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• cycling - 43
• football - 4
• general - 22
• results - 2

Tue, 06 Feb 2007

Track Crash - 16:18

TrackCrash

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Mon, 18 Sep 2006

Trip to Sydney. - 22:12
Rachel, Kirsten, Neil and myself visited Dangar Island again on the weekend, this time to formulate an offer for the place. We are still trying to work out exactly how much the house andland is worth and how much we can afford and offer.
Neil and I raced at the Southern Hemispehere Cup on Sunday. I got C grade and Neil moved himself from B to A. I thought C grade would be good, as I'm suffering with allergies, but it was a bit too slow.
So, about half way through I tried a breakaway, one other guy came with me and we had quite a break. Then, my front tyre started going down slowly. Bummer! The guy won in the end, even though he got caught. He broke away again on the final lap. I reckon we could have won if we stayed together. Neil got 3rd place in A grade, he broke away early with a bunch of other guys.
Results are here

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Wed, 06 Sep 2006

Cootamundra Classic Weekend. - 23:24
Neil and I took a trip to Cootamundra for two days of open racing. Saturday was the tough Coota Classic, a 120km handicap race. I got a good mark and managed to blast into town with the main bunch of 80 or so. It was akin to a Tour de France sprint finish. I was following a good wheel for the last 10km or so. But I lost Charles GASCOYNE in the last few kilometres of the race. He was a really good wheel as Charles ended up coming equal first with Kevin NICHOLS. John Dukes did well, picking up a couple of primes in his first open. Neil suffered because of a lack of training and a dodgy apple pie. Tony was troubled by his leg a bit and Simon rode well to feature in the main bunch finish. Results are here
Sunday saw us line up for the Coota Recovery race, a 69km Handicap. Again I got a good mark, this time John Dukes was in the bunch with me. My buch rode strongly, indicated by the continual shedding of weaker riders off the back. We looked like we could win the race, I was in exactly the same position the year before when my bunch was caught in the last few undulations within a kilometre from the line. John CHAMBERLAIN from Coota was in that same break away bunch. So, when 5 of us got away in the hills on the last lap John organised us all to work together to get the win. John Dukes and I had the advantage, with both of us from Canberra, the Vikings and from the ACT Vets. We could work together. My idea was to attack early and win by myself. So I did; only a km or so from the line. But they caught me; my surprise tactic did not work. John had the advantage of sitting on the chase and came over to win the sprint. Results are here.

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General Update. - 22:56
Rachel and I took a trip up to the central coast a few weeks back. Now Rachel would like to buy a house on Dangar Island, just off Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury. The Island has a cute little ferry service and the main Northern Train line is right there. So it's living in Sydney without living in Sydney. Check out some more info on the island here. I've put some of the house photos on a photo website.

Dangar

Sep 6, 2006 - 25 Photos

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Sun, 03 Sep 2006

Fixed gear - 12:01
With a fixed gear, I choose how fast or slow I go by just pedalling. Riding can be sweet and completely silent. When I'm going well I'm always spinning. I am in touch, connected to the bike; I am a part of it. I pedal faster to go faster; I pedal slower to go slower. My brake is there just in case, maybe just to govern the speed on long downhills. I only have to use it in case. When I head downhill, as I spin faster and faster, I'm right on the edge of losing control, but never do.

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Thu, 15 Jun 2006

Updating from the Dapper Drake. - 21:51
I've finally got around to updating my Blog. Been busy lately, changing jobs, something I'm regretting now even though I'm thoroughly enjoying the time off to absorb all the wonders of the Football World Cup. I also plan to do the same when the Tour comes up. More so because the Tour motivates me to ride more, so it will be really good to have the days off to ride in the sun (hopefully) Australia's win v Japan brought tears to my eyes. Mostly in memory of Johhny Warren. On the cycling front, well I've not been doing much, choosing to take it easy after a hectic end of season with the nationals and such hard races. But Neil, Tony and I made the trip to Wagga on the weekend to take part in the Wagga Motors Open 120km Handicap and Butch Menz Memorial 70km Handicap. Can't say it was a classic weekend. Tony and I punctured in the rain in the Saturday race and Neil suffered at the back of the block bunch. I rode back all wet and sorry and tried to convince the boys to head off home. My motive was of course the world cup, but It was pretty obvious it was either going to be wet or wild, windy and cold on Sunday. It was wild windy and cold. The good thing for me was that they gave me an easier handicap. I turned out to be one of the strongest in my bunch, quite handy when you're battling head and cross winds. But, the day was to end sadly. A guy crossed wheels in the wind, and fell, yep, right in front of me. I ended up going over the bars, forward rolling ending up in a sitting position with my bike a metre of tow behind. I got up expecting a heap of gravel rash, but all I have in a gash on my face. I reckon I'll end up with a nice sabre type scar. Monday was fantastic with the win in the football, while I've spent a few days with Ian Downing fixing my bike, re-aligning the frame was a nice cool steel frame thing to do.

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Tue, 09 May 2006

Simon Clarinbolds's Story from the Australian National Masters Road Titles - 10:14

Hi Folks, Tony asked me what happened on Sunday:
Thought I'd put a few lines down about the Men's Masters 4 category road race on Sunday. We started with a field of about 65 riders, a lot of the big names were there, all the riders that had dominated the track races and the first 2 road events. As team riders Mark Harris and I had a chat about launching alternate attacks and which riders to watch. Last years winner, Steve Darracott, was heavily marked. The course consisted of 7 laps of a fairly undulating circuit, some of the roads were quite bumpy, and there was little through traffic. The race started at a reasonable pace until we got to the first hill where there was attack after attack, all being covered pretty much by the front runners. I tried to get away a couple of times and was chased down, then about 5 riders got away including Mark who bridged across. Big Steve Darracott was in the break of 5. I tied to quickly get over but didn't have the legs and was stuck in no mans land for about 5 k's.
Eventually the bunch caught up to me, I was thinking that I'd, yet again, missed the winning break and good luck to Mark - if the break stuck he might be sprinting for his second gold medal of the weekend. Much to my surprise though, about 5 kilometres later, the break just sat up, and was quickly swollowed up by the bunch. The surprising counter attack that followed floored everyone. Mark attacked again and managed to get a really good break. There were a few panicked chasers but nothing really effective, I just sat on and watched. Mark spend an entire lap out by himself.
At the same place on the next lap, that part of the course was on a long slow rise into a block headwind, Mark was caught. I launched a counter attach with another rider in an orange coloured outfit (as opposed to an outfit from Orange CC). The two of us worked well, I noticed another, thankfully lone, rider bridging accross to us. So we had three away. Orange did one huge turn, after I did my next turn the new guy, from Tamworth CC named 'Bags', did a turn, the orange guy had cracked, there were two of us left with 4 and a half 12.9k laps to go. Bags and I just kept working at a very high rate, the laps seemed to tick down, the commissare kept telling us what the break was, 35, 55, a minute, 55, 52, then it jumped to a minute 15. We held around a minute until, with 2 laps to go we were informed a chasing pair was 35 seconds behind, then the bunch was another 30 seconds back. I was pretty sure the strong man of the series, Craig Taylor, would be one of the chasers, so Bags and I did some really hard turns to respond, on one of the false downhills I had the speed over 60kmh for what seemed a kilometer or 2.
With 5 k's to go we were told the break was 32 seconds behind and the bunch had disintergrated. I had a few thoughts about how to win V coming second. In the end we rode tempo up the hill leading to the fairly flat and short finish. Bags led the way, then clicked down a couple of gears and jumped for the line at the 200 metre mark. I tried to respond and got quite a shock just how quick Bags was. I think I may have got a bit of an overlap, but he had the win and I was left thinking I should have gone at the 3k to go sign. Still, at least I came away with something. Craig Taylor dumped his break partner, I suspect where I should have gone (or at least tried), and came in for 3rd.
Steve Darracott came in with the bunch. I was told later by one of his club mates (Ian Lovell) that Steve, to his credit, decided that he was so marked he'd just sit at the back an see what happened. Anyway, to say I was pleased to be able to come away from the champs with something is an understatment. Regards,
Simon C.
The results pages for more info:
*Criteriums
*Road Races

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Wed, 03 May 2006

Australian National Masters Track Titles - 10:57

Here are some of the results from the Australian Masters Track Championships. Best results come from Graeme Allbon as expected; he beat the Australian record in the pursuit. Mark Harris was impressive in the points race grabbing third place. A bunch of guys finished 4th or 5th after doing some impressive rides, breaking away or bridging gaps. Anthony O'Connor made the break in the points, Neil Skipper got away with another guy towards the end of his points race. Simon Claringbold chased across and big gap to join Mark in the points race. Mike Hanslip was strong and got away from the main bunch in my race. I managed to hang on to the end in the points and I finished with Steve Jones. Jonesy tells me "you know you're really alive when you do a points race". Heart rate through the roof and a million and one things going on around you that you have to make decisions about - all very exciting.
Jim Veal had an unlucky crash when a pedal plunged through his spokes, Jim may have slid across the finish line. Leesa Carson battled out a tough race and pedaled strongly back onto the bunch many times after strong attacks from Michelle Crawford. That is all I can remember now and I only saw the points and team sprints. Back on Saturday for the crit and Sunday for the road races
The results pages for more info:
*Masters 6-9 Sprint Derbies
*Time Trials
*Pursuits
*Team Sprints
*Points Race
*3-5 Match Sprints

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Sun, 30 Apr 2006

Masters Track and Road Nationals - 16:59

Neil Skipper, Jim Veal, Steve Jones, Tony O'Conner, Simon Claringbold, Graeme Allbon, Simon Nieimeyer, Barry Rose, Mark Harris and I are off the the Masters Track and Road Nationals.
I'll be racing in the points race, the crit and 98km road race. Graeme and Jim will be looking to add to their swag of medals collected at the NSW State Track Title a few weeks back. Neil, Tony and Jim are keen to defend their third place in the team sprint, while Barry, Simon and Steve may well have a chance against the speedy Bicisport team. Mark is also a chance in the points race and crit, having placed well in both those events in recent times.
For full entries (and results) check here

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Sat, 29 Apr 2006

Photo from Stockingbingal Race - The sprint Finish - 13:55

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Wed, 22 Mar 2006

Good end to a bad week - 11:14
Last week was a bit of a bummer. Back to work after a good week off in Adelaide for the Festival and Fringe. If I had more time I’d blog about that as well.
Tuesday I was sick, but luckily did not get the big band version like Mike and others I know did. Wednesday I crashed in the rain in the crit, even Richard my brother in Kabul managed to hear about it and sent me an e-mail to check if I was OK. Thursday I could not sleep, a one night version of insomnia. Three-thirty in the morning I was e-mailing Richard. Friday, well that was a write-off with only three hours sleep under my belt. Saturday I raced like a dog at the annual Ti-Tree Handicap Race at Cooma.
Eventually on Sunday things improved. I traveled with Neil to Stockingbingal for the first race in the Riverena.  I got a good mark in the 40km Handicap and managed to place third and win a sprint prime out on the road. I nearly stuffed it all up as I did assess the wrong guy as the strong guy and consequently followed the wrong wheel and had to spend a bit too much energy jumping across a small gap as the actual sprint started. So I went home slightly richer and got my photo taken with the winners, but missed out on the Trophy and sash. Hopefully my handicap does not get too wildly adjusted.

Here is a report I stole from the Cootamundra Newspaper
Miller's victory in debut race Monday, 20 March 2006
Albury Wodongo rider Adrian Miller produced an upset and shock victory in yesterday's Stock Fair Cycle Classic. More renown around the NSW/Victorian border for his exploits with a golf club than a bike, Miller sprinted to the line in what was the first road race of his fledgling cycling career. Still coming to terms with the win after the race, Miller said he was as surprised as anyone with the result.

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Fri, 03 Mar 2006

I've amazed myself - 16:19
by making these pages in the blog look like the google pages, ahh the wonders of cut and paste. Still I'm suprised it works. Chris reckons I may have a future as a programmer, somehow I doubt it. This update also serves as test to make sure I've not broken the whole thing!

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Wed, 01 Mar 2006

Google Pages - 11:41
I've just added to my usage of google, in additional to gmail and google groups and the google personalised hompage I have added googlepages.
Google pages is a free web hosting, no ads and 100 meg of space, more info and sign up here.
Here is my new hompage, I slapped it together in a few hours.

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Mon, 16 Jan 2006

Goulburn Track Power - 14:47
My form has been coming back slowly; it's been a long and frustrating allergy season. But I think I've finally turned to corner. I tinkled with allergy reduction diets and the off anti-histamine in the last few months. In the end lots of rest and good food did the trick.
Now I'm trying to build up for the Masters Nationals and also the NSW State Titles, as always I can't decide if it's going to be road or track or crit, so stuff it, make it all three. More fun, but probably less actual good results. I've actually started off with a real program; let’s see if I can keep together the motivation to stay on it
On the weekend I raced with the usual Canberra suspects at the Goulburn Track Power Carnival. I traveled with Neil Skipper who raced very well, pulling off a few good results and a third place in the wheel race. Antony O'Conner was just behind him in most races, but still in the money. Sluggo was unlucky to miss the final of the wheel race after a bad start. I raced most of my races against Peter Ganss, who was very fast, I could only get close to him in the slightly longer races, where maybe a hint of fatigue set in. In the end I was very happy to win the Masters B motor pace. The Keiren and motor pace races are my favorites and I broke through to have my first open win.

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Thu, 24 Nov 2005

Comeback to Blog - 16:11
I have not written in my Blog for a while, here is my comeback
Lately there has been a hell of a lot of cycle racing going on, of course I've been trying to do it all in the midst of my allergies. Quite difficult. It was this time last year when I feel to pieces during and after the Hartley Challenge. This year, well I've been lots more conservative, taking it quite easy. No Fitz's Epic, no Hartley, no long training rides into the mountain regions to the south of the ACT. Still, I've been quite fatigued and my skin is giving me the shits. But now things are on the up.
Last weekend Neil, Anthony and myself traveled to Wagga for the Tolland Club Criterium and Road race. I was graded in D grade and felt quite optimistic of a result. The course was fast and fun, three sweeping corners and one more technical corner with a wicked camber. The Criterium included a sprint series. My tactic was to lay back and be attentive when the sprinters went, trying to save all my energy for the final dash for the line. At the first sprint, when we were all gasping for air a guy (obviously mis-graded) just rode away from us. I figured if he can do it good luck to him. I tried to bridge the gap and so did a few others more ambitious riders to no avail, he was just too strong. I must admit there was no organised chase, but there never is when there is a bunch of people just sitting on. In the end I came 4th, 3rd in the sprint. I was no fast enough to prevail given there was a three man Wagga lead out.
Anthony rode superbly, getting away to a considerable lead during the race only to be dragged back close to the end. I was quite impressed to see him win the sprint, even though he did admit he got a dream run in second wheel from two corners to go. He was very happy with his sash, cash and bottle of win. Neil's story was a sad story, he brought the wrong shoes. Luckily he ended up borrowing my pedals and Tony's shoes. At least he got a very long race in A grade, but could not fight off the lead out train of a team from Bendigo that rides in races like the Bayside crits in Melbourne.
Saturday saw some more racing. Tony managed to find some old pedals in his boot, so Neil with off and running with borrowed shoes and pedals. The day was hot and dry, with heaps of flies as we started out near the airport. It promised to be flat, were near the airport right? Well, anyhow, 55km in the heat greeted the four grades. Because of greater numbers Neil was pushed from A to B. Tony stayed in C despite being concerned about a re-grading because of his win. I was optimistic about my grade, since I did pretty well in D grade the night before. Well, all I can say is that I dragged my arse over the hills and into the cross/side winds only to puncture after the turn when I thought I was in for a good chance of finishing at the pointy end. But alas, I chased alone, caught one group, but could not get to the next and was not near the leaders at the end.
On Sunday I teamed up with Lee for the annual attempt at the Fitz's. This year I was having a go at the traditional challenge, that is 158km which includes Fitz's but no the harder peaks of Honeysuckle and Corin. Lee has only been back on the bike in a semi-serious way for a few months. In fact he ha joined the ACT Vets Cycling club and has been racing away in g grade quite happily. I thought I would be stuffed from the racing, so a quiet ride and chat with Lee seemed like a good idea. Lee rode strongly from Tharwa to the turn-around a back; he even made it up Fitz's in one hit. I had not managed to do that when I attempted it up there a few weeks back. Lee go hold of a 39x27, but that was not enough. One of my best investments has been a triple on the KHS, 32x26 is small enough for everything apart from maybe Honeysuckle when you're riding like stone. Anyhow, Lee wanted to push on, she we headed off for Cotter and Uriarra. I did not like the amount of traffic on Paddy's River Road, and the flies were giving me the shits. We got the Cotter after a few rests then pushed onto Urirra crossing. I finally convinced Lee to pull the pin here, since it was quite a ride back to Tharwa, but back to Curtin was only an hour or so. Still and hard ride and we ended up with 135km on the computer.

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Thu, 13 Oct 2005

Leaving the ANU - 10:04

Many of you know that I've left the ANU. For the third time, this time after only 4 years. No major life changes this time, no trips to New York or England. I've ended up working for the Australian Sports Commission at the AIS. Still doing the same old stuff, IT, but with more emphasis on networking rather than pc's.
It's quite a good environment to work in, lots of bike riders and bikes in the office and of course athletes all around the place. I get access to the gym and the pool. I've started off with a light sort of weights workout. I keep on meeting people from my time in football around the place.
My ambition is to work part time, that has not come to fruition quite yet. New Contact Details: e-mail: allan.bontjer@gmail.com

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Fri, 07 Oct 2005

2005 Road Season Wrap-up - 15:40

With the Mont 24 Hour looming on the horizon I thought it's about time to wrap-up the 2005 road season. The ACT Vets Club has a one week break from their relentless program of racing, and it also marks the end of winter road racing and the start of summer racing on Sunday morning. Track racing also starts just after daylight savings at Quenbeyan Park on Thursday nights at 6pm.
My highlights:
-Racing in the same group as Simon Claringbold in the Wagga Handicap and being there at the end
-Racing well in the Cycling Australia Masters National Road Race and making the break on the first lap
-Good general progress on the training program with Neil on the rollers
-Being able to bring my fitness back up enough to ride the Coota Classis and the recovery race on Sunday well
-Doing an OK ride at the ACT Vets Age Championships
-Having a good time and a good ride at the WSMTB 12 Hour Race
-Getting hold a nice old track bike from Pete Taylor
-Being able to leave the Surly as a road fixie all year round

Down Points:
-The crash during the secret handicap at Uriarra
-Not being able to race the NSW Championships because of the crash
-The ACTCF Criterium Championships were a let down, puncturing a few laps from the end
-Seeing Al Lees drop down the grades due to the crash
-Jan Ullrich not winning the Tour (This one is for Rachel)

Stuff to look forward to:
-Getting myself into A grade form for the crits and track
-Conditioning myself for the Cycling Australia Masters Championships on road and track next May

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Wed, 05 Oct 2005

Some Pictures from the Western Sydney MTB Club 12 Hour - 16:12

Al Vogt took some photos at the 12 Hour, here are some of them

I've saved more to a Allan's Photos website See mtb_12h2005a.jpg etc

Steve Hanley all decorated up for the first lap at 9am


Me, riding during the day looking a tiny bit tense, which was quite a factor in being slower through the fun sections

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Phil's Bike - 16:12

Chris Nolan has just sent me some pics of Phil's bike post crash


Comments from Chris: This is Phil's bike from the prang last Saturday - the impact is from hitting John Coleman who had already gone down - ouch!!! I don't think this ones going to make it out on the road again!

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Wed, 28 Sep 2005

ACT Vets Club Championships - 10:15

I was very happy to see lots of people out on Saturday giving the Club Championships a go. Being an age based event it can be pretty hard for those riders who normally ride in c grade or below. But, it's only once a year and it is useful to see how the more elite riders race.
Personally I was in the vets 2 (40-44) I knew if I rode really well I was in with a chance to finish in the top five or so. The start line looked like this:
BARRETT Damian
BONTJER Allan
BOYLAN Nick
CARDEN Michael
CHOWNS Jonathan
GOODSPEED Bruce
GRAHAM Bruce
JONES Brad
KROEGER Ken
LAW-SMITH Michael (visitor)
McLENNAN Peter
McNAMARA Patrick
O'CONNOR Anthony
SHAW Bernie
TOFT David
Everybody knew that Nick was going to attack, in fact I'm surprised now when he doesn't. I was surprised as Sluggo (Anthony) was first to rip up the road with gusto. I felt sorry for all those who were not quite warm or are not accustomed to the pace of a fast A-B grade race. I reckon it would have been more fun to keep it together for a while as natural attrition would have seen riders loose contact with the bunch during the race anyhow. But back to the action. Nick could not help himself and surged up the road. This was quickly followed by a huge attack from Ken, this was the attack that broke the bunch to bits barely 2km into the race. I managed to survive along with Damien, Nick, Johathan, Bruce, Ken, Patrick and Sluggo. Luckily for me the pace eased a bit, but attacks soon followed as we turned onto Uriarra road to head up to the first turn. Ken paid for his effort here, loosing contact, but Bruce bravely chased and made contact quite a long way down towards Uriarra crossing. Johathan and Nick made some attacks and both Damien and Patrick were effective at closing them down. Sluggo was biding his time waiting for the right moment. Nick and Anthony turned the screws on the horrible long drag from the crossing. Finally Patrick lost his wheel and there was a mad scramble to get back to both Nick and Sluggo who had realised that the gap was there. Damien did best and get within 30 metres or so of the leaders. I thought that Bruce, Patrick and myself would have a good chance of closing the gap at least back to Damien. Bruce and I did some major turns, but It would have been good to have all three of us working to get back into contention for third place. Finally I blew as I did one big turn too many, but I reckon one has to give it a go and never finish the race wondering if you could have. I sat up a bit and waited for Johathan and we worked together nicely. It felt like motor pace training getting in behind Johathan for the flats and down hills. I could barely come around him and do my turns.
In the end class prevailed, with Anthony and Nick riding away. But I reckon the best rides came from Damien and Bruce, both riding individually to stay within a minute or so of the leaders by the end of the race.
Full results of the day and the other age categories can be found here

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Thu, 15 Sep 2005

Some good news from the ELECTRIC SHADOWS NEWSLETTER - 15:55

From: Andrew Pike
Date: 15-Sep-2005 14:52
Subject: ELECTRIC SHADOWS NEWSLETTER 15/Sep/2005

Dear folks,

SOME VERY GOOD NEWS

Dear all,

Here is a press release we are sending out today. I hope you will be as excited about the news as we are!

---Press Release - For Immediate Circulation--

DENDY CINEMAS AND ELECTRIC SHADOWS CINEMA COMBINE TO CREATE A NEW CINEMA VENUE IN CANBERRA CITY.

Electric Shadows Cinema will be working with the independent cinema group, Dendy Cinemas, to establish a new multi-screen cinema complex in the Section 84 development, on Bunda Street, Canberra City. The cinema complex, expected to open late in 2006, will have 9 screens and will program a wide selection of "alternative" art-house films as well as the best of mainstream releases.Dendy Cinemas operates the prestigious Opera Quays complex and the Dendy Newtown in Sydney, plus cinemas in Brisbane, Byron Bay and central Melbourne. Canberra will be a significant addition to their group.Dendy also has a film distribution arm that has been responsible for many notable releases at Electric Shadows in recent years, including SUPER SIZE ME, THE WEEPING CAMEL, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, and the French film, LOOK AT ME.Andrew Pike of Electric Shadows says "This is great news for film culture in Canberra. Electric Shadows has had a wonderful relationship with Canberra's audiences for more than 25 years. This new cinema complex will ensure that the city will have a world-class,high quality cinema to continue the tradition into the next generation."The new cinema will marry Dendy's national reach and resources, and their commitment to quality and diverse cinema, to Electric Shadows'rich local tradition. The physical attractions of the new venue will include comfortable seating, a licensed bar, appropriate disabled access, substantial adjacent parking and a sophisticated interior decor.In the meantime, Electric Shadows will continue as usual at its current venue.
---Thank you for your support over the years, and we look forward to providing you with the best of world cinema in the future.---
Andrew Pike
Ronin Films
P.O. Box 1005
Civic Square, A.C.T. 2608
phone 02 6248 0851
fax 02 6249 1640
http://www.electricshadows.com.au/

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Mon, 12 Sep 2005

Western Sydney MTB Club 12 Hour - 10:48
A whole bunch of us raced in the WSMTB 12 Hour race

Dave Morgan and I drove up to meet Mike Carden and Steve Hanley who had gone up earlier in the day to ride the course at Yarramundi. Warran Page arrived and we headed off for supplies and dinner. Jim Trail, Dave Sutton, Terry Eveston, Al Vogt, Garrett Mc Donald and Dave Edwards arrived just as our pizza hit the table. Al turned up with a nasty cough, I wondered if he would be able to get out of bed the next day, never mind ripping around on his bike. All food was quickly evaporated and to talk was about the expected rain the next day.
We woke Saturday morning to a bright sunny day. This is how the teams lined up (including Al):

Aadvark Towing

Tilting at Windmills

Bunny Love Trousers

Heisted Vine

The Outlaws

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Wed, 31 Aug 2005

Fitz’s Epic v Audax Alpine Classic - 20:58

I did not finish the epic last year, but, according to Mike's quote below it looks like the epic will become am institution just like the classic
Many of you would have received your invite in the post from Audax Australia to ride the 2006 Audax Alpine Classic. I have always found that if I can complete the Fitz’s challenge then the Alpine is a delight. But, like last year Pedal Power if offering something more. The Challenge Pedal Power ACT offers is 'Fitz's Epic' a non-competitive randonnée event on Sunday, 20 November 2005. While this is not an Audax event, the format is very similar to the annual 'Audax Alpine Classic' event conducted by Audax Australia from Bright, Victoria in late January Audax Alpine Web Site
I found some useful info and quotes from the Pedal Power web site.
The 'Fitz's Epic' 210km option was a welcome and successful addition to the event in 2004, with a very encouraging turnout of 43 riders, nearly all of whom finished successfully within the 12.5 hour target time. The Epic makes for short but pleasant (and demanding!) excursions into the higher reaches of the Namadgi National Park.
The Fitz's Epic course includes most of that for the shorter 160km 'Fitz's Challenge' that has an estimated 2600m of climbing. This includes the tough climbs over Fitz's Hill (10.4% over 2.6km), Glendale Crossing, and Pierces Creek (8.8% over 1km), amongst lots of other hills.
To this already challenging course the Fitz's Epic course adds 3 tough 'out & back' sections – the series of short hills in the Orroral Valley and the longer steep climbs up to Honeysuckle Creek and Corin Forest. The elevation profile illustrates the consistently 'up and down' nature of the Epic course:
Fitz's Epic' elevation profile There is an estimated 3830m of climbing on the 210km Fitz's Epic course, virtually identical to the 3810m scaled during the 200km course of the annual Audax Alpine Classic event. This takes in the very long climbs to Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo in the Victorian Alps, as well as the shorter and steeper sections over both sides of Tawonga Gap.
The profile below for the 200km Alpine Classic course illustrates that despite a similar amount of climbing, the two courses are vastly different, with the many short sharp climbs of the Fitz's Epic contrasting with the less steep but very long hauls uphill of the
Fitz's Epic v Alpine Classic: anecdotal comparisons. The introduction of the Fitz's Epic led to a healthy though inconclusive debate amongst Canberra long distance cyclists about which of the two events is the hardest.
Michael Carden, a veteran of many Alpine Classic rides, who commented as follows regarding the inaugural Epic in October 2005: "…En route we tried to work out whether the Alpine Classic or the Fitz's Epic is harder and I concluded that the ride you're doing on the day is harder".
Michael's comment implicitly recognises the vastly different nature of the two courses, and the need to tailor preparation for the type of terrain that will be encountered on these long hard rides: short, steep hills for the Fitz's Epic, and longer mountain hauls at lesser gradient for the Alpine Classic.
Michael's other observations are interesting:
"Prior to taking on the Epic I thought that the planned route was madness and couldn't be completed in the time allotted. I discussed this with a number of other riders and most thought that it couldn't be done, but we decided to give it a go anyway. I was quite surprised when we managed to complete the course in well under 11 hours". Fitz's Epic and the Alpine Classic are both rides which reward solid preparation. The weather on the day will also play a big part in the outcome.
Both rides take place in some of Australia's most picturesque alpine environment, and are worthwhile goals for their sightseeing potential if nothing else. The Alpine has been a must-do for me every year since I first rode it in 1998, and I expect that the Fitz's Epic is destined to be the same. I think that rather than trying to define one or the other as "harder" or "better" or anything else, riders should be encouraged to attempt both so they can join in the perpetual debate."

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Tue, 30 Aug 2005

The 120km Cootamundra Classic - 20:42

Well, I found out a few things very early in this race. Firstly lots of hours and long slow distance does nothing to prepare oneself for the rigours of a large fast 40kph+ average speed bunch racing over constant undulations and numerous biting climbs. I was definitely lacking intensity and that was also the aspect missing from my training program. But now I do know I have re-acquired a very good base to work from. So, in essence the training for the Coota race failed, as I could not hand on to the fast moving peleton full of faster riders when it came through. This in in direct contrast to last year, when I was able to jump into the bunch when we were caught. Same thing for the Wagga handicaps earlier this year.
The 69km Cootamundra Recovery
This race was somewhat of a success as my bunch was not caught by the big hitters until about one and half kilometres from the finish line. I was also able to work quite hard with my bunch but I do realise I had a quite generous handicap.

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Sun, 21 Aug 2005

Cootamundra Classic Handicaps - 19:32

Sluggo (Anthony O'Connor) alerted me this morning to the handicap groups for the upcoming Coota Classic.

Coota Classic (scroll down to the start list)

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Fri, 12 Aug 2005

Cootamundra Annual Cycle Classic - 10:45

I found this newspaper article from the Cootamundra Herald
Cootamundra Annual Cycle Classic
I'm going down to race with Simon Claringbold. Anthony O'Connor and Mark Harris are other riders from the ACT Vets club who have entered the race. See the NSW Cycling web site for more

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Thu, 11 Aug 2005

Training for the NSW Masters Championships - 22:20

Bruce Graham asked me to contribute some of my thoughts on training. Bruce did a comprehensive article that can be found in the pdf version of the July Spoke Torque

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Mon, 25 Jul 2005

Another tale of woe - 22:16

First of all I would like to pass on thanks to all that helped the other riders we went down. I don't recall too many details of who did what but I did have a sense that things were being organised. I must pass on thanks to Gary Rolfe who cleaned up my elbow and patched me up as best he could when the first aid kit arrived. Thanks also to Neil who drove me home.

Mike's Blog Entry has a description of the events

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Sun, 10 Jul 2005

It all came down to how fast I could ride for about 2 minutes - 16:19

First of all I need to tell Mikey that it did not rain, it tried damn hard but it was dry. I suspect the rain was scared off by the wind.
Anyhow onto the report. Forty nine souls riders and a bunch of dedicated race marshals lead by Rob braved the cold at Bungendore on Saturday for the Graded Scratch Race - Results Again, A and B grade were combined, this time A grade got lucky, they were not started a minute behind B. From the start the pace was brisk, with a cross wind blowing the riders to the centre line, it was almost easier to work through as opposed to dicing with the centre line. After a few little digs Simon got away at the start of the long climb, he only got away to take his jacket off, but found himself 50 metres up the road so he kept on going. The A graders looked at each other, so did the riders from B. At least we know that Simon was most definitely an A grade rider. Everybody know the chase would start, it’s not the first surge that really matters, it’s the counter that is the hard one. Anyhow, Mr. Eveready Dave Dickson(or Duracell) I can’t recall which little bunny wins decided to take up the chase. I don’t really know why because Dave is currently in B. Well, the hammer went down as soon as Dave eased up, Mark Harris and Tony O’Connor had the bunch strung out in single file. This lasted till the top of the hill where there was a slight easing and I was grateful to get a push from Richard Bourne to get me back into the fray.
The easy pace didn’t last long; every little pinch saw Mark or Dave put an effort in which has riders scrambling for wheels. I was covering most of the surges. Then Mark decided to put in a huge attack, only Tony and Howard Galloway were able to follow. I tried vainly, if only I could have gone faster for those two minutes or so. Mr. Eveready tried hard to close the gap, Mike Rawlin and Dave Sims had a go as well. Patrick Mc McNamara was there as well with a few strong turns. The only surprise was the lack of Damien Barrett surging though since he is normally the protagonist in situations like this. It turned out that Damien was having some tummy troubles. Dougie McLean on the comeback trail got us organising with some strong steady work as we hit the half way mark.
So, we worked and worked, ending up going into a block headwind barely moving at maybe 23-25kph. We had the breakaway three in sight, but Simon was well out of sight and out of mind. We never caught them. I lead out a slow motion sprint into a headwind and was very happy to see the finish line come up quicker than expected.
Sorry to hear about Al Lees who punctured early on, also I was quite surprised to see John Craig and John Thorn dropped since Thorny was very strong and did a splendid bunch caption job in the horror handicap the week before.

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Mon, 27 Jun 2005

A tale of woe - 11:54

This weekend I raced two races, the first was a graded scratch race with the ACT Vets cycling club. Again the race organisers decided to combine A and B grade together. I did not mind too much as my form is getting better, but it must be quite disturbing for the guys who are just making their way up from C grade or from being off the bike for a few weeks. A least they started the fast guys one minute behind the B graders. But, they were onto us pretty quickly, on a hilly section, which of course lead to the demise of a few of the guys at the back of b grade. My biggest issue is that B grade does not race, they just hang onto the coat tails of A grade, the guy that can hand on the best wins! Not a way to win a race in my mind.
Anyhow, for those who know me and know the hill on the old Federal Highway would know that I was most impressed with myself to be able to stay with the fast guys when the screws got tightened on the hill up the highway. When the bunch crested the hill and I was still there I thought I was in with a very good chance as the bunch was mostly A grade with a few B graders thrown in. The tale of woe started about a kilometre down the road when I realised my rear tyre was half way down and was all the way down by the time I pulled over and started swearing to myself. Then the rain started. I think this was only the second time ever I’ve made it over the hill in the front group.
So, on Sunday I rode the ACT Crit Championships. The field was somewhat diminished being a rainy day in the middle of winter and 6 months away from the crit season, but we had the race anyhow. The Masters race was combined with the junior’s race, which made for quite an interesting combination. In the end Fabio Calabria won the juniors and Ian Downing won the Masters, with Steve Jones Second and Guy Buchanan third. The tale of woe from me is that I punctured (again) with about 5 laps to go. I reckon I would have given it a good shake given that I had beaten Steve in a sprint the week before. But, that is all the past now. Just to let you know the tube I put in after the crit failed at the stem. The new tube lasted till Fyshwick on the way to Sutton Road and that was the last of the punctures. (Hopefully for quite a while) I did buy myself a tube in Dickson from Mal after Ian pulled off and went home as I thought it would be just my luck to puncture again and be tubeless
So, next week is either another country handicap (Coota to Coolac) or the local club race. More that 100 turned up for the ACT Vets Federal Highway race (grades A to H) I reckon the inspiration may be due to the tour starting soon, or maybe the “Hell on Wheels” doco on at Electric Shadows during the week.

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Tue, 14 Jun 2005

End of the rest period - 10:10
I've just come off a restful couple of weeks. I even had a weekend when I did not race. I've also been very lucky to have my health hold up nicely, being careful not to go too far into the red in racing or training. I had the pleasure of being the race director for a race of 13 riders and 6 officials. Yep, it rained for the first time in a few months on Saturday.
Well, Rachel is off to a wedding in New York. She will be away for about a month. Her friend Lucia from school in White Plains is getting married to Jason. I'll have plenty of entertainment, with the Football Confederations Cup starting this week and the full and extensive coverage of the tour starting in July.
So now, the build-up towards the championships and the Coota Classic starts. While Rachel is away I plan to have some very big days on the bike, mostly on Sunday. The plan is to get ready for the NSW Masters Road Championships, to be held in Wagga. Terry was also thinking about coming out for some of these epics in his effort to prepare for the Mont 24 hour Race this year, to be held in October. Of course I’ll try to put together a bunch of riders to make these long hauls at least somewhat entertaining, maybe we could try the race pace ride with all the attacks between Breadalbane and Gunning again.

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Tue, 07 Jun 2005

More Photos. - 14:19


Mike Trying Hard during a Vets Race - It is almost impossible to even look like one it taking it easy here, most of the way up the third of the three sisters on the Uriarra Course

Allan trying hard, while trying to look like it's easy. It worked!

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Links to Photos. - 14:19

I met Neil and Kate at lunch today. Kate gave me the idea that some photos may be a good idea on the blog. So, I am just trying out some links.
These photos may be useful for people trying to sniff out some race tactics, to see if other people in your race are suffering, taking it easy or pretending to be suffering while soft pedalling.

Mike Carden Trying Hard

Allan and Pete Harding Trying Hard
I'll find some more photos of Mike pretending to suffer, while secretly taking it easy.

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Mon, 30 May 2005

Weekend of Racing in Wagga - 15:12

Neil, Simon and I headed off to Wagga on Saturday morning for the Wagga Motors 120km Handicap Race on Saturday and the Microtech Open Butch Menz Memorial 70km Handicap Race on Sunday.
I was reasonably pleased with my mark as I was in the same bunch as our own Mick Rawlin (who just happens to have a drink or few with the handicapper). I was not pleased with the sub 10 degree temperature on a howling wind which turned out to be the determining factor in the race. My bunch (one back from limit) cruised through the first 15km or so, then, as we turned right and up a slight incline stronger riders put the hammer down, this caused a lot of damage and we lost 6-8 riders. I had to make a mad dash across the gap and I was trying to stuff a muslie bar into my mouth as the hammer went down. We started working quite fluently and picked up lots and lots of small bunches from the limit bunch. The only thing disturbing our rhythm was a horror cyclist on a Klein, he featured a camel back with flowing straps, deep dish rims and very straight locked out arms. Of course in the cross wind conditions he was all over the place and got quite a bit of stick from the 5-6 riders in our hard working bunch. As we peeled off the undulating cross wind road onto a dead flat block headwind road the commissaries car came up and we were informed that only one rider remained in front of us and we still had 5:30 up on the bunch behind. Well, optimism was high, but we were barely half way into our 120kms.
So, we kept working and working. Later on, 20 minutes on another cross wind afflicting uphill dead road akin to Uriarra Road out of the crossing the car came up to us again. Bad news this time, scratch were only two minutes or so back. One very optimistic soul asked if we could possibly hold them off, most smiled to themselves, but one guy had quite a colourful, you've got to be ***** kidding. So, in what seemed like an instant scratch come along at a belting pace, a few made the belated effort to stick with em. I think Mick Rawlin may have stuck with them for a while as I never saw him again. I made the sensible decision to wait for a straggling bunch, which I joined in with them for the ride home. We kept up mopping up and spitting out riders who had been wasted away by the scratch bunch and the block bunch who were just in behind them. Neil and Simon had similar stories, being swept up and spat out by scratch as then pelted by. Simon made a huge attempt to get on, only to break a spoke in his front wheel and then be faced with a lonely ride home, even though he did sit on Graeme Allbon for 60km or so.
Saturday night saw much pizza, wine, garlic bread and desert consumed at La Porchetta in town, then sleep was east to find in our flat at the City Park Motel on Turcutta Street.
We woke on Sunday to a brigh sunny WINDLESS morning, had a large breakfast of crumpets and then headed off to the race. When we signed on we discovered that the handicapper had done a mass re-handicapping. He had shown us his notes from the day before at the pub on Saturday night, an incomprehensible piece of paper with yellow pink and blue highlighter markings and very small handwritten notes. Neil was happy to be moved out from block, Simon was happy to be moved out to 12. I was devastated to be moved into the same bunch as Simon and Andrew Mohr. It was going to be a hard day on the bike for me. Luckily the race was only 70km. It turned out to be mostly undulating, with lots of false flats. I lasted to the end, when my bunch caught the leading bunch right on the line. The placegetters were a combination of the bunch ahead and my bunch. I'm pretty sure Simon rode himself into about 12th place. But it was almost impossible to get through the bunch all over the road. Neil's bunch was bearing down on us at the finish and were only 30 seconds behind. Scratch was only just behind them, despite getting up to speeds of 60-70 on the run in. All in all, Sunday was a very enjoyable race after the hardships of Saturday. I can't say I like some of the aggression (mostly just people shouting in the bunch) but it is quite good fun to rip around at the speed a big bunch of cyclists can go at. Neil reported an average of nearly 45kph for his bunch and we were around 42kph. This was quite understandable as we had 20 riders in the mould of Simon driving the bunch. I could not do any more turns after about 2 thirds of the race. I was very happy to hang on in the company I was in. The next big race is the Coota Classic weekend. I encourage all those with ACF or MTBA licences to give it a go. If they have never heard of you they tend to handicap you in limit or one back from limit. The full NSW racing calendar can be found at Cycling NSW.

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Thu, 26 May 2005

Champions League Final - Liverpool v AC Milan - 09:57

Champions League
This morning I witnessed one of the most remarkable games of football I have ever seen. SBS, my very favourite TV Station in the world showed me every second of the delights of a dramatic game that brought me to tears. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I was a supporter of AC or the Reds.
As many of you will know Liverpool finally won the game, but to go down by one in the first few minutes, then by three by the time the ref blew for half time even the most dedicated Liverpool supporter must have thought it was all over. Champagne must of been at hand at the San Siro. Then, inspired Liverpool in an inspirational 7 minutes brought themselves back to 3-3. It was at this point where the tears started welling up in my eyes.
The only other sporting event that matches the drama in my mind is when Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignon by a very small margin in the final time trial of the tour to win the GC by 7 seconds.
Nobody could have written the drama of the final, this is why I love sport. Football reflects life.

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Thu, 19 May 2005

Coota Haycarters - 11:24
Details on the Coota Haycartes, maybe even results
It seems to me the CCC and even the NSW Cycling Federation are pretty damn slack with results. I mean, all you get is the top ten, fastest time and that's about it. When I compare this with the excellent work on CORC and the ACT Vets I reckon the effort is a bit weak. But then again, my bunch was 30-40 strong coming over the line, it must be pretty difficult to get all those numbers. I think there was 203 riders in total at the Haycartes, all coming over the line within a few minutes of the winner
Mike asked me about the Coota Haycarters, so i got writing in an e-mail. In the absence of extensive blogging on my part, I'll reproduce the race in my own words here Well, the short of it is my bunch (12 min) won and I was not there. I got dropped at about half way when I went through a nasty feeling really bad patch. The bad bit is I was feeling really good (doing all my turns etc) before the bad patch and I was also really good after the bad patch when I jumped in with block and scratch and rode the last 25-30km of the race at a really fast pace. So, I'm really dark about getting dropped, but in retrospect my legs have been killing me ever since the end of the race, so I did work hard. Pete Harding lasted a bit longer in the 12 minute bunch, but I went flying past him tagged onto the scratch men and he could not get on. Of course Neil through the race was too easy, but then again he was only one bunch behind mine, maybe he should have got block. Mike Rawlin was one bunch ahead of me (18min) I think, he was there at the finish. It was good fun when it was done, we get to do it all over again with two races in Wagga on the 28th and 29th (Saturday race is 120km) So, I hope I'm going to be on a very good day.

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Wed, 11 May 2005

Intensity Training - 11:31
Neil and I have started a arduous program with a view to being ready for the Australian Masters Games (and Australian Nationals) towards the end of 2005. The Australian Masters Games are being held in Adelaide.
Cycling Australia have not announced the details and venue for the road and track Masters Nationals, but we do know an indoor wooden velodrome is a requirement.
In any case, for the 10km scratch race we need to ride at about 50-52kph to be there at the end, then one will have to sprint. So, Neil devised a training program on the rollers. Details are here
We are also doing uphill sprints, but I don't really want to talk about those. In the short term, the NSW Masters Road Championships are being held in Wagga, details can be found on my racing plans page." I suppose it will be a good time to see if all the training is working out.

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Tue, 26 Apr 2005

General Update. - 15:05
Well, the Gunning Two Day has been and gone. I did OK in the end, not getting popped off the main peleton and sorto trying to get into a break. In the end it did not work, I just did not have the legs at the vital times. I've had a bit of a down period on the bike lately, not feeling so flash. Rachel and I went to the coast over the long weekend, I had a pretty shitty race at the Moruya criterium circuit, but it was good to get away. We had a nice walk around Broulee Island. Also, we stayed in a really nice (but pricey) B+B, the Post and Telegraph on Campbell St, Moruya.
The Anzac Day epic started slowly for me, I was feeling quite tired and lethargic, and my heart rate would not go up, consequently climbing those steep hills was problematic. In the end I was able to get up Mt. Clear at about the same rate as all the other riders.
I'm still working here at NCEPH, ANU. Still playing with Linux a bit, I tried out the new release, Kubuntu. I still have some work to, trying to work out exactly what I did with the su option and passwords.
Neil and I are going to race some of the bigger open races, starting with the Cootamundra Haycaters Classic in a few weeks. It also looks like Lee will be joining the ACT Vets, having a go at racing on his Moulton

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Fri, 08 Apr 2005

ACT Vets 2 Day Tour - 16:38

I'm very much looking forward to racing an actual tour, even if it's just three stages over two days. on Saturday A, B and C race over 96km followed by a 5km TT then another 48km on the road. D, E, F and G grades race over 48km on Saturday, then 5km TT then another 38km in the arvo.
See ACT Vets 2 Day Tour for more details

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Sun, 27 Mar 2005

Canberra Results from Australian Masters Track Championships - 16:15

Comprehensive results have not come out quite yet, but I'll try to remember the Canberra riders. Of course I was not at the whole track carnival, so I'm just re-counting the last day.
Track
Pete Ganss - 3rd place in the pursuit and rode well for 6th place in the 10km
Leesa Carson - attacked with two laps to go in the 10km and finished 5th
Jeff Culnane - Hang on bravely to a class field, ended up 9th
Steve Jones - Made the pace high in the 10km and was there at the end
Neil Skipper - Got away in a few breaks, but got delayed in the final two laps to come 6th
Me - Retired at lap 28 of 40, victim of the fast pace in the 10km

More on the road later

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