by Appenninica MTB | May 25, 2019 | Highlights
Melanie – Mel – tells us about her passions and how they come together. We loved to find out about her artistic side and therefore we asked her about her creations and racing in the Women category with Sophie Hemming (UK).
I am fairly new to throwing on a wheel having tried it for the first time a year ago. It is a fantastic process; I like both the processes of throwing a form and then turning the form to shape it. Once I got the hang of making a few small cylinders, I started making some pots with Puffins on for an exhibition based on the coast of West Wales. Puffins are a small bird native to the area, quite an interesting little sea bird.
I then made a few cups as Christmas presents painted to suit the individuals and this developed into making some cups as prizes at a local beach race where I set up a stand to sell a few “bike mugs”. Every cup I make is unique. The shape and size of the cup, the handle, the image to place on them and how the image is applied are all elements I am still exploring. Some of the images are painted on, others are in the techniques of Scraffito and inlay. I would like to develop the cups into pairs or small groups of four but still keep their unique character. I have no interest in mass production.
Why bikes?
It just seemed obvious, they are great, practical, take you to fantastic places and make you feel good. I would like to expand on the bike designs and include other cycling related images – places I go and things I see – often on a bike. I’ve also created some bike themed bowls that I will develop further.
For a few years mountain biking has taken over my creative time. Mountain biking is a fantastic sport but racing takes a lot of energy and focus. Last year I decided to make time to explore new skills such as throwing on the wheel, stone carving and bronze casting. Throwing grabbed me much more than I was expecting, I liked the immediacy, the challenge, the process– it takes a lot of focus so can be very relaxing. I like the fact it can be developed in so many ways and there is so much to explore. It has got me excited about making again. I want to continue combining painting and drawing on my ceramics and to develop my throwing skills.
This year I am excited to see where the ceramics goes but also to have a couple of races to aim for. It’s great to have Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano as a target. Part of the excitement for me is the opportunity to ride and race in new parts of the World and to take part in new events. I love riding in Italy and the Appenninica takes places in a part of Italy I have not raced before so I’m looking forward to experiencing what the area has to offer. It’s going to be an epic week and I’m looking forward to racing with Sophie for the first time as a team. We have ridden some pretty awesome trails together in Wales, Scotland, and Switzerland and soon we’ll be able to include Italy in this list. Hopefully, I can strike the right balance between throwing on one wheel and riding on two!
Our Team
We met when racing XC three years ago. We always have close battles, climbing and descending at similar speeds which will work well for stage racing as a team. We have ridden some pretty awesome trails together and have been talking about racing a stage race together for a couple of years now, but we have waited for the right time and race to appear. There doesn’t appear to be many stage races which are 8 days long and technical which is why Appenninica grabbed our attention.
I have been mountain biking for many years, first attracted to stage racing due to the places it took me and the challenge to aim for before focusing on XC for a few years.
Sophie is relatively new to mountain biking in comparison, but with a background playing Rugby for England she has adapted to the sport very quickly. Whilst I have competed in a Mountain biking World cup Sophie has competed in, and won, a different World Cup playing Rugby for England.
Sophie is not only a competitive athlete she is also a mother to Sam and has a demanding job as a vet, which she did alongside training and representing England at Rugby before moving onto her newer passion of mountain biking. My day job is as an Art teacher in a prison and I’m also developing my own range of ceramic pieces with a cycling theme.
by Appenninica MTB | May 20, 2019 | Press Reviews (2019)
by Appenninica MTB | May 8, 2019 | Highlights
Squirt Cycling Products is the official chain lubricant partner of Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race.
Achieving your goal at a mountain bike race is as much about training hard, using the best equipment, getting your nutrition dialed in, and hopefully riding your dream bike, right? Yes, but that’s not all.
On a 7-day MTB stage race, as in the format of the Appenninica, you need to make sure your bike is clean and lubed properly every day. The chain and drivetrain are typically the dirtiest parts of your bike and if you don’t use the right lube, well, your bike performance will be impacted and, let’s face it, you will hate yourself when your chain comes off or brakes at a critical point during the race.
That’s why we are happy to partner with Squirt Cycling Products, a South African company. Their liquid lubricant has unique properties that make it ideal for use in any cycling condition. Squirt lube is a wax base, long lasting dry lube that does not contain harmful solvents, is 100% biodegradable and environmentally friendly. They also produce a concentrated biodegradable bike cleaner, a puncture sealant, and a long-lasting application for skin protection on endurance events.
Whichever is your ambition, know that Squirt products are tried, tested and trusted by the biggest names in the world of mountain biking such as Julien Absalon, Rudi Van Houts, Bart Brentjens, Alan Hatherly, Robyn de Groot, Ariane Luthi, and Mariske Strauss, Stefan Garlicki, Bradley Weiss or Johann Potgieter.
Squirt is involved in a number of activities to promote cycling, adventure racing, running and multi-sport around the world. They strive to produce products that are thoroughly tested and accepted by the cycling world as functional and of high quality.
Follow Squirt Cycling Products on Facebook
by Appenninica MTB | May 3, 2019 | Highlights
The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium is the title sponsor of the first edition of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race!
The organizers of Appenninica are honored to be able to combine the name of their competition with one of the most popular and appreciated Italian products in the world. The prerequisites for this partnership come from a shared vision for enhancing the territory and from the approach – without compromise – that leads to creating something unique, genuine and authentic.
The element that links Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race and the King of Cheeses is chiefly and above all the territory. The race will take place on the heights that house the dairy farms that produce Parmigiano Reggiano Mountain Product (Prodotto di Montagna) – we shall remind that the production area of the Parmigiano Reggiano Dop includes the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantova to the right of the Po river and Bologna to the left of the Rhine river (an area of about 10,000 km2). The second key element is the desire to promote sports activities and enhance the passion of athletes who undertake an out of the ordinary endurance race.
Appenninica MTB Parmigiano Reggiano Stage Race is a hard test that will involve an incredible expenditure of calories but good food and typical recipes of the Emilia-Romagna Apennines will not be missing. With Parmigiano Reggiano we have added another truly “tasty” ingredient.
Parmigiano Reggiano is the perfect food for every sportsman, especially for endurance sports, because it is rich in minerals and nutrients, with a precious lipid component and able to provide readily usable energy. Thanks to its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, it is an inevitable element in the athletes’ diet both in the pre and during and after the competition. Thanks to its production process, the King of cheeses is also naturally free of lactose, additives and preservatives.
The new name of the race is, therefore, APPENNINICA PARMIGIANO REGGIANO STAGE RACE and the logo has been redesigned as will all the communication to accommodate the Consortium’s brand.
by Appenninica MTB | Apr 8, 2019 | Highlights, Uncategorized
We are proud to introduce our very own race village concept
After completing the March reconnaissance trip and meeting with the local municipalities that will host the race village, we are pleased to announce the concept of the Appenninica MTB race village.
The race village will be in actual towns with services and housing scattered throughout and proper signage indicating the facilities. We’ll be in the center or in close proximity of the center of the hosting villages and therefore part of the lively summer activities of those Apennine local communities. This style of village is borrowed from the albergo diffuso (scattered hotel concept), an idea that started in the 1980’s in Italy as a way to revive small villages off the tourist track and give visitors a way to feel like a local in the places they are staying.
While we love aerial shots of race villages in soccer and rugby fields or in the wilderness, we feel that our albergo diffuso village will make our athletes feel at home. A race village that is housed among the streets and piazzas of our hosting communities was possible thanks to the amazing support of our local partners. Our hope is that all riders will get to look around and enjoy the fact that we have local businesses and services all around us.
Since we will be hosted in actual villages and not in the wilderness, we will be surrounded by lively communities. We will be housed in indoor dorms (gyms, schools, sports arenas) and not in tents.
Riders – and companions with a supporter pass – will have to bring their own sleeping bags and mats. Showers and bathrooms will be inside the buildings. Portable toilets will be also close to the starting line.
Go to the Race Village page.
