after a disastrous ride yesterday where my heart rate was maxing out with even the smallest effort, i was not expecting any miracles in the hills today.   there were 17 starters that greeted the morning and as usual, i was running late.  a smaller than usual contingent were taking the shorter route today, and i assume that the weather (or prediction)  may have thinned their numbers.  the roads were damp but not really wet as you could avoid the main puddles to stay dry.  as we rode down albany hwy, i was watching from the back as each rider from the front hit a small puddle.  there was this small spray launching off their back wheel for half a second and as it worked its way down the line, i was reminded of an automated fountain.  it was beautiful as the drops sparkled in the morning light (better ease off on the medication).

the damp conditions also meant that the road was pretty clear of traffic to so we made fairly good time down to kelmscott.  along the way we managed to pick up about three more riders to bring us up to 20.

we turned up brookton hwy and everyone started the hill.  the long course was to climb about half way up before turning left onto peet road, while the short course was to continue all the way to karragullen.  the long course hill seemed shorter, but it was no way easier as everyone was about to find out.

the first half of brookton hwy is not that steep so the group was not spread that far by the time we hit peet rd.  i was totally unsure as to how i would cope in the hills and so just went with the front boys for as long as i could.  i think i surprised myself a bit and managed to hold on all the way to peet rd.  from there it was a different story.  the first half of peet rd is basically 10% which is probably doubly as steep as the bit of brookton we just did.  it then jumps to about 12-13% before the intersection with urch.  i was well off the pace by then and so content to tap out the pace as best i could. 

just before urch, i noticed a guy standing on the side of the road just watching everyone ride by.  as i got closer i noticed he had a coffee in his hand too.  even closer and i saw that it was andrew and he was waiting for lisa and davina who he coaches.  i am sure that he was going to give them words of encouragement as they rode by.

after the urch intersection, the road sits at around 12% again for quite a way.  i managed to pick up a couple of places here, but wasn’t that concerned when they caught me on the downhill.  we had a few guys that had never ridden this course before so they hadn’t seen the end of the climb.  it is the state champs next weekend so this was to be a practice run for a few people.  i just let the boys go when they made a move for the line.  we were far enough back from the points to not let it worry me.

roleystone 01 – dan, ashley, sato, bonner, jerry.

after a regroup we headed off to do it all again.  this time we were doing the old state champs course.  this meant out brookton, left into chevin, all the way along to coventry, onto urch and back up peet.  in the good old days, the open men did this about 18 times.  this would be our second ascent of peet and it was pretty much enough.

we travelled well along chevin, but it broke up a bit before we got to coventry.  i was hoping to keep it together before the descent to give all the climbers a even chance, but a couple got away early.  we weren’t that far off them after the very quick decent down urch, so it wasn’t that bad.  i wasn’t making a play for points so it didn’t really matter to me.

i set a tempo up the hill and eased up a bit before the top.  tom and matt caught up to me and we hit the descent of peet together.  one last climb to the finish and i wasn’t chasing anything.  the front guys were already cooling done by the time i got there.

roleystone 02 – dan, jerry, sato, ashley, bonner.

an easy ride to pickering brook where we bade farewell to davina and headed up the observatory.  again a few went off the front early and started the climb before the rest arrived.  not really the spr way as we generally take it easy between climbs and then go hard once everyone is together.  jerry was at the back talking to me as we hit the climb.  he managed to bridge across to the front guys quite quickly and they all took off up the road.  i did an SE effort for a while, but then realised that it hurt too much so just took it fairly easy for the rest of the climb.

observatory – ashley, jerry, bonner, dan, markO.

a fast descent down from the observatory and soon we were on the final climb.  as soon as the 15% grade sapped all my speed, i just tapped my way up the climb.  a gruppeto of myself, lisa, john and matt formed at about halfway up the climbs so we stuck together till the end.  some weary legs were evident by this stage.

lawnbrook – dan, ashley, sato, jerry, bonner.

a few opted for an early out as the rest of us hit the coffee shop.  there was no room for us as the ndcc juniors were sprawled around the place taking shelter under the snugly blanket that the coffee shop now provides.  fortunately they were heading out once we had ordered, so we did a hot seat change over and took up residence.

an easy return trip which was kept uneventful and i had survived a hills ride after missing a couple.  looks like i may be missing the next few as well, but more on that later.