Training ride

by RODNEY WILLIAMS

hill-based training ride     highway one
water bottle full     tyre pressure right                        
solo
run today     tête de la course
lanterne rouge too     red tail light                        

ute out front     four-wheel drive behind
white cumulus horizon     blue overhead
wedgetail
’s wings     scoping green slopes
ibis in formation     broad arrowhead            

shire dead & injured     highway listing
red wombat carcass    
spread of gizzard
scaly skin sheath     flat
on bitumen
older roadkill     blue-tongue lizard                        

double-decker semi-trailer     angus steers
emergency swerve     handlebar wrench

from slipstream suck     sideways shift
abattoir bound     downwind stench                        

trucks ratchet strap     rubbish bags tossed
plastic bottles dumped     fast-food trash
bits of rope dropped     lost worker’s glove                        

orange witch’s hats     site of recent crash            

cold-front clouds     sheer black cliffs
yet another rise     gear change strain
traffic building up
    increased headwind
downhill roll to home    
first spits of rain

– Princes Highway, Trafalgar to Moe, VIC