Post #487
16/2 The ride religion.
The ride receptors religiously reflex Saturday, bike, breakfast and the bunch babble is hard to resist after a working week. That same old southerly blew but it didn't deter assembling at the grid with TatMat, TrekTrev, Cate, Superman, Col, Tina, MyRideTrev, Big Len, Shorty, Liam, TatPaul and Nev. A long line of leds flashed south toward Mitchell Rd at a carefully stoked speed, collecting the early edition (not-so-newAvantiJohn, Grumpy, Rocket, Boof, Kel, Wozza, Bo and PistolPete) CatKel was caught en-route to Central Kialla, I'd scored a berth between Col and Wozza for the drive east on River Rd, the first shift to the main eastern channel, the second to the dip gave me three k's of huff and puff. Wozza and not-so-newAvantiJohn went on and on, and on to Boundary Rd (and on Wozza's wheel it's like drafting a matchstick) so I was near meltdown at River Roads end. Some composure had returned by the Broken bridges to chat with Shorty and TatMat (he's dropped the ball of sock police letting Superman get away with his calf high horrors!)
A perfect 15 degrees and a bit of a breeze propelled us to Old Dookie Rd, PistolPete towing us to the Toaster (with ease). '51 had a good showing as we pushed north to the church, Grumpy feeling the pinch of our pace retired to the caboose, CatKel detached and u-turned to collaborate with Cats as we went west. Smooth, swift and steady as she goes along Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd, the tarmac blurred under the wheels as I progressed toward another turn at the front, hopefully to be over and done with before suffering the sprint!
From Grahavale to Verney beside Col, then the labour to level with Kel to the end of Ford Rd, my recovery was going to be the issue as the speed turned spicy into Wanganui Rd. The cream was rising to the top as DECA came into view, my heart rate was off the leash and no amount of oxygen was helping. Rocket, Wozza, Liam not-so-newAvantiJohn, TatMat and co shot past as I grappled to hold Bo's wheel of rescue at the rear (but Superman and Grumpy were in deeper dramas off the back of the bunch at the test track) We'd collected the crew in Rudd Rd (Grumpy from a Kittles Rd short-cut) for a sensible spin along the Boulevard to breakfast, concrete, contracts and criminals tied up the tattle on the long Lemontree table.
17/2 Forty at thirty with eight o.
A social Sunday spin with 'ol mate Ayto made a relaxed ride and a change from the weeks worth of Couldabeens charge to recharge my batteries. Back on the Basso after a long lay-off, Ayto's found his mojo following a 6 day Torquay to Adelaide charity ride, though not quite back to his form of P&W days of old. (now I'm feeling fairly fossilised......that was ten years ago!) A reverse P&W lap suited our Sunday schedule, a cool and comfortable 14 degrees still had Ayto in a sweat as we tapped out Raftery and steered east on Mitchell and River Rd. Soaking up the scenery with just enough pre-dawn light made a change from the regular blurred rush, we mused the history (between huffs and puffs) of rides and characters of years ago, working our way up to Old Dookie Rd where the lure of caffeine (& raisin toast) became too great. JFK was right, nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.
18/2 Foot fault.
Monday's lap proved popular again, Kreeky, Cobbles, Rocket, Sherls, Kel, The Godfather, Bo, PistolPete, Cate, Pickles, BigBen and Bruce arriving for the 5:45 launch. PistolPete and Rocket drove into Channel Rd's darkness with an achievable acceleration, I'd slotted in between Kel and Sherls with a bit of time before my shift was due. The Godfather's finally out of his sick bed but not yet up to full volume and we had Cobbles, BigBen, Sherls and Pickles as special guests, being the bare bones of '51's motivation for Monday. Cloud cover kept the light out and humidity in, 19 degrees felt tropical as speed raised a sweat out to Boundary Rd. Matching Kel to the rail line then Sherls to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd almost emptied my jelly bean jar, that metre gap I was giving to Sherls wheel paid off as Rocket lifted the pace to the channel bridge, Sherls pulling his left foot from the pedal causing a millisecond of mayhem when his pace plummeted. Speed settled a smidgen as Cobbles and Pickles took the reigns in Ford Rd, looked like I was scoring the Wanganui workout on the front till Bruce and Cate put in the hard yards to the top of the hill, nearly all scoring Strava PB's. I fronted again in Rudd Rd to the golf course beside Kel (a killer on kilowatts) and Sherls to Canturbury's roundabout, speed still swift along the Boulevard as many craved the coffee at the completion, the rush down Mason St (and over it's many man-hole covers) causing Sherls to foot fault again in front of me, thankfully the consequences weren't horizontal. (reinforces my ritual of new cleats for Christmas each year)
19/2 Gone Goat'n.
For the sake of variety, I rolled a 14k solo golf course loop Tuesday morning, a precursor to pedal with the Goats for a change. A stiff SSW'er turned up the toil on Verney Rd for the return to town, seems the wind kept all but the toughest Goats away from Friars at 6. Sandy, Phil, Hommie and Snow were the only warriors at the start line, so single file suited and I got the pilot's role to lead out of town. With a hint of west in the wind, we were blown to Dobson's bridge where I handed Hommie the helm, he drove to Central Ave and Phil reached School Rd for Snow to top off Old Dookie Rd, but left the hurt of the head wind in Boundary Rd to Sandy. Gusts of 35 km/h tortured tempo so Sandy's elbow flapped at the fig farm but I was granted the shelter of an orchard or two to drive on the pub. Hommie started strong but the candle was flickering by the Broken bridges, Phil's fine drive getting us to River Rd. Snow's the most improved player cranking a k west (Sandy second-hand sitting it out in the caboose) while I'd lapped up 3k's of respite to feel fairly fresh, nudging the pace up a couple of k's to the dip (but careful not to snap the caboose off the little train). River Rd's end marked my exit if I were to remain employed, so slogged along the truck route to Archer to savour the tail-wind home.
20/2 The tempo temptation.
Kenworth, TrekTrev, Tina, Liam, Cate, Travis, Boof, Nick, MyRideTrev, Temple, Vince, SuperMario, Shorty, The Godfather and Superman formed a line south on Archer Rd and my legs didn't want a part of the advance line, truth be known it was my head hampering the hurry. Rule 5 rang out in the cerebrum to advance to The Godfather's wheel, TNT-Tom climbing aboard the caboose as the bunch bolted toward the truck route. Facing the front and the south southwester dredged the depths of the determination to reach Mitchell Rd, the early edition (Rocket, PistolPete, Col, not-so-newAvantiJohn, Kel, Wozza, Kreeky and Bo) joining in for the slog south. Vince was the gentleman levelling wheels to Central Kialla, and content with my 3.7k contribution to the Couldabeens cause, I settled back into the draft as others offered themselves as fodder for the front.
Hurtlocker had fielded a team of 6 southbound (let's count their numbers in mid winter!) as we worked west, me being steadily demoted as a mixed bag of drivers and survivors advanced. Liam and Wozza paired steadily turning up the tempo (and the toil for some), The Godfather managed a sledge to the passing pelotons while Superman was a ticking time-bomb on Wozza's wheel (there's an artform to choosing the wheel you follow to the business end of the bunch) Turns rolled and Superman ducked for cover to the down-line, a flurry of freewheels, a call of "slow" and the rhythm was revised a tad more peaceful. I was still on the down-line as not-so-newAvantiJohn and PistolPete charged into Channel Rd, plenty of players heading to the hurt end would guarantee me exemption of effort for the ChaCha. I'd reached the rear as the bunch belted toward the Kinder, TNT-Tom (looking rather pale from pace) called me over to the up-line just as Rocket lit the afterburners at the front. I'd been caught up with a few happy to back off the gas, so rounded them up to chase the main bunch's tail. A long hard drive to catch their draft at Prentice Rd, I arrived to find bits busting off the back in an attempt to keep sight of Liam or Boof (on a new Scott Foil as fast as the engine on it!)
21/2 Skippy and the sprint.
A slow and steady start warmed up this rusty relic to Thursday's lap of labour, Ralphy, Cate, BamBam, MyRideTrev and Ayto made slim pickings for the 5:45 flogging, Grumpy had defected to the Hares to leave just half a dozen to drive the early train. I was left to do the first shift (of course!) to the truck route, two seconds to fill the lungs as we gave way to the B double then Cate, BamBam, Ralphy and MyRideTrev moved up to make their donation, Ayto calling me in on MyRideTrev's wheel 'cause he was cemented into the caboose. BamBam did the hurt of the head wind in Central Ave but dogged determination (nearly as strong as Ayto's grip on the caboose) drove him on to the cypress trees. MyRideTrev soldiered on to the S bend where my second shift was due, feeling a bit guilty to take a partial tail wind to the end of Channel Rd and hand Cate the head wind of Boundary. There was no holding back to her hurry to the Broken bridges where BamBam and Ralphy did the business to River Rd. I'd fixed focus on MyRideTrev's elbow for that sign of surrender (at the Angora farm), then facing the front, got that slap in the face from the southwester. That summoned the stubbornness to drive on to Laws Drive for the hell of it, or is it a performance anxiety issue? Cate did a quick k to finish off River Rd rapidly, handing BamBam another helping of head wind happiness. Eyes on elbows again in Mitchell Rd as MyRideTrev persevered to PistolPete's, nine Hares hurrying past may have demoralised his drive? I made like a martyr and piloted to the highway but might have toasted a couple as a consequence. Ayto was still hanging on as Cate and Ralphy ripped into Raftery Rd, BamBam finally relishing a tailwind up to Conrod straight but the holler of "Roo!" set off alarm bells to scatter us all. A roadside grey, taller than a bent-over BamBam on a bike, rapidly bounded off stage left (to our insurance company's relief) so heads went down to sprint business again. I wound up the rubber band with 250 meters left, but heard Ralphy's wheels closing in behind with a 100 to go, so dialled up full steam ahead (Ralphy cussed) to the line to keep the young fella trying.
22/2 Tip top tap.
That relentless southerly was still switched on for Fridays lap, could be the reason only TrekTrev, Boof, Tina, Nick, BamBam, SuperMario, Col, Kenworth, Travis, The Godfather, Bruce and Superman arrived at the 6am grid. The 'headwind hideaway' was in full force as only Boof and The Godfather formed the advance line, and with still no takers by the truck route, Tina showed the shirkers how it's done. The early edition had yet to arrive, I'd moved up and offered Tina a tow, quickly spent by the work into the wind to Mitchell Rd. With the wind now at our side, a flood of volunteers joined the up-line to forge on to Central Kialla, still no sign of the early edition (u-turned early and sailed into the sunrise? Don't love us any more? Had a better offer? The real reason at the end of this epistle) Many moved forward, Liam exempted after a hard day in the hills, BamBam still to file a reason for resting at the rear.
Five on the Hurtlocker swept south as we steered east into River Rd, all in the comfort zone of mid thirties (and being TNT Tom free!) The Godfather had a little more spark in his sledges, TrekTrev was buoyed by a blast on Beach Rd and Col's tempo set to a temporal tune. The Goat train of pain was feeling the sting of the southerly as we charged north to Channel Rd, up to the Broken bridges finding Goat Heady, the epitome of OTA. I felt the pace beside Tina then Bruce to Channel Rd but turning west speed went strangely sedate, maybe it was the absence of the fast faction or had Friday's foibles fixed a calmer speed? All had tuned in to a steady tap to town, Boof and The Godfather leading us to the ChaCha with that steady speed set in stone, Bruce casually cruising past to put his wheel first over the line (heaven forbid the babble should The Godfather take a win!)
A rampant roadside rabbit had darted under Rocket's wheel as the early edition single filed on Channel Rd toward the S bend, a touch of wheels setting off a spill that put Kel, PistolPete and Wozza down hard on the tarmac. Ambulance rides for concussed Kel and PistolPete (cracked rib and plenty of skin off). Rocket remained upright, Wozza bruised and barked. Get well soon folks. Others, watch the wildlife!
Week 8 301km 2,116 km YTD
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