Anteprogression

Yes, I invented that word because it was easier than thinking up a title.

My laptop has gone and died (as mentioned on my primary blog), so this 'summer of cricket' won't be a betting one I don't think - it won't be easy to keep up, let alone ahead. Any motopunting blogs are on the backburner - and this one will be too, I think... or perhaps I'll just remove it from the stove.

Bugger!


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

Possible new blog - MotoPunter

Hello any hapless readers out there of my irregular contrivances.

This blog sort of died with the distinction between 'travelling' and 'motorcycling'. Why did I not realise that earlier?

Anyway, I thought you might like to know that I'm thinking quite seriously about starting a serious blog (you know, one for people to read... with stuff like its own URL, advertising, third-party readers...). About, as the title suggests, punting on the MotoGP (and, possibly, cricket in the off season - but I really don't know whether I can keep up with cricket, too much going on there....).

I got all inspired last weekend. There's nothing like losing a whole lot of money to make you want to do something else. And I've been filled with sadness at not having a MotoGP season to follow.

Anyway, I know this blog is a lonely voice in a noisy ocean. Maybe the next one won't be?


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

I don't owe Stoner a beer. Or a case. I owe him a beer truck.

As you may be aware, I do punt occasionally on the results of the MotoGP. And, more often than not I win out.

Today I had a good day. I had decided, on the way to the net parlour to actually work out my winnings (I only knew them, I thought, +/- $500, which you might have noticed is a fair margin of uncertainty), that I was going to tweet that "the only thing more absurd than the volume of my winnings is the consistency."

And the latter certainly is absurd. One sad night in Darwin I lost $450 on qualifying - since then, there has been one race and two race weekends, making five sessions all up, and I've come up positive in every one of them. No single win is really worthy of going to town over. Wagering is 'investment' after all, and what counts is long-term average returns. (Or, at least that's what I try to tell myself when I lose.) But having a run of five sessions in the black is impressive indeed, and well worthy of celebration!

The tweet isn't going to happen, however, because I didn't realise exactly what my position was... see with Betfair you can either match offered bets, or offer your own to match - a lot of uncertainty often hinges on the unmatched bets you have offered. So I am dropped in to check... - on four markets (winner w/o 'top four', podium, top 6 and overall win), I had four positive results! And on the major one - the overall win - I... well, lets not hark on about my richness, but I had more money behind Stoner than I realised (and at better odds!).

So, now that I have vented (it still doesn't feel real, and I still don't know how to celebrate), I will make a point. I've won, and done so surprisingly consistently, with a fair bit of luck, but even more with hard work. Or 'hard', I should say - really, it's easy to read timesheets.

Today I made about the most comprehensive readings of times of my punting history, and I think it is a good system - well worth repeating. For the sake of illustration, the notes I made thismorning:

FP1:
Stoner fastest partial
Rossi fastest early - first outing (tyre work)

Elias, Dovi good pace
(Capi, Kallio, Hayden okay)
Edwards, Verm not hot

FP2:
Stoner again fastest partial - possibly also best pace
Pedrosa no good runs
Rossi good pace (not as good as Stoner's)
Lorenzo okay late run

Edwards, Kallio (good part), de Pun, de Ang, Mel good pace
Elias, Dovi, Capi okay
Hayden, Verm poor
Esp improving

QP:
Stoner again good partial (3rd)
- can't guage pace (only did short runs) - but could be excellent (Qtime was really early)
Ros: 1.8
Lor: 2.3
Ped: 1.9

Dovi good part - pace? appears hot (long runs: 2.3/5/7)
Cap 2.5
El 2.8
H 2.9
dP 3.2
Ed? 2.4?/3.5
deA 2.8
Kal 2.4 ?? - superhot


Of course, the most decisive information was the times from the morning warmup - I didn't take notes on that because I bet in real time. But, if I had had more money with the bookies (as opposed to Betfair - an exchange), I might have made notes on that too. (Long story short - with bookies you don't make money on the frontrunners.)

So, rather than jest that you should give me your money to multiply, you should give it a go.

Go on!

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

FNQ: One hell of a destination

I got up to the top of Mt Molloy the other afternoon and had to go back for another lap - the second time up the hill there were all these black lines on the road that weren't there the first time around... ; )

The road made me reconsider some of my lines which saw an improvement in my adaptability and an upping of the fun factor. I've been straightening out my ess bends a lot more, aiming straight for the apex of the second rather than establishing a wide entry. Exits might not be as fast (maybe), but the bike's more stable (I've been pushing the front quite severely on occasion flopping it over), it smooths out the throttle demands, and makes the first bend easier to navigate (especially if sight is bad).

The Gillies, another beauty, certainly lives up to its reputation (though there aren't really 365 corners). It's actually so good a road that I found it hard to ride fast enough - not only is the surface great, the road is relatively wide, the motorists are generally quite considerate (they use turnouts! - and are more thinly spread than most routes too), and the corners are so predictable and relentless that tyres are operating at track temperature, even when riding with the full-gear handicap. I have never gotten tyres this hot on the road before - that's the kind of road the Gillies is.

There are only two downsides to the Gillies: it makes me want to ride faster; and at the bottom is the highway to Cairns.

The road along the coast to Port Douglas is scenic, but God knows how you find space on it that isn't filled with a motorhome. It was every bit as frustrating as the highway through Cairns. Found a good coffee in Port Douglas though which brightened the spirit (and prepared me well to climb Mt Molloy).


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

Lorenzo: back to his former best

The 'former best' I speak of is of course the best he could manage last year - fast, but always crashing. Haven't really read the reports yet (I missed the race... poo), but apparently he at least didn't hurt himself.

Deficit to Rossi now: 50 points.

Points he would have had in the last two races without crashing: 50. (+ at least five that he would have snatched off Rossi)

It's sort of sad he can't convert his speed and talent into results - I would still expect the championship to go to Rossi, but it would be much tighter. Rossi is still just as fast, and ultimately better at winning. But he shouldn't be as far ahead as he is.
As it is, the hopes of our nearest challenger are slipping away faster than his bike is sliding down the track.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

Riding gear: Shifty experiences

I just wrote an item on my todo list which provided cause to stop and think: haven't I been here before?

Working at MCA I came across a broad range of Shift products and was broadly impressed. They seemed to offer good attention to detail, sensible design - and often they look shit hot as well. There were some reservations by some - but given those people were generally suggesting the European garments with 50-100% more on the price tag, I took these reservations tongue in cheek. And I know at least one with a lot of experience with the product who swears by them.

I am now the proud (...ish) owner of a pair of Shift kevlarred riding jeans, and some Shift sports gloves.

The gloves fit the bill perfectly when I was shopping - I wanted good overall protection, a wrist strap and a pricetage under $200. And they fit 'like a glove'. They were a no brainer, and generally seemed to offer good value. Within a couple of weeks, the stitching on the palmside of the fingers had buckled on a number of fingers - I took them back and they duly got restitched. Within a couple of months, the other hand has pulled apart and remain that way - taking them back is not worth the effort or wait, and I haven't yet gotten around to doing it myself. I am still happy with my purchase, but would be much happier if something was available with the same features and fit and was actually made properly.

The jeans are a reasonable amount cheaper than Draggins (and Hornees again), fit well and look so much hotter. I really like my jeans. Others expressed some reservation, but couldn't really give anything specific. The kevlar is much thinner - but should still do the job, right? Reading that the 'kevlar' pad is actually only 20% kevlar put any such misunderstandings to rest. Oh well, I got what I paid for - ultimately still happy with my favourite jeans.

But... on my todo list now: 'restitch the crotch of jeans". Frankly, I expect further deterioration. Compared to Draggins - or any half-decent jean - which I've heard of people wearing for 10+ years without drama, this is uninspiring.


... you can make your own judgement - with a bit more information than what you might see initially: the positive design elements which drive the sales of the the Shifty brand.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

Stoner's mystery illness continues to take its toll

It appears Stoner's apparently improving competativeness belied a condition far more serious than optimists like myself had expected.

http://tiny.cc/YEASf
http://tiny.cc/AuUaK

Ducati have confirmed rumours of Stoner sitting out at least three races.

It's really sad to see Stoner resorting to sitting out races. His attitude on the track and in front of the press had been extremely negative for a while - contrasting his mature performances at the start of the year. I was hoping, like many, that a few weeks' break would see a further improvement of his condition and increasing competativeness at rounds at which we could expect strong performances.

It's not to be it seems.

The most disheartening factor is that we still have very little indication about what is causing his condition, and with news like this it becomes apparent that his problems are much more severe than tiredness over race distance.

All hoping he has recovered for the final string of rounds starting in Portugal, and in particular can have another strong performance at home at the end of October.


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

'Teq' talk: Beaches Blat

Doing a little bit of sitting, waiting for departure - so figured I'd at least do some sitting while I'm riding.

I wasn't 100% happy with my technique last weekend down Mac Pass, so I wanted to work on a couple of things.

Entries are the bottleneck of my technique. I exit well enough, but I generally feel slow mid-corner, and that's because I enter poorly - not because I'm not happy leaning. Even accounting for a sensible and conservative 'slow in fast out' approach, by mid-corner it is so often obvious I am travelling too slowly.

Part of the problem is that I usually run the brakes quite late. I am happy doing it, and still maintain that it is a useful technique to be comfortable with. But the SV doesn't handle the easing-off process that well - and neither do I frankly - and I don't deal that well with the busy process of entering and appropriately judging speed. I'm always conservative if I'm not concentrating appropriately on my line through the corner.

So, today I went about improving that. It was a little hard picking out some suitable roads, so I resolved to just ride to the beach, and managed to randomly generate some corners.

Without going particularly quickly, I was pretty happy with the smooth lines and effective approaches I made - given a largely suburban corner set. No breakthrough, but I felt good. No big changes to riding technique ('teq'), but a revision of focus and mindset had a huge impact on experience. And of course a noticeable difference in the corners.


Another realisation I had on the road today is that corners in the suburbs often aren't 'corners' at all. Intersections, dead-ends, roundabouts and other obstacles are all great opportunities to enjoy riding - and practice teq - and are often safer and more predictable contexts to do so than narrow, blind and unpredictable corners. So maybe the next ride I plan I won't be looking for the twisties at all.


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

MotoBlog developments - digression from the mean

Just a quicky - because I know none of you are crash hot on commitment - I think I have decided the direction for the blogs breakdown. All travel stuff - including the motorcycling aspect - will be posted on 2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com. Only stuff specifically of interest to motorcyclists will be posted here. That means:

Discussions on technique, technique introspectives, and other aspects of rides that will only really resonate with the bikers among us. Stuff on the MotoGP. General bike things. Anything about riding that I don't want my mum to read...


Included in all that technique talk is implicit the idea of developing my ability to help other people with their riding. I am by no means an expert or a pro, and really I'm not that fast or otherwise extraodinarily skilled. Anyone with the right attitude could get to a similar point to me with a year or two of experience. But I am proud of the skills that I have developed, the mature approach I take to riding, and the level of safety and confidence with which I ride. Ultimately, these things I have learnt not through excessive experience (I have gained them mainly through about two years worth of riding, over the last four years), and certainly not through innate ability, but through an introspective and analytical perspective and approach to developing my riding.

This background should make me suitable for helping other people to work on their riding. Should - to be honest, while I like to talk to people about their riding, I don't know much about actually helping them to ride, and can think of few instances of having a concrete impact on anyone's riding.

I had approached James Spence a year or two ago about getting involved in the rider training they do at their race schools - ultimately I didn't have the time, so I didn't really progress down that avenue. Being on the road, it is obviously difficult for me to do anything along those lines, though when I settle down anything that I can work around fulltime work could be a good option.

In the meantime, there will be this blog. I don't know how much help I can offer, but I can certainly think out loud, and we can see where to go from there.


In the news, you might also have heard a couple of details: firstly, I will be leaving Sydney next Thursday - it has gotten to the point where I may as well hang around in Sydney till my sister gets back from overseas. I have also been offered a job with the Victorian Auditor General's Office (VAGO), as a Performance Audit officer/analyst. Their GRAD Scheme starts in February next year, in Melbourne of course. I haven't said yes, but I will, and as long as my second reference doesn't stab me in the back I will be fine.
So this trip, really is a departure - my return home won't be to the home I am departing. And it really is a holiday! Not just an extension of an uncertain future.

Chin chin - don't forget to nod.


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
www.jsbaxter.com.au

Money sinks which aren't too deep

Just a heads up to the avid consumers among you,

Aldi have their motorcycle gear in stock again. Having looked through it all none of it really excites me, EXCEPT the tank bags, which are certifiably awesome and awesomely cheap. It's been about a year now that I've had mine, and it has not fallen apart at all - including the inbuilt rain cover and assorted straps -, has shown no sign of fading or other wear or tear. Its assortment of pockets and ziptogether options are as good as any, it functions as a backpack/regular bag, has an additional hightening compartment which can function as a separate shoulder-bag - all sections of which (plus a separate base) have a clear top for the maps... Head to Aldi with $60 in your wallet and get one. (Yes it's $10 more exxy than last year.)

Deus have a decent range of older/winter stock going quite cheaply at the moment. You thought USydMC club shirts were the only wearable Ts you can get for $5!? - you're right, because the Deus ones are a horrible yellow (but they are $5, and they do have a Deus tag).

Of course, you could pay $99.95 for new-season boardshorts (minus 10%? for a USydMC discount perhaps), but I know none of you are that trendy.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Preparations; Update: GP, home

Well hello there, strangers. I hope we haven't grown too far apart in the millenia since we last met.

My apologies for abandoning the posts on wagering - upon receiving a little feedback I had to consider whether my audience actually had any interest in them... There is no use after all in regularly posting if the posts are regularly unread! So I concluded that frankly, there was little use keeping them up. If I was going to take blogging more seriously (as I have half-arsedly considered in the past), I will keep that idea as an option - an option to develop a niche audience, of course, not to alienate the friends I already have.

I will update briefly, though, while I am here. My return so far this year has exceeded expectations (and goals). Partly I am getting more used to it, but primarily I have revised my assessment of the risks of wagering. I realised that a significant risk at any given round is mitigated by the averaging of similar risks over a ten-eighteen round season - short term risk is distinct from long-term. Net average returns is a much more dominant variable - and so far that has proven the case.

I have also looked into alternative agents and have been informed that a few international transaction companies (e.g. Moneybookers and Neteller) provide means to fund overseas betting agents. I have opened a Neteller account though I am yet to use it.

In news closer to home, both the bikes have been painted. No photos of Jill yet (still haven't put her together), but of Jesus I've taken a few - tiny.cc/PhoJes . The experience was as laborious as expected, though considerably slower. The 'painting two is only a little more difficult than painting one' rationale completely ignored the glaring fact that sanding is the primary component of a paintjob. The result was largely better than expected, except that the last batch bubbled - I still don't know why. But I do know that there was no way at that stage that I was redoing any, so that was that. Sort of a shame, but still quite happy with the result. Not a perfectly smooth surface, but a good gloss and overall positive appearance - no excessive peel like the last job, and no strong demand for polishing.

So, with that done, the racebike is for sale. BUY IT! NOW! HURRY, SO I CAN LEAVE THIS TOWN FOR FINER LOCALES.

The plan is to have headed North within the week. By North I really do mean North - until the roads run out, and the dirt track which winds its way into the distance proves too much of a challenge for the SV and my nerves.

You know about my plans for the rest of the year, right? Good. And I'm glad to hear you're still jealous.


As a result, the diary will be changing back to its original self - the motodiary of an intrepid adventurer. It WILL BE AN ADVENTURE, and you will be able to read about it. No guarantee on regularity - but there are a range of options these days should that be a problem for you.

Until then.


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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com

Update: moving along; Pre-Mugello and Miller

Hello avid readers,

just quickly.

Keyboard has been a little tetchy - I've decided against doing a full article this week.

I will however point out that this weekend at Mugello is shaping up to be a great contest: FP1 sees Lorenzo, Rossi, Stoner in fairly close contention, Pedrosa a couple tenths down. Other Ducatis off the pace, good form from De Angelis, Edwards, Dovi.

WSBK at Miller (Salt Lake City) sees Spies not taking the dominance he might have hoped for, and championship leader Haga down the timesheets.

I have finally kicked off the season's punting. I've opened accounts (including sign-on bonuses) with Centrebet and Sportingbet, and transferred some liquid back into my Betfair account. They both seem to be offering decent odds - the former especially. I've bypassed a few generous sign-on offers from Sportsbet and ISABet on account of them offering appalling odds. MotoGP is obviously a fringe market and they appear to be taking upwards of 20%. My only concern is that I have been unable to work out the withdrawal requirements for these agents, both in general and on bonuses.

I have signed up with moto-live.com (ESPN) in the hope of some non-MotoGP.com - I missed FP1 because I couldn't get my account organised (important email went to spam). I couldn't get much easy info on content, but the selling point was the monthly subscription (10USD) - unlike MotoGP.coms huge upfront commitment. I'll be able to review soon.

Betting tips? win: Rossi has been quite short (<$2), partly deservingly, but the trend is exaggerated (it often is with popular riders). Stoner's offered some good long odds (which I have taken up), and I expect Pedrosa will after FP1 (not yet realised), though he's been too short so far. Qual: Rossi has been too short - yes it's his home track, but he's never had a qualifying advantage - but Betfair hasn't had a developed enough market to match anything.

Finally, http://spcbet.com/sportsbookreviews.html seems to offer some good agent reviews, but Idon't know that many of them will be accessible from Australia.

Over and out.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Getting down and dirty: making racing financial

Another Friday night, another practice session - another blog post. I will assume that you have all been doing your homework - reading up on all the racing news with the leads I posted before the last round - and are all in the know about the current racing situation. I needn't therefore mention that MotoGP is racing on Sunday at Le Mans (Fox3 10pm AEST), and WSBK at Kayalami (RSA; Fox3 from 11:15). And it is no doubt obvious that these are both going to be stellar affairs.

MotoGP FP1 starts in 52 minutes, btw.

Being all the more cluey, however, I think it is time we all put a couple of dollars behind our opinions to see how well they really stack up.  And to do that, you are going to need to find betting agents.

There is a huge variety of online betting agents out there, deciding where to place your bet can be just as hard as picking the appropriate odds on a de Puniet top-6 finish.  Fortunately, there are a few things which you can use to narrow down the options and to find the bet which is right for you.

Odds Comparisons

If you Google you are likely to get returned a broad number odds comparison sites: realistically, there are only one or two which are worth checking (many are obviously duplicates, some offer mainly sites which aren't any good for Australians, and some just aren't good). The only one I have bookmarked is http://betfinder.bestbetting.com/motor-sport/moto-gp/

Checking out the odds grid it becomes apparent that there are some quite considerable differences with different agents, but there is also another trend that you will probably notice:

Betfair

offers awesome odds.

Betfair is not a bookmaker as much as a forum for punters to match each others' bets.  Betfair don't employ statisticians to make their odds, nor do they risk their own cash - as a result, instead of an average 15% buffer on odds, they take 5%.  The end result: 10% better odds, which more often than not is the difference between winning and loosing.

(NOTE, however, that this is calculated after the fact, so quoted figures are artificially inflated by 5% over a bookmaker's offerings. On the other hand, what you have is only what hasn't yet been matched: you can typically offer at least 5% better than what is available, which may or may not get matched)

(Another note: I have heard Betfair as quoted averaging 20% better odds. While I am sceptical of the comment, the difference could be even greater than I suggest.)

The downside is that there is usually little worth investigating in non-popular markets: without a few hundred or thousand people already betting on a market what's on offer is typically poor.

Betfair is a little bit different, and I will not be able to describe it without really going into depth: all I can say is that if you're looking to punt online, you need to check it out.

Special Offers

Special offers can make a 10% difference in available odds look paltry: many agents offer very substantial signup bonuses in many different forms - I am looking at a Sportingbet offer which amounts to 334% on an initial deposit.  Before signing up with an agent, Google them for offers.

Every current offer that I am aware of is also listed, with much kindness, on http://www.way2bet.com.au/page/bookie-offers , but there are always short-term offers going around.

Other things to check

The most annoying screening factor is that you need to be able to use the agent from your country of origin.  Often, there will be nothing suggesting it is illegal, impossible, or even difficult for you to use a site, but when it comes time to trying to take advantage of that golden odd or fantastic offer you painstakingly come to the conclusion that it is not possible.  In my experience, it is usually difficult to transfer money overseas (even if they claim they accept AUD, or your credit card), and even more commonly impossible to transfer it back.  These facts are never listed anywhere - that would be too convenient. CHECK before uploading your worthy dollars to a company which doesn't have processes to give it back. Companies will list their transaction methods, and if you aren't 100% that you can use those methods then don't.

Also while we are in the ballpark, double check what fees and charges apply for transfers in and out (usually credit is faster but more expensive than direct deposit/BPay).

Suggestions/Notes

In conclusion, a few agents which are either specifically Australian, or have local branches - I don't have experience with many of them, but I will be rectifying that over the coming months:

sports.betfair.com

if you only use one site, make it betfair

centrebet.com

I've almost opened an account with these guys before - good deposit options and appear to run better-than average margins.

sportingbet.com.au

sportsbet.com.au

two other large competitors I don't know much about - but see their special offers (see above)

racingodds.com.au

I have a job application currently being considered with these guys, I couldn't leave them out.

tab.com.au

Appear to offer industry-worst margins, a largely archaic online wagering system (you can only register in business hours!?), and no... something else. Have, however, offered some pretty bad spreads in my experience = good betting opportunities.

In Summary: Get out and do it

If you are going to get around the betting scene, make the jump and do it seriously - not something I have done yet.  There is no use checking the odds on a site if you don't have money with them.  Not only could a transfer prove difficult, it will usually take some time too - long enough for the winds to blow and that bargain to deteriorate into a lemon.

Dammit!  I am missing FP1 and need to get ready to head out (to party!). Not that it matters - I still haven't fired up any accounts for this season.  But I will, soon!

And just between me and you, I think I can make more $$ than you can.  In the next few posts I'll give you a bit of an introduction into how I'll do it.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Researching, Learning, Procrastinating: MotoRacing Information Sources

Friday night on the net - tossing up between going out and doing the socially acceptable thing, or staying home to watch live-timing of MotoGP free practice 1 at Jerez. I assume all my readers are in a similar position.  Right?

If you're reading this in anticipation, having checked out last week's entry and wondering whether I have anything valid to say - I assume you are someone for whom MotoRacing is more than just a pretty race and occasional social event.  I assume, like me, that you have an interest in what is going on - the information as well as the spectacle.

If not, you're probably best tuning out for a few weeks.

As promised, I will gloss some of the sources I use for information on MotoGP - my knowledge of news sources and writers might not be special, but it is enough to satisfy me, and should be more than enough for most fans.

Anybody willing to share their information sources I would love the input -see the comments section below, or however else you might prefer.

MotoGP.com

This is the most obvious stop, and should usually be your first stop.  Please, though, don't make it your last stop.  As I wrote in my notes on these sources, it is 'so good, yet so bad'.

The site is dedicated to MotoGP (+125s and 250s - these last two seemingly becoming sidelined with the new site layout), carries reasonably timely news, has summaries and previews (quite general in nature), lots of interviews and articles on what people have said, extras like videos and articles on rider equipment and tracks etc (usually quite basic and uninteresting).

For the keener, the site maintains a live timing system which is simple but effective - when it works - and a pretty good database of results in various formats (e.g. lap-by-lap analysis - mainly in pdf).

For the richer, willing to subscribe to membership, there are a pretty good range of videos of interviews, on-track-laps, highlights and other footage, and of course live-streaming and replay-streaming of all races.

This all sounds pretty good, right?

Well - much of the site is geared towards encouraging you to take out a membership, and that which isn't is held together by a frustrating structure which is of use only to the casual netsurfer.  It is a real pain to navigate, exasserbated by the hugely image-, ad- and flash-heavy pages which take forever to load what will likely be a few sentences you want to read, a simple link or a single picture.

 Unfortunately, forking out for a membership does not solve these problems, more often than not adding 'unsatisfied expectations' to the list: having signed up in 2008, I never will again.  I found myself writing numerous complains letters about faulty videos and live timing (among other more minor irritants), requesting some sort of partial refund - never getting a response of course, and not really expecting one given the difficulty of contacting them at all - and using virtually none of the services I paid top dollar for.

I have heard of people happy with MotoGP.com, and if you spend a lot of time on YouTube watching random videos, are lucky enough for the site to work, and have some $$ to burn, then it might be for you.

Personally, I still download the pdfs of practice/qualifying lap-by-lap results and analysis (invaluable in determining the pace that riders are actually able to lap at), and the news articles I subscribe to via RSS.

There is a reason that many MotoGP news sources are more-or-less rewritten from this site, as passionate as I am about its shortcomings.

www.moto-live.com

An ESPN-run site (apparently), with a variety of general (apparently original) news stories, on both MotoGP and WSBK.  It is solidly MotoGP focussed, and I can't find any WSBK-specific sections (just the odd article).  I don't bother with the news as it generally covers little original ground, and the RSS feed never worked for me.  But that's not why you use moto-live.

When I get the shits with MotoGP.com's live timing (often), this is where I end up.  The system is a little archaic, frequently refreshing a page with basic rider details and order, but it has always been very reliable.

The site offers premium-memberships (quite cheaply, especially in comparison to MotoGP.com), and I think this is the site I have had recommended for coverage of GP races - when I get off my arse I will look into it and probably subscribe this year.  (Ping me if you want an update.)

Crash.net

A pretty good source of general MotoGP news, a worthy alternative first-stop over MotoGP.com - I unsubscribed from updates, however, as the general news seemed largely to double up on what was available at MotoGP.com

HighRevs.net

Quite a basic, unoriginal, infrequent (and poorly written) MotoGP news feed - I love the RSS, however, as the feed text is a proper summary, and is very convenient on the mobile phone when I'm away from real news.

MotoGPMatters

http://www.motogpmatters.com/

I love this blog, it is awesome.

The site is run by David Emmett, a journalist with a genuine passion, who writes his own summaries (based upon on-site or telecast action and other information - not rehashed motogp.com articles like many minor news services) and previews, and frequent genuinely insightful, provocative and well-considered articles.  He would not suffice as a primary news source, but as a primary point of discussion he should be your first stop.

His site contains a few other less-interesting sections, though also a seemingly decent forum (not yet having joined) for enthusiasts like us.

My only real complaint is that I haven't been reading it for long enough to make a proper comment on it.

MCN

Motorcycle News

British bike-mag's online presence - heaps of articles, all mixed together in news feeds, often of dubious quality and where not they are often mere placeholders for articles in their magazine.  People seem to read through these (the articles are linked to often enough), but don't set your sights on enlightenment.

Other Info

Australian Foxtel TV guide

https://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/tv-guide/default.htm

Because we can only dream of a day when MotoRacing is broadcast live on free-to-air.

Missing?

I just realised how little good WSBK (or any SBK) sources I refer to.  No wonder I'm so far out of the loop.

Well, only 35 minutes now until FP1 - I think my social life can deal with a little more postponement.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

2009 - a Moto-Racing Junkie's Introduction

What do you know - the 2009 racing season is well underway and I haven't posted a single entry on it.  Well, while I have your attention, I will make grounds rectifying this deficiency.

MotoGP - the 'big league', the 'premier class', the 'F1 of motorbikes' - is a bit of a late starter.  The first round of the year was a couple of weekends ago in Qatar.  A relatively novel calendar entry, the track is in the middle of the desert, and runs in the middle of the night (for telecoverage reasons I believe). In the end, it was delayed a day for novel reasons as well - rain!  Rain is wet by day, but under lights it was an unprecedented danger.

In the end, the inevitable occured one day late: Stoner won, Rossi was the only who kept up the appearance of competition, and Someone Else came third (Lorenzo in the end - third-place qualifier, and the only real expected pointy-end challenger with Pedrosa injured).  Pedrosa and Hayden struggled with injuries; Edwards and Dovi showed signs they need to be taken seriously; De Angelis surprised everyone by staying on the bike (and got a top-six place as a result); Vermeulen and Kallio will be looking to build on positive results; the rest were uninspiring, in particular Gibernau, Melandri and rookie Takahashi (wtf is he in MotoGP for?).

Stoner has dominated preseason testing and round 1 in no uncertain fashion, and should he manage to shake off the pressure from Rossi and his inner deamons the result will be emphatic. There is little doubt of a top-two result for the Great Man Rossi, and it feels like the rest of the field are fighting for third place.  Dovi, Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Edwards have once again had positive starts, and Kallio, De Angelis and both Suzuki riders (the other Aussie Vermeulen and Capirossi) are making habits of exceeding expectation.

The field heads to Motegi (Japan) this weekend for round two, and the expectation is that Stoner will be setting the pace come Friday afternoon.  Fortunately for the Aussie contingent we have a rare afternoon timeslot for this round, so take advantage of it while you can and get yourself back into the swing of things (I assume nobody got up to watch the 4am Tuesday Qatar race?).

Far as the 125s and 250s go... well I haven't paid much attention to the 125s yet, but the 250s Qatar race was gripping - and with some bad results from big names the championship is alive and kicking.  Watch Barbera (first at Qatar), and a few MotoGP hopefulls in the making in Bautista, Simoncelli (2008 250 champion), di Meglio (125 champ was it, or was that T?), Pasini and Talmasci, also family names like Faubel, Pesek, Debon, Locatelli and Luthi, hoping to finally put a good season together.  Riders like Cluzel (2nd at Qatar) and Wilairot (Indonesian/Thai/something) are always around to spice up the standings.

The World Superbike championship (WSBK - production-based machines) is the dark night in a sense.  When it is not being led by an Aussie (Bayliss or Corser in recent years) it receives little public attention and irregular television screenings.  It has a cult-like status among racing fans, however, many of whom much prefer it to the occasionally urbane chastity of the world's fastest bikes - and for good reason.  I personally am a little turned off by relatively unappealing machinery (GP bikes are sexxy), but they are fast no matter what way you look at it, and the racing is always hot. Round 1 was at Phillip Island this year, and those of us lucky enough to attend enjoyed some rivetting racing.

We are much further into the WSBK season, with round 3 up this weekend (the Netherlands, somewhere - presumably Assen?), and some solid headway into the championship (with two races a round there have actually been six races already).  'Nitro' Noriyki Haga is opening up a worrying lead over American Ben Spies (for a number of years relatively uncontested 'AMA' American SBK champion - and head-turning MotoGP wild card), who has often looked the goods with some very fast times and good consistency.  His results have been more explosive than Nitro Nori's, however, with a number (three? or was it only two?) crashes interspercing some convincing wins.  Neukirchner and Fabrizio have wed some good times with surprising consistency to round the top four, as a few big names appear to be struggling on new machinery (Corser and Xaus on BMW, Nakano and Biaggi on Aprilia).  A second Aussie in Broc Parkes is struggling to make much of an impact on a green-looking Kawasaki, and I just noticed John Hopkins with one more championship point on a Honda (that's how bad his season has been).

If anything, the world's best racing is probably to be seen in the World Supersport (WSS - 600cc productions) races.  You have to hunt to get news on this championship, but if you can get into it the close racing and strong Aussie contingent (Andrew Pitt and Ant West tied for 3rd with French Laverty, Aitchison 7th and McCoy the leading member of an ininspiring two-man Triumph lineup) should prove rewarding.

On which note, why the hell haven't I been following it?

Somebody tell me how the Australian Superbike Championship is going, because I would like to think that somebody pays attention to it.  I know a few who enjoy watching the racing (sporadic coverage on Ten/SBS I believe), and many pay attention to the results, but it's sad it is such a private series in a country with such a strong auto-racing interest.

Anyway, that's my start-of-season rant.  I won't be investing heaps of time into writing about these series, because frankly I don't see the point in doing what others are already doing - and much better than I ever would.

I will make the effort, however, to write a few articles over the next few weeks to help you along the way.  I will try to make these weekly commitments.

First up, I'm planning an article on where you can get your racing-info fixes - the hot blogs, useful websites and timing and video hotspots; if I still haven't given up after that I will tell you a little about one of the ways I personally enjoy a race weekend, by putting money on the line - both the places to do it, and a few of the tips I have learnt to make the most of it (I averaged 5% returns per round of the MotoGP for most of 2008 - a hell of a lot better than my stock portfolio).

Until next week.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Mid-March rainwatching

As you may have noticed, the blog has gone quiet, quite quiet.

Partially, I have been a little busy (thankfully, finally!) here in Melbourne, between work and grad applications.  I haven't been blogging much, or otherwise spending heaps of time online without a reason.

Mainly, I haven't been riding!

I did do WSBK at Phillip Island a couple of weekends ago, which was pretty good - stayed at a place rented off friends of friends, actually got to visit Cowes and wander around the Island a little.  The racing was incredible! - Especially the supersport (Aussie's 2 and 3 in the end, but that wasn't decided until halfway down the straight).  It's convinced me of the merits of WSBK, which I might just get in to watching this year.

Compared to MotoGP?  Well it was annoying that I couldn't recognise any of the riders - though if you need me to tell you about a WSBK weekend you probably wouldn't recognise all the MotoGP riders either, would you? As for the atmosphere?  I have not heard anyone yet that favours the MotoGP weekend, but I think WSBK is overhyped.  There are far fewer people, and as much as that makes it easier to get a good seat on race day, it is nowhere near the spectacle.  It is novel being able to ride around the track, and to oggle all the machinery on display is great, but to be honest it doesn't factor into the weekend all that much. I think, being able to move around and still actually see means if you could only attend one day, WSBK might have more value, but if you can do more of the weekend - and can wander around on Friday or Saturday instead - nothing beats the GP.

So - not riding much;

looking forward to the start of the GP season.

Thank you for hanging in with me in these times, lean for all of us (and now that I have some work that should hopefully be changing).

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Courting Phillip Island

I am rapt not to be in the vast group of riders who have visted the Island - but only seen others ride around.  I have ridden the Island!  And a fulfilling and interesting day it was.

I wasn't sure, at first, how I would go.  Having a dedicated racebike, I have enough tracktime, but not for years on the SV.  I didn't know how fast I would be able to ride it.  But I should have had faith!  The SV handles every extreme, from inaccessible 4wd tracks (I never did write about that adventure, did I...?), to the fastest circuit on the GP calendar.  GREAT bike, for those who didn't pick up on it.

Whilst I had a pottery first session - slow even by 1st session standards - I did get into it in the second.  I had been thinking about asking to be moved down into the slower group, but with growing ease with the race-track context, I was becoming as comfortable at full speed as I am with the SV on the road.  And I wasn't being left behind either, despite having (probably) the slowest bike in the group!

The only real bugbear I had was braking into T4 (Honda): it is not that the SV couldn't, or wouldn't, but again and again I realised too late that to actually stop the thing (from faster than I realised - 180+ on a fast run) really required a fistful.  Spoiled by the stopping power of the GSXR, actually manhandling the lever was hard to get used to - the result being that in the first two sessions I ran straight on four times.  It is a great spot to have the back entrance to the pits!

The third session though is when the fun really started.  The level of comfort I was riding with made me really conscious of how utterly uncomfortable I am on the GSXR.  It might be faster, but it doesn't do it with the same familiarity.  On the SV, I knew how it would wiggle, I knew how to hold it, push it, let it go, to lean forwards or backwards, how to get off and get on it, how the front skips on bumps and the rear wobbles under power.  It was like being at home!

I was actually entering corners quite quickly, feeling the front threatening to go, skipping, rather than bumping, over surface irregularities; the rear was sliding on the downshifts into two; finally, I could feel myself pushing lean angles I'm not used to (on the SV), getting frighteningly sideways, but feeling 100% there.  Most of the time.  Not all.

Most of the time, but not all - is not always good enough.  My old friend caught up with me, and my rising confidence this time convinced me not to just run straight on.  Halfway through T4, way off line, I found myself still with my hand resting on the brake, needing to get the bike properly tipped in to get it through to the exit.  I wasn't going too fast, and had plenty of lean to spare, so I let my fingers off the brake and

The front end didn't like it at all.  There is one rule with the SV, above all others: play nice, and BE SMOOTH.  The pogo-stick excuses for forks do not take kindly to inconsiderateness, and they responded by prompty disappearing from under me.

There are few things more annoying than stuffing up and dropping a bike, but really once the adrenaline wore off I had to admit I was quite lucky.  If I had made a mistake through T1 instead, and one of those bumps had pushed the front too far... well it would have been a lot more damaging at 200 than at 50 or so.

Even then, the damage was remarkably minimal.  Considering myself now a veteran of the crash, one look at the damage drew only one question: where can I find a brake lever?  Surprisingly, not a single SV/GSXR of an appropriate year at the track, but I did manage to track down a racer/mechanic at Rhyll who had a lever lying around which 'might' fit - fit it did, and with only one session lost I was back out there to confirm the SV really can do anything.

Sadly, the crash made me paranoid about running into corners on the brakes.  I don't trail heavily (usually), but braking and turning have always overlapped for me (for a couple of years at least), so avoiding doing that really screwed around with my entries.  Sure, I was still going fast - fast enough to remain in that group - but not as fast as I would have been.  The afternoon was spent working on my consistency, working out the track, and trying to push the SV in ways I was comfortable with.  More of a pleasant post script to an exciting morning than a continuation of the day's work.

And the morning really Was exciting, not just because it was fun, but because I really was doing good work.  The SV at times was being pushed way beyond its standard zone of operation, and I moreover was pushing it into territories that I don't normally push it.  Even the GSXR I have never felt comfortable enough to push like that - never have I thrown it into corners, feeling the edge through the front rather than from what I know it will do, pushing it on the entry rather than just trying to get it quickly through to the exit.

I guess the crash brought about a sobering awareness of why I Don't ride like that - while I think I would have been safe if I was at 100%, I wasn't, and on the road you can never bank on 100% - riding like that is never safe in the public domain.

I'm not in a position at the moment to be thinking about another trackday, and at any rate I need to do a lot more riding on the road to ensure I will be able to take full advantage of another opportunity, but it was a seductive taste of actually progressing on the bike, and I don't know what exactly will come of the aftertaste.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Climbing the Back of the Beast: Mt Buffalo

Short day ride, 4/1/09

A little bit of time to myself and I decided to take up one of my listed 'short day' rides: up Mount Buffalo (and a loop over to the Kiewa Valley). A few kms down the highway the sign to Buffalo pops up, and a minute off the main drag it becomes clear where the road is headed: a great granite rockface appears from between the trees.

My first glimpses of the mount to be scaled, Buffalo. From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

The cliffs become more and more imposing as you draw towards the park entry. I was so absorbed in the spectacle, and the tittilating implications those rocks had for the slowly tightening road, I failed to stop for a good photo of the cliffs from their base. I encourage you to make the trip so you can do so yourself! It becomes hard to believe that the road will actually scale the back of this beast, but scale it does.

The road snakes lazily through the tall eucalypts of the foothills of the granite outcrop before skirting across its face, ducking in and out of its crevices and providing distracting views of the valley just left. Soon though the view disappears behind a forest of trees, and with the cliffs skirted it is time for the road to climb the back of the Buffalo - the real fun begins. The view is not missed: between the cyclists and the road there isn't much attention left for it. The road is tricky and engaging, with variation between tiny hairpins and violent esses, and on good days a fair amount of traffic as well, both two and four wheels. The surface is good, and guaranteed to leave you grinning when the road widens and speeds up as it flattens out on the Buffalo plateau. The good stuff climaxes opening out onto a flower-matted plain at the turnoff to the historic chalet.

The turnoff leads back to the top of the granite walls that were our first aquaintance, and a good spot to stop and let the adrenaline cool off. The view extending out over the Ovens Valley is amazing, and standing on cliff edges you can only wonder - and be thankful - how they managed to snake a road up here. I've included a whole bunch of photos; in a spot like this they all turn out good!

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

The plateau is quite flat, and the road which weaves across it is too straight to give in to your lecherous urges and retain any semblance of sensibility. A good time therefore to relax and enjoy the scenery. The only bike I saw on the mountain was an enduro parked on this lake. The cool, calm waters would make a great place to camp of a summer, especially if it's as warm as it has been.

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

The plateau is peppered with granite outcrops which command you to stop and gawk for a minute. The Horn itself is further along, but coming across this outcrop is inspiring enough! Call me strange, but I've always enjoyed relaxing after-the-fact as much as anything else, and cruising the top of Buffalo is a great way to do so.

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

Past the snowfields - one bald hill with a few lifts - the road turns to dirt. Quite good travelling too, tight and twisty and a whole lot of fun if you want to put your red goggles back on. It does push the limits of a roadbike though: this road brought the first ever time I've found myself wishing for a gear 0, and some of the tight stuff is bumpy enough to cause genuine concern. You might also have to dodge a bit of oncoming traffic - which you won't necessarily see until it's right upon you - but you can't let that spoil the fun.

All too soon the road turns into a parking lot overlooking the mountains to the west: Mt Buller is out there somewhere, and a whole lot of peaks with random names and no residents. It's also high enough that the vegetation is twisted snowy gum with red and white bursts of wildflowers and grasses edging the road and pathway.

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

Having come this far I figured I'd test the hiking potential of my boots by climbing to the top of Horn (the high point of Mt Buffalo), so I've snapped a few photos for you of the view along the way. It's quite breathtaking being up here, half because of the ranges spread out in every direction, half because of the eery atmosphere that the trees bring, and a third half because of the smooth granite mounds which characterise the area. BREATHTAKING INDEED. I also managed to snap you a couple of shots of the rocky plateau, including a great one of the dirty, twisting fun that makes the final section of road.

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

Looking back down the road from above. It's even tighter than it looks! From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

The most memorable part of the trip was yet to come however. Back at the top of the climb up the mountain a track diverges (to the right if coming up the hill). It is marked as 'rough 2wd track', but don't let that put you off - the surface is much better than most of the areas gravel roads. So off I pottered to see where it would go. There is something special about riding off along a track like this, something special about riding off the road, having grass and flowers tapping at your boots. I was almost self-conscious of botherring the butteflies, birds and bees by riding through their homes. It's tracks like this that make motorcycling more than just enjoyable, but special. Memories like this will outlive the tarred climb. Memories like this are worth writing home about!

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

If you're a dirt-road nancy you are missing out on these wilderness adventures: go out and get yourself used to it, because you don't want to have to turn back at the best part of the trip.

The road didn't actually go anywhere, other than 'away', not that it mattered. It was a little sad to get back to the tar, though the sadness was soon dismissed as the road plunged back down the mountain. Knowing what to expect I was in no mood to waste time, and waste I did not! By the base of the mountain I was too engaged in catching my breath to remember I was suppose to stop for a few photos of the cliff faces, though I did have to push on anyway.

The rest of the day was spent looping across the range between the Kiewa and Ovens valleys. There is some straight stuff through the valleys, but with all those hills around a healthy lust for the twisty stuff does not go too long unanswered. It is so easy to fall in love with this area.

'Riding off into the distance.' From Mt Buffalo (good shots)

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Lucky Me!

I realised something out on the road today. I was thinking about how lucky I am to be able to ride the roads that I do. And I realised - I have been thinking this a lot lately! So often, I sit back, I look at the view - perhaps to recover in between focussing intently on the next bend - at the road ahead, the hills to either side, the eucalypts lining the road (I love eucalypts by the way!, in all their splenderous, disorganised variety, they make a lot of the atmosphere of many locations)... and am not just enchanted, but struck, amazed, at how wonderful it is to be able to do what I am doing. Really! It happens all the time. And it really is nice.

The realisation led to a thought, in its turn, about this blog. I know what I can write about! I can write about more than just what I do, what the roads are like, what the view was like... what I can write, is a blog which shares these experiences. A blog which attempts to explain why it is that I am so lucky, to express what it is about riding that is so... worth writing about.

So that is my angle. I certainly hope I make you jealous. : ) But if I inspire you to find - to make - for yourself the same opportunities that I have, then you can hardly complain. Or if I merely inspire you to feel something of what I feel then that will just the same, be a job well done.

At the end of the day, if I can understand how I could be so lucky, or if I can understand what it is that inspires me so, then, well then I'll be the better for it as well.

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@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)

Ascent and Descent and Ascent and Decent to Heaven: Scaling the Victorian Alps (Falls Creek and Mount Hotham)

Half day ride through Falls Creek and back over Hotham, with sidetracks. 1/1/09

First things first: you're missing out.
Second things second: I'm not!

After a relatively relaxed getup on New Year's Day I decided to spend my day off on what I had been pining for: riding. I had ridden some of these roads on the way to Phillip Island (Hamish crashed here on one of the best of them), and driven in a few days earlier, but such experience only served to whet the appetite. With the morning gone I decided on a shortish loop which hopefully would include enough good riding to keep me going until I could organise a proper day's roadwork.

Headed towards Mt Beauty, at the base of the climb to Falls Creek, I encountered the Tawonga Gap for the first time in fine weather - ah, what fond memories! While relatively short this is one of the area's most beautiful roads (if you can avoid the occasional bumps or gravel and surprise bends) and an excellent warmup. A quick stop at the top provides views of the Mt Beauty at the top of the Kiewa Valley, and of course the mountains beyond that which are my real intent.

Lookout: Jill warmed up... I'm not the only one looking forward to the day's ride. From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Mt Bogong to the left is Vic's highest peak - no road access, but I do plan on walking it - Falls Creek is up the mountains to the right, and in the middle Mt Beauty; not actually a mountain... From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

At the base of the run down - steeper and nearly as fun - I happened upon a sign too good to refuse: "Car and Motorbike Racing, turn left". A look at the mountain, a look at the clock, and hell, I'm on holiday: racing it is!

I managed to find the covert entrance to the track a few kms down the road - a track which could not have been put in a better place. The Kiewa (/Tawonga?) Valley offers views across the riverplane from the road, towards the range on the other side, largely untouched by pine plantations (unlike the Ovens Valley where Bright is).

If you haven't yet, and you get an opportunity, I highly recommend stopping at a local dirt track event. The racing isn't as tightly packed (or fast, our loud, or...) as at a roadrace event, but its relaxed charms make up for that. The number of hilariously random stacks is high.

The Hairpin: wet and slippery, tight and boggy - predictably made for great viewing whether or not the competitors made it round unscathed. From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Not as high though as the family involvement, which lends a great atmosphere. There can't have been more than 30-40 competitors for the whole day, but there were hundreds camped on the hill, including families on and off track. Right in the middle of this photo is the smallest racer I've ever seen, a girl well under double-digits in years, who actually fit ergonomically onto a pocket bike:

Looking out over the Mt Beauty Car Club track in the Kiewa Valley. They're so small you might not see them, but yes there are kids in this shot! From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Watching the smallest ones get swamped by a pack of bigger kids on bikes big enough for me to ride, one leg out, without flinching - I think I was more scared than they were. It's a great thing to see. A few shots to send back to you, though, and I was soon on my way. Daylight only lasts so long and I had riding of my own to attend to.

The road up to Falls Creek looks scrumptious on the map, but I don't know that I expected this! Leaving Mt Beauty the anticipation built with every obligatory "obey weather condition signs" - with nothing but sunshine in the sky they had all been switched to a simple 'slow down', which I read as implying they expected us to go fast. A km of warmup esses gave way to the serious mountain work as the road snaked up to the alps. Bend after bend after bend gave way to more corners, hairpins, esses, and everything but straight road. The road between Mt Beauty and Falls Ck stretches for 37km, and not one of those includes a straight any more than a hundred metres long. Pleasure - technical, twisting, picturesque pleasure.

A warning to the potential traveller that the mountain does have its tricks! The blind, tightening hairpins are not oddities, they are the norm. Whilst the traffic has been quite light, even in the peak summer period, the mountain is very popular with cyclists. There are also a few bumps, not large enough to be a serious threat, but invisible enough to be a sharp surprise. The road is, in short, technical and challenging: if you haven't got your head screwed on you could see yourself doing a Hamish, but if you do it will be a ride you won't forget.

The final challenge is of course keeping your mind on the road as you climb through the variations in alpine environment. The forests of dead trees (2003/6 bushfires I presume) have a mystic quality which ensures you can't forget where you are. If you find yourself distracted you're much better stopping for a photo than dodging cyclists with only one eye on the road.

From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Falls Ck is a cute little village tucked into the mountainside: unlike Hotham it sits just at the top of the treeline, rather than at the peak. Continuing up to the plateau the road turns to gravel, and all of a sudden flattens out on a beautiful, giant lake (Rocky Valley Reservoir). I pushed on here, but if you continue reading you'll find some photos of the plateau from the next time I visited in a later post.

The gravel at first seems quite tame (wide, flat, well-graded road), but the abundance of large-stone loose crap on the top makes the treck down to the bottom of the mountain on the other side remarkably tedious on two wheels, and means it is difficult to appreciate the scenery.

It is a relief to reach tar at the bottom, and I was greeted by a Mitta-Mitta river tributary quite similar to the Tambo between Omeo and the coast.

From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

The beauty of the countryside was matched only by the quality of the road: I had no idea how good this section was going to be! For 35km to Omeo the road twists and turns beside the river, only opening out into faster sweepers as it enters the plains near Omeo. Nearly 150km into the day I had ridden barely a handful of km in a straight line. I had climbed into heaven and descended down the other side only to find myself on roads no less spectacular. This really is a wonderful place to ride.

I finally hit some relatively open road - the climb to the peak of Hotham from the Omeo side is all sweepers rather than twisties, though with open alpine views my only complaint was with the remarkable drop in temperature. Whilst not as enchanting as the area was last time we were here - riding through the snow - the climb is still worth doing.

From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Mt Hotham is quite high, much of the road is skirted by these spooky, stunted-looking dead forests. From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

It doesn't show up well in the photo, but there's something stunning about the big rock that makes the peak of Hotham. From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Having made reasonable time I was able to take a few shots of the wonderful area across the top of Hotham, which offers great views of the bald mountain tops and snaking road, with dashes of summer flowers and shorter greenery.

From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Mt Hotham from the North: looking back towards Hotham provides some great shots if you're prepared to stop. And yes, I have gotten around to removing all the Christmas garb. From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

flowers: A pathway I think may be beyond me... From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

Roadway to Heaven: if there is anywhere you would rather be you need counselling. (There's something fun about being able to ride straight off the road to the edge of a cliff!) From Falls Creek - Omeo - Hotham, 1/1/09

The run down the mountain from here was once again the source of the same twisted pleasure the region is famous for. So much so that I never took my eyes off the road (except to confirm that the SV pulls 200rpm beyond redline), so no photos for you.

You will just have to ride it yourself!

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