This Sundays ride will be Brian's TDU Reconnaissance. Brian hasn't decided on a route but as usual there will be lots of escape options for those that need to be home early.
Meet in the City at 7:30 am
The full TDU Route is here http://www.strava.com/routes/5684530
Sunday Ride Report - Riders on the Storm
Eight BG made no excuses and arrived for the club ride last Sunday. We had all checked the weather and figured it was slow moving and we would get to coffee at least before anything hit.
Suffice to say what started as Calm winds and Humid had developed into a significant but not scary headwind and humid by the time we reached Victoria Parade. Brian wasn't there but we didn't need to be told and started a pace line. Our pace line was thing of beauty, no shirkers, smooth and given the wind reasonably rapid. Brian would have dried a tear.
The pace line was functioning perfectly when about a kilometre from the first turn we were hit by a howling gale. The pace slowed but we kept it together working hard trying to get to everyone to the turn through alternate showers and dust.
We thought the turn would bring some relief, boy was that a mistake. When we took that slight left turn which is basically a turn from North to North West we were hit by 83 kph winds blowing from the NNW. In one sphincter clenching moment all eight of us shifted sideways and had to hang on to the bikes for dear life. The Pace Line was totally destroyed as everyone tried to get some separation. We know the wind speed because Mike Tilley checked the BOM website. Through some exceptional bike handling we all stayed upright .
However nothing stops the sprint for Outer Harbor glory although this one goes down as the slowest ever recorded with Mike Tilley taking it out while sprinting full pelt at 18 kph. You realise if it was calm he would have been doing 65 kph.
To say our trip back down the beach with the tail wind was rapid is the understatement of the century. I the "Captain Slow" of the BG was touching 50 kph at one point on Military Road while watching the rest of the group pull away.
Discretion is the better part of Valour, so we abandoned at Henley had coffee and rode home.
