Fair City Enduro 2018 Training Guide
With this years Muckmedden Fair City Enduro just over a week away - and already sold out! - we thought we would ask our resident mountain bike enthusiast for some tips on staying healthy and prepping ahead of the big race.
For those who aren’t in the know, the Fair City Enduro, is based right here in the vibrant “Fair City” of Perth and is no ordinary mountain bike race. Taking place around Halloween, it’s a mix of breath-taking trails, crazy dressed up outfits, extreme mountain biking and adrenaline fuelled fun. Where else would you see Willie Wonka and Dracula on the entry list?! Taking place around Halloween, it’s a mix of breath-taking trails, crazy dressed up outfits, extreme mountain biking and adrenaline fuelled fun. Where else would you see Willie Wonka and Dracula on the entry list?!
Starting and finishing in Perth, you, Abraham Lincoln, The Power Rangers and hundreds of other random costumes start with a gentle pedal through Perth City Centreand garner plenty attention along the way with cars beeping and people waving to you. You then climb steadily out of the city until you reach breath taking views with gnarly and downright tricky trails in the forests high above the city. Then the real fun begins….
With no prior practice the Enduro is ridden blind, and this years is set to be the most technical Enduro of the Muckmedden events. Open to riders of all abilities the Fair City Enduro consists of six stages containing everything from bike park jumps, to rocky chutes, wet roots, high-speed singletrack and steep drops. The stages have been chosen to offer mere mortals - a.k.a. the newbies - an achievable challenge and designed to let the Pro's battle it out for lucrative Enduro World Series qualifier points.
As the wife of an avid mountain biker I am well acquainted to being dragged along to every race on the Scottish circuit. Also, as someone who doesn’t LOVE the outdoors, trailing up a hill in freezing weather conditions to watch your hubby whizz pass you for a whole 2 seconds isn’t exactly my ideal way to spend a Saturday! However, from a spectator’s perspective the Fairy City Enduro is one of the best! It’s so much fun to watch the riders take off through the city and as always, Muckmedden make sure the day is a family friendly event. Our Toddler River is already setting his sights on becoming the next world champion! The atmosphere in Perth is always electric after the race with families and riders eating out and having a well-deserved post race pint.
Without further ado here are Richards top tips on prepping for this years big race:
- Be Prepared – Hunger strikes! Make sure you have plenty of snacks, water and sweeties to keep you going for a long day of racing. (Believe me I have witnessed this first hand – Richards pre race packing and prepping is a military operation including every surface of our Kitchen covered in sandwiches, energy drinks, protein shakes and Haribo sweets)
- Bike Prep – Check your brake pads and tyre treads and make sure your bike is in a good working order.
- Check you have the right equipment – As with all bike races the Fair City Enduro takes the safety of its riders seriously. Check the equipment list before turning up on the day and make sure you have a fully fastening, undamaged safety helmet, protective gloves and bar end plugs, It gets cold cycling to the next stage so pop a packable, thermal/waterproof layer into your kit
- Relax and Focus but most importantly HAVE FUN! Nobody ever received a podium finish by being stressed in the start que. Have fun and make new friends along the way. The biking community is one of the friendliest going.
2018’s Muckmedden Fair City Enduro has already sold out with over 420 riders and a waiting list of 30! It’s sure to be another fantastic event!
Although the race has sold out spectators are welcome and encouraged to come and cheer the riders on! Entries for the 2019 Fair City Enduro open this December – make sure you sign up sharp to grab a space.
>**** >Check out last years Small City Gallery for a look back on the awesome costumes and super fast riders who competed in 2017's Fairy City Enduro.