I heard a few people talking this morning so just confirming that this coming ‘Good’ Friday and Easter Monday we will be doing the public holiday route starting at 7am. Pete will detail this on his ride routes section but if like me you wait till Friday to see where we are going this is a for you.
This is an intermediate speed ride with a more social emphasis and the aim of keeping the group together. We do have two fast sections – Shelley’s after which we will re-group and Dalkeith to the Swan Brewery.
Apologies but being one of the rare bread of cyclists that don’t drink coffee I will leave it up to others to find out where will be open.
Just a quick note to let you all know I have now updated the bike weight leader board. Some very light bikes but Darren’s Kestrel remains on top. Seems like Cervelo is continuing it’s domination with 3 now it the top 5. Also interesting was the battle at the other end with people wanting to leave as many lights, saddle bags etc on to make the claim of doing it the hard way on the heaviest bike. They seemed upset when I got them to strip them down.
I think I missed a couple of frame sizes so leave a comment if it’s missing and I will add it.
If you have an old bike posted and you no longer have it, let me know and I will remove it from the list.
Also I am keen to upload a photo of rider looking very proud with there latest machine in SPR kit. This not only satisfies my need for bike porn but also makes it easier for people new to the club to put a name to a face or bike to a face. We can’t just say the ‘guy on the Cervelo’ anymore as there are so many of them !
If interested please send a photo (low resolution if possible) to jonnykeyes@gmail.com and I will upload.
32.2kph by the transition group, good stuff……..not exactly sure what ours was but it was a funny old ride and it was only 33 something, way down on what we have been doing recently !
Daniel and I both riding matching Argon 18’s won the sprint to lead the bunch out of the car park; funny this one is never as closely fought out as the one at the end and often resembles the start of a track sprint when it’s windy.
A fairly large group today and everyone was extremely well behaved and waited after every red light. So much so that after 25km we were still riding steady with no attempt at a roll-through. OK if nobody else is going too I might as well start it. I signalled a roll-through and very soon we were into the 50’s. A few gaps formed along South St but due to lights the bunch stuck together. On North Lake Rd it was a similar story people would tail off on the undulations but the lights kept the group largely together.
I was leading at the top of North Lake Rd and when I looked round at the traffic lights I realised I was on my own. I didn’t know two lanes were turning right and that everyone else had gone to the inside lane. I got through (on green !) but the rest had to stop. I was tempted to hammer it but it wouldn’t have been worth the jibes I would have got if I did; besides Canning Hwy is not the best place to be on your own.
Along Canning we continued to get Reds. The group was still quite large but only a small number were working. Some good surges on the uphill drags and again gaps formed only too be caught at Red lights. James offered a lead-out on Canning and I was happy to get on his wheel, unfortunately he was turning off at Berwick St and this was a little early to be on the front. I stayed on the front and did the best I could but on Riverside Dr the mob came past going for the line. Couldn’t tell you who won but I’m sure someone can fill on the details.
After coffee a number of us headed down to Manning Rd to help Peter out with the SPR stall. I don’t think we managed to recruit any new Lance’s or Robbie’s but it’s always good to spend time with the crew and Daryl bringing along a set of rollers made sure we were all well entertained as many of us had never tried them before and felt like we were learning how to ride a bike for the first time.
A small group of only 12 this week probably due to a combination of people racing; people taking a long weekend break or because of the howler of a wind forecast. Does this mean I write a short blog as only 12 will be interested in reading it or a long blog as the rest want t o know what they missed? Does anyone read my waffle anyway?
We rolled away from the car park and the group looked perplexed, probably because we were waiting for Jens to come and drag us at the start. Knowing that he was racing in Pemberton Melvyn and Julian took the front. It was windy from the word go but most people took a turn at the front and at least we were moving forward. A new guy had joined us and did some good turns with Carl early on, which the rest of us were happy to take advantage of.
We started an inside – out roll-through on Hale Rd and continued onto Hawtin Rd. This was very hard and at one point into the wind we were going 22km/h and still loosing people. The group was now 8 and Julian was next to say goodbye as he had to take his son to cricket. It was pretty awful riding and I was certainly thinking as tree branches were coming flying towards us that this is a bad idea and no fun whatsoever; it was made worse knowing we still had Ridge Hill Rd to climb.
The climb was not easy but I went over in second place behind Ryan wary to stay close to the front after a previous time on this route when I was at the back of the group over the top then eased up lost 10m and couldn’t close back again even though we were heading downhill. Problem now though was I’d dug pretty deep and never really recovered for the rest of the ride.
I followed Ryan down and was impressed by his ability to go sidewards quicker than forwards at one point when a big gust hit at the start of the downhill. Deep-dish wheels and cross-winds….no thanks. The group was down to 5 now and working well together (well all apart from me). James, Jerrard, Michael W, and Ryan were all doing big turns at the front, while I was looking forward to seeing a Red traffic light. Along Bushmead Rd and onto Guildford Rd the pace remained high and we got the best run of green lights I’ve experienced in ages. Finally a Red coming towards Maylands and I could try and recover.
I tried to do a few turns after that but probably dragged the average speed down rather than up. The group then numbered 4 then 5 then 4 then 5 as I yo-yo’ed off the back on the drags through Maylands. Many thanks to the lorry driver/s who held the other boys up each time and allowed me get back on; and thanks to the group for riding sensibly and not over-taking it.
Now everyone has Garmins it looks like Zipps are the next 'toy'
Joining onto Railway Pd we waved to the transitional group who were stuck at the lights there and headed to East Perth. The steep climb there is normally one of my favourites but today I was last up. I got caught at the lights and the group was gone again. The front group got caught at the next set though and with the help of a few of the stronger guys from the transitional group I was somehow back in the front group. I think Ryan was first to the blue sign ahead of James and Jerrard.
Well we may be known as the ‘fast’ group but I’m pretty sure this is due to the speed on the road and not our ability to publish a blog. In this we are constantly beat each week by the other groups !
As Russel had noted we had a good sized group today. This is great to see and always makes the initial roll-throughs easier.
Heiko took his usual position at the front and dragged the group into the wind and out towards Guildford Rd. Good work mate. I was chatting to a few new people here who seemed happy and content as the speed had averaged 28km/h when we turned onto Guildford Rd; things would soon change I warned them.
We started the roll-through and immediately we were making life difficult for ourselves by rolling through into the wind. It’s quite hard to change this on the road without lots of confusion but luckily Pete pointed this out at the next set of traffic lights and the roll-through from the inside – out was much easier.
Going through Guildford we caught a group containing Aussie Crates, SRG and ECU riders but these guys were doing there own thing and we passed through without any hassle or mixing up of the groups. The pace picked up through Swan St and Bushmead Rd but it was Midlands Rd that caused started to cause problems. The wind here was bad but also the road is so heavy it drains your strength and it was extremely hard. It seemed like Julian was shouting last wheel sooner and sooner as we were loosing riders quite quickly here. Thankfully this didn’t last too much longer and there was a sigh of relief when the road got smooth again.
The lights at Kalamunda Rd gave some people a chance to get back on but it wasn’t long before the pace was back on. At some point the wind went from menace to friend and I looked down to see that although it felt like we were cruising we were actually doing 47km/h. Unfortunately the pace then picked up to 48km/h and the legs started to hurt. Alistair and Matty were dishing out some pain here and every start from the traffic lights and surge at the front had the rest of us strung out fighting to hold wheels. The roll-through had stopped but all in the group helped when they could and the pace was certainly high. The Intermediate group passed by on the opposite side of the road and with a few waves we continued on.
I noticed on the route map a funky little loop near Welshpool Rd and along Albany Hwy the reason was clear as we it allowed some of the riders behind to get ahead and join us for the charge home. Josh and I were being closely watched through Albany Hwy which was a nice complement but despite Jarrad trying hard on the uphill rises the group stayed together.
At the re-start from the lights on Shepparton Rd just before the causeway Jarrad dropped his chain Go Go Go was the call. Sorry mate that was a bit rough but take it as a complement that we were afraid of you. Matty and Alistair shot away and were helped by jumping behind a trailer that sheltered the wind. I’m not comfortable doing this but also I didn’t have the power to jump on either. Not sure who got the sprint as they disappeared pretty quickly up the road. I had a gap so carried on…. 50km/h over the causeway…..good…..still 50 coming off the causeway……still good…48km/h onto Riverside Dr……starting to hurt now……47….46…… Brother Dan caught and passed me at this stage but I was still happy to hold off the pack of wolves behind.
37km/h average by the end but with a little help from the wind !
We went up a hill, and then we went down a hill.
We went up another hill, and then we went down a hill.
Finally we went up a hill and then went down a hill.
Gooseberry Hill KOM 1 Jonny 2 Brodie 3 Heiko 4 Alistair 5 Help (guy on a visible carbon weave Fondreist).
Kalamunda Rd KOM 1 Jonny 2 Brodie 3 Heiko 4 Alistair 5 Help (guy on a visible carbon weave Fondreist).
Mundaring Weir KOM 1 Jonny 2 Heiko 3 Brodie 4 Alistair 5 Lisa
OK I guess I can write a bit more…….With so many people racing it was a small group of eight who headed for the hills. It was a very pleasant ride out with not too much wind and everyone doing nice steady turns at the front. Having not rode Gooseberry Hill for about three years I forgot how hard it is. The big problem is it gets steeper near the top and at that stage you are just trying to turn your smallest gear so the option of taking it easy is non-existent. Definitely questioning my sanity at this point and wondering at the carnage this would of caused when it used to make an appearance of the Saturday rides !
One of the reason’s I decided to ride today was to do the Zig-Zags; something else I’ve not done for ages. It’s funny I started off racing down, then about half way down decided to be a cyclo-tourist and enjoy the great scenery all around. As it turned out there was no rush as me and Alistair waited a while at the bottom before deciding to ride back up only to discover Heiko had punctured.
Next up was Kalamunda Rd and after Gooseberry this felt like a holiday; although the heart was definitely ticking at the top !
We lost Carl and Ronan at this point; it’s always going to be hard to keep going when you ride past the coffee shop we normally stop at. The extra loop before stopping was really nice and the climb back up to Kalamunda worked out great with Alistair setting the pace then me then Heiko then Brodie. Nice to get a half decent time posted to aim to beat next time !
After a quick stop and a vanilla slice it was back on the road. Alistair and Heiko decided they were going to continue and do some extra km’s. Brodie and myself decided the beach was a far better option and left them too it.
Well after a quick look at the blog I have noticed that nobody has taken up Pete’s offer to write up the adventures of the fast group, so here goes. Nobody wants to be reminded about all those light again so I will start from where the fast and main group split. Actually I think the title Fast groups may be more appropriate. I am not certain but I think we must have set a record between the fast and main group splitting and the fast group splitting from itself !
As we turned into Ewan St I’m sure I wasn’t the only one surprised by the climb ahead. Somehow I had not yet had the pleasure of discovering this climb but Pete seems to have a talent for finding them and this one did not disappoint. I actually climbed quite well and over the top I was 5th behind Ryan, Julian, Jerry, and Frank from Adelaide. Frank had actually checked out the blog while in Adelaide and decided to join us next time he was in Perth. At the top I looked back down to see a lot of carnage and a very split up bunch.
Once over the top there was a bit of confusion as to which way to go. Where are all the Garmins when you need them ? We did though find our way back onto West Coast Hwy and a small group got through the lights to form a breakaway. Now I know it may be a bit controversial that we kept going but out of the six of us away; four of us were at the front over the first climb and I’m sure Daniel and Chris who joined is in the break wouldn’t have been too far away over the top. Once we decided to go we actually went quite hard and rolled through at high speed. We all worked well together but when we got to the Boulevard it was more a case of work when you can and recover when you can. Climbing back up Oceanic Dr we lost Daniel who had been working hard beforehand and couldn’t quite stay with us. There was a bit of a headwind up the hill and when the elastic goes it’s hard getting back.
Back onto West Coast Hwy again I was actually starting to enjoy myself. It’s a great feeling when you are riding hard close to the limit but know you still have gas left in the tank if you need it. Again everyone worked well and if they couldn’t help on the uphills would help on the flats and downhills. As we turned off WCH I looked back for the first time and noticed Steve had got across. I did not see anyone else but I did hear the chasing groups did have us in sight and we were not home and dry.
The rest of the ride was pretty un-eventful with us sticking together and nobody trying to attack or break up the bunch. As we entered Mounts Bay Rd I decided to be the domestique and led. At this point I knew I wasn’t going to win the sprint plus after working together since Scarborough it was nice to all finish together. Ryan took off up the road to pass the sign post first.
Well luckily we all survived the carnage on Sunday and made it to Joondalup unhurt. Not sure if I will do it next year as it was a bit of fiasco at times. We got up at 4.30am as Lennie had arranged to meet Lisa at 5.15am outside QV1 in order to get the first train. I moaned all week as I am not a fan of early starts but I was warned the trains get very busy and if you are not there early you will not get on. At 5.50am the first train came but was packed to the rafters. We managed to squeeze Lisa on as she was doing the race but we decided to wait for the next one. We managed to get on this but again it was very busy. I think everyone had the clever idea of driving to Joondalup, parking there then getting the empty train south. When we got to Kwianna it must have only been about 4’C, definitely the coldest morning of the year so far and I was not too upset that we missed the first train. I also joined the biggest toilet queue ever; 10 toilets divided by 8000 doesn’t really work. Eventually we got to the back of A-group but when we started it was a long long way to the front and already it had split into many smaller groups. I played domestique and helped Lennie stay with the bunch. About 5km to the finish there was a big crash with about 20 bikes and bodies spread across the road. Lennie was also very close to ending up in another one and narrowly missed it. She was quite shaken up and just rode slowly to the finish after that. I got a bit carried away at the end and had a gap on the group we were with at the top of the off ramp – I managed to then hold off the chasing pack of about a hundred riders but boy did it hurt ! Before the last 5km things were going quite well and we did comment about how it was not as hectic as previous years. Five minutes later lennie had bodies flying in the air next to her ! Great to see many other South Perth Jerseys and congratulations to the SPR racers on there results. Next year….hrmmmh maybe not.
Well firstly apologies to all those for the lateness of the blog. Not many volunteers this week and with many of the usual bloggers not on the ride I was the best they could come up with. ! Also apologies for not knowing everyone’s names but after a year and a half out with injury there has been a number of new faces to appear in the bunch.
Looking round the car park at 6.55 their was only four of us gathered around Lorraine’s car wondering if anybody else was going to turn up; but by 7am like lambs to the slaughter the herd had gathered.
After a gentle role round to Riverside drive the bunch seemed to have grown again back to the usual numbers we have come to expect. A tail wind meant no shortage of willing workers and a pleasant role down towards Nedlands. After the first drag up it was interesting to see that a small group of six had a little gap at the top and four of those were from our strong female division. The tail wind and a good effort from Anna and the Fleet mechanic guy (sorry names) had us continue at 40km/h and a break at the Stirling hwy lights was welcomed to get the heart rate down.
I thought it would be a good idea to stick pretty close to the front for the run down the dog leg and then not be too far back at the start of Mossman park hill. All those who have done the Great bike ride would know this hill but for quite a few this was their first time up and a bit of a shock to the system. Dan and his Milram twin decided being off the front is even better than being near the front and attacked before the dog leg to get a nice gap before the start of the climb. I’m not sure if they were still at the top by the water tower as the pace definitely picked up on the hill once certain riders were unleashed. John commented later that it would take him a while to get over the image of me going past him up the hill in my Nike trainers.
After a re-group at the water tower the bunch continued towards Fremantle. Now this wouldn’t be a ride write up without the incident with a car. This time it looked like while we were heading down Stirling Hwy a car moved into the lane in front of us then didn’t seem to pull away. I was at the back at the time so didn’t see exactly what happened but what I did see was some quick reactions by everybody in the bunch to avoid any crashing.
Heading up Preston point road we picked up Team Bic – Dr’s Paul and Wally in there matching kits; quite how these guys got ahead of us to this point without a boat I am not sure but I suspect they might well have avoided Mossman park hill. After a little work with Ryan on the front he suggested a role-through into the wind and I was very happy with this. By Burke Drive the pace was on and the bunch seemed to have created a new form of riding into the wind with an inside and outside lane moving forward and a middle lane coming backwards. We might see this being adopted in the Tour’s team time trials but I somehow doubt it. A few riders tried to get off the front here but with the winds it was never really going to happen in the strong wind.
After another re-group the bunch followed Canning Hwy back to Perth. I think the combination of a headwind and traffic lights meant the bunch fragmented quite a bit and a few times I looked back to see a bunch catching us up only to be caught at traffic lights or else someone in our group would drive the pace and they didn’t get on. The same thing was happening in our group with people riding off the front only to get caught at lights and us catching them up again. The only incident on the Canning Hwy was a motorbike that seemed to accelerate from the lights very slowly and then at the last minute put on his left indicator and slow right down. Seems it’s trendy now to hit a motorbike as Andre Griepel and Lance Armstrong have shown, but luckily none of the Rouleurs decided to follow this trend.
At the traffic lights coming onto the causeway a group of 12ish was together and as we re-started Ryan went off up the road. Myself, Bec, Anna and another gave chase with the wind behind us and although each time I checked my computer we were doing 50km/h we could not get across. Looks like lots fun was had at lights and in the wind as groups seemed to be coming in for a while afterwards.
We went up a hill, and then we went down a hill.