checkpoint no. 37 (spring 2008)

What is it about hills?The climbs we love

Rocky Mountain 1200Martin’s Rocky Ride

Touring by MTBMurray River and Mawson Trail

No. 37 Spring 2008The endurance cyclist’s magazine

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waterproof bicycle covers

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Episode JerseysWe have a range of second hand cycling tops of European origin sourced from Episode Clothing in Brunswick. Our range changes every month and according to the season. These items look stunning, and are exceptionally well priced.

Acrylic knit short sleeve $45, Long Sleeve $55, Lycra s/s $35, Lycra l/s $55, training jackets long sleeve $60.

Abbotsford Cycles stocks a range of parts useful in framebuilding, and single speed/fixed conversions - including laser cut fork dropouts, cogs, freewheels, cranks, single chainring bolts and chain tensioners.

waterproof bicycle covers

If you need more carrying capacity on your rides, we have the three options listed here that may help you. Above left is the Ortlieb underseat bag which is a quick release waterproof bag weighing around 300g, holding 2.7l with no pock-ets and costing $99. In the middle is the Vaude Off road bag which weighs 450g, holds 5l is extendable with two side pockets. It has a stiff frame which clips onto the seatpost and can be removed in sec-onds. Costs $110. The third option is the Topeak RX Trunk Bag with the RX Beam rack. The bag slides onto the rack and can be removed leaving the rack available to carry other items. Weight is about 1100g including the bag which holds 2.8l.

Dynamo Hubs and LightsThe new Shimano N80 is now available in 32 hole version. It is lighter than the dynamo it replaces and is less than half the cost of the Schmidt hub. We also have a full Shimano 700c road wheel with the N71 dynamo hub for only $225 Supplies of the Lumotec IQ Fly and Super-nova E3 should be available by the time you read this.

Sykes hand made wooden mudguards are on the way.

Price reduction!N gear jump stops now $18Cue clips now $10 Why wood? Because it‛s cool!

Strong lightweight flexible beautiful– the original carbon fibre! Stainless steel or aluminium fittingswww.sykeswoodfenders.com

Need your bicycle serviced or repaired in Melbourne?Abbotsford Cycles

@ Richmond Station

Bags for Bikes

NEWBuddyFlaps

Custom made bicycle Mudguard flaps made of hard wearing black plas-tic with reflective white logo. $25

MirrorsWe have the best range of handlebar, helmet and glasses mirrors in Australia - Third Eye, B&M,Zefal, Bikecorp, Prodanti and Mirrycle. A Mirrycle for Shimano Road Levers will be here soon!

Checkpoint Spring 2008 3

The Audax Club of Australia Inc. Association No. A0014462N

President Garry Armsworth - 0411 252 772 [email protected]

Vice PresidentBarry Moore - 03 9803 6529 [email protected]

Secretary Roslyn Russell - 0412 482 400 [email protected]

Treasurer Stephen Chambers - 03 5952 5969 [email protected]

Membership Secretary Lorraine Allen - 03 5783 2427 [email protected]

Brevet Secretary Simon Watt [email protected]

Committee Members Bjorn Blasse - 0404 866 078 [email protected]

Russell Freemantle - 03 9395 4963 [email protected]

Martin Haynes [email protected]

David Minter - 0419 755 [email protected]

Region Presidents ACT Marea England - 0432 275 074 [email protected]

NSW Chris Walsh - 02 9924 2200 [email protected]

QLD Vaughan Kippers - 07 3376 6761 [email protected]

SA Ian Peak - 0417 834 525 [email protected]

TAS Paul Gregory - 03 6229 3811 [email protected]

VIC Gareth Evans - 0408 497 721 [email protected]

WA Nick Dale - 0400 300 850 [email protected]

NZ Duncan McDonald +64 (0)3 732 3030 [email protected]

Vice President’s Vélo .........................4

Letters .............................................5

Noticeboard ......................................6

Rocky Mountain 1200 ........................7

Audax on track .................................10

Warwick goes for 400 ........................12

What is it about hills? ........................13

I bought the jersey ...........................17

Side by side by Quike ........................18

Cycling the Mawson Trail ...................19

The Murray River by MTB ..................23

My first brevet ..................................27

Some basic principles of bike setup ....30

Shades in my pocket .........................31

Lessons from PBP 2007 .....................34

The Antipodean PBP List ...................36

What is Euraudax? ............................38

What is a Permanent? .......................39

The greatest endurance

performance of all time?................39

Why do Whatto and Melani look so happy? Could it be that they had no intention of climbing Junction Hill on this occasion? Whatto’s “First Brevet” story is on page 27.

Brevet by Beijing bike ........................40

Award Application Form .....................41

Backpedal .........................................43

Brevets .............................................44

In the Spring a young (at heart) cyclist’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of hill-climbing. Or so it seems. Perhaps it’s because bookings open for the Alpine Classic in Spring. Or maybe it’s the lengthening daylight, the odd puff of warmth, or the prospect of snow melting off the higher peaks that makes a hibernating rider yawn, stretch and consider tackling some altitude.

But what is it about hills that ignites the imagination and triggers the motivation of so many riders? This issue’s feature on hills recommends several climbing routes and in the process provides a few answers to that very question.

I must again thank all of the contributors to this issue—I think readers will find much of interest between here and the back cover. But I must apologise to the would-be contributors who were caught on-the-hop by the new deadlines. At the request of the National Executive, the whole production schedule has been realigned largely to avoid

a clash between the Summer issue mail-out and the January mail-out for the Alpine Classic. An added bonus is that distribution will now take place in the early part of the season for which each issue is named: Spring in early September, Summer in early December, and so on. The new deadlines are in the Noticeboard section (page 6) and can also be found on the web site.

Does your mind wander when you’re riding alone? (Or even when riding in company?) What do you think about in those moments of abstraction? Just recently the question of what blue cat’s eyes are for occupied my pedalling ponderings. I was rather pleased when I’d worked it out, but I’m sure the answer is common knowledge so I won’t say how long I took to solve such a mundane puzzle. Suffice it to say that I’d have had my answer considerably faster if I’d simply done a Google search, but the fun was in the thinking. What’s your preferred ride-time contemplation?

Trevor.

Editorial

Contents

4 Checkpoint Spring 2008

Vice President’s Vélo

Editor & Producer Trevor Gosbell [email protected]

Brevet Editor Stephen George [email protected]

Distribution Ian Boehm [email protected]

Subscription Enquiries Lorraine Allen [email protected]

Contributions, especially those accompanied by photos and graphics, are always welcome.

The closing date for the next issue is 1 November, for publication in December 2008.

Please send to: [email protected], or

Editor PO Box 12144 A’Beckett St Melbourne VIC 8006

• • •

Disclaimer Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the respective authors, and not necessarily those of the Audax Club of Australia Inc.

Borrowing this copy? To receive your own copy, simply join the club at www.audax.org.au/membership.htm or write to the above address.

Free backissues: You can download backissues of this magazine from the club’s website at www.audax.org.au > News > Magazine.

• • •

Website www.audax.org.au

Webmaster Mike Boehm [email protected]

Our President is currently pedalling in France and was a bit reluctant to take time off to contribute his usual quota of words. In fact, at one stage recently we had the President in France and the Secretary and the Vice President (separately, I hasten to add) in the USA. Luckily the Treasurer was still in the country!

If you are able to get to an overseas event, you realise that you are part of an international fraternity. Taking part in the Cascade 1200, made me reflect on what an amazing organisation Audax is and the number of levels on which it operates.

Our common interest in randonneuring causes some of the usual social barriers to drop away. To be riding through mountainous terrain in a foreign country with people who were total strangers only hours before and sharing life experiences is not very common, but it happens in Audax. Conversations abound. One of our riding companions on the last leg of the Cascade ride told us in a sentence or two why he split up with his wife. Very amusing it was too, or at least I thought so at the time. Now I can’t remember the reason, but I doubt that he shares it with every stranger. Another rider gave us a very interesting insight into prison life in Utah. This rider was a prison counsellor, I hasten to add, not an inmate.

And it’s similar here in Australia. You can find yourself having weird discussions with people you barely know. It is not the sort of thing you do on other occasions. But it is part of the rich experience that is Audax.

The French influence on Audax is undeniable. The Audax Club Parisien has full control over rides of between 200 km and 1000 km, plus PBP of course, and a fair bit of influence over the rest. You would not call it a democracy, more like a franchise arrangement. That’s not to say that the French don’t listen to us. It’s just that they can decide whether to take any notice.

You would have to think it is an odd organisation, when the international governing body (Les Randonneurs Mondiaux) meets only once every four years and arranges the meeting so that most of the delegates are sleep deprived, having finished PBP the day before. The meetings don’t go overtime because the delegates have to head off to a rich and boozy lunch.

Despite all this, it all works wonderfully. We obey our peculiar rules, we get our brevets stamped, we have them homologated (What does that word mean? I thought it was something they did to milk) and we apply for our awards. We get hot, cold, exhausted, chafed, excited and ecstatic; and that’s before we get to the first contrôle. We discuss the intricacies of cogs, cranks (human as well as metal), we flaunt ourselves in colours and fabrics we would normally not be seen in and then we probably spend a bit more money as well. All in a good cause, of course.

A risk for us at the moment is that we will be victims of our own success. Our organisational structure and processes may have been fine when we had a couple of hundred members, but now that our membership is closer to a thousand we can’t keep relying a small band of volunteers to do so much. Several times recently we have reached the point where key people were no longer able to keep on putting in the countless hours required to keep our systems operating and developing. They all have professional and family responsibilities that demand their time.

We’ll be trying to do things differently now, including some outsourcing of IT functions. With our increased membership and ride participation, we now have a revenue stream to support this, provided we are careful. This should mean less reliance on a small number of key individuals, but will still require co-ordination and quality control to be exercised by Audax members. I hope this is not déjà vu again, but we are committed to a new approach.

Anyway, that’s enough from me. You can have Garry back next edition. He can tell us something we don’t know about cycling in France.

Weird discussionsVice President’s Vélowith Barry Moore


Bushwalkers = Audax riders? Hmmm… I suppose there could be something in that. I would have thought (hoped) that we would be considered something more athletic but maybe bushwalkers does fit.

Which raises a whole host of other comparisons. If we are bushwalkers then what are the rest of the bike riding fraternity? The real racers are easy to categorise: trackies would be the sprinters and roadies would be the distance runners.

But how about the pretend racers—the people who wear all the racy gear, ride the racy bikes, frequent Beach Road in groups (so they don’t get lost) but never race? Maybe their equivalent are the “recreational runners” who wear high cost shoes and gear and run around looking for the next trend.

Spinners who ride “bikes” inside would be the equivalent of runners who run on treadmills inside. Triathlete? Well they run and swim as well as ride so their equivalent

is…triathletes. Recreational riders may be walkers. Mountain bikers could be orienteers. Down-hillers…umm…base jumpers?

Barry Stevenson (via audax-oz)

I mentioned to a friend of mine who likes touring (loaded panniers) the comment regarding Audax falling under the ‘bushwalking cyclist’ label and could have anticipated his response. Thinking about it I agree with him—tourers are very different to Audax.

They make their own cups of tea in the middle of nowhere and cover far less distance in a day; I would find that frustrating. The mindset is in another zone too. They don’t have the comfort of a supported ride and don’t always end up where they originally planned. The Audax mission is quite defined. Completing a brevet is achieving a personal goal in a certain time. Redoing a

brevet faster and stronger the following year is also a challenge to yourself but finishing is the primary motivation. Touring seems to me to be about the journey but with more stops and less opportunity to ride with others.

Both activities take you outside your comfort zone and you are at the mercy of the elements but for less time if you are not loaded up.

The idea of climbing hills carrying weights has no appeal to me. I work with weights in a pump class and have control over how much I lift and know it is only for an hour.

The tourers deserve the label and are welcome to it.

Ros Marshallsea

LettersSend your letters to [email protected].

If undeliverable return toAudax Australia Inc.PO Box 12144A’Beckett StreetMelbourne VIC 8006

Print Post ApprovedPP327687/00033

CheckpointSummer 2006/07Issue No. 30Association No. A0014462N

ISSN 1832-4711

406 members (23/11/06)

Audax Australia is proudly affiliated with:

Audax Club Parisienwww.audax-club-parisien.com

Les Randonneurs Mondiauxwww.lesrm.be

Cycling Australiawww.cycling.org.au

Are your address details above correct?Notify changes by email to [email protected] or by phone on (03) 5783 2427.

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Audax

Clothing Shop

To order or enquire, please email Libby Haynes at [email protected] or call 03 5674 2157 (after hours). To view the jerseys in colour, visit the club’s website at www.audax.org.au (Merchandise).

To order by mail, copy this entire page (including the address label) and send with cheque or credit card details to Audax Australia, Clothing, 6A Ebor Avenue, Inverloch VIC 3996. Please call 03 5674 2157 prior to sending your order.

Long and short sleeved jerseys, with chest length zip and three rear pockets. Jerseys are made of a high quality fabric with superior perspiration wicking properties. Available in sizes small to XX large by pre-order.

Only$100

Long sleeve jersey depicted. Price does not include athletic body.

Long and short sleeved jerseys with chest length zip and three rear pockets. Jerseys are made of a high quality

fabric and superior perspiration wicking properities. Available in sizes small to XX large by pre-order.

To order or enquire, please email Libby Haynes at

[email protected] or call (03) 5674 2157

(after hours).

To view the jerseys in colour, visit the club’s

website at www.audax.org.au

(Merchandise).


Great Southern RandonneeThe fourth GSR rolls down Victoria’s Great Ocean Road into the Grampians, and back, in the last week of October.

This is advertised as a very challenging ride, and so far the weather has added to the difficulty. In 1998 the riders encountered snow on their first morning in the Otways, last time a gale swept in against them from the west on the second day. What is in store this time?

Interest from Australian Randonneurs has been very high, with entries for all events filling soon after they were opened. We have 35 riders doing 1200 km, 20 on the 1000, a dozen for 600 and more for 300 km so far.

Accomodation is the limiting factor on rider numbers, except for the 300 (no accomodation is offered for the 300k riders, Anglesea to Port Fairy on Tuesday, and/or back again on Thursday—see the Audax Website for details.)

There will be a facility on the Audax Website to follow riders’ progress, liveish!

More volunteers would be very useful. If you can spare a day and night, or more, checkpoints at Port Campbell, Port Fairy or Lavers Hill are on offer, where you can tend to the needs of weary cyclists.

If you are interested, please contact Peter Moore on (03) 9429 6889 (b/h) or email [email protected].

ACT now for extra ridesACT Audax has been able to add some rides to its calendar for the second half of this year. For those outside Canberra, most interest will be in the Riverina Romp 600/1000 and Fitz’s Challenge, but of course your company would be most welcome on any of them. Details of these and the other new rides follow. Full details have been placed on the electronic calendar on the national website.

The Riverina Romp 600/1000 (Unsupported)September 13-15: Good preparation for the GSR!

A big figure 8 course will lead us from Canberra to Wagga Wagga and beyond before returning home. Big hills and long valleys will wear their finest spring colours to welcome you. No doubt the nor’ westers will greet you too! Great preparation for the Great Southern Randonee. The ride organiser is Bob McHugh.

Note that a “Come Along To Binalong” 200 km Audax ride will be held in conjunction with the Romp, whereby riders can accompany the Rompers as far as the first coffee break at Binalong on the first morning, before returning to Canberra via Dog Trap Road.

You may also want to consider a couple of other new rides in the ACT:

Crookwell Country Circuit 30011 October, organised by Tom Nankivell.

Canberra to the Gong 300 (for the Sydney-Gong ride)1 November, organised by Marea England

Audax SA 20th AnniversarySaturday 11 October 2008Dinner: Cudlee Creek Hotel, 6–6.30 pm after 200 km and 100 km brevets. Smorgasbord Dinner: $20 per person

Cudlee Creek Caravan Park (next to Hotel) (08) 8389 2270 or (08) 8389 2319.

Camping at park $8 per person

Cabins at park $55 (please contact Caravan Park for bookings).

RSVP for dinner by 3 October.

Contact: Alan Capell (08) 88263 7651 or 0418 859 224; or Matthew Rawnsley (08) 83700415

Brevet starting times: 200 km: 7 am 100 km: 11 am

Both start in the caravan park and finish inside hotel.

Fitz’s ChallengeRun by ACT Pedal Power, the Fitz’s cycling event is to be held this year on 26 October. “The ACT’s Alpine Classic” comprises four rides of around 50 km, 100 km, 160 km and 210 km. The 210 km “Fitz’s Epic” runs along Paddys River Road to the west of Canberra, with a number of challenging climbs into the Brindabella Mountains to the south and west.

Details at the ACT Pedal Power website: www.pedalpower.org.au/events/

Canola CanterBicycle Wagga Wagga will run the Canola Canter on 12 October 2008.

Quiet country roads in the Riverina in springtime.

Start: Wagga Wagga Beach 7:30:00 AM

Contact: Bicycle Wagga Wagga 0418 400 455 or [email protected]

Ride Options:

50 km: 8.30 am start. A return to Millwood and back along the Old Narrandera Road. Only one hill and you get to come down it on the way back.

100 km: 7.30 am start. Visit Marrar, Coolamon, Millwood and Euberta before finishing back in Wagga. Undulating but not mountainous.

150 km 7.30 am start. Do the 50 and then loop out to Wantabadgery, Junee and Harefield to finish

Cost: $7 (member) or $12 (non-member)

Festival of the WheelThe weekend of 25 and 26 October 2008 will be an exciting time in one of Victoria’s most interesting provincial cities, Castlemaine. The city will be the home of a new annual event, the Festival of the Wheel, or FOW. FOW is designed for all sorts of riders, including trail and mountain bikers and road riders who love a challenge.

On the Saturday, there will be the choice of seven rides, one tourist ride around Castlemaine and six different rides on roads and trails to Maldon and beyond, with the option of returning by steam train for the first 260 people who book.

On Saturday night, Cycling’s Big Night Out will include comedy and a bike film at the Theatre Royal. Two fun duathlons will take place on the Sunday morning and be followed by Family Day in the Botanical Gardens. It will be a great weekend for bike lovers.

More information: masg.org.au/?page_id=453

Great Australian Bike RideThe Great Australian Bike Ride is a seven-month, nine-stage bike ride around Australia raising funds and awareness for mental illness. The ride departs from Melbourne in March 2009.

The ride is being organised by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund, the only national project of Australian Rotary clubs.

The Great Australian Bike Ride is recruiting riders, volunteers, and hosts around the country. If you’re a passionate rider or just someone with the guts for a huge challenge here’s your chance. Get on your bike, get on the ride and join the team. It’s going to be a once in a lifetime experience.

More information: greataustralianbikeride.org.au

Annual General MeetingHere is advance notice that the Annual General Meeting of The Audax Club of Australia Inc., will be held in Bright, Victoria, on the Audax Alpine Classic weekend, 24/25 January 2009.

Checkpoint deadlinesPlease note the new deadlines for submitting material to Checkpoint:

Summer: 1 November Autumn: 1 February Winter: 1 May Spring: 1 August

Items for NoticeboardAnnouncements and other items of general interest to members are invited for the Noticeboard page. Please submit your brief notice to [email protected] before the deadlines listed above.

NoticeboardSend your notices to [email protected]


The riders were gathering for the 10.00 pm start outside the Kamloops Curling Club. A few familiar faces appeared in the crowd of riders and interested people. I did not see John Evans at this stage, the only other Aussie riding. He was riding his fixed wheel with the same gearing as he had used four years ago, the last time the Rocky Mountains 1200 (RM 1200) was run. The only two Australians riding then were Bob Bednarz and John. I had spoken to Bob about the RM 1200 and although his comments were not negative, I had decided to ride the Cascades 1200 23 days prior.

With a few words in French from Monsieur Leppertel of ACP fame and Roger, the Ride organiser, there was a hesitant start at the duly appointed hour with 105 riders departing for a clockwise loop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Predicted weather conditions were favourable with a high cell sitting over southern British Columbia (BC). Daytime temperatures for the Kamloops, mid to high

20s, overnight 3–8°C. How low would these temperatures drop to at higher altitudes? I did not know.

We headed off out of Kamloops, over the South Thompson River bridge and rode north on Yellowhead Highway No. 5. It was a balmy night and there was soon a long string of red tail lights similar to PBP but not as bright.

I rode with three Californians who I had met on the Cascades 1200 ride. Anthony, a physio, his partner Nicole (who I was surprised to see riding as she had suffered from a knee problem), and Kitty, who was the reason I was riding. After the Cascades, she had asked me if I was riding the RM. I had said “No way!”, but a week later, when I started to feel human again, I rang Roger to see if any places remained. He replied the quota was 100 and you would be 105 but it’s OK, you’re in. I am not sure whether I was excited or resigned!

My following training consisted of riding to the Thirsty Camel coffee shop, a healthy 20 km return, and that was not every day. Lib and I were staying with friends at Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for two weeks after the Cascades. I must say Lib was extremely understanding to this sudden change of holiday plans. I am sure it will cost me plenty.

The road north was busy with traffic in both directions. Oversized trucks carrying loads of pipes and equipment for the booming BC gas fields kept passing with their attendant support vehicles. The road shoulder often ran out as the road approached a rock overhang or bridge leaving you with little space to manoeuvre. The oncoming car headlights added to the uncertainty. This became easier as the night progressed.

The first control was at 123 km, Clearwater, Wells Grey Information Centre. For the first

time I saw John Evans, putting on some extra layers amongst the souvenir displays at the info center. Refuelled and now wearing leg warmers, jacket, beanie and long-fingered gloves, I hoped I had enough warm clothes as I was wearing them all!

The first light of day started to appear, about 4.30 am, slowly revealing the countryside of hills, river and tall timber of firs and pines. The highway was following the North Thompson as it came south towards Kamloops. I felt we should have been going up hill, but it seemed to me we were doing more downhill. Was this an optical illusion or a tail breeze?

Around 8.30 am we got to Control No. 2 at the Blue River. The BC Randonneurs stamped the brevet and provided snacks only. If you wanted a feed, the diner was the only place available. (This was the only control like this.) I ordered the special breakfast and sat at a table and introduced myself to the other riders. I was to ride with a couple of these riders for a while. The Californians had slowed as Nicole’s other knee gave problems. We waited and waited. The sole waitress was run off her feet, finally our orders arrived and we left after one and a half hours.

The road north was undulating as it ran alongside the south flowing river, making for pleasant riding. The scenery remained much the same, green countryside of evergreens with a rapidly flowing river. So different from home.

Next control was Valemount at 320 km, a thriving town supplying the BC gas fields, turning right into the community center. The BC volunteers were all very helpful and tried hard to satisfy the riders. Lib arrived at the control, and it was lovely to see her. She was enjoying the trip.

Leaving Valemount we headed again on Highway 5 to Tete Jaune Cache, turned

A Rocky RideMartin Haynes

Less than a month after successfully completing the Cascades 1200 (see Checkpoint No. 36), Martin

moved on to British Columbia for the Rocky Mountains 1200. He was certainly making the most of

his North American sojourn—and Libby’s goodwill!

Martin one cold morning, between Jasper and Beauty Creek on the Columbia Icefield Parkway


right and rode towards Jasper on Highway No. 16. We were now entering the Rocky Mountains. Massive snow capped peaks were present on both sides of the highway. Mt Robson at 3954 m is another colossus on the left standing alone, it is a majestic peak. Over the Yellowhead Pass at 1131 m we headed into the Jasper National Park

Arrived at Jasper about 8.30 pm after 443 km. Lib had arranged an hotel a short distance from the control, so after a meal, a delicious shepherd’s pie (two helpings), a shower and bed by 9.30 pm. Sleep came easily. Awake by 1.30 am and gone by 2 am, to get the climbing done before the heat arrives. Before that, all the layers are back on and I left with Kitty who was having trouble with the cold and her knees. She had already ridden the Cascades, toured, doing some 600 miles and was now riding the RM. Some gal! I stopped several times to wait, but decided it was not helping Kitty so I rode on.

The road was busy with rented recreational vehicles (RVs), large Winnebagos bearing ‘1800-Dream Canada’ stamped on the rear, and many others, witness to the North American holiday period. The Rocky Mountains are being loved to death.

I rode with several riders along this section as I was happy to stop and take pictures. One of these riders was Joseph Maurer. He told me his daughter had been studying in Australia and he came out with his wife to see her and rode a Maryborough 600 in December organised by Pat Dorey and Tim Laugher. I remembered his article in Checkpoint (No. 31, Autumn 2007) and his wife’s fear of him dying of thirst during the ride.

Saw a brown bear at the bottom of an embarkment browsing on berries. Joseph and I again stopped several times to take pictures of the towering peaks on either side of the road and the river on the Columbia Icefield Parkway. The river was the Athabasca which is turquoise in colour from the glacier melt. Various peaks were signposted with their name and height only to be forgotten in the haze of long distance bike riding.

My fuel gauge was getting low as I arrived at the Beauty Creek Hostel Control (530 km). A single van in the parking area signified a very small control. However, I was mistaken, the control was down amongst the trees below the car park. On opening the hostel door, a blast of hot air hit my face—it was roasting inside. Brevet duties done, time

to refuel. The next room contained small tables and a larger table lined on both sides by about a dozen riders all being fed pancakes, bacon, eggs and coffee. The two volunteers were very busy preparing the breakfast. They were constantly boiling water, cracking eggs, attempting to satisfy demand. Riders were coming and going, but the number sitting at the table remained constant. It was an oasis.

As I returned to the car park Kitty arrived, she was OK. Within a few kilometres the

Sunwapta climb started, probably one of the steepest of the ride. The layers of clothing were soon peeled off on the climb, not to be put back on for a while. Soon reached the top, followed by a good downhill. The river running alongside the road was now flowing the other way. Past the mighty Columbia Icefields with glaciers seemingly hanging in mid air, the sun hitting the snow making a striking picture. Over Bow summit (2065 m) and a long downhill. The tourist traffic was busy; heavy vehicles are banned on this section but the large RVs are big enough to make up for them.

The road surface continued to be badly cracked, shaking the body incessantly. The shoulder of the road is in poorer condition than the road. Cracks are of different types, some run from the centre line to the edge of the pavement at regular intervals and can be quite deep. They demand you provide a bit of self-preservation by clenching your buttocks to avoid jarring the seat bones. Other cracks meander willy-nilly along the road surface, some appear large enough to grab the front wheel, but this does not seem to happen. The cracks are presumably

caused by the freezing and thawing of the sub-surface moisture.

At 677 km, arrived at Lake Louise Control. Friendly volunteers were very welcoming offering amongst other things, mashed potato and pasta. Refuelled, down and back on a delightful side track to Castle Junction along a quiet country road. Castle Junction was manned by members of the Alberta Randonneurs. The ride rosters approximately 100 volunteers to service the controls, a major drain on the

clubs’ resources. Their efforts are much appreciated by the riders.

The route to Golden is along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH), Highway 1, mainly a two-lane road; this I found to be a stressful section of 100 km. The highway is the main road link across the Rockies and it is very busy with heavy transports and holiday traffic, bumper to bumper. It is the only route, there is no other way to go. The noise was incessant, it often reverberated from the concrete barriers and rock faces so that you got the noise from both sides. Add to this the often poor road conditions with the cracks, ripple strips and drainage sumps. It was a test of concentration. I did not feel threatened by the traffic, it was just the sheer volume. The truck drivers, in general, were very good giving as much room as they could spare.

Over the Kicking Horse Pass, over the new Yoho Bridge spanning the Kicking Horse Canyon. In the darkness, I was unaware of this dramatic scenery, only the road was holding my attention. Finally into Golden, about 1.00 am, Lib had again arranged a

Columbia Icefeild, showing the Athabasca River


hotel but I was unable to contact her using any of several phones at the control. So, I decided to sleep at the control . I was issued with two blankets, one for a pillow and one for cover. Again sleep came easily, woke by 4.30 am and on the road 30 minutes later.

The TCH was still sandwiched between the mountains, so in the daylight offered some great views. The traffic did not seem as heavy and riding in daylight made the going easier.

Rogers Pass at 1330 m was the last notable climb, passing through five tunnels to evade the avalanches that plague this area to the pass. Lib was waiting at the Pass, no doubt

wondering what had happened the previous night. She had waited up until 2.00a.m, no doubt my debt grows—two weeks in Paris

has been mentioned! A good feed at the Pass restaurant and ready for the 38 mile downhill and three more tunnels. Further down the road the surface was heavily indented for about 100 m. The cause, a rock slide in May of this year, the scar apparent high up to the left, to the right, a flattened bulldozed area of debris and rock.

Control No. 9 Revelstoke at 965 km. The ever-helpful volunteers were waiting with food and drinks. The next stage was a delightful side trip away from the TCH, to Enderby. More downhills through well-treed valleys, past lakes. I can not remember so much downhill, it seems to outweigh the uphill. The temperature was climbing, so I

looked out for a roadside stall selling drinks and ice-creams. Three other riders had the same idea and joined me. We left together

and remained together for the rest of the ride. Towards Enderby the first agricultural land appeared, the smells of freshly cut hay, farm buildings and animals were present, the land flattened out, the mountains were no more.

Into Enderby, through the traffic lights to the far end of town, on the right was the brick drill hall, the control. Lib was waiting, good, I got a change of nicks. Ah, relief. Lib stayed the night at Enderby as she was tired. After a short break we headed off the short distance to Salmon Arm, the penultimate control.

We had some difficulty finding the control at Salmon Arm, but it was a well laid-out control with plenty of food, like all the others. It was decided to head off without a sleep or rest as we were all feeling OK and with only a 100 km to go. Mistake. John Evans was resting here and did so for nine hours because his hotel was not ready for him. Experience tells.

We started off well, rotating the lead, but by Chase the momentum had decidedly gone and the batteries all wound down together. A halt was called-for and nap of 30 minutes followed. We could have rested for longer but the cold of the night crept in. At this stage we were back on the TCH, the odd transport came rushing past, but very little other traffic passed us. The road surface was new, what a pleasant change. The Canadian railway line was next to the highway and several long freight trains passed us. Our pace was steady but slow as we made our way towards Kamloops. The lights of Kamloops were on the horizon—no, it was the early morning sky. We plodded on, a few pedals then roll, a few more then roll. We were all tired. Finally the real lights of Kamloops, the sign post we had been looking for “Kamloops Center” and finally the Kamloops Curling Club and a few hardy souls clapped us in. Brevet duties done, it was time for a beer at 6.00 am!

Kitty finished OK. Anthony and Nicole retired at Lake Louise.

At the after-ride dinner, 13 of us were presented with the Can-Am pin for completing the two 1200s. Ken Bonner, a legendary B.C. Randonneur, presented the pins. He had set a new record of 50 hours and 23 min for the ride, not bad at 65 and this was his 30th 1200 km ride. He had also ridden a 1000 km on Vancouver Island with Peter Moore, a week prior to completing the Cascades.

An avalanche tunnel going up Rogers pass

Trans Canada Highway, complete with drainage hole, debris, and concrete barrier


The count of grey beards and balding heads was higher than normal at Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC) when Audax Victorian Region held its club night at the velodrome on 1 August. If this particular arrangement of facial and head hair wasn’t enough of a sign, the instructors were left in no doubt that those weird Audax types were present when one of the assembly (who shall remain nameless) raised the topic of recumbents on the track…

The evening was well-attended, despite the rather dire warning that riders should

“bring along leggings, arm warmers, and gloves to prevent track burn in case of stacking”! Only a few admitted to prior experience with fixies and velodromes, but all managed to adapt to fixed-wheelness without much fuss, despite what Barry Moore described as “very threatening track geometry”. Merryn Rowlands was among the first above the stayers’ line and reportedly “kicked Steve’s butt” throughout the evening.

On the audax-oz email list Barry said, “That 42.5 degree embankment really is scary. Everything is telling you that your bike is about to slide out from under, but even I managed to hold on to the red line for a few laps and was able to get up to the blue on the odd occasion.”

Towards the end of the night one member took a nasty fall sustaining an injury that

required attendance of the ambulance. He was discharged from hospital a few days later, is expected to make a full recovery and is very eager to get back on his bike.

Club Night coordinator Ryan Bath was pleased with the turn-out and added, “I think everyone walked away with a great

appreciation for the sport of track cycling”. Ryan is hoping to make track night a regular feature on the calendar. He also advises that Audax members may use the track for $5 per hour between 11 am and 2 pm on Sundays if they are confident to do so without instruction and in the company of other non-Audax riders.

Audax on track at DISC

Getting above the stayers’ line

Audax members prepare to tackle the “very threatening track geometry” at DISC


Anderson’s all-nighter

On the first weekend in August, Colin Anderson headed to New Zealand’s southernmost city, Invercargill, to attempt a 24-hour solo ride at the ILT Velodrome. Riding a road bike and taking only ten minutes’ sleep, Colin covered 2764 laps of the indoor track, for a distance of 658 km at a net pace of 27.4 km/h.

According to media reports, he then went and completed some unfinished business: tackling nearby Bluff Hill.

Reports can be found in The Southland Times (www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4642012a6568.html) and the Manawatu Standard (www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4645720a27322.html)

Druery in ROMAC ride

Glenn Druery will participate in the ROMAC Ride for a Smile 24-hour cycling challenge at the Coffs Harbour Velodrome on September 27, riding his Velokraft Lowracer. Solo riders and teams of up to six riders will attempt to ride 500 km in less than 24 hours, requiring an average speed of about 28 km/h.

The Ride for a Smile is a fundraising event for ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid For Children) which, with the assistance of many eminent Australian surgeons, provides medical treatment for children from developing countries in the form of vital surgery.

See www.romac.org.au/news/coffs for more information.

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Riders prepare for the ROMAC ride at the Coffs Harbour Velodrome Colin Anderson competing lap 2764 at the ILT Velodrome

Audax on track


Before we start, it was pointed out that seven of the nine starters had completed

PBP in 2007, including three women—this concentration demanded a celebration and French Champagne was sipped before pushing off at 7 am.

The familiar road to Wollombi soaked up the first 110-odd as the temperature crept up to cold, continuing north towards our first supported stop at Broke. The road to here is currently being upgraded, and will be a top grade ride when complete, great scenery, very few cars and some smaller hills breaking the generally downhill run through the Wollombi Valley.

At Broke (142 km), I’m despondent; sore legs already and I’m thinking of a suitable method of pulling out and getting home. I miss the departing bunch while getting organised, and the next leg is 44 km solo into a headwind. Strangely, at the end, I’m feeling better and Singleton (186 km) arrives, not halfway on the map, but in our hearts we’re heading for home.

Downwind until the sun sets, our four-bike bunch rolls merrily through vineyards

towards Cessnock. We stop at 5.15 pm to get lights organised, and push on towards Cessnock, still 50 km away.

Progress is slow, saving our legs for what lies ahead necessitates that we average in the low 20’s, we get to Cessnock at about 8 pm to find not a food shop open, and we sit at the edge of town wondering how we might manage to push on

without a feed. A BMX-er passes by and he tips us down a side street where we find a noodle bar and just the sustenance we need.

After donning all the remaining clothes we can muster from the support vehicle, we push on as the temperature falls, it takes a 20 minutes to get warm, and any stop along the way gets us shivering again. Our bunch of four splits into two pairs, Howard and I leave Michael (sporting the age group Polka Dot jersey from a recent Victorian three-day race) and Lisa (Queen of the Plains) as she begins to wilt.

After midnight, on a very cold night, we get to the Wyong Service Centre for some soup, yoghurt and choc milk—an unusual combination but when hungry enough it makes perfect sense.

Forgetting to grab bananas as I leave, we push on for the final 85 km (just a solid Sunday hit out!) to get home. The road tips up towards Peats Ridge, and stays uphill for 20 km of slow, endless torture. Peats Ridge to Hornsby is a series of rolling hills. Howard and I start ticking-off the obstacles: two kickers on Peats Ridge Road, the banana-worthy (shared) Brooklyn Hill and finally

the ‘mongrel on the Highway’.

Despite our expectations of a 1 am finish, the early headwind and longer stops than usual slow our overall progress, we roll into Hornsby Police Station at 4 am.

Thanks to Chris for organising and supporting this ride—it certainly was a long day in the car for him.

Warwick goes for 400Warwick McAlpine

Around a year ago, Old Geoff and I heard the ego-deflating catch-cry of a crusty old nugget, “I

don’t get out of bed for less than 300”. Our 200 km randonee that day seemed a huge task to us,

but small fry to the bunch of 300ers. Later I would tackle a 300 solo and then again, bringing Old

Geoff, Lindsay, Bruce and Stuart ‘de Long Ride’ along for the experience. A week later, it was time

for 400 km: Chris Walsh’s Singleton Tour.

Wollombi Valley: Enjoying the views helps ignore the messages of distress from the Engine Room

Before the ride anciennes du PBP 2007 Rebecca Morton, Kerri-Ann Smith and Lisa Turner, enjoy a celebratory glass of bubbly.


Queensland: SpringbrookI am convinced that mountains are the

greatest thing in the world. For me there is nothing that quite matches the thrill of conquering a big climb, and taking in a spectacular view at the summit, the reward for the hard work. Yet I also find the physical release of taking on the mountain to be rewarding in and of itself too. Then there are also the changing vistas along the climb, the different views offered at different points of a switchback road. Yes, mountains are the greatest thing in the world.

With over two million tourists annually visiting the Gold Coast, it’s perhaps fortunate that many of them still avoid the Hinterland. The mountains here are known for rainforests and waterfalls, providing perhaps the most underrated destination for cycling holidays in Australia. Cyclists who want to take on a mountain have several options, but the queen of those climbs is Springbrook, a 1000 metre rise that is still close enough to the coast to be home in time for lunch and an afternoon at the beach. It’s worth being prepared for changes of weather on this ride—Springbrook boasts

the second highest rainfall on mainland Australia.

The climb starts at Neranwood, 12 km of rolling hills west of Mudgeeraba. The first eight kilometres are a steady climb of around 5% on a classic switchback road that passes through patches of rainforest and offers some great views at the higher sections. Waterfalls cascade down sections of the road after heavy rain, and at night parts of this stretch are illuminated by glow worms.

Most local cyclists turn around at the top of this section, but in truth it’s actually less than half the total height of the mountain. The gradient steepens as Wunburra Lookout is passed, and it’s worth pondering that for all the millions it costs to live in a high-rise in Surfers Paradise these days, none of them offers a view like this.

At the intersection at the Fudge Shop, take the right fork on Lyrebird Ridge Road, following the signs to “Best of All Lookout”. The remaining 7 km to the summit are a series of climbs, some rather

steep. This is a ride to be savoured, passing through some dense rainforest and offering incredible views. Wallabies dart out from the undergrowth to cross the road here; there is compelling evidence to suggest a high suicide rate among these creatures. At the summit it’s worth following a short walking track that passes a stand of 2000 year-old Antarctic Beech Trees to Best of All Lookout.

The return to the coast follows the same route, but some variety can be found by following Repeater Station Road all the way back to the main Springbrook Road, where you have the option of continuing the descent back to the Gold Coast or visiting some of the mountain’s other attractions on the right. Goomoolahra Falls at the end of the road is worth a visit if you have time. A little further down the mountain, a short detour down a side road leads to Purlingbrook Falls. The Fudge Shop where Springbrook Road meets Lyrebird Ridge Road is a great place to refuel before the ride back to the coast.

Chris Lewthwaite

what is it about hills?

Hills. Love them or barely tolerate them, loathe them or eagerly anticipate them—if you’re a cyclist,

you can’t avoid them. Sooner or later, you’ve got to climb.

For some cyclists, hills seem to hold a terrible fascination and for others a climb is—literally and

figuratively—the pinnacle of a good ride. For example, when Checkpoint recently contacted a

few members for their reflections on their “favourite” hills, the responses varied from “How many

hills do you want to know about?” to “Does anyone enjoy hills?” Regardless, their thoughts are

collected below. Maybe there’s a hill here that’s calling out to you…

What is it about hills?


New South Wales: The IllawarraWhy are the Mongrel Dogs called the

Mongrel Dogs? It is all the fault of the geography of Wollongong! Wollongong is 100 km south of Sydney. The Great Dividing Range forms the western barrier with the ocean on the eastern barrier. In the north of the region the two meet and to the south there is a coast plain broadening out to some 10 km—but always the mountains and the sea.

One of the first rides that the then newly formed Wollongong Audax organised saw a Sydney Audax rider come to join the fun. As with almost every Wollongong ride, it included a significant climb and the local riders tend to be good climbers. Out of exasperation at trying to keep up, our Sydney friend commented that the riders were “mongrel dogs” on the climb and the name stuck.

So what are the good climbs around the area? Remembering that the maximum height of the range is about 700 m so they are not long climbs but they can certainly be challenging. From north to south:

Bald Hill: relatively short (2.5 km) but quite sharp and it never relents until near the top. This one tends to be the yard stick.

Bulli Pass: similar distance climb to Ball Hill but not as steep except for a 200-metre section in the middle which is. Lots of traffic so not preferred.

My Ousley: two part climb. Too much traffic so nearby Mt Keira is preferred.

Mt Keira: about a 5 km climb that has a “Bald Hill” first ramp up to the school then an easier climb for the rest. Training climb of choice for Wollongong riders and a well used Audax hill.

Mt Kembla: similar to Mt Keira and makes a good loop with Keira.

Macquarie Pass: about 7 km from bridge to bridge and a very similar climb to Mt Buffalo. A favourite of the Dogs and most others around here, with its good road surface, reasonable traffic and for extra incentive there is the Robinson Pie Shop at the top.

Jamberoo Pass: similar distance and destination to Mac Pass but has steeper pinches and narrower road.

Mt Terry: a smaller hill than the rest but it always bites.

Saddleback Mountain: a Kiama rider’s special that climbs steadily via several approaches until the last kilometre that is steeper than Bald Hill.

All of these rides feature in Wollongong Audax rides at some time during the year. Check the ride calendar and come and join us—you’ll be made most welcome.

Barry Stevenson

New Zealand: Manawatu GorgeI start with a casual flatish ride out from

my home for approx 50 minutes that takes me to the Manawatu Gorge. This gorge cuts between two mountain ranges and has a main state highway road and train track on opposite sides, with a fast flowing river in the centre.

The view from Best of All Lookout, Springbrook


I ride the river side of the road through the gorge, and then climb the attached Saddle Hill, a climb of about 24 minutes, the descent of about 14 km is twisty and steep, so caution is always required. I then repeat the complete section, a total of about 32 km. I have found doing generally three circuits of this tour is a good ride, and with at about 50 minutes back to base means a good four or five hour ride is completed.

The top of the saddle is now planted with some 100 wind turbines for power production with another 100+ mooted, so one has to make sure the weather is at the very least semi-calm before attempting this traverse. The ride through the twisty gorge can be very fast with a tail breeze, and its often fairly easy to stay in touch (almost) with the passing vehicles. The view of the river is ever present and is a far safer option than riding in the reverse with the Greywacke metal almost vertical bank, as the only escape route. As with most NZ ascents, the hill has many sharp twists and sudden uplifts which make it a hill to ride at a steady cadence or run the risk of trying to remove feet from pedals prior to a perhaps inglorious dismount.

By the time this edition gets to print I should be enjoying the company of Chris Rogers and fellow Australian Audax riders in the Gran Tourissimo series, then a relaxing couple of nights at a 70th birthday at Stanley, “spying” on the hills of the Tasmania (from the relative ease of a Subaru station wagon)—perhaps a 1200 km ride in 2009?

Colin Anderson

ACT: Corin ForestWith three major hills within the city

limits and a mountain range running along its western flank, the nation’s capital has no shortage of topographical challenges for the avid self-flagellator.

My favourite is the climb to Corin Forest in the Brindabellas. The road wends its way 13 km up the side of the range, peaking at the Corin Forest ski area, before plunging down the other side of the mountain to

Corin Dam, one of Canberra’s key water storages. The smoothly surfaced road stops there, so traffic is always light.

This climb forms part of the Namadgi Grimpeur—the ACT’s annual pre-Alpine Challenge training ride—held each year in January. It also features in the gruelling Fitz’s Epic held each October.

Starting from the Paddy’s River Road junction, a couple of false flats quickly make way for sharper, upwards undulations. A few kilometres on and a change of chain ring is required as the valley narrows and the slopes steepen further, leaving the road engineers little option but to cut into the hillside. Gains in altitude are rewarded with fine views across the well-forested valley, with interesting rock outcrops here and there, and in places one can make out the route disappearing skywards, far ahead.

The final push to Corin gets a bit tough—exposed in places and 10%—but is worth it for the views all the way back to Canberra, and the rapid, flowing, return descent.

Tom Nankivell

I always knew I was out of form when I couldn’t get up the Bulli Pass easily. Oppy

See, climbing seems like a good idea except when you’re actually doing it. This is the grand paradox of climbing. FatCyclist.com

Don’t buy upgrades; ride up grades. Eddy Merckx

In this situation it is best not to look up as the path ahead can seem insurmountable. A wiser option is to look to the side or behind at the view or at fine details on the roadside. Kate Leeming

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way. Dr. Seuss

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. Ernest Hemingway

Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was. Dag Hammarskjöld

A: Go on, on a hill like this you can change down to the smaller chain ring. T: What, and have people think I’m weak? from Checkpoint, Autumn 1984

If thy heart fails thee, climb not at all. Queen Elisabeth I

He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary. Friedrich Nietzsche

There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it’s easy. Anonymous

Tom’s bike looking pensive before the climb


WA: Darling EscarpmentHill climbing in Perth? You must be

joking. Didn’t you know Perth is flat as a pancake?

Well, surprisingly, there are actually stacks of climbs available in this town. None of these are longer than 10 km and most are much shorter, particularly the steeper ones. None of them have altitude gains much more than 250 m. Perth is on a 25 km wide, essentially flat sand plain with an altitude of about 30 m. The Darling Escarpment running north–south on the east side of town is about 300 m high. Nevertheless, when you run a few of them together on a ride, your legs know that they’ve had a workout.

We recently held a ‘10,000 in 8’ (ft in hours) ride that involved going up and down the escarpment 12 times over a distance of 116 km, a total altitude gain of more than 3000 m. To top it off, we did the second half in torrential rain (which made the PBP seem dry!), but the scenery was beautiful, the roads quiet and the company great, which made it a fantastic ride.

The main ‘hill’ in the ‘10,000 in 8’ ride is the corner of the escarpment created by the Canning River as it cuts through to the south. It straddles the suburbs of Kelmscott and Roleystone and can be approached from six different directions:

NW-Mills Rd East: the main road with a few cars and trucks. Smooth surface, broad curves and quite open. A very fast descent

that can be done without touching the brakes. Altitude gain: 264 m over 4.0 km, with 3.7 km at 7%.

W-Turner Rd: now barricaded top and bottom but can be accessed by bike. Altitude gain: 233 m over 3.0 km, with 2.5 km at 9%.

SW-Canning Mills Rd: quiet road, smooth surface, wooded surroundings is beautiful but decreases visibility. Only the very brave don’t feather the brakes on the way down. Altitude gain: 264 m total over 4.4 km, with 2.5 km at 9%

SE-Peet Rd and Urch Rd: 800 m at 11% straight up Peet Rd from Brookton Hwy, turn onto Urch (pronounced “ouch”, I think), dip down for a few hundred meters before 1.0 km at 9%. Altitude gain: 190 m total over 3.6 km.

E-Chevron Rd: the main road connecting to Mills Rd East. Heads due east over the escarpment for 4.6 km. Lumpy with altitude between 242 m and 322 m

NE-Canning Mills Rd: a very quiet road which meanders through beautiful forest and the occasional farm for over 6 km, also a little lumpy. I have only recently

‘discovered’ this road and I am pencilling it in for a few rides on next year’s calendar. What better way to get to and from some beautiful climbs!

Nick Dale

Victoria: Humevale Road HillRiding up hill is a whole separate class of

cycling. A perfect hill, on a perfect day will almost carry me up it. I’m hard pressed to find the right metaphor. An eagle soaring on a summer thermal is just a bit too easy and implies too much credit to me. It’s more like I’m a leaf fluttering on a zephyr.

Hill climbing is all about rhythm. Here I’m thinking less AC/DC and more Billie Holiday. It can get hot, sweaty and definitely hard—but never heavy.

Humevale Road Hill is just the hill to evoke this kind of climbing. It’s a road from another era; when horsepower was measured by the number of horses in your team instead of hundreds of kilowatts; when engineers built roads to work their way up a hill instead of just charging at them.

This road winds its way easily to Kinglake West from Whittlesea gaining 250 m in 7 km. It’s made even easier by never showing more than a couple of hundred metres of the road ahead. The trip is sheltered from the sun by a canopy of towering eucalypt and cooled by an under-storey of luscious emerald ferns. Gloriously free of cars, but with a clean, fair surface, this is truly bicycle paradise.

You can drink from the cup of this wonderful hill on the King Parrot Creek 200 or the Whittlesea 120 rides.

Peter “NancyBoy” Annear

A perfect hill, on a perfect day will almost carry you up it.

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Are you talking about the skill that is required? Are you talking about muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance necessary to sustain your pace for 100 miles? Or when you say, “that ride is too difficult,” are you talking about the terrain and the weather? Or are you thinking about the emotional toughness required to keep the pedals turning and not quit?

Easy rides are the ones we know we can do. Difficult rides are the ones that our local heroes have done. We might dream of riding them, but we don’t, because we believe we aren’t up for the challenge on some level.

Have you also noticed a rider in your club—a regular Joe or Jane just like you and me—that has taken on one of these “too difficult” rides and succeeded? Have you wondered how they have done it?

Everybody has their own technique for breaking out. But if you are new to the game of stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone, here are a few tips that have worked for me in the past, and I hope will work for me again on the Rocky Mountain 1200.

Load it upThe first step to finishing a challenging

ride is to catalog the benefits of finishing. No kidding—make a list and be specific. If the ride organiser offers medals, write that down. If the jersey rocks, write that down. If the ride is in a great location, and you can tie-in a family vacation, make note of how much the kids will enjoy the time away. If riding this event means you’re going to need a better bicycle, add that to the list. Load as many positive associations into finishing that ride as you possibly can.

Chunk it downRiders who are successful at cycling’s

most challenging rides chunk them down. They take that big, hairy, nightmare-of-

a-goal ride and slice it into smaller, easier, increments that they know they can do because they have done them before. The longer, more difficult rides become a string of short, easy pieces the riders are confident they can manage. Randonneurs may blow your mind because they can ride 1200 kilometres in less than 90 hours. But the most successful randos will tell you they focus on one leg of the route at a time, often resetting their odometers at each check point. They do so because thinking about how far they have to travel is just too daunting.

Feel the fearAs human beings, we are twice as likely to

act to avoid pain as we are to seek pleasure. So try this mind game when you roll out of bed, thinking it won’t hurt to miss just this one training ride. Link the decision to failing at your goal. Think about how you would feel if you aren’t fit enough to climb that mountain pass. Picture your family at the finish line waiting for you, and how you would feel as you roll up to them…in a SAG Wagon. Make as many negative associations as you can between failing to train and failing to finish, and you will be surprised to see yourself up and moving for the coffeemaker.

Buy the jerseyOrganisers spend hours debating the

designs and the colours and the fabrics of their jerseys. They post them as early as they can before the ride, because they know the jersey symbolises the event, and everything it stands for. Even the toughest riders go weak in the knees when they hold their official finisher’s jersey. The tougher the ride, the more value it has. They wear them with pride on club rides. Some even frame them.

If the event you’ve picked for this season is really important to you, then put your money down early and buy that jersey before they sell out. You might be hesitating, especially if you aren’t confident you will finish and you don’t want a jersey for a ride you couldn’t complete. To that I would say, ‘all the more reason to buy it.’ Fear of owning a jersey for a ride you didn’t finish could be the motivation you need to keep the crank arms turning and get that ride done.

Here is a more positive spin a negative neural association: imagine how lousy you will feel when you cross the finish line, having completed the ride of your life, and all you have to show for it is the stinking t-shirt.

David successfully completed the Rocky Mountain 1200, finishing in 74 hours and 52 minutes; 15 hours faster than his previous 1200 km (the Cascade 1200), and included personal best times for the 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km and 1000 km splits. Could there be something to his ideas? At the very least, he reckons the jersey looks great!

Copyright © 2008 by Ready to Ride. www.readytoride.biz.

Reproduced with permission.

I bought the jerseyDavid Rowe

Have you ever noticed that the rides with the biggest pay-off are the ones that we consider the most

difficult? When you say that something is too hard or too difficult, what do you mean, exactly?

Mind Games


In April 2009, we will commence a 12-month journey traversing the steppes at the heart of the Asian continent. Beginning in the Ural Mountains in Russia, we will work our way through Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan), western China, Mongolia and Siberia. Our sole mode of transportation throughout the journey will be our purpose-built, custom-designed, four-wheeled, tandem recumbent “Quike”. This vehicle is being built to handle the most extreme terrain, from ice and snow, to sand and mud, from -50°C to 50°C.

Our aim will be to experience and document the lifestyle, traditions and culture of the various nomadic groups and endangered ethnic minorities. Whilst living with these diverse and fascinating peoples for extended periods of time, we will be fully immersed in their lifestyle and culture, recording our experiences.

The QuikeDue to the nature of this trip, the Quike

has been built to carry up to 500 kg, as we are expecting to endure week-long stints

without water or food access. All spare parts and repair gear will have to be carried on-board, thus making sure we are able to fix whatever problems we may encounter during our journey. The constantly changing terrain and weather means a large range of suitable clothing and hardware will also need to be carried, to allow us to adapt to whatever situations we may encounter.

The Quike will be unique in that it will be able to be pedalled on water. Inflatable pods attached to the frame, combined with a pedal powered propeller, will enable it to be pedaled across large stretches of water. This amphibious vehicle will thus allow us to access areas otherwise inaccessible and give us greater flexibility in our choice of locations to visit.

Many other bike expeditions have encountered problems of frostbite and hypothermia due to being exposed to the elements whilst riding, so the Quike will have a removable fairing attached to it, allowing us to stay out of the wind and rain, as well as giving us a more aerodynamic profile.

Our route will take us through untracked territory where no roads or towns exist, weaving our way through the treacherous and water-deprived Takla Makan and Gobi deserts, across many open and windswept steppes, and across Lake Baikal. Our ability to travel long distances on terrain unsuitable for motor vehicles (too technical, too narrow, no petrol, open water areas), bikes (desert areas with no water for weeks on end, snow/ice and sand, water areas), or ordinary boats (mud flats, sand) will allow us to access these areas which are otherwise unreachable. Thus the design of the Quike will allow us to access many areas and a huge variety of cultures that would normally escape the awareness of people in developed countries.

The journeyThere are a number of reasons we decided

to embark upon this journey: the challenges that it presents to ourselves and what we presently consider to be important; the opportunity to see and record some of these special people and places; the opportunity to bring to the public the knowledge these local cultures have gathered over the centuries. We think such a journey presents a remarkable opportunity for a group of journeymen to bring the global issues of increasing culture homogeneity and loss of culture and local knowledge, and its relationship with affluent lifestyle, into living rooms.

Our personal journeys will be tracked primarily in the journals presented on the website. Also, a documentary will be recorded for viewing after the journey has been completed. The website forum and personal emails will allow those following the journey to interact with the team, asking questions or requesting images.

If you would like further information or would like to help Roger and Megan with their journey, please do not hesitate to contact Roger on 0421 085 052 or via email at [email protected].

Follow Megan and Roger’s progress at their web site: www.steppebysteppe.com.au.

Side by side by QuikeRoger Chao and Megan Kerr

Megan and Roger put the Quike through its paces in testing


After getting the full set of Mawson Trail maps (nine in all) the first thing we decided was that we should ride from north to south, mainly because it was easier to get to, rather than from, Blinman. Besides, being South Australia’s highest town, it was obviously a downhill ride—a whopping 610 metres over 900 km. Woohoo! Our task of getting to Blinman was made all the easier, and much more pleasant, by the generous help of a fellow cyclist who responded to an ‘SOS’ on the Defence cycling forum. Otherwise, there are very few options for getting to Blinman, with no scheduled public transport available. The journey south was divided as evenly as possible, with no more than 100 km between overnight stops. Although we carried a tent and emergency supplies, the goal was not to camp if we could avoid it. Consequently, after much internet searching, we booked accommodation in country pubs, backpacker lodges, caravan parks and even a sheep station. With a month or so to go, we even had time for a little training. The hardest part was ticking off the days until it was time to go!

Fortunately our bikes survived the flight to Adelaide intact and we re-constructed them in the airport terminal—only to mostly de-construct them again to fit into the hired minivan. After a very enjoyable evening getting to know our new-found friends (i.e. chauffeurs), we headed for Blinman the next day. It only takes about six hours to drive from Adelaide to Blinman, which highlights how much the Mawson Trail wanders away from the direct route. Our accommodation for the night was in a beautifully restored miner’s cottage on the outskirts of this tiny town. An obligatory trip to the local pub (which happens to be the start of the trail) was our first exposure to the Mawson Trail signs that would become increasingly familiar to us over the next twelve days. With bikes ready, we couldn’t wait for morning!

Day 1: Blinman to Wilpena Pound (70 km)We stopped so many times to enjoy the

amazing views, it’s a wonder we made it to Wilpena at all! Although some time was spent on gravel roads, the majority

of the journey was on fire trails, with a bonus last 5 km into Wilpena on some great single-track. A little tricky with our fully-laden panniers, but fun all the same! We were surprised by how green the area was although an afternoon downpour reminded us that there was a price to pay for such (relatively) lush surrounds. It was well worth it for the scenery and abundant wildlife. This was one of our shorter days, although the soft post-rain conditions made it fairly tough and slow going. After dinner with Brian Brown and Rachel Ward* (who were filming the movie ‘Beautiful Kate’) we were well-satisfied with Day 1.

Day 2: Wilpena to Merna Mora (77 km)Our plan had been to climb one of the

nearby peaks to get an elevated view of the Pound. However, there had been plenty of overnight rain and then a blanket of low cloud persuaded us to hit the road early and

* Well, we did eat in the same resort at around the same time. I’m pretty sure Brian was trying to catch my eye, but I think he was just after some of our hot chips.

The Mawson Trail is a combination of roads, fire trails and cross-country tracks that takes adventurous

cyclists over 900 km between the historic South Australian town of Blinman and the outskirts of

Adelaide. It traverses the Flinders Ranges, South Australia’s northern agricultural areas, Clare and

Barossa Valleys and the Adelaide Hills. Heralded as a ‘world class off-road cycling trail’, riding the

full distance of the trail is a ‘holy grail’ for many keen cycle tourists across Australia. So, for three

Canberra cyclists who were able to organise a fortnight with no family or work commitments, it

took them no time at all to decide that they should tackle this ‘outback odyssey’. Never mind that it

was mid-winter (July 2008), they reasoned that it couldn’t be any colder than Canbrrrra. And in the

middle of a drought, surely it would be dry too. Perfect. Or so they thought!

The three riders were Ian Richman, an Air Force Pilot, Marea England, an Information Technology

professional and James Davies, a research assistant at the Australian National University. Their

bikes spanned probably the full range of bikes that could cope with the Mawson Trail: Ian’s full-

suspension mountain bike, Marea’s ‘hard-tail’ with front suspension only and James’ touring bike—

with no suspension at all! Once loaded with panniers and water, they each weighed about 30 kg.

Cycling the Mawson Trail: An Outback OdysseyIan Richman


head along the eastern and southern sides of the Pound. This stretch of the trail includes a short section of sealed road, which was followed by our first experience of how those rains could turn benign looking trails into barriers of bike-stopping mud. One of our riders had to find an alternative route when his wheels refused to turn anymore! We rendezvoused a little further along at Rawnsley Park Station, but we had started to learn how slow and difficult the trail could be in wet conditions. However, after

lunch the trail followed a more substantial gravel road and we had no problems the rest of that day. The benefit was golf course-like surrounds, further enhancing the stunning views and unique Flinders terrain. We spent almost the entire day skirting around Wilpena Pound on the way to Merna Mora Station. This 60 square mile (lots of square km!) sheep station offers comfortable self-contained accommodation at reasonable rates – complete with electric blankets. A ready supply of bore water was put to good effect removing the mud from our bikes and, because the station is only a short distance from the Blinman road that we drove up, we had pre-positioned food supplies and enjoyed a great home-cooked curry. And did I mention the electric blankets? Toasty!

Day 3: Merna Mora to Cradock (86 km)Fog and frost. Who would have thought?

Never mind, we Canberra-ites are used to that sort of thing. So, it was on with every layer of clothing we had as we shivered our

way through the first hour or so until the sun broke through, but not before putting on an amazing show of ‘white rainbows’ that rivalled the full-colour version for beauty and splendour. There were many highlights to the day, but perhaps the most memorable was a short, steep and rocky climb that took us into a wonderfully remote area—outback MTB touring heaven. Broken by a short stint in the small town of Hawker, we continued our journey southeast until we reached the booming metropolis of

Cradock (population 4). Apart from the passage through Hawker, we had barely sighted a house or car since departing Merna Mora. Any doubts about the choice of destination were banished with the first step through the door into the warm and welcoming interior of the Cradock Hotel. Great food, historic rooms and friendly publican were all you could hope for in

‘country pub’ accommodation.

Day 4: Cradock to Quorn (86 km)Despite being another long day, this was

in fact to be one of the easiest days riding of the whole trail. A generally downhill first 30 km or so and mostly favourable winds combined with firm surface conditions to make for relatively fast riding. But maybe it was just the distraction of more amazing scenery that made the day go more quickly. Hours would pass between seeing cars on ‘our’ trail and we were almost excited to call ‘car back’ when one appeared. We passed through the never-was town of

Simmonston and read of poor Proby’s death in a swollen river (so ironic in such a dry land) before we made our way to the quaint and curious Andu Backpacker Lodge in Quorn. Previously a hospital, we almost had the place to ourselves. Seemingly hundreds of beds to choose from and unasked questions about how many ghosts strolled the corridors at night. We had certainly experienced a mixed bag of accommodation so far and no complaints yet!

Day 5: Quorn to Melrose (70 km)It’s so much harder to start in the rain

than it is to just continue if it rains once you’re underway, but with the promise of a shorter ride and the mountain bike trails of Melrose waiting for us, we donned wet-weather gear and headed out of Quorn. Naturally, I was quite excited to be heading up Richman Valley Road (no, not Richmond, r-i-c-h-m-a-n). My travelling partners were no so enthusiastic, especially when I wanted to stop and photograph every sign that had

‘my’ name on it. As we turned up a farm trail heading for Richman Gap, we struck mud again and our progress slowed considerably. The day progressively became much harder and slower than we anticipated and by the time we made it into Melrose we sadly had no energy or enthusiasm left for the local trails but the reception from the local bike shop was very welcoming. The trails look great and provide a good excuse for a return visit, perhaps during the Melrose Fat Tyre festival one year? This was the only ‘real’ bike shop on the whole route and we took the opportunity to stock up on lube for our hard-working bikes. It was also a good place to buy things like pedals, if you happened to forget your cycling shoes that would fit the clip-in pedals on your bike. Like that would ever happen to one of our well-prepared team! Melrose is a beautiful town nestled amongst hills and tall trees. It was to be the turning point between the remoteness of the Flinders Ranges and the more fertile farmland to the south. It was also to be a turning point in our desire to ride every metre of the Mawson Trail, but more of that later.

Day 6: Melrose to Jamestown (86 km)Dressing in layers was the go as we started

on a cool and damp morning, but quickly warmed up as the trail climbed steeply out of Melrose. Some of the most beautiful fire trails you could imagine split lush green farm paddocks, but unfortunately the beauty was somewhat under appreciated as we were challenged by more sticky

Mawson Trail

James, Ian and Marea ready to set off outside Blinman Cottage


red mud. We quickly learned just how different our progress was on sealed and secondary roads compared to lesser trails (fire trails and cross-country tracks). But the maps were well-marked and accurate, so we began to trust that they would give us a good indication of how conditions would be ahead. When we turned off one of those secondary roads onto a fire trail and our progress was halted by thick and sticky mud within just a few metres, we knew that we would have to compromise and avoid sections of the Mawson Trail in these conditions. It was with some regret that we re-planned and cut about 10 km off our path to Jamestown. Even with the shorter route, it was tough riding conditions and slow progress. Apart from the mud, it was seriously windy—enough to blow us off the trail a couple of times. Refreshed by hot drinks, hot chips and a warm welcome in Wilmington, we pushed on into Jamestown and were pleased to find a supermarket with its own coffee shop inside. Hot drinks, yummy cakes and re-stock our supplies all in one. What a great idea!

Time for a cunning plan. After our difficulty with the mud we decided, after much deliberation, to review the route for the next couple of days. The original plan had us heading out to Hallett, then to Burra the following day. This would involve 100 km days of mostly fire trails through open farmland—the best part of 200 km through that red mud! We decided that it would not be possible to achieve those distances in the daylight we had available (although we carried lights, we did not want to be navigating through unfamiliar territory, in those conditions, in the dark). Our decision was to skip Hallett and head for Burra the next day, then split the following day’s riding into two days. This had the effect of reducing three days of around 100 km down to one of 75 km and two around 50 km. In hindsight, this was the right decision; although we missed part of the trail (another excuse for a return visit) we enjoyed the riding from that point far more than we otherwise would have in the prevailing weather and surface conditions.

Day 7: Jamestown to Burra (75 km)With our new plan in place and armed

with a good understanding of what trails to avoid (the red ones!) we were ready to head for Burra, only to have our first (and only, as it turned out) ‘mechanical’ of the trip before we even left the caravan park. The rear gear cable retaining bolt had come adrift from one of the bikes and restricted it to just one gear: the easiest (and slowest).

It seemed for a while that the ride to Burra would involve pedalling fast but going slow. However, on closer inspection we realised that although the bolt had sheared off it was loose enough to be removed with the pointy end of a knife. We managed to find a suitable ‘donor’ bolt from elsewhere on the bikes and made a good enough repair to last all the way through to Adelaide. Something to add to the spare parts bag for next time!

We then enjoyed a fantastic tailwind for about 40 km into the next town. Rain on previous days and threatening showers in the area persuaded us to look for waterproof gloves in a hardware store. For the princely sum of $2.98 we bought lovely, red and oh-so-stylish PVC gloves—which probably

turned out to be one of our best value cycling purchases ever! About the only things that might rival them were the (free) plastic shopping bags that I put between my socks and shoes to keep my feet dry and warm (once over the embarrassment) and they were brilliant! Enough fashion advice. The down side was that for the last half of the ride we had to battle a howling crosswind all the way to Burra.

If you could ever describe a town as an oasis, surely Burra would fit the bill. A lovely town with a rich history and delightful stream running through it that supported some nice parks, complete with ponds full of lucky ducks (I just had to say it). Burra has a selection of pubs, tea houses/coffee shops and other interesting shops to poke around. It was probably an injustice to spend so little time there, but we were happy to have at least visited briefly. And the meal at the Heritage pub was probably the best of the trip (‘home’ cooking aside, of course).

Day 8: Burra to Clare (43 km)Wide open fields of green

were the order of the day. The wind and sun combined to dry the tracks out nicely, which was quite fortunate because we had to cross Swampy Plain along the way. We could see from tyre tracks left by earlier riders that it been hard going the previous day or two but, apart from the wind, our

progress was relatively easy. No wonder that wind farms are a success story in this area! But there was really only one big climb on the way to Clare, the rest were nicely rolling hills. There were some classic homesteads ruins along this section of the trail, a regular sight along most of the route up to now. There was so much green grass you could easily imagine settlers believing this was the Promised Land, but it must be an entirely different story in mid-summer. Despite our difficulties with the weather and surface conditions, we realised that this was a special time of year to see this part of the country. This was also the last day of ‘big sky country’ as we crossed into the Clare Valley and entered areas of much more intensive agriculture.

Mawson Trail

Dirt track + water = a little mud!


Day 9: Clare to Riverton (46 km)How lucky were we? Our first (and only)

really wet day and we had just a short and almost level run along the valley, including two rail trails, the Riesling Trail and one called the Rattler (appropriately named given the rocky surface). This trail is a fairly new addition to cycling options in the area and not actually on the Mawson Trail, although that may well change in time. The cuttings on these trails gave us breaks from the wind and rain and it was easy pedalling.

We even timed our coffee break at the lovely town of Auburn so that we could avoid a heavy shower. Noice. This all made for a pleasant journey into Riverton, where we enjoyed watching the rain fall and caught up on some domestic duties that we had been putting off until now (laundry, that is). It was here that we started to realise that we were already nearing the end of our journey—too soon.

Day 10: Riverton to Tanunda (62 km)By now we had become adept at finding

the right balance between actually following the Mawson Trail and finding more substantial (and firmer) roads that traversed the same area. This way we were able to enjoy the best the region had to offer while still making comfortable progress. And there was much on offer as we crossed into the Barossa Valley and were able to include a few wineries in our travels. Thank goodness for the free shipping that some offered, or surely we’d have overloaded our bikes to breaking point. Overloading our bellies was probably as much a danger as we

found the odd bakery here and there (and there, and there)!

Day 11: Tanunda to Woodside (70 km)The Mawson route out of Tanunda has

one of the biggest climbs of the whole route, and was on a fire trail that was bound to be wet. So we chose a sealed road for the climb instead and it was an absolute beauty. All those bakery stops (and maybe the wine too) helped fuel us for an amazingly steep climb that took us back up almost to the elevation

of Blinman in just a few kilometres from the valley floor. Stunning views to behold before we rejoined the Mawson Trail just over the crest, and we were able to follow the trail from here until it ended in Adelaide. We were now into a third ‘section’ of terrain; after the Flinders Ranges and open fields around Burra we were now heading into the Adelaide Hills. All quite different areas, but all totally enjoyable to ride through. Our last stop was to be in the historic Woodside Hotel, which would have been a great place to stay if they had just put heaters in the rooms. Guess these places are made for the hot Australian summers! Nevertheless, the chill of the rooms was soon forgotten in the excitement of preparing for our last day on the trail.

Day 12: Woodside to Adelaide (69 km)This was scheduled to be the shortest ride

of the whole trip, and the profile showed it was overwhelmingly downhill. But our work wasn’t done yet as the trail roller-coastered its way towards Adelaide. At one stage we were in sight of Adelaide, but we

were back up at almost the elevation of Blinman again—with only a few kilometres to go before the end of the trail! We cast an inquisitive eye down the Cudlee Creek mountain bike trails as we passed by but they all seemed to be going downhill fast (and in the wrong direction) so we resisted the temptation to explore further. Another time. When we finally hit the ‘big descent’ it was a serious test of brakes and nerve, but great fun all the same. The last little section before the trailhead was a wonderful winding road through a gorge. Unfortunately, we were not able to follow the Mawson Trail signs right to the end—it appeared that a washed out bridge had stopped us from crossing the river at the necessary time. That hardly mattered, because we still had some distance to go before we reached our personal goal: the beach on the other side of Adelaide. We followed the linear park that runs alongside the River Torrens (with a short diversion into the CBD for some yummy Haig’s chocolates—how could you resist?) all the way through to the very edge of the waves. A brilliant finish to a truly amazing 840 km ride.

• • •

Should I mention the 10 km ride to the airport the next day? Well, it was an appropriate way to finish the ride. We bought boxes at the airport, pulled our bikes apart and packed everything away for the journey home. It was then time to say farewell to SA, at least for this visit. We have a few gaps to fill on the Mawson Trail, and those Melrose and Cudlee Creek trails to explore—not to mention a few bakeries to re-visit and a few hundred wineries still waiting. Besides, a visit in Spring would be a whole new experience. So, shall we call it a pause in our journey, rather than the end? Yeah, why the heck not?

With thanks to our chauffeurs/friends Tom and Eugenie, and the many people we met and shared the journey with along the way.

Mawson Trail

Skirting to the South of Wilpena Pound

Interested in tackling the Mawson Trail? Bicycle SA is running their Outback Odyssey tour along the route, starting from Adelaide in May 2009. See www.bikesa.asn.au for more information.


Pedalling beside the mighty Murray River appealed, so we sourced some maps and worked out a route, trying to follow the Murray as closely as possible and avoiding sealed roads. As my parents live on a farm near Moulamein (a little town in the Riverina 54 km north of the Murray by road) it looked like a good place to start and finish. We set off on Christmas eve with the bikes fully loaded with everything we needed for fully self-sufficient touring: clothes, tent, sleeping mats, Trangia stove, dehydrated food, and water. Over the next nine days we covered nearly 1100 km…so much for cruisey! This is a record of our journey.

Dec 24: Bundarool, Moulamein to Cemetery Bend, Gunbower State Forest

From the farm, Bundarool, we cut through the neighbour’s place and then headed south towards Murrabit. Howard punctured in the first 8 km—not a good start to the tour! The road was quite sandy in places, particularly on corners where it had banked up due to the cars. Howard lost control at one point and went down quite heavily, fortunately he wasn’t moving too fast and the soft sand broke his fall. The morning was reasonably mild for December, which made it an enjoyable temperature for riding. We cruised along the unsealed roads admiring the inventive Christmas decorations adorning front gates and letterboxes of some properties. We crossed the Murray River at Gonn Crossing and stopped at Murrabit to eat our packed lunch. It had warmed up a bit by then and the flies came out to help us enjoy the food. From Murrabit we had to follow the bitumen to Barham-Koondrook. The wind was in our faces for this section and, combined with the traffic, it made this part of the journey much less enjoyable. We crossed the Murray again briefly for an icy cold beer at the Barham pub. Refreshed and eager to get into the forest, we pedalled the few short kilometres to the entrance of the Gunbower State Forest. It was much cooler amongst the gum trees and we had great fun following the tracks winding along the

river. Being Christmas Eve, the entire place was deserted. At around 5 pm we found a pretty spot on the river in a section called Cemetery Bend. It had steps cut into the bank and after setting up camp we enjoyed a swim in the river. We dined on some of the dehydrated food we had brought with us, cleaned up and then snuggled down in our tent. It was so quiet and peaceful with the only sound being the soft groaning of the trees moving in the light breeze.

Dec 25: Cemetery Bend to Stevensons Bridge, Echuca Regional Park

Christmas Day dawned fine and mild with a moderate south-westerly breeze. We again followed the River Track which hugs the banks of the Murray River. It is truly glorious riding and we would definitely

recommend it to any who are interested in dirt road cycle touring. Unfortunately, we had only gone about 20 km and Howard broke a rear cluster-side spoke. We were cursing when we realised that we had packed spare spokes but no cluster removal tool. The wheel didn’t appear to be too buckled and as there wasn’t anything else we could do, we pulled the broken bits of spoke from the wheel, loosened the brakes a fraction and continued on. We met some

friendly folk at the Torrumbarry Weir Holiday Park who topped up our hydration packs and wished us well on our journey. Soon after that the River Track petered out and we headed for the Murray Valley Highway. After discussion with the owner of the Torrumbarry service station we

The Murray River by MTBRebecca Morton

After all the tough long distance road cycling we did last year, Howard Dove and I decided to spend

the Christmas and New Year break doing some nice cruisey touring on our mountain bikes…

Bec and Howard with Murray


turned back towards the river, hoping to be able to continue along the banks. As we were now out of the State Forest it proved very difficult and after taking several wrong turns and being blocked by locked gates we admitted defeat and turned back towards the Highway. It was a slow journey into Echuca with the south westerly in our faces. We discovered the only place open in Echuca was the bottle shop, so we bought a couple of beers, sat in the shady beer garden and

perused the map. After getting some advice from the locals and purchasing a bottle of red wine, we saddled up and rode on. It was relatively easy to follow the river on this side of Echuca and we soon entered the Echuca Regional Park. We reached the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers and had to continue along the Goulburn looking

for the first place to cross. Again, the riding through this part of the Park was glorious and we pedalled our way along the winding river with big grins on our faces. We passed lots of deserted campsites where people had obviously set up camp in their desired spot to return to after Christmas. We reached Stevensons Bridge in the late afternoon and found a good camping spot near the sandy shore of the river. Our Christmas dinner consisted of more dehydrated food washed

down with that nice bottle of red we picked up in Echuca.

Dec 26: Stevensons Bridge to The Junction, Barmah State Forest

We awoke to another day of perfect cycling weather on Boxing Day. After breakfast and packing up camp we crossed the Goulburn

River and were quickly back near the banks of the Murray again. The first section for the day consisted of mostly dirt road to the town of Barmah. Upon reaching this small town, we searched the contents of the local general store for items which could be used to replenish our supplies. They had two bread options - white sandwich and white toast. Despite their lack of imagination in the bread department, they did make very delicious burgers which we wolfed down. We also picked up the map for the Barmah State Forest to supplement the less detailed maps we had with us. Shortly after leaving Barmah we were back in State Forest on the Sand Ridge Track heading north to the River Murray once again. We covered the section to ‘The Gulf ’ more quickly than we thought and we stopped briefly here to refuel. This was the first time we had seen people in any numbers since starting our journey. Obviously camping on the River post Christmas is a very popular thing to do. We continued on but somehow took a wrong turn and ended up out of the Forest and back on a dirt road. After some discussion we decided to continue on the dirt road which would lead us back into the Forest after about 10 km or so. After re-entering the Forest navigation became difficult with the signs not tallying with our maps, but after several wrong turns and a bit of back tracking we did eventually find our way back to the River Track. The number of people camped on the river (and the number of 4WDs kicking up dust on the tracks) increased steadily as we headed towards Tocumwal. We were somewhat disappointed that there wouldn’t be any private camping for us that night, but it did make us realise how lucky we had been to date. We eventually settled on a spot near ‘The Junction’ which is where Ulupna Creek joins the Murray (about 20 km west of Tocumwal). Unfortunately that night we were woken several times by feral 4WDers whose idea of a good time was to drive into the small water-filled depressions along the river and then rev the engine like mad to prevent themselves from getting bogged while their mates cheered and yelled from the sidelines with all lights blazing. Needless to say we were feeling pretty vulnerable lying on the ground in our little tent with these lunatics zooming around us.

Dec 27: The Junction to RutherglenAfter our disturbed night’s sleep, we bade

farewell to the Barmah State Forest and the lovely dirt tracks along the river. We crossed the Murray and rolled into Tocumwal mid-

Murray by MTB

Porepunkah Gully Road


morning for a well-deserved giant breakfast at the Pavilion Cafe. We spent the majority of the day on the sealed roads travelling through the towns on the northern side of the River, only deviating to the Cottadidda State Forest between the towns of Barooga and Mulwala. This would have been a really pleasant thing to do had the Murray River Canoe Marathon organisers not chosen this site as a designated support stop. We struggled to keep control of the bikes on the loose sand and dirt, all the time choking on the thick cloud of dust kicked up by the constant stream of vehicles. After passing the support point the dirt road became exclusively ours and we thoroughly enjoyed this small section which took us back to the bitumen. We stopped in Mulwala for a sandwich and watched as a kidult played with his seemingly brand new battery operated mini speedboat. We chuckled in amusement as he became increasingly frustrated with its lack of performance, finally giving up in disgust. Back on the bikes we pushed hard all the way to Corowa. Here we located a great little bike shop and were able finally to get Howard’s spoke replaced. They had to call in the mechanic, so we took the opportunity to down a couple of refreshing beers in the local pub. From there it was a short hop to All Saints Winery where we sampled almost everything they had on offer and came away as new members of their wine club. For some reason the wine tasting really sapped our energy and we moved at snails pace to Rutherglen. Upon arrival, we booked-in to the charming old Victoria Hotel in the main street. It was marvellous to have a long shower before heading down to the bar for a few well-deserved beers. We dined out that evening at Beaumont’s Cafe and enjoyed the luxury of real food for the first time on our trip.

Dec 28: Rutherglen to Myrtle Creek B&BThe following morning we continued east

towards the town of Barnawartha. Here we crossed the Hume Highway and followed the Indigo Creek up the valley. The final few hundred metres of this road before it reaches the Beechworth-Wodonga Rd are a killer on fully loaded MTBs. Mind you, the climbing doesn’t stop there. We did try to find the dirt roads indicated on our map, but were thwarted by “Private Property—No Trespassing” signs. We eventually gave up and rejoined the Beechworth-Wodonga Rd and slogged our way uphill to Beechworth. On this section we were passed by some young riders out on their road bikes. They

didn’t even deign to speak to me (except the last one who called a cheery hello), but as they passed Howard further up the road one commented, “That’s what they make cars for.” Howard was well ahead of me by the time we reached Beechworth, so after buying some local maps at the information centre we regrouped in the famous

Beechworth Bakery. Knowing we would probably have to camp again that night, we looked for the supermarket to gather some supplies. While we were doing that we discovered the Bridge Road Brewery in Ford Street. They have a range of delicious locally brewed beers on tap and we sampled quite a few in the pleasant surroundings. After picking up a few items at the supermarket we set off in the direction of Stanley. This involved more climbing, but the area is very beautiful, so it was definitely worth it. Soon after passing through Stanley the Myrtleford-Stanley Road flattens out and then descends. We both loved zooming down the hill and as a consequence we passed both camping spots we had noted on the map earlier. At the bottom of the hill we reached a road junction and immediately noticed the Myrtle Creek B&B sign. We enquired about the possibility of a cottage for the night, but sadly they were booked out. However, they did allow us to camp on

the lawn. Not only that, our generous hosts allowed us a swim in their pool, a shower, some fresh vegies from their garden and a bottle of red wine. The next morning we tried to pay for everything and they would only take $10 from us! We decided that we will definitely go back some time and stay in their B&B.

Dec 29: Myrtle Creek to Ovens via BrightAlways looking for a challenge, we took

the long, scenic and more difficult route via Rosewhite, Havilah and the Porepunkah Gully Rd to Porepunkah. A quick wash of our clothes and swim in the river refreshed us enormously after the solid climb. We had arranged to meet a couple of friends in the Bright pub for lunch and afterwards adjourned to the Bright Brewery for some good conversation and some more refreshing beverages. It was late afternoon before we climbed back on the bikes and pedalled off down the Rail Trail to the Ovens Hotel where we got the last room in the pub.

Dec 30: Ovens to TungamahThis was the first really hot day. We had a

bit of a sleep-in and didn’t get on the bikes until around 8:45 am. We continued on the Rail Trail all the way to Wangaratta. It was already stinking hot by the time we arrived

Murray by MTB

Boosey Boulevard


there. We had a most delicious lunch at a cafe in Reid Street before filling up all the water bottles and heading west into the baking sun. Our afternoon route took us over the Warby Range and out onto the flat farming land beyond. The heat really took its toll and we were both feeling the strain when we arrived at Lake Rohan in the late afternoon. Being very low on water and discovering that there was no shop in the town, we knocked on the door of a house ask for some water. We noted that it was 42°C by the thermometer in their carport. The girls in the house were very friendly and couldn’t believe we were out riding in such heat. They filled our bidons and hydration packs with icy water and also told us that the pub in Tungamah was a good place to stay if we couldn’t make it to Tocumwal that night. It was with some reluctance that we left the comfort of their air-conditioned home and threw our weary legs over the bikes once more. Nearing Tungamah we passed through a pretty little section that followed the Boosey Creek. Howard took some photos, but I was too hot and tired to fully appreciate it. We cooled down with some icy poles and drinks before entering the pub. After soaking in a cool bath for about half an hour we enjoyed a steak and salad dinner. The publican was fantastically friendly and we chatted to him about our journey. He filled all our bottles, bidons and hydration packs with the local spring water. We went to bed early, but unfortunately there was no air conditioning in the rooms upstairs and we sweated all night despite having the windows wide open and the fan blowing directly on us.

Dec 31: Tungamah to DeniliquinWe left Tungamah about 6.20 am in

an attempt to get as far as possible in the cooler morning air. The first part of the day was a lovely track called Boosey Boulevard along the Boosey Creek. After that we got onto the grid type roads and tracks heading for Tocumwal. We seem to have taken the long way round to get there as we had done 75 km by the time we reached Tocumwal. After a big second breakfast at the Pavilion Cafe and loading up with lots of water we took the Lower River Road in the direction of Deniliquin. It was easy riding for the first 10–15 km, but when the road headed away from the river it became much hotter and there was virtually no shade. It was about this time when we realised that we had left behind the rolls we bought in Tocumwal. There was nothing to do but press on. It was another 40+ degree day and we took

several short breaks in the shade when it was available, but most of the time the endless dirt road stretched ahead of us shimmering in the heat. I wanted to scream with frustration when I punctured about 2 km out of Deniliquin. Howard was a bit calmer and methodically set about fixing the flat. We took a little time to recover in the service station on the north side of the river, sprawled on the cool concrete floor downing cold drinks a icy poles. We stayed the night with my Auntie Kath in Deniliquin who cooked us a huge meal (as we hadn’t had a proper Christmas dinner) and generally took very good care of us. We had a quiet New Year’s Eve at my cousin’s lovely new home on the banks of the Edward River and flopped exhausted into bed about 11 pm.

Jan 1: Deniliquin to BundaroolAgain we left about 6:20 am, waved off by

Auntie Kath and my cousin Jane. Howard was having a bad day and kept dropping behind me, which is extremely unusual. The dirt road was quite rough in places, sandy in others and generally pretty tough

going. Again we started with pleasant riding close to the river and moved to drier, less shaded roads as the day heated up. As we were riding along the dirt road a couple of men in a ute drove up beside me and asked if we knew where we were going. I said, “Yes”, and they said, “Are you sure?” I said, “Yes” again. They smiled and drove off; I’m sure they were thinking that we had taken leave of our senses. When we hit the bitumen for the last 30 km run into Moulamein we struggled into a scorching headwind with the searing heat melting the road and nearly roasting us in the process. It felt like we were riding into the mouth of hell. Fortunately there were some irrigation channels along the way which we frequently took the opportunity to dunk ourselves in. This kept us going as I’m sure there is no way we could have made it otherwise. When we arrived in Moulamein we again descended on the icy poles and drinks at the local shop. Needless to say it was with a significant amount of relief that we turned our backs to the wind and pedalled the final few kilometres from Moulamein to my parent’s farm.

Murray by MTB

The long, dusty road to Deniliquin


About a dozen participants, none of whom I knew, all lined up in Castlemaine’s early morning cool and were presented with instructions for the journey and strange cards to carry as evidence of our journey. I knew there was some vague French reference for the format but didn’t really understand what it was. There was no bike inspection or mention of any required equipment. It was just an excuse to go out for a day’s ride in the Victorian countryside. Of most significance (looking back) there was not even a consideration of whether the course would take me longer than the amount of daylight that was available. At that point in time my cycling kit did not have any lights and the thought of riding for any longer than the hours in the day provided, was absurd. How things have changed!

The first couple of kilometres out was a peloton lap of the Botanic Gardens and then a continuation past the original start point. I thought this could perhaps be some form of Audax ‘secret handshake’ for this mysterious French society but quickly realised that it was, for some strange reason, important for the distance to be at least the advertised 200 km and not any less.

Once beyond the town, I rode alone for the rest of the day which was nothing out of the ordinary as it was just the sort of riding I was used to and enjoyed. I recall traversing a couple of kilometres of dirt somewhere along the way and was comforted to know that it was supposed to be that way.

I was quite taken by the concept of someone else planning the course and providing me with instructions and warnings along the way. All I had to do was enjoy the scenery. Most of my own

‘longer’ rides up to that point required me to figure out a course beforehand, and back in the early 90s that meant vague maps, photocopying and manual calculation and transcription of distances and way points. Recalling all this helps me appreciate the plethora of automated and on-line options available now to assist in ride planning.

One particular checkpoint that I do remember was at the store attached to the caravan park on the western shore of the Cairn Curran Reservoir. Of significance, compared with current day, is the image I have of a reservoir with water. I kid you not: there was really a lake there! Fortunately I was not the first rider through as I had no hope of explaining any detail about why I was asking for them to sign this card I was handing over.

Once through Newstead the course continued south toward Daylesford but I wondered why I wouldn’t just head directly back to Castlemaine from there. The day was getting old and there was no checkpoint out there and I had really enjoyed the day up to now; why not? I did the right thing not wanting to short-change my day’s achievement and found

yet another intricacy of this strange type of riding: a secret checkpoint. There was Tim standing on the side of the road waving for me to stop and doing his best to explain why. I complied and had a short chat about how things were going; snacked on some pocket food and a few kilometres further up the road the course made a beeline back to Castlemaine.

At the finish I proudly handed over my brevet (I knew it was called this by then) for the final stamp but it was never handed back. What the…? I earned that souvenir and now I couldn’t have it to keep? My understanding was that it had to go to France to be ‘registered’ and then it would be returned to me in due course. Wow! That sounded impressive! How important did I feel?

To this day this is one of the things about completing a brevet that still leaves me with a sense of loss. I’ve earned it but I don’t get to keep it until it goes through some mysterious process and comes back in our unreliable postal system. (Imagine the feeling of loss when the envelope from France with PBP results arrives minus the brevet which has fallen out in transit—it happened!)

I suspect that my first brevet did arrive back safely but it would have been without fanfare or ceremony and was subsequently filed somewhere which allowed it to become ‘lost in time’. I may not have the brevet but I certainly still have a few of the memories attached to my first Audax ride.

My second brevet was the Alpine Classic in 1993 (another Tim Laugher ride) but I won’t go there unless Ed creates a ‘My Second Brevet’ column…

My First Brevet

Castlemaine, 1992Steven “Whatto” Watson

It was Easter of 1992 and I was camping on the oval at Castlemaine as part of a Bicycle Victoria

event. Rides I was enjoying at the time had been slowly extending in distance and what I considered

to be the social riding that BV was offering was starting to fall a bit short. Some enterprising Audax

member offered a 200 km brevet ride to coincide with the BV event and I jumped at the chance. I

believe it was Tim Laugher but my memory is a bit fuzzy and so could stand to be corrected.

Whatto on last year’s PBP

08OCF39489_PRESS_AD_OL_R.indd 1 25/7/08 9:08:52 AM


Every rider is different and every riding style is different so not surprisingly we treat everybody just that little bit differently.

There are some basics which I will cover but these principles may or may not apply to you.

Give yourself the best possible chance of being comfortable and efficient. It’s amazing the number of people that get

‘fixed’ through nothing else than replacing old, worn out equipment. Seats don’t last forever—they twist, buckle and break. They are only plastic shells with some covering; even the covering can flatten and crack exposing hard edges.

Look at your seat and if you are riding regularly replace the seat every year. That’s right, annually. Any less and you can be guiding your legs in a less than significant fashion and leaving your pelvis not level.

Handle bars bend, cleats wear out, pedals get crashed and worn out. Replace when necessary.

Cycling shoesIs there such a thing as ‘the best’ shoe for

cycling? Well yes and no. It changes for each and every individual and every discipline.

Things to look for in a shoe:

Strong heel counter. The rear section of the shoe (where the heel is) needs to be stiff, as it is the only part of the shoe that gives vertical strength. If it is lacking strength, the rear foot can move independently to the forefoot, resulting in stability issues.

The heel counter also gives some basic alignment to the calcaneus, which can increase mid foot and rear foot congruity.

Shoe must fit. This is stating the obvious but there are a large number of people that ride with incorrectly fitted shoes. There is a huge variety of shoes available which all fit differently . Shoes that are too narrow or short tend to make the forefoot and toes go numb, while sloppy shoes decrease the body’s ability to transfer force.

Attachment systems. Shoes do need to have fastening systems to distribute load evenly on top of the foot. For road shoes this usually means three straps, or two straps for those with smaller feet.

Soles. Stiffness of the sole can give different feels to the shoe. Some people have an overly stiff sole; if this is the case head towards ‘plastic’ soles, which tend to flex a little more.

Just because the sole is labelled ‘carbon fibre’ does not mean that has maximum stiffness. Some ‘carbon fibre’ soles are quite flexible. Most of today’s ‘road’ shoes come with a three bolt pattern; this seems to give maximum hold/stiffness and adjustability. Some pedals will need adapter plates (e.g. Crank Brothers), these adapters are freely available.

PedalsSo many choices, some are better than

others. Firstly look for a low stack height; this is the height between the centre of the axle spindle and the top of the cleat.

Imagine your bike with a can between your foot and the pedal, making pedalling more difficult and also increasing your centre of gravity. A lower centre of gravity is a definite bonus, as your seat and bars can drop proportionately (every bit helps!) Some pedals allow slope between the cleat and the pedal body allowing a rocking motion. This motion gets worse when maximum loading is produced or when fatigued.

Cleat positionAlways a difficult subject because

everybody is different, but here are some basic starters.

Try to get your seat as close to the crank as possible. This normally lines up your knee and middle of the foot for maximum downward pressure. Look first at where your knee is facing, if it facing outward try bringing your heel out, vice versa for knee in/heel in. Always make small adjustments and better still find a skilled bike setter. Cleats roughly should be under the ball of the foot when the crank is horizontal on the down stroke.

This does not apply to everyone; it is only an initial starting position. Those riders that drop their heels tend to have the cleats a bit further back, pointed a little forward. A couple of millimetres forward or back from the centre of ball of foot is a good place to start.

Some basic principles of bike setupJason Nichols

Jason Nichols is a keen road cyclist and the director of Inspired Orthotic Solutions in Melbourne’s

Brighton. Jason’s clients include many elite athletes and some Audax riders. He says that Audax

riders are his most difficult cycling clients because they spend so much time in the saddle. In this

article Jason gives some pointers on bike set up and choice of shoes and pedals.

Getting Technical

Some ‘carbon fibre’ soles are quite flexible.


Outward boundThe weather was not good leading up to

it and it was not good during it. The sun, as it always does on wet rides, comes out after the official finish of the event.

I had good hot weather during my cycle touring holiday through Italy, Switzerland and southern France (except around Geneva). So travelling up from a beautiful southern France, it was sad to see this cold, wet, cloudy weather all over northern France. It was just unfortunate that the summer of 2007 was the same year of Paris-Brest-Paris during northern Europe’s most horrid wet summer.

After a long year of training and preparation, there I was standing in a crowd of nervous, anxious and raring-to-go cyclists. Waiting under heavy, overcast, menacing dark clouds, we were wondering if it was going to rain before the start gun. I had ticked the 80 hour start group box on the Audax Club Parisien Individual Entry Form and here I was taking up the challenge.

I had a few more layers on than four years ago and we were facing a headwind from the west. But being four rows from the front, the pace was on, even a little higher then the good conditions in 2003. It’s quite incredible to think that the pace was so high going into the first night against a stifling wind. I started with Ritchie Tout from Wales (Audax UK quickest rider in 1999) but soon lost him in the madding pace.

You have to be on your toes, so to speak, up the front of the first group. Everyone just has one think in mind: go fast! There’s yelling and shouting, warnings to watch out for traffic islands and such on the road and each other. The SBS commentators of Tour de France certainly make a point about all the traffic islands that have increased over

the years. I believe that to be true since I first rode PBP in 1995.

My lights and reflective vest were on even before the start. The dark overcast sky made for an early start for the evening ride. Everyone got their wish; it did not rain before the start, so the atmosphere at the gymnasium was still the same as I remember from my three previous PBPs.

My fourth PBP was made special by my parents and dad’s sister and husband seeing me off at the start. After lining up for over two hours to make sure I got in that first group, 8 pm finally came along and off we went for the most challenging event of my life.

Pace was on early sitting anywhere between 30 km/h and 40 km/h on major open clear roads through the built up area of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. I felt the

pace could have been higher, but we were being paced by the motorbike controlling our speed during the very early stages.

Even before the motorbikes pulled off, the peloton was all over the road, taking up both sides of the road, most of the cars heading towards us had to pull over until we had all passed (that would have taken awhile). Part of my plan was to ride on the outside of the peloton so that I would not get blocked in. I achieved that and reacted any time it looked like the front guys were going to break the group up. This was the case for all of the 222 km to the first official control at Villaines-la-Juhel. We were there in just under seven hours.

There was a lot of enthusiasm and adrenaline running through everyone’s veins at PBP, especially with the fast guys and girls at the first control. It’s not a race they say, but here and now its anything but. The support crews were out in force, singing and cheering, as well as the locals, urging their riders on. I always find it funny to watch cyclists try to run in cleats or try to walk quickly like an marathon walker would do at any Olympic games and the funny thing about it is that there is no gold medal at the end, only the heavy weight of a PBP medal for the first, middle and last riders.

This ride is more than receiving a colour medal, it’s about achieving your own goals. Some riders may ride faster or slower than others, but we all face the same challenge. And for this year’s event, all 5160 riders faced the toughest challenge of their life.

I passed Villaines at around 2 am Tuesday morning 21 August, then it started to rain.

After the Lancefield 600 in Victoria, in early April 2007, I went and bought a Cateye OptiCUBE LED light. It worked wonders at

Shades in my pocketMatthew Rawnsley

I don’t know why I even bothered to bring my sunglasses on PBP '07. They just took up space in my

jersey pocket; I could have had an extra banana or two. But bring them I did and what a wet and

wild ride they had. To be more precise I had the wet and wild ride, not my sunnies.

Matt with his mum, at the start

Paris-Brest-Paris


night on the open roads of South Australia, but it was totally out of its depth on the very dark roads of France. Most of the minor roads do not have white lines on the edges. With the rain tumbling down, it made it hard to see where the bitumen ends and the vegetation starts. During the first night I was OK, mainly because I was with other riders, but the second and third night I was more on my own or with one or two other riders. I did not have the confidence to go downhill very fast at all.

I felt like I was soaked to the bone after leaving Fougères, but very glad I brought along my heavy duty Gore-Tex jacket,

which did help a little. Thinking about it now, I was simply pushing too hard into the headwind when trying to catch the group in front. I paid the price, my knees started to get sore. So I was forced to drop back, to give my knees a chance to recover (which they eventually did). I was hugely disappointed in this, as I saw my 50-hour goal slip away, and the weather did not help that cause either. As I mentioned in the Participant Watch for PBP in Checkpoint 32 (Winter 2007), I need conditions to be in my favour and the wind to be favourable.

I left Fougères around sunrise; I only know this because it was getting lighter by the minute, not because I saw the sun. (I can not remember seeing the sun at all during all of my 60 hours 40 minutes.) And yes, it was still raining. During the second day (Tuesday) I caught up with a New Zealand born, Swedish citizen: Tony Mellsop at

Tinteniac and we basically rode together off and on the rest of the trip.

In my opinion, Tinteniac control is the worst control on route. You had to walk a mile from the bike parking area to the official control, plus force your tired legs up a flight of steps to the restaurant, and then all the way back to your rain-soaked bike. But most certainly at 90% of the controls the toilets need to be cleaned-up. Some of them are pretty disgusting and its been like this since my first PBP in ’95. But then again some people say it just adds to the experience of riding one of the greatest events in the world.

Howard Duncan had a group of Aussies on a coach/bicycle tour of France and that coach was waiting for we PBP Aussies at Loudéac. After 440 km in the rain and knowing I had a bag waiting for me full of extra food and change of cycling clothes was a very welcome relief. It just felt good to get into dry clothes again, even if it was only for a short time. I arrived at Loudéac at midday Tuesday and caught up with a few Aussies who had already abandonded. At 18 hours into the event, the constant rain was already having a huge impact on who finished and who didn’t. I think about 20 Australians abandoned by Loudéac. The surprising thing for me was I did not find it all that cold, even at night. I never felt I was going to shiver.

Here I teamed up with my mate from Sweden again and this time with a few extra riders from Sweden and Denmark. And boy,

don’t those Danish riders ride strong! We passed Carhaix-Plouguer and started the climb towards the top of Roc Trevezel and for the first time for a long time I was riding on dry roads, the rain had stopped for the moment. With 55 km out from Brest, the leaders of the 80-hour group were already heading home. That meant they were already gained 110 km on me after they left me at Fougères.

Twenty-five hours had passed since I left St Quentin and now I was getting my brevet card stamped at Brest, unfortunately three hours slower then 2003. But still the control was a hive of activity and abuzz with all those riders who would end up finishing around the 60-hour mark. You could feel the atmosphere of expectation that we were all very grateful at being half way—and looking forward to that tailwind. All the guys I had been to-ing and fro-ing with for 600 km were here: Ross Stevens from Western Australia, Josh for New Zealand, my Swedish mate Tony, the Japanese rider who I rode with on the Japanese 600 in 2005 and Robert Gray from the UK who rode the Great Southern Randonnee in 2004.

The home journeyIt’s a strange thing the mind, it plays

devilish tricks on you. You are full of hope for a tailwind after putting up with a headwind for so long and there was definitely one going through the outskirts of Brest. I remember going through a low point with this state of my mind. But once I got into the French countryside again, all I got was a very annoying side wind and to make matters worst I had a long climb back over Roc Trevezel. You could just hear the collective sigh from my tailwind, hangers-on cyclists.

C’mon, Matt, stay positive!

I can tell you that I was very glad to be at the top of that climb, but what happened between there and Carhaix-Plouguer is all a bit of a blur. All I do know is that it was still raining.

Some 30 hours had already passed and with the feeling of being constantly wet and getting tired, this next stage was the last thing that I wanted.

There are three start times for PBP, while the 90-hour maximum time limit riders start two hours after I did, I never crossed paths with them. But with the third lot of

Paris-Brest-Paris

Some queueing was required–Matt (centre) waits for the crowd to clear


starters, which get under way 5 am the following morning after everyone else, I was going to eventually run into them. Riding from Carhaix-Plouguer to Loudéac this is exactly what happened. Overall it was not a pleasant experience. Hundreds and hundreds of cyclists, with blinding headlights, staring into my face for almost all of the 70-odd kilometres between the controls. Plus they were sometimes more than two abreast, across the road, especially on the narrow back road which made it unnerving. Then I had to deal with the trucks overtaking long pelotons on my side of the road! On reflection, this was probably my lowest point, even lower than the last.

Between Carhaix-Plouguer and Loudéac I was only averaging 13.73 km/h (this includes rest time at Carhaix-Plouguer), but all the same it took me longer than I wanted it to.

Hmm, more heavy rain, hate to keep talking about the rain, but it was hard to miss and because of this it kept the locals inside, especially after nightfall. This was the sad part of this years PBP because all the other PBPs I have done the towns, villages, and farms along the route have always been alive with festive activity.

Loudéac, 776 kilometres gone, 35 hours into the ride and the Australian support checkpoint for the last three PBPs was a welcoming sight to see familiar faces to tell them of the hell I was going through. Like a zombie I talked, walked and ate and drank in total numbness. Still knowing that I had to keep going so I would not get cold.

Arriving at my not-so-favourite control, Tinteniac, with its endless mile walk to the restaurant, I got a pleasant surprise. I bump into an old friend who I knew from my 1996 Audax Wales days, Annemarie Winter (nee Manley), with her newborn child, whom I have heard lots about.

Fougères came quickly compared to the other controls in recent times and then I emerged onto Villaines-la-Juhel 48 hours later (1000 km). One positive thing here in the continuing rain was that 200 km was all that was left to complete.

It’s hard to understand why the controls along PBP are not more like Mortagne-au-Perche. The facilities are excellent and it stands out like a glowing beacon; the eating and drinking area, the toilets, the resting area are all very well organised. Even the

bike parking is virtually right outside the main entrances. Here the guys I had been mixing with along the route from the start were all in different states of mind. Myself, I was torn between wanting to go with a group of Danes (including Stig Lundgaard and Tony Mellsop) or wanting more rest. I gave in to rest, but regretted it later; I should have gone with them. It must have been just before Mortagne that Stig decided to try to get to the finish before sixty hours was up for him. Leaving the group I was in at the time, he finished 2 hours ahead for me!

So I left Mortagne alone. And this is where this year PBP route changed from the previous PBPs I have done, diverting to the new control Dreux. Leaving Longny-au-Perche just 18 kilometres from the last control, I turned onto the D4 and onto unknown roads for the first time. Along here I had a bad experience with the brightness of my front lights. It was very dark, raining hard, going down hill slowly on wet, slippery roads, passing through what seemed like forest all around for a long time and no telling where the edge of the road was. This was a worrying time for me. Until I saw my saviour, a red light of another lone cyclist ahead of me. With that I increased my speed (with caution) and I finally I caught up with him. Now I had the confidence of riding a little quicker with a wheel to follow who had a much brighter front light. When we finally reached some open fields of the French countryside we started to talk to each other. He was another Swedish rider named Peter Tonér from their cyclist club CK Distans.

It was only about six kilometres from Dreux, with its orange glowing lights spread across the horizon in the light mist of the very early morning of Thursday 23 August (what a sight it was). We had been travelling along a flat road with no signs of life or route signs for awhile, when we decided to stop at a road sign to Allainville. Just as well I had a copy of the A4 return route sheet with me, reassuring both of us that we were on the right track. There’s a photo of that same sign in Checkpoint No.33 (Spring 2007)!

Entering the township of Dreux to get to the control was interesting to say the least. I remember especially riding down a dead end street, along a footpath, under a pedestrian tunnel before reaching the control, interesting indeed! Not the type of areas you would want to go wondering

alone after the midnight hour, which we were. We arrived without getting mugged!

Sixty-nine kilometres to go. Hooray!

Leaving probably the second best control after Mortagne, Peter and I continued onto the unknown roads of Municipality of Dreux to Gambias where I knew the roads well from my previous PBPs. I thought after following the fluoro arrow signs for the past 1100 kilometres, that I was confident of spotting them. But that was before we entered Germainville (I think). By this time we had a Frenchman join us and in our very tired state we got very confused and lost. Around Germainville there are many D147s (ie D147.6, D147.8 and so on). We took every road except the right one. After messing around for what seem like an eternity we were back on track. The time we spent messing around probably cost the 41 minutes I needed to be under the 60 hour mark. I was disappointed in this and at the time I knew it. I got angry with myself and the adrenaline set in. I pushed the clock to over 30 km/h for the rest of the way.

I remember flying past Ross Stevens from WA and because of this I got in just seven minutes ahead of Ross (sorry mate). But I was also pleased that Peter managed to stay with me. We dropped the Frenchman long ago. The adrenaline got me over that steep hill close to the finish and into the area of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Sailing through Élancourt, housing blocks of Trappes and finally Guyancourt. Up the Avenue du 8 Mai 1945 and around the typically French big roundabout, then up the very small ramp (gauging it carefully). Down a slightly bigger slippery ramp to park your bike. Then into the gymnasium hall to get your brevet card stamped. Finish!

• • •

As you can probably tell throughout this article that I was disappointed with my overall time. So bring on the 2011 PBP, to break the 50 hour mark. I would like to put out a call for anyone to join me for this goal, plus a private support crew. I look forward to hearing from you.

Matthew Rawnsley (08) 8370 0415 [email protected]

Paris-Brest-Paris


In 2007 about a third of the entrants were unsuccessful in homologating (see Chart 1). Although there was an increase of 1582 entrants in the 2007 PBP the number of successful homologations was only 257 greater than that of 2003. Were there factors that set those that homologated apart from those that did not?

Start timeOnce again the 84-hour starters were

the most successful group with a 78% homologation rate. The 90-hour group had the least successful homologation rate at 66%, the 80-hour group had a similar homologation rate to the 90-hour group at 67% (chart 2).

Cycle typeThe entry groups of Cycles Speciale

(which includes recumbents) had a lower homologation rate than any of the other categories; 45% of the Cycles Speciale category failed to homologate (chart 3).

Australia and New ZealandI would like to thank all those who took

the time to respond to the Australia and New Zealand rider PBP ’07 survey. Seventy-five surveys were received before the 31 May cut-off date; of these 55 had homologated and 20 had not. It was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into answering the survey questions and the large number of surveys received helps to improve the data quality

The Australian and New Zealand contingent’s performance in the 16th PBP Randonneur was characterised by an unusually low homologation rate. The Australian and New Zealand contingent

consisted of 133 entrants, or 2.6% of total entries and 4.4% of non-French entries.

Homologation rate by genderNew Zealand men and women had

a 100% success rate! The Australian contingents performance is consistent with the International homologation rate, that is about two thirds were successful in homologating (see chart 4). The New Zealand contingent had a 25% female component compared with only 7% of Australian Entrants.

Age of entrantThe average age of homologues was 48.1

compared with 50.2 for non-homologues, a small but significant difference (chart 5).

Previous PBP experiencePrevious PBP experience was found to be

lower amongst homologues: only 24% (13 respondents) of homologues indicated they had previously completed PBP while 45% (9 respondents) of the non-homologating entrants indicated previous PBP experience (see chart 6).

Only 39% (21 respondents) of homologues indicated they had previously completed a 1000 km or longer brevet while 45% (9 respondents) of the non-homologues indicated previous PBP experience.

Would you do PBP again?A high percentage of entrants indicated

they would do PBP again. Homologues (89%) were only a little more likely than non-homologues (85%) to consider doing PBP again. This all proves that regardless of their performance in PBP most people enjoyed it so much that they cannot wait to do it all again. QED!

In the Summer Edition I aim to present more fascinating data for PBP tragics and some pointers for would be GSR conquerors. Meanwhile keep sending in those training logs (see the form on the reverse of your address label).

Sante!

Lessons from PBP 2007What can we learn by examining the statistics from Paris-Brest-Paris 2007?

Training NotesRussell J FreemantleTraining Secretary

Enjoying a break in the weather, Nick Dale crosses Pont Albert-Louppe

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Chart 6: Previous completion of 1000+km

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Summary1 PBP finish: 178 Australians, 12 New Zealanders2 PBPs: 32 Australians, 1 New Zealander3 PBPs: 16 Australians4 PBPs: 2 Australians5 PBPs: 2 Australians

AustraliansAGNEW Steve 2007ANDRE Jason 1995ANTONIOU Christopher 2003ARMSWORTH Garry 2003ARMSWORTH Garry 2007AVON Dermot 1991

BABAUSKIS Alex 2007BAILEY David 1987BASSETT Graig Guy 1999BEASLEY Gary 1995BEASLEY Gary 2007BEDNARZ Robert 1995BEDNARZ Robert 1999BEHRSING Tom 1999BELLETTE Philip 1991BELLETTE Philip 1995BELLETTE Philip 1999BENNETT Andrew 1999BENNETT Karl 2007BENTLEY Michael 2007BLASSE Bjorn 2003BLASSE Bjorn 2007BOARDMAN Henry 1999BOARDMAN Henry 2003BOEHM Ian 2003BOWTELL David 2007BOYLE John Cameron 2003BRADBURY Matthew 2007BRADY Andrew 1991BRANDON Frank 1983BRAY Geoffrey 2003BRIGGS Donald 1995BROWN Robin 1995BURNS Rowan 2003

CAMBELL Peter 1999CANNELL Glen 1999CARTER Peter 2007CAULFIELD George Arthur 2003CHADWICK John 1999CHADWICK Pamela 1999CHANT Jim 2007CLARK Malcolm 1991COLE Peter 1995COLLINS Bernard 1995COOPER Steven Arthur 2003COURTNEY Steven 1995

CRIBB Paul 1999CRIBB Paul 2003CRIBB Paul 2007CUNNINGHAM Greg 2003CUNNINGHAM Greg 2007CUNYNGHAME David 1999CUNYNGHAME David 2003CURTIS Peter 1999CURTIS Peter 2003

DALE Nick 2007DE MAN Henry 2007DENNIS Charles 2007DICKSON Allan 2003DIXON Peter 2003DIXON Peter 2007DODDS Bruce 2007DONNAN Peter 1991DONNAN Peter 1995DONNAN Peter 2007DOVE Howard 2007DROZ Gilbert 1987DROZ Gilbert 1991DUSINK Hans 1999DUSINK Hans 2003DUSINK Hans 2007

EALES David 2007EDWARDS David 1999EGGING Marco 1995ERNST Matthias 2007EVANS Gareth 2007EVANS John 1999EVANS John 2007

FARMER Barbara 1995FARMER Colin 1991FARMER Colin 1995FARREN Paul 1991FISHER Russell 2007FREEMANTLE Russell 2007

GABADOU Michael 2007GALLIKER Otto 1999GAMBLE Peter Andrew 2003GEORGE Stephen 2007GIDDINS Phil 1995GIDDINS Phil 1999GIDDINS Phil 2003GOONATILLAKE Hari 2007GRANT Philipe Michael 2003GREEN Lindsay 1995GREGORY Paul Andrew 2003

HALTON Donald 1995HALTON Donald 1999

HALTON Donald 2003HALTON Enid 1995HAMILTON Russel 2003HAMILTON Russell 2007HARDY Sean 2003HARMER Lionel 2007HART David 2007HAYNES Martin 2007HEAL Peter 2007HEARD Andrew 2007HEIDTMAN Ross 1999HELLIER Andrew 2007HELYAR Keith Ronald 2003HELYAR Mary Gillian 2003HICKMAN Wayne 2007HOL John 2003HOOY Mark 2007HOPPER Ronald 1987HOPPER Ronald 1991HORSLEY Peter 1991HORSLEY Peter 2003HORSLEY Peter 2007HUMPHRIES Ian 1999

IRVINE Neil 1987IRVINE Neil 1991IRVINE Neil 1995

JENKINS Roy 1999JENKINS Roy 2003JEPPESEN Bill 2003JOHNSON Catherine 2007JOHNSTONE Harley 2003JOYCE Brian 1995

KATER Michael 1991KELLER Ingo 2003KENNEDY Douglas 2003KENNEDY Douglas 2007KERSLEY Kristine 1995KILPATRICK Leigh 1999KING Trevor 1999KING Trevor 2003KING Trevor 2007KIRKLAND Shane 2003KIRWAN Ron 2007

LANSOM Greg 2003LANSOM Greg 2007LASZCZYK John 1999LAUGHER Tim 1987LAUGHER Tim 1999LAUGHER Tim 2003LE VAILLANT Lynda 1999LEE Stephen 2007LEHANE Pat 2007

The Antipodean PBP ListDave Minter

Since 1983, about 230 Aussies have earned the accolade of ‘ancien du PBP’ or ‘ancienne du PBP’,

following Oppy’s professional race win in 1931. Antipodeans have ridden PBP in the colours of

Alleluia-Wolber (Oppy), Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand,

Singapore, the USA and Australia, of course.

The list below contains several riders entering PBP via other countries and includes some foreign

riders that have ridden in the Audax Oz club colours. New Zealanders started riding PBP in 1991

and the Kiwi list follows the Australians. This list was distilled from the ACP’s official list of PBP

finishers and no doubt it still contains some errors, despite a recent correction attempt. Let us

know what is wrong and the records on the PBP website can be corrected.


LESTER Thomas Lionel 2003LETTE Garrie 2007LOTHRINGER Graeme 1999LOTHRINGER Susan 1999LOWE Cassandra 1999LOWE Keith 1991

MACINTYRE Andrew 2007MacMILLAN Gordon 1999MARTIN Aileen 1987MARTIN Greg 2003MARTIN John 1987MARTIN Malcolm 1995MARTIN Peter Julian 1995MARTIN Peter Julian 1999MARTIN Peter Julian 2003MARTIN Peter William 2007MASLEN Thomas 1991MASLEN Thomas 1999MATHEWS Peter 1999MATHEWS Peter 2003

MATUSZEK Maria 1999MAURER Wayne 2007MAYNARD Paul 1995McCARTHY Richard 1995McCLOSKEY Eamonn 2007McCROSSIN Mark 2007McDONALD Duncan 2003McDONNELL Antony 1987McHUGH Bob 2007McKAIN John 1999McKEAN Derek 1991McKEAN Derek 1999MILCH Steven 1999MINTER Dave 1999MINTER Dave 2003MINTER Dave 2007MITCHELL Frank 2003MOHANDAS Janardanan 1999MOORE Barry 1999MOORE Barry 2003MOORE Barry 2007MOORE Peter 1991MOORE Peter 1995MOORE Peter 1999MOORE Peter 2003MOORE Peter 2007MOORE Russell 1983MOORE Russell 1991MORISON Alethea 1991MORISON Alethea 1995MORTON Rebecca 2007

NANKIVELL Tom 2007NG Paul 1995NORRIS Kevin 1991

O’BRIEN Christopher 1995O’CALLAGHAN Peter 1999OLSEN Carl 1991OPPERMAN Hubert 1931OSBORNE-RIGBY John 2007

PAGAC Daniel 2007PAGE Jonathan 1995PAGE Jonathan 1999PAGE Jonathan 2003PAGE Jonathan 2007PAGE Warren 2007PALMER Grant Richard 2003PASCOE Kevin 1991PATERSON Leigh 1999PATERSON Leigh 2007PEAK Ian David 1999

PEARSON Martin 2007PLATA Frank 2007POOLE Stephen 1983POOLE Stephen 1987POOLE Stephen 1991PORTWAY Olivier 1995PORTWAY Olivier 1999POWELL Christopher Robert 2003PRENDERGAST Peter 2007PREYER Frank John 2003PURVIS Mark 2007

QUINN John 1995

RAWNSLEY Matthew 1995RAWNSLEY Matthew 1999RAWNSLEY Matthew 2003RAWNSLEY Matthew 2007REDDEN Brian 1991REID-SMITH Robert 1995RICHARDSON Joy 1999ROBB Geoffrey 1999ROGERS Christopher David 2003ROGERS Malcolm 1995ROGERS Malcolm 1999ROSE Lindsay 1991ROSS Errol 2007ROW George 2007ROWLANDS Stephen 2007ROWLEY Philip 1991

SAUNDERS Kevin 2007SEARLE Peter 2003SEARLE Peter 2007SHAW David 1999SHAW Dennis Richard 2003SHULUBIN Sergey 2003SHULUBIN Sergey 2007SILK Denise 2007SKEERS Garry 2007SMITH Kerri-Ann 2007SNIBSON Rodney Paul 2003SORRELL Mark 1991SPENCER Ian Richard 1995STACPOOLE Ann 1991STACY Lyndon 1995STEVENS Ross 2007STEVENSON Barry 2003STEWART Adrian 1999STODALE Stewert 1987STREDWICK Tim 2003STREDWICK Tim 2007SURGEON Bill 2007SURR Fred 1987SYKES Justin 2007

TATRAI Gerry 1987TATRAI Gerry 1991TATRAI Gerry 1999TAYLOR Sue 1991TAYLOR Sue 1995TAYLOR Sue 1999TEMBY Kathryn 2003TEMBY Kathryn 2007THEO Ross 2003THORNTON Graham 1999TONKIN Alan 1999TONKIN Alan 2003TOWN Murray 1999TRAVERS Kim Luise 1999TURNER Lisa 2007

VAN DYK Patrick 1999VELLA Aldo 1999VESEL Steve 1991VESEL Steve 1995VESEL Steve 1999VESEL Steve 2003VESEL Steve 2007

WALKER Alan 2003WALKER Dayton Robert 2003WALSH Christopher 1999WARE Kevin Edwin 2003WATSON Don 1995WATSON Stephen 2003WATSON Stephen 2007WATT Raymond 1995WATT Raymond 2003WEISS Peter 2003WHITELEY Keith 1991WILKINSON Graeme 2003WITHAM David 1995WURLOD Barry 2007

ZGOZNIK Johnny 2007

New ZealandersANDERSON Colin 2007 NZ

BELL Carol 2007 NZBLACKIE Anton 2007 NZBRIDGMAN Barry 2003 NZ

KENCH Joshua 2007 NZ

MABEY Douglas 2007 NZ

OLIVER Rod 2007 NZ

POLLARD Ian 1991 NZ

SAVAGE Marian 2007 NZSHARPE Steven 2007 NZ

VINCENT Leslie 1995 NZVINCENT Leslie 2003 NZ

WATSON Jennifer 2007 NZWRIGHT Patrick 2007 NZ


Audax Australia has run audax rides since 1981 but these are actually ‘randonneur brevets’, created by Audax Club Parisien in 1921. From 1 November 2008, there will be a new brevet option, Brevet Euraudax (BE). New to Australia at any rate.

Henri Desgrange codified Audax riding in 1904, although Audax Italiano had begun similar events in 1897. The general concept was similar to the Opperman All Day Trial but ‘writ large’, a group of riders completing a challenging distance together. In 1921, the Audax Club Parisien (ACP) fell out with Desgrange and created Brevet Randonneurs Mondiaux, the 200+ km events Audax Australia has organised since 1981. Another group (now L’Union des Audax Francais or UAF) continued running the original form of Audax rides, nowadays often known as Euraudax or Audax 22.5. Euraudax brevets are fairly common in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden and, in the past decade, several have been held in the USA.

What About Paris Brest Paris?Oppy rode the Paris Brest

Paris professional race in 1931, the only non-European winner. The first Paris Brest Paris Randonneur took place the same year. Now held every four years, 88 Australians finished it in 2007. The first Paris Brest Paris Audax was also in 1931 and, for a time, the Audax PBP was more popular than the Randonneur version. It is now held every five years, sometimes with multiple starts to ensure that the peloton size is not excessive. The two events coincide every twenty years and in 1971 eight Frenchmen completed both PBPs in one week.

The ACP and UAF have forgotten their past disputes and actively assist each other to encourage brevet riding. Several riders have completed both types of PBP including Jean Gualbert Faburel, the ACP’s International Homologation Secretary.

What is involved?Euraudax brevets are ridden as a peloton

with a leader, generally averaging 22.5 kph between checkpoints. The organiser has a published ride schedule, noting the expected time the peloton will reach each turn and rest stop and the time the peloton will leave each rest stop. Riders don’t need to consult their route sheets as the peloton leader is responsible for following the route. Lunch checkpoints last 1 to 1.5 hours and there are overnight checkpoint stops for 400(+) km brevets of 5 to 7 hours.

Most of Audax Australia’s normal ride rules still apply, except where replaced by specific Euraudax rules. These are currently being drafted and agreed between Audax Australia and the UAF.

The riders lose the freedom to ride at their own pace but are guaranteed plenty of company to chat with. These brevets do not replace our current audax rides but have their own attractions and are likely to be enjoyed by our more sociable members.

Do they count?Australian BE brevets will be recognised

by the UAF and be eligible for their medals and awards. Audax Australia members can count Euraudax brevets towards any relevant Audax Australia award, including

the Woodrup 5000. They don’t count towards ACP or other international awards or ride qualifications (e.g. towards PBP Randonneur).

Euraudax brevet schedulesAustralian Euraudax brevets can be 100,

200, 300, 400, 600 and 1000 km long. The riding average between most rest stops is 22.5 kph. The 100 km is the main exception; the organiser can schedule a 20 kph riding average, if desired. The expected time to complete a BE ride is the peloton time, with additional time allowed for exceptional individual adversity.

Distance Peloton Time

Maximum Time

100 km 5:00 7:00200 km 12:00 14:00300 km 17:00 20:00400 km 26:00–26:30 27:00600 km 38:00–39:00 40:001000 km 75:00 76:00

Looking AheadSome regions (NSW, Qld,

Vic and WA) will hold a few 100, 200 and 300 km Euraudax brevets in the upcoming season. These events will let riders, organisers and peloton leaders gain experience with the new brevet style. The 2009/10 season will include some 400 and 600 km brevets and may see some Euraudax events in other areas. The following year, riders can qualify for the next PBP Audax; requiring 200, 300 and 400 or 600 Euraudax brevets.

No Australian has ever done PBP Audax but in 2011, enthusiasts of both brevet styles will be riding between Paris and Brest. I hope to see you there.

Note: This article was written prior to the rules being finalised and agreed and there may be some differences to the final rules.

What is Euraudax?Dave Minter

Rider are guaranteed plenty of company to chat with

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Permanent events are similar to the existing calendar events ratified by Audax Australia (sub-200 km, Brevet Australia or BA) and Audax Club Parisien (200+ km, Brevet Randonneur Mondiaux or BRM). The major difference is that these rides can be any distance and can be ridden at any time.

Permanents are intended for experienced randonneurs and only Audax Australia members can enter. These brevets are not internationally recognised and are not qualifiers for international rides (e.g. PBP) or international awards (e.g. ACP’s Brevet de Randonneur 5000). Most of Audax Australia’s Ride Rules apply to permanents, except as noted below, and the Ride Rules are being changed to reflect this.

Types of PermanentsRoad permanents below 200 km are

BA rides and the normal Brevet Australia minimum speed applies, pro rata.

Brevet Dirt (BD) permanents use the normal Dirt Series minimum speed, pro rata.

Raids (BR) are long distance permanents with reduced average speed requirements and their specific requirements and awards are on the Audax Australia website.

Road permanents beyond 199 km are a new type of brevet. Brevet Randonneur Australia (BRA) are homologated by Audax Australia and count for Australian awards when completed at or above the minimum average speed of:

15 km/h for events up to 699 km- 13.3 km/h for events 700 to 1299 km- 12 km/h for events 1300 to 1899 km- 10 km/h for events 1900 to 2499 km- 200 km per day for events over 2499 km-

Average SpeedsThe minimum average speed for a

permanent (including stops) can be any speed agreed by Audax Australia but

permanents at a minimum average speed below BA, BD or BRA requirements (as applicable) are not eligible for Audax Australia awards.

The minimum average speed gives the closing time for intermediate checkpoints and to complete a permanent, pro rata. As an example, a 225 km calendar brevet (ACP homologated) must be completed within 13 hr 30 min despite the extra 25 km; it is a fixed maximum time. A successful 225 km BRA permanent can take up to 15 hours (225 km/15 km/h = 15 hr). Conversely, a 200 km permanent must be finished within 13 hr 20 min (= 200 km/15 km/h). The normal maximum speeds apply.

Organisers and RidersPermanents are ‘fixed route’ brevets,

with a specified course and specified start, finish and intermediate checkpoints (not necessarily a specific address). The official course distance shall be taken as the shortest bicycle-legal distance between checkpoints (including info controls), regardless of the actual route ridden. Submitted routes will be checked with computer-aided mapping or printed road maps and under-distance rides will not be homologated.

Riders can enter a permanent after it has been approved by Audax Australia and a notice has been put in Checkpoint and/or on the Audax Australia website noting the relevant details.

A lighting/ reflective vest check by the organiser is not required but the other aspects of the Lighting Regulations and Ride Rules apply.

The organiser has the option to conduct secret controls on fixed route permanents.

Note: This article was written prior to the rules being finalised and agreed and there may be some differences to the final rules.

What is a Permanent?Dave Minter

The greatest endurance performance of all time?

Humans evolved as an athletic species able to run in the midday heat, to throw with exquisite accuracy and to strike powerfully despite relatively weak upper arms compared to those of the great apes. The true extent to which humans could run long distances was first tested in a unique series of six-day foot races contested between 1874 and 1888 by professional athletes from England and the United States. These athletes typically would have expended approximately 60,000 kcal (24.12 MJ) of energy during these races. The discovery of the bicycle soon caused the replacement of these races by six-day cycling races which, in turn, led to the modern day Tour de France, the cycling Race Across America (RAAM) and two running races across the width of the United States in 1928 and 1929. The total energy expenditures during these different events can be estimated at approximately 168,000, 180,000 and 340,000 kcal respectively.

But, in terms of the total energy expenditure, all these performances pale somewhat when compared to that of Robert Falcon Scott’s Polar party during the 1911/12 British Antarctic Expedition. For most of 159 consecutive days, Scott’s team man-hauled for ten hours a day to the South Pole and back covering a distance of 2500 km. Their predicted total energy expenditure per individual would have been about one million kcal, making theirs, by some margin, the greatest sustained endurance athletic performance of all time.

Interestingly, the dogs that provided the pulling power for Norwegian Roald Amundsen’s team that was the first to reach the South Pole, 35 days before Scott’s party, would have expended about 500,000 kcal in their 97 day trip, making theirs the greatest animal “sporting” performance on record.

Abstract from Noakes, Timothy David, The limits of human endurance: what is the greatest endurance performance of all time? Which factors regulate performance at extreme altitude? in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Volume: 618, Issue: 2007, Hypoxia And The Circulation.


Brevet by Beijing bike?Chinese utility bikes are indeed amazing and, yes, even beautiful machines. Our Beijing correspondent,

David Killick, recently observed some possible uses of these bikes for your next randonnee.

Although he always had everything he needed with him on the bike, Cecil wondered if a simple saddlebag wouldn’t be sufficient for 200 km events.

Terry found a unique solution to ensuring a comfortable rest on the 600 km.

Audax Austral ia Inc.

2007/08 Award Application

for rides completed between 1/11/2007 and 31/10/2008Nouveau Date Brevet # Ride Name

50km

100km

150km

Super Date Brevet # Ride Name

200km

300km

400km

600km

Sarah Maddock Date Brevet # Ride Name

100km

100km

100km

100km

100km

Irene Plowman Date Brevet # Ride Name

200km

200km

200km

200km

200km

Woodrup 5000 Date Brevet # Ride Name

200km

300km

400km

600km

1000km

1200km (not PBP)

Fleche Opperman

Other distances200km and over

Name:_________________________________________ Telephone: _______________________________

Postal Address:_______________________________________________ Postcode: ___________________

Email:_________________________________________________ Membership No: ___________________If you would like to receive your award by post, tick this box . Alternatively, your award(s) will be presented to you at a presentation ceremony in your state (subject to demand) to be held early in 2009 (date/venue to be advised). Mail applications to Enid Halton, Unit 128, 317 Wells Road, Aspendale Gardens, Vic 3195 by 31 December 2008.Enquiries: 0439 997 022, haltoned@richfi eldvillage.com.au.

Randonneur 5000 Award applicants please contact Simon Watt on 0417 652 198 / [email protected]

Percy Armstrong Date Brevet # Ride Name

50km

100km

150km

200km

Award Application Form

Dirt Date Brevet # Ride Name

35km

70km

100km

Joseph Pearson 2000 Date Brevet # Ride Name

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100/200km

100km

100km

Arthur Richardson 3000 Date Brevet # Ride Name

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

300/400/600km

Frank White 5000 Date Brevet # Ride Name

200km

300km

400km

600km

km

km

km

km

km

km

km

km

km

km

km

For a complete list of award requirements, see the centre page of the Rides Calendar or download it at www.audax.org.au


BackpedalBackpedal

Jersey sightingsThe jersy worn by Greg Cunningham in the photo on the cover of Checkpoint 37, was quickly identified in the USA. In response, Greg notes that Australian PBP jerseys have popped-up on foreign shores:

“Yes, that stars-and-stripes RUSA jersey from last year’s PBP certainly stands out. I’ve also noticed from reports on the Daily Randonneur site that our 2003 and 2007 PBP jerseys have been evident recently in some events of the DC Randonneurs in the USA.”

For example:http://www.flickr.com/photos/wabeck/2563457574/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wabeck/2563241088/ http://thedailyrandonneur.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/dc-randonneurs-back-in-the-saddle/ http://thedailyrandonneur.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/pa-1000k-results-and-photos/

Have there been any other sightings?

Alpine Classic“I can’t wait till next year”

Opperman All Day TrialThe Pleasures of the Fleche

Cascade 1200Warm in Washington

No. 36 Winter 2008The endurance cyclist’s magazine

Unusual Fairing at PBPEver on the lookout for innovations that will bring performance improvements, legendary randonneur and bicycle shop proprietor Peter Moore used this unusual blow up kangaroo fairing at last year’s PBP to both cut wind resistance and fly the Australian flag.

The approach worked a treat as the French crowds, particularly the children, enthusiastically cheered le kangourou and Peter to an Australian record-equaling fifth PBP finish. Despite the wet and windy conditions, Peter reported no great problems on the ride, but did say that the kangaroo had a minor slow leak and required regular re-inflation, and that the kangaroo ate more than he did at controls.

Also pictured at left is Peter’s brother Barry, who at the time was somewhat petulantly demanding to know, “Where can I get one of those?”

Whilst Peter was out training brilliantly for PBP, it was noted however that his fairing wasn’t that fond of the training—pictured here at right partying it up at Semaine Federale.


ROAD SERIES75km, 17-May-08, VIC, Wurdi YouangOrganiser: Russell FreemantleMartin Chambers, Richard Freemantle, Russell Freemantle, Richard Johnston, George Judkins

100km, 22-Jun-08, VIC, Sea Sea RiderOrganiser: Chris RogersGeof Bagley, Marie Bagley, Hans Dusink, Howard Gibson, Paul McKenna, Pauline Nicholas, Chris Rogers, Peter Weiss

150km, 12-Jun-08, VIC, Gales East of the PromOrganiser: Stephen ChambersMichael Boehm, Vin Cross, Sonia Degaris, David Eales, Gareth Evans, David Graham, Julie Graham, Roz Marshalsea, Ron Mcinnes, Frank Preyer, Kevin Ware, David Woodman

200 km, 27-Jan-2008, VIC, Audax Alpine ClassicOrganiser: Phil BellettePhillip Aarons, John Acton, Eddy Addicks, George Addison, Cameron Ainslie, Jenk Akyalcin, Rob Allen, Ken Allender, John Andersen, Aaron Anderson, Jeff Anderson, John Anderson, John Anderson, Philip Anderson, Robert Anderson, Thomas Anderson, Rodney Andonopoulos, Henry Andryszczak, Graham Angliss, Andrew Annand, Peter Annear, Stacy Anton, Damien Appleton, John Archer, David Armstrong, Garry Armsworth, David Arnup, Ari Athanasopoulos, Don Atkins, Gregory Au, Geoff Austin, James Austin, Rod Austin

John Bahoric, Ben Bailey, Grant Bailey, Michelle Bailey, Greg Baines, Neil Baird-Watson, Toby Baker, Paul Balchin, Shane Balkin, Peter Ballas, Peter Barlow, Nicholas Barnes, Ben Barnett, Karl Baron, Noel Barrett, Philip Barrett, David Barrow, Gary Beasley, Anthony Beaumont, Grant Beaumont, Tim Begbie, David Beilby, Damon Bennett, Michael Bentley, Jay Bessell, Luke Beuchat, Cameron Bicknell, Arnold Birrell, William Bisset, Andrew Blake, Graeme Blanch, Björn Blässe, Paul Blewitt, Paul Bloink, Henry Boardman, John Bolwell, Nick Bond, Richard Bontjer, Tom Boogert, Damian Boots, Jerrad Borodzicz, Eddie Bosch, Sally Both, Anthony Boulton, Neil Bowman, David Bowtell, Andrew Boyd, Colin Boyd, John Boyle, Simeon Branca, Ruben Branson, Stephen Bray, Steve Bridges, Roger Brink, Mark Brljak, Aaron Broughton, Christopher Brown, Steven Brown, Gavin Browne, Ashleigh Bryans, Alastair Buchan, Alan Buchanan, Matthew Bufardeci, Christopher Bull, Damon Burgess, Paul Burns, Malcolm Burt, Allen Burton, Karen Burton, Adam Butler, Alex Byass, Martin Byrne, David Byrnes, Michael Byrom

Graham Cadd, Phill Camenzuli, Michael Carden, Jack Carecos, Cassandra Carey, Gabriel Carey, Matthew Carey, Patrick Carey, Shoana Carey, Catherine Carlyle, Clive Carlyle, Brenton Carn, Michael Carr, Thomas Carroll, Dean Cartwright, Jordi Casasayas, Martin Cash, Gill Cashion, Kath Cashion, Robert Castellani, Andrew Caune, Howard Chait, George Challoner, Joann Challoner, Deborah Chambers, Anthony Chan, Caitlin Chancellor, Anthony Chandler, Jim Chant, Rod Cheney, Frank Cheshire, Chuan Chew, Ian Chilman, Jeremy Chin, Emma Chorley, Leigh Christensen, Russell Church, Michael Clare, Simon Claringbold, David Clarke, David Cleland, Carl Cole, Chris Coleman, Michael Collier, Steve Collyer, Michael Conan-Davies, Jason Condon, Jo Condron, Simon

Conisbee, Michael Conos, Paul Conroy, Jo Coombe, Andrew Cooper, David Cooper, Brian Corbett, Peter Craig, Ben Craven, Jules Crawshaw, Luciano Crema, Grant Croghan, Brian Crompton, Anthony Cross, Simon Cross, Christopher Crowder, Stephen Crump, Mark Cummings, Alan Cunneen, Paul Currie, Barry Curtain, Nick Cuthbertson

Ken Dacomb, Peter Daffen, Clare Dallat, Justin Daly, Lewis Daniels, Peter Dart, Eric Davidson, Michael Davidson, Garth Davies, Sarah Davies, Chris Davis, Greg Davis, Derek Dawkins, Matthew Day, Stephen Dayment, Joshua De Bono, Stuart De Jong, Bob De Kantzow, Raey De Ross, Brendon Dean, Carmel Debrincat, Nick Deeks, Jurien Dekter, David Denham, Charles Dennis, Nathan Dennis, Tim Dent, Andy Derham, Norman Derham, Peter Dewez, Andrew Dick, Cameron Dickinson, Allan Dickson, Trevor Dickson, Scott Dillon, Norm Dixon, Trevor Dixon, Mark Dockrill, Gerard Donaldson, Peter Donnan, Peter Doonan, Howard Dove, Gary Dowel, David Doyle, Jaemes Driver, Eugene Duffy, Rob Dunbar, Howard Duncan, Phillip Dundas, David Dunn, Michael Dunn

Michael Easton, Alan Edler, Danny Edson, Sam Edwards, Arnold Ehlers, Graeme Elder, David Eliott, David Ellis, Mark Ellis, Brian Emmett, Gareth Evans, Gregory Evans, James Evans

Dave Fairburn, Geoff Farnsworth, Adam Fenton, Louise Ferguson, Matthew Ferris, Rob Findlay, Andy Finnigan, Rod Fisher, Tim Fitzgerald, Gerald Fitzgibbon, Jonathan Flack, Kristina Flego, Sorcha Flett, Nicholas Florentine, Wayne Florentine, Peter Florrimell, Frank Foale, Craig Ford, Warren Foreman, Richard Forster, Michael Fox, Russell Fox, Jim Fraser, Quentin Frayne, Richard Freemantle, Russell Freemantle, Hayden Fung, Boyd Furmston

Paul Galipienzo, John Gallagher, Gerard Gameren, Mark Gare, Michael Gass, Peter Gatto, Ron Gauld, Sacha Gebbie, Alex Geers, Andrew Gent, Ian George, John Gestakovski, Michael Gibbs, Martin Gibson, Patrick Giddings, Graeme Giggins, Raymond Gilburt, Jeremy Gilchrist, Bruce Giles, Ian Gillies, Malcolm Gin, Russell Glasser, Stephen Gleeson, Jamie Gluszek, Rob Godkin, Barry Golding, Ilan Goldman, Campbell Gome, Jimmy Goode, Michael Goode, Hari Goonatillake, Simon Gordon, Ray Gornall, Ian Gosling, John Gould, Jonathan Gowland, Philip Graus, Kevin Greene, Phil Greenidge, Michael Grogan, Dean Guidolin, Michael Guiney

Peter Haley, Brent Hall, Chris Hall, Sheena Hall, William Hall, Adrian Hamilton, Heath Hammond, Peter Hancock, Myles Hannan, Mark Hansen, Julian Hanson, David Harberts, Tom Hardwick, Rob Hardy, Sean Hardy, David Harper, Simon Harrold, Graeme Harry, Peter Harry, David Hart, Paul Hartley, Gary Harvey, Alan Hauxwell, Peter Hayes, Andrew Healey, James Healey, Steven Healy, David Heath, Ross Heazlewood, Craig Hedington, Scott Hehir, Dean Hemburrow, Brett

Henderson, David Henderson, Kevin Hennessy, Ross Henry, Ian Henson, Kerry Heywood, Mark Higgins, Ewen Hill, Rob Hill, Robert Hill, Geoff Hinchcliffe, Paul Hines, Chris Hitchen, Craig Hobbs, Fergus Hogarth, Paul Holland, Martin Holt, Elizabeth Hone, Ian Hood, Alf Hoop, Mark Hooy, Tony Hope, Bryan Hopkins, David Howard, Natalie Howard, Nicholas Howe, Warren Howe, Mark Hudson, Philip Huguenin, Lawrence Hunt, Victor Hurley, William Hurley, Jonathan Hurst, Mark Hurwitz, Mark Hutchison, David HuttonStephen Ikin, David Inglis, Neil Irvine

Julie Jackson, Lisa Jacobs, Noel Jacobs, Rick Jaksch, Liz James, Scott James, Stephen James, Bryce Jamieson, Beata Janetzki, John Jardine, Scott Jardine, Martin Jellinek, John Jenkins, Murray Jenkins, Leigh Johansen, Catherine Johnson, Pete Johnson, Andrew Jones, Andrew Jones, Anthony Jones, Barry Jones, Ciaran Jones, Gary Jones, Rudy Joosten, Leigh Jordan, Craig Junor

Claus Kaimer, Alexis Kaless, Rob Kalinowski, Daniel Kaufman, Jason Keane, Ben Keating, Paul Keegan, Gavan Keenan, Mim Kefford, Richard Kelleway, Ian Kelly, Joshua Kench, Douglas Kennedy, Edwin Kennon, Jenny Kennon, Patrick Kenny, Stephen Kerwin, Jonathan King, Trevor King, Niels Klazenga, Paul Klempfner, Chris Klep, Susan Kleven, Mario Klingler, Michael Knight, Refik Kocak, Jan Koehler, Tony Koppi, Mark Krantz, Mark Krieger, Rodney Kruz

Andrew Lam, Rowan Lamont, Ben Lamprell, Richard Lange, Tor Lattimore, Colin Law, Iain Lawrie, Sharon Laws, Gary Leahey, Stephen Lee, Philip Levy, Matt Lewis, William Lewis, Chris Lewthwaite, Ernest Lim, Kang Lim, Robert Lim, Michael Linden, Stuart Lindsay, Peter Linnane, Ben Lloyd, Orazio Lo Castro, Elliot Long, Scott Lovell, Jonathan Lovelock, Laurence Lovelock, Bruce Luckham, Peter Lunt, Peter Luscombe

Abbie Macfarlane, Bruce Macintyre, Adam Mack, Stuart Mackay, Dan Macmunn, Tom Macmunn, Simon Maddison, Tim Mahon, Ben Mahoney, Cameron Main, George Malliaros, Kristian Manietta, Trevor Maning, Tim Mansfield, John Marcan, Ros Marshallsea, Brian Martin, Peter W Martin, Enricom Martino, David Matcham, Maria Matuszek, Geoff Mawley, Margaret May, Peter May, Stephen Mayes, Gregory McAlary, Sean McAleer, Gavan McCarthy, Gary McClean, Tony McClelland, Eamonn McCloskey, Shelley McColl, Tim McColl, Ted McCoy, Liam Sean McCrory, Martin McDaniel, Tim McDonald, Troy McDonald, Graham McFadries, Brad McGown, Peter McIntyre, Allan McKay, David McKeag, Chris McKelvey, Colin McKenzie, Andrew McLennan, Noel McMahon, Andrew McNaught, Joe McShanag, Scott McVilly, Rodney McWhirter, Shannon Meadows, Cameron Meikle, Dean Melia, Samuel Mickan, Keith Middleton, Michael Milewski, Leigh Miller, Peter Miller, Robert Milohanic, Scott Milson, Martin Minge, Craig Mitchell, Jan Modrzejewski, Steve Monks, Barry Moore, Brendan Moore, Craig Moore, Thomas Moore, Malcolm Moorin,

BrevetsWith Simon Watt and Stephen George

Contact the Brevet Secretary: [email protected]

Bravo!

Felicitations!

For me it was always a simple passion. Yeah, it’s your first chance to really get away. You run around the corner, your mom will still find you. But if you ride your bike a mile away,

she is not gonna find you.

Lance Armstrong


Phillip Morey, Ian Morgan, Jeff Morgan, Katherine Morris, Julian Morton, Rebecca Morton, Philip Moss, Adrian Mulholland, Simon Mullamby, Michael Munro-Mobbs, Leigh Murphy, Philip Murray, Russell Murray, Thorkild Muurholm

Tony Narkowicz, Scott Needham, David Newton, Paul Ng, Dean Niclasen, Anthony Nocka, Mark Norden, Scott Norrish, Peter Nott

Aileen O’Brien, David O’Brien, David O’Brien, Ricky O’Brien, Steve O’Brien, Terry O’Brien, John O’Callaghan, Pepe Ochoa, David O’Dwyer, Paul O’Dwyer, Emmet O’Flaherty, Tim O’Grady, Martin O’Halloran, Jan Ohlsen, Michael O’Keefe, Kevin O’Malley, Tom O’Malley, Allan O’Neil, Adam Orchard, Chris Osborne, Warren Osborne, Bernard O’Shea, Christopher O’Shea, Philip O’Toole

David Padula, Warren Page, Matthew Palm, David Palmer, Richard Palmer, Glenn Pannam, Barry Paranthoiene, Danny Park, Jon Park, John Parncutt, Stuart Partridge, Rod Paten, Adam Pater, Frank Paterson, Russell Patterson, Charlotte Paul, Kris Paulding, Nick Payne, Jeremy Pearce, Martin Pearson, Steve Peatling, David Peckham, Geoff Pell, Guy Penfold, Stuart Pengelly, Matthew Penn, Thomas Percillier, Metcalfe Peter, Robert Peters, Steve Peters,

Renato Picciani, Michael Pickford, Kevin Piercy, Greg Pietersen, Stan Pietsch, Pierre Pino, Helen Pollard, Ian Pollard, Simon Pollard, Janusz Poltoranos, Craig Porritt, Daryl Port, Robert Postlethwaite, Spiro Poulis, Robert Poulter, Louis Pouw, Jeff Powell, Richard Powell, Andrew Prestage, Frank Preyer, Richard Price, Alan Pride, Matthew Pringle, Andrew Puddy, Scott Puddy, Simon Punt, Peter Pursey

Petrina Quinn

Stephen Rafferty, Michael Ranjel, Matthew Rawnsley, Chris Rayment, Richard Read, Robert Reid Smith, Lucas Renieris, Carolyn Renwick, Simon Restall, Russell Richardson, Stuart Richardson, Rob Rigoni, John Riley, Trevor Rix, Ben Roberts, Carlo Roberts, Greg Roberts, Jaimie Robertson, Chris Robinson, Mark Robinson, Peter Rohen, Thierry Rolland, Arno Roosink, David Rose, Fraser Rowe, Jamie Ruddy, Gerard Rummery, Andrew Rushton, Kevin Russell, Steven Russell, Brett Ryder, Steve Rylance

Thomas Salinger, Wes Samson, Brian Sandercock, Matt Sandercock, Tony Sandercock, Mark Sangkuhl, Greer Sansom, Solveiga Saule, John Scanlon, Marcus Scherleitner, Bob Schinckel, Guy Schubert, Birgit Schuckmann, Jeffrey Schulz, Jeff Scott, Tom Scott, Kym Scrutton, Anthony Seipolt, Nick Sfetsos,

David Shanahan, Andrew Sheats, Brett Sheil, Jason Shell, Tom Shelmerdine, Anthea Shem, Paul Sheppard, Glenn Sherlock, Warwick Sherwood, Steve Short, Haydon Shorten, Carl Simmons, Paul Simms, Magdalen Simpson, Mike Sims, Harry Simson, Ashley Singh-browne, Vincent Sinickas, Oscar Skabar, Gary Slade, Peter Slade, Matthew Slater, Johanna Slijkerman, James Sloan, Dale Smedley, Aaron Smith, Andrew Smith, David Smith, Ian Smith, Ian Smith, Kerri-Ann Smith, Marita Smith, Paul Smith, Rick Smith, Robert Smith, Roger Smith, Ross Smith, David Solomon, Vic Southgate, Glenn Soutter, Paul Spain, Anthony Spriggins, Richard Spry, Nick Stafford, Mark Stainkamph, Mal Stark, Craig Stephens, Nigel Stevenson, Francois Steverlynck, James Steward, Joan Stribley, Clive Strickland, Andrew Stripp, Graham Stucley, Juantia Stumbles, Stephen Stute, Marcelo Suarez, Hugh Sullivan, Roman Suran, James Sutherland, Barry Sweeney

Andrew Talati, Nick Tapp, Martin Taube, Bill Taylor, Charles Taylor, Matt Taylor, Richard Taylor, Tim Taylor, Chris Telley, Gary Theiss, Andrew Thomas, Grant Thomas, Kim Thomas, Terry Thomas, Gary Thompson, Adam Thomson, Peter Thornton, Sonia Throssell, Rik Thwaites, Jason Tine, Les Tokolyi, Milton Tolikas, Alan Tomasic, John Toohey, Jean-Francois Torrelle, Huyen Tran, Andrew Trout, Loreano Tuccori, Bobby Tuit, Lucas Turner, Benjamin Tyrrell, Andrew Tytherlegh

Emidio Ubaldi, Daniel Uden, Mark Ukotic, Keven Urbancic

Milton Valentine, Michael Van Der Lit, John Van Seters, Mark Vaughan, Luigi Vecchio, Jan Verbesselt, Jean-France Viader-Etienne, James Vince

Jeremy Wah, Steven Wainwright, James Walkom, Garry Wall, Alan Wallace, Robert Wallace, Jan Walsh, Jerome Walsh, Kevin Walsh, Nev Walsh, John Warrick, Clinton Watson, Peter Watson, Jenelle Weatherstone, Benjamin Webster, Paul Webster, Robert Webster, Eric Wehr, Syd Weinstein, Adrian Whear, Greg Wheeler, Andrew White, Keith White, Olivia White, Rod White, Doug Whiteford, Rick Whitehouse, Peter Whitford, Peter Whyte, Chris Wight, Dave Willems, James Williamson, Daniel Wilmann, Aaron Wilson, Andrew Wilson, Daniel Wilson, John Wilson, Peter Wilson, Shane Wilson, Michael Wilton, Walter Wlasenko, Michael Wong, Jacqui Wood, N Woodman, Paul Woodward, Bart Wunderlich, Barry Wurlod

Steve Xerri

James Yorston, Stephen Youde, Peter Young, Richard Young

Mark Zampatti, Con Zanetidis

200km, 09-Feb-2008, NSW, Hawkesbury River RideOrganiser: Rebecca MortonDouglas Kennedy, Garry Armsworth, Jean Viader-itienne, Paul Armishaw, Rebecca Morton, Howard Dove

200km, 16-Feb-2008, VIC, Goldfields 200Organiser: Andrew ThomasStephen George, Steve Xerri, Steve Murphy, Greg Lanyon, Geof Bagley, Marie Bagley, Brian Gavan, Bernard Collins

200km, 24-Feb-2008, NSW, Central Coast 200Organiser: Malcolm RogersWarwick McAlpine, Chris Walsh

200km, 02-Mar-2008, NSW, Hawkesbury Valley RandonneeOrganiser: Chris WalshRebecca Morton, Douglas Kennedy

200km, 31-Mar-2008, WA, Mr Marston’s MeanderOrganiser: Rod MarstonColin Law, Rod Marston, Tony Gillespie

200km, 06-Apr-2008, NSW, Laguna and BackOrganiser: Graham JonesDouglas Kennedy

ACT Region Dirt Audax in Sparrow Hill Forest. Marea England leads Ian Richman and Daniel Oakman after 35km of single track.

Phot

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200km, 12-Apr-2008, NSW, Hunter or YarramalongOrganiser: Rebecca MortonRicky O’Brien, Douglas Kennedy, Rebecca Morton, Lindsay Harvey, Bruce McMillan, Stuart De Jong

200km, 13-Apr-2008, NSW, Hawkesbury LoopOrganiser: Gary ArmsworthGarry Armsworth, Michael Gabadou, Steve Peters, Maggie Tran, Jean France Viader-Etienne

200km, 13-Apr-2008, WA, Five DamsOrganiser: Rob GodkinRob Godkin, Nick Dale, Colin Law, Eamonn McCloskey

200km, 19-Apr-2008, QLD, Beaudesert BashOrganiser: Dino MorganteIain Cummings, Peter Jamandijevic, Anthony Limpus, Brian Lowe, David McCrossin, James Pearson

200km, 07-June-2008, VIC, Mid Winter MadnessOrganiser: Russell HamiltonTom Behrsing, Stephen Chambers, Philip Giddings, Russell Hamilton, Frank Preyer

200km, 07-June-2008, VIC, Queens Royal TourOrganiser: Merryn & Stephen RowlandsMartin Chambers, Hans Dusink, George Judkins, Barry Moore, Leigh Paterson, Eu Ho Siew, Carl Zammit, George Judkins, Barry Moore

200km, 14-June-2008, QLD, Atkinson MeanderOrganiser: Errol RossMike Clare, Mark Guest, Les Holm, Peter Jenkins, Peter Watson

200km, 15-June-2008, WA, Pie Shop HeavenOrganiser: Andrew JacksonColin Law, Andrew Bragg, John Eden, Mike Jaworski, Chris Antoniou, Nick Dale, Eamonn McCloskey, Hari Goonatillake, Rob Godkin, Graham Hird, Brad Woodbrook

200km, 06-July-2008, NSW, Ashford and AroundOrganiser: Lisa TurnerLisa Turner, Paul Cribb

200km, 12-July-2008, VIC, Gales East of the PromOrganiser: Stephen ChambersPeter Annear, Jim Chant, Peter Curtis, Henry DeMan, Leigh Paterson, Kathryn Temby

200km, 12-July-2008, NSW, The GorgesOrganiser: Howard Dove & Rebecca MortonRicky O’Brien, Howard Dove, Douglas Kennedy, Graham Jones, Jean Viader-Etienne, Rebecca Morton, Paul Armishaw

200km, 26-July-2008, QLD, UrBAYniaOrganiser: Dino MorganteAlan Baker, Leslie Holm, David Minter

200km, 03-Aug-2008, NSW, Hawkesbury Valley RandonneeOrganiser: Chris WalshGreg Lansom

300km, 19-Jan-2008, NSW, The Canberra RideOrganiser: Jonathan PageGarry Armsworth, John Bamford, Howard Dove, Ron Gauld, Craig Gavin, Douglas Kennedy, Richard Makin, David Matcham, Rebecca Morton, Jonathan Page, Frank Paterson

300km, 02-Feb-2008, NSW, Thunderbolt’s WayOrganiser: Lisa TurnerPaul Cook, Lisa Turner, Brian Lowe, Elizabeth Pearson, Martin Pearson

300km, 05-Apr-2008, QLD, April AnimationOrganiser: Lindsay GreenAlan Baker, Chris Lewthwaite, Elizabeth Pearson, Martin Pearson, Elizabeth Zeller

300km, 12-Apr-2008, NSW, Hunter or YarramalongOrganiser: Rebecca MortonWarwick McAlpine

300km, 04-May-2008, NSW, Going for BrokeOrganiser: Graham JonesGraham Jones, Eu Ho Siew, Gary Keating, David Bill, Mark Haughton

300km, 03-Aug-2008, NSW, Hawkesbury Valley RandonneeOrganiser: Chris WalshWarwick McAlpine, Geoff Farnsworth, Lindsay Harvey, Stuart De Jong, Bruce McMillan

400km, 16-Feb-2008, Wollongong, Gunning RideOrganiser: Henry BoardmanRichard Pinkerton

400km, 01-Mar-2008, ACT, Highlands HopOrganiser: Peter HealMichael Bentley, Peter Heal, Joel McFarlane Roberts

400km, 14-June-2008, QLD, Atkinson MeanderOrganiser: Errol RossAlan Baker, Vaughan Kippers, Brian Lowe, Dave Minter, Martin Pearson, James Pearson, Liz Zeller

400km, 09-Aug-2008, NSW, Singleton TourOrganiser: Chris WalshGraham Jones, Howard Dove, Douglas Kennedy, Warwick Mcalpine, Rebecca Morton, Kerri Ann Smith, Michael Bentley, Tom Nankivell, Lisa Turner

600km, 01-Mar-2008, Wollongong, Canberra/Yass 600Organiser: Henry BoardmanRichard Pinkerton

600km, 17-May-2008, NSW, The Border RideOrganiser: Lisa TurnerPaul Cribb

1000km, 29-Mar-2008, Wollongong, Parkes 1000Organiser: Henry BoardmanRichard Pinkerton

1200km, 10-Nov-2007, Wollongong, Triple LoopOrganiser: Henry BoardmanRichard Pinkerton

FLECHE OPPERMAN ALL DAY TRIAL

NSWThe Tombstone Reds (365k)Chris Walsh, Geoff Robb, Garry Armsworth, Graham Jones.

A Ferry Long Way Around (383k)Ron Gauld, David Matcham, Warwick Sherwood.

The Affogatos (364k)John Turnbull, Ross Smith, Andrew Bilsdon, Jeff Drury

The Mongrel Dogs (362k)Grant White, Richard Pinkerton, Henry Boardman

QLDhOppyn’ Mad (374)Michael Clare, Iain Cummings, Vaughan Kippers, David Minter, David Pacheco

The Southern Invaders (412)Paul Cribb, Alex Murray, Martin Pearson, Lisa Turner

Against the Wind (444)Alan Baker, David King, Pat Lehane

SAHot as Hell (362)Matthew Rawnsley, Richard Scheer, Allan Dickson, Glen Thompson

WAOpperman 1 (622)Nick Dale, Ross Stevens, Colin Law, Eamonn McCloskey, Duncan Faux

Opperman 2 (366)Bjorn Blasse, Wayne Hickman, John Eden

Opperman 3 (366)Tony Gillespie, Hari Goonatillake, Chris Antoniou

VICTeam Kyabram (368)David Fulton, John Coney, Bob Carling, Rosemary Britton, Wendy Stokes

Wheelnuts (377)Heather Pearce, Glen Ross, Petrina Quinn, Reg Pearce, Russell Pearce

MBTC1 (390)Kerry McLinden, Claire Noonan, David Harrington, Andrew Webb, Michael Kater

MBTC2 (425)Jane May, Ros Marshallsea, Adrian Whear, Jurien Dekler, Leigh Patterson

Wagga Punctured Pedlers (393)Phil Powell, Ross Inch, Ray Loiterton, John Fewson, Andrew Smith

Majuko Mob (407)Peter Makin, Ronald Addison, Peer Butler, Craig Gibbins, Jeffrey Windsor

Rawhide (520)Stephen Richardson, Richard Sheer, Mathew Rawnsley, Richard Bonfler

Wobbly Cranks (375)Garry Skeers, Peter Dixon, George Dixon, Craig Skeers, Mick Packer

Wagga Cluster (375)Michael Dunn, Stephen Lee, Andrew Blake, Rod Fisher, Colin Rooney

Comfy Nuts (368)Simon Watt, Peter Heal, Ian Boehm, David Cox

KM361Burning Point of Course Setter (368)Maria England, Ian Richman, Alex McNee

Vapour Trails (360)Kevin Ware, Chris Rogers, Leon Malzinskas, Greg Martin, Ron McInnes

Just one Moore (380)Peter Donnan, George Judkens, Peter Moore, Frank Preyer, Gary Beasley

Dismal Science Tastes the Pleasues of the Fleche (380)Barry Moore, Ted van Geldermeisen, Bob McHugh, Tom Nankivell, Michael Boehm

Lancefield Lairs (384)Steve Xerri, Robert Xerri, Leigh Thornton, Ken Allender

Lairs08 (384)Andrew Moore, Peter Annear, David Killick, John Doran

Mates (393)Russell Freemantle, Richard Freemantle, Michael Overton, Peter May, Jonathon Levitt

Stawell Sprockets (402)John Osborne Rigby, David Francis, Wayne Cox, Mike Kelly

ALS

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The Casseroll Single is all about singlespeed gearing. Its horizontal dropouts make for easy chain tensioning. For fixed riding, flip-flop the rear Surly hub and add a track cog.

CHECK THE SPECS

The Casseroll Triple is ubër versatile and crafted from double-butted Salsa Classico chromoly tubing. Its forward-entry horizontal dropouts let you run fully geared, singlespeed or fixed.

CHECK THE SPECS:

A cyclocross bike by category, the has proven itself on the streets through hectic traffic, over exhilarating trails and long stretches of back roads.

CHECK THE SPECS:

The is built for expedition-grade touring, with a frame designed to be stable and supple when fully loaded with gear.

CHECK THE SPECS:

Salsa and Surly bicycles are proudly distributed by Dirt Works Australia | [email protected] | [email protected] 9679 8400 | www.salsacycles.com | www.surlybikes.com

DIRT WORKS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE CYCLING PROMOTION FUND

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DWS352 Ad – Salsa-Surly #4 2.indd 1 13/7/08 8:14:57 PM

checkpoint no. 37 (spring 2008)

Documents

road bag

bag slides

rack available

waterproof bicycle coversif

quick release waterproof

ortlieb underseat bag

topeak rx trunk bag

bicycle mudguard aps