Week 1 : Push or perish.

Post 378

In an attempt to overpower my OCD ogre, goal setting has gone OTA (well, so far!) this year in the interest of preserving some passion, 107,000 k's in the last 6 years is probably enough.

2/1

Three days seemed an eternity off the bike, the pectineus warmly welcoming the Fizik for a solo spin of New Dookie, Boundary and Old Dokkie roads to climatise before a Goat lap.   Coggo, Brendy, Heady and Belly were the sole engines for the peace train (although Brendy played caboose) but it turned partially pain train when Coggo and Belly set a swift standard heading out of town. And who was I to buck the trend!  A few long drives into zone 5 cleared out my Christmas cobwebs but Brendy became disconnected at the River Rd bridge so a slow for solidarity regrouped us.  Pace was on again in Raftery Rd, Coggo's elbow giving me the helm into Conrod straight.  My long shift only served to tow Belly and Coggo to the last dip so they could thrash out the line honours, a post ride yarn and breakfast a trophy for all.

3/1

A cool start Tuesday brought out the armwarmers, chilly at the carpark with only 3 turtles (AvantiTrev, Nick and Cougar) on the grid.  Reduced ranks thinned us to single file onto Channel Rd, so I spelt out my intentions (push or perish) with a long drive to the Kinder.   The message worked on AvantiTrev steering us to the S bends and Nick digging deep all the way to Boundary Rd's turn off, I ripped into River Rd resolute to reach the end (stirring a squeak or two). The long flat tarmac played a one note Mavic melody, leaning into the light southerly and controlling my velocity to prevent a cardiac eruption.  Cougar took an Archer exit, Nick and Trev's turn in Raftery giving me a breather to crank Conrod's last k.  (A 36 average for 3 Turtles not half bad)

4/1

Anyone who slept in Wednesday was a knob! (see photo at top) A super sunrise lit up Nick, WhisperingJack, Cate,Shorty, Gazzagrasshopper, Wozza, Bruce, TatMat, Weapon, Lucy, SuperMario, Trav, Nev, Pistol, BamBam, Troy, Pelly, Bo, AvantiTrev, Rene, Nicholas, Car+Mel, Rocket, Jase and even HashBrown packing the carpark.  

Wozza and TatMat opened the proceedings to the roundabout, I took the soft option of a tow, New Years resolutions (or the lack of them) on the chat agenda as I slipped down the ranks of the left line.   ChrisA joined nearing River Rd's end (started a Tuesday lap on a Wednesday), plenty of part-time casuals in the pack having a solitary turn at the front, proving my big bunch theory correct (where are they when there's work to be done on a Tuesday or Thursday?).   Lucy, Cate, Car+Mel drove undeterred into Kinder corner, looked like I'd be at the pointy end for the ChaCha with ChrisA ahead a hard act to follow.  At full steam with Prentice Rd still 100 metres away, I got 50+ out of the old engine, just an eternity to wait before Troy, Bruce, Wozz, Nicholas, BamBam and Pistol shattered my hopes sprinting by as I ran out of steam, Gazza still thrashing the Cervelo long after the finish line passed was the end entertainment.

5/1 

I rattled my ritual on Thursday, the same old solo to the Emu, the Toaster and back (an annoying headwind out but a bonus tailwind homeward)  but u-turning to climb aboard the eastbound Cat train found in Old Dookie Rd.  Familiar felines (Cam, Col, Clive, G, Russ, MeridaAndy, Googs, Walshy, Travis, Liam, Sosso, MeridaJohn, Wellsy, LegalSteve, Mark, Lil'Tony etc) formed the bunch, 20 degrees, 20 bikes and another scenic sunrise to savour, social speak squeezed to slim sentences with the rolling anticlockwise turns (forces focus on ironing out your line and rhythm).  Almost into the groove when clockwise rolls in River Rd ramped up the concentration. Time at the pointy end was brief and sitting in MeridaAndy's wind wake kept the cardiac calm, when it came to Conrod there was biscuits in Foss's barrel and a prime position on Col's wheel to take third behind Goog's winning lunge on the flouro LaPierre.

6/1

Panic stations at 5:36 with a mushy Michelin, a rapid retube and rip down to the Couldabeens carpark to be almost the first to berth! Shorty, Trav, Car+Mel, Jen, Cate, AvantiTrev, SuperMario, Nick, WhisperingJack, PistolPete, Lucy, Rocket and Jase gathered at the grid, Nev, Wozza, Troy, Bruce and Weapon arriving from an FDC frolic.  Taking the first turn to the roundabout put some suffer in my Strava score, particularly paired with Wozza, busted branches in Mitchell Rd broke up the bunch dodging sticks, the reigns on Rocket (in the drivers seat) to reform.   Regrouped in Central Kialla the speed spiked, but yo-yo'd again in River, fluctuations dependant on the driver. WhisperingJack's ballast, Nev's Ballarat hopes, laughs with Weapon, SuperMario's thirst, Jase's holidays and Bruce's velocity kept the tongue busy in the rotation of 20.  In Channel Rd Shorty had selected the short straw again, powering into Hopeful corner with me as follow up for the Cha Cha.  Maximum velocity at Prentice Rd I could barely hold Wozza's wheel, nek minit 90% of the bunch bolted by as my lungs need for oxygen took precedence on position.  A tailwind home in the company of 4 quick chicks a wonderful wind-up for the week.

Week 1 ;   226 km 

 

WTF of the week :  Central Kialla seems to be the new Bermuda Triangle;   many folks Strava map data seems to get sucked into the stratosphere by a satellite stutter. Is it a worm hole in the space-time continuum?


Thumbs up to Robert Marchand who set a world track record for an hour at 22.5 km/h.  By the way, he's 105 years old!