Sunday's Ride

Notwithstanding the very ordinary weather forecast, anyone brave enough can meet at the usual place at 9am and you just have to do enough to earn a coffee! rsvp to 0430 448 120
Andy

Make Cycling Safer

Next Sunday the Lairs are heading to Woodend and the Black Forest Drive (old Calder Highway south of Woodend) to make our views known re the Vicroads plan to provide bike lanes on this section of the road. At the same time Vicroads are reducing the 2 lanes each way to one lane each way with a turning lane in the middle. This does not please a very vocal section of local residents and as cyclists we need to counter their somewhat aggressive stance with our calm approach to cycling this scenic route.

We will leave the usual spot in Lancefield at 8.30 and ride to Woodend Cycles (behind Target in the off street shopping centre) to meet other riders at 10am for a ride down the Black Forest Drive and back to Lancefield after signing the petition and generally having a good time.
Let me know if you can make it and tell your friends.
Andy

Sunday's Ride

G'day,
Ride's on for 9am, in Lancefield.

Three weeks of this...

Sleep deprivation: check.
Too much snack food:check.
Grumpy with the kids:check.
Back problems from slouching in the couch:check.
Even shorter attention span:check.
And these are the positives...Ohh Yehhh, it's Tour time.

I'm "happy as Bro".

Though I'm not too sure about what happened in the first few stages. I don't like the idea of tour organizers coming up with a route that is potentially or likely to take out some of the best riders, nor do I like the idea that some riders decide for the rest of the peleton not contest the finish of a stage, all this should be sorted prior to the start of the race. Is there a body that is representing the riders comrade ?

Now, just to contradict myself, I loved the cobbles and from a spectators perspective would love to see them again, but I'm not sure if that would be right. Maybe when I'll go and see my Guru and get back to you on that one.

Meaghan has has also introduced me to the Fantasy tour (I was a Suspect when she first mentioned it, as the thought of Peter in Lycra and a feather boa left me feeling a bit uneasy) and now I'm hooked, having all those millions to spend on cyclists. I have just traded Mark Cavendish back for Alberto Contador, Oh the power.

So tonight they head for the mountains.

There is a ride on tomorrow at the special Tour time of 9.30 am from Lancefield.

Let us know if it's for you.

Photo is of just one of the riders that won't be on the Tour, a crash last weekend showed us his famous hovercraft falling technique(also known as the Jesus manoeuvre) , where you crash your bike at speed but manage not to land heavily on the road, coming to rest at a much safer speed than when you actually left the upright position, resulting far more minor injuries than we expected to scrape him off the ground with. Hope to see you Sunday John.

Steve.

Sunday's ride

Hi gang,

There's a ride on tomorrow Sunday morning from Lancefield at 9am, let us know if you might be there.

Only one more sleep !

The Tour starts tomorrow...AAAAHHHH, AAAAAHHHHHHHHH, AAAAHHHHHH, AHHHHH, YEEEESSSSSSSSSS, YEHHHHHH, AAAAAHHHHHH.
To kick of the first day of the 2010 edition SBS is offering this little gem " Anna-In the grips of delirious illusion, Anna, a gentle and shy young woman, convinces herself that Doctor Zanevsky is fervently in love with her. Nothing can shake her certainty".
Thanks SBS I suppose you will be telecasting the World cup final "live" from half time.

205 k's of grind

Last Sunday I took on the Audax, Wandong winter wander ride.....
I had been watching the weather forecast all week so I was expecting a frost when I Left the house at 6.15am, but I was not expecting the doors of my car to be frozen shut, back inside for some warm water for the doors and windscreen.
I got to Wandong just after 7am and the 8 am start saw a good gathering for the 200k bunch with lots of familiar faces poking around.
I adopted the onion aproach and put on lots of layers though I only removed one the whole day.
The road to Tallarook then Seymour was up and down but mostly down then flattish to Nagambie, so I was able to chug along with Richard and George Judkins for most of the way though keeping an eye on my heart rate monitor I knew things were going to go pear shaped at some point, not having done a long ride since march, that point was Nagambie, at about 90k's into the ride.
After a bite to eat I told the lads I would have to wave them off, as I would only be holding them up from here.
Getting back on the bike was nice but I had not gone 5k before I realized this was going to be a very long day. It's been a long time since I felt this knackered only 100k's into a 200 and was beginning to wonder, how I was going to get home ?
It's days like these where I need to set myself goals and my first one had to be really close, 8 metres on and things weren't getting any better but I managed to roll on to Lockington then Longwood where I saw most of the guys that were ahead of me pass me on their way to Avenel.
I managed to steer clear of the pub at Longwood and opted to use the store as my checkpoint where I tried eating a piece of apple slice, but for the first time ever on a ride, was not able to finish it. I like longwood it's a pretty little town.
Back on the road to Lockington my cadence was not much quicker than that of a 3 toed sloth on Valium.
I always feel better once I'm past the half way mark on a ride and at Avenel I was not feeling too rotten, till I got passed by an old guy.
The next control was in Seymour, at about 150k mark and I scoffed a peanut butter and banana sandwich...no problemo !
With about 55 k to go and mostly uppish I headed out on the same road we used in the morning but at a far more leisurly pace through the hills and gullies to Tallarook. I lost my awesome sunnies somewhere along here after hanging them in their new "special spot" on my Ayup mount.
I got back to Wandong in 6 days 19 hours and 27 minutes and dug in to a bowl of soup and had good chat as per usual after an Audax ride.
Even though I knew my time on the bike was minimal leading up to this ride, I was surprised at how hard I found it, yeh, I probably went out a lot harder than I should have but I have done that before and recovered along the way, eh ! Good fun though.
Thanks to Lorraine Allen and her crew for putting on a great ride.
WELCOME HOME ANDY GLO AND PETER.

Steve

Off topic ? Not here mate !

We're planning a big night out with a joke telling Polar bear but we need to be quick.
7pm, 10th July,let Andy or myself know if you would like to come along.
Click on the image for more detail.

Steve.

Sunday's Winter Wander

Hi Folks,
I'm planning to do the Audax, Wandong winter Wander on Sunday 27th. The distances vary from 50 to 100,150 and 200k's. Details for the ride are below, let me know if you are considering it and perhaps we can drive across in the White Lightning. Don't leave it too late if you plan to ride as organisers need a bit of notice.
Sunday 27th June -- 200km & 150km 8 am start / 100km 9 am start / 50km 10 am start.
Contact: Lorraine Allen Tel: 03 5783 2427
Make a comment if you still intend to ride from Lancefield on Sunday morning to let others know there is a ride on.
More from Italy...
Traviata was great, and Pete didn't go to sleep (chairs weren't very comfortable really). Had to dodge a thunderstorm which was a portent of the weather to come!
From Venice we headed along the Benta past all the Palazzi, through Padua and down to Montagrotto Terme, ignored by Lonely Planet but full of accom for the hot springs. The camping ground had a swimming pool next door so Glo was happy, altho the lack of goggles meant a trip to the chemist for eye drops the next day. From here we headed toward Mantua as it started to rain again so we found a train and got out of the rain. Mantua was terrific and the tourist info (when we found it) found us a b&b around the corner. The rain had stopped so we walked the town and had an overpriced meal (should have read the Lonely Planet). Next day was raining again and Pete was restless so we decided it was time to head to the mountains. We changed trains in Milan and had some luck in deciding that Sondrio would be our destination. Sondrio is a great little town full of fruit shops and book shops. Very pleasant which was just as well as we had not left the rain behind. On the next day thurs 17, the sky cleared for long enough for us to think the climb to Bormio was a possibility. We managed less than 20k before the drizzle turned to rain and the temperature dropped a s well. By the timed we reappeared at our hotel we were all much the worse for wear. We had lunch and dried the clothes and shoes in a laundromat as Pete slept.
Forecast was for more rain so I will have to leave the Stelvio pass for another trip. We ran into some riders on the Bella Italia tour that we were thinking of doing and they told us that they had come through 5 days of rain in the Dolimiti and snow over Stelvio and couldn't see a bloody thing!
From Sondrio we had a good days riding partly on bike paths when we could find them and then along Lago Como down nearly to Lecco before Glo, nervously eyeing off the loomng tunnel didn't notice the longitudinal crack in the bitumen waiting for her. Fortunately we had a doctor with us and enough patches to shame the invisible man and we were soon on our way to the camping ground next to the lake. No long term effects that she will admit to from the spill.
From Lecco the next morning (yesterday) we headed up the west side of the east arm of the lake to Bellagio, a very pretty village at the end of the middle arm of the lake. On the way we thought we might try to ride to the bicycle chapel and museo at Ghiselle but were deterred early on by 1) Glo not being able to start the climb because it was so steep and 2) several riders telling us not to try! Another climb to put on the list.
We headed to Como after Bellagio on a narrow twisting and very busy road (traffic in Italy has been really kind to us). We sat out the start of the storm about ten k's from Como but it kept raining so after making a hotel booking we got drenched again on our way in.
Found some roast chickens last night for a feast in out apartment and woke up to more rain and a very cool temperature (probably a bit warmer than where some of you are, however). It is still raining (doesn't deter some of the locals - they have two hands one to hold the umbrella and one to hold the bike's handlebars)
Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow as forecast and we can do a big loop across to the west and then south to Pavia and Mede to visit Glo's Aunt and then into Milano for the last couple of days before we leave.
cheers
Andy

Ride and a post card

Hi Guys,

There is a ride on Sunday morning 9am.

I received a note from our foreign correspondant the other day...

Dear all
Matera seems so long ago! Headed to the coast from Matera through the hills. Lots of climbing now on quiet roads and no rain. The troops were not happy with all the climbing up to hilltop towns and then loosing all the altitude gain. I have now started drinking the coffee otherwise I miss the best part of brekky. We don't start particulary early, few k's on the board by 10am generally. Tuesday 25th we went trough Otenza for lunch and spent a very frustrating hour and a half getting out the other side. Had a downhill into the wide valley, crossed the autostrada and then into the hills again for a solid afternoon of climbing. We followed the tourist road to Satriano were we eventually found a b&b. Downhill start to the next day before climbing from Atena into the fantastic national park del Cilento and Valley di Diano. This was followed by 20+k's of downdowndown, with beautiful views across the valley. No accom at Roccadaspide but found the Panorama with views to the west coast a few k's further. Big hotel with just the three of us staying.
Thursday we criused down to the coast and visited Paestum an ancient greek settlement south of Salerno. Three very substantial temples. On busy roads to Salerno and the youth hostel for the night as we prepared for the Amalfi coast. Decided an early brekky was the go, even so we didn't beat the traffic. The Amalfi coast is terrific to visit but narrow busy roads take away from the enjoyment and doing it in a day is not doing it justice. Somehow we made it all the way to Pompei (94k) in one piece.
We spent Saturday looking at the ruins and being disappointed that there were not much in the way of frescos to be seen. Headed off midarvo to do the 25k to Naples to meet Noel. That would be 25k of cobblestones, Napolese drivers and Pilgrims who were headed in their thousands to Pompei. Found the station, found Noel and found a hotel all in quick order, unusual for a city of any size, Italians aren't really into signs!
Train to Arezzo in Tuscany took most of the day after looking around Naples for Sophia Loren (didn't find her) but we did find lots and lots of frescos in the museum.From Arrezzo we rode to Siena, a hilly 78k, camped and then walked into town for a coffee in the famous piazza. Florence was next on the list and we found some soft ground in the camping ground and being Florence it did rain, after we came out of the Uffizza. Found the same internet point that we used in 2007 with the same American running it. Noel left to take the train back to Rome.
Next was the big one - Lucca and its famous walls. Hard to find accom but eventually got a b&b. Walked around the walls on the way to tea. Next morning did the ride just to please Trivess and had an American walk out into my big and break the pannier mounting which I fixed with zip ties. Peter Ginn had already headed to the Cuinque Teera while we were going to tackle the ski pass of From Bologna we were in the flat country to Ravenna, Ferrara the Oriana (Venice) Just under 300k's in three days. Now they are complaining about flat rides
Back into Venice today and La Traviata tonight
cheerio til next time
and.

Cheers
Andy

A good crop of Canola on the Audax, Mallee Routes ride a couple of years ago. Shame about the weed.
Steve.

Purplemonkeynoodle !

Hi Gang,
There is a ride planned for Sunday morning from Lancefield at 9am. Let me know by one of the usual modes if you plan to be there.
Bring some reserves in case we decide to ride and ride and ride.
Steve.

Sunday's ride

Hi gang,

I'm not sure if I'll make it for this Sundays ride. If you are keen, post a note in the comments to let others know there will be Lairs for a 9am start.

Photo from top of Mt Buffalo, at a much warmer time of year.

Steve.

Spot the Aussies

Hi gang, her's another email from Andy and Glo...

Rode north out of Rome last Thursday to Lake Bracciano and camped the night. A few lycra lizards on the road but few cyclists. Camping ground only just opened and fairly basic, but did the job. Next day tackled the hills between Bracciano and Civvitavecchia. Hard work and cold and rainy. After lunch it was all downhill which gave us a long wait for the overnight ferry to Palermo. Ferry trip smooth, more room in the seats to stretch out than on a plane. Reached Palermo around 8am on the Saturday morning - no tourist info available. Had a bit of a ride around, Peter pulling front pannier off after running into a parked car and Glo just missing a rubbish skip (well it was a small one). Very gusty wind which was behind us for most of the next week.
Left Palermo before anything else happened and headed along the northern coast (inland mountains looked a bit daunting). Narrow roads, lots and shops and buildings right on the road and lots of traffic. Made it to lovely camping ground at Cefalu thaT NIGHT - ABOUT 70K'S. Sorry about the caps! Generally headed east along the coast over the next few days dodging cars and rain. Even the coast road has lots of hills and they seem harder with panniers front and rear. From Milazzo we took the ferry to the Eolian Island of Lipari and camped at Canneto near the beach. World heritage listed and what a delight, more views per k than anywhere else I have seen. Did the Giro di Lipari all 30 k of up and down before our gelati in the old town centre of lipari.
Next day back on the ferry to Milazzo and then continued our ride to the east, camping about 20k's from Messina. Battled our way to Messina through rain and hills to wait in the rain for the ferry to cross the straits to Reggio di calabria. Another run down Italian town without the huge piles of rubbish that made Sicily so smelly. Rode out of Reggio but had to turn back as we ran out of accomadation options. Have now found a terrific b&b in the centre
Andy and glo

The above email did not send due to faulty mouse in the b&b in Reggio di calabria. Had a great meal there and really nice people in the b&b. Back on the bikes the next day to head into the real country finally. Lovely quiet roads and great scenery - olive trees and crops being farmed rather then let go wild as in Sicily (and no rubbish). Near Alberbello and the Trulli stone houses I stopped to check the map and heard someone call - a couple of people noticed us go past and wanted to share their cherry tree (yes Siobhan, I have scored another cherry season!) The girl had grown up in Canada and her partner was very enthusiastic in showing us the inside of their Trulli. They invited us back for the Inter Milan-Madrid match that night but we decided it would be too late. Camped the night and headed to Matera the next day. Getting hillier although we are coping, some of the climbs are getting longer and steeper. Matera is a town where the houses are built literally on top of each other and their roofs become roads. They have a very sophisticated way of harvesting water and groups of residents sharing their lives. Another b&b, this time in a restored 800+ year old house.
Breakfast on the terrace before tackling some more hills heading to the west. Lots of wind turbines and solar panel installations.
We are planning to meet Noel in Salerno for the weekend and riding the Amalfi coast then maybe Pompeii as well.
Glo and Pete are off looking at churches. Churches here are actually used for mass and often smell of incense. I'm not sure if I told the story of bumping into the parish priest in Cantana on Lipari. Not only did he bless me he told us he had a cousin in Australia and did we know Bob Santamaria!
I'm going to check the weather (just stopped rainning and the afl ladder)
cheerio for now
andandglo

Ride to Pyalong

Last Sunday morning started off at minus 3 C, the rest of the day looked like this...

That loving feeling

Check out this tender moment between our Cadel and Daniele Righi during stage 12 of the Giro click here.
While Cadel's chances are looking less by the stage (especially after missing the break the other night), it's fantastic to see Mick Rogers wearing the yellow jersey in the tour of California, sad to hear that Stuart O'Grady broke his collarbone in a crash .
You also have to wonder about Robbie McEwan, when you take into consideration that most of the big sprinters are not participating in the Giro, it would be great to see him win a stage.
Really nice to have Aussie, Richie Porte in the leaders jersey.
There is a ride planned for 9am from Lancefield tomorrow morning.
Photo was taken on last Sunday's ride up Mt. Macedon.

Postcard from Rome.

Got an e-mail from Andy the other day.
Dear all,
Good times in Dubai with an unbelievable no. of big buildings and dozens more on the go.
Got to Rome Monday arvo, put bikes together and headed off with my written instructions because I couldn't find a map that had our destination on it. After one early wrong turn managed to get on to the correct road (in the rain). Instead of crossing the Autostrada my road deposited us onto it. Only exits were onto other Autostrada which happened several times. We eventually found a secondary road which took us into central Rome (very scenic if not a bit scary!) After zigzagging along the Tiber being thwarted by one way streets we found Vatican city (7pm by now) and several hours later we managed to navigate the rest of the 4 or so kms to our little street. Don't know how many k's but over 6 hours to do the 20k direct route. A very late dinner capped off the date. It is right up there in terms of first days on the bike!
Yesterday (Tuesday) did the Fora, Pantheon, Trev.s fountain, Spanish steps so have ticked off a few. As we were leaving the Roman Forum I decided to check whether we had covered every thing only to find that we had missed the Palantine hill - probably 3 times the size of the forum itself. Maybe it was there in 2003 because we didn't see it then. Staying in the suburbs has the advantage of much better, cheaper food.
Off to Vat City today then back on the bike, treno or ferry tomorrow.
Pete's phone, Glo's phone not working, and I will try to buy a telephono oggi

ciao
Andi

There is a ride planned for Sunday 9am, in Lancefield, let me know.

See you there.

Steve

And another thing...

Could you imagine if the boys at team Radio Shack left Lance behind, don't even try and imagine it because it would never happen, for starters, waiting for the team leader would be the natural thing to do, and any rider that didn't wait would be looking for another team before the stage even ended. Then there's the thought of facing the boss when he catches up with you.
Lance would be yelling down the radio in two seconds flat if the Dumb ass team director wasn't already telling the boys to wait. That's who I blame the most, the team director, as he should be backing Cadel and getting the guys to support their leader.

Same ____, different team.

Easy come, easy go. As easily as Cadel got into first place, he was out.
From leading Vinokourov(who is now in first place) by almost 20 Seconds he is behind him by over 40 after being caught in a pile up.
Prangs happen, and contenders get stuck behind them, but in most cases when a team leader is involved the rest of the team will wait for him and tow him back to the leaders group, but that was the most noticeable thing about the whole thing, no support for Cadel. Yep, maybe he's not a likable kind of guy or he's too quirky and a loner or none of those things but he's the man in the BMC team and he should have had heaps of support rain, hail or shine. No wonder he gets a bit irky.
The race is far from over, but it won't be easy if even possible from here and I bet he's got a pretty strong sense of deja vu. He can only hope he can out climb Vino and Basso in the mountains and pull off a couple of great time trials.
Team time trial tonight, First mountain stage Sunday night.
Steve.

In the pink

After Bradley Wiggins took the first stage time trial, he lost it yesterday when he had a spill in the second stage.
Cadel stood on the podium in first place wearing the "Maglia Rosa".
Theres a long way to go and I can't see him wanting to keep the pink jersey till later in the race, but the colour suits him.
Steve.

Sunday's ride

Hi gang,
There is a ride planned for 9am Sunday Morning. See you there.
Steve.

Giro d'Italia

Awesome, the first of cycling's holy trinity is about to start, the Giro gets underway this weekend, and with Franko Pellizotti (among others) being busted for "irregular readings", Cadel is now a favourite. Even though it's sad this sort of thing goes on, I'm glad they were caught now and and not after the race, then placings altered and hollow victories awarded months after the race, as in the Tour De France fiasco of was it '07 when Floyd got on the juice.

Cadel was a pretty good chance even before Pellizotti got the flick, he's been in good nick and has a bit of confidence, his new team also offers better support than he's had in recent years but he still has to contend with the like of Sastre and Vinokourov, Basso is about due and Bradley Wiggins could be a dark horse so cross your fingers.

The route this year is a killer, 7 great mountain stages mostly in the latter part of the race. Stage 16 is a 12.8 km time trial with an average gradient of 8.5% and it's steepest section being a torturous 24%, to put things in a bit of Lairs perspective, the South side climb of Mt. Macedon is 6km with an average grade of about 7.5 % and a maximum of about13-14%.

I was hoping SBS would be showing a few live stages, perhaps on a Friday or Saturday night they could have an extended highlights package followed by a live stage, but nah ! It seems the programmers feel that another "boob movie" repeat followed by world weather for four hours would be a better nights viewing.

Three big names will be participating in a rebel Giro, riding for the Lucky Buggers team. Andy, Glo and Peter are leaving for Italy on Saturday morning and will be zig zagging across "the boot" on their bikes for a few weeks. Bon voyage guys.

A Quick, good on ya, to Al, who did his first big climb a few weeks ago and ticked off Mt. Buffalo on his birthday.
Steve.

SUNDAY'S RIDE
Will be the last one for Glo and Andy for a while so come and join us tomorrow at nine in the usual spot. Steve's having a bit of trouble getting going but may be about to join us. Lancefield has turned 150 officially so make sure you are with us for the first ride of the next sesquicentennial!
see ya
Andy

Oh yeh !

Congratulations to Trivess and Mel on their engagement a couple of weeks ago. This was never a done deal as Trivess first had to prove he was man enough for Mel by setting up a huge tent and lighting a fire-thankfully there was plenty of petrol and helpers on hand.
Great to see Cadel come over the line first in the Fleche Wallone, top effort getting past Contador on a very steep finish. Well done Cadel, hope you're reading this.

Last weekend's ride for Hamish was a beauty, just under 50 riders showed up, most of whom took on the Sth side of Mt Macedon on a beautiful day and a great course. We may have to have another go at this one for those of you who missed out.

Thanks to Janine and the rest of the crew for putting this ride on, the organisation was excellent and the cause was a privilege to ride for, though we still have some money to make.

Special mention goes to Peter B, I've never ridden in such heavy rain, lightning and thunder, thanks for the company on Tuesday night you silly bugger, it was great fun.

There is a ride planned for Sunday morning, 9am from Lancefield. Make a comment if you're coming.

I have a new bike.

Sundays Ride

Won't be along for a ride this Sunday, Doing Hamo's ride on Saturday though. A few have shown interest, make a comment to let others know if you'll be along.
Photo was taken on a ride along the Lanceield-Tooborac Rd.
Have a great weekend.

Steve.

A classic classic

I love it at this time of year, when it's cold, when you have to put on layers of clothing to go for a ride, when you go a bit fast you get tears in your eyes and a runny nose, I love it because all that means there's bike racing in Europe. A lot of you have had to listen to me go on about mountain stages and time trials, Tour de France, and Lance Armstrong, so the fact that I think it's awesome is no surprise.

Last Sunday night I had a fantastic treat, I got to watch a sensational bike race...the Paris-Rubaix won by a great cyclist. It's a special race, and this year's was brilliant. Watching the big names go at it for 259km over such tough roads is inspiring enough, but when Fabian Cancellara attacked with 50km to go and with such ferocity you couldn't help but barrack for him as he toughed it out on those bone jarring cobbled sections. No sitting on someones wheel for a sprint finish( that happened for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on), he just went flat stick for 50k's on his own. His timing was perfect, just as Tom Boonen went to the back of the bunch for a sausage roll or maybe a piece of rabbit, whack ! Off the Swiss champ went, no one could catch him, he just kept increasing his lead, to over three minutes at one stage, only two made ground on him near the finish, but he still came home over 2 minutes ahead of them.

In parts, the roads are so rough on this "Queen of the classics", that most of the bikes have 27mm tyres on them, not the usual 23's. For winning this race, the trophy is a hunk of rock, that's attached to a piece of wood...Cool, it's got a section called "the road to the abattoir", and the last few hundred metres is raced in an old velodrome. The only thing missing from this race is a good sword fight.

While it may look like a couple of blokes prepairing to set land mines, the photo is actually of maintenance work on the cobbled roads.

Well Done Fabian.

Steve.

Mt. Macedon-links won't work

The links for the ride up Macedon don't work, so just send an e-mail to lancefieldlairs@gmail.com if you would like any info and we'll send it to you.

Or click on the pictures in this post.
Steve.

Mt. Macedon-up the hard side

A ride up the bastard side of Mt Macedon has been organized for next Saturday 17/4/10. Not only do you get to test your legs at 13% plus, but you also get a chance to make a significant change to a youngster's and his family's life by doing what you love doing (no, the other thing).
There are other options for shorter rides if you want to dodge the bullet, but a shot at the south side and 75k around the Macedon ranges sounds a great way to spend a Saturday.
Janine Radford, who happens to be one of the nicer Lairs is organizing the ride, so it would be great to see as many of us as possible and anyone you can rope into it across for the ride.
Click here and here for more information.
No free jersey's or wrist bands, the money just goes to helping a little one.
Steve.

War and Peace

9am Sunday, usual place.
Steve.

Murray to Moyne

The Lairs were again off to places far last weekend. Having the opportunity to participate in this year's Murray to Moyne, we met in Kyneton at 6am on Saturday morning and headed off in the 2 team buses to the start at Echuca.
It's a 520km relay ride which goes from (in our case) Echuca to Port Fairy. Our team had 12 riders which consisted of 3 crews of 4, doing legs of 30-40k's each crew.
We were invited along by the fantastic people of the Kyneton Ambulance Auxiliary, for whom we raised sponsorship.
What a brilliant ride made even more so by a wonderful 5 star support crew, who's years of experience on the event showed organization at it's best. With everything run to precision, not only were we at met at carefully chosen changeover points but on our many meal stops we had a choice of at least 4 hot meals plus anything else a hungry cyclist could crave for.
After each leg we would get on the bus to be greeted by the magic hands of our masseurs Pip and Amelia to give our legs a fair dinkum, get you back on the bike feeling fresh massage. My calculations had them dishing out somewhere near 50 massages.
The ride took us through Kotta, Mitiamo, Durham ox, Charlton, St. Arnaud, Stawell- where lights and vests were fitted and a slightly unnerving chat with bloke who just may have forgotten why he was standing at a urinal but still waxing lyrical about those pesky tourists, locals and any other unsuspecting demographic that found it's way into his clouded scone, Moysten, Willaura and Dunkeld to the 428km rest stop at Hamilton at 11.45ish pm.
Passing through some beautiful countryside and small towns a real hi lite was riding past the Grampians at dusk then scooting along in the little cocoon your lights create for you once it gets dark.
We slept in one of the pavilions at the Hamilton show grounds till 6am and were back on the bikes at 7, where the twelve of us then rode together for the last 93km into Port Fairy, beating the rain by an hour.
Riding turns in a pace line, we were able to average just over 30kph for the ride, which is not a style of riding we usually adopt but relished on the day, especially with the light wind and warm weather.
Our team mostly rode alone but had short stints with other bunches when it worked out, but it seemed to work best when we did things for ourselves.
I think I can speak for all the gang and say we had a ball on this ride. It was brilliant to be able to show up at an event like this and just ride.
A huge thanks to Phillip for asking us along in the first place, but also to the rest of the support crew: Michelle, Michael, Keiran, Shaun, Richie, Jaxon, Vince, Greame, Kath, Pip, Amelia, Les Corinna, Darryl, Kerry, Gail and Leanne who all looked after us cyclists first and foremost with genuine hospitality.
The riders were: Gary, Paul, Matt, Phil, Adrian, Myra, Steve A, Nick, John D, Dave C,Leigh and Steve.
Steve.

Done and dusted

Well that's another Oppy done, and what a fantastic weekend of cycling in great countryside with great friends.
Starting from Sunbury, Lancefield and Strathfieldsaye the teams had a gift from the weather gods and spent the most of the ride in warm sunshine and light winds, except for night time when the sun was a little harder to spot.
Our team started in Lancefield then went through Trentham, Creswick, Avoca, St Arnaud, Dunolly and had our long stop in Marong before riding the last 25km to Strathfieldsaye.
Corny jokes were always only a Barry away.
Our fantastic support crews (when we could keep them out of the pubs and antique stores) kept us well fed and watered, the high lite for me was the Pizza in St. Arnaud, thank you very much guys and gals.
For quite a few of the crew the 360 k's and the 180k(in the Petit Oppy) was their longest distance on a bike, so well done.
It was great to see every member of the Moores de Lancefield riding the Oppy this year, would have been a good time to have shares in a sunscreen supplier.
Thanks to all I rode with for again making this my favourite ride. Congratulations to all of you and thanks also to Martin and Libby and all the Voulenteers for making this, in my opinion, Audax' best ride.
On the ride were Andy, Aidan, Trivess, Barry, Paul, Peter B, Peter D, Ken, Joseph, Steve, Glo, Siobhan, Meaghan, Allison, John D, Leigh, Ewan Adrian, Steve, Johan and Myra.
Keeping us on the ride were John, Bill, Andrea, Donna and Stuart.

Fleche Opperman

This Saturday around 20 Lairs will be making up 4 teams in this year's "Oppy" and "Petit Oppy". For those of you who have somehow escaped all the Oppy talk, the ride is organized by Audax and consists of a minimum of 360km in 24 hours, the Petit is 180k's, both starting anywhere you like but finishing in Strathfieldsaye, Victoria at 8am Sunday morning.
Good Luck to all participating in this year's ride, the weather report looks great.
2 sleeps to go.
Steve.

Sunday's Ride

After the rain the sun has come out. Ride at 8am from the usual spot for a bit of Oppy training. Let me know if you are coming - either send a comment, give me a ring 0430 448 120 or email
cheerio
Andy

Dave's been riding his MTB again.

You would have to be crazy to do it in the rain

Notwithstanding the weather forecast, if anyone is interested there will be a lairs ride from the usual spot tomorrow at 8am. The Audax ride is also on so there should be lots of riders about town. Let me know if you are coming because if the weather really is bad I may just stay in bed
Andy 0430 448 120

e = EIO

I love modern, shiny, fast bikes, I love wheels that will rotate for 6 days with one little spin, I think heart rate monitors and computers are a brilliant training aid, interval training makes sense to me, but when I read/hear about things like Nomex honeycomb technology, ultralinear geometry and carbonstructure-Nanostrength technology
I'm just left thinking, WTF ?
I really wonder if any of this lingo has ever sold a bike, wheel or jersey or if the pony tailed wankers that come up with this stuff have ever even sat on a bike, let alone ridden up a mountain, wondering if there is actually a summit or is this just the way to heaven. I bet you they have never even wiped snot with their gloves.
But today, I saw a product which would have left any one else speechless, it was a particular brand of chamois cream, who's claim was (get ready for this)"aromatherapy for winners", yep, it's printed on the sample sachet I was given in a bike shop, you just gently apply a little on your bum and look out Lance. OH, COME OONNNNN ! Will we now be expected to re-discover our chakra or maybe carry an incense burner and memorise The Prophet ? Don't get me wrong, I love hippies, I even had a no-dig garden once, but this is cycling, I wonder if Eddy Merckx ever sat in the lotus position before a stage of Le Tour ?
Aaaah gee, there's a ride on this weekend meeting in the usual place in Lancefield at 8am. We might do a longish one, but like last weekend, those that had a little less in mind were able to take a short cut and head for home in a much happier bunch.
Last Sunday's list was: Steve, Glo, Leigh, Meaghan, Ken, John, Leo and Guru Andy. Let us know if you're coming.
See you Sunday.
Steve.
And I also love beautiful steel bikes with friction levers, leather saddles and lots of polished aluminium.

Scary little critters

Good luck to two of the Lancefield Lairs favourite sons/rednecks.
Joseph and Robert are racing their first criterion tonight.
Go get em' boys.
Steve.

Rides and birthdays

Two of our favourite Lairs had birthdays in the past week, Siobhan (our golden haired girl) turned 21 and celebrated big time last Saturday night, surrounded by her usual crowd, made up mostly of vampires, robbers and people wearing chaps-those that weren't immediate family members were even less desirable.
Nick, our newest Lair also had a birthday and I'm told looks the goods in his new Live strong jersey. Nick has been doing a bit of secret training too, with the long ride to school and to footy training, he's one we'll have to keep our eye on-just look for the black and yellow flash.
Happy birthday to both of you.
We plan to do a longish ride this Sunday but will have plenty of options for short cuts for those that that don't have the time or are not keen to go so far. Daylesford may even be lucky enough to see us. (140k return). Bring plenty of food and water if you are keen to go all the way.
Lastly, good luck to those representing the Lancefield Lairs on the MS ride through Melbourne. The boys are planning to have a "red hot go", so we hope you are very red hot, and we also hope you wear your' Lairs jerseys.
Steve.

Murray to Moyne

Phillip Don is short of riders for the Murray to Moyne on March 27/28. Phillip has been associated with riding in and organising the Kyneton team for the last sixteen years or so. The support is fantastic - buses, meals, masseur, showers and fresh drviers to get you home. All you have to do is ride 40k or so then have a rest for 80k before doing it again. Last morning everyone rides into the headwind!
All enquiries to Phillip asap - mrdon@westvic.com.au or 54234182
cheers
Andy

Dave

This is Dave, sometimes Dave likes to ride a mountain bike and he usually likes to ride it fast. When Dave rides his mountain bike fast, sometimes he likes to go over jumps, and this is where things get a bit complicated. You see, people make mistakes, and it's not good if you make a mistake when you are going over a jump on a mountain bike, because then you could crash.
If you look closely at Dave's head you will see a big graze on it...Dave had a crash.
Having a crash on your' mountain bike, when you are going fast and going over a jump is bad, because you can smash your' helmet in two and graze your' head, and that hurts.
Having a crash on your' mountain bike when you are going fast over a jump is also bad because you have to land some where, and it's no good if that place is on a
bull ant's nest because those angry little buggers could bite you eighteen times, and that would hurt a lot too.
Poor Dave.

Please stop crashing.

Sundays ride had Ken, John D, Myra, Leigh, Steve and I head up the Bourke and Wills
track and work our way across to Kyneton. Ken and John had things to do so turned off before we got to 3 Chain Rd. Once in Kyneton we headed across to Tyledon then to Woodend. Head winds and cars were both prevalent between the two towns, so Woodend and it's bakery were a welcomed sight.
Back on more familiar roads we headed for home, doing our best to avoid the traffic the Hanging Rock picnic and the swap meet were generating.
By the time we got back to Lancefield we had clocked up 100 Klm and another great ride.

Steve.

A wish come true

As a dad, I wish a bit of me rubs off on my kids, apart from things like my thoughts on the environment, racial justice or the Bombers winning another premiership, I'd really like my kids to get into cycling.
This old photo was taken around 1946 and shows four mates who got together and decided to ride from Melbourne to Mildura. Take a look at what they are wearing-the Lycra is well hidden under their shirts and long pants, the fella on the left would surely be hoping to spot a tiger and perhaps make a rug out of it. I'm guessing the road to Mildura would have been a fair bit rougher than today and dirt for a lot of the way.
The bloke on the right is a lucky guy, for one thing, he's off on an adventure with his mates, but I think he's had a wish come true. His son has turned out to be a pretty nice bloke, he looks out for his mates and he rides a bike...a lot, and he loves it.
His name was John Maxwell Thornton, Leigh's dad, I think he would say he's had a wish come true.

John Maxwell Thornton 1928-2001

There is a ride planned for this Sunday morning at 8am, meeting at the usual place in Lancefield, hope you can make it.
Steve.