Club Races
Strong Winds Make Life Interesting!
Fyans Creek, Sunday 14th September 2008

	Daryl Elliott

Average wind speeds of 30kph with gusts up to 50kph made for some hairy moments in last Sundays Grampians Vets 44km graded scratch races.

Some riders obviously looked out the window and went back to bed, as only a small field lined up for the start.

The race was held from Fyans Creek Road, near Halls Gap, around the Lake Lonsdale circuit. Riders also had to contend with a great deal of debris from the trees along the side of the road.

A grade riders Daryl Elliott, Peter Blair, Alan Barnett, Leon Gibson and Dean Hayward touched speeds of up to 50km at times along the flatter sections of the course with the help of a tail wind, while at other times had to hang on tight when side wind gusts threatened to blow their bikes out from underneath them.

Most of the riders were still together at the end, so the race was decided on the final sprint. Daryl Elliott charged to the lead, and was not headed, with Leon Gibson taking second place.

B grade riders Peter Mayo, Peter Parnaby and Stuart King, along with C grade riders Sean Prins, Meg Parnaby and Tania Walter headed off together, to help protect riders from the difficult conditions.

However, Meg Parnaby, having raced the day before in Warrnambool, and Tania Walter, fresh back to racing after a period off, both found the going tough, and finished some distance behind the other riders.

In the main sprint to the line, Peter Mayo just pipped Peter Parnaby by half a wheel to take the B grade event. Sean Prins took out the C grade, while Tania Walter beat Meg Parnaby home to claim second place in the C grade event.