30 April 2009

We began spreading 300 tonnes of material to improve the speed coming out of Wallaby Run and then to the finish of the DH.  In the weeks to come Ben Cory will be working for Makin Trax to get the most speed possible out of this area of the DH track

 

 

 

 

21 April 2009

You may have noticed a large scar crossing the Skyline track coming from the top of the hill all the way down to the carpark.  This is to provide ACTEW more electricity for their new offices.  Disruptions to the tracks are not expected to be lengthy

 

 

17 April 2009

Some much needed love was applied to Bobbypin climb today.  We removed the ‘bones’ and smoothed out the track surface to bring it back to a green level and provide a more enjoyable climb. We also planted some Lamandras to dress up some of the track

 

 

 

 

8 April 2009 A little bit about berms and corralling speed.

The large berm on Old Duffy Descent in the past few months has really suffered due to heavy traffic, no rain and some short cut lines developing which make the approach to the berm too fast inducing skidding. Skidding is the number 1 killer of any track and everything must be done to reduce this practice. So the remediation of the blown out berm started well before the entry point of the berm.

The first thing to address was the approach speed to the berm. Over the months following the Scott 24hr a couple of short cut lines developed to become the main track. This essentially formed a straightish run into the berm which meant many riders were comming into the berm 'too hot' thus braking hard at the last moment (skidding) to wash off speed. Addressing this issue was a matter of placing some large rocks in strategic positions to re-establish the original alignment which was a series of 's' bends. Then we watched what happened and made adjustments as needed.

Once happy that the skidding had been muted we set to rebuilding the berm. Excavator, water carts and compactors were thrust into gear and a few hours later we had a shaped up, semi packed berm. But this was just the beginning. Due to the unseasonably hot and dry weather we were experiencing the soil was hydrophobic and needed regular light watering over the next 4 days for moisture to work its way in to assist the berm to fully bed in.