Hi Everyone,

A great turnout to last Thursday's Benalla Rd Race with a busy finish. Well done to Stefan on a close win and to everyone for a safe race.

Well done also to Foley Lachal on his first road race and it was good to see a crew from St.Kilda joining in (Tim's report below).

The Mountain crew continues with strong racing on Monday (Tom's report below).

Three short films featuring MMBCC's very own George Chalk, Shannon Rademaker and Mitch Greenway will be premiering at the Mansfield Produce Store on Wednesday November 23. (See below for more details.)

Who's got the record time up Old Tolmie Road (and who bumped Bruce off for third fastest up Buller) - CLICK HERE to find out.

Road Racing

Maiden handicap win for Dorothy!
Round six of the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club Summer Road Series saw a field of 38 entrants greet the starter on Benalla Road for the second Handicap race of the series. Thirty three regulars were joined by five newcomers.
The first of these was Foley Lachal, a regular at Dirt Crits on Monday night but turning to the road for the first time. Welcome aboard Foley!
The other four first timers to an MMBCC road race were Wes Cordingly, Mark Guirgus, Michael Brown and Sam Watson, four members of the St Kilda Cycling Club. Visiting Bright for a week of training in the mountains in preparation for next month’s Tour of Bright, they decided to come over to Mansfield, just for the race. Being young fast and A-grade racers from Melbourne, they were sent off last as the Scratch group.
This meant all our usual groups moved out one; the usual Scratch group became Block, the usual Block moved out to 2nd Block, etc. And with a bit of a breeze around, Scratch was definitely favoured to win.
However, the local lads were keen to impress; in particular, the usual Scratch group who weren’t used to being chased by others. Block rode very strongly; Mauro Brega, Tom MacMunn, Andrew Gerrans, Josh Hopwood and Bruce Halket made up the minute to the next group by halfway. Conversely, Scratch had hardly made up any time on them at all.
Then Rob Greenway, Laurie Harding, Steffan Vaivars and Tim Ross joined in and upped the tempo. Witnesses recall hearing Stefan murmuring “Toto, we’re not in Block anymore...” This larger group then rounded up the rest of the field before Carlisle Hill and a huge bunch of riders lined up for a bunch sprint.
Mauro and Bruce tried to keep the pace high towards the finish... and then it was on for young and old! Rob started the sprint, then a flash of black with red highlights came storming through the centre! It was Steffan, resplendent in his red cycling shoes, finally fulfilling his potential and sprinting to great a win ahead of the consistent Andrew. Then came Bruce, Josh and Tim.
After the finish, Steffan let the world know he was pretty pleased with his win. Unnamed sources claim he was seen tapping his red shoes together and chanting “There’s no place like first! There’s no place like first!”
Rob held on for sixth ahead of Mark Calvert-Jones, Tom, Laurie and Steve Silver rounded out the top ten.
Fastest time was ridden by Mark Guirgus from Scratch. In a great ride, he nearly caught the main field.
Many thanks to our volunteers and officials: Euan, Louise, Jenny, Allan, George, Helen and any others I’ve forgotten; and to the Hotel Delatite for their sponsorship.
Next road race will be Graded Scratch Races, held on the Buller Road on Thursday 17 November. Entries via SMS to 0438 513 355 by 8pm Wednesday please.
It will be followed by dinner at The Produce Store with The Paceliners - a group of cyclists riding from Canberra to Melbourne to raise money for Heart Arrhythmia research. All welcome!

Mountain Biking

Steffan Vaivars and Darren Bakker are on duty for next week AND people are most welcome to whipper snip the trails before next Monday. We are racing the long course. Most of it looks good but another pass with the whipper snipper wouldn't hurt. Thanks to Mick and Rob and Mitch the Start/Finish and the carpark looks great. Last night results - CLICK HERE.

Film Night

Three short films featuring MMBCC's very own George Chalk, Shannon Rademaker and Mtich Greenway will be premiering at the Mansfield Produce Store on Wednesday November 23.
There's action, cut-throat competition, reflections on life and death... and laughter. So come along and make a night of it.
The project, called '110%', investigates what lies behind our national sporting obsession - in this instance cycling.
The documentaries are part of a pilot project run by ABC Open, that mentored local film makers as they created the short stories.
A group of secondary college students created the documentary about Shannon Rademaker and two further pieces, featuring George and Mitch were produced by Sue Arndt, Fiona Greenway, Uschi Steedman and Tony Williams.
Doors open at 6.30pm and a light dinner will be on offer.
Booking aren't essential but if you haven't booked, it's first in best dressed. Contact Sue Arndt on 0407 000 512 to reserve your spot.

Rail Trail

It was very disappointing to be told that the lockable bollards at Cheviot Tunnel have been pulled out of the ground and the locks cut. The bollards were placed at either end of the tunnel to stop car traffic as a safety precaution for walkers and cyclists. A new carpark has been made at the tunnel for ease of access for cyclists and walkers. Vehicles are still able to travel over the tunnel on Cheviot Road.

Police are aware of the vandalism and are asking for anyone with information to contact Yea police.

Bridge 0, a totally new bridge is under construction at Tallarook. This bridge will connect the town of Tallarook to the trail near the swimming pool. Bridges 45, 46 and 48 in the Merton area will soon be replaced with culvert pipes rather than being refurbished. The timber bridges were beyond repair and culvert pipes are a great alternative.

Code of conduct signage is now being placed at major entry points to the trail. The signage gives some tips on enjoying your trip and do’s and don’ts. The signs also give you your location and contacts for emergencies and shire details.

For the full rail trail newsletter - CLICK HERE

Cheers,

John.