22 August 2008

2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Public Display Event

| johnboy
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As a prelude to next weekend’s Stromlo forest mountain bike world cup event City Walk and Garema Place were transformed into a mountain bike course this afternoon.

Countless passing teenage girls gaped “OH MY GAWD” as bikes whizzed past the taped off course. Somebody from 104 was talking into a large PA but I can’t say I was paying much attention. The video is of bikes rattling down stairs on Petrie Plaza and there’s more images in the slideshow below.

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I cannot wait for the racing this weekend. Go Nathan Rennie!! Go Sam Hill!!

Link to the race schedule here

Morto – good to hear that there were trials. People love watching other people ride bikes over cars and other wacky stuff.

I’ve been a sucker for trials ever since watching Hans Rey bounce his way around and over the aquarium near the dam in 1993. That made me do things on my old Repco that took years off its life.

I may be biased since I rode in the race, but things like this in the city centre are good, free entertainment. I also liked it how they had the Rally of Canberra starting in Garema Place (not sure if they do it anymore) – it is something interesting that passers-by can watch if they feel inclined.

New Yeah – they did have some trials riders doing a demo opposite the big screen in Garema Place although they didn’t give it a lot of attention (there was no competition, etc for the trials guys).

I thought it was awesome to watch. barely involved any interuptions – you could still walk around garema place to get to bunda st, could still walk down city walk to get to petri plaza. There were some incredibly cool little tykes giving it a bash. I wish there was more stuff going on to utilise that space, particularly on a cool evening when the city centre can be dead while everyone shops in the warm mall around the corner.
Make it a regular event i say.

I’m really not qualified to comment on such things.

I think they were still warming up when I was there but I really needed the light at that time, so this is what you get.

Great idea – I hope it piqued some public interest in the event. Unfortunately I also missed this one. Did they hold trials? Trials are the raddest (and possibly easiest to stage in a metro area) MTB event.

I think it was a great idea too. Sure some people are going to be disadvantaged for a couple of hours, but it’s something you don’t see everyday. It’s bringing the entertainment to the masses, without having to rummage around the bush worrying about stepping on a snake or a spider drop down the back of your shirt. I don’t think it matters where you hold an event like this, someone is going to complain.

I think it’s cool.

It adds life and colour to the city, and every city needs that.

Wish I had seen it myself!

I reckon it was a bloody good idea. Too many people bitch about not going to see events (like mountain biking, or rallying) because they are out in the “bush”, so they may as well bring the events to the people. I would have raced if mini-Kramer #3 hadn’t arrived earlier in the week.

Yeah, it was bloody annoying, whose bright idea was it to stage an event like that in the middle of Garema place, and then wonder why everyone wandered onto the course so they didn’t have to detour to Braddon to get to Bunda St

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