Inaugural CTC Dalby event ‘The Housedale Hustle’ proves popular.
Over 40 riders aged from eight to 58 took part in the Housedale hill climb event last weekend 16 November 2013. On the day, the weather was clear and cool with thankfully no need for waterproofs or de-icer, so it helped things run really well. Riders were set off in two-minute intervals, which is a bit different to the usual 1 minute gap. The organisers thought for the first timers, it would be nice not to get caught on the way up!
The categories were also quite broad with junior, senior, veteran and fun with trophies and some great prizes.
The idea behind the event was to show that there's more to Dalby than just flying around having fun on mountain bikes. So we decided to run a hill climb time trial on a road in Dalby called Housedale. Mike Hawtin CTC’s Dalby Forest Cycling Development Officer
This private gated stretch of tarmac in Dalby Forest actually forms part of a 12.5km road circuit, which is perfect for training, scenic family rides or as part of longer road rides which pass through the forest. The course we set was a beautiful tree-lined 2.2km uphill section, with no traffic but with lots of enthusiastic riders, marshals and supporters.
The podium places went to the winner of the senior category and overall fastest rider Shaw Pickard with a time of 06.1; 'Cycle' magazine Editor Dan Joyce completed the distance in 06.47 and was the lead veteran. Junior William Turley came 4th overall with a time of 06.40.
Once all the hard work was over for the riders, the trophies and medals sponsored by Altura and Town and Country Fires were presented at Dalby Bike Barn.
