City of Perth Great Bike Ride 2008

That time of year again – the

City of Perth Great Bike Ride.

Once again, wimped out and went for the 53km 1 lap option: there's just no way I can muster the energy to raise my arm to eat my cereal at 5am, yet alone ride 106km! (the distance for the 2 lapper). Maybe one day...

Anyway, roused at 6am, slurped down some muesli then went back to bed 'till 6:45. I only live 15 mins by bike from the start point, and my group ('H' – one of many in the 30-35km estimated average classification) wasn't scheduled to blast off 'till 7:37am, so made it with heaps of time to spare. Rode my trusty Masi 3VC rather than the Ti Dean – the less grammes under me the better!

The weather had looked a little gloomy the previous night; drizzle and showers, but the morning was looking pretty good: fairly cloudy with a smattering of darker ones but nothing scooting in too low, so we looked OK. Also excellent: virtually no wind!

Arriving at Riverside Drive, everything was set to go: lots of riders organising themselves, a jovial announcer (very amusing repartee whilst we waited) and people keyed up and bouncy. There was a little water on the roads but nothing of any concern – hopefully the showers would stay away.

7:30am rolled around and they started letting loose the riders for the 53km ride in their groups at one minute intervals, commencing with 'A'. As they rolled off consecutively, we all shuffled forward – pretty soon group 'G' was up.

At which point, both the start and finish inflatable arches stopped being inflatable! Seems the generator powering the electric fans keeping them inflated died, and both of them flopped ignominiously to the ground. Quick organisation saw them pulled off the road, and the show continued.

As I found out last year the ride is a 'Ride' in name only – it's pretty much a full-on race! As in any race, the initial couple of kms tend to be a bit hectic and the speeds are up (hit 50km/h on one stretch which has gotta be some kind of record for me on the flat! - guess my losing 5 kilos since last year helped) but it pretty soon sorts itself out as those who've over-extended at the start soon hit a wall. Little groups start to form, and when you're riding by yourself, it's your task to try and pick one up which matches your own (fairly pathetic) level!

After around 10kms of flitting here and darting there trying to maneuver around slower riders and find a suitable group, I did indeed hook up with a bunch of 12 or so riders, and enjoyed a good hike with a well drilled bunch. The 'lumpier' sections mid race whittled this bunch down to 5 who stuck together to the end, and it all turned out very well: had an enjoyable and cooperative fang!

Ride was timed again as per last year, but they'll be published later. Going by my Flightdeck, I managed the lap in 1:26:25, which was slightly more than 4 minutes quicker than last year's time, so I was wrapped. Most of the improvement was I'm sure down to the good group I was in, plus a bit more luck with other rider traffic. Maybe my drop from 93 to 88 kgs this year also made a diff!

Overall, a great ride! Highlights included:

• Me managing to see a non-draft assisted 50km/h for a 1km stretch on the flat without blowing a gasket!


• No rain!


• Getting into a bunch who knew what was what – scooting down the freeway at 45km/h in a paceline and having a continuous rotation going was cool (you can tell I don't ride in groups much!)


• Some dude in our group flogging the guts out of his hardtail, front-suspended trail bike! This guy was awesome – whilst the bike was a little low-geared for paceline work, he compensated by just spinning at what looked like a cadence of around 130. If he'd have had a roadie, the rest of us would have been toast!


• No rain!


• The Mosman Park Hill (a nasty little 300 meter leg burner) once again catching bunches of people out: lots of people walking it up. But as per last year, pretty organised – everyone walking kept to the edges


• Best part: didn't see a single prang or close call! Well done all!

Closest thing to a stack was some dickbrain unsure of whether to go to the left or right of a traffic island on a long curving descent, and at the last minute choosing to stay to the left, which necessitated a 35 km/h bunny-hop over the curb of the island. That dickbrain – ME! ***blush***

Roll on next year – maybe if I can drop another 13 kgs, I can keep up to the bunch on uphills!

Ride safe!

Santa brings it on.

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year etc etc :)

So, a little update re: my new wheels previously mentioned, and some loot that Santa (in the form of myself) arranged!

First off, my new TWE wheels. After 300 or so kms, the verdict is - Perfect! Smooth, straight, vertically supple yet no lateral sloppiness, roll like nobodies business, and look great to boot! Too easy! Here's a pic below of them on my Masi 3vc (and link to larger pic):



My Bike with TWE Wheels (large pic)

Fits the colour scheme perfectly! Well - I'm happy :).

Next - Santa's pressies (thanks from me to me!)

Featuring first, my new Lazer Genesis Helmet. Piccies and links commence below.



Helmet Top from front (large pic)

Again, fits the colour scheme, and looks great as well.



Helmet Top from rear (large pic)

The red roller button adjusts a band inside the helmet to your head - slap on the helmet and tighten it up. Excellent system!. Still has the under-jaw straps as well of course.



Helmet Front (large pic)

Very low profile front = less resistance and low noise.



Helmet Rear (large pic)

The helmet adjust mechanism leaves the lower rear of the head below the helmet free, so bandanas etc fit great.



Helmet Side (large pic)

Love this lid! Comfortable, light, quiet and looks A1! Not much more to ask for.

Next up, shoes - Sidi Genius 5's to be precise. Early 2007 model, and not carbon, but the 'Millenium 2' sole is stiff-as, and the buckle is great - smooth, fits well, and ratchets perfectly. Overall, the best shoes I've had (mainly been a Shimano man), with comfort, no hot-spots, light and excellent quality. OK - piccies!:



Shoes Top (large pic)

Bright silver, but not as garish as the bright blues of the former shoes!



Shoes Top and Underside (large pic)

Replaceable heel pad, and fits SPD-SL's well.



Shoes Right Side (large pic)



Shoes Left Side (large pic)

Again, really happy with these. Riding is definitely better with Santa's goodies :)

Got the lid and shoes from a UK place called ProBikeKit who ship to Australia - worked well for me, altho' delivery takes a while over the Xmas period. Check 'em out:

ProBikeKit Website

Catch you on the road!

City of Perth Great Bike Ride

Had a blast doing the City of Perth Great Bike Ride on Sunday the 25th November! Whilst it's not meant to be a race, it definitely has that competitive flavour, which makes it interesting!

I started off in group K (groups A to D were for the two lap 106km ride whilst groups E and back were for the 1 lap 53km version), as not having done it before I was a little unsure of what to expect. Next time I'll get up into the higher groups: the sheer number of riders (3,845 this year!) means that, although you start off in groups separated by a minute's gun time, you very quickly catch up with groups ahead if you are back in the field and can motor at a decent pace. The road course is restricted to one lane, so it quickly becomes slightly difficult to maneuver around riders and progress forward, particularly in the earlier part of the ride. Riding by myself did however mean that I was able to scoot around various groups riding together which was fun!

The course was generally flat, with a few larger hills at about one-third distance mark, and some undulating territory in the last half: overall, a good and enjoyable ride. Rolling down the freeway on the run home was a buzz, although the anticipated following wind was more of a side one but never mind!

Overall, I managed to make up a few positions, finishing 219th in a time of 1:30:30 at an average of exactly 35km/h. I was hoping to beat 1:30:00, but maybe next year. Although I may do the 106 km two lap ride - depends on if I can get up at 5am or not!

Amusingly, the organisation responsible for the timing on the day has my age listed as 22 in the results sheet! Hehe - not sure what's going on there: clearly my youthful appearance belies my actual chronological age of 47!

Anyone interested in checking their times can do so at the following link:

blueChip Timing

My Masi 3VC Volumetrica performed beautifully - well suited to this ride, with supple vertical performance and nice handling. My new TWE wheels were a revelation: super stiff laterally but with nice vertical compliance and superb rolling! If I'd have known custom built wheels could be so good I would've swapped long ago! Thanks to Greg Ryan at TWE:

TWE Wheels

Pictorial Homage - The Trusty Steed

Subsequent to my return to Perth, Western Australia, the weather has been crappy (showery, overcast, mind-numbingly dull) so riding hasn't been foremost in my activities! Still, the last few days have relented, and there's been a couple of chances to cycle to work and, today, to Fremantle, a lovely port city at the mouth of the Swan River. (Google maps satellite image url below - have a play!):


View Larger Map

(For those who browsers don't work with the above, here's the static map link):

Static Map of Freo

Pretty huh?. Fremantle is 35km from my home, so it's a nice little 70km out-and-back, with the bonus that there are lots of lovely cafes to choose from when you arrive (so it's not a true out-and-back - more like an out-slack-and-back!). Speaking of cafes, here's a plug for the one I usually go to - Gino's in South Terrace (bit of an institution in Freo). Just coz I like mucking around with Google Maps, here's the most zoomed in map of central Freo: Gino's is the far left white building in the triangle-shaped block at the centre of the pic.


View Larger Map

Static Map of Gino's

So, I set off at a rather slack 9:00am for the 65 minute ride to Freo. Perfect blue skies and a light wind made for very nice riding - I ride mostly on the roads, but there is a good cycleway which follows the freeway south which I travel on for part of the way.

Trundling along (many weeks of few rides after the tour has fattened me up a little!), I really enjoyed being back on the Masi. She is a great bike, so I thought I'd detail a little about her.

Firstly, some pics:





I think she's lovely :). (Wasn't sure about the blue Michelin Pro Race 2's, but they were new off my other bike, so I kept 'em - the colour 'wonkiness' looks good to me now!).

She's a 3VC Volumetrica - Dura Ace: the 2007 top Masi model.

Interestingly, she's the fully equipped Dura Ace model, but with the Ultegra coloured frame (both exactly the same frame, just the equipment differs). Also, she differs from the usual specs in that she has an FSA K-Force MegaExo crankset.

Mine is a 56 frame - a little on the small side for parts of my 185cm tall body, but nothing a little play around with doesn't fix. The reason I went for the 56 frame is because I have duck's disease - short legs! With a stand over height of 780 millimeters for the 56 frame, I have about 20mm clearance: the 58 frame would be tweaking certain parts of my anatomy that shall remain un-named! The fact that I haven't needed to replace any sizing components (stem etc) but just re-jigged them shows the generally good fit.

Another demonstration of good fit is the fact that the bike carted my 92kgs 1100 kms around Canada with not so much as a squeek from either the bike, or my body. The carbon-lugged frame was superlatively compliant laterally and yet stiff-as when it counted, hill-grinds especially! Across smooth roads she floated, and over roads that jettisoned water bottles and seat-bags, and turned a spoke or two on other bikes to spaghetti, she isolated me from as much shock as possible whilst still sticking to the road like glue: there's really not more you can ask of a bike! And in return she demanded a slight rear derailleur adjustment at the bars, a daily pump of the tires, and a thank you 5 minute clean on some nights.

Special mentions to the seat and the wheels.

The seat, Fizik Arione Ti rails, was one of the specific reasons I bought the bike, and it was superb. Not overly soft, but very compliant and comfortable. It's length is important here, giving you lots of room to move on when needed: right back for hill grinds, and more nose forward when in the pace line.

The wheels, Shimano Dura Ace 7801s. Originally had some doubts about these wheels, with 16 spokes up front and 20 in rear: I'm 92kgs!. But there were not an issue - laterally very stiff, complaint and after 1100kms with some rough road poundings, didn't require any trueing at all. Say no more!

So, there ya go - my homage to my trusty steed! We'll see what adventures she'll undertake with me next year - there are plans for more tours and many more hills!

Oh, below is a link to a blog by the Brand Manager of Masi: it's fun stuff and not at all just an excuse to flog his product (shit, I think I just did that here! - hehe):

Masiguy Blog

Ltr!