Archive for the 'Reference' Category

Kalamunda stats

Published
by
Spunker
on February 4, 2010
in Bollocks and Reference
. 1 Comment

The recent Christmas Handicap, something of a lull at work and general anal-retentiveness gave me pause to compile some statistics on ascents of the most mythical of Coglioni climbs - Kalamunda. There are now a fair number of recorded times, so I thought that it may be interesting to look through what we have.

Unsurprisingly the list of the 10 best recorded times is dominated by Bif, still the only rider under 11 minutes. Melbourne-based Coglione, and long-time record holder, Technoboy is still very well positioned in 3rd. An especially impressive feat considering that this is his only timed ascent. O’Dirty is still hanging on in the top 5, off the back of some dynamite form from a couple of years ago.

Place Coglione Time Date
1 Bif 10.17 23/11/08
2 Bif 10.58 10/01/10
3 Technoboy 11.05 18/11/07
4 O’Dirty 11.07 28/12/07
5 Bif 11.17 28/12/07
6 O’Dirty 11.21 22/07/07
7 Bif 11.22 22/07/07
8 Spunker 11.23 10/01/10
9 Spunker 11.36 23/11/08
10 O’Dirty/Spunker 11.40 21/12/08 / 20/07/08

The small number of recorded times posted by some Coglioni luminaries is a surprise, but we now have 20 riders who have posted at least one time. This is a list of all documented personal bests in order. Obviously conditions are a major factor, so they are recorded where they are known. I’m sure that Bif has records of times dating back years, but I have only included times documented on the website.

Coglione PB Date Conditions No of ascents
Bif 10.17 23/11/08 Excellent 10
Technoboy 11.05 18/11/07 Unrecorded 1
O’Dirty 11.07 28/12/07 Good 11
Spunker 11.23 10/01/10 Good 5
The Doctor 12.13 10/01/10 Good 3
Gaz 12.27 10/01/10 Good 1
Babel 12.34 28/12/07 Good 7
Paddles 13.00 10/01/10 Good 3
Cookie 13.05 23/11/08 Excellent 4
Stuey 13.13 10/01/10 Good 3
Digger 13.21 10/01/10 Good 7
Blinder 13.25 23/12/07 Good 4
Crash 13.47 21/12/08 Good 3
Ted 15.06 23/11/08 Excellent 5
Gobi 15.12 20/12/09 Very bad 1
Sicknote 15.16 23/11/08 Excellent 3
Cannibal 15.23 15/07/07 Unrecorded 2
Princess 15.27 11/01/09 Bad 1
Chuck 15.45 23/11/08 Excellent 1
Swee’Pea 18.36 20/12/09 Very bad 1

Red light runners

Published
by
Bif
on September 2, 2009
in News and Reference
. 4 Comments

Are you a racer, a runner, or just impatient? A recent article in the Herald-Sun makes interesting reading even if you lawfully wait for the lights to change, as does the study that prompted the item. Unfortunately the most interesting thing about the newspaper article is the way it makes free use of the research and non-quotes from the associated interview to push the view that cyclists are idiots.

It starts off badly by misrepresenting the research in both its headline (”Alarm at red-light bike racers”) and opening gambit:

Cyclists and drivers love blaming each other when they come to grief. But a new study of Melbourne traffic has found both can be at fault when it comes to taking risks and accidents.

This sets a nice confrontational tone but in fact the research only looks at the behaviour of cyclists, not drivers, and only concerns itself with risk-taking, not accidents. After that the article loses its a way bit by simply regurgitating facts from the research, but is soon back on track:

Ms Johnson said other research showed cyclists were responsible for six in 10 cycling fatalities. In most cases cyclists were hit from behind by a vehicle in the same lane going in the same direction.

Note the clever use of the non-quote that leaves us uncertain as to what Ms Johnson actually said. Nevertheless it made me wonder about that six in ten statistic. The follow-on sentence seems to jar - if you get hit from behind aren’t you presumed innocent? I can only make sense of this by assuming the “fault” was crossing a lane to turn without looking or something similar.

I’ve emailed Ms Johnson because I’m curious about the “other research” referred to, but I have a theory about why this alarming statistic might come about. Cyclists as a group are so vulnerable and therefore so alert and cautious that they are rarely caught out by the mistakes of others. So keep your eyes open out there and hope that the insinuation that cyclists get themselves run over doesn’t increase the general lack of consideration afforded to us by motorists.