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. :)

Spiral Dance - Faerie Ball

Miss V and I finally made it out to another Spiral Dance gig! It seems that a lot of their gigs have been clashing with other stuff, so we've not been able to get out as much as we have done in that past. Which in turn means that I haven't had much opportunity to practice shooting gigs.

In the lead up to this event Spiral Dance had a few dramas with venues, with previous venues either changing hands or not being available. Fortunately the owner of the old Chelsea Theatre came to the rescue and made the old theatre available. What an amazing venue. The Chelsea is one of the classical style theatres, with some elegant features scattered around, if someone were to look.

Prior to the start of the gig I was chatting to Rick who gave me the heads up that it was his last Adelaide gig with the band. Having taken very few photos of Rick that I'm happy with I thought I'd make the extra effort to focus on him during the course of the evening. On the whole I think I got a few decent shots, and more importantly I'm still improving when I get out there.

Near the end of the gig, there was talk of getting a group shot of the band and all the audience. And there I was holding a camera <gulp>. Eeek! Pressure time!  I usually avoid trying to do particular shots for people, since there's always the expectation that they'll work out.  Fortunately everything worked out and a half reasonable shot was the result which seems to have been fairly well received by the group (except one person who took to defacing it within minutes of me uploading it).

While taking this group shot I was chatting to the theatre owner who as it turns out is another Pentax owner. So we chatted cameras for a bit, before he left me to do my thing, while giving me permission to sit up in the balcony to take shots (under the proviso that I don't stand on the edge of the balcony..  I don't think there was ever any danger of me doing that! :o ).

This was a fun outing, not just from the point of view of seeing a great band, but for having the opportunity to photograph in a venue completely different to any where I'd previously shot before. Hopefully they return there soon!  




   

Three Races in Week!

Somehow I'd managed to sign myself up for three race meetings within a week, which seems a little excessive!   It's almost like I'm some sort of bike racing type person!

State Criterium Championships - 7th Dec 2013

I had decided ages ago that I wanted to have a go at this event. Not that I really stand a chance in these Masters Championships. While I figure I could be an outside chance at events when they are graded events, Age grouped events like these just mean that I'm potentially up against state and national level riders that have just got a bit older! 

Racing was held at the Victoria Park circuit, though with the Clipsal 500 preparations already under way we were restricted to the alternate circuit. Weather turned out to be fairly warm (~30 degrees) and there was a fairly strong wind blowing, providing a head wind the length of the finishing stretch. 

I got there pretty early so that I could get in a decent warm up. Around 20km of warm up, though that was more just rolling the legs over rather than any efforts. Miss V came along to watch and take a few photos, knowing that I was likely to want some to put in this blog. This was also my first criterium on the Pinarello, so I was interested to see how it would perform.

We lined up and watched the MAS4 riders go off at 11:30, then at 11:35 we (MAS3) were sent on our way. Forty minutes of racing, which was longer than my usual criterium races in E grade. The pace was quick, but semi comfortable initially, though it became fairly clear that I was one of the slower riders, probably as expected.

Within the first 10 minutes there were a number of surges from the faster guys. I stayed with the first, then the second, but the third finally unhitched me. :( 

But I wasn't alone and there was another guy that had been dropped already too. I was ahead of him by about 20 metres. Decision time! Go it alone and probably have no chance to catch the main group, or sit up and work with this other guy and try to get back on. So I sat up. The other guy latched on an we were away. We worked well enough together, though I managed to get the better deal in that I managed to do my turns at the front on the back straight, while I pushed him to the front on the front straight with the headwind. Despite this, we still were losing time on the bunch. We were lapped with about 3-4 to go which was a bit of a shock to the system for the other guy who reckoned he'd never been lapped before.  Welcome to my world! :D 

Racing at the rear of the field.
(Photo c/ Miss V)

With one lap to go, the two of us were still working together, but I think I must have missed a slight increase in pace, and he opened up a bit of a gap, which increased further still. So last place.. but I felt ok and don't feel disappointed in how it went. Pinny the Pinarello performed fantastically and felt really good. The more I ride it, the more I'm happy with my purchase! 

Strava data

<mini rant> While I enjoyed the racing, I think the event as a whole was a bit of a let down. There's been a bit of a drop in activity from Cycling SA, including a lack of promotion of events. The number of competitors was fairly low, compared to some club level criterium events, and as a result not much atmosphere that a state level event deserves. On top of this, no food/coffee vans around the place nor was there an official photographer out on course. I would have killed for an ice cold coke after my race! I think they're undergoing some restructuring so I can only hope that things get better, as there's already a lot of disgruntled CSA members! <\mini rant>

I'm done!
(Photo c/ Miss V)

PACC CX TwiLite - Round 2 - 10th December 2013

Persistent and at times heavy rains over the days and nights leading up to the race had us all thinking that this event was going to be a mud bath, especially since we were visiting the Forest of Doom, known for pooling and capturing local runoff. Interestingly the entire course was nearly bone dry, much to everyone's surprise!

The course designers had outdone themselves with a fairly short 1.75km course that seemed to sap energy by the bucket load. Turn out for the event was, as usual, pretty damn good for an after work event, with my brother and nephew also coming out to race, giving me some extra people to cheer on and to cheer for me. 

Owen! How Awesome the little crossers!? (Photo c/ P. Purczel.)

Little Bro smashing it! (Photo c/ R. Cannon.)

I'd signed up for B grade, starting at the tail end of the field as usual. Fortunately now there's a much wider spread of riders, which means I have people to race against back there! :) 

The whistle went, and immediately I was swamped by riders from behind. Definitely not my best start. The first straight was fairly bumpy grass so it would be easy to overdo it. I hung back a bit, figuring that I can wait for others to tire out before passing them.. if possible. After the opening straight there was an interesting series of S bends; "interesting" because each and every one of them passed under low hanging branches. In theory I had an advantage because I'm a shortarse and could hit the apexes, in practice the taller guys ahead of me were brushing past the branches and they were whipping me in the face as I went by <sigh>.  First entry into the Forest of Doom and I was surprised at how much the previous race had compacted things. The surface was actually quite fast and grippy .. I really enjoyed this section! That said there weren't too many lines through here which meant getting caught behind a rider could mean losing heaps of time. Out of the forest, and we had a loose gravel path which tended to make the bike get a little skitish, over the barriers and back across the finish. 

I was having an awesome battle with the same guy I was racing against last round (Andrew) as well as Ben from Lifecycles. A few passes and re-passes. The three of us caught up to two women racing hard against each other. Coming up to the forest, we all managed to get past one of the girls, and then Andrew and Ben got past the second. Unfortunately for me, not so much. So I was stuck behind her through the forest while the other two escaped. In the next few laps she always found herself ahead of me before the forest, so I kept losing ground on the two guys I was directly racing against. A little frustrating, but that's the way it goes.   That said, I was having a pretty awesome race against her, even if we weren't directly competing. Sometimes it's just good to have someone to make you try a bit harder. Exiting the forest for the last time I made a point of sticking close on her tail, shadowing her over the barriers so that I could out sprint her for the line. Everyone loves a sprint finish, even if it's at the back end of the field! :D 

Looking at the results, my lap times are pretty consistent, which is good I reckon. And I wasn't lapped, which is even better! :D 

Results animation!

Strava!

Racing under dramatic skies.
(Photo c/ P'An-Tau)

John Lehmann Wheelrace.- 11th December 2013

This is an annual memorial track race run by Port Adelaide CC. The last two years I've watched or gone to take photos, but given my more recent enthusiasm for racing track I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and have a go. Similarly, Miss V figured that there was nothing to lose and signed up too. There's some big names on the trophy, so there's always a bit of competition around it. Fortunately they also run a full support race program too for the also-rans like me!.

The actual wheelrace is a five lap, handicapped event. For the 250m track, my mark was 220m! So I was getting almost a lap head start in the qualifying rounds and the final, should I make it that far... Miss V, and the rest of the D-grade women were told that they couldn't give them enough of a lead in the main events, so they'd run in their own D-grade women's wheelrace, which I think was an awesome idea.

As an aside, one thing that track racing organisers seem to do extremely well is to cater to everyone, no matter what skill level. It would have been very easy To tell Miss V and the other D grade women in this instance that they had no opportunity to ride in a wheelrace, but instead the organisers put on a wheelrace just for them. Kudos.    

First races on the block were ten lap heart starters. This was my first race in C grade at the Superdrome, so I was fairly nervous rolling out on the track to start. The pace was significantly faster than I'm used to which could particularly be felt in the bends as the g-forces feel like they're trying to rip your face off (no idea how the even faster guys cope with this!). There was a sketchy moment when someone nearly merged into me, but he realised just in time and backed off. At the start of the bell lap I found myself near the front, but very much boxed in. So I slid back along the pack, hoping to find an opening that I could exploit. No such luck as everyone was very much nose to tail and going all out. I eventually reached the rear of the field, swung high and then tried to regain a few spots in the sprint. I made up a few, but I was closer to the rear of the field than the front. Something that I noticed was that my gearing now seems far too small as I was spinning and bouncing around in the saddle, which certainly isn't ideal.

With the heart starters out of the way, the next event of interest to me on the program was the Women's D-Grade Wheelrace, featuring Miss V! :) As with the other wheelraces, this was a handicapped event, but this event was run over four laps instead of five like the others. Miss V was the limit rider, so she was starting about 65m ahead of the scratch rider. Off the start, Miss V powered off (possibly helped by a sensational push from Paul King) opening up an even bigger lead. Lap after lap she maintained that lead as her opponents caught each other, but seemingly made little ground on Miss V! Final lap and it was fairly obvious that Miss V was tiring, but with the amount of encouragement she was getting from the infield, I suspect she not dare slow up! The rest of the field made marginal ground on her, but Miss V romped away with the win!! Champion! :D

My next race was my wheelrace heat. Five laps, but with a 220m headstart on scratch :) First 4 go into the final wheelrace. There was one other guy in front of me who was starting at 245m, so if I had any chance, I couldn't really use catching the wheel in front as motivation for too long. As usual, my ability to stay upright while being held on the bike was terrible, so it was a great relief to get the start. Thanks to Mick for holding me upright!  Out of the blocks I felt pretty good. My gearing is actually pretty good for this bit! I caught the limit marker in the back straight, and put the head down and pushed hard. Eventually I could hear the familiar sound of the group bearing down on me. They went around at something approaching lightspeed while I desperately tried to hang in there for the last few laps.

The next bit has some variants, depending on who you ask. The one that seems to sound most plausible is that Taylah Jennings spotted a gap to get down into the sprinters lane, but in trying to get there she clipped the wheel in front and went down. I was left without anywhere to go but down on the track towards the infield due to other riders passing on the right.  Not ideal, because once a rider that's sliding on the track slows they'll inevitably slide towards the infield due to the banking.

And so it was this time.

I was desperately trying to put back pressure on the pedals to slow up, while seeing Taylah and her (no doubt very expensive) bike sliding just in front of my front wheel. I thought I was going to get through the carnage as I noticed Taylah's bike sliding further ahead of me, but then, I assume friction took over and the whole mess came to an abrupt stop with me crashing into her and sliding along on my arse for a short while. Further up the field, all the commotion caused another rider to look back and lose control (as he stopped pedalling!) and he too hit the deck.

Medical staff came out to sort us out fairly quickly, taking us off the track to check us out. Miss V made sure to take care of the important things like checking my bike over and stopping my garmin :D While the other two had ripped kit and lost skin, I looked like I'd come out of it fairly unscathed. Though since I came down on the concrete apron, I have a fairly bruised thigh and my knee is pretty banged up since the top tube of my bike came down pretty hard on it :(

The other guy had lost a bit of skin, while some melted rubber from a tyre coating one of his wounds.. obviously not pleasant to remove!

And Taylah.. with lost skin and ripped kit she was carefully walked back to the medical area, While I was sitting applying an ice pack I hear from her bench "hey, is that a splinter?" from one of the medics. Sure enough it was. About 6 inches long. :o

So my night ended on that note, And, because I know you're all wondering, ... the bike is fine :)

C Grade Heart Starter Strava
Wheel race Heat 2 Strava

Thanks for reading! :)

Amy's Ride 2013

Amy's Ride is probably one of my favorite community rides in Adelaide, and so it would take a fair bit for me to miss it.  So far, Miss V and I have taken part in every Amy's ride held in Adelaide, which is a record I'd like to continue if possible! This year we had the added incentive of having met Mary and Denis Safe at Bike SA's Annual Tour.  Hearing their enthusiasm for the event I think added just that little bit extra to the event for me. 

Team Aquaterra at the first Amy's Ride in 2009.

Both Miss V and myself were definitely not 100% health wise which was a little bit of a concern, especially with the fairly strong headwinds expected throughout the day. In the back of my mind, was the thought that maybe opting for one of the shorter routes might be the smarter option, though at the same time I was itching to have another ride of Old Willunga Hill.

I had chosen to wear my brand new stealthy PACC kit, which in my opinion looks awesome.

Before the start we met up with Brett and Karen, and then bumped into some of the Smudge Monkees. Something that I've found more and more is that having been involved in Adelaide Cyclists, and then later PACC, is that I'm almost guaranteed to bump into someone I know at these events. Very cool, and a far cry from the isolated feeling that used to feel.

Woo.. Stealthy! (photo c/ Smudge Monkees)

So with the start announced we gently rolled towards the start line to begin our ride with the pushbike song blasting over the loudspeakers. For those wishing to relive the experience, here you go.

As is usual, Miss V and I rolled along together until the base of the first climb, at which point we parted ways, to regroup later on. This time I was joined by Brett, though I soon dropped him as I dodged and weaved through the hundreds of riders who covered the entire width of the Southern Expressway. On reaching the top of the climb I backed right off and went into cruise mode, once again aware of the large number of riders for whom spatial awareness wasn't their strong point. 

Part way down I noticed the familiar figure of Brett up ahead. I was somewhat surprised by this given I never noticed him pass me!  On reaching the end of the Southern Expressway we stopped to wait for Miss V. It was here that we got to hear the whinging and crying of some of Adelaide's motorists as a result of the riders being given priority on the exit of the expressway. Well done SAPOL for keeping these losers in their place. Given the family nature of the event, the language of some of these drivers was fairly disgraceful. Once Miss V had caught up  I waved goodbye to one particularly vocal and abusive motorist as the police officer waved us through :)

The next section is usually pretty nice with some lovely seaside scenery and low traffic. The headwind was still there, but I think our surroundings might have negated some of the pain that it was inflicting. Brett, Miss V and I went through this section pretty smoothly, maybe as a result of being fairly familiar with the roads since the snapper point Cyclosportif course uses a similar route.

Miss V enjoying the ride along the coast. 

After a while, the course turns inland, to head towards Old Willunga Hill. Almost every time we've ridden this course, this has been the least favourite section. The roads are fairly bumpy so riding along here tends to be fairly energy sapping. This time however, things were different. I think we were in luck and the winds helped us out a bit. However it happened, things seemed to roll along fairly nicely here for once. Miss V was starting to look a bit tired, so I was wondering whether she'd be up for going up Willunga Hill.

While rolling along towards the Willunga rest stop, we bumped into Denis Safe, and so we had a bit of a chat with him. I can't imagine the inner strength that both Dennis and Mary must have when they attend these events. I know the impact reminders of the sudden loss of my dad have on me, and yet when they attend these events there's no escaping the memory of the loss of their daughter. Truly inspiring people.

On reaching the Willunga stop, Miss V and I had to make a choice; whether to ride up Willunga or not. Both of us were feeling a bit second hand by now, on account of our respective colds. I had decided that I'd come this far, and that I'd tackle Willunga, even if I just pootle along up there. To my surprise Miss V said that she was going to give it a crack too. Tough girl that Miss V :)

So with Brett in tow, the three of us rolled to the base of Old Willunga Hill. Being Brett's first time up Willunga, I was keen to see how he went. As per usual, we took the climb at our own respective paces, planning to meet up at the top. Knowing that I was unwell I had no intention of trying to beat my PB time, so with that I just kept the pedals rolling over and enjoyed the ride up there. Oddly, I found myself passing people, especially near the top where there seemed to be a lot of people huffing and puffing. On reaching the top I waited for both Brett and Miss V to make an appearance. (Later on I was to find that I'd beaten my PB, which I'm pretty stoked about!) I was curious to see who would appear at the top first out of those two. I know Miss V's climbing has improved enormously, but I suspected her cold would hold her back a little. On the other hand, while I could see that Brett's a strong rider on the flats I hadn't ridden often enough to see how he goes up hills. So I waited...
 

Old Willunga Hill Profile.

Cresting the hill first was Brett!  nice work!  Not too long after Miss V rode into view, not too far off her own PB. Neither looked too wiped out from the effort which was a good sign since there was still about 40 km left to go.

The ride along Range Road is not really one of my most favoured roads. The scenery is really pretty, but the roads are rough making them a bit tiring to ride over. Along the way this time I amused myself by pointing out to Brett that he'd have the pleasure of riding this road during the Sportif season. At the end of the Range Road stretch is the sensational descent down Wickhams hill. I've seen a few crashes along here, so I usually take it fairly sedately. So with that, I yelled out to Brett to be careful and I made my way down the hill. Being on my new bike, I'm a little bit nervous diving into corners since I haven't really spent as much time as I would like to on the Pinarello. It handles fantastically well, but I guess it just handles differently to my Giant which I've put so many kilometres on. Hopefully in time I'll be able to ride as confidently on the Pinarello as I do on the Giant! With that said and done, apparently I descended Wickhams Hill faster than I ever had, beating my PB by about half a minute. Maybe this new bike is just plain faster! :D

Miss V clearly enjoying the ride on Range Road.

Brett making a break for it!!

After Wickhams Hill, we regrouped and  continued on our way. During this section I think the effects of our colds were beginning to show with both Miss V and I starting to slow a bit. We were very grateful to have Brett sit on the front and pilot us to the finish!

We eventually rolled into the Maclaren Vale visitors centre, some five hours after starting, plonking ourselves on the lawn and enjoying a chicken wrap for lunch. While sitting there enjoying the sun Mary Safe came over from her AGF stand to ask how we were doing, and how we found the ride. I think she was a little thrilled to find that even after all this time the event had first timers (ie Brett and Karen) taking part.

As with previous years, a fantastic event put on by Bike SA which has ride options for everyone.

Strava data

Finish line photos from Epsom Road. How good does the PACC stealth kit look?

Nutella Bob	Spiky Bob
CLP	Miss V

Bike SA Annual Tour - Day 7

Kingscote to Penneshaw - 26th October 2013

Our last day of the tour! 60 km to cover to get to Penneshaw and hop on the ferry.

Overnight the temperature seemed to plummet and leave us freezing in our tent bringing back memories of Outback Odyssey. Fortunately our sleeping bags were more than up to the task.

We were fairly organised this morning, getting most things sorted before breakfast. After breakfast, we pulled down the tent, signed out and we were on our way. The route for today was a fairly easy one for the most part, though we were well aware of a steep climb within the last few kilometres.

Unfortunately for Brett the day started off poorly with a puncture before leaving the camp site. Suspect Gatorskins wouldn't have punctured like that..   just sayin' is all.

For most of the day our pace was fairly relaxed. I think both Miss V and I are both feeling a bit unwell, so the aim was to get to the end and enjoy the ride. There were a few faster bits that we took advantage of and we did have a few tag onto our paceline, but we weren't really pushing the pace as we had done in previous days.

Our first and only rest stop came at the bottom of Prospect Hill. While enjoying fruit cake and tea we could look far and wide over the landscape as well as watch other riders on the road below arriving.  Some were choosing to climb to the top of Prospect Hill which I imagine would have delivered awesome views, but both Miss V and I were happy enough enjoying the view from a more sensible height (plus the thought of climbing that many stairs didn't exactly thrill us).

View from the base of Prospect Hill

Looking up towards Prospect Hill,
Miss V looking to take photos

My loyal steed Black Betty who got me through the tour.

Eventually, we departed our morning tea stop to take on the final leg of our adventure. Our pace was still fairly relaxed and we knew that we're be in Penneshaw with buckets of time to spare, so there was a pretty good feeling amongst the riders around us knowing that, barring any major catastrophe, they'd make it to the end of the tour.

We approached the final climb of the day knowing that it would probably hurt a bit. A number of people (including Miss V and Karen) sounded like they had resigned themselves to walking it.  Things were probably made worse by being able to see the road snaking up the hill before us well before we hit it. As is the norm, Miss V told me to take off and meet her at the top. I pushed a bit up there, figuring that after this effort there was no more required. I got up there fairly comfortably and set about finding a place to wait. While rolling along I got swooped twice by a magpie..  first time on this trip! I eventually found a nice shady spot sans magpies and waited for Miss V to crest the rise. I didn't have to wait that long before I saw her familiar figure pop into view. She had a bit smile on her face as she told me that she hadn't stopped..  awesome effort.

From the top of the hill it was nothing more than a couple of kilometres of rolling into Penneshaw. Almost immediately on arrival the bikes were loaded into the truck, ready for transport.

View before riding into Penneshaw

Miss V just before Penneshaw

We all said our goodbyes to the various people whose company we'd enjoyed over the last week and then went to a local cafe to wait for our ferry.  A fairly smooth ferry ride and we were back to the mainland, ready to return to normal programming.

Happy faces - the end of this cycling adventure.

And with that, the Bike SA Annual Tour is done for 2013. Being the first of these that we have done, it's difficult to compare with what has gone previously. The closest I have to compare is the Outback Odyssey Mini Mawson that we did earlier in the year. I think I enjoyed this event much more because simply because my body didn't decide to fall apart on me! 

All things considered I'd say that the event as a whole was enjoyable and very well planned and organised. Full credit to the Bike SA staff for making things run so smoothly, and a massive thank you to all the volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout. 

Congratulations to Brett and Karen, who originally suggested that we join them on this trip, for completing the journey with us. Congratulations also to the lovely Miss V for finishing the tour alongside me, and riding so strongly each and every day, even if the pace was pushing her a little.

Thanks for reading! :) 

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Bike SA Annual Tour - Day 6

Vivonne Bay to Kingscote - 25th October 2013

A somewhat rude awakening this morning. Unfortunately my cold hadn't got any better, and as an unfortunate side effect, I was snoring like there was no tomorrow. Miss V described it as "spectacular". I'm not sure that's a good thing. Up shot of this was that we were awoken a couple of times during by a fellow camper throwing shoes at our tent and then (apparently) standing outside our yelling at us. Seriously..  grow the fuck up and have your tantrum elsewhere. Maybe she could have used her earplugs that are on the suggested packing list? Anyway, we tried not to let one idiot ruin our day before it started!

The route for today was entirely on sealed roads, with no unsealed options. Pretty much a straight run from Vivonne Bay to the commercial centre of the island, Kingscote. There were a couple of places along the way that seemed worthy of a stop though, which we planned to take advantage of.

Our first stop was at Raptor Domain, which was also doubling as our morning tea stop. It was here that we also bid farewell to Rory from Let There Be Coffee, who was our awesome mobile coffee provider for the week. At Raptor Domain we were able to pat a six week old wedge tailed eagle which was very very cool.. and soft.. and fluffy :)   It was amazing to think that a bird that would easily measure two hand widths across its back was only six weeks old. She was already massive!

Only six weeks old! 

Our second stop was at KI Spirits where we tried a few of their delicious spirits. So delicious that we left with a bottle of Lime and Ginger Liqueur.  Our third stop was at Island Beehive where we sampled some of their produce. Once again, finding it delicious we walked out with three bottles of honey in our backpacks.

Look out Miss V! A giant Bee!

A short ride up the hill and we had arrived at our camp site for the evening. Lots of room for all of us. Despite this, Miss V (rightly) warned anyone that looked to be thinking about pitching their tent near us about my spectacular snoring efforts. In every case, they didn't care, but I guess they couldn't complain about not being warned.

Tent up, we went into the town centre to obtain cold and flu drugs and then later on to watch the pelicans being fed. For only five dollars, this is a great show, with lots of information about pelicans and seagulls. The guy presenting it is a laugh too. Highly recommended.

Tonight was to be our last dinner together as a group, so there was a band and a slide show from the previous days. Dinner was Roast Lamb and Roast Pork with gravy and an assortment of vegetables on the side. One new learning from this evening is that you can (apparently) reserve an entire ten seater table simply by leaving a single piece of clothing on the end of a table. Good to know. Thus endeth the sarcasm.

Camp Site at Kingscote

We were warned during the rider briefing that there were fairly strict time limitations on getting to Penneshaw tomorrow. Even though we figured that we could do it easily we set our alarm a bit earlier just to be sure. Everything packed and waiting, we headed off to bed in preparation to start our last day tomorrow.

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Bike SA Annual Tour - Day 5

Western Kangaroo Island to Vivonne Bay - 24th October 2013

I woke this morning feeling like I was drowning in my own mucus. Not the best way to start the day. Who ever I got this cold from, I'm not super impressed with you right now. That said, the show must go on. With a fairly short day ahead, there was a relatively relaxed start to the day.

Entrance to Kelly Hill Caves

Once packed up we had a short 10 km ride to Kelly Hill caves where we were booked in for a 9:30 am tour. Well worth the stop off to take the tour through the caves. Hopefully some of the photos turn out and show how spectacular the formations were. Kelly Hill Caves could probably be a photo post in its own right it was that good! The walk up the hill to get to the entrance in cleated shoes was less fun, but definitely worth it.

Kelly Hill Caves

Kelly Hill Caves

Kelly Hill Caves

Miss V and I had been feeling pretty good today, and were clipping along at a decent pace. By the time the turn off for the unsealed section came up we'd pretty much already decided to do the extra kilometres and take on the unsealed road.

View from the cockpit

Our reward was the beautiful scenery along this section, with fairly nice roads with very few corrugations.  The nice bit of unsealed road had a bit of a sting in tail with a seemingly never ending series of undulations which completely wiped out what little energy I had in my legs. I think it was along here that I realised that I was properly sick. Sure the cough and sniffles should give it away, but when the legs are refusing to drive up a hill, that's when I know that this might be a little bit more serious.

Entrance to the Andermel marron Farm

Highlight of this unsealed section was the stop at the Andermel marron farm. Miss V and I tasted a range of local wines from Two Wheeler Creek Wines before taking a seat in their cafe. We had a recommendation for a number of people to try the marron cocktail, which we did, and it was absolutely sensational! We left with a bottle of their wine tucked in the backpack and made our way to Vivonne bay where we were staying for the evening.

The road back to Vivonne bay was a bit rougher than those experienced earlier in the day and a bit more sand to contend with. I took it easy, not wanting to crash with the precious cargo of wine in my backpack.

The camp grounds for the evening were in the ground of the Vivonne Bay Lodge, which had plenty of shelter from any unpleasant wind gusts, should they decide to rear their ugly head again.

Dinner was chicken and beef sausage, pumpkin soup and apple pie for dessert. Over dinner I felt like I was falling asleep which made me realise just how wiped out I was. So with that I ended up getting an early night in the hope that I could recover sufficiently for tomorrow.  Zzzz.

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