February newsletter
Gran Fondo National Championships
Aussie Roadnats, Perth
BNECC has been incredibly well-represented at the Gran Fondo National Champs this year, with two of our own putting down huge efforts to earn a spot on the podium for their division. Congratulations to Sally Caraher who placed second, and Salsie Pieterse who placed first! Sally and Sals have generously agreed to share a bit about their experiences down in Perth, so have a read, and enjoy.
Sally
Nationals GF 2025: fast racing on an 81km smooth and scenic course.
This was a last minute entry after booking a work trip to Perth. I hadn’t trained for it so had reasonable expectations to finish mid pack and check out the course for next year, and silly dreams to podium again following silver at the 2024 Nationals GF in Buninyong. It was tough the day before dealing with a clash of competitiveness and the realisation of being at the end of a 3 month long off-season, which involved a lot of deserts, chocolate and Christmas food.
In the plane between Brisbane and Perth as the nerves grew, I was lucky to be able to reach out for support from a couple of trusted cycling friends to set up a constructive mindset; essential for a good night’s sleep and be relatively relaxed on the start line. We had perfect weather for the race and a great opportunity to ride the course that the Elites would be on a couple of hours later, being able to appreciate every pinch and challenge they were tackling during their event. During the race I worked hard, and got lucky in a couple of spots, to build and stick with a group of 3-8 riders to have a cracker of a day out on the bike. The key for me ended up getting set up on the last descent to be part of a group along the flat river section, where the speeds were high and drafting paid off the most. Ending up on the podium with a silver for women’s masters 5 was a rewarding finish. The Kings Park roads were recently resealed and felt a lot smoother than most of our Brissy roads. The 6-lap course had a mix of flowing descents, tight corners, 4ish % climbing, a flat time-trial-like section along the river, and finally a punchy climb back to the start. Really a course with something for anyone thinking of racing Nationals in ‘26. Go for it! Perth is a fantastic place to ride.
Sals
To kick off the new year I flew down to Perth to participate in the Gran Fondo National Championships. At the start line I was greeted by another BNECC member, Sally, who pumped me up for the race. Without Sally’s kind words distracting me from my nerves I doubt the race would’ve gone as well as it did.
We took off and all that went through my head was “stay with the lead group Sals”! The girls were peddling hard and for brief moments I had doubted that I would be able to keep up. However the energy of the crowd and the atmosphere of the race made it impossible not to dream about a win. So I controlled my negative thoughts and focused on strategy.
I was quite lucky towards the end of the race because my initial race plan backfired. Prior to starting the race I just wanted to finish with the lead group. It never crossed my mind that I would soon be the national champion but when I saw an opportunity to attack on the final climb the reality of standing a chance kicked in. Again I used the energy of the crowd to go for it. I wanted to cross that finish line knowing I gave it my absolute best.
The medal ceremony was just as priceless. Being able to stand next to Sally and soak up the moment and share our happiness was a moment in my life that I will never forget. Amongst all of the girls there were so many smiles and so much joy and I have relived those memories a million times since
AusCycling member insurance
General notice
The club often receives inquiries about the extent of insurance provided through AusCycling membership. Here are some tips for making the most of it:
- Check your AusCycling membership is up-to-date, and if you plan to race this year, ensure you have a valid Race membership.
- Read about what is and isn't covered under the AusCycling Member Insurance that forms a part of your AusCycling membership. See here: https://auscycling.org.au/become-a-member/insurance-members
- Contact AusCycling if you have any questions on memberships or insurance.
- Consider if your personal circumstances requires cover beyond or further to the AusCycling Member Insurance.
- Update your personal contact and emergency details in the BNECC TeamApp.
Happy riding!
Segment Hunters
January update
Month 4 of 6 in the bag for our inaugural Segment Hunters Summer Series. As ever, we have some stellar stats and performances to look back on.
Over the course of January, we had 110 members of the Strava club complete at least one Mount Gravatt attempt yielding 30 fresh PRs. Well done to: Ben Gulley, Tim Durkin, Cooper Schmidt, Phil Clarke, Aaron Hayes, Martyn Liekefett, Alastair Bell, Wil H, Heath Glover, Carlos Garcia, Jackson Barbosa, Alex Boike, Nancy Jarrot, Bogdan Zonjic, Cody Brown, Michael Vink, Josh Guest, Jessie Zhang, Jarrod Gill, Dit Sang Lee, Guoda Petkeviciute, Kris Fitzpatrick, Lane Hamilton, Alex Murphy, Arthur Walton, Sue Stevenson, Carly Forbes, Iain Crawford, Paul Famularo, Scott McPhee
Meanwhile, an incredible 365 of you River-loopers got through St Lucia Hills yielding an equally impressive 29 PRs! Kudos to:
Cooper Schmidt, Phil Clarke, Alastair Bell, Mitch Grant, Alastair Bell, Heath Glover, Iain Crawford, Peter Hallgren, Martyn Liekefett, Robert Hardie, Beatriz Wall, Alistair Schaefer, Nancy Jarrot, Tom Meehan, Alex Murphy, Robby Mounfield, Josh Guest, Jenny Gan, Carly Forbes, Guoda Petkeviciute, Tom Troy, Andrew Whiffen, Olivia Whitt, Jude Fearnley, Robin Jones, Scott McPhee, James Crossley, Linda Selvey, Gary Hogg.
A huge well done to everyone who achieved PRs across the month, especially those who achieved it on both segments and there were a few this month in that category. However the wheel of fortune rules all and only one of you will be taking home $50 in Lost bean vouchers, joining John, Tim and Feng from the previous months. And this month that person is:
🚀🚀🚀 Carly Forbes 🚀🚀🚀
Carly hit a PR in both segments and her St Lucia Hills attempt was the lucky winning ride for January. Lucky to get the draw, nothing lucky about the awesome work done on the pedals to be in the mix!
For February, we have one last stop at Mount Coot Tha and another famous segment from the FGF loop…
Our feature segment for February – Mt Coot-Tha TT. 6.3km @4%. Let’s be honest, we all know the verified Coot-Tha Front segment is a nonsense. You have to climb to get to the start, and when you reach the roundabout it’s still uphill in each direction. Feeling robbed? Fear not! The Mt Coot-Tha TT segment starts at the Botanic Gardens and includes the climb to the Front Side start, the full Front Side segment and then continues up over the summit rollers until you reach the top of the backside. We will be short-changed no longer! Our shorter segment for February requested by Captain Ninness again features within the FGF route but this time at the business end – Cemetery Hill & Highgate Hill. This covers the hit-out section of the FGF loop, up Cemetery Hill over the speed bumps before rolling down and ending with an all-out sprint up Highgate Hill to the end of FGF. We’re sure you don’t need any incentive to maintain a smooth rolling group through the rest of FGF, but here’s one extra reason to keep something in the legs for the finale 😉
We’ll keep you updated through the month, have fun and stay safe.
Kopiko Aotearoa
Peter Haley
To continue on the theme of club members abroad: thank you to Peter Haley for sending in this lovely piece about his experience riding the Kopiko Aotearoa route cape-to-cape across NZ. Wonderful stuff, thanks Pete!
Kopiko means to go back and forth, meander, wander or, in New Zealand (Aotearoa) ramble. The Kopiko Aotearoa cycle route crosses the north island of New Zealand from the eastern most point to the western most point. Total length is over 1,000kms and over 16,000m of elevation. The route is about 60% sealed roads, 30% gravel roads and about 10% cycle trails, including singletrack.
It is run as a bikepacking brevet each February but I rode it in November with van support and a proper bed to sleep in every night. Ten days total riding with a rest day in Rotarua after 5 days before another 5 days riding.
There were 8 other riders on the trip and I was wondering if I'd brought a knife to a gun fight the first day assembling the bikes in Auckland - I was on a gravel bike with no suspension, all but one other were on dual suspension mountain bikes and the one other had some suspension on his gravel bike. Turned out there were only a handful of occasions when I wished I had some lower gears and/or some suspension. The latter was normally descending rutted gravel roads, the singletrack was fine on the gravel bike.
I've done a few cycling holidays in Europe and Australia but this was the best I've ever done, helped no doubt by the weather with only one afternoon of rain. What also sticks in the memory is the remoteness and beautiful scenery.
If you ever feel like going for a wander on your bike I can't recommend this ride enough.
Don't be a Full Gas Feral
Some more hectoring
Thank you to everyone who has passed on FGF suggestions and feedback over the last few weeks. We received a terrific response to our not-so-subtle reminder of the rules of engagement for a FGF, and I'm pleased to report that the consensus is that last Friday was one of the smoothest in quite some time.
After a successful first week, we'll also continue trialling having ride leaders in each pace group at FGF. And please continue to share your thoughts and ideas for improvement.
Race update
Phil Clarke
There was no easing in gently to racing in 2025 as the crew hit the ground running from the first weekend. January saw a weekend of TT racing across Ipswich, Gold Coast and Nundah; crit racing return to both Nundah and Muzz and some special action down in Adelaide from our TDU-watching contingent.
The full recap is available on the app, but special mentions go to:
- Miles Matheson, for winning/dominating his first race after a year off and being promoted back to A Grade
- Maike Wolf, Salsie Pieterse, Beatriz Gil and Lisa Cox for podium results across the TT race weekend. Bea would podium every day and be promoted a grade while Maike and Lisa both visited the top step and Salsie scored while on a road bike!
- Nick McGill and Ryan Bishop for securing podium results at Muzz, Nick in his last race before heading off to train as a doctor in Sydney, and Jess Wiggan for a great podium down in Adelaide
- Faye Goodyear on a first unplaced female result at Nundah and Ella Brown for twice coming home as second female at Muzz
- Lane Hamilton and Wil Haviland for Prime wins at Muzz
- Scott Mcphee and Dave O’Kane for both making their racing debuts in January, and Dan Donnelly for coming up from the GC to race for the club at Muzz Finally
And finally, a huge well done to Sals and Sally down in Perth for their incredible achievements. Super proud of you both!
Bike maintenance round two
Tiff Sheerin
Something you want to see here?
Your news desk needs you!
If you've got some cracking content (pics, videos, rants, etc), breaking news, or know of an achievement you want to shout about, PLEASE send it through to our breaking news desk so we can include it in a future edition. Or just come talk to me (Wil) next time you see me!
We'd also be especially interested in any smaller milestones you reckon are worth sharing. Seen an example of outstanding camaraderie in last month? Let us know.
Club contacts
President: Tom McCosker
Secretary: Phil Clarke
Treasurer: Steve Henderson
Membership: Matthew Brennan
Club Captain: Lachlan Ninness
Director: Kelly Smith
Director: Connor Neilsen
Director: Dave Shelberg
Director: Wil Haviland