Stop!.... Hammer time!

In what is my planned to be my final hit out before Saturdays Dirty Dozen ride i decided to join in with the Thursday morning "Hammer Time" group.

This ride starts at 0630 GST (Garmin Standard Time) every Thursday from Red Berry Espresso just off Greenhill road in Adelaide. We head out up Greenhill at a steady pace and make our way to the start of Waterfall Gully Road....this is where the fun begins. 

Not having driven up this road let alone ridden up it i wasnt sure what to expect. The description on the group event page (http://www.adelaidecyclists.com/group/waterfall-gully-thursdays) says "Waterfall Gully stretches 3.8km, contains around 100m of elevation. The profile is that of a moderate climb, but there are some undulations. This lends the road to being a great for time-trials" 

Sweet! Didnt check where the strava segment started so 3 riders shot off the front (thanks Adam, Shane and Jim!) so of course i had no choice but to try and jump on! It is a simply stunning stretch of road and the weather today could not have been more perfect. Being that this is only my 2nd or 3rd road ride in going on 6 weeks i felt it! not gonna lie, but it was reeeeally good to get out there. More so than the scenery, the group i got to ride with are 
fantastic. Finally got to put some faces to name (and tweets) and meet some new ones. 

Once we got to the end of Waterfall Gully road we discovered that the gate to the car park, and strava segment end, was closed. AVO nearly went barreling into it! would have been a great time if it was open! We all managed to shimmy through, Gamins in hand, to cross the line. 

After a quick regroup it was back to RBE for a coffee and a laugh then on to work!

it is days like this that reminds me of WHY i love to ride bikes! Definitely planning on making this a regular ride!

From L - R
Trent (me), Georgie, Teddles (Terrier), Loraine, Adam, Shane, James, AVO and Daniel

End of the road, Waterfall Gully. Want to get back here for a walk and some exploring

Today i also had delivered my 11-28 rear cassette for the Dirty Dozen ride! was getting a little worried that it wouldnt get here in time which would have seen me in a WORLD of pain come Saturday and probably unlikely to finish. Glad it got here in time, im a LITTLE more confident now. 

Well if i make it through Saturday i will post a report! Wish me luck!