Picnic with the European Wasps
(maybe they were attracted to our yellow jerseys)
(maybe they were attracted to our yellow jerseys)
When I first announced that we would be meeting at Cardinia Dam for a special Easter Monday Ride I was rather surprised that so few of our riding members had ever visited the place. I tried to encourage them by telling them of the great views and the fun we would have doing multiple circuits across the main dam wall.
Although Mal had announced that he would be absent again (what else is news?) and Warren was going to be riding the Great Wall of China, it sounded like we could expect a good turnout of the remaining riders. I was especially looking forward to the impressive sight of seeing the famous Warby Riders entering my home town of Emerald.
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Picnic with the European Wasps (maybe they were attracted to our yellow jerseys) |
In spite of a small amount of confusion concerning the correct meeting point, by 11 am we already had a good attendance. Daryl had ridden all the way from Narre Warren, fueled no doubt by his own special diet of baked beans and hard boiled eggs. Peter, John, Richard & Ross were already resplendent in their jerseys and Bob was apparently busily riding all the way from Lilydale.
I had been a little worried about the number of other picnickers we might have to contend with on Easter Monday, but so far we had more European wasps than other humans to compete with. It was obvious that some of the riders were already eager to get on their wheels, so I gave the instruction to saddle up for our first loop over the dam wall.
"The support crew can help us keep a count of our laps", I suggested, suspecting that we should be able to do six or seven circuits before lunch. Three minutes later I was already bursting my lungs in my lowest gear, struggling to get up the 1 in 10 slope to the top of the dam wall. I knew we were in trouble when Peter pulled aside about half way to the top. "I think I will take a breather", he gasped, as the lactic acid was pulsing through his massive legs.
Peter Seamons, who had joined us for the day, was busily spinning on his inner chain ring, but starting to show the signs of his (young) age. As the peloton painfully fought its way to the summit we were already looking like a sorry and spent force. At this rate we would be lucky to reach the summit even once and we could certainly forget about my original plans for "multiple circuits".
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Daryl gasping for air at the top of the Dam |
John's infamous lament of "Why do we do this?" echoed mournfully across the hills as we struggled to stay upright on our bikes. The planet Mars has only about one third of the surface gravity of Earth - that sounds like the ideal location for our next ride!
Fortunately pride and perseverence triumphed over age and senility to find us all gathered at the top. At least the path across the Dam wall was horizontal and it was a welcome relief to cruise along while our heart rates returned to normal. While we were so occupied we noticed that Bob had finally arrived at the picnic area (now far below us). Although we yelled for him to ride up to join us he seemed somewhat the worse for wear as he hunched over his bike motionless.
With panoramic views in all directions this really is a great spot for a walk or ride. The sky was overcast but at least the rain looked like it would hold off for the remainder of the day. I stopped to admire the view but discovered to my horror that my left foot had become fused into my new cleats. As I wrestled my bike back and forth across the road, Daryl started shouting helpful instructions - "Try rotating both feet in different directions", "Pedal backwards with one foot and forwards with the other", "Keep your foot still and invert your bike in a clockwise direction". Ross added his own suggestion - "Try swapping your left and right feet next time you ride". This sounded more like a game of Bicycle Twister than a scientific method of decleating, but eventually I was able to break free and stand up.
Provoked by our goading comments, Bob belatedly decided to join us at the top and started out up the hill. I was greatly encouraged to see that he was also having difficulty making his way up the hill at anything like his usual 30 kph. In fact from where I was standing it looked more like 5 kph.
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Bob struggling up the 1 in 10 |
Fearing that Bob would eventually make it to the top, the rest of us decided that it was time to make the rapid descent back to the picnic ground for lunch. Hurtling down the road at near 70 kph we were happily oblivious to the sign that instructed motorists to keep below 40 kph.
Back down at Kangaroo Flat we enjoyed our lunches and hot drinks while we chatted and laughed with the support crews. I am sure that a large part of the enjoyment of any ride is due to the camaraderie that comes from spending relaxing times with those you love. With our beloved metallic companions with us it was hard not to be happy. Whoever said that a man's best friend is his Cannondale was pretty close to the mark. (I was glad that most of our support crew had come along also.)
After lunch we soon started to get itchy cleats. Although the ride was not originally planned until about 2 pm, we decided to leave before the park was overun by late arrivals. As we grunted and huffed our way back up the slope to the rear exit I tried to encourage the group by telling them that this was the only hill we would be facing (not entirely honest as it turned out).
The plan was to ride back to Upper Beaconsfield and then turn left and head to Emerald. Peter, Bob and Daryl got an attack of the DDs and decided to take the illegal short cut. Unfortunately for them the stewards saw their indiscretion and ordered them to return and complete the WHOLE circuit.
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The Peloton at Elephant Rock |
At Elephant Rock we gathered to allow the group time to refuel and enjoy the view. I noticed a mature lady watching us with some obvious degree of admiration and asked her if she would like to take our picture. I suspected she probably thought that we were preparing a Warby Ghost Riders calendar (maybe I would be Mr January?), but instead she took my camera and rudely asked "Have you ridden all the way from Upper Beaconsfield?".
I stared at her and informed her that we had in fact ridden all the way from "that Dam, right down there", pointing down to Cardinia Dam in the distance. "It was a fearful ride, full of huge mountains and other dangers", I added. "Not many have successfully completed it", I lied, trying to regain the upper hand. She looked at me strangely, reluctantly took the picture and ran back to her car. I realised that she had not even asked for the web site address so that she could order a calendar.
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Enjoying a new inrush of calories at the Bakery |
By 2 pm Ross, Bob and I were safely settled at the Emerald Bakery and by 2.30 all the others had arrived also. John had decided to add a little extra distance to his ride by taking a wrong turn at the roundabout and heading back to Cockatoo instead, but he did finally reach the correct destination. Richard had certainly earned his coffee and cakes after pedaling his knobby tired mountain bike over all those hills.
We were again joined by the support crew and enjoyed our time at what must one of the best bakeries in Melbourne. The presence of so many aggressive European wasps served to remind us, once again, that this must be something of a plague year.
The final event of the day occured when a group of us decided to ride down to Peter's shop to see what havoc we could cause. He certainly does have more toys than the rest of us - some things in life are just not fair.
All in all it had been another fun day, and now we look forward to meeting again for the Poowong Push in a couple of weeks.