'All my family only have left ears'. It certainly was a unexpected claim, but he said it with such conviction that I had no choice other than to accept it as fact. Up to that time the only similar cases I could bring to mind were those of Chopper Reid who had no ears (through his own undoing) and the famous case of Davy Crockett who had no less than three ears (the left ear, the right ear and the unusual 'wild front ear'). I had now been introduced to a whole dynasty of Drowleys who were all severely aurally unbalanced.
We were gathered at Queenscliff after our Annual Bellarine Peninsula ride, busily discussing just how much fun the ride had been, when this strange fact came to light. All during the ride Russell had managed to overcome his obvious hearing challenge by equipping himself with the latest high tech wizardry. By combining the best elements of Blue Tooth electronics and Star Wars Technology he looked like something straight off the bridge of the starship Enterprise, rather than a potential Ghostrider. The only problem was that the microphone for Russell's amplified wireless superdooper electronic eartrumpet was safely embedded under the front of Mal Doswell's jersey. This meant that every time we wanted to say anything to Russell we had to talk directly into Mal's navel. It made for some interesting stares from those watching us.
One thing that was universally agreed on was that the 2008 Bellarine had been probably the most enjoyable of all the times we had ventured down to this delightful part of Victoria. We had been blessed with blue skies and temperatures in the low 20s. Even the wind, which can sometimes make this ride quite challenging, was quite gentle. In fact it would have been impossible to devise more pleasant riding conditions than those we had enjoyed. When you combine ideal riding conditions with a wonderful kaleidoscope of ocean and inland views, you have the perfect recipe for a great day on the bike.
Earlier in the day, as I made the drive down to Queenscliff for the start of the ride, I was not sue if I was going to be able to complete the ride at all. Two days earlier I had made the mistake of playing an energetic game of beach football with two of my sons and, since then I could not put any weight on my right ankle. Since I could hardly walk the steps up to my front door I had serious doubts about my ability to complete a 90+ km ride, but I was nevertheless willing to give it a go. I was only hoping that the pace would not be too demanding, else I would be dropped from the peloton within the first couple of kilometres.
After arriving at the appointed starting point I kept an eye out for Phil Jones (who was the scheduled convenor) for the ride. In the meantime Peter and Andrew arrived after having made the convoluted decision to drive to Sorrento and then catch the ferry across to Queenscliff. With Bill Vandendool, John Bird, Mal Doswell, Russell Drowley and myself the peloton was starting to build into all all male affair. It was also great to see Bernard along for his second ride with the Ghostriders. This guy is as skinny as a beanpole, an impressive hill climber and seems to be enjoying his outings with us.
When it became obvious that Phil had forgotten about the ride we set off without him. I used this as an excuse to take up a position at the front since 'I knew the route'. The real reason was so that I could keep the pace down and see how my ankle would hold up. I was pleased that,although I could not put much pressure on the right leg, it was not as painful as walking had been. We all set off in high spirits and were soon battling our way up the succession of small but steep climbs near Ocean Grove. It was here that my Christmas dinner and sore ankle combined to quickly send me to the back of the group as the smaller hill climbers surged to the front.
Fortunately the early hills are not too challenging and we found ourselves all arriving at Barwon Heads together. We rode straight to the traditional coffee shop and, in spite of the large number of people about, we were able to secure a table and carry out some interesting experiments on Russell's amazing multitalented hearing paraphernalia. He went on to tell us it cost $1700 to buy. Just as I was feeling thankful that I did not have to pay for it, he cheerfully explained that it was funded by the government and that, in fact, we had all paid for it in our taxes. No wonder he was so jovial about the cost.
After an extended and most enjoyable rest in Barwon Heads we again remounted for the flat loop around the coast before recrossing the causeway back to Ocean Grove. With the smooth surface and the delightful conditions the pace increased somewhat (it is amazing just what a beneficial effect that caffeine has on everyone's performance).
At Ocean Grove we veered North towards the Bellarine Highway. There are a few rolling hills in this section but a gentle tail wind helped propel us along without a worry in the world. It was only after we turned onto the Highway that the air was rent with a loud crack, indicating that someone had suffered a puncture. The sad look on Bernard's face indicated that it was he who had been struck down by the fickle hand of cycling fate. I looked on the bright side and reminded him that at least none of the real Ghostriders had punctured.
Bernard's face fell more when he examined the puncture and found that the tyre had actually ruptured, meaning that it would need to be replaced as well as the tube. They say that one man's meat is always another man's poison and this was certainly the case here. Peter, who had been carrying a spare tyre for just such an occasion as this, could hear the potential jingle of his bulging cash register, and proceeded to drive a hard bargain with our unfortunate punctured probationary rider. Personally I thought that $300 for a tyre was a little steep, but I guess that it was a seller's market after all. Ten minutes later we were underway again and starting to think of lunch. Fortunately there were no other punctures or mechanical problems experienced for the rest of the ride.
|
|---|
| Bernard fits the new $300 tyre provided by Peter |
The next section of the ride takes in a short section of the rail trail and a couple of riders with spotless plastic bikes took a look at the gravel surface with sorrowful looks in their eyes. I explained that it was an essential part of the day's experience and nothing to be concerned about. They did not seem to believe me, but everyone managed to survive without undue difficulty. Once we emerged from the trail at Drysdale it was a short and fast ride to the lunch stop at Portarlington. Unfortunately for those more gravitationally challenged, this section also contains the succession of climbs known as 'Scotchman's Hills' before the fast final couple of kilometres to the shops.
Lunch was a most enjoyable break and a chance to see how we were faring time wise. It was encouraging to see that we were well ahead of our normal schedule, although we still had the final 30 km to complete, most of which was going to be upwind. When the time came to resume the ride we bunched close together and used good teamwork to make sure that everyone was comfortable. This really helped us all to enjoy this marvelous part of the coastline. Although my ankle was feeling OK, my backside decided that it had had enough and started reminding me that I had not done anywhere near enough riding over the past few months.
 |
|---|
| Some of the peloton gathered near the beach - Sat Dec 27th 2008 |
Once we turned off from the coast the wind moved to the side and allowed us to increase the pace a little. It is a little deceptive but this road climbs steadily to the final crossroads where we turn left and head back to Queenscliff. You can then enjoy a high speed final sprint back towards the end of the circuit. The last few times we have done this ride we have missed the final turnoff onto the bike trail, but this year we managed to find it and followed the delightful rail trail all the way down to the quaint little station at the end. Thomas the Tank Engine was waiting at the station, surrounded by a crowd of excited children. It was a unique way to end a fantastic ride. All that remained was to turn back to town and ride to our waiting cars.
Since four of the riders were completing this ride for the first time I asked them how they would rate it. The response was unanimous – ten out of ten. I checked the watch to see how long the trip had taken and was pleasantly surprised to find that we had completed to 97 km ride a full 45 minutes ahead of schedule. That gave us plenty of time to wander up to the shops to get a Scandinavian ice cream – the perfect end to a perfect ride.
While talking to Russell (or more accurately, while talking into Mal's navel) after the ride he expressed a desire to get a new cycling group started to cater for the needs of those in the Northern suburbs. Tentatively called the Northern Ghostriders the new group would arrange a regular calendar of rides, as well as joining us for some combined rides during the course of the year. Watch out for developments in this regard.
With the 2008 cycling year now officially completed I could look forward to planning and dreaming up our adventures for the new year. Happy new Year everyone !