ride report by peter

running a bit late today as i decided to drive to the coffee shop with the spare kits and then ride across to coode st.  normally not a problem, as i was up early enough since son #1 came and woke us up at 5:30.  however, i was then running around trying to get him organised (plus getting mum out of bed) before i could go.  hence, by the time i arrived i was pretty much out of breath.  also, so surprising was the size of the group today.  i estimated that their would have been between 60 and 70 riders which meant that we were strung out a fair way.  this also meant that we would get stuck and split at quite a few sets of lights.

we were splitting the group today after about 8 kms and then kind of running parallel to see who could get home first.  the main group would run all the way down to the stirling bridge then back via leach hwy while the fast boys (or “coalition of the willing”) would swing wide through attadale, up over the pt walter golf course hill, then get onto south st.  both groups would use the nicholson/albany route as the return leg.  the last few times we split, we didn’t even come close to catching the main group.  it would be interesting to see if it could be achieved today.

as expected the group split at the lights a number of times coming down canning hwy but it wasn’t too bad and we were basically together once we came past the applecross shops.  i had requested that the fast group make their way to the back before we get to the turn, but this didn’t really work too well as some riders just started slowing down to achieve that move, so big gaps appeared as the main group riders behind could not actually get around.  what this achieved was both groups splitting into sub-groups at the turn and playing catch-up for a while.

the main group soldiered on along canning while we reformed on burke drive for a speed session before the hill.  there were many groups doing their river ride heading in the opposite direction and everyone was going fast.  we rolled through a bit but the speed was not exceptional as i think people were saving it for the hill.

we made the left hander before the usual pt walter hill and headed up stock road.  the hill has a sharp beginning and a couple of riders hit it hard to make it to the corner first.  unfortunately this is only 1/8 of the hill climb and you look up the road to see how far to go and how much energy you now have left.  the hill broke the group up quite a bit with the usual suspects going hard to force the pace.  some of the early attackers were now heading backwards as their efforts took their toll.  the pace slowed as we made our way across the top and it allowed the group to reform.  one of the new guys dropped his chain at the roundabout and steve and myself waited for him with another guy.  this meant that we then got separated from the group as they crossed back over canning hwy, but they waited for us to catch up. 

the pace picked up a bit on stock rd and a few lost contact on the rolling hills.  as we turned onto south st a look back showed that about 4 riders were struggling a few hundred metres back.  steve and brendan dropped back a bit to help them out but i said that i would not be able to catch back up if i did that so jumped onto the back of the pack.  luckily the lights at north lake rd allowed a general regrouping.

once the rolling hills subsided, the group got into a good roll through and we headed towards canning vale.  a quick call out as we approached banister rd to let the group know to go straight instead.  i think the bike go onto auto pilot along there as we usually turn up and use it as our fast section.  i would say that we got the majority of the lights along south st and it made finding a rhythm hard as we were always starting from scratch again.

we turned onto nicholson rd at livingston shopping centre (home of livingston specsavers – see back of jersey) and headed towards albany hwy.  the pace quickened as we now had a little breeze on our backs and we were sitting above 45km/h on average.  the roll through was a little disjointed as some riders were starting to struggle and could not get over the wheel quickly enough.  as we crossed over ???? hwy we approached the roundabout for high rd where the main group should have turned onto nicholson.  we couldn’t see them but very soon, up ahead i saw a row of little helmets bobbing along in the distance.  this may have spurred the guys on and we soon caught them just after we turned onto albany hwy. 

unfortunately we don’t have any procedure in place for when this occurs so it got a bit confusing.  some of the fast boys went around the main group and started leading the pace at the front.  this then meant that the main group was now tapping along at a higher than usual pace and hence the fast group could not overtake.  a few dodgy moves and the majority of the group got around and we headed for home.

the pace picked up across the rolling hills on shep rd and we continued to roll through.  lorraine went off the front a bit when she came around and i yelled at her to “go”.  she thought that i was saying “no” and though she was in trouble for getting in the way off the fast group.  i had to explain later that i was urging her on to attack and try to get away from the group.

the run into riverside drive contained the usual workhorses and i had good position behind michael who was tucked in behind a nice train of brendan, steve and ryan.  unfortunately we got the lights at plain st and i never recovered enough on take off to effectively hold the wheel when the pace stepped up.  i just watched the group sprint on ahead.  so sad.

i managed to distribute a few more of the kits this morning, but there is still some outstanding.  i am heading over east for a couple of weeks, so if you don’t get it before tuesday, then you may have to wait a little while.  the coffee shop was very full as the bikeforce ride had taken up quite a few seats.  there was also a reserved table for a group of old ladies, but they didn’t last very long as we were too noisy.  other coffee shop discussion points included the constitution and becoming a club, the spr ride etiquette guidelines that we will post on the blog and a look at the race calendar to see which races we want to target this year (looks like most of them).

as i said, i will be away for the next 2 weekends, but i will still post the ride routes on thursday night.  however, it will be up to individuals in the group to step up and take control of how we run it to make sure it stays safe and in control.