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5/30/2017 1 Comment 30MAY17 - Training in Full SteamWell, today was an action packed and eventful lunchtime training session for the 6/7 pedal prix teams. Team A and B were on riding rotations, whilst teams C and D participated in aerobic fitness training activities on the oval. Everyone remembered their PE uniforms, waterbottles and lunch and this ensured that we were hydrated and ready to give our session 100% effort. We had some speedy mechanical repairs just prior to moving over to Ravendale, so that a second car was bought back online after yet another blow out on Monday's session with the Year 8 and 9 students. The road surface at Ravendale is so much more abrasive on the tyres as compared to a regular road surface and the heavy cornering that the vehicles are experiencing is resulting in lots of tread loss from our existing tyres. Mrs Fiegert has sourced some heavy duty training tyres that the mechanical team will fit to the vehicles at their next workshop meeting. We will also start working on incorporating wheel changes during some of our rider change overs, to ensure that the pit crews understand how to use basic tools such as allen keys and spanners. Students were all caught a bit off guard when Malachi Fatchen tipped his vehicle onto its side. This really reinforced for students the purpose of wearing bike helmets and ensuring that the safety harness is fitted well prior to exiting the pit stop. The rear wheel on the pedal prix car has a quick release mechanism to allow for an efficient changeover in around the gear assembly. The quick release lever was knocked and the wheel dislodged resulting in the braking mechanism locking on. Malachi managed the incident well staying calm whilst the pit crew attended to him and the vehicle. Banjo Lawrence jumped in to assist Mrs Ford to secure the wheel back into place and it was an important opportunity to also teach students how a quick release mechanism like this works on a bicycle wheel. Awesome job for all of our other team members engaged in the fitness sessions. More Indian file running around the oval, soccer drills, strength training through situps, planks and burpees and shuttle runs. It was great to hear kids express how proud they were of their achievements; Ari Ralph smashed out 40 situps without a break, Benjamin Doudle completed 6 shuttle runs and Ryan James nailed his soccer agility course. Welcome as well to Jaxon Hart who has been following the blog and as a result experienced a growing interest in joining the team. He emailed Mrs Fiegart and Mrs Ford and bought his permission note back to then secure a spot on the team! He felt really comfortable riding the cars today and likened it to riding his 'Green Machine'. The steering system is almost identical and Jaxon will be a great addition to the pedal prix riding team. Looking forward to next weeks training session!
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Well we are off and running with our 6/7 training today. It was great to see many of our team members well organized by getting changed into their PE uniforms at recess and ready to race. It was a little disappointing that some of the team members didn’t remember to get changed or prepare themselves for physical activity by bringing water bottles. Unfortunately, today they had to stay behind as we really need all of our teams in the appropriate clothing and hydrated for an hour of physical activity. Thinking back to the information that Kylie shared with us she told us that the best drink to prepare for the event was cordial and water. Sports drinks like PowerAde and soft drinks are not the best option as the sugars that they contain are absorbed differently to that included in simple cordial. In todays session we did an Indian file around the oval, sit ups, flexibility work, and learnt a series of leg stretches that will prevent us from becoming sore after our riding sessions. All of the riders are building plenty of confidence negotiating the track. Speeds are all becoming faster and pit change overs are smoother. The current track record for our Ravendale Circuit is held by one of our Year 9 students at 1 minute and 36 seconds. Pit change overs are now down around the 14 - 17 second mark! Great improvements and dedication from the teams.
Today we were lucky enough to have Kylie Kleinig come into the school to share her experiences racing in an enduro style event over a 24 hour period. In June 2016 Kylie was part of a 5 person team who participated in the True Grit 24 hour Enduro in Sydney. The course was an obstacle style army commando course set over an 11 kilometer distance. Kylie had some wonderful insights for us. She talked about her training regime before the event, where her team set a course in Port Lincoln of a similar distance and then trained in the darkness from 12pm to 8am. This gave her team a real insight into how they would manage the darkness, cold and growing fatigue racing over such a long period of time. Kylie began to prepare us for the stress of racing when we would normally be sleeping. She talked about the 'witching hour' somewhere between 1am and sunrise. This is where you will be under the most physical and emotional stress and most likely to suffer from errors of judgement. She reinforced the importance of all of our team members working towards improving their aerobic fitness so that cycling for blocks of 20 minutes does not create unnecessary discomfort. Kylie suggested that we could do this by running, swimming, cycling and working towards an hour of physical activity per day. Kylie also shared the importance taking every opportunity to sleep when a team is not actively involved in racing. Having some of the comforts of home - a favourite pillow and a good quality sleeping bag will help manage some of the issues of racing both through daylight and darkness. On behalf of both the Year 8/9 teams and 6/7 teams we would like to thank Kylie for taking the time to share her experiences and advice with us. We learnt LOTS! You can read more about Kylie's involvement in the True Grit event below.
One of the main roles in the Navigator College Pedal Prix Team is the vehicle driver. The person allocated to this role rotates with other team members. In the first couple of weeks of our lunch time training, we have just developed our familiarity with the controls in the vehicle. Each vehicle is geared and has dual handle breaks. For some us the pedals are quite a distance and at the moment all we are doing to accommodate the different leg lengths is to add pillows behind the riders back. We would like to share with you some of the perspectives of our riders. Malachi Fatchen shared his experience, "In Pedal Prix I take part in riding. The thing I like most about Pedal Prix is moving around in different ways in the car. It is so fun." Malachi went on the say, " At this stage I'm still thinking of competing hopefully, because I enjoy I so much. It's great to be out there with friends."
Another of our team riders is Year 6 student Braden Windsor. We have asked Braden to share some of his thoughts, "In Pedal Prix my role is a driver. I also am involved in the pit crew and giving support on the side line. The thing I like most about Pedal Prix is training in the cars. It's a friendly environment and we all get along, so it really is just so fun. " After being involved for the first few weeks of training Braden also reported that he is really keen to stay involved in Pedal Prix right through to the race in Murray Bridge. |
AuthorThe creative content of this blog has been developed by students and staff of Navigator College who are involved in the 2017 Pedal Prix team. New contributors and guest contributors are welcome to submit possible news worthy items to our media team for consideration. Email [email protected] with your photos, videos or story ideas. Archives
September 2017
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