by dr ronny

First of all, I apologise for the lack of names. If you would like to reply to this post and identify yourself, I would be more than happy to edit it accordingly. Moving on…

After last week’s great ride, it was no suprise to see another good size group with the fine weather. Raphael kindly volunteered to help and we made it somewhat uneventfully onto the Canning Hwy. Just at the shops at the top of the hill past the Canning Bridge, Jordan got a flat. It was the the second flat of the morning (the first was at the carpark) and apparently the 3rd in two days. We all stopped and after finding no cause for the flat, we had the tire on and the tube inflated in a less than inspiring 15 minutes.

We headed off and were split in two groups for a little while before we all came back together just before the left turn at the KFC onto North Lake Rd. Greg mentioned he would head off and left us. The pace was moderate but a few people started to struggle. Unknown rider number 2 on a commuter bike started to fall back after a turn at the front when we began the short uprise before the South St turn. Another rider, (on a Fuji), was being passed as we climbed the short hill and by the time we turned to go downhill onto South St they were 30-40 metres back.

I dropped back to pace rider no. 2 back but as we saw the group getting further away, he told me to go on without him and that he would take the bike path home. I caught up with rider no. 3 (on the Fuji) and eased up to let him get my wheel. We were about 200-300 metres back but everytime I upped the pace, he’d lose my wheel. After a little while (and a lot of work), the group slowed for a light and we got to something I thought I closeable. We were only 5-10 meters off the back when I looked behind me to see that he had moved a little to the right and sat up. I’m sure everyone has made the same mistake before – thinking that you’re on when you aren’t – and has lived to regret it.

The group began accelerating and when I looked back, he was 10 meters back and struggling. I dropped back again and started the pacing all over again. The group had put 70 meters into us when we caught a red light. After the light turned green, a few too many cars came past us a little too close. I don’t really enjoy riding along such a busy road with just 2 people. After another minute, I heard a pop behind me – another flat! – I was told to go on and put my head down for the next few minutes to time trial back to the group as they were turning onto Bannister Rd.

The roll through today was solid – really impressed with everyone and whilst there were a few gaps here and there I noticed a few other riders also taking charge to close them and moderate the pace in both lines to accomodate. We made our way onto Nicholson before Raph called for a second roll-through. I sat off the back by about 20 meters to eat my muesli bar and was VERY impressed with what I saw next – the smoothest, fastest, cleanest roll through. I had to quickly scoff down the bar and waited for someone to pop off the back of the 40kph train but no-one did – very impressive.

The trip home was uneverntful although we never seem to get a green light at the bottom of that hill on Shepperton before the Causeway. We caught the next set of lights and when it turned green, the front 1/3 of the group started at a moderate pace. One or two guys missed their clip ins and when I looked up, 6 people were 30-40 meters ahead. I went round and brought someone with me. We made contact with the front guys and looked back to see a 60 meter gap. I called we had a gap and Raph and co. started to wind it up. We were strung out when Andrew started to move backwards through the small group before getting dropped (aka “spat out the back” in advanced group lingo). Onto the causeway and the 7 of us were flying before the first set of lights turned orange 100 meters ahead of us. We came to a stop and looked behind – still no sign of them. When it turned green, we still had 200 meters (yes – Raph did hammer it!) and the sprint began. Rider number 5 (Wembley Cycles jersey) blitzed everyone after doing more than his fair share of work at the front. I was a good 50m back when we caught another red and congratulated him on the win, having conceded victory. When the light turned green, he stood up and sprinted again just to show he had some left – noice!

Back to coffee last due to slow tire change. My computer said we averaged 30.3kph but I forgot to pause it when we fixed the flat. Many riders mentioned that the pace was slightly higher than last week. I won’t be there next week as I’m in Sydney. Well done again everyone – I was very impressed. I will begin trying harder to remember people’s names as we seem to be developing a good core bunch of riders for our group.

by dr ronny

Another beautiful morning saw over 20 of us head out. There were a few new faces and a few ladies, Mike B who would help with me keeping the group together and Darren on his crazy light Kestrel (5.78kg) who had been scared off the intermediate group due to not riding much in the past few months. Darren and I led the group down the Canning Hwy and with a nice tailwind we sat on 36kph without much effort. Left at the KFC and then over a few lumps before we stopped at the Leach Hwy lights where we (read: “I”) realised we were meant to turn left. I regretted it straight away as it meant we were heading straight into the Easterly till we reached Shelley.

Once we were there, our roll through was the best so far. Mike B moved up the front and gave instruction whilst I made my way down the left lane until I popped off the back and got to observe everyone’s form. It was a great effort into the wind and I was very impressed by the improvements everyone has made in the past few weeks. A few more weeks and hopefully we’ll be putting the main group to shame with our roll-through 🙂

A few at the front missed the left turn at the end but found their way to meet us on that goat track of a path. Then onto Fern Rd where I moved up to the front and together with a new guy we led the group all the way home. The Albany Hwy section with its constant lumps tested a few tiring legs but we kept it all together before winding it up for Riverside Drive. We buried ourselves on the front doing 46kph over the Causeway (with a tailwind) to lead out the sprint.

4 or 5 guys came past before I saw Emma on my right. Grinning as she went past she said “C’mon!”, but my legs were done and I let her go before moving behind the new guy for a rest. We could see 10 or so people up front stopped at the lights and just as we got there the lights turned green letting us get a rolling start to finish in the first 7 to the Bell Tower. The entire group rolled in together and I was delighted to see we were the first to coffee!

Got home and checked my computer (I only turned it on somewhere on the Canning Hwy). Distance 34.5kph, Ave 30.6kph, Max 55.9kph.

Thanks to everyone for keeping it together and Mike B for the helping hand. For those new to the group, the kit order closes on Monday, with another order not likely for around 6 months.

I was watching this video from the Tour of Qatar this week with a few short sections of a good roll through with a cross wind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcoboB3aaHI

About 20 riders were present for the 2nd transition ride. I thought I was well prepared, having carefully studied the map the day before, then creating a schematic of the route on a post-it note which I then taped to my handlebars. Kimbo dubbed it the “Garmin 101”. However, I had not realised that we were actually heading clockwise round the route which made my annotations of the cross streets before each turn totally redundant. Having little idea how to get to Shepparton Rd and Albany Hwy, I took the group the scenic way onto Berwick Rd – at least I knew that would take us to Albany Hwy – and everything turned out fine and we were onto our 2nd task for the day – merging 3 lanes right to get onto Nicholson.
Pete came up the front to tell us that he would call when it was clear to move over. Sure enough, with 100-200 meters to the turn, the call came and the group made it safely and co-ordinatedly over to the right.

We crossed the Canning River and then started a roll through into the headwind. The group’s roll through is definitely getting better although we still have some way to go before we see two solid lines of riders smoothly transitioning from right to left.
Onto Leach Hwy where the pace suddenly dropped off. I went up the front to crack the whip a bit and Tracy and Josh’s wife (sorry, I have a memory like a goldfish) kindly obliged.
We made our way towards the right hand turn onto Riseley. Unfortunately, the guys at the front didn’t wait for the call from the back to move over and initiated the move themselves a few hundred meters too early. This resulted in us riding in the middle lane for 30 seconds too long with trucks and cars passing us on both sides. We made our way one more lane to the right and got to the intersection safely, when we heard that Pete and 2 others had been caught behind with a mechanical.
We soft pedalled along Riseley and everything was back together just before the Canning Hwy when Linda got a flat. Pete stayed back and we made our way towards home. I moved to the back to make sure nobody got dropped and after a few minutes, noticed that the pace was too variable for my liking. We seemed to be going fast then slow then fast then slow without reason. I made my way to the front as we stopped at some lights and the group responded well with a nice even pace to the Causeway.
The pace picked up along Riverside Drive but everything came back together at the last set of lights.
The ride pace will increase in the next few weeks, there were many times when the pace dropped off and I’d like to see an average pace of closer to 30kph than 25kph. In addition, we need to remember that lane changes are initiated from the back of the group and that the call to do so needs to be passed up the group. Lastly, the roll through will get smoother (and faster). I will be away in Adelaide next Saturday but should be back the next week.
Dr ronny

Who is this SPR rider sprinting for the line?

I was at the Crit this morning and had a chat  to Scott. To help people make the transition from the Novice Ride to the Main Group, he thought that an intermediate pace ride on a Tuesday morning would be a good idea. So, for everyone interested, there will be an “easy pace” ride on Tuesday morning. The time and place will be the same as the normal Tuesday morning ride – under the Narrows on the City side at 5:30am.

The route will be a lap of the river WITHOUT the Mosman casino spiele Park Hill. The pace will be faster than a usual novice ride and slower than a main group ride.

dr ronny

by dr ronny

Today we were trying our new route. After a vote of confidence by Pete, we set off with the largest number of people I’ve seen on the novice ride since I “joined” a few weeks ago. It wasn’t till I was 30 metres down Coode St when Emma reminded me that I was heading the wrong way. (Just checking everyone knew the route :). So we did a u-turn and got on the bike path heading west towards the Narrows, crossing on the eastern side and then negotiating the giant puddle on the bike path at the bottom of the northeast corner which is there every week.

We got onto Mounts Bay Rd and Tracy and Emma set the pace. The right hand turn onto Thomas Rd at the end was well negotiated. Emma was smart enough to call me through to the front leaving myself and Tracy to lead. Lynda (who apparently has been sick this week) began to puff like I’ve never heard her puff before. The hill start at the red lights with Rokeby road caught a few people off guard before we gladly coasted down Nicholson Rd and then left onto Selby.

The hill on Lemnos street began to string out the group but I was pleased to see Lynda zoom by me on the downhill in chase of Tracey. We got to the end and turned left on Brockway. Lynda and Tracy had a small lead which stretched to almost 50m at one stage. This was the only part of the route that I had not ridden and I was disappointed to find that there was a lot of sand in the bicycle lane (which was not demonstrated on Googlemaps!). Mark, who was joining us today, kept the troops at the back in check and we made our way right onto Alfred to find another small rise.  I told people it would be our last hill as I heard some groans behind me and at the bottom of the hill we caught a glimpse of the Elite Racing Cycles “Ladies” Group (perhaps our bizarro world doubles??? Or perhaps, we are the bizarros???).

We saw them disappear up the road along Davies to Claremont and then went across Stirling Hwy and through Dalkeith. Tracy, who had been at the front the whole day was still going strong and powered all the way to home along the bike path. We beat the other groups by 15 minutes and it was nice taking the prime seats for once (get used to it boys! 🙂

Overall, I thought it went well, we didn’t get lost (I never had a doubt!) and at least it was something different. I’d like to thank Mark who kept the riders up the back (and out of my sight) out of trouble. We’ll probably make the route a little longer next time by heading out east and taking the Causeway and Riverside drive to begin with (thus avoiding the bike path and the Narrows) or by turning right at Brockway and going past Challenger stadium (to avoid the Brockway “beach”).

I won’t be there next week so Merry Christmas to all.

——– __o
—— _\ <,’
—– (_)/(_)

So, after many rides I’ve changed my mind once again. The crunch came when Em and I went up Reabold Hill and then rode home in silence…

So, the above is what I’m proposing for tomorrow. It’s pretty simple and there aren’t any big hills. See you all tomorroow!

Ronny

by dr ronny

I’m very proud this week and pleased to say that we didn’t get lost. I know, there are so many people to thank for this wonderful achievement but I couldn’t have done it without everyone in the group. And of course, God.
We had another good turn out with a new rider (Belinda) joining thanks to Pete’s recruitment at the Tour de Perth (apparently the tent impressed).
We climbed the two short hills at Applecross with Jacqui taking them both and Debra getting to the top of the Majestic for the first time without having to get off. Well done!
Our roll through was solid again and Belinda picked up on it quickly. On our way back, I mentioned about the “sprint” up Bull Creek Rd to Belinda who was looking strong and even warned to look out for the tricksy Jacqui. I rounded the left hander in first wheel and Belinda came out from my wheel to get a sizable lead. I looked back to see Jacqui trying to bridge the gap but honestly thought she had left it too late. Just near the top Belinda seemed to be slowing down as Jacqui continued to bury herself to close the gap. I’m pretty sure she won that one, only because Belinda stopped going full gas, but I did warn her about J……

A few options for next week:
1. start and finish at Coode st and then drive to Jerry’s  or
2. meet at Coode st, drive to Jerry’s, and then ride round there including doing a bit of Oceanic Drive near Reabold hill or
3. meet and Jerry’s at 7am and do a longer circuit (i was thinking claremont-nedlands-subi-reabold-jerry’s)

Please leave a comment if you have a preference. I think that 2 or 3 is better as I don’t wanna miss too much of the brekkie.

by dr ronny

Today was my third week in a row with the novice group. After letting the main group go, we were left with the Malvern Star people and we all put our names down to win an Oppy bike. The guys and gal there also mentioned that Phil Anderson would be at the carpark tomorrow morning to help with the promotion and took a photo of us!

In addition to a couple of new faces today (Lucas and Emma), we decided we would also tackle the Majestic hill, that is, if only we could find it. When we eventually did find it, Jacqui (or is it Jackie?), went round myself and Tracey to reach the top in front of me with new Lucas just behind.
After a little street searching, Carol found Kintail Rd and we off in the right direction again. We made our way leisurely to the Shelley section where the paced went up a little and our roll through began. I was very pleased with our effort last week and was keen to see how we went into the strong easterly wind.

Understandably, the roll through was a little less fluid but Lucas and Emma picked up on it pretty quick, Carol was a little off and a few gaps began to form so I held back with her and we let the others go. They seemed to do a good job as they disappeared slowly up the road till we regrouped. There was a small chat about rookie marks (you know, those bits of chain grease on your calf) and how to avoid them and we decided to try to make the roll through smoother by slowing down the speed of the right hand riders overtaking those on the left on the way back.
Stubbornly, the wind still felt like it wasn’t quite behind us on our way back but the roll through was a lot smoother and there was only the occasional small momentary gap for the whole time. Our two new riders looked like they were doing it easy so I began to tell them how we would split up a little going up a small rise after a left hand turn (apparently, it’s called Bull Creek Rd) and then regroup. Of course, I did this not realising how far we were from it and every time the road started to curve left, I thought it was it, only to find out it wasn’t. When we eventually did find it, I looked back to see just Tracey, Lucas and Jacqui/Jackie within reach. Lucas asked “Is this it?” and almost before I could say “yes” he was out of the saddle sprinting past Jacqui/Jackie.
It was an uneventful ride back and it was nice to have a small chat to “the other Emma”. We were last to coffee but we will be faster next week now that we know were to go around Applecross.
It’ll be the breakfast ride the week after next so we’ll also have to talk about a route that will lead us to Jerry’s place. If only we could recruit someone with a Garmin…..

By Dr Ronny

I thought I would write this up as I haven’t seen a ride report from the Novice group for a while and I was pleasantly impressed with the ride this morning.  Firstly, I must apologise for not knowing everybody’s names but I will try harder next week. That is, I intend to actually make the briefing to introduce myself. Anyway, after arriving at the carpark just as the main groups were leaving, we (Emma and I) caught the Novice Riders and set off.

Not more than 2 minutes into the ride it began to drizzle and I began wishing that I had gone East with the main group where the weather looked a lot brighter. Fortunately, the “rain” stopped and before long the drops on my stem and handlebars were gone.

The ride down the freeway bike path was easy going with the tailwind. We turned off at the Canning Bridge and I was informed that we would skip the one “hill” today and head straight for Shelley as we had a newbie in the group (sorry, name unknown). By now, it was turning into a beautiful morning and once we got to Shelley, we began our roll through. It was pretty good (at least, better than I expected and certainly not the worst I have seen) and we made good time to get to the end of Shelley. We had a quick stop and decided to head back with a similar roll-through. As expected, the roll-through with a cross-headwind was a little less pretty and there we often gaps and riders going at different speeds within the same paceline. I began pointing out the gaps and trying to get a more constant speed in each line going. This seemed to work well and the ladies were fast to pick up on any tips. By the end of this short section, the roll-through looked much better till we got to the slight uprise before the finish and we split up a little. It was at this time that Emma told me her bike wouldn’t shift down. At the regroup I tightened the rear derailleur cable and we headed off only to find that I had made it worse. We stopped briefly to loosen it a quarter turn and headed off after the group which were now 75 metres ahead. Once again, no luck with the shifting so I sprinted across the gap and gingerly asked the others to pull over for a second.

It took about 2 minutes to sought it out and I’m pleased to say that the shifting was fine after that. We got back onto the bike path to find a strong crosswind and as a result, rode steadily back. I was especially pleased with the sensible riding of the ladies when we got near the Mill St onramp to find an ambulance helping a man who had fallen off and cut his face and elbow. We stopped for a second (enough time to see that a trainee radiologist and paediatrician were of absolutely no help) and then headed for coffee.

Thanks to all the ladies for the great ride. Not as much “juicy” gossip as I would like but I will be sure to join you again for another outing. The relaxed pace is a nice change for anyone who wants to join.