So, after munting my pedal last ride on the Rocky, I'd forgotten all about it, til I'm about to rush out and grab a last minute ride about 4ish this afternoon. "Oh, that's right, damn!" Slight change of plan, drive to hills via Torp7 where I'd spotted my pedals for $70. Bike in car, gear, forgotten anything, nah. Drive. Cross Glandovey Rd, "whooah, HELMET!" 4.15, Turn back, 5 minutes later, back on the road again. GRah. traffffffic... Make it to Torpedo about 4.30, grab pedals, in and out in 2 minutes. On the road again. Traffffffic. Finally get up Bowenvale Valley, and have to install the new pedals. 3 minute job. done. Check adjustment, none needed, yay! Get riding, 5pm.
Up the valley, puffing and chuffing getting more and more laboured the steeper it gets, ie, under the kowhais in full bloom (petals everywhere!) just before the gully. Then steeper still up through the trees. A lecky overtakes me at the turn off to Hidden Valley (bonus) track. Turn up, clean first, clean second, nicely tidied track along here, slightly wider, less tech than the past. Around into the pines, and really climbing now, bah, blew the first of the hairpins up here. Cleaned the 2nd and on up to the gate, feeling pretty okay.
Suspension onto middle setting, around under the pylons, then stop and full open mode for the rest. Bombing. Slow start but warmed into and no squirrels. New 'features' most of the way down. Pretty slow on the pumpy bit back the other way, and not very pumpy in the bits below that. Then there was pressure, in a couple of riders (miles back) behind me, thinking, "I hope I'm not so slow they catch me up." So, speed up a bit, bomb bomb bomb, swoop swoop, and out the bottom straight into the climb again. No sign of the other fellas.
Climbing again, once it gets steeper I'm starting to feel it now. Feeling more drained, and up the Hidden, 2nd hairpin makes me dab (cut corner too steep) but then cleaned the upper hairpins this time, but I'd had to stop just before them (in the pines) cos I was just about to puke. Calmed that and then cleaned them, but the sick feeling didn't go til after the stile.
Under the pylons, photos taken (timestamped 5.37pm) and got the bomb on. Nice fang this time, faster through all the bits that were slower earlier. Bomb bomb bomb. Sweet.
Out to the car and it was still not 5.45. Which was perfect cos I had to pick up O and Soph at 6 at the Rink.
Not a bad little 6 kms, with 279 m climbed.
Almost certain that's my last ride before Surgery on Saturday.
Up the valley, puffing and chuffing getting more and more laboured the steeper it gets, ie, under the kowhais in full bloom (petals everywhere!) just before the gully. Then steeper still up through the trees. A lecky overtakes me at the turn off to Hidden Valley (bonus) track. Turn up, clean first, clean second, nicely tidied track along here, slightly wider, less tech than the past. Around into the pines, and really climbing now, bah, blew the first of the hairpins up here. Cleaned the 2nd and on up to the gate, feeling pretty okay.
Suspension onto middle setting, around under the pylons, then stop and full open mode for the rest. Bombing. Slow start but warmed into and no squirrels. New 'features' most of the way down. Pretty slow on the pumpy bit back the other way, and not very pumpy in the bits below that. Then there was pressure, in a couple of riders (miles back) behind me, thinking, "I hope I'm not so slow they catch me up." So, speed up a bit, bomb bomb bomb, swoop swoop, and out the bottom straight into the climb again. No sign of the other fellas.
Climbing again, once it gets steeper I'm starting to feel it now. Feeling more drained, and up the Hidden, 2nd hairpin makes me dab (cut corner too steep) but then cleaned the upper hairpins this time, but I'd had to stop just before them (in the pines) cos I was just about to puke. Calmed that and then cleaned them, but the sick feeling didn't go til after the stile.
Under the pylons, photos taken (timestamped 5.37pm) and got the bomb on. Nice fang this time, faster through all the bits that were slower earlier. Bomb bomb bomb. Sweet.
Out to the car and it was still not 5.45. Which was perfect cos I had to pick up O and Soph at 6 at the Rink.
Not a bad little 6 kms, with 279 m climbed.
Almost certain that's my last ride before Surgery on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment