Congratulations Dan!

A few words from Dan on the Mansfield Tour...

I just wanted to write a quick few sentences to really thank all the mmbcc members and volunteers for the support over the weekend.
All the cheering from the roadside was a great motivator - not to mention the 'Go Dan' signs and chalk on the road up Mt Buller (AJ, Donna, Steve & Judi you guys are legends!).
From a rider perspective the whole race was incredibly well organised and ran super smooth, I didn't hear a negative comment all weekend. I know the challenges the organising committee faced in planning the race so congratulations Di, Bruce, Wil and everyone involved for pulling it off.
Old Tolmie Rd (Col du Tolmielet - as it is now known) has become famous overnight and is really being talked about through cycling circles. Cycling mates of mine in Melbourne are already asking me "what's this crazy steep berg just out of Mansfield that everyone is talking about?". While I died a thousand deaths up there on Saturday afternoon, I think it was a terrific addition to the race and will no doubt improve Mansfield's status in the cycling tourism industry. If the course remains the same, I look forward to watching Kian and Josh really rip up there at the 2019 Tour. Maybe Kian can take his KOM back? Maybe Bruce will pin a number on and show all the Masters Men how to climb Col du Tolmielet?
Shannon - Just quietly I think the Sprint classification was a great addition too! Thanks for sponsoring it.
What a team effort by the club to deliver this awesome event. Thank you all!

Pre-Tour update

Starting with the latest first this week… more video, results both on- and off-road.

Mansfield Tour

Good luck to Rob Curtis and Dan Purcell (I can hear Matt Keenan now, "Purcell's Baaaack!;) who are racing the Tour this weekend. Race well boys!
All the best too, to everyone else who’s helping out on the Tour - thanks very much for all the time you’re donating and we really hope you enjoy the race and having so many roadies around town this weekend.

Thursday Night Road Race

Ian Conrick is apparently writing an article on Thursday’s race. It hasn’t hit MMBCC Towers inbox yet but we’re sure it will eventually and when it does, it'll appear here.
In the meantime, here are the results (which also includes the cumulative points scores - the last time we'll publish these for the season - just to build the suspense) and below are Tony Copland’s pics.

Dirt Crit results

Gravity Endure night at Dirt Crits last Monday and no surprise to see Dan Friday and Matt Empey with fastest times. But based on differential, Damian took the win with only two seconds difference between his first and second runs.
Here are the results.

Bike Buller MTB Festival

By Kate Empey

Big congrats to Dan Friday who took out 1st in overall ranking in Vet’s Gravity Gods (three races over three days, two Downhill and one Gravity Enduro).
Elise was first in overall U15 Girls and Amateur women’s. Matty and David both finished overall 2nd in their respective categories.
Zac Empey even got a look in with his 3rd in the Kids 10km race (but any disappoint in not winning was soon forgotten because he got a NEW BIKE for his birthday on Friday! Happy Birthday Zac! - Ed.)
Bella Green came 4th in both Downhill and Gravity Enduro. Bella has had a massive improvement over a year and she and Elise competed in their first downhill event.
Kian Lerch-MacKinnon finished 4th in XC and competed in every other event too including Downhill, Gravity Enduro and Super D with his ever present smile!

Public Holiday Update

Fairless follow-up

To start off with this week, this may be of interest to those of you that went to the movie night last week. Here is the YouTube video to watch Steve Fairless win in Denmark in 2015, after just missing out in Slovenia in 2014 (in the movie).

Dirt Crits

While the results are still in the ether somewhere, we do know that Bella Green won followed closely by Ruby Dobson and Dan Friday (junior).
Results link will be here soon... ish.

At least Bella's smiling...

The Handicapper’s eye view of Thursday night.

By John Eisner

Wednesday Night, 8pm; most of the entries have been SMS’d for the Howes Creek/O’Hanlons Hill finish on Thursday. Just after 8, Craig Wilson and a few others receive a reminder, boosting the start numbers to a healthy 33.
Over coffee the next morning the groups are looking good. Josh Hopwood pleads lack of race practice and is placed straight into the formidable looking Scratch group with Bruce Halket and Lewis Dowie.
Jock Brega, Tom MacMunn and Jarrod Appleton looked like a solid Block unit while Matt Empey, Dave Moore and Steve Duke looked good in group three.
Janine Appleton and Mel Green are a bit in no-man’s land but form a dynamic duo questionably helped by the addition of Alex Green.
On recent form, there was no real reason to split the next nine players – Jason Parker, Steve Flew, Ian Conrick, John Eisner, Jodie Batchelor, Peter Ellett, David Jagger, Wilson and Kieren Payne and similarly Di Condie, Rod Manning, David Bock and Donna Stephenson looked good in the penultimate group.
Elise Empey and Bella Green made up the young, Limit bunch but what to do with Talia Appleton? Great recent form, a couple of missed Thursday nights and probably likely to be run over by the Conrick bunch (possibly literally). Thinking Di will be a good mentor.
Thursday night as the race unfolds, Hopwood “menaces” the rest of the backmarker groups who formed one unit, fairly rapidly eventually catching Rob Skinner, AJ Stephenson and Nathan Pelling.
The Conrick group worked like a machine despite its size and finally caught up with the Condie crew to be subsequently caught by Mel and Janine.
With the race coming together at the bottom of the final hill, Talia made the most of her power to weight ratio and according to one observer, “danced off the front” to take a good win.
Acting somewhat like a chromatography experiment, the hill separated out the rest of the bunch with Hopwood putting his fiddle back in its case and crossed the line second. Manning and Donna Stephenson did well to come 3rd and 4th with Bruce Halket 5th.
A big thanks to our crew of helpers and to the Delatite Hotel for another fine dinner.
Here are the top ten results and also the season point scores… it’s close at the top!
Plus... here is the last kilometre or so seen from the Juggernaut's Cycliq headlight/camera.

On board with the Juggernaut in the final.

And here are Tony Copland's pics of the night.

Finally...

Please take a few secs to add your name to an e-petition on the Victorian Government website about vulnerable road users... like us!

Oh! One last thing...

If you've put your hand up for the Mansfield Tour and you haven't spoken to Bruce about your role yet, please give him a call in the next day or two. (You've got his number...)

Sunday Update

With the Mansfield Tour only weeks away, please subscribe so you can stay up-to-date and what you're helping out with. (It's on the Home page, on the right!)

Movie night this coming Wednesday 7 March

Double Bill - Fairless and MAMIL

As long as the DVD arrives in the post in time, first up at 7.30 will be Fairless, which tells the story about Steve Fairless, a rising star of Australian Cycling who gave it away at the age of 26 to return home to his dairy farm and provide for his family. At the age of 50 (over 20 years later), Steve returned to settle some unfinished business. He quickly became one of the best ...
After intermission, MAMIL, a new Australian-produced cycling movie with promises of ‘a light-hearted, yet insightful, look at the secret lives of MAMIL’s in their natural habitat’. Yes, ubiquitous ‘Middle-Aged Men In Lycra’ are thrust front and centre stage in this 98-minute feature film that focusses on personal reflections upon why we ride.
Here’s a review of MAMIL and here’s one of Fairless from when it was first released, with a bit of an interview with the director.
Tickets are $15 each for MMBCC members and friends. Please email Bruce to book your seat.

Dirt Crits Scratch Races

Three grades raced a longish lap at Riflebutts. Six riders rode six laps with Damian Grundy taking the win just ahead of Bruce Halket.
Seven raced over four laps with James Griffin winning a minute ahead of Rachael Grundy.
Talia Appleton and Bella Green raced three laps with Talia taking the win.
Results here.

Individual Time Trial over the Coombesberg

Time Trials are not fun. They are a test of fitness and a riders’ ability to endure suffering. There are next to no tactics involved - just go as hard as you can for as long as you can.
To make matters worse, the MMBCC Individual Time Trial last Thursday 1 March was held on an out-and-back, undulating course over 12km including going up the dreaded Coombesberg and back again to Graves Road. Then the weather chimed in with a gusty, blustering southerly making it even harder!
Not fun.
With handicaps taken into account, the win went to Talia Appleton ahead of Judi Duke and David Bock. The rest of the top ten were Cam Dobson, Bella Green, Rod Manning, Bruce Halket, Damian Grundy, Ian Conrick and Steve Duke.
Bruce Halket rode fastest time of 21.11 proving he’s no fun at all. Lewis Dowie was second fastest with 21.44 just ahead of Damian Grundy on 21.47.
Many thanks to Di, Darren, Rob and Richard for helping out and officiating, to Dave for the flyby and to the Delatite Hotel for presentations and post-race de-brief.
Next week sees O’Hanlons Road rear its ugly head again as the finish line for a handicap race, starting at the Lords’ Ground. Entries the usual way by 8pm Wednesday please.
Speaking of Wednesday, this coming Wednesday 7 March the MAC will host a movie night for all MMBCC members. It’s a double bill featuring a short documentary on Shepparton’s Steve Fairless and another doco called MAMIL. See you at the MAC at 7pm.
Finally, with the Mansfield Tour coming up on March 17 and 18, we can confirm that Sydney Olympic Gold Medallist and Chief Commentator for cycling at the Commonwealth Games on Channel 7, Scott McGrory, will be the commentator for our Tour too.
Here are the results. And they also include the cumulative point scores…

Physics and cycling

Here’s a good article on Cycling Tips which explains the physics behind why you should try a break away.

Finally…

A working bee was meant to be held today to fit signage to the club’s TT start ramp in preparation for the Tour. Press studs have been ordered to easily install the banners on race morning, without the hassle of cable ties as in previous years.
Thankfully, David Jagger did some testing of the press studs we’d bought (like the ones pictured above) and found they’re not strong enough screws to go into the steel frame of the start ramp.
We’ll have to use pop rivet press studs instead.
Because of this, a group SMS was sent around explaining that the working been has been cancelled.
An unnamed member responded that “The club hardly needs more studs!”
A reply stated “Incorrect. The current club studs don’t screw well enough!”

Lazy Sunday afternoon...

Have you subscribed yet?

Double Bill Movie Night - Wednesday 7 March - 7pm

First up will be Fairless, a film that tells the story about Steve Fairless, a rising star of Australian Cycling who gave it away at the age of 26 to return home to his dairy farm and provide for his family. At the age of 50 (over 20 years later), Steve returned to settle some unfinished business. He quickly became one of the best ...
After intermission, MAMIL, a  new Australian-produced cycling movie with promises of ‘a light-hearted, yet insightful, look at the secret lives of MAMIL’s in their natural habitat’. Yes, ubiquitous ‘Middle-Aged Men In Lycra’ are thrust front and centre stage in this 98-minute feature film that focusses on personal reflections upon why we ride.
Tickets are $15 each for MMBCC members and friends. Email Bruce to book your seat.

Mansfield Coffee Merchant Summer Series Race 2

Race two of the Mansfield Coffee Merchant Series again saw Limit ride away on their own - this time it was Bella Green who was never headed. Mum and Dad are very grateful for the win and the prize of a kilogram of coffee from the Merchant!
Here are the results, very detailed results from Dave Jagger.

Up and Down Race

Some strong climbing and even stronger descending saw Ruby Dobson take the overall win from Tom MacMunn and David Jagger.
Complete results here.

The Bakker Plumbing Handicap

By Beau Geste

Riding and Racing in Jamieson is a privilege and a pleasure.Thursday 22 February saw the running of the annual, and much coveted “Bakker Plumbing Handicap”, starting at downtown Jamieson out to Sailor Bills and back to Jamieson for the finish.
31 riders in all raced on Thursday with a great bunch of junior riders and a welcome back to the fold for Mark Ross.
This was always going to be an interesting race to call, as regular scratch riders Kian Lerch-Mackinnon and Dan Purcell were unavailable, leaving the door open for lesser mortals to fill the void.
Big groups were the order of the night with several groups of six or more and very few small groups.
Ben Grundy had an unfortunate accident with a tree which, without warning, leapt onto the road and unseated him from his bike. Those trees down south can be tricky. Thanks to Deb Sala Tenna for offering assistance.
As is the case with all handicap racing the Rabbits, two Bella’s and an Elise, tried to stay away from the groups behind, and the Scratch group of Halket, Brega, Bakker, MacMunn (Senior), Appleton (Senior) and Grundy (Senior) were doing their level best to bring all before them under their control.
In the finish it was a big night out for the handicapper, the group of David Jagger, Di Condie and Wil Wilson rode strongly and collectively to release Wil in the final kilometres to secure the win. President Wil thanked his group for their efforts saying “Cycling is a team sport and our team did well, David and Di gave me their wheels tonight and I am proud and grateful.”  
Second was David Jagger, followed in by Tony Morris (travelling well after his win in the initial 2018 Sunday race), Di Condie was in 4th place and Jodie Batchelor rode strongly for 5th place. Fastest time on the night was recorded by club Vice-President, Bruce Halket.
Thanks as always to our army of volunteers, and special thanks to Wrong Side Brewery for opening their venue for us.
The Club would like to acknowledge Darren and Trish Bakker of Bakker Plumbing for their ongoing support of cycling, and specifically for sponsoring this annual event.
Perhaps your business would like to be named in a race, it’s a great way to be involved, and a great way to “show off“ your business or activity.
Results here and this week it includes the season points tally.
Photos below from Tony Copland.
Next week is an Individual Time Trial, up and over the Coomesberg, and don’t forget, Mansfield Tour, Victorian Road Series Race, run by our Club on March the 17th and 18th. Mountain top finishes on Mt Buller and Old Tolmie Road with the promise of some hard and fast racing.

Finally...

MMBCC members will be contacted in the coming week regarding duty for the Mansfield Tour on March 17 and 18. You might have noticed the flags are already up in the centre of the main roundabout! But there's still plenty to do to get ready.
Details of the race are here, including the new Stage 2.
Scott McGrory, Sydney 2000 Olympics gold medallist and chief Channel 7 commentator for the cycling at the Commonwealth Games has been confirmed as our commentator too!
It's going to be a great weekend.

The Barnaby Joyce issue

It’s been a huge week of MMBCC cycling!

Sunday
It started on February 11 with the first Mansfield Coffee Merchant Sunday Series race.
In a first for the MMBCC, it was a Handicap race but held on a small-ish circuit of 6km, along Ogilivies, Jamieson, Buller Roads and Crosbys Lane; four laps for a total race distance of 24km.
Tony Morris was first to start off Limit and had finished his first lap before half the field had started; Dan Purcell starting alone off Scratch had a huge job ahead of him.
Morris was never headed and won 3kg of Coffee Merchant coffee for a great ride.

Monday
Dirt Crits on Monday was an Irish Handicap at Riflebutts MTB Park.
The night started badly for Dan Purcell who fell during warm up and withdrew before the start after injuring his arm. Bruce Halket also fell before the end of lap one, injuring his ego.
James Griffin rode smoothly to win ahead of Jason Parker, David Jagger, Andrew Wettenhall and Dan Friday (the younger).
Here are the results.

Thursday
Thursday's road race were Graded Scratch Races to the top of the Coombesberg for A, B and C grades. Here are the descriptions from each of the winners...

A-Grade by Lewis Dowie

A-Grade were first to start from the Mansfield Botanic Park. Calls were made to disqualify Jarrod Appleton for a rolling start, having had to repair a flat tyre at the last minute, he made it just in time. Luckily for him, it wasn’t a fast start, because the neutral zone (which allows the old riders to get their heart rate up) extended until the Barwite Road turnoff. Here the pace picked up. Darren Bakker made an early break but the main bunch, riding strongly together, quickly reeled him in.
Damian Grundy made a break before the turn around at Sawpit Gully Road. The main bunch letting him go, knowing that the longer he was out front, the less chance he would have of making a break at the finish.
Lewis Dowie decided to put on an acrobatics show for the marshals at the turnaround. He came in a bit too fast and hit the brakes a bit too hard trying to avoid the rider in front and went over the handlebars. Lessons learnt: 1. Be careful with disc brakes; 2. Jock always turns right on the line; and 3. stay on the outside. The rest of the bunch took pity on his ineptitude and slowed to allow him to get back to them before the chase of Grundy began.
Various tactics were in play the rest of the race with no-one willing to be left out on the front.
Grundy and Dowie led up the Coombesberg, but there was a surge from the riders behind, pushing them out the back as the bunch came over the crest.
The race ended with a bunch sprint to the finish line. Dowie managed to find a clear run up the outside and pulled ahead to beat Bruce Halket by a wheel, with Appleton in third.

B-Grade by Dave Moore

Eight riders started in B grade and it was clear from early on that Rob Skinner, Steve Duke and Anthony Plummer were going to be the main aggressors. All of their (many) accelerations were nullified fairly quickly and all eight starters made it to the bottom of the 'Coomesberg' in one bunch.
Duke, who had spent a considerable time at the front all night, took the bull by the horns and set off up the climb at a rate of knots, with riders dropping off as the gradient increased and the speed didn't seem to decrease. Young Kody Appleton made a strong acceleration with about 1km to go, and only Dave Moore was able to follow.
After briefly catching his breathe, Moore put his nose in the wind for the second time all night and managed to push on to the finish in the lead, closely followed by Appleton and Duke.

C-Grade by Steve Curnow

C grade took it easy until the Barwite Road and then things heated up a bit with people being in front but not wanting to be.
Jodie Batchelor and Di Condie kept the bunch honest with two sprints, one before the Broken and one after. Steve Curnow and Big Wil wheeled them in, and the rest came along.
Steve Flew and John Eisner did their share of leading with Curnow offering to give them a break from time to time.
The big break was at Long Lane on the return. Eisner led, followed by Flew, Curnow, Dave Jagger, Batchelor and Kieren Payne. It worked! Jodie made sure that the front group maintained the lead, encouraging them to push on.
Once again Flew gallantly took the lead and then onto Old Tolmie Road with Coombesberg looming large. Half way up Flew made a dash only to succumb to a cramp, but he had set the ball rolling for the terrible sprint up to the finish line.
Eisner looked good, but Batchelor got the better of him and Curnow decided to give it his all, overtook Payne, Eisner and Batchelor to take out a convincing win. Condie also received a very prestigious award, leaving no doubt she had given it her all. 

Pics below by Tony Copland and here are the results.

This week's road race...

The Bakker Plumbing Handicap will be held this coming Thursday 22 Feb, starting and finishing in Jamieson (late start - 6pm for a 6.30 start).
Presentations and dinner afterwards will be at The Wrong Side Brewery. Mmmmm...
Marshals: 1. Luke Olver; 2. Lewis Dowie; 3. Courtney Lynch.

Don't forget too that race two of the Mansfield Coffee Merchant Summer Series will be held on the Ogilivies Road Loop again next Sunday; but we'll start a bit earlier... 8am rego for a start at 8.30. (And we'll try not to be late starting this time!)
Marshals: 1. David Jagger; 2. Mauro Brega; 3. Tom Macmunn; 4. Dave Moore.

Club Strategic Plan

The club is developing a strategic plan and would like members to be involved in the development of it. Being a small club, the plan will be used promote membership and organise events, communicate to our local community and a broader cycling community and use in conversations with potential sponsors and agencies such as local government and state government.

The club would appreciate your involvement in the development of the strategic plan. To assist the process, MMBCC has developed a one page draft, above, that is based on information from the website and Cycling Victoria's plan. We value your input and would firstly like to invite members to a meeting on Thursday 19 April 2018 after Summer Presentations.
Could you please email Bruce to let us know if you are interested, so that we can book a venue.

Kian to MTB Nationals at Armidale

Good luck to Kian Lerch-MacKinnon who’ll travel to Armidale in norther NSW for next weekends’ Australian MTB Championships. Keep in mind that Armidale is Barnaby Joyce territory… hopefully Kian will stay out of THAT kind of trouble.

Friday news

Hot one tomorrow so bunch ride at 7... plus it's Tolmie Sports Day. So it’s a good day to be off the roads a little earlier than usual.

Summer Sunday Series starts this week

Don't forget... road race Sunday morning, starting on Ogilivies Road (near Dundas Court) at 9am - rego at 8.30 and we'll do the handicapping on the day.
If you're racing, or even if you're not, please bring a friend. We need a few more corner marshals than usual. And we'll be doing four (perhaps five) laps, so you'll get a good view of the race from that corner!

Dirt Crits

A relatively small list of entries saw a race over two long laps with a ‘secret’ handicap.
Turns out there was a ’win’ up for grabs for the fastest lap, and another for the two laps closest in time.
Bruce won both, being first back after two laps and with only four seconds difference between his laps.
Realistically however, for Bruce to be able to win, a number of his competitors needed to suffer from problems. They duly delivered. There were two punctures, a number of navigational issues with guide dogs and some found it difficult to keep their white sticks out of their spokes!
Here are the results.

Debbie does disappearing

By John Eisner

Despite the heat and the prospect of a cruel hill finish, plenty of riders put up their hands for the weekly Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club race last Thursday.
Kian Lerch-MacKinnon and Dan Purcell once again had the tough assignment of chasing down the rest of the field with two and a half minutes to the next, harshly handicapped pair of Bruce Halket and Rob Curtis.
At the Limit end Deb Sala Tenna had to fend off the remaining twenty odd competitors.
The groups worked well together and at the turnaround it was looking close but with the quick run home Dave Jagger's bunch didn't catch Bocky and Judi Duke until the final bend. A bunch of riders also caught up shortly thereafter and all had Deb in their sights at the bottom of the O'Hanlon's Road hill.
Luke Olver leapt off the front and in a strong finish was able to overtake all the group in front. But he still didn't catch Deb who had disappeared up the road long ago. After riding the whole race on her own, Deb stayed away to take a very well-deserved win.
Dan and Kian ripped through everyone as well but had to settle for third and fourth respectively, Dan also taking fastest time.
Lewis Dowie made a late charge from the 'Block end and placed a good 6th just behind Steve Duke who rode smoothly up the final pitch. The rest of the field was not far behind with more than a few wondering if this hill finish was really Halket's idea of fun!
Thanks to our crew of helpers and the Delatite Hotel for a tasty dinner.
Here are the results and below some pics from Tony Copland.

ASIO let us publish an update!

This week:
- recent road races;
- a bit on dirt crits;
- some upcoming events; and
- volunteers still needed for the BikeBuller MTB Fest.

Thank you!

To all the MMBCC volunteers at the Mt Buller round of the Victorian DownHill Series... a huge thank you very much for all your time and effort. The event ran really well due to plenty of work by Ben Annear (many thanks to you too Benny!) and all of you!

Juniors Juniors Juniors

By Jarrod Appleton

Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club has had an unprecedented increase in juniors taking up road cycling and participating in racing on Thursday evenings. In particular, the junior female division has burgeoned. Juniors now make up a quarter of the field and they are not just there to make up numbers. They are getting great results regularly taking home the prize money. Their rapid progress is due to the support of all the senior members of the club. Every bunch training ride or race is a coaching session with senior riders giving advice on all aspects of riding from pedalling technique and bunch etiquette, to race tactics. This generous support has also extended to the provision of bikes and equipment. The club is so keen to help juniors into the sport it has acquired a good supply of loan bikes over recent years. It is committed to provide a bike suitable for any kid wanting to give it a go.
Mansfield is rapidly becoming a cycling Mecca for road cyclists from all over the state. They are drawn here by Mansfield’s growing reputation of quiet scenic roads and magnificent climbs. This is complimented by the polite and careful driving of motorists in the district allowing cyclist to relax and enjoy the ride.
Despite the heat and humidity, two races have been run in the last fortnight. A 10km hill climb handicap from Sawpit Gully Road up to Spring Creek Road along the Whitfield Road was dominated by the juniors. Cycling Australia rules have juniors racing on restricted gearing. This means on down hills and fast flat roads they run out of gears. Since this race only went up hill, gearing played no part in the results. Four of the top five places were filled by juniors. Kody Appleton was delighted with his first win in his second season of racing, not to mention the $30 prize money. Good earnings for a 14 year old for twenty nine minutes of very hard work. Following him over the line in second place was his sister Talia. Another sibling duo, Elise and Matt Empey, took third and fifth place respectively. And breaking the junior clean sweep was Craig Wilson in 4th.
Last Thursday’s race was on the longest course used by the club. 32km out to the turn around at Sawpit Gully on the Whitfield Road, then around the Barwite loop and finishing in Graves Road. The results indicate a classic tortoise versus hare scenario. Scratch riders Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-Mackinnon devoured almost the entire field finishing only 34 seconds behind the winner Craig Wilson and 20 seconds behind Dick Forrest in second place and Rod Manning in third place. Dick and Rod were the limit riders, starting first, 21 minutes prior to Dan and Kian.
Many thanks again to all our volunteer marshals and the courteous drivers north of town. Next week sees racing on the western edge of Mansfield, finishing atop the intimidating hill on O’Hanlons Road.
Here are Tony Copland's pics of the Hillclimb Handicap on Thursday 25 January.
And here are the results.

and the long 32km Handicap last on Thursday 1 February. And the results.

Dirt Crits

The last two Monday evenings have been oppressively hot so Dirt Crits have had to be cancelled. But surely we'll get to race this week!
Next up on Monday 5 Feb it's the first kids race for 2018 and an Irish Handicap for the big kids.

Some upcoming events

A visit by cycling author Jeremy Scott to Mansfield Library...

and the Tolland Cycling Club's Open Handicap at Wagga Wagga in early March.

BikeBuller MTB Fest

The MMBCC has been offered money if we can get a few club members to help marshal at Mt Buller on the Labour Day long weekend.
If you have some spare time on that weekend, please drop Wil a line.

Is this the future of road bikes?

The 3T Strada of Herald Sun Tour leader Lasse Norman Hansen has proper brakes (yes, discs) and only one chainring. It's almost a mountain bike!

Finally...

Beware of kangaroos out on the road and good luck this weekend to Kian Lerch-MacKinnon racing in the Victorian XCO Championships at Falls Creek on Sunday (plus round 5 of the series at Mt Beauty on Saturday!)

Monday Update

This week... first road race of 2018; next weekend at Buller; results from last weekend; yesterday's Gravel Grind and tonight's Dirt Crits.

Hot Boogie Nights for Mansfield Bike Racing

by Protra Pedina (guest Spanish cycling enthusiast from Club Rocacorba, Girona)

Thursday night Stump Hill Classic
Some may remember that I visited Mansfield last year and was impressed with the quality of riding. Well here we are in 2018 and as luck would have it I am back for another year and found myself on the roads as part of Mansfield Mount Buller Cycling Club Summer Road Racing Series.
Thursday 18 January event was supported by Jenny and Dick Forrest from “Stump Hill” on the Midland Highway. The race presented riders with several challenges even before starting. The handicapping, prepared each week by John Eisner, was based on a race length of 25km, but the Marshalls set a course closer to 22km in length. A difference of this amount can throw the handicapping out, and Mr Eisner was quoted as saying at the sign-on for riders “I’ve been a very naughty boy”. As he also was Commissaire for the day, and having ultimate control of the race, no one was willing to contradict him. In the end it was of little consequence and the efforts of setting the handicaps have been well judged throughout the season.

The bigger challenge for riders was the very hot conditions of the day with the temperature not quite reaching the maximum temperature before racing is cancelled. With the temperature hovering in the high 30’s at 6pm the conditions suited some riders, but most were just looking for shade until called to the start line. Ian Conrick was heard to comment “Geez its hot!”
Eighteen riders started from Limit rider Elise Empey, to Scratch riders of Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-MacKinnon. Kian went on to post fastest time for the night, after showing no nerves on the start line and a morning that included strength work on the bike as part of his training regime for the national Mountain Bike Championships.
A group of Steve Flew, Nathan Pelling, Melanie Green and Alex Green rode well throughout, working well on the rolling terrain. At the turning point on the Benalla Road, Steve Flew started to flag before losing contact with the group on a sharp pinch. At a post race interview Mr. Flew’s only comment was “I didn’t see that coming.”
The group of Bruce Halket, Ross Hopkins, Dave Empey and Darren Bakker also rode consistently throughout, but with little luck in making contact with the leaders. They joined late in the race with Luke Olver and Mark McDowell to roll in together and conclude it really was too hot to have any chance at a win.  When asked about when the group realised the chase was not going to work Bruce Halket responded “It’s not easy. In the last five kilometres I said to the guys, ‘It’s already done. It’s gone.’ After, guys are changing at the front after I tried to go in the breakaway, after Bakker tried to close… and after in the end it came for a slow roll to the finish. It’s unbelievable. Yeah!”
The business end of the race came from two groups of Ian Conrick, Jodie Batchelor, Judi Duke and Keiren Payne. Despite a strong and sustained effort Conrick and Batchelor could not chase down Kieren Payne for the win and Judi Duke for a well earned second.  At the race presentations Keiren spoke about the thrill of his win. “Ah, it’s something special for sure. Yeah. It doesn’t change the world or anything but for me it’s something very nice. Yeah.”
Keiren went on to say ““I have to say thank you for Judi and her strong second and also some friends in the group – I have some friends still in the group, and I’m very happy for that.” When asked if he would consider the upcoming club ride from Swanpool to Tolmie that included sections of gravel he made his intentions clear by claiming “Road bikes are called ‘road’ bikes for a reason!” Mr. Payne and his family were seen celebrating late in to the evening with dinner at Delatite Hotel, a long term and great supporter of everything  cycling in Mansfield.
As with the race last year I reported on a big thanks to all volunteer and marshall's, without their support the events could not happen. Margaretanne Hood again taking out Best on Ground for her work as the lead car, but it was a close run decision with Will MacDonald looking dangerous for 2018.
Next race 25 January 2018, a hill climb from Sawpit Gully Road to Spring Creek Road.

Volunteers still needed

Please... please... please... if you have some spare time this coming weekend we still need a few more marshals to help out at the VDHS on Buller.
Please contact Ben Annear on 0424 453 789 as soon as you get this to help us deliver one of the biggest events our club will host all year!
We need your help.

Weekend results

Congratulations to the Empeys, Elise, Matthew and Dave, who all got on the podium in each of their classes at Round 2 of the Victorian Enduro Tour at Mt Beauty on the weekend.
Elise came third in Under 15 Women, Matt got third in Under 17 Men and Dave finished second in Super Masters Men.
Results here.
Congrats too to Kian Lerch-MacKinnon who won both Victorian MTB Series races he entered on the weekend: Saturday at Silvan and Sunday at Lysterfield Lake. Results can be found for each round through this link.

Come to where the flavour is... Marchfly Country

Sunday 21 January saw the first All Terrain Cycles/MMBCC gravel grind. Damian's idea was to ride from Swanpool to Mansfield, via Tolmie, with a bit over 20 km (of a total of around 80km) on gravel.
It's a great ride! The roads around Swanpool, Tatong and the Tolmie-Tatong Road were stupidly quiet - we probably saw two cars. The climb along side Hollands Creek was really lovely and shaded and even once it turned to dirt remained gradual and pleasant.

The only drawback was the march flies! If you didn't climb fast enough, it felt like you'd either be bitten to death or picked up and taken away.
But once we started descending again the flies couldn't keep up and the descent down from Tolmie was over before we knew it.
We'll do this ride again in Autumn, once the flies have disappeared. Don't miss it!

Dirt Crits Cancelled

Unfortunately, tonight's Dirt Crits have had to be cancelled. So racing will start next Monday 29 January at Riflebutts with an Irish Handicap.

Monday Night update

Why haven't you subscribed yet?

This week... a reminder for roadies, an offer from Cycling-Inform, Sunday's gravel grind and more!

Road Race Reminder

Road racing starts again this week with the first Stump Hill Classic for a few years. And there’s loads of cash on offer too!
This is a reminder that, as usual, entries need to be in to John Eisner via SMS on 0428 503 437 by 8pm on Wednesday.
Then, on Thursday morning, we’ll be downloading the most recent members list from Cycling Australia. If you’re name is not on the list for a RACE membership, you’re not racing! Please bring your receipt with your to prove that you've renewed your membership.
Here’s the link to renew. Or go to our Join Now page to read more about it.
But please don’t turn up to race without a valid Cycling Australia RACE membership.
Also, it’s forecast to be a hot one on Thursday. If it’s too hot to race, the Commissaire will make the call on the night.

Bright Boot Camp offer

Cycling-Inform are offering four places on the February 2018 Bright Boot Camp to MMBCC members FREE (waiver of camp fee $697). Only stipulation is that you stay at Bright Chalet where the camp is based, which is $110 per night which includes three meals a day.
Camp dates are Friday 16 Feb through Tuesday 20 Feb. For more information click here.
Please contact Jodie on 0417 598 817 if you want to secure a place.

Sunday’s gravel ride

There are now only four spots available in the ATC bus for Sunday’s gravel ride from Swanpool to Mansfield via Tatong and Tolmie.
Email Bruce at ATC to reserve your spot.

A couple of reminders…

There are a few bikes still available on the For Sale page.
We still need volunteers for the Victorian Downhill Series race at Mt Buller. Plus there’s also the Bike Buller MTB Fest and the Mansfield Tour.
More details here and you can email Ben here about volunteering for the VDHS.

Finally...

Congratulations to Kian Lerch-Mackinnon who rode to an impressive 6th place in Elite Men at the Nerrang round of the national mtb series on the weekend.

The Craig McLachlan update

Gravel Road Ride - Swanpool to Mansfield via Tolmie - Sunday 21 Jan

In the spirit of all things inappropriate, ATC is helping the club host a gravel road ride on the morning of Sunday 21 January (said by some to be an inappropriate use of a road bike. Nonsense we say!)
You’ll start as a passenger in the ATC Joy Rider bus from the shop in High Street, at 7.30am, to Swanpool… because we’re not keen on riding along the Midland Highway.
From Swanpool you’ll ride across to Tatong, then turn right to Tolmie along the gravel. Then it’s another right turn and the Whitfield Road descent to Mansfield to finish with coffee/brunch at the Merchant.
The club and ATC are helping with the cost of the bus… so it will only cost $10 each for a lift to Swanpool.
All up the ride is about 76km, on nice, quiet roads with a bit under 30km of dirt. Here is the proposed route.
Please email ATC to reserve one of the ten seats available, or phone 5775 2724.
If you still want to come but you’re not one of the first 10, you’ll have to organise your own transport to Swanpool.
And a warning that the inappropriate use of chamois cream during this ride will be deeply frowned upon.

Sponsored road races

The Stump Hill Classic is back!
After a break of a couple of years, the Stump Hill Classic on the Benalla Road is on again as our first race of 2018. With thanks to Jenny and Dick Forrest, there’ll be extra prize money on offer!
The Bakker Plumbing Handicap is on again too!
This will be on the Jamieson course on Thursday 22 February, with extra prize money for placegetters, the threat of medals and dinner at The Wrong Side brewery afterwards.
Check out the calendar regularly as there are rumours of more sponsored races over the rest of the summer.
Speaking of the road race calendar…

Updated road race calendar

The road race calendar has now been updated with the duty roster. Already we’ve had to make a few small changes so please check carefully for when you’re on duty.

NEW YEAR NEWS

Welcome to 2018! Have you decided on your cycling-related New Year's resolution?
First up for the year we have news on race calendars, the road duty roster, membership renewals, a very nice Scott for sale and... we still want you!

Updated race calendar

The updated race calendars for both road and mtb racing are now available.

Road race duty roster

The road races don’t yet have a duty roster but this will be completed in the next few days. So now is your chance to make a request.
If there’s a particular race date that you know you can’t do duty that day, let Bruce know and he won’t roster you on for that day. Or if there’s a particular course you don’t like and you DO want to be rostered on, contact Bruce and let him know.
Otherwise, check the road race calendar again soon to see when you’re rostered on for race duty.

Membership renewals

Roadies… don’t forget that you now need a 2018 membership to keep racing. Here’s the link to the Join Now page. Use the information here to click through to Cycling Australia and renew your MMBCC membership.
Racing starts again on Thursday 18 January. Remember - no licence, no race start!

For Sale

Allan's selling his Orica Scott Addict.

And don’t forget… we still want you!

VDHS – 26-28 January 2018
The MMBCC is again hosting a round of the Victorian Downhill Series at Mt Buller in January. We need YOU to volunteer and make this event just as good as the last few years. In fact, let’s make it even better!
Volunteers are needed for:
- Friday 26 January - Course setting - we require 4-6 people for half a day to complete;
- Saturday 27 January - Track and parking marshals (7:00am till 4:30pm) - we require 12-14 people for a full day, allowing for relief personal. Lunch pack provided for full day volunteers; and - Sunday 28 January - Track and parking marshals (7:00am till 4:30pm or will event finish) - we require 12-14 people for a full day, allowing for relief personnel. Lunch pack provided for full day volunteers.
NEW IN 2018!
We can offer anyone who volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday two nights accommodation (Fri & Sat nights) on mountain at Mt Buller. Places are limited to first come first served and room configuration, etc! This hopefully will encourage you to volunteer for two days, save on travel time, enjoy a weekend in the hills and hopefully get a ride on our trails at some point.
Please email Ben Annear or contact him via 0424 453 789. We’d really like to have volunteers signed up prior to Christmas and the New Year (wishful thinking I know)

BikeBuller MTB Fest – 11-13 March 2018
RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CLUB BY BEING A PART OF BIKE BULLER
The Bike Buller MTB Festival is a 3-day festival of mountain biking races and events on Mt Buller and surrounds. Rapid Ascent Pty Ltd, the event organiser is seeking volunteers to help at the event.
Rapid Ascent are happy to make a donation to your club based on how many volunteers your group provides. We will pay $50/half day or $90/full day per person. There is no minimum or maximum number of people required.
Roles: We have a variety of roles/tasks ranging from course marshalling, manning water/fruit points, competitor registration and administration roles, logistics, competitor services etc.
This is a great opportunity for clubs to raise funds with no behind-the-scenes work or pre-planning. Turn up with your members and your group receives the money.
This is also a great chance for clubs to have a fun weekend or day out with your mates while helping other to have a fun weekend. Volunteers receive an event T-shirt and lunch.
For further information please email John Jacoby or call him on 0408 035 261.

Mansfield Tour – 17-18 March 2018
The MMBCC will host the Mansfield Tour again in March and will again require YOU as manpower. We’ll need volunteers for course set-up on Saturday morning for the Individual Time Trial, then drivers for lead and trail cars for Saturday afternoon’s road race to Jamieson and back, and for Sunday morning’s road race to Mt Buller. We’ll also need people for the registration desk, first aiders plus more.
Unlike previous years when we've used an ‘opt-in’ system, this summer Bruce has adopted an ‘opt-out’ roster. If you are NOT available to volunteer for both Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 March, you’d better email Bruce and let him know, in writing.
Otherwise, you're in! For both days.
You’ve been warned.

Salbutamol Update

When you've finally stopped puffing on your inhaler, here's this week's update:
- Final stage of the Tour de Dirt;
- Thursday's last road race of 2017; and
- Reminder about when we need you in 2018.

Tour de Dirt

Monday saw the third and final stage of the Tour de Dirt with an Irish Handicap.
Talia Appleton took the Women's event overall after taking out stage 3. She was joined on the podium by Elise Empey and Bella Green.
The Men's overall was won by Dan Friday who proved the most consistent over the three stages. Bruce Halket was second ahead of Damian Grundy and Tom Macmunn to tied for third.
Here are the results.
The Delatite Dash on Monday is the last night of Dirt Crits for 2017. After racing we'll 'reconvene' at the Hunt Club in Merrijig for dinner.

Jamieson handicap

The final race before the summer break for the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club was held last Thursday on the picturesque road between Jamieson and Sailor Bills Creek.
Deb Salatenna was first off followed by Courtney Lynch and after a few minutes the dynamic duo of Di Condie and Craig Wilson.
Steve Curnow, Ian Conrick, Will Grundy, Dave Jagger and John Eisner were up next followed by Chris Taylor, Tim Hall, Mel Green and Belinda Cipa.
Dave Moore, Damian Grundy, Andrew Stephenson, Steve Duke and Luke Olver made up the next group while Aaron Peterson, Darren Bakker and Anthony Plummer followed one minute later.
Bruce Halket, Jock Brega and Ross Hopkins made up the Block group and with recent success, Dan Purcell, Kian Lerch-Mackinnon and Rob Curtis were set a challenging four and a half minute gap at the pointy end off Scratch.
Will and Di worked well and managed to hold off the smooth tuning Jagger bunch until just after the turnaround. On the fast return trip, Will Grundy made three impressive moves off the front of the bunch but was reeled in on each occasion.
In a very rare event, Scratch didn’t catch Block. Even though they rode the fastest time, Dan Purcell in a blistering 41.15, they didn’t feature in the top ten for the first time in ages!
With four hundred meters to go, most of the groups merged with Anthony dropping off having done a big effort with his group.
Just up ahead, Lynch put in one final effort to hang in for a good win. Will Grundy made a fourth and final break and was rewarded by a solid second place. With years of tactical experience, Bruce outmanoeuvred the bunch to come in third, closely followed by eleven others.
Presentations (and a few very enjoyable few drinks with pizza) were held after at The Wrong Side brewery who sponsored the night. If you haven't been to The Wrong Side, you should. It's terrific!
Thanks to our team of marshals, to the crew at The Wrong Side brewery and to the Delatite Hotel for supporting the club this season.
Here are the results.

Volunteers wanted

Please don't forget that there are three huge events coming up and we need your help with them. Here are the details of the events... the VDHS round on Mt Buller in January, the Bike Buller MTB Fest in early March and the Mansfield Tour in mid-March.

Friday Facts - no fake news

Tour de Dirt

Monday’s Dirt Crits saw stage 1 and 2 of the Tour de Dirt.
Stage 1 was the Hillclimb; entrants were handicapped by completing a different number of smaller laps, then finishing off with a climb up to the ‘top’ of Riflebutts Reserve.
Dan Purcell was first to the top, closely followed by Tom Macmunn and Kian Lerch-Mackinnon.
Stage 2 was a downhill from the finish of the hill climb to the main finish area.
After handicaps based on previous results, James Griffin took the win; Dan Friday and Dave Moore tied for 2nd.
With one stage to go this coming Monday, Tom Macmunn leads the general classification ahead of Dan Friday and Damian Grundy.
Here are the detailed results.

Road Racing update

Thursday night’s Team Time Trial had to be cancelled due to an administrative issue between VicRoads in Benalla, Victoria Police Event Planning Unit in Melbourne and the MMBCC road race sub-committee chair regarding Public Liability insurance.
The result was proof that the Event Planning Unit and the MMBCC vice-president can’t read! It’s now been resolved and the permit for our final race on Thursday 14 December will be issued early next week.
Our final race will be a handicap at Jamieson (with a late start, 6pm rego for a 6.30 start) with presentation and dinner afterwards at The Wrong Side Brewery (the old Jamieson Brewery). The Wrong Side will be awarding a t-shirt and 6-pack to the winner and rumour has it the road race sub-committee has asked for a little more prize money than usual.
To decide on your prize, check out The Wrong Side.

Thai Yoga Massage discount offer for MMBCC members
... so you can do more miles with ease

Uschi Steedman is offering all MMBCC members a discount on Thai Yoga Massages until the end of January. Simply mention the bike club deal when you book and you'll get the following discounts
    •    1.5 hour treatment for $110 (usually $125)
    •    2 hour treatment for $130 (usually $160)
Thai Yoga Massage is very effective for fascial release and relieving tightness that can arise due to repetitive movements and postures (like sitting on your bike and using the same muscles for hours!)... and it's brilliantly relaxing!
Treatments involve facilitated movement and stretches, as well as more traditional massage using hands, feet and elbows. Uschi can also give you yoga and pilates exercises to take home with you after the treatment.
Interested? For more details and testimonials click here.
To book call Uschi on 0484 540 362.
Christmas Gift Vouchers are also available for the same price (massages must be booked and received before the end of February).

We want you! Volunteers needed.

VDHS – 26-28 January 2018

The MMBCC is again hosting a round of the Victorian Downhill Series at Mt Buller in January.
We need YOU to volunteer and make this event just as good as the last few years. In fact, let’s make it even better!
Volunteers are needed for:
- Friday 26 January - Course setting - we require 4-6 people for half a day to complete;
- Saturday 27 January - Track and parking marshals (7:00am till 4:30pm) - we require 12 -14 people for a full day, allowing for relief personal. Lunch pack provided for full day volunteers; and
- Sunday 28 January - Track and parking marshals (7:00am till 4:30pm or will event finish) - we require 12 -14 people for a full day, allowing for relief personel. Lunch pack provided for full day volunteers.
NEW IN 2018!
We can offer anyone who volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday two nights accommodation (Fri & Sat nights) on mountain at Mt Buller. Places are limited to first come first served and room configuration, etc! This hopefully will encourage you to volunteer for two days, save on travel time, enjoy a weekend in the hills and hopefully get a ride on our trails at some point.
Please email Ben Annear or contact him via 0424 453 789.
We’d really like to have volunteers signed up prior to Christmas and the New Year (wishful thinking I know)

BikeBuller MTB Fest – 11-13 March 2018

RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CLUB BY BEING A PART OF BIKE BULLER
The Bike Buller MTB Festival is a 3-day festival of mountain biking races and events on Mt Buller and surrounds.
Rapid Ascent Pty Ltd, the event organiser is seeking volunteers to help at the event.
Rapid Ascent are happy to make a donation to your club based on how many volunteers your group provides. We will pay $50/half day or $90/full day per person. There is no minimum or maximum number of people required.
Roles: We have a variety of roles/tasks ranging from course marshalling, manning water/fruit points, competitor registration and administration roles, logistics, competitor services etc.
This is a great opportunity for clubs to raise funds with no behind-the-scenes work or pre-planning. Turn up with your members and your group receives the money. This is also a great chance for clubs to have a fun weekend or day out with your mates while helping other to have a fun weekend.
Volunteers receive an event T-shirt and lunch.
For further information please email John Jacoby or call him on 0408 035 261

Mansfield Tour – 17-18 March 2018

The MMBCC will host the Mansfield Tour again in March and will again require YOU as manpower.
(In case you haven’t heard, last weekend’s Tour of Bright had to be cancelled because of the bad weather. Hopefully, all those entrants who weren’t able to ride in Bright will now come to Mansfield next year. If that does happen, the bigger field will need even more volunteers than previous years.)
We’ll need volunteers for course set-up on Saturday morning for the Individual Time Trial, then drivers for lead and trail cars for Saturday afternoon’s road race to Jamieson and back, and for Sunday morning’s road race to Mt Buller. We’ll also need people for the registration desk, first aiders plus more.
Unlike previous years when we've used an ‘opt-in’ system, this summer Bruce has adopted an ‘opt-out’ roster. If you are NOT available to volunteer for both Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 March, you’d better email Bruce, or contact him on 0419 533 120, before Christmas and let him know, in writing. Otherwise, you're in! For both days.
You’ve been warned.

Deluge News

Too wet to ride this weekend?

Either get yourself one of these or just relax and have a read of this!

Dirt Crits Monday 27 Nov

An Irish Handicap saw Bob Thomas take the win ahead of Dan Purcell and Shannon Rademaker. However, after a review of the results, Tom Hogan was awarded third place.
Here are the results.
And great to see so many of the local girls getting into Dirt Crits. There's always room for more!

Handicapper nails it

By le journaliste de vélo

If you were at the Delatite Hotel last Thursday evening for the road race presentations, you would have noticed the handicapper strutting around proud as punch. And so he should have, he had an absolute blinder (in a handicapping sense) for race 8 of the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club (MMBCC) summer series.  
The 33.5km course started at the Botanic Park, headed north out the Mansfield Whitfield road to Sawpit Gully Rd, where riders turned around and then made their way around the Barwite loop clockwise to the finish line awaiting them on Graves Rd.
As has been the trend for the season so far, participation was high with over 35 athletes pinning on a number for one of the longer road races on the MMBCC calendar.
The handicapper grouped all the riders into about 10 groups, starting with the limit riders Bella MacMunn and Deb Salatenna, down to the scratch trio in Josh ‘Juggernaut’ Hopwood, Kian Lerch-Mackinnon and Dan Purcell, who were resplendent to be seen in matching kit! Upon registering and checking out the start list, to say that the Scratch trio was just a little displeased at the record 27 minute handicap to limit and the 4 minute handicap they'd been given to the block group would be an understatement of the century. But no complaining...in the handicapper we trust.
Anyway, so the race started.
Mansfield Whitfield Road was alight with group after group soaring toward the turnaround, all the while battling a weird crosswind which plenty were struggling to work out.  
There was drama at the Sawpit Gully Rd turnaround with Bella Green taking the corner just a bit hot and hitting the deck, a few minutes later Purcell almost did the same thing - but managed to just get a foot down after loosing his front tyre into the gravel.
Most groups were still together and enjoyed fast speeds thanks to now a cross tailwind on the run back toward the Barwite Road. But it was carnage once each group took the left turn onto Barwite Road itself and headed into another strong cross head wind. Anybody ‘just holding on’ went straight out the back.
Meanwhile, still dead last, and not even within sight of any other riders the Scratch trio pondered what they'd have for tea at the pub. That was until they turned onto Barwite Road and heard a yell from the marshal on the side of the road, "A minute and a half"! Working very hard into the wind along Barwite Road, this margin to the leading rider was down to about 45 seconds once the right turn was made to ascend the north side of the Coombesberg. Kian Ginger-Ninja loves a hill, and took to the north side of the Coombesberg like a duck to water which really made his fellow Scratch riders grit their teeth.
Now just a few hundred metres further up the road of Scratch, the remaining members of the block group in Mauro Brega and Tom Macmunn had swept up all that lay ahead of them and a mega group of 15-20 riders was now charging down Graves Rd with a kilometre and a half left to race. The handicapper was in this big group, and had his lungs not been burning I'm sure he would have been smiling.
Just before the Graves Road ford, Juggernaut Josh screamed to his fellow scratch riders "C'mon, we're on here!", as he proceeded to burn his very last petrol ticket to close down the final 100m to the mega group. Kian took up the lead-out and swooped up the entire mega group to deliver Purcell to the front of the race with 250m left to go. In a frantic and fast finish, Tom MacMunn showed his exceptional bike handling skills to use the slip stream and to jump from wheel to wheel to claim a really strong second place, marginally behind Purcell who held on for the win. Kian hit the line third, Brega in fourth and Damian Grundy rounded out the top five.  
Massive thanks to all the volunteers who made the event possible.
What a fun race. Here are the results.
In the handicapper we trust.

And here's a little reading for over the next few damp days...

Cycling Tips on Chris Froome aiming for the Giro-Tour double

A few tips, from Cycling Tips, on mistakes to be aware of in your training. We're lucky at the MMBCC to be blessed with a couple of coaches. Contact Damian Grundy or David Heatley for more information and avoid these common mistakes.

Some advice for mountain bike suspension set-up; on compression and rebound.

Not the Nine O'Clock News

Have you subscribed yet?

Your weekly dose of all things MMBCC:
- Dirt Crits teams race from Monday night;
- More on Sunday's Working Bee;
- Last night's road race; and
- Some bargain mountain bikes for sale!

Monday night Dirt Crits

Damian devised a devious teams race - teams of three with each team having to complete 10 laps. Handicapping, such as it was, meant each team has a rider to ride two laps, a rider for 3 laps and a rider for another five.
All except Damian’s team who had to do a total of 11… which didn’t work out so well.
Here are the results.

Riflebutts Working Bee this Sunday

The track work has been done, now it's time to install the signage! Parks Victoria have produced a series of trail signage to be put in at Riflebutts Reserve but first... we need to install the posts for them to be mounted onto. This Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. Please bring along a shovel, post hole diggers, crowbars.

Le President saves our pride!

by Jodie Batchelor

MMBCC raced 25km on Howes Creek Rd with 36 starters it was a night where the kids were showing the parents how its done, the respect to the elders was only restored by a solo breakaway Le President Craig Wilson who took the win. It was a night for the front markers and the youth of the club with young Ben Grundy coming in 2nd, Talia Appleton 3rd, Elise Empey 4th and Bella MacMunn 5th.
The limit markers of Deb Salatenna, Ben Grundy and Bella MacMunn starting proceedings, followed 5 minutes later by Tony Morris who was joined by Elise Empey, Talia Appleton and Bella Green after being solo until 20km to go. However in the next group Di Condie and Craig Wilson were setting a great starting pace and newcomer Judi Duke was already unhitched from the group before the 5.5km mark.
It was a tough night racing for many that were dropped early. Chris Taylor had a night of two halves after being dropped within 5km from his bunch managed to hang the back of the following bunches for the next 15km until 20.8km and then once the rolling climbs came towards the finish he was done!
The eyes were on the Scratch markers of Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-MacKinnon though, as within the first 5.5km they had already pulled the 90sec head start to the block group containing Bruce Halket, Jock Brega, Rob Curtis and Dave Empey back to less than a minute. It took the Scratch boys until 18.7km until the catch was made. Probably because the block group caught the group in front of them at 9.5km and there was at least 9 men driving the pace.
Unfortunately for the chasers the front markers had the experience of Di Condie and Craig Wilson setting the pace. Di normally very successful on this course suffered a puncture with about 3km to the finish. With Di out of the picture Le President (Craig Wilson) rode away solo taking the win by almost a minute ahead of the junior racers. The bragging rights belonged to the kids with Ben (2nd) beating big brother Will and Dad Damian, Talia (3rd) beating Mum Janine and Dad Jarrod, Elise (4th) beating big brother Matt and Dad Dave, and Bella (5th) beating Dad Tom.
Here are the very details results… thanks Jodie!
Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers and officials for all their hard work; and to the drivers of Howes Creek Road for being so patient.
Next week sees the club take on the longest Thursday night race of the summer, the full 32km catastrophe from the Botanic Park around to Graves Road via Sawpit Gully Road. Entries by 8pm Wednesday: no pre-entry – no race!

Mountain bikes for sale

Have you got a budding mountain biker who needs a steed?
All Terrain Cycles are selling these Specialized Hardrock mountain bikes for just $250. Yes, you read that right… $250!
They’re alloy-framed hardtails with 26” wheels, hydraulic brakes and are in pretty good nick.
XS up to XL available.
Call ATC on 5775 2724. They won't last!

Thursday news

Working Bee this Sunday

The track work has been done, now it's time to install the signage!
Parks Victoria have produced a series of trail signage to be put in at Riflebutts Reserve but first... we need to install the posts for them to be mounted to.
This Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. Please bring along a shovel, post hole diggers, crowbars.

Junior Results last sunday

Some young MMBCC members have produced some sensational results in the last week.

Charlie Jones, left, got second and Matt Empey, centre, took the win at Narbethong in the Under 17 class at the Victorian DH Series round 2.

Talia Appleton took the win (and the congratulations from MMBCC life member Simon Gerrans) in her age group at Yarra Boulevard, Kew in the Victorian School Cycling Championships.

Elise Empey and Bella Green took first and second in the Gravity Enduro of the Thule Bright 24-hour MTB race on Sunday.

Congratulations to all these MMBCCers!
See you at the road race tonight. Even if you don't race, come along to have a look and to the Delatite Hotel afterwards for race presentation and to celebrate these brilliant results.

Updated Weekend Update

Yes, an update to the update - a lot this week:
- Photoshoot Monday:
- Last week's Four-Up (with pics this time!);
- Monday's Backwards Handicap Dirt Crits;
- Changes to Thursday night race duty;
- BMX update;
- More on Damian's coaching;
- Thursday night's Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap; and
- A bike for sale.

Talent wanted!

Do you have a couple of spare hours on Monday afternoon?
To promote cycling around Mansfield, the Shire are taking some photos of roadies late on Monday afternoon - around 4pm.
If you can help out - we need you! - please call Danielle Roberts on 0409 007 196.

Four-Up - Thursday 9 November

by David Jagger

The cycle race last week was considerably different from the standard road race. A series of short sprint heats were raced culminating in a final. Cyclists were divided into four grades depending on their ability. Within each group, cyclists raced in a sprint of four people over a comparatively short distance of 1km. Some older and wiser cyclists played a game of cat and mouse with a slow amble for the first 900m, juggling for position and preparing for a fast dash to the finish. Riders with either great endurance or no tactics just put the pedal down and sprinted for the whole kilometre!
The event attracted about forty riders with ages ranging from 11 to 65. D grade contained some of the younger riders and a few new to racing. Ben Grundy showed that he is a good sprinter winning the group from Elise Empey and Judi Duke. He seemed to have the attitude of attacking from the front. C grade was won by Tim Hall who displayed cunning and just knew when to take off (as they say in the classics, “start as late as possible but before anyone else”) and outsprinted John Eisner and Jodie Batchelor.
Just to prove that experience isn’t everything, B grade almost had an upset with newcomer to the club, Cameron Dobson just falling short of taking the flag as Dave Moore won the final. Nathan Pelling was hot on their heels and rolled over the line in third in his best result so far.
The big boys were trying to sort themselves out during the heats. Young guns Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-MacKinnon were chomping at the bit just to sprint the races whilst seasoned cyclists were happy for them to do the hard work. In the end though, brawn still beat cunning with Rob Curtis and Bruce Halket rolling across the line in third and fourth.
Overall a great night with brilliant Spring weather. Here are the results.
Next week is the Alain Guerin Memorial handicap in memory of our beloved club member who tragically died out on the Buller Road three years ago. It should be an interesting race finishing with a hill top climb on the dreaded “Coombesberg”.

Crit Dirts

A very different, backwards format of racing on Monday night saw Dave Moore take the bikkies.

Thursday race duty update

The club race trailer is now stored in the shipping container up at the High School.
If you’re rostered on first, in bold, you need to organise to get it in time for each race.
The next three are Tom Macmunn, Dave Moore and David Jagger. Here’s the calendar so you can see when you're rostered on.
And here is the Road Race Info page with the updated details on how to get the trailer.

BMX Update

Hayden Fletcher will miss this weekend's Victorian BMX titles at Wyndham to prepare to leave for Tulsa Oklahoma on Monday for what is called THE GREATEST BMX RACE ON EARTH, the USABMX Grand Nationals,
Hayden has been in good form, with two wins at local Melbourne race tracks and a 3rd place at last week's Knox Thunderdome.
After breaking his collarbone 6 weeks before last year's race and not being fully fit, Hayden is super keen to put on a much better show this time around.
Hayden would like to thank the MMBCC for the many years support for his high performance grants, money that has helped fund this trip.
In other BMX news, 8 year old MMBCC BMX member Finn Baker is doing double duties this weekend at the Victorian Championships, racing in the 8-10 yr old cruiser class (24 inch bikes) and in the 8 year old boys Expert class. All this while his dad Adam will officiate at the four day meeting - around 800 riders will compete traveling from all over Australia. Good luck Finn!

Recapture your youth

with Damian Grundy

Road training and coaching session - Tuesday 21 November 4.30pm
The best sports physiologist that I ever worked with always emphasised that ‘Novelty’ was a key component of the best training plans.
Tuesday’s session from Mansfield Botanic Park will be novel indeed, the question is: how good are you at pedalling? This will be a limited, low gear, single speed training session.
Come along, all ages welcome.
Please let me know by SMS 0411 045 771 if you are coming.
The first session that you attend is a freebie. However after that there will be a small charge for the sessions: Juniors $5 and Seniors $10.
Road sessions will be every second week: 21/11/17, 5/12/17 & 19/12/17
Mountain bike sessions at Riflebutts - 29/11/17, 13/12/17.

Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap

On the left: Laurent Guerin and Jean-Daniel Guerin with winner Brendon Green. On the right, the podium of Jules Fleures, Brendon Green and Dan Purcell.

The third running of the Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap Road race was held with the threat of inclement weather and a large field of riders.  34 local riders were joined by 10 riders from Melbourne, mostly with the Hometec shutters team, which includes Alain’s sons Jean-Daniel and Laurent.
The “big smoke” inclusions filled spots at the fast end of the field with the scratch group consisting of six riders, local lads, Kian Lerch-Mackinnon and and Dan Purcell, and part-time local Jules Fleurus.  With this many strong riders the winner would surely emerge from this group.
The block group contained 7 riders and second block 9 riders, this was an evening of fast bunch riding with the final result being decided on the north side of “the Coomsberg” of Old Tolmie Rd.
Groups rode well on Whitfield Rd to the turn-around point at Sawpit Gully Rd and it was not until Barwite Rd the scratch group exerted their dominance over the race, passing all in front of them, leaving only the final climb of the Coomsberg to sort out the important placings.
The group consisting David Jagger, Allan Gerrans, Ian Conrick, Steve Curnow and John Eisner rode strongly to stay away from most of the rest of the field and would feature strongly on the final result.
In the final, only three seconds separated the top ten finishers, making recording results a challenging task for our volunteers and demonstrating some fine handicapping skill.
Tenth place was occupied by David Jagger who was led by Allan Gerrans, Bruce Halket, Brad Thexton, Lewis Dowie (In his second race and on a MMBCC loan bike), fifth place was secured by Rob Curtis, fourth Kian Lerch-Mackinnon, third was Jules Fleurus, second Dan Purcell and the eventual winner at the same time as Dan was Brendon Green of Team Hometec shutters.
A great race and a deserving winner.
The reason for the memorial highlights two issues for us at the club, firstly the loss of our friend and colleague “Au revoir mon ami”, and secondly the need to highlight safety on our roads.
Thank you to our volunteers and Commissaires, without whom we cannot race.
Here are the results.

Bike for sale

Gavin Bailieu has his bike for sale so he can buy himself a more suitable one.
Please have a look.

Cup Weekend Update

Last Monday's Gravity Enduro;
Thursday's Road Race;
More thoughts on Thursday; and
Doing something about ADHD.

Dirt Crits

A great night at Dirt Crits on Monday 30 October with a Gravity Enduro - three timed mainly downhill runs - with the best total time declared the winner.
Matt Empey was initially given the win but after checking, the winner was Kian Lerch-MacKinnon (on his XC hardtail!)
Here are the results.

The Mur de Campagnolo

By Guillaume DeLaCroix

Record numbers registered to start the handicap race on Howes Creek Rd with racers ages ranging from pre-teen to the over 60’s. The Howes Creek Rd course, with it’s finale on the “Mur de Campagnolos” (Campagnolos/O’Hanlons Road Hill), is challenging to say the least.
The limit group of Deb Sallatenna and Ben Grundie opened the proceedings with a 20 minute and 30 sec start on the scratch group. The following group included three junior riders Tahlia Appleton, Bella Greene and, first time road racer Elise Empey, this group was well chaperoned by Rachael Grundy and the evergreen Tony “The Barber” Morris.
Five further groups started before the Scratch group of Dan “Evil” Purcell and Rob Curtis. The strength in the field was clearly in the second block group of 11 riders, these would be very hard to catch and very hard to stay away from.
Powerhouse, Anthony Plummer drove the big group throughout the race, making the racing swift and making the members of his group work very hard. Jarrod Appleton reported having to do “double turns” on Anthony’s wheel. This proved to be a double edged sword for Jarrod in the finish.
As predicted the “Mur” would decide the eventual winner and so it did, with the field coming together to attack the short but sharp climb to the finish. Some climbed with style, some battled on and some just plain struggled. President Wil Wilson finishing with a time registered on a handy calendar.
As the sprint for the finish opened up, Dave Moore broke from the field for a classy “mountain goat” win, 4 seconds clear of Matthew Empey in his first road race who was followed 10 seconds later by Jarrod Appleton, perhaps grateful for the double turns provided by Anthony’s big efforts.
Here are the results.
Matthew will be the rider to watch in coming weeks and I am certain that handicapper Eisner will be watching very closely.
Other new-comers included Dave Empey, Steve Duke, Donna Stephensen, Judi Duke and Courtney Lynch… the Club welcomes you all. The Club also celebrates the arrival of its newest racer, Hamish William Hopwood arrived on Monday 30 October, congratulations to Josh, Louise and Paris.
The Club always welcomes new riders of all ages and ability levels, so come and have a go at racing!
Next week will be “four–up sprints” contested on Graves Rd. This could be the event where the Bakker-Ross medal will be awarded.
Thanks to our volunteers and officials, without your assistance it would just be fast training.
Many thanks again to Tony Copland for the pics.

More thoughts on Thursday...

It was a shame to see a rider come down on Thursday night. Thankfully AJ wasn't badly hurt and thankfully it's not a common occurrence in MMBCC races.
While no one person was at fault, it seems to me some poor decision making contributed to the crash.
There's a good outline of the 'method' of road racing on this page - scroll down to Safe Road Racing and please have a read. What happened Thursday night isn't directly covered by the article but it's implied.
It doesn't matter which group you ride in, overtaking another group leading into a corner, is NOT a good idea. And when your group has already been overtaken by a faster group makes it even less of a good idea.
But to compound that by overtaking the faster group while coming into a corner and forcing the bunch to be five-wide around that corner is really NOT A GOOD IDEA!) It's little wonder that AJ was forced wide and onto the dirt.)
Commissaire Tim Ross gave a briefing before the race and asked for no more that two-abreast - please obey instructions from our officials, who volunteer their time to help keep us safe.
This coming Thursday is the Four-Up; a one kilometre sprint race. It's designed to allow you to practice the 'cat and mouse' of the sprint of a standard Handicap race; it's not just a 1km time trial. If you don't consider yourself a sprinter, this is perfect for you!
And hopefully, Thursday, week, when we're racing on the Coombesberg, everyone will stay upright and safe.
Cheers,
Bruce Halket,
Road Race Sub-Committee Chairman.

Bike riding helping kids with ADHD

Here's an article about Specialized helping kids in the States with ADHD and how bike riding has been added to their school's curriculum and the benefits of bike riding.