December 10th 2013: Mostly down

If you've had an eye on the hills of Dunedin this past week then you would have noticed a constant stream of mountain bikers taking on Flagstaff, Mt Cargill and Signal Hill in the Urge 3 Peaks Enduro. This is a new discipline in mountain biking and it just so happens that Dunedin is the perfect place for it with the city surrounded by great mountain biking terrain.

This year's event is the second ever and received almost three times as many entries as the year before – but it is the calibre of the entries that makes this event really special. Olympian and event organiser Kashi Leuchs has lured some of the sport's highest level professionals with Justin Leov, Anton Cooper, Jamie Nicoll, Rosara Joseph, Sarsha Huntington, Matt Scoles and a handful of international riders taking part.

Jamie Nicoll proved fastest after two days and four stages with Justin Leov six seconds back and Anton Cooper just 14 seconds behind the leader. Olympian Rosara Joseph successfully defended her title despite an influx of top female riders for 2013.

We've been busy this past few months at Box of Light working on our new website, which launched today! Yay! Go and check it all out and see if you can find the hidden surf forecasts.

Nice south swell dying out throughout the week on the south coast so get in as soon as the wind swings (that should be right about now). Keep an eye on the north coast towards the weekend and watch out for the polar blast that's on its way. Never a dull moment.

See you out there ...

– Derek

PS A few months back we filmed a story on Karitane's coastal sea caves with Allan Anderson (he's a bit of a legend in these parts) ... check out the web film from this cool part of our coastline here.