Having shivered the whole ride from the Velodrome to the School, I finally stopped when I lined up with the other 6 Team SPR4-ers under the inflatable starting archway. Waiting, waiting waitng for the missing team in front to turn up; they didn’t, so it was now our countdown. Re-checked the strap on the group’s timing band wrapped around my ankle, reset my computer and we were off. It was a couple of 100 metres or so before we ran over the timing detector in the road and as I crossed it at the front of the group, had thoughts of how I could have saved a few seconds of our time if I been sitting at the back . . . .
We’re all still a bit numb from the cold and it took a klm or two before we started chatting and thinking about any form of strategy, pairing up, rolling through or single paceline . . . . . Called to start the Roll throughs to get to know each other and settle the group down; speed sitting around the low to mid 30’s and each rider only exposed on the front for 15 secs or until the next bike came through.
The group starting behind ours came past at a reasonable lick and we were happy to let them go – the boys commented on how the view in front had suddenly improved (something to do with long blonde hair and a trim pair of cycling knicks) but irritatingly they just slowed right in front of us, meaning that we had drop our speed just to sit back the required several bike lengths behind as per “the Rules”. Sat there dawdling along and muttering shall we / shan’t we overtake them and then came that long slight uphill. Tried to maintain low 30’s up but a couple of our lot dropped off and with the group in front slowing & getting tangled up with our leaders we just sat up, re-grouped, let them sort themselves out and get away. Up to the left hand turn on to the main road and the first of the fast sections of the course; we’re still being held up and finally in frustration, a nod and wink and we ran up behind them, accelerated past and hopefully dropped them. Clearly they weren’t playing by the rules as they hopped on and sat on our wheels for the next half a lap, before taking us again just past the finish line for the first lap. This time they cleared off and we were happy to let them go – nice view and all.
The laps started to form into a pattern of fast and slower sections, speeding up to get momentum on the ‘downs’ to hit the following ‘ups’; running down the fast back straight at 40 to make up for the slower climb up on the other side. Generally when we were overtaking or being overtaken most groups called and singled out ok, and we were happy to get overtaken by the SPR1’s and share a bit of banter close to the end of lap 3 I think it was. We took in turns to have highs and lows and as always on a good bunch ride, when someone’s on a low there’s always another on a high to pull them through.
At last the final lap. As owner of the timing banded leg, I had earlier let Mike know that I would be looking for his lead out at the end; making sure that for the second half of that final lap I would only sit on very short turns in the lead. By now Mike and Frank were taking turns to dominate on the front and I stayed at No.2 and sucked their respective wheels big time – good effort guys. Then it was the left /right into the 500m straight to the finish line. Mike looked back, checked I was still on, and he took off like a rocket. Speed up to 45 and just over 100 metres to go and all I could feel was a world of pain, no lungs left, legs like jelly and with a panic flash of impending failure I was about to beg Mike to ease up, when someone right on my tail shouting ‘GO MARK GO’ (or something like that). That gave me that final kick that I needed. Crossed the finish line at 46, relaxed and then instantly both legs locked into a solid cramp, it was the best that I could do just to stand up on the pedals and stay upright. I really had absolutely nothing left in the tank. ( Had a chuckle when later Pete manning the SPR tent tried to con me to sitting and doing a power test – “its only for 20 seconds” he said – yeah sure maybe I’ll have go with fresh legs – but not today thanks).
Momentarily there was no pleasure in finishing – just relief. And then the ‘well dones’, handshakes and self congratulatory pats on the back between all team members start; and with it that inner glow grows of having worked together and achieved something – maybe seemingly mindless for those who weren’t there, but very important for those who were.
Have to say a big thanks to ‘ring-in’ Mike Round who as a keen time trialist knows what has to be done and just gets on and does it –he’s a power house on two wheels. And a big thanks to the rest of our team – we posted a good time at 2hrs 20mins 55 secs; everyone worked their hearts out to keep the momentum up and finish in the mid field. I think we came 30th out of 56.
My computer reckons we did an average speed close to 34 but the official result of 32.999 will have to stand and set the target for next year.

Cheers Mark_S

Excellent ride today. Wet roads but no rain and no wind.
8 of us headed out and soon caught up with Main group 2 who were meandering on a sight seeing tour down Canning Hwy at 30 kph. Dutifully sat back and chilled out and thinking that if Tracy had been here she’d have been chomping at the bit – last week we ran this section at 35 + with her on the front. Finally arrived at North Lake Road junction and we turned left and took off up the hill as the meanderers carried on towards Freo.

More girls than boys on in the Transitional today but that didn’t slow the pace down at all. At North Lake, Chris with her new deep rimmed Zips had deserted us for Main 2 on Canning however we picked up an ex main group rider on South – so back up to 8 again.

Staying paired up all the way into Bannister and then time for the roll throughs; these were as good as last week with the inside line running at 31-34 and the outside sliding past nicely – maintaining a decent speed on the inside and riding smoothly past on the outside seems to be the trick.

Back into pairs along Nicholson and then having just turned into Albany Hwy the ‘bikes back’ call came through and we now had Main 1 sitting on our tail. Moving over we went to let them through – but they were clearly feeling kind and caring and mixed it in with us. Picking up their pace we rode along Manning as a solid peleton of around 30 bikes and me thinking ‘now that’s why I like riding with SPR’.

Turning right towards Curtin and one or two at the back had got caught at the lights whilst the front end had a half hearted sprint. Pace picked up to 45 but no-one was serious – clearly all they were thinking about was hot chocolate and bacon n’ egg muffins at Petes place.

Big thanks to Kate & Lorraine and the team for yet another fantastic breakfast & good to catch up with Ronny again who’s been off the bike and sucked into exam swatting . . . . looking forward to seeing you back on the Cervelo Dr. R
Cheers Mark_S

After reading the Thursday ride report I got fully dressed up to fend off the frost but by the time I had ridden the 11 klms to the carpark and with the milder 7 degs, I ended up stripping off a few items whilst the hordes gathered for the pre-ride briefing in the carpark. Pete in civvies and presumably saving his legs for the 25k Dardanup TT was organising groups and leaders and had allocated my fluro yellow shirt to lead out the 3 Developers sitting on the tarmac waiting for take off. But Carol arrived just in time and with a knowing smile gave me the nod and the wink so it was instant group transfer to join the Transitional ride.

Nice to see that Tracy was back on the Sat ride after a couple of weeks off and so we decided to do the joint leader thing – it had worked well with Jorgy last week particularly in controlling the roll throughs. This week, even though I had studied the map & thought I knew the way, I was a bit dyslexic with road names and the order they came in – well hey it is south of the river so what do you expect. Luckily Tracy (being a south of the river girl) was there to thwart any of my attempts to lead the group astray and we transitioned our way through the official route with no deviations this week (managed a quick tour of the Galleria carpark last week as Jorgy & I were happily chatting away on the front and not paying enough attention to road names).

Nine of us heading out from Coode St; Tracy sitting on the front with Jay, and with a bit of tail wind, hauled the pack along Canning hwy at 35 + she was determined that the group needed to do some work & was going to put in a fast time for her first ride back. A couple of times I slid to the back to pick up a backmarker or two, but mostly the group worked out who to pair up with and stayed nice and tight together with the ‘ease up’ calls only really coming through on a few of the rises.

When it came time for the roll throughs – they were good and big improvement on last week; possibly due to a more even matching of the groups ability, running at a higher speed and everyone concentrating on riding as smoothly as possible with no gaps forming on the outside line. Ronnie would have been proud.

Back along Nicholson Road when Mtb Scott from the main group joined us; he and Tracy sat on the front and the pace picked back up to the high 30’s for a good few klms with an easterly cross wind not slowing anything down.

Nice fast turn into Albany Hwy / Shepperton Rd and then after a klm or two the leaders of the amalgamated main group came past, but couldn’t get away with a red change in the traffic lights ahead. Not to miss an opportunity a couple of us hooked onto their tail to join in the fun across the Causeway and back along Riverside Drive. Never really sure which road sign signals the end of the sprint so I sat up too early, and had to drop back down onto the bars and crank it up again for second time when a couple of the others motored past.

My computer recorded an ave speed for the ride at just over 30 kph, it was a good effort from the Transitionals – a nice safe ride, no abusive utes and great weather – who could ask for more ?
Cheers Mark_S

The York campaign didn’t start off well . . . . lying in bed at 3.00 am on Sunday; listening to the howling wind and belting rain backed by the music and laughter from the party revellers next door & on top of that, was feeling a bit of stressed having been railroaded into doing the 100 + klms, when I thought I would only be good enough for the 50.

Alarm jolted us awake at 6.00am, kicked out of bed to make tea & staggered into the kitchen to put the kettle on with large doses of no enthusiasm. Three hours of sleep and the thought of a ride in cold driving rain conditions is no way to start any day. As the kettle boiled, mused over options of how to pull a ‘sicky’ without letting the team down.

Loaded the car and happily nothing critical left behind this time (like helmets water bottles bike shoes or energy bars). Driving up the Gt Eastern Hwy, the dawn lifted with little patches of blue sky pushing their way through the grey and heavy cloud cover. A few splatters of drizzle on the windscreen but nothing too threatening and then the adrenalin kicks in as we join the convoy of cars and utes loaded with bikes & heading in the same direction. ‘Yeah’ maybe its going to be OK after all.

Arriving in York and as with all adrenalin attacks – have to desperately find a toilet; climbing out of a warm car into the 12 degs outside doesn’t help either. Big queue outside the ‘boys room’ but ‘Yeah’ again as Carol pointed to the adjacent disabled toilet which no-one was using . . . . ‘Morning lemmings’ I chuckled smugly as I went straight in and drained precious body heat into the porcelain. Have always wondered why bib knicks don’t have velcro fasteners on the shoulder straps to enable quick removal in a hurry; having to stretch them beyond their natural resilience or alternatively firstly remove a tight SPR jersey with rear pockets loaded up with spare tubes, sunglasses, gloves and energy bars just doesn’t seem that clever either ?

We’d parked away from the main rabble, down a side street adjacent to the Town Hall lunch venue (forward planning in case it was raining after lunch and only needed a short dash to the car). Coincidently so had Neville and Doug who were just unloading their bikes – so no worries about having to hunt down team mates – clearly a good omen.

Milled around for a bit, Carol had organised a couple of lifesaving hot coffees; caught up with Jonny, Libby, Carlos, John and a few other SPR’s riding for non SPR teams. Gwyn headed off to join the Developer team girls as I tracked down Dr Wally & Greg who had signed us in as the ‘SPR Mainliners’. The five of us grouped up and a quick team tactic discussion was a one line item – “let’s try and hold it above 30kph” and that was it. We were 9th on the grid and our “go” time was 9.04.

15 mins to go and the adrenalin and cold conspired to replenish my bladder. Re-joined the ‘1’ person queue outside the disabled toilet, he went in and I waited and relaxed – surely had plenty of time . . .yeah right ! I have no idea what sort of curry and beer combination that “1” person had the night before – but the door stayed tightly shut with the red indicator locked in place for the next 14 mins & no sound of activity on the other side. The queue was still out of the door to the adjacent ‘boys’ room. One minute to go and I had to retreat back to the start line without relief – critical error No.1.

Critical error No. 2 followed soon after . . . sitting at the head of our group of five, the countdown was on, the starter said ‘go’ and we were off. I accelerated straight out of the blocks and around the first sharp turn left . . . shouts of “Maaaaark WTF” as the rest had (correctly) turned right. B*ll*cks – a rapid ‘U’ turn and back onto the tail of the ‘Mainliners’ and greeted with guffaws of laughter (would have to work extra hard on the front to live that one down).

Wally on the lead out of town as I sat in at No 2 and happy that the pace wasn’t full on, giving me time to get the legs warmed up. Still had that nagging pressure in my midriff which started to play tricks with my mind . . . . . was it my imagination, could I ignore it, would it go away after a few klms,. . . . answer was “No”, “No” and “No”. What if I ignored it – would I explode with unpleasant and steamy, sticky consequences, and if so would anyone notice . . . answer “ Yes” and “Yes.”:.

Outwardly we were going OK: nice echelon & humming along at 33 kph with the bit of crosswind not causing too much grief. 5 klms out & I thought I was well in control of my inner urges, concentrating on sitting on a rhythm, feeling good as we had already overtaken a couple of other groups that had started ahead of us. 10 klms out and the doubts set in, 12 klms out and mind made up – had to break the bad news to the boys that I needed to urgently find a tree. They hid their disappointment well and very good naturedly cruised along slowly as I dissipated more body heat into the atmosphere, whilst the groups we had just overtaken, passed behind my turned back. Dr Wally being the understanding gentleman he is, waited behind to help me get back onto the pack and we sat on 40 + to catch them a klm down the road. Settling back down & sitting on 30+ we fell back into the rhythm. Taking short or long turns on the front with Doug and Neville regularly pulling us up to 36; the bunches of coloured jerseys of the ‘target’ groups ahead slowly crept into view and we reeled them in.

Half way through the first of the two 54 klm laps, Greg started to slow a bit – result of a recent holiday in New Zealand keeping him off the bike; we changed formation with pairs on the front and him protected just behind in an attempt to keep the pace up above 30. Seemed to be going ok and then our first puncture as Wally’s rear wheel was down to about 30 lbs. Couldn’t find the culprit, but with the new tube in & pumped back up, all appeared ok as we headed into the sharp left hander and commenced the first of the climbs.

Neville and I worked together to top the crests with Wally backing up and Doug and Greg setting their own pace behind. Doug may have been a little slower on the ‘ups’, but he certainly made up for it on the descents and we were consistently all back together half way down the other side. The circuit had an initiakl three main lumps one after the other; the first was a low gear climb but once at the top and with enough downwards momentum, I managed to take the others in the bring ring.

With the cross winds picking up and turning into a head wind for the final section, coupled with the rough & dead road sapping strength from the legs; it was so good to finally turn left, then right & we’re back in York to close off the first 54 klm lap. Courage and bravado boosted by the cheering faces and clapping hands at the finish line and Greg being the determined stalwart confirmed he was ok to go on – well if he can commit then so can I. The bell went and so onto round two . . . . . .

Again Wally lead us out of town, the windspeed was picking up, so back into a single file echelon to find protection in the cross wind. 5 klms later and Greg, cramping up called it a day and we were now down to four. My turns in the lead averaged around 30-32, with Doug and Neville taking it up to 36 as they pulled like horses at the front. Neville and Dr Wally both put in a few good long turns along this section, and following a change in direction we finally had a tail wind with Wally taking it up to 40+ for a solid 4 klms or so. Had to drag him back into the pack so that I could have a go – he was clearly having far too much fun on the front!

At this point I discovered the joys of energy bars – never used them before and each bite was an instant kick which lasted about 5 klms before the speed started to creep back down and the legs got heavy again.

Time for that left turn again and into the climbs. A bit strung out at the first one with a re-group at the top and same for the second, but half way up the third I heard the distance cry from behind. Looked around to see the others slowing to group up around Wally’s 2nd rear puncture. No way was I going to head back down the hill so I finished the climb and stopped at the top waiting . . .waiting . . waiting . . . . Rearranged my water, finished off my fruit cake, admired the view and said ‘Hi’ to the passing riders, even chatting for a few seconds with friends from my ‘old’ team as they rode through. Waiting . . . . waiting until one of the passing riders reckoned my lot had stopped off for a barbeque back down the hill and I was missing out on the snags. Finally the SPR jerseys were back on the road and climbing up towards me – they’d be suffering, as at least I could get my stiffening legs spinning again on a downhill section.

Back into formation taking it in turns on the front and finally the last 20 klms to go when the road surface roughened up. The head / cross wind seemed even stronger the second time around and Neville spoke for everyone when he confirmed he was digging as deep as he could. At 12 klms to go it was time to start the count down of the klms left until finally at 2klms to go, we could see the left turn into town and with the final effort we managed to hang together and form up to cross the finish line four abreast, with Greg waiting to provide the lone cheer and hand clap as we crossed the line.

This was the hardest ride I’ve done for a year or two and the really positive and solid team work for the whole way played big dividends. A great effort from the SPR Mainliners bearing in mind that for the final lap, the four finishers run at an average age of 54. We did OK.

My computer calculated our average riding speed at 29.7 kph which allowing for the punctures and comfort stop gave us the official result of 27.37 kph & nearly four hours on the road.
The mutterings about the Swan Valley Sportif in a month’s time have already started. . . and maybe a few more green, white and black jerseys will team up for this one . . . . . just need to start the good weather prayers early, seeing that for the past few years the weather has been ugly on the Swan Valley ride.
Cheers Mark _S

Ronnie was scheduled to work and during the week he had offered me the leaders baton for the Saturday Transitional’s, so I conspired with ‘el Prez’ to find a route that I knew well enough such that getting lost was one thing I didn’t have to worry about. With 12 or 14 in the group I recognised most of the faces (not so hot with remembering names) and was good to see that Ruth had now stepped up and was in for the ride, along with several others who not long before been ‘rolling through’ along Shelley with the Developers. Ronnie had decided to start off with us with the aim of heading off to work half way through. Happy to see that temptation got the better of him and he stayed in for the whole trip, which worked out well as we took it turns to sit on the front or hold back and support the tail.

Setting off via Canning Hwy and Riverside drive, Tyrone and Yu lead out and with myself and Emma on second wheel being conscious to control the pace of the horses on the front. An easy transition onto Stirling Hwy with Ronnie riding shotgun at the back and a couple of changing traffic lights momentarily split the group but re-grouping was quick and painless and was clear that the group dynamics were balanced, cohesive and working well together.

After a few klms I ended up sitting back with Ruth as the others slowly crept away as a paired up pack. Traffic was light and most drivers passed without any issue although I did have a Transperth bus sitting right on my rear wheel for a short time, until I turned around and pointed to the PTA logo on my shirt, when he backed off passed by and sat on the rest of the group in front. Its well known at work that bus drivers like to brag to each other at smoko about the aggro they give to cyclists . . . .
Ruth settled down, found her rhythm and with every downhill section we edged closer to the others; by the time we arrived at the left turn off online casino at McAbe St to head into Mosman Pk we were only just behind the pack.

This ride has a few ups and downs and the first real group splinter happened on the sharp rise leading up to the golf course water tower. By now Ruth was going well and those regular sessions in Kings Park were paying off as she starting overtaking several others on the short climbs. Ronny was sitting there waiting at the top with his usual smile as the others rolled in and from then on he agreed to sit at the tail & I would lead out with Shaw through the river side of Mossy Park.

Next little test was the steady climb up along the River from Peppy Grove with its couple of speed humps and the sharp left and right hander, certainly generated a few red and puffing faces for those who handed expected it. A quick re-group at the roundabout before sneaking down the lane ways to get back onto the Stirling Hwy footpath, right turn at the lights past Christchurch and then the usual trip home and constantly checking backwards to waiting for the main group to hit us from behind.

Tyrone and a couple of others obviously know the rides regular sprint sections and took off so Ronnie gave me the nod and we joined in but quickly it was just the three of us swapping turns until the next rise when Ronnie put in a 50 m gap and took the honours. As we were sitting waiting at the lights onto Mounts Bay Rd, the Main group rolled up and as we all headed back to the City together and a few had a bit of fun as the pace picked up and then suddenly it was all over as we hit the roundabout and cruised back to the Bell.

No new riders joining us so the group gave the thumbs up for the Nedlands to Cott ‘alternative’ Developers route. Jackie & Debbie were missing out this week; Carol arrived dosed up with antibiotics and Mike B.”s daughter Kate was also ‘full of cold’.
Heading out along Mounts Bay Rd the group split with Kate dropping back so I sat back protecting her rear wheel as the others rode ahead and waited at the re-group points.
Top of Steve’s hill, Kate & I found the Waratah Ave shortcut as the others headed around the river and we played tag like this as we waited for them or they waited for us at regular points for the most of the ride.
All had been safe and happy until heading back to UWA when Kate had a too close a discussion with the back of a parked Ute resulting in a puffy lip and chipped tooth. It was hard to see, being a dark colour with the low sun straight ahead and whilst I was sitting on the front relaxing and had indicated to move out, Kate having dropped back a little wouldn’t have seen the signal. Moral of the story for me is that at the end of a ride when some may be tired, have to mobile casino keep the vigilance levels up and not take things for granted.
Seems like the new route and change in scenery was unanimously approved by the group and will be more of a regular ride option in the future. With the few rises and more exposed road riding it’s a better ride experience for anyone proposing to move up to the Transition group; and whilst the opportunities for rolling through are not as obvious – they are still there and with a bit more familiarisation the group will work them out.
Gwyn and I are heading south for next weekend so we’ll catch up the following Sat. Carol hope the drugs have sorted your flu out by next Sat !
Cheers Mark _S

Arriving in Lancelin at just before 8.00am the 7 of us gathered near the start for a chat, banana, dolloping on sun-screen, pinning on team numbers and then heading off for coffee – looking like a very relaxed team considering it was a ‘first’ for most of them.

Tracy decided to get her puncture over with and out of the way before the start – nothing like changing the tube on the comfort of thick grass, with a foot pump, no time pressure and a tap just by to wash off the hand grime; whilst Leon squeezed his shoulders into a borrowed SPR (L) jersey and looked as coordinated as the other regular Development group team members of Carol, Ruth, Debbie and Gwyn.

Lined & paired up at the start and ready for the off when Gwyn’s flat bar roadie received a special mention from the commentator about her rear carrier being available to take our lunch . . . . . cheeky sod . . . the count down and suddenly we’re off.

Tracy and Leon set a good pace from the start – out on the front they pulled the train into the slight head wind and up the hill out of Lancelin, and that set the format for the remainder of the ride. Team leader Tracy sat on the front for the whole 50 klms, and was joined by Ruth, Gwyn and Debbie at various times and Leon when he wasn’t assisting one of the others up the hills.

Carol had a full on cold and clearly was suffering big time with heart rate up in the 170’s plus and lungs full of gunk and suffering from a lack of oxygen. So I paired up with her and whilst there were a few times we did have 100 metre gap off the back of the group, the others always waited at the tops of the hills for us to catch up & sail online slots past. There was no stopping Carol on the down hills though and she could comfortably suck a wheel at 50 whenever we had the opportunity to stretch it out & catch the others. Heading back to Lancelin for the last few klms Carol used every ounce of her reserves to hang in whilst Tracy and Leon controlled the pace perfectly to get the group paired up and across the finish line looking as solid & tight bunch as anyo of them. Average speed may have been “relaxed” but hey we looked the part – and that”s all that matters on the photos!

The team worked really well together despite the wide range in abilities, and this being the first time for many. Tracy and Leon tuned down their riding tempo to give maximum support to the others and Carol gets the bravery award for never thinking of giving up despite her clearly restricted lung capacity.

We met up with a few friends (Michelle) and my old team from last season who let us in to jump the mile long food queue, and sat in the hot sun with the ‘splodge’ dished up for lunch – at least there was enough food to go around this year.

York is on in 4 weeks time – so I was happy to hear mutterings about people wanting to do it all over again. Maybe encourage a few more Transitionals to commit and get a couple of teams happening – Tracy’s keen to do the longer distance next time . . . . and York is certainly a good ride through the country side.
cheers Mark _S

This turned out to be one of the group’s best rides yet. 12 of us set from South Perth – with 1 new rider “Yu” ? from Japan who’s studying in Perth & riding his new Orbea. Leon joined us for a pre-Lancelin ride and Kate came along without Mike B. as escort. We wound our way around the Air Race barricades and packs of security personnel; looking back at Angelo St traffic lights – I saw no stragglers and felt we were going to have good one.
Usual first group stop at Canning Bridge where we discussed today’s change of tack; with Lancelin tomorrow we would work out our system for pairing up and then dropping off the front rather than our normal roll throughs. A few nervous glances, but the group’s so used to working together that it was instant success and we rode the whole length of Shelley like this, ticking along comfortably at 27-30 kph.
After the turnaround the return was the best roll through yet – paced lifted by several ‘K’s’ from last week and everyone riding consistently and tight. Kate dropped off half way along – legs still weary from the hours of hard ice skating the night before, so we paired up and sat back as the rest of the pack kept up their pace and rode away to rendezvous at the car park. Didn’t see the end sprint so not sure who won the points this week.
At Canning, Kate, Debbie & Christine returned to the Bell Tower, whilst the rest headed for the ‘Majestic’. Jackie on her new wheels had a bit of a mechanical after changing gear on the hill when derailleur and chain decided to have a ‘discussion’ with the spokes. Out with the rubber gloves, straightened up the derailleur and we were off again and heading back home for coffee. Passed Mike B riding south and mistakenly assumed he was looking for Kate – so I turned around to chase after him to let him know Kate had returned early – not realising that Michelle was riding today. Time trialled back down to Canning – didn’t catch him but did enjoy pushing myself for the extra 10 klms and eventually got back the Bell as most people were leaving.
Cheers
Mark_S

Just a quick report to make sure we’re not forgotten: 13 riders heading out down south and as the others rde off into the distance I stayed back with new girl Christine for the first section, just talking through a few of the basics – good excuse to take it easy on my 17 kilo hybrid. At the start of Shelley re-group point, the two of us headed out first so that we could be overtaken by the others riding as a pack to ‘demo’ group riding and ‘rolling through’. Surprised how far we had got before Jackie leading out the peleton behind us called “bikes back” ; they gracefully slid by and we latched onto the tail.
End of Shelley turn around and all ridng back as a group; Christine sat in, found herself a wheel and did her turn along with the rest.
No chance for the end of Shelley sprint on my lumbering mule – but I still had a go and managed 3rd up the rise with handlebars creaking, soggy front suspension protesting as it bounced up and down with me out of the saddle – looking forward to get my new brakes and the real bike back on the road.
Back to Canning Hwy, and whilst a couple were feeling the distance in their legs, (almost) everyone was fair game for the Applecross deviation and the Majestic climb. Final return to Canning Bridge and as usual the pace picked up along the freeway path heading north – clearly a few could smell the roasting coffee beans. Played sweeper and chilled out with Mike B (SPR hill climb champion) on the way back – he’s joined us for the past 2 weeks to escort daughter Kate out on our ride. Good feedback is that we should probably aim to pick the pace up a little on the roll throughs – so that’ll give us something to work on next week.
Back at the Bell Tower a few expressed interest in the Lancelin Sportif and suddenly we had a “SPR Developers” team for next Sunday – with a couple of Transitioners joining in to add a bit of pulling power.
Cheers Mark _S

Anyone interested in forming up a ‘not so fast’ SPR team for the Lancelin event on Sunday 18 April – could do either the 50 or the 85klm distances ?.
I realise the SPR guns will probably form up a couple of competitive / winning teams & no way would I be able to hang on the back of that so . . . . maybe some of the Transitioners or more relaxed Intermediate riders might be interested.
I did it last year (in another team) and we averaged around 30 kph for 90 klms with 7 riders.
We would need between 4-9 riders to make up a team.
Riders need to either join BWA (previously Cyclo Sportif) or I think you can get the equivalent of a day license. The emphasis (at my level) is that its a “ team participation” ride – although the fast guys will probably treat it more of race .
If you’re interested – you can check out the event details at the web address below:

Cheers Mark_S

http://www.bwa.org.au/cyclo-sportif/112/