Post #680
7/1 Mine's bigger than yours!
Setting a weekday alarm on Saturday was a brain fade moment; up and about half an hour earlier than I needed to. So, what to do with time to kill at stupid o'clock? Ride of course! A very casual tap to Sanctuary Drive, taking a magical mystery tour of the streets was a stress-free start, and with the shop squad back in action, there wasn't likely to be a mass of horsepower at the Sanctuary grid. Troy, Jen, PistolPete, Tina, Lance, Kim, Bo, Greg, Molly, The Godfather and the 5ft Ninja filtered in for the 6am flagfall, Jen taking on the challenge of first shift with PistolPete (as if it would be anyone else!). I got a good berth in the bunch with Troy ahead and the Ninja behind, though Troy's on fire and the 5ft one is a lousy draft (better than being sandwiched between GiantAndy and Rocket in the shop squad though Foss!)
Duty called for me at River Rd's dip and finding 37's was the standard beside Troy had my head searching for something else to concentrate on. The quarter horse gates would be an easier focus than the speed (and the strain that went with it). Confidence grew when I wasn't close to explosion and that fence drew near; the surprise was Troy calling me across short of the mark. The Ninja would be the issue on my half empty tank. Known for her determined drive when she hits the front, I might need to get the white flag ready to unfurl fairly soon. A positive outlook is hard to keep when the engine starts to strain a kilometre on, but the Ninja's speed was beginning to sink by then. Far be it from me to half wheel a co-pilot, I was pleased to ease off the throttle and actually enjoy the last k to Coach Rd. I'm usually bang on the red-line at shifts' end and worried about going o.t.a. thereafter. This was a bit of heaven come early. The rooster greeted us on the turn north (an in-person appearance atop the fence no less) though there were a few rapid roosters in pursuit behind (the shop squad breed) to watch out for.
The gals kept the testosterone calm toward the Broken bridges, the call of "bikes back" as we'd crossed them had GiantAndy, Rocket, Bruce, Boof, Lenny and Wozza shoot by with Emil (in his element) driving the train toward the highway. Line astern in the advance, Bo and The Godfather would be up to their usual antics but I didn't expect Greg to bait Bo with a half wheeling battle on Boundary Rd. (Boys will be boys eh?) Some in struggle street didn't see the funny side of it.
A little east southeast breeze gave Greg and The Godfather some grief toward the Toaster but it didn't slow their pace, thoughts of the tailwind home on Lemnos-Cosgrove made the hurt worth it. The order had shuffled when Molly, Tina and Kim took a raincheck on driving duty so that put The Godfather on my wheel. Broken glass and skid marks painted the scene of Wednesday's fatality at the turn west back toward town, my turn again at the business end, again with Troy. I'd shortened my aim to get to the Pine Lodge Creek even though the breeze was in my favour, something said I'd have yet another shift before the lap was done (I could thank Tina, Molly and Kim who'd taken up permanent residence in the caboose) The Godfather was gracious staying level with me to Boundary Rd; beyond that the 'boys will be boys' thing started again. Nudging 40's on Ford Rd confirmed a few would be staying at the back.
That third shift became a reality in Rudd Rd and I was keen to get it over and done with before getting the breeze in the face on the Boulevard. I made Golf Drive my half way point where the Ninja returned to pair for part two, so reaching the roundabout at Canterbury Rd I was glad to let others do the driving toward breakfast. A few were watching for bits breaking off the back of the bunch as the excitement elevated to Tarcoola though a dozen finished at the Town Hall almost combined, girls to the Milk Bar and boys to the Butter Factory to babble about old signs, building costs and Turks and Croatians.
9/1 A Monday for masochism.
Like a cork out of a shaken bottle, Emil and PistolPete had the bunch flying to Mitchell Rd, some hoping for a gentle introduction to the week would be disappointed for the next 48 minutes.
One wheel ahead of the other, a show of who's most stubborn, Monday's frustration of going back to work or maybe an attempt to deliver some weird sort of masochism might have been the reason? Whatever the excuse, 13 behind were muttering something about big shots or just suffering in silence. It wasn't much fun for me on PistolPete's wheel, but I'd be at maximum delay for a turn in the drivers' seat. Lenny seemed to take the speed as the standard, nudging 40 on the eastern drive to Central Kialla (though Emil's effort alongside started to fade with a k remaining to Euroa Rd. Thinking that slight slow of speed was the new normal was pure fantasy, Greg was on the gas north to River Rd and Troy rose to the occasion for his aim at the bridge. Some might abandon ship at this rate of knots though being a part of the bunch tends to be a powerful magnet. Wozza and Rocket have this sort of velocity in their dna so my money was on Kel, the Ninja, BamBam, Jen and Tina (conveniently in procession) to take the edge off when they reached the front.
Without any wind against us (not even a breeze to battle) velocity continued to the highway. Oxygen wasn't so precious on Boundary Rd, some could be spent on social stuff as Kel and the 5ft one took charge with a speed something more manageable toward Old Dookie Rd. Jen and Tina took aim at School Rd working west, and convinced that there was an easterly assisting probably erased my concerns of pairing with PistolPete to Central Ave.
Deja vu last Wednesday.....only this time I kept eyes off the Garmin to conceal the facts. Legs went to licorice to catch the Emil and Pistol pairing toward to the truck route, masochism making a comeback when I mistakenly glanced at 42 on the Garmin.
I'd willed a dozen B doubles to arrive at the truck route for 20 seconds worth of oxygen intake but that's fantasy too (Only a k worth of cruelty to SPC old boy.......get over it!) Legs refused to deliver the drive to hold PistolPete's wheel, so I slipped down the order as plenty passed by (at least that boosted the slipstream). What the head wanted was at odds with what the engine would give, so slipping off the back of the bunch through the lefts and rights of Shepp's streets en-route to caffeine wasn't an issue. I caught them at the traffic lights.
10/1 Four to the fore.
I spoke too soon about riding without the wind wearing you down; a south southwester sprung up to make a task of Tuesday's commute to the shop and although Boundary Rd would be blessed with assistance at the arse end, the rest of the squirrel circuit would be bearing the brunt of 15-30 km/h worth of work. Absentees outnumbered attendees today, Emil, Kim and Tina were the few to face the starting grid, Emil (of course) the first to face Channel Rd bound for the truck route. I'd struggled to keep 31 on the speedo to the shop yet managed Emil's 37's for the first two k's at second wheel. Go figure! Unsure at matching that pace when I got the Doyles to Orrvale duty, 36's was surprisingly sustainable for the 1200 metre leg. Tina sped the Specailized to the Kinder where Kim drew the short straw of the wind in the face on Central Ave.
I'll bet the eastern leg to the cypress trees felt better (still without a speedo, Kim judged the tempo to a tee). Four swapping turns meant shifts would come around again quickly though Emil's long drive to the end of Channel got a few extra breaths in. The wind behind in Boundary made the labor lighter and aiming at the fig farm might be a bit greedy (nobody likes a tail-wind thief) so I handed the reigns to Tina a 100 metres beyond the bridge. She and Kim could enjoy the pleasure of pace without punishment, Emil could tough-out the side wind to Lemnos. The call of "Car up" seemed strange till a charcoal coloured Hyundai emerged from the 5:45 darkness, minus headlights (the driver obviously still asleep! Or maybe headlights were an optional extra?) Emil predictably did the distance to Lemnos North Rd so that first 3 k's of Ford Rd was mine to drive yet again. Talk about familiar ground!
The shift went well till Mouser Rd, the reality of that distance remaining to Grahamvale turning up the regret of setting an over enthused pace. Orchards shielding me from the southerly was the saving grace. Tina got lucky getting the short drive to Verney, Kim not so lucky getting the headwind to Balaclava Rd. It seemed strange to see Emil restrained at second wheel for the long drive south while Kim kept pace precisely at 31 (kudos, minus speedo) to the traffic lights, even more strange to have them change to green as we got there. Kim's magnetic personality? Or do they just stay red for Emil?
11/1 A conga line of cruelty.
The shop squad had attracted some horsepower from the Sanctuary ranks, so the Wednesday grid had just PistolPete, BamBam, Tina, Lance, Molly, Kel, Bo and The Godfather lined up for the mid-week spin, so naturally the numbers formed an Indian filed format under PistolPete's guidance toward Mitchell Rd (me perfectly positioned in BamBam's draft at third wheel). A mild southerly (10 km/h) had no effect on Pistol's 38 pace (and I thought this was social speed Wednesday!) Smug as Rocket in the specials aisle at the bottle shop, I was banking on the Central Kialla shift with a tailwind.....till Pete did the martyr's thing and drove the second leg to Euroa Rd.
But wait, there was more! Pete took on Leg 3 to River Rd as well, a most effective way to cook BamBam at 2nd wheel. Try as he might, wattage wouldn't come to BamBam bound for River Rd's bridge, his elbow eager to have me at the front just 300 metres into the shift. The south southwester at the right shoulder wasn't doing me any favors but 35 wasn't bursting my boiler and a little martyrdom (from Pistol's epic effort) had rubbed off to inspire me to drive to the dip. I arrived at the bridge in a reasonable state but turned somewhat secondhand by Laws Drive (high on hopes, low on horsepower Foss!). Speed sank a fraction to reach the dip but that lowered the standards for Tina's turn. The back of the bunch was bliss! Tina, Lance and Molly provided a similar pace to Coach Rd so recovery didn't take an eternity, Kel's speed to the Broken bridges a little spicier (though that's kosher with the breeze up the backside).
Bo's the tailwind specialist and he boosted speed to 40 of course, but shied from doing a 'full block', no doubt baiting The Godfather to go long distance to Old Dookie Rd. Problem was, the variable velocity we had to endure! Anything from 35 to 41 was murdering muscles at the back, wearing brake pads and rubbing nerves red raw (give me PistolPete's smoothness at almost any pace, anytime!) Pete pointed us west on Old Dookie but that smoothness was a little swift for Molly, Kel delivering the news of the infringement to the front. A social 35 returned to the agenda and made many happy, even to the point of BamBam fronting for duty to Central Ave. So, I got the shift through Dobson's estate and took aim to the truck route, only attempted 'cause orchards saved me from the south southwester. PistolPete delivered the final drive to SPC, keeping a considerate 38 cap on the speed.
12/1 Crank'n to Frankst'n.
With a decent dose of hesitation, I eyed the Nepean highway at Mordialloc as an alternate course while in the big smoke for a couple of days. The repetitive route of Mordialloc to St.Kilda and back was wearing a little thin but doubts on the safety of other untested courses played on the nerves when thinking of Melbourne's 5,151,000 crazy inhabitants! Beach Rd has bikes by the bucketload, though a few flashing led's were southbound over the bridge, Frankston bound. What could go wrong with a spin on the three and four lane highway while the city woke and commuted south and north? I stuck the mindset into solo mode, knowing I'd cook myself at 35's without a bunch to seek a slipstream from, so I'd just have to accept 31's and 32's as the standard to survive solo. (No point expecting others to donate a draft). Barely into Aspendale and I found a guy glued to my wheel, obviously he wouldn't mind being labelled a wheel sucker!
With little purpose to putting him o.t.a. (and cooking myself doing so), I stayed at my pace through Edithvale and Chelsea, with traffic lights being the only interruptions to the rhythm. Mr, Wheel Sucker was excused for hanging on the back; my pace and the bike was complimented in a friendly chat at the Bon Beach traffic lights. The bayside sea air played a part in keeping the head happy, it distracted thoughts of the climb of Olivers Hill just the other side of Frankston. Mr Nepean's highway is as smooth as Boof's head, and doesn't that help to preserve the pace, though the odd parked car needed a glance back to check for following traffic. Mr Draftalot had vanished and a pack of eight tapped past, seemingly without effort, to deliver a dose of reality about my snail-like speed. Frankston is looking a little funky in places since I last passed through though Olivers Hill still has the 7% climb to get me into the heights of zone 4.
Thinking of the pleasure of its' downhill got me through the curses on the climb, a couple of k's tapped to Mt Eliza before a u-turn pointed me north from whence I came. Olivers downhill was a sweet start to the journey back, a light south easter at the posterior a positive too. Bikes were as rare as rocking horse manure on the return, the waves of commuting traffic well behaved to keep the course comfortable, except the punishing pot-holes dotted about the left lane in Chelsea and Edithvale (must book in a spoke tension at the bike shop; these wheels have rolled 47,000 km without a hiccup). Back to Mordialloc and Beach Rd was bike city, that light southeaster still soothing the ego up to the grand old Mentone Hotel. Enough solo for me, coffee at Tour de Cafe was calling.
13/1 Socially Southside.
Sneaking in a spin with the Southside Knights was an opportunity too good to pass up while in metropolitan Melbounre. This would be the usual eastern skirt of part of Port Phillp Bay, but travelled south then north, contrary to my usual tack. Mobbed under Mr. Moon (Luna Park's main entrance), fifteen or more gathered for the strictly social trip to Mordialloc's pier and return in Beach Rd's bliss. Ness called the protocols of anti-clockwise rolls and short shifts at the business end with low 30's to fit the no-drop rule (a refreshing change from the bunch charge back home!). There'd be very few 2k shifts at the front with this amount of players, a little labor into a light southerly on the way to 'Mordy' but the bliss of a tailwind back and caffeine to conclude. Bollards separate bikes from commuting cars at random places through St.Kilda so wits were sharp not to have a horizontal malfunction with them, extra Knights from other suburbs lying in wait to join in.
Variables in speed needed the sharpest focus - maybe the ups and downs of the tarmac played their part in pace though unfamiliar riders may have raised my caution a little. (No cause for concern as it happened; plenty of calls, hazards signaled and smooth trajectories built comfort in time). It was just my luck to reach the front near Black Rock to face the breeze and an uphill with it, though the young Knight beside me was courteous with the velocity (probably pitying the pensioner's performance) A lot like the Boulevard back home, parked cars became the problem as the bunch had space squeezed by passing vehicles, although bikes almost outnumber cars on this course.
The sky looked like July but the temperature was definitely January, almost to the point of a misting rain, but it didn't. Beaumaris appeared sooner than I'd expected (a bunch knocks over the k's way faster than a solo ever will I suppose) so the Mordy u-turn was next; a brief pause at the pier for the riot act to be read (maintaining tempo for the benefit of those at the back) before setting sail north back to St.Kilda. The tailwind was the treat, low 30's ditched for the high ones (with a few 40's thrown in on the downhills) back toward the metropolis, eyes wide open for the few slower soloist and the pairs intent on staying side by side as we passed. More time was spent on focus ahead than on conversation. Traffic thickened for the 7:30 - 8am rush but 20+ Knights arrived at the Esplanade where the craving for caffeine was cared for at Cowderoy's.
This week 300km
YTD 490km
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