Much fun was had. Team Pooftaz and Team Scrubbaz went head to head, finishing with an equal number of laps (7).
Tam and I had devised a rough plan. That I would go first and do two laps (the first lap is always a sh!tfight), which I did. The first lap was a little annoying as lots of people had seriously overestimated their ability and/or fitness. I did a lot of overtaking as I had started right at the back of the 500 odd riders, expecting to be one of the slowest there. The second lap was much better, but it was quite hot. I was wearing sunscreen and because I wasn't wearing any gloves, it was a little annoying as my hands kept slipping.
I came back after my two laps, having had a good time. Handed my number to Tam and off she went for her lap. Back to our spot and whinged to Paulie that my gears weren't as they should be and my new speedo wasn't working. The sensor had fallen off in the first 800 metres and I hadn't even noticed. Bugger. Luckily, along came Karen as we were talking about it. She had seen it and promised to grab it if she saw it next lap. Bewdy!
By the 45 minute mark, I went back and waited for Tam, who was due in any minute. Paul was also there, waiting for Steven to come back. When the lap had stretched out considerably, we were getting worried that Tam had stacked, Steven had found her and that's why they weren't back yet. Finally, to our relief Tam came in solo, spitting chips about her pedals which had jammed. That would have p!ssed me off too.
So off I went for lap three. I noticed during the lap that a muscle on the right side of my lower back was cramping which was really annoying. This lap was very hot and I stopped a couple of times in the shade to cool off a bit. I decided to take it very easy and cruise back in, figuring that Tam's pedal might need some work that I was likely to have to do another lap straight afterwards.
When I rolled back in from lap #3, Tam wasn't there to meet me, so I rode over to our spot where she and Steven were working on his bike (he had had a mechanical and the poor guy had to tell the marshall at CP4 that his team name was Team Pooftaz). After a bit of lazing around, eating, whinging etc. Tam went out and did another lap. I sat and bludged with Steven and eventually started thinking about doing another lap. Steven suggested that I do another lap, then come back and hand over the number for Tam to do another lap. So I did just that.
Tam came in from lap #2 and when I told her "Quick, give me the number. I'm coming back and you're doing a 3rd lap!". She thought about it and started fanning her face with the number. Cheeky scrubber! She let up, gave me the number and off I went. This was by far the best lap so far. It had been quite hot earlier, with the course being fairly exposed for most of the 10 kilometres. Some storm clouds were brewing and it was nice and cool for lap #4. Also, knowing that this was more than likely my last lap, I stepped on it a bit and opened up on the descents a bit more (previously having wanted to preserve myself a bit).
When I came into the transition area, Tam was there waiting for me! I didn't expect that at all, but figured she was in the same frame of mine as I was when going out for my last lap.
Tam's last lap was a bit of a sh!tfight as I think the elite men got a bit too competitive. She was at one point told to "Get the f*ck out of the way" by a rider wearing River City Cycles gear. Nice.
When Tam came in, I took some snaps of her. I missed the one where she stuck her @rse in the air and also the one where she lifted her shirt up. Sorry guys.
Throughout the day, we couldn't help but laugh every time it was announced that we were coming 2nd. By the 5th hour, we weren't even in the top three (we were paying for our big rest). In the end, Team Scrubbaz placed 3rd in the Womens Pairs division, only 22 seconds off 2nd place! We did a totla of 7 laps (Tam 3, me 4).
Given how easy we took it, I can't help but wonder what the other women's teams were doing (apparently there were 8 or 9 womens pairs out there).
Anyway, I had a fantastic day. The muscle in my back still hurts and I found the course a little boring at times, but it was a great atmosphere mostly. The only thing that lets those types of events down are the fscktards who don't call out that they are passing until they are actually beside you. I had words for quite a number of people who did this to me.
Tam and I both noticed that all the people wearing Cycle Surgeon outfits were really friendly and respectful. I think they'll be getting a line about this, the same way River City Cycles will be getting a line or two.
