Riders in lingerie race through forests
From the Winter 2007 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
This year, the Berghaus Polaris Mountain Bike Challenge had a bit of a twist – a ‘Rocky Horror Show’ theme, which encouraged riders to go whizzing around the central tablelands in lingerie, red lipstick, wigs, fishnet stockings and even stilettos.
Forests NSW has been a long-time sponsor of the Polaris, now in its eleventh year and regarded as one of Australia’s most challenging mountain bike events.
The event took place at Black Springs near Oberon in perfect March weather, with 222 teams of two riders at the starting line for the two-day overnight competition, combining mountain biking with navigating and bush skills.
The riders ride between check points scattered over a rugged area (25 km by 25 km), each checkpoint has a score, and the aim is to accumulate as many points as possible.
Forests NSW resources forester Mandy Flaxman and ecologist Kelly Rowley (both based at Batemans Bay) were contenders this year. Although they missed out on a place in the race, they did come third in the costume competition and first in a rather obscure ‘rock’ (as in ‘Rocky’ Horror) contest.
“We both have a base level of fitness, but it was quite challenging, and we went well considering we did not do a great deal of training. We ended up with very sore bottoms even with gel seats and bike pants.
“It was a great way to see the forests, which were looking fabulous after a big dump of rain a few weeks before the race,” Mandy said.
Public Affairs & Media, Albury
