world naked bike ride

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opinion by peter

over the weekend there were some news reports of bunches of nude cyclists taking to the streets. mainly in spain and london, but apparently it is a worldwide “event” to highlight pretty much whatever cause you want. the website talks about “indecent exposure to cars”, but if you look at some of the pics, they are protesting anything from puppy farms to nuclear power. it’s funny that we really haven’t got past the “sex sells” mentality, even for environmental and moral crusades.

it hasn’t really taken off here, and it’s not just the weather. if you look at the website for the melbourne and sydney ones, there are only a handful of people participating. in london they have a couple of thousand. maybe we should have it incorporated as past of the cyclo-sportif race calendar. they usually get a few hundred riders. or maybe it would be a way to get more people to watch track racing if there was a nude match sprint (gotta watch those splinters).





not everyone should get naked though…

Sunday – Welshpool Rapids & Kalamunda River

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Report by John
Updated with Video

All those with nothing better to do, and either no decent coffee machine, or indoor trainer turned up – i think there were 6 or 7. i waited in the rain hoping no one would turn up but alas they trickled in like drowned rats – equally disappointed in seeing a fellow cyclist…so we had to go.

someone murmured about going straight for a coffee – and thus a mutiny was hatched.
pete’s planned route was sabotaged before we even started.

i was little disappointed – i mean if you make the effort to go riding in the rain, may as well get hypothermia and make the most out of it. then again i must confess i was not totally unhappy as it started to ‘persist‘ down.

the ride up welshpool for me was better than anticipated – i kept in touch with the front guys (kept in touch at about 100m behind) for half the climb. todd was on my tail most of the way until he had a spell in front with me taking him on the last little kick before the finish.

the other climb up kalamunda hill felt good as well. trailed dr carl for a bit then took him. there is a flattish section about half way up that i’ve learnt to change into the big ring and scoot along. managed to keep about 35kmh for a while there but never caught sight of the front 4 guys. i reckon they must have been about 400m in front.

Pete and young Ben met us for a much needed hot drink (thanks carl for the $5) , and i think pete was filming us on the way back down the hill. at first glance i thought some cop was trying to make sure we weren’t speeding…no chance of that!

every time i climb it’s a learning experience balancing lungs, heart and lactic acid (”the kids in the back seat” ) with my brain telling everyone to “settle down”.

i think lance was right – we ride not for the pleasure, but for the pain. it gives us such a sense of achievement to ‘handle it’ – not matter where one is in group’s pecking order.

all in all, happy i did the ride (so nearly piked out), but very relieved to make it down the hill and back home in one piece.

apologies for not mentioning everyone who rode, but i have trouble enough remembering what i did let alone anyone else…

Team SPR Misses Podium at Neerabup

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Race Report by Chris
WC Masters15-Jun-08 Neerabup 9 Laps
The choice between sleeping in, doing a hills ride or having a race with the old boys. Since I am a bit lazy with my training and not a big fan of hills I let Bruce know that I intended to head out to stretch the legs. Once Bruce committed there was no backing out for me.
The predicted big storm didn’t arrive overnight and I was hoping that it had slipped around Perth. A few showers and a reasonable breeze though would make it interesting at the very least.

Not surprisingly there wasn’t much of a turnout and both Bruce and I were hoping that there would be enough numbers that B grade didn’t get merged with A. Thankfully B had around 12 starters and as we waited for the off the rain began. Beautiful.

Bruce and I spent the first lap up the front, our “plan” was to take things easy and see how we felt. Things started pretty steadily so I wasn’t too worried about spending time on the front as long as it wasn’t too strenuous.

Bruce and I had discussed tactics prior to the start and neither of us were terribly confident. Anyway we decided that we would see how we were feeling and then later if either of us went up the road the other would try to slow the bunch and cover any chasers.

On the second lap a couple of guys in JCC kit went to the front to up the pace, I covered the move and things were strung out for a little while through the rolling section of the course. One of these guys attacked on the next lap and the bunch let him go, I thought it was way too early for a solo effort with 6 or 7 laps to go. He ended up getting out to about a minute after a couple of laps and we figured we were racing for 2nd place.

There were a few attempts to get away a couple of them I knew weren’t going anywhere. Trying to break away with a tail wind or downhill doesn’t work in my experience, unless it is a long technical descent. The tail wind section wasn’t particularly long and didn’t really give you much time to put a decent gap into the field.

Anyway when a former Olympian (not telling what year) has a dig you take notice, I chased after him and caught on. Bob Addy is one strong guy and I have learnt not to let him get away. Anyway we were soon caught by the rest of the bunch, he went again a little later and with another guy got a fair gap on the bunch.

Once they were back in the group, thanks to Bruce and a few of the others I attacked up the first of the inclines at the back of the circuit. The guy who had been away with Bob came with me and we swapped off turns for about 2/3 of a lap before being joined by the group again. I rested up and figured that might be my lot for the day. Once we got back around to the lumpy section things weren’t quite as intense as I thought they should be so I went again. This one didn’t last too long but had certainly hurt me and hopefully the bunch. I slipped back through the bunch and Bruce moved up towards the front. For a guy who was complaining of not feeling well before the start he put in a big effort driving the bunch along for a while.
By this time I was figuring that we were going to be doing well to have a dip at the finish. We could see C grade up the road and I thought maybe the guy who had been away since the 2nd or 3rd lap. As we crossed the start/finish line the commissaires told us that C grade were on their bell lap (we had 2 to go), I figured we would either chase to get buy them or take it easy and let them have their sprint. We didn’t chase but the pace didn’t drop significantly.
As we came over the last incline before the start/finish we could see the solo rider ahead of C grade and one of our bunch headed off after him. Personally, I thought this was a bit rude and perhaps the others did too because noone chased. Ettiquete would suggest you leave C grade to finish their race, this guy didn’t care and went through their bunch anyway.

So, now we figured we were racing for 3rd. Bummer, bell lap and two guys up the road. With a long drag into the wind for the finish I wasn’t confident Bruce or I would be up for much given the work we’d been doing. I made an attempt to thin things out around the back figuring it was better than dying wondering. Others had the same idea and the move was covered and emulated, pain and more pain. “Why am I doing this to myself” I was asking.
About this time the wind really picked up in an almighty gust blowing a shed or some such over in an almighty crash. We didn’t know it yet but the drag to the line had just been made a lot tougher. Bob (the Olympian) had gone up the road chasing the two leaders and had latched onto the guy who had gone away on the previous lap.

Up the final incline the pace really dropped off and my ego got the better of me, I figured I could go to the line solo so I attacked as hard as my tired legs would let me. Funnily enough it didn’t work, Bruce came by yelling at me to jump on. Yeah right! I slid back to the bunch in a vain attempt to slow the rest of the bunch.

So I jump on and we reel Bruce in the gap to the others is closing and the poor bastard who broke away early gets chewed up and spat out. I tell him well done as I go past, that was a really solid effort. Then the sprint for third begins in earnest Bob and the guy with no ettiquette just manage to hold off the bunch for 1st and 2nd. Mick Russell yells for me to jump on as he and another guy come by, I barely manage to do so as the three of us pass Bruce. So by my reckoning it was a 5th for me and 6th for Bruce, not bad since I know I didn’t have anything left in the tank.

A good workout at intensity was what I was after and received as I aim for the CS event at the end of the month with Team Porno and an eye on the Collie-Donnybrook in August.

saturday 14th june – benara rd

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ride report by peter

as saturday rolled around, the predicted ne winds did not appear and we had calm conditions instead. usually this would be better, but i was banking on a nice tailwind on benara rd to give us a push. with the predicted clear 23 degrees meaning very little overnight cloud cover, the temp had dropped to about 6 deg by the time i rolled out from home.

the usual suspects were there this morning minus ryan who we expected had slept in again, but would probably join us as we rolled by his house. we headed out great eastern hwy and crossed the river at ascot, turning onto guilford rd. the group took it really easy this morning and it made a good change from the last time we did this route. there were some hot-heads which split the group up early when they got a draft from behind a truck. this made for a very splintered and dangerous trip through guilford. no truck this time so everyone was together by the time we hit benara. everyone except dr paul and dr greg who turned off early for a shortcut.

i was sitting at the back of the pack with ryan when the pace came on. not ideal positioning, but the road is long and i was sure that there would be wheels to catch to propel me forward. after the second round-about, i had made my way to the front and launched a nice attack where i managed to gap the field significantly. i had a really good group ride on thursday and thought that my form was up and ready to play. unfortunately, this was saturday and i found i had no legs. i pushed on trying to will some more power out of my body, but i was going slower and slower. the bunch lead by nick reeled me back in and back was the direction i was going. everyone who was in that group managed to get past me as i was struggling to hold the pace.

i managed a bit of recovery before finding my way to about mid-pack again. at the two main sets of lights that stopped us, it was strange to hear that not a word was spoken. maybe i wasn’t the only one feeling it today. as we came through the last roundabout and started the final stretch, i attacked again. this time i didn’t get as far before ryan came screaming around me like i was standing still. i tried to hold out as long as possible but soon the rest of the pack engulfed me. i managed to hold on and limp to the end of benara rd.

we slowed it right down for the next section to allow any stragglers to catch back up and also allow us a bit of a breather. as we headed towards whatley crescent, the pace picked up a bit as the guys saw dr paul and dr greg up the road a bit. this forced the group to “line-out” and i was stuck at the back talking to shao as we approached the intersection. bad positioning again, and i was sure that we would miss the lights altogether, but managed to scrape through on the amber.

a handful of boys had attacked straight away and managed to get a bit of a break. i sprinted around the main group and headed into no-mans land. wary of my previous two efforts i tried not to max out, and aimed for a steady pace to try to reel them back in. i past dr paul just as the lights changed which stopped the rest of the pack. i was seriously screwed now. the guys were up the road in front of me, and the ones behind were now stuck at the lights. i decided to keep plugging away, and hoped that i could make up the ground.

a group of five or so should have been able to keep away from me on my own, but there weren’t really sharing the work load. it took a few km’s but i finally managed to grab a wheel. it turned out to be dr greg who had latched on as the train went past. rob had been doing the majority of the work with a turn from christophe, but then rob was soon back in front again. he was frustrated and so kept going through the lights at guilford rd when the rest of us stopped. not a yellow card, or a red card, but a serious black card as the lights were very red.

i got on the front as the lights changed and time trialed my way along east parade with the other five in tow. it turns out that the other group then got every single red light on whatley cres and was never in sight of catching us. we caught and past rob and kept the pace on over the police station hill as usual. with only a handful available for the final sprint, i decided to lead it out as i felt i had no top end speed. with james on my wheel i wound it up along riverside drive until about halfway. gasping for air, i signaled for james to make his move, but he said he had nothing. ryan and jerry came flying past and that was the end of the sprint for me. ryan managed to dodge the sloooow car that i was catching and held on to the end.

the rest of the crew rolled in a few minutes later, all grumbling about the lights on whatley cres. by then the day had seriously fined up and so we really shouldn’t have had anything to complain about. coffee and a big breakfast for some offered a nice end to the ride. the shorter distance on this one also meant that we had longer to chat at the coffee shop too.

i have been playing with some new routes for both the saturday and sunday rides that i hope to unleash on the group soon. variety helps keep it interesting.

ride routes – 14th & 15th june

routes posted by peter.

moderately strong ne winds predicted for saturday, so lets have a fast run down benara rd.

no sunday ride for me again this week, but i will endeavour to meet the group for coffee. it will be a hard course on sunday. not because of the climbs, but to see who has the will-power to ride past the coffee shop after only one climb and keep going. be strong.

saturday 14th june
benara rd
Sth Perth Saturday Ride 08 (Benara Rd)
Find more Bike Rides in Perth, Australia
sunday 15th june
kalamunda & observatory

Sth Perth Sunday Ride 13 (Kalamunda &amp Observatory)
Find more Bike Rides in Perth, Australia

Sunday 8th June 2008 – Part 2, Canning Mills, Peet and Lawnbrook.

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Sunday Ride Part 2 By Ryan (following on from Darren’s report)

Well, I was not feeling the best today (I dehydrated my body on Sat arvo playing in the park (boxing, rugby finishing up with soccer) and do not think I refuelled it adequately even though I drank a lot of fluids on Sat night (coke and lemonade are good rehydration drinks? J), also have a cold sitting in the background threatening to become full blown given half the chance (flus are in the head after all, they need to be suppressed).

Quick summary of my ride, it was my first time up Canning Mills road and it beat me mentally. I started spinning at the bottom and everyone dropped off, then the road kept going and kept on pointing north.. Passed another lone rider and said g’day. Then my legs started to say they did not want to play, my heart was pounding and my head was asking “When does this end?”. I took a look back and saw Michael B was not too far behind so I thought it was fine to ease up a smidge and wait for him to catch up.

Michael B caught up and went past saying it was only him. I asked how much further but received no response. I went past him momentarily, then Stuart came past and Michael B jumped on his wheel. I thought I would just sit on behind them which I did for a little while until my head gave in and I eased right up (not happy with myself for breaking but will endeavour not to do it again). I then spotted the road I had been given orders to stop at, I had to be sure and read the sign properly and in this time, Stuart and Michael B were still going up the road, I made a poor attempt at telling them we had to stop but then felt they would notice noone had followed and would turn around (they did eventually).

I was at the back at the start of the downhill section but was in second spot behind Mark (who loves downhill sections) when we hit Peet road. I was still feeling rough but was thankful as I looked right at the steep section of Peet road (looked very steep when looking down it) that we had not had to come up it. I was happy behind Mark then Stuart came past and Michael B jumped on the back of the train. I sat in for the rest of the uphill section. When the road went flat, I thought I would have a turn on the flat and pull everyone along at a decent rate of knots. Coming out of the roundabout and the road started going up again, I let everyone go past and resumed my stalking position (riding like a sprinter Michael B said).

I sat there until the hill up to the school and I saw Stuart stand and give it a bit, followed by Mark, I took this as my cue to up the anti and I had to dig deep to get the weary body out of the saddle and press hard towards the summit. I managed to summon the required energy and power to gap everyone by the top.

Next section is short and sharp to Karragullen servo and I started at the back. Turning onto Brookton, I slowly went around people where there were some gaps until I was up front and I started pulling at a decent pace. Then Melvyn did his special and shot past then it was all on till the servo (I arrived first to find CRT people already there waiting). Brief regroup and we were off again, now wrapped up with CRT folk. CRT group were good and had some strong ladies.

I decided to take it easy again and sat in behind the group with Stuart at the front do most of the work. I was a little confused where we were and picked up the pace and went past at a time when I thought we had a little while to go, turns out we were almost at the intersection where we had a small regroup, sorry Stuart, a little rude to take off with not much time left, I told myself I would do more work on the final climb of the day (turned out to be Lawnbrook).

Lawnbrook is not my favourite climb as it is one which is a little steeper than I can comfortably climb but I told myself to put some in this climb so when I hit the bottom, I kept the gears heavy and started grinding up and passed Michael B at the start of the climb. Kept on going and then the head started playing tricks and body did not want to play. No, I was keeping on going, I kept on pushing and I thought the road was flattening out and I looked down at my back wheel and there was another wheel right behind it, a red one, it must be Michael B. I eased up a little and he came up next to me, I said I did not want to play anymore and how much further to go. No response but he was breathing hard and pushing hard. So I decided to dig deep again and passed him on the right.

I kept pushing till the road flattened out, I thought this is where it would end, then Michael B came past again and kept the pace high. Fair enough, we are on the flat now, my territory so I upped the pace and pulled Michael along at a steady rate till I thought I could ease up and past me he went again. Hmm, seems this tussle was not going to be over till the T section so I put my head down and bum up and went past again and pushed hard till the T section where we were regrouping. Tough climb it was and Stuart rolled in 50seconds after we arrived and then about another minute back till others started to roll in. Time Trialled to coffee shop for some fun, I think Melvyn tried to latch on as I went past.

Coffee shop was uneventful, but please note matching Dashing Assos Doctors.

Ride home was puncture ridden. Jerard and I arrived at the Albany Hwy/Shep Hwy intersection first and wondered where everyone had got to. Jerard said Mark had pulled up with a puncture and everyone must have stopped with him. We sat there for a little while watching some ‘locals’ having a lovers quarrel. Which moved from the MacDondalds to some bushes. Mark rolled in and saw the quarrel and stopped to tell the ‘fella’ off for slapping his missus about. The ‘fella’ then started moving towards Mark so Jerard and I rolled up the road to where he was (a ute had stopped as well and was telling the ‘fella’ not to lay a hand on the girl (ute man disappeared fast).

‘Fella’ proceeded to tell Mark not to tell him how to live his life as he did not tell Mark how to live his. Mark told him that he would tell him what to do if what he was doing was breaking the law. Mark then told ‘fella’ to stay away from him. I took out camera (phone) and ‘fella’ told me to tell the police his name was JT and they would know him as he was recently out of prison (quality ‘fella’ I tell you). I told him I was not calling the police and he then accused me of being a paedophile (I asked how old he was and he said he was a man, I told him I was not a paedophile if he was a man.. Not sure he grasped the concept).

We learnt Dr Mark had punctured twice and fallen off (when pulling over to change first puncture). We rolled off when we saw everyone arriving but g
roup broke up again. It was late now and I had a little sprint with Jerard coming up to Canning Hwy (well Jerard did not play so it was a solo sprint working on technique). Rushed home to wife.. I had some sucking up to do (no photos included).

Sunday 8th June 2008 – Part 1, Canning Mills, Peet and Lawnbrook.

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ride report by darren.

part 1, – only because i scrambled home after the last climb. I encourage anyone who was
1. close to the front.. or
2. made it to the cafe
to fill in the rest.

sunday morning could be described as cold – but not too bad. the wind was coming from somewhere but didnt really play a factor in the days activities.

todays route had us going up canning mills rd, or did it, most of us were confused, was this cohuna? so i stepped in… “definitely canning mills road”, that made me the leader for the first part. this would be the only correct piece of info i would dish our for the day. i guess i was still distracted by the amazing mr dickhead, must have been the same guy from the saturday ride, who swung straight into the car parking spot i had been waiting 5 minutes for at the shops on saturday afternoon, who refused to move or apologise no matter how loud my protests.

a fairly ugly looking bunch today, luckily bella joined us for her second day in a row in the hills despite a physics exam tomorrow. as the minutes ticked past 7am and after a bit of banter in the carpark Mark reached deep into his lycra and produced a measuring device….a portable bike scale, to become the official (enough) bike weight measurer for the group. nice work, but still some calibration required as mine came out heavier than anticipated – back to the drawing board.

about 16 brave souls headed down the new route to albany hwy, via manning road. stuart and mike b led the way for a fair chunk at a decent pace. mark and i found ourselves at the front after cannington and worked up a sweat as we pace the group down albany hwy to gosnells.

at the tonkin hwy lights i told ryan the regoup point thinking that is all the instructions required . we held a moderate pace down connell ave to the end, ryan kept asking, “is this the climb yet”, not yet ryan. I found myself at the back of the pack as we swung left into luchich to start the ascent, if only we were heading in the right direction, a quick u-turn and off to canning mills we went.

back on track, we snaked our way up canning mills which can be described as nasty. I initially stayed at the back while ryan, mark, stuart and jerry led the way. mike b was back in the pack taking it easy, well for about 10 seconds, he held a consistent strong pace, picking off riders one by one and caught the lead guys somewhere near the top. as i took the initial climb easy i had a little in reserve (despite holding 180bpm for the climb) and soon found myself holding jerrys wheel with mark a few meters ahead (no chance of passing either). stuart, ryan and mike b were the first to the top, with evidence that stuart held on for the kom points (if only i told ryan the correct regroup point). so telling everyone to regroup at urch was a mistake, as stu and mike headed off to the correct regroup point (wasnt fast enough to reach them) with ryan waiting with us. no one seemed to mind too much and ryan sped off to round up the pace setters (sorry guys and gals). Bella complained that her rear derailleur was playing up and she was locked out of some easier gears (this didnt seem to slow her down on the climbs).

the steep descent down urch is always fun and a little scary especially as you hit a bend just after the last really steep section. the climb out of urch onto peet and then to the school hurts a lot. with ryan, stu, mike, mark and gerry setting the pace i found myself behind dr marc and bella with shao on my tail. shao pushed me on the steep parts so i decided to dish out a bit of pain on the flats and just as he would get back on my wheel again i would accelerate again (now i am starting to understand this theory of inflicting damage). dont know who was first to roleystone but marc beat me to the top in our own little mini comp.

After a short break we all headed off down brookton hwy to the servo. The pace was definitely on as we descended the hill with mark, melvyn and ryan pushing for the karragullen sprint points (where-ever they are measured?). At the servo, no one seemed to want a coke or a gatorade so we headed off but found ourselves amongst another group of CRT riders (chain reaction training). the CRT group seemed to have many more x chromosomes that y (a point not lost on some of the group). so whilst mark, marc and i took it in turns to smash out a decent average at the front of the pack (later joined by stu, jerry and ryan), dr carl, todd and melvyn enjoyed the view from the back. dr jerry’s excuse was retinal hypoxia – or something.

as we headed down toward the observatory turn off we were passed in the opposite direction by the ultimate bogan mobile (a black SS clubman ute with spoilers, flares, 20 inch mags, lowered at the front and raised at the back- the mining boom has a lot to answer for), todd and i had a chuckle. The climb to the observatory was uneventful with Stu leading the usual suspects at break neck speed and those not fit enough to hang on falling behind. As ryan stole the KOM points in the last metres from stu, i found myself a few hundred metres back battling with dr marc again with the heart rate well and truly in the red zone.

at this point we debated where to go to next, others wanted to do mundaring weir road but my vote was for lawnbrook since we had not done that for a while and since it was the designiated route, convinced them that we should. the run down walnut was fun and i decided to take it it easy up lawnbrook. at the top I heard that dr gerry hurt mark and I think ryan hurt himself as he said that he was feeling like crap.

I will leave it to someone else to finish the day off as I headed for home with a few other at this point… thanks everyone for a great ride.

saturday 7th june – ridgehill rd

ride report by peter

cold, dark, throw in some more cold. welcome to winter. dry though. if it was wet it would have been a horrid day. we are expecting some showers during the week but they are always predicting that. i think we had close to 30 on the roll out and almost everyone had their winter longs on. melvyn and i headed the pack as we took off up mill point rd towards the great eastern hwy. today’s route would see us do a figure eight as we headed out to helena valley and over ridge hill rd before crossing our path and heading home through guilford.

after a while brett and jerry came to the front to ease the load for melvyn and myself. melvyn commented on the fact that guys just don’t look good in tights. i thought it may be like that beer ad where the guys cover their beer to stop it going flat when the two guys in lycra roller-blade past. that’s right, don’t drink beer while riding in lycra. the un-manliness of it will make it go flat.

we had a very cruisy start to the ride and the journey out great eastern and into south guilford gave everyone an opportunity to catch up and have a chat. no-one was going hard as i think everyone was saving it for the hill. as we crossed the railway tracks dr wally seemed to be having a bit of trouble. it seems his handle bars slipped and so dr paul slowed down to help him. there is a bit of a trend amongst the older doctors at the moment. they all seemed to have ritchey breakaway bikes. there are four (carl, greg, paul, wally) that have these swish titanium folding frame bikes that you can easily pack into a standard size suitcase. great for bike for traveling, if you do a bit of it.

so, paul and wally slowed down, but i knew that they knew the shortcut for the day and i was sure that they would be using it. we pressed on. as the group snaked it’s way towards the base of ridge hill rd, i flitted between talking to those at the back that may be struggling, to keeping an eye on the boys at the front to make sure they were being nice. i rolled around to the front just before the start of the climb to make sure i wasn’t boxed in when it started.

the ridge hill climb is nothing compared to the normal sunday rides, but we don’t often do any climbs on saturday, so it is always interesting to see how the group will react. i was on the front leading into the climb and started at a steady pace whilst watching behind myself in case anyone (ryan) put in a big attack. nothing was happening and the pack was staying well together, so i thought i better start to thin things out a bit. i upped the pace and watched john p fall back through the pack. jerry came with me and rob sprinted around to keep up. it started to string out a bit by the time we were on the first plateau.

just as it kicked up again, i came past jerry to try to set the pace higher. i thought i was doing a good job until ryan came past at pace and i’m sure he was in the big chain ring too. i tried to hold on to his wheel, but to no avail. i set my own pace, but used him as a guide to try not to lose too much more ground. i managed to gap jerry slightly on the next plateau, but by the time we had past the old quarry, i was starting to fade fast. mr dickhead was driving a green barina (or something) today and managed to come past us without much breathing space between. unfortunately the camera was facing the sun (as it was for most of the ride) and so i didn’t get his number plate.

as the road gently headed up for the final time, stu came flying out of the chase pack and past jerry and me. i tried to jump on but had nothing. the legs didn’t want to play nad jerry came past me at the end too.

down the other side and we had a regroup before heading along kalamunda road. the trip through high wycombe and back to guilford was taken at a moderate pace as the windy road can be dangerous if the group is all strung out when people are attacking. mr dickhead had changed cars now and was driving a 4 wheel drive that started to come around us just as we hit the bridge into guilford. no where to go he started to squeeze the cyclists off the road.

as we enter bassendean, the road extends to two lanes all the way back to the coffee shop and so the guys were given their head of steam. there were no attacks initially, but the group started to roll through to pull the pace up into the 40+ km/h.

unfortunately when we hit the undulation section of guilford rd, i was on the front and was very wary of any attacks going off the front. on the second hill, hamish and bruce did the bolt and gapped the field a bit. i had decided that i still needed to prove something to myself after and aborted kalgoorlie race and wanted to hurt myself and anyone else that dared to follow today. i chased the attack down, but it was bruce’s last as he turned down garrett rd, just as we caught them. ryan had jumped across with me and not the three of us had a slight gap over the field. chris and another guy had managed to bridge across so ryan and i swapped off turns to keep the pace high. unfortunately we came close to getting every single traffic light, so the pack regrouped a number of times.

i stayed at the front as much as i could and pushed the pace and my heart rate into the +180’s for the majority of guilford rd. by the time we turned onto east parade, i had wanted to spew at least twice and had dropped back a bit. the group eased a bit on east pde so i took the opportunity to try to time trial off the front and managed to get away for quite a while until ryan chased me down. i tried to stay with him, but had pretty much spent everything by then. the rest of the pack engulfed me as we crossed over the graham farmer.

i took it easy up the plain st hill and it turned out to be my undoing. the group was split into two packs at the lights and i was in the second one. we hit every light after that and never caught the front boys again. so not sure who even got up for the sprint. if i had to guess, i would say, ryan was first and jerry the eternal second.

no ride for me tomorrow, but the group should be heading out as normal. i will bring the young lad along for coffee in kalamunda and try to time it right to meet the group during the ride. then it is down to wandi to watch the 100km state title. i bought a wee-ride (kids bike seat) today from glenn parker south and so will do a lap or two (the opposite way so i don’t get in the way) while the race is on progress. show him what bike riding is all about.

ride routes 7th & 8th june

with the predicted ne winds this saturday, i thought a nice smash down guilford rd with the tail wind would be in order. that small bump that is ridgehill rd was put in as a extra bonus.

i am out this sunday. not racing, but paying penance for leaving the family for two nights when i headed to kalgoorlie. hopefully i will be cross training on the mountain bike with the young lad in tow.

also, the cycle kit is underway at cannibal and we should have it (hopefully) within three weeks. i will be sending out an e-mail soon detailing how much you owe and how to pay. i really need to collect all the funds before the kits are dispatched, as the order is quite expensive.

saturday 7th june
ridge hill rd
Sth Perth Saturday Ride 10 (Ridge Hill Rd)
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sunday 8th june
canning mills & peet & patterson
Sth Perth Sunday Ride 07 (Canning Mills &amp Peet &amp Patterson)
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sunday 1st june – menzies to kalgoorlie race

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race report by peter

the menzies to kalgoorlie is one of those iconic races on the wa racing calendar. if wa was europe, it would probably be referred to as a monument much like paris-roubaix. it has been run and won since 1928 when the road was only a dirt track. a event history can be found here.

the race is run as a graded scratch which meant that groups all got a head start based on the grade that they nominated. the “a” grade or “scratchmen” would take off last and be trying to catch “b” grade, who were trying to catch “c” grade, who were trying to catch “d” grade, who were dodging the remnants of “e” grade which is the participation race. so generally if the handicapper has read the field right (and this is a very difficult job) all the groups should come together at the finish for a mass sprint. this doesn’t always happen as it depends on how well the groups work together.

the most important thing about this race is the prize money. first place gets $3,000. being a handicap event, this means that everyone has a chance of getting it if they have the legs at the end of 132km. there is also a generous breakdown of cash prizes for the different grades and fastest times as well as money for the criteriums on saturday. the total prize pool this year was $15,000. that is what generally attracts people to the race.

so before i even got to the start of the race, i needed to actually get to kalgoorlie. this meant either a 6+ hr road trip or a flight to kal. one of my sunday training partners, davina and her hubby luke were also heading up for the race so i car-pooled with them to ease the drive a bit. davina got sixth overall in last years race and first female across the line, so she was looking to improve on that this year. my goals for the race were just to finish.

we set off on saturday morning early enough to get to kal before the criteriums that afternoon. i had not nominated for the crits as i didn’t really think i had the legs for two events. my list of excuses was starting to grow. i had been battling a sore throat and runny nose all week plus i woke up at 4:30 that morning with a serious cramp in my calf. it was all heading towards a memorial weekend, no matter which way it turned out.

so a long boring drive with many toilet/food/driver change stops on the way and we finally rolled into town at around 2pm. both davina and i had nominated for “c” grade and her crit was due to start in about 35min time. we quickly got her bike out and she kitted up and headed out to register and warm up.

the circuit was laps around the main street of kal for about 25 min plus a couple of laps. the field attacked quite a lot and davina was there to chase down most of them until the final lap when some guy went hard with one lap to go and managed to stay away till the end. a strong showing by the field and it would be interesting to see what the pace would be like the next day when it was over 132km.

a compulsory race briefing at 6:30 that night and it was time for a quick bite to eat and off to bed to close out an already long day. luke was going to drive us to the start, so it allowed a bit more of a sleep in compared to the other riders that would have to catch the bus. bike was ready, kit was ready, rider was…..interested to see how the day would pan out.

race day
the race started at 10am at menzies. being a one-way race, meant that we had to endure the 132km drive out to the start. after the previous day, it seemed like nothing at all, but did give a bit of a preview of the terrain. it is considered flat, by most standards, but the road actually undulated quite a bit along the entire course.

the handicaps are not posted till the morning so it was well into our warm-ups that we found out that “c” had to make up 11 min on “d” but stay the 9 min away from “b” grade. the “a” and “e” grade were either side of that, but weren’t really a concern at that time.

when our time finally came to toe the line, murray hall gave a bit of a pep talk encouraging everyone to work well together and make sure you did your fair share of work. murray is one of the most experienced riders around the wa scene and has raced at almost every level of the sport. also as he is over 55 yrs old (masters 6 last week state titles) and still as strong as an ox, he has a lot of respect from the other riders.

the clock struck 10:35 and we were off.

we had a field of about 20 and there were some familiar faces amongst the group from other races that i had been in this year. the pace was on as soon as we crossed the railway track just outside menzies and soon we were rolling through at an average of 45km/h.

with the aim of keeping away from “b” grade reinforced by murray’s speech, everyone was rolling through well and keeping the pace high. there was a nominated sprint point at about the 30km mark and each grade was given a prize for first to cross the line. funnily enough, there were calls for people not to sprint but keep working together just before a bunch of guys took off the front and went for the money.

we regrouped and started to work again. occasionally as we rolled from the back you would notice a couple of people sitting on and not doing a turn. i was still struggling with the pace at this time and really felt like my body had not warmed up to the event. i felt a bit cheated that even though i was feeling crap i was still doing turns while a couple of others were just sitting in. anyway, by about the 40km mark i started to feel a bit better.

i was trying to drink more than i usually do but i actually felt like my stomach was not talking it too well and felt a bit bloated. i stuck with mostly water to make sure i wasn’t trying to force too much sugar through my gut. it usually works after a while as it give it time to flush though. at the halfway point there is a feed station set up. luke was meeting us there to give out drink bottles and davina and i managed to grab one each. very quickly afterwards the pace was back on.

we were beginning to pick up remnants of both “d” and “e” grade the further we got up the road. as the roads are very long and straight, you could see other riders for quite a long way before you actually reached them. we were also on the look out for the flashing lights of the “d” grade support car which would give us an indication of how far in front they were. looking back down the road we also couldn’t see the “b” grade support car, so that was a relief.

by about the 75km mark i was really starting to feel my legs. the hamstrings were beginning to feel tight and i had to occasionally get up out of the saddle to stretch them. my quads had not felt any cramps yet, which was a good sign, and the tight calf from the other morning had not given me any grief. the hammies felt like they did the first few times on the track where you are forced to spin more at a high speed. i didn’t want to over gear though as then i may upset my quads. i just kept it going as best i could.

at the 85km mark i really needed a break and fell to the back of the pack and sat behind sarah-jean who had been lurking back there. i skipped a few turns and tried to get some recovery, but it really didn’t seem to work. my muscles didn’t want to play and my cardio was still sitting high. at 88km i fell totally off the back and watched the pack continue up the road.

f@ck. i was so disappointed in myself. couldn’t even finish the race. as i started to slow down my body really started to rebel even further. the tightness in my hamstrings and glutes turned to pain and it was uncomfortable to even sit in the saddle. i managed to keep going by alternating betwee
n standing and sitting until my quads then began to cramp. it hurt to sit. it hurt to stand. what the f@ck was i doing out here in the middle of nowhere.

i managed to keep going for another 4km after being dropped before pulling up at an intersection and reaching for the mobile phone. limited service so i rang luke, but he was out of range. luckily “b” grade came around the corner a few moments later and luke was stuck in the convoy behind them. he saw me and pulled over. very gratefully i loaded the bike into the car and was glad to not be riding anymore.

as we finally got past “b” grade and up the road, we saw that “c” had caught “d” and had formed quite a large pack. this would certainly make it interesting for the finish. as we headed towards kalgoorlie i was trying to work out what went wrong. the encrusted snot around my nose and the salt crystals i could feel an almost every inch of exposed skin was a good indication that my body was not performing as expected. i probably went into the event a little too dehydrated and should have spent most of friday and saturday sculling water to make sure i had enough in my system. i was still coughing up crap, from my “cold” but i didn’t really feel that bad. the most telling sign was when i downloaded my heart rate monitor and saw that for the 2hrs that i was racing, my average heart rate was 177bpm. this meant that after doing a turn on the front and hitting the high 180’s, i wasn’t recovering properly before doing another effort. the 44km/h average up to that point hadn’t helped the situation either.

so, we pulled into kal and took up position near the finish line. a number of “e” grade riders came in first in dribs and drabs, but as they had a 35min head start on “c” grade, it would be expected that some of them would. not long after, a big bunch came around the corner and started jockeying for position. there is a tight roundabout to negotiate and the pack thinned as it went through to avoid having a pile up this close to the end.

down a couple of blocks of hannan st and a sharp u-turn before the sprint to the line. “b” grade had not caught “c” and the winning group was made up of “c” and “d” grade. the sprint to the line started early and being a couple of blocks it was too long for some who fell back at the finish. paul lamond managed to come away with the win but davina held onto fourth overall and was only a tire width away from claiming third. her race report and video of the finish can be found here.

the top six spots were all “c” grade riders as it seems that both “b” and “a” grade self destructed along the way and stopped working together to save themselves for the sprint of their own grade.

so, not a good day for me but a few lessons learned. lack of water, lack of speed work, lack of heart all may have contributed to my downfall. i was quite disappointed with my effort and will try to learn from it for the next lot of races. i don’t think i was really prepared for the speed that the group went as i had only contested scratch races so far this year. with the next handicap race being the collie-donnybrook race in august, hopefully i will have my shit together by then.

The website for the South Perth Cycle Club