Saturday, June 13, 2009

BPCC Saturday Club Ride - June 13 09

Stop your grinning and drop your linens it`s showtime!

Quite the club ride this morning, With no races scheduled this weekend the crew all showed up with no govenors on speed as all groups on the road looked liked they were game for some fast cycling.

I jumped into the third group leaving the shop that gained some members from the second group who got caught at a red light departing Bedford. It was larger than we would prefer but consisted of solid riders and resulted in a fast jaunt out to Fall River via the Fall River subdivision.

Suffering a little in the hills of the subdivision and having sat up to ride with a dropped rider I rebounded and felt prime climbing the Fall River hill and had a scorching descent. Too fast in fact as I overtook two riders and was forced to split between them at 60kph. Yikes! Sorry lads! I guess gravity liked me today as the bike just surged ahead and with a rider on my wheel I was loathe to feather the brakes and dump speed.

The ride out to Laurie Park was a steady tempo as usual up to the kilometer to go sign where there is always a sprint if the road is clear of cars. I had the leadout pull at the sign and watched the paceline sprint past. It`s quite the sight.

Heading back to Bedford two groups merged as our pack chased down and caught the previous group at the lights in Fall River. In the jumble both EW and DM attacked and formed a flyer off the front. I was on the back and after a shoulder check I sprinted down the lane when it was obvious no one else was gonna respond. Took me about a kilometer to reel them in but managed to latch on to form a group of three riders heading into Waverley.We worked together to stay away but DM was simply two strong and EW and I suffered and eventually got dropped.

As I looked back waiting for EW I saw the chase group closing so I ramped it up again and DM and I managed to stay away for another kilometer until I cracked. DM continued to push while I was reabsorbed by the main field. Past Powdermill Lake and over the climb the group really pushed the tempo heading towards the traintracks. I was in the middle of the paceline and,totally out of character,attacked on the climb after the tracks and managed to get away with DM. The main field was riding strong and reeled us in as the whole group finished together heading into Bedford.

Damn! That was one fun ride! One of my goals this season was to develop the ability to ride for an extended period in the drops. I`m seeing great results, feeling comfortable and the position enables me to find additional wattage. I`m even attacking small hills and rollers in the drops and out of the saddle, something I was never able to do with any consistency.

Geo`s thumbs up.....

EW for riding strong today and setting a perfect cadence on a long climb. On his wheel I was in the big ring,hands in the drops, cranking over the pedals. Sweet!

DM for flying under the radar and surprising everyone with some serious good form.Look out for him next week racing in Riverport.

KT who rode with the fastest group today and is simply flying on the bike.She finished the ride with the fast boys and is showing excellent June form.

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