HMBA Trail Shirts

You asked for it – and now we have it! (Orders Close 28 June 2020)

Trail Shirts are now available from HMBA for a limited time only. We have worked with our friends at Astro Visual (formerly Looney Parrot) to come up with a club design that reflects the motifs in our Logo and Race Jersey but in much more subdued colours – a shirt that can easily be worn when riding, racing or having the post-ride frothy (beer or cappuccino – whatever takes your fancy!)

These will be a “made to order” item and the whole purchase process with be completed through the Astro Visual Ordering Page at the link detailed below – the password is HMBA520

These Trail Shirts feature a V-neck, relaxed fit, breathable side panels, Cool PassTM wicking fabric for moisture evaporation, and a rear zip pocket. We have decided to do both short-sleeve ($60) and long-sleeve ($80) versions. Orders must be completed by 28 June 2020 – we anticipate an August delivery. Sizing charts are on the ordering page (we will try to get some samples for our upcoming build day on 14 June 2020 depending on Covid-19 rules).

When ordering you can choose to collect your shirt from the next Club Event / Race, Breakaway Cycles at Morisset, Bay Bike Co. at Warners Bay or select postage for an additional cost.

Purchasing one of these shirts will not only give you a cool piece of riding gear but will show your support for the Club – a small percentage of each sale will come back to HMBA to be put into the trails and facilities at Awaba so is a great way to buy yourself a little bit of Trail Karma.

https://www.astrovisual.com.au/customer-portal-login/

Awaba MTB Park – Updated Trail Maps

When work commenced at the Awaba Mountain Bike Park back in 2008 nobody truly considered at that time how big the place would grow to and how significant the popularity and diversity of mountain biking would become. In 2020 the Hunter Mountain Bike Association have realised that some of the ideas that were put in place over 10 years ago need a bit of an update, and it is with great excitement that we would like to announce the renaming of our main Cross-Country trails / loops within the Park.

Whilst it is likely that the colour-based loop names will remain in people’s minds for some time, HMBA have recognised that with the developing network of gravity-based trails and the proliferation of new Riders discovering our sport there is the need to adopt a more formalised Trail rating system and by choosing to implement the widely accepted IMBA standards of “Green – Blue – Black” there was potential for there to be some confusion.

As an acknowledgement of the local area we are blessed to be able to ride in, and with a grateful ‘nod’ to our Landowners, HMBA are proud to announce that the three main cross-country loops are to be renamed as follows:
– Red Loop (Trail 2) becomes the “Awaba Loop”
– Blue Loop (Trail 3) becomes the “Watagans Loop”
– Yellow Loop (Trail 4) becomes the “Olney Loop”

The Downhill Trail (Trail 1) remains lovingly referred to as the “Monkey”.

As part of this trail renaming process HMBA have again enlisted the assistance of Steve from Astro Visual to update our trail maps, which are available to view and download here: Awaba Mountain Bike Park

As you can see we have improved these maps to reflect the Trail Rating and Numbering System that exists within the Park and will become more evident on the signage installed as time rolls on. Hopefully this helps everyone to plan an appropriate ride at the Park and ensure that no-one gets too lost whilst out on the trails.

March 2020 HMBA Committee Minutes

Please click on the following link to download a copy of the minutes from our March 2020 Committee Meeting.

HMBA Minutes 16 March 2020

Next committee meeting (would usually be) on the third Monday of the month (20th April 2020) – Club Macquarie, Argenton. All welcome. Arrive at 6.00pm for dinner and robust discussion about bikes, trails and personal exploits in the Club Macquarie Bistro prior to the 7.15 pm meeting.  However due to Covid-19 this will not be happening until further notice.

(New members especially welcome to come and have an impact on the development of Mountain Biking in the Hunter region and surrounds).

“Faulk Line” Adaptive Junior DH Trail Opening

HMBA were disappointed that our event was cancelled last Sunday – not just because of the Presentation Day, AGM and Racing / riding that we missed out on, but also because we didn’t get to officially open our new gravity trail.
But it seems cruel to make you all wait for an official event until you are able to find it to ride it – so say hello to “Faulk Line”.
When your mountain bike park is located on the side of the Watagan Mountains range in a steeply wooded corner of the Olney State Forest it seems crazy not to have a few trails that go down the hill, and after our “Monkey” this new trail is the first in a network of new ‘flow-type’ trails destined for the HMBA home. We are so lucky to have the blessing of our landowner Visit NSW State Forests to develop these new trails on land that is really only on ‘loan’ to us.
“Faulk Line” is our Adaptive / Junior Downhill Gravity Trail that opens up the experience of steep, fast and flowing trail to a broad range of riders from the mountain bike community. It is a wide trail bed that follows the contours of the mountainside, swooping and dipping from its start location off Mount Faulk Rd all the way down to the main XC Trail Head Container – once you have ridden it you will appreciate the time it has taken to finish this trail given some of the challenging terrain that it needed to negotiate (let alone the weather). To ride it simply head back out of the park along our entrance road (Jenkins Rd) and make a right turn into Mount Faulk Road – ride up for about 1km and then turn right again into the access trail (signage to be installed soon) – head out to the platform and get ready to smile!
Trail like this don’t build themselves and thanks must go out to the multitude of people that volunteered their time to finish what was initially cut in by Synergy Trails under the watchful eye of our club stalwarts Coleen, Dallas and Rick. A big shout-out too to John and Megan from Tamaden Constructions for their work on the steel platforms and ramps – once you see this you will be impressed. Not to forget Andrew who helped to secure the grant to allow this all to happen.
✴️✴️✴️WARNING✴️✴️✴️ – HMBA hope we only need to say this once – “Faulk Line” is a DESCENDING ONLY trail and must not be ridden upwards at any time – it is a high speed trail and the possibility and potential seriousness of any crashes involving ascending riders is high – this applies to all riders, including those on eMTB’s – adhere to the trail warning signs.
Proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with Lake Macquarie City Council and Hunter Mountain Biking Association.

February 2020 HMBA Committee Minutes

Please click on the following link to download a copy of the minutes from our February 2020 Committee Meeting.

HMBA Minutes Feb 2020

Next committee meeting is on the third Monday of the month (16th March 2020) – Club Macquarie, Argenton. All welcome. Arrive at 6.00pm for dinner and robust discussion about bikes, trails and personal exploits in the Club Macquarie Bistro prior to the 7.15 pm meeting.

New members especially welcome to come and have an impact on the development of Mountain Biking in the Hunter region and surrounds.

HMBA Constitution 2020

At the upcoming Hunter Mountain Bike Association AGM on 15/03/2020 we will be voting to adopt the new Constitution that has been compiled by the existing Committee over the past few months.

Please review the below document and provide any feedback to the HMBA President prior to 8/03/20 (presidenthmba@gmail.com), and then vote to accept the Constitution at the 2020 AGM.

HMBA Constitution – Revision 2 – 200220

 

 

HMBA XC Race Results – Summer Twilight Series Round 2/3 – 19/02/20

Round 2 of our Summer Twilight series was again a popular Wednesday night activity for 70 Riders and their supporters.  Riding the same loops as last week with a slight twist at the start resulted in the same high number of smiling faces – the tracks were perfect despite the previous nights storms, with grip everywhere and only a couple of puddles to negotiate.

It has been fantastic to see the large number of Junior Riders getting out there and giving it a crack – it is a great opportunity for them to mix with the adults and get a taste for racing around the singletrack.

If you missed out this week we will be running the final round next Wednesday night (26/02/20) so get yourself along – rego from 5.30pm and racing from 6.15pm for 1 hour – no lights needed.

Final results from last night can be access at this link:

https://my.raceresult.com/149523/results?lang=en

Any questions with the results please email presidenthmba@gmail.com.

Reminder: BRING YOUR RACE PLATES to the next race -thanks.