race “participation event” report by peter.
the great perth bike ride (gpbr) has become one of those events whose reputation preceeds it. i know quite a few of the spr riders did not want to participate this year because they thought it was too dangerous. and the truth is, i agree with them. it is not the format or the route, it is the lack of skill that some of the riders show when riding in a group, and the riders need to keep trying to get to the front when the road is not wide enough for more than 2 or 3 bikes. anyway, i am getting ahead of myself again.
i signed up for the 106km (2 lap) event. work were paying for it so i decided to have a crack as the $100 entry fee was covered by someone else. this is probably one of the other reasons that some of the spr riders declined to play today, as the price had shot up dramatically since last year. anyway, all was good. we collected our race kits and new cannibal rio tinto jerseys. a change of logo and colours to the corporate banner meant that cannibal had a nice order for over 200 new jerseys. everything was set, and then i got sick. i was only at work for 1 ½ days this week and i was sure it was going to affect my ride. i deliberately didn’t ride on saturday to give the body more recovery time, but woke up early sunday not really much better. i forced down some porridge but it didn’t sit too well. feeling queasy on the bike is the worse thing especially when you know that the pace will be on from the start.
i turned up early enough to get to the front of the line and caught up with james, ryan, nick and mike. a few other spr guys were milling around and i saw big john from rio and doug as well. the weather was looking good and even though the roads were wet, the sky looked like it would stay clear for the race. gary suckling gave out some last minute instructions over the pa system and before we knew it we were off.
the pace was not too bad from the start but it did surge a bit especially at the back where i ended up quite quickly. we set a nice even pace along mounts bay rd as the wider stretch allowed people to find their position easier. not sure who was setting the pace, but there was a small line of guys at the front before the rest of the pack swelled behind them. there were a smattering of plan-b boys and girls in the pack, but they seemed to be keeping out of trouble and just milling around not forcing the pace or anything.
as we turned off mounts bay the fun really started. the tighter roads and multiple corners stretched the pack out as the masses hit the brakes leading into the corners. we seemed to get past the uni ok but the first fall happened on the turn off hackett drive. the pack moved to the middle of the road to negotiate the corner and some guy hit a patch of crap around the white line and went down. he immediately jumped straight back up and kept riding so he wouldn’t lose his position. i was trying to avoid being anywhere near him after that.
the hill near steve’s was the next obstacle and i was sure that it would sort out some of the pretenders. i put in an effort to make sure i didn’t get dropped too much as i knew that i didn’t have enough in the tank for a proper chase. some riders dropped off the back and i don’t think we saw them again. the pace didn’t really increase that much, but everyone always like to attack on the hills. we hammered through dalkeith and the corners again strung the group out. i managed to keep touch but only just and was constantly up and sprinting to keep up. after christchurch grammer i heard wayne from cyclemania talking to the plan-b guys saying that they were not to play at the front and were just here as a training ride. they all backed off and formed a second group to stay out of trouble.
we came down through devils elbow and i had lost touch slightly as there were some guys that obviously didn’t have the bike skills to be smashing through there at speed. i made up a bit of ground along the waters edge but started the mosman park hill behind the eight ball. i didn’t want to hit the hill too hard as i was sure that i would pop, but even at half pace i was passing riders on the bottom easier section of the hill. by the time i got to the top i was in amongst the group, but the fast boys were up the road. i past nick at the top and he looked knackered, but i couldn’t stop. after the corner, i caught up with james and with a couple of other guys we worked together to try to catch back up. as we approached the slight hill before stirling hwy, we caught sight of the group and got back on once we turned towards freo. the next hill on preston point road would be the tester but i managed to hold on and keep with the group. the roundabout at point walter became a problem for a couple of riders as someone went down and held up the group. we head to chase to get back on along attadale and this managed to dislodge some more stragglers from the back.
now i am sure that the majority of the riders in this group have ridden around the river a few times. probably more like 100 times. however, with the squeal of wet carbon rims and the constant hard braking and evasive action, you would think that everyone was actually surprised that we had to slow down for the corners and avoid the traffic islands. the amount of guys we saw going to the wrong side of the road to avoid the traffic islands when there was oncoming traffic was amazing. these guys were taking risks for a participation event.
more of the same through applecross fast, slow, squealing brakes, avoiding islands, etc, etc and pretty soon we were on the freeway. now the freeway deserves a special mention for absolutely stupid placement of cones and signs. we had a lane reserved for us plus the emergency lane. now the emergency lane is where all the crap goes that the vehicles flick up. crap like glass, rocks and the like, so not always the best place to ride. the lane we had marked out for us was also full of hazards. along the entire stretch the lane was demarcated with nice big cones so the cars would not stray into our lane. that was fine, but every second cone was a double cone that sat further into our lane. now as you are driving along the the road (setting up cones) these doubles are easy to see. when you are right up the arse of the rider in front of you and the train is about 20 or so people long, you don’t see them coming.
to make matters worse, for our safety, the cars on the remaining lanes of the freeway were restricted to 60kph. we know this because the speed signs were placed in our lane even further in from the double cones. these didn’t give as much as a cone when hit and caused a bit of damage. in the group following us, stan from the sunday rides heard a crash behind him just as his group hit the freeway after canning bridge. the guy just behind and to the right swerved to avoid a speed sign that was placed too far in and came off. big john from rio from the saturday rides was following him and had nowhere to go and cartwheeled over him. three other riders then rode over john and came tumbling down too. two of them had to be taken to hospital and one of the others was dr ronny whose carbon front wheel was no match for john’s body and now looks like a taco. no serious injuries to either of them, but a lot of gravel rash.
about halfway along the freeway, i rode to about midpack and found ryan. i told him that i was not going to make a second lap as i was really struggling by now. a couple of coughing fits as we rode along and all types of nasty flem was gurgling around my system. i also was struggling to take anything more than water down and i would eventually run out of energy. my day was done, but i needed to get my timing band back to the start finish line.
as our group approached the exit of the freeway the cones tightened up and the double cones caused a bit of grief. i saw one guy hit them at speed and i thought that i was going to clean him up but he managed to stay upright somehow. as we past through mends street another guy hip and shoulders a bollard as he came around the corner way too fast. these guys were crazy and taking risks that they didn’t need to. either that or they were way out of their depth as far as fast group riding was concerned and were only hanging on by the skin of their teeth. i would say half and half.
i managed to hold on all the way back through south perth and onto riverside drive. the biggest pain in the arse was the riders using the coned off road to ride to the start on their shiny new mountain bike, while a group of about 40 riders were trying to come through at speed. thanks guys.
we crossed the line and i peeled off and headed to the timing tent to hand in my band. i hate not finishing events but i was happy to stay with the main pack for the first lap which we took in 1:20 for the 53kms. just under the 40kph mark. i knew that i wouldn’t be able to stick out that pace, but even more so the bad gut meant that i would eventually run out of energy and may not even be able to limp home.
of the remaining few, ryan got a flat and had singles on so not sure if he finished. mike finished in the main pack giving jens the best rio tinto time for the event. something he will have to live up to when he returns next year. i managed to get up in the hills and have a coffee with the few chasing mountain points. stu now has a commanding lead with one more sunday to finish off the month.
Sounds like fun…glad i missed it me thinks 🙂
Can anyone say demolition?
Hope those who fell are not injured too badly and can get back on the bike soon.
That’s a nice write-up Pete. First of all, for anyone concerned, I’m fine. I’m quite sore all over today so I’m taking my first sick day in 3 years but nothing is too badly hurt.
My experience of the Not So Great Perth Bike Ride (NSGBR) is this:
My brother (who is visiting from Brisbane) and I rode with the ERC crew. We left at 6:01am, one minute behind Pete’s group. I stayed out of trouble for the first bit and slowly made my way up towards the front. Our group had also really strung out when we turned onto Stirling Hwy where we got caught up by a Plan B training ride. It took a little while of riding at 25kph before we realised they were not in the NSGPBR. Guys started shouting at them to move over and then people started going round them on the right. I was on the left, right behind someone else in our event who was directly behind the 10 Plan B guys and girls. As a result, I had to let about 20 guys pass before pulling out in last wheel and trying to catch up. I managed to get safely towards the front of this little pack once we had turned left off Canning Hwy and got to the top of the little hill.
There was a group of about 6 guys about 300 metres in front of us. Coming up to the devils elbow (I never knew it was called that!), I decided to try to bridge the gap. If I didn’t make it, at least I knew I would be safe going round the corners by myself so I went for it. I got to the long flat section by the river and realised I wouldn’t be able to make the gap and was swallowed up by the bunch again. When we turned through Applecross I made my way to the front on the first hill again to lead the bunch and stay out of trouble round the corners and short descents. I led the way onto the Freeway where the group picked up pace.
And this is where I went wrong. I sat in the middle of the bunch, happy to let the big boys open up on the flat. I had some food, some water and figured that if there was anywhere safe on this course, it was the Freeway. We were doing around 45-47kph and had got into a nice rhythm when suddenly someone on the right shouted “Sign!” and then I saw someone hit something, a wheel went into the air and the 4 guys in front of me came down.
I thought for a second I might be able to mount the curb on the left but I was on the road before I knew it. We all got up and looked at the damage. One guy was on his back and holding his head. I reluctantly volunteered that I was a doctor before realising he was ok and was just a wus (just kidding 🙂
We got off the road and called an ambulance. A nice guy driving on the freeway stopped his station wagon to see if we were ok. A couple of traffic guys came and put one of the double cones back inside the designated bicycle lane only for a group 2 minutes later to hit it. We told him to get rid of it but he said it was needed and replaced the cone.
The ambulance came and 2 guys got in. Some guys in orange shirts from the NSGPBR arrived and told us we had to leave our bikes by the side of the road where they would collect it at the end of the event. Another group came by and someone hit the cone. It was then replaced again…..
The NSGPBR guys said they could give us a lift in 30 minutes after they followed the ambo to hospital. We weren’t about to leave 2 Cervelos and an Orca and kindly, the statioin wagon guy said he could take me and the bikes of the two guys that had gone to hospital to the start.
I got to the white tents on Riverside drive, dropped of the other two bikes and looked for an event organiser to complain. I met with Patti, who said she was the chairman of the organising committee. Another orange shirted guy called Artur Watt was there and he agreed, saying that the sign was stupid, didn’t leave enough room where the road naturally narrowed for two riders to pass safely through and that it was always going to cause an accident. I left my name and details and was told to call on Monday which is what I’ll do today.
In the end, it was really lucky that none of us were really hurt due to the stupidity and negligence of the race organisers. My bike got a couple of small scratchees to the right chain and seat stays, the left side of my handlebar was scratched deeply through the tape and carbon fibre layers and my shifter now says “ura-ac”. The most impressive damage though was to my wheel, which Pete, is actually aluminium rimmed and does resemble a giant taco.
I didn’t realise that Big John, whose bike was still working and who managed to get back by himself, was part of the SPR family but I’m happy to have solved the mystery of how I got someone else’s SPR bottle. I picked up what I thought were my bottles after the crash and put them in my cages before I realised that one wasn’t mine. I eventually saw my bottle, which had rolled into a curb side drain, 1 meter below the road surface, it’s Dura-ace valve cap in the littered, muddy waters of the drain. So John, I have your SPR bottle!
Sorry about the longest post in history, but I wanted to let those of you not there to walk around feeling smug, telling everyone who will listen “I told you so”. On the plus side, my brother had a great ride, seemed happy and managed to meet Ryan at the end of their ride.
I am glad our two riders involved in pile ups are both ok (well minus skin and broken bike parts). I finished the race as I had tufo in my tubulars (which did not self seal initially 🙁 So when I pulled over with my puncture I inflated and was back on the road in under a minute but as group was heading for home, the pace was up and there was no way I would catch them solo (especially with a very malnourished and dehydrated body (thanks to a stupid big night on Friday.. I hate tequila and tequila hates me)..
I found the race.. Oops I mean participation event to be fairly cruisy this year, I had promised myself not to do any work at the front and to just sit in, this meant I missed the initial group of about 10 who went off the front at the gun in the dark.. Although I am not sure the body could have taken 106kms at pace…
The 1st 35-40km/hr group caught me just after my puncture and I did alot of work for/with them. I met Ronny’s brother in the pack and he gave me a lead out when we hit riverside drive. I went past him at the first set of lights and said thank you, I settled down to time trial to the end as the finish was still a fair way away. The legs started to cramp and there was someone on my wheel. Do’oh, I was going to get beaten by some chap in the 35-40 group…
I eased up as he was the only one within striking distance, I thought I would let him lead for a few metres and then I would hit him again. He gave me a big grin as he came past me (not very fast) and I could see he was going nowhere. Just then I noticed there was a man dressed in black, just ahead, limping to the line (it was James) so I stood up again, tried to ignore cramping legs and went past the pretender and James to take my little sprint… 🙂
So all in all, I was sitting pretty in the main group and would have had a hit out in the final sprint if I did not get the puncture. But considering how my body had been treated and felt as a result, I think I can say I did ok. I will have to wait till next year to try make an impact.
Mr Bonner was sitting in the group pretty comfortably and was spotted doing some work at the front during the second lap. He was treating the ride as training for the Busselton Ironman in two weeks time and the pace really dropped for awhile there and he had to get his heart rate up somehow 😉 Good luck for the ride leg Michael..
See recent Newsletter From South West Cycle Club (SWCC) which has an article about “Consequences of Cycle Crashes” – be thankful that this is not you…
http://www.southwestcycleclub.com.au/documents/ClubNewsletter21Nov_001.pdf
After reading that little story, I feel like giving my bike away and becoming a couch potato.. It seems he has a big personality and will get through the ordeal. And hopefully will be able to get back to Ironman fitness.
Very sad..
It seems the “traffic control” people need to be told about the double cone thing.
If I remember correctly the reason the golden spokes event start was delayed was to remove/relocate the second cone.
But was the bike okay?
Still can’t work out how the truck didn’t roll over him with broken everything and skin off in so many places he’s had more grafts than the bali bombings.
I PROTEST. I WAS RIPPED OFF. I paid $100 to feel the fear and smell the rubber locking up against a road sign. I WANT MY MONEY BACK. I was an unharmed and unfrightened participant in the Great Bike Demolition. The only bit of blood I saw was me stubbing my toe getting up early in the dark.
I have missed this epic “coming of Age” ride obviously, albeit I was at times moving backwards and had a “slow puncture moment” just to recover from cramps.
Apparently the carnage on the Family Ride was horrific. Saw two incidents with trainer wheels taking out another rider. Four year olds way out of their comfort and ability zone. Maxing out the heart rate at 220 minus 4 = 216 beats per minute. Recumbents, three wheeled nightmares, soft toys…. What are they thinking!
It’s okay. Just lost the plot for a moment.
All complaints on “what the hell he is talking about” can be put through to my normal email address.
Thanks for your understanding.
Nick
I am thankful I was chasing KOM points in the Hills… AKA “The Tale of 3 Flats and the Forgotten Climb”
And no… I didn’t get any 🙁
I get shivers when I hear about such horrific accidents. I have had my share and do not wish to go there again… I know all to well the horrors of a “de-gloving” injury and wouldn’t wish skin grafts on anybody.
All the more reason to ride safe and look out for our little “SPR family” when we our out on the roads!
Holy Crap! that story makes you pinch yourself hey!
Well I wasn’t going to ride due to this hip injury still giving me grief, but I went down with the intention of helping the Mrs (Lennie)set a good time in the 53km ride. I rode with her for a while and then with some of her shell team mates but by Devil’s elbow I thought I would go for it as everyone around me was out of breath and I was feeling fine. Rode with clipless pedals, but in my trainers and even though I couldn’t ride out of the saddle still did 1:24:49 (37.2km/h). Very happy with that and looking forward to the day I can put my cycling shoes on without screwing up the hip !
The cones were a bloody nightmare and lots of close calls near me too. All said though I do enjoy this event and still recommend others to enter next year despite to carnage !
And I thought running between traffic in snow here in London was dodgy. Looks like I missed out. Happy to hear all that had accidents are ok. Bikes are replacable – people are not 🙂
I would have to disagree Jonny K. I’m not sure if the heavy Triathlon background of the race organisers has something to do with it, but group safety is NOT a priority for them when really, it should the first. The cones and signs were dangerously placed in unexpected locations without sufficient room for riders in what was the fastest section of the course.
We were one of the first groups through there and the groups in front had close calls with the same sign. It was sheer luck none of us were more seriously injured. THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE TO AVOID. Not even if my work paid would I go in this one again.
I am definately not defending the organisation of this event, the double cones and signs especially were crazy. I started in F group (53KM) so pretty much spent the whole morning overtaking groups on the outside which I’m sure is safer than being stuck in the middle of a big group. Hopefully the organisation will be improved for next year to avoid this happening again. I rode for Shell (but worn my SPR bibs…) and I know they all enjoyed the event.