Week 29 : The tempo tonic

Post 404
15/7 Crickets and cruisin'

Winters' bone chilling woes were cast aside (yet again) for the Saturday spin of sociology, Kel, AvantiAndy, Bo, TatPaul, Jen, KillkennyPaul, Mel, Shorty, Cate, HBK, Tina, PistolPete, Rocket, Temple, Wozza, Softa, Cougar, The Godfather and Boof arriving layered against the minus 1 for a 6am anchors away.  Hearing the crickets over our chattering teeth, Cougar captained the crew calmly south on Archer Rd, two rows slowly formed to cruise toward Mitchell, gingerly winding up wattage.  Usual pace had been resumed as I'd arrived at the front beside Wozza, driving the 2200 meters through the chill, "invigorating" to say the least.  Turning north through Central Kialla needed new resolve to pair with the Godfather, the draft to come in River Rd (another 1700 meters away) the prize to push for.  Bo and The Godfather headed the eastbound effort to the bridge, but HBK delivered the news of a Cougar carriage uncoupling.  Rocket and Wozz retrieved while the peloton perambulated, a calm k spent taking the tempo carefully up to speed again.

The optomist in me could see longer days in a hint of horizon light, chatty conversations (and some spent in silence) bouncing from left to right as the pairings changed with the rotations. Wheels whacked through an unsighted pot-hole north of the rail line, bearing west on Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd a hot breakfast was distracting thoughts of the freshness at the front.  I rolled across from TatPauls' brief belt at the pointy end, on top of the 14 cog and with Cosmics on song, I was well into the groove till The Godfather hauled me back (may have saved further knives in the back?)

Some were soul-searching their peloton placing as the waltz in Wanganui drew near, over Numurkah Rd the pot was brought to the boil.  Turns turned shorter and faster till Rocket got into the drivers seat when, surprise surprise, the squad slimmed to single file behind him.  One by one the pooped popped off the back, finding myself advancing up on Wozza's wheel as Boof hit the boost. Getting around The Godfather as he faded on the hill, 3rd place (with vacant real estate behind) was fruitful for Foss.   There was a post sprint workout to the Lemontree gathering up the bunch remains in Rudd Rd and bolting along the Boulevard, but a hot breakfast with the hyperbole on the bliss of bacon, being fobbed and upcoming events made the morning.

17/7
A misty Monday and a threatening radar cancelled my plans (as it did to others) for a lap to start the week, but the clouds dispersed to keep the track dry, fuelling Foss frustration.

18/7  Poor bloke's spoke broke
Sodden streets couldn't cancel plans for Tuesday's toil, cravings for k's crucifying a clean bike.  The usual protagonists (Cate, Temple, HBK and Killkenny Paul) cranked into the carpark, BamBam a new and welcomed addition to share the load, scoring an instant elephant stamp for taking the first shift.  Leg 2 suited me but there was a slow on leg 3 for BamBam's phantom puncture.  Finding the sweet spot in the draft with a northerly across our flanks was a little hit and miss, but I was impressed with the smoothness of Temple and Cate on the mission to reach Boundary Rd.  Turning south, a pop from Temple's Cosmic was a spoke letting go, a few meters later the bang from an exploding sidewall sidelined us.  With Hares hammering by, Temple called for roadside assist (a plea for a partner pick-up), the remaining four ushered to continue the course.  BamBam did the bolt on Boundary for my shift to start in River Rd,  I'd fallen into the "crucifixion for kudos" mode again when my original handover goal extended from the kennels up to the dip, feeling fit but ignoring the heart rate (now corrected with a new chest strap) at 180.  Off the Fizik to catch BamBam's draft nearly failed as muscles went to mush, but happily snuck into the slipstream as HBK finished off River Rd (hoping recovery would arrive before my next turn did).  Thanks to good turns by Killkenny Paul, Cate and BamBam I had some contribution left as I got the job from Archer to Melbourne Rd, this was going to be another Conrod deja vu.  The headwind erased any idea of a sprint to finish, and sure enough HBK's pounce for glory came at the 250 meter mark.  A cruise commending crew contributions through town was reward enough for me, great distraction from the mud and worms covering the bike.

19/7 Fearless five
With the climate consistently crap, what's to do?  Just ride (ffs)!  At 5:57 there was only Cate and I at the car park, so Boof, Kenworth and Pistol Pete turning up with just two minutes to roll was warmly welcomed, if only to give credence to our craziness.  A wintery westerly (13-26 km/h) blew across Archer Rd for me to drive the first leg (dwindling numbers meant Indian file), a bit left in the reserve tank to catch Boof''s boost in leg 2.  Cate tore into leg 3, PistolPete piloting us to Mitchell then gobbled up the long leg to Central Kialla for desert.   Kenworth captained the crank up to River Rd for me to drive to the bridge and hand it to Boof , wondering if PistolPete would again put in a turn of Ben Hur proportions (as it happened, just a "short" 2k effort to Boundary Rd).  The Kenworth torque was tested bearing north (a g'day to Carl and Sly the sole sloggers clockwise), his elbow handing me the lead short of One Tree Dam. Channel Rd seemed an eternity away and with wind whipping at the wheels, trying to hold a straight line distracted my distress. I felt guilty handing Boof the headwind duty in Channel Rd (but it's a great engine for the task), Kenworth appointing himself the lantern rouge.  It seemed Pistol was in for the big slog home going all the way to the Kinder, but threw the elbow at me for the ChaCha.  I'd poured all the resources into the 1500 meter leg with 20 k's of headwind as a handbrake, the final 100 spent headaling when the legs would give no more.  The slow for Orrvale Rd found Kenworth & Cate off the back with Pistol as chaperone, Boof and I had no complaint to slow and gather up the crew to tap back to town.

20/7 Hare tonic
A dry road created comfort and confidence (a clean bike for the third time in a week might just stay clean!) though  there was a dreg of doubt if I'd hang onto the Hares in a hurry, this was "thrash Thursday".  The arrival of Troy, Wozza, Rocket, Bruce, PistolPete, Merida-not-AvantiJohn, Kel, BamBam, Bo, KillkennyPaul, HBK, Cate and Temple meant there'd be safety in numbers, last week's history repeating with Bruce and I up first.  To the Kensington roundabout was enough for my appetiser, tucked into the draft as Bruce, Wozz, Troy, Rocket, BamBam and Merida-not-AvantiJohn rolled the turns past the school, the Kinder and the cypress trees.  PistolPete paired with me at the S bend to finish off Channel Rd, fair thee well oh favored breeze up the bum, time for toil as the westerly blew at the brow for Boundary and beyond.  After that push, I'd be more a hinderance than help at the front, so sat in general admission with KillkennyPaul, Cate, HBK, Temple and Kel.  The attack on the headwind in River Rd spat Temple out the back, HBK going back to assist for his "ride of reality" home.  BamBam then Bo retired from rolling with the rapid, the caboose now longer than the engines,  Troy, Rocket, Wozza, Pistol, Bruce and Merida-not-AvantiJohn towing the tourists.  Heart rate and cadence running at the red line eventually gets easier at a smooth speed, I was telling myself it'll be a tempo tonic for the next time I'm tasked with torment.  With Kialla Central covered and Mitchell half measured, Merida-not-AvantiJohn called it quits at the effort end.  Indian file was called at Galbraiths gate, the speed now sacrificial in Conrod as Rocket and even Troy emptied their tanks, Wozza, Pistol and Bruce in the position to pounce for podium placement.

21/7  Bit brisk
Even the tough nuts are starting to crack when the forecast starts with minus, Rocket, Troy, Wozza and others now in the land of the soft for Friday.  Delayed by brake bother, I'd barely made the carpark as Kenworth, Bruce, Boof and PistolPete departed, thanks to a Cate call and some PistolPete assistance (a moment of wrestling with his allen key) we were away on yet another single filed slice southward, collecting (long-time-no-see) Weapon at Kialla lakes.

Bruce and Boof provided the opening rounds, I felt particularly primed despite the 2k drive at the front to the truck route.  Indian file is rather anti-social but at least has the freedom of seeting your own speed and distance, but maybe there's a mental mantle of expectation from those in the tow? Pistol again put in a titan of a turn (4800 meters) at the front but had tamed the tempo to just below bursting point, thankfully there was no similar expectation of others.  Compliments from the crew certainly helps the cyclosis as each peeled off the front to go into rear rehab, Boof handed me the helm at River Rd's dip but now primed turned to pickled carving through the arctic atmosphere to reach the kennels. The southbound Goat train was short (only 3 prepared for pain) as we pointed north to Channel Rd, Pistol's turns towing us seemingly endless.  Back west along Channel Rd, I had a carbon copy of Wednesday getting the drivers seat for the ChaCha, the sprint was off the agenda (did anyone have the will ?) and finishing with the group intact was a fitting end to the week.

Week 29       206km                 YTD  7,251 km