Seven BG's gathered in the City in defiance of the weather forecast. A quick check of the radar showed that the rain would arrive well after midday so it was a good chance for a ride.The consensus was that a cold front bringing 60 kph northerlies would make a Cudlee Creek ride treacherous to say the least. We opted to do Outer Harbor as we calculated that a hard slog into the wind to Outer Harbor would be amply rewarded by a tailwind back to Glenelg and if the front arrived during coffee we could expect a tail cross wind home down Anzac Hwy.
We set off down Port road with our friends in the traffic control center giving us every red light in the city. Alf dropped off to take his usual short cut and unknown to rest of us got a nail through his tyre. Once that was fixed he then got a three corner jack. When he got his phone out to call a taxi, his coffee money blew away. Not sure which of the cycling gods he offended. He didn't have a great day out but as he said he still got his exercise....chasing his coffee money.
We formed a tight paceline into the wind down Victoria Terrace. It was a thing of beauty and we averaged 33kph into the wind. The dust was getting worse and everyone was having a cough after they rolled off the front. I was drinking more from a mouthful of grit than from thirst.
As a result of the conditions the pace line stayed together and I found myself in the unfamiliar position of being on the front at the final corner. Carpe Diem! Seizing the rare opportunity I put the hammer down and went for it. The result predictably was dead set last but I was having a huge amount of fun in the process.
From Outer Harbor we could no longer see the hills as they were shrouded in dust. The tailwind was welcome relief getting back for coffee. We can confirm that Esca has no cake so we have officially moved to Veloce Paninoteca for the time being.
After a quick check of the weather radar by Mike we set off home down Anzac to beat the cold front. The wind direction had changed and it was now a much less gritty cross tail. We were all home around 11:00am well before any weather.
So it pays to ride the info not the forecast.
See you next week
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| Cudlee Creek Abort - This dust was all from the Pinery fire ground |
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| In contrast the Giro Stage 14 - Wow! |
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| Ah the Giro! |
