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• cycling - 43
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• results - 2

Tue, 06 Feb 2007

Track Crash - 16:18

TrackCrash

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Mon, 18 Sep 2006

Trip to Sydney. - 22:12
Rachel, Kirsten, Neil and myself visited Dangar Island again on the weekend, this time to formulate an offer for the place. We are still trying to work out exactly how much the house andland is worth and how much we can afford and offer.
Neil and I raced at the Southern Hemispehere Cup on Sunday. I got C grade and Neil moved himself from B to A. I thought C grade would be good, as I'm suffering with allergies, but it was a bit too slow.
So, about half way through I tried a breakaway, one other guy came with me and we had quite a break. Then, my front tyre started going down slowly. Bummer! The guy won in the end, even though he got caught. He broke away again on the final lap. I reckon we could have won if we stayed together. Neil got 3rd place in A grade, he broke away early with a bunch of other guys.
Results are here

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Wed, 06 Sep 2006

Cootamundra Classic Weekend. - 23:24
Neil and I took a trip to Cootamundra for two days of open racing. Saturday was the tough Coota Classic, a 120km handicap race. I got a good mark and managed to blast into town with the main bunch of 80 or so. It was akin to a Tour de France sprint finish. I was following a good wheel for the last 10km or so. But I lost Charles GASCOYNE in the last few kilometres of the race. He was a really good wheel as Charles ended up coming equal first with Kevin NICHOLS. John Dukes did well, picking up a couple of primes in his first open. Neil suffered because of a lack of training and a dodgy apple pie. Tony was troubled by his leg a bit and Simon rode well to feature in the main bunch finish. Results are here
Sunday saw us line up for the Coota Recovery race, a 69km Handicap. Again I got a good mark, this time John Dukes was in the bunch with me. My buch rode strongly, indicated by the continual shedding of weaker riders off the back. We looked like we could win the race, I was in exactly the same position the year before when my bunch was caught in the last few undulations within a kilometre from the line. John CHAMBERLAIN from Coota was in that same break away bunch. So, when 5 of us got away in the hills on the last lap John organised us all to work together to get the win. John Dukes and I had the advantage, with both of us from Canberra, the Vikings and from the ACT Vets. We could work together. My idea was to attack early and win by myself. So I did; only a km or so from the line. But they caught me; my surprise tactic did not work. John had the advantage of sitting on the chase and came over to win the sprint. Results are here.

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Sun, 03 Sep 2006

Fixed gear - 12:01
With a fixed gear, I choose how fast or slow I go by just pedalling. Riding can be sweet and completely silent. When I'm going well I'm always spinning. I am in touch, connected to the bike; I am a part of it. I pedal faster to go faster; I pedal slower to go slower. My brake is there just in case, maybe just to govern the speed on long downhills. I only have to use it in case. When I head downhill, as I spin faster and faster, I'm right on the edge of losing control, but never do.

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Tue, 09 May 2006

Simon Clarinbolds's Story from the Australian National Masters Road Titles - 10:14

Hi Folks, Tony asked me what happened on Sunday:
Thought I'd put a few lines down about the Men's Masters 4 category road race on Sunday. We started with a field of about 65 riders, a lot of the big names were there, all the riders that had dominated the track races and the first 2 road events. As team riders Mark Harris and I had a chat about launching alternate attacks and which riders to watch. Last years winner, Steve Darracott, was heavily marked. The course consisted of 7 laps of a fairly undulating circuit, some of the roads were quite bumpy, and there was little through traffic. The race started at a reasonable pace until we got to the first hill where there was attack after attack, all being covered pretty much by the front runners. I tried to get away a couple of times and was chased down, then about 5 riders got away including Mark who bridged across. Big Steve Darracott was in the break of 5. I tied to quickly get over but didn't have the legs and was stuck in no mans land for about 5 k's.
Eventually the bunch caught up to me, I was thinking that I'd, yet again, missed the winning break and good luck to Mark - if the break stuck he might be sprinting for his second gold medal of the weekend. Much to my surprise though, about 5 kilometres later, the break just sat up, and was quickly swollowed up by the bunch. The surprising counter attack that followed floored everyone. Mark attacked again and managed to get a really good break. There were a few panicked chasers but nothing really effective, I just sat on and watched. Mark spend an entire lap out by himself.
At the same place on the next lap, that part of the course was on a long slow rise into a block headwind, Mark was caught. I launched a counter attach with another rider in an orange coloured outfit (as opposed to an outfit from Orange CC). The two of us worked well, I noticed another, thankfully lone, rider bridging accross to us. So we had three away. Orange did one huge turn, after I did my next turn the new guy, from Tamworth CC named 'Bags', did a turn, the orange guy had cracked, there were two of us left with 4 and a half 12.9k laps to go. Bags and I just kept working at a very high rate, the laps seemed to tick down, the commissare kept telling us what the break was, 35, 55, a minute, 55, 52, then it jumped to a minute 15. We held around a minute until, with 2 laps to go we were informed a chasing pair was 35 seconds behind, then the bunch was another 30 seconds back. I was pretty sure the strong man of the series, Craig Taylor, would be one of the chasers, so Bags and I did some really hard turns to respond, on one of the false downhills I had the speed over 60kmh for what seemed a kilometer or 2.
With 5 k's to go we were told the break was 32 seconds behind and the bunch had disintergrated. I had a few thoughts about how to win V coming second. In the end we rode tempo up the hill leading to the fairly flat and short finish. Bags led the way, then clicked down a couple of gears and jumped for the line at the 200 metre mark. I tried to respond and got quite a shock just how quick Bags was. I think I may have got a bit of an overlap, but he had the win and I was left thinking I should have gone at the 3k to go sign. Still, at least I came away with something. Craig Taylor dumped his break partner, I suspect where I should have gone (or at least tried), and came in for 3rd.
Steve Darracott came in with the bunch. I was told later by one of his club mates (Ian Lovell) that Steve, to his credit, decided that he was so marked he'd just sit at the back an see what happened. Anyway, to say I was pleased to be able to come away from the champs with something is an understatment. Regards,
Simon C.
The results pages for more info:
*Criteriums
*Road Races

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Wed, 03 May 2006

Australian National Masters Track Titles - 10:57

Here are some of the results from the Australian Masters Track Championships. Best results come from Graeme Allbon as expected; he beat the Australian record in the pursuit. Mark Harris was impressive in the points race grabbing third place. A bunch of guys finished 4th or 5th after doing some impressive rides, breaking away or bridging gaps. Anthony O'Connor made the break in the points, Neil Skipper got away with another guy towards the end of his points race. Simon Claringbold chased across and big gap to join Mark in the points race. Mike Hanslip was strong and got away from the main bunch in my race. I managed to hang on to the end in the points and I finished with Steve Jones. Jonesy tells me "you know you're really alive when you do a points race". Heart rate through the roof and a million and one things going on around you that you have to make decisions about - all very exciting.
Jim Veal had an unlucky crash when a pedal plunged through his spokes, Jim may have slid across the finish line. Leesa Carson battled out a tough race and pedaled strongly back onto the bunch many times after strong attacks from Michelle Crawford. That is all I can remember now and I only saw the points and team sprints. Back on Saturday for the crit and Sunday for the road races
The results pages for more info:
*Masters 6-9 Sprint Derbies
*Time Trials
*Pursuits
*Team Sprints
*Points Race
*3-5 Match Sprints

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Sun, 30 Apr 2006

Masters Track and Road Nationals - 16:59

Neil Skipper, Jim Veal, Steve Jones, Tony O'Conner, Simon Claringbold, Graeme Allbon, Simon Nieimeyer, Barry Rose, Mark Harris and I are off the the Masters Track and Road Nationals.
I'll be racing in the points race, the crit and 98km road race. Graeme and Jim will be looking to add to their swag of medals collected at the NSW State Track Title a few weeks back. Neil, Tony and Jim are keen to defend their third place in the team sprint, while Barry, Simon and Steve may well have a chance against the speedy Bicisport team. Mark is also a chance in the points race and crit, having placed well in both those events in recent times.
For full entries (and results) check here

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Sat, 29 Apr 2006

Photo from Stockingbingal Race - The sprint Finish - 13:55

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Wed, 22 Mar 2006

Good end to a bad week - 11:14
Last week was a bit of a bummer. Back to work after a good week off in Adelaide for the Festival and Fringe. If I had more time I’d blog about that as well.
Tuesday I was sick, but luckily did not get the big band version like Mike and others I know did. Wednesday I crashed in the rain in the crit, even Richard my brother in Kabul managed to hear about it and sent me an e-mail to check if I was OK. Thursday I could not sleep, a one night version of insomnia. Three-thirty in the morning I was e-mailing Richard. Friday, well that was a write-off with only three hours sleep under my belt. Saturday I raced like a dog at the annual Ti-Tree Handicap Race at Cooma.
Eventually on Sunday things improved. I traveled with Neil to Stockingbingal for the first race in the Riverena.  I got a good mark in the 40km Handicap and managed to place third and win a sprint prime out on the road. I nearly stuffed it all up as I did assess the wrong guy as the strong guy and consequently followed the wrong wheel and had to spend a bit too much energy jumping across a small gap as the actual sprint started. So I went home slightly richer and got my photo taken with the winners, but missed out on the Trophy and sash. Hopefully my handicap does not get too wildly adjusted.

Here is a report I stole from the Cootamundra Newspaper
Miller's victory in debut race Monday, 20 March 2006
Albury Wodongo rider Adrian Miller produced an upset and shock victory in yesterday's Stock Fair Cycle Classic. More renown around the NSW/Victorian border for his exploits with a golf club than a bike, Miller sprinted to the line in what was the first road race of his fledgling cycling career. Still coming to terms with the win after the race, Miller said he was as surprised as anyone with the result.

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Mon, 16 Jan 2006

Goulburn Track Power - 14:47
My form has been coming back slowly; it's been a long and frustrating allergy season. But I think I've finally turned to corner. I tinkled with allergy reduction diets and the off anti-histamine in the last few months. In the end lots of rest and good food did the trick.
Now I'm trying to build up for the Masters Nationals and also the NSW State Titles, as always I can't decide if it's going to be road or track or crit, so stuff it, make it all three. More fun, but probably less actual good results. I've actually started off with a real program; let’s see if I can keep together the motivation to stay on it
On the weekend I raced with the usual Canberra suspects at the Goulburn Track Power Carnival. I traveled with Neil Skipper who raced very well, pulling off a few good results and a third place in the wheel race. Antony O'Conner was just behind him in most races, but still in the money. Sluggo was unlucky to miss the final of the wheel race after a bad start. I raced most of my races against Peter Ganss, who was very fast, I could only get close to him in the slightly longer races, where maybe a hint of fatigue set in. In the end I was very happy to win the Masters B motor pace. The Keiren and motor pace races are my favorites and I broke through to have my first open win.

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Fri, 07 Oct 2005

2005 Road Season Wrap-up - 15:40

With the Mont 24 Hour looming on the horizon I thought it's about time to wrap-up the 2005 road season. The ACT Vets Club has a one week break from their relentless program of racing, and it also marks the end of winter road racing and the start of summer racing on Sunday morning. Track racing also starts just after daylight savings at Quenbeyan Park on Thursday nights at 6pm.
My highlights:
-Racing in the same group as Simon Claringbold in the Wagga Handicap and being there at the end
-Racing well in the Cycling Australia Masters National Road Race and making the break on the first lap
-Good general progress on the training program with Neil on the rollers
-Being able to bring my fitness back up enough to ride the Coota Classis and the recovery race on Sunday well
-Doing an OK ride at the ACT Vets Age Championships
-Having a good time and a good ride at the WSMTB 12 Hour Race
-Getting hold a nice old track bike from Pete Taylor
-Being able to leave the Surly as a road fixie all year round

Down Points:
-The crash during the secret handicap at Uriarra
-Not being able to race the NSW Championships because of the crash
-The ACTCF Criterium Championships were a let down, puncturing a few laps from the end
-Seeing Al Lees drop down the grades due to the crash
-Jan Ullrich not winning the Tour (This one is for Rachel)

Stuff to look forward to:
-Getting myself into A grade form for the crits and track
-Conditioning myself for the Cycling Australia Masters Championships on road and track next May

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Wed, 05 Oct 2005

Some Pictures from the Western Sydney MTB Club 12 Hour - 16:12

Al Vogt took some photos at the 12 Hour, here are some of them

I've saved more to a Allan's Photos website See mtb_12h2005a.jpg etc

Steve Hanley all decorated up for the first lap at 9am


Me, riding during the day looking a tiny bit tense, which was quite a factor in being slower through the fun sections

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Phil's Bike - 16:12

Chris Nolan has just sent me some pics of Phil's bike post crash


Comments from Chris: This is Phil's bike from the prang last Saturday - the impact is from hitting John Coleman who had already gone down - ouch!!! I don't think this ones going to make it out on the road again!

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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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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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Wed, 31 Aug 2005

Fitz’s Epic v Audax Alpine Classic - 20:58

I did not finish the epic last year, but, according to Mike's quote below it looks like the epic will become am institution just like the classic
Many of you would have received your invite in the post from Audax Australia to ride the 2006 Audax Alpine Classic. I have always found that if I can complete the Fitz’s challenge then the Alpine is a delight. But, like last year Pedal Power if offering something more. The Challenge Pedal Power ACT offers is 'Fitz's Epic' a non-competitive randonnée event on Sunday, 20 November 2005. While this is not an Audax event, the format is very similar to the annual 'Audax Alpine Classic' event conducted by Audax Australia from Bright, Victoria in late January Audax Alpine Web Site
I found some useful info and quotes from the Pedal Power web site.
The 'Fitz's Epic' 210km option was a welcome and successful addition to the event in 2004, with a very encouraging turnout of 43 riders, nearly all of whom finished successfully within the 12.5 hour target time. The Epic makes for short but pleasant (and demanding!) excursions into the higher reaches of the Namadgi National Park.
The Fitz's Epic course includes most of that for the shorter 160km 'Fitz's Challenge' that has an estimated 2600m of climbing. This includes the tough climbs over Fitz's Hill (10.4% over 2.6km), Glendale Crossing, and Pierces Creek (8.8% over 1km), amongst lots of other hills.
To this already challenging course the Fitz's Epic course adds 3 tough 'out & back' sections – the series of short hills in the Orroral Valley and the longer steep climbs up to Honeysuckle Creek and Corin Forest. The elevation profile illustrates the consistently 'up and down' nature of the Epic course:
Fitz's Epic' elevation profile There is an estimated 3830m of climbing on the 210km Fitz's Epic course, virtually identical to the 3810m scaled during the 200km course of the annual Audax Alpine Classic event. This takes in the very long climbs to Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo in the Victorian Alps, as well as the shorter and steeper sections over both sides of Tawonga Gap.
The profile below for the 200km Alpine Classic course illustrates that despite a similar amount of climbing, the two courses are vastly different, with the many short sharp climbs of the Fitz's Epic contrasting with the less steep but very long hauls uphill of the
Fitz's Epic v Alpine Classic: anecdotal comparisons. The introduction of the Fitz's Epic led to a healthy though inconclusive debate amongst Canberra long distance cyclists about which of the two events is the hardest.
Michael Carden, a veteran of many Alpine Classic rides, who commented as follows regarding the inaugural Epic in October 2005: "…En route we tried to work out whether the Alpine Classic or the Fitz's Epic is harder and I concluded that the ride you're doing on the day is harder".
Michael's comment implicitly recognises the vastly different nature of the two courses, and the need to tailor preparation for the type of terrain that will be encountered on these long hard rides: short, steep hills for the Fitz's Epic, and longer mountain hauls at lesser gradient for the Alpine Classic.
Michael's other observations are interesting:
"Prior to taking on the Epic I thought that the planned route was madness and couldn't be completed in the time allotted. I discussed this with a number of other riders and most thought that it couldn't be done, but we decided to give it a go anyway. I was quite surprised when we managed to complete the course in well under 11 hours". Fitz's Epic and the Alpine Classic are both rides which reward solid preparation. The weather on the day will also play a big part in the outcome.
Both rides take place in some of Australia's most picturesque alpine environment, and are worthwhile goals for their sightseeing potential if nothing else. The Alpine has been a must-do for me every year since I first rode it in 1998, and I expect that the Fitz's Epic is destined to be the same. I think that rather than trying to define one or the other as "harder" or "better" or anything else, riders should be encouraged to attempt both so they can join in the perpetual debate."

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Tue, 30 Aug 2005

The 120km Cootamundra Classic - 20:42

Well, I found out a few things very early in this race. Firstly lots of hours and long slow distance does nothing to prepare oneself for the rigours of a large fast 40kph+ average speed bunch racing over constant undulations and numerous biting climbs. I was definitely lacking intensity and that was also the aspect missing from my training program. But now I do know I have re-acquired a very good base to work from. So, in essence the training for the Coota race failed, as I could not hand on to the fast moving peleton full of faster riders when it came through. This in in direct contrast to last year, when I was able to jump into the bunch when we were caught. Same thing for the Wagga handicaps earlier this year.
The 69km Cootamundra Recovery
This race was somewhat of a success as my bunch was not caught by the big hitters until about one and half kilometres from the finish line. I was also able to work quite hard with my bunch but I do realise I had a quite generous handicap.

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Sun, 21 Aug 2005

Cootamundra Classic Handicaps - 19:32

Sluggo (Anthony O'Connor) alerted me this morning to the handicap groups for the upcoming Coota Classic.

Coota Classic (scroll down to the start list)

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Fri, 12 Aug 2005

Cootamundra Annual Cycle Classic - 10:45

I found this newspaper article from the Cootamundra Herald
Cootamundra Annual Cycle Classic
I'm going down to race with Simon Claringbold. Anthony O'Connor and Mark Harris are other riders from the ACT Vets club who have entered the race. See the NSW Cycling web site for more

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Thu, 11 Aug 2005

Training for the NSW Masters Championships - 22:20

Bruce Graham asked me to contribute some of my thoughts on training. Bruce did a comprehensive article that can be found in the pdf version of the July Spoke Torque

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Mon, 25 Jul 2005

Another tale of woe - 22:16

First of all I would like to pass on thanks to all that helped the other riders we went down. I don't recall too many details of who did what but I did have a sense that things were being organised. I must pass on thanks to Gary Rolfe who cleaned up my elbow and patched me up as best he could when the first aid kit arrived. Thanks also to Neil who drove me home.

Mike's Blog Entry has a description of the events

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Sun, 10 Jul 2005

It all came down to how fast I could ride for about 2 minutes - 16:19

First of all I need to tell Mikey that it did not rain, it tried damn hard but it was dry. I suspect the rain was scared off by the wind.
Anyhow onto the report. Forty nine souls riders and a bunch of dedicated race marshals lead by Rob braved the cold at Bungendore on Saturday for the Graded Scratch Race - Results Again, A and B grade were combined, this time A grade got lucky, they were not started a minute behind B. From the start the pace was brisk, with a cross wind blowing the riders to the centre line, it was almost easier to work through as opposed to dicing with the centre line. After a few little digs Simon got away at the start of the long climb, he only got away to take his jacket off, but found himself 50 metres up the road so he kept on going. The A graders looked at each other, so did the riders from B. At least we know that Simon was most definitely an A grade rider. Everybody know the chase would start, it’s not the first surge that really matters, it’s the counter that is the hard one. Anyhow, Mr. Eveready Dave Dickson(or Duracell) I can’t recall which little bunny wins decided to take up the chase. I don’t really know why because Dave is currently in B. Well, the hammer went down as soon as Dave eased up, Mark Harris and Tony O’Connor had the bunch strung out in single file. This lasted till the top of the hill where there was a slight easing and I was grateful to get a push from Richard Bourne to get me back into the fray.
The easy pace didn’t last long; every little pinch saw Mark or Dave put an effort in which has riders scrambling for wheels. I was covering most of the surges. Then Mark decided to put in a huge attack, only Tony and Howard Galloway were able to follow. I tried vainly, if only I could have gone faster for those two minutes or so. Mr. Eveready tried hard to close the gap, Mike Rawlin and Dave Sims had a go as well. Patrick Mc McNamara was there as well with a few strong turns. The only surprise was the lack of Damien Barrett surging though since he is normally the protagonist in situations like this. It turned out that Damien was having some tummy troubles. Dougie McLean on the comeback trail got us organising with some strong steady work as we hit the half way mark.
So, we worked and worked, ending up going into a block headwind barely moving at maybe 23-25kph. We had the breakaway three in sight, but Simon was well out of sight and out of mind. We never caught them. I lead out a slow motion sprint into a headwind and was very happy to see the finish line come up quicker than expected.
Sorry to hear about Al Lees who punctured early on, also I was quite surprised to see John Craig and John Thorn dropped since Thorny was very strong and did a splendid bunch caption job in the horror handicap the week before.

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Mon, 27 Jun 2005

A tale of woe - 11:54

This weekend I raced two races, the first was a graded scratch race with the ACT Vets cycling club. Again the race organisers decided to combine A and B grade together. I did not mind too much as my form is getting better, but it must be quite disturbing for the guys who are just making their way up from C grade or from being off the bike for a few weeks. A least they started the fast guys one minute behind the B graders. But, they were onto us pretty quickly, on a hilly section, which of course lead to the demise of a few of the guys at the back of b grade. My biggest issue is that B grade does not race, they just hang onto the coat tails of A grade, the guy that can hand on the best wins! Not a way to win a race in my mind.
Anyhow, for those who know me and know the hill on the old Federal Highway would know that I was most impressed with myself to be able to stay with the fast guys when the screws got tightened on the hill up the highway. When the bunch crested the hill and I was still there I thought I was in with a very good chance as the bunch was mostly A grade with a few B graders thrown in. The tale of woe started about a kilometre down the road when I realised my rear tyre was half way down and was all the way down by the time I pulled over and started swearing to myself. Then the rain started. I think this was only the second time ever I’ve made it over the hill in the front group.
So, on Sunday I rode the ACT Crit Championships. The field was somewhat diminished being a rainy day in the middle of winter and 6 months away from the crit season, but we had the race anyhow. The Masters race was combined with the junior’s race, which made for quite an interesting combination. In the end Fabio Calabria won the juniors and Ian Downing won the Masters, with Steve Jones Second and Guy Buchanan third. The tale of woe from me is that I punctured (again) with about 5 laps to go. I reckon I would have given it a good shake given that I had beaten Steve in a sprint the week before. But, that is all the past now. Just to let you know the tube I put in after the crit failed at the stem. The new tube lasted till Fyshwick on the way to Sutton Road and that was the last of the punctures. (Hopefully for quite a while) I did buy myself a tube in Dickson from Mal after Ian pulled off and went home as I thought it would be just my luck to puncture again and be tubeless
So, next week is either another country handicap (Coota to Coolac) or the local club race. More that 100 turned up for the ACT Vets Federal Highway race (grades A to H) I reckon the inspiration may be due to the tour starting soon, or maybe the “Hell on Wheels” doco on at Electric Shadows during the week.

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Mon, 30 May 2005

Weekend of Racing in Wagga - 15:12

Neil, Simon and I headed off to Wagga on Saturday morning for the Wagga Motors 120km Handicap Race on Saturday and the Microtech Open Butch Menz Memorial 70km Handicap Race on Sunday.
I was reasonably pleased with my mark as I was in the same bunch as our own Mick Rawlin (who just happens to have a drink or few with the handicapper). I was not pleased with the sub 10 degree temperature on a howling wind which turned out to be the determining factor in the race. My bunch (one back from limit) cruised through the first 15km or so, then, as we turned right and up a slight incline stronger riders put the hammer down, this caused a lot of damage and we lost 6-8 riders. I had to make a mad dash across the gap and I was trying to stuff a muslie bar into my mouth as the hammer went down. We started working quite fluently and picked up lots and lots of small bunches from the limit bunch. The only thing disturbing our rhythm was a horror cyclist on a Klein, he featured a camel back with flowing straps, deep dish rims and very straight locked out arms. Of course in the cross wind conditions he was all over the place and got quite a bit of stick from the 5-6 riders in our hard working bunch. As we peeled off the undulating cross wind road onto a dead flat block headwind road the commissaries car came up and we were informed that only one rider remained in front of us and we still had 5:30 up on the bunch behind. Well, optimism was high, but we were barely half way into our 120kms.
So, we kept working and working. Later on, 20 minutes on another cross wind afflicting uphill dead road akin to Uriarra Road out of the crossing the car came up to us again. Bad news this time, scratch were only two minutes or so back. One very optimistic soul asked if we could possibly hold them off, most smiled to themselves, but one guy had quite a colourful, you've got to be ***** kidding. So, in what seemed like an instant scratch come along at a belting pace, a few made the belated effort to stick with em. I think Mick Rawlin may have stuck with them for a while as I never saw him again. I made the sensible decision to wait for a straggling bunch, which I joined in with them for the ride home. We kept up mopping up and spitting out riders who had been wasted away by the scratch bunch and the block bunch who were just in behind them. Neil and Simon had similar stories, being swept up and spat out by scratch as then pelted by. Simon made a huge attempt to get on, only to break a spoke in his front wheel and then be faced with a lonely ride home, even though he did sit on Graeme Allbon for 60km or so.
Saturday night saw much pizza, wine, garlic bread and desert consumed at La Porchetta in town, then sleep was east to find in our flat at the City Park Motel on Turcutta Street.
We woke on Sunday to a brigh sunny WINDLESS morning, had a large breakfast of crumpets and then headed off to the race. When we signed on we discovered that the handicapper had done a mass re-handicapping. He had shown us his notes from the day before at the pub on Saturday night, an incomprehensible piece of paper with yellow pink and blue highlighter markings and very small handwritten notes. Neil was happy to be moved out from block, Simon was happy to be moved out to 12. I was devastated to be moved into the same bunch as Simon and Andrew Mohr. It was going to be a hard day on the bike for me. Luckily the race was only 70km. It turned out to be mostly undulating, with lots of false flats. I lasted to the end, when my bunch caught the leading bunch right on the line. The placegetters were a combination of the bunch ahead and my bunch. I'm pretty sure Simon rode himself into about 12th place. But it was almost impossible to get through the bunch all over the road. Neil's bunch was bearing down on us at the finish and were only 30 seconds behind. Scratch was only just behind them, despite getting up to speeds of 60-70 on the run in. All in all, Sunday was a very enjoyable race after the hardships of Saturday. I can't say I like some of the aggression (mostly just people shouting in the bunch) but it is quite good fun to rip around at the speed a big bunch of cyclists can go at. Neil reported an average of nearly 45kph for his bunch and we were around 42kph. This was quite understandable as we had 20 riders in the mould of Simon driving the bunch. I could not do any more turns after about 2 thirds of the race. I was very happy to hang on in the company I was in. The next big race is the Coota Classic weekend. I encourage all those with ACF or MTBA licences to give it a go. If they have never heard of you they tend to handicap you in limit or one back from limit. The full NSW racing calendar can be found at Cycling NSW.

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Thu, 19 May 2005

Coota Haycarters - 11:24
Details on the Coota Haycartes, maybe even results
It seems to me the CCC and even the NSW Cycling Federation are pretty damn slack with results. I mean, all you get is the top ten, fastest time and that's about it. When I compare this with the excellent work on CORC and the ACT Vets I reckon the effort is a bit weak. But then again, my bunch was 30-40 strong coming over the line, it must be pretty difficult to get all those numbers. I think there was 203 riders in total at the Haycartes, all coming over the line within a few minutes of the winner
Mike asked me about the Coota Haycarters, so i got writing in an e-mail. In the absence of extensive blogging on my part, I'll reproduce the race in my own words here Well, the short of it is my bunch (12 min) won and I was not there. I got dropped at about half way when I went through a nasty feeling really bad patch. The bad bit is I was feeling really good (doing all my turns etc) before the bad patch and I was also really good after the bad patch when I jumped in with block and scratch and rode the last 25-30km of the race at a really fast pace. So, I'm really dark about getting dropped, but in retrospect my legs have been killing me ever since the end of the race, so I did work hard. Pete Harding lasted a bit longer in the 12 minute bunch, but I went flying past him tagged onto the scratch men and he could not get on. Of course Neil through the race was too easy, but then again he was only one bunch behind mine, maybe he should have got block. Mike Rawlin was one bunch ahead of me (18min) I think, he was there at the finish. It was good fun when it was done, we get to do it all over again with two races in Wagga on the 28th and 29th (Saturday race is 120km) So, I hope I'm going to be on a very good day.

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Wed, 11 May 2005

Intensity Training - 11:31
Neil and I have started a arduous program with a view to being ready for the Australian Masters Games (and Australian Nationals) towards the end of 2005. The Australian Masters Games are being held in Adelaide.
Cycling Australia have not announced the details and venue for the road and track Masters Nationals, but we do know an indoor wooden velodrome is a requirement.
In any case, for the 10km scratch race we need to ride at about 50-52kph to be there at the end, then one will have to sprint. So, Neil devised a training program on the rollers. Details are here
We are also doing uphill sprints, but I don't really want to talk about those. In the short term, the NSW Masters Road Championships are being held in Wagga, details can be found on my racing plans page." I suppose it will be a good time to see if all the training is working out.

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Fri, 08 Apr 2005

ACT Vets 2 Day Tour - 16:38

I'm very much looking forward to racing an actual tour, even if it's just three stages over two days. on Saturday A, B and C race over 96km followed by a 5km TT then another 48km on the road. D, E, F and G grades race over 48km on Saturday, then 5km TT then another 38km in the arvo.
See ACT Vets 2 Day Tour for more details

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Sun, 27 Mar 2005

Canberra Results from Australian Masters Track Championships - 16:15

Comprehensive results have not come out quite yet, but I'll try to remember the Canberra riders. Of course I was not at the whole track carnival, so I'm just re-counting the last day.
Track
Pete Ganss - 3rd place in the pursuit and rode well for 6th place in the 10km
Leesa Carson - attacked with two laps to go in the 10km and finished 5th
Jeff Culnane - Hang on bravely to a class field, ended up 9th
Steve Jones - Made the pace high in the 10km and was there at the end
Neil Skipper - Got away in a few breaks, but got delayed in the final two laps to come 6th
Me - Retired at lap 28 of 40, victim of the fast pace in the 10km

More on the road later

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Wed, 23 Mar 2005

Australian Masters Track and Road Championships - 22:09
Neil and I have just come back from the Australian Masters Road and Track Championships
Neil rode well and got a second place in the crit and was in the chase group behind Paul Rowney the eventual winner in the road race over 90km. The level of competition was as high as I expected, I did not reach my goal of staying with the main bunch in the 10km on the track, the crit and the road race. In the end I was happy to be in the main bunch for 70% or so of the race. I stayed with the bunch for 28 of the 40 laps on the 10km race, then in the crit I was there till lap 22 of 30. My biggest achievement (and previous weakness) was the road race, where I stayed with the front bunch for 2 of the three laps of a 32km loop. I survived 4 major attacks and made the initial selection when the peleton was exploded by a major series of surges on the biggest climb of the race. A strong cross wind was the major factor in the race.
I'll post some results from the local Canberra riders in the next few days.

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Wed, 23 Feb 2005

Cycling Progress - 12:38
Now that Neil has successfully talked me into competing at the Australian Masters Track and Road Titles I have decided to log my cycling kilometres and also running, although a run very little.
I'm not so keen on the term Bragging Rights, but you can turn that on and off if you use Progress Log to log your cycling, running and swimming distances.
I could use a little help, as I ride a bike without a computer most of the time, so my distances may be off. So, if you see I'm claiming too much then call me on it. Assume most rides start here in Curtin, hell I'm not even sure about the distance of the traditional Cotter-Uriarra loop even though it's pretty much my backyard.

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Tue, 01 Feb 2005

ACT Vets Road Racing 30 Jan 2005 - 12:29
Check out some of Nick's photos of the ACT Vets road race on the old Federal Highway on Sunday morning. There was quite a decent turnout with good racing in all grades from A through G.
Also check out the ACT Vets 30 Jan Road race results

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Sat, 29 Jan 2005

Planet Cycling dot Org - 16:49
Somehow Planet Cycling dot Org has picked up my RSS feed as a cycling topic. I know I ride a fair bit, but I don't think I'm worthy of a rss subscription, not that I really mind. If I did I would not put it on the blog.
Anyhow, I did manage to ride off road on Australia day, the same day I did a fast crit. On Thursday I did a long road ride and and the some very fast track racing, in the evening. On Friday night Neil, Anthony, Peter and I headed up to race the Goulburn track boys. It ended up being another very fast night; I even managed to win the b grade kieren. Sunday is a road race, Mikey is coming to get me on the way through, we may even see Richard take on the big boys in A grade. So, all in all I'm a pretty diverse bike rider, now just bring on a recumbent or a tandem!

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Fri, 28 Jan 2005

Audax, MTB and Track - 12:39
I went mountain bike riding on Australia day, quite a humbling experience. Majura is much more technical than I remember. I was most impressed by the silky smoothness of Ben Mc Duff on the ST. After riding around Rachel and I went to a BBQ at Michelle's. I had a Barcardi Breezer and Vodka cruiser, which turned out to be pretty good preparation for the crit that night. The coolers knocked me right out and I was forced to nap on the couch.
Neil came over and Rachel, Neil and I headed off to Kingo for the crit. I felt pretty good and rode in the front ten or so for most of the race. I put myself in the right place for the sprint, but my sixth sense kicked on three corners to go. I left a gap of two or three lengths, lucky that as the two guys in front of me clipped pedals and their wheels were jumping about the place. Of course this left me with a gap to close on the last lap and I just could not manage to get back to the three or four sprint contestants. I ended up finishing in the top ten somewhere.
The Audax Alpine Classic went well, but my weight did not move down too much. How can that be after riding 60km one day then 200km the next, Steve, Mike and Richard rode well, getting to the summits before me. It was fun to rip into Bright as a fast bunch. On the way from Bright to the base of Buffalo we picked up a big bunch of about 20, then soon disintegrated as the slope increased.
Neil and I are off to race at Goulburn tonight, hopefully I get my sprint back by next weekend when we visit Dunc Gray again.
Anyhow I'm less than 79 target 74

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Tue, 18 Jan 2005

Health and Fitness - 17:09
I've been grinding away trying to get fit, I think it's working. Although I'm still very slow off the mark. This became quite evident at Dunc Gray.
It's pretty much been track v Audax which equates to speed v endurance.
Anyhow I'm less than 80 target 74

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Fri, 14 Jan 2005

Health and Fitness Progress - 09:25
OK, I've decided to make a concerted effort to get back to full health and fitness after the debacle of the damn hay fever season which seemed to last forever this season (most of Oct, Nov and Dec) I am really quite pissed as I was in really good form in early October only to be struggling and feeling quite flat.
On big thing is to get back to my race weight, around 72-74kg. I'm, on my way now just less that 80 after a high of 84. I told Crash a few weeks back I was all biked up, no need for any more bikes. Well, that nice steel Scaping hanging in Bike Culture, well that sorta looks about my size - doesn't it? I suppose I better get lots of steel bikes before they stop making them and the nice people in the shop keep on marking the price down. I wonder if it is exactly the same size as my Scapin?
Anyhow, > 80 target 74

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Tue, 21 Dec 2004

Wagga Track Racing Carnival - 09:33
I rode the Wagga Track Racing Carnival over the weekend. It was well run by the Wagga Wagga CC. Over 200 riders raced about 7-8 events on Saturday and another 4-5 on Sunday. I was surprised and impressed by the sheer speed of the Wheelrace (handicap). In the first two-lap wheel race heat I was in I could not get off the mark quick enough and I was left behind to jump into another group. The art of starting with a pusher is something that I will have to learn to do well in Australian track racing which is dominated by these wheelraces.
I did ride myself into second place in the last race of Saturday night, a 15 lap scratch race in d grade. Young women, who just happened to be champions in their field, surrounded me. In the end I was beaten by Sky-Lee Armstrong, I had seen her on TV, so I was not that disappointed. Tess Downing, Amanda Spratt and Katie Bates (i think) had also ridden in the race. One thing I can say about them - they are very aggressive and in no way afraid to attack. These races were not "roll around and then sprint" affairs, they were hard from the start with constant position changes and tactics going on.
It was quite enjoyable and hard. I enjoyed that time With Steve Hosking and his family, Steve rode well and Chloe also won a few races. She was also on a pretty hard handicap. Anthony O'Connor had a bit of a hard time in a very strong C grade bunch, but I do recall him winning on of his races. Thanks to Russ for giving me a push in the handicaps and for trying to sort out my riding. I was riding ugly as I did not have form, moving all about the bike to try and use more muscle than lung and I could not breathe right because of the recent hay fever attacks.

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Wed, 01 Dec 2004

Cycling News - SBS Tour Coverage - 10:41
The Cycling News coverage of Le Tour on SBS

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Tue, 30 Nov 2004

Hartley Challenge - Photos - 20:12
I've added some Hartley Challenge photos

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Tour de France LIVE om SBS - 20:09
SBS Sport announced today on World Sports at 7pm that have the rights to show the The Tour de France LIVE and EVERYDAY for the next FIVE years. Now, of course this should make me very happy, and it did. But it also brought tears to my eyes. All at once it seems the minority sports in this country are finally getting a fair go. I remember the times when all the coverage I could get of the Tour was Winning magazines, months out of date. Of course they had fabulous photos by Graham Watson and the extensive stories of the chess game on wheels. I still look through some of the old mage from the 1980's I suppose Johnny Warren's fight for football still gets me all emotional. I wonder have I am going to survive the Tour de France and the World Cup when they virtually coincide in 2006.

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Hartley Challenge - 13:50
This weekend I rode the 2004 Hartley Challenge from Canberra to Charlotte's Pass and return, staying in Jindabyne. I rode with the Paxus/Vikings bunch organised by Bill Frost, John Thorn and Phil Lejsek. The other riders were Patrick McNamara, Ashley Sked, Bobby Dungca, Bill Neate, Graeme Cameron and Paul Burbidge-Smith. All the riders are experienced racer types, mostly past or current members of ACT Vets Cycling Club. Phil was the ride captain and the early relentless, but fast and steady pace was too much for me on Friday. At Bredbo I dropped back to another group for the run into Cooma. From there I took over from Graeme, driving Bill's Hi-Lux into the Sport and Rec centre at the top of the hill in Jindabyne. Saturday saw the ride to Charlotte's Pass, Ashley who had been troubled with cramps the day before decided to set out with me, slightly ahead of the big guns from our group. Fortunately I was on a good day as over 20km of climbing was ahead. I rode half the climb with Ashley, before continuing on with Judy Scott and Richard Bourne, other friends from the Vets Club. The whole weekend saw copious amounts of eating, drinking and jokes all around. I finally got to see the legendary appetite of Bobby. John and Phil were in good form with the bottle and a good story for every occasion. Trivia questions abounded from every corner and Bill made provisions for almost everything imaginable in his big red truck. Patrick, Paul and Wes always looked immaculate on the bike and I was sad to see Wes jump in the truck coming back into Canberra, as he seemed quite determined to make the whole ride on the bike. I'm full of admiration for Thorny and Phil for their "hard men" status. They made the whole ride, with Thorny riding to the top of Kosciusko with Paul on Saturday. On Sunday with the words ringing in my ears from Phil "Today the ride does not even start till Bredbo" and the temperature climbing to the mid thirties I knew it was going to be a demanding day. The head/cross winds were a constant menace. My legs felt fine, but my feet succumbed to that old "hot foot syndrome". Maybe I will not suffer from that in the future with new shoes I got last week. It will take a little while to break em in though. I was very glad to see Fyshwick Fruit Markets at the end of the day. I rode home to a most refreshing shower was very glad to get the salt, sweat, sunburn cream and road grit out of my skin. I was feeling decidely ordinary by the end of the ride.

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