Thank you to Cycling Tips for posting this video documentary. My how things have changed!
Deakin YMCA are running a Tour de France Competition, that allows you armchair cyclists to be “part of the action”. Here are the details, or ask Robyn for more information:
JOIN A TEAM AND JOIN THE RACE!!!
Members, non members, staff and students welcome.
Medals awarded to the winning team.
Rules:
- Members select their own team. This is done by simply writing your name on the team sheet (found in Deakin YMCA Foyer) for the team you’d like to be a part of and appoint a team captain, if not on a YMCA staff team. You can also facebook or email with your details to sign up. Make sure you include team details or we can put you in a team.
- All teams must be finalised by 5pm Friday 29th June.
- A maximum of 5 members per team.
- During the tour (June 30th—July 22nd) each rider writes down the km’s of cycling they complete each day. You can also email charli.whitmore@ymca.org.au or let us know by posting on our event wall.
- There are two pre-determined rest days. Riding times will not count on these days.
- Cycling can be completed on the bikes in the health club or in the spin classes. In addition, km’s cycled outside of Deakin will also count. This is an honesty system!!
- The total number of km’s will determine the winning team. The sum will be the total of all team members km’s.
- Members and staff of Deakin YMCA Geelong are eligible to enter for free. Non members have an entry fee of $5— Please see reception.
The call for cyclists to pay registration has been given a good airing again of late, with proponents of this action claiming that registration of cyclists will prevent all the wrong-doings that a minority of cyclists perpetrate. I’m always amazed that seemingly intelligent people (mostly non-cyclists) believe that this action will solve all the issues they observe with cyclists. Apparently, registration of cyclists is expected to have a different effect on cyclists with respect to observing the road rules that it does with other, currently registered, traffic users.
If you happen to get into a discussion on this topic, the following article from the Age, provides some perspective, even if somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
Why cyclists should never pay rego
“Pay yer rego!”
It’s a cry I’ve heard many times while cycling, and it always confuses me.
For starters, I’ve already paid rego twice this year: for a car and a motor scooter. When I’m on my bike, these vehicles are at home, taking a break from clogging the road or burning fossil fuels…”
http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/fitness/blogs/on-your-bike/why-cyclists-should-never-pay-rego-20120614-20bk6.html
So the next time you hear someone tell you that all cyclists should be registered, you’ll have plenty to tell them!
The age-old question of strength training for cyclists and it’s effect on performance and endurance is revisited in this research at CQ University. The conclusion: as little as three sessions per week of strength training for three consecutive weeks can have a significant postive impact on cycling performance of the masters athlete!
Do three-weeks of strength training improve cycling performance in Masters?
“Nine masters (51.5 ± 5.5 years, VO2max 55 ml/kg/min) and eight young (25.6 ± 5.9 years, VO2max 58 ml/kg/min) endurance cyclists with similar training levels but no strength training experience participated in the study.
During three consecutive weeks, they all engaged in a strength training program of the knee extensor (quads) muscle. Each week they performed three training sessions consisting of 10 × 10 knee extensions at 70% (of max.) with 3 minutes rest between sets on a leg extension apparatus.”
http://www.cycling.org.au/?Page=45873
So what are you waiting for? Too cold or wet for a ride? Then get into the strength training!
For several years now, Penny the bicycle has been mysteriously appearing in all kinds of places. She even featured in several locations on the route of the 2010 UCI Road Cycling World Championship course and was an instant hit on TV! Now she has reappeared in refurbished glory! It is still a puzzle to us, who is responsible for this work of art….. any clues?
The Lara Latte Cycle AGM was held in the Shell Club late in December. This was a great social night, with the opportunity for riders to see one another out of lycra!
Highlight of the night were the hotly contested annual awards. We recap here, the award winners:
The SHAYNE AWARD
Presented to the rider who spends the greatest time hiding at the back of the peloton, then challenges for the sprint at the end. The winner: Shayne (no surprises there!)
The SURGIO AWARD
Presented to the rider who, through surging and disruptive riding, causes the most angst in the peloton. The winner: Graeme (no surprises!)
The HEINZ AWARD
That’s Heinz, as in Heinz means beans – does it need more explanation? The winner: Bad Dave (no contest actually!)
The SECOND HAND DEALER AWARD
For the rider who demonstrates the greatest dedication to recycling discarded bike parts. The winner: Eddie
The USELESS MECHANIC AWARD
Awarded on this occassion for the longest timed tube change since the bicycle was invented. The winner: Gus (with help from his grandma)
The STEEL WOOL AWARD
Presented to the one rider who rode the entire season, winter AND summer, without shaving. The winner: Ilya
The ROBYN AWARD
For the rider who was always encouraged to ride at the front of the peloton. The winner: Robyn (this one was hotly contested, as I’m informed by reliable sources from the front of Rod’s Bakery, that Barrie was a very close second!)
The JENNY CRAIG AWARD
Does this one need an explanation? A very difficult decision – although Simon made a bold bid and other candidates put their hands up, ultimately the judging committee decided in favour of Scott.
The EDDIE AWARD
Named in honour of our champion peloton member, this award was officially for “ability to overcome painstaking circumstances”, but the committee often opts for the rider who has had the most falls during the season. The winner: Jürgen
The FERGANATOR AWARD
This award, for creative use of language, was almost a foregone conclusion from the very beginning of the season (Bad Dave!), but in a surprise turn up, a late bid from a number of riders to take out the prize, saw the usual high standard of academic debate in the peloton fall to new lows late in December! The winner: Barrie, although an honourable mention must go to Simon C – unfortunately your effort came after the judges had sealed the envelope! It will however be noted for next year!
A NYC cyclist who received a fine for straying out of the bike-lane recorded this video of his attempt to ride around town without leaving the bike-lane, instead crashing merrily into any obstacle that he encountered, from taxis to construction equipment.
Popout
Guy Crashes Multiple Times To Make Point About NYPD Ticketing Bicyclists
No further comment……
Our friends at Cycling Tips blog have posted a good snapshot of the do's and don'ts of Paceline Riding – some of the peloton would do well to read it: http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/11/rolling-through/#more-15662
Now, who does "Cadel" remind me of? And "Renshaw" must be Bad Dave?
Cyclists are often the victims of road rage from other road users, particularly car, bus and truck drivers. Being run off the road into the gravel or scrub, being called f@&*ing maggots and copping a long intimidatory blast from a car horn is an all too common occurrence for all cyclists. It even goes as far as drivers intentionally "touching" (read crashing into) cyclists, just to prove the point that they have right of way by virtue of the fact that they are protected by a tonne of steel. This happened to a business colleague of mine yesterday. Luckily he wasn't hurt, just shaken up.
This is all so unnecessary! I guess we humans are pre-programmed to dedicate our lives to make life more difficult for our fellow humans – after all, we don't have anything better to do, right?
As cyclists, we are quick to condemn such abominable behaviour by other road users. Of course, as cyclists (collectively speaking), we often do the wrong thing on the road as well, so ……stones and glass houses….. well you know the saying!
Anyway, the point of this article is to recognize and applaud a driver of a low loader carrying a transportable tanker, that passes us on our Daily Donut ride each day, out near Little River. This considerate driver, always gives us a friendly "toot" to warn us of his approach, then takes a very wide berth around the group of cyclists at a sensible (read less than 40 kmh!!!) speed. We really appreciate your consideration, THANK YOU. We wish other drivers would observe and learn from your behaviour.
