2.4 February 27 Bleat

Post date: Feb 27, 2017 11:25:22 PM

Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

• Notice of Annual General Meeting 2017

• Steve Hirsler

• National Paracycling Road Championships

• RIDER ALERT

• Autumn She Rides

• Big Canberra Bike Ride 2017

• Racing this Week

• Race Reports

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

Ian Morton

Steve Hirsler

Hi Vets,

My name is Anna, and my husband is Vets member Steve Hirsler. I just wanted to inform you that Steve has suffered a heart attack and won't be allowed to race until further notice from his Dr.

He had 3 stents inserted on Friday at Woden Hospital as he had, 2 fully blocked arteries and for one partially blocked artery, he is home now and recovering. He is so disappointed that he won't be able to race (he loves his cycling), until further notice from his Dr, and then the Dr is not sure if he will return to racing at all.

If anyone would like like at call give him a call his mobile number is 0405925782.

To everyone else, good luck for the rest of the season.

Kind Regards

Anna Hirsler

National Paracycling Road Championships

Hi Vets,

I am race directing a round of the national paracycling road championships. It is next weekend in Canberra with a crit on Saturday 4th March out at Stromlo and then a road time trial after the Big Canberra Bike Ride along Parkes way (11-12:30) on Sunday 5th.

http://www.act.cycling.org.au/News/All-News/Para-cycling/the-big-canberra-bike-ride-paracycling-invitational

Looks like we are short of a traffic controller (as is pedal power) for Sunday from 6:00 – 12:30 so putting out the call for a volunteer to help out ( I realise this clashes with our road race but perhaps someone is injured or ill and not racing at the moment that could help out).

We only have a small number of participants… so far 13 entered, we might get 15 or so if lucky… but they are coming from WA, Qld, Vic etc so it is a big deal for them.

Cheers

Sue Powell

RIDER ALERT

Event Name: Annual Daramalan College Charity Walk

Event Date and Time: Thursday 23 March - 9:30 am to 1 pm

What: 1,200 students and staff walking around Lake Burley Griffin western loop shared path.

Starts at 9:30 am at Lennox Gardens with walkers moving in a clockwise direction, finishing at Acton Park at lunchtime.

We hope it does not cause any inconvenience to those members who use this path as part of their daily commute or recreational activities.

Autumn She Rides

Cycling Australia's She Rides ‘Together’ program is led again this year by Level 2 Cycling Coach and Vets member, Angie Wren. This course is for women who already have the ability to ride a bike for at least an hour and would like to learn more about group riding, fine-tuning their skills, and getting fit on the bike.

With a maximum of nine participants you will learn about all aspects of road cycling and how to implement a training program to maximise your fitness gains. The course starts with an introduction session on Tuesday evening, 14 March, and then continues for eight Saturdays, 7am - 9am, from 18 March to 20 May (with two weeks break in the middle for the school holidays). More information and registration instructions are at the following link:

http://www.cycling.org.au/Participation/She-Rides/Locations/Programs/canberra-act-together-roadtraffic

Angie Wren

Big Canberra Bike Ride 2017

BE PART OF THE 2017 BIG CANBERRA BIKE RIDE & VOLUNTEER!

Pedal Power ACT is conducting the 2017 Big Canberra Bike Ride on Sunday 5 March 2017. The Big Canberra Bike Ride is an event for all abilities and ages to celebrate safe cycling in Canberra.

Volunteers are essential to the success of the Big Canberra Bike Ride and your involvement would be highly valuable. With a range of volunteer duties that includes drivers, road marshals, event workforce and many others we will have a task for you! If you are interested in helping out on Saturday 4 March &/or Sunday 5 March please contact Joanne Brown at events@pedalpower.org.au, phone 6248 7995 or visit the website www.bigcanberrabikeride.com.au

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 28th February: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description:

B/D 5:50 B 30m+2, D 25m+2

E/F/G 6:25 E/F/G 22 m + 2

A/C 6:55 A 30m+2, C 25m+2

Race Director: Ben Davis

Contact: Email: bdavis@internode.on.net Ph 0416014629

2 x marshals required for this event.

Wednesday, 1st March: Track Racing

The Program for Wednesday is as follows:

5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;

6.00pm – 6.20pm: 10-lap graded scratch race;

6.20pm – 6.40pm: 4-lap handicap race (omnium event);

6.40pm – 7.00pm: 2-lap match race;

7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian pursuit.

The 2016-17 Omnium Series of four races will commence on 1 Mar with the 4-Lap handicap.

Sunday, 5th March: Old Federal Highway Graded Scratch - TO BE CONFIRMED

Where:Gravel Pit, Intersection Federal Highway and Shingle Hill Way.

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description:

ABCD 4 laps (48km)

EFG 3 laps (36km)

NOTE: This race is still subject to Race Approvals. A Bleat will be sent by Thursday (2nd Mar) to confirm whether the race is going ahead.

Race Director: Ben Davis

Contact: Email: bdavis@internode.on.net Ph 0416014629

To run this event we will need turn marshalls, lead and trail car drivers and finish line assistants.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo – 21st February

Ideal racing conditions greeted riders when they arrived for the racing last Tuesday with mild temperatures and little wind. This persisted throughout the evening until about 10 minutes into the last event when an easterly breeze came up for the B and D graders. While this picked up a little during the race, it wasn’t anywhere near as damaging as the wind the previous week. This made the job for the marshals much easier as the bunches largely stayed together. The kangaroos were an ever present threat starting with the first race and continuing throughout the evening. Thanks goes the various people who helped chase them off the track, including the son and daughter of one of the A graders (unfortunately they escaped before I got their names!).

G Grade

Bernie finally had some company in G grade with Bruce returning to racing after a bit of time off. Both riders set off at the back of the F grade bunch and Bernie managed to stay with them for quite a bit longer and went on to take the win. At the finish line Bruce noted that he was pleased to be back and would put up a better challenge once he had a bit more form in the legs.

F Grade

12 riders took to the track in F grade and they generally stayed together although there were a couple of attacks that lasted about a lap. Mike Hayes was the first to go and Sue Frost had a turn a little later. This didn’t seem to impact on Sue’s finishing form as she came in second behind Graham Hendrie, with Leeanne Tennet in third and Mike Hayes in fourth.

E Grade

The 10 riders in E grade stayed together for the whole race, Des Brown doing a lot of the work out front apparently maintaining a good steady pace to help keep everything together. John Lowe powered out of the bunch to take the win ahead of John Wilson and Ian Morton in 3rd.

D Grade

D grade numbers have been quite healthy of late and 23 riders started this evening. With the easterly picking up, Stephan Terracini went off the front for a couple of laps about half way through and John Chowns was next to go not too long after Stephan was caught. In the end Bob Perkins got the win over Gillian Lugg with Bryan Chugg in 3rd.

C Grade

Only 7 riders lined up for the start of C Grade, but the small field didn’t stop them from having a few attacks and the numbers were still sufficient to bring the attackers back to the fold. Peter Harding was the first to go for about a lap fairly early on. Jayson Clarke and Ian Preston were the next to go, soon after the catch. Peter had another go a little later on and then Ian was at it again, this time with John Thorn. Things stayed together for the last 10 minutes and Jayson Clark took the win from Peter Harding and Ben Healy managed 3rd place.

B Grade

A group of 17 riders took to the track in B grade and they managed to make some use of the easterly once it picked up with quite a bit of riding in the gutter and a few groups going off the front at different stages. Andrew Peel and Chis Kon were the first to go for about a lap, Chris Nolan was off for a couple of laps about half way through, Nick Boylan had a turn towards the end and Warwick Wilson (freshly promoted from C grade) went soon after. In the end Simon Junakovic, who had done a bit of work on the front, took the win from Heath Chester and Colin Kelley.

A Grade

The A graders managed the biggest field of the evening with 24 riders with some newly promoted riders including Michael Fawke who helped to blow B grade grade apart the previous week. As usual for A grade, there was plenty of aggression. Paul Smith, Time Minehan and a Quon rider without a number were the first to go at the 7 minute mark and they lasted for nearly 4 laps before the bunch upped the tempo and chased them down. Marc Vroomans, Ed Pellegrino and Tom Hartley were the next to have a turn for about a lap. Nicholas Stewart and then Mark Harris also had turns off the front. With two laps to go Michael Fawke went for a flyer and Tim Minehan managed to tag on. While they opened up a decent gap, the A graders were having none of this and managed to catch them with half a lap to go. In the sprint Nicholas Stewart took the win from Ben Morrison and the ever present Mark Harris managed 3rd.

Many thanks to John Hermes for helping throughout the evening and also thanks to Tom Roberts our ever reliable medical man who also helped with numbers at the finishes.

Ben Davis

Narrabundah Track Racing – 22nd February

The attendance for Session 16 of the track racing season was again below par with twelve riders, a majority in B grade. The weather was hot with the usual stiff back straight headwind that moderated over the session. The small attendance did not dampen riders’ spirits and the racing was lively and enjoyable.

Five riders lined up in A grade for the initial 10-Lap scratch race. The pack worked together for 5 laps. By that point, the pace was hot. Ben Robey tried an attack but could not escape. Kerry Knowler caught the pack off guard with a great attack on Lap 8. Kerry gained a significant lead and spreadeagled the bunch over 50 metres. However, Michael Langdon, Steve Jones and Andrew Peel kept up a relentless pursuit until they finally hauled in Kerry as the bell lap approached. Michael Langdon and Steve Jones opened up the final sprint. Michael took the win. However, Andrew Peel put in a great final burst to just overhaul Steve Jones on the line, for second.

The 10-Lap B grade scratch race started at moderate pace. The pack stayed together at increasing pace until about Lap 5 when John Lowe hauled off the front and soon had a gap over the struggling second rider. The pack soon accelerated around the slowing rider and set off in pursuit. Things looked untidy and interesting for a few laps until order was re-established. The bunch consolidated and accelerated into the bell lap. Phil Anderson showed he is the form rider in B grade by holding out Tony Beasley and a rapidly improving John Lowe.

The evening’s second event was a team pursuit with, necessarily, small teams. In A grade, Ben Robey, Kerry Knowler and Steve Jones comfortably held out Michael Langdon and Andrew Peel, using their extra rider to advantage. In B grade, Tony Beasley, John Lowe and Ian Drayton were pitted against Phil Anderson, Ross Scutts and Steve Dean. The former team took the honours in a close contest.

The next handicap event was all in with A and B grades combined. The event was reduced from four to two laps after discussion among riders. This worked to the advantage of Graeme O’Neill who would likely struggle to hold on over the longer distance. Graeme had a good handicap, made a good start and left nothing in the tank, wobbling over the line at pace, just ahead of John Lowe and Steve Dean. A grade took the next three places in a good performance from a significant handicap.

The final combined Italian pursuit had five riders drawn from A and B grades on each team. This event had everything, frantic pace, mistake by the lead team, small controversy and a great finish sprint between Ben Robey and Steve Jones for a final margin of 1 - 2 metres. Both teams made great starts. Team 1 soon established a lead, then surrendered it with a mistake in the rider change. With both teams on even pace, Kerry Knowler and Andrew Peel put in fast penultimate laps to set up the contest between Ben Robey and Steve Jones. Ben had a small deficit but put in a great lap, assisted by Steve being slightly baulked by a rider on the duckboard. Steve hung on to take the win for Team 1. However, another 15 metres and a fast closing Ben Robey would likely have reversed the order. Congratulations to both teams for a top performance.

Major place getters were as follows:

10-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Michael Langdon, Andrew Peel, Steve Jones (B Grade) Phil Anderson, Tony Beasley, John Lowe

Team Pursuit: (A Grade): Winners Steve Jones, Kerry Knowler, Ben Robey (B Grade) Winners Tony Beasley, John Lowe, Ian Drayton

2-Lap Handicap: (A & B Grades combined) Graeme O’Neill, John Lowe, Steve Dean.

Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Steve Jones, Kerry Knowler, Ross Scutts, John Lowe, Steve Dean).

Current Points Score Leaders: Michael Langdon (247), Phil Anderson (245), Steve Jones (242), Ross Scutts (229), Alec Millett (220), Tony Beasley (204), Steve Hirsler (166), Kerry Knowler (164).

Graeme O'Neill

Dairy Flat Criterium – 26th February

C/D grade was convincingly won by the returning Damien Copeland with Terry (attack out of the corners) Moore second and Ian Preston third.

In A/B grade Peter Young blasted the other riders of his wheel on the last lap to take the win from Adam Potts with Chris Nolan third on his new stealth machine.

E grade was taken out by a strong Tes Mclachlan with John Lowe second. In F grade Howard Moffat powered away mid race to win solo from Paul Robey.

In G grade Bruce Jones managed to take places, first and last with his archrival Bernie away on holidays.

Thanks to Tom Roberts for being the trusty first aider.

Nick Boylan