Cafe au Lait - Oh dear!

So I decided to do a 300k out of Wangaratta.
A loop to Yarrawonga, a loop to Beechworth and a loop to Rutherglen.
The first 200k I rode with a small group and thoroughly enjoyed the company as well as the scenery.

I rode with a small group

It was warm and I'm still not acclimatised to higher temperatures.
The last 100k, which I rode alone, progressively deteriorated into a death march for me.
I completed the ride but in a less than ideal state. I was thoroughly depleted and now 5 days later I am still feeling some after effects. Anyhow enough of these woes.
Thanks to Chris Rogers for putting on this ride which I understand attracted about 39 riders to undertake various distances up to 600k.

Pyrenees Magic was a wet one!

I left home in slight drizzle at around 6am for the 2 hour drive to Avoca for the Pyrenees Magic. There was still the occasional bit of drizzle leading up to the start of the ride at 9am so I had donned a rain top and shoe covers. About 20 minutes into the ride I was cursing the rain top as I had started to overheat. About 40 minutes into the ride I was thankful I had the wet gear on as the rain came and stayed. Not real strong but very steady and very wetting. The wind was helpful in parts but seemed to be against us for a greater percentage of the ride. A few familar faces from the Geelong, Bendigo and of course Maryborough but on the whole a lot of the 80 odd that I didn't recognize. For me, I haven't trained too hard since the big Perth adventure so I was really underdone, short of a gallop or whatever you want to call it. A half hour slower than all previous Avoca rides and not much enthusiasm to push hard but it was still fun and good to do a longer ride again.

Riders await the start

This was the first wet Pyrenees Magic in fifteen or more years.

Thanks to Andrew Thomas and his team for a great event and great rider support . They had to brave some pretty ordinary conditions in looking after the riders. Well done!