Members kat1 Posted January 4, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Hi All, it was suggested that I write a few words whenever possible about my time in Australia so here goes the first installment. The Scottish Team have rented a house in Ballarat which is about an hour outside Melbourne and has really good roads to train on. It was felt that Melbourne was too busy and built up, although the riders feel that socially it would have been more entertaining! We've been here for 3 weeks so far and it's been quite hectic and certainly busy enough to keep me amused. The first two weeks were spent doing more hours on the bike than I've done before. There are a lot of local cyclists which we can go out for a ride with but the only problem is that they leave at 6:30 in the morning or 5:45 on a Saturday, yeuch! James McCallum and Evan Oliphant keep winding them up so it inevitably ends in an eyeballs out race every time. Over Christmas and New Year we were in Tasmania for the Tas Festivals. These are a strange affair of cycling, running and wood chopping! An Oz version of the highland games. It has to be said that the woodchopping was a favourite with these mad guys cutting holes in a tree trunk and shoving planks in the holes so that they could jump up and create 'steps' to the top of the trunk and cut the top off. The cycling was mainly scratch races and handicap races all done at full speed. 4 of the 5 tracks used were outside concrete tracks of 400-500m which was really good if a tad chilly when evening fell. Most days the racing began at 10 in the morning and went on until 10 at night which could be tiring. The organiser had paid some good riders to come over and compete so the fields were of a high quality from all over the world. There were only 2 or 3 womens races each day with maybe 6-8 guys races which was a bit unbalanced and not very popular with the female contingent. The prize money was equally good but unbalanced. The guys could win anywhere from $1800 to $7000 per race whereas the women got $500 at the most. I found the racing hard as I've not done any speed work for months and I'd been given a low handicap. For instance I was at 30m for a 1000m race with some women at 130m! There were also a lot of sprinters who cleared up. It was interesting though!! Evan won one of the prestigious handicap races overall which was a brilliant achievement and got him in the local paper but meant that his handicap was shortened by a large margin and he was a marked man from then on! Kate also got a few seconds and thirds in the bunch racing which was good. I didn't figure anywhere in the results. I had a go in scratch races but didn't have the 'kick' to sprint against these girls and it takes me a while to get going so the handicap races were a bit of a disaster. I think I prefer to have gears in these situations! I'm supposed to be doing 'Bay Crits' just now but have managed to get a cold. Evan, Kate and James are competing but I'm confined to quarters so I'm not sure what's happening. I know that Robbie McEwan is competing and a few other famous names as well. The Aussies have to qualify for the Games in the next two weeks so the womens and mens fields are high class and apparently yesterdays crit (first of the series) was very controlled so that the correct people got a result! And finally - the weather! Who said that Oz was roasting? When we arrived we were out in leg/arm warmers, jackets, overshoes, gloves and still it was freezing. After one such wet and cold run with the locals we ended up at a cafe which had a roaring log fire lit and was very quickly surrounded by freezing cyclists! Tas was a bit warmer although one of the track days were rained off..... We've had a few hot days and we've all been burned (apparently there's no ozone layer) but it is generally windy and either cold or hot - not much in between. Victoria is the garden state which is the coldest and wettest part of Australia and contains most of the food producing farms and they have had a drought for the last 10 years so the lakes have dried up. Confused - so am I!!?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aileen McGlynn Posted January 5, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Good stuff Kat. Keep it coming! Aileen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kenny MacDonald Posted January 5, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Kat sounds like a traditional Scottish summer with everything including snow thrown in for good measure. Good to hear your not peaking too soon Beats working at the crazy county buildings ps frost damage burst the water mains and county buildings are now 3 months behind schedule Thats the cooncil for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Hamilton Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 So that's where you are???? The last I saw of you, you told me that you were going for some milk and the papers and would only be a few minutes, the poor cats are starving since they've had to share their food wi me, that cold meat that was in the fridge looks well dodgy and I've used the last o the loo roll........., this Tas place is it far, Jings I could've walked to braeheed and back by now........ Di yi think yi'll be much longer, or should I go and get mulk masel??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fatblokeonbike Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 So that's where you are???? The last I saw of you, you told me that you were going for some milk and the papers and would only be a few minutes, the poor cats are starving since they've had to share their food wi me, that cold meat that was in the fridge looks well dodgy and I've used the last o the loo roll........., this Tas place is it far, Jings I could've walked to braeheed and back by now........ Di yi think yi'll be much longer, or should I go and get mulk masel??? If I were you, George, I'd throw it all up and go join the lounge lizards in The Bull - if she's away this long she's obviously trying to tell you something. So... what did you get from Santa this year - a surfboard and a sack-full of boomerangs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Hickey Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Excellent stuff Kat. With this kind of insider's commentary on the build up to the Games I'm sure the numbers logging onto the Bunch will rocket. All the best. SH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kat1 Posted January 9, 2006 Author Members Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 Back again. Sorry George, I forgot to tell you but really didn't think you'd notice if it was only for a few months. I left plenty of whisky and the hillwalking gear is still there so you'll survive. However, I am a bit worried about the cats......... Anyway, since returning from Tas I've had the cold which is now much better but meant that sadly I missed all the 'Bay Crits' and could only go into Melbourne and Geelong with the rest of the team and lie in the sun while they knocked their pan in on 1km circuits brushing shoulders with the best cyclists in the world! I did a bit of shopping, ate numerous ice cream cones, lay around in 30 degree heat and dabbled in the very competitive sight seeing circuit. But, now I am almost fully recovered and so training will start in earnest again this week. We've got a track in Ballarat which we'll use and a motorbike for motorpacing so i think I may be getting a lot of miles in! There are also quite a few races arranged in different places which I'll update on as they arise. The house has lost two people (Tracey and Gary) and they have been replaced with the national track coach, Ivor Reid and Elaine (his wife). Ivor will no doubt be hatching lots of pain sessions on the track in between his sunbathing (of which he seems equally keen). And before any of you doubters (Stevie) say anything. It has been lovely weather this week. Thirty odd degrees every day with a slight breeze - perfect weather to consume ice cream but not hot chocolate. I've even been to the seaside 5 times (Bay crits - beside the sea, geddit?). Aaaah. I'm certainly not missing those council buldings and Kenny, stop reminding me! Last thing. Evan won the Bay crit series support race (5 crit series). He and James were in this race rather than the pro one because they are obviously not in a pro team. Phil Anderson was commentating the crits and in his words - the support crits are much harder than the pro crits as they are eyeballs out from the start whereas the pro one is controlled. Therefore this was a brilliant win and everyone can ignore the doubters on the Braveheart forum because I'm here and saw it and it was brutal! He did brilliantly and Team Uno who adopted them provided good support (mainly James McCallum). Evan is looking well good for the Games road race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People have to remember that the internet sites are read by us over here and we don't need negative comments. Speak soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Blom Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 Superb Report Kat !!! Great to hear everyone is doing great and that evan and James are also getting in results. All the best, Stevie >b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.