Today was the first race of 2012 for me and there had not been a number pinned on my jersey since Tour of Bright 2011. I hadn't considered entering the race today but on some gentle coaxing from some of the Wangaratta mob I thought, ok, and managed to enter about 2 hours before cut off. As the race was to be held by The Goulburn Valley Veterans Cycling Club it was lucky I had renewed my VVCC racing licence with Hume Veterans Cycling Club  just last week. The race was a 52km Handicap held at Dookie and was also an Open race,which means a large number entries and very good competition. 
  

In a handicap race a few things have to go your way to be successful. Hopefully you'll get put into a group of riders that are at a similar level to yourself, and who are prepared to work well together to keep the pace high. You also have to hope you can ride fast enough so that the groups of riders behind you don't catch up .Everbody is always very keen to get the start list and find out what mark you've been given. There were seven in my bunch,3 women and 4 men some of whom I knew and others I didn't.

My group turned out to be a fantastic bunch of riders with everybody prepared to do their share of the work on the front. It was pretty windy on the course and I found the strong cross winds to be the most difficult to contend with. As the race wore on and we gathered up the riders whom had started ahead of us, it was looking very positive for our bunch. About half way through the last lap we caught the last of these riders, which meant our group was now the front of the race and if we didn't get caught, somebody from our group would win the race. The women in our group rode very strongly especially on the flat crosswind sections but they struggled a little on the hills. I felt pretty good the further the race went and had the idea to attack on the last climb near the cemetery. 
By the time we got to the bottom of that hill there were 4 of us left in the bunch, we had lost a couple of our women on the nasty little hill around the back of the course. I knew Colin Stokes in the bunch as we often ride together for training and he rides strongly. The other guy,John Tielen,I didn't know but I had thought for most of the race he was probably the rider in our bunch who would be the biggest threat. I wasn't certain about the remaining women,Wendy Bennett,as she'd pulled back the gap we put on her on the previous hill so was a very capable rider. 
I accelerated as hard as I could up the hill and didn't look back. When I reached the top I still had the strong rider(John) with me. But we had gapped the others by quite a bit so it was time to put the hammer down for the last couple of kilometers. We worked really well together, retaining the gap we had opened up on the climb. As we got closer to the finnish and were not going to be caught,I asked the other rider,"do you want to go side by side and sprint it out?" to which he replied in a thick European accent ,"I don't care", which was said in a friendly tone. With the last little bend then about 150 metre to the finnish I pretty much just rode as hard as I could and managed enough of a sprint to win. 
It is a wonderful feeling to win a race and  the last time I had a win was nearly a year ago . John, who came second was very happy too and we had a very nice exchange after the race. The other 2 from our group crossed the line in 3rd,Wendy Bennett, and 4th,Colin Stokes, before the scratch bunch came flying through just behind. 

Thanks to Richard Bailey for kindly supplying the photos of the racing action and to Raymond Jarratt for facilitating the exchange.Many thanks for all the support and congratulations,also for putting up with my self indulgence on the blog this week. And hopefully I've gotten over the phobia of having my new (second hand) Lightweight wheels on my bike. See full results below.

                                                         26/2/2012  G.V. Vets 52km Open.

1st     Anthony  Reeckman     H                   25min
2nd    John  Tielen              G.V                 25min
3rd     Wendy  Bennett        C.V.                25min
4th     Colin  Stokes             H                   25min
5th     Stephen  Fairless      G.V.                 scr
6th     Neville  Laffy            G.V.                2min
7th    Tom  Leaper              E                    scr
8th    Darren  Roberts          N                   2min
9th    Mark  Currie               H                   4min
10th   Peter  McDonough      G                   4min

Fastest  Time  Stephen  Fairless
1st  Unplaced  lady Evelyn  Keetelaar
1st  Unplaced G.V.Vet  rider  Brad  Scott
1st  Unplaced G.V.Vet over 60 rider  David  Schier

When it comes to chain cleaning and lubrication I'm yet to find a better system than removing the chain,washing it thoroughly in petrol or some other solvent,hanging it to dry while I wash the rest of my bike. Reinstalling the chain,then applying a good quality chain oil. I've tried a few other methods,including the Park Tool Chain Scrubber which I found worked quite well it just seems a little messy and cumbersome. Another product, the name escapes me, some of my friends use cleans and lubricates your chain as you spin the drive train over whilst applying. Whilst convenient, when I used it I always feel like my chain sounds noisy and dry.
 What was the icing on the cake for me was the Connex Link by Wippermann, which makes removing and reinstalling your chain simple and fast. I have them on all my bikes and one link is on it's third chain so they last quite well too. They are pretty cheap at around $10 so wont break the bank. I remove the chain,then using an old bidon I keep specially for chain cleaning, 1/4 fill the bidon with petrol and shake like crazy for 1 minute or so. (Having your favourite high tempo song playing helps to really fire up the shake.ACCA DACCA, You Shook Me All Night Long, could do the job but feel free to experiment). 

Hot off the press is the Calendar of races for this Autumn at Wangaratta. I'm looking forward to racing this Autumn
and am pleased to see some Time Trials scheduled.I've got some friends from Melbourne who hopefully are going the attend the Club Tour and I might try and get them up for the Ian Bullus Memorial as well. These are fantastic events so it would be great to get some good attendances for them. Visit the Wangaratta Cycling Club's website for updates.

Race 1 Sat 10th March            Mokoan Turnoff            50km            GS
            Clubrooms/Warby Range Rd/Boweya Rd/Mokoan Turnoff/
            return via same course/Shanley St Finish

Race 2 Sat 17th March             Max’s Block X 2            47km            HC
            Clubrooms/Warby Range Rd/Max’s Block X 2 laps left hand turns/
            Warby Range Rd/Shanley St Finish

Race 3 Sat 24th March             Winton ITT             26km                        No 1
            Start at Footy Ground Glenrowan/out and back to Winton

Race 4 Sat 31st March             15 Mile Creek            45km            HC   
              Clubrooms/Warby Range Rd/Taminick Gap Rd/Right turn Old
            Hume Hwy/McDonalds/Left turn under Freeway Overpass/15 Mile
            Creek Bridge/return via same course

No Racing Easter

Race 5 Sat 14th April            Ryans Taminick Loop            52km            GS
            Clubrooms/Reith Rd/Lindner Rd/Wangandary Rd/Boweya Rd/
            Taminick Gap/Warby Range Rd/Shanley St Finish

Race 6 Sat 21st April            Graham Daws Memorial Handicap            70km
            Clubrooms/Shanley St/Warby Range Rd/Boweya Rd/Thoona-
            Boweya Rd/Thoona-Devenish Rd/Devenish-Wangaratta
             Rd/Wangandary Rd/Christensen Lane/Lindner Rd/Reith Rd Finish

Race 7 Sat 28th April            Warby Range Rd ITT            18km            No 2
            Clubrooms/Shanley St/left Warby Rang Rd/U-Turn/Pass Shanely St
            on Warby Range Rd/ U-Turn/ left turn Shanley St.  “T” course

Race 8 Sat 5th May            U/17 States Course            57km            GS
            Clubrooms/Warby Range Rd/Boweya Rd/Taminick gap/Warby
             Range Rd/Boweya Rd/taminick gap/Warby Range Rd/Shanley St

Race 9 Sat 12th May            Mokoan Turnoff Via Taminick            43km            HC
            Clubrooms/warby Range Rd/Taminick Gap/Mokoan Turnoff/return
            via same course/finish Shanley St

Race 10 Sat 19th May            Ian Bulluss Memorial Handicap            10am
$20            Benalla To Wangaratta                        65km
            Start: Kiferra Rd Benalla outside Trekers rest. Greta South
            Wangaratta-Kilferra Rd/Left into Glenrowan-Moyhu Rd (Sprint
            prize just before this corner) Right turn Glenrowan/Left Taminick
            Gap Rd/Right turn Warby Range Rd/ Right Turn Shanley St Finish.
            Presentations and light refreshments at clubrooms at conclusion 

Race 11 Sat 26th May            Boweya Rd ITT            40km            No 3
            Start Glenrowan end of Boweya Rd/ travel along Boweya Rd to
            Devenish-Wangaratta Rd/ Turn in road and return via same course 

Race 12 Sat 2nd June            Club Tour 10am Start Both Days            $40 Entry
Saturday 2nd June
10am:    Stage 1  Road Race: State U17 Course  35km or 52km.
2pm:      Stage 2  Time Trial 14km “T” shaped Course (J17 course)

Sunday 3rd June
10am:    Stage 3  Hillclimb: Saleyards - Warby range rd - Glenrowan - Old Highway - Taminick Gap Rd -Finish at top.
1pm:      Stage 4  Kermesse: (Reith's Rd Colson Drive loop approx 6km a lap) 2-6 laps

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.

This week whilst in my favourite Local Bike Shop, West End Bike Hub discussing the fact with Wes that I had actually ridden my mountain bike. (I don't have a close relationship with my mountain bike,after a nasty and embarrassing accident a couple of years ago). Now when Wes let fly with a line from Mulga Bill's Bicycle I was very impressed. First,that he actually new some poetry, and secondly with myself for being able to recite a few lines too. Now I haven't been able to get the poem out of my head all week so I thought it only reasonable "Mulga Bill" grace the pages of the blog this weekend.
Some information about the poem can be found here on Wikipedia. 

I have also ben wondering if there are any other poems related to cycling? If anyone knows of some then post the title in the comments section.

Mulga Bill's bicycle
‘Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, “Excuse me, can you ride?”

“See here, young man,” said Mulga Bill, “from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy’s Gap to Castlereagh, there’s none can ride like me,
I’m good all round at everything as everybody knows,
Although I’m not the one to talk – I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight.
There’s nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There’s nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I’ll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I’ll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight.”

‘Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,
That perched above Dead Man’s Creek, beside the mountain road.
He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But ‘ere he’d gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver streak,
It whistled down the awful slope towards the Dead Man’s Creek.

It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks,
The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man’s Creek.

‘Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore:
He said, “I’ve had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I’ve rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five-pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I’ve encountered yet.
I’ll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it’s shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It’s safe at rest in Dead Man’s Creek, we’ll leave it lying still;
A horse’s back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill.”

by "Banjo" Paterson

I love how you can change the look of your bike just by switching components around. Except the wheels,which I admit are a pretty big change,the rest is bottle cages,bar tape,seat and stem. Whilst it's not something I want to be doing too often, due to the cost involved, I'll keep all the white parts so I can switch back if I get sick of the stealth look.And the Lightweights are really only for illustration purposes, unless I turn up on the Gellie for a race which I may well do.