The points classification has all been updated and congratulations to the following on their perfomances over the past few months.
February – 1. Stu 2. Brendan 3. Ben
March – 1. Ryan 2. Mike 3. Stu
April – 1. Mike 2. Ben 3. Darren
May – 1. Mike 2. Julian 3. Ben
My photoshopping skills aren’t that great so no pictures of the winners in their polkadot jerseys are available!
I’ll endeavour to keep it as up to date as possible from now on.
I look forward to seeing more of you in the hills.
Julian
Yes its that time again, toasties, muffins, BROWNIES…. and not forgetting coffee 😉
The next SPR breakfast will be on
Saturday 20th June
at Pete’s place immediately following the group ride.
Lots of yummy food… lots of great fun… and great prizes to be won!
Only $10 a head to be paid on the day
EVERYONE WELCOME!
Please RSVP by 17/06 either by posting a comment or emailing me to me so that we can have approximate numbers for catering.
See you there…
Lisa
For those of you who already know, Cyclosportif events are fantastic participation events for cyclists of all abilities.
The next Cyclosportif event, Cicla a Swan Valley, is on Sunday 28th June starting at the Velodrome in Midvale and heading out around the picturesque Swan Valley.
There is an opportunity for anyone involved in SPR to participate as there are 3 different distances to choose from.
Distances:
78kms – 5 x laps
62kms – 4 x laps
31kms – 2 x laps
Each team comprises up to a maximum of 9 and a minimum of 5 riders for each event, with the overall team time (you must stick together) counting as the completed time.
This is NOT racing – it is about enjoying a challenge with your team mates and ‘participating’ as a team not ‘winning’.
Let’s see how many SPR jerseys we can get out there and show other riders what an enthusiastic and energetic club we have!
Cost is $45 pp for Cyclosportif members/ $60 pp for non-members
If you hold a current Cycling Australia racing license the cost is $45
Recreational and non-license holders will need to buy a “friend
of Cyclosportif” day license to participate – $60 in total
Please indicate in the comments if you are interested and in which distance.
An SPR “base camp” and “feed zone” will be available on the day.
Lorraine
Given the dearth of club races over the next couple of months, I though I’d reacquaint myself with the Veterans “club” (West Coast Masters Cycling Council) this weekend. Their advertised race said that it included a finish at the top of a hill at Brigadoon. Revolutionary.
Plenty turned up despite the cold and the 1500 metres of sometimes 10% gradient promised at the end of 80 or so km of racing for the A and B grades. 32 riders entered for the A grade including a lot of the usual suspects from the State Road titles a couple of weeks ago. And Eddie Hollands. Warm up was a bit of non-event as riding around in the cold was counter-productive and sitting on the bike in the queue in the sun seemed to work much better as far as the muscles were concerned. Luckily we were off last, about 20 minutes or so after the Bs had left.
The pack was kind at the start, allowing everyone to get warm on the flat rectangular Herne Hill course before the attacking began. Odd little groups of one or two were allowed to get their 100 metres or so off the front until counter-attacks began and they were quickly brought to heel. That is until one Mr Hollands decided to get serious on the 3rd lap of 8 and he got away with a series of sustained bursts that quickly opened up a couple of hundred metres. No-one really had the intent to try to bring him back and he used a couple of the other grades’ packs to conceal just how well he was going.
Lap 4 saw another series of twos and threes get mini-breaks to form a breakaway group of about 8 (including Lamond, Glasby et. al.) and they started to work well together. They gradually opened 150 metres or so on the main group until the chase was on. I guess many could see their chances disappearing so it quickly became a very democratic operation. You could tell the pressure was on as a couple found themselves riding down the gravel verge as they’d been getting rather ragged when holding wheels, including F. Landon who seems to have a habit of getting himself into sticky situations. Luckily no-one came down as they managed to hop themselves back onto the hard surface.
After a couple of laps of chasing, everything was back together and the last lot of counterattacks began. I began to notice that the legs were in pretty good nick on the little rises on the back straight, despite contributing to the chase, so I was hopeful of getting to the bottom of the hill in a good position then letting nature take its course. A couple of half-hearted solo efforts were restored by the bell, and pace went out of the bunch as they prepared themselves for the final onslaught.
One rider took advantage of the hiatus to try a last semi-hearted attempt to build up a bit of a buffer before the final climb. No-one was interested, so I thought I’d put in a half-effort to keep him close. It seemed to be the right time (that hesitation time that seems to come in the last kilometres when the serious breakaway attacks have finished and everyone is waiting/watching – or stuffed) as the peleton let me go on the back straight ‘rises’. I was away again and with another strong rider for company, so we soon bridged and formed a happy triumvirate. Now these other two were good power riders with rumps that you can show widescreen video presentations on, and they were intent to stay away this close to the finish, so the team time-trialling speed came on. News from the roadside was that Hollands was 3 minutes up the road, so we were racing for second. I was torn between wanting to maintain our good gap over the bunch and not wanting to cook the legs prior to the hill. Climbers are not meant to break away on the flat before the hill, after all.
The final hill came with a reasonable gap back to the bunch. I managed to drop both my helpers on the steep section, but one had settled into his rhythm about 50 metres back, and the lactic acid began to take its toll near the top. I couldn’t pull away any further before the false flat came with 300 metres or so to the finish. Neither of us knew where the exact ‘Arrivee’ line was, but he was certainly stronger on the level and I was beyond arguing about it. He looked younger than Ryan anyways. We finished just over 2 minutes behind Eddie Hollands, but with a clear gap to 4th.
Results: 1st Eddie Hollands, 2nd Steve Smith, 3rd Mike Bonner, 4th Richard Woods, 5th Andrew Brierley, 6th Paul Lamond.
Please find full results here: http://www.wcmasterscycling.asn.au/raceresults/Results%202009/Results%207%20June%202009.htm
The Australian Veterans Council National Championships are in Perth this year this coming November with a time-trial, track races, criterium and road race (Chidlow). Perhaps this explains the bigger fields and the more adventurous courses and racing.
Michael B.
Report by Julian
A very cold start to Sunday morning meant that the 20 or so riders who gathered were all rugged up. Then Stu arrived in a short sleeve top and no arm-warmers, which made everyone forget how cold they were! A quick explanation of the ride route was given by Peter , after which we set off up Mill Point Road, Great Eastern Highway then on to Orrong Road. The first rays of sun hit us in Welshpool but had little impact on the shivering bodies, especially when we went past the small parkland depressions that seemed to be a couple of degrees colder than the surrounding area.
By the time we hit Welshpool Rd hill the group was sufficiently warm to attack the climb. Stu, Hunter and I made an early move but Hunter dropped back when he experienced chain trouble. Jerry and Lorraine were amongst the others making good progress and also passed Hunter, who by this stage couldn’t get his chain off the big front ring. On the last rise to the top of the climb Stu made a decisive break, helped by shedding excess weight in the form of his pump and sunglasses. Only after he claimed the points did he turn around and pick them up and the rest of us followed on to the re-group at the end of Welshpool Rd. Lorraine was very excited about her 6th place – could this be the day she’d breakthrough for here first points?
KOM 1 – 1. Stu, 2. Julian, 3. Jerry, 4. Peter, 5. Mark
We lost a couple of riders at this point but the main group headed up to Carmel on the way to the top of the observatory hill. The cloud had not lifted here so visibility was low and good ride etiquette was observed with a safe pace being maintained. One advantage of the fog was that the initial steep part of the climb was not visible so the hill did not look as daunting as usual. Despite this, John (I think) still managed a cry of disbelief when he realised we weren’t turning left. As we ascended, Stu and I made a good break and were the first to be greeted by full sun. We turned into Patterson Rd together and again Stu attacked to collect the points. We then turned to watch the others finish and saw Jerry bring home 3rd. Behind him a flash of red hair indicated Lorraine would indeed collect points as she finished with Peter. At the re-group we waited for Hunter before Jerry set off back down the hill to find him. At the same time Hunter phoned in to say he’d broken his chain and he was going to be picked up. We waited until Jerry was just out of earshot before yelling this out, ensuring a bit of extra climbing for him!
KOM 2 – 1. Stu, 2. Julian, 3. Jerry, 4. Lorraine, 5. Peter
The fog re-appeared into Pickering Brook and in the Bickley valley but had cleared by the time we hit the time-trial climb on Mundaring Weir Road. I sat on Stu and we made good pace up the first hill. When it flattened out I was keen to hang on the Stu and try to set a PB. Behind us, Brendan, Peter and Jerry were pushing Lorraine though and apparently being kept entertained by her loud breathing patterns. At the top, Stu took points and I equalled my PB time of 7.56. Brendan, Jerry and Lorraine rounded out the top 5 and the rest followed in good time. About half the group left for coffee at this point whilst the 10 or so left headed off to the zig-zag and a climb up Kalamunda Rd.
KOM 3 – 1. Stu, 2. Julian, 3. Brendan, 4. Jerry, 5. Lorraine
John and Brendan set a good pace down the hill and were first to Ridge Hill Road. The last turn on the zig-zag was covered in gravel but the advance warning to other riders was excellent and no mishaps occurred. The smooth surface of Ridge Hill Road and the sun finally providing some warmth meant that the last descent was pretty quick. By the time we got to Kalamunda Rd lights we had re-grouped for the final climb. Stu and I set off from the front and were still together as we approached the service station roundabout. Sensing a chance to steal the points I went into the big ring on the last turn and overtook Stu, then was relieved to not see a counter-attack. We all re-grouped at the coffee shop to re-live the dream and to hear exploits of the days climbs. Despite some slow coffee service for some, the enjoyment of the ride was not lost.
KOM 4 – 1. Julian, 2. Stu, 3. Lorraine, 4. Brendan, 5. Peter
There were no dramas on the way down with low 80’s the maximum speed obtained. Gregor’s arm warmers stayed close to him this week, as did the $5 he still had in his tyre. At the first McDonald’s Stu made a comment about how nice and warm he was and noted he didn’t have any arm warmers or the like to remove and carry. Peter and Brendan had a fast final sprint in Berwick St before we gathered at Bunnings and went our separate ways home.
Footnote: I didn’t note any hill climb times at coffee. If anyone set a PB can they please leave a message in the comments so it can be updated on the list.
ride report by peter.
i was scheduled in to take the novices this morning so i decided to cut a lap of the river beforehand. with the state time trial championships the following weekend, i took the tt bike to do some efforts. unfortunately my young lads conspired against me and delayed my start by about 15 min. this meant that i was running hell late by the time i reached freo so had to go to plan b and ride straight back up stirling hwy.
i had pushed fairly hard so was looking forward to the nice easy pace on the novice ride when dr ronny came up to say that he would take the novices for me. my brain said yep, my legs screamed wtf. my brain promised my legs it would release some more endorphins and so we were off to chase the fast boys.
both the groups stayed together along canning hwy and stock road where we managed to get split a number of times by the lights. a small group got ahead at the lights at leach hwy so managed to stay ahead as we turned onto south street. luckily, they kept the pace down until the group was totally back together and i announced that the fast group could then take off. the pace picked up immediately and group split into their respective speeds.
the fast group started to roll through to keep the pace high and we started to drop one or two riders. not a lot of time to catch up but at least the option to join back into the main group would be available until we past banister road. our next challenge was to encounter another group ride heading in the same direction. we were catching them but being on a busy road i didn’t want to take over a second lane so we had to single file it past at speed. i think we may have lost a couple more who latched onto that group for comfort and security.
we reached the turn to banister rd and few turned off to ease the pain a bit. we continued on with the group rolling through up to nicholson rd a where we turned left to skirt past livingston shopping centre. i was starting to miss more and more turns by this time as my legs were pretty much over the promise of more endorphins and were filling with sweet, sweet lactic acid. we managed to reach the end of nicholson rd and swung left to head towards albany hwy. julian commented to me that he thought that we were supposed to go straight. no, i thought we were on the right track as this was the way we always went. then my gps started flashing up on the screen that we had gone off course. ah, maybe julian was right. didn’t matter.
we past by the end of banister rd to find the main group waiting at the lights, so we managed to sneak past them. we had a lot of trouble when the two groups got caught up a while ago, so i am keen to keep them apart as long as possible.
coming back in along albany hwy the pace was still on but we managed a few lights to catch our breath before swerving onto shepperton rd. no big attacks so on the last rise i managed to just surge when i was on the front and got a gap which brendan and lorraine bridged across to. once back on the flat near the causeway the group had caught up but we had also caught the early escapees that had not been caught by the main group when they turned off. i jumped back onto the front and did some more time trial training across both bridges and onto riverside drive. i was so buggered by this stage that i needed to change down gear to negotiate the minuscule rise that the road takes to cross the bridge.
i continued to lead out, knowing that i had no sprint and needed the tt practice. no-one was coming around so i just kept the pressure on as long as i could. once we crossed the lights the first set of lights i felt a rush of air as ryan took off with brendan fixed on his wheel. the rest of the group then also took flight in dribs and drabs according to their ability and remaining fitness. i was pretty buggered by now so cruised the rest of riverside drive. ryan managed to hang on to the sprint, but not without a major rub of wheels from brendan, just so he knew he was there.
by Stuart
The State Time Trial Championships are on Saturday afternoon of June 13 at Dardanup – see details here. This event is highly recommended – the start location is good, the course is interesting (if you have the time or inclination to pay attention to the passing scenery) and the profile is not too hilly to make it hard, but not too flat to make it boring. It has a very fast finish if you have the energy to make the most of the gentle decline and smooth road. And, to further encourage South Perth Rouleur participation, it’s a good opportunity to present your credentials for a prestigious place in a SPCC team in the State Team Time Trial Championships in September. It is likely that SPCC can field a few teams in this event so places in teams will be keenly sought – put your hand up now!
And there’s more. In order to make the trip to Dardanup (near Bunbury) even more attractive, a nice recovery ride has been planned for the following day, in partnership with the South West Cycle Club (SWCC). In summary, the route will be from the centre of Bunbury, northward to Australind, east toward Collie climbing Roelands hill, down to Wellington Dam for a coffee stop, then along the lower Collie River before climbing the famed River Road and finishing back at Bunbury Dome café via Dardanup (map to be blogged later). It is planned to join the South West JETS (Junior Emerging Talent Squad) on route back to Dardanup, which provides opportunity to encourage some of the young talent. You never know, they might move to Perth and need to join a club!
SWCC have suggested going out for tea after the time trial (ala Pemberton) so in order to confirm if this idea has legs, we need an indication of your support ASAP, please.
Obviously if you intend to participate in both events you will need to plan (ie chat to your other half, book accommodation, fix your TT bike, etc) NOW. Even if you can only find time or freedom to do one event please give it serious consideration, and respond/comment to this blog.
winter is finally here. no thunderstorms and lightning this weekend but it will be cold. damn cold. they are predicting 4 degrees on both saturday and sunday mornings. don’t let that deter you though. that is why they invented armwarmers, legwarmers, thermal gloves and jackets.
for those that do not have any spr kit, we will be doing an order very soon. i am just trying to work out some more items with cannibal so you can also get knee warmers and a jacket. the usual kit will still be available and those that skimped on things like armwarmers and vest last time (because it was summer) will have the opportunity to purchase again. for those new to spr this is a good opportunity to be part of the group. show off your club colours like any good biker gang.
anyway, saturday will have you nice and warm as you tackle the rolling hills along south street. the group will split with the main taking bannister while the fast hits nicholson. pretty standard ride for the old hands, so there should be plenty of leaders to follow. i will be taking the novice group but we may have to find more hills to make sure we warm up 🙂
sunday. i was told that we don’t do rides 1 – 7 much anymore. here is number 6. nice and tight circuit around kalamunda and the observatory. lots of opportunities for shortcuts and an early coffee if you need.
layer up and i will see you on the road.
Menzies to Kalgoorlie
Race report by Brendan
After originally looking forward to this awesome event some weeks prior my world was turned around in the last few weeks with a back/leg injury that just refuses to go away, My dear old Gran passing away resulting in another week off the bike while back in Victoria and with the leg finally showing signs of getting better I caught the flu Thankfully no swine flu but still coughing and flem like no tomorrow I boarded my flight to Kal with Jody.
Upon arriving in kal we dropped our gear at our Hotel and thankfully being picked up by Jody’s sis and huge Thanks to Daryl Benson (WAIS) taking my bike up in his van made the flight up so much better. While I went off for my Chiro appointment to hopefully settle the back issue even more, jody went off with sis to visit the kids but as I had a lil time to kill I went for pancakes at Dome and joined Daryl and partner, WAIS girls with Sarah Jean for a few laughs and stories prior to Saturdays race start. Once I was sorted by my old Chiro I was meant to have a nice relaxing massage at another place I frequented whilst living in Kal, it was a nice 20min walk up there which helped to cough up as much flem as possible as I was really dreading the whole thought of racing 2 days. Once there they politely told me they couldn’t fit me in (even though I was booked) as the masseuse was sick, spewing that I was now not only sick but couldn’t have my massage I was rather p!ssed off to say the least so off I walked to a mates place instead and then we headed down to start to register. Once registered Jody had come up to join me we went off for some lunch in town where I made my decision that I would skip the Saturday’s criterium stage. So after lunch checked into our room and had a nice spa to clear the chest and head and then headed back to the main street to watch the days racing.
As many people will tell you I can’t sit still at the best of times so watching this while coughing what felt like my lungs up just didn’t sit well with me and was making me grumpy but we were entertained by some great racing, strange tactics and few crashes. After that we grabbed my bike from Daryl and headed back to the Motel to place Mr Hedley’s Zipp 404’s on as we had a nice tail wind by all reports for Sunday’s race. At 18.30 every rider had a compulsory briefing lasting for 30odd mins covering all things related to Sunday’s race from rules and requirements to general info. Once completed we headed off with friends for an awesome meal at a local restaurant before retiring for the night with enough tablets in my body to make me rattle.
I woke up early and had a hot shower to clear my chest and head and felt surprisingly better so did the usual breaky pre race thing, was picked up by friends, grabbed some drive through coffees and hot chocolates and headed up to Menzies. Trip there was full of stirring and stories between us boys about what we were and were not going to do. Once there we set the bikes up, got ready and went off for warm ups. A grade were off 6 mins behind us and C grade were 6 minutes in front so we were abit worried but committed to get the ball rolling and see what happens. As we only had 12 odd riders and the way I felt I was really in self doubt mode by was determined to have a crack. We were rolling turns averaging 50kmphr leading up to the first challenge the sprint at 30km mark, I so wanted to have a go but knew I was asking for trouble as I coughed and spat mucus like no tomorrow but safely through the sprint we re-grouped and were straight back into formation and surprisingly I was coming better and better, heart rate was sitting where it should be, no leg/back issues and I started to enjoy myself. We got the call A grade had only made 1 minute on us by the 50km mark in as they were attacking each other and refusing to work so that made us focus some more and try for the fastest time honors 2 years in a row (B grade won fastest in 2008). Some of the guys were starting to miss turns but about 8 remained strong and worked strongly for a majority of the way. We talked about things and made a call to smash the speed up for 10 mins to see if we could gain some of the 1 minute back from A grade and to get rid of some hangers on.
It pretty much worked and we were back as the core group again with each of us missing a turn here and there to get some feed in. With 20km to go we got time gaps and knew we had no hope of catching the 2 front groups and A still hovering around 1 minute behind we decided to keep pressing for time honors. With a few big turns we shelled a few remaining to be only 6 of us left with 3 Brooks/Mcmurdo riders I knew coming up to the end the numbers were swinging in their favour.
With 10km to go the attacks started and the Brooks guys took it in turns shelling out some punishment at full speed, personally I was feeling ok but knew deep down my lack of miles of late were bound to catch up with me but I pushed with the attacks for approx 5 km until it was whittled down to still 3 Brooks guys, Paul Lamond and myself. With each attack my zing was slowly going so tried to let others chase the initial surge but the legs were fading fast and knew on the last rise was going to be the spot and sure enough I pre empted it but to no avail as the legs just didn’t have the speed so the 4 of them got a gap of 30meters and I rode my tempo that my legs allowed and looking behind making sure I wasn’t caught I soloed in to lose about a minute but happy to finish reasonably high in B grade knowing that I gave my best and considering all my bad luck of late happy to be able to finish my 8th(from memory) Menzies Classic.
On finishing we waited to see who had the legs in A and with an awesome ride solo Luke Durbridge rode in approx 90seconds faster than us to claim fastest time and first A grader home. Dean Emslie won the race from C grade and from knowing Dean and knowing how honest he is a much deserving winner. He even shed his winnings around the core group of guys in C grade to show his appreciation as without them he couldn’t have won. Congratulations Dean! Sarah Jean came in the front group for 6th overall and first lady.
Over the weekend there were lots of team tactics and actions resulting in a few raised eyebrows just to show passion and politics in cycling remain
Onto the dinner and presentation over many a drink and some great food we enjoyed some great stories from the 1950 winner who won while half of the course was still gravel! Now that is hardcore! Luke Hardy made us laugh with his impersonations of Russel Brooks, Matt Deck and Mark Petterson while collecting there prizes for them. After that we headed to the pubs and after Jody went home about 10pm I partied on with the boys to well into the morning to try and make sure my flu was well and truly drowned .
The event ran extremely well and coupled with great weather made for a great weekend of racing was had by all, what was a little disappointing was the lack of support from the Perth riders as we only had a total of 90 and compared to a few years ago we were nudging 200 and SBS were talking of televising it! So I am telling you guys now, try your best to be on the start line for 2010 Menzies to Kalgoorlie Classic and they have some great plans to make this event the Premier Western Australian road race it once was, as after all to win it you have to be in it.
Be safe and see you on the road soon (hopefully I will be back to normal by then)…. so I can get ready for my next goal “The Grafton to Inverel”.
Report by Julian
I was a tad unsure of whether I’d make it on Sunday. The thought of a 120 km round trip after the punishing Saturday ride and my neighbour’s 50th birthday that evening wasn’t inspiring me, but the “coffee shop pact” I’d made with Lorraine after the Gooseberry Hill ride meant that a sleep in wasn’t an option. Arriving at the car park I was surprised to see over 20 riders ready to tackle the day. Confidence reigned supreme as a poll indicated only Shun had brought a rain jacket. The wind was non-existent and the temperature not too cold so conditions were ideal.
The Manning Road /Albany Highway sections were unremarkable with the lead changing regularly to allow everyone to do some work on the front. The pace was maintained in the low 30s as we prepared for the Kahuna. At the start of the climb Gregor had a puncture, which he tended to with a little help, whilst the rest of us forged on. Rob made the early pace but the young group, including Sam in his shocking tights, and Adrian plus Mike, Ben and I soon put a gap between us and the rest of the field. Mike held his form to the top keeping out Ben. I made a last effort to catch Sam but was stalled by being in fits of laughter as Sam’s tights had half fallen down leaving his knicks hanging over the top. It was quite a sight. In the end, the first climb points were as follows:
KOM 1 – 1. Mike, 2. Ben, 3. Sam, 4. Julian, 5. Adrian
We then made pace down Urch Road, with John leading the way towards Peet Rd and the Roleystone High School finish. We came across a Cyclobuzz group on Peet Rd so I was unsure of actual positions but know I was holding 6th or 7th – i.e. no points. Peter and I worked together towards the roundabout and Nick came flying past thinking he was a chance for 5th. We yelled out the position and this slowed Nick up and we finished behind the front group, who shared the points:
KOM 2 – 1. Mike, 2. Craig, 3. Ben, 4. Rob, 5. Adrian
The re-group was longer than expected as we’d heard Gregor had suffered another flat. However, he bravely soldiered on, complete with a $5 note inside his tyre to protect the tube. We started off again and turned into Brookton Highway with Sam (I think – apologies if not you Sam. Feel free to name and shame) doing his best to kill himself by ignoring the calls of ‘car right’. We need to be careful on these roads and I would encourage everyone to read the etiquette page on the web site to understand our responsibilities when we’re on the roads.
Everyone held position on the descent and by the time we hits Soldiers Rd we were all ready for the climb. A group of 6 set the pace up the hill and we started breaking up towards the top. Sam outlasted Mike to the top, followed by Ben and Craig and I passed Adrian near the end to take the 5th spot.
KOM 3 – 1. Sam, 2. Mike, 3. Ben, 4. Craig, 5. Julian
At the re-group we were all reminded that this was the last short cut point of the ride. Judd and Rachel took the option and the remaining riders headed off to Albany Highway and the next KOM at the Canning Dam turn off. This hill is the flattest on the ride so it turned into a sprint finish between about 8 riders. Nick again tried hard to get points but the placings were already filled.
KOM 4 – 1. Craig, 2. Sam, 3. Mike, 4. Adrian, 5. Rob
It was another long re-group as Ben changed a flat. Time was starting to get away so we made haste down towards the dam. This lasted all of 1 km before Lorraine had a flat, courtesy of someone who dumped a load of bricks in the middle of the road! Once the tyre was changed off we went again and made good pace again until Peter started free wheeling and his wheel hubs started screeching, which caused general alarm. However, the problem was not serious so we continued down the valley until the wooden bridge, where there was no need to answer three questions to cross it (I can’t remember who made this classic Monty Python reference at the re-group before the bridge but all the way down to it I was thinking of was my name, my quest and my favourite colour – Brilliant). The long climb up to Karragullen was hard and I generally find this climb particularly tough. I could see Ben fading a little in front of me but couldn’t catch him.
KOM 5 – 1. Mike, 2. Craig, 3. Rob, 4. Ben, 5. Julian
At the service station re-group we decided to forego coffee in Kalamunda, as a few of us had to back home. We planned to head to Pickering Brook and then directly to Welshpool Road and back for coffee at Atomic for those who could. Nick decided to breakaway just before Welshpool Road to get up the last of the hills. Although there were no points on offer he bravely stayed in front for the first hill. We then got the pack organised to haul him in until Mike mentioned that it was his birthday so we let him take the final hill, and in recognition of this made a special KOM stage for him.
KOM 6 – 1 Nick (happy birthday for Saturday)
On the Welshpool Road descent Lorraine got to Tonkin Highway first and Gregor lost an arm-warmer. We picked up solo rider near Roe Highway and Peter went into recruit mode and hopefully she will join us next weekend. The next bit of excitement was a clash of wheels in East Vic Park, which brought one rider down but no damage was done. There were more moments of madness in the final sprint down Berwick Street (again refer to etiquette web page) before the regroup in the Bunnings car park. A group of about 10 then headed to Atomic along the bike path, stopping only to assist a little kid who had a head on crash with Nick!! It really capped off an eventful day but luckily no damage was done.
As a footnote the final points for May will be posted soon (I need to get the May 10 results) but Mike looks to have won the polkadot jersey. We’ll aim to update the KOM points more regularly now.
Also, SBS will be launching their new channel SBS2 tonight and from what I can gather from their press release they will be showing ALL of the Tour de France this year.