by dr ronny

Another 22 or so riders today which I think is close to the perfect number for a group like this. Scott was coming along for his 1st ride with us and there were a few new faces and a few familiar ones which is always good to see. We headed out onto the Canning Hwy, made the turn onto the North Lake Rd and kept together well onto South St and beyond. The pace was pretty civil at this stage with two guys doing most of the work at the front (sorry, don’t know your names but I probably should).

We turned left onto Bannister road where there was about a metre of road missing from the left lane. The call was a little late but everyone avoided it without incident.

The roll through along Bannister was ok today. It was difficult as the wind was coming from the front right and I thought about calling a reverse roll through where people go clockwise (to keep the faster lane on the less windy side) but didn’t want to confuse the group.
There was at least one small gap somewhere in the group for most of the roll through and the occasional bit of braking in the left lane which is something we will have to work on. The trick is to make sure the pace is even, in both lanes – and of course, that’s much easier said than done. Once a gap forms, especially in the right lane, riders have been inclined to sprint to close the gap which just forces the person behind to also sprint to close the new gap left behind. The resulting change of pace wastes energy and makes it less enjoyable for everyone. So how do we solve this problem?

My first suggestion is for everyone to narrow the difference in pace between the two lines. The right lane should only be going a tiny bit faster than the left. You should be able to say a quick few words to every person on your left as you pass them gradually. Once you make your way to the front, you should move over to the left in a controlled manner. Don’t rush. You should be at the front for about 15-20 seconds. Quite a few people have been accelerating once the person in front moves over left to overtake them. You don’t need to feel hurried or rushed to get ahead and pull over left. You just need to keep the SAME pace (but you’ll be doing more work as the wind will be in your face) and without having to accelerate, you’ll find yourself overtaking the guy that’s just pulled over as they’ll be easing up a bit. So, exactly how much is “easing up”? Well, for starters, it’s not nothing. Don’t stop pedalling. A few people were doing this, and much to their credit, some of them were doing it pretty well. But they had to do it because they were going so much quicker in the right lane that when they got to the front, they had to slow up quite a bit as they joined the slower left lane. I would suggest pedalling about 5rpm less than you were in the right lane which makes you go 5-6% slower (depending on your cadence). So for instance, if you are in the right lane doing 36kph and pedalling with a cadence of 90rpm, you would pull over left and reduce your cadence to 85rpm which would slow you down to 33.9kph. It’s not a lot and that’s the point.

So what happens when a gap forms? Well, gaps form all the time – so don’t panic. If the guy in front of you sprints up ahead leaving 3 bike lengths in front of you what should you do? Well, you can close the gap gradually and smoothly. But by accelerating, you just make everyone else behind you do the same which is sometimes ok. For instance, if you go 37kph for 40 seconds, that closes an 11 metre gap. Or, you can stay at 36kph and try to get everyone behind you to start rolling through smoothly again. If it happens the next time round, you should say a quick few words to the guys ahead of you (who are doing it) the next time you have them on your left as you pass them with a cadence of 5rpm more in the right lane.

OK, back to the ride. We turned left onto Nicholson and some people were keen to continue the roll through up the hill – don’t you love enthusiasm? However, thinking that the pace was a little high and the group was a little strung out, I got to the front and took control. We made it through the roundabout and then I called for another roll-through. The roll-through was better – because the wind was more manageable – and we made our way onto Albany Hwy. I found myself at the front with another good looking Asian guy with good taste in helmets – Jen. He’s a friend of Raph’s and I found out that his brother is a gastroenterologist at RPH. We caught every single set of lights between Nicholson and the Causeway and I started to feel a bit tired. My partner seemed fresher and after the last set of lights before the Causeway we agreed to wind it up. We were nudging 50kph over the Causeway when I started to slow down on the right. I was hoping some others would come through. After 3 guys passed me on the left I noticed there was a gap beside me. I looked over my left shoulder to see nobody there. The 4 guys ahead were about 4-5 bike lengths away by now but against the wishes of my legs I decided to shift up and get out of the saddle. After 10 or 15 good kicks I was back on as we turned onto Riverside. My ex-partner started to slow and I could see the guys behind him waiting to pounce. The guy in front of me moved right to overtake and I followed. When he began to slow, I came out from his wheel and led out. The lights behind us turned red and I could hear someone coming from behind. I was done by now and began to hope that whoever it was, that they would come past and give me a draft for the last 200 meters to keep 2nd place. I was chuffed to see Jen after his good turn over the Causeway come beside me and ease up. We had a small gap on our other 3 breakaway companions and poddled in to be first to coffee.

A few comments at coffee about the lack of calling – fair point – a few obstacles weren’t called and when you’re on the front, you should call them (not just signal them). If you’re at the front and too short of breath to call or not noticing obstacles up the road it’s time to pull off and have a rest. I think some more talk within the group, especially during the roll through, will be the key to our success.
Overall, another safe and enjoyable outing. Our average speed continues to increase with an average of 32.2kph today. Well done!

PS – does anybody know how to add paragraphs to a post?