We had a good showing of hardcore SSRC riders today with lots of familiar faces and it's nice to see so many wearing Muddies jerseys. We are about to resurrect the SSRC jersey, but that's another conversation! We set off in sunshine and relative warmth (for this time of year anyway) down along River Road at a steady pace. Now, due to the closure of the tunnel at the end of the Veloway, it's necessary to take a detour up through Noarlunga Downs and over the Expressway. Someone must have created a new Strava segment recently that forms part of the detour, a 600m ramp up the hill, and there we were a few PRs up there this morning.

The route picks up the Coast to Vines track on the other side and we carry on as normal, all the way up to Wheatsheaf Rd where we turn right and head for the hills.

At the bottom of Cox's before we ascend

After a brief stop at the bottom of the hill for outer layer removal, drinks and a nature stop, we all set off up Cox's Hill. It's very tricky to keep a group together as they ascend a hill, the best option is to let everyone head up the hill at their own pace and regroup at the top. I had a chat with a few people today on the way up which I don't normally get chance to do and I also see that there a few of you who got PRs today - in particular Boz knocked about a minute off his previous time, so a big well done to those of you.

The weather also decided to worsen as we reached the top, with thick cloud/mist covering the summit.

Zippy (not Skippy) at the top - good effort big fella

David emerges from the mist a the top of Cox's Hill

Brett at the top of Cox's Hill

I know I shouldn't be surprised, but it always gets me how much faster the big fellas are down the hill than the little guys - I guess that's just Newton and gravity at work. So a word of advice, going up hill, get behind the little guys, going down hill get behind the big guys. Our descent of Bains Rd was largely uneventful, other than Martin have a minor technical glitch with his chain at the bottom. As we waited for him on the Coast to Vines bike trail, I was accosted by some random stranger who was interested in the group and may well come and join us in future, I pointed her towards this site, so hopefully there's another new convert.

As we continued our journey along the trail, we started to loose riders as we rode close to/passed their houses. Pat, Baron and Callum disappeared at the Tunnels, Zippy earlier on at Bains Rd and six of us carried on south down the Veloway. If you have small kids (and boy's in particular), this section is worth bringing them down to watch the earth-moving machines in action (just not on weekends as they don't appear to do very much).

Our last strava segment of the day was the Esses, a nasty little ramp 600m long, not really a hill but too long for a sprint. The end result, if you have a go at it, is burning legs and an exploding chest. Good effort to those that got PRs today. The rest of our journey followed the route we took out of Noarlunga, back across the Expressway and down River Rd back to Becks, where Boz had probably some of the best helmet hair I've seen since the Wild Man of Borneo.

Total distance: 45ish km

Metres climbed: 600-700m

Average speed: about 24kmh

Pun***re Fairy visits: 0

Grin factor: 8/10

SSRC rides run every week, alternating L and P ride routes. Next weeks ride will be a P ride on Sunday. Event details here

Boz with a bad case of helmet-hair