Post #681
14/1 Started steady, finished fast.
The advance line could only attract Bo and The Godfather when PistolPete set us south at 6am. The 5ft Ninja, Lance, Grumpy, me, Tina, Kim and Molly were firmly fixed in the left line, probably in wishful thinking of this being a single filed Saturday. It seemed nobody wanted to follow the schoolboy antics of Bo and The Godfather, but Grumpy finally relented to join the queue beyond the truck route.
It wasn't till Mitchell Rd that Molly took the plunge of promotion forward and that finally got the wheels of progress happening. This would be two rows rotating after all. An east southeaster kept a hint of a handbrake on speed to Central Kialla though the two terrors played half-wheel hijinks anyway. I wouldn't have expected anything less. A little calm came when Grumpy co-piloted The Godfather toward River Rd but Molly's short shift toward the bridge told of being cooked. Tina and Kim drove to the dip while I waited for duty; I'd scored considerate company in the scheme of things. Alongside Lance at the quarter horse fence, we took tempo under our control and to hell with anyone who didn't like it. That wind became our excuse for 33's and 34's. Lance called half time a kilometre on but then inherited the Ninja's hurry to match; she was serving speed , not sympathy in a charge to rooster corner. Lance had little chance without the legs to match and struggled with what little draft he could get to Coach Rd.
Bo and Pistol were back in charge and aimed at the highway in a hurry, that east southeaster had swung northeast but had little effect. I thought I was suffering the effects of sustained speed till the shop squad hurtled past, GiantAndy leading a line of eight into the distance. The two terrors fronted in Boundary Rd in another battle of I'm-better-than-you, the consequences of cooking a few at the back of little concern apparently. Fractures in the line appeared beyond the fig farm when Molly ran out of determination, the decision for Tina and Kim to join her in a short cut to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd an easy one. Bo and Grumpy had the tail-enders in the right gutter of Old Dookie Rd, the remaining seven in a shambles till PistolPete took charge of the lead and set a proper tack to the Toaster.
Sweat stinging the eyes diverted thoughts from the sting in the legs (but 20 degrees and rising at 6:20 am is better than those 36 days in winter below 3 eh Foss?) Pistol guided our path north to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd where the northeaster would help rather than hurt toward home. Speed would get spicier of course. Long shadows and big breaths were on the Indian filed agenda back to town, 40's now the benchmark with long turns from Grumpy to Boundary Rd and the Ninja to Lemnos North Rd. Ford Rd's first 3 k's had Bo at the helm, though Surgio might be a better name when he started at 38 with bouts of 45 to Grahamvale Rd. Why? Ask Bo. Depths of determination were dug by a few to stay aboard. The Godfather's shift to the highway was far smoother, so I gained some breaths to take on the Wanganui Rd leg. That 'they-can-go-to-hell' theory was applied as I set 38's as the standard (they could roll past if they didn't like it) though my own benchmark was being questioned at DECA's skid pan.
That remaining k to Mt Wanganui wasn't worth looking at, the blur of tarmac 5 metres ahead was a better focus. The mountains' cruel 0.6% ascent drained the tank dry so 36's humbled my heroics to get to Rudd Rd (if I could see it through the squint from sweat stinging both eyes) Lance got his head down and the speed up south, but I'd missed the draft by wiping smarting eyes when five followed him toward the cemetery. Thanks to Bo's glance back, the bunch slowed slightly for me to rejoin. Knowing I'd avoid another flogging at the front brought some comfort on the Boulevard, 37's set by PistolPete was sustainable in the slipstream (and the mental stimulus of a forthcoming fruitbowl breakfast shifted the focus from my rubber legs) Steepest streets, yukkas and Adelaide's attractions filled the Butter Factory's space with the already seated shop squad (Rocket, GiantAndy, Wozza, Troy, Boof, Emil, Gazza, Lenny and Liam). My hurt became insignificant seeing their 41.7 lap average.
15/1 Edge 130+ & Varia RTL515 test.
A short spin on the sabbath was purely to test a bit of technology. Ye olde Garmin Edge 500 had reached the end of its' days, showing the scars of 176,000km of service, so it seemed timely to embrace the radar tail-light technology as well. A quiet spin of the local block was purely to climatize to new controls and learn the radar signals of traffic behind. I can see why this gear is flavor of the month.
16/1 Strangely serene.
I hadn't figured out the new Garmin's back-light yet (might read the instructions some day!) but it was probably a good thing not to see those numbers on Monday morning anyway. Riding blind to the speed and heart rate was actually quite liberating. (How we stew over the lows and highs of the engine's performance eh?) The 130+ lit up for traffic behind though, a new and comforting feature that certainly justifies the price. The Tour Down Under will be slashing the Sanctuary starting grid this week, many of the regulars over to Adelaide will certainly thin the attendance here. So it was a surprise to find Trav, Rocket, Tina, Troy, Kel, Lenny, Emil, the 5ft Ninja, Bo, Wozza, TrackStan and Grumpy forming two lines at a noticeably darker roundabout for 5:40's spin.
Days are shortening already with Summer only just started! In PistolPete's absence, Emil was stand-in for lead-out duty to Mitchell Rd, Grumpy his protagonist in pace for the 3k drive into the breeze. The Godfather was noticed by his absence ; the serenity a shock to the system! With nobody to bait Bo, pace was particularly smooth, but Rocket and Wozz could write a book on it, towing us to River Rd. From left line to right, I joined the advance at the bridge, pleased guessing I'd get a turn at the front with a breeze up the backside (Tina ahead and Trav behind made mine a perfect placement). I should soak this up; there might be some work to do in smaller packs for the rest of the week. Bo and Kel supplied more draft to the Broken bridges, Tina and Kel on towing duty to the highway.
Considering Tina's near empty tank for part two, I went easy on the throttle toward Boundary's bridge but Tina signed off at Pogue Rd for me to pair with Trav. Gentle on the accelerator (to avoid a knife in the back from Tina) to 35's wasn't bursting the boiler thanks to the prevailing breeze, so setting sights at reaching Old Dookie wasn't out of the question. The Ninja's shift on Old Dookie was short toward School Rd (seems like her Sunday was swift), Trav and Grumpy taking over the drive to Central Ave. Many commented on the considerate pace, a 34.6 average not so shy of the usual, though that was probably pumped up a bit by Emil and Grumpy's hurry to the truck route. Rocket kept the SPC shift smooth, not supersonic.
17/1 Molly and the mozzies.
Emil had nearly bitten his tongue in half. To the rescue of Molly and her punctured Schwalbe, the tube went against Emil's religion in the refit. The tyre didn't want to remount so was persuaded with levers and the subsequent injection of CO2 went awol. A pinched tube had Emil near explosion so Foss was summoned to fix. I have changed a tube or two before (tant amount to heresy in Emil's tubeless theology). Mosquitos had their feed of us at Channel Rd's ChaCha while I fitted another tube and thumb wrestled the testy tyre back onto the rim. Success came with the second serve of CO2, so the squirrels set sail again, a little itchy from the mozzies and keen to get the lap done so that coffee could cure us.
Since Emil and I had ridden our routine to the truck route and to Orrvale, Molly took on the shift to the Kinder, leaving Tina the south and east effort to the cypress trees (done well considering the east northeaster). Wendy's two week NZ getaway hadn't worn away too many watts to get us beyond Beckham's bend and Kim was the dark horse with the horsepower to drive to Channel Rd's end. Jen's Sydney sojourn had shortened her shift to Boundary Rd's bridge and I guessed Emil would extend his turn to New Dookie Rd. Guessed correctly. The wind had taken on a northeast flavour when I was handed the lead to Lemnos-Cosgrove, the gals behind pleased they'd get the advantage of its' help to work west.
Another of summers' scenic skies backlit Molly's spin to the bridge where Tina got into the groove of 38's to Ford Rd. The radar tail-light has delivered some comfort warning of traffic way before it's heard (rather convenient when it's that dark car in the half light of dawn that hasn't optioned headlights). Wendy worked her watts again on Ford Rd but ran out with 400 metres remaining to Grahamvale Rd, a challenge gladly taken by Kim to finish the shift and press on to Verney Rd. Jen drew the southward leg to Balaclava Rd and may have bribed Emil to stay at second wheel 'cause she was still in charge at Clarke Crt. Ah, but wait! Emil's itch was worse than those mosquitoes; it was only natural for him to bolt to the red light and poke that pedestrian button.
18/1 Seven steamed Dim Sims.
A small gap in Wednesdays' radar was just wide enough to squeeze a lap in - though I reckon there'd be a few empty spaces in Sanctuary Drives' grid. The sensation of being a steamed dim sim came with little effort, 20 degrees and 100% humidity was about as tropical as I could take after 25mm of rain yesterday. Jen, Emil, Tina, Bruce, Troy and Lenny were the sole starters for what would be a single filed social, so when Emil got 38's happening to Mitchell Rd, I wondered what his definition of social was.
As the watts wear away over the years my standards of social are slipping; happy to hurtle around not so long ago, social has sunk to something snail like! (or maybe these young whipper snappers are just getting faster?) Lenny was put in charge of the eastern drive to Central Kialla and I was finding second wheel a struggle; I'd set the backlight to 'always on' yesterday but today had a screen of darkness, so had not a clue on speed (which was probably a good thing) (Might have to set the backlight for each ride?Ah....read the instructions Foss!) Clueless on pace and no clue on wind direction (I took guess at a west southwester when the wind hit me fair in the face as Lenny diverted for a broken branch on Mitchell Rd), I set sights north to River Rd, eyes peeled for puddles but more importantly, bits of branches decorating the tarmac. Briefly under Central Kialla's only street light, I sneaked a peek at 36 (ok for an old fart? Well, it was my idea of social!) Tina had her head down and worked east to River Rd's bridge, Jen looking effortless, aiming long to drive beyond the dip and almost to the quarter horse stud before letting Bruce into the drivers seat. The Bosi must have been packed for Adelaide 'cause the Trek was his weapon of choice to take us to Coach Rd. But that must have been a short shift for Bruce; he continued the pace north to the highway before he let Troy take charge.
I'd hardened the head expecting Troy to hand out some hurt but his elbow expected Emil to drive just short of the fig farm. That and Bruce's big shift must have thrown down a challenge for Emil; a waft of burning martyr filled my nostrils as his chain stepped down the cassette and his head lowered for something swift to Old Dookie Rd. (38's are his social standard). Bums lifted from saddles to catch his work west; that challenge spelled Central Ave before he'd hand over. Lenny needed little encouragement to maintain the pace. With just enough daylight to see the reality on the Garmin screen, it was easy to understand the why legs labored to hold Lenny's wheel. I'd definitely drive a social speed to SPC! But Lenny was on a roll to reach it first, a slightly slower speed through the streets seemed to get the sweat at full flow.
19/1 Braving Buller.
Motivation is a hard thing to muster when solo and when the task is an uphill one it will evaporate in the blink of an eye. So when Wendy sought some company for her mountainous training mission, I completely understood. As much as I loathe climbs, there's nothing like company as a tool of persuasion. Stepping out of my well worn comfort zone was long overdue anyway! An 11-32 cassette was an essential ingredient to get an old engine up a mountain and Mt. Buller was chosen as a not-so-tough target to aim at. 16 kilometres at 6.2% isn't the heartache of all hills but this would be two months worth of my normal elevation in a day! We'd taken the car option to Merrijig then ridden the 10k to Buller's base as a warm up, hopes hung on a warmer temperature at the top that the 6am figure of minus 0.2 (and a feels like minus 7!) Layering of insulation was the key - a few things to pocket or unzip for the climb and to then refit for the descent.
The 10 degree start at Merrijg was a bearable introduction, the temperature bound to drop on the climb. Under the load, this old engine would generate some heat. Keeping within eyesight was the agreement with Wendy, but that might have been a silly idea given I climb like a snail. Thankfully, Wendy likes the slow and steady philosophy. My chain hit the 38 ring for the first time in ages at Mirrimbah and there it stayed for the next 90 odd minutes while a steady rhythm kept the heart form detonating. The aroma of eucalyptus, cool and calm conditions on the sheltered side of the hill and birds singing their morning songs set a serene scene to get over the weird sensation of wheels only just rolling over the tarmac. Just a slight increase in speed would quickly put my engine over the red-line. It's a very fine balancing act between effort vs explosion. That 100 metres of level ground half way up doesn't last long, just enough to get an extra breath or two before you're back into the 6 and 7 percents.
The sharp rise on the apex of a few hairpins threaten to stall progress and closer to the top, the recall of the last 1300 metres at 8.6 % called for some conservation of watts for the last effort. Though reaching that rise wasn't as bad as I remembered (way back in 2017), that slow and steady approach might have been the salvation? A few minutes off at the top for the essential dose of caffeine and to lay on a few a layers (2.7 degrees at the peak) got ready for a conservative descent. Wind gusts on one hand (SSE 26-33) and the urge to stay upright on the other kept speed on the downward sensible, remembering those hairpins and keeping clear of traffic sharpened focus for a far better average speed back to Merrijig. I'll admit to it being an enjoyable ride; the descent being the sole reason to ascend! (Thanks Wendy, I might need another step out of that well worn comfort zone).
20/1 The Friday few.
Single file naturally formed with just five ready to roll on Friday, Tina stoked to score third wheel as Emil rolled out to lead the line into a 13 km/h southerly (she was a certainty to score a tailwind shift through Central Kialla!) I wasn't doing too bad with the second wheel spot, only the wind to deal with at the right shoulder for Mitchell Rd though I was well worn arriving there with Emil's 37 km/h shift softening me. I plied my pace east on pedal strokes, blind to the speed without that Garmin backlight issue resolved yet. Positive feedback on the drive as I handed the reigns to Tina told me I'd passed the tempo test.
Tina got her wish to have the breeze boost her shift to River Rd and Lance followed for the eastern effort to the bridge, but the Couldabeens most senior citizen still had another k in him to take us to the dip (hope I can manage that effort at his age. Yikes! 18 months away!) Most were prepared for the Ninja's opening salvo when she threw the watts into 37's out of the dip (Lance had wisely saved some horsepower to catch the tail) though my money was on the Ninja's pace petering out in a k or so. A couple of hundred metres beyond the quarter horse fence the tempo tamed to 33's and 4's and that got a few breaths in the bank ready for Emil's effort northward on Coach Rd. I'd pictured me pickled at the highway hanging onto his hurry for three k's and the expectation to drive another three to Old Dookie Rd would have me valve bouncing, so wasn't it a shock to have Emil's elbow shown to me at the Broken bridges.
There'd be sharing of that joy that a tail wind brings. One and a half k's to the highway wasn't out of the question with that southerly as an assistant. Tina kept speed stoked for a k and a half too, the same distance to Old Dookie driven by Lance. The work west was left to the Ninja, a short straw drawn suffering the southerly. (Luck of the draw I guess). With a moment taken to see all were aboard, Emil handed out the hurry to the truck route, and in a strange circumstance, I felt ready to deliver a decent drive for the finale to SPC. Ah, but no heroics for you Foss, Emil had stamped his name on the shift and who was I to argue? (let alone equal his effort!)
This week 327km
YTD 829km
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