Travelling the world as a professional mountain bike rider and racer is a dream job.
We have the privilege of visiting some incredible locations all over the world that many mountain bikers dream to ride and many people dream to visit. We all have our favourite spots and events that have the best loam, sickest jumps, fast flowy single track and high speed straightaways… In saying all that, THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME. And now my hometown of Wollongong is on the verge of legalising its trail network to put itself on the map of mountain bike meccas to visit.
A huge amount of work has been done to get this project to the point it’s at now. Legalizing mountain biking on the Illawarra escarpment has been talked about for years now, well before I even got into mountain biking, and now as we step into 2019 the opportunity is right in front of us and we have put our best foot forward to make it happen.
Dirt Art have been working behind the scenes with Destination Wollongong, Wollongong City Council, National Parks and Wildlife and the Illawarra mountain bike alliance to come up with an 85km trail network that spans across Mount Keira to Mount Kembla with future possibilities ready and waiting in the wings. What this means to me is hard to put into words. To see my backyard trails that I ride and train on every day become legal and allow further development of trails and the mountain bike audience is breathtaking.
This story is from the Issue 53 2019 edition of Revolution MTB.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 53 2019 edition of Revolution MTB.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How To Whip How To Instructional
Have you heard the news? Australia’s hottest rising star on the gravity front, Dan Booker, has recently signed a deal to ride for nuke proof bikes’ with global support!
Diaries Of A Professional Trail Fairy
Well hello, my name is Baxter and welcome to the first edition of my brand- new regular column right here in [R]evo Mag. Each issue I will be aiming to tell stories that give insight into the world of trail building as I see it.
Rocky Mountain Instinct Carbon 70
If you’ve been following the mag over the years you’ll know that rocky mountain’s are a definite favourite amongst our staff here at [r]evo.
PEAK AROUSAL
HERE HAS BEEN ONE KEY QUESTION WHICH ALWAYS INTRIGUES ME ABOUT ATHLETES AND HOW THEY PERFORM AT THEIR VERY BEST WHEN THE PRESSURE IS AT IT’S GREATEST, AND THAT IS, WHAT GETS THEM AMPED UP? WHAT GETS THEM INTO ‘THAT ZONE’ MENTALLY WHERE THEY’RE ABLE TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES AND NET THE BEST RESULTS?
RAISING CHAMPIONS THE A'HERN
LET’S MEET THE A’HERNS; THERE’S MUM AND DAD, OTHERWISE KNOWNS AS JEN AND NICK (A DUAL COMMONWEALTH GAMES GOLD MEDALIST AND TRIPLE OLYMPIAN IN HIS OWN RIGHT!) AND THEN THERE’S THE KIDS, BROTHER KYE (19) WHO’S A JUNIOR WORLD CHAMP AND MULTI-NATIONAL CHAMP, AND THEN OF COURSE THERE’S SISTER SIAN (22) WHO HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNISABLE FACES IN AUSTRALIA WOMAN’S CYCLING, A MULTIPLE-NATIONAL CHAMP AND OCEANIA CHAMP.
THE BEST BRAKES ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW? GROUP TEST WITH NO DEFINITIVE CONCLUSION.
ASK ANY RIDER AND THEY’LL ALMOST CERTAINLY TELL YOU OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS THAT MAKE UP A BIKE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IS A SET OF BRAKES THAT PERFORM REALLY WELL AND MOST IMPORTANT ‘FEEL’ JUST RIGHT.
SUPPLY CHAIN PAIN
A KIN TO A LOT OF YOU OUT THERE WE’VE RECENTLY FOUND OURSELVES SWINGING BY OUR LOCAL BIKE STORE TO STOCK UPON A FEW PARTS AHEAD OF OUR PLANNED TRAIL ADVENTURES, ONLY TO FIND, EMPTY RACKS AND SHELVES? IS THIS THE NEW VERSION OF LAST YEAR’S SUPERMARKET TOILET PAPER PANIC BUYING? WHERE HAVE ALL THE BIKES, BRAKE PADS, TIRES AND EVERYTHING ELSE GONE? WITH AROUND A 30% INCREASE IN BIKE SALES ACROSS AUSTRALIA (AND THE WORLD) DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS ALONE, BIKES HAVE BEEN FLYING OUT THE DOOR THE SAME DAY THAT THEY ARRIVE… WANT A NEW BIKE? GET READY TO WAIT. THIS TIME LAST YEAR THE PRE-ORDER WAITING LISTS FROM MOST BRANDS FOR POPULAR BIKES WAS AVERAGING 1-3 MONTHS, NOW, IT’S BLOWING OUT TO ANYWHERE FROM 6 MONTHS TO A FULL YEAR! IT’S CRAZY. IT’S SCARY. IT SUCKS. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE BIKE INDUSTRY IS ON OUR SIDE AND BRANDS ARE DOING THEIR VERY BEST RIGHT NOW TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO TURN IT AROUND.
INDUSTRY AU
IN THIS EDITION OF INDUSTRY.AU WE’RE CHECKING IN WITH ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LATEST AND MOST EXCITING COMPONENT FABRICATORS WHO ARE PRODUCING SOME REALLY INTERESTING AND INNOVATIVE GEAR FROM THEIR ADELAIDE WORKSHOP.
PIVOT 2021
WHEN IT COMES TO PICKING YOUR NEXT DREAM BIKE IN A PACKAGE THAT PERFECTLY SUITS THE STYLE OF RIDING THAT YOU LOVE MOST, YOU REALLY ARE GOING TO FIND YOURSELF UTTERLY SPOILT FOR CHOICE WITH PIVOT’S LATEST OFFERINGS.
AUS CYCLING 2021 DH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
FOLLOWING THE CRAZY YEAR OR CONFUSION AND CANCELATIONS THAT WAS 2020, THE VIBE FOR THIS YEAR’S AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL DOWNHILL MTB CHAMPS WAS ALL ABOUT A ‘NEW YEAR, NEW ME’ ATTITUDE. FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME WE GOT TO SEE THE COUNTRY’S BEST GRAVITY RIDERS BATTLING FOR NATIONAL TITLES AT THE ULTIMATE VENUE FOR SUCH AN EVENT, MAYDENA!
