All posts by peter

1st anniversary – the year in review

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report by peter.

 

about a year ago, i headed down to the coode st carpark wondering whether there will be any one down there wanting to go for a ride.  i had decided to not lead the bikeshop rides but it was up to everyone to make their own choice of where they were riding.  luckily for me, there were people wanting to ride and hence the south perth rouleurs came to fruition. 

we decided to concentrate on our strengths, which was a good solid core of riders that had developed a strong group dynamic.  people knew what we needed to do on our group rides and that we needed to cater for everyone in the group.  we happily continued on our way and the group started to grow.

the website has also evolved and what was once a blog of my perspective has now become a proper site full of information and stories. 

towards the end of the year the racing scene started to gain some prominence within the group.  the highlight would have to be the joodalup race in december last year when we had about 15 or so riders entering various grades in the final race for the season.  this became the catalyst for transforming the south perth rouleurs into a proper cycle club. 

fast forward though the technical bits and we now have a constitution, committee and are affiliated with the sports governing body.  our membership has been steadily growing and the last official count had us at around 40 members.  a little over half of these have racing licences and half have recreational licences.  we have started making our mark on some of the races on the perth calendar and sent a strong group away for a trip down to pemberton.  we hope to continue to offer a bit more than just being a club that you give money to and want to offer support to all our riders.

and it is not just about racing.  the group rides have now become training rides and the long standing saturday ride has now been split into three groups.  this allows us to cater for all levels of riders without adversely affecting anyone’s enjoyment level.  the sunday hills ride has also grown and we often get between 20 – 30 riders all willing to hurt themselves in the surrounding hills.  there are also now three weekday training sessions giving people more opportunity to get some extra km’s in.

so, saturday afternoon gave us the opportunity to reflect on just how far we have come in the last year.  a family lunch was held and it allowed the partners and kids of some of our riders to meet with the people that seem to dominate the saturday mornings of their lives.  there was about 40 adults and about 20 kids in attendance and all enjoyed a nice casual atmosphere although it was sometimes punctuated by some french class or violin lesson.

lisa, kate and lorraine did a great job of organising everything and as we enjoyed the food the kids seemed to take over the playground.  i didn’t realise there were that many kids in the group.  maybe we could start to target junior riders as well.  something to consider.

so after a year as the south perth rouleurs where do we see ourselves heading now.  with up to 70 riders fronting up to a saturday ride, it is obvious that we are doing something right there and so we must keep on doing what we are doing.  the inclusion of the novice ride will do a lot to help continue the development of the riders skill levels and i am looking at the rest of the group to assist in helping out by leading the novices every now and then.  the racing side is progressing well and with a number of races coming up, i hope that we can attract a few more members by the way that we present our club.  the development of a women’s racing team is something that we are also looking at and hopefully we can offer a pathway for those that want to take that next step.

by may 2010 it will be interesting to see how spr has changed after another year.

saturday 8th may – hale rd (and ridgehill)

ride report by peter.

 

after a gastro induced sabbatical from the bike last week, i was keen to get some hard k’s in to try to “cram” before next weeks race.  not ideal but i was running out of options.  i have only entered 2 races so far this year and so my results have been a dnf and a dns.  i got up early and did a lap of the river before 7 and turned up to find a mass of riders awaiting instructions.  there would have been close to 70 or so there.

we were splitting into three groups again with julian taking the novice group, nev leading the main group and me trying to keep up with the fast group.  the novice group was building on it’s success and there were now six riders heading out along the shelley course.  it seems that they are getting used to it fairly quickly so we may have to extend the route for them a bit.

the ret of us were going to do hale road and split at the welshpool road end rather the kalamunda end.  this gave the fast group a bit more time to stretch their legs and maybe a chance to make up the extra km’s difference between the two groups. 

we started out alright, but just as we were climbing the small hill out of the causeway, lisa sped to the front to let us know that we had a flat tyre in the group.  nowhere to stop, we kept going for a bit before pulling into a side street to keep out of traffic.  we used to be able to regroup in bus stops, but 70 riders and bikes take up a bit more room.  james a i headed back down the hill to find tony sitting in a bus shelter doing a quick change.  pretty soon we were on our way again.

the pace was pretty good and we managed to avoid getting split too badly by the traffic lights.  once we hit hale, we tried to get the groups split so that the fast group was ahead by the time we reached the lights at tonkin hwy.  it went fairly well, but i think some of the main group became entangled in the fast group.  this wasn’t the worse place for this to happen as if the pace was too much, the main group would soon come along and sweep them up.

the lights changed fast at tonkin as well and only the fast group managed to make their way through.  however, the pace was pedestrian as the front of the large group had not heard that we were all on.  i rode to the front and turned the speed on.  pretty soon there were a few of us rotating through to keep the group going.  mat, jerry, davina and myself did lots of turns up hale rd until we reached the kalamunda intersection.

once across, we headed towards ridgehill rd and this is where the group really splintered.  as the road pitched up, the morning river lap took it’s toll and i couldn’t hold the pace as the fast boys attacked the hill.  i set a tempo to the top and then tried to catch up on the descent.  by the time we reached the bottom, i was in a small group with ian, lorriane and davina.  there was a group just up the road with ryan, james, michael, judd and some others, plus there were about two more groups behind us.

we were not really effective in working together and came within about 50 metres of catching.  i thought we could bridge and put in a big effort only to hear that “pop” noise as i pushed myself over the limit and went into the red.  as i pulled off the front i just had to watch the other three head up the road.

i kept a tempo up but eventually got caught by a group of four from behind.  we worked together and caught the other three as they were waiting at the lights in guilford.  when we sat at the lights in bassendean the next group also caught us so that we had about 12-15 riders in the group now.

we started rolling through all the way back to perth, but new that there was no way that we would catch the front few.  the lights along guildford rd also conspired against us, but from what i hear they conspired against all the groups today.

at the end of the day it was just a procession to the coffee shop with no real sprint, just a surge at the end.  all up a good hit out, that had me still searching for some form.

saturday 25th april – leach vs south

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ride report by peter.

 

early start for me as i decided to do some “secret” training and slip in a lap of the river before the saturday ride.  the benefit is that at least  i was pretty warmed up by the time we were underway as it usually takes me a good ¾ hour to get the legs firing.  i bumped into judd as i was about to cross the narrows and rode towards south perth with him.  however, he was yet to have his early morning coffee so shot off for a quick take-away before the ride.  he really needs a cup holder on his bike.

about 35 riders at the start today and an old familiar face with matt who years ago worked at the bike shop in south perth.  we were delayed slightly when the sound of a tyre being pumped to explosion rang out like a gunshot from a book depository.  brett had borrowed a pump to put some extra air in his tyre and may have over done it.  by 10 past we were off and racing.

the standard light changing interference along canning hwy didn’t dampen the spirits and soon we were at attadale and ready to split the group.  the main group were heading straight down canning and back up leach while the fast group were taking a detour along burke before using stock road to access south and home via albany hwy.  the split was a successful 70/30 division and we were on our way.

the pace along burke was not too extreme, and the roll through only really got going after about halfway.  next thing you knew we were at stock rd hill and were the fun really starts.  a couple of the boys hit it quite hard and sprinted up the first section.  i tried to sustain a bit longer and got into a tempo.  eventually the hill wore the boys down and their early antics cost them as they dropped back.  at the top i saw james turn back and wasn’t sure what was going on.  i debated stopping the group, but we were spread too thin by then and also wasn’t sure if he was coming back.  we managed to slip through the lights on canning and so it was the last we saw of him. 

not much rolling through on stock road but the pace picked up a bit after recovering from the hill.  once on south st, the roll through started, but the small hills put an end to any consistency.  for the majority of it there were maybe 5 or 6 riders continually on the front swapping out turns while everyone else just seemed to be hanging on for grim death.  ryan, mike, michael and jerry were consistently at the front and managed to get off the front a few times.  once it flattened out, the rest of the group would start rolling through, but every time there was a hill, the group spread out again.

there is no caption that can do this picture justice
there is no caption that can do this picture justice

pretty soon, south st became ranford rd and we were on our way to the left hander into nicholson.  one last small undulation before the shopping centre and i stood to keep the pace up.  unfortunately, that didn’t feel right and i looked down to see my front tyre bulging out more than it should.  luckily i was on the inside and a turning lane was there for me to use so i drifted off to the side.  i told everyone to keep going, but dr carl, lisa, john and brett swung around to make sure i was ok.  the rest of the group disappeared over the hill.

a quick change of the tube and we were on our way again.  we tried to set a consistently high pace, not in the hope that we would catch up, but more that we were not going to be too late to coffee.  everyone did turns at the front and we were clipping along at plus 40 kmh for most of the ride.  it was quite uneventful but very hard as long efforts at the front were beginning to take their toll.  as lisa pointed out once we cleared the hills around vic park, it was so good to finally see the city.

no sprint to speak of, but there was a final rush for the line at the end. probably more likely to be first in line for coffee.  it turns out that we were not that far behind as some of the group were still ordering their brew as we turned up.  the place was a bit busier with the anzac day holiday but they still had a table ready for us and service was not too bad.

at the end of the day i was just happy to have arrived and grateful for not having to be siting a bike seat.  i didn’t find out whether the main group was caught today as they were when we last did this route.  i’m sure that someone can let us know what happened…

also, someone left an spr drink bottle at the coffee shop.  i have picked it up as they are very rare (none left as spares), so if it is yours, let me know.

saturday 18th april – tv stations

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ride report by peter.

 

don’t you hate it when you think – “i will just get the kit on and be out the door” when you hear number 1 son get up.  suddenly the perfectly timed exit from the house becomes a rushed effort to get him breakfast and entertained, before throwing on the kit and heading out the door.  breakfast being weetbix crunch (bite size) sans milk and apple sans skin, washed down with a watered down juice.  entertainment provided courtesy of channel nine and dora, dora, dora the explorer.  jump into my kit, leave the sleeping wife, and head out the door.  so i was late… again… or, as always.

there was a decent crowd of around 40ish by the time i arrived.  nowhere near the crowds we used to pull, and i have no idea why.  the threat of rain was a minor irritation as the temperature was very pleasant and it is hard to comprehend that it is only six weeks till winter.  we rolled out and headed for the crossing at ascot and into the northern suburbs.  these are generally unknown areas for me and i would get lost if i strayed too far from the well worn tracks that we… wear well. 

after an uneventful 16kms in which i got to catch up with a few people we split the group.  the main group would miss the hill at the tv stations but generally take the same course the we did, with just the head and tail chopped off a bit.  at the split point i would say that 75% of the field went with the fast group today.  this would make it interesting.

straight after the lights the road heads slightly upwards past the tv stations.  the group kind of just formed up but did not really look like it was ready to explode.  i took the initiative as i needed to hurt myself today, and went to the front to force people to chase me down.  pretty soon michael was on my wheel with a few more strung out behind.  by the top of the hill, jonny, mike and brendan had also made moves to up the pace.

we pretty much rolled straight onto the top section which provides a couple of fast slightly downhill sections leading to wanneroo rd.  as far as i could see the group was pretty much staying together.  actually, i was sure that we had dropped a couple of guys, but that is the risk when you take the fast option.  unless you have a serious mishap or mechanical, then you are on your own.

i am sure that we pretty much got every light coming down wanneroo and charles, but insisted on making the group roll through.  initially they kind of sat up as we used to take this stretch easy after the tv station hill.  not any more.  once we split, the pace should be on all the way till the end.  so it was interval training the whole way back to leederville.  start and sprint to get going, roll through at pace, stop at lights, repeat.

we came up over thomas/loftus to circ kings park but turned off at the hospital to take us towards claremont.  this would allow us to still do the whole dalkeith run which always adds to the fun.  as we approached dalkeith, the comments to john were coming thick and fast.  lots of gumnut jokes and calls to “snuggles” were made, but it was good to see that it hasn’t slowed him down or freaked him out too much.

we made it safely through dalkeith and down to mounts bay road.  the only issue was a couple of guys riding slowly along birdwood pde that decided that they didn’t want to move over at all when our group came past.  thanks for your courtesy guys.

we didn’t have to stop at the lights at mounts bay rd either for a change and ran straight into pursuit mode.  the group started to string out straight away and with only a few guys moving up.  about half way along, i started to move to the front, only to find that there was no gaps for me to slot into.  i just kept on going and went to the front.  when i looked back, i had gapped michael who was powering along at first wheel, so i thought that i would see if i could stay away.  it was a long way out and i just didn’t have the legs for it.  michael, to his credit, stayed at the front and dragged the rest of the group up to overtake me, before they swamped him for the sprint. 

out of nowhere (because i didn’t see him for any of the ride) kimbo came flying past to go for the sprint.  he got a good gap on the field before brendan started to chase him down for line honours.  now sure how that ended up as i was too far back by then.

onwards to coffee, only to find that just two of the main group were staying for coffee.  apparently there has been a coup and a few riders have been heading across the river for a brew at atomic.  service was very quick today, and they now seemed geared up to be ready for us when we turn up.

as mentioned in the previous post, the online membership for the club is now available and melvyn got in quick to become the first to use the facilities.  have a read of the previous post and see if it is what you need to do.  i would recommend some level of insurance for your own piece of mind.

saturday 11th april – scarborough beach rd

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ride report by peter.

 

a brief summary of the ride up until the interesting bit:

  • nice pace along mounts bay road and up past king park
  • doug was out with his very very close friend (on a tandem)
  • even though the sign said scarborough beach road, the guys on the front still wanted to go straight
  • got through osborne park unscathed and started the rolling hills
  • pace got very fast, it hurt
  • john overtook a car at the lights as they changed to gain advantage (1 hoon point deducted)
  • regrouped at west coast hwy, didn’t notice that gregor was not there (we need a buddy system)
  • cruised along till we reached jerry’s house
  • pace was on again all the way to the swanbourne shops
  • john (and others) went through a redlight (another hoon point deducted)
  • regrouped, gregor’s friends asked me if i had seen him
  • cruised along to claremont and into dalkieth, pace was not on at all
  • jonny deceided to have a crack and lisa jumped on his wheel
  • i remember seeing them just off the front as the group came around that tight left-hander onto jutland parade
  • lisa was reeled back in and i told her good try as i came past
  • suddenly there was a yell, a scrap of bikes on tarmac, the thump of bodies on tarmac and the squeal of brakes…

 

ok here is what i can gather what has happened. 

we were starting to wind it up to go up the small rise along this stretch so the pace was not immense, but high enough so that people were starting to push.  the road was straight and relatively clear of obstacles, bar a gum-nut (or a honkey-nut as the sandgropers call them).  john’s front wheel hit the nut and flicked the handle bars around causing him to topple straight onto his right side.  with the pace on, the following riders had no where to go. 

now i think that chris hit straight into the back of johns head, ripping his helment off and sending chris over the handlebars.  ryan was taken out by johns bike and came down hard on most of his left side.  jerry then also ran into the back of john and i think may have collected his unprotected head with his chain ring.  brett pulled evasive action to avoid hitting ryan and john’s bike by jumping the kerb, while russell also went to the kerb and stopped when his groin hit the head stem.

so, i was far enough back to not have to brake hard and i ride up to john who is still in the foetal position.  i saw him get collected by jerry and was a little surprised that his helmet was off.  after hearing that chris had seen fit to remove that for him with his bike, it kind of made sense.  there was blood coming off the back of his head and starting to pool on the road.  riders immediately dismounted and began to pick the pieces and people off the road.  luckily there was no traffic around us at the time or it could have made it worse.

we got john off the road and in less than 30 sec, he was asking about his bike.  trying to tell him to not worry about the bike as there was blood coming out of his head.  jerry was in a pretty bad way as well and had coped a fair blow to his nose.  chris reckoned that he was ok and i didn’t even realise that he had gone down at first.  ryan had a nice chainring imprint on his back where a bike had landed on him.  most of the guys had fair chunks of skin off and a lot of claret was going to waste.

as we congregated on someone’s front grass, some of the neighbours came out to see what was going on.  it turns out that dr mark knew one of the ladies and she was a nurse.  a few old towels were brought out to stem the flow and we thank them for their assistance.  john had called his wife to come and pick him up and unfortunately i did not get to hear that conversation, although i have a fair idea what it would sound like.  jerry, however, would not ring his wife and went the second option of ringing melvyn as he only lives around the corner.  he was out taking pictures of the group so was not far away when it happened.  just the wrong spot for a true money making action shot.  anyway, if jerry’s son james is reading this, tell your mum that the accident was a lot worse than your dad probably said it was.  there was blood everywhere.

we sent the majority of the group on towards the coffeeshop so that there was not such a large group of people standing around not knowing what to do, while about ten of us stayed with the injured.

so melvyn came to pick up jerry and he also took john and his family back to his place for some running medical repairs.  after doing the same for lorraine a few weeks ago, it seems that he may need to set up a 4077 MASH headquarters in his garage.  however, we thank him for looking after the guys when they needed it.  chris and ryan were ok to ride back to the coffeeshop, although i suspect that chris was a bit worse off than he claimed to be.

so, some of you may ask why should we report on something like this as it may make our club seem “unsafe” or “dangerous”.  well the fact of the matter is that what we do has an element of risk about it and sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do there is something as small as a gumnut that can take you down.  the important thing for our group is how well we deal with it and how well we look after the other riders.  our group has been involved in a few crashes recently in some of the races that we have been doing and that is always a risk.  in our training rides we try to minimise the risk and splitting the group is one way of doing that.  we didn’t split on this ride, but the gumnut didn’t discriminate either.  knowing who you are riding with and making allowances for others behaviour is also a way that we can keep things safe.  you don’t always get this at races as you may only see the same people once every few months.  however, there are certain behaviours that we shouldn’t tolerate, so if you think that someone is putting you at risk, then have a word to them, or let me know and i can try to rectify it.  keeping the ride as safe as possible is our number one priority and i think that this is shown by the attitude of the group when it comes to avoiding running lights and knowing when to push the pace up.

anyway, i hope that the injuries heal quickly and that there is little damage to those expensive machines that they were on.  i think that the incident showed how well the family pulls together and i thank those involved for their efforts.  stay safe.

 

peter clark classic – aborted attempt

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race (kind of) report by peter.

 

here is my tale of woe, and it really started back on the monday before the race.

monday night 8 – 10ish : ben very unsettled and whinging in his sleep.

tuesday morning 12:00am : ben comes in covered in spew.

tuesday morning 01: 00am : ben comes in covered in spew.

tuesday morning 02: 00am : ben comes in covered in spew.

tuesday morning 03: 00am : ben comes in covered in spew.

tuesday morning 05:00am : reset the alarm so i miss my bike ride.

wednesday morning 05:00am : do vicky’s kings park ride.

thursday morning 05:00am : get to do our group ride and manage to hang on till the end for a change.

thursday evening : kate starts complaining of a sore throat.

saturday arvo : i start to get a sore throat.

saturday night :  bad night sleep, can’t swallow properly and starting to feel like crap.

sunday morning 06:00am : in denial.  will start the race and see how i go.

sunday morning 08:00am : register and see start list for “b” grade has 60 riders.  haven’t seen the course, but a draft from 60 riders should mean that i can hang on for a while.

sunday morning 09:00am : a bunch of other spr riders arrive – brendan doing “a” grade, ben, stu and myself doing “b”, james and bruce doing “c” with brett, lisa and lorraine doing women’s “a” with the fleet girls (holly, bec & anna) and nicole doing women’s “b”.

sunday morning 09:35am : race starts.  sitting right at the back.  cannot see the front.  road too skinny so can’t move forward either.  complete first lap, thinking it’s not too bad.

sunday morning 09:50am : doing second lap.  keep falling off the back on the corners.  need to sprint to catch back up.  left heart rate strap at home so i can’t see that my heart is probably maxing out.  guy actually pushes me so that i can keep holding a wheel.

sunday morning 10:05am : just holding on out of corners 1 & 2.  drop off on corner 3 and even with the assist of the tailwind, can’t keep up.  throat hell dry and it hurts to swallow water.  sit up and call it a day.  i’m not the first to drop off either.  stu comes past as he had been spat out earlier and asked if i was continuing of pulling pin.  enough for me for the day.

sunday morning 10:15am : hand my race number back in, get changed and watch the rest of the day with ronny, jerry, steve, chevaun & jody. 

sunday morning 11:00 onwards : brendan hangs on with the main group in “a” grade.  “b” grade has a breakaway that stays away but ben manages to stay out of trouble in the crash on the last corner to finish with the group. stu got his money worth by completing the required laps mostly by himself. bruce sprints for 4th in “c” grade after james spent a lot of time working at the front.  lorraine finishes in the group for women’s “a” grade after a breakaway stays away.  lisa had a mistimed attack and paid the price by getting dropped, but finished all the same.  nicole finished on the podium in third in women’s “b” grade.

lorriane did provide brownies which made the pain go away momentarily.  we have a few races in the calender coming up and we would like to see a few more people out there giving it a go.  for those that are relatively new to racing, there is often a men’s “c” grade or women’s “b” grade that would be a good start.  if you can hold a wheel on the saturday rides, then you should be right in these races.

the online membership is STILL not up and running  even though cycling wa have been hassling cycling aust on a daily basis.  they obviously don’t want our money.  if you are thinking of racing or need some more kit or are new to the group and want to feel a part of it, have a look at the kit page on the website and send an email through.  once we reach the minimum for a piece of kit we will do an order for that piece.  it will probably be jerseys first.

 

footnote –

monday & tuesday : have time off work because i am still sick.

ride routes 4th & 5th apr

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i will be taking a “family day” on saturday and so will not be joining the hordes for the ride.  as such here are your instructions.  stick together and take it easy along shep rd, welshpool and hale rd.  once you get to kalamunda rd, the main group turn left and head back towards guilford while the fast group head straight but then turn left at the roundabout to tackle ridgehill rd.  both routes take guilford rd for the return trip so have fun coming home with the predicted tailwind.

sunday will see a bunch of spr riders up at joondalup for the peter clark classic.  we have riders in men’s a, b & c grade and in women’s a & b grade.  hopefully we will get our colours shown and start to make an impact on the perth racing scene.  if you want to come a support the spr crew, feel free to come along and cheer us on.  there may be brownies.  for anyone else, i have mapped a nice and easy circuit around kalamunda.  lots of shortcuts for an early coffee if you must.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 03 (hale rd)

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 08 (gooseberry & kalamunda & bickley)

sunday 29th mar – the tour of the damned

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ride summary by peter.

a very quick summary this week as i am running behind schedule again.  we lined up to do a number of climbs and take a number of roads less traveled.  unfortunately this may have meant that there was a lot more crap on said roads than we usually have.  we went out via belmont and abenathy rd where we got our first flat.  john went to change his and found that his tube had a hole so stu gave him his spare.

we then got stuck at a railway crossing waiting for a train that was moving freight between yards.  there was sea containers stacked up on top of each other so it was moving soooo sloooow.  probably wasted 10 min of my life that i will never get back.  russell joined us on the other side of the tracks but we didn’t get that far before gregor had a flat.  by now lorraine thought she had missed us as she was coming down from darlington to meet us.

due to the delays, nev and the doctors took off with a couple of triathlon ladies that had joined us today for a shorter route up the zig-zag.  we also deceided to shorten our route and would skip the parkerville section.

up coulston the first five were –

ryan – 10, ben – 7, mike – 5, peter – 3, stu – 1.

 

we detoured up mills rd which was another berg that tests the legs.  we haven’t named this one yet, but anyone that tackled it is welcome to throw up suggestions.

along to mundaring weir rd and after a fun, fast descent it was on to the climb.  i didn’t have the legs to stay with the big boys today so thought i would save them for the time trial on the last climb.

at asher rd, ryan – 10, ben – 7, mike – 5, stu – 3, andrew – 1.

 

final climb, ryan – 10, stu – 7, mike – 5, andrew – 3, ben – 1.

 

a number of riders timed themselves and i will update the hill climb time later.

ryan 7:21, stu 7:36, peter 7:55, andrew 7:58, lorraine 8:48, mark 9:00, lisa 9:19, ronny 12:20.

 

on the climb, mike b got a flat to be number three for the trip.  on the decent stu got a flat to be number four.  he also had given his spare to john, so he called me up and i had to ride back to the base of welshpool hill to give him a spare.  a few guys had gone ahead as they had time restrictions.  we passed mike t on berwick road in a bus shelter…changing a flat.  number five.

i will try to put a bit more effort into my write up next time.

saturday 28th mar – risely & cott

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ride report by peter.

 

the last day of daylight savings for ever… maybe, depending on how the vote goes in may… or whether the government changes it’s mind and does another trial… again.  so anyway, it was dark, but we get to wind the clocks back tonight, so have a good think about it before you go to bed.  especially if you are coming on the hills ride tomorrow.  don’t be early.

i did a quick head count (as best i could in the dark) and we were definitely down on numbers this morning.  i guesstimated that we had about 40 riders so we would still split the group as i didn’t fancy leaving a trail of destruction through the southern suburbs.  we rolled out and stayed together as a group for the first 10 kms.  during this time, lorraine got a puncture and lisa and kim stopped to help her.  there was no call out to the group so at the front we didn’t even know it had happened and merrily continued on our way.  apparently after two attempts the girls did a different lap of the river and beat us to coffee.

a nice even pace all the way to the top of risely before the group split pretty evenly with the main group heading right at leach and the fast group going left.  our brief journey along leach was extended as we tried to turn onto murdoch drive and were left sitting at the lights for about 5 min.  when we did actually start moving again the pace up murdoch was quite pedestrian as even when jerry had to stop to fix his wheel alignment, it didn’t take much to draft him back to the pack.  by the time we reached south st i estimated that the 6km difference between the groups was more like 8 or 9 by now.  no chance of catching the prey now.

south st was definitely a different kettle of fish as the pace picked up from the start.  we were rolling through as best we could but this was made difficult with the undulating terrain as some people were already struggling with the pace.  a number of light changes allowed the group to stay relatively together so by the time we reached hampton rd, we had lost very few. 

a quick dash through the back of freo before we were off again along port beach rd.  with a bit of a tailwind along this stretch and marine terrace, the pace picked up substantially.  by the time we were halfway along cottesloe, the group had splintered significantly.  it was good to see jonny back with us in proper bike shoes as injuries have kept him out of the game for a while now.  i remember when he used to smash us on the rides, so the last year or so must have been very frustrating for him.  anyway, he was keeping up quite well today.

the group managed to squeeze back together in a couple of places, but the lights when crossing stirling hwy allowed the majority back on before the final push through dalkeith.  the pace picked up as normal and a few guys kept moving forward to keep the pace high.  on the tight left hander into jutland parade, kimbo and i managed to get a bit of a break.  not really meaning too, but when he told me we had a gap, we did our best to maintain it.  swapping out a few turns we kept ahead, but it was always going to be a matter of time before the train ran us down. 

we jumped on board as it went by, but i was now a little down in reserves and when the surge went on that last hill, i didn’t have the legs to keep up with the front.  fortunately for me, quite a few didn’t have the legs and the group was spread all along the road back to mounts bay.  the lights as usual allowed the regroup so that we had a decent size heading into the final sprint. 

i knew that we were going to be heading into a bit of a cross/head wind for the final push, so i was hoping that we could get a nice roll through happening.  it went to single file almost instantly but a couple of us started to roll through.  i followed michael’s wheel and dropped into the front position.  i took a glance to the right and confirmed my suspicions.  no-one else was rolling.  bastards.  fine.  i set a pace and was going to see if i could hold it to the end.  i managed to keep the pace high enough that no-one was coming around due to me holding them up, but by the time the brewery parking sign came up, i was starting to fade.  i was waiting for the jump to happen and i didn’t have to wait long.  once the brewery carpark was in sight, ryan took off with a couple of others on his wheel.  i sat up then as there was nothing more i could do.  one by one the rest of the group peeled off my wheel and took off after the sprint kings.  i managed to drag my super-domestique arse back to the coffee shop.

on other matters we have an advert in the southern gazette (community newspaper) this tuesday so that in a months time we can apply for incorporation of the club.  then we can apply for some grants so we can start to develop the club more. 

we may be doing another run of kit very soon as there is starting to be a bit of a need to have more jerseys available.  for those that are racing, it may pay to make sure you have a spare kit as ryan, stu, james, lisa and lorraine have found, racing can actually be dangerous and not always through any fault of your own.  if you are new to the group and want to “blend in” a bit better or want to feel like you are part of it, jump on board now as i am not sure when we will be ordering again.  go to the spr team kit page on the website and have a look at what we have.  send an email through and i will compile a list and order when we have enough.  this may mean that we get jerseys now and knicks a bit later.  if you want armwarmers or anything else, also put them on the list.  i will just keep it on the list until we can secure an order.

on other kit business, we are soon to be looking at spr team socks which should not be too hard to get.  as part of the winter kit we will get matching knee warmers through cannibal and i may also look into printed wind jackets.  from other suppliers i am chasing up printed gloves, shoe covers (lycra and cold weather) and those short peak cycling caps.  pretty soon we will have everything covered in little green hexagons. 

oddly enough i also found a place that sells no-name carbon road frames with a minimum order of 10 pieces.  quality would be similar to those mcmurdo bikes you see at glenn parker as they would come from a similar place and then just get painted.  a team bike would not really be that hard to organise.  anyway, i may be getting ahead of myself a bit now.

ride routes 28th & 29th mar

we haven’t finished a ride on mounts bay rd for a while now as the winds have not been favourable.  well they are still not favourable, but they shouldn’t be too strong this saturday so we will have a crack at it.  the group will split again and the main group will take leach hwy, while the fast group will tackle south st.  about 5kms difference between the two routes so we will see what happens.

sunday will hit darlington and mundaring weir so people can try to improve their hill climb time.  sorry i have not had time to write up last sunday’s ride, but the week has been very busy.

the winter arm warmers that needed to be reprinted have arrived, so if you ordered them, get in contact with me to organise a time to collect.

the peter clark memorial race is on next weekend.  there is already talk of a decent group signing up for it.  entries need to be in by tuesday next week.  for more info see below.  it is a fairly flat course and there are various grades, so if you want to give it a go, there will be other spr riders around for support.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 09 (risley & cott)

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 14 (darlington & mundaring)