sunday 30th november – soldiers rd and canning mills

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ride report by peter.

 

after a successful outing on the bike yesterday, i decided to have a run at the hills to really test out how bad this cold has affected me.  dr ronny’s big brother kenny was in town from over east and ronny wanted to make sure we took him out to see some hills.  there were a number of our current routes we could have followed to show him the hillier parts of perth, but instead i mapped out a new one that meant that we had to go exploring.  this is always dangerous as sometimes google maps does not exactly match the real world.  i tried to add in a number of climbs that we generally have only done as descents.  solidiers rd being the main one as this is one of the best mid-ride descents that we do when we head out to ride around rolystone. 

about 20 or so riders toed the line this morning and dr paul and mark kicked things off with a couple of jokes.  if you have every shared a table at the coffee shop with dr paul, you know that this can be a very dangerous thing.  but always very funny.  we headed out to albany hwy for a pleasant and uneventful trip to the base of the kahuna.  we were not headed up the kahuna, but this was the back way into kelmscott and kept us off the main roads.

we then headed towards the base of canning mills rd which loomed large above us.  i was saving this for later so we turned off just before the climb started.  a slight detour and u-turn and we were soon on brookton hwy and going up our first categorised climb.  this was a short section of brookton and was only to get us to the start of soldiers rd.  it was only a cat 2 climb as the grade was not steep and the distance short.

stu set the pace from the start and i sat on his wheel.  a couple of looks over the shoulder and the group was still pretty much together.  it was going to come down to a sprint and when we saw the turn off, stu, kenny and i wound it up.  it was a short sprint and then we had to negotiate a right hand turn to get into soldiers rd.  i will be changing parts of this route soon.

stu – 5, peter – 3, kenny – 1.

 

i cannot remember the climb up soldiers rd.  we have done it before, but it was probably well over a year ago, if not longer.  i can remember coming down it so many times, but the grades and distances are deceptive when you are descending.  we took off with mark and john leading the charge.  it starts with a quick descent followed by a sharp uphill before leveling out for a bit.  by the time we hit the main part of the climb, a group of 5 had established themselves at the front.  stu was on the charge again with brendan marking him close by.  kenny was climbing alongside and seemed to be doing it easily while jerry and i sat at the back hanging on as best we could. 

the lower slopes with the nice hotmix surface were not too steep and no-one could really get away easy.  as the road wound its way past churchman’s brook dam, it steepened up somewhat and the corners made it hard to know what was coming next.  the corner where scott came off ages ago was actually quite steep when tackled form this direction and this is where brendan made a move.  he said later that he had a look at stu’s heartrate monitor and thought that he was almost at max, so to hit him now.  kenny easily went with him and i had to chase to try to get on. 

i didn’t quite make it but kept the pace on as best i could to stay ahead of stu and maximize points.  i was losing ground to brendan and kenny who were engrossed in their own tussle with little attacks on each other to see who would crack first.  stu made up a bit of ground a couple of times, but i was constantly looking over my shoulder to see where he was and make sure he didn’t creep up on me.  on the last few pinches of the climb, brendan managed to shake off kenny and had a nice gap at the top.  a flattish section to the line provided a nice run for me to time trial up to kenny and pass him within about 50m of the finishline.  sorry, but i needed the points.  stu dropped jerry but he managed to hold on to fifth place.

brendan – 10, peter – 7, kenny – 5, stu – 3, jerry – 1.

 

we regrouped and headed down canns rd another road we usually do the other direction and this time it made a nice change.  at the bottom we turned into carawatha but the other side from which we usually tackle.  the descent is always fast so i expected that the climb would be hard and it was…a bit.  it wasn’t as hard as the f_ckenberg and it certainly wasn’t easy, but overall it was a bit short to really cause any damage.  everyone is usually panting when we come up the other side, but this side didn’t seem as brutal.  kenny had shot up the hill like a rocket and brendan took off after him.  it was a bit too steep for me and stu and jerry also left me behind.  as it was not that long, there was no time to make up any ground and that is the finishing order.

kenny – 10, brendan – 7, stu – 5, jerry – 3, peter – 1.

 

we changed the route somewhat and headed down the other side of carawatha and onto albany hwy.  as we turned onto brookton and about to head towards the base of canning mills rd, there was the depressing sound of air leaking out of a tyre.  michael had another puncture.  i think starting next year we will have a page of the most punctures during the saturday and sunday rides.  i’m sure michael will “win”.  as we pulled over to watch him change it, someone wondered out load where melvyn was.  he was definitely with us a the top of the last climb, but had managed to disappear.  i rode back up to the base of carawatha but didn’t see him.  as i rode back to brookton, i heard him yell from a side street.  he had got a puncture and had rolled around the corner to change it.  i was lucky to see hear him as i didn’t see him at all.  i rode back to the group to let them know what was going on and so we could wait for him.

we headed towards canning mills rd and to the dreaded climb.  this is not a favourite of mine as it is just too steep for me to get into a proper rhythm.  kenny and brendan took off up the road again and left me to my own world of pain.  as i kept them in sight for a while, i watched kenny put in a number of attacks on brendan to try to break him, but he just set tempo and pulled him back each time.  i eventually was past by stu but tried to keep him in sight to not concede much ground.  i was starting to struggle a bit and found holding the effort for a long time a challenge.  i started slipping back but it wasn’t till hugh caught up to me that i thought i better pull my finger out.  a few hard pedal strokes and he was off my wheel.  i kept the pressure on as best i could and eventually caught up with stu.  it was close to the top of the climb so i continued to push to make sure he didn’t come with me as the hill flattened out.  i saw brendan and kenny in the distance and i thought that i may be able to chase them down.  however, they were playing a chase game of their own so were pushing a big gear as well to stay away.

i eventually made it to chevon rd and the official finish line but brendan and kenny were nowhere to be seen.  they had continued up the road to the end.  stu kept plugging away and stayed ahead of hugh till the end.

kenny – 10, brendan – 7, peter – 5, stu – 3, hugh – 1.

 

we took off along chevon rd and headed towards karagulen servo for a quick stop.  the chevon rd used to be used a lot by us but back in the old days where we would only do one or two hills on a sunday.  those days are long gone.  a quick refill and we headed to pickering brook.  a truck was held up as we climbed one of the bonus climbs but provided a nice draft for a couple of us as he slowly came past.  nice to climb a hill with no effort.  quite a few turned off as we headed through bickley valley as some were headed home while others were looking for a quick way to the coffee-shop.  michael and mark managed to get a nice break on the rolling hills through bickley and started the last climb with a buffer.  this has worked in the past for some riders and they were a dangerous pair to allow to escape. 

as we climber the last little pinch before the mundaring weir climb, kenny changed down from the big ring wth an almighty crunch.  chain off and he was stopped.  bad timing, and this put him out of contention for the climb.  i was also just off the back as the days efforts and lingering sickness were taking their toll on my energy levels.  by the time i started the climb, brendan, stu and jerry were up the road.  i couldn’t push my cardio up for an extended period so thought it best not to chase.  being a sadomasochist (cyclist) i put it in the 53×14 gear and pushed a 40rpm seated cadence all the way to the top.  i picked up and past a few riders but john managed to stay just ahead of me the whole way.  just as we reached the last pinch, we saw another rider up ahead.  it was mark hanging on to fifth spot and he was nervously looking over his shoulder to make sure he held it, which he did…just.  in retrospect if i had pushed a descent gear at a constant tempo, there wasa  chance i may have caught him and grabbed a extra point.  unfortunately not the case.

brendan – 10, michael – 7, stu – 5, jerry – 3, mark – 1.

 

at the end of the day this meant that brendan was now 1 point ahead of me on the total november mountain points.  that one extra point would have been good, but as he has “won” the weekly overall for two weeks, he would have still been ahead on a count back.

i’m getting tired and running out of time so i will summarise the return trip.

  • coffee shop was good if not a bit busy.  there was a table booked where we usually sit.
  • no land speed records today on the descent as the wind was not favourable.
  • mr dickhead was in a small 4wd and decided that two lanes were not enough and passed us very close which made mark comment on the apparent small size of the drivers manhood.  he took offence to that and words were exchanged.
  • no sprint along welshpool but john and melvyn did the work along the entire stretch.
  • a pretty messy sprint along berwick as traffic was everywhere and taking up both lanes.  either melvyn or brendan got there first.

 

so, i made it to the end even though my top end is still a bit clogged up.  a week off the bike didn’t heal me, so a week on the bike is planned for this week.  see if i can blow it out of my system, or just blow up my system.

saturday 29th nov – freo and cott

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ride report by peter.

 

so a week off the bike with the vain hope that it would give me time to recover from my cold.  unfortunately it is still lingering and starting to piss me off somewhat as everyone else i know got over it quickly.  i am still somewhat snotty but at least i am not having coughing fits that kind of screwed me around on the great perth bike ride (gpbr).

so, with a pleasant day predicted with the sun shining and little wind to speak of, i was expecting a big turnout and was not disappointed.  there were between 50 – 60 riders waiting to go this morning by the time i turned up (late again).  we were going on a gentle lap of the river but the reverse direction of the gpbr and including cottesloe to break things up a bit.  it was a fairly standard route that we used to do quite regularly and one that i often map out when i am not coming as everyone knows the way.

we rolled out and didn’t even make it to the lights at mill point rd when chris was out with a flat.  he told us to keep going as with a group this size, we would be taking up a lot of space.  also, as the ride had only just begun, we would be on cruise mode for a while and with the help of james and ryan, who stopped with him, he should be able to catch back up. 

the rest of us headed out to canning hwy and down towards freo.  i didn’t last long on the front and soon joined the tail of the group so that i could get a good draft.  i just found that i could not sustain a decent effort for very long and was probably more of a hindrance at the front.  we turned off the hwy and onto burke drive which was our first designated fast section.  usually the group really goes to town here as the long stretch with no intersections to slow you down makes for a fast pace.  for some reason, no-one was in the mood for dancing.  i was also content to sit on the back of the train and watch the frustrated car drivers not be able to get around due to all the traffic islands on that stretch of road.

about ¾ of the way along burke drive i see a figure heading up the road.  young bec decided to have a crack and went off the front.  melvyn thought that he better not be shown up by her and took off in pursuit.  however, he was no match for the current state women’s criterium champion and never came close.  the rest of the pack soon picked him up on the hill over pt walter.

the group was playing nice today and stopped after the roundabout, but it was not necessary as since the pace had not been on, the pack had not been strung out.  we happily continued down towards the left bank.

along this stretch the pace was on and some of the boys were keen to go off the front.  i made a half-arsed attempt (as i only have half an arse worth of effort in me) and got caught in to man’s land.  i did notice jerry and brendan and a few others off the front, but it was all a bit of a haze for me by then.

a nice cruise past cottesloe with an opportunity to enjoy the view (i love summer or even summer-like weather), and we were headed for home.  i got a text and as we are almost at baby-time, i had to check it in case i had missed a call.  it was however from chris, and he wrote – “i’d like to publicly apologise to my team mates ryan and james for my use of faulty equipment.  i hope they caught back up.”  it turns out that chris didn’t have the proper valve extenders for his deep dish rims and could only put half the required amount of air in his tyre.  the other guys left him at raffles and chased us down in swanbourne.

the pace home was actually quite civilised and i got to have a chat with a few people that i hadn’t caught up with for a while.  mike (tall guy, ice-cream jersey and argon 18 bike) is now working a 4 and 2 roster out of china so most of his riding is confined to a trainer.  and lisen who used to be a regular, but has been caught up doing the whole doctor thing and has not had time lately.  it was good to see them out again along with a few new faces to the group.

the pace did eventually pick up as the road rolled through dalkeith and jerry made sure that he sat on ryan’s wheel so that he could take him on the line by the war memorial.  i was happy to still be with the group by now and had to laugh when lisen asked if i wanted to get out when i was boxed in on the left hand side.

we ended up passing the elite cycles group around the university and this may have caused some confusion leading into the sprint.  we had enough spr riders up front to set the pace, but elite were tucked in behind all the way along mounts bay rd.  i managed to get to the front early on to test the body out on a extended effort, but was soon overtaken by james and then got boxed in by the other 30 or so riders that came around.  in the end i am pretty sure it was ryan on the line, but i was too far away to make out the minor placings.

coffee for all and we managed to fill up the outside area easily as the pace had not been high enough to lose too many riders.  ronny had joined us from the elite group and it was good to see him and john up and about after their altercation with a spped sign at the gpbr.  i am riding on borrowed time at the moment as the imminent birth of son #2 will be putting a serious cramp on my riding hours.  however, regardless of my situation, this is a reminder that our next spr breakfast will be on in a few weeks time on the 20th dec.  this will be the christmas breakfast and will be held at jerry’s place palace in city beach.  the ride will be very casual and fancy dress will be recommended.  stay tuned for more as we get closer.

ride routes 29th & 30th november

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well some lovely weather predicted for the weekend so why don’t we go for a “gentle” lap of the river.  for something different (for those that were dodging cones last sunday) we will go in the opposite direction with a quick detour through cottesloe. 

sunday will be the final push for november mountain points which close off at the end of this month.  stu has a commanding lead but with a new course planned, there is a chance that it could come down to the wire.

i will be hoping that my cold has moved on and i can actually get some riding in this week.  it has been quite depressing to not ride before work this week and i have actully missed the 5am starts. 

i have been talking to cannibal this week and we should be ready to do another jersey order very soon for those that missed out last time, or those that want a bit of extra gear.  we will also be offering some different garments on top of the usual jersey and knicks, but i am waiting to confirm.

 

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 01 (freo & cott)

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 16 (soldiers rd & canning mills)

Sunday Great Perth Bike Ride: View from the Bitumen

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I have mixed feelings about the Great Perth Bike Ride, I still think it’s a good event and something Perth needs to continue with but they need to do at least 2 things to minimize the risk:

 

  • Re-introduce the sanctioned races that were a feature of the 1st event. i.e. Open and support races for riders with Australian Cycling Federation licenses (and appropriate skills). Hopefully this removes the temptation for people to push beyond their ability as they try and stay with the fast groups (as described by Pete and an issue with last years ride as well).
  • The course layout and marshalling, in my opinion, was good given the constraints except for the double cones and the 60km speed signs on the freeway. I don’t see how you could lay this out and not recognize the risks.

 

Anyway: Nothing broken but my helmet (however the bike is in for a full strip down and inspection due to some deep gouges on the forks and an off true front wheel). I’m still stiff, have trouble changing gears in the car (left shoulder) the usual gravel rash and a collection of strange burses on my left hip and torso. I did come down hard on the back of my head and was a bit out of it for a few minutes (thank god for helmets).

 

I had a safety management plan for this ride (or so I thought) after last years experience. Start at the back of the 1st group but hang in to stay ahead of the second starting group while we go through the “obstacles” (traffic calming devices graciously installed by our local councils) before Mossman Hill thus avoiding the chaos within the main packs. It worked, no one in this no-mans land was taking silly risks. Some of the Plan B boys and girls were back here as well (as was Ryan for a brief time).  

 

I joined in with a front group of Riders from the 2nd starting group and we made our way safely through the remaining “calming devices” and on to the Sterling highway. This group was being sensible and calling out hazards etc. However, I also got caught behind Plan B (who I think were also waiting for some back markers) but Stan Blanks (a sometimes SPR rider) let me in, drronny probably dropped in just behind me. Stan and I decided to stick together and help draft each other back on if we started dropping off. After Mossman Hill we made out way through Point Walter (the scene of a number of crashes last year) and onto Applecross, again with a degree of common sense being shown by most riders. On to the freeway the group put on a bit of pace and a good rhythm developed. I was feeling strong and having no trouble holding the surges. As we neared the Manning on-ramp merge near the end of the freeway the full width emergency lane had disappeared to nothing and with the occasional intruding double cones we began to compress as we rounded the left hand bend

 

I was following one rider behind Stan on the right hand side. We started to accelerate past the left hand group as we rounded the bend. A 60km speed sign suddenly appeared just in front of the rider in from of me (Stan did not see it but was over to the left just enough to miss it but no one in front called it). It was effectively in the middle of the lane well inside of the line of demarcation cones and of the double cones. He attempted to move left (a car was coming up on the right, the one that stopped and helped) but had no chance, and hit it at full speed. I yelled “sign” (it was me drronny) then went over the top of both him & the sign, things get a bit gray after that although I remember hitting my head hard but the helmet absorbing it, then a couple of additional impacts which I think were the other riders going over me.

 

The driver of the wagon had stopped and helped as we sort out the injured and the wreckage (I don’t get his name but many thanks). I was able to ride away after ~ 10 min back to the start as was another rider but as drronny said 2 went to hospital and he needed a drive to the start with the damaged bikes. Yes they did replace the double cones twice while I was there after being hit again and again (but at least they did not put the speed sign back up).  

 

I will be sending parts of this an e-mail to the organizers and main roads as the freeway section introduced additional risks not usually encountered (and the man replacing the cones said it was a mains road requirement). So did my Safety Management Plan work? Not fully, I was happy with how the ‘normal’ risks were minimized. (Road conditions and behavior) but I missed identifying the un-expected. Would I do it again, not sure, depends on how they respond. And drronny bring the water bottle along on the next spr Saturday ride (if your going)

 

bigjohn

 

I

sunday 23rd nov – great perth bike ride

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race “participation event” report by peter.

 

the great perth bike ride (gpbr) has become one of those events whose reputation preceeds it.  i know quite a few of the spr riders did not want to participate this year because they thought it was too dangerous.  and the truth is, i agree with them.  it is not the format or the route, it is the lack of skill that some of the riders show when riding in a group, and the riders need to keep trying to get to the front when the road is not wide enough for more than 2 or 3 bikes.  anyway, i am getting ahead of myself again.

 

i signed up for the 106km (2 lap) event.  work were paying for it so i decided to have a crack as the $100 entry fee was covered by someone else.  this is probably one of the other reasons that some of the spr riders declined to play today, as the price had shot up dramatically since last year.  anyway, all was good.  we collected our race kits and new cannibal rio tinto jerseys.  a change of logo and colours to the corporate banner meant that cannibal had a nice order for over 200 new jerseys. everything was set, and then i got sick.  i was only at work for 1 ½ days this week and i was sure it was going to affect my ride.  i deliberately didn’t ride on saturday to give the body more recovery time, but woke up early sunday not really much better.  i forced down some porridge but it didn’t sit too well.  feeling queasy on the bike is the worse thing especially when you know that the pace will be on from the start.

 

i turned up early enough to get to the front of the line and caught up with james, ryan, nick and mike.  a few other spr guys were milling around and i saw big john from rio and doug as well.  the weather was looking good and even though the roads were wet, the sky looked like it would stay clear for the race.  gary suckling gave out some last minute instructions over the pa system and before we knew it we were off.

 

the pace was not too bad from the start but it did surge a bit especially at the back where i ended up quite quickly.  we set a nice even pace along mounts bay rd as the wider stretch allowed people to find their position easier.  not sure who was setting the pace, but there was a small line of guys at the front before the rest of the pack swelled behind them.  there were a smattering of plan-b boys and girls in the pack, but they seemed to be keeping out of trouble and just milling around not forcing the pace or anything. 

 

as we turned off mounts bay the fun really started.  the tighter roads and multiple corners stretched the pack out as the masses hit the brakes leading into the corners.  we seemed to get past the uni ok but the first fall happened on the turn off hackett drive.  the pack moved to the middle of the road to negotiate the corner and some guy hit a patch of crap around the white line and went down.  he immediately jumped straight back up and kept riding so he wouldn’t lose his position.  i was trying to avoid being anywhere near him after that.

 

the hill near steve’s was the next obstacle and i was sure that it would sort out some of the pretenders.  i put in an effort to make sure i didn’t get dropped too much as i knew that i didn’t have enough in the tank for a proper chase.  some riders dropped off the back and i don’t think we saw them again.  the pace didn’t really increase that much, but everyone always like to attack on the hills.  we hammered through dalkeith and the corners again strung the group out.  i managed to keep touch but only just and was constantly up and sprinting to keep up.  after christchurch grammer i heard wayne from cyclemania talking to the plan-b guys saying that they were not to play at the front and were just here as a training ride.  they all backed off and formed a second group to stay out of trouble. 

 

we came down through devils elbow and i had lost touch slightly as there were some guys that obviously didn’t have the bike skills to be smashing through there at speed.  i made up a bit of ground along the waters edge but started the mosman park hill behind the eight ball.  i didn’t want to hit the hill too hard as i was sure that i would pop, but even at half pace i was passing riders on the bottom easier section of the hill.  by the time i got to the top i was in amongst the group, but the fast boys were up the road.  i past nick at the top and he looked knackered, but i couldn’t stop.  after the corner, i caught up with james and with a couple of other guys we worked together to try to catch back up.  as we approached the slight hill before stirling hwy, we caught sight of the group and got back on once we turned towards freo.  the next hill on preston point road would be the tester but i managed to hold on and keep with the group.  the roundabout at point walter became a problem for a couple of riders as someone went down and held up the group.  we head to chase to get back on along attadale and this managed to dislodge some more stragglers from the back. 

 

now i am sure that the majority of the riders in this group have ridden around the river a few times.  probably more like 100 times.  however, with the squeal of wet carbon rims and the constant hard braking and evasive action, you would think that everyone was actually surprised that we had to slow down for the corners and avoid the traffic islands.  the amount of guys we saw going to the wrong side of the road to avoid the traffic islands when there was oncoming traffic was amazing.  these guys were taking risks for a participation event. 

 

more of the same through applecross fast, slow, squealing brakes, avoiding islands, etc, etc and pretty soon we were on the freeway.  now the freeway deserves a special mention for absolutely stupid placement of cones and signs.  we had a lane reserved for us plus the emergency lane.  now the emergency lane is where all the crap goes that the vehicles flick up.  crap like glass, rocks and the like, so not always the best place to ride.  the lane we had marked out for us was also full of hazards.  along the entire stretch the lane was demarcated with nice big cones so the cars would not stray into our lane.  that was fine, but every second cone was a double cone that sat further into our lane.  now as you are driving along the the road (setting up cones) these doubles are easy to see.  when you are right up the arse of the rider in front of you and the train is about 20 or so people long, you don’t see them coming. 

 

to make matters worse, for our safety, the cars on the remaining lanes of the freeway were restricted to 60kph.  we know this because the speed signs were placed in our lane even further in from the double cones.  these didn’t give as much as a cone when hit and caused a bit of damage.  in the group following us, stan from the sunday rides heard a crash behind him just as his group hit the freeway after canning bridge.  the guy just behind and to the right swerved to avoid a speed sign that was placed too far in and came off.  big john from rio from the saturday rides was following him and had nowhere to go and cartwheeled over him.  three other riders then rode over john and came tumbling down too.  two of them had to be taken to hospital and one of the others was dr ronny whose carbon front wheel was no match for john’s body and now looks like a taco.  no serious injuries to either of them, but a lot of gravel rash.

 

about halfway along the freeway, i rode to about midpack and found ryan.  i told him that i was not going to make a second lap as i was really struggling by now.  a couple of coughing fits as we rode along and all types of nasty flem was gurgling around my system.  i also was struggling to take anything more than water down and i would eventually run out of energy.  my day was done, but i needed to get my timing band back to the start finish line.

 

as our group approached the exit of the freeway the cones tightened up and the double cones caused a bit of grief.  i saw one guy hit them at speed and i thought that i was going to clean him up but he managed to stay upright somehow.  as we past through mends street another guy hip and shoulders a bollard as he came around the corner way too fast.  these guys were crazy and taking risks that they didn’t need to.  either that or they were way out of their depth as far as fast group riding was concerned and were only hanging on by the skin of their teeth. i would say half and half.

 

i managed to hold on all the way back through south perth and onto riverside drive. the biggest pain in the arse was the riders using the coned off road to ride to the start on their shiny new mountain bike, while a group of about 40 riders were trying to come through at speed.  thanks guys.

 

we crossed the line and i peeled off and headed to the timing tent to hand in my band.  i hate not finishing events but i was happy to stay with the main pack for the first lap which we took in 1:20 for the 53kms.  just under the 40kph mark.  i knew that i wouldn’t be able to stick out that pace, but even more so the bad gut meant that i would eventually run out of energy and may not even be able to limp home. 

 

of the remaining few, ryan got a flat and had singles on so not sure if he finished.  mike finished in the main pack giving jens the best rio tinto time for the event.  something he will have to live up to when he returns next year.  i managed to get up in the hills and have a coffee with the few chasing mountain points.  stu now has a commanding lead with one more sunday to finish off the month.

ride routes 22nd & 23rd november

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i had a couple of days off this week as ben has been sick and kate came down with it on monday night.  i stayed home to look after ben and now the inevitable has happened.  i got sick.  sore throat and so very tired, i struggled on the ride this morning and sat on the back instead of rolling through.  so much for a good lead up to the great perth bike ride. 

as such there is a good chance that i will not be riding this saturday when you tackle scarborough beach road.  so play nice and take it easy till you hit the lights near the bunnings before giving it some gas.  make sure you regroup at scarborough beach and go easy till oceanic drive.

sunday is the double figure eight around kalamunda and includes points up welshpool, the observatory (hard side), mundaring weir rd and kalamunda rd.  the map currently does not have mountain points marked, but i will endevour to redraw it soon (as soon as my account revives from being shaped).  i will be trying to keep up with the fast boys for a couple of loops of the river.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 05 (scarborough beach rd)

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 06 (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)

 

 

 

Saturday Ride – Voyage Down Benara

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DISCLAIMER  – My chronicle of the voyage down Benara is from my perspective and may have been embelished with artistic license to make it a good read. Apart from Brett, who can vouch for the veracity, or lack theroff, no one else can claim to have seen or experienced the strange and wonderful events on the ride after we dropped out of the group after a flat.

he day started innocently (and early enough) with a short ride before the ride to City Beach to pick Jerard up. I get scared of the dark, so riding in a group is preferable. The East wind was blowing steadily, from the outer suburbs. One could almost detect the stench of stale VB wafting through the air over the scent of lavender and frangipani of the Western Suburbs. As dawn broke, all manner of sins masked by the dusk gloom were uncovered. Zombie like creatures staggering home from Claremont HJ’s to their gloomy daytime dens scurried across the street, scattering shards of treacherous broken glass on the roads. My trusty steed carried me well up rolling hill and dale to the seaside hamlet of City Beach, known for bracing winds and castle like abodes resisting many a tempest from the ocean.

I found my trusty compatriot, waiting for me with ample provisions (a bidon of cytomax and a GU) for our voyage of exploration and discovery into the Shire (of Guilford). We had an anxious short wait for the third in our party – Ryan, who would guide us to the meeting place South of Perth. A Mistral was brewing as Ryan arrived, with a cheerful grin of half grown facial hair. We traded customary small talk as we ventured forth to the east lands. Ryan soon set a breathless (for me) pace into the wind. Like some enchanted force, riding in front he made our journey easier breaking the wind (some would later be less charitable about Ryan’s wind breaking – but that is another story to tell). We soon made good time into the Sun, taking every oportunity it seemed to visity every undulation on the way.

Not a moment too soon we had arrived in time for the great departure. Riders from far and wide had gathered to make voyage into the Lands of Benara. There were Clan Trek, whose numbers had dwindled from pre-eminence, Giants from East Asia, exotic folk from Pinarello and Colnago, and the new force of Cervelo whose numbers had been swelling of late. Of almost fifty we numbered as we made off away. Some notable absences were noted from Fondreist who would surely be missed.

The tempo built up along Mill Point Road, a sign of what would come. A procession into the Sun, and wind as we headed onward Eastern Highway, relentlessly grinding away. At the front of the pack riders threw themselves against the wind as it tore at their limbs, sapping away strength. The front runners bore the brunt of the force, as following riders sheilded themselves, saving their energies for later. We took a circuitous route past the green fields of Ascot, crossing the waters and finally turning onto the road to Guilford.

There were mutterings in the pack as when likely points of ambush or attack would form. For now however, it seemed the elements had driven both friend and foe into silent work against the relentless wind. As we were nearing our goal, enthusiastic chargers increased the pace, eager for battle. The more experienced folk who had seen foolhardy efforts in the past steadied themselves for later efforts. As I was musing on what lay ahead, I gave a cry out as I discoverd that my steed had trod on some glass and was going lame! Selflessly I urged fellow adventurers to go on to their destiny, as I was equipped to make repair and return. Brett of Cervelo had seen my need and against my urging prepared to stop. He had courageously done so as we were in the middle of no-where with little defence against local neanderthals should they attack. We were fortunate as we had ventured early, and they had not yet roused from slumber.

Together we prised the shard and made preparation to repair my steed. Before long, with makeshift repair, we were able to set forth again. The body of adventurers were no where to be seen, but we did not despair as we carried within out hearts and minds a map of the wastelands. We took a little travelled short-cut discovered by Paul of Tomassini and his loyal friends Wally and Greg (both with Trek – but fortunate enough not to have permanent ties to any one clan). Through Bassendean, we made left turn down aptly named Lord Street. I was a little filled with trepidation as this would take us to the less friendly lands of Lockridge where allies would be few and far between. Together we drew breath trying to make up for lost time – charging up small hills – before our tresspass was discovered.

Without incident, we made the round-about of Benara. We had driven hard, but were not rewarded with signs of our fellow adventurers. We could see to the east where there must have been an epic battle, with feats of legendary strength and overtaking. We knew from previous skirmishes that the outcome would have been nasty, with riders strewn down the length of the road, the strong making flight from chasers that they hoped would be just that little bit weaker. Our only hope was to make flight ourselves like the wind after our friends as we had plans to meet up at journey’s end.

Riding like the wind again we took turns to make the pace. We could hardly hear the wind over our own exertions as we raced across the flatlands, as though chased by demonic dervishes. No other riders loomed on the horizon, our task looking hopeless – until fellow Brett took inspiration. He knew of another less known route, down Crimea Street that would intersect the main road. As we turned, I was pleased with what I saw –  a wide, clean, empty double laned street that could be taken with pace. We redoubled our efforts making good time to Morley. We however were not rewarded by our companions who surely must have only recently departed. Tantalisingly close, we had decided to track back home down Beaufort, knowing our friends may have been delayed down trafic lights on Railway.

Brett again found inspiration with the chase, making a route though back streets across the railway over bridge in Inglewood. At once we caught a glimpse of our goal in the distance, close but making good pace away. We set chase with gravity aiding, but in vain. We simply could not make gain on riders at full speed! No matter however as the river was near, and with every second our journey’s end drew closer. We could hear the cheers coming from the drinking hall as we drew in, both of us relieved to make journey end unscathed.

My friends, that concludes my tale of our tentative journey on Saturday. I will save for another (more guillible) time the tales where we escaped certain calamity from natural and un-natural forces with our powerful sprinting, or where we scaled steep icy peaks in the big ring with little effort against unspeakable foes. I am sure that in time the true battles and exploits of the main group will come to light, but for now my humble chronicle will serve to mark that day.

-Le Kuan

WCMCC Criterium Kewdale Sun 16-Nov-08

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Bruce gets the winners cheque
Bruce gets the winners chequeRace data

Race Report by Chris

 

 

 

 

A pleasant breeze blowing assisted me with my warm up on the way to the race at Kewdale. That is to say it was pretty windy and I had to push into the breeze the whole way out.

With B & D grade off second we had the chance to watch the A & C grade boys and girls duke it out.

A grade was on from the gun with a bunch of 6 or 8 getting an early break and they were never caught. The remainder got strung out and were pretty decimated by the finish, in fact they were lucky not to get lapped by the leading break. Ed Hollands took out the win from George Miller.

I didn’t witness the C grade finish but gather they were also pretty strung out on the last couple of laps.

Bruce and I were back for another crack at B grade and given the wind we knew it was going to be tough. We figured as per A grade you would need a group to get away and work together but neither of us were up for initiating this. Since Bruce had finished with the better sprint than I last week we agreed that we would look after ourselves and I would try get Bruce good position on the last couple of laps.

The pace was on from the gun which was as expected but things settled down after a couple of laps. We soon learned that there wasn’t really anywhere to hide in the wind and even with a tail wind there was no respite from the hurt.

Similar to last week the pace remained solid throughout the race with continual attacks, most coming along the back straight with the assistance of the tail wind. None of them stuck and it looked to be coming down to a bunch sprint when the sign for two laps to go was shown.

As discussed, Bruce had found my wheel and I started working towards the front of the bunch. Half way around the second last lap one of the guys launched a solo attack. Having seen him win previously using this tactic I wasn’t prepared to let him go and since no one else looked to be going after him I launched after him. I was thinking the bunch would chase and with Bruce on my wheel he would be protected.

Bruce saw that no one was chasing and decided to launch as well thinking if that the three of us could work together and stay away. I ran out of legs but Bruce managed to get across. Being stuck in no mans land I kept the pressure on thinking I could at least kick back into the bunch.

The bunch conveniently caught me at the bottom corner and I did what I could to make them have to work a little

harder to close the gap. Once they were passed I sat up realizing there wasn’t much more I could do. I counted about 4 seconds gap from the break to the bunch and figured they had it and it was now down to Bruce.

As I came around to the finish line I learnt that Bruce and done the job and Team SPR had notched up its second win of the season.

Well done Bruce.

 

For those interested, here is my race data. I’ve added a dashed line showing the average speed, you can clearly see the run into and out of the wind on each circuit. Nasty!

Race data

sunday 16th november – f_kenberg & urch & observatory

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ride report by peter.

 

so, it was jens’ last sunday ride with us so i gave hime the honour of choosing his last route.  his last sunday supper, so to speak.  he chose the f_ckenberg.  why?  who knows.  maybe it was his way of saying thanks, by making us hurt a lot more.  no matter what the reason, we were headed south today.

 

a decent turn out as it should be with a beautiful day forecast, but the wind left a little to be desired.  we rolled out with about 22 people and headed down albany hwy.  the turns at the front switched a lot sooner than usual as the wind was coming as a head/cross and was taking the toll on the workhorses. 

 

we were caught by another group just before maddington and it turned out to be some rowing mates of hugh.  they were heading down to the bedford hill on albany hwy so hugh stayed with us as he thought that they had never heard of half the climbs we were doing today.  we must have been riding along at a far to sedate pace for them as they soon came around and took off down the road.

 

just after gosnells the call of flat went up and we ground to a halt.  stu pulled out a tube that already had three patches on it and guessed that it had seen better days and binned it instead.  brendan initially thought that it was michael again, but he has since changed his tyres out to a more reliable pair. 

 

once we turned onto brookton hwy, the wind was directly in our faces and making both riding and hearing hard.  whoever was on the front went to turn up the wrong road which would mean that we would miss the nasty climb.  we were yelling at them to go straight but with the wind, the first few people still turned up the wrong road.  i headed back to the front to make sure that we got the correct turn (big orange building, can’t miss it).

 

the general call from the group was that jens should lead up the f_ckenberg as he was the one that wanted it.  he was at the front at the foot of the climb, but it seemed that mike was on a mission today, maybe to make up for our poor showing yesterday.  he danced up the hill with brendan and stu not far behind.  jens and i were dropped but i managed to get past him on the lower steeper section.  about halfway up ben came past me which was quite disheartening as i hate to lose position on the climbs.  we continued to slug it out but i don’t think that anyone made up any ground on each other and we crested pretty much in that order.

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

 

we were waiting at the top and someone said that one of the guys came off at the bottom.  mike b was in a too hard a gear and locked the bike up when the grade got too steep and managed to topple over.  a little bark off and the derailleur was a bit bent, but no major damage.  even just stopping on that climb makes it difficult to restart, let alone hitting the deck.

 

the next climb up canns is almost straight away and doesn’t really give you much time to get your breath back.  luckily it is not that steep and so wasn’t going to hurt my arms like the f_ckenberg did.  the pace was easy at the start and dr carl lead the field up the first part of the climb.  we were headed straight into the headwind again and there was surprisingly little protection on this stretch of road.  as the road pitched up, jens and ben moved around and upped the pace.  i jumped on and looked back to see what the others were doing.  the majority of the climbers were playing it cool and just going to grind this one out so we got a bit of a gap.  jens and ben took turns but i was content to sit in nicely protected from the wind.  i looked around and we were soon joined by brendan, steve and stu.  the road rolled along for a bit before it turned the corner and offered a bit more protection from the wind.  just before that point, i jumped ahead of the field and grabbed a decent gap.  i was waiting for the reaction but it never came.  i pushed on but was constantly looking behind myself to see when the counter attack was coming.  there was one last pinch before the finish and my legs were starting to fade.  i looked back to see the group gaining fast so i stomped on the pedals and extended the gap out again.  i had enough of a gap to cruise to the finish ahead of brendan who jumped off the front to take second.

peter – 10, brendan – 7, jens – 5, steve – 3, ben – 1.

 

a nice fast descent down soldiers rd (i am trying to map a course that goes up soldiers rd) and we were at the base of peet rd.  the next lot of points were on offer at the end of urch rd after tackling the base of peet and then onto urch.  i set tempo on brendan’s wheel until mike came past.  john had tried to get an advantage by heading up the road a tad earlier but we soon pulled him back in.  mike tried one attack on the steeper section but brendan and i managed to stay on all the way to the urch turn.  we had a substantial gap over the chasers as we headed down the slight reprieve before urch started in earnest.  mike still set the pace up the slope but steve had managed to bridge across to us.  somewhere along the climb, mike made another attack and it started to split us apart as i couldn’t hang on to brendan’s wheel. steve came around from behind with a great attack that took the other two by surprise and made them push hard to get on.  i just had to watch them head up the road, but now kept an eye behind me to make sure stu didn’t gain too much ground.  as i crested the climb, i saw that the three of them had slowed down as i am guessing that they assumed that the points were at the crest.  unfortunately the points were at the end of the road and i came past and continued along the road.  brendan and steve jumped on behind, but mike kept cruising to the finish.  i was rolled on the line (as i expected), but the aim was to try to grab as many points as i could and was already lucky on this climb.

steve – 10, brendan – 7, peter – 5, mike – 3, stu – 1.

 

the long hard slog to pickering brook was made interesting by the wind but not too bad overall.  we lost judd at the top of the kahuna and darren at pickering brook, but the group was generally intact as we approached the observatory climb.  mike and i led it out and i was content to let the pace maintain a tempo up the first part of the climb.  mike was out for revenge over the last climb and he hit this one hard.  we all kind of looked around to see who would react and by then it was all over.  he was gone.  i thought i would see what i could do and stomped it to try to bridge across.  i managed to get halfway there, but trying to catch mike on a hill was like trying to get ryan to lead out in a sprint.  i was running out of juice when brendan, stu and steve came past.  i jumped on for a while but the effort of chasing mike took it’s toll and i couldn’t maintain for very long.  ben eventually picked my up and we continued up the hill.

 

steve was dropped by the other two in their effort to catch mike by the top and he jumped on behind ben and i.  we began pacing it up for the run at the last pinch and chucked it in the big ring.  ben slipped back a bit but soon past steve as he dropped his chain trying to jump up from the little ring.  i hung on to the end, and stu managed to outsprint brendan at the top, but neither caught the elusive teacher.

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

 

one more climb and next stop was coffee.  jens had announced that as this was his last sunday ride, he was paying for coffee as a thank you for the great company during the rides.  i think he was hoping that we would help/allow him to get to the top first so that he could pay for them, but he was still going to have to fight for the points.

 

after the descent of the observatory and the undulations of bickley valley i finally managed to catch up steve and brendan so that they would not have an advantage heading into the final climb.  john was trying to replicate his final climb from last week and took off to gain some time advantage.  it looked like he over cooked it as he turned onto mundaring weir rd and may have dropped his chain as he was looking down and slowing up.  we started to set the pace up the hill and stu was the workhorse for all his effort.  he paced us up the main part of the first pitch until mike came flying past,  i tired to jump on and made a big effort to, but i didn’t last long and soon was caught in no-mans land all on my own. 

 

the train of steve, brendan and stu picked me up and once we hit the flat section, we rolled through to try to catch mike.  it didn’t seem to work.  he was powering along.  by the time we hit the last pitch, brendan and stu were within striking distance of mike but he saw them coming and put in one last effort to make sure of the points.  i was just barely hanging on but stayed away from ben for the finish.

mike – 10, brendan – 7, stu – 5, steve – 3, peter – 1.

 

as coffee was on jens, i splurged and ordered a “trio de chocolat”  which is a decadant interpretation of the chocolate indulgence.  basically it was a triple layered chocolate mousse/slice thing which was ace.  it went down a treat, and contrary to public opinion, did not come back up on the way home.  mmmmm calories.

 

the owner of the le paris brest café came out to tell us about this dvd that is being filmed on thursday to try to promote cycling in the hills area.  basically if you are not working on thursday, or are looking for a break for a couple of hours, if you head to the café between 11 and 12 you can get a free coffee and pastry for you efforts.  it is trying to promote cycling so if you are free i recommend that you head up there.  contact the café for more info and to acknowledge your participation – 9293 2752.  oh, and you should wear your south perth kit as a bit of shameless self promotion never goes astray. 

coffee points – steve, ben, stu, stan, michael, dan, hugh, jens, mike b, john, anna, brett 2, carl, simon, peter, brendan, todd.

 

a nice fast ride home and the tailwind down welshpool allowed me to break my previous speed record of 82 point something.  i managed to crack 91 this time and was upset that i couldn’t reach my hardest gear due to my lock ring problems. in reality, 90 does not really seem any faster than 70 but i am sure that it would remove a bigger patch of skin if you came a cropper.  best not to think about that when you are coming down at speed.  it may make you reach for the brakes.

 

a nice armchair ride home with jens doing the bulk of the work on the front just like his namesake on stage 10 of this years tour.  he even had energy left to sprint for the welshpool maccas.  the final sprint was interesting as dan jumped clear at the second last lights and managed to stay away until that last little hill when steve caught him after he jumped at the next lights.  i came home hard and picked up dan but brendan sprinted off me and up the road. 

 

so a good day and some hard climbs.  i had made a decision to try to stick with mike at the expense of mountain points as i think that going harder for longer and then blowing up will be better for me than riding tempo to maintain my position.  we will see anyway.  great perth bike ride for me next sunday, so my position on the leaderboard will be well under threat.

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