Melbourne Whip Issue # 2 by Melbourne Whip

Melbourne Whip Issue #2

Melbourne Whip is about the people and bicycles of Melbourne. There’s a passion behind them, whether you’re drawn to pure functionality, design, or a combo of both. Some hard work goes into them to makes them our own. Melbourne Whip was born from a love of bicycles. They excite us, and we’re thrilled to be able to capture the growing community. This magazine is our way of showing off what we’re proud of. Melbourne Whip is a work of love and we hope you enjoy it, Thank you for supporting us! Kip Jordan Editor

Melbourne Whip

Editor Kip Jordan Copy Editor Suzy Lo Photography Caz Whitehead - Cazbar Photography Andy Rogers - Fame and Spear Photography

riley / swift

amy B / crux

anna / trek

simon / masi

von / shiv

teagan / era

mason / basso

amy P / surly

meg / fuji

chris / khs

Riley’s Swift I’d been a runner for years and years. One of the reasons I originally got into cycling was due to an impact injury from it though - all that mileage coupled with a stress fracture. Cycling was a great way to keep my cardio up when I couldn’t run, and soon I realised where I could run for an hour a day, I could cycle for three. My first bike was a Trek with a white and red paint job - it was horrible. I learnt quickly never to buy a white bike as it’s too much of a hassle to keep clean. About a year ago, I went to a bike store in Prahran and bought a couple of Focus bikes, a roadie and a cross bike. Absolutely love them. The Swift is now my fourth, but I still use the Focus cross bike as a glorified commuter. In October late last year, I had an accident on the road bike and wrote it off. It was pretty nasty and I spent a fair bit of time in hospital. I’d just climbed up Arthur’s Seat and was descending through Redhill, near Dromana when a motorist pulled out in front, causing me to hit the deck at about 60 kph. I landed face first. If I had my time again, I’d try to crash differently. After my recovery I spoke to the bloke I’d bought the Focus from, Ed, who’s now working at Swift. We’d become good mates and the boys there looked after me got me onto this one. I love it. The frame feels a bit more aggressive, the Focus is a Cayo which has a bit more of a relaxed geometry. I’ve been a pretty shaky descender ever since the crash so I think this has really helped me to improve on those skills. The fact that not many people have these makes it unique and I like that too.

I love my kits. I don’t understand why other people don’t have as many kits as I do! You’ve got to have more than one t-shirt or one pair of jeans to wear, so why would you wear the same stuff on a bike every day? I don’t see the reason for it. I’m really passionate about animal welfare. About a year ago, I was looking for ways to use cycling or endurance running to help animals, and my research led me to Rescue Project, which had been started by Namrita Kumar in Atlanta (US). When I got in touch with Namrita I asked her a tonne of questions, racking her brain for ideas and concepts and getting her to divulge her stumbling blocks to me. It became clear to us what we had to do. “Why don’t we just start Rescue Project in Australia?” Namrita suggested. She’d already established a great brand, colours, all that sort of stuff. We officially rolled out in Australia just over ten months ago. At this point, we’ve donated a little over $7000; with more coming from April and May. Under a thousand dollars a month is pretty reasonable, for what it is. Absolutely every cent that comes to me for Rescue Project (AU) gets donated to shelters or other support networks for animals. I’ve even had a lot of people ask if Rescue Project is what I do for a job and whether I earn a wage from it before I give some money to charity but no, every cent goes into animal welfare. While it’s very young, there has been so much support from people in the industry: Andy from Hells500, Dion from 4SHAW, the guys at Wheelhaus - it’s been incredible.

amy b’s crux The paint job on this one is by Steve Munyard of Sun Graphics who works out in the Dandenongs. I originally bought this S Works Crux in the regular green and blue colour scheme. I went to Steve with the idea to make a bit unique, so I asked him to swap the colour to pink and chuck a few stars on the top tube. I’ve always loved pink and blue together, and blue has always been my favorite colour. When I saw the finished photos of it, I actually started jumping around like a kid in a candy store squealing with excitement, not able to stand still - I just couldn’t wait for it to get built up. It’s a typical S Works build, SRAM Hydro 22 and I’m still sorting out carbon tubulars for this. It’s still very new to me really. I’m getting all the little bits and pieces for it to complete my Barbie dream bike! When I raced this at Fields of Joy CX, I could barely clip in because the pedals were so muddy. We were actually pretty lucky with the women’s race, it hadn’t rained for hours beforehand. But the rest of my bike was so clean compared to everyone else’s, I kept getting shit from my friends. From the cyclocross events I’ve raced, I’ve gotten a reputation for coming out a lot cleaner than everyone else. One year my friend even threw a bucket of mud on me! I’m bit of a dainty rider when it comes to cyclocross - I’ve got the spirit of a roadie. I might look serious, but I know it’s just a bit of fun. My technical skills keep developing and even though the front-runners are still ages in front of me, I want to keep racing.

There was a beginners group ride passing through the cafe at my work (Total Rush bike store in St Kilda). They had just finished their ride, so I sat down with them and it got me thinking about how I got into cycling. The story goes: I grew up in the country, we had to use bikes to get from place to place and while it had always been part of my life it was never competitive. After losing my license, I dug out an old crappy Kmart bike that I had. I tried riding it to work but couldn’t do it both directions when I first started - it took me an hour to ride 12 kms. I’d get a lift back home and in the morning, I’d get a lift in, but it meant I’d only ride once a day. Then the annual Corporate Triathlon Series came up. Our company was already involved, so my boss encouraged me to join in with the 5,000 others participating. I went gung ho and bought myself a new road bike. After the triathlon, I completed Around the Bay. It took us twelve hours and was one of the most horrendous days I’ve ever had on the saddle, with bad head wind both ways. I couldn’t ride for a week afterwards. Sometimes I’m a bit jealous of people that started racing and cycling competitively when they were younger; they’ve got a bit of an edge on those who started later. But still, I’m happy to be involved in it now.

Anna’s Trek My husband Angus originally got me into cycling. We were riding on the bike path along Beach Road one day and I thought to myself, “This is pretty cool!”. Angus had his own bike at the time, and I was just borrowing my Aunty’s. It was on that ride that I knew it was time for me to get my own as well. I bought a basic road bike to start off with, just to give me half a chance to keep up with Angus! Some of my friends, including Kate and Emma (fellow co-founders of Fondo) were riding to work at the time; we decided to band together and organise girl rides for Beach Road. From then on, we just continued to ride more and more. I started training more with that one, before I upgraded again to the bike that I have now. It was around this time, two and half years ago that I joined up with the Rapha Women’s Ride. Finally I had my own little group to go riding with! I wasn’t just relying on the girls to ride Beach Road or waiting on something else. Great things, like Fondo, have come as a result of me getting more into cycling. I’d always complained about the lack of apparel for women. It was either just mens gear that was available or a man’s interpretation of what women might want to wear. It was always disgusting or ill-fitting! We complained about it all the time, until one day we realised - we should be the ones to do something about it.

I quit my job; Kate went on maternity leave. We found ourselves with some extra time on our hands. And that’s when, I think it was Kate, who suggested, “Let’s just start doing it!”, to which we all said, “Oh yeah. Yeah, let’s get into it.” All of a sudden, we’d placed an order. It was from that point on that it all began happening for us. The design process took about twelve months all up, from registering the business to launching our first range. Finding a manufacturer was a challenge; the first one we found didn’t work out so we had to go back to the drawing board. It all took a while as different styles of kits had to be tried and tested, then there was the time needed in getting the kits made up. We were aiming for quality, so we had to put in the maximum amount time to get it up to the level we wanted. We ended up finding an Italian manufacturer to work with us. The test kits that they sent over were a perfect match to our design, so we went with them. Purchasing the Trek had a lot to do with the paint job - it’s so pretty! I love the colour, it just caught my eye. When looking for an upgrade I was searching specifically for a Trek. The guys over at Peak Cycles in Heidelberg stock Trek, so I went to them seeing as we’ve formed a good relationship and I wanted to support them as well. The Di2 is something I’ve had before, but it works nicely and I wouldn’t change it. I love the flawless shifting and the frame is nice and stiff. I get a lot out of the power that I put into this bike: it’s matching the level I’m at with cycling now.

Simon’s Masi I got the Masi five or so years ago. Before that I had my road and my mountain bike, when I moved up to Sydney from Canberra. At the time, I was riding the mountain bike around Sydney thinking it was a waste of time. Back in Canberra I had trails at my doorstep that were amazing. I thought to myself ‘Nah, it’s time to get something I can ride around in the city or ride to work with, a commuter that isn’t my roadie’. So I dropped some coin on the Masi - it’s been my trusty commuter slash pub bike ever since. For something that’s never been serviced, the Masi still runs (touch wood) like it did on the first day. I still haven’t properly cleaned it since that first ride two years ago. Apart from the pedals - I keep switching over from clip-ins to these. I made a pact with a friend a couple years ago to ride to Melbourne from Canberra for the Melbourne Roubaix, and it’s one of the reasons the Masi is so special to me. A week or so before it started we set out from Canberra, riding between 150 to 200 km per day. My friend had put a bike together for the ride and we were just riding single speed with backpacks on our backs. We pretty much stuck to the Hume (River) for the first three days, from there we headed towards my parents’ place in Alexandra. We had our bad moments too.

It still blows my mind that we actually did it: 800 kms in four days, with one gear in the middle of winter. On the third day in -1º weather, we started out near Wangaratta (far North Victoria). We rode for two hours just to get to McDonalds for hotcakes. It was the toughest morning. But as the day went on and after nearly 200 km of riding, it had become the best afternoon. We had sprint contests all day. He smoked me cause he’s got mad quads! But you know... our spirits were just so high. I think I was at my fittest back then. I wasn’t riding 500 km a week or anything; just riding for enjoyment. I came out with the fitness I have now and gained this amazing base. You ride a bike like this to work, only riding thirty minutes a day and there isn’t much long-term damage, even if it was fitted up incorrectly. But, after seven solid days of riding and traversing 800 km, you’ll blow out your knee and have to take ten weeks off the bike - which is exactly what happened to me. I set PRs up several hills, then would have to call it a day ‘cause I couldn’t handle the pain. Like a lot of people, I watched the Tour de France and thought it was pretty cool. Two weeks later, I was riding a $30 bike I picked up from the tip, wearing slip-ons and thermals, thinking I was the man. I obviously wasn’t, but I did step it up and buy myself a proper roadie after that. That one didn’t actually last very long, about a week or so after getting it I got hit by a car and completely wrote it off. It was good in a way, ‘cause it was a pretty shit bike! And it meant that I got to upgrade.

Von’s Shiv This is my Specialized Shiv TT bike. I’d been doing time trials for several years and always wanted to get one of these ‘cause I saw it as a totally ‘professional’ style or the ‘be all and end all’ for trying to go fast. I was a big fan of Fabian Cancellara, who was world champion at the time of the Shiv’s creation (he even helped with the aero-testing as part of the design). I got this one last year, just in time to train up and be in the right position to win the Australian Masters Time Trial Championships, one of my biggest wins. It was my last chance in that age group to compete and I had tried it a few times before, so to nail it was a huge achievement for me. It was one of those days where everything went right and even though it was raining a little, it was perfect. The course was the usual 20 km time trial. The faster guys can do it crazy fast times, usually within 19 minutes. I was a bit slower, but only by a little bit! I was fastest on the day and that’s all that really matters. This year I’ve moved into the next category up, Masters Two, but unfortunately the competition is in Queensland, which makes it a bit of a logistical nightmare to get a couple of bikes and a trainer up there! I’m still looking forward to it though. At this stage it feels a bit hard for me to get my head around it, but in the short term I’ll be competing at state level across all the Cycling Victoria events. Like most, I’d learned to drive with the parents when I was 16, but didn’t have a car until my late twenties. Moving to Melbourne where everything is so expensive, including upkeep on a car and

all the public transport costs, meant I went straight into commuting via public transport. As an alternative I purchased my first bike, an Apollo mountain bike, in 2000. After riding it for a while, I sold it to my sister and upgraded to a road bike which I used for weekend warrior fun. I used to do a 30 km loop and be absolutely stuffed. I rode with my boyfriend, now my husband. He would just take off up the road, eventually I’d catch up. We’d go to KFC afterwards, feeling like we’d earned it! That was great fun; slowly we started to get more serious with cycling. He was getting faster on the bike paths with me, and in the weekends would be doing bigger rides with the guys. Eventually, he started racing so I’d go along to corner marshal, cheer and take photos. I noticed women’s racing growing, with the inclusion of grades and more rides for girls. I also started noticing people I had ridden with casually were now racing and one I’d actually beaten up a climb! It got me thinking I could potentially win something. All my life I’d been couch potato IT worker, so it really was quite a foreign concept to me - I’d happily enjoy watching movies or tapping away on the internet. The only other competitive sport I’d ever taken part in previously was target archery - nothing at all to do with competitive cycling! So I started in my thirties and worked my way up from scratch. Along the way I found the defining factor for getting into racing: if you aren’t going to go hard, why ride? If you aren’t puffing and sweating it isn’t worth it.

teagan’s era I was about six or seven. Dad broke his back in a bad accident, crushing some vertebrae in the process, and cycling became his rehabilitation. Cycling was the only thing he knew he could do to get strong and mobile again. I worship my Dad, and getting on a bike meant more time hanging out with him, so I started riding more and more. At times I thought to myself, “Can’t we just do something less strenuous?” It wasn’t until later I truly appreciated how much fun it was, riding our shitty hybrid commuters together on the dirt track behind the house, with the motorcross kids yelling us to get out of the way. Mountain biking changed my life later on, in no small way. I was racing track and road, thinking that I knew what fun really was. On a spontaneous mountain bike ride I realised, “Oh shit, THIS is what fun is!” It blew my mind. Shortly afterwards I decided to quit racing, which was a big change in my life and left me with all this time and energy. It’s made me feel so positive and since then mountain biking has never let me down.

It might sound silly, but my favorite thing about mountain biking is getting on a segment of trails that suit my riding style and ability. You can take your hands off the brakes when you’re going nuts - it feels like flying. That’s the point of difference in feeling on a mountain bike, your achilles burns, you get covered in mud and you’re going really fast the whole time. It genuinely makes me so happy and you don’t even have to work for it. I’ve had this bike bang-on a year. The first mountain bike I rode was a piece of shit; the brakes didn’t work, the gears didn’t change. So I was looking to get something new - I thought if I was having fun on something this terrible then a good mountain bike must be amazing! I heard a friend had bought his girlfriend a bike a couple years back, but she never rode it and ended up wanting to get rid of it so I picked it up. I instantly ended up with a pretty bitchin’ setup. I wouldn’t have been able to get myself a full carbon, dual-suspension bike. And I’m totally sold on 26 inch wheelsets; it’s like it was built for me. They don’t even really make cross-country stuff like that anymore. While it’s not coveted, it’s perfect for me.

mason’s basso I raced go-karts in Darwin, where I’m originally from. Karting actually becomes quite expensive once you get to a certain level, so cycling starting taking over; it was something I could do on my own without a bunch of external pressures. It picked up around the time I started paying for my own expenses, 15 or 16, so cycling was like an introduction into adult life as well. I got into it more as a way of rehabilitation after I broke my femur - something of a school incident - a couple kilos of wood fell on my leg. When I moved down here to Melbourne for tertiary study, I raced mountain bikes then got into road racing. Study has been pushed to the side for a bit, as I’m getting more into cycling with Invert Racing. I want to see where it goes and how far I can make it. Jarrad (who runs Invert and is a co-founder of MAAP Apparel) has opened up a lot of doors for me. I help him out by wear-testing the MAAP kits - he’s introduced me to so much of the cycling community in Melbourne. My first road bike was an Avanti Quantum, and now I’ve picked up the Basso - something on an upgrade. There’s been a pattern of buying my boss’s bike; the Avanti was my old boss’s bike, the Basso was my current boss’s bike. I’m working over at Bike Force Richmond as a part-time mechanic, mainly building up high end road bikes. I’ve only been there for six or seven months and I’ve already picked up this bike in that time.

The Basso itself is pretty much as I bought it. I had the option to go Dura Ace Di2 but decided against it. Me and the boss were joking around and he let me have it for the weekend. I took it, rode it, came to an agreement and bought it. I liked it exactly the way it was with the Super Record EPS. I finished it with the Reynolds Assault wheelset - they’re mid range but I like them. All up the bike comes in at 7.2 kg, it’s not the lightest but it handles really well; I can ride one-handed descending at 80 km/ph. I’ve ridden mates bikes that come in at about 6 kg and I find it too light for me, it was a bit of a realisation that weight isn’t everything. Ride quality is important to me - at some stage I’ll have to give this bike up and move over to a sponsorship or team bike, but I love the feel of the Basso so much I think I’ll just keep it as my personal ride. I started road racing this season, across the 2014-15 summer. I’ve started in C grade, and have done pretty well. I’ve progressed up now to B grade and hopefully I’ll be heading up to A next year - it’s been a steep learning curve but I feel pretty good about how I’m going and I’m looking to participate in the Victorian Road Series over the next couple months. From go-karting I got a feel for competitive racing and from mountain biking I got another skilllevel relating to cycling. With road racing, I need time to build on that and get better and better. It definitely doesn’t hurt that I’m working with bikes every day. I’m trying to aim for Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic in B Grade, if I can do that I’d be happy.

Amy p’s surly When my partner Todd and I decided to go on a holiday to Tasmania for a cycling tour, I was looking at touring bike options and the Surly Straggler stood out. It looked like an awesome do-itall bike, both suited to cyclocross and commuting. All I had to hunt down was the frame - and that was that. Initially, I wanted black, as the ‘glitter dreams’ paint job seemed too much. As its ended up, I have no regrets going with it and the Surly might actually be my favorite now. It’s the bike I built up all by myself, from the ground up; I went through a whole process of figuring out what would or wouldn’t work and because I knew that I didn’t want to skimp on important parts (like wheels), I ended up building them myself. Putting it together was such a memorable learning experience for me. I was extremely nervous before Tasmania, I’d never done anything like it before. While we had a few practice runs and prep beforehand, it wasn’t until we were actually on the boat heading over that it all started to sink in. I still can’t believe what we accomplished. There were days of both hard and easy riding, but when you’re touring you can’t just turn back and go home - you’re in the middle of nowhere. We knew we had somewhere we had to get to; we had to reach our goal.

The bit that kept me going was riding into Scottsdale, along The Sideling. That was our first day doing a proper climb. Again I was really nervous, but we set out early and on the ride it was all so beautiful: the scenery, the smoothness of the road. When we got to the lookout, it was cloudy and overcast but to have just made it up there felt amazing. Another highlight for me was Maria Island (where no cars are allowed). We took our bikes over to the island by boat, and while we were there we saw some Tasmanian Devils and even went on bush walks - it was lovely. There were times when we had to solve some pretty intense problems together, but through that we learnt a lot about ourselves. I was generally better at the travel planning and Todd was stronger on the bike side of things. It was in those moments though that we found our strengths. On the days that I need to take a lot of gear on the panniers I use this bike as a commuter. It feels nicer than riding a single speed to work. I raced it at the Dirty Deeds Cyclocross last year. It was probably the heaviest bike there, but it was awesome fun. More recently, I’ve been using more for weekends away or just spending time on the Rail Trails. Next year, we’re planning to spend six weeks riding from Vancouver to LA. We’ll start looking at flights soon. Even though it’s a small plan at the moment we’re really looking forward to it. That’s where I want cycling to take me next.

Meg’s Fuji I have three bikes, though one of them, an old dutch bike from the UK, is pretty much retired now. It’s the heaviest thing I own and I use it so infrequently that it’s basically ornamental. My collection has grown a lot. Girls rides have been helpful. When you go riding with other people you get exposed to varying opinions about road riding. Some people are a bit more ballsy, which isn’t the greatest when you’re trying to learn. But others have a bit more of a fostering attitude and I found that on the girl group rides. I got the Fuji Feather from Nick at Saint Cloud a couple years back. I had it for about two months before I took it over to the States with me - it was heaps of fun having it while I was there. I took it everywhere. In LA, I took it up to Mt Wilson. The climb itself felt pretty heavy on a fixed gear, it’s around a 7-9% incline though not very far. Despite the difficulty at times, it was worth it even if just for the lookout and giant observatory right at the top - you can see all of LA from that point. I remember the sun was setting when we reached the peak and it was amazing; though on the way down with the darkness settling in it was a little precarious!

We rode along the aqueducts in Downtown LA and we also took the bike on an adventure to the Frank Gehry Museum in West LA. We also went down Santa Monica Boulevard. That week, the Fuji essentially went everywhere that we went. I tested out the bike lanes, but the Los Angelenos driver’s enthusiasm for cyclists didn’t turn out to be too great. Back here in Melbourne, I spend time with the Itchy Crew doing tricks and hanging out with those girls. That’s where I learned how to do tricks on the Fuji. It was at ‘Spin Pretty Fun’ which is a fairly open session and there’s no prerequisite for skill level so it’s a good place for anyone really. I learned how to pull some skids doing those sessions. We meet up at the Melbourne Museum it’s the perfect spot. We’ve spent some great afternoons there, and while the surface is good it’s definitely better in the summer. I’ve lived in Queensland, London, as well as having ridden in California. Now I’m here in Melbourne and it definitely feels like this city has the greatest to offer cyclists. Even when you’re a beginner you can easily find exciting things to do; if you’re absolutely advanced and professional, then there are some amazing things to be done. Then there’s everything in between. Going on rides with friends or going to the pub on your beater bike. It’s really social here. I’ve feel I’ve seen a lot of Melbourne cycling now and the North East appeals to me most. It’s a challenge every time; going through Mt Pleasant or through Kangaroo Grounds to Clintons Road. Even as far as St Andrews. You ride along everything - ridges, vineyards and fields with rolling hills on the other side.

Chris’ KHS I’d posted on a few forums to say I was coming to Melbourne and needed a frame to ride around on. Whilst at a bar in Manchester I got a decent reply from someone. I had actually planned on bringing my LOOK ALP464 but about a week before I moved I actually wrote it off in a car accident. So on that night I was hanging out with my mate Craig, aka ‘Nasty’. Nasty had been a messenger all over for about ten years. While we were there I had that reply come through from someone in Melbourne saying they had a KHS frame. When I asked for some pictures of the bike - lo and behold - Nasty recognised it! It was his old work bike from his stint in Perth, easily recognised by the CMWC stickers from Budapest and Philadelphia. Finding out the history behind it and the fact that it had once belonged to Nasty meant I just had to have it. I landed in Melbourne and the next day I picked the bike. It wasn’t in the best state when I bought it to be honest, so over the last few months I’ve been upgrading bit by bit. I’ve had a lot of help from Will at Jetnikoff Bicycle Co. on this project.

From long rides to commuting down to the pub; I do everything on this bike. I recently took it up to Arthur’s Seat, in total that was about 177 kms. Even when I was living in the UK, all my rides were on track bikes - I’d never really owned a road bike. I rode Lake District, Peak District and over the Pennines, all on the LOOK. I bought a Peugeot conversion single-speed bike when I first got into cycling, something just for me to casually get around with. One day, I came to unlock my bike and there was a spoke card in the rear wheel from #CantGoSlo (Manchester fixed gear). When I looked them up I found out they were simply about riding and having a good time. I soon ditched my conversion to pick up a new track bike. @cantgoslo, @01fix1 and @120fixed all became good mates of mine and it was from there I got right into alley cat racing. One of the best alleycats I raced was THEFIXEDLIFE’s ‘An American Alleycat in London’ that was pure awesome! As much as I love the fixed gear scene, I think my next project will be a road bike for steeper hills and longer rides.

We hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve enjoyed Melbourne Whip Issue # 2. There are still plenty of stories to be told, so keep your eyes peeled for Issue # 3!

Special Thanks With this Issue of Melbourne Whip completed, a ‘round two’ of sorts, I’m beyond glad to say that time and time again that the Melbourne cycling community has shown itself to be filled with wonderful, supportive and creative people. Cycling is a joy, a mixture of being healthy, having some amazing times and enjoying time with others. Early morning cafe stops and breaking a sweat on those nasty climbs! I’m personally very glad I found cycling, in no small way because of the people. I want to say a big thank you to our contributors (and their bikes!), Ollie and Jarrad of MAAP, Riley for being a massive legend, Dan from Melbourne Cycling League & Ron from The Admiral CC. I want to thank the people that have worked to make this possible: Suzy, Caz and Andy; for their talent, passion and hard work. Without them this publication would not be a reality. Check out more snaps at melbournewhip.com and follow us on Instagram for updates @melbournewhip

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