Tuesday, February 23, 2010

NORTONS TT 04 REPORT

ALDO'S ASSAULT


Norton TT 04 went down with some great times and PB’s posted. The “Fabian Cancellara Award” go too Aldo with a smoking time and MASSIVE improvement on the board, pushing down into the 22’s and looks as though he’ll surge even further down in a couple of weeks! Also Homburg topped me with a new fasted time edging me out by one second with both us riding it unassisted as I couldn’t reel in the 20sec handicap, with the burg even taking a second out of me! Congrats to all participants with improvements on the board all round. We’ll be looking to do another TT after C2C so keep the training up and hopefully we’ll see some more improvements across the board.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

SUNDAY RIDE

NORTONS TT
This Sunday is Nortons TT, meet in City @ 7.30am or Tower @ 8am. The ride is as normal up to Nortons - handicap start. From Nortons back down to Henley via Port Rd for coffee @ Evida.

For those who are weak - and want to do a Beach Ride meet at Tower round 9am when pack should be coming down Nortons.

Friday, February 12, 2010

PUSSY R.I.P!

SUNDAY RIDE -KKK
Kat Killer Klassic
Meet City @ 7.30am or Tower @ 8am.
Ride is Nortons - Lobethal - Gorge.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

TUE RIDE

OLD FREEWAY

If your keen enough to rock up in this heat be prepared to be climbing alone! Crits are out @ Lightview tonight and at this point no BG are going to be racing.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

WEEKS RIDES..


SUNDAY RIDE
Meet: Hindmarsh Sq @ 7.30am
Tower Hotel @ 8.00am

Sunday ride is Norton's climb – meet as usual, regroup at Norton’s post office. Back down Norton’s, followed by a ride down Port Rd too Henley for coffee at Evida’s, then back up Henley road home (same route as TT). We will be riding with the SPACE crew for the ride, so should be good numbers and this route allows everyone to have a crack at Norton’s, before a cruise down to Henley.

See map:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/au/adelaide/403126507948481848


TUE RIDE
Tuesday ride is Norton’s meet at the Tower @ 6.15 as usual.
No crits racing this week.
http://bastardicc.blogspot.com/2010/01/tue-ride-hill-climb.html


THUR RIDE
Thursday foothills ride as usual meet @6.15
Might propose a more extensive ride into the hills if people want to join me.
http://bastardicc.blogspot.com/search/label/THUR%20RIDE

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

SUNDAY RIDE GUIDE..

NEW SUNDAY CALENDAR


The new Sunday Calendar is in effect, and looks to get us through to Easter when the weather should remain fine and the climbing good (though it is more the descending that becomes less fun in winter). This is an opportunity to use your TDU form, to get out and enjoy what for most will be their peak fitness for the year. With C2C in the distance, it's not time to get complacent. LINK 2 CALENDAR HERE

KKK - SUN MARCH 14TH

KAT KILLER KLASSIC


The Kat Killer Klassic is on Sunday the 14 of February. This will honour the anniversary of one cats tragic death and Dave’s spectacular fall. For those not in the know this time last year David C, an original BG and mad cyclist took a bad fall when his paths crossed with a suicidal kitty that resulted in the cat ending up in Dave’s front wheel and subsequently jamming into his fork effectively stoping his front wheel ‘dead’ and ejecting him into the bitumen. The cat survived the ordeal but passed later that night.


The ride will start from Hindmarsh Sq @7.30am and the Tower @ 8.00am Sunday 14th Feb.


The BG can’t thank the owner of the cat enough for her assistance with an unconscious David and we respectfully hope the cats death was not to traumatic – R.I.P.

LINKS TO THE RIDE ROUTE NORTON'S - LOBETHAL - GORGE

RIDE REVIEW..

ASHTON - POUND RD LOOP

This is a cracker if you’re looking to add a few kms to a lazy Norton’s ride and crank it up a couple of notches! This loop combines some short climbs and one of my favourite descents, finishing on pond road / knots hill climb.

MAP MY RIDE ROUTE

The loop will add 12km to a Norton’s Ashton run – taking me 1.40min from the Parade up Norton’s - the loop and back the same way (Norton’s time was an 18 - held that pace). I haven't mapped Norton’s into the route as you all understand what Norton’s is and what it is about.

The loop starts with a power climb up into Ashton followed by a glorious decent in to my favourite never ending hairpin - love it! From here it’s a good little climb into Basket Range which again is a good little climb which can be attacked with pace.

From here drop down another cracking little decent - still on Lobethal Rd and hang a left on to Hunters Road. You’ll keep some pace all the way till the bottom of the climb and hang a left over the bridge onto Knotts Hill Rd.

Straight away you'll fell the pinch of this climb, and it makes a man whish he'd put his climbing SL wheels on and a lower range cassette!! It real 1st grinding stuff and doesn't give up for the first 800m. Similar to Fox’s, but steeper and twice the length. Once over this initial grade you think you’re reaching a top of some thing but after a false flat allowing you to regain some cadence she kicks again all the way to the top.

Pound Rd Climb
Climb Distance: 2.5km
Average Gradient : 8%
Elevation Gain: 195m
Difficulty: 9/10 (Foxes - 7/10)

LINK TO MAP MY RIDE - Pound Rd Climb

LINK TO CYCLE 2 MAX -
Knotts Pound Road Climb

From here its on to marble hill road and a nice decent on to Lobethal Rd. If you really want to make it interesting try Pound Roads little brother, while you’re in the area - The less well known Burdetts Road which stems off the bottom of Knots Hill at the base of the climb and spits you out at the Basket Range hall. Also a very steep tuff climb - half as long, but you then get to have fun climbing into Ashton as well!

All round a great loop and could be run in reverse but you'll end up with less good descending - but with the Burdetts climb thrown in will mix it up bit. Highly recommend giving it a crack and takes you thru some of the best terrain in the hills and has a real alpine fell - you'll forget your 30min ride from the city! - FS

RIDE RATING: 9/10 has it all!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

TDU - ANIMAL TAILS...

THE ANIMAL PERSPECTIVE



The challenge of 160 km is always formidable for someone that does the occassional double century. The attraction is the large groups which can help push you along or encourage the best of ones abilities to climb those hills a little faster, and zoom down long descents without fear, and attack, attack, attack.....yep certainly an oppotunity to shine.
Probably the biggest failing on my part is consistency and endurance to maintain an even pace....simply impossible for the master of surge.

Got off to a good start this year thanks to Randy and the large group of riders that took off early to avoid the speech or rhetoric bullshit:)The road was more clear at the start and less traffic lights than the previous year saw the packs spead out before the Gorge.
Beaut, open road and 34 km/hr up that slight incline to catch Team Autobus before the climb to the dam wall. Their stronger riders attacked the incline so I used them like a bunch of stepping stones and wheel sucked them.....and got the KOM and a new PB (PB's are always good enough). Lack of consistency struck soon after and I slowed to be caught by a large group containing the main pack of the Bastardis....but unfortunately I couldnt hang on the back long enough for Fox Creek, besides I dropped my nut bar and had to go back to retrieve it. Even stopping and turning around, a few hundred riders glide past, but at least I could tackle to Fox Creek climb at my own pace, "Allenz Vichot". Kept true to my style and breached the top where a lot of exhausted riders had gathered....me just kept going feeling better than at the bottom. Gavin caught me before Lenswood so let him go to ride at my own pace. The Swamp and Tiers Road section to Woodside allowed the game of catch up as the gradual climbs suited me fine. After Woodside I feared Inverbrackie as it was the place I cramped two years earlier very badly....but now Im more fit, and had nothing to fear. Caught up with Frank refueling at Littlehampton, but it took me ages to refill those drink bottles so the Bastardis were gone....Littlehampton, Mt Barker to Wistow is basically uphill but large chainring all the way for the animal, overtaking lots of packs along the way - but descending is not my game and had to work to maintain a pace into Strath, 2 hrs, 45 after starting 90 km earlier.

Another lengthy refuel, water and banana stop and onwards Langhorne Creek. Loved the undulating country side averaging well into the 40s dragging a group or two along the way....won the sprint at Langhorne Creek by a wheel. Turned towards the Lake and that right hander towards Milang and that cross wind slowed the proceedings somewhat. It took ages for a decent group to catch up but the legs couldnt hang on at the back and lost that valueable wheel and protection. Rolled into Milang, luckily I pinched two bananas at Strath as that got me going into that head wind towards Finnis. A few groups pushed hard past me but they would pay later on before the Canoe Tree where I rode past those corpses on the side of the road....got faster and stronger the further I got towards Finnis thanks to that one banana......only problem was that cramp would soon set in, but was an advantage as I stood on the pedals into the wind. Finnis to Currency Creek the wind direction changed somewhat but cramping was still a problem so tacked onto a small group of the gumleaf men and rode with them all the way to Currency. In true TDU style there is always one nasty looking incline before the breakthough to the end....this is where riders unclipped to push and cars were stripping gears....me I rode right up the middle, and got rid of that bloody cramp. Breached the top and got hung up on that little devil at the top....gave her a kiss and took her pitch fork which got hooked up in me spinaker (jersey).

Cruised above 50km/hr up to the last 600m where that coppa directing traffic stopped us. After 5 minutes and the formation of a massive group of 50-60 riders the coppa let us go and it was on for young and old.....I got the perfect position as third rider with 220m to go and wound up the bike, the second rider pulled slighly to the right and I saw a gap through the middle and a nod from the first rider and it was on for a photo finish in true Bastardi style.....the rest is history...the animal wins by a rim (see photo).

Thanx to everybody who was there for an interesting ride. 5hrs 45 total time and 5 hrs 10 ride time.....three long rest stops, it was a day to keep hydrating otherwise it would make you pay and destroy your day as many found out. The most enjoyable aspect were the climbs as outclimbed many groups and left many destroyed in me wake:)

Regards Rob (the animal) Rau

Monday, February 1, 2010

LIFE STORY..

BRIAN VIRGO


TDU report from The Course Director: 'The TDU Saga'

Arose at 4.30am - which is technically the middle of the night and tried to eat as much as I could without being sick.
Rode to Frank's at about 5.45 am and met most of the Bastardi - all keen to get going.
Joined the immense queue on the Parade at about 6.00 am in the company of Frank, David H, Gav, Dan, Michael G, Steve W, Andy T, Rob 'Mad Dog' Rau, Ron from Qld and 6000 other idiots on bikes.
Ride started at 6.15 am and we all passed the start line just before 6.30 am.

Ride to Athelstone was uneventful - cruising with the fellow Bastardi as the sun came up.

Many of you may have seen the large lady on a cheap heavy mountain bike who had stopped at the top of the Parade and was looking to get some spectators to help with filling her water bottle - she had a 'long' day ahead!!

Our group hung together quite well up the Gorge Road until we reached the first climb to the dam wall where Frank, Steve, David, Michael and Dan took off. Surprisingly our international representative (Gav) was also on fire up the Gorge - even after having not been on the bike much for quite a while - would he last???

Gav and I have ridden together quite a bit on these longer rides as we seem to be about the same pace but on the TDU day his climbing was exceptionally strong and I had to go flat out downhill all the time to catch up.

We passed quite a few people on the Gorge Road section and passed through Cuddly Creek and onto Fox Creek Road. By then the riders had spread out quite a bit and Gav and I rode on our own to the foot of the KOM at Fox Creek. There was a lot of riders on the KOM climb - all with differing climbing capabilities, but again Gav stood out passing numerous riders ahead of me. I tried to just stay steady and get to the top without blowing up too much. About 250m from the top two young guys caught up to me and as they passed one said to the other "shall we sprint to the top?" - which they subsequently did at incredible pace! I, on the other hand, maintained my conservative dawdle. We did not stop at the top of the KOM although hundreds of others did.

I caught up to Gav on the downhill and we rode together through Lenswood and Swamp Road catching and passing a reasonable number of riders along the way. We both had good runs over the climbs to Woodside, which we rode through - planning to stop at Littlehampton. The section from Woodside to Nairn was fast and we were fortunate to group with about 4 or 5 others to push the pace up into the 40's most of the way. We stopped at Littlehampton for only about 3 minutes - not realising that we then overtook Frank, and the others who must have been there also.

On the long climb out of Mt Barker we grouped with 3 or 4 others and set a solid pace through to Wistow where the fantastic quick section began. With a tail wind and long descents this was the best part of the ride except when Gav got the most amazing ' tank slapping' speed wobbles at over 80 kph on one of the downhills. It all got a bit hairy when I had to go out around him as he tried to slow and gain control - I think he evacuated his bowels and I was close to doing the same.

Surprisingly David, Michael, Frank, Steve and Dan we just behind us and witnessed the 'almost' carnage, so we regrouped with them and rode on to Strathalbyn and 40+ pace.

The group stopped briefly at Strathalbyn and it was here that I decided I might leave a bit earlier and let them catch up on the way to Langhorne Creek. Fortunately I was able to get onto a group from UniSA just outside of Strath with about 10 riders that was moving quite well in the low 40s. About 5 km after that another group of about 40 came up behind and I jumped onto that group as they were moving even faster. (Talking to Ron afterwards it seems he was in the same group but I did not see him!) This was probably the easiest part of the ride as the group held together and was moving very quickly with the tail wind all the way to the Lake. Then everything went bad!

The head wind split the group very quickly and unfortunately I was dropped off the back with a few others(Lesson: stay in the middle of the peleton at all cost.) By then we were experiencing a lot of slower riders who had started at Woodside - all of whom were struggling and it was a bit hazardous because everyone was trying to get to the left hand side of the road to take advantage of any shielding of the wind. This also meant you would run up the backside of the slower riders if you were not on your toes - I was a bit dangerous.

I had planned to stop at Milang but it was chaotic. So I rode through heading for Finnis as my last stop. The next section was legendary for its difficulty. I was not with a group and there was only slower riders that I was passing - no-one that I could work with. Then a group of 4 younger blokes rode slowly passed me - one of them was struggling and was being physically pushed by his mates. I latched onto the back of them trying to work to the sheltered position on the left hand side. The big bloke at the back was fairly accommodating and let me have that spot for while until he realised that he was doing a lot more work and politely asked to swap - what could I do - say NO! It was amazing how much harder it was in the direct wind. We were doing about 22-23 kph and passing lots of carnage on the side of the road as well as very tired riders on the road - most doing about 15 kph.

After about 5 km I just could not keep up and dropped off the back (Lesson: do not drop off the back of even a small group when riding into a strong wind.) My speed dropped to about 17 kph at one stage and my legs were starting to cramp. I tried a few different approaches to reliving the cramp but I could not get rid of it completely (Lesson: with both legs cramping do not stand up on the peddles!). That road seemed to go on for hours - even though I had ridden it twice before it seemed to be 10km longer. I was so glad when I finally saw the Finnis corners. I had next to no water left and my legs were killing me.

I slowed into the stop, unclipped and as I swung my leg to get off the bike both legs cramped again - it was extremely painful and I though for a second that I might now struggle to finish (just like my episode 4 weeks before!!). Many people had stopped and were obviously suffering from cramp and other fatigue ailments. I though that if I stayed too long I would only feel worse so I got going again as soon as I filled my water bottles.

As I left I got a slap on the shoulder from Gav who coincidently happened to be going through Finnis at that time. He said that Frank, David, Dan and Michael were just ahead of him. Given that situation I must have been the first to Finnis of all the Bastardi so I declared that Finnis was the major Sprint and I won the points - again!

My legs were still very sore and the first climb after Finnis really hurt - especially because Gav took off again and I saw him sprint off into the distance. After the Ashbourne turn-off I started heading south which meant I finally got a tail wind again. I could see Gav about 100m ahead but could not catch up. I started to feel a lot better and the cramp had stopped which meant that I could increase pace to the mid to high 30s - some times into the low 40s with the wind assistance.

After the final short steep hill at Currency Creek I knew that it was only about 5 km to the finish and predominantly downhill so I pushed up to the low 40s. A couple of guys latched onto my wheel and one of them shared a bit of the work at the front which kept the speed up. About 2 km from the finish we got a bit tangled up in traffic and the third guy at the back overtook us and raced off. The other one was pretty pi$$ed off because he had him on his wheel for miles and had done all the work at the front. We decide to work together and push hard to overtake him before the finish - why not after 160 km?? Over the last km's we caught up to Michael as we entered Goolwa and pushed down the main street at about 50 kph including the last 100m or so at 55km+ - it is amazing what adrenalin does.

Generally the ride was good except the Milang to Finnis section.


I set three goals -
Arrive at Goolwa before 12.00 noon - arrived at 11.57 am
Take 5 hrs 30 mins total time - took 5 hrs 30 mins + 40 secs (ride time 5 hrs 18 mins)
Average speed over 30 kph - average 30.8 kph

So overall I was happy with the outcome - it was much more satisfying than the practice ride in December.

Only criticism of the event was the lack of telephone access at Goolwa which made it hard to contact others.


Regards
Brian Virgo