Lake Wendouree 2.5 hour Classic 22nd Feb

[Freddyflatfoot]

John,
I was a bit slower than William, and I think we averaged around 31.6 kph.
I didn't really notice the wind! I think we had a S to SE gusting up to about 25 kph, so it wasn;t too bad!
Going a bit harder than usual, I think 3 laps each would be about it.
Mind you, I was feeling a little ragged. I had been on night shift and twilights all week!
Fortunately, I'm on leave now, so may get some more rest, and training k's!

[william]

Actually we had a good ride. The lake circuit is fantastic with a distance of approximately 6.2 K's. The road surface is a little bumpy in places and one thing to watch for is the tram tracks on the opposite side. They go accross the road at about 30 degrees. Just have to be careful. The rest of the course is all slight curves and normal road intersections can be taken at almost full speed.
I think Rob is spoilt having this in his own back yard.
The wind was, or seemed, very light just like the traffic so it was an easy ride. I'm not sure what it will be like on the day though.
This was also my first visit to, er, Lake (?) Wendouree and facilities and layout is good. I thought it has a good atmosphere.
Parking on the day may be an issue too.
I'm sure it will be a good day.

Regards,

William.

[raptordesigns]

I'm still waiting on an email from the organisers regarding the procedures next Sunday.

I presume we will need to collect bibs or something; It looks to me like that can be done at the Fly Fishers Club Rooms on Saturday 21st from 2pm till 4pm and Sunday 22nd from 7am.

I will be in town on the Saturday and if I can collect all the team bits that afternoon, I will do so.

We're staying Saturday night at Ruths' son's house (he's at Ballarat Uni) on Drummond St about a km or so from the start.

If anyone else on the team is in town that night, it would be nice to organise a group evening restaurant meal, perhaps at one of Ballarats' many Chinese restaurants. With noodles.

More as soon as I have details.

John R.

PS: At least one more rider would be good! Note that maximum team size is 12. We're only halfway there.

[raptordesigns]

One more rider (Ken H) registered. That's seven.

More please! (Maximum is 12)

[Freddyflatfoot]

That's great! 2 laps each time, should be quite doable at agood clip. Should work out at about 8 laps ea (~48 k's).
I've just modified my handlebars. Dunno if it will make me quicker, but hopefully more comfortable!
Basically a wide V. 30 deg, and facing slightly forward a la Raptorbike.

[raptordesigns]

I’m still awaiting the official procedures from the organisers but in the meantime here’s a checklist for team “Bent, Not Broken” for Sunday. The long range forecast looks great, but it’s early days.

For those of us in town on Saturday night we’ll try to get together at a local restaurant for dinner. More on that later.

Preparation for the Wendouree 2.5 hour ride:

NOTE: This is a community fund raising ride and challenge, not a serious bike race. If it were, they probably wouldn’t let us compete! So don’t stress about not being Lance Armstrong, we’re in it for the fun and novelty of riding as a recumbent team, not to be winners at all costs.

The rider:
You don’t have to be super fit, just up to riding 12km at a time at a moderate (30km/hr+) pace . Hopefully all the registered riders will turn up, and if so if we stick to the schedule you’ll only need to ride 24 minutes at a stretch before having a 10 or 20 minute rest. We’re allowed up to 4 riders on course at a time – we’ll try to stick to the optimum rider turnover schedule, but I anticipate this will get shot to pieces as we find that the rider strengths vary especially in the latter hour or so and we split into pairs or individuals.

Your bike:
Check the bike – adjust brakes and gears, examine the chain carefully, lubricate it. Tighten all bolts, check idlers, steering post/linkages, check tyres for cuts. Bring your flag, but I don’t think we’ll need it on course. Got a fairing? Show it off!

Spares:
Spare tubes for both tyres if possible. Spare brake and gear cable if you have them. A pump and chainbreaker will be available as will patches.

Clothing/food/water:
Bring at least a couple of litres extra as well as what you have in your bidon or hydration pack. A couple of bananas and jelly snakes – or any other high-energy/quick response food you can stomach Comfortable shorts/jersey or lycra if you have the body for it. Helmet of course. Plenty of 30+ sunscreen and a hat for while we’re waiting around.

Any questions, email me at raptordesigns@optusnet.com.au or phone 0418335335

[Freddyflatfoot]

Thanks John! Good checklist.
Can I add one? Throw in a small towel for wiping off all that sweaty stuff in between laps!
A good pair of sunglasses might be a good addition, and a bandana if you have one!
I'll try and find a good pasta place for tea.
So far, I am thinking of Eureka Pasta in Sturt St, but I'll see what else is around.

What time do we want to meet at the start? 0800 Hrs?

Anyone else getting a jersey?
My LBS, who is a sponsor, has them, so I was thinking of getting one!

[raptordesigns]

Thanks John! Good checklist.
Can I add one? Throw in a small towel for wiping off all that sweaty stuff in between laps!
A good pair of sunglasses might be a good addition, and a bandana if you have one!
I'll try and find a good pasta place for tea.
So far, I am thinking of Eureka Pasta in Sturt St, but I'll see what else is around.

What time do we want to meet at the start? 0800 Hrs?

Anyone else getting a jersey?
My LBS, who is a sponsor, has them, so I was thinking of getting one!

Good additions.

I'll wait till I get more info from the organisers before setting a meeting time.

Food: How about Assuntas in Sturt St.
menu at:
http://www.ballarat.com/assuntas/Assunt ... 202008.pdf

[sharktamin]

Don't forget your cameras folks. Lurkers from out of town want to see you in your glory.

Go Team "Bent Not Broken"

[Freddyflatfoot]

Assunta's would be good. Had my 50th there last year, and meals and service was good! Not a lot of room, so will have to book.
Let me know numbers.
Who said camera? Yeah, ok, good choice. Just get pics from the back!
And while were at it, anyone got a video cam?
And a volunteer to do a write up for HUFF?

[raptordesigns]

Assunta's would be good. Had my 50th there last year, and meals and service was good! Not a lot of room, so will have to book.
Let me know numbers.

I'll email everyone to get numbers.
There'll be me and Ruth. That's 2!

[raptordesigns]

Folks, if you're going to be in Ballarat Saturday evening, we'd love to have you join us for dinner at Assuntas Restaurant in Sturt St, probably from about 7 or 7:30pm

Please RSVP by Thurs 9am so that we can book, let me know how many will be coming to raptordesigns@optusnet.com.au

Cheers
John R.

[raptordesigns]

Folks, if you're going to be in Ballarat Saturday evening, we'd love to have you join us for dinner at Assuntas Restaurant in Sturt St, probably from about 7 or 7:30pm

Please RSVP by Thurs 9am so that we can book, let me know how many will be coming to raptordesigns(AT)optusnet.com.au

Cheers
John R.

I've booked for between 6-8 people at Assuntas' 24 Sturt St, starting arriving from 7-7:30 under the name "Reynoldson".

[raptordesigns]

The organisers have been very scarce with information, apart from "collect your ID on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning".

I will be rocking up Saturday afternoon to collect my "ID". Team memebrs can call me on my mobile 0418335335 that evening or after about 7:30 Sunday morning and hopefully by them I'll have info on where you should meet up. If you haven't already done it, you should collect your "ID" by about 9am Sunday to be ready to start at 9:30am

John R.

[Freddyflatfoot]

As far as I can tell, the ride starts/finishes at the Ballarat Fly Fishers club rooms, which is directly opposite the Pleasant St Primary School.
This is also the Ballarat Yacht Club precinct. Its basically on the south shore of the lake.
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&sour ... 38624&z=15

Its where the 'A' is.

[raptordesigns]

Re: Assunta's tomorrow.

And for those that arrive early, join us at Irish Murphy's next door for a pint of energy-laden Guiness.

[raptordesigns]

A quick Photo of team "Bent, Not Broken" after the completion of the Lake Wendouree 2.5 hour Challenge.


From left to right:
Steve N (homemade, "Carmen Miranda")
William & son (Barchetta)
John R (homemade lowracer)
Freddy Flatfoot (Homemade SWB)
Ken H (homemade lowracer)
Adrienne (trike)
Greg (Challenge Fujin lowracer)

Stats:
Number of riders: 7
52 rider-laps (each lap 6.2km)
Average overall speed for all riders: 32.24 km/hr
Total km ridden: 322

No, we didn't win, but we did well - we were second in the "sporting groups" section, the winners being the Sebastopol cycling club with 12 young riders, meaning each of their riders only had to ride one lap in three with a 2 lap rest . We were riding 2-4 lap stints with mostly one lap rests.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and it was great to meet you all. A fantastic effort everyone!

John R.

[raptordesigns]

Some more stats:

my personal stats:
rode 9 laps out of the 13 (x4) = 56km
Personal average: 30km/hr (was getting weary at the end)

Most Outstanding Performances:

William.
Greg.

Everybody put in to the best of their abilities. There were no equipment failures. The weather was excellent with a light to moderate southeasterly breeze and a temperature of 19-23 degrees.

It would be great to get a strong team of 12 together next year. It was good fun!

[John Lewis]

Great effort guys. Well done.

Especially given the low number in the team calling for more intense work from all concerned.

Interesting to note four out of the seven bikes were home made.

Again. Well done.

John Lewis

[bradwoodbr]

Well done to all of you for completing the event with such great stats.
Thanks for sharing the photo as well

[william]

Hi All,
I've just uploaded the photos (better ones) to Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/william135 ... 315845502/
I haven't had much luck posting pics so this is the best for now.
If anyone wants high res copies just pm me. They vary up to 4 gig so make sure your inbox will take it or I can resize below a gig if necessary.

As for the day... Fantastic. We all had great fun and considering we hardly knew each other before hand we went well. A little confusion about the change overs but next time we will nail it for sure.
Freddyflatfoot pointed out that we raised a huge awareness about recumbent bikes and how efficient they are. Especially those towards the end of the ride complaining of sore body parts.
My apologies to Ken for not having any action shots of you. May have been to fast for the camera lady, Olivia.

From me I would like to say I'm very happy to have met you all and a pleasure to take part in this event with you.
Thank you for organising the group.

Best regards and looking forward to doing it again.

William



Best regards

[Freddyflatfoot]

Thanks for the pics William! they look great! Much appreciated, and thanks to Olivia for taking the pics.
Yes, it was great day, and I feel richer for meeiting and sharing the day with you all!

[Gregory_carroll]

That was great!! Thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was great to meet everyone and check out a load of recumbents. Its pretty rare for me to see that many together.

The best bit for me was seeing (and being in) a recumbent pace line!! Never thought I'd see it!!

They are great pics by the way, good to see you made the papers!!

[Freddyflatfoot]

BTW, Poiter has asked for someone to do a ride report for HUFF. Any takers? It would help if we know that someone is nominated or has volunteered. And William, can we ask your permission to use/send some of your photos for use in HUFF?

[william]

No problems with sharing the photos, anywhere.
I think Adrienne has used some for the VicHPV group to update their site and am quite happy to see them elsewhere for the recumbent/hpv groups.

William.