Clubs in Canberra

pickle
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Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:40 am

Hi all,

I'm moving to Canberra from sunny Perth in about a month and looking to get straight into racing. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on which clubs to join, or which ones to avoid.

Cheers!
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Ross
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby Ross » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:52 am

http://www.canberracyclingclub.org.au/

http://www.vikingscycling.org.au

http://www.actvets.cc/ (35yo+)

Canberra Cycling Club run crits every Wednesday evening on a dedicated crit track out at Stromlo Forest Park near Weston.

Vikings Cycling Club run 'Supercrits' on Thursday evenings at SFP. These are longer, usually around an hour.

Both clubs run a variety of road races usually on Saturday mornings during Summer.

Vets club runs crits on Tuesday evenings, track on Thursday evenings at Queanbeyan and road races most Sunday mornings.

There are a number of bunch rides open to any rider of any club, here's a few;

Tuesday – Hour of Power - 6am Bike Shed, Philip. Fast paceline at the front.
Wednesday – Southside bunch – 6am Bike Shed, Philip. Undulating ride with KOM bragging points on offer.
Friday – Hour of Terra - 6am cnr Hindmarsh & Melrose Dr. Fast paceline at the front.
Friday - Grandpa Bunch- 6am Bike Shed, Philip. Easyish paced ride, mostly Vets riders but open to anyone.
Friday - Vikings "Norman" - 6am ANU Union Court, Fast and Medium bunches

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nescius
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby nescius » Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:17 pm

CCC also have track racing on Tuesday nights at the Narrabundah velodrome.

There's plenty of racing all year round, and I don't know that there is a "bad" club or one to avoid, but being a member of CCC it would be remiss of me not to recommend them as the best choice :wink:
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pickle
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:37 pm

Thanks guys :)

I don't qualify for vets yet, so I've narrowed it down to two clubs. It seems like there's plenty of yummy racing to be had in Canberra. Good to know there's regular crit racing. Is there much road racing during the winter? I'm keen to get right into the hilly courses (we don't have hills over here :( ).

Good to see there's lots of group rides during the week as well. Looking forward to this Southside bunch with KOM bragging points.
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby twizzle » Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:47 pm

nescius wrote:CCC also have track racing on Tuesday nights at the Narrabundah velodrome.

There's plenty of racing all year round, and I don't know that there is a "bad" club or one to avoid, but being a member of CCC it would be remiss of me not to recommend them as the best choice :wink:
... as long as your life/accident insurance is up to date. :P
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:53 pm

twizzle wrote: ... as long as your life/accident insurance is up to date. :P
Hahaha. Speaking of which... is there any roads that should definitely avoid? Or is it all pretty hunky dory?
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby HAKS » Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:55 pm

Vikings have an online forum which seems to be a good place to meet fellow members and find out about training rides.

I must admit if I had my time again I would join Vikings and not CCC. Something about the Vikings events versus the CCC ones I've been to has made me feel like Vikings are a little more relaxed and welcoming. I also did the CCC intro to cycling program and while it was good, it was a little disorganised at times and when I compare it with the chatter on the vikings novice forum they seemed to get behind their new riders much more then CCC.
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auskonrad
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby auskonrad » Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:04 am

HAKS wrote:I must admit if I had my time again I would join Vikings and not CCC. Something about the Vikings events versus the CCC ones I've been to has made me feel like Vikings are a little more relaxed and welcoming. I also did the CCC intro to cycling program and while it was good, it was a little disorganised at times and when I compare it with the chatter on the vikings novice forum they seemed to get behind their new riders much more then CCC.
As a relatively new Vikings member I can confirm the above Not saying CCC is not as good, as I've not been a member - or seen many of their events other than their Crit nights.

But Vikings have been amazing in terms of riders going out of their way to get to know new members, beginners and just generally have a chat with who their riding with. There's a relaxed, safety first attitude and every member seems to take on a mentor role for newer riders which is fantastic.

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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby twizzle » Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:53 pm

pickle wrote:
twizzle wrote: ... as long as your life/accident insurance is up to date. :P
Hahaha. Speaking of which... is there any roads that should definitely avoid? Or is it all pretty hunky dory?
Like anywhere, there are times/places to avoid. You will learn pretty quickly what is safe... or not. Avoid ACTION buses like the plague, don't expect to be seen or tolerated, and it should all be good. You will find the majority of drivers, ie., 95%+ are good, there is about 4.9% of clueless morons who either don't think... or think that bicycles don't have any right of way, and .1% who will try and scare you. The .1% is mainly comprised of bus drivers.

The downside of Canberra is that cyclists aren't common enough on the roads that people remember to check their mirrors before turning across the on-road cycle lanes, and in peak-hour traffic cars often fail to see bicycles. Defensive riding is the norm.
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Ross
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby Ross » Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:13 pm

pickle wrote:
twizzle wrote: ... as long as your life/accident insurance is up to date. :P
Hahaha. Speaking of which... is there any roads that should definitely avoid? Or is it all pretty hunky dory?
Northbourne Ave weekday mornings from 7am - 9am and also afternoons from 4.30pm - 7.00pm is a place I try and avoid. Not because of the cars, though traffic is heavy, it's the commuter cyclists that are the hazard. They seem to think they're in the TdF and most appear to have as much road sense and sense of self-preservation as a 3yo toddler. :roll:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9j6f5eTkFU

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twizzle
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby twizzle » Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:10 pm

Ross wrote:
pickle wrote:
twizzle wrote: ... as long as your life/accident insurance is up to date. :P
Hahaha. Speaking of which... is there any roads that should definitely avoid? Or is it all pretty hunky dory?
Northbourne Ave weekday mornings from 7am - 9am and also afternoons from 4.30pm - 7.00pm is a place I try and avoid. Not because of the cars, though traffic is heavy, it's the commuter cyclists that are the hazard. They seem to think they're in the TdF and most appear to have as much road sense and sense of self-preservation as a 3yo toddler. :roll:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9j6f5eTkFU
Not true - if you are heading North in the morning or South in the afternoon, there is almost no commuter cyclist traffic. :P
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby jcjordan » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:33 pm

The other problem that you will have with Civic (Northborne Ave) is glass. Unfortunately this is where all the drunks smash their bottles after being out on the piss. It’s especially bad on the weekends.
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pickle
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Thu Dec 15, 2011 8:14 pm

Cheers guys!

Ok, so keep an eye out for buses, glass, purple monkey dishwashers and drunks, especially on northbourne ave.

The vikings are getting some good reports.. gonna have a look at their forums and say hello. (And their kit looks cooler than the CCC I must admit)

Also, do you guys do forum rides often? It might be nice to say hello to everyone when I'm in Canberra :)
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HAKS
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby HAKS » Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:12 pm

A few of us have met up for rides every so often but haven't done any for quite a while.
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Ross
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby Ross » Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:15 am

After a years hiatus being too busy dealing with the fallout of theGFC Santa is back in action for the 2011 Christmas Bunch Ride. The ride will leave from the normal time of 6:00am at the Bike Shed inPhiilip on Wednesday the 21st of December. The ride will take analternative route through the streets of Canberra's inner suburbs andend up at Hughes bakery at 7:00am. We encourage all riders of all abilities to turn up and especially todecorate your bike in true Christmas spirit. There will be a specialprize for the best decorated bike/ rider combination. Special Santahelpers will ensure the ride maintains a pedestrian pace through outthe morning and it is expected that Santa and a special helper willmake an appearance. So deck the bike with baubles and tinsel and drag your kids, partners,parents and particularly those that haven't been on a bike for a whileto the greatest Christmas event this side of midnight mass. Hope to see many there.

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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby m@ » Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:27 am

twizzle wrote:
Ross wrote:Northbourne Ave weekday mornings from 7am - 9am and also afternoons from 4.30pm - 7.00pm is a place I try and avoid. Not because of the cars, though traffic is heavy, it's the commuter cyclists that are the hazard. They seem to think they're in the TdF and most appear to have as much road sense and sense of self-preservation as a 3yo toddler. :roll:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9j6f5eTkFU
Not true - if you are heading North in the morning or South in the afternoon, there is almost no commuter cyclist traffic. :P
True, but then you'd need to either work nights or worse - live Southside :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol:
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Ross
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby Ross » Fri Dec 16, 2011 3:33 pm

m@ wrote: True, but then you'd need to either work nights or worse - live Southside :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol:
At Thugranong?! :twisted:

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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:26 pm

Ross wrote:
m@ wrote: True, but then you'd need to either work nights or worse - live Southside :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol:
At Thugranong?! :twisted:
haha.. good to see theres a healthy north/south rivalry going on in Canberra as well. I think I'm going to be a northie when I get there :)
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby rockviewau » Sun Dec 18, 2011 4:21 pm

northside?? poor bugger, have they asked you to have a labotomy before you move in, as it is a prerequistie for living there......

Vikings is located southside, something to think about
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby pickle » Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:53 pm

rockviewau wrote:northside?? poor bugger, have they asked you to have a labotomy before you move in, as it is a prerequistie for living there......

Vikings is located southside, something to think about
And so it begins :P

Will I be disowned by both sides if I live north and ride with southies?
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Re: Clubs in Canberra

Postby auskonrad » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:22 pm

rockviewau wrote:northside?? poor bugger, have they asked you to have a labotomy before you move in, as it is a prerequistie for living there......

Vikings is located southside, something to think about
Not true. It's not located anywhere specific. The actual Vikings club may be (http://vikings.com.au/) but not the cycling club - they're open to all parts and people of Canberra. Considering their bunch ride, the Norman, leaves from Northside, and a lot of other rides focus on all different sides of the 'berra, I wouldn't think it really has a specific focus geographically.

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