Tag Archives: hale rd

saturday 28th nov – hale rd (fast group)

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ride report by peter.

 

a predicted max of 32 degrees is a good sign that summer is bearing down upon us.  actually it is only a few days away.  it also is a good chance that we will have a good turn out and this didn’t disappoint with around 70 or so turning up.  i had driven over to the bell tower so that i could set up a kit and bottle stall during coffee as there was still over 100 bottles stacked in my house.  on arrival i found lorraine also unpacking her bike from the car so we trundled over to coode st together.  on the way we picked up jason and julian so had begun our early social part of the ride.

once we reached the carpark, there was already a bit of a crowd milling around but most noticeable was the car and trailer parked in the middle of it all.  in the back was a bunch of malvern star oppy bikes so we weren’t sure what was going on.  after a while a couple of people got out of the car and told us that they were there all day promoting the new bikes and giving people test rides.  there was a free draw to win a  bike so a few people took up the offer and entered.  apparently, phil anderson was going to be there tomorrow to help promote the bikes as well.  now there is someone that we should try to get out on the hills ride.

with a quite big group and a big novice group as well, we all set off in search of cycling adventure.  well, set off anyway.  the route was a tried and true one with both groups heading out shep rd and onto welshpool rd before heading north along hale rd.  the main group would then head home via kalamunda and guilford while the fast group would take on ridgehill rd before returning via helena valley rd and guilford.  all nice and simple.

it was a pretty uneventful trip out past welshpool with the group being split at lights as expected.  all together along hale rd and the aim was to get the fast group to the front by the time we hit tonkin hwy.  after that we would put the pedal down and split the two groups apart.  russell volunteered to act as the paceman for the main group and would ensure that the groups split cleanly. 

after tonkin, to enforce the split, ryan and myself went to the front and started to up the pace.  russell kept the main group together so if anyone wanted to do the fast ride they had to come around and make the break.  it seemed to work well from what i could see as there wasn’t as much interaction this time around.
after a while we started a roll through, but due to the wind, had to roll the opposite way.  this always causes problems with the group and there were a few times when there was only the to few doing turns.  is soon sorted itself out and everyone rolled through well.  jarrad, after spending a week up north, had to blow some cobwebs out of his legs so shot off the front.  no-one chased him down so the group stayed together well.

crossing kalamunda rd at the lights, there seemed to be a reluctance to go to the front as everyone seemed to be wanting to save their legs for the hill.  once we got there it was on.  an early attack from alistar and others was soon pulled back as the hill continued on.  i jumped around the group to find ryan’s wheel but caught it just as bonner and he attacked.  i stayed on his wheel as long as i could but had spent most of my effort finding it in the first place.  i soon slipped back and crested the hill about 11th or so.

now i know with this ride that if you are not on the wheel going over the top then you really have to be chasing hard to make sure you are at the bottom.  i had red-lined on the hill and now couldn’t chase at all.  i watched as the group inched further away from me.  looking back there was a group of about 6 hurtling down the hill towards me.  like any good handicap race, you don’t chase to bridge the gap, you wait for the group behind to catch up so you can all work together.

at the bottom we came together but before i had a chance to work out how to chase, alistar sped past.  well there’s a wheel i thought so gregor and i jumped on board.  after a short while he began to fade so we started a roll through.  there was 7 of us and we all managed to take turns well and kept the pace relatively high.  we were not making much ground on the front group, but pretty soon they were shedding riders and we managed to pick up 4 more.  the tailwind was helping as we were averaging 45km/hr, but the pace was taking a toll and people started to miss turns and gaps were starting to appear.  we rolled into guilford and turned the corner to see the front group stuck at the first set of lights.  we got there just on the change so integrated into one big group and cruised across the bridge into bassendean.

once again the pace was on and the group rolled through keeping it high.  riders were starting to fall off the back even along the flats as the average speed was close to 50km/hr.  by the time we hit the rolling hills we had shed a few riders and would probably loose some more very soon.  there were no real attacks, but the pace did not let up through the hills and we managed to only get one real traffic light.  with an average speed of 45km/hr it was hold on for dear life for most of the group.  we picked up a few riders from the main group towards the end and hit the lights at east parade were we came to a halt.  the chase had ended so the trip to riverside drive was at a pedestrian pace as everyone was preparing for the sprint.  nico was on his tt bike preparing for tomorrow so i said that he and i should lead out.  ryan was playing his usual games and had started to drift back to find a wheel to suck so he wouldn’t come to the front too soon.  there was a bit of a gap from brendan and i to the rest of the jockeys jockeying for position and the lights changed quicker than most had expected.  i rolled through the corner and looked back to see that i had a big gap.  oh well, might as well have a crack.  with 1 km to the next set of lights, it was a tall ask on my own.  looking at the download from the garmin i managed to hold an average of 54km/hr for the first half of the block.  i then steadily declined back to 48km/hr over the next 200 metres and the group started to make some ground on me.  i was riding scared but was running out of legs fast.  up out of the saddle and i managed a small burst of speed but couldn’t sustain anything.  the lights ahead were red and the traffic was still at a standstill by this time.  i stopped pedalling as we were running out of road just as the group sprint flashed past me.  as i was slowing for the lights and since ryan had to actually go around the traffic to stop hitting them, i will claim the sprint victory.  a well deserved win by the yellow jersey.

saturday 24th oct – hale rd reverse

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ride report by peter.

 

so in the middle of the week the weather report said that it will be a brilliant saturday.  mid 20’s, moderate winds, all the good stuff.  i predicted that this would mean that we would have a good turn out so set the ride routes to split early to ease the road congestion.  as i stepped out the door this morning, the brilliant saturday was nowhere to be seen.  it was overcast, the wind was howling and someone said that there was rain on the radar.  i didn’t check the radar as it was supposed to be a nice day but it certainly looked like the clouds were bringing rain.

as was predicted, there was a good turn out with about 60 riders at the start.  i would say that there would have been a few more if the wind hadn’t picked up early and scared them away.  we set out to get to great eastern hwy and were instantly split at the first set of lights.  i am sure that we got pretty much every set of lights between the start and ascot but managed to keep the group together. 

the split went as well as it can with the fast group turning left and heading towards ascot and the main group continuing along great eastern.  i would say that there was almost a 50/50 split this morning as i guess that some people opted out of the fast group due to the wind.

the pace wasn’t high along garrett rd and we soon turned onto guilford.  the wind was coming from the right and into our face so the group started to roll through.  unfortunately, people are used to rolling through in one direction only and it was a bit much to get them to roll to the centre of the road.  it caused no end of confusion and this combined with the wind made things a bit hectic.  people were already starting to opt out of the roll through as the wind seemed to be getting stronger as we got closer to the hills. 

just through bassendean, there was a touch of wheels and josh went down.  we pulled up the group to make sure that he was ok.  it seemed superficial physical wounds so he was up an riding quickly.  however, it would take it’s toll later as the adrenaline wore off.

we grouped back up and passed through guilford and onto bushmead road.  the wind was hitting us in the face here and the group was pretty much single file with pretty much only the strong guys rotating at the front.  splits were starting to appear here and the group was getting strung out as there wasn’t many places to hide.

i moved to the front as we approached the roe hwy crossing to let the group know where the turn was as we haven’t been down midland rd before.  we had to wait for an oncoming car so this allowed much of the group to catch up.  the wind was howling off the escarpment and as midland rd runs parallel to it, we were caught in cross winds for this whole stretch.  this meant that there basically was nowhere to hide and i soon lost contact with the front group. 

i pushed on regardless and had jason on my wheel.  we caught brother dan and i think it was snuggles so the four of us stayed together till the end of the road.  the front boys were held up at the lights to turn onto hawtin rd so we managed to regroup with them, but there were lots behind us that didn’t. 

there was no real reprieve along here either, as we started moving parallel with the escarpment again so the crosswinds were just as bad.  i lost contact again but found a few wheels to jump behind briefly.  the front guys had managed a gap and there were a few of us trying to bridge it without success. 

after a turn at the front, i looked back to see that it was only jason and myself once again.  we put in a couple of big efforts and managed to catch back up to the group before we hit tonkin hwy.  just after the crossing, there was a loud expulsion of air and jerry slowed his bike.  there was a tentative slowing by the front guys before deciding to keep going as a few of us had stopped with him.

this was the second week in a row for jerry so it may be time for a new brand of tyre.  we moved over to a driveway as it was mostly dirt here and got off the road.  he went to take the tyre off but michael said to see where the hole was.  it wasn’t a hole.  there was a slash across the width of the tyre that even a $5 note wouldn’t save.  after a couple of attempts, he managed to get hold of his wife to come and pick him up so we left him so we can head home. 

the following groups had caught up by then and everyone had stopped so we had a decent group to get home.  josh had joined up with us after being quite a way off the back as he found out that the little stack earlier on had buckled his back wheel quite severely.  he managed to keep going by loosening off his brakes, but i am guessing the stack had not helped his body much either.

we formed up on welshpool rd and started to roll through.  the pace was not exceptionally high so we pretty much kept together.  dan rolled off the back but it wasn’t till we hit the lights that the others said that he got a flat but told everyone to keep going.  josh turned around to make sure he was ok.  it is probably worth noting that last week brother julian came out in a trisuit in which we found a lot of pleasure in taking the piss out of him.  i am pretty sure that brother dan joined in with it.  however, today dan turned up in his spr undershirt with his red bibs over the top.  from a distance it looked like a trisuit.  up close it looked like he was ready for world wrestling federation or the mardi gras (probably the same thing really).

we kept the pace on all the way to the finish and had a sprint for 15th place on riverside drive.  the rest of the group was already waiting at the coffeeshop and the brews came out quite well today. 

so a hell of a gusty day today and it really showed out who was strong and who was left wanting.  it is hard to hang on when you can’t hide but it is good to stretch you limits as it is only way you get better.

saturday 26th sept – hale rd

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ride report by peter.

 

with a sunny but cold morning predicted i was expecting a decent turn out for the ride this morning and was not disappointed.  there would have been between 50 – 60 riders which meant that we took up quite a lot of road length once we got going.

with the help of yas, michael and chris i managed to get my bike back on the road, but dr paul thinks that maybe i cannot be trusted with a baum any more.

we headed off in the direction of shepperton rd and snaked our way along to welshpool rd.  a very uneventful start but you could feel the wind increasing as we got closer to the escarpment.  i was hanging off the back of the group with mike just before we turned onto hale rd and helped a couple of struggling riders.  this was a big diversion from my game plan which was to sit in and do no work so i had something to get over ridgehill.  once we turned onto hale the crosswind made it very difficult to find any shelter and we were a fair way back from the pack.  mike waved me on indicating that he would take over shepherd duties and i tried to make my way back to the group. 

i was not sure what instructions had been shouted, but the group was approaching tonkin hwy which is where it would split.  some others had splintered off the back and i caught them before coming around to try to get them back to the group.  the crosswinds made that difficult and a few were dropped off.  i made it across to the back of the group just as the lights changed with alistar slipping in behind me. 

it looked like the split didn’t happen and the usual suspects were not driving the pace.  i spied a few of them sitting pretty in the main pack and conserving energy for the hill and long run home.  i was sitting in the last ten or so riders when a car split the pack at a round-about.  this made us chase for probably half (if not more) of hale rd further depleting my limited energy supplies.  between russell, shao and myself we managed to keep the pace up and just reached the group as the lights changed to cross kalamunda rd.  the main group turned left and apparently regrouped to allow those caught up in he crosswind catch back up.  the fast group headed towards ridgehill.

i knew that i should move forward before the hill or i would spend the rest of the ride chasing, but just didn’t have the legs for the effort.  the pack surged and swamped slower riders and i did manage to move up a bit, but could see a pack of about 10 strong crest the hill quite a way in front.  by the time i reached helena valley rd there was young ben, snuggles, dr mark and myself.  a group of about 4 were a bit further up the road and the main ten were further again (but in sight).  we worked together and caught the next group as well as some stragglers that fell from the front group.  with a bit of vocal motivation (read: yelling) we managed to get the group working well together doing 15 sec turns before peeling off.  the usual method of riding till you die (or being left at the front till you die) isn’t really sustainable.

by the time we reached guilford, the group was still just in front of us.  i was hoping for the lights to slow them, but unfortunately they caught us and let them get away.  by the time we stopped at bassendean the group behind had caught up giving us more numbers to spread the load.  unfortunately this didn’t happen and the roll through was less than effective.  people were either hurting or unwilling to keep the roll through happening so it would die after only 5 or 6 riders came past. 

some more motivational yelling and we got it working a bit better through the rolling hills of bayswater and into mt lawley.  we managed to get every single light which was the most frustrating bit.  probably a bit too frustrating for a couple of riders that ran the red near mercy hospital.  it was very red and most of us in front had stopped so no excuse.  maybe a 1 week suspension from the tribunal would be on the cards…

the group rolled on towards east perth but there was no way that we would reach the front group.  there was a sprint for the minor placings but i had run out of legs by then.  service was a bit slow with such a big group and i had to scull my hot chocolate to make it home before i got into trouble.  all up though a good ride and i do enjoy the chase home especially with a tailwind.

saturday 4th july – hale rd

ride report by peter.

 

it was a crisp and clear morning, although the sun wasn’t due to get up till quarter past seven, as i sprinted my way to the start line.  i was late again and so blamed the fact that i didn’t win 53.2 million bucks on ozlotto during the week and couldn’t afford a house right on the foreshore.  in actual fact having both kids wake up within the usual “getting ready and out the door” time kind of made things hard.

i would have to say that there was about 40 or 50 on the road this morning, but i haven’t really done a head count for a while.  the break in the weather must have inspired a few people to kit up and make the most of it.  if it isn’t raining next weekend, then i expect even more as people get inspired after watching the tour.  maybe i schedule gooseberry hill as our own saturday morning pyrenees.  even mike b was out on a brand new cube bike after breaking his norco at the cyclo-sporitf last weekend.

the course would take us out shep rd and onto welshpool.  up hale then a variation where the main group turns left along kalamunda rd while the fast group get to do ridgehill rd before the routes converge for the stretch home along guilford road.

the size of the group meant that we were repeatedly split by traffic lights but we kept it pretty well under control and the group always got back together.  after we turned onto welshpool/orong rd, there was a sound of a tyre not feeling well and michael pulled off to the side.  he waved the group on.  he has been trialling the new tubeless rims and tyres so it is interesting to know how they go.  not a good advertisement for them so far.

after we turned onto hale rd we moved the fast group to the front so that after tonkin hwy they would take off.  it all went fairly well to plan and everyone made it across the intersection.  the fast group started to turn the pace up and i was content to sit at the back and take in the stretch and compress that you always find at the rear of the peleton.

i could see up the road the guys like jerry, ryan, judd and mike were forcing the issue.  the pace, however, was not that high as i think that people were saving themselves for ridgehill.  i know that i was.

we hit the lights at kalamunda rd and got a breather.  the group eased off a bit on the next section with the anticipation of the hill to come.  it is not that big, but as there is a long, long way to chase afterwards, it can make a bit impact to your day.

as we hit the base of the hill, holly and lisa both made moves to get closer to the front and onto ryan’s wheel.  however, as he started to power up the climb they both slipped back.  i jumped around and onto his wheel and found myself in unfamiliar territory.  i have not been this close to the front in ages.  while ryan stayed in the big ring, i dropped down and span out a bit.  the new bike geometry allows me to finally get more power down while seated.  as the road hit a sharper pinch, the bigger gear slowed ryan down a bit so i made a move to go around.  the fact that i was close to the front of the pack again, must have gone to my head as pretty soon i was struggling for breath as ryan, mike, jerry and judd came past me as we crested the hill.  i peaked at about 187 bpm on the heart rate monitor and knew that i was in trouble.  i also knew that if i didn’t get on, i would be chasing for the rest of the morning. 

even though i was feeling faint, i pushed on and was on their wheel as we reached the bottom and flew through the roundabout.  i looked around and saw two other riders on my wheel but could not sustain a long enough look to actually identify them.  ahead of me ryan, jerry, mike and judd continued to roll through.  myself and the other two riders just held on for dear life.  instead of rolling off the front, these guys were coming up from 3rd or 4th wheel to get back to the front.  there was no way that i would have had anything left to do a turn is i had made it to the front.  i just sat in.  judd admitted to me later that he would always leave a gap between 3rd and 4th wheel before he moved to the front to try to cause a split and get us three passengers dropped off the back.  fair call as we were not doing anything to help.

we made it back onto guilford road and started to get caught up in the traffic congestion.  as we were stopped at the lights in the centre of guilford, the main group turned onto the road in front of us.  we would be passing them pretty soon by the looks of it.  the lights also allowed some of the chasers back onto our group and this effectively doubled our numbers.

after the lights at lord st in bassendean we passed the main group and i noticed anthony speed up to jump on board.  tricky move.

with the bigger group and the double lane we had a more consistent roll through and the pace picked up again.  through the rolling hills of bayswater a few splinters appeared as the group attacked and surged.  we got a few lights though to bring it all back together.  on the final hill the group stretched out and i was at the back.  by the time we hit the lights onto east parade, they were well red so we got separated from the rest of the front runners.  the usual multiple lights stops and by the time we hit riverside drive, we could see the rest of them just getting the lights at the far end.  we upped the pace a bit, but no real sprint to be had.  the rest of the group filtered in so that there was a decent size group for coffee.  all up a good ride with some nice weather.

saturday 8th may – hale rd (and ridgehill)

ride report by peter.

 

after a gastro induced sabbatical from the bike last week, i was keen to get some hard k’s in to try to “cram” before next weeks race.  not ideal but i was running out of options.  i have only entered 2 races so far this year and so my results have been a dnf and a dns.  i got up early and did a lap of the river before 7 and turned up to find a mass of riders awaiting instructions.  there would have been close to 70 or so there.

we were splitting into three groups again with julian taking the novice group, nev leading the main group and me trying to keep up with the fast group.  the novice group was building on it’s success and there were now six riders heading out along the shelley course.  it seems that they are getting used to it fairly quickly so we may have to extend the route for them a bit.

the ret of us were going to do hale road and split at the welshpool road end rather the kalamunda end.  this gave the fast group a bit more time to stretch their legs and maybe a chance to make up the extra km’s difference between the two groups. 

we started out alright, but just as we were climbing the small hill out of the causeway, lisa sped to the front to let us know that we had a flat tyre in the group.  nowhere to stop, we kept going for a bit before pulling into a side street to keep out of traffic.  we used to be able to regroup in bus stops, but 70 riders and bikes take up a bit more room.  james a i headed back down the hill to find tony sitting in a bus shelter doing a quick change.  pretty soon we were on our way again.

the pace was pretty good and we managed to avoid getting split too badly by the traffic lights.  once we hit hale, we tried to get the groups split so that the fast group was ahead by the time we reached the lights at tonkin hwy.  it went fairly well, but i think some of the main group became entangled in the fast group.  this wasn’t the worse place for this to happen as if the pace was too much, the main group would soon come along and sweep them up.

the lights changed fast at tonkin as well and only the fast group managed to make their way through.  however, the pace was pedestrian as the front of the large group had not heard that we were all on.  i rode to the front and turned the speed on.  pretty soon there were a few of us rotating through to keep the group going.  mat, jerry, davina and myself did lots of turns up hale rd until we reached the kalamunda intersection.

once across, we headed towards ridgehill rd and this is where the group really splintered.  as the road pitched up, the morning river lap took it’s toll and i couldn’t hold the pace as the fast boys attacked the hill.  i set a tempo to the top and then tried to catch up on the descent.  by the time we reached the bottom, i was in a small group with ian, lorriane and davina.  there was a group just up the road with ryan, james, michael, judd and some others, plus there were about two more groups behind us.

we were not really effective in working together and came within about 50 metres of catching.  i thought we could bridge and put in a big effort only to hear that “pop” noise as i pushed myself over the limit and went into the red.  as i pulled off the front i just had to watch the other three head up the road.

i kept a tempo up but eventually got caught by a group of four from behind.  we worked together and caught the other three as they were waiting at the lights in guilford.  when we sat at the lights in bassendean the next group also caught us so that we had about 12-15 riders in the group now.

we started rolling through all the way back to perth, but new that there was no way that we would catch the front few.  the lights along guildford rd also conspired against us, but from what i hear they conspired against all the groups today.

at the end of the day it was just a procession to the coffee shop with no real sprint, just a surge at the end.  all up a good hit out, that had me still searching for some form.

saturday 10th january – hale rd (reverse)

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ride report by peter.

 

well summer is here with a vengeance and the plus 30 days we have had all week don’t look like they will stop soon.  however, they do make for nice mornings just as long as you don’t stay out too late.  the pleasant conditions meant that we had about 50 riders turn up this morning.  for some reason the estrogen level was through the roof as we had an influx of girls coming out to play.  all good though as i know that lorraine is keen to get more girls involved in the racing scene, so getting them along on a group ride is always a good start. 

the plan today was to break into two groups to let the fast boys stretch their legs a bit.  we would be nice a sedate out great eastern, through ascot and along guilford before turning onto kalamunda road.  we would then travel down hawtin/hale rd to be deposited back out on welshpool rd.  the plan was then to split into two groups with the fast boys doing an extra 5km to hook around beckenham and back onto albany hwy near the shops at cannington.  the rest of the group would continue along welshpool and onto shepperton rd and into town.  the fast boys would try to catch the main group before the final sprint of the day.  that was the plan.

the initial part of the journey went exactly to plan.  the pace was very easy and it gave a good chance for people to catch up and have a chat.  riders at the front had a decent wind to contend with but nothing that would dampen the spirits too early.  brendan and steve did the majority of the work leading out and although they needed some navigational prompting occasionally, it was more than made up for by the long kilometres of hard slog.

the pace was so sedate for some riders that i was worried that it would be considered too slow.  as we turned onto hale rd i told the front guys to go at ¾ pace along that stretch.  unfortunately, i wasn’t vocal enough to let the rest of the group know and when the guys took off, the group instantly split and began chasing.  this caused it to splinter even more and pretty soon there were three distinct groups stragglers in no-mans land between.  i was off the back trying to help some struggling newby riders that i didn’t want to leave behind.  i corralled them all together with dr wally so that there was safety in numbers and took off to try to make it closer to the front.  i picked up a few riders on the way, but four weeks of inconsistent riding meant that i didn’t have the capacity to bridge a gap like that any more.  luckily the lights at tonkin hwy and another oversize load meant that the group was soon all together.

james was keen to stretch his legs and took off along welshpool rd with a couple of riders in tow.  i expected that they didn’t really know that we would be splitting soon and i was waiting to see how far they would get ahead.  luckily for him, a navigational dilemma meant that they slowed at the lights to get some direction on which way they were to go and the rest of us caught up.  the little “left-right” we normally do to head home via welshpool became the decision point for the group today.  i had already explained that the fast boys would be doing an extra 5kms but i don’t think people realised just what speed we would be doing that at.  i would say that half the group turned right to go straight home, and half turned left for the fast run. 

there was quite a bit of in decision as soon as we turned as most people didn’t really know what to expect.  mike came past and asked if we were just staying on this road, and headed to the front when i confirmed.  he set the pace high and this caused the group to start the chase.  after a short while we started to roll through and the pace was really on.  some of the group didn’t roll through but sat out the back, and this is fine, but what we wanted to try to replicate was a race pace situation and what it does to your body.  soon i was sweating like a pig and was really struggling to hold the pace even with a roll through.  we lost a couple of guys as the wind was not yet in our favour so the ability to hold on at pace while not getting a full draft, due to the crosswind, was not available to everyone.

the group split at an intersection, but came back together for us to turn onto albany highway.  i explained to everyone that if we get split at the lights from now on, we are not to wait and it is up to the group to try to stay as a solid unit.  it didn’t take long and the pace caused little gaps along the line.  as it had also started to line out to single file, the length of the group meant that a break at the lights was inevitable. 

i was running out of puff and i was soon in the back half that was caught at a set of lights around the leach hwy underpass.  we worked hard to try to bridge back on, but my heart wasn’t in it (well cardio really).  by the time we were on shepperton rd i was in the back half of the second group and got split at the lights again.  there was no way we were making up that much ground and i resigned myself to a cruise home.  not the other in the group and soon i was dropped by melvyn as he continued to push the group.  i sat up and rode the rest of the way with holly until we were caught by a few others on the narrows.

all up i think it was about 15kms of hard riding and with the lights and gaps, it turned into a hard interval sessions.  so it must be good for you.  as we have discussed before, we will not be splitting every week, but it at least allows the wide spread of abilities a chance to have a ride that they can enjoy.  whether it is a more relaxed pace or a sadomasochistic pace it at least gives individuals the option.

i had driven into the coffeeshop today to deliver some more christmas present hats to the group and there are still some more to go.  the family also turned up with ben sporting a spr t-shirt and daniel sleeping like a baby.  so a good turn out today and a good fast run back into town.  the main group also held together well so thanks to the guys that stepped up to keep that in order.

saturday 13th december – hale rd

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short ride report by peter.

 

with so many people racing tomorrow, it was never going to be a fast day.  a group of about 50 were keen for a ride and we headed out shep rd towards welshpool.  the slow pace combined with the large group meant that we were bound to be caught out at a number of traffic lights and the group was split a number of times.  the worst was probably along hale rd where it crosses tonkin hwy and the second group was delayed significantly.  as we hit kalamunda rd, michael turned off to do more hills as he is not racing tomorrow and is training for the alpine classic in victoria in january. 

the pace was still easy as we headed through high wycombe and didn’t step up until we crossed the bridge in bassendean.  the stretch along guilford road through to maylands was a high pace with the boys at the front pushing along at about 45kph.  the group was still holding together, but you could see some of the riders slipping back as they were not used to the sustained high pace.  the tailwind was helping though. 

once we hit the rolling hills of maylands, jerry went off the front.  the pace and hills began to splinter the group and some of the guys just could not help themselves and began to chase.  once jerry was back in the fold, james and then ryan went off the front.  they pulled quite a gap but were slowed by the lights allowing the majority of the bunch a chance to catch up.  byt the time we were on east parade, there was quite a group together.

as we approached the final stretch along riverside drive, ryan slipped back in the group to get a good lead out.  the group was quite big in comparison to other days on the same route so it was always going to be messy.  a number of riders hit out hard but it wasn’t till the last 100 m that ryan started his sprint and (i am assuming as i was so far back) took it as the lights turned orange. 

a special mention today and i really don’t know how to explain it.  it thought of in terms of awards – the award for “getting dressed in the dark” or the award for “i am trying to cover up my advertisers” or the “superman wears his undies on the outside too” award.  anyway, it goes to dr mark for some how getting his knicks on inside-out.

christmas breakfast next saturday at jerry’s palace in city beach.  i will map a nice easy course so don’t expect any sprints or too hard a ride.  it will be $10 per head and if you are coming, please let us know by sending an e-mail here.  there will be food and coffee and a special appearance by anorexic santa.

anorexic santa
anorexic santa

we have another run of kit going, so have a look at the kit page on this website and send an e-mail if you need anything.  final orders need to be in by next weekend.

the prizes on the www.perthcycling.com.au are being drawn next saturday, so if you haven’t registered on the forum, do so now so you can get in the draw.

saturday 18th oct – hale rd (reverse)

4 Comments

ride report by peter.

 

i have expanded a few points, but am sticking to the bullet system until i free up a bit of spare time.

  • about 30 riders.  the nice weather seemed to have scared the rest away.
  • ryan did not turn up because he had to look after his puppy.  he has been giving the rest of us crap about not turning up to training during the week due to family commitments, i guess we didn’t think about using the puppy excuse.  sounds like he is puppy whipped.
  • idiot on motorbike near the casino tries to kill all of us.  i love how motorbike riders complain about not getting any respect on the road and people should look out for them.  then they come between us and the traffic at speed which had so much potential for disaster.  as people are clipping in they tend to wobble around a bit and could have quite easily closed the gap between the rest of the pack and the cars in the other lane. see video here.  no sound but you get the idea.
  • turned up the pace along hale rd until we ran into a road block.  had to wait while a very, very large piece of equipment was towed by two semi’s and they had to clear the road… and wouldn’t let us on the footpath.  see video here.
  • no-one wanted to make the first move on welshpool until a rider from another group came past us.  then everyone chased him down.  the poor guy said that he was just after a nice run home but we were going too slow, so he past us.  huge chain reaction with james first taking off in pursuit then lots of individual riders chasing him.  i was at the front plodding away.
  • i made a move on shep rd at the lights leading up to the last hill, but started from too far back.  i got a gap, but was too buggered to continue the move.  thought i had the group when the lights changed at the top of the hill, but a whole bunch got through with me.
  • holly made a gutsy move as we crossed the causeway.  long way from home and a bunch of hungry sprinters ready to chase her down menat that she only lasted onto riverside drive.
  • we realised when we turned back onto riverside drive that the wind had now picked up and was in our face.
  • many a failed early move including one of mine which brendan used as a springboard to launch his attack.
  • sprint won by brendan with jerry taking second… again.
  • coffee shop was full out back so we sat out the front in the sun for a change.
  • cyclo-sportif tomorrow at pickering brook and we have 2 spr teams competing.
henry fynn - better looking than ryan
henry fynn - better looking than ryan

saturday 6th september – hale rd (reverse)

1 Comment

UPDATED with final sprint below

ride report by peter.

wow, what a surprise when i turned up this morning. there would have to be at least 60 people wanting to ride today. as usual this meant that we would be having issues with the group getting caught at lights, but you can’t have everything going your own way. we had an extra ten or so riders from the squadra barista joining us today. a couple are fairly regular, but this time a whole bunch more decided to come and play. actually, from what was written on their google group site, they were coming to “smash us”. we would see how that would go.

there was some talk of splitting into two groups from amongst the pack. i am all for that and can even map two routes that take in extra kms for the fast group, but we still need someone to step up and want to lead the second group. also, who determines which riders ride in the first group and which ones ride in the second group. this has always been our problem and we don’t really seem any closer to a solution.

so, i was on the time-trial bike this morning as my regular roadie was visiting aldo the carbon specialist in perth. the seatpost has fused to the frame and is not going anywhere. i took it back to riders choice to get them to have a go at fixing it as it is where i bought it from (i don’t get everything off the net), but they said they would probably take it to aldo at quantum cycles anyway. so, not ideal for group riding, but at least this bike kept me on the road.

we were heading out to guilford and kalamunda road to return via hale road, welshpool and shepperton road. it would be fairly sedate for the majority of the ride but we would light it up on the way back through welshpool.

as previously stated, we did get split at the lights lots of times and had to slow the group down a lot to make sure everyone was on board. i was playing sheep dog again with many trips from the front to the back but this time i had to sprint along in the other lane to get to the front before a car came along. everything went along fine, though i didn’t really get much of an opportunity to chat with anyone much at all.

once we turned south onto hawtin rd from kalamunda road, stu and judd both continued up kalamunda hill for some extra training. the trip down hawtin/hale was pretty good. some of the faster boys had moved to the front and the pace picked up a bit but not too extreme that we were dropping anyone.

we turned onto welshpool and barista boy nick and i were on the front. the wind was now on our backs and we were starting to line up for home. as we turned onto welshpool proper, and onto the first sprint section of the day, nick decided that his lack of form lately was not going to be much good at the front and slipped back. i thought that i would try to take advantage of the time trial bike and got down on the bars and started to smash myself for as long as i could.

we were hovering around the 50km/hr mark and started to string the group out. i pushed on as long as i could before someone finally came around me so i backed off. as soon as i stopped pushing, my body realised how much it had done and began to shut down on me. i slipped back through the pack who continued hard up the road. as the last rider came past i accelerated to try to get on the final wheel, but could not hold on. i was pretty much to the point where i wanted to spew, but managed to hold it down.

i looked back and saw the remnants of the pack once it had split. i was pretty much caught in between in no-mans land and was still trying to get my breath back. we managed to sneak through the lights at leach hwy and i was beginning to make up a bit of ground. i was hoping that the lights at shep rd would be my saviour, but they turned out to split the pack again, as only half the front group got through. i caught up as did the remaining split.

we had a big job ahead of us if we were going to catch them, but i was sure that they were going to be going damn hard in front of us. we tried and rolled through a few times, but eventually got caught by the lights near the causeway and pretty much destroyed any hope of catching them.

we now had our own sprint to worry about and i decided that i was going to see if i could time-trial it along riverside drive. i kept the pace high to make it hard for anyone to sprint off the front and managed to stay at the front. as we approached the “finish line” i saw a shadow start to come around. i clicked it up the last few gears and looked across to who it was. i gave paul a bit of sarcastic encouragement, but then pushed hard to make sure he couldn’t come around my wheel at the end.

so, if anyone in the front group want to e-mail me what happened at the end, i will append it to this post.

UPDATE

finale by heiko

After we split the group at one of the lights towards the final sprint Ryan tried to get a gap between the group and himself by pulling up the short hill at the Mercedes car dealer. I tried to jump on his wheel with a few riders behind me as well who took the burden of chasing down Ryan off me for the last few meters. We had to slow down at the lights after the descend in Victoria Park. So that move didn’t really work out all that well for him.

The group picked up speed again and it started to get really fast booking it along the Causeway and the turn off to Riverside Drive. I was trying to be not too far back in the group, but also not too far at the front as my sprinting capabilities aren’t too well just yet. As everyone prepared for another sprint and I was thinking about playing the Fabian Cancellara card, Chris came storming past me, obviously with the same thought. Nevertheless his break-away trial wasn’t successful as Ryan overtook him with a few people behind himself. After passing Chris at the end of the bunch behind sprinting Ryan the speed picked up even more, or it might just felt like that for my legs.

They were up and away, battling themselves for the win at the front. I rolled in somewhere between the middle and end of the front group, I reckon that also somehow qualifies for the term no-mans land. So it is kind of blogging from behind, again.

Apfel-Zimt Muffin und eine heisse Schokolade (apple cinnamon muffin and a hot chocolate) at the coffee shop finished that ride.

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.