2012 Back to Bright - HCC Social Group
This is an annual gathering of Hawthorn CC members, friends, and other miscellaneous characters up in Bright. After reports of a pretty ordinary weather in Bright from Rod Upton the week prior, we had perfect conditions all weekend. Friday I rolled over the Wandi TT course then out to Tawonga Gap and back with Von. I skipped the group ride on Saturday and headed up to Wangaratta for their club TT. Wang CC's setup at the sale yards is the best I've seen at any club. New toilets, showers, club rooms with a stocked fridge. Can't ask for anything more.
The 20km T shape course was changed to 2x 10km laps of a square block. I'd ridden the T course to check out the wind, no time to ride the new course so I was going in blind. I was off last and chasing my 1 minute man, Tully Lyster. It took 12km for the catch. Tully lifted and pegged himself just a few meters behind all the way to the line.
Results:
B2B Mt Buffalo Handicap
Chief handicapper Robin Brown pulled off one of the most impressive estimation list to date. The top 10 riders were all within 2 minutes of each other. I knocked a minute off my time up there even before the Tour of Bright, but still a minute down on a PB. I ended up fastest time but only manged 8th in the handicap. Fellow Coburg CC ring-in Abby Grave took the win by only a few meters. One year scratch will get up in this race, and I'll keep going back giving it a shot.
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| The magpie whisperer. |
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| Wandi TT turnaround. I love this course. It is the new blog banner too. |
South Australian State Masters TT Championships 2012
Just a short trip over to SA.... not. We stopped off in Horsham to see the family on the way through, and we had a late breakfast with old-school pro Doug Issell who's now the man behind the Wal Smith Memorial Casterton 50 Handicap. Von and I are already locked in to race and volunteer with the Northern Combine on that race date, which is a bugger, as I'm sure Doug could have helped us with some generous handicaps. Next year for sure!
The SA TT champs were back at Langhorne Creek, same as last year. We drove the course a few times to get familiar with the landmarks that would break the effort up. This included giving the landmarks nicknames... "3k tree... or 17k tree on the way back"... "4k bush"... "5k house". Anything to break up a dead flat time trial is welcome come race day.
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| Bike check. The jig was getting a workout. |
MMAS1 entry numbers were thin as always, 5-6 on the list. David Stevens (Brennan IT/MMAS4), world masters pursuit champ and CA Masters of the Year 2011, had flown over for a few days to compete and head to the track with the SASI team. He'd be the guy to watch for the fastest 20km time honors across all age groups.
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| Photo (c) Chameleon Photography |
I came in 14 seconds off last years time with a 24:49 @47.1km/h. Gold for MMAS1 and fastest 20km of the day from David Stevens who clocked a 25:59 in MMAS4 for Gold. Von won WMAS1 and was so proud of her medal she wore it all the way home.... all 695kms of it! haha!
Full results/photos: http://www.sa.cycling.org.au/default.asp?Page=46434
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| Synchronised zipping. |
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| MMAS1 Podium. |
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| It was a long drive home.... |
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| A long drive requires the worst food possible.... Ararat around 8pm. Like Bargearse, I ordered "CHIPS". |
Mt Donna Buang TT (Blackburn CC / Cycling Victoria)
We arrived home from SA around 10:30pm, unloaded the TT bikes, then prepared and packed the road bikes. Long day! Up again at 6am for the drive out to Warburton. The legs were feeling pretty good for the warm up, aside from the rain and freezing conditions. I thought I'd go alright after Buffalo the week prior.... but after 20mins in it was lights out. I cracked pretty hard on the steep section into Cement Creek and had nothing all the way to the top. I almost turned around and rolled back down, but I thought wtf, keep going. 2.2 degrees and frozen fingers, my standard final 1km smash-to-the-line was at max heart rate and not stressing the strain gauges in the PowerTap too much. 10th place out of 15. Climb time was spot on what I did in similar conditions 4 years ago.
Matt Clark won with a high 46min, followed by Genesys Pro Jono Lovelock, and Budget Forklifts' Jason Spencer. Nick Bensely had an absolute stomping ride too, check his write up here.
Full Results
Photos by Michael McRitchie
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| Like a scene from Ghost... and like Demi Moore I might have looked the goods, but on the inside I was feeling like a 49yo lady, sans the coke addition. |
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| Von before the race in Carl's hat. Coach Carl even gave me a hug after the race to warm me up. Ace bloke! |
New Bike!
After 5 years the Scott CR1 frame has finally been retired. I'm forever grateful to have some very generous people and sponsors behind me who make these kind of upgrades possible.
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| Yeah yeah, mismatching wheels... a Beach Rd no-no. |
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| Shimano swapsies from the Scott. The plan is for SRAM Red. One day.... |
Random Visuals:
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| Creeping? I don't get it. |
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| 25km/h?! That is creeping. SA is a confusing place on the road. |
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| Crossbones cupcakes! Yeeeaaarrhhh! |
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| Von testing the beds.... |
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| Strathalbyn, city of churches.. Or a screenshot from Quake 3. |
Last of all... Random Audio:
I put this together after listening to a few pumping tracks in our travels.... and who better to have mixed in but the Tan Man himself. You can download the MP3 and put it into iTunes. Enjoy.
1 comment:
new bike = the sex.
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