Tick Tock

Less than 2 weeks until the 2014 Great Divide Gran Fondo swings into what will be a very long day on the bike. For some it will be a journey into the unknown while others will know what to expect and can't wait for it to begin. The weather conditions really make the day, if it's windy and hot it makes for a more than memorable experience, even with good conditions it's a bloody long way.
Unfortunately we've had the withdrawal of Kaye from the ride and her beaming smile and sense of humor will be missed. On a positive note Orla from Gladstone looks like she'll be kitting up for her first crack at the Fondo; Orla I promise that you'll have a great day out full of emotions (mostly good lol).
To all other riders attending it's time you sorted out how you are getting to the Calliope IGA for the 4am start time. Be there ready at 3:50am for a quick brief before we roll out.
Dinner will be at the Frenchville Sports Club at 7pm which should give everyone enough time to freshen up. If we have good winds and finish earlier I'm sure we can start dinner early.
Any questions it's time to ask now! :-) If you have specific drinks, spares etc you need taken contact me sooner rather than the day before please.

Mark

Rocky Racing

Great weekend of Road racing in Rocky over the weekend with an invitational event with riders from Mackay and Bundaberg Clubs attending. All grades had great numbers but most significantly A Grade numbers were the best for some time and it was a real A Grade pace, evident by Mick Newell and Paul Andrews big grins on Saturday lol. Mick England came away with the win in the end with a late move hanging on for the win.
Sunday was a Handicap and the pace was on for the scatchies from the get go. The back markers caught the pack on Lap 7 of 10 and slowly reduced the bunch of well over 20 riders from there. In the sprint Matty Jenkin stretched the legs and came away with a well earned win. The Gladstone region certainly has some great talent.

Turkey Beach Ride

Saturday's ride (23rd) will be a Turkey Beach special leaving the car park at the Turkey Beach turnoff from the highway at 7am. Distance will depend on who turns up but expect around 100. I know Pain and Suffering (Steve and Marty) have signed up ;-)

2014 Gran Fondo

3 weeks out! 

Not long at all now before the big day rolls around. So far I have the following riders in for the ride:

Jamie, Vicky, Scotty, Graeme, Daryl, Kaye, Marty, Steve (yes you are both coming), Noel, Schalk, The Fox and yours truly.

If you're thinking about coming please let me know.

Thursday Roll

Great to see so many new riders floating around the other evening even if they didn't all join in for the roll. To the guys that did thanks and hope you come back again.

Bling Bling

A nice new machine turned up on Thursday, very nice Schalk, very nice.

Early August Update

Hi all, 

With Wednesday a day off for a lot of people the Grinders headed out to the Dam for an easy spin. Great to see Tennille come along for a spin as well, I'm pretty sure it was a very beneficial ride with her big chainring issue fixed :-) The usual shenanigans took place on the return trip with the Dodgy Doc starting the rot and the Fox only too happy to take over. Great ride. 

Garry must have had a bad day at work yesterday as the pace on the Roll last night was solid from the start of the ride. A theory is Garry needs to keep a higher rolling speed so he can keep the big chainring turning over.... Once Garry was off the front it appeared all would return to normal, not so with 'ol Silver and young Brendan cracking the whip until they copped a spray from behind reminding them it was the Thursday Roll. Brad did well to dig deep and get back on and finish off with the bunch, well done Brad you showed some real determination. The speeding demons received some calibration from the shortest person in the bunch at the end of the ride, quite funny to watch lol.

 

Dam ride tomorrow leaving at 6:30am from the Tannum Coffee Club.

Sunday Ride 7am from Surf Club. 

Don't forget next weekend's ride to Many Peaks Pub for a 12 noon lunch. Get there any way you like but some of us are leaving Futter Creek in the Boyne Valley at 10am. For those camping at Futter creek, we'll be kicking back starting with nibblies and drinks around the fire once back from the lunch ride.   

Also the Gran Fondo is only 4 weeks away now!  

 

Mark

Tekin Cycles

A friend of TSCG has opened his own bike shop in Melbourne and he has offered his services.  Brad Lawlor is the owner, manager, mechanic, bike builder, floor sweeper, stamp licker, etc at Tekin Cycles (check out our Facebook photos - he's the follicly well-endowed gent).

Brad has kindly offered a 20% discount on all suspension work and parts, 15% off BMC, PIVOT, BH bikes, and same day turnaround & shipping for TSCG.  Feel free to contact Brad (details on his site: http://www.tekincycles.com/) and get a quote.  From first-hand experience I can highly recommend that you see what he can do for you.
 
Tekin Cycles offers premium technical bicycle solutions for every road, mountain, CX, or commuter cyclist. We do everything from bike builds, repairs and suspension to wheel builds, technical advice, and training.

T.F.

Cyclocross Action

Mike (formerly of Tannum Sands, now of Brisbane) competing in his first Cyclocross event on the weekend.  According to Mike it was a "hoot", even though his steed was a little thin on the ground.  Well done Mike.  Only a month to Father's Day (hint, hint), so if you are reading this Jacqui, please become familiar with the N+1 rule.