Having had a good month off the tyranny of the alarm clock, this morning’s wakeup call seemed to hurt more than usual. Adrenal exhaustion from jet lag crashing into the fatigue of getting up before going to bed and the epic suffer scores from yesterday’s rides all playing a part, the only consolation being a Friday morning and for the fortunate in financial services, a bank holiday Monday long weekend.

Into the car to transfer to Gordon, inside a warm 28C outside a chilly 8C , turning into the carpark fully expecting to genuflect before the Captain, and tug the forelock to a brace of FMs I can only say that it was business as usual along the one true path with all the usual suspects..the FMs must have been on the Rhodes Rubaix, to admire C.hippo’s luscious new Specialized.

9 of the ER brethren on the OTP, managing a punishing pace for the Friday roll, as soon as the BOF appeared it was business as usual in every way, Stealth off the front pedalling at a 200 cadence to take the first hill at least half a kilometre in front of the tail draggers, Satnav and crew probably enjoying wit and pithy commentary at a normally aspirated cruise, whereas YHC felt the urge to give chase and wind the heart rate up to just short of cardiac arrest level. The initial flush of enthusiasm wearing off by the Rawhiti sprint however and normal sociable interaction resumed from there. Very pleasant conditions for the commute, a bright if not warm sun, slight westerly wind and the usual back slapping camaraderie thrown in for luck. Chatswood managed to hold up proceedings with the fat controller on the lights making sure that the peloton was stopped three times in 500 metres. Rolling regroup atop Tindale for an HB lead charge into the valley of death towards a very gentlemanly KOM. Derek McDerek cresting unchallenged for the jersey, Bullet(le) providing a draught for YHC to fill the other podium places. Derek was through the Burlington sprint first to claim the green jersey too, the main peloton bunched at the lights of Chandos St unable to do much but watch on and rue what might have been. Regroup at the top of Crowies there now being a dozen aboard, ½ , WBA, TFS, all making their appearance, and into the next light filled sector of North Sydney and the shambles towards the Harbour bridge. Today’s challenge of the day was to topple Bullet from the Lavender St KOM made more difficult by a strategically placed Post van for a road block into the first downhill. Only Strava can say how this attempt went, but Bullet fired on all barrels showing the peloton some style and panache.

B&T was also on form, sending the finest quality coffee our way into the unheated front of house seats. A pedestrian Captain arrived vowing to pedal at some point in the near future although apparently the economy needs his assistance this week or else the national GDP figures will crash bringing down the government, and starting a run on the RBA…such is the affect of our galactic CEO, planets have been known to change their orbit in his presence. Serious business of the day however was the 100th TDF ER tour…Tormey Tours will be engaged to ensure a ripsnorting time will be had by all so book your place soon..tickets will be on sale shortly.

A GG bus is scheduled to depart the SHBS at 5:15 but as free beer has been trumpeted by our very own Ravi the grate from 5:30 I am sure there will be some early birds.

Have a great day all…
BT

Morning all

Yes, they can be spotted a mile off with such trained eyes as those within the ER Peloton. Even without C.Hippo’s guidance.

Awaiting in full expectation was our newboy Andrew “not the rugby” Blades – in brilliant white, awaiting any passers by going his way. He jumped on the back of our 15 strong peloton with glee, and the rest was history. Henceforth known as Virgin, for the kind consideration of our our FM naming committee. Zlatko proposed “Angel” but that sounded marginally more complimentary, so Virgin herewith proposed.

(rewind) A brisk morning at the Fox Valley Road meeting point for our West of the Highway sect – just B1 and myself. Regular contender Teflon not seen, presumably still recovering from being told “where to go and how best to get there” from a little altercation on the SHB last night. Our two new Mark’s promising return soon, and RTG still working out how to address the quip yesterday of having both a Pinarello and a Volvo (there’s a few others in that basket mind you….)

Much excitement and anticipation of BT’s return; amounted to nothing as he was apparently late all the way through, and had to suffer Contador’s company by way of penalty…..

Stealth looking for a softer cassette – anyone have a 32 at the top end that can assist our man with spinning a bit more freely?

Bullet sporting his trial-by-chamois knicks – gave a detailed account of his experience at the B&T to the 20 odd or so who braved Vic’s lack of patio heaters. Coffees in the duplicate taken for only the hardened….

Formations taking shape already for the 5.15pm and 6pm entourages northbound.

Have a good one all.

Regards

Mark/Satnav

Morning all

Smashing day for the spin in with only 25 or so out on the pedals to enjoy it.

Many newbies and recent joiners taking the strain; welcome to Marks x 2 from the West of the Pacific Highway Sect; Andrew from Chatswood, Ian from Gordon, John from Macquarie (sorry mate not sure where you start) – all safely mingling in with the seasoned campaigners.

C.Hippo not disclosing the make date or weight of his replacement frame, due to hit these shores later this week. Trust it will adorn the tomato and egg colours for full effect.

B1 Chris complaining of a whipping on the return journey last night at the pedals of BamBam, who’s still operating on one lung. BamBam thought it was the other way around so a stewards enquiry should confirm.

Bullet’s Strava record along Lavendar remains intact. Just putting it out there in case anyone feels inclined to give it a poke.

Awaiting BT’s return from the Pyrenees – looking forward to another Chavanel bidon to add to Bullet’s sacred shrine. Ditto Phantom.

Our Simba rumoured to be recovering well – broken shoulders feigned by the peloton on hearing a female-delivered sponge bath has been necessary for the last month or so. Look forward to your return mate.

The B&T overflowing this morning, standing room only for WBA by the time he got there; dejected, he headed off to issue more patent infringement notices.

(Almost)FTOTM Lunch Club today – remember it’s a new venue – all welcome. Sir Lunchalot issuing terms and conditions shortly.

Normal departure services tonight; 5.15pm and 6pm from SHB South – be sure to keep an eye out for any of our many newcomers to ensure safe passage. Anyone going at alternate times pls ping an email around to find a fellow journeyman, sorry person.

Have a good one all.

Yours in spreadsheets.

Mark/Satnav

Morning all

Slightly brass out and about this morning but not near enough to dissuade the 7 combatants in the barriers at Gordon.

The only incidents to report were (i) Bucky suffering some form of chain mechanical on Scaramanga, later reported by Crashant as being “the result of poor workmanship”, and (ii) my cappucino being spilt on arrival at the B&T.

Stealth was in his now-typical Friday “off the wall” mood which was enjoyed by all. WBA mentioned still extracting desert sands from places we did not enquire. Schleck suggesting the ER Country Tour in October should take in Wilson’s recent jaunt to Newcastle (thence to the Hunter). Derek’s speech was frozen until consumption of first pot of tea. FM Coops suggesting Wiggins wasn’t actually born in the UK. DT looking the part in the Axel Rose bandanna. Agro sharing his views that the Thpanith banking thector ith thtuffed.

Clyde spotted on the return leg of his BEWDIJ challenge, riding back up Miller Street even though he’s having the day off – 100% hit rate so far, well played mate.

Brownie spotted wheeling the track machine up Market Street in prep for the first installment of Raw Track tonight.

New boy AAAndy making his first recruit after only being with us himself for a fortnight – welcome mat out to (very) new boy Graham.

The Strava 6000m crew will be out in force again at sparrows this Sunday morn – all EOI’s to Stealth.

Coffee consumed in the duplicate and off to the office we sped, well crawled.

The 5.15pm is the only bus running on Friday evenings – Derek suggesting the Groin being the first stop.

Can’t wait to BT’s return to get some quality back in to the ride reports.

Have a good one all.

Mark / Satnav

There is a very short distance we cyclists have to cover in order to become champions, YHC has spent many hours grappling with this distance, it is perhaps the hardest distance to traverse but once mastered there is very little that can get in the way of cycling nirvana…of course I am referring to the distance between the ears…an infinite universe compressed into about 15cms of physical space…but filled with demons and dragons, defilements and determination. So being awake at the appointed hour and noting through the window not a hint of cloud, thus perfect weather for a ride to the office, it was straight into the car for the transfer to Gordon and onto the OTP…( the battle for a full ride being lost to one of those demons. )

Bongos and bugles must been on full volume last night as the muster progressed into an avalanche of egg and tomato. YHC lost count at 21, more were late arrivals and successfully chased for a near record 27 entering the Archer St shredder. BOF was nowhere to be seen, a late departure ensued, the peloton inhaled the first few hills with gusto, it was actually pretty bl#%dy cold, but somehow the temperature made not a jot difference to the satisfaction of being in the middle of another magnificent ER commute.

Something for everyone today, a greyhound bunch of “B1s” peeled off the front being goaded by C.Hippo to cane it to town, nice to see the broken leg has not slowed him down much. With the numbers big regroups make it difficult to keep things orderly, so having the peloton stretch out was excellent for safety. It also gave YHC a much greater leeway to fall ever more slowly to the rear until reaching over and grabbing the Lanterne Rouge in order to cross the bridge and join the back of the coffee queue.

KOM was contested a couple of times, the bunch I saw were being lead by Phantom and Turnip, YHC had to attack on the second slope to keep the leaders in sight then having realised my mistake was unable to maintain my lead and fell in behind, then off the back up the third. Crossing onto Willoughby Rd was an interesting time, a dozen riders managed to get into the middle of the road as the lights changed and 4 cars then took the right of way turning right, so a waltz unfolded as bikes and cars took turns to cross.

A swift and green light aided advance through the shambles of North Sydney, the Miller St sprint being a highlight of this section, a rare but enjoyable dish when you can race past the Rag and Famish and not have to touch the brakes until turning into Lavender St.

SHB was too good to race over, ( YHC departing for the summer in a few days took the opportunity to look at the harbour , blue sky, dawn colours, and actually enjoy the scene with a fully oxygenated brain ) B&T queue was actually short , the B1s having ordered, rearranged the tables, sat down and savoured their brew…Vic a little richer by the time I arrived.

The escape valve set to blow for 5:15 , 6:00 and 7:00 with a balmy 17C forecast this afternoon it is difficult to imagine a nicer end of the working than that.

Have a good one all

BT

Just noticed that complete apathy has prevailed amongst the OTP’ers today, with no one bothered to write up a report. Perhaps not surprising, with just 3 in the traps at the start (Stealth, Agro and YHC), and just WBA collected along the way. A minor interaction with a taxi driver encountered at Lindfield, with a Silver Service deciding to do a three point turn in front of Stealth, and when Stealth politely pointed out that the taxi really should have waited until we passed as we had right of way, the driver asked whether Stealth had brakes and why didn’t he just use them. IQ is probably just something the driver has on his Foxtel service. There was a brief discussion held about joining our Rhodes Roubaix brethren at the new café in Pyrmont, however no one could be bothered with that either.

We were joined at the B&T by none other than your regular correspondent BT, and a lively discussion ensued about GPS tracking for bikes including automated anti-collision software, said discussion instigated by the Strava debacle that arose earlier this week where the family of a cyclist who died apparently trying to beat a Strava segment time is trying to sue Strava for causing the accident. Suspect this one will be the subject of much further discussion over the coming months as court proceedings progress.

I’m off early today so won’t see you on the return journey, and back to my second home in PNG next week, so will catch up on the pedals on Monday week.

DT (LM)

A not-quite-so-brisk-as-yesterday morning greeted the 15 strong peloton gathered at Snives for the off. Yes, 15.

Of particular note:

• no-one was awake at home to wish Clutters a happy birthday. So we all did.
• Wilson looking resplendent aboard the new Paris, Di2 equipped
• NNNick looking similar on a remarkably similar steed
• B1 driving the magnificently restored Peugeot, rightfully thrilled at the turnout to his “shortest day, longest ride” suggestion
• The great VD had returned temporarily from his travels, responding to the lure of the Flutter – great to see you back mate
• Drastique disappointed the throng by not turning up on the SS MTB
• The proprietor of the TSS sported his (newest) Colnago Master
• Dobbo, rumoured to be starting an ER Epping chapter, made probably the longest haul to the start line – kudos muchos
• Schleck looking to put everyone and anyone to the sword aboard the Movistar Pina
• Velo 2073 there in droves – Jim, Clive and new boy Phil – talks of a JV prevailing
• B1 out to show that he’s more than just a 200km on the weekend pony
• Clutters’ mate Mark out to dish out some pain
• and I was there to take the minutes

A lovely run down into the depths of Akuna – no problems with visibility with 15 hella halogens all on bright – and everyone arriving at the bottom safely. Saw another few pelotoa passing the other direction, but none as well turned out as our ER throng. Poor cousins we assume.

The climb out of Akuna saw Drastique playing Hansel to Clutters Gretel by craftily keeping all challengers at bay – “the birthday boy will be teary if we kick his arse up here” I heard commented. Gold Medal Clutters, daylight, well moonlight, second.

A quick regroup and roll call at the WH turn off – everyone looking spritely and toey for the downhill ahead. Good speed through the undulations of Church Point with NNNick dishing out pain by the plateful through this section – obviously keen to see if we could intercept Our Captain on His bus along Pittwater Road, unfortunately not to be seen hanging out the window offering abuse.

Not one to take on the relative flats of Pittwater Road, Clutters took us eastward through a number of hills which was certainly worth the pain – the sunrise over Narrabeen was sensational, with the temperature ramping by the km – not sure these coast dwellers know what a fresh morning is.

To the Manly seafront, equally spectacular, Drastique feigning a puncture to give the group a breather – regroup, on through a new section that again we let our Birthday Boy dictate.

There the fun ended.

• A bloody big hill.
• Hidden by trees until you were half way up.
• No end in sight until peaked.
• Rumoured to be “Col de Clutters”.

“By the looks of some of the faces I’m not sure that was the best move”. Too right. Lucky it was your birthday otherwise you may have heard some of the abuse pent up.

Breathing restored, defibrilators stowed, on through the Spit, up Parriwi, through the poor parts of town to the Bridge, coffee convened at the B&T at 8.15am where Lunchie was skillfully shuffling the pews for our arrival.

A great spin, kudos to all, motion to make a more permanent fixture in the weekly itinerary – possibly cutting out some extended sections to help those who need to be at work a little earlier.

Well done B1 Mike for the concept, Clutters for being born on the darkest day, and everyone for joining in the fun and frivolity in the name of the Tomato and Egg.

Return flights taxiing for 5.15pm and 6 bells.

Have a good one all.

Mark / Satnav