Avoiding Armageddon.

Post #705

10/7 Like jumping in the deep end.

Being back on the bike after three days sidelined by sinusitis was liberating; now to the business of keeping up with the bunch!  The stars had aligned for my comeback with an almost tropical ten degrees, even a west northwester to help me eastbound, though I just needed to position in the pack to avoid the hard yards west back to base camp.  A tow from Rocket, Wozz and Emil to the start line was a kind introduction to join Kel, PistolPete, Bruce, The Godfather, Troy, Bo and Lenny at Sanctuary Drive.  (Now to be taxed by bunch tempo!)  I should have berthed at the back to take advantage of the tailwind early, although sitting on Pistol's wheel (second in the left line) would delay the hurt for as long as possible.  

Long time absentee Lenny had made his comeback and positioned wisely rearward while Wozza and Bruce provided the pace north to River Rd.  It was my decision time to join the advance on the turn east and harden up for the hurry at the front......or make like a marshmallow and go soft in the caboose.  Despite being on the missing list for almost three months, Lenny was braving an appearance at the business end so my three days away was barely a blink in comparison.  Following Kel into battle meant I'd have a considerate co-pilot when I got to the deep end.  Lenny's turn turned short in Coach Rd, Bo obliging a draft just metres into the drive north, so I played the waiting game behind Kel and Bo's shift north to the highway.  

Kel called it half time at the Broken bridge (or did Bo beg for a break?) making it my turn to aim at reaching the highway; all going well till I stupidly looked at the heart rate numbers. well into the red.  The head pulled the plug on part two before I'd finished part one! (It's my usual disappointment of the engine not responding to the drivers' needs!)  PistolPete and Rocket were happy to drive the distance to Old Dookie Rd ('cause they can) while my lungs laboured a longer road to recovery.  Wozza and Rocket made that road longer with 37's to Central Ave, Emil and Bruce delighting in toasting The Godfather in the 40's to the truck route.  They're immune to headwinds you know.  (So where do I get that velocity vaccine!)

12/7 One in this bunch is not like the others!

More than three hours sleep brewed some enthusiasm to get back on the bike following another day off on Tuesday, though fitness running at 58% suggested I avoid driving duty.  I got lucky finding a free tow to Sanctuary Drive, courtesy of Boof, Wozz, Rocket and Emil.  Grumpy, BamBam, Kel, Troy, Bo, Kreeky and Bruce assembled behind PistolPete and Emil, Bo with the sharpest elbows cutting into the left line as two rows steered south to Mitchell Rd.  Grumpy had finally met the 5:40 agenda but The Godfather's late appearance through the fog in the first half k allowed him to select his wheel of choice in the formation.  

The opening tempo was an achievable 35, though some might find that rather pedestrian when they got to the driver's seat.  Kreeky and BamBam braved the advance line and although I was keen to contribute, reality had this old engine running on three cylinders (trouble was, I was in a field of V8's!)  I have to admit, the seat in the caboose was quite comfortable!  River Rd's six k's of tarmac seems longer in the dark, only those few visible landmarks blurring by gauged progress.

BamBam's contribution at the front slowed the blur a fraction.  The Godfather's hollers got some nerves on edge (and a few on the brakes) nearing kangaroo straight, though it was the usual indecipherable babble rather than a wildlife warning.  I'd waited for Troy's transition to the advance before joining the line myself; better to be midfield into town than suffer the whiplash effect at the back. Grumpy had a grizzle about the cold; funny coming from the only guy in short knicks!  Kreeky calmed the pace a little in Old Dookie Rd. allowing an extra breath or two for the charge beyond the truck route.   

13/7 And now for my next trick.......

An 80cm flat screen tv isn't something you expect laying in the bike lane of a dark and foggy street at 5:20 am and seeing it at the last moment needed a quick decision.  Emil alongside and Wendy, Crossy, Kim and The Jenerator behind meant a split second swerve wouldn't be popular. Hitting the tv fair in the HDMI 3 port was my only option.  I could almost feel half a dozen ribs breaking on the concrete gutter but previously unknown cyclo-cross skills kept the airborne bike upright to survive.  (Better buy myself a lottery ticket).  Well, that got the heart-rate peaking early!  Armageddon avoided, a couple of k's circling the shop block settled rattled nerves, finding BamBam soaking up the moments before 5:30 too.  

Emil's call for calm 32's translated to pushing into a northeast breeze at 34's to the truck route, but after my recent excitement, his pace didn't trouble me.  32's to Orrvale Rd was my reply.  Julz early arrival at the school had her berth at the back, the position I took on when Kim set her sights at the Kinder.  (I was happy the fog had effed off; I had hallucinations of flat screen tv's filling the shadows of Channel Rd!)  The Jenerator delivered the watts to the cypress trees, Crossy's drive to the S bend contravening the 32 cap, though the pace was bearable in the slipstream.  It was the same old circuit but an extra player or two in the pack changes the ritual.  

Wendy finished off Channel Rd and added the short shift to the highway so BamBam inherited Emil's usual shift on Boundary Rd (the expectation to reach Old Dookie Rd rubbing off on BamBam too)   I reckoned Emil's intention was to tow us all to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd but Julz stole the captain's hat at New Dookie Rd.  No complaints from me, I scored a tail breeze on Lemnos-Cosgrove.  Kim made haste to Lemnos Nth Rd where Ford Rd was fronted by the Jenerator, so Crossy scored the short shift to Verney giving Wendy the task to tow us all to Balaclava. (she seemed to relish the job)   Construction of the "North Quarter" estate has encroached on most of Verney's bike lane and what's not occupied by witches hats is layered generously with gravel, so it's a thin line to contest with commuting traffic threading between traffic islands. 

14/7  What? No Wozz?

A cocktail of amoxicillin trihydrate, phenylephrene hydrochloride and clavulanic acid in the tank got the engine running a little better by Friday; enough to inspire a lap with the lads (and lass) but not delivering enough watts (yet) to face the front.  Bo, Troy, PistolPete, Emil, Boof, Kel, Rocket, Kreeky, Bruce and Grumpy gathered at the grid, but without Wozz (or Greg, Lenny, Tina, BamBam, the Jenerator or the 5ft Ninja for that matter.  Am I missing anybody?)  Emil and PistolPete introduced us to the speed south toward Mitchell, the serenity quite special and even a north northeaster assisting.  

I'd talked myself into believing the earlier spin at 33's to Sanctuary was a struggle yet I wasn't blowing a gasket holding onto 38's with the bunch.  Go figure?  Maybe it's the mobs' motivation or could it be a  concrete deficiency in the diet?  With the tailwind honeymoon over, Mitchell Rd began the marriage to work on, Boof, Rocket and Bruce's watts being the saving grace to tow us east and north to River Rd.  That freeloader feeling in the caboose nagged at the conscience, reinforced by the anti-social status of being the odd one out at the back of five pairs.  Proper echelon etiquette helped to hide from the north northeaster but that highlighted the horsepower needed at the front (not such a bad idea to shy from the driving duty come to think of it!)  

Kreeky wasn't shy taking his turn in River Rd (and not shy in setting his pace.  Focus was sharp (and uninterrupted) in kangaroo alley (thankfully nothing to see), the velocity enough to limit my sentences to three words (with pauses between them) but seemingly easy for others to chat.  Like Wednesday, I wasn't keen to suffer the surge of speed at the back when pace percolated into town so I chose Kreeky's wheel as a safe bet to follow into the advance.  Plenty of power ahead yet to deliver their drive meant I'd avoid being fried at the front. I'd held on midfield to reach the Mitchell St detour and survived the posterior pounding roughness of Williams Rd. I'm looking forward to the SPC roundabout return. 

This week 201 km

YTD 7,222 km