It's with a tinge of disappointment I write this post on the eve of the above titled event.Four days cycling in Victoria's High Country, all in the name of Charity,and sneaking in some fantastic riding and maybe a quiet beer or two at the end of the day
would be just the tonic to kick start 2013's Cycling training.I'd reserved my spot as soon as I was informed of the event but a strained left hamstring has left me unable to ride my bike.
The Photograph I took to promote the ride that featured in Wednesday's Wangaratta Chronicle.
This will be the first time this ride has been held and from what I understand from the BDA crew this is a "pilot run" with the hope of it being an annual event.And from the enthusiasm I've seen from all involved I'd suggest there will be a queue waiting to register for next year.
The riding in the Victorian High Country will be awesome and you can have a look at the itinerary on BDA's website
here Also look at the
sponsors of the BDA crew who are involved in helping getting this inaugural ride up and running.
From what I understand money raised from the event will go to the
Amy Gillet Foundation which is inspired by the life of Amy Gillet,the foundation's aim is to eliminate cycling related fatalities.
Sam Miranda has shown once again, how keen he is on promoting cycling in the Wangaratta area by giving a large donation towards the event.The ride officially starts from Sam's Winery in The King Valley tomorrow morning.
So if you see the guys out on the N.E Victorian roads over the next few days,give them a friendly wave and any donations would be more than welcome too.
This was another photo taken that was a reserve for the paper.Fallon's have donated the use of a bus as support vehicle.
We had something different occur during yesterday's Beechworth Bunch Ride. Alan Thrum's seat post broke clean off forcing him to ride the rest of the way into Wangaratta with no seat(around 40km).I wonder how his legs are feeling today?Many thanks to Ash for this video clip showing Thrummy's new position.
Lots of comment on Twitter about this picture, thanks to CyclingTips retweeting it.
Often the only thing we hear about in the media is animosity between motorists and cyclists.It's nice to be able to report the other side of the coin.On last Wednesday's Beechworth Bunch ride, a peloton of 16 cyclists came upon a lady with a flat tyre.
Whilst I wasn't present on the ride, John Myles sent me this photo of the group in action helping change the flat tyre.The very relieved and grateful motorist was very thankful for the assistance.I did hear it was the older members of the bunch that did all the work, but can't confirm or deny this particular detail of the story.
How many cyclists does it take to change a flat tyre? Apparently 16 in this case.
We pretty spoilt in the country when it comes to riding on quiet roads with no traffic lights.So it was a novelty for the bunch to have to wait at traffic lights on the way home from Beechworth yesterday.We actually had to wait at least 5 minutes for a roadwork crew who were busy repairing a causeway on the Markwood-Everton Road where it crosses the Ovens River.Long enough for me to wrestle my iphone out and get some pictures. Looks like the bunch captain is throwing his hands in the air.
Every Wednesday there is a bunch ride to Beechworth from Wangaratta return.Leaving Espresso on Ovens at 7.30am.It's a great ride with a little of everything.Some easy riding on the flats,a 15km climb up the rail trail where you can go as hard or easy as you like.Coffee in Beechworth and a fast descent out of Beechworth before settling into an easy pace the rest of the way home,arriving back into Wang. a little after 11.30am.When riding in the group on the flat we rotate turns on the front every 5 mins.
Today was a little more special than usual where we helped Tomarsh Loki celebrate his birthday.His family drove up to meet us and presented Tomarsh with a rich chocolate cake which we helped devour.After singing happy birthday of course.
Tomarsh making a wish which Frank thinks will cost him money:)
A happy mob drinking coffee and eating chocolate cake.
Every Wednesday there is a bunch ride from Wangaratta,leaving "Espresso on Ovens" @ 7.30am,to Beechworth and return.After a coffee in Beechworth of course. I try to join in most weeks, and now there is a Strava segment for the section of rail trail we travel up,there is the added incentive to improve your time.It was particularly pleasing to see Pete Goodman this morning who has been threatening to make an appearance for some time. Tully Lyster, and his father Laurie, showed their pedigree on the decent out of Beechworth, leaving us gasping in their wake.
The Sun is still pretty low in the sky at 7.30am
Very nice to see Bernie Grealy back on the bike.
Heading back towards Wangaratta
Laurie Lyster looking sharp in the GreenEdge kit. West End Bike Hub kits are also prominent in the bunch.
Strava is becoming quite popular with cyclists. Using a Garmin device or an iphone with the Stava App running you can record your ride details then upload your ride file to Strava for viewing. Strava will pick out any rides you've done where there has been a segment created and you can compare your ride against others who have ridden the same segment.Most of the major climbs now have a Strava segment,including all our local Alpine Climbs.It's very interesting to compare yourself against other riders and also note your improvement.
I've just created a segment on Strava that includes the climb we do on the Everton to Beechworth Rail Trail every Wednesday.
I started the segment a little past where we enter the rail trail near Diffey Rd to the end of the climb before you start descending into Beechworth. I hope I've set the segment up correctly and I think I have but we can also create another if need be.
Strava then looked through it's Data to see if anyone else has ridden this segment and has found 8 others. Currently I'm in the number 1 position so probably should keep this to myself as once others get on board it wont last long. I've seen a few riders on Wednesday with a Garmin 500 which is what I used and as I mentioned earlier you can use a iphone.So I'm hoping a few others will join Strava which is free unless you want to upgrade to premium membership.
I'v also included Strava's Mt Buffalo Segment to give you more of an idea on how many others are using it.
The Mt Buffalo Segment has been ridden 527 times by people using Strava.
I've also created a segment for the descent out of Beechworth which is always full on. I don't know how long it will last but top spot has my name on it.
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