Before the days of Trailforks, finding an epic trail was all about distant magazine articles. One of the most lauded trails was the Dun Mountain loop, a short back-country loop based out of Nelson, New Zealand. Like many of New Zealand’s back country rides, it follows an historic route through the hills, tracing the old […]
For the love of mountain biking
I have been riding bikes to escape, spend time with friends, and explore since I can remember. As soon as I was allowed to ride to a friend’s house unaccompanied I did. When I asked to be allowed to go further, that was fine, and I had a physical boundary set by my parents, of […]
The Joy (and Stupidity) of Singlespeeding
A little while ago, I read an article on the internet that infuriated me greatly. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just pure clickbait fake news from the Murdoch press inciting against cyclists via facebook memes, but an article on Pinkbike: Riding Rigid is Ridiculous. Putting my keyboard warrior posturing aside, the Pinkbike article makes a very solid […]
Racing the Wilderness: The West Coast Wilderness Trail
A few years ago, New Zealand’s (then) Prime Minister John Key was faced with an interesting dilemma: how to promote cycle tourism in a country with roads that barely fit two vehicles, let alone cyclists. The solution was a novel one: Te Ara Ahi, the Great New Zealand Cycle Trail. A network of off-road pathways, […]
Cory Wallace relives the Glacier 360 in Iceland
Iceland “the land of fire and ice” is a small island nation lying just south of the Arctic circle in the North Atlantic ocean. It has become a tourist hotbed as people come in droves to see its extraordinary landscape full of Volcanic activity, geothermal energy, glaciers, waterfalls and vast expanses of moon like rock fields. […]
XCO racing for XCM results
Marathon races in Australia are often mass-participation events, where ‘completers’ outnumber ‘competers’ by huge margins. Cross Country Olympic racing (XCO), on the other hand, usually attracts hard-core racers chasing medals and jerseys. But even if you’re a marathon ‘completer’ when you get out to race, there are lots of reasons to love, watch, and even […]
Stromlo school
Related Event: Shimano MTB GP Round Five
Since finishing my PhD earlier this year I’ve gone back to tutoring. Sixty per cent of the academic workforce in Australia is casual, an issue that I’m probably not going to explore in a blog about mountain biking, but one that I thought I’d mention in case you’ve ever wondered why I never seem to […]
Rocky trails at the Shimano MTB GP
It’s been a while since I put a number on at one of the Rocky Trail Entertainment Shimano MTB GP events. But even since moving to Brisbane two years ago, it’s always great to get to one of the events run by the Martin and Juliane Wisata, who make up the husband and wife event […]
Cory Wallace catches up on the Singletrack 6
Related Event: SIngletrack 6
The Singletrack 6 was born when the legendary TransRockies went dormant a few years back and is turning into one of North America’s premier races. Each year the host communities change as the organisation seeks out new riding areas to showcase 6 days of the best of what Western Canadian singletrack has to offer. The […]
Emotions of a National Marathon Champs Weekend
Related Event: Manx 100
Over the past 2 years it’s been a privilege to have worn the National Champion’s stripes at the front of some of the biggest marathon races in the world. I remember the first international race I went to in the jersey, I was parked up at the hotel pulling the bike out of the Vauxhall […]