Rider redux

Getting a couple of rides in

2011-08-28T09:56:00.000+10:00

Last week the 2011 Paris Brest Paris was run and with thanks to the miracle of technology I was able to vicariously enjoy the efforts of friends as they worked towards their goal of finishing the ride. Particularly to Greg, who was the lone "Dog" on the ride and came home in slightly over 80 hours.

Sitting back in my armchair as I was, the ride has also motivated me to get back out on the bike and I have enjoyed a couple of rides over the last few days after not spinning a pedal for 2 months. I have found that apart from some stiffness and predictable contact point soreness, I still remember how to do it. Not so sure about going for a really long ride just yet, but there's a 100km ride in a couple of weeks that I will have a crack at, then I might think about working towards riding Fitz's Classic at the end of October.

Curiously, I remember back in in 2007 thinking about getting to PBP in 2011 and embarking upon my audax adventure, and find myself in much the same position today, thinking about PBP in 2015. It's really not that far off.

Mileage in Kilometers = 3636

Could be worse I suppose

2011-05-20T21:29:00.005+10:00

I've been spending time off the bike of late in the hope that my foot will recover. In order to cheer myself up about missing PBP this time and to spend my airfare on something more interesting than whitegoods, while taking some of the weight off my foot - I am going to learn to paraglide in Manilla next week. Should be great.

As far as the foot goes I wish it were better, but it seems not. It's getting worse.

Initially I was treated for metatarsalgia, I got some orthotics fitted in my cycling shoes and moved to a roomier fit with a Look style cleat replacing my SPDs in order to spread the load. As noted, this didn't really work, though the Sidi Lazars are great in every other way.

The primary cause of the pain as it turns out is neuroma, or more specifically Mortons Neuroma, which is basically a benign tumor on the nerve sheaf in my foot between my metatarsals. It is exacerbated by applying pressure to the ball of the foot and apparently one of the causes is wearing high heeled shoes.

I don't wear stilettos so much, but I spent a great deal of time during my twenties and early thirties wearing really tight fitting rock climbing shoes such as these Boreal Aces -

The style for rock shoes was the tighter the better so a good fitting rock climbing shoe was 2 sizes smaller than a walking shoe. In hindsight I can see that something was bound to give eventually.

So the "foot" is now bad enough to cause problems when I'm just walking around, so I am beginning to think that getting a cortisone injection will be the next stage of therapy.

Anyway as its all pretty stuffed, and is getting painful to walk, I may as well ride.

So tomorrow, I'm reduxing yet again!

New shoes, old feet.

2011-04-25T17:03:00.003+10:00

Quite depressing really, my feet failed again on the Border 600 this weekend. Could only manage 160km before it became too painful to continue. I think that's the end of my Paris Brest Paris aspiration.

New Gadget

2011-04-13T11:52:00.003+10:00

The plan is to use it to power the Garmin and potentially other gadgets on long rides. It has turned up just in time for the Coal Valley 400 this weekend.

A non cycling interlude

2011-04-08T19:03:00.003+10:00

I love music, play a few instruments in a slapdash kind of way and am currently learning the Violin. You can always tell when a ride is going well for me as I will be singing various songs as they come to me down the road.

After singing in choirs at school and as a busker and vocalist in a band during my misspent youth, my vocals in recent times only really come out on the road or in the shower. I was never a good singer, but I loved how it made me feel.

Late last year while driving to work listening to ABC Classic FM I heard a story and music about an American composer Eric Whitacre, who had created a virtual choir on youtube. At that time he was putting together another choir and wanted people to join in.

I thought the idea was pretty interesting so noted the link quoted and checked it out when I got to work. The whole concept seemed really exciting so then I thought, Hmm, why not take part?

I downloaded the various scores of the different parts and decided that I could best manage the Bass Pt 1 so set about learning it. For the next few weeks I worked on the tune and with the 31st January deadline looming I started recording my part so I could upload it.

Gawd it was awful! I tried about 100 takes and finally arrived at an imperfect version but reckoned it was as good as I was going to get.

Today the combined video was launched. There were 2052 participants from 58 Countries. I'm third from the left ;-)

Riding for transport

2011-04-05T21:40:00.002+10:00

A week or so ago at the Audax NSW awards night at Harts Pub, it was great to catch up with Adrian, once a blogging peer from Yellow Brick Road, now more wise.

He arrived, very stylishly on a natty Brompton and following a folding/unfolding demonstration we yacked a bit about its utility and how Adrian was using the bike regularly during his day to get to meetings outside of his building (he works at a large University) and across campus.

I thought this approach pretty intelligent and as I frequently find myself in a similar position as my office is offsite to the main building (about 1.2k down the road) and I regularly drive to meetings and return often 3 time each day I had a great idea. A Brompton could be really useful in replacing those car journeys and making an (albeit small) difference to my carbon footprint. And bromptons are really cool. Just ask Will Self .

I descended on the Brompton website and after deciding that I would need the 6 speed, titanium model with the Brooks saddle and custom paint, was forced to consider the fiscal practicalities of this.

On reflection I realised that a folding bike wasn't really necessary as I am blessed with a large garage and loading dock at work, and in my home bike shed I just happened to have a "spare" stealth bike built up from decent retro parts found but tragically unused this last year or so (nitto stem and bars, Selle Italia saddle, Dia compe brakes, sugino cranks and 105 ders - the wheels - Velocity Dyads - were new couple of years ago).

So I dusted off the Stealth on the weekend, placed some nice MKS platform pedals on so I could ride in work shoes, adjusted the mudguards, stuck on the old Zefal frame pump and attached lights front and rear. Took it for a quick spin and realised that 20 some years of working downtube friction shifters never goes away and felt right at home.

I took the bike to work on Monday set it up in its parking spot against the wall and waited for my first meeting. Before long I found myself donning my helmet, and velcro gaiters before setting off on my maiden voyage, slightly anxious for some strange reason. I needn't have worried, it felt great and was every bit like riding a bike!

So far I have done 8.7km just going to meetings and back to the office. The bike runs great, it's an easy flat ride and I can make better time on the trip than I ever did in the car, simply because I can ride right up to the back door and the traffic lights mean everything moves at 25kph anyway.

I also feel "cycle chic" on the rides as I'm in work duds, which is usually a suit and always a tie. It's actually really nice to ride like it isn't a big deal, no gloves, no lycra, no water bottle - just hop on and go. I noticed quite a few WTF looks from drivers and pedestrians today as I rode to meetings and back, jacket flapping lazily, drive train humming, carbon being saved.

At the end of the exercise though, I just really enjoy riding.

Had one of those rides

2011-04-02T10:13:00.005+11:00

Cycling has been a bit off since the Opperman as I recover from the rib injury. It seems that I have not broken or cracked anything, but lordy they've been sore. Most incoveniently my range of movement has been greatly affected so stretching hasn't been happening.

By way of encouragement to remount I got myself a new cycle computer. The old one was damaged in the fall (and never worked properly in the rain anyway). Not being one to do things by halves I got a Garmin Edge 800 complete with heart rate monitor.

It's a pretty cool bit of kit and with the added benefit of GPS I will be able to get everyone lost with even more authority. The data analysis is fascinating and reveals just what a lousy cyclist I am, and the heart rate sensor is a continual worry. I'm hooping that I may be able to use this information to improve and train more effectively. But probably not.

So on the recovery trail I've been out for a few tentative rides but as of the last few days have been feeling pain free enough to stretch things out a bit.

Set off early this morning thinking maybe 50km would be nice, but it was such a grand morning and I was feeling really comfortable on the bike that I just kept on going until I saw rain clouds coming over the escarpment and turned away from them. It was one of those rides that reminds me why I enjoy cycling so much. Felt good, saw interesting things and was happy.

One of my aims was to checkout the new bridge over Little Lake at Barrack Point. The bridge saves a longish and unpleasant diversion onto Windang Rd, so the bridge really is a great bit of infrastructure and completes a missing link (well one of them anyway) on the coastal cycleway

It hasn't been officially opened yet but that's not stopping anyone using it, so well done Shellharbour Council.

Mileage in Kms = 2724

Fleche Opperman

2011-03-20T18:14:00.005+11:00

This is one of my favourite rides and this year was my third successful venture into the pleasures of the fleche.

We were a team of 3, Greg and Jeff and myself and we had planned an unambitious 364km as the minimum we could get away with. As things turned out we rode a bit further.

The weather forecast was initially for scattered showers, so I wasn't too worried when after 1 km the rain started. As luck would have it, the rain remained with us for the next 370 odd kms.

OUr route took us in a large loop, up the Macquarie pass, through the Southern Highlands to Marulan then turning north to skirt to foot of the Blue Mountains before descending into the Nepean valley for an overnight stop at Windsor with a mere 60km to complete to get to Parramatta park by 9am.

Our first objective challenge was the climb of Macquarie pass, this ascent was marked by increasingly poor visibility as we approached the top, but this was accompanied with the naive belief that once over the rim of the escarpment the weather conditions would improve. They did, a very little bit for a very short time but then the rain came back.

5km out of Moss Vale I managed to find the only thing capable of puncturing a Gatorskin, which is a 3 inch nail. Puncture fixed we made it to the first control without further incident, though about 30 minutes behind our unofficial schedule.

After a quick pie at the Moss Vale bakehouse we raced off for Marulan via a circuitous but scenic (at least when it wasn't raining) route. Though it rained (heavily) we made good time and picked up the lost 30 minutes and enjoyed the weird food and bizarre coffee that only the Marulan service centre can provide.

Our next stop was Hill Top and included about 70km along the shoulder of the Hume Hwy. I was lagging a bit on the hills but would catch the team up on the downhills. About 10 kms from the Hill Top controle, Greg flatted, this time he found a tack, not quite as long as my nail but no less effective. Carrying on and descending through the cutting to Hill Top, I zigged when I should have zagged and pinch flatted on a water filled pot hole. Puncture repaired we made the Hill Top controle just as the heavens really opened up and we were really pleased to see that the bakery was still open and happy to see soggy customers.

My rearlights were beginning to get a bit eccentric at this point so I carefully dried them out and mounted one on my helmet in hopes that it would remain somewhat drier there. As we left the rain eased and I was keen for the fast descent down to Thirlmere, when I was startled by a large puddle at low speed and my subsequent evasive action brought me down to earth via Jeff's back wheel.

My fall had broken the mount for my computer and my secondary Ay-Up lights. Flustered and no doubt a bit shocked I quickly righted the damage, lights in back pocket, puter secured with a rubber band and got back to it.

The ride down to Thirlmere is one of my favourites, linking the slight inclines with the long and pacey descents is great fun and you can cover the 30 clicks in about 30-40 minutes. As we arrived Greg wanted to remove some layers and I remembered that I carried some zip ties to the Ay-ups were re-installed.

From Thirlmere we had an undulating trip along quite roads for about 60kms before we arrived at Penrith. Greg had a flat at Warragamba, but otherwise the section had been uneventful apart from the increasingly heavy rain and the absence of any view out over the city. A shame that.

With only 30 odd kms to go to the sleep stop we had a sting in our tail and the flat roads between Penrith and Windsor made for good progress. Pulling into Richmond Greg found that he was going down again and we spent some time under a street light inspecting his tube and tyre for the culprit. Eventually we found a fine piece of tyre reinforcing wire and were able to extract it with the aid of the needle nose pliers I carry for just such an occurrence.

We arrived at our lodgings in the Alexander the Great Motel just before two and proceeded to remove wet clothing and sort out soggy lights and punctured tubes. With less than 60km to go we reckoned we could chance a 6 am start so I set the alarm for 5.20am and off we slept.

After the alarm we roused and readied ourselves for the last push. Overnight the rain seemed to have eased but as soon as we pushed off from the forecourt down it came once more. Our route from there became increasingly cryptic but we eventually found Windsor road and the M7 cycleway.

Unfortunately the M7 cycleway is being rebuilt in places and one of the many detours into Plumpton had us travelling in circles before we found an entrance onto the M7 shoulder and travelled on.

We wewre flagging though and after turning onto the M4 Greg and Jeff turned off to the service centre for breakfast, following behind I arrived just in time to see Greg go over in an oil patch, Landing heavily. He bounced up and before too long we were enjoying a Maccas breakfast.

10km to go now with less than 30 minutes remaining we took off, through the rain and motorway debris along the M4 shoulder. Soon the Church street exit appeared and we were home and hosed, actually meeting the remnants of Bec's team as we approached Parramatta park for the last 2km loop and the joy of finishing (and the breakfast).

Jeff decided that he was riding home to Cronulla, Greg was catching up with his family in the City, so I cut a lonely (and wet) figure on the train heading back down to home. The connections fell to hand and I was home by 1.30, ribs aching, as well as other parts but pretty happy with the day out on the bike.

Congratulations to all the other Oppy teams.

Mileage in Kms = 2565

Getting back in the saddle again again

2011-03-06T10:20:00.002+11:00

The visit to the podiatrist appears to have been successful. The intense pain was a type of metatarsalgia caused by compressing the tarsal nerves in the ball of my foot. In my case it was pretty chronic and included some thickening of the nerve sheath which increases the likelihood of inflammation and pain.

So for much of the week I was enjoying heat treatment to reduce the inflammation and to fill the time while waiting for my orthotic to be enhanced with tarsal bump. Picked them up on Thursday and as of now, have ridden about 120kms with them and they feel quite good. Foot feels more stable too.

So I can hopefully keep riding on as March is looking to be another busy month. Coastal 200 next weekend, the Oppy the week after and the highlands hop 400 the week after that.

A nice build up during the month, but I will need to take care so that I don't blow up.

Mileage in Kilometres = 1772

F*&$ February

2011-03-01T21:37:00.003+11:00

February is really a bad month for me and cycling. Unfortunately, my last two and longest, qualifying rides were scheduled during the month. The first, the 400km I was ready to leave only to find that my credit card had been skimmed and conversations with the fraud team at the bank made me miss the start.

No matter, plenty of other 4s.

Last weekend I was out on the 600km and found that after 250km with a crippling hot foot pain in my left foot I would have to abandon. So nuts to February.

On the plus side, I have visited a podiatrist this week who reckons that the problem with my foot can be fixed with a metatarsal spreader and as soon as the inflammation settles down I will be riding again, hopefully tomorrow! And there are still a few more 6s left to qualify with.

So February may have beaten me this time, but I'm gaining ground and I did manage to ride over 800km so things can't be that bad.

Mileage in Kilometres = 1648

Tallowa Dam Ride

2011-01-13T10:07:00.004+11:00

I took part in the Tallowa Dam ride last weekend in preparation for the Alpine Classic later in the month and as a general all round source of pain and suffering.

There was a fairly large group again for the ride, it's really becoming something of a "draw" for Sydney Audax riders and locals too. A few familiar faces and a few new ones. Even had a guy on a recumbent.

The weather was very humid and sticky and got hot later in the day but was otherwise not too extreme. A head wind moderated the temperatures for most of the ride, with only the steep climb up from the dam and most of Barrengary Mountain being hot.

I found myself in pedal with Greg for most of the day and it was good to catch up with him. He has just started his preparation for PBP so reckons he was a bit slower and unfit, which gave me half a chance.

From Rider redux

For mine, I enjoyed the riding, coped with the hills and heat reasonably well and managed my fastest time yet for this ride.

From Rider redux

Nothing really significant to report from the ride itself, saw a Lyrebird on the Pass and some beautiful parrots along the route. Traffic was fairly light and patient and it didn't rain!

Mileage in Kilometers = 376

The Annual Round up

2011-01-01T10:10:00.002+11:00

The 2010 goals were

Finish a Super series.
Complete at least one BRM event every month
Clock up the required 2400km of BRM rides (November - November) to qualify for early entry into PBP (only 2200 to go!)
Complete a 1000km ride
Hopefully complete Perth Albany Perth (am on the waiting list)
Aim for a total mileage of 8000km.

Happy to say that I accomplished most of them with the exception of "completing" Perth Albany Perth - but I had a pretty good shot at it while my knee injury meant that I did not ride any BRMs in February and March.

I did however complete my Super Series, clock up the required distance for PBP while I exceeded my cycling target by 1230km to reach 9230km.

October (1055km) was the best month for distance but only slightly as May saw me ride 1021km. I rode 137 times or once every 2.6 days and my longest ride was 612km. Generally I was much more consistent on the bike, riding over 800km in more than 8 months. This is especially so since getting my knee properly fixed and developing more effective technique. My average speed on my training routes is now quite a lot faster than at the beginning of the year (3kph on average) and the riding consistently is pay big dividends in terms of my general cycling capacity, fitness and psychology.

This year the cycling goals are;

Aim for am annual distance of 10,000km
Ride 150 times
Complete 1 BRM event every month
Complete a Super Series
Complete Paris Brest Paris
Qualify for the Percy Armstrong Award (rides of 50, 100, 150, 200 - it's the only award I haven't got yet).

So all in all a pretty positive year with some important lessons learnt. I'm quite looking forward to the challenges ahead!

In other news, I have been learning the Violin, got a new guitar (Taylor 210cc) brewed 23 batches of delicious beer, made a Mead and won 4 first places for my beer at the Albion Park Show (and missed out on best beer by 1 point!), and still manage to lose a couple of kilos!

It's a Bit late but...

2010-12-28T18:16:00.004+11:00

I have really been enjoying my cycling during December and have completed the Highlands 300km brevet and the Christmas Picton Ride (100k). I have also been able to ride more than I expected on a daily basis, given the various christmas commitments that occur at this time of the year and the absolutely crappy weather we have been experiencing. On average I've been out every other day with a number of consecutive days riding logged.

The Highlands 300 on the 4th December was a really enjoyable ride (see previous post) and the Picton Xmas ride two weeks later confirmed to me that I'm getting stronger all the time. The first time I tackled Picton road heading east was 3 years ago, I was a bruised, dehydrated and sweaty mess coming back. This time I was calm and spinning away nicely, despite trespassing on a construction site and a few squalls on the way home.

Since my ITB problems last May and physio and such, I am really beginning to feel like I can be a confident long distance cyclist. Sure it will hurt and I will suffer endlessly, but it doesn't seem as alien now as it did when I commenced this blog.

Now without spoiling my yearly recap post next week, I'm pretty happy to be sitting on about 9100km for the calender year which is quite a bit further than I aimed to ride, so next year I will be looking a little bit further down the road. I'll also be looking to inject some visual interest into the blog and take some photos on my rides.

Crikey, If I manage to come back from Paris without any illustrations, I will be disappointed.

Mileage in Km 9160

Interesting times

2010-12-05T15:34:00.002+11:00

So I get back from Perth and find that I still have tummy trouble. It's worrying enough now for me for visit my Dr, who duly diagnoses Giardiasis. Terrific, take this medication and it should be fine. Medication is awful and a couple of weeks later the now familiar signs have returned.

Hmm says Dr, better run some tests. Turns out I have been enjoying the company of a range of critters, with the last remaining Blastocystis hominis causing the trouble. Not sure where I've encountered these devils and likely will never know, but I am now definitely on the mend after another course of awful antibiotics. The tests also indicate that I'm in fabulous health other than said bugs camping in my gut and HDL cholesterol measuring 6.1. Oops.

So much better in fact that I have recently ridden a lovely 300km brevet known as the Highlands Ride (i'd post the bikley link but its not loading) in what for me was a pretty good time of 15 hrs 30 mins.

The weather this last week has been very wet but I count myself lucky that I got to ride about 150kms in relative dryness though there were some pretty good downpours. By the end of the ride I was down to emergency rear light only as the rain had killed the superflashes and I was really thankful for my reflective vest. Descending Keira in the rain was fraught with terror as I rode the brakes and tried to stay upright.

What was really enjoyable about the ride was the number of birds that were frolicking about. I saw lots of vivid parrots, Rosellas on the way to Bundanoon, and around Wingello I spotted two Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos, as well as the usual Lyre Bird on Macquarie Pass, countless ducks and a raft of Kookaburras.

I managed to get myself into a really useful headspace during the ride. I was enjoying the riding and maintaining a pretty good pace, felt I was climbing well and was generally comfortable both in body and mind as I rode along. This was also my first long ride for sometime without using Perpetuem and I found that so long as I ate at the controles and snacked on lollies along the route I felt pretty good.

So that's the 300 and the 200 down for the PBP qualifiers. There's a local 400 in early February though I have the Tallowa Dam 200 and Alpine Classic to look forward to in January. Will need to get a few more hills in in the meantime.

Mileage in Kilometers = 8682

Perth Albany Perth - bad but good

2010-10-10T01:08:00.003+11:00

You no doubt learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes and I can say that that rings true for me and my performance at Perth. Though, reflecting now on the ride I don't think I could have done any better than I did (dnf at control in Walpole at 555km) for reasons known only to my gastrointestinal tract and I find that I did learn a lot more about the long ride than I lost in not completing it. Don't get me wrong, I am disappointed, just not gutted.

Happily I was able to borrow a bike to ride the 200 into Perth after resting for a day and that was nice, despite an aggressive Magpie and a more aggressive brown snake so I racked up a brevet for the trip and about 770 km all up. I have practised travelling with bike and gear and most importantly seen the advanced stages of fatigue that happen on a big ride. Survivied the advanced stages of fatigue in fact. The biggest surprise was how quickly that feeling passes.

Typing on the iPad does not make for a flowing narrative so I will elaborate further upon my experiences when sitting at a proper keyboard.

Mallee Routes 600 Pt 2

2010-09-14T22:13:00.003+10:00

The next morning dawned clearish and a bit windy. I lolled in my bunk while other, perhaps more sensible or experienced randonneurs rose and got on their way. Starting at 7.30am just well, indulgent.

I got up and headed to the cook house and had a couple of coffees, munched a couple bananas, yacked with Peter and Les while other riders kept coming up and departing. By 7.20am Mark arrived and after making a few adjustments we hit the road at about 7.45, not quite the lanterne rouge but close enough! We did however have heaps of time up our sleeve as the final cutoff for the ride was 10pm.

Leaving town with the wind we made good time and settled into a rhythm as we headed west then south on the long 100km stage to Jeparit. The first 60 or so kilometers sped by but we soon found ourselves riding into the wind and the last 25kms were testing. I was quite happy to arrive at the Controle and had a delicious egg and bacon roll from the cafe.

The next controle was only 50km away at Rainbow, but that section was right into the teeth of the wind which while not really strong was still challenging. Mark and I were making fairly good time however and we caught and passed a number of other riders as the sun emerged and gave us a beautiful afternoon for riding through the Mallee.

The Rainbow controle was set in a beautiful garden avenue in the main street and after a quick break we again set off, first into the wind before turning away from it and fairly racing away for a good run to the final stop of the ride. As happens the last kilometres can drag by, however the late afternoon light was really lovely drawing vivd colours from the fields as we rode past. Eventually we saw Hopetoun on the horizon and before too long we were entering the town and arriving at the controle at about 5.50pm, still light. Handshakes all round after what was quite a brisk 200k ride.

Later that evening we enjoyed a home cooked roast dinner at the Bon Bon cafe before I took to bed well aware that I had yet to drive 12 hours back home the next day.

While the Mallee routes is a relatively flat ride, I was really happy to finish and was quite pleased with my riding over the weekend, finishing with an average of 24.8kph on the bike and about 35 hours for the total ride. I'm a bit stiff today but there's no lasting damage and I am now feeling very ready for Perth- Albany-Perth next month.

Big ups to Peter for organizing the event, Les and Gordon for running the controles and the other riders for their particpation and conversation along the way. It was a great ride.

Mallee Routes 600 pt 1

2010-09-13T19:12:00.003+10:00

What a great weekend!

Not just because I managed the 600 but it was a really well run and supported event and I got to meet old friends and make new ones. It was nice to press the flesh with blogger's Nancyboy (the ride organizer) and the exotic southerner Surly Dave after a long period of online friendship.

I love a road trip and the drive down had both brilliant sunshine and really heavy rain. Driving through Wagga Wagga, it was the greenest I had ever seen it and venturing further west to Balranald to avoid potential flooding in Victoria took me through a fascinating man made irrigation landscape in what should really be desert. Driving between Narrandera and Hay I saw and tooted (politely he waved back) a fully laden cyclo tourist, literally flying along with a tailwind. He looked very happy.

Arriving (at last) I checked in at the astonishing and highly recommended Mallee Bush Retreat, sorted the bike and gear and made it to the Hoptoun Community Hotel for dinner and drinks and yacking. Nice to catch up with Hans and Peter and to meet a few others, Les and Gordon who would be supporting the ride. I was quite tired after the long day of driving (had left home at 5am) so opted for an early night and found I was not the only one.

Alarms started to go off in the bunk house from about 4.30am (bastards!) mine was set for 5am, as the ride stared at 6 and how much could you do in 90 minutes? Anyway up and dressed I was light checked and before too long we were off, Peter's warnings of certain death by railway crossing at Warracknabeal uppermost in my mind. As always at the start, it's hard to tell who is fast and who is not, and chugging out of town I joined a group that seemed about right for my level of effort and was sucked along at 32-35kph for a while until about 40k in when my warmish attire was causing me to overheat and I realised that it wasn't likely I could hold that pace all day. Though it was great while it lasted.

After the first control in Warra, we turned east briefly before beginning the long run north to Birchip and Sea Lake. Leaving a bit lake I chased down a larger group of riders, and together we were an effective group working together to the Birchip control pciking up solo riders as we motored along. This was a really enjoyable leg, I chatted with a lot of other riders and Mark and I literally bolted into Birchip, smelling the chips at the cafe for the 128km control. If it was all going to be like that, it would be a doddle!

Birchip to Sea Lake was a bit different, the group had dispersed again and I passed a number of riders from the group until I was joined by Mark who I rode with to the control at Seal Lake through the extensive crops of wheat and barley and canola. We were briefly geograpically confused appraoching the town but otherwise made good time.

After lunch the next leg towards Speed and the controle at Patchewollock was a difficult leg. The wind had increased and we were riding right into it. I left the controle with legends Hans and Tim and along the way we collected a few others. The turnoff from the main road took us onto a C road towards Speed and we swapped duty into the wind. After a while we were fragmenting as a group and Mark and I (and another) arrived at the Pathe controle ahead of the others. It had been a tough leg but we were now turning back towards Hopetoun (in day light (just)) with only a measly 100km to go before sleep.

Leaving Pathewollock with Mark we rode together, occasinally seeing the flashing lights of riders ahead but never really closeing in on them. We also saw a bright red light shining from a Telecomunications tower that slowly guided us in to Hopetoun.

We reached the 300km control at 8.30pm and after a brie rest headed out for the last 100kms before bed. Peversly, this was up a hill to Wonga Hut. Shortly after town we were picked up by another rider and we headed along the road, playing with our lights and getting updates on the Swans v Dogs game (I did'nt really understand). After what seemed like a life time we passed into the Whyperfield National Park and then after another lifetime we arrived at the control. We had met a stream of cyclists coming back down the mountain as we made out way up, which was bother reassuring and depressing.

Wonga Hut was a lovely spot to stop and as Les reminded me later, I really wasn't too keen to hit the road again. It was now about 11.30, I'd been riding all day and tha hut was warm and full of food.

Eventually I prised myself up and Mark an I headed off. I was getting quite dozy and it was really good to have Mark's company on the way back just to keep me motivated. We eventually arrived back in Hopetoun and after checking in decided to set off again at 7.30am to complete the last 196km of the ride. We scoffed some of Peter's excellent pasta and grabbed a shower. Setting the alarm I was really looking forward to 4 hours sleep!

As I am now. More Latter...

Mileage in Kilometres = 6256km
PBP Quota = 2700km

Car Packed

2010-09-09T19:32:00.003+10:00

Tomorrow morning I'm heading south to Hopetoun to try my luck at the Mallee Routes 600km brevet.

It has been an anxious week, what with the adverse weather and flooding that has struck Victoria though happily the route appears to have had only experienced average rainfall and is looking prime for the weekend.

My own training has been hampered by weather. Last Saturday's Bungonia Buster was a wind and wash out though I have found that not riding so much these last few weeks has made me a lot faster. I achieved my PB for the 30k training route yesterday. Bang on an hour (with traffic lights I might add). Legs feel great, head is primed and the car is packed.

Dreamt this morning that I had successfully completed the ride and felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. Convincing dream until I realised I still had to ride. A good sign however.

It is going to be a good weekend.

Milage in Kms = 5656
BRMs = 2100

Picton Sutton Forest 200

2010-08-10T19:02:00.002+10:00

The dawned brightly if a trifle cold and in my preparations for the ride I soon realised that I had managed to "leave" my atm card somewhere. I scraped up some cash from various tins and the car change bin, donned the riding gear banking on a nice sunny day and set off for Dapto.

With the sun not yet up it was quite cold and I arrived a little late in Dapto to see that a solid group of 8 were ready for the ride, some familiar faces and some new. After the formalities we set off towards the first objective challenge of the Keira Climb. The sun was up now and pacing along the Princes highway at 30km/hr was quite pleasant. Soon the climb loomed and I felt quite good on the lower slopes and up higher maintaining a steady pace, and enjoying the work. Reaching the ridge and commencing the descent towards Picton I began to find the going quite cold and before long found that my thighs, protected by only a thin layer of lycra were getting very cold and cramping.

This became worse when ascending the sharp undulations into Picton, but I stuck with it and was soon at the cafe enjoying a sausage roll and warning drink. Heading off on the next leg however I very quickly felt both colod, crampy and nauseous. At some point the cramps really started to bite and got off the bike to stretch and swallow some enduralytes. The I vomited a bit and swallowed some new tabs.

I felt very low at this stage and with a long steady climb into a cold headwind, I wasn't entirely confident that I was going to make it very far. I have come a long way in the last twelve months and my mental appraoch to riding has altered significantly. I just dug down and thought I can ride slowly, there's no rush, I'll just do what I can when I can, how I can.

After a while I began to find that ther lethargy and pain was receding, I regularly crunched on a glucodin tab and the constant effort of climbing was having the positive effect of warming me up. By the time I reached the halfway point at Mittagong I was feeling a lot better.

The next 35km to Sutton Forest saw me grow stronger and when added the realisation that I could now turn and take the breeze from behind was an added impetous. The remain 79 kms across the Highlands and down Macquarie Pass sped by in less than 3 hours and I was most pleased to get back to Dapto in just over 11 hours, catching up with Barry S who had punctured.

This ride illustrated just how much can change during the course of a ride. Previously when I had experienced cramping and other difficulties I had assumed that that was it, and that my ride was done. This time I had no choice but to continue and manage myself on the bike and gradually regained my confidence and strength as the ride went on. So a great ride and a really good learning experience for me. Experience does count.

Mileage in Kilometres = 5057
Brevet quota = 1900

What's been doing

2010-08-06T06:30:00.002+10:00

It's been a relatively quiet winter for me and the mileage count is not as high as it should be, but I have been making up for less hours on the bike by doing some regular cross training. As a result my legs are feeling much stronger and when I do ride I find that I am comfortable and getting faster for longer.

Between now and the first couple of weeks of september I have 1100km of brevet's planned. A local 200 tomorrow, the Bungonia Buster 300 the first weekend in september and then the Mallee Routes 600 the following weekend. I hope to ride a couple of 200 permanents as well. These rides will finish off my first super series and finalise my PBP registration quota.

It should also get me set for Perth Albany Perth in October. I've booked my flights and registered, and am quite excited about taking part.

Back to riding... It's been a frustrating few weeks with either work, weather or annoying colds keeping me off the bike during the week. Yesterday I got home relatively eaerly from work and resolved to get out for a ride but after setting off and getting around the corner the front deraileur cable snapped on my first up change. At least I hoped it was the cable!

Drats. Not deterred, I turned around and rode to the bike shop where the cable was identified as the problem (relief) and quickly replaced. Back on the ride I was really enjoying the early evening, passing through the various atractive and not so attractive cooking smells emanating from kitchens en route and observing the dusk grow darker.

I had been a bit apprehensive about the evening ride, as traffic was a lot heavier than in the morning but that dropped off quickly and I appeared to be the only one out riding and didn't encounter all that much traffic at all. It was a good ride, just what I needed.

Snapping the cable was also positive, at least it ocurred at a time when I could get it fixed. If it broke tomorrow morning on my way to the start of the 200, I would have been less happy. It is probably time to replace the rear cable as well and perhaps thoroughly overhaul the Roubaix. And clean it! the mechanic commented that there was more mud on my bike than most mountain bikes!

I have been enjoying riding the Rivendell too. Mostly on weekends and mostly as recovery but its a lovely ride and climbs pretty well.

Mileage in Kilometres = 4754

Back on the bike

2010-07-04T20:41:00.002+10:00

After a cycling hiatus as a result of my ITB syndrome, this past weekend saw my first brevet in a month, with the successful and healthy conclusion of the the Three Ws 200k. The w's being Winter, Wisemans ferry and Windsor.

It was a lovely winters day and a great route that explored some new ground for me. A big highlight was the river road between Wisemans Ferry and Sackville, following along the banks of the Hawkesbury River. Really lovely riding with great vistas over the river and some really interesting sandstone outcrops that made my old rock climber's heart skip a beat or two.

The day was greatly improved by the company of Barry M who was similarly returning from a layoff and was content to amble along at a moderate pace and tell great stories of brevets in Malaysia and trusted in my navigation (only 3 extra kilometres!).

We finished at 6.30pm in Hornsby having enjoyed a great day out on the bike. My knee was great, and thanks to the cross training I'm now feeling stronger and could have ridden further if required - though the other contact points have obviously softened up during the layoff.

Today I took the Rivendell for a coastal spin with a special friend and the legs though tired, weren't damaged.

I have learn't a great deal since failing on the Border 600, have become physically and mentally stronger, have a better bike fit and a greatly improved technique.

The rest of the cycling year is looking great from here and I am looking forward to riding the Dog Trap again next weekend.

Mileage in Kilometres = 4342

day 14

2010-06-14T19:08:00.002+10:00

The whole blogging everyday isn't working so well these last few days though tis spikes my interest! Another meme from melbin via Bonito club

Two names you go by:
1) Grant
2) Harry

Two things you are wearing right now:
1) Scarpa walking shoes
2) Levi's 501s

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship:
1) Fun
2) Decent sex

Two things you like to do:
1) Ride
2) write

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1) My knee to be strong
2) My mind to remain focussed

Two things you did last night:
1) Drank great craft beer at Hart's pub
2) Saw Vivid

Two things you ate today:
1) Banana
2) Blue cheese

Two people you last talked to:
1) Caitie
2) Sue

Two things you’re doing tomorrow:
1) Sorting some meetings
2) Launching a partnership

Two Favorite Holidays
1) Paris
2) Vietnam

Two favourite beverages
1) Beer
2) Coffee

Two things about me you may not have known.
1) I can cook
2)I like reading Thomas Pynchon (over and over again)

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1) Librarian
2) Photographer

Two movies I would watch over and over:
1) Magnolia
2) Sid and Nancy

Two places I have lived:
1) Newcastle
2) London

Two of my favourite foods:
1) Pie
2) Cheese

Two places I’d rather be right now:
1) Paris
2) Booti Booti

Day 9

2010-06-09T20:07:00.002+10:00

Lets pretend I didn't miss day 8, just continue on as if nothing happened. Rivendell arrives next week on Wednesday. Had to pay the GST component today, so it's looming very real. Can't wait. I hope to ride the Dungog 600 on it at the end of the month.

Day 7 - Flexnib's memes

2010-06-07T16:21:00.002+10:00

If Melbin can, so can I

Do you snack while reading? Yes, often reading at lunch or dinner time so food goes everywhere.

What is your favourite drink while reading? Depends on the time of the day but coffee and or red wine.

Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? I hate the idea of writing in a book - I use notebooks when something strikes me.

How do you keep your place? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book open flat? I am not yet brain injured enough to not remember a page number from one day to the next. Now that I'm using an ipad or kindle, the whole page remembering thing is pretty automatic.

Fiction, non-fiction or both? Both

Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere? I prefer chapter breaks but sometimes it just doesn't happen that way.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you? No, I just quietly put it down and walk away..

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away? Yep - it's a great day when I learn something

What are you currently reading? Solar, Ian McEwan, The art of asking, Terry Fadem, Discipline without Punishment, Dick Grote, 3 books on long distance cycling, When you are engulfed in flames, David Sedaris

What is the last book you bought? The art of asking (ebook) last proper book was Olivier and Parrot in America, Peter Carey.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read? Anywhere is fine, but I do have a favourite wing back chair.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over? The Child in Time - Ian McEwan

How do you organize your books (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)? I do not organize my books - have enough of that at work!

Barbara’s additional question: background noise or silence? Music usually

Day 6

2010-06-06T18:57:00.002+10:00

My bike fit yesterday was interesting, saddle was too high and too far back, and my cleats are too far back and angled incorrectly. I've also got a pretty crappy action. Not that Alex said that in so many words but I got the message.

Still not able to ride - next physio is Wednesday so hopefully will get clearance to start spinning again.

In other news UPS advise me that the Riv is in Oakland now. That's progress.

(BTW I'm participating in the 30 blog posts in 30 days effort - hence the unaccostumed frequency of posting)

Day 5

2010-06-05T15:27:00.002+10:00

The iPad has trouble finding the text box in blogger! Makes posting a bit tricky!

Anyway some great news today. My Rivendell Sam Hillborne has been dispatched and is due to arrive in 10 days. Should be an awesome bike, relaxed and comfy, for those days when stopping to smell the roses is impotant

Day 4?

2010-06-04T22:06:00.002+10:00

Am still awaiting the shimano freebies, so worth mentioning at this stage that I will be getting a bike fit tomorrow. Hopefully that will lend some accuracy to my random measurement and lead to greater comfort and success on the bike.

Day 3

2010-06-03T21:45:00.002+10:00

Well the IBT is responding to therapy and things are feeling much happier in the pedalling department. I have been impressed with the mtb gearing on other audaxian's bike - notably Greg L and Pat L who rock deore rear ds and 36 t sprockets. wind yourself up anything. Anyway a bit o research found that Deore XT has gone 10 speed in 2010. I've just ordered myself some climing goodness.

Now that I have mentioned Shimano on my blog I shall surely recieve some deore xt for trial purposes! Surely?

Day 2

2010-06-02T21:51:00.004+10:00

So I went to the physio today and apparently I have ITB syndrome, which is really treatable and if I "tick all of the boxes" should be fit for the Dungog 600 at the end of the month.

The exercises I have to do, actually feel pretty good, so am really optimistic that I will get back on the bike next week, having eliminated yet another physiological flaw. Got to be happy with that...

Border 600k nad a blog post/day in June

2010-06-01T23:00:00.003+10:00

Well I came close but unfortunately could not finish the Border 600. Bad knee took me out at 480k! As its 30 blog posts in 30 days, I'm going to drag this story out, but the ride was terrific, and challenging. I see my physio tomorrow. Hopefully I will get better fast.

Cessnock 300

2010-05-16T09:04:00.002+10:00

After riding 3 brevets last month, I've have had a couple of weeks off to enjoy a spot of bushwalking and brewing. Got to have balance in all things.

Yesterday I lined up for the Cessnock 300, complete with new Cinettica Velocita jacket and new ay-up lights, wile I didn't get use the the jacket the ay-up's are terrific. High speed descents are now beautifully illuminated. I really enjoyed this ride and continue to learn lots more about how I react to longer journeys and how to manage myself better on the bike. As a result I finished strongly and felt that I could have kept on riding. That's a big improvement over my first 300!

The ride route was really lovely, generally keeping away from busy roads and included the lovely section down from Bucketty to Wollombi - which is probably some of the nicest cycling road anywhere - downhill too!

After stopping for lunch in Cessnock, I caught up with Bec Morton and we rode the last half of the ride together. Just as well, as I was navigationally challenged quite a few times. I also managed to bend my front derailleur at about 160kms and was unable to use my big ring for the remainder of the ride. It wasn't so bad but it slowed me down after I realised that I was going to be able to keep up spinning at 120rpm. It was good though to have to deal with the problem and keep going. Funnily enough, much earlier in the day Howard snapped half of the outside casing of his Campy Record front der, and still had full shifting. I haven't looked at mine yet, but I am hoping it is easily repairable.

So that's just the 600km ride remaining for my super series, and I have booked into the Border 600 out of Inverell at the end of the month. That should be a good ride.

Mileage in KM = 3180
Brevet km = 1500

Windellama Wander

2010-04-18T08:33:00.005+10:00

Another Saturday, another 200km brevet! Or so it seems - so far this month I have ridden a 200km every weekend, starting with the Tallowa dam ride over easter, Sackville scamper last weekend and Windellama yesterday.

As luck would have it I was attending the Innovative Ideas Forum at the National Library on Friday so the opportunity to spend the night and catch the ride in the morning was too good to resist. The 200km was a straightforward out and back to Bungonia, starting with the riders who were doing the Highland Hop 400 who were riding out to Robertson (nearly home).

Watching the weather during the week I knew I would need lots of layers for the start and when I arrived at the Sutton community hall in the fog and the dark at 5.15am at about 6 degrees I knew I was right. One critical flaw in my packing was forgetting my headband/ear warmers! Luckily, if slightly comically, I was able to use a clean explorer sock which reached from ear to ear and was just thin enough to fit beneath the helmet.

As the riders assembled I was surprised by the number of recumbents - 4. I had never ridden with a recombent before and they immediately made me feel tall, and fast on hills but then very slow down them and along the flat. Such was the nature of the group that I soon found myself alone riding at my own pace. I stopped at Bungonia for a coffee and then riding out in the fog I saw Kerrie-Ann stopped with a puncture. She was fine and I road on to Tarago to briefly pass one of the recumbents - Andrew i think - who has stopped for adjustments. A little further on I was having some navigational difficulties when Andrew cruised up and set me straight.

I watch him slink off into the distance, occasionally I would gain a bit of ground on hills but his speed on the flat was a good 3 - 4 kph faster than me - for less effort too. Coming up the 80km mark, the fog had lifted and I paused at the top of a hill to switch off the lights and peel off some layers. Kerrie- Ann caught me up and she paused to describe the next part of the route and explain the secret controle at the turnaround in Bungonia. She rode on while I topped up my perpetuem and then we regathered at Johnno's general store. Later I met Greg Cunningham who was also riding the 200km.

I set off for the last outward leg to Bungonia, a mostly downhill undulating ride to complete the secret controle and then ride back up. Going down I was passed by a couple of riders who were heading back.

Coming back up I passed Greg and Alex(?) another recumbenteer who were heading down. The climb was not too troublesome, what went up, must come down and the generally undulating nature of the countryside lent a nice rhythm to the ride. Riding from Tarago to Bungonia without the fog I passed some massive windfarms which were hardly turning at all. I could see that with a wind this ride would have a slightly different character and prove very difficult.

One last obstacle presented itself between Bungonia and the car, and that was the climb up Smiths Gap. The descent earlier in the day had been wonderful, so the climb probably wasn't. The reality though wasn't too bad. It was steep, but short, quite like the Bald Hill climb.

The final leg up Macs Reef Road was shorter than it seemed on the way out and despite a near miss with a truck overtaking me on a bumpy downhill run (me hanging on for dear life - the truck not respecting it), I was soon back in Sutton at 4.20 notching up one of my quickest 200s. I also felt really good and could have ridden a lot further, so the fitness is improving.

Next weekend I'm hoping to ride in the Central Coast 200km, which will give me 4 BRMs and 800 BRM km for the month taking me to 1400km of BRMs this year. Just over half of the qualifying total for PBP.

This morning I have stripped the Roubaix down and given him a good clean and lube. He looks fantastic now.

Mileage in KM = 2562

Springwood n' Sackville Scamper

2010-04-12T19:25:00.001+10:00

What a ride. Big crowd of participants, old blogging friends, friends from suffering of yore and new types just waiting to be befriended.

I knew it was going to be a good day when I woke up in time to drive up to Waitara to join Howard and Bec's 200km brevet. The last one I missed - got a call from Bec halfway up the Picton road - "Are you coming Grant? we're about to go!" So I checked the starting time twice and set my alarm.

At the start I was happy to see some ole riding buddies, Peter B from the ill fated Scone 600 last year (he made it), Bec and of course Howard (thought I can't actually say I've ridden with Howard he's much too fast), Adrian and a number of new faces, a couple Naomi and Nick who were on very handsome bikes touring indeed.

The ride itself was glorious, separating out the tragedy on the western motorway, the weather was grand, the company great and the riding rewarding. Even at the first controle in suburban Springwood the organisers had somehow arranged for entertainment in the form of an Irish Harp player.

Leaving Springwood on the second leg was not without it's misadventures. Peter, Ming and I set off, Ming on a rather nice 26.5 inch bike with classic TA cranks. On the descent of Macquarie Rd, Ming found some awkward bumps on a tight corner and went down hard. I was far enough away to avoid hitting him and after pulling him and his bike out of the path of oncoming traffic we patched him up as best we could with my emergency first aid kit before riding slowly on to Richmond where a train could get him back to civilization. He had displaced his shoulder but luckily had not broken anything, which was a relief.

From there Peter and I wound our way up to the second controle at Kurrajong passing the "touring trio" of Adrian, Nick and Naomi. After the warmish climbing, the views from the ridge into Kurajong were wonderful, as was the Sassafras cafe were we met Bec and others and enjoyed some lovely food, a great cup of coffee and friendly service. The touring trio arrived shortly after us and we left en masse and I got the opportunity to ogle Nick and Naomi's thoughtfully constructed bikes.

They had both recently returned from a touring holiday in New Zealand and the bikes looked great. Nick had a Surly LHT from which he had removed the stickers which made it look kind of exotic and different. Naomi rode a beautiful blue Europa, with Grand Bois tyres, hammered Honjo fenders, relaxed gearing, Brookes Saddle and titanium Tubus rack. Did I mention her Stainless bidons?

Seriously cool bike that could drift off the bitumen onto gravel and not crash. It was great chatting about it and I was worried that I would come over a bit weird but Nick and Naomi seemed to understand. It renewed my love of the more relaxed bike, of the touriste aesthetic, of the original Apollogy project which got me reduxing in the first place. (More of that later).

On with the ride

We rode on down to Sackville for a ferry ride and then on to Berowra for another ferry ride, chatting away the miles, enjoying the hills and revelling in the descents. Even the Cattai Ridge Road was not as painful as I recalled. I was getting a bit of hot foot and my achilles tendon was playing up but the miles passed pleasantly and before too long we were at the finish enjoying a quick rissoto and beer with the others and sharing stories. There are some impressively fast riders out there. The first group were back by 3pm.

It was a great day, fabulous ride and I really enjoyed the company.

Anyway so impressed was I with Nick and Naomi's bikes I have decided to follow through and get myself a Rivendell Sam Hillborne, Maybe even some tweed bags and a flannelet cycling shirt. Style I think, counts for a lot with me.

Mileage in Km = 2320

BRM km = 1000

Tallowa Dam 200 - the ride of the damned

2010-04-06T11:13:00.005+10:00

The easter long weekend saw the successful completion of the Tallowa Dam ride (Hooray!). Have some history with this one, having broken down on it last year (see my post 3 flats and a buggered knee). But this year it was a different story entirely, Well I made it for a start, it was cooler which made it a lot easier, and it rained quite heavily

I got the job of organizing the ride and was pretty happy to see a larger than normal group roll up on Saturday morning for the start. As well as the usual suspects, we had an "international" visitor from New Zealand, an interstate visitor (The ACT counts) plus a few making the trip down from Sydney for the ride.

We had spruiked the ride as covering some of the best scenery the Illawarra has to offer and the first half of the ride did not disappoint. Departing from Dapto we were spoilt with clear views across the escarpment and the gentle rolling hills around Albion Park and Tongarra. Climbing the pass the group began to spread out with the faster riders leaping ahead. Conditions on the pass were lovely and a number of Lyre Birds and King Parrots were spotted.

Before reaching the top of Macquarie Passs the route veers right to tackle the Tourist Road and its climb up over the Kangaloon Valley passing the Headwaters of the Nepean River and the snarling attack dogs - small and awkward, before the mostly downhill section along Sheepwash Road to the first Controle at Fitzroy Falls.

I kidded myself that I was riding sweep in case anyone required assistance, but I was just slow. Gravity sped me up on the ride down to Kangaroo Valley, topping 85kph on the descent and I caught up with Bec crossing the Hampton Bridge - carefully.

During the long slow climb up almost to the Dam (steep descent to the water) I started to see the faster riders coming back up and down. The sun was out now and it was growing warmer. Though not as intensely ovenlike as it has been.

Made it down the steep hill to the Dam wall and took the obligatory anti-summit picture before regrouping and heading back up the steep climb.

I soon commenced cramping and dismounted and walked a number of times. Highlight of the climb up was a very large goanna basking by the side of the road.

Topping out it's a good undulating ride back down towards Kangaroo Valley, a section of the ride highlight by sighting a large Wombat (alive) and the beginning of the rain. Arriving at the second controle I was greeted with cheers (thanks guys) and the disappointing news that the cafe had stopped taking orders for lunch. Damn! I broke open my emergency energy bar supply and before long was happily rounding up the tail to climb the last major obstacle of the route - Barrengarry Mountain.

At the foot of the climb the rain began, and the traffic picked up. I donned my reflective vest and had the lights flashing brightly and turned towards the climb. The road was slick and in many places I succeeded in spinning my wheel and it became necessary to dismount and walk. This happened more frequently as the climb wore on, partly cause I was knackered, but also it seemed safer to walk in may places as the wet conditions, high traffic speed and general absence of road shoulder were causing me some concern.

Eventually, after what seemed like an hour, the road began to flatten out, the rain grew heavier and the fog began to thicken. Pretty sure I was at the top. I came across a number of cycle tourists along the way, sensibly waiting for the rain to ease before undertaking the descent. Smart move.

I was really happy to reach the turnoff to Myra Vale Road and leave the traffic behind. A couple of km in I stopped to rest and put on some more layers as the conditions were very wet and increasingly cold. My speedo was also playing up but I managed to fix it with a spare ziplock bag and a rubber band. I was also very happy to find the the new Carradice Tourist bag was bone dry on the inside.

Sucking down some gu I then set up the remaining climbs to Robertson and then cautiously descended the Pass in improving conditions. Big ups to the driving of the Mazda who patiently sat behind me for a good few kilometers until it was safe to pass.

Once back on the relative flat the rain had eased and tailwind was ready to push me home and on the final freeway leg I was happily pushing along at 35kph, which always feels good with 190km on the legs.

Made it in last rounding up to 12 hours for the ride certainly a slow ride but with over 2500m of vertical gain (closer to 3000 I think) and the difficult conditions I was very pleased.

More pleasing yet is that I'm an official starter for Perth Albany Perth, so with luck I will get my first 1200 under my belt this season.

Mileage in Kilometers 2150

Still Riding

2010-02-27T16:48:00.004+11:00

I'm making fairly good progress towards my mileage goal for the year, with 1341km up now. It would be more but I have had a recurrence of the gammy knee which has slowed me down and forced a retirement from the Canberra 600km ride last weekend.

Have only ventured out a few times this week, a couple of early morning 30's to Bulli and back, though I pushed hard on a 100km training ride this morning down to Kiama and back - returning by thte scenic and undulating coastal cycleway. (will post a photo - truly I am spoilt for riding vistas). Feeling good afterwards, the knee a bit cranky but it was happy enough on the ride.

I am currently awaiting the arrival of a new saddle bag - the Carradice SQR Tour

It's quite a lot larger than the bag I currently use (a 5l Vaude Off road) and can hopefullly take the extra gear I need for the longer unsupported rides. I can't mount a rack on the Roubaix - and Dave would kill me if every tried) so this seems like a good and useful alternative. Not too heavy, not too heavy.

I ordered it through wiggle.com but it is out of stock and not due until March. Hopefully I will have it in time for the Dungog 600 in April.

2010-01-17T08:34:00.002+11:00

Just back from the Gunning 400km brevet. Made it in by 90 minutes for a total of 25 hours on the bike through heat, torrential rain, hail, strong winds, sleep deprived hallucinations, power napping in the forecourt of the Sutton Forest Servo, punctures and ongoing rear light failures - (thanks a bunch Planet Bike - why make a light that can't keep out water?).

Now I'm having a rauchbier to celebrate my achievements and to numb the pain. After that I'm going to sleep.

Mileage in Kms = 827

End of year wrap up

2010-01-01T09:05:00.004+11:00

So, last year didn't quite go to plan. I finished 2009 with 6380 km (2008 3909 km) which exceeded my target (was aiming for 6000), however injuries and illness got in the way of completing a super-series and generated the greatest disappointment of the year in not being able to take part in the Sydney Melbourne 1200.

In fact as far as audax rides go I had a 30% failure rate and only managed 4 BRMs and the oppy with 7 cafe rides. I rode 120 times during the year, or once every 3 days. October was the best month for distance with 1160km ridden. Another highlight was broadening my riding horizons with the Sydney Audax group who's rides through the gorge country of northern Sydney and the central coast were very satisfying.

2009 was a good year for learning about riding and the importance of mental preparation as well as physical fitness, I've refined a lot of my approaches and can ride further on a lower base than before. The mental toughness still needs some work though.

This year the goals are to;

Finish a Super series.
Complete at least one BRM event every month
Clock up the required 2400km of BRM rides (November - November) to qualify for early entry into PBP (only 2200 to go!)
Complete a 1000km ride
Hopefully complete Perth Albany Perth (am on the waiting list)
Aim for a total mileage of 8000km.

In other non cycling achievements I successfully completed a Masters in Management, saw my son through the HSC and on to University (he's going to do science education), finished building a new library , and brewed 21 batches of delicious home brew.

Mileage in Kilometres = 30km

Fragile back and the long road to recovery

2009-11-25T10:54:00.003+11:00

Have been having one of those periods of ups and downs. Some days I feel great and then overdo it so that for the next couple of weeks I feel terrible. Getting sick of the sight of voltaren.

Nevertheless, physio is going well, and hopefully I should be back on the bike after about 3 weeks, fingers crossed. Just have to take it easy and stop reinjuring myself.

The real challenge has been dealing with the disappointment of withdrawing from the SM 1200. I've been quite despondent about that, but on the bright side I'm looking forward now to Perth- Albany- Perth in October 2010. Also I'm planning a few longer rides, definitely want to complete a super series this year.

I was also hoping to pursue the year round randonneur award this year, hopefully I will be OK to do the Bungendore bash on the 20th December with the ACT chaps.

Learning 2.1

2009-11-02T10:40:00.002+11:00

The learning continues as I've just joined up for the second emerging phase of the Learning 2.1 programme. It might make me blog a little more too.

The second step in 2.1 is to familiarise yourself with twitter. I've been on twitter for a while now and mostly post progress on rides from my 3G phone. Sometimes I have conversations with my twitter buddies.

We haven't engaged twitter at the Library just yet, I think it really has useful applications as a reference tool, though it could also be useful as a general promotional tool. Might set one up later today.

Blogger redux?

2009-10-16T22:22:00.002+11:00

Lots of kilometers under the saddle in these past months and a number of stories to sort out and share. Last weekend I finished the Longer Loop 300km brevet and enjoyed a wild ride to work last wednesday, complete with 50 knot cross winds, pinch flatting the fron tyre on the descent of Broughton Pass with a truck behind me and general cycling around in circles.

Next weekend I'm biting off the Scone 600km to finish off the randoneuring year which so far has seen a really large increase in my mileage over last year.

I am very much looking forward to the Scone ride, the body is feeling strong and the head is getting into the right space to do these things. Should be a hoot.

Mileage in Kilometers = 5379

Dogs in the trap - "Doin the Dog trap - 200km brevet"

2009-07-12T08:42:00.004+10:00

When Greg mentioned offhand on a training ride that he and Aldo were going to head north to ride the Dog Trap 200km brevet organized by Howard and Bec, I thought yeah why not, new ground to cover and a chance to practice navigation. With about 2900m of climbing it promised to be a challenging ride.

At about 4.45am I loaded the bike onto the car and left for the start at Waitara having checked and double checked that I had everything before departure. It was raining slightly in the gong and while it was dry further north, it was foggy and well moist for most of the day.

There was a large group of riders assembling which was a bit of a novelty for me. We normally ride with a group of 5 or 6, so 20 or so riders were a huge pack. Greg and Aldo rolled up to complete the southern contingent and soon we were all on our way, into the fog and the unknown.

The Dog trap ride is a great route, the first challenge comes at about 6km in when you descend Galston Gorge, its tight switchbacks and lumpy surface made all the more difficult by quite dense fog. It was a sensibly cautious descent and then slow work climbing up towards Wisemans Ferry.

I heard the song of a lyrebird at one point, and Howard later mentioned that he nearly ran it over a bit earlier. The joys of morning! After the climbing the gorge I was feeling quite good and started to pick up some speed on the flatter sections looping around the agricultural lands of the western Hawkesbury. Despite my cue sheet clipped to the handlebars and despite Douglas’s shouted advice, I still managed to miss the turnoff and did a couple of bonus kilometers until I realized that the only riders around me were from Wollongong. Could have been worse I suppose and it was still foggy.

Rejoining the route we sped on towards Berowra Waters and the novelty of a ferry ride. Then there was the climb out which as Howard promised was quite good, if a little foggy. From Berowra we turned left onto the Pacific Hwy and headed north. Pretty soon I had a puncture and we stopped to fix it before the enjoyable descent from Cowan to the Hawkesbury. Crossing the river was lovely until Greg picked up a puncture. Two punctures in 5km. Nice one puncture god.

From the Hawkesbury bridge the route pretty much climbs for 30km to the controle at Mt White. We were now a bit behind and stood resolutely into the climb to make the controle closing time. The riding though was very pleasant, snatching views of the upper hawksbury, admiring the occasional sandstone outcrop, spotting the odd parrot. As a bonus for nature lovers, Gymea Lilies and banksias were flowering prolifically along the road and apart for the odd motorcyclist the road was quiet.

Eventually the Mt White café emerged out of the mist and we had made it by 25 minutes. There were still quite a few riders at the café and it was interesting to her Glen Druery talk about his recent achievements at RAAM.

From the controle there was more riding in the general direction of up through smelly farming land towards Kulnara. Just after Kulnara, we had to pull to one side to allow a Rolls Royce to pass before descending the truly frightening Bumble Hill (I didn’t see any bees but the road was very rough, perhaps better named Bumple hill) into the Yarramalong Valley.

We were making good progress now and the fog and mist had cleared so we felt a bit drier. By the time we made the second controle at Wyong we had picked up and hour on the closing time so were pretty happy with our progress.

A quick sandwich and discussion of home brewing and we headed off toward the next challenge, the Dog Trap Road. We were at first puzzled, the road looked benign, and we couldn’t see any gravel, but a kilometer or so further on the gravel and the climbing commenced. It wasn’t too bad until the final 400m which were very steep, Greg and Aldo made the climb but my internal heart rate monitor told me to stop, so I walked the hard bit. There were more hard bits to come and next 20km to the 3rd controle were my least favourite form of riding, undulations heading upwards, and I was feeling pretty shagged when I finally made it to Peats Ridge.

From there things improved rapidly and we reaped the benefit from all of the climbing earlier in the day with fast downhills and momentum into the short climbs for the 40km. Descending Mt White in the enfolding dusk at 70k/h was terrific. From the Hawkesbury bridge, the last major challenge remained to climb back up to Cowan. For some reason I had been worrying about this all afternoon, but as so often happens, the reality was no where near as steep as I had been imagining.
Greg and Aldo waited for me at the top and we fairly zoomed back to Hornsby along the Pacific Highway, dodging broken glass and car doors as best we could, landing at the final controle at 6.35pm.

It was a great day and a challenging ride, thanks to Howard & Bec for some great organization and Greg and Aldo for dragging me along.

Mileage in Km = 3182

What a great thing a goal is

2009-07-05T10:27:00.003+10:00

Since deciding to do the SM1200 I have really been enjoying my riding and have been doing quite a lot of it.In June I managed 801km for the month which has been my highest monthly mileage so far since reduxing.

The last couple of days have been quite windy, with strong gusty south westerlies. In the past wind has really ruined my rides but this weekend I've taken the opportunity to get to know it a little bit better and have down about 130km riding into it. Apart from the wind chill, it's really just a matter of finding the right gear, getting into a low comfortable position and adjust to slightly slower progress.

Next weekend I'm going to travel up the Waitara to "Do the dog Trap" 200km brevet organized by Bec and Howard. Should be a great ride!

Mileage in Kms = 2949

Thoughts on preparation for Sydney- Melbourne 1200

2009-06-24T16:14:00.002+10:00

I have made the committment to join the Sydney Melbourne 1200 come late November in recent weeks and have begun piling on the kms in order to get fitter, happier and more productive on the bike.

As of today my mileage count is up to 2680 for the year, which is a lot further than it might have been I suppose, but still very low. I have managed to crank out 250km each week for the last two weeks and hope, by mid August to be riding 500km a week including commuting to work a couple of times.

I have also restarted my yoga practise and find that both my breathing and core strength are improving and I'm slowly starting to get back into shape, come November 28th I'll be buff. I'm also backing off on the fatty foods and the (sob) beer for the duration. So far so good.

I have just invested in some Hammer Perpetuem food supplement stuff to try and see how I go with it. It's mean't to provide effective nutrition during edurance exercise. I frequently have issues with fuelling during longer rides so hopefully this stuff will allow for a more balanced intake/output than I can manage with normal foods.

Thirlmere Thrills

2009-06-08T21:57:00.006+10:00

First longer ride since the Opperman 24 hour and while I have been trying to ride frequently, weather, work, family commitments and health have been working against me.

I did however feel excited about this ride and was anticipating it all last week. Prepped the bike with a new rear tyre (Continental 4000) and new mount for the D'Lumotec. Weather was looking on the cool side, but no rain (Hooray!). Did I say cool? maybe freezing.

Set off at 7am as planned from Dapto, group of 7 and made reasonable time to Picton. Climbing Keira I could hear the Lyre Birds singing to each other which was lovely. Coming down the Picton road I felt the cold as the sweat of the climb quickly breezed off in the shadows.

The wind had sprung early and strong from the Southwest which wasn't such an issue to the first Controle, but really made a difference on the second 50km. After a bit of confusion looking for a "lost" rider at Picton (I was leading the ride and felt obliged to clarify his position), I fell behind the pack and was left to force my way into the sou'wester on my own. Insult soon turned into injury when the wind chill and effort induced my old friend the thigh cramp when attempting to climb Mount Hunter on Boragorang road.

I dragged myself into the Oaks, periodically stopping and walking up the steep bits, eating salt tabs and sucrose buttons and anticipating a call to Sue to come and pick me up. I bailed on the last 200 and felt regrets afterwards so coming into the Oaks I thought to apply Greg Lansom's philosophy of only pulling out at the controle. Thirlmere was only about 15km away at this point so I stopped at the BP servo, got some water, had a bio break and ate some protein. Refreshed I set out anew thinking that I would ride in my time and not worry about the others.

I did catch up at Thirlmere and followed the main group up towards Hill Top and Colo Vale and the long (Fast!!) descent to Pheasants Nest for the penultimate controle and refreshing burger. Slogging back up the Picton Road at dusk was a memorable experience. I had ice flung at me from a passing mini bus (missed wankers!) and saw and heard a number of wallabies crashing through the scrub.

Th descent down Keira in the gloaming was slow, but catching up with the bunch at the Highway we sprinted back to Dapto sitting on 30ish k/hr. A fine way to finish a 200km brevet. Richard and I turned to ride back home so that made 230km ridden for the day for me.

I was really happy with this ride, not just because I finished in difficult conditions, but mostly because I changed the way I was thinking when things were not going so well. I've been riding as much as I could have these last few weeks, but I've also been working on the way I think and the thinking part has improved a lot.

I got on the old(slow) bike on Sunday and did a recovery ride of 20km. A great weekend.

Mileage in Kms 2239

Oppy 2009

2009-03-29T17:52:00.003+11:00

What a great 24 hours, even now as the pain subsides I experience the quiet euphoria of post extreme exercise, body stress, NSAIDs and home brew. Gotta love this cycling pastime. In the end the Dogs did 367km despite my best efforts to sabotage the run. I had a spate of punctures, the first 160km in, followed shortly by the revelation that the headlight mount had broken rendering next to useless my lumotec senso plus. Luckily cheap Blaze flashers kept me on the straight and Richard and Greg were generous with their more carefully aimed lights when the going got tricky - or fast.

I had two more punctures this morning in the time critical portion of our ride from Picton to Parramatta, so I'm now looking for a replacement options for the Stelvio's I'm currently running. The punctures cost at least 20 minutes and my breakfast at Maccas.

We did however make the target in impeccable time (bang on 9am) despite, me, my doubts, lack of stamina, hills and traffic lights. Next time we will take the M7. The breakfast was terrific and the train trip back and our combined aroma's meant we had the compartment to ourselves. Even the transit police were "distant".

All in all a wonderful day, my second Oppy but no less challenging. Congratulations to all of the finishers.

Mileage in Kilometres = 1431

Opperman 2009

2009-03-22T07:53:00.003+11:00

Have joined the Mongrel Dogs Opperman team again this year and will be doing 364km from Dapto to Parramatta via Goulburn with an overnight stop at Picton. I plan to update progress via twitter so you can share my pain!

Henry, Richard and I did a training run out to Picton yesterday to check out the motel and drop in the deposit. I was another beautiful autumn day, with a low mist in the valleys and mild temperatures. I felt pretty strong and am finding that the new approach of lower cadence and bigger gears is paying off. That and riding a lot more.

Mileage in Kilometres = 1028

Beautiful day

2009-03-17T11:15:00.004+11:00

It was a beautiful morning and I had a bit of time up my sleeve so got to enjoy a 50km ride while everyone else was rushing to work. Some days I'm really happy to have a bike!

Mileage in Kilometres = 890

So...

2009-03-11T18:49:00.000+11:00

So after the AAC I had a bit of a rest, did a light ride and felt a bit breathy. I used to smoke and suffered bronchitis most winters and the feeling was similar. Bugger I thought, I have got a virus of some description.

Couple of days later, found myself a bit more breathless after walking up some stairs. Then I got breathless walking along the flat. Being a sensible person, I took myself to the Doctor who checks my blood pressure, checks it again (wincing) goes and gets another BP machine. Hmm she says that's a bit high have to run some tests, is there a history of heart problems in your family? Well, only my father....

Anyway over the last 4 weeks I've been scanned, prodded, xrayed, ECGed, and generally done over by radiologists, referred to a cardiologist and prodded at some more. By now I felt much better but was pretty worried, as were my family. I really began to feel like there was something awfully wrong with me, so much machinery focusing upon my internal workings. It put me in mind of this clip

So, earlier today I had a front row seat watching an ultrasound of my own heart which was pretty cool and with the image of my hearts valves flicking open and closed I was little more confident that there was in fact nothing (significantly) wrong with me and that its now time to step off the medicinal roundabout. To celebrate, I've decided to do the Sydney Melbourne Alpine 1200, just to have something to focus upon.

It will be my first 1200.

It will be very hard. Especially If I don't get riding soon.

I rode this afternoon for the first time in a while.

As a plus, after all of the tests, My lungs are fine desipte years of abuse, my heart is strong and my veins and arteries run free of fatty deposits. I am in fact quite well.

Distance in Kilometers 693.32 (and counting)

Alpine Classic

2009-01-26T21:24:00.004+11:00

Back tonight after traveling down to Bright and back for my first Alpine Classic. Wow.

Great couple of days. Lots of people had told me about the pain and the suffering but no-one had mentioned the Bright Brewery and the food. Had a ball.

I ended up completing the 140km which included both sides of Tawonga gap and Mt Buffalo. I don't mind saying that Mt Buffalo was the hardest physical task I have ever completed and the last 7km from the summit to the controle at Dingo Dell was a c*&t, but character forming in every sense.

My favourite memory of the ride is the view when you fly around a left hander on the middle of the Buffalo descent, granite outcrop on the right, nothing but space and the infinite everywhere else - all at about 60kph, time stood still and the pain of the climb vanished. That view alone will get me back next year and for longer than just the weekend. The start was fun as well...

I really enjoyed the circus of the event and somehow kept being overtaken by Citroen 2Cvs on the way home. They seemed to be everywhere.

For the record I was back in at 3.56pm making the 140k in a leisurely 9 hours.

Mileage in Kilometers is 613.76

Tallowa (torture) Treadle or three flats and buggered knee (or a long self indulgent post)

2009-01-12T08:53:00.009+11:00

I attempted the Tallowa Treadle on Sunday as a good Alpine warm up. Though things didn't quite go as planned. Looking back on the day, I was guilty of poor planning and made a number of bad decisions, so there was plenty of room for misadventure.

There was a solid bunch for the start at 7am in pleasant conditions and for the first quarter of the ride up Macquarie Pass and along the scenic Tourist Road to Kangaloon, I was feeling strong and things were going very well. However at about the 60km mark I ran over a small piece of metal that dug a 1 cm long slash through the casing of my front tyre. Curses! I had recently changed to a larger saddle bag but for reasons unknown even to myself, I had neglected to pack either my small first aid kit or the length of electrical tape I usually carried, and I only had a twenty dollar note (for lunch) so I was worried about how I could plug the the slash. After a few minutes Bec, Henry and Paul came along and luckily Bec volunteered a bandaid which would be a solution and Henry confirmed that the tire casing, though cut right through was still OK, probably.

They road off while I fixed the tube and got on my way. The puncture cost me about 17 minutes in all, so I pumped along a bit harder than usual to catch up. I was also now a little worried about the front tire and how it would hold up on the long downhill descents to come.

I guess my first mistake came earlier in the month when I decided not to replace both tyres, as the bike shop only had one blue stelvio, and I had thought the front rubino pro with 2200km on it would be OK until another blue one came in. So I was kicking myself. By the time I arrived at the first controle at Fitzroy Falls, the main group were about 20 minutes ahead so were just finishing eating and getting ready to go. I ordered some food but was impatient and ate quickly and left with Paul shortly after the others. This was mistake number 2, I really should have taken my ease and ensured I was properly refreshed before heading off.

From Fitzroy Falls the route descends Barrengarry Road to Kangaroo Valley. It is a great descent but I was worried about the front tyre so took it cautiously, passing Barry and Paul at the base of the climb and catching up with the main group at the Hampden Bridge shop, where they were topping up with water before rolling on towards the slog up to Tallowa. Again I rolled on, not heeding Barry's advise to top up before the ride out to the dam. Mistake number 3.

A kilometer or so up the road I got my second puncture, this time a catseye, in the front tyre again. Paul, Greg and Bec passed me so I was back on my own, now with only one good tube, and the heat of the day rising around me.

I spent the next 15 kms struggling to catch up, but the road was rotten, the heat was stifling and I was losing the battle of the spirit. Eventually I arrived at the tip of the steep descent to the dam wall and met the group heading back up, they looked awfully hot and Barry was walking part of the way. I hit the turnaround at the base of the climb and not wanting to be left further behind I turned around immediately and started to climb back out.

It was steeper than I realised, and stuck in the wrong gear I had to quickly twist out of the pedal to avoid embarrassment. Ouch. There goes the knee. Losing count of the mistakes now.

I stopped then to eat a bit and think. I took a few nurofen and glucoden tablets drank some water (about 1.5 litres left) changed into a lower gear and remounted and started back up the hill. Now it's a nasty steep climb and the heat and airlessness really makes it hurt. It's the kind of climb when you need at least both your knees working. I got about half way before stopping and deciding to walk a bit, I could lean on the bike and take some of the pressure off my knee. So I slowly moved up the hill, variously pedaling and walking until after a while I made it out of the cauldron and things started looking up and the view was quite good.

With the road now trending downhill I was able to pedal more effectively with my one good leg and a nice headwind had sprung up to cool me down. I was worried though about my knee and the prospect of the climb up Barrengarry but I just set my sights on the next controle.

As I noted earlier the Tallowa dam road was terrible, large chunks out of the chipseal and gravel bits lying everywhere. Unfortunately I hit a larger bit of gravel and caused a pinch flat. My third of the day and my last tube, from here on in I would be patching.

I had about 18km to go until the next controle so took it as steadily as I could. Despite the liberal dose of Nurofen, my knee wasn't improving, I had long since drained the camelbak and was on my last bidon. There was no mobile reception. So I really had no choice but to plug on and it was with a huge sense of relief that I saw the turnoff to Kangaroo Valley and stopped at the shop for water, a mars bar, a chocolate Magnum and a staminade ($10 minimum eftpos transaction).

I asked after the rest of the group and they had come through about 30 minutes ahead of me. I rang Henry, as I had now pretty much decided to abandon the ride as I had no confidence in my knee and how I would get up Barrengarry road.

They were on the other side of the bridge and just about to leave, I said my goodbyes and wished them luck and settled in to wait for Sue to drive up and rescue me. The afternoon began to cool off and a light rain shower passed. My thighs then started to cramp, just to round off a lovely day.

By the time Sue arrived, I could barely stand, but she had anticipated my needs well and had brought an esky containing our medicinal peas. The cold pack was most welcomed. We retraced the route on our journey home and we passed the group who were now stretched out over about 30 kilometers but they were all looking good for time.

So while I had a shocking ride, I can take from it many lessons.

1. Don't let vanity get in the way of a new tyre.
2. Always carry the electrical tape.
3. Always rest appropriately and ride to my own pace - I was strong and happy before I rushed things
4. Top up the water whenever you can.

Mileage in Kilometers = 363

New Year Objectives

2009-01-04T10:34:00.002+11:00

Cycling wise over the next year I am setting myself a few objectives. We'll see how we go.

Total distance = 6000 km (seems achievable enough)
Complete an Audax Super Series (1 x 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km)
Ride at least 5 times a week.

My problem last year was really about time. Didn't have enough time for long rides, so didn't ride. This year I've worked out a few short routes (20ish K) that I can easily do in an hour before going to work. Longer rides can and will wait for when I have more time. They should be physically easier as well because I will be fitter from the daily riding. That's my theory anyway.

As it happens I've enjoyed a couple of shorter rides so far this year and a nice extended ride with Henry and Greg yesterday out through the hills around Kiama. It was a nice morning.

Mileage in Kilometers = 124

December

2008-12-29T05:31:00.004+11:00

I have made a concerted effort to ride over the last few days and have managed to get some kilometers into the legs, even while feasting on turkey, ham and beer over the christmas weekend. After a slow start to the month, which saw some niggling physical issues (shoulder), a lot of rain, and that whole christmas party social whirl I've managed just over 370km so far. Almost half of that has been in the last few days.

That brings my annual total perilously close to 4000k but unless I bunk off work in the next few days I'm not going to get much closer.

Given that I'm not in a position to commute I am however pretty happy with the first year of logging my distance and will keep it up in the future. I like the incentive, and the encouragement!

Curiously, while I've always found it difficult to find time to ride, my annual total, translates into 170 hours, or just over a week actually on the bike over the last twelve months. That doesn't seem like a lot of time really. The longest single ride was 362km.

Mileage in kilometers = 3909km

Maybe now is the time to ride?

2008-12-05T09:43:00.002+11:00

I managed to arrange the day off today so got a quick 60km in this morning and a ride up Mt Keira so things are looking up after a nearly cycle empty November.

I needed a new back tyre on the Roubaix as the Vittorio Rubino Pro Slicks that came with it was proving to be very puncture prone and stopping every 15 or so Kms was frustrating my riding to a certain extent. The brains trust hereabouts recommended the Schwalbe Stelvio so one of those went on last night and seems to work pretty well.

Mt Keira x 7
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3537

40km!

2008-11-09T09:05:00.003+11:00

Yes, that's all in the last couple of weeks, a lousy 40 km. I was hoping that I would make 4000km for the year, but even that modest total is looking remote. Hopefully, I'll get out again today.

Good news though, is that the Magpies have stopped swooping. Yay

Mt Keira x 6
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3436

Weekend update

2008-10-27T05:59:00.002+11:00

A busy weekend, with just a short time for some riding. Did what is fast becoming my training ride, a loop up to Bulli and back and a climb up Mt Keira to finish.

That's progress of sorts. I remember when I was training to ride up Mt Keira, now its part of my training. I also think the worst of the magpie season is over. Hooray!

So far in preparation for the Alpine I have

Mt Keira x 6
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3396

Weekend outing

2008-10-20T08:52:00.003+11:00

Back at work now so the cycling has been curtailed somewhat. Had a good ride on Saturday out to Pheasants Nest and back with the Audax boys. Richard and Henry headed further out in preparation for next weeks 400km brevet, but John and I returned via Picton Road.

I used to dislike Picton road but now I can live with it. I felt strong on Saturday, which helps I guess. So the concentrated training is paying off.

So far in preparation for the Alpine I have

Mt Keira x 5
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3344

Another day, another 90 clicks

2008-10-03T15:15:00.003+10:00

Hot today, but got out early with Richard for a ride up Keira to Pheasant's nest and return. I felt strong,d espite the heat, but was suffering from saddle rash, so I'm planning for a few days off the bike. I have been reptty pleased with my progress so far.

So far in preparation for the Alpine I have

Mt Keira x 4
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1
Mileage in Kilometres = 3238

Bald Hill

2008-10-02T13:29:00.004+10:00

Nice ride this morning up to Bald Hill and back. Felt pretty strong and my new zip tie anti Magpie programme left my ears intact. Its great not having to be at work and taking the time to ride and I've travelled 240km already this week. Sure does make a difference.

So far in preparation for the Alpine I have

Mt Keira x 3
Bald Hill x 1
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3146

Spring means Magpies

2008-09-29T18:27:00.005+10:00

I'm on leave from work for a couple of weeks and this means riding a lot, I've set a target of 500kms for the next couple of weeks, which doesn't sound like much but I also want to spend some time with the kids.

So this morning I was up earlyish and hit the road about 7.30am for a quick fifty or so. Took my normal northerly route for a while and then turned south into an increasingly strong south westerly that changed the day from beautiful to woeful. The wind was great training but the coming rain was just wet so I turned for home to come up with 43 km and no real hills for the ride. What hills there were though were taken at speed! Tomorrow I'll climb Keira if its not raining as forecast. So far I've clocked up 170 ish kilometres.

Anyway, while it was a beautiful spring morning, its pretty clear that the magpies are nesting and enjoying their territoriality. 3 times I was clobbered this morning, and while their pecks landed on the helmet and not my ear, the sharp crack of attack still takes a bit of getting used too.

Now in preparation for the Alpine,
I have Mt Keira x 2
Macquarie Pass x 1
Mileage in Kilometres = 3044

Fitzroy Falls Cafe ride

2008-09-28T07:26:00.004+10:00

Took part in the Fitzroy Falls Cafe ride yesterday, which marked my first anniversary of Audax as well as a number of other milestones.

It was a very nice day, quite warm and a challenging ride. I hadn't been riding very much of late, recovering from the flu , and the hills yesterday were challenging, however its a very scenic ride and the food at the fitzroy falls visitpr centre is terrific. Just Richard and me on the ride, Greg started with us but he was training for the GSR and took off in search of kilometres after the 50km controle.

The ride up was hard and gave me a migraine (literally) but the return was excellent (mostly down hill). Disaster struck when flying down Macquarie pass the back wheel deflated - I was able to control it and stop safely - though my first puncture on the Roubaix - at 800km!

The remainder of the ride was uneventful except for the unwelcome return of the Magpie opposite the Illawarra Grammar School hill.

Now in preparation for the Alpine,

I have Mt Keira x 2
Macquarie Pass x 1

Mileage in Kilometres = 3000

The Tahmoor 200

2008-09-01T06:22:00.003+10:00

Rode the Tahmoor 200km brevet on Saturday (30/8) with the Mongrel’s. It was a great ride, with a good group of people, terrific scenery, great weather (obliging winds) and puncture free for everyone!

We massed at Dapto station for the start at 7am. Quite cold but clear so I was optimistic about the day. Quite a few people had lined up for the start, there were the usual suspects, Henry, Richard, John, Greg, John, a few people down from Sydney and Yugo and Tom up from Canberra.

The route was a large loop pretty much like this one on bikely http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tahmoor-Ride , taking in the challenging Mt Keira climb, country roads through the western villages of Bargo and Tahmoor, Broughton Pass, and undulations to Bald Hill and the sea cliff bridge and then a scenic run for home down the coast and around the bottom of Lake Illawarra.

We left after a slight delay at 7.10am and right from the start things were looking pretty good for a good day. It was still and cool and the early climb up Mt Keira was rewarded with scant traffic and the sight of a Lyrebird running along the side of the road. We formed into two groups and made a fast ride down Picton road. Travelling in the second group with Henry and Greg, we caught the front group who had stopped at the freeway turnoff as John cranks had come very loose and they didn't have an 8mm hex. John had just had a new chainring fixed earlier in the week and he was less than impressed with the result. Luckily Greg's multi-tool had the right size and we were off together as a group (Note to self - get a multitool). The first controle (53km) at Pheasant’s Nest was reached in 2.5 hours which given the long climb was a pretty quick fifty.

From the controle it was a fast pace line from the freeway to Picton through Tahmoor and Bargo, before the hills coming out of Picton saw us split up a bit. Nearing the 80km mark and the cramping zone I backed off and settled in to spin the next 20 kilometers to the control. Turning off the Picton road at Wilton, I found myself in fresh terrain and enjoying the countryside down towards Broughton Pass.

(Broughton Pass)

At a couple of points on the way I could smell a sweet perfume and looked around to see a carpet of Freesias lining the road. I stopped at the foot of the pass to take a couple of photos and then began the steep climb up and out and then the seemingly endless undulations to the second controle at Appin Bakery. I was the last to arrive but was happy that I had made it through the “danger zone” without cramps.

After a quick lunch of sausage roll, salt tablets and powerade we headed off again up the long and grim Appin/Bulli road before turning onto the old Princes Highway across the environmentally “special” Bulli tops towards Hellensburgh and Stanwell Tops. A Northeasterly headwind began to pickup as I grappled with the undulations (surely I’m at the top now!?), before turning south at Bald Hill and the familiar territory of the coast road down to Bulli. I arrived at the Controle a “Marsbar” bite behind the others with only 50km to go and five hours before the cutoff.

(Henry on the Appin Road)
The northeasterly breeze was now quite a strong wind, but with it in our backs we made great time down the coast route under darkening skies. Lights came on as we turned around the bottom of Lake Illawarra and rode across back streets before rejoining the Princes Hwy at Albion Park and the last 5km back to Dapto station into the wind. As luck would have it I pulled into Dapto at 5.10pm, turning over 202 km on the odometer, just as it started to rain gently.

The Tahmoor ride was a great day out and it was terrific to see and meet some new riders from further a field. The route is terrific, challenging and scenic and takes in some of the best parts of the Illawarra.

Now in preparation for the Alpine, I have

Mt Keira x 2

Mileage in Kilometres = 2833

Best intentions and the road to hell

2008-08-24T11:25:00.003+10:00

The weather was rubbish this week and work conspired to take up too much of my time. What with a 200km ride next weekend I really needed some bike time, so today I got up early and did my standard 30km beach ride with a climb up Keira for good measure. The strong southerlies look like they are here to stay for a while so the ride back from Bulli into the wind was a good workout. The climb up Keira was my first serious climb for a while and the first time up for the Roubaix. Made it easily, if leisurely. Scared myself on the descent though, topped out at 86kph. Also clocked up 400km on the Rube.

Now in preparation for the Alpine, I have

Mt Keira x 1

Mileage in Kilometers = 2606

Fitz's Classic

2008-08-19T16:12:00.002+10:00

Read with interest that Fitz's classic is scheduled for 26 October. There's more information on the ACT pedal power website http://www.pedalpower.org.au/events/details.asp?IntContId=2894 . Me and the roubaix are going to go to warm up for the Alpine.

Learning 2.0 - the bits I missed

2008-08-19T12:55:00.004+10:00

IN order to finish Learning 2.0 I need to comment on a few things.

First off Lesson 9 and Podcasts. As a commuter, I don't know what I would do without podcasts, they fill in the time on the long journeys and give me flexible learning opportunities. We can link to subject based podcasts from our "I Desk" page or even produce some of our own from our and have virtual storytimes --now there's a thought.

Lesson 10: Mashups - OK I have added a warholised picture of me to the blog frame.

We could use google maps to accurately identify the branch library locations or to create history paths through the city. One of the great mashups is Bikely (www.bikely.com) that allows users to map bike routes and journeys.

Lesson 12: Social Networking: I'm a bit curmudgeonly about social networking sites. The audience specifity of the different sites (facebook/myspace/bebo etc etc) means that you're audience is soo scattered so you need to duplicate a lot of effort they require a lot of effort to keep on top of.

So that's basically that for learning 2.0. It's been fun.

Normal cycling adventures will now resume.

Cafe Ride

2008-08-16T16:53:00.002+10:00

Great ride today taking the standard coastal route. Quite a strong west south westerly wind that tested the legs. But made for superman speeds when at our backs. At one point I was casually pedalling up the Illawarra Hwy at a relaxed 46km. Normally I only get that fast downhill.

Mileage in Kilometers = 2561

Alpine Classic

2008-08-16T06:02:00.002+10:00

The Alpine Classic registrations have opened for Audax club members so I have booked in for the 6.40am start and have now 5 scant months to get the climbing technique honed. Looks like I'll be spending some time dragging myself up the escarpment.

As a training goal, I'm aiming for a minimum of 5 climbs up Mac pass and 2 up the Jambaroo pass before christmas.

There's a cafe ride scheduled this morning. A lazy 125km.

Cafe Ride

2008-07-27T15:51:00.002+10:00

Joined the boys for a quick 100km populaire yesterday and showed off the new bike. Clocked up 123km for the day and had a thoroughly good time. Had some gearing issues coming up out of Jambaroo and stopped in at Spearmans to have it checked on the way home. Just a bit of cable stretch.

Its so much faster than the stealth or the Apollogy and for the first time on ride I felt like I was keeping up.

Suffered from cramps after about 100km but I kept pushing and the pain quickly went. I will try this technique again.

Mileage in Kilometers = 2437 and change.

Back on the bike again

2008-07-21T12:50:00.003+10:00

As I'd mentioned some months ago I had ordered a new bicycle and on the weekend I finally got it. It's by far the lightest and fastest bike I've ever owned, and its worth as a motivational tool is considerable. I managed to clock up 103.4 km's on it over the weekend and enjoyed every moment.

The bike is a Specialized Roubaix equipped with a full Ultegra component set and rolling on Mavic Aksium wheels. The bike was built up for me by Dave at Spearman Cycles.

There are a number of firsts for this bike, its the first carbon frame, first low spoke wheels and its the first bike I've owned with brifters -- so am trying to get the hang of them. Took me about 60km to stop reaching down to the down tube to change gears.

Mileage in Kilometres = 2314.09

Back on the bike

2008-07-12T12:45:00.002+10:00

I have been suffering in the last month or so. Shortly after my last post I injured my shoulder in a gardening related incident and have done something complicated to something called the supraspinatus which is affecting my rotator cuff and has been causing a great deal of pain.

I've also had the flu.

I have put on 5kg.

Nevertheless a snap decision this morning and I mounted the bike and completed a quick 40km ride which included some WYD official irritating ( NB As I only irritated him, I couldn't be arrested). I'm siting here now with a heat pack on the shoulder which is hurting again, but I'm glad that I got out.

Mileage in Kilometers = 2210.69

Feeling Guilty

2008-06-20T06:01:00.003+10:00

As we're almost at the nadir of the solar cycle, I'm getting optimistic about getting some more riding in before work within the next month or so. I wish I was more like Kent Peterson who's blog I enjoy and who'se family have had a carfree lifestyle for the last couple of decades.

Years ago I was a committed commuter and rode regardless of the weather, or the darkness. These days life and work is more complex and my 56km commute to work up and over the escarpment and subsequent driving around while at work, really gets in the way of cycling. I am a pretty conservative motorist, and while I have a reasonably fuel efficient car, I'm still driving a long way, and the drive eats into the available cycling time (not to mention the pool of non-renewable resources, ozone layer etc).

I'm seeing the day coming, and quite soon the way fuel prices are going, when I will be looking for a job closer to where I live so the costs of motorised transport, both financial, environmental and physical will be reversed.

The other thing is that I haven't been on the bike since the last cafe ride on the 7th. Maybe this weekend!

Cirque du Cyclisme

2008-06-10T18:40:00.002+10:00

While Nancy is compiling a shortlist of desirable rides over at blogscrement , the annual Cirque du Cyclisme classic bicycle event was held over the weekend, in the part of North America that wasn't flooding, but was very hot.

There's a whole heap of pictures turning up on flickr - try this link http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=+cyclisme&ss=2&s=rec for some eye candy. I think JP Weigle's rando bikes are looking awsome, but there is some great stuff if you have the time to wade through it all.

The Daily Randonneur has more specific links plus some interesting ride reports from the Shenandoah 1200km which was ridden last week. A jolly time was had by all.

Cafe Ride

2008-06-07T21:59:00.002+10:00

A veritable crowd assembled for today's 100km cafe ride. The usual crowd were augmented by Greg and a bunch from Goulburn (Rodney, Lauren and Marie?) and a visitor from overseas(Rob), so with Henry, Richard and Me we were a regular peloton.

The group rode the coastal route - from Dapto north along the princes highway to Ruby's cafe at Bulli then south to Shellharbour (village) and then looping back through Jambaroo to Dapto station.

After the rain of the week, today dawned clear and still a southerly wind blew through the day and took us to Bulli in great time. Heading south was less enjoyable though the ride was going well for me until we stopped at the second checkpoint at Shellharbour. Getting up from the Cafe table I was again overcome by cramps (I wasn't even doing anything) and then set myself up for suffering for the remaing 30 odd kilometers. Rod was a real friend,even though I had just met him - he selflessly gave me a salt tablet from a nifty pill dispenser in his handle bar end, and some kind of salt based tablet (will research the brand) and lots of encouragement.

Later on Jambaroo road, when I had fallen off the back of the group, Rod came back to help me and gave me a draft. A great guy and a strong rider.

The climb up past Jambaroo wasn't too bad, still cramping I eventually made the summit and with the last 10k down hill I was happy to be heading home with a tailwind and the odd twinge in the thighs.

Despite the suffering, I really enjoyed the ride today and the company. Richard and I rode back into town after the ride and I was really beginning to feel quite drained after the day. By the time I got home I crave sugar terribly and actually ate sugar out of the sugar pot before scarfing down a packet of figs.

The shopping list now include some salt tablets and I've got to find out what the tablets were. They were great.

Mileage in kilometers = 2170.19

Eleven!

2008-06-05T05:43:00.002+10:00

I guess that technological improvement is predictable in the current age but a couple of weeks after I decide to upgrade and get a bike with a ten speed cassette, Campagnolo up the ante. See here http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/tech/2008/news/06-04 . Reminds many of Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap

Meanwhile, interest in the long distance cycling blogger ride (LDCBR) is high so I guess I just need to organise it. Any suggestions to where and how long? I'm initially thinking border country and about 200km?

The loneliness of the long distance cycling blogger

2008-05-31T21:59:00.003+10:00

Curiously, its not that lonely, we're all just in different parts of the country and the internet brings us together. I would like to suggest a cycling blogger fleche or group ride. Between Adrian at CYBC, Dave at about the bike, Nancy at blogscrement, Lynne at CTA, Treadly at Treadly and anyone else who's up for it, lets do a ride!

Weighty things to consider

2008-05-29T13:10:00.003+10:00

Had a mental health day today and went for good ride in the southern parts of Wollongong around Albion Park and back home via the coastal cycleway. I made a conscious effort to push harder gears instead of spinning and found my legs coped pretty well. The effort also paid off in being a lot faster. The 70km ride saw an average of 27kph which is a lot better than my usual, and I don't feel any more fatigued than I do normally.

I think I might be guilty of taking things too easy in the saddle and I should HTFU. IN future I will define rides as training, so I'm actually trying to exert myself and improve my stength and fitness, as opposed to just enjoying the ride. Bit of a revelation.

In the last few days the randon email list has been discussing bike weights during brevets. I've always thought that I was a pretty heavy traveller, but this morning I weighed the bike with my standard 200km kit, including lights, camelback and assorted food and came in at 16kg. Bike and rider weight is 94kg. The new bike will shave about 4-5kg off that standing weight and I could probably drop another 5 kilos, so everything is relative.

Mileage in kilometers is 2043.39

Mileage in kilometers

2008-05-27T07:13:00.002+10:00

Taking a leaf from Surly Daves blog http://aboutthebike.blogspot.com/ , I'm going to put myself under some mileage pressure and quote my year to date mileage at every post. My mileage in kilometers as of today is 1972.7km.

That's a lot better than I though it was going to be.

Cramps

2008-05-26T06:11:00.002+10:00

I rolled up for the Coastal 200km brevet on Saturday feeling underdone but nonetheless looking forward to the ride.

It was a beautiful day and the first 60kms up to Bald Hill revealed a few surprises. A deer by the side of the road near Horsley and a whale sounding off the shore at Stanwell Park.

Furstratingly for me though I once again had painfull cramps in my thighs from the 80km mark which forced another withdrawal. For the last few weeks I have been taking a magnesium supplement, drinking lots of additional water and doing some gentle stretching. What I haven't had though was time on the bike.

One of the frequently cited reasons for cramping is not training to the ride intensity, which is challenging as to traing for a ten our ride, I need ten hours to train!

Somehow I'm going to have to build more cycling into my week, though with the compressed daylight hours at this time of the year its not easy to do and it will be difficult to get the requisite miles up.

In the meantime I'll carry on with the water and magnesium and vary the stretching regime a bit to focus on the things.

In other news, I've decided to by a newer fast(er) bike. I've settled on a carbon frame - a specialised Roubaix and will be built up with an Ultegra groupset and Mavic aksium race wheels. The geometry of this frame seems a pretty good compromise between stiff and comfortable and it is a good fit for me. Should weigh in sub 8kg. Not exactly featherlight but much lighter than what I am used to.

Bald Hill and back

2008-05-19T22:01:00.003+10:00

One of the rides I did this last weekend to trial the blackbird was the top half of next weekends coastal 200km brevet - the ride to Bald hill and back.

While this is a fairly short ride from my house in Wollongong, there are some nasty sharp climbs and the final longish and steep climb up the Lawrence Hargreave drive to Stanwell Tops and the Bald Hill lookout.

Once there it is worth the ride and the view back along the coast is really something.

And the descent is breathtaking.

I was happy with the performance of the blackbird but less satisfied with my own, I felt tire and weak for which I blamed the strong headwind on the northern leg and fatigue on the return. Not surprisingly, I have the sniffles now as I type which I hope will clear before the weekend.

Apollogy retires

2008-05-11T21:37:00.005+10:00

Sad but true. My venerable Apollo 3 was becoming more of a flexi context than anything else and after 3000 km since I rebuilt her last year it has been kinder to hang the frame up and use her parts for a better, more inelastic frame.

Enter the blackbird. A bike modeled on the stealth aircraft of my youth, but a lot slower.

I came across this frame during one of my frame scrounges at the reccycle centre. The plan was to us the tubing for brazing practise but this frame seemed better than that.

Over the last two weekends I have managed to ride just over 120km and the "blackbird" is a big improvement over the Apollogy. It tracks straight no hands, bends like a reed into corners and planes. As well as the new frame the blackbird also sports some aero dia compe brake levers and side pulls. I plan to ride her in the Coastal 200km brevet next weekend.

How do I hurt thee, let me count the ways - 24 hr Fleche Opperman 15-16 March 2008.

2008-03-17T11:02:00.001+11:00

It was good to get an email from Henry a couple/three weeks ago inviting me to join the Mongrel's Oppy team with he and Richard. A 9am start seemed pretty civilised and I was soon to learn all about longer distances and fatigue.

The Oppy fleche is run annually by Audax Australia, and follows the ethos of the Fleche Veloccio, where teams of riders cover at least 360km and converge on a central point all within 24 hours.

To date my longest ride has been 200km and some change so the oppy was going to be a challenge, especially after my recent abandonee of the Gunning ride. I was confident though in my teams mates - both Richard and Henry and very experienced randonneurs - so I figured I'd be learning a lot. Minimum team size for a fleche is 3 riders finishing so it was important that I didn't let the others down.

Our route was circuitous and changed during the day to accommodate the weather and some changes in traffic conditions. It was certainly a hot day and the first couple of legs from Dapto, up Mount Keira and to Picton and then from Picton back to the Hume Hwy and on the Sutton Forest were ridden in increasing heat. I am not a fan of the either the Picton road or fast roads in general, lots of debris and too fast traffic inches from your knees. The heat just contributed to my suffering, Its also mostly uphill but that's bearable when you're not cooking.

Richard and Henry travelled at there own pace (well ahead of me) but would stop on the crests and wait for me to arrive. We decided to vary the route and head into Mittagong to get water and to have something to eat. I'm not sure what the temperature was but it must have been mid 30's on the road. There was no shade to speak of, handlebar tape and lycra was absorbing heat generally not pleasant conditions at all. This was the lowest point for me in the ride, but I encouraged myself on with thoughts of the team. I really didn't want to fail again and promised myself that I would persist.

From Mittagong the going got easier and I felt more optimistic about the ride. There was a large bushfire around Avon Dam and the air was growing thicker with smoke. I had fantasised for a while that the band of smoke was actually a cool change heading my way. Didn’t happen.

Getting to the service centre at Sutton Forest was a land mark for me and after 2 potato scallops with extra salt I felt much better about getting on with the rest of the ride, which would now turn north and head towards the Cross Roads at Liverpool via Pheasants Nest.

As it was getting later in the day, the temperature was cooling and we were on the shady side of the road. Generally, our route was trending downwards and there were some great fast descents especially through the "concrete hill" past Hilltop.

We sped into Pheasants Nest in a good 2 hours and enjoyed the hospitality of the best service centre on that part of the highway. Cool, fast service and interesting things happening on the forecourt and importantly half way home.
It was dusk as we left Pheasants Nest with lights and vests on. The Lumotec worked a treat and a big surprise was the value of the cheap three LED light mounted low on the front fork. About 20 minutes out I got a puncture on the rear wheel. Henry described it as the typical "Hume Puncture" a piece of tyre reinforcing wire. There was lots of it about.

Puncture fixed it was back on the way towards Liverpool. Riding along the hume through Campbelltown was reasonably uneventful as the road is pretty well maintained along here. Lots more traffic and the odd "parked" car looming out of the dark.

There are major roadworks on the freeway which saw us unexpectedly divert off the hwy and onto backstreets (one really steep bit) before settling onto Campebelltown road for the rest of the run to the Cross Roads.

We arrived around 10pm and were making reasonable time. We decided to head back up the Hume to Picton Road and then down Mt Keira to a sleep stop. The riding now was cooler and I guess easier not counting for growing fatigue and the increasing discomfort in my bum. I just kept making the pedals go around and kilometres slowly (or quickly as they sometimes did) went by.

Pausing on the Picton road to refresh myself we marvelled at the brilliant starry sky, the milky way clearly visible as a light band. Eventually I topped out at the Keira Rd turnoff, stopped to don my leg warmers and got ready for one of my slower descents of the mountain. Visibility was a bit tricky, whether because of mist or my fatigue I'm not sure. I did manage to see the two deer standing in the middle of the road and watched them flash away into the bush to the sounds of breaking branches. Unable to stop, I tucked and hoped that they wouldn’t come back out onto the road. They didn't and I made it back home for a quick sleep and well deserved sleep.

Earlier in the week I had dreamt of doing the ride, now the alarm was ringing and I really had no choice but to finish. Apart from the fatigue, my bum was very sore and my left hand was losing feeling, otherwise going pretty well. Away at last I met up with Richard on Crown street and we rode out to meet Henry in Dapto.

From there we cycled around Lake Illawarra via Albion Park Rail, Shellharbour. The Lake circuit is a very popular club route and there were a number of bunches out and about. We stopped for Coffee at Macca's in Warrawong and then began the final stretch to the finish point at Kannahooka.

Disaster struck though, when Henry realised that we were going to be 5 kilometres short of the 360kms required for the ride, so a diversion was necessary via Darkes Road and along some quiet rural lanes (bumpy - ouch) before clocking up the required distance to turning for the finish.

Up a couple more hills and then down to the Yacht Club, breakfast and general bonhomie. There were (I think) four other teams who completed the ride, most from Sydney and apart from one minor accident all completed the ride. It was good to meet some other riders and to share our stories of pain.

Richard and I rode back into town after breakfast bringing my total for the weekend to 385 km. 361 for the ride and 24 commuting kilometres.

Learning Answer Boards

2008-03-10T15:18:00.003+11:00

Answer boards are where you'd go if you had a non routine type of question. I'm impressed by the board slamming librarian's who happily identify themselves as such.

It's really an example of what Librarians do all the time, help peole with their information requests, and it gives it a bit of web 2.0 cache on top.

We like to encourage customer feedback, right from our web catalogue, library website, blogs and paperbased forms on the checkout desks. Library 2.0 can certainly help include people more actively.

Learning tagging and folksonomies

2008-03-10T13:50:00.003+11:00

Hmm, a bit depressing but Rider Redux comes ranked at 8,911,336 on Technorati.

As asked here are my del.icio.us links, an eclectic mix, I'm sure you will agree.

Searching bookmobile seems pretty consistent between the fast search and advanced - though there are more refining options on the advanced search which would be handy.

Learning Wikis and Youtube

2008-03-10T13:14:00.002+11:00

Wikis are interesting and flexible information tools, apart from the obvious one of my favourite wikis is the one built for Thomas Pynchon's latest novel "Against the Day" .

As one of my interests is bicycle building I thought I would embed this itneresting video of the legendary Taylor Brothers...

Learning RSS

2008-03-10T10:17:00.003+11:00

I was supposed to set up a bloglines account for RSS feeds but I used the google reader instead as it can sit in my Igoogle home page. Rss feeds are handy in that they update directly to you, which can save time and means that you're always up to date.

Searching for blogs is interesting though. The google blog search runs pretty quickly, I even searched for rider redux and found it all there. Yah!

There are lots and lots of library related blogs nearly 5 million. That'd be more blogs than libraries then.

While searching I also fond that there is a blog called Knight Rider redux! Not sure how I feel about that.

Learning flickr

2008-03-10T09:59:00.004+11:00

Lesson 2.0 in learning too is getting familiar with Flickr . I like flickr. I really enjoy the way you can catch glimpses of other peoples lives - and that they're willing to share. Some members are truly great photographers too.

One of my favourite flickr groups is "what's in the bag" . Below is my contribution from 2006. Its still pretty much the same.

Learning 2.0

2008-03-10T09:51:00.002+11:00

I'm doing a local version of the learning 2.0 programme developed for librarians by the Charlotte and Mecklenberg County public library and recently adapted for NSW librarians by the State Library of NSW. They have a nifty blog here - http://nswpubliclibrarieslearning2.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default . I'm starting late though so will have to hurry.

Didn't quite gallop to gunning

2008-02-17T21:53:00.005+11:00

I had a crack at the Gunning Gallop yesterday, a 400km Audax event run locally. Just Richard and me turned up and I'm sorry to say that I bailed with leg cramps 140km into the ride.

Plenty of excuses to justify pulling out, lousy preparation for starters but I am very disappointed now and wish I could have continued. I've never really had cramps before and even now my thighs are tight and uncomfortable. I probably need to get back into yoga or look at some sodium replacement strategies. Its all part of the process. I also got very cold riding on the Hume Hwy passed Mittagong which I think contributed to the cramping. Just couldn't get warm. By the time I got home I felt exhausted so wonder if I would have got all that much further if I had pressed on. I will never know. I do know I will have to do a lot more riding before doing anything much over 200km, partly to give me the confidence that I can make the distance, but also to get the body working better.

I did get to give the new lights a workout and found them to be very satisfactory. The Apollogy did great, everything worked (except me). ONe interesting point for fans of civil engineer - they number drains! Can't think why.

Cafe Ride washout

2008-02-09T16:53:00.000+11:00

It has rained a lot in the last couple of weeks and a lot of folks are talking about fenders. Back in my all weather commuting days I loved my mudguards, they kept my feet and back dry and held most of the crud at bay.

I haven't arranged fenders for the Apollogy as yet, largely because (and CTA notes) they're not easy to come by and I was reminded this morning as I rode out to Dapto for the start of the cancelled Cafe Ride what a great thing they are. I only ever regret not getting on the bike and I love riding in the rain, even though its cold and slippery.

With the ride canned, I took the long way home under drizzly skies but enjoyed the relative solitude of a saturday morning with only the hardy cyclists out and about.

Kind of makes me think about how lucky I am to be able to ride in such a great place that has good facilities for bikes (relatively).

In other news, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is on this weekend in Portland "Bike City USA". There are some photos already appearing on flickr . Some beautiful things to see.

Registration fees

2008-02-08T15:57:00.000+11:00

Ok, so its one thing to have a politician prattle on that bikes should be registered to pay for cycling infrastructure , we've all heard it before, but when the CEO of the peak cycling body in NSW agree's with him, that's getting pretty disappointing.

Says Alex:

"Bicycle NSW said it supported initiatives that seek to legitimise cycling. "A form of bike registration or levy may help achieve this," said its chief executive, Alex Unwin."

That is such a lame response.

As the CPF points out, nowhere in the world is bicycle registration a serious option and the splendour of bike routes in Amsterdam is funded by a committed community who can see the immediate benefits of improved cycling infrastructure.

In the subsequent poll on 79% of people thought registration was a dumb idea, so that at least gives some hope. But jeez, Bicycle NSW membership just started to look pretty embarrassing.

Vale Sheldon Brown

2008-02-05T09:33:00.000+11:00

I am sad this morning to hear on the lists that Sheldon Brown has died overnight. He was 64. There is some more information at http://bikeportland.org/2008/02/04/sheldon-brown-rip-1944-2008/ .

Sheldon Brown's encyclopedic website on bicycles and maintenance was my primary reference tool for the Apollogy project and my burgeoning fixie consciousness amongst many other things. It was also often very funny.

My thoughts go to his friends and family at this sad time.

SON hub

2008-01-30T22:14:00.000+11:00

My new front wheel and christmas present arrived today care of the Nick and the good folk at Cheeky transport .

Earlier this evening I quickly mounted it on the Apollogy and went for a short ride. I am impressed by the smoothness of the hub and the clarity of the light. Even in the urban environment with frequent street lamps the Lumotec Oval plus lights up the road enough to see the nasty things waiting to trip you up. It has a nice Xenon glow about it too, which I rather like.

As you can see from the photo its a pretty basic installation at this point and as is my way, it will slowly refine itself over the next little while as i settles in. I might try a lower mount and experiment with the light angle.

Damn happy with it though and it means I can start thinking about some of the longer Audax rides scheduled in coming months. First up is a 400km jaunt to Gunning in early Feb. I haven't ridden much in the last couple of weeks, so that one is probably going to hurt.

Recycling

2008-01-22T22:10:00.000+11:00

I have been gardening in the last couple of weeks. By gardening I actually mean removing weed infestations. Its a long tyerm project and the weeds in my yard are usually bigger than your average weed. I have used a chainsaw in the past (privet) just to provide some context here's a before and after shot sequence:

Before

After

Anyway, I cleared out the side path and garden and removed a couple of trailer loads of weeds including fish bone fern, camphor laurel, wilde ginger, privet, ochna, asparagus fern, and many more. Now that the weeds are gone I've laid out some geotech cloth as a weed mat and am starting to plant a hedge of Photinia which will act as a border but be pleasant and green to look at. Much better than a colourbond fence in my opinion.

Anyway, I dragged the weeds to the recycling yard at the Wollongong Tip and this gave me a chance to check out the recycle centre for bike frames for brazing practise and potential parts stripping. I still dream that I'm going to find some exotic bike like a Gitane or Peugeot at the recycle centre but so far no luck.

That is until last my lst trip when I found two frames with some interesting steel and fittings. The first one is a large (60cm?) Repco branded bike with some form of Tange double butted tubing that had some nice Nitto handlebars and stem, Dia Compe brakes and levers, sugino cranks and shimano 105 level ders. No wheels.

The next find I will refer too as the stealth bike - crappy black paint, oxidising to buggery, but I noticed under the crud that the rear brake said "Shimano 600". Closer inspection revealed that the derailleurs were the same. SR stem, Selle Anatomic Saddle and alloy seat post, Tange threaded headset spun nicely. Only one wheel (rear) - six speed cassette, araya 700c. Picked it up and admittedly without a front wheel, bottom bracket and cranks it was very light.

I purchased them both for $5 and took them home for closer inspection and parts removal. Some corrosion here and there but eventually everything comes apart as nature intends. After stripping the Repco bike will be brazing practise however the stealth frame is another matter. I'm thinking that I'm going to building this one up as another rando bike and see how it runs. The advantage of this frame over the Apollogy is that its a 700c frame while the Apollogy is 27.5 inch. Better braking is a priority.

The frame geometry is very similar though the stealth frame is slightly larger. This shouldn't be a problem as the Apollogy is slightly smaller than I like. If the stealth bike works out OK, I will fix the Apollogy or just keep them both.

Tallong 200km (long version)

2008-01-15T22:37:00.000+11:00

(The route)

The group left Dapto at 7 am under slightly overcast skies and headed south down the Princes Hwy towards Albion Park and the looming bulk of Macquarie Pass. Hardly any breeze at this point and the early hour meant that traffic was still quiet. A rush of blood to the head saw me break away from the group a couple of k's from the base of the pass but I stopped to help another cyclist who needed a lend of an allen key as he’d popped a spoke and wasn’t carrying any tools. The group rode past making polite enquiries.

“that’s a big group where are you guys off to?”, asked the toolless roadie.
“we’re, doing a 200km ride to Tallong and back”. Unfortunately for the roadie, my selection of keys didn’t fit his bolt so he was going to have to wait for a lift.

I remounted and followed the path of the group and commenced my own ascent of the pass. I was, at the beginning, nervous, the pass had thwarted me before, it had intimidated me. But this time I was determined to make it. I dropped into my lowest gear and just focused on the road in front of my wheel, and before I knew it I was moving inexorably upward. I’m not sure when I stopped worrying and started enjoying the climb – perhaps near the top – but the view was grand and the sense of achievement was very satisfying. Only 170kms more to go.

A quick break for coffee at the Robertson Pie Shop where we had a short chat with a couple of other riders who were out training for the Alpine. They had just come up via the Jamberoo pass and we’re heading back to Shellharbour via Berry. A huge ride.

From Robertson the route undulates down towards Tallong passing through Moss Vale and Sutton Forest before the first control at the Old Bicycle Shop Café in Bundanoon. The overcast conditions of earlier where clearing however a gentle noreaster gave us a fair ride along the Illawarra Highway. Taking the left at Sutton Forest took us down through Exeter and over some challenging undulations to Bundanoon.

This part of the Southern Highlands is pretty posh and the road is lined with immaculate hedges hiding park like grounds and tudor style mansions. The anglophilia is a bit incongruous with the temperature nudging up towards 30 degrees and the song of cicadas ringing loudly across the lawns. Maybe winter captures the effect more appropriately, still the locals must like it and there were plenty of nice cafes for refreshments.

The control at Bundanoon was conveniently located at the Old Bicycle Shop which gave us a chance to fuel up on coffee, cake and an egg and bacon roll for the road. The café does a roaring trade and has bikes for hire and promotes a weekly social ride.

After a feed, we’re off to Tallong. I was feeling strong at this point and happily sucked Richard and David’s wheel for the 25km to the turnaround beneath the railway bridge. Barry had warned me at the control that this stage would be pretty dull but I enjoyed the view and the changing landscape as the route took us away from the rolling pasture and towards the gorge country with its rockier soils.

The turnaround point was a couple of kilometers past Tallong beneath the rail overpass, and those two kilometers seemed to be the longest kilometers of the morning. The road dips below the railine and taking Dave’s advice to not stop at the bottom of a dip, a coasted up the other side and paused to eat my bacon and egg roll which was still nicely warm from Bundanoon. It was beginning to get rather hot.

We all rejoined back at the Tallong store and refreshed ourselves with cool drinks. A group of heavily laden mountain bikers got off the bus as we watched and exchanged pleasantries. They were off on an overnight ride, we were off home.

On the road again we saw a large echidna climbing up the embankment which was unexpected. Most of the other wildlife we’d seen so far was dead. In some places the stench of made you gag, so it was encouraging to see that not everything was getting squashed.

As the temperature began to climb, I began to wilt and quickly fell off the back of the group on the road back to Bundanoon. Being alone was probably for the best as I began to talk aloud to myself and point out the interesting things around me and the various environmental conditions. I noted that the slight tailwind that had pushed us to Tallong was now pushing me back to Tallong which was really unnecessary and I wished it would stop. Conversely the headwind was having a cooling effect which was welcomed, so I just dropped down a gear and got on with the ride.

I also noted for the first time some orange Gladioli growing by the side of the road. At first I only noticed a few of them but there were hundreds, thousands even! I wonder how they got there. I was also wondering how I missed them on the way out.

These distractions were good at taking my mind of the growing aches and pains that began to make themselves apparent; sore knee, sore left foot (SPD cleat heat was a discussion at the first control), lower back pain and an arse of fire. To distract myself from the pain and the cries of the little voice inside my head begging to stop, I set myself little goals and furnished their achievement with little rewards. I find this type of thing helps my motivation. For example if I got to Bundanoon by the half hour, I could stop for five minutes and take some Vitamin I. Sure enough I made it to Bundanoon and had a break, topped up the spinal tap and took the Ibuprufen.

Refreshed and comfortably numb I headed onwards to the second controle at Moss Vale. Rejoining the Illawarra Highway while a sign of progress, saw heavier and faster traffic and generally less invigorating riding conditions. However, the skies began to cloud over and the temperature dropped a few degrees, which was alright with me. There was even a bit of thunder about as I pulled into Moss Vale and coasted towards the second control. I found the group sprawled comfortably on the lawn watching the local teens at play and scoffing down various dietary supplements from the fish and chip shop across the road. I had four pikelets and a gel to celebrate the longest continuous ride on a bicycle by me ever (144km).

The group slowly left, first with Maria who was promising to plod along then the rest of us. With only a mere 56km to go it was nearly over and 10 kms of that was going to be down Macquarie pass! Bouyed by that thought I set off with Barry and Martin while Barry reminded me that there were a few nastyish, uphillish bits before the downhill bit. He was right.

Eventually though, after what seemed like an hour, I had ridden through Robertson and was perched on the cusp of the descent of the pass. I pulled over to admire the view and take a couple of photos and check the brakes and load before heading down through the pass. I love downhills, it’s a just reward for the effort to climb them, after 15 mins of it though I was getting bored so I was pleased to blast out from the trees of the pass and onto the open undulating road for the final stint back to Dapto.

The descent was invigorating, so mentally I felt great but physically, my posterior was a real liability, and I was beginning to welcome the hills, just so I could get out of the saddle. I caught up with Maria as she was just entering Albion Park and rode with her for a while but had to stop at Yallah to rest my bum. So close but yet so far. I trudged on, plodding now up the Princes Hwy towards Dapto when Martin and Barry caught me and together we made it back at 5.55 pm, just short of 11 hours elapsed since we began.

It was a great day, Martin and My first 200km, Maria’s return to Audax after having a baby (3 months). I realized when I got home that the ride also completed my Nouveau and my first “real” brevet. No longer pretending, I can call myself audacious!

Tallong 200km Ride

2008-01-13T16:37:00.000+11:00

Completed my first 200km brevet yesterday and qualified for the Nouveau Randonneur Award from Audax Australia. The nouveau award includes rides of 50km, 100km and 150km and you can substitute rides of greater length. I've got 2 100s and a 200km under my belt so far so I'm there. The Tallong ride was a great and pretty much doubles my time and distance on the bike in a single day. I am drafting a more comprehensive report and hope to post it soon.

I was especially satisfied with the ride because I finally conquered Macquarie Pass on my second attempt. The view from the top is grand.

Brains trust

2008-01-10T09:14:00.000+11:00

I was disappointed today to read comments from the NRMA that money spent on cycleways was money wasted. More of the article is here . When you contrast the positive efforts in many European countries (and even Melbourne) to develop cycling infrastructure, with this attitude, the NRMA really begins to look more backward than most motoring organisations.

As a motorist as well as a cyclist, I am very happy that Local and State Government are investing in cycling infrastructure, especially in conjunction with massive capital projects. I can only applaud this commitment to encrouraging cycling and urge further funding to these important projects in the future.

Covering some ground

2007-12-29T21:56:00.000+11:00

They say that the best training for cycling is to ride your bike, so I have been.

Got a new helmet yesterday, a new MET to replace my old Bell. The Bell was a huge leap forward when I got it back in 1994 (yes that's right 1994!) and has travelled well. Times have changed though and the Bell didn't have the ventilation that the new helmets have. The Bell for example had 12 holes, the new MET has 23. Strangely the MET is 50g heavier than the old Bell - go figure. The new helmet is blue and is cool - literally.

Christmas

2007-12-26T07:32:00.000+11:00

Lovely day yesterday spent with the family and eating too much. I hope you had a good one too.

Santa came good on his promise of a dynohub and lighting, though he's being a bit slow with the dynohub but it should be available in a couple of weeks. The good folk at Cheeky Cycles are building the hub into a Velocity Dyad rim. I did receive my DLumotec Oval Senso Plus. however.

It should be a pretty cool setup when its all together, the DLumotec has a Xenon like light and pretty powerful illumination of about 16 lux. I plan to just run a battery taillight at this stage but am thinking about a proper LED taillight from Busch & Muller like the Seculite plus when I get mudguards on the Apollogy.

Xmas ride to Picton

2007-12-16T07:54:00.000+11:00

Fronted up for the Wollongong Audax christmas ride to Picton yesterday and suffered terribly.

Recent time away from the bike had impacted on my fitness so I felt kinda weak, which is not such a good thing when your on a route that takes in 1110m of climbing. But I'm glad to say I made it, but not without some misadventure.

Firstly, I found that I was overheating a lot, particularly on the climbs even early in the ride when it wasn't all that hot. This could be a result of my now quite old helmet which is heavy and probably not as well ventilated as it could be. The second thing was hydration particularly on the return ride when I rapidly drank through my 2 bidons and was really suffering in 30 degree heat. I'm thinking that a hydration pack might be good insurance and also give me a little bit more gear room. Henry and Richard use camelbacks and keep their bidons for supplements on longer rides. I'm thinking abut the Spinal Tap from Ground Effect which seems about the right size and is way less expensive than the camelbacks. Irrespective of these issues which I can solve, the Picton Road a pretty miserable place to ride even when your going downhill. Its got the lot - poor surface, zero shoulder, fast traffic, lots of trucks and almost nothing to look at.

The other thing was getting hit by a drink can thrown at me from a moving car.

Man, it hurt and I was really lucky that it wasn't my head or I probably wouldn't be typing this now. It also gave me a burst of adrenaline that got me up the rest of the long climb. The car was a white Hyundai Excel, and the can was a "V". I couldn't get their license plate but I'm pretty sure the karmic hammer will even things out sooner or later.

It's not the first time I've had stuff thrown at me, but its certainly the first time I've been hit. I hope it's the last.

Anyway the descent down Mt Keira was great and the remainder of the ride uneventful. My next challenge will be the 200km ride to Tallong in January and I hope to get in at least 1000km between now and then.

Weekend adventures

2007-12-09T22:02:00.000+11:00

Made good on my word and got on the bike for a 40km ride on saturday and another ride up most of Mt Keira today.

Yesterday was overcast with a strong southeast breeze, which gave me some conditioning riding back from Bulli. On the ride the Apollogy was creaking a bit on the powerstroke and I diagnosed a loose crank bolt. Tightened him up and all seems OK.

Today was sunnier, but quite humid and I set off fairly early for a ride up Mt Keira. I haven't conquered that mountain on the Apollogy as yet and I'm keen to ride with the Wollongong Audax christmas ride to Picton next saturday which takes in the climb.

Apart from the first steep bit, where I walked for a hundred metres, the rest of the climb seemed pretty good, until that is I encountered a few wasps. First thing I knew my left ring finger and armpit and side started stinging like bastards and I knew something was wrong.

I stopped and swatted and rubbed and swore. The last time I got stung by a wasp (on my ear!) the pain was excruciating and the swelling was enormous. Fearing the same reaction, I turned and fled back down the mountain.

The pain passed, very little swelling and by the time I got back home I was regretting my decision to run. Then, more agony, this time on my shoulder. Seems I still had a passenger from the mountain!.

Jersey flies off and wasp gets squashed, not before raising a ten cent sized welt on my left shoulder. I washed the bike as a victory gesture.

Anyway, end of the weekend saw a brief but necessary and useful 57 kms of riding, a nice clean bike and the added confidence that wasp stings won't kill me. Not quite what I was hoping for, but a result all the same.

In other news, I have asked santa for a new front wheel with a SON nabendynamo and a Dlumotec LED senso light for christmas. I'm reliably informed that he has ordered one through the good folk at Cheeky Transport in Newtown. Lucky me!

Fixie consciousness

2007-12-06T21:49:00.000+11:00

Its been a wet November and coupled with a rather nasty virus I haven't had any real time on the bike since the Gong Ride. I'm losing condition rapidly but am aiming for a good couple of rides this weekend.

In other news, while off the bike I have been developing fixed gear awareness. I remember talking to a guy on a flipflop fixed on the Big Ride earlier this year and thinking it was cool and more recently on the gong ride I saw quite a few fixed bikes. Further exploration found a number of sites and blogs including a couple of ride reports from the 2007 PBP from Emily O'Brien and her partner Matt and Sheldon Brown's advice on going fixed. Inspired I had decided to look out for a suitable frame to convert.

So this morning, on my way to work, driving through a village that is having its annual council collection and spy a bike frame out of the corner of my eye. Not just any frame though, but a red Apollo. I quickly looped around the block and pulled up to check it out.

No wheels, a bit rusty looking, but about the right size. Put it in the boot of the Peugeot and continued on to work. I figured that at the worst it could be brazing practise, but I was pretty happy with my find.

A little while later and on closer examination, the frame appears to be a low end roadster style bike equipped with a single front chainring, and an old Altus derailleur, dia compe side pulls, and a rusty port rack.

Rear dropouts however, are fixie friendly - horizontalish and quite long. Looks like a perfect candidate!

Later still, I have commenced stripping the parts off and cleaning up the frame. Suprisingly, while there is a rust on the various nuts and bolts it doesn't seem to be too bad. Mostly mild powdery surface rusting that makes me think this bike hasn't seen a lot of action. The drivetrain doesn;t show and serious wear and the chain is quite flexible and free of corrosion and dirt. Everything seemed to be pretty well looked after though. The seat post and stem, while showing rust, pulled out easily and were well greased and looked in servicable condition. There's some mild damage to the off side chain stay whilc may indicate some form of misadvnture but it eyeballs true and the dropouts line up.

The serial number identifies it as a 1983 build, but quite low end - the frame is pretty coarse and seems a world apart in quality and details from the Apollogy but it will make a fun fixie project and I have named her the Apollogytoo.

The hunt is on now for suitable bits, which will include wheels, bottom bracket, cranks, pedals, stem, seatpost, handlbars, saddle. I think I'll reuse the existing brakes but look for some new levers.