Report by Julian 

A much cooler day than last week, but numbers were down due to the large numbers of SPR riders heading up to Wangara for the NDCC crits.  I counted about 20 odd riders today, with a fair whack of new faces.  Today we were heading out Great eastern Highway and up Greenmount, before tracking over to Mundaring and back to Kalamunda – a picturesque ride with a couple of good climbs.  

Alistair and I led the way out and kept the pace in the low 30’s.  We retreated to the back just after the airport to let others have a go up the front and pretty soon we’d made our way onto Queens Rd and past Rosehill Golf Course.  There was some confusion with the newer riders at the two roundabouts near the near estate and Heiko went forward to show them the way.  We were also joined by Christophe, Simon and Lorraine at this stage.  Lorraine mentioned the Mike B was spied heading up Helena Valley Road by himself earlier on in the morning.   

After progressing about 3 km up the road, with a total rise in elevation of 0.5 m, Christophe and Simon bade farewell, presumably to tackle Ridge Hill Road.  The rest of us skirted around Midland and took the back streets through Greenmount, before coming out on the highway for the first climb.  Alistair made his customary dash to the front but he was soon wheeled in by Matthew and I.  We continued together maintaining a good pace with Matthew settled in behind me.  Once I had my bearings with the finish, I put in a small attack and took the climb.  Matthew later said he wasn’t going to come around after I’d done all the work.  Stu caught Heiko near the line and David rounded out the top five.  Mike Beecroft, back after a long time away from Sunday rides, brought up the rear but was still in good time and the re-group was fairly short.  

KOM 1.  1. Julian,  2. Matthew,  3. Stu,  4. Heiko,  5. David 

The trip through John Forrest was its usual scenic self but in the past couple of months there seemed to be more pot holes that have formed.  Consequently, it was fairly steady going until we past the main turn off.  An on-coming car on the early downhill stage also kept everyone on their toes.  We re-grouped at the bottom of the second climb and once over the bridge, Alistair, Matthew and Mark O attacked.  Stu and I settled into a rhythm behind and waited for the group to crack.  However, Matthew was looking very strong today and was not going to surrender the lead.  On the last rise Stu and I went past the other two and a final sprint saw me take second.   

KOM 2.  1. Matthew,  2. Julian,  3. Stu,  4. Alistair,  5. Mark O 

We waited in the shade for the rest to finish the climb and I gave instruction for the next section – head downhill and to the left before making a right hand turn into the road towards Parkerville.  The first couple of riders missed the turn after the descent, but were soon back on – oblivious to the instructions I had stated not 5 minutes earlier!  There was one bit of excitement on the way to Mundaring, with a car behind us not passing despite having plenty of room to do so.  We he did decide to go, he nearly had a head on with a car turning left out of a driveway.  No harm was done and the group didn’t even get abused for just being on the road. 

We stopped in Mundaring to make sure everyone was still on and then headed out to the dam.  The road along here has been resurfaced in parts and was very smooth, which made for a fast descent.  Before we knew it we’d reached the bottom and the long climb to Asher Road commenced.  Stu, Matthew and I kept together on the first part of the climb, with Stu doing all the work.  Near the pine forest he’d had enough and pulled out to let us do a bit up front.  I tried to maintain the pace but the legs were becoming heavier with each rotation.  Matthew went to the front and Stu went with him, and I dropped back a few metres.  I made an effort to catch them before the downhill section but they were away, so I settled into a comfortable pace and watch the tussle in front from a distance.  Matthew made a move one hill too early and was caught by Stu near the end.  I kept an eye behind me and noticed a group bearing down a bit quickly for comfort, so put in one last effort to keep them at bay. 

KOM 3.  1.Stu,  2. Matthew,  3. Julian,  4. Alistair,  5. David 

By now the effort was starting to show on a few faces, even though the temperature was quite pleasant.  We quickly made our way down the hill towards the final climb of the day and once past Aldersyde Road I put the foot down to see what was left.  The answer was not very much at all and I decided to pull back and let Stu and Matthew go.  Then Mr Dickhead arrived.  An idiot in a blue ute went screaming past me, a bit too close for comfort, then up head I saw him break very suddenly to avoid Matthew as there were cars coming the other way.  I later found out the his side mirror clipped Stu leaving a large lump on his arm.  Unfortunately, the car did not have any number plates so we couldn’t even track him down.  In the end, the battle for 3^rd to 5^th places was keenly contested, with about 7 in contention at the last rise.  Alistair came in ahead of Ben and David, with Heiko a gallant 6^th.  

KOM 4.  1.Stu,  2. Matthew,  3. Alistair,  4. Heiko,  5. David 

We reconvened in the Merchant to discuss the day’s events with everyone pretty happy to have completed a hard ride.  Peter texted in from Ballarat with updates on Steve H’s progress in the road race and we finished up discussing which SPR riders are most adept at spotting young lady pedestrians when we’re on rides!!  We then saddled up for the trip back into town after saying farewell to Lorraine, who was heading back to Darlington, via Mundaring.  Stu left us at Roe Highway, as he was keen on a few extra kms, whilst the rest of us held it together back to South Perth.  I didn’t do my usual home turn off today and led out the sprint, only to get swamped by Heiko et al going towards McDonalds.  We then said our farewells in the Bunnings car park and went home satisfied with a good work out under our belts.