2010 Recreational Team Time Trials

Ray Issac reports:

The picturesque Kingston Showgrounds, under a clear blue sky, were the setting for the start of this year’s first Rec TTT ride.  We welcomed the first appearance of the Yabbie Divers, but were disappointed that the Riding on Principals team did not front up. (Come back men, all is forgiven!)  Most teams had introduced new riders over the summer. While all are most welcome, it is probably fair to say that the biggest name to be added to any roster was that of Volker Hegert.  Yes folks, that’s right. The club president is a fully-fledged Rec TTT rider!

A pleasing total of 39 riders started. A surprising total of 40 finished. I’ll say more on that later.  All riders were welcomed by Peter Canny and given a reminder about the importance of safe riding from Stu Brien. They were also given a pre-ride briefing by Don Stewart.  After the debacle at Moonambel, for which Don received the CSC Award, when he confused the majority of the Rec TTT riders with his directions, alarm bells should probably have rung at that stage.  Then again, we bike riders prize the attributes of doggedness and resistance to pain more than we value intelligence, so perhaps the lack of concern was understandable.

The first team to greet the starter was the Goddesses. Their strategy for the new season soon became apparent. Start slow and then slow down. What was not apparent, however, was that they had a second string to their bow. They were carrying Easter eggs as bribes. When they reached corner marshal Sue Parker, they tried to use bribery to have her send the other teams in the wrong direction.  This brilliant strategy had two fundamental flaws. The first is that Sue is a person of the highest moral fibre.  While she was happy to take the chocolates, she would not waver in her duty to point riders down the right road.  The second flaw was that by that stage the Saxons, Dennis Family Homes and the Yabbies had already passed the Goddesses and set off around Sue’s corner, so all they could do was follow.  I’ll say more on what then transpired later.  It should be recorded that one of the Goddesses' new riders, Carol Brown, was undertaking the longest ride of her life in tackling the 56 km course. Good on you Carol!

Next to depart was the Saxon House team.  A few new inclusions had been made, but the losses from the team meant they had big shoes to fill.  With only six starters they faced a tougher assignment than the bigger teams.  Their new-season strategy was impossible to discern, but their main man, Neil Goad, later confided their main focus was to make sure the team was comfortable at all times. Judging by their relaxed demeanour at the end of the ride, they well and truly met that KPI.

Rec TTT ride stalwarts, Dennis Family Homes, were next to leave. They had shocked the Rec TTT fraternity with a dazzling 37+km/h average velocity at the final time trial last year. What would they do to top that effort?  The simple answer is not much.  The most likely explanation for their lower speed is the restoration of Peter Martin to the team. Either that or they were playing possum early in the year. Peter later claimed a muscle cramp had slowed him down. Seriously Pete, there must be better excuses than that in a Pommy’s repertoire.  They may have felt deflated to complete the first lap and recognize their ninth rider, Geoff Pfeiffer, standing by the side of the road.  He arrived late, and that meant that the remaining eight riders had to shoulder a bit more of the load. They lacked the Rec TTT cunning to claim a first lap mechanical problem and invite him to complete the second lap with them. Is there anyone doing the strategic planning for this team?

What little planning they had allowed the Dennis team to complete the correct course. Unlike the Yabbies.  The Yabbies had brought a touch of colour to proceedings, and it wasn’t just their baby-poo coloured jerseys. They insisted on being identified by their Yabbie nicknames.  They apparently take these very seriously.  While they were waiting at the start line, one of their fellow Yabbies, Shane Butler, drove in to take part in the club race that accompanied the Rec TTT ride.  Ross, whom they know as Blakey (from On the Buses) lapsed into a whiney Pommy accent and snarled “I’ll get you Butler, you see if I don’t."  This commitment to the team ethic didn’t appear to translate into a successful strategy for the ride.  A fast and furious start, apparently driven by Diesel and Cossie, in which they gobbled up the Saxons and the Goddesses, meant that some team members dipped deep into the petrol tank early in the ride.

When they passed the Parkers' corner and approached the next intersection, the words of Don Stewart (himself a Yabbie) were ringing in their ears. “Make sure you turn right at the next corner.”  For some reason they made the fateful decision to turn right at the next corner.  This decision meant they met the Smeaton-Newstead road north of Smeaton, and rejoined the correct route in Smeaton itself.  It also meant that the Saxons and then the Goddesses followed them around the wrong corner.  The corner marshall in Smeaton, Gerry White, another Yabbie, was astounded to see them arrive from the wrong direction. The extra 1.5 km they had ridden meant that the Turret team was arriving at the same corner at the same time, but from the correct direction.  The Turret selection trials over summer had added some impressive horsepower to their team. As well as Volker, Greg Dow and Dale Coutts were there for their first Rec TTT ride, and Peter Norman was back from racing.  The Turret used the disarray in the Yabbies' team to slip past as they left Smeaton. The Yabbies followed, at all times ensuring that reasonable separation was maintained so they couldn’t be accused of drafting, until they struck hard entering Kingston and left the floundering Turret in their wake.

It was about this time that the Turret riders noticed a lost soul riding his bike in Kingston. He was wearing the Dennis Family Homes team gear, and so they assumed he had dropped off their frenetic pace and was in need of some assistance. Naturally the caring Turret team was happy to lend that assistance.  Imagine their surprise when it turned out to be none other than Peter Kyatt, out for a ride in the country.

The Turret team caught and passed the Yabbies by the time they reached Scott Townsend at the Swiss Mountain corner. The Yabbies bounced back with a pass as they rounded the corner, and headed off for the Parkers' corner the second time.  It was at this corner that` the Yabbies’ death or glory strategy delivered its unwelcome but inevitable outcome. The Yabbies themselves later described what happened most succinctly and eloquently: “Buzzard popped.”  The enterprising Turret riders took the chance to slip away to the finish line.  Given how long it took the Yabbies to appear at the line, they may well have gone the wrong way a second time.  Without any information to the contrary, that is exactly what the Saxons and the Goddesses did.

Unhappily the stewards could not take the extra distance covered by the Yabbies, the Saxons or the Goddesses into account in calculating their official average speeds, but the figures in brackets show what they would have been were we able to do so. The averages obtained are:

Goddesses 23.35 km/h (24.59 km/h)

Saxon House 26.74 km/h (28.15 km/h)

Dennis Family Homes 33.85 km/h

Yabbie Divers 32.20 km/h (33.05 km/h)

Turret Café 35.25 km/h

(I know these are all a bit higher than was announced on the day. The distance we used for that calculation was understated.)
After the ride we enjoyed coffee, hot dogs and beers. We were assured there will be soft drinks next time. Our thanks go out to all who helped on the day with registration, starting, marshalling, timing and catering.  As we enjoyed the company of RecTTT riders and racers who had finished their race, exploits were talked down and shortcomings were exaggerated. It was another good RecTTT day.

CSC Award

It will be evident that there was no shortage of candidates for the riders who demonstrated the purest adherence to the RecTTT principles of Courage, Stupidity or Cunning.

Ultimately the award went to Gerard Cosgrave - Cossie if you’re a Yabbie. The Yabbies had relied on the prior knowledge he should have possessed from races he had participated in over Sunday’s course, and yet he let them go the wrong way.  He didn’t get the fine wine for Cunning or Courage.

8 April update - Peter Canny, RecTTT ruler, writes:

The first recreational team time trial for this year is on April 18 at Kingston.  Get your teams organized, or turn up on the day and we will allocate you into a bunch that best fits.

We have a coffee machine organized for post-event relaxation, and hot dogs and light beer will be available.  Please register from 8.30 AM for a 9:30 AM start at Kingston show grounds.  There's a link to a map of the course on the on-line calendar: click on RR on April 18.  Remember, the RecTTT is not a race, just serious fun.

Further information is available from 80,101,116,101,114,32,67,97,110,110,121, 0417 391 008. 

14 March update - Peter Canny, RecTTT ruler, writes:

Due to the fact that many of our recreation team time triallists have obligations over the March 28th weekend (such as the Otway Classic and the Murray to Moyne rides) (and Gent-Wevelgem - ed.), we have decided not to run our first RecTTT on March 28th.  Our first RecTTT will therefore take place from Kingston show grounds on April 18, with registration as usual from 8:30am, for a 9:30am start.

BSCC's inaugural Recreational Team Time Trials (RecTTTs) were a big hit in 2009. The series is back in 2010. To see the details, click on Recreational on the left-hand menu.  The locations and start times of the first few 2010 RecTTT events are listed at the bottom. 

Corrections? Questions? Comments? Contact the web lackey

back

show all articles