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.