XCO Series – Anstey Hill
Mountain bike racing has finally resumed with the Adelaide Mountain Bike Club scheduling the XCO series due to kick off at Anstey Hill in the north east of Adelaide on June 28. Many years ago I attended a couple of races at Prospect Hill, a couple at Fox Creek (Cudlee Creek), one race at Craigburn Farm near Blackwood, one race at Mount Torrens and a few races at my least favourite location, Eagle Mountain near Crafers. I’ve never ridden at Anstey Hill so it will be all new and exciting for me. The XCO series is not my favourite event, being a little too intense and sharing the track with pros, semi pros and very serious enthusiasts can be quite nerve wracking. I have found that the enduro 4 and 6 hour events attract a much more mellow and relaxed crowd. If my ageing 26er is up to it its going to be great to put my new healthy lifestyle to the test with a new competitive edge. As I’ve said previously, I’m not a competitive person but my new goal is to see what this 40 something body is actually capable of. What better way to do it that organised bike racing. I’ve checked out some previous race results for Anstey Hill and it looks like the D Grade Mens (3 laps) will be around 1 hour of racing. Judging from my last XCO event all those years ago where I don’t recall finishing and regularly pulling over for serious bikers, I think D grade will suit me well. My aim is to ride as hard as I can for an hour and not finish last.
Getting the bike ready
after cleaning up my trusty 26 inch hardtail and checking the chain wear for the first time (quite a few years late), I discovered that the drivetrain was well past it and in need of either a replacement cassette and chain or an upgrade. I have enjoyed my full XTR groupset and I think it was well worth forking out the extra dollars for ease of use. My gears have always just worked as they are supposed to and I don’t recall ever needing to make adjustments. I did, however, fail to keep up with the maintenance and also didn’t prepare for the future by purchasing extra chains and cassettes. Unfortunately parts for 10speed XTR are no longer available so an upgrade is in order if at all possible. With a little encouragement from my friend Stefan who’s more knowledgeable than I and who knows I’m partial to going a little overboard with gear, the 1×11 groupset challenge was set. So I promptly headed to BMCR to see what master bike mechanic, Pete, had to say about the matter. As it turns out 1×11 is no longer available so Pete suggested some 1×12 options which included some fancy Shimano XTR parts – I think I’ll hold off on full XTR at this stage to see if I stick with the trusty 26 inch or are tempted to upgrade the wheel size with a totally new bike. Anyway, whilst I wait for parts to arrive I’ll be grinding away at my worn out groupset for the first and possibly even the second XCO race. I’m now eagerly awaiting a new 12 speed XTR derailleur, XTR 12 speed shifter, DT Swiss Rotor kit, XT 10-51 cassette and Wolf Tooth chainring to extend the life of my old bike for a couple more years.
