Ricketts Point Challenge

October 30, 2009 · Comments

I love a challenge. Especially when a woman challenges me on a bike. So when Olympic gold medalists Anna Meares sent out this challenge to all Melbourne cyclists I was one of the first to give it a go.  How hard could it be to beat a girl? I never turn down the opportunity prove my manliness.

Everyone in Melbourne knows Ricketts Point.  Beach Road’s Mt Ventoux if you will.  A 700m grueling climb that takes no prisoners (unless you have a bunch to sit onto).

Anna conquered Ricketts in 52.6 seconds with an average speed of 47km/hr and a top speed of 53km/hr. Seems like an easy enough time to smash.

You can see below the fury I unleashed on Ricketts Point.

Anna must have had a stronger tailwind that I did and I think my breaks must have been rubbing a little bit because I came nowhere close to her time.  My time : 1:02.

ricketts

I set a timeline for myself to get this video done but this challenge isn’t over yet.  I’ll be back at Rickett’s Point soon with fresh legs, a stronger tailwind, my new Lightweight wheels and a strong desire not to get beaten by a woman!  I’m thinking that last part is something I might have to accept…

Give it a shot.  See if you can beat a girl.  You can enter your time here and check-out all the other demoralized men’s times.  And don’t even think about passing up the chance to go and see the UCI Track World Cup in Melbourne on November 19-21.  It’s a spectacular show where you get to drink heaps of beer and hang out with your mates in jeans, not lycra.

Have a great weekend, ride hard, and go easy on the bus drivers!

Tagged as: ,

  • I just tackled Ricketts Point again this morning. I began with a 30km/hr rolling start and hit the finish line with a time of 56 seconds! I still got my arse kicked! Props to Anna
  • DDD
    Here is what Anna told me about the Ricketts climb:

    "I was suffering big time up that ricketts point hill... my god, the legs havent burnt like that in a while. ....and it wasnt nice weather either... I froze a bit :)"
  • Did she say if she was suffering from a stand-still or a rolling start?
  • DDD
    "I did it rolling and I did have a tail wind that day :)"
  • Sorry just watched the vid again and saw the aero descend on the music change. Nice editing, just made this vid even funnier.
  • All challenges aside, I just thought it was great comedy. I just hate that now I feel compelled to come home from Brisbane and spend my weekend away doing "Ricketts repeats" and "Ricketts 1 leggies" in prep for my "official attempt".
  • Cam
    i know who won the prize for best video at least - and that Look is far sexier !
  • If you're reading, congrats Anna on 2 gold medals last night in Manchester! I guess you deserve to win the Ricketts Point challenge ;-)
  • token female
    um ... 'Anna must have had a stronger tailwind that I did and I think my breaks must have been rubbing a little bit' - really, WW?

    yes, perhaps getting beaten by a GIRL, god forbid, is something you may have to just 'have to accept'.

    good luck with that.
  • I can read this two possible ways. I just hope you're not serious, because I wasn't.
  • Trent
    also, what's the song that's in the video of you? that deserves to go on my ride mix.
  • Trent
    What software are you using there?
  • Hilarious stuff WW, love the water spit at the end.
    Comedy is definitely part of the CT repertoire now.
  • And the speed of Anna's rolling start please?
  • Nerd on a bike
    that was assuming a standing start.
    I'm gonna guess the rolling start speed would have been about 53kph and reduced to ~ 40'ish by the top of the hill
  • I like that answer. I'll take a good lead-out before I hit 'start' on my watch tomorrow,
  • Leigh
    Cough...Cough...7am Clock Tower ride (Shhh!) Might do nicely!
  • pmark1bike
    And perhaps her tyre pressure?
    CT arent you away riding in the rain in the mountains?
  • was sick as a DOG yesterday (whatever that means) and I had to pull out. I'm feeling better today though after all the home remedies people Tweeted me. Thanks guys!
  • Nerd on a bike
    If her top speed is 53kph, and the average speed is 47kph, then it has to be a rolling start.

    My Calculator says,
    If she accelerated uniformly to 53kph in 10 seconds and held that speed for the remaining 42seconds it would give her 692m ~700m
    Assuming this is correct, the acceleration of an 80kg mass to 53kph in 10 seconds would require an average power of 865W assuming a flat road and no wind resistance. For a 70kg rider this is a power/weight of 12.36W/kg. Considering that 9.3W/kg is considered as the highest achieved W/kg for 1 minute for a female rider (trainingpeaks) it's highly unlikely this time was from a standing start. Escpecially considering i have not accounted for riding up hill and wind resistance.
    Regards,
    Nerd
  • pmark1bike
    Sh#t I believe you! I hope you do this for a job and not a hobby!
  • does it count if you do it with a tow in like the surfers
  • Anonymous
    Give up now Wade ... she did it in the WET !!!!!

    She backed off on the bend .....

    She rode a 150 cadence ....
  • How fast is a rolling start? 10km/hr, 50km/hr?

    Either way, the record will be crushed
  • matt keenan
    i gave wade a bum steer thinking anna did it from a standing start when it was a rolling start. go out and have another go at it wade and set if you can set the record straight.
  • Leigh
    Just watched your vid again, it made me chuckle at the end, the second time too! Nice work.
  • Here it is on YouTube for all the anti-Vimeo corporations:

    <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IN1HHdzUOt0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IN1HHdzUOt0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
  • Love the pseudo chuck at the end - priceless!
  • Stuck at my Desk
    Track rider (Anna) cadence vs. Road rider (CT) cadence.

    Looking at the 2 videos, I'd say this is where you can grab a few more seconds. Might take a full season of track training to get that leg speed though!
  • the muppet
    I'll wait and see what time Golly does.

    He has never been beaten up Ricketts (not even by The snake) ...

    So if anyone can do it Golly can .... is there a weight limit on the bike becasue at the moment I think his bike weighs abouot 5kg with the water bottle in !

    So Golly put the best kit on and hit Ricketts , flying start and let us know the time , if you can't do it then no-one can (well maybe Stevie Dew might have to come back from WA on the fixie).
  • Tommy_P
    Golly might get too much wheelspin with his 17mm tyres at 200psi.. If he still runs that kind of set up! I remember his bike sounded like a bag of aluminium cans being dropped down a flight of stairs every time he hit any bumps.
  • Beagle
    Winning honestly is over-rated. Just take some of the footage of Anna racing, super-impose her head over the head of the guy in the orange helmet who you had clearly passed...then claim victory!
  • Pete
    Love the vid!
    This says it was a standing start. From newsletter@trackworldcup.com.au

    In September Anna Meares laid down the challenge to Melbourne’s cyclists by testing her legs in a 700m time trial on the climb of Ricketts Point on Beach Road.
    Wade Wallace, from www.cyclingtipsblog.com, took up the challenge and lost.
    From a standing start Meares rode the 700m climb in 52.6 seconds at an average speed of 47kph and hit a maximum speed of 53kph.
    Wallace recorded a time of 1.02 but has vowed to try again with a stronger tailwind.
  • I still think it's from a rolling start as per the first marketing email they sent: http://www.trackworldcup.com.au/index.php?id=41

    CT, that's a valiant effort from a standing start, and I think that the battle of the sexes is not comparable until you go out and try it from a rolling start.
  • AC
    Go to the source CT - get Anna to post here and tell us if it's standing start, rolling start, handsling or moto-tow. Or will a UCI approved start gate be installed in the left lane??? Anyone got a BT Stealth and iO/Cometes I can borrow?
  • I shot a fb email to Anna (we have a mutual friend so no, I'm not name dropping), and hopefully she'll see the link and have a laugh, and maybe even make a contribution
  • SLINGER
    Absolute gold, you have too much time on your hands by the looks of things!! Keep safe this weekend!
  • Thanks for noticing Slinger. Even a 30sec video clip takes hours! However, if it makes good content I'll always make the time to fit it in. It's fun to do.

    BTW, I forgot to thank Wilf Sweetland and Tommy P for all their help.
  • James
    Love it!
  • Philthy
    I see your problem, you have to learn to trackstand properly, reduce weight by not carrying a bottle, Oh... and to ride faster up hills too. ;-)
  • yes, I'm more embarrassed about the trackstand than I am about my time
  • Mikie
    How about commissioning a 'how to trackstand like a pro' guide from some well balanced CTer. Looks like it's not just me who could use some advice ;)
  • — Fun, love the music and silly water face shot.
  • t
    Would love these videos on YouTubes or some other video service. Vimeo, though it is great, is blocked by some corporate firewalls.
  • Paul
    Nice Capoforma kit! Best socks around. SO PRO!
  • Lachy
    I'm still waiting for the CT kit to come out!

    We need a petition or a poll or something to convince CT to get a kit made up! :D
  • The CT Kit is in production and will arrive in a month (early Dec). I holding back on details of the design because it's hard to envision with the panel layout. I'd rather get some photos of it on a real person before anyone passes any judgement.

    All I can say is that I haven't cheaped-out - it's made by one of the best. The design is a cool mix of retro and contemporary design. I'm very excited about it!
  • Lachy
    sweet! I'm not into spending big bucks on kit (guilty admission: I'm all about the free jersey's you get signing up to events) but will definitely be making an exception here! :)

    And just in time for christmas... I could even handball this 'exception' on to others... hmmm... ;)
  • Marchello
    well thats mine and my wifes christmas presents all sorted :)
  • pmark1bike
    By the sounds of it I had better start saving now, or find a way to con the wife it only cost half as much as it did ;-).

    Have a great weekend CT, watch out for buses!
  • Next challenge is to see who can out-squat Anna:

    <center><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gDbVW_kRPJs&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gDbVW_kRPJs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object></center>
  • James
    Whoa, I was thinking, cool... I can out do Anna Meares at something, then I realised that I'm about 25 kgs heavier than her and can only just do that weight she is doing for 5 or so reps, so relative to bodyweight I suck/ she rocks.
  • gm
    not considered a real squat as she did not go horizontal with her thighs, partial squats only(cheaters squats), but still a nice effort though.
  • Travis
    farkin hell
  • Geoffrey
    Holly cow, how much weight is that??

    WW - The guys / girls upstairs had Anna in the office this morning for publicity, I missed having a chat to her about this post! Funny stuff.

    Cheers,
    Geoffrey
  • David
    It's meant to be with a rolling start. http://www.trackworldcup.com.au/index.php?id=41
  • Damn. I was told to do it from a standing start. That's kinda silly. Next time I'll do it from a 50km/hr rolling start.
  • Danny
    I clocked 1:08 when I tried....with a massive tailwind and a rolling start!
  • Marc
    It's supposed to be timed from a standing start I assume?

    I did it in about 1:20. I don't think I'll ever be able to shave almost 30 seconds off to get close to Anna's time!
  • t
    Question. Was there a motorpace run up?

    I reckon it would be great to do this on other climbs: Hotham, Baw Baw, Tawonga, Falls, Mt Macedon, Buang, etc. Be pretty easy to organise some stencilling.
  • A
    that's what www.cycle2max.com is for..
  • t
    Within the CT group.
  • Leigh
    I think you might find she didn't do it from a standing start, and maybe a little bit of drafting on the way too.
    I did a 59 sec into a headwind with a rolling start.
  • Bordermeister
    Has anyone figured out if she did it it as a standing start or a rolling start?

    I have tried to keep up with Wade on a sprint and I think this may have been a rolling start which would explain Wades "poor" time.

    Cheers all
  • DDD
    Anna told me that she did it with a rolling start and a slight tail wind (and it was cold).
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