Mountain Bike Stage Racing takes many forms around the world. The typical division is either paired or solo stage racing – although some races curiously mix the two. And then you can have a variety of lengths. Weekend stage races, 3 day, 4 day, 5 days with a Prologue, 8 days, 10 days… they’re about […]

This year I have the privilege of being on a cycling team, the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team, with a manager (Mike Blewitt) and team mates (Kath, Graeme, Tate, Stu, Will and Werner), it is a motivating and inspiring experience. I started cycling purely and simply because I like to ride my bike. I started racing because it […]

The Dolomiti Superbike is a race has appeal in a way that is distinct from any marathon I have raced before. Like many races I don’t know much about, most of the appeal is let loose by the name alone: it’s big, it’s tough, it’s Euro, and it’s in a beautiful part of the world. […]

Iʼm not the first, I wonʼt be the last, and this may be the first of many, but in the space of a week my world was blown apart with, quite literally life-altering news, word came from home my Dad was severely ill. Tickets booked, cursing that I have to wait four days for a […]

Mountain biking didn’t start in Europe, and I’m not well placed to argue who actually invented it. But Europe has thoroughly embraced mountain biking in its own way, and the Marathon (XCM) format is hugely popular, especially in countries like Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic, to name but a few. Some […]

It’s the time of year where I pack up a backpack and a bike box and head to Europe. Lots of cyclists do it for various reasons, and there are quite a number of Australian cyclists who do it to ply their trade, or attempt to crack into professional cycling. I’m quite a long way […]

The really nice thing about Germany is that you don’t really have to know where you’re going to find yourself somewhere. Europe trip 2012 began in Munich and the selection of my first nights accommodation was somewhat random, based merely on location and price. I had to be close to the airport as my Subaru–MarathonMTB.com […]

In my experience, there seem to be two types of holiday makers. Those who like to plan and those who don’t. Like most either/ors, there are not really just two, but many types, sliding in along a continuum from one extreme to the other. I go well with a loose plan: reach ‘x’ place eventually, […]

Most riders I talked to about last weekend’s Australian MTB Marathon Champs described it as tough. The full length course took riders up to the top of Mt Stromlo six times, forced them to pedal their legs off on an extended fire road journey around the Western side of the park, demanded good technical skills […]

Following a flood hiatus in 2011 the Mt Perry Gold Rush was back for 2012 and many seasoned campaigners rated it the ‘best track ever‘! In an attempt to limit rider numbers this year Mike and the Grindin Gearz team made the decision early to run a ‘solo rider only‘ six hour event. In previous […]