Send an email to lancefieldlairs@gmail.com
If you'd like to join one of our rides, add your name in the comments after a ride post, just so we don't show up for a no-ride.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Sunday's Ride Jan 31, 2010

Sunday's ride
8 am in the usual spot. Lots of Alpine stories to be sure to be sure and they will only get better over time! Steve has his own story - he went to Bulla to do some hill climbing, not much of a hill really but a nice servo at the top (wonder how many times he did it?) See you then.....

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Back in Lairtown

Our mate and Lair from way back was in town, Surly Dave was on his way up to Bright for Semaine Federale and the Alpine Classic. This was a good reason for a Saturday ride, and as the Alpine is on next weekend Mt. Macedon was in our sights...Well some of us weren't looking.
Twelve of us headed out, some with a longish ride in mind others thinking of lunch and a couple of beers (those with hangovers, not thinking of much at all). Dave, Glo, Andy, Pete, Leigh and I took the short option, while Ken, John, Aidan, Allison, Sam and T-bird opted for more than one climb.
It was great to have Dave back on a Lairs ride, he's gone to great lengths to avoid us, so while we had him we made sure he was kept "under the pump". Thanks to Andy and Glo for the great lunch de Surly, hope to see you back soon Dave.
Don't forget there is a ride on tomorrow (Sunday), 8am.

Steve.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Bicycle Wonderland

For my family a Summer holiday wouldn't be complete without a trip to Bright, especially me, so last week we headed up there, to a cyclist it's Mecca, Mt. Hotham, Tawonga Gap, Falls Creek, the Rail trail and my favourite climb Mt. Buffalo.
On Wednesday I took off at a bit after 8am to reacquaint myself with this great climb.The Buffalo gates are about 13km from Bright so you get a nice warm up before you fire any shots in anger. Not knowing what my knee would think about the whole idea I took off at a fairly easy pace and enjoyed the climb from the set out. At about 2.5k's from the gate the gradient kicks up a little and it's from here to about the 8k mark that it's at it's steepest, I was still feeling pretty fresh through this section and was able to keep a good tempo, give or take a bit due to my lack of time on the bike lately, from the 8-9k point things ease off quite a lot and the views are fantastic, I was able to pick up the pace a bit here though I could feel my knee was tightening up and knew this was going to be sight seeing only-no complaints though as this was no surprise. Spotting a couple of guys not too far ahead I made an effort to catch up for a quick g'day, one of them had the Alpine Classic in his sights. I was now riding along the granite face which was already bouncing the morning sun back at me and after the recent heavy rain in the area lots of the little waterfalls were running and reminding me of why I like this climb so much..
At about 13k it gets a bit steeper but not too bad, it's really only significant because you have been climbing for a while now (the whole mountain is only about 4.8%).
I felt good as I went through the hairpins and made my way to the to the top and the plateau at about the 19k point, I decided to head to the Chalet and not to Dingo Dell as I love the old building and wanted to check it out again, I'm always dumbfounded as to why the chalet just sits there empty but at least it looks as though it's being maintained. I hung around the top for about half an hour and enjoyed the great morning before heading back down the fantastic descent to Porepunkah then Bright for a swim and a float down the river.
The next day, a family ride on the rail trail and the 50k return trip to Ovens. I'm usually one of the first to have a whinge about the way things could be done better when it comes to roads and cycling infrastructure but this trail is a great example of when they get things right.
Apart from the wonderful setting which sees the trail run through the flats at the foot of Buffalo, the often tree lined trail is sealed, giving me the opportunity to ride my road bike without having to stress about gravel, and mud, and pot holes and why there is only 700ml in a bottle of gin these days.
The trail just doesn't go from one town to the next, there are lots of opportunities to stop along the way for a drink or some ice cream and fresh berries or cherries from one of the farm shops along the way(we did all of the above), this makes it great for kids and keeps them interested in what lay ahead and importantly, keeps them pedalling.
We got back to our motel at about 2pm which gave us enough time for a swim and a rest(Zzzzz !)before heading out for another great meal.
Ohhh ! then there's the brewery...


Steve.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Weekends Rides

This weekend will be a block buster - two rides for the real Lairs.
On Saturday we have the inimitable David Killick the Tasmanian Lair joining us for a blast over his old stomping ground. We may be able entice Nicole to get in some late training for the Semaine Federale en Australie. At this stage it will be an eight o'clock start at the usual place.
Forecast for Sunday is for cooler conditions so we will be back to 8 for our normal ride.
Post a reply or ring me or Steve.
AM

Hot Summer Rides

Two weeks ago our 30k wander became a bit longer when we rode out to pick up Trivess from Sherwood court and kept riding north to Emu Plain. We turned left on Mission Hill Road and its dirt and hills. Over to Baynton for another rest before heading past Pipers Creek, Chases Lane and straggling into Newham for a 'well earned coffee' and some food. By the time we got back to Lancefield we had done 85k. Lucky I'm not doing the Alpine because I didn't have to feel guilty about not riding up Macedon with Leigh, Myra, Ken and John! Dave from next door fell 2k short of the century.
Last Sunday and the group decided (well no-one said no!) to go to Darraweit Guim because it was so long since the last time we have forgotten the climb out. The early start confused some(Ken and John had planned a quiet ride on their own) and Leo was an hour late (very sensible as it turned out). After Darraweit we were on a high and went around Hanging Rock to finish off. Well it certainly finished me off and it was a struggle back to Lancefield in the increasing heat. Another 85k but this one was real because I was on the steel bike. Iced coffees all round. Except for the show offs - Ken and John were last seen riding up Straw's Lane
AM

Friday, January 8, 2010

Sunday's ride (Jan 10)
Ride time is 7 am (sub committee decision) to beat the heat so set your clock.
am

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Lairy wedding

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...That's how you could describe a typical Lairs ride but it's time to say congratulations to Adam and Adele, a couple of Lairs from the Northern Chapter who've tied the knot.
Now living in Armidale, NSW they're the first Lairs to get married (though they have been together for years). While they are greatly missed on our rides it's wonderful to see things are just dandy for them up in New England they have bought a home, joined a BUG and are both working at the university as university workers.

Well done guys.

Steve.


Saturday, January 2, 2010

Second Ride under the Wheels
Steve managed to find all the hills within a 40k radius of his place today.
We are riding tomorrow (I think it is Sunday, I have lost track) 8am in the usual place. Post a reply here or give me a ring on 0430 448 120
am

Friday, January 1, 2010

First Ride of the New Year 2010

After a fun filled night at Steves's (who would have thought that we would see the new year in playing indoor cricket?), Ken and I agreed to meet for a ride first thing - well what passes for first thing on New Year's Day! The Burke and Wills track allowed us to keep out of the wind and to tackle a few hills to keep us honest. After a warm-up slog up Big Hill we cruised past Knight's Winery and rocketed down to the Benloch junction where we both had a break as we looked at the hill we had just come down and now had to ride back up. We did have an alternative which was a 50k loop around through Kyneton, which also had a few hills.
Fortunately the steep bits aren't long and after dropping the chain off Barry's bike we powered up past Knight's, day-dreaming of their red wines. Foggy up on the top, not much traffic then back down to the main road and a noticable increase in temperature as Ken headed to his place and I to mine to find Glo going for a run. Well that's it - Ken and I have ridden every day this year!
cheers
Andy

Testing, testing...

G'day Folks,
Welcome to the Lancefield Lairs Blog.
I was wondering about how to kick this off and decided the best way would be to go over some of what Lairs did in 2009.
January saw a bunch of us training like crazy for the Audax Alpine Classic for which we gathered in Bright to take it on on a scorcher of a day.
In March, three Lancefield Lairs teams entered what is probably my favourite ride, the Oppy. Unlike the past two years, this year's ride was in perfect conditions and the lame jokes didn't start until well after dark and I'm pretty sure I didn't hear the word "dick" once in the first 12 hours (though things declined rapidly after that).
Through the winter we rode on some fairly challenging days, the toughest was the night we got snowed on while decending Mt. Macedon in the dark.

September saw some of us do the "Spring into Seymour" then head to Hopetoun, Vic. to do the 200k Audax, Mallee Routes ride which is another ride I love..The ride of the perpetual head wind.
Lots more "Sunday rides", then it was "Around the bay" in November and "The Great Vic".
We did rides to Pyalong, where the hills and country side are amazing and rides up Mt. Macedon on beautiful sunny mornings.
Our youngest Lair, 11 yo Angus(my son) started doing the odd ride with us-egged on to sprints by the lads.
More Cafe's were discovered, along with studies into whether you can see Cholesterol in a human from space.
And now, it's Alpine Classic time again, HILLS, HILLS, HILLS.
We'll be using this blog to post our rides, keep an eye on it for the next ride and make a comment after the ride post if you think you might be there, just so we don't drive down to Lancefield to find no-one there, as occasionally the planets align and everyone's doing their hair or just make a comment for the sake of it.
There will be a ride in the next day or two so create a short cut.

Cheers,

Steve.