As you recall, I was going to do a Putty run on Wednesday but fate had different ideas. The weather forecast for Friday continued to be good so, come yesterday morning, I suited up at 0600 and headed north. The roads were a bit slimy after some overnight rain and the misty stuff continued to collect on the visor until after Picton. Nevertheless, the tradition of riding on the week days to avoid the weekend traffic was holding firm and I got a great run through to the Shell at Wilberforce where I usually fill up and shoot the breeze with Charlie, the servo’s ever-smiling console operator. Charlie is a great guy and can always be relied upon for a smile and some homespun advice.
Roadworks for about 15kms north of Wilberforce spoiled the first of the twisty sections but, by the time I started dropping down into the Colo, it was clear and the hammer was down (relatively). The mission was the Grey Gum Cafe and some chances to put into practice some of the riding skills that have lain long dormant since returning to riding after the accident.
I read many years ago some wise advice from an experienced rider. “Trust your tyres. They have much more adhesion than you believe that they do.” While giving mental assent to this, it has been extremely difficult for me to put this into practice. Memories of the pain, the shock and the heebie-jeebies about crashing still intrude. So the brief was to stop braking for corners unnecessarily, maintain throttle opening through the corner and carry the corner speed. In other words, riding smoothly and properly and I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been.
Such skills do not return immediately, as the shampoo ad used to say, “It won’t happen overnight, but it WILL happen.” Slowly I started overcoming my fear of running wide in the left-handers and into the wall on the right-handers. I started to make the bike lean more, seeking out the grip that I have always known that was there (I have never been interested in chicken strips but I can tell you, mine are huge). Breakfast at the Grey Gum and I was still feeling chipper.
One of the things that has worried me since returning to riding is not just the discomfort that is part of having metal implants in your leg, but the pain from an incision that was incorrectly made in my leg which cut through the muscle in my upper thigh. Speaking to my doctor about it the other day he confirmed that it wasn’t muscle pain that I was experiencing but nerve pain from where a nerve had been partially severed. The severed nerve endings are seeking to complete the connection but are unable to do so. There is no cure (apart from expensive surgery to re-join the ends) but he prescribed Voltaren gel, rubbed into the location, which will deaden the sensation. It seemed too simple a solution to me, but, as usual, he was right. No pain from that area for over 250kms, whoopee!
As I said, I was still feeling good, it was still early, so I continued north for a solo lap of the Ten Mile, that complex and challenging piece of road that winds through the river valley just south of Singleton. If ever a road was going to challenge my attempts, this was it. Known by the young riders today as “The Canyon” that description probably gives you a better idea of what it is like. A mixture of super-slow and mid-speed tight corners, some closing and some opening radius, with no run-off area AT ALL, it rewards the skillful and punishes (often severely) the unwary.
I have known the Ten Mile for a long time. Back when Paul and I bought our first bikes, I was living in Wollongong and he was living in Denman, at the top end of the Putty. My first long ride after I got my licence, over 40 years ago, was the Putty to Paul’s place and I have been riding it and driving it pretty much constantly since then.
Again my decision to ride the week day ride was rewarded with a totally traffic-free run from the Grey Gum, through the Ten Mile and to The Tree (see pic above) where most Putty rides conclude and the riders head south again. And I am pleased to report that, by giving myself a stern talking-to, I was able to improve dramatically my performance over last time (which was abysmal). The corners flowed, the brakes stayed cool, the edge grip that I knew was there WAS there and I enjoyed it immensely. The particular corners that have always been my “bears” seemed far less intimidating and, while I am not going to say that I mastered the Ten Mile (nobody ever really does that), I certainly put its daunting nature much further into the background.
I really got the hammer down on the way back to the Grey Gum for a milk shake and was a little disappointed when I got there as quickly as I did. Refuelled internally, I headed towards home, retracing my steps. Fuel at Wilberforce, a “Welcome back” from Charlie and I was in the groove. Some traffic and roadworks around Penrith (it’s a way of life) and afternoon tea at The Peppercorn Cafe at Mulgoa.
Home in the late afternoon. Perfect weather, great riding conditions and an incremental improvement in my riding. Nothing clears the head better than a solo ride. And it’s still Summer!