Rain drops keep falling on my head...

Yes I know. I’m late with my weekly report. Very late! But I have legitimate reasons including being busy with work, bike repairs and bike shopping (yes bike shopping!).

Two weeks ago (gee, am I THAT far behind with my blog?) we had planned to ride to Frankston with an attempt at Hopes Rise (gulp)! Our usual Friday night badminton game saw my upper thigh muscle pain return which had me a bit worried about the following morning’s ride, so a hot shower and some deep heat on the affected areas were in order when I got home to try and salvage the weekends ride.

The day dawned and oh no- it was pissing down with rain and the city was enveloped in a grey cloud. Polka Dot Lisa was having second thoughts about riding but a few choice HTFU’s and it was decided that we would tough it out and to heck with the rain.

We started just after a shower had passed and set off on the now rain soaked roads and within the first 200 meters, my arse was soaked from the spray off my rear wheel. I foolishly put my hand behind me for the first 20 meters to shield my backside from the rain but all that did was soak my palm. Good one David! What was I planning to do, ride one handed for 100kms?

We rode on towards St Kilda, rolling down Queens Parade, Brunswick St, Collins St and onto St Kilda Rd. As we rode past the National Gallery, Bowi_68 from the BV forum joined up with us asking us if we were Vidman and Polka Dot Lisa. Seems everyone knows us!

As we rode up St Kilda Rd, we had to make a strange right turn to get onto Kerford Rd across wet tram tracks which I think spooked PDL and she freaked out a bit. I slowed and rolled next to her, reassuring her everything was ok and also replaying what just happened to show her that she actually had nothing to worry about.

As we approached Beaconsfield Pde, the rain started to fall. I rolled through a set of lights while PDL and Bowi_68 were caught at the lights but I figured there was no point in my hanging about in the rain so I powered on in the now pelting rain. The water from my front tyre was soaking my summer vented shoes right through and my socks were totally soaked through. The rain was streaming down the front of my helmet and my backside was numb from the cold. By the time I made it to the meeting point, I was soaked through all over and shivering a bit. Eventually all the hardy souls turned up (though a lot wimped out) and we set off down south (thankfully the rain had stopped at least).

We rode at a moderate pace with the streams of water streaking off all the riders’ rear tyres. Apparently my tyres were particularly bad at this, causing the riders’ behind me to drop back to avoid the soaking I was giving them. Sorry guys! It was strange to see Beach Rd with so little traffic on it. You could tell that the riders still out there were the real HAF riders. My toes were so cold that I really wanted to stop and buy some dry socks but we were out too early for the shops to open. Damn it!

Along the way I mentioned to a few others that PDL was considering getting a road bike as part of a trade down deal with my sister, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for a road bike. Everyone thought she was well and truly ready so I said for them to have a word in her ear about it (yes- I’m devious but all for a good cause).

As we started the downhill into Black Rock I was feeling a bit frisky so I pulled out from behind Matt and sprinted forward, taunting Matt to follow me. As I flew off ahead, no one seemed to be following me so I backed off after a very short while and just cruised thinking why bother if I am the only one doing it. However after I backed off and was soft peddling, Stu flew past me yelling something about my going too early and then Dave and the rest flew past. Damn- I should have kept going- now they all think that was all I had. But honestly, I had PLENTY in the tank and I could have kept going all the way to the round about.

Eventually we rolled into Mordi and the usual gathering of cyclists in the car park was very much reduced. After the usual pee, drink and munch we were rolling again with some of us dropping into the small bike shop to look for a change of socks but it was not to be. So we kept riding south in a nice tight knit bunch until PDL, Sachamc, Mark and 1 other were caught at a set of lights (and then boom gates it turned out), so Matt (Commi from BV forum) and I soft pedaled to wait for them. With no sign of them we assumed they must have been caught at several lights so we rode on, catching up to the rest of the group.

As we rode into Frankston I have to admit I was pretty nervous about the Hopes Rise hill. I gulped down some drink and tried to rest my legs as much as I could in the final few km’s. I felt like flinging my bidon’s off to the side just like the pro riders do to save every last gram of weight LOL! As soon as we hit the hill, all around me left me for dead as I dropped down and down through the gears. I was spinning as hard as I could but I was going slower and slower. Just past the first speed hump I tried to get out of the saddle and “dance on the pedals” as Phil Liggett would say, but I forgot to click up a gear as I did this and I was spinning too fast for a standing position. My legs just about crumpled under me and I had to quickly unclip and get off and walk the rest of the way. DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!!

As I walked up the hill, rider after rider rode past me and I felt a bit demoralised about my inability to make it. About half way up PDL rode past me and she looked ok doing it too. As the hill flattened out I got back on the bike and slowly rode up to the group who were waiting for me. Matt had his camera out to take the prearranged photo of me but I waved for him to not bother. Yes I was at the top of the hill but having to walk it means it doesn’t count. We stood around, sipping from our bottles and talking about the hill but I was in a dark mood. I smacked my bottle against my bars in utter frustration and I was cursing my weight for making hills so hard on me. A happy camper I was NOT!

After the quick regrouping we all decided to do the Mt Eliza loop. PDL and I were apprehensive about it with all the hills around us but we were assured the rest was pretty easy. As PDL and I rode down Nepean Hwy, the rest were disappearing ahead of us and we were pretty stuffed from the hills (well, I was but I think PDL was ok). Not knowing how much further we had to go, we decided to turn around to head back to the Frankston visitors centre and wait for the group there.

As we came to Olivers Hill, I told PDL to just ride down at a speed she was comfortable at and to use her brakes all the way down to control her speed so she didn’t get too scared. I on the other hand was looking forward to flying down the hill at top speed. As I dropped over the top, I pushed the pedals reasonably hard, clicking up through the gears until I was in the highest gear. I pedaled with reasonable force but defiantly not as hard as I could go. Into the visitors centre I rolled and I was surprised that I hit 67.9kph down the hill. Sheesh- I could have pushed it much faster than that and still been within my comfort zone. I wonder what the speed restriction is down their? LOL

Eventually the rest of the group rolled in and we were informed that we missed the turn off for the loop by just a few hundred meters. Argh.. it’s just like my first attempt to make Black Rock all over again! As we all sat and chatted (see the photo taken by Matt), we were wondering where Dave (Percrime from BV) and Sasha had gotten too, but eventually they made it back after they had given up looking for PDL and myself. Sorry guys...

The ride back was nice and tight with a good average speed the whole way. There was a bit of a headwind but nothing too bad. As we rode through Seaford, some moron screamed “nice pants” as he zoomed past. Wow, I bet that one took a while to think up! I was really enjoying the ride, singing to myself and generally loving life. We were an odd numbered group so there was always going to be one rider without someone to ride next to and that was me but I didn't care at all. In my head was that song 1,2,3,4 by Fiest and I was wishing I had an ipod in one ear just to add to the vibe.


Mordi and another quick stop and we were back on the road for the final stretch to St Kilda and a yummy breakfast. As we rode towards the rolling hills of Ricketts Point, Sacha was next to me with Stu and someone else in front, all making for a nice big wind break and draft for Sacha. Everyone seems to like riding behind me for the draft it seems, I wonder why?

For the first time ever, the hills around Ricketts Point didn’t have me being left behind. I was flying along at a great pace, even passing a few of the riders and leaving PDL working hard to keep up with me. It felt great! But as we left Black Rock and were just starting on the hill, suddenly my front tyre went POP and I was straight onto the rim. Now considering I was travelling at about 26kph, it was a bit hairy trying to pull up to a stop with a totally flat front tyre. Matt, Mark, Sacha and PDL all stopped to see what was wrong but I said they might as well keep going while I fixed the flat with Mark and Matt.

In no time at all we had the wheel and tyre off, all working as a team. As I inspected the tyre for what ever caused the flat, Mark saw the puncture was actually a big round hole on the spoke side of the tube and a quick inspection showed the spoke tape (well… it was more like a big rubber band) has deformed into the spoke holes, cut open and exposed the tube to the sharp edges of the spoke holes. So in with a new tube and now I had to figure out how my CO2 pump worked (my first time using it). After a bit of head scratching I figured it out and with a quick burst of CO2, it was ready to go again and the three of us were back on the road.

After the rigmarole of the flat, I had lost a lot of my rhythm that I had going before. Damn! So the three of us all pushed reasonably hard towards St Kilda, each taking a turn on the front in a random pattern of drafting (hey- we are not that organised to do the whole team time trial thing LOL).

Eventually we made it to the Grocery Bar Café and pulled up a spare seat with the rest of the gang. As we sat and eat, Richard walked past with his arm in a sling so he came and sat with us for a while.

After brunch, we all went our separate ways with PDL and I planning to stop and check out the 2007 Kona Lisa RD that BSC had on special. After a few test rides on different size bikes, PDL seemed fairly settled on the 49cm size even though the seat tube was too long and would have to be cut down to fit her properly. But all in all the bike seemed like a great deal and it sure was a pretty bike! While at the bike shop I picked up some new rim tape to replace the crappy rubber bands in my wheels.

Finally we made it home after spending a while at BSC, and it was yet another great day’s ride (even if the start was pretty miserable). In the end I completely dried out, however I vowed to buy some shoe covers and also rig up a simple rear mud guard to keep our asses dry like Marti had on her bike (a bit of plastic jammed into the rear of the saddle to form a splash shield against the spray).

Rain drops keep falling on my head...