ACT Veterans Weekly Bleat, Monday 25th June, 2018

Hello Vets,

In this week’s Bleat;

• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• Indoor Training
• Racing this Week
• Race Report

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

Ian Morton

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Handicaps this week;

• Kirsti McVaY E to D
• Ross McPherson C to B

Rob Langridge

Indoor Training

Want to maintain your fitness after a weekend of rancid weather and limited riding opportunities. Grab your trainer and come and enjoy an hour of quality pain. This week’s session will start with a road race warm up then a road race simulation, all in the comfort of a dry hall without kangaroos to avoid. Hall is open at 6pm for setup.

The Hall in the Weston Community Centre is hard to find in the dark. The turnoff is off Hilder St Weston directly opposite a set of very attractive white concrete lions. Once you have turned in veer to the right to find the lower car park. The hall is adjacent.

A reminder that attendees must be competition members of the club.

Bruce Griffin

RACING THIS WEEK:

Saturday, 30th June: Lookout Hill – Handicap

Where: Observation lookout on Tidbinbilla Road about 2.5 km towards Tharwa from Point Hut / Tidbinbilla Rd intersection, or about 4.5 km from Tharwa village.
When: 1:30 pm.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
Riders start at Lookout Hill on Tidbinbilla Road and proceed towards Tharwa and the intersection with Nass Road. Riders turn right onto Nass Road at Tharwa and continue to Apollo Road where they turn and ride back towards Tharwa. At Tharwa riders turn left onto Tidbinbilla Road and ride to the finish point.

Race Director: Bill Frost Contact: Email: billfrost@bigpond.com    Ph  0418698197

Marshals: Ben Healy, Sue Frost, Bob Miller*, Elizabeth Lowe*

Upcoming Marshal Roster

Thank you to those who volunteered to help (noted below in black) at the races to September. The remaining 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.

We need to have the required number of marshals for races so they can be run safely and in compliance with our race approvals.

* denotes ETC required for ACT races.

I am also looking for nominations to help at the Summer series races to the end of the Year. Crit races at Stromlo Forest Park on Tuesdays will require a Race Director and one Marshal. Road races are on Sunday mornings.

* denotes ETC required for ACT races.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

RACE REPORTS:

Apollo Road – Graded Scratch – 23rd June

The temperature at Tuggeranong at 11.30am was 3 degrees. At the Apollo Rd turn off 6.5 degrees and at Honeysuckle creek it was 10 degrees! With a clear sky and no wind it was an ideal day for the hill climb.

Thirty-seven riders (including a tandem) fronted the start line at the bottom of Apollo Rd and between one and two hours later all riders crossed the finish line at the top of the grueling 7+Km climb. The riders had plenty of time to warm up with a fast ride to the Namadgi visitors centre turn around, a climb up to the Mt Tennent ridge and back to Apollo Rd for the climb.

A grade had 4 starters and the climb certainly separated the three place getters. Steve Crispin was first to the line with a 3min 12 sec. gap to Bradley Peppinck with a further 3min18 secs to the tandem pair of Don Mankewich and Ashley Carruthers followed closely by Roger Northcote in fourth place.

The B grade bunch of 8 riders were separated by a total of 6 minutes with the first 3 riders, Patrick McNamara, Owain Tilley and Robert Langridge arriving 18, 11 and 28 seconds apart. 7 Three minutes separated the first five of the 7 riders in C grade. Ross MacPherson was first home 49 seconds ahead of the fast finishing Gerald Van Ewyk and Peter Klein who crossed the line almost locked together.

The Largest bunch was D grade with 9 riders and although the mountain spread them out over 10 minutes the front end of the race was relatively close. Like the other grades the winner, Des Brown, was clear of the field but only a second separated Anne Broadbent (2nd) and Steven Sims (3rd).

Five riders raced in E grade. The front end of E grade was dominated by the ladies with Kirsti McVay the clear winner, over 2minutes ahead of Jan Koehler (2nd) and 3m25s ahead of Warren Smith 3rd. With Rosemary Robinson close behind in 4th place. F grade had a close finish with Tony Weir finishing 1 second ahead of Edward Joliffe. G grade was represented by Bernie Crow who ground the granny gear all the way up the hill to finish the race.

Thanks to the marshals Graham Hendrie, Sue Powell, Michael Carr and Robert Brunato as well as Tom Roberts (SMA first Aid).

Paul Robey
Race Director