I'm back baby!

Wow! I really suprised myself this weekend with my riding. After a fucking shitful week at work of working from 8am till well after midnight, I hardly got any cycling in at all (1.5 commutes). So I headed into the weekends riding worrying I had bugger all in me. I needen't have worried after all.

It all started with the monthly Franger Fang BBC ride. The BBC (Belgian Beer Cafe in St Kilda) has a "cycling club" which is basically a chance to pay $30 per year which gives you some vouchers and a free monthly breakfast.

The BV forum does a ride that ends at the BBC at 9am with 3 groups riding different distances/speeds- Black Rock (30km @ mid 20's kph average speed), Mordi (50km @ high 20's kph average) and Frankston (80km @ 30+ kph average).

Anyway, PDL and i meet up with 2 others (Blybo and Weeeee) at the start point- back of Luna Park @ 6am and set off south.

We started off sitting mid 30's and as we gobbled up riders ahead of us, we developped a mini peleton beind us of assorted wheel suckers! After Black Rock we upped the pace a bit with everyone doing some work on the front, dropping our followers, hill by hill. Turning into the long straight drag towards Mordi. I put on my Jen Voight (check out the link and watch from 1:28 on if you don't get the in joke) persona and started pounding out the k's on the front in the mid 40's. Ohh... that hurt a little.

No stopping at Mordi so straight on towards Franger with a run straight down the Nepean and once again we had another mini peleton of riders sitting in behind us as we kept up in the mid 30's, with us 4 all taking turns on the front.

At Frankston turn around point (the servo), PDL, Blybo and I waited for Weee to go do his nerdy geo-cashing thing. While waiting, two guys turned up at the servo, one all decked out in Liquigas kit and on a VERY nice looking Time bicycle. Uber bling! He asked us if we could give him a tow back and we all laughed. I took one look at him and figured he could prob blow us away. LOL

The 2 bling guys left before us so us 4 took off for the Mordi return leg and started doing track turns, sitting mid to high 30's. Ahead we could see the 2 bling guys and as I went past them I yelled out for them to "jump on". We kept doing track turns just the 4 of us till the 2 new guys started joining in the turns but I'll be dammed- they couldn't match our pace once then got to the front. So in the end Mr Liquigas dropped off after one turn on the front, while his mate kept trying to do turns with us as I "encouraged" the group to try pick it up and stick to 40kph. Hey- it ain't called a "fang" fer nufin!

As Mordi started to come into sight I let PDL know I was gonna take off and as my moment came, I clicking it up 2 gears, jumped out of the saddle and pull the trigger to hit 57kph in the final 1km run into Mordi. Woohoo! That was fuuuuuun!

After the Mordi stop we started off a bit slow as our legs had cooled off. It wasn't until we hit the Mentone Hotel that we started to get back into the groove and with Weeee not having the legs to go on with it, it was just Blybo and I doing turns on the front till we past the 2 Richmond Cyclery guys.

Then it was myself and the 2 RC guys swapping turns all the way back to St Kilda with PDL putting a few turns in as well. I have no idea what was going on behind me as the pace was well into the 40's now and with only the 3 of us doing 90% of the work, it was a solid workout indeed.

Turned the bend into the final straight towards St Kilda and I went off the front to hammer the last bit out of my legs towards the BP servo, hitting mid 50's till my legs said no more. I was surprised that PDL was not far behind me as the pace had really been on. Top effort!

PDL and I kept up a solid pace the rest of the way to BBC and arrived at 8:45am (and then proceeded to ride up and down the BBC paths, practising some skills) with an average for the ride of over 35kph for about 80-ish km's. Pretty happy with that.

---

The following day was SKCC crit racing at Port Melb. I was a bit tired from the previous day and didnt really feel that great pre race but figured it was my last crit for the season so I may as well give it a go.

I started out sitting in the bunch in the high 30's and into the low 40's and was surprised to be feeling ok. Then 4 gys made a minor break so I jumped onto the back of them, and looking back I saw we had a bit of a break on the peleton, so I yelled to the group "we have a break, there is 5 of us, lets work together and go for it".

So we went to work, but unfortunatly only 3 of us were doing (or able to) do the work and we were gobbled up surprisingly quick bythe peleton. :( So I sat back in the bunch for a while to recover a bit after putting in a bit of hard work.

After a bit of sitting in with the bunch doing high 30's/low 40's I looked up to see that 2 guys had jumped off the front by a good 100mts. I looked around the bunch and no one was showing any signs of wanting to chase so I leaped out of the saddle and set sail to chase down the breakaway.

Thankfully no one seemed to be going with me and after about 3 laps with me gritting my teeth and making a pure pain face, I caught up to the 2 man break away. Unfotunatly, just about at the same time, the bunch caught up to me also so my lone chase was for nothing. Argh!

So I settled in for a bit of rest and recovery after the previous efforts. About this time I looked down to my computer to see how long we had to go and saw that my #+!@#$#ing computer wasnt reading a thing! A quick look over at the rider next to me and I saw he had a nice looking Polar computer so I asked him what our time was and I was suprised to hear we only had about 10-15 mins to go.

A quick fiddle with my computer got it working again and either the rider told me the wrong info, or the race organisers got it wrong becase we races for a good while longer.

Along the way there was a few hairy moments with a young guy on a Specialized almost running me and Derek into the wall around the back and him changing lines out of the first corner too. He was in front of me so I yelled out "hey young feller on the Specialized, hold your line mate" and to which her drifted over on me which saw me hitting one of the traffic cones with my foot. Grrr..

Anyway, we finally got the bell lap and I was positioned about 10th as we started the last lap. Around the tight bumpy corners, Derek was just ahead of me so I said to him jokingly, "give me a leadout Derek" to which he replied- "nah I've got nothing" LOL. So I clicked up 2 gears and set off around the outside, passing the whole pack and catching up to the two on the front. Up past the roadworks, I went straight past 2nd place and was pulling in 1st at a great rate of knots to my total amazement!!

Around the last corner I was carrying more corner speed than the guy in first so I went around him but he drifted wide, wider and even wider till I was almost in the gutter. We were so wide I had to ride throught a cut up gravely bit of road normally way off the racing line and around the 1st place rider. However I had gone so wide, a rider cut inside of us and up the inside. I gave it my all to try and; 1. catch the rider a bike length ahead of me and; 2. keep the dogs behind me at bay! I put my head down and just pounded the pedals as hard as I could, totally stuffed since I had already been sprinting for 500mts! The line was ahead of me and I was praying for it to arrive before I ran out of legs. 10 mts to go and I could see riders either side of me in my peripheral vision so I threw the bike forward at the line and was thrilled and amazed to have taken 2nd in C-grade for my first C-grade podium and with 1st only a bike length ahead of me. WOOHOO!

Had a bit of a chat to the guy who finished 4th and the guy who won after the race and it was good to meet more of my competitors. I love racing hard but fair and being able laugh about it afterwards with my fellow competitors.

Next week for the club champs I will be marshalling and then it's into the road season. I'm looking forward to the suffering after my recent long fast paced road rides. To start with, if I can finish with the C-grade bunch in a road race I will be thrilled. My aim is to finish at the pointy end by the end of the RR season, with the aim to make it into B-grade during next crit season. I think (hope) its achiveable. Lets wait and see. :D
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Vidman V's Glenvale Rd

Just something I should have posted ages ago, this is a short video of an insane hill climb in Ringwood, Melbourne.



Head out along Marongah Hwy towards Ringwood, turing off at Deek Creek Road. Turn down a few side streets and you will find yourself on Glenvale Rd. Approching from the south and riding noth, you find yourself atthe top of the BIG hill and its mighty intimidating. Lets just say, I would NOT go down it in the wet.

Anyway, this is a video of my second attempt to climb this hill eariler in 2008. To put this hill into persepctiove, one of my mates with a Garmin 305 said his data pointed to the hill running at about 25% graidient. Its not long, but its scary steep. REAL SCARY!

A group of us did this hill as part of a crazy hill loop late in 2008, however it was a wet, rainy day that day and climbing this hill was slightly on the insane side. the whole way up I was fighting wheel spin, having to be careful with my pedal strokes. It was so bad that only 2 of us rode up with the rest of the group sensible enough to walk up.
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Lisa's new bike - BLING!

With the aussie dollar dropping so badly and all bikes sky rocketing in price, we decided we should bite the bullet and upgrade Lisa's bike ASAP.

After MUCH shopping about and several test rides (its hard to find a shop that has high end bikes to test ride in Lisa's small size), we eventually settled on a 2009 Scott Addict R3 at a ripper price from Melbourne Bicycle Center in Prahran.

Lisa did test ride several "woman's specific" bikes but in truth, their geometry is hardly different to the men's bikes and the female graphics and colours did little to thrill Lisa (who wants a serious race bike with swirls and flowers on it?).

We had to make a judgment call on the fit based purely on the geometry as compared to other bikes Lisa test rode and her current bike, but it turned out a perfect fit, just as we thought.

We had the shop swap the bars to FSA Wing Pro compact bars in 38cm (same as her current bike). Unfortunately the 38cm don't come in white so we had to have them painted (see below). We also had the shop swap the stock 100mm black Ritchey stem for a white Ritchey stem in 90mm to fit Lisa's reach better.

We went with the white stem because we had plans to bling up the bike with the bars painted white and the headset spacers also painted white to match in. A friend from the BV forum is a professional spray painter so we had him to the bars and stem spacers and he did an awesome job. Thanks Johan! Unfortunately, I managed to put a small scratch in the white bars when fitting them so some touching up is required. Bummer! :(


Then we fitted some nice white bottle cages we found on Ebay (nice find, clean design, work well, glossy plastic and best of all- cheap!).


The stock Scott saddle was swapped for a new Selle Italia SLK Lade Gelflow saddle which is the same model as on Lisa's old bike and its a perfect fit for her tush to rest on!


While shopping for bits online, I came across some metallic gold bar tape from Cinelli that looked like it would match the gold on the frame, so we purchased that. Lisa was a bit apprehensive at first but I (and most of our friends) think it looks awesome (and Lisa is starting to like it now).


I also came across some bling bits and pieces from Purely Custom including champagne colored bottle cage bolts...


and champagne cable ends...


a champagne stem bolt, and best of all, a champagne spacer with diamantes in it (Lisa LOVES this which was a surprise present from me).


A bike this nice deserves everything to be sleek and quality so we brought a Knog Bullfrog rear light which fits really well and is brighter than we thought, plus a Fenix torch for the front light with a Twofish lockblock bike mount to hold it safe and snug to the bars. To power the lights, we brought some decent rechargeable batteries to power it all economically. Sorted!

A Topeak carbon mini pump was purchased and a Pro storage bottle to hold tubes/tools/pump was chosen rather than a saddle bag to keep things clean and neat.

Koolstop dual compound brake pads were fitted to the front brake right from the start for better stopping power and the cables were shortened to tidy things up.


Shimano's 8 degree adjustment blocks went in the brifters to give Lisa better reach as per her old bike...


To protect the lovely frame, some clear System Ex cable rub protectors and a chain stay protector went on the bike for that detailed look...



and a Garmin cadence sensor and second mount kit were brought and mounted with white cable ties to match in with the frame (yes I'm anal enough to go out and buy thin white cable ties to keep it looking tidy, even though I had plenty of black ones laying about).


Matching Ultegra SL pedals are waiting to go on the bike as Lisa's current Nike shoes have a strange problem where the ball of the foot has too much curve in them, leading to the cleat also bending so much that it won't clip into any pedals, except that is her current old 540 SPD-SL pedals (yes I know.. very weird). So the new pedals will have to sit in the cupboard till Lisa's new Sidi shoes can be purchased.



And how does Lisa like her new bike? She LOVES IT and is much faster on it...



Its cool how its all black and all business from the rear...

yet white and bling from the front...


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Please forgive me...

Please forgive me for it has been quite a while since i updated my blog.

But I have been very busy... honestly!

Since my last update, I have been riding as much as ever, racing a bit and doing pretty well if I do say so myself.

Some highlights include-
-Several road races including my last RR for the season a handicap where I was started with several C-graders in my start group where I managed to beat most of them to the line.

- The following day my first crit race for the season where me and a young kid made a breakaway from D-grade and we spent the entire race passing and being re-passed by B-grade, far ahead of the rest of D-grade. Ultimately I didn't have the legs to match the young kid in the final half lap sprint and finished second.

- Lisa winning her first B-grade woman's crit race for the season easily (same day as my break away).

- Lisa racing the Amy Gillet Cup and doing awesome (2x 5th's and a 6th in her first open races).

- Moving up to C-grade and having an event filled first C-grade race including being the middle link in a chain of events that saw two riders go down after touching my wheel, having the marshal's call me in and having to explain that I had to change my line due to the rider in front cutting across my line, rejoining the race after explaining and then having 2 riders go down in a corner RIGHT in front of me, skidding to a stop in the gutter and helping a downed rider off the track, rejoining the race and finishing in the top 10 and just glad to get out of the race alive!

- Having my first race crash (this is a low light) in my second C-grade race when a young rider who was moving up on my left with plenty of room to move, strangely veered into me by accident, tangled bars with me and we both went down in a heap, me with a fair bit of bike damage.

- Getting my 1:20 time down to 18:30 and my Kinglake time down to 22'ish mins.

- Racing at the Hawthorn crits on Kew Bouli in C-grade several times and NOT finishing last on a tough, hilly course (stuck with the pack the whole way and even lead for a while).

- Finding myself comfy in further C-grade races, able to move up and down the bunch at will and able to finish top 10 (in a field of 40 riders) with a decent sprint at the finish.

- Doing the MRR with an average speed of 34kph with only a small group of 4 to share the work with (trust me, 34 average might not sound fast but there is plenty of traffic lights and lots of hills to sap the speed out of you).

As for my weight, It seems to have stabilized at 98-96kg's. However, my clothes are getting looser and looser so i am putting on muscles and dropping fat. While I would "like" to be lighter, it's not stressing me.
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12 Months on the bike - a review

Rather than a race or ride report for this post, I’m going to talk more about my life in relation to cycling and how it has changed so dramatically in the last 12 months.

Back in late July 2007, while watching Le Tour De France, PDL and I were inspired to get cycling ourselves with the thought of doing some cycle touring as part of a holiday, and maybe improve my health and fitness.

But I very quickly discovered just how unfit I really was and was determined to loose weight to become a better cyclist. Before we brought our bikes, I had in my mind the memory of my younger days as a kid on a BMX, and to discover that I was now so crap on the bike was a blow to my ego. So I just couldn’t let myself be beaten by my lack of fitness and obesity (there- I’ve said it, I was obese!), my ego wouldn’t allow it to happen. So this was an important moment for me because until then, every time I tried to drop weight, I was doing what ever activity or diet to loose weight, rather than loose weight to be better at the activity. It’s a small but important change in how I approached my task but it made all the difference to my mental state and determination.

And so I started thinking about foods differently. Suddenly everything I eat was about “what will this do to me” rather than “what will this taste like”. I was thinking of foods as fuel rather than indulgences and taste satisfiers.

I started playing a game with PDL in the supermarket where I would see a product (eg- chocolate) and I would talk as if that section was just empty shelves. “Gee, I wonder why this whole isle is empty” I would say. Silly I know but it helped me deal with the temptation that used to break me down, time and time again in the past.

Then I happened upon the BV forum and this was a huge, MASSIVE change to my cycling that I can not thank the people of enough. It started with me just reading, lurking and asking the occasional question. Then there was talk of a group ride that sounded like fun – the BBC ride. I asked if a overweight, flat bar riding newbie like me would be ok on the ride and was encouraged to give it a go.

This lead to my discovering the joys of group rides and the added and unexpected benefits of cycling of the social aspect that comes with the rides. I was totally hooked and this was a pivotal moment for both PDL and myself. I can not thank the forum’s members enough for this. It truly changed my life in more ways than I can count.

Which brings me to where I am today; I now ride 250 – 450kms a week without stress, I ride 2-4 mid week morning training rides and usually lead the groups now rather than straggle along at the distant rear of the bunch. I am decent climber now, can sprint pretty well, corner like a demon and decent without fear. I have learnt to track stand with ease and can leap my bike up gutters with aplomb.

I feel like the bike is an extension of myself and heavy traffic is stress free and simple to navigate. I consider myself a cycle racer now which even 9 months ago would have seemed totally ludicrous to even consider.

I have lost 1/3 of my body weight (about 50kgs), dropped my body fat % from the mid 30’s to about 18% and packed on TONS of muscle. My clothes have gone from only being able to shop at the big man’s store to being able to not only being able shop from normal shops but not even the biggest sizes.

I have met and made great friends with so very many people from the BV forum and I always look forward to catching up with them several times a week on our regular training rides. They make me laugh with their posts and I value their friendship more than they would understand, for it is their encouragement and positive words that have made me what I am today. A better person.

My confidence has improved and I am happier in life in general and I look forward to every day’s ride. I love my cycling and life is great.

I can’t wait to see where I am in another 12 months.
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My second Road Race - May 17th

As promised, here is a long over due update to my blog. This was my second road race back in May the 17th and it was a heck of a tough day to be riding, let along racing!

Sorry for the lack of updates but with my new job, still trying to get my own clients work done, cycling as much as I can and finding myself falling asleep on the couch every night, it's been hard to find the time to put into my blog that I used to.

Anyway, here my latest update from May 17th.

Firstly I have raced a few more road races with some varied results. My second RR was at Newham which is just over the back of Hanging Rock. Polkadotlisa wasn't racing that week for reason's I can't remember so we headed off early one Sat morning to get to the start. On the way the weather was looking grim with more and more showers. The temp gauge in the car was slowly dropping till it read 2 degrees and we made jokes about snow. Ha Dee Ha Ha!

Arrived at Newham and there was no one to be found. We waited for a while and as we were sitting in the car in this tiny little town, PDL exclaimed "What’s that (pointing to the sky)!" It was snowing. Yep, real soft fluffy stuff was hitting the ground. Yikes!

Finally some other riders turned up after I realised I had gotten my start times mixed up and was an hour early. A small group of cyclists rolled in and we all huddled under a shelter in the park, wondering if the race was still going to happen. Finally the officials turned up and they pulled out a card table- a sure sign that things are rolling!

The officials asked around to see how many were going to race and with such small numbers (1 E-grader, 1 D-grader - me, about 6 C and 6 B-graders) they decided to run it as a handicap style race and send me and the E-grader off first.

We all hurriedly got dressed, and then I and the E-grade guy assembled on the road where the marshals told us to “look after each other and good luck”, before setting the two of us to ride out into the soaked roads, with light rain falling and as near as much zero temperatures. YIKES.

Myself and the E-grade guy chatting a little as to set off, both rugged up with as much clothing as we could. I had on-
Thick merino socks
Full booties
I had the vent holes in the soles of my cycling shoes taped up
Leg warmers
Bib knicks
3 Jerseys
Arm warmers
Roubaix under gloves
Mitts
Thick polar fleece over gloves
Skull cap head warmer
… and yet I was still freezing!

We rode on getting soaked through rather quickly and freezing as a result. We agreed to work together taking turns on the front but on a long downhill I opened it up a touch and kept up the pace along the following flat. As I turned onto the side road I looked back expecting to see Mr E-grade right behind me, but he was long gone and no where to be seen. DOH! With no other choice I went into TT mode and figured I would ride solo for as long as I could.

The rest of the race was mentally very tough with the marshal’s car driving slowly a few hundred meters ahead at all times, and no one else to be seen. So I just slogged away on the soggy roads, trying to keep a good pace, with no one to draft or pace myself with, I had to use my speedo as a guide to avoid slacking off.

On the second lap about 1/3rd way around, I was turning into another road when my rear wheel slid sideways, giving me the classic flat tyre feeling, and sure enough upon looking back, it was very low.

So with 20kms to ride I figured the flat was a slow leak and I might be lucky enough to be able to ride to the finish. So I tried to move my weight forward on the saddle as much as I could to lighten the load on the rear wheel and I kept plugging away. However, after about 10-15kms, The rear wheel was bouncing under me with each pedal stroke and I was starting to feel the rim grounding out so I had to do SOMETHNG.

A decision was made, stop, dump my CO2 into it and hope it will get me home. So I pulled over, unclipped and went to pull off my CO2 pump from the frame mount, however with so many glove layers on, I couldn’t feel the Velcro strap and after 30 seconds of trying to grab the strap I had to pull off the outer glove from one hand with my teeth.

So I have the glove off and CO2 on the valve dumping its air into the tyre. The only problem is that now with the extreme cold conditions and the natural coldness of CO2, the pump stuck to the valve. After a bit of cursing and struggling I managed to get it off but now it was frozen to my glove! BLOODY HELL! Several frantic attempts were made before it came off, so I throw everything in my jersey pocket (inc my over glove), jump back on the bike and away I go. Whew!

Bike feels much better but I can hear the hissing of the air escaping straight away. Oh no! I struggle to get back into the rhythm I had before but the bike is at least rolling as it should now. The Marshals car had turned back to see what happened to me so I point down at my rear wheel to signify the problem.

As I approach the last corner and into the final 3 km uphill, I can feel the rear tyre is very low already and I know the uphill is gonna be shit like this. I yell to the corner marshal if he can see the pack behind me and he says “Yep! Don’t look, just keep going!”

As I turn the corner the rear wheel slides under me but I can control it fine and I am out of the saddle trying to keep the weight over the front. I look back and there they are. Damn it! Knowing I’m done for, I keep to the left, not wanting to get in the way and sure enough, with about 2 km to go C and B grade come past me as I am now just about rolling along on the rim. A few of the pack thank me for staying out of the way and a few say “well done” on my effort to stay in front of them for so long.

And then, I am last. In a matter of 50mts I went from first to last and it was beyond my control. I was pissed off but to tired to be angry. The sweep van pulled up next to me as I limped along and asked if I wanted to put the bike in the back but I declined saying I made it this far, I was going to finish.

And so I did, with PDL, Dave and Kathy cheering me as I crossed the line. I yelled out about my puncture as I passed them only to have Dave piss himself laughing about it (which at the time I wasn’t able to see the funny side). I rolled up to the car and all I wanted to do was lay down but I was so cold I was shivering from head to toe.

After the race in the public toilets, there was a whole bunch of us cyclists getting changed out of our wet clothes and we were all shaking with cold. My hands were shaking so much it took me a while to be able to control them enough to unbuckle my shoes. Damn it was grim!

And so that was it- my second road race and I was unlucky not to win. Oh well, lets see how I go next time. What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger hey?
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Im baaaaack!

Firstly I want to say sorry (sorta) for being so slack with updates to my blog. I didn't know people returned so often as to know it was so far out of date. But I have a good reason for not updating, honest. And it doesn't involve my dog eating my homework either (not that I have a dog, but you know what I mean....).

So what have I been up to you ask? Well TONS including getting faster (MUCH FASTER), more races, setting great times on hill climbs, and several pretty big milestones I am pretty proud of. But as there is a fair bit to write out, I will just leave it at this for now with the promises that more is coming very soon (I have already written out 2/3rds of my first real post). Read more >>

56km's of pain!

Today I raced my first road race at Gisbourne South and it was hard, damn hard!

With the phlegm still clogging my chest from the cold/flu I have been fighting for the past few weeks, I was in less than ideal health to take on such an undertaking. However, I was determined to give it a go all the same.

The day started poor when I managed to punch myself in the chin while putting on my arm warmers at home. DOH!

We got to the start and I went for a warm up lap around the course. Up the back there was a nasty long hill which I found to be very hard work and realized that I was VERY down on power today. I wasn't "feeling it" as they say.

Sign in with slightly surly guy went something like this-
Me: "Hi I'd like to race D-grade"
Him: "Urgh... What racing have you done?"
Me: "I started racing just this year and have done a few D-grade St Kilda crits, but this is my first road race."
Him, looking at my license and his list: "Urgh.. you haven't pre entered"
Me: "I did send an email on time as was said on the calendar"
Him: "Urgh... well he's not here.. so I suppose you can slot in where blahblah has dropped out then"
Me: "Errr...ok"
Cheery chap indeed! :)

The race starts and I'm rolling with the pack fine. I fell back a bit on the climb but got back into the thick of it no stress until we hit the hill the second lap and I was dropped like a hot potato! Pulled back one guy but the pack kept getting further and further away each lap.

I ended up riding solo for 5 1/2 laps in the wind and would have paid good money for a wheel to suck.

The 3rd lap up the hill and my lungs were protesting big time. I contemplated pulling out but kept going for just one more lap... then just one more.. and another... and another...

Towards the end I saw another D-grader in a Melton Club kit ahead so I tried to aim for him. C-Grade passed me and the D-grader in front sat on the back of them on their wheels (which we were told was not to be done, using another grade to your advantage). As C-Grade seemed to be sitting up a bit and I was just getting a roll on I was unsure what to do- do I sit on their wheels or do I pass them?

I elected to do the second option, passing with plenty of room to not get in their way. As soon as I hit the front they all picked up the pace and passed me back up the following rise (with several thanking me!?), and then on the following long downhill, I passed them back again as I got into my aero tuck for the decent. I wasn't even pedaling (the only good part of being heavy on a bike), I was just rolling downhill!

Talking to Ian after the race I found out it's considered bad form to pass a higher grade like I did, so I will remember that next time. Oops!

Once again the C-grade pack passed me with the D-grader still firmly sucking their wheels so I latched on to them until the hill up the back again smashed me and i was dropped AGAIN! I was really hating that hill.. I really mean it. I wanted to kill it!

Last lap and I had Melton guy in my sights to give me "something, ANYTHING" to aim for. As I crested the final hill I saw Alison ahead to my surprise (I expected her to take the win) so I flew past her and Ross, hot in pursuit of Melton guy, but I wasn't quite able to reel him in by the finish line.

So I finished about 3-4th last and I think quite a few D-graders pulled out. Bloody tough work that course, not helped my my cold/flu.

Ended up back at the car, wobbly legs and all, coughing my lungs out while people tried to talk to me. Damn I felt crap.

On the course, I had several people pass me calling out "vidman!" and a corner marshal I know was urging me on to catch the back of D-grade ahead of me (no chance). Thanks guys for the encouragement. Next time- PUSH ME UP THE HILL DAMN IT! :)

I was disappointed to get dropped so early but happy that I fought the urge to pull out on lap 3 when my lungs were protesting so badly. In the end what made me keep going was (and this is pretty silly I know) thinking of the scene in the movie "Run Fat Boy, Run!" where he wont give up in the marathon and keep struggling to the finish. Meh.. what ever works hey?

I'll be back, hopefully lees phlegm ridden.


Above- Ross and Ian hard at work in C-Grade.
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Playing with the big kids!

After reading about the North Road Ride for quite a long time on the BV forum and even in RIDE magazine, it all sounded pretty intimidating. Stories of leadouts, breakaways, sprints and riding in bunches of 120 riders at 50+kph all sounded pretty hard core to me and it scared the pants off me.

But as I’ve progressed and gotten faster and faster, slowly the stories began to sound less and less insane. After reading that the Monday ride (the recovery ride) was run at a pace I knew I could ride, I figured I’d throw my hat into the ring and go play with the big kids!

After asking some people I know who do the NRR what to expect I psyched myself up to take it on for a Monday. Lisa was too chicken to do it so it was just me riding down there.

Riding down Chapel St and watching people come out of night clubs was an odd experience. Don't these people work? Down Nepean Hwy the power was out so a lot of it was spent riding in pitch black. Gah.. I REALLY must get a better headlight. Bit spooky at times.

Got to the BP at 5.35am after allowing way too much time to get down there. Had a guy on a Bianchi turn up not long after so we shot the breeze for a while and I listen to him drop the F word about 10 zillion times in each sentence.

Finally everyone rolled up inc Freckle. Caught up with her and met a few other BVers I know. Everyone asked where PDL was. I said she was soft and that I was sent ahead as a crash test dummy.

I decided to just sit in the back half of the pack to get a feel for it but we got split at a set of lights. Being the first one to catch the lights I called out “Stopping” only to be buzzed either side buy a few who didn't want to stop. They scared the crap outta me to be honest as they flew past out of the saddle either side at the same time sprinting!

Anyway, the split bunch hammered along at 46-50kph to get back on the back of the front group and just as we caught them- another set of lights! DOH! Green light and another race to bridge the gap and I took a stint on the front, however I wasn’t strong enough to hold the pace (48kph) up the slight incline and was soon passed by most pack as I ran out of steam.

We caught back to the front group again and cruised through to mordi with no stress. At one stage, a lot of riders cut through to Beach Rd via a shortcut. What’s with that? I don't get it... am I missing something here?

Back up Beach Rd the pace was between 32 and 42 the whole way (mostly low-mid 30's). It was easy to keep up, but I just wish I knew someone around me as I rode the entire trip back without saying a word (except for the usual "STOPPING").

Through Brighton there was another traffic light split and I set the pace for the split group back onto the front group again. THAT felt good.

Looking over across the bay, I saw the fog (or was it rain) moving in towards us and decided to not stop at Cafe Racer and keep going home to beat the weather. I waved good bye to Dillatante and Freckle and continued into the city via St Kilda road where a guy on a rattly MTB was sitting on my wheel busting his guts to follow me. I didn't realise I had a wheel sucker at first and thought my bike had developed a bad rattle. It was driving me nuts trying to figure out where the sound was coming from! LOL

Met up with Keely at the top of Collins and rode with her till when 50mts from my apartment, where I picked up a flat rear. Good timing!

Here is a map for the NRR route-
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/North-Road-Ride13425
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King for a day!

Since late last year, I have been riding the Maling Room Ride (MRR) with steady improvement in that time. I started being waaaay off the pace and finishing it solo without a rider in sight. But since then I have picked up my pace to the point where I can not only keep them in sight but even set the pace along the less hilly sections and finish the hills mid pack.

In that time the ride itself has evolved into several different groups (speeds) as the main groups pace has gotten faster and faster (up from an average of 26kph to 31kph).

But try as I might, I have never taken out any of the “points” along the route (we have several fun “points” sections to add in some spice to the ride, just like the Tour de France).

Until this day...

PDL and I started the MRR in our usual way, feeling the hills on our ride to the start and as always, wondering if we were up to it that day. There is something about those hills on the way that always makes us hurt as we are still waking up and warming up our legs.

After arriving at the start and taking off with the group, I was very pleased to stick on PDL and Silkishuge’s wheels up Canterbury Rd hill for the first time ever. Boy that felt great NOT to be dropped.

Along Middleborough Rd I was feeling good so I poured on the power up in an attempt to make it first up. However I dug TOO deep and by the time I got to the top I was 1mm away from blowing chunks. My guts were churning and I really didn’t feel great at all.

A quick recovery and I was back on the front with Silk, pushing a decent pace along Maroondah Hwy when that feeling in my tummy returned and I had to drop back off the front. I was worried that I was done for the day and even said as much to a few people around me as I slipped back a bit in the pack, but after about 2 mins of backing off my pace, I recovered and pushed on again, leading the way onto Mitcham Rd. Weird- one second I felt crap, next I’m pouring on the power.

Along Doncaster Rd and I was second, siting on Outlook’s wheel through the single file section. Outlook was going at a decent pace for a while till he started slowing a bit so I took the front to give him a break/draft for a while. It was then that Springvale Rd hit us.

I wasn't "trying" to sprint off, I was just ploughing along trying to keep a good steady pace up for the pack when the lights changed as I entered the intersection. Thinking that a good few must have made it through on my wheel, I looked back to see that I was alone! Doh! So I soft pedalled to the top of the hill waiting for the pack but with the lights STILL red behind me, I just decided to ride along at 80% thinking I would be gobbled up anyway. Plus my tummy was right on the edge of chucking the whole way so I didn't want to have the pack pass me as I painted the sidewalk, so it was a careful balance of speed v puke.

Somehow, probably a combination of my break away and their copping more red lights than me, they never caught me. Up Shoppingtown Hill I was expecting to be passed as its a heartbreak hill for me but nope! I took King o' Shoppingtown. Woot!

Over the top of Shoppingtown Hill I caught multiple red lights, but still no one caught me. I even descended down Elgar at an easy pace once again waiting for the pack but nope- no one!

Up Belmore I was spinning along at about 19-18kph when I could have sworn I heard a bike down shift behind me. Thinking that I was about to be swamped like usual I just kept up my pace and when I crossed the line, I looked back to see who was there but found no one as far as the eye could see. Cool. My first King o' Belmore (second king for the day).

It was about here that I was again very, VERY close to throwing up (no idea why I felt so crap today), so I backed it right off again, down to 12kph for a hundred meters or so until I recovered (again!).

Around the roundabout and over the last of the Belmore uphill, I started descending when, caught up with re-catching my breath and busy clicking up gears on the downhill, I looked up to see the lights just turning red and with me about to sail through them. I’m embarrassed to say that the light was far too red for my liking and I was cursing myself for getting myself into that situation in the first place. Bad vidman, bad!

Down into the King of the Valley section, I saw that there was no one behind me so I cruised down the hill for my 3rd "king" moment of the ride.

Turning into Belmore Rd and I could see some mice/rabbits (the slower groups that start earlier) ahead of me so again I picked up the pace, but kept getting caught by the lights every time I started to reel them in.

Up past Fintona School (a nasty steep bump in the road) I pushed again and took King o' the Bump (4th king!!) and set out to hunt down the small prey ahead of me.

I finally caught them at the corner of Canterbury Rd and sprinted down Canterbury to arrive first at Mailing Rd and on the edge of puking once again. Blarrrgh!

I was pretty chuffed to do so well, even if i DID have an unfair traffic light advantage. Still, I felt I rode the MRR stronger than I ever had, even with my crook guts.

Unfortunately, when I posted my ride report on the forum (very close to the above) as many of us do for fun, some people took it to be me getting a big head when nothing could be further from the truth. I know damn well that in a fair fight, I would have nothing for the usual suspects up the hills. All I would see of them is their blinkies in the distance. But for me, I felt I rode really well as compared to my OWN past rides. And for that I AM proud of my own personal improvement.
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St Kilda to Portsea (and back) - 212km in a day!

After doing many rides to Mt Eliza and back (116kms) and a Frankston to Sorrento and back ride (100kms), several of us on the BV forum were keen to link it all together for a St Kilda to Portsea ride in a day (200kms).

So one early Saturday morning, a group of us meet in St Kilda and set off south for our day’s adventure on the road.

Here are a few of my highlights in no particular order...

1. Riding back home on the approach to Princess Bridge, Lisa and I saw 2 guys in a punch-up on the footpath ahead, spilling onto the road in front of a car. Then a few guys broke them up and they both went on their ways (different directions).

2. Watching a woman on a MTB ride straight through a set of ped lights (red, dodging peds in the process). I yelled out- RED MEANS STOP... then as it was up hill, I easily caught her where I very politely started to chat to her about what she did, only to have her start saying sorry for doing it. All's good.

3. Riding along the rolling hills before Safety Beach and seeing the approaching rain clouds, then thinking about my complete lack of clothing for rain, I hammered it to get to Safety Beach before the rain hit. It was fun hammering the bike up and down the hills and noticing just how much stronger I was since the last time through here (Nov 07).

4. After leaving Safety Beach, I lead the way all the way to Sorrento into the headwind. I kept the speed at 28-31kph the whole way but as soon as we hit the first hill towards Sorrento I decided to "see what I could do" and put the hammer down. I had Percrime and PDL join me at the front and after breaking away from them at one stage, I dropped back to Percrime and taunted him to race me, but he wasn't taking the bait. Then, thinking I had PDL (and her hill climbing strength) on my tail on the last climb up to Sorrento I gave it all I had to beat her, only to turn around and see she wasn't racing me after all. DOH! It was good fun and plenty of laughs!

5. On the way back we ended up riding with a guy who started riding in 1949!! He lived in Rye and was just out for a pootle along the coast and then up Arthurs Seat!! I was so engrossed in chatting to him I didn't realized that Louisa had her road side incident until I was 1.5kms down the road and had to back track.

6. Yikes that big hill up to Mornington is a tough one. I can see why a lot of ATB riders end up walking it. I ended up plodding up at 12kph and was mighty glad to see the top.

7. On the way back around Sandringham, Commi saw the Spirit of Tas and wondered if we could beat it back to Port Melb. As we arrived at the finish point of the ride in St Kilda, we saw the Spirit just about to enter the dock. Lets call it a draw!

8. Leaving Frankston on the way back, Percrime took off at 40kph so Simon, PDL and I stuck to his wheel. Fun to fly along fast for a while but I then realized that Commi was going to be solo after Carrum so I pulled out of the speedy group to wait for him.

9. While riding down and seeing the turn off for Authurs Seat, I was itching to give it a go. What has happened to me that climbing Authurs Seat seems like a good idea?? Must be PDL's hill climbing prowess rubbing off on me...

10. It was very odd towards the end of the ride. My legs felt great, the lungs felt fine, I had a bit of soreness in the shoulders/neck but overall I could have kept going for another 50-100kms (with some food perhaps). Very odd sensation. Got home feeling fine tho it was the first time I had started and finished a ride in the dark!
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Lots of miles and lots of hills- no problem-o!

As usual, its been a while since my last post. But as cycling has become a steady part of my life, I have found it less "gee whizz" exciting to talk about each and every ride like I used to. Not that I enjoy cycling less than I did- not at all (I probably enjoy it more), but to ride to Frankston and back doesn't have the novelty that it once did if you see what I mean.

Anyway, Ive taken on some new goals since my last blog post so here is a run down of them in no particular order...

Alpine Tour of the Suburbs
Well, we did it! Matt and I rode the Alpine Tour of the Suburbs group ride!

But let’s go back to the start....

Earlier that day (that morning), the regular MRR ride was run and Mattyb from the BV forum missed it for several reasons. Being annoyed at himself for missing the ride, he mentioned in the forum that he was thinking of doing the Alpine Tour of the Suburbs as penance. As I had been giving it some non-too serious thought myself, i decided to jump in boots and all and take it on with Matt. *GULP*

So after some messages back and forth between Matt and myself and much “what the hell are we thinking” comments from the both of us, we decided to throw caution into the wind and take it on.

I was riding down to the start, wondering how many riders would be doing this ride, but as I approached the Guide Dogs entrance on Chandler Hwy, I was amazed to see about 20 + riders already assembled.

I pulled in and felt very intimidated. Lots of A-graders I have seen at the St Kilda crits, and plenty of bling bike and bling bodies.

I spotted Mattyb and rolled over to chat with him. We were both wondering what the heck we were doing with this group but figured that we made it this far, might as well see this through.

More and more riders rolled up and I counted over 40 riders just before we left. Wow... the biggest group I have ever ridden in by far!

Straight away on Chandler Hwy the group was split by lights and when the lights changed, we really took off to catch the lead group. "Oh boy, here we go" I said to Matt and the pack poured on a fair bit of pace, but we kept up fine and sat in the middle of the pack.

All the way to the base of Doncaster Shoppingtown hill, we sat comfortably in the pack at I have no idea what pace (I would guess high 30's?). Once at the base of Shoppingtown hill i knew this was going to hurt and it did. It's such a long climb and everyone soon passed me and evaporated up ahead of me. Slowly I slogged away and was starting to reel another rider in. I passed him and was starting to get some more momentum for the final climb when the Elgar Rd lights went red and stayed red for aaaagggggeeees. I asked the guy behind me if he knew the way and as he had only done the ride once and i had a map, he suggested we stick together. Good idea!

Finally the lights changed and we turned the corner into Williamson Rd and I was VERY happy to see the entire pack waiting in the slip lane. As I rolled to a stop, the pack took their time to let us slowpokes have a break which was really appreciated.

Rolling again and we set off down Williamson Rd which turned out to be a fairly steep downhill, followed by and even steeper uphill (of course). Out of the saddle and grinding hard but alas, I was last to the top damn it!

When we turned into Foote rd, i caught back up to the tail-enders and made up a bit more time down a big dip. As i flew down the dip, I realized that there were minimal street lights and at the speed I was doing, what ever bumps were in the road was just going to be a surprise! Note to self- must get better lights for these situations.

Turning into Hight St and as i began the long, long climb, a car passing us going the other way had it's drivers side window down and as he passed me i heard the driver yell out at us (in the dark mind you)- "Poofters!" All I could do was chuckle to myself at this comment.

High St was just one long, never ending drag. Up, up, up it went with no end in sight. Ahead of me was a guy on a very nice looking Orbea and I slowly closed the gap on him and passed. Seeing me pass him must have spurred him on as he sat just a meter back from me the rest of the way, both breathing hard, no chatter- just pedalling and spinning! At one stage when it was really hurting I had the following thought process happening in my head-

"Urgh! this is killing me... my legs are burning... the lungs are bursting... oh gawd how much further does this hill go for... maybe I could pull out... nah... I have no excuse other than softness... what about a puncture... that would force me to stop and even pull out of this madness... but I don't think there is anyone behind me to witness it so who would I be fooling... and besides, I still need to ride home... oh screw it... just stop thinking and ride..."

Back to Manningham Rd, A few of us were caught at the traffic lights including Matt who I hadn't seen for a while. Matt said he thought he was about to bonk so I dug out a handful of jelly babies from my pocket and handed them to him, and also took a mouthful myself. Mmm... fruity jelly goodness!

Just around the corner there was another regroup at the servo- once again, great stuff!

Off and rolling and down Maningham Rd as a pretty fast pace. A set of lights changed ahead and i saw several riders go straight through the red, with a few cries of "sheesh" from us tail enders. We stopped at the lights and seeing there was just 5 of us I commented to the group- "And then there were five" which got a few grins from the lantern rouge pack.

Lights change we all take chase of the rest of the pack, but the next intersection we caught them all and we all cruised into Heidelberg Shopping Center as one pack of 40+ riders. With the pack all together as one, I looked up Burgandy Rd and saw the monster that it is, looming in front of me. I motioned to Matt what we had in store for us but he suggested that maybe it was best NOT to look up. Wise idea! While waiting at these lights, I heard a guy mention to his mate that he thought a few in the pack would struggle to make it to the top which had to include me (and fair enough too), but this only served to spur me on. There is nothing like trying to prove someone wrong to make me push harder.

As we rode up the pace was manageable, but as the hill kept getting steeper, my speed kept dropping from 18kph to a low of 9kph at the final kick up at the top. The last pitch was really hard work but still I wasn’t last up the hill. As I climbed that last steep bit, about 3 riders slowly passed me, each commenting to me that I was doing really well and to keep going. Thanks guys, I really appreciated the kind words; I just couldn't spare the breath to respond! LOL

Re group again at the top of Burgandy Rd but I rolled past most of the pack looking for Matt, only to see some riders taking off again which suited me fine. So I was up the front heading down the hill.

At a set of lights I got chatting to another rider asking if this was the usual pace (I was expecting it to be faster) and I was told this was about average and that the regroups meant that it was a ride for everyone. I told him it was my first time and he said he that I was doing fine.

Along Lower Heidelberg Rd through the cutting, all of a sudden everyone took off, racing away into the distance. I tried to accelerate and get out of the saddle but the legs were lacking (to say the least!) so I just spun away up the hill, with the blinkies off in the distance (I was last) and car headlights lighting my way from behind.

Into Ivanhoe East shops, I made up ground on the tail enders on the descents and kept that speed up for the following uphill, passing yet more riders. I was surprised at my pace at the end really as I kept rounding up riders looking pretty stuffed while I was feeling pretty good.

I found Matt waiting for me at the Chandler Hwy intersection and he was stuffed and spent! I offered to drive him home and he agreed to that idea so we rode to my apartment to get the car. Whew! We made it! We were both pretty stoked to have done it! Awesome!

Stats
Average (inc a gentle ride to the start) = 27kph
Top Speed = 76.9kph
Total distance (door to door) = 39km

Will I be back? Sure will. Only next time I will bring Lisa along for a feminine touch to the ride (it was all guys as far as I could see). She will climb the hills at least mid pack and easily hold her own for the rest of the ride.

And me? Well I will just be happy to slowly improve my position in the peleton each time and not be the last up some of the hills in the future. It will come with time no doubt (and less weight might help too!)

Bring on the next challenge! :)

PS- Here is a link to the map of the route for those keen to try their hand-
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Alpine-Tour-d-Suburbs
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A grand week!

Ah what a good week of riding last week was.

It all started with my strong rides on the MRR, followed up with a great ride to Mt Eliza again and finished off with a GREAT days racing for both Polkadotlisa and myself on the Sunday.



MRR - Tuesday 4th March
Started with the pack and stuck with them the whole way to the finish. No breakaway with the traffic lights after last weeks hammering I did solo, but this time but I stuck to WAK’s wheel all along Doncaster Rd as the diesel pounded out the pedal strokes. I contemplated trying to go on the front but I don’t think I would have been any good so I just tucked up in close behind and hung on for the ride. Hehe

MRR - Thursday 6th March
At the start I wasn't "feelin' it" and got dropped by about 20mts up Canterbury hill but was soon back on the pack down the other side. PDL was flyin' down the other side and after I passed her, the little bugger came back on me DOWN the hill. Wow... she has really come far in the last few weeks, she can climb, go fast on the flat for long periods, can now go downhill fast and her cornering is pretty good too!

On Maroondah I started to come good with the legs finally getting stronger. Squeaza is with us now and I note how strong she is riding. You GO GIRL! I was back in the pack about 10th wheel but as we crossed Springvale I was starting to work forward (not out of any plan, it just worked out that way). Then with about 200mts to go till Mitcham Rd, I saw Mattyb about 20mts off the front so I pulled out and made a run on him. As I went past I did a classic, look back at him as I went by. Ah, all those long hours of watching the TdF have taught me a few psych out moves! LOL

Along Doncaster I upped the pace into the mid 40's to start with and Matt came up along side me and he looked a bit stuffed. So I kept my cards close to my chest and pushed on forcing the pace upwards. Just as we came to Springvale Rd I was about 3 lengths ahead of him and I "just" made it through while Matt had to stop. As I went through the intersection I waved "goodbye" to the rest and then put my head down in anticipation for the solo ride of pain ahead.

All along Doncaster I was pushing at about 90%, in the 40's most of the way and hitting the low 50's at one point. At the bus depot, a bus pulled out RIGHT in front of me, forcing me to swerve out into the next lane (quick head check) to avoid him. Grrrrrr!

Up Col d'Shoppingtown I was hurting and was expecting to be passed at any stage. In the distance up the hill I could see the taillights of Kathy, Simon (Squeaza's Bro) and Mrs Blybo (sorry- don't know your name). At the very top of the hill I was caught by the lights which seemed to stay red for aaaaagggggeeeesssss and while I was thankful for the rest, I was impatient to keep going as I was aiming for KOM.

Lights change and down the hill I charged, top gear, in the drops, flat out! All green lights so around I turn into Elgar Rd and I’m cranking hard for max speed. Unfortunately I got the red light down Elgar Rd and I lost a ton of time there but I caught the early start group as I turned onto Belmore.

Huff, huff, puff, puff I went, all the while hoping like hell I had enough to get to the top first, but alas half way up, Jim fly’s past with Mattyb hanging on for grim death to Jim, about 20mts back. Matt laughed as he passed me, saying that I was "a bastard for making me hurt so much trying to catch you". As the KOM line was coming up I was expecting a lunge from somebody from behind to beat me but no one was in sight so I did the two hands in the air celebration as my first KOM podium (3rd). HAHA Ah well, small victories!

I caught back up to Matt around the roundabout and put the power down over the last rise. KOV was out of the question with Jim loooooong gone so I settled with 2nd.

Finally caught Jim at Whitehorse Rd intersection and with a bit of a run up on him, I lead the way up KoBump for a while feeling stronger up this hill than I ever have (even changing UP a gear on this hill which normally has e in granny gear!). Jim passed me asking if this was a "comp hill" and Matt passed me again out of the saddle, giving it his all.

Along the flat of Balwyn I gave it one last push and took the lead to get to MRR first! Woohoo!

Over drinks I was so tired I could hardly talk for a while. Just wanted to rest my head on the table. After a rest and a drink or two, PDL and I rode home feeling refreshed and very happy with our rides.


St Kilda to Mt Eliza (plus some extra pootling about) - Saturday 8th March
Nice weather with a few clouds to keep the sun from burning us while the wind was nonexistent and the overall air temp was “just right”. We started with a group of around 16 of us riding down to Black Rock. I stayed out of any sprint but turned up the pace after Black Rock as I ended up on the tail of a merging of what looked like 3 or 4 groups all mixed up. Not wanting to get caught up with any touched wheels, I upped the pace and rode around the lot of them which in hindsight was prob not the smartest thing to do. Ended up on the front and riding at a good fast pace. Then I looked up and “thought” I was about 500mts from Mordi so I really upped the pace hard into the high 40’s, low 50’s. One problem, I still had another 1.5kms to go and I ran out of steam, only to see the rest of the fast riders in the group pass me. DOH!

I had been riding with the front derailer rubbing a bit on the chain and it generally not feeling “right” so a quick fiddle at Mordi to hopefully fix it and onwards we rode. I was sitting towards the back, chatting when our group was broken by a set of lights. The front group slow pedaled to wait for us but Jon and Dez didn’t realise what had happened and didn’t want to ride slow so they went off ahead.

Into Frankston we rolled and I had Commi and his “MUST... BEAT... VIDMAN” comment as he passed me up Hopes Rise still ringing in my ears. So I picked up the pace more than normal or Hopes and just a the hill starts to kick up I jumped out of the saddle to really start cranking the pedals, only to have the chain start jumping about on the rear cassette. “Crunch-grind-clunk-thunk” it went. “Bugger” I thought as it made me loose a ton of momentum, but I kept pushing as hard as I could, even passing a few. But alas, I suddenly heard those familiar words passing me on the right- “MUST... BEAT... VIDMAN”.

We all stopped at Mt Eliza for a bite to eat and drink with plenty of happy chatter going on. These Sat morning group rides are always happy affairs with everyone in good spirits and new riders always welcomed. We had some new riders to the group turn up and I think they really enjoyed the company too (well I hope they did!).

After the break we all set up back and PDL said she was going to try and keep up with me down Olivers Hill. I sped off down the road back to Nepean Hwy and lead the whole way as per usual or a downhill. Down Olivers Hill, a 4wd changed lanes in front of me which forced me to touch the brakes a touch, but I still managed to better my top speed down that hill (and no, I’m not going to incriminate myself in public..LOL).

At the bottom I backed off and looked back, hoping to see PDL close by but I couldn’t see anyone at all. So I freewheeled almost all the way to the visitors center waiting for the rest to catch up.

Back to Mordi we all rode as a tight knit group in the low 30’s. But after the Mordi stop, it was the usual race to Black Rock for some of us with me leading most of the way. The second last uphill did it’s usual trick on me and saw me drop poff the pace and fall back several positions (mind you, we were riding in the high 30’s the whole way) but I surprised myself with my recover and I was soon back up to full speed and I closed down the 75mt gap to re pass Simon, Lisa and Nick. Nick responded when I caught up to him and we raced all the way up the incline to Black Rock with me slowly pulling away from him and taking the sprint by about a bike length. I raised my hands in the air in mock triumph and had a good laugh about it with the rest of the speedy group. Good fun!

We backed off the pace a lot after Black Rock, waiting for the rest to catch up and as I was on the front, I glanced back after a while and seeing several of our group behind me and plenty of other riders back as well, I wrongly assumed we were all on so I picked up the pace to about 32kph and kept rolling forward. As it turned out, the “rest” of the pack behind me were wheel suckers but in my quick head check i thought they were with us.

It wasn’t until we were back to St Kilda that I realized that it was just a group of about 6 of us on the front with the rest waaaay back. Sorry guys and gals. It was not my intention to drop you all. My bad.

W regrouped at the Old Beaconsfield hotel before riding as a group to Mart 130 which is a fantastic cafe located in Albert Park. There I had fantastic corn fritters with bacon, relish and sour cream. Superb!

After lunch, PDL and I wen around to a few bike shopped looking for new sunglasses to replace her broken BBB ones. Eventually found some really nice Shimano ones at Melbourne Bicycle Centre in Prahran and we headed home to make it 125kms for the day.

St Kilda Crits - 9th March
This was my 6th race and PDL’s 3rd but the big difference was we had both been put up grades with me now in D-Grade and PDL now in B-Grade womens (there is only Womens a and B grades).

PDL was up first and she had 6 riders in her grade. This race had sprint points through the race which are like mini races at specific points where they race for cash (first across the line on specified laps wins $$$). PDL was a bit thrown by this at the start but she soon got the idea, taking 3rd in the first sprint and 4th in the second sprint. PDL was looking very calm and relaxed in the race and there was a group of about 8 of us BVers all cheering her on.

Come the final lap and a few of us walked down the finish straight to cheer her on to the finish. Around the final corner and we could see her up powering down the far right hand side. She was pulling AWAY from 3rd and closing in on 1st and finished a VERY strong 2nd. We were all thrilled for her, high five-ing each other and cheering for her. As PDL came around back to the finish after her warm down lap we all cheered and clapped for her and she had a HUGE beaming smile. I grabbed her and gave her a huge hug. Great Stuff! And just remember, she has only been riding since August last year! She will be a champ- no doubt!

Then it was my turn to race. *GULP*!

For me it was a bit intimidating starting in a field of 33 D-grade riders and with about 40 B-graders also on the circuit at the same time it made for a crowded road at times.

I started out with the intention of just finishing in the pack and would have been satisfied with anything more than last. However early on I found myself surrounded by the DeVeer kids and finding them very umm.. errr... how do i put this- "skittish", I decided to just move up and away from them.

The pace was more than I was expecting, steadily above 40kph pretty much from the start and up into the mid 40's for some laps. I was sitting around 5th - 10th for most of the race and was doing OK but definitely working hard and taking any chance to recover where I could.

It’s only recently that I have noticed my improved ability to recover quickly and I was taking every chance to do this with the fast pace taking its toll on me.

Around the middle of the race, up the top of the course where there is a nasty bump across the circuit, I found myself much further to the right than I had been hitting it all race and just before the bump (which was bigger on the RHS), my front wheel skipped off the side of a sizable stone just at the same time I hit the bump, causing me to veer over to the right by 3-ish feet. As soon as that happened I knew I must have pissed someone off and the marshal told me down the next straight to "hold my line as I caused someone to have to brake". I explained what happened and he said "cool no stress." I would have looked back and apologized to the rider behind me but I was somewhat preoccupied at the time (you know, cornering, riding at 43kph in a pack, etc).

Somehow I ended up in second wheel on one lap and i was left thinking "how the heck did I end up here", so I slowed down and sure enough, was back in 7th in no time (they were all pushing pretty hard).

Last lap and I was about 6th up the final straight, into the corner I came around the outside but misjudged my line slightly in relation to the guy's line on my inside and I came a bit close to him (yep, I heard the cursing). However I truly don't believe it was any worse that what I copped through the race myself with riders closing off my line and having to hit the brakes numerous times. A few times I even had to yell to the guy cutting me off "hold your line", but I bare no grudges. It’s just a racing incident. However, having said that, I will make sure to take even more care next time just to be safe.

Anyway, final straight and I was giving it my all in 5th. I was truly expecting to be swallowed up by the riders behind me but surprise-surprise, no one passed me and I finished 5th! I was spurned on in the sprint by hearing the riders in 3rd and 4th both grunting and gasping as they gave it their all about 2 bike lengths ahead of me (off to the right). I even heard one say to himself "FASTER!" hehehe

Afterwards I was impressed to see that I hit 52.3kph in the final sprint! I think in my first race my top speed was the neck snapping speed of 38kph so that’s a HUGE improvement overall!

So I was totally thrilled with my finish. Waaaaaaaay more than I was expecting I was capable of and waaaay more than I was planning. I just kinda got swept along with the top 10 riders and figured I would see how long I could hold on.

Oh yes, almost forgot- RDK came out and had his first race today in E-grade. He sat towards the rear most of the race, moving up to the middle on occasions but when the pace picked up for the last few laps, he was spat out the back and finished off the tail of the bunch. However we were all proud of him giving it a go and gave him a rousing cheer when he crossed the finish line (hands held in the air no less!). Careful mate, they'll disqualify you for that!

After the finish of the racing, a few of us went for a ride down to Brighton to Startline Cycle Fashions with Sara, where she showed some improvement from last week and several bursts of speed up into the high 20’s on occasion. She really seemed to be relishing the improvement and I was glad to see her determination. On the way back (with a slight tailwind), Sara was sailing along at 26-28kph nicely. If she keeps working like this on a regular basis, before she knows it she will be able to ride all the way to Black Rock and back in the mid to high 20’s which is more than respectable.

So all up for the week it was about 350kms. Good stuff!

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Moving on up!

Well, we did it. We have now become cycle racers! Who would have thought it (not us, thats for sure)?

Polkadotlisa got out and gave racing a go and she did AWESOME (just like I thought she would). It took her just 2 races to score a podium in E-Grade (and subsequently bumped up to B-Grade women's) and I did as I had planned/hoped and took a win in E-grade and will now be racing in D-Grade.

Two weeks ago on the 24th of Feb, there was another Coffee Crits session where they teach women crit racing skills before the start of racing and after she completed that skills session, I talked PDL into signing up for E-Grade with me.

On the start line PDL was looking VERY nervous and I could fully appreciate how she felt having been through it myself just recently. She was pretty worried about her cornering speed and skills but I kept on reassuring her she would be fine.

As we started the race, the instructors who have us under control were trying to get us to do rolling turns. But this was a race dammit (hehe) and I'm gonna do whats in my best interests and so I stayed off the front. PDL however was encouraged to move up (which she did with an eye opening burst of speed) and she was left stranded there for 3 laps on a day with a pretty strong head wind up the back straight.

At one stage I moved up behind her and yelled out to her to "get back in the draft" but she didn't know it was me. Dang!

In the second last lap it was a friend from the BV forum Alison (Freckle) who was in the lead as we came up the back straight. Knowing how strong a rider she is I had a move in mind to try and work to my strengths (corner speed and quick sudden surges of speed). As we entered the last corner for the second last time I suddenly pulled out around Alison and powered into the corner as hard as I could. I kept the power down hard down the straight and past the bell (to signify the last lap) and at the end of the straight I glanced back to see if anyone was on my tail and I couldn't see anyone. WOOHOO!

I kept my speed up around the bottom corner and into the back straight where about 2/3's of the way up I hit the headwind and my legs said "cya later, I'm outta here". I dug deep and kept pushing but I was struggling and even had to change down a gear! :(

Somewhere around the last corner (can't quite remember), Ed (a guy I apparently inspired to give racing a go), went past me and left me for dead. I put my head down for the finish sprint and gave it my all and took out 2nd place which I was pretty happy with.

After the race I caught up with PDL and found out she was 3rd until the last lap when her legs gave up in the back straight and all the front group past her, leaving her with a mid pack finish.

She was pretty down on herself but considering she was in the middle of a energy slump after over training, it was her first race, and she spent too long on the front doing too much work, I thought she did awesome.

PDL was fine in the corners, she handled the pack racing without a worry and she looked a natural.

After that weekend, PDL was pretty intent on NOT racing the following week but I just knew that if she got out there and did it again, she would surprise herself and also wash way any negative self doubts she had after the first race.

So come March the 1st (Sunday) and we are off to the crit race and I had pretty much talked PDL into giving it a bash again. We both signed up and were surprised to see Stu (a BV rider) signing up for E-Grade also.

When I saw Stu there I thought to myself, "Well, there goes any chance for a win". PDL and I did our warm ups and before we knew it we were being called up to the line. All week I had been telling PDL to just follow me and NOT to go on the front unless she had a reason for it (to up the pace, or to make a break for it).

Race starts and we are under control as per usual. There is a field of about 19 riders with quite a few women and a few little kids (10yo's), and one guy on a hybrid with flat bars (I thought you weren't allowed to race with flat bars?).

Anyway, we are rolling about and all the young kids (I think 3 of them) are all yelling out to each other and I think the riders around them. At one stage one of the kids runs wide on a corner and goes around the markers and it told off by the marshals. Later on he did it again and was given a second warning. Dang kids! hehe
Good on them for having a go against us oldies though. In another few years these kids will be smashing old grandpa vidman as they sprint off into the distance. LOL

The flat bar guy was on the front which was fine by me. As long as I don't have to get my bars mixed up with him, thats cool. Slowly the pace rose into the low 30's and the pack started to sort itself out (flat bar and kids off the back, all the contenders up the front).

I sat in around 3rd/4th wheel with PDL mostly behind me. With about 10 mins to go, Stu made a break for it off the front. It was about then that Stu's question to me before the start was ringing in my ears- "Will you be chasing any breakaways?" to which I dismissed saying "Nah, its E-Grade, there won't be any breakaways of note". LOL

With Stu opening up a 50-75 meter gap, the guy in 2nd made a lunge for him but I didn't panic. I just upped the pace without going too hard. I have discovered that the hard surges to keep up are what hurt you- NOT the actual speed. So I moved up in due course until I was back on Stu's tail (3rd) where upon Stu started weaving across the road, wanting to get off the front. But of course, we all followed him- left... right... left... right... hehe

Two laps to go and I have lost sight of where PDL was. I didn't want to mess about looking for her to much so I just pushed onwards. Last lap bell and I was feeling good in about 3rd/4th wheel. Stu was back up the front and I moved up on him after the first corner and surged forward HARD into the 90 degree corner. My aim was to fly through the corner FAST and make a break for it (making my surge later then last week so I would have some thing in my legs for the finish).

I sliced through the corner a good 10kph faster than at any other stage during the race and kept powering on up the back straight. As we came around the sweeper past the barriers, I could see a riders shadow right behind me (I assumed it was Stu) and as I could feel the early beginnings of burn coming on, I backed it off to keep something for the finish straight, all the while watching the shadow to my left.

With 20 meters to go before the final corner I piled on the power again, accelerating HARD and flew through the corner, barely pausing to lift my inside pedal. I felt the tyres slip just a touch through the loose stones on the road works in the corner but I was un-phased and kept hammering.

Up the straight and I could hear people yelling and the commentators yelling too. I was worried that I would see Stu come past me but as I closed in on the line there was no sign of anyone either side of me. As I crossed the line on the far RHS of the course, the chequered flag was waving and .... I was alone on the road - 1st place! I did a fist pump in the air as I crossed the line out of pure joy! Sure I know its just E-grade at a local club crit but I was thrilled to have achieved my aim and to have ridden the race EXACTLY how I wanted to.

After the finish on the warm down lap (after catching my breath), I looked around to try and find PDL but I couldn't see her anywhere. It wasn't until I got back to the finish line and saw Kathy and Dave that I found out the she finished 5th (or so we thought). PDL pulled up and she was grinning from ear to ear and I told her that I won. We were both on SUCH a high- it was awesome!

Later on during the next race, we were standing around chatting when somebody said my name was being called out for the presentation, so I ran over (well, as best you can run in road shoes) and was given my 1st place voucher ($25 for Total Rush cycles in Richmond). Then while we all stood around talking, PDL's name was called out as being the first place female and that they had a special award for her. Turned out as the first place woman, she was given a voucher for free race entry and as she was given the voucher she was told she was up to B-grade womens! Wow! Were were a bit confused as it said 3rd on the envelope but assumed it was a mistake.

The rest of the day was spent chatting to friends and then when Sara turned up, we went for a ride with her down beach road to just before Brighton and back to get Sara back in the spin of cycling again after her break from it. Sara did great and she had the right attitude to it, gritting her teeth and showing some guts and determination when it got hard for her. Good to see! :)

Cut forward to today (Tuesday) and I checked the St Kilda Cycling Club website to see the results up (gotta see my name in 1st hehe) and low and behold, PDL finished 3rd and not 5th as we first thought. Turns out it was 2 instructors that passed her off to the side in the finishing straight. It was like she had raced and done well all over again to see that she finished 3rd, and we were beaming with grins from ear to ear once again. Great stuff.

This coming Sunday, I get to watch PDL in B-Grade womens (GO LISA) and then she gets to watch me hang on for grim death in D-Grade. I think she is in with a chance to podium in Women's B-Grade (prize money!) while I will just be happy to finish with the pack in D-Grade.

Can't wait! :)

PS- Sunday morning the 1st i did my usual weigh in and I'm now down to 115.7kgs which is slightly ahead of schedule to reach double figures by my birthday. My clothes are all falling off me (hehe) and I'm looking and feeling great.
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Super-duper-quick update

As usual I haven't updated my blog for a while. So here is a ultra quick update on the highlights of the past few weeks...

Amy's Ride
120kms plus the ride from the motel to and from = 130km for the day. Did it easy as. No doubt made easier by Kenny suffering from cramps and such, so we were slowed down somewhat.

Highlight was getting to chat to Cadel Evens as we rode up to the start of the ride. I saw him turning right in front of us so once we got to turn left I took off after him (he was pootling up a hill). I rolled up next to him and told him that watching him in the tour last year inspired me to get off my arse, buy a bike and lose 20kgs. He seemed genuinely happy to hear that and asked if I was going to keep at it. I said I sure was and that I was addicted. He said it was the same for him, becoming obsessed, and with that we went our separate ways. I could have followed him but I didn't want to hassle the guy. I just wanted to thank him for his part in changing my life and hope that my joy rubbed off on him in even the most tiny way.

My dad also did the ride (tho the shorter 65km route) and he did it fine. I rode with him till the turn off point and I think the amount of riders and their pace was surprising to him but I think he's hooked. I'll have to get him down to Melbourne one day for a Beach Rd ride one Saturday.

New Bike
After Amy's Ride, while I was organizing the motel payment, Dave took my bike for a spin around the car park and he said it was rotten (or something to that effect). This somewhat shook me up enough to go out and seriously look at road bikes.

That following week after testing a few and looking at what was out there for what money, BSC in Fitzroy had a awesome 2007 Felt F4 that they were clearing for $2900 and they would give me $600 trade-in on my Kona Dr Dew. Add in their great finance plan and before I knew it I was now the proud owner of a new bling road bike. Its awesome! It added at least 3kph to my riding everywhere and its far more comfortable to ride for distances.

I call it- "Black Magic" (yes I know.. corny as heck!). :)

Maling Room Ride (MRR)
After my first attempt of the MRR last year on the flat bar, PolkaDotLisa and I have been making the Maling Room Ride a regular part of our training every week. I find the hills a struggle to stay with the pack but I'm slowly getting there. PDL is easily the Queen of the Mountain (QOM) up Col de Belmore (Belmore Road has a 500mt long hill and its a race to see who can get up it first) but so far she hasn't quite been able to beat the really good male climbers to take King of the Mountain (KOM).

Racing
Yep thats right- I have started racing (Crits). Criterium racing is multi lap races around a street course usually around a block. The St Kilda club runs crit races each Sunday morning in Port Melb on a closed off course and they have a E-Grade for beginners. So far I have had a 4th (out of 30), 3rd (out of 15) and 4th (out of 20) and I've picked up heaps each time. Its nerve wracking and really hard work but I'm loving every minute of it.

Shaving my legs
Yes, I succumbed to the cycling fashion and shaved my legs. I looked around at all the other guys legs I ride with and the shaved legs do look better with the lycra and given that I am racing now, if I "do" come off, a lack of hair will help with recovery. So I did it last Saturday night. Six razors and 30 minutes later and they are like someone else's legs when I look down. Very strange! LOL

Stats
I cracked the 4000km mark with my combined cycling! My god that sounds like so much for my first 7 months of riding. But I am now reguarly doing 250kms a week so I expect to do 1000kms a month from now on. Who would have thunked it!?!

I have also now dropped 25kg in 7 months. To get to my first aim of under 100kg by July 3rd (my birthday), I will need to loose 0.95kg a week till then so it's going to be a close call. Either way, its great (although all my clothes are falling off me- very annoying).

I'm sure there is heaps more that has happened in the past month or so but those are the highlights for now. When I get around to it I will post some photos.
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Ride updates- 27th Dec to 2nd Jan 2008

Ok, this is the final of the backdated ride reports, covering 27th of December 2007 to 2nd of January 2008.

27th December 2007 - Northcote > St Kilda > Port Melbourne > Northcote
Distance: 34km
Description: Flat
Weather: Slight headwind

We took an easy ride in the afternoon.
PDL and I rode down to St Kilda pier where Lisa had a flat. Sheesh… I’m getting sick of these.

We rode back via Port Melbourne, along the bag trail and up under the Westgate to the Yarra and back via Southgate.

The ride was nothing spectacular, just a roll of the legs after a bit of a break from the bike.



29th December 2007 - Ocean Grove > Point Lonsdale > Queenscliff > Ocean Grove
Distance: 34km
Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Very hot with headwind on the way back!

Today was a gentle training ride with Dad for Amy’s ride, with Sara coming along for the ride as well.

After setting dad’s bike up with SPD pedals and a computer, followed by a fairly unsuccessful lesson with the pedals against the wall, we took to the road figuring actual riding would be more effective. One minor cleat fall later and dad had the swing of them and we set off.

Riding towards Point Lonsdale was easy with a slight tail wind. PDL had a flat but being at the back, Sara didn’t look behind for a while and when she did Lisa was no where to be seen. I turned around and rode back and of course- she had a flat- again! Found a nail in the tyre and changed the tube quickly and were back on the road.

Turning right we had a small hill to climb and Sara was not dealing with it at all but she made it after some encouragement.

Stopped at Point Lonsdale, and then rode onto Queenscliff where we stopped for a cold drink in the shade.

Riding back it was even hotter with a section of road melting and sticking to our tyres.

I suggested to dad we take the short way home but after a miscommunication we turned off towards a hilly way back. Before we got very far, Sara had a meltdown. We all stopped on a shady, grassy spot on the side of the road and I volunteered to ride back and get my car to pickup Sara. Dad and PDL would wait with her then ride back once I arrived.

Riding solo, the headwind was really bad and the heat was a shocker. The road was mostly uphill and I was trying to keep a good pace up. I’ve never been so hot in my life. Every sip of water from my bottle was hot and my mouth was bone dry 20 seconds after each sip.

As I rode up the highway, I doubted Dad’s instructions as I couldn’t find Banks Rd where I had to turn. Finally I saw a sign appearing slowly from behind a tree - first the “S”, then the “K” and so on. Whew! Apparently as Dad was reclining in the shade he mused that he probably should have suggested the other route with less hills! Grrr…

Finally I made it back to the house and I was wobbly on my legs with slightly blurred vision. Lots of cold water and my head under the cold shower cooled me down, and Dad’s wife Judy and I both drove back in our cars to pick everyone up as the temperature was too extreme. As luck would have it, whilst driving back the cool change came through!

I was pretty stuffed for the day after doing what amounted to a 10km time trial in 38 degrees into a headwind, uphill!



30th December 2007 - Northcote > Frankston > Northcote
Distance: 107km
Average Speed: 26
Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Cool at first, warming up into the high 20’s for the return trip

After the ride yesterday in the heat, we decided to go for a ride down to Frankston to get some serious k’s under our belts.

The ride started surprisingly cool and we originally intended an easy pace but once on Beach Road we found ourselves behind some guys riding too slow for us (27kph) so we passed them all, only to have then tag onto the back of us.

We kept up a good pace and as I passed another large guy riding just out of Black Rock. The other large guy picked up his pace to repass me, so I clicked it up again to pass him back! Take that! LOL! Then he turned off.

PDL blew me away over the rolling hills around Rickets Point then waited up and again blew me away again. Ah well, she’s just faster than me. I hate holding her back.

Our pace was consistently in the high 20’s, low 30’s the whole way down, except of course up Hopes Rise where I drop down to a paltry 10kph.

On the way back we tagged onto a Triathalete who was doing mid to high 30’s with a slight headwind. When I was finally able to pull up next to him at a set of lights I thanked him for the wheel and said I would be happy to take a urn but I doubted my strength to hold his pace up front.

At one stage at a set of lights, I had the momentum to take the lead but I wasn’t able to keep up a 37kph pace for long so dropped back again and wheel sucked. At least I thanked him. LOL

At Mordi, a guy pulled up and said- “you must be the famous Vidman”. Turns out he is a BV forum lurker and he said he recognised me by my bike. He said he really liked the BV jersey and was considering joining up and posting a bit so he could get one. Cool.

Heading back I suggested to PDL that she should just ride off at her pace so she’s not always being held back by me.

PDL was waiting for me in Black Rock, where she bought a pack of socks at Le Knicks. 5 for $10 - bargain!

The ride back was good, rolling together with only a minor cleat incident for PDL. Doh!

Back in St Kilda we were stuck behind a triathlete woman who was very tentative in making a move in the traffic. In the end, PDL and I overtook her and went past all the cars banked up at the lights.

Our average speed for the ride to this stage was my best yet at 26.8kph. Awesome!

Breakfast was great- had fancy porridge at the Grocery Bar which went down a treat!

Rest of the ride home was smooth sailing.



2nd January 2008 - Northcote > Williamstown > Northcote
Distance 40km
Description: Flat
Weather: Fine and warm

Today we rode to Williamstown to watch the Bay Classic racing and to catch up with some friends who recently moved down there.

PDL slipped her foot off the cleat and jarred her back 200mts from home which left her in pain for a few hours.

Down Footscray Rd, we pretty much had a lane to ourselves but once we turned onto Whitehall St, it was a single lane with semis thundering past us. Most trucks were good and gave us plenty of room but 2 trucks went by us with what felt like only cm’s to spare. One of the trucks freaked PDL out and she had to stop to compose herself. I stopped to console her but by the stage we were past the worst of it and we rode the rest of the way trouble free.

We stopped at our friend’s new place and then the 4 of us rode down for lunch and to watch the racing.

Saw a crash at the end of the men’s support race where the winner had a brain fade and he slipped and fell into the fence in the roundabout corner. Ouch!

The four of us wandered around the crit course as the women’s race was on. Looked like hard work with headwinds just about everywhere.

We watched a bit of the men’s race from the roundabout and then moved on to finish stage where we saw Cadel Evans and Phil Ligget commentating. Everyone had their camera out and PDL took a photo of me with Cadel (ok - Cadel was 10 mts behind me but he’s in the same frame as me! LOL). Too bad we only had the camera on our mobiles!

Riding home we took a slightly different route to avoid the trucks but we still had to ride down Footscray Rd where the noise of the trucks intimidated PDL again. I feel bad for her in these situations as there isn’t anything I can do to help her.

Back home on the Capital City trail and we made it home incident free.

Next ride- Amy’s Ride.
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Ride updates- 22nd Dec 2007 - Sacred Heart Mission Community Cycle

On the 22nd of December, we undertook the Sacred Heart Mission Community Cycle ride to donate food to the mission to feed the homeless. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so kind to us but it was a memorable ride all the same.

22nd December 2007 - Northcote > St Kilda > Frankston > St Kilda > Northcote
Distance: 106km
Description: Flat
Weather: Rain- LOTS of rain and plenty of wind!

Today was the Sacred Heart Mission Community Cycle ride day hat I was a bit nervous about- would many turn up? Would it work as intended?

I started the ride a bit overdressed and I had to roll down the arm warmers to cool down before we even got to St Kilda.

In St Kilda, PDL and I met up with Commi and Mikeyp and we rode south at a swift pace till Mordi. PDL and I were felling pretty sluggish after the MRR ride during the week. Those hills took a bit of a toll on us.

I slowed the pace down after Mordi as we were ahead of schedule and had a stop to put on our wet weather gear when it started to pour. Damn rain, I’ve had enough of rain riding to last me a while!

We arrived at Frankston early and mum (in the support vehicle) was already there so we started preparing with dress ups and tinsel on bikes.




In the end we had 14 riders turn up- all keen to brave the conditions and with backpacks filled with food.

We started ride with thunder overhead and black clouds. The rain started pelting down on us and the wind blew us from side to side. I lifted my fist to the sky, shook it and shouted “Is that all you’ve got!” LOL

As we passed the shops, I threw chocolate coins and candy canes to kids as we rode past. I think I need to work on my aim as they bounced all over the place! LOL

We had heaps of drivers tooting at us and waving. We made plenty of people smile and it was a great vibe despite the prevailing conditions.

After Mordi the wind picked up even more as we were riding next to the beach. Kathy was really scared of the winds so she jumped into mum’s car (sage wagon- thanks mum) and we rode on.

Somewhere around Mentone we picked up Marcel and he had blinking lights on his bike. They looked really cool!

After Black Rock we made a change to the route to get us out of the wind and headed inland, guided by Rudolph (Mikeyp). We zigzagging our way towards St Kilda via shopping strips so I could throw out the lollies to kids (some kids looked really excited).

As we were getting into St Kilda outskirts, Mikeyp had a slow flat so we quickly pumped it up and kept going.

Finally, after the rain and wind, we made it to SHM right on 11am (perfect timing) and after some confusion, we met with Sally from SHM who showed us around and made us all feel valued in what we did. It was a nice feeling to give rather then receive.

After dropping off the food, we had breakfast in St Kilda and then I had to ride home solo (PDL rode back in mum’s car as she was too cold to cop another soaking in the rain).

Being just me riding, I decided to ride the whole way down Punt Rd. It was bit scary under Richmond Station having to ride in the middle lane but no stress other than one green Ford Territory who wouldn’t give me any space when passing me twice (what is it with some Territory drivers?).

Made it home before PDL, soaked through again and shivering. Glad to be home.

Later in the day I had to go to mums to pick something up and on the way out, slipped on her steps and bruised my tail bone and shook myself up pretty bad. Crap way to end the day.
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Ride updates- 15th Dec to 20th Dec 2007

More backdated ride reports including several wet and soggy rides to Sorrento, our first MRR ride and PDL's first crit pseudo race.

15th December 2007 - Frankston > Mornington > Sorrento return
Distance: 104km
Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Rain, LOTS of rain!

PDL and I met up with Vicjane, Commi and RedZ61 around 8.00am and huddled under a shelter as we waited for everyone to get ready. It was raining non-stop and the flies were fierce (I thought the flies went away in the rain?).
PDL and I were hopelessly under dressed for the rain- no booties, no under layers, no rain jackets or vests. Doh! What were we thinking?

Up Hopes Rise and within a few km’s, Jane had a flat. A few km’s later Jane had a second flat and while waiting under the shelter of a servo fixing the flat, the owner comes out and tells us to bugger off. Nice! I finished changing flat in the rain and Stu rode past. We tried in vain to call out to him, but he didn’t hear us so Commi rode off to catch him whilst we finished off the flat.

We rode on and met up with Stu and Commi where Jane had her third flat (yes- third!). I helped fix it and gave her my tube so she could turn back for home (Stu had already 2 flats on the way down to Frankston).

PDL was shivering in the cold so we rode on, turning off for Mornington so we could get some garbage bags to make vests to keep PDL warm. They looked silly and felt icky to have the plastic against our skin (I put one on also- we wore them under our jerseys) but it kept the wind away from our skin and they achieved their aim.

Stu had to ride on as we were now so far behind schedule, so it was down to just the 4 of us. We rode on down to Safety Beach in pouring rain with water running over the road 3 inches deep in places!

Stopping for a break at Safety Beach, a guy hopped out of a car (with cycling jersey on) said we were tough for still heading out in this weather and I agreed. LOL

At Rosebud, RedZ61 had to turn back as we were running so late (he had a flat on the way home) while the 3 of us kept riding to Sorrento.

Riding past Arthur’s Seat, I pondered riding up it one day. I imagine it would make the 1:20 look easy. I’ll keep that challenge for another day.

Finally made it to Sorrento and stopped for late breakfast. We sat outside as we were soaked and dirty but this only made us even colder and PDL and I were shivering despite the warm drinks and food.

The waitress asked us where we rode from and after telling her, she thought we were very hardcore- damn right! LOL

Riding home apparently Commi and I had about 50 flies on our back. Damn freeloaders!

Into Mount Martha, I was getting hot in the plastic bag vest and tore holes into the chest area as I rode to try and cool myself down. Eventually, PDL and I stopped and ripped off the whole bag and we felt much better.

Back on Nepean Hwy I had a flat rear and had to wait for Commi and PDL to realise and ride back to me (I had no tubes now and no pump). I fixed my flat rear and as we were about to get going I found my front was now flat.

Now out of tubes between PDL and I, I borrowed one of Commi’s tubes and then found PDL’s rear was flat. We used Commi’s last tube (the 6th flat I had changed on the ride) and we limped back to the car - 7.5 hours after we started!
Whew! What a ride!

I spent the evening washing PDL’s bike and cleaning the drive train in preparation for the coffee crits in the morning.



16th December 2007 - Northcote > Port Melbourne > Black Rock return
Distance: 60km
Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Fine, cool, headwind riding south

PDL and I rode down to Port Melbourne for the Women’s Coffee Crits today for PDL’s first crit. We got there a bit early with Sally (RedBike) turning up just after us.

There was a big turnout of Women for the coffee crit with plenty of nervous and apprehensive women standing about.

PDL was pretty nervous while I wished I could have given it a go myself. I will have to wait till I drop more weight and get a road bike. *sigh*

There were lots of nice bikes to look at all around me. I felt a bit feeble on my Kona flat bar next to all the nice road bikes.

During the warm up instruction session, PDL picked up plenty of skills, going around the corners faster and in the drops which was good to see as corners were her weakness.

I acted as a domestic for a few of the women we know, holding jackets, etc.

The women’s group was split into 2 groups- a leading group and a chasing group (PDL was in the chasing group). As PDL came around every lap, I yelled encouragement for her, urging her to go and chase the leading group but the pace was too high for her to mount a chase. At the end, PDL finished second in the chasing group without her even sprinting for the line. I was impressed. She even smiled for the camera as she crossed the line, hehe!

Afterwards we rode with Rey down Beach Rd to Mordialloc. We were behind some older guys at first who were all over the road and pretty slow so we eventually passed them and rode at a much faster pace, only to have them sit in our draft (it was a headwind). After a fair while of us leading the way we stopped at lights. One of the previous slow guys pulled up next to me so I cheekily said with a smile that he was “welcome to take a turn on the front” to which he replied “we were waiting for you to go up front earlier”. I don’t think he got my joke. Oops!

I wasn’t feeling it today so pulled out at Black Rock and sat down at Kennedys while PDL and Rey went to Mordi. On the way back they found Redbike and the four of us rode back to Pt Melbourne as a group for breakfast.

At home, PDL went and rode around the block to make it 200kms for the weekend. Nice work!



20th December 2007 - Northcote > Canterbury > Mitcham > Doncaster > Canterbury > Fitzroy > Northcote
Distance: 50km
Max Speed: 75.3kph
Description: Hills
Weather: Warm and humid with rain later in the ride

Full of trepidation, today we did our first Mailing Road Ride, arrived at the start a bit early. I was feeling like crap on the way to the ride, and doubted my ability to complete the ride at the groups pace.

We rode down Canterbury Rd and I was dropped straight away. Jim and Barry rode with me which was nice of them but I really hate being a charity case and holding others up. Gotta get faster…

We were just about to catch back up to the group at Maroondah Hwy when lights changed and Barry and I were dropped again. Bugger!

We finally caught up in Nunawading and rode with everyone till Doncaster where me and another guy were separated from the group again by traffic lights (damn it!).

I took off down Elgar Rd, clocking 75kph (which was a total surprise as I didn’t know I was going that fast), however up Belmore Rd the guy I was riding with (forgot his name) rode past me as expected and I rode the rest of the way solo, with no one in sight. The final hill on Balwyn Rd after Whitehorse Rd had a kick to it that really hurt. I finally limped into the Mailing Room café knackered and a bit wet.

Apparently PDL took Queen of the Mountain points and she impressed many seeing as this was her first MRR. Not bad considering she was a fair way behind at the bottom of Col de Belmore and had to close the gap and then pass up the hill. I think she is starting to believe in herself now. Finally! 

After a drink, PDL rode back to work but by this stage it was raining steady and we were wet and soggy.

Just near work we met Commi outside his work and gave him back his tubes from last Sat’s ride.

During the day I had to buy new socks to ride home in as my others were soaked through with no way to dry them during the day.
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Ride updates- 1st Dec to 8th Dec 2007

Continuing on with the backdated ride updates, here is a few ride reports from 1st December to the 8th of December 2007.

1st December 2007 - Northcote > St Kilda > Frankston return
Distance: 109.5
Ride Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Fine with a little headwind on the way down

Today’s ride was an especially early start as Polkadotlisa and Sara had to be at Hampton at 7am for the first Cogs Girls session. So we were out the door at 5.30am in the dark for the ride down.

This was Sara’s first ride in cleats so that was also something for her to come to grips with, but she took to them without any problems at all. She’s always good with picking things like that up and she doesn’t have much fear either. Good for her!

I was a touch concerned with Sara’s pace after last weekend so I wanted to allow plenty of time to make it there, however at the top of Brunswick St; Sara got a flat front tire. I jumped into mechanic action and was whipping through it all in no time at all.

However when it came time to reinflate the tyre, I discovered that the CO2 canister was empty (even though I DID put in a fresh one). Ok, no stress, so I put in the spare one I carry. But wouldn’t you know it as I screwed the new canister in place; it let all the air out of it before I could use it. SHIT!

Now I had to pump up the tyre by hand- which seeing as this pump only has that as a backup option; it was a very slow process and very hard work. By the time I had the bike back on the road we were really running late so I sent Lisa off ahead to let the others know we were on our way.

Sara and I kept pushing ahead as best as she could go, but we copped every single red light! Sheesh!

Finally we made the meeting point late and I immediately borrowed Marti’s pump and got Sara’s tyre up to pressure and we set off to Hampton. Once again I suggested to PDL to ride off ahead to Hampton to make it in time and I asked Dave if he wouldn’t mind pacing Lisa (he seemed to relish the challenge).

We all rode along at Sara’s pace and I did my best to encouraging her along. Up an incline in Brighton, I gave Sara a push along up the hill with one hand, accelerating as I did this. Sara played a joke on me and stopped pedaling and let me do all the work. Everyone who was behind us had a good laugh! Yeah… ha ha! 

Eventually we made it to Hampton 15 mins late and there was nobody at the meeting point. I called PDL and found out they were 100mts away in a car park so we dropped off Sara with the group and the rest of us went on our merry way towards Mordi.

The group rode along in the high 20’s until Andy (53-11) took off a bit faster and I tried to keep his pace but I wasn’t feeling it that morning and I dropped back pretty quickly.

With everyone racing off ahead, Marti and I were dropped by Black Rock so we worked together towards Mordi. After one hill, Marti commented to me that I was a strong rider. I didn’t know what to say to that complement and said “um.. I guess?” LOL

Finally into Mordi, I was happy for the break as up until now my legs just weren’t feeling as strong as they normally are. So a drink and a bite to eat were well in order.

Several of the group headed back to St Kilda so it was just a few of us left- Ian (Parawolf), Dave (Percrime), Marti (Marti), Richard (rdk) and myself.

We set off south again in high 20’s, low 30’s and I was feeling a ton better. Along the way Marti turned back for home and it was just the 4 of us guys riding.

At the train crossing intersection, there was riders coming and going in all directions, as well as cars also going in each direction. There was a comic moment of mass confusion with no one quite knowing what to do. I got dropped at the lights and with one of the confused cars now next to me I apologised for the confusion, but they saw the humor of the moment and had a laugh with me.

I caught back up to the guys and we cruised along in the low 30’s, joining up with a bunch of triathletes with one guy in a futuristic looking Y framed, plain silver bike. I pulled up next to him and asked with a smile if it came with booster rockets which thankfully he took it with humor in which it was intended.

All along I was NOT intending to do Hopes Rise but as I came into Frankston I changed my mind and said I would give it a go (as the legs were feeling much better now).

I made it up better then my last effort and got to the top with a gear to spare and not trashed. Dave looked surprised to see me up as fast as I was and I gave him the “bike lifted over the head celebration” routine that he ribbed me about last week, except I threw the bike so high I ended up almost letting go on it in the air, LOL.

Back down Olivers Hill I didn’t push it this time with an easy 63kph top speed, then stopped at the Frankston visitors centre for a drink refill and dunny stop where there was the Peninsular Toy Run (motorcyclists carrying toys for disadvantaged kids). As I came in someone was taking a photo of the assembled motorcycles so I rolled past the frame and waved at the camera. Would make a funny photo and I just hope they see the humor in it (tho with digital cameras, they will probably delete it straight away).

Back on the road after a very quick stop and we set a whip cracking pace with Ian and Dave leading the way with Richard and me bringing up the rear. We were passing everyone riding along at around 38kph. At one stage Ian looked back and asked if I was ok back there (which I was, for the moment anyway).

Then we caught up to a bunch of triathletes and they picked up the pace to around 40kph making it a pretty impressive paced peleton (I think we had a few others tag onto the back of us as well).

With only 2kms to go till Mordi, I wasn’t able to match the acceleration from a set of lights one last time and I didn’t have the legs to get back on, so I backed it off to the mid 30’s and me and a woman who was behind us rode in together.

At Mordi, Richard and I were feeling the fast pace a bit and we were both intending on taking it easy but somehow yet again, we were racing along in the mid 30’s (with Dave and Ian disappearing into the distance).

As this day was the Sub Women’s ride, the road was full of newbie women and some were very wobbly on the road, so we gave them a wide berth for safety.

On the last hill into Black Rock, a fly flew straight into my throat, hitting my tonsils in the process. This was the equivalent of putting my fingers down my throat and I was gagging as it buzzed down the back of my throat. I dropped right off the pace and tried to cough the fly back up, taking mouth fulls of water and spitting them back out but I think the bug went down instead of up. Yuck!

Back on the pace again and I was working hard to catch back up to Richard after my fly moment. On the hill out of Black Rock, I was abused by the passenger in a boat towing 4wd who leant out the window and yelled “get out of the way ya arsewipe” to which I raised my middle finger and returned a “Fuck you too”.

Now back with Richard, the two of us were cruising along at around 35kph when Richard suggests we back it off a bit. I think I was to blame here; I always end up pushing myself hard despite my earlier intentions.

We kept riding along and for some reason we never really did drop our speed. We passed so many riders it was incredible as for so long it was ME being passed.

At North Road, Richard had to turn off so I was left to ride the rest solo. I glanced down at my average and it was 26.7 kph which was fantastic considering I had the very slow start with Sara. Man we were pushing it and I was beginning to regret it now keeping in mind the following days ride I had planned. Gulp!

Finally I made it back to Fitzroy St and Dave looked stunned to see me there already. Apparently, he and Ian were flying all the way back, so to see me just a few mins after him surprised him somewhat. While I was happy to take the complement, I’m guessing that I just had a better run of the traffic lights to account for my great time *shrug*

I found a seat and slumped down, feeling really trashed from the days riding. I wanted lots of cold drinks and food and FAST, but the service this day was rotten and even a bit snooty!

Breakfast over and we rode home via the city. While stopped at a red light on St Kilda road, a fellow rider went straight through the red light, and then he stopped to pickup something he dropped. As we came up to pass him, we saw him finish eating an energy bar and just fling the rubbish on the ground! Nice…

The rest of the ride was uneventful except for a rather massive incident with a 4WD which I will make a separate post about.



2nd December 2007 - Brimbank Park > up Calder Highway before turning around > Riding around Port Melbourne
Distance: 40kms
Description: All uphill
Weather: Strong headwind

I was very tired from the previous day’s ride, with legs feeling weary and weak so I went into this ride a bit apprehensive. There were very strong winds and it was quite warm; a bad day to be on the roads.

After a bit of confusion on the start point, we eventually found the others and 6 of us headed out, however within 3km we lost one guy with knee problems.

Onwards we rode into the cross/headwind and never ending uphill which sucked (for me). Out onto Calder Hwy and it was a non-stop incline into a strong head/side wind. I was giving it my all but was reduced to 15kph as the rest disappeared WAY into the distance.

My saddle was causing me a lot of pain. The centre of it had gone soft and was sinking in the middle. Eventually the combination of wind, tired legs and buggered seat saw me throw in the towel. I felt really crap for giving in.

Johan, PDL and I turned back for the car (downhill, tailwind- whew!), leaving just Beatmasterbee and Marc to go on to battle the conditions.

Despondent, I drove back and decided to get a new seat at Freedom machine (we were a bit early so waited in crap café next door). I think the café next door to Freedom Machine would have to take the award for the worst eggs I have ever had. Microwaved- yuk!

In Freedom Wheels I brought a new Specialized seat and it immediately felt better. I could feel more power in my stroke and a ton more comfort overall. I should have done this age’s ago.

We decided to go down to Port Melbourne to watch the crit (had no idea where it was plus I think we were a bit late). After driving about for a while, we eventually just stopped in the industrial area and rode our own crit course just PDL and I.

After a few laps, the heat, wind and flies got the better of us so we went home.



8th December 2007 - Northcote > St Kilda > Frankston return
Distance: 106km
Description: Flat with some hills

Today PDL was supposed to do Cogs Girls but she had been moaning all week that she wanted to get in a good ride and didn’t feel like doing Cogs Girls. I kept telling her it was her call.

We met up with the others at St Kilda and rode down to Hampton. Kathy and PDL turned off at Hampton while the rest of us rode onwards south. Suddenly as I was chatting to Commi, PDL whizzes past us. HUH?

It seems the lure of a long ride was too much for PDL and she changed her mind when she arrived at the meet point with Kathy and chased after us. LOL

Into Black Rock I was determined NOT to go too early for the sprint. I sat on Dave’s wheel as he increased his speed heading towards Black Rock and he knew I was there the whole way. He could have tried to lose me harder but he was kind enough not to do so. As he got faster and faster, I decided that this was the moment, clicked up another gear, pulled out from him and gave it my all to power past him and finally take out a sprint. Woohoo! I was so knackered after that sprint but it was fun all the same.

Arount Mentone, a bunch of riders passed us pretty fast with some of then cutting past us a bit close and silly. Then as we rounded a corner, we saw the aftermath of one of these riders crashed on the ground. He was getting up and had mates with him so we kept on going. Then as we came into Mentone, a HUGE pack blew past us very fast, must have taken them a good 45 seconds for all pass me. WOW!

Down to Frankston as we cruised along, PDL was trying to tap her bar plug back in with her hand, but she lost control for a second and had to lean on me to regain her balance. Nice work.

On the lead up to Hopes Rise, I urged PDL to chase down Dave up the hill and after closing the 75 meter gap she wasn’t quite able to beat Dave up the hill. She getting better and better tho.

Back at Modi on our return, we saw the Cogs Girls and stopped to say hi. While at Mordi, the Drapac Porsche team went past at a great rate of knots as a BIG group, followed by the team car all done up in team livery. Very impressive!

We stopped at LeKnicks and I brought a Caisse D’Epargne jersey. It looks heaps better than the plain red one and I was pretty happy to be free of the plain red. At last I can fit into a decent looking jersey and I wore it for the rest of the ride.

I was caught behind the group trying to cross the road, and had to work flat out to catch up with the group, which I finally did when they were caught at lights and I zoomed past (they didn’t recognise me due to the new jersey).

We all stopped at Hampton to catch up with Kathy and others for breakfast where I dobbed Lisa in to Warren from Cogs Girls re the coffee crits and Warren agreed that PDL was ready.

As the group left breakfast, for some reason everyone followed my suggestion about which way to go, where I made a total mess of the directions. Doh!

We stopped in at Startline and had a look around and chat to Liz and Caren. Liz was amazed at my weight drop.

Riding back into St Kilda, I heard a spoke break, so once again we all stopped while I pulled it out. Dang it!

Stopped at BSC on the way home to book my bike in for a service and replacement of the spoke.
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Ride updates- 10th Nov to 25th Nov 2007

Its been ages since I updated my blog so here is the first of several posts that backtrack on what's been happening. Some of it is simple point form while some is more detailed. Read on...

10th November 2007 - Northcote > Docklands > Werribee River
Distance: 83.55
Ride Time: 03:27:52
Average Speed: 24.10
Max Speed: 46.60
Ride Description: Flat, flat, flat!
Weather: Fine

- PDL and I met up with beatmasterbee (Andrew) on way down to the ride start where we had equal numbers of flat bar bikes as road bikes.
- The group was abused within the first 5 mins of starting the ride (for daring to ride on the road) down Footscray Rd.
- Along the way there were tons of stinky factories, green smoke, etc. We played guess that smell!
- Stu caught up with us along the way after changing his mind about his days ride and they riding in the general direction hoping ti catch us. Dunno how he found us- I would have been totally lost myself.
- The bike path was ok except for the annoying road crossings breaking up a good path surface.
- The path was mostly empty path except for the occasional slow casual riders.
- Eventually the path ended at Werribee River, where we boys relived ourselves against the trees. However with no toilet for PDL, we rode back to a servo so lisa could avail herself of the facilities.
- The ride back uneventful, but I did try to chase down Stu after he took off to no avail.
- At one stage, I found myself on the rough footpath and while trying to cross back onto the road, I rode over a sand patch and was lucky not to be thrown over the bars.
- Towards the end of the ride, the pa e picked up more and more, leaving Johan struggling to keep up.
- Back along Footscray Rd we passed heaps of cars into Docklands due to the road works. Love doing that.
- All back in the Docklands, we had a group photo taken for us by group of excitable women.
- We all sat down and had breakfast at Docklands; it’s always good to have a feed at the end of a good ride.
- On the way home I saw Saw 53-11 (Andy) in the city and yelled hi as we zoomed past.
- After the ride we drove to Le Knicks (picked up a second pair of bib knicks and a cap), tried on jerseys- still don’t fit me. Damn!


11th November 2007 - Northcote > Black Rock return
Distance: 53.30
Ride Time: 02:36:56
Average Speed: 20.40
Max Speed: 49.80
Ride Description: Flat
Weather: Fine, Practice ride with Sara

- Today was a test BBC ride for Sara.
- We did an OK pace all the way, the hills hurt Sara but it reminds me of myself when I started.
- Met up with an older bloke I met ages ago, so I rode off from Sara and Lisa to chat with him as he was trying to keep up with his group.
- After riding ahead, I dropped back for Sara to encourage her along.
- Later on, I raced off ahead to chase down some road riders on the long incline before Black Rock (did it easy).
- Sara bumped into a woman she knew from music course at Uni on the road, and I think Sara was happy to see so many women on the road.
- We stopped at Kennedys for a drink, then a look at LeKnicks (Lisa bought Bojour jersey).
- The older bloke saw us again as we rode up the Black Rock hill (I was going slow for Sara, wanted to race off to show I really wasn’t slow hehehe).
- Lisa and I raced each other along the flat for a little while- I got to 48kph but it left me stuffed.
- After the foolish sprinting above, I backed off and worked with Sara all the way back, stopping in St Kilda for breakfast at The Grocery Bar.
- After breakfast, we rode home up Collins St, a really hard hill for Saz but she never gave up. Good for her.
- In the end Sara finished the ride with a decent average speed; impressed.


11th November 2007 - Northcote > Boulevard return
Distance: 20.74
Ride Time: 00:57:15
Average Speed: 21.80
Max Speed: 49.70
Ride Description: Hilly
Weather: Warm

- PDL and I hit the Kew Bouli for an extra workout later in the afternoon after the mornings BBC ride.
- It was still hard work but I find the Kew Bouli a bit easier every time I do it.
This time I was able to ride up all the hills in the middle ring.
- Interestingly, I discovered I only use the brakes just the one small moment on the entire bouli.
- At the Richmond end we waited for Sally and Bryce.
- We all set off for Chandler Highway together with me leading the way down the first hill, but everyone passed me on first up hill. Bugger!
- I tried to keep Sally in sight but lost her half way around the Bouli.
Lisa apparently was keeping Bryce honest the whole way (she really is good on the hills).
- Rode home having done our first full lap of the Kew Boulevard (there and back).


13th November 2007 - Northcote > Boulevard return via Fairfield boatshed

- PDL and I took Sara on the Kew Bouli for her first time. Credit where credit’s due to Sara for giving it a go.
- An unknown rider fired a pretend gun at PDL and me as we rode up the first hill (he was riding down)- WTF?
- I stopped to wait for Sara at top of the first hill, where I was bailed up by the unknown gunman (a BV forum member it turned out). I was so pissed off after he talked AT me, that I hammered along the Bouli as hard as I could, so much so that PDL couldn’t catch me until the final hill.
- Sara made it all the way- a top effort on a tough road.
- On the way back we took the short cut through the Kew boatsheds and headed home feeling rather shite.


17th November 2007 - Anaconda > 1:20 > Sassafras > Skyhigh > Kalorama > Sassafras > Anaconda
Distance: 47.70
Riding Time: 02:21:27
Average Speed: 20.20
Max Speed: 67.60
Ride description: Hill climb
Weather: Warm

- There was a big group for this ride, with about 30+ riders joining in.
- I lead the way from Anaconda, with everyone treating me as the group leader (which felt pretty strange).
- We regrouped at The Basin where some riders were already waiting.
- Everyone (I thought) passed me within 100mts of the climb, leaving me with a long and lonely ride up (which I always expected).
- Along the way up I was able to pass just the 2 riders on mountain bikes.
- Sette came back down twice to me after reaching the top which just served to highlight my lack of hill climbing ability. *sigh*
- I finally made it to the top with no rest stops, so I achieved my aim for this ride (I still collapsed on the grass at the top though!)
- After a rest, we all headed to Sky High, where Louisa and I rode together at the back, urging each other along up the hills.
- I flew down a long downhill and turned off to Sky High (where several riders were waiting at the intersection, looking a bit lost). I was passed again up the hills, but I kept pushing up some really steep hills that had me in my lowest gear- ouch!
- Finally I made it to the top, where someone (an angel perhaps?) took my bike from me when I got to the top- thanks!
- It turned out that Dave, Shane and Richard took the wrong turn and went the long, steep way up to Sky High.
- On the way down, I was group leader again, leading the way down a very steep fast downhill with a sharp turn and stop sign at the bottom. You could smell my disk brakes at the bottom I was working them so hard!
- Back to Sasafrass was hard work again. Glad to make it as I was getting pretty weary legs by this stage.
- After breakfast in Sassafrass, we headed back down the 1:20. I left after most (I was busy jabbering to Dave) and I pushed all the way, finally catching and overtaking our entire (now smaller) group before the end. I was dubbed the “Red Flash” afterwards! Hehehe
- We rode back as a group to Anaconda in the high 30’s which was fun (a bit of a tail wind).There was HEAPS of fast traffic on Bayswater Rd; loud, scary, and not fun at all.
- We drove home stuffed and hot and sweaty, but it was a great day’s ride all the same.


24th November 2007 - Northcote > Hampton return + Bouli return + Brunswick St > Northcote
Distance: 71.35
Ride Time: 03:42:23
Average Speed: 19.20
Max Speed: 51.6
Ride Description: Flat + hills
Weather: Warm

- Today’s ride was a very slow ride to BBC- Sara struggling bad- not sure what the problem was.
- Lisa chain came off- again! Getting frustrating.
- Matt turned up with his new bike- finally! Wish I was on a road bike, but I need to wait for A- more money, and B. more weight loss.
- On way down with the group, Kathy and I stayed back with Sara.
- The group stopped outside Startline to wait for us (which was nice), but they then passed us straight away as Sara struggled up an incline.
- Sara was finding it harder and harder- and eventually we turned around and I told Kathy to go ahead and let them know what happened to us.
- On way back was I was buzzed by a big fast group and tapped on shoulder by a rider at speed. It turned out to be Andy so I waved hi back.
- Along the way we were passed by many of the fast 7am group.
- Back at the BBC, breakfast was back to normal after last months poor effort. Good.
- After breakfast, PDL, Sara and I rode to Spoke(n) to have a look around. Lots of nice stuff in there, and very friendly staff who even parked our bikes for us in the store.
- As we rode back up Nepean Hwy, we were was buzzed by a Wattle bird. Never been swooped before.
- We rode back via Swanston St, up past Melbourne Uni, and took the Rushall Station way to avoid hills for Sara.
- I really felt for Sara- she was just having a really bad day on the bike and she was crushed I think.

- After the ride we all voted and John Howard lost. Finally! Very happy.

- Later PDL and I went to do the Kew Bouli via The Pipe bridge. It was a steep climb and I pushed too hard and gulped too much water which made me feel sick.
- PDL’s chain came off two more times on the way back, so I cracked the shits and we rode to BSC to have it fixed properly.
- They could make it jump proof but it was a “lazy shift” (double click to move the big ring). PDL didn’t like this so we took their advice and paid for a Shimano 105 big ring to be fitted- fixed the problem and now shifts better than it ever has!


25th November 2007 - Northcote > St Kilda > Mt Eliza return
Distance: 116.31
Ride Time: 04:34:21
Average Speed: 25.40
Max Speed: 70.30
Ride Description: Flat with some hills
Weather: Fine with some low headwind on the way down

- A cool morning start to the ride.
- An idiot in car on Gertrude St screamed out at us as we were crossing the intersection (with a green light)- “FUCKING CYCLISTS” *shrug*
- PDL and I made the meet point with time to spare for once.
- The group was made up of- Dave, Matt, Richard, Rey, Katrina, PDL and me.
- Dave and I lead a fast pace on the way down. I tried to out sprint Dave into Black Rock but I still went too early but i beat Richard. hehe
- We kept the pace up into Mordi, where Dave took off, so I encouraged PDL to chase him down (she didn’t quite make it).
- We backed off the pace to Frankston, and we saw a woman in a group in front of us almost crash in front of us- lucky save.
- One guy that passed us had a Brumbys Bread jersey on and the back had French bread sticks printed to look like they were sticking out of the rear pockets- very cool!
- The woman who almost fell earlier, was walking up Hopes Rise as I rode towards her. She looked back and upon seeing me she started running up the hill in cleats. Very strange.
- I made it up Hopes Rise without walking for the first time. Woohoo!
- Apparently PDL passed Dave up Hopes Rise for a while- wow!
- Katrina made it up on her first attempt- VERY impressed!
- The ride towards Mt Eliza was hard work and my legs were a bit wobbly by the end.
- At the coffee stop in Mt Eliza, we stopped for a rest and I had a choc mud muffin served to Dave with a birthday candle for his birthday.
- After the stop, Dave took off so I pushed really hard down Olivers Hill to catch him and topped 70kph for the first time!
- As I was riding down at 70kph, a car slowly passed me and the kids in the back seat were all staring at me, mouths wide open in amazement; funny stuff!
- The ride back towards Mordi was fast and in the mid 30’s. After Mordi we were supposed to back off the pace a bit but Richard and I got carried away and we were sitting in the mid 30’s again.
- Dave and Lisa took off, from the rest of us and I was passed by everyone by the last hill around Ricketts Point, but I passed Katrina and Rey back into Black Rock, caught up with Richard and we rode the rest of the way north together.
- Into St Kilda I saw my average was 25.9kph so I pushed hard the rest to get up to 26kph (made it).
- Turns out that Dave and PDL had been waiting for a while at the cafe as they were really flying the whole way.
- I really enjoyed lunch as I was starving by the time I made it back. I really worked hard this ride.
- After breakfast, PDL discovered that some kids had cleared her computer while messing about- damn them!
- The rest of the ride home was uneventful.

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