Have a FUN 2010!

Happy New Year 2010!

I have a feeling this is going to be a year of fun and adventure - begining with the annual (3rd year in a row) mountain bike road trip across to the big north island of Australia. In 9 days time I'll be on the big red ship, the Spirit of Tasmania, heading off to Melbourne to visit my son and daughter-in-law, then driving to Adelaide for the National Mountain Bike Championships, and then touring the Great Ocean Road on the way to Shepparton for the second round of the National Mountain Bike series. Quite a few Tassie mountain bike friends will also be making the pilgrimage so we can all have fun together getting fried in the heat, filthy from the flicked up dirt as we fly down flowy and fast tracks!!! Woohooo!

Later - road trip with bikes in the UK...

Live life to the full (John 10:10)

The last shall be first...

The last shall be first...(That's part of a Bible verse, New Testament somewhere)

I had such a fun day on Sunday at the first round of the Australian National Mountainbike Series at Glenorchy in Hobart, Tasmania. I still can't ride all of this track, but I can ride most of it. I was the slowest rider on the day but I was about 25 seconds faster than my previous best time at Glenorchy and I was the only 'crazy old lady' (as I told some of the boys as we lined up for the shuttle drive to the top of the track) in the Masters age group so I won. I was given an unexpected very loud cheer by the local crowd which was cool (thanks Leigh and Emma), when I got up on the podium to receive my medal (which they promptly took away when I got down! Pretty sure we are all getting engraved medals sent in the mail later, as they used the same 3 medals for all the presentations) We had fabulous perfect weather for the day, the atmosphere was great and so many people were very friendly and chatted to me and encouraged me in my riding. It was so cool! Thank you God! I am having so much fun! Can't wait for the National Championships is Adelaide next month.

Flooded and freezing

"I feel like I have puddles in my shoes and I've wet my pants" quoting myself.

Flooded and freezing describes today's riding at round 3 of the Tassie state series down in Hobart. I did a DNS - mainly to leave early and get my son into a hot shower as he was not dressed for the unexpected cold. Kinda wish I'd stayed and raced, but sometimes looking after family is more important.

Just did my online entry for Round 1 of the National Series - also in Hobart and only 2 weeks away - gulp!

FRAGILE

Fragile (painful) is how my shoulder was feeling last night after moving tables and chairs around at work. It's definitely not quite right. I think I have soft tissue damage from a couple of months ago - kinda like a sprain in my shoulder. Feels fragile after downhill riding too. But if you let a little fragility make you fearful of doing things and living life, you'll end up not living life to the full. Took a couple of nurofen and went riding this arvo - fun!

Fourth and first

Last Sunday was the second race of the state downhill series and I managed fourth and a personal best time for the big bad Glenorchy track. For the state series I have set myself two goals - to win the series and to get a faster time than last year on each track, so I am happy to have done that again.

I rode carefully as I was still sore and my confidence was down a little after falling hard twice on the same track while practicing two weeks previously. Glenorchy is very steep and technical, one of the most difficult downhill race tracks in Australia and it has tended to chew me up and spit me out - rather painful! But I'm not going to give up on it. I will have another go when the National Series comes to Tassie next month for the first race of the series.

The best thing about Sunday was hanging out with the three other girls who came to ride - very friendly and fun. It's great that they all encourage me and help me out even though I'm old enough to be their mum!

Another great thing was I have my first sponsor!! The Anaconda adventure store Hobart is sponsoring me this year which is really cool and fantastic. Here I am in a new jersey and gloves at Glenorchy. Their bike brand is called "Fluid - go with the flow" Love it! Anaconda's tag line is "the adventure starts here" and it really did for me. I had not heard of mountain biking until Anaconda opened their first store around the corner from where I was living in Melbourne in 2004. Joel decided to spend all his Christmas money that year buying his first mountain bike from Anaconda and things went from there - a great and continuing adventure!

First but not first but still faster

First race of the season - perfect fantastic fine weather, track in perfect fabulous condition, lots fun riding fast but I just could not quite beat those legs 30 years younger than me. I came second, just four seconds behind the young one. But, I did manage to be faster (15 seconds faster)than my previous time on the Wyena track so I'm happy!!

Future of mountain biking in my part of the world

Forming - a new mountain bike club in north west Tasmania. We have a website at www.nwtassiemtb.blogspot.com and an email: nwtassiemtb@gmail.com

First - time I have ever been on a club committee.

Future - we are planning to get a world class mountain bike park in the Dial Ranges

Fun in the dirt - there is going to be lots of this

Friends - a great opportunity to make new riding buddies

FAN THE FLAMES!

In 2 Tim 1, Paul tells young Timothy to "fan into flames the gift of God that is in you" which can be roughly translated as 'use it or lose it'. 'Use it or lose it' used to be the slogan for an arthritus campaign to keep people exercising to keep joints moving and slow down the progress of arthritis. How appropriate, then, that at the ''oldish' age of 45 I started mountain biking, and after some prayer, at the age of 46, decided to give downhill mountainbike racing a serious go. Most people my age are slowing down, but I'm speeding up!! One of the reasons I do it is because I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me the good fit healthy body that I have and I think it would be a sin not to use it to its fullest - ie. "fan into flames the gift of God". The mountain bike season has started and I am already having lots of fun riding my local tracks especially the Paloona Playground. I am so looking forward to the first race in 2 weeks time. This year I've decided to race the Tassie state series again, and the National Championships in Adelaide in January (gotta defend my title, ay?), and I will also do as many National Series races as I can afford to get to. This year I will have at least one sponsor to help me out - Anaconda Adventure Stores have come on board which is very cool because if they hadn't opened their first store around the corner from where I was living in Melbourne at the time in 2004, Joel and I never would have found out about mountain biking - true. I'd never heard of it until then. So, I'm going to fan the flames of riding fast - it's so much fun! Faith+fast=fun!! Yippee!

FAST FRENCH FEMALES

The World Mountainbike Championships have just finished in Canberra. French females won both the Junior and elite Womens titles. I've met Emmiline Ragot, the winner of the womens title and she is very nice and really deserved her win. Freecaster.tv showed all the elite females runs, and Emmiline was just so frigging fast and flowing and full-on. It was very special to watch. FANTASTICLY FAST!!! For a really good coverage of all the female action at the worlds go to http://www.marthahucker.com/

FREE time when not riding...

Furry friends and favourite fiction

Fun walking in God's fine creation with great friends at Wineglass Bay at Freycinet National Park on Tassie's east coast

F WORDS - GOOD AND BAD

Good f words - Friends, having fun, riding fast! Had a great time on Saturday riding with friends at our local trail, until...

Bad f words - flat tyres. I'm fed up with flat tyres. In my two years of downhilling I've only ever had one flat tyre until this weekend when I had two!! First one was on the trail. Something knocked the valve clean out of my front tube! Second one was the front trye again after I'd fixed the first one. And all I'd done was ride around the backyard a couple of times! Aaaagghhh!

FACES

"The Changing Face of Downhill"

Revolution, issue 17, p44-45

The latest issue of the Aussie mtb mag, Revolution, has a fantastic 2 page spread of 3 pretty teenage females who raced the Aussie downhill series and championships last year. I watched these girls at 3 of these races. They were pretty and cool! Off track they are just like any other teenage girls. On the track they are pure downhillers. I might be at the opposite end of life to these girls but I'd like to think we are part of the changing face of downhill. The more female faces seen on the tracks and in the mags (riding bikes not draped over them wearing almost nothing), the better. Come on girls! Just get on a bike and do it! It's fun!

The above pics were taken by my son Joel Brady.

Top: Em Hockey at Mt Buller

Bottom: Jaz Rosa at Genorchy, Hobart

FUN FUTURE

Australian Mountain Bike mag., July 2009, page 10.

There is a photo of a rider dropping off a 2m high ramp. Nothing special about that, except that the rider is female and 65!! Wow! Ursula Berchtold has a job guiding people down Thredbo's downhill run and she holidays in Whistler - lucky lady. And she sure doesn't look 65.

Being fairly new to downhilling, I have often wondered how long I can keep doing it - "at my age". Well, if Ursula can do it at 65, that gives me at least another 17 years - fabulous! That will make me one very grateful gravity granny! What a fun future retirement to look forward to. Go Ursula!

FAITH, FAST, FUN

Went riding today. One of the boys noticed the writing on my shorts and asked me about it. I told him that you need faith to do this kind of riding (especially true in my case), and you need to go fast. If you have faith and go fast then you'll have fun. He told me I should get that as a tatoo. "It's be hell gnarly!" :)

Flying NZ holiday

Just returned from a flying 3 weeks in kiwi land. Unfortunately, it was partly work related but here are a few bike related photos.

What my local bike shop, Derrico's, should do for their next van.

A new stock line for Derrico's -- sustainable ride-on mower.

Riding at Rotorua. Imagine - towering redwood pine forest, groomed trails loaded with berms and jumps, and a shuttle service! One heavenly Sunday!!

Thanks Zombiefrog and Bike Vegas - couldn't have done it without your help.

Riding with sheep in the Port Hills at Christchurch. How much more New Zealandish could you get?

Next time - take my own bike and gear to Queenstown!
1. Coronet Peak, up the chairlift and down, and up and down, etc. etc.
2. Skippers Canyon with shuttle
3. Up the Gondola and down the downhill track
4. Explore Seven Mile Creek
5. Heli-biking at The Remarkables
Oooooh Yeahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FALL (Autumn)

I'm thanking my Father for a fantastic summer of riding. I've had more fun and faced more fear than I've experienced for a long time! And learned I have to find more faith. There is such a sense of freedom and fulfillment in being able to ride fast and flowy down a mountain, and sharing it with friends tops it off. Yesterday was the last race for the Tassie downhill mountain bike season. I had fun with friends on the slopes of Mt Wellington as freezing showers blew down the mountain. Winter is coming - time to get an exercise bike in front of the telly and the heater.

FAITH WORKS!

I prayed. I pedalled. I came first in the final race of the Tassie downhill series and first in the series overall for the females. Woohoo! What a fantastic first season of racing for me - a national championship and a state series win! Faith + fast = fun!!!!

FITNESS OR FASHION?

I am fed-up!

Recently I've had quite a few people telling me I've lost weight - which for some women might be a great complement, but for me it's not, as they are usually implying I am too thin. In the last six months I've dropped from 56kg to about 53kg. I wasn't fat to begin with, but now I have even less fat but more muscle. It's starting to get a little annoying. I'm having trouble finding pants to fit me as I'm too small. And people keep telling me I need to fatten up to look better. Finally, the guy at my local bike shop told me I was too skinny as I was asking him about hiring an exercise bike for those winter months when it's too cold and too dark in Tassie to get outside to ride before or after work, which I enjoy on our fabulously long summer days. So - I thought - what's more important - fitness or fashion? Should I fatten up to look good and risk losing my fitness? I feel good being this light and fit. I am fitter than I have ever been in my 47 years. And it is all thanks to faith and downhill mountain biking!

Fitness or fashion? - the answer is easy - FITNESS!! It's much more fun and combined with faith, helps me go faster!

MY FRIENDS - THE FLYING FLATMATES

My friends, Leigh and Emma, from Hobart came 1st and 2nd in the fifth and final round of the Australian National Downhill Mountainbike series on Sunday first March!!! And first and third in the series over all. YAY!! PTL! Well done girls.

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/03/02/58771_sport-news.html

These girls are such an inspiration for me. They are always supportive and encouraging me to ride and race. I love them! And they deserve the success they'd had this season.

ANOTHER FORTYISH FEMALE FLYER!

So nice to know I'm no the only over forty female having a 'mid-life' crisis, confronting fear to enter the crazy world of downhilling. Check out this cool blog post:

http://minxcompendium.blogspot.com/2009/02/end-of-hibernation-start-of-my-mid-life.html

FIRST! at the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships

Woohoo! I'm a national champion! OK - I'll admit I had no competition in my Masters Women class at the Australian National Championships on the Australia Day long weekend at Mt Stromlo in Canberra, but I well and truly earned my title! I have the bruises to prove it - lots and lots of them! My time was quite respectable considering I had a big crash and couldn't find my bike for a few seconds as it had catapulted up a bank on the side of the track about 5 metres away from where I landed. Lots of Tassie friends were there riding too and it was great to hang out with them, and with Emmaline Ragot - a top pro rider from France who won the Elite Womens race. I have a nice shiny gold medal to take home as a holiday souvineer! Hallelujah!

FUN!!! AT MT BULLER

Soooo much FUN!!! 2 full days of flying down the Abom track was fun, fun, fun!!















Had a few goes at riding the International track too, but that has some real hard sections - have to find some more faith to ride all of that one! I held back while riding it as I didn't want to fall and fracture anything right at the start of our mountain biking holiday. After all, what would be the point of a mountain biking holiday if I can't mountain bike for all of it, ay?

Looking forward to 3 days of riding Thredbo starting tomorrow. Can't wait!!Yippee!!

FLOATING

Floating across Bass Strait on the way to Melbourne tomorrow night!! - on the way to 3 weeks of fast fun on downhill mountain tracks on the mainland - yay!! Hope I don't fry as it is going to be hot hot in Melbourne, but hopefully will be cooler in the early mornings and up in the highlands when we ride there. Looking forward to meeting up with friends in Canberra and Mt Buller. Should be fun fun fun!! Have to remember to use my faith to keep the fear away on the frightening tracks and just go fast, be safe and have fun!!
FAITH - FAST - FUN!!

Females only!

www.marthahucker.com

Here's a cool new fun website for female bike riders only! Feel free to explore and sign up to the forum, but only it you're female!