2021 Scenic Rim Gravity Series Kooralbyn, QLD 

I had only been in Australia for a few weeks and only a couple rides on my Intense Cycles Carbine when I had stumbled across a local enduro race about an hour away from my place on the Gold Coast. Am I fit? No, am I completely settled here in Australia?  No, but I couldn’t think of anything better than getting out between the tape with the locals and seeing what the local Mtb scene has to offer. 

Saturday I drove out to the venue Kooralbyn Valley MTN Bike Park to pre-ride the stages and get a lay of the land so I would know what to expect on Sunday. Luckily for me I had a good friend and local bad ass on a bike by the name of Stu Cali who let me tag along with him. Stu is an absolute animal so being able to follow him down the stages was a great way for me to understand the speed of the “fast guys” in the local scene. It was hard to adjust to all of the trees and soil compared to southern California scene, but overall the wheels are round and you need to just let off the brakes right?. It was the last day of summer here in Australia and it was hot and humid! I made sure I used my Ryno Power hydration and electrolytes all day to make sure I didn’t bonk and get dehydrated on the day making race day even harder. 

Race day was here, and I was excited to meet up with Peter carpenter from Intense Cycles Australia. It was our first event as a team and it was exciting introducing the market to the 2021 Intense mission. The 5 stage race had some technical rock sections, fun drops, jumps, flowy berms and some single track that took some pedaling, but it was a course where the best all around rider was going to shine at the end of the day. I was fortunate enough to be able to ride with my buddy Stu and his crew of friends all day. We stayed together laughing, talking shit, and pushing each other to be our best on the day. For the crew to welcome me in, and treat me like one of the locals made me feel like I was at home in SoCal with my friends doing what I love and that’s sharing the love of riding. The only difference now is I’m starting all over and building new friendships that will drive me to be my best on and off the bike. 

I had an absolute blast and was asked multiple times how it compared to the races in Southern California? Well it was very similar as far as the effort and difficulty of the race but the timing and scoring is way better at this event. At this event you have an wrist band that you scan over a beaker and then you start your run right away, so you don’t need a scoring person taking notes like the races in California.  You can also do race runs as many times as you want in case you made a mistake on your first pass, and to top it off when you drop in for your runs you can go one after another like a party run with you friends if you wish. I like this because wea aren’t out here looking for money or a factory ride! We just want a great experience. Speaking of experiences how about getting a Zuper Dooper at the top of one of the stages for a little sugar rush. That’s a “otter pop” in America

When the dust settled after 5 grueling stages I was safe, crash free and took home the win in masters 40-49 class and 6th overall in overall times, but most important I had one hell of a good time. Such a good time in fact that I’m joining the crew I rode with on trip to Tasmania later this week for the EWS qualifier. Thank you to the promoter On the Edge Events for putting on an amazing event and all the racers who made me feel welcome in their local scene. I hope to get more engrained week by week. Look for me under the Intense Cycles tent at race soon ams come say Hi!

Photos provided by: Set In Stone Photography

Equipment used on the weekend

Bike: Intense Cycles Carbine

Tire: Maxxis Assagia front and rear

Shorts: Airmatic           Jersey: Celium           Goggle: Armega        Glove:  Sling             Helmet: Bell 

Nutrition: Ryno Power

Strava Stats