In Which Glenda Comes Unstuck

Up till that point it had been yet another successful and most enjoyable ride along the Warburton Trail. Not only had we had a large peloton but had the pleasure of two new riders riding with us for the first time. Ken and Alan had apparently read about us on the Internet and were keen to see just how good we really were. As we arrived at Woori Yallock they were already waiting for us.

“Do you mind if we join you ?” one of them asked me as I pulled to a stop in the small amount of shade. Of course I invited them to tack onto our group and continue with us to Milgrove. After a few introductions all round we were soon on our way again. The two new riders made it clear that they were not fast and that we should not wait for them if they fell behind. I could have told them that they don’t even wait for the President himself when he falls behind, so it would be unlikely that they would wait for newcomers, especially if Bruno was anywhere near the front of the pack.

It had also been a pleasant surprise to have Gary back in the peloton again, although he once again, skilfully avoided having to climb the Mt Evelyn Hill. When we arrived at Milgrove some riders continued up the hill at a frantic pace while the rest made it straight for the coffee shop and an early lunch. When we arrived back at the coffee shop it was good to see that our new friends had made themselves at home and were happily chatting about their cycling experiences.

After lunch the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees and most riders were content to roll along at a moderate speed while they enjoyed the experience. Back at Woori Yallock we bade farewell to most of the riders leaving about half a dozen of us to continue back to our cars at Mt Evelyn. All had gone smoothly until we aproached the water trough at Seville. It was then that my mobile phone started indicating that I had received an SMS message.

When I stopped to check the message it turned out that it was from Glenda. Apparently she had lost one of her gold body piercings along the trail, somewhere along the trail between Warburton and Mt Evelyn, and she wanted us to help her find it. I shared this piece of news with the others who immediately declared that there was absolutely NO chance of ever finding such a needle in a haystack before jumping on their bikes and racing off towards Mt Evelyn.

While I could sympathise with Glenda I had to admit that finding a small golden ring on the Warburton Trail would be a bit like Don Quixote tilting at windmills. In other words completely futile. Although we tried to keep an eye open for anything shiny on the trail, I think that the thought of a cool drink at Mt Evelyn soon took priority and so we put our heads down to make the final climb.

It was not until some time after 6 pm, as I was settled down in front of the TV news, that my mobile phone buzzed a second time. It was Glenda again, this time informing me that she had found the golden ring and that we could “stop looking”. I thanked her for letting us know and replied that we would all be glad to finally stop going back and forth along the trail. After all, our families would be worried about us.

All’s well that ends well I guess.