CX HERO

see more @BG.Flickr
Photos from smudge Monkey@f.book

Old mate represent'n the BG in style @ PACC CX. Props to the old fella for have'n a crack rollin in stlye. 29er MTB. By all reports showed well and was far from the tale end of the field & more importantly love it! Proud of ya mate - respect! FS via Paris

SUN RIDE REVIEW

Firstly, apologies for the lack of action shots, my lack of skill dictates that I must be stationary when taking photos.

A relatively small crew headed out yesterday, given the fantastic weather. With a loyal 6 heading up Nortons and through Basket and Forest Range. The trend set on the way home from Strathalbyn a couple of weeks ago was continued, with all the team riding together up Nortons, listening to Captain Virgo bark orders to ensure everyone could maintain the right pace.

Rather than the usual stop near the driveway to the Lookout, Brian dragged us up to the Mt. Lofty carpark prior to the descent down the old freeway. Hopefully, the weather continues to be this good for the rest of the winter.

-AW

Le TOUR

pic from CT

BG's, KN and I'm are headed to Paris, look out for the BG Jersey at the first 3 stages and the last 4 stages! Last tips to make your le tour a cracker from the sofa!

Get the ride mag official guide for the tour, a great read and heaps of info on the tour plus a kick ass map of france inside.

Get the Sportal, Le Tour App for you iphone/smart phone a sweet little resource with news, maps, and profiles. Currently free @ Mac App Store.

As always keep an eye on Cycling tips for some great coverage - i'd expect he's got some cool things lined up!

I'll try to post some updates, and keep an eye on the flickr page. Otherwise don't get soft while i'm gone, a lot of BG's are looking good for this summer carrying a bit of form through the winter, and good numbers on sun rides still!

Get some inspiration from the tour and get out there, good time of year to start setting those base miles for summer if you have been MIA! FS

SUNDAY RIDE 26 JUNE - PAIN LIVES HERE!!

Meet @ Hindmarsh Sq @ 8:00am
Tower Hotel @ 8.30am

Back to an old favourite, with plenty of options for everyone...
Pain lives here or Hard'n Up or Soft Option. As always all options have the added short cut of going down greenhill or Nortons to cut out Mt Lofty.

Pain lives here - 72km : MAP HERE Norton’s – Ashton – Basket Range – Forest Range – Lenswood - Swamp Rd – Greenhill Rd – Carey Gully – Uraidla – Greenhill Rd – Lofty - Norwood.

Harden up - 58km : MAP HERE Norton’s – Ashton – Basket Range – Forest Range (climb) – Deviation Rd (shortcut) – Carey Gully – Uraidla – Greenhill Rd – Lofty - Norwood.

Soft option - 49km : MAP HERE Norton’s – Ashton – Basket Range – Range Rd (shortcut) – Uraidla – Greenhill Rd – Lofty - Norwood.

AW

VIC ALPS

Must be watched in HD full screen!

Rapha Rides the Victorian Alps from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Incase you have been under a rock, check this superb video by Rapha based in the Vic Alpine region (the 3 peaks). Also see Cycling.Tips for more info. FS

PACC CX 3

Via PACC.CX by kdcd7977@youtube

Check the flash of BG @ 3min -30sec. 40min of this SS was hard yards!

CX this Sunday checkout PACC.CX for more details. Get involved, any bike any skill level. Bummed to miss it but I'll be on route to the Tour! My bikes on loan to fair beast of a rider who can punch out some epic watts over 40min, so it will either buckle under the extreme power or represent SS CX by carving 20sp carbon to pieces! FS

BIKE PORN

Ever see a bike and just think; I want one! I want one! FS

Steel frame hand built by Vanilla - Speedvagen Road 2010. More @Flickr

SUN RIDE 19th - BEACH

MEET HINDMARSH SQ 8AM START
Outer Harbour - Henley + Glenelg - City, 70km

Normal Outer Harbour run to Henley but with additional loop down to Glenelg Marina and back to Henley (+10km) Coffee @ Evida. Remember hold your line through the roundabouts. FS

Sprint points:
Outer harbour round about - Light pole before round about (regather)
Trimmer Parade - Bus Stop 31 before Intersection (regather)
KOM - Mt Patawalonga round about
Henley Esplanade - to the pub (henley beach rd intersection)

ROUTE MAP HERE

SUN RIDE - STRATH REVIEW

More photos @BG.flickr

Nice ride to Strath in freezing conditions, again the BG were spared from rain just some wet roads and a cool SE breeze which pushed against us on the way there and gave us a gentle push on the way home. The group was great today sticking together for all of the ride with just a couple of short regroups after climbs.

Bonus points go to Homburg chasing the group all the way to Strath after sleeping in reeling in a 10 min head start form Crafers and just catching us 50km later as we got to the cafe - respect! Great Cafe can recommend the cheese, ham & tomato toastie - gold! With the burg in the group the pace back was a little stronger but still steady and again we hung together well.

Great to see a decent gathering of riders willing to take up the challenge of a longer ride. It's an easier one next week with a beach ride, so I hope to see even more of you out there. FS

SUN RIDE - STRATH!

The Burg doing course reco outside of Macclesfield.

Alright, I got requests for longer rides - this week you get it. Change in the forecast program from McLaren Vale thanks to the sea to vines festival. Strath is same distance but probably a slightly easier ride then McLaren Vale and though long the ride is not as hard as the statistics would have you believe.

This is a long ride, but not beyond the abilities of majority of the BG. Important you pay attention to instructions below around meeting and the route. I expect everyone will look at the map and have an understanding of the route.

Meet City for 8am start - get there @ 8am!
More relaxed climbers meet @

Bollards - top Old Freeway @ 8.45ish.

Old freeway - Aldgate - Mylor Echunga - Maccelsfield - Strathalbyn (coffee) & back the same way. Map My Ride

Meeting point:

Coffee on the main street at the little shop to the right of the Post Office opposite the public toilets in the main park in the centre of town. If we split up meet here. The fall back location if can't get in to the coffee shop is the bakery on the cnr left of the post office and the bank.

We will aim to ride together, it's not a race so regroup wait for each other and look out for one another on the road. Bring suitable clothing i.e. a spray jacket, and tools, spare tubes etc.

Shortcut:
The only short cuts are to turn at any point and go back the way you came at any point. Know your limits and ride to them, but I'd expect allot of BG to be able to do this. Climbing the Old Freeway is the hardest part! FS

NYC

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

Crazy Streets of NYC + Cyclist breaking the law = close calls! FS

SPEED MACHINE

Click for video link.

Great short video clip on Shane Perkins, and his finely tuned machine of a body, from last Wednesdays Hungry Beast episode on ABC1. Perkins is a machine, max output 2500watts!!!! FS

VINO 4 EVER

Vino in the opening TT at CDDL via Steephill.tv

Love watching Vino throwing it down. Man races hard! Criterium Du Dauphine, showing on Eurosport. Cadel is ranked favourite for the win. Check the Saddle! FS

SUN RIDE IN REVIEW - Ol'Mt B Rd's A B!TCH!

Photos by FS, more @BG.flickr

Turns out that Gumflat and Beaumont Rd are crackers going both ways! Great little scenic decent into Verdun on Beaumont. As a side note turns out Old Mt Barker from Bridgewater towards Crafers is a b!tch, just keeps taking little chunks out off you on each of its steep little rises that just keep slapping you.

A short but punchy little ride last Sunday in freezing conditions. Great to see a bakers dozen of BG out braving the weather which was a mix of god awful and blue sky with sun? Seemed to be raining all round us but not on us? At times you couldn't see the adjacent ridge thru the rain but never a drop fell on the BG! That wasn't to say there was no hard ship the ride was a proper winter grind.

A tricky little rolling course picked its way through the hills and hit a couple of tuff little bumps along the way. All short but hard little climbs, which helped to keep the group tight. The final climb to Piccadilly roundabout was crested together huddled as a solitary unit of pain, and respect with no attacks on that final crest... we saved that for the old freeway decent! FS

Q: "How do you take that corner that fast"

A: "Hold your breath!"

SUN RIDE - BG TT

Meet @ Hindmarsh Sq 8am or

8.30am @ the Tower Hotel.

Nortons reverse start TT regroup @ the post office.

Ashton - Woods Hill Rd - Summertown - Uradila - Carey Gully - Rangeview Dr - Bridgewater Gully Rd - Gumflat Rd - Buemont Rd -Verdun - Mt Barker Rd (Germantown Hill) - Bridgewater - Old Mt Barker Road - Crafers - Old Freeway - Norwood for Coffee.

Route Map 60km

Short Cuts:
Carey Gully - Rangeview Dr - Bridge water/Carey Gully Rd - Bridgewater - Old Mt barker Rd - Crafers - Old Freeway - Norwood for Coffee.
Short cut Route Map 55km

Carey Gully - Rangeview Dr/Old Carey Gully Rd - Old mt barker Rd - Crafers - Old Freeway - Norwood for Coffee.
Short cut Route Map 50km

View Larger Map

2012 TDU CHALLENGE RIDE

See Large Map

Tour Challenge ride revealed and early bird tickets up for sale. Looks like fairly challenging course (138km) compared with previous years with some decent climbs, and good to not be doing the Gorge for a third year in a row. More info @TDU website. FS.