Leadership Crisis & Consequence Management

Mother’s Day today, which meant numbers were a little down across both the Hour of Power and Sunday Social. To be fair, we can all agree that Mother’s Day is about as legitimate an excuse as you can get. No outrageous excuses this week like “my bike is at work” or “my shoes are in Dandenong.” Just good honest consequence management and a healthy respect for domestic negotiations.

The General was also unavailable due to Mother’s Day duties which briefly threw the group into a leadership crisis. For a short while we were completely rudderless until Mick casually suggested I was the 2iC. Everyone had a bit of a chuckle because deep down we all knew leadership would be sorely missed today.

UKE kit selections also varied wildly depending on everyone’s personal interpretation of “mild autumn morning.” Mick and I were in the matching kit, although it appears my sleeves may have donated some material to Mick’s sleeves because mine were sitting a touch short while Mick had sleeve length to spare. Neil was in early winter UKE kit, while Victor arrived in what could best be described as deep Canadian winter expedition kit. A bold choice considering the weather was actually pretty mild.

Five of us rolled out for Hour of Power into a gentle headwind. Steve wouldn’t have approved because, strangely enough, everyone kept it fairly tidy on the way out. There was a shared understanding that patience would allow for full beans on the way home with the tailwind. Strong rides from Chris, Callan and Mick, but none more impressive than Neil who appears to be benefiting from his new indoor trainer setup at home. The man has clearly been putting in the work and is the deserving recipient of this week’s Most Improved award.

Back at the café we linked up with the Sunday Social crew. Numbers were still a little light thanks to Mother’s Day obligations, but it was great to see Shane and Sharanne back from their Japanese cycling holiday. Their Strava uploads over the past few weeks have basically been a steady stream of enormous elevation gains and postcard scenery, all enjoyed by the rest of us safely from the couch.

Perhaps still accustomed to mountain roads, Shane absolutely launched himself off the front heading toward Altona. The man clearly isn’t used to Melbourne flatlands yet because he just kept rolling away until the bigger sprinters eventually had to bring him back.

Neil was clearly feeling good today because at one of the traffic lights we rolled up alongside another bunch of cyclists. Neil casually announces, slightly louder than necessary, “oh look, a rival gang.” I’m pretty sure they heard him too. Coincidentally, that was also the fastest I’ve ever climbed the little rise after the intersection just in case things escalated into a full scale bunchie turf war.

At the halfway point the group gathered around Victor as he updated us on just how hot he was inside his Arctic-grade winter kit.

The return leg was supposedly going to continue in a “Zone 2” spirit, although Mick either had places to be or was quietly conducting a private FTP test because the group was very quickly strung out down the road.

Back at the café Kenny absolutely raised the bar by shouting coffees and sweet treats for the whole group. Elite behaviour. Conversations covered Netflix recommendations, cycling shoes, and Mick’s UK work experience. Mick opened that one with “a long long time ago, in a far away land…” which sounded like the beginning of medieval folklore, but it was just chapter 1 of Mick's resume.  Turns out, his first job was apparently paid in a small leather pouch of shillings sometime just prior to the industrial revolution. In fairness to Mick though, he has aged remarkably well.