The shortest words possible.

 Post #714

10/9 Misty.

Left to my own devices, I'd probably make Sunday a lazy one and sleep-in, particularly finding it a damp and misty morning as I rolled the bike out the door.  Only the hardcore (or should that read headcases?) would tackle this rather ordinary morning solo, but I had Wendy to thank, saying yes to a suggested Sunday spin (the cravings after two days off had started but there wasn't overnight drizzle on the forecast).  Wendy might have called it quits too, sighting a glossy road and spits on the specs, so I guess we could blame one another committing to ride on a drab day.  Thoughts of plying a different course was shelved; sticking to a familiar route with optional short-cuts home was the best bet if weather worsened.  Squishy socks syndrome is my breaking point, but it was just puddles and spotty specs at 6:30.   

Clouds turning a lighter shade of grey gave some hope.   A squirrel circuit, but clockwise, seemed the best option; a different view of familiar ground and avoiding Verney's gravel section at the North Quarter development made sense.  It wasn't long before swapping turns became a clever idea too, the prospect of many turns lowering the tempo from weekday standards and avoiding puddles was on the priority list as I took the Ford Rd leg to Lemnos.  The Bureau said calm, this old engine saying a hint of westerly when the work intensified but speed stayed stuck at 32.  Wendy guided the Lemnos-Cosgrove course to Boundary Rd, pot-holes aplenty from Winter's wet.  Drizzle had stopped on Boundary Rd and even lighter grey clouds gave a silver lining to extending the lap a little longer than the planned short cut back via Channel Rd. 

River Rd wouldn't be risking much.  The guess of a westerly got some truth behind it as speed picked up bound for the dip, Wendy's consistent 34's making it sweet in the slipstream.  Sunday's lack of traffic was a bonus. Raftery Rd wasn't risky either with the tarmac mostly dry, the track back to town not tapped for many a moon so there was a little variety in the course after all.  The way via Wyndham was wet into town, getting bikes properly grubby, but coffee became the priority after 50 damp k's.

11/9 Chilly.

When the Bureau promises 5 and you get 1, I don't think you get a refund, but the search was on fairly quickly for an extra layer for Monday's lap.  Circling Sanctuary's side streets with Emil (till 5:40 forced us to grid) became a bit of a worry when only one other bike was spotted; 33% of the workload would be a harsh sentence for the lap to start the week.  Luck had Troy, Bruce, Wozza, Gazza, Rocket, Greg and BamBam join in from a side street to settle my nerves. 

Emil and BamBam got the squad started south as the horsepower formed the advance line while Greg, Bruce and I took to the left line of less labour , seeking maximum delay at driving at the business end.  The effort's inevitable, no point rushing into it, besides, it takes a while to summon the mental horsepower let alone the physical grunt.  (Bruce had been on holiday and Greg is running in a new knee.....I had no excuse at all!  I should borrow Bo's encyclopedia)   Spring had coloured the sky orange while a Winter temperature tested us (feels like minus 0.2), Gazza and Troy leading two lines toward River Rd in a strange serenity (but that won't last the week out)      Greg's draft helped the mindset nearing duty at River Rd's dip, his pace beside Rocket giving no hint of a new knee just 8 weeks ago. 

Huffs and puffs told a different story when I partnered alongside, so it probably sounded sympathetic when I called "As slow as you like".  (Truth be known I was short on oxygen too!)  Facing the front after a generous draft comes as a shock to the system.  A kilometre on, I'd found a spare breath and was about to call half time just as Greg said "Done", so the last k to rooster corner with Bruce reached my use-by date.  BamBam and Bruce bound for the Broken bridges didn't burst a gasket getting there, though I was banking a little oxygen in readiness for Emil and Wozza due for driving next.  

The pairing of Gazza and Troy in Old Dookie Rd lifted the heart-rate a little higher nearing town, so the old engine was well prepared for the throttle wide open to SPC.  Half a k to go and I was losing grip on the wheel ahead, the glance back finding Bruce and BamBam behind to inject a little more incentive to hold the wheel ahead.  I got my wish for Wheeler St's lights to go red, closing that 5 metre hole in the process. 

12/9 Steady.

Tuesday was five times better than Monday (in degrees) and a couple of absentees had returned to supplement the squirrels declining squad.  Tina was back from holiday and Julz was back from suffering sinus. Something like a titanic tow truck will be needed to return LiamM and Molly to riding!  Blokes were up first on the standard squirrel circuit, Emil and I in usual formation and Greg scoring the shift to the Kinder. 

Tina started strong at the cypress trees following the Jenerator's turn from Central Ave, but holidays had taken the hurry out of her by Beckham's bend (determination drove her to the S bend though)   Wendy worked the last 1500 metres to Coach Rd where Julz could soak up the slight southwester to the highway and beyond to Boundary's bridge.   Emil's aim was beyond Old Dookie Rd.  Call me chicken for calling a halt at New Dookie Rd for a fast-approaching car; we might have made it through in time but we lived to tell the story stopped (got a breath or two back into the bargain)   Gently on the gas pedal toward Hill Rd, I was soon judged guilty of putting Julz o.t.a. 

The ease back to 30 got me off on grounds of good behavior. Greg did a better job of turning up the wick toward Lemnos (seven stayed in formation), obviously nothing niggling that knee driving 3 k's to the rumble strips.   Ford Rd had the Jenerator in charge to Grahamvale and Tina took us to Verney but Wendy and Julz had their shifts hijacked by Emil's enthusiasm to bolt toward Balaclava Rd.  Greg and the Jenerator were keen to stir a sprint to the (relentlessly) red traffic light.  

   

13/9 Quantity. 

Thinking I was in some sort of form was a bit rash; starting slowly (and a little earlier) was kind on the old engine and I actually managed to stay alongside Emil for the commute to Sanctuary Drive (and didn't cave in to seeking a draft half way there)  This was just the casual cruise to the start mind you, nowhere near bunch speed, so I wasn't getting excited thinking I'd found fitness.  It just didn't hurt so much! 

A crowd had assembled for the 5:40 fling, Hawaiian holidaymakers Boof, PistolPete, Bo and The Godfather were back to face four degrees and young Jack joined in with Trav and Liam representing the western faction. The usual culprits Emil, Tina, Rocket, Wozza, Greg, Troy and Bruce made up the rest of the rabble.  Liam and PistolPete's opening effort to Mitchell Rd pushed the limits for some while I was subscribing to the theory that if you keep banging your head against a brick wall it eventually goes numb.  A couple of k's worth of pain and it disappears, doesn't it?  (That, or you're o.t.a. and contemplating finding slower friends!) 

After what seems like a long winter worth of black mornings, another colourful sky greeted us in River Rd, although variable velocities had returned.  Boof being baptized with sealant signaled The Godfather's grief with a deflating tubeless tyre (not quite God's gift to road-bikes the preacher spouts about when they anoint others, but I'll concede an injection of CO2 cured the problem quickly).  The restart near rooster corner shuffled the deck a little; pleased I got Greg's wheel in the advance while Trav and Jack propelled the pace north to the highway. 

Cats and '51 were served an overdue hearing test by you know who.  A steady speed for the last week or so is now consigned to the history books as fluctuations kept wits sharpened and fingers poised nervously over brake levers.  Ah, the want for persistent pedaling! Boof and The Godfather were on duty in Old Dookie Rd and hats off to The Godfather for driving a full block following nine days off. Greg paired with him toward Dobson's but called half time at the bridge, so I was finally called up for the 1500 metres duty to the truck route.  PistolPete's power served the squirt to SPC far better than I could.  

14/9 Foggy.

Convincing the cranium there was a breeze behind put an extension on the usual shift to the bridge along Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd, driving an extra 1500 metres to Lemnos wouldn't be so tough (besides, this was therapy Thursday so speed standards weren't so swift)   Closing in on the rumble strips, legs weren't convinced. More watts were wanted than what the head reckoned (and the Bureau said calm, contrary to thoughts about a tailwind)   Still, there's little gain being concreted into the comfort zone.  The Jenerator, Kim, Wendy, Greg, Tina, Julz and Emil had been keen to front at the shop or was Julz birthday cake at the Butter Factory the temptation?   

Somewhat civilized temperature (6 degrees) had tempted me to minus a layer and swap to thinner gloves, though that seemed stupid feeling the chill from Channel Rd's channels as Emil dragged us to the truck route.  Heart failure hadn't happened reaching Orrvale Rd but there was a lot of pleasure in the slipstream afterward as Greg led the six to the Kinder.  A long drive to Channel Rd's end was the Jenerator's response to Wendy's determination to get to the cypress trees, so the usual order was well mixed up when Tina fronted for the drive to Boundary Rd's bridge. 

An elbow to Emil beyond Old Dookie Rd finished the birthday girls shift so wasn't I surprised when Emil ended his turn short at the top of Boundary Rd. My turn to work west.

Greg is well down the comeback trail with his fourth ride in a row, no trouble for him reaching Grahamvale Rd to hand Wendy the helm. The Jenerator was honored with driving that sacred shift south to Balaclava and (strangely) was unchallenged for the lead.....till Greg stirred up a hint at a sprint to the lights.  (Guaranteed to get Emil excited). Yep, lights were red again!     

15/9 Uniformity.

From a helpful north northeaster to get to Sanctuary Drive, the wind swung swifty to a westerly as the grid (Bo, Ralphy, Wozza, BamBam, Julz, PistolPete, Kim, Grumpy, Emil, Tina, Rocket, Wendy Boof, Kel and Bruce) formed to fly Friday's Coulda's colours. (Ralphy in the mix was a rare appearance; what's next?  BeerMat making a comeback?)   20 k's worth of westerly at the right shoulder didn't slow PistolPete and Emil's pace to Mitchell, though some sense of diplomacy was kept (less than 40) heading east to Central Kialla.  (Emil might have felt a sting if speed was too swift?)   

A squad of sixteen was sizeable but it does turn up the whiplash effect for those near the rear.  Double digit temperatures (at last!) had many brave bare legs but the all too recent memory of Winter's chill had me cautious keeping knees warm.  The patches over the patches over the pot-holes nearing River Rd gave an extra kick in the pants from the 10 psi increase (re-adjusting the pressures from two days of neglect has a side effect; hopefully the answer to a perceived poor performance of late)   Decibel levels were low in The Godfather's absence though Grumpy's gasbagging was making up some of the shortfall.  Escaping the advance line, Tina took to the left line on the turn north at rooster corner, a cautious start to the drive toward the bridges with half a dozen geese as roadside spectators.  (They sounded a lot like a certain absentee!) 

I'd been promoted to Grumpy's wheel while Ralphy and BamBam took a calm approach to the Broken.  Shifts shortened and put Grumpy and I in charge at the second bridge, but he was on for a chat while I became over occupied on oxygen uploading (I thought he'd get the hint with my one word replies.  And I was using the shortest words possible!)  The last k was hell, despite the engine data being below the red-line, so it must have been the stress in the head that called PistolPete across rather than face part two.  (I got away with the short shift; the preacher of 'full blocks" wasn't here to chastise!)  I needed to socially snub Rocket (alongside) while Pistol and Emil added a couple of k's in the hour to Old Dookie Rd.

What was a westerly became an east southeaster for the west way home and with the horsepower of Rocket and Boof providing propulsion, 40's was the fashion to get closer to caffeine.  Kudos to Tina and Julz holding on to the hurry.  That now familiar red light at SPC was a godsend to finally fill the lungs. 

This week 300 km

YTD 9,446 km