Eyeballs opened early Sunday, scuttling solubriously serene slumber schemes. Set forth on Ford then Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd with no aim but to roll around the track and iron out thoughts. The Garmin lay dormant and the speedo was in darkness, nice to shoot the breeze (northeaster) without a target for a change. By Old Dookie Rd a poofteenth of light lit up mid thirties on the dial, which lifted the spirits. A walking native African in Boundary Rd caused an hr peak, emerged from the shrubs to suddenly startle. As expected, no riders about at this silly hour, just a car or two. The long lengths of Boundary and Mitchell passed by, a glance back for cars showed another awesome start for the day like yesterday, (dragged the i-phone out for a happy snap).
Worth getting out of bed and spending a few calories for? Took the Archer exit off the toaster loop and rolled back into town. Met up with Cougs (the only one with any Sunday urge left it seems) and tapped east on Old Dookie Rd, suprised to see the African walker arriving into town (9k covered on foot) The beginnings of a light north easter made the next 20k a bit easier, bikes now out and about (the sensible hours maybe the reason) with some extra momentum gained predicting how good coffee and banana & walnut toast would be, 65k well spent for a Sunday. Good to keep a bit of variety in the rides lately to prevent climatisation, familiarity and repetitive strain injury.
A slumber did finally arrive, Monday morning's drizzle meant an extravagant sleep in. Weather did improve a little during the day, wind had dried the tarmac by 5, so set forth after work to put some k's in. 12 degrees was tolerable but 15k of WNW wind meant there was work to do at some point. (It's nice to plan for a tailwind home but not always possible, or feasable) It was the Boulevard - Rudd - Wanganui - Ford - Lemnos-Cosgrove line for me, euphoria with the winds' helping hand, the struggle could come later. Was passed by a Cruize just metres from the Emu corner, who immediately indicated and stabbed the brake to turn left. (licence off a Weet-Bix packet) After a brief doubt to his parentage, I pressed on to Boral's big pot hole at Cosgrove, hooked right to Quarry Rd, then right again to bear west on New Dookie Rd. The wind did well to spoil the fun, 6k to the church felt like 16, hunting between the 15 and 17 cog trying to find the ideal cadence. A short reprieve from the Church to the toaster, then grit the teeth to plug away for Boundary Rd ,grateful the speed wasn't visible to reek dispair (Mr Garmin lit up 165bpm though) Less stress southward in Boundary, but I was procrastinating on the rest of the route. Plans for a Karamomus course were getting objections from the pessimist, but the optomist / adventurer eventually won. At least I had Mr Considerate Corolla pass me in the narrowing Shepp-Euroa Rd, he slowed to 40 then passed cautiously by without a shower of stones. Finding Karamomus Rd at night wasn't easy (fooled by Union then Wilkinson Rd, it felt far longer than 8k from the main channel) but finally located, turned west (just as the wind swung directly from the west :-/ ) for a hard push back to Central Kialla Rd. A farmer was fixing his tractor in a field (lit by Landcruiser), so I wasn't the only one at toil. Pitch black sky had hid the Hall so was pleased when the channel bridge came into view (thinking I had a few more k to go) Legs were protesting in Central-Kialla Rd to get north, hr into the anaerobic was wearing me thin. Couldn't remember how many bridges to count, but Mitchell Rd finally appeared like a long lost friend, but wind was the enemy all the way to Roubaix (Mt Nicolaci was a catagory one climb tonite!) As Raftery bent more northerly, the grin improved, resolving to stop the clock at the city's first red light. Suprisingly, travelled uninterrupted to the cop shop before a red finally halted me, bang on 80k covered in 2:25
Legs weren't screaming too loudly at 5.30 Tuesday, the 5 degrees felt way cooler though. 80rpm stopped the blood freezing on the southerly trip to the Couldabeens start, turned up at the cafe to find Trav, Cougar, Kenworth, Tim, Rocket, FujiTrev, Shorty, Pete and Jase prepared to put in. Pete had had lessons from HBK, got him at the front for the first stage but will forgive, given his limited time with bunches. 4.7 degrees kept the senses alert, at least there wasn't wind to battle. FujiTrev was choosing turns carefully and Jase wound up the wick after Boundary's two bridges, stretching the pack a little longer but unhooking Cougs in the process. I backed off a k to keep supernana company homeward, (not the done thing to leave people solitary in this neck of the woods at this time of year) letting the lads go, who only gained a few hundred metres anyway. Locking the speed in without fluctuation is a good excercise in rythym, quite a level data download on hr and cadence for the run home.
Unsure of which way the weather would swing on Wednesday (yr.no was predicting a 7am shower) chose to knock a few k's over on foot (keeps the bike clean) for a change nearly as good as a holiday. No lengthy kitting up with multiple layers of lycra either, trackkie dacks and jumper speeds the process. A short lap on Thursday (needed to be home earlyish) a delight to be shoved east with a strong westerly but some energy expenditure to tackle the head wind (22-30km/h) home. The intention of a Thursday session with the library lads was flushed down the tubes with the 4.30 downpour, a little zen and the art of cycle maintenance instead, new Michelins to fit, Fortezza's now extinct. Shame really, 6,300 trouble free kilometres on the final set, not even one puncture.
Made the pilgrimage to the P&W's on Friday, lined up at SPC with Sosso, Fox, Sootie, Wizz, H, Minto, Cougs, Princess, Meags, newbie Tim & Kyle. After negotiating the cars that can't give way (a Wheeler St free-for-all) we set forth with some westerly aid in Old Dookie Rd, a chance to socially update with the boys and girls. Mumblings of a time trial for River Rd shuffled the deck in Boundary Rd, thought there was three or four for the traditional route but found all but Cougar had turned for the thrash west. We soldiered on into the 15km/h head wind of Mitchell Rd, 5 degrees not a great motivator. The locker lads turned into Mitchell a k ahead at Kialla, Sosso & Meags cast off in their pace. Cats were steadily closing in but we'd reached Archer ahead, a turn for home to satisfy employers. Plugged away for the haul home, the westerly unrelentling. Meags and Sosso caught up for a quartet tour through town to ice the cake for the week.
Week 20 335km (15,778 wheel rotations) YTD 7,116km
"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realise fishing is stupid and boring" Desmond Tutu; South African bishop (retired) and social activist 1931-
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