Category Archives: Randonneuring

Round the Bay 2016 – 100km Frankston Return

Dear Rouleurs,

Last Sunday,Team MMT completed the 100km version of Melbourne’s annual love letter to cycling, Round the Bay.  What a day…more like WTF?!!  The weather was atrocious.  The weatherman’s forecasts for extreme winds was unfortunately correct.  MMT has long extolled the virtues of the Bureau of Meteorology’s wind forecast map http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/wind.shtml.  The night before the ride this is what the BOM forecast, for 5am to 11am.

20161009-Wind-Forecast

In fact it is was much worse with wind gusts of up to 100km/h.  I saw a young lady flip her road bike over the curb and land on the grass at Katani Gardens in StKilda.  The wind blew sideways, her front wheel contacted the curb and the rest was history.  Fortunately, she received no injuries other than a really good fright.

At the Back of the queue.....

At the Back of the queue…..

Ta da.....here's my RBT kit at long last.

Ta da…..here’s my RBT kit at long last.

So just a quick recap MMT entered the 2016 Round the Bay (RTB) in August after having one of those days at work.  Unfortunately, the job that pays for this blog and just about everything else that team MMT needs, has more frequently occurring moments of lunacy.  Cycling is an excellent antidote.  MMT did have some issues with the registration process for RTB.  The Jersey arrived as XXS as opposed to the XXL ordered and the entry kit never arrived.  A couple of frustrating calls later, MMT was queuing on the Friday before the event to change his jersey and collect a replacement kit.  This took over an hour.  It’s hard to be angry with volunteers doing a tricky job on behalf of a charity.  MMT’s sense of frustration was short lived.

C'est Moi..at the Starting Line

C’est Moi..at the Starting Line

The 2016 RBT Starting Line

The 2016 RBT Starting Line

You're riding a tricycle, how far??

You’re riding a tricycle, how far??

I'm not even sure what kind of bike this is..

I’m not even sure what kind of bike this is…

Unlike registration, everything else the event organisers arranged was excellent, the start was well managed as thousands of entrants slowly made their way out of Alexandria Gardens towards Beach Road.   Volunteers were cheerful and numerous.  Even as the wind approached gale force, many were still at the finish line cheering cyclists as they came through.

Ammenities at Mordialloc rest stop

Ammenities at Mordialloc rest stop

Bike parking at Mordialloc

Bike parking at Mordialloc

The rest stops at Mordialloc and Frankston were very well organised with a good mixture of sweet and savoury treats available.  Interestingly, no refreshment other than water was available.  Whilst both rest stops were located next to cafes but the queues for coffee put me off.  I skipped he Mordialloc rest stop on the return leg in the, proven to be false, hope that I would beat the arriving gale force winds.

WRT to the ride itself, without wind its an enjoyable, bar a couple hills, flat ride.  At various points such as St Kilda, Brighton, Sandringham, Blackrock,Parkdale and Mordialloc,its very scenic.  Coming in and out of Frankston was a little boring and in parts the road surface was fairly rough.  I tailed a bunch from Lend Lease as far as Sandringham.  Their kit was reminiscent of Team Sky, but happily their speed was not.  My personal highlight was the pair of girls riding unicycles dressed in read white.  I’m not sure how they made it the finishing line given the wind.  I was surprised by the number of mountain bike and commuter/flat handle bar bike riders amongst the participants.

RTB amenities at Frankston

RTB amenities at Frankston

My trusty Wlier leaning up against a wall in Frankston

My Wilier leaning up against a wall

Frankston Beach from the Visitor Centre

Frankston Beach from the Visitor Centre

Another shot of the Frankston Village

Another shot of the Frankston Village

The finishing line and village were a welcome sight nearly 5 hours later.  The village had numerous tasty food options.  Alas the end of ride lunch provided by the organisers was excellent, so I didn’t try any of their wares.  There were many bike vendors with bikes, cycling kit accessories for sale.  I bought a discounted pair of Roeckl gloves to replace the much older and worn pair I have.

The RTB Village in Alexandria Gardens

The RTB Village in Alexandria Gardens

Bike Parking in the RTB Village

Bike Parking in the RTB Village

These guys made a pretty decent latte

These guys made a pretty decent latte

Another shot of the Village

Another shot of the Village

So onto the stats, like most semi-serious cyclists keeping track of kilometres, cadence, speed and calories burned becomes an obsession.  So here’s my Garmin record.  Much to my surprise I now rank just inside the top 200 for one of the segments.  Overall, about 95Km in less than 5 hours was a reasonable effort, given that I had never attempted that distance before.

201009-garmin-rtb

On reflection, I should have skipped the Mordialloc rest stop on the way down and kept my stop at Frankston to 15 mins.  That would’ve kept the round trip closer to 4 hours.  Also given the slow rolling start, I think next time, I’ll elbow my way to the front.  All things considered, I’ll do this ride again next year.

Until next time, ride safe

Marv

Ballarat Autumn Day Ride 2016

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Dear Rouleurs,

As regular (…but non-existent…sigh)  readers would have noticed, this year MMT has been doing charity event rides.  As a cyclist I guess you go through this evolution of riding by yourself or with your mates and commuting which means you tend to stick to well worn routes.  For me this consists of roads eastern bayside suburbs.  Doing 50-60 km charity events is an awesome way of breaking out of routine.

This brings me to my latest adventure, the Ballarat Autumn Day (BAD) ride.  As a first time entrant in the BAD, I was surprised to learn that this was the 27th edition of this organised ride.  Judging by the entrants I saw, most were fairly serious cyclists.  At some of the previous events there’s been a real mix of  casual, enthusiasts and athletes.  Compared to the Ballarat Classic that I did back in February, its pretty low key and operates with the support of the local Ballarat Bushwalking and Outdoor Club.

I elected to the 50 km version which on paper fairly easy, see pretty pictures below. There was supposed to be only one relatively easy climb on the way back into Ballarat.  Morning Tea Rest was supposed to be somewhere on the way back.

BAD 50 km ride course profile

BAD 50 km ride course profile

Let me say from the outset, this was really tough ride.  In the week leading up to ride I was nervously looking at the weather forecast thinking..’F#*K that looks bad’…pun intended.  Team MMT arrived in Ballarat on the Saturday afternoon before the ride and noticed that the wind was already quite strong.  Unfortunately the BOM’s predictions of thunder storms and high winds proved correct.  I was seriously considering pulling out.

BAD 2016 - 50 km Course.

BAD 2016 – 50 km Course.

Sunday morning, it was still very windy but at least the rain had stopped.  As I could see numerous cyclists making their way to the start line, I thought ‘What the hell!! How bad could it be?’.  Opps there’s that pun again.  The answer to that was actually it was pretty awful.  I tagged onto, what I thought at the time, was a moderately paced bunch, rolling along at about 23-25 km/h.  Most days, that’s in the ‘cruise’ zone for me.

What I hadn’t realised was how much I was being sheltered at the tail of the bunch.  As the ride turned into the country, the gently undulating course became exposed to very strong cross and head winds.  The hills took on a degree of difficulty that in no way was represented by their piddly gradient.  You can see this the gradient profile. By the 22 km mark, I was done.

I was dropped by the bunch on one of the steeper hills and left out in wind. In these conditions that was a really crappy place to be.  I pinched the photo below off the BAD Facebook page.  This was the bunch I wheelsucked before being dropped. If you look hard enough at the photo you can see the grimaces on the faces of the frontrunners.

MMT wheelsucking at the back of the bunch.

MMT wheelsucking at the back of the bunch.

Eventually I tagged onto another bunch but much to my chagrin, took a right when a left was intended.  This put me onto the 100 km course and up more hills.  At least I was side on to the wind. By 32 km I realised I had really stuffed up.  I found a course marshal who showed me were I was. I was almost 10 km off course. D’oh!!! This meant a course correction was needed (see pretty diagram below. I rode off the course and down the Sunraysia Highway. Fortunately I had the wind mostly behind me. Despite heavy showers I made reasonable time.

2016 BAD 60 km course as ridden by MMT.

2016 BAD 60 km course as ridden by MMT.

Closer to Ballarat I found another course marshall and evidently the broom wagon. Both were a bit surprised to learn of my detour. After completing a 28 km course correction, l finally roll across the start-finish line. All I can think is, that was much tougher than I thought would be. I call the other half of Team MMT this. She’s sitting in the warm reception room waiting for me. I check in and discover that I’m not the only who has had navigation problems. The wind has played havoc with the course markers.

Fortunately the race organisers have warm drinks and delicious fruit cake on. I need both. Team support has brought my wonderfully dry set of clothes. Soon I’m feeling warm and that sense of contentment you have when you’ve achieved something. Despite the inclement weather, I enjoyed the event and thought that it was well organised. I plan to the proper 50 km next year. Its a pity that this event isn’t more widely advertised in Melbourne, as it has quite lot to offer city cyclists seeking a break from car infested roads.

Until next time ride safe

Marv

Marv does the Ride the Bellerine

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Dear Rouleurs,

Its been a huge weekend at MMT, with AFL and Comedy Festival in full swing in Melbourne. Sadly, one half of MMT was in Bay M23 watching his beloved Tigers impersonating Greg Norman, circa 1996 USA Masters, when they lost in the last 15 seconds to Collingwood by 1 point.  Enough said…..

Last Sunday, 3rd April, was the third charity ride event on MMT’s calendar, Ride the Bellerine, ac charity event intended to raise funds to end Polio contagion in developing countries. Being organised by the good people of Rotary in Geelong, its a well run event for a very worthwhile cause.

20160404-EndPolio

MMT noticed the inaugural ride in 2015, but couldn’t get his act together to attend.  Apparently, the weather on that day was truly awful, so MMT isn’t feeling too bad about missing out.  However this Sunday’s weather was perfect, cool, overcast and not much wind to speak of.

The course starts and ends in Geelong’s Eastern Gardens and loops around the Bellerine peninsula via Barwon Waters and 13th Beach.  I did the short course 60 km, as I was uncertain of what the various hills in that part of the world.

kiytfiyt_774x80

Apart from one reasonably steep hill between the 10-12km mark, it was a relatively easy ride. The course and gradient chart is shown below.

60km_ride

So onto the some photos, again MMT was fortune to coax the other half of the team into support and photographic duties.  So have a couple of nice photos, plus the ones I took on the ride.

C'est Moi :-) With new Jersey and old Wilier.

C’est Moi 🙂 With new Jersey and old Wilier.

Start line in Eastern Gardens.

Start line in Eastern Gardens.

Feed and Drink Stop at Barwon Waters.

Feed and Drink Stop at Barwon Waters.

Barwon Waters Causeway.

Barwon Waters Causeway.

Posing in front of the event banner.

Posing in front of the event banner.

Wild surf on 13th Beach.

Wild surf on 13th Beach.

I have to say I really enjoyed the day and was glad MMT made the trip down to Geelong. My next planned ride is the BAD ride in Ballarat in May.  Before I sign off, I have to say to Peter Sagan who seems to have shrugged off the ‘curse of the rainbow’ jersey  easily with a very impressive win in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday night.  I really thought Fabian Cancellara was going to catch him there for while.

Until next blog, ride safe

Marv

Marv does the MS Cycle 2016

Dear Rouleurs,

A few weeks ago, one half of  Team MMT did the 50km version of the 2016 MS Cycle.  Back in 2013, Team MMT did the 30km version with a few friends.  We also had it in our calendar last year, but untimely bronchitis put  this half of the team into bed for a week.  Needless to say this was poorly timed and made MMT very grumpy for a few weeks afterwards.

Fortunately, the 2016 version was a really enjoyable experience.  Unlike last year’s atrocious conditions, the weather was cool, overcast and relatively windless.  The event started and finished at Flemington, which Team MMT had never visited before. Overall, the event was superbly organised, with one exception. The outbound route looped around through the traffic queuing to to use event parking which put many cars and cyclists in close proximity to each other. Really not cool. The course map is shown below:

MS Cycle 2016 Event Map

MS Cycle 2016 Event Map

The 50km route looped through a number of backstreets, lanes and bike paths in Flemington, West Melbourne, Kingsville and Altona that MMT had never ridden before.  Given the early start, the route was relatively car free and where the route changed direction or merged with traffic, volunteers were on hand to reduce any  road user ‘conflict’.   MMT had three highlights for the day:
1. Travelling over the Westgate Bridge and clocking 70 km/h on descent.
2. The volunteers were clearly cycling fans as they came prepared with cow bells and signs.
3. The village with post-event entertainment.

MMT has a few happy snaps to document the event.

Ready, Steady, Go....its MS Cycle 2016.

Ready, Steady, Go….its MS Cycle 2016.

View from the top, looking towards Port Melbourne.

View from the top, looking towards Port Melbourne.

Climbing leads to descending...which is much more fun :-)

Climbing leads to descending…fast …which is much more fun 🙂

Atrocious selfie on the Westgate. How the hell does Gen Y take these things??

Atrocious selfie on the Westgate. How the hell does Gen Y take these things??

Hanging with fellow rouleurs at the second rest stop.

Hanging with fellow rouleurs at the third rest stop. I lost the triathletes I was drafting here…oh well 🙂

Serious kudos to this rouler who carted his kids round the 30Km course. Finish line in the background.

Serious kudos to this rouler who carted his kids round the 30km course. Finish line in the background.

Overall, it was great fun and hope to participate in the event next year.

Until next time, ride safe

Marv