Well after Talking Steve (Big Ring Hedley) into a short 28km 2 Up smash fest we had entered and were heading to Mundijong and skipping our usual Hills jaunt.
Steve opted to ride out as not too far from from his place South and Jody and I drove out. I registered us which I must say was a breeze and the people very friendly and went to set up the bike and get onto the windtrainer for my warm up. Steve rang to say his not far away and I continued on the trainer. Once done we adjusted all the numbers and had a few pics taken (will post a couple later).
We rode up to the start, seemed to be running dead on time so we went down the road to soak up some time to keep the legs going and went back for our 8.45 start time.
We went off smack on time and quickly found the wind stronger once we were up around 40. We swapped turns every minute or so and were settinga good tempo still able to talk and keep the average up over 40. We started to reel in riders pretty much straight away which was a nice feeling. In the tail wind we managed to ride upwards of 45kmphr and completed the first 12km lap with an ave of 41.2 which was my goal of riding 40ave speed for the race and hopefully sneak a top 10 spot.
We turned back into the wind to find it was stronger and us getting tired, not impressed but pushed as hard as we dare so we had fuel for the run home and still no one was catching us but kept picking people up.
We finally turned into the tail wind and pushed hard, Think this is where Steve may have regretted not having the Zipp wheels on and both our heart rates were nearing max.
Finally into the last turn we did hard short turns and I was counting off the kms and around 5 kms to I heard Steve stretching to get some blood flow to some apendages (wont used the actual term) but that gave me laugh and with him encouarging me he sat in for a while and came through but was starting to suffer so I said stay there and pushed hard all the way to the line with Steve in tow.
I didnt realise Steve was in the hurt box bigtime in the last couple of kms but we had a laugh, after after his operation his rehab is progressing along nicely and will be back to full strength sooner rather than later and putting me in the hurt box… paybacks a bitch I hear haha.
After checking the results we came a credible 6th place Team in a time of 41.08 mins and a average of 41.1kmphr and only couple of minutes of the winning team of Chris Thompson (CWA CEO) and Lee Bolden with Eddie hollands and Chris Glasby on a short few seconds behind in second.
On that note I must say a big condolances to Eddie and his family after his Mum passed away last week so alot of courage to come out and race after such a hard week.
So thanks Steve look forward to some more hitouts and some payback 😉
My figures were
41.1km travelled @ 41.08 mins with average cadence of 95 with a max heart rate of 190 and an average of 179Bpm and max speed of 50kmphr of also burnt 1000 calories 🙂
Thanks for reading and I can highly recomend any Atta event and I know I will be doing some more.:)
just as predicted the sun was shining brightly at 7am this morning. also as predicted there was a crowd waiting for me as i turned up late…again. however, it was a pleasure not to have to put on three or four layers of clothing before leaving the house. i quickly did a ride briefing and we headed out as i had already put us back a couple of minutes. there would have been close to 70 riders as we stretched out for the length of the block before we turned onto mill point rd. due to the expected big numbers i planned a course that would take us onto double lane roads until we split quite early. this would hopefully calm any traffic issues. unfortunately we had our first two on mill point road. a guy coming the other way screamed abuse at us to get off the road. a bit further up the road we saw the bikeforce crew on the edge of the road so maybe he got held up by them and wanted to vent at us. then just before we turned onto canning a car tried to squeeze past us and got to within about three riders from the front before having second thoughts and slowing down. the traffic islands were approaching fast so i motioned (in not a friendly manner) for them to get past. i ended up on the footpath just to make sure they had enough room.
so we were finally away on great eastern hwy and had not trouble all the way to ascot. there the group split and the main group headed towards guilford road while the fast group continued up the hwy. at the entrance to tonkin hwy we had our next brain fade of a driver. overtaking the group and then realising that they weren’t going to get around before they needed to turn left to get to the tonkin onramp. we had to slow for the lights but they ended up pushing in and cutting the group in half to make their turn. the rest of the trip up great eastern was pretty low key.
we turned towards guilford before spurring off to the right to cut past the golf course and onto helana valley road. the group was still all together at this point but with the wind directly in our faces, it had started to string out a bit. ryan was doing a good job of setting the pace with some other guys rolling through as well and it was starting to splinter a bit. we then turned to run parallel with roe hwy and back through midland. back on great eastern hwy meant that we had a nice breeze on our backs and were ticking along at 50km/hr. a number of traffic lights slowed us a bit but the pace was so nice in between that everyone felt good.
a quick turn onto a guilford back road and we started to cut across to west swan road. this is were we encountered the rudest old wanker that should never have been given a licence.
the road was narrow here and the is practically no shoulder as the “traffic calming” islands cut in and out so frequently that you wouldn’t get a free run. so anyway we are riding along and i am close to the front when i here this constant honking of a horn. i look back and see this van right up the arse of the group and this old fart shouting abuse and honking his horn. i slow down to drift to the back of the group and gesticulate a basic “where do you want us to ride”. he starts shouting abuse saying the we should be riding single file. i yell back that we are allowed to ride two abreast, he keeps yelling so i keep yelling all the way to west swan road where he is also turning right. he revs the van hard to try to intimidate us as we are turning but the road here also has no decent shoulder, double lines, oncoming traffic and a bridge to stop him getting past. the road finally widens out and he speeds past but makes sure he keeps honking abuse as he goes. the funny think was he threatened that he has called the cops to let them know that we are not riding single file. good luck with that since the traffic code says we can ride two abreast. for the sake of the few minutes that we held him up i really hope he develops a very painful ulcer. i really need to put my camera back on the bike.
so we head up west swan road the the group starts to split a bit as the cross wind makes it hard for some people. we turn onto benara road before long so i don’t think we lost many.
the pace was on straight away and the group soon split. i put in a big effort to close a gap and managed to get on the wheel of the back of the front group, but the previous week of ignoring a cold has meant that i was really struggling. i maxed out at 188bpm and suddenly couldn’t hold a wheel. i watched as the group rolled away from me.
i was picked up by the next group back and sat on the back as best i could. up ahead the group splintered again and at the lights the front boys got through while we caught the back of the split. a slightly bigger group now meant that we could keep the pace high, but we pretty much got every traffic light and the heat was also taking it’s toll. at almost the last traffic light the group was split by a red and as the first guys came to a stop brother dan went around them and through the red. now this got a lot of discussion the other week as a number of riders did it. i don’t particularly want to be scraping someone off the road or have to tell there partner/family that they were stupid. so do we as a group enforce a penalty on riders that blatantly break the rules. maybe a week suspension from riding with us. i don’t know but add your feedback via the comments. dan, add your feedback via half a page of the consequences of running a red light.
the trip back was pretty uneventful. we tried to stick together through the suburbs and along whatley crescent. at the end we were just happy to be finished. i couldn’t stick around as we had some family stuff to do so i missed the coffee shop banter.
no idea what happened to the front end of the group or the main group so hopefully someone can fill us in there.
ding ding ding. summer is here (well almost) and daylight savings isn’t. how awesome is it to not have to put on four layers of clothing to go riding in the morning. how awesome is it to go riding at 5:30am in daylight rather than a small patch of headlight. totally awesome. as the kung-fu panda says “there is no charge for awesomeness….or attractiveness”
also in the awesome stakes is the fact that one hd has the herald sun tour televised on the same night as each stage was run. check out the last few stages if you haven’t already. cj sutton from garmin (who has come out on sunday rides with us before) is currently leading the men’s race while davina sprinted home for third in the women’s. bec, anna and young sam are also in the women’s race.
also, if you are after a jersey, knicks/bibs, skinsuit or trisuit you have till sunday night to put an order in. i will be ringing cannibal on monday to set the order in motion. this may be the only run of skinsuits/trisuits so don’t miss out…the mardi gras isn’t that far away. scroll down a couple to posts to find more info.
with a strong north-easterly predicted i thought that we would tackle benara rd. as the max of +30 degrees will always see us with bumper numbers for the saturday morning, the group will split. the main group will do the normal route across at ascot and through guilford while the fast group will head out to midland and back through guilford. both groups then return the same way along benara rd but both will face a strong breeze on the way out.
well the german has returned and there is nothing he likes more than the f_ckenberg. so that is where we are headed. maxing out at 21% this little beauty will sort out the climbers from the sprinters but just don’t stop cause you may not get going again. five climbs all up so expect to be tired by the end. beautiful day predicted but not as hot as saturday. bring lots of food and water as we don’t pass any servo’s till kalamunda.
It was my first Sunday ride in 4 weeks and I was looking forward to getting out and stretching the legs. A challenging new course had been plotted by Peter, with trips up Kalamunda Rd and Gooseberry Hill, and there were 25 of us gathered in the car park at 7am. The ride introduction was very quick, due to the approaching shower, and we were soon off but managed to miss most of the rain.
We set out along Gt Eastern Highway and at one of the lights in Rivervale, had the first of several encounters with aggressive car drivers. This particular driver thought it would be really smart to rev the car and spin the wheels from the lights to show off to us all. Problem was he was in a Kia people mover and looked like a complete idiot when he fish tailed off the lights. Hint for next time – try getting a car that actually looks like a hoon car before behaving like one.
We continued along the Highway with Alistair and Peter leading us out and then on towards Guildford, when Heiko and Tim took over. It was great to see a South Perth club ride being led by an Englishman and a German. We turned into Kalamunda Rd to head for the hills and Brett and I found ourselves leading next. As we approached the hill Brett bade me farewell and the climb began in earnest. I was feeling petty fresh and the legs weren’t hurting from the roundabout episode on the Saturday ride so I kept a good pace going. Looking behind, Alistair also was going well. About 2/3’s up I dropped Alistair and turned around only to see Mike go past on a good attack. Forgetting we still had several climbs to go, I reeled him in and we stuck together up to the petrol station before I made an attack. Mike didn’t follow so I cruised up to the bus stop to claim the spoils. Alistair held out Jerard for 3rd and Brother Jules held out Tim and Peter for 5th.
The shortcuts were established at the re-group and some of the first timers decided to call it quits. By the time we set off for the Welshpool Rd climb there were 15 of us through and the instruction form Peter were clear. The climb started at the top of the Lesmurdie Rd roundabout so anyone who could make a break down hill would hold the advantage once we hit Welshpool Rd. Davina set an early pace down the hill, followed by Peter, Dan and a few others. By the time I hit Welshpool Rd I was a fair way back with a bit of work to do but was still feeling good and was confident of picking off everyone on the climb. I made my way past Brett, Heiko (still in the big ring), Davina and Dan and on the second to last hill caught the front six. At this point Peter launched an attack and Brother Jules went with him. I set out after them, with Jerard, Alistair and Tim closely following. Peter spent his tickets early and pulled out and it became a three way tussle between Brother Jules, Jerard and myself. I managed to hold out Brother Jules (and as I found out later cost him a new bike!) with Jerard close behind.
We then headed off towards Pickering Brook, with the sun out and the apple trees in blossom. Davina fell off the back and said not to wait. Peter went back to check she was OK and Heiko and I sat back as well. We caught the pack on the Repatriation Rd detour and it seemed everyone was enjoying themselves. Melvyn was happy to be in touch after deciding against an early short cut and we hit Patterson Road in a fairly big group. Peter missed the side loop as he was checking on Davina was up ahead as the pack set about bringing him in. Mike B and Tim made a break before the top of the first rise, whilst Alistair, Jerard Brother Jules and I held back for the final climb. Mike held it together well and was not caught but we claimed Tim before the top.
A quick regroup before we headed down the hill into Bickley Valley for the Mundaring Weir Rd climb. Alistair dropped his chain after the first turn but was quickly back on. The rest of us made steady pace until the climb started and a few breaks were made. Peter tried an early attack and was followed by Mike and I. About half way up Peter began to drop as Mike pushed on but I managed to hold his wheel and went around him again before the final rise. We picked off a couple of Stadium tri club guys and in the last bit I was starting to hurt but Mike kept encouraging me from behind and let me take the points (thanks Mike). My time of 8 minutes flat wasn’t a PB but considering my legs I was pretty happy.
Climb 4 – 1.Julian, 2. Mike B, 3. Brother Julian, 4. Alistair, 5. English Tim
Once everyone finished it was decided to forego Gooseberry Hill and head straight for coffee. Paris Brest was fairly quiet so we ended up there. Just on 9.30. At 10.05 the coffees arrived and I later calculated that we could have ordered coffees, gone down the zig-zag and back up Gooseberry and still made it back before they we served. There were a lot of high spirits at coffee with discussion focusing on leg hair removal, testosterone gel and male appendages (no females in the group).
Then the fun started. We decamped at about 10.30 and went up to Railway Rd. A few of us got through the roundabout OK but Mr Dickhead in a Range Rover decided that a few cyclists weren’t going to hold him up so he entered the roundabout, cutting a few people off, then decided to do a right hand turn on the roundabout, scattering what was left of the group. A few choice words were exchanged before we set off again. One we hit Canning Road we sat in single file and let the traffic flow. This was not good enough for several cars coming the other way, who decided we were a nuisance and roundly abused us for being on the road. Coming down Lesmurdie Road we were again showered with abuse (again by a car coming the other way!).
We got down off the hill without further incident but encountered another Neanderthal in Berwick St, who didn’t abuse us directly, but rather tooted his horn until he had our undivided attention, then shot his middle finger up as we rode past. Very classy. The ride finished with Brother Julian taking the final Maccas sprint. We then went out separate ways at Bunnings and hopefully no one had their feelings hurt anymore by car drivers on the way home. At least English Tim has a very positive experience to take back with him about the behavior of Australian drivers.
4:25am. alarm goes off. not the one if have set on the alarm clock but the one attached to the vocal chords of the 10 month old who is coming down with a cold. even though he is at the other end of the house, it still manages to wake me just as well as the real alarm clock. a bottle and a cuddle and he is back to the land of nod, while i am now wide awake and listening to the rain on the roof.
hang on, it wasn’t supposed to rain till later on in the day. i am sure that is what the weather girl had said. late showers, it said. that should mean a nice dry morning ride. so me worrying about riding in the rain meant that i didn’t actually get back to sleep this morning, but the early rise did not equate to getting to the start on time.
so i turn up at the allotted time and see that the group is not as big as previous weeks due to the slight shower. however, we have 4 for the novice ride, which is usually the first to drop in numbers when it rains. maybe they are stepping up and becoming more hardcore. so to those that sat this one out today, the novice ladies are more euro hardcore than you.
the route would take us down canning hwy to risely the split with the main group heading along leach while the fast group took south st. very few issues for the first section with only a slight split caused by the lights, but the relatively smaller group meant that we stuck together fairly well. i dropped back to make sure some of our new riders were going ok and to let them know what was about to happen with the split.
at the end of risely i would say that it was a 2/3 vs 1/3 split with the majority going to the fast group. the main group turned right and headed towards freo while the rest of us took a left and then onto murdoch. the group generally does this section at quite an easy pace. i am guessing the even though we have split and have the green light to go hard, the impending rolling hills of south street put everyone on edge and all seem to be waiting to see what happens when we hit them. also, as there is a light change we have to wait for at the end of murdoch drive, any attack now could be for nought.
so we turn onto south street and the pace immediately steps up. probably under coaches orders, lisa attacks off the front and hold a gap for a while. even from the back i could see all the head turning as riders looked at each other to see who was going to chase. it is always a dilemma. do you expend the energy now and risk getting dropped before the hills really start or do you chase down that attack. then there is also the added drama of being shown up by a girl. that usually spurs the guys into action and they start to do harder turns at the front to drag her back to the group.
after that the road headed downwards into the first of the undulations. i was sitting at the back not intending to do any work but thought i better move up a bit just in case some gaps appeared when the climb did. by the end of the first hill, there was a couple of splits appearing and groups started to huddle together for comfort. i was pretty happy to be at the pointy end of proceedings but was generally just hanging onto the coattails of the faster riders.
i was dropped slightly on the end of a couple of the climbs but managed to get back on with the help of a couple of other riders. luckily i was still with the pack when we got to freo and headed past the jail. the pace dropped significantly and julian and chris sat on the front all the way to port beach road. a couple of the groups managed to get back on through freo so we had a decent size once we headed towards cottesloe.
i knew that i should have kept my big mouth shut, but i told the guys to start rolling through once we hit port beach rd. a couple of turns through and i was off the back. way off the back and watching the train disappear off into the distance. looking up i could see joe on the front pushing hard and with the slight cross wind, i knew that i would not get back on. i debated heading straight and skipping cott altogether but i thought that i could maybe pick up a few stragglers and we could work together.
onto marine parade and big john caught up to me so we worked together a bit. we caught daniel and a couple of others and kept it going pas the beachfront. just before the round-about we got onto the back of julian, brother julian and lorraine. the road was a little damp here but nothing that i thought was too bad that would cause us to slow too dramatically. there may have been a bit of oil on the inside of the roundabout because next thing we know julian is on the deck and we are all taking evasive action to avoid the bitumen. after a string of bad luck this year, lorraine did well to hop over the edge of the sprawling bike to make sure she was not on the deck too.
julian picked himself off the road and we made sure that he was ok. a bit of claret coming from his knee, a rip in his knicks and a graze on his elbow was all the visible damage. the bike didn’t do too bad. the levers were moved and the chain was off. the rear derailleur had some scratches but looked straight and seemed to change gear ok. everything (bike and rider) seemed to be in working order so the five of us slowly made our way home.
it was pretty uneventful after that and i needed to head straight home due to some early morning appointments so missed the coffee shop banter. anyone who wants to fill us in on the rest of their ride (including the main group) can add their side of the story to the comments. hope everything is ok with julian (but i may finally get some points tomorrow).
in addition to the jerseys and knicks order, we are also exploring any interest in some more specialised items of clothing.
a skinsuit is generally worn by those doing track or time trials as there is no need for pockets and a more aerodynamic fit is preferred. there are a few people that do time trials and the atta club run events pretty much all year round.
a trisuit is for those cyclists that generally like to get wet before jumping on the bike, then for some reason want to go for a run afterwards. there are some current tri-hards in the group, so those that are looking at doing a few triathlons this season, may want to do them in spr colours.
due to the smaller order amounts, both these may be one off orders. so don’t wait and see what they look like as you may have missed out by then. if you are interested, have a look at the size chart on the kit order page and send me an email here. indicative prices at the moment are $175 for the skinsuit and $155 for the trisuitbut these may be subject to change due to the small run of kit. there is also the options for a long-sleeve skinsuit for an extra $15.
these are just the designs from the price list. they will be pretty much the same as the jersey and knicks combined.
there have been quite a few new riders and a few that have wanted to race since our last kit order. as such we have needed to borrow kit off people so that our teams look the part (as best we can). with there being a few more races between now and the end of the year, we will be doing a special order of just jerseys and knicks/bibs to try to get everyone kitted out. it may be a short run so therefore the prices are not exactly known. however, i don’t expect it to be much more than what is listed on the team kit page.
so, if you are new to the group, have been racing in borrowed stuff or if you need spare stuff just in case you stack it let me know asap via email here. we will be hoping to get an order sent off by the end of next week so have a look at the team kit page and let me know what sizes you want.
a good turn out for cyclo-sportif last week and this finishes off the year for cyclo racing. there are a couple more events in the regular road season and both are pretty flat so hopefully we can see a few more people wanting to step up to have a crack at racing.
a good old saturday ride that sees the groups split nicely at risely with the main group heading to freo via leach while the fast group take south street. home via cottesloe and dalkeith so we get a tailwind before coffee.
a new route for sunday so make sure all you garmin-ites download the new file so you know where you are going. this one passes the coffeeshop twice and starts the homeward descent early before turning back up welshpool rd. it finishes with a nice surprise up gooseberry, just to make sure you know that you have been on the bike.
Nearly a week on and I am slowly coming to terms with the team not getting the fastest time in the Pinjarra sportif, we slipped from 1st in Byford to 2nd in Pinjarra (I feel more comfortable coming 2nd anyway).
The team was almost completely different, with only Brendan and I being common denominators. The refurbished ‘A – Team’ was as follows:
Brendan – Fresh from Grafton, copious amounts of training and a light frame (on his bike too), will be able to hit the hills in Pinjarra at pace. Just need to keep him in check so others survive.
David – I am happy to finally get him on board (I have been trying for years now) as he is always a machine. Got the fastest time in the Menzies classic in 2008 and has gotten the fastest bike time at Anaconda (beating Mr Tim Bennet in the process, although Dave insists it was because Tim was tired from the race he had competed in over the week). I was hoping we would be able to hold his wheel without having to slow him too much.
Joe – I did not know who Joe was, but after reading the write up of the B-Team TTT, it was plain to see that Joe had been a force to be reckoned with as he had tired Jarrad out (and Jarrad has been riding strong). I was confident he would go well and be able to hold the pace for required distance.
Judd – He has recently been hit with the ‘swine’ flu but is throwing himself back into the training. He managed to crest Ridgehill in touch with the front pack and then helped out the most on the trip back into town. I know he is an asset on the flat and was confident he could get over the hills comfortably if we did not hit them too hard.
Julian – Mr Hills man on his new bike. I had no concerns for him in the hills, the problem was going to be, could we keep him under control when he had his turn up front? If we could not, he may go the way he went in the TTT, bury himself early on and blow too soon (apparently not a good thing).
Michael W – Mr Wlasenko is always a solid performer and has not cracked in any events I have been in with him. He also managed to hang on with the fast group over ridgehill and back into town so had faith he could go the distance, despite not seeing him on the bike often (another rider like myself perhaps?
Ryan – Getting back up to speed after time off running. I have had a few weeks of two solid rides a week (either a Thursday and a Saturday, or a Saturday with an event on Sunday). I am starting to feel strong again and I was confident I could hold the pace and last the distance.
Steve – Mr Hedley, coming back after back surgery. He is an ox and looked good coming over Ridgehill road on Saturday (he beat me over, then popped, but he got the mountain points which is what counted). He has been attending Sunday rides and picking up the points (I have seen on the blog, not in person) so no concerns over him handling the hills or the distance.
With 8 on the team we were ready to rock and roll. Arriving in Pinjarra, we found out Steve was cycling to the event (fecing crazy man) and Dave was cycling home (what is wrong with these people?). Let’s hope they had the legs for the event. A bit of a chin wag, a few loo stops and we were lining up to be set off. I had a word to everyone letting them know we would be rolling at a steady pace on the way out to the hill and then we would see what happens. Also pointed out we needed to be strong for the return trip and if people were feeling strong at the end, they would drive the train.
And we were off, Gary Suckling had nothing to hang sh*t on me today, so we were off with no further ado.
Fec, I was thinking, where did this wind come from?? Looks like we were in for more fun in the wind in Pinjarra, at least this time there were 8 of us and no tri bars to contend with.. The B team had set off 1 min infront so we had a carrot to chase. Pete said the hill was 7kms in and that they would stay away till then, we would see..
Rolling out easy
We started picking up teams pretty much straight away but none of them were the B team, they were going well and picking up these teams as well.. Noice, we should get 2 high placed finishes. A look down at the speedo, 7kms, no hill and no B team?? Hmm, we were rolling well and at a decent pace so on we soldiered confident we would reel them in eventually.. 2.5kms later we caught them and passed them, and then we were on the first ascent..
This was going to be interesting to see who would be the first to crack. We did not hit it hard but rather at a steady pace, then Julian got excited and did a little attack. We had to reel him in, easy does it, we are going up as a team, no mountain points available, even though it is a Sunday. The hill kept on going and we were picking teams off.
Then Michael popped and we had to slow a little so I could give him a gentle hand up the hill. We kept the pace reasonable and even with us pushing, we were overtaking teams. Michael was very apologetic, saying he was not usually this bad (a young woman can be ‘draining’ or so I have heard ;-). Hill evened out and I headed to front to ensure pace picked up quickly (easy to lose time taking time to get up to speed, no rest for the wicked and all that).
On next undulation, Julian dropped his chain and the call went out to ease up, Michael kept going, Dave turned back to help Julian and I stayed back to wait. Once he was on and getting up to speed again, I told them to hurry up (as I could see a team approaching) and we were soon together with Michael and working as a team. The approaching team yelled out very loudly when approaching and Nico was a little upset with the volume and tone used but I guess we were in their way and they wanted to be heard.. The team was Broad Warriors, slightly weathered warriors by the look, stearn faced they marched by. Perhaps we would get them later I thought to myself as I slipped back down the line to see how Michael was faring on the hill.
We continued to work well, getting pace up on descents (never seemed to be any flats??) and being safe whilst passing other teams and other cars who were not passing slower teams, till we got to the half way mark. We turned to come back home and on the next hill, the call when out from Judd to ease up.. Turns out the hills were taking their toll on him. I offered him a slight push but he declined so I went back to push Michael back up the pack. Judd kept on pushing on, gritting his teeth and managing to grab the wheel in front of him.
And so the story went on; very fast downhills, safe over taking, pushing Michael, Judd not accepting pushes ;-). Eventually on one of the rises, I gave Judd a little push and said it would give him a breather and make him feel stronger when the roads flattened, he said nothing but I think deep down he was grateful.
On the final descent, we were flying down when there was a 4wd stuck behind a slower group, we were going 60kms+ and they must have been on 30kms, what to do?? We eased up but then committed to passing single file around the 4wd and slower pack. Onto the right hand side of the road we went only to see another 4wd coming the other way. Shout went out there was a car coming and we hugged the white line. We were passed with room to spare before the 4wd arrived. Still a little scary.
Well, now we were on the final flat, 10kms or so with a tailwind… Time to crank it up (well as much as legs would allow and mine were starting to feel heavy) and we started rolling through quickly. Dave was looking really strong, as was Joe, Brendan had found his legs, Steve was trucking along, Julian had a huge smile on his face, he was loving riding at 50km+ on the flats, Michael and Judd were not looking so happy but were hanging in there.
Everyone looking like they were having a great easy ride.. 🙂
We then came across a CRT team who latched on behind for a little while, till it was my turn to roll through and they guy said ‘all yours’, did not see that team again. We also passed the Freo peleton which was the group which chased us for awhile in Byford but they did not chase today (sweet). Next team in our path was CRT team OO, well these chaps who started a fair time infront of us thought it was fine to jump onto our tail for over 5kms. I was not fussed as long as they stayed out the way. I rolled up our train and told people to sit in if they were not feeling strong as I wanted to pick things up till the finish.
The CRT OO team did not want to stay out the way and attempted to roll through, we blocked them a fair few times as we were riding as our team, they could go roll through alone behind us if they wanted to feel like they were contributing. A call went out from one of them that ‘They do not want any help’, for fecs sake a 17 man train is not the way forward. None the less one of their chaps managed to break into our line and rolled past me and out the front of the train. Fair enough I thought and I let him sit there for awhile, till he looked a little fatigued and started to fade, we then rolled through past him. We did not see team OO again.
The 1km sign came up and I was aware the timer was on my leg so I had to stay up front to ensure team got as good a time as possible. 500m, came up and we pushed harder for the line, no stand up and sprint but managed to roll through past David and Joe who still seemed rearing to go.
Another great team ride, we may have missed out on the top spot but we were 4 minutes up on the next team (who was the CRT OO team, so we helped them with their 2 minute gain over the Freo Peleton, who knows without our aid, Freo Peleton may have caught them up??). A shame the B team had so many hold ups as they would have definitely been well in the top 10 (finished 13th out of 56 with two punctures and a hold up by a train, impressive).
I look forward to next season as it appears the SPR talent pool is getting deeper and we will be making our marks in many events, not just sportifs. We will have A, B and C grade representation, we have strong females in the fold and we also have very strong Masters. Exciting times.
for any of you that don’t like to carry a pump around with you but rely on the co2 canisters do we have a deal for you.
there is a new guy in the group, josh, that who has a contact that imports the canisters and is about to do an order. these are the standard 16g threaded canisters that most inflators use. instead of the usual $6 each you can get them for $2.50 but have to order a min of 10 ($25).
if you want to get a box, send josh an email here before monday 12th oct, 4pm.
