bush. One not to love.

Read more...

Slacky in Bushlove Gloryfest

After a thoroughly crap 3 weeks of recovery from being hideously sick in Auckland, I headed up to Wanga-Vegas for the NZ Masters Games, for 2 things, A bit of a lark, and a return to downhill, however basic it might be.

the Xc was a by-product, but it did provide me with a good chance to see how my body had recovered fully, or even IF it had.

I rocked up to the Games village about 12 on the sat and paid my monies and got my free stuff (w00t). Then headed out to the track for a looksee. 

Got to catch up with some other old-skoolers such as the Rhino racing boys and Stinky. Vinnee was there also and Lukee Simmonds turned up late, as he thought it was next weekend.

I pretty much decided to mainly check out the DH course, and did so. WAs nice and short, albeit with a yucky uphill in it. Nothing hard, but some really fun bits. Found out that it was really really easy to overshoot the bigger jump at the halfway point, and it was well faster doing the small one. Decided to do a lap of the XC track to scope it a wee bit, as the Dh course I had nailed and sorted pretty quickly.

The XC track was super fun, no long climbs (bonus for me),

fun singletrack descents (more bonus for me, and short, at only 18 mins a lap.

I had to go out and do another lap, as I'd lost my favourite water bottle, so 2 laps in the cracking heat, but I still felt pretty darn good.

Went into town for a feed, and luckily Coxie had reconemended Stell*r for a good steak. He's right, it was the bomb. After feeding my face, I headed back out there, to sleep in the Van for the night and pretty up by bikes for the raceday.

Come the race, and I was fizzing to go. XC race was in the morning, and it was pretty darn warm.

Not to worry, my new Burkes tinelli kit breathes pretty well. Took off and settled in behind wiley old skooler Steve Pedley. My plan was to sit behind whoever was fast for the first 2 laps and then have a crack after that. That plan lasted till the 2nd climb. Tho coach might be happy to know that I didn't go full wally, I kept a small amount in reserve. Cannondale Carl sat in behind me, and we set off in a C/dale freight train. Quickly put a gap on Steve, and set about racing. I'd get a small gap on the downs, and carl would close it back up on the climbs. I kept looking at my HR and it was pretty high, so I ignored it, cos I was feeling pretty good and comfy. At the end of the second lap, Carl stopped for a bottle and I got a wee gap. I ran with it and put my head down, going for the plan of outa sight, outa mind. Luckily it stuck and I picked up the hurt a bit and eked the gap out. On the last lap I knew I had a decent gap, and could afford to ease up a bit. but I thought my body and mind needed a good hammerfest, so I kept the pin in and kept the hammer down. Finished feeling like I could have kept the pace for another lap too. That felt really good.

Sat down after and feed my face with lots of real mens race food like sausages and bread and pies, and .......ahhh actually no, I had a salad, with tuna. Starch free sucks ass!!!

Drank lots tho, cos it was pretty darn hot.

Got changed outa my jeyboi lycra and into my Raceface pants, and Sam Hill FanBoi shoes for the DH and walked up the DH (oh yeah, it's that old skool). The old legs were feeling a bit wobbly and empty, but I was feeling pretty confident, and to be honest, not really that fussed. I knew I'd prolly have it anyway. Race run went ok, wussed out at the entrance into the chute up the top, and brakechecked. Mentally ticked myself of, so I pedalled down the chute to make up for it. Grovelled up the climb, and rode the rest in control, clean and smooth was always my moto in the good old days, and I still tend to adhere to that. Mainly cos I'm such a big pussy.

Pretty shagged by the finish tho, but at elast it gave Jean a chjance to mock someone.......me. Bit disapointed there was no photographers for my sick jump (snigger)at the end.

2nd run  was up and the can of relentless that I drank on the way up wasn't fully empty, so after I crushed it and put it in my pocket like a tidy kiwi, I got a wet botty. Excited by this, I was amped up a bit more (that or the caffine/taurine/million other cancer causing chemicals). I had scoped out the run in to the chute inbetween runs, so managed to will myself not to brakecheck this time. the rest of the run was much the same as the first. Very similar to the old days, where my runs were quite often very close in time. Jean informed me that I had gotten another gold, and I must say I was pretty happy. I had expected it, but it's mountainbiking and anything can happen.

So in all, I had a ball, got a few Gold Medals, rained glorious Victory upon Bushlove (as the rest of the team hasn't been pulling their weight recently outside of Mono at the 1st 2 rounds of nats) and caught up with some old mates.

I don't think I'll go down to Dunners next year, but when it comes back to Wanga-Vegas I'll be back for more at the MAsters games. I might even give a few other events a crack just for fun. Stinky reckons Social Pairs Petanque is the go for being able to hold a beer in one hand and play a game all day long. I urge all crusty old barstards and bastardettes, regardless of skill levels (cos they have rec, sport and expert grades) to give it a crack if you get a chance. Very low pressure way to give Downhill racing a crack.

Read more...

Mono Bungs Himself

On Sunday the second round of the N-Duro Summer Cup was raced under the scorching Rotorua sun. The clouds were absent, the wind wasn't there and the thermometer read 24 degrees at 9:30 am. Erk.

I'd had a cold all week, and only got out for 1 short lap of the tip track on Wednesday, so wasn't sure how I'd feel on race day. After getting smashed at the start of round 1 (Something to do with 150 people all jonesing for the same bit of single track...) I tried to get a better start this time. While I was on the second row I got off to a right crapper, and a seemingly endless flow of people cut my lunch at every opportunity. After the first few bits of singletrack (and getting buzzed on the leg by a passing rider - not quite the same as "on your right", but whatever...) I settled into a decent pace, the delicious meat in an R&R sandwich, with Mr. Ed behind me, BGA in front of me and Connor in front of him. I had already started planning my race from this point, looking forward to the climbs up Direct Road and Frontal Lobotomy, when I experienced some sort of skill/concentration issue. On a simple, unassuming bit of Soakhole I binned it, in rather spectacular fashion - OTB, off the track to the right and bounced off a very large log, did a mean head-stall, before coming to rest in the foliage with my right leg through my front triangle...

First thing I did was start wiggling my fingers and trying to rotate my left wrist - I've broken it 3 times before, and I'm always worried about it when I go down. That's right, when I go down. Anyway, once I'd decided it wasn't too badly hurt I got untangled, and dragged my trusty Scott over to the other side of the trail. As rider after rider passed they almost all asked if I was OK, which was nice. I stood there, hunched over my machine, trying to collect my thoughts. I gave up after a few minutes. They're still somewhere towards the end of Soakhole if anyone sees them.

I decided to push on, as I didn't think the wrist was too bad... just sore. I managed to get past a few people on the next couple of trails, before hitting Direct Road and Frontal. My legs felt strong in this section, which was really encouraging. As I got near the exit of Frontal I turned across a rut on the trail, and burped my front tyre. As I don't normally take a pump or quickfill I was left to ride the remainder of the course with around 15psi in my front tyre... not ideal in such grippy conditions. I rode like a Nana on the downhills (Even more than usual) and smashed the flats and climbs to make up time. Unfortunately I couldn't regain any of the time I lost on the downhill sections, and ended up in 13th place in Open Men, over 20 minutes slower than the front runners.

I managed to get an ice pack from the N-Duro guys at the finish which was great, and I think it helped keep any swelling down pretty well. Once I jumped in the car and left Vegas for Welly the wrist started throbbing a bit, and the swelling started to get worse.

I've had a wee check up with a physio today who thinks the end of my radius might be cracked, and I've definitely done a fair bit of ligament and tendon damage. I get a proper assessment tomorrow, so hoping for better news then - hoping the 35ish km I rode on it didn't make it much worse than it might have been already.... time will tell.

Anyway, it's only a wrist. I have a spare.

Read more...