Race review last Sunday

Wet and muddy conditions greeted the racers for the last Sunday's race. The rain over the previous couple of days left some surface water on course which effected parts of the track. Ian and Nathan did a quick inspection to make sure it was safe. The track in was pretty muddy so we made a change to the start-finish line and ended up with 6.8 km course. Since we haven't had rain up here for ages nearly all bikes were set up with tyres more suited to dry dusty conditions so the challenge was definitely on maintaining traction in the soft mud. The other thing was trying to reduce the amount of mud sticking to the bike.
Luckily the rain stayed away and in cool overcast weather the race started at a cautious pace, as riders tried to come to grips with the slippery conditions and course layout. Steve Kelly from Broken Hill decided to err on the side of caution and shadow Ian Beruldsen who led the field in the first lap. Nathan Floramo lead out the Sport class from Grant Brooks, Leon and Ross Pedersen and Anthony Connell. In the Juniors, the improving Sam Barnden set up a handy lead from recent good performer Alex Drysdale and Angus Barnden.
By mid-race, positions in the field were set and parts of the track were barely rideable. At the rear of the course the recently built "3rd tee climb and jump" was like riding on ice and the general consensus was to "hike-a-bike". Luckily the rain held off but the a combination of sticky conditions and the flu resulted in a few riders calling it a day early. Well done to gesture Alex Drysdale who let Len Pedersen use his bike to finish the race due to Leon flatting on the third lap. With the amount of mud stuck to tyres and rims a change of tube was out of the question.
Ian's good start put a couple of minutes on Steve Kelly and he took out the Expert class. Nathan and Grant crossed the line in a tie for first and Ross Pedersen second with Len in third in Sport class. Sam Barnden had the Juniors all to himself when Angus and Alex fell victim to the Murray mud.
Despite the tough conditions all racers enjoyed the hit out and the experience of wet weather racing. Club President Ian Beruldsen said "It's great to test your skills in different riding conditions and we certainly haven't raced in conditions like these for quite a while. The area needs the rain and the Coomie course can do with a drink leading up to the Coomie Club Enduro in September." http://coomieclub3hourenduro.blogspot.com/
The June long weekend sees a contingent of Coomie-Mildura riders and supporters heading north to take on the Broken Hill Mountain Bike Club's annual "Poker Race". Hopefully we can put in a good showing. Good luck to all! Next club race 15 Jun 08. Stay tuned!

The 3rd Tee - It's a Drop-Off!

After some strenuous covert work today - validating footprint data, tailing cars, intercepting phone calls and stealing photo's from peoples camera phones - I turned up the photo's shown below. They show conclusively that "The 3rd Tee" is actually the name for a modified part of the Coomealla-Mildura Mountainless Bike Clubs track!

It appears that two club members were involved in making a sturdy little drop off at the end of the popular "Goat Track" section. It is quite solid and very well constructed. Not only is it higher than the previous drop, but it's constructed from treated pine posts infilled with road base, which has also been used to highlight the landing area and following track.

This work must have been with the clubs upcoming race this weekend (18th May) in mind! It all makes sense!

Here you can see club president Ian Beruldsen caught red-handed, about to take another shovel load of quality road-base to in-fill the drop off.

From footprint surveys I believe that Ian was the ring leader, arriving early in the day and already having one trailer load of road base shoveled and the timber work constructed before another club member - Anthony Connell - came along to help.

I also found evidence of a new "Alternative Route" which turns to the left just before the drop, instead of the right, and shoots safely down between trees. This explains the weird hieroglyphs I found last night - they're actually direction arrows indicating that you have two options of tracks to take at this point! From my early calculations it appears that riders who use the alternative route will loose time to those who take the drop off.

Here you see club member and fellow drop-off conspirator Anthony Connell tentatively peering over the drop. I believe this was taken just prior to his first attempt.

Also found on a camera phone was this photo, which proves that the drop is two feet high:

And if that wasn't enough proof, have a look at this video of Anthony riding the drop.

Case solved!

The Secret Viper

The Wall of intrigue that is The 3rd Tee...

With my supposed Super-Sleuth's incapable of chasing a lead if it was attached to their collar, I went on my own investigating and fact finding mission under the cover of darkness last night - The Mystery of The 3rd Tee needed to be solved! Starting at our first lead - The Coomealla Golf Club - it didn't take too long before I was lost and blindly wandering around the bush cursing the three B's of night navigation - Batteries, Batteries, Batteries.

As the hours slipped by I became gripped with fear - Where was I? Would my water last? What caused that rustling in the bushes? And would I make it home by 8:35 to see Dateline on SBS?
Panic stricken, I ran. Stumbling, tripping, falling, thump! I looked up, amazed. Dumb founded. There it was! The 3rd Tee! Finally!

With time running out to adjust my aerial and get good reception for Dateline and see the Man that is George Negus, I had to gather facts quickly. Scouting the area blindly, I was crawling my way through the darkness on hands and knees.


Again, Thump! I came across the hard lump you see to the left, resembling a tablet with weird hieroglyphs. What does it mean? Is it a sign of an alien landing?

After 2 photo's my camera batteries ran out. Unperturbed I scoured on my hands and knees. Round timber posts. Vertical. Horizontal. More stone tablets - what strange text was printed on them? Footprints - two sets. What does it all mean? What felt like a rusted old wheel from a child's tricycle. An alien landing surely!

I will continue my investigations today begining with analysis of footprint samples, using them as my second lead. Hopefully I will get to the bottom of this today, as I don't want to miss Inspector Rex tonight. Now if only I could get Inspector Rex on the case...

Signed - The Secret Viper

"The 3rd Tee" - Rumours abound!

Since the weekend, rumours have been surfacing in the Sunraysia district regarding something being called "The 3rd Tee".

What is The 3rd Tee? According to the rumours, "No one can be told what The 3rd Tee is - you have to see it for yourself."

Pressed for personal time to chase rumours, we’ve sent our undercover agents out to dig up the dirt on this wall of intrigue and report back with everything they find. Stay tuned for further updates as they come to hand – you’ll hear it here first.

In the meantime, don’t forget the next club race - this Sunday 18th May, 9:30am registration for a 10am start at the Coomealla track – straight past the Coomie Golf club. Which, incidentally, is the first lead our agents are following... Stay tuned!

Signed - The Secret Viper.