Tag Archives: saturday

saturday 18th april – tv stations

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ride report by peter.

 

don’t you hate it when you think – “i will just get the kit on and be out the door” when you hear number 1 son get up.  suddenly the perfectly timed exit from the house becomes a rushed effort to get him breakfast and entertained, before throwing on the kit and heading out the door.  breakfast being weetbix crunch (bite size) sans milk and apple sans skin, washed down with a watered down juice.  entertainment provided courtesy of channel nine and dora, dora, dora the explorer.  jump into my kit, leave the sleeping wife, and head out the door.  so i was late… again… or, as always.

there was a decent crowd of around 40ish by the time i arrived.  nowhere near the crowds we used to pull, and i have no idea why.  the threat of rain was a minor irritation as the temperature was very pleasant and it is hard to comprehend that it is only six weeks till winter.  we rolled out and headed for the crossing at ascot and into the northern suburbs.  these are generally unknown areas for me and i would get lost if i strayed too far from the well worn tracks that we… wear well. 

after an uneventful 16kms in which i got to catch up with a few people we split the group.  the main group would miss the hill at the tv stations but generally take the same course the we did, with just the head and tail chopped off a bit.  at the split point i would say that 75% of the field went with the fast group today.  this would make it interesting.

straight after the lights the road heads slightly upwards past the tv stations.  the group kind of just formed up but did not really look like it was ready to explode.  i took the initiative as i needed to hurt myself today, and went to the front to force people to chase me down.  pretty soon michael was on my wheel with a few more strung out behind.  by the top of the hill, jonny, mike and brendan had also made moves to up the pace.

we pretty much rolled straight onto the top section which provides a couple of fast slightly downhill sections leading to wanneroo rd.  as far as i could see the group was pretty much staying together.  actually, i was sure that we had dropped a couple of guys, but that is the risk when you take the fast option.  unless you have a serious mishap or mechanical, then you are on your own.

i am sure that we pretty much got every light coming down wanneroo and charles, but insisted on making the group roll through.  initially they kind of sat up as we used to take this stretch easy after the tv station hill.  not any more.  once we split, the pace should be on all the way till the end.  so it was interval training the whole way back to leederville.  start and sprint to get going, roll through at pace, stop at lights, repeat.

we came up over thomas/loftus to circ kings park but turned off at the hospital to take us towards claremont.  this would allow us to still do the whole dalkeith run which always adds to the fun.  as we approached dalkeith, the comments to john were coming thick and fast.  lots of gumnut jokes and calls to “snuggles” were made, but it was good to see that it hasn’t slowed him down or freaked him out too much.

we made it safely through dalkeith and down to mounts bay road.  the only issue was a couple of guys riding slowly along birdwood pde that decided that they didn’t want to move over at all when our group came past.  thanks for your courtesy guys.

we didn’t have to stop at the lights at mounts bay rd either for a change and ran straight into pursuit mode.  the group started to string out straight away and with only a few guys moving up.  about half way along, i started to move to the front, only to find that there was no gaps for me to slot into.  i just kept on going and went to the front.  when i looked back, i had gapped michael who was powering along at first wheel, so i thought that i would see if i could stay away.  it was a long way out and i just didn’t have the legs for it.  michael, to his credit, stayed at the front and dragged the rest of the group up to overtake me, before they swamped him for the sprint. 

out of nowhere (because i didn’t see him for any of the ride) kimbo came flying past to go for the sprint.  he got a good gap on the field before brendan started to chase him down for line honours.  now sure how that ended up as i was too far back by then.

onwards to coffee, only to find that just two of the main group were staying for coffee.  apparently there has been a coup and a few riders have been heading across the river for a brew at atomic.  service was very quick today, and they now seemed geared up to be ready for us when we turn up.

as mentioned in the previous post, the online membership for the club is now available and melvyn got in quick to become the first to use the facilities.  have a read of the previous post and see if it is what you need to do.  i would recommend some level of insurance for your own piece of mind.

saturday 28th mar – risely & cott

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ride report by peter.

 

the last day of daylight savings for ever… maybe, depending on how the vote goes in may… or whether the government changes it’s mind and does another trial… again.  so anyway, it was dark, but we get to wind the clocks back tonight, so have a good think about it before you go to bed.  especially if you are coming on the hills ride tomorrow.  don’t be early.

i did a quick head count (as best i could in the dark) and we were definitely down on numbers this morning.  i guesstimated that we had about 40 riders so we would still split the group as i didn’t fancy leaving a trail of destruction through the southern suburbs.  we rolled out and stayed together as a group for the first 10 kms.  during this time, lorraine got a puncture and lisa and kim stopped to help her.  there was no call out to the group so at the front we didn’t even know it had happened and merrily continued on our way.  apparently after two attempts the girls did a different lap of the river and beat us to coffee.

a nice even pace all the way to the top of risely before the group split pretty evenly with the main group heading right at leach and the fast group going left.  our brief journey along leach was extended as we tried to turn onto murdoch drive and were left sitting at the lights for about 5 min.  when we did actually start moving again the pace up murdoch was quite pedestrian as even when jerry had to stop to fix his wheel alignment, it didn’t take much to draft him back to the pack.  by the time we reached south st i estimated that the 6km difference between the groups was more like 8 or 9 by now.  no chance of catching the prey now.

south st was definitely a different kettle of fish as the pace picked up from the start.  we were rolling through as best we could but this was made difficult with the undulating terrain as some people were already struggling with the pace.  a number of light changes allowed the group to stay relatively together so by the time we reached hampton rd, we had lost very few. 

a quick dash through the back of freo before we were off again along port beach rd.  with a bit of a tailwind along this stretch and marine terrace, the pace picked up substantially.  by the time we were halfway along cottesloe, the group had splintered significantly.  it was good to see jonny back with us in proper bike shoes as injuries have kept him out of the game for a while now.  i remember when he used to smash us on the rides, so the last year or so must have been very frustrating for him.  anyway, he was keeping up quite well today.

the group managed to squeeze back together in a couple of places, but the lights when crossing stirling hwy allowed the majority back on before the final push through dalkeith.  the pace picked up as normal and a few guys kept moving forward to keep the pace high.  on the tight left hander into jutland parade, kimbo and i managed to get a bit of a break.  not really meaning too, but when he told me we had a gap, we did our best to maintain it.  swapping out a few turns we kept ahead, but it was always going to be a matter of time before the train ran us down. 

we jumped on board as it went by, but i was now a little down in reserves and when the surge went on that last hill, i didn’t have the legs to keep up with the front.  fortunately for me, quite a few didn’t have the legs and the group was spread all along the road back to mounts bay.  the lights as usual allowed the regroup so that we had a decent size heading into the final sprint. 

i knew that we were going to be heading into a bit of a cross/head wind for the final push, so i was hoping that we could get a nice roll through happening.  it went to single file almost instantly but a couple of us started to roll through.  i followed michael’s wheel and dropped into the front position.  i took a glance to the right and confirmed my suspicions.  no-one else was rolling.  bastards.  fine.  i set a pace and was going to see if i could hold it to the end.  i managed to keep the pace high enough that no-one was coming around due to me holding them up, but by the time the brewery parking sign came up, i was starting to fade.  i was waiting for the jump to happen and i didn’t have to wait long.  once the brewery carpark was in sight, ryan took off with a couple of others on his wheel.  i sat up then as there was nothing more i could do.  one by one the rest of the group peeled off my wheel and took off after the sprint kings.  i managed to drag my super-domestique arse back to the coffee shop.

on other matters we have an advert in the southern gazette (community newspaper) this tuesday so that in a months time we can apply for incorporation of the club.  then we can apply for some grants so we can start to develop the club more. 

we may be doing another run of kit very soon as there is starting to be a bit of a need to have more jerseys available.  for those that are racing, it may pay to make sure you have a spare kit as ryan, stu, james, lisa and lorraine have found, racing can actually be dangerous and not always through any fault of your own.  if you are new to the group and want to “blend in” a bit better or want to feel like you are part of it, jump on board now as i am not sure when we will be ordering again.  go to the spr team kit page on the website and have a look at what we have.  send an email through and i will compile a list and order when we have enough.  this may mean that we get jerseys now and knicks a bit later.  if you want armwarmers or anything else, also put them on the list.  i will just keep it on the list until we can secure an order.

on other kit business, we are soon to be looking at spr team socks which should not be too hard to get.  as part of the winter kit we will get matching knee warmers through cannibal and i may also look into printed wind jackets.  from other suppliers i am chasing up printed gloves, shoe covers (lycra and cold weather) and those short peak cycling caps.  pretty soon we will have everything covered in little green hexagons. 

oddly enough i also found a place that sells no-name carbon road frames with a minimum order of 10 pieces.  quality would be similar to those mcmurdo bikes you see at glenn parker as they would come from a similar place and then just get painted.  a team bike would not really be that hard to organise.  anyway, i may be getting ahead of myself a bit now.

saturday 21st mar – autumn breakfast

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ride report by peter

 

well a slightly busy evening as we needed to get the house ready for the onslaught of lycra that was to descend in the morning.  moving tables and chairs, finding an esky, um…actually that was about it as lorriane was doing everything else.  i went to move the cars out of the garage and found sharon waiting on the drive way.  pretty soon jerry and melvyn also rocked up so that they would not have to ride all the way home after a belly full of brownies.

img_4827officially the sun was not going to rise till 7:20am but what is known as “civil twilight” meant that it would be light at 6:56am.  lots of time to spare before the start of the ride.  being a breakfast ride, the course was going to be a bit shorter than normal.  however, since we had close to 70 riders on the line, we decided to split the group and try to make it more manageable.  we would all head down canning hwy towards freo before the fast group would swing off to attadale while the main group would continue on to stock rd.  after stock they would head back along south st and up banister.  eventually jump onto albany hwy before heading to my place via manning rd.  the fast group would take burke drive before heading up the stock rd hill behind the pt walter golf course.  we would then chase the main group down and then add extra kms once they turned off onto banister.  i envisaged that we would catch the main group on the early parts of south st and would need to split again at banister. 

we got away to a fairly standard start with the group split a few times at the lights.  the pace was pretty sedate and everyone was just chatting away and cruising along.  once we hit north lake rd, the fast group needed to get into the right lane to do a turn while the main group was headed straight.  as the two groups were intermingled amongst each other, this got pretty messy and traffic would have been confused (pissed off) that the bike were now taking up both lanes.  we eventually got it sorted and headed off on our respective ways. 

a slight easing of the pace allowed the pack back together as the  fast group headed along burke drive.  it is amazing the number of other riders that use that stretch of road as we must have passed 6-7 groups heading the other way.  we rolled through till stock road and tackled the hill.  as usual, it split the group up lots, but by the time we reached the top, the pace slowed significantly and allowed everyone back on before we crossed canning hwy. 

we tried to roll through again, but lights, hills and traffic made it hard to find a consistent pace although it was anything but sedate.  we soon reached south st and i was surprised that we had not even caught a glimpse of the main group.  i thought that we may have seen them cresting the first hill on south street, but they were not to be seen.  either, they had to stop on canning for an incident, or whoever was running that group was doing an excellent job.  i was hoping for the latter.

img_4832we continued to roll through and the traffic was now not an issue as the road was three lanes wide.  the hills made life difficult for some and the roll through continued with just the front half of the pack.  as we continued along south st i was beginning to worry that something had happened to the main group.  we eventually caught sight of a couple of lonesome riders that had fallen off the back so we knew we were on the right track. 

as the day was progressing, i made the decision not to take the fast group along the second split point and rather, if caught them, just do banister rd with the main group instead.  at the multiple lights around roe hwy, we finally caught up to the main group.  i shouted some instructions so that the fast group can safely get passed the main group and heard a “no worries” from beside me.  i look across to the small truck that was in the next lane and there is this big grin from the guy in the passenger seat.  i tell him he can drive in front of us as he would make a good draft.  “then slam on the brakes” he exclaims.  a bit nasty, but it was all a bit of fun.

we took off at the lights and like a well oiled machine, the main group merged into a single file on the left, while the fast group became the single file on the right.  as right overtook left, the roll through upped the pace to allow the fast group to start to break away.  unfortunately the lights allowed everyone to merge back together and this fact may have made it hard for some of the riders at the back.

the usual suspects forced the pace along the rest of banister and the combination of roll throughs and attacks kept the pace high.  a final push by ryan and a few others blew things apart once nicholson rd was in sight, but the group was still quite substantial by then.  i jumped to the front and rode with michael for a bit to set a slow even pace.  i then pulled over to the side to make sure that we had everyone. there were a few struggling groups, but people like mike and nev were leading them back to the main group as quick as they could.  once we hit albany hwy, there were only a handful off the back and we caught up at the next light change.

i made my way to the front to find that dan and jules had taken off and lisa had chased them down.  they were somewhere up the road and the comment was made that we hoped they knew where to turn.  too bad so sad if they didn’t want to play with the group.  there was a split at the lights again and i waited for that group so they knew where to turn.  the lights at leech allowed a complete regroup and we gently cruised along manning road.  at some stage we saw a couple of bikes milling around an intersection looking quite lost.  it was out trio of escapees and i am guessing that they were not sure whether they should have turned or not.

i allowed one more sprint once we turned past curtain uni and half the group took advantage of it.  some others, like myself, were content to sit in and take the last few k’s into home easy.

yes, my garage always looks like this
yes, my garage always looks like this

there was a lot of milling around at the front of the house as some people were not staying for the breakfast and were having a quick chat.  a couple had arrived early but lorraine, mel, jody and kate pretty much had everything under control.  ben was there to greet everyone with his spr t-shirt on and pretty soon the garage was full of bikes and the house was full of lycra.  the girls had outdone themselves again and there was plenty of food and coffee/hot choc for all.

the raffle was drawn by ben who kept the crowd entertained with his smashing of one of the chocolate prizes.  he also kept everyone on their toes by announcing the winning raffle ticket number – “nummer for” um no ben, that’s number 21.  i feel sorry for the person that had ticket number 4 as he announced it for more than half the draws. 

we signed up a couple more members for the club and jody will let us know when the online facility is available.  the bike weigh in presented some interesting results and i saw my bike slip further down the leaderboard as more weighed in at the low 7kg mark.  brendan topped the day with his bh weighing in at 6.72kg with tubulars on.  this toppled mike t’s uci legal 6.80kg with his tubular zipps but neither came close to darren’s uber light bike.

all up a very successful breakfast.  our next social event will be the family day to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of forming spr.  there are a couple of races in between that i hope we can get a good turn out to and show off our spr colours.  especially as we are now an official club.

saturday 14th mar – canning vale & welshpool

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ride report by peter.

 

after a day trip up to the pilbara yesterday which included 3hrs of flying and about 3hrs of driving and about 3hrs of meetings, i was keen to expend a bit of energy today.  i managed to get out early enough to be the second one to arrive at the carpark and sat around in the dark waiting for the nominated hour.  there was a chill in the air which belied the expected top of 33 today and a number of riders were wearing vests.  the dark and the cold made it seem more like winter than just leaving summer. 

i didn’t think the numbers were too large today but decided to still split the group anyway.  it has been a bit of a mess when we don’t so i think we may have seen the end of the one big group.  maybe next week for the breakfast, we might stick together and take it easy.  especially since it will be raining.

the common course took us out canning hwy down to risely and up past garden city shopping centre.  we made our way to south street and the group was generally taking it easy and getting a good conversation in.  a bit of a lane change mix up had us dodging a few cars near where we normally hang a left into banister, but all up not a bad start to the day.  as we approached the intersection of ranford and nicholson, people began to move into their respective groups.  this would be our split point and the main group would go left up past livingston marketplace shopping centre (home of livingston specsavers – for all your optical needs drop in and see sharon (i will invoice you for the advertising later sharon)), while the fast group would go straight.  hopefully someone will enlighten us to the adventures of the main group for that was the last we saw of them for the day.

as soon as we headed through the lights i knew we were in trouble.  there wasn’t much wind when i was tucked in the back of the pack during the ride out there.  now we seemed to be riding straight into it.  i got the roll through happening and got to have a look at who was riding with us today.  most of the usual suspects but some others that were giving it a crack today. 

we turned up warton rd and immediately got hammered by the fierce cross-wind.  we continued to roll through but i felt we were doing it the wrong way as the wind was on the fast side of the line.  however, in a non-race situation, rolling the other way while trying to keep out of traffic can be hard as the group seems to migrate across the lane.  thankfully for some of the riders, there were enough sets of lights to allow a regroup along the way.  we continued on and the wind seemed relentless.  after we passed albany hwy the distance started to take it’s toll and the group really splintered into little survival packs.  i had only one or two riders around me and we were trying to bridge across to a pack of four containing judd, jerry, davina and james.  the rest of us continued were just trying to keep them in sight, but big judd and his diesel engine just seemed to power through the wind.  i really have no idea who was riding around me at this time as i was sending all my blood to the legs rather the head and was just trying to survive.

judd in full time trial mode
judd in full time trial mode

as we hit tonkin hwy the lights allowed us to catch the front group which had now shed james who was back training after his fall in renae’s race.  as the lights turned green, everyone did a “ryan” and seemed to have trouble clipping in as they didn’t want to go to the front.  this allowed judd to take off and gain a big gap.  davina tried to chase him down but he is a big strong boy and was setting a nice pace.  the rest of us caught up and jerry and myself came around to help out at the front.  even though there were at least three of us doing turns at the front, we just couldn’t put a dent into the gap judd had over us.

the pain finally ended when we turned onto crystal brook rd and gained the full advantage of the tailwind.  quite a few of the group had caught up back at the lights and we now had a fairly solid group to chase judd down.  we were pushing 60km/hr along crystal brook and onto welshpool, but unfortunately for us, judd was going just as fast.  he managed to get the lights as we crossed back over tonkin and that was the very last we saw of him.

with our bigger group we tried to start to roll through again, but it just didn’t seem to work.  everyone wanted to go faster than the last person and this meant that the pace just went up and up until the group started to splinter.  we also tried to single file and pull off the front when you were done, but this also proved fruitless and we just seemed to go back to a couple on the front and a little bit of roll through when we could.

the rail lights were flashing along welshpool and we slowed to get behind the traffic.  suddenly a ute in the right hand lane put his indicator on as he wanted to turn left after the rail crossing.  he just started to push his way into the line of bikes.  jerry banged on his window and asked what he was doing.  he pointed that he wanted to turn and so therefore that was excuse enough in his mind to try to cut us off.  as the traffic got going again, a few choice words and some single finger waving from both parties had us happily on our way again. 

we turned onto shepperton road and made our final approach into town.  the rolling hills always provide a springboard for attacks but not today as the group pretty much stayed together.  the main split came at the lights before the causeway as some of the group ducked into the bus lane to get ahead of the traffic while the rest stayed behind the traffic.  as far as our group riding etiquette is concerned, we really shouldn’t run up the side of traffic at the lights when we have such a big group as the cars just have to try to get past us again.  in this case, the risk was that if there was a bus coming the lights would not have let you go, but you would have cut the bus off.  anyway, the lights changed and i was in the group behind and didn’t make it through the next set.  we watched the front group head across the causeway and out of sight while we just made our own way to the coffeeshop.

not really sure what happened as when we got there, most of the main group had already gone.  it was rally busy as there were triathletes everywhere for the national series tri that was in perth the next day.  some of our group headed around to south perth for a brew and others endured the long wait for theirs.

saturday 7th mar – benara rd

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ride report by peter.

 

07032009002a quick dash from the barrack st jetty this morning as i needed to bring some documents along to the coffeeshop for our meeting after the ride.  i felt like i needed lights and was glad to see that the latest polls had perth pretty much rejecting daylight savings.  lets move on.

we were going to split today no matter what.  i think we have given the fast group enough of a taste of what to expect that they tend to want to go hard every ride.  it caused problems last week when the group’s overall pace increased.  and this was with most of the fast guys away racing. 

with an easterly wind predicted, a course was set for benara rd.  the main group would do the usual route, and the fast group would head out a bit further and do an extra 8km before heading to benara rd.  i doubted that the main group would be caught, but it always gives some extra incentive when chasing a rabbit.

i would say about 50 or so riders were out this morning and we headed off together along great eastern at a leisurely pace.  chris had already “volunteered” to head the main group and once we hit the turn to ascot, the group split with about 30 in the main and 20 in the fast group. 

we started rolling through when i got tired on the front, but we managed to get all the lights until we were well past the airport.  this made the roll through a bit difficult, but it was more about staying out of the wind than smashing a hard pace.  my aim for the day was to stay with the group until we got through some of the back roads and onto great eastern again.  i was sure that people didn’t know which way to go, as this was a new route, and some would get lost.

as we left the traffic lights behind, the pace quickened with a more consistent roll through.  by the time we hit guilford, some people were only just hanging onto the back and not rolling through at all.  the crosswind meant that the guy in front offered little protection and it was sorting out the boys from the men (lorraine and lisa had stepped up today though).  the group slowed to get onto west rd and past the golf course, but when the pace picked up we really started to shed some people.  by the time we reached helena valley road, there was no chance some would be getting back on and i hoped that they had looked at the map (there was a shortcut at this point). 

i was beginning to sit on the back as i just needed to conserve as much as i could to act as navigator for the group.  we turned just before roe hwy and detoured through midland to get back onto great eastern, but now heading the other way.  the tailwind made this a bit more pleasant but also upped the pace.  no turns for me. we finally got onto west swan rd and headed towards benara rd.

however, this is where the crosswind really sunk the dagger into a number of riders.  with heavier traffic (single file) and no where to hide from the wind, the group quickly broke up into a number of little echelons.  i managed to leap-frog across a couple of them and tried to bring the others up the road with me, but some people were really struggling by now.  we turned onto benara with ryan and the others about 100m ahead. 

with a group of about 6 on my wheel, i started to time-trial across the gap and was pushing a nice pace.  we could see the we were gaining, but my heart was also doing about 189bpm and was pretty much at it’s limit.  i looked back to find that only lorraine had managed to hold the wheel.  we got within about 20m but couldn’t hold the pace any longer.  lorriane managed to get a springboard off my draft and bridged up to kimbo who had drifted off the back of the front pack.  i sat up a bit trying to suck some oxygen in and was soon caught by a couple more riders.  the next set of lights determined the make up of our group that would stick together for the rest of the journey.  kimbo, lorraine, steve, lindsay, dr mark, john and myself all did what we could to keep the pace on but we knew that we weren’t going to catch the front guys.  i must say that today’s ride was the longest time on benara rd.  it felt like such a struggle and even though we had a tailwind, it seemed to go on forever.

the rest of the trip was uneventful as it was mainly trying to keep out of the wind.  we met up with brett and dan who were coming the opposite way onto whatley cres after they managed to miss a turn and ended up at the base of ridgehill rd.  myself and couple of others were caught at some lights in east perth so managed to come in after our group, but made it nevertheless. 

i gathered my documents and we had out inaugural meeting of the south perth cycle club.  all the points on the agenda were ratified and carried and so we are now formally a club.  it hasn’t even been a full year since the start of spr and we have made so many big steps in such a short time.  i get emails all the time from riders i have never met but have been reading the blog and are interested in coming out with us.  i think if we continue on our current path, we should be in for a successful year.

saturday 28th feb – canning vale (reverse)

3 Comments

ride report by peter.

 

after 2 weeks off the bike, and number 1 son giving me a cold in that time, i was always going to struggle on a group ride.  we had flown home on monday and i managed to slip a few rides in during the week but they were nowhere near the pace that i used to ride at.  a constant push was fine, but any surges tended to hurt and i didn’t have the capacity for them. 

the other big change over the 2 weeks is how damn dark it is again.  it is time for me to complain once again about how daylight savings sucks.  i know how i am voting come referendum time.  the street lights were on as i was riding to the start of a 7am ride.

anyway, as i approached the start point i did a quick head count and only saw about 35 riders.  within this was a severe lack of girls (i.e. none) and with some of our regulars down south for the race at pemberton there didn’t seem any point in splitting the group.  a few new faces on the ride today too and it is good to see more people wanting to come out riding with us.

so the route without the split would take us along good old south st and onto banister rd.  the aim was to make it as easy as possible until we got to banister then give it some stick.  i lead out with jack and i managed to get all the way to the hill before stock rd before i had to drop off the front.  a quick scurry to the back to see who was struggling and we managed to get everyone onto stock rd.  the last climb between leach and south managed to unhinge a few riders but most jumped back on once we were on south st.

as expected, the rolling hills along south played havoc with the back markers but mike and myself managed to pull a few of them back to the group.  the occasional stop light certainly helped us as well.  doug decided to join us along south after thinking that he missed us on canning hwy.  we had a delayed start due to a flat tyre so he thought we had already passed by so rode up to south st and caught us coming the other way.

once we hit banister the pace was on from the start.  the field lined-out almost straight away and i was content to just sit in and hold a wheel as best i could.  a few of the barista boys were in attendance today and were mixing it up at the front along with the usual suspects from the rouleurs.  it got a little messy towards the end as people were surging around the sides as traffic was in the other lane.  we need to keep that in check and at least look before you stray too close to the centreline.

brettonce we hit nicholson rd, the call went up to ease the pace back.  jack and a couple of others were already up the road with ryan chasing them, and so we just let them go.  maybe we should have split the group today, but we would have ended up with two small groups.

anyway, the pace varied a bit along nicholson but most people managed to get back on.  gregor slinked to the back to look for his mate who he invited out for the first time, only to find that he was off the back on banister.  the indecision of whether to wait for a mate, or hang with the group.  once we told him some regulars were back there with him and should know the way home, he decided to ditch his mate for the protection of the peloton. 

the pace seemed to steadily increase along albany hwy and the group started shedding riders early.  we were supposed to wait for the shep rd intersection and this is another reason why we will probably split the group every saturday.  the first set of lights and the group was halved as some managed to get through on the amber while the rest of us contemplated the chase.  as usual the long delay at the lights meant that any chance we had of catching was going to be up to how many sets of lights they caught and we didn’t.  it didn’t really play into our hands too well and our group was split again before we reached riverside drive.  with only 4 of us left, there was no sprint, just survival to the end.

the highlight of the final sprint came from brett who decided to be sneaky and slip through the t-intersection lights at victoria st.  unfortunately he was spotted by and unmarked police car who flashed his lights and pulled him over.  after a very stern talking too, and a threat of a $400 fine plus 8 demerit points (double this weekend) he was let off with a warning.  probably a good reminder about rolling through red lights for the group.  it happens sometimes, but you know we will wait, so just do the right thing and stop.  in brett’s case, all he had to do was head onto the bike path and he would have ended up at the coffee shop.

saturday 7th feb – leach vs south

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ride report by peter

 

running a bit late today as i decided to drive to the coffee shop with the spare kits and then ride across to coode st.  normally not a problem, as i was up early enough since son #1 came and woke us up at 5:30.  however, i was then running around trying to get him organised (plus getting mum out of bed) before i could go.  hence, by the time i arrived i was pretty much out of breath.  also, so surprising was the size of the group today.  i estimated that their would have been between 60 and 70 riders which meant that we were strung out a fair way.  this also meant that we would get stuck and split at quite a few sets of lights.

we were splitting the group today after about 8 kms and then kind of running parallel to see who could get home first.  the main group would run all the way down to the stirling bridge then back via leach hwy while the fast boys (or “coalition of the willing”) would swing wide through attadale, up over the pt walter golf course hill, then get onto south st.  both groups would use the nicholson/albany route as the return leg.  the last few times we split, we didn’t even come close to catching the main group.  it would be interesting to see if it could be achieved today.

as expected the group split at the lights a number of times coming down canning hwy but it wasn’t too bad and we were basically together once we came past the applecross shops.  i had requested that the fast group make their way to the back before we get to the turn, but this didn’t really work too well as some riders just started slowing down to achieve that move, so big gaps appeared as the main group riders behind could not actually get around.  what this achieved was both groups splitting into sub-groups at the turn and playing catch-up for a while.

the main group soldiered on along canning while we reformed on burke drive for a speed session before the hill.  there were many groups doing their river ride heading in the opposite direction and everyone was going fast.  we rolled through a bit but the speed was not exceptional as i think people were saving it for the hill.

we made the left hander before the usual pt walter hill and headed up stock road.  the hill has a sharp beginning and a couple of riders hit it hard to make it to the corner first.  unfortunately this is only 1/8 of the hill climb and you look up the road to see how far to go and how much energy you now have left.  the hill broke the group up quite a bit with the usual suspects going hard to force the pace.  some of the early attackers were now heading backwards as their efforts took their toll.  the pace slowed as we made our way across the top and it allowed the group to reform.  one of the new guys dropped his chain at the roundabout and steve and myself waited for him with another guy.  this meant that we then got separated from the group as they crossed back over canning hwy, but they waited for us to catch up. 

the pace picked up a bit on stock rd and a few lost contact on the rolling hills.  as we turned onto south st a look back showed that about 4 riders were struggling a few hundred metres back.  steve and brendan dropped back a bit to help them out but i said that i would not be able to catch back up if i did that so jumped onto the back of the pack.  luckily the lights at north lake rd allowed a general regrouping.

once the rolling hills subsided, the group got into a good roll through and we headed towards canning vale.  a quick call out as we approached banister rd to let the group know to go straight instead.  i think the bike go onto auto pilot along there as we usually turn up and use it as our fast section.  i would say that we got the majority of the lights along south st and it made finding a rhythm hard as we were always starting from scratch again.

we turned onto nicholson rd at livingston shopping centre (home of livingston specsavers – see back of jersey) and headed towards albany hwy.  the pace quickened as we now had a little breeze on our backs and we were sitting above 45km/h on average.  the roll through was a little disjointed as some riders were starting to struggle and could not get over the wheel quickly enough.  as we crossed over ???? hwy we approached the roundabout for high rd where the main group should have turned onto nicholson.  we couldn’t see them but very soon, up ahead i saw a row of little helmets bobbing along in the distance.  this may have spurred the guys on and we soon caught them just after we turned onto albany hwy. 

unfortunately we don’t have any procedure in place for when this occurs so it got a bit confusing.  some of the fast boys went around the main group and started leading the pace at the front.  this then meant that the main group was now tapping along at a higher than usual pace and hence the fast group could not overtake.  a few dodgy moves and the majority of the group got around and we headed for home.

the pace picked up across the rolling hills on shep rd and we continued to roll through.  lorraine went off the front a bit when she came around and i yelled at her to “go”.  she thought that i was saying “no” and though she was in trouble for getting in the way off the fast group.  i had to explain later that i was urging her on to attack and try to get away from the group.

the run into riverside drive contained the usual workhorses and i had good position behind michael who was tucked in behind a nice train of brendan, steve and ryan.  unfortunately we got the lights at plain st and i never recovered enough on take off to effectively hold the wheel when the pace stepped up.  i just watched the group sprint on ahead.  so sad.

i managed to distribute a few more of the kits this morning, but there is still some outstanding.  i am heading over east for a couple of weeks, so if you don’t get it before tuesday, then you may have to wait a little while.  the coffee shop was very full as the bikeforce ride had taken up quite a few seats.  there was also a reserved table for a group of old ladies, but they didn’t last very long as we were too noisy.  other coffee shop discussion points included the constitution and becoming a club, the spr ride etiquette guidelines that we will post on the blog and a look at the race calendar to see which races we want to target this year (looks like most of them).

as i said, i will be away for the next 2 weekends, but i will still post the ride routes on thursday night.  however, it will be up to individuals in the group to step up and take control of how we run it to make sure it stays safe and in control.

saturday 24th jan – cresswell & herdsman

sorry for the lateness off the report and the content as well.  things have been a bit hectic lately.

firstly the formation of a club and the committee office bearers were appointed before the ride began.  as the number of nominations didn’t outweigh the number of positions available, there was no vote needed.

president – peter mah

vice pres – brendan nichol

secretary – stuart gee

treasurer – ryan fynn

team manager – chris norris

development officer – mike bonner

marketing/promotions manager – lorraine hartland

events manager – lisa wood

committee members – noel michelson, julian johnson, judd otley

 

these positions will be confirmed at a later date when we hold an official agm meeting.  we actually need members first for this to go ahead.  however, this plus the draft constitution is all we need to approach cycling wa to become affiliated to allow people to join via the regular channels.

as for the ride, it was a very controlled event and as we were heading through some of the main drags of the city, the group got caught at many a traffic light.  with our numbers totally about 60 it was no wonder we didn’t get a smooth run.  as we made our way up grand prom, paul broke away from the front and i thought that he must have to take an early mark.  however, it was a spot that we used to go hard back in the day and as he hasn’t spent that much riding time with us lately, wondered why no-one else was following him.  the hill at cresswell tested a few legs and james and brendan fought it out for line honors.  we regrouped at the top to find paul already waiting for us.  by this point i don’t think we had lost anyone.

we picked our way across to herdsmans lake (swamp) where we were to begin our next hard section.  the nice wide roads and double lane allowed us to pick the pace up nicely.  dr ronny made a valiant attempt to set the early pace as he now has the cervelo back, but found out that the training on the learsport had not increased his capacity that much.  the group splintered a bit but little echelons formed and people more or less worked together to keep their group going.  i wasn’t at teh front so not sure who (if anyone) claimed line honors as first to james and chris’ special synchronized spilling round-about.  a small wait for some back markers and we left julian to fix his flat as he said that he would intercept us along the way.

more extra kms at a nice pace found us in claremont and onto the normal road home via dalkeith.  the pace picked up in the usual spot and the big boys had an opportunity to push hard on the rolling hills.  the regroup at mounts bay gave little reprieve as the pace was soon on once the lights turned green.  with my bike still making bad gear crunching noises (i need to see yas) i was in no place to sprint and needed to stay seated as long as possible.  it all got a bit messy towards the end and there was some drifting of lanes during the sprint when there was cars coming.  i opted to sit up at that stage and let the group go.

a entire weekend of watching the crits followed and that plus taking in excess of 2000 photos (of which i only kept 800) has been a bit of a time waster for me at night.  the crits were good and apart from watching ryan get spat out the back of each race, the open men’s race was a bit ho-hum for me.  the open women’s however, had quite a few of our spr girls fighting it out. wins by holly, davina and bec and a podium picture of all three with their spr hats on, made it more exciting as we had a vested interest.  well done to lisa also for stepping up and taking the plunge with the other fleet elite girls.

saturday 17th jan – canning vale + sth lake

2 Comments

ride report by peter.

 

what was i thinking?  after only nine kms of a nice and gentle pace we split up and did the remaining 42kms at pace.  a high pace.  the lack of this type of riding lately has meant that i was suffering and only barely holding onto the back of the group.  but maybe i should jump back about an hour and a half to when riding a bike was pleasant.

a nice turnout today with probably over 50 riders.  i had already posted the fact the we would split the group in two and had mapped out the routes that each would follow.  a few of the guys had stepped up to say that they would lead the main group which was great as i knew that they would be left in capable hands.  we also had a “sweeper” group where dr’s paul and wally were going to do the same course and pick up anyone that got dropped.  each ride started and finished on the same sections of road, but it was going to be a race to see if the fast boys could cover the extra 5 or 6 kms before the main group finished.

we headed out coode st and onto canning hwy.  as we made that turn a car decided to try to squeeze in amongst 50 cyclists and wondered why we just didn’t get out of the way for him.  apparently there was some words, but i was too far away to see or hear what was going on.  we made our way down towards freo but it wasn’t long before north lake road appeared on the horizon.  i rode from the back to the front trying to let as many people as i could know that this is where the group would split.  i was hoping that we would get the lights as this would have made it so much easier, but unfortunately we didn’t and there was a little bit of confusion.

the groups finally sorted themselves out and we headed south while the main group continued down to their turn at stock road.  i looked around our group to see who we had.  a few faces that i though would struggle, but i guess we would find out as we went along.  i think that we probably had about 20 riders with us and we set a very mundane pace for the first stretch to leach hwy.  i was sure that after south st the pace would pick up and it certainly did.  the group organised it’s own roll through and the pace picked up almost instantly.  we stayed together well through the rolling hills around the back of adventure world.  however, i do think we may have dropped dr carl somewhere around there.

we turned onto berrigan drive and into the wind, so for some reason the pace went up.  i had to stay near the front so i could bark out directions between gasps for breath.  the roll through was still going strong, but more and more people were sitting it out and just holding on for dear life.  we turned onto jandakot rd and almost directly into the wind.  little gaps were starting to appear and you had to sprint around to close the gap.  i was behind davina when someone started falling back fast.  she sprinted around and chased for a bit to make the junction, but i was a bit slow and a bit weak so got left out in the wind.  there were about three or four of us that were off the back and we worked together to try to get back on the train.  the combination of wind and rolling hills made it difficult as you would almost make it back on when the road would pitch up just that bit too much and you didn’t have the legs to close that final gap. 

we got back on but there was not much of jandakot rd left to enjoy as we quickly came to the end.  for that section of road (5.6km) we averaged 40kph with a max of 50kph and i had an average heart rate of 177bpm with a max of 185bpm.  it doesn’t seem a long way, but it seemed to take forever, and hurt like a bitch.

we turned left and headed towards nicholson rd.  the road was a lot rougher but i knew that it was in great condition a bit further up where the housing estates started.  we continued to roll through but it was hard as there were patches of very bad road with potholes and dodgy repairs.  we almost made it through to the end when there was that hiss noise that you just hate to hear.  we rolled a bit further to find a safe spot to get off the road and surveyed the damage.  jack from fleet cycles had hit the pothole hard and popped the tyre.  we decided to wait for him to fix it and it allowed a few of the other guys to catch-up.  dr carl passed us and continued on his way.  after a five minute repair job, jack realised that his tyre was actually split and would have to limp the bike home.  we saddled up and continued on our way.

the stretch from ranford road back to albany hwy was at a high pace and again we started to shed riders.  by the time we turned left at albany hwy, we were down to just 11 riders.  that stretch of road (11.2km) was taken at an average of 44kph with a max of 53kph.  i averaged 174bpm and maxed at 182bpm.  i also think that by this point i had lost about a litre and a half of sweat.

the trip down albany hwy and onto shepperton rd was very uneventful for me.  mainly because i was hurting that much that i couldn’t participate in the roll through and was only barely holding onto the back wheel.  john turned off at vic park for an early exit which left just 10 riders from the original 20 or so.

we came onto riverside drive and lined up for the final sprint.  as the moved started to go, so did my legs and i just did what i could to get to the end.  the main group was well established by the time we rolled in, but if we hadn’t got the flat tyre, i think we may have given them a run for their money.  i didn’t have a coffee, but stopped for a little bit to talk to lorraine and some others about becoming a club and what we need to organise.  our ad-hoc agm is scheduled for next saturday after the ride at the coffee shop.  i have received some nominations already, but if you think that someone would do a good job at running a club (and it is more than just racing), then put their name forward.  if you think you want to help out whether it is formally on the committee or just in general, i would also like to hear from you.

 

change we can believe in
change we can believe in

i have also heard that there are some concerns from the more recreational cyclists amongst us that we will become a more race focused group.  as far as the saturday and sunday rides are concerned, there will be no changes.  the group may continue to split like it recently has and the riders that want a good race type training session may opt for the fast group, but this is really just trying to cater for all the needs of the group.  from all reports (and i will wait for the blog) the main group performed really well today and kept a brisk pace without losing any riders. 

the only change that forming a club may bring is the extra security of insurance if you with to take it up.  if not, you can still join the club as a social member of the club and can therefore be included in club activities.  at the end of the day it is about promoting cycling and racing is just one facet of the cycling that we partake in. 

i hope that you all think that this is a move in the right direction since i will be relying on your support to make it successful.  as a group we already do more social activities than the majority of the formal clubs in perth and have a great culture that binds us together.  the formality of becoming a club should give us more stability as well as open up some other doors for us in regards to coaching, skills development and grants. 

we have come a long way in less than one year and i hope that this move will mean that the south perth rouleurs continues to be a group that people want to be associated with.  change we can believe in…

saturday 10th january – hale rd (reverse)

3 Comments

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.