Lots to catch up on this weekend…
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Halloween Dirt Crits
By Dave Empey
We had a huge turn out on Tuesday night with 23 riders taking part. Two new tracks were raced; one designed by Zac Empey and the other by his Dad.
The top five placings were tight with Ant Bateup taking the top spot just ahead of Charlie Dobson, closely followed by Rueben Bateup. (You still have a little breathing space Ant but not a lot.)
Unfortunately for Cam Dobson, Charlie put a few seconds into him and there is probably no returning for Cam in the family bragging rights from now on.
It was great to see so many new faces, but we had no females which is a big turnaround from the past few years.
Here are the results.
Many thanks to Adam Baker for donating prizes (new 299 Custom socks!) to the five on the podium and for not scaring too many of the small children in his new, blue, face - something to do with Halloween, apparently.
There will be a break next week due to the Melbourne Cup and the following week it’ll be back to cross country with Damian.
Mt Buller have offered a free shuttle day at Buller prior to the tracks opening on the 25th of November. To participate you MUST be a club member! Watch for details on the club facebook page and the next Latest News email.
Racing on your own
By Steve Curnow
Thursday’s cycle race was a handicapped time trial run over 11 km on Chapel Hill Road from the Jamieson Road turn off to Three Chain Road and return.
There were eight participants who braved the onerous ride. Being on your own and not being allowed to ride behind another rider for a break makes for a true test of a rider's endurance.
The wind dropped off just as the race started which made all the difference for the riders. The first part of the ride is flat going to Wairere Road, then gradual uphill until a very pleasant downhill to Three Chain Road. After the easy down there is the sudden uphill section on the return which wakes up the legs again and then it’s homeward bound.
After the numbers were crunched allowing for handicaps it turned out that Craig Wilson came in fourth, third place went to Adrian Dowd, second to Steve Curnow and congratulations to Micala Jacobs for winning first place.
The fastest time went to Ruby Dobson in 16.42 minutes, Darren Bakker next at 17.59 followed closely by Ant Bateup at 18.05 and Tim Ross at 19.06.
A big thank you to the Commissaires and marshals, and also a big thank you to the courteous drivers who shared the road with us on the night.
Back at the post-race presentations, Tony Copland was awarded this week’s Mansfield Hotel prize for photographic excellence and below is another group of examples. And here are the detailed results.
Next week is one of the club’s highlights of the summer, the Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap. All members are encouraged to remember our friend, who was taken from us back in 2014, by pushing themselves to near exhaustion, then recovering at the Mansfield afterwards as we raise a glass in tribute. Weather permitting, there’ll also be a post-race ride out to ‘Alain’s bike’ for those inclined.
Dot-watching Wayne
By Bruce Halket
All Terrain Cycles mechanic Wayne Arazny is currently in Tasmania to race the 2023 Tassie Gift - a bike-packing endurance event of 1800km.
After a night at Will C-J’s in Hobart, the race started at 6am on Friday and Wayne was in trouble early - a crash on a steep descent caused a crack in his left fork leg.
But he’s not giving up! He’s been back to Hobart and with thanks to Louis at Silks Bicycle Workshop (where he purchased a 2nd-hand pair of forks) and Kate at Giant Hobart (who has allowed him to use their workshop to fit the forks) he’s been given a lift back out onto the course by Will C-J and he’s back into it today!
He’ll start again a long way back but at least he’s on the move. Go Wayno!
Use this link to check his progress.
Finally…
All members are encouraged to check the road duty roster please. If you’ve raced on the road at all over the last few years, you’re probably on it. We rely on all our volunteers taking their turn at race duty to make sure our races go ahead safely and efficiently. Here’s the link to check the whole season on one page.