Tony Reeckman Photography
  • Home
  • Tony's Blog
  • Galleries
    • Corowa Floods 2016
    • Pic of the week
    • Landscape Photography
    • Bird Photography
    • Dance Photography
    • Los Angeles
    • Sport Gallery
    • Cycling Photography >
      • Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
      • Tour Down Under 2015
      • Ian Bullus Memorial
      • Greame Daws Memorial Handicap.
      • Australian Masters Time Trial Championships 2013
      • Masters Cycling Classic-Austria
      • Wagga to Albury Hcp.
      • Australian Road Nationals >
        • Mens U23 ITT
        • Women ITT
        • Elite Men ITT
  • Contact
  • Links

2015 Mt Buffalo Challenge

20/10/2014

 
Welcome to the 4th Mt Buffalo Challenge.Matt Clark has won the Men's Competition 3 years in a row and will be hard to dislodge from the top spot again this year.On the Women's side of the competition we've had a different winner each year. Verita Stewart is the current Queen of the Mountain and will be looking to go faster again this year.
But it's also a Challenge to ride your own best time or race your friends.It's great to see riders of all abilities submitting a time.  
Picture
                                                                           Details of the Competition.
The Mt Buffalo Challenge is a competition to ride up the main Mt Buffalo climb as quickly as possible.There are 2 perpetual trophies offered for the fastest time for both men and women.
The starting point is at the bottom of the mountain near where the little office/gatehouse used to be. See the stone wall on the LHS (this has a digital screen on it now) The Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign is on the RHS.Just start your time when you pass between the digital screen and the Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign. It will be based on the time it takes to ride from the starting point (see pic below) to the top of the main climb finishing at The Gap.(finish timing your ride when adjacent to "The Gap" sign), see image below.   

           Important Statistics. Distance 18km, Average Gradient 5.4%, Elevation Gain 1004 metres. 
Picture
Starting point for timing your Mt Buffalo Ride.
Picture
This Information Wall is also just befor the Official Starting point.
Picture
"The Gap" is where you take your finish time.This sign is on the RHS at the top of the main climb just before you descend down towards the Chalet turnoff.
                                               PLEASE READ THIS PART IN RELATION TO STRAVA. 

I have recently, Feb 2015, created a Strava segment that will the the one we use now for timing when it's done through Strava.
It's called Mt Buffalo Challenge Official and I've added it to the page below.
You should be stopped or rolling very slowly at the start so as not to get an unfair advantage by hitting the start line at 40 kmh.
It's been decided to NOT make this a Strava only competition as many people want to join in who don't use Strava.
It's pretty easy to time it manually on most bike computers or an iPhone.

There are many ways to submit a time for the competition and one way is to contact me via email. I'm also on Twitter so feel free to tweet a time in too.The 2013 results sheet can be seen below the current 2014 results for comparison.I will also need the date the ride was completed,your name and racing category or age so that information can be added too. 

                                                                             IMPORTANT NOTE.
I also think it's fair to the leaders of the competition, that anybody submitting a winning time be able to verify their time.Either on Strava,or taking a photo of your bike computer, displaying the recorded time.Or have somebody else that witnessed the ride be able to confirm the time. 

2015 Results

Picture

2014 Results

Picture

BDA Racing's High Country Charity Ride 

27/2/2013

 
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.  
Picture
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.

Picture
This was another photo taken that was a reserve for the paper.Fallon's have donated the use of a bus as support vehicle.

Ride with the Bicycle Superstore team this weekend in Albury

20/2/2013

 
I received an email this afternoon from Tom Barry regarding the upcoming 2nd launch of the NRS Bicycle Superstore team this weekend in Albury.I've copied the majority of Tom's email into the post below which contains the relevant information.
Sounds like a great opportunity to catch up with these inspiring women some of whom I've had the pleasure to meet.

I don't think I'll be able to do the ride but may try and head up for the presentation of the team at 4pm.The Granya Grind (135km) would be awesome training for the BDA charity ride coming up pretty soon too.
Picture
L-R. Clare Dallat,Lisa Barry and Flick Wardlaw getting ready to start the Australian National Championship Women's Road Race in Buninyong last month.
Hi Tony, 

The NRS Bicycle Superstore team is having their (2nd) launch in Albury this weekend at the BSS store in Lavington and I was wondering whether you could let people know around Wang. 

It is comprised of multiple local ladies, including my wife Lisa Barry, Flick Wardlaw and Clare Dallat (Alexandra- but we will claim her!) and a lot of the horsepower on both the technical side (Osteohealth doing the bike fitting, strength and conditioning, injury management and Peter Collier from Riverina Podiatry Group assisting with lower limb biomechanics and Solestar orthotics) and the management/logistical side comes from the North East.  It is a great endorsement of the skills and talents of this region and one of their reasons for existence is to help promote women's cycling in the region. 

They will be riding the 'Granya Grind' on Saturday morning http://www.bellbridgerotary.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=39 (a 135km charity ride through the stunning Granya/Tallangata region) before the presentation at 4pm in Lavington. 

There will be some interviews with the girls, a bit of a chat from the people behind the team and just explaining their goals etc. The women are quite amazing with their time management and dedication and if they can expose a few more women to the sport it would be a great thing. 

Anyway- thought you may be interested and if you could pass on to anyone who you feel may be keen for a ride with the BSS NRS Women's team or to meet them and listen to their stories feel free to do so. 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bicycle-Superstore-Womens-Road-Team/422702464423539?ref=ts&fref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/BicycleSuperstoreFlemington?ref=ts&fref=ts

I guess I shall catch up with you at the next major bike race!! 

Regards, 
Tom Barry

 "It's about the Bike" or is it?

24/1/2013

 
I've been resisting writing anything about the Lance Armstrong saga,but on my recent training rides I can't get the story out of my head.So as an attempt to exorcise the demon from my head, I'm going to have my 2 bobs worth.

Many years ago I was heading to Tasmania for a couple of weeks, I'd be staying on my sister's fairly isolated farm in the Liffey Valley.I found myself in a book store in Melbourne looking for something to take with me to read.Picking up "It's Not About the Bike" I can remember thinking,"I've heard of this bloke,survived a pretty nasty dose of cancer and has won the Tour de France".At the time I had no interest in cycling as a sport, had only ever heard of the Tour de France,The Giro and our own Herald Sun Tour. 
 
The book was an excellent read and I couldn't put it down,staying up till all hours and had it finished in a couple of days,bugger,what am I going to read for the rest of my stay.

So when the TDF rolled around that year it was time to tune in and see how Lance was going,I don't exactly remember the year but he's already won the race a few times.Reading this book got me interested in watching the TDF,before I would have changed channels to avoid it. L.A. owned the TDF,or thats the way it seemed to me.He had this awesome team who completely dominated proceedings.I cheered for Lance to win and thats what he did.I watched the TDF every year after that and was really disappointed when he retired.

Fast forward on a few years, after becoming frustrated with golf one of my friends suggested cycling. My first outing was quite memorable,it was hot and I was in Melbourne and we'd gone to the Kew Boulevard early in the morning.My bike was an old Malvern Star purchased brand new in the mid 80's.I was hopeless,getting passed on the hills by everyone.I smashed myself but went nowhere fast and had to lie down for about 2 hours afterward as I wasn't feeling very well.

That first experience seemed to spur me on and I've been riding now for about 4 years.The last 2 pinning a race number on quite regularly with the Wangaratta Cycling Club and the Hume Veterans CC.The more I started to mix with other cyclists,some who've been involved in the sport for many many years,I started to hear the doping stories about LA.What I also noticed was some people particularly seemed to really dislike Armstrong, whilst others worshipped him.I was probably in the camp of worshipper until about 12 months ago.Slowly more and more doping allegations against LA were surfacing and I couldn't help but think,maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

Further on down the track and I'm not going into the whole series of events,most people know this stuff anyway.The USADA reasoned decision pretty much was the final nail in the coffin of the LA fairy tail.
Now we've had the Oprah interview and heard it from the man himself that he cheated in every one of his TDF victories,using performance enhancing drugs,transfusions etc.
The fact that he used banned drugs and transfusions is somehow not that big of a deal as it seems most TDF contenders were also  doing the same thing.Of course I believe it's wrong and I'm very disappointed that I believed in something that turned out to be bull shit.And I probably feel quite foolish as in the past I'd backed Lance 100%.

The worse part is the way he treated the people who were bold enough to speak out.Even suing newspapers and ruining peoples lives when all along they were telling the truth.It's hard to reconcile this in my mind as here is a man who survived cancer (my sister in Tasmania is a Doctor and when I read to her how bad he had cancer,her comments were "it's a miracle he survived") and set up the Livestrong foundation helping raise awareness of cancer on a global scale.So it seems he has empathy for his fellow human beings so how could he be such an arsehole?

I'm not sure if I'd be riding my bike it it wasn't for Lance,nobody can answer that,not even me.My curiosity in the sport was certainly piqued by the reading of "It's not about the Bike".Maybe if golf hadn't been so frustrating I'd still be out there smashing that little white ball up the fairway (or in my case usually in the rough).My friends may have had more to do with actually getting me involved in riding and racing.I've done several things I swore black and blue I'd never do.Wearing Lycra,buying the latest carbon bling and last but not least shaving my legs,(when I read that I still wonder how it's come to this) :)

By nature I'm a pretty forgiving person and I also am a believer in what is good about the human spirit.Everyone on earth deserves the opportunity to redeem themselves from past wrongdoings.For me I still think of Armstrong  as an amazing cyclist and I'm not sure about his 7 TDF victories,mainly because they didn't or couldn't award then to anybody else as most of the contenders appeared to have been doping also.

History will tell us how he'll be remembered.He made some big claims that the rest of his life will be spent trying to repair the damage he has done to the sport and the many people that got in his way.There is no doubt he is a powerful character and should he choose to embrace his own sentiments then hopefully we'll see some good come out of this tale of deception.

For me now when I roll out in the morning on a 3 hour solo ride in quiet Australian countryside I'm hoping there are better things occupying my thoughts than this sorry tale.I love to ride and would be lost without it now.I love the sport and want to believe in the current crop of amazing athletes.Past dopers should be encouraged to speak out not kicked out of the sport.Let them help by giving them the chance to own their past and not be fearful about losing what they love.

TT Monday

30/10/2012

 
If your looking for something to do on a Monday evening, Alpine Cycling Club  may have your answer. Starting a couple of weeks ago and running through until the Tour of Bright in the first week of December.They're running a TT using the exact same course that is used for the Time Trial in Stage 2 of the Tour of Bright.The first rider starts at 6pm so get there in plenty of time to warm up and let them work out the starting order.
Picture
Warming up before the start of a Time Trial is very important.Dont forget all your fast bits.
A few of us went up from the Wangaratta Cycling Club on Monday for a hit out and I must admit I'd forgotten how tough the course is.The first hill after about 1.5 km is just long enough to really hurt as your already going close to maximum pace.I'd forgotten my cycling glasses and kept getting little insects in my eyes which wasn't ideal but a good lesson learnt.The results each week are posted on Alpine's Website here

Picture
James Boal from Wangaratta in action on the course.This photo is from last years Monday night Time Trials.
Of course for those into Strava there is a segment for the Bright TT course, which is pretty close to the actual Race Day course.I've included the Strava Segment below.To get on the first page you have to be pretty quick,I'm currently in 42nd place from 183 riders.

2013 Mt Buffalo Challenge

24/10/2012

 

2013 Winners Announced.

Matt Clark has once again taken out this years Mt Buffalo Challenge in a record time of 48 mins 4 secs.He has had a wonderful year claiming some very big races and we're all watching Matt's Cycling Career with interest. I think the only way anyone else has a chance to win will be if Matt gets a Pro contract and doesn't have time to get near Mt Buffalo.

On the women's side of the leader board we have a new winner in Clare Dallat. Clare's time of 1 min 10 seconds is the fastest yet by any female in the competition.I'm also reliably informed that in another attempt, she would have gone under the hour mark, but had to get off her bike and walk around a fallen tree over the road.

I'm also excited to announce there is a Perpetual Trophy for the Women being constructed at the moment and I'll be able to present it to Clare soon.


We will start the 2014 edition of the competition after winter.Thanks to everyone who participated.Scroll down to see the winner's times and the full leader board. 
Picture
Mark Newton about 300 metres from "The Gap" ,the end of the climb
Picture
The Perpetual trophy for the fastest overall time would be a good edition to anyones Pool Room.
Picture
Don't forget to let your Spirit Dance whilst dancing on the Pedals.
                                                                   Details of the Competition.
The starting point is at the bottom of the mountain near where the little office/gatehouse used to be. See the stone wall on the LHS for another landmark with the Eurobin Creek Picnic area sign on the RHS.Just start your time when your passing through  this point and you'll be close enough. It will be based on the time it takes to ride from the starting point (see pic below) to the top of the main climb finishing at The Gap.(finish timing your ride when adjacent to "The Gap" sign), see image below.   

Important Statistics. Distance 18.5km, Average Gradient 5.4%, Elevation Gain 1004 metres. 
Picture
The Starting point at the bottom.
Picture
The Finish Point on the top of the main climb.
                                              PLEASE READ THIS PART IN RELATION TO STRAVA. 

It's probably better to be stopped or rolling very slowly at the start so as not to get an unfair advantage by hitting the start line at 40 kmh.The Mt Buffalo segment on Strava is around 10 seconds shorter than the manual timed segment I've created for this competition, so you can use Strava to get your time.I will then add 10 seconds to all Strava times.It's been decided to not make this a Strava only competition as many people want to join in who don't use it.It's pretty easy to time it manually on most bike computers or an iPhone.

There are many ways to submit a time for the competition and one way is to contact me via email. I'm also on Twitter so feel free to tweet a time in too.The 2012 results sheet can be seen below the current 2013 results for comparison.I will also need the date the ride was completed,your name and racing category or age so that information can be added too. 
Feel free to leave some comments below too spice up the competition. 

                                                                   IMPORTANT NOTE.
I also think it's fair to the leaders of the competition, that anybody submitting a winning time be able to verify their time either on strava,taking a photo of your bike computer displaying the recorded time or have somebody else that witnessed the ride. 
Picture
Don't forget to look at the fantastic views whilst riding up.
Picture
Shane Miller enjoying the view from the top of Mt Buffalo.
Picture
Mt Buffalo Challenge winner Matt Clark on his way to winning A Grade in the recent Baw Baw Classic Road Race.
Picture
Women's Mt Buffalo challenge winner Clare Dallat (on the front) in action during the Women's National Road Race Championships held in Buninyong this year.I'm currently in the process of making a Women's perpetual trophy.

2013 Mt Buffalo Challenge Results.

Picture

2012 Mt Buffalo Challenge Results

Picture

Sam Miranda Road Race-Strade Nero

7/7/2012

 
It seems most people I talk to,myself included, are interested in the condition of the "Strade Nero"(the dirt road climb) that will be used in the upcoming Sam Miranda Road Race.I wrote a blog about the race last week and decided that today I would go and investigate this infamous piece of road for myself.
After watching my recording of Stage 6 of the Tour de France the frost had started to melt, although I couldn't get any water out of the taps in my house due to the pipes being frozen,I headed off on my journey.The plan was,drive to Mohyu, jump on the bike and ride up Boggy Creek Road,which the Sam Miranda Handicap Race would come down the day after the road race.
That meant I could kill two birds with the one stone as I'm keen to race the handicap on the Sunday myself and this way I could see a section of the course I didn't know.It was a gentle uphill gradient most of the way to Myrrhee so coming back down will be pretty quick in a bunch.Nice quiet country road,I think I saw 2 vehicles in around 16km,perfect. 

I would then be able to turn into the Benalla-Whitfield Road at Myrrhee.Within approximately 1km I would be on the dirt section.The gradient at the beginning of the climb is very gentle (big ring country) with the steepest gradients being in the middle of the climb(between 5-10% on my Garmin) and then levelling off a little for the last km or so. The following photographs are taken in series moving up the climb from the beginning to where the dirt finishes at the Junction of the Mansfield-Whitfield Road.I've endeavoured to photograph the road surface in a few locations and in various conditions.I will say there was no trouble riding hard up the climb and most of the time you could choose a fairly smooth path amongst the few potholes and stones.There were some corrugations and rougher sections but it's mostly a hard packed pretty good surface.The conditions were sunny and the road surface dry,I imagine it could get slippery if it happens to rain.The reward after the climb is a fantastic flowing descent down into Whitflied on an excellent road.
And,yes,there is even a Strava segment for the "Dirt Berg" which I've included at the bottom of the post.

Don't forget you can keep up to date with the latest news about the race from the official Sam Miranda Road Race Blog
Picture
Nearly there
Picture
The transition from sealed road to dirt.
Picture
Bridge over BoggyCreek
Picture
The middle of the climb is through forest.
Picture
Close up of some of the rougher stuff.
Picture
Potholes can mostly be easily avoided.
Picture
You can mostly find a smooth path to follow.
Picture
Towards the top of the climb it opens out a little.
Picture
The end of the dirt with the Mansfiled-Whitfield Road Junction ahead
Picture
The reward is a fantastic descent down in Whitfield.

Strava Segment Created for Everton-Beechworth Rail Trail Section.

8/2/2012

 
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.

Training and other stuff

10/9/2011

 
I didn't race this weekend and from what I was told racing was called off due to a very small turnout of riders and very ordinary conditions. I must admit to feeling quite flat this week and I think last weekend's "Race of Truth" had the last laugh. I decided that I would have a slightly easier week of training to allow for good recovery. I'm not sure if I succeeded as this afternoon my legs are feeling  sore after a good 80 km hit out this morning with Wes, of WestEnd BikeHub fame, in the Beechworth hills and coming home into a pretty decent head wind. We did see the local A Graders blast through Beecworth and after a fruitless attempt to catch them along the Beechworth - Wodonga road we settled back to our own pace. I am reliably informed the A Grade bunch clocked up a lazy 140 km on their journey   
I also have to thank Wes for supplying me with what will be part of the Perpetual Trophy for the Mt Buffalo Challenge. Now while we are not getting any new  times coming in I hope this will change as the weather improves or Jake is in the box seat to get the trophy. I also have it on good authority that a group of Melbourne Cyclists known as The Captain's Crew are coming up in November to have a crack at the Challenge.
Picture
The first part of the Trophy
Last weeks Training.

Mon. 5-9  Gym and stretching 1h 30min
Tues.6-9 Day Off
Wed.7-9 Beechworth Ride 90km 3h 20min
Thurs.8-9 Kew Blvd.  25km        1h
Frid. Day Off
Sat. Gym and stretching  1h 30 min (increased all weights)
Sun. Chilt. Beech. Yack. Chilt. 82 km 3 h 08 min.      

Next weekend I am competing in the first Amy's Gran Fondo held on closed roads with 40 km on the Great Ocean Road.
I've put myself in the 30-35km group which should be perfect and there are a couple of really decent climbs involved.
This will be a very competitive event with the ride timed so it's pretty much going to be a race. I have a couple of members of the Captain's Crew to keep me company during the event, hopefully they give me a nice tow.
Have a look at the course profile @ Cycling Profiles, the ride also has UWCT qualifier status for 2012 World Masters Championships. 

    Tony Reeckman

     

    Archives

    October 2016
    January 2015
    October 2014
    May 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010

    Categories

    All
    2013 Mt Buffalo Challenge
    2014 Mt Buffalo Challenge
    2015 Mt Buffalo Challenge
    Adelaide
    Agriculture
    Alpine Cycling
    Baw Baw Classic
    Beechworth
    Benalla
    Bike Fitting
    Bike Maintenance
    Birds
    Bright
    Christmas
    Coffee
    Coffee Stops
    Coffee Stops
    Cooking
    Corowa
    Corowa Floods 2016
    Cycling
    Cycling Calendar
    Cycling Training
    Cycling Training
    Dance Photography
    Dji
    Domestic Racing
    Floods
    Floods 2016
    For Sale
    Gellie Custom
    Gellie Custom
    General
    Gran Fondo
    Greenedge
    House Renovations
    House Renovations2999b04abe
    Hume Veterans
    Ian Bullus
    Local Races
    Local Rides
    Local Rides
    Los Angeles
    Major Victorian Races
    Masters Racing
    Mt Buffalo
    Mt Buffalo Challenge
    Mt Buffalo Club
    Murray River
    National Championships
    North East Victoria
    NSW
    Photography
    Poetry
    Professional Races
    Professional Racing
    Race Calendar
    Recreational Rides
    Recreational Rides
    Rutherglen
    Rutherglen Cycling
    Rutherglen Cycling
    Rutherglen Wine Bottle
    Signs
    Speedplay Pedals
    Strava
    Surfing
    Sydney
    The Captains Crew
    Time Trial
    Tour Down Under
    Tour Of Bright
    Track Racing
    Travel Bike
    Veteran Racing
    Wahgunyah
    Wangaratta Cycling Club
    Wildlife
    YouTube

    Follow @TonyReeckman
    Tweet

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.