LABC presents new kit

-- Highlights counted on the fingers of one hand

The Lunn Ave Bicycle Club unveiled their club jersey for the 2010 season, this week in Newmarket, Auckland.

The club’s lily-white theme showed up nicely in the dark – a design reflecting safety concerns and absent design.

Significantly, the majority of the club’s 14 paid up members were on hand to display the new uniform.

The jersey was to incorporate sponsor logos, however contract negotiations failed at the eleventh hour, leaving plenty of white space.

Weekend rides: 27/28 Feb.

-- First check your riding style

Saturday 6:15 A.M. Newmarket grand depart for the Waitaks. Back home by 10:00 A.M. Feel the pain.

Or Saturday 7.30 A.M. Mechanics Bay grand depart for the Poo-ponds, with ASB gents. Enjoy the chit chat

Sunday: 6:00 A.M Meadowbank Bakery grand depart for Hunua Gorge, Clevedon and Twilight return. Back home by 10:00 A.M. Spinning pleasure.

LABC ride report

-- The Great Coromandel Dream Ride, Saturday 13 February 2010

The ride briefing said it all: ride, don’t race; double check special anti-chaffing measures; enough money for beer and return ferry trip.

Everything went to plan. The weather held – no complaints there, other than the headwind mauling on the coastal beat from Thames to Coromandel. Just one puncture. And a smooth return ferry trip didn’t upset our flow.

Highlights:

- Lunch – the second one - at the Pepper Tree. Outstanding

- Heineken, all 33 of them

- Those hand cut wedges

- The first lunch at the Thames Garden centre - an oasis before the storm

- Stifling jungle heat of the final climb. God it was awful, but we loved it

- Return ferry trip and curative properties of Heineken

-- Hand cut fries - worth losing a finger for (a few Tigers in the Heinenken camp)

Low lights:

- The dodgy Waitakaruru truck stop. Extra cups of truly awful coffee. And the evident disdain in looks cast by the passing bunch witnessing our coffee stop moment of shame

- The Thames Garden centre toilet was sealed off and declared a crime zone. No finger pointing

Lessons:

- Next time pack shorts. There is no panache in beer and spandex

- Consider another water stop before the Coromandel Hills

Great Coromandel Dream Ride

-- Saturday details

Weather's looking OK, at this early stage.

A hint of SW would be nice.

Grand Depart: 0600 Lunn Ave HQ.

(There was some discussion about a later 6:30 start, but better getting to Coro earlier than later. Nothing worse than a hurried lunch when the beers are going down so easily).

Last year we lunched here.

In the courtyard. Very nice it was, too.

We'll travel via Botany, Chapel, Redoubt/Mill to Papakura, then through the Gorge and onward via Mangatawhiri and Miranda.

Without De Vin, a mid morning stop might be a random thing. Pack a sandwich, cold sausage, or cup cake, and we'll luxuriate at a nice dog dosing strip/picnic stop.

Then the Thames garden centre place.

You know the rest.

Waitangi Day Ride

-- Two options

1. Grand depart: 0600 Lunn Ave Bicycle Club HQ for warm-up before meeting other volunteers at 0700, Mechanics Bay. Moderate pace.

2. Grand depart: 0600 Newmarket (Khyber corner) for sharpening and hills. Ring piece.

See you there.

Enquiries to the secretary.

Saddle selection

-- You can't afford to get it wrong

When it comes to saddle selection, comfort is the only thing that matters.

However, in some geographies, certain riders must also factor in appropriate colouring.

Brown is so not her colour.

Breakfast of champions

-- Eggs benedict gets the big tick

While some cyclists cashed in Christmas breaks for extra training miles, others channelled their energy in different directions.

Quality training needs quality eating, reasoned Lunnsters Brett W and John McG.

So rather than fixate on miles these two undertook an expansive market assessment to identify optimal breakfast nutrition, starting with eggs benedict.

Here's a thumbnail summary of the research findings:

- A range of styles
- A high standard achieved across the board
- Despite the pleasing findings, café Massimo reigns supreme!
- We will continue this market research

In the nutrition spotlight next month: Bacon, sausages, black pudding and eggs.

Man, am I hungry.