Ride report  by daniel

Having got a little wet during the week, it was good to be back into dryer weather as the weekend dawned. Although, when we started riding it was a little cooler than I would have liked. Oh well. Anyway, it was a relatively good turnout for the Saturday morning ride. I think we probably had several people doing the State Criterium Championship’s but looking around we would have plenty of company on the road. Pete was out early but had left the lycra at home for a change – seems like handing out water bottles and the like is such hard work the he needed to take a rest from riding in preparation! Hard for some.

Pete was up to giving us the pep-talk before we started: Canning Vale reverse, remember that there are some hills early, try to keep the group working together. The usual, but many of us need to be reminded.

So we started, and I think that we managed to hold everyone together in the main. Heading west on Canning Highway we did split the group several times coming over the freeway due to lights – but no real hassle – after a brief pause to gather everyone, we were off again, and holding a nice even inclusive pace. I was close to the front when we hit the hill leading up to Stock Road, but I think we managed to keep everyone resembling one group; I’m open to being corrected here as I was towards the front at this point 🙂

Either way, the lights along Stock Road kept showing red, and this helped us to regroup, and kept us together all along Stock Road and in the initial run down South Street. It was at this point that things got a little interesting. As we approached North Lake Road, I recall Ryan discussing with Jerry when we were splitting and exactly when it was that it would be OK to “go fast”. Or words to that effect. In any case, immediately after this there was a sudden acceleration down the hill towards Gilbertson Road. Now I don’t always have the legs to stay with some of these surges, but neither can I resist giving it a real good go. It seems like I was not the only one, so we were off!

As it turned out, this turn of speed did not last long as we took a few more lulls at lights as we crossed back over the freeway. However you rate it though, by the time what was the fast group had reached Bannister Road, I think it is safe to say that what started as a single group was definitely split into several pieces.

From this point this pace was kept relatively high but not insanely so – again due to lights and even a reasonable wait a roundabout. It seemed like we shared the work in the main, although I do recall Ryan hitting the front several extra times to make sure we kept pushing reasonably hard. So we headed back into town along Spencer Road  and then Albany Highway, picking up several riders who had taken the main group route (I think) and so managed to get out in front of us. We continued in pretty much the same way all the way back, with the lights playing true to form and stopping us as we picked up speed down Shepperton and onto the Causeway.

I can’t tell you who won the sprint as I got held back by the lights on Riverside Drive – except to say that it was not me.

Back in the coffee shop we met Pete to collect waterbottles and trisuites. It was good to see a few new faces on the ride. It was also good to see a few regular faces, the likes of Lisa and Anna, rejoining us after their efforts in the Tour de Perth (well done!). Not to mention that we got to meet Josh’s family, along with the regular appearance of Pete’s boys. Very cool.

See you all next time.

Report by Julian 

Back for a Sunday ride – my first in 4 weeks – and I was keen to see how much climbing form had deserted me in the time.  Thanks to Peter and Mark DC for writing up the last few weeks rides in my absence.  Mark was relieved to see me at the start as it meant there was no pressure on him to get the ride reports out this week.  There were just on 20 of us ready for the 5 climb ride via Canning Dam, but the Elite Group of Paul, Greg, Christophe, Declan, Simon et al. already had a short cut sorted before leaving.  With the easterly blowing there were relatively short turns on the front today (some shorter than others!) and after a trek down Albany Highway the Elite group turned off to take on the Kahnua.  The 10 of us remaining headed further out and were soon turning in Carawatha Rd for the first ascent.  The climb was nice to me today as I took an early lead and made a steady pace to the top without any attacks from behind.  Chris kept up his recent form to take 2^nd and was followed by Brodie, Mark and Peter.  Mike, Lisa, Tim, Marc S and Phil, (not in that order) followed behind and the re-group was only long enough to allow emptying of a couple of bladders. 

The quick descent was rapidly followed by the rough climb of Carradine Rd.  Peter made an early attack and was followed by Tim.  Chris, Mark and I followed behind and about 2/3s of the way up I decided to bridge the gap and left the others to fight out 4^th and 5^th.  I went past Peter and Tim and Peter hung on my wheel and was annoyingly close as the finish approached.  About 150 m from the finish Peter made his move up the inside and I was cooked.  Again the re-group was shortish and was only extended by Peter’s motivational talk to Lisa about continuing the ride.  Happily the 10 of us stayed together for the next climb, the long but no too steep climb up Albany Highway to Canning Dam turn off. 

As we started up Albany Highway we remained together but as the pace quickened, one by one the riders started to drop off.  About 1.5 km from the finish, Mark DC, Brodie, Tim, Phil and myself were left.  Phil was unsure of the finish and made an attack but was hung out to dry.  Tim also tried to go but was wheeled in by Mark DC and Brodie who fought it out to the line.  I caught Brodie about 200 m out and up ahead Mark outlasted Brodie for the points.  Phil hung on for 5^th. 

The sun was out and wind had dropped as we made our way to Canning Dam, then down to Araluen.  Mark DC set a fair clip down the hill and Peter and Lisa brought up the rear.  We regrouped at the bridge and began the 4^th climb up to Karragullen.  After the initial climb, Peter came to the front and said there were 5 of us together and he was about to change that.  With a smile on his face he attacked and the 5 became 3 pretty quickly.  Enjoying the moment I made an attack and this resulted in Tim dropping off.  On the last rise before the left hand turn I attacked again but soon realised I was at my limit and dropped the pace, allowing Peter to get back on my wheel.  We stayed like this until the last climb to the finish when I got away from Peter to take the points.  The battle for 3^rd and 4^th was very hotly contested with Chris and Time sprinting for the line.  I had some concerns they wouldn’t pull up before Brookton Highway but both managed to slow in time.  Time took 3^rd by less than a half wheel and Mark DC took 5^th.  We gathered at the service station to allow for food and drinks to be taken on – Jelly snakes have never tasted so good. 

By this stage there were a few tired bodies and the sun quite strong.  Mark DC and I chatted up the front about recent rides – a couple of weeks ago we’d raced each other of Kwinana Freeway after work not knowing until we broke off who the other was and we happy with the pace set.  We also talked about the last climb and our season ambitions of a sub 8 time for Mark and a sub 7.50 for me but decided that today would not be the day, given the temperature and four climbs already done.  Everyone else did their turns up front and before long we were heading down into Bickley Valley for the final ascent. 

The climb started OK with Mark DC deciding to go straight to the front.  I got passed Mark on the first steeper part and stayed in front maintaining a fair pace.  I looked behind at one stage to see three others hanging on – revealed later as Mack DC, Peter and Brodie.  I kept my head down and by the time we hit the flatter section only Mark and Brodie remained.  I kept the lead and upped the pace to see who would drop.  The others two held on and I figured I try one last attack to get them off.  By this stage I thought my speedo hadn’t dropped below 26 km/h so figured it was going to be a good time so kept attacking and hoped for the points.  Alas on the final rise Brodie and Mark came around and I couldn’t hold them off – with Brodie taking the points just.  As we passed the sign I looked down in disbelief at my time.  The scream of delight from Mark in front confirmed that my stopwatch wasn’t broken.  Mark and Brodie stopped the clock at 7.45 and I did a 7.46 – a 10 sec PB for me and 25 sec PB for Mark.  Needless to say we were both pretty happy.  Peter and Tim came in 4^th and 5^th.  Unfortunately I had to be home early for my son’s cricket so couldn’t celebrate at coffee.  I suffered a few leg cramps going along Lesmurdie Road but kept the pain away by staring at my stopwatch. 

As a footnote, the points table has been fully updated and the final ride for the month next weekend should be interesting.  Five riders are within 10 points of each other at the top so the KOM is wide open.  Let’s hope we get a good turnout as it goes down to the wire.  Also, Peter and I have discussed the hill climb times and this will be updated with recent performances included.

Report by mark

Sunday November 8
Most of the guys were away at the Golden Spokes event, so I was surprised to see a good turnout of 18 at the start.
Another beautiful day for riding – not too much from the Easterly wind, and a comfortable 15 degrees.
Mike B joined us on Douglas road and before you could say “warm-up”, we were climbing Welshpool road.
As all the mountain goats were racing that day, the field was wide open for points.
I tried to stay with the front bunch, but fell off half way up, and watched in amazement as Johnny flew past me, muttering something about how good he was feeling on the bike. Nice to hear!
The order at the top was Matthew, Richard, Johnny, Dean, Mark dC.

There was some confusion after this, as we were supposed to head off right to the observatory via Patterson Rd, but everyone carried on left. I didn’t get any takers to turn right when we hit Glenisla either, so I assumed that was it, and psyched myself up for MW Road. As we approached along Aldersyde, the bunch looked smaller, and Simon asked why I never joined the others up to the Observatory. I did try – honest.
I cruised up Mundaring Weir Rd ahead of the bunch, and then did a U-turn, and headed back down to catch the others on the way back from the Observatory. They approached from the opposite direction, as they’d done the Observatory loop backwards.
I’m told the order at the top was: Dean, Matthew, Johnny, Richard, Marc S.
Anyway, we all made our way back to our favourite hill, and had a good climb to the top. After a helping hand most of the way up (can’t remember who’s wheel) I managed a PB of 8min10sec which I was very happy with. 8 minutes is looming ever closer…. The order at the top was Richard, Mark dC, Dean, Matthew, Johnny, Heiko.
The planned route of Zigzag down and back up Gooseberry was quickly vetoed by the group, and we headed straight to the Merchant for another round of great service and good coffee.
The usual ride home was uneventful, with a hard push along Welshpool/Orrong, up to Albany Hwy.

Sunday November 15
The following Sunday was an even better cycling weather day.
Hardly a breath of wind, and lovely cool dry conditions.
Tour de Perth was on in the afternoon, but I was expecting a good turnout for the ride. I was surprised to see only 10 people there, with a few first timers – always good to see; Welcome to Todd and Nathan.
My old friend Vic and his mate Pascal were also there. Vic took me on my first ride around Perth two days after I flew in from Cape Town in Jan 2005.
The route was Cahunu (Mills Rd East), Urch& Pete, Observatory and Mundaring Weir Rd
We headed out past Curtain Uni, onto Albany and then left, over Tonkin, to the foot of the first hill.
New Chis and Brodie took off early and stayed away to the top. I caught Stu (who was cruising) near the top, and he let me stay in front for the points.
Order was: Chris Brodie Mark Stu Ben

There isn’t much of a break before you hit the next one, and once again Brodie and Chris went hard at the start and closed the gap I’d pulled on the downhill. I paced myself up the steep part, and then worked hard on the flat to catch Chris. Then Ben attacked while we were all waiting for someone to go, and he kept the gap to take second place, followed by myself, Chris and Dan.
We filled up with water at the servo on Brookton, while some admired the U-beaut Ducati’s that pulled up.
Then onto Patterson and up to the Observatory. I can’t remember much, but the order at the top was Stu, Chris, Dan, Brodie, Ben, Mark
Vic, and Pascal headed back home via Welshpool, while the rest of us did the TT up Mundaring Weir Rd to earn our coffee.
I followed Dan most of the way up, and saw Chris and Brodie break clear, but didn’t have the legs to go with them.
The order at the top was Chris, Brodie, MdC, Dan and I missed the next one (apologies – feel free to leave a comment if it was you)
Coffee and service were great once again at the Merchant.
Standard ride home, made more pleasant by the traffic light gods smiling on us, and giving us a clear run all the way down Welshpool.
I pushed as hard as I could along the flat up to Leach Hwy – in preparation for riding my new TT bike which should be together by the weekend, with my bits that arrived from CRC this week.
Watch this space…

Report by Paul.

If you are into cycling, and unless you live under a rock, you would have know the Tour De Perth was on last weekend – 4 stages over 3 days showcasing some of the best cyclists from this state and country.

 
For the rest of us that aren’t up to the elite level required for the TdP, there were some support criteriums held on Sunday between Stages 3 & 4. I had never competed in a criterium before so I thought this would be a great chance to give it a go. I watched the TdP criteriums on Friday night and it was quite frightening the speeds the girls & guys were doing…especially around corners.

 
So Brettski, Daniel H. and I decided to race the Men’s Support B criterium. It was to be 30min + 1 lap. The 1.2km course used the last 300-500m on Perry Lakes Dr to the TdP finish line then loop onto a closed road internal to Alderbury Park. The internal road was rough…potholes throughout…covered in those pesky honky nuts (gumnuts for you eastern staters)…oh and there was also the added challenge of three speedbumps to negotiate at high speed 🙂

 
So after numerous warm up laps waiting for the juniors to finish, we waited at the start/finish line for our smashfe st. We were running about half an hour behind when they sent us out for a warm up lap (again). You could feel the tension in the group as we went around at about 28km/hr, I’m sure everyone was making mental notes on potholes, sharp corners, inclines…places were someone may attack.

 
My objective was very simple – stay upright and try to be with the pack on the final lap.
Due to being behind on time, our race was reduced to 25min + 1 lap. The first lap was quick and the legs were burning. As predicted as soon as the bunch got onto the smoother surface of Perry Lakes Drive the speed picked up even further, plus we had the aid of a tailwind…we were at 50+km/hr and strung out in a line. At this point my thoughts were mostly how the feck am I going to hold on for another 20 min?

 
The first attack took place on lap three (?) along Perry Lakes Drive with the rider coming from the back half of the group. The guy attacked to the right side of the road, whereas the group was on the left side. Two more riders managed to jump on quickly. I was about 4-5 riders back and after a few seconds realised that no one else was going to chase and that if I didn’t go now we would lose them. So I took off in pursuit moving over to the inside of a slight right-hand bend…trying to use the shortest distance on the bend to make up ground. It wasn’t until I managed to get within a couple of bike lengths of them that I realised I had taken the rest of the group with me, but the benefit was that next on my wheel was Daniel. This turn of chasing had pushed me into the red with my heart rate maxing out. It was at this point that I didn’t know how much longer I would last but I managed to slot back into the middle of the group and take off a few beats from my HR and recover somewhat.

 
For the remaining laps there were two places on the course that the strong guys tried to unload as many riders as possible – along Perry Lakes Drive and as we came out of the first turn over a speedbump. It was all about positioning yourself in the front half and holding. There was plenty of argie-bargie and elbows rubbing along with the usual ‘words of encouragement’ between riders but fortunately no one went down. I was relieved and nervous when the bell rang for the final lap – relieved as it was the final time I had to get around this loop with my ring hanging out, but nervous cause I knew the pace would increase once again. Daniel had pulled up next to me just before the final lap and asked how I was doing – he looked as though he had a bit left in him.

 
The final lap I was just hanging on and was out of gas. I managed to hang on to the front 8-10 riders along the final stretch to the finish but didn’t have the big kick in the sprint to match it up front. Daniel got himself into a great position and managed to hang on for 3rd…great to see SPR on the podium.

 
I really enjoyed the race and it was pretty much as I expected it would be – very fast with no let up at any point. I’m looking forward to doing some more criteriums. For those of you that are into details, the total km’s raced were 18.75km with an average of 39km/hr…my average HR was 176 bpm (85% of max) with a max of 195 bpm…literally my max!!

I now have even more respect for the elite guys who raced for 50 min + 3 laps at higher speeds.