2001 Cycle Rogaine
Canberra Cycles 6 hour Cyclegaine, Kowen Forest - 9 September 2001
Weather: cool and windy
Course Setters: Kevin Moore and Steve Barry
Admin: Judy Jenkinson and Adrian Sheppard
General Help: Christianne Hermann, David Clark, Bob Hawkins, Linda Meisel, Amelia Witheridge
With the generous support of Canberra Cycles
Competitor Story: Is there a novice Cyclogaine category? From the outset, ours was not a competitive team. We began with a pre-event dinner on Saturday night that included a chocolate torte, wine, port and icecream and left us all feeling queasy and bloated. During the festivities, I changed my slicks for my knobbly tyres, and would only realise during the event that I’d put the tyres backwards AND on the wrong wheels and that wine was not the best lubricant for bicycle maintenance.
Dressed in classic rogaine thermals and shorts look, Marcelle rode a hybrid with little traction and no suspension. Blanca and I dressed ‘the look’, but Blanca’s bike was too big for her and mine was better set to go backwards. We set a course to take in the higher scores in the north east before heading down onto the flats to use any remaining hours. Our rogaining experience suggested that tackling the high scoring checkpoint pays.
We slogged up and down the hills, often on foot as our skill and/or fitness and/or conversation precluded riding on the steeper ones. In our first hour we scored 190 points, far more than in an hour on any other rogaine. The day was looking good. We enjoyed the views, the breeze, and the friendlier teams who passed us by. Conversation ranged from optometry to the Sydney singles scene and often returned to Blanca’s horror that some teams would not stay together to find the checkpoint. The competitive element spurred us on and we returned to the hash house, mud splattered after some celebratory puddles, with three minutes to spare. We had scored a whopping 1090 points – more than any other event we had entered.
In my account I breeze through the event because I imagine our experience - of an interesting network of tracks, lovely eucalypt forest, good views and atmosphere – was shared with most competitors.
I expect that I was asked to write this piece to recount the rather sinking feeling we had during the presentations. As those of you who entered the event may have gathered, 1090 points was not, in fact, a whopping score. The family division was announced first, and there were some decidedly young tackers fronting up for prizes – all of whom had beaten us; we were clearly out of contention for the women’s division. I am truly humbled to report that Tim and Lyn Pulford – the only walking team – scored 1100 points. Congratulations. I hope that I may grow to be so friendly, fit and wise.
Ruth Paterson
Read MoreWeather: cool and windy
Course Setters: Kevin Moore and Steve Barry
Admin: Judy Jenkinson and Adrian Sheppard
General Help: Christianne Hermann, David Clark, Bob Hawkins, Linda Meisel, Amelia Witheridge
With the generous support of Canberra Cycles
Competitor Story: Is there a novice Cyclogaine category? From the outset, ours was not a competitive team. We began with a pre-event dinner on Saturday night that included a chocolate torte, wine, port and icecream and left us all feeling queasy and bloated. During the festivities, I changed my slicks for my knobbly tyres, and would only realise during the event that I’d put the tyres backwards AND on the wrong wheels and that wine was not the best lubricant for bicycle maintenance.
Dressed in classic rogaine thermals and shorts look, Marcelle rode a hybrid with little traction and no suspension. Blanca and I dressed ‘the look’, but Blanca’s bike was too big for her and mine was better set to go backwards. We set a course to take in the higher scores in the north east before heading down onto the flats to use any remaining hours. Our rogaining experience suggested that tackling the high scoring checkpoint pays.
We slogged up and down the hills, often on foot as our skill and/or fitness and/or conversation precluded riding on the steeper ones. In our first hour we scored 190 points, far more than in an hour on any other rogaine. The day was looking good. We enjoyed the views, the breeze, and the friendlier teams who passed us by. Conversation ranged from optometry to the Sydney singles scene and often returned to Blanca’s horror that some teams would not stay together to find the checkpoint. The competitive element spurred us on and we returned to the hash house, mud splattered after some celebratory puddles, with three minutes to spare. We had scored a whopping 1090 points – more than any other event we had entered.
In my account I breeze through the event because I imagine our experience - of an interesting network of tracks, lovely eucalypt forest, good views and atmosphere – was shared with most competitors.
I expect that I was asked to write this piece to recount the rather sinking feeling we had during the presentations. As those of you who entered the event may have gathered, 1090 points was not, in fact, a whopping score. The family division was announced first, and there were some decidedly young tackers fronting up for prizes – all of whom had beaten us; we were clearly out of contention for the women’s division. I am truly humbled to report that Tim and Lyn Pulford – the only walking team – scored 1100 points. Congratulations. I hope that I may grow to be so friendly, fit and wise.
Ruth Paterson
