Handicaps, Heart & a Homer Simpson Bag Retrieval Christchurch, Canterbury ⛅

{"raceId":17694098036,"athleteId":2188545,"name":"Handicaps, Heart \u0026 a Homer Simpson Bag Retrieval Christchurch, Canterbury ⛅","description":"Thursday in summer is hands-down my favourite day of the week. Why? Because instead of behaving like a responsible adult and doing my day job, I get to head to Leeston and pin a number on with a bunch of good buggers for a proper club race.\n\nTonight we had more than 40 riders in the Senior race, which made for a cracking evening. I’d spent a bit of extra time on the handicapping, and the master plan was simple enough in theory: get second break, first break and scratch all arriving together, and make the fast marks absolutely bury themselves if they wanted to roll the bunch and nab the win. No free rides, no easy pickings, just a proper drag race earned the hard way.\n\nAnd that’s pretty much how it played out. Those four fast marks gave it heaps, but they didn’t quite manage to get all the way to the front, which made for a seriously exciting finish. Best of all, Andy Chapman took the win — and what a story that is. A man who had a quadruple bypass only a few months ago, back racing hard and getting the chocolates at Leeston. That’s the sort of result that reminds you why club racing is so special. Andy’s been coming out here for years with his son Brodie Chapman , who was on our mark tonight and going very, very well. I’d say keep an eye on that young man, because he’s got a bit about him.\n\nSecond went to Peter, a 70-year-old visitor from up in the North Island, and he was absolutely fizzing about our club. I had a great yak with him on the ride back about cycling, clubs, and all the things that make this sport such a gem. Bloody lovely bloke, and even better news — he reckons he’ll be back for another crack while he’s down here on holiday. Gerard Rooney , another seasoned campaigner and long-time rider, rounded out the podium. A top-three full of class, grit, and proper bike-racing character.\n\nAs for me, I was having a decent nudge at sneaking into the points and reckon I missed out by one or two places. I think I rolled in about 11th or 12th. Still, I beat George and I beat Brett, so that’s not exactly nothing, is it? I just need another couple of points and I’ll be right in the mix. Two weeks till the next points race, so the calculator can cool down for now.\n\nOf course, no Thursday special is complete without the roll home via the pub. We stopped at the lab for the compulsory pint of isotonic recovery fluid and a bowl of chips before hopping back on the bikes. Then, not too far down the road, I had a proper boomer moment and realised I’d forgotten my bag. Back I went to retrieve it — and thank goodness too, because the bag had about a thousand dollars’ worth of meals in it for the Canterbury Championship road race on Sunday, which I’m organising. That would’ve been a tidy little disaster.\n\nEventually made it home, got straight into the spa, and thawed out. It was a bit brisk riding back tonight, and autumn is definitely starting to tap us on the shoulder. Lights are compulsory now from the pub, and we’ve really only got about a month left where we can ride most of the way home in daylight. The joys of living in New Zealand — magic one minute, fresh enough to freeze the legs off you the next.\n\nAll up, a bloody good night out: big field, smart racing, a brilliant winner, a visitor won over by the club, and just enough form from me to stay hungry for the next one.\n\nWeather Report: Few clouds, 18°C, and the wind was blowing 15km/h from ENE\n\n😨 Overtraining warning\n🐶 Free Training (moderate intensity)\n🚵 Flat ground Ride\n🧀 Fat 58.2%, 🍞 Carb 41.8%\n🕯️ Matches 12.2\n🔋 Maximum discharge 97.5%\n\n\n--- Insights by Riduck ---\n\r\n-- myWindsock Report --\r\nAerodynamics: 0.223 CdA\r\nFeels Like Elev™: +116m\r\nWeather Impact™: 1.1%\r\nHeadwind: 53% @ 13 - 36.4 km/h\r\nLongest Headwind: 01h 11m 50s\r\nAir Speed: 30.3 km/h\r\nTemp: 14.1-20.4 °C\r\nPrecip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr\r\n-- END --","primaryImageUrl":"https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/BcLRigv6tsb2R_s-q8-pXDn82CbNDLfqhIZbsRK1A5g-768x576.jpg","distance":128660.0,"elapsedTime":21011,"totalElevationGain":134.0,"type":"Ride","sportType":"Ride","workoutType":11,"startDate":"Mar 12, 2026, 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