Familiarity breeds contentment

Making up for the lost opportunity from Saturday's rain, I convened with Brad, Wozz, Rocket and Pistol at A Mart on Sunday for a more dignified 7am start. My old engine struggled with the Raftery Rd southerly, I'm sure the Christmas Day tank of ice cream cake, fruit salad AND plum pudding had nothing to do with it!   (Wozz stated suffering too, his Christmas Day climb of Mt Hotham was a more excusable reason)  Pistol and Rocket were the usual energiser bunnies on Mitchell and River Rd's, Brad at full steam (in full winter kit) bowing out of contributions as we sliced the 11 degree breeze. Boundary Rd was blessed with a tail wind to take the cruising speed to 40, out to the Toaster and up to the Emu the honeymoon ended, work to the west to be done. My Christmas lunch extravagances taxed a couple of stints at the front, wonderful timing of Rocket to call Indian file and head the rapid drive home (me mentally murdered at second wheel though). Brad lost his grip with the group in Ford Rd, but we eased off the throttle to keep him attached, Wozz and Pistol facing the southerly at the portside.  Off the throttle again at DECA to stop Brad's rubber band from busting, he hung on as we paced the Boulevard to pit at the Lemontree for a morsel of banana bread, Wozza's Hotham assault, the track carnival and Christmas's copious catering was tabled for discussion. 

Still wearing away my Christmas calories, Monday drew Wozz, Rocket, Pistol, Temple, Shorty, Trav, Jase, AvantiTrev and BigRon to the Couldabeens start, but "just a roll around" had my h.r. to 170 in the first k. At the front, the short push south at the kinder was cruel enough, glad i'd scored a draft and avoided the torment in Boundary Rd. I coped fairly well beside the performance of BigRon for River Rd's last k, but wattage waned half way along Central Kialla , recovery only possible thanks to Wozz for the tow.  Across the highway and 'round Roubaix, wind behind spiced up the speed, lack of pace cowered me from the front into Conrod but the sprint was struck off the agenda.  A brief infusion of Lemontree caffeine discussing the hiccups of hospitality before I remounted to join a late 7:30 Goat peace train (Coggo, Brendan, Baz, Belly, Hommy, Deb, Tina, PinarelloMat and Dipper, with guests Paul and Ross thrown in)  A very casual roll out OldDookie Rd at 112 bpm, but Paul had directional dilemmas at Boundary Rd (left instead of right) spiking Belly's heart rate.  MrMagnet's arrival out of Channel Rd sent nerves scraping down the bunch blackboard, many on high alert updating risk assessments and insurance policies. How soon the comfort meter dips with gorillas in our midst, riding with the regulars certainly makes familiarity breed contentment.  The southerly took up the slack to River Rd but it was a tolerable drive west, comparing Christmas excesses, then down to less talk and more action in Mitchell Rd as the speed picked up.  The movers and sitters shuffled into position at Galbraith's gate, but it got messy with Mr Magnet mayhem creating Conrod chaos in the rear ranks, and newcomers getting too far ahead of experience and ability, gate keeper Deb dishing out directions.  I took to the pointy end for a squirt to the finish, Coggo and Brendan with the inertia when it matters taking the one two. 

A golf course warm up to reach an annual target (the curse of craved k's) was tenuously timed to a gathering of Goats at Friars on Tuesday, Tim, Deb, Joe, AvantiAndy, JB, Heady, AllegroJohn and Belly, forming a trimmed team to launch at 6. There were long and short donations to the bunch front on the leg east, Coggo's car surreptitiously sneaking by with bike aboard.  JB torqued up the turn at the front to the Pub, another Coggo drive-by showed us Tina's steed had appeared on the rooftop (away on a not-so-secret Mt Buller mission), Belly's imitation HG hang back, a hang-over from yesterday's directional dysfunctional?  Snapping out of the fixation on the bitumens blur below the Baum, it was a mixed bag of turns stumpy and stretched in River Rd., a fair flog up Mt.Nicolaci matching JB at the front, a preparation for pace to come in Raftery Rd. I put the foot into the old engine for the last 300 metres of Conrod straight (apologies to Heady for being hung to dry), Tim and JB bolting from the draft for glory, Deb a creditable fifth. Degani's hosted the post mortem on Mondays malady and MrMagnet mess.

The rearward grid formation had returned on Wednesday, lined up into the dump master with a cavalcade of Couldabeens, cursorily coming to crank. Wozza, Hollywood (citing sausage specs) Jase, SuperMario, Car+Mel, Bruce (from the pages of P&W history) Jen, AvantiAndy, AvantiTrev, Cate, Trav, Shorty, Pistol, Lenny, Cougar and Temple, formed the long thin line to set south on Archer at 6, I took the plunge of first to form a right line, getting my turn done early (only one other to do as it turned out!)  The lame were paying for Christmas gluttony, the lean (on mountain and MTB missions) feeling forlorn. Comfortably cool for River and Boundary Rd, anticipation (and perspiration) brewed as we pointed west on Channel Rd with the Cha Cha looming.  AvantiTrev (on the up line) hit the 'want for wattage' wall and was hurriedly hunting for a rescue draft, the bunch's rear swelling wide in over population. Cate, Car+Mel inspiringly ploughed forward, pace possessed, it was weaving class for Jase and I threading through the expirees buckling under Rockets rate. (Wozz and Trav the only survivors)  The calm after the sprint storm restored demeanour, many in the holiday 'crank-cafe-chat' habit. 

An early A Mart start with Temple on Thursday, topping off the year with a distance target to reach, revising our prologue to Wednesday's course, to intercept Thursday's 5:45 starters. The lure of a l.e.d. ahead in River Rd inspired our slog into the (perceived) easterly, balancing the mental limiter where effort is reserved proportionally to the distance remaining, finally catching Dalts as we neared the ripple strips.  Channel Rd west seemed a cruise (the bureau logged 5:35 as calm ; go figure!) reaching a Couldabeens train of 10 (Pistol, Car+Mel, Rocket, SuperMario, Cougar, Kenworth, AvantiTrev, Wozz and Marz) to climb aboard. SuperMario was served the satire of start times, Car+Mel on a quadrella of consecutive rides, Marz prostituting himself across nearly all local bunches (prompts publishing an en-cycle-opedia?), Rocket on a pre-race respite. My turn came up beside Temple sooner than expected, the S bend to Channels' end travelled well being primed by a prologue, but could I survive a few more turns of duty? Car+Mel, driven by determination, put in solid turns on Boundary Rd, River Rd's 6 kilometres dispensed with the peletons pace in 9 minutes. Car cranked a cracker turn in Central Kialla, Wozz, Pistol and Rocket driving a sizeable length of Mitchell. Pushing the 13 hard into the mid fourties kept me just in touch with the horsepower of Rocket, Kenworth, Wozz, Pistol and Marz on Conrods flat (60 prior k's had drained desire), Wozz nipping at Rockets heels to score a win.  A calm of cadence convened the stretched pack, a Lemontree chinwag on MtBuller, New Years rides and the mysteries of banana bread thickness complimented caffiene.

The intention of a cruisy lap to start a new year was chucked out the window on Friday, a  l.e.d. lure ahead on Old Dookie Rd triggering that automatic chase response (is it just a bloke thing?).  Hardly an Oppy's epic 1928 Bol d'Or effort (read <jeffdowsing.wordpress.com> tag: Bol d'Or classic,  for real inspiration) but I dropped the chain onto the 15 beyond Central Ave to add a few clicks to the velocity (careful not to empty the tank and catch the bait with nothing left).  The red l.e.d. slowly loomed larger by the Pub, but was it a pursuit of Pintara or Pagani?  Reaching the Broken bridges, the long locks of CatKev were recognisable, the laps remainder spent comfortably (#) in convivial conversation about wheels, Baum, the ever present male mantle of maintaining an average, time trials and holidays (# legs were complaining at 34 but the head was defiant, afflicted with the "not measuring up" syndrome). 24 tropical degrees lathered the limbs, avoiding a Raftery Rd chicane of spent fireworks surprised us both. There was a caution for just one car in town (the drunk / tired / drugged / texting / changing c.d. risk was fairly high at 7am New Year's Day) but it was the no eye contact / far away look of inattention that alerted our approach, the drivers last second realisation avoided a horizontal start to 2016.  Back home with a witty Strava post title (must muse Marz) to upload, it was off to the coal face to make a generous donation to the deputy commissioner of taxation.  

This week : 333 km.        YTD:  41k

Best of luck to manic Mexican Daniel "Everesting" Mt.Major this Sunday, my calculator reckons 46 times!