hairy leg brigade

Stack of failures

2009-10-06T10:00:00.000+11:00

Rode out to safety beach with the guys on Saturday. It was the beginning of trying to get some extra K's under the belt. The theory is that a good base is important. For me it ended up being only a 130km day. I had a flat on the way out, one more at the turn around. A group of us stopped off at "Boyz 4 Breakie" café in Mornington. The restaurant lacked in "serving with flair and passion". Rex (the ride boss) told us to move out after our order was not served within 5 minutes, so we did.

Rex was in no way wanting to wait for anybody or anything. By the time we were at our bikes outside our group was already split and we had a head wind. We got back together by Frankston. As no one was willing to sit out the front, even though we had favorable tail wind, Team REA (Andy, Alex and yours truly) took the lead. Rotating with 3 people is about as much fun as being juggled, just as you fall gracefully you get thrust back out to do the work out front. Our pace slid quickly from 43, 40, 38, ... . That is so weak! but when the guys from African Safari (will get a link next time I see them) came through, it was like getting reinforcements. They pulled us along at over 43+ km/h and we just glided along in the slip stream I was even thinking that if my legs recover I may have something for the sprint. Only Alex had anything to hold in contention up the last hills into Black Rock.

We had breakfast, it was hard to move, it was hard to believe that next week this would be barely past the half way point. The tail wind pushed me all the way home.

I thought I was dizzy when I started bouncing around out front but it was just my front tyre loosing pressure. I kept my weight over the back as much as I could and the cushion of air in the front allowed me to ride the next 3km all the way home. That was flat number 3 for the day.

I jumped in the bath, had a glass of wine and was so happy that the kids and wife were out. When they came home we all went for a nap.

Sunday was the season opener at Glenvale but as I still had

flat tire to attend to,
2 kids to entertain and
Sarah had an extra coffee which meant she was running late for her race so she took the car.

3 "fails" in a row, no ride for me. I went roller blading with the kids instead.

On Tuesday the morning ride was looming. I hear rain in the middle of the night and something that sounded like a leak. It was no leak it was the dog weeing on the fridge.

It was so hard to get up from sleep, this feeling of the legs aching, warm under the doona, stretching in bed just reinforces that you want to keep on sleeping. The sound of an SMS from Alex did manage to drag me out of bed just to stand in the puddle. I did check the rain radar and there were a few intense but small patches across Melbourne. After cleaning the floor I got on with fixing my puncture. In this case it was a small leak through an existing patch, that is what let me ride on it so long the other day when it was flat. I picked up the floor pump and the handle sheared off at the head.

It started raining again. Alex called to say that he was the only one at the group start, that it was cold and wet and he was going back to work. I tried to give a strong sense of support but inside I felt relief, no wet riding for me. Again a stack of failures stopped me riding.

lunchtime laps of crazy hill, out for 10

2009-09-30T16:58:00.006+10:00

Time to take my cycling a little more seriously and what better way but to resurrect this blog. It has been a long while of reading that has missed being documented. As the CCCC criterium season is about to kick off, I thought some extra strength training would be worth while. My best option near work is Yarra St in Kew off Yarra Boulevard (the boulevard a popular training circuit for lots of Melbourne cyclists). Yarra St is a hidden gem of intense climbing, over 16% average gradient for a short sharp 320m distance

check it out here http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Yarra-Blvd-Hill-Training-Loop

this is how the expectations of how many laps I would do where voted on at http://dcyder.com/and the proof is in the pudding with photos up on flickr, all 10 of them for the 10 climbs

and 10

http://www.flickr.com/photos/veggiedogs/sets/72157622361210203/

fleeing gazelles

2007-12-06T08:24:00.000+11:00

I once heard that the reason that ladies wear high heels is to expose their calf muscles, and the reason that they expose their calf muscles is to show you what it would look like if they were fleeing from you, and the only reason for them to give the perception that they are fleeing from you is to make you want to chase them. I suppose like some kind of animal, a cheetah or a lion, in a bestial way, as if chasing down a gazelle, only to tear at the flesh and eat it up.

Now what better example of a calf muscle then that of a cyclist. Of course there can be 2 sides of the story, one is that you are chasing a cyclist down and you look at their calves as you pass them, and the other is that as you get passed and in a last effort to hold on you look down to see their glistening calves, the vision of which are a final blow to your moral and you get dropped.

So these thoughts were going through my head this morning, as we were riding our hill route in a larger then usual bunch of 6. There were my variations on a theme like imagining that the cluster of the bike in front of me was the escargot I would be enjoying with my coffee before the hour of riding was up. As the rider in front changed gear into a smaller diameter cog, so I bit around my imaginary escargot spiraling until nothing was left but a full tummy. The weight of my tummy pulling me towards the bike, my back arching inwards, my head slowly lifting and my gaze moving up from the cluster up to the seat stays.

Suddenly, what the!!!

I rub my eyes but the image is still there, it is not the common shine of white MOOTS writing on a titanium frame, nor the familiar TREK, nor the OCLV over a woven carbon fiber. On three coloured blocks I read "Precision" "Passion" "Style". Style is an understatement, This is col d' Elgar that I am riding up and struggling to hold on. I have never, ever seen the back of this rider before and if I don't keep pushing and puffing I don't think I will see him for all that much longer. The hill flattens out and I know I am safe, I make a surge for the line just to try and prove the point that I am not out yet. I give a friendly node in the direction of Ash as an acknowledgment, well done mate, I will be watching you.

3 reasons not to finish north road ride

2007-09-04T08:38:00.000+10:00

I set my alarm to 5:30 rather then 4:30 - Ash
I have a sore throat - Andy (probably from a lack pain numbing scotch - Michael)
Flat tire just after the Mordialloc round about - Michael. That makes it the 7th north road ride in a row where I have not managed to finish in the bunch.

Maybe my reason is lack of kilometers ridden per week. Looking back a year for the Month of August, there has been a 28% decrease in the 2006 810km August distance to the 2007 580km distance.

red flashing lights clearly fading away

2007-08-16T08:32:00.000+10:00

Flashing tail lights of the lead group disappearing up the road. The image comes to my head more clearly then the face of my first born child. Again I was dropped today, the 5th time in a row on the North road ride. Today it was traffic lights that broke up the pack but it is my fault that I was not at the pointy end of the bunch.

Even now as I sit at my desk I can close my eyes, lift my chin up slightly, my legs start to feel heavy and my hands start to get grip on imaginary handle bars. The red flashing tail lights of cyclists up the road syncopate together in a blob, tick, tick, tick-tick, t-t-t-tick, tick. The image is as clear as if it was burnt on the back of my retina.

Triathletes, one third cylcists . . .

2007-08-14T09:25:00.000+10:00

Triathletes may be one third cyclists but they are two thirds machine. In Melbourne, anyone who rides a time trial bike, or a bike with aero bars along beach road is more then likely a triathlete. The majority of these riders are the gear freaks that you can leave for dead in the smallest of inclines, or by drafting behind other riders. They are not renowned for tactics, just good bikes and a constant pace. Every so often one comes along with a constant pace that is more akin to a motor bike or a steam train.

I had just 2 such occasions in the last few days. On Saturday I needed to get back to Port Melbourne from Black rock to get the car in a hurry. I was alone and time was of the essence. There was also a strong head wind. I started off and looked out for any riders or groups to give me some respite in their slip stream. Up ahead was a lonely rider on huddled over his tri bars. He was all in kit. Matching arm warmers, top, knick's, booties, all in black on a black carbon time trial bike. I was closing in on him rather quickly so I decided that I will just power past him and get on with finding someone my own speed.

I came in along side him moving a couple kilometers faster them him. As I rode on, I saw that I was not passing him. I pushed harder on the pedals, still no go. I got out of the saddle and tried to accelerate but still he hung on alongside of me like a dark shadow. By now I was outside my comfort zone so I dropped my speed. I let him take the lead and snuck in behind him. A short recovery for me and again I noticed his speed a bit slow for my rush, so I went out along side of him. Again he clung to me as a shadow and I could not get my wheel past his. As before I hit my limit and swung in behind him.

Now I started to think, what is the game? is he having me on? why doesn't he just put the gas on and leave me for dead? I looked at his relaxed body just turning the pedals, not an ounce of weight out of place. I could almost smell the EPO oozing out of his pores, actually it was probably some strong soap smell. I was happy to sit in his slip stream but his pace always dropped a bit when I was behind him. I got my breath back and saw a nice straight stretch of road on a slight downhill. This will be my next attack, I dropped back a bit, already in the right gear not to give it away with a messy gear change. I went out and started to sprint. The surprise and acceleration I put in ripped me free of the shadow effect I was getting previously. I now moved across in front of him and I had a gap. I quickly looked back and the gap was still there. His posture was unchanged, he was still on the aero bars just ticking his legs over. I put my head down and kept working. I was starting to tire, I hope I have enough of a break. I look to my side and there he is, next to me smiling with a thumbs up. I sit up and slide in behind him again.

Now I knew this was a game. Enjoyable in a way because I can attack all I want and then still get in behind him for some respite from the wind. I know the road pretty well having ridden it twice weekly for the last year. I started to plan where my next attacks were going to be, and spots for recovery. The next uphill, again I wound up my speed and rode past my nemesis. I rode as hard as I could and was happy to feel completely spent at the top of the hill for I knew I would have my trustworthy companion there to sit in behind for another recovery. 3 more attacks before I could do no more but yell out a "thanks for the draft" as I peeled off for my car.

Today was North road ride, the ride that I have failed to finish for the last 3 rides straight. I was the only one from our group to turn up to the start and the 3 degree centigrade temperatures seemed to keep the pack small at around 35 riders. I was determined not to get dropped but again I was finding it hard to keep up with the group from the beginning. In the first 10 minutes a set of lights split the bunch and I was now in the chasing group of around 15. And chasing we wanted to do as soon as this long red light turns to green. The main group was almost out of sight down Nepean highway by the time we got moving. Our pace was good but not fast enough to catch the main group. I sat in the slip stream not wanting to waste any energy. We caught some more badly timed lights and the lead group was all but out of site.

After Warrigal road a bloke with a backpack and time trial bars took the lead. We all kept our pace line behind him and were impressed with the speed. No one even thought of helping the bloke out. We took the turn around for the home run and still the bloke with the time trial bars was out in front. Around Mentone pub I took a stint out the front but only lasted 30 seconds before others took the lead. Again within a minute it was the same bloke on the time trial bars, a small backpack and pushing a large steady gear that took the front. By this time the rest of us gave up and just tried to hold on. We started to catch riders that had presumably dropped off the front pack and most of them could not jump onto our group. With ten minutes to go we started to loose riders who could just not hold onto the pace of our triathlete out the front. Five minutes from the end I think we got a glimmer of the flashing lights from the front group. I sat up and could not hold it any longer. My fourth north road ride in a row that I got dropped.

delivering that letter

2007-08-10T05:23:00.000+10:00

We decided to give "Gmail: a behind the scenes video" a go last weekend. For 10 seconds of submission video and the object of the video, a gmail like envelope, which at times is hard to see, I must say that the effort required was a little too much. Anyway we will see how it goes.

An Alex of a week

2007-08-09T11:29:00.000+10:00

Talk around the team was to have a training camp/challenge of sorts, 5 consecutive days of riding "The North Road". It was meant to be this week except we missed Monday. Lucky it wasn't as even though I rode it 3 times, 3 times I failed to finish with the bunch.

Last week I had a week off. A week to get energised about riding again, stretches, weights, controlling my diet. This ended in a feeding fest with no more stretching and straining then required to scratch my ear. One day I went out for lunch, had lamb shank and 2 beers. At 4pm that day I got the munchies and got stuck into a couple of pieces of frozen pizza from a stash I have. Seeing that jaffas are back in stock in the lolly jar, led me to get a couple of cups loaded with jaffas and stash them away somewhere for when there are no jaffas in the jar. Then I proceeded to fill my mouth and pockets with a supply for the afternoon. Thinking of my stretch/weights/weight loss promise for the week, I planned to skip dinner that night. This turned into eating spaghetti bolognese, seconds with 300 g of shredded cheese stirred through, finishing my son's meal to the disappointment of the dogs and 2 ice creams in cones.

Tuesday: dropped off about 80% through near the Brighton Savoy hotel. Just didn't have it in me. My lungs felt fine, my legs felt fine, just could not turn the pedals any faster. A gap of a bike, 2 bikes, I get back on, I fall back, the elastic breaks. I arrive at the end only a couple of minutes back on Alex and Joel who have the pleasure of seeing me fall of my bike as I try to balance whilst my chain drops off.

Wednesday: Recovery day. I go out with Ash. The pace a nice 36km/h out to Mordialloc. All is going well but I still do find the odd hill a bit strenuous. At the turnaround point the pace lifts and Ash has told me that on previous occasions this is where he gets dropped. He does a bit too much work to bridge a gap. By the time I give him some respite in the form of a wind break, it is too late. He is tired and the pack slips away. I decide that he will be right and I need to jump back on. I push hard but all I get is to catch more fragments left behind the main group. Although I felt strong bringing the dregs of the peleton to the end, I hit the wall on the way back to the office and can barely hit 23 km/h on the bike path. Mouth full of jaffas helps me get my recovery on the way.

Thursday: I am hyped, I feel I have recovered from the last 2 days. I do a final stretch, the group moves off the start, I finish stretching and ride in pursuit. I find it hard to catch up. What was I thinking, a bit of extra stretching has set me up for being last. The second set of lights catch me out as they go red, I ride on but a toot from a motorist stops me. I want to show that cyclists do follow the road rules. The last 2 riders make it through and there I am, the blinking lights of the back of the pack are starting to disappear in front of me and it has not even been a kilometer.

I chase. I can still see the faint red flicker, or is it just a car behind a fence, a tree, the obstruction causing the flicker? All I need is a set of lights to go in my favor. South road, and just that happens, I reach the back of the pack just as they leave. I am on, almost. Ash starts to drop back, I go past him, still 2 bike lengths back from the pack. I ride on. I am on, I am not, I am on, I am out! Again the flashing lights start to dim through the increasing gap. Damn, I get a red light. I ride on still with the hope of catching, I catch up to another rider who has been shed by the speed of the peleton. He moves in behind me and I keep riding. I am comfortable at 44 km/h. If I am riding this strong by myself, how was it that I got dropped?

My compatriot in the chase does a turn at the front. We see some flashing lights in the darkness of the morning peak hour, he ups the speed, is it the group, or just some more dropped riders? Yes it is the whole group, we are motivated again and start to take short turns at a high tempo of around 51 km/h. All we need is another set of lights in our favor. Warrigal road comes up, 3 sets of lights in a row set out like the net of a fisherman, damn, we get the red and the group disappears. Is it all over? as we move off, I am still in hope, worst case I can cut the final corner, maybe I should cut it here just to be sure?

Another set of lights at the base of a long downhill has netted our quarry. A whole pack of cyclists, just standing still, only their red flashing lights showing any sign of life. I can almost reach out to them. I chase, i put my head down, almost there. The lights change and they move off, I am only 200m behind them. I approach the lights and they turn amber, I stop. So close.

Again I ride on. With the other rider we switch lanes to cut the corner. We weave through some dense traffic, and point our bikes down a hill to beach road. On the way up the hill is a pack that rides a different route through the suburbs, beyond them there is the still empty road that will reunite me with the north road ride. I am half way down the hill, just 100m to go and a right hander and I am in. I look up and across flash the single file of riders, the North Road ride. Again I am behind them, again only 50 meter, 100 meters the head wind is impossible. I am barely able to stamp out 30km/h, 200 meters, gone.

I merge back into the suburbs to try and regroup with the pack that rides through the suburbs, I see them, but the wind is still just as strong around the houses and trees, I am 300 meters back. I never give up but I never catch them either.

Nice Night, sleep tight

2007-06-28T10:40:00.000+10:00

On Tuesday it was just Alex and Michael. They felt each others presence. Moving quickly along the roads, veering in and out, they met almost as if by fate. Stopped by a traffic light they stood astride their metal steeds. Alex looked up and said softly "Nice Night".

Michael was more abrupt and rigid, was this some kind of homo errotic moment?, he answered "What?".

again Alex replied "nice Night". Michael's mind went into overdrive as to what Alex was implying, sure it was a nice night, not too cold for 6am, dry. There was certainly nothing wrong with it but was it so "nice" that his colleague had to talk about it?

It finaly struck, Alex was not commenting on the ala "romantic notion" of a "nice night" but was talking of the LED frog light that Michael had attached to the back of his cycling helmet. This was more in the spirit of an early tuesday or thursday morning. Things like "did you see that bike, all steel" or "wow that guy had powerful calves", "carbon just has that Death Star-like sinister appearance", "look red bike up ahead, single speed", "check out my flashing, super peleton diming light", Michael relaxed as they continued to ride within the bunch of 40 or so.

chatter on race radio

2007-06-21T11:08:00.000+10:00

It was only a few days ago that the chatter between Alex and Andy was getting ridiculous on race radio (phone SMS) this time SMS almost sorted out the sprint points for the day.

Andy "I'm soft. I admit it. I can hear the rain and know I'm a wimp"

Ash "Had to work late so I am hitting the soft button for today. Sorry Guys. Ride safe."

Alex "Mirror Mirror - I ride the best becaus I am a winner" chanted Alex

Alex "Mirror mirror on the wall who is the softest of them all?"

Alex "Got the bike ready but that wind is scary. I'll txt u in the am"

Alex "At 4:10 this morning we got the answer. It's me. I hit the soft button first."

Joel "I slept through my alarm. Weak, I know."

Alex "Very heavy rain. Not riding, sorry"

5:10am

Michael "I woke up, got all the SMS's, checked the radar and saw that the ride would be ok"

As I was the only man standing even before the ride began, I decide I was the default winner in our game of chicken and went back to bed.

PS. not all the SMS's are attributed to the correct rider, nor are they necessarily for the same day.

JJ hits hard at team Merc

2007-06-20T07:55:00.000+10:00

Cold, dark and damp Melbourne weather blanketed the Doncaster Hills circuit this morning. Deep in the valley of Eltham, a gentle snore could be heard with the distinct resonance of "sooofffftttt". Distant echoes of "my knee", "too early" and "I need a single speed" came from South Yarra, Brighton and Kew. This was going to be a day only for the "strong men".

They stuck together, with relaxed chatter about ACL's, DNS's, CCNA. No one can even remember who got the first hill point. There was no talk of cutting Doncaster short, at least no discussion, they just cut it short because that was best.

So it went until the final sprint, Michael came up along the side of JJ who was out in front over the bridge. It was neck and neck. Michael turned to Joel to warn him of the car about to turn right across the sprint line. JJ slammed on the breaks but it was too late. It seemed the silver Mercedes slowed and then moved on again. JJ locked up in front, back wheel went up, Michael right next to him saw JJ rise to a peak as he flew in the air, at the apex he almost stopped, as if to readjust his helmet out of the way, take aim and swoop down hard with the left side of his face just above the rear wheel arch.

Bang!!!!

Ahh the crumpling of Germen engineered metal makes a big noise. JJ hit team Merc hard but team Merc managed to continue its maneuver of turning right. Joel got up, took off his unscathed helmet, went to the side of the road and sat down with his head in his hands. He knew it was all over, no sprint points for him today.

Ash and Michael carried on like a pack of sheilas about getting taxis, doctors, ambulances, driver details, etc. Joel looked up at both of them, in the manner of an employee of the month and said "I need to be at telecoX at 9:30, lets go". Real tough men.

Is that a pager in your pocket?

2007-05-31T11:00:00.000+10:00

Well it has been a long time between results so here is a handfull.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| rider   | Total | Total   || Thu 31/05/07 | Thu 24/05/07 | Thu 03/05/07 | Thu 27/04/07 |
|         | hills | sprints ||              |              |              |              |
|---------|-------|---------||--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Michael | 88    | 25      || 7     | 2    | 17    | 5    |       |      | 12    | 4    |
| Alex    | 46    | 20      || 0     | 0    |       |      | 5     | 2    |       |      |
| Andy    | 38    | 13      || 5     | 2    | 10    | 3    |       |      | 6     | 2    |
| Joel    | 25    | 12      || 0     | 0    | 7     | 4    | 0     | 0    |       |      |
| Ash     | 14    | 0       ||       |      | 2     | 0    |       |      | 0     | 0    |
| Ralf    | 5     | 0       ||       |      |       |      |       |      |       |      |
| Kate    | 0     | 0       ||       |      |       |      |       |      |       |      |
| Richard | 0     | 0       ||       |      |       |      |       |      |       |      |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The weather has turned extreme. It is getting cold, raining and today it was blowing a gale. All the warm weather gear was on not for the 10 degree temperatures, but the wind chill factor. As is almost customary now, Joel lead early up the Belmore hills. The traffic lights brought the group together, and it was Michael who went early on to put the first points on the board. He was confident on Elgar, even waited on the top flat section to offer a shield from the head wind but Joel could not maintain contact and this is where Andy blasted off and held the lead for the win.

Doncaster hill had an unexpected turn of events with Joel giving up the rest of the ride claiming his pager had gone off. In super human fashion, he turned at the top of the hill and rode solo to save the mail server, what a clever fellow, God bless him. Andy took advantage of the commotion, avoided the traffic at the hill point by winning via the footpath. Now it was mano-a-mano, man on man, for the rest of the ride. Andy made another smart move to take out the Maningham sprint and leave the score 3 all with 2 more points up for grabs. Alex showed up for the final sprint but his 4 wheels were no match for our 2. Andy caught Michael's back wheel into the final corner but Michael held him off. The presence of Alex giving Andy an extra point for coming second

JJ wins col d'Burgundy

2007-04-05T09:43:00.000+10:00

It was going to be hard work for Andy and Michael to ride the hills 2 days in a row but they started positively both going for the sprint up Belmore Hill. It wasn’t until the next hill that the theme of the day was to be uncovered with Joel putting in the hard yards to surprise everyone and take 3rd just behind Michael and Alex. Ash worked hard 2 days in a row in another gruelling lone break to spank everyone for the glory that is High St hill. The chasers did not even manage to get a glimpse of him after Doncaster, which Ash also rode up part of for the first time. No one was there as he raised his arms to salute his victory near the lone bus shelter, the dark clouds above rumbling with the approval of the CCNA gods who are looking after this young rookie.

Once the sprint came around it was JJ again, this time moving into 2nd. Still the danger was not recognized by the rest of the group as they approached the Col d’Burgundy. Michael led all the way to the bus shelter where an impressive surge from JJ again took him around Michael. Then it was “mano-a-mano”, neck and neck till the white pedestrian markings at the top where Joel took the honors, punching the air with excitement, which no one saw as they were so far back. Well done Joel. The day was finished by an extra heavy breakfast with Michael and Andy having to endure an escargot before the almond croissant finally arrived in a late bakery delivery. Another hill ride, another good spanking had by all.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
| rider   | total | total   |           Thu 05/04/07            |
|         | hills | sprints | ave 27.23 km/h (26.17km 00:57:40) |
|---------|-------|---------|-----------------------------------|
| Michael |   88  |   25    |       22        |       5         |
| Alex    |   46  |   20    |       13        |       8         |
| Andy    |   38  |   13    |       10        |       3         |
| Joel    |   25  |   12    |       11        |       4         |
| Ash     |   14  |   0     |        6        |       0         |
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Easter to all

Andy still spanks hard after a 3 week break

2007-04-04T09:32:00.000+10:00

Looks like Andy’s 3 week break has not taken the edge of his riding one bit. Michael was a little cocky putting in the hard yards on the full Doncaster road only to measure the time and find out that he was giving 3 minutes to Andy (who did half doncaster) and 6 minutes to Ash who did not do doncaster. At the petrol station it was Ashley followed by Andy 1 minute down (made up 2 minutes on him) and finally Michael another 2:30 minutes back from Andy (so making up only 30 seconds). The sprints were both neck and neck with one to Michael and one to Andy. Michael’s miss calculation again of how much time he can make up on people could cost him dearly in the points. Looks like Andy is catching up to Alex on the hills points general classification.


|_rider_____|_total_|_total___|_Wed 04/04/07_|_Thu 29/03/07_|
|___________|_hills_|_sprints_|_______average_speed_________|
|___________|_______|_________|___26.8 km/h__|___27.66 km/h_|
|   Michael |   64  |   20    |  5     3     |  4     4     |
|   Alex    |   33  |   12    |              |              |
|   Andy    |   27  |   10    |  6     3     |              |
|   Joel    |   14  |    8    |              |  3     2     |
|   Ralf    |    5  |    0    |              |              |
|   Richard |    0  |    0    |              |              |
|   Ash     |    8  |    0    |  2     0     |  0     0     |

an elite few out to the hills today

2007-03-22T09:23:00.000+11:00

The winter like morning fog brought only an elite few out to the hills today. Surprisingly it was still rather warm out on the course, the air becoming almost muggy and some of our usual suspects (Alex) had breathing difficulties, even on the drugs. Joel was the surprise of the day taking points in both the sprint and hills competition as he had promised the day before. Michael on the other hand had a difficult time trying to keep his tally on target due to good performances in the past (the tally is based on improvement over previous weeks) but his plan of let the first hill go, and then spank the others hard half way up every remaining hill worked but did not pay off in the tally. The final standings on improvement


place  rider      most improved
  1      Joel       -0.01 
  2      Michael    -0.02 
  3      Alex       -0.25

The score negative as last time we were up against 6 riders and this time only 3

6 riders say yes and 6 turn up

2007-03-01T09:17:00.000+11:00

new weighting system in place, everyone (anyones) a winner :)

Eg.

So today with 6 riders if you came first for a point you would get 6/1 = 6. The higher the score, the more likely you are to win.
I only include the weeks you ride.
So for elgar for Alex his results are average(6/1, 3/3, 4/3) which is 2.78
and last week (even though he did not race) it is average (3/3, 4/3) which is 1.17
This is about right as he never really tries up that hill.
His improvement is 2.78 – 1.17 = 1.61
So next week if 4 riders go out and he wants to improve on his 2.78 he needs to get 1st on that hill to get an improvement of 0.3 if he gets second he will get -0.19, third -0.36 and most likely he will come 4th with improvement of -0.44. Obviously it is hard to improve when there are less riders but that will be the same for all riders involved.

So based on improvement this weeks winner is Ralf considering everything is an improvement on not doing anything at all.


place  rider      most improved
  1      Ralf        1.744
  2      Alex        0.579
  3      Ash         0.315
  4      Michael     0.21
  5      Andy        0.15
  6      Joel       -0.1

Charity Ride

2007-02-28T18:15:00.000+11:00

The team was in full power at the melbource summer cycle, a fundraising ride for MS. We also won the team fundrasing prize for raising over $5000 dollars. Well done team.

6 say yes but only 3 turn out

2007-02-15T09:16:00.000+11:00

Today sounded promising with 6 people accepting the invitation to ride the Doncaster hills but the morning brought disappointment. Only 3 turned up, and even though they all turned up at the 10 minute earlier time, they had to sit around before it was decided that that was it. A slight addition to the points rules saw only 2 points for the winner and 1 point for the runner up. The air was heavy to breath and no one was feeling good but the race was on.

Final standings saw Michael Dominate the king of the mountains and the sprint points stayed static as every rider went 2 a piece.


rider   total hills total sprints Thu 15/02/07 Thu 08/02/07
Michael    24           7           10   2       14   5
Alex       18           9            6   2       12   7
Andy        9           5            2   2        7   3
Joel        3           3                         3   3
Ralf        0           0
Ash         0           0

Still Riding, Probably more then ever

2007-01-15T08:34:00.000+11:00

The less blog posts, the more riding, that is the formula. As one of the guys got some photos from one of our last rides, I thought I would throw together a couple of words and a posting just to remind me of what we have been up to.

We have been trying out sportz legs and other performance enhancing drugs but it seems that none of them make any of the team perform better. The closeset I have come is using sustegen (chocolate milk flavouring) mixed with milk as a recovery drink after which I feel much better to ride the follwing day. Alex is about to start after judging by the way he looks after riding "The Full Monty" up inverness Road to the top of Sky High on Mt Dandenong.

Otherwise it is the usual Tuesday and/or Thursday morning "North Road" rides and some extra riding inbetween. The Alpine classic is comming up so our training is switching to a few more hills. Hopefully some photos of the classic by the end of the month.

I may as well mention some off the bike discractions

Cyclo-core DVD's as talked about on "The FredCast" podcast look like a good option for some extra strength training.
Thrust-pac an option to make commuting faster
as well as sail bikes both discussed on "the-spokesmen" podcast.
and like-a-bike is how I am planning to get my son/daughter's into bike riding (AU site seems to be down, link)

Then there are some DVD's that need to be on my christmas list for this year

Pedal about New York bike messangers (gets a bad wrap on amazon though?)
Tour Baby by big ring films (amazon)
Cobbles Baby also by big ring films (amazon)
and a camera attachment to make my own on the bike movie starting with "7 days striaght" riding every day for a week.
The last 2 being low budget amateur documetaries, here is one from the Aussies "Tour de France", DVD to come out soon.
On a sombre note, do "ghost bikes" (memorialiaing killed cyclists) help or hinder the cycling cause? this article indicates that it may discourage cyclists from riding and the less cyclists ride the more likely they are to be hit. ie. more cyclists on the road means more awarness, means less accidents per cycling population. Ghost bikes may put people off riding.

till next time

Once a toilet block, always a toilet block

2006-10-17T09:07:00.000+10:00

According to other reviews they may be 5 minutes from the city, they may pour coffee shots in regulation 30 seconds but in 30 minutes and 2 reminders they could not serve 4 plain coffees (2 long black, mocha and flat white). Not only that but they were almost non existent in looking after the customer. Sure they coaxed a chicken to lay an egg and served it poached to one of us, but without some caffeine to wash it down what is the point. The only comment we got from the goofy kid running the espresso machine, impersonating Castro with the hat he was wearing was "sit down and relax".

Finally we had had enough, we left. The staff did not even acknowledge us. No coffee on a fabulous Melbourne morning for 4 cyclists, NOT HAPPY. Just as the years of pissing in this ex-toilet block has made the urine impregnate the concrete walls that now serve as counters, so these counters have permeated through the hands, hearts and minds of the Kanteen staff and has given them the personality of a rams castrated testical, all the life sucked out of it through the use of a rubber ring. Not coming back, never.

December Cycling Madness

2006-09-27T07:34:00.000+10:00

December sounds like the perfect month for some cycling madness. How about a one week all out, no time for family/work/going out, training week. Well, maybe just enough work not to get kicked out and enough family to still get dinner and have a place to sleep. This is how it will work.

Monday

morning - easy ride to turn the legs over 40km map

Tuesday

morning - fast flat North Road Ride 60km map
night - tuesday night ride to Mordialloc return 60km map

Wednesday

morning - recovery ride with Brumby bunch 50km map

Thursday

morning - North Road Ride 60km map
night - Thursday Night Hills ride 50km (map sort of)

Friday

map

Saturday

EPO and testosterone doping

Sunday

morning - beach road ride Arthurs seat return 150km map
afternoon - BBQ and drinks

total distance: ~500km
expected average: 32km/h +
coffee expenses: $35 (10 coffees + breakfast)
secret training factor: 0
the feeling of getting tipsy on the first drink at the BBQ: priceless

3 call it quits to Williamsons road

2006-09-27T07:33:00.000+10:00

Well, Well what can I say,
we all wanted out and so we prayed.

I told Joel I did not want to ride,
the extra hill called Williamsons slide.

Joel told me that he also agreed,
he had nothing in him to ride up with speed.

I told Alex what Joel had said,
Alex told me that he agreed.

But when it came to the turn off for real,
Alex changed lanes and sped up his wheels.

He was still going to ride,
the extra hill called Williamsons slide.

I waved and yelled, pump in the air poking,
he turned his head and said he was joking.

we all called "soft" against the cyclists code,
and so we called quits on Williamsons road.

North Road ride, first time

2006-09-26T08:22:00.000+10:00

Finaly we have had a presence in the premier training ride of Melburne, the North Road ride. Leaving the corner of North Road and Nepean Highway at 6am and going 50+ km/h out to Mordialloc then back along Beach Road to cafe Racer in St Kilda. I wore a back pack, which got a sneer from another cyclist who thought I had no chance, especially when I told him this was my first time in a couple of years. The pace slowed a little after the turn around point. In the end Alex and I were still together with the main bunch at the end so mission accomplished. Celebrations were held at an old toilet block now converted into a cafe, "Kanteen". Some of the old walls now make up benches, hope they gave them a good clean.

Break in the weather

2006-09-26T08:20:00.000+10:00

It had been months in the planning and weeks in the calendar. Sunday ride, 2 times up Arthurs Seat, the premier "mountain" for riding a bike up. Well it may not be that long at 3km and not even 300m of elevation for the main part of the climb, but it sure looks good. Standing steep and visible from most parts around Port Phillip bay. Switch back turns that look just like those in Le Tour and views for miles around.

So when the day finaly comes, everyone was woken by rain. The SMS's where comming in as thick as flies in an outdoor dunny asking "is the ride on". Calmly I swatted them all away and headed for the computer and the Bureau of Meteorology website for the rain radar. It looked perfect, heavy rain that would pass at 6:15 am and then a break in the weather before a cold front with thunderstorms, hail and snow on lower peaks.

We arrived at the start point just after 6 am and it was still raining. 6:20 we got the bikes setup and by 6:30 the rain had mostly cleared. Though the roads were wet, a light tail wind made for a good warmup heading out of Carrum and into the hills past Frankston.

The roads were almost empty. We did not see a single other cyclist. This was as if the quite before the storm. Every one congratulated me on reading the weather so well but I kept nervously looking to the west where clouds were brewing.

Finaly around 7:30am around Mt Martha, cyclists started to show on the roads. As if they were some special breed of beetle that had just found the perfect conditions for a hatch.

To Arthurs seat we did ride, the wind did howl and the weather was closing in so a second asscent was out of the question. We were also running late with 4 puncutres for the whole day, probably due to the wet weather getting all sort of gunk stick to the tires and slowly cut through them.

On our return trip the wind swung so we had a tail wind down and a side wind on the way back. Still my average barely made it over 25 km/h for the 80 km journey. The strom did come. Lots of rain. No hail or snow. We were safely in our cars heading home.

Morning Light

2006-09-20T08:52:00.000+10:00

The earth hurtles around the sun and on that journey it tilts. At the moment it is tilting in our favour making the days longer, the weather warmer and more light for our morning bike rides. In fact we are almost in shock at how different the bike rides look after months of darkness. It has even put us off riding, with the light showing roads that do not meet the expectations of our imagination. The legend of the hills ride that has grown out of many cold and dark days of riding, sweating, heavy breathing and burning legs. Maybe we need to start at 5am, maybe we just wait till daylight savings plunges us back into the dark ages.

Today we opted for mountain bikes (MTB's) up the hills. Alex had his road bike in for a service so I decided to, in sympathy, ride my MTB as well. Well half an MTB, I had slicks on. We thought that it would open up the field a little bit and bring us all onto a more level playing field. Well they don't call them mountain bikes for no reason and with the heightened expectations put up against us Alex and I took the early mountain points.

As we rolled into the sprint, every one held their cards close to their chest. We were in a square configuration, the 2 MTB's out front and the 2 roadies out back. There was some chit chat going on trying to hide the tension that was building up as every rider analysed their chances of taking out the sprint. I moved forward on the inside and Alex's tractor like hum started to move a little bit behind, I could see that he was not going to be too interested. Next thing, whoosh, Joel comes through between us and is off. I was anticipating this so I was quickly on his back wheel. Not sure who ended up winning but I was sure happy to have reacted that quickly to Joel's attack.

The final hill saw me with an early break due to a traffic light up Burgandy. I knew that the advantage was unfair so I took it easy waiting to be caught. Finally Alex got to me and went past, I pushed on the pedals to catch him. I looked up and for the first time in a while I saw my shadow, further up the hill, his shadow looking at my shadow looming. I tried to take advantage of the situation. I sat between Alex and the sun, in this way making my shadow merge into his and not give away my position. I pulled back a little, the idea was to change gears and power up and over Alex. Clunck, k-chunk, a bad gear change from me. Alex jumped out of his seat as if he saw a snake to another Cod d' Burgandy victory.

Discussion

Discussions turned to high performance power assisted bikes and compressed air horns on bikes with the compressed air being generated through some sort of pump whilst slowing the bike down a hill.

The idea of the performance power assisted bike is to be able to easily maintain a reasonable average on a road bike over a reasonable distance for commuting situations. For example, commuting along a flat road like Nepean Highway from Frankston (40km) may be a big ask to do on a daily basis even for a competent rider hovering around 33 km/h average. Add power assist that could bring the average up to 45 or 50 even 60km/h and it looks like an interesting thought. It seems that most of the power assist bikes are aimed at people who do not want to pedal at all and still travel at 25km/h. At the moment I can't seem to find a good discussion on the merits of this on the web. I would say it may be an easy calculation, good cyclist averaging 33 km/h on flat course gets a boost from 300W motor and some added weight for motor and batteries...

Ahh there was this, well it is not a power assisted racing bike but it shore did well in a race, up a volcano in Hawaii, Haleakala volcano, Maui. Read the story here http://www.solarnavigator.net/electric_cycles.htm. Then there is always the possibility in participating in the race, next year http://cycletothesun.net/

As for the siren, again there must be a simple equeation which binds the following constants together. It is just a question of filling in the gaps:

Horn to sound louder then a shout - ??? dB
Horn to sound for a reasonable duration between downhill recharges - 15 seconds
Compression required for air horn - ??? psi
Volume of compressed air to satisfy point 2 - ??? ml
Energy required to compress air for point 3 and 4 - ??? Watts
Is it reasonable to assume the energy for point 5 can be generated by a bike rider?

and then the equation to find the energy required (point 5) and compare this to point 6 to see if it is reasonable to produce whilst riding or rolling downhill.

[Power] W = [Compression] psi x [Volume] ml x [some other important factor]

Now an average rider can produce 200W or so, so the question is, is that enough to bring enough air to the correct pressure to sound a horn. Hmm will have to ride on that thought for a while more.

Here is a pedal powered air compressor http://www.instructables.com/id/E5BEKH7O2SEP286E6D/, this one is a 2 horse power unit so not exactly portable. The idea makes it feasible. Just get a small electric compressor like used in cars for pumping up tires, modify it and feed it to a reservoir cylinder. Then attach an air horn to that cylinder.
Here is an interesting patent, child playground to convert their play into electricity, using compressed air, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7005757.html.
Ok and here is someone who has almost done the same thing, well almost, but he has powered a coffee machine and a 12v chain saw http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/stats.html

No time to blog, riding

2006-09-06T13:00:00.000+10:00

Someone may think that this blog has gone stagnate for the best part of Melbourne's winter. After all why would you ride when you could postulate the important questions in life:

why does it get colder when the sun rises?

why does the Yarra boulevard in Kew have such a rough bitumen finish?

Why do Ralph and Joel like to sit out the front of the pack so much?

Why is Damian always hiding out the back?

Well all these questiones have been discussed and better still in the saddle. Yes we have been riding although this has been probably been largely due to the dry winter. Only today did the spring rain come and we all reached for the mobile, not to press the "soft" button but hoping that someone else would and call the ride off. We had a good ride even if conditions were a bit testing. Andy took out both sprints and Joel showed some form on the first climb no doubt from his secret running cross training, or maybe he just remembered ... "what would Lance do?" (spread the hands out on the handle bars as you continue in a climb to give you that extra bit of breathing space.

A rider is born 28 August 2006

Matilda Jane Milewska near the Col d'Burgandy.

August some time - Damian's return

he may have had a few weeks off the riding but his return was nothing short of breaking all the rules and ethics of cycling with friends. First off he rode on the tail of Joel all the way from Kew to Moridialloc. When it came to the final sprint to the lights, he ducked out and dust flew everywhere as it was the first time his bike had seen some direct wind and he pulled out the win.

On the return trip, some older fellows lead the group into the final straight towards the coffee stop. Joel settled to sit behind the old timers happy that he didn't have to face doing all the work. They had led for some time so there is just no place to go out and out sprint them to a finish line that they may not even be going for. No stopping Damian who again blew past in only his second effort for the day to take the win.

Obviously no hard words at the coffee stop for again as Joel and Richard rolled off to take turns in taking the three of them home, Damian's performance out front was short of a website that loads too slowly and he sat up brought down the speed to 22 km/h and said he was tired.

There was 3, then there was 1 - 30/7/2006

and oh what a lonely number one must be. braving the last kilometers into the ferocious North Westerley was Alex. After completing almost 170 km's on the peninsula, he had to do the final 5km by himself. I can only imagine how the palms along Beakonsfield parade were bending and the gusts were throwing him over the road. Richard had turned around early and I had turned off for home. There was only one left on the road.

riding up Mt Dandenong

2006-06-26T11:24:00.000+10:00

A great ride had by all. Although it was cold and wet on the roads we where never too far from a cafe in Sassafras with its renound date and walnut slice. We tried to get the recepie but the reply was as windy, and turny as the road down to Monbulk. There were too many climbs to mention but each had a different protagonist. The most notable would have to be Andy sprinting twice on the final uphills of the day to our highest point near the radio towers of Mt Dandenong, catching everyone unawares.

Nadia again proved the most photogenic with this shot of her cresting the 1/20 Mountain Highway climb.

Everyone was rugged up in the wintery conditions. Joel did smile on the downhill that followed this shot. Then he skidded out and almost lost it on a gravely corner.

And here is the whole team enjoying that walnut slice for the 3rd time for some riders.

We will be back

More hills for tour of suburbs

2006-06-15T08:24:00.000+10:00

Andy let us in on a little secret of his and added some nice new hills for the morning tour of the suburbs ride. That was the little secret, the big secret was how his secret training is paying off in the climbing department. On the first few hills he was pointing to how sore part of his leg was as Joel and I puffed to keep up with him. On the last of the new hills, Belmore and Elgar Rd, he left Joel for dead and the handicappers with some major re-calculations for the staggered start up the final hill, Burgundy St.

It was not over yet as Joel surprised all with a sprint up Williamsons Rd that Andy nor Michael could contend with. Even when Michael tried to hold with him, Joel just hammered a little harder and went clear over the top. A roll down the Foote St hill earned Michael 82 km/h on his new rear wheel and together with Andy they started to ride up High St at a good temp. This is where the effort that Joel put in showed as he slowly slipped back. It was clear that Joel would be the rabbit out first on the Cole de Burgundy. Joel 40 seconds Andy 35 (although it was meant to be 30) and Michael from scratch.

The last lights caught Michael but Michael's lights did not go out till right at the top where he took the lead from Andy with 3 pedal strokes to spare. It was all downhill from there and the end of another great morning ride. 6 degrees celcius on the thermometer and the boulevard as always proving the hardest part of the ride with the relentless rolling hills, the rough surface and obnoxious drivers honking at riders. Actually that was Alex driving to work.

Sprinting and breaking wheels

2006-06-08T09:50:00.000+10:00

Last Sunday's ride cost everyone dearly with a lot of sprinting. The group was strong with 6 starters. It was meant to be the much anticipated start of our new domestique Tony. Unfortunately he caught Friday night fever and was still recovering. Maybe this Sunday Tony?

Our team had an upset in only the second kilometer with Richard reporting a loose screw in his cleat. The team waited to make sure that Richard did not just give up and overdose on coffee's waiting for us. In no time the "team car" sorted Richard's cleat out and we were off. Our mission was to catch that far off group in front, you know the one, sitting on 35km/h but with such a wind break that you do not even need to pedal to keep on the back. Needless to say we never caught such a group. This could have been due to Damian and the rest sitting at the back trying to preserve legs for the Mordialloc sprints.

And the sprints did come, as early as black rock. Most of it was just playing bluff. Someone going off the front just to check if anyone would bite with a chase. Towards the business end of the ride we all stuck behind someone else just waiting for that last hill before the flat to the Mordialloc pier. It was all on, 43km/h up the last hill was the last turn for Ralph. As the hill was crested Damian and Michael got a gap out front. It was still a long way to go so they played a little cat and mouse. Then from nowhere came the click, click, click of Joel, pulled across the gap by Richard. A whirr of wheels crossed the line. We were all within seconds of each other, we all enjoyed the ride.

Later in the week it was morning hill ride. Even before the first hill Michael ripped a spoke clear taking a bit of rim with it. looks like Andy's secret training on Tuesday had paid off.

Pushing the "soft" button

2006-06-02T15:30:00.000+10:00

Well almost everyone can be called "soft" this week, even though there was plenty of riding to be had. The taunting started with Damian adding a "soft" bottom to an email for riders who chose not to do a morning ride this week. Later in the week we found out that he had enough time to work out voting buttons on email as he left the office for greener pastures, there is even talk that his new employer may provide him with a riding kit. It may even be in his contract that leg shaving is compulsory to ride a bicycle.

The riding started with Joel and I on a frosty Tuesday morning. I am convinced that the mercury did not go above zero degrees for majority of the ride. As the sun rose an indicator in Ivanhoe displayed two (+). We managed with the weather but took a short cut in the ride.

Wednesday was the suburban hills again. Joel had a rough night with his tamagotchi (pager) keeping him up all night with cries to feed it. He pushed "soft" and did not turn up. Andy led Damian and myself till we hit the first climb. We gave it all up the hill and as I won Damian conceeded that he is not feeling too well and maybe we should take the shortcut. We did. The big hill was Damian and Andy all the way to the top, with Damian taking honours. I had 2 sets of lights and must have caught what Damian had, comming in last. The start was: Andy 80 seconds, Damian 40 seconds, Michael scratch. It was coffee time in Kew.

Thursday was rest day and Friday I went out with Richard to do laps of Albert Park. The air was heavy with moisture and by the first lap it started to drizzel. The riding was good but I just wanted to be "soft" and finish there. I looked across at Richard who wore neither leg warmers nor booties and I could just imagine how cold that rain must feel at six in the morning, still dark. He was determined so we continued. Somehow the time flew by and in no time we had managed a healthy 30 km's. I struggled another 10 to the office, a hot shower.

round and round AARC

2006-05-29T10:34:00.000+10:00

There was a little break in the order of "the hairy leg brigade". No we all stayed "hairy" it is just that I did not join the rest to head down Beach road like every other weekend but took part in a race at the Australian Automotive Research Centre, AARC. It was one of a series of road races that is organised by the Carnegie Caulfield Cycle Club, CCCC.

The field was split up into grades from A through to E for juniors. As I had not raced for a while I chose to join about 14 other riders in D grade. We were the last to be let off for our 60 km race consiting of 1 hill lap under control 6 flat laps and 4 hill laps. The group was varied from 14 year olds all the way to their fathers. Only one guy was willing to work on the initial flat stages. We all let him sit out the front, every one conserving their energy for the hills that were comming.

The sun was shining and the riding was as boring as hell. The terrain very similar on the loop. I looked down and watched my shadow circle around me every 8 minutes as if I were a sun dial. It was my only way of knowing where I was in relation to the start finish line. As the shadow spun below my wheels comming from the right, around the front and to the back of me again, I began to get dizzy. I took a sip from my water bottle and finaly we hit the last lap and the turn off for the hills.

The start was a downhill, not too steep at 5% but with sharp corners. This being a closed road let us all relax and take the corners wide knowing that there is no cars around the corners. We hit the climb. I settled into my pace and shot through to the front. I did not want to make a show of my condition too early but it just felt so natural, and it felt so good, as if I was a pro heading up the peleton on a climb. The only problem is that it is not usually the winner who takes the lead this early. People started to drop off and we were down to 6 at the end of the climb. On the next time through again I found it easier to sit out the front and we dropped down to 4. At the end one of the other guys accelerated 20 meter off my front. I did not react. Problem was I could not react.

A briged the gap at the top and it was 3 of us with 2 hills to go. I knew that I was in trouble. The penultimate climb gave the other 2 riders a sizeable gap which I never closed. On the last lap I could still see them, make out that they had carbon bikes, shaved legs, these guys were serious. C grade came by me with who I could almost hold, they did not make contact with my competitors on the up hill. I rolled in in 3rd, $45 for the place.

A hill for everyone

2006-05-24T07:33:00.000+10:00

Well almost, there was just too many riders that turned out at 5 to 6 am for the morning "tour of the suburbs" ride. Bike lights were flashing and it was off up the first rolling hill. Up in the sky the waning crescent of the moon next to a bright Venus lead the way to the first climb of the day.

A little bit of jostling for position and they started up the hill to Doncaster Shops. Damian was out the front with Joel, Michael just watching who was going to make a move, Andy was just happy to be out riding. As the three leaders reached the crest of the first part of the climb, Damian put down the hammer and teasingly left Joel behind shaking his head.

Michael stayed on Damian's wheel and did not move up on the flat section. Damian brought the speed down to try and judge the next move of his companion, but Michael just stayed in his shadow, looking down to see just how many gears he had left. Damian took a few deep breaths to control his breathing and asked "what is that over there?". Michael tried hard not to show how hard he was working and answered "the golf course" followed by some deep breathing. Damian was on his lowest gear as the 2 riders reached the bottom of the next steep section. Michael was away and the Doncaster hill was his.

The riders regrouped and it was off down Williams Road. A couple of sets of traffic lights and then a steep downhill followed by the steepest up hill of the day. Michael lead the group out with everyone hiding in his wind break. Just as the hill turned towards the sky, Michael clunked into a lower gear and this was the time for Damian and Joel to attack. Damian took a clear lead at the top.

The next section of road allowed for a bit of speeding with Michael hitting 86 km/h. The riders regrouped and started talking up the handicap settings for the final ascent. Damian said

"I'm knackered" the others translated this as

"I am so bloody ready for the next hill after my unmistakable win on the last mountain where I had to have both brakes on just to stop me from flying out into space"

and so the handicap was set, Andy to go at 90 seconds, Joel to follow at 60, Damian at 20 and Michael at scratch. Michael and Damian leveled at the last lights which held them back a bit but still they could not catch a powerful Joel who took the win clearyl with over 10 seconds on scratch, that is 10 seconds better then the previous 2 weeks.

The sun rose and the riders rolled down the last few hills. It was a good ride had by all. The group split up with the riders all heading for their favourite shower spots. Andy may have even managed to get home in time to have breakfast with his kids.

Out in force

2006-05-22T09:11:00.000+10:00

It was a cool start on the autumn morning this Sunday. The hairy legs no doubt helped warm us up and for the first time ever a full team turned out, all marvelous 8 of us. Nadia showed some objection, being the only girl, not that shaving would lead women to sexual dimorphism in bike circles, and felt that our name "hairy leg brigade" did not make full inclusion of her. Michael countered this by the fact that he had brought a camera and there would be cycling photos once again, Nadia cheered and we all rode off down beach road.

We were a lot more settled in pace then in previous weeks when tail winds blew our group appart. We arrived at Mordialloc almost all together, with Alex once more powering over Michael in the sprint to the lights. More surprisingly, our average was up on previous weeks peeking just over 31 km/h. The photos were taken in very orderly fashion in 2 rows as if we were in high schoool. For Nadia the photo was enough and she was off back to the city to play soccer. The rest of us were off to Frankston.

It was all easy going on the way out. We kept the group together and made sure that none of us dug too deep into energy reserves. It is one thing to climb My Everest and another thing to climb back down. It was going to be a long trip back. This was in the back of our minds as we reached the Mountains, all 60 meters of Oliver's hill. Andy thought that one hill was not enough and decided to wait at base camp and climb the golden arches instead. Bets were placed and we all took it cautiously throught the slow controlled section of downtown Frankston.

The final lights turned green and the moves started comming. First was Alex, droppoing off the front and onto the wheels of his rivals. Michael was out the front taking it easy. All eyes were on Damian, and rightly so. As soon as the hill began, Damian shot to the front. Everyone was searching for gears they didn't have. Barely sitting on his wheel, Michael corrected his course to turn left up Hope's rise. This threw Damian off just enough for Michael to take the lead and power out of the saddle and gasping for air to be the first on the hill. Alex 2nd and a chirpy Damian 3rd saying that he still had 3 gears left.

It was a solo ride down the hill for everyone and Ralf managed a big smile on the photo. We regrouped at base camp to the smell of Andy's coffee and muffins. Now it was the trip back. We formed a nice long echelon protecting us from the wind, each rider rolling off the front as they had made their contribution to the cause. Everyone seemed to enjoy this and it worked well, everyone taking their turn at the front and then relaxing in the wind break of the group. The cause, of course was coffee at Kennedy's.

As we went by Mordialloc again, the coffee smell must have wafted over the bay and the speed started to creep up. One by one the riders droped off. It was down to 3 on the final straight to the rest stop with Joel putting in a comendable effort. It was Richard's turn to buy coffee, and what good coffee it was. After coffee, we were all tired and it was a bit of every man for them selves. A fast group went by being led by a female that would have been quite at home with our group's name. We all tried to jump on. And as much as we could we held onto her all the way back to the start. We were splintered across all of beach road. Slowly we rolled in one by one.

We were all tired but enjoyed the day tremendously. A cheerio and a slow ride home for a bit of B&B, beer and bath.

The hairy leg brigade

2006-05-19T11:01:00.000+10:00

Is that not all men? well not when you judge your manliness by how fast you can propel yourself on 2 wheels. Why cyclist's shave their legs is a mystery to me as well, is it for aero dynamics, for recovering from gravel rash in one of those classic Tour de France spills, or for the massage at the end of the ride. I would most agree with the massage but as I have no one to give me one I choose to cycle 'al natural', in God's image (Genesis 1:27), with my hair on my legs.

What about women, well they were created with hair on their legs. Let them ride hairy legged for it is good too.

What of this brigade then? you may ask. They were created through the confluence of a great advertising empire, a nurturing bosom which is their life blood, at the least it pays the bills even if it will not clad the brigade in a uniform :( . This brigade shall ride forth on weekends, and some week days, as long as the weather is good, and each ride shall have a coffee break. We see this is good, so we shall keep doing this. And if you happen to meet us on the trail or road, say hi and hammer just a little bit faster.