So the Ferryman was back in town for another while and boy did the other 9 Square Wheelers know all about it. There was plenty of chat until we got to Armagh. PeeGee was saying how Liverpool were going to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup, The Duff was nodding in agreement and The Sandbagger was putting in his bid for the Hairdryer award of 2014. “He must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning” moaned Sir Alex. Then when we hit the Newry Road you could have heard a pin drop. The Ferryman was in fine cycling tune putting in his claim for a place in the 2014 Giro. He was turning the pedals like a well oiled machine from the bottom of the hill all the way till near Markethill. There were sighs of relief when The Sandbagger shouted for him to slow down and wait for the rest of us. First time we ever agreed with the big man.
Mr and Mrs Younger Schleck joined us just before Armagh at the bus stop. Eye witness reports had it that they got the number 72 bus from Moy with their bikes in the luggage compartment. They are then reported to have had morning coffee in the shopping centre and got back out on the road again just in time for the peloton to pick them up.
It was a lovely morning for a cycle. It was a bit disappointing that there were only 10 members out for the weekly spin but those missing in action had valid excuses. The MC and The Tone were rumoured to be on a Treasure Hunt on 2 wheels somewhere in Coleraine while The Igloo Man is rumoured to be speaking in a high pitched voice following a mysterious day procedure in Craigavon Hospital which will see him out for a couple of weeks.
Once the Ferrymen calmed down a bit The Older Schleck started pulling all the strings. You wouldn’t have known that he had been out of the saddle for a few weeks either because of a sore throat, chest infection or a week on the piste in Slovenia. The Continental Man was out for the first time in months as well. He had been touring the mountain bike routes all over the country from Davagh to Castlewellan and from Craigavon to the Mournes. He had now decided that it was time to get back out on the road. The Rushmere Man was back out too on his lime green mean machine.
From Markethill the peloton lined up behind The Oil Man and headed for Tandragee. The Oil Man was in quieter form than usual and only asked one or 2 of the peloton how they felt. He was too warm one minute and too cold the next and was peeling off his fancy yellow running coat one minute and putting it back on the next.
From Tandragee the peloton followed The Ferryman again and headed for Gilford. The churchgoers gave us the once over as we followed the sunshine for Banbridge and the much welcomed coffee break.
As a mark of respect to the MC, three turkey and ham dinners were ordered by the bigger boys.” It’s just like Christmas all over again” said The Oil Man “so happy new year to you all.” There were scones on order for some of the others while PeeGee opted for a nutritional chicken Panini with full fat lattés. The Oil Man was suffering to use the facilities the only problem being that there were none to use. “I’ll have to stop out the road if that’s OK with you guys. I don’t want to soil my new tights.”
With all bills paid it was onwards to Waringstown and Lurgan where the red lights were observed by most of the group. The Ferryman said farewell to us all as he headed for the airport in his cycling gear hoping to catch the 5.30 plane to the big smoke once again. Hopefully we’ll see him some time soon. After a quick natural break we all headed for Portadown with Sir Alex showing his strength against a strong head wind. Up through the Garvaghy Road we then turned for the Moy once again. PeeGee’s pedal was giving him difficulty which meant that he was cycling with one leg but he only mentioned it 3 or 4 times.
It wasn’t long till we were back under the tree again courtesy of the Duff and the Sandbagger who showed up at the end even though we thought we had left him in Portadown.
It had been a super spin of 60 miles once again at a pace to suit all!
As a mark of respect to the MC, three turkey and ham dinners were ordered by the bigger boys.” It’s just like Christmas all over again” said The Oil Man “so happy new year to you all.” There were scones on order for some of the others while PeeGee opted for a nutritional chicken Panini with full fat lattés. The Oil Man was suffering to use the facilities the only problem being that there were none to use. “I’ll have to stop out the road if that’s OK with you guys. I don’t want to soil my new tights.”
With all bills paid it was onwards to Waringstown and Lurgan where the red lights were observed by most of the group. The Ferryman said farewell to us all as he headed for the airport in his cycling gear hoping to catch the 5.30 plane to the big smoke once again. Hopefully we’ll see him some time soon. After a quick natural break we all headed for Portadown with Sir Alex showing his strength against a strong head wind. Up through the Garvaghy Road we then turned for the Moy once again. PeeGee’s pedal was giving him difficulty which meant that he was cycling with one leg but he only mentioned it 3 or 4 times.
It wasn’t long till we were back under the tree again courtesy of the Duff and the Sandbagger who showed up at the end even though we thought we had left him in Portadown.
It had been a super spin of 60 miles once again at a pace to suit all!