North Road Ride

Every morning from Monday to Friday, cyclists meet at the corner of North Rd and Nepean Hwy for a fast bunch ride that departs at exactly 6:00am. The ride up Nepean Hwy from North Rd to Mordialloc is the warm up - about 15km averaging low to mid thirties. However if the pack gets split by traffic lights, everyone in the rear half sprints to re-join. Once through the round-a-bout at Mordialloc it is full speed back down Beach Rd to St Kilda (about 20km averaging mid forties). Tuesdays and Thursdays are extremely fast rides, whereas the other days are just fast. There is also a marginally slower ride that departs from the same location 15 minutes earlier.

I always loved this ride. The fast section down Beach Rd (which is almost devoid of traffic lights) really tests your top end speed (and generally going really fast is always a lot of fun). Triathlon training typically does not develop top end speed on the bike (not many bike sprints in a Triathlon) and I had not done this ride for nearly 2 years. In past seasons I would usually get dropped on the first few rides until I became accustomed to the sudden changes in speed. So I was quite interested to see how I would fare.

As I drove past the starting point, I saw the 5:45am group leave and wondered whether I should have been in that group instead. After finding a nearby parking spot, I got my bike out and managed a 5 minute warm up ride before joining the 60 or so other riders gathered at the start. As the sun lifts above the horizon, the gathered riders quietly chat in small groups. Less confident riders wait towards the back, whereas the more experienced thread their way through to the front. Without any audible signal, the group slowly rolls out at exactly 6am. With most riders now having GPS bike computers, everybody's time is automatically synced via the satellites.

With 60 or more cyclists riding two a breast, the pack stretches out for close to a 100m long. Any changes of speed at the front generates an accordion affect on the pack, amplifying the speed change to those riding at the back. Obviously it is better to ride towards the front, but with everybody having the same idea this is easier said than done. Rather than fight for a good position, I usually end up at the back. Even if I start towards the front, I often find myself shuffled back as other riders sneak in front of me. The other problem of being at the back of a large pack is being chopped off by traffic lights - very common when the pack is so long. Sometimes the warm up feels like the fastest part of the ride if you keep having to sprint to rejoin the pack.

The pack leaders were being kind to us this morning (not always the case) and whenever the pack was split, they maintained an easy pace allowing us to rejoin without too much difficulty. Unfortunately myself and one other rider got chopped off at the lights about 3km from the turnaround (there were probably 5 other riders who ran the red light). The pack was travelling at an easy pace just ahead, but rather than sprint to catch up, I decided to cut across onto Beach Rd about 500m before the turnaround - so now I was ahead of the pack. It is easy to rejoin the pack as it passes. I often take this short cut anyway, rather than risk being cut off at the round-a-bout. Once the pack hits full speed, it is almost impossible to catch back up.

As mentioned earlier, Wednesday mornings are not one of the extremely fast days. The average speed for the Beach Rd section was only 43kph - partly due to a headwind and bad run with the few traffic lights that exist on Beach Rd (including being stopped at pedestrian lights). My heart rate was hitting 174bpm (very high for me on the bike) during the fast patches (top speed 57kph), but I never felt like I was going to be dropped. In previous years I often felt like I was on the ragged edge for the entire ride and would be completely shattered by the end. Today's ride tested my limits, but never really threatened to exceed them and I still felt relatively good by the end. It would have been good to see power figures for this ride, but unfortunately my power meter has been sent back for repair (or warranty replacement).

Last season's Ironman training appears to have improved my cycling (which was already my strength). Having a knee injury meant I couldn't run much, or do any speed or hills on the bike - so instead I simply logged lots of bike mileage at medium speed on flat roads. So far this season my bike mileage has been significantly down, but nearly all the rides have been hilly or fast (cos these rides are more fun). The key now is to maintain my current cycling form and speed, but add endurance in preparation for the two and half hour Half Ironman bike leg (90km).