Amy’s Gran Fondo

Awesome day. Congrats to participants and organisers

Awesome day. Congrats to participants and organisers

I saw Veeral on one of the corners, gave a big shout out, “Veeral, love your work”. 

I saw Veeral on one of the corners, gave a big shout out, “Veeral, love your work”. 

awesome !

awesome !

Great day out, mama nature turned it on big time. I especially like the two little kids somewhere between Barwon Downs and Deans March with the cardboard signs reading “Dig Deep!” and “Suck it Up!”. Great atmosphere, great location, great organisation. Well done to everyone whether you smashed 3 hours or enjoyed 6!

Great day out, mama nature turned it on big time. I especially like the two little kids somewhere between Barwon Downs and Deans March with the cardboard signs reading “Dig Deep!” and “Suck it Up!”. Great atmosphere, great location, great organisation. Well done to everyone whether you smashed 3 hours or enjoyed 6!

What a setting & course! Absolute feel good atmosphere & Simon, please organise the same weather next year!

What a setting & course! Absolute feel good atmosphere & Simon, please organise the same weather next year!

Agreed.  A cracking day – well worth the trip from Sydney.  We’ll be there in force next year. Wade, you gunned it up that climb! Anyone up for the trip to Belgium? Perhaps a CT-sponsored tour?

It was ACE, flew along the GOR despite a slight head wind spent it playing flank man in the wind for our better riders, did my job got over the hill then had cramp for 50km, do the same tomorrow
First 35km was flying, good bunch 99% knew how to handle a bike

It was ACE, flew along the GOR despite a slight head wind spent it playing flank man in the wind for our better riders, did my job got over the hill then had cramp for 50km, do the same tomorrow
First 35km was flying, good bunch 99% knew how to handle a bike

It was ACE, flew along the GOR despite a slight head wind spent it playing flank man in the wind for our better riders, did my job got over the hill then had cramp for 50km, do the same tomorrow
First 35km was flying, good bunch 99% knew how to handle a bike

It was ACE, flew along the GOR despite a slight head wind spent it playing flank man in the wind for our better riders, did my job got over the hill then had cramp for 50km, do the same tomorrow
First 35km was flying, good bunch 99% knew how to handle a bike

Great day. Simply perfect. Items of note…

 - Delayed 10min on the startline for an irritable koala  - Trying to hold Mr CTs wheel up Benwerrin and discovering reality had different ideas
 - The support and cheers from the locals who gave us access to this awesome road
 - Marion Clignet joined the ride and won her category (check out her palmares - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Clignet). 
 - The climbing skills of the lead bunch.

the climb out of skene’s creek is absolutely sick, too bad the route couldnt go left at the rainforest… oh and those specialized helmets look absolutely terrible!

Cracking photo’s. The atomic mushroom just south of Deans Marsh was just me running out of food and water. No biggie. 

Closed roads and almost all still stick to the left, #can’tbreakhabits

Great pics as usual Veeral.  I was standing by the side of the road at Skenes Creek cheering everyone on.  It was fantastic to see so many people out enjoying my favourite part of the world.

Perfect day for a bike race. Awesome awesome awesome. I had a blast.
But damn, didn’t hang around to get my medal. Can I still get my hands on it?
And anyone know which website(s) we can get photo’s from?

Perfect day for a bike race. Awesome awesome awesome. I had a blast.
But damn, didn’t hang around to get my medal. Can I still get my hands on it?
And anyone know which website(s) we can get photo’s from?

Note to self: don’t expect the back markers to have solid bunch riding skills and don’t “wait” for people who have already gone ahead down the road. Get up the front and work!

Thanks for the info on Marion Seips. I rode the last 60km with her after catching her near the top of Skenes. I was thinking “who is this old chick?”. She was as hard as nails and hit the front every time us pussies slacked off and dragged me to the finish when I cramped up in the last few kms. Inspirational.

Thanks for the info on Marion Seips. I rode the last 60km with her after catching her near the top of Skenes. I was thinking “who is this old chick?”. She was as hard as nails and hit the front every time us pussies slacked off and dragged me to the finish when I cramped up in the last few kms. Inspirational.

Sammysanchez – I seem to recall from the briefing that we could collect the medals via post from AGF.  Not sure on the details (send self-addressed envelope and postage?).

I’m depressed!  :{
Next year!

Congrats to everyone that rode it and qualified, Great pics Veeral!

I’m depressed!  :{
Next year!

Congrats to everyone that rode it and qualified, Great pics Veeral!

http://www.epsomrdstudios.com.au/ - photos not up as of midday (19/9/11).

http://www.epsomrdstudios.com.au/ - photos not up as of midday (19/9/11).

BG poseurs

BG poseurs

We definitely get a higher quality of devil here on our Gran Fondos, too (apologies to Didi)!

Does anyone know the web site of the photos that were being taken with the devil?

That’s correct Seips.  If you were unable to collect your medal yesterday send a stamped self addressed envelope to AGF and they will post it out to you.

Sign me up for next year

When the head cop said “some of the locals object to the road closures and may try to drive on the course”, I think that was about the time I decided to spend the majority of the ride on the left.

Long as they beat the Rush dudes its all good.

Someone tell Leigh that he needs to get some RED sunnies.

Oh and what’s with the Compression Sock no. 42 #notpro

Someone tell Leigh that he needs to get some RED sunnies.

Oh and what’s with the Compression Sock no. 42 #notpro

Someone tell Leigh that he needs to get some RED sunnies.

Oh and what’s with the Compression Sock no. 42 #notpro

That devil was fantastic, just what I needed when I could start to feel some motivation dropping….

The course was a lot harder than I expected, especially after pretty much being off the bike for 12 months.

I’m glad others had a good time.

I had a rotten day, thanks to the combination of an alarm clock that didn’t go off, and frankly pig-headed and unreasonable officialdom that spent more time telling 20 of us what idiots we were than would have taken to resolve a minor and eminently resolvable problem.

I won’t be blowing $165 on this or any other AGF-organized event again given the frankly appalling customer service (sorry, when you pay $165 to enter a cycling event run for profit, you’re a customer).

I have 2 pairs of Red Oakleys, Cant look the same all the time. ;)
Have to echo everyones thoughts, Was an awesome day on the bike, Even Veerals Pictures dont do it justice.
Will be back next year to beat Wade again……. maybe by 4 seconds this time

i remember simon as my PE teacher at school. i distinctly recall him and a colleague quietly laughing at me (they thought i didn’t notice, i think) in the gym when i struggled to leg press a weights bar with no weights on it – it was knee pain!! good to see that he’s made such a difference for us cyclists though, albeit in tragic circumstances.

A great event by the looks, I’ll have to give it a crack next year…

You’re not pro unless you sit at the start line on your top tube, right?

Guess its good for those wanting to pass #cyclingetiquettetip

Guess its good for those wanting to pass #cyclingetiquettetip

i agree wade.. it takes seriously good organization to pull together such a complex event. 120km of fully closed roads don’t happen often — actually I’ve never seen it.  The AGF have only about 4 staff, and to pull this off is quite an achievement.  This could make Lorne as cool a place a Bright ;-)

100% agree – made me laugh when I was ready to cry

Get fair dinkum, Leigh….only an “extreme” on the strava suffer index

Congratulations to the organisers, it looks like a fabulous event.
On a side note: weren’t the UWCT World Champs held in Belgium the week before Amy’s? Or are they going to be in Belgium every year?

Congratulations to the organisers, it looks like a fabulous event.
On a side note: weren’t the UWCT World Champs held in Belgium the week before Amy’s? Or are they going to be in Belgium every year?

So I wasn’t the only one imagining a bullbar flying towards me on the backroads then.

So I wasn’t the only one imagining a bullbar flying towards me on the backroads then.

Did anyone else see the guy riding fixie? He was hammering, wonder how his legs coped on the descents? 200+ rpm… just thinking about makes my knees hurt.

Did anyone else see the guy riding fixie? He was hammering, wonder how his legs coped on the descents? 200+ rpm… just thinking about makes my knees hurt.

Old guy on a pink bike? He was smashing it up.

not that im a fast cycling by any means, but he flew past me on the hill (but double my speed was still only 16kmph)  pretty impressive pace! 

not that im a fast cycling by any means, but he flew past me on the hill (but double my speed was still only 16kmph)  pretty impressive pace! 

not that im a fast cycling by any means, but he flew past me on the hill (but double my speed was still only 16kmph)  pretty impressive pace! 

Well done big guy!  The headwind along the GOR wasn’t made for big blokes like you but from my vantage point about 100m back you did the BCC jersey proud! Way too many riders to try and bridge to you guys. I hope I gave you some respite to Skenes Creek.

Well done big guy!  The headwind along the GOR wasn’t made for big blokes like you but from my vantage point about 100m back you did the BCC jersey proud! Way too many riders to try and bridge to you guys. I hope I gave you some respite to Skenes Creek.

Well done big guy!  The headwind along the GOR wasn’t made for big blokes like you but from my vantage point about 100m back you did the BCC jersey proud! Way too many riders to try and bridge to you guys. I hope I gave you some respite to Skenes Creek.

Great event guys well done and a big shout to the locals and the coppers next year can we miss a cple of those little hills!

Great event guys well done and a big shout to the locals and the coppers next year can we miss a cple of those little hills!

Great event guys well done and a big shout to the locals and the coppers next year can we miss a cple of those little hills!

The devil should get a medal plus alot better looking than the one in TDF!

Me and my friends had a fantastic time. We all want to do it again next year. I also had some people suggets to me that it was too corporate and wouldn’t be fair dinkum enough for them. All I can say to them is “suffer in your jocks” cause I suffered on the bike 
and loved it.

I should have paced myself. I nearly had to walk the final climb!

Ray Jarrott won the old man’s age group! (I’d recognise that mullet anywhere)

Charlie grew up in the street next to me in Hampton. Used to kick the footy with him and a bunch of others in the park after school – even then I remember him being the funniest (yet nicest) guy. Had no idea he was a TV personality, until I saw him on TV at my mum’s place for a feed (I don’t own a TV) and almost choked.

That’s what it took Leigh to beat me by 3 seconds. My Strava suffer index was only a 1

;-)

you and mark webber

Looking at the results, a sneaky tip for next year is to start a little bit further back from the front in your wave (and, by the way, how many people jumped in ahead of where they should have been? Come on, own up…). Then, even if you are beaten in the final sprint, you still have that secret 10 seconds up your sleeve….

haha. nothing better than when your mate beats you in the kick and you strava his ass by taking those few early seconds

haha. nothing better than when your mate beats you in the kick and you strava his ass by taking those few early seconds

haha. i scored “epic” suffer rating which was only made even more suffer worthy when you guys dropped me before the final climb

Fantastic event fantastic pictures

1km up the climb you were 50mt ahead, 2 km still 50mt ahead… like carrot to a donkey, 4 km you may as well been on Mars you were so far away!

Most people just kept left if there was a choice to do so, if only to let faster guys go trough on the right.
But the big groups used the full road except for the motorbikes coming through. Ditto the decents.

Annual, this is the first qualifier for 2012

Nice one Michael, you look good in the fishnets, I never would have known!

Fantastic day out, very professional organisation and great weather.  I was very pleased to be able to drag the cement bag around the beautiful scenery for quite a few hours.  Well done to all at AGF and all who participated.

Yeah, we saw him on the start line and said to our man Kev, maybe a bit hard today LOL
Starting in the second wave was a good move, the bunch was only a few seconds slower to the climb then they had groups to chase  as they were split off the front.

May well have been but I’m sure my legs were in a different galaxy to the rest of my body during those first few km’s up the climb :(  I had that nagging feeling my saddle setback wasn’t quite right leading into the race. Back she goes tonight a few millimetres to get the glutes back in the game. They had a free ride yesterday whilst my quads were turned to porridge. LOL!!!

May well have been but I’m sure my legs were in a different galaxy to the rest of my body during those first few km’s up the climb :(  I had that nagging feeling my saddle setback wasn’t quite right leading into the race. Back she goes tonight a few millimetres to get the glutes back in the game. They had a free ride yesterday whilst my quads were turned to porridge. LOL!!!

Great day, well done to the organisers.
 
Don’t suppose 10,000 people in Lorne on a Sunday is enough to get any coverage in The Age? Can’t see one reference online…

Great day, well done to the organisers.
 
Don’t suppose 10,000 people in Lorne on a Sunday is enough to get any coverage in The Age? Can’t see one reference online…

Did you ride JJ? Can’t seem to find your name on the list?

Yeah. We could get a million cyclists to an event like this and still no main media interested. Get 150 people jogging the Tan for a cause and they’ll be all over it…..puzzling

yes, I did hear you :-). I wasn’t mistaken to see you on a Baum “Gulf Oil Corretto” ?

Awesome weekend, really enjoyed the event, it was so well put togethor and run. The last 10kms almost killed me as like CT I was really really hurting come the end. The beers in the Lorne Hotel on Sunday arvo were sensational.

I was in bunch 3 and we caught plenty of people infront off us, perhaps next year I will start a bit further up, however I rode with the Tour De Cure guys and we were rolling through pretty well and the pace was high.

Qualified, but dont have a clue if its worth anything!

Maybe next year they can try to beat the Peak bunch.

Yep. Really hard core. Didn’t change a gear, didn’t use his brakes, didn’t walk a hill, finished in good time. As they say ‘Gears are for girls’ :)

No, silly me. I feel like the guy who walks into the pub just as the punchline is being delivered.. How’d you go?

No, silly me. I feel like the guy who walks into the pub just as the punchline is being delivered.. How’d you go?

Send the AGF a SAE suitable for a medal (I suggest a C5 express post envelope) and they will post it back to you.

I’m the horse at the bar with the long face.  :(
No didn’t do, next year.

AGF posted this on Facebook yesterday:

“For those who finished in the top 25% of each age category, you are eligible for the UWCT Finisher’s medal. To collect; please send a self-addressed envelope with $1.20 postage to the AGF. Or visit our office at Level 6, 28 Freshwater Pl. Southbank, VIC. 3006. Medals must be collected by 5pm Friday 7 October.”

Great photos as always Veeral, I hope one day to ride this if this becomes an annual event, truly wonderful and inspiring stuff, well done to everyone involved…

The best event I have done (even better than Alpine Classic which I still love) and the first with a competitive side. I wish I started riding seriously at a younger age but Peter Dennis gives us 40+ lots of hope! Missed the UCI medal by 4 min but rode my best with a few Strava PRs to boot. The competition will be intense next year so will have to go nuts if I am to make the top 25% next year. The Amy Gillett Foundation have done an awesome job and hopefully this event really gets motivates the Government to put more funds into cycling safety.

The best event I have done (even better than Alpine Classic which I still love) and the first with a competitive side. I wish I started riding seriously at a younger age but Peter Dennis gives us 40+ lots of hope! Missed the UCI medal by 4 min but rode my best with a few Strava PRs to boot. The competition will be intense next year so will have to go nuts if I am to make the top 25% next year. The Amy Gillett Foundation have done an awesome job and hopefully this event really gets motivates the Government to put more funds into cycling safety.

The best event I have done (even better than Alpine Classic which I still love) and the first with a competitive side. I wish I started riding seriously at a younger age but Peter Dennis gives us 40+ lots of hope! Missed the UCI medal by 4 min but rode my best with a few Strava PRs to boot. The competition will be intense next year so will have to go nuts if I am to make the top 25% next year. The Amy Gillett Foundation have done an awesome job and hopefully this event really gets motivates the Government to put more funds into cycling safety.

The best event I have done (even better than Alpine Classic which I still love) and the first with a competitive side. I wish I started riding seriously at a younger age but Peter Dennis gives us 40+ lots of hope! Missed the UCI medal by 4 min but rode my best with a few Strava PRs to boot. The competition will be intense next year so will have to go nuts if I am to make the top 25% next year. The Amy Gillett Foundation have done an awesome job and hopefully this event really gets motivates the Government to put more funds into cycling safety.