Red Flags & smoke haze

I think something is going on with Mick. I’m genuinely worried about him. A few red flags are starting to appear:

1. He joined us on HoP
2. He rocked up nice and early for the ride
3. He did multiple turns up front

You never know what people are going through. Next “R U OK?” Day, he’ll be the first call I make. Thinking of you, mate ❤️

The Hour of Power had a bigger-than-usual bunch, which was great. This week we played a game called Catch Me If You Can. One rider rolls off the front, the group waits a minute or two, then works together to bring them back. It was… a poor performance by the rider up front. Caught very early. He blamed the headwind 🌬️ He remains nameless — mainly because that rider also writes this blog. Thanks to Steve for the effort he goes through to make our rides painful - looked good in the Jayco colours today, bud

We linked up with the WCG Sunday social crew and did something a little different: rolling turns. It was excellent. Like speed dating on bikes — short, intense micro-conversations as people moved through the pace line.

My dates went something like this:

• Simon opened strong, casually mentioning he rode with Tour de France winner Cadel Evans yesterday. As you do. Tough act to follow. The rest of the bunch will need to work hard to win my affections.
• Ethen talked about his holidays in New Zealand 🇳🇿 Great to have him back — always full of energy, and his positivity lifts the whole group.
• David suggested someone invent a device for senior riders — essentially a front-mounted Camelbak… but for weeing. Sounds uncomfortable. Also sounds like something I’ll adopt early.
• Chris shared stories from his Gold Coast holiday. The stories were mostly food related ☀️

Neil peeled off early and made his way back to the café. This week’s Neil was much stronger than last week’s Neil. He made it past his alarm ⏰ Progress. Next week’s Neil will be even stronger. I know this because I don’t think anyone has ever been dropped while still basically on Watton Street before. It happened to Neil today. I think he Christmas'd too hard in December, but I know he will be back.

Ethen eventually got twitchy and launched a sprint, dragging one or two others with him ⚡️ Something the Zone 2 social crew definitely appreciated 👍

The ride back to the café was a little hazy. The air hung heavy with bushfire smoke, muting the colours. It lingered in the background — both on the road and later over coffee — with air quality becoming part of the post-ride chat ☁️

Back at the café, the conversation drifted from getting old and reading books about getting old, to Tour Down Under, and — best of all — reliving last year’s Cadel’s People’s Ride and the climb up Challambra. A classic. I will tell you about it sometime.

Post-ride outfit choice today: Lycra Is My Spirit Animal 👕
No regrets.

Final shout-out to all the OCD readers: just wanted to let you know… I finished the ride on 97km 😬

This is why we do it. Same roads. Same crew. Always worth the early alarm ⏰.

And if you’re still buzzing from the ride, legs cooked, coffee in hand and stories getting better by the minute — don’t forget to kit up for the recovery phase. Our post-ride funny cycling t-shirts are designed for exactly this moment: zero watts, maximum laughs. Because the ride might be over, but the banter definitely isn’t 🚴☕️😄

Photo credit: Shane 📸