Week 46

With the Tat 50/100/200 rides on, I wasn't expecting big numbers for Saturdays bike therapy.  Pleasing to see Dalton & better half Christine, Chris the Pom braved the cold, Walshy back again (on a yellow card remand) Cougs, Trev, Shorty the birthday boy and Dale as tail-light.  Rocket, Trav, Nick, Ryno & BigMat tackled the 200 (performed very well i'm told, 5:45 a great rate) Cougs did the daily double entering the 50 straight after this morning's lap.  The now usual south westerly assisted out Channel and up Boundary, noticing a few Tat 200 direction boards placed at the ready.  All were on their best behaviour playing by the rules, a decent rate of knots held in Lemnos Cosgrove Rd to witness the Cats being led out (?) by a solitary lass.  Coffee and toast enjoyed back at the Lemontree (a large muffin served as a birthday cake for Shorty) a yarn too with Tommygun and Weapon in from a short lap. Weapon planning a titanic torturous trek tomorrow to test tenacious time trialling, taking time though to tempt tastebuds trying tantelising treats (tarts?)  Voluminous verbal vernacular virus continues.... 

An indulgent sleep-in Sunday till 5.30, and yippee it's light enough to go without lights! 5 degrees cold enough though to keep with the base layer and 3/4's.  Rolled out on the toaster loop, humming along nicely up to the golf course thinking of stuffenthat. From DECA onward it felt like I'd inherited legs of lead, hard to maintain a decent speed. Tyres appeared to be firm, maybe a brake binding? All appeared well, tree tops static, maybe it's a crook engine?  Have the decades decayed the dinosaur? Soon to be relegated to a snoozy bunch to tow Ken? About to be cast on the scrapheap and given a carbon fibre zimmer frame? Rummaged through the cerebellum and dug the depths of the parietal to find any lost scrap of motivation or hint of drive, even considered moving to the 16 sprocket but knew that'd shatter poor HWK to learn i'd changed gear. Only Winston Churchill's quote got me to the Emu ("never never never give up") 
then it turned instantly Christmas on a stick! Much easier heading south and even better pointing west, some unseen ESE wind had hindered the journey east.  Drowned in the dopamine of a light breeze from behind and monstered Mitchell in the 56/14 (in the foolish hope of upping the average) Only 2 bikes spotted (both with zip ties sprouted from skulls, hoping to startle sparrows?) the wind slowly shifting along the way to a strong (26km/h) north easter as a pennance for Conrod straight. Easy to dig deep with the finish line in sight (and a 'trophy' in mind), no Wildebeast, Ibex or other extranious wildlife to hamper progress today, just straight to Degani to be first in, soaking up their polished service, very smooth coffee and moorish slab of buttered banana and walnut toast as reward.

Either a helping hand or a hinderance, the wind blew hard Monday morning, didn't deter 9 P&W's from attendance though. Fox, Meags and Fee got a 5.10 start to knock over 30, then joined Princess, Stace, Cougs, Sootie, Hayles and the Goose for the usual course. A bit of mechanical adjustment to Hayles Argon, then all set sail (heads down into the north north east at 20km/h)  Princess and Goose are clearly in the senoir league of speed (lots of hard yards travelled in the Tri build up) I barely rate as the orange boy. Mind you, Fox, Sootie  and the quickchicks travel well too. 51 were on a go slow in Boundary Rd (dangling a carrot for the Cats?) but we plugged away on the lap, getting blown down Mitchell as the wind swung from the north east (Princess being blown a bike length further ahead than me)  51, with Cats in tow, rolled past as we neared Archer (an elephant stamp for the considerate pass) A united finish in Raftery with the big guns still in sight, just pipped by the train rolling back through town.

Dug out the three-quarters and the roubaix jersey for Tuesday, turned cold again. 10 degrees it said but had "feels like 6.7" Mmm....to a doona snuggler? To an eskimo? Someone who's sensitive down to the .7  Just 8 turned up to the Couldabeens, maybe the wind kept a few away, maybe spent legs from the Tat 200 ? Didn't stop Rocket, Nick & Ryno, having finished the 200 at a 33+ average (well done lads!) Trev, Jase, Steve, Chris the Pom and Walshy made up the team for a steady, slightly subdued ride. We copped a 22k SSW head wind turning into Boundary,  the turns rolled over a little more often to relieve the burden. Puddytats homed in beyond the Mitchell Rd dog-leg (a legacy of our late getaway and eased tempo) and 51 overtook after the highway. Walshy hurried up the heart rate in Conrod straight, but mid 40's only paved the way for Rocket to unleash the horsepower for a decisive win (200 on Saturday hadn't put a dent in him)

Fitted the fourth set of Vredesteins for the year (6000k's from the last set with just one puncture, courtesy of Carlton & United Breweries) so bedded them in with a hospital bunch ride. A dozen started and the usual weapons of mass destruction joined in on the journey east.  I'd paired with young Hamish (with his 35 year advantage) then had Dalton the diesel (with his big ft/lb torque advantage) to humble my effort, thankfully Sprinter and Gools brought things back to sensible high 30's for the last leg to the Emu. Speed shot up the moment we pointed south, the big guns (line astern) formed up for an imminent assult.  Best behaviour at the Toaster to give way to the constabulary heading west, finally got to the back of the pack to notice that Trev had gone OTA.  Remembering that disheartening feeling well, I sat up and rolled quietly for the little fella to catch on (a straggly hospital bunch slowly cantered off into the sunset) the least I could do for all his help over the years. We probably had a tougher workout for the remainder (even with a shorter course via Channel) the south west wind still blowing at 20k+ 

Broke with tradition Wednesday and unwound with an anti-clockwise lap, joining Trev, Nick, Choppy,  Rocket, Cougs and legal Dave for a low level flight down Archer, a better late than never FeltMat catching on at our turn into Mitchell. It's been a while since travelling this way, puts a different perspective on things. Supercats oncoming near the dog-leg, P&W's (with a few new faces) about to turn into Mitchell, and like a long string of Christmas lights, a big 51 train turning into River Rd. A pleasant change to tackle Boundary with the breeze behind, but the wind funneled down Channel to make it a task to get home.

An earlier (and moderate) ride Thursday morning, the need to get to work excluded a Couldabeens ride (a rapid one I'm led to believe...legs said thanks for missing that one!) There's still the odd blanket of fog on some low lying areas, more like July than November. Shirms was howling down Boundary (courtesy of a carbon fibre dinner plate for a back wheel) in readiness for Sundays' 70.3. Cats, Goats and 51 followed soon after, all about to congregate it seemed. Happy to tap along quietly and complete 25 without stress,  ready for a days toil. 

Ideal climate Thursday arvo (20 degrees, a light southerly blowing) so mounted the trusty steed and set off on a random course, across to Mooroopna then down to Toolamba (hopeful the southerly would at least help the homeward leg) Peak hour traffic (6 cars) didn't give much of a tow into the headwind, reached the Toolamba metropolis at a busy time (two cars at the pub, one pedestrian), but pressed on via Bridge Rd. Gave a wave to the red Mitsubishi with an Argon appendage on the roof (Member for Toolamba, Dave) just as Mr Gymnorhina Tibicen attacked. (thought magpie nesting was finished?) Crossed the highway and onto Union (aka Roubaix straight), felt like cobblestones with 20mm stones glued to the top. Headed south at Central Kialla for a 2k battle to Karamomis Rd (all action at the Karamomis CBD with 6 people at the tennis court!). Relief at last to be headed north on the Shepp-Euroa Rd (narrow as it is) with a diminishing tail breeze, got a motivational moment in Boundary Rd reeling in and passing a small bunch of 4 on the Broken bridges (exited via Channel as I sailed north)  Crossed paths with the Library bunch nearing Old Dookie Rd, only picked out Wongy and Jamie amongst the blur of 16 odd riders. Just enough daylight to take the Toaster-Emu-Lemnos/Cosgrove-Ford-Wanganui-Rudd-Boulevard route home, a very empty tank at the end, spending 1500 calories on the 2:17:10 of 75k's. 

Another quiet lap for Friday morning (in light of yesterdays excess) just into double figure degrees and a fair southerly still blowing. Rolled out Channel with Cougs, dodging Mr & Mrs Duck with Huey, Dewy and Louie crossing the road (more wildlife to avoid).  Nearing the end of Channel Rd spotted the Supercats (rotating clockwise) spearing southward, soon after, in hot pusuit the 51 attack squad were homing in with gritted teeth and furrowed brow (lots of grunts, no good mornings today).  Crossed the highway to find 3 poor 51 souls (soles?)  ex-communicated by speed, about to become Cat food or P&W kippers on toast. Oh well, it IS freaky Friday. Quite content to finish a moderate ride, an epiphany to roll over the train tracks just as the boom bell rang, the last ever 7.02 train departed . (a scary trainspotting moment?)

Week 46   424km  15,264 calories (160 banana PaddlePops) 31.7 average  YTD 18,103km

A big cheer to Shirms, Grasshopper, Weapon, Princess and all the other legends about to tackle the Shepp 70.3 Ironman, keep it smooth and keep it upright.

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars"  Martin Luther King 1929-1968