Post #585
6/2 The bayside battle (& bliss)
The bay beckoned again. The usual Saturday bunch of bike buddies were far away but the bait of Beach Rd would do as a substitute. There's something quite appealing about a smooth stretch of tarmac and sea air, shame the weather wasn't so appealing. A northerly (15-30 km/h) offered a city-bound challenge. Fewer bikes than last Thursday were northbound (maybe the sound of that wind made bed a better option?) but there's nearly always a red led ahead to beg the effort to chase. I needed some incentive, that head-wind hurt! Just when you think your standard is soft, there's someone struggling far harder ; here's me thinking I'm having a hernia on a subtle ascent at Black Rock and the guy ahead is at a crawl searching for the small chain-ring! (Maybe that's the attraction here? Plenty about to measure your worth?)
The exposed straights toward Sandringham furrowed the brow and had molars gnashing, the glance at the Garmin not helping as I noticed the cardiac count at 175 (how long it had been at the rate I could't say, it's just a number anyway!) Brighton's two storey palaces offered a little shelter as the wind swung north northwest, bunches now amassing the side streets for their southerly pursuits. Seems I was against the grain northbound.
Into St.Kilda at 6:45 was better than expected progress, tempting a lap of Albert Park Lake as an alternative to the Port Melbourne u-turn. A scenic circuit with a city skyline to view before a wind assisted return to Mordy made an interesting interlude. My 8 minute lap of the F1 track was a little shy on Schumacher's 1:24:125 record. Back to Beaconsfield Parade and steering south found a few more bikes braving the day (city folk don't do stupid o'clock that well it seems) and just like Thursday's effort, speed naturally congregated two's and three's together. Sometimes just strangers. Confidence rose rapidly as I caught and passed many (why some pairs ride at snail speed two metres apart and monopolize a whole lane I'll never know), keen to make amends for a sluggish city-bound effort earlier. I'd soon found myself sharing a turn or two with a young Mr BMC while a Mr. Scott was content to sit behind. Shifts seemed fairly balanced at first, each of us scoring a little rise and a little fall of the tarmac to Hampton and Sandringham, high 30's to low 40's the standard seeming to suit.
No words were spoken, no elbows shown, just a co-operative share of speed to swiftly pass many. Mr BMC had given a fair share so I'd cruised by to do my bit, but I had inherited the steepish Col de Charman segment to burn the legs a bit beyond my limit. That dreaded gap opened to Mr BMC (now ahead) and there wasn't the legs left to close it. It's the folly of the flat-lander folks! Mr.Scott was still glued to my wheel and wasn't coming to my rescue, so I soaked up the humility and used the next half k as respite, hoping a second wind may come. The slightest of declines to Mentone Beach were the eventual salvation, speed returning to the 40's for the last 2k's to end 60 on a high, catching Mr BMC into the bargain was the instant karma. Tour de Cafe was open so a brew and banana bread became a trophy for the 14 PB's.
8/2 The home soil hurry.
I must have upset Aiolos. (go on, Google it!) 20+ k's worth of headwind hit me the first day back on home turf, as if to greet me with a windy welcome back! What we lack in elevation 'round here is made up for by breeze. Being back in a bunch of buddies brought some comfort (though PistolPete hasn't lost any performance), leading (of course) the opening salvo to Mitchell Rd at his traditional tempo. Fast! Col had volunteered velocity for the second shift, Emil third ; I'd figured fourth turn would have me prepared for pace by then. Tina, Joe (not Tony), JJ, Lenny and Kreeky were line astern. Vince and the Rabbit tacked on as we turned east onto Mitchell, Col in motivation mode to take us to Central Kialla. Emil made the most of the tail-wind to drag us to River Rd. I'd gone rusty in just a few days of solo's, the enthusiasm to head to River Rd's bridge gapping a few behind me so an ease off the throttle got the line back into order.
Tina took a hold of the hurry to the dip, Joe (not Tony) delivering a decent drive to the quarter horse gates. Here we go again, JJ was up next and turned up the boost in his quest to bolt to Coach Rd but Joe (not Tony) had a firm grip on the caboose this time! Vince was on the advance but the Rabbit played his anti-social best at the back. With most of the shop squad in Ballarat Lenny had joined our division two, respectfully hobbling his horsepower to suit our sort of hurry. He played fair with the pace to the Broken bridges before turning Kreeky loose on the captaincy. Funny, there wasn't the epic effort we'd come to expect from Kreeky, The Godfather given the lead at the highway to work us toward Old Dookie Rd. That southerly had no effect on Pistol's pace in Old Dookie Rd, Vince waiting in line as he stormed on to Central Ave. Sustained speed soon numbs the hurt and if smoothness is sacrosanct, it soon becomes easier. Vince made the pace seem easy by the truck route but the acceleration to SPC put the sting back in.
9/2 I could get used to this!
The search for a suitable spin took me to Kialla Lakes Drive. Wanted; a slightly slower lap than Monday, Wednesday and Friday, some sort of sociology, discipline to depend on and a lap to get me home on time. I'll give the Wannabee's a try. NearlyRetiredTrev, BamBam, Ralphy, Jase, Naomi, Shorty and Temple meandered the side streets waiting for 6am to strike, the route via Channel, Boundary and Ford chosen with Raftery's roadworks continuing. Most of this mob made up division 2 a year or two ago so familiarity was fine, it's just that speed was no longer the speciality (or so I'm told) NearlyRetiredTrev set a gentle introduction up to Channel Rd, Jase making the pace east toward the truck route....and a little bit more to Orrvale Rd. I was expecting a protest on pace in the high 30's but it seems speed is quite kosher with this crew. Shorty wasn't sparing the horsepower either, a division 2 performance along the ChaCha to the Kinder, but that was my introduction to the southerly on Central Ave. After yesterday's bout of over-enthusiasm I paid particular heed to speed, a smooth and steady build-up to prior pace might get me welcomed back again! The 600 metres down to McFadyen wasn't so taxing, the next 600 to the cypress trees easy enough to add another k to my contribution ; the S bend far enough to let Temple do his thing. Colour slowly filled the sky and that wind helped the hurry north on Boundary Rd.
Ralphy's shift was somewhat shortish, handing the work to BamBam at the fig farm, but he was a bit shy on distance too, giving the reigns to Naomi to aim at New Dookie Rd. Her tempo was spot-on, driving the distance will come with time (a great turn for one so new to this addiction). NearlyRetiredTrev started the second round of shifts, Jase setting slightly higher standards to Lemnos-Cosgrove Rd (and here's me thinking the Wannabees were shy on speed!) Shorty started the work west toward Lemnos, his elbow suggesting I take on the drive at the main eastern channel so I set Lemnos North Rd as a target. I wasn't sure if Wanganui Rd was on the route but this turn could be my final fronting. Temple's pace along Ford's first 2 k's kept me busy to stay in the draft, Ralphy scoring the lead over Grahamvale Rd to get us into town and when Verney Rd was called to complete the loop he handed BamBam the head-wind for the Southern shift. That's what mates are for isn't it? Finishing the lap in the northern end of town helped, I was home with 5 minutes to spare, the bonus being a little energy left.
10/2 Keeping breakfast aboard.
I could feel the southerly breeze swinging to an easterly as Emil dialed up the hurt in a hurry to the start-line. I could already imagine the pain of driving east on River Rd so how could I avoid that head-wind hurt? The usual protagonists rolled Sanctuary Drive in wait for the 5:40 flagfall and I'd already taken the bold decision to take PistolPete's position and drive the first shift to Mitchell. Surely to battle the breeze at the port bow would be better than head on? Emil, PistolPete, Col, Kel, Tina, Bo and The Godfather played the waiting game behind as I took to the first 600 metres to the truck route at a tame tempo under the pretext of letting everyone settle into line before turning up the wick. Truth is I was already preserving wattage.
The next 2 k's to Mitchell was under pressure of performance, I may have blown a head gasket trying Pistol's pace. I'd almost caught The Godfather's wheel when Emil hit the nitrous oxide toward Central Kialla, finding the extra 4 k's per hour needed all the wattage I could find. (a fine facsimile of JJ's burst of bravado when given the drivers seat) PistolPete kept the hurry going to River Rd as a double whammy. Col provided a slight reprieve to the bridge when most things came back into focus for me, Kel's smooth shift to the dip was just like Christmas. How Tina turns on the tempo after yesterdays 140 k spin I'll never know (but I'll have what she had for breakfast!) Bo did his stuff to Rooster corner when Tina handed over at the quarter horse gates. The Godfather trimmed a little off the velocity on his mission to reach the highway, a chance for me to overdose on oxygen before facing the second bout at the business end. (Most would get a repeat prescription today with only 8 on duty and no epic drives to delay the promotion forward)
A clear passage across the highway kept the momentum and saved all that wattage to get back up to speed, it's just metering out the muscle power to make the 2600 metre expectation of reaching Old Dookie Rd. All went well to the bridge but the horsepower was at a trickle at the fig farm so I passed the baton to Emil to get to the target. Whack! That jump from 39 to 44 would have made me cuss if oxygen wasn't such a valuable resource, all the VO2 was needed just to stay in The Godfather's draft. The slow to turn west was just a fleeting nirvana, it was back to life on the rivet as Emil's energy let loose toward the bridge. PistolPete kept quick consistent while my eyes searched the line-up to see who might serve a shift of respite. No luck. Col got speed by the scruff of the neck into town. A lap record would have been medicine for my murdered legs but the Strava segment said the hurry was in my head (although a 37.3 average is nothing to sneeze at)
11/2 Sans stresse.
Ahead of schedule and with barely a breeze blowing, Thursday had the pressure off. Another spin with the Wannabee's wasn't going to burst a boiler either. JFK did say nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. And a simple pleasure was a change from scorching pace! It was time for me to enjoy a lap not on the rivet. Jase, NearlyRetiredTrev, Ralphy, Naomi, BamBam and, lowering the bar of expectations on effort, Joe (not Tony) gathered at Kialla Lakes roundabout. Continued Raftery Rd roadworks spelled an Archer, Mitchell, Coach and Channel course to avoid the loose stuff. Jase led the first shift to the truck route, the hint of an east northeaster making high 30's an easy ask. The task for me to tow 'em to Mitchell rd was no problem under those circumstances. I'd forgotten the last time I was able to talk when finishing duty at the front!
Joe (not Tony) was pleased with the pace too, taking his turn toward Central Kialla but facing that east northeaster wore away the wattage. Naomi finished off the drive to the Euroa Rd, Mitchell being the course of choice. (River Rd against their religion?) The change of scenery was refreshing, BamBam then Ralphy doing their easterly effort as I recalled the ancient history of Saturday Hospital bunches at full steam this way. NearlyRetiredTrev did his turn for a decent distance but it was Jase's long drive that got us to Coach Rd, that often awkward intersection at the main eastern channel free of traffic to ease our passage through. My number was up again and rather than make mischief with a fast shift, chose to do the long haul to the Broken bridges to put my engine into zone 4. It probably helped Joe (not Tony) to be given the lead among the trees lining the river, a little shelter for his turn to reach Channel Rd. And didn't he score bonus points handing the helm to Naomi with a tail wind to take the pressure off the performance. A pack of pussycats had swung into Channel a half minute ahead, so their bunch became the bait for our 8 k drive back to town. Jase did the charge on the ChaCha making mid 40's (and not a grizzle was heard) but he wasn't saying much crossing Orrvale so I took a little time in building the pace back up to pursue the flock of felines to Kensington's roundabout.
12/2 A spin for the not-so-soft.
The ride suddenly turns tough when just two others are at the grid at 5:40. The radar was clearing and only a few spots had fallen from the sky. I'd even left a space ahead for PistolPete.....and even he didn't show! My plans to start at the back for a gentle introduction to speed were shot ; it was now time to h.t.f.u. into the lead role to Mitchell Rd. Oh joy! There was a south southeaster fair in the face too! Emil and Col had braved the doubtful sky while I muttered my displeasure of those soft souls who stayed in bed. I set my speed 10% down on standard, there was 50% more workload today with just 3 to share the suffering. Hopes that Emil would be 10% shy on pace were pure fantasy as legs, lungs and heart all hollered mercy to Central Kialla. Col kindly calmed my convulsions with a less taxing turn to River Rd though I wondered where I'd find the fortitude to face the front, due again way too soon. Col saved me from certain implosion by driving on to the bridge.
It was far easier eastbound when given the reigns, almost reaching the quarter horse gates when thoughts of catching the tail said I needed a little left in the legs. Time to handover. Emil had a far kinder pace to hang onto as he dragged us to Coach Rd. Hooray! Help had arrived by way of a Rocket re-inforcement, the sole shop squad soldier (seems there's soft ones in that squad too!) Emil played the leader a little longer to One Tree Dam, Col doing the drive to the pub while I struggled to psych-up for another shift. It started ok crossing the highway though building up to the prior pace took more muscle than I thought, draining the rather small tank of wattage I'd started with. 500 metres later the tank felt empty. Burning the rectus femorus and gastrochnemius got me a little further and the psychological smoothness of Boundary Rd's tarmac made a moment of less stress, but the head wanted no part of going further than the fig farm. I just hoped Rocket had left the handbrake on! (of course he was compliant) The (now) southwester wasn't so subtle turning into Old Dookie Rd, Rocket's speed not so subtle either in the rush to Central Ave. Cloud cover made the morning darker than mid July, thankfully the temperature wasn't that way, Emil certainly keeping heat in the legs on the hurry to the truck route. I should be used to the continued charge into town, Col with all stops out to SPC and then some, those red leds of Vince and the Rabbit almost in his clutches was like a red flag to Col.
This week: 281km YTD : 1,626km
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