sunday 3rd august – pinjarra classic support race

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race report by peter.

UPDATED with video below

i faced this race with quite a bit of trepidation as i hadn’t raced since the ill fated menzies-kalgoorlie handicap quite a while ago. my motivation seemed to have taken a trip away and i was struggling to keep on top of the training. basically i felt i was really under-done and not ready for quite a hilly ride at race pace. however, since our new kits had arrived i was determined to give them an outing and had to convince the other guys to join me. in the end we had six sign up for the race. ryan, michael, stu, jerry, mark and i all signed up for the support race which would be contested over 65 kms. chris wasn’t racing due to lack of form (heart/spine/guts) but was coming along to try out his new video camera.

it was going to be a pretty big day for bikes at pinjarra. the main race was the a grade men doing two laps of our course for the 130 km, as well the cyclo-sportif race was happening at the same time on some of the same roads. not sure how many riders the cyclo race had but it would have been a few hundred. our race also had a strange mix as the women’e event had been combined with the support so there was twelve women in the mix too. all up there was between 50–60 riders in our group.

but i am getting ahead of myself a bit. i had taken a family day yesterday and didn’t ride but still was able to give my bike a good clean which it desperately needed. you know when it is wet and that black sooty stuff that comes from your drive train and accumulates on your brake pads? well i had so much of that on my wheels i thought they were black. well they are, but this was a different black and looked crap and was making everything it touched dirty. so the bike got a birthday but i still haven’t managed to get that seat post out and will have to take it to a bike shop to get them to pry it loose.

i also spend an hour or so yesterday on a bit of body maintenance, as the lack of motivation had lead to my legs taking on the appearance of a slightly anorexic yeti. people always ask why we shave/wax/whatever our legs, but the only real reason i can come up with is it looks more athletic. i was going to suffer today, i didn’t want to look like a hack rider as well. but that is just my opinion for me. you might think that hairy bike legs are fine. that is up to you.

so bike and legs maintained (or at least both looked better) and we were set for another race. since the menzies race i had been a bit worried about dehydration during the races. last night i drank lots of water to see if it made a difference. then on the way to the race i had another drink bottle just to make sure. it seemed to be going down fine but caused me to stop on the way to pinjarra. at least i knew i was hydrated.

the weather was quite brisk too. the cows in the paddocks i was passing were breathing out big clouds of condensation to further emphasis the coldness. they were only predicting a max of 16 degrees for the day too. it is days like this that i worry about what i should wear. if i put my vest on, will i get too hot and overheat on the climbs. if i don’t will i freeze on the descents. should i wear an undershirt to try to keep some heat in. i worry about all these things for two reasons. one, i tend to overheat easily, but at the same time get cold quickly due to minimal insulation. two, in a race situation, there is no way i can change on the fly. i still have trouble riding no hands so changing while riding would be a disaster.

anyway, with the first hill only 15 kms into the race, i needed to warm up first as my legs usually take longer than that. i jumped on the trainer for a good 20 minutes of spin beforehand. it was then i discovered just how warm it was in the sun. no vest and no undershirt. just arms should be fine. i was still worried, but that was just me being stressy.

so we lined up behind the “a” grade race and waited for our turn to go. stu and mark were out for a warm-up ride and i wasn’t sure if they knew where and when we needed to meet. race time approached, the “a” graders were off and we were having roll call. still no stu and mark. i wasn’t going anywhere, they would just have to chase to catch up if they were late. luckily, with a few minutes to spare they turn up and ryan rolls forward to sign them in. stu missed the start to the dardanup race and had to chase to catch up. i need to keep the boys under control a bit more.

anyway, we rolled out and i settled in to a position at the back of the pack, trying to catch up on some sleep. there was 15 kms of straight, flat, slightly rough roads to cover before things got interesting, so i was trying to use the opportunity to warm my legs up some more. my hamstrings seem to take a while to get comfortable and the harsh roads make sitting in the saddle no a pleasant experience. i was already beginning to have doubts over this race and we were not even really into it. the new kit made it easy to spot the rest of the team and i could see mark and ryan trying to move forward and hold a better position. a few guys tried to take off the front, but they were going nowhere fast.

a bit before our turn onto del park rd, i moved myself towards the front. ryan and another guy had the same idea, but the first guy found a hole to slot into while ryan and i moved further to the front. there was a poor guy at the front that was doing a bunch of work and was getting shafted again. same as most races, when he pulled off to the right, the line just followed him and no-one was willing to do a turn. that just shits me as we are all there for the same reason, so why not share the load.

a guy found this the perfect opportunity to take off the front as the rest were dicking around. taking up my role as domestique i moved to the front to up the pace a bit. i started reeling him back in but was flagging a bit so pulled over to the right. the rest of the pack just moved with me like a bunch of pricks. thanks guys. i sat up and just kept pedaling, which allowed the dude to get further up the road. the turn to del park rd was suddenly upon us so luckily i was already on the right hand side of the road and took the turn. i put in an effort again to try to reel the guy in before the hill but couldn’t sustain it for very long. i pulled right again and this time actually sat up and almost stopped pedaling. stll no-one would come around, so i just cruised along at a grandma pace for a while.

as the hill started, then they all wanted to show how strong they were and started to come around me. one guy attacked and a whole bunch of riders scrambled to get on his wheel, blowing the field apart. i was stuck in amongst the mayhem and riders where going everywhere. some were putting in a big effort while others were flagging and going backwards. the big effort guys then hit the wall and became road blocks while still the front guys were putting more distance into us. i was hoping that my heart rate monitor was playing up as i saw a lot of 185+ and some 190 readings when i looked down. not really sustainable for me and i was really thinking that i was watching the race slip away from me.

a big effort got me around a small group and halfway to the front runners, but it took it’s toll and i was over taken by the chasing group again. i was beginning to worry and self doubt meant that i was beginning to think about just not trying. michael was just in front of me and was putting in a good effort, so i thought i better stick with him for some team unity. ryan
had made it up front and stu had come from the back to join that group too. jerry and mark were somewhere behind. i wasn’t looking back, ahead was hard enough for me.


at the end of the first king of the mountains (where we didn’t get any points) the time check from watching the video footage went like this –
0:00 bunch with ryan & stu
+ 0:18 michael & pete
+ 1:08 jerry & mark
the rest of the field was pretty much spread across the rest of the hill.

after quite a bit of climbing, where michael and i swapped turns a few times, stuart from glenn parkers south informed us that our little group of michael and i along with mel who does the sunday ride with us occasionally, ben one of the junior riders and stuart, were the only ones left. we had dropped all the others and were stuck in between. we started rolling through and eventually got to the point where we could see the front runners. we were hoping like hell that they would not attack again, or we would never catch them. it took more than a few rolling hills before we finally latched onto the back of their pack and could have a rest.

i was still worried that they would put in a few attacks on the remaining climbs, but for now we were just sitting in. i remarked to mel that she was to only female in the group so she just had to sit in to clean up that prize. she had not ridden the course before and was unsure what was coming up. we did the cyclo-sportif race the last couple of years and were now past their turn around point, so i kind of knew that there would be a couple more climbs to contend with.

we were content to sit in for a while and recover as much as possible. michael said that he could see stu but not ryan so were we in the front pack or was ryan up the road a bit more. we then spotted him close to the front and deduced that we must be in the front pack. we had four of us in the group, so were pretty happy with how things were progressing so far. after a few rolling hills, the pack did not seem to want to push hard at any time but rather just set an even pace. i had recovered by now and noticed that ryan was too close to the front and was doing work again. i moved around the pack to the front and chastised him as i came past saying that he needed to save it for the sprint. i would do a turn for a while then break off, or be overtaken by another rider. unlike the initial section of the race, there were some people willing to do a bit of work. not many but some. i lead up the kom hill which the “a” grade race contested but no points for us. as the hill kept going, i started fading a bit and slowly fell back through the pack. by the time i crested the hill there was a small gap in front of me and a bunch of riders behind me. i didn’t look back but rather put my head down and chased to get back on. the field had effectively been reduced once again, though not through any attack just attrition on the steeper longer hills.

i recovered, moved forward, and found ryan at the front again. i told him off again and went to the front for some pace setting. there were a few more rolling hills before we hit dwellingup and i managed a couple of turns on the front. its not that we needed to (i thought) but rather if no-one else takes up the load, then ryan feels compelled to and then has nothing left at the end.

after the turn at dwellingup, the road flattened out a bit and even started going downhill. people were keen to be on the front for the descents but not when the road swung upwards soon afterwards. there were two little rolling climbs to go before we started the descent proper and so i was back on the front to set the pace. as long as i didn’t hit my max, i could sit comfortably on the front for a while.

by now we were seeing many more of the cyclo-sportif teams coming up the hill towards us. some looked strong, while others were spread out along the entire climb. we had a choice for todays race and chose the wacf event rather than the cyclo-sportif as proper road races were the reason that we formed this group in the first place.

we started the descent and were soon flying down the hill quite comfortably at 60 or 70 km/hr. no-one really tried to attack and anyone who gained an advantage was soon swept up when we slowed for the rail crossings half way down the hill. we spotted one of the rio tinto teams just as we crossed the first rail line and they seemed to be doing it tough on one of the steepest portions of the hill. i used to organise the rio tinto teams but now the south perth group is my focus. hopefully we can get a couple of spr teams at the next cyclo-sportif event in york in september.

so right towards the bottom of the hill there was one more small bump of a climb and this guy attacked. i saw him go from the back and started coming around to do a turn to pull him back. as i was skirting the bunch, ryan took off after him as well. i yelled at him to not bother but he had committed, so i stood up and sprinted after him. there was a guy on my wheel and soon the we had all caught the attack. unfortunately, the rest of the field had also caught back up too.

i told ryan not to bother as we could easily have caught him once we hit the flats. michael had disappeared on the last major climb, but we still had three of us that could work together with a couple of the other guys to pull back any last minute break.

i went to the front for my final turn and brought the group down onto the flats before peeling off and dropping right to the back. i was pretty much spent and needed to recover so i could try for one last lead out if ryan needed it. i had told stu to get up to the front once we hit the flats and keep ryan out of trouble, so he move up as i fell back.

we had very little wind protection now and it was crossing us up from left to right. the group had echeloned out to the right and the last few of us were riding right on the centerline. we had to keep pulling in every so often whenever a car was coming towards us. i basically sat in for the rest of the trip and was trying to get around about the two kms to go point, but couldn’t with the field spread across the whole road. i left ryan to his own devices and hoped that he had enough for the bunch sprint. at around 750 metres to go, ryan jumped and sprinted for the line. i tried to hang on but fell off the back with stu and cheered ryan on from there. it looked like he got it but i wasn’t sure.

it was then that stu tells me that there was another guy up the road. what the f__k. why hadn’t anyone told me about this earlier. as we had come onto the back of the pack late when still in the hills, we just assumed that it was the front pack. when i was on the front, i wasn’t chasing but just pace setting. the guy won with only 20 or so metres to spare. i had enough energy to finish with the group, which meant that i hadn’t given it my all. if i had known, maybe stu and i could have smashed ourselves to try to bring him back. there were a couple of other guys that were working at the front, so we could have worked together. coulda, woulda, shoulda. but didn’t and so had to be content with second place. this is becoming a bit of a theme with ryan.

anyway, we rolled around and back to the line to watch the rest of the guys file in. michael wasn’t that far behind at the end, and mark and jerry came in a minute or so later with a very convincing sprint over one of the female riders. we all sat around and had a bit of a chat with some of the other guys. managed to introduce ourselves to a couple of the other work horses that were doing turns for most of the ride and found out that sam who started to come out on our sunday rides was in our bunch. i hadn’t noticed as i was either head down at the front , or gasping for breath at the back. anyway, it was good to have a chat with the other riders.

as we were waiting for the rest of the field to come in, i asked bec (another one of davina’s girls) whether she had seen sandy come in yet. i used to do triathlons with sandy and she has come out with us a few times on the sunday rides. she is a good time-trialer and i had been hassling her to come and do a road race. apparently she hit a pothole on the descent and came off big time. the ambulance was sent to get her and she was beat up pretty bad. i managed to get hold of her later and found out that she has not broken anything, but had lost a lot of skin off her face, shoulder, leg, elbow, pretty much everywhere. i think she said that she has one finger that is not cut up. apart from that, her brand new trek madone 6.5 is now in multiple pieces. not good for her first race. she said that she did enjoy herself (probably up till that point) and would be back for more races.

so, for the spr team though, i think we had a fairly good outing as a team. we worked together were we could and ryan still came away with $120 prize money. i was happy with my domestique duties and happier still that i managed to finish with the front group after getting dropped so early in the race. so the collie–donnybrook race is in a couple of weeks time and i am questioning if i am ready for another handicap event after menzies. after this race i am 80-90% sure i will do it. on the first hill of this race, i was 20-30% sure. i think i will give it a crack as with my track record, i am bound to be given a good handicap.

saturday 2nd august – freo & cott

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ride report by rob

2:30am bucketing down – looking like a lie in.
4:30am teeming down – no way am i riding
5:15am gale force winds – decision made
6:25am can’t hear rain; still windy – gulit commences
6:40am can’t hear rain; wind easing – guilt wins

7:00am roll into coode street car park to find around 12 of the usual crew fully kitted up in wind/rain gear. ryan had already warmed up his legs with the ride down from inaloo (oh, what, no? not from inaloo? oh, just from around the corner where the car is parked?…mmmmm.) lots of chatter in the group about the THE OFFICIAL EURO CYCLIST CODE OF CONDUCT that was doing the rounds of the group. lots of comments about compliance with the code among the sp rouluers. disscusion of the possibility of making anyone in kit sign it as their commitment to the faith! gerard was in full compliance with number 39 thanks to his wife’s assistance. apparently the recent trip to europe has ‘changed his life’…!

with no pete (family commitments due to race day tomorrow we’re lead to understand) we were leaderless for the ride. i hadn’t looked at the blog to see what the route was – thankfully paul had (such a detail guy – gotta love you geo’s and engineers!) and advised that it was freo/cott. questions were directed at ryan as to his desire to take the lead – yes, he says “we go flat out from here to the coffee shop…and i don’t know the route.” the faces on some of the others told the story so i hopped in and called the route “pete style” but neglected to call the ‘smash’ points – ho well i thought, it’s a well known route and those that don’t know the designated smash points will find out when we got there!

so, the group rolled out just after 5 past 7 with a few looming black clouds overhead. an uneventful ride up to canning hwy and then along through to applecross. gerard and ben came around ryan and me to do some work on the front. it was at this point that greard thought it’d be fun to signal left at risely st – must have been a message from the man upstairs given his newly aquired compliance with number 39. we all barked at the guys to keep going straight and then i stuffed it by calling a right hander at cunnigham st. woops.

finally arriving at the ‘right’ righthander another 2 kms away, we reach the first roll through section. it was ok to start with a few of the stronger guys doing a bit more of the early work and the others coming through when they coould. with the wind in our faces it was pretty tough going so it wasn’t long before there were only 6 or so pushing off the front. we reached the golf course climb and ryan pushed off the front with me trying to keep up the pressure. i could feel james trying to get up past me and thought ‘can’t have that’ so pushed on a bit – that hurt, but managed to take 2nd. we regrouped at the top and then headed off to freo. that’s when the first real rain came and made it very pleasant. rain, full sou westerly and grit fllled wheel spray in the face – LOVE IT!! how good is riding a bike!!

turning down on to the left bank section most fo the group were together. this is the next designated smash point but in true rouleurs fashion, and without pete to come round in his infamous time trialling position, no one seemed to want to be first to go. oh well, here goes. i came round the front and pushed the biggest gear i could considering the wind in my face. that lasted about a minute and i thought by then i must have a decent gap on the group. pity james, ben and ryan had grabbed my wheel as i came round and got the tow through – mental note – don’t go first! it was a good section though and we managed to keep the pace high. ryan took line honours with ben second. i couldn’t bridge the gap he’d put in james and me so third would have to do.

re-group. ben and me took the front across the bridge and around to the lead up to cott. with the wind now well and truely on our backs, we had a fantastic hero ride all the way up the coast. i looked at ben and could see the smile on his face while we were pushing 40 with no effort. as we came round to cott, melvin came past and put a gap on the group – something he seems quite fond of doing. the rest of the pack upped the pace a bit but we all kept it safe and didn’t try anything stupid. it’s pretty busy along that section of the ride so safer to stay within the boundaries of good sense.

uneventful back up to stirling hwy and across to the return trip through dalkeith and nedlands. i was doing a fair bit of the work on the front when james called that he’d roll through and help. i think he was expecting others to do the same but then realised that wasn’t going to happen. gotta love that – being a team player can find you out on your own sometimes!

the group rolled through to the first hill up to nedlands with paul and james on the front. as we rounded the bend, ben moves up and tries to gap. i go round and try to kick off the front too. i manage to hold it over the first rise but then gerard, james and ryan come past and gap me – no chance of a wheel there! ryan and gerard duked it out for line honours and james took third. ben and me cruised to the line with no other contenders in the near vicinity. the group was pretty fractured by that last push but an unoffcial re-group at the roadworks on matilda bay drive brought everyone back together for the final sprint.

rounding on to stirling hwy again, i was riding at about 5th wheel. feeling pretty comfortable, i thought i’ll hold it here and get a good lead out when we get closer to the brewery. that worked for a while until melvin takes his usual kick and flys past. that’ll do i think and grab his wheel. love it – getting closer, closer, closer, steady, steady, hold it, hol….freaking Cannondale belts past with gerard and paul on his wheel. i try to kick but nothing left to get up to the pace so relegated to 4th! ryan 1st, gerard with diviine intervention 2nd, and a cleverly ridden 3rd for paul.

no coffee shop for me today – mother in town; must be good.

THE OFFICIAL EURO CYCLIST CODE OF CONDUCT

1. Image and style shall be your primary concern. When suffering, one must focus first on maintaining a cool, even composure, and second on performance. Winning races is an added talent, and only counts if said euro cyclist wins with appropriate style.

2. You shall NEVER, under any circumstances, wear plain black spandex shorts or any team kit containing non-prominent Logo’s.

3. The Socks must extend no less than 2cm below the main bulge of your calf muscle, and shall never extend further than 1cm past the primary calf muscle bulge. All socks shall be white in colour with prominent logo placement.

4. Cycling shoes must be of white colour only!
-in certain circumstances, other colours, such as world
cup stripes are perfectly acceptable and encouraged.
-Red shoes are NOT ENDORSED by this group.

5. If white cycling shoes are not available where you reside, white booties with prominent logos shall always be worn.

6. You’re bike frame must contain more than 3 colours, and must always fit tastefully with your wheel selection.

7. Zipp’s
are to be used as training wheels ONLY. You shall race only on Lightweights and occasionally Bora’s if no lightweights are accessible.

8. Ridiculously stylish eye wear is to be worn at all time without exception.

9. In most circumstances, hair shall be kept neatly short, and matching helmet shall be worn (again with prominent logo placement). Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES shall a clashing helmet colour be worn with your euro kit.

10. In several cases, it is deemed acceptable to have long hair. In this event, hair shall be neatly slicked back in maximum euro-styling, and helmet shall not be worn. Stylish sport eyewear shall be worn at all times while exercising this option.

11. A prominent line where your kit ends and where your tan begins is essential to your image. Artificial tanning is banned,
the tan shall reflect the level of training commitment.

12. All podium shots (pictures) shall be taken with the euro-rider wearing team kit and appropriately matching casual euro shoes (such as puma’s). Socks shall remain within the guidelines above. The rider is expected to display an appropriate degree of bulge while receiving kisses/trophy.

13. The seat shall ALWAYS be white along with the handlebar tape, and must be made in Italy or France.
– Exceptions to this rule are seats or handlebar tape
containing the following colours: WorldCup Stripes,
Olympic Gold, Italian flag colour combo (green red
white).

14. You shall not, under any circumstances, acknowledge the presence of a cyclist riding a bike costing less than $4000 USD in a public place. This could be severely detrimental to your image.

15. Legs will be SHAVED year-round. ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS. In some cases, certain hair removal creams endorsed by succesful euro’s are deemed to be acceptable.

16. A rider will ALWAYS have liniment applied to his legs before appearing in public.

17. Facial hair will be restricted to a goatee, and even this is discouraged. Moustaches are EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.
The only exception to the facial hair shall be SHORT sideburns–these are acceptable at the discretion of Cipo or a similar authority figure, on a case-by-case basis.

18. Ceramic bearings shall be used at all time on both training and race bikes.

19. Campagnolo shall be the only acceptable componentry and is hereby deemed superior to ANY Shimano product in ALL circumstances. You are expected to have nothing less than an ENTIRE campy grouppo. Crank substitutions are NOT permitted.

20. ALL wheels shall be equipped with tubulars, regardless of your ability in gluing them.

21. You shall NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, associate with triathletes. It is FORBIDDEN to have any number inked onto your body before a race.

22. Any physical activity, other than cycling, is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. This includes any form of running or swimming and their derivatives (this includes walking).

23. You shall never rearrange your package while riding. Adjustments regarding seating/hanging comfort are to be done in private in order to preserve image.

24. In a circumstance where any cyclist ever displays aggression or disrespect towards you, you shall ride up uncomfortably close to them and slap them in the face with your team issue gloves. (Which must be white)

25. MTB gloves are FORBIDDEN in all instances. Cycling gloves will be slick, white (in accordance with kit), and have minimal padding. Padding will be beige or white in colour. In the case where said euro cyclist is wearing a leader’s jersey (This should be always) special gloves will be made to match the colour of the jersey while blending the team kit colours simultaneously.

26. In the event a motorist disturbs your ride, you shall proceed to ride up beside the car, form a clenched fist and bang the trunk of the car while doing your best attempt to sound irritated in Italian. Wild arm/head are strongly encouraged to enhance the apparent rage.

27. Training is based solely on feel while racing is be guided by sensations and instinct. A real Euro cyclist never gives in to scientific training methods.

28. Gearing is restricted to a titanium Campy Record 11-23 cassette with a ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of 42-53 up front. One shall never be seen pedaling at a cadence over 90 in case it detracts from his calm/smooth factor. The use of 25t cog is acceptable in special training circumstances.

29. ALL BIKES shall feature personalized nameplates next to ones home country’s flag located on the top-tube within 10 cm seat-tube ON ONE SIDE ONLY.

30. Pedals MUST be either Speedplay, Time, or Look. No other pedals are to be considered and ANY form of Shimano product is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. If one is found possessing Shimano pedals, title of euro cyclist will be stripped immediately.

31. Coffee is a necessity and as such must be consumed strong (ie. espresso) on a patio in Italy in full kit, it shall be drunk black. Sugar is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. The only milk present shall appear frothed on top (if at all).

32. All pre and post-race activity will be conducted under a gazebo (this includes massage, interviews, and looking fantastic) leaving one in reasonable distance of the Euro-sun to top up your enviable tanlines or pose for photo’s.

33. Post-race, you must be utterly tied to your mobile phone, making endless calls to your incredibly attractive euro-girlfriend or important executives from modelling agencies. This will be done under the protection of the post race gazebo.

34. ABSOLUTELY NO FORM of seatbag, frame pump, mud guard or mirror shall come within 2 meters of the bike.

35. Team bikes will be built up so that they violate the UCI weight limit, in order that weights might be attached to the frame to demonstrate its superiority and lightness.

36. White bar tape shall be kept in pristine white condition and NEVER extend further than 3cm past the hoods (exception during spring classics, where standard bar tape wrapping is allowed). This state shall be achieved either through daily cleansing or frequent replacement. These jobs will NEVER be performed by the cyclist as you must maintain your image.

37. Motivational music during training MUST consist of Late 90s house and power ballads, or deep-trance hard-style German techno hereby known as euro beats. NO EXCEPTIONS.

38. Nothing short of a naked black ALL CARBON water bottle cages (manufactured by ELITE CAGES) will be used. The only exception is special edition 24k gold cages which can be preferable in some situations (such as photo shoots or prologues) where colour coordination is key (this is always). Ex. Gold Cage with Olympic Gold/white team kit.

39. A gold pendant on a very long, thin chain bearing some form of religious icon is STRONGLY recommended for mountain races.

40. While soloing in for a victory, you will ensure your jersey is fully zipped and straight, so all title sponsors are clearly visible. You will then smile and flex arms while pointing skywards. The projection of ones fatigue is EXPLICITLY FORBIDDEN in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

41. When appearing in a photo spread for sponsor’s products, one shall appear either fully nude or in full Armani 3 piece suits. Smiling is prohibited in these instances.

42. When riding, under the helmet, a team issue cycling cap (white in colour), shall be worn (depending on the hairstyle). The bill shall remain in the downward position at all times. Cycling cap can be worn forwards or backwards to coincide with current hairstyle. During spring training, cycling toques WILL be worn at all time in place of caps.
——————————————————————————————–
RULES BELOW THIS LINE ARE NOT FINAL, AND NEED REFINEMENT/OPINIONS

Dugast tubulars are the only appropriate rubber for your Lightweights.

One shall remove all
excess from frame when in the mountains (M Rasmussen’s stipulation at the 2005 TDF).

While training a Tag Heuer or other suitably classy watch shall be worn at all times.

Nokon cables are to be used as much as possible.
Additional parts/accessories should be produced by: AX Lightness, Tune, Schmolke, Walser, or Swissstop.

Stem stack height is critical. The stem of a true Euro shall be slammed down all the way to the frame. Stems shall also be aluminum as with bars, aluminum.
Bars should be classic, shallow drop. Deda newton oversize stem, deda shallow classic bar is preferable.
Other brands that work are:
ITM, Pro, stella Azzura, Fsa, cinelli

A one-piece carbon bar-stem combo is equally acceptable.

ride routes 2nd & 3rd august

routes posted by peter.

well, i will not be joining you on either day this weekend. i have family commitments on saturday and sunday will see a few of the team heading down to pinjarra to race in the pinjarra classic support race. most of us are under-done and will probably get dropped on the first hill, but we want to make a showing in the new colours as the race team was the catalyst for getting the kit in the first place.

so, saturday should be pretty straight forward. nice and easy down to attadale. hard along the riverside then regroup after the pt walter hill. hard along the left bank, but then easy past cott and enjoy the view. normal hard back home through dalkeith. remember to keep an eye out for weaker riders and try not to leave too much destruction behind you. we pride ourselves on being a good social group, so look after each other.

i will try to meet you all at the coffee shop, but it will depend on quite a few things. as for a replacement coffee shop, we are looking at a few places in south perth, but they have to be suitable for us and they have to be happy to have us there. we are working on it.

sunday, should be a nice short and sharp ride for anyone interested. gooseberry and kalamunda rd are pricks to climb, so think of us racing when you are on them.

thanks to everyone that provided equipment to get our german friend on the road. he should be out with us next week. he said he read the blog and is a bit worried that we are a bit hardcore. i told him we talk it up a bit.

the maps seem to be having problems so you will have to follow the links to see where we are going.

saturday 2nd august
freo & cott

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/australia/perth/957241350

sunday 3rd august
gooseberry & kalamunda & bickley

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/australia/perth/526673061

another request again…

1 Comment

so thanks to dave our german vac student now has a bike to ride. it is a nice alu trek with 10spd 105. great condition and should be more than ample for him. thanks again.

michael has provided him a helmet, as being a fashion victim he has one in each colour, so many a spare.

thanks to our favourite online shop (with their low, low prices and prompt delivery) he will soon have knicks, vest and armwarmers. rio tinto provided the jersey.

so, what is the request for???
shoes. euro size 45. anyone out there upgraded recently and has an old pair lying around that (after a good wash) would be perfectly serviceable.

if so send me an e-mail at southperthrouleurs@hotmail.com

thanks for everything so far.

another request

by peter.

i currently have my two brothers working on the new website. it is on a paid hosted server so that it will be harder for me to be shut down by “the man”. i will be able to post links to anywhere without fear of “i’m sorry, the blog you are looking for is no longer available”.

so what i need is some good quality photo’s of perth cycling. races, groups, river rides, some perthy perth type stuff. these will be used for the pretty background stuff that the graphic designer brother will tart the site up with, while computer programmer brother makes all the bits work.

hopefully it will be up and running soon and we will migrate this blog, and the “whereareweridingtoday” blog over to it so we can keep our history.

send any photo’s to southperthrouleurs@hotmail.com

thanks.

sunday 27th july – carridine & peet & observatory

6 Comments

well the forecast said bad and radar confirmed it’s badness, but i didn’t care as it was not raining as i left the house. the road was a bit wet and it was still dark, but at least it was not cold…yet. the forecast was for strong winds and a 90% chance of 20 – 40 mm of rain. basically all the ingredients for an absolutely crappy bike ride. i was wearing my vest, but was also carrying my rain jacket as it folded up into bum bag and fitted snuggly under the vest.

i was running a bit late and hurried to make it to the start. i was afraid of what i would find. the things that run through your mind in this situation are very insightful. if no-one else was there, would i go home, would i still do the hills, would i just cut a lap of the river instead. i didn’t need to worry myself as there were two lonely riders waiting in the dark as i arrived. ben and declan were looking lonely and very soon, stu also turned up. we waited around for a bit longer to see if any stragglers would brave the weather but soon realised that we would be the only ones.

so were we the hardcore ones??? were we the stupid ones??? or were all the others just a bunch of pussies that made some excuse about having to wash their big girls blouses???

so the four of us rolled out into the spitting rain. it wasn’t coming down hard and was hardly a concern at all. however, it still took quite a bit of will power, not to turn off as we came within a few hundred metres of home. declan was not going all the way with us today as he usually doesn’t do the hills ride, but was just looking for some extra km’s. the plan was for him to ride with us to the base of the hills then he would find his own way back to perth. taking the new standard route out to albany hwy, i pulled over as we hit manning rd to put my rain jacket on. it wasn’t coming down any harder, but i figured that i would try to stay as dry as possible.

a very sedate ride down to mt nasura and as we turned off to tackle carrawatha, declan kept going to return via armidale rd and the freeway. so we were down to three, which meant that we would probably just tackle the climbs at our own pace rather than trying to smash each other. ben led the climb and as it kicked up for the second steeper half of the hill, i started falling back. stu was on his old tommasini rather than his cervelo and was having some issues with gear selection. he still came around me as though as i struggled up the 13% section of the hill.

very little waiting needed today and the guys just had to ease off a bit before starting their descent. we then turned up carradine rd and started plugging our way up the rough roads. we basically stuck together to the top with myself just falling off the back on the last little bit of the climb. at the top, a call of nature struck us all and we all found a cubicle in the bush toilet. i gave my vest to ben who only had his jersey to protect himself from wind chill. my rain jacket wasn’t going anywhere for now as it was keeping me dry and warm. a change of plans from the original route and we decided to forego the canning dam route in favour of the climb up peet rd. the threat of crappy weather, and the fact that the ride past the dam gives us no chance of any options, forced us to skip it all together. instead we would have a wet and potentially slippery ride down soldiers rd then a nice an gentle 10% ascent of peet rd.

the descent wasn’t that bad as we took it easy and there was no traffic. surprisingly enough, no-one else thought it was a good day to go outside either. we started on peet rd and set a fairly nice pace. i dropped off on the second steeper section but managed to claw my way back as it flattened out a bit. down the other side and up past roleystone high school to head out brookton hwy.

we past the site of the accident a few weeks ago and it is lucky that no-one had to place any little white crosses on the side of the road. it made me worry when i heard cars coming up the hill behind us.

nice pace setting along to pickering brook and we decided to throw in the observatory climb as well. a slight detour along repatriation rd made a change but still turned us out at the base of the climb. i stayed with both of them until the second half of the climb when i struggled to keep the pace. we regrouped at the top and came down the other side to only go straight back up lawnbrook. again the climb left me wanting and i fell back. at one point ben had to double back to pick up his glasses or something and this allowed me to catch up with him. we rode together the rest of the way and met back up with stu at the end of the road.

no coffee shop for us today and we headed straight down lesmurdie rd and onto welshpool. the combination of the wind and wet roads made it not the most comfortable descent and stu said his bike got the speed wobbles towards the end. with no antagonists in the “group” the remaining ride was quite sedate.

at the end of the end of the day, there was not a lo of rain to be encountered. the official perth weather station only recorded 1.6 mm during the time that we were out. the main down pour came at lunchtime but we were home well and truly before that. overall the 6.8 mm was nowhere near the predicted rainfall.

so, just under 100 kms and just over 1300m of climbing to round out the morning. a bit disappointing with the turn out, but not surprising really due to the forecast. it is winter after all but you can still ride when it is raining. i guess it just shows who is committed or more likely, who needs to be committed due to a poor mental state. it was a good ride though as we ground out the kms and did the climbs. a little bit of rain builds character.

saturday 26th july – hale rd

2 Comments
ride report by peter.

as i stumbled around the house this morning, trying not to wake anyone up, it did not occur to me to take a look outside. i had listened to the cars drive past and had not heard that tell-tale swish they make when the roads are dramatically wet. i had checked the internet and saw that the radar was clear. to me, that meant it would be nice weather for a ride. what a shock i received when i stepped out side. hmmm. thick, pea-soup like fog had engulfed the city and visibility was down to less than 100 metres.

i made sure my flashing lights were on and set off into the gloom, praying that drivers would be able to see a lone rider. with the city not visible from our side of the river, we huddled together and waited for the start time. about 30 or so were brave enough to face the day with us, so we headed out to tackle the day.

today’s route was a very simple one that contained very few turns at intersections. basically it was a big square that went out shep and welshpool rd, up hale rd along kalamunda rd and then home via guilford rd. for safety reasons, due to the fog we would only have one hard section and that would be the run into town from bassendean.

the run out along shep rd was a bit disjointed as the group was big enough to get caught and split at the lights. even when we turned from welshpool onto orong rd, we lost a few more. it was a fairly sedate pace and the guys on the back made there way back to the fold.

hale rd was also going to be an easy run as i wanted the group to stay together on the tighter roads. the fog had lifted in forrestfield and the temperature had dropped accordingly. ryan started coming up on the outside and looked like he was going to try to smash the group up a bit. i told him that we were not going hard along here but he was welcome to do some work on the front. he moved to the front and started setting the pace. he was going particularly hard, but he went through four or so other riders before i ended up at the front.

i found the trick with ryan is not to try to race him. if he goes faster, let him half wheel you until he realises and slows down a bit. if you try to match his pace, he will step up again and the will continue until you are suddenly doing 40km/h. it is better to keep the same pace. this happened a few times on this stretch of road until he got bored of it and started stepping the pace up. i kept the same pace and slowly slipped to the back of the pack, while ryan’s antics meant that the group was now lined out in a single file.

it wasn’t long till we turned onto kalamunda rd and we rode a sedate pace all the way to guilford. looking up ahead, it was clear that the fog had only cleared close to the foothills and we were heading back into it again. the group was all together as we crossed the bridge in guilford and the road widened out to double lane. at the lights in bassendean, i rolled back to the front and let everyone know that we would now be giving it some shtick all the way home. i let a bunch of them pass me as i was definitely not taking off from here as it was just under 15 kms to the coffee shop. the pace picked up and a few of the boys started off hard. the group started splitting and surging to try to stay together. we didn’t get very far though as about eight or so riders got through the lights at bassendean station while the rest of us had a bit of a break.

i announced that we would be rolling through so that we could try to catch up. we had the majority of the group so should have the upper hand. it started off fairly well and most people fell into line quickly. pretty soon we were scooting along at over 40km/h and were reeling the other group back in. i dropped back and helped a couple of struggling riders keep in contact with the pack. one of them was lorraine who was out on her first ride with us since breaking her wrist many weeks earlier. the pace and lack of training were taking their toll.

the group ahead got caught at the lights and allowed us to catch up. what i didn’t initially know was that a few riders got though and were further up the road. the fog had gotten very thick again, so it was hard to gauge how far ahead they were. i rolled to the front of the group to set the pace once the lights changed. we started rolling through again and picked up jerry and mark who had escaped the traffic lights. up ahead there were two riders disappearing into the fog.

we hit the first of the rolling hills and i upped the pace. i had a gap to the others so decided to take advantage of it. i slapped it into the big ring while still going up hill and put the hammer down. i built a nice gap to the pack and assumed that i was gaining on the break guys. assuming, because i still couldn’t see them. it was hurting but i thought i could hold this pace for a while. unfortunately the traffic lights soon caught me out and i came to a stop. the rest of the pack then caught me.

the rest did not do me well and my legs went lactic very quickly. the boys took off hard from the next set of lights and i just couldn’t follow. i jumped on the back of the next small pack to pass me by and held on for dear life. we got the lights again. now there was a substantial group up the road and no real chance that we could catch them. we worked together for a while but had pretty much resigned ourselves that we wouldn’t catch anyone. we didn’t.

we set up our own sprint for the end and i pushed hard on riverside drive to come around jerry and mark. mark jumped on my wheel and started to sprint to the line. i didn’t bother standing up and let him take it after trying to hold him off from the seated position.

as for the actual final sprint, ryan or one of the other guys can add to this post later.

coffee shop. now there had been some issues with the coffee shop and there are a few things we need to look into. service has been slow, it is cold in winter, we get diesel fumes form the boats and apparently the coffee is not that good (i don’t drink it so i don’t know). also, mickey’s group are usually there before us which can make it a bit squeezy.

however, in it’s favour is the central position and fact that we can sprint from both directions. but since we have moved on with our group, maybe we should look at a new finishing spot. somewhere in south perth has been suggested as we are a south perth group. i can adjust routes and give us new sprint lines, but what we need is somewhere that can cater for us and our bikes. have a think about it and add some comments to this post to let me know your thoughts.

special request

1 Comment

posted by peter.

we have a new guys who started at work this week. he is a vacation student from germany and does quite a bit of cycling when he is at uni. he is over here till november and would like to join us for our rides.

one little hitch, he didn’t bring his bike with him. he needs to borrow a bike to use during his stay and i said that i would see what our group has available. he is a tall bugger though, so needs a 58cm frame. if there are no available bikes, i was thinking that we could find enough spare parts within the group to build him a bike. if we can get a frame, then i have cranks and pedals, michael has already said that he has a spare helmet and bars. there is bound to be stacks out there.

anyway, if we can get a full bike even better. if anyone has anything available, let me know.

ride routes 26th & 27th july

ride routes posted by peter.

i am expecting a big turn out on saturday. people generally get inspired when the tour de france is on and with an aussie doing well, even more so. they are predicting a break in the weather so i think people will also want to head out to prevent going stir crazy.

it will also be our first outing with the majority of riders wearing their new spr kit. it should make a good sight. look forward to seeing you there.

there are still a few kits not yet collected. get in contact with me and we can arrange for a pick up time, or if you prefer, i work in the city and you can collect from there.

saturday 26th july
hale rd
Sth Perth Saturday Ride 03 (Hale Rd)
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sunday 27th july
carradine & canning dam
Sth Perth Sunday Ride 05 (Carradine &amp Canning Dam)
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