The new Coffee Grinder Kits are on their way! All going well it should land at my place this Friday. Once it's arrived it will be sorted and collection will start most likely on Monday if it actually does turn up....woo hoo!
There will be a new order in the not too distant future as there's been a lot of interst from plenty of people ;)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Great Divide waits....
Thursday Ride Record
Last Thursday saw us with a new record for riders with 22 turning up for the ride. There were quite a few Ladies in there as well which is great to see.
The group will split into 2 groups from now on to cater for the regulars and also the newer riders or those just wanting to take it easy. Craig and I will take turns at taking each group purely as pace setters and to try and pass on some basics. The larger group is to cruise on about 26/28 k/h and the other around 21/23. While the are not blistering speeds the please remember the Thursday ride is a social event where riders can meet other riders and plan other rides from there.
I am confident we will hit 30 very shortly with the warmer weather and longer days returning.
The first Thursday roll a couple of years ago....I think
The group will split into 2 groups from now on to cater for the regulars and also the newer riders or those just wanting to take it easy. Craig and I will take turns at taking each group purely as pace setters and to try and pass on some basics. The larger group is to cruise on about 26/28 k/h and the other around 21/23. While the are not blistering speeds the please remember the Thursday ride is a social event where riders can meet other riders and plan other rides from there.
I am confident we will hit 30 very shortly with the warmer weather and longer days returning.
The first Thursday roll a couple of years ago....I think
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Rocky Road Racing Champs
Perfect weather was supplied for the final road race of the year for the Rocky Club. After a late start the races began and so did the wind....On the trip out there was of course a nice tailwind for the long downhill. At the turnaround the headwind was very much in your face and the grinding began.
I'll tell the tail of B Grade from where I was sitting until I had my first ever DNF......
The trip out was very fast with speeds over 50 frequent and there wasn't anytime when the pace wasn't on. The turnaround saw the before mentioned wind come into play with some big turns pulled by the Rocky lads. There were a few attempts to mix things up here and there but nothing really. After the first lap of 3 everyone was together and the trip up the hill began once again. This time however there was a move from the Rocky lads that resulted in Sandy being spat out the back. Ryan was toast too but I'm not sure at what point he popped. Cat gave me some words of wisdom and also informed me her day wasn't far from being over as we rocketed along with the tailwind once again. Jason Paul and Paul Smith were very strong and did a lot of the work without any complaints, I could hear anyway. On the return they tried it on again up a hill and once again everyone had to dig deep. I'm not sure where Cat called it a day but maybe around here somewhere as she wasn't very well to start with. By the time we got to the last haul up the hill the guys went again and when they did I didn't respond but rather thought about what it would be like to do another lap and I decided that was enough for me, I was all but toast.
The Vman was still there as the field shrunk to just 4. As B Grade came into sight for the last time there were just 3, and yes the Vman was there! I thought for sure he would jump and take the guys but as it turns out he had jumped at the top of the hill with a rush of blood and paid the price with an empty tank; the other guys were running on empty too but held him out. Well done Vman and well done to Paul and Jason, they were super strong and deserved winners.
Ray took out C Grade and did it easy, of course he should have been in B grade but that's racing.......
Turns out there were a lot of DNF's on the day in many grades for many different reasons.
A Grade 75km- Jay Callaghan, Adrian Lohmann, Kevin Ronan; B Grade 75km - Paul Smith, Jason Paull, Vaughan Flowers; C Grade 50km - Ray Rhodes, Gary Hill, Bailey Goltz; D Grade 40km - Dave McIntosh, Reid Newell, Wayne Coleman; Under 13 16km - Scott Thomasson, Danielle Ruff, Xanthe Newell; Under 11 & 9 6km - Kayla Brady, Ellyssa Ruff, Caden Ruff.
I'll tell the tail of B Grade from where I was sitting until I had my first ever DNF......
The trip out was very fast with speeds over 50 frequent and there wasn't anytime when the pace wasn't on. The turnaround saw the before mentioned wind come into play with some big turns pulled by the Rocky lads. There were a few attempts to mix things up here and there but nothing really. After the first lap of 3 everyone was together and the trip up the hill began once again. This time however there was a move from the Rocky lads that resulted in Sandy being spat out the back. Ryan was toast too but I'm not sure at what point he popped. Cat gave me some words of wisdom and also informed me her day wasn't far from being over as we rocketed along with the tailwind once again. Jason Paul and Paul Smith were very strong and did a lot of the work without any complaints, I could hear anyway. On the return they tried it on again up a hill and once again everyone had to dig deep. I'm not sure where Cat called it a day but maybe around here somewhere as she wasn't very well to start with. By the time we got to the last haul up the hill the guys went again and when they did I didn't respond but rather thought about what it would be like to do another lap and I decided that was enough for me, I was all but toast.
The Vman was still there as the field shrunk to just 4. As B Grade came into sight for the last time there were just 3, and yes the Vman was there! I thought for sure he would jump and take the guys but as it turns out he had jumped at the top of the hill with a rush of blood and paid the price with an empty tank; the other guys were running on empty too but held him out. Well done Vman and well done to Paul and Jason, they were super strong and deserved winners.
Ray took out C Grade and did it easy, of course he should have been in B grade but that's racing.......
Turns out there were a lot of DNF's on the day in many grades for many different reasons.
A Grade 75km- Jay Callaghan, Adrian Lohmann, Kevin Ronan; B Grade 75km - Paul Smith, Jason Paull, Vaughan Flowers; C Grade 50km - Ray Rhodes, Gary Hill, Bailey Goltz; D Grade 40km - Dave McIntosh, Reid Newell, Wayne Coleman; Under 13 16km - Scott Thomasson, Danielle Ruff, Xanthe Newell; Under 11 & 9 6km - Kayla Brady, Ellyssa Ruff, Caden Ruff.
 |
| Vman coming in third. |
Saturday
Another weekend of great weather for riding has come and gone. Saturday saw a new starter for the group with Reg turning up to follow a few wheels and fitted right in working with Marty to keep the speedo humming along around 40. Not too sure what happened on the rest of the Dam ride because I turned around at the road works as I was taking it easy for the club champs the next day. I met up with a few people while I waited for them to come back and had a chat before they went on there separate way. I also came across another couple that couldn't even bother to wave or even look sideways to acknowledge the 'gday' I threw out there; a sad state of affairs......I'll leave that one alone.
Anyway Graeme and John came into site and I joined up with them and to the brew shop we went. The other guy's eventually caught up to us at the Boyne lights with Steve mentioning Marty's name and there was no need to tell me what had happened as I had a fair idea. From there we descended on the brew shop for a well deserved coffee, well for them in any case.
Anyway Graeme and John came into site and I joined up with them and to the brew shop we went. The other guy's eventually caught up to us at the Boyne lights with Steve mentioning Marty's name and there was no need to tell me what had happened as I had a fair idea. From there we descended on the brew shop for a well deserved coffee, well for them in any case.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Gran Fondo
I have long viewed Gran Fondo rides from afar and thought wouldn’t they be an awesome experience. With racing finishing shortly, no big races for me on the horizon and an expanding waistline, I thought why not do my own Gran Fondo.
On September 29 I will set out from Calliope at 4am (yes that’s early to some of you) to make the most of the cooler part of the day and attempt to make it to Rocky via Biloela (245k's). Now I will not be setting a scorching pace but rather a gentlemen’s pace around 26kph to give myself every chance of making the distance. I plan to ride nonstop to Biloela and have breakfast and a brew before heading off to Dululu which is about 75 k’s for another stop to just stretch the legs and top up water bottles. From there the road heads up ever so slightly to Mt Morgan which is only 20 odd k’s away and where I plan to stop for lunch (I should get there about 1pm). From Mt Morgan there is about 6 k’s of up before the descent to Rocky starts and is pretty much down hill for about 25 k’s with a small bump to go over before some flat to finish off with. We plan to stay overnight in Rocky and hit Sizzler that night before passing out not long after that.
I do of course have a backup vehicle manned by my beautiful other half that will meet me at various stages throughout the day.
So far there are 2 others making the journey with me. Don’t feel like you can’t because you haven’t prepared for it because neither have we. I would like to think this will be a yearly trek and who knows what might happen in time. Like they say, ‘from little things big things grow’.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)