Pepe Appears

Pepe came(consistently too soon according to Bec), Pepe saw, Pepe got his arse handed to him on a plate.....

But first things first. The bunch was somewhat deflated right from the off this am when neither "The Mammoth" or "Crystle Cranks" made it to the starting line. Pepe, on making the journey in after doing boarding duty last night and operating on a handful of hours of the old shut eye was particularly disappointed......

It was however a hearty bunch that headed out into the mist. First drama of the day was when Leigh "Eau de Cologne" Marriott punctured at the Eureka St. roundabout. Brad "The General" Fry dove into fixing the puncture like a rat up a drainpipe - completely taking charge of the situation. In an act of great chivalry, Paul Esmonde offered up his spare tube as the fast hands of Fry made light work of the tire changing. Unfortunately the extra weight of Eau de's tube meant that Esmonde quickly exceeded his 130bpm maximum heart rate threshold when the climb started and he found himself "dancing in the dark solo". Watto and Macca had made the smart call to start the climb while the puncture repair was still underway and were ready to roll once the bunch crested the rise, Watto obviously concerned that the extra drag of the reflectors on his wheels, which he refuses to remove, was going to count against him if the going got hot.

Up the pinch after turning off Brewery Tap and Dicko and Beechy showed that both have the engines to do damage if they have the chance. Both boys frisky on this first brisk morning for a while.

On the roll down, Eau De again used his Zipps to advantage and for a little while it was Pepe and the more affluent Marriott out in front chewing the fat. It was at this point that Leigh indicated that while he was happy to have S__t hung on him for his expensive gear, that he had been somewhat offended by the aftershave comments from last week as he rarely brought this out these days and if he did it was only on special occasions. Pepe being a soft soul, agreed that he may have overstepped the mark on this and that he would assist in helping Marriott take a back to back triumph in the sprint if the chance arose.

Turning into Humffray St, and with Marriott still a bit teary re the aftershave, the two pulled to the side to allow a regrouping before the final push to the line. No sooner had things slowed to walking pace than the flying duo of "The General" and Chris "Limpet" Beechey charged past at full tilt. Pepe turned to Marriott and the exact quote was "there is no way these c--ts are getting away with this s--t". Head down Pepe full gassed it to join the hurtling duo.

On reaching the pair, Pepe observes that the spurt is well and truly out of Fry's premature attackulation and so like all good riders he counter attacks. Sensing one rider on his wheel and expecting it to be Marriott, he asks if they are away - "yes" comes a somewhat feeble response. But they are not far off the front and so Pepe does what Pepe needs to do and puts the head down. Through the last roundabout and the elastic is broken to the riders behind. Surely Pepe and Marriott will share the spoils - after all, Pepe has done 100% of the work down Humffray St....

A wheel comes up to his bottom bracket, but it is not friendly, it is an attack. It is also not Marriott. The "Limpet" has pulled off a tactical master class. Pepe can bang his bars in frustration but for all his braggadocio, he has been thoroughly outclassed today.
While the "General" will go on to take the credit for the tactical underpinnings of this great win, Pepe can tell you that when the chips were down, Beechey let his legs do the talking.

There is a lesson for you in all of that Runge.

Pepe "used to be quick in the olden days" Pompadillo

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