10/12
Twenty k's of serene solitude at five was the perfect antidote to insanity, thoughts off the tether, worries o.t.a. and bliss aboard the Baum cleared the cranium to start Saturday. The déjà vu New Dookie, Boundary and Old Dookie Rd course from seven days ago, a ten degree orange daybreak with just one base layer prompted plenty of motion to work up some warmth. Back to town there was a cheery rendezvous with Car+Mel to head south, intercepting insomniac Rocket en route to the carpark. I berthed deliberately in the left line (to avoid an early effort) as Shorty, Nick, Trav, HBK, Cougar, AvantiTrev, AvantiAndy, AvantiMat, Jen, The Godfather, Weapon, Pistol, TatPaul, BassoDan, TrekTrev, Nev, Jase, Marz and Bruce arrived for the regular social gratification (is the ride the means to the breakfast's end?) TatPaul and Rocket guided the train tactfully out of town, I'd be lucky to score more than one turn at the pointy end with this many in the bunch. Super stylish Pistol was in yet another cool kit and Jase was keeping a lid on a birthday, the regular social fulfilment lapped up on the anticlockwise course. SpinDoctor and TrackStan were on a second coming at the Cosgrove silo (unable to go the distance from the starting grid?), encouraging words from Trav assisted my (eventual) go in the drivers seat at the Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd kennels, respiratory relief reaching the main eastern channel to enjoy the draft. Shorty's puncture halted the pack in Ford Rd, sprint plans and predictions* with Car+Mel during the pause shortening the wait. Rolling recommenced and the pace percolated to Wanganui Rd, almost perfectly to plan (*) the wattage warriors spiced the speed at DECA, I joined the up-line with 'keen-as' Car and 'motivated' Mel welded to my wheel.
Advancing up the ranks, I took stock for a moment behind HBK, watching as Rocket, Pistol and TrackStan bolted at Kittles Rd, I took the punt of rounding up Trav and HBK to hammer the hill. Over the hump in fourth spot, my trophy was the grins from the gals gallantly glued behind. Electric bikes, Christmas gifts and dying captured conversations as breakfasts were relished.
11/12
12/12
Mondays lap was to rise above the drudgery of another weeks work, finding Cate keen for a lap on the New Dookie, Old Dookie, Boundary and Channel circuit. Not a lot of chat, just down to bike business, our effort east was unspecified yet uncannily unified. Into the rhythm, calm from the waist up, focus fixed 10 metres ahead and psyched in on smooth, the church arrived sooner than later while a big orange ball poked above the horizon, just atop the thin layer of fog. A suggestion of a northeasterly motivated motion back to town, a crack at the ChaCha understood and unquestioned.
13/12
Perfect conditions Tuesday (14 degrees and a light northeaster) to tap a Turtle lap, feeling friskily fit to be honest (minus 8kg of ballast), but lamenting the loss of ice cream and the bliss of bakeries. Temple, AvantiTrev, AvantiMat, Shorty, Nick, WhisperingJack, Cougar, TrekTrev, Hollywood and HBK had converged on the Turtle carpark, 5:40 tolled and the little train puffed out of town. (Welcome back jet-lagged Wozz bravely lining up for the Hares) Shorty and I took leg one to Doyle's Rd and AvantiTrev came alongside for stage two to Orrvale (best not half wheel him or the next bike service will be expensive!) Hollywood, AvantiMat, TrekTrev, Temple and HBK followed in the rotations, Nick and WhisperingJack reluctantly proceeded forward for Boundary Rd, the hint of tailwind should have inspired. Shorty's request to ease back was granted, I'd dropped back into zone three but silence in the ranks said all were working. Over Melbourne Rd I was beside Shorty again for a k then a carefully controlled push to Galbraiths gate with AvantiTrev. I'd reckoned Temple was in the box seat for line honours but Nick and WhisperingJack took tiny turns to put TrekTrev and Shorty on the front early for Conrod straight (sighting a flattened turtle into the first dip was rather ironic). Fortune favoured Foss when Shorty rolled across, being towed for a k let me throw all wattage to the wheel to bolt the last 500 metres. An HBK shadow lurking behind me drove even more effort, wringing out the last watts was hell at the last dip to hold the young fella off. "Good effort ya old bastard" was taken as a compliment from Hollywood (3rd) as my gluttony for oxygen occupied the remainder of Raftery.
14/12
Chomping into banana and dates for breakfast when an unexpected shower played its tune on the verandah roof, soon the WhatsApp and Messenger pings followed, many turning ride shy. I'd almost ride-retired too at 5:20 but the crank craving called a chance when the cloud lifted at 5:30. Carpe Diem! Still the phone pinged as I rolled out the drive, figuring a solo lap would be best. East on Old Dookie Rd had the benefit of a northwester behind me, little rooster-tails of water off a glossy tarmac soon subsided, but the chain groaned from the damp. The breeze came at the right shoulder in Boundary Rd, a stormy sky retreating east as the sun tried to pierce the curtain of cloud. I chose Mitchell Rd instead of the River Rd repetition, but the breeze had swung to WNW to torment. Legs and lungs laboured and wattage wained, 176 bpm signalling an ease off the throttle to avoid implosion. Time forced an Archer Rd course home, a soloist ahead becoming the carrot to crank back to town.
15/12
Thursday was cooler that PistolPete's wardrobe, "feels like 7" felt like June to me! My ritual early lap took me to the Emu, a spin on the 17 cog putting temperature into the gastrocnemius. Light slowly filled the sky en-route to the Toaster, quite the push into 25 clicks of chilled southerly. Easier westbound back to town, arriving for a precision landing at Friars at the second stroke of six. Goats Speissy, Joe, Tum, Spartacus, DeepFry, Coggo, Jen, Temple, HBK, AvantiAndy and Belly had gathered for the weekday workout, finding myself in the dream draft of AvantiAndy (akin to Kenworth) to roll out of town. A drive to Dobsons with Andy then to pair with Joe.....but wait, he's had Hommy help, half-wheeling! I tolerated it for 200 metres, but it was payback to Central Ave as a re-education. Boundary Rd's headwind hurt some and hungered others, turns short and long but Belly and Temple set the speed standard to River Rd. There was a bit more giddy up west on River Rd but Tum was time starved like me to turn for a shortcut homeward via the truck route and Archer, the bliss of the strengthening southerly propelling the pace back to town.
16/12
Just Mel and me to commute to the Friday carpark, Wozz on an early FDC mission and Cate murdering mountains, but Kenworth converged as we plied south in a blissful 15 degrees. Shorty, Temple, Trav, Boof, Pistol,Chops, Nev, AvantiMat and AvantiTrev floated in, FDC's Grumpy, Troy, Rocket, Wozz and Pelly arriving in waves, caused by a Troy tsunami I'm told. (KOM) Turning up early, I seem destined to drive the first leg to Sanctuary roundabout (déjà vu Boof as co-driver), it's getting a little easier each time, or was it the gentle help from a weak ENE breeze? I even managed a sentence or two en-route to Mitchell Rd in the draft (normally speechless), Pistol's stylish new kit, Choppy's cheeky charm, Weapon's carbonaria (in C sharp by Zipp) and Pelly's Kialla mini-loop post-mortem supplemented the social stimuli. I'd been slowly demoted to the back of the bunch by River Rd, the brief blur of bunches boring west, our speed slumped as AvantiTrev took the reins but was bumped back up for Boundary. Kenworth and I scored the strengthening northeaster to battle from the Broken bridges, a moments relief pointing west in Channel till Boof wound up the expectations into the 40's. I'd landed the best real estate of the draft from Boof, Rocket, Pistol and Troy from the S bends onward, and another 10 contributors to follow made Cha Cha chances choice. Tearing into Kinder corner at 43 and down to Hopeful, I'd reached the back of those with wattage and was summoned forward by a few sitting on. I left the door open for Boof and Troy (Rocket in retirement) to charge, but poured all into the pursuit of Temple (uncatchable) to finish fifth, 10th overall for the Cha Cha (49.4 average) made for a chuffed chap.
Week 50. 294km. YTD 16,203km.
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