Bruno - a 50 kg bolter if I ever saw one
It was certainly cold. Even with my leg warmers, arm warmers, ear warmers, two jerseys and a goretex jacket I was still freezing. Gathered with 9 other starters at Mullum Mullum Reserve at 9.00 am on a greay winter's morning my thoughts kept returning to how nice it would be to be still curled up under the doona. On the other hand I had been looking forward to this ride for some time, and I knew that, once we got going, we would soon start to warm up.
Although we usually wait for any latecomers, because of the arctic conditions, everyone was keen to get underway right on time. It did not take long for the early pace to pick up. Ross took us over Reynolds Rd and to the foot of a ferocious hillclimb. While I was selecting the right gear (I discovered that I did not have a gear low enough) a couple of others headed straight up the slope with more blind hope than common sense. About 2 metres up the slope Peter cascaded sideways off his bike, mumbling something about a "faulty cleat". This gave all the others adequate excuse to do a U turn and head back towards to bike path.
Further down the trail we picked up Hooters, Big Al and Jenny. About 1 hour into the ride we were all starting to get going, having finally thrown off the chill of the morning. As we were merrily crusing along our peace was interrupted by a huge explosion. At first I thought some bike hating local resident might have taken a shot at us with his shotgun, but the cries of anguish behind me soon alerted me to the true nature of the cataclysmic event. Bruno's front tyre had exploded with a vengeance, indicating that maybe it had not been such a good idea to put 180 psi pressure in a tyre rated for only 90.
|
Bruno - a 50 kg bolter if I ever saw one |
By the time I turned back to observe the aftermath, Bruno was already mumbling angrily and pulling the remains of his tyre from the wheel. Fortunately Peter was also present to help so I had to content myself with just standing nearby and offering constructive criticisms whenever required. A thorough investigation revealed the actual cause of the disaster - a small sharp splinter of rock was lodged in the wall of the tyre. Once this was removed and the tyre replaced and reinflated, we were back underway again.
It was obvious that there had been a considerable amount of rain in the area as the track was covered with numerous puddles of water and our bikes and backsides were soon librally coaked with a thick layer of mud. I discovered that one fringe benefit of having a rear pannier on the bike is that it acts like a rear mudguard. Although the pannier was filthy, the rear of my jacket remained relatively unscathed.
By 11 am it was time for our (first) lunch at the Ivanhoe Golf Club. This also gave us a welcome opportunity to huddle together in the warmth and have a bit of a chat. The previous evening I had put a notice on the Bicycle Victoria forum about our Queen's Birthday Ride and I was pleased to see that someone had onot only read the notice, but had taken a huge step of faith and come out to ride with us. Heather had driven across from Strathmore to join in th ride. She was a jovial lady who mixed in well and did not take long to pick up on the friendly banter that is so much a part of all of our rides. As the day progressed we also found that she was a very competent cyclist.
 |
Heather Hoggan - welcome to your first ride with the Warbies |
The route chosen by Ross includes a wide variety of trail surfaces, ranging from smooth bitumen through to muddy mountain bike paths. It also includes a lot of bridges, a small amount of road cycling and lots of interesting scenery. It is a perfect way to view Melbourne from a completely different perspective. For those of our iders who were doing this trip for the first time it is always an exciting experience. It also includes a fair share of hill climbs, although none of these climbs is very long, some are relatively taxing. For this reason Al and Jenny decided to cut their ride short and take a short cut back home, while the rest of us continued for the full circuit.
When we reached the velodrome (near Kooyong) we found that the entire track had been resurfaced with smooth bitumen. This was too good to resist so I lined up the riders and headed off to take them on a two lap warmup before letting them go for a sprint. Although I expected Bruno to blitz the field, in fact it was Lex that ended up winning by about a quarter of a lap.
After this diversion it was back on the bikes again for the next section which takes us under the Monash Freeway and alongside the Yarra River, before we arrived at the Fairfield Boat House for our (second) lunch. Cycling and talking always makes me hungry, so it was nice to be able to settle down for a lengthy rest while we enjoyed a calorific refuelling stop. Although the sky was still mostly grey overhead, the rain had held off and the temperature had grudgingly risen into double digits.
 |
The entire peloton gathered for afternoon lunch at Fairfield Boat House |
The final leg of the 90km circuit took us back along the Eastern freeway, though Westerfolds Park and back to Springvale Rd. As is traditional for this final section, the pace increased with some of the riders having trouble controlling their testosterone levels. With horns blazing, hearts pumping and legs a churning we flew over hill and dale, grimly holding on to the wheel in front. By this stage we were all well and truly warmed up and it was a fine way to complete what had been a most enjoyable day's ride.
We arrived back at Mullum Mullum Reserve at about 3.30 pm, with still plenty of daylight left. Our muddy bikes were a sad sight, but all our riders were feeling on top of the world.