Road: August Rec TTT

August 20 2010

Ray Isaac, RecTTT reporter extraordinaire, writes:

Calculating the number of riders at the August 2010 RecTTT ride would have provided a worthwhile challenge for an idiot savant (think Dustin Hoffman in Rainman). From my best recollection the following occurred:
• 30 RecTTT riders arrived at the Burrumbeet Hall.
• 3 went home before the start, via the Espresso Café for breakfast.
• This left 26 people to start the ride, with 2 assuming support roles.
• The Goddesses at various stages had 5 riders, and then 6, then 5, then 6 again and finally finished with their original 5 riders.
• The Yabby Divers started with 5 and finished with 4, as did the Dennis Family Homes team.
• The depleted Saxons had 4 at the start and crossed the line with just 3
• Amongst all this mayhem, the Turret Café had the rather exceptional, if mundane, experience of starting with 6 riders and finishing with the same 6!

Although those facts appear to have some internal inconsistencies, I think they are borne out by the events on the day. Here’s how it all transpired.

Three of the hard men from the Myer Group - Tony Quinney, Graham Pyers and Tavis Baker - arrived at the hall and made the very prudent decision to abandon the ride.

That may have been based on Tavis’s reported ill health, or the absence of their Italianate mentor, but it was probably the appalling conditions they encountered when they arrived. There was some wind, but the predominant feature was the rain. That was of biblical proportions and had nothing to do with Dustin Hoffman or Rainman.

In a momentary break in the weather, following a brief briefing from Tim O’Doherty, our stalwart starter, the Goddesses were unleashed on the course at their usual pole position. No new names were featured on their roster.

They were followed by the Saxon House team. Those too were all familiar faces, and included one-time CSC winner, Trevor Smith. He had clearly decided that the biggest contribution he could make to their effort was to follow along in a support vehicle.

The Yabbies had added Engine and Mark (who may or may not be known as the Hulk) to their line-up.

To everyone’s relief, it was immediately obvious that these RecTTT Yabbies had abandoned their baby-poo green jerseys. Blakey and Chuck were sporting the new Yabby outfit, which is most fetching in white with red and black markings. Was I the only one to recognise the implied flattery in its distinct imitation of the CSC jersey which features prominently on the hallowed CSC Award?

The Turreteers headed off next. They were happy to welcome Rick Calvert to his comeback RecTTT ride. You couldn’t have picked a better day for it Rick! At the last moment, Jenny White jumped out of her car just as they were leaving and joined in.

 

A mean, lean Dennis Family Homes team were last to leave. Their team comprised Peter Hayes, Peter Livitsanis, Peter Martin, Dave Peters and Scott-Peter Denno.

Okay, I made that last one up.

Their pleas to be allowed to head off last had been heeded. This allowed their support vehicle, being driven by Mark Smith (son of the aforementioned Trevor Smith and obviously possessed of the same fierce determination) to follow along behind. Mark was filling big shoes as Directeur Sportif for the team. This role was left vacant by Peter Martin who was putting in a big effort for their team on the road.

For about five minutes. After that Peter realised that the frenetic pace was going to really hurt if he kept it up for six minutes. He promptly abandoned ship and jumped into the team car.

Up front, the Goddesses were negotiating the river crossings with great caution. This allowed firstly the Saxons, then the Yabbies, the Turret and the Dennis boys to overtake them.

Jenny White decided that the Goddesses could benefit from her assistance more than the Turret and joined in with the ladies.

After the Saxons had passed the Goddesses, Roger Simkin may have thought the same thing as he soon dropped off the back of the Saxons and headed back towards the Goddesses group. Alternatively it may have been that the half-marathon he ran on Saturday proved to be a less-than-ideal preparation for a tough RecTTT ride.

There must have been a crossover at some point as Jenny decided to leave the Goddesses and set off after the Saxons.

At about this time the true value of the support vehicle for the Dennis team was revealed. Scott-Peter had a puncture and was back on his bike in a flash with a changeover wheel. This is a serious outfit that is not to be underestimated.

Mount Misery was conquered by all teams. Peter Livitsanis (for the Dennis team), Rob Dolan (for the Turret) and Engine (for the Yabbies) did some of their best work here, and were all briefly considered for the Courage aspect of the CSC Award.

Finally the head winds and rain turned into side winds and rain. Ercildoune came and went, as did the sorry figure of Floyd. He had the great misfortune to have a puncture AND be a member of the heartless Yabby Divers, who abandoned him to his fate. If only some of the fair-weather Yabby riders had thought to provide a support vehicle, or for that matter, if the Dennis team had acted as a neutral spares unit.

Nearby, Roger had decided that 30 kilometres of sitting in the Goddesses’ group was long enough and went to the front. Their sighs of relief soon turned to dismay when he rode off the front and left them to their own devices for the run to the line.

At the line the following average speeds were achieved. The change since the previous ride is also shown.

Goddesses 25.93 km/h (up 1.98 km/h)
Saxon House 29.29 km/h (up 0.50 km/h)
Turret Café 35.29 km/h (up 2.81 km/h)
Dennis Family Homes 35.30 km/h (up 1.05 km/h)
Yabby Divers 35.20 km/h (up 1.05 km/h)

I suspect these figures flatter all the teams somewhat. They are based on the distance shown on the website, which seems about 2 km too long.

The CSC Award - which is a bottle of one of Australia’s finest wines - was handed to Jenny White for her flagrant flouting of all things that RecTTT riders hold dear. She didn’t enter the ride as she didn’t have a team, she rode with three different teams at different stages, and crossed over between two of them in a solo effort. The lovely slices and buns she provided after the run didn’t count against her either, it must be said. Chapeau, Jenny, and welcome to RecTTT riding!

Thanks to all the marshalls who prepared the course and stood in the rain to monitor our safety. As ever, thanks to Kathy Young for all her help.

In summary it’s fair to say that die-hard RecTTT riders enjoyed the coffee van, the tasty treats, each other's company and that of the race riders present, and hope to enjoy it even more next time when the weather surely must be a bit better!

Post script.
If you want to win the CSC Award at the next RecTTT ride (due early in October,) you’ll have to do something extraordinary to match Chris Charleson’s effort from Sunday after the ride. Without revealing too much I can say that it involves two bikes on a roof rack, a low car park entry and some involuntary braking as one met the other. The coup de grace was when he backed out of that sticky situation over one of the bikes that had been dislodged from the roof rack. Ouch!

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Peter Canny, Rec TTT ruler, writes:

Here is a final reminder for next Sunday’s Recreational Team Time Trial.  The thinking man’s bunch, The Turret, were out this morning under the guidance of new recruit Patrick Shaw, who is unavailable next week because he is defending his National Race Series lead at the Tour of Geelong.  He did say, however, there was little he could contribute to such a finely-tuned group.  (Or something like that. - ed.)  Dennis Family homes were also out, lurking around in their usual undisciplined disarray, while Myers and Lake Health are maintaining their low profiles.  The Yabbies, as normal, were out before sunrise, like some vampire cult, afraid of the sunlight.  (Wearing those muppet suits as they do, though, we only say thank you.)

Here are the details for Sunday's event.

When: Sunday August 15.  Registration opens at 8:30 AM.  Start Time: the Goddesses are away first at 9.30 AM.  Other bunches leave between 9.45 AM and 10 AM.

Where: registration and start are at Burrumbeet Hall. 

Distance: 50 km, one lap of the big circuit.  There's a link to the course map on the on-line calendar: click on Road on August 15. 

Cost: $5.00 for non members.  Please consider becoming a recreational (non-racing) member for $65 for 12 months.  See Ray Issac for details.

Hope to see you there, for some SERIOUS FUN FOR RECREATIONAL ROAD RIDERS.

***********

Our next recreational team time trial (Rec TTT) is now less than a month away. Time to start putting that Tour de France inspiration into action.

For those who have not entered a team before, you only need four to nine like-minded riders to form a team. You set your own pace, and remember that it is purely designed to be Serious Fun (trade mark applied for - ed.), and not a race.

We expect that the teams from the last event will once again front up:

The Yabbies, still amazing the rest of us by completing the correct course

Lake Health, just amazing us

The Turrett, having amazing bad luck

The Goddesses, amazing us by still turning up

Saxon House, amazing us with their consistency

Dennis Family Homes, amazing the whole cycling world by posting a half-decent time, as well as winning the fancy dress competition at the last event.  Well done Pete Martin, who didn’t dress any differently from normal

And Myers, we need you back with the amazing Italian.

We would love to see you all again. We always welcome a few more teams, so if you ride with a bunch and have not come out before, this is a great time to begin.

All the details are in the downloadable road fixture, at the top of the on-line calendar.  They will soon be on the August page of the on-line calendar too.  The details are here too. 

Where?  Start & finish are at the Burrumbeet Hall, off the Western Highway behind the pub.  We'll ride on the Mount Misery cirsuit, which, despite the name, is absolutely beautiful in winter.

Time?  8.30 AM registration, 9.30 AM start.

Distance? 60 km, and there's a shorter option

Cost?  $5 for non-members of BSCC

Special thanks to all those recreational members who have been assisting with marshalling over the last month.  It has been most appreciated by the club.

Recreational Team Time Trials: Serious Fun For Road Riders.

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