Archive for March, 2008

BikeKing initial bunch ride

March 30th, 2008 | Category: Cycling

The initial bRunch ride for bikeKing.com.au took place this morning. After joining up to this cycling community it was good to meet the cyclists behind the site. We rolled out along with the bikeKing UCI team lads for a gentle spin down the bay and back. All up it was a great ride followed up with a coffee and a chat.

 BikeKing Initial Ride.
I caught up on the news the BikeKing boys had taken out the 2008 Ryders Moolooloba Crit. Nice work and well done to Cameron Hughes. For a full run down on the event hop over to bikeking.com.au and have a read.
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Cadel is back on his Winning Ways

March 28th, 2008 | Category: Cadel Watch 08

As the huge Cadel fan that I am… if following Cadel was a religion I would be the Pope! This time Cadel is riding in the “Coppi e Bartali” in Italy and has taken out Stage 3 and now leading the GC. The 189km from “Scandiano to Pavullo” stage has seen Cadel rise into the lead and with two stages remaining it might be a small victory in the lead up to Le Tour.

Now as I can find no website for this 5 day event I’m going off details from cyclingnews.com which is very little.
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Milan-San Remo 2008

March 23rd, 2008 | Category: Cycling

Milan-San Remo is one of the oldest Classics, this year has marked the 99th edition and at a race distance of 298kms and the changes to the course this year to add new climb at 94kms from the finish along with a new finish in San Remo has seen a changing of the guard with Fabian Cancellara upstaged the sprinters to claim an impressive solo victory. In a report on Pezcyclingnews and I quote

"As things flatten out off the bottom of the Poggio, it’s Bertolini, Rebellin and Pellizotti trying hard but Cancellara pulls it back together. ‘Spartacus’ is looking amazing – he cruises up to Inigo Landaluze ….. and simply rides away."

 
Fabian Cancellara wins the 2008 Milan-San Remo
 
Personally I won’t get to see this race for about 2 weeks as cycling is not a sport that makes the news let alone the TV in Oz. It’s great to see CSC in their final year achieving great things. As CSC is to end its eight year sponsorship at the end of the 2008 season. With Cancellara winning today and taking out the Tirreno-Adriatico last week will see the team with a new sponsor to see them continue on for ’09 and beyond.
 

99th Milano - San Remo, 22 March 2008, 298kms
Position
Rider Name
Time
Ave Speed
1
Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
7h15:09
41.0892 kmh
2
Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas)
0:02
 
3
Philippe Gilbert (FD Jeux)
0:02
 
4
Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner)
0:02
 
5
Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre)
0:02
 
6
Anthony Geslin (Bouygues Telecom)
0:02
 
7
Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r)
0:02
 
8
Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
0:02
 
9
Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
0:02
 
10
Kurt Asle Arvesen (CSC)
0:02
 


 

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Spring Racing Season

March 19th, 2008 | Category: Cycling

Spring is in the air… well in northern hemisphere that is. With this news come the Spring Classics and none other than the Paris Roubaix being held on the 13 April 2008. Who will hold the cobble trophy over their head this year?

I thought it would be high time that I pay attention to all the one day classics so I’ve dug up this years calendar of events.
Pro and Europe Tour - One Day Classics

March
Date
Race
Country
22/03
Milan - San Remo
Italy
April
Date
Race
Country
06/04
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Belgium
09/04
Gent-Wevelgem
Belgium
13/04
Paris-Roubaix
France
20/04
Amstel Gold Race
Netherlands
23/04
Fleche Wallonne
Belgium
27/04
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
Belgium
June
Date
Race
Country
22/06
Eindhoven team time trial
Netherlands
August
Date
Race
Country
02/08
Clasica San Sebastian
Spain
25/08
GP Ouest France - Plouay
France
September
Date
Race
Country
07/09
Hew - Cyclassics Cup
Germany
October
Date
Race
Country
12/10
Paris-Tours
France
18/10
Giro di Lombardia
Italy

 

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When Leg Meets Rock.

March 17th, 2008 | Category: General

Well back in 2001 I decided to take some time away from Oz. I packed up and headed to Europe… No, no… not France (they don’t speak English there!) I headed over to Ireland. It was time to get away from the family and friends and head to the land of the Gaelic people.

Due to the fact that somewhere in the family tree some Great Grandfather left Ireland in the 17 or 1800’s, flash forward a few hundred years and… you guessed it, you’re looking at me! I was heading home in some sense.
My trip had a basic plan, I was young… well in my 20’s. I had some (not much) money, a British Passport (Thanks Dad.), A airline ticket and a wish to get out there and do something different, so on the plane I go.
In no time I had a job, was meeting… you guessed it, a ton of Aussies and Kiwi’s… oh and the odd Irish. Not that you can work out what the hell they are talking about for the first few weeks when you arrive.
At this point I’d like to add that my Irish housemate had been turned into a translator. I’d come home and start asking what the hell… let’s just say “How’s your man” mean? The kind translator turned it into…”that means how is [insert friends name here]”. Well with this ammunition you’d think you could follow the conversation the next time I was asked the question… I never did! Every time I was asked it… I wouldn’t know who the hell they were on about!
Back to Leg meets rock, I shipped over my Cannondale F500 MTB a few weeks after I was settled in. This had two main functions: 1st was to get me to work, 2nd was to MTB around the place.
I was at work one day asking where I could go riding, my workmates  asked if I had ridden up the Dublin Mountain? With a puzzled look I ask where was this “Mountain”. After being told I soon worked out it was the large hill close to where I lived in the village of Lucan.

The Dublin Wicklow Mountain “It not a Mountain”
Well the next day I had concurred the so called Mountain, trust me it’s a big hill… hint “Don’t tell the people of Dublin this… they never took it well whenever I mentioned it.”
A few weeks after taking on and destroying “The Dublin Mountain” I was off up there again with a kiwi mate I had met through a friend of a friend (this is how all that have travelled will know… the antipodeans meet.) you tend to gravitate to people you can understand.  Kiwi knew a longer ride so off we went. It was a dry day and the ride was good. We went as far as we could and then headed home. Now here is where the day changed… well for me that is. I’m glad to say that this time I didn’t knock myself out like with When Head Meets Pavement.
We were returning via the same path we had taken. There was a rocky section that we had to push over on the way up. When we reached it and did our calcs, it was a given that we would ride it on the way down. We lower our seat so as not to take out the crown jewels and started over the rocky section. It was about 500m of large close packed rocks that were like huge rounded grey stones. And the width of a fire trail… there was no way around!

What some of the tracks look like, this is not the rocky seation, I’ve been unable to find a picture of it.
Off we went, I was feeling a bit cocky and took off bouncing around to the point the eyeballs where rattling around in their sockets but I was taking on and beating the rocks. Well with about 50 meters to go… you guessed it. It was an over the handle bars moment, with me landing on the flat on the  rocks. Not a face plant (thank god my good looks where saved) but my right upper thigh took a direct hit with a rock. I was down and not about to get up too quick. I managed to drag myself clear into the long grass with more rocks to assess the damage. Lets start the list… can’t breath (optional extra) so I’m a touch winded, can’t stand up (another option extra). The right leg is in serious pain the brain is reporting!
Kiwi finally catches up and says “That looked like it hurt”. Gasping and grabbing the leg I agree! Finally I suck it up and get to my one good leg. Kiwi point out that it’s a long way to the car so we best get moving before the leg gets too cold. Not liking this idea, but I had to agree, so on the bikes we get. Right leg is not willing to work but it’s downhill most of the way back until a steep long climb to were Kiwi’s car was parked.
The downhill was easy in a standing position. The climb to the car was a killer. I had planned on riding home from Kiwi’s house but he kindly gave me a lift home (top bloke). I didn’t make the pub that afternoon with the boys as I couldn’t walk by then.
The injury to the Right leg was as follows. “corked thigh” is internal bleeding or a haematoma of my “Vastus Lateralis muscle” and “Rectus femoris muscle”. I went home and rested. Rode to work for the next few weeks with one leg (that was fun on small, walled village roads in the wet), people at work thought I was a nut. I didn’t seek professional advice and to this day I have lost some muscle mass and have a ding in my leg where the muscle didn’t quite recover. It’s at pocket height so on a positive note is allows a touch more space for the wallet.
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