Falls Creek & Mount Beauty www.thisweekinfallscreek.com.au THIS WEEK PRICELESS SPRING EDITION TWO FRIDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2019 Time to Reflect... Time to reflect, remember and appreciate, next Monday for Armistice Day. Pic - Ken Bell. The weekend of 22nd and 23rd will see many athletes at Falls Creek to enjoy Ignition - the start of the mountain bike season and The Alpine Challenge, covering 100 miles on the Bogong High Plains. Pic left - Matt Hull @ The Matt Image. Pic right - Jiri Cech. KIEWA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Power of Water The new display, which is housed in ack in 2006 when the announcement the museum at the was made about the building of the Mount Beauty Visitor new 140 Megawatt power station Information Centre, Bat2017 Bogong Village, GRAVITY your Ed saw a letter ENDURO tells the story of NATIONALone SERIES published in the Border Mail (which I wish of Victoria’s major LOCAL TALENT I had kept) saying “How dare they build engineering feats, the Round One of the GE National Series Round One - Falls Creek Kiewa Hydro Electric another power station and use all that water will be staged this weekend, beginning Great Success when I was about 12 I started showing when wehe are National in the middle Gravity of Enduroa drought!” Series Scheme, which was more interest in racing. I went to a few of with practice sessions from 11am Friday. ocal lad Ben McIlroy is an up and The idealacts solution as the qualifyinghere would seriesbe to forextend the built between 1938 the Victorian Enduro events but after a During the course of the weekend, several coming Enduro mountain bike couple of years that series kind of fell apart. an invitationEnduro to thatWorld person Series. (and See others) mention and 1961. It also gives racer. Over the last two years he has Tin the article with Ben McIlroy. anof insight the trails into willthe be closed to general riders I then stared racing the national series. to come and visit our fabulous Visitor Lprogressed to be the fastest junior rider in livesalthough of the workersBlue Dirt will have shuttles running MR: How many national events have you InformationMountain Bike Centre Australia and thein conjunction Kiewa Valley with on Friday from 11am to 6pm and again on Australia winning both the National Series and their families in and the National Championships in 2016. raced? HistoricalFalls Creek Society’s Resort Management wonderful displays are pleased – as Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Cost is $50 per the construction town, On March 26 Ben went and raced his first Ben: My first national year in 2015. I raced depictedto present below. Round Ed. One of the 2017 Gravity day or $90 for 2 days. Go to www.bluedirt. Enduro National Series. The series is Australia which became Mount ever EWS (Enduro World Series) event in three events, Toowoomba, Adelaide, and com.au to book. On SundayChris the Griffiths trails willand Dave Panozzo cutting the ribbon with Barb Pyle after her Canberra and placed 3rd overall for the series. Overwide withthe years Round our Two very being active held historical at Stromlo Beauty. Rotorua, New Zealand. Prior to the event be closed to the general public, but will MattNo verytime Rousu good to be speech.caught smelling Pic up the – with Courtesyroses Benduring Sascha to this chat Russellweekend’s In 2016 I raced the Bright, Perth and societyForest ACT has presented in May. Round a range Three of interesting will be at Gravity Enduro. Pic - Jiri Cech. Theprogressively Historical openSociety as the different sections about the race and his potential future in Adelaide National series events winning all Ben McIlroy with bike - and a ‘can-do’ attitude. Pic in-depth displays – but this would have to - Matt Rousu. Balingup WA in June; Round Four will go to of the event are completed. Pretty Valley the mountain bike world. three and the U19 series overall. I then went beRockhampton one of the best. in July and the final round will was very fortunate to receive a grant of AnotherPoint pre-existingon the Frying display Pan Spur. actually The showsaim of the Road will also have closures and be subject to MR: Is this your first overseas race? on to win U19 National Champs in Adelaide of the races he was doing. be held on Woodford Island, on the Clarence $5000 from AGL, the current owner of howgame the power is to ride of eachwater section does produce no faster than the On Thursday 31st October, the Kiewa Kiewadelays Hydro, should as anyone well as be access travelling to their back from electricity.Ben:fastest Yep, time first allowed, overseas and race, no first slower EWS than the set(with a time that would have knocked Troy MR: What are your goals for this year, River in northern NSW in August. Brosnan off the elite podium). Valley Historical Society opened its latest archivesthe horse to assistyards withor Pretty mounting Valley the Pondage. display. (Enduroslowest Worldtime. Then Series), they so doit’s the going competitive to be bit, more EWS or is going to be too hard to The popularity of mountain biking continues Approximately 60 visitors witnessed the display ‘The Power of Water’ - the history of TheNow Society’s this Gravity grateful Enduro thanks isgo a todifferent AGL for sort prettybefore exciting. riding to the start of the next competitiveMR: How did you end up travelling and juggle school? to grow. From the great efforts of some Mount ceremonial cutting of the ribbon by two racing alongside Chris Panozzo (2 time Elite the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme. theof company’s mountain generositybike racing and to support.what we know MR:bit withoutIs it excitement beating or or are exceeding you nervous? the times Ben: I’m racing the EWS in New Zealand Beauty locals in the 90’s - to hosting the long-serving Kiewa Hydro employees, Chris Gravity Enduro Australian champion)? as Downhill or Cross Country. The Gravity Ben:permitted. I’m probably At the a bittime more of goingnervous to print, the and in Tasmania but this year I want TheNationals Historical in Feb Society 2000 - becameto the point aware where that Griffiths and David Panozzo, to mark the TheEnduro display is both.is of a Thevery athleteshigh standard will start of with thanfinal excited. course Excitedhad not tobeen race set, overseas, but they but look likeBen: I first met Chris at a Victorian Enduro to finish Year 12 and get out alive, do we have some of the best tracks in the country official opening of the display. state round at Barjarg, I was still like Under a large percentage of visitors to the area, interpretationa warm up ride and from the centrepiece Slalom Plaza, is a out the nervoustaking becausein High it’sVoltage such anda big Wishing event. Well, then as much riding as I can and stay fit. It’s - both in Mount Beauty and in Falls Creek. 15s or Under 17s and I knew that he was a fast probably not the best year to be going into as well as newer members of the Mount magnificentBogong High scale Plains model Road, of a Transmission up the Pretty TheMR:heading MountHave to youBeauty Flowtown, heard VIC anything iscompleting open about seven that the days before The growth and the success means we can dude. I wanted to hang out with the fast guys my first EWS because Year 12 takes up Beauty, Tawonga and Tawonga South Tower,Valley skilfully Road andproduced then acrossby retired to the Trig a weektracksheading from over to 10am-4pmin Thunderbolt Rotorua, onNZ? andweekdays then to and Generator continue to host fabulous events. so I wanted to hang out with Chris Panozzo. such a massive chunk of my time. Community’s, did not really know the engineer Mr Ian Howley, to serve as a 9am-5pmBen:and From Vortex on whatholidays before Chris finishing and (Panozzo) weekends. in Slalom has Thesaid, Plaza. I remember at Barjarg the shuttles were always MR: Have you got any plans for further history of Mount Beauty and why it exists. display unit for information panels. they’re fast and there aren’t many rocks. museumSound is like housed a pretty within easy the day!! VIC and is a bit delayed, we were hanging out down the studies such as University, or depending availableMR:The How weekend’sto the did public you program get during into sortriding? those of goeshours. like • this.bottom for so long that we nearly missed our on how these two EWS events go, would ThanksBen:Saturday: Pretty to Helen 9ammuch to Howleybecause 16:00 foris of compulsory thismy Dad,report. practice.race runs. When we got to the top, everyone you like to chance it and try to become a OpenOpen by by Appointment Appointment was wondering where we’d been. He was 10am to 18:30 is rider registration and Info professional racer? For Groups, Clubs etc. Please try to allow 24 hours notice. just like “Ah we’ve just been chilling at the Ben: I haven’t really thought too much For Groups, Clubs etc Tent open. 17:00 to 17:30 is rider briefing.bottom.” So that felt pretty cool. For further information: From 18:00 on there is a social evening at Last about it. Becoming a professional mountain After that he invited me to travel with him Wb: www.fallscreekmuseum.com.au biker would be pretty sick but you sort of Hoot Restaurant and Bar in Slalom Plaza.to the next round at Narbethong. During Phone:Em: [email protected] 03 5758 1200 do have to have another profession once you Sunday: 8am to 9am Rider Briefing and Timingthat trip we decided not to race any more come out the other side.