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• cycling - 43
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• results - 2

Wed, 28 Sep 2005

ACT Vets Club Championships - 10:15

I was very happy to see lots of people out on Saturday giving the Club Championships a go. Being an age based event it can be pretty hard for those riders who normally ride in c grade or below. But, it's only once a year and it is useful to see how the more elite riders race.
Personally I was in the vets 2 (40-44) I knew if I rode really well I was in with a chance to finish in the top five or so. The start line looked like this:
BARRETT Damian
BONTJER Allan
BOYLAN Nick
CARDEN Michael
CHOWNS Jonathan
GOODSPEED Bruce
GRAHAM Bruce
JONES Brad
KROEGER Ken
LAW-SMITH Michael (visitor)
McLENNAN Peter
McNAMARA Patrick
O'CONNOR Anthony
SHAW Bernie
TOFT David
Everybody knew that Nick was going to attack, in fact I'm surprised now when he doesn't. I was surprised as Sluggo (Anthony) was first to rip up the road with gusto. I felt sorry for all those who were not quite warm or are not accustomed to the pace of a fast A-B grade race. I reckon it would have been more fun to keep it together for a while as natural attrition would have seen riders loose contact with the bunch during the race anyhow. But back to the action. Nick could not help himself and surged up the road. This was quickly followed by a huge attack from Ken, this was the attack that broke the bunch to bits barely 2km into the race. I managed to survive along with Damien, Nick, Johathan, Bruce, Ken, Patrick and Sluggo. Luckily for me the pace eased a bit, but attacks soon followed as we turned onto Uriarra road to head up to the first turn. Ken paid for his effort here, loosing contact, but Bruce bravely chased and made contact quite a long way down towards Uriarra crossing. Johathan and Nick made some attacks and both Damien and Patrick were effective at closing them down. Sluggo was biding his time waiting for the right moment. Nick and Anthony turned the screws on the horrible long drag from the crossing. Finally Patrick lost his wheel and there was a mad scramble to get back to both Nick and Sluggo who had realised that the gap was there. Damien did best and get within 30 metres or so of the leaders. I thought that Bruce, Patrick and myself would have a good chance of closing the gap at least back to Damien. Bruce and I did some major turns, but It would have been good to have all three of us working to get back into contention for third place. Finally I blew as I did one big turn too many, but I reckon one has to give it a go and never finish the race wondering if you could have. I sat up a bit and waited for Johathan and we worked together nicely. It felt like motor pace training getting in behind Johathan for the flats and down hills. I could barely come around him and do my turns.
In the end class prevailed, with Anthony and Nick riding away. But I reckon the best rides came from Damien and Bruce, both riding individually to stay within a minute or so of the leaders by the end of the race.
Full results of the day and the other age categories can be found here

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Thu, 15 Sep 2005

Some good news from the ELECTRIC SHADOWS NEWSLETTER - 15:55

From: Andrew Pike
Date: 15-Sep-2005 14:52
Subject: ELECTRIC SHADOWS NEWSLETTER 15/Sep/2005

Dear folks,

SOME VERY GOOD NEWS

Dear all,

Here is a press release we are sending out today. I hope you will be as excited about the news as we are!

---Press Release - For Immediate Circulation--

DENDY CINEMAS AND ELECTRIC SHADOWS CINEMA COMBINE TO CREATE A NEW CINEMA VENUE IN CANBERRA CITY.

Electric Shadows Cinema will be working with the independent cinema group, Dendy Cinemas, to establish a new multi-screen cinema complex in the Section 84 development, on Bunda Street, Canberra City. The cinema complex, expected to open late in 2006, will have 9 screens and will program a wide selection of "alternative" art-house films as well as the best of mainstream releases.Dendy Cinemas operates the prestigious Opera Quays complex and the Dendy Newtown in Sydney, plus cinemas in Brisbane, Byron Bay and central Melbourne. Canberra will be a significant addition to their group.Dendy also has a film distribution arm that has been responsible for many notable releases at Electric Shadows in recent years, including SUPER SIZE ME, THE WEEPING CAMEL, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, and the French film, LOOK AT ME.Andrew Pike of Electric Shadows says "This is great news for film culture in Canberra. Electric Shadows has had a wonderful relationship with Canberra's audiences for more than 25 years. This new cinema complex will ensure that the city will have a world-class,high quality cinema to continue the tradition into the next generation."The new cinema will marry Dendy's national reach and resources, and their commitment to quality and diverse cinema, to Electric Shadows'rich local tradition. The physical attractions of the new venue will include comfortable seating, a licensed bar, appropriate disabled access, substantial adjacent parking and a sophisticated interior decor.In the meantime, Electric Shadows will continue as usual at its current venue.
---Thank you for your support over the years, and we look forward to providing you with the best of world cinema in the future.---
Andrew Pike
Ronin Films
P.O. Box 1005
Civic Square, A.C.T. 2608
phone 02 6248 0851
fax 02 6249 1640
http://www.electricshadows.com.au/

[/general] link

Mon, 12 Sep 2005

Western Sydney MTB Club 12 Hour - 10:48
A whole bunch of us raced in the WSMTB 12 Hour race

Dave Morgan and I drove up to meet Mike Carden and Steve Hanley who had gone up earlier in the day to ride the course at Yarramundi. Warran Page arrived and we headed off for supplies and dinner. Jim Trail, Dave Sutton, Terry Eveston, Al Vogt, Garrett Mc Donald and Dave Edwards arrived just as our pizza hit the table. Al turned up with a nasty cough, I wondered if he would be able to get out of bed the next day, never mind ripping around on his bike. All food was quickly evaporated and to talk was about the expected rain the next day.
We woke Saturday morning to a bright sunny day. This is how the teams lined up (including Al):

Aadvark Towing

Tilting at Windmills

Bunny Love Trousers

Heisted Vine

The Outlaws

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