OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

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Tom
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Tom » Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:40 pm

June 8th... a day that will live in infamy in the eyes of some Giant (the bike brand, this is not a measure of their size) Aussie dudes. It was the day where they were pummelled into the ground by a slick group of Canadians who knew every turn and hill on their weekly ride.

The ride started out easy, then made a bit of an aggressive push as the group discovered that Craig Richey doesn't really appreciate getting half-wheeled. Craig decided to repay the annoying favour to the rider he was with all the way up the Arbutus hill, but then was relegated to awkwardness as he realized he then had to ride next to him at the back once he was done punishing him on the front.

This week the group picked up at least twenty riders on the way to Sidney, and remembering Karl's words from weeks ago, the original starters resisted the urge to shed the fat by making the pace fast. (Any suggestions to solve this problem though?) Once the group got to Sidney (and then eventually got riding again), Jon Benskin forced the pace at the front of the pack as riders were strung out on Landsend Rd. After a friendly middle-finger from one of the riders on the Burnside Ride, the fast pace west didn't do much to shed riders from the back of the group, and so lots of riders negotiated the cross-winds at the airport together. Up Panorama, Cody had some added motivation from a recent Strava KOM loss and attacked the group after the stop sign. The pack slowly brought him back over the top of the climb, and Scotty, Chopper Dan, Andrew, Mick, Geordie, B.Ski, Megan, Craig, Trevor and myself took turns keeping the pace high down into Saanichton. The group worked smoothly being relatively smaller, and it was only passed Red Barn that the pace started to heat up a bit. Craig and Cody surged together on the short hill before Hartland Rd, and with riders letting gaps go, Chopper Dan tried in vain to bridge up to the two TRT riders. I waited on a struggling rider to see if he could close the gap, but when he started losing ground I sprinted around him and managed to get on Cody's wheel. Looking back the field seemed unorganized, and when Cody ramped up the pace even more just before the observatory, I went over top of him and crested hard down towards Interurban. With the three of us taking steady pulls I wasn't sure if anyone was going to come back to us, but down the first stretch of Interurban one of the Aussie riders managed to solo up to us. The four of us rolled steady down towards Wilkinson, and still trying to recover from recent illness, I tried to make it look like I was taking even pulls. Into the sprint Craig got stuck on the front with 300m to go, and Cody managed to use Craig to give him the perfect leadout. Behind, the Giant rider from Oz snapped off the back as the sprint unfolded, but Craig managed to push all the way to the line and make Cody work for his meat.

Panorama KOM (but not on Strava): Cody Canning
Interurban Sprint Champ: Cody Canning
Most Aggressive Rider: Craig Richey
Weak Bitch of the Day: Tom Skinner
Rides of the Day: Geoff Robson, Chopper Dan and Trevor McKenzie, who all never missed a turn at the front

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Vegan Dave
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Vegan Dave » Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:15 pm

Enjoying the updates, won't be in the A group as much over the summer; if i'm racing 2 nights a week, gotta keep the pace down other times if i'm gonna survive to November..! ;)

re: slowing down the ride to Sidney...this might not be a very popular observation, but the ride from the shop is getting a bit clique-y... It's the same people rolling off in the 'first' group.. How about if we see some of the 'Wheelers' in the other groups on the ride out? Split it up a bit?

Just a thought.. Should also limit it to 8 people, and be firm on that, since so many are picked up on the way to Sidney.

That's my suggestion...flame on. =P

Tom
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Tom » Wed Jun 12, 2013 2:04 pm

That is true and a good observation Dave... I noticed last time that the A group is usually the same people. The faster people usually like to go first though so that they can ride with people who want to ride a bit faster. About a month ago I started with the second group and just couldn't handle it.... 26km/hr in a group is a waste of time for some people if you're just coasting at the back.

Maybe the faster riders could split up a bit more and then just ride at the front of the groups? Splitting up more could work if all groups are okay with riding the same speed out to Sidney. From my experience though the second and third groups tend to ride significantly slower, which is why lots of riders want to ride in the first group.

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Vegan Dave
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Vegan Dave » Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:30 pm

First up - today's ride report!

Not a lot of the regular speedsters out, it was a very different 'A' group that rolled out from Sidney - nice not to feel like i was going to die on a ride for once..haha (Well, die from exhaustion. Getting taken out was another story...)

Nothing crazy the whole ride, kept it 'neutralized' up Pana, but dropped some peeps on the sections after that, and continued to build speed to the sprint, where there were maybe 9 people left from the 22 or so that left Sidney.

Andrew B lead, i was on his wheel, and opted not to take over when he signalled to pull off...so he stuck it out on the front. Behind me were Ryan Clarke, Geordie, and Parlee Mark, in that order.

And the sprint went:

1 Geordie
2 Ryan
3 Mark
4 me (Vegan Dave)
5 Andrew

Says something about sprint positioning. ;)

Panorama KOM (but not on Strava): None
Interurban Sprint Champ: Geordie
Most Aggressive Rider: Geordie (who kept rolling to the front, and then picked up the pack pace by about 2kph..hahaha)
Weak Bum of the Day: Vegan Dave (who was actually planning to join the 'C' group, so mainly sat in.)
Rides of the Day: Lawrence actually did a nice job of bridging when Mark and Geordie rolled off the front on Wallace just before Durrance. Andrew was on the front from Camosun to the first of the two rollers at the sprint.
King of the Overpass: The Shish

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Vegan Dave
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Vegan Dave » Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:22 pm

Thanks for the feedback, Tom.

So there seems to be a desire for a 'faster' ride to Sidney, eh?

It hasn't been my experience that the 2nd group has been that slow...this week, the first group going out (since no one speedy was there) our speed was 31kph from OBB to Sidney.

The 6th was 32.6kph. May 25th was 31.2kph. May 11th was 32.1kph. (Days skipped were either not on the ride, or turned off at Mattick's.)

The 2nd group, which i've been in all those times, is not going below 30kph.... Is 31-32kph still too slow? How fast are you actually going in the 'A' group to Sidney?

Two options that come to mind for people who want to go a bit faster:

Leave the shop last, and make sure other groups know not to 'jump on' when passed.

Leave the shop first, but add in a few extra 'sections' or detours - like Queenswood; maybe cross the highway and go up and around and over to the overpass back to Lochside..that way you'll arrive about the same time, or maybe even a little later, and won't have to wait around as much.

Let's get creative and make this something that works for everyone - whaddya think of that? Any other inspirations?

Tom
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Tom » Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:27 am

That was the most boring race report I've ever read!! No one attacked up Panorama!?!?! No one took a flyer by the observatory!?!?!

Why didn't you spice things up with a solo flyer Dave? Next time at least make up a crazy story about a bear jumping out in the road and the pack having to fight it off by spraying their bottles in it's face!

That's a good idea about the front group doing an extra loop. I've always thought of the faster people in the front group going up the Wedgewood climb at the end of Arbutus and then working together to catch the group again. Maybe that could be an option.

trevor
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by trevor » Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:22 pm

Not all of us possess the mighty penmanship of our resident reporter Jon Benskin. I for one cannot face the pressure of submitting a ride report in his absence. Dave, thanks for taking up the responsibility!
I agree that mixing it up from the lot is a good idea. Chatting with riders I don't get to see on the second half of the loop is always nice. I'll try my best to do so in the future. That being said, some of the guys enjoy rolling out together as this tends to be the only "team" time we manage to get in together each week. Something to keep in mind.
I'll be away the next 2 weeks so all of this will be on hold from my standpoint.
Cheers,
Trevor

JonB
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by JonB » Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:57 pm

June 22 2013 Saturday ride report (Canadian National Championships edition)

Results:
1. Jon B (2013 OBB-Wheelers Saturday Ride national champion)
2. Vegan Dave
3. ?
4. ?
5. Megan Rathwell

Most Aggressive Rider: JonB
King of Panorama: JonB
Ride of the Day: JonB

Now, I'm sure after reading these results the average reader may have a few questions. Like how could one man be so fast AND so good looking? Rest assured, the answer to this and your other most pressing queries will be revealed below...

Wheelers were notably absent from the ride today, as was the Red Truck Crowd which typically likes it spicy going out to the ferries. As a result, the pace was rather snail-like, but we nevertheless still got a lecture from Jenny Skinner and Vegan Dave about riding etiquette upon arrival in Sidney. Apparently the next rider who neglects to call a pothole will be wearing the dunce cap and have to sit in the corner. There may even be a ruler involved. Upon leaving Sidney, the pace continued to maintain a snail-like consistency until we hit the ferries when JonB scored his first points of the day towards the most aggressive rider jersey by splitting the group in half on the first hill. Several counter-attacks widdled the group down to ~9 by Panorama, and another attack by JonB going over the top to take the Panorama KOM shelled another two riders and clinched the Panorama KOM jersey. At this point JonB was content to sit in along Wallace, but reanimated on the observatory climb to drop another 2 riders. Coming into the final stretch, the big rower dude (we'll call him Magnus Backstedt), attacked and got a gap but Megan was not letting him go and pulled the group to within several meters at which point JonB launched and took the win by a comfortable margin over Vegan Dave. After the race there was a general consensus among all the riders that JonB's combination of masterful-tactics (there were several comparisons to Bjarn Riis), Richard Verinque-like climbing-prowess, and Cipollini-esque sprinting abilities make him a true champion and worthy recipient of this year's OBB Wheelers Saturday ride national champions jersey.

Tom
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Tom » Mon Jun 24, 2013 11:08 am

Apparently JonB needs to get himself a pair of these shorts, so he can physically visualize the size of his penis; not just mentally visualize it.
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Vegan Dave
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Vegan Dave » Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:10 pm

Wow - JonB lives in a very different world from the rest of us! ;)

Rower-dude would be Andrew Byrnes...an Olympic gold medallist...perhaps due a little respect...or at least his name being remembered - he's been out enough at this point. He was 4th. The nice fellow on the Issac was 3rd, but admitted he sat in the whole time and did very little work. I think Megan was a bit further back than 5th, i recall the guy in the Cramerotti kit in that position...but might be just me.

I think 'Bum of the Day' might also go to JonB, since from Panorama to the Ob he just sat in thumbing his bum while four of us (Andrew, Issac-rider, Cramerotti-kit and myself) rotated at the front for nearly the entire time.

King of the Overpass: tie between Andrew and myself

Really fun day of riding, peak hour NP was 285w for me, which is 4w short of the hardest OBB ride i've ever done, so we were going pretty strong! (AP was ~244w.) Thanks all! =)

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