Weekly Blurb

Thursday night saw another solid turnout with 12 riders setting off for the roll. As we neared creek street where the people that want to go a little quicker should head there were no takers....seems everyone was having a recovery ride.....or not.
The pace was ok for the normal laps but as we had time to squeeze in 1 more we headed off to knock it over. Dylan rounded up the group and headed off, the temptation to do some dick measuring was too much for a lot of the lads and off they went after him :) of course I went along to just make sure the measuring was conducted fairly;) One by one 'POP' they went with their heads low and lungs screaming :) By the time we got back to the surf club Dylan was warmed up and began his ride....

The Saturday group was a little smaller today with a few of us heading in to hook up with the M1 ride but they still headed out even with the threat of rain around. We got back to the brew shop and expected to see them there but only saw someone riding away, not to worry though they were only a few minutes behind us. With the rain starting just as we neared Boyne the thought of coffee was calming but the pace wasn't!
Tip of the day - if it's raining that hard you have to call the cook to come and get you make sure you ask her to not stop in front of the brew shop. Schalk copped a flogging from not just us but everyone sitting at the brew shop for not riding home in the rain :)

Sunday 19 Feb Crit Pix

Changes to Thursday Roll

With the numbers slowly increasing and the pace slowly speeding up on some days we will trial some changes to keep everyone happy. The group will still leave at 5pm sharp from the southern side of the surf club and head down to the boat ramp, on the return trip if you want to go at a faster pace turn left up Creek street and that group will head to the highway and back. The remainder will carry on as usual at a much slower pace so newer riders can keep up a lot easier. Both groups should be back at the surf club around the same time give or take a couple of minutes.

Last week and some...

Well it’s been another big week starting last weekend with Clint and Lee-Anne travelling to Geelong to compete at the Olympic distance race to help in their efforts to make the Oz team. Clint had a bike leg that was ok until he laid it down in the wet proving that the combination of a Trek, corner and Triathlete is a recipe for pain J Clint carried on and still recorded a good time but finished about 29th in his age group from memory.
Lee-Anne didn’t have the best race but she did finish 9th in her age group which is a great result and increases her chances of making the Oz team.
Dylan and Brad travelled to Toowoomba to race and had a weekend that was best marked down as good experience. There were some strong teams there that rode with some pretty low tactics and dominated the races they were in.

The Thursday roll this week was a great ride with 12 riders turning out. The pace was a bit firmer this week and it showed with some people dropping off during the ride.

The Saturday ride to the dam was again well supported with about 10 riders in the end making the trip. Michelle is becoming a regular and proving she has a bit of stamina on the bike sitting on a decent pace out there and on the way back. Daryl (‘Dealer’ I’m calling him because he’s starting to deal out some pain J) is a big improver and is one to watch because whatever he’s doing is working. There were plenty of other riders out and about that morning as well which was great to see.
Today was the last round of the Rocky Crit series and the weather was spot on once again, except for the slight headwind down the back straight and the high temperature that caught a few out with tyres popping here and there.
Brad, Dylan and Lew flew the flag for our area in A grade but the big guns from Rocky fired today and dished out some hurt. In saying that it has to be remembered Brad and Dylan probably haven’t recovered 100% from last weekend but they are young so I don’t feel sorry for them J
B grade saw about 25 riders I think take part with Vaughn, Ray and Sandy plus I did notice another M1 shirt in there as well. It was a big group but once again the Rocky riders came away with the goods. C grade was where the action was with about 20 riders starting the race. The instructions were to keep it steady for the first half of the race….clearly this didn’t get through to all the riders with the pace very firm from the get go. My plan was to wait until the end and have a crack at sprinting for the first time instead of trying to win it from a mile out, something that hasn’t worked for me yet….
The race was messy at times which I expected with a lot of riders not calling inside or outside and the inevitable changes of line that took place mid corner as a result. I positioned myself well and was 3rd wheel going into the last lap and was looking at the first corner when a couple of young fellas slipped up the inside. Once again the changes that came about as a result of these actions one way or another resulted in 3 riders going down and the C grade race being called of as a result. I was right next to the riders as they went down and it wasn’t a great feeling to have bikes and people flying through the air and I ended up on the grass to avoid the carnage, lucky there wasn’t a gutter!

Thursday Roll

At last the rain stayed away to allow the Thursday roll to get away. The usual suspects were in attendance but there were a couple of new faces to welcome to the group; welcome Michelle and Isaac. Michelle is a triathlete so watch out for her on corners because we all know they can't corner :) and Isaac who is a battle hardened road racer even though he is still at school.
There were about 10 or so riders even though a few regulars were away so still a good number to cruise around.
The Thursday roll is the perfect chance for people new to riding to experience riding in a group and is a fun social ride. The pace is intended to be around a constant 25-27 kph so as not to burn off new people and be a recovery ride for anyone doing some more serious k's during the week..... Really it's just an excuse to go the surf club for a beer and feed afterwards :)
If anyone knows of anyone who might want to come along just invite them, the more the better.

A Busy Week

Last weekend saw people racing everywhere in both road racing and triathlons. Top story is Dylan winning his first (of many) A grade race in Rocky at round 4 of the Crit series. Dylan and Worm made a break for it with around 10 - 15 minutes to go (from what I remember I was told)and the rest of them left them there to pop. At the end Worm lead Dylan out but he still had to hold on for 2 laps out there on his own and pretty much 50+ was the speed for those 2 laps; impressive when you consider they would have been averaging well over 40 for 50 minutes preceding the last few laps. Crit racing is especially hard considering out of every corner you have to accelerate back to race pace only to slow down a little for the next corner that is only about 10 seconds away.

Ryan headed south for the Hell of the West tri and had a great result that will have given him plenty of confidence that his training is on track for his Ironman assault in just over 80 days time. His swim was solid but he shone on the bike with a super impressive average of 37.1 for the 80 k bike leg. The bike pace did come at a slight cost in the run but all things considered I reckon it was a great move to see just what lies in them chicken legs and still run off the bike.

Clint had another great Frogs race and is becoming Mr Consistency. With the selection for the Oz team on the horizon he is looking like peaking at the right time. With his swim about to go into orbit with a new coach he might just be a regular on the podium at the frogs races too.

Weekly News

Another week where rain hung around enough to abandon the Thursday roll which was disappointing as there are a few new riders lined up to join in. The Saturday Dam ride was a bit firmer today with Michael upping the pace and making everyone feel a little uncomfortable at times. For me the big surprise was how easy Luke held the wheel....some secret training going on here??? Watch him..... It seems the Dam ride leaving at 6am is here to stay which is a good thing.
It was also great to see that Kev and Vaughn got excited and clocked up some k's as well, just what are they up to I wonder....

This weekend we have round 4 of the Ctit series in Rocky and also The Hell of the West triathlon down at Gundy near the border. Ryan, Muz, Arpit and Carl are having a crack and no doubt hoping to avoid swimming in the poo pond :)