Following the success of the first #Velo7173 Chain Gang I was really looking forward to this week’s hit out. It was another Tassie stunner of an evening, albeit with a little more wind and a little less daylight than last week. Just warm enough for bare legs too. Any ride in shorts and short sleeves is a bonus this time of year!

After a half hour or so warm-up I met the guys at the bakery with just enough time to chow down a muesli bar and have a quick pre-ride brief. It was just Quinton, Adam and I this week so we made a plan for a few fast loops. We clipped in and rolled out of the car park at 5 seconds past 4pm. If there’s one thing I love it’s a ride that starts on time with no faffing about – and it doesn’t get much more “on time” than that!

I took the first turn on the front, but only a short one to start. Coming off the back of a bunch of consecutive 300+ km weeks I was feeling a little fatigued, so I tucked in and let Quinton punch into the wind. Sweeping along the coastline, Adam took a long pull right to the base of the “climb” before rocketing away with Quinton on his wheel. I must have been caught napping as I had to dig deep, sprinting to my best 5-second power in a while to close the gap! That certainly woke the legs up.

Quinton probably cursing the lack of shelter I provide on the front.

Cresting the top of the hill we quickly reformed the paceline and were thankfully greeted with a slight tailwind pushing us down the return leg. We kept it tight, rolling turns and holding north of 40kph along the back straight.

Over the next couple of laps I swear the guys pushed the pace higher, or perhaps my legs were fading faster than the evening light? Either way, it was a storming performance from everyone. After a few more fast laps we called it a night, which was handy as I’m not sure how much more my legs had left to give. Adam and Quinton swung off, while I completed a final loop before turning around and letting the tailwind guide me home.

All done and dusted, it was another fantastic weeknight hammer in the books, with all three of us clocking personal bests around the 8km circuit. To put that in perspective, it’s a training loop I’ve ridden over 350 times and my previous fastest time was three years ago! Adam and Quinton both came in 1 second faster than me though. Must pedal harder, haha!

Distance: 62.3 km / 38.7 miles
Total elevation gain: 532 m / 1745 feet
Average speed: 32.0 kph / 19.9 mph