Author: nillumbik

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

MTBO Joyce’s Mishap

Joyce’s Account

On Saturday April 9^th, I was driving at 110 kph to get to the MTBO Champs at Korweinguboora.  Near Ballan, I got a great shock as my bike flew off the car and bounced a couple of times and fell to the side of the road. Thankfully, there were no cars close behind to trash it but Tim Dent and Graeme Cadman checked it over and shook their heads.

I told Paul Elam, an organiser, that I would not be able to ride these two days. But Paul kindly offered, “Would I like to ride his bike?” I was thrilled to accept and the weekend turned out to be a great one and I was most grateful for the offer.

My local bike shop suggested the repair money would be best spent on a new bike. So after a trip to Warren Key’s shop in Clifton Hill and I had a new bike – a Scott like Paul’s; with disc brakes and lighter than my previous bike. It rides well and I’m very happy with it. My bike rack was not damaged but now I tie my bike on more securely. My old bike went out with the rubbish.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Decisions, Decisions Decisions

At our club committee meeting on April 5^th, among other matters

We checked out progress on the new equipment store

Fiona showed us samples of the new club polo top and jackets … they are brilliant

Decided to donate our share of the fire relief fund for Toorourrong Reservoir remap to Yarra Valley for their new Hawkstowe map at South Morang/Plenty River Gorge

Decided to hang onto Candlebark map, the adjunct to our Eltham Lower Park map

Decided to get rid of our out-of-date maps which are taking up a lot of room in storage at members’ houses. Joyce would like some copies of these old maps

Schon showed us the new first aid kit put together by Lyn Green

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Event Report: Vic MTBO Series #1, Korweinguboora (Rob Edmonds)

Sunday morning was humid and warm. Campers enjoyed a warm night and were late getting up; just beating the first of the Nillumbik Emus club helpers arriving from Melbourne and Geelong, at around 8 o’clock. The assembly area was very pleasant, with plenty of shade from the tall pines and neatly mown grass verges for parking. The use of hole-in-the-ground toilets and control cards was also a blast from the past.

There were 64 riders, about what was expected. A few riders had gone to NSW to compete in an NOL foot event, but there was good representation across all classes. One rider came down from Queensland and another from South Australia, especially for this event. The national selection trials will be held in similar terrain after Easter, so it was good practice.

There were plenty of muddy sections to keep everyone on their toes. Tracks were good where they were dry, but record rainfalls guaranteed that every wheel rut and pot hole was full of water. March Flies enjoyed competing with the riders; there was no getting away from them in the forest. The courses were challenging physically and navigationally and fortunately most riders finished the course before the deluge, not so fortunate for the control collectors and the packing up. Plenty of spills were reported but thankfully there were no reported injuries. Bike repairers and massage therapists are set for a bonus.

The organisers would have liked the storm to have held off for a couple more hours. There’ll be lots of drying and airing of equipment over the next few days.

I would like to thank those members who helped out, especially Sue Healy, Helen Schofield, Paul and Dorothy Adrian who helped with set up and admin without having a ride. Thanks also to Phil Giddings, Ron Frederick, Kevin Maloney, Geoff Armstrong, Joyce Rowlands and Helen Edmonds who gave willingly of their time.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

The Great Victorian Bike Ride 2010 – from a volunteer’s point of view

Lauris Stirling

Unfortunately Ian was receiving treatment for a crook hip leading up to the ride and decided on the Tuesday before, that riding 600km was not a sensible idea.

We both changed from rider/volunteers to full time volunteers and still had our ‘week’ away. I guess it was a working holiday.

Since 2001, Ian and I have participated in 8 Bicycle Victoria bike rides, 7 in Victoria and 1 in Tasmania. It is our idea of a holiday. The GVBR is held in the last week of November – first week of December. They focus on one of 5 areas of Victoria.

This year it was central Victoria – Yarrawonga to Marysville.

Given that accommodation is in tents, weather plays a big part. Past rides are remembered for extreme heat, or strong head winds etc. this one was dominated by ‘water’. Alternate camping areas needed to be found, from time to time due to excessive ground water. The challenge each day was to get your tent up between showers and hopefully keep your sleeping gear dry. Although it was wet the air temperature was warm to hot – a bit tropical really.

Read the full story from the link above.

New Equipment Container

The new equipment container arrived at the Nivens, but the truck could not quite put it in the right spot. With all the rain, the truck slithered and sunk, right down to the axels, creating a lot of damage – one tree, one gate post, one fence, one down pipe, one rain water pipe, one timber baulk and that’s only what we could be seen.  There was water gushing up from below.

The driver suggested a 4WD could delicately drive past it then pull the container the last three feet. Either that or push from the front with a tyre in between. That might be safer; at least the 4WD wouldn’t get trapped.  The box then needs to go sideways 6 inches to be actually in the prepared hole. The ground is very soft, so we’ll try again when the ground has dried out.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Night Champs Report by Rex Niven

Balmy dry conditions promised pleasant running at the Night “Champs” held this year on the Mia Mia /Blowmine map.  The thirty controls were spread over a wide area needing a nearly 20 km circuit to complete the whole set, but two runners came close with nearly 90% of total points after three hours.  The event lost its organiser early on but this was covered by many members taking on a number of small tasks.  However, with only 32 competitors and ten years of experience running the event it was a relatively light load. An ARDF event was run simultaneously which aided bonhomie untilwell after midnight.

The score event next morning was better attended, again in warm weather.  With the last start at 10:30, organisers were on their way home by 1:30PM.

Thanks to Stanley for the loan of Ernie the Urn, Lauris for providing food, and the spirit of absent Joyce overseeing all and providing a range of prizes.

Well done Rex. Great courses and use of the map. It was perfect night with enough moonlight to make matching the terrain with the map possible. Rob Edmonds and Rex set out most of the controls during the day with assistance from Laurie Niven and Ron Frederick. Geoff and Schon Hudson brought up the trailer with water ‘otter’ and plenty of water. Other helpers were Robyn Sunderland, Sue Healy, Geoff Armstrong, Phil Giddings, Kevin Maloney, and Lauris and Ian Stirling. The area around the Red, White and Blue Mine was particularly scenic with the dams filled to the brim and abundant wildflowers. The dams were a great place for a cooling dip.

Some people found the controls easier to locate at night then in the daytime as the luminescent tapes reflected brightly in the torchlight. Most people camped while a few went home. Robbie Caldwell kept the larger mosquitoes out of his car by just leaving his window open just a couple of centimeters. The one that did get in paid the ultimate sacrifice in the morning. Those with screen door tents slept buzz free.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Victorian Middle Distance Championships

The Victorian Middle Distance Championships were held at Spring Gully on October 9. Yarra Valley organised a great event on this very tricky map. Course setting was by Blair Trewin with Rob Edmonds the controller. We had 16 club members taking part. Some club members thought the courses were extraordinarily difficult but congratulations must go to the six members below who recorded podium finishes.

Laurie Niven 1^st W55A

Helen Edmonds 2^nd W55A

Robyn Sunderland 3^rd W65A

Gill King 3^rd W70A

Joyce Rowlands 1^st W75A

Sue Healy 2^nd W75A

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Australian Champs Carnival, South Australia

Several club members made the journey to SA to compete in the Carnival in late Sept, early October. The venue for all the events was the beautiful hills surrounding the Barossa Valley.

Rob and Helen Edmonds along with many other orienteers members took the opportunity to visit Kangaroo Island. It’s amazing how many cars, trucks and people that can be loaded onto these catamaran ferries. The Parkard Car Club loaded up with their amazingly kept vintage and classic cars.

Alan Watts visited the Flinders Ranges and checked out water filled Lake Eyre.  Helen Edmonds and David Lotty finished 3^rd in the SA Champs, David Lotty was also 3^rd in Australian Long Distance Champs. Most members were happy with their performances in fast but sometimes tricky terrain. Joyce Rowlands and Sue Healy had a close tussle in their class, while Robyn Sunderland, Alan Watts, Rob Edmonds and Kevin Maloney had promising performances.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Trailer Storage

After 20 years of storing club equipment at the Johnson’s it is now time to find a new location. The club has decided to take the Niven’s up on their very generous offer to look after the equipment at their place. The club will buy a shipping container and pay for installation works.

Lake Mountain Ski Trip

Don and Fiona Fell and Rob Edmonds recently headed up to Lake Mountain for a great day of cross country skiing. It was interesting to look at the rebuilding program in full progress and three hire ski shops in operation in Marysville. The best snow falls in years and seen record number of visitors. Lake Mountain would be a good place for Ski Orienteering.

If you get a chance to head up to the snow, it is worth hiring your gear from Marysville Ski Hire in the centre of Marysville, and mention the Fells who have a family connection.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Jim Taylor – a personal profile

Jim Taylor is a relative newcomer to orienteering who has already made a significant impact on the orienteering scene. Jim is very fit and he is achieving great results at StreetO, and competes regularly and competitively at MTBO and bush events. Jim is also a willing helper and has already organised some Street’O events. He is a great bloke to have a chat to at events.

When did you begin orienteering and what got you started?

2006.  I liked maps and running so I thought I’d give StreetO a go.

What is the enjoyable map you have run on? What made it a good experience?

The Darebin Parklands map which is in colour and has lots of detail.  It was a step up from StreetO (as far as orienteering goes) and was a good learning introduction for BushO. 

Do you have a good tip for beginners?

Carry a small compass in your sock for your first few StreetO events (especially at night or when parklands are involved).  But don’t tell anyone.

What other activities do you get up to that you would like to share with us?

For the last few years I’ve competed in the Shepparton Half Ironman triathlon. I watch my wife and daughter play hockey and my younger daughter play wheelchair soccer.

Do you have a personal goal in orienteering?

May be to be ranked in top 20 in StreetO  But mainly to just enjoy and learn with each event whether it be StreetO, BushO, MTBO.

Briefly describe your occupation.

Team Leader with an Asset Management Company

Name the most terrifying moment of your life so far.

Answering the next question correctly

If you wanted to look very sexy, how would you dress?

Just like my wife Lynn.

What famous person do other people tell you that you most resemble?

Harrison Ford (but thirty years ago); Go figure.

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever swallowed?

My pride when I ran off the map in one of my first StreetO events.

What dead person would you least want to be haunted by?

Groucho Marx.

You can choose your method of dying and the place in which you will die. Where would you like to die and how?

Heart failure in bed while sleeping.

You can choose your last meal. What will the menu consist of?

Cake-O

If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose?

The Simpsons

If you joined the circus, what act would you most want to perform?

Trapeze artist

If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?

Melbourne’s last premiership in 1964

If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else currently living, would you do so? Maybe.  Whom would you pick?

My wife.  To get her point of view.

If you could have one superpower, which would you choose?

Xray eyes so I could see through all those leafy things (trees) which always seem to get in the way at BushO events.

What was the most recent movie that made you cry?

A Shirley Temple movie on TV in 1958  (my four sisters have never let me forget it!).

If you could be any age again for one week, what age would you be?

I always like my current age.

If you could plan a trip anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?

Mountain biking in the Kimberley’s

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

BUSH’O

The Badge event at Choke’em Gully was a great success with 184 participants and lots of support from club members. There were 28 club members on hand to ensure the event ran smoothly. Thank you to everyone for your great support. Thanks to Ron and Cheryl for setting up the courses which received many favourable comments.

Several members enjoyed dinner at the Railway Hotel in Castlemaine. Thank you to Lauris for organising a spot worth returning to again. The campsite at Railway Dam was peaceful once the trains stopped passing by. Daniel kept the camp fire burning well into the night and roared it back into life first thing next morning. The weather was perfect the whole weekend and all the club tents were returned safe and dry. Unfortunately, Don and Fiona returned home to find their home had been burgled.

ROGAINING

Ron Wescott and Rob Edmonds were back at Fryerstown the following weekend to take part in a 6 Hour Rogaine; finishing 7^th out of 86 teams.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Vale Gordon Clarke  

Gordon Clarke’s funeral was held at the Lilydale Memorial Chapel on May 13^th. Gordon was a greatly respected orienteer and husband of Joyce Rowlands. Although Gordon was a member of Yarra Valley he helped out enormously at our club’s events.

He was even lending a hand at the Victorian Champs last September, when he was obviously not well. The chapel was full to overflowing. I counted at least 160 people and more than half were orienteers.

David Goddard, President of YV, gave an excellent eulogy; as did one of Gordon’s mates, a neighbour of the Clarke family, from their days living in Ringwood, and his son. All the stories bore testimony to Gordon’s great life and character. Everyone spoke warmly of Joyce and the great care she took of Gordon.

NEV has made a $100 donation to Cancer Council of Victoria in Gordon’s memory.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

A Message from Sweden

^{By Anders Thulin}

Thanks a lot for your caring about us during our stay in Australia and still via your emails. The dinner we were invited to 3 years ago, together with some of the orienteering club members, meant a lot to us and made us feel very welcome to Australia!  We loved our stay there with lots of very nice and happy memories and since July 2009 we left Eltham for Sweden again because of the job contracts. 

Nowadays we live in Kungalv about 20 minutes north of Gothenburg on the west coast and we are still settling in. Almost every day we talk about our time in Australia. Anyway, if possible I’d love to continue to be on your send list and by that keep some contacts with Victoria and Melbourne.

In November this year we are coming back for a 4 week stay to catch up with all our friends. Maybe I’ll try to do some orienteering as well then. Better later than never…

If you are in Europe some time don’t hesitate to contact us. I’m joining Kungalvs OK here in town and I plan to run the O-ringen in Orebro in July. Maybe we can have some kind of friendship exchange between our clubs in the future!

Best regards from Anders Thulin with family (Mia, Tilda 8 and Agnes 5). Enclosed are some pictures from our very snowy winter with lots of skating and skiing for a change. Say hello to everyone in the club from us!!!

Coxy’s Big Break

The recent filming at the You Yangs with Coxy and the crew from Coxy’s Big Break went well. Thank you to club members Robin Sunderland, Geoff Armstrong, Kevin Maloney and Don Fell for helping out.

The filming took place at the Lower Picnic Ground and around the north-east side of Flinders Peak at the Branding Yards. The local ranger, David Roberts, also did some filming with Coxy at Big Rock and the Turntable.

Other orienteers you may see featured are VOA President, Ian Dodd, Peter Yeates, Kath Copland, Ewen Templeton, Paul Elam, Mike Hubbert, Peter Lada, Peter Edmonds and Mick Mutton.

Rob Edmonds coordinated the undertaking

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition with pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Marion and Bill Johnson

After some 20 years, Marion and Bill have decided to retire from bush orienteering. They intend to continue with the Street series including Wally Cavill’s Tuesdays. It is remarkable how Bill and Marion have continued to go to bush events into their 80’s. Their contribution to the organisation of events and their participation will be sadly missed. Their daughter Erica Johnson continues to look after club equipment and trailer in her garage. Other daughters, Janet and Rachel are also often seen at street events

Phil Giddings

Phil has been putting in a huge effort into his bike riding. He rode the 250 km Bright-Mt Hotham-Omeo-Anglers Rest-Falls Creek-Bright endurance event recently in 14 hours and he will be tackling the Odyssey MTB 100 km Classic in the Otways on Feb 20. Phil won the M50 category of the DuO held at Ballarat on Australia Day. He will be setting the courses for the Victorian MTBO Champs in July on our Muckleford map.

Emus Online

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Victorian Teachers Games Monday 21^st September

The VTG Orienteering was a highly successful event held at Bullumwaal, north of Bairnsdale with 49 entries, including many newcomers. Beautiful weather with a 24^o C day. …. Wish we had that on Sunday. Rob and Helen together with Pam King were flat out with coaching. Helen won the Gold medal and Pam King Silver in the female section. Helen followed up with Silver in the mountain bike Enduro next day. Next year the games go to Bendigo.

Maxi Sunday 13^th September

Another great event and a top day for orienteering on Creswick Diggings. We eventually reached about 100 entries. Ian and Lauris’s courses were well received and provided a great challenge for those trying to complete the whole course and route selection. Peter Mallen and Phil Giddings showed great stamina to complete the course. As usual, the event format suited all standards of orienteering ability and the soup kitchen was a hive of activity. There were a good number of newcomers. Once again Schon, Joyce, Gordon were making sure everyone was well fed. What a great value event!

Emus Online

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Rockhopper Trophy

Nillumbik Emus have moved up into second place after strong showings at the relays and Butterfly Jim. Bendigo has a strong grip on the lead but we should be able to hang onto second placing.

This year the VOA has brought in the claim form for extra Rockhopper points. Our club needs to identify instances when points can be claimed. Completed Claim Forms will be called for after the Victorian Long Distance Championships. Rob Edmonds will be completing the Claim Form. Please let Rob know of any claims that should be made on your behalf. The claim form is attached to this mail out. This matter will be on the agenda at our next committee meeting.

Emus Online

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All teams finished and scored Rockhopper Trophy points. We had a first with Helen, Rachel and Celeste in the D Course. This team were outright winners as well as winning all female team. There were also 2 teams which finished second and 2 teams which finished third in their respective classes.

Emus Online

^{Edited by Robert Edmonds The full edition can be viewed by clicking on the link above.}

Xmas in July: It was a fun and very sociable evening with a great menu and company. Fiona unveiled the new club running top, Helen won the baby photo competition, Janice won the marbles in the jar competition as well as taking home the much sort after squeaking chicken from the present giving and stealing. There were some very surprising presents.

Big thanks to Lauris, Schon and Joyce for working on the preparation and to Ian and Lauris Stirling for hosting the shindig

Emus Online

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First Relay in Victoria since 2004! MTBO Maryborough

There is nothing like the “electricity” of a relay as you wait for your partner and then after the touch, have to solve the navigational problems that this great area presents. Those that made the trip up to Maryborough in October 2004 will remember the greatest relays ever ridden by the Aussies – two Bronze Medals! Well here is your chance!

Be part of history and ride the final leg of the 2004 MTB WOC Relay on Saturday – twice! The 2-person relay that Blake has designed has all the fun of a relay – mass start, short run to the maps, then to the bikes, then the crowd of about 50 (we hope) sets off for the complex terrain just east of the Jack Pascoe Reserve. But there’s more – a “flying SI stick transfer” from leg 1 rider to leg 2 rider. After the 2^nd leg rider completes their leg and do the “AJ finish control sprint”, they hand the SI stick back to their Leg 1 rider who goes out for a second chance for glory!

How many times have you wished you could just have another go? Well this relay will give every rider gets two legs (separated by about 30 minutes to recover, get hydrated, and plan how to do the last legs of the course). And to add interest we will try to combine the 30 crack Kiwi riders – over here for the Australian MTBO Champs (the next weekend in Mt Gambier) – with local Aussie talent so we have an international flavour to the fun event of the year. We hope that the relay format will be improved on and used in 2010.

On Sunday, Phil Giddings has designed 4 great courses with plenty of route choice and a third chance “to get it right” at Mosquito Flat! It should be a hoot – so send your details to Geoff NOW so we can make maps for you for either two days or one – if you can’t make it on Saturday.  Not since the 2004 WOC Relays has Australia had an exciting relay. The terrain is relatively flat, the network is quite detailed and the tracks are fast – so all we need is you to make it a great weekend.

How did the crazy orienteer find her way through the forest?

She followed a psychopath.