We are back! We left Katanning in the very chilly early morning, and rode 'tempo' to Wagin, had a coffee break and met up with others, and then rode slower tempo to Narrogin.
What's 'Tempo'? We were told that it means 'go as fast as you can!' - is this likely? It certainly felt like it.
Details will follow but here is the route: Narrogin to Collie via Williams - Collie to Bridgetown via Boyup Brook - Bridgetown to Pemberton via Donnelly Mill and Manjimup - Pemberton to Frankland (actually the Fern Gully winery!) via Manjimup - Frankland to Katanning via Cranbrook, Tambellup, Broomehill - Katanning to Narrogin via Wagin.
And now we are off to the pub. More beer and lots of food. A few of us said we will not be looking at another 'jelly snake', power bar or sports drink for a long time.
Showing posts with label rides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rides. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday Williams ride
A peleton (!) of four started this morning, with three going on to Williams. Craig went with us to the airport, as a recovery ride after yesterday's killer 90 km at an average of 34 km/hr. I'll leave it to one of the three supermen (Paul, Derek, Craig) to write about their pain.
Pete, Dennis and Dave took a much more relaxed approach, and stopped in Williams for coffee (all) and a muffin (Dave) before an almost wind-free return on the main Williams road. It was almost pain free too, until we got to those hills on the approach to Narrogin - ouch! We did think of Trevor and Tom doing the 5 Dams ride, for a few seconds.
Dennis is still stuck on his small chain ring - which is extra small because it is one of the new Ultegra compact rings - because no one in shops or online is stocking replacement large rings at the moment. You may remember that Dennis and his bike had a stack a few months ago. Dennis' broken wrist has repaired itself, but the bike is not so adaptable.
We averaged 30.5 km/hr for the 67 km. Not bad for Sunday riders!
Pete, Dennis and Dave took a much more relaxed approach, and stopped in Williams for coffee (all) and a muffin (Dave) before an almost wind-free return on the main Williams road. It was almost pain free too, until we got to those hills on the approach to Narrogin - ouch! We did think of Trevor and Tom doing the 5 Dams ride, for a few seconds.
Dennis is still stuck on his small chain ring - which is extra small because it is one of the new Ultegra compact rings - because no one in shops or online is stocking replacement large rings at the moment. You may remember that Dennis and his bike had a stack a few months ago. Dennis' broken wrist has repaired itself, but the bike is not so adaptable.
We averaged 30.5 km/hr for the 67 km. Not bad for Sunday riders!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday coffee group
A group of 7 started together, and rapidly became a group of 3 - Tim, Craig and Paul who went for a 60 km sprint - and our team of 4 comprised of Dave, Peter, James and Marius, who went into the Williams Woolshed for coffee and a rest.
The tail wind was great, but it really meant that we went faster for the same amount of pain as usual! Coming back was a trial. Sometimes we were cruising along at 35-40 then the gusts would come and we would be back to 20 km/hr and working hard. And the hills at the end were not friendly. Marius discovered that he had a small chain ring, and what's more Marius has a smaller one than most (!) which meant he still had two cogs to go when I had run out. We are all learning to improve our cycling setup and pedaling technique, and it counts on those longer hard rides.
Overall, we did about 67 km, averaged about 27.5 km/hr, and took about 2 hr 24 min. That is a lot of 'abouts' because I forgot to reset when we left and got back.
The tail wind was great, but it really meant that we went faster for the same amount of pain as usual! Coming back was a trial. Sometimes we were cruising along at 35-40 then the gusts would come and we would be back to 20 km/hr and working hard. And the hills at the end were not friendly. Marius discovered that he had a small chain ring, and what's more Marius has a smaller one than most (!) which meant he still had two cogs to go when I had run out. We are all learning to improve our cycling setup and pedaling technique, and it counts on those longer hard rides.
Overall, we did about 67 km, averaged about 27.5 km/hr, and took about 2 hr 24 min. That is a lot of 'abouts' because I forgot to reset when we left and got back.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Waroona Pain
Craig's Diary from Waroona ride!
Hills...long ones...steep ones...ski-ramp-shaped ones...take your pick...Waroona had them all.
Left Narrogin with Paul at 6.30am and met Trev and Tom in Waroona about 9.00. No sign of Pottsie so we thought we'd whack on our bright pink tops (mine was more of a boob tube) so at least he could see us.
Finally spotted him driving to into the event with 15min to spare but only to find out that he'd withdrawn with a sore foot (heart) muscle. Pottsie had driven in on the course and when he didn't get out of first gear on those hills, he was quite thankful he'd forgotten to pack his bike.
Team Zin-Zan made a good start despite some heckling from the gals behind us who wanted to swap tops. A lazy 10km hill to start with but went well. We were thinking all was well when we cleared it but then it was another hill, then another and another....Trefort's (speed bump) hill would have been nice. The group worked well together with Paul, Tom and myself rotating through the front and Trev soldiered on in third spot.
I don't remember a single flat piece of road...I remember that because I was looking for somewhere to vomit (not so slow uphill that it would land on my handle bars and not so fast downhill that Trev would cop it). I think we averaged around 29kph over the 80km which came about by doing about 5kph up hills and 75kph downhills.
We saw all sorts in a big field. Lots of very nice bikes. Really well run and lots of....well uhmm...fun.
The highlight was our dash for the finish down that 10km hill that we encountered on the way out. We got taken over by the "green team" about 20km out and we let them go (there was about 10 of them). At about 15km out we saw they were in trouble with 3 riders pushing the one guy up the last hill. Trev was still with us so we pounced. What a ride...did the last 10km downhill at about 72kph in a big pack of pink and green. Lots of jostling for positions and really scary. Despite the vertical drop we still had to pedal really hard and we all were spent. The green team pulled away at the very end but I'm pretty sure some of them may have still been behind us - but their sprinter, who was wearing the tag, beat us to the line. We caught up with them after the race to find they enjoyed the mad dash as much as we did. I took the opportunity and asked them if any of them had seen my knee cap but to no avail - I think it landed in a cow paddock.
Check out photos and times for this ride on the website
Hills...long ones...steep ones...ski-ramp-shaped ones...take your pick...Waroona had them all.
Left Narrogin with Paul at 6.30am and met Trev and Tom in Waroona about 9.00. No sign of Pottsie so we thought we'd whack on our bright pink tops (mine was more of a boob tube) so at least he could see us.
Finally spotted him driving to into the event with 15min to spare but only to find out that he'd withdrawn with a sore foot (heart) muscle. Pottsie had driven in on the course and when he didn't get out of first gear on those hills, he was quite thankful he'd forgotten to pack his bike.
Team Zin-Zan made a good start despite some heckling from the gals behind us who wanted to swap tops. A lazy 10km hill to start with but went well. We were thinking all was well when we cleared it but then it was another hill, then another and another....Trefort's (speed bump) hill would have been nice. The group worked well together with Paul, Tom and myself rotating through the front and Trev soldiered on in third spot.
I don't remember a single flat piece of road...I remember that because I was looking for somewhere to vomit (not so slow uphill that it would land on my handle bars and not so fast downhill that Trev would cop it). I think we averaged around 29kph over the 80km which came about by doing about 5kph up hills and 75kph downhills.
We saw all sorts in a big field. Lots of very nice bikes. Really well run and lots of....well uhmm...fun.
The highlight was our dash for the finish down that 10km hill that we encountered on the way out. We got taken over by the "green team" about 20km out and we let them go (there was about 10 of them). At about 15km out we saw they were in trouble with 3 riders pushing the one guy up the last hill. Trev was still with us so we pounced. What a ride...did the last 10km downhill at about 72kph in a big pack of pink and green. Lots of jostling for positions and really scary. Despite the vertical drop we still had to pedal really hard and we all were spent. The green team pulled away at the very end but I'm pretty sure some of them may have still been behind us - but their sprinter, who was wearing the tag, beat us to the line. We caught up with them after the race to find they enjoyed the mad dash as much as we did. I took the opportunity and asked them if any of them had seen my knee cap but to no avail - I think it landed in a cow paddock.
Check out photos and times for this ride on the website
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday morning road ride - the double loop
The double loop viewed from one angle looks like an infinity sign - and a few hills on the West HIghbury Road had us thinking that this was appropriate. Trees on the roadside must have saved us from the strongest of the south easterly, and gave us another 15 km/hr as a tail wind on the Highbury to Narrogin Road home run.
Paul did most of the work at the front, and Peter was impressively strong. James was a surprise - he struggled a bit on the first loop, then got into his stride on the second loop and had no trouble at all. Marius is the dark horse - a grin on his face and "I'm right" and he was there with the group the whole way. Dennis is getting his fitness back after a rest from breaking his wrist, and only fell back a few times.
The ride was 88 km and took us a minute over 3 hours. Not bad for our group, on those hills and in that wind.
Craig emailed to say he couldn't ride - something about grappling with a CPR dummy and the dummy won - by hurting Craig's back. I leave the story to your imagination!
Paul did most of the work at the front, and Peter was impressively strong. James was a surprise - he struggled a bit on the first loop, then got into his stride on the second loop and had no trouble at all. Marius is the dark horse - a grin on his face and "I'm right" and he was there with the group the whole way. Dennis is getting his fitness back after a rest from breaking his wrist, and only fell back a few times.
The ride was 88 km and took us a minute over 3 hours. Not bad for our group, on those hills and in that wind.
Craig emailed to say he couldn't ride - something about grappling with a CPR dummy and the dummy won - by hurting Craig's back. I leave the story to your imagination!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Paul's weekend message (edited for the blog)
Hi Guys,
7am Sunday morning for a steady 45 or 90km at the rec centre for Cuby circuit followed by Highbury circuit. If you want to do the second circuit only, I suggest waiting near the cemetery at about 8:25 as we should come through by 8:35.
Probably no 'through and off', just tempo riding.
Friday was a very low key / tempo ride for 15km and if you are new to riding Friday mornings are a good place to start – 6am at the rec centre.
Cheers
Paul(Dave comment: Paul's earlier message is open, about riding the short Cuballing circuit or Cuballing return to honour Jane's memory. All start together at 7.00 am as above)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The fast and the furious - and Trevor in the gravel
We had quite a few riders this morning, and decided - not quite sensibly as it turned out - to ride out on the 'tip road' (White Road). We had a moderate tail wind going out, and of course, a moderate head wind coming back - AND the sun rising in our faces.
The lead group was blasting along at about 40 km/hr, and then there were several groups turning back at 30 minutes out from Narrogin. The group that had Paul and Trevor in it were working well. Trevor, in his wicked shades, was leading, Paul was following close behind, and I was sitting in Paul's shade so that I could see the road. Unfortunately, Trevor couldn't see a thing with the sun in his eyes, and when the road started to turn, Trevor didn't! He started to crunch in the loose stone, then onto the gravel shoulder, then missed a white post and went all the way into the gutter. Fortunately, he knows how to handle a bike and managed to ride straight back onto the sealed road.
There will be a ride on Thursday morning at 6.00 pm from the rec centre as usual.
On Sunday, there will be a group doing a longer ride (80 + km), starting at 7.00 pm from the rec centre.
The lead group was blasting along at about 40 km/hr, and then there were several groups turning back at 30 minutes out from Narrogin. The group that had Paul and Trevor in it were working well. Trevor, in his wicked shades, was leading, Paul was following close behind, and I was sitting in Paul's shade so that I could see the road. Unfortunately, Trevor couldn't see a thing with the sun in his eyes, and when the road started to turn, Trevor didn't! He started to crunch in the loose stone, then onto the gravel shoulder, then missed a white post and went all the way into the gutter. Fortunately, he knows how to handle a bike and managed to ride straight back onto the sealed road.
There will be a ride on Thursday morning at 6.00 pm from the rec centre as usual.
On Sunday, there will be a group doing a longer ride (80 + km), starting at 7.00 pm from the rec centre.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday ride - and Friday reminder. Paul's message
7am tomorrow morning for a steady 45 or 90km. Probably no “through and off” just tempo riding.
7am at the rec centre for Cuby circuit followed by Highbury circuit. If you want to do the second circuit only I suggest waiting near the cemetery at about 8:25 as we should come through by 8:30.
Yesterday was a very low key / tempo ride for 15km and if you are new to riding Friday mornings are a good place to start – 6am at the rec centre.
Cheers
Paul
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Hills hoist roundtrip!
To carry on the pun, I was hung out to dry trying to keep up with the fast group this morning, racing around the 'short' Cuballing loop (about 30 km?)., which has quite a few small hills, up which I needed hoisting (sorry about that).
Congratulations Tim on your blogging and track ride. I'm not sure about you being an 'old dog' though!
We definitely have enough riders for two morning ride groups now, leaving at the same time (6 am from the Recreation Centre parking lot). For the beginners, this may look like a bit of a race, but they can now ride as a group and take it easier, while the faster riders get stretched. Tom, Chris and Paul set the pace, with Craig, Peter and Chris P mixing it with them, and me floating off the back. Chris P is just getting back his full fitness after suffering knee pains, then getting his bike adjusted to solve the problem.
Next ride is at 6 am on Thu morning (please turn up before 6, because we leave at 6), same place. Think about the group you want, and you can set your own direction.
A note: Sunrise is now after 6.00 am, so it is a good idea to get back flashing lights and a front light fitted. In winter, you will need a good front light for most of the ride.
Congratulations Tim on your blogging and track ride. I'm not sure about you being an 'old dog' though!
We definitely have enough riders for two morning ride groups now, leaving at the same time (6 am from the Recreation Centre parking lot). For the beginners, this may look like a bit of a race, but they can now ride as a group and take it easier, while the faster riders get stretched. Tom, Chris and Paul set the pace, with Craig, Peter and Chris P mixing it with them, and me floating off the back. Chris P is just getting back his full fitness after suffering knee pains, then getting his bike adjusted to solve the problem.
Next ride is at 6 am on Thu morning (please turn up before 6, because we leave at 6), same place. Think about the group you want, and you can set your own direction.
A note: Sunrise is now after 6.00 am, so it is a good idea to get back flashing lights and a front light fitted. In winter, you will need a good front light for most of the ride.
Monday, March 7, 2011
3 for Wagin and back
Craig, Dennis and Dave (me) took off for Wagin (50 km down the road) for a coffee yesterday. If that sounds like a long way to go for a coffee, it may sound better to say that this is to get prepared for cycling about 130 km a day for 6 days in April. On that trip though, there will be beer and wine in the evenings too!
We aimed to average about 28 km/hr, and did a bit better than that, largely (no pun intended Craig) with Craig at the front leading us along, and occasionally stretching the rubber band. Dennis is just getting back to riding on the road, after breaking his wrist in an earlier cycling accident. We had a head wind going south, and a cross-tail wind coming home.
More long rides will be organised over the next month - keep in touch.
We aimed to average about 28 km/hr, and did a bit better than that, largely (no pun intended Craig) with Craig at the front leading us along, and occasionally stretching the rubber band. Dennis is just getting back to riding on the road, after breaking his wrist in an earlier cycling accident. We had a head wind going south, and a cross-tail wind coming home.
More long rides will be organised over the next month - keep in touch.
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