Week 16 : Puffed but chuffed

Post 444
14/4 Satiable Saturday.

Alarm, coffee, breakfast, weather? h.r.monitor, baselayer, knicks, armwarmers, jersey, socks, shoes, tube, spares, keys, cash, phone, helmet, specs, gloves, headlight, Garmin..........ride! With 16 minutes up the armwarmer there was little hurry to the carpark, TrekTrev, MyRideTrev, BigLen, TatMat, Cate, Wozza, Shorty, Trav, TatPaul, Tum, Kate, Amy, Rocket, Bruce, Boof, PistolPete, The Godfather and KillkennyPaul filtering in to set up a satiable Saturday squad.  The calm start (thanks to traffic splitting our carpark exit) settled a few nerves, a NNW'er inflating the speed (and some egos) to Mitchell Rd.  This Saturday clan has become a constant changer, the die hard regulars blending with (or at least trying to) the special guests......some a little more "special" than others!

Delicious dinners, a foot fault, growing girls and Roubaix's roughness was discussed with TrekTrev, TatMat, BigLen and Boof,  PistolPete's cool kit (yep, another one!) and Softa's self inflicted wine wounds coloured the Couldabeens character on the journey west to Boundary Rd.  Passing the peaches, pigs and figs, I had a short shift with Sean (short on the shove) before Boof cemented a standard up to Old Dookie Rd.  The (now) northerly nursed our nostrils pushing the piggery pong south, rounding the Toaster to charge to the church.

It's a rare sight to have Tum and Kate combined, their friend Amy cool in co-ordinated orange bike and kit, but a fashion police infringement was earned wearing purple socks! The Cat pack had thinned from last week , the flouro yellow crossing paths with the blue & black, swapping a swift sledge or two. Seems the sun is slow to rise already but the psychological warmth at our backs in Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd was worth the wait.  Breakfast beckoned to pick up the pace in Ford Rd and I was being promoted further forward at the rapid end of the ride.   Working up the wattage in Wanganui, The Godfather and Boof started shorter shifts so I followed suit, but was hung out to dry at DECA doing the Clydesdale stuff while the sprint stallions stalled for their moment to gallop.  Rocket, Wozza, Bruce and Pistol took flight at the test track, a big ask for me to dig the depths to catch their draft. 
A long thin line drew out toward Mt Wanganui, Rocket then Pistol peeling off spent, Boof casually rising from the Selle to tear up the hill with all in his wake. School bikes, the Dookie Pub and grassroots travel entertained thoughts over breakfast, the foot faction (Kel, Temple, Mrs.Pistol, Bo & Leah) pumping their pedestrian progress.

16/4  Misty Monday.
All quiet on the What's App front on Monday, so a solo satisfied the obsession.  The moon barely lit dark low clouds rolling in from the west, prompting a pre-ride peek at the radar (course clear). Pointing into the darkness of Old Dookie Rd with a westerly whipping up the speed urged a strive at a Strava segment (but there'd be a headwind price to pay on the way back). A fine mist began to anoint me, barely glossing the tarmac but spotting the specs, urging the senses to turn back but Rule #9 overpowered sensibility.  Boundary Rd arrived sooner than expected (3rd fastest for the segment)  and I trimmed a little off the tempo to save something to get home again.  To the church and south to the Toaster building the bravado for the battle back, the 17 cog served the spin to keep speed respectable.  Slim shelter from a few trees on Old Dookie restored a little faith, 10 minutes for respiratory restoration  taken in Boundary Rd (crossing paths with 4 northbound Couldabeens) to prepare for River Rd's toil. A liberal dose of headwind hurts but is meant to help, no sign of pursing pussycats (or any other riders for that matter) gave a grin of contentment.  Six k's of slog and dampened by more misting revised my route home, back to town via Archer but bewildered by the brainless in cars (and two on bikes) who feel lights aren't needed before sunrise.

17/4  The tempo test.
6 degrees signalled porridge on the breakfast menu and dragging the merino base layer from summer hibernation, it's that time of year when a long cold winter ahead puts the devil into the determination.  Gone are the days of a dozen dedicated to a 5:45 thrash, just KillkennyPaul, Cate and Softa turned up for the Tuesday tempo test. 

The chill put a clamp on the lungs but it was down to business as four shared the shifts in varying velocities along Channel Rd, with a minimum workforce I went a little lighter on the throttle,  keeping the crew together the goal for the good of all.  We'd all served a couple of shifts by Channel Rd's end but Softa's third to the Broken bridges had his wattage withering. 
KillkennyPaul eased his effort to One Tree Dam but the damage was done, Softa was swiftly cast from the caboose. The agreement of the Tuesday/Thursday algebra ( OTA=HTFU ) meant three drove on, a signal inside me eased the effort a bit, less three became two and the workload doubled.
There's metronomic Mavic music to play on River Rd's smooth stretch of tar, into that comfortable rhythm where the heart rate levels and the legs tolerate what the head instructs.  Cate and KillkennyPaul drove well, though 8 Hares in pursuit would soon wear us down, the southwester wearing me down for the leg to Mitchell Rd.  I was blessed with a brief bludge in the tow till Archer Rd then put back to work to reach the highway, a deja vu moment in Dave's dip as Rocket and the hoard of hurrying Hares (Wozza, Nev, Trav, Boof, CatCol, Bruce and PistolPete) hurtled by.  We'd almost caught their tail crossing the highway but labored legs were lacking the urge by Roubaix corner.  The Hares drew away into the distance, we were content to carry on under our own steam to the finish.

18/4  Wednesday's wintery welcome.

5 degrees was a wintery welcome for Wednesday, so you spin a little faster but that increases speed which makes you colder, so you spin a little faster.........as a consequence I was first to berth at the shop, so suffering the first shift was the weather's fault!  Goose, TrekTrev, Ralphy, Shorty, Cate, Tina, Sean, MyRideTrev, SuperMario, Boof, PistolPete and The Godfather arrived (most in the last minute) to prove that temperature didn't cool the enthusiasm.

I took the first shift south, steadily stoking up the speed, PistolPete pairing with me to the roundabout, puffed but chuffed to tuck into the draft to the truck route.  The earlybirds (Wozza, Rocket, CatCol and Trav) u-turned ahead to join in.  Rare to have Ralphy as part of the repertoire, Tina back from holidays (fast and fit as ever) but the Hollywood comeback seems to have slipped into ancient history.  A little fog capped the fields of River Rd, plenty rugged up in winter kit though Shorty and I were saving the heavy duty gear for the depths of July's chill.  Five Goats cranked a lesser pained train (tamed for attendance) south on Boundary Rd as I was promoted toward the pointy end (might get a turn done before the challenge of the ChaCha today!) As theorised last week, those who ride less cop more, Shorty, Goose and SuperMario paid the price of pace leading into Kinder and Hopeful corners.  CatCol had prime position as the bunch bolted by Prentice Rd, dragged along in the draft got me to the finish forth.

19/4  Therapeutic Thursday.

Early and eastward on New Dookie Rd (again) on Thursday, sleep escaped me but a ride didn't.  I pondered the pro's and contemplated the cons on the solo spin :  You'll always win the sprint (there's no hiding in a draft), you get to set your own speed (might need to wrestle with your own demons), farting won't offend (unless it's a tailwind!), no sledging when you puncture (no help when you puncture), you can soak up the serenity (the silence can be scary), you're free to change direction or short-cut home (only yourself to blame if you get lost), no freewheelers, surgers, wobblers or half wheelers (spot your own risks), great to perfect your pace (tolerating wheelsuckers)........I guess the jury's out on this one.  Pleased with my speed under my own steam along Boundary Rd (10 degrees was tropical compared to Wednesday), then back to town via Channel Rd topped of a thrifty thirty. 

20/4  Cool, calm and condensed.

Seems winter's grip tightened Friday, just MyRideTrev, Boof, Liam, Travis, TrekTrev, SuperMario, Sean and Pistol Pete turned up for the combined cruise.  Boof captained the crew out of town as I felt a grain of guilt tucked in at second wheel (though I've done my fair share of first shifts over the years).  CatCol, Rocket, Wozza, Bruce and Trav made up the early expedition arriving at the truck route, thankfully bringing the bunch into double figures.  Watching as two lines rotated, it's funny how the factions form; a couple content to cruise line astern and a string of salivating sprinters soon after. There was the usual parade of pelotons in River Rd, I'd lucked a place behind MyRideTrev and Sean lessening the speed stress in Boundary Rd, the placid pace pleasant.  Only five Goats on a pain-less train (a bit behind schedule) worked south, Boof and I pairing (and turning up the tempo a touch) north to Channel Rd.  Eyes were peeled for a meandering mutt (spotted earlier by the early expedition) en-route to the ChaCha, the speed slowly stoked by MyRideTrev and Sean, back on the front again out of Kinder corner.  My arrival at the front at Prentice Rd was a moment too good to waste, full steam with 400 to go but I could only hope for 2nd with Boof welded to my wheel. 

Week 16:    244 km            YTD 4,606 km