Tag Archives: scarborough beach rd

saturday 26th fast group – scarbs beach rd

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ride report by peter.

cold.  yes it was cold.  damn cold.  officially it was -0.3 deg at 7:00 dropping even further to -0.6 deg at 7:30.  numbers were down accordingly and combined with the cyclo-sportif on the next day, the fast group only had 9 starters.  as we rolled out, ryan turned up in his car so i yelled at him that we were doing scarborough beach rd and let him work it out from there.  we headed off along riverside drive content to just have a chat and ease our way into it.  somewhere along mounts bay rd, ryan came flying past and sat out in front for a while.  he was all warmed up now after chasing for a few kms so was hoping for a quicker pace.  we dragged him back in and took the turn around the back of kings park.

we set a decent pace up the hill and got everyone warmed up by the time we hit the top.  steve and matty were with us after returning from a couple of bike races in indonesia (see previous posts).  however, neither of them were too worried about smashing it up today.  we made it up to scarborough beach rd before the pace began to pickup a bit.  we had a bit of trouble through mt hawthorn and a few (including myself) fell off the back slightly.  nothing too bad, but enough to get us caught at the lights…and the next set…and the next set.  by the time we got going, i expected that we would never be able to catch back up, but the group had graciously pulled over and was waiting on the side of the road.

as we reached them, we kept riding, meaning that suddenly julian and i were now at the front leading into the rolling hills.  not a good sign for me as the group was not big enough to be able to hide in.  i rolled out before the pace went on so that i could try to find a nice wheel to hide behind.  julian stayed at the front but before long, ryan and vaughan stepped up the pace.  half the bunch reacted, but the other half were content to tap away.  since i was not riding on sunday, i though i better put in some type of effort and i tried to bridge across.  i picked up a couple of riders that had popped off, but was always just a little bit out of reach of the front two.  just after they crested the last hill i managed to make contact, only to be pulled up by the traffic lights.

the rest of the group bunched up behind us so we were ready for the final couple of hills.  unfortunately one of the reasons the traffic was all backed up was the fact that there was a very large piece of equipment being transported along the road at a very slow pace.  we all justslow timed it and rode the rest of scarborough beach rd with the traffic.

west coast hwy was pretty sedate and most were happy to just tap away.  that was until vaughan and ryan decided to have a crack and the pace went up substantially.  i didn’t feel like chasing so went and sat at the back of the class.  i wasn’t the only one as soon we were spread all down the road.  we made the turn onto the boulevard and up the first climb.  i was right at the back by now and not making any ground so started looking through my garmin for shortcut options.  danny boy was just in front of me with julian a bit further along.  i called out to jules, but he was out of ear-shot when we turned up kalinda drive.  it was a shortcut but it wasn’t actually that easy as it followed a hill up to the watertower.  once we came down the other side it was just a easy roll back down to west coast hwy.

we set a nice tempo along the hwy and fully expected the group to swamp us at any moment.  i was always looking back in anticipation but still nothing by the time we hit the swanbourne shops.  dannyboy wondered whether they had stopped to wait for us and i had hoped that it wasn’t the case.  as we hit stirling hwy a small group of three or four caught up to us.  ryan, vaughan, steve were there, but not sure who else.  with no mass sprint expected, we set a nice pace through dalkeith and on to mounts bay road.  the problem with writing something up so late is now i can’t actually remember what happened next.  did the rest of the group catch up???  what happened in the sprint???  call it early –alzheimers,  but after the rest of the weekends activities, this part of the ride seems to have been purged from my memory.  feel free to fill in the blanks.

saturday 7th nov – scarborough beach road (main group)

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ride report by peter.

 

with the golden spokes race on the sunday, i opted for an easier ride for the saturday morning (that’s easier, not necessarily easy).  my body is getting old and i can’t back things up anymore.  the route today would take in the city as well as osborne park before passing through scarborough beach.  a quick trip down west coast hwy and home through dalkeith as usual.  the fast group would split off just after osborne park and tackle ewen st which climbs up higher but parallel with scarborough beach road.  they would start to come along west coast hwy, but would spear off to the left and take in the boulevard and oceanic drive. 

back in the day, the scarborough beach ride would skirt around kings park before heading up over thomas rd and through leederville.  this was a 50km ride so to make this the main group ride the extra kms on the fast group would push it up to 56km.  this is pushing the distance a bit and means that the time starts to blow out.  to cut the kms down i re-routed the ride through the city and straight up to kings park road.  this is where the fun began.

there were about 50 people that turned up this morning but it did look a bit light on for numbers.  i worry about splitting the group if numbers are low but it always does look low until we get moving and then i’m glad we split.  it wasn’t the numbers that caused the problem today but the lights through the city.  last time we did this route i am sure we received a better run.  this time we pretty much got every single light.  even along scarborough beach road we seemed to get them all.  probably a good case for changing the ride route.

anyway, we finally hit the split point and the fast group headed up the hill.  i sat on the back of the main group and let russell get his troops organised.  this section contains a number of roiling hills so russell wanted to regroup once we hit west coast hwy.  i saw scott and darryl fall off the back but i was waved on so moved back onto the group.  i was content just to sit back and picked up a couple of stragglers to meet up at west coast hwy.

we waited for a bit, but it didn’t look like they were coming in a hurry so we pressed on.  down the hwy the group managed to get a roll through happening and it seemed to work quite well.  we now had the wind on our backs so the pace had picked up but there didn’t seem to be any one suffering.  on the small hills heading up to oceanic, the group seemed to split apart a bit as the stronger riders continued the pace to the top.  the lights allowed a regroup and we were soon off again.

along the way we picked up matty who was waiting on the side of the road.  the position he was in would mean that the fast group would go around him as they shot in the boulevard and out oceanic.  i waved for him to join us and he chased to catch up.   i was content to just sit on the back with the occasional roll through so just chatted to matty for a while.  the group strung out on the last hill before swanbourne but everyone was together by the time we turned past the shops.

the dalkeith stretch was uneventful, with a couple of surges that were brought back in.  the final sprint at the swan brewery was punctuated  by a number of last minute attacks but i was again content to sit back and watch.

straight home for me as i had an appointment to attend, so not sure what happened to the fast group.  i’m sure that someone can fill us in.

saturday 12th sept – scarborough beach road

ride report by peter.

 

the weather has turned nasty again with lots of rain and lots of wind during the week.  it was forecast to be similar this morning and there was lots of rain overnight.  fortunately it eased off to give us a relatively dry start to the morning.  the wind, however, didn’t seem to ease off and looked to be a factor today.

it was going to be a new look at an old route as we headed to scarborough beach road.  we headed through the centre of town for a change, as it took off about 6kms from the original route that went around kings park.  we managed to get a number of traffic lights, but as we were only on cruise mode, it was just a minor irritation.  the lights and the small climb up to kings park spread the field a significant amount but we managed to be all back together to turn onto thomas. 

a pretty uneventful trip up loftus and onto scarborough beach road with james and ben setting the pace.  the westerly winds were gusting between 30 and 40 km/hr and we were heading straight into them. at least we would get a good push home.

just before the rolling hills started, we split the pack with the fast group turning onto ewen st while the main group continued along.  i discovered the ewen st hill when i had to go to lisa’s house for a committee meeting.  even though it was a while ago, i have been trying to get it onto the saturday ride and today would be the chance. 

we started the hill and their were no attacks as a don’t think anyone knew what to expect.  i came around and hit the front but didn’t last very long before i was at my max.  the hill pitches up a final time towards the end and everyone started coming around me once we hit that.  people were starting to stretch their legs, but there was a full on race to the top between davina and jarrad where neither looked like they would yield.  i was just on damage control mode and limped over the top.

we came down the other side and onto west coast hwy.  we didn’t stay that long on it before we turned up the boulevard.  the hill was made significantly easier with the strong wind on our backs and soon we had turned back onto oceanic.  this little detour was to add kms to the fast route as well as add a couple more climbs.  it would also give the main group a chance to get ahead of us.

back onto west coast hwy and the pace really started to pick up.  we were soon running single file as a combination of the pace, the traffic and the wind made things more difficult.

we picked off a couple of main group riders that had been dropped earlier and soon we were heading through swanborne.  we had lost a few from our group and they were chasing to get back on.  as we approached the lights at stirling, we found the main group waiting for a lights change.  when they did, they hardly stayed green and their group became split with us further behind a bit of traffic.  this allowed quite a number of our group a chance to catch up while the main group waited over the road for the rest of their riders at the lights. 

at the change, we came past the main group and suddenly the hammer was down.  i had to work hard to bridge across as i was held up coming around the main group, but finally made it before the group got too far away.  i was content to sit in now as the group sped through dalkeith and over the rolling hills. 

the pace didn’t seem to diminish and i found myself  slightly off the back again with paul o.  we finally made it back just as the lights changed to get onto mounts bay road.  no rest for the weary and we quickly jumped on the back of the group.  from then it was just a matter of hanging on to the end and i was too far back to see who picked up the sprint.

coffee was quite quick this morning and i actually got the chance to have one after a number of saturday morning appointments.  jerry was at the coffee shop after skipping the ride to keep his legs fresh for tomorrows atta time trial.  his first attempt and a chance to air the new bike.  however, he is starting just 1min in front of the guy that usually wins the events.  calculations have it that he will be caught by the first lap.  good luck jerry.

the spring breakfast is next saturday and the state team time trial championships are on the sunday.  looks like we will have a good turn out for both.  don’t forget to rsvp to lisa so we know how many to cater for the breakfast.

saturday 5th june – scarborough beach rd

with a nice downpour just 30 minutes prior to our normal kick off time, i expected that a few people may have decided to stay in bed instead. we had close to 20 or so riders which is a nice manageable number especially if the roads are wet. i didn’t get any rain on me on the way to the start, but brett was coming from the other direction, and got hammered as he came through belmont. i did check the radar before i left home and i was pretty sure that we would not get hit with any other storms.

the route today was an old favorite with scarborough beach rd being the main focal point. we would head steadily around mounts bay rd and up around kings park via thomas rd. this would eventually bolt onto scarborough beach rd where we would step up the pace a bit. home via west coast hwy and dalkeith would also add another two fast sections.

we rolled out at a nice easy pace and found our way past the coffee shop and onto mounts bay rd. i got to talk to a new guy, kim, who is a friend of ryan’s and who also won a copy of the tour de france guide with his haiku entry. good to see some new riders coming out, especially when the weather is not that pleasant.

as we headed up thomas rd and the constant climb that it contains, i noticed lisa was struggling a bit and was falling off the back. i was already dropping back to see how the field was doing, so i fell in along side her. she had been to the track on friday night and was now feeling the effects of that session. she told me to go ahead, but i thought that we should be right and would catch up with the main field. unfortunately we caught almost every light along thomas and loftus and would only just get them in sight, before we got caught again. just as we hit scarborough beach rd, michael had slowed up to give a hand.

john also appeared out of nowhere and jumped on to give a hand. we basically had michael and john on the front and me pushing lisa when she started to struggle. again, we almost caught the field a number of times but would always get stymied by the traffic lights. when we hit the rolling hills section that the main field would have stepped up the pace, lisa told us to go ahead, as she was not coping well. i would not normally do that, but she said that she lived close by and new the area and any shortcuts.

we accelerated and tried to catch the other guys before the hit west coast hwy. michael fell off the back as we put the pace on so john and i took turns along all the rolling hills that make up that stretch of road. at the coffee shop, some of the guys did comment on how deceptively hilly that section of road was and how you think that you have finished all the hills, when one more appears.

we regrouped on west coast hwy and set off with a stiff breeze coming across our right shoulder off the ocean. again a nice steady pace along the highway until we past oceanic drive. i had said in the morning briefing that once we past that point, we could go hard again, until we hit the swanbourne shops. we were held up at the lights, so i reminded everyone that it would be on again, and as soon as the lights changed we were off. john and nick took off from the gun and managed to gap the field a bit. i was sitting mid pack and was letting the group stretch out a bit before deciding what i would do. a few gaps opened up as people’s abilities were stretched so i came around and began to chase down nick.

a quick look around and i noticed a number of riders hanging off my slipstream as i time trialed up the road. i caught nick and came around him to chase down john. my shadows fell off once i caught nick as they all fell into step behind him. i caught john and came past him too but he quickly jumped on behind. we started to do turns to try to keep away from everyone but stu managed to bridge the gap too.

the three of us worked together for a while, but we were caught by christophe and nick before the end. it was a good hit out though, and i was pleased of my performance after a couple of bad saturday morning rides. another regroup before we headed off again for the final hit out through dalkeith.

as we approached the lights at the stirling hwy intersection, we had a small split and the lights allowed about 6 or so riders through. i expected them to wait for us, but instead, they took advantage of the situation to try to keep away from us. darren did quite a bit of work on the front before ben and i started swapping off turns to try to pull the break back. we had almost caught them by the time we hit the sharp left hander onto jutland pde, but i started to fade and let the rest of the field go.

i managed to grab a couple of wheels and got a bit of a rest before the small rises that usually sort things out. i came off johns wheel and powered up the climb so that i could just keep the front guys in sight. we rolled down past steve’s pub and the majority of the group were back together by the time we reached mounts bay rd.

it started to line out early as the pace was on with the tailwind. michael and i noticed that graeme brown was unfortunately heading the other way on mounts bay rd. he would have been able to give ryan a run for his money being a protour sprinter and all.

anyway, i was sitting towards the back and thought i better move up when i saw a gap open up ahead of carl. this positioned me closer to the front, but still behind ryan and some others. there was some moves and next thing i know i am sitting second wheel behind nick who was burying himself on the front again. he started to fade after a long turn on the front, so i came around him but decided not to go full pace. i wanted to leave something in reserve and not long after, john sprinted past with ben on his wheel. i jumped up and managed to hold the wheel, but then john ran out of puff so i had to switch to ben. ryan came flashing past, and ben and i both tried to up the pack but to no avail. we both sat back down and watched ryan take line honors by a long stretch.

a nice stop for coffee and we managed to get in before the main storm front came through. we gave out our haiku prizes to the deserving winners and i also managed to drum up a bit more business for the tour de france tipping contest. so a good ride today with lots of hard and fast sections to test the legs. lisa did manage to make it to the coffee shop but she said it took a lot of self control as she past by her house and thought about turning off early. lorraine met us for coffee and to deliver the prizes and some coffee bean orders from the hardcore coffee crew. it will be good to see her back on the bike soon.

saturday 1st mar – scarborough beach rd

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daylight savings. i’m sick of it. cars had their lights on as i rode to the start today. street lights were on. i had to change the lens in my glasses before i left or i wouldn’t have been able to see. so glad the politicians know what’s best for us and decided to just give us a three year trial. by the time it finishes at the end of march the sun won’t rise till 7:30. and of course the sun rises on the east coast first so it has to travel over all those mountains and stuff, then it probably takes it’s time crossing adelaide as it would get bored half way through. by the time it gets here, like this morning, it didn’t really seem to be bothered as it wasn’t a stunning day break and hardly managed to get through the low cloud. anyway, on with the ride, but don’t expect this to be my last rant for this blog.
about 40 or so turned up this morning, which was good for quite a few reasons. firstly it was dark so i thought that may have kept some people in bed. secondly it is a long weekend so i thought that a few may have been away. thirdly, well no real third reason, so probably should have typed “a couple of reason” rather than “a few reasons”.

a group of this size could be trouble with the number of traffic lights that we had on today’s route, so we would have to see. it was a very basic route today which would see us cruise along mounts bay road and around the back of king’s park. continue through leederville before hitting scarborough beach rd and back along west coast highway. this ride would also bring some changes as we would have three sections where we would allow the boys to smash-it before regrouping.

a nice organized pace saw us catch every single traffic light to osborne park which became a bit frustrating in the end. we picked up another couple of riders just before leederville but all in all a very uneventful first half. once we got past the majority of the osborne park shops, the road starts to undulate quite a bit and this represented the first section where the boys would be allowed to stretch their legs.

no-one seemed keen to start the ball rolling so i set off on the first hill to force the issue. the boys responded immediately and i was soon swamped by riders. still in search of some form, my high speed endurance certainly needs some work and i was doing all i could, to hold on. this section of road has a bunch of stepped hills before rushing down (and one more up) to scarborough. it is the type of road where if you are going to start something, then you need quite a bit of endurance to keep it going. i watched on as people like ryan, cade, a couple of steves, and many others all sped past me and tackled the next small climb. i managed to hold a couple of wheels and was dragged slowly to within spitting distance by the time we hit the regroup point.

after a short wait, we continued at a nice pace south along west coast highway. i had previously said that we would keep it together until oceanic drive, at which time the road starts undulating again, and the pace was allowed to step up. keen as usual, they started a bit early as the road climbs slightly just before oceanic drive. luckily the traffic lights sorted the group out. scott and i were riding together on the last climb and didn’t step the pace up so ended up at the very back. not the most ideal place to be just before the pace was about to increase so we had to fight our way back to the front. i changed lanes and got a draft from a car to help me along before slotting into a gap about 5th wheel while scott came off my wheel and went straight to the front.

this stretch of road has two slight hills which are usually enough to hurt everyone if the pace is high. again, no-one seemed keen to go so i made a move to up the pace. i have been thinking about this, and maybe everyone is afraid now as people are unsure when they are allowed to go. i try to make it clear, but not everyone know the street names. maybe i have been too much of a ride dictator and my iron fist rule has everyone scared of getting blogged if they attack to early. anyway, the ride is evolving.

my attack didn’t last long and again i was swamped by the fast boys. i managed to hold on as best i could in the single lane section past the army base, while the cars still tried to get round with traffic coming the other way. sorry to hold you up, you might be late for your botox injections.

as the road dropped down into swanbourne, the smaller groups managed to come together at the lights on north street before we turned onto claremont crescent. about now a feel another rant coming on.

it is two f_cking lanes along this stretch. lots of room for wankers to drive their cars. there was nothing in the other lane, but mr black lexus f_ckin dickhead decides to stay in our lane and miss me by less than a ruler length at speed. he must have been an exceptional driver, cause you know how hard it is to judge distances on the other side of your car. f_ck me it was close. i gave him the finger, but then noticed that he was turning the corner with us and was probably going to the swanborne shops. right, i will have him, so i got up out of the saddle with the intention of chasing him down. he had to slow a bit coming around some of our other riders. so i kept chasing. he must have saw me cause he turned right to cross the rail bridge while we were going straight. as i crested the top of the hill near the shops i saw a black lexus in the car-park over the tracks, with the driver still in it. i would say that he was going to the shops and decided to hide instead. now i’m not sure exactly what i was going to do if i did catch up with him, but a couple of dents in his car would cost a bit to fix up. also, not sure if f_ckhead drivers realize it, but even though we may look silly in lycra, i’m sure 30 fit blokes could put a lexus onto it’s roof quite easily. anyway, just another dickhead to look out for. you would think after what happened to those cyclist that the p plater backed over had been all over the news, that people may give us a bit more space. but no. sorry if i have offended anyone with my liberal use of the _ key, but this is my life that mr dickhead was putting at risk so i was a bit pissed off.

so, we slowed the group down a bit and cruised along the crescent. again an inconsiderate driver that just could not wait blindly passes us so that the car coming the other way had to stop to avoid hitting him. we just shake our heads in amazement some times. i would say most of the group was together by the time we crossed stirling highway at the grammer school, and it would be a good reason to thin the pack through dalkeith. this is not really being mean, it just makes the final sprint a bit safer if we take out the not so strong riders early.

as we hit the small climbs on birdwood parade, the pace was increasing. ryan went off the front and but was brought back as we past the old hospital. i decided to put in a big effort on the next climb and managed to get to the front, for a short amount of time at least. ryan kicked again but then we were all over taken by the “pure sprinters” like bruce and steve r as they waited till the last minute to hit the top of the climb hard. we cruised down past steve’s hotel and along hackett drive. you see something different every day and today there was a guy rollerblading along the road/bike path that had to pull over to let us past. each to their own. i used to rollerblade to uni back in the day.

we headed along mounts bay road and you could see people were trying to work out strategy. ryan was neatly boxed in on the left hand side and i requested that they leave him
there, but he was released before the end. paul was looking for “blog time” and took off as soon as we hit mounts bay and had a handy gap on the field. it lined out quite early and gaps were forming as people tried their best to keep up. i jumped around (hitched a draft in the right hand lane) to get behind steve r who was still about 7 wheels from the front. we both knew that the main sprinters were behind us, so steve was constantly checking to get a hint of the break. eventually steve b came flying past and steve r shouted for those in front to chase. not sure what happened next but he said that there was a touch of brakes in front of him that took his momentum away.

steve managed to get out and starts the chase. next thing i know, ryan smashes past with jerry, scott and bruce in tow. i had to wait till the road cleared but managed to get on bruces wheel before they disappeared down the road. steve b was caught and ryan kicked hard and early. he managed to get a considerable gap, but the recently married man had quite a few weeks off the bike in Thailand, so didn’t get the usual long run. he faded a bit as he neared the line and scott managed to pip him by about ½ a metre as his momentum carried him through. i fell off the back of that group but was still happy to finish with the main group this week.

it was a slightly longer ride this week so the coffee shop was a bit full by the time we got their. luckily mickey’s group was departing as we were ordering, so space became available. i was still pretty pissed off at mr dickhead and as you can probably tell, still not happy now. lucky i can vent through the blog.

check out the poll on the right hand side and let me know if you are interested in developing a jersey for this group.

also, this pic of tom boonen is for lorraine, who said the posting of girly pics was a bit sexist. maybe, but a half naked cyclist being “worked” on by another guy seems a bit funny too. till next time.