Earlier in the year we set off for Launceston in soft summer morning conditions, tip-toed across 10 Km's of gravel, grovelled a little into a freshening headwind to Cressy and then had a bit of a lie down in the shade in the middle of the town due to the afternoon heat.
A quick bowl of pasta ( thanks Mr and Mrs Hinds ), a shower, change of kit, and we remounted for the return ride, with a welcome tailwind - and pretty sore legs.
We don't need to ride 400 in one step this time. And I must admit that spending 24 hours on the bike at this time of year doesn't really appeal at the moment.
We are just working up to long daily averages, and then stringing long days together. This weekend will see roughly 200 per day for two days - not exactly the 300 per day for 4 days that we will need to do in France, but a step in the right direction.
End of this month will see 3 days of 200 - leading up to our departure for the Continent.
This weekend, however, we will celebrate Oppy's 1930 Hobart-Launceston-Hobart distance record by riding our 30's bikes over a version of the same course.
Oppy completed his ride in soggy August conditions on a single speed 'Tour de France' model Malvern Star in just over 15 hours - in spite of an upset stomach that necessitated road-side stops along the return journey.
Now, I have a bit of a theory going that is purely circumstantial but fun to imagine...
The first Malvern Star agency in Southern Tasmania opened in Hobart in May 1930 - by Frank Beauchamp. Frank is a whole other story - and it turns out, Austral Wheel Race winner of 1899 the year following Tom Finnegan ( 1898 ).
( Who is Tom Finnegan ? Founder of the Malvern Star brand who set up in a little shop front on Malvern Road, Melbourne - it turns out about 2 Km South of the first architectural practice I ever worked at... )
Oppy then makes an appearance in Hobart in August - at the height of the professional road season - to attempt the 400Km record. Something of a co-incidence ? Or perhaps savvy marketing on behalf of Bruce and Frank Small - owners of the Malvern Star brand from 1922 and Oppy's managers, friends and supporters.
More detail of Oppy's ride is set out in a Mercury newspaper article from the time. Suffice to say that our hero broke the record in just a few minutes over 15 hours for the entire ride in appalling wet and slippery conditions on a very simple bike ( by today's standards ).
My pet theory is that, along with his Sydney-Melbourne record, the Hobart-Launceston ride set Oppy into the type of form that would see him win the inaugural Tour of Tasmania late in the year, then ride strongly in a series of match races in the Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals, in preparation for embarking to France for his second and succesfull European season. Oppy won a number of lead-up races, achieved 12th at the TdF, and then just 3 weeks later pulled off his remarkable and tenacious win in Paris-Brest-Paris.
It is because of this ( tenuous Tasmanian ) connection that we are finding some extra inspiration in Oppy's achievements - Knowing that he appreciated a knowledgeable Tasmanaian cycling fraternity, liked racing here and built on his endurance, and prepared for the depart to Europe by racing successfully in this State.
As we have been tracking roughly on a similar timeline to Oppy - first coming up with the idea to ride P-B-P in 2011 - three years before the event as Oppy also did ( during his 1928 European campaign ) - we have also set ourselves this little series of similar rides in preparation for the main event in August.
Of course, we'll set a more leisurely pace and hopefully enjoy rolling over backroads that are now becoming pretty familiar, though no less appealing.
More about Oppy's and our own 400 to follow...
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