Gippsland tour day 3: It's not about the bike...
Stage 5. Sale Criterium.
Firstly some quick background info. Scott and I had gone into this event with minimal organisation. We had a car with our bikes and equipment and had lined up Luke Fetch’s parents to drive our car to the end of the stage (thanks a heap guys!). That is where our planning ended. To make things worse, apparently all team managers had been given the race “bible” that had maps, start and finish locations etc all in one folder of convenience. As I’m sure you can gather by now, Loy Yang power had no manager and so we somehow missed out the race info. We relied 100% on other people, following other team cars to the start of the races and back to our accommodation. For the most part this worked well!
Logistically, this morning should have been the most simple so far. The morning crit was in Sale, about a 10 minute ride from our accommodation. Sweet! We should have plenty of time to get ready and sort ourselves out. Things were going all too well when I went to the car to get my drink bottles… I unlocked the door, got my drink bottles out, threw the keys on the passenger seat (so Scott could unlock his bike when he was ready without having to chase me down for the keys) and then shut the door. BIG mistake! It turns out that occasionally, when you turn the key to unlock Paul’s car, the doors unlock for a split second and then lock again. On this morning when I got my drink bottles, IT HAPPENED! So when I shut the door with the keys on the passenger seat, they were securely locked in. Unfortunately for us, the bikes were also locked to the roof and the keys to that were also in the car. When I first realised our situation we were kitted up and ready to roll down to the start, 30 minutes to go. Of course, we were the last ones to leave the caravan park so things were not looking good. I frantically got the RACV’s number and Scott calmly negotiated over the phone until his batteries ran out! Scott informed me they had all the info they needed but would only be able to come to aid sometime in the next hour and a half. It didn’t sound good.
We waited for 15 minutes and decided it was better to be on the start line with no bike than not being on the start line at all. So we called John Groves, Apollo manager and friend and he came to our aid. He lent me a helmet (I now had everything except a bike), drove us close to the line and we quickly ran ourselves to the line and signed in. The 5 minute whistle blew and we were still with no bikes, but we were signed on and at the line! Progress. Out of the blew, a guy came up to us and urgently said “Hey, do you guys need bikes?” We shouted back “Yes, Yes we do!” And the man quickly handed us a bike each! I was lucky enough to have compatible cleats and pedals but with a small frame. With the help of Tim Chad from specialised we got as much seatpost out as we could and tightened her up, I was ready, lined up and laughing in disbelief! Scott was standing next to me on what looked to be the biggest Felt F4 in the world, with incompatible pedals, he was not so lucky. Within about a minute the gun went and we started racing. Scott resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to be competitive on his new rig and so spun a few easy laps before getting lapped out. But he can start in the next stage!, a great outcome considering our situation 15 minutes earlier.
For me, it was even better, I was tacked onto the back of the pack with a big grin on my face. For the first few laps every time I lapped under the start finish banner I gave the bike lender a smile, thumbs up or whatever. I was very happy to be riding! The course had hundreds of chanting school kids lining the sides and enjoying the special occasion. I started trying to make my way up the field, dreaming of a miracle stage win!
Criterium action
On the last corner of the lap there was some wet dirt on the inside of the corner, I suppose you could call it mud! It looked slippery and one rider a wheels in front of me decided to put it to the test! He hit the deck hard and caused quite a few people to come to a standstill or quickly evade him. I knew that if you were caught up in a crash in these crits you could take a lap out and join in on the next one. Unfortunately I wasn’t doing a lot of thinking at the time and rode on, in an attempt to get back onto the bunch. I came about 15 meters short and then they started to slip away. Race over. I spun the legs out until I got lapped out and then returned my bike to the owner. It turns out the bike club had a bit of a display of bikes at the race and it was those bikes that were handed to us. I thanked him, had a few photos taken with him and the bike and then one of the primary school kids asked me for my autograph… They flocked around me like I was a superstar and I signed foreheads, wrists and photos for about 15-20 minutes solid! Meanwhile the race continued behind them. They kept on coming until the teacher said “Ok guys, that’s enough, let him go!”. And so that was stage 5, not how we were it to turn out but easily more memorable and exciting!
By the time I got back to the car, Scott had already recovered the keys to the car with the help of RACV.
Enough kids, enough!
Stage 6. Sale to Licola. 88km
A very good salad sandwhich gave us time to refuel our bodies, regain our focus and prepare for stage 6. Two big climbs near the end, (a cat 2 and then a cat 1) should mean the race will be blown wide open.
Dead flat, open roads with roaring crosswinds ensured the first 30km were hell. The bunches were splitting all over the place and Scott, Luke and myself found ourselves pulling plenty of turns into the wind to get back on. It was tough, but we got there. Apparently, Scott got caught out in yet another split in the bunch that I was lucky enough to avoid.
When we hit the first of the big hills I had made a sub-conscious decision that I was going to go over it with the leaders. Bad decision. I held the wheel until I blew, got picked up by another group, dug deep and then blew again. This painful cycle repeated a few times before I finally hung onto a group that pulled me over the top. By the bottom of the hill our little group had descended back into the lead group. Scott climbed the hill with a bit more respect for lactic acid and also ended up in bunch with us. Before we hit the cat1 climb my legs were spent and I knew it was all over. I found my own tempo and watched the riders and convoy of cars pass me by. Scott climbed much better but still was dropped before the top and this time couldn’t get back on. We both spun across the line in own small groups consisting of other riders shelled from the lead bunch. A long and hard day both physically and mentally.
Firstly some quick background info. Scott and I had gone into this event with minimal organisation. We had a car with our bikes and equipment and had lined up Luke Fetch’s parents to drive our car to the end of the stage (thanks a heap guys!). That is where our planning ended. To make things worse, apparently all team managers had been given the race “bible” that had maps, start and finish locations etc all in one folder of convenience. As I’m sure you can gather by now, Loy Yang power had no manager and so we somehow missed out the race info. We relied 100% on other people, following other team cars to the start of the races and back to our accommodation. For the most part this worked well!
Logistically, this morning should have been the most simple so far. The morning crit was in Sale, about a 10 minute ride from our accommodation. Sweet! We should have plenty of time to get ready and sort ourselves out. Things were going all too well when I went to the car to get my drink bottles… I unlocked the door, got my drink bottles out, threw the keys on the passenger seat (so Scott could unlock his bike when he was ready without having to chase me down for the keys) and then shut the door. BIG mistake! It turns out that occasionally, when you turn the key to unlock Paul’s car, the doors unlock for a split second and then lock again. On this morning when I got my drink bottles, IT HAPPENED! So when I shut the door with the keys on the passenger seat, they were securely locked in. Unfortunately for us, the bikes were also locked to the roof and the keys to that were also in the car. When I first realised our situation we were kitted up and ready to roll down to the start, 30 minutes to go. Of course, we were the last ones to leave the caravan park so things were not looking good. I frantically got the RACV’s number and Scott calmly negotiated over the phone until his batteries ran out! Scott informed me they had all the info they needed but would only be able to come to aid sometime in the next hour and a half. It didn’t sound good.
We waited for 15 minutes and decided it was better to be on the start line with no bike than not being on the start line at all. So we called John Groves, Apollo manager and friend and he came to our aid. He lent me a helmet (I now had everything except a bike), drove us close to the line and we quickly ran ourselves to the line and signed in. The 5 minute whistle blew and we were still with no bikes, but we were signed on and at the line! Progress. Out of the blew, a guy came up to us and urgently said “Hey, do you guys need bikes?” We shouted back “Yes, Yes we do!” And the man quickly handed us a bike each! I was lucky enough to have compatible cleats and pedals but with a small frame. With the help of Tim Chad from specialised we got as much seatpost out as we could and tightened her up, I was ready, lined up and laughing in disbelief! Scott was standing next to me on what looked to be the biggest Felt F4 in the world, with incompatible pedals, he was not so lucky. Within about a minute the gun went and we started racing. Scott resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to be competitive on his new rig and so spun a few easy laps before getting lapped out. But he can start in the next stage!, a great outcome considering our situation 15 minutes earlier.
For me, it was even better, I was tacked onto the back of the pack with a big grin on my face. For the first few laps every time I lapped under the start finish banner I gave the bike lender a smile, thumbs up or whatever. I was very happy to be riding! The course had hundreds of chanting school kids lining the sides and enjoying the special occasion. I started trying to make my way up the field, dreaming of a miracle stage win!
Criterium action
On the last corner of the lap there was some wet dirt on the inside of the corner, I suppose you could call it mud! It looked slippery and one rider a wheels in front of me decided to put it to the test! He hit the deck hard and caused quite a few people to come to a standstill or quickly evade him. I knew that if you were caught up in a crash in these crits you could take a lap out and join in on the next one. Unfortunately I wasn’t doing a lot of thinking at the time and rode on, in an attempt to get back onto the bunch. I came about 15 meters short and then they started to slip away. Race over. I spun the legs out until I got lapped out and then returned my bike to the owner. It turns out the bike club had a bit of a display of bikes at the race and it was those bikes that were handed to us. I thanked him, had a few photos taken with him and the bike and then one of the primary school kids asked me for my autograph… They flocked around me like I was a superstar and I signed foreheads, wrists and photos for about 15-20 minutes solid! Meanwhile the race continued behind them. They kept on coming until the teacher said “Ok guys, that’s enough, let him go!”. And so that was stage 5, not how we were it to turn out but easily more memorable and exciting!
By the time I got back to the car, Scott had already recovered the keys to the car with the help of RACV.
Enough kids, enough!
Stage 6. Sale to Licola. 88km
A very good salad sandwhich gave us time to refuel our bodies, regain our focus and prepare for stage 6. Two big climbs near the end, (a cat 2 and then a cat 1) should mean the race will be blown wide open.
Dead flat, open roads with roaring crosswinds ensured the first 30km were hell. The bunches were splitting all over the place and Scott, Luke and myself found ourselves pulling plenty of turns into the wind to get back on. It was tough, but we got there. Apparently, Scott got caught out in yet another split in the bunch that I was lucky enough to avoid.
When we hit the first of the big hills I had made a sub-conscious decision that I was going to go over it with the leaders. Bad decision. I held the wheel until I blew, got picked up by another group, dug deep and then blew again. This painful cycle repeated a few times before I finally hung onto a group that pulled me over the top. By the bottom of the hill our little group had descended back into the lead group. Scott climbed the hill with a bit more respect for lactic acid and also ended up in bunch with us. Before we hit the cat1 climb my legs were spent and I knew it was all over. I found my own tempo and watched the riders and convoy of cars pass me by. Scott climbed much better but still was dropped before the top and this time couldn’t get back on. We both spun across the line in own small groups consisting of other riders shelled from the lead bunch. A long and hard day both physically and mentally.
posted by Neil at 10:41 pm
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