12/11
Like 125psi and a smooth stretch of tarmac, good health is only valued when it goes missing. Robbed of riding by flu, the Saturday antidote was cafeine with the crew (Temple, Boof, AvantiTrev, The Godfather, Mel, Cate, TatPaul, Cougar, Popgun and BassoDan). A bonus appearance by Weapon, Jase, AvantiAndy and Jen (also in civilian mode) opened the chat on peaks, going OTA and motivational company.
14/11
A brisk southwester pushed a long grey blanket of cloud toward Yabba on Monday, but it was great to be back aboard the Baum after such a long absence (48hrs). The wind uploaded a carbon chorus to tune Cate and I toward Pine Lodge church, but a tail wind out and a head wind back was akin to serving brûlée before Brussel sprouts. With the head into the groove of the grind west the task wasn't so bad, the odd clump of trees allowing a few moments of recovery. The fading flu still had a grip on my lungs and hijacked the heartrate, the wind a little angrier in Channel Rd but the bait of the ChaCha pulled out the stops to put a peak in the graph.
15/11
A calm and contemplative cruise to the Turtle faction on Tuesday, scenic sunrise to the left and super moon to the right as WhisperingJack, Nick, Pelly, Cougar, Jase (and an unusual appearance of MrMagnet) fronted the carpark. WhisperingJack found reverse gear quickly, ushering me to the next shift at the pointy end before we'd even entered Channel Rd. MrMagnet's turn at the front had lasted just 50 metres from the Kensington roundabout, so I turned up the heater to set a single file trajectory. Seven had stretched out by leg two, so settled into a mid 30's tempo, no challenge to my position till Pelly took the helm at the Kinder. Jase, Nick and WhisperingJack had a crack to the S bends, Mr Magnet close to haemorrhage by this point. Jase drove a strong leg to River Rd, full steam cornering west snapped off the magnetic hitch-hiker. Carry on was the call, but it was down to Pelly, Jase and I to cart the carriages as daylight lit our course to Kialla Central. Long turns were the order of the day, Cougar uncoupled as we ascended Dave's dip but an early ease for the highway glued the line back together. Careful on the gas into Raftery Rd I got the boiler up to steam by Galbraiths gate, two bikes ahead inspiring Pelly and Jase to crank us into the fourties. Rising from Conrod's dip we flung a sledge or three passing KillkennyPaul and Softa (reacquainting themselves with reality aboard two wheels). Pelly pounced to pinch podium position, all savouring a social suburban spin swept by the southerly homeward.
16/11
Grid phobia retreats some from an early shift at the pointy end, concrete drove me to jump in at the deep end for first turn Wednesday. Wozz drew alongside at the town's limit, my mental mistake was squinting to the roundabout a thousand gasps away. Spent, sweating and speechless, the eternity ended at Sanctuary estate, lungs still wearing the wheeze of Friday's flu but recovery in the tow of Wozz, Bruce and Bo was Christmas. Cate, Shorty, Hollywood, WhisperingJack, Car+Mel, Kel, AvantiTrev, Weapon, Jase, BamBam, Troy and Pelly rolled through, Boof joining at Kialla Central from a prior puncture predicament.
The sun burst through the bunch on Rivers' route east, like minded cyclusts from unlike tribes toiled west, waving, whistling and whooping. There were faces pained on the train of Goats grinding south on Boundary Rd while I was worked by Weapon to the bridges and whipped by Wozz to Channel to exhaust all energy. Sans speech till the S bends, I was on a rapid recovery before the ChaCha appeared, inspired by Cate braving the drivers seat as the pace percolated to the Kinder. Rotations had almost ground to a halt as Shorty reached maximum velocity at Prentice Rd, I emptied the tank just to roll past as Wozz, Troy, Bruce and the princes of pace stepped up to sprint, Troy triumphant. The almost post coital pant and pleasure proceeded on the roll back to town, Bo's excuses (Vol 27), chuckles and comparisons on the chat agenda.
17/11
Immersed in random thoughts on an early solo tap, I was suddenly shaken by New Dookie's resurface (harsh 20mm stone replacing the once sweet billiard table tarmac) pummelling the posterior. Smooth surface service didn't resume till beyond Central Ave, but an inspiring sunrise soothed the senses.
A rare easterly eased the exertion back to town, a sluggish six pack then a profusely populated Pussycat peloton plied east. Principal Skinner, Sandy, AvantiAndy, Snow, Coggo, HG, Belly, Hommy and Tina had Goat gathered at Friars, an idle out of town gathering up JB at SPC. There was a rotational reshuffle as Coggo courted competitive company, the tame tap to Boundary taken up with talk of the forthcoming lobster lunch as part of a Goat Christmas ride. JB and Coggo dialled up the stress in Boundary Rd, so who was I to mess with momentum? (oh what fun it is to ride beside a huffing Hommy!) The pace slowly went off the boil till JB and Coggo returned to the pointy end in River Rd, the hint of a northeaster helping us into the fourties. Time again turned me north, west and north from Rivers end to home.
18/11
Assisting a sting on a Stravassailant, a crack at the McIntosh meltdown pushed a heart rate hump into Friday morning (637 metres in 55 sec), I'd almost recovered arriving at a crammed Couldabeens carpark with Cate, Car+Mel. Rocket, Boof, Bruce, Shorty, Trav, Kenworth, AvantiTrev, Ralphy, Wozza, Pelly, BamBam, Troy, Grumpy, Weapon, Jen, Bo, Cougar, Jase, Tommygun, Temple, WhisperingJack, Nev and Hollywood assembled in a cast the size of Ben Hur. An 80 metre long train steamed south on Archer collecting AvantiMat, the up line forming fortuitously. I finally faced the front in River Rd wit Wozz (King of the Kialla mini-loop), head and heart wanted to reach the bridge but the lungs cut it 300 metres short. There was a self imposed challenge tallying up the troop list today, a brain strain and an antidote for Alzheimers with a bunch this size. The Goat train was on a mission of pained pace, already at the River Rd ripple strips (well done on a 40.9 average lads) when we'd arrived. The turn west toward home and Channel's ChaCha challenge charged the enthusiasm, Darth Vader baulking barking at a big bunch. A "car up" at Hopeful corner hesitated the back end, the big guns blazed and opened a gap, a hungry Hollywood and a bolting BamBam filling the space quickly. The calm after the storm found DocPaul rolling into town, the social dessert shared through the suburbs.
Week 46 207km. YTD 14,014km
Hope the pictures put perspective into the prose, feel free to add a comment 'cause I'm flying blind folks! (flattered by the Foss followers in Poland, France, USA, Ukraine and Portugal)
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