Ride report by Brendan (VP ) 🙂

Well after checking my program before heading off it seemed I was meant to do all the hills at a “hard” pace hmmm well off to the usual start.
Once there it was nice to see a group of around 25 riders.
After Pete explained the days ride we set off towards them there hills..
A few usual guys n gals were up at NDCC crit at Osborne Park so also shows just how big our group(guess we can say club soon J) is. Great to see. let us know how you guys went….

Trip out was nothing unusual, plenty of laughs and general chit chat and how annoying the wind was getting, oh yeah we had a nasty puncture that sliced one of the guys tires like Pete’s the other week, alas ride was over and home he went, bugger(sorry didn’t catch the name but feel free to add a comment) .
Once out near our first turn towards the lovely Kahuna we turned straight into a rather nasty head wind that straight away made quite a few start thinking and talking of how today’s ride was going to hurt.

Onward and upward to the lower slopes of our first climb, with no one really willing to push to hard considering the wind I remembered my program of riding hard on the hills so I decided I may as well stretch the gang out and see who wanted to play (read hurt) today. I attacked pretty hard and gapped out to 100m (guessing) and rode to over half way before looking back to see the damage, guessing more from the wind than trying to chase me… As usual Stu and co were in a good rhythm up the hill so that allowed me to set the rhythm to match to ensure I scored max points for the climb.

kahuna
Brendan 10, Stu 7, Ben 5, Paul 3, Andrew 1

After our regroup Dr Paul and a few others headed off for a shorter ride and we threw around the motion of skipping Peet rd due to winds etc was going to make the ride approx 5km shorter which was approved so off we headed down the normally fast decent towards Peet rd but with the high Head wind the speeds weren’t so fast today. Once at Peet rd we re grouped just to make sure no one headed up the hill (as original map) and we headed towards soldiers climb. When free wheeling down Peet rd you realise how steep it actually is and with that nasty T intersection on the hwy it pays to have well adjusted brakes.

So onto the climb #2 a steady tempo was set which was pretty much maintained all the way up ensuring a sprint finish was on the cards, after a quick chat to confirm the finish line the pace crept up until we were over 40 with the tail wind and increasing, I had 3rd wheel and was in a prime position and launched about 200 or so meters out to take the win. With remainder at

Solidiers rd
Brendan 10, Stu 7, Ben 5, Paul 3, Peter 1

After re grouping at the T intersection and me getting the crap scared out of me turning around and being face to face with a bloody great horse we were off down to Bedfordale climb #3. Once on the climb a nice tempo was set with Pete and I in second wheel talking about when some attacks might happen and sure enough near the top Pete launched and quickly gained a gap which at first no one was too keen to chase so I eventually got out front the inside line and chased with just about everyone in tow. Once we caught up the last rise prior to the turn off/finish line to Canning Dam I launched hoping everyone was too tired to go again and time trialed to lead everyone else there with Gerry leading the gang into await a final regroup prior to heading over towards our second last climb up Gardiner rd.

Always nice to cruise along this rd when the weather is hotter as its usually quite fresh through there which anyone who has done it in winter will attest it gets frigging cold.
Once over the rough section and onto the nice smooth Bitumen we had the great decent in towards Araluen Park where we had another re group to ensure we had everyone before the nasty little climb back up Gardiner rd and to Karagulen servo for a quick food/drink stop as req’d. Back o the climb we set a reasonable tempo which I couldn’t resist a few surges to see who was feeling ok, once up the first main part of the climb and onto the sharp corner we accelerated again to pretty much force a split of Stu, Ben and I from the others but I was feeling pretty good so had a few accelerations on the last rolling climbs and only seeing 1 wheel behind me I kept upping the speed to dislodge who ever was there which took until the last rise before Brookton Hwy which I though was Stu and on turning around realised it was Ben so onwards to the servo for re group.

Gardiner rd
Brendan 10, Ben 7, Stu 5, Paul 3, Peter 1

Its really great to see everyone getting stronger as the time we wait for re group seems to be getting less and less and the top 5 of climbs always has a few different names in order over the last few months so good work peoples,

Once relieved and fuelled as req’d we headed over towards our last climb into Kalamunda with the only scare of the day coming from a big Redneck F250 ute driver straying onto our side lining us all up which raised a few heart rates and flurry of words towards him but gladly he ventured back onto his correct side of the road. When we had reached Pickering Brook Melvyn and Michael (new cervelo guy) decided to cruise straight into Kalamunda while we ventured down past Sanatarium factory down the quick decent with Mark using his downhill skills to lead us only to get rather friendly with a Harley Davidson bike on the corner which resulted in a rather close passing manoeuvre.

Over to Mundaring Weir rd and onto one of my favourite accents into Kalamunda.
Mark set the pace early only to come back to the group after the first bend and the pace started moving up, Stu was the first culprit so I went pretty hard to see who could push the pace, Stu got back up to me and surged as he went passed me which highlights how well he goes on his old bike (look out when the cervelo is back) but I was feeling good so got the wheel and sat tempo but Stu paid his price for closing the gap and went back a gear so I jumped again and as I was pushing my bike ring I rode hard up to the top and started thinking of a cold drink and food as I watched Stu come in for second.

Mundaring weir to Kalamunda
Brendan 10, Stu 7, Ben 5, Mark 3, Jerry 1

As the group rolled into the coffee shop we all re fuelled on an assortment of yummy food and hot n cold drinks. A few laughs and comparing different stories of the days ride we finally packed up and headed back to Welshpool road decent where I made sure I had Marks wheel as He always descends very well and a fast pace is ensured and with a new record (for me anyway) we hit 92.4 Kmphr and time trialled to he end for a re group at the school. Not long after we were on our way towards home, mainly uneventful trip home, the tail wind was nice and the pace stayed nice and high pretty much all the way through to Berwick and down to Bunnings for a quick chat and laugh before we all took our weary legs home for a well deserved break.

Total Kms for the day (my computer) 110kms and plenty of tough climbs and strong winds are sure to help those that are heading to Pemberton.

Geez reading back I waffled a bit so sorry to those that got bored reading this.
Take care and ride safe, Brendan