Hail yeah... the bike I bought in the US

Over the last six months I've been pushing my mountain biking skills to the next level... I've been racing some more, participated in a couple of skills courses, and worked with Al to conquer sections I never thought I'd be able to do. I also upgraded my bike late last year, which has definitely helped my progress!!

Trying new things at Thredbo, NSW

In the lead up to our US trip, Al started talking about getting a new bike and was exploring the possibility of getting one while we were in the US, where they are more readily available. One day, just out of curiosity, I searched for my dream bike... and found one, in my size, at an amazing price. It was too good to pass up! The bike was waiting for us at Al's friend's house when we arrived in the US... and we soon began the task of pulling it completely apart to be able to cart around (especially after dropping off the rental car at the end of the trip) and bring it home to Australia. 

My Liv Hail, at our local trails in Canberra

Al helped me build the bike back up when we got home... oh ok, so perhaps I actually passed him a few tools in attempt to help him build up my new bike! 

Not the best pic, but one of the only I had of my awesome bike mechanic building my new bike!

As we built it back together, we had a chance to really inspect my dream bike which turns out to be even better than I realised—everything about this bike it top-of-the-range and of amazing quality. It didn't take much to tune it to perfection (thanks to Al's bike-mechanic skills), and I simply love it!

Racing with RockyTrail at Stromlo, ACT

Al also got himself a new bike last year (but back here in Australia), so together we've been hitting up the trails as often as we could—mainly at our local trails at Stromlo or a little further a field at Thredbo, but we also squeezed in a trip to Derby, Tasmania, around my birthday. This was our second time to Derby and it was even better than we remembered. We allowed three days this time, which was all we could manage between family and work commitments, and it was just enough to enjoy what Derby has to offer (although we wouldn't have said no to more time there!). 

Al and I at Derby, Tasmania

Al also loves his new bike! Riding his Santa Cruz Nomad at Derby, Tas.

We've been talking about exploring some more trails both in our local area and further afield now that my skills are pushing to the next level. A dream would be to get across to Canada and ride at Whistler... maybe in a couple of years! 

Not much to improve on my bike, but Al upgraded my chain ring the other day... I love the colour!

Until next time x