Sun March 31^st;          The infamous Dalgetty loop.  This is a flatter ride.  Flat when compared to mountains anyway.  It was still hilly enough however to dispose of about half the peleton on the way to Dalgetty.  I hung on though as I had made some pretty big boasts the night before whilst partaking of Mark Murdoch's liquid generosity.  Yes Mark became particularly close to me that evening when I saw him enter ride headquarters with a slab of Carlton Cold under his arm.  Anyway I hoped that Dead Horse had taken a bit of sting out of their legs and I announced to them that they were all going to have their respective bottoms kicked in the Dalgetty Dash, which I believe is the feature event of the weekend (but that's a personal observation).  So there they were about 3 kilometres to go all flat and slightly downhill very much like the mad Waterfall to Sutherland dash.  There were plenty of attacks with Scotty Callum lifting the pace and the Slapper going down the road.  I think just about everyone had a big go, even Whitey put in a big turn or two.  But there I was doing what I do best, "Sucking wheel" and waiting for the moment.  It was funny to see Robbie Cater roll past me for a turn in his restricted gears his legs spinning like a blur.  Then the moment arrived.  I looked across and saw a line of riders who looked a little tired.  I was on big Matthew Lucas's wheel (my domestique)  when I said, Ok Mattey, GO !!  Matthew took off like a scalded cat with me all the time about 2 inches off his back wheel.  We stuck about 3 bike lengths into them before they knew what had happened. I let my Domestique use up all that he had then cruised on by for an easy win.  Just as I had sat up and started breaking for the picker plank bridge coming into Dalgetty, Whitey flies past me out of the field of play and raises his arm in victory.  Well I will let the poor old buggar thing that he won it.  In any event one 50 year old and one very close to, gave the young whipper snappers a bit of a lesson in sprinting (and no, I didn't have my eleven cog on the back).   Oh I forgot to mention the maniac.  The slapper.  Dalgetty has a descent that you would swear was going to hell.  Last time we went down the maniac Slapper hit the high 90's, just under 100kph down this hill.  This time although he said he was going to take it easy, he started the descent about half way in the bunch and then with his head down and his bum up (maybe why everyone else let him go by given that his RBCC knick are quite see through), anyway there he was locked in his descent position with one hand tucked in behind the head stem, he proceeded to blast past everyone down the hill.  So king of the descenders definitely goes this trip to the Slapper. 

The group forms up again and takes on some nourishment at Berridale

There is a second sprint from Dalgetty to Berridale but I rest on my laurels and don't undertake that one.  Real reason is that mean & nasty Scotty Callum purposely drops me up the climbs out of Dalgetty.  I think that Scotty takes the victory at Berridale.  We say goodbye to Scotty and Clive at Berridale.  Joanne Buckton and Maria Jenkins have driven their car to Berridale because Scotty has to work that afternoon in Sydney.  We all meet up at Berridale and the peleton again breaks up into little groups travelling at different paces on the reasonably nasty 30km ride back to Jindabyne.  Kate Buckton who was dropped in the first part of the ride to Dalgetty gets a second wind and after suffering on the hills for a while we finally get to some big long flats and big downhills into Jindabyne.  I'm going as fast as I can in big ring twelve and I hear behind me, "faster faster !!"  It must be something in the genes.  Anyway I'm going high 70's down some of the long downhills and when we get back I say to Kate, "Geez you are really enjoying that under 19 gearing and the big ring."  She says to me, "how do you put it in the big ring??"  My god, I realise that she was hanging onto me in the 39 chain ring.  Well one thing is clear, she may have lost a lot of endurance but not much of her leg speed.  Also with us for much of the ride back was Thomas Murdoch, Pita Vea and Andrew Young who were also flying in their little gearing.  Well done boys.

In the afternoon, Peter Zala takes a heap of the young ones up to the AIS track and they do sprint training.  Peter has them going around and around the 450 metre track and sprinting every lap.  I am sure glad I am a spectator.  The slapper gets his bum kicked by stars Joseph Sorby, Chris Jenkins and Rob Cater.  Later Mark tells me that he was leading them out but it sure looked like he was trying to me.  Then the highlight of the afternoon.  We have a two team 6 person Olympic Sprint (Italian pursuit).  Pita Vea and Andrew Young lead off the respective teams and they all roll off beautifully till the two scratchies, Robbie Cater and Chris Jenkins go head to head.  I reckon it was a dead heat but the judges gave it to Chris Jenkin's team.  It was a great race anyway.