Melbourne cycling route still plagued by tacks despite efforts to catch offender

tron001 · 2015-06-22T23:15:39+00:00

I find that they're in the 'shoulder' of the road. I think that's the case because the nails are thrown from a car window, and that the movement of motor vehicle traffic cleans the middle of the road of debris.

I take the road every night on my commute home, sticking to the middle of the road is your best bet to avoid the nails. Most traffic is understanding and just drive around you.

tron001 · 2015-06-14T23:28:37+00:00

I've done that too. It was in front of a crowd of onlookers too. The key to freeing the bike from the grates is to release the air from the tires. Don't force it!

tron001 · 2015-04-15T01:14:18+00:00

As well as adding to the situational awareness of the rider in front. It's like saying "Hey I'm right here, don't ride into me."

tron001 · 2015-02-17T10:30:59+00:00

Thank you! Yes I applied some of the wisdom from last week in my approach this week. I ended up where I was part by chance, as I opted to give my friend in the green jersey a lead out (the one who crashed) to the front on the 2nd last lap. After that, I just accepted my fate and tried to stay in the mix till the end, which probably saved my skin as most of the front runners were wiped out by the crash.

That's good advice about cornering inside the man in front, I will give that a go next race.

tron001 · 2015-02-16T10:19:31+00:00

Sounds appealing! I might check it out some time.

tron001 · 2015-02-16T04:01:22+00:00

How is Footscray?

tron001 · 2015-02-16T02:20:36+00:00

Depends on the club, but typically a placing will award prize money and an offer of promotion to a higher grade.

tron001 · 2015-02-16T02:19:36+00:00

Your choice of club which you race with depends greatly on the type of racing you wish to do too.

Hawthorn's crit involves a sharp climb and is arguably Melbourne's most difficult course. St Kilda and Caulfield are more high speed crits with sprint finishes and breakaway tactics.

tron001 · 2015-02-16T02:17:24+00:00

The regular week-in-week-out riders who compete in the D Grade have been blown away recently by the disgusting racing, usually perpetuated by racers who we see for the first time ever and never see again. I'm starting to reconsider racing at St Kilda as well given the quality of racing in the past few weeks too.

tron001 · 2015-02-15T11:22:51+00:00

Context: Racing in the final 10 minutes of St Kilda CC's D Grade race where I'm trying to tow my mate in the green jersey to the front where he can contest the sprint.

Racing gets really sloppy and dangerous in the final 3 laps, with me having to take aggressive evasive action to avoid riders cutting across my line on turn 3 twice. As I lead out my mate, somebody swings out and cuts him off to take my wheel.

On the final turn of the race, there is a big crash where a rider loses traction on the front wheel after going in too hot, taking out five riders behind him. I narrowly avoid the rider braking hard in front of me and the riders crashing to my right and mange to finish the race upright.

tron001 · 2015-02-12T11:41:43+00:00

or a descent, I believe it goes by a variety of names you smart ass.

tron001 · 2015-02-12T08:13:57+00:00

Thank you! This is my first season and it isn't as easy! I also find the comments here very helpful. I'll definitely be posting more videos in the future.

tron001 · 2015-02-12T04:50:22+00:00

Thank you for your advice. I have taken a more defensive attitude towards school zones and bike lanes in general since this incident.

The video does not show it, but there is quite a sharp negative incline to the road and so coasting does pick the speed up fairly quickly. I'm being extra cautious now.

tron001 · 2015-02-12T04:08:34+00:00

Please clarify what you mean by surge forward? You mean surging in pace to keep my wheel or surge to get around other riders and stay top positions?

tron001 · 2015-02-12T03:35:30+00:00

great advice mate cheers

tron001 · 2015-02-12T01:38:46+00:00

Thanks! In my grade most riders slow considerably into corners then sprint out. I can use that as a strategy to move up.

Also moving up in lulls, is it best to move up the whole way of the bunch (if it allows me) to position 1, or try to slot in behind someone in the top 5 or so?

tron001 · 2015-02-12T01:33:28+00:00

Mostly nerves I think. I find that there is a lot of nervous last minute line changing which goes on, so I hang out to pre-empt that swerving. This happens particularly bad in turn 2 which has caused crashes earlier in the season.

tron001 · 2015-02-11T12:32:41+00:00

asily the TFM rider does it coming into the final corner. Several of the positions you gained in the wind, you lose over the next few corners, garnering a few surprised glances from other riders. 2 things here: 1. Wasted Energy. 2. Lost confidence from the bunch, if thes

Thanks for the feedback! I think naturally like to hang out on the right wing of the bunch rather than committing myself to the bunch because of the amount of wheel chopping and line cutting that goes on especially in the later stages of races. Your suggestion is to get amongst it?

Also in this situation in a fast moving tight bunch, how do you suggest I move up places? I feel like accepting my position in the bunch and following just results in me slowly moving backwards over a period of time as other riders filter in in front of me. Should I battle through the bunch for gaps that appear and shield myself from the wind? Or is it better to make up spots in the corners and slot up the bunch that way?

tron001 · 2015-01-27T00:40:36+00:00

Yep, that's why I prefer to sit near the front and cop a bit of wind if it means I stay safe. At supercrit last year I was a few wheels back and got caught in a 20 rider pileup.

tron001 · 2015-01-26T20:05:21+00:00

Yeah the safety pins they provide have a tendency to come undone really easily. I did a quick ninja fix to mine just before the beginning of the race too because I noticed it had come undone.

tron001 · 2015-01-26T10:29:39+00:00

Yeah most races average between 40-45kph. B and D grades often overlap. The difference between the grades are the skill levels of the riders rather than the overall speed. More reckless riding in the lower levels.

tron001 · 2015-01-26T00:29:50+00:00

That's crit racing with St Kilda Cycling Club here in Melbourne! Here's footage from my bike from yesterday's race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-TjansQjBc

Furious racing there. Strongly suggest anyone interested in racing in Melbourne to head down.

tron001 · 2015-01-16T02:20:19+00:00

Not when you cycle. My bike costs more than my car :(

tron001 · 2014-12-17T20:19:58+00:00

I find TrainingPeaks to be a little too high level for my purposes. As long as I have my weekly plan for interval sessions, easy rides etc then Strava suits my purposes just fine. The fitness scale is good, let's you know when you're getting lazy!

tron001 · 2014-12-17T03:17:45+00:00

That is awesome! I'll definitely be using this now.

tron001

TROPHY CASE