Now that feels better! With the wedding FINALLY done and dusted, beloved and I are both much happier people than we have been in some time. All the stress and worry that had built up just disappeared like the flick of a switch.
The day went absolutely perfectly (not least as I was able to go for a VERY CAREFUL ride in the morning to settle my nerves) and as much as it's a cliché, it really was the happiest day of my life. The honeymoon was great too, we walked through Cataract Gorge, went to a seahorse farm, saw Cradle Mountain, went to the unbelievably wild South West and drove down to the town of Snug, purely for the purpose of getting a photo with a sign that said Snug
.
And I did get to ride Wellington! Thanks to forum member LG, who leant me a nice Eddy Merckx (and a spray jacket...).
The morning started off clear and sunny, then got a bit overcast by the time I picked up the bike and set off. Most of the way up I was in light mist/drizzle to rain at times, but went along nicely. By 3k to the top the fog was so thick I could barely see 50 metres, and then the weather closed in about 1.5-2k from the finish. By the final stretch I could see 10 metres at most and the wind was so strong the rain was going straight up! Not to mention it was only about 8-9 degrees
.
In the time it took me to run into the shelter and put on arm warmers, the weather got even worse, and after being nearly knocked off the bike by the wind, then attempting to run down the mountain to get to the less exposed lower slopes (not going to happen
) I went back to the shelter and had to wait, shivering, for over an hour and a half for a taxi to pick me up.
All in all, a fantastic ride! Only 20 for 1,189m of climbing
. There's nothing like that happening here on the coast
, can't wait to get back down there sometime. And best of all, even though the weather meant I was gone for 4 or 5 hours instead of the expected 2, my new wife was delighted I had gone for the ride, I couldn't have picked a better woman
. After all, letting me go for one ride seems a reasonable trade for acting as a personal coach/psychiatrist for the months leading up to the wedding
.
So now we are back home and things have settled down, it's back into riding.
First ride back was the Noosa Century short course, starting and finishing at Coolum. 93k in 3hrs 2, a fair way off my best of 2hrs 30 or 40something but not bad for solo, in the rain, with a head wind to finish, and atrocious form. It's very apparent that the half hour rides snatched here and there over the last couple of months kept me good enough to do wellington, but the legs have lost a lot of ability for a longer ride.
The next day was a commute, intended to be very easy to recover, but I woke up late
. Ticked along ok though.
A few more 100-120k rides on the horizon, then I have mapped out some 'interesting' (aka suicidal) hillier routes once my legs are back on duty.
My Bryton has kicked the bucket, it won't switch on or talk to the computer, so it's back at the shop for a while.
.
.
. And I was wearing a spray jacket too, there goes any HTFU points 
