Creature of the night
First bit of news is that I have become unemployed. Well, actually I quit my new job of 3 months. I finished a week and a half ago. I was doing a tech support job. It was a good experience and I learnt a lot in that time. The people were really nice as well. Without going into it too much it just didn’t work out. However, I would like to think that we left on good terms (Admittedly I didn’t give them any notice). I had a big chat with the boss on a Friday and that was that. I really should email them to apologise and see how everyone is.
So now I’m looking for work again. That job opened my eyes to the world of tech support and sys admin work. I am still interested in that area to a degree and I think I am capable. But there are so many other areas in IT like testing and training, which of course I was doing at my previous job at The Smith Family. Guess I’ll just apply for all jobs and see how I go.
Anyhoo, my leaving my last job coincided with the Tour De France. Actually it started I think a couple of days before I quit. As mentioned in my last post this is the first time I’ve gotten into the event properly, and boy do I love it!!!! Its everything I thought it would be…I’m watching it right now as I’m typing this. I might dedicate another post about the TdF later.
The plan after I quit was that I would do heaps of riding during the day (and job hunt of course) and then watch the tour at night. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been so kind and I’ve somehow become a bit soft and not wanting to ride if there is ANY wetness at all. As a consequence I’d only ridden about 60km in the last fortnight. I was averaging around 120-160km a week previous to that.
To make matters worse I’ve been eating a lot more than normal as well. This is due to the down town I have “in between jobs” and of course staying up late watching the tour. So I’ve become a bit of a creature of the night. I even watch informercials for a little bit because I eat sugary junk food during the tour and I can’t sleep. Then I sleep in until after 8 every morning feeling lazy…blerh
So the lack of exercise and overeating has seen me put on 2.5kg in a fortnight. Pretty drastic for me. Not that I’m overweight. But I’m trying to keep fit and that weight makes a difference when I’m trying to ride up a hill.
Good news is there’s only a few more stages left so no more ultra late nights and shoving chips and tim tams in my mouth. And I hope to get a new job in the next couple of weeks. At least then I’ll be doing regular commute rides again.
I’m EX-COITED
First post in ages. Slack I know. Anyhoo…
I’ve been cycling for a year and a half now and my fondness for it just grows and grows. I just love everything about it. It even makes going to work bearable.
As a recreational activity and work transport it is most excellent for so many reasons, but I’ve never taken much notice of cycling as a sport (being a spectator, that is).
Until now…
I caught a little of the Tour de France last year. I knew nothing about the Tour or any of the riders. Though at the time one couldn’t help but hear Cadel Evan’s name as he got ever so close to the Yellow Jersey.
Since then I’ve slowly picked up bits and pieces of cycling knowledge from TV, magazines and friends. Now I’ve got the Tour fever BAD!!!!! I’ve never anticipated a sporting event as I have for this year’s TdF. I bought the Cycling Australia magazine with many TdF articles and guides. And I’m getting pumped for many late nights tuned into SBS in July.
There really is no sporting event that tests a man’s will and determination like the TdF. Stuff of legends. There’s more drama, strategy and bike bling than you can poke a carbon bike pump at.
I can’t wait!!!
Until then, you can read this rather amusing article called Cycling Style Etiquette
Sacred Heart Mission Ride
I haven’t posted in ages!!! Have many events of note to blog about. Hope I can still remember them. But here is one from today that I just have to post.
Today I went on the Sacred Heart Mission Community Cycle, which was a Frankston to St Kilda ride to bring to the Sacred Heart Mission.
The following is what I posted of the BV forum after the ride:
What a great (if not tiring) day!!
Met MikeP, Vidman and PDL at Luna Park at 6am. There were 3 hardcore cyclists hanging outside Cafe Boy Racer, waiting for it open???
The road was absolutely dead quiet. We made very good pace down to Mordi and didn’t stop. Being ahead of schedule, we pulled back the pace a little and rolled into Franga nice and early, where we were greeted by the sag wagon/Vidman’s mum.
As we started to suit up, a few more appeared. By 8.30am we had a group of 13 riders, antlers on heads, tinsel on bikes and one scary santa. After a quick photo we were off.
The weather was varying, from dry and not much wind to wet and “WTF”. Passing the streets between Franga and Mordi that lead down to the beach were at times quite hairy. All we could do was brace ourselves and lean into the wind.
Given the cause, all our spirits were high and the extremes in weather didn’t seem to bother us. We chatted the whole way and got many friendly honks and waves from the public.
The Tour de suburban shopping strips was fun. Most were happy to see us and cars behind us were very patient.
We arrived at SHM at 11am on the dot to deliver the goods. We got a tour of the facilities and were told about what they do. We felt good that we could help out a little.
Again, I had a great morning regardless of the weather. Nice to meet more riders today. Thanks to Vidman for organising this event. It definitely has great potential and could turn into huge ride on the calendar.
I look forward to it again next year!
P.S. Santa, you have 12 months to practice your aim!! I think half the chocky coins endup in gutters or boucing off car roofs. You may also have taken out some kid’s eye
I was so buggered afterwards. I only slept 4 hours and the ride was pretty hard going at times with the wind. I came home had a quick bite to eat and had a 4 hour nap!
Anyway, I think its a really nice thing to do and I’d love to see the event bigger and better in the future.
Biggest ride yet and latest N+1 news
Haven’t been miffed blogging about last Saturday’s ride until now. But there it is anyway:
Went for another big ride. I guess it was a training ride for the ATB. Never ventured past Mt Eliza before (and I’d only done that twice) so it was an adventure. First below is the what I wrote about the ride on the BV forum:
+1 also about our group riding. I said to someone near Sandy that someone should film us and show it to others how to group ride properly!
My biggest ride also at 134km and I feel OK today. Only slight soreness in the quads. I was struggling with pace by myself out of Safety Beach once I was dropped.
Thanks to Stubacca for stopping and calling to see where I was.
Saw two little screaming kids on BMXs get chased by a magpie along Nepean before Mt Eliza. Most amusing Razz
Detoured through Mt Eliza loop so I can do that fast downhill S-Bend. Fun!
I started to struggle out of Mordi back to St Kilda. Thanks everyone who gave food advice before Sat otherwise I proly would not have lasted and to Keely’s food talk between Franga and Mordi.
My shoulders, upper arms and right hand (and to some extent, my legs) were getting really sore towards the end. I started getting dead (right) foot as well. I thought about dropping off and taking it easy but riding in a group made more sense.
Thought of coffee and food at the end kept me going and it was worth it.
Richard, hope you get well soon. Glad it wasn’t a break.
It was another sensational day weather wise which just made for a perfect ride. After setting off on the return leg from Safety Beach I almost had to catch my breath when I looked out to the left over the cliff and saw the view. Stunning!! Coming into Safety Beach I was concentrating and wasn’t looking. I wanted to stop and take it all in and take some photos. But I didn’t want to be dropped so kept going. Of course I ended up being dropped anyway and was I think second last into Frankston regroup point (I think some had been waiting 20min)…
Anyway, its not a race and I enjoyed myself heaps.
Max 62.3km/h (PB!)
Avg 26.6km/h
Distance 134.78km
Riding Time 5hr 04 min
Onto other news…
1. My MBC R1 has finally arrived into the country from wherever. But I don’t trust my shop will have them trucked to them and assembled this week. But hopefully by sometime next week. Kinda sick of waiting and now I really don’t think I’ll have it long enough to break in and serviced/checked in time for the ATB.
2. I’ve been trying some Crank Brothers Eggbeater SL pedals that was generously lent to me by one of the BVers. The first few tries did seem weird because there is no platform on them to speak of, but then you realise that the stiffness of the shoe is what holds you and gives you power. Clipping in and out was no different to the Smarty pedals that I’d been using, although I did feel they were really loose (I’m sure that’s only psychological because the actual clip mechanism is the same across the range). I love the clean look of them but next week I will try the Quottro SL pedals, which have a platform, but again, only a smal part of the shoe actually touches the pedal.
3. I ordered some bike bits from ProBikeKit at least two weeks ago now. I received an email on the 14th saying the order had been shipped but haven’t got the goods yet. Apparently depending on what you are getting the shipping time can be hit or miss. Some get orders within a week, some more than two…grr
Ride Like The Wind & other Biking matters
Firstly, I have to plug an amazing ride which two fellow BVers are doing for the charity StarLight Foundation. In Ride Like The Wind 07, the boys Craigd and Rossco will be riding from Melbourne to Sydney in 3 days!!! 3 days!!! WTF?!?!?! Ya, they ARE nuts. But its for a good cause, so help out any way you can by following the instructions given on the site. They depart on Saturday Nov 3rd so there is plenty of time donate.
Secondly, I’ve bought a few items from ProBikeKit, and online store for cycling stuff. This is stuff for the new bike. I thought about it long and hard before making my decision to buy the bits, some of which I don’t really need. In fact, I don’t need another bike, but I’m going to bloody enjoy having one. I bought a Cateye Strada computer with cadence, a carbon pump, and two bottle cages. I was amazed that the price for water bottles ranged from a dollar something to over $110!!! We’re talking about a difference of grams in weight. So what gives. I don’t think there is such a huge difference in price for such little advantage in any other bike parts.
Lastly, I’m sad to report that the shipment of my N+1 has been delayed by a further 2 weeks until the end of September. I’m so over waiting for it. Some of the excitement has gone, but I’m sure it will come back closer to the date. In the meantime, yet another BVer is lending me different Crank Brothers pedals to try on my flat bar so I can decide which I like for the new bike. So at least I may all the bits and pieces ready for when it eventually arrives.
Two cycling achievements
The odometer on my trip computer just passed 3000km a couple of days ago which was pretty cool. I started riding regularly when I bought the Avanti Blade last Dec. 3000km may not be that much compared to other people on the BV forums because they commute further to work and proly do it 5 days a week. I normally only commute 3 days a week and is 15km return. So I’m really proud to reach 3000km considering my 7 year old MTB (which has now gone to a better place) proly didn’t even do 500km.
My other milestone is that I’ve gone on my first 100km ride. I went with the BVers to the Mt Eliza loop and back to St Kilda. I rode half the length of Albert Park lake and then down Beaconsfield Parade before the start, adding a few km’s to the ride. Otherwise the ride would have been less than 100km. Anyway, below is my post about the ride on the BV forums:
What a great ride today. Huge turnout at the old beaconsfield hotel. Took off and immediately lost the front group. Weeeee and I hung back a bit and then caught up to the group around Sandy. At that point there must have been at least 70 riders in the pack!!!
The Mordi only group got left behind as the rest of us went along at an easy pace. I think it was only second time I didn’t stop at Mordi and went straight to Franger. Hopes rise was fine (and I may well be using the triple granny gears for the last time up there)
We decided to do the Mt Eliza loop. If those rolling hills were an indication of the ATB I better get practicing. Dale, Richard and I got left behind until the turn off to Mt Eliza village. Coming down Olivers Hill I got stuck behind a car and couldn’t even get up to 60km/h
After our pit stop at Franger visitors centre I once again happily sucked wheel. The pace was actually faster on the way back even with a bit of wind. It must have been up around 35km/h. Again we didn’t stop at Mordi but soon after my legs had enough Dale, Richard and I hung back once more. Between there and the cafe my pace varied and sometimes I was by myself sometimes with others.
Brekky was pretty good at Grocery Cafe. The poached eggs were a little well done though. Caught a few rays as well on the outside tables unlike at cafe boy racer where the sun never shines (at least not at the times I’m normally there)
I’m very proud to have hung on for most of the journey and it was actually my longest ride today. Thanks for tow everyone. Look forward to another ride soon!
Distance: 102.25
Time: 3hr 37min
Max: 58.9km/h
Avg: 28.2km/h
Yesterday was great!!
How sensational was the weather yesterday? It made for a great ride with some BVers to Frankston (including Oliver’s Hill) and back to St Kilda for a coffee. It started a little cold in the morning but we soon warmed up. There was not a cloud in the sky and had a tailwind. We stayed pretty much as a group all the way to Frankston with people taking turns being in the front (except for me! haha)
On the way back though I had my moments in the front. And after Mordi there was a break away and riders split into little groups. Even with the headwind I was still powering away on those rolling hills on Beach Rd. The weather must have energised me. Absolutely perfect riding conditions. Stopped off at Cafe Racer for brekky where keen triathlete and actor Daniel McPherson was spotted (with hottie in tow).
Max: 59.8km/h
Avg: 25.4km/h
Distance: 88.28km
Time: 3hr 28min
P.S. I’m 15km away from clocking 3000km on the pedometer (since late Dec). If only my work commute was longer I’d have got it ages ago. Still, a huge achievement for me. **pats self on back**
In the afternoon I went down the street to put a deposit on my NEW ROAD BIKE!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Finally got approval from SWMBO (reluctantly). I am so excited! I feel like a little kid who’s getting his first BMX or something. The shop won’t get shipment for another week or two. The anticipation is going to kill me (in a good way). I might even have the MBC R1 for long enough to get used to it and ride it in the ATB. Maybe.
But before than I have decide on what pedals to get. I quite like Crank Brothers ones but they have heaps of choice. I’m considering either Egg Beaters or Quattros. Or I have a a uni friend who has a spare pare of Smarties (which I currently use). I also have to decide whether I’m going for the listed setup or change components, and therefore adding to the price. I’m thinking of changing the 39/52 cranks to a compact double of sorts. This will make it more versatile (and easier on me) for when I want to do heaps of hilly rides. Don’t know what the saddle is going to be like but won’t worry about that for now.
OMG!!!!
Aug BBC ride & other cycling matters
The monthly BBC ride was the first time on a bike since the prevoius Saturday because of illness. And that’s about as many days in a row off a bike as I’ve had since starting cycling last Dec. So I was itching to ride because the weather was nice during the week but I just didn’t have the energy to ride…
Maybe the mini-break was what I needed though because it made me really appreciate the ride (not that I don’t always enjoy my riding). I rolled up at the BBC at 7.30am and found probably the biggest BV forum group ever! It was an awesome site …There was even a tandem in the mix (complete with 2-way radio and headsets)! Exactly 10 seconds into the ride someone does a horiztonal trackstand (failing to unclip shoe and falling) at the lights and we were still just outside the BBC!! Haha. I could laugh because I had just done my first one last weekend, except I wasn’t in the front row with 50 riders behind me!
I had already mentioned in the forum that I was going to take it easy and it turned out that I ended up doing the slowest Black Rock ride ever. But that’s exactly what I needed. I met a newish BV forum member and BBC debutant vidman and his lovely wife polka dot lisa along the way there. I rode with one or the other most of the way up to Black Rock. I must apologise to Lisa for causing her to be yelled at by a pedestrian because I decided to take a short cut at the ped lights and told her it would be OK.
We were told that Kenny and vidman had stopped about 1-2km’s before Black Rock, and so everybody started the journey back to the BBC. At this stage, its usually every (wo)man for themselves as people sprint for waffles. So I started on my way and soon joined Kenny and vidman. We took is slowly all the way back and I was able to enjoy the view like never before and have a chat. I think we arrived just after 9.30am and the place was already quite full and a long queue was forming for waffles. By the time I found a table (a rough count found that BVers took at least a quarter of the tables) and got to the front of the long queue there were no more waffles left. Croissants and multi-grain bread with chocolate sauce is just not the same! After a bit of chatting I decided to give it another go. I get to the front and again I just miss out!!! So in defeat I got some muesli, yogurt and fruit. Right towards the end I saw some more come out but I was already full. But then I thought, I didn’t do all that cycling for nothing. So I stuffed two pieces down even though I wasn’t hungry.
As I was leaving someone noticed my brake pads really needed replacing. Its amazing how I never notice these things and its quite dangerous when I think about it. My back ones had pretty much worn down to nothing. I went to my LBS to buy some new pads and they were able to put them on for free, which was nice of them.
All the talk of bikes with people and seeing the many, many nice wheels sitting on the racks at the BBC made me really want to get a roadie again (well, more than I normally do anyway). I love my flat bar, but with the distances that I do on weekends I think a roadie would be better (so everyone says). And I want to expand my riding to beyond Beach Rd and also maybe do some time trials. I started eyeing off road bikes about a month after buying my flat bar. I even tried a few out but in the end couldn’t decide. Now I’ve narrowed down the search to a couple of Avanti bikes and also a Melbourne Bicycle Centre branded bike. These fit into my “budget” of $2000. Well, its not actually money I have. It will have to go on credit but its an amount I can live with having to pay off.
The bikes I like are:
Avanti 07 Giro
Avanti 07 Carbonio 1.0
Perhaps I’ll go into these bikes in more detail in my next post. The bottom line though is that SWMBO is against the idea of me getting another bike because of a number very logical reasons, such as “no room in the flat”, “we need to save money” and “your bike is perfectly fine and not even a year old”. But since when does N+1 have to be logical?
Frankston Ride
The numbers:
distance: 89.32km
time: 3hr 24min
max sp: 54km/h
avg sp: 26.2km/h
Where we went:
Stop 1 Mordi
Stop 2 Top of Hopes Rise
Stop 3 Franger visitor centre car park
Stop 4 Mordi
Stop 5 Lying flat on the ground at Sandy!! I couldn’t unclip and fell over at the traffic lights! How embarrassing!! Managed to rip a brand new shoe cover…
Stop 6 Cafe Boy Racer for coffee
Couple of the photos (first 2 taken on my new Nokia 6110 Navigator):
Freaky!
Yesterday in the work lunch room I was chatting with a colleague about getting cramps and how sometimes I get them in the middle of the night whilst asleep. I then mentioned that on a few occasions I had gotten either a thigh cramp or calf cramp whilst cycling. After saying that I went to stand up to wash my dishes. As I did I got a thigh cramp!! It didn’t last long but it hurt…
Co-incidence or what? Lucky I wasn’t talking about something worse…who knows what would have happened then
