Having ridden with the Alt. Thursday Grp. for some time now, you'd figure that lessons would be learnt. I think I am proof to the contrary. Just the fact that Mike, Werner, Peter D and Jurgen constituted the initial riding members of the group should have been enough to warn me, or so you'd think. After all, they each freely admit not to be intimidated by hills. To quote one member, "A ride is not a ride without hills" My thoughts? "Shoot that person." And so hills it was. Every ride .. a hill! Then another hill. Then the slightest of downhills followed by ... a hill!
Often would one of the quartet would exclaim " Where does that road go?" whilst pointing to some Everest type incline. So UP! we would go How come their legs don't hurt as much as mine? Why is it they don't get off and walk? Why aren't they running out of gears?
Even flatland rides were managed so that a few bl...y hill were incorporated.
An easy ride only contained three hills.
800m climbing became the minimun goal irrespective of distance. 1100m+ was considered a worthwhile ride. Meanwhile, I just hung on, as I watched the others cruise up mountains and reward me from the top with shouts of encouragement.
So, I considered it was time to make a list of all the hills I plan NEVER to climb/ride again. Let the surviving members of the Alt. Thurs. Grp. continue to conquer mountains and I will proffer applause from the comfort of my car.
The list:
Amphlett Rd. Cockatoo
Portmans Rd. The Patch
Mernda Rd. Kallista
Altson Rd. Belgrave Sth.
Ryans Rd. Lysterfield.
Shelton Rd. Pakenham Upper
Matters Rd. Pakenham Upper
And Salisbury Rd. Upper Beac. is a contender for the list. Updates will follow.
I guess they will stay on my list until such time as the ongoing dislpays of determination, pain tolerance and climbing prowess by my riding colleagues, shames me into attempting them once again.
Jon
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