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.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Hello all
Managed to get into the blog on the desktop computer.
Tomorrow is the dirt ride, meet at 8 in the usual spot and then drive to the start of the ride. Next Saturday I am planning to do a hard 100 or so - start at 7 or 8 and head to Pyalong, Mission Hill Rd, Knight's hill and finish off with a trip to Macedon. I will be doing it for distance rather than speed. All welcome to join me.
Hope your Christmas was as good as mine!
Andy

Monday, November 4, 2013

Tuesday's Ride

Seems to be getting harder and harder to get into the blog these days - maybe it is old age catching up with me! Anyhow we can finish off the long weekend with yet another ride, this time starting at 8.30 in the usual place. All welcome and prayers accepted for reducing the wind and increasing the temperature after two very ordinary days
cheers
Andy

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Hot tomorrow so an eight o'clock start. Don't forget the Lancefield Show is on in the Park. Let me know if you are coming or I might just have a sleep in after missing the pillow last night
cheers
Andy

Sunday's Ride

Hottest day for a while so we will have an 8 o'clock start which will leave you all with plenty of the day to visit the Lancefield Show. Let me know if you are coming! cheers Andy

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Dear all
Nine o'clock in the usual place if you all haven't forgotten where it is! We did have a Lairs ride last week, the first for a month. If we are lucky Pete may show off his new bike. Bring on Europe 2014!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Ride's on

Ride's on tomorrow, 9 am from Lannie..
See you there.

Steve.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Min 6°C Max 11°C, 44 km/h N/W wind, 80% chance of 1-5 mm rain.

There is a 20% chance of no rain tomorrow. Ride starts at 9 am from the usual place.

See you there.

Steve.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Usual (winter) time (9am) and place start. Ken's back from the wilds of Africa so we will at least have two of us!
Andy

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Dear all
Now that we have hit August and the worst month of the year weatherwise you are still expected to front up at the usual time and place regardless. No blood tests so Lance and Stuart can come as well.
cheers
Andy

Saturday, July 27, 2013

I'm not even going to mention Stuart O'Grady

Hi gang,

The weather looks as though it may be against us tomorrow but we have planned to head out for a hundred or so toward Daylesford, We will be heading off at the summer start time of 8am (on the bikes) as we are planning to meet a few of the gang down the road a bit at 8.40.
Hope you can make it,

Steve.

Bloody Stuart O'Grady!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Sleep? I'll try it some time.

Hi gang,

I am pretty much at my limit of sleep deprivation, hardly missing a stage of this year's tour to this point.
After staying up till 2 am on Friday morning I still ended up watching the highlights at 6 pm then the extended highlights at 7.45 before settling in to watch the stage last night, a pattern I have followed for most of the past 3 weeks, apart from the nights where I could not stay awake no matter what I tried or drank and on the nights of the time trials which however pure, don't do much for me from a spectators point of view.
I think it has been a great tour with something of a changing of the guard and some great new talent showing how it's done.
I have unsurprisingly loved what the Australians have done, particularly the efforts and conduct of Richie Porte and Simon Gerrans but also the hard work the rest of the lads put in at getting the big names to the finish, Mick Rogers also comes to mind here.
It has been great that the sprints have been open to all comers with a nice spread of winners and you've gotta love seeing the Jensie in a breakaway and Stuart O'Grady smashing down the pedals.
I like the fact that these guys have struggled after a big stage, it has made them look human, it makes them look clean.
Yeh, I still like to think these guys can do it drug free. Whether it's true or not I can't say but I won't be watching every winner or breakaway and suspecting them just because they do something special, I still want to enjoy the damn thing.
It's been a shame poor old Mathew Keenan has had to sit under the cone of silence so early every night but I enjoy Phil and Paul's commentary (mostly) and it's great that we are safe from watching it on one of the big channels as SBS has it under it's wing for another 10 years.
There's a ride on tomorrow, 9 am from Lancefield.
Hope to see you there.

Steve

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Dear all, riding tomorrow at 9 come what may. Rain forecast but that may mean a bit warmer than the zero temperatures my Garmin has been registering. Quite a balmy 6 degrees this morning on the way to work!
And by the way, there is a French race starting from Saint Pourcain sur Souile tonight. Next year a much bigger crowd will be there for Semaine Federale du Cyclotouriste 2014.
cheers
Andy

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Tour de France training camp.

Starts tomorrow at 9am from Lannie. Last chance to get in shape and maybe get picked up by a team or maybe just get picked up.
Liam Crowley is currently in 6th place in the Tour Divide having covered about 2050km, go mate.

Steve.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Tour divide and Sunday's ride

Hi all,

One of the guys that rode last year's Oppy with us was Liam Crowly, he also worked in Abbotsford Cycles with Andy. Liam has taken on the challenge of riding in the Tour Divide which is a 4400km race across America, wich started at about midnight last night-our time.
Jesse Carlsson is also entered in the race and has provided some links and some info on the race for anyone interested in tracking the riders progress or wanting to know a bit more about the race.
There is a ride planned for 9am from Lannie tomorrow morning, hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Steve

Jesse's post:

Hi everyone!

The time has finally come to do some bike touring with a sense of EXTREME urgency from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells on the US / Mexico border in New Mexico. A few of you have been asking for ways to track the race, so I thought I'd put this email together and give you some further info about the race they call the Tour Divide.

The race kicks off at 8am Friday morning. That's midnight on Friday night for those of you on the eastern seaboard in Australia.

For those who don't know, the Tour Divide is a solo, unsupported race of about 4,400 km. That means riders carry all the gear needed to survive. The course criss-crosses the continental divide starting with the Rockies in Canada and then moving south into Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. The course has deep snow and heavy rain in the northern parts of Montana and desert conditions (mid 40s deg C) in New Mexico. Interestingly, about 1,700 km of the race will be above the elevation of Mt Kosciusko, with the highest passes taking us up above 3,600 m.

To add to the fun, the course passes through the highest concentrations of grizzly bears in North America, including regions where problematic bears from Yellowstone have been relocated. Hopefully my whistle and music will be enough to scare them away before I get too close.

There are a few Aussies in the race this year: me, Liam Crowley (VIC), Arran Pearson (NSW), Hugh Harvey (VIC), Gavin Wright (NSW), Nick Hutton (QLD), Adam Kiem (QLD). I don't know the last two blokes, but I'm sure we'll meet before Friday. This TD thing is a big undertaking so please give all the Aussies your support and encouragement. Feel free to forward this email along to others who might be interested as well... We'll need all the support we can get to keep us rolling! Don't be shy... Make some noise for us!

Now... Onto the race tracking...

1. Race Tracking Website

You can track the race at the following website. You can choose different map layers for a bit of a laugh. If you like, you can check out the snow depth or weather radar to see how bad the conditions are. I'd feel ripped off if this supposed Banff summer was as summery as it got!

2. Forum Banter

Someone usually starts up a Tour Divide race discussion thread on the following forum. There, arm-chair fans will speculate about weather, food availability, snow depth, cheating, etc...

3. Rider Call-ins

TD riders are given a toll-free number to call to leave 3 min messages to update the world about how they're going. The call-ins are posted on this site. Not sure if I'll use it, because I'm bound to sound like a tool, but I've had fun listening to call-ins in the past. There's always one or two comedians...

Finally, I've attached a few photos of our (Liam and I) trip touring across Canada to get to the start line...

Wish us luck! Here's hoping we all have a safe tour!

Cheers,

Jesse




Saturday, June 8, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Heading out again at 9 from the usual spot. Wrong-side Steve (well it was 6 in the morning!) may have a sleep in but come and join Barry on his first Lairs ride for a while. Let me know if you can make it
Andy

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Ride's on

Hi Gang,

Ride will head out of Lancefield at 9 am Sunday morning.
Hope to see you there.

Steve

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Horror Movie

Hi gang,

Two great climbing stages will be on the tele tonight, SBS will show a monster stage of the Giro d'Italia from 11pm then a killer stage of the Tour of California from 7am tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately you won't be able to watch the whole of the latter as we will be heading out for a ride from Lannie at 9am.

Do yourself a favour and do a Google image search for "Dracula" for some inspirational stuff.

Bleh blah, bleh blah!
Steve




Saturday, May 4, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Last week was too relaxed up in the hills so we are going to be more serious this week. Usual place at 9am and we may spot a committee member or two prowling the local b&b. Special guest from Queensland for her first lairs ride, if can can get out of bed!
Andy
0430 448 120

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Enough talk

We're finally doing it. Tomorrows ride will be a trip into the Cobaws on our MOUNTAIN BIKES.
The plan is to meet in Lancefield at the usual place at 8.30am than drive up into the hills and head out for some dirt, nothing technical. Bring a snack.
Hope to see you there.

Steve

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Eight am start so some of us get a sleep in! But this week we have to ride for long enough to get a choice in coffee shops. See you there
Andy

Friday, April 12, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Eight am in the usual place. Steve is off finding inspiration for the next checkpoint article but the rest of us will be in attendance
cheers
Andy

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Riding at 8am if I get any acceptances ie send me an sms if you are coming. Otherwise a sleep in may be in order!
Go Bombers
Andy
0430 448 120

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Steve needs a Macedon fix, join us for all or part of it. Still at eight, still in the main street of Lancefield.
Andy

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Generation next

In contrast to the pace at which last weekend's Oppy was ridden (365km at 22.6kmh) some of the younger ones among us have been doing things at a slightly quicker clip.
In the last few months both Joseph and Aidan have pulled off a clutch of podium places in the summer crit series at Kew and as a result have had to step up to their respective next grades. These days I only get to ride with them because of the courtesy they show me by waiting for me at the top of a climb or they just feel like an easy spin, they're flying.

Jack Booth our youngest gun had a great series of strong finishes last weekend in round 3 of the Australian Mountain bike National series. Riding in the under 17 class his results for the last weekend were 2nd in the Point to Point, 2nd in the Cross Country Eliminator and 5th in the Cross Country, 5th place in GC, that has put him in 7th place overall for the series.
Having spent a little time with Jack last year around Macedon and Lancefield and a couple of rides with him at Bright at Alpine Classic time, it was easy to see that he has more than just natural ability, his mental approach to racing and training looks also to be in excellent shape. Keeping these two aspects of his cycling focused could see him pull off some really great stuff in the near future and I wish him all the best, well done mate.


*That's Jack on the left.


He's also got another advantage over the rest of the bunch, a very supportive and very proud mum and dad. Top stuff Kerrie and Craig.
With Andy And I away this weekend you guys may have to chat among yourselves to organize a ride as I'm sure there will be a few keen to head out for a few K's.
Check out Dave's round up of the Oppy here: About the bike
Don't forget I'm running the Rock to Lock 200 on the 6th of April, for details take a look at the  Audax calender here.

Have a great week.

Steve

Monday, March 11, 2013

Post a palooza

Most of the preparations have been made for this year's Pleche Opperman. Once again we have the trusty Billy Chiz driving the support vehicle and Pete with his recovering collar bone riding shotgun.
We have been incredibly fortunate over the years to have fantastic support and especially having Bill along for six years straight has meant we have to do no more than roll up at a control to find everything laid out for us to tuck into.

Bills genuine enthusiasm and organisation has always made it easy to pull into a town get a feed and access our gear and be back on your bike without any hold ups, whether in the early evening or the early hours of the morning. it's always ready.
Hot coffee or take away pizzas, lollies, lamingtons, hot cross buns or spuop ready to go and waiting for us under a shelter in a park somewhere in Victoria or at times just over into NSW.
We will be riding a route we have used in the past, starting in Tooborac and passing through Avenel, Violet town, Dookie, Numurkah, Barmah, Echuca and finally on to Rochester for the finish. Click here to view our route.
Both George and Surly Dave have been busy with a couple of fine posts for their blogs so check out our blog list for their latest musings on the bike.So in advance of this coming weekend's Oppy, Thanks Bill and Pete.


Steve.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Sunday's Ride

Not sure who will be around. Some are doing a 200, one at least is cruising the MAD ride, some are running but everyone else is expected to turn up at 8
cheers
Andy

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sunday's Ride

. Steve did the 200k roast last weekend while Leigh, Kerrie, Glo and I did half that with a trip around the Coliban Reservoir and were drinking iced coffees in Lancefield before the heat got too bad. Join us tomorrow - same time, same place
Andy
0430 448 120

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Summery Sunday


Looking at the forecast lately seldom shows the daily temperature under 30c, I reckon we would have had less than 5 days sub 30c since Christmas on my side of the divide, tomorrow will be no exception with the gang at the BOM forecasting 34c.
I thought it would be nice to have a cooler ride till I got to thinking about our cold winters and how much I long for summer on the rides where I spend ages getting dressed and motivated to head out into the cold and dark. I'm far from being "over" summer.
I'll probably be off doing an Audax permanent 200 tomorrow but there will still be a group heading out of Lancefield at 8am, let Andy know if you can make it.
I will be running the Audax Rock to Lock 200 on Saturday 6th of April for those of you looking for a longer one about then, get in touch with me or check out the Audax Calendar for details.

Steve.

NOTE: Just checked BOM records for Dec-Jan...I was out by a mile.15 days below 30 (but not much).

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Ash Dash, Tassie, December 2012


Most years, Dave “Surly” Killick comes over from Tassie to ride the Spring into Seymour ride with a bunch of us, it was on this ride that he mentioned he would be running the Ash Dash 200 out of Hobart this year and that we should think about heading over for it. I had almost forgotten about it till my birthday when in my card my wife had written the words “enjoy your trip to Tassie”.
December finally arrived and after packing my bike in a box for the first time, I was apprehensive about how it would arrive in Hobart, an hour later, plane lands, bike fine…Sweet.
Arriving the morning before the ride gave Pete, Ken, John and I plenty of time to get our bearings and even call into a bike shop to pick up some tubes and various bits and pieces which were left on the lounge room floor instead of going into Pete’s bike box.
As promised by the weather bureau, the rain arrived on Saturday evening but also as promised cleared by start time on Sunday morning and stayed fine thru out the rest of our stay.
About twenty riders had shown up for the ride and David was there early handing out brevet cards and Q sheets to the registered.
Hobart is perfect for Audax rides, the ride started in town and you were almost immediately climbing through beautiful wooded hills with low traffic, a pattern that would follow for most of the day with several thousand metres of climbing.

The first of the 6 main climbs starts as you pass the Cascade brewery and ended near Fern Tree after about 15km, the rewarded was a lovely 5km descent before the second climb for the day which was about 5km and worked it’s way to around Longley, by this point I had worked out that I was well off the pace of the fastest guys so settled in to what I thought I could maintain for the rest of the day.
 After the fast descent of the second climb comes a long flattish section where I was lucky enough to be able to ride with Gavin and got a guided tour all the way to Port Huon, passing through Huonville and Franklin. This was a beautiful piece of road as much of it was within metres of the Huon River, a stunning setting with the glassy water on one side and hills and orchards on the other.
A short sharp climb stung the legs and delivered us into Port Huon where we caught up with a few of the bunch for the first checkpoint and a bight to eat at the general store.
On leaving Port Huon I was invited to ride with a small bunch but had to decline as the pace along this flat section was a little hot for me and would have only had me sitting on the back of the bunch as a passenger so I declined the offer and spent most of the rest of the ride solo.

The road doubles back on itself through Franklin which is where I saw Ken and John on their way in to Port Huon. Once you get to Huonville a right turn onto the Channel Highway has you again riding along the river only on the other side but still just as pretty. I missed the “LHT” at 90.1km and had ridden about a kilometre before I had realised my mistake and turned around. Once back on track the road heads straight up for 4.5km to the control at Silver Hill. I found this third climb the toughest climb for the whole ride peaking at a maximum of stupid % near the top. I was able to catch up with the bunch that passed me just near the top where Dave was taking some happy snaps of the suffering. The lovely Heather was a very welcomed sight handing out food and signing cards at the control.
As the climbs were coming in groups of two it seemed only metres after getting to the bottom of Silver Hill that the road headed upward again toward Woodbridge Hill but at a much more friendly grade. Again, we were rewarded with a control at the top and more beautiful countryside.
From Woodbridge Hill the road winds down to Woodbridge on the shoreline of Great Bay where the road undulates along the coast with Bruny Island just off shore. This was another very nice piece of road but probably the only bit that I felt a long way from home as a steady headwind and a lumpy road  made it hard to keep my rhythm , I decided to pull up and knock down some of that slimy misery known as a sports gel and seemed to get myself going well again.
At 155km you pass through Cygnet for the second time. I took advantage of the shops and bought a drink, topped up my water bottles and had a bite to eat.

Around 12km out of Cygnet the turn right on to Palverata road and the climb which I was most apprehensive about, the road up to Kaoota had an unsealed section which was to have a fairly steady gradient so I approached making sure I had some pennies in reserve. This climb ended up being my favourite as it passed through a very secluded but lovely landscape. The road was very well maintained and the concerns I had for the unsealed surface were unwarranted and only added to the adventure of the ride.
Again I caught up with some of the lads as we approached the top of the climb and pulled in for the penultimate control of the ride.
Once more fed and watered I headed out for the fast descent to Sandfly before crossing the Houn Highway.
At 190km I again missed a turn, the right turn to Longley but worked it out almost as soon as I passed it and spun around to start the final climb of the day, about 7km up the Huon road and toward Fern Tree. This would not be a hard climb on it’s own but the kilometres in my legs were starting to tell and the crest was a very nice place to be. The final 13km could have almost been ridden without pedalling as the road descends into the heart of Hobart and the final control.
Dave was there to greet us for the finish of a brilliant ride. He had organised a top route with support that always seemed to be just when you needed it.
One great aspect of the finish was that it was only metres from the pubs on Salamanca Place so the riders were assembling for a post ride drink, a beer that had all the characteristics of one that you crave at the end of a 210km ride, very cold and beery.
I love a ride where folk hang around a bit after the finish and greet those not far behind.
The next few days were spent doing a bit of sight seeing around Hobart and some of it’s surrounds. Art Galleries-where apparently socks are not acceptable foot wear, pubs, the waterside and some great places to eat made this more than just another brevet. A very long weekend away with some mates in a beautiful spot made this a ripper holiday. I can recommend you put a pencil mark next to this one in your Audax calendar next time it comes around and make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to check out Hobart while you are there(if not Tassie), it's a great place to see on a bike.
I reckon I need to mention the crew on this ride, the local lads made us very welcome as part of the Dash when the heard we had come over from Victoria.
Thanks especially to Dave for all his efforts in organising this fantastic event and dragging us around Hobart and to the girl for the ticket.


Steve.

Sunday's Ride


Well, yeah.... same again tomorrow. Eight am usual place
Andy

Friday, February 1, 2013

Sunday's Ride
Wel,l the Alpine Audax has been and gone, all that remains is to put the fires out! Find out more by joining us on Sunday, 8am in the usual spot. Hey, and we don't have to do repeats up Macedon......
cheers
Andy

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Sunday's Ride
Last chance to catch up before the Alpine! The southern Lairs will be represented, so don't miss your chance to catch up with Dave K
Usual place, 8am.....
Andy

Friday, January 11, 2013

Sunday's Ride
After a couple of quiet weeks I am keen to ride on Sunday. Usual time, usual place. Watch out for the surprise guest at coffee!
cheers
Andy