Perth Mountain Bike Club hosted WA’s inaugural cyclocross race last Saturday. The venue was a novel one, Claremont Showgrounds and the course design showed some imagination. It took in some grass, some asphalt, drains, driveways, gutters and a couple of traditional cyclocross barriers and man-made water feature (sprinkler…). Oh and it was hot. Somewhere in the order of 34 degrees or more.
I think there was about thirty punters in the end on a smattering of actual ‘cross bikes, roadies and mountain bikes. I was amazed at how many ‘cross bikes there were actually… where do they normally get ridden? Never see them out on the trails! My ‘cross steed functions as my commuter so I was well equipped except for my slick tyres. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be bunny-hoping the barriers like some during practice though!
A short and sharp effort would be the order of the day in C grade with fellow SPR alumni’s Scott and Morrison. Morrison was on a roadie and Fairy also gave his roadie it’s first outing since God only knows when!
First lap or so was people spreading out and getting comfortable. Morrison was up there going well but perhap finding the corners tricky on the skinny tyres. A SWCC rider was going well too. When two riders binned it before the barriers on one lap I was dirty that I wasn’t ready for it and couldn’t take full advantage. Lesson learned and I was unclipped early before the obstacles after that. It wasnt long before PMBC racer Ms McAllum went to the front. I stayed with her for a bit before sliding past and having a go out in front. Was fun for bit before I muffed getting clipped in after the short uphill pinch obstacle and Mr SWCC and Morrison passed me. Not long after another rider came through and I was cooked. I thought I might catch him again on the flat grass sections but couldn’t quite get there. As it was I was lucky to hold fourth and not get chicked by Simone who had not dropped too far back. Mr SWCC had streaked away for the win with Morrison second.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hang about till the other grades were completed but SPR moonlighter Uppers managed 4th in A grade (and the first on a roadie) and by all accounts appeared to have enjoyed himself!
I had a ball and I’m really hoping that PMBC use this course (or something similar) again. It’s definitely something different and a novel style of racing (at least in Oz). Mad props to Greg and Paul from PMBC for organising and running it. I hear the second and third races are on the cards but not till January and probably using the Garvey Park dirt crit course. (Which I don’t mind but prefer this Claremont layout).
I had some footage of the race but my camera was pointed too far down so it wasn’t very interesting. FAIL. Must try harder. However some other footage from the race organisers can be found here.
Presented for another bash at C grade today. I don’t mind the Dog Hill circuit, it’s pretty flat and usually fairly fast. Roads are a little rough but not as bad as the Serpentine course. A dozen or more punters in C including fellow SPR stalwart Lisa (who had already smashed out 80km or so in the Hills this morning!)
It was a race of fits and starts with a solid core of riders doing most of the work. Elliot seemed to have ants in his pants and seemed keen to get out in front and Clint wasn’t much better, both of them having short dashes off the front. Geoff (KD Cycles) was also involved in some good pullsbut seemed to have a bit more patience. Lisa had a small digon one lap which seemed to take a few riders by surprise but it was short lived.
Nobody was able to get away with everyone generally chasing downany accelerations. In the second half of the race Lisa seemed to be a fixture on the front with nobody really coming through. In fact for the whole race there was never any organisation or roll through– it was more a case of just waiting for the rider in front to drop the speed before doing anything about it.
Completing the third (or fourth– can’t remember..) a selection of 3 or four guys got a gap of about 50 metres. Pretty sure it was Clint, Elliot and 2 other stronger riders so it was certainly a danger. In my mind I felt it could’ve been the critical move of the race if they were allowed to get away. I had a plan and was prepared to chasethem later on in the lap if they got away but my hesitation (did I say that? I meant well considered risk/reward decision-making process….) paid off. The bunchchased and brought them back not long after. In hindsight here would’ve been a good spot to have a dig myself but it honestly never entered my mind till now. Knowing what to do and having the legs to sit off the front fora lap or two are two different things….
Last lap was a bit ridiculous. On the back straight I found myself on the front and it wasn’t where I wanted to be. Tried pulling off once, twice, three times to no avail. No one was coming thru. Swung waaaay out over to the other side of the road, still no one biting. Back on the front, soft pedalling letting the speed drop 35kph,…. 33,… 30.. all the way down to 23 before someone came past! Onya Daryl ! Daryl was the most hated man in the peleton attacking fairly regularly to cries of ‘Bloody hell! not again!’
The bunch was all together heading into the sweeping curve left about a kilometre before the finish, riders jostling for position and streaming by on my right. Lisa was still at the front or near it. I was sitting about 8th or 9th wheel, with maybe 600 to 800 metres to go when I went for it. (I looked on Google Maps and think it was about that far but it’s easy for recollections to be wrong…). The bunch was drifting towards the centre of the road leaving some room on the left. I powered up the inside, still seated, but giving it heaps. I don’t know who was behind me but after I hit the front I glanced behind and had a gap. I kept going, a little surprised that no one had come with me (maybe jumped too early?) The finish line seemed an eternity away and I felt myself tiring and losing speed. Another quick glance behind and I could see the angry bunch catching. I had to stand and sprint to hold the closers off and crossed the line about five lengths in front!
Flat handicap at Serpentine next week. Only ever particiapted in one handicap before so I’m keen to have another go.
With the Dwellingup 100km off-road enduro coming up in September I found myself presented with a problem. I’d ridden my mountain bike exactly once (a 4hr enduro) since the last 100km effort (2010 Karri Cup[1]). I remember telling myself after the Karri Cup that I’d need to put in some more saddle time on the (near ten year old!) Giant dually before doing something like that again. The time for action was nigh.
I’d wanted to tick the Kep Track off my list of ‘Rides To Do’ for some time now. I’d read about Andrew’s expedition and thought I’d like to give it a go. It’s basically a dirt track that follows the Golden Pipeline from Mundaring Weir to Northam, 75km away. It’s not technical at all but does provide ample riding distance on dirt which would suit our purpose nicely. I’m not really into touring and staying in Northam didn’t turn me on so it was put forward that we ride it out and back. It’s not even hilly but my thinking was that what it lacked in elevation would be made up for in distance. The Dwellingup100 involves quite a lot of up and down but is only a mere 100km – so surely this would be a good training ride! A few emails to some interested parties, a short debate on a free weekend and a date settled on. It’d be good to knock this one over in a day.
By the time Sunday morning rolled around our band of riders had been whittled down to four. Scott, Lee, Craig and myself rocked up to Mundaring Weir Hotel carpark at 0600 [2] where it was deserted and dark. Scott and me on dually’s, Lee on his cool Focus hardtail and Craig on his Surly Long Haul Trucker. After some Mindless Banter™ [3]– mostly about how chilly it was, and jibes about me and Scott not having lights we set off shortly before 0630.
Three of us heading up the road and then we wondered where Scott got to. He had done this ride before and knew the way. He did the first half klick on the track whilst we plodded up the road and then joined the track. Jumpers and jackets were discarded shortly afterwards. The 7km or so to Mundaring township is mostly wide-ish sniggletrack [4], crosses the road a couple of times and very pleasant to ride, even uphill. It was dark, with just enough moonlight, and a bit of mist. A favourite part of any ride, I was just waiting for the Tauntauns to appear out of the white haze…
Negotiated the unsigned dogs-leg at Mt Helena with no hassles thanks to Scott’s prior knowledge. Most of the track is easy to follow but this intersection could be a trap for first timers.
Past the BMX jump track at Chidlow The rest of us resisted Craig’s call to ride the jumps. I’m useless in the air. Once my bike wheels leave the ground I may as well be a triathlete [5] for all the skill I have.
Section of flat path that was dry but quite bumpy. In the not too distant past it seems a horse or two had been through here when it was wet and left many hoof marks which had now dried hard. Kind of like corrugations but different. Certainly not the most pleasant surface to ride on.
Went past Baker’s Hill and it’s over-rated pie shop (IMNSHO) It was somewhere about here that I first started to feel it. Yes it wasn’t that far into the ride but lack of mtb saddle time and yesterday afternoons racing was reminding me that the effects were still present.
Nearing Clackline there was a fun downhill run ending in a gully across a stream. Video
Six or seven kilometres of deserted road provided Craig with a chance to stretch his Surly’s legs necessitating him to wait for the rest of us at a lovely paddock edge. Reminded our two ex-pats of Wales apparently. It is quite scenic in parts and all the sheep were out with their lambs following them about. We continued past the West Northam water tanks followed by a nice run of sniggletrack just before Northam. A cool, rough downhill, complete with dodgy pipe crossover before a short pathway blat into Northam town centre where the Garmin told me we had done 75km on the dot.
Not much doing in Northam on this lovely sunny Sunday. I was looking forward to the mountain bikers lunch of choice [6] but was sadly disappointed with what was on offer. A bakery, a cafe or Chicken Treat. We settled on the bakery which was empty when we arrived but within a minute of entering it was filled with more than a dozen locals. Purchases were made and we adjourned to the local park by the river to scoff down our sausage rolls, pies, buns, pastries, milk & Cokes.
After refilling CamelBaks and bottles we headed back out of town and climbed the steepest part of the ride. The rough track next to the pipeline wasn’t as hard going up as I thought it might be when I was barrelling down it earlier on.
A regroup at the Wales-esque paddock took place before the short roll down the road to Clackline. We waited there too as it seems Lee had a puncture. Craig went back to help him out with me and Scott heading off up the track. It wasn’t too long before Craig and Lee caught, then passed us and we were off the back again. This might have been the last time I saw Craig until I finished the ride! Lee I could see in the distance for some time and almost caught him at a road crossing but then he disappeared into the yonder again. I was really hitting the wall at this point and it was somewhere around the 135km mark that I stopped and waited for Scott. I was knackered and inhaled my emergency gel. Scott turned up after a few minutes and we had some more lollies. A lady rider heading the other way said she hadn’t seen anyone else on the track. I figured Lee and Craig must’ve finished. We re-mounted , determined to finish off the day. I spent most of the remaining kilometres back to Mundaring township yo-yoing off the back of Scott’s wheel. I perked up once we reached the downhill sniggletrack back to the Hotel and we bombed down it, legs forgetting that we’d already asked 144km of them. I finished the last of my water somewhere around here. Rolled into the carpark, band was playing in the pub across the road, with 150km on Mr Garmin.
Craig was waiting for us – and had been for 25 minutes! Strangely, Lee turned up a few minutes later than us. Turns out he stopped to fix another flat and then got lost, probably missed the dogs leg mentioned previously at Mt Helena on the way back.
I was completely spent. I’d drunk 1.5 litres of water on the way out, 3 litres on the way back, a small Coke, sausage roll, small mocha milk, two bananas, two fruit & muesli bars, two Coconut Rough’s and my emergency gel. It was a bit before 1645, slightly closer to my self-imposed limit of 1700 than I’d planned.
The ride was certainly harder, or perhaps it’d just taken more out of me, than I’d anticipated. The mission was accomplished (which was to get some time on the dually) but if I was doing this ride again I’d definitely take my commuter (the Salsa ‘crosser of Orangeness). It’s much better suited for this ride. Hopefully I’ll get in a couple more sensible rides on the Giant before Dwellingup.
Scott will be along shortly with his version of events and possibly some cool video footage of the final piece of singletrack into Mundaring 🙂
Well as per usual I was running late and didn’t really have time for a proper warm up. Just a few zips up and down the road would have to do.
Saw Pickle and fellow SPR riders Josh and Matt at rego. Josh was egging me on to have a crack at A grade but as mentioned previously, I think B grade is where I belong for now. Unfortunately for me this also meant that I’d have no team mates in B grade.
Both A and B grades were up for twelve laps of the four kilometre course. A moved off and the roll call for B grade was executed. Twelve punters on this sunny day. A few riders muttered about the inclusion of an A grade rider in our midst (some quite loudly!) and to rub it in the rider in question attacked from the gun and wasn’t to be seen until more than halfway through the race!
For the rest of us the first half of the race was fairly uneventful. I was sticking to the wheel of one of the stronger B grade regulars for most of the time, taking my turns but not doing anything more than I had to. Heading off on the seventh lap it was clear that we were pulling back the escapee and the call went out to leave him out there for a bit longer. It was going over the sharp pinch on lap nine that the group accelerated and went on with it over the top. They didn’t ride off into the distance but had a good gap. I popped off the back along with two other guys. I had to sit in for a bit at this point as I was stuffed and did the bare minimum work. I came good after a lap and proceeded to do my bit. The front group was five strong but one of those guys dropped off and we sped by him. One of my helpers popped around this time too and so our chase group was down to two with four in front.
We were catching them and going over the hill was within twenty metres or so – but then the elastic snapped and they powered down the back slope. My chasing friend (who won the handicap last week) also gapped me over the hill. I tried to catch him again but fell short by about five metres on the line. 6th for me. The front group stayed away by about 150m I’d estimate. The guy who had attacked at the start won the four-up sprint easily by all accounts.
Lessons learned and noted. Need to recognize when to dig deep and hang tough. If I can do that then I think I can be there at the end.
Time :- 1hr 17min
Distance :- 48km
Average :- 37.2kph
Further details here or here. Serpentine next week – hopefully I’ll put in a better show than last time there!
PS – Don’t forget to use the SPR Events Calendar to find out what racing and other events are going on. A few of us try to keep it as up to date and as accurate as possible. So check it out!
It was a bit of a last minute decision to head down to this race but I’m glad I did. I’ve never raced with PDCC before and the circuit was new to me also. Also said hello to Chaderotti who was entered in his first road race in C-Grade (his own report of C-Grade race can be found here.)
I rocked up and discovered fellow South Perth Rouleurs members Dan (Hughes-D’Arth) & Josh(Camp) getting sorted. We’d all been entered in B grade. I was happy with this – I’d done my research and checked out what the PDCC races last year were averaging. A-grade was zooming round the courses at about a 38-40kph clip, B-grade usually between 35-37kph with C grade managing 32-33kph. I felt I was in the right company then. 6 laps of a course just shy of 11km.
We were lined up in in 2 columns for the start with myself at the head of one of them. After getting the nod our field of 11 headed off. The guy next to me had some trouble clipping in and so when I had a look back 500m into the race I’d pulled out a gap of 80-100m. I wasn’t about break solo for 65km so I sat up and cruised along. And kept cruising…. Finally about halfway round the bunch pulled up behind me. Pfft. Towards the end of the 1st lap Dan and another guy had created a gap of about 150m. Coming into the finishing area Josh went to bridge but sat up as soon as the bunch was with him. Which was my cue to have a dig. I made it across to the twosome and started taking turns. The 3rd guy didn’t last long and it was 2 SPR with a gap on the bunch. An ideal situation to be in – but perhaps not this far out from the finish. It was only the 2nd lap. We soft-pedalled and drifted back to the pack.
The peleton was certainly not keen to push things along. A roll of sorts was in place but whenever I’d roll off it was near impossible to get others to come thru despite swerving all the road. Very frustrating. Maverick’s manoeuvre from Top Gun where he dumps the air brakes and goes backwards entered my mind on more than one occasion… And there were 2 wiley old sods that were not engaging with the pack at all.
I think it was somewhere into the third lap that Daniel was again away with another bloke. They had a good lead and once again the bunch wasn’t interested. Myself and Josh weren’t pulling hard and only taking short turns and no-one else wanted to take the reigns. This is how things remained until the 5th lap when Dan was pulled back (his breakaway partner had pulled out with a flat).
The 6th and final lap came about the pack was together except for one who had been dropped and the guy who had a flat. Josh indicated he was waiting for the sprint and I assumed Dan couldn’t have too many matches left after his earlier break (How wrong I was!). On this final lap I had a few digs. Before the first corner I had a dash before slowing up on the small incline. Another hit-out at the end of the back straight for kicks. I was hoping it would be anyone but Dan & Josh doing the chasing but wasn’t about to look behind. With any luck this would deaden the legs of the others leaving Josh to do his thing at the end. Josh asked me more than once how much I had left and everytime I’d reply “Not much” before taking off! (I’m still figuring out how the legs will respond to the pointy end of a race…) I put in another effort at the dogs leg before the last corner then latching on when the bunch caught up. Just enough time for a quick breather before the final corner and the bunch kick.
And kick they did. Josh was close to getting boxed in and ended up touching wheels with the eventual third place rider. Did well to stay up and then powered on to the finish,… except somehow Dan had recovered from his earlier efforts and nudged him into 2nd! I managed 7th across the line. The bunch was lucky not to clean up (be cleaned up?) by a car doing a 3-point turn several metres past the finish line.
Good race from the SPR boys who, despite some negative racing from other participants, scored the one two. Credit to the couple of riders who did their share, unfortunately we weren’t able to shake 2 other riders, one of which took a few turns and the other who did exactly zero. I enjoyed being a part of the race rather than just trying to hang on.
Next race is at Wandi on Saturday 1st May @ 14:00. $10 entry. All you who were in C grade for the Peter Clark Memorial the other week would fit right in in B-Grade at PDCC.
