Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Does anyone know if the Olympic Park Bunch ride is on tomorrow morning - need to lose some of the christmas pudding hanging off the side of me ?

Cheers
Tony

Can't see why not. I plan on being there.

JM

Thanks Sydguy. Cya out there.

I have no club, no bunch ride experience, but want to get started soon, do I just show up or would I have to organise some things first?

The LACC are a welcoming bunch, they say on their website that all are welcome to the SOP training rides. If you dont have any experience, just turn up by 6am at the SOP railway station and jump on with group 5 or 6 to get the hang of the calls and signals. Once your comfortable, move up to the next group.

Cheers,

Phil.

First week of new years and there were 150+ riders out there.
Yeah just turn up. As recommended, group 5 and 6 first as it can get hairy from group 4 onwards. Some bad apples in 4s this morning complaining about gaps and slower riders.

Great! I stayed up too late last night to be bothered with a 5am start this morning, but I hope to check this out next week.

Jump on a slower group and let them know you are new. They will then signal turns and ensure calls are made.

Otherwise enjoy!

JM

black4tress wrote:First week of new years and there were 150+ riders out there.
Yeah just turn up. As recommended, group 5 and 6 first as it can get hairy from group 4 onwards. Some bad apples in 4s this morning complaining about gaps and slower riders.

It was great to be back out there!! The bad apples should have moved up to group 3!!!...it was fast paced from the outset, they would have been working to hard to complain!!...I broke into the 6min/5k bracket this morning with a new PR...set a new PR for the Aquatic Centre sprint then got dropped on lap 4 after feeling myself blowing up on the Aust Ave down hill...I had a blast!!! See you guys there next Tuesday!!

Did my first ride this morning in bunch 6, the only guy sporting a commuting bag if I needed to announce any louder that I'm a noob. There were a couple of little situations that suddenly popped up, and my cornering is horrible, but I enjoyed it, I'll try to get back there next week.

Good work. There's always a few with backpacks etc (me included sometimes) so you're not totally alone there.
Group 3 was great. Although cracking on the 2nd last corner of the final lap is not.

I was in G3 this morning. It didn't feel like it was very fast but the Garmin said 40.5 kph avg which is quicker than normal. I think it was the good paceline (i.e. very few gaps) that did the trick.

I also PB'd the Aquatic Centre hill this morning!

You can leave your backpack/commuting bag at the little cafe near the start line - you should see a little bunch of bags left there. This is also mentioned on the Park Bikes website, the bike shop near the start point.

I agree anyone talking in the groups other than to point out hazards should move up to the next group. People try to turn it into a race, these are often the people who don't actually race.

Laps are fantastic to get you better on the corners, follow the wheel in front of you, often the riders in the 'slow' group are very experienced. Plenty to learn from them. Once you nail the corners and rolling over at the front without speeding up, then you just have to get faster!

JM

With Aust Ave closed last Thursday for the Easter Show there were still plenty of riders out there.

If anyone has done the ride this morning can you report back on the numbers. Hoping to get out for the Thursday bunch ride so making sure it's still on ?

Cheers

If you subscribe to the newsletter, it comes out weekly on a Wednesday night, and usually confirms the same training days, no mention of downtime in last weeks, but might be worth subsribing now to see if tomorrows mentions anything about Thursday.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was thinking of trying out one of the 6am SOP rides.

I'm fairly new to cycling but am currently able to hold about 30kmh on reasonably long (80km) but also reasonably flat rides. Would I be too slow for the later bunches? The lacc website doesn't mention what pace they do, just that the ride is 'very hard'.

Also does the cafe still take people's bags? Is this safe?

If you haven't been down there before, start in group 5. Watch and learn the drill, then move up to the next group if you are to comfy for the whole session.

Thanks. No Never been before. I'd definitely be wanting to start in the slowest possible group to start. But I will be going to the ride on the way to work and would probably be carrying a bag with my laptop etc. Is there any lockers or other secure storage in the area?

No lockers that I would use, there are a few guys that are out there with back packs on. Just make sure it is secure.

Fair enough.

Any idea what the average speed of group 5 normally is?

Probably about 34kph...though bunch pace is very different to solo road pace. Don't jump in to high to soon, you need to have your bunch skills honed before you can handle being on the edge of blowing up for 25km and not put the other riders in danger by making a simple mistake due to fatigue. 30kph solo for 100km is reasonably strong, but zero bunch experience places you in G5 for a while til you get used to the bunch environment. You will know when it's time to go up a group... Just be honest with yourself to stay safe and keep others safe.

Yes I agree with that. I've done a bit of bunch riding with Bike North but it's always been at a comfortable pace. And the bunches aren't usually that tight or even well organized. Like they never seem to do the rolling rotations of the people at the front, at least not in an organized matter. I'm assuming that's what LACC do?

I know when I'm pushing myself solo I don't always hold my line that well so I've definitely got skills to develop. Excited to try it though as it definitely sounds like the next logical step up for my cycling. Also not too far out of the way on my way to work, although I will have to wake up pretty early to be there for 6!!

The Tuesday/Thursday bunches are pretty well structured, always rotating. There are occasionally riders left hanging off the back, usually they have gone with to high a group. At the avg speed your talking, you should be ok to start in G5. Sounds similar to where I was at when I started. Over the next month, you will pick up the calls, signals etc and when you are ready, jump up to G4. G4 will average 36kph+, G3 will average 38kph+, G2 will average 40kph+, G1 can be over 42kph. In saying that, I have ridden G3 when they have caught G2 and G2 when they have caught G1. It can depend on who turns up and which group they go with. There isn't anything better than these groups if you want to develop your pace and bunch skills. They are really well run, but depends on everyone being safe, not forgetting to obey the road rules as well;)

Sounds awesome. Excited about that. Not sure I'll be able to make tomorrow morning unfortunately though. Will go next Tuesday.

I'm thinking of doing the free Park Bikes intro to bunch riding on Wednesdays at 0605 after LACC have left. Probably not next Wed as that's Ride to Work day.

Maybe that would suit you too?

http://www.parkbikes.com.au/#!coachingp ... ydney/ciag" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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