The answer to your question (sort of)

We had a good ride this morning and did 3 laps of the track and managed to fend off a challenge successfully from  the Rangers to 3 of our party who didn’t have garden passes! You see I am now associating with law breakers and criminals.

Those present:

• Rohan Bell (expedition leader)
• Tony Dodds ( team coach)
• Marion Pengue (team manager)
• Neil Gabbin  (novice rider)
• Ian Henderson (hanger on)

Those absent

•  Fred Peacock  (on parade at 6.00am and went home early)
•  Kenny O’Donnell ( sleeping it off)
•  Kevin Rudd ( answering questions in the House about insulation programme)

It seems that we can’t  even get out of the starting blocks in the gardens without attracting some drama or the other. Neil the novice was borrowing his sons bike in lieu of one actually made in the 21^st century but to be fair it has been used in a triathlon (once).

Before the ride started the team coach was offering to pump up peoples tyres which seemed like a good idea at the time and so the novice’s tyres were duly inflated to 120 psi and mine weren’t (this observation will have later significance). We had only just got through the gate when there was the sound of a minor explosion/gunshot going off and I immediately put this down to over enthusiastic rangers exceeding the boundaries of their jurisdiction  in warding off would be entrants who didn’t carry the correct authorised  paperwork. It was nothing more sinister than Neil’s tyre succumbing to the constraints of old age and it went off with a bang nearly dislodging the Manager’s spectacles in the process who was just right behind him at the time and complained about “a sudden rush of wind”. We believe in sharing the pain around in this group and so the novice  did not miss out on his share and the expedition leader felt it to be his duty to lend him his bike which was a cunning way of being able to try out the Manager’s bike for comparison with his own trusty steed which came with complimentary ill fitting shoes. As I mentioned before this is all about ”making pain your friend”.

With everyone that much fitter than the last time we rode and with a range of different bikes on parade I thought that this would be a good time to carry out some research of comparison of the hybrid versus the road bike. Well do you think I could keep up with them? My little legs were pumping for all they were worth and I couldn’t even get anywhere near the money or keep up with them for that matter and I felt a bit like an elephant on a clothes line beside these dashing and svelte like riders. I even tried keeping my knees together abandoning my much preferred “butcher’s style of riding” but I couldn’t get the bike above the 31Km/hr range- I was still at the traffic lights on Narellan Road when the 2 premier riders (expedition leader and Manager ) were on their second coffee in Gloria Jeans. This did not bode well I thought and if I am to make any progress at all  towards getting to Melbourne I am either going to have fuel up with 10,000 calories per day or get an engine fitted (to the bike as well ) or even worse than that, actually get fit.

So I deduced that the hybrid bike is hyper-challenged in the efficiency department when it comes to comparison with the road bikes but… you will recall that I did not take up the offer of having my tyres pumped up before we set off and so for curiosity decided to check them with the Coaches’ pump only to discover that there was a pitiful 40 psi pressure in them instead of the required 100 psi! So this kind of answers the question why I was struggling to keep up and I noticed that the ride back home felt infinitely easier and it sort of answers the question about the different efficiency of the 2 bike styles but not completely, the ongoing question still remains by how much is the gap between them? Oh well I suppose it means another expedition to find out!

You were sorely missed this morning and I hope that you have managed to catch up on your sleep.  2 other things that came out of the post race mission- debriefing were that we have earmarked the 10 April starting at 6.00am for a full assault on the M7 (42Kms each way). The second is that you were voted in to the position of team cook and please note that Mario prefers smoked salmon baguettes spread with Philadelphia cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce on one side, dusted off with red onions and cracked pepper with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top. Anyway there is still plenty of time left to master these techniques and I can help if required as we will need something to occupy ourselves in the evenings.

Hope you will forgive my blarney it must be the result of the post race endorphins  kicking in which is making me Delirious. I look forward to giving you the full run down tomorrow over morning tea.

Best wishes

From the hanger on