So 2017 finished off on a low after a crash in late October, that left me with bruised ego and a few fractured ribs. I had to skip riding the 94.7 for the first time in 9 years, due to my injuries (and also I was flying overseas on business on that day). So a few weeks off the bike for injuries and 2 weeks overseas, over-exerting my drinking hand, the Kilos pilled on. I got the shock of my life when I got on the scale in mid December (105kgs), the heaviest I have been for a few years. The extra kilos and the lack of time on the bike seriously took a toll on my riding. I seemed to have regressed from sort of ok, to useless. There were a couple of rides in late December and early January where I really struggled and couldn't match the pace of the groups that I was riding with.
Really hard ride to Heidelberg 2 Towers and back, extreme heat and fatigue. At one stage, I had Sean, Alistair and the Tandem (Greg and Claire) all pushing me. Gee, I really struggled, it was a dark time and fortunately I had good mates to assist in my time of pain. The next weekend went slightly better, when we did a ride from the Home of the Chicken Pie to Hartebeesport Dam and back. This was a incredible ride, pretty hard with all the climbing and extreme heat (39 degree high) but very beautiful scenery. Awesome bunch of people led by Ashley and we went through a Game Park and saw lots of game and the views closer to the dam were awesome. I survived this ride and made it to the end, really glad that I did it.
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| Chunky puffing up the hill... |
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| Group photo at the top of the hill over looking Harties. |
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| Dam nice view |
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| Sticking her neck out |
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| Awesome views |
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| Extreme Awesome |
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| Chunky and friends |
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| Chunky climbing Bedford Hills |
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| Heidleberg hill, Chunky was not in the photo as he was still coming up the hill... |
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| Wimpy Heidelberg, feeding the beast... |
So there have also been a few other longer rides to Big Red Barn and back that were getting easier as I was getting fitter and shedding a few kilos. 2018 is when Chunky gets boot and I regain my dignity by not being the last person on the group rides.
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| Morning rides before work - sunrises and coffee stops |
