Rotten Stinking Piece of Shit Courtesy Car

Ride: 39K in 1:30, 26Kph. Faster back half.

The Courtesy Car I am driving at the moment is not the world's finest piece of machinery. It did it's 300,000th kilometre as I drove it home from the Smash Repairers. I have noticed that it starts reluctantly on cold mornings.

This morning, when I climbed into it at 6:15AM to get to the Coolrunning 5K challenge, it chose not to start at all. I tried to start it for about 15 minutes before I decided on a change of plans, and changed into my riding gear for riding with the tri club.

It was a small group this morning. Some of them decided to "do the Punt". Apparently this is a 60K hilly course, of which I was having no part. With five of us remaining we stood around asking each other which course we would like to do. I suggested our usual 50K loop which was agreed upon, but as we rode off, the two other blookes took off for "the Punt". One of the girls, Tanya, said, "well bugger that, I'm going too!".

By this time the other rider, Carla (the club vice president) was well on her way on the normal route. I wasn't doing 60K of hills, so I took off after her. I caught her about 2K down the road and she was fuming about the group being split up. She'd had enough and she was going home. I rode slowly with her until we reached her turnoff, and then I took a slightly truncated ride home, but did it a bit faster.

I found it a bit difficult to find the right cadence for the whole ride - at times I was spinning too much, at other times I was pushing too much.

My cycling knicks were still in the wash, so I rode in running tights this morning. I hate chaffing.

After I got home I took the car back to the smash repairs (it started like a dream when it was a bit warmer), and he gave me a spraycan of aeroplane starter to spray in the engine in the mornings.

The final indignity after missing the run? Fiona dragged me to Birkenhead Point for some shopping in the afternoon.

Tonight, Fiona is going to see Grease with a friend, and Souths, St Kilda and the Waratahs are all playing. The couch awaits!