25km Individual Road Race Jandanol

It’s only 25 kms!  These were the words that would come back to haunt the 18 keen cyclists that tackled the new Jandanol circuit on Sunday and despite the early 8am start, the heat and humidity had well and truly set in for the day.

A grade riders, Paul Hearne, Paul Matthews, Paul Dodson, Reg Salmon, Eddie Muller and Julie Firth were the first to leave with Hearne and Matthews setting a fast pace along the flat section of the course.  Meanwhile back at the start line, timekeeper, Darryl Sheilds waved goodbye to the large B grade group some of the riders having only ridden with the club a couple of times before.  Veterans of the group, Peter Burchell and Andrew Toovey decided early on in the ride that they would offer their experience and assistance to the newer riders, hoping to make the ride a little more enjoyable.  Michael Reymond made an early break, with Allison Simkin chasing hard to keep him in her sights knowing that Donna Meneguzzo was not far behind.   With the long hard climb on Readhead Rd before them, Reggie Richardson, guided by Toovey kept her cool and made the summit for the first time.  She was soon followed by Jenni Hastie, Paul O’Mara, Catherine Brosinan and Kylie Crabbe.  Peter Burchell, Mitchell Crabbe and Shannon Mitchell were the last to tackle the hill.

Each lap at the base of the climb, Hearne would up the pace just enough to put his fellow rider, Matthews into debt and then on the third lap, Hearne made his move and by the top of the hill, he had a sizable lead, which he was to hold to the finish line. Dodson, who had ridden the whole race on his own, was able to hold off a fast approaching Salmon who had also left his riding companion, Muller on the climb.  Despite spending the entire race chasing the men, Julie Firth still managed a huge smile as she conquered last climb of the day and headed for the finish line.

Back on the course, Reymond was still holding onto his early lead and with the last climb under his belt he headed for home confident that he had done enough work to hold off Simkin, who with a bit more riding experience might just show Reymond a clean set of wheels at future rides!

Donna Meneguzzo, exhausted after the hard climb, chased hard from the top of the hill and although she was unable to catch Simkin, she had done enough to take out third. Toovey and Richardson were next across the line, with Richardson completely spent after giving her all on the last lap in an attempt to close the gap between herself and Meneguzzo.

A huge effort was made by young Mitchell Crabbe (12) in managing to keep his mother in his sights for the three laps of his race. 

Kylie Crabbe has improved in leaps and bounds and is now showing a new confidence in her riding, while Paul O’Mara, who has only ridden with the club a couple of times, is quickly learning the complexities of riding in a group and it won’t be long before he will be a threat!

A look of pure relief was on the face of Brosinan as she climbed the last hill of the day and headed for home, thankful that she had the guidance of Peter Burchell to help her along the way.

It was a very weary Shannon Mitchell who made her way onto the hill for the last time and was heard to say half way up “this is just so hard!” Sadly Jenni Hastie punctured on the last lap, denying her the chance to cross the finish line after all her hard work – don’t worry Jenni, there is always next time!!!


The Picasa Photostream has also been updated with pictures from todays event and the results are below.

Results - 25km Individual Road Race Jandanol

15km Individual Time Trial - Deepdale Feb 2011

Thank goodness it was only 15km…….

On a hot and windy Sunday morning, seventeen keen cyclists lined up to race against the clock and themselves.  The 15km Individual Time Trial sounded like a reasonably short distance to some but after the first lap all agreed they were happy for the smaller circuit.  First off the line was Vicky Sheilds and Shannon Farden - this was Shannon's first ride with Spokes and under Vicky's guidance she rode a very strong race.  Mitchell Crabb left just 1 minute later with mum Kylee Crabb hot on his tail at 2 minutes.   The wind wreaked some havoc right from the outset with many riders struggling to hold any kind of speed across the back straight.

Barb Glenister was next to leave and was followed by Reggie Richardson, Jennie Haste and new Spokes cyclists Cameron Dawson and Gus Ruiz.  Cameron was accidentally set off at 6 minutes when this was perhaps a bit unfair - the handicapper hadn't realised that Cameron was riding a hybrid with thicker tyres until he lined up!  Gus Ruiz powered from the start line and considering he hasn't previously raced with Spokes, he showed strength throughout each lap of the Deepdale Circuit.

Mike Reymond left at 8 minutes, followed by Julie Firth with this signalling the last of the minute intervals for start.  Jonathan Tamm left just 30 seconds after Julie Firth, followed by regular riders Tim Glenister, Reg Salmon, Duane Crabb and Eddie Muller.  As a result of his excellent form in the Australia Day race, Jamie Rowe was stretched out to a minute after Eddie Muller and was quick to settle into a high cadence and relaxed riding style. 

The first lap saw placings change however Vicky Sheilds and Shannon Farden managed to hold off an attack from Mitchell Crabb to remain the first team through.  Crabb was only a few seconds behind the duo and their placings would change throughout the race.  Kylee Crabb was a bit concerned that Mitchell was still out in front and put in a determined effort to catch him.  Gus Ruiz had a fantastic first lap and had caught many cyclists in front of him, a trend he continued into the second and final lap.  Reggie Richardson was a little nervous about the corners, but with encouragement from Peter Burchell she upped the pace as the time trial progressed, improving on every lap.

Everyone suffered in the heat and the wind, albeit no-one seemed to have told Jamie Rowe about either of the elements and he continued at speed around the course.  Mike Reymond did very well in his first time trial, maintaining a steady speed for the whole race.  Jennie Haste was enjoying her lovely new bike and Cameron Dawson was a inspiration to everyone racing around the course on his hybrid. 

Placings on the road continued to change and everyone was happy to hear the bell for the final lap.  Julie Firth was overtaken by Reg Salmon and Eddie Muller reigned in Duane Crabb.  Jonathan Tamm had fitted tri bars for the occasion and was very smooth and relaxed throughout the ride.  He held off the majority of riders behind him to finish in the top five.  There was some discussion at the start line about the benefits of tri bars with a certain Spokes member commenting that as much as he would like to use them he was reasonably sure his physique wouldn't allow the aero position........

Corrected times saw Jamie Rowe the the fastest time at 26:53 and an average of 34.1km/hr.  Reg Salmon was second fastest in a time of 29:49 (30.8km/hr) and Gus Ruiz in his first road race was third in 30:11 (30.4km/hr).  Full results are available in the table below and the Picasa photo stream has been updated with an array of pictures from today's event.

Many thanks to Tim and Barb for putting out and collecting the signs and to Roger and Tooves for marshaling.

Our next event is a Team Time Trial on the new Jandanol circuit.  Full details of this will be sent to all members in the coming week.

Results - 15km Individual Time Trial

Results - Australia Day Individual Road Race 2011