Amy's Gran Fondo 2014

September!!

Time to cast our minds to Lorne, in preparation for Amy's Gran Fondo. It's one of the events that both Miss V and I look forward to each year. Seeing the whole town come alive with thousands of cyclists, and seeing the support of the local community is simply amazing.  Couple that with one of the best cycling events of the year, and it's hard to go past Amy's Gran Fondo. As previously, Miss V made a weekend of it, planning to arrive on the Friday and leave on the Monday, giving us ample time to enjoy our time in Lorne.

This is a consolidated post covering all the stuff we did, so it's probably a long read. If anyone is thinking of heading over, have a read about what the weekend is like. I'd highly recommend getting over there if you have the opportunity.

Preparation and Travel

In the lead up to this year we thought that we might be a little underdone in preparation, so to ease our minds that we were up to the task we planned a couple of weekends to have some training rides. First training ride went pretty well, so we were filled with confidence that we'd do ok. Thoughts were even being entertained of beating a few personal best times at the Gran Fondo.

Then the mother of all colds hit us both, and sidelined us both for about two weeks. Two weeks off the bike is not ideal preparation to say the least. So thoughts of achieving PBs now changed to "will I even be able to start?".  Slowly but surely we were on the mend, so with about one week to go we pottered around the house getting all of our gear ready, still trying not to overdo things. A last minute wheel service by the friendly folks at BMCR (Thanks heaps guys!) put my mind at ease that at least my bike was ready for the trip.

In the back of our minds was whether we'd be recovered enough to complete the distance, avoiding all the time cut offs around the course. These worries were compounded by a scan of the revised cut off times for this year. Our start time was to be about half an hour later than previously, which wasn't much of a problem for the most part since they'd moved the time cuts the same amount of time back; except the last one. So this one had me a little worried. All the same, with the health concerns, we figured we'd simply ride and enjoy it for as long as we could, even if we were pulled from the course!

Friday morning arrived and as the alarm went off at an ungodly hour, we both struggled out of bed, still coughing and spluttering. Clearly a picture of health. We managed to get ourselves ready in a semi respectable time, load up the car and get ourselves out the door. Probably about an hour later than we had planned, but we were rolling. Unfortunately we figured that the late start would mean that we couldn't do much in the way of sight seeing on the way over, and instead of a scenic drive along the Great Ocean Road we'd have to just take the highway.

As we travelled further east, the weather progressively became more gloomy. Weather forecasts for the weekend didn't look entirely positive with showers expected most of the weekend, so expectations that we'd be getting wet over the weekend were starting to gather momentum. None of that was damping our enthusiasm though, at least, not while we were comfortably shielded from the elements in the the car. After all, we're on holidays! Time to let go of all the work and life stresses for a while.

We arrived in Lorne at about 7:30pm local time, which gave us plenty of time to settle in to our room at the Coachman Inn before heading out for a meal. We chose the tried and tested Chopstix noodle bar for our meal, who have never failed to provide us with a tasty and filling meal.

Saturday

Waking up and peeking outside we were greeted with a fairly dreary looking day. Somewhat expected, given the forecasts, so we weren't going to let an overcast and breezy day ruin our spirits. Saturday tends to be a bit of a busy day on these Lorne trips, with us trying to fit in as many things as possible, including a bit of a shakedown ride.

First thing was to take care of breakfast. The last two years we've treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast at the Lick and Sip Cafe, so we saw no reason to break from tradition. Big Breakfast and a freshly squeezed OJ coming right up!  Oh Yeah!  The sound of bicycle freewheels was pretty much everywhere as groups of riders were heading out and returning from their respective rides. Some looking fairly serious, while others taking it a little bit easy and enjoying the scenery. I don't think our trip would be quite the same if we didn't indulge ourselves with a relaxing breakfast here. Suitably recharged, we headed back to the hotel to reassemble our bikes and get ourselves ready for a ride.

We rolled out of the hotel not really knowing how things were going to go. Both of us still weren't 100%, so the plan was, above all else, not to overdo it. We couldn't see any point in having an amazing Saturday shakedown ride if we were too exhausted to ride on the Sunday!  

We took it fairly easy, more of a sightseeing trip than a training ride. A very basic out and back along the Great Ocean Road. Anywhere else would involve significant hills, which I don't think either of us were prepared for! There were a few stops on the way to take photos and generally lap up the sights and sounds of the Great Ocean Road.

Pinny and Red Flash taking a bit of a breather

Blue Sky barely managing to peek through the clouds

One stop that we made was to check out what looked like a small grave just off to the side of the road. Every year we've ridden past it, and every time I think "I wonder what that is?". So I finally found out!  Indeed it was a grave; that of the sailors who perished during multiple salvage operations of the ship W.B. Godfrey.

Grave site for the unfortunate salvage crew
of the W. B. Godfrey

Our total ride was a leisurely 33km, which I think was a nice distance for us to roll the legs over, enjoy the sights and not completely drain ourselves.

With a few hours to spare before our safety briefing, we headed to the event village to pick up our Gran Fondo kit. Unfortunately this turned out to be more problematic than it could have been, since they had no record of us purchasing anything. Fortunately both Miss V and I printed our receipts, so we eventually got our kit.

While we were waiting around we bumped into Mary Safe (Amy Gillett's mum). It's always good to bump into her and her husband Denis at these events (though Denis was MIA due to recently causing himself a bit of a mischief) since it's these people who have taken what must still be an enormous personal tragedy, and turn it into a positive event which attempts to better our society through improved road safety. Amazing people.

We decided to try to get into an earlier safety briefing than we'd signed up for, which turned out to be a wise choice given the line up for the later sessions. Once we were through that we headed to watch the new event "Amy's Wall".  110m of climbing with up to 20% gradients. I'm not sure my legs could stand such torture, but maybe one day I might have to try to ride up there in my own time.

On the way back from Amy's Wall we stopped by Chopstix to grab some dinner before heading back to our room. A few final preparations like attaching our numbers to the bike and helmet and we were all set for the big day.  Time for some sleep!

Sunday - Amy's Gran Fondo

The big day!  This is what awaited us:

I don't think I slept all that well, so waking up wasn't too difficult. I think I was partially concerned with the cut off times. Odd really since we we were told in the safety briefing that if riders missed the final cut off time at Deans Marsh would be allowed to continue, but under open road conditions. So there seemed little reason to stress!

A peek out of the window revealed something awesome;   clear skies, no wind!  None of this was forecast, and it was nothing like the weather we had on the drive over on Friday, nor the weather on Saturday.  We got ourselves ready, made a couple of final checks and headed down to the start area.

While waiting for the start we bumped into Adelaide celebrities, The Smudge Monkees. So we sat around having a bit of a chat, with everyone looking and sounding pretty relaxed.  For Miss V and I, given our recent health issues, just getting to the start line astride a bicycle seemed like a massive win all by itself.

View from the start area on Mountjoy Parade

Smudge Monkees waiting at the start

Happy to be here!

Changes to the start process meant that we got under way a little quicker than in previous years, which was a good thing mentally since it gave us a few extra, precious, minutes to get to Skenes Creek before the cut off.  Realistically. it was never likely to be a problem, but if poor fortune were to cast it's shadow on us (say a puncture), then those extra minutes might come in handy.

Rolling along the Great Ocean Road, the pace seemed to be fairly reasonable. We (and those around us) weren't exactly busting a gut, but I don't think we were hanging around either. I think Miss V's gym work has really paid off as she was noticeably stronger along here. Both of us held a little back for the up and coming climb, since we weren't entirely sure how much our enforced time off the bike had impacted us. We hit the end of the Great Ocean Road stretch together, and then, as is customary, I left Miss V to climb Skenes Creek Road at her own pace.

Miss V on Great Ocean Road

Somehow, we coped with riding in these picturesque surroundings

Miss V on Great Ocean Road.

 Once again, I tried to leave a little in the tank on the climb. As much as I would have loved to have a crack at getting a PR up the climb, I figured getting to the end was more of a priority, as well as allowing for the possibility that I'd need to pace Miss V near the end of the course. I think I was a couple minutes slower than my PR up Skenes Creek. No stress, though I felt a lot better than expected at the top, and as usual passed far more people than passed me. Miss V on the other hand.. Sweet Jeebus! PR by about a minute!

A view fr the middle part of the Skenes Creek climb

Caught up to this rascal!

We rolled to the aid station after the KOM to find no water. In my mind, this is not acceptable. Given that this is the first aid station in about 50km, bidons by this time are looking a little dry. Fortunately the next aid station was approximately 20km away, mostly downhill. I've provided feedback on this.  It'd only take a slightly warmer than usual day and this could have a disastrous impact.  Given that they are looking to expand the numbers riding the event, I can't believe that under catering for the current number of riders would be helping. On the up side there were bagpipe players! :)

The run down from the top of Skenes Creek to the Forest aid station is always a highlight of this ride. Stunning scenery, and very tranquil, save for the excessively noisy freehub in my Zipp 101's :) There's a couple of tricky corners, but nothing too bad if you have your head screwed on right and you take into account being able to use the full width of the road for corner entry and exit.

Miss V heading towards Forest

Selfie time!

Hitting the Forest aid station we sat for a little bit. The local Men's Shed had a BBQ going, so unlike last year we made sure to stop and enjoyed the hospitality of the local community .. Om nom nom ... BBQ Sausages!

Unlike last year, the ride in the rolling countryside through Barwon Downs was helped by fairly favourable wind. Probably fortunate, since I think Miss V had burnt a few more matches up Skenes Creek than she thought. While we were going at a decent pace, we made sure to check out the scenery. Very pretty part of the world. A few mental calculations on the bike seemed to suggest that we'd make the next (and final) aid station with plenty of time to spare. We backed it off ever so slightly, but a second mental calculation also revealed something else fairly interesting. Despite our concerns pre-ride, it looked like we were going to finish the ride in a personal best!

We got to the Dean's Marsh aid station well before the cut off time, so we took a little bit of time to stretch the legs a bit. Once again, supplies at the aid station were running out when we got there. A little disappointing for us, and no doubt for the riders who were still streaming into the station.

We rolled out, ready to tackle the final 10km of the timed section. Most of this is fairly steep uphill, though there are some nice fast downhill stretches in there too which breaks it up. For me, this climb seems to take more of a toll on people than Skenes Creek, since I see more people walking up here than anywhere else. I reckon it must be fairly heartbreaking to see the 500m to go sign and just not have enough in the legs to keep riding :( I got to the top, probably with more in reserve than expected, but I'm ok with that, since that's pretty much how the whole event went for me! About 10 minutes later, the familiar style of Miss V came into view around the final bend, crossing the finish line looking pleased as punch :)

Miss V, looking super happy to have finished  her third Amy's Gran Fondo

Happy Times! Great feeling to have made it to the end!

So all that was left was the 10km downhill freewheeling bomb back into Lorne. This is a part of the Gran Fondo that I really like. Since the finish is at the top of the hill, riders tend to wait up there for their mates to finish, then all roll back down into Lorne together. Fantastic way to end a ride!

Rolling back into the event village we caught up with the Smudge Monkees and downed some of the provided post-ride pasta. Thankfully, unlike the aid stations, there was plenty of  pasta to go around which went down a treat. While we were eating and chatting to everyone we could watch people on the big screen crossing the finish line on the top of the hill which was pretty neat.

Given we were concerned about not being able to start, then not being able to complete the course. In the end, we finished feeling relatively fresh, and PB'ed the course.

We treated ourselves to some awesome pizza from Pizza Pizza (which must be the smallest pizza shop I've ever seen) and six different flavours of gelati from Lick and Sip Cafe. Pretty sure we deserved it!

So.. who's in for next year? :D

Strava Data for those that are curious.

Cyclocross - National Championships and National Series Round 5

An entire weekend of cyclocross!  could there be a more awesome thing?  Well, maybe..   but I'm tired right now and I can't think of anything. So it'll have to rate as the most awesome thing on earth for the time being. 

Port Adelaide Cycling Club has played host to two rounds of the National Cyclocross Series since it's inception a couple of years ago. This year however the club was tasked with putting on the National Championships. What this meant was the the club was responsible for putting on the event where green and gold jerseys were being won. What this meant for me was a chance to race in a national level event.  Pretty exciting stuff!

2014 National Cyclocross Championship - 2nd August 2014

Of the two days, this was the big one. Green and Gold striped jerseys on offer for the winners meant that the entry list was pretty long. This race was based on age group categories, so there was always going to be a bit of a mix of skills and abilities.

I was under no illusions of bringing something home though. I'm a realist, so the only foreseeable way I was likely to walk away with a national championship jersey was for some sort of Steven Bradbury-esque event to occur. With 27 competitors in my group, the amount of concentrated bad luck required for me to win would be on such an epic scale that an it's unlikely that anyone would want to set foot on this course ever again should it occur.

Unfortunately Miss V and I were running a bit late, and so by the time we got there I had enough time to get Miss V out on circuit to warm up for her race, but sadly when I was ready the course was already closed :( I made do with some off course warm up, which given the muddy state of the circuit was probably not such a bad option! We'd raced on a course nearly identical to this one a month previously, so I wasn't really too concerned with the lack of a sighting lap. I'd really enjoyed the course then, and so I was looking forward to it. Something that I hadn't factored in however was how wet the course was. With so much rain in the week prior some places on the course were more like mud pits rather than a race course.  One thing that I knew would definitely test me was the length of the race; 50 minutes of racing, 20 minutes more than my usual B grade races.

Pre-Race. (Photo c/ R. Kennett)

After the Women's races had finished the Men's races were called up. I was about mid pack on the start line, next to PACC legend Deano and behind my regular rival Ben from Lifecycles who I seem to bang wheels with more often than not. We listened to the starter and finally the gun went. As per usual, everyone was out of the block pretty quick smart. Rounding a few corners and I was still with the pack, much to my surprise. We then reached Mulch hill, which was to become my undoing.

Waiting on the start line, nerves starting to build.
(Photo c/ R. Kennett)

The base of the climb was slushy, and the sides of the hill were hard packed clay, wet and slippery. So there was limited opportunity to get some speed up to ride it, and no traction to run up it! I tried to ride my way to the top only to make it half way, dismount and then find myself sliding to the bottom again :( climb up it, slide back down.. rinse and repeat. If i wasn't living it, it'd be pretty comical I guess :D So I was dead last and my rival Ben was long gone. Much to my frustration the same thing occurred on every lap. I think the hecklers on the hill took pity on me and didn't give me much of a hard time. I suspect if they heckled me for the entire time I was climbing they might have lost their voice and have nothing left for the later races

The Forest of Doom was fun as always, possibly more fun since it was a slushy muddy mess. Sadly I never was really racing anyone through the forest, which I think would have been brilliant.

Trying my best to look uncoordinated in the Forest of Doom (Photo c/ V. Riches)	Rare shot of me looking like I know what I'm doing. (Photo c/ T. Loft)
Ben on the way to kickin' my arse. (Photo c/ V. Riches)	Jason helpfully provided frequent updates as to how much Ben was beating me. (Photo c/V. Riches)

Bringing me crashing down to earth and highlighting how badly I was riding, just after I finished my first lap, the first of the Under 23s were lapping me.. seriously. Sure, their race had a 2 minute head start on my group.. but they were lapping me after a single frickin' lap! Certainly very demoralising.

For some reason I just didn't have any power in the legs. This is reflected in my strava data which shows me at "tempo" for the entire race. Ultimately a race I'd rather forget, even though the event as a whole was brilliant.

Life is pretty lonely at the rear of the field. (Photo c/ V Riches)

Race done. Raced badly, but still fun. (Photo c/ V Riches)

Strava Data

National Cyclocross Series - Round 5 - 3rd August 2014

After yesterdays epic disaster, I was nearly dreading this one. Nevertheless Miss V and I rolled up to Zombie Park ready to race. This time I was in my more familiar B-Grade, though there were a lot of A-Grade regulars that weren't racing in the Elites for one reason or another. This course was probably more technical than yesterday, which is probably more to my liking.

Owing to my early sign up, I was on the front row of the grid . I was fairly confident that'd change soon! :)  Even so, I couldn't help but enjoy my time at the front.

The gun went, and the group bolted out of the starting grid around a sweeping corner and about to start the first lap.. and then this happened:

First lap carnage.
(Photo c/ T. Freeman)

That's me to the right of frame narrowly escaping the carnage. Sweet Jeebus!   PACC President Marky G wasn't quite so fortunate, and did himself a bit of mischief. Hopefully he'll be back on the bike soon.  

Exiting the death zone I found myself immediately behind Dan and a few second ahead of Lifecycles Ben. Check it out everyone, I'm racing!

Stalking Dan.
(Photo c/ V. Riches)

For the first two laps Dan and I were nose to tail, with me trying to sit tight on his wheel. I think I was in moderate shock when I didn't see Dan casually pull away from me on the straights, which is what generally happens in all of my races.

I think the biggest difference between the two of us was at the steep embankment. Dan choosing to dismount and run the climb while I chose to stay on the bike and grind up it. On Lap 2 I nosed ahead on the climb, but Dan quickly jumped back in front. I think it took me all of Lap 2 to convince myself that I could in fact successfully pass and attack Dan. It's weird that it took that one moment to realise that I could actually make a race of it. I think my confidence had taken a bit of a dive after the race yesterday! I made sure to keep a watchful eye on Ben who seemed to be lurking behind Dan and myself as I knew he wouldn't be too happy about being back there.

At the start of Lap 3 I was pushing myself to stay in position. Wow, this racing thing is hard work! Arriving at the steep climb up the embankment I rode around Dan and got away. Mid way through the lap I had a small gap. I have to say at this point I was feeling pretty good, which is a complete turn around from yesterday. Now all I had to worry about was Ben and Dan working together to gang up on me. Paranoid much?

Passing Dan!
(Photo c/ V. Riches)

About half way through the lap I felt a fair hit on the rear wheel as as I went over a rough bit. A quick look down and every thing seemed ok. "Keep Pushing" I kept telling myself! I'd opened up a fairly decent gap, and it started feeling like I had done enough to be able to defend it.  It's amazing what a slight bit of confidence can do. However, it was all about to come crashing down around me. Ending the lap and I noticed that the rear tyre was a lot more bouncy than it ought to be.. oh no. :(

Final lap and I arrived at the embankment for the last time. Miss V and a number of others were cheering me on to keep going. I could tell by now that the tyre was going down due to the back end of the bike sliding and drifting around the corners. There was still air though, so maybe I could get to the finish. I still managed to ride up the climb and was still making an effort to defend the gap I had created. Halfway through the last lap, the inevitable happened. I'd run out of air and I was riding on the rim. My race was pretty much over, so I nursed the bike over some of the rocky bumps in an effort to at least limp to the finish line. Both the Dan and Ben passed me as I was quietly fuming.

Ultimately, that's racing though.. next time!  Thanks to both Dan and Ben for the excellent race. I really enjoyed that one.

Strava Data

Up the Climb for the final time. (Photo c/ V. Riches)

Dan up the Climb on the last lap (Photo c/ V. Riches)

Ben putting on a show (Photo c/ V. Riches)

Once again, a sensational weekend of CX racing put on by Port Adelaide Cycling Club. It's very easy to be proud of your club and it's members when they put on events of this quality.


Thanks for reading! :)

Checking out Cobbler Creek

CX Race Aftermath and Initial Planning

After my last cyclocross race (18th May) I decided that I should make some sort of effort to practice prior to the next race.  I wasn't necessary unhappy with how the race went, but I wasn't exactly happy with it either.  I figured putting in some extra effort to improve my skills wouldn't go astray, and if I manage to improve my fitness in the process then other styles of racing might benefit too.

With that in mind I had spent a few weeks checking out potential CX loops close to Linear Park. The idea being that I (and Miss V!) could get in some practice on the way home from work. Handy!

Also in the back of our minds was the thought that we hadn't gone mountain biking for a long time. A few loose plans to go and check out the nearby Cobbler Creek trails had been floated, but never really got off the ground.

Cobblers Creek Trail Network

We finally got off our lazy butts and planned an outing to Cobbler Creek. I then had the brainy idea that I could try riding my CX bike around there. A little bit of research (aka watching youtube videos) seemed to suggest that it was probably rideable on the CX bike, so I had pretty much made up my mind to try it. Miss V made a possibly smarter choice of trying the trails first on the mountain bike..  but hey..   sometimes you just gotta live dangerously...   :)

Saturday - 31st May 2014

Saturday arrived and we were both still looking forward to heading out to the trails, despite the light, but constant, rain during the day. We bundled our bikes into the back of the car and off we went, heading for the unknown.  The car park was fairly empty when we arrived, which isn't a bad thing, since there was hope that we'd have some of the trails to ourselves to explore.  We had a basic plan of attack, with a couple of trails targeted to try out first. Of course, as soon as we got there the plan went right out the window.  Not that the trails we chose were bad, just different to what we planned to do first up!

We had a bit of bash at the beginner trail (KAFNARFA circuit - yellow trace on the map) before heading out to the link tunnel and trying the Ruins Loop (light purple trace on the map).  We got a little side tracked and found ourselves on the Valley circuit which we hadn't intended to do (possibly heading in the wrong direction since we seemed to be travelling uphill on a rock garden).   After that small detour we rejoined the Ruins Loop and then headed back to the car.  On the whole, we were pretty impressed with the park, with each trail very well signposted so we knew which way we should be heading at any time. This is something that I've had some trouble with at other MTB trails.

So what about the CX bike? What I was found was that despite a few pre-ride misgivings, the CX bike handled this terrain fantastically well. I was a little cautious over some of the exposed rocks so as not to pinch flat but for the rest of it the bike took in its stride. Maybe the only issue I had was that the light rain had made the trail surface a bit tacky leading to the tyre treads getting clogged up with mud.  Despite this, I never really felt that I was running out of grip. Very impressed!

Course Elevation Map - Saturday

Sunday - 1st June 2014

Sunday had been pencilled in to be a ride around the Linear park CX loop that I had worked out. Probably five loops as hard as I can, or until I pass out, similar to what I had done the previous weekend.  Almost looks and sounds like training, doesn't it?  Shhh..  tell no one.

Plans change though and we convinced Miss V's CycloSportif team mate Brett (aka Nutella Bob) to come out with us. Having really enjoyed yesterdays riding at Cobbler Creek, Miss V convinced me that we should head back there. In reality she didn't have to try too hard to talk me into it since it was a lot of fun. I chose to take the CX bike again, since it seemed to be fairly capable of taking on the trails based on the experience yesterday.

We arrived before Brett, so we did a few laps of the KAFNARFA circuit, before taking off to explore a trail that we intended to ride yesterday (Babbler Loop - green line on the map).

Almost immediately I wasn't having so much fun. A long and rocky ascent just didn't suit me and my CX bike which had me wishing that I had brought my trusty mountain bike with its nice plush ride. After the rocky part though there was some fairly nice trails which zigzagged their way through the trees. These trails were still fairly slippery from recent rains so I had to be careful not to overdo it on some of the corners as the tyres were slipping and sliding all over the place! Getting to the top, and we get a call from Brett saying that he'd arrived. Awesome! We took off down the remainder of the loop to catch up with him. This part too was fairly enjoyable with some nice fast sections, linked up with fast sweeping bends. Once again though, I felt had to be semi cautious to pick my lines carefully to avoid any pinch flats. In contrast to the trails we rode yesterday, this one seemed less well signposted. Fortunately we had a trail map to help us out.

We bumped into Brett at the top end of the KAFNARFA circuit. With time running out until the park officially closed at sunset we decided that we'd take Brett to do the Ruins Loop so we could show him the awesome downhill run at the end.  I think we all took a short cut or two along the fire tracks to make up a bit of time as we climbed to the ruins.

All that remained was a long, fast and (mostly) downhill run to the car.  Having ridden this section a few times I know what to expect now, so the confidence is getting better and as a results I felt like I could push it just a little bit harder into corners. One final run on the bermed sweeping corners of the KAFNARFA circuit and I waiting for the arrival of Miss V and Brett.

All in all, a really fun weekend trying out these new (to us) trails. Hopefully we can get out there a few more times, and maybe drag a few more friends out with us.

Course Elevation Map - Sunday

A couple of strava links for those interested in such things:

Saturday
Sunday

CycloSportif - Woodside - 6th April 2014

The forth round of the cyclosportif series, hosted by our own Port Adelaide Cycling Club. If nothing else, by having the clubs run these events, each event seems to have a different personality as each club brings a little bit of themselves to the event.

The race (or rather, non-competitive timed team event <eyeroll>) was centred around the fantastic Bird in Hand Winery which provided a free coffee for every rider plus some prizes for the random draw. As with the previous PACC Sportif, this one featured some strade bianche, this time in two sections. The first of these sections was up a fairly steep bit of road, while the second had a few deep potholes to avoid. Nothing too bad as long as you remained concentrated and focused.

Six riders had signed up for the PACC Men of Steel, though two late withdrawals, including the tough as nails Mick, saw us down to only four riders, less than the minimum require to be considered for the final results.  The riders that we were left with however seemed to be fairly evenly matched pace wise, so we were hopeful for a fairly smooth ride at a less vomit inducing pace. By virtue of me signing on first I was crowned captain for the day, which in my case merely meant I wore the numbers and tried my best to channel my inner Mick.

The first lap was our first real look at the circuit, so we weren't sure exactly how to pace ourselves. Inside the first kilometre the course went sharply upward, and continued to do so for much longer than our still cold legs would have preferred! Once over the top we found a series of undulations which tested the legs, but at the same time provided some nice downhills to give the legs a bit of a rest. A sharp left turn and we had our first look at the first section of unsealed road. For the most part it wasn't too bad; bumpy as expected but fairly reasonable quality. This was also the scene for the second climb in the lap, weighing in at ~10%. There was short section of sealed road, before entering the second unsealed section. The second unsealed section was generally flat, some massive potholes and fairly fast. White road lead to black bitumen for the long (and fairly awesome!) downhill stretch to the finish line. With a lap under our belt we had a bit more of an idea of what to expect for the remainder.

Photo c/ H. Parker

Photo c/ H. Parker

Second lap was a bit of a consolidation lap. With the legs hurting a bit, the pace was backed off a touch so we had enough in the bank to complete all three laps. Lap 2 was the only lap that our team had a bit of an incident, for which I had a front row seat. Travelling along the second unsealed section, Gus hit a pothole at speed and was bounced sharply to the right, his bike now at an angle of ~45 degrees to the road in front of me. I'd all but assumed that I was about to hit the deck when his bike miraculously righted itself and Gus continued on his way. Quite how it turned out that way we'll never know!

Third lap, and I think we were really starting to feel it on the climbs and tiring in general. As a team we did really well, generally staying in a tight formation, but regrouping if it fell apart on the steep climbs and performing as a team throughout. Pretty sure Mick would have approved :)  Home stretch on the final lap was awesome, finishing in a fast, tight formation and then heading straight to the BBQ!

Photo c/ H. Parker

Photo c/ H. Parker

Miss V and I stuck around for the presentations where there were some random prize draws where, as the only representative of the Men of Steel still present, I claimed a bottle of Bird in Hand Sauvignon Blanc.  Nice!

After singing Happy Birthday to Rob W we ate a delicious cake made by none other than Miss V, before sitting and enjoying the scenery at the winery. Awesome day out!

  

View from the winery post-race. 

Strava Data

South Australian State Masters Track Championship 2014

From humble beginnings come great things...    or something like that!

About this time last year Miss V and I had only just started trying our hand at track racing and had only had a few race meets at the outdoor Edwardstown track under our belts. With no experience of racing at the Superdrome we decided to tread carefully and only enter a couple of events, and specifically those that wouldn't require us being on the track with too many others!

This year however, things were different. With a whole year behind us and a number of race meets at the Superdrome under our belt we felt much more confident in entering more events. So we entered everything we could.

This year, the format was a little different from last, which added (I think) an extra element to the event as a whole. This year the event was to be run as an Omnium event, with medals and titles awarded for individual events as well as the overall Omnium. There was also a Sprint Championship that was run outside of the Omnium.

Rightly or wrongly, there seemed to be a bit of controversy surrounding the conditions under which medals would be awarded, which undermined the event a little. For the most part, I agree with the idea that medals shouldn't be awarded just for turning up when there are few riders in a category, but on the other hand there's at least one instance of a rider missing out on a medal in the Omnium series despite a hard fought and relatively even battle over two days of racing. I'm not really sure how a set of rules can be written to assess a situation like this and award a medal where it's deserved, since it's all a little subjective.

And with that, onto the racing!

Saturday

Saturday morning broke and we had the car loaded up and ready to go fairly quickly due to us preparing ourselves on Friday night. With the Superdrome being so close it's only a five minute drive to get there, so there wasn't too much of a rush. On arriving we staked out a spot in a reasonably crowded pit area and then signed on.  A look through the start list showed that my age group (MAS3) had a decent number of entrants. Even better, there seemed to be a couple that I stood a chance against! Miss V didn't seem so fortunate with a fairly depleted entry list in MAS1 Women.

Flying 250m

First event for the championships was the Flying 250m lap. I haven't done many of these, as most of the time in the novice nights we do Flying 200m laps. Only a 50m difference, but that's probably enough to need a slightly different approach if you're planning to do well. As I wasn't really planning on doing well, considering my competition, I just stuck to my usual Flying 200m lines. 17.071 seconds and 4th place out of 5.

Too high on the bend!
Photo: M. Young

20km Points Race

20km meant we were to do 80 laps. I don't ever recall doing 80 laps on the track, so the likelihood of this going well was slim! The pace for this one was hot from the outset with me and a few others struggling on the back just to hang on. The first sprint on lap 10 and the field took off and left me behind. I spent the next six or seven laps trying to get back onto the group, but then having got there the field started winding up for the next sprint! I was spat out the back in short order and was fairly cooked. I managed to get lapped twice, and then pulled from the race (along with others) on about lap 30. Chatting in the pits later with another MAS3 rider who finished the race said they were averaging about 50+km/h. Considering my terminal sprint speed is in the order of 54-55km/h, it's little wonder that I couldn't hang in there for longer!

Elimination Race

Once again, for this event they combined the Masters grades 1-4 into one race. After the last race I kind of knew how this race was going to pan out. With that in mind, I figured my main goal would be to try to stick with, and finish ahead of my main competition Brian. Generally I don't mind the elimination race, so I was fairly confident that I could achieve my fairly modest goal. 

The first elimination lap I pushed around the outside and made the cut fairly easily. The pace eased off slightly, and then again it was full bore in anticipation of the next elimination. I positioned myself in the centre of the track on another Port Adelaide rider's wheel with the thought that I'd swing up and the last minute and get in front. as we rounded into the finish straight I soon realised that my attention may not have been spot on and that there was another rider sitting behind me. He swung up and effectively boxed me in over the line. Eliminated :( 

So (fairly dejectedly) I rolled to the infield and watched Brian survive the cut lap after lap.  Outstanding effort, given that he was one of the slower riders in the group. Goes to show you that it's not always about raw power; sometimes you just have to ride smart.

If I'm honest with myself, I was fairly annoyed with myself on this race, but at the end of the day I didn't do anything to deserve staying in the race, so that's how it ended up. That's racing! 

So with that event, the first day of the Omnium had concluded.  I was dead last in my age group, trailing Brian by a mere point.  So I had a goal for tomorrow...  Beat Brian!

Pushing Hard!
Photo: M. Young

Sprint Championship

With about an hour break in proceedings we were back to contest the sprint championships.
As there were only three contesting this title, the running of the event was slightly modified from the usual match sprints. First a three way sprint, winner to the final, 2nd vs 3rd sudden death with winner to contest for the gold. Only Gold and Silver medals on offer.

The Flying 200m qualifying was held, but didn't really figure into the equation given the race format. That said, it gave an indication of the relative speeds of the riders. With a few hard races under my belt already, I missed out on a PB by about 0.3 seconds, which I didn't think was too bad.

The gold medal was pretty much never in doubt, and that's how it played out in the 3 way sprint with Peter S taking a fairly convincing win. So I was effectively racing for 2nd place. If I'd really thought about it I wouldn't have put in as much effort as I did and save a bit for the next race.

I lined up for the sudden death race against Paul F on the bottom of the track, meaning that I had to lead out. Unlike last year I maintained a reasonable and yet comfortable pace. First lap down and I was watching fairly closely. I'd pretty much decided that I'd try and keep him behind and see if I could lead it from the front.

Entering the final bend on the second lap I decided to go a bit early.. Pow!! I got around the bend and kicked again! Shit yeah! Down the home straight to get the bell. Through the first corner, still in the lead! Kick Again! Around the last corner and I was still there, quads absolutely screaming in pain. But then...at about 10-15m from the line Paul F passed me. Disappointed? yeah a little. Happy with the race? definitely. My competition was a bit over 1/2 second quicker over 200m and I managed to take it to the line. I can't really say I'm unhappy with that. No medal of course, but that's life.

At this point, if I may, I'd like to give a massive shout out to the gold medalist, Peter Szegedi. I've "raced" (ie. been blown out of the water) twice now with Peter, and each time, despite the obvious performance differences he has either had some helpful advice or encouraging words to say along the way. Very much appreciated and a sign of a true gentleman racer..  Cheers Peter! :)

And with that, I headed to a mate's buck show.. because this is clearly the best preparation for the next day of racing.

Sunday

We awoke on Sunday morning feeling a little more prepared for the day ahead. I hadn't overdone it the night before so I was feeling pretty good. I guess in my head I now had a realistic goal to achieve which contributed a lot to a much better frame of mind.

3000m Individual Pursuit

I've never done one of these before. I didn't have a "schedule".. and I had no idea what I was doing, or what to expect, except that I'd be doing 12 laps of the Superdrome. For this event we were using the start gates.. I love the start gates .. it's so pro :D I remembered what I learned last year and got semi reasonable start. I think I went marginally early and was still held in the gate as I was trying to put on the power. I tried not to go out too hard and tried to settle into what I considered to be a reasonable pace. In fairly short order my opponent for this race had passed by me. Not unexpected, but it happened surprisingly early. As the laps ticked over I could feel myself slowing from my initial pace. I kept pushing to maintain the speed, but i think it was fairly inevitable that the speed was going to drop over the course of the race. Six laps to go and I felt all kinds of pain. This race is surprisingly brutal. It smashes your legs and messes with the head.

I didn't dare look up at the scoreboard since I really didn't want to know how I was doing. Though seeing my opponent go past me a second time gave me a fair indication. Focus was solely on the black line.. If I was going to die, I was going to do it on that bloody black line!

Three laps to go and I was getting a mass of encouragement from the infield, I dug deep and gave it whatever I had left.. two laps to go.. still here... bell lap.. nearly dead.. finishing gun.. I'm done... get me the hell off this bike.  4:29.753

I finished ahead of Brian by about 5 seconds, which meant we were now equal on points. Also, I had a handy time advantage in case we finished equal on points.

Out of the start gate for my first ever 3000m IP!
Photo: M. Young

10km Scratch Race

Once again, Masters grade 1-4 were combined into one race. So it was fairly clear how this was going to go. I set myself the goal of staying with Brian as best I could. Pretty soon the field split into two and I was stuck in the back end. but Brian had managed to stick on the back of the front group... dammit! he soon dropped off too, so I stood half a chance.

I started working with another guy for a while before he'd had enough and dropped off so I pushed like hell to catch Brian, which I eventually did! Woot! We worked together for a while to try to catch the back of the  field, but we eventually got pulled out. :(

By chance I was at the front when we got removed from the race so I got an extra point. I didn't feel too good about that since we were nose to tail at the time..

Life at the back of the field.
Photo: M. Young

750m Time Trial

Final race of the Omnium, and I was 1 point up on Brian. He would have to beat me by about 5 and a bit seconds to push me back to last place. Once again we used the start gates. I've done a 750m TT before, so I knew what to expect. After the last event though, I reckoned I needed to finish ahead of Brian to make things feel right if nothing else.

As I was rolling around on the infield, Brian lined up in the start gate. He seemed to get a fairly strong start and kept smashing it until the end. 1:03.003 .. So I had a target.

I was called up to the start, and nerves were building a little. I was lined up against a slightly faster guy in my age category, so I figured I had my work cut out for me. Knowing that I had a time to beat, I was feeling fairly nervous too, which didn't help me settle in the gates. Counting down the final 5 seconds and then.. Go! Fuck yeah! I got a sensational start!

Apparently I managed a 23 second standing lap, which seems fairly reasonable for me. I could hear Miss V screaming at me from the infield. Lap 2.. the amount of screaming coming from the infield was insane..I had no idea how I was going, but it must have been close to generate that much excitement from so many people! :)  Lap 3 and I figured with the amount of encouragement from the infield this was going to be a close run thing.. beaten by about a second. Apparently I'd been ahead on laps 1 and 2.. a real missed opportunity I think.

Thoughts then turned to the all important time...  1:00.297 .. Success!

And with that I could walk away feeling that I had achieved something.

Hard effort out of the saddle.
Photo: M. Young

Wrap Up

All things considered I quite enjoyed this race meet. Unfortunately some of it was overshadowed by politics, which I think all could have been avoided. Changes to rules and regulations I think would be taken much better if they are known before sign up.  As usual, the efforts of the volunteers and officials is much appreciated...   these events just wouldn't happen without them.

Congratulations also to the fabulous Miss V who came home with two medals, and put on an awesome sprint race with Lee-Anne who is fast becoming V's arch rival. Always great racing between these two. :)