*Chapter 37*
Change of Routine

"See you later,” Mand called down into bike central.
"Yeah,” I absently replied as I retrieved my bike from the rack.

I did the usual checks that Mum and Dad drummed into me when I first started riding, tyres and brakes, make sure its in a sensible gear, takes seconds but will generally show up any issues. Of course with Dad looking after the bikes they are in theory in A1 condition anyhow but old habits die hard. I opened the garage door, mounted up, clicked a foot in, pushed off down the drive and started my ride to work.

Its a pleasant morning, my mind clear of anything in particular, well okay I'm still a bit anxious over the pregnancy thing, but I found myself riding along, a grin like a Loon plastered on my face. Bern and the baby will be back in London by now, hope they are okay, its a long time on the coach and the ferry too. I've ridden up the Rotweinstraße that many times that I do it on auto pilot, swerve around that pothole, change gear at this point – well you get the idea.

Thirty minutes later and the coffee machine was warming up and I was in the stockroom changing out of my bike gear – there is no way I'm wearing bibs and a sports-halter all day. My assistant arrived as I pulled my shoes on.

"Another day at the grindstone,” Kris offered.
"Yeah,” I agreed as she stowed her bag.
“’brellas?”
"Nah, lets see how it goes,” I decided passing her the keys.
 

And so the scene was set for what developed into a busy day at Gaby’s Garten. Max of course came for lunch but it was otherwise uneventful until just before four when Mand turned up.

"Am I first?” she queried after parking her steed at the fence.
"First?”
"Thought the others would be here by now?”
"What others?”
She gave me one of those ‘you’re kidding’ looks, "The Neuweid guys?”
"What about them?”
"You really weren’t listening this morning were you?” she sighed.
"Yeah, were going up to the Ring right?”
"At least you got that much, are you getting changed or what?”
"Er yeah.”
 

By the time I'd exchanged Capri’s and Keds for bibs and Sidi’s, Mand wasn’t the only cyclist waiting outside.

"Heya Gab’s”
“Mark,” I allowed flatly
"Not what I was expecting when your dad said we were riding from ‘Gaby’s snack bar’.”
"Its not exactly mine.”
"Yeah, I thought it’d be some skanky burger trailer.”
"Thanks,” I allowed.
"Congrats on Sunday by the way, pretty classy move.”
"Just improving the odds.”
"I was a bit miffed on Sunday, thought we’d all be riding together.”
"Yeah well, you know what thought did.”
"Okay people,” Dad called for our attention, "Right, two groups, girls and lads, Gaby you’re with the lads today.”

Great.

"We’ll be following the lads in the minibus, Mand, you girls get ten minutes start, we’ll reconvene at the Schnitzel place okay?”
"By the castle yeah?”
"That’s it, okay ladies, off you go.”
 

That meant the rest of us had time to kill.

“Daz, leave the staff alone,” I requested.

Kris pouted and batted her eyelashes when Darren returned to our group.

"Okay people,” Dad got our attention again, "I just want a rotation going up, I want you all together so no racing, Gaby knows the way, right on your way.”

It was only then that I realised my bike was still in the bin shed.
 

I ended up having to chase the others down, it was the Kreuzberg junction before I got onto the back of the group.

"Where you been man?” Josh asked as I got my breath back.
"Would you believe I forgot my bike?”
“Man, you were daft as a blonde, youse worse with the pink!”
"Huh! I'm still blonde underneath.”
"TMI Gabs,” Geth chortled.

Urgh, boys!
 

It was weird riding the familiar road in a group like this, even if we aren’t ‘racing’ the speed is higher than when its just me and Mand. On the other hand it feels so much easier than usual too despite reaching Adenau in a super quick fifty minutes. Of course the gradient starts to bite from there and the speed rapidly dropped from around thirty to twenty as soon as we crossed the circuit at Breidscheid.

"Is that the girls?” Geth asked as the road opened up a bit.
"Think so,” Jamie concurred.
"We should catch them,” Cav proposed.
“Dad said no racing,” I pointed out.
"Its not racing if we just up the pace a bit is it?”

Well its a technicality I guess, I glanced behind, the minibus was about fifty metres back, the Mayen bus coming up behind it.

"When the bus comes past then.”

Looking up the road, the girls have probably still got best part of five minutes on us, the gradient is deceiving in terms of time taken to climb it, if we’re gonna catch them we are gonna have to really give it some. Josh started to wind things up a bit so when I shouted ‘now!’ we were already doing twenty five again. The girls however were having their own ‘competition’, at the Quiddelbach turns they were still well ahead of us.

"What’s that?” Daz asked.
"What?”
"That noise, there it is again.”

I guess you get so used to these things you ignore them, the noise was an engine dopplering in the forest somewhere out on the circuit.

"Someone out on the circuit I guess.”
"Circuit?” Jamie queried.
"The Ring.”
"As in Nurburgring,” Josh added.
"Really?” Mark queried.
"No, I just made that up, of course really,” I advised with an eye roll, “left after the bridge.”

By now our speed had dropped back again as we made the upper reaches of our route, the ramp onto the two five eight causing a universal dropping of gears.
 

"Can’t see the girls,” Geth mentioned as we turned onto the long straight past the GP circuit.
"They must’ve turned the juice up,” I suggested, I know why we can’t see them, Mand will have taken the short cut through the circuit.
"How much further Gab?” Mark queried.
"Couple of K,” I suggested trying hard to hide my grin.

We got back into a rotation and made short work of reaching the village turn, Geth nearly fell off when something loud and fast went over the circuit bridge just as we reached it. Then the restaurant hove into view, the girls just turning into the car park below the castle. The pace fell off as parked cars and traffic prevented our rotation continuing.
 

"Okay ladies and gentlemen,” Caro addressed us as we gathered ourselves in the car park, "Sprints, Gaby, if you take yourself down to the roundabout set people off at fifteen seconds until your dad gets there please, you’ve got about three hundred metres up to the sign where Dave’s at now, I want a hundred percent effort, we’ll do three sets, okay?”

Well this is different, not done this sort of stuff for a while.

"Right, lets get on,” she chivvied.
 

Dad arrived in time for me to join the sprint fest, setting us off TT style. Its hard work if you give it everything, the rest between sprints was minimal, by the time we’d slowed, turned around and return to the start we had perhaps thirty seconds to spare before the next set. I was last in of course and I freewheeled into the car park already sucking on my bidon.
 

“Good effort people, steady ride back to where we started,” Caro advised, "Your Dad says you know a different way back Gaby?”
"We can go over Kaltenborn,” I suggested.
"You know the roads girl, so it isn’t a race so steady please.”
We set off just as Dad arrived, “Kaltenborn!” I called over.
 

You might remember this route, along towards Kempenich then over the top and down to Kesseling, yeah that road. it’s a fairly logical route and one which I can show off on. Our bigger group trundled along like a Sunday club run, occasional rotation but nothing formal, riding just below piano.

"This that road we used the other week?” Tal asked.
“Might be,” I allowed.
"Caroline said not to race,” she mentioned.
"Who’s racing?”

I signalled to Mand as we dropped through Kaltenborn who nodded back, time for some mega fun!
 

It’s ten kilometres of fast roller-coaster downhill, a road I know ever lump and bump of. I dropped a couple of sprockets and sprinted forward, Mand flicked out behind me and we took off to a chorus of yells from the others. It was of course inevitable there would be some reaction and sure enough a glance behind revealed a pursuit.

Mand took over pace setting for a bit but I wanted clear road for the Herschbach jump so I retook the lead. My speedo was showing almost sixty five through the village and I prepared myself to catch some air. Into the dip, flex the knees, push and……..wheeeee! There was a slight wobble as I touched down but then its into a tuck and get the momentum back up.

Geth came up to us as we slowed a bit for Weidenbach, "Yee-haaa!”
"Easy through the village,” I called after him as he accelerated ahead.
"Best catch him before the bottom,” Mand opined coming alongside.
"Yeah!” I agreed, "I'll get Geth, you look after the others.”
"On it,” she agreed.
 

I dropped it into the twelve and started to chase him down. Its about four kilometres down to Kesseling and it took me three to catch up to him.

"Need...slow...down!”
“….for?”
"Junction.”
"Bum!”

However you look at it, slowing a bike from seventy K takes some distance and effort, we just about reached zero velocity at the T junction as a logging truck did its best to break the speed limit on its way up towards Staffel.

"Some ride,” Geth allowed as we rolled across the junction, "You must have cleared ten metres on the jump.”
“More like twelve,” I suggested, I measured the road there, if I reach the marker board its twelve metres.
"You’re mad.”
"And you’re not?”
“Guilty as charged.” he allowed with a grin.
 

© Maddy Bell 11.06.17