Week 40 : The fitness factions.

Post #467
29/9  Border patrol.

Off Couldabeens campus for Saturday, I'd rolled up for Cobram's 8:30 bunch ride but it had attracted a grid of zero, maybe they were mimicking Muppets? or had a bunch of blokes kicking a bit of leather around an oval turned their allegiance? Switching to a solo strategy, I took aim at Tocumwal with a wicked WSW'er (22-43 km/h) to work me over.  The road twists left and right to the state border, so some sections were heaven and others hell (depending on direction) but 18k's of weaving against the wind I'd crossed the greenish Murray river into New South Wales.  Hopes of being blown across to Barooga was Foss's folly, the wind had wandered to a southwester and the Tocumwal-Barooga Rd was as straight as a dog's hind leg.  Twenty k's of toil pitching into the gusts murdered muscles as I explored the thrash threshold without the back-up of a bunch draft.  A good test of personal pace...….or so I'll tell my therapist!  The long open stretches exposed to the elements were spent keeping a lid on the heart rate and my wrath at the wind.  

Two bikes worked west, their expressions of exhaust no doubt like mine, swapping a wave of understanding of the masochism and the madness.  The road finally skewed a little more eastward to ease the effort as Barooga's edge came into view, but Golf course drive pointed me almost due south as the southwest gusts grew.  Holding 30 km/h was hopeless and the Berrigan shire had perfectly cloned the tarmac to the Trouee D' Arenberg stage of the Paris-Roubaix.  Craving the cover of a tree or a house, it crucified for a couple of k's but battled into the town to turn west back to my home state.   Into Cobram, another penchant for pain strangely overpowered me, a loop of River and McClusky Rd's to the highway then back to town was added to earn my coffee.    Legs were as lenient as liquorice on the open stretch of McClusky, the wind howling between the ears.  Steering west at the highway the magpies swooped, but they had as much impact as the 19 that played at the MCG.   I made amends and apologies to the legs and lungs back in town and treated them to a bakery, but the coffee was ordinary and the banana bread took 20 minutes to toast (arriving like warm dough)…...ah! how I love thee Lemontree!

1/10  The temperature tester.

A month into Spring and the thermometer gives us July, 1.7 degrees well short on specs for Monday's motivator.  5:45 assembly attracted The Godfather, Grumpy, PistolPete, Wozza, not-so-newAvantiJohn, and Cate to the carpark, Bo & Kel sneaking in at the third stroke while Nev kept consistent with the Johnny-come-lately job.  I gently turned up the tempo to a speed sensed sensible but was well shy on the Garmin gauge, flatten it Foss! (if you're to match not-so-newAvantiJohn and uphold a speed standard).   It took a bit of mental muscle to reach the truck route and keep composed, so I savoured leg two's draft to restore the respiratory rate for the next shift.  The long weekend's r&r kept tongues tattling out to Boundary Rd as the sun started the working week, Grumpy had a classic case of kit confusion, (Couldabeens knicks with Cats jersey was sacrilege), The Godfather was strangely chirpy in light of his team's loss and Nev was off the back of a 500k week.  The turns had rolled to put me at the front crossing Old Dookie Rd, Grumpy a quarter wheel ahead but who's measuring?  Not-so-newAvantiJohn paced me to the rail line where I was keen for a tow and shelter from the chill.  Nev of course pocketed the gillet working west on Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd, all my fuss and bother of driving the first leg now forgotten with the same speed easy on turn three. The sun warmed our backs for the 10k's back to town, a sprint free stage on Wanganui Rd but the Boulevard blurred by in the quest for coffee.

2/10 The fast and fairweather factions.

Tuesday turned the tide for the Goats gathering at Friars (Joey, Phil, AvantiLeigh, Sandy, HG, BigBen, Belly, Coggo, Cate, Hommie, BrotherAndrew, AvantiAndy and Heady), the divide between the winter warriors and the bed brethren was wide enough apart to form factions of fast and fairweather.  Coggo read the sermon on speed so that all could choose their calling and two social rows eased their way out of town .  SPC roundabout was selected as the start line and Coggo played captain, straight into the mid 30's stretched the line long to the truck route where he elbowed me for my turn at the tempo.  I made it to the bridge and peeled off the front, surprised to find AvantiAndy the next in line for duty.  Andy's shift was short and sweaty as reality of the front hit him hard, so he handed the helm to Cate to carry on to Central Ave.  Coggo was soon back to the rushin' front while I wondered where the drivers (Belly, AvantiLeigh, Phil and BigBen) had gone as I was put in for another shift at School Rd bound for Boundary.

A sneek peek back as we steered south found the others had joined and were lined up to contribute, Hommie huffing "Trying to kill us Foss?" told me the speed was suitable.  Heady, Sandy, HG, Joey, BrotherAndrew and AvantiAndy were m.i.a. as eight sped south toward the highway, BigBen and AvantiLeigh providing the pace to the pub, Belly, Cate and Hommie driving to River Rd.  I had Phil's wheel for the first k west, getting the drivers seat on the smooth stretch past the angora farm and quarter horse stud, the sun at our backs casting long shadows ahead.  One more white post.....one more...what the heck! another one, before putting Coggo in charge and dropping to the back for breath.  I was wary of the wattage as BigBen was made captain at the bridge, a truck just ahead donating a draft turned up the tempo further.  Now well into the 40's the line grew longer from labour, Hommie doing a Hiroshima half a k from River's end, time (or the lack of it) turning Cate and I to town.  High thirties was heaven (in comparison) on the drive down to Archer Rd and as the legs loosened mid thirties was almost the limit, climatizing to the calm turning limbs lax.

3/10  Worked all winter for this warmth!

First on the grid (a mild morning minimising kit-up time) meant I had the long first shift, but I'd aimed at a slow build of speed for those just off the injury list.  Tina, Temple, Jen, WhisperingJack, Rocket, Cate, The Godfather, Lynda, Bo, Boof, PistolPete, Wozza, MyRideTrev and TrekTrev formed in the car park, Nev arriving on cue to our exit for the spin south.  BamBam appeared from Kialla Lakes Drive as I'd just got the tempo to the mid 30's, Rocket paired alongside me and squeezed the accelerator to 38.  Damn! That roundabout looked a distant dream! (I should remove the heart rate readout from the Garmin screen, it only displays distress when you least need it)
Delighted in the draft as Rocket rolled across at the roundabout, it was another minute before breathing returned to speak sense.  Temple, Tina and Jen had hung on to the caboose as the turns rolled at the front, BamBam battled the breeze through Central Kialla, aerodynamics not on his side but thumbs up, he's the only FDC having a go at the moment.

PistolPete's collection of class kits continues (look up cool couture in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of him),  MyRideTrev had some regret doing a shift at the front (but it's better than permanent residence in the caboose).  I got the drivers seat for the last k of River Rd beside Cate, then more muscular mayhem matching Rocket in Boundary Rd with a head wind to boot.  My hopes of reaching the Broken bridges were ditched as fantasy, hanging on to second wheel at One Tree Dam as Wozza and Rocket belted to Channel Rd (looking like it was a Sunday drive).  The pace was unabated west on Channel Rd and the turns shortened closing in on the ChaCha and I was getting closer and closer to the pointy end at Hopeful corner.    I could almost feel an attack brewing behind, and as if to save me from the front, Rocket, Wozza, Boof and PistolPete fired past to humiliate us all into the "also rans".  (Ten out of ten to Temple, just back into the bunch, figuring in the midfield placings)

4/10  Windelible.

Coggo, Tina, Dipper, Cate, Phil, Tum, Hommie, Aimee, Spiessy, HG, Sandy, Belly and Tim grouped at Friars for Thursday's thrash, and I wondered if fitness would faction the bunch to the fast and the flogged, a stiff southerly (20-33 km/h) would certainly sort drivers from survivors.  I led a line out of town, but traffic lights broke the bunch in two, so a slow to the truck route joined the links again.  Turning up the tempo beyond Doyles Rd thinned the line long and fanned across the tarmac in search of shelter.  I wasn't sure if my speed suited all but a glance back answered plenty were participating.  Cate and Tina took on turns two and three from Dobson's bridge toward Central Ave as I slipped down the long Indian filed line to find shelter, almost in the gutter with the gaspers as an oncoming truck blew us all back to last week. 

It was inspiring to see many move up to face the front in spite of the wind, there's hope for improvement when the head's strong even if the legs aren't.
 The turn south into Boundary Rd furrowed the brow and unearthed a few profanities, Amy, Tum, Hommie and Phil mustering the muscle into the 25 km/h gusts. Phil's wheels sung in the southerly down to the Pub, my turn to be tow truck from the highway to the Broken bridges almost broke me.  Amy and Sandy had cemented themselves to the rear seats, Dipper and Coggo pouring on the perspiration to reach River Rd.  The wind still whipped our way west with the pain on the portside, eight shadows spread across the bitumen with the tail-gunners task of traffic lookout slipping at times.  Phil had had enough out of the dip and handed the hurry to me, up and over the bridge I added three more white posts to the pain before the change of shift.  I grabbed a k worth of recovery before the push homeward on the shortcut to Shepp, a ton of toil on the truck route with wind-shear from oncoming B doubles, but the trophy tail wind on Archer Rd wrung out the last remaining watts to town.


5/10  The peloton populaire.

Short knicks and fingerless gloves were worn to woo the warmer weather out on Friday, but that was effective as a Muppet in a sprint!  Kenworth, The Godfather, WhisperingJack, not-so-newAvantiJohn, Pelly, Wozza, Jen, AvantiAndy, Cate, BamBam, Temple, Tina, Rocket, Boof, PistolPete, Bruce, Nick, MyRideTrev, Superman, TrekTrev and Nev crammed the carpark in wait for 6am, MyRideTrev scoring the captain's role to ride us south on Archer Rd at a pace perambulated till Rocket and Wozza stoked up the speed.  Bo and Kel filtered into the pack as we left the city limits, the start of a scenic sunrise clamped by a curtain of clouds (but no complaints today ; daylight savings will steal the daylight from us from Sunday onward.   And will that trigger round two of hibernation for some?)   With a Herculean effort, Nick has hauled himself back onto two wheels,  Superman's back too (last minute prep for Sunday's 'round the Bay) and AvantiAndy was energised enough for ride two of the week, joining Temple in the rear seats, though these comeback kids are kept incognito in the caboose as the rest rolled.

A breeze behind elevated enthusiasm riding to River Rd, long-time-no-see Tommygun adding to the rear gunners as two dozen made the effort eastward.  A keen collection of Pussycats (and passengers) made their way west, goading The Godfather's guffaws, Nev and PistolPete percolating our pack's pace to Boundary Rd.   I pondered the pain on the train of Goats (with firepower from '51ers) as my heart rate holidayed in the low 120's, I'd probably get just one short shift today with the size of this bunch (though I reckon I've been in enough work this week to wear me weary).  Hats off to BamBam stepping forward for duty in Channel Rd, his gait talking the language of labour toward the S bend as Bo chatted (to chastise?) beside. I attempted to synchronise to the super smooth of Kel's cadence to the cypress trees (not an easy effort to equal) then had WhisperingJack hurl half a wheel ahead as I tried to pair to Central Ave.  Jen braved a bolt toward Kinder corner, turns rolling shorter and faster as the ChaCha's crescendo closed in.  Wozza turned the squad skinny with speed to Hopeful corner and beyond, Nev supplying the five star lead-out for Boof's lunge at the line.  A minute or so for the fractured pieces to congregate, then the team talked its way to town, a rare weekday chance for me to take in Lemontree coffee and philosophy on cheap jerseys, big bike events and the motivational motor in the mind.

Week 40        225km               YTD 10,584km