An online resource for Australian fixed gear street and track cyclists to meet up, organise group rides and share technical information. We ride. One gear - no mind.

Brisbane Alleycat Friday November 2nd - The Bluff

See this thread for more details.

MEL : Track Racing

Here in Melbourne we are totally spoilt when it comes to track racing: All year round, every Tuesday and Thursday, a small group of bike nuts head down to the Joe Ciavola Velodrome at DISC to compete at the indoor, world-class, wooden 250m venue. Big names and small ones, juniors, masters, elite and novices battle it out. It’s not the world champs, or the Olympics, but the racing is very competitive and excellent fun to watch.

Track cycling is one of the best spectator sports because you can see the whole field all the time. There is speed, tactics and variation in the events - personalities and character. But where are all the fans? Seems a lot of people don’t even know there’s an indoor velodrome minutes from the CBD, let alone racing every week… So here’s the challenge: get into it Melbourne!.

Tuesday nights are run by Brunswick Cycling Club. Brunswick run scratch, points, elimination, pursuits, keiren and motorpace events with junior and senior grades from 7pm. There is a fun, family atmosphere - and some good racing too! Thursdays are run by Northcote Cycling Club. Northcote run scratch, points and motorpace races in A to D grade (depending on the turnout) from 7:30pm.

Both nights are free to watch. There is a bistro at DISC serving food and drinks. You can wander down to the track and chat to the riders, or watch from seating positioned on both sides of the track. If you are interested in having a go there’s always someone around who can help get you started.

So come on down and get into one of the best spectator sports there are. Here’s a few of your potential problems addressed:

Problem: "I don’t know where it is", "I don’t know how to get there", "Is there a tram stop nearby?" … etc.

Answer: DISC is located at 281 Darebin Rd, Thornbury. By bike, DISC is about 10km from Federation square, mostly in bike lanes. There is a bus stop outside the velodrome on the 250 LaTrobe Uni route, busses come about every 40 mins. By car it takes about 20mins from the city, depending on traffic.

Problem: "It finishes too late", "I can’t make it there in time" etc.

Answer: Racing starts at about 7pm and goes until about 10pm. There are a number of events and grades running over that time and there’s no problem at all coming in and going whenever you like.

Problem: "I won’t know anyone there", "I won’t know what’s going on" etc.

Answer: There are plenty of people around and while most cyclists are a bit shy, anyone will be happy to talk your ear off if you smile and say hi. Just come along, introduce yourself or wave hello.

ndf.

Come ‘n try Womens Track Cycling @ DISC 2nd Sep

Cyclesport Victoria are hosting another Women’s "Come ‘n Try Track" day at DISC:

Sunday 2nd September @ DISC, 281 Darebin Rd, Thornbury (Mel 31 A6) 2-5pm (Group 1 - 2pm-3.30pm, Group 2 - 3.30pm-5pm)

Pre-Registrations required. Please nominate which time/group you will be attending

Please bring you own cycling helmet, knicks and shirt.

Contact Luke Mason CSV Development Manager to register or for more info. Luke.Mason@cycling.org.au or 03 8480 3000

These events are a great way to get into riding on the track, so if you have been wondering what it’s all about - get on down and get into it!

MEL: Against the Watch - July 21

To coincide with stage 13 of this year’s tour, this Saturday’s ride will be an unserious time trial. From Federation Square to Federation Square, via some of our favourite Saturday ride elements. The course is approximately 15km long. Start will be the pedestrian crossing at Flinders St. station.

Starting at the normal time: 7:30am, come along and enjoy a fun individual time trial, where luck and street skills will count as much toward your final time as raw power or speed.

Regroup and casual ride afterward.

For more info, email nathan at undershorts dot org, or check the forums.

Update 18/07: Course Map now available.

GLOBAL GUTZ!

Track Day & Swap Meet : Coburg Sat 16th

This coming Saturday, the Melbourne every Saturday ride will be replaced by an informal track session and gear swap meet. We will be at the Coburg Velodrome ([map], [directions]) from about 8:30am.

The track riding session will include some getting familair with the banks, riding in a paceline, taking turns, then a few short events to get a taste of racing:

• Flying 200m time trials
• Matched pursuits
• 3-up sprints

Then if time permits, we will run some scratch or elimination races. Please see the forum for more details. This session is aimed mostly at those who maybe ride track bikes on the street but would like to try them out racing without having to get a full race license.

Parts swapping will happen in the infield - bring anything you have to sell, swap or giveaway. We will also have tools and (limited) expertise on hand to help out with any un-finished business or tricky fixed problems.

As with any Saturday ride - everyone is welcome to come on down. Hope to see you there!

ndf 2007-06-12

Any given Saturday

For all those who haven’t ridden the Melburn Saturday ride, here’s a potted account of yesterday’s roll round…

For some, myself included, the 7:30 meet time has always been a bit of a challenge. I inevitably leave lateish, and this morning it meant I had to do a TT-style run down St Kilda Road.

The ’style’ of the ride has changed in the past few weeks, as our sergeant-major ndf has been picking backstreet routes in training for the forthcoming Melburn-Roobaix torture-test.* This morning it was the backstreets of Prahran, Balaclava and Brighton, before we jumped onto Beach Road to have a play with the Saturday morning pelotons.

(*Not really)

Some took it easy, others gave it some stick: the general idea was to regroup at the Black Rock clocktower for coffee and rubbish-talk before punting it back up the beach. We met a guy at the café who was rolling around on a 39-year-old road bike, with full old-skool Campy gear, all original, even the drivetrain! And of course his Brooks saddle was also original.

The run down to Black Rock was quick but as we rolled out of the café to head back, full of croissants and coffee, it became clear why… our tailwind friend was now our headwind foe! Heads down, we slogged back up to St Kilda. A large pack eventually caught us and a female Drapac-Porsche team rider riding with them asked about the ‘baseball cards’ in our rear wheels, which was more than a whole ride worth of male roadies had said to us…

A quick stop in St Kilda to regroup, then we rolled down St Kilda Road into the city, where the ride broke up and a few people headed off to start preparations for the Drags scheduled for the afternoon. A number of us ended up at the GPO cafe for a leisurely coffee/breakfast/lunch stop before riding down though Birrarung Marr to Abbotsford Cycles to tend to some mechanical needs. Abbotsford is one of those wonderful cycle shops that time has forgotten. They have great service and carry all kinds of gear for the more idiosyncratic bicycles of Melbourne – the perfect place for those riding vintage track bikes!

From Abbotsford Cycles, we rode back into the city, through Docklands to the Moonee Ponds creek Drain under Citylink, for the Drags.

...mj

Bicycle Drag Racing

Straight line - 1/8th Mile - Elimination

When

1pm Saturday 19th May 2007

Where

Citylink bike route, Mt. Alexander Rd & Citylink - in the Moonee Ponds creek storm-water overflow. Follow path under citylink into the drain, and along to finish line.

What

A re-run of the washout in March: Elimination by random selection in two categories: Male & Female. All entrants will get at least one run. Turn up, pay your $5 and wait to be called up. Costumes optional.

Shifterbikes 16" minibike drags over a shorter distance.

Prizes from Shifterbikes, Fyxomatosis, and fixed org au will be awarded to participants after racing - all participants will be in the running.

Who

If you ride a bike, you qualify. Come along, bring your friends, talk some crap, meet some other bike nerds, and ride as fast as you can, Whatever speed that may be - and on whatever bike you have.

ndf 20070513

Melburn Roobaix 2007

Everyone’s favourite cvnt Fyxomatosis is doing it again: The Melburn Roobaix! There is no excuse to miss this event, and anyone who gives even the faintest toss about cycling should attend. So, clear your calendar, lock this in and, as the flyer suggests:

Bring your bike, helmet, musette, and friends.

And wear a smile damnit!

If you’re not sure what this is all about, have a look at what happened last year:

• Fyxomatosis official report ‘06
• Post-ride musings on fixed forums
• Last year’s course map

ndf 20070511

Macaframa Promo