Saturday started in a mad rush, running way behind schedule was an unwanted heartstarter, but I made the start line with a minute to spare. A copious cast had assembled despite the cool celcius, Linda, Ange, Bo, Kel, Tucks, Rocket, Pistol, Nick, Cougar, Jen, Shorty, Jase, Temple, AvantiChris, AvantiTrev, Trav and MasiMario almost making a record roll-up for winter. No daylight to enjoy en route to the Emu, closetting cloud cover cursing a colourful commencement. Little work to do with 19 others to draft from (Nath arriving on site at the Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd kennels), just sit back and enjoy the social side. Pistol Pete opened the account on the Wanganui Hill sprint, a handful of hopefuls pulling out all stops for the honours (no hope with Rocket anywhere in the rotation). My rustyness relegated me to the rear, a 40 k roll was enough to justify the toasted banana bread reason to ride.
Monday was a "gotta work on a public holiday so get up early and do an early solo lap 'cause everyone's having a cosy sleep in" ride. A Cat lap was the all the motivation I could muster, getting a shove from the port side on Old Dookie Rd's northerly (what's with the suicidal solo rider minus helmet and lights coming into town at 5.45?). It was pleasing to add 30% to the cruising speed in Boundary Rd, not a living creature or car in sight to impede progress. Put the head down in River Rd, the billiard table section (possibly 0.002% downhill?) from k2 to k3 was heavensent. It was wait for nobody at "wait for David", a chance to calm the heart rate from 160 with the breeze behind again. A one and only car arrived to baulk the turn into Mitchell, but it was plain sailing thereafter, just a headwind into Raftery Rd to empty the tank.
Gathered with Goats Tuesday, AvantiLeigh, Carl, Coggo, Belly, CerveloJohn, Speissy, Joe, Bickers set sail out of town, and it was game on single file from the SPC roundabout, collecting Tina at the weighbridge. The order was as organised as an emmisions trading scheme till AvantiLeigh set regular rolls at Central Ave, Bickers, Joe and Spiessy sat silent in the rear seats while the westerly (22-32 km/h) blew us to Boundary. Tina tested the turbo beyond the Broken bridges, a tail-light temptation seeing Cats a k ahead. There was a lot of puffin' and a bit of cussin' into River Rd's headwind (gruelling gusts from the oncoming garbage truck) , I scored the drivers seat out of the dip, and set about an exploration of my limits with a 2500 metre turn. CerveloJohn drove the Central Kialla leg (nursing new knee), we swung west into Mitchell just as the westerly swung southerly. Spiessy and Jo were MIA (Bickers escaped earlier into Channel Rd), our pace now a chase sensing a gain on the Cats (traffic delaying their Melbourne Rd crossing). AvantiLeigh towed us to the horse stud, with a Roubaix round up of the Cats (fanning the feline pheromones), I drove to Arcadia Downs where the Cats began to finally front to the business end. Well into the fifties in Conrods' dying metres (chosing the line carefully amongst unknown sprintenders) it was a Goat 123 finish to massage egos.
Inspiration to crawl out of a warm bed was low Wednesday, thoughts of the cobwebs congealing on Whispering Jack, BigMat, Temple, SuperMario and FeltMat motivated me to kit up and join Wozza for the commute to the Couldabeens carpark with just 0.7 registering on the guage. Pistol, Rocket, AvantiChris, Cougar, Jen, Cate and AvantiTrev had all queued up at the rear of the grid (hoping for others to take the first turn?), Kenworth a last minute arrival to get the mob mobile. A quality lead-out by the lasses, I found myself again in the speed sandwich between Rocket and Pistol, but it wasn't the torture test felt last week. AvantiTrev ventured forth for one turn, newcomers (to Wednesday's) Cate and Jen not afraid to submit multiples. Wozz and Rocket appeared to be in for the long haul of River Rd but the rotisserie rotated to cook me for the last k. The sprinters drew away at the Cha Cha, I was struggling for speed in 1.1 degrees so stayed with the survivors. Good to have the femme fatale's along to tame the testosterone and increase the attendance with so much Doonitis going around.
Braced for Thursday's chill (-0.7 degrees) with the maiden voyage of my Couldabeens winter jacket (insert gratuitous endorsement for Volta's insulating qualities), Jack Frost had culled Couldabeens contenders to just Rocket, Pistol, Spin Doctor, Wozz and Trav. (troops tortured by temperature toppling like tenpins) Into the deep end of a double shift with Wozz then Pistol, elevated the effort early, the rest of Channel Rd spent in rushed recovery for take two. A burst to Boundary's Broken bridges commenced an internal Jihad between mind and muscles, head saying "fight on", legs saying "f#+@ off". An oncoming bike burnt the retinas with a zillion lumens of light as I dismissed the demons of duty to have another dip at the pointy end in River Rd, (Rocket and Spin Doctor just seemed to be cruising), Wozz called time out just as I drew my last breath to say the same thing, the next 700 metres beside Pistol rendered me speechless. The rotations rolled too quickly, back to the rushin' front again in Mitchell Rd with the neurons waving white flags profusely! Willpower lept overboard, the comfort of a rear berth threw it's arms around me in an almost warm embrace, all my investments were now sunk into the Southern Bank of Survival (along with Trav and Spin Doctor) as we speared north with steam train-like puffs of breath, Wozza, Pistol and Rocket dutifully dragging us to Conrod. Out of the dip, Rocket dipped into his plentiful pocket of pace to power to the podium, Wozza whipping into second.
Coggo, AvantiLeigh, Tum and (a reluctant?) Belly lined up at Friars for Friday's locomotive of labour, a minus one temperature to warm up to. A little traction action on the roadworks gravel beside SPC on the run out of town, then shut up, head down and tail up single file eastbound on Old Dookie Rd. Coggo set a steady opening pace (predicting a hotter 1st innings it was fair on Foss but busted Belly). Tum and AvantiLeigh upped the stakes on the last legs to Boundary (youthful exhuberance!), I zoned into Coggo's seat post in a trance like tow, thanks to Todd Sampson (Redesign my Brain) for the focus fettish. We witnessed the eastbound Couldabeens light show as we speared south on Boundary, ripped into River Rd with the cold atmostphere like 5W40 diesel oil to push through. A tail-light ahead in Mitchell Rd lured Belly to step into overdrive, catching Princess (solo) who climbed aboard for a lift home. A brief halt (and gasp) for traffic at the highway, then back to nudging the fourties toward Conrod shortened the turns, Tum and AvantiLeigh with the legs to take 1st and 2nd, all my reserves spent on holding on for 3rd, happy to clock a 36 average.
Week 24 264 km
YTD 7,012 km
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