A New Decade Begins
Not only was Thursday 7th Jan 2010 the first Thursday in the new year but it was also the first Thursday of the new decade. In a recent competition to coin a suitable phrase for the upcoming decade, the winning entry was “The Won-der Years” (or maybe it was the “Oneder Years”?). In any case I was certainly wondering how many riders would join us for our first weekday ride for 2010.
At least the weather had done the right thing. In fact it would be hard to imagine better conditions for cycling. With the temperature in the low 20s and the sky as blue as the Mediterranean Sea, no one could use the weather as an excuse for non participation.
I arrived at Woori Yallock at about 11.45 am and was pleased to see that there was already a proliferation of yellow shirted riders preparing to leave. One of those gathered was Dennis Wilson, out for his second ride with the Ghostriders. Dennis will be a participant on our South America ride later in the year and I was pleased to see that he had been able to get another day off work to join us. On his first ride he had only ridden from Woori Yallock to Warburton and back but he had now decided to up the ante by completing the full ride.
Dennis and I set off together and were soon enjoying a delightful ride together. He had not seen the part of the trail from Woori Yallock back to Mt Evelyn and I was keen to hear his impressions. Shortly before Wandin we were joined by some other riders who had caught up to us and we continued the ride together. Midway up the final climb to we also joined Glenda and we were all able to share the final couple of km together.
At COGS there was much “Happy New Yearing” shared among the riders as we enjoyed a chat in the warm sunshine. It was obvious that everyone was in good spirits and looking forward to the day’s ride. Since it was the first Thursday of the month our plan was to ride straight through for lunch at Warburton, but I reminded everyone of the need to ride together as a group, with no bolting.
To my delight and amazement we were able to stay together as a group all the way to Milgrove. By the time additional riders had joined in the peloton we must have finished with 25 or more riders in total, making it our biggest Thursday group for some time.
At Warburton we all settled in for an extended stay at the Valley Bakery. Since the day was just so idyllic I don’t think anyone was in a hurry to leave, but eventually the clock gave us no option and we remounted for the ride back to our cars. A group of about a dozen or more riders formed and stayed together all the way back to Woori Yallock while the remaining riders divided up into several other smaller groups and rode at their own paces.
I would have to say that it had been a delightful ride in every respect. At the end of the day I had several people comment on just how much they had enjoyed being a part of it. If this is any indication of what to look forward to in 2010 – then bring it on!