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 Wrap
up of the 2003 NSW Police Games Mountain Bike Competition
This year has been the best year
by far for the NSW Police Games and Mountain Bike Racing. We've
had the greatest number of competitors and some of the closest racing
I have seen during the games. Once again Police, Ambo's, Firies
and the hard men from the Corrective Services raced it out over
3 different courses. The only downside this year were a few injuries
in the form of concussions, a broken wrist and collarbone. It maybe
a social/semi competitive atmosphere but, some boys are pretty quick
thus the injuries.
Downhill
The first days racing involved a
weekend away in the picturesque Megalong Valley. This is by far
the safest downhill course I have ever ridden on, however as judged
by the injuries it can catch you out. The Saturday involved a lot
of free ride and training as some riders have never experienced
this form of riding. Once the sun went down the camp fire was lit,
the guitar come out and some boys began to sing. (Some should seriously
protect their jobs because they can't sing!) A few fine refreshments
later and it was off to bed for an early start.
Sunday was race day and we started
the day with 32 downhillers. From watching some of the boys the
day before I had a fair idea who was going to be quick thus, they
were given the first lot of plates. Each rider went a minute apart
and setting the pace was Scott Prendagast on his Giant DH, from
the police/family member. He was closely followed by a swag of Corrective
Services guys in the form of the McGregor brothers (Giant & Orange
222) and Scott Edwards (Giant). A notable mention was the freak
Matt Fraser from the firies who was next fastest incredibly on a
Kona Stuff - hard tail. There were actually 17 riders within a minute
of Prendo. Not a bad effort seeing as Prendo and the McGregor's
are regular downhill campaigners. A positive was not one person
who had ridden the course previously went slower this is on top
of adding about 15 second to the length of the course.
Many thanks on this day to Barnesy
and Paul Allsop who used their cars to cart the boys, girls and
their bikes to the top of the hill for us.
Quad Compressor
The following weekend was massive.
As far as I know it was the 1st quad compressor run in Sydney on
a purpose built mountain bike track. The course had dual berms,
many double jumps, creek gap with B lines, moguls and a 4 ft vertical
drop off into stutter bumps. This was not a B.M.X. track. The course
was about 40 sec of action courtesy of the expertise of Geoff Cartwright
excavations. This day is used by the Police MTB club to raise money
for Ronald McDonald House, Westmead. Geoff Cartwright donated 5
full days and his equipment to building the track, You're a legend
mate and thanks.
As the Police Mtb Club is now affiliated
with the MTBA we were able to hold an integrated open event and
have MTBA affiliated riders hit up the course. With a national round
at Nundle and a major BMX meet in Canberra we were stoked with just
under 50 riders attending and riding the course.
The location of course was fantastic
with perfect views from the busy M4 motorway which, was great for
our loyal sponsors and supporters. There were a massive number of
people who just came in off the M4 and surrounding streets to watch
the racing. Every spectator we spoke to was stoked to see a sport
that is all about action and the audience seeing every part of it.
The future for Quad events like this can only get bigger.
Once again there were many guys
who have never raced in this kind of format. There were no eliminations
and all points earnt went towards cementing a semi final birth.
The design of the course meant there were guys still passing as
they cranked the last straight, which made for some really close
racing. So close was the racing that I was unfairly dubbed the 'bulldozer'
after I ACCIDENTLY collided with Dodge Cobb in the middle of the
180 degree hair pin. This sent him through the bunting, looking
very fashionable in a ProGrip banner. The result was a mock protest
followed by the bounty of a beer to the rider who was subsequently
first to take me out. Barnesy earnt his beer in the very next moto.
Once again we had a couple of girls racing in amongst the boys.
They were again very fast and I for one was thankful I didn't have
to race them. Well done ladies!
The finals for the police games
was interesting, it appears that some riders assumed 4 riders fit
into one berm. This doesn't work and a pile up occurred in one of
the semi's. The final was a little less eventful with Barnesy getting
away early on the KHS Bitch and concentrating on staying away from
the bulldozer on his Craftworks. He managed to do this and won comfortably.
Shane from the Bush Fires pulled a bronze on his Haro Escape. We
also had a number of MTBA riders, with some really showing how it
was done. They were smooth and fast. The quickest of the lot was
Jay Robertson nailing his Azonic machine through every part of the
course to snatch the gold in the Open event Cameron Dawson pulled
his Giant Acid2 to silver and Glen Stevenson (Stix) on another Azonic
hard tail, grabbed the bronze.
As usual this quad day was utilized
as a fund raising day for Ronald McDonald House, Westmead. We were
able to raise around $2000 in prizes and money for the kids from
the house. Thank you to our special sponsors (see below!).
Cross Country
The last event was the cross country.
This was a day for the experience to show the young puppies the
way around a mountain bike course. The lead spots at the end of
the race belonged to 35+ category. Goldsmith on his Ellsworth Truth,
was the only u/30 rider to place in front of the mature boys, with
Mick Lawson (former national champ) running a close 2nd , followed
by a vastly improved Jason Kaul. There were 34 riders and most finished
the 3 lap race. Each lap was about 7.5 kilometres. It was a tough
ride and many were feeling the strain early. The lead guys finished
in 1:26 minutes and the last rider to finish the 3 laps, was the
very determined Cliff Hobden in a time just over 2 hours. A big
effort from a determined man.
Once again I really need to thank
our loyal and generous sponsors as well as the volunteers. Yes another
suck session, Firstly my wife Lisa and Barnesy's wife Jen worked
tirelessly on the quad day and not only that, put up with both Brett
and I as we led up to the games. My mother-in-law (yes mother-in-law)
Bev who worked the BBQ all day without a break and also thanks the
Volunteers in Policing who tuned up on the day and helped out. Finally
a huge assortment of kids belonging to Brett and Jen, Lisa and myself,
as well as nephews and nieces who sold raffle tickets for us throughout
the day and worked the canteen.
The following people are actively
supporting the Police MTB club as well as our fund raising venture
for Ronald McDonald House. Our wonderful sponsors are (no specific
order)É. Fox, Camelbak, Progrip, Red Bull, Woolworths, Giant Bicycles,
LJS bikes and Boards, Supreme bicycles, Spy goggles, Geoff Cartwright
excavations, Modern Group, Sebel Resort and Spa Hawkesbury, Commonwealth
Bank, Good Guys Blacktown, Felippe Recording studios and a special
thanks to Blacktown City Council. This council is endeavoring to
find us a permanent location to race quad on a regular basis, and
give Sydney it's first Quad specific track. So stay tuned to this
mag for updates on it's progress.
Thanking you
Senior Constable Dave Flood
Police Games Mountain Bike Co-ordinator.
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