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Glenvale Crescent, C Grade Race Report

The Pug is going in for a service one of these days so I thought I should clean it beforehand so Mick, my poor LBSG, doesn’t get upset when he realises how I treat my hardware.

This road bike has seriously not seen a rag or any form of cleaning agent for 12 months plus. I’m a bad person, I know, I’m just so damn LAZY! (and not called hippy for nothing ya know!).

Anyway, last night I cleaned the Avanti hardtail and the Pug. The Avanti didn’t take too long, it was just dusty, but the Pug! My God.. that thing had more oil+road grime+dead animals than it did metal for the chain!!

It literally took two hours to clean using degreaser, CT18 truck wash, brushes, sponges and rags!

I wasn’t sure the driveline was even going to work once I’d removed the 4 kilos of ‘lube cake’! So unsure, in fact, that I put the bike away and saved the test ride for race morning 🙂

After some initial strange noises, the bike settled down and everything seemed fine. Getting race number 18 was good luck too.. I think?

The race started easy which was good as I was feeling a bit crook (I wasn’t lying to you Louise! :)). It wasn’t even due to a hangover which was sad – perhaps Friday night’s beers saved their effects for Sunday?

Similar to the last Glenvale race, two weeks ago, C grade was passed by D grade early on – the pace was really quite low at the start. Then the breaks began..

Mid-way through and I was doing it easy. A couple of times when the pace hotted up I checked my HR for reference and it was around the 88% mark which wasn’t too painful given the brief duration of these efforts.

The orange 3 laps to go sign was up:

“Is that really us?” I thought, it just seemed too early.

Next lap around and there’s no sign. Okay, I get it, D grade are on their last lap and they’re giving us more time to split up the finishes.

2 laps to go: I’m not in a good position, perhaps mid-field? I have to move up and I have to do it soon.

1 lap to go: A little bothered by my position, I was relieved when I easily moved up to the pointy end of the field.

I hear some pedal strikes and now I’m glad I’m up the front!

Just before the last corner, a guy cuts across the front of most of the field, drawing out some colourful language from other riders (myself included). I can’t be too hard on the guy because he leads me around the corner – thanks.

I’ve been in this situation before.. I have the power to win the sprint but not from this far out.

This time though, I had taken it easy early on in the race and was feeling good towards the end.

I was pretty sure the guy I followed around the corner wasn’t going to last to the line and I made the decision to go around him and HAMMER!

Half way down the straight, I was pretty sure no one was on me, the jump around my leadout guy seemed to have taken the others by surprise. I was getting closer to the line, head down, seated, but not backing off for a second.

I checked over both shoulders (I should sprint on one side of the road so I only need to worry about looking over one shoulder) and there was no one nearby. It seemed I was 5-10m clear and getting very close to the line…

I was thinking “This one is mine!”

I kept the power on well over the line, racing by my rule of not throwing hands up or any of that guff that has caused some memorable losses in other races.. 🙂

I got it! I was well clear and unless I’d totally stuffed the ‘laps-to-go’ count, I had won it! I rolled around and asked Mal if I’d won?

“Yep”

“Awesome!”

So, I finally have my Glenvale C-grade win!

$90 and 30min massage voucher (Carl, this voucher’s for you)

Will this mean I’ll clean my bike from now on? Doubt it, but if I need to pull out all the stops I know what to do hehehe (The Bike Gods are warming up their lightning bolts as I speak..)

Additional:

www.cyclingnews.com race report

Stats:

Time: 55 min

HR: 161/197 bpm

Speed: 39.4/54.6 kph

Temp: 18 degC

Cadence Avg: 106 rpm

Harry Potter, the Psychic Boss and the Laneways of Doom

Scene: The office

“I had a dream about you last night.” states my boss, walking into the office this morning.

“Really, you dream about me?” I joke.

“You were hit by a car. I was there. It wasn’t me that hit you, but I saw it.”

“Uh huh.. yeah.. bike vs. car.. sounds just like me.”

“You were okay though..”

(he’s thinking “pity about that” I’m sure!)

(Cue: Work montage)

Scene: The ride home

All suited up in my stylish ‘knicks and Crappy T-Shirt(tm)’ fashion statement from hell, I roll down the road, heading for home.

Cruising down the Burke Road recently made famous by aus.bicycle’s ‘dave’ and ‘hippy’ for its right-turning traffic and laneways of doom, life couldn’t be peachier. Okay, it could, but that’s a whole other chapter.

Doing my normal thing, passing all the cars waiting for Cantebury Road lights to change, I notice a 4WD. This 4WD is sticking its nose through the traffic to make a right-hand turn across my path. This large, shiny, 4WD isn’t paying much attention. In fact, I think I’m going to have to crash into it. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Serves it right for not giving way to oncoming traffic. I don’t actually have enough room to stop, with half the vehicle across the lane in my path, so I brake and panic turn. It’s not enough and I plow into the 4WD.

I had washed off quite a bit of speed and whacked into the white ‘building-on-wheels’ with my front wheel and right knuckles.

Throw in an awkward stumble over the bike and my arse doesn’t even hit the ground – I’m still upright. Stare at 4WD’s back window as it crawls into a driveway (okay so it wasn’t a laneway THIS time). I follow – there’s no chance this one is getting out of here.

A women gets out of the car and begins apologising.

“Yeah, yeah.. I’m alive.. whatever.. Just slow down and open your eyes!”

(insert standard discussion about not seeing you, are you okay, want a drink, need help putting on your chain or straightening your bars?)

I go easy on her because she was very nice about it (much to the chagrin of some of you I bet!) twist my bars back around and walk back out to the road.

“What are you doing now?”

“Uh.. I’m riding home”

“Oh, okay, well as long as you’re alright?”

Like I said, very apologetic and it wasn’t a very hard impact.

In fact, the only evidence of the incident now is a shade of white paint on my glove’s knuckles.

I’m not sure what this makes the count, I’ve lost track now, but I think this may tip the balance in favour of ‘cars hitting me’ as opposed to ‘me hitting cars’.

The wackiest part was my boss ‘predicting’ this in a dream! I was laughing about that all the way home.. well, sort of 🙂

Just in case you’re wondering, ‘The Boss’ will remain nameless, since I’m sure he doesn’t want 1004 people ringing him up all hours asking for next week’s lotto numbers! 😀

No time for vegemite toast so I grabbed one of those Snickers(?) energy bars on the way to Port Melbourne. Very chocolatey, probably not the best thing pre-race but I needed something to eat. I was there quite early, having allowed extra time for my typical ‘where the hell am i’ navigational performance. This early in the morning I could actually concentrate on finding the streets I wanted rather than dodging cars. Nice. Rolled around until registration opened. $15 entry!? WTF?! Glenvale is only $10.. lucky I had a bit extra on me..

The circuit is a fair bit rougher than Glenvale (older roads have warped with industrial traffic I guess) and some sides of the circuit are coned off as single lane only. This wasn’t much of a problem with only 15 or so riders in C grade. I’m pretty sure the numbers are much higher than this normally but many riders were competing in the St. Kilda Festival crits later on the same day. Fine by me.

C grade started quite slow. The race was only 40min+3 (Glenvale is 55min+3) so if it stayed near this pace until the end I was sure I was going to kick arse! 🙂

It didn’t. A few breaks went and for some reason I found myself in them. I wasn’t paying attention. The new surrounds had thrown me a bit. In a small group like this it’s harder to hide so I was driving the breaks I was in and chasing down any others. “Hey, this was supposed to be easy” I was thinking to myself. There was some yelling about doing turns or something but I think we had dropped a few people off the back by that stage so our ‘break’ had become the new ‘peloton’?!

With two laps to go I did my last turn at the front, keeping the pace high, just in case we weren’t alone out there and then slotted back into the field.

One lap to go and I’m in a promising 4th wheel, behind a tall Preston guy. I figure, unless these guys are gun sprinters, I’m set. As we approach the final corner, my eyes widen as I realise the guy directly in front of me has just created a gap between himself and second place. To make matters worse, the guy in second place didn’t hold the wheel in front either and has created a similar gap to the leader. SHIT! This doesn’t happen at Glenvale! What are these guys doing?! I have to go NOW.. no point holding a wheel.

The finishing straight is shorter than Glenvale and with the large gap between 1st and 4th I give it hell, sure my ‘easy win’ is now history. Pass 3rd, pass 2nd, throw for finish line, arrr! If only I had another 5 metres I would’ve caught 1st! Oh well, 2nd is still nice, but I was cut about not dealing quick enough with those gaps forming. Another lesson learned.

$40 into the kitty and I’m off to the St. Kilda Festival crits to watch a bunch of people I know race. The Fitzroy St. hotdog circuit had large numbers of racers so each grade looked a LOT more painful than my race.. okay I’m soft, I’ll admit it! 😛

I’m in the money..

Glenvale today saw the ‘I’m feeling guilty I haven’t done much riding this week due to the storms’ racers rock up.

The weather was fine so numbers seemed high in all grades.

My race was all about positioning again and this week I made damn sure I did bugger-all work. I was staying up near the front and watching people go – I wasn’t going to chase! I’d hit the front, do a half-arse turn (no one seemed to care, we were getting passed by D grade!) and then roll over. Often no one would take up the lead anyway. It was a very slack start for most of the field.

A break went away at some point (half way?) with three riders. Later on, I saw the two riders get picked up. Yes, two riders. I didn’t make the connection that there was another rider still out there. Even if I did, this is C grade, there’s no way a solo rider can stay out alone for the end of the race, or so I thought..

C grade backed off as D grade had their final lap and then the speed went back up. I kept fighting to hold a good postition. It did seem relatively easy this week with people not wanting the front wheel and what not. Perhaps I’m just getting better at it?

Final lap and I’m in prime position, 3rd wheel. I just know I’m going to do well today.

Before the final corner, everyone gets cagey and slows down, no one wants to be a leadout..

Someone jumps and I take their wheel. It’s messy and bunched up behind me but I’m too busy to notice.

I find another wheel, a pair of riders on the right, and move over to get on. It seems like I’m going to pass them so I don’t move across all the way, fearing being boxed in by riders coming up on my left, I hang out in the wind down the straight. It turns out I can’t pass them and that’s how we finish, the two riders then me, just beating another guy for third.

I claim third and a spectating rider queries me on what gear I was pushing in the sprint.. “it looked BIG mate!”.

Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment 🙂

I end up hanging around taking photos of A and B grades.

Spotting rickster I tell him of finally placing!

“Third in the bunch sprint?” he asks.

“Yeah”

“Ah, you actually got 4th, this guy here was half a lap in front of the bunch” he says pointing to a Kelme-kitted dude.

“What the hell?! Half a lap?! So I don’t place after all? Ahhh!! FUUUUCCCCCKK!!!”

“They pay 4th place” he says.

“Really? Oh well, that’s kinda okay, I guess, maybe..”

So I score $30 and a massage voucher for racing to 4th place.

I’m pretty sure Kelme-dude will be in B-grade after this and if he’s not I’ll be questioning Carnegie’s ranking procedures!

I’ve got to hang onto wheels for longer too – I tend to overestimate my ability to pass at the end of a race (especially when riding into a head wind).

Mal’s Words:

Curtis Yirildirim escaped the C Grade bunch in the opening laps, and spent much of the first half of the race alone at an impressive pace. Eventually, his escape came to an end, and after a brief regrouping Josh Morrison (Burnley Finance) powered away, and held off the chase to record a convincing win.

Greg Hunter led the chasers home, from John Sheard (Pro-Motion Bicycles) and Stuart Birnie (Croydon Cycleworks). Lisa Friend (Bianchi) was too good for a strong Women’s contingent, out kicking Michelle Murrell and Andrea Bishop in the dash to the line.

from: www.carnegiecycling.com.au

This would be my first race at Sandown International Raceway.. typically home to V8 supercars..

Left work early (~5pm) and caught the train to Richmond, waited for a totally packed train to go past and then caught a Pakenham train which was much less full.

I didn’t even have to yuppie-whack to get my bike in!

The howling gale and high heat of mid-day had turned into dark skies and crazy winds.

Arrived at around 6pm, followed another rider to the track, got changed, paid the $10 entry fee and collected a race number.

Headed out onto the track as it started to rain.

“Jesus! How frickin’ insane is this wind?!”

I was almost going backwards on the main straight, I’m sure. Turned the corner and it was better in the crosswind, sharp left and down the back straight was nice and fast until the small rise reduced speed a little.

On through some twisties and then SMACK! POW! the wall of wind just created a reverse gear!

On the second lap I found a wheel to follow and the speed went up a little. It was going to take some time to un-Glenvale and adjust to these new corners at speed.

Completing this lap we rolled up to the start to find the race had been called off due to the shitty weather. Damn! All that fuss for nothing 🙁

Race entry fees would be saved for another day. At least I got to leave work early 🙂

Rode home with Trev C and experience my first Bad Bus Driver (BBD). This cocksmoker insisted on sitting behind us for some time along Springvale Rd. tooting.

“Oh, and where the fsck would you like us to go, dickhead?”.

With two other lanes clear, that he could have used, I did not understand this idiot’s problem. At a set of lights I showed him where the other lanes were and suggested he use them. I gave him the international sign of Peace Love Unity and Respect as he rounded the corner. (I flipped him off and call him nasty names :)).

Other than that little incident, it was a surprisingly nice ride home in the rain.

The best bit?

Getting home and realising the race number was still stuck to my back! 😀

Race Stats:

Distance: 0k

Avg. Spd: 0kph

Swearing: 247rwph (rude words per hour, 220 is hippy average ;))

Scene: Racer boy has just emptied his local Brumby’s bakery and washed the lot down with some Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee. He now prepares his weekly Glenvale race report..

A couple of days off the bike in Mildura meant that I wasn’t sure how today’s race would go. I felt good so I figured that rest was actually a benefit rather than a hinderance. I was also highly motivated, having returned to Melbourne early just to race.

The first 40 minutes went well with quite a few breaks trying to get away and failing. I was sitting comfortably in the bunch (except for one or two chasing efforts – Rickster, lets just say I ‘prefer’ not to chase :)).

D grade had just sprinted so we didn’t have too long to go until we got the ‘3’ laps sign. In prime position for winning the bunch sprint, I noticed two riders off the front on the main straight. In a moment of, uh, boredom, I guess, I decided to be a hero and bridge the gap to the breakaway (of course this was timed for maximum exposure to the crowd! 😀 ).

I made it easily with no one else coming across (wish I could do the same in those sprint training sessions!) and yelled some encouragement to the other riders to get them into attack mode. We started working together. I think Blackburn’s Scott Setford came across after me(?) – we ended up with four guys, anyway.

Swapping turns we are still in front of the bunch with a lap to go. The gap is getting smaller but we might just make it!

Approaching the last corner, just before the apex, we’re caught!

Fark!

I keep the pace up in the hope that some of the bunch sprinters die off before me but I’ve used up too much juice in the break. I’m done.

Debrief:

“Why the hell did you throw away your ‘soon to be’ winning strategy for a breakaway attempt??!!!!!”

With the juice I had left at the end, the sprint could’ve been very good for me.

Share the Love:

A big two-fingered salute to the Brunetti(?) “team” on the Colnagos with the Cosmics. Thanks for chasing us down to set up the sprint for your mate who didn’t win anyway! You wont be getting any favours from me.

Must check those ‘teamwork’ rules.. anyone wanna work for me for a share of the money? 🙂

Mal’s Glenvale Report

$300 in 10c, 20c and 50c isn’t THAT heavy, right? A bit more than 5kg perhaps? Couriers carry more than that all the time, right?

Perhaps not, and if they were to carry so much shrapnel in their bags, they wouldn’t add it onto the normal commute load and carry it 25k to work – on their race bikes!

It was early! I wasn’t thinking straight! :S

Note To Self #47,869,201:

Carrying so much coin to work is a bag is dumb. On a road bike is dumber still. Hitting the typical dodgy Melbourne road repairs with this load and buckling the rear wheel is adding fuel to the stupidity fire – you need help boy!

The thing that counts though, is rain, hail, shine, wheel and spinal damage – the coins made it! 😀

This has been D. Head reporting.

I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) and idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems to have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am we roll out and right off the bat two riders decide to leave the “safety” of the bunch. The’s no reaction from the rest of the field initially but soon enough a chase commences. After a few laps(?) the field is back together. There seems to be a bunch of riders communicating to each other and working together and when they go, the rest of the field simply doesn’t want to work to chase them.

Another break goes away and this one does some real damage, I think, leaving some riders behind. Some riders manage to bridge the gap, moving up in dribs and drabs, but most of the field are struggling to chase them down. Your’s truly drives the bunch and then looks over for support.. to find.. a bunch totally unwilling to work! Bastards! I resume the chase and eventually it all comes back together with some other riders joining in to chase (thank deity!).

At some point mid-race a guy gets nice and wobbly coming out of the corner and I lock up a nice new ProRace.. doh! (Sorry to the dudes behind me ;-))

Basically the bulk of the race involved me spending too much time in the wind, chasing breaks or repositioning myself – no mistaking it was a hard race!

With one lap to go, people are smashing pedals into the ground in a desperate attempt to maintain their speed through the corners and I’m just waiting for someone to go down near me/onto me/in front of me. I’m too far back and decide to surge up near the front to find a leadout wheel. At the same time as I surge, the peloton gets cagey and riders slow down, waiting for some sucker to go first and provide a wheel to lock onto. Oh crap! Guess which sucker just passed the field? Yeah, muggins here..

It’s too late to mess around, slow down and grab someone’s wheel and I’ve been telling myself all race that I would sprint to the line no matter how far back in the field I was. So, I go for it, sucking in huge gasps of air, clicking up a gear every time my cadence gets high enough to allow it. I see people move up next to me but fade back again. It’s perhaps 200m from the final corner to the finish line..

More people move close but can’t pass. I’m within 10m of the line and I’m not going to slow down! A split second later I spot another movement to my right and BAM! a bunch of four riders sweeps past me to take the first four places, relegating my sorry arse to the non-paying zone again!! Noooo!!! I spoke to the winner and he said the average speed was ~42.5, which is up around B grade averages I think. It definately felt harder!

Debriefing: Even though I missed that elusive win, I was still relatively happy with the race. I did a lot of unnecessary work and didn’t have anyone for a leadout and I still managed a good finish after a hard race. In my mind, that’s okay, I just have to try again for the win. Did some B-graders sneak into C-grade or something?

Stats: To Follow

Todays Race Report: See last week’s.

Okay, my goal after xmas was to improve positioning during the race. Earlier in the season, I found myself with the strength but I wasn’t in a position to use it. So my aim was to be up near the front when it counted. This means working hard to chase breaks and to ensure I remained at the business end of the field.

I was very satisfied with last week’s race – I fought and maintained a good position all through the race and it was only with 1/3 of a lap remaining that I simply couldn’t hold onto the wheel in front and, hence, failed to figure in the sprint.

The same thing happened this week! Damn! I’m not so happy about it happening twice. I probably did a better job with positioning (even managing to factor in the wind direction) and stayed up front. But, again, on the final lap the pace was too high for me to contest the sprint.

Two corners remained and my newly created “pain is nothing, victory is everything” mantra turned into “why the fsck am I going backwards?!”. I was suffering hard and I felt like, mentally, I was pushing myself harder than usual but I simply couldn’t put more power into the pedals and finally I watched, disheartened, as ‘others’ took the places that count.

I guess it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. My legs were feeling like shit from the start – probably due to sprint training the day before, followed by “holding” all day in the cold wearing only knicks and no shoes. I also managed to miss lunch and ended the day very dehydrated. Didn’t sleep well either, which is unusual for me.

There’s always next week…