Enduro

31
Jul
2015
Kempsey Rollercoaster

Kempsey Rollercoaster

It’s been a while since I have been out shooting any races but last weekend I was back at it under the guise of Outer Image. We were off to Kempsey to cover the fourth round of the Gravity Enduro Rollercoaster series.

Kempsey is about 5 hours north of Sydney so I decided to make a weekend of it and spend time camping at Hat Head National Park. This is one of my favourite campsites due to its stunning natural beauty and the fact that you set up camp among the kangaroos.

This year 2 more tracks were added to the course and another day of racing was added too. Day 1 was 2 tracks and then on the second day the tracks changed. There was a little bit of something for everyone in the tracks. I heard some say that there was too much pedaling in parts of the track while others said they loved those same sections for the rolling rides through the trees. The tracks were nowhere near as dusty as they were last year which although is good for the riders There was around 120 riders this time. Not such a big turn out for an enduro but considering its 5 hr drive from Sydney it was more than we expected. It’s a great track and good to see it’s expanded to include another 2 tracks this year.

Enjoy!!!

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
20
Apr
2015
A big weekend in the mountains

A big weekend in the mountains

I had a weekend down in Thredbo a couple of weeks ago. The 3rd round of the gravity enduro races followed by a big start to the season of downhill here in NSW.

Cold nights and warm days made for some great mtb weather in the Snowies over the weekend. Kicking off the weekend was the Rollercoaster on the Flow trail. Not a lot of overly technical sections on this trail but a lot of fast flowing berms. Gil took the lift up and covered the top half of the mountain while I walked up and shot the bottom section. The smooth fast berms saw a lot of folks coming in low as they flew past, laying into the berms as far as they could go.

Sunday saw the start of the DH season for us. Many familiar faces were out on track along with a lot of new ones. This time Gil and I swapped, me heading up top and Gil walking from the bottom. A cool breeze right up top meant I didn’t linger too long but quickly headed down to warmer climes. I tried revisiting a couple of old favourites on the way down but really wanted to shoot a new location. I settled in on a corner and the trees just above Snakes an Ladder and spent most of the race there just trying different angles.

Thredbo always puts on great races and its always a chance to get away for a few days before hand to explore the region. I’m already looking forward to our next visit down there.

All the images were supplied to the competitors for the Rollercoaster courtesy of Fox Racing Australia and BH Bikes. The downhill images were supplied by Redass.  Be sure and swing by their Facebook pages and say thanks. And of course to Rocky Trail Entertainment who brought it all together and put on yet another awesome weekend.

You can go and check out all the images in the gallery here. If you were a competitor in either race but didn’t get your password sent to you be sure and contact us so we can send you the password and you can download your free images.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
03
Mar
2015
Gravity Enduro Round 2: Del Rio

Gravity Enduro Round 2: Del Rio

 

Hot, dusty and mosquitoes is how I will remember last weekend’s Rollercoaster at Del Rio but also lots of fun. I said it before and I’ll say it again, dusty conditions may not make for the best of riding but they do make for good photographs.

Del Rio is out north west of Sydney near the town of Wiseman’s Ferry. Every time I go out there temperatures seem to be pushing up towards the 40C mark and this weekend was no exception. The hot conditions meant I was perspiring then sitting next to the track meant I got covered in dust.

It was quite a technical course in sections and I certainly saw a lot of people go down for a bit of a taste of the dirt. Thankfully all those that I saw jumped straight back up and rode off again.

The Rollercoaster series is probably my favourite to shoot at the moment as it is fast paced and challenging plus it offers riders a great range of courses. And with such a range means that we get to photograph a great range of obstacles.

 

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
29
Jan
2015
Gravity Enduro Rnd 1: Killingworth

Gravity Enduro Rnd 1: Killingworth

And so it begins again, race season…

Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Rollercoaster series kicked off on a scorcher of a day. The expectant temperature was 35C but the temperature readings on some Garmin GPS units read up to 44C. Plus it was one of those days when the sun just seemed brutal and unforgiving. It certainly had me looking for shade whenever I set up for a new shot.

The course, at Killingworth near Newcastle, is new on the circuit but an old track remembered by those who had been riding for a bit. Rocky Trail had set the race to run over 3 tracks, the Fox trail, the BH trail and the Gloryfy trail. For the sake of trying to ensure we got photos of everyone Gil and I took a track each and spent the day on it. Unfortunately this meant that we had to miss out on the Gloryfy trail, but then we need to save something for next time.

Already looking forward to the next round at Del Rio

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
07
Dec
2014
Jetblack 24hr

Jetblack 24hr

Last weekend was the Jetblack 24hr and Australian 24hr Solo Nationals, held at the wonderful Mt. Annan Botanical Gardens on the western side of Sydney. I was there with Gil and our company Outer Image Collective as the official photographers. For this race we also called in the help of the talented Michael Vettas from Vettas Media so as to free our hands for a bit more of a chance to shoot editorials.

This year a new section of track was incorporated into the loop which by the end of the race had turned to dust, not so good for the riders or cameras but great for atmosphere in the photos. The wonderful thing about shooting a 24 hr race is that you get to experience all types of light from the harsh midday sun to the black of night and the softness of sunrise ad sunset.

The Jetblack 24hr brings to an end the Enduro season for me this year. It has been a great season and has take me to some fantastic spots again this year. I am already looking forward to the kick off next year with the AMB100 in Stromlo.

Below are a few highlights of my shots from the race.

 

 

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
28
Oct
2014
Thule B24 in Bright, Victoria

Thule B24 in Bright, Victoria

Once again Gil and I hit the road as OuterImage, this time making our way down to the Victorian Alps. It was time  for the Thule B24 enduro at Bright. It’s the second year it has been running and word is getting around about the 24hr race and it’s trails, numbers were up on last year and this year almost 300 competitors registered for the race.

Gil and I arrived on the Thursday evening and scouted the course on the Friday. Although mainly the same course as last year there was a couple of changes to add in more single-track. The track runs out along the river before heading up into the pine forests on the mountainside above Bright. It dips into the pines of Treehugger before the return downhill through a flowing section called Gorilla Warfare and back out to run along the river again. Over the nights we stayed at some great lookout points in the surrounding mountains and rose early to catch sunrise photos.

Race day saw temperatures up into the 30’s and a few people dropping out for a few hours until things cooled again heading into the evening. Many soldiered on though and continued knocking out the laps. As night fell so too did the temperature though not to the same biting chill like the previous year. Lights came on but Gil and I continued to shoot into the night. Eventually Gil and I called it a night.

As Sunday dawned we got back into the shooting in some beautiful mountain light. As the sun rose and the temperature climbed again I made my way deeper into cooling shade of the trees around the river. As the temperature rose even further I actually made my way into the river and cooled down a bit whilst standing knee deep and shooting from there. I wasn’t alone as the race neared completion more and more competitors who had made their final run came down to cool off.

A huge congratulations to all those who competed and a big thank you from Gil and I to all those who helped organise such a wonderful event. Already looking forward to the next one.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, Sports