Report by Julian 

Firstly, an apology for not getting around to doing the ride report for last week.  A combination of school holiday leave, visiting relatives from Brisbane and abject laziness prevented me from completing this important task.  The July points table was updated on Friday and will be again, after you’ve read this missive. 

Anyway, back to this week.  The day started with Jerry, dressed in his Caisse D’epargne outfit, awaiting the arrival of someone in an FDJ outfit so he re-enact Luis-Leon Sanchez’s win over Sandy Casar in Stage 8.  Luckily for Jerry, I had recently purchased some new FDJ knicks so the battle lines were set before we’d even started.  The fact that it was very cold did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 20 odd riders that turned up.  Neither did the fact than most riders had been up rather late watching Le Tour or, in two cases drinking too much, gossiping and having pillow fights.  Peter then surprised all by arriving on time for his ride briefing.  Instructions were dispensed, the short cuts were established, not even Peter could get Lisa and Lorraine to shut up and before we knew we were on our way up Great Eastern Highway. 

Ben and I sat out front at a modest pace and were yelled at for going too quick (we were only trying to keep warm), so we slunk off down the back and left the front-running to others.  During this time Declan informed me of the new points system for the short cut group, such as first to the coffee shop and fastest table service.  I wait with great interest to get further details.  Meanwhile, Rob, Lorraine, Peter and Brendan kept the pace going until we got to Ridge Hill Road, with the only excitement being avoiding a dead cat in Maida Vale.  We broke up on Ridge Hill Road and the short-cutters turned up the zigzag.  At the bottom of the first climb we re-grouped and faced the challenge of finding privacy for toilet stops.  

The climb up to “Pas-de-la-Darlington Rd” went fairly smoothly.  Brendan, Jerry, Peter, Ben, Rob and myself got away and there were various attacks.  Just before Darlington Road Rob noticed his bars were moving and sent out a request for an Allen key at the top.  Once it was confirmed someone had the right tools, we did the honourable thing and attacked again, leaving him to struggle behind.  Brendan continued to force the pace but I got him on the last climb and took the points.  Ben, Peter and Jerry rounded out the top 5.  The re-group meant that Rob could do his repairs, whilst everyone else recovered. 

KOM 1 – 1. Julian,  2. Brendan,  3. Ben,  4. Peter,  5. Jerry 

We safely crossed Great Eastern Highway and were soon in the peaceful surrounds of John Forrest National Park.  Although this road is pretty rough, the lack of cars and nice scenery makes it an enjoyable ride.  Paul and Lisa did a bit of the work and we were soon heading for “Alpes du Parkerville” for the second climb.  Regrouping at the bottom of the climb to ensure everyone was present meant that no head start could be gained on the climb.  Brendan, Ben and I made our escape from the pack for the short sharp climb and Brendan put in a good attack near the top to claim the stage.  He was feeling quite happy with his climbing and no doubt his recent engagement propelled him as well.  Rob was also feeling good with his repairs and took 4^th spot ahead of Peter.  The re-group here was fairly short owing to everyone climbing very well. 

KOM 2 – 1. Brendan,  2. Julian,  3. Ben,  4. Rob,  5. Peter 

We passed trough Parkerville, Stoneville and Mundaring with incident, although the temperature hadn’t risen significantly.  At the start of Mundaring Weir Road we were joined by Ryan and the push was on during the downhill stage to the weir, followed by the climb to “Col du Asher Road”.  Coming out of the valley, Ben, Ryan, Brendan, Jerry, tall cyclist whose name I didn’t catch sorry, and myself got away and, once the initial steep climb was over, really lifted the pace.  Six riders going for 5 places meant that competition was hot.  Ryan took the spoils followed by Brendan and Jerry, then myself and Ben.  The re-group involved an interesting discussion about loading assorted naughty images, rather than maps, into Garmin computers to relieve the boredom of long rides.  We were also looking forward to the coffee shop, if only for the chance to warm up with a hot drink. 

KOM 3 – 1. Ryan,  2. Brendan,  3. Jerry,  4. Julian,  5. Ben 

The final climb – “Mont 50 km/h Road Sign” – started with me making a break for it but quickly being reeled in by Ryan.  I was surprised no else had followed so Ryan and I settled into a good pace up the climb.  The only harrowing moment came when a car came flying around the corner towards us on the other wrong side of the road and hopefully he slowed down before passing the others.  As expected Ryan took the points but I did jokingly suggest that he should only get half of them considering he missed the two climbs.  The rest of the group followed in and with such a cold morning, no fast times were recorded.  We took over our usual spot outside of the café and discussions mainly involved why SBS 2 can be picked up in South Perth and not Scarborough. 

KOM 4 – 1. Ryan,  2. Julian,  3. Ben,  4. Jerry,  5. Brendan 

The descent back home was uneventful although we lost Paul and Rob in Wattle Grove when Paul answered his phone.  We managed to get through Leach Highway lights without stopping but were then held up by two trains.  I peeled off at George St lights on Berwick St to go home at George St and nearly took Jason with me.  There was quite a head of steam up on the pack so it will be interesting to hear how the final sprint went.  All in all a great Sunday ride, 106 km by the time I arrived home.  Thanks everyone for the company.