saturday 13th september - cresswell & herdsman

ride report by peter

UPDATE - apparently chris has an oblique fracture of his collar-bone from the fall.

only the hardcore were out this morning. the wind and storms overnight had scared the rest of the riders off and we were well down from the 60 starters from last week. a core group of around 20 made up of mostly old-timers were the only ones to brave the spring storms. however, once the clock struck seven, there were blue skies on three sides with the hint of a rain shower saved up for later.

our route today would take us to cresswell hill next to the yokine golf course, an old favourite from back when simon used to run the show. we would then make our way to a lap of herdsman “lake” before heading across to claremont for the run home through dalkeith and mounts bay road.

the run out was pretty uneventful. chris made the smart decision to get on the front early as we were heading out with a tailwind. we knew this would change as soon as our route turned further north, so he took advantage of it. ryan was still unpacking his car as we left, so we made him play catch-up.

as we turned off the woodrow ave and onto cresswell, the hill looms in front of you as the road is dead straight and you can see to the top. some of the guys had not done this road before as it has been quite a while since we have tackled it. with a race on tomorrow, i was not going to stress my legs out too much and let some of the other guys smash themselves to get tot eh top first.

with such a small group, the regroup point was a bus-stop where we could wait off the side of the road. a little jaunt along royal and main st brought us out onto powis and under the freeway so we could start our next sprint section around the so called lake.

the pace was not initially high and no-one was really keen to step on it, especially with the wind coming across the open expanse of the marsh lands. once someone finally did hit out, the group started to split and i had to bridge across with stu to join back up with the front runners. to his credit (and i will take a repayment later in this blog) ryan seemed to be on the front for most of the time as we took our three quarter lap of the lake.

towards the end, ryan and judd made a move and no-one reacted so they got a gap. i jumped out from the back of the pack and tried to catch up but only really made it about halfway there. we started approaching the turn so i backed off and the chasing group started to make some ground on me.

as i followed ryan and judd through the right hand turn of the round-about, i head a crunch behind me and looked around in time to see chris and james doing a synchronized slide along the road. although it was not raining as we were riding, the previous showers had made the round-about quite slick and they both hit the deck. james bounced straight back up but chris sat on the road for a bit longer, before we had to move him to let the traffic through. both had some scrapes down one side and chris had hit his head hard enough to crack the helmet. well that is what it is for. better that cracking your skull. so the two guys that are both about to become first time daddy’s and both who shouldn’t be allowed out with due dates so close (james tomorrow) were the guys that hit the deck. since i am still on chris’ old bike, i didn’t have the video camera going and missed the perfect shot of these guys coming down. bugger.

after a bit of a rest and check that both man and machine were functioning properly, we headed off again. as we headed south down selby, the rain started up and gave us all a bit of a drenching. nothing too bad though and we soldiered on.

the final run through dalkieth was, as always, a bit disjointed with no-one sure who was going to work and guys getting left on the front then guys smashing off the front. so pretty much the usual. i was content to sit at the back and leap forward to fill any gaps that opened up. as we came towards the final rolling hills i saw jens come flashing past. i thought he was making his decisive move, but in reality he was watching ryan and saw that he was going now. judd was next to me and being new to the group was asking about the etiquette on our run through dalkeith. i told him that if you are really lucky you can get through all the lights and make it to the end unscathed. he didn’t think that anyone could be that lucky. basically the majority of the group were back together once we hit mounts bay road.

so, ryan was on the front at the lights and we were giving him crap about clipping in properly so he can’t just drift to the back and get a good lead-out. it did no good and to his debit (pay back from earlier) he stuffed around and slow timed to make sure he was not doing any work on the front.

jens had taken advantage of the situation and had scampered up the road for a solo bid at victory. 3 kms is a long way by yourself, even with a tailwind, so we just let him go for a while. he did pretty good and it took a while to pull him back. the group lined out quickly and barista boy dave was pushing hise massive frame along to give us all such a good draft behind. as he began to fade, i yelled at the guys in front to roll through. by the time i reached the front, three riders later, no-one else was coming through.

well if i was going to do the work, it was not going to be for someone else. i ticked it up a few gears and sprinted off, way, way too early. i picked up jens and powered past trying to cancellara it to the end. a quick look back and i had a good gap, but the finish line was still around the next corner and i was fading fast. a flash past and ryan had time trialed off the front and was now gapping me with ease. i sat up and slowly the other riders were trying to individually chase ryan down but to no avail. he was gone.

no coffee stop for me as i was looking forward to a day of building a play bench (like a work bench but for a two year old) in ben’s room for all his imaginative play toys. it took all day but finally got it finished. with two south perth rouleurs teams in tomorrows cyclo-sportif event, it should be a good outing.

saturday 6th september - hale rd (reverse)

UPDATED with final sprint below

ride report by peter.

wow, what a surprise when i turned up this morning. there would have to be at least 60 people wanting to ride today. as usual this meant that we would be having issues with the group getting caught at lights, but you can’t have everything going your own way. we had an extra ten or so riders from the squadra barista joining us today. a couple are fairly regular, but this time a whole bunch more decided to come and play. actually, from what was written on their google group site, they were coming to “smash us”. we would see how that would go.

there was some talk of splitting into two groups from amongst the pack. i am all for that and can even map two routes that take in extra kms for the fast group, but we still need someone to step up and want to lead the second group. also, who determines which riders ride in the first group and which ones ride in the second group. this has always been our problem and we don’t really seem any closer to a solution.

so, i was on the time-trial bike this morning as my regular roadie was visiting aldo the carbon specialist in perth. the seatpost has fused to the frame and is not going anywhere. i took it back to riders choice to get them to have a go at fixing it as it is where i bought it from (i don’t get everything off the net), but they said they would probably take it to aldo at quantum cycles anyway. so, not ideal for group riding, but at least this bike kept me on the road.

we were heading out to guilford and kalamunda road to return via hale road, welshpool and shepperton road. it would be fairly sedate for the majority of the ride but we would light it up on the way back through welshpool.

as previously stated, we did get split at the lights lots of times and had to slow the group down a lot to make sure everyone was on board. i was playing sheep dog again with many trips from the front to the back but this time i had to sprint along in the other lane to get to the front before a car came along. everything went along fine, though i didn’t really get much of an opportunity to chat with anyone much at all.

once we turned south onto hawtin rd from kalamunda road, stu and judd both continued up kalamunda hill for some extra training. the trip down hawtin/hale was pretty good. some of the faster boys had moved to the front and the pace picked up a bit but not too extreme that we were dropping anyone.

we turned onto welshpool and barista boy nick and i were on the front. the wind was now on our backs and we were starting to line up for home. as we turned onto welshpool proper, and onto the first sprint section of the day, nick decided that his lack of form lately was not going to be much good at the front and slipped back. i thought that i would try to take advantage of the time trial bike and got down on the bars and started to smash myself for as long as i could.

we were hovering around the 50km/hr mark and started to string the group out. i pushed on as long as i could before someone finally came around me so i backed off. as soon as i stopped pushing, my body realised how much it had done and began to shut down on me. i slipped back through the pack who continued hard up the road. as the last rider came past i accelerated to try to get on the final wheel, but could not hold on. i was pretty much to the point where i wanted to spew, but managed to hold it down.

i looked back and saw the remnants of the pack once it had split. i was pretty much caught in between in no-mans land and was still trying to get my breath back. we managed to sneak through the lights at leach hwy and i was beginning to make up a bit of ground. i was hoping that the lights at shep rd would be my saviour, but they turned out to split the pack again, as only half the front group got through. i caught up as did the remaining split.

we had a big job ahead of us if we were going to catch them, but i was sure that they were going to be going damn hard in front of us. we tried and rolled through a few times, but eventually got caught by the lights near the causeway and pretty much destroyed any hope of catching them.

we now had our own sprint to worry about and i decided that i was going to see if i could time-trial it along riverside drive. i kept the pace high to make it hard for anyone to sprint off the front and managed to stay at the front. as we approached the “finish line” i saw a shadow start to come around. i clicked it up the last few gears and looked across to who it was. i gave paul a bit of sarcastic encouragement, but then pushed hard to make sure he couldn’t come around my wheel at the end.

so, if anyone in the front group want to e-mail me what happened at the end, i will append it to this post.

UPDATE

finale by heiko

After we split the group at one of the lights towards the final sprint Ryan tried to get a gap between the group and himself by pulling up the short hill at the Mercedes car dealer. I tried to jump on his wheel with a few riders behind me as well who took the burden of chasing down Ryan off me for the last few meters. We had to slow down at the lights after the descend in Victoria Park. So that move didn’t really work out all that well for him.

The group picked up speed again and it started to get really fast booking it along the Causeway and the turn off to Riverside Drive. I was trying to be not too far back in the group, but also not too far at the front as my sprinting capabilities aren't too well just yet. As everyone prepared for another sprint and I was thinking about playing the Fabian Cancellara card, Chris came storming past me, obviously with the same thought. Nevertheless his break-away trial wasn’t successful as Ryan overtook him with a few people behind himself. After passing Chris at the end of the bunch behind sprinting Ryan the speed picked up even more, or it might just felt like that for my legs.

They were up and away, battling themselves for the win at the front. I rolled in somewhere between the middle and end of the front group, I reckon that also somehow qualifies for the term no-mans land. So it is kind of blogging from behind, again.

Apfel-Zimt Muffin und eine heisse Schokolade (apple cinnamon muffin and a hot chocolate) at the coffee shop finished that ride.

saturday 23rd august - ridgehill rd

ride report by peter

another fine winters day was predicted today. not a cloud to be seen and heading for a top of 20 meant that there would be a freezing start to the day. the official temp said sub 4 degrees as i exited the nice warm house and i had lots of layers on as protection. i was a bit concerned as i approached the car park this morning as i thought another group must have been setting up as well. there were stacks of people all huddled together, but, on closer inspection, it looked like they were all riding with us. a quick estimate put the group at about 60 riders. a massive turn out for a winters day.

the route today also didn’t seem to scare people off. we were heading out to ridgehill rd at the base of the zig-zag in kalamunda before a return trip via guilford rd with (hopefully) a tailwind. we got off to a rough start as is usually the case with a group this big, and split at the first set of lights just near the carpark. we split again at the turn onto canning hwy (my fault for not seeing the lights change), and again further up great eastern hwy. we generally had to take it easy until we got out of the city to ensure the group stayed together.

i cruised up and down the pack a bit to make sure it was all going well and to get an idea of who was present today. mainly for two reasons. firstly, who was going to make my life hard on the climbs and secondly who i needed to keep an eye on when the pace picked up and they may not be able to cope too well.

i moved to the front again as we came through the back of rosehill golf course where there is a small roundabout that always causes navigation problems. it is a funny intersection and it is easy to take the wrong road so i moved up with mike to ensure we went the right way. unfortunately this meant that we stayed on the front for the next seven kms until the base of the main climb. as ryan had been hiding neatly in the pack, i was a bit worried how much pain he would cause me today.

as we turned the corner and started the climb, i looked back at the group and saw ryan, obvious in his bright red knicks, sitting way back with about 50 riders in front of him. great i thought, as the pack spreads out, it will be harder for him to get up the front. mike and i pushed ahead but not at a strong pace as most of the group was still sitting on our wheel. i then heard a yell from chris, i think, that a rider was coming up fast. sure enough ryan came barreling up the hill with hamish (barista boy) and hunter straight to the front.

we stepped up but were still pretty much all together at the first step in the hill. as it kicked up again, i came around ryan and stepped on the gas. everyone jumped to get on, but we pretty much made a break of three with ryan and hamish gapping the rest of them. a redline induced easing off meant that jerry, mike and hunter moved back onto our wheel as we approached the last pinch. mike made one last moved and split our group up again as we dragged ourselves up to the base of the zig-zag.

i stopped here to chase the last rider along as the rest of the group headed down the hill to the regroup point just before kalamunda rd. three of the docs were leaving us at that point as they were going to climb the zig-zag instead, so i bid them adieu. i chased lisa down the hill and gave her a draft back onto the group as they waited for starters orders. we had a bit of trouble getting back onto kalamunda rd but had regrouped by the time we hit roe hwy, less than a km away. it was important that we stuck together along this next stretch as it was back down to single lane and got a bit twisty.

finally back to guilford rd and across the bridge into bassenden signaled the beginning of the end. double lane all the way back to the coffee shop and the pace was on. i had drifted back at the lights to inform everyone that it was fast pace for the rest of the ride and now sat comfortably on last wheel. had a bit of a chat to hunter especially about the forks on his cervelo and whether he was going to replace them. we have quite a few cervelos in the group, so it was a hot topic on today’s ride.

the pace was quick, but no overly so as the group was slowed a few times by traffic lights. unfortunately, the set at tonkin hwy, changed a little to quickly and a group of around 6 of us got left behind. bugger. on the change we were off in pursuit but it would not be easy as just ahead the rolling hills of maylands started to split the group proper. we kind of rolled through on the flats, but as soon as the hill started, it was every man for himself and mike and i powered away with hunter. the group was a long way ahead and it was beginning to leave riders behind, like breadcrumbs as a trail for us to follow.

after a few hard turns and a couple of roll throughs, we saw them stuck up ahead at the lights and managed to catch them at the change. another set of lights at the east parade turn meant that most of the group would be together all the way to the end. we usually try to thin the ranks out a bit before the coffee shop as it gets quite congested, but today was going to be full.

no real attacks on the last hill near the police station in east perth and it wouldn’t have mattered as we hit the lights again and again before we got to riverside drive for the final sprint. i was sitting in on jens’ wheel and thought that he would give me a good lead out, but things started getting messy. chris was egging me on from behind and so i took off with way, way too far to go. i moved up around the aussie crates boys and came teo the front for a final effort. when my legs finally gave out there was still a couple of hundred metres to go and so boys started their sprint in earnest. all i saw was brendan and ryan heading up the road with a group in tow only to get stopped by the final set of lights. how very appropriate.

so a brew was on the cards and it was very crowded today as the bikeforce guys were still in attendance when we arrived. service was as expected with such a large group and we are still making moves to change coffee shops.

saturday 16th august - river ride

So, Pete asked me if I'd look after the flock as he was away racing. Wasn't really sure but
since impending doom (aka fatherhood) had already meant I was missing the Collie -
Donnybrook I figured what the hell.

Another beautiful if a little cool start to the day meant a reasonable turnout.Nice to see the Barista boys joining us, meaning a little added heat to the ride, particularly with the absence of the young Mr Fynn.

So pleasantries over and done with we headed off on the intended route, a lap of the river with the added bonus of a trip via mosman park. A little more challenging than the usual trip down the coast.

A nice quick start with the headwind, along by Kings Park I asked James how quick we were going and 38km/h was the response. Whoops! It seems this early pace was hurting a couple of our less strong riders. The roadworks behind UWA meant a little rest at the temporary lights. Soon however young Lisa was suffering and without Ryan to offer his special kind of assistance Lisa was happy for us to leave her and with the group not waiting up I chased to get back on. Mr DH this morning met us at the end of our run through Dalkieth, nice Range Rover mate perhaps in your next life you'll develop some patience. At least it was over and done with early in the ride.

So a brief regroup along the highway before we turned back along the river and since I hate the nasty climb behind the bowls club I hit the front in order to minimise my losses. The carnage after this climb was pretty bad with riders spread all down the road. A brief regroup at the water tower and off we headed towards Freo.

So at about this point I started thinking about the sprint along the Attadale foreshore. With no Ryan I figured I had a fair chance however Poulidor having joined the group was conspicuase by his absence. Jerard had been doing a Ryan and hiding down the back of the bunch.

Anyway we hit Freo and headed for Pt Walter at a steady pace pushing back into the breeze. I was happy to have done my share earlier and save my legs a little.

Things got split up pretty quickly along Attadale and the pace at the front was being maintained by a few of the suicidal gang. Six or eight or so were swapping off turns, I hung back at about 8th wheel looking to hit things hard with a couple of hundred metres to go. Things worked out ok and I managed to gap the bunch and stay away.

Another quick regroup but we had dropped a few by a fair margin, the usual end of ride mania meant we weren't waiting for them. We kept rolling back up the Canning Hwy headed for coffee and breakfast and the pace was held at a consistent effort. Interestingly there were a couple of breaks off the front but with the head wind these guys were just testing themselves. The group was well together once we hit the Causeway and things started heating up. I was again hoping to get amongst it in the coffee sprint and new that this time Poulidor would not be hiding. It seems our banter from earlier meant that he was also watching me. We were both smart enough to avoid the front and with the Barista boys helping to keep the pace up this was easily done.

With a couple of hundred to go Jerard launched, I was caught behind a couple of wheels and had to wind things up a little too late to catch him. I was happy that I was able to close the gap if not catch him. So a good solid ride for me playing the sheep dog role and getting amongst it for the first time in a while. Happy to be feeling good again on the bike and use my brain to focus on and achieve some positive outcomes.

Good to see Mr Bonner out with us after his hiatus, if only we could all have two trips to europe per annum. And who was the young fella with toe clips? Props to you young man.

Coffee was fine, I have to recommend the bacon and eggs on toast, don't know why more people don't have a feed after the ride.

A bit of the usual bike talk after the ride but mainly James and I were tied up discussing the impending end of our cycling lives due to rapidly approaching fatherhood for us both.

Finally something to ponder; Did Jerard order his Cervelo S3, will he go for the Super Record? If so what wheels will he get to go on the new steed? For all this and more turn up next week and ask him yourself.

saturday 9th august - sth lake

ride report by peter

so a good turn out this morning with over thirty riders ready to go. i was running a bit late so turned up to find a sea of green awaiting departure instructions. it is good to see and makes me feel good about this group. there are still quite a few riders without out new kit as we have picked up a few more since we did the initial order. hopefully we can get them all kitted out at the end of the year.

anyway, it was a crisp morning and even though the official temp said around 8 degrees, the wind made it feel much colder. when you were standing still (like at the lights) it hardly felt like any wind at all. however, once you were moving, it felt like it was a headwind. the official website said that it was 13 km/h easterlies, but gusting to above 30km/h. we must have had the gusts all morning.

with the cooler mornings i used to just put a wind jacket on. with the new kit i now don’t want to cover it up and have started experimenting. this morning i had on two jerseys and it worked a treat. brendan rocked up in his aussie crates sponsored kit and they provided him with a fully sponsored wind jacket too. it might be something that we look at in the next order.

the course today was one that we experimented with about a month and a half ago. it went down canning rd and onto nth lake rd all the way to berrigan drive. last time we crossed the freeway on armadale rd and it was very busy and not a very wide road. after that we would head home via nicholson rd and albany hwy.

i introduced heiko, our german vacation student, to the rest of the group and talked him up so everyone thinks he is a young jens voigt.

the roll out was pleasant enough. nice easy pace all the way down canning hwy. i was playing sheep-dog again and would roam from the front to the back occasionally to bark and sniff butts and nip at heels or whatever it is that sheep dogs do. we turned down nth lake rd and kept a very easy pace. i managed to find myself on the front again so that we could turn at the right spot. this time we were turning early onto berrigan drive and it was a corner that could creep up on you.

as we turned to cross over the freeway, the wind was fair howling into our faces. when we stopped at a set of lights, it seemed to be hardly a breeze at all. a very confusing and strength sapping day. we turned again and i began to doubt we were on the right road. the map had said turn right onto mason rd but the street sign said we had just turned onto jandakot rd. i had checked the satellite view earlier and i knew that we turned at the roundabout next to the shops and we seemed to be heading the right way. it was going to be a wait and see.

a bunch of guys all did turns on the front to ease the load in the wind, and pretty soon we came to the end of the road and turned onto warton rd. we were on the right road after all, just google maps had named it wrong.

the wind had not abated and we were now coping it as a head cross, which makes it harder to hide from. a few kilometres more and we turned onto nicholson, but the road hadn’t become double lane yet. this meant that we had to stay close to the edge and couldn’t hide offset from the rider in front to avoid the wind. i dropped back to find a number of riders struggling to hold on and a few of us drafted them back to the group.

we managed to catch up just as the group was about to be released by the traffic lights near livingston marketplace (home of livingston optical, for all your optical needs). this marked the start of the sprint section and i was trying to keep the group together before that point.

as the fast boys took off, nick came back through the group sporting a flat rear tyre. carl had commented to me earlier that both nick and himself had forgotten to bring any spares today. fate was teaching nick a lesson. i started slowing down but was in two minds as the group was racing up the road. they were too far gone to pull back now, but i needed to make sure that the didn’t take the wrong turn. luckily i saw chris dropping back to help him, so i pushed on ahead.

i was now stuck in no-mans land. the main group was up the road and around me riders were struggling to fight into the wind. i helped bec get back onto carls wheel and moved on up the road. there was a small group of about 3 or 4 riders off the back of the main group and i managed to bridge across to them. i came around the front to do a turn and pretty soon it was only rod and myself left from that group. we swapped off turns a few times, but could not make any ground on the main bunch.

we picked up a few more riders as we came closer to the finishing roundabout, but then the front guys anti-navigational skills saved us again. not sure who was leading, but nicholson road actually turns to the left at the roundabout and the guys kept going straight. the rest of us turned the corner and we could see them looking back to see which way we were going, before back-tracking themselves.

once they caught up to us, i had to really settle the group down to make sure some of the back-markers managed to rejoin the group. the field was spread pretty thin due to the wind and i know we lost quite a few. unfortunate route selection on my behalf today and we would have been better off doing benara rd instead. oh, well. whatever doesn’t kill you will make you... weak as a baby crying for your mamma. and later hopefully make you stronger.

as we cruised along the remainder of nicholson road, we didn’t actually see that many more riders coming up the road. not sure what happened, but sorry if you didn’t make it back on. we kept the pace to a minimum and i though about stopping, but by then we were on albany hwy going past the carousel shopping centre where there were cars everywhere and not much room for us to pull over. we pushed on ahead, but i made sure the pace wasn’t too high.

when we hit the albany hwy shep rd intersection it was all on to the end. dr melvyn made one of his trademark attacks from too far out and a bunch of people made their intentions clear, by taking off as well. the next set of traffic lights paid heed to their early move.

i was content to sit in a while and wait for the last hill before launching, so that if i made it, i could recover on the descent. a further surge went and everyone was moving around a lot, trying to be near the front. as we had swung around, we now had a tailwind into the finish and the guys were not as reluctant to be on the front.

just as we crossed an intersection where the lights were changing, i attacked and managed to get a bit of a gap. ben had sat on my wheel and was holding fast as we approached the next set of lights. everyone may have eased up a bit thinking that the lights would hold me up, but luckily they changed quickly so i took off again. i managed to get over the last hill in front, but now had ryan and brendon baring down on me. i recovered on the descent, but they kept pushing on and started pulling away. the traffic lights meant that we were soon back together as one group, although some of the guys slid up the side of the cars which is a no, no.

as we crossed the causeway, it seemed that brendan was doing most of the work and no-one was coming around to help. ryan had resumed his position a little way back to avoid the wind and get ready for the sprint while jerry assumed his normal position on ryan’s wheel. as we turned onto riverside drive, john took off like a shot. “too early” i cried out to the group as there is still over 2 kms to go before the finish. some of the guys didn’t listen and headed up the road only to be overtaken with john less than halfway down the drive. ryan eventually went and took jerry with him. i tried to latch on, but the earlier effort had sapped me and my quads didn’t like what i was doing to them. i had to let them go and roll into the coffee shop a broken rider.

ryan took out line honours, with jerry bridesmaid again. i wasn’t stopping for coffee, so am unsure how the backmarkers faired on the way home. heiko, held his own well today and showed some glimpses of jens voigt with some strong riding. i think he will do ok.

i was off to take the young lad out on the bike and managed to make it up mounts street with him on board, but was a quivering mess by the time i reached the top. next week the collie-donnybrook race is on the saturday, so i will miss the morning ride, but will try to give you a good course with a tailwind the whole way around.

saturday 26th july - hale rd

ride report by peter.

as i stumbled around the house this morning, trying not to wake anyone up, it did not occur to me to take a look outside. i had listened to the cars drive past and had not heard that tell-tale swish they make when the roads are dramatically wet. i had checked the internet and saw that the radar was clear. to me, that meant it would be nice weather for a ride. what a shock i received when i stepped out side. hmmm. thick, pea-soup like fog had engulfed the city and visibility was down to less than 100 metres.

i made sure my flashing lights were on and set off into the gloom, praying that drivers would be able to see a lone rider. with the city not visible from our side of the river, we huddled together and waited for the start time. about 30 or so were brave enough to face the day with us, so we headed out to tackle the day.

today’s route was a very simple one that contained very few turns at intersections. basically it was a big square that went out shep and welshpool rd, up hale rd along kalamunda rd and then home via guilford rd. for safety reasons, due to the fog we would only have one hard section and that would be the run into town from bassendean.

the run out along shep rd was a bit disjointed as the group was big enough to get caught and split at the lights. even when we turned from welshpool onto orong rd, we lost a few more. it was a fairly sedate pace and the guys on the back made there way back to the fold.

hale rd was also going to be an easy run as i wanted the group to stay together on the tighter roads. the fog had lifted in forrestfield and the temperature had dropped accordingly. ryan started coming up on the outside and looked like he was going to try to smash the group up a bit. i told him that we were not going hard along here but he was welcome to do some work on the front. he moved to the front and started setting the pace. he was going particularly hard, but he went through four or so other riders before i ended up at the front.

i found the trick with ryan is not to try to race him. if he goes faster, let him half wheel you until he realises and slows down a bit. if you try to match his pace, he will step up again and the will continue until you are suddenly doing 40km/h. it is better to keep the same pace. this happened a few times on this stretch of road until he got bored of it and started stepping the pace up. i kept the same pace and slowly slipped to the back of the pack, while ryan’s antics meant that the group was now lined out in a single file.

it wasn’t long till we turned onto kalamunda rd and we rode a sedate pace all the way to guilford. looking up ahead, it was clear that the fog had only cleared close to the foothills and we were heading back into it again. the group was all together as we crossed the bridge in guilford and the road widened out to double lane. at the lights in bassendean, i rolled back to the front and let everyone know that we would now be giving it some shtick all the way home. i let a bunch of them pass me as i was definitely not taking off from here as it was just under 15 kms to the coffee shop. the pace picked up and a few of the boys started off hard. the group started splitting and surging to try to stay together. we didn’t get very far though as about eight or so riders got through the lights at bassendean station while the rest of us had a bit of a break.

i announced that we would be rolling through so that we could try to catch up. we had the majority of the group so should have the upper hand. it started off fairly well and most people fell into line quickly. pretty soon we were scooting along at over 40km/h and were reeling the other group back in. i dropped back and helped a couple of struggling riders keep in contact with the pack. one of them was lorraine who was out on her first ride with us since breaking her wrist many weeks earlier. the pace and lack of training were taking their toll.

the group ahead got caught at the lights and allowed us to catch up. what i didn’t initially know was that a few riders got though and were further up the road. the fog had gotten very thick again, so it was hard to gauge how far ahead they were. i rolled to the front of the group to set the pace once the lights changed. we started rolling through again and picked up jerry and mark who had escaped the traffic lights. up ahead there were two riders disappearing into the fog.

we hit the first of the rolling hills and i upped the pace. i had a gap to the others so decided to take advantage of it. i slapped it into the big ring while still going up hill and put the hammer down. i built a nice gap to the pack and assumed that i was gaining on the break guys. assuming, because i still couldn’t see them. it was hurting but i thought i could hold this pace for a while. unfortunately the traffic lights soon caught me out and i came to a stop. the rest of the pack then caught me.

the rest did not do me well and my legs went lactic very quickly. the boys took off hard from the next set of lights and i just couldn’t follow. i jumped on the back of the next small pack to pass me by and held on for dear life. we got the lights again. now there was a substantial group up the road and no real chance that we could catch them. we worked together for a while but had pretty much resigned ourselves that we wouldn’t catch anyone. we didn’t.

we set up our own sprint for the end and i pushed hard on riverside drive to come around jerry and mark. mark jumped on my wheel and started to sprint to the line. i didn’t bother standing up and let him take it after trying to hold him off from the seated position.

as for the actual final sprint, ryan or one of the other guys can add to this post later.

coffee shop. now there had been some issues with the coffee shop and there are a few things we need to look into. service has been slow, it is cold in winter, we get diesel fumes form the boats and apparently the coffee is not that good (i don’t drink it so i don’t know). also, mickey’s group are usually there before us which can make it a bit squeezy.

however, in it’s favour is the central position and fact that we can sprint from both directions. but since we have moved on with our group, maybe we should look at a new finishing spot. somewhere in south perth has been suggested as we are a south perth group. i can adjust routes and give us new sprint lines, but what we need is somewhere that can cater for us and our bikes. have a think about it and add some comments to this post to let me know your thoughts.

saturday 19th july - special launch breakfast

what seemed like the shortest sleep i have ever had came to an end this morning at a smidgen before the alarm went off. the late nights of tour watching are starting to take their toll and last night also involved getting the house ready for the launch breakfast. this event was to mark the official beginning of our new group. we have been riding together for sometime, but the new kit now seals the deal as far as who we are. half of the kit had been distributed last week, but there were still quite a few that had not collected. it will look awesome when the majority of our riders are all matching.

a handful of riders were meeting at my place this morning as they were going to drive to and from the start. with the group ride finishing at my place for a change, i had a few friends to roll to the start with. the predicted overnight temp was dismissed as a bad prediction as it dropped to 3 ½ deg by the time we were underway.

quite a good turn out this morning, but as i had asked for rsvp’s, i kind of knew how many we would see. there were a few old faces making a return as well as some that had not pushed a pedal in anger for a while. on top of that, some new-ish faces were to be seen. the route would be an adjusted variation of a typical bannister rd sprint, but changed so that we finish at my place instead of the city. a easy roll down canning, along stock rd, up south st, sprint bannister, regroup on nicholson, swing onto albany, before detouring along manning and kent. with the only fast point being bannister rd, i was hoping that it would all stay together.

huddling together like penguins in the cold, the groups numbers swelled as the clock struck 7 and we were off. typically, ryan was still nowhere to be seen so we were hoping for a nice easy sprint along bannister. like some sort of permanently slow clock, ryan turned up like clockwork, just as we were leaving. as he lives around the corner, he can afford that extra bit of sleep-in. however, he is moving soon, so he better get his crap together when that happens.

we rolled down coode st and onto canning hwy. the pace was nice and easy and remained that way until we hit the first main hill coming towards melville. the riders found their own pace and soon the pack thinned out dramatically. i had already dropped back and was working my way through the debris of riders going backwards. i gave shazza a bit of a push, but she said to leave her as she would turn around and take a short-cut up risely. once we hit the top, the group had pulled over into a bus bay and was waiting for regroup. its good to see the group looking after itself.

stock rd was full of rolling hills and the group did it’s best to stay together. i was playing sheep-dog today and was trying to round up any strays from the back of the herd. dr greg was struggling big time and a rode with him a bit before he told me to go on ahead.

we turned onto south st and the rolling hills continued. lisa, bec and dave fell off the back and i was a bit unsure on my course of action. drafting wouldn’t have helped that much as the hills was the killer, rather than the wind. i ended up pushing lisa back to the group and letting the other two fall further behind. once we had been reattached to the back of the field and slowed again and waited for dave and bec. by now the road flattened out a bit and they could neatly fall in behind to get a draft back. we chased for a while and managed to get back on before we turned off onto bannister.

this was the designated fast section of the ride, and i could tell some of the boys were itching to go. chris lined up to go just as the lights changed to red so he sat back down again, his intentions known to all. he didn’t care though and as soon as the lights changed back, he was off up the road. a small group was on his wheel, but in true rouleurs style, no-one came around to help. i got down into time trial position and dragged the rest of the group up to an around the struggling form of chris. eventually i was overrun by riders and fell into step about halfway along the group. ryan had taken off and split the front of the pack up and gaps were starting to form.

it was beginning to look rather ugly, but then the saviour of the backmarker appeared in the form of a very, very big truck. well, the truck wasn’t that big, but the load it was carrying was massive. it was a steel truss for a bridge or building or something very large and it covered the two lanes we were in, the medium strip, the two opposite lanes and was still in the driveway. the driver was trying to negotiate the corner without brining down a light pole when he turned. as get smart would say, “he missed it by that much”. it was close. we debated turning around and heading back up another road, but then some bright spark remembered that we were on bicycles and we bypassed it via the footpath.

after that, i assumed wrongly that the group would just stay together as there was not much of bannister rd left. like a shot they were off and people were scrambling to get on board. i looked back and saw dr wally trying to help lisa and bec, back to the group. chris and i jumped on in front of them and started trying to pull the gap down.

with a favourable wind, we were not doing it too hard, but at the same time, we were not making up any ground. the group stayed that couple of hundred metres in front of us before we hit albany hwy. here we started to get the lights and this widened the gap and i thought we would have no hope of catching them.

a stroke of luck for us had out hope raised when it was obvious that half the group had missed the turn to manning rd. they went past but realized their mistake so came back through hamilton st. i thought we would cut them off, but they got a good set of lights and stayed in front of us. we were now split into three groups, but as the middle one contained all fast (but navigationally inept) boys, they quickly made up ground to the people who can read a basic map.

our group, unfortunately caught the set of lights at leach hwy. when they changed, we took off after the group kind of knowing that we probably would stand a chance of catching them. bec told chris and i to go on ahead, but i didn’t want to leave them on manning rd in too smaller a group. the undulations took their toll on our chase and soon we had broken down from a tight drafting pack. i got bec onto chris’ wheel then fell back to grab lisa. dr wally jumped across to chris as well and i dragged lisa across the final few rollers.

surprise, surprise, when we approached lawson st lights, the pack was waiting to turn right and was caught in the turning lane. we blasted past them asing what were they turning there for. they were quite a bit early and the super map reading skills said that any old road would do.

the main pack split apart and chased us down to be all together by the time we were at the correct turn up kent st. this would be the final run for the day, as we were turning up back streets to get to my place after this. i was not sure if people would know were to sprint too as we had not past by here before. it didn’t matter really, as they just needed an excuse to stretch the legs. ryan and co stepped it up and i managed to move forward a bit but stayed mid-pack till the turn. not sure of the final result as i was more concerned about getting the group to the breakfast on time and in one piece.

we rolled into the garage and there were already a couple of bikes parked inside. it turned out that sharon had found her way along south st and was waiting for us to catch up with her. dr greg eventually did catch her and told her that the pack was long gone. they took a shortcut and made it to breakfast before us.

with all the bikes packed into the garage for safe keeping, we ambled in to find a remarkable spread of food already set out and waiting for us. lorraine had catered well and people were eating the drinking in no time. the outside table was left bare as the heater was cranking inside and everyone was huddled around it. luckily it had not rained this morning so we weren’t too filthy by the time we turned up.

once we were fed and watered, i handed out the remaining cycle kits to those that needed it. we then raffled off a few of the prizes that lorraine had managed to aquire for the group. dannika, one of the girls that davina has been training, won a subscription as did anthony and paul. the “major” prize of a pair of euro optics sunglasses with four lenses, went to michael. the raffle was drawn by my ben so that it was obvious that no favorites were to be had. thanks to euro optics, ride media and bicycling australia for their contributions.

those that then wanted to, could have their bike weighed as we had james’ swish weigh scales. some people were not happy with their results, but i have been assured that these scales are more accurate than the cheaper bike weigh style. i will update the results on the blog soon.

so a very successful day today, with our inaugural social occasion being received well by all. even kate said that we should do it again, but probably when the weather gets a bit nicer.

saturday 12th july - freo & cott

ride report by peter

a couple of overnight showers may have scared some of the riders off today as there was only a handful waiting once i turned up. the clock struck 7 and people were still only dribbling in. our new cycle kit had turned up during the week and i had spent a few nights labeling and bagging peoples orders to help with the distribution. i had my new kit on and kate was bringing the rest of the orders to the coffee shop after the ride.

so, with a smaller than usual group, we headed out for a basic lap of the river. down canning hwy and into attadale before coming round pt walter and into freo. back up through cottesloe and home through the usual run along dalkeith. nice and easy.

as you may have read, a few of our regular doctors are overseas after completing the l’etape du tour which followed the route along stage 10 of this years tour. looks like it was a bloody hard day regardless of whether you stayed upright or not. worth a read if you have a spare ½ hour. with a few others off crook or away, it was hard to know who would be setting the pace when we hit a fast section. well ryan had eventually turned up, so we were all sure it would be him.

a nice easy cruise down canning hwy and we were hoping that we would avoid any rain showers that were looming on the horizon. it didn’t matter anyway as if we were fair-weather riders, we wouldn’t be out over the majority of the winter. we turned into attadale and onto the first fast section of our ride. the nice flat roads around the river here have no intersections that we needed to stop at so we could get a good run in. i fell to the back and had a chat with ryan. he said that he was waiting to see who would go first before he made his move. as we came along the road to where it widened out a bit, he started to move up so i jumped on his wheel.

the boys on the front had been setting a nice pace, but no-one was really going hard. ryan looked like he was just going to slide in to the front position to do some work, but i had different ideas. i came around him and tried to go hard up the road. tried, cause i didn’t really get much of a gap on the field. they soon swallowed my up, but it did make them pick up the pace somewhat, which was the main aim.

the speed forced the group to line out a bit and as we approached the base of the pt walter hill, the call of “pothole” did not make it the whole way down the line. a mate of brendan’s smashed straight into it and punctured his front tyre and potentially buckled his wheel. it was lucky that he didn’t come down and even worse bring others down with him. it really reinforced the fact that you need to call out the obstacles the whole way down the line.

brendan and his mate told us to keep going, so after a regroup at the top of the hill, we continued on our way. down onto the left bank in freo and the pace was up again. another nice long flat road with no intersections gave us the opportunity to stretch the legs. it turned out to be a bit of a time trial training session for ryan as he did the majority of the work on the front. a few other came around him towards the end, but he still sprinted out of the pack once we crossed the speed humps.

we cruised up to freo and kept the pace even as we came through cottesloe. with wet roads, multiple pedestrian crossings, lots of parked cars and a surf carnival, it is not the safest place to be going hard. unfortunately, a rain shower had past through before we got to cott which meant that we were wet and would only get wetter from road spray.

the group was basically together by the time we hit claremont and as usual the pace started to increase. mr dickhead was driving a 4wd today and was getting frustrated with being behind us. he finally got the opportunity to get past, but as soon as he did, he slowed down to turn left. if he had waited 5 more sec he would have been fine. some people just don’t think.

i dropped back again to see ryan who was lurking at the back of the pack. i asked him whether he was going to have a crack and he said that he was biding his time. we let the boys set the pace at the front, while we had an armchair ride at the back. at some point we needed to come around some riders that had been shelled with the quicker pace, but still had lots in reserve. once we hit the main “hill” in dalkeith, i wound it up to come around the main pack, with ryan tucked in behind me. he slingshot off me to continue hard up the hill whilst i was swallowed up by the pack.

an unofficial regroup when we were held up by the road works on hackett drive, and it allowed some riders a chance to catch up. after that, we were held up again by tree lopping. don’t these people know it is a weekend???

turning onto mounts bay road, ryan copped a light hearted serve from a number of us for deliberately slow timing it to get other riders to lead him out. unfortunately it was at that time that kim decided to push hard from the front as part of his threshold training. a group of around 6 or so were tucked onto his wheel, but the rest of us were held up by ryan’s shenanigans ad had to chase hard.

kim led out for almost the entire mounts bay rd, but started to fade, as expected on such a long run. a few other came around him but some riders were also fading so it was beginning to fall apart. one of the squadra barista boys took off early, so i decided to start my sprint from there and set off after him. i knew i had someone on my wheel, so was sure that i was given someone a nice lead out. i had gone from too far (like usual) and died by the time we were coming past the brewery. i gave the ride behind a flick of the elbow, but they didn’t/couldn’t come around. just then, the ryan train came flying past with a couple of other riders desperately trying to hold on. to no avail, as he took line honors convincingly.

the coffee shop today was my chance to play santa, as we distributed as many of the new kits as we could. some people just got jerseys, whilst others got the whole kit. it should make a brilliant sight when everyone rolls around in our new strip.

so a good ride, even though is was a bit wet. next week we are having a special breakfast team launch for our group. we will have food, coffee, prizes, bike weigh-in, and kit collection for those that haven’t received it yet. i will change the course so that it finishes at my place where we will have the breakfast. keep an eye on the blog for more details we will require a rsvp by mid week, for catering purposes.

saturday 5th june - scarborough beach rd

with a nice downpour just 30 minutes prior to our normal kick off time, i expected that a few people may have decided to stay in bed instead. we had close to 20 or so riders which is a nice manageable number especially if the roads are wet. i didn’t get any rain on me on the way to the start, but brett was coming from the other direction, and got hammered as he came through belmont. i did check the radar before i left home and i was pretty sure that we would not get hit with any other storms.

the route today was an old favorite with scarborough beach rd being the main focal point. we would head steadily around mounts bay rd and up around kings park via thomas rd. this would eventually bolt onto scarborough beach rd where we would step up the pace a bit. home via west coast hwy and dalkeith would also add another two fast sections.

we rolled out at a nice easy pace and found our way past the coffee shop and onto mounts bay rd. i got to talk to a new guy, kim, who is a friend of ryan’s and who also won a copy of the tour de france guide with his haiku entry. good to see some new riders coming out, especially when the weather is not that pleasant.

as we headed up thomas rd and the constant climb that it contains, i noticed lisa was struggling a bit and was falling off the back. i was already dropping back to see how the field was doing, so i fell in along side her. she had been to the track on friday night and was now feeling the effects of that session. she told me to go ahead, but i thought that we should be right and would catch up with the main field. unfortunately we caught almost every light along thomas and loftus and would only just get them in sight, before we got caught again. just as we hit scarborough beach rd, michael had slowed up to give a hand.

john also appeared out of nowhere and jumped on to give a hand. we basically had michael and john on the front and me pushing lisa when she started to struggle. again, we almost caught the field a number of times but would always get stymied by the traffic lights. when we hit the rolling hills section that the main field would have stepped up the pace, lisa told us to go ahead, as she was not coping well. i would not normally do that, but she said that she lived close by and new the area and any shortcuts.

we accelerated and tried to catch the other guys before the hit west coast hwy. michael fell off the back as we put the pace on so john and i took turns along all the rolling hills that make up that stretch of road. at the coffee shop, some of the guys did comment on how deceptively hilly that section of road was and how you think that you have finished all the hills, when one more appears.

we regrouped on west coast hwy and set off with a stiff breeze coming across our right shoulder off the ocean. again a nice steady pace along the highway until we past oceanic drive. i had said in the morning briefing that once we past that point, we could go hard again, until we hit the swanbourne shops. we were held up at the lights, so i reminded everyone that it would be on again, and as soon as the lights changed we were off. john and nick took off from the gun and managed to gap the field a bit. i was sitting mid pack and was letting the group stretch out a bit before deciding what i would do. a few gaps opened up as people’s abilities were stretched so i came around and began to chase down nick.

a quick look around and i noticed a number of riders hanging off my slipstream as i time trialed up the road. i caught nick and came around him to chase down john. my shadows fell off once i caught nick as they all fell into step behind him. i caught john and came past him too but he quickly jumped on behind. we started to do turns to try to keep away from everyone but stu managed to bridge the gap too.

the three of us worked together for a while, but we were caught by christophe and nick before the end. it was a good hit out though, and i was pleased of my performance after a couple of bad saturday morning rides. another regroup before we headed off again for the final hit out through dalkeith.

as we approached the lights at the stirling hwy intersection, we had a small split and the lights allowed about 6 or so riders through. i expected them to wait for us, but instead, they took advantage of the situation to try to keep away from us. darren did quite a bit of work on the front before ben and i started swapping off turns to try to pull the break back. we had almost caught them by the time we hit the sharp left hander onto jutland pde, but i started to fade and let the rest of the field go.

i managed to grab a couple of wheels and got a bit of a rest before the small rises that usually sort things out. i came off johns wheel and powered up the climb so that i could just keep the front guys in sight. we rolled down past steve’s pub and the majority of the group were back together by the time we reached mounts bay rd.

it started to line out early as the pace was on with the tailwind. michael and i noticed that graeme brown was unfortunately heading the other way on mounts bay rd. he would have been able to give ryan a run for his money being a protour sprinter and all.

anyway, i was sitting towards the back and thought i better move up when i saw a gap open up ahead of carl. this positioned me closer to the front, but still behind ryan and some others. there was some moves and next thing i know i am sitting second wheel behind nick who was burying himself on the front again. he started to fade after a long turn on the front, so i came around him but decided not to go full pace. i wanted to leave something in reserve and not long after, john sprinted past with ben on his wheel. i jumped up and managed to hold the wheel, but then john ran out of puff so i had to switch to ben. ryan came flashing past, and ben and i both tried to up the pack but to no avail. we both sat back down and watched ryan take line honors by a long stretch.

a nice stop for coffee and we managed to get in before the main storm front came through. we gave out our haiku prizes to the deserving winners and i also managed to drum up a bit more business for the tour de france tipping contest. so a good ride today with lots of hard and fast sections to test the legs. lisa did manage to make it to the coffee shop but she said it took a lot of self control as she past by her house and thought about turning off early. lorraine met us for coffee and to deliver the prizes and some coffee bean orders from the hardcore coffee crew. it will be good to see her back on the bike soon.

saturday 28th june - cresswell & herdsman

ride report by peter

rain, rain go away. wait till i have stopped riding… you bastard. i know it doesn’t rhyme, but i don’t care. i wanted a nice ride today. and despite the rain it was quite a good ride. only a handful of hardcore riders braved the elements and it was not raining when we left the carpark. probably 15 riders all up, but we had to wait a bit longer for some to arrive.

it was another new route today, but really just an old one that we hadn’t done for a while. similar to the tv stations ride, this would take us out grand prome but turn off before morley dr. another small detour and we would come up past the yokine golf course before heading over for a lap of herdsman lake. back down to dalkeith and the usual sprint home.

the roads were wet from the previous showers and i was glad to be at the front as you didn’t get as much spray in your face. we took it easy out great eastern and over the river at ascot. a few more showers made it interesting but not too bad for me as i had my bright orange rain jacket on. a few close calls at the lights with wet brakes made it tricky, and we probably went through a couple we shouldn’t have, to avoid a mass pile-up instead.

the cresswell hill adjacent to the yokine golf course used to be a favourite of vicki and her wednesday morning hell sessions. it is a stepped climb which means you can set intervals at each point in the climb. i.e. hard, harder, spew. today i was taking it easy as i have come down with a head cold and am supposed to be racing a cyclo-sportif event tomorrow. i made sure ryan knew were to regroup and then let them loose on the hill. not unexpectedly, ryan was first to the top with jerry (who is claiming to be sick) not far behind.

a slight change to the route as we went straight out to flinders to do a right hand onto royal. next time i will stick to the original as i think it would cause less problems. we took it easy along royal and main streets but the pace began to pick up once we started out lap of herdsman. similar to last week i had not picked a spot to go hard as i couldn’t quite remember the route. however, this stretch around herdsman is ideal as it is double lane and a good road surface the whole way around. there are a number of traffic lights but this can be both good and bad as it may slow the breakaways or hinder the chasers. this time we stayed together the whole way, but is was getting a bit rough towards the end for some of the weaker riders.

we turned onto shelby st and took it easy as we headed towards shenton park. a slight diversion due to road works but we were still headed in the right direction and turned done past the claremont hotel. once we hit the familiar territory of victoria ave, the boys started to pace it up a bit. a couple of extras caught up to our group and suddenly everyone wanted to show how strong they were. ryan managed to smash them up the small rises on birdwood parade to show who was boss and we all scampered after him on the decent.

by the time we hit mounts bay rd the “extras” had turned off onto the bike track even though they were heading in the same direction. we started single file pretty early and nick was on the front pushing a hard pace from the outset. after a while i came past him to do a long turn as no-one else was keen to play. i still had no sprint, so my job is to be domestique and just ride hard and consistant. nick eventually came back past me and went off the front hard. i couldn’t hold his wheel so i gave a flick of the arm to let the next person through. there was a hesitation which allowed nick a bit more space and i thought he may get away. we were not that far from the finish, so he may have had enough of a break. pretty soon, everyone came crashing past me and mowed nick down in their path. ryan held off jerry again for the line honors, and i past a completely spent nick as both we limped our way to the coffee shop.
the rain had stopped by now and it was looking to be a beautiful day. a quick hot chocolate and a bit of discussion about the new kit and launch breakfast coming up and i was on my way. the bike now filthy and no real time to clean it properly before the race tomorrow, i will have to hope the quick wipe and lube keeps the chain going. there should still be a ride tomorrow, for those that aren’t racing, and i have mapped out the kahuna for you… cause i won’t be there.

the picture is of darrens wet weather bike. even though he has the record for the lightest bike, he rides this 11kg monster, with full mudguards, when the rain sets in. i think his light bike will dissolve if it gets wet.

saturday 21st june - sth lake

ride report by peter

today is the winter solstice, which, for those that remember some of the things they taught us at primary school, it the shortest day of the year. it was also probably the coldest start we have had as well. at 7:00 it was officially 3.4 deg in perth city. by 7:30 it was 3.3 deg but luckily an hour and a half later when we hit the coffee shop it was 12.6 deg. almost summer. hopefully, as the days get longer the less you will hear me whinge about the lack of daylight until daylight savings kicks in again.

so, due to the cold start and the short day, i was expecting a less than impressive turn out. to my surprise we had close to forty roll in all kitted up in whatever winter gear they could find. we were doing a new route today and it would be a learning experience. i will apologise now for the stretch along armadale rd as it was a bit busy and will be excised from the route in future. we intended to head down canning hwy and onto north lake rd till it hit armadale rd. we would then return via nicholson rd and albany hwy. as we had never used this route before, i was unsure about which spots to let the boys loose, so i picked a familiar spot were this route and the banister rd route combine. at least people should know where they were headed by then.

the majority of the ride was pretty sedate as it was a reconnaissance. north lake rd had a couple of rolling hills that tested the back markers a bit, but all in all the roads were good all the way down to beeliar drive. i was splitting my time between making sure the guys on the front knew where they were going to making sure some of our weaker riders were keeping up at the back. i felt like a bit of a sheep dog, roaming the edge of the flock, trying to keep it in check. ryan was also doing an admirable job helping lisa along when the going got tough. michael had one of our first mechanicals, with a flat tyre, but he waved me on when i was going to stop.

we turned onto armadale rd and lost our nice clear double lane. suddenly we were in a 90 zone of single lane traffic that was in a hurry to go do stuff and things. we battled on but i was hanging out for the left turn that would take us away from all of it. nick commented after we turned that we should have been single file as he saw a number of cars pass very, very close to the outside rider. it doesn’t matter now as the route will be changed.

swinging onto nicholson rd we were soon into nicer quieter roads that skirted suburbia. as we past livingston marketplace, where sharon has her optical shop, i was chatting to ryan about places to make the fast stretch, and this seemed ideal. nice smooth roads and double lane. next time we will know better. as this road came to an end, dr melvyn had our second mechanical with a suspected flat tyre.

as nicholson turned left and continued over roe hwy, it was on for a few km’s before we connected back with albany hwy. a few of the guys took advantage of the fact that ryan was on the back and took off hard to try to keep away. i was somewhere in the middle and struggling to hold pace let alone bridge across. rob came around to help, which was good for a while, but then i was fading fast and couldn’t hold his wheel. ryan came flying past about then and bridged across to the leaders but didn’t go past them as he was content at that. i managed to limp in, and with the benefit of a set of traffic lights, i kept in contact.

we slowed the pace down at albany hwy to allow the group to reform as we had spread out quite a bit by then. the next fast section was only just down the road and would take us back into town and to a well deserved coffee stop.

as albany hwy merged into shepperton rd, the pace was on again. the rolling hills make this last stretch interesting as do the traffic lights, as both can potentially allow a rider to get away for a solo bid. this time, however, the lights allowed the group to reform a couple of times as we all got caught. james took off after one set, but i was content to play the spoiler today and just pull back any breaks that went. everyone was itching to go, but no-one wanted to commit until ryan jumped at the base of a small rolling hill. as i was on the front, i managed to semi-stick with him. i was there, but not exactly on his wheel, but far enough from the rest of the group to say that it was a breakaway. unfortunately, when my body said enough, this left me in no-mans land and was pick up by the rest of the riders as we came down the hill into the causeway.

this is where is started to get messy.

a couple of the boys began to slide along side the cars at the lights like motorbikes do when you are stuck in traffic. this is fine for them, but on the bicycle, they are going to have to negotiate around us again, which puts us in a potentially unsafe situation. about three riders crept around while the rest of us waited behind the line of cars. this gave those guys a decent advantage when the lights changed and we were struggling to catch them.

ryan bolted out of our group and easily bridged across to them. chris hit the front of our group and tried to bring them back all by himself. knowing that i had no top end speed for a sprint, i rolled around to the front to try to time trial the group up to the leaders. it didn’t last long and by the time we had crossed the causeway, i was spent and peeled off to the side.

no idea how the ride finished, though i can make a good guess, as i limped in minutes afterwards. not a good sign for a big hills ride tomorrow.

no coffee stop for me as it is bens 2nd birthday today and we were having a party. i did manage to catch up with lorraine, who was there with her wrist still in a cast, to talk about a potential bike kit launch breakfast. i will keep you informed as it comes closer.

i am running a tour tipping comp again this year and will have that up and running soon too. same format as last year, where you must pick a new rider everyday, but not the same rider between rest days. confused??? don’t worry, i will post the rules on a separate blog soon.

saturday 14th june - benara rd

ride report by peter

as saturday rolled around, the predicted ne winds did not appear and we had calm conditions instead. usually this would be better, but i was banking on a nice tailwind on benara rd to give us a push. with the predicted clear 23 degrees meaning very little overnight cloud cover, the temp had dropped to about 6 deg by the time i rolled out from home.

the usual suspects were there this morning minus ryan who we expected had slept in again, but would probably join us as we rolled by his house. we headed out great eastern hwy and crossed the river at ascot, turning onto guilford rd. the group took it really easy this morning and it made a good change from the last time we did this route. there were some hot-heads which split the group up early when they got a draft from behind a truck. this made for a very splintered and dangerous trip through guilford. no truck this time so everyone was together by the time we hit benara. everyone except dr paul and dr greg who turned off early for a shortcut.

i was sitting at the back of the pack with ryan when the pace came on. not ideal positioning, but the road is long and i was sure that there would be wheels to catch to propel me forward. after the second round-about, i had made my way to the front and launched a nice attack where i managed to gap the field significantly. i had a really good group ride on thursday and thought that my form was up and ready to play. unfortunately, this was saturday and i found i had no legs. i pushed on trying to will some more power out of my body, but i was going slower and slower. the bunch lead by nick reeled me back in and back was the direction i was going. everyone who was in that group managed to get past me as i was struggling to hold the pace.

i managed a bit of recovery before finding my way to about mid-pack again. at the two main sets of lights that stopped us, it was strange to hear that not a word was spoken. maybe i wasn’t the only one feeling it today. as we came through the last roundabout and started the final stretch, i attacked again. this time i didn’t get as far before ryan came screaming around me like i was standing still. i tried to hold out as long as possible but soon the rest of the pack engulfed me. i managed to hold on and limp to the end of benara rd.

we slowed it right down for the next section to allow any stragglers to catch back up and also allow us a bit of a breather. as we headed towards whatley crescent, the pace picked up a bit as the guys saw dr paul and dr greg up the road a bit. this forced the group to “line-out” and i was stuck at the back talking to shao as we approached the intersection. bad positioning again, and i was sure that we would miss the lights altogether, but managed to scrape through on the amber.

a handful of boys had attacked straight away and managed to get a bit of a break. i sprinted around the main group and headed into no-mans land. wary of my previous two efforts i tried not to max out, and aimed for a steady pace to try to reel them back in. i past dr paul just as the lights changed which stopped the rest of the pack. i was seriously screwed now. the guys were up the road in front of me, and the ones behind were now stuck at the lights. i decided to keep plugging away, and hoped that i could make up the ground.

a group of five or so should have been able to keep away from me on my own, but there weren’t really sharing the work load. it took a few km’s but i finally managed to grab a wheel. it turned out to be dr greg who had latched on as the train went past. rob had been doing the majority of the work with a turn from christophe, but then rob was soon back in front again. he was frustrated and so kept going through the lights at guilford rd when the rest of us stopped. not a yellow card, or a red card, but a serious black card as the lights were very red.

i got on the front as the lights changed and time trialed my way along east parade with the other five in tow. it turns out that the other group then got every single red light on whatley cres and was never in sight of catching us. we caught and past rob and kept the pace on over the police station hill as usual. with only a handful available for the final sprint, i decided to lead it out as i felt i had no top end speed. with james on my wheel i wound it up along riverside drive until about halfway. gasping for air, i signaled for james to make his move, but he said he had nothing. ryan and jerry came flying past and that was the end of the sprint for me. ryan managed to dodge the sloooow car that i was catching and held on to the end.

the rest of the crew rolled in a few minutes later, all grumbling about the lights on whatley cres. by then the day had seriously fined up and so we really shouldn’t have had anything to complain about. coffee and a big breakfast for some offered a nice end to the ride. the shorter distance on this one also meant that we had longer to chat at the coffee shop too.

i have been playing with some new routes for both the saturday and sunday rides that i hope to unleash on the group soon. variety helps keep it interesting.

saturday 7th june - ridgehill rd

ride report by peter

cold, dark, throw in some more cold. welcome to winter. dry though. if it was wet it would have been a horrid day. we are expecting some showers during the week but they are always predicting that. i think we had close to 30 on the roll out and almost everyone had their winter longs on. melvyn and i headed the pack as we took off up mill point rd towards the great eastern hwy. today’s route would see us do a figure eight as we headed out to helena valley and over ridge hill rd before crossing our path and heading home through guilford.

after a while brett and jerry came to the front to ease the load for melvyn and myself. melvyn commented on the fact that guys just don’t look good in tights. i thought it may be like that beer ad where the guys cover their beer to stop it going flat when the two guys in lycra roller-blade past. that’s right, don’t drink beer while riding in lycra. the un-manliness of it will make it go flat.

we had a very cruisy start to the ride and the journey out great eastern and into south guilford gave everyone an opportunity to catch up and have a chat. no-one was going hard as i think everyone was saving it for the hill. as we crossed the railway tracks dr wally seemed to be having a bit of trouble. it seems his handle bars slipped and so dr paul slowed down to help him. there is a bit of a trend amongst the older doctors at the moment. they all seemed to have ritchey breakaway bikes. there are four (carl, greg, paul, wally) that have these swish titanium folding frame bikes that you can easily pack into a standard size suitcase. great for bike for traveling, if you do a bit of it.

so, paul and wally slowed down, but i knew that they knew the shortcut for the day and i was sure that they would be using it. we pressed on. as the group snaked it’s way towards the base of ridge hill rd, i flitted between talking to those at the back that may be struggling, to keeping an eye on the boys at the front to make sure they were being nice. i rolled around to the front just before the start of the climb to make sure i wasn’t boxed in when it started.

the ridge hill climb is nothing compared to the normal sunday rides, but we don’t often do any climbs on saturday, so it is always interesting to see how the group will react. i was on the front leading into the climb and started at a steady pace whilst watching behind myself in case anyone (ryan) put in a big attack. nothing was happening and the pack was staying well together, so i thought i better start to thin things out a bit. i upped the pace and watched john p fall back through the pack. jerry came with me and rob sprinted around to keep up. it started to string out a bit by the time we were on the first plateau.

just as it kicked up again, i came past jerry to try to set the pace higher. i thought i was doing a good job until ryan came past at pace and i’m sure he was in the big chain ring too. i tried to hold on to his wheel, but to no avail. i set my own pace, but used him as a guide to try not to lose too much more ground. i managed to gap jerry slightly on the next plateau, but by the time we had past the old quarry, i was starting to fade fast. mr dickhead was driving a green barina (or something) today and managed to come past us without much breathing space between. unfortunately the camera was facing the sun (as it was for most of the ride) and so i didn’t get his number plate.

as the road gently headed up for the final time, stu came flying out of the chase pack and past jerry and me. i tried to jump on but had nothing. the legs didn’t want to play nad jerry came past me at the end too.

down the other side and we had a regroup before heading along kalamunda road. the trip through high wycombe and back to guilford was taken at a moderate pace as the windy road can be dangerous if the group is all strung out when people are attacking. mr dickhead had changed cars now and was driving a 4 wheel drive that started to come around us just as we hit the bridge into guilford. no where to go he started to squeeze the cyclists off the road.

as we enter bassendean, the road extends to two lanes all the way back to the coffee shop and so the guys were given their head of steam. there were no attacks initially, but the group started to roll through to pull the pace up into the 40+ km/h.

unfortunately when we hit the undulation section of guilford rd, i was on the front and was very wary of any attacks going off the front. on the second hill, hamish and bruce did the bolt and gapped the field a bit. i had decided that i still needed to prove something to myself after and aborted kalgoorlie race and wanted to hurt myself and anyone else that dared to follow today. i chased the attack down, but it was bruce’s last as he turned down garrett rd, just as we caught them. ryan had jumped across with me and not the three of us had a slight gap over the field. chris and another guy had managed to bridge across so ryan and i swapped off turns to keep the pace high. unfortunately we came close to getting every single traffic light, so the pack regrouped a number of times.

i stayed at the front as much as i could and pushed the pace and my heart rate into the +180’s for the majority of guilford rd. by the time we turned onto east parade, i had wanted to spew at least twice and had dropped back a bit. the group eased a bit on east pde so i took the opportunity to try to time trial off the front and managed to get away for quite a while until ryan chased me down. i tried to stay with him, but had pretty much spent everything by then. the rest of the pack engulfed me as we crossed over the graham farmer.

i took it easy up the plain st hill and it turned out to be my undoing. the group was split into two packs at the lights and i was in the second one. we hit every light after that and never caught the front boys again. so not sure who even got up for the sprint. if i had to guess, i would say, ryan was first and jerry the eternal second.

no ride for me tomorrow, but the group should be heading out as normal. i will bring the young lad along for coffee in kalamunda and try to time it right to meet the group during the ride. then it is down to wandi to watch the 100km state title. i bought a wee-ride (kids bike seat) today from glenn parker south and so will do a lap or two (the opposite way so i don’t get in the way) while the race is on progress. show him what bike riding is all about.

Saturday 31st May - Reverse Canning

ride report by rob

really warm this morning - no boot covers or leg warmers (sounds awfully 80's!). About 25 in the group this morning and with our fearless leader heading over to kalgoorlie to try his luck in the menzies classic, chris called the route...."and when can we go fast?" comes the well known south african call from the back...bannister road and shepperton road...just like 'normal'!! 'that'll be my 'breakaway point' nick reminds us.

we head off up coode street and round on to canning highway. everyone appears to be in good spirits as the rain looked like it was going to hold off. we get down to north lake road (which has been the usual left hander for this route in the past) and the pack seemed to almost lead itself! not this time though - on to stock road. as we came round the final turn on canning the reminder that there is a reasonable climb before stock road looms large in front of us. feeling good this morning i thought i'd give it a bit and see who came with me. nick was on the front and seemed to slow just before the incline started so i went round...must have been a 'mechanical' something or other?? half way up i was still feeling good but could hear some heavy breathing just behind me. give it a bit more to see what happens...3/4 of the way up and i'm thinking i might even hold them off before....ryan flew past...again...then chris...then nick...then...doh! regroup at the top of the climb and round on to stock road.

an easy cruise along stock road to south street. after the climb i was content to sit back in the pack and have a bit of a rest. rounding on to south street we rolled down the first drop and then prepared for the first of several rolling hills. the guys on the front started to pick up the pace a bit with about 4 getting a bit of break on the group. i decided to go up and play and the pace stayed quite high...until chris came past and spoiled all our fun...(just kidding mate) - we'd dropped a couple off the back from the first climb, so as is our group's philosophy, keep it together for the most part and play on the flats, we pulled back and sorted out a re-group.

the rest of south street was an easy cruise although by the time bannister road came up i suspected that i may have stayed out the front for just a little too much of the ride. this might challenge to hang on. just as we rolled up to the turn i was about to step on the gas and a car rounds from the right hand land and straight in front of us - those of us on the front throw the anchors out with the familiar 'SLOWING' call...but i think that given the close call on this one there where a few other words included in the call that may not warrant reporting! with most of the wind taken out of our sails and also being in the big ring, it was a grind to get back up to speed. that also meant a bit of cat and mouse started to see who was going to go first. not long before melvin takes the initiative and flies past with one other on his wheel. a couple more of us stand up and start to chase them down. then its on. legs start spinning and hearts start pumping. a bit of a gentlemanly roll through starts but it's at pretty high speed. soon it comes down to every rider for themselves and the grimacing looks forward commence, pleading for the road to end. ryan takes off the front and pushes his wheel hanger hard. this doesn't last long and he's off by himself leaving us all to mop up the scraps.

rounding on to nicholson road the front group slows down for a well earned breather and the standard regroup. we head back up to roe highway and i turned around to see mike b at the back, most unusal to see him there, but understandable. will be good to have him back up to top gear when everything gets sorted. once we're all on we get back up to cruising speed with nick on the front starting his usual push. the call goes out to start a roll through which everyone seems happy to oblige - nice stretch of road along to albany highway and then up along to shepparton road. paul comments to me that the bannister road stretch was ok this time, but the rolling hills on shepparton road may test. yep!

as we round on to shepparton road, the usual suspects start to step it up. chris comes past and i jump on his wheel. as he moved across to the left i don't know why, but i thought it might be fun to push off the front as hard as i could. felt pretty good too for about 2 or 3 hundred meters. then it hurt. i was coming up to the lights and praying for them to go orange because i really needed the rest now. no such luck. nick, melvin, chris, gerrard, ryan, paul....bugger it...push now or you're off the back! managed to stay on and got a much needed respite behind the group. clearly making breaks on the pack is not my strong point...might stick to the hills i think. the rest of shepparton road was fast but the front pack stayed in touch. everyone appeared to be getting ready for the riverside drive sprint.

lights at the causeway slowed us up coming off the downhill on shep road so we all got a standing start. just as we come up on to the first bridge, melvin decides to take the lead and puts in a spurt off the front. i'm sure i heard chris say 'leave him out there'...but i could be wrong?? the rest of us hang back and the group is pretty bunched up as we come around on to riverside drive. chris is coaching the guys around him..."wait til the lights; wait til the lights"...we all oblige and by this time melvin's back with the rest of us. as we get to victoria avenue lights the call goes out and we're off. nick pushes off the front with chris on his wheel. i try to hang on with the knowledge that there's a big group behind me. nick pulls left and chris goes round. ryan flies past and a couple of others try to hang on. 'car right!!' we hear from the back and gerrard goes past, legs flying. as i looked up front it appeared that ryan won the sprint, but not by too much...the rest of us sit up and start sucking in the oxygen.

as we rounded into the coffee shop there's a whole bunch of chatter about gerrard's sprint - apparently the "car right" call was directed at him mainly, given that he figured the left hand land was full and there was a perfectly good bit of road just the other side of that little white line with a nice clear run to the front. i'm still not not sure that he managed to get up to the 70km/h he said he was doing...but who am i to say...? there was a radar set up on the side of the riverside drive as well. ryan said he had to brake because he didn't want to get fined....mmmmm??

lorraine was at the coffee shop sporting her new look (the hair AND the plaster cast). bit bored she says, so much so that she's started to make homemade marmalade...so we can all expect some lovely darlington preserves coming our way next week...lorraine??

thanks gerrard too...the details of that operation you performed (a fractured 'what was it again'?). the information to us blokes about how to avoid a similar outcome ourselves is most helpful!

and yes, i got to actually stop in and have coffee this week - she who must be obeyed and those 2 kids she keeps insisting are mine are all over east at the moment...ahhh the simple things in life!

thanks for the ride all.