Cup on Wheels Day #2

Saturday AM I decided I had better spin my legs a bit to get some of that lactic acid out. I set up some rollers that I borrowed and gave them a go, this was my first real experience riding on them, so I planted myself between a door jam for balance. It did not take too long to get the hang of them and I managed to get my legs loosened up.

The races went a bit better today, my legs had more go in them and I was prepared for the speed of the race.   Laura found a nice place to watch the races from (left), although she quickly moved to a spot out of the sun (and closer to the bar.)

The first race was a 1000 meter handicap.  I started out in the middle of the handicap at 65 meters with the furthest out guy at 120 meters.  I was slow on the start and when the guys behind me went by, I really never got on their wheels.  I finished somewhere near the end.

The next race was an elimination race, I finally found my legs with this race, I have just not trained myself to go 0 to 60 without any build up in the sprint races.  I think we started out with 18 people in the elimination and I lasted through until there were 8-9 people left.

Next up was the Cup on Wheels (the main race for the night) heat, a 1600m handicap sprint.  I started out as I wanted to this time and swung up onto the bank to let the guys behind me come underneath so I could draft off of them.   I was happy with my position, but I ended up towards the back of the pack as we came into the last lap and was unable to make the top 8 for the final.

The final race was a points race, with sprints for points every 6 laps of the 24 lap race.  With the sprint at 12 laps to go I ended up in a group that was gapped by the mainfield and there was not enough firepower in the group to catch back on.  I ended up chasing the group until the next sprint, when they pulled away from me and that was it for the night.

Rockhampton Cup on Wheels - Videos

Rocky Cup on Wheels

Same race from the other end of the track.

An earlier race.

Rocky Cup on Wheels

Wow, this was quite an event. The races started out on Friday night around 6:30PM. When we arrived the track was transformed from what had been when we were training. They had bleachers set up all around the track, a bar at one end, and the track had been scrubbed clean. All the racers were set up on the north side of the track. Where there were a bunch of tents and plenty of rollers set up along the fence.


There were 3 races for me on Friday night, a scratch race, a 2333 meter handicap race and a Keirin race. I was moved up to the B grades for the race, so things were faster than I was used to in my previous 2 races. I think that I finished last or 2nd to last in the handicap, I was just not ready for the speed of people coming by me and I never was able to jump on their wheels. Same for the scratch race, when they started sprinting in the last lap, I just went backwards, my legs were just not there.

The Keirin (explanation here) was a neat event. I had never raced one, so it was new for me. We had a false start the first go around, but the second start was clean. The race was for 6 laps, when the motorbike pulled off with 1.5 laps to go, I thought I would have a go at jumping the bunch, that didn’t work too well and I finished at the back of the pack and did not advance to the finals. With my races over, we watched the rest of the events and then headed for some ice cream to end the night.

My new Comets uniform!

When I arrived at work last night, my official Comets uniform was waiting for me, brand new logo and all. I couldn't wait to get home and try it on. Wayne, the coach, promised that it was the smallest size they could order and I don't think it looks too shabby. Now I am official! In case you want to check out their website: Rocky Comets

Home

Here are some pictures of our pad here in Rockhampton. It is a typical queenslander, which is also called a highset house. We have been told that the houses are elevated like this to keep them cool and keep the bugs out. We are not sure how well this works because it is still plenty hot and we have an good assortment of flying and crawling insects in the place.

Mozzies are Mosquitoes

In Australia, no one likes to use the full word for anything...too much wasted energy on words when you can be drinking beer? Here are a few of the abbreviations we have come to use in our daily language:

Mackers: McDonald's
Brekky: Breakfast
Tinnies: Cans of beer
Stubbies: Short glass bottles of beer
Eskies: A cooler, for your beer
Prezzies: Presents (it was just Christmas)
Footy: Rugby or as it is also known here, football

Mate

So, at least where we live in Australia, everyone uses the word mate. It is not just an exaggeration in the movies. Parents call their kids mate, women call other women mate, Scott, Laura's boss, uses mate to end every sentence. Perfect strangers are now our mates.  Or, as the Lonely Planet guide book puts it "Mate is what you call a friend, a relative, or a stranger".

Our SCUBA pool session

We woke up early on Sunday to attend our first active lesson after completing all of our bookwork. We were fitted with masks, snorkel, fins and wetsuits, along with all of our other SCUBA equipment. After driving to the Southside Pool, we spent the day learning how to properly put together our equipment, how to make ourselves buoyant in the water, how to take our equipment off and put it back on in the water. It was a full day and by the end we felt like drowned rats, but after learning the skills they weren’t too hard to practice over again. Our water logged bodies felt recovered finally after a hot shower, dry clothes and a cold James Squire Amber Ale.

Heritage Village

Today we decided to check out Heritage Village which is located just north of the city on the A1. Not sure what it really was we went to see what it was all about. Upon arriving we were escorted into a 1926 Rugby for a private tour around the complex. Our guide informed us that the complex had been there for 11 years. Its purpose is to show what the region used to look like when it was first settled. It consisted of a number of original structures that had been relocated and several others that had been built in likeness of original structures. After our tour we were dropped off and left to ourselves to wander around the Village. We toured old homesteads, a school, church and numerous other similar structures. They also displayed numerous cars and machines that were used…some until recently like the 32V generator engine that was used to power a local dairy farm until 1986 when it was replaced with a 240V engine! One interesting fact: Rockhampton didn’t have a complete sewage system until 1978!

Win #1

Won my first track race tonight. An elimination race. (Each time around the track the last rider across the finish line is eliminated from the race). More to follow...