” I said what about breakfast with SPR”  (think Breakfast at Tiffany’s tune!)

….Ok well its that time of year again,  SPR breakfast Saturday 19th September.  As per usual the breakfast will be held immediately after the ride, if your not planning on riding you are still more than welcome to come along – there will be coffee and muffins, brownies and hot chocolate, toasties and OJ and much more yummy goodies….

There will be a raffle with some cool prizes and I am sure Ben’s counting has now reached higher than, I quote, “nummer four”  so good news for the other 50 odd people that will be there, your number could be called!!!! 

 Only $10 a head to be paid on the day EVERYONE WELCOME! Please RSVP by 16/09 either by posting a comment or emailing me to me so that we can have approximate numbers for catering.

lwood@claytonutz.com

Mark de Castro has kindly opened his house up for our festivities so if your not planning on riding with the group I can email you the address.

See you there… Lisa

Report by Julian 

A good gathering this week despite the forecast of showers and it was something old something new with a few old faces returning, together with a couple of newer riders.  Pre start discussion focused on bowel movements so it could only get better from here! 

Nothing exciting to report on the trip out along Orrong Road and Welshpool Rd.  We picked up Mike B along the way and everyone was in good spirits.  Once the climbing started Mike, Steve and Matt broke away and set the pace.  Matt dropped off up new Lesmurdie Rd and was overtaken by Ben and myself.  There was also a couple of other groups on the road but no problems were had on the climb.  At the end of the climb Mike claimed the points from Steve (NB. points summary will follow at end this week) 

We bade farewell to Brendan and headed off to the Observatory.  The wet roads meant the initial descent was kept in check and there were also a few gum-nuts on the road.  Starting the second hill, Matt and Steve set the pace and were soon joined by Mike and I.  We dropped Matt and I was determined to hang on this time.  By the time we reached the turn to the finish, we were still together and then Mike attacked.  I tried to go with him but Steve dropped off and gave me a push to keep going.  I dropped off about half way to the top and contented myself with second.  The rest of the group followed in good time and were still in high spirits at the re-group.  Stu was happily telling war stories from the Timor ride, which kept us entertained.  Peter gave a pep talk about the Mundaring Weir Rd climb and we were soon off through Pickering Brook, again taking it easy on the wet roads. 

The climb to Kalamunda was hotly contested.  Oliver and Alistair kept the pace early until Mike, T-Mobile Alistair (my new name to differentiate the two Alistairs) and myself put a space in the field.  We kept a good pace up the hill with Mike doing most of the work and in the last 100 m T mobile Alistair slipped around to claim the points.  My time of 7.55 was a 1 second PB and has fully justified my decision to get a new bike.  Jerard was very happy at the top as he claimed a point (and is now ahead of Ryan on the table!).  

Stu and Mike D left us for early coffee whilst the rest of the group went down the zigzag quite cautiously, due the amount of gravel on the road.  Big Matthew had a puncture on the descent but waved us on.  Back on Kalamunda Rd Matt and Steve peeled of home leaving the hard core to tackle the final climb.  Mike B and T-mobile Alistair broke away early as I started to struggle.  Ben came past me but I managed to hold his wheel and get my second wind.  We caught T-mobile Alistair and the three of us swapped positions until Ben made a break just before the roundabout.  Summoning one last effort I reeled him in and finished off the climb.  Oliver, who had 2 sixth finishes put in a good last climb to claim a point and make the day worth while. 

We initially headed for the Merchant but Jerard said Paris Brest was quiet so we ended up there.  Service again was very slow (30 minutes to get ordered) but it gave us plenty of time for discussion.  Paul, Peter, Jerard and Lorraine (who joined us at the café) sat up one end and discussed all thing Garmin, whilst the rest of the wondered what all the fuss was about.  Having refueled, on the stroke of 10.45 we were off and we left Kalamunda in the sunshine.  By the time we were down the hill a light mist was falling and this kept up pretty much all the way home.  The strengthening westerly wind also slowed us down but a good work out was had by all.  

KOM Summary. 

Climb 1 – 1.Mike B,  2. Steve,  3. Julian,  4. Ben,  5. T Mobile Alistair 

Climb 2 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Steve,  4. Ben,  5. Matt 

Climb 3 – 1. T Mobile Alistair,  2. Mike B,  3. Julian,  4. Ben,  5. Jerard 

Climb 4 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Ben,  4. T Mobile Alistair,  5. Oliver

Main Group
No Re- Group.
For members of the main group on Saturday, did you think I was going to let this one go thru to the keeper? We left the fast group at Risely and headed for Freo , I dropped back to see who was with us and how the group would go it looked ok with a couple of new riders that I had not seen before but looked like they would hang in on the ride.
I asked for the group to regroup at the car park on leach h’way at the cemetery. This has been a challenge for the group the last two times we have travelled this route, these are men who actually went to high school, with one rider saying he did not even see the cemetery. I told the new guys that we would regroup near the top of the second hill and not to panic should they fall off the back during these two hills. Three guys did fall back I went back to see how they were going then looked up and see the group ride straight past the car park. We were then 200 meters behind when the lights changed and off went the group with us left there and then had to chase. This one I could take but then online casino’s again near the end of the run along Cottesloe I tried my luck again asking for a stop around the bend at the first street to the left one we have stop at probably thirty times while riding SPR and Bikeforce. Once again two guys had dropped back.
James pulled in to this street and waited for us. I’m at a loss to understand why the group did not stop to regroup or why no one spoke up out of the whole group.
We advertise the Main group as a group that will regroup and of course this will not be needed every time and if riders are too far off the pace we will not regroup. This is a call to be made by someone and if anyone does not want to regroup they only have to say. If a regroup does interfere with your plans then the Fast Group may be the one for you or if working harder is what you want you need to go to the front time and time again that will work everytime. The potential for anyone to work harder is there and is always there it is just not about the sprint at the end.
Even though I spoke about it at the lights I felt it needed to be reinforced because we have all ridden with groups that are full of a bunch of tosser’s, that is not a reputation we would like.
The ride up thru Jutland parade was interesting with some serious position changing, quite exciting really?
Nev

Report by Paul.

Usually this time of year I do the half marathon at the City to Surf, but this year due to conflict of schedules I couldn’t make it. But when I saw that the Wandi Masters Classic Race was on and open to anyone 30 then I had an idea. My parents happen to live in Auburn Grove which is a 10 min ride from the race course, so a sleep over was on the cards for me and my kids. It was an opportunity for my kids to get down and watch dad race.

I entered B grade (8 laps for a total of 70 km) but was a bit nervous as the only other B grade race I had done this year had been a West Coast masters race at an undulating Pickering Brook and the Wandi course is flat and fast with it most suitable to the strong power racer, which I’m not. I looked at the race list on Friday and there were only 18 riders in B so there would be absolutely nowhere to hide.

The great thing about this race was that B & D grades didn’t start until 1020am so no early start. So had breakfast with the kids and got my last minute coaching instructions from my 10 year old daughter Georgia – my instructions were to go slow the first lap so I don’t use all my energy and go as fast as I could on the last lap to win…simple.

About an 8km ride to the start to sign-in and then a ½ lap warm up to get a feel for the run into the finish line. The final 2-3km were slightly downhill with a sweeping left-hand bend 500m from the finish, then a straight, flat 500m sprint for the line.

I caught up with Lorraine and a few other riders before the start, with whispers of a few ‘A’ graders slipping into B didn’t settle any nerves I had. The call finally went up and away we rolled…and it started quick! Strung out into single file even before the first turn some 1-2km up the road. The guys were obviously keen as we were doing 42-44km/hr down the back half of the course with an Elite Racing rider already breaking off the front. The rider was eventually pulled back in close to the end of the first lap.

It was evident early on that there were three small teams trying to work over the group and they were watching each other closely, taking turns in making breaks with at least one to two attempted breaks on every lap, but every break was eventually pulled in. Lots of poker being played, in fact it was the most tactical race I have been involved in so far…great fun to be a part of. I kept out of trouble and sat mostly in the front 4-8 riders with the occasional turn on front as I wanted to make sure I at least had a chance to grab a wheel when the big breaks went. With my kids watching on the sidelines at the start/finish line I also made sure I came past a couple of times on front just so they could see dad at the front.

So the final lap came and we were all still pretty much together with only a couple being dropped off the back. It was a real cat and mouse game between the three ‘teams’ and none of them wanted to be on the mobile casino front to take turns as everyone was waiting for the final sprint. My plan was to hang on until the final 500m and if I was fortunate enough to get into a good position I might be lucky to finish in the top half. Most of the guys were bigger and stronger than me so a flat out sprint was not going to be in my favour. Heading up the back straight for the last time I was second wheel and holding the speed at around 40km/hr. The lead guy pulled off and I decided to take a turn on the front but not to put in too much as I thought there would be a kick coming from behind soon. After a minute or so I looked back and realised that there were two of us up front with a gap appearing to the rest of the peloton. I keep up a steady pace and the second guy came around and asked how strong I felt and whether I wanted to make a break…so we did. We pushed up it up to 45km/hr and held it there for a couple of minutes swapping turns and realised we were actually pulling away from the group. They were too worried about watching each other and we now thought we may actually be in with a sniff. So head down with about 3-4km to go, up a couple of inclines which made my legs scream at me, then slightly downhill, all the time swapping turns every 10 seconds and constantly looking back to see whether they were coming…still no sign of them. Into the last left-hand bend and I couldn’t hold the last kick that my fellow rider put in…my legs and lungs were screaming and all the time I had that awful feeling of ‘they are going to catch me just before the line’. But they didn’t and I hung on to take 2nd.

But the real pleasure for me today was being able to race in front of my kids – they think I’m number one no matter where I finish.

On a side note while looking at the race results I also came across the current WA Cycling 2009 Road point tables. We should be very proud as a club to know we have some SPR some riders doing very well.
Female Rider of the Year – Rebecca is currently 2nd, Lorraine 3rd, Anna 5th, Holly 6th, Nicole 7th
Masters Championship Series – Stu Gee is currently 2nd, Michael Bonner 7th
WA Team Championship Series Support/B Grade – South Perth Cycle Club is currently 1st !!

Report by Julian

 There were about 15 of us gathered at the car park for the Sunday ride.  No doubt the City to Surf kept the numbers down and thankfully the temperature was a couple of degrees warmer than Saturday.  Despite the low numbers a couple of new faces were present and introductions were soon made.  Stu came down to see us off on his way to get the paper.  He had returned bloodied and bruised from Timor – courtesy of stray dog (no doubt more will be told about that) and had a chat for a few minutes before we motivated ourselves to got going.  We picked up Mike Bonner on Douglas Ave and soon were taking turns on the front on the way down Manning Rd and Albany Highway. 

I kept myself amused by telling Alistair (a Kahuna virgin) about the difficulty of the climbs ahead, to the extent that he approached Mills Rd with some trepidation.  The climb began and I decided to put my new bike to the test and went to the front.  Joe, Damir and Matthew followed and soon we were joined by Mike.  Mike and I broke away about half way up, before Mike dropped me on the last of steep bits.  I held it together on the final bit but the damage was done.  Matthew, Judd and Joe followed in behind with everyone else making their own pace.  At the top, the sprint group went directly to coffee, resulting in the group being reduced to about 12.  

KOM 1 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Matthew,  4. Judd,  5. Joe 

As usual, the Urch Rd descent was quick and the Peet Rd ascent slow.  I’m slowly getting to detest this hill less and today it felt pretty good.  Together with Mike, Steve (back on his first hills ride in over 6 months), Matthew, Joe (I think that was it) the pace was up on the way to the roundabout and the final climb to Roleystone.  I made a break half way up and dropped everyone except Mike. And he made me pay on the last section, leaving me behind.  Steve finished fast but I managed to hold him off for second.  The highlight of the re-group was watching Melvyn coming up the hill, closely followed by a kid on a BMX in jeans and a hoodie.  It looked set for a gripping finish and didn’t disappoint.  Melvyn got it by half a wheel, to the general cheers of the rest of the group and the hoodie kid rode off in search of new challenges.  

KOM 2 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Steve,  4. Matthew,  5. Joe 

We set off down to Brookton Highway and turned right for the descent almost back to Albany Highway.  At the bottom Judd and one other didn’t fancy another climb up the Kahuna so they headed back home.  The rest of up re-grouped for the more challenging of the 2 Kahuna ascents.  The steep sections quickly sorted out the group with Mike, getting away from me with Steve behind also getting a small break on the rest.  Alistair found his climbing legs and put in a good effort but couldn’t get to Matthew.  Pretty much everyone made it up the hill without much suffering – even Peter didn’t look too shattered at the top despite recent illness.  

KOM 3 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Steve,  4. Matthew,  5. Alistair 

Melvyn decided his triumph at Roleystone would not be bettered so he left us with his head held high, whilst the rest of us headed towards Kalamunda.  One good thing about having three climbs close together is that the longer ride to the last climb is a good chance to get the legs feeling better and to talk to others.  Daniel and Joe, two of the new guys were enjoying themselves and Brett and Anna were also hanging in there.  Peter and Steve dropped of the back for a chat and Carl followed them.  We all came together at Pickering Brook for the last hurrah through Bickley Valley before the final climb. 

One we hit Mundaring Weir Rd I decided to put the foot down and try to set a time.  Damir and Alistair followed but after the first part of the climb I managed to shake them.  I then noticed the shadow of Mike Bonner behind me and tried to maintain the pace.  Kindly, Mike decided to sit in behind me and so by the last little rise to the still absent 50 km/h sign, I was feeling pretty wobbly.  Predictably I was spat out by Mike in the finishing run but managed a 7.59, which I was pretty happy with.  The others followed in various intervals until at last we all reached the roundabout. 

KOM 4 – 1.Mike B,  2. Julian,  3. Alistair,  4. Damir,  5. Matthew 

A vote was taken and we headed off for coffee at the Merchant, where Simon and Brett had just settled in after finishing a mountain bike ride.  We sat outside and once again enjoyed very good service – my hot chocolate, ordered after Carl’s take way coffee arrived first, although points were lost as there were no marshmallows.  They also let themselves down by having mostly male wait staff this week. 

An uneventful descent back to South Perth followed with riders dropping off at regular intervals to head home.  By the time we arrived back the boatshed we were down to 4 and a very good ride was had by all.  The winter rides have now concluded and with spring starting next week everyone’s thoughts should turn to hills, hills and more hills.  I look forward to seeing big groups out in the next few weeks as the warmer weather returns.

a dry but cold morning predicted for this weekend so hopefully we get some decent numbers out for a ride.  the wet weather seems to have scared some people off recently and numbers have been down.  i will be back in the saddle so no early morning photographer duties for me and young ben.  we will split if the numbers allow, and have the two groups traversing both leach and south streets to get to freo.  a detour through cott before home via dalkeith.

sunday, for those not doing the city2surf, will involve both sides of the kahuna with roleystone high school in between.  four climbs with three of them in pretty quick succession will certainly test the legs.  after 2 weeks off the bike, i look forward to everyone beating me to the top.

there is a race on this sunday as well with the masters classic being held down in wandi.  you have to be of a certain age to be involved but that is ok, since the average age of our group is pretty much over that certain age.  good luck to those that are having a crack.

the vuelta a espana starts this weekend and we will be running another tipping comp.  check the page link at the top of the website for more info and how to enter.  all entry dollars will be returned as prize money, so the more that enter, the bigger the prizes.  i am hunting down a live streaming site so that we can also watch the race as we did during the giro.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 09 (risley & cott)

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 15 (kahuna & canning mills)

for any of you that actually get off the bike and run, daryl has 2 entries to this weekend’s city to surf that he no longer needs.  if anyone wants to run instead of ride on sunday, send me and email and i will forward it through to daryl.

UPDATE – ENTRIES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED