holy snapping duckshit batman! this thread is way long. too many things that people said to remember to comment about.
here goes my dollar worth:
Track was good by the end. I rode it from the friday morning in the rain, right up to the elite finals, and every run the track got better. dust id good. when describing a track as better, its a personal opininion. the opinions are derived from the individuals experiences of enjoying other tracks they have ridden. all depends on what you ride all the time. those of you that rode PP and have ridden my trails, you will know they are worlds apart. my race results reflect this abit.
first few runs on friday i discovered alot of the trash talk about the track from the weeks leading to the event were true, but i got over it. the track was hard. you needed to be on your game to get down it fast. i dont think riding a mtx bike would be faster, unless you always ride one. there were some pretty hard hits and nasty rocks getting exposed. never have i seen so much wheel destruction at a race before.
the uphill wasnt so bad, cos it only went for 10 or so metres at a time. if you cant get up it, learn to dial the previous section so you can smash the uphill easy. was a challenge trying to pedal upto the switchback, then having to turn on a dime, but its not like it was unfair, it was the same track for everyone. peoples problems with the track empasise the problems with their ridng ability/diversity. learn it, love it and enjoy yourself. otherwise you just get angry and no one likes a sook.
the venue as far as im concerned was a 9 out of ten. the only way they missed the ten was the size of the mountains they had to use, and the distance between the parpark/pickup point and the pit area. but really, you dont need swiss alps for a good track, nor does it matter if you have to pedal 5mins to get to the bus. ive been to races with worse pit layouts. there was unlimited parking, proper showers/toilets, a full blown kiosk, taps with hoses everywhere, etc. .awesome.
the buses were very efficient, due to the shuttle road, but also to the trash talking of PP prior to the event resulting in the less than standard state round turnout. props to the bus drivers for helping with loading the trailers and actually knowing what was going on.
anyway, i had fun, even though i snapped myself in practise. props to boyer and the boys for making the most out of the hill, props to bikeshed mortdale for their affordable mech support (even if their raffle was rigged
), and the wsmtb dudes for making everything run smoothly. the 88.0FM was a really good idea, we should definatley see that at future races, along with the hot redbull girls, for the free redbull of course!
congrats to seato for his movie, very good job, good techniques and editing, I rate this movie highly. well done man!
congrats also to brad kelly, must be like his 12th state race in a row undefeated! you are a freak mate.
yeeoow!