Emus Online
Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.
Event Report: Vic MTBO Series #1, Korweinguboora (Rob Edmonds)
Sunday morning was humid and warm. Campers enjoyed a warm night and were late getting up; just beating the first of the Nillumbik Emus club helpers arriving from Melbourne and Geelong, at around 8 o’clock. The assembly area was very pleasant, with plenty of shade from the tall pines and neatly mown grass verges for parking. The use of hole-in-the-ground toilets and control cards was also a blast from the past.
There were 64 riders, about what was expected. A few riders had gone to NSW to compete in an NOL foot event, but there was good representation across all classes. One rider came down from Queensland and another from South Australia, especially for this event. The national selection trials will be held in similar terrain after Easter, so it was good practice.
There were plenty of muddy sections to keep everyone on their toes. Tracks were good where they were dry, but record rainfalls guaranteed that every wheel rut and pot hole was full of water. March Flies enjoyed competing with the riders; there was no getting away from them in the forest. The courses were challenging physically and navigationally and fortunately most riders finished the course before the deluge, not so fortunate for the control collectors and the packing up. Plenty of spills were reported but thankfully there were no reported injuries. Bike repairers and massage therapists are set for a bonus.
The organisers would have liked the storm to have held off for a couple more hours. There’ll be lots of drying and airing of equipment over the next few days.
I would like to thank those members who helped out, especially Sue Healy, Helen Schofield, Paul and Dorothy Adrian who helped with set up and admin without having a ride. Thanks also to Phil Giddings, Ron Frederick, Kevin Maloney, Geoff Armstrong, Joyce Rowlands and Helen Edmonds who gave willingly of their time.
Nillumbik Emus 