WRT
8th May 2006, 09:40
Figured seeing as its only 5 mins down the road that I had better make the effort and check this place out. Me and a mate went down there on Saturday morning for a couple of hours, and gave it a bit of a blast. This was my first outing on an MX track, and we chose a pretty muddy day to do it. There had been some doubt that the track would even open, but after talking to the guy (contact details available in Cary's thread here (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=27738)) on the morning they made the decision to open so we loaded up and headed on down there.
I dont have a lot to compare this to, but general impressions were pretty good. There were only three other riders when we got there, allowing us to explore the track and get a good feel for it. The main track has about 10 jumps of various sizes, one proper set of whoops (fairly small, probably around 8 in total), and a small rough straight (looks like they tried to make whoops here and failed). There is a couple of other sections where it looks like they tried to make more whoops, including one small section that you can clear by launching off a small jump if your keen.
There is also a smaller, tighter track off to one side, with only around 5 jumps. Not sure if it was intended to be a kids track, but it'd be a fairly advanced one if so. Picking your lines round it can be tricky, as its very much "one lane" for most of it, and there are a couple of jumps that if you hit too hard you will over shoot the track, which I wound up doing once or twice. On this track, I found it much faster (but way less fun) to keep out of powerband (the CR has a somewhat savage powerband, even for a 2/250), the track was just too tight to do it justice except on the short straights. A more experienced MX'er probably would probably be able to hit it all a lot harder, but for me, slow, steady and smooth equaled quicker lap times. Hitting powerband involved quite a few, er, "detours" from the correct line, but did result in me grinning from ear to ear within the helmet.
The major drawback for the area though is draining, or lack there of. The main track had some pretty deep puddles in it, and most of the lead ups to the jumps were very wet and rutted, making it hard to get a decent run up. Most wouldnt be a problem to an experienced racer, but with me just being an amature, I found it difficult to get a "flow" going on when you are running through footpeg deep puddles. The smaller track, being on higher ground, didnt have as many problems, with only two areas where there was water on the track, and in both cases it was quite shallow and easy to navigate.
However, as the day progressed, most of us were picking the same lines through the ruts and puddles, meaning that a well worn track started to emerge that would allow you to get some good pace into the jumps. I was never able to hit them all hard enough to fully clear the tabletops, I think it would take a dry track and big kahunas to do so. But in the end, I was landing a good three quarters along the tabletops, and starting to string some of the jumps together into a smooth flow (until reaching the next deep puddle that is).
All in all, it was a good days riding down there. We came away completely caked in mud, and drenched from head to toe including water in our boots. Its hard not to get a grin going on, and its fantastic practice for jumps. I just havent had that many jumps packed into such a short space before, so it was doing wonders for my confidence and ability.
Can highly recommend it down there, but a drier day would have been beneficial for learning on!
I dont have a lot to compare this to, but general impressions were pretty good. There were only three other riders when we got there, allowing us to explore the track and get a good feel for it. The main track has about 10 jumps of various sizes, one proper set of whoops (fairly small, probably around 8 in total), and a small rough straight (looks like they tried to make whoops here and failed). There is a couple of other sections where it looks like they tried to make more whoops, including one small section that you can clear by launching off a small jump if your keen.
There is also a smaller, tighter track off to one side, with only around 5 jumps. Not sure if it was intended to be a kids track, but it'd be a fairly advanced one if so. Picking your lines round it can be tricky, as its very much "one lane" for most of it, and there are a couple of jumps that if you hit too hard you will over shoot the track, which I wound up doing once or twice. On this track, I found it much faster (but way less fun) to keep out of powerband (the CR has a somewhat savage powerband, even for a 2/250), the track was just too tight to do it justice except on the short straights. A more experienced MX'er probably would probably be able to hit it all a lot harder, but for me, slow, steady and smooth equaled quicker lap times. Hitting powerband involved quite a few, er, "detours" from the correct line, but did result in me grinning from ear to ear within the helmet.
The major drawback for the area though is draining, or lack there of. The main track had some pretty deep puddles in it, and most of the lead ups to the jumps were very wet and rutted, making it hard to get a decent run up. Most wouldnt be a problem to an experienced racer, but with me just being an amature, I found it difficult to get a "flow" going on when you are running through footpeg deep puddles. The smaller track, being on higher ground, didnt have as many problems, with only two areas where there was water on the track, and in both cases it was quite shallow and easy to navigate.
However, as the day progressed, most of us were picking the same lines through the ruts and puddles, meaning that a well worn track started to emerge that would allow you to get some good pace into the jumps. I was never able to hit them all hard enough to fully clear the tabletops, I think it would take a dry track and big kahunas to do so. But in the end, I was landing a good three quarters along the tabletops, and starting to string some of the jumps together into a smooth flow (until reaching the next deep puddle that is).
All in all, it was a good days riding down there. We came away completely caked in mud, and drenched from head to toe including water in our boots. Its hard not to get a grin going on, and its fantastic practice for jumps. I just havent had that many jumps packed into such a short space before, so it was doing wonders for my confidence and ability.
Can highly recommend it down there, but a drier day would have been beneficial for learning on!