Mornington

Sunday morning I woke late. I must have slept through the alarm. By the time I was dressed and on the road it was 7:30pm and the sun was shining. I was on the lookout for packs on their way to Mt Eliza to follow up on the ride two weeks ago but there weren't many around due to the 210km Round the Bay In A Day ride that started that morning at 5:00am. I picked up a pod of 4 cyclists who were turning around at Mordialloc and then I continued on to Station Street and tried to catch up with a pack I could see in the distance which I finally caught at Bonbeach. There were about 6 Bandidos and three other riders who were on their way to a race meet at Frankston Park.

I continued on with the Bandidos to the foot of Olivers Hill where they shot ahead and I struggled up with what seemed like the same effort as my previous ride. It was only when I reached the top that I realised I had forgotten to change down and was still in 3rd or 4th gear! Nevertheless, I made it over the top (handy hint: always approach hills with the intention of riding over them, rather than to the top) and this time didn't have to stop to catch my breath. I continued on to the Mt Eliza turn off but decided to press on to Mornington, stopped in the park, refilled my bidon, ate my muesli bar and enjoyed the sun.

The trip back was uneventful. There were plenty of 'Round the Bayers to tag along with to make that long boring stretch between Frankston and Mordialloc less of a chore. I was knackered when I got home but pleased that I had extended my maximum riding distance just that little further to 88Km in 2h:54m.