The champagne was on ice today as the post Anzac Dawn service commenced…traffic at Dural much reduced due to the “weekend” starting on Wednesday in true Aussie tradition.

I departed the slopes at my usual time but the bike turned left towards Galston by mistake, the clear air, and perfect conditions just too hard  to resist , and being a few minutes behind schedule meant a chaffer was in order to arrive on time .. took it a bit easy down into the gorge, I don’t mind the dark but really would hate to come off in dry conditions with mostly the Ute brigade for company. As it was I managed to climb out faster than usual, and collected only a couple of “GOTFR” trophies from the knuckle draggers.

Rolling through Hornsby it was clear my efforts were not sufficient to make the OTP by the appointed hour, so it was down the Pacific driveway to Chatswoo’ in the hope of making the KOM before the peloton arrived. All plans seemed to be thwarted as traffic lights turned red on my approach, making progress a frustrating stop start affair, eventually found Mowbray rd and headed into the Tinadale dip at terminal velocity..only to have to jam on all ancors at the bottom to let a large black SUV have right of way as the thing did not look or stop. Once onto the SUP fresh bike tracks indicated that the stampede was ahead, again thwarting a plan to be waiting at the top of Scaramanga with the camera. And once more the threshold of pain being breached to make the catch on the second slope, Comet providing a backstop and excuse to turn off the steam.

A pleasant roll through the Burlington sprint, followed by a sedate coast along Millar and then the usual SHB thrash to the B&T, for double shot of the b/s and coffee…noice one.

Returns flights are scheduled to depart at the usual times, no discounts for showing up early but you may enjoy the ride more in the light.

Have a great one all
BT

The BOM was spot on, what else did we really expect, an overcast and
foggy morning that was DRY!!!

A staggered start at the blocks, the initial groupetto comprising of
Bam, Drastic, Admin, Harry and YHC ready for the off at 6.30am. Satnav
had alreadt texted a no show – you were up at 5.30am mate so you
should have just kept going – so we gave it 2 mins for stragglers
before turning the pedals.

Bam Bam off to his usual single speed start – fast – and Mona Vale was
being eaten up. Vague sounds of Drastic calling for an ‘ease up’ but
at the gate there was talk of him wanting a recovery spin prior to
Bathurst Hill Climbing Champs Saturday and Blayney to Bathurst on
Sunday but it was Drastic afterall so that was ignored. After more
vigorous shouting we realised that Michael had just reached the start
as we had left and was trying to bridge the gap!

Bam Bam did eventually ease up, but unfortunatley completely,
puncturing after the Show Ground Berg which gave both Michael and the
running Zlatko the chance to hop on before we were back on the pedals.

A foggy and incident free roll through Forest Way to Allambie, ride
master Drastic forewarning the newbies of the sharp left – right- stop
the end and Bam Bam forewarning them not to follow Drastic as he has a
tendency to get lost on Allambie. A perfect descent marred by a slow
moving station wagon but at the bottom were we greeted by the sun and
all was forgiven, we were at the beach.

The full cycle path variation this morning, including the loop through
the park and the underpass – as we cleared the Surf Club we were
greeted by one of the world’s best views – no not my backside, Manly
Beach, Sun, Waves, Sand and scantily clad beach folk for all
(diversity is to be celebrated).

Drastic led us along the Clutters Manly Exit, straight up a wall but
much quieter than Sydney Street, and then through the Spit and Mosman.
No traffic to be seen in the suburbs of the rich & famous, suburban
cycling at its best and finally finished with the heart starter over
the bridge to catch the OTP convoy leaving the B&T.

A cracking start to a sunny Friday, departures for the GG suggested
from 4pm onwards – I will be hoping to catch the 5.15 SHBS.

Schleck

Comrades of the Pedal

Last night i was foolish enough to describe the ride home in Strava as ‘The Big Wet’.  Foolish, for as quick as a Flash, Gerhard Falsh of the North Sydney Polytechnical Institute of Linguistics slapped me down and suggested that no, the weather home that night had been ‘tortential’. What could this brilliant Neologistic contrivance be signifying? – torrential but with potential for worse? Exponentially tortuous – so that the farther one rode, the worse it became?  No matter, as I feel certain that this mornings weather conformed to the Falsh’s definition of ‘tortential’ – it was peeing it down.  I know this because on morning’s such as this Madame Half races down the stairs before i exit, nostrils flaring, to declare “you cannot be serious…?”.  Oh yes, Madame Half, I can – we can.  we have imbibed Rule #9 – we know that other “Baddasses” will be present and thus “We Ride”.

well it was all a bit of an anti-climax getting out there.  after the deluge of 6.25ish, the weather seemed to have settled – so much so that Gillet was selected over rain jacket for the mornings spin.  this was merely one misjudgement amongst a number on this rainy morn.  Heading towards Treatts Road the once proud ER peloton passed me hurtling down Lindfield Ave – i spied the Stealth, Schleck, B1, Bammers, Chippo, be-sandaled in a hopeless act of contrarian defiance against the weather, and an unfamiliar figure from around these parts, who apparently goes by the name Satnav. and that’s about it.

Lindfield: nice and dry.  Couple of drops at Roseville whereupon we picked up WBA. Deluge by Boundary Street – Tortential indeed.  Chippo’s smile, turned to the kind of maniacal grin that only a velominati follower can muster. From there to Scaramanga we gingerly made our way past assorted muggles, jogging, walking.  KOM was the kind of non-event to be recommended on days such as these – i feel certain there was a contest as by naremburn 1/4 had joined the fray.  No idea what happened, as i was proud holder of the Lantern Rouge a l’arriere du peloton.

on up onto West Street – hiss, pop Satnav throws his now customary snake bite.  Must have shares in Conti Tyres mate.  Fortunately for all concerned, the incident occurred roughly adjacent to the Lingerie Shop which invited passers by to “lay by” for a look or otherwise oggle the assorted items on display. for once the puncture fixing routine seemed to be faster than usual and it was clearly with some regret that the peloton moved off to catch up with the forward group that was already installed at B+T

No dramas thru North Sydney, over the bridge and onto terra firma by the observatory – whereupon a puddle of Lake Eyre proportions confronted us.  WBA thought he spied safe passage onto the pavement.  His conviction that a nice little ramp would see him clear was unfortunately unfounded.  In tune with the spirit of the “Roubaix” monikered item he was riding, WBA undertook a spectacular double somersault with a 3.2 difficulty. Bike went over backside and ignominy was complete  as WBA swapped Rapha jacket for swimming trunks sitting in the middle of the offending puddle.  Cameras unfortunately not forthcoming to capture the action. Pride a lot worse dented than knee i believe.

B+T news – Satnav had an interesting story about how he came to acquire 4 or was it 5 steel frames whilst on hols in Melbourne.  Fortunately members of the Royal Victorian Constabulary were not present to hear some cock and bull story about being given leave to jump over some poor blokes fence in an act of mercy to acquire said frames.  if anyone reads about missing Colnago masters, Pinarellos etc. down south you didn’t hear it here first.

the weather promises to be tortential for the ride home.  I’m aiming at a 5.15.  Brings your paddles, snorkels and swimming trunks.

hasta la vista

1/2

YHC is staring down a tortuous path towards being fit enough to attack and conquer the Etape du Tour, so it is becoming clear some actual pedalling has to take place, not a reduced “recovery” from the 3 peaks…but some real ball chaffing effort which TSS has neatly set out on “the spreadsheet”.  Looking into the radar scope this morning and seeing a clear sky with the odd purple patch to the south and east, it was “on”…rain jacket to hand..but “on”

Driving over to Gordon…a light refreshing shower blowing in from the south…and strapping  on the all the gear in the car park while the HMOTN rolled up for the second best way. The mood was rather grim, but that was just me, the rest were all chomping on the bit to get into ride…Bullet(le) , RTG, Phantom, Chris, Jim,Stealth, Schleck, Falsh, Admin, YHC , ( there were a couple more but fading memory is just one of my many failings)  rolled out on a slightly early call…not wanting to stand around in the rain, and so onto the one true path.

Every morning there is a car dropping off kids at the pedestrian crossing and this morning was no exception, having just rolled out and then slamming on the brakes to avoid this hazard reminds one that white lines and metal grates are not to be messed with when covered in a mil or two of the wet stuff. The brakes feeling a little less effective too…but then YHC avoids these conditions when common sense takes hold.

Over the hills of death down the Col de Lindfield conditions improved which made for near perfect pedal commuting, an easy pace, plenty of banter, cool but pleasant under all the plastic wrapping, and keeping up with Schleck who was resplendent as usual in the full Rapha regalia.

Regroups were brief and punctuated by RTG shouting for a rolling start as he swept past, Lantern Rouge usually being the hindmost but today he was happy to ride amidships..the lights along Archer being quite kind this morning meant no delays to worry about and RTG got a running start at the KOM…1/4 of course and Schleck barging to the front looking for a jersey, conditions not being ideal for a stouch. KOM from my perspective started after they had finished, but I am now building capability by seated climb and big ringing it, I will be a contender I tell myself ..but not today.

Meanwhile storm clouds were gathering….

Crossing the bridge and using it as another opportunity to ratchet up the heart rate to near fatal  levels it was a swift transfer to the B&T amid a small but persistent shower…once of course the coffee was served outside, the heavens opened and a curtain of rain closed across the door of our watering hole…so for the first time in ER history coffees were consumed in the air conditioned comfort of the cafe. WBA and DLHK rolled in ahead of the front, both exceedingly well equipped for the conditions…it seems there is both style and panache to be had in wet weather gear.

YHC had to make an early departure, stepping into the wall of water and thence onto York St dodging busses and cars, a small river forming along the gutter making for a wet left foot at the lights…hmmm I am still not convinced this is a fun and essential experience, but the 4 peaks are looming large and I have finished all my HTFUs…

Tickets all a bit damp but on sale for the usual returns, looking forward to it already.

Have a good one all

BT

Well the champagne was on ice today, as the southerly changed a nice balmy Easter weekend into the first little taste of Autumn. Definitely more Irish Stew than Salmon Salad today, to be sure.

A Gall Stone for me on my lead up to the 4 peaks still smarting from the flogging through the beaches on the weekend, no incidents to report,  except it is still dark on the lower reaches and a rooster was in full cry at the bridge, he was probably still on the daylight saving time as there was certainly nothing to fade his curtains at that time.

Tapping out and through Hornsby there was the usual back to work crowd, and hitting the bump south of Turra my $30 back light decided to spread itself all over the highway…a five minute interlude watching with curiosity to see if any driver was going to finish the job of flattening it…as the answer was no, I managed to retrieve the bits and pocket them, with Stealth’s assistance to block oncoming traffic…and thence a swift transfer to the launch point at Gordon.

A clutch of ERs already shivering in the chill waiting for the off…accreting a few more to bring it to a bakers dozen by the Barry O Clock..which steadfastly refused to arrive and launch us forth…a bell rang after a good 2 minute wait with still no Barry (doing a Christina )…and Schleck took the bull by the horns and attacked the
Hills of Death.

The Roll of Honour ??? Bullet (le), PD, BT, Stealth, Comet, Goose FM , Rexona, Schleck, Falsh, Chippolini, Jim, ¼, Crushant, bambam, all turning the pedal on the second best way today…( if I have missed anyone my apologies )

KOM was hotly contested…the lead being initially by Goose, nicely halted by a dear old gent who stopped at the bottom on the slope into Artarmon Park…overwhelmed at the wave of ER jerseys , flashing lights and shouts of Bike up, slowing ….STOPPING…as he froze like a rabbit in the headlights. The peloton washed past and suddenly it was ¼ in the lead, YHC on second wheel, Bambam and the assault team making their way to the front of the bunch while veering around walkers, riders, dogs, and debris…on the first slope it was ¼ , Bambam chewing on his rear wheel, nothing but clear air ahead, on slope two it looked like a Renshaw shoulder barge and head butt was needed to separate them, YHC could not call the winner yet, on slope three it looked like ¼ by a nose but a a photo needed to confirm. YHC was overtaken as usual by the bunch on slope 3..pretensions always well punished.

No contest for the Col de Crow’s nest, and a regroup to collect all for the scramble to the SHB…Traffic once again a reminder that not everyone enjoys their commute as much as we…Busses and 4X4s making a wide road seem narrow as we filtered through, and on to the SHB…

Chilled rapidly so B&T agenda put on hold, for the quickest coffee of the year, departure was 7:48.. no doubles or second rounds, but return tickets being touted for all the usual times.

Have a great one all…looking forward to the 5:15 already.

BT ( Jenny Craig )

Perhaps the best Clutters Flutter yet with apologies to Rob and welcome to Zlatko. It was certainly the quickest according to Strava. How I came out as KOM is a mystery known only to the Strava computers as Clutters comprehensively smashed me over the bridge. I would have said “I am not Quarter – I’m not going to attack up the bridge slope” but he was gone before I could draw breath. The Strava result must be pay back for Clutters taking out the OTP crown in spite of being second off the bridge that day.

Back to the Flutter, a late start due to YHC who was a good 7 minutes late at Snives followed by a quiet run up to Terrey Hills. A dark but safe descent of Akuna with Clutters making an early break. The climb out had Clutters attack with about 1 km to go with the Panache of many a great Tour rider. Unfortunately I couldn’t be the Gerrans to his Nibali so let him go.

A quick run around the beaches with the sun coming up over the ocean and a few regulars who I now recognise out for their morning runs. Unfortunately, no yogis to report at Manly this time around. A big attack on Cluttersberg(TM) at the end of White St put me a disappointing 27th on the Strava leader board but this was followed but a better version of the Clontarf deviation. Parriwi started slowly but kept building and building as Clutters turned from Nibali to Cancellara with Zlatko and I struggling to hang on.

Only CW and OS left at the B&T when we arrived. Both were deep in conversation and continued to be so for the duration of our coffees and subsequent departures. OS admitted that everyone else had left as soon he arrived, maybe something to do with the hole in his knicks, or maybe not. He later betrayed himself by dropping his train ticket, pictures from CW will be posted unless the blackmail funds are left in a brown envelope under the second planter from the left.

Zlatko acquitted himself admirably this morning holding on comfortably to the quickest Flutter yet. It is about time some more of you gave it a go.

Drastic.