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Bargo Bridge 2 Bridge Criterium Saturday 24th September

Veronica and Larry missed the Peleton Club ride to head south approximately 100km to Bargo to show our support for the obvious time, passion & effort put into this (women's only) event by the Bargo community. Rolf could not resist and was immediately elected Driver; Team Manager; Head of Bike Maintenance and Photographer! (personally I think it was a great excuse to save his legs and beat the girls to pulp on the 125km Sackville ride the following day!)

Peloton Sports was also represented by Anna (Murray) in her Steam attire and Penny (Rowbottom) was also there as team player, in her Waratah kit.

We all entered the C Grade, 30 minutes plus 2 laps, and there was a priem after 15 mins. The course was an undulating 3.4 km. The town inhabitants were out to cheer and be entertained and hence there was certainly atmosphere during the race, plus we also had Rolf and Daniel supporting from the sidelines. There were 17 entrants in all, who had traveled from Illawara, Southern Highlands, Central Coast, Hunter and of course, Sydney.

The bunch had reduced to about 10 and was just settling down when the sprint for the priem was upon us. A "lightie" called Melinda (who was 16 years in age) took the priem with Anna hot on her tail. There were a few attempts at break-aways but basically the group remained together until the final lap. We all knew who to watch and Anna managed to dive onto Melinda's wheel but lost the sprint by a fraction, with Larry 3rd and Veronica a close 4th. Team work is also about "sacrifice" and Penny had selflessly informed Veronica and Larry, on the warm-up, which cyclists' wheels to avoid and who were known to be unpredictable. However, it was poor Penny who was "sacrificed" in the final lap as one such rider took a sharp (and unpredictable) sway and caught a few wheels with Penny coming down (resulting in only a few bruises luckily)

Nattering later at the infamous Fruit de Boop cafe over their equally infamous coffees, we all decided there was definite merit in riding together more, so we could strategise some team tactics. Lisa, serving us at the cafe, also grabbed our interest in the "Himalayan Berry Juice" that apparently holds all sorts of magical ingredients known for curing an amazing list health & fitness issues. Veronica tried to negotiate a good price for this "petrol" as we were convinced it would cure U. Fester of taking short-cuts and rides in cars!

We returned home happy and elated with a mere couple of $100 between us, plus two engraved wooden plaques and bunches of beautiful flowers. Bargo must be commended for their efforts in producing such a great event and we will all certainly convince more to participate next year

Larry Brittan

Below I’ve put together an article on the Pace Line .Please take the time to read this as pace line work is fun but if down incorrectly can be dangerous.

Also feel free to ask me any questions at our next training session.

THE PACE LINE

When a pace line forms. The formation is similar to a chain, where the rolling off the front occurs at speed by the lead rider.

Here on this diagram you can see the right line moving forward ,this speed on the right side should stay consistent if for example we where on a flat section of road the right side for example would be doing 40km & the left line of riders who are dropping back would be doing 38km.

The way the rider rolls off is usually dependent upon the direction of the wind . The rider always rolls off to the side the wind is coming from ,the reason for this is the riders dropping back are shading the riders on the right driving forward from the wind. In the case of a head or tail wind rolling off to the left towards the gutter is generally the best way. Listen to your coach to confirm which side to roll from normally we roll to the left when training in the park.

The rider rolling off immediately starts soft-pedaling dropping speed. The rider coming through on the right side does not pick up speed but keeps the speed the same as the previous riders. Surging through by the lead rider only strings the field out making it hard for those moving back down the line to move back on to the forward moving line. If a rider comes through on the right moves to the left & doesn’t soft pedal this makes it hard for the riders on the right side to roll off the front forcing the riders on the right to pick up the speed.

Riders in the slower pace line must stay on the wheel but if a rider has pulled too far on the right side riders on the left should still drop back . Do not stop pedaling once you’ve moved over in the left line. This causes huge gaps in the line and can drop riders off the back.

If you cannot do a turn stay out of the pace line:. Too many times tiring riders stay in the pace line which also causes surging in the pace line because they can not hold the same speed as the previous riders. This is when the tiring rides should sit out a few turns & making sure riders rolling back know they will not be joining the pace line .

Tiring riders at the back

Things to remember when in a paceline

1.Look ahead up the line so you can anticipate what’s coming up ahead & for example if there’s another bunch ahead start moving out to over take them.

2.When in the recovery line you should be soft pedaling & if your getting too close to the wheel in front move to the outside of the wheel first as the wind will blunt your speed & then if your still not slowing down enough you can apply brakes gently. Sitting up a little will help blunt your speed like a sail as well. There should be no jamming brakes hard in a paceline.

3.Always remember which side the group is rolling from.

4.Once in a pace line try & remember who the last rider is so when it’s your turn to get in the right lane moving forward you’ll be ready. Also tell the last rider his last.

5.Speedo’s, have your speedo working so you can keep the speed consistent.

6.Tiring ,It’s better to sit on the back early rather than blowing up in middle of the pace line .Which adds dangerous confusion in the bunch.

Pace Line Safe e ciao

Daniele

www.ciclismo.com.au

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Level 1 Triathlon Coaching Course

Century 21 Georges River - TriNSW State Junior Series and Young Guns Tour Entries CLOSING for ROUND ONE - ENTER NOW!

The first round of the 2005-2006 Century 21 Georges River - TriNSW State Junior Series and TriNSW Young Guns Tour will kick off October 2nd, 2005 with entries CLOSING on Wednesday 28th September at 5:00pm.

Access the secure On-line entry form right now through the all new TriNSW racing web site at www.trinswrace.org, and with the first round of the 11 round series featuring a brand new race planned and run on a well proven course by the TriNSW Grass Roots team - you can't afford to miss it.

Racing begins at 12 noon, with the TriNSW Young Guns Tour, an all new series. This is the first round of a five round Draft-Legal series of races that will see athletes putting it all on the line in an Eliminator format race.

That's three rounds of racing on the day over a 200/7/2 format will see the fast-movers of Junior Triathlon attempt to move through each round, but as the name suggests, a smaller field starts each successive race, leaving spectators with a small but lightning quick field for the final race.

Racing will be fast and furious - and that's perhaps an understatement as following the excitement of the Young Guns Tour is the first round of the immensely popular Century 21 Georges River - TriNSW State Junior Series!

Volunteers are also warmly welcomed too!

Mick and Pete hope to see you all at Sutherland on Sunday the 2^nd of October! The venue and all times are on the website... together with on-line entries only.

Don't forget that entry is also open for the other ten rounds of the series, on-line, right now also... don't delay - if you want to race this weekend ENTER NOW!