So, a few weeks ago, I fronted up to Whyalla CC’s race on Saturday, the course was from Stirling North to Quorn and return. Probably none of those names mean anything to anyone apart from Quorn being a funny name for a town. I knew absolutely nothing about the course apart from one guy at work saying “it’s a bit hilly” – now for those of you that know: I don’t do hills. I do banking, but I don’t do hills.
Expectations were low but hopes were high as I hadn't done a road race with Whyalla so thought I might get a sweet handicap. Turned out to be moderately sweet but one of the guys in my bunch was a local and new the course well – so well in fact I believe he was determined for our bunch to ride it without breaking a sweat and would insist that we back it off before “the big climb”. I got kinda bored with this and believed it was only a matter of time before we got swamped so up the next climb I gave it a bit and rode away for the next 15km.
However I then got bored with being alone, no one likes to be alone, and decided I’d probably bitten of more than I could chew and would like some mates for the return headwind. I backed off a little and my original group caught back on. I said sorry - all was forgiven. We spun around and headed back, at this point there was one solo dude in front that we never seemed to make any gain on but for a similar unknown reason, no one made ground on us.
In the last 10km me and an old guy dropped out 2 remaining companions and with that set up a showdown for the sprint. In the last km he sat on my wheel like he had done all race as I pondered the chances of getting out foxed by a dude twice my age. Perhaps it wasn’t his best foxing day because as soon as he came off my wheel the headwind blew him backward and I sailed in for 2nd.
The best bit of the day (apart from winning $14, well $6 if you take away the $8 entry) was all the pies, cakes and coke I could stuff down my throat – gotta love country races! Oh and for those of you that might think I was racing against a bunch of farmers on paddock bashers, think again. Of notable mention were a Venge with Di2, Cannondale Saeco Six13 with DA9000 and a new Ridley Noah with the intergrated brake thingys and 80mm carbons!
Here’s a photo of me about to do the world’s worst turn-around, some cakes and a big fucking parrot.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Hand in Hand
So on Australia Day weekend I travelled back down to Melbourne, for a number of reasons; spending time with Chrissy, spending time with family, friends etc but one of the more important reasons this weekend was to race my bike. In this instance it was a race I'd been looking forward to for some time, the annual Australia Day Madison at Blackburn.
Last year was the first time I'd raced it and I'd parternered up with Spiro. At the time I had thought I was in decent shape, I'd been racing a bit, but for whatever reason I had one of the worst days ever on a bike. We had a few missed changes which didn't help but all I can remember from that day was from the moment I got on the bike and started to push the pedals I wanted it all to stop but I was stuck in a hot, concrete-cauldron of pain and dispair. In any other race you could just deal with getting spat out the back and sooner or later, discretely pull the pin and exit stage left. This is not the case in the Madison, you're in a 2-man team swaping turns ever lap or so and the way you swap over is via a hand sling (I'll assume that most of my readership will know what the go is with Madisons but for those that don't and to my loyal followers in Russia and South Korea, go here Zesdaagse van Rotterdam). So leaving your mate hanging around the track by himself isn't really an option.
With those memories of last year fresh in my mind I made a decision that I wanted to return and be "part" of the race and not just hanging off the back. Since I've been in Pirie I've had the opportunity to get plenty of km's in on the bike and prepare as best I can even though racing here is non-existent.
So race day came and they were running a slightly different format for the B-graders. There was a 50-lap "warm-up" Madison where lap taking wasn't allowed, followed by a 75-lap race proper in the arvo. I will admit to being a little apprehensive about our hand-sling form, as the only practice we had was 5min before the start, but I knew Spiro was in good form and I was starting to feel a bit better about my own.
Race 1 started and the first few slings went off without a hitch but there were a few close calls as everyone got there race nerves settled. Lap by lap I was feeling better and we found ourselves slinging some quick changes off the front make everyone else chase. I have clear memories of the year before, slinging Spiro in and grasping the fence rail like a drunk clutching at the carpet to make the room stop spinning, but this time was different - I actually wanted to get back in!
Some quick tactic talk, and we decided to sit and wait for the first 25laps, not worry to much about the sprints and hit the pack hard to take a lap. Normally I would have shut this sort of talk down straight away but I was actually getting excited. As soon as Race 2 got underway it was pretty clear which teams were going to be in the mix. We did as we'd planned and layed low for the first part but around the 30lap mark I slung Spiro in and he yelled out to me "I'm going to hit 'em now" as he spun away, my first reaction as I pulled up to the fence and watched him launch off the front was "ah shit" but by the time I was in and looking up for the next change we had half a lap. I was waiting and waiting for the legs to pop, to start fading and for the bike to start riding me back to the field, thankfully it didn't and my legs decided to rock up to the party. 15 laps later and I through Spiro on the back of the bunch and we were awarded the lap. It had gone exactly to plan but obviously we wern't the only ones with the win in mind - and we couldn't stop 2 other teams taking their laps. In the end it came down to the fact that they'd picked up more points in their laps then we had. We ended up 3rd, 1 point behind 2nd!
I was totally shagged but it was one of my best races, for a numbe of reasons. One was being able to race on the limit with my mate, the same mate that sold me my first race bike and got me into racing years ago. Another reason was chatting with the other teams after and getting told how we'd put them in the hurt-box (something I've never been accused of!). The final reason was that Mum, Dad and Chrissy were there to watch. I've had plenty of crap days on the bike but it was nice to share a good one with them.
Big thanks also to Nath Larkin, the dude is always in a corner and provided some valuable advice. Plus he took some totally sweet photos of us and the ones shown here are his property, find more here Phynyght Studios
Last year was the first time I'd raced it and I'd parternered up with Spiro. At the time I had thought I was in decent shape, I'd been racing a bit, but for whatever reason I had one of the worst days ever on a bike. We had a few missed changes which didn't help but all I can remember from that day was from the moment I got on the bike and started to push the pedals I wanted it all to stop but I was stuck in a hot, concrete-cauldron of pain and dispair. In any other race you could just deal with getting spat out the back and sooner or later, discretely pull the pin and exit stage left. This is not the case in the Madison, you're in a 2-man team swaping turns ever lap or so and the way you swap over is via a hand sling (I'll assume that most of my readership will know what the go is with Madisons but for those that don't and to my loyal followers in Russia and South Korea, go here Zesdaagse van Rotterdam). So leaving your mate hanging around the track by himself isn't really an option.
With those memories of last year fresh in my mind I made a decision that I wanted to return and be "part" of the race and not just hanging off the back. Since I've been in Pirie I've had the opportunity to get plenty of km's in on the bike and prepare as best I can even though racing here is non-existent.
So race day came and they were running a slightly different format for the B-graders. There was a 50-lap "warm-up" Madison where lap taking wasn't allowed, followed by a 75-lap race proper in the arvo. I will admit to being a little apprehensive about our hand-sling form, as the only practice we had was 5min before the start, but I knew Spiro was in good form and I was starting to feel a bit better about my own.
Race 1 started and the first few slings went off without a hitch but there were a few close calls as everyone got there race nerves settled. Lap by lap I was feeling better and we found ourselves slinging some quick changes off the front make everyone else chase. I have clear memories of the year before, slinging Spiro in and grasping the fence rail like a drunk clutching at the carpet to make the room stop spinning, but this time was different - I actually wanted to get back in!
Some quick tactic talk, and we decided to sit and wait for the first 25laps, not worry to much about the sprints and hit the pack hard to take a lap. Normally I would have shut this sort of talk down straight away but I was actually getting excited. As soon as Race 2 got underway it was pretty clear which teams were going to be in the mix. We did as we'd planned and layed low for the first part but around the 30lap mark I slung Spiro in and he yelled out to me "I'm going to hit 'em now" as he spun away, my first reaction as I pulled up to the fence and watched him launch off the front was "ah shit" but by the time I was in and looking up for the next change we had half a lap. I was waiting and waiting for the legs to pop, to start fading and for the bike to start riding me back to the field, thankfully it didn't and my legs decided to rock up to the party. 15 laps later and I through Spiro on the back of the bunch and we were awarded the lap. It had gone exactly to plan but obviously we wern't the only ones with the win in mind - and we couldn't stop 2 other teams taking their laps. In the end it came down to the fact that they'd picked up more points in their laps then we had. We ended up 3rd, 1 point behind 2nd!
 |
| Game face + Freddy Mercury gloves |
I was totally shagged but it was one of my best races, for a numbe of reasons. One was being able to race on the limit with my mate, the same mate that sold me my first race bike and got me into racing years ago. Another reason was chatting with the other teams after and getting told how we'd put them in the hurt-box (something I've never been accused of!). The final reason was that Mum, Dad and Chrissy were there to watch. I've had plenty of crap days on the bike but it was nice to share a good one with them.
Big thanks also to Nath Larkin, the dude is always in a corner and provided some valuable advice. Plus he took some totally sweet photos of us and the ones shown here are his property, find more here Phynyght Studios
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
All that I survey
So the new year has kicked off in a rather uneventful style. Xmas/NYE was great back in Melbourne, spending time with Chrissy, family and not having to entertain/sleep/cook by myself was a nice change too.
Funnily enough the plant is exactly as I'd left it and there's plenty of work to keep me busy until we start planning the next shutdown.
Riding has also been going well on days when the temperature doesn't move beyond the mid-30's, otherwise being out on a long open road riding into what feels like an enormous hairdryer makes you seriously consider quitting bikes.
I’ve found a new love over the break too, Strava. Much has been written about the pros and cons of Strava (How Strava Is Changine the Way We Ride) but to be honest it has got to be the best thing in the world for me all the way out in the middle of nowhere. For those of you who don't know, Strava is a little iPhone app that you turn on when starting a ride and once you're done it logs your route via the phones' GPS, it then checks selected "segments" that you've gone over and compares the time it took you to ride that compared to previous rides. Not only that it compares your time to other users who have ridden too. So you can imagine that it can get a bit competitive as you try and get the "King Of the Mountain" for a segment.
So here's me thinking that I'd have to set-up my own sections but much to my surprise there are a number of "secret Strava-ers" in Pirie who've set almost 30 sections across town! What's more interesting is that whilst I thought I'd met every cyclist in town, most of the Stravaites are unknown to me and it's only when I'm rolling through a new section that I suddenly spot a dude rolling an S-Works with deep carbons, we usually give each other a "what-up/big-chin/I know you're trying to poach a KOM" then we continue with the task of poaching KOM's.
Whilst we are on the topic of Kings, Mountains and falling off them I might as well give my opinion on Lance. Not that anyone has asked for my opinion but as all my friends will tell you, this is when I'm more likely to give it. Here goes:
I noticed a few friends and others in the cycling world say that they haven't watched the Oprah interview because they couldn't care less about the confessions of a cheat. Whilst I can appreciate that I must admit that my interest in human behaviour, body language and verbal communication made it too good to miss. What I mean is, how can I guy that has not only instigated one of the sports world’s biggest doping scams and perpetuated a lie to the extent that he destroys anyone claiming the truth for almost 15 years, come "clean"?
The answer is he can, but that isn't going to happen in 2hrs on a couch with Oprah. Heaps of people say he wasn't contrite enough or he lied in certain sections (with regards to doping during his comeback) or he didn't answer questions at all (the Indiana Hospital confession). Again I'd say that he is probably just learning to let go of his control of the "truth" and also being a little cautious lest he wind up in jail. I think this is evident when he begins to talk about the tipping point being his son defending him at school, Lance is on the verge of tears... but composes himself and continues. Even the talk about his mother's state of mind still isn't enough to bring the waterworks! The same emotionless expression that he wore whilst tearing apart his opposition on a climb during the Tour appears again. This clearly is the sign of a guy who has not yet let go, still wrestling his demons and I believe even Oprah sees this at the end re-iterating "the truth shall set you free". Almost as if she knows there is a lot more there an encouraging him to keep going.
In short, this is a man that is unravelling himself from a 15 year lie that involved him bullying anyone who wouldn't tow the line, destroying anyone who attacked him and lying to his family. His actual confession to doping only took less than a minute but the rest, including apologies and finer details, will take a lot longer.
And with that said, none of it stops me riding my bike, so that's what I'm going to do. You should too.
Funnily enough the plant is exactly as I'd left it and there's plenty of work to keep me busy until we start planning the next shutdown.
Riding has also been going well on days when the temperature doesn't move beyond the mid-30's, otherwise being out on a long open road riding into what feels like an enormous hairdryer makes you seriously consider quitting bikes.
I’ve found a new love over the break too, Strava. Much has been written about the pros and cons of Strava (How Strava Is Changine the Way We Ride) but to be honest it has got to be the best thing in the world for me all the way out in the middle of nowhere. For those of you who don't know, Strava is a little iPhone app that you turn on when starting a ride and once you're done it logs your route via the phones' GPS, it then checks selected "segments" that you've gone over and compares the time it took you to ride that compared to previous rides. Not only that it compares your time to other users who have ridden too. So you can imagine that it can get a bit competitive as you try and get the "King Of the Mountain" for a segment.
So here's me thinking that I'd have to set-up my own sections but much to my surprise there are a number of "secret Strava-ers" in Pirie who've set almost 30 sections across town! What's more interesting is that whilst I thought I'd met every cyclist in town, most of the Stravaites are unknown to me and it's only when I'm rolling through a new section that I suddenly spot a dude rolling an S-Works with deep carbons, we usually give each other a "what-up/big-chin/I know you're trying to poach a KOM" then we continue with the task of poaching KOM's.
Whilst we are on the topic of Kings, Mountains and falling off them I might as well give my opinion on Lance. Not that anyone has asked for my opinion but as all my friends will tell you, this is when I'm more likely to give it. Here goes:
I noticed a few friends and others in the cycling world say that they haven't watched the Oprah interview because they couldn't care less about the confessions of a cheat. Whilst I can appreciate that I must admit that my interest in human behaviour, body language and verbal communication made it too good to miss. What I mean is, how can I guy that has not only instigated one of the sports world’s biggest doping scams and perpetuated a lie to the extent that he destroys anyone claiming the truth for almost 15 years, come "clean"?
The answer is he can, but that isn't going to happen in 2hrs on a couch with Oprah. Heaps of people say he wasn't contrite enough or he lied in certain sections (with regards to doping during his comeback) or he didn't answer questions at all (the Indiana Hospital confession). Again I'd say that he is probably just learning to let go of his control of the "truth" and also being a little cautious lest he wind up in jail. I think this is evident when he begins to talk about the tipping point being his son defending him at school, Lance is on the verge of tears... but composes himself and continues. Even the talk about his mother's state of mind still isn't enough to bring the waterworks! The same emotionless expression that he wore whilst tearing apart his opposition on a climb during the Tour appears again. This clearly is the sign of a guy who has not yet let go, still wrestling his demons and I believe even Oprah sees this at the end re-iterating "the truth shall set you free". Almost as if she knows there is a lot more there an encouraging him to keep going.
In short, this is a man that is unravelling himself from a 15 year lie that involved him bullying anyone who wouldn't tow the line, destroying anyone who attacked him and lying to his family. His actual confession to doping only took less than a minute but the rest, including apologies and finer details, will take a lot longer.
And with that said, none of it stops me riding my bike, so that's what I'm going to do. You should too.
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