Hurstville Velodrome

Never really been superstitious, so cycling around a velodrome for 12hrs on Friday the 13^th wasn’t going to phase me, aside from the prospect of getting dizzy!!

We were using this madness to promote some fundraising for both the MickRooCrew and Cerebral Palsy, additionally raising some awareness around the Hurstville velodrome – the local council were trying to hand over the track to both the cricket and the AFL (the bigger money sports) whilst completely neglecting the needs of the cyclists and the history of the track itself.  Fortunately, a well mounted campaign by Phill Bates, which included an online petition, enabled the council to see sense and retain the track for the foreseeable future.  The challenge now is to get the council to invest in the track, as little has happened in this area in the last 20 years, the responsibility falling entirely on the knicks of the St George Cycling Club!

Didn’t turn out to be too bad a night considering it’s not exactly a spectator sport, watching a Scottish eejit pedal around an oval track for a few hours?!

·    Had nearly a handful of riders come out and join me on the track – cheers Billy Manning, Jim Kolesynk, Rusty Mackay and Craig Bulmer!

·    Well done to Sharon, Molly, Paddy, Sophie, Cassie, Nick, Hugh, Leanne, Hannah, Vera and Steve Woosnam for braving the cold!

·    And the MickRooCrew showed the beginnings of a happy and prosperous partnership – well done to Galvo, Gary, Greg, Rog, Rusty, and especially Dave Foley who stuck with it all night!!

·    Cheers to the JORG crew for coming out in numbers – Fintan the Man, Martin, Stevie Rigg and Wayne!

Only a storm came through after 10hrs and made the track especially slippery – it looked as if it was settling in for the remainder of the night, so this man showed uncharacteristic judgement and pulled the pin at 3am, exactly 10hrs after starting!  Roughly 310km under the belt, to show for the effort…

Here's the article from the Leader newspaper: