Jeff's Bike and random bike related stuff from NZ

Thursday, May 24, 2007

A commute route I often take to get to work

This is a commute route I often take to get to work. I live about 2kms from work, and its all downhill. Good for 14 calories of expenditure according to my power tap. So some times I start by carrying on up my hill until I reach the Danzig MTB track built by the local MTB club. If I ride down it, then back up again, and back down my hill, its a good 60 mins of single-track fun.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41957928@N00/sets/72157600225825229/
Or a slide-show here.
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Saturday, May 12, 2007

A lunch time ride in the Hutt Valley

This is a lunch time ride for us here in "The Hutt". It takes in Moonshine Hill and can be done at a firm pace of 1 hour and 9 mins from my place of work. It has one of the steepest climbs about and I think it is about 15 %. Check out the location map if you are a Lord of The Rings fan. For a hell of a long time the set for the battle scene of Helms deep was sitting in at Dry Creek Quarry at the bottom of Haywards hill.
You could see if from the road, I guess I shoudl have taken a picture? A lot of this stuff is lying around in back-lots in Wellington as they dont really know what to do with it. What do you do with giant polystyrene monsters and buildings.They filmed the downtown scenes for King Kong behind my wifes work in Petone, but you couldnt see a thing. Amazing the tiny places they can sneak a movie set into.
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Friday, April 27, 2007

Flying Scotsman movie

I saw the movie last night. The Mrs was using the car carting the kids about, so I had to ride my bike into town to meet the folks I was going with. I thought it was apt that I should ride my fixer so by the time I got to their house at the top of Brookyn Hill my legs were seriously munted.

The guys I went with were not cyclists at all, but they loved the movie. Its been playing for 3 days now in Wellington, altho there were only about 10 of us in the theatre last night. Many cyclists have said to me that its their favorite movie and it would be the best cycling movie I have seen too.
The movie manages to come across in a really balanced way that has appeal to the man/woman on the street and still manages to appeal to the hard core cyclist. The UCI (called the WCF in the movie) get pretty demonised, but everyone else comes out pretty well. Chris Boardman comes over as a genuinely good sportsman which is pretty much the feeling I got from reading the book.

The topic of depression is dealt with very well. Its always there in the background, but doesnt overwhelm the movie. With 1 in 5 people in this country being afflicted at some stage in their life its a topic that could do with more coverage. I am sure Graham isnt the only athlete to have suffered.

The movie seems to finish quite abruptly. There was a lot more that could have been put in, but it would possibly have ended up looking repetitive in the end, as it was more of the same. Wins more, position banned, more downers etc.

I would definitely recommend it as a great movie to watch, for cycling fans, and non-fans. Maybe the non-fans would enjoy it the most, because they will know less about it, and be gobsmacked at the way things happened. The people I went with were.

As usual, a movie never matches up to the book, but thats a tall order in 105 minutes. The best way to do it would be movie first, then book.
Its an awesome book, and a great movie.

Audio here from review and chat to the director

Obree in a recent race.
Wikipedia
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Monday, April 23, 2007

DIY aero testing

DIY aero testing.

The goal.
To see if there is a measurable difference in "aero-ness" between using my new aero lid, and using my old standard helmet.

An increase in "aero-ness" is crudely defined as the ability to do the same speed for less watts.

The location.
Outdoor velodrome at Haitaitai, Wellington NZ.
333 metre concrete track. (Bumpy).
Wind . Nil.
Temperature. 9-11 degrees.
From around 8am onwards.
Barometric pressure 1026 hpa.
Humidity 80%

The format.
8 runs. Completed in 1 hour and 15 mins with very little resting or downtime, apart from swapping helmets and noting temperature. Aero means Aero helmet, non-aero means non-aero helmet.
4 x 5 mins at 34 kmh. Aero, non-aero, aero, non-aero
2 x 5 mins at 40 kmh Non-aero, aero,
2 x 10 mins at 35 kmh. Aero, non-aero(35kmh seemed easier to do than 34 kmh)

The difficulities.
1. Getting the track to myself. (No problems)
2. Getting consistant wind . (No problems)
3. Getting consistant temperature. Pretty good.
4. Riding at a consistant speed. Way better than a previous attempt. The trick was to ride by feel (cadence?), rather than obsess on watching the computer.
5. Getting a smooth line. I rode on the sprinters line because it was way smoother than the bumpier pursuiting line. I guess this means I am less vertical than I could have been.

The equipment:

1. Bianchi d2 chrono TT bike and Power tap. Deep front rim. Weight around 9kgs
2. Carrera Dragon Fly helmet (Non-aero)
3. Louis Garneu Rocket helmet. (Aero)
4. Rider about 71 kgs. Add another 3 kgs for kit at least.


The "raw results"" are as follows, and have had no factors applied to them. They are listed in the order that they were undertaken.

Run number:
----------------------------------------------------
1. Aero. 5mins 34.6kmh 191 watts temp 9.3
2. Non-aero 5mins 34.5kmh 194 watts temp 9.9
----------------------------------------------------
3. Aero 5mins 34.7kmh 196 watts temp 9.4
4. Non-aero 5mins 34.5kmh 197 watts temp 9.8
----------------------------------------------------
5. Non-aero 5mins 40.2kmh 280 watts temp 9.9
6. Aero 5mins 40.5kmh 270 watts temp 10.9
----------------------------------------------------
7. Aero 10mins 35.1kmh 195 watts temp 11.4
8. Non-aero 10mins 35.3kmh 197 watts temp 11.4
----------------------------------------------------


To try to get an smooth transitition from start to finish, I would set my timer off for 5 mins, take two laps to settle in, then go another 2 laps after my time had elapsed, and stop pedaling on the line.

At the end of the day, after downloading this data, I would then "select" 5 mins worth of data, back from that coasting point, so all tests at least stopped in the same place.

The differences I recorded in the 40kmh test were pretty major, compared to the lower speeds, but I guess I would have to do it a couple of times to see if they were consistant and not some kind of an aberration. I think the last two runs are the least impressive as far as being decisive in any way, as the last run was actually faster than the one before it. If I am doing it right, I get a CdA of .233 using Alex Simmon's spread sheet. I am not sure if that is good or not.
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Thursday, March 22, 2007

07 NZ Track nationals


I was pretty keen to do the NZ track champs when I heard that they were going to be held in the new covered velodrome in Invercargill, but totally dismissed the idea after Kay's job came to an end in December. I knew it was an extravagance we couldn't afford.

Rachel rang the weekend before the track champs started and asked if I would be interested in driving the van loaded with bikes and two young'ns down to Invercargill. Simon had wrecked his back and couldn't drive down the van! Simon was particularly gutted as he had some good form. As I would be spending 4 days driving the bikes and riders down there and back, the club would subsidise my accommodation while there. I initially dismissed the idea as my brownie point collection was not looking good. In the end my long suffering wife told me to go, as I could at least visit my Aunt who had been having treatment for her cancer at Invercargill, and I could stay with my brother on the way there and back, who also had not been well.

That next week was a pretty damn hectic. I had to prep my TT bike for the event I had actually been training for (Saturdays TT in Masterton), as well as build up my track bike into something competitive by borrowing fruity parts from most of the trackies in Wellington. Trackies are great like that. Bars, wheels, chains.... not much of my original bike remained. I also had to load up the van kindly lent to us by Marty McDonald to ferry the gear down. Bikes, wheels rollers and other inanimate objects were jammed into the back along with Nick and Troy who managed to keep me fully entertained for the 2500kms we did in the van. They unmercifully ribbed each other constantly about the size of each others legs and their inability to own up when the air turned foul. I have to admit to being worried on the way back when Nick started for the first time to eat non-processed food, eg Apples.... Nick's diet up until then had consisted solely of Coke and Subway.

The research I had done before heading south had unearthed nothing about the kinds of times I expected would be competitive in my 3km pursuit. There were no results to be found on the Cycling Southland Website. We tend to forget we probably have the best cycling club website in NZ thanks to Jonno. http://www.pnp.org.nz

I didn't race until the Friday, so I had time to try some bigger gears. We arrived at about 4pm (having left Christchurch at 7.30 am) and got on the track at 8pm on the Monday night! I started by going up 2.5 inches in my gearing and I was still spinning pretty damn fast on a 3/4 length effort. After ringing up Aaron for advice, I went up another inch in another effort a few days later.
I was now looking at splits of 18 seconds flat per 250 metre lap. This was my best case scenario. If I blew, I thought I could come under 3.46, bearing in mind my fastest time in Wellington was 4.06 . Yep, it was a fast track. At the last minute Mike Byrne offered me his Teschner with Mavic and Zen wheels on it... possibly one of the fruitiest bikes there, but I decided against it. It had taken me a week to build up my bike, and I was happy with my aero position on it. I had Aarons old rear Ghibli so that was pretty cool. Luckily I did a few laps in the morning with my contact lenses in, as they dried up with the heat of the enclosed velodrome. There was an emergency trip by Mark back to the Motel to get my specs which meant not using the visor on my new lid.

The guy who I thought would win my event was Ray Dunstan. He wins the TT in our age group every year at the Road nats... (every year except this year). Just my luck. I didn't go down to Palmerston South, but Mike Sim did, and got Rays scalp. Ray rode the pursuit just before me. I sat in the hotseat and watched him shorten the Masters 2 record by 24 seconds! His time was sharp. 3.39. It was a PB for him by 3 seconds and would have given him a silver at the world masters in Manchester last year. Ray has a duel going with NZ's current top women's pursuiter, Alison Shanks. We think he is now in front of Ali by a few hundreths!

I knew I would have to be firing to beat Ray. My splits were for a 3.41, but I would see what happened. After telling Troy and Nick that the three rules of pursuiting are....
1. Dont start too hard, 2. Dont start too hard, and 3. Dont start too hard.... I started too hard....

Not that hard, but 17's when I was supposed to be doing 18 flat. As you would expect, as I tired my times drifted up.... I wasn't dying but it was getting harder.... I was starting to think about looking for the lap board so I could see how many I had to hang on for...... BUMMER! Only one lap to go... I dug it in and was in hi 17s again... too late, it was already over. Time flies when you are having fun.... or not...
3.44.01. In the end I came 2nd and pushed Murray Steele into 3rd spot. Apparently Murray got silver in the teams pursuit at the Commonwealth Games in 82'? Anyway. My mum was watching, and apparently the guys doing the commentary were getting pretty excited as the unknown from Wellington was mowing down the local guy (Mike Lormans). I nearly caught him on the line. As vets, we didn't do heats, and he didn't medal in the end. 9 seconds seemed to be the difference if you caught someone over the 12 laps.
Jville Cycles satanic mechanic Mark Humphries did a great job of yelling my splits. Its damn hard to hear with the noise of the crowd and the wind blasting around your ears.

Going back thru my pursuit calculator, I come out with an average of 18.3 second laps, an average speed of 48.21 kmh. (Sarah Ulmers WR is about 52 kmh). It looks safe to me!

Some of the guys down there are gnarly looking old buggers. I think its the climate. They look like they are 10 years older than they really are. We are lucky we have such a mild climate here in Wellington.... shame about the wind tho! If the drome down there wasn't covered we would have been lucky to get 1 days racing in. We had rain and hail and artic winds during in the week.

We had a great time and Shane Riches and Sepp Hiribar both tore the legs off the opposition in heats and finals, once again, against guys that had represented NZ at the very highest level..... Shanes heat was scary, he just dropped them by so much. Maybe too much? They certainly would have had an eye on him for the final! He was racing some seriously fast guys that had muscles on their muscles. Shanes cooking had to be experienced to be believed. Lasagne with home made pasta! Yummmmmm.

I expressed concern to Sepp that the guy he was racing had a sprint bronze from the Commonwealth Games and would have tactics we could only dream about. Sepp told me to relax. Sprinting is an intuitive thing. Not something to worry about.
A gold and an NZ record in the Master 2 515m scratch proved him right!
Paulas efforts in the AWD were amazing too, especially since she had food poisoning the day before she raced!

Thanks to all the guys that lent us bits and supported us. There was a petition going around to get the event back to Invercargill for next year. If it was anywhere else this year most of it would have been rained out.

Cheers Jeff
More photos here

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Velodrome Aero Power Testing Protocol links

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Monday, March 19, 2007

NZ mountainbike champs series final


The NZ mountainbike champ series/circus came to Wellington the other day.
The green-belt based Course in Mount Victoria was used in the 1997 World Cup circuit when MTBing was at its heady heights, and had the distinction of being called the best urban-based course ever made. One of the organisers, Arthur Klapp, went on to spear-head organisation of the 2006 World MTB champs that were held in Rotorua with great success.

I coach a couple of young athletes for Mountainbiking, and one of them was in with a chance of the overall series title. In New Zealand you have the national series - best 4 races from 6 starts (a massive undertaking), and the National Champs, a one-off race.

Jordan Blake had won the first round of the nats at Coronet peak, but had had some dramas with poor gear selection, and breakages in other rounds, meaning his next best 2 results were 4ths. With a different kid winning the race in each town (always the local rider) Jord had a chance to get some good points in the final on his local track.

Series leader (Tauranga's Ash Hough) only had to finish in the top three and the series was his ! It was pretty tense and Jord attacked like there was no tomorrow. He started so hard I was worried he was going to blow, but he did it well.

Poor Ash Hough got taken out within seconds of the start as the riders jockeyed for position on the lap they did of the Haitaitai Velodrome. Ash and another couple of guys went down real hard.

They seemed to take ages getting going again and Ash fought his way back and had a gusty race to finish 4th..... 1 place off winning the national under 19 cross country championships.

The title was Jordans! A 16 year old racing in the under 19 class. The other riders I coach had pretty good rides too, but Kane wasnt happy with his performance and straight away started training for the national secondary school MTB champs to be held in mid April. Kathryn enjoyed the brutally steep Mt Vic climbs and rode parts even the elite women were walking. I raced in the masters 2 class but was well and truly beaten into 4th place by original Karapoti Classic event organiser Simon Kennett, National series winner Trevor Woodward and another local, Ant Bradshaw. Santa Cruz Rep and NZ selector Mike Stylianou finished 5th, and 2nd overall in the masters 2 series. Series Results.
"Stylie" coaches some real good up and coming young athletes including Nelsonian Gordon Bennett.

Stylie was NZ Coach for the team that went to the Oceania MTB champs in Thredbo Australia a few weeks later. It wasnt the spectacle that the NZ Oceania champs were in Rotorua last year, and the weather turned bad for under 19 guys, but they got a taste of the level expected if they are to go head to head with the Aussies. Australias geographic size seems to be the biggest limiter in getting big fields of participants to these events. The standard is always very high though. Jordan came away with 6th place, and 2nd kiwi to Connor McFarlane whose technical riding skills were head and shoulders above the rest.
Read Jordans report here.
Professional photos here.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Pacing with the Power Tap in a series of short TT's

Here is a bit of a timeline on my first serious efforts at racing, (rather than training) with my Power Tap on. I almost always go back to my race wheel (Corimma disc) rather than using my Power Tap wheel, which is a Mavic Open Pro with a Wheel cover.

In the interests of self betterment I decided to use the PT wheel and see if I could use it for pacing, even in short events like our Wednesday night 24km Time Trials.
Coming from a background as a Mountainbiker I am used to starting at maximum watts to be the first into the single track !
Old habits die hard, there is no single-track on our course, and we are starting at 1 minute intervals, so maybe I could slow down a bit?

Race 1. I pretty much raced as I always did, hard out of the blocks.
Its a 4 lap course. Up one side of the main drag, usually into a strong northerly, ever so slightly climbing, and back down the other side over about 4 rollers, no more than 5-10 metres in height.
Watch as my lap times got slower and slower.

Liverton road 4 laps (5.85kms)34-08 mins
1, 8.21 mins 307 watts, 168 bpm, cad 94, 42.3 kmh
2, 8.26 mins 301 watts, 179 bpm, cad 90, 42.2 kmh
3, 8.36 mins 284 watts, 179 bpm, cad 90, 41.0 kmh
4, 8.46 mins 292 watts, 179 bpm, cad 90, 41.0 kmh

Average power 296, Normalised Power 303
20 min power, 307 average , 312 Normalised power.

Out and back speed differentials on a very windy northerly
39.2 / 46.1 kmh
38.8 / 46.1 kmh
37.3 / 45.2 kmh
37.3 / 45.1 kmh


Race 2. I decided to use my 20 minute power of 307 watts as an upper ceiling to try not to go over. This had a good pacing effect on my first lap.
At the end of the TT, my 2nd and last laps were the same, a very good thing... my average power was up 8 watts and my NP was up 6 watts.
I was also 30 odd seconds faster.

Liverton road 4 laps (5.85kms) 33.26 mins
1, 8.24 mins 307 watts, 168 bpm, cad 94, 42.5 kmh
2, 8.18 mins 303 watts, 179 bpm, cad 89, 42.9 kmh
3, 8.26 mins 304 watts, 179 bpm, cad 90, 42.1 kmh
4, 8.18 mins 300 watts, 179 bpm, cad 90, 42.3 kmh
Average power 304, normalised power 309
20 min power, 310 average , 313 Normalised power.

Out and back differentials on another very windy northerly
40.1 / 45.2 kmh
40.6 / 45.7 kmh
39.0 / 45.9 kmh
39.7 / 45.4 kmh


Race 3. The same plan as the previous week. But at last some good conditions, a lighter southerly. The speed differential between out an back legs would be less.
I had done some pretty hard workouts only 2 days previous, so I would be tired, but the chance to have a go at the course record was to good too turn down. I was supposd to be peaking for a 40km TT the next weekend (3 days away).

Liverton road 4 laps (5.85kms) 31.30 mins. A new allcomers record, and vets record by 1 minute 20.
1, 7.51 mins 306 watts 167 hr 95 cad 45.0 kmh speed differential 46.0 / 43.7
2, 7.53 mins 299 watts 177 hr 96 cad 45.2 kmh speed differential 46.7 / 43.7
3, 7.56 mins 300 watts 180 hr 96 cad 44.8 kmh speed differential 46.1 / 43.5
4, 7.51 mins 301 watts 181 hr 97 cad 45.6 kmh speed differential 45.6 / 45.5

Average power 302, normalised power 306
20 min power 304, 307 normalised.

Watts were down about 2 in average and normalised power, probably due to tiredness, but the better conditions meant I went 2 minutes faster.

A speed differential of only 2-3 kmh, as opposed to 6-8kmh of the previous two weeks races, meant I was able to get maximum value out of my efforts.
Keeping a lid on my watts on the first couple of laps was essential to a good time..
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Friday, January 12, 2007

Otago Rail Trail


http://www.otagorailtrail.co.nz/
Our family holiday was a bit of fun this year. We headed off to the South Island and the picturesque Otago Rail Trail. A couple of hundred Kms between Clyde and Middlemarch on old abandoned railway lines. There were big questions to be asked of our family. Could I ride that slow - and could the family ride that long on the one bottom!
Francis at Jville Cycles said the following. Its not about how comfy your seat is, its about being able to change your seat, when that part of your bum gets tired! He was dead right. Swapping bikes on the last day helped two of my family immensely. The one in our family that did it the easiest was the one that rides horses, not complaints at all. Its all time in the saddle!

We did about 30kms a day for 3 days, and that was about all my troops could handle. Folks with a bit of grit and/or fitness would do a lot better.
We met a little guy called Paelo, a 7 year old with an awesome attitude. He liked to lead from the front! He spanked us on the leg from Oterehua to Ranfurly, but it rained the next day and apparently he said he would rather be at school!

The scenery was surprisingly green, and overcast. No baking in the sun for us. We saw heaps of people, many of them over 50 years of age, none of them what you would call hard-core cyclists, and most of them with hire bikes, or doing trips that had been pre-planned for them by a company.

Accomodation along the route was good with many different varieties, Pubs, back-packers and bed and breakfasts. We only did 3 legs in the middle of the trail, due to time constraints. Alexandra to Omakau. Omakau to Oterehua, and Oterehua to Waipiata. Each day was roughly 30kms.
At the end of each day I would ride back and pick up the car, usually partly on the trail, and partly on the tar-sealed road, this way we didnt have to carry much gear. Some people had their gear picked up and forwarded each day by a bus that comes through the trail.

There was nearly a revolt amongst the crew on our last day. Bums were sore and after 36 kms, the back packers that was promised turned into a series of signs saying, 3 kms, 1 km and then 1 km again! It wouldnt have been so bad except there was a slight hill, and there are no hills at all on the trail! The Pubs are really good in Central Otago too. Some of them even have ice-creams for sale and they are very children friendly. This photo is of The Iron-Horse B & B at Waipiata. Its very rustic.
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Worlds Steepest St.


We spent a bit of time in Dunedin. Unfortunately the Cadburys chocolate Factory, and Speights beer factories were closed down for tours, so after Larnach castle, the next obvious thing to do was check out the worlds steepest street in. Baldwin St. I pity the poor locals. After watching a pair of foreign gentlemen in matching hire cars tailgating each other up this crazy steep hill.... well I stood well back. This mountainbiker had a treat in store for her on the decent when a family stopped their car at the bottom... in the midde of the road.... and opened all the doors....
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Thursday, November 23, 2006

new frame

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Friday, November 10, 2006

K2 - Coromandel to Coromandel: 185kms.


K2 is a 185 kilometre bicycle race held on the Coromandel Peninsula. The race starts from a different town each year. Coromandel, Thames, Tairua or Whitianga. It has more hills than any other race I have seen in New Zealand. The weather is always good, and the scenery stunning.

After a pretty apphrensive start, I was going alright. I was in the top 20 on the first two major climbs just out of Coromandel. I was just cruising in the bunch for the entire coastal stretch down to Thames while most of my buddies were trying to get back onto our group of about 20. There was a small group up front who seemed intent on keeping it rolling so I was pretty happy with my armchair ride. I talked to a few people including Chris Gaze who had won one of the Vets ages groups last year.

The Kopu Hikuai is the longest climb - suppposedly 14 kms. Unfortunately I over-shifted on a flattish piece near the bottom and dropped my chain off the crank. I had to stop to untangle it . Luckily I hadnt twisted it. At that point I was in the front group but suddenly I was on a mission to try and recatch them all.

I just missed the last rider of the front bunch going over the top. I am pretty sure it was another Wellington Rider, Dev, now known as "The Worlds Fastest Indian!" Foolishly I paused for a drink, forgetting that I am crap at bridging down hill.... so I ended up riding most of the next 40kms by myself... Some riders swept me up just before Pumpkin Hill past Tairua. At this point I realised that my nutrition had failed again. The sickly sweet formula and muesli bars were not going down. I started to get very worried as I heard that the race doesnt actually really start until Whitianga ! Some coke seemed to bring me back to life for a while but my 2nd bunch was gone, and it was a while before another one came through.

Whitianga just seemed to unearth more and more hills that didnt appear to be on the map ! Then we had a couple of really nasty ones....
Myundermans and Gentle Annie just seemed very excessive to my painful legs. Short and sharp, 1.3 and 0.8kms. Some how I hadnt cramped, and I was forced to stand just to keep the wheels turning. By this time a few of the Elite women who I must have picked up and dropped on the Kopu Hikuai started catching me up again. With only one major climb left my tank was dry.

The Whangapoa Hill is 3.4 kms at 8.9 % . It was a big ask and it took all my determination to not walk it. I lost about 8 minutes in only 3.4kms in comparison to the people I was with at the bottom of the hill. I calculate about 30 people passed me as I grovelled up the hill. I glanced over a my shoulder and they looked like a bunch of cicadas inching up a power pole in the hot sun. Pearl Izumi had a deal going whereby, if you wore any of their kit, you got a free beer and sausage at the end! A beer never tasted so good, and a few brave souls borrowed my PI socks!!

Our Buddy Peter Kane was having some fun..... Apparently there were 2 Peter Kanes in the race, he reckoned he would take the time of the fastest one! Unfortunately our Peter Kane got a blow-out bout 2kms from the finish on the nastiest corner on the final descent, and the fake Peter Kane passed him and beat him by 30 seconds !!!! DOH!!! Petes helmet was munted, and 2 days later a nasty black eye turned up as well. There are some pretty cool shots here from Kevin Chang's Flickr, Linda Villumsen was riding.
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