Week 20 : The carrot for cadence.

Post #448
12/5  The Thaturday thrash.

Wind had whipped the willpower of many on Saturday, a stiff southwester (22-43 km/h) confining all but a dozen to their doonas.  Boof, TatMat, Tina, Rocket, The Godfather,  Wozza, TrekTrev, Cate, PistolPete, TatPaul and Sean braved the breeze to converge on the carpark, I guess a dozen is par for this weather's course.  6am set chocks away, Rocket, Wozza and Pistol unaffected and undeterred by the headwind hurtling south as most struggled in silence slipstreaming behind. I'd put myself on The Godfather's wheel (hoping to hit the front when we were eastbound on Mitchell Rd) but his high jinks half biking Boof saw a turn trimmed and placed me at the pointy end for the last k of Archer (The Godfather graciously levelling with me).  TrekTrev plied to the pace paired in Mitchell, the masses mostly mute behind, save for The Godfather's guffaws. 

Speed mellowed a little in Central Kialla as a few calmed the cadence, sentences now swapping the rows as a dozen drove to River Rd.  Tempo turned up again when the protagonists of pace were promoted to the front (mind you the hearty tailwind was mostly to blame), some silent and suffering again. The Godfather dished out his devilish half-wheeling (whole biking more like it!) to Boof, but thankfully levelled with me as I took a turn to run us out of River Rd.  TrekTrev paired to the Broken Bridges but he was broken by then, Sean spent too, retiring to the caboose (where they hatched plans for a westerly escape on Old Dookie)  Ten turned toward the Toaster with the tempo still toasty, Boof  bullied again but I copped compliance, paired with TatMat bound to the church but Wozza called a halt to correct a calamity his Garmin had called.

I think everyone appreciated the oxygen opportunity. Into the headwind of Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd the bunch thinned to Indian file, Rocket tearing along the tarmac as most sought survival behind him.  I lined up to do my duty a the Main Eastern bridge (Wozza setting a shift that I couldn't match) but I held the pace till the legs gave no more then handed the hurt to Tina.  I sank all into catching TatPaul's wheel (last in the line) to recover, though it was probably better to be on the rivet swapping turns at the front than coping with the variables of velocity as the wind whipped at the wheels on the back.  Mental masochism was overpowering the burn in the vastus lateralis, maybe the sense of belonging (or was it the shame of dropping a wheel?) dredged the depths of determination, but all hung on as the energised engines of PistolPete, TatMat, Boof, Rocket, Wozz and The Godfather shared the grief of train driving.
  Into Wanganui Rd meant more pain, but this old engine delivered, the duty to hold the wheel (for those behind) driving me to Mt Wanganui, but the sight of those spent peeling off the front threw many into neutral, Wozza and Rocket still full of beans 30 meters ahead on the hill.   The cast-offs had just enough left to gather for the Boulevard bolt to breakfast, porridge back on the Lemontree menu and hot coffee my incentive to keep legs toasting into town.  Walkers (Bo, Leah, Kel, Temple, Mrs.Pistol and Bruce) almost outnumbered riders, and with KillkennyPaul, the babble business of GPS, bike insurance and coffee standards occupied an hour.

14/5  A fresh frontier.
Mustering the muscle to move Monday's doona was a struggle, the warmth and weight almost inciting a case of BeerMat syndrome.  With the biggest effort done (getting out of bed) the rest was easy, breakfast and the seemingly endless layers of insulation needed for 3 degrees.  Out the door to face the OMG factor, I set forth on a fresh frontier, to Congupna and beyond if only to rid the repetition of the same old circuits.  Blanketed by black that the Cat-Eye couldn't reach there was just two cars and a truck to keep clear of.  I was feeling a bit Bourke & Wills on unfamiliar ground, the lack of landmarks and light made the search for Lemnos North Rd a tricky one, but I eventually found it for the 16k haul through the fog. The pace was fairly ordinary but I was compensating for the cold, the lack of a bunch to draft lowered the expectations too. Eventually finding a landmark (Ford Rd) rekindled the cadence, pace got even perkier with a promised coffee and banana bread as the finishing trophy.

15/5  G'day Goats.
With the 5:45 fans all fizzled out, I chose my own fun Tuesday, back to old habits with a solo spin to the Toaster then back to town to say g'day to the Goats.  The long stretch of Wanganui, Ford and Lemnos-Cosgrove roads was spent consoling myself to the climate and justifying a 10% drop in pace for the temperature (feels like 1.3).  Again the solitude was serene, solving the world's problems while sniggering at those bludging under blankets.  Keeping a lid on the bpm meant minor management of speed, soon reaching the Big Ring to steer south to the Toaster.  A hint of a southwester wasn't too taxing for the Old Dookie course back into to town, finding Belly, Sandy, Heady, Principal Skinner,  Coggo, Hommy and Snow exiting the suburbs.  Single filed (sheltering / sharing the chill), mid 30's seemed to be the standard (suiting me to a tee) though Principal Skinner, Snow and Sandy were shortening shifts, Hommy hammering his turns (of course) till reality evaporated his efforts. I put in a turn at Boundary Rd to the bridge, mindful to keep the tempo tamed from a pain train, Principal Skinner sitting stuck in the rear seat. 

Over the highway he'd slipped off the back, Coggo retreating to assist (apparently a puncture kept secret)   So six soldiered on south, Snow opening the River Rd account for a k then handing the task to me to press on to the dip. Sandy had retired to the caboose as Belly bolted the last River Rd k, time forcing my exit to town via the truck route, a scenic sun-up sealing 61 k's.

16/5  The charge of the chilled.
A careful commute to the carpark berthed me at the back for Wednesday's whip-around, Sean, Not-so-newAvantiJohn, Cate, MyRideTrev, TrekTrev, Trav, Boof, Wozza, Rocket, The Godfather and SuperMario all lined up ahead for the 6am spin.  Sean and Cate almost performed a track stand on the launch to wriggle out of the first shift, Sean conceding to slog south till the reality of distance pickled him at the city limit.  Wozza and Rocket stepped up for the drive to the truck route, I got the guilties when most tucked in for a tow, so joined the up line on Rocket's wheel.  The early edition (Pistol, Mark, Nev and CatCol) filtered in on leg 3, I squeezed past Mark who'd taken up a big slice of the tarmac and paired with The Godfather to Mitchell Rd (arriving somewhat secondhand and ready for a tow).   Trish was found and rounded up in Mitchell Rd but her presence was short lived, and so began my recovery as others advanced to do their bit.  MyRideTrev progressed to the front (under sufferance) and turned down the tempo a touch, soon after Pistol was at the pointy end percolating the pace. 

We'd run out of River Rd and steered north into Boundary, the breeze at the backside boosting the bunch to the Broken bridges.  TrekTrev's recovered from Saturdays sluggishness, but Sean and MyRide Trev backed off the tempo as we turned into Channel Rd.   I'd been placed on Not-so-newAvantiJohn's wheel when Rocket and Wozz took up residence in the rear, a pairing with The Godfather from the cypress trees to Central Ave had almost emptied my tank, so recovery was put on fast forward as the turns rolled rapidly to the Kinder.  SuperMario had the short straw of the ChaCha charge, many expiring early as the 3 degree chill gripped the lungs.  CatCol had the position and the power at Prentice Rd, Nev driving diplomatically second and Cate uncatchable for third spot. The lengthy line of huffs and puffs soon condensed for cordial chat back to civilisation, but the toil of employment lay in wait to bring us all down to earth.



17/5 Catalysis.
Desperate for a dose of diversity, I rolled out Old Dookie Rd Thursday, content with my own company to crank the k's in contemplation.  The slightest of southwesters favoured my easterly travels but the wind would wear away the wattage for the rest of the loop.  Steering south into Boundary Rd the breeze made it's presence felt, down on the drops to diminish the draft helped, red leds way ahead energised some enthusiasm but the lights behind of chasing Cats was the carrot for cadence.  Past the pub and headed down to the bridges, my lure ahead had vanished down Channel Rd, leaving me to be the mouse in the Cats' game.  Lights behind appeared to be closing in on River Rd but it turned out to be a car, the chain purred and the Michelin's hummed onward, over the bridge and still the lads lagged behind.  Perhaps the pussycats would pounce in Central Kialla, but yet again, lights behind were attached to a car. Mitchell Rd was spent sneaking a peek rearward, half a dozen bikes gradually whittling down the deficit as I rose from Dave's dip.  What started as a steady tap had changed to a chase, the competitive in the cranium pushing my pace into Raftery.  Being caught seemed likely at Galbraiths gate, but I felt they needed to pace for that privilege, a squeeze of the accelerator opening a handy gap by Conrod's first dip.  Six against one soon favoured the felines, Phil, G and 4 others rounding me up with 350 left.

18/5  Friday frailty.
I've got this commute thing fine tuned and timed to arrive at the carpark and tuck into the tail of the bunch (as a lot of others have), Friday's fellowship only finding 9 starters (Boof, TrekTrev, Trav, Rocket, Shorty, not-so-NewAvantiJohn, The Godfather and PistolPete).   A dozen spits from the heavens as we left the city limits sank a few hearts, a predicted soaking averted when the clouds dried up.  After almost a week worth working the wheels, doing an early turn was about as appealing as a lap with the StravaStalker (or 5 minutes of the Royal wedding!), so I sat in line till duty called in Mitchell Rd (You bewdy! a tailwind and a stress-less shift with Shorty).  TrekTrev paired for the drive through Central Kialla where we caught CatCol (the sole earlybird) then Nev en-route to River Rd.

No sign of The Hurtlocker or Doc's collection of cruisers, even the Cats have curtailed as the cool climate culls numbers to the keen (Those in the digital dreamland of Zwift don't count!)  River Rd was pedalled post haste, finding only a pair plying the pain of the train of Goats in Boundary Rd; Coggo and Tum would earn their espresso back in town today!  Nev spun smooth to the Broken bridges but not-so-NewAvantiJohn looked to be bending the bars beside him.  I paired with The Godfather (Shorty opting for a tow home) to Channel Rd then with TrekTrev to the S bend, spent but safely ensconced in the slipstream well before the flurry of the finish.  A little gloss on the tarmac from an earlier shower put caution on the agenda, though nothing prepares you for that posterior puckering moment when the front tyre slips an inch leaning into the (Kinder) corner at 40.  Nev got the drivers seat and the ten behind him slipped swiftly into Indian file, I was content counting down the meters of masochism left when Rocket and Boof bolted at the 200 mark to make us all look lame.

Week 20      269km              YTD 5,685km

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