Greetings all practitioners of the pedal.. and another perfect morning for a roll into the office.
The mercury atop Col Du Dural a balmy 9C with clear skies enough to appreciate the new moon and planet mercury before hypoxia removes those artefacts from sight. The New Line Road war continues a pace, YHC now opened up a correspondence with Hills Shire Council to beat them on the cycle for transport front…this mornings run punctuated by very few trucks but still finding a warm reception from the Ute brigade, no GOFTFR tokens but definitely a game of chicken being waged, how close to the bike can you drive..but I have to say most are beginning to leave me plenty of elbow room. Boundry road saw me dropped by a hooning cyclist, sprinting up the “Hoars Drawers” strava segment where I usually spin..he had the look of a man possessed so would probably scorn the “Easy” word emblazoned on the ER kit.
Rolling up the Fox Valley to join the bus, an on time departure according to the timetable nailed to the post with Bucky, Teflon, B1, Satnav and YHC making it a heavyweight peloton sufficient to stop the traffic between there and Gordon…of note was a trap for young players, there was a car that overtook the peloton only to realise suddenly a lack of petrol so full brakes required to make the entrance of the servo just before the Bobbin Head road..YHC left a little something on the road in the emergency stop which saw a 4X4 and 5 cyclists nearly pile into the back of him.
Gordon holding point already replete on arrival, a doughty bunch, various colours on show, well snapping at the bit to be away. YHC noticed how Bucky slides to the pole position, and is away at the stroke of 6:45, the launch into action before the Bazz has a chance to sound its horn. First hazard was a lady walking the dog, small terrier on chain trying to attack two Rottweilers sitting with their owner at the cafe…luckily a fence separated them, could have been an interesting contest. Bucky slowed to watch YHC being a little squeamish pedalled on quickly.
A swift transfer through to Roseville however a large pothole on Hill St grabbed Bucky’s rear wheel, and shortly thereafter he felt very deflated…there was a Californian puncture repair for Bucky on the turn into Archer, 1 to change the tube and 9 others to share the experience…needless to say the rest of the riders rolled on..YHC happy to watch on in admiration as reinflation operations took place.
Once back en route, every single available red light was red…strange how this happens but a good 10 minutes of wait time was thrown into the mix…tempting us to transgress the letter of the law..but as Zlatko’s ticket and Jimbeau can attest, it just ain’t worth it..
Coffee was well under way as the tail enders rolled in..but Vic squeezed out the beans in a timely fashion ensuring everyone got theirs in a jiffy.
I am informed the 5:15 is running to schedule and if the temperature remains clement, the 6pm will too, it seems that the mercury can affect the 6pm sending it off early if it falls below comfort levels.
Have a great remainder of the day.
BT