by dr ronny

a short report from me today:

– we had about 20 riders with a couple of new faces as has been usual since the new year. They took the tips that were given to them well and I suggested they read the ride etiquette section of the blog too.

– the route today was very enjoyable and I have to thank Pete for being more creative than sending us along the Canning Vale Reverse route for the billionth time 😉

– the roll-through along Shelley was an improvement on last week. Some people tended to slow up a bit too much when moving over to the left and others flew past and made a gap of 3-4 bike lengths before they realised that no one had passed them for a minute but everyone got better along the way. Scott probably had the best view of everyone as he was playing shepherd up the back. There seemed to a smoother half to the group which meant that every few minutes, a cycle of gaps forming and calls of “slowing” were made. – we had similar experiences on our way to Bannister, and then on Bannister and Nicholson.

– a few comments about it being bit slow today which is fair enough. For the record though, I’m always happy for people to come to the front and do work for the group is they feel that way 🙂 It’s hard as the roll through basically makes everyone do the same amount of work which means that the group has to go the pace of the slowest rider. In the past, I’ve tried to encourage slower people to miss turns but this doesn’t happen and in the end, the roll through breaks down as gaps form and people slow down with fatigue in both lanes. I think the solution will be a heavier hand on my part. Watch out in the next few weeks. For a refresher, read this Cycling Tips blog post.

– the pace was set on Albany and over the causeway I led out forming a decisive group of six. Scott and I got back on to the other 4 at the lights and I managed to pip Jason to the Royal Perth Hospital sign to get to the coffee shop near first (Ryan was there).

– I will be in Sydney next Saturday so have fun without me!

– PS – I CAN’T WAIT TO GET MY NEW KIT!!!!! (although I was always told that “red and green should never be seen”, which got me thinking that this would be a perfect solution)