Time Adjustments

One thing that I'm V excite about is the handicapping of the rides, based on bicycle. I guess in a way its an acknowledgment that I think certain bikes are faster than others (but in a BIGGER way, its an acknowledgement that I think riders of certain bikes are faster than others) and I think adjusting times will add some excitment to the weekend. I think riding in a group and checking out others' equipment and knowing that you either need to drop them at some stage or that they need to drop you, would be a cool thing! So, as mentioned in an earlier post, handicaps (or time bonuses) will be given out in relation to the base bicycle, a suspension equipped (even if it's just a stem) mountain bike with multiple gears. Things that will earn you time bonuses are:

Narrow tires - Narrower than 43mm will usually get you a little, and narrower than 26mm will usually get you a lot.

No suspension - A rigid bike is a beautiful bike. This is pretty much to up the chances of bikes that I love showing up on the weekend.

One freewheeling gear - I love single speed and this is to encourage single speeders to show up and know they can be at the pointy end of things even though there is a near complete lack of technical riding.

Fixed gear - Or should I say (thanks to sturney archer) a SINGLE fixed gear.Lots of people have them and love them, and they should be encouraged to explore otehr types of riding... and lots of them are fast, so it might put the wind up some more trad racer types.

So here are the provisional adjustments for the first two loops.

Mt Ainslie

No suspension - 30 seconds bonus

Tires narrower than 43mm - 45 seconds bonus, ORTires narrower than 26mm - 120 seconds bonus

Single speed - 90 seconds bonus, OR
Fixed gear - 120 seconds bonus.

So, if you are riding a fixed gear road bike with 25mm tires and no suspension, you will have a bonus of 30 + 120 + 120 seconds per lap, or 4min30seconds per lap. Thats 13min30seconds for the ride compared to a suspended mtb! Worthwhile thinking about if you're a zen master fixter... I don't have the guts to even try to ride the lap with that set up, so the adjustment may be way over or way under what is fair.

Bruce ridge

Tires narrower than 26mm - 10 seconds per lap bonus.

Single speed - 10 seconds per lap bonus, OR
Fixed gear - 15 seconds per lap bonus.

This is indicative of the benign nature of the Bruce ridge loop.... its pretty much a a drag to the end!

Bruce Ridge loop

Saturday night will be a twilight gravel criterium... which sounds more luxe than it will be. The loop is a tick under 2km with about 40m of altitude change. The surface is fine gravel with little to write about. The loop starts with a small flat straight and then a long, straight downhill with a tightish right hander right at the bottom. The bottom of the course is quite flat and straight, which means very fast. The climbing is split in two with a long flat section between. There is one drain pipe near the top of the course that might require a bunny hop or a dab of the brakes to ride over.

This ride will only be about 35 minutes long but I can see it being a belter with a selection being made early and riders duking it out until the last climb to the finish. My prediction is that someone on a singlespeed and large gear will take it, and have to drag themselves through the hills of other two rides.There will be little to no advantage for fat tires, suspension or gears. Bring your lights and be prepared for kangaroos (whatever that means) and the odd jogger. 8 laps of this. Finish is just before the downhill.

Pictures:

This is the right hander at the bottom of the descent. Brakes are on at this stage. Hard.

Bottom straight. Flat and fast. Big geared single speeds will have to hustle to limit losses to geared riders here.

First pinch right after the bottom straight. Maybe 20 seconds of climbing here.

Top flat section that splits the climbing. Very flat and open.

Drain pipe. Small deal.

Last pinch. And you're nearly home. The finishing straight is a slight incline... then do it seven times more.


Here is the map and elevation link:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/28322946

That will take us to the end of Saturday's organised riding, though I'm thinking we will be out and about, up to something or other afterward. There may even be a barbeque! and drinks! but that IS sounding luxe...

Mount Ainslie loop

The first of the three rides will be a Mount Ainslie loop on Saturday morning at 11am.

Here is a bit of a course description:

Around 13km for a lap, this loop takes you around one of Canberra's three peaks. There are great views to be had along the top of Hackett Saddle and the descent after the rollercoaster at he back of the course.

The first half is quite hilly (pinchy, as all of these courses are) and rocky. The fireroads start off fine and become quite rocky in patches. There are probably two or three spots on descents out the back of Ainslie where there is no line that enable you to avoid rocks larger than golf balls. The descents are steep and loose with one sharpish right hand corner that still jumps out at me, and I've ridden it many times. There are water bars out the back that do their best to buck you off... all very good fun if you're a capable rider but can be a bit dangerous if you've not encountered that sort of thing before. Some of the (short) climbs are also rocky but shouldn't slow the skinny tired folk down much.

Overall, you need good brakes and a bike that you can move around on to get through the first half of this course quickly. Suspension will help in spots, but not a great deal. Tires over 45mm are definitely going to be the fastest to half way through this lap.

The second "half" of the lap starts at the end of the descent after the rollercoaster (which you cant really see on the elevation chart, but its there and it will sap some strength each time). From here, the course flattens out considerably and the gravel is a lot finer and faster. Bring on the narrow tires and big gears. There is a tiny bit of connecting trail that is at times double track and at times single, but always quite do-able on road bike, if push came to shove. The front of course takes us along the back of the inner northern suburbs of Canberra, and there are often walkers along these undulating, screamingly fast gravel roads. A bell will help out a lot. I rode along this section in a pretty big gear (42/13 or so) the other day and it really is a great ride. Again, there are some drains that cross the roads at points, but these are usually either hoppable or easy to find a smooth line through.

The lap ends with a really rough right hand corner and a 100m sprint to the line. Still very flat but the corner throws up one last challenge, and chance for differentiation.

Here are some photos of the course.

Early climb. There are two or three 20 or 30 second effort climbs before the rollercoaster.

Hackett Ridge. Views to Black Mountain, this is also a good example of the surface in the first half of the loop Some large features, but mostly avoidable.

The rollercoaster. 5 or so minutes of sharp ups and downs.

Typical of the front half of the loop. Undulating to flat and very quick.

And finally, the map and elevation profile for the Ainslie loop
www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/28119328

Welcome... again

Welcome to another blog about Canberra's dirt road riding. I started this one a little while ago and have paid the price for not logging in for many months on end... I have no idea what the password is, so it will sit there, idle, but hopefully still telling lots of people about why business socks are great riding socks.

So the impetus for starting over is a ride that is coming up in Canberra, on April 2 and 3, to be exact. There will be three rides in two days, starting late enough on Saturday for people in Melbourne to drive up Friday night and still get a good sleep, and for Sydneysiders to leave for the capital on Saturday morning. Likewise, the third ride will end early enough for Melbournites to be in bed before the next day. Its all VERY convenient.

Here are some details about the rides...

Three looped rides on some of Canberra's best gravel and rocky roads.

State versus State, with top 5 riders from each state in each ride adding points to the State total. Winning state gets some bragging rights and can run the next one. I'll maybe throw in a second hand trophy, too.

Each rider will use one bicycle for all three rides and will have a handicap, subtracting time for features of said bicycle. Standard bicycle will be a mountain bike with suspension and multiple gears. Time will be subtracted for: no suspension, single gear, fixed gear, tires under 43mm in width, tires under 26mm in width.

Ride 1: Saturday April 2nd, 11am.
3 Loops of Mt Ainslie on fireroad. Approximate time for a lap - 30minutes. Conditions - half of the course is very hilly, steep, loose large gravel/rock. Other half is flat to undulating, fine gravel, fast.

Ride 2: Saturday April 2nd, 7pm.
8 laps of a Bruce Ridge fireroad circuit. Approximate lap time - 8 minutes.
Conditions - short loop on very fine gravel. A 90 second or so climb and (quicker) descent, right handed corners, a long flat stretch good for big gears. Dark. Lights necessary. Kangaroos.

Dinner at supersecret (as yet unknown) location.

Ride 3: Sunday April 3rd, 11am.
5 laps of Black Mountain fireroad course. Approximate lap time - 30minutes. Conditions - Gravel but not as fine as Bruce Ridge, long flat to undulating sections with a couple of sharp pinch climbs. Sketchy corners. **This may be changed to a flat Mount Majura course if people are feeling the hills by this stage. Majura's fireroads are fine gravel, very fast, with right angled corners. Undulating. Short laps**

Keep checking for course maps, elevation profiles, photos of conditions and handicap details.

The rides are not races, this is not an event, this is me inviting you to ride with me and my mates at your own risk. You're almost certainly going to crash and it will hurt and do some damage.

Accommodation in Canberra is pretty cheap. Plenty of camping, plenty of hotels that should work out to less than $50 per person to stay in.

It should be a good time!

Updates will be coming fick and fast.