Tales from the llama...: Coburg Crit March 5th 2011 & SKCC Single Speed Sunday.

Summer is back! Temporarily. The sun was out and there wasn't too much wind at the circuit. It took four early attacks to get up the road with three others. Ex-pro Paul Redenbach, Lucas Renieris (HCC), a young guy in CBD cycles kit, and I had finally escaped the bunch. After 20 minutes away we thought we'd be in with a chance at making the break stick. A few uneven turns started to creep in, a stop for a truck at the roundabout and Jake Sutherland ripping a few monster laps on the front after returning to the bunch after a mechanical meant we were closed down.... but the speed of the chase had split them in two. Redenbach was soon on the attack again and at 15 minutes to go went up the road with Cam Clamp (HCC), Peter Ferrie (Kosdown), and Sutherland. With that combination up the road there was no reason to chase. 60 minutes plus three turned into 70 minutes plus three. With the first four places gone, we all still had a crack at the bunch kick. Renieris ripped a monster turn keeping the pace high, I kicked from third wheel 300m out and was first rider across the line not to get any cash.

Redenbach motoring the break.

Kos, the boss, always working hard.

A Grade Results. (as best I can recall)
1. Jake Sutherland (Total Rush)
2. Cam Clamp (HCC)
3. Peter Ferrie (Kosdown)
4. Paul Redenbach

StKilda CC Single Speed Sunday

I spotted the SKCC tweet about their NEOMETRO / beller Single Speed Carnival last week. A 5 lap race, 200m sprint, and some best-in-show awards. The race sounded like a bit of fun, and gave me a reason to dust off and convert the commuter back to a single speed. What gear to run was next... something close to the track bike... 53/15 it was, 95GI. Not the best gear for accelerating, or starting, or going up a hill, or.... but it was really good once it was cranking over at 40km/h+.

$100 for 1st, $50 for 2nd, $25 for 3rd. Definitely worth a crack with cash like that up for grabs. Seven riders on the line, three on flatbar-retro-thingys, and four of us there to give it a real crack. Phew. I was a bit worried about being the only one taking it seriously. The only other rider I knew was Tim McGrath (SKCC) who'd even donned a skinsuit for the special occasion. The officials spotted the difference between the retro-flat-thingy riders and the serious guys so made the race a handicap, with the flatbar riders getting a 1/2 lap head start. We rolled off having a bit of a laugh. Lap 1 down, lap 2 we slowly pulled back the front runners, the pace went up a little - ok - it was a race! Lap 3 I threw in an attack and put my head down. Chased by the three others I managed to hold them off my wheel. Two to go, still cranking, still away solo, but they looked to be getting a little closer. Bell lap? Bell? No bell? They forgot the bell so made the race 6 laps! I kept clear and collected the $100. Perfect pursuit training, and a nice pay day.

The 200m sprint event was opened to everyone, geared bikes too, we single speeders were smashed! Some shiny looking ponies won best in show. And best legs went to an elegant looking lady in a denim skirt, wedge heels and lovely hair. Her prize envelope went straight into her front handlebar basket. This was an awesome little event put on by StKilda CC in between their normal Sunday races.. It reminded me of the three stage Christmas carnival put on by Coburg CC a few years back (prologue, crit, and handicap, all in one morning). I like these out of the ordinary events, a reason I'm looking forward to the Corporate Crit Series in a few weeks (prologue + crit).