In This Issue
News Bite #1
T-SHIRTS
We ordered additional shirts for sale at the event, but these sold out very quickly. Based on your requests, we have decided to do another run just so those who missed out have a chance to grab one. Go to the SHOP
News Bite #2
THOSE TROPHIES
The Mont trophies were talked about, picked up, played with and photographed repeatedly. You can read about them HERE
News Bite #3
LOST PROPERTY
We've had a variety of items handed in ranging from power boards and lights through to phones, clothing and even a sleeping bag. Contact us to describe what you are missing and perhaps we can help. Items unclaimed after 14 days will be donated to Vinnies.
News Bite #4
MASSAGE AT THE MONT
Huge thanks go to Mary-Claire and her team from Life Personal Fitness for massaging non-stop through the Mont. An awesome effort that was appreciated by all - well done.
News Bite #5
THUMBS UP FROM
THE WONDER WOMEN
Thanks for a super weekend! We may not have been the fastest but boy had some laughs! This was the first Mont for all of my team mates and my 2nd. Our team - Wonder Women - consisted of 2 women from Melbourne, 2 from Canberra and 2 from Sydney. It was a massive undertaking just getting to the event but we all made it despite, busy jobs, kids, full time study and health issues. Two team members were seriously hassled by a few idiots on the track – I don’t know how you keep these guys out of it – I know you try... Despite that and 1 team member having to fit her laps around breast feeding her 5 month old baby (Leonardo - our team mascot) we achieved many personal goals and had huge fun. Thanks for the opportunity, thanks for a fantastic track and all your hard work putting it on.
Thanks a million.
Juliemma
News Bite #6
STAY IN THE LOOP!If you have missed any of our Newsletters, you can view them HERE.
News Bite #7
THANKYOU RACE CREW!
An event of this scale is impossible without the fantastic commitment of our volunteer Race Crew members. Your effort was simply outstanding. Sure, the roads turned to porridge on the first night, but did that dampen your spirits? Nope. Sure the Rego Tent was a swirling dust storm during the first day, but did that cloud your thinking? Nope. You all handled your tasks with great skill, determination and enthusiasm and we'd like to acknowledge you. Thank you and please, if you missed out on a shirt or hat etc. get in touch with Raynie. She has something for you.
News Bite #8
RIDE THE BIRD IN 2010!
Keep checking back at the event web site to ensure you one of the early birds when entries open. Until then, enjoy whatever events you are involved in.
News Bite #9
THOSE CROCS!
Surprisingly, no-one was taken by the many crocs that inhabit Sparrow Hill waterways. It was close though, with reports coming back early in the race that one rider mis-judged the corner into Brown Water and found himself in the dam and face to face with a big-un. He got out OK. Quick thinking and a bribe of a pocket full of GU and Endura bars saw this rider back on the trail and enjoying the racing unscathed.
This is just a quick word of thanks to those who came down to 'Fly the Bird' last weekend. We've had a lot of email, SMS and phone calls over the last week and judging by the feedback, it seems you all had a fabulous time. Thanks to those people who contacted us by the way and also to those nice folk who came up at the end of the race to say how much they liked the event. It means a lot to us. It's a big job running a Mont, but it is all worthwhile when there's smiles all round.
Thank you also goes to all campers for doing a great job of
cleaning up your campsites too. We only needed a quick run around
picking up the odd stray item once we'd finished the pull-out on
Monday... THANKYOU. After that, we were off home for our first shower
in about a week. We're really impressed that the venue looks so good
considering there was quite a large number of people there over the weekend.
We enjoyed hosting the event, and of course, we're primed to get you all down to Ride the Bird again for
2010, so mark your calendar for around the end of March/early April.
Al, Dave and the rest of the Mont 24 Race Crew
Hi everybody, I hope every one has recovered and you are all enjoying the Easter holidays. What a great race the Mont 24 was. I loved it. It seems somewhat strange that only last weekend we were all camped in a paddock, sharing a Mont experience.
As soon as Paul Cole took me around and showed me his plans for the course many months ago I knew you would all love the course, a riders course, fun for the neophytes and hard and fast for the racers. Of course there is far more to an "event" of this nature than just the course and all the other elements worked so well. During race briefing I asked who was a first time Mont rider and more than half of the riders put their hands up. Apart from surprising me with the numbers, it heartened me to see so many new riders join the race and from the comments received post race you all loved it. All this last week, the feedback has been positive, from a group of mums who had to work out lap times in order to schedule baby feeds, to a group of young school kids who raced their hearts out, through to our sponsors who loved the energy and atmosphere of the main camping area. I walked and rode the course on Friday and can report back that the track held up well, what was exciting was the riders who were also out there riding the course again and raving about the race.
A race of this size with as many laps completed as you did is not without incident and even though I had to put my "cranky hat" on occasionally in regards to overtaking, all in all counting the 450 riders on course for the 24 hours, the number of bad incidents were low. However they are not excusable. To the riders who want to bully their way around the course, we will not tolerate it. We have already started planning next years race, with some new innovations to make the race even safer, these may include rear number plates for all riders, helmet cams being worn out on course with random riders and more marshals. We may even produce some training info on passing.
All in all Mont 24/09 was a huge success and a great experience, thanks for participating, I look forward to meeting you all at the Mont 24 Hour Race in 2010.
The BOM warning was clear enough as the afternoon wore on... there would be some rain. The reports became ominous later in the day of course and we passed the info out over the PA. A huge storm was rolling it's merry way toward the Mont and it was time to batten down the hatches. About 57 seconds into The Velvet Action's first set, the heavens opened up with an absolute deluge.
It didn't seem to bother many people though, the band started playing again after the heavy rain passed and people got into the groove. We were busy though, as the roads quickly turned to mush and made driving into and around the venue super interesting until the very early hours.
Huge thanks go to Paul Cole for selecting a simply brilliant track. People will be talking about this one for a while and it's clear we also owe the guy at the bureau a case of beer for the drop of rain he organised for Friday night too. It turned an excellent track into something sublime. I was lucky enough to do a lap late on Saturday night and was amped at how tacky and fun the track was... a shame I couldn't keep lapping. By all accounts it stayed that way right through the race.
It's important to note that all the tracks at Sparrow are this good, so make a weekend of it and come back down to ride every single one.
How did it hold up? We did a quick circuit of the course on Friday morning (to pick up a bit of rubbish... GU wraps etc) and can say that the course is looking great. It seems barely affected by all the tyres that rolled over it during the Mont. A corner in Spaghetti Western and another after Cole Shute needs a bit of attention, but that's pretty much it.
See you all next year.
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