From the Saddle of David Griffin…

There is something to be said for…try before you buy.

A sense of non commitment with the reassurance that you can try something with little risk before signing off on the deal.
So I can look back to 2009 when I first learnt of and became involved in the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge (SDBC) and feel that I have indeed tried this event long before actually entering it as a rider!

Yes you read it right…rider.

Of course this will be only of some significance to a number of people within my circle of acquaintance who will be saying.. Wot? Or, it took you bloody long enough. Even questioning the veracity of my mental judgement…so 5 days in Hell!

To be fair I am not what you would consider a bike rider nor am I particularly fit. I don’t eat breathe or sleep bikes like some of my biking friends.

I’m a 4wd’er through and through. Yep, I’ve ridden bicycles since I was a kid for sure, but nothing competitively or with any earnest. However, as a rider support, offical and committee member for over 10 years, the SDBC has become a special part of my life for many reasons and the long association has finally rubbed off to the point where I feel I need to give the desert a proper red hot go in a saddle.

• 

• 

So here I am dear reader making a public declaration to you and the world I guess, that Im going to enter and compete in arguably one of the longest running and toughest mountain bike events in the southern hemisphere, if not the world.

As a total newcomer – what’s next? Well I figure if you’re still reading up to this point then you have some interest in this mountain bike challenge or you would’ve swiped left by now. So my thoughts these last few weeks of 2020 have fallen across the idea that you might be thinking of, like me, having a crack at this race but not feeling that you know anyone who will provide moral support, affirmation of your decision or simply advice on your quest.

Well, advice for actually riding the race is properly not within my jurisdiction, just yet anyway. Moral support?..affirmation?…well that’s a bit rich also, but hey, just ask me. What I can offer you though is the journey, the journey from thinking about it to actually sitting on the start line for this event. Also with the hope that it will offer encouragement for you to do it with me as I go along.

“There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in Man”

Sean Connery

Therefore, as a fellow newbie at this bike riding thing, I invite you to follow me as a fellow…well, newbie! Over the coming months I will break it down into significant events on this road of discovery and, lets face it, associated pain, so while you may not have had the luxury of trying out this event as I have, by the time we reach September 2021 we will both be ready and good to go, bikewise at least.

In the interim and by all means, if you have any questions please feel free to ask away via the email link and I will endeavour to answer or at least send you along to someone who knows. So…shall we?

David Griffin