It was a full two days of perfect weather and perfect competition conditions as a record 493 riders aged between five and 70 years old took to Tathra’s pristine tracks the fifth Tathra Enduro.
Saturday’s racing was all about friendly competition with the three kilometre Bega Cheese Children’s Chase followed by the Lap-It-Up five, 10 and 20 kilometre single track events.
The competition stepped up a notch on Sunday for the marathon events – the 100km King Nelba, 50km Mitas Rubena and the Tuff 25km.
[iframe_loader width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/TtyllVOu3lM?feature=player_embedded” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
Event organiser Stacey George said the whole day was a real win for the Tathra community.
“Tathra was certainly very busy as you could see a convoy of cars with bike racks roll into town,” she said.
“It is kind of special really as you often see cars coming in to town for the weekend and you don’t know what for.
“This weekend there was no doubt as to why they were coming into town,” she said with a laugh.
“It was certainly very good for Tathra on traditionally a quiet weekend.”
But it was not just about the mountain biking.
The event was a true exhibition for riders and spectators alike as 10 groups of performers, including bagpipers and drummers, lined the 100 kilometre track to support the competitors.
“That was absolutely awesome,” Ms George said.
“The competitors loved it – some got serenaded up the hill – it was definitely something they weren’t expecting.”
Ms George said it was pleasing to see so many families turn up to compete.
“It was friendly and encouraging all weekend. It was a great representative of the whole mountain bike movement – it was not competitive at all,” she said.
“And knowing all the work the volunteers put in to it, hearing great feedback about the tracks and how people loved the tracks, it’s just heartwarming.”
Eight key organisers helped put the day together with more than 30 volunteers over the two days to make the event a success.
“The main track builders and organisers, Andrew Johnson and Tom Parks, without them and their enthusiasm, we wouldn’t have a track to ride on.
“The fact that we have an event at all is probably down to those two, their hard work and vision to build the track there,” Ms George said.
All funds raised from the day will go directly back into the Tathra community.
Thanks to Bega District News for this coverage