Hi Guys,
Recovery is going ok. My skin has repaired well but the nerve and muscle injuries are taking longer than first thought. At this point in time I have been unable to ride since the accident. Running is coming along ok. Swimming is a work in progress.
I am still working towards being able to compete in the world championships in September. Unfortunately due to my injuries I have had to withdraw from the WTC Cobra Energy Drink Philippine 70.3 Triathlon race in Cam Sur. I was looking forward to this as I have won the last couple of major championships in the Philippines and really enjoy the challenging courses, hospitality, friendly locals, community support, and the amazing scenery. I had been mentioned in a few media pieces for the race and it looks like a good field for a first time race (Chris McCormack, Cameron Brown, Terenzo Bozzone, Tim Marr, Pete Jacobs). I wish the race a great start and I hope that I can return next year to challenge on Cam Sur.
I am also in the process of obtaining a new road bike after the last one was destroyed in the crash. I hope to provide an update soon and I am looking forward to getting out on the bike again and preparing for the worlds.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Crash!!! Bye Bye Bike and Some Bark Lost.
Well, my bike decided that it wanted me to kiss some bitumen and I 'came a cropper' as the Doctor at the hospital described it. I fell during a cycle race at Minmi/Blackhill on Saturday (4th July). Well I didn't really fall but was more catapulted along with my bike head first into the lovely chunky blue chip bitumen we have here in Australia. After a small descent where the speedo got to 71km/hr a small breakaway formed on the corresponding ascent so I stood up and stomped on the pedals to bridge up. Unfortunately for me this stomp ripped the rear derailleur out of the back bike frame and I went straight into the ground head and elbow/shoulder first at a very high speed. I managed to yell out to the boys I was going down and sorry (hoping that I would bring no one else down). Luckily everyone else avoided the mess. I didn't break the chain this time (happened a little while ago and this was a brand new durace chain on).
I managed to get my wrist out of the way and take the brunt on my helmet, shoulder, elbow and hip. Plenty of bark off and my lovely new Team Newrad vest, winter long sleeve, bib shorts, gloves, helmet, undergarments, and shoes are destroyed.
The bike is DEAD. The front derailleur is destroyed, the back one is ripped out along with the rear of the bike dropouts and frame attachment, the frame has been cracked/snapped, the handlebars are bent and ripped to pieces, the frame is 'chunked' to pieces, pedals gone, seat dead, and the seat post is hanging by 2mm of carbon thatch to the frame. I am happy that the seat post managed to stay attached as last week a guy in the Tamworth race had a crash and his carbon seat post impaled into his thigh! Glad that was not the case for me. I am sure that there is other damage to the bike but really there is not many other parts to it. The only good thing is that Brad's crankset is untouched. So, I am now minus a road bike and out of any road racing until I can obtain another.
The doctor at the hospital said I had a small fracture in my elbow as well as an ulnar step (gapping in the elbow joint) with accompanying neck, shoulder, elbow, forearm, hip, knee, shin muscle/ligament/tendon/haematoma damage with nerve problems in the ulnar and brachial plexus regions. My wrist and neck are cracking and popping, jaw now pops, and my elbow and shoulder are both 'gapping' out with weird nerve pain when I move them. So, not much damage done ;) . Luckily I heal well thanks to my mum's genes and I expect to make a quick recovery.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and offers of help. It is truly amazing the support being offered. I also want to thank Ben from 3 Bean cafe in Hamilton (and his son Jonas) for pulling out of their own races and taking me and my mangled bike home immediately so that I could get some aid. Also to David Turnidge and his lovely partner Lea for there help also. Plus Sam for having the pleasure of swabbing my road rash with nice antiseptic buds and taking no pleasure in my discomfort ;) .
Thanks must also go to the guys at Macquarie Physiotherapy for helping in diagnosis and continuing treatment of my injuries, Newcastle radiology for the prompt x-rays, Dr Minas Petrelis (Orthopaedic Surgeon) for future consults, and Frankie for her lovely hugs and magical healing kisses.
Will keep an update as I will be following an aggressive rehabilitation program to be able to race the Worlds in September and hopefully the WTC race in August. I have already gone for a couple of runs and the hips/legs seem to be holding up ok, but the arm is gapping when I run with some nerve pain.
Cheers,
Bevan.
I managed to get my wrist out of the way and take the brunt on my helmet, shoulder, elbow and hip. Plenty of bark off and my lovely new Team Newrad vest, winter long sleeve, bib shorts, gloves, helmet, undergarments, and shoes are destroyed.
The bike is DEAD. The front derailleur is destroyed, the back one is ripped out along with the rear of the bike dropouts and frame attachment, the frame has been cracked/snapped, the handlebars are bent and ripped to pieces, the frame is 'chunked' to pieces, pedals gone, seat dead, and the seat post is hanging by 2mm of carbon thatch to the frame. I am happy that the seat post managed to stay attached as last week a guy in the Tamworth race had a crash and his carbon seat post impaled into his thigh! Glad that was not the case for me. I am sure that there is other damage to the bike but really there is not many other parts to it. The only good thing is that Brad's crankset is untouched. So, I am now minus a road bike and out of any road racing until I can obtain another.
The doctor at the hospital said I had a small fracture in my elbow as well as an ulnar step (gapping in the elbow joint) with accompanying neck, shoulder, elbow, forearm, hip, knee, shin muscle/ligament/tendon/haematoma damage with nerve problems in the ulnar and brachial plexus regions. My wrist and neck are cracking and popping, jaw now pops, and my elbow and shoulder are both 'gapping' out with weird nerve pain when I move them. So, not much damage done ;) . Luckily I heal well thanks to my mum's genes and I expect to make a quick recovery.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and offers of help. It is truly amazing the support being offered. I also want to thank Ben from 3 Bean cafe in Hamilton (and his son Jonas) for pulling out of their own races and taking me and my mangled bike home immediately so that I could get some aid. Also to David Turnidge and his lovely partner Lea for there help also. Plus Sam for having the pleasure of swabbing my road rash with nice antiseptic buds and taking no pleasure in my discomfort ;) .
Thanks must also go to the guys at Macquarie Physiotherapy for helping in diagnosis and continuing treatment of my injuries, Newcastle radiology for the prompt x-rays, Dr Minas Petrelis (Orthopaedic Surgeon) for future consults, and Frankie for her lovely hugs and magical healing kisses.
Will keep an update as I will be following an aggressive rehabilitation program to be able to race the Worlds in September and hopefully the WTC race in August. I have already gone for a couple of runs and the hips/legs seem to be holding up ok, but the arm is gapping when I run with some nerve pain.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
1st Tour de Tweed Coast General Classification
Hi Guys,
Just a quick update.
I won the overall/general classification in the Tour de Tweed Coast (Elite C) over the past long weekend. It was a four day tour stage race. It consisted of an individual time trial, a hilly stage race, a long stage race, and a criterium. I won the ITT on a roadie with no aero bars or aero equipment. I won the next hilly stage race which gave me the yellow leaders jersey. I then had to defend the yellow jersey for the last two stages which I was able to do by countering any attacks and placing second in both the long stage and the final criterium.
It was a great trip away, I learned a lot, had a fun time with the Team Newrad Gateshead guys, and was happy to win my first ever Tour stage race that I entered. Other great results for the team with David Witherden placing 3rd in the GC, 3rd in the crit, and 2nd in the KOM; Brad McDonald placing 3rd in the ITT and 4th in the GC, and Jason Cox placing 6th overall in the GC (all guys in Masters Men B).
Full report to follow, hopefully with some photos.
Cheers and thanks for all the support,
Bevan.
Just a quick update.
I won the overall/general classification in the Tour de Tweed Coast (Elite C) over the past long weekend. It was a four day tour stage race. It consisted of an individual time trial, a hilly stage race, a long stage race, and a criterium. I won the ITT on a roadie with no aero bars or aero equipment. I won the next hilly stage race which gave me the yellow leaders jersey. I then had to defend the yellow jersey for the last two stages which I was able to do by countering any attacks and placing second in both the long stage and the final criterium.
It was a great trip away, I learned a lot, had a fun time with the Team Newrad Gateshead guys, and was happy to win my first ever Tour stage race that I entered. Other great results for the team with David Witherden placing 3rd in the GC, 3rd in the crit, and 2nd in the KOM; Brad McDonald placing 3rd in the ITT and 4th in the GC, and Jason Cox placing 6th overall in the GC (all guys in Masters Men B).
Full report to follow, hopefully with some photos.
Cheers and thanks for all the support,
Bevan.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Training and Tour De Tweed Coast
Hi Guys,
Training has been coming along nicely. I ramped up the kilometres and intervals last week adding in a few more runs also. I have been testing some compression gear out and this has helped the leg recovery. The Bill Ebeling Handicap was on the weekend at Blackhill and I completed a good long hill session in the morning followed by a good hard ride out to the course. The race was feeling comfortable until I was 'done in' by the Beer Bottle Gremlin along with another cyclist in the same group. Race over in the handicap. I was not alone and saw about 7 others repairing flats also in the first two laps. Team Newrad placed Brad McDonald in 3rd for another podium.
This weekend (June 5th-8th) I am racing the Tour De Tweed Coast with Team Newrad Gateshead. Involved is a ITT, two hill stages, and a criterium. The tour leader at each stage is given a jersey, there is also a jersey for KOM, and individual stage win prizes. Should be a blast. I will go hard in the ITT and try to get a win but unfortunately cannot take the TT bike as we will be using the same roadie for the whole tour. Will just have to give it a bit more to go for the win. It should be a tough stage race with the stages encompassing many hill climbs. They state there is enough flat-rolling hills for the race to not be decided by hill climbers, so we will just have to see how things pan out. This is my first stage/tour race purely for cycling. I am looking forward to the challenge of backing up each day (and racing twice on the Saturday). We have a good team going and will be aiming for some podiums. I think it will be great to see how the team tactics play a part in determining the winners. I will try to update daily during the tour and give some idea of the terrain and challenges faced.
Train safe, race hard,
Bevan.
Training has been coming along nicely. I ramped up the kilometres and intervals last week adding in a few more runs also. I have been testing some compression gear out and this has helped the leg recovery. The Bill Ebeling Handicap was on the weekend at Blackhill and I completed a good long hill session in the morning followed by a good hard ride out to the course. The race was feeling comfortable until I was 'done in' by the Beer Bottle Gremlin along with another cyclist in the same group. Race over in the handicap. I was not alone and saw about 7 others repairing flats also in the first two laps. Team Newrad placed Brad McDonald in 3rd for another podium.
This weekend (June 5th-8th) I am racing the Tour De Tweed Coast with Team Newrad Gateshead. Involved is a ITT, two hill stages, and a criterium. The tour leader at each stage is given a jersey, there is also a jersey for KOM, and individual stage win prizes. Should be a blast. I will go hard in the ITT and try to get a win but unfortunately cannot take the TT bike as we will be using the same roadie for the whole tour. Will just have to give it a bit more to go for the win. It should be a tough stage race with the stages encompassing many hill climbs. They state there is enough flat-rolling hills for the race to not be decided by hill climbers, so we will just have to see how things pan out. This is my first stage/tour race purely for cycling. I am looking forward to the challenge of backing up each day (and racing twice on the Saturday). We have a good team going and will be aiming for some podiums. I think it will be great to see how the team tactics play a part in determining the winners. I will try to update daily during the tour and give some idea of the terrain and challenges faced.
Train safe, race hard,
Bevan.
Monday, 25 May 2009
1st ITT Hunter Districts Champs - Brad Maund Memorial Trophy
Hi Guys,
This past weekend was the individual time trial champs for Hunter Districts on the Minmi/Blackhill course. It was a gusty day which made conditions tough with no one using disks in the winds. The course was slightly lengthened at both ends to the normal annual course so rather than a 20km TT it was a bit more (longer the better for me ;) ). Last years winner, Brad McDonald, was back to defend and we had a good turnout from Team Newrad.
I did not know where the course turnarounds were, so I took the first lap with reserve to not blow up. There was broken glass everywhere to make it more interesting. A local resident is known to drive his car around and throw XXXX beer bottles all over the course whenever there is a race. Got to love those cycle haters as it is his/her idea to discourage racing by doing this and maybe injure a cyclist also.
I was able to ramp up the second lap knowing where the glass and course went and came through in a respectable time. I was able to pick up the win and annual trophy. The defending champ came 2nd, with Newrad Team guys filling the first 6 positions.
The Trophy will be presented at the annual awards dinner in September with my name engraved on the perpetual Brad Maund trophy. Brad was a triathlete, cyclist, and handy time trialler by accounts. He was killed in tragic circumstances when run down by a truck whilst training (another rider was also killed, and another badly injured). It is an honour to win his trophy and being a fellow triathlete/cyclist was quite a nice touch.
Next up is some hill training for the coming races and high cadence work.
Cheers,
Bevan.
This past weekend was the individual time trial champs for Hunter Districts on the Minmi/Blackhill course. It was a gusty day which made conditions tough with no one using disks in the winds. The course was slightly lengthened at both ends to the normal annual course so rather than a 20km TT it was a bit more (longer the better for me ;) ). Last years winner, Brad McDonald, was back to defend and we had a good turnout from Team Newrad.
I did not know where the course turnarounds were, so I took the first lap with reserve to not blow up. There was broken glass everywhere to make it more interesting. A local resident is known to drive his car around and throw XXXX beer bottles all over the course whenever there is a race. Got to love those cycle haters as it is his/her idea to discourage racing by doing this and maybe injure a cyclist also.
I was able to ramp up the second lap knowing where the glass and course went and came through in a respectable time. I was able to pick up the win and annual trophy. The defending champ came 2nd, with Newrad Team guys filling the first 6 positions.
The Trophy will be presented at the annual awards dinner in September with my name engraved on the perpetual Brad Maund trophy. Brad was a triathlete, cyclist, and handy time trialler by accounts. He was killed in tragic circumstances when run down by a truck whilst training (another rider was also killed, and another badly injured). It is an honour to win his trophy and being a fellow triathlete/cyclist was quite a nice touch.
Next up is some hill training for the coming races and high cadence work.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Nice mention of our TTT win on the Central Division Cycling News.
Below is the text taken from the Central Division Cycling website for the TTT and we should now be leading the Clyde Marshall Shield points:
Final Results Posted for TTT at Kooragang
It was another great day for racing when 143 riders took to the well worn pavement at Kooragang for the annual Central Division Teams Time Trial.
It was only a testing little seabreeze that spoilt anotherwise perfect day, but still the times were pretty hot. The winning team of Bevan Leach, Brett Lambkin, Nathan Stewart and Geoff Troup from NewRad Gateshead #1 Team suffered a mechanical on the start line and had to complete the entire race with just three riders. Even so, they were still able to circulate at a stunning 44.3kmh to complete the course in 33mins 51sec.
The Rob Hadley / Nigel Perry Shield for the most points scored by a club was won by Kooragang Open Cycling Club in a repeat of last year's dominating performance. Their tally of 48 points was better than all the other clubs combined!
Final Results Posted for TTT at Kooragang
It was another great day for racing when 143 riders took to the well worn pavement at Kooragang for the annual Central Division Teams Time Trial.
It was only a testing little seabreeze that spoilt anotherwise perfect day, but still the times were pretty hot. The winning team of Bevan Leach, Brett Lambkin, Nathan Stewart and Geoff Troup from NewRad Gateshead #1 Team suffered a mechanical on the start line and had to complete the entire race with just three riders. Even so, they were still able to circulate at a stunning 44.3kmh to complete the course in 33mins 51sec.
The Rob Hadley / Nigel Perry Shield for the most points scored by a club was won by Kooragang Open Cycling Club in a repeat of last year's dominating performance. Their tally of 48 points was better than all the other clubs combined!
Monday, 18 May 2009
1st in Central Division TTT and trying new races.
Hi Guys,
Well we won the Central Division Team Time Trial at Kooragang Island for Team Newrad Gateshead. The flu had not cleared but I was able to breathe ok and pitied the poor guys behind me when I had to clear the tubes (always tried to do it at the end of a turn though). Different team this time with me, Brett Lambkin, Geoff Troup, and Nathan Stewart swapping in for Brett James. We got off to a shocking start when Geoff's back wheel slipped the limiting screws and smacked into his frame. We all stood around for 30secs to see if he could fix it but no go. So we had to high tail it. Nath was coming off ironman so was a little fatigued but Brett was feeling good. It was a race of long turns at the front and keeping everyone together to finish and record a time. We ploughed through it though and checking on other teams I thought we may just have it. Ended up with a 13sec win over Manning Valley in 2nd, and our 2nd Team Newrad guys in 3rd. Geoff continued through by himself in case any of us flatted so we would get some points in the Division Cup. I also found out after there is a rule in TT whereby if you have a mechanical in the first 100m you can restart again but luckily we got away with the win anyway.
I also tried a couple of new races (a handicap and a criterium) this past weekend. The handicap was interesting as I went of scratch with Glen Stojanow, Geoff Troup, Brett Lambkin, Sam Layzell, and Michael Burke. The limit (ie bunnies) had 20mins head start on us for a 4 lap race. I lost the group on the first hill after taking a turn I dropped some gears to spin but ended up skipping the chain and two gears. This opened up a gap of 2 bike lengths to the last guy and I just couldn't get back on when the boys crested the hill and got into the 53x11s as I only had a 53x12 and have not trained myself to spin as fast as the pure cyclists yet. They were very impressive and very strong cyclists. Gave me a lesson and I will be working on higher cadence and getting the appropriate gearing. The bunnies ended up winning the day with the head start a little bit too much for the boys to catch. I hammered for 3 laps passing buys that were dropped but unable to make any inroads. Good training though.
Sunday saw a criterium out at Steel River. Plenty of 90 degree turns and 2 u-turns each lap saw lots of corner and sprinting practice. I am racing the Tour of Tweed and the last stage is a crit so I thought I had better get some practice in. I was in B grade and we went off 10 secs behind A grade. I was able to bridge up quickly but not knowing the rules I sat 7-10m behind like in triathlon non-drafting races. This was a big mistake as the A grade guys fly out of corners with the concertina happening in a big way. Needless to say I drifted off the pace. Again I learnt more about positioning and cadence watching the top guys do turns. I hammered away for the 35mins +3 laps which constituted the race. I slowly picked up a couple of A grade guys that had drifted off the back but wanted to work more and practice. I ended up 2nd in my grade as the other guy held into a A grade pairing just ahead of me and I couldn't bridge up on the winding track. I learnt a lot about race craft and got a fantastic workout to boot. These two races were all after a week of increasing cycling mileage with some nice rides with Rich Stanton and Michael Edgar including a lovely hill repeat loop I can utilise for training.
I will be attaching a cadence sensor and doing some high rpm work along with hill drills to bring myself up to speed a bit with the pure cyclists. This will also transfer across to my triathlon racing and hopefully help with my hit out at the Tour de Tweed on the June long weekend in Queensland. Things coming up are the Hunter Districts Individual Time Trial this weekend, possibly the Wineries 100km cyclosportif (or a crit), Newcastle Rodeo with some friends, the Tour de Tweed, and the normal runs/swims for my triathlons.
On a side note, Frankie turned six months old on the weekend. She loves the running pram and so I will be able to clock up some more kilometres whilst spending time with her. She looks so cute all rugged up and ready to cruise.
Cheers and train safe,
Bevan.
Well we won the Central Division Team Time Trial at Kooragang Island for Team Newrad Gateshead. The flu had not cleared but I was able to breathe ok and pitied the poor guys behind me when I had to clear the tubes (always tried to do it at the end of a turn though). Different team this time with me, Brett Lambkin, Geoff Troup, and Nathan Stewart swapping in for Brett James. We got off to a shocking start when Geoff's back wheel slipped the limiting screws and smacked into his frame. We all stood around for 30secs to see if he could fix it but no go. So we had to high tail it. Nath was coming off ironman so was a little fatigued but Brett was feeling good. It was a race of long turns at the front and keeping everyone together to finish and record a time. We ploughed through it though and checking on other teams I thought we may just have it. Ended up with a 13sec win over Manning Valley in 2nd, and our 2nd Team Newrad guys in 3rd. Geoff continued through by himself in case any of us flatted so we would get some points in the Division Cup. I also found out after there is a rule in TT whereby if you have a mechanical in the first 100m you can restart again but luckily we got away with the win anyway.
I also tried a couple of new races (a handicap and a criterium) this past weekend. The handicap was interesting as I went of scratch with Glen Stojanow, Geoff Troup, Brett Lambkin, Sam Layzell, and Michael Burke. The limit (ie bunnies) had 20mins head start on us for a 4 lap race. I lost the group on the first hill after taking a turn I dropped some gears to spin but ended up skipping the chain and two gears. This opened up a gap of 2 bike lengths to the last guy and I just couldn't get back on when the boys crested the hill and got into the 53x11s as I only had a 53x12 and have not trained myself to spin as fast as the pure cyclists yet. They were very impressive and very strong cyclists. Gave me a lesson and I will be working on higher cadence and getting the appropriate gearing. The bunnies ended up winning the day with the head start a little bit too much for the boys to catch. I hammered for 3 laps passing buys that were dropped but unable to make any inroads. Good training though.
Sunday saw a criterium out at Steel River. Plenty of 90 degree turns and 2 u-turns each lap saw lots of corner and sprinting practice. I am racing the Tour of Tweed and the last stage is a crit so I thought I had better get some practice in. I was in B grade and we went off 10 secs behind A grade. I was able to bridge up quickly but not knowing the rules I sat 7-10m behind like in triathlon non-drafting races. This was a big mistake as the A grade guys fly out of corners with the concertina happening in a big way. Needless to say I drifted off the pace. Again I learnt more about positioning and cadence watching the top guys do turns. I hammered away for the 35mins +3 laps which constituted the race. I slowly picked up a couple of A grade guys that had drifted off the back but wanted to work more and practice. I ended up 2nd in my grade as the other guy held into a A grade pairing just ahead of me and I couldn't bridge up on the winding track. I learnt a lot about race craft and got a fantastic workout to boot. These two races were all after a week of increasing cycling mileage with some nice rides with Rich Stanton and Michael Edgar including a lovely hill repeat loop I can utilise for training.
I will be attaching a cadence sensor and doing some high rpm work along with hill drills to bring myself up to speed a bit with the pure cyclists. This will also transfer across to my triathlon racing and hopefully help with my hit out at the Tour de Tweed on the June long weekend in Queensland. Things coming up are the Hunter Districts Individual Time Trial this weekend, possibly the Wineries 100km cyclosportif (or a crit), Newcastle Rodeo with some friends, the Tour de Tweed, and the normal runs/swims for my triathlons.
On a side note, Frankie turned six months old on the weekend. She loves the running pram and so I will be able to clock up some more kilometres whilst spending time with her. She looks so cute all rugged up and ready to cruise.
Cheers and train safe,
Bevan.
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