Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

•  First Aid Course

•  Tandem Cycling Come and Try with Fitability

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  AVCC 2021 Nationals

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Report

Ian Morton

First Aid Course

Thanks to all of you who have responded to previous items in The Bleat about no-cost Advanced First Aid Courses for ACT Vets members. Due to difficulties in coordinating enough numbers to make group courses viable, we have come to an arrangement with training provider ACTWell to enable members to undertake a public course at their convenience.

The process is as follows:

1. Log on to ACTwell.com.au. There’s a useful tab on “Upcoming Sessions”. Once you’ve found a course that suits you, go to “Make a Booking” and follow the prompts.
2. Select “HLTAID006” – Advanced First Aid
3. Choose a date and assessment time that suits you. We’d be grateful if you could let the committee (committee@actvets.cc) know so we have a sense of numbers taking up this opportunity.
4. In the payment page, there is a voucher section. Input the code ACTVETS1. This will reduce the price from $190 to $160.
5. Undertake your course. The ACTWell guys are great, and have extensive experience in attending roadside incidents. They will, where possible, make time at the end of the practical session to go through some cycling specific scenarios.
6. E-mail evidence of your qualification and your receipt to treasurer@actvets.cc, and Kirsti will arrange for reimbursement.

Members are also welcome to undertake nationally-accredited first aid courses with the provider of their choice, provided the cost is less than $200 and they agree to go onto the club’s register of first-aid qualified members. One member has already taken up this option. Contact the committee to ensure your course meets the club’s needs. Following completion of the course, e-mail evidence of your qualification and receipt to treasurer@actvets.cc.

We strongly encourage members to take up this opportunity, which has been enabled by an ACT Government Road Safety Grant.

Tandem Cycling Come and Try with Fitability

Many of you will have seen tandems at Vet’s races and out and about riding. Fitability will be holding a come and try tandem morning on Saturday 19th September starting at 9:30am till 12 noon at Stromlo Criterium Circuit.

This is an opportunity for confident riders to trial riding at the front of a tandem bike, or for people with a disability to try riding at the back.

Instruction on piloting as well as disability specific information will be provided by experience pilots and volunteers.

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.

Fitability are providing tandem bikes in a range of sizes. All you need to bring with you is your own helmet and shoes and a willingness to give something new a try. More information about Fitability Tandem Riding, a Pedal Power program can be found at https://www.pedalpower.org.au/fitability/, email: Fitability.act@gmail.com or call Lindy on 0402 113 836

Rosemary Robinson

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are legal requirements in place for people returning to the ACT from Victoria and particular places in New South Wales to self-quarantine.

Members who have been to any of these locations in the past 14 days should be complying with ACT Government quarantine restrictions.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

AVCC 2021 Nationals

RACING THIS WEEK:

Saturday, 5th September: Iron Mike

Where: Drive aprox 2.5km north west on Uriarra Rd from the intersection with Opperman Ave, Wright i.e. the main entry to SFP.
When: 1:30 pm.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number
Race Description:
Race start and finish on Uriarra Road at SFP western car park. Race goes past the homestead to end of bitumen and return (60 km).
NOTE: Riders are NOT to attack on the descents into Uriarra crossing on either the outward or return legs.

Race Director: Paul Scherl Contact: Email: pascherl@microsoft.com    Ph 0402 210 804

Marshals: Darren Blackhurst ETC, Seymour Savell-Boss ETC, Jonathan Chowns, Dougal Torrance

Framework for “Return to Play in a COVID-safe Environment”

This Framework details how cycling events will be delivered by the ACT Veterans Cycling Club to meet the recommendations of Canberra’s Recovery Plan. From 19 June 2020, Stage 2.2 allows for groups of no more than 100 participants. Refer to the ACT Government guidelines at http://www.covid19.act.gov.au.

Stage 2.2 & 3 Arrangements

• On the day of the event, the race Director will be responsible for ensuring that participants follow these guidelines. Where a participant fails to comply they will be asked to leave the event.
• Any rider who is feeling unwell should not participate. If a rider experiences symptoms such as fever, cough, headache, sore throat, and tiredness, they should stay at home. Consult a doctor if symptoms persist. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Symptom Checker is available at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool/basic-details.
• Riders with higher risks from Covid19 are advised not to participate:
  • People aged 70 years and over;
  • People aged 65 years and over with chronic medical conditions;
  • People with compromised immune systems; and
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50 with one or more chronic medical conditions.
• Race Officials will maintain 1.5m separation and hygiene standards during event setup, running and shutdown. When handling equipment such as signs and radios, Officials are to maintain hygiene by cleaning, wearing gloves and/or regular hand cleaning.
• The Club will organise first aid at each event provided by either a professional organisation or by a Club member with a current first aid certificate.
• Riders and spectators are to maintain a distance of 1.5m from other participants while at the event.
• Hand hygiene is imperative and hand sanitiser will be available at the event.
• Post-race refreshments will be provided. Members should bring their own coffee mug.
• No physical contact. Participants are to refrain from shaking hands, pats on the back, etc.
• If any rider feels unwell in the two weeks following the race, they must advise the Race Committee who will follow up with health authorities. The Rider Management System is used to record event attendees and has their contact details.

Thanks,

ACTVets Committee

RACE REPORT:

Club Championship – Mountain Creek Road – 29th August

It was a perfect late winter’s afternoon for racing: sunny and with a light northerly that hastened riders towards the finish line. The new Mountain Creek Road course, only used once before, was also highly rated. The lush green hills and overlook of the city provided views so scenic they may have distracted some riders from their racing. The out-and-back course was described by a connoisseur as “lumpy” rather than “rolling”: with a double hill in the middle that provided opportunity for the climbers, but was not too hard for the rouleurs. A “fair” course for club championships.

Fifty four riders came out to race: from Daniel Lekhac in M1 (30-34) to Graham Lindsay and Mijo Spoljaric in M10 (80-84!). So we covered 50 years of age groups. Men 60+ and the women did two laps of the 20km course, and everyone else did three.

We had three women, who were all in W3 (40-45). Kerrie Muir was well ahead by the end of the first lap, and won convincingly ahead of Shirley-Anne Taylor, who took second a few minutes ahead of Rosemary Robinson.

The first three men’s age groups were short of numbers, so I set them off together in an initial bunch of six. A group of three: Daniel Lekhac (the only M1), Bradley Peppinck & Rainer Wilson (both M3); broke away and worked together for most of the race, showing good form. Bradley won M3 ahead of Rainer. Tim Brown won M2 ahead of Cramine Spagnoletti.

Eleven riders lined up for M4. Steve Crispin and Gerard Tiffen broke away and formed a fast pair, tapping out a furious pace, with Steve eventually getting away after the last turn and going on for the win, Gerard not far behind. Gerard impressed me again, he is one of the few riders in the club able to ride with Steve for significant periods, and he certainly worked harder! A few minutes back Rowan McMurray took third not far in front of Paul Scherl.

M5 was the largest bunch, of twelve. Attacks on the hill over three laps only trimmed the bunch down to eight, before a fast downhill sprint to the line. Stephen Blackburn showed his class winning the sprint ahead of Christophe Barberet, with Brendan Byatt taking third.

In M6 Bruce Goodspeed won by several minutes, with Ian McVay outsprinting John Paul De Sousa for second and third. Paul Welsh was unlucky, he looked to be in good shape, but his delicate rear tubular punctured on the gnarly cattle grid. Robert Langridge was dropped and retired a lap early, which enabled him to observe the rest of the race for handicap information. (Our president Seymour also finished a lap short in M4, perhaps saving some energy for the medal presentations).

An impressive bunch of eight started M7, which split into two groups of three, with the two dropped riders pressing on to the finish. At the front Owain Tilley and Michael Carr dropped Ian Preston, and worked together until the final sprint, which Owain won.

In M8 Brian Peak won by several minutes from the magnificently moustached Howard Moffat, who was several minutes ahead of Chris Copeland. However, Brian’s official time of 1:01.21 can’t be right, since it implies the same average speed as Steve Crispin. Des Brown won M9 in a more credible and genuinely fast 1:13:41, well ahead of Alex Sommariva. Finally, Lindsay Graham won M10 ten minutes ahead of Mijo Spoljaric.

Watching the championships I was impressed by the genuine talent across all age groups our club has, and the great friendly competition everyone contributed to and enjoyed. We have a few stars including Australian Masters medal winners Steve Crispin and Stephen Blackburn, but we have excellent athletes in all age groups, and the relative times bear that out. I am unlikely to be as fast as Des Brown and Lindsay Graham, when (and if!) I reach their age. Everyone who raced or helped had a fine time, and that is what our club is about.

Thanks to our team of four Marshals: David Rowe, Theresa McLachlan, Conan Liu and Nick Boylan, three of whom volunteered to fill gaps when others were unavailable. Thanks for heeding Ian’s call so we could run the championships. Thanks again to the selfless Graham Hendrie, who does about half the work at every race. Finally, thanks to Ian McVay and the race committee. The development of this new Mountain Creek course is another example of their splendid work.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Age Group	Results
W3	1st: Kerrie Muir 2nd: Shirley-Anne Taylor 3rd: Rosemary Robinson
M1	1st: Daniel Lekhac
M2	1st: Tim Brown 2nd: Carmine Spagnoletti
M3	1st: Bradley Peppinck 2nd: Rainer Wilton
M4	1st: Steve Crispin 2nd: Gerard Tiffen 3rd: Rowan McMurray
M5	1st: Stephen Blackburn 2nd: Christophe Barberet 3rd: Brendan Byatt
M6	1st: Bruce Goodspeed 2nd: Ian McVay 3rd: John Paul De Sousa
M7	1st: Owain Tilley 2nd: Michael Carr 3rd: Ian Preston
M8	1st: Brian Peak 2nd: Howard Moffat 3rd: Chris Copeland
M9	1st: Des Brown 2nd: Alex Sommariva
M10	1st: Lindsay Graham 2nd: Mijo (Michael) Spoljaric

Roger Northcote,
Race Director