So rusty, so soon!

 Post #667

15/10 Watchin' water.

Scouting the Boulevard was my first order of business ; the predicted flooding of the Goulburn River might have made a rather damp finish to the Saturday ride ritual. With the route found to be dry, the rendevous with Emil at Tarcoola found Lenny there too (a win for me ; I got a free tow to the Sanctuary Drive starting grid)   The later 6:30 start  gave us all a little more light to look for water on the tarmac ; sonar might be needed to find the pot-holes underneath it!  Rocket, Boof, GiantAndy, Grumpy, the 5ft Ninja, PistolPete, Liam, Greg and Bo made the southbound start and got sorted peacefully (till The Godfather's arrival), finding I'd scored the minimalist draft of the Ninja's wheel ahead and the "on-board entertainment" behind when the Padrino tacked onto the back of the bunch.  

A little west northwesterly would assist the outbound sections of the circuit, the return to town might have a little more labor.  An inch or so across Archer Rd toward Mitchell Rd was expected, so the slow to avoid that delightful cold water up the inside leg feeling allowed a few extra breaths in the tank.  I couldn't imagine a supersonic lap was on the cards, though maximum oxygen on board makes you feel ready for anything doesn't it?  Caution under these conditions seemed to be the vox populi.  Grumpy and Rocket had braved bare knees and all of us braved dodging Central Kialla's population of pot-holes (and aren't they're popping up like daisies!)  A few social sentences were swapped along River Rd till run-off from saturated farmland washed across short sections to slow progress.  Another chance for a few bonus breaths was improving my chances of a decent drive at the front.  The Broken River hadn't breached the bridges though water had spread afar, the solitary bike appearing at Channel Rd found to be Tina back from Queensland.  

Another 1500 metres to the highway in The Godfather's draft and my duty was due.  Doing the "full block" is the measure of worth and for some sense of adequacy, I got my head into gear to reach Old Dookie Rd (I would choose the longest 3.3 km leg wouldn't I?).  The Godfather was gracious with his watts to stay level alongside, my hopes pinned on the Ninja (behind) going gentle for part two.  With the westerly up the 'bottle and glass', the turn east onto Old Dookie Rd had a little less load but the Ninja wasn't shortening her shift at the bridge like I'd hoped, she'd taken aim at the Toaster (as if to toast me!).   I was blessed to find more water across the road at the Pork Palace. 

The ease off the accelerator got the heart-rate out of the heavens and the scenery of the sun up diverted the distress of getting back on the gas for the last 400 metres.  Greg and Boof led the way to the church while Bo seemed to squirm at his place in the pack ; there was work into the westerly looming on Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd.  Demoted down the order from third wheel for the way home was perfect placement for me, away from the headwind for this old dinosaur and let the far fitter forge ahead. (It doesn't do much for the performance anxiety to see these lads driving the 37's and 38's into a headwind - I need a tailwind up the tail to do that!)  

Emil was in his element between Liam and GiantAndy, Rocket, Boof and Grumpy not too shabby with speed either as suburbia came into view.  I guess all that performance on show concreted my place in the caboose (and I wasn't the only one!) but elected as gatekeeper for the Ninja and Tina on Wanagnui Rd gave me some sense of purpose.   The Boulevard became boisterous as expected, the bunch thinning to Indian file as the urgency for caffeine infusion boosted speed beyond Canterbury's roundabout, though the half hour later start put us into more traffic than usual while threading that thin line between passing and parked cars.  One pack became two beyond Tarcoola's roundabout (more to do about safety than speed) though the traffic lights at Welsford St soon reunited the clan.

The Goulburn rose 5ft (in the old scale) late Saturday, effectively evacuating me from town, but luck kept the house and (most importantly) the bike dry. There'd be a few days of frustrating wait till the addiction could be fed again. 

20/10 The post-flood fix

Just a day after being able to get home, receding floodwaters left a squirrel circuit available for a spin on Thursday, but part of the commute was by car through five inches of water in my damp neck of the woods to get to the grid.  This was the first day back on the bike for Kim and Emil too, cut off from civilisation by rising water.  We'd found Tina at the Rae St rendevous and set south to Archer St's shop, the introduction to a calm 30 km/h commute pure cruelty after four days off.  So rusty so soon!  Here's hoping there'd be plenty of slipstreams to soak up for this spin.  The Sanctuary squad would share the circuit  too (their usual lap well under water in places)    

Kel, the 5ft Ninja, Rocket, Wozza, Boof, The Godfather, PistolPete, Kreeky and Greg converged on the shop (like days of old) with Rocket and Emil plotting the path via Channel, Feiglin, Poplar and Central (to skirt around the Doyles Rd roadworks). This different start to the circuit was almost enough to distract thoughts from the pain of peloton pace.  The lefts and rights required a bit more use of the throttle but by the cypress trees a rhythm had come to lighten the load (keeping banging your thumb with a hammer and it goes numb eventually!)   Tina ahead and the Ninja behind might be the right league for me to be in as the left line ended and the advance line beckoned.  11 degrees had tipped the scales to expose knees for me (and many others judging by the flashes of white wintered skin spinning in the half light) though the temperature had a bit more bite than I remembered (see what long cold winters do?  It does produce a bit more adrenalin to keep up the pace).  Boundary Rd had some blur with the south southeaster at the back and plenty of horsepower at the front.

Is this mob usually this fast? The contrast to squirrel speed was probably responsible.  (Thursday's are usually therapy....not a thrash)   The skinny stretch of Hill Rd was needed to avoid the waterlogged path to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd, the 2 k's of thin tarmac shared with Tina then the Ninja alongside.  Ah, the memories of this old Saturday circuit.....and the squeals of protest when pace hit 32!  (35's got me squealing today!)  The Ninja had the throttle wide open on Lemnos-North Rd to get to Ford, that slight slipstream of no help to my recovery at second wheel. All that stress was a distant memory half way to Grahamvale Rd (the medicinal benefits of a bunch draft eh?) knowing the likelihood of another turn was as probable as Bo knowing the wind direction, while others moved toward the front to contribute / cruise / crucify themselves to the cause.  There's something about Verney Rd that breeds velocity, so with Boof at the front and a head-on breeze to flare the nostrils, twelve strung into Indian file (traffic islands thin the track with commuting cars competing for space)  behind to keep in touch.  After a bit of a brutal dive into life back on a bike, coffee at Stellar's was the perfect prescription.

21/10 Near naked!

Friday morning's 18 degrees was too good to be true! Maybe it was a bureau blunder? (Nope! It was real)  So braving bare arms and exposed knees and not even one layer of insulation was well out of the comfort zone  (rugging up during five months worth of cold weather was a hard habit to break).  The track to Tarcoola had finally dried to commute to the rendevous and Emil had encouraged Kim to come along too (though I daresay Tina turning up was the tipping point).  The spin to Sanctuary Drive (dry too) didn't have the sting of yesterday's dive-in-the-deep-end ; a second day of punishment and I might just be getting the feel for it! (Could it be the northeasterly breeze making me feel something like progress?)    Trav, Boof, Lenny, Rocket, Bo, The Godfather, Wozza, Liam, Kreeky, Kel, the 5ft Ninja and PistolPete were keen for a few k's at the 5:40 grid and it was no surprise to have PistolPete and Emil guide our way to Mitchell Rd.  

Horsepower had risen to the top as usual (Rocket and Liam lined up behind ready to serve speed) so the safest seats were at the back.  After all that concern, pace had settled into 35's.   River Rd was still it's namesake and as The Godfather had elected himself the Roadranger (aren't we running a risk!) the mundane length of Mitchell Rd was the course to follow.  Wozza and The Godfather in long sleeves hadn't believed the Bureau but most seemed to be liberated from the layers of Winter, having the feeling of riding naked. (now there's a scary thought!)   The chat in the pack was a diversion from the dull and dreary 6km stretch to Coach Rd.    

35's were easy in the draft of 15 as well as the breeze at the back - quite the contrast to the effort at the front for this old relic reckon (if a turn at the front ever came).    A slow for H2O across the tarmac cast doubt on the Roadranger's advice, though an inch of water hardly needed a snorkel.  A gloomy grey painted Coach Rd's course north, yet more shallow floodwaters giving an opportunity for oxygen intake / grizzles to The Godfather and/or laughs to lighten up a dull day.  Several committing to long drives at the front lengthened my odds at getting to the drivers seat ; probably a good thing given my rusty return to riding after a mere four days off duty.  (cancel that Keto diet  Foss, it's concrete for a few days!)   To the tune of a million frogs, 3 Specialized, 3 Scotts, 2 Focus, a Cannondale, a Trek, a DeRosa, a Merida, an Avanti, a LaPierre, a Pinarello and a Baum rolled north round the Boundary Rd pot-holes to Old Dookie Rd and only then had I transitioned from left line to right.  Today was a free tow day, all the way to town. 

This week 156km

YTD 10,610km