Whyalla Cycling Club - What's it like

[bosvit]

I am seriously thinking about joining Whyalla Cycling Club (or whatever it's called) and having a go at racing in the lowest of low grades for old blokes

Does anyone have any experience with this club?

I will be travelling up from Pt Lincoln (268km) so it is a reasonable commitment and I will probably only look at doing it once a month.

I will try road racing first and if I get along with it I may give track ago during the summer.

Any advice?

[jimmy87]

Hey mate im not a member of the club but this might help http://www.whyallacc.org.au/ so by the sounds of it theres not much of a riding scene in Port lincoln cheers jimmy

[XClemX]

Hi Bos,

while i am not a member of the club, i can certainly help you out there as i live in Whyalla. I know a few people in the club and will do some chasing for you if you would like.

Perhaps get some numbers for you and other info.

Clem

[bosvit]

Thanks Clem that would be great.

I have been speaking to the LBS owner as he races up there when he can. Which is only every 6-8 weeks because he basically has to shut the shop on a Saturday so he can race!

So the more people I talk to who have raced in Whyalla the more comfortable I am about having a go.

The web site contact numbers were last updated in Sept 2009 so I am not sure if they are current so if you get a chance to ask someone who to contact that would be great, other wise I will just ring the contact number on the web site and I am sure they can fill me in on who I need to contact. The first race I can make it to is not till 14th May anyway so no great rush.

It's raining here this morning but I better get out for a training ride anyway (the thought of racing is making me nervous!)

[XClemX]

The details on the site are still current. Either Ross or Darren would be good to get in touch with.

I only know Ross, very nice guy.

[bosvit]

Thanks Clem, will give them a call this week

[XClemX]

How'd you go mate?

Sounds like there is a couple of other Lincoln boys who come up and race...don't know names, but thought it might make it easier for you..

[bosvit]

Hey Clem

No reply to email and no return of phone call but that is all ok. These people are volunteers so I have no issue.

Yes I know of 3 guys who regularly race at Whyalla. At this stage I will be coming up with the LBS owner for the second race which is the first one either of us can get to. There are 2 or 3 other riders in the regular Pt Lincoln group ride who are interested in starting racing so it should all work out okay.

Once again thanks for your concern and I will write a race report after my first foray into organised cycling pain!

[XClemX]

Ahh no worries.

Sounds good. Drop me a line and i might see if i'm off and come watch..

[bosvit]

Ahh no worries.

Sounds good. Drop me a line and i might see if i'm off and come watch..

Now your just being cruel!!!!!

Or maybe you are a follower of comedy? LOL

[bosvit]

Well it has all gone to plan.

I am officially a member of the Whyalla Cycling Club.

My first race is on Saturday and starting to get a bit nervous. Sadly the LBS owner can't make it but I have talked another local into giving it a go (fair bit younger than me and a lot stronger) so it should be all good.

After joining I got all the contact numbers I needed and I must say the people I have contacted have been great, so can't wait for Saturday and just hope I don't embarrass myself too much... LOL

[bosvit]

Had my first race ever today and had an excellent experience.

The competitors and the volunteers that make the whole thing happen were really welcoming and very helpful.

There were a few juniors which is great but not many 20 somethings at all, as a matter of fact most riders were over 35, which was a bit of a surprise (42 myself) but probably helped with the atmosphere as although they were all very competitive, they were also more than willing to help a newbie with some advice.

I was in the second group off at 9min(the scratch guys were off 27min and it was a 51km race). There were three of us and luckily for me one of them was Bob Panter ex Pro rider and Australian road champion
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/200 ... -news.html
He used to coach Robbie McEwan! One thing I must say is he never told me any of this, I only found out from some of the other guys afterwards and a bit of a google search. Extremely helpful and very humble, I was extremely lucky.

Anyway as we hit out Bob explained to me what to do and always let me know 1-2 minutes before it had to happen. He was very good at explaining the best technique for drafting and passing and which side to pass on and why. The third guy was struggling a little so he would miss about 10 turns and then do about 3, miss 10 turns etc, which was fine as Bob said he was still helping us and doing what he could and not blowing up and being useless to us.

Thankfully today the greyhounds couldn't catch the rabbits which was 90% to do with Bob's experience. Bob tried to set it up so I could draft him then try and come over the top for the win but he was not going to gift it to me and I was simply not strong enough and he beat me by a wheel.

An amazing experience. I learnt more today with Bob than I ever would have learnt in a season working it out for myself. He was such a nice guy he even thanked me for listening to him! It was then that I mentioned his help to some of the other riders and they let me know his background.

Loved the day can't wait to go back, but with family commitments and the fact it costs about $65 in fuel to get there I can probably only get up to Whyalla once a month.

What a day, a bit sore, a bit pissy, had a ball!

[foo on patrol]

That's a good result for you Bosvit and never under estimate the power and wisdom of an older rider, especially one that was Aus champ!

[Comedian]

Congrats mate.. that's mega!

[novice]

Excellent Bosvit.
Bet you enjoyed that.
I am seriously thinking of having a go at racing myself.
Lots of our local bunch race in the Vets and have been asking me to join them.
I am a bit unsure because I think I will not be strong enough, but the guys tell me I would surprise a few with my stamina.
As one bloke put it, for a big bloke, I have a huge tank.
I would like to learn more about what happens, do's & dont's, tactics, how handicaping works etc, before I have a go.

[bosvit]

Just have a go!

It's no where near as scary as I thought it would be. Many clubs do a 3 race licence. It's $44 at WCC.

What's the worst that can happen? You get dropped after about 15+km and then you have a 30something km ride home, and I have a funny feeling you may have experienced rides like that before

I only avg 27-28km/h for 50km solo rides on fairly flat ground and I was not the weakest rider in the event, far from the strongest but that is what handicapping is all about.

First group of 3 went off at 0 min, of course

I was in the second group of 3 that went off at 9 min

There were multiple other groups of 3 or 4 that went of a few minutes apart, depending on strength

Chopping block (second to last) 25 min

Scratch 27 min

50km race 28 riders.

[Comedian]

What's the worst that can happen? You get dropped after about 15+km and then you have a 30something km ride home, and I have a funny feeling you may have experienced rides like that before

It's not getting dropped that I'm worried about. It's me bumping a wheel or someone in front doing that and then we go down and get run over by ten of our mates. That's what worries me

[bosvit]

What's the worst that can happen? You get dropped after about 15+km and then you have a 30something km ride home, and I have a funny feeling you may have experienced rides like that before

It's not getting dropped that I'm worried about. It's me bumping a wheel or someone in front doing that and then we go down and get run over by ten of our mates. That's what worries me

Fair enough I suppose Would not be a good first impression.

Have to admit that on the 2.5hr drive I was stressing about the same thing myself, but once it all started I was working too hard to worry about it. The other thing is that because it was a handicap event we went out in small groups. One of the main reasons for this is lack of numbers and also we are racing on 110km/h roads so smaller groups are safer.

One thing I did notice is that the pace, especially in a small group, stayed much more regular/even than a general group ride, and I found it much easier to keep the wheel then accelerate and take my turn on the front, which happened quite a lot!

Have a go, its about the best fun you can have while punishing yourself mindlessly for about 1.5hrs!

[XClemX]

Hi Bosvit,

Glad yr day was fun and by te sounds go tto meet one of the many great people in the sport.

There was a write up in the local...great to see the local guys get a mention...Bob Panter was down on holidays so the story goes...i am sure he has family here still..

I didn't get to have a look as i went and watched my daughters play netball. Hopefully next time but if not...keep up the great work and enjoying the racing/riding.

Clem

[bosvit]

Yeah Bob was down for a 101st birthday party.... Obviously not his!

He started it last year and apparently he is going to try and come every year and do the birthday party thing and two bike races, then head back to Qld.

Next race for me is probably Sat fortnight.