Buller Identity Crisis

Copyright: Rapid Ascent

The Bike Buller Festival is Australia’s greatest MTB festival, race, training camp, mates’ weekend, family vacation, community gathering.

The first dilemma manifests itself as my mates and I wait to board our Thursday morning Melbourne-bound flight from Perth: How much should we ride on Friday? Should we just spin out the flight? Should we check out the course a bit? Should we get in as much riding as we possibly can because how often do we get complete freedom with no spouses or families at a world-class trail hub?

The car makes the climbing look easy

As our hire car ascends the 16km, 1600m climb conveniently signposted for roadies we can’t help notice the sun is still relatively high in this daylight-saving wonderland. It’s looking like there will be just enough time to assemble my bike and test out the new super cool modular pump track in the heart of the village centre. After a few berm-railing, bump-pumping loops my confidence and skills swell and I decide to try it the other way round. I promptly go over the lip of the steepest berm, put a rather large gouge in the spanking new pump track and an equally large gouge in the back of my leg. With the first blood of the weekend drawn, I get back on that horse and keep going till the sun goes down. My skills improve as the freshness of my legs takes its first detour.

Friday morning is perfect. Sunshine, 18 degrees, breathtaking mountain vistas from Andy’s Fat Tyre Bike Lodge. We eat, study our trail map, get on our bikes and take a nice ‘easy’ 4-hour ride with 1000m elevation gain.

Fun: 10. Freshness: -10.

During this ‘pre-ride’ we meet another group of mates here from out of state. We also meet a 60-year-old couple and their son who are Bike Buller regulars. This is when we start to have our first sense of this festival’s ability to draw the MTB community out of their local woodwork and set them down in this jaw dropping trail haven. In a quick conversation with Rapid Ascent race organiser Sam Maffett he confirms, that of all his events, this is the one that draws the most out-of-staters. We have no trouble understanding why and have already made a mates’ oath to attend next year. The event hasn’t officially started yet.

After a lunch feast back at the lodge we put on one of Andy’s rad MTB videos. The death metal and back flips proceed to get us stoked. (Yes, we are middle aged men.) The fantasies of pulling a back flip are too much and we head down to the pump track for an hour-long session. No back flips. Just some improved skills and even rubberier legs.

Oh yeah, we have a race to do.

Race 1 in the premier category (premier means those doing the three main events) is a 50k xc ride that passes over Mt Stirling twice and takes in all of the deservedly legendary Stonefly trail. As the day progresses we realise it wouldn’t have mattered how fresh our legs were—we were going to suffer regardless. The 50k ends up being the longest, best, hardest, most enjoyable yet least enjoyable at times 50k of our lives. But is it a ride or a race? Although the start definitely feels like a race, as the ride progresses, and the bonding that comes with enduring pain together kicks in, the mood changes to feeling like you’re just doing a hard ride with some new found friends. The sideshow of trailside puncture repairing and cramp manipulating continues almost all day but at the end everyone agrees it was probably one of the best MTB ‘races’ they’ve ever done.

But wait, there’s more.

The day is not done yet though. Saturday evening plays host to the Red Bull pump track pursuit—a definite highlight and must-see and/or must participate event for future attendees. Take heed however, your ego needs to be prepared for the reality of being lapped by children. The finale came down to an insanely fast race between two teenagers. (I get lapped before completing a lap but get a free T-Shirt.)

Day 2 was the real highlight for most in attendance. A 4.5-hour enduro involving a 7.5k downhill and a chairlift. The first part of the course is the Copperhead flow down trail and it’s killer (both metaphorically and literally as the massive cobbles take their toll on weary arms and wrists).  From there the loop takes in enough ups and down and twists and turns to keep competitors grinning from helmet strap to helmet strap. The 4.5 hrs finish with a massive 20k super D that shoots us all the way down to the valley floor and the serendipitously well placed Mirimbah Picnic in the Park food and wine festival. This turns out to be yet another one of the occasions that pepper the weekend with the chance to unwind and chat to fellow ‘competitors’.

Those guys don’t look tired at all

That evening we are treated to a big screen viewing in brilliant HD of the mind blowing Strength in Numbers DVD from Red Bull Media House. The footage in this MTB feast for the eyes is truly spectacular and the message woven throughout is a blatant nod to the growing MTB community around the world. We feel almost as cool as the dudes in the movie as we depart the theatre feeling equal parts stoked and ready to go to sleep.

The final day is the 22k Corn Hill crank fest. This turns out to be my favourite race of the weekend despite legs of lead. The switchbacks both up and down just don’t stop and by the end I have enough left in the tank for a lame replica of what sounded like a top-notch sprint for first. I also end up with enough switchback practice to that I end feeling like I actually know how to ride them.

As for the dilemmas.

Did we regret the bonus 4-hour ‘pre-ride’? Not for a second. Did it show in our results? Probably. Did we care? No. Did our skills and fitness improve? Immensely. Did we meet new like-minded friends bonded by the religion of mountain biking? Many. Will we be bringing our families and spouses along next year? Most likely. Will that mean more fun or less fun? We’ll see.

By: Kurt Beaudoin

Photos: Rapid Ascent