Take the long way home...

It's Monday morning now and following a solid 10hr sleep I am feeling human again.

Life just seemed to intervene over the last two weeks and my riding was minimal (just 1 ride) so I must admit I was approaching the Around the Bay in a Day ride with a mix of both excitement and some trepidation (although I suspect most of the 13,000+ riders were).

My excitement however was ultimately tempered by my decision to shave down. Leaving making this decision until Saturday afternoon was definitely not a good strategy and starting shaving at 6pm in between dinner preparation (when I was in a hurry) didn't exactly help much either. I had thought the hair trimmer on my electric razor would do 80% of the work but all it did was rip the hair out rather than cut it! Plan B was to use my usual shaving razor but I only had one used one and a new one. After one leg and about a 1/2 pint of blood loss, I returned to the kitchen, served a scummy pasta meal and quickly disappeared into the bathroom for another attack. Curiosity about my absence eventually got to the Wobblettes when they found me they were a little shocked to see me with one leg up on the hand basin - hair everywhere and blood oozing down my wet legs. I confess to liking the way my new legs feel now but it is kind of weird that when I touch them I keep thinking of Chrissy Amphlett singing that Diviynal's song "Touch myself". :)

Anyway, back to the ride... After starting at 5:30am in the city, I finished the first 50kms (31mile) at about 30kmph (18.6mph) pace with mostly cross winds. Riding over Oliver's Hill, Mt Martha and Mt Eliza were tough and draining as always so after reaching the Dromana foreshore (apr. 70kms) I stopped at a cafe for a toasted bacon and egg flat bread thing and a cafe latte. Just the tonic!! It was a stiff headwind to Sorrento 100kms (just missing the next ferry cut off) and then a 1hr wait for the following ferry while I ate lunch. I was feeling good at this point, just a little leg weary but the wait helped.
Queenscliff to Geelong seemed full of long undulations that really sapped my strength and I struggled for a while (unable to hang onto any packs) along this leg of the course. I took a break at the rest stop in Geelong and after getting going again found myself with a pack of 30 odd riders. The going up the front was just a bit tough so I slipped to the back of the pack hoping for a bigger draft but it was very disorganised at the back and the pace kept slowing and speeding up so I fell off the back feeling a little dejected. I plodded along for a while on my own at a slower pace and began to find my rhythm again. I remember seeing the 6hr mark come up on bike computer. I had done 165km (102 mile) and was averaging 27kmph (16.7mph) so decided to focus my mind on maintaining that pace to the end. That was a good strategy as it turned out and I finished in 8hrs and 8 mins riding time with an average of 27.1kmph

I can report that 210kms (130miles) on a bike is a looooooong way, my butt is sore but my legs feel pretty good. No punctures and I didn't fall off at all. I think I now consider myself a reasonable, albeit unbalance (in many ways) cyclist!

Oh, and a final note of thanks for everyone on my shaving dilemma.