Pass to Pubbed

Loaded up and ready to party!

Three Ventana riders hit the road last weekend, loading up the Land Rover and heading south for a popular South Canterbury event called the Pass 2 Pub.
After arrival in Burkes Pass and registration, Will, Ollie and Nicole hastily made for the start line and headed for the hills.

With trail riding's growth in popularity, 'old school' farm track based events have lost favour amongst hard core mountain bikers. But depite low expectations, all three riders raved about the undulating course. Highlights included river crossings, rocky descents and the odd monster cow pat thrown in for good measure!
The course itself dropped 300m through 10 backcountry farms which farmers were kind enough to open for the duration of the race.

Ollie off the front

Ollie reported having his best race of the season, powering his El Padrino to a close third place in the sprint finish, narrowly missing out on second to a local rider with inside knowledge of the technical finish.
Will (riding an El Fuego) finished an awesome 9th place, an astonishing result given the quality of the 800 strong field.

Will puts on his race face...

While in her first ever race, Nicole pulled off 65th in the fiercly competitive female category, a sure sign of riding talent!

Spangles and Gringo after a hard day at the office

With race over and prive giving complete, muddy bikes were packed back on the Land Rover, and it was back home to Christchurch.

A great day out and proof that fun on a bike does not necessarily need to involve roots, rocks and gnarl!

Mountain Pedaler out...