MTB: Get training, packed schedule ahead

Beards Bikes and Bellies team Kirk Austin, left, and Sam 'Dodgy' Farquharson get in a warm up before the start of The Coast. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Feeling like summer yet? Not quite. Although there was a hint of a change of season on the weekend after cool morning starts.

Between now and New Year is a quiet time for events. However, the "Summer of Bike" is certainly on the way.

The Giant 2W Gravity Enduro is on Saturday, December 13. Race director, Neil Gellatly told me that entries are rolling in and the multi-stage event will be moderate to hard. Which made me reconsider my entry, but only for a moment. I'll shuttle up and roll the stages. I may be last, but I'll enjoy the post-race beer and pizza even more. Like most events it will be razor-sharp at the front end and a bit more relaxed and social out the back. And there's a big bag of spot prize swag.

Enter now at www.2W.co.nz.

After January 1, 2015, it is a different story with a calendar packed with events to satisfy all tastes. As Russell Crowe said in Gladiator, "unleash hell". In this case, "hell" being a good thing.

Nduro Events have announced an old-school Super-D for January 4 with entry numbers limited to 250. The D stands for Downhill. Super because the course is longer than the more radical, extreme downhills of World Cups and Championships. Riders with a reasonable level of skill can race a Super D on just about any bike.

The start line will be at the entrance to the grade 4 Billy T at the top of the forest.

Entries open at 9am today at www.n-duro.co.nz.

And $5 from every entry will go to the Kidney Foundation. This is part of fundraising efforts for the foundation by local rider, Lance Tavinor from Cyclezone.

At the end of January, Nduro will run quite a different event. The 24 Hours of Nduro will start at midday, January 31. Day/night racing in balmy summer temperatures.

This is also a preview of the WEMBO 24 hour Solo World Championships that Nduro will run as part of the 2016 Rotorua Bike Festival.

Which brings me to the 2015 Festival. This starts on Black Friday, February 13. The programme is still to be finalised. However, it looks like the events that kicked off the first two festivals - Sport Bay of Plenty's Go-by-Bike and the Redwoods Coast - will lead off again. The tandem category at the Coast isn't the biggest, although the bikes are.

X-Men, Dave Donaldson and Martin Croft, won in 2013, but were eclipsed by Sam Farquharson and Kirk Austin's Sidehack this year. Both will be returning in 2015. Sam's built an upgraded Sidehack II and the trash talking has already started on Facebook.

One of the inspiring things about our festival is that it is open to everyone, from little kids on scoot-along bikes to elite riders from New Zealand and overseas. Even the headline event of the opening weekend, the 2015 National Mountain Bike Championships, is open to anyone with a Bike NZ racing licence.

There will be dramatic and spectacular action all through the 10 days.

However, it's truly democratic and more about our community and participation.

Getting on a bike, feeling the joy. Like facebook.com/RotoruaBikeFestival for regular updates.