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Quote of the Week
“Sometimes you just have to be patient with old bikes.”
Ernie Smith’s home-spun philosophy.
What Else Would You Do On a Sunday Morning?
Sunday was a great day at the Raceway; perfect Summer weather, a superb racing track in mint condition (V8s eat your heart out) and 108 riders to share it with. Not that Eddie Salas and Peter Milostic did much sharing in cleaning up A grade. Come to think of it wasn’t it Peter’s turn to win? Mark Craig from LACC was pretty clear whose turn it was to win when he defeated a strong B grade for the first time. Luis Reyes from Penrith was of a similar mind in recording his first win in C grade. Waratah Paul Evangelinides won D grade on his comeback trail from injury and injured Waratah Ludwik Dabrowski dealt similarly with E grade in his convalescence.
Check out full results and relive all the action with Ernie’s photos.
Racing Sunday 20 December 2009
This Sunday we are back again at the Eastern Creek Raceway. All grades start at 07:00 hrs. The Duty Officer and Commissaire is Ian Jackson, and the Duty Helpers are George Barford and Gordon Bradshaw. Check the Infoline 1902 261 007 for last minute changes and the Programme for future events.
Waratah Christmas Bash
Friday night we girded up our loins, wound up our bling and sashied over to the Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club for the Club Christmas Dinner. It was an evening of good food and wine, good company, trivial pursuits and terrible jokes, but more importantly the forum for handing out the glittering prizes to reward the stirring exploits achieved by our members during the Year.
Gil Candido is the Club Champion for 2009. Gil combined consistency and dogged determination with pace when it mattered to win the Club’s highest accolade. Chapeaux!
Chris McGuigan won everything: the Pointscore, the Sprint Competition and the hearts and minds of all present. Chris is larger than Life in more ways than one, which led to a slight problem with the Maillot Vert. Well done Chris.
Dr Keith was awarded the Clubman of the Year, much to his feigned surprise, for producing tempo, the thinking man’s ezine. Long may it continue.
This is what your Committee looks like with its hair down. Not a pretty sight but it’s what makes your Club tick and the Club gratefully acknowledges the countless hours of selfless devotion to the cause put in by these generous men (they made me say that). Thanks chaps!
Trackies
The Summer track programme is in full swing at Dunc Gray. Check out the full calendar and make sure you get your entries in on time.
Get Into Gear
25% off Christmas Specials
We are discontinuing some of our clothing: arm warmers; knicks; colostomy bags, etc, and selling them for 25% less than we paid for them. The perfect Yuletide gift for someone near and dear--you--so contact Bev (9639 8007) right now to place an order.
Bucket List
Before you die you must go on one of Danny le Gatt’s legendary French tours. For the last decade he has arranged tours for our riders specially tailored to our needs: French scenery, copious plonk, loose women--the usual pre-requisites of an epic tour. Next year’s tours are now open for booking and include: Dauphine Libere; Tour de France and Canal du Midi--or anywhere that takes your fancy. Contact Danny for details and check out his website.
Fitness
This is your Christmas present. It may look like last year’s in a different wrapper but you’re a year older so it’s OK.
The secret of health, well-being, a svelte figure, and an irresistible attraction to the opposite sex and stray dogs (pick any two), is yours for the reading. It is the distillation of all the research which has flowed through these pages over the years and we offer it to you freely in the spirit of friendship at Christmas.
Firstly let me say that all of this is so obvious that you will say to yourself This is so obvious. True! But read on and be convinced:
Have a look at all those old sepia photos of past relatives that make an annual appearance over Christmas. What do you notice, apart from the crook photography, the obligatory Morris Oxford and the austere expressions? That’s right, all your immediate past rellies were all thin! No it wasn’t the Great Depression, nor yet the family falling on hard times because grandfather had blown the estate on a showgirl named Fefe la Touche. No, it was because grandmother fed them all on meat and two veggies with fruit and cheese to follow.
Is that it? Another back to Nature diet?
No, but it’s part of it. If you eat moderate amounts of lean protein and moderate amounts of carbs in the form of vegetables and fruit instead of processed crap containing sugar, you will achieve all of the desirable outcomes listed above. It’s not a diet, it’s the way we used to eat before food marketing became big business. Let’s call it Granny’s Wisdom and here’s what you will notice if you let Granny guide you:
1. You won’t be hungry as you’re not starving yourself.
2. Those persistent headaches will disappear.
3. You will no longer have fuzzy vision.
4. Food becomes tasty again and smells delicious.
5. You will steadily lose weight.
6. You will visit the barber and cut your nails twice as often.
7. Your libido will re-inflate.
8. You will have to cope with the envy of your friends.
Now, you will have heard echoes of Granny’s Wisdom in various current lifestyle diets, for example: the Zone; the Mediterranean diet; Jurassic Park, and they all share one principle in common: if it doesn’t look like food don’t eat it. If it didn’t exist 100 years ago don’t eat it. If it comes out of a packet don’t eat it. Only eat it if it was alive just before it got to you.
If you want a technical explanation Granny’s Wisdom works because carbohydrates weren’t created equal. These differences have been calibrated on the Glycaemic Index (GI) which measures how quickly the body can turn each carb into usable energy, compared to pure glucose. The problem is that if a carb is too high on the GI it triggers a response from the insulin system, which protects the body from too much sugar, and it ends up stored as fat if you can’t use the energy immediately. At the other end of the GI the uptake is slow, so no insulin reaction and a steady supply of usable energy to the body, so no fat stored.
Also, and here’s a big plus, high GI carbs usually contain lots of sugar and few anti-oxidants, whereas the low GI ones are just the opposite and you have to eat heaps of them to equal the same carb weight, so the body benefits both ways.
In other words: eat the turkey and vegs and skip the mince pies and pud.
See, I told you it was obvious that Granny knew best!
Chemical Bill
 Year in Review
There were no magic bullets (or pills) in 2009 but a few nutrients/foods stood out as winners due to their special health and performance benefit potential:
Rolled Oats – the ideal breakfast delivering a sustained supply of fuel throughout the morning, plus the added benefit of cardiovascular protection.
Low fat milk – the perfect rehydration and recovery aid; full of minerals, vitamins, carbohydrate and source of the ideal protein.
Coffee, tea, and Chocolate – loaded with flavonoid antioxidants for improved cardiovascular health and performance, better mental performance, plus the added benefit of eternal youth (anti-aging properties)
Red grapes and wine – again good source of flavonoid antioxidants, in this case for protection against “oxidative stress”, performance loss from oxidative skeletal muscle fatigue and damage.
Omega-3’s from fish – the evidence just keeps growing from humble beginnings (Greenland) in the 70’s, now there are over 14,000 scientific publications including 8,000 human clinical studies. The ultimate for cardiovascular health, increasing evidence in visual and cognitive health, and potent anti-inflammatory effects, elevate the marine omega-3’s to “super nutrients” status
Spinach – we can’t neglect the vegetables. Full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, Spinach also attains the status of a “super food”
Quercetin Special Award – Dr Keith’s favourite, an exotic flavonoid antioxidant found in many berry fruits and apples which promises great potential for improved exercise performance. Alas, a recently published study in trained cyclists examined effects on fuel utilization, efficiency and effort without significant results. The search continues in 2010!
Kaffee Klatsch
 “G’day mate. The usual thanks Bev. Mate, I’ve been talking to Cleat.”
“I’m sure he’s grateful for the attention. What about?”
“He’s just back from one of those long Mums and Dads rides they do in Victoria. You know, where they ride a few k, have four meals then put up their tents by midday.”
“I take it from your disparaging tone that you’re not a supporter of the great group rides put on by the RTA and other worthy bodies?”
“Nah mate, don’t get me wrong, they may not be the real thing but if it gets you started on a bike it can’t be all bad.”
“The arrogance of the inveterate roadie. You used to be like that once--some would say you still are. But to get back to Cleat?”
“Oh yeah, he was wearing his Club jersey of course and he got collared by one of the riding marshalls they have on these rides who gave him an earful about one of our members riding dangerously, all over the place, overtaking on blind corners, the usual thing.”
“Who was it.”
“He didn’t know mate, that’s the point, he recognised the jersey and thought Cleat would know. Cleat told him where to go and anyway he was just wearing a jersey not representing the Club.”
“Ah, that’s where he’s wrong. When you pull on the Club jersey you assume the Club values and you are seen as representing them to the rest of the world.”
“But it’s only a jersey mate.”
“No it’s not only a jersey, it’s a symbol of what we stand for and we are judged accordingly.”
“Sheesh! It’s like being back at school! I think I’ll just wear one of my Bongo specials in future.”
“Not the one with the skeleton on it for pity sake.”
“That’s the one mate. Gonzo’s got an even better one which just shows all the muscles and veins with the skin taken off. S’grouse!”
“I feel a bout of nausea coming on which can only be washed away by the coffee you are about to buy me.”
The Life and Times of Bubbly Bev
 Our Cafe Angel wishes all her friends (which apparently includes us--yippee!) a happy holiday and to get things underway she suggests we all sample her...(steady)...highly successful Cuervo Tequila cookies.
For those two or three lost souls who are not familiar with Bev’s tasty pastries here’s the recipe again:
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila
1. Sample the Cuervo to check quality.
2. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
3. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
4. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup just in case.
5. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
6. Pick the frigging fruit up off the floor.
7. Mix on the turner.
8. If the fried fruit gets shtuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
11. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.
17. Next, sift two cups of salt or something. Check the Jose Cuervo.
14. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
23. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to bean off the turner, oopsy! And, finally, throw the bowl
through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.
Ava Pissy Chrissy!
Get Into Gear
With all that training you’ve probably worn out all your gear so see Bev for replacements.
Jackets $140
Vests $85
Arm warmers $35
Long-sleeve jerseys $100
Short-sleeve jerseys $80
Knicks $85
Bib-knicks $100
Skin suits 140
Rush your orders to Bev Owen or ‘phone (9639 8007), before they all sell out.
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Merry Christmas
This is the last tempo for 2009. The mighty presses are stilled, the Voice of Waratah muted, until the New Year. Thank you all for your loyal patronage, and see you in 2010.
President’s Yuletide Message
As another year's racing draws to a close I’d like to take the opportunity to wish all Waratahs, and our friends from other Clubs, a happy Christmas and hope that 2010 brings plenty of enjoyable and safe riding.
For our Club, 2009 has been a good year. We’ve seen an increase of over 20% in total rider numbers. This was helped by the holding of the World Masters Games in October, during which time our Sunday races were seen as ideal training. Our major open events, the Eddie Salas and the Southern Hemisphere Cups, both attracted record entries. Masters cycling has never been healthier. It’s also pleasing to see that our membership for the year has increased by 18% to 188, this reverses several years of slow decline. We continue to welcome new members so please don’t be shy when it comes to promoting the Club to friends and acquaintances.
Next year's race programme is now in place and includes three “open” events – the Eddie Salas cup, the Southern Hemisphere Cup and the Waratah Super Series. The Super Series is a new event that will run over two race meetings, including one at Penrith, more on this later.
As always, thanks to all our race sponsors and providers of prizes for your support during the year. Thanks also to our hard working Club Committee and volunteers who regularly help with race management and other tasks to keep our race programme running smoothly.
I look forward to another enjoyable year of competitive but friendly racing.
Best wishes
Ian Jackson
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up as a “pre-paid” rider. For Waratahs, at only $100 for 6 month’s racing, it’s the best Christmas special going.
Ernie’s Excursions
Friday and 190 kms for the week. I started off on Monday with the intention of doing a big ride having spent Sunday afternoon servicing the Malvern Star. Jumped out of bed at 4am Monday and after a little mug of tea I started to pump up the tyres and there was a bang (I hate it when this happens as you are about to leave on a ride). It turned out to be the pump hose, so after cutting out the blown bit and reattaching it I headed out the side tin gate and was met with a strong N/E wind and I thought buggger I will have a tail wind out to the M7. When starting off there was a grinding sound coming from the bottom bracket, like there were stones in there, and after about ten kilometres it healed itself (sometimes you just have to be patient with old bikes). Going along through Rosehill a big tanker went past and as I moved over I hit a pot hole and the pump fell off and went down between the chain ring crank, and I thought that’s three I can relax now. Going along the M7 a rider went past me up a hill on a mountain bike and he had the full fisherman’s yellow wet weather gear on complete with a sou'wester, when I looked at his front wheel I saw he had an electric motor fitted. I chased him for a while but he had more watts than me. I was looking forward to getting a nice sunrise photo from the Sugar Loaf look out where I have my snack (two slices of toasted birdseed bread soaked in honey). Unfortunately the sky was grey and overcast and with light showers. I turned into the wind and headed home and going through the industrial estate at Smithfield stopped at my favourite truck stop for a coffee and finished off the toast. You should see the looks I get from the truckies, they probably think that I am the oldest roughest headed poof they have ever seen in lycra. Having once been an industrial garbage truck driver, I just smile to myself.
Talking of rubbish I have been riding around Olympic Park and the roads are very slowly getting back to normal and after having been dropped from the slow bunch my mind drifted back to my first car. It was a 1923 model 14/40 Vauxhall I bought it for $60 and it took my father and I two years to re build, and then after six months I had to tell my Mum that I had rolled it over, and she just said that she wondered how long it would take. It was a strange sensation going over it was like in those old war movies when a plane is crashing and you seem to be sitting still and the world is spinning around you. Luckily the car did a full circle and landed on its wheels, then it was back into the garage where it was stripped again and repaired (at the time I didn’t appreciate how good and patient my father was). As a teenager I was very wild and would have been a pain in the backside as all I wanted to do was have fun, so when I see my grandkids travelling the globe I have to remember the drive that they possess.  My grandson Chris is blending in with the local young people in Egypt and grandson number two Matthew is in England travelling around. Unfortunately he is one of those quiet achievers and has been given special awards for photography at TAFE but he just comes home and throws them in a drawer and doesn’t even tell his Mum.
I would like to wish you all out there a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Ernie Smith
Committee Capers
Licence renewal
We know it’s the last thing on your mind but right now is a very good time to renew your UCI licence and Club membership, because in less than three weeks your licence expires and no licence--no racing. So renew it on-line, now.
Pre-paid race fees.
As promised, your Committee is offering a massive discount next year as an incentive for members to join the ‘Pre-paid Club’. For a mere $100 you get your race entry fees paid for six months from the 1st of January 2010. That means it will only cost $4 per race if you race every Sunday--and many do--or alternatively you only have to race more than eight times in six months to be ahead. Fantastic!
..And what price do you place on not having to queue up on race day? Priceless! You can even select your favourite number and take it home and sleep with it under your pillow (check with the other half first).
Non-Waratah members can purchase prepaid entries at $175 for the six months which still represents a good saving.
Of course you can’t use your pre-paid entry for any major open events.
Convinced? Good! Now just download this form, fill it in and hand it in at Registration on Sunday, together with your money.
Granny’s Egg Suckers
 Christmas Goodies It is that time of the year again, and you have to think of Christmas presents for your nearest and dearest, children, perhaps grandchildren, and old Aunt Ethel. Of course, they have similar problems finding a gift for you, so now is the time for dropping a few hints of your cycling needs, and the address of the LBS.
Topeak Alien III
The multi-tool to take into space. It has 25 tools including: 7 Allen keys, tyre lever, 3 hex spanners, spoke keys, knife, bottle opener, Philips & flat screwdrivers, chain tool etc. and it cones in two halves in a bag a with a clip, which fixes to your seatpost. Cost about $100 or more. Possibly, an overkill of utilities, and the simpler Topeak Hexus 16 is lighter and cheaper.
Continental Ultrasport Hometrainer Tyre
It is a yellow tyre 700C x 23 with very hard, low friction rubber, which will not heat up or separate from the casing, as you train on your Turbo trainer, and it is not suitable for road use. At about $75 in is not cheap, but a good investment for that dedicated rear wheel.
BHIP Heart Rate Monitor
This must be the cheapest, best quality HRM available for $55 from www.heartratemonitor.co.uk it displays current HR alongside a stopwatch, or time of day, or countdown timer. You can set upper and lower limits, and it beeps to let you know when this occurs, and it stores your last session’s data. For extra money a Data logger will download details to your PC. All the heads are using Power Meters, so HRMs are getting cheaper.
Bontrager Air Pack
If you had a puncture recently, and did not have all the essentials, this might be the job. A neoprene pouch containing tyre levers, glueless patches, CO2 inflator and two cartridges, and room enough for a multitool. Small enough to slip in a jersey pocket, and for about $60 form Bontrager or your LBS.
Limar Pro 104 Ultralight Helmet
Weighing a mere 170 grams this lid is 40 grams lighter than most helmets. Despite trimming off bits and having 22 vents it still complies with European and Australian Standards; it will keep you cool, and you will hardly notice it on your head. Cost: $225. The nearest challenger is the Giro Prolight weighing 175 grams which will be available in early 2010.
Bianchi Dolomiti Steel Bike
If you reminisce for a steel frame like the one you rode as a fit young man, then Bianchi have turned the clock back. Made of triple butted steel tubing with steel forks and chrome lugs, this will take you back to the days of Eddy Merckx. It is available as a frame, or a complete bike with Campagnolo 11 speed Athena groupset and Ambrosio wheels. Also Colnago Master steel frames are available, and Milani have a stainless steel steed available. Prices are negotiable but considerable.
Reynolds RZR46 Wheels (Tubulars)
At 870 grams a pair they are the worlds lightest, and lighter than most single back wheels. The hubs, spokes and rims are all fantastically light carbon fibre, and with a very aerodynamic drag coefficient of .0033. The cost is equally fantastic $6000. You’d have to be dreaming.
The Poacher
Hardy’s Humour
 Any man old enough to be reading this will have learnt by bitter experience that there is a world of difference between what women say and what they mean. For the uninitiated here are a few of the most common translations:
Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in 'Fine'.
Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing (see above for Nothing).
That's OK: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's OK means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say 'You're welcome'. (I want to add in a clause here: this is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'You're welcome' that will bring on a 'Whatever').
Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying 'Get stuffed!'
Don't worry about it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to Nothing.
I don't care, do what you like: Don't rise to the bait, whatever you do will be wrong and will certainly invoke the Look.
The Look: When words fail a woman will resort to Silence and a withering stare which can castrate a man at a hundred paces on a cloudy day. A word from the wise: Never, Never wave, smile or blow her a kiss when the Look is operating, it has led to many a man being shown the Door.
Bill Hardy
Happy Jack’s Coaching Corner
 The illusion of perfection
I heard that white paint on carbon frames has caused massive problems with cracking. It was not the carbon that was cracking – just the paintwork. We expect perfection out of our expensive carbon framesets, and yet the only thing that we can use to judge the quality is the finish on the surface. This is usually the paintwork. SO if you see a crack in the pristine white paintwork – then the frame must be faulty. What we miss is that it is not the paintwork that we ride. It is the carbon underneath. In the quest for perfection, we miss the essential ingredient. In this case, it is the just the ability of the frame to hold all the various bicycle components at certain distances apart.
We have a huge part of our population looking for the perfect spouse to settle down with. Yet they have not made the connection that the person looking back at them in the mirror is exactly what they are looking for. Someone who is not 100% beautiful in every way. Someone who has the same ‘hang-ups’ and flaws. There is no one out there who will fit the picture of perfection. Yet we still keep looking.
Last month, you would have said that Tiger Woods is the perfect golfer. But since the ‘scandals’ have surfaced, your judgement may be a little different. It would be a pity if Tiger was remembered as a ‘sex addict’ – rather than a brilliant golfer. Golf is what Tiger is all about. To expect him to be the perfect spouse, parent, friend, media star etc...is taking the illusion that something should be perfect – too far. All these things are just like ‘paintwork’ on Tiger. Tiger is all about hitting the golf ball with the precise strokes needed to get it into the hole. All the other stuff is just us wanting him to be the perfect person – and missing the main ingredient in the this quest for perfection.
My son used the line - “Don’t sweat the small stuff” - the other day. How close to the truth was he?
Jack Yuen
New Members
If you have just joined the Waratahs or would like to refresh your memory about what to do, when, and to whom, you will find all the answers in our New Members page on the website, just click here
Like Father Like Son
The love of cycling is in the blood. If you don’t believe me have a gander at the great website run by Jonesy’s son. It’s a good place to find out what’s going on in the world of cycling.
Training Rides
Dad’s Army:0800 hrs Tues & Thurs Mona Vale Rd, St Ives (carpark opposite Stanley Street); 52 clicks through Terrey Hills, Akuna Bay and Duffy’s Forest.
Grandad’s Army: same as above but starts at 0745 hrs.
Homebush: 6.00 am Tues, Wed and Thurs: Olympic Park train station; 45 mins of high-speed fun. Four or five self-selecting bunches to suit all levels. Run expertly by Lidcombe-Auburn but all clubs welcome. Expect large bunches in Summer.
If none of these suit try this website to find out how to link up with other bunch rides--no, it’s not a dating service for lonely cyclists
Subscription
This newsletter has been mailed to you as a WMCC member or as an interested subscriber. If you don’t want to receive it email us with “unsubscribe” in the title
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