Att: Hippy - My 2003/04 Christmas Carnival photos are finally online

Hi Hip (and others),

as promised I have finally uploaded the photos taken by my wife at the
Bendigo and Shepparton Christmas carnivals.

http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~geoffg/

Just about all of the pics (as you might expect) have me in them. I'm the
one in the Richmond Cyclery colours (small plug for my sponsor) and the
yellow helmet. You may also be familiar with some of the other riders that
are also in the shots such as Rowan, Sean, and John L from Blackburn CC, and
the ever popular Bananaman.

These pictures include pictures of both Graded and Handicapped races.
At Bendigo I raced E grade (of Elite(A) to F grades). The total number of
riders entered for this meeting including juniors was around 300. At Shep
total number of riders was around 200 and I was racing D Grade (of Elite(A)
to D).

If you want to get practice at racing Handicaps these carnivals are the
place to do it. I only raced these two meets but by the end of the second
meet I was begining to get that "not another handicap" feeling. I can't
begin to imagine what those who had been doing this for all 5 days were
thinking by the time they got to the final day.

In summary I had a great time, stayed upright, and learned a lot, from a
tactical perspective, about racing on the track.

cheers
Geoff

btw. hippy this JAlbum software is pretty good once you get the hang of it.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Originally posted by Geoff as promised I have finally uploaded th
photos taken by my wife at the Bendigo and Shepparton Christma
carnivals

Cheers! Shep looks a lot steeper than Bendigo which looks flatter tha
Blackburn? They both seem more open than Blackburn - better fo
spectating

You may also be familiar with some of the other riders that are als
in the shots such as Rowan, Sean, and John L from Blackburn CC, an
the ever popular Bananaman

I'll need a closer look for the Blackburn guys.. What's the go with thi
"Bananaman"? Who is he? Where's the name from? Even the commentators a
the big Vodaphone races call him that

How did you actually go, place-wise in these races

btw. hippy this JAlbum software is pretty good once you get the hang o
it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention

No worries :

helpful hipp


-

"hippy" wrote in message
.. .
Shep looks a lot steeper than Bendigo which looks flatter than
Blackburn? They both seem more open than Blackburn - better for
spectating.

Shep is very similar to Blackburn but smoother and much faster. Bendigo
track is pretty close to 400m at the measuring line and it is a weird shape.
It's sort of D shaped. The Finish line (front straight) is on the
straighter side of the course and there is not really a back straight to
speak of. Both are good for spectating although with Bendigo being so large
it's a long way from where you are sitting to the other side of the track.

What's the go with this "Bananaman"? Who is he? Where's the name from?
Even the commentators at
the big Vodaphone races call him that!

Bananaman was formerly known as Bill Clifton. I believe he has changed his
name by deed poll. His racing licence also names him as Bananaman. B is
from the Northcote club and is a known for his support for the development
of Womens Track Cycling via his sponsorship of the Fortress - Banana
Flooring Girls Team. (Banana Flooring is B's business). On top of that
he's an all round nice guy. And thats about all I know about him. Does
anyone else have anything to add?


How did you actually go, place-wise in these races?

The best I did was 5th but I can't remember exactly where, what type or
which race.


Geoff