Tag Archives: ridge hill rd

saturday 17 april – fast (ridge hill road)

ride report by daniel

The blog has been busy today and so have I – two reasons to keep this brief. Well, two excuses anyway. Let’s see how it goes.

I’d been hoping to do the Peter Clark Classic, but was not able to get the time I needed Sunday morning. As it turns out, this put me in the minority – when Peter called forth the fast group there were just nine of us. Sounds like a small but reasonable group to be riding with, but I did a quick check just to be sure: Ryan, Jerry, Ben, James … Mmm… it was looking like I was going to be working hard. Good. Sort of.

We headed off, our route taking us out along Shepperton Road and onto Albany Highway. We each did a turn on the front, and for my part, I was working relatively hard into the stiff headwind that was the order of the day. The reasonable pace continued as we turned onto William Street with no relief from the headwind just yet. We started rolling though somewhere along Hale Road, still keeping the pace reasonable.

At this point we were still riding into the headwind, and with one or two riders struggling, we decided to ease back the pace a little. Jerry suggested that due to the small group size we re-group at the top of Ridge Hill Road. Sounds like a plan, which we executed. Needless to say, I climbed Ridge Hill without too many problems but was not able to keep pace with the lead riders. We re-grouped, and with everyone back on, we started the descent down and headed towards Guildford.

After the initial descent, we started taking 30s turns on the front. This worked for a little while before some gaps opened up. When I took my next turn on the front, I tried but was not able to make any impression on the gap to Ryan and several others in the lead. When Jerry took the lead, he lifted the pace and was starting to make an impression on the gap. At this point, I was working hard just holding Jerry’s wheel, and thought to take a quick look back to see how the rest of the group was faring. Not so well; a gap had opened up and they were a fair way back. We continued, with Jerry showing no sign of tiring and providing an excellent wheel for me to hold. I however, even though sitting in and drafting, was feeling the heart rate rise a little too high and the legs starting to go away from me. As I started to fade off Jerry’s wheel, he noticed my predicament. He dropped the pace slightly, and after a quick signal to me, I was back on. Thanks. Given this, we did not manage to catch Ryan, Ben and Jerry until we reach Great Eastern Highway, where we all stopped briefly to get everyone back together.

We then kept a reasonable pace heading back into town along Guildford Road. I think it was along here that Melvyn dropped off the back. I was feeling it too. I managed to stay on, but probably only due to the small respite granted me by several of the traffic lights along Guildford road. I’ll take that.

We came to the lights at the corner of Guildford Road and East Parade, and as I was sitting at the front with Ryan we watched the Main 2 group sail past. No problems, we would be happy to go for the chase. The traffic lights cycle completed and we were ready to go. No joy – it seems some dear person had hit the pedestrian crossing button and then disappeared. Waiting, waiting. With the group ahead now given quite a head start we were off. I tried hard to hold Ryan’s wheel, but he was determined to catch the group in front and I couldn’t hold on. No major drama as I was still catching the group ahead, and I think they were held up a little at the freeway lights. Anyway, by the time we’d climbed the East Perth hill, we had managed to get to the front.

Now, Peter had indicated that we would not be able to sprint due to the Red Bull Air Race and the associated road closures. I considered this as we approached, but it looked to me like Riverside Drive had been closed just for us: one empty, inviting road. So, I lifted the pace as we turned onto Riverside Drive. Before too long, the pace was lifted past me as Ryan and others came past.

Until next time.

PS I’m not sure I really achieved the brief bit. Oh well.

saturday 14th nov – ridgehill rd (fast group)

ride report by peter.

 

what a busy weekend.  after watching the crits on friday night at northbridge, it was a bit of a struggle to get to the start on time for saturday morning.  but then again, me running late would not be a new concept for any of the regular attendees.  the weather was generally fine, but slightly overcast with some menacing looking clouds hovering overhead.  it didn’t look like it would bring rain, but we would have to wait and see.

pretty good turn out for the morning and i would say that there would have been around 50 riders.  the predicted wind would normally see us return via mounts bay road, but with road closures due to the tour de perth, we headed east instead.  this meant that the return journey could be a lot harder that usual.

the group headed out along great eastern hwy and towards guilford.  i got a chance to catch up with gregor who had just got back from the usa.  lots to tell as i had been cyber-stalking him via facebook to see all the interesting places he had been mountain biking over there.  the main group split off at kalamunda road and would loop around avoiding ridgehill rd to return to guilford.  the fast group continued on a bit further before cutting across past rosehill golf course and onto helena valley road.  it was there that we pretty much came to a standstill for a good 5 minutes while we waited for some roadworks.  russell had warned us of the hardpack gravel but it was actually a pretty good surface and no worse than some of the sealed roads that we have been on.

once we got moving, the pace started to pick up a bit with judd on the front pushing along.  i was sitting at the back with ryan discussing what the tactics would be once we hit the hill.  the group was still quite large so we needed to get closer to the front before the hill started.  some of the boys started to wind up well before we turned onto ridgehill road and the group began to splinter a bit.  this made moving up a bit more difficult as you had to deal with not only the change in pace but also the riders that were now coming backwards towards you.

once we hit the roundabout, ryan was a lot closer to the front and managed to get around with some clear air.  by the time i started the climb there were still about 10 – 15 riders in front of me and they started spreading out as people settled into their climbing rhythm.  i had spent the first three days of the week up on site and didn’t manage to get out on the bike on the remaining two days either.  the last time i was on the bike was the golden spokes race the previous sunday.  my legs were either going to be fresh or stale and this climb would be the deciding fator.

i managed to find a gap and seemingly effortlessly came around the group and caught ryan.  i instantly came around him and put a gap into the field.  damn my legs felt good.  i continued to dance up the first of the three steps of the climb and made it to the first plateau with no worries.  ryan caught up with me and pushed on up the second step.  i sat on his wheel and followed his lead.  whoa.  those fresh legs suddenly didn’t feel so good.  suddenly i felt as though i had burnt all my matches and was sucking in air just to hold ryan’s wheel.  i made it up the second step on his wheel, but had to back off as i felt the bile rise and the hotness of reaching well into the red zone.  crap, crap, crap.  i eased off and tried to get my heart rate back down from the 190 bpm i had maxed out at.  the rest of the chase group was slowing pegging me back and soon i briefly had some company.  about six or so riders past me by the time we reached the crest and started the descent.

i had significantly recovered by now to begin chasing so that i didn’t get left behind.  there were a number of riders in the same boat and we had a decent size bunch by the time we reached kalamunda road.  ryan had managed to get across the intersection with a couple of other riders but by the time we hit roe hwy lights we managed to amalgamate into a decent group of around 12.

there were some roll throughs that i didn’t participate in as the group headed through high wycombe.  the pace was high enough to make just sitting in an effort for me now.  the stop start of the multiple intersections that we had to negotiate made keeping the group fluid quite hard.  we finally reached guilford and turned for home.

i was sitting on the back when we hit the main intersection in bassendean when the lights changed.  there was a bit of indecision at the lights, but the group kept it’s pace on and slipped through.  that is everyone except stu, schneider and myself.  while we were waiting we were joined by mike who is quite new to the group.

stu was not in the mood for chasing so fell off the back while the three of us did turns at the front.  the wind was not as bad as predicted so i was hoping like hell that the lights would slow down the front pack.  as we turned past bassendean station, we could just see the group ahead of us while they clicked in after being held up by the lights.  the combined firepower of around 10 riders meant that they stayed ahead of us and pulled away into the distance.

just at the tonkin hwy overpass, we managed to have them in sight again, but the lights didn’t play into our favour and they were off again.  we continued to roll through and got across the rolling hills of maylands but never saw the group again.  stu managed to catch us at the lights so we all continued onto the coffee shop.

apparently there was a disqualification in the final sprint as ryan managed to sneak through a intersection ahead of the group, so jarrad claimed line honours ahead of the rest of the field.

i was off home straight away as i was taking the kids to watch the tour de perth stage around kings park.  a bit of bad luck by brendan and steve meant that they had a harder time than they needed to in quite a relentless stage.  matty continued to fly the spr colours right to the end and gave us a focal point for the spr base camp that we set up halfway up the final climb.

the women’s race saw ruth corset breakaway early but all the spr regular girls hung with the main field right to the end.

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 1st nov – ridgehill rd

3 Comments

ride report by peter

 

the redbull air race forced us to move up the road a bit this morning as they had commandeered our carpark.  generally this is not a problem, but there are a few people that do drive to the start and i didn’t want to make it too difficult for people to get to the ride.  also, the road blocks will be more extensive tomorrow and start at 6am so i had to make sure we could still get access for the hills ride.  by the time i rolled up the majority of the group was lurking outside the south perth senior citizens centre.  i know that this is not a young group, but i didn’t think we needed to sign up just yet.

 

as i was giving the morning spiel about the ride route, i was rudely interrupted by someone’s mobile phone.  it was mine, with lorraine asking us to wait as she was stuck in the redbull restricted area and was getting an escort from two burly austrian  security guards.  i asked the group if we should wait and someone suggested that we could if she was bringing brownies.  since she provided us with brownies and coke at the last cyclo-sportif, i was sure we could wait a couple of minutes. 

 

great eastern hwy
great eastern hwy

the change in venue didn’t seem to affect numbers as we had around 40 roll out from angelo st.  we picked up mike on douglas and doug on great eastern as we headed towards guilford.  the wind was not that pleasant, but i have definitely survived worse heading along helena valley rd, and the group stayed together well.  i was sitting well back once we hit ridgehill rd and was never in the hunt for king of the mountain points.  i was taking it easy for a while but as the field thinned out i found that i had room to accelerate around the slower riders.  i got to the top with paul, jules and dr mark but then waited for the back markers to make sure we had everyone when we jumped onto kalamunda rd.  dr carl was in struggle town today after over a month of trekking in nepal with simon.  different diet and different muscle groups while over there meant that it will be a long hard road back to full bike fitness.  i said that it was probably the lower altitude air was creating too much resistance for him.  good to see him straight back on the bike though.

 

we cruised though to guilford and created a bit of a mobile road block along parts of kalmunda rd which would have made traffic happy (but safer for us).  once we hit the lights at lord st in bassendean, i announced that it was all on for rest of the way back to the city.  christophe said that i should lead the way, but i said that i was hanging back to help the stragglers.  he volunteered so i headed off, but luckily not at the front.

 

the pace picked up almost straight away with little breaks getting a few metres up the road before being brought back by a concerted effort or a lucky traffic light.  i was just sitting in, but managed to move forward after we crossed under tonkin hwy.  about half way up the first of the rolling hills, ben made a move and ryan took off after him with jerry.  i managed to get around the rest of the group and eventually jumped on the back.  we held it together for a while before we were pinned down by the traffic lights which allowed the rest of the group to rejoin.  ryan and i just set tempo after that as it seemed that that was the end of our escapades. mike had a different idea and too off on the next rise.  i didn’t react straight away as i wanted a few more wheels to follow as i was feeling like i needed so recovery time.  after  about 5 or so riders had come past i gave chase and jumped on the wheel.  i managed to come around them and catch up with ryan and mike just as they had the lights change at the turn to east parade.

 

still on great eastern hwy
still on great eastern hwy

the majority of the group headed along the last stretch into the city and the last attack was on the hill near the police station.  ryan was boxed in next to me and we waited till halfway up the hill before attacking together and gapping the group.  the traffic lights soon paid heed to any break as did the road block as we approached riverside drive.  the old guy manning the detour said that the cops went off a the last group of cyclists so i forced the group onto the bike path for the remainder of the ride.  jules and his brother dan took the road and sprinted it out, but the rest of us took the more dangerous route along the path with all the tourists trying to walk and look at planes at the same time.

 

the coffee shop was full as expected but we managed to squeeze in and take up most of the outdoor tables.  they actually had them set up ready for us, which was a complete contrast to last year where they told us off for moving them.  service was slow as they were so busy, so i had to forego the hot choc that i had bought as i was on the clock today.  another hour and a half of riding the mountain bike with ben on the front to watch the pre-redbull entertainment was to follow.  it was all going fine until the f18 came past and was so loud it scared the crap out of him and he wanted to get back on the bike and go home.  the rest of the arvo was spent cleaning the bike and adding a bit of bling to it.  i managed to weigh it in as i missed out at the breakfast and i have finally got it below the 8kg mark to come in at 7.98kg.  no cheating involved and it still had the computer mount, seat bag clip and two bidon cages on.  dr paul said the the new wheels should be ready by next weekend, so hopefully i can shed a few hundred more grams.  still a long way off competing with the cervelos in the group though.

saturday 23rd august – ridgehill rd

ride report by peter

another fine winters day was predicted today. not a cloud to be seen and heading for a top of 20 meant that there would be a freezing start to the day. the official temp said sub 4 degrees as i exited the nice warm house and i had lots of layers on as protection. i was a bit concerned as i approached the car park this morning as i thought another group must have been setting up as well. there were stacks of people all huddled together, but, on closer inspection, it looked like they were all riding with us. a quick estimate put the group at about 60 riders. a massive turn out for a winters day.

the route today also didn’t seem to scare people off. we were heading out to ridgehill rd at the base of the zig-zag in kalamunda before a return trip via guilford rd with (hopefully) a tailwind. we got off to a rough start as is usually the case with a group this big, and split at the first set of lights just near the carpark. we split again at the turn onto canning hwy (my fault for not seeing the lights change), and again further up great eastern hwy. we generally had to take it easy until we got out of the city to ensure the group stayed together.

i cruised up and down the pack a bit to make sure it was all going well and to get an idea of who was present today. mainly for two reasons. firstly, who was going to make my life hard on the climbs and secondly who i needed to keep an eye on when the pace picked up and they may not be able to cope too well.

i moved to the front again as we came through the back of rosehill golf course where there is a small roundabout that always causes navigation problems. it is a funny intersection and it is easy to take the wrong road so i moved up with mike to ensure we went the right way. unfortunately this meant that we stayed on the front for the next seven kms until the base of the main climb. as ryan had been hiding neatly in the pack, i was a bit worried how much pain he would cause me today.

as we turned the corner and started the climb, i looked back at the group and saw ryan, obvious in his bright red knicks, sitting way back with about 50 riders in front of him. great i thought, as the pack spreads out, it will be harder for him to get up the front. mike and i pushed ahead but not at a strong pace as most of the group was still sitting on our wheel. i then heard a yell from chris, i think, that a rider was coming up fast. sure enough ryan came barreling up the hill with hamish (barista boy) and hunter straight to the front.

we stepped up but were still pretty much all together at the first step in the hill. as it kicked up again, i came around ryan and stepped on the gas. everyone jumped to get on, but we pretty much made a break of three with ryan and hamish gapping the rest of them. a redline induced easing off meant that jerry, mike and hunter moved back onto our wheel as we approached the last pinch. mike made one last moved and split our group up again as we dragged ourselves up to the base of the zig-zag.

i stopped here to chase the last rider along as the rest of the group headed down the hill to the regroup point just before kalamunda rd. three of the docs were leaving us at that point as they were going to climb the zig-zag instead, so i bid them adieu. i chased lisa down the hill and gave her a draft back onto the group as they waited for starters orders. we had a bit of trouble getting back onto kalamunda rd but had regrouped by the time we hit roe hwy, less than a km away. it was important that we stuck together along this next stretch as it was back down to single lane and got a bit twisty.

finally back to guilford rd and across the bridge into bassenden signaled the beginning of the end. double lane all the way back to the coffee shop and the pace was on. i had drifted back at the lights to inform everyone that it was fast pace for the rest of the ride and now sat comfortably on last wheel. had a bit of a chat to hunter especially about the forks on his cervelo and whether he was going to replace them. we have quite a few cervelos in the group, so it was a hot topic on today’s ride.

the pace was quick, but no overly so as the group was slowed a few times by traffic lights. unfortunately, the set at tonkin hwy, changed a little to quickly and a group of around 6 of us got left behind. bugger. on the change we were off in pursuit but it would not be easy as just ahead the rolling hills of maylands started to split the group proper. we kind of rolled through on the flats, but as soon as the hill started, it was every man for himself and mike and i powered away with hunter. the group was a long way ahead and it was beginning to leave riders behind, like breadcrumbs as a trail for us to follow.

after a few hard turns and a couple of roll throughs, we saw them stuck up ahead at the lights and managed to catch them at the change. another set of lights at the east parade turn meant that most of the group would be together all the way to the end. we usually try to thin the ranks out a bit before the coffee shop as it gets quite congested, but today was going to be full.

no real attacks on the last hill near the police station in east perth and it wouldn’t have mattered as we hit the lights again and again before we got to riverside drive for the final sprint. i was sitting in on jens’ wheel and thought that he would give me a good lead out, but things started getting messy. chris was egging me on from behind and so i took off with way, way too far to go. i moved up around the aussie crates boys and came teo the front for a final effort. when my legs finally gave out there was still a couple of hundred metres to go and so boys started their sprint in earnest. all i saw was brendan and ryan heading up the road with a group in tow only to get stopped by the final set of lights. how very appropriate.

so a brew was on the cards and it was very crowded today as the bikeforce guys were still in attendance when we arrived. service was as expected with such a large group and we are still making moves to change coffee shops.

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.