OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

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Dean W.
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by Dean W. » Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:26 pm

Life in the B Group
Funny, I have never read a summary of a B group Saturday Wheelers ride. Not sure why, whatever, we are all out here for different reasons, some train for racing, others are here for more social or fitness reasons. It’s all good. From the Shop to Sidney the pace was a little higher than average for this time of year, and I suspected things might continue that way. From the stop in Sidney at Tulista Park the B group left with 23 riders. The pace was definitely peppy for a winter ride, but most were able to hang on. The rise on Birch Road to West Saanich dusted a few riders, but again a good size group powered on. We hit Panorama and Joe Graffi was the first to animate with a Dr. Walker rider (forgot his name) right at the top of the last kicker on the climb. The two got clear with about 20 meters. I took off after them and was able to close some until I hit max heart rate and waived Pete through who was able to close a little bit more, then Lawrence was able to finish closing it down on the fast part along the farm fields. A few riders caught back on as we rode through Brentwood and surprisingly we had about 14 riders at that point. Daryl, Gill and Marcel made sure the pace was still fast along Wallace Drive and a few more riders gave it up on the West Saanich kickers. I think we had about 9 for a very fast pace along Interurban. Marcel put in a monster pull along Interurban and I was on his wheel and thought I would do the lead-out, but he hung in there way longer than I thought he would. We hit the climb at the sprint and I thought I’d take a dig, got a gap and thought I had it, but Dr. Walker rider got me at the very top. I was surprised to see that the average speed from the stop in Sidney to the sprint was 33.9K / hr. and that is not bad for February 6. Joe Graffi was kind enough to buy everyone coffee at Fantastico afterwards as payback for all the punishment he doled out to us all. Fun ride.

trevor
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by trevor » Sat Feb 13, 2016 6:24 pm

Saturday, February 13, Ride Report

"The Lovers Ride aka Valentine's Eve"

This reporter began the Saturday ritual with a friendly (read stern) reminder to bring your fendered bike on these shoulder season rides. With 20 riders at the OBB start only 4 rolled out in the first group (was it something I said?). We picked up riders throughout the first half of the route and arrived at our pee break to a strong wind and a slight rain. Knowing RHs Dylan was looking to spice up the festivities and ARuss was looking to get his legs turning, Lands End proved brisk with many (including myself) sitting on. By the time we got to Craig's Hill the group was down to a handful of contenders with Dylan and ARuss still flexing their form.
The airport saw a headwind of epic proportions with gaps opening up every few meters. Not surprisingly ARuss put in a dig that saw him and Dylan gain daylight on the pack. Isaac began to close the distance and when this reporter pulled through no one came with. Dangling in the divide between making it and losing it, I went all in and bridged up to the leaders only to see HR Juri (who had been sitting on the back with no fenders) bring the group up. Chaos ensued with more gaps and more gaps until Panorama saw the selection of ARuss, Dylan, Scotty, Juri, myself, and some unidentified chubby bearded guy. The remainder of the ride saw more of the same with Aruss and Dylan doing their thang and the rest of us just their to provide the baggage. The 6 stayed together until Dylan went at the Red Barn and then again at the Observatory forcing Juri to play his cards and dig to get 3 of us back to the challenger. Things stayed peppy and Dylan forced his hand with a valiant but short lived solo effort for glory with this reporter doing the bridge this turn. Sadly, too much traffic saw the sprint nullified for this week's edition of the OBB Saturday World Champs.
Mad props to ARuss and DC for putting their noses to the grindstone big time today. Kudos.
And don't fret folks, we're back at it February 20th. Join us.

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sat Feb 20, 2016 1:58 pm

February 20 Saturday Ride Report

In protest of Cody Canning's uncompromising display of pull-skipping and subsequent victory in the day's Interurban Sprint, today's Saturday ride report celebrates the journey and not the result...

A predominantly fenderless armada of around 15 riders left Sidney for the inevitable hour of power beginning on Lands End. DJ Tanner (Cunningham)'s absence due to filming commitments for the new Netflix Series, Fuller House, made today's proceedings a bit more wide open. Andrew 'cadence is king' Russell showed his usual verve along Lands End, creating an elastic band effect at most of the upward pitches up to and including Craig's Hill. Scotty Two Hotty's snappy accelerations in response to the Russell salvos meant that only the riders confident in their ability to hold on till the bitter end saw the wind. A pre-Panorama-kicker acceleration by ARuss was duly brought back by James Squire, who unfortunately fell off over the top of the hill. Wheelers ARuss, Trevor, myself, Rich Martin, Scotty were joined by Cody and conti-man Jure over the top and the pace quickened as it was clear the day's key separation was in the offing. A committed chase by Lief and some unconventional traffic patters through Brentwood saw the group of seven swell to nine odd. Through the Wallace-Red Barn-Observatory stretch things stayed together, although it was clear that some riders were trying to stay out of the wind to save themselves for the sprint. At the Observatory kicker an acceleration by Trevor was marked by Scotty, with myself and ARuss barely staying in tow. At Interurban, a Wheeler core at the front drove the pace of the group, and after spending some time breathing at the back of the group, I attacked with Trevor on my wheel, but a bit of a logistical mix up saw Cody placed perfectly to come around Scotty Two for victory. Unfortunately, the man whose leeching on the day invoked memories of Larry Fortensky was rewarded for his lack of effort in the end. ARuss wins for fitness absorption.

trevor
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by trevor » Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:39 pm

Feb27, 2016

Attack from the Back

Foggy and damp conditions surprisingly brought out a large group of faithful combatants for our Weekly World Champs. Our first group swelled to an enormous peleton that saw us split it in two on Lochside. The pace, as per usual, was mellow out the peninsula and our regrouping at Telista saw more than 50 riders out. Unreal.

The peppy end of the ride rolled out with a good mix of fenders and summer bikes (despite the wet conditions). RHs Isaac declared that his gloves were off for a fight and he was going to murder people with his Envys. A good laugh was had but a sign of things to come.

Lands End proved typical with a long line of speedy riders marking all moves and no one getting much leash. Craig's Hill was tame, super tame, which undoubtedly prompted Isaac to give it a go solo on the decent in to Brentwood. The peloton was not letting anyone get away at this point in the ride and after Dylan and Isaac opened a small gap again, this time along the airport, the group, again, reeled them in. Wheelers Matt, Eugene, Rich, Geoff, Stephane, Ian, Marcel, and this reporter, were all in the mix keeping it together.

Panarama was led by Marcel making his 2016 A group debut on the OBB ride. A nice tempo was set until Dylan accelerated matched by Rich's wheel. H&R Juri calmly brought them back until Isaac punched it over the top (in front of a passing car...tisk, tisk) which forced the selection of about 10. A slick paceline but a few untimely stops saw the chasers catch on headed on to Wallace where we all stayed together marking moves until some cat and mousing saw Dylan get off the front. With riders at their limit and the work being handed to a brave (or strong) few, Isaac unleashed his pro move of the day and murdered us all from the back of the group, inevitably bridging up to DC. The gap was reasonable and coming up to the Hartland Kicker it seemed like it would be a matter of timing the catch right as the chasers, myself included, were confident we could bring the RHs duo back. However few were willing to work and the gap opened meter by meter until Cody put in a monster dig from Prospect to the Observatory, clawing us to within striking distance of the leaders. Sadly, AGAIN, not a rider was to be found willing to keep the chase on. A lack of cohesion and a few popped riders saw the RHs squad take down the win.

With race season just around the corner these weekly rides are sharpening the fitness. Looking forward to the coming months.

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sat Mar 05, 2016 4:51 pm

OBB Ride Report March 5, 2016 -

The skies suggested summer bikes, the roads suggested differently. A mix of summer and winter rigs left the shop lot promptly at 9:05, with the day promising lovely riding conditions for a Canadian March. On the way out to Sidney, the ride grew larger, with riders picked up in the usual places. As the A's rode out from Sidney you could sense the growing tension (cue 'Jaws' theme), with riders apprehensive about the impending suffering. At Lands End, I immediately dug at the first upward pitch, trying to set the tone. ARuss followed with a dig of his own, continuing the early and often that has come to characterize his attack style on the bike in 2016. Through Land's end, there was a distinct rider stratification, as only a few fit as a fiddle types saw the wind. As we neared the Stop sign before Craig's hill, Eugene and myself got a slight separation that the Kristoff dopple-ganger quickly took advantage of, setting a killer tempo up the incline. As we reached the flat section leading into the Deep Cove store and started to share the load, Matt Billy was gamely trying to bridge up. Unfortunately for Matt, ARuss proved the only member of the remaining pack able to make the bridge, and the three of us set off trying to solidify our separation. Playing to our strengths - Eugene seeing the wind on the flat sections, myself tempoing Panorama climb, and ARuss simply killing it no matter the terrain - our gap continued to grow, and through the Prairie Inn stops it was clear there was no catching the three of us. Our motivated triad continued to share the load and ride our asses off, and when Eugene called out 'all's fair on Interurban' we finally stopped our teamwork and set about some serious sabotaging. I thought I found myself in a good spot going into the sprint sitting on ARuss' wheel, but my turn of pace only saw me draw level with ARuss, with Eugene coming around the both of us for the 'W'. What a day, what a ride.

GH

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sat Mar 12, 2016 1:07 pm

OBB Saturday Ride Report - March 12, 2016

Q: What do Cody Canning and My Morning Jacket have in common?
A: They both like to Jam.

Attendance on March 12th's OBB ride was unexpectedly low, but it did little to dampen the liveliness of this morning's ride. A generous tailwind on the way out to Sidney buoyed most riders, but also foreshadowed the carnage to come on the way back into town. With roughly ten odd souls leaving Sidney with the 'A' group, and the promise of head and cross winds on the ride's more exposed sections, there would be very little room to hide. Absent were the usual Pro City Saturday contingent, which would ensure that any post ride excuse making would be kept to a minimum. With only Trev, myself, Cody and a visitor from Calgary taking turns seeing the wind along Land's end, it appeared that the 'A' group would remain compacto longer than initially anticipated. Cody's big dig on Craig's Hill was a game-changer, however. The man with the impressive cycling pedigree drove and maintained a vicious pace, immediately creating a gap. His better half, Megan, myself and TMac were the only riders that managed to stick with CCan, and the four of us proceeded to extend our gap heading into the airport.

An unfortunate chain drop by CCan's ball and chain paused proceedings, and allowed two previously dropped riders to join the four of us through the airport sections of the ride. As I ceded the front after the first half of Panorama, Cody again dug in and established a killer tempo up Panorama, attacking over the kicker with only TMac for company. After having to close a gap to the two hard-men, I was finally able to take a breath as I weaseled into their draft. The three of us worked together well, taking turns punishing ourselves as we drove the pace through Brentwood and down Wallace. Kudos go to TMac for saving my bacon as I lost CCan's wheel as he attacked through the Observatory kicker section of the ride. Two additional pulls was all I could muster, as I was unceremoniously dropped as TMac attacked me heading past Camosun Interurban. TMac would get his just desserts when CCan opportunistically drafted a car heading into the sprint, leaving the bearded English teacher for dead. CCan, TMac and myself for the one, two, three.

GH

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:56 am

Saturday Ride Report - March 26, 2016

On today's evidence, a fair number of folks must've decided that Easter, and not Christmas, is the holiday that marks the time to dust off the old bike and get riding again. Huge numbers were in attendance for the 2016's sunniest ride yet. Huge groups meandered with mazy motion out to Sidney, many a face adorned with a smile. After a brief pit-stop at Sidney, the largest 'A' group of the year, numbering 20-25, set off in search of Saturday morning World Championship glory. Just past the ferries, Dylan - no time like the present for a 20 minute power test - Cunningham struck out early, with a disorganized chase seeing him off the front for a number of minutes. Towards the rollers at the end of Land's End there was a brief re-group, followed by yet another attack by Dylan with Ty on his wheel. Despite being joined by Raph and myself, there were too many willing hands behind for the gap to last long. A shelling of sorts through the airport dwindled the numbers a little bit, and Dylan set off in search of glory yet again from the bottom of Panorama. Not wanting to miss a chance to reunite the Watts per Kilo club, I bridged over Dylan and we set off in tandem, establishing a significant gap over the top of the ride's biggest elevation gain. I'm told some brutal group ride etiquette and general disorganization allowed Dylan and myself to maintain our gap until Brentwood, before the group was once again together after some unfortunately (for the two of us) timed stoplights. Through Wallace, the Observatory rollers, and the first half of Interurban you could cut the tension with a knife. A large number of pin-cushion sit-inner types meant that there were many a rider with matches left to burn. A hit-out by Dylan and Mr. Fabulous, Fabian, was given a short leash before Isaac, with Dannick for company, surged with what would soon become the day's winning move. Not sure who took the sprint, but what a ride.

trevor
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by trevor » Sat Apr 02, 2016 6:21 pm

April 2, 2016

With the sunny weather the Saturday World Champs is growing by epic proportions. Dozens of riders, most in our slick new kit, departed from OBB with bare legs and bare arms. At last, 'tis the season.

A nice cruise out the peninsula saw the first group swell to 30+ riders by Lochside where we split the mass and kept the group to a safe and swift size. By the time the last group hit Tulista there were easily 60+ riders enjoying the day. Unbelievable. Easily the most popular Saturday ride in YYJ. It warms the heart.

With some weekend Spring Series racing in Vancouver (race report by the fellas pending) there was a notable absence of snappy fitness departing from our pee break. This, however, made little difference to the A group once we hit Lands End. The infamous rollers beckon for pep and sure enough the pace was high and the yo-yoing was obvious. Shrapnel bursting out the back end was the norm but for the most part the group stayed large until Fabian and Emile went to work soon to be joined by this reporter. The 3 of us tagged teamed each other (no love lost today) until the peloton caught back on which saw Cody drag it out over and down in to Wine Country. This is when Emile decided to do an 8' TT test that saw him solo 50m in front of the group all the way on to Craig's Hill and down in to Pat Bay. By the time we caught on the impact on the legs was certain for some. A few bursts at the airport, one by Sharpie and one by Cody (both closed by yours truly), took us on to Panorama. Cody set the pace, the ugly, no way I am overtaking that wheel, kinda pace, until the second stop sign where we settled in to a manageable tempo that was mellow enough to guarantee a deadly acceleration over the top. Sure enough, Cody, Emile, and Scotty got it going followed by myself, Sharpie, and Fabs. A wee gap opened that forced the latter 3 to chase over the top in to the valley and the 6 of us were gone. Some untimely traffic and a stop sign (as well as a few too many chasers that unfortunately rolled through said stop sign - shame, shame) saw the group of 6 swell to a group of 15. Some uneventful pace lining and some tired legs saw the group stay together until the Observatory when the same 6 got a gap again. Rolling on to Interurban we forced the chasers to work for it which resulted in some cat and mousing that saw Emile, sensing some pack hesitancy, go solo. This reporter tried to drag the group up but found himself in no-mans-land. I settled in for the group and the dirty dozen of us tried to keep Emile within our reach. Coming over the final rollers I took Cody for a ride and led him in to the sprint and within striking distance of the lone front man. Sure enough, Cody made my effort worth the while overtaking Emile and getting to the line first.

All in all a pretty awesome way to spend a Saturday. Sun. Bikes. Good people. And bleeding from my ears for a couple hours.

#winning

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:08 pm

Saturday Ride Report - April 16

True to form, a mild, late Spring day brought out the throngs for another Saturday sessions, including a number of riders best described as the sketchiest sketchballs in Sketchytown, USA. It's great to have people on bikes, but if you're group-riding skills aren't well honed and you are a danger to everyone around you every time the group turns a corner, check your ego and learn some bike handling skills before you decide you feel the need to test yourself on a hard group ride...

Returning from my soapbox, a large group numbering in the high teens left Sidney to perfect riding temperatures. At the first rise after the ferryboats, I put in a dig and took Mitch, the Manitoba missile, with me. An unexpectedly large gap open up and we had a good sesh, trading turns until we were duly brought back by the efforts of the lean and mean Trevor MacKenzie. ARuss quickly took up his standard role, attacking in the rollers at the end of Land's End and opening our minds to a new way of attacking - with high cadence! An ARuss Craig's hill attack strung out the group, with Mitch, Raph, Trev and myself joining in and contributing where we could. A regroup into the airport was short lived, as Panorama stirred ARuss' attacking instincts yet again. I played the lounge lizard role, sitting on like a parasite - I think I took one turn - perhaps intimidated and leery of turning myself inside out before the Pano kicker. TMac crested with us, alongside Raph, Matt Sharpe and Mitch. The five of us settled into a nice paceline, with a sit-on-a-thon going on behind. We settled into a steady pace in the subsequent sections, before Mitch, continuing in the tradition of Manitoba studs that show us left coasters something on a Saturday morning, attacked over the top of me in the kicker immediately following Red Barn. Some Yeoman's work by Trev, and then Andrew Russell made my bridge a lot easier, and ARuss and I crested the hill next to the Observatory with a gap. We tried working it, but were soon brought back a kilometer into Interurban. The ride ended anti-climatically, with an unfortunately placed car forcing the group to wisely call off the Sprint. Great ride

GH

ghomer
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Re: OBB-WHEELERS SATURDAY RIDE REPORT

Post by ghomer » Sun May 15, 2016 12:29 pm

May 14th Saturday Ride Report

It was only fitting the the Saturday ride the day before the ides of May saw betrayal on a Shakespearean scale (note the rhyming couplet). With the weekend free of stage races, the was ample racer presence on the ride. Russ Hays team members Raph, Olly, Isaac, Mitch, Kurt and Cody were present, as were Megan, John Willcox and the usual Wheelers contingent. The gentle ride out to Sidney was peppered with occasional injections of pace, evidence of the good form of many of the riders present. A gigantic first group, full of contenders and pretenders both young and old, left the Sidney pit stop in search of victory on what has become informally known as stage two of the Victoria Stage Race (stage 1 - Tripleshot Friday; stage 3 - VCL or Island Cup). On the early portion of Lands End the elastic band stretched and contracted, riders quickly single filing in response to the pace setting by Olly, Mitch, ARuss, and Trevor.

Olly - I can do anything you can do on a bike, just better and on junior gears - Evans, who's recent results include second overall at Walla Walla AND Bloom, was the rider to watch as the old hands looked to test themselves against the young stud. It was men against boys. Literally. A vicious acceleration on Craig's Hill saw the first genuine selection of the afternoon, with a group including Olly, Cody, ARuss gaining ground over a group of ten odd chasers. A regroup through the Reservation, and groupo compacto through the airport saw everyone on level footing heading into panorama. A shrewd move by Cody, quickly joined by Olly and ARuss, demanded I burn a match bridging. Unbeknownst to us, the Russ Hays crew had decided on betraying their teammate, Kurt, by trying to drop him. Over the kicker, an Olly move, followed by myself and Aruss, created separation from the group, and successfully unhitched Kurt. An unfortunately placed construction zone, and a determined Isaac-led chase saw a partial regroup at the Prairie Inn, with a full regroup occurring at the Stoplight in Brentwood. A cohesive pace-line through Wallace, a short-lived but nonetheless impressive attack at the post Red Barn kicker by Mitch, and an equally short-lived break after the Observatory rollers later, and we were all back together on Interurban. Move after move - including a dangerous, Tim Wellens style move by ARuss - was successfully brought back by the worker types, and I led Willcox out for the win.

GH

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