On a glorious Spring morning seven of us, Patrick, Dan, Gary, Pete, Martin Mac, my Sweaty self and Our Beloved Chairman met at Bloomfield. Martin betrayed his novice clubman status almost immediately by making let’s get moving noises at 9am. Beloved Chairman explained about the Valley Road Crew and we set off bang on time at 5 past the hour.
It was great to see Gary back in the fold. Obviously, he was in the skimpiest of shorts and gloveless. An interesting new twist was his lack of any sort of refreshment, not even water. He’s so Zen.
As usual, Patrick showed us a clean pair of heels on every hill. Martin chased him up past The Grove and into Jeffreston but had wised up before the rise to the Ridgeway and watched from afar with the rest of us.
Pete, who has recently started dressing like a pirate, rugged yet lustrous beard, bandana, cutlass and eyepatch, noticed that Dan wasn’t on his usual steed. Broken bottom bracket, explained our legal guardian, that’ll be all that cadence, replied Capt Pete. I hope this bike coped better with his whizzing legs because Dan left us after Pembroke heading for Angle. At least that’s what he told us. You don’t think he has got a taste for adventure after his brush with the law on the new bypass and he was actually aiming to set a subversive KOM on the tank range at Castlemartin?
Dr Mac and Our Beloved Chairman spent a good deal of the ride deep in conversation. Obviously, they were a fair way ahead of me most of the time but I did hear little snippets, mainly from Martin.
Haemocrit….VO2 max……..red blood cells……..maximum oxygen capacity……muscle bulk v endurance
I thought that our Beloved Chairman, the crafty fellow, was getting some free expert medical advice ahead of his main training load before the Summer. This illusion was shattered when I heard him ask who Martin thought he’d get the best chops from, Merckx or Wiggins.
I really enjoyed the ride today, great company, perfect weather and a fantastic route. I must confess that I did suggest one or two improvements to Huw’s posted ride, took out a hill or two, put in a potential pint stop that sort of thing. I know it’s wrong and I promise to chant my punishment mantra 100 times before bed…
I am not Mat G, I am a very naughty boy.
Thanks everyone, great ride.
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