Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

Hey DHBC members,

I'm a St George Cycling club lurker on here, great to see all the red jerseys at the St George hurtfest at Oatley Park today!

Catch you next week,

tjb

Yes it was an interesting race, fortunately for me I was able to calculate my handicap based on 3 regular riders and it turned out to be spot on. From there we were able to calculate the other handicaps, including Ian Jennings the Waratah Vet rider.

George and Fred, who I went off with both managed PB's which was great.

Anyone good at maths 42m 52s for 24k, what was my average?

33.6km/h

mine by my clock was 24km/h.

C grade at Heffron for you Mike!! I am sure you can handle it!!!

33.6km/h

mine by my clock was 24km/h.

C grade at Heffron for you Mike!! I am sure you can handle it!!!

The 5kg I've lost this year must of helped with the hill...

Got to translate speed into results Once I've got a win, I'll move up. Best I've done at Heffron lately is 5th.

Oatley park scratch race (run by St George club) is the place for a good work out/get hill fit ride. The main factor of the circuit is a long say 900 metre? descent, to sea level, turn around at bottom and ride back up, then around a few loops and hills and down again. I had a time of I think 47.53 for 24 kms (8 laps), about 30.3 av from my speedo thingy.
On lap 6 Fred and Mike's bunch caught the one I was in, our bunch hooked on the back for some time. Lot of encouraging talk in that bunch, they were really moving. Dropped off them but I was glad to complete it.

Yes it was an interesting race, fortunately for me I was able to calculate my handicap based on 3 regular riders and it turned out to be spot on. From there we were able to calculate the other handicaps, including Ian Jennings the Waratah Vet rider.

George and Fred, who I went off with both managed PB's which was great.

Anyone good at maths 42m 52s for 24k, what was my average?

33.59253 kph

Or as Beanzy has already said: 33.6 kph

33.59253 kph

Never mind, I'll break 33.6 next time I go

Race Report

I started with regulars George and Melinda and newcommers Mikebytes and Ian. Micklan went a bit ahead. Eddie too. Wiliam as well. Let me start by saying that in every race at Oatley this season, I have been swamped within 800m of the finish line because I was left with no legs to sprint to the line. It is a lot of hard work when you have to share at least 1/3 of pacing duty.

This time I knew it would be different. I was confident that the addition of two strong riders meant our group was in contention.

The Pace: From the start, the pace was high. We powered along for several laps, taking somewhat even turns. Mike did an amazing job up the main hill when his turn it was. On at least two occasions, Mike would come from the back of the bunch to save my pull as I start to falter and no one dared face the wind. George and Ian took their share of turns and I also did, though I have to admit the relief provided by Mike was amazing and I could feel that I was not under the physical stress that I usually endure at these races. Only marginally though. Still it was enough that I could blurt out the occasional command or encouragement.

Race Proceedings: We picked up Eddie a few laps into the race, who was able to stay on until well into the last lap. But we also lost Melinda as we chased a flying bunch down the hill, only for them to slowly fade into the distance as we started climbing back. Not to worry though, we were still a lap ahead. A few laps from the last we also picked up Micklan and what seemed like an energetic group. I seem to remember that they only faded on the last lap but by then I was too buggered to know who was where. William slogged it solo like a real champ.

Communication: Mike rode the race like a real workhorse, not saying much, doing his bit and stepping in to save the day on at least two occasions. As we chased a flying bunch down the hill and then up, George had to warn Michael not to chase as they would burn us out. We had thie same experience a week prior and chasing the scratch pack up that hill on their first lap up was to be the end of us. Mike tried. He tried again. But then he let go. I was once told that communication in a race includes shouting out instruction and encouragement. I am usually very quiet, but finding our group in with a chance, it was hard for me to sit back and watch our group to disintegrate when I though it was under threat. If it was over the top, my sincere appologies. On the third last lap I had to yell out encouragement to George who was starting to blurt out statements of surrender. Luckily he stayed on digging deeper. I also had to restrain eddie, whose temptation to sprint when taking the lead is not lost on those who know him. I have reminded him time and time again that these sprints destroy the previous leader and upset group dynamics. Taking the lead should be an excercise in smoothness. George also had to restrain eddie from performing silly acrobatics as he trie to push a strugling rider up the hill. My frustration with some of the riders who tacked on to our group towards the end of the race led me to shout out istruction. They looked comfortable and on one occasion, one of them riding second wheel refused to relieve George after a hard pull. This, in my view is unacceptable. THis rider should either take a turn or drop back if he thinks he had just completed his share of turn. Riding second wheel means you are the first line of defense once the leader starts to falter or has competed his duties on the front. Once again, appologies if it was over the top.

Finale Last lap. We fly down the hill. Legs are burning. We trun and start climbing. Bang. Michael throws in an perfectly timed attack. I am thinking this guy is reading my mind. This is where I take off every week to try and gain some time and beat the scratchies to the line. I try to follow, struggle a bit, but manage to keep Michael within reach. As we crest the hill, Michael presses on and I try to follow. By this stage it is just the two of us. I try to press on. 50 meters before the hair pin at the other end of the course, a rider yells out as he approaches and I look back. I make the mistake of slowing down and letting him through. His companion zoots past. Thats two podium places, with Michael in third. I turn my legs as hard as I can. I don't bother with gears. Its starting to feel like Charlie Chaplin on a bike. Its all hazy now. Somewhere before the line I overtake Mike. I sprint it out with a dude in Australian National Team Jersey. I get whipped. thats three ahead of me. I am fourth. No wait. The winner is a junior who had a decent head start on us and who we never managed to catch. Fifth it is. 42 min 43 sec. Personal best time. Thank you all for my best ever on this track.

PS: My personal photographer covered the entire race. I will post the photos somewhere once I have received them.

Good write-up Fouad, look forward to the photos.

BTW, I had no idea I was in third (forth) place at that point. Did you work out the placing by watching who was going up the hill when we were going down?

Sounds like a good race, i'll have to come and give it a go next time i'm available.

Fouad great write up. Sport journalism beckons!

Sounds great,

Thanks for the encouragement TJB!

Its ironic, but maybe this is a resurgence in the great contests between St George and Dulwich Hill.

Apparently, in our early days early last century we were the beez kneez team of the state, leading the way. Then St George started to dominate, and did so for many decades.

Al will give a bit of an oral history of this rivalry and the politics of the day including the Fed.

So maybe our new official crit becomes St George! Back to the future!

Whilst trying to find out just exactly where this Oatley Park race course is, I note that St George CC's web site hasn't been updated since 2005. No info on this course.

Re the St George Website, it will be updated in the future!

Oatley Park is a 3 km circuit in the bushland ... closed to traffic. It has 1 main hill, which is ridden as a hotdog around the "Flowerpot" down in the mangroves, and plenty of fast corners and pinches as the course heads back to the start finish line.

The race is a handicap, over 8 laps, but if ridden hard it is probably the hardest 24 km race you can find I think .... Chris Sutton holds the course record, set last year, somewhere around 34:30, which is a 41.7 km/h average, but he had some help .... His father Gary used to tear around there on a fixed wheel.

The best thing about it is the handicaps are not grade based, but individual, and Personal Bests are recorded, so when you achieve a new PB you can be proud as bunch dynamics don't affect your time as much as your condition.

Racing kicks off at 2:30 for the limit riders, entry is $5 on the line, so get down there at 2:15, pin the number on and see how you do. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and fastest time.

After the race, quite a few St George members retreat to Oatley Pub to replenish fuel stores !

Last week, the red strip of DHBC was definitely as prominent as St George's own colours ....

Oatley Park is here:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q= ... a=N&tab=wl

I was examining the scrape on my right pedal and shoe, it seem to be further up the pedal than I normally get, so I'm guessing I clipped one of the bumps coming out of the u-turn at the bottom of the hill.

So Fouad, now you have broken 43 minutes, what's the new target?

Thanks for the info. Great looking course and location. Fancy that there are still more undiscovered nice parks in Sydney. Will definitely give this a go soon.

As posted in "contact Lyndsey of Geoff topic"

Course Profile. Green line is elevation profile, red my heartrate, blue speed.



Plan View:

Hey Mike

I only figured out placings after the race had ended, but I always had a feeling that we were doing well anyways.

I guess the target now is break 42 I guess. But that will require heaps of training and heaps more good luck!!

I was examining the scrape on my right pedal and shoe, it seem to be further up the pedal than I normally get, so I'm guessing I clipped one of the bumps coming out of the u-turn at the bottom of the hill.

So Fouad, now you have broken 43 minutes, what's the new target?

...and a lot of help from strong riders like you !

Invite the 3 James'es

Thanks Matt. Great data. The long hill seemed to be around 4-4.5% average over 900m and the final kick appeared to have gone vertical! WTF!

The location looked perfect for a Sat family outing. Dad can race while the kids/SO can enjoy their play and picnic elsewhere in the park. An upgrade from those wind blown sandy dunes of Heffron.

The course goes past the playground at the top, so Mum and the kids can watch you go past.

the more I think of the course - the more I want to race it again

Different to any other race I've done

Looking forward to the photos

I think if you can master the hill then the rest of the course is easier.

I would like to see Eugene take on this courseas I would expect he would do very well.

HP is easy by comparison.

Bumped into Eugene this morning and told him about the race, perhaps he'll come next time.

Micklan said :

The more I think of the course the more I want to do it again.

Mick

Your hooked on it like a junkie.

You can't wait for your next (fix) race there.

Beanzy said it was challenging.

So is this run every weekend? Will people be heading to Oatley or Heffron this weekend?

I can't make either this weekend

I'm going to Heffron this weekend

....and the final kick appeared to have gone vertical! WTF!

The joys of GPS in a tree lined environment.....

St George Race at Oatley very Saturday through the "Road" season (Winter) which is generally Easter through to October long Weekend. I think they have some club Championships sometime in September/October.

The race runs every weekend for the entire winter.

I will most probably be on baby duty this Saturday so I won't be able to make it.

Send me your email address in a PM and I'll email then through ....

I have uploaded photos of the DHBC men racing at Oatley Park on 26 April. I have also included photos of Ian and Beanzy, who have contributed to this thread. I actually don't personally know timbat and tjb so I could not pick them out in the photos. Next time you see a guy in Red at Oatley Park, come around and say hey!!!

Th photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/fouadasw ... OatleyPark

Enjoy!

timbat and tjb are one and the same .... forum mixup on my part.

I'll introduce myself next time ....

Gee, thanks for the photos Fred - they're great...

AWSOME!

This is the best photo. Somehow I can't get this to show up. Can someone do this?

Picasa doesn't want you to steal links...

Try another photo hoster.

OK, I've taken this one instead......



Yes its true! Carbon fibre is out and bamboo frames are in.....

http://www.newsweek.com/id/131702?rf=nwnewsletter

AWSOME!

This is the best photo. Somehow I can't get this to show up. Can someone do this?

Can't get the pic working either, might need to find another link for it.

As for that bamboo, seems my plans are leaking. Time and suppliers permitting you'll see something mid year, though i'm currently working out tooling issues. That's all you'll get from me for now....

Right click in the picture icon in either Weiyun's or my post and select view image.

Hey guys, any chance you got the photo of the sprint finish between the two scratch riders where the wheel was in the air across the line ?

Great pics. DHBC always on the front!
Next time a bunch is planning to head down there I'll come along. Just let me know...

Great pics. DHBC always on the front!
Next time a bunch is planning to head down there I'll come along. Just let me know...

Gosh, those are huge image files for web site display. 800k-1Mb!

Ha, I'm the only person who climbs in the drops

Notice that also you never feather the brake on end up hill left turn around gate, most of us are on caution for a bit of brake - you are in the bars Mike...no where near a brake lever

perhaps we organize another Sat to do this again - I hope to be at Heffron on Sat

Interesting observation, I don't recall the corner being sharp enough to require braking. The only place I scraped my pedal was at the U-turn at the bottom.

I wasn't going fast enough to require the brake at the top corner but going down hill I was braking hard at the corner.

Tim

I actually got that shot of you winning last week's race... airborne.

I will post last week's photos soon and let you know.

cheers

Hey guys, any chance you got the photo of the sprint finish between the two scratch riders where the wheel was in the air across the line ?

nice pics!!!looks hardcore!!

Notice that also you never feather the brake on end up hill left turn around gate, most of us are on caution for a bit of brake - you are in the bars Mike...no where near a brake lever

perhaps we organize another Sat to do this again - I hope to be at Heffron on Sat

OK I'm stumped, why would you use the brakes on that corner?

Brakes only slow you down

Timbat

I have uploaded the photos of 3/5/08. they are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/fouadaswad/ ... Racing3508

sorry for the delay