Yes , it was dark and cold on Monte Dural this morning, even Tigs the geriatric cat was unwilling to stir and used all claws to cling onto the heated geriatric cat mat rather than go out into the chill. A light overcast and southerly breeze, perfect conditions for a ride into town..just had to find a gap in the truck jam along Old Northern and it was out into the world of cold and pain.. Got tooted within the first 100 metres, and was buzzed by a B double heading into the dip at Hungry Jacks..so nearly killed twice in the first five kms..but YHC is not counting .. much.

605 rendezvous at Edward Bennett Drive.. Danny the Boy a DNS..was not going to hang around as 7C on the clock with a warmed sprint through the Dural Double dipper meant chill factor -10 ..a quick polish of the glasses and roll on..dawdled a bit up to Loftus and lo DtB chuffed by, I had to check the wheels for glass as the bike path was nicely smeared with a VB bottle..and DtB whooshed past. ( only to make sure TD pulled over and waited ) so the Band of ERs OTPe reached a quorum of 3.

TD was aboard the SS, Bundy built by Brownie, so rockets and the Cancellara motor being given a test run, watching his tail light disappear down Beecroft effortlessly. YHC and DtB selecting biggest cogs and smallest cogs to sprint after him. It was only when I checked Strava did I realise he had lead me out to a 5th place on the tunnel climb..nice.( he is of course KOM on that segment )

The rest of the ride for me was through a haze of hypoxia, having fried all the common sense on the easy bit, YHC actually hard to work to keep up and DtB provided the incentive as he seemed to float ahead just out of earshot so he could not hear me cursing. TD fell back and kept me company so OAFASR rules applied. The OTPe is an entertainment, humour and pathos all went into its design, there are parts of flat boring bits, interspersed with short climbs and traffic lights turn offs and shops so you are never left to cruise like a Melbourne commuter..the lights have hidden call buttons and refuse to change unless you apply brute force to the thing in the form of a left hook, followed by multiple palm slaps.. even then they keep you waiting a minute ..or 2 ok up to 3 mins at Lane Cove. ( YHC used these pauses to regain oxygen to the brain )

Before too long you arrive at the Scaramanga climb out, and suddenly it all looks like familiar territory, our peloton observed the Boundary riders all arriving at the Naremburn cafe, which gave us the idea to sprint for the B&T as ERs would be a good 5 mins behind..( refer earlier comments about temperature )

And then TD found a nicer commuter to hang out with as YHC and DtB were shredded through North Sydney, she was blond, blue eyed and on a Colnago.. no competition really. We regrouped at the top of the SHB stairs, and sprinted to B&T for a recovery coffee..

( and it was not long before the might of the ER megolaton arrived from all parts of town having amassed many 1000’s of combined pedalled KMs )

Returns are just as varied, YHC will be tasting the new flavours of M2 westbound.. a TT track hotmix and every contour in the landscape smoothed flat to perfection for a roll home.

Have a great day all

BT

The rain hammered the North Shore overnight and started to ease in the early hours.

The HMAWOTN (Hard Men And Women Of The North) started to wake just before they had gone to bed.  Many of the men turned to Boys and piked quicker than you could login and press a button (SatNav – don’t want to bring attention to you but that is the third one this week!!!) .  The Hard Women of the North (Magoo and Jenna) just smiled, took it in their stride and pedalled away.  Fortunately for those that can only focus on one thing at a time both Fore and Big Goaders represented the sex admirably.

www.willigetwet.com for the first time lied to me.  It showed big concentrations of rain passing over the Fluffer route but absolutely clear from 4.45am.  The potential cancellation was cancelled and a desire ‘not to go’ turned into a ‘should go, and when no one turns up I can head back to bed’.  This is clearly against the rumour that I, like SatNav, do not sleep……..

Heading into McCarrs it got cold – very cold………Magoo wanted something to help her warm up.  Top Secret: she now wants to install a ‘cyclist warming station’ in the regroup point at the bottom of McCarrs.  The patent will soon be pending.  Her belief is that if she gets one of the following installed all will be fine.

Sully

Just past Church Point Fore turned to head back to West Head and give it a bashing whilst the trio headed down the beaches.  The further south that we all got the more the sun refused to rise, the wetter it got and the colder it got.  The only thing that warmed everyone was the smiles and the camaraderie of the small peloton heading down the Pittwater Road.  Note: It was wet so Manly CC were not out.

A brief stop in Manly and we were off again, navigating safely through Sydney Road and up Pirrawi.  Magoo invents a new call – Not a ‘Regroup’, not an ‘Ease Up’; this one is good – ‘Wardrobe’.  Everybody will know that when someone shouts wardrobe you should drop everything and stop!!!  Quote of the day – ‘Can we get Frostbite this morning from the weather?’.  No Magoo you are safe today don’t worry.  A wet and dripping magoo takes off her gloves as her hands are cold.  After swapping some clothing with Big Goaders she is off again – warmer than before.

An on time delivery at the B&T to meet a sodden OTP of 10 riders huddled under the umbrellas.  Both Magoo and Jenna had headed North before the bridge to traverse the final ridges back to a warm shower at home.

This morning the shower at work was one of the nicest places to be.  On reflection it’s amazing how you can enjoy such horrible weather when you are with such great company.

Normal 5.15pm and 6pm returns this evening.  Please note the Allambie return will be cancelled due to Safety Reasons.  We will save an Allambie onslaught for another day.

If anyone finds a Sully to warm them up please let me know………

Regards

Big Goaders

Yep, about ten on the OTP this morning, including those who were willing to forego their preferred Fluffer route at the last minute in order to accompany and mentor some of the less experienced riders in the wet conditions on the main track into the city. Selfless martyrs all.

Only one incident to report, with Stealthy having somewhat of a wardrobe malfunction caused by using a little too much washing powder on the knicks, the dreaded “foaming butt in the wet” syndrome. Not really a problem for Stealth (who maintained he wouldn’t need a shower when he got to work), more so for those who had to ride behind him who may be scarred for the rest of the day. The upside was that he inadvertently cleaned his seat at the B&T, which was much appreciated by Vic and Sarah.

Everyone got a little wet, but it only served to make the coffee taste hotter and sweeter. For the newer members, these really are the days to aspire to joining the peloton, there is always a greater sense of camaraderie in the rain.

Have a good one all.

DT