A shake up………
With winter well and truly on us, and the cooler mornings lending themselves to a sleep in rather than a ride, it was heartening to see 26 keen riders sign on for the Jandanol 20km Individual Time Trial on Sunday. There would have been 27 keen riders but Reg Salmon had misread his calendar and attended the circuit the previous day…………….
The Club welcomed many new riders to Spokes - Robert Lynas, Richard Houwen, Robert Melville and Lance Jarvis all rode their first cycle only event and Pete and Deb Millard brought their bikes up from Perth to challenge the locals.
Deb Millard's new 'Scott' road bike soon became a talking point amongst everyone with many an envious glance from fellow riders. Very nice indeed!
With registration complete the first 17 riders were set off at 30 second intervals with the last 9 being stretched out to 1 minute to ensure all were challenged.
Paula Alsop headed the challenge and was followed onto the course by Mitchell Crabb, Barb Glenister, Kylee Crabb and new rider Robert Lynas. Kylee Crabb quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm and looked to be enjoying the course and the cooler conditions.
Jennie Haste was next to go and was pursued by Reggie Richardson and Ian Andrews. Reggie Richardson was a surprise start as was not feeling the best and unfortunately after one lap she was not able to continue. Ian Andrews also succumbed to the flu and withdrew going into the final lap.
Richard Houwen, Robert Melville and Lance Jarvis all completed their first ever Spokes ride but with this trio having been regulars at Tri they were aware of what was needed to ride alone and with no opportunity to draft.
Deb Millard and Kate Watson had hoped to ride together but the two were set off apart and were pursued by Tim Glenister, Julie Firth, Di Mahoney and Johny Barber. This group ended the 30 second intervals and Andrew Elliot was the first to wait a full minute before setting off to chase JB.
Elliot was followed by a fully colour coordinated Duane Crabb, looking resplendent in Spokes kit with matching bike, gloves and shoes….word at the line is that Crabb-e is concerned that his cycling sunnies don’t match so we may see a new purchase for the next event…….
Gerald Laurent, Peter Johnson, Jon Tamm and Paul Spackman were the next in line and all looked strong riding away from the start line. Visiting rider Peter Millard was a little shocked to still be at the starting line with only three to go, and his excitement at starting was evident by the impressive wheelie he pulled - not an easy feat on a road bike! Millard was followed onto the course by Paul Matthews with the last rider to leave being Jamie Rowe.
With all the riders on the course each lap brought changes in position on the road with the Meadowcroft St hill challenging some and really benefiting others. The sweeping downhill on Jandanol Road saw riders exposed with places once again changing in favour of the stronger cyclists.
Going into the last lap Deb Millard was seen walking up the hill having flatted on the course, this left just 23 riders on the circuit after the retirement of Millard, Richardson and Andrews.
Kylee Crabb was first across the line having ridden an exceptionally strong and consistent time trial. She was closely followed by Johny Barber and Andrew Elliot with Jennie Haste and Julie Firth rounding out the first five to cross the line. All riders finished within 12 minutes of each other showing that many handicaps had been made up throughout the ride.
Corrected times show Mitchell Crabb as the first Junior Rider in a time of 48:36. Julie Firth was the fastest Female Rider in 38:25 (this also placed her 7th overall) with Kylee Crabb second in 41:27 and Kate Watson third in 41:35.
Paul Matthews showed that his training is well and truly paying off by winning the Men's event in 33:38, pipping Jamie Rowe who finished in 34:17. Rowe was just one second ahead of Paul Spackman's 34:18 ride.
A full list of results is posted below and the Picasa photostream to the right has been updated with photos from the event.
Many thanks to Tim and Barb for arranging the road to be swept and then personally sweeping again the day before the ride. Special thanks also to Terry Wellman for his continued support as a marshal - Terry has been at most events this year and we really appreciate his assistance.
Spokes next event is the Yuna Teams Event - full details will be emailed out to all riders - get your teams together and come along for a fantastic ride!
