i checked the weather this morning and it said that it was 14 degrees. i checked the radar and there were generally clear skies with maybe the odd shower. it was all looking good and i was set for an excellent morning ride. the roads were a little wet but not saturated and you know that it had only been a light shower as there were dry spots under the trees. must be those little bits that i saw on the radar. not a problem.
not really sure how many we had at the start but i would say close to 40. the threat of weather had scared away the novice group so we were down to just the two that would split up later. we had quite a few new riders out with us this morning so it was good to have them along. especially young alex who was only 12 and managed to keep up with the main group ok. it was also good to see steve back on the bike after a bit of back surgery had him laid up for a while.
the course was a fairly new one as we had only done it once before. a common route past booragoon and onto canning vale before splitting at nicholson rd. the main group would take nicholson back to albany before crossing it and coming home via welshpool rd. the fast group would continue on and take warton up to welshpool.
we wouldn’t have made it 500 metres up the road before the rain started coming down. not just the light showers that were predicted, but a decent soaking. at least being at the front meant that i also did have to endure the road spray as well, so i only got rained on once. we also managed to get every set of lights once we hit canning hwy so by the time we were heading up risely, the group was a tad splintered. the easy pace meant that the stragglers could regroup but it all came to a halt when dan’s tire spectacularly went bang while as we took off from the lights.
we pulled into murdoch drive and got off the road while melvyn and i helped him change it. there was a fair gash in his back tyre and we tried to cover it with some spare rim tape that i had with me. new tube in, a quick lesson on how to use a gas bottle and the tyre was up…and bulging all around the flesh wound. not good. we sent him on his way as there was no way it would survive a fast paced effort in the rain.
up and running again, the group meandered along to south st and headed towards canning vale. the group splintered a bit along the way and i had to get the boys to ease back a bit. i think that they were just trying to stay warm. pretty soon we were at nicholson rd and the group split quite evenly.
a bit of crappy driving from a local, who couldn’t use the accelerator, found the group split in two with a car in the middle. she had ample room and time to come around but didn’t before the road narrowed and made it impossible. it soon widened out and we got a roll through happening. all this time the rain seemed to be intermittently coming down, but combined with the road spray, it was pretty much a constant thing. we turned up warton rd and the roll through involved almost all of the group. stu is training for a mtb tour of timor and as such had the fat wheel beast out with us today. unfortunately he was a bit short on gears and couldn’t keep the pace up when we were really hammering. he did manage to sit in quite well for a lot of the ride though.
a couple of intersection and roundabouts played havoc with the group and we needed to ease back a bit to allow the group back together. it was a pretty hard slog but we finally reached the end and turned onto crystal brook rd.
a slight downhill and tailwind made this section a lot more pleasant and the group hummed along quite nicely. we passed another group and one of the guys that we know from it came up for a chat. resplendent in my yellow jersey today, i was content to act as protected rider and hang back to catch the draft. i managed to sit in this spot for the majority of welshpool rd and onto shep rd and had a few good conversations in the meantime.
the rain got a bit stupid along shep rd but at least it was double lane, so cars were giving us a wide berth. the lights made sure no attacks went on this section and we all rolled down to the causeway together. it was great to see the group stay in the lane at the lights and no-one tried to slip around the cars for and early break.
the pace started to pick up as everyone was anticipating the sprint along riverside drive. jerry went early and had a decent break by the time we veered off the causeway. the group started to string out as they chased him down and at one point i though he may have gotten away for good. i was jumping from wheel to wheel coming from the very back of the pack and was soon sitting about midpack. about then the group caught jerry showing lots of compassion for his efforts, sat on his wheel instead of coming around. this caused the group to bunch up and spread across the lane. i looked back twice to check for traffic (a sure sign of a move coming) and then hit the accelerator. this was not a stand up sprint but just a power down seated time trial. someone called out that i was going, but no-one responded and i got a decent gap. running scared i looked back a couple of times, but i had managed to put enough space between myself and the chasers to allow me to be first to the stop lights. if is was really thinking straight i should have done a pistol in the air salute like contador (since one of john’s kids thought i was riding in the tour this year).
no stop for me as i had an appointment and i was too damn wet to want to sit still for too long. the rain cleared later in the day to reveal much better riding conditions and to mock us for being so stupid. however, i had a good time even if my bike now needs a damn good clean.
a cold, cold start to the day but that didn’t stop close to 70 riders turning up this morning. quite a few new faces and a couple of recent acquisitions returning so we must be doing something right. i blame the tour de france. everyone is trying to make up for cadel’s lacklustre performance this year.
the route today was to be an old favourite. this used to be one of our regulars back in the old bikeforce days when simon used to lead the rides. the main group would take the tried and true path through ascot, guilford and back via benara rd, while the fast group would take a extended trip past guilford to return via midland before heading back to the original route along benara rd. well that was the plan anyway.
we all started out well but i had to move to the front to get james and ben to ease back a bit as i was having trouble holding a conversation with brendan. they said that they were only trying to keep warm. the group managed to keep together well and despite the size did not get split at any of the lights that we past through. it didn’t take too long and we were at the split point for the main group to head through ascot.
the group made their decision and i would say ¾ went the main route today. with the pinjarra race and atta time trial tomorrow, some of the usual fast group were hoping to save their legs a bit.
the pace didn’t pick up that much and the group continued to just ride two abreast with the front guys peeling off once they had enough. heading towards guilford, the pace increased slightly but nothing too strenuous as it think that people were a bit unsure of the exact course. the last time this one was planned, there was not much following the map happening.
extra confusion as we went to turn right onto west road as another group coming the other way also turned and managed to split our bunch. the front half then decided to slow down to regroup while the back half wanted to speed up and pass to regroup. meanwhile part of the other group also sped up and some managed to get past our front half. we eventually upped the pace and started dragging everyone along.
the roll through had started and the pace quickened such that it began to string out in places. as we approached the rail crossing the group slowed and spread out to avoid the tracks. we were riding almost directly into the sun and while we were warning everyone of the tracks, no-one saw the two massive potholes just before them. last minute warnings and some evasive action still didn’t stop a number of guys going straight into them. as expected the result was a couple of flat tyres. james and jerry were the lucky recipients but i am guessing the it is better than actually coming off after hitting the hole.
they both had a couple of helpers so the rest of us formed up a bit further up the road to discuss the important things that cyclists talk about. bikes, bike parts, bike clothes, you know, the usual. once we got going we decided to cut the route short to make up for the lost time. a left onto bushmead rd instead of a right, and we headed back towards guilford. although melvyn did suggest we just stay on that road, we still managed to turn up west swan road to head to benara rd.
the group started rolling through again and we had a real good flow happening. benara rd came up fast and we chucked a left to start the run towards home. this route is usually planned when there is a massive easterly blowing, so it was an interesting experience to ride it with almost still conditions. it was so much harder.
the roll through tended to degenerate quite rapidly and the fast boys came to the front to pull turns. james, julian and ben did the majority of the work with kimbo and myself slotting in for the occasional turn. we had a relatively good run with the lights but had to slow enough that the majority of the group were together by the end. we did lose 3 or 4 at one set of lights so we hope they made it home ok.
the run south is punctuated by a number of short sharp power climbs and these often brake the group apart. today was no exception. the splintered group managed to reform a couple of times but i was off the back fighting my way back on for much of the remainder of the ride. we caught up at a extra long light change on whatley crescent but then slipped back on the next hill. fought back to the group on east parade but then got split at the lights coming down towards riverside drive. at the end i never saw the sprint so was not sure who claimed coffeeshop glory.
an early appointment for the family meant that i was not stopping for coffee so didn’t even get a chance to find out how the other group went. i am sure that there is someone in that group that can let us know the story.
cold mornings seem to be the order of the day. however, after enduring a week or so of rain, it was definitely easier to accommodate. the rain had coincided with me coming down with a cold, so my butt had not seen a bike seat for over a week. i was debating which group i would ride with today but settled for the fast group and would just sit on the back.
the route would take us on the tried and true roads of canning vale after taking stock and south street. the main group would head along banister road while the fast group would head around to nicholson. this time we would take the correct route and go straight through the roundabout rather than turn left as we usually do when heading along that road.
a few new guys and girls came along today and it was good to see especially in the middle of winter. i think the tour de france is sometimes that little bit of incentive that people need. not sure of the total numbers but plus 40 anyway with most of the regulars out for a trot.
we had a nice and easy start and headed down canning hwy to stock rd. dr paul and crew peeled off early to lap the river instead while the fast and intermediate groups took the first hill up to the stock rd intersection. the lights were good to us today and everyone made it up the hill and around the corner. once we hit south street i went to the front to let the group know that the fast group could have it’s head of steam. i slunk back to the back and waited for the fireworks to happen.
it took quite a while but once the rolling hills started the pace certainly picked up. the selection was soon made and the fast group separated from the rest. this didn’t last long, however, as a lights change meant that we were all back together. normally this is a good thing, but in this case, it meant that the main group tried to hang onto the back of the fast group and may have splintered it a bit over the remaining south street kms.
we hit the banister rd intersection and the group split in two as quite a few of the main group had made it that far. the fast group continued up towards livingston marketplace to take the left hander onto nicholson. i was hanging onto the back of the pack and didn’t do a turn at all. i knew that i would be spat out the back straight away if i tried and i really wanted to make it home with the group today. the group worked quite well together and swapped out turns at the front and even had a roll through going at some stage.
we hit the roundabout and went straight and into unchartered territory for us. the road wasn’t too bad. not double lane, but not as much traffic so we could still power our way along to spencer rd. still happy to be on the back of the pack at this stage.
a right turn back onto nicholson almost had snuggles taking a left and heading back towards canning vale. he claims he needs a garmin as they do seem to be breeding and have popped up on quite a few handlebars in our group. the group slowed quite a bit heading through cannington but i knew that it would start up again once we past welshpool rd.
a few attacks went off the front on shepperton rd with lisa and jerry both having a tap. the group was together for the roll to the lights at the causeway and everyone started looking for a wheel to hide behind ready for the sprint. lisa was back on the front and no-one seemed eager to come around as we approached the bridges. knowing that i had no sprint, i decided to bury myself and went to the front. over both bridges and onto riverside drive where, for a change, the lights didn’t hold us up. i motioned for the group to go through and sat up to cruise the last bit home. not sure what happened in the sprint, but i did hear of some lane changing going on. try to keep it in the left lane and if you need to come around, at least look behind you to make sure that there are no cars coming. no accidents to hear of so off to coffee.
unfortunately, the grinder broke down again, so coffees were a bit slow. cold too as we sit on the shade side in the mornings. any suggestions, leave it in the comments…
it was a crisp and clear morning, although the sun wasn’t due to get up till quarter past seven, as i sprinted my way to the start line. i was late again and so blamed the fact that i didn’t win 53.2 million bucks on ozlotto during the week and couldn’t afford a house right on the foreshore. in actual fact having both kids wake up within the usual “getting ready and out the door” time kind of made things hard.
i would have to say that there was about 40 or 50 on the road this morning, but i haven’t really done a head count for a while. the break in the weather must have inspired a few people to kit up and make the most of it. if it isn’t raining next weekend, then i expect even more as people get inspired after watching the tour. maybe i schedule gooseberry hill as our own saturday morning pyrenees. even mike b was out on a brand new cube bike after breaking his norco at the cyclo-sporitf last weekend.
the course would take us out shep rd and onto welshpool. up hale then a variation where the main group turns left along kalamunda rd while the fast group get to do ridgehill rd before the routes converge for the stretch home along guilford road.
the size of the group meant that we were repeatedly split by traffic lights but we kept it pretty well under control and the group always got back together. after we turned onto welshpool/orong rd, there was a sound of a tyre not feeling well and michael pulled off to the side. he waved the group on. he has been trialling the new tubeless rims and tyres so it is interesting to know how they go. not a good advertisement for them so far.
after we turned onto hale rd we moved the fast group to the front so that after tonkin hwy they would take off. it all went fairly well to plan and everyone made it across the intersection. the fast group started to turn the pace up and i was content to sit at the back and take in the stretch and compress that you always find at the rear of the peleton.
i could see up the road the guys like jerry, ryan, judd and mike were forcing the issue. the pace, however, was not that high as i think that people were saving themselves for ridgehill. i know that i was.
we hit the lights at kalamunda rd and got a breather. the group eased off a bit on the next section with the anticipation of the hill to come. it is not that big, but as there is a long, long way to chase afterwards, it can make a bit impact to your day.
as we hit the base of the hill, holly and lisa both made moves to get closer to the front and onto ryan’s wheel. however, as he started to power up the climb they both slipped back. i jumped around and onto his wheel and found myself in unfamiliar territory. i have not been this close to the front in ages. while ryan stayed in the big ring, i dropped down and span out a bit. the new bike geometry allows me to finally get more power down while seated. as the road hit a sharper pinch, the bigger gear slowed ryan down a bit so i made a move to go around. the fact that i was close to the front of the pack again, must have gone to my head as pretty soon i was struggling for breath as ryan, mike, jerry and judd came past me as we crested the hill. i peaked at about 187 bpm on the heart rate monitor and knew that i was in trouble. i also knew that if i didn’t get on, i would be chasing for the rest of the morning.
even though i was feeling faint, i pushed on and was on their wheel as we reached the bottom and flew through the roundabout. i looked around and saw two other riders on my wheel but could not sustain a long enough look to actually identify them. ahead of me ryan, jerry, mike and judd continued to roll through. myself and the other two riders just held on for dear life. instead of rolling off the front, these guys were coming up from 3rd or 4th wheel to get back to the front. there was no way that i would have had anything left to do a turn is i had made it to the front. i just sat in. judd admitted to me later that he would always leave a gap between 3rd and 4th wheel before he moved to the front to try to cause a split and get us three passengers dropped off the back. fair call as we were not doing anything to help.
we made it back onto guilford road and started to get caught up in the traffic congestion. as we were stopped at the lights in the centre of guilford, the main group turned onto the road in front of us. we would be passing them pretty soon by the looks of it. the lights also allowed some of the chasers back onto our group and this effectively doubled our numbers.
after the lights at lord st in bassendean we passed the main group and i noticed anthony speed up to jump on board. tricky move.
with the bigger group and the double lane we had a more consistent roll through and the pace picked up again. through the rolling hills of bayswater a few splinters appeared as the group attacked and surged. we got a few lights though to bring it all back together. on the final hill the group stretched out and i was at the back. by the time we hit the lights onto east parade, they were well red so we got separated from the rest of the front runners. the usual multiple lights stops and by the time we hit riverside drive, we could see the rest of them just getting the lights at the far end. we upped the pace a bit, but no real sprint to be had. the rest of the group filtered in so that there was a decent size group for coffee. all up a good ride with some nice weather.
cyclo-sportif races, for those of you that don’t know, are not races. they are participation events. there is no winning team and the results are not even published in finishing time order. this escapes a few insurance issues about holding races, but as far as a participation event goes, it is pretty damn competitive. for this reason, i was trying to put myself in the second team as i know that i was not totally on form.
however, let me step back a bit.
it was great to see so many spr riders entering the event this weekend. we had four teams, two in the 78km event and two in the 62km event. what was even better was the fact that we had a number of first timers and it was great to see them out having a go at racing. hopefully this will be a sign of things to come and we can build on this. if people are still willing to turn up when gale force winds and driving rain are predicted, then they are hard enough to take on any of the races.
so, i was trying to change the teams around so that i could have an easier ride. not necessarily an easier ride, but just so i wouldn’t be a burden to the team. the format of these events mean that you cannot drop a rider or leave anyone behind. it happens and we have done it before, but with no real definition of a winner in these events, it is hard to say that any team has had an advantage.
so our team consisted of ryan, brendan, judd, michael, mike, jerry, rob and myself. some strong riders in there, but i was not to be counted in that category. the other 78km team had seven riders as did the two other 62km teams. hopefully we will get a race report from all of them.
this event has been notorious for attracting bad weather. two years ago, the wind and rain was so bad that they eventually cut the ride short and sent people home. last year was wet, with some wind, but it is winter after all. this year, the long range report had most people running scared. the wind and rain that lead up to the event were not a good sign, but by the time the morning rolled around, it was looking pretty good. we seemed to have lucked out and the event was sitting right between two cold fronts. kind of the eye of the storm. there were showers about, but the wind was nothing like the previous day. hopefully it would remain that way.
we signed the teams in and managed to get everyone in a spr jersey so that we at least looked the part. the main registration was held at the velodrome and would coincided with the track grand prix. more on that later. lorraine showed us her wheel with the nice nail stuck right through the tyre and embedded into the rim. luckily she had her spare wheels ready to go. there wasn’t a lot of stuffing around before it was time to head to the herne hill school for the official start.
we had obviously stuffed around enough as we missed the initial roll out and the escorted transition to the start line. we kind of knew the way so just took off on our own. well not really on our own as others missed the escort as well. by the time we reached the school, there was only time for a brief toilet stop before we were lining up.
gary suckling announced our team, had a few digs at ryan and before we knew it we were away. single file was the plan with 30 sec turns at the front. this allowed everyone to get a decent rest and also made sure that riders didn’t burn themselves out too early. a proper two line roll through means that you are often chasing the guy in front and don’t get to rest too long. with the wind the way that it was, a single file also meant that we could hopefully echelon across the road if we needed to.
the groups were set off in 30sec intervals and so we could see the guys in front of us right from the start. usually they start the faster groups later much like a handicap event, but this means that you need to know how fast a group will go. as we haven’t competed this year, they just put us anywhere.
we quickly caught and passed the first group and began chasing the next one. the circuit, although square in nature, had a number of left, right corners and even what could only be described as a chicane. this meant that you were often dropping into corners and this made it hard with slower groups around. we often had to slow down to get past a corner before we could overtake.
by the time we reached the long back straight, we had picked off a number of teams and had begun to work out what to do in the wind. i had just got to the front when i heard a call go out. against the buffeting winds it was hard to make it out so i asked behind me what was going on. “ease off” was what we heard, but there was no way i was hurting anyone this early in the race. a few more calls later and we sat up to find that judd had punctured his rear tyre. we spun back around and watched/helped/waited for the tyre change as a number of groups past us back again. with the tube changed and all gassed up we were off again. i was just behind judd and noticed that hie tyre was looking flat almost straight away. i thought that maybe he had not put enough in but he said that it was getting soft. two flats is a criminal offence so we shot him and left his carcass in the bushes. actually, we disobeyed rules and left him behind with a spare tube to fix his wheel. as it was a circuit race, we would pick him up next lap. i now had the timing band on my leg so the team would at least have to get me home.
we got going and quickly picked up the teams that managed to get past up while we were stationary. one team did come flying past and we never saw them again, but no-one else managed to pass us. we were still sorting the team out in respect to where to echelon off to account for the wind. some people felt compelled to ride on the left side of the road when the wind was from the right. i guess that it is just what is hammered into you when you start riding. it took us a couple of laps to really get it sorted out and it made it difficult that we had to continuously pass other group so had to revert back to a straight single file.
we picked up judd on the second lap and continued on our way. we were all still doing turns at this point, but some like rob and myself were beginning to struggle. rob would put too much into his turn and would drop off the back after he peeled off. i was really starting to feel the pace in my hammies and was not able to maintain a strong lead. judd (or the judd-inator) was determined to make up for his lost lap and would often get to the front and smash out a long time trial.
by the end of the third lap, both rob and myself were toast and with two laps to go, we were down to survival mode. we didn’t go to the front and just sat mid pack with ryan riding alongside, in the wind, giving us the occasional touch-up to put us back on a wheel. it was only 2 laps and only 30 kms, but it felt much, much longer than that. only highlight i can think of was rob dropping his bottle and having it jam in between his frame and cranks. he thought that he had dropped in altogether, but managed a great save.
we eventually rolled across the line for the final time and stopped the clock at 2:11:07. no idea how much time we lost with the tyre change, but with the conditions the way they were, we were pretty happy with the time. it was then the slow roll back to the velodrome to get changed and have lunch.
the one benefit of starting early and being relatively fast was the fact that there were no queues for lunch. after getting changed we were straight through to the stands to eat and watch some classy riders on the track. there were a number of riders that have ridden with us before as well as some regulars. josie was back from europe and was wearing her world champs colours as were anne meares and kaarle mcculloch. three world champs at an event wasn’t bad. the fleet girls were there (minus davina who is still racing in america) as were a few others that have graced us on sunday – mel, sam, adrian.
all up a great day (as it didn’t absolutely pour down on us) and it was great to see some of the non-regular-racing people having a go to show off the spr colours. thanks to kim as well who came out to take some photos and helped mike back to the velodrome after he cracked his norco frame on lap one. also thanks to shun who won one of the raffle prizes at the cyclo-sportif but donated it to spr for us to use as prizes and giveaways. he said he didn’t really want the stuff, he just wanted to win.
rain. every time we schedule in a breakfast it decides to rain. even the christmas ride in december was held in a absolute downpour. well this was scheduled for the middle of winter, only one day before the shortest day of the year, so cold and wet was expected. the forecast was for strong winds and showers. they were predicting over 10mm so the house was set up accordingly. there were towels on the floor, towels on the couches and a basket for wet socks by the door.
on checking the radar first thing in the morning, i was pleased to see that even though there were showers, they were very sporadic and quite light. this meant that it would be a hit-n-miss situation where we would either come through unscathed or be dumped upon. the rain and clouds had one benefit though as the morning wasn’t as cold as the previous few days.
we still had a decent turnout despite the weather and there were over 40 riders waiting at the carpark as i rolled in late…again. at least i had an excuse this morning as there were some last minute preparations before our house was invaded.
being a breakfast ride, we were sticking together to make it a bit more social. no splitting meant that we needed to be a bit more careful especially on the hills along stock and south streets. however, we rolled out nicely in one big group with three novices braving the weather to do their course separately.
the trip was quite uneventful along canning but the hill leading to stock did manage to break things up a bit. i hung back to keep an eye on scott who was making the step up from the novice group today. up over the hill and we were a way off the back off the group. i had a chat to dr paul and he said that he would look after scott and probably take a shortcut to get home.
i chased to catch up with the main group and found that it had been split at the leach hwy lights. the “escapees” weren’t pushing hard though and by the time we hit south street we were all together. a few struggled with the hills, but by the time we turned onto banister the group was pretty much intact.
i went to the front to sing out some instructions to let them know the we would be going hard along banister rd but would regroup afterwards.
ryan and brendan were close to the front and started the pace up. neil manning from the plan b team was out with us today and as the current state open road champion, he was going to give them a run for their money. i was drifting back though the group to make sure that everyone knew what was going on.
once i reached the back, i then started pacing up and jumping between groups to make my way forward again. there were a few strong groups caught up at the back and i used them as much as possible. working with stu and some others we managed to almost get back onto the what was left of the main group. unfortunately i ran out of legs by this point and had to sit up and cruise in the last couple of hundred metres.
along nicholson rd the pace slowed significantly but there were some riders who definitely struggled with the pace and were still making their way back. by the time we reached albany hwy the group was all together again. this made for a nice cruise the rest of the way along manning rd and up into como ready for breakfast where dr paul and scott where also just turning up. at the end of the day we never really encountered any rain but the wet roads made for some soggy socks.
with bikes in the garage and socks in the washing machine, it was inside to see what gastronomic delights lorriane had provided this time. some people had the smart idea of parking their car near my place so that they could quickly get change after the ride and not have to stand around in wet knicks. others skipped the ride altogether but still turned up for the breakfast. it was all about socialisation after all.
there were a few announcements and we had a quick general meeting to vote on some minor constitution changes before moving onto the all important raffle draw. with some extra prizes donated by cycling wa and perth integrated health clinic, we had quite a few to go around.
mike b took out the major prize of a torque wrench and drink bottle, while russell, yas, brendan, sandra, brett, stu and ???(i will check later) grabbed the minor prizes. thanks to ben and aiden for drawing the raffle tickets. ben has improved his number recognition in the last 3 months, so didn’t say that every ticket was “nummer four”.
so after another bike weigh-in (no sneaky surprises), the winter breakfast was over until springtime. thanks to kate, jody, brett and rob for their help and, as always, thanks to lorriane for donating her time and energy to provide such a excellent breakfast.
like most things, time trials are something that you have to practice and compete in to be really good at them. there are lots of opportunities to do this as atta runs events across the whole year and you could basically be doing one every second weekend. my last time trial was the team time trial around sept/oct last year.
one benefit is that i do have a time trial bike harking back from my triathlon days. since those days are not that long ago, the bike is still quite modern and was a lot better than just slapping some tt bars on the road bike. i was originally setup by budgie and taking into account my crap flexibility and the fact that i would have to run off the bike, it was very high at the front. in the week leading up to the event i made some adjustments to the height of the handle bars. (it is always good to change your position come race day, right???). effectively i dropped the front end down about 7cm while leaving the saddle pretty much the same height. there is a fine line here as the lower you are, the more aerodynamic you are but you start to lose power as you are in a more cramped position. not only that, there are parts of your anatomy that don’t really like to get squashed against a bike seat. i have scope to lower the front about another 2 or 3 cms, but may need to either get a smp cut away saddle or a visit to one of our urologist to get it all chopped off.
anyway, i do actually take the time trial bike out about once a week and managed to get a ride in on the new position. it didn’t seem too bad in the efforts that i was doing around the river. unfortunately my nice clean, ready to race bike was now filthy as it rained last wednesday when i took it out. a quick hose and chain lube and i was almost ready to go. i managed to borrow chris’ deeper dish cosmics to try to get some form of aero advantage, but i was sure that i was grasping at straws by this time.
so, race day comes around and i made the loooong trip down to dardanup with judd. i am sure that we can find a nice circuit closer to perth for the state championships. also signed up for the day was stu, rob, lorraine, nicole and the fleet girls. paul o had also signed up, but bloused it as he had a flight to catch… the next day. the event was scheduled for a 2pm start which gave everyone lots of time to make the trip down and not having to get up at 5am was a nice change.
stu, rob and myself were in the masters division and our course was only 25kms. the women did the same course, while judd, being the young buck, had to compete in the open division over 39kms. this was the same course that we did at the dardanup road race not so long ago and had a few sharp climbs in it. the open course had a few sharp climbs as well as a big hill. glad i am an old man now.
with no atta results or previous form to go off, rob and i were to leave quite early, while stu was going off with the big boys. the pointy end of the start list looked like an atta results page with a bunch of the regulars making the most of the state champs in their preferred discipline. the women were next to leave followed by the u19 and open men. judd’s start time was almost an hour after mine and he was doing a longer course.
we arrived early enough to pitch the spr sunshade and set up underneath to start our warmup. with a 25km race, i was going to need about an hour of warmup as, unlike a road race, there would be no cruisey start to proceedings. stu, judd and myself were stationed on our trainers under the shade and spun out some k’s. i am sure that i was still not fully warmed up when all of a sudden i saw rob take off from the line. i grabbed the bike off the trainer and zoomed up the road a couple of times to make sure the biek wouldn’t fall apart on me.
pretty soon i was on the startline with john holding the back of my saddle and a lady giving me a countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and i was off. damn the bars are low now when i am holding onto the bull horns. i quickly settled into the aero position and made my way up the gears to get up to speed.
we were being set off at minute intervals so i had rabbits to chase and wolves to be chased by. once i cleared the town the road straightened up and i could actually see my minute man up the road. time is a really deceptive thing when you are riding a bike in this situation. you assume that as you can see the other rider, you mustn’t be that far behind. if you actually pick a landmark and count the seconds that it takes for you to also pass it, you soon realise how much time you need to make up.
the wind was low but i am still not 100% sure of the direction as it seemed to spin around during the event. i was in the big ring and powering along but soon realised that my hammys were not that warmed up for big efforts and had to ease back a bit. longer efforts needed during warmup. i kept the pace up as best i could but started to worry about the guy chasing me. i didn’t dare look behind just in case i could actually see him. our course was supposedly flat with a couple of small bumps and a power climb. turn around and head home over the same bumps. at the end of the day it is actually uphill on the way out and downhill on the return, but not enough to make it really count.
as we started to tackle the small bumps, i realised that i was actually making up some time on my minute man. he seemed to be struggling a bit on the ups but still doing ok on the flats. at about the 9.5km mark we hit the main climb and i was catching him fast. i left it in the big ring and powered past him before we crested the top. i was now a bit worried that i would get past as the road flattened out so i kept the power on going down the other side to stay ahead.
a couple of riders were now heading the other way as i approached the turnaround and i was still ahead of my rabbit. i tried to work out how far ahead the next guy was and set my goal to catch him before the end. within two kms we were on the power climb again and i hit it hard to catch and pass my two minute man. congratulated me as i past him, but i was maxing out at 189 bpm, so may have just grunted an acknowledgement. it did make me feel better though.
homeward bound and i was now looking at my average speed to try to get it up as high as possible. i knew that it would not be in the 40’s but i was disappointed to see it around the 36 mark. as the return was flatter, i was determined to keep the bike over the 40 mark as much as possible. i couldn’t see any other riders in front of me, so now i was riding scared and making sure i stayed ahead of the chasers.
the faster pace and new position began to catch up with me as my left upper calf started to feel tight. basically from there to my hamstrings were feeling the pinch and i started to feel the onset of a cramp. bugger. just keep pushing.
putting more power through my right leg, i managed to stave off any real cramp that would have stopped me in my tracks. the final run into town was tough but fast and i could just see a rider up the road as we approached the town. he managed to stay 30 sec in front of me as i crossed the line.
a quick cool down and then back onto the trainer to spin the legs out again. rob started in front of me but was a little slower. he out it down to stuffing up the turn around and having to turn back around again. i was worried about his time as he recently did the half-ironman so had some form leading into the day. stu came through next and took about a minute and half out of my time for a great ride. as we waited for the women to finish, judd was still warming up waiting for his start time.
all the girls came it with anna suffering from new bike syndrome and taking second overall with holly third. i had to give holly crap as she beat me by 1 sec. bec came in 5th, nicole 8th and lorraine and jill came in the exact same time in 9th and 10th.
we had a long wait for judd, who did a respectable 1:03:31 to come in 12th. with two fleet girls on the podium the spr hats made another appearance as we packed up and made the long trek home.
i was scheduled in to take the novices this morning so i decided to cut a lap of the river beforehand. with the state time trial championships the following weekend, i took the tt bike to do some efforts. unfortunately my young lads conspired against me and delayed my start by about 15 min. this meant that i was running hell late by the time i reached freo so had to go to plan b and ride straight back up stirling hwy.
i had pushed fairly hard so was looking forward to the nice easy pace on the novice ride when dr ronny came up to say that he would take the novices for me. my brain said yep, my legs screamed wtf. my brain promised my legs it would release some more endorphins and so we were off to chase the fast boys.
both the groups stayed together along canning hwy and stock road where we managed to get split a number of times by the lights. a small group got ahead at the lights at leach hwy so managed to stay ahead as we turned onto south street. luckily, they kept the pace down until the group was totally back together and i announced that the fast group could then take off. the pace picked up immediately and group split into their respective speeds.
the fast group started to roll through to keep the pace high and we started to drop one or two riders. not a lot of time to catch up but at least the option to join back into the main group would be available until we past banister road. our next challenge was to encounter another group ride heading in the same direction. we were catching them but being on a busy road i didn’t want to take over a second lane so we had to single file it past at speed. i think we may have lost a couple more who latched onto that group for comfort and security.
we reached the turn to banister rd and few turned off to ease the pain a bit. we continued on with the group rolling through up to nicholson rd a where we turned left to skirt past livingston shopping centre. i was starting to miss more and more turns by this time as my legs were pretty much over the promise of more endorphins and were filling with sweet, sweet lactic acid. we managed to reach the end of nicholson rd and swung left to head towards albany hwy. julian commented to me that he thought that we were supposed to go straight. no, i thought we were on the right track as this was the way we always went. then my gps started flashing up on the screen that we had gone off course. ah, maybe julian was right. didn’t matter.
we past by the end of banister rd to find the main group waiting at the lights, so we managed to sneak past them. we had a lot of trouble when the two groups got caught up a while ago, so i am keen to keep them apart as long as possible.
coming back in along albany hwy the pace was still on but we managed a few lights to catch our breath before swerving onto shepperton rd. no big attacks so on the last rise i managed to just surge when i was on the front and got a gap which brendan and lorraine bridged across to. once back on the flat near the causeway the group had caught up but we had also caught the early escapees that had not been caught by the main group when they turned off. i jumped back onto the front and did some more time trial training across both bridges and onto riverside drive. i was so buggered by this stage that i needed to change down gear to negotiate the minuscule rise that the road takes to cross the bridge.
i continued to lead out, knowing that i had no sprint and needed the tt practice. no-one was coming around so i just kept the pressure on as long as i could. once we crossed the lights the first set of lights i felt a rush of air as ryan took off with brendan fixed on his wheel. the rest of the group then also took flight in dribs and drabs according to their ability and remaining fitness. i was pretty buggered by now so cruised the rest of riverside drive. ryan managed to hang on to the sprint, but not without a major rub of wheels from brendan, just so he knew he was there.
it has actually been a while since i have written a ride report as i have had so much on lately. we have 28 people registered as authors to the blog so i am sure that you can probably do an entry once in a while.
anyway, after last weekends atrocious conditions, it was good to see a few clear days open up for riding. it is now predicted that it will start raining sunday and not stop till next weekend. i suppose it is expected as it is two days off being winter. the other thing i have noticed is how dark it is in the morning and how soon the sun is going down at night. luckily with our 7am start, there is normally no need for headlights on the bikes. a back flasher is usually advisable as it will help in getting to the start of the ride.
i think we had about 40 odd riders at the beginning this morning. it never seems really big until we start moving and you see how much road we take up. the course was one to sort out the men from the boys and i added a fairly hard hill in to the middle of it. gooseberry hill doesn’t sound that frightening, but it is steep and hell deceptive if you haven’t ridden it before.
the group snaked it’s way out through belmont and cut through maida vale to come out at the top of hale rd. well we would have if julian hadn’t got a flat front tyre. the group pulled over onto the footpath and proceeded to wake up the neighbours while julian tended to his wheel. we were soon on our way and heading up gooseberry hill rd.
at the roundabout before the climb starts proper, we bid adieu to the main group as they headed across to ridgehill rd. it surprised me how many we had coming along on the fast group even though they new that they would suffer on the hill. i would estimate the ¾ of the group decided to tackle the hill.
i had started dropping back to make sure that everyone knew which way to head at the roundabout so was a fair way back as the climb started. i put in a bit of an effort and managed to get around some of the guys. the combination of the pre-ride lap of the river and the stop to help julian meant that my legs were not firing well at all. we weren’t even at the top of the first section and i felt like i was going to be happy just to make it to the top.
the slight reprieve that we get in the middle section didn’t do it’s job for me as i felt like i was still pushing just to keep the bike moving. the road then has two left hand kinks in it. each time it turns the road pitches up steeper and steeper. i was already in first gear by the time i hit the steepest section, so it was a matter of sucking it up and just keeping the bike moving. i was well pleased when i finally saw the sign for the roundabout. one final push saw me shed a few fading riders and finish the damn hill.
we regrouped at the top and allowed the back markers to catch up. we usually don’t wait for anyone once the group splits, but i wanted to make sure we didn’t kill anyone on that hill. down the zig zag for a bit of high speed free-wheeling.
about halfway down, i noticed that gaps were beginning to appear and thought that we would be split from the front of the pack if we weren’t careful. i came a round a few riders to try to gain position, but by the time we reached ridgehill road, there was a group with a definite advantage.
once we got onto helena valley rd it was important to organise a chasing pack or we would never see the front runners again. after our experience a few weeks back were we never chased properly, i barked some orders and soon we were doing 10 – 15 sec turns on the front of a single file. this meant that we soon picked up some of the riders spat out the back of the front group and were making up some ground. after we crossed the bridge at bassendean we saw them ahead at the lights of lord st. unfortunately, there was a quick change and we were held up again by the lights asthey made well their escape.
this allowed a number of other riders to jump back on our group so we now had more helpers to do turns. we continued with our strategy along guilford rd and our luck and hard work paid off as we caught the front guys just before tonkin hwy where they were stuck at the lights. as they were caught, the incentive was not quite there to work as hard so the pace was a bit pedestrian. i moved to the front to do a turn but managed to gap the group without even attacking. as we approached the start of the rolling hills i decided to attack and sped ahead. i was soon bridged by mike with paul in tow and thought that we may be able to get something going. the lights took care of that for us and we were back together again. a few more attack on the rolling hills but nothing really stayed away. even ryan’s big push at the end was eventually chased down along east parade.
this meant that we were together in a fair size group for the sprint. even better was the fact that i was actually their for the sprint. although it didn’t help me much as my legs were pretty much shot by now. james took the lead out and set a nice pace along riverside drive before some other guys made a late move. ryan sat in until the last moment and just sprinted over the top in convincing fashion.
i couldn’t stay for coffee as we had to hit the shops today. it was as struggle though after 4hrs in the saddle, the last thing i wanted to do was chase a 3yr old around a busy shopping centre. and now, almost 12hrs from finishing, i am seriously having trouble keeping my eyes open. should have had a nanna nap in the arvo.
