Heidelberg and surrounds group training rides

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m3hitam
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby m3hitam » Fri Mar 12, 2010 8:31 am

Anth,

How long does this ride takes? Is it a round trip back to the shop?

Cheers,

Vic

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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:20 am

It is a round trip back to the shops. Heidelberg to Mordy is about 90km taking the route we use. You should be back around 10am. I won't do this ride tomorrow as even turning around at Black Rock is close to 70km and I need to be home 8:30am latest.

I will still meet you guys at the shop at 6:30am and a couple of us plan to do a shortened St Andrew's loop instead. You're welcome to join in!
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:34 pm

Unfortuntely I missed Saturday's ride due to a couple of health dramas and family commitments :cry: Hopefully I'm back on the bike this saturday to resume normal riding though :D

The Peak Peleton headed south to Mordy along Beach road and Troy got the oportunity to christen his new baby.....the new Felt TT bike he has been slobbering all over for the last few weeks as it patiently sat in the shop being built up to the impecable standards befitting the athlete Troy is :lol: :lol: :lol:

Reports from the group was that the pace was quick but comfortable. It didn't save Nicko from being dropped on the return leg though. His time off the bike since he stacked it at crits a few weeks ago has left him a little under done. Steve returned from his 3 Peaks adventure and rode well, Xavier and Paul set a strong pace and Troy was in seventh heaven. I spoke to him today about the ride and he's still smiling! Nice to hear John was riding back with us again too.

Fingers crossed for this saturday fella's...hopefully I'll be there!
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:15 pm

I'm b - a - c- k!!!!

Today was my first ride with the group since having a forced lay-off...and gees is it dark at 6:30am now!

With lights on and flashing a smaller than usual group headed out our St Andrews loop with yours truly leading the train up Rosanna Rd and Greensborough Hwy. I was trying to moderate my pace so as not to blow up or trigger my ITB, however poor Vic who was riding up front with me had to drop to the back around Grimshaw St. John nestled in next to me but commented he was also feeling the ride early....looks like the rest did my legs some good. :)

Sure enough we got the usual bogan ute driver just out of Dimond Creek but otherwise it was an uneventful leg to Hurstbridge. From there to St Andrews things hotted up with Matty and Xavier setting a cracking pace of around 40kph. I thought Matty was meant to be tapering for the big Port Macquarie iron man next weekend??? :shock: It wasn't long before Vic dropped off followed by a less-than-100% John. I was keeping up with George's wheel however my ITB wasn't :cry: and I had to ease off just before St Andrews.

Half the group went up the KL climb whilst the rest of us heading back to Heidelberg at a moderate pace. John was stilll feeling unwell and I was one-legged again on the climbs around Kangaroo Ground. Vic was charging off into the distance though...good riding mate! Once we hit Eltham College and the climbing was behind us I took charge of our peleton and ripped down Main Rd...to hell with you ITB :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

We (politely and warning of the impending pass) roared past a small bunch from Richmond Cycles, only to be reunited with them some time later at the top of Bonds Rd as they'd taken a different route. Perhaps they were miffed at our earlier passing move because they returned the favour without muttering a word :?

All the best Vic for the Otway classic next Sunday!
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:14 pm

Our last ride in darkeness for a while thankfully, the poor lighting conditions has taken its toll on numbers and it was the core group of committed riders who ventured out to St Andrews this week.

For me it was the first real opportunity to test out the recent changes to my bike setup in pursuit of ITB zen and happiness. I'm happy to report that I was able to complete the ride pain-free :D :D :D :D :D . We'll see what the next few weeks bring but it was a positive start!

John had an early time commitment so drove our peloton hard at the front on the outbound leg to St Andrews. We popped Nicko off the back a few times as his legs were begrudging partners on the ride courtesy of a ride out to Whittlesea on Friday afternoon. He was claiming a strong headwind had left him feeling worse for wear.....me thinks it was the spin class plus the mountain bike riding the day before that were the real culprits.

Rod joined us for the first time in a few weeks and also rode well....dicing with Xavier on both sprint legs. It was Xavier first and Rod second both times. Rod commences his Northern Combine racing next week...good luck!

Troy also joined us this week to take a breeak from new Dad duties. His legs are showing the signs of neglect that come with compromised time commitments however. Need to get those pins into shape....I know a great waxing beautician for starters :P

Lastly an update on Skippy...opps I mean Sean. His doing much better and is hoping to be swimming in under a month. The elbow surgery went well and I think the pins in his hands come out this week. Perhaps we can talk him into the Whittlesea Challenge ride end of May???
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:33 pm

A damp and overcast morning failed to dampen the spirits our our peloton this morning. BTW...I finally got the spelling of peloton right. All this time I had spelt it "peleton" :oops:

Smak rejoined us this week.....finally! Talk about slack! We've had no one to hang sh!te on with him away since his epic 3 Peaks ride and Nicko was also absent again this week. Do we finally call him Mia??? (Missing in action and it's a girl's name too, how apt :D )

Vic also rejoined us this week following his Otway ride. He showed some impressive form in the leg from Smith's Gully to Kangaroo Ground, but then suffered for his exploits for the remainder of the ride. I gave him some encouragement by letting him know how many more hills there were from Kangaroo Ground to Heidelberg. :lol:

Apologies to new-comer Graham (or Graeme) who admitted his butt hadn't been near his bike saddle for about 7 months. We lost him up the Rosanna Rd / Greenborough Hwy leg at the start of the ride. :oops: We waited a while but didn't see him so pushed on. His car was still parked on Burgundy Street when we rolled back to Heidelberg, so hopefully he gritted his teeth and ploughed through the ride to regain form.

Paul (aka Karl Hungus) took the chocolates this week in the sprint to St Andrews. However he cunningly sat at the back for the rolling hills prior to the footy oval, where the sprint commences whilst Xavier was pulling us all along.....very cheeky Paul and you certainly won't get away with that one again!

Update on my ITB dramas, this was the second week I was able to complete the ride pain free :D :D :D

Best of luck to Rod who commenced his road riding season with the Northern Combine...go Rowdy!!!

'Til next week!
Last edited by anth73 on Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Missy24
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby Missy24 » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:06 pm

hey anthony

I remembered :D

DBMA... 26 April... nice slow deadly journey you in?

There's a thread.. its 10 pages long and I keep changng the title

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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:06 am

I'll be too busy watching Collingwood flog the pants off Essendon :P
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby Missy24 » Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:01 pm

anth73 wrote:I'll be too busy watching Collingwood flog the pants off Essendon :P
sssssssssssssssssoft :twisted:

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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:26 pm

:P :P :P :P

Not as soft as Collingwood on Friday night :evil:

What's with the new avatar BTW...looks like you got locked up! And how will anyone recognise you know without the hard hat on?

Is it just me or do others find it hard to recognise people you've ridden with ocassionally when they're not wearing their lycra and helmet?
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atham
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby atham » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:35 pm

anth73 wrote:<.....snip>
Is it just me or do others find it hard to recognise people you've ridden with ocassionally when they're not wearing their lycra and helmet?
+1
Yes, changes the look of a person completely. :D
Shogun Samurai 1988
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MASI CX 2013


~ Andrew

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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Thu Apr 15, 2010 2:52 pm

Anyone do the Tour de Eltham ride this Wednesday? I had an early start at work so had to give it a miss :( :( :(
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:38 pm

Heard via Paul that a group of 9 did the ride this week despite the cold morning.

Tomorrow is expected to reach 25, with a "balmy" 15 overnight. No excuses Nicko to not show up....get up you lazy (AT)&^%.
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:56 pm

anth73 wrote:Tomorrow is expected to reach 25, with a "balmy" 15 overnight.
Yeah....righto! It was an anything but balmy this morning with the temperature at about 9 degrees when we set off. Kierien joined us this week again, nice to see you again! The ride out to St Andrews was one of the cooler ones this autumn. I did hear it was 17 in the Melbourne CBD on the 6am news...I wish! Thankfully I did take my arm warmers and wind vest.

Nicko threw out a challenge on the way up the long Greensborough Hwy climb after the ring road but the rest of us decided there were way too many hills ahead of us to be bothered chasing so early. :wink: My new bike fit felt better with the stem one spacer lower and I gave it some juice up the climb before Diamond Creek.....no problemo. :D We got split up not long out of Hurstbridge as Vic dropped his chain. With this remedied he and I set about catching the rest of the bunch, which we did at Cottles Bridge as Dan needed "a nature break".

Our peloton reformed we cranked up the pace towards St Andrews, with Xavier and Dan doing most of the work up front. I gave the guys a break and a good lead out as we approach St Andrews as Nicko had once again thrown out a challenge and stormed to the front but then decided to stop pedaling. This was met with a chorus of "keep pedaling". I pulled him back as he was well and truly blowin' at this point and then got swamped by Dan, Xavier, Kieren and John. Surprisingly I managed to hold their wheels whilst noting my heart rate zone 5 warning but thought "what the hell" and gave it my all :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

I was surprised to just catch Dan before the line and claim my first sprint victory :D :D :D

Needless to say I was completely done and the climb from St Andrews to Smiths Gully was done at a recovery pace with Nicko, whilst Dan, Kieren and Vic blasted off into the distance. At this time the sun was baking the valley and we promptly disposed of our arm warmers and wind vest...really wierd!

Nicko was paying for his earlier efforts and I gave him a ride all the way from St Andrews to Research, at which point we regrouped with Vic as Kieren and Dan had gone on ahead. Nicko being Nicko and now somewhat rested wanted to challenge me to another sprint along Main Rd Eltham....next time buddy after you've done some of the work BTW!!!

This was the last we saw of Nicko, he wanted to save his legs for tomorrow. Vic and I powered into Heidelberg by 8:45, the quickest we've done this ride I reckon. Nicko followed about 5 minutes later.

Unfortunately my gears were once again playing up and it looks like the RD hanger has gone soft and may necessitate a warranty claim on the frame. The RD hanger isn't replacable on the Scott CR1 so fingers crossed the nice and lovely Scott guys play ball :| :| :|

On a good note my ITB behaved itself so things look better in that regard. :)
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:10 pm

My first Tour de Eltham ride since February 10...yeah! :D

With my Scott CR1 subject to a warranty claim I took the "alloy anvil" out for his morning's ride...aka my Fuji cyclocross bike. I must admit I was a little apprehensive as this was the first time I'd be climbing Mt Pleasant Rd since my enforced lay-off and I wasn't exactly on a weight-weenie bike either.

Light's ablaze our peloton of 10'ish or so riders set off and David set the early pace. It was an ominious sign as clearly he was in some really good riding form, despite dropping his chain like George Michael drops his pants! :lol:

Heading up towards the Bonds Rd climb and it was Nicko whinging about the pace. It was on pretty early and stayed that way. It was also the first real test for me and I powered up Bonds Rd about mid pack and in one gear lower than usual...not too bad at all. Nicko brought up the rear at the first regroup point and this was the trend for the ride.

Phil clearly had way too much energy as he dispatched a series of wheelies up near the back of Monsolvat. Which then led us to Mt Pleasant Rd.....<gulp>. Well my concerns were unfounded as I kept a solid pace mid-pack and used the flatter sections to recover between the pinches. This reminded of when I first started riding at about 6kg heaveir than I am now. I believe it was David who took the chcocolates....great riding! I stopped the clock at the top with my average a respectable 24.2kph which wasn't much slower than usual pace. :) Once again it was Nicko who brought up the rear a long way back, so much so I asked if he had the Herald with him. :lol: Phil took a photo of a very stuffed Nicko which I'll try to post here if I can.

The shoot down Main Rd back to Eltham was led by...you guessed it....David, with me chasing about 50m back. Some favourable traffic saw this gap expand to a couple of hundred metres and at the regroup point David looked fresh as a daisy! :shock: Did I mention that Nicko brought up the rear....again!?!?

From here it was a rapid fire journey back to Heidelberg that saw some controversy. David, Phil and Peter led the bunch and then Nicko shot out from nowhere to be right up their tails. The truth is he short-cutted a roundabout to put 30m on me and the rest of the guys mid pack. Up past Rosanna golf course the pace quickened and guess who finally found his legs? Nicko took out the sprint ahead of Peter and David in what was a victory faux pas but he didn't care adn sure let everyone know back at the cafe!!!
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:39 pm

Melbourne's amazing run of balmy Autumn weather finally came to an end with a change late yesterday and overnight rain. This wasn't enough to perturb the unflappable and hardened Peak Bike Hub riders this morning, however Paul and Xavier did present with their weekday warrior commuter bikes. I'd like to think they were expressing some sympathy for my plight in having to pedal the "alloy anvil" up hill and down dale for a few weeks whilst my CR1 hangs in the bike shop, awaiting word from the kind, understanding, customer-focussed and compassionate folk at Scott to approve my warranty claim. :mrgreen:

Did I mention how my brother and niece bought a CR1 off the back of my recommendation? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Our departure was somewhat delayed as Nicko presented with a deflating front tyre. If this was a clincher tyre it would have been a quick tube change but no...in the pursuit of lightness Nicko runs tubular tyres, so it was a whole lot of fluffing around with one of those pressurised sealant cans to stem the leak. Well the front of the shop looked more like a Year 12 break-up, there was foam everywhere except in the now completely flat tubular tyre! :lol:

Xavier was despatched home to get the front wheel off his Oppy that he'd meticulously cleaned during the week, whilst Nicko went across the road to Rocket cafe to drop off his foam covered wheel....God knows what they thought when they saw it. Meanwhile Dan was doing hill repeats up Burgundy St to keep his legs warm, Troy was adjusting his saddle, John was recovering from beng sprayed with foam, Vic and Paul were looking on in histerics and I was trying to keep up appearances with new rider Manuel who joined us for the first time....we're normally a really organised and professional bunch....honest :oops: .

Finally....we got going and I made sure Manuel was keeping on the pace. He was doing OK given the early climbs but I decided to stay back and chaperon him whilst the other guys went ahead. My legs had had their biggest week since my ITB dramas and I'm sure they appreciated a more moderate pace. The northerly headwind was tough at times but we forged ahead.

Through Diamond Creek shops I saw Nicko parked up on the footpath. Turns out his day that started bad got worse! He broke a rear spoke in the lighter-than-light tubular rear wheel :shock: . Did I mentioned he told me he'd put on a couple of kilos over Easter? :lol: His day was to get worser still, as he had to ring his missus to get a lift back home....ouch! :P

We regrouped at the servo outside Diamond Creek and rode on to Hurstbridge, at which point I decided to take the shortcut to Panton Hill with Manuel whilst the rest of the group went on to St Andrews. I'd never ridden this road before, it's really quite scenic with several short 7% climbs and pops you out 4km later on the main road back to Eltham. Manuel's gears were starting to miss here and there so we pushed on at a moderate pace. I heard a raptuous "YEE HAA" from him as we decended past Eltham College at 60kph however this was countered with an agonising "oh f@#k" as we rode up the Bolton Hill pinch....well I rode whilst Manuel had to get off halfway and walk courtesy of a stuck front derailleur!

We rolled into Heidelberg at about 9am and the rest of the bunch followed within 10 minutes. That little shortcut, though hilly, cut about 10km off the ride and is a good option for newer riders so we can finish at about the same time. Given the smattering of weekday warrior bikes there weren't any sprints contested, though Dan applied some hurt on the group from what I heard.

As a postscript to the ride, Xavier had an off on his way home from the cafe (all of 500m maybe) courtesy of breaking his chain and losing his balance. The bar tape (and perhaps some pride?) were the only victims!
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:22 pm

The mornings are getting colder and today's was the coldest. A chilly 6.4 degrees to be precise with a wind chill of 4.6 degrees :shock: made me thankful I'd dug out the arm and leg warmers! Booties would have also been a useful addition but mine don't fit over my MTB shoes. :(

This sort of weather tends to sort out the posers and pretenders from the truly committed and passionate cyclist who prefers cold lycra over a warm doona. So the very small group who fronted at the bright lights of Burgundy Street this morning was no surprise, but we most certainly made up for the lack of quantity with some serious quality. :D

Peter, Paul (aka Karl Hungus) and myself set off into the cold, dark morning and we kept a moderate pace. At the top of Bonds Road, Paul didn't even seemed puffed to be honest as I brought up the rear on the "alloy anvil" once again. Ditto for the top of Mt Pleasant Road. Peter was nice enough to set off along the descent down Research - Warrandyte Road as soon as I made the top of the climb. :shock: His logic was that it's all downhill so I didn't need a rest!

Peter and Paul contested the sprint past the horse paddock on the way back and with some svelte manouvering it was Paul who took the chocolates.

Hot coffees and muffins were devoured at the cafe and we all then headed off to work in the balmy 10.5 degree heat!

Mornings like these are a challenge. But you must remember it's what you put in during the off season that will largely determine how well you ride during the warmer months. So to the posers and pretenders....HTFU! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sun May 02, 2010 2:32 pm

He's back! That's right boys and girls, after three months off the bike due to an unwanted close encounter with Skippy it was the return we'd all held our breathe for....Sean was back on the bike!

I popped into the shop before closing on Friday to give him some last words of encouragement and advice regarding the weather. The forecast for Watsonia was a low of 10 degrees so I suggested Sean not bother with long gloves and leg warmers. Well.....

I awoke Saturday morning at 7am and was greeted with a blanket of fog and the whirring of the central heating unit busily warming the house to a toasty 20 degrees :D but then suddenly I remember the advice I'd given Sean and hoped he took me for a raving lunatic and dressed accordingly! The Viewbank weather station reported 6 degrees with a wind chill of only 4 degrees. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Thankfully I can report he did think I was a raving lunatic and ventured out in his finest winter riding gear for the ride out to St Andrews. However the clothes don't maketh the machine in this case and the bike was feeling the effects of 3 months off the road. Sean is far from a spinner and loves to grind his way up the climbs, preferably out of the saddle. However his bike had other ideas and any attempt to load up the chain was met with a steadfast refusal to cooperate. Hence the riding style adopted for the day was to spin like a front loading washing machine at 120+ rpm whilst the sit bones remained firmly in contact with the seat.

Dan reported it being bloody freezing with frost covering his lower legs and shoes. Sean took the Church Road shortcut to Panton Hill (supposedly more Kangaroos that way) whilst the rest of the Peak peloton soldiered onto St Andrews. I am happy to report that Sean did not get up close and personal again with any of the local fauna and was caught by the bunch in Lower Plenty.

Well done mate on getting back on the bike! Hopefully the rest of us who missed this week's ride can rejoin you on Wednesday's Tour de Eltham....and give you the merciless flogging we can whilst you're rebuilding your fitness :D .
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Wed May 05, 2010 1:02 pm

Based on today's performance I feel it appropriate to proclaim today as St Paul's Day, or perhaps the Festival of Karl Hungus (his alter ego on the BV forums). By all accounts he made a clean sweep, taking the Mt Pleasant Road KOM (which I was w-a-a-a-a-y too far back to witness), the drag down Main Road to Bolton Street as well as the final sprint past the horse paddocks with a victory salute to do Robbie McEwen proud :) .......or was it the hot air balloons he was pointing towards???

Sean reacquainted himself with the Bonds Road climb in a ripping effort but felt the effects of his exuberance for the remainder of the ride. Today marked nine weeks since his kangaroo accident and he rode really strongly given the lay-off. Again I didn't see much of his Mt Pleasant Road effort as I was once again on the "alloy anvil" but reportedly he finished strongly in the bunch and managed to avoid interaction with a suspicious looking kangaroo on the side of the road. Hats off to you mate, you'll be powering up the climbs again in no time....Nicko best make the most of it whilst you can! :P

Today was also the first real wintery ride this year. The BoM were reporting a hopeful nine degrees when we set off but the wind chill was around four, so it was arm wamers, leg warmes, long finger gloves, the occasional bootie and ear warmer too. A few of the guys must be immune to the cold as they presented with short knicks sans leg warmers. Troy can probably be excused as the mammoth-like covering on his pins would keep them impervious to cold winds! :lol:

Lastly a special mention to Nicko, who led the peleton from the top of Research - Warrandyte Road to Eltham. Good to see you (finally) working, though best you stop bleating about the cold and HTFU! Otherwise you'll keep putting on weight over the winter and how then will you win D-grade crits at Yarra Bend?

Back on the Scott CR1 for the weekend! :D :D :D
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat May 08, 2010 4:34 pm

Wohoo....back on the CR1 at last and it's sure nice to have almost 4kg taken off your riding weight without any hard work! :P

The overnight rain left the roads a little damp so of course that meant nancy girl Nicko wasn't riding....again! It also meant we got quite accustomed to this sound....pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff.....which of course can only mean one thing which I dare not mutter in fear of jinxing our peloton for the next several weeks. I copped a front pffffffffffffffffffffffffffff as soon as we turned off Lower Plenty Rd onto Greensborough Hwy, whilst Emanuel copped it also in the front tyre on the return leg near Eltham College.

Despite this we still made reasonable time and were back by 9:10am. Congrats to Emanuel in completing his maiden St Andrew's ride, replace those hoops you have with some slicker 23mm tyres and you'll be going even quicker.

Special mention to John and his attire this morning. On what was reminiscent of the infamous Seinfield "puffy sleeve" episode, John duly presented wearing his jersey over what looked like his pyjama top. I'm sure he was hoping they'd act like arm warmers but given the amount of air they were trapping I'm sure they would have served better as air brakes on the Bugatti Vayron! :P It didn't stop him from riding well though and we shared the sprint honours at St Andrew's given we'd pulled the bunch along from Hurstbridge, whilst sprint honours were awarded to John on the return leg as once again he'd done a fair bit of work and I decided to disqualify new rider Cody who crossed the line first on suspicion of estrogen doping given he was riding a light pink bike! :P

See ya to Dan the man who heads back to Hawaii for the next six months...we'll miss you! :cry: :cry: :cry:
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Wed May 12, 2010 4:38 pm

Nursing a sore throat was the perfect excuse for me to stay snugged up in bed this morning, plus it was a classic Melbourne winter's morning with showers, an icy wind and an expected low of 6 degrees! I awoke at 6:15am to the sound of raindrops pitter-pattering the colorbond roof and thought how the guys (if any) were going to stay upright on the Tour de Eltham this morning...the pro's seem to have enough trouble staying on two wheels of late. :shock:

Well they breed them tough (or really stupid...your choice) in this neck of the woods, so here's Sean's account of today's ride:

Wet and cold but the show must go on!!!

Nine brave souls turned up to Peak Bike Hub on wet roads and in cold conditions at 6am this morning, only to be greeted with a light shower. But that didn't deter the riders as we headed out Beverley Rd, with the first hill being greeted as always with over exuberance 1km into the ride. The pace slowed and the bunch reformed along Banyule Road, riders carefully negotiating the turns and roundabouts in the wet conditions.

Once we reached the silos the pace was back on for the climb up to the final roundabout on Banyule Rd. Peter, Paul, Adrian and Sean were together at the top, before they veered right onto the icy descent down past the horse paddocks to the bridge. Nicko managed to keep upright at the base of the descent which was positive for him on his ultra slick (and slippery...and narrow) tubulars, as we approached the Bonds Rd climb. Once again Paul led the charge, with Peter and Sean keeping him honest all the way up the 10% grade hill.

Wet roads did not slow the pace out the back of Montsalvat, coming up to Mt Pleasant Rd. Nicko's heroics of last week weren't to return on the famed climb up to the Mansion at 525, it turned out he was saving his legs for later. (Anth's comment - isn't he always "saving his legs" for something later????). It was Peter that took off approaching the summit, untouchable until his chain came off on the descent before the last rise in the road, leaving Paul to take the chocolates at the end of Mt Pleasant Rd.

Nicko drove the train all the way along Main Rd back to Viewbank, setting the bunch up for the last hill sprint of the morning. Paul stirred the pot lifting the pace half way up the climb from Rosanna golf course, and it was on until Phil got serious and blew the bunch apart with his sprint to the line, taking the win by about 10 meters. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Upon returning to Burgundy Street, coffees and muffins were well deserved to warm up the riders who could hang around.

Great work to all for braving the cold and wet conditions, see you Saturday...
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anth73
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat May 15, 2010 1:05 pm

Man flu...the scourge of every relationship! Why is it that a dose renders us immediately the butt of jokes about how sick we are...us poor things???

Meh!

Anyway....no ride this Saturday due to man flu and hence I've little to report of this morning's events other than for some controversey with the sprint finish at St Andrew's. I've always maintained that the finish is the large road sign giving directions to Eltham and Kinglake. Whereas Victor thought it was the 60kph sign about 50 metres later and promptly claimed the win after passing Nicko.

Let the debate rage on! :wink:

Emanuel completed his second St Andrew's loop but got a little lost on the way home as he missed the Bonds Rd turn at the top of Old Eltham Rd. Remember guys this is supposed to be a recreational ride....make sure we don't leave the newer guys to fend for themselves otherwise it's concrete filled water bottles as ballast for next time! :?

Hopefully I'll recover by early next week.
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Mon May 17, 2010 4:16 pm

Here's some commentary about Saturday's ride from John...thanks mate:

A pleasant and cool mooring greeted our intrepid crew on Saturday.

8 set out and after the first climb there were seven , Mani did not get back on even after out wait at the Diamond Creek petrol stop.
After some commentary about being over dressed , it was too hot for John so he stripped back down to short sleaves and Xavier to no gloves.
Others remained as they were rugged up, not like some wimping out and still under covers complaining of some " man flu ".
What the heck is man flu? Some sort of STD.

(Anth's comment: double concrete filled water bottles for you next time Johnno :evil: :evil: :evil: )

Trip out to St Andrews was under the whip of Nicko, barking out orders. It's good to be boss positioning yourself at the rear, letting others do the work.
You know the rest. ( dirty dog ) Just so the legs were good for the sprint.
Future sprint order is, Nico lead out 2 km's from the sprint end point.

Thanks for the push Xavier and the return of John 's spray jacket, it must have come out like a rip cord when he decided to accelerate, to no avail.

Congrates to the three who went over the hill and on to Kinglake, we must make this a set ride one week and stop those bludging out by not doing it.

That left 4 to head home , John, Kota, Adrian and Vic.

Past gent going over the hill just before Wellers, doing it hard , low rear gear but on the big chain ring. Me thinks could not change down otherwise fall off bike.

Going past Eltham college is not a corner that requires brakes, they just slow you up when someone from behind wants to go fast.

Turned out to be a pearler of a day, and it would have been a cool descent out of Kinglake.
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Wed May 19, 2010 10:59 am

Opps...hit submit instead of preview earlier on and then the network shat itself.... :?

I didn't ride this morning as I'm still shaking off the remnants of man flu. It has also mutated into lady flu and affected my better half....she's not impressed! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I caught up with the brave souls who did ride at Rocket Cafe afterwards. Sean you wimp...you piked out after sending your encouraging tweet last night, what's the story? Nonetheless it was bl00dy cold and the guys were pleased to be getting some warmth into them at the coffee shop.

All the talk was about the attempt made on Peter's life by Nicko on the way back at the Bonds Road / Cleveland Ave roundabout. In an attempt to bridge the gap to the leading riders, Nicko once again decided to shortcut the roundabout by going onto the wrong side of the road. Eagle-eyed readers will remember my post from a few weeks ago as to the habitual nature of this move. However in this case what Nicko didn't realise was that Peter was to his right and alongside him! :shock: :shock: :shock:

Displaying skills that would have made the riders on the Strade Bianche mudfest proud from Giro d'Italia's stage 7, Peter somehow managed to keep upright after locking up and sliding out the rear to avoid the imminent collision with Nicko! :shock: Understandably, words were exchanged and a sheepish Nicko rode in a little after the main group arrived at Rocket.

David took the KoM points up the Bonds Road and Mt Pleasant Road climbs, whilst Paul took the chocolates for the sprint if my half-frozen memory cells serve me well.

Well done to all for braving the cold and to Nicko, no more shortcuts OK :!: :?: :!: :?:
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Re: Heidelberg and surrounds group rides

Postby anth73 » Sat May 22, 2010 1:53 pm

It was a c-c-c-cold m-m-m-morning to be riding as the temperature hovered around 0 degrees. Hence why I was lazing away a couple of hours on the couch watching the Tour of California whilst the girls went off to an 8:30am basketball game! :P

I'm yet to hear if anyone braved the freezing temperatures this morning for the journey out to St Andrews. At around 10am Rodney and I set off for an easy cruze along Kew Boulevard. This also took in a small diversion up the Yarra street climb as I'd heard of its brutality but never tried it out. To be honest I was a little underwhelmed. :? Yes it's steep at 20% up near the top, but perhaps I'm somewhat conditioned to those gradients given I live at the top of a similar (but shorter) climb that I tackle most days on the Alloy Anvil 'cross bike when I commute home.

I imagine doing 30 laps of Yarra Street a-la WIll Walker would quickly recalibrate me however.....

On the return journey home Rodney was lucky not to get car-doored along the Ivanhoe shops...it was milliseconds between being OK and being flng over the handlebar, or worse. Back at Burgundy St I peeled off to do a few repeats of the Burgundy Street climb. By this stage the sun was winning the battle to warm up the air temperature and it was shaping up to be a cracker of a day.

I popped into the shop and found Sicko Nicko there. He's once again come down with a cold (for which he blamed me...that's a mate for you!).
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