Garland Group 1 Saturday Ride :: 25th February, 2012

[Red Light Ride]

I always look forward to fronting up for a Group 1 ride with the Garland Crew as the pace is usually high enough to keep the HR up and work you reasonably hard - and of course there is the social aspect! Today's ride, however, was marred by the dreaded red traffic light. It seems we could barely catch a break and caught nearly every red light along the way and this kept the average pace down a bit.

I arrived at the usual meeting place behind the shop and greeted the usual Group 1 suspects (including Javan - good to have him with us once again) however, Al seemed to be missing. His car was there but there was no sign of the man until he appeared from the shop on his new Specialized Shiv TT bike. He had spent the week dismantling parts from his old (Ned) Flanders bike and building them onto the Shiv frame he had purchased. The bike looks great and I'm sure Al will ride very well in his ITT events this year - the bike just oozes speed!

Al was only joining us for the spin out to Christchuch Grammer where he would turn around and ride back to the shop. This was to give him the chance to get the "feel" of the bike and check for any fine tuning he needed to do before his first event on the bike at Herne Hill tomorrow. I was hoping to see how he would go for his first event on this bike. I'll blame Al for landing it on the same day as the State Crit Championships at Tech Park. I wish Al, Emma G. and John S. all the best for tomorrow's event and look forward to seeing the results.

Emma G. also joined us in Group 1 again after her first outing with the group last week. I had heard through the grapevine that she had completed the ride and rode it quite strongly which is fantastic to hear. After her time off the bike, she has managed to quickly gain back some good form and it was great to have her riding with us. I'm sure she will be near her peak by the time she rides the UCI WCT event.

With Al on the Shiv, I was anticipating a fast pace ride out to Christchurch and I wasn't disappointed. Al immediately went to the front and there was no way I was going to let him get up there on his own so I joined him and we set a good pace heading across the Causeway and along Riverside Drive. I was expecting the two of us to remain at the front until at least the end of Mounts Bay Rd but Al decided to make the call to "roll" as we passed under the Narrows.

The pace lifted as we hit Mounts Bay Rd and we managed to maintain a respectable 43.5 km/h average. The pace remained steady as we ascended the small rise into Nedlands and onto Birdwood Parade making for a solid effort through to Claremont and the roundabout at Christchirch. Personally, I felt that the legs were a little heavy during the last sprint effort to the end of the segment and it would not be the last time during the ride that I felt a bit sluggish.

With the Rottnest Channel Swim on this morning, we avoided the congestion along the beachfront at Cottesloe by riding along the rail line down to Curtin Avenue and managed to catch every red light along the way and the average pace we had set was beginning to get wiped. We climbed the incline before reaching the roundabout where Marine Parade comes in on the right and I was set to begin a hard pace along Curtin Avenue only to realise that I had punctured my front wheel and came to grinding halt in front of the small Primary School where I made my repairs.

This unscheduled stop allowed Groups 2, 3 and 4 to pass us by so we had some ground to make up if we were to even consider catching Group 2 again. The stop had also wiped a good chunk off the average and it was down below 35 km/h for the first time since starting out from the shop. With the wheel repaired and the bike rubber-side down again, I set off to rejoin the group and hit the front to begin the chase. Group 2 had gotten well ahead by this time but Groups 3 and 4 were still within reach.

My sprint along Port Beach Rd was like riding on beach sand and I couldn't seem to get to the usual pace I would set along there. I noticed Simon V. on my wheel and anticipated him coming around me to lead out the final part of the sprint but it never eventuated and I crossed the line just ahead of him and not completely satisfied with my effort.

The pace was still strong through Fremantle and out toward Point Walter and it was there that Dave made the welcome call to turn up Reserve St. I relished the opportunity to have a crack at this climb again and the potential for a PB which was forthcoming as hoped with a time of 00:01:20 for a 26.9 km/h pace. This surprisingly puts me on equal pegging with AP at 14th overall for the segment.

The Burke Drive sprint also had me struggling to wind up a decent pace as we passed Group 4. I found I had to hold Dave's wheel for some time before being able to come around and complete the sprint ahead of him. Again, it felt like I was riding on beach sand and yet I was completing climbs with no problems although even these would begin to test me.

Melville Beach Rd allowed me to recover somewhat and presented a chance to have a chat with Emma. This apparently did not sit well with Dave as he came around us and lifted the pace toward the Majestic climb. I began my assult on this rise well but could not seem to hold it and had two riders come around me. I was able to reclaim second wheel ahead of Simon before the top and followed this with a quick descent down the other side. We were soon into Gairloch Street for another short and sharp climb where while I got to the top ahead of the group, it was Simon who was able to claim an 8th overall for the segment - a good effort on his part.

Even riding along Canning Beach Rd had me feeling sluggish and we regrouped at the Raffles where we had regained our place ahead of Group 3. We formed a pace line along The Esplanade and out toward Leach Hwy continuing our pace as we reached Riverton Drive and out to Shelley. The pace was good and the pace line worked well allowing us to hold 40 km/h+ for the most part. The final sprint to the end of Riverton Drive was by no means my best but I completed it well enough considering the average of the ride so far was up to 35 km/h again.

The last strong effort remaining was to climb the rise to the top of Kent Street near the High School and I was not able to hold off the charge of another rider who managed to come around and complete the climb a few seconds ahead of me.

It was great to get back to the shop and still see most of the group intact, including Emma who had ridden the entire ride very strongly and her form has certainly improved since getting back on the bike. Javan must have decided not to continue with Group 1 at the Raffles as I did not recall seeing him since then. He had put in some strong turns at the front which allowed me to recover in his draft which I missed for the last part of the ride. I don't recall seeing him back at the shop either so he must have had another appointment to keep.

We finished the ride with a 35.4 km/h average which was still good but my feeling was that with less red lights and less of the sluggish feelings I was getting, the ride could have been completed at a better pace. I had completed a tough week of training that I'm sure might well have had something to do with my performance this morning so another hills therapy session early tomorrow morning might just help to aleviate that problem.

A big amount of kudos to AP this morning for the solo effort he completed in the hills, climbing over 2,300 metres for a duration of more than 5 hours and across 153 kms. All this with a 75% MHR. An amazing ride and one that I would absolutely do with him the next time he decides to go out and murder himself. And Dennis calls me "psycho" (or is that "cyco").