Jandanol Bring a Friend Pairs Event

A cold and wet start saw a small field of 6 pairs, with three riders new to Spokes. Mitchell brought his mate Liam who had only ridden a racing bike once before. They achieved a courageous three laps and were interviewed by GWN at the end.

Gabrielle has just started riding for the year and did extremely well to stay on John's wheel all the way. Gerald and Peter finished strongly and Gerald was amazed at the riding fitness he is developing.  Kylie supported Jo, who was riding a loan bike and new to gears and racing did very well finishing in a steady time.  Jo hopes to ride a bike that fits her better next time.

Paul and Paul set a steady pace from the start and finished strongly to win the race in the fastest time of 45.32 minutes.

Ian and Jenni started at scratch and maintained a good speed to finish 3rd. 

It required bravery and determination to complete the circuit in the driving rain and blustery conditions.

Results - Jandanol Bring a Friend Pairs Event

Jandanol 20km Individual Time Trial

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!

Results - Jandanol Individual TT

Vija Jackson

Vale:             VIJA JACKSON

On 18^th April, 2011,Vija Jackson lost her fight against cancer. Vija, was only 62.

Vija and her husband, Brian and sons, Dylan, Nic and Troy were all members of Spokes Cycle Club in the early 90’s, with Vija and Brian continuing on riding in the club into the early 2000’s after the boys had left home.

Early on, Vija had decided that a history of the club needed to be kept and for many years, collected all calendars, newspaper articles and photos, which she diligently archived.  Throughout the 90’s, Brian acted as club handicapper and he and Vija served on the committee with Vija holding various positions over the years.  Vija was also instrumental in helping raise many thousands of dollars for the club over the years by maintaining the drinks esky.  This was a monumental task as, in the early years, Spokes held races every Sunday and mid week crits for part of the year.

By the time the early 2000’s came around, Vija and Brian’s sporting life changed direction and they joined the Aussie Masters, while also maintaining an active association with the Geraldton Harriers and Geraldton Tri club. 

Life was looking good!

Then two years ago, Vija was diagnosed with cancer and knowing that time was limited, Vija and Brian packed in as much living and travelling as possible around their trips to Perth for treatment.

I had the pleasure of riding with Vija a lot throughout the 90’s.  She was a good, honest rider. But she was also gentle lady.  She was also strong and uncomplaining, with a deep love for her family and friends.

She will be truly missed.

Mingenew to Bootenal 90km Individual Road Race

Perfect conditions see fast paced event…..

Thirty four riders were blessed with a tail wind and lovely sunshine for the Blue Ribbon Mingenew to Bootenal 90km Individual Road Race.  Once all were registered, event Coordinator Dom Micono assigned handicaps, and junior cyclist Mitchell Crabb was the first to set off, accompanied by mum Kylee Crabb, both of whom had never attempted the distance before. 

Matt Matiera, Mike Reymond, Reggie Richardson and Catherine Brosnan were next to leave and were accompanied by experienced Spokes cyclists Barb Glenister and Bec Swan.  The group soon settled into an even pace with emphasis for Brosnan and Richardson being on the ride rather than the race.  Reymond and Matiera pulled away from the group after the first couple of climbs with both then riding the remainder of the event as solo riders.

Alison Simkin, Ros Johnston, Donna Meneguzzo, Jennie Haste and Tim Glenister were joined by new riders to Spokes Andrew Outhwaite, Kate Watson, Peter Newman and John Byres with this large group combining well to quickly pull back the 5 minutes handicap assigned over the previous group. 

The first half of the ride saw places within this group change frequently and it was the strength of Tim Glenister, Johnston and Watson which prevailed in the latter stages of the race.  John Byres showed ingenuity when deciding he needed his granny ring for some of the climbs and in the absence of a front derailleur he found reaching down with his left hand and lifting the chain over was equally as effective!!  Interesting…………………

Barb Glenister was quick to jump on with this group as they passed and rode with Andrew Outhwaite to the finish. Outhwaite actually completed a dual event as he and Johny Barber cycled over that morning for the ride - that’s a very long warm up!

Some 15 minutes after this group Simon Mulligan, Jonathan Tamm, Julie Firth, Reg Salmon, Duane Crabb, Johny Barber and Darryl Sheilds departed with Mulligan, Salmon, Firth and leading the charge.  The trio dropped Crabb and Sheilds on some of the bigger climbs with Tamm and Barber next to go.  Crabb and Sheilds kept each other company for the majority of the ride with Tamm and Barber leap frogging groups in front.

Richard Quinlan, Peter Johnson, Jarrod Bell, Paul Baldock, Paul Matthews, Dave Rakuscek and Eddie Muller were given just five minutes off scratch and powered away from the start line.  This group was well organised and quickly settled into a fast paced ride which saw them reigning in the cyclists in front of them with ease.  Dave Rakuscek and Eddie Muller struggled to sustain the pace, losing touch with the group by the halfway mark with Muller spending much of his ride alone.  Rakuscek benefited from Reg Salmon having a puncture to team up and catch Barb Glenister, Andrew Outhwaite, John Byres and Donna Meneguzzo on the road to the finish line.

The remaining bunch of Quinlan, Johnson, Bell, Baldock and Matthews powered across the undulating terrain, joined only by Mulligan as they passed.

Paul Hearne, Jamie Rowe and Richard Correy were the last to leave Mingenew however these experienced cyclists were expected to maximise the optimum conditions and they didn’t disappoint.  This was Correy's first ride with Spokes for the year after a busy tri calendar and his enjoyment of their wind up the night before took its toll with him being dropped at Depot Hill.  Rowe and Hearne showed great teamwork in backing off the speed a couple of times to allow the three to regroup however Correy advised he was happy to enjoy the scenery leaving Rowe and Hearne to continue on, taking turns and constantly increasing in pace.

With all the riders on the road there was much shuffling within groups with some pushing too hard early and suffering in the later stages and others riding a constant and improving as the distance to the finish line reduced.

In amongst all of this Mitchell Crabb and Kylee Crabb rode on and were never caught by the groups behind them.  They took line honours in a time of 3:00:39 with Mitchell outsprinting Kylee at the end.  This is a fantastic achievement for a junior rider with Mitchell showing restricted gears won't hold him back.

Quite ironically it was the most Senior rider of the day, Mike Reymond, who was next across the line, closely followed by Richard Quinlan, Peter Johnson, Jarrod Bell, Paul Baldock, Paul Matthews and Simon Mulligan.

Corrected times show Paul Hearne taking handicap win and fastest time in a staggering 2:00:12 at an average of 44.9km/hr and finishing just one second faster than Jamie Rowe.   This is an improvement of 13 minutes on his time from the previous year and despite the ever humble Hearne attributing it to the tail wind, he is riding exceptionally well and continues to be a force on the bike.

The group of Catherine Brosnan, Reggie Richardson and Bec Swan were joined by Darryl Sheilds with about 15km's to go with Swan and Sheilds using their experience to guide Brosnan and Richardson to the line.  Eddie Muller was the final rider in and despite spending most of the ride on his own he still managed an impressive 37.1km/hr for the 90km. 

Julie Firth was first female home, riding a blistering 40km/hr for the event.  She was followed by Ros Johnston and Kate Watson for the top three placings amongst the ladies.

Many thanks to Paul Hearne and Paul Baldock for riding back out to accompany the last few cyclists on the road to the finish line.

Special thanks to Dom Micono, Paula Purcher and Megan Dunphy for their event management and to Barb and Tim's family for putting out and collecting the signs.

Thanks also to Johno and Richard Quinlan for towing bike trailers over and to the many support vehicles on the road for their encouragement and handing out of water bottles.

A full list of results is below and the Picasa photostream to the right has been updated with pictures from the event.

Spokes next event is a 20km Individual Time Trial on Monday 6 June 2011.  Further details will be provided over the next week.

Results - Mingenew to Bootenal 90km Individual Road Race