Hello Vets,

In this week's Bleat;

• To Race or not to Race
• Replacement President
• Volunteers needed for Cycling Aust U19’s Road Champs
• Racing this Week
• Race Report
  

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton

To Race or not to Race

It's always a tough call to cancel race because of the weather. There are certainly plenty of club members willing to tough it out regardless of the conditions but there are a number of other considerations when deciding to proceed with a race;

• Rider Safety is our highest priority. Heavy rain and strong winds represent a danger to riders particularly on courses with steep descents or curves.
• Insurance coverage could also be compromised if the decision was taken to conduct a race in dangerous conditions.
• Poor visibility for riders and other road users might also trigger public complaints to TAMS, further jeopardising their willingness to approve races on public roads.
• And its always important to remember that it takes a lot of effort from volunteers to run an event and costs including professional first aiders. Persistent rain usually results in a very low turnout of riders making the event unviable.
• When the conditions are looking doubtful, members appreciate an early call on whether racing will proceed rather than driving out to the event only to find it has been called off.

So while the Committee appreciates the desire of members to get out and race, it is important to take all these factors into consideration when deciding to proceed with a race in the face of potentially adverse weather conditions.

Replacement President

Since the sudden departure of Alex O'Shea, the ACT Vets Club has been without a President. The Committee is looking for anyone who wishes to nominate for this important role. Please contact committee@actvets.cc if you are interested in filling this position.

Volunteers needed for Cycling Aust U19’s Road Champs

Cycling Australia is running the 2019 U19 Road National Championships in Canberra from 1st to 3rd July (Details).

They are in desperate need of volunteers in the following roles;

•  Drivers
•  Marshals (qualified and unqualified)
•  Motorbike Marshals

If there is anyone willing to assist on any of those three days, please contact Lexie Webster at act.info@cycling.org.au.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Saturday, 25th June: Gunning Handicap

Where: Go through the township of Gunning towards Breadalbane for 2km, park at the top of the hill.
When: 1:30 pm.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description: Gunning - Breadalbane - return - 48km

Race Director: Bill Frost
Contact: Email: billfrost@bigpond.com     Ph  0418698197

To run the race, Bill will need the services of;
 - Lead and Tail Car drivers
 - Turn Marshall
 - 2 at the finish line/chute

Please contact Bill if you can assist.

RACE REPORT:

Apollo Rd – 18th June

Firstly, thank you to all those people who offered to fill in to provide First Aid for the race due to the unavailability of Sports Med trainers. It's good to know we have a willing group of volunteers to help out when we are short.

The day started off threatening another weather disruption but by lunchtime the showers had cleared and left us with good racing conditions.

35 eager riders turned up for the annual hill climb with good representation across most of the grades.

Steve Crispin surged across the line first in a blistering time of 0:52:21. The rest of the field battled bravely up the hill with the look of determination on everyone's face as they crossed the line.

The Apollo Rd climb certainly spread the field out with the closest we got to a bunch finish was when David Dickson and Paul Welsh crossed the line within 5 meters of each other. The rest of the field came across the line individually.

This event was the first time we have put the club's new Satellite Phones into service. These phones will ensure that we have communications at a number of race venues that are outside mobile coverage. This is particularly important if we require emergency services in the event of an accident.

Thanks to the officials especially Phill Coulton who stood in as First Aid and finishing line marshal. ATCs Clinton Porteus at the bottom of the hill and Dale Kleeman at the turn. And as always, the ever reliable Graham Hendrie for signon, timing and bringing out and setting up the van.

Ian Morton