Admittedly it was the Xmas period, King Karlo was in Tassie and the days forecast was just marginally lower than the surface temperature of the sun but this was the chance to set the standard for 2020 - sadly though i was about to set it all by myself !
Despite enjoying the social company of fellow cyclists I found out that there are actually some advantages to riding alone. The debate about which route to take is short (yes you still might debate), the coffee order doesn't require the use of any aliases and being by yourself means that you are more predisposed to meeting people.
One of those opportunities presented itself at the start when Peter ("I've not had a stroke") D turned up in causal clothes stating that he'd only come to see if anyone was actually mad enough to ride ! Thinking this was some form of compliment I politely asked Pete how he pulled up from his Donna Buang effort on Boxing Day with Jurgen. "A little sore" said Peter "but nothing like how I pulled up later that day when lunching with the Relo's" !
At the Boxing Day Clan gathering Pete apparently borrowed a smoke from someone he later found out was down from Nimbin. Apparently the combo of the mornings ride, dehydration and the "smoke" of dubious origin soon had Pete on his back doing a wonderful impersonation of an upturned sea turtle in front of the whole family !
Back to the ride - it was a lovely tail wind to Dandenong before i made my 2nd mistake of the day (the first was turning up !) ordering a Muffin with my Hot cuppa before turning back.
The hot Northerly head winds and the remains of one partly digested muffin helped to significantly slow my return. Limping back to the Library car park with a bottle now 1/2 full of boiling water I did actually wonder whether i'd got something out of the days ride ! Mike-L
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