Glorious day on saturday 14th and joined the IBUG riders for a trip down to Shellharbour using the coastal cycleway. 5 of us met at Le Vendi's at Belmore Basin and struck off south under glorious winter clear skies with a light southwesterly headwind to keep us honest.
It was a great day for cycling and we saw lots of others out on the track. It is almost possible to ride on cycleways the entire distance to Shellharbour and the Shellharbour City Council are currently considering plans for the Barrack Point link that will add another headland to the trip. Even though I have cycled south a few times in the recent past, this trip with my new friends openned up a few less travelled ways. The coastal cycleway has to be one of the great cycle rides in Australia, the contrast in environment, natural and man made are profound and there's always something to look at. Its also mostly flat so its accessible.
Stopped at Shellies cafe for refreshments in Shellharbour before heading back, a bit pushed for time but with a tailwind to help us along. By the time I arrived home I had clocked up 70km's which was a bit further than I thought we'd go, but felt great all the same.
Unfortunately I didn't take the camera so have no photographs. Next time......
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Apollogy coming together
Decided to join the IBUG easy ride to Ruby's cafe at Bulli this morning. Glad I went. Sun shining on the ride north - gloomy, antarctic conditions coming back - things change really quickly. But it was great to be out again after all of the lousy weather the last few weeks or so.
In other news, the Apollogy project continues albeit slowly. Most of the bike is back together with a variety of reused bits. Its starting to come together nicely I think. I took it out for a cautious spin around the block (only the front brake was fitted) and nothing fell off so I'm counting that as a success.
A few unforseen problems have emerged. Couple of broken spokes on the back wheel which on closer inspection I find is an older 27 inch wheel so I will probably replace it in the short term. Also the nylon friction washer in the downtube shifter has collapsed and a replacement part is no longer available.
That's it in the front left.
I'm working on fabricating one out of some nylon rod or part of a chopping board depending on what is easier to find. In the absence of a lathe I hope that I can mount it in the chuck of my power drill and turn one out. We will see....
The Brooks B17 Special (black) is due for delivery sometime in this month. Still looking for mudguards.
In other news, the Apollogy project continues albeit slowly. Most of the bike is back together with a variety of reused bits. Its starting to come together nicely I think. I took it out for a cautious spin around the block (only the front brake was fitted) and nothing fell off so I'm counting that as a success.
A few unforseen problems have emerged. Couple of broken spokes on the back wheel which on closer inspection I find is an older 27 inch wheel so I will probably replace it in the short term. Also the nylon friction washer in the downtube shifter has collapsed and a replacement part is no longer available.
That's it in the front left.
I'm working on fabricating one out of some nylon rod or part of a chopping board depending on what is easier to find. In the absence of a lathe I hope that I can mount it in the chuck of my power drill and turn one out. We will see....
The Brooks B17 Special (black) is due for delivery sometime in this month. Still looking for mudguards.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Budding constructeur...?
The weather has been awful the last few weeks so as an alternative to actually riding anywhere, I've been watching the paint dry, cleaning parts and putting together a shopping list for the Apollogy project.
One great find on the net, is the latest Brooks saddles catalogue for 2007. I'm after a B17 special and will be asking my local bike shop to order one in for me - not sure of the colour yet honey is just ahead but the green one is pretty special. I'm hoping that the Brooks saddle will fix my numbness issues that arise every now and then.
I've also been pricing a Schmidt 28 dynamo hub. They're pricey at about $300 (plus the rest of the wheel), but desirable and probably the best solution for long audax rides. Cheeky transport in Newtown supply the SON and build the wheels. I have wired up the frame following the respray, so it should look neat.
The only other new bit will be mudguards. Hammered Honjo's would be lovely, but am not sure if they are available in Oz. Will research further but probably end up with the SKS thermoplastic ones with stainless steel fittings.
One great find on the net, is the latest Brooks saddles catalogue for 2007. I'm after a B17 special and will be asking my local bike shop to order one in for me - not sure of the colour yet honey is just ahead but the green one is pretty special. I'm hoping that the Brooks saddle will fix my numbness issues that arise every now and then.
I've also been pricing a Schmidt 28 dynamo hub. They're pricey at about $300 (plus the rest of the wheel), but desirable and probably the best solution for long audax rides. Cheeky transport in Newtown supply the SON and build the wheels. I have wired up the frame following the respray, so it should look neat.
The only other new bit will be mudguards. Hammered Honjo's would be lovely, but am not sure if they are available in Oz. Will research further but probably end up with the SKS thermoplastic ones with stainless steel fittings.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Apollogy - painted!
Ok the colour is on and despite the not so good photograph I'm pretty happy with the results.
Must be patient now while the paint hardens before adding as much clearcoat as I can to keep it shiny. I am currently experimenting with decal designs identifying the APOLLOgy branding - so that should keep me distracted long enough to let the paint dry.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Royal National Park - Lady Carrington drive Ride
The Royal National Park in southern Sydney (or northern Wollongong) is the second oldest national park in the world and it makes for some pretty fine riding. I decided to catch the train up from Wollongong and ride into the park from Heathcote, scoot along Lady Carrington drive and follow Lawrence Hargreave drive and the coastal cycleway back to home to Wollongong. The first part of this ride was a modifcation of the trip found in Bruce Ashley's Cycling Around Sydney and it's a pretty popular place to ride.
After catching the 7.48am train to Waterfall and changing for Heathcote, I got on the bike at 9.15am and headed off down the management trails to Farnell Ave and the entrance to the park. Met up with a few other riders who helped me out with directions. The steep descent down to Audley was great if a little cold and some guys I met rider out recommended that I leave my gloves on.
Lady Carrington drive starts at Audley and is closed to cars - only bikes and walkers are allowed and you follow the Hacking River south through a range of flora - quite a few red cedars. At one point, hurtling along I startled and was startled by a Lyre Bird running across the track in front of me. To9o slow for the camera unfrotunately but it was only the second Lyre Bird I've ever seen in the wild.
I stopped for a break and some dates at the end of Lady Carrington Drive were it joins the Lady Wakehurst Drive before climbing (slowly) up out of the park. It was still fairly early and only a few motorcyclists roared by. The southern end of the park is pretty popular as a tourist drive and can be tricky in places for cycling.
Stopped for a well earned coffee and energy drink at the Otford Pantry before heading down Lawrence Hargreave Drive and the coastal cycleway from Austinmer to Wollongong. The whole route is on bikely and I recommend it
Monday, May 14, 2007
Examplars
Browsing the web, as you do, and perving on bike porn, I found an example of how I'm hoping the APOLLOgy project will turn out, (well sort of) at Pereira Cycles.
This particular bike can be seen from many different angles here and is described as a French Bordeaux touring bike in the spirit of Alex Singer and Rene Herse. Love the details - particularly the integration of the lighting system. Nice. The APOLLOgy is more Chianti!
While mentioning Rene Herse, the Chainring blog has an enviable tale and pictures of a junkshop gem Rene Herse found in Australia. Lucky....
Riding around the lake
Had a chance for a ride this afternoon so decided to ride a loop around Lake Illawarra from home on the Montari. 
It was a good ride, uneventful except for a small problem with a dog and its owner at the boat ramp at Port Kembla. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable excursion. Some low cloud, mild temperature and no breeze to speak of.
While most of the ride is on quieter backroads or offroad cycleways, there are a few lengthy sections of high (and fast) traffic along the Southern Freeway north of Albion Park Rail and the Princes Highway. Both fast roads have a mixture of on and off road cycleways, however the quality and predictability of them is a problem. Many of the offroad cycleways are works in progress, poorly signposted and difficult to decipher from actual footpath. This confusion creates problems in that the path sometimes just end and you find yourself bunnyhopping back into the traffic lane. Don't get me wrong, the cycling infrastructure around here is great, and it's getting better all of the time, however the incomplete nature of a lot of it is frustrating and potentially dangerous. Recent research is suggesting that the most dangerous interface for cyclists is when they are joining or re-joining traffic and at intersections generally. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the road designers continue to just dump cyclists back into the flow without any warning when their construction budget runs out. In the end I judged it safer to remain on the road and cycle predictably and defensively than to run the gammut of incomplete pathways.
Despite these observations I felt pretty good with the ride, and made sure to stop and smell the roses (or rotting seaweed). The 50k loop took a leisurely 2 and a half hours of riding time.
It was a good ride, uneventful except for a small problem with a dog and its owner at the boat ramp at Port Kembla. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable excursion. Some low cloud, mild temperature and no breeze to speak of.While most of the ride is on quieter backroads or offroad cycleways, there are a few lengthy sections of high (and fast) traffic along the Southern Freeway north of Albion Park Rail and the Princes Highway. Both fast roads have a mixture of on and off road cycleways, however the quality and predictability of them is a problem. Many of the offroad cycleways are works in progress, poorly signposted and difficult to decipher from actual footpath. This confusion creates problems in that the path sometimes just end and you find yourself bunnyhopping back into the traffic lane. Don't get me wrong, the cycling infrastructure around here is great, and it's getting better all of the time, however the incomplete nature of a lot of it is frustrating and potentially dangerous. Recent research is suggesting that the most dangerous interface for cyclists is when they are joining or re-joining traffic and at intersections generally. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the road designers continue to just dump cyclists back into the flow without any warning when their construction budget runs out. In the end I judged it safer to remain on the road and cycle predictably and defensively than to run the gammut of incomplete pathways.
Despite these observations I felt pretty good with the ride, and made sure to stop and smell the roses (or rotting seaweed). The 50k loop took a leisurely 2 and a half hours of riding time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)