Welcome to a rather full edition of the Queensland newsletter. Queensland had a very successful Oppy this year with all teams completing and with some outstanding record breaking to boot. More on that a little later.

NEWS

April 14th will see the Tour de Brisbane in the morning. To facilitate this event, there are a lot of road closures in Brisbane. Some are Legacy Way, Mt Coottha, part of the Western Freeway and several others on the way through Brisbane. For those riding the BVRT Dirt series on the day please plan your travel with care to avoid delays. The Clem7 is free from 6am til 9:30am and westbound traffic will be diverted via Toowong. Full road closure and diversion details can be found here

Fleche Opperman All Day Trial

This year’s FLOADT has been a big success thanks to the very persistent riders and from Mark’s good work as RO. It was a hot day for the western riders with reported temperatures of 37 degrees at 6pm.

In true Queensland fashion, our teams established three new records!

• Oppytune established a new all ladies distance record (366km) (Ruth Brown, Tara Horner, Sharon Jewell, Helen Marson-DNF)
• T600B rode an outstanding 611km to smash the previous record (Matthey Locker, Paul Newman, Frederik Vekeman, Richard Watson)

Excellent effort to both teams which also included some personal distance records too. Our third record was the largest number of teams finishing (5 Oppy, 3 Petite) Well done all teams.

Official results from the day:

Oppy:

• T600B: 611k Matthew Locker(c), Paul Newman, Frederik Vekeman, Richard Watson
• Oppydonebakerystyle: 400k Jeff Franklin(c), Ben Hernandez, Brian Hornby, Miles Vass, Paul Witzerman
• Oppytune: 366k Ruth Brown(c), Tara Horner, Sharon Jewell, Helen Marson (DNF)
• Oppy’s Darts: 361k Ral Dover(c), Doug Gouw, Tracey Howley, Pat Lehane, Peter Watson
• Team H.A.R.D.: 360k Mark Riley(c), Brad Billingham, Mark Harris, Thomas Matyja, Kyle Pratt
• Petit Oppys:
• Oppytimists: 184k Keith Heinrich(c), Duane Parnell, Jennifer McMillan
• Hudirt Knobbymen: 182k  Simon Faber(c) DNF, Justin Bennett, Peter Jenkins, Vaughan Kippers DNF, Scott McCarthy
• Team Tiny: 181k John McMullan(c), Leah Barnett, David Booth, Peter Lovell

Mark commented to me “Of course many stories behind these bare facts. I did hear a lot of people talking about a ride report, but we’ll see how much of that is real and how much is post-Oppy delirium. Matthew Locker said he’d write one for T600B which would be great, that was an amazing ride. “

Keith Heinrich was our breakfast photographer and captured several of of our intrepid riders in this album

Completed Rides

Almost Downs and Back –  All riders that started completed this Audax – Quickest time was a bit over six hours, longest was 10 minutes before cutoff. Well done to all even though it was a bit soggy in the middle of the day.

Atherton Step Up saw 22 riders start and complete the 150km, quickest was just under 5 hours 40 mins and the longest just over 8 hours 30. The 300km saw 7 riders starting and completing with a speedy 13 hours 30 through to just under 15 hours. Amazing effort.

The Brisbane River Loop saw 7 riders. 7 Riders completed in just over two hours.

Ride Reports

Whilst not having a ride report from Matthew yet (hint hint) a couple of riders took the time to share their 2019 Oppy experience. Peter Jenkins shared his in the first ever completed Queensland dirt Oppy. Read about the Hudirt Knobbymen. Keith Heinrich also took the time to share his Oppy experience. Read about the Oppytimists.  Even though I have not written a report about my petite Oppy ride, I would like to share that the coastal flat petite course I set was no where near as hot as the inland courses but even so Team Tiny had several unplanned rest stops to help our riders cool off in the afternoon sun. I created (and plaigiarised) the Team Tiny route especially so that new riders could successfully finish a Petite Oppy.

Of course other rides happen on other days around the state. Gayle Stitcher has penned a report for the Atherton Step-Up from March 17th. You can read more here.

We have an Audax rider returning to the sport after several years. Ian Bailey created a course, became a RO and had an event specifically for his birthday. Peter Jenkins wrote about a Birthday Ride.

Calendar Ride location changes

The BVRT 35 ride now has a new starting location of Brassall. This is at the opposite end of the BVRT to the original location.

Something Techy

A few of us that rode last Saturday would have noticed that it rained heavily for over half an hour. This has potential to do some very nasty things to bike bits like get grit on brake pads/blocks/discs/rims. We all give these a clean (and the rest of the bike) afterwards don’t we? One thing to pay attention to is pivoting parts on brake calipers (rim brakes) as these will get grit in them which becomes a powder and binds up the caliper movement. Don’t forget to give these a bit of attention to make sure they operate freely.

I recently upgraded to a second hand carbon Defy. The bike runs well, but as my first bike with drop bars I am still getting the bars just right using bar fat and cushy tape. Due to a lack of real-estate on the bars, I adopted someone’s suggestion to mount the front lights below the bar. This gave me a couple of unexpected issues – the light being projected onto the cable outers, not having a lot of space for the spare light cable and a big item – the cable entry was now at the top of the light which allowed that heavy rain to get into one of the lights. This latter item was unfortunate in one respect, and fortunate in another. Needless to say, I have dried and sprayed the innards and electronics of the light and it exhibits the same issue (low battery – it must have damaged the circuit for that) and I consider the light almost unusable for that reason until I test it fully but the fortunate side is I found that the reflective coating on the parabolic reflector has started coming adrift. I had noticed the light becoming dimmer over time and this explained why:

I have since located a new source of these lights and have ordered a new pair. I have also looked at new mounting options. I am not sure if I like the lights up this way or need to mount them lower.

That’s about all for this edition. If you have ride reports or articles of interest, please send these to qld.communications@audax.org.au. Note that this is a different email address to previous newsletters.

Upcoming Rides

Click on the ride name for more information and online registration.

Yeronga Medley 2 (2019) Reasonably flat course with distances of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 600 km. We start with part of the river loop, and then head west, taking in the Scenic Rim and the Brisbane & Lockyer Valleys. Please contact me if you need sleeping arrangements. Ride Date: 06-Apr-2019 6:00 am

The Atherton 400 (2019) So you’ve done a 200km, and smashed the 300km…….  Want to try something even more ridiculous??  The Atherton 400 combines the best of everything – two big loops from Atherton, lots of km’s, not too many lumpy bits, some night riding, great support and a qualifying ride for Paris-Brest-Paris.  We start on Saturday and ride until it is done – within a 27 hour time limit. Ride Date: 13-Apr-2019 6:00 am

Downs & Back 300 (2019) Westlake to the outskirts of Toowoomba via Ma Ma Creek and return. Ride Date: 13-Apr-2019 7:00 am

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail 35 (2019) There are Brisbane City road closures that may affect some riders travelling to this ride see Brisbane Road Closures April 14th Peter has also changed the start and finish to Brassall This ride in the BVRT Dirt series is a quick out and back trip from Brassall to Fernvale and return.  It’s a very short trip to earn the pie at Fernvale but it’s well worth it. Ride Date: 14-Apr-2019 11:00 am

Easter Eggsertion (2019) A scenic ride to Kilcoy for lunch, Then it’s all flat back to Brighton (yes… really. See proposed route revision.) Ride Date: 20-Apr-2019 7:00 am

Rocky Gully Ramble (2019) Choice of distances around the Brisbane and Lockyer Valleys. Ride Date: 27-Apr-2019 6:30 am

Eight Tablelands Towns in a Day (2019) Three courses on offer –200km road, 100km road and a 75km gravel/black stuff combo. Just the thing for staying dry and on flatter roads in the wet season. Ride Date: 28-Apr-2019 6:30 am

Downs & Back 600 (2019) Westlake to Dalby on Darling Downs, via Ipswich, Laidley, Ma Ma Creek, Clifton, Pittsworth, Oakey & Cecil Plains, then return via Goombungee, Toowoomba, Helidon, Gatton, Laidley & Ipswich: Extra cost for accommodation. (includes 10.5km of gravel roads) Ride Date: 04-May-2019 7:00 am