tempo

What Else Would You Do on a Sunday?

An Enduro is always an attraction and  last Sunday at the Eastern Creek Dragway was no exception with 149 riders lining up to test their mettle.
It was a bit of a LACC-attack, led by Brett Fenton who secured his third win in A grade and fellow LACCey Andrew Clark who beat C grade for the first time. Scott Ardron from Penrith did likewise to B grade. Mal Price, also from Penrith, had a maiden victory in D grade. Dr Bob Hampshire made a welcome return to racing, after his operation, and cleaned up E grade and Waratah Joe Gatt led F grade over the line.
See the full results and relive all the action with Ernie’s photos.

Racing Sunday 18 December 2011
It's the end of the racing season and time to celebrate the real reason for riding--camaraderie--with the running of the tempo Cup on Sunday at the Eastern Creek Raceway. It will be a fun day with the emphasis on enjoyment. There will be the famous Friendship Lap at  the start of the race, the Club Song (learn the words), copious amounts of champagne to toast Friendship in Cycling and the awarding of the tempo Cup to the friendliest Waratah member in 2011.
All grades start at 07:00 hrs. The Duty Officer is Jimmy Gray, the Commissaire is Jack Yuen and the Duty Helpers are David Dal Cin and Alan Power.
Check the Infoline: 1902 261 007 for last minute changes and consult the Programme well in advance to see when your next Club duty is scheduled.

Trackies

As usual Paul Craft is running his Christmas Track Carnival series:

- Tuesday 27/12 - Dunc Gray
- Wednesday 28/12 - Tempe
- Thursday 29/12 - Hurstville
- Friday 30/12 - LACC (Lidcombe Oval)
- Saturday 31/12 - Dunc Gray

You can enter one event, or enter all five. Crafty usually has good prizes on offer, so check out this link for further information
Terry Freshwater
Club Track Coach

Granny’s Egg Sucker
Campagnolo Super Record EPS electronic transmission
James Huang of Bikeradar was lucky enough to test ride the new Campag EPS, so far seen only as prototypes on professional bikes. This might be just the thing for Christmas for the Waratah who has everything. Here is a sample of his first impressions: Now read on...
The Poacher

Chemical Bill
Dietary Guidelines & Healthy Eating
As we enter the festive season (or more aptly the season of food and beverage over indulgence), rather than the normal chemicals drugs and obscure studies, new information on dietary guidelines and healthy might be more appropriate! This week the National Health & Medical Research  Council released for public consultation their new drafts for Australian Dietary Guidelines and  Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Now read on...

Denis’s Diet
Hard times are ahead
Last month was a red-letter month for the future of mankind as the world population passed 7 billion. Unfortunately, this fact dovetails with recent research that indicates it is likely that one-half of all Americans will be diabetic by 2050 (1). [with Australia not far behind. Denis]. Now read on....
Denis Sullivan

Happy Jack’s Life-Coaching Corner
It all begins (and ends) with a mess
You can drive down the M2 today, drop by at the nearest local property under construction, visit a local manufacturing plant or check out the mining operations that keep Australia one of the ‘lucky countries’. What you will see is a MESS.
I visit many households in the course of my business and I always get the request “excuse the mess…”. Shirley does not want unexpected guests because she wants a chance to clear up the mess before any visitor gets a chance to see it. I can never convince her that “mess is OK”.
Any good jigsaw begins with a mess of pieces. And so any good life is also a mess to begin with. It is a mess at the beginning and a mess at the end. But somehow we spend all our time trying to straighten out the mess in between the beginning and the end – rather than just playing with the mess.
In a jigsaw, the pieces fall into place as the game progresses - one step at a time. Sometimes, pieces get put in the wrong place and some rebuilding has to happen. But we know that all the pieces are there to complete the picture. Eventually, we will get the full picture. This is what life is like.
Our lives may seem messy – but that is all part of the story. Nothing will ever be the perfect picture in the game of life. This is simply because we do not know what the finished pictures will be like while we are in the middle of the game. Eventually, everything works out. And like a new house, it will be all neat and finished just after it is built and immediately, it will get messy again when it gets filled up with things and people. The cycle continues.
Life is just like that. More mess than neat.
Jack Yuen

Immortal Humour


Kaffee Klatsch

“G’day mate. The usual, thanks Bev. Mate, what sort have you got? Long with a smooth action or one of those short ones that keep getting stuck?”
“I dread to ask...”
“Gonzo got his stuck this morning and spent the whole time yanking it up and down.”
“Now I really don’t want to know!”
“His zip mate, his zip! He couldn’t get it open and you know what a girl he is, he couldn’t ride no-hands to get a good go at it.”
“ Yes, it’s surprising how many riders lack some of the basic skills, like riding no-hands and track stands.”
“Track stands mate, don’t talk to me about those. Did you hear what happened to me the other day?”
“No (patiently) but I think I’m about to.”
“Well I was riding with Punchdrunk, you know the old trackie from Lidcombe-Auburn, and we came to a set of lights and he said don’t unclip do a track stand like real roadies, so we did, except I got my front wheel the wrong way, like down the slope of the road not up, so I couldn’t stop it rolling into the kerb and then it got caught in a drain and I went arse over tit into a bunch of sheilas with prams waiting to cross--they weren’t pleased and gave me heaps--and you know what?”
“What?”
“Punchdrunk rode off and left me to it when the lights changed. Mate, you sure find out who your mates are when things go pear shaped.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Never mind, you’re among friends now. Look at Bev, for instance, and the friendly way she’s smiling at you just waiting for you to order two more coffees.”

The Life and Times of Bubbly Bev
Our Cafe Angel has been sick with ‘flu and pleurisy..poor thing..but in spite of her ailments, like any card-carrying angel, she was back on the job before being fully recovered, dispensing the ‘cup which cheers but doesn’t inebriate’ (yes I know that’s tea but who’s telling this?) to the Sweaty Bunch, all the while with a cheerful smile.
Chapeaux!

Get Into Gear

The President’s Yuletide Message

As the year draws to a close I'd like to wish all Waratahs, all who ride with us and all our many supporters, a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the coming year. The past year has been another good one for the Club - our membership continues to increase and now stands at over 200, total rider numbers have again increased and we continue to improve on  our unique formula of providing well run, safe and friendly masters racing every Sunday morning of the year. This is a great asset for the rapidly growing number of masters cyclists who like to compete and keep fit, regardless of their of age or ability. During the year many Waratahs distinguished themselves admirably in both state and national events. At the NSW state championships the Waratahs won the 'Masters Club Shield', for the best performing club in the state. A great result from many individual efforts. The year also saw four 'open or major' events all with record entries. Staging these events is only possible with the generous support of our major sponsors - Eddie Salas Cycles, Continental / Rudy Project, Colnago, Dominic Caravello and TWE wheels. In addition we continue to receive strong support from the providers of prizes who are all  listed on our web home page.
Next year's race program is falling into place. We again aim to bring you at least four major events, with plenty of variety in between to challenge your riding skills. We are also working on a new and improved web site that we expect to have up and running early in the new year, so stay tuned for further updates.
I am looking forward to the coming year and would like to thank our committee and the many other Waratahs who play such a vital role in ensuring our race programs run so smoothly. We continue to welcome your constructive feedback and suggestions on how we can keep improving.
Enjoy the coming weeks and I look forward to joining you in the new year with more competitive and friendly racing. Ride safely.
Best wishes
Ian Jackson

Friendliest Waratah of the Year
Peter Mangioni

When you need a friendly helping hand there’s none better than Peter, not just because he’s an experienced psychologist and counsellor but because he’s blessed with that happy, gregarious disposition that only comes from a latin heritage and free access to recreational drugs.
Boon companion, bon viveur, raconteur, thin--these are the qualities which make Peter a worthy recipient of the tempo Cup as the Friendliest Waratah for 2011.


Committee Capers
Race Fees
Reluctantly your Committee has decided to increase the race fee to $15 as from 1 January 2012. It’s the first increase in 8 years and reflects the increasing costs of venue hire and the running costs of providing regular quality racing for our members and guests.
Prepayment of race fees
In line with our ongoing commitment to maximise membership benefits your Committee has resolved to continue to subsidise race entry fees.
As a Waratah Club member you can pre-pay your race entry fees for the next six months and make major savings. For only $125 you can race from 1 January to 30 June 2012. This means that after only eight races you effectively race for free.
Just fill in the attached form and bring it with your money to a race meeting, where you can register and collect a permanent race number. Your name will then be placed on a pre-paid list which also greatly speeds up rider registration each week. Non-Waratahs can also pre-pay at a cost of $200.
Medals
We are holding medals for Club members who finished in the top three positions in their age groups at the Club Time Trial, Track and Road Championships in 2011, and weren't able to attend the Club's Christmas dinner to collect them. Their medals are available on any Sunday from the sign on desk. Uncollected medals will be kept until the end of January, after which they will be melted down into bullion.
Photo Finishes
The Club owns a sophisticated camera which is capable of delayed action slow motion recording and playback of the race finishes, which gives unequivocal finishing positions. Video of the finishes can also be uploaded to the website for poring over later and impressing the family.
We’ve got the technology but we’re lacking the volunteer(s) to press the buttons. It doesn’t require any prior expertise but it does require the commitment to be there each week and look after the camera. It need not affect your racing as two could share the duties (one from the ‘higher’ and the other from the ‘lower’ grades).
If anyone can help please contact Dr Keith  (0412141545).

Ernie’s Excursions

Thursday and in six days 247 kms and I got drowned on couple of days.  It didn’t matter as I was riding my old Malvern Star. I just had to find a gear that didn’t slip and stay in it but at least I was out of the house and it was still better than riding the indoor trainer as you can’t beat real world road kilometres. I was riding around SOP the other morning thinking that I hadn’t had a puncture in yonks (bad thought), well, on the intersection turning off Olympic Boulevard half way into the corner I heard a sudden hiss and then felt the dreaded bump bump of the back wheel  I managed to hold the bike up by straightening up and coming to an easy stop.
I was sitting on a bench changing the tube, and you know how misery loves company, well I looked up and Paul King was going through the same drama.  It is funny how you don’t feel so bad when others are sharing your misfortune.  We copped a lot of flack from the bunch as they passed by as they thought that we were not up to race speed of changing flats.  Eventually I got my wheel back in and was about to take off and I asked Paul if he was okay but unfortunately he had pinched his only spare tube and he lives in Parramatta.
It is an awful feeling when you are stranded a long way from home.  Luckily I always carry two spare tubes so I was able to help Paul out on the proviso that I fitted the new tube by hand (no tyre levers). Paul didn’t argue and he insisted on rewarding me for my help even though I didn’t ask, because we never know when the shoe will be on the other foot.
When I finally got to George's Quad café I copped a further barrage of inquiries as to why, as an experienced old time bike rider, I had taken so long to effect the change. It was all in good humour, and I believe in life if you give it you must be able to take it. Wendy Bird was telling me about the time she punctured outside Parramatta prison.  The day was 40 degrees and she had a puncture outfit but the heat buggered up the glue, so she tried to hail a cab but by this time she was covered in grease and the usual tyre black and the driver wouldn’t let her in the cab so she had to walk all the way home to Rhodes. You can just imagine the condition of her cleats and shoes when she finally got home.

Speaking of conditions we don’t know how well off we are these days compared to old time bike racers and look at the bikes they were racing on and setting World class times.  We worry about weight these days, but their bikes and all the accessories were made out of steel (just like their legs). Speaking of steel, I will need some tomorrow as my 10 year old grandson Benjamin has to do a show and tell session at his school and he, in his wisdom (or desperation) decided that I am to be the subject and he has requested me to present myself in front of his class and not to forget to bring my camera. I mean to say I may be full of hot air but a class of year 4 kids could be a hard gig to entertain. But this is a cliff hanger and you will have to wait for the February 2012  edition of Tempo to hear if I died in front of this audience.
Ernie Smith

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