ACT Veterans Weekly Bleat, Monday 29th October, 2018

Hello Vets,

In this week’s Bleat;

• 2019 road race program
• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• Australian Paralympic Committee Talent Search
• Tandem Cycling Come and Try
• Additional Event Traffic Controller course for 2018
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton

2019 road race program

The 2019 road race program is now on RMS. All races, particularly those in NSW, are still subject to government approval. Two new race venues are included: Mountain Creek Road and Mount Majura.

From the Desk of the Handicapper (finally back in Canberra)

The changes this week;

Promotions
– Andrew Murrell B to A
– Michael Hanbury D to C
– Mark Kitchen D to C
– Adrian Priddin F to E
– Brendan Lakey B to A
– Andrew Harold E to D

Adjustments
– David Wilson A to C
– Scott Tozer B to C
– Jason McAvoy C to D
– Simon Johnston C to D
– Bob Miller E to F
– Denis Puniard E to F
– Paul Ledbrook A to B
– Tess McLachlan D to E

Riders intending to ride the road race on Sunday must ride in their designated grade for this scratch race. Please contact handicapper@actvets.cc should you wish to change road grades.

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

Australian Paralympic Committee Talent Search 18th Nov

The Australian Paralympic Committee and our sporting partners are searching for the next generation of Paralympic athletes. If you believe you have the potential to compete at the Paralympic Games, please join us at our upcoming testing session in Bruce;

AIS Sport Halls
Leverrier St, Bruce
Sunday 18 November, 11am-3pm

Eligible disability types include but are not limited to:
– Impaired muscle power
– Short stature
– Ataxia, athetosis and hypertonia
– Limb deficiency and dysmelia
– Leg length difference
– Impaired passive range of motion
– Vision impairment
– Intellectual impairment

For more information: http://paralympic.org.au/talent-search-registration-form

Tandem Cycling Come and Try

Riding a bike is an inclusive activity – however it’s not always an activity everyone can be included in without some extra assistance, particularly if they have a visual impairment or another disability that means they can’t ride safely alone.

For this reason, we are always looking for new tandem pilots to ride with us.

On Saturday 10 November at the forecourt area of the National Museum of Australia (Lawson Crescent, Acton), between 2 and 4pm, Fitability will be holding a come and try tandem afternoon where people can go down and trial piloting a tandem bike!

This is a great opportunity for people to turn up and see if piloting a tandem is something they enjoy and volunteer to share with riders with vision impairment or other disabilities.

You can also speak with us about opportunities to ride tandem with a person with a disability, or accompany a person with a disability riding their single bike, as a paid casual job. This is becoming possible through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) because people with a disability can use their NDIS funds to support their own recreational and social goals.

No matter what interest you have, whether it is road riding, social riding or even racing – if you are confident on your bike and open to trying a tandem then Fitability’s trial afternoon is for you.

The only thing you need to bring with you is your own helmet and a willingness to give something new a try.

More information about Fitability Tandem Riding, a Pedal Power program can be found at www.fitability.org.au

Contact: Lauren Brand on 0403 602 577 or email: lauren.brand@grapevine.com.au or Lindy Hou on 0402 113 836 or email: lindy@lindyhou.com.

Additional Event Traffic Controller course for 2018

An additional course for Event Traffic Controllers has been scheduled for 24 November. Details are available on Blended Learning’s web site: http://www.blendedlearning.edu.au/home/courses/programs-courses/event-traffic-controller/.

Members previously accredited as ATCs will need to do the updated training course to get ETC accreditation. Having enough controllers available in the club is critical to our ability to run races in the ACT and it is likely we will need to have ETCs for NSW races in the future.

Please register for a place ASAP as numbers are limited. Register directly with Blended Learning via email info@blendedlearning.edu.au or phone 6230 4633 and indicate you are from our club.

UPDATE: There will be an opportunity to undertake ETC mentoring at the Uriarra race on Sunday 25 November.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 30th October: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
E/F/G @5:50 20 min + 2 laps
A/C @6:15 A 30m+2, C 25m+2
B/D @6:50 B 30m+2, D 25m+2

Race Director:  Ian McVay Contact: Email: imcvay@grapevine.com.au    Ph  0406378509

Marshals: John Ignatius

Wednesday, 31st October: Track Racing

The Program for Wednesday is as follows;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 9-lap graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 7.00pm: 1 Lap SS Time Trial;
7.00pm – 7.10pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 4th November: Uriarra Homestead Graded Scratch

Where: Uriarra Homestead, Uriarra Rd / Brindabella Rd, T-Junction.
When: 9:00 am.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
Two laps of Uriarra Homestead – top of Uriarra Crossing – Condor Creek – Homestead

Race Director: John Thorn Contact: Email: jpthorn@gmail.com    Ph  0432402221

Marshals: Seymour Savell-Boss, David Jukes, Lewis Cressy, Robert Mackey

Upcoming Marshal Roster

Thank you to those who volunteered to help (noted below in black) at the races to September. The nominees (in blue) have been selected based on results from the previous summer race season and the period since they last helped at a race. Please advise your availability or unavailability to the race committee (race.committee@actvets.cc) as soon as possible.

Crit races are at Stromlo Forest Park on Tuesdays and road races are on Sunday mornings.

* denotes ETC required for ACT races.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo Criterium – 23rd October

After the ride out to the crit track into a stiff head wind, I thought that racing would be a little subdued, but I was far from the mark. The evening was warm and clear and the racing was off to a fast start with A and C grades up first. Jeremy Ross jumped from the gun and was off the front from the first lap. By the 4th lap, Jeremy still had quite a gap, but the bunch was starting to think about chasing. Seven minutes in and Jeremy was still off the front, but the rest of the bunch had split into 2 groups, and stayed that way for the rest of the time. 10 minutes in and Jeremy was joined in the break by Rob McLachlan and Ben Morrison. The three worked together til the last lap when Rob launched a sprint but was pipped at the post by Ben.

C grade were a little less animated, staying together for the best part of the race. There was a bit of confusion with A grade passing the bunch and one or two individuals taking advantage and grabbing the wheel on the way past. This was as unfortunate as it was unsportsmanlike. Participants are reminded that the race is neutralised when being passed by another grade and taking an opportunity to gain an advantage will be frowned on by your peers. C grade was beginning to spread out and the passing of A grade may have added some confusion with the bunch being stretched further across the track. A small group had a small gap, and were ultimately victorious, with John Thorn, Michael Hanbury and John Marinov sprinting for the top placings.

With the excitement of A and C over, I didn’t make as many notes for the racing of B and D. I recall that both bunches were sizeable and stayed together for much of the racing. When B passed D, it was well managed, with the racing neutralised and people holding their lines. The winners from B grade were Brendan Lakey, Conan Liu and Gerard Tiffen, and from D were Mark Kitchen, Bob Perkins and Paul Angelatos.

E, F and G rolled off without a hitch, with both E and F having new riders in the bunch. There were a couple of attempts to get away from E grade, but they came back to the bunch fairly quickly. Brandie O’Connor did a fair amount of work on the front of F grade, and was also mentoring one of the newbies. Both E and F were nice sized bunches with 9 and twelve respectively and most finished with their respective bunch, with Andrew Harrold taking the sprint in E grade from Dale Dummett and Christopher Hodgson. F grade was won by Adrian Priddin from Michelle Hodgetts and Leeanne Tennant. Belinda O’Connor and Bruce Jones were the sole participants in G grade, staying together until the final sprint, where Belinda took the win.

Peta Brill

Track Racing – 24th October

It has been a trying start to the 2018-19 track racing season with the first two events cancelled due to poor weather. Wednesday’s session was the season’s first racing and conditions were not great. It was fine. However, a cold head wind blasted down the front straight making the warm up laps more like a cool off. Fortunately, the wind moderated somewhat, as the racing progressed. The attendance was fifteen riders. This was fewer riders than expected. However, it is likely a result of the difficulties in starting the season.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was led out by Dougal Torrance. The bunch settled to a very sharp tempo that initially spat out Ben Robey and Tony Beasley. However, Tony accelerated and re-joined the bunch on the next lap. On lap 4 Hamish Anderson hit the front and raised the tempo a notch. The bunch backed off slightly by lap 6, allowing Dougal Torrance to launch a blistering attack that soon gave him a 70m margin. The bunch were slow to react. The ferocity of Dougal’s attack meant a hard pursuit was needed and there were no takers. Eventually the bunch began to cooperate in pursuit. The expectation was that they would catch Dougal, as he tired from the early attack. However, Dougal had not read that script. He just kept charging until he had an unbeatable, half-lap lead. As Dougal cruised over the line, the remaining bunch sprint began with Michael Langdon outpacing the rest for second. Hamish Anderson came in third and Tony Beasley surprised with a creditable finish in fourth.

The B Grade scratch race commenced at a good pace that spat out two riders by lap 4. On lap 5, three riders pulled away from the bunch. Phil Anderson pursued and closed the gap on his own, expending a bit too much energy in the process. As the final lap neared, the pack began to consolidate. Sue Powell and Steve Hirsler launched an attack and separated from the bunch. Steve attempted to overtake. However, he was skilfully held in the outside lane by Sue as they rounded the final bend. In the final straight, Sue pulled away for the win. Steve took second and Ross Scutts pipped Bruce Griffin for third.

The evening’s second event was a 2-lap handicap. At this early stage in the season, handicapping is a challenge. Nevertheless, it was good to see Craig Kentwell and Bruce Griffin make the best of their handicaps to win in A and B grades, respectively. Tony Beasley and Ben Robey took second and third places in A grade. Steve Hirsler and Ken Birch took the equivalent places in B grade.

The track session closed with an all-in, Italian pursuit with 6 riders per team. As usual, this was a captivating event. Both teams made good starts. Team 2 progressively drew ahead and by lap 4 had what seemed a winning margin. Fortunately, Team 1 had an in-form Dougal Torrance take over for the penultimate lap. Dougal scorched around the track wiping out most of Team 2’s lead in 30 seconds. Michael Langdon took over for the final lap and, despite a gallant pursuit by Hamish Anderson, gave Team 2 a win by a 6m margin.

Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Dougal Torrance, Michael Langdon, Hamish Anderson. (B Grade) Sue Powell, Steve Hirsler, Ross Scutts.
2-Lap Handicap: (A Grade) Craig Kentwell, Tony Beasley, Ben Robey. (B Grade) Bruce Griffin, Steve Hirsler, Ken Birch.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Graeme O’Neill, Phil Anderson, Ed Garnett, Ben Robey, Dougal Torrance, Michael Langdon).

Season Point Score Update:
Dougal Torrance (17), Steve Hirsler (16), Bruce Griffin (15), Michael Langdon (14), Tony Beasley (14), Ben Robey (13), Craig Kentwell (13).

Graeme O’Neill