December 2008 Update
Hi All,
The Cycling Clubs regular "first
Monday of the month" Get-together has a NEW VENUE, following the recent
closure of Breakers restaurant.
This will now be on Monday 1st
December at De Bier Haus, still on The Strand, towards the Devonport Rd
end, at 6.00pm as usual.
A good chance to have a chat, a drink
and a light meal if desired. I am sure there will be a few tales to be
told of how you fared in the Great Lake Cycle Challenge last Saturday.
Absolutely stunning weather in Taupo for it, hopefully you all got
around without any major dramas.
Tuesday Rides
We will be starting a 5th bunch, due
to the numbers we have been getting. This keeps the bunches a bit
smaller and therefore easier to pass. The new bunch will slot in
between the "B" and the "C" group.
Also, we have had some feedback from
motorists using Welcome Bay Rd, complaining of "bikes all over the
road". Make sure you do make a better effort to keep left and no more
than two abreast - single file if there is car behind. The problem
seems to be worst up the hills. As it is only a training ride, the
decent thing to do is for the ones that are faster up the hills to ease
up over the other side, allowing the slower folk to get back on,
without the desperate manoeuvres. Same applies on the other side of
intersections - check behind to make sure the group hasn't got caught
up in traffic.
Club Champs - this Saturday, 6th
December
Te Puna Diner (formerly the Te Puna
tavern), at the bottom of Minden Rd.
Registration from 9am, Time Trial
starts at 9.30 on Te Puna Rd. Poster attached again for your reference.
Parking - Stihl
Building - the next building pat The Diner and between there and
the H'way.
(Was a vacant section last year and
now is all tarsealed with a large building for Stihl.)
The manager of Stihl is very happy
for us to park in the tarsealed parking lot as long as we do not park
in the row of parks right at the front of the Stihl buildings front
door.
Must be left for their
customers. We can use any car park around the perimeter of
the parking lot.
If you are thinking of coming along,
please email back, so we can get some idea of likely numbers. Doesn't
matter if you change you mind between now and then.
Race Results - Old Coach Rd /
Maniatutu Rd circuit, Paengaroa - 22 November 2008 47km (3 laps)
A very warm, sunny day out at
Paengaroa. Head wind on the short leg down Maniatutu Rd, otherwise good
conditions. Everyone started together, with the field quickly splitting
into 3 main groups up Old Coach Rd. The groups further splintered, with
the sharp climb before Maniatutu Rd proving to be quite testing by the
third lap.
Many of those riding agreed that this
is possibly the best race circuit the club has.
1st Steve Came 1;12:57
2nd Heath Lett 1:12:57
3rd Daniel Finucane 1:18:40
Andrew Collins 1:18:40
James Boyd 1:19:10
Lucas Fincane 1:22:58
John Skelton 1:29:51
John Spratt 1:32;22
Mark Ireland 1:32:22
Kevin/Carol Jerome 1:38:59
Maureen Lawson 1:38:59
2 laps (31km)
Ari Finucane 1:04:11
Don Robinson 1:04;11
Darren Finucane 1:05:52
Keith Monnington 1:07:46
Regards
Mark Ireland
Club Captain
Tauranga Road Cycling Club
November 2008 Update
Hi all
Everyone has been making the most of
the great weather over the last few days to get out and about on their
bikes - we had approximately 100 riders on Tuesday night!!
To help you plan your cycling for the
rest of 2008, we have listed below the main events for the club for the
remainder of November and December. The big one (post Great Lake Cycle
Challenge) is the Club Champs, the details of which are on the attached
poster. This is a great little one day mini-tour and is followed by a
lunch / get-together. We hope you can come along.
Our regular weekly rides contine
(Tuesday Training Ride, Wednesday Oropi Rd Hillly Time Trial, Thursday
Night Races at Te Tumu, Saturday & Sunday Training rides), but the
evening events take a break over the Christmas / New Year period.
15th November – Club Race, Joyce Road
– Start by water treatment station at top end of Joyce Rd, 2.00pm start
22nd November – Club Race, Paengaroa
- (Old Coach Rd / Maniatutu Rd loop), start at Paengaroa hall, 2.00pm
start
29th November – Great Lake Cycle
Challenge
1st December - Monthly Monday Night
Club drinks / dinner / chat at Breakers, The Strand at 6.00pm (1st
Monday of each month)
6th December – Club Champs, Te Puna
(see poster for details) 9.00am start
14th December – Mid Summer Madness
130km Time Trial, Waihi
17th December – Wednesday Oropi Rd
Hilly TT - last one for 2008, start again 7th January 2009
18th December - Thursday Night race
(Te Tumu Rd) - last one for 2008, start again 8th January 2009
23rd December – Tuesday Night Ride -
last one for 2008, start again 6th January 2009
31st December – "End of 2008" Morning
Training Ride – 7.30am from Mount Hockey club, Totara St. (will do the
"Tuesday night" circuit)
Sunday training rides continue right
through the holiday season as normal (28th Dec and 4th January)
Thanks to all those who have sent
their 2009 membership forms back - over 100 members have joined up
already. Welcome to all the first time members, nice to have you with
us. Last year, we got to 188 members, our target is to break 200 for
2009.
Note that the 2009 memberships fell
due on 1 November - you must have a 2009 membership to ride in club
events now (including the club champs). So if you haven't already, dig
out the form, or download one off the website
(www.taurangacyclingclub.co.nz) and get it back to us.
All members will be getting some
additional benefits as from next month, as BikeNZ launches its
"Ridestrong" recreational membership programme. As a member of an
affliated club, you will automatically get these benefits. We will
advise you more about this as information comes to hand, but it makes
your membership even more valuable.
Looking for a decent Christmas
present? You could drop hints that you would like a club cycling jersey
- you, or your nearest & dearest can buy the club jerseys from
Koops Cycles or from our club custodian Brian Melville on 541-0499.
$100, in our distinctive blue & white zebra stripes. You can see
them on the club website.
See you on the road soon
Mark Ireland
Club Captain
Tauranga Road Cycling Club
August 2008 Update
by Mark Ireland
Hi Everyone
There has been a slight delay (ok, it was a long delay) in getting the
results of the Winter Series out to you all, but the winners can now be
revealed!
The grotty weather we had affected numbers a bit and certainly played
havoc with handicapping, but it still ended up a very close contest,
with only 1 point seperating first and second places.
One race even co-incided with a major storm and was rescheduled for the
following weekend, although 12 hardy souls still turned up and did a
shortened race anyway.
The prizes will be posted out to the winners shortly.
In other news, we plan to run more local Saturday racing during
spring/summer (possibly a summer series), as it is felt that people may
choose to race/ride at home rather than out of town, due to the cost of
petrol.
We are preparing a updated calendar of events (both local and out of
town) over the next couple of weeks, so you can start planning and
training for when the sun eventually makes a reappearance.
Current Events
Until then, here is a recap of cycling you can do at the moment:
Tuesday Night - Indoor training sessions at Maungatapu Primary School
Hall, 6.00pm
Thursday Night - Indoor training sessions at Avanti Plus Mt Maunganui,
6.30pm
Saturday Training Rides - Leave from Koops Cycles, 17th Ave/Cameron Rd
at 6.30am - a more serious training ride, ideal for those training up
for Round Taupo. Steve Came runs these and the distance will build up
from now to Taupo, with Steve also teaching people valuable bunch
skills and offers general coaching tips. Different circuit each week,
you will be surprised how many roads there are that are good for
cycling in Tauranga - Steve knows some great "hidden gems".
Sunday Training Rides - Barkes Corner at 7.25am
More details on these events, plus the current Events Calendar, can all
be found on the clubs website - www.taurangacyclingclub.co.nz
Daylight Saving Ride Programme (starts 30th September)
Our clubs main ride programme kicks back into life once daylight saving
commences on the last Sunday in September, which is now a mere 5 weeks
away (28th September). Runs through to the 1st Sunday in April.
Tuesday Night Training Rides - Leave from Mount Hockey Club at 6.00pm -
starts 30th September, you will need lights on your bike
Wednesday Night Uphill Time Trial - Oropi Rd, starts opposite golf
course 6.00pm, finishes by school - starts 1st October
Thursday Night Races - Te Tumu Rd, Maketu at 6.15pm, 26km - starts 2nd
October
Saturday Training Rides - Leave from Koops Cycles, 17th Ave/Cameron Rd
at 6.30am - a more serious training ride
Sunday Training Rides - Barkes Corner at 7.25am
That leaves you Monday & Friday free, so your family don't forget
who you are!
July 2008
Update
Hi all
Its now July and only 3 months until
our Tuesday night rides and Thursday night races recommence!!
Safety Notice from Tauranga City
Council
TCC has issued a safety notice to
cyclists - road works mean that it is now recommended that cyclists
avoid the following stretches of road:
1. The Harbour Bridge heading towards
The Mount - the shoulder from the end of the bridge to the Marina
entrance is closed, meaning there is nowhere to ride safely out of the
live car lane. They recommend using the footpath when heading in that
direction. Easiest way is to go along Cliff Rd and up onto the
overbridge footpath there. The road is still OK when heading from The
Mount towards Tauranga.
2. Takitimu Drive between Chapel St
and Elizabeth St. Again, the shoulders have been closed here and one
lane heading out of town has been closed. So really dangerous for
bikes, especially with the merging traffic. Recommended route to avoid
this is via Cameron Rd. You can drop down to the expressway off
Elizabeth St. Or go via Otumoetai.
North Island Schools Championships
Several of our members are taking
part in the NI Schools Champs in Ngaruawahia this weekend. In the Team
Time Trial, the team of Daniel Finucane, Lucas Finucane, Hayden
Moorhouse and Andrew Drummond have been putting in some solid training
and stand a good chance against some very experienced teams from
Auckland. All the best from the Club for a great ride, guys.
Sunday Rides
Last weeks Sunday ride turned into a
bit of a hammer session for some reason. As a result, a number of
riders got dropped and it turned our usual pleasant ride into a
gruelling race.
There are already plenty of
opportunities in the ride to push the pace a bit, but the core part of
the ride is supposed to be a bit social and to allow newcomers to gain
confidence in riding in a bunch.
So to recap, the drill is:
1. Through the hills after the
Welcome Bay School to the end of Welcome Bay Rd - ride at your own pace.
2. Regroup at the end of Welcome Bay
Rd
3. Comfortable pace along SH2, Bell
Rd, Parton Rd, Papamoa Beach Rd
4. Single file on Oceanbeach Rd -
still at a comfortable pace
5. Faster pace on Marine Parade, with
the end of the pace period being the first speed hump at Banks Ave
6. Easy cruise through the Main Beach
area / Pilot Bay
7. Stop at Salisbury Ave information
centre.
Race Results - Joyce Rd 28th June 2008
Not a bad turnout considering the
bitterly cold conditions on the tough Joyce Rd circuit. We were very
lucky with the rain - it stopped shortly before we started and then
rolled back in just as we all headed home. The Open and Under 17 riders
did 3 laps (33km), with the Under 15's doing 2 laps.
Everyone started together, but the
steep Joyce Rd climb back up to Pyes Pa Road quickly split the field.
The hill was made even less pleasant that normal, thanks to the dead
possum at the top that was attracting the interest of a hawk. A slight
tail wind up Pyes Pa Rd was a bonus, with the same wind quickly cooling
everyone off on the descent back down Joyce Rd. The winner was Mark
Crowther, despite his arriving at the race start with only seconds to
spare.
Thanks again to the two Brians for
standing out in the cold to take the times and set out the road signs
for us.
1st - Mark Crowther 57:28
2nd - Richard Coffey 58:30
3rd - Nigel Giles 1:02:10
Lucas Finucane 1:02:13 (U17)
Hayden Moorhouse 1:02:19 (U17)
Daniel Finucane 1:05:55 (U17)
Andrew Drummond 1:07:43 (U17)
Gavin Searle 1:07:59
Steve Crowther 1:10:51
Mark Ireland 1:11:41
Keith Thompson 1:11:41
Allan Giles 1:11:54
Under 15
Ari Finucane 50:39
Erica Moorhouse 51:00
And a reminder that the next Winter
Series race is on Saturday 12th July,
Regards
Mark Ireland
Tauranga Road Cycling Club
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Page last updated 06 Dec 2008