1st Degani Crit

Sunday morning saw the start of the winter Degani Crit series and it was a great morning of racing. The weather was coolish (for Rocky) and the sun stayed behind some clouds for almost the whole time racing was underway. B grade and D grade got underway at 8am and the pace in B was steady but not crazy. Brad rode as a controller for B and did his job well, too well for my liking ;) My race ended on the last lap after making some errors in judgement (that's the nicest way of putting it) that lead to me sitting up before I passed out. Sandy rode well and finished even better right up the pointy end but couldn't overtake the girls, great race Sandy.
A grade was not the usual pace we have seen in the summer series but there were plenty of solo attacks that were pretty much doomed with Macca sitting in the pack. Brad went pretty early and stayed out in front for a while until Macca showed some interest and started to pull the gap back. Brad sat up eventually and rejoined the bunch. There was the odd attack and then Dylan had a bit of a crack as well - not bad considering he did a 120k training ride averaging just shy of 35 the afternoon before. Towards the end there was a good go from some regular A graders and Dylan latched onto Jay's wheel with Lew jumping across not long after. Lew finally dropped off and Jay lead Dylan onto the final straight delivering him to the finish line like a pro. Jay came in second with Brad coming home well for third.
This may not be 100% accurate but it's how I remember it....

Ironman Calling

Ryan starts heading south today on his way to Port for the 2012 Ironman on May 6 and his second tilt at the event. Ryan has prepared well for the event and even though he came down last weekend on the bike and lost some bark he’s mending quickly. Ryan’s hoping for a finishing time of around 10:30 and if all goes well he should see that. His race number is 470 if you want to check up during the day on http://www.ironmanlive.com/

Stay tuned for updates and some pictures from Ryan leading up to race day.

First Degani Crit for Season

This weekend sees round 3 of the Rocky Road Racing season and is the first Degani Criterium. There should be some great racing if the weather is kind to us with some rain forecast around the weekend. The Crit’s have been well attended in the early part of the year so there should be some good numbers turning up. This is a great form of racing for spectators as the riders compete on a 800 meter course (approx) so you don't have to wait long to see them each lap.

Record Numbers for Thursday Roll!

The Thursday afternoon roll bunch were excited to hear that there was going to be a famous sprinter tagging along for the ride; so much so we set a new record for the ride with 17 riders! (and that was with more than a few regulars away). Turns out the famous sprinter was Brad from M1 Cycles who rides in the same team as Dylan in the Queensland Team Road Racing Series. The ride was pretty normal with the last lap the usual flat out to see who can hold onto Dylan’s wheel to the end. Brad came good for the sprint and kicked away once the speed hit about 40 or so and managed to hold his position up the last little kick. It was also good to see another local turn up for the ride (Pyney) and I hope he comes back as a regular.

I must say though we do look pretty messy as a group and it’s something we need to start working on especially with the group getting bigger - even more so when the pace gets firmer.

Anzac Day Ride

The Anzac Day ride was supposed to be an easy 80k ride to help some of those that haven't ridden a hundy before prepare for Noosa next weekend. With FIFO (Michael - Fly In Fly Out) on the front the pace was on, all I could think was there will be some boys hurting on the return trip :) On the quiet back roads we tried some rolling over with mixed results...... but we've made a start and it can only improve. The rolling over was getting there slowly until a certain Kiwi made a break for it and some of the guys thought they had to chase him and it all went to puss - thanks Kiwi. The return trip to Calliope was a good pace and nobody dropped off which was the plan; must have been good riding at the front ;) Once we finished our stop at the cross roads servo Craig decided being Anzac Day there had to be casualties and set about laying down a firm pace that cooked a couple of  lads. Schalk true to form passed him on the last hill and turned the screws on him to make him suffer for his hard work up until that point. It was great viewing :)
By the time we got near Boyne the lads at the back were really feeling it and their body language spelt it out very clearly. Gary (who is 60!) gets a gong for biggest heart of the day because he just kept digging deep, Guy was a close second.
The coffee shop was a welcome sight to say the least and a fitting conclusion to a great ride.

Rocky Road Race 2

The racing was hot at round 2 of the Rocky road series, damn HOT! I think it was just over 30 degrees when racing got underway and the heat had a fair bit to do with more then a few riders pulling the pin early.
In A grade it seems that most of the riders were just feeling each other out and treating the round more like a training session then an all out race, evident by the pace they rode at. Brad grabbed second after messing up the sprint (from what I heard) and Lew in third. Dylan and Mick were a little way back but read nothing into that....Dylan TT'd a fair bit of the race out front and Mick is still in training mode.
In B grade there was more than one attack off the front (M1 rider more than once)  but they weren't going to get away with the headwind over the back of the circuit and the speed in the pack behind. In the end the heat and pace (at times) cooked a lot of the pack that saw only just over half the riders that started finish. This was my first sprint finish and I thought I was going to pull off a win, until I hit the point where everything feels numb and started to fade just before the line. I looked over my shoulder to see 2 guys screaming up on me but i was gone and could do nothing, third it was. Still it was my first ever place in a race other than a TT :) Craig rode strongly and was feeling the heat like I was but he still dragged the pack around the last lap on his own...give him a month and it will be different.
C Grade was taken out by Cat from Gladstone. She was always going to win with the k's she has in her legs. I think she is part mountain goat with the amount of climbing she pulls off every week :)

Noosa Century Rides

Less than a few weeks to go now until the Noosa Winter Festival and there looks like a good sized contingent heading down. Myron, Craig and myself have signed up for the 160 and Guy, Schalk and Doug (plus another couple i think) are doing the hundy. Looks like we won't be alone with some M1 riders making the 'Trek' down as well so we'll be sure to keep an eye out for them. If anyone is keen to know more check out the USM site or give me a shout. No doubt we'll try to all hook up for a coffee shop run on Saturday morning to soak up the awesome atmosphere and ride on some bloody decent roads! Oh yeah and drink lots of coffee :)

Rocky Road Season Kicks Off

The weekend just gone saw the long awaited (for some) start to the 2012 Rocky road season and it kicked off with a 20K TT. In A Grade Lewis Marshall and Mick Newell from Gladstone took and 1st and 2nd in A grade respectively with Lew the only rider to average over 40kph in the windy conditions. Yours truly took out B Grade with Sandy McVey from Tannum coming in 5th. There weren’t a lot of riders present for the first round but all in all it was a good start to the season. The next round is a Kermesse at Glendale this weekend and should see a lot more riders turning up to blow the cobwebs out.