We started,we went fast,a hill came and we still went fast,I did 300m on the front,we went faster,we rolled through,we went too fast and then we sprinted!
I love the coffee shop,oh and the push up the hill that I got.
These are my memories of this morning. I love it.
I believe it was closer to 200 metres on front 😉
Short and sharp write up
Alternate ending:
… we rolled through, we got dropped, we time-trialled all along Nicholson and much of Albany Highway on our own, we were rescued by Main2 and wheel-sucked our way back to the coffee shop…
I love it too 🙂
today i learnt an important main one lesson: …you live by the sword, you die by the sword. 🙂
i was doing ok until ~20km mark and one last push at the end of north lake road and i faded behind. the last thing i heard was…’quick catch up or you’ll get dropped!’
too late…
then i was lost…then i saw a sign that said ‘cockburn’ (giggle)
….the ride of shame (my first one)……home again. 🙂
No shame Katie!…
You ask a few of the SPR “oldies” how many months and months of group rides I got dropped on when I first started riding (back when there was only 1 group)!
Main 2 averaged about 33km/hr today which was helped by the pace along Shepparton Road which seemed to stay in the 40’s for quite a while (or did it just feel like that hehe).
thoroughly enjoyed the Main 1 ride today. IMO Main 1 should never be a cakewalk. there is a significant chasm between Main 1 and Fast, and Main 1 riders should always be thinking about bridging that gap. and if it happens to drop a few… well that’s what Main 2 is for, no?
thanx,
opinionated, intoxicated wannabee cyclist.
All I’ll add to the end of “and then we sprinted” is “too early”. Although I did provide a great (IMO) lead out to anyone behind me.
Great write-up Anna, that’s what it’s all about eh!
As the general consensus seemed to be back at the coffee shop, this was a really enjoyable route Pete.. nice long stretches of flat with a few bumps thrown in here and there, not too many traffic lights, easy to remember.. though some still mustn’t have checked the route – it was all of about 7 main roads, guys – even Meg could have remembered that! =p
Also, just a reminder of basic group skills 101 – if you miss your clip-in when taking off at the lights, don’t come to a standstill trying to get clipped in – it tends to cause problems for those behind.. if you miss it, you’ve still got one foot attached to pedal with and get your momentum, then find your feet once you’re rolling.. =]
Great ride though, really enjoyed the pace, made me glad I decided against trying to kill myself with the fast group!
Gr8 write up Anna! I LOVED this ride, one of the best yet. What an absolutely amazing route – PLEASE can we do this one again and again?? Main Grp 1 averaged nearly 35km/hr – HUGE!! Very very pleased ..
Great write up Anna! Katie, I was worried that we had lost you, but was hoping Main 2 would find you all ok. I was going to wait for you but sadly despite Michael’s great optimism I had no idea where we were which always provides some added incentive to try and hang on for a tad longer. Thanks to Dan for the oh sooo needed push!!
Thanks Anna, yep, that was exactly how I remembered it. Mike, it might only be 7 main roads but it’s still a problem when your vision is blurring because of the efforts. My HR monitor went on a blink (maybe it was a flatline as it was reading 0) but I reckon it would have hit the rev-limiter on the faster bit. I felt my heart in my mouth. I was barely hanging on, the thread was so thin, it very nearly popped…
There’s no shame Katie. Some days, it’s just not your day. Now with Main 2 trailing, you could’ve soft-pedalled or find a safe place to stop and wait for Main 2 to come up
Nice, concise write up.
It was great to see al the guys and girls pulling turns and rolling through for such long stretches, which kept the average speed in the right ballpark.
As Gregor said, Main 1 shouldn’t really be a cake walk, but losing someone at the 20km mark may have been a little early. With that said i though the Main 1 group already split a lights earlier (Main 1.5? What happened to El’ Prez?) and hopefully they came around to sweep up any soloists.
FYI, the fast group tends not to average a much higher speed than that (maybe 1 or 2km’s, predominantly due to a quicker warm-up), and it just goes to show how a group working together can keep up a good, comfortable pace, without riders really fearing for their lives (well, their morning at least).
AHh, Main group averaging 35km/hr.. The fast group only did 34.5km/hr.. It seems some people who should be in fast are sitting in main 1.. Soft I tell ya, soft… No names mentioned.. JASON and CHRIS… Tut tut…
Sounds like you all had fun though which is the main thing (as long as it is safe fun, safe fun = good fun)..
Anyway, Monday morning, better get back to work…. Even though it is nice and sunny out there and I would rather be on my bike..
Oops, appears I missed one other culprit…
JARRAD…… Soft… 😉
That’s fair, I’ll take that :).
I’ve got a good excuse I was looking for a steady morning ride before going mountain biking at 10am. Maybe I should have gone with the fast group for an easier ride…….. my legs were definitely complaining after 20 odd kilometers of trail riding.
My apologies for starting the roll-through on the uphill drag on North Lake Rd but roll-through’s should be about sharing the workload rather than all out effort and it did seem smoother at the start rather than the usual 30km/h to 45km/h in one go.
Great to see everyone buzzing so much after wards and I recon quite a few people would be able to step up and enjoy the fast group with the way they were riding on Saturday.
Not quite 35kph average Ryan, my computer read 34.5kph average. And it was definitely fun, and safe. As you said safe-fun. Just in case, Lennie also wore her condom booties, to make sure it was extra safe.
34.9 for me (That’s what my Garmin said), must have been that lightening sprint at the end….:P Might have to try the Fast if there are a few more people. That way I can suck wheels and have a chance at making it to the end.
Hey Jonny, at least i can vouch for ya going out to the hills after seeing ya at the traffic lights on Kalmunda Road!!
Oi- we never did Main 1…
We did another ride that starts early so I could be home to race in the arvo…..
(just for the record- I never did race int he arvo.. 🙁 )
Just added a couple of photo’s I took of Main 1. The group did split up a bit on Albany Hwy with a small group of us in front. Probably why a few differing average speeds.
yeah the small split grew with two word: “traffic lights”…but ‘them’s the breaks’ (excuse pun…) 🙂