Cyclocross State Championships 2013

If we ever needed any proof of the leaps and bounds that cyclocross has made in this South Australia, and Australia in general, then the fact that we are having our first ever State Championships should be more than sufficient.  Full marks to Gemma and Neil for bringing their vision of mud splattered racing to fruition in Adelaide.

The 2013 state championships are being held in the town of Tanunda, about an hours drive out of Adelaide in the Barossa Valley, and more specifically on the grounds of the Chateau Tanunda winery.

Saturday

 Miss V and myself decided to make a weekend of it and stay in Tanunda overnight. We booked a room at the Valley Hotel, which is within easy walking distance of the event venue. On arriving at our accomodation we unloaded the car and walked over to see where we would be racing tomorrow.. Wow..  what a venue. Gemma and crew were still setting up some of the course, so we gave our two cents worth. The section that we were looking at looks insane with barriers, chicanes and a crazy steep hill to contend with. In all honesty, I'm not really looking forward to this bit!  The rest of the course  looks like I might enjoy it, though the run over the train line might mean running higher tyre pressures than is ideal to prevent pinch flatting.  My chances of walking away with a medal in the race tomorrow is, if I'm completely honest, zero. With a bunch of regular A grade and top of B grade riders to compete against, there seems no doubt that I'll be out of the running. Fortunately fellow PACC Man of Steel Gus K  is racing in my masters category, so I think we will end up having our own little race, somewhere near the back of the field no doubt. If I can finish ahead of Gus, I'll count this race as a "win" :)  Given that Gus takes part in something apparently referred to as "training" , I think I might have my work cut out for me.

PACC Barrier, masking the hellish descent beyond.

Sunday

Sunday morning arrived, and so it was a fairly lazy effort to get ready, pack up the car and head down to the course in time for sign on.  The weather was looking to be absolutely sensational, almost summer-like.

Signed on and number pinned, it was time to scope out the course. As predicted, the steep downhill section was no more enjoyable on a bike than on foot. Try as I might, I couldn't see myself riding down the slope without requiring hospitalisation immediately afterwards. Decision made to run this section. There was also another hairpin which had an awkward ditch on the apex which I felt better to run than risk nosediving into the ground.  What became apparent during this warm up was the uphill drags at the start and end of the lap was going to take a massive toll on the legs.

Race

With a few minutes to start, Gus and I waited to be called up to our starting positions. On account of my better placing in the previous series I was starting a row in front.  With the whistle we were off. The group stayed relatively bunched up through the vineyard and through the technical section in the wooded area. Through the hairpins I could catch a glimpse of Gus behind me. I also had another rider not too far ahead. So I immediately had two goals set. To catch the rider in front and to try to shake Gus off my tail.

Gus and CLP awaiting the start.

I pushed hard through the remainder of the first lap in an effort to get on the wheel of the rider in front. In doing so I put a bit of time between Gus and myself. By the downhill chicane, I was on the wheel of the rider in front and managed to run past him at the base of the hill, remounted and tried to open a gap. The problem I found was that in running down the hill I was taking so much out of my legs that I was struggling to get back up to speed on the uphill stretch to the finish line. Compounding this was leaving the bike in the wrong gear before dismounting. Each.And.Every.Freakin'.Lap.

Pushing hard!

Laps 2 and 3 were spent trying to maintain the gap to the riders that I had passed, while trying (in vain!) to catch up to riders ahead.  What I was finding was that I was getting more confidence and it seemed like I was cornering faster. Counteracting this was my legs getting tired and travelling slower on the straighter sections!

On lap 4 as I was running down the hill I noticed a bike overturned, with a couple of people attending to it. At the same time, commissaires were yelling "Number 61, no outside assistance!" repeatedly.    As I had been lapped, this turned out to be my final lap, so I struggled up the hill, rounded the final bend to take the chequered flag. Finishing position was, as predicted, somewhere near the back, though for what it's worth I felt that I raced a lot stronger than I have done in the past.

All things considered I'm relatively happy with how I rode, I just wish I could ride faster..  more training required! Each lap I think I was riding more confidently, no doubt helped by the cheers from the sidelines from friends. I think I pushed myself harder than I have in a long while, which seems to show in the heart rate data for the race sitting just under 180bpm for nearly 30 minutes.

Post race, there were calls for a rider to see the chief commissaire regarding receiving outside assistance, interestingly a name I recognised from my age group. Now, at this point in time I thought there were only five riders in my group. So with one rider behind me, and one looking like getting disqualified, I was thinking that I might be in the medals!  Sadly, it seems I (and maybe others!) misread the start list. My name was called out to get third place. Sweet! But then a last minute protest revealed that there were actually six in my group, so I had to give the medal back..  drama on the podium!    Fair call though, and congratulations to those that finished.

Handicap Race

Attacking the Cobblestones.

The final race of the day was an all-in two lap handicap race. I was given a time of 2:30 ahead of the scratch rider, which seemed like an absurdly low time over two laps. When I rolled up to the start I found PACC president and newly crowned MAS5 CX State Champion Marky G in my handicap group. Yep, this was going to go well!

We were lined up and watched the first groups go away. Listening to the count down from the starter until "two minutes thirty" was called and then we were away. Marky G blasted off the line, up the short rise towards the vines. I hung on until the cobbled section, but after that he was gone, pretty much as expected.

I found that the course felt much faster and with much more grip than in my race which gave a bit of extra confidence going into corners, though I think I still held back a little.

Even on the first lap I had a bunch of riders come past me, which made me feel unbelievably slow. I struggled over the line, to start my second and final lap. I think to this point I hadn't actually caught and passed anyone, which was a little disappointing.

Exiting the Vines.

Second lap I attacked the corners a bit harder and generally carried more speed throughout the course. Goal was to catch someone.. anyone!  This goal was looking a bit out of my reach until I saw Gus up ahead entering the downhill chicane near the dam. I attacked the corners just a little bit harder before dismounting and getting over the barriers. Running down the hill I passed Gus and quickly remounted, climbing up the hill to the finish.  Obviously not in the money, but oddly a fun way to end the event.



Massive kudos to all those involved in organising and hosting this event. Awesome venue, organisation and exciting racing. What more could you want?

Job Done! :)

Strava data for those that are interested:
Race
Handicap race

All Photos c/ Miss V :)

Amy's Gran Fondo 2013 - Sunday - The Main Event

The alarm went off obnoxiously early again, though in reality we were pretty much awake already. This ride has a weird buzz about it that's difficult to appreciate. It's both a race and a community ride, so prior to the event it has the tension that you'd expect from a race and the overall buzz you get from a large community event. With our hotel being a stones throw from the start line we pretty much just had to get dressed and roll over there.

Peeking out the window showed that we were in for a nice day. Nice, but still fairly cool. Unlike last year there seemed to be little threat of rain during the event. That said, with a few days of rain leading up to the event, there was likely to be plenty of wet patches present on the course.Remembering last year, I banked on the climb and subsequent descent through the rain forest being pretty cold, so we dressed warm, even though we felt inappropriately rugged up while waiting on the start line.

CLP and Miss V waiting for the start.

The start procedure was the same as last year, with groups of 200 being released. As a result of us lying on our registration, we started much closer to the front than we did last year. Also in our start group were the Smudge Monkees! :)   Nice!  Pre-ride, Miss V had a plan..  sub 6 hours. What wasn't specified was whether this was just over the 110km timed section, or the entire ride. Either way, there was a general thinking that we should try to push a little harder if we could.

On the Start Line looking forward.
This many riders were behind us also!

At 8am the first riders were let loose on the course. We waited patiently while the ten or so groups were started before us..  and then it was our turn! Woot! :D

The first run is spectacular, taking in approximately 40 kilometres of the Great Ocean Road. There's a few surprisingly sharp undulations along the way, but it's essentially flat and is a great opening section to the ride. Compared to last year, we were about six minutes faster, but significantly, well ahead of the 10:17am cut off time. This meant that we could settle in a enjoy the ride a bit more than last year.

It's a tough life having to cycle in these conditions.
Miss V on The Great Ocean Road

After that first 40 kilometres, the really fun stuff starts! Right turn onto Skenes Creek road for a 9.4 kilometre climb. I was hoping to complete this faster than last year, But looking at the official timing it looks like I was about eight seconds slower. Sigh.  I crested the climb absolutely soaked and with legs feeling like jelly, so I'm not sure I had much more to give. Miss V appeared just over ten minutes later having knocked about five minutes off her time from last year. Fantastic effort!  After a few minutes break to catch our breath we rolled down to the aid station where we stopped for a few minutes more.

Heading towards Forrest

Back on the road, and we where headed down the descent from the KOM to Forrest. Surrounded by rainforest, this is super tranquil, and yet super fast. There's also the occasional damp patch on the corners so there's an element of danger to be wary of. We took it fairly easy and arrived safely in Forrest, well ahead of the expected arrival time. In this sense, the ride was much more enjoyable than last year. While we pushed when we felt like it, there was no fear of missing a cut off if we decided to back it off a bit.   Adding to the enjoyment was that we would bump into the Smudge Monkee crew and have a bit of a chat before setting out again. Luxuries we didn't really have last year with the sag wagon stalking us!

From Forrest we pushed a little, trying to reach the final cut off at Deans Marsh with plenty of time to spare. That said, we made sure to enjoy the beautiful scenery in and around Barwon Downs which consisted of surprisingly smooth country lanes on gentle rolling hills.  As the day continued the weather just seemed to be getting better and better. There was always a bit of a cool breeze, but nothing to really slow us down a whole lot. Arriving in Deans Marsh, we knew we had but one climb to go, and a bundle of time up our sleeve, so we waited to see the Smudge Monkees roll in. Some of the Monkees seemed to be doing it tougher than others, however the overall enthusiasm seemed to still be there.

Happy and Relieved!
Finished Amy's Gran Fondo 2013

After topping up on fluids, we headed up the final climb to the finish. The climb to the finish isn't too bad for the most part as it's split into a few segments. There are flat, and in parts, downhill sections to give the legs a slight rest. The final part of the climb kicks up a bit, but nothing too bad and the sign boards telling you how far until the finish help dull the burning sensation in the legs. I passed a heap of people going up here as my legs were feeling really good.  After finishing I waited at the top to watch as Miss V and the Smudge Monkees come through.

Very proud of Miss V for battling (yet again!) a poor lead up to the event and pushing her limits to complete the event. I felt fortunate to be able to watch, one by one, all the Smudge Monkees roll over the line to complete their epic adventures.

A fun untimed 10 kilometre descent back into Lorne (think Montecute road, except through thick forest) rounded out the event as we all met back at the event village to finish off the ride.

We were absolutely starving by the time we got back, so we decided to forego the provided pasta meal and grabbed a late lunch from Pizza Pizza. This time a salami calzone..  a taste sensation.  We eased into a hot spa bath and tried to relax the muscles with varying degrees of success.

Still hungry, we later wandered over to Mexican Republic for some Nachos and Burritos, topped off with a Negra Modelo beer. Very delicious :D

Finally, back to the room to pack everything up and get an early night in preparation for an early start to head home via Melton to visit Miss V's sister and her new niece.

Wrap up
Once again, a sensational event put on by by the Amy Gillett Foundation, awesome weather and even better company.  Definitely worth the trip over, and we're already thinking forward to next year. Hopefully we can encourage a few more to make the trip over from Adelaide to take part next year!

My new bike performed flawlessly and was an absolute pleasure to ride. I'm slowly getting to grips with the quirks of electronic gears, primarily the lack of feedback that a shift has occurred! Even so, the consistency of each gear shift is just so awesome..

Strava data for those that are interested
http://www.strava.com/activities/82803361

Amy's Gran Fondo 2013 - Saturday

We awoke on Saturday morning, expecting the nearby camp ground to be bustling with activity, but strangely it was completely empty. Odd. And completely empty it stayed all weekend.  On the plus side the weather looked stunningly perfect. Cool, sunny and with minimal wind. Lovely. A brief stroll to Lick and Sip Cafe for a big breakfast and then back to the room to reassemble the bikes.

Miss V and Red Flash on The Great Ocean Road

With that done we rolled out for a brief pootle along The Great Ocean Road. This is simply an amazing piece of road to cycle along, with fairly reasonable roads, slowish traffic due to the twists and turns and absolutely breathtaking views. So many riders were out, including Aussie legend Phil Anderson, who apparently lives nearby.

Nearing our turn around point we saw the support vehicle for the Smudge Monkees.  Thinking that Smudge and Co might be following close behind we continued our ride for another few kilometres with the thought that we could ride the last few kilometres into Lorne with them... But alas, no Monkees. All up, a nice 30km trip, with only a couple of minor issues.

CLP and Pinny on the Great Ocean Road

On arriving back at the room we got changed and headed out to do a bit of shopping. A bit of lunch was also in order, so we stopped at the nearby Pizza Pizza which had been tempting us with delicious aromas since we arrived. We weren't disappointed.. absolutely sensational roast pumpkin pizza.  With our bellies full we headed to our safety briefing and then to the event village to collect our Gran Fondo kit. Nice looking kit it is too, in my humble opinion.





Dinner was a fun affair, with us dining in the company of the legendary Smudge Monkees at the Lorne Hotel. We were able to hear all the stories from their epic ride from Adelaide to Lorne.. inspiring stuff.

Back to the room, a few final preparations with nerves building slightly. Hoping for a day similar to today, and with no drama.... Fingers and Toes crossed!

Amy's Gran Fondo 2013 - Preparation and Travel

September means Amy's Gran Fondo!

After taking part in the event last year and absolutely loving it, the 2013 version of the event was quickly pencilled into the calendar as a must do. Having watched our emails closely, we waited for the registrations to open in April. We immediately signed up and organised our accommodation. With all that taken care of, we could sit back and excitedly look forward to what is a fantastically run event.

Things hit a small hitch when Miss V managed to develop a fairly painful knee about two weeks prior to the event (possibly through over training). Slightly stressed at the thought of missing the Fondo, she nursed herself back to health and got the okay to start from her physio. There was much relief at hearing that news!

Our spirits were somewhat dampened on our last day at work before our final Gran Fondo preparations as two colleagues were made redundant. While I can be glad that my neck was once again spared from the chopping block (as was Miss V's thankfully), I can't really feel happy knowing that we'll be returning to an office with essentially a skeleton staff. I guess that's the downside of working for an impersonal multinational that seems to put profits ahead of people. ..  rant over.

Thursday was our final preparation for heading over. We'd decided that we'd attempt to arrive in Lorne at a more respectable hour than last time, lest we be told off in a motherly fashion by the lady at the Best Western Motel again. In an effort to be semi organised we'd put all of our gear at the front door ready to go for a fast getaway.  Early night for us, but I struggled to get to sleep with thoughts of "what have I missed?" running through my head.

Friday morning came, with an obnoxiously early alarm waking us. After a quick shower the car was packed and we were on our way. Unusually for us, we were running right on schedule. Fog in the Adelaide hills provided an almost surreal backdrop for our departure from Adelaide.

Foggy Conditions heading out of Adelaide

Our first stop was in Keith, in search of some food in lieu of breakfast. We ordered 6 chicken nuggets, somewhat disappointed on not being able to get some delicious bakery goods. Disappointment turned into elation as we ate the best chicken nuggets.. ever. To be fair, to call them chicken nuggets is doing them a disservice as they were actually chicken tenderloins, coated and then deep fried to perfection. Highly recommended.

From Keith, we headed towards, and then along the coast. Rain was (yet again!) a constant factor in our trip, and so we were figuring that we might get a semi damp Gran Fondo again like last year. Fortunately we'd packed lycra for pretty much every conceivable weather condition, so we felt more than prepared for whatever mother nature might throw at us.

Gloomy looking clouds as we travel the Great Ocean Road

Throughout the trip we kept pondering how the Smudge Monkees were going who were on their second last day of riding from Adelaide to Lorne. We soon got our answer as they appeared before us on the road. After initially startling them and then cheering them on for a bit we headed along the Great Ocean Road. We rolled into Lorne at about 7:00, checked in, unloaded the car and feasted on fried rice and noodles from Chopstix, a local noodle joint. With any luck, the weather will be kind and we will be able to go for a bit of a pootle tomorrow morning... Fingers crossed.

Two years in Black and White..

Looking through a few cycling photos recently, I realised that I'd been racing for about two years. This seems like a good milestone to sit back and ponder how things have gone in those two years.

Up until that point, I guess I would have regarded myself as an enthusiastic recreational rider.  I had considered racing years ago, but oddly taking up racing was one of the few things that my Dad discouraged me doing. So with little support, and not knowing anyone who races it was something that was allowed to slide by the wayside. As the years went by, I assumed that any likelihood of racing was long gone. That said, I wasn't particularly fussed by this as I was enjoying my cycling, and enjoyed encouraging others to start cycling.

This changed when I saw a post on by Adelaide Cyclists founder Gus describing his experiences in his first race, a cyclocross race run by the Port Adelaide Cycling Club. Interestingly, Gus was of a similar age to me, had previously considered racing, but hadn't for whatever reason. A story that sounded remarkably familiar.

So with that account in mind, I set out to have a look at how these things were run. Standing next to the tape, camera in hand, watching people that I'd cycled with previously go past on the other side of the tape, I kept coming back to the realisation that I could be on the other side of that tape!

First ever race!
(photo c/ Miss V)

And with that, I made the appropriate enquiries necessary to obtain a three race permit through the Port Adelaide Cycling Club (PACC) and prepared myself to take part in my first ever race.

Cyclocross
My first ever race experience was a Cyclocross race in the Adelaide south parklands. Miss V and I rolled up unloaded my dual suspension mountain bike off the car. I was entered in the Open class, which meant that any non cyclocross bike could be raced.  Being in amongst the action, even if I wasn't exactly setting the course on fire, was intense, and almost drug like in the sense that I was already looking forward to my next "hit". After a second race on my three race permit I'd pretty much decided that I wanted to keep going and so I signed up for a gold racing licence with PACC. My time in black and white had begun.  Since then I've purchased a proper cyclocross bike, and become a regular fixture and the rear end of B grade.

First Cyclosportif - PACC Bag of Tricks
(photo c/ Chameleon Photography)

CycloSportif
Reading on the PACC forums, there seemed to be a bit of discussion and planning around a series of team events. A bit of reading to find out what they were about had me thinking that I wanted in on these. So I put my name down to be allocated a team. Fortunately there seemed to be a few others in my situation and so a few teams were put together. I was placed on the PACC Bag of Tricks alongside Miss V.  What this series achieved was many fold, but most significantly, it was a good way of getting to know other PACC members in a social yet competitive environment.

First Road Race. Not having much Fun.
(photo c/Chameleon Photography)

Road Racing
With a bit of encouragement from Gemma, I signed up for my first graded road race at the Range. Three laps of the Range circuit; how hard could it be?  Turns out, very hard. I was put into D grade which included riders that I knew I had no hope of keeping up with. Seriously? this is D Grade? Inside the first seven kilometres I was spat out the back of my group, never to see them again.  And then the torrential down pour started.  By the end of the second lap I was feeling pretty miserable and not really having much fun so I abandoned. On the upside, I won the race to the post-race BBQ. Sadly, I don't think I learned much from this race, save for the realisation that I was slow. Over time I've had a go at a some handicap races and tried my luck at a couple more graded scratch races. I think I've improved a little over time, but if I was honest with myself, not as much as I would like. I think I need to put in a lot of hard work before I'll be able to hang on to my group and trouble any of the leaders in my grade.





Criteriums

First Criterium at Victoria Park.
(photo c/ Kerryn Holmesby Photography)

As a spectator, criteriums have interested me, so I had always intended to give these a go should I ever take up racing! So with that in mind I got out to Victoria Park to take part in a few of the Norwood Cycling Club's criterium series. These are fast, fun and furious, and make for a good way to let off steam after a day of work. I'm looking forward to getting out for a few more of these next summer; and maybe dragging a few more people out there with me.  Thus far, my biggest prize has been from a second placing in E grade at the Whitmore square criteriums...  can't complain too much about that!

Time Trial
I'd never really intended to race time trials, partly because of the lack of a time trial bike, but mostly because I couldn't see myself doing remotely well enough in them to maintain my interest. However, given that PACC organise a time trial series at Outer Harbor over summer over a 18km course, I thought that I should see what all the fuss was about. A few friends had already set a time on this course so there was additional motivation to give it a go. So Miss V and I got up at some ungodly hour on a perfectly good Sunday morning to have a crack at the race of truth. So what did I find? Time trials hurt.. a lot. That said, we came back for a second attempt to try to improve our respective times, and then later had a go at the Masters State time trial Championships.  I think of all the racing that I've tried, these are my least favourite.

Track

Flying 200m at the Adelaide Superdrome
(Photo c/ Mick Young)

Track racing has been a bit of a surprise packet for me. Gemma had seen me out and about on my single speed bike a few times and kept hounding me to set it up for track racing. I was less than enthused by this idea! On the other hand, Miss V was very keen to try out track racing. So we went out to Edwardstown for for their Friday night race meeting. Once again, sitting on the sidelines, I couldn't see a lot of point just spectating and so I decided that I'd look into having a go myself.  So I picked up a nice second had track bike I ventured into some track racing. I had a couple of race meetings at the outdoor Edwardstown velodrome last summer, and more recently during the last winter I've been racing at the Superdrome in my first full series. I think it'd be fair to say that I've enjoyed this racing a lot more than I thought I would, and as a bonus have performed a lot better than I thought I could.


So that's been a bit of a review of what I've done in my first two years of racing. I definitely haven't set the world on fire, but I'm having so much fun it almost doesn't matter. Along the way I've become part of a community full of people who support cycling in all its varied forms. As a bonus, during this time I've encouraged a number of other people to pin on a number and have a go.

 My only regret, is that I didn't start sooner.

Thanks for reading! :)