But luckily for us we had completely clear roads and skies for the whole ride.The only thing we seem to have to contend with was worms.Yes Worms,my bike looks like I've ridden through a worm farm.It appears the worms have gone on the rampage after the late storms yesterday and decided the road was the place to be.A few pics of the boys below and even a couple from Cafe Derailleur where we have our fantastic lunch on our return.
Todays bunch ride was well attended and the weather was pretty good.It was so foggy when I left my house I wasn't sure I'd be able to find Wangaratta,let alone be there by 7.30am for the Beechworth Ride.In an unusual event the fog completely lifted by the time I got to Boorhaman.Usually the Ovens River flats are thick with fog and I was expecting today to be no exception.
But luckily for us we had completely clear roads and skies for the whole ride.The only thing we seem to have to contend with was worms.Yes Worms,my bike looks like I've ridden through a worm farm.It appears the worms have gone on the rampage after the late storms yesterday and decided the road was the place to be.A few pics of the boys below and even a couple from Cafe Derailleur where we have our fantastic lunch on our return. Below are a couple of photos I'm often asked about.It's the perfect time of the year to put them on the blog as Magpie season
is in full swing.I took these photos a couple of years ago with a $300 Olympus point and shoot camera.The first photo is now hanging proudly in France, on the wall of my cycling friends holiday unit.It also featured in my first Cycling Photography Calendar and a black and white version even made Cyclingtips photo of the day for 2 days. When the organizers tweeted there would be a reconnaissance ride of the course on Saturday it seemed like a nice idea to tag along.A few text messages later and it sounded like a good group would be taking part.I've put my hand up to photograph the road race so would use the recon. to check out possible vantage points.For those needing a refresher on the Sam Miranda weekend of racing and the Gran Fondo I've written a blog about here . A group of 12 gathered at Sam Miranda's cellar door,not for partaking in the produce unfortunately,but to ride the 100km course.It was nice to see Glynn Matthey who had made the trip up from Melbourne to ride the course with us. I'd ridden about half of the course before,albeit some of it in the opposite direction that the race would go,so was looking forward to the expedition.The first few kilometers are along the Snow Road, before turning left into Kilfeera Road,which is a nice undulating quiet country road.The pace was pretty steady with 5 minute rotating turns on a magnificent winters afternoon with a slight head wind all the way until the Myrrhee (Benalla - Whitfield Rd) turn off. After turning toward Myrrhee on the Benalla Whitfield Rd you could feel a slight uphill gradient,a false flat,some may call it.Also the wind seemed to be coming right into our faces.There are some good undulations along here and the first KOM point just before Mhyree,although not that long will be tough enough to create some gaps in the field.Not long after the Myrrhee KOM it's time to turn right onto the Benalla Whitfield Rd for the infamous "Strade Nero" which is the dirt road climb included in the road race.Any advantage gained on the previous KOM could be added to here and this climb is long and hard enough to split things up even more.I've previously blogged about the Strade Nero here so wont go into detail about it again.Everybody on the ride was impressed by the dirt road and was looking forward to racing over it when the time comes. After the climb,descending down into Whitfield is spectacular,forget the brakes,don't need them here. I would like to be able to report about all the things I saw on the run from Whitfield to the race finnish, back at Sam Miranda's Winery.But in reality, I pretty much had to concentrate on the back wheel of Tully Lyster's bike as he averaged 43.5kmh for the slightly downhill run down the King Valley.We had been following the scooter briefly but just when I asked about the little roller on the rear guard of the scooter it fell off onto the road.As Glenn pulled over to repair it we just powered on.It was a little under an hour of pretty hard riding and come race day should be a very fast pace.Below is the Strava segment thats been created that includes the whole circuit.It was a nice ride with a great bunch of people who all enjoyed the day.The only incident worth reporting is race directer, Marty Tobin, who had organized the ride had 2 flat tyres before we even got to Myrrhee and had to be rescued by friends. 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 Pencil the weekend of the 25th and 26th of August into your diary.Thats when the Sam Miranda Road Race,Gran Fondo and Handicap will be held. What promises to be a fantastic weekend in beautiful North East Victoria with plenty to keep non cyclists entertained as well.The area is full of excellent wineries,wonderful restaurants and is also just a stones throw away from most of Victoria's Ski fields.Sam Miranda owns one of the areas best known wineries. The Sam Miranda cellar door is open 7 days from 10am - 5pm with lunch available 12pm - 3pm. A special thank you to Marty Tobin for providing most of the information and photographs. I was quite interested Sam Miranda's interest in cycling and Marty provided me with the following. Sam has been a cycling tragic for quite a while, long before he moved to North East Victoria from Griffith. He still has his classic custom made 1990’s Zanella Road bike that he got made when on a trip to Italy, sitting in the shed. Sam’s involvement with cycling in the north east came after a chance meeting with some local club members at the winery in about 2005.He then started donating a few bottles of wine to the Wang CC for the Club tour, then it grew. The next year Sam was the Sponsor of the Wangaratta Cycling Club tour.In 2007 Sam became the major sponsor of the Wangaratta CC. Also in 2007 Sam became the major sponsor of the High Country Road Race (Mansfiled to Oxley) a joint club run event with Mansfield CC, in 2008 the race became bigger with a criterium added to make it a weekend. 2010 saw Sam Miranda King Valley take over management of the event. There have been some big changes made to the format of the event from previous years with some very exciting additions.A Road Race and Gran Fondo will be held on Saturday with a Handicap Road Race held on Sunday. "The ROAD RACE has been changed from the point to point circuit to one big loop(See map below). We feel the circuit is just as challenging as the old course. We have kept the distance to 100km, like previous editions, and have incorporated some fantastic roads not previously used." "This year we have two KOM’s. The first as riders come into Myrrhee (km 50) and the second is the infamous ‘Strade Nero’ which will take riders from Myrrhee up towards Whitlands (km 60) is sure to test and some have said “this will make the race”. Just like the Italian classic ‘Strade Bianche’ this climb is on dirt! The surface is in really good condition so you don’t need your Paris – Roubaix wheels!" There will be an intermediate Sprint and a teams category has been introduced for A Grade Men. Minimum of 3, maximum of 5 riders per team. Riders who are not part of a team, who wish to ride A Grade will be placed into a composite team by Cycling Victoria. The Teams Classification winning team will be taken on the combined times of the first 3 riders in each team. Champion Systems are on board again to provide Race Winners and KOM Jerseys for all grades. Another first this year is the Sam Miranda ‘Grand Fondo’ over 100km to be ridden over the same circuit(see map below) before the Road Race. The Grand Fondo is a participation ride and will start at 11:00am one hour before the first riders set off in the 2012 Sam Miranda Road Race. In true ‘Grand Fondo’ style this ride has full event timing and is a mass participation ride preceding the Sam Miranda Road Race. The circuit is a mix of quiet country roads, unique climbs including the famed ‘Strade Nero’ to Whitlands, a great descent into Whitfield and rolling country side and vineyards. SATURDAY 25th AUGUST SAM MIRANDA ROAD RACE: DISTANCE: 100KM GRADES: A, B, C MEN A, B WOMEN (A GRADE MEN – TEAMS CATEGORY) START TIME: 11:00 AM ‘GRAND FONDO’ 12:00 PM C GRADE 12:10 PM WOMEN B 12:20 PM WOMEN A 12:45 PM B GRADE 1:00 PM A GRADE KOM: 2 PER GRADE 50KM MYRRHEE SCHOOL 60KM ‘STRADE NERO’ SPRINT: 15 MILE CREEK 35KM PRIZEMONEY: MINIMUM $5,000 CASH & PRIZES WINNERS / KOM JERSEYS ALL GRADES ENTRY FEE: $60.00 – INCLUDES DINNER SATURDAY NIGHT AFTER PRESENTATIONS. EXTRA TICKETS FOR THE DINNER ARE AVAILABLE FOR $25.00 On Sunday the 26th the inaugural SAM MIRANDA HANDICAP will be held. DISTANCE: 85KM GRADES: Open to all riders U19 and above START TIME: 10:00AM COURSE: Oxley, Moyhu, Greta, 15 Mile Creek, Myrrhee, Moyhu, Oxley(See map below) PRIZEMONEY: PRIZEMONEY for the weekend exceeds $6,000 in cash and prizes Prizes for 1st Unplaced U19, Woman, Fastest Time ENTRY FEE: $45.00 PRESENTATIONS: AT CONCLUSION OF RACING AT SAM MIRANDA CELLAR DOOR Should you require any further information a race website has been set up www.sammirandaroadrace.wordpress.com Follow on Twitter - Sam Miranda RoadRace Cycling Victoria’s race listing http://vic.cycling.org.au/?ID=46867 I went out to Strath Creek today to photograph the Preston Mountain Classic.A chilly winter's day which produced some nice light .Check out the Image Gallery. I had a trip to Sydney last week to visit family and catch up with legendary bike fitter Steve Hogg. I have recently changed from Speedplay pedals back to Shimano and wanted Steve to set up a couple of pairs of shoes and check my bike position. My appointment was for late afternoon which coincided with a couple of quiet beers with a couple of Steve's mates when we had finished.My bike fit was pretty easy as once the shoes were set up nothing else was changed.We also organized a ride for the Sunday which I was looking forward to.Sunday turned out to be pretty wet and we rode in some pretty ordinary conditions around Botany Bay.Still nice to get out on the bike and the feast at a local Bakery on our return was pretty special. Yesterday I decided it was time to get out for a decent ride, I also wanted to have a play with a new toy I'd purchased in Sydney during a rush of blood and retail therapy. The new toy is a Garmin 800 bike computer which I bought mainly so I could read it's larger display as I struggle with the Garmin 500 which is much smaller.During yesterday's circuit I planned to call into local chocolate producers, Renaissance Chocolates,where I also have some of my photographs for sale. On arriving and looking forward to a coffee and beautiful chocolates,only about 4kms from my place,Neil said"we've got a present for you".This was certainly unexpected and I wondered what was going on.After sitting down to my feast Robyn came out of the chocolate making area bearing the gift.Both Robyn and Neil have just returned from a trip to France and Italy and happened to be in Milano on the last day of the Giro d'Italia They were initially unaware what was going on as they are not cycling fans and it was pure coincidence they were there.They told me initially they were a little annoyed, as the tourist bus that you can get on and off at the various attractions, was cancelled for the day.After trying to avoid the cycling crowd for most of the day they weakened and went to have a look. It turned out to be the final TT of the Giro with the top 5 riders still left to start.So they saw history being made with the first Canadian to win a Grand Tour,Ryder Hesjedal.After 3 weeks of racing and over 3,500km he took the overall victory by 16seconds.After 3 weeks of racing Now,back to my present.You can see the pic above and there is a signature on the hand.I asked Robyn who's signature it was and her reply was something like."Some Canadian bloke,the winner"Not only had they accidentally stumbled across this very exciting event,Robyn got the signature of the winner because she new I would like it.
Like it?I love it and it's gone straight to the pool room and if it was in a wrapper I would not have taken it out. The past weekend saw the hotly contested Wang. CC 2 day tour featuring 4 stages of racing.The A Grade field was seriously strong with many competitors with National Road Series credentials.As I race C Grade my blog will mainly cover our race. I also really appreciate Steve and Helen Bean from the infamous "Captain's Crew for making the effort in coming up from Melbourne,as did many others,to attend the weekends racing.Steve won just about everything in D Grade so looked pretty pleased with himself on Sunday arvo. On Saturday Stage 1.Road race over 52km depending on your Grade. Stage 2.14km Individual Time Trial On Sunday Stage 3. 25km road race with a hill top finnish. Stage 4. Kermesse over a 6km course.2-6 laps depending on Grade. A chilly morning greeted us in Wangaratta as we rolled up to register around 9am.I was in C Grade and checking through the field I recognised many of the names and new it would be a competitive weekend ahead. C GRADE FIELD Zane Douglas, Wayne Reid,Dr.Gav(Gavin Frawley),Geoff Morley,Geoff Damm,Aaron Smith,Tony Reeckman,Mick Carmellotti Andrew Doyle,Michael Stringer U17,Thomas Slingsby U17,Stephen Damm U17,Gifford Crosswaithe, Stephen Field Stage1. I've had many a good tussle with Dr.Gav, and knew this weekend would be no exception,with the other strong riders in the field any victories would be hard earned.We rolled off somewhere around 10.30am for the first stage, which is the Under 17 Road Race course.This meant 2 climbs over Taminick Gap, which would help sort out who made the finish for the sprint.For the first few km's there were a few attacks but everything was chased down.As usual I messed up the intermediate sprint and with generous bonus points on offer, these are important.Managing to stick with the first 6 over Taminick the first time, the race was on.We rolled turns most of the second lap to ensure we stayed away,the 6 of us got over the gap again for the second time together.Knowing sprinting is not my strongest point I was wondering if I could get away solo.First attack turning into Warby Range road, unsuccessful,hit them again on the run down Shanley St,gap opened maybe 30metres but I was again closed down.Ended up finishing 6th for the stage as the last attack had hurt. Stage2. Would be a 14km Individual Time Trial with no time bonuses,a race against the clock.Pure and simple,no hiding.I love them in a weird love /hate kind of way.They hurt big time and you have to look deep inside yourself and be prepared to suffer the whole way.In some way I reckon it's a spiritual experience and I always get very anxious before the start of a TT. Rolling off at 1min. intervals we were underway around 2.30.Remembering the golden rule of the ITT,dont start to hard,dont start to hard,dont start to hard I tried to keep the excitement under control until the Warby Range Road turn.Managed this partially well and was pretty well at full effort by the first turn.Passed my minute man before the first turnaround and pushed hard into the head wind.Rounding the first turn around I was in too big a gear and laboured a little to build up speed(mental not,dont do this at next one) coming back along Warby Range road the pace was much quicker with a tail wind helping matters.Passed another rider,good.Head down passing Shanley St and next second I'm off the road in the gravel,shit,that's not in the race plan.Hold on and slowly look to get back onto the black top.Relief, I'm still upright,put that out of the mind and keep pushing.Around the next TA point in a better gear and back up to speed.Rounding Shanley St corner managed to pass another rider from my grade and all out for the run to the finish.Trying to hold top gear the legs were burning.Finish,relief. Official time 22min 42secs and first on the stage by 54 seconds from DR.Gav and Gifford Crosswaithe a further second back in 3rd. I had the big guns from "Team Kosdown" staying with me over the weekend,so we had a great evening on Saturday eating home cooked lasagne and toasting a few marshmellows on the open fire.The big Lama can toast a wicked marshmellow( and is also especially handy on a TT bike blitzing a star studded A Grade field in their TT). Sunday's weather forecast was not promising with showers predicted for Sunday afternoon,after checking the BOM radar upon waking,a band of showers was just to the east. Stage 3. A 25km hill climb.After the ITT I'd managed to be leading the GC for C Grade by 20 secs on who else, but my favourite nemesis,Dr. Gav.Time to play the game.I glued myself to his wheel and didn't go to the front once.This caused the reaction from some in our group.I heard"you should be up front protecting your lead","the way you can TT why are you not driving the pace?" Well the answer to that was,"there is a hill to climb at the end and I'm planning to go up it as fast as possible". Intermediate sprint came and the points were won by others is the bunch with myself and Gav getting none.Suits me fine. All together at the base of the climb and this is it.We had 2 under 17 riders in our bunch and boy could they climb.They took off like scolded cats leaving us mature aged gentlemen gasping.Me and the Dr. going head to head for the minor placings. Now at this point I must digress.Back prior to the start I noticed Jake Morgan and Ash Baines looking on.So I wandered over to say g'day to these likeable fellows.Their instructions"after the last left hander on the climb,hit it in the big ring,nobody will be able to go with you"I'd been chewing this tactic over all race and had decided to give it a go. With the 2 under 17's up the road it was also important not to lose too much time as one of them was not to far back from Dr Gav on GC.So with this is mind as we rounded the left hander I applied the required pressure with the left index finger to shift the chain into the 54.This is gonna hurt.Out of the saddle and go for the finish about 350metres away.Dr Gav is holding,we are side by side,another 100m passes in slow motion,I have half a wheel,another 50m the doc is gone and I'm looking at third.It's hurting now and I'm not sure if I can make it in this big gear.No negative thoughts, c'mon of course you can it's not much longer, 200m,100m finally the top, 3rd,happy,stuffed. Stage 4. The Kermesse,4 laps,24km.I have a 20 second lead in GC to Thomas Slingsby,one of the U17's,and Dr. Gav another 11 seconds back.We roll off a little early it seems and Dr. Gav is not on the start line.Bugger,he has missed the start. My plan is to stick on young Slingsby's wheel and not let him get any time.With sprint bonus points on offer at the intermediate sprint and the finish he could still win the race for GC.His young friend Michael Stringer road a gutsy race pulling some big turns on the front helping close down any breaks.I had others to watch my back too shall we say, and had also been offered good advice from my more experienced riding friends.Also Dr Gav had turned up and was allowed to join the race after one lap. Young Slingsby won the intermediate sprint and I could do nothing about it,wow,that boy can ride.He picked up 10 seconds so had narrowed the gap by half.After the intermediate sprint Mick Carmelotti went up the road which was fine by me,he was no threat to GC and I would be more than happy for him to win the stage and get the 20 second bonus for the win.It was up to the younguns to chase and the efforts of Michael Stringer were nothing short of outstanding.However when he took off again and his young team mate failed to go with him this also was good for me.All I had to do was sit on and not let the others get to far up the road.When Geoff Damm took off from the bunch this was also great for me,I expected my young counterpart to go with him, but it never eventuated.Along the back straight of the final lap Dr. Gav's bike started to make some unusual noises and it appeared he was in trouble.By this time I had ridden to the front as I wanted to asses the lead of the 3 riders up the road.Making a quick calculation, they had about 13 seconds, all I had to do was make the finish line with the others and the GC was safe.Rounding the final bend the group go a little ugly and I bumped another rider pretty heavily but we managed to stay upright,not to stressful but you never know what can happen until you cross the finish line. Full Results.The weekend was a great success for me personally and the Wangaratta Cycling Club ran another wonderful event. I heard nothing but praise from fellow riders who attended the weekend with many talking about next year's race already.
You can also check out Wangaratta Cycling Club's facebook page for more. Shane Miller also has a write up of his experience in our neck of the woods here Shane is Australian Masters 1 ITT Champion and races at plenty of events. "From the secretary Paul Lane who should also be thanked". THANK YOU : John Myles, Rob Greenway (Mansfield) Dave Wohlers, Ros and Geoff Clarke, Suellen and Frank Loki, Maureen and Ian Bott, Meredith and Rosie Lane, Mal Kay, Bill McKay, Jim Samon, Fred Pane(Brunswick), Cathy Boal, Sarah & Dean McDonald, Graeme Rose, Jeff Little and anyone else that I didn't see or escaped my failing memory. Great team effort. Our Race Director was Frank Loki and our Commissionaire was Ian Bott. Top job by Both. A hardy group turned up for Wangaratta Cycling Club's long ITT today.Intermittent light showers and a reasonably strong westerly wind greeted the participants.40 km is long for a club ITT with most of our club's other Time Trial's are around 16-20km in length.I was slotted into the A Grade group and finished at the bottom of the leaderboard (sounds better than last).
It was a great course with a few changes in direction and some gentle up and down gradients thrown in.I'm pretty content with my effort and realise there is plenty of room for improvement. As I was feeling a little second hand today I decided to trade in my bike for the camera.The weather was pretty cool with a stiff South Westerly wind making for tough racing conditions for the small field.Below are my favourite photos from today.
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Tony Reeckman
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