Tour of Bright (TOB)

In 2009 the newly sponsored TFM-Celtic Decor team were ready to travel with a full strength team to compete in the Masters section of the ToB. Tragedy struck Mick Day who broke a collar bone two weeks away from the event and he was unable to defend the title he won in 2008. So that year the old warhorse of racing, David Sturt, pictured right (AKA Steggles) took home the yellow jersey. It was success still for TFM as they are one of the sponsors of Cycling Inform. David also rides a Giant.

Coming into this year's race tragedy struck Celtic again with Gerry Donnelly crashing in the Dandenongs again just a few weeks out from the event of the year. Dislocating his shoulder and damaging the tendon, his race was effectively over. Added to this bad luck, Boyd Friis was out of the race after suffering several viral bouts over the preceding weeks.
So with just three riders on the team and some great support from TFM, Giant and Dulux, the TFM-Celtic team went on the attack from stage one. The results were excellent and we are very happy we were able to contribute towards the strong visual presence that TFM had on the mountain over the weekend.
In the Masters 4/5 category, Mick Day won all three stages as well as the overall KOM and GC jerseys. Frank Donnelly won stage 1 & 2 in Masters 6 before a mechanical surely cost him stage three and the overall win. Big Bear John Cain was amazing in sacrificing his own chances in his pet event, the ITT, to drive the peloton in pursuit of a early break away in stage one. Doing this allowed Mick Day to catch and pass the lead riders in the ascent of Tawonga Gap and surely cost him in the afternoon's ITT. For the record, John came third there behind Mick and David Sturt in second. It was a huge sacrifice for the man that is both State and National ITT champion and  paints a picture of the team ethos that is TFM-Celtic Decor.

Indoor Training

Yes it is supposed to summer. We had a VERY wet winter and many of us didn't get out on the bike as much as we wanted. We all thought recently that summer was just around the corner and we would be back on the bike and getting ready to get some fitness back or look good for hot summer days. Well it's now mid December and the picture above confronted me yet again before my morning Saturday ride. The BOM is suggesting that we will be having plenty more radars like this one over the summer. Perhaps it's time you considered a Christmas present that will help your cycling addiction and not take you out of the house for hours at a time, thus keeping your partner and children a little happier at the same time. I was recently asked for advice on purchasing an indoor trainer by a work colleague wanting to surprise her partner. She was concerned that she might buy the wrong one so hear is a rundown of your options.
Very basically you have two options, rollers or stationary trainer. There are many options within these two categories however as indoor training has become very popular over the last few years. Many high standard racing riders do all of their high intensity training indoors regardless of the weather. Indoor training is not subject to weather conditions and the rider can have greater control over the session. If you are considering a purchase of indoor training equipment you are best served by going into your local TFM store and having a chat about what is available and what you want to achieve.  There are new products coming onto the market all the time and the budgets starts at a little over $200 and moves in the several thousand bracket with virtual software that has you riding up every col in Europe without leaving your home. TFM Port Melbourne and Williamstown actually have one of these for you to have a go on. So just as a taste, you can get rollers with or without resistance, rim trainers, magnetic trainers, fluid trainers, virtual trainers, wind trainers, ergos and variants on each of these! By all means ask your friends what they are using, but if you want to make an informed decision go down to TFM where you can get the lowdown on the huge range available and even try out each in store.

Useful Resources

Get off that sofa and onya bike!!!  For a full list of Cycle Sport Victoria Metro riding clubs click here

The Freedom Machine :: Port Melbourne
265-267 Bay St. Port Melbourne 3207
Tel (03) 9681 8533
Fax (03) 9681 8609
portmelb@freedommachine.com.au


The Freedom Machine :: Prahran
245 Chapel St. Prahran 3181
Tel (03) 9510 1010
Fax (03) 9521 3969
prahran@freedommachine.com.au