Ride/Race report by Rob

 Another cold start which saw fewer than normal arrive for the start. Winter has certainly arrived, seeing the winter skirts and blouses being pulled out from the bottom drawer and pulled on the night before…..

 ….anywho, Mr VP Brendan provided our intro for the morning (as Mr P Pete was in prep. mode for the afternoon’s State TT in Dardanup…but more on that shortly). After the requisite information about new ride kit orders, club meetings, SPR breakfasts, leader for the Novice group (who established their independence at this point), we headed off into the fray.

 A leisurely ride along GEH and through Ascot with much chatter and socialising as we traversed the Eastern Suburbs. This particular ride has always offered a great opportunity to catch up with people early on the in the piece as there are a couple of nice long stretches of easy rolling and is great to get the legs warm.

 By the time we reached the break point everyone was ready for some action. Lorraine and myself using the ride as a warm up for the TT’s, had decided to stick with the main group this time round. We bade farewell to the Fast Group (which is actually the larger of the 2 groups, but there you go – see how PC our club is!!).

 It was actually the first time I’d riden along Morley Drive without heading up to the TV Stations, and got quite the rude shock to find that it wasn’t flat. As we rounded the first corner it kicks straight up which is not what I was expecting at all. Oh well, head down and plough on! Ronny and I kept the pace up the front but not too high that we lost any back markers. A nice roll down the other side to Waneroo Road and then back into formation with Russell coming forward to do some work.

 Now, as this was my first ride with the Main Group, I wasn’t too sure what speed we should be doing so as not to lose people off the back. Would appear it wasn’t quite enough for some though, and coming along past Kings Park a couple of the ‘big boys’ decided to up the ante. I stayed put only to find a roll through kick up and found myself very quickly ending up down the back! Normally at this point I’d jump on and come back through but actually found it quite interesting sitting at the rear of the peloton and just watching – and what a sight! Lots of jostling and jumping about, people grabbing wheel or attacking off the front – and this is a “social” ride I thought?! These guys play tough!! Anyway, I got lots out of taking all this in, as when I explained what I’d seen to Paul, he said “That’s just like what racing is about…and if you can sit back, let people smash themselves and then move in later for the kill, then you’ve done well.”

 And didn’t that work a treat! After negotiating Claremont shops and heading across to Nedlands, I decided to put some distance on the group and see if they’d chase. As I went past Lorraine I called out to her to jump on, but to no avail – she later indicated that a moment’s too long hesitation meant she’d missed the opportunity. I managed to get a good gap on the pack and then tucked down into TT prep mode and churned away at the gears. After about 2 minutes out the front, I was stoked to see Ronny come past and offer a wheel of assistance. We worked together to try and stay away which went well for a couple of turns until we were cooked. The pack caught us just at the final rise across the top and re-grouped leading down into Matilda Bay.

 We had a good rest at the lights before Mounts Bay Road and it was obvious everyone was getting ready for the final charge. I wasn’t sure how much I had left in the legs and was also conscious of the fact that I needed to be ready for the TT in the afternoon. Best I not participate…or so I thought. As the group made its way along I just tucked in on the back and enjoyed the draft. Again, watching the mini/false attacks and people working hard on the front while being dragged along was pretty cool. More learning. Anyway, as we came to the Brewery I found myself riding at about 5^th wheel and trying to get a read on who was going to jump. I was pretty sure it’d be Christoph, as Dan had already cooked himself trying the take a draft off a 4WD after the lights. As we rounded the last bend there was a distinct lack of power coming off the front and I was getting a nice lead out at 3^rd wheel. “Hey…that’s the 60km sign?! I could just pop out now and give it a little and….b**ger me! Was that my very first sprint win??! Yep! Thanks fella’s!” After rolling out, Christoph came up to me and said that it looked like I was just rolling across the line with almost no effort, which in reality is the case. Look out Fast Group – a new sprint king is on the road!!! Yeh, right!

 WA State TT’s (my version)

 So after coffee, Lorraine and I headed back to my place to get packed and on the road. We had a great drive down South. It’s amazing what gets shared on these kinds of trips, but we’ve agreed that “what’s said in the road, stays on the road (sort of….)”.

 We arrived at Dardanup in plenty of time and found Pete, Judd and Stu all set up under the new SPR tent (NOICE!), with their wind trainers and kit adorning the grass beneath. After registration, we got changed and headed out onto the course for a warm up (not being as ‘hard core Pro as the others, we had to make do with ‘real’ riding rather than the ergo warm up!).

 As this was my first TT (and Lorraine’s), we really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve done plenty of Tri’s before, but I’d always had to run somewhere after getting off the bike (and had a little dip before getting on the bike). So the mindset really had to be “Push like hell for 25k’s; leave nothing on the course; fall off.”

 I was off first at 2:03pm. It would have been a perfect start too. As the timing lady was counting me down…1 minute to go….30 seconds….20 seconds….15 secs….”Oh Rob, I’ve left my race number in the car! Do you have the keys?? Can you throw them to me??”….10, 9, 8….digging around in the back of my jersey…6, 5, 4….fling keys in direction of female voice…3,2,1…GO!

 And off I went; big ring on the front and up through the rear cassette as fast as my legs would allow. Down on the TT bars and PUSH!! Ok, first km down, nerves settling, feeling the acid build up in the quads. HR reads 213 – hope not!! Speed is at 43.3km/h. Good. 

Looking forward, I can see the first little rise and aim to stomp over it. Nope. That didn’t work, so down through the rear gears x2 to aid the effort. Back down the other side and then up again. I quickly realised that the only way to do this was to make ongoing and consistent adjustments to the gear ratio’s along the way otherwise my legs would be hard boiled before the turn around point. 

There is one hill on the course that hurts like mad; I was desperate to hold the big ring all the way up but to no avail – just didn’t have the leg strength to maintain the cadence I wanted. I was able to make up for it on the other side though and pulled 63.3km/h on the downhill. 

When I arrived at the turnaround point, I managed to balls that up too. In Triathlon, you have 3 lead in orange cones, the ‘turning cone’, and then one more at the end (ie: you go “through” the last 2 cones. Apparently not in the TT – you go around the LAST cone. So, after being bellowed at to get back here and go around the correct cone, I headed for home…grumble, grumble, grumble…stupid rules…grumble…. 

The return trip was better because you know you can absolutely belt yourself and just hammer out every last drop of fuel. Couple that with some familiar faces/rid kit coming the other way calling out to you makes a big difference too. After negotiating the “up and over” component of the track, I tucked down and pushed as hard as I could. I think my average for the last 6 or so km’s was in the order of about 46 (nice and flat with a bit of a tail wind) so was happy with that.

I crossed the 25km line in 38:26 with an average speed of 39.1 (at least that what Polar tells me). There wasn’t much left in the tank and was pleased it was over. I’ll let the others tell their story and times, but the ATTA website has all the latest for those who can’t wait.

The drive home and dinner out (Italian – yummy!) was a perfect end to the day. Roll on the Sunday Hills in the morning!