Travel

Mountain bike events can be a great way to ride a part of the countryside you wouldn’t normally be able to access and provide an opportunity to meet like minded people. Undertaking your first event may be a little daunting but rest assured there will be other first timers and plenty of support on the day. Here are ten tips for riding your first event taken from my own personal experience of riding and being part of a support crew. Take note of these and you will not only complete the race but actually enjoy it as well.

1. Try to train in similar terrain and conditions to those which you will experience on the day.
2. Get your bike in for a service at least a couple of weeks before the event to give time for any major repairs. You don’t want to waste all that training with an avoidable gear failure on the day and bike shops can’t be expected to turn around a significant job with a couple of days notice.
3. Ensure your bike is properly set-up for you. Bike shops or sports physios can help with this. Riding a poorly set-up bike at high intensity for a long period will cause you back or leg problems that will take a while to recover from.
4. Start using energy bars and drinks (including recovery formula) during your training so that your body becomes used to them. Don’t suddenly start using a new product on the day from one of the onsite sponsors. Your body may not be used to it and react badly.
5. For longer rides use a chamoix cream or vasoline to reduce chafing. One of my friends goes by the “if it moves vas it!”
6. Organise a great support crew to help you get ready, cheer like hell during the event and be there to help you recover at the end of the race.
7. Get to the event early and go for a warm up ride to get rid of nerves, stretch the legs and undertake final checks on the bike.
8. Make sure you know the course and don’t rely on those ahead of you to be taking the right turns.
9. Ride to your own pace and don’t be tempted to blast after the pros off the start line. Also ride to your own ability in any technical sections.
10. Have fun, smile lots and banter with your fellow riders - you never know when you might need their help!

Karl Check writes for Perweek, a New Zealand online retail business that allows you to finance your purchases. If you are riding in New Zealand or thinking about coming out for a holiday you should read Karl’s Mountain Bike Events page. The page has links to some of New Zealand’s most popular mountain bike races. http://www.perweek.co.nz/mountain-bike-events

Personally I think Time-shares are great, We own one in Taupo, New Zealand. As we own a floating week that we pay maintenance on, it forces us to have a holiday, a real holiday, a full week of R and R, that’s why I love it.

Apart from the fact Taupo is half way between the folks and us, so it’s a great place to meet for a family holiday.

We have even used our floating week to exchange for weeks in Australia a number of times. The week in Australia becomes our base to go off and explorer the area we are staying then come home each night to a 5 star resort for less than $100 a night.

But do not buy a new time-share, We paid NZ$16000 for a floating week in Australia, at a presentation where you get all the free gifts. Came home and had a look on the Internet to compare prices and found we could buy better for NZ$5000 or less second hand. I took the NZ$16000 package back the next day for a refund and found the promoter trying to pack up and move out of the office real fast. He was not happy I caught up with him and got my money back.
So if you are looking to buy a Time-share go to the presentation to learn what’s it’s all about DO NOT SIGN UP but go home and find a better place second hand. There are some bargains out there.

Now the good wife wanted to own a second week at a time-share but I did not wish to pay two weeks of maintenance a year, It adds up.

That’s when I found a great system where you pay US$3000 for a life time membership to a 5 star Resort Club and they list all the resorts world wide that you can stay at for about what you would pay in annual maintenance fees at a normal Time-share.

You have to pay a small annual membership fee a second party, as you can not sign up to the 5 star Resort Club directly, A bit like the promoter of the time-share, he gets his cut.

The bonus is you too can get a cut from anyone that you sign up to the 5 star Resort Club.
A US$1000 bonus. When you sign up a $1000 goes to the person that signed you up (Me) a $1000 goes to their up line and a $1000 goes to the 5 Star Resort Club. It would be nice to just pay the $1000 straight to the 5 Star Resort Club. But it’s the up lines that do all the promoting of the 5 Star Resort Club. So it’s their sales commission.

If you just sell one membership a year you do not have to pay the small annual fee (this may have changed by the time you read this)

For access to the 5 Star Resort page.
http://graemesecretz.com
Email me for the password
amped.nz@gmail.com