Office banter has turned into a friendly rivalry for these coworkers who will ride in their first Port to Port MTB on Thursday.
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Darryn Reid, a finance manager with Fairfax Media, had just gotten back into cycling when the four-day mountain bike race came up in conversation with his colleagues Cameron Frame, Fergus Black and Sean Peacock, each of whom have riding, fitness or triathlon experience.
That conversation soon turned into a team entry and training for the race began but not without some ribbing and bets about who will make it across the finish line first.
“I don’t think any of us have done something like this before,” Mr Reid said.
“I’m a little bit nervous about riding the full four days, all the backing up you have to do.
“The last couple of weeks we did six days of riding in a row so I’m a lot more confident now than I was three weeks ago.
“I think Sean, Cameron and I will be happy to finish it but Fergus is competitive. He wants to win.”
The Port to Port MTB, established in 2013, sees about 500 riders complete four stages of racing across four locations in the Hunter. The first stage is held in Port Stephens.
Racing then moves to the Hunter Valley, Lake Macquarie and ends in Newcastle.
This year the Port to Port MTB will run under the Ironman banner after the well known triathlon brand acquired the race, along with the Cape to Cape MTB held in Western Australia, from Zubini Marketing and Management for its portfolio of events.
Chris Heverin, event operation director for Zubini, said the association with Ironman presented “enormous potential” for the stage events to grow in the future.
The Port Stephens stage, which will be held on May 25, starts and finishes at the public wharf in Nelson Bay.
The course is a distance of 35 kilometres and takes in Fingal Bay, Box Beach, Tomaree National Park and the Three Bears climb.
“I'm looking forward to riding new trails,” Mr Black, a Fairfax Media sales manager based in Newcastle, said.
“All my training has been in Glenrock [State Conservation Area] so I'm looking forward to the first three days, which are a scenic tour of all the other great trails in the Hunter.
“For me, training for a road race can get a bit monotonous but mountain biking is fun.
“We've all gone over the handle bars and lost a bit of bark in training but none of us has really hurt ourselves – we're old enough to have a sense of self preservation on the down-hills.”
Mr Reid and Mr Black are entered into the masters category (riders over 40) while Mr Frame and Mr Peacock will ride in the open men’s category (ages 15 to 39).
Road Closures
There will be some disruptions to traffic around the Bay on Thursday between 11am and 2pm.
Victoria Parade will be closed from the intersection of Victoria Parade and Beach Road, Nelson Bay from 11.15am to 11.45am.
Traffic will be managed along Nelson Bay Road and Gan Gan Road.
The race is not expected to disrupt users of these roads.