Category Archives: Bike

Tree project

January 1, 2011 21:29 | 1 Comment |

Week fifteen

Spent a rather pleasant day today hanging out with my brother and his partner who’s about two weeks away from giving birth to their first child which is hugely exciting. I headed over so that my brother could swap over the Cannondale’s rear derailleur for a new Ultegra one in the hope it’d mesh better with the cassette and shifters. It’s not 100% as the shifters are 105s but it’s better than before. I think the next purchase will be new shifters (and probably a new front derailleur to complete the groupset upgrade).

Nearly fell off my bike trying to ride without cletes! I didn’t realise how used to them I’ve become. My balance felt totally off and I really struggled to work out where to put my feet. Plus I wasn’t helped by the fact that I had my runners on and they would touch the cranks with each rotation because the heels on them are quite bulky and poke out. Still, managed to save myself from a tumble which is good. Next time I’m taking my shoes!!

Tomorrow is Amy’s Ride. 120kms. Suddenly it seems like a really long way when before it didn’t. I’m hoping to do it in 4.5 – 5 hours. I’m pretty certain there will be some significant napping on the couch once I finally get home. At least the weather is meant to be okay with only some mild drizzle mentioned on the BOM website. Wish me luck!!

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Tree project

December 12, 2010 18:14 | Leave a Comment |

Week thirteen

And ta-dah!!! New wheels.

Aren’t they awesome?

The obligatory arty-farty shoot taken using a retro camera app for my phone.

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Tree project

December 4, 2010 21:53 | Leave a Comment |

Week twelve

I’m getting new wheels for my Cannondale. I’m rather excited. Spent $900 on Wiggle and I’m waiting for the email that says the package is on its way.

After my brother’s advice, I have purchased…
Easton EA90 SL wheelset
Shimano Ultegra 6700 cassette
Shimano Ultegra 6701 chain

And my finger might’ve accidentally slipped on the “add to cart” button when I was looking at these…

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An example of how my brain works…

December 2, 2010 17:16 | Leave a Comment |

My dad called me today whilst driving to a job for a chat. We got around to the topic of clients we do web hosting and site construction for and if he’d actually billed them finally. (Okay, so it was brought up by me cos I’d like the extra cash and I did do most of the leg work.) He promised me he’d bill them and once they’d paid and he’d taken out his share, pass the money onto me. It’s not a huge amount of money but is a decent-sized sum.

What am I planning to do with it?

Should I:
a) put the money into my savings account?
b) pay the money onto my credit card?
c) buy some new clothes and shoes for work?
d) fritter away the money on frivolous things like comics and dvds?

All these things would be a good and justifiable usage of the cash, especially options a and b (except option d of course). But no, I’m going to with option E…

e) buy a new set of wheels for my Cannondale.

I’ve even scoped out which ones I want. New wheels mean I can put my old Mavic Askims back on Lisa and totally ditch the crappy Shimanos. In my defence, I have been putting money away for a new set of wheels. Getting this money will just bring forward something I was planning to do anyway. It will also free up those saving to be just that – savings (until I decide to upgrade something else on my bike, like the group set). The scary thing is that I’m planning on spending more on a pair of wheels than most people would spend on an entire bike.

So this how my brain works now. Bike = #1 priority.

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Funny who you see at Mordi…

November 22, 2010 21:34 | Leave a Comment |

Cadel Evans that’s who!

Yup, I meet Cadel Evans on the weekend at the turnaround point at Mordialloc. He was most gracious with the attention he was garnering, although there weren’t a huge amount of people hanging about at that time – it was about 10am when he turned up. I had to be talked into it but I did go over to say hello and have a photo taken. Except my friend who I was riding with got all starstruck and hit the wrong button on his phone and turned the camera off instead of taking the photo. So no photo for me. And this was after he talked me into going over.

I did take a photo of his bike as it had a custom paint job so there’s some proof I really did see him (even though you can’t really tell cos it’s just a bike and a pair of legs – but they are legs with the rainbow bands on the socks).

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Go Gerro!

November 7, 2010 18:56 | Leave a Comment |

Simon Gerrans rocked up to the St Kilda Cycling Club crits today. He’s just returned to training after a break and wanted to spin his legs. For most of the race he sat towards the back of the pack but we all know he could’ve won if he wanted to.


He had the decency to look right at me with a small smile on his face before the race started.

I rolled another 80kms this weekend. To Mordi and back. When I got to the turnaround point at Mordi, it was very tempting to lie down on the grass and have a nap. It’s so nice to be out riding when the weather is good.

80kms is good but I have to get some more K’s in my legs otherwise Scotty’s Ride isn’t going to be possible for me. I’m kinda wondering if I should reassess my idea and try for a shorter ride, like the 120km version of Amy’s Ride. But that defeats the purpose of setting myself a challenge.

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Just keep spinning

October 31, 2010 18:13 | Leave a Comment |

I had Dory singsonging this in my head for the last five kms of today’s 100km charity ride. Seriously.

Just keep spinning.
Just keep spinning.

Over and over as I suffered my way though to the end. 5kms to go and I was in the hurt box. But I suffered through and finished 100km (99.42km to be exact) in four hours.


Check out that heart rate. It’s not happy is it? My average heart rate on a ride is usually around 140bpm. 150bpm is high for me.

The conditions weren’t ideal. I woke up at 6.30 and it was bucketing down and I started to think maybe I’d be staying at home. I hadn’t registered for the ride so I didn’t have to go if I really didn’t want to. But I’d pretty much decided I was going to do the ride. It stopped raining and it seemed like it would be okay apart from a really annoying headwind. I got myself into a group which was happy to work together. Then it started raining. It rained on and off for well over an hour. The wind got stronger and eventually someone got at the front of the group who decided we were going too slow. I fell off the back and couldn’t get back on. It was brutal.

It started raining really heavily which reduced visibility significantly. I was having major problems seeing because my sunglasses fogged up. I got prescription inserts for them on Friday (I can see!! Hopefully I’ll stop riding over things) and what I learnt today was that once the inserts fog up, it takes a very long time for them to clear. In the end I had to take them off. I was holding them in my teeth as the rain came in sideways and was hitting me in the eye. It was not fun.

So, uh… yeah. 30 – 50kms really sucked and the rest stop was a long time in coming.

It did get better. We finally got to head south so we had a tailwind which made life so much more pleasant. The sun came out and it just seemed easier. And that would be because it was. Nothing like a tailwind to pick up your spirits. 50 – 90km passed by relatively quickly.

95kms in and I had a nasty surprise that I really should’ve known was coming. The ride turned once again into the head/crosswind. That’s when Dory started up in my head. Just keep spinning, just keep spinning. I knew I was so close to the end. I did take some satisfaction in overtaking the sag wagon for the 50km ride. Still, it was really weird to have an animated fish singing in my head. Worked though. I made it to the end.

I was going to get a massage at the finish but there was this really creepy guy there who kept staring at me. I really wanted a massage but I felt so creeped out that in the end, I left. I was entitled to a free lunch as well but I decided a shower was a better idea so I hopped on my bike and rode back to Mum and Dad’s.

Enjoyment is not a word I’d use for today’s ride. It was one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done. I’d even say it was harder then the first time I did the Kinglake climb. My confidence for my ability to do the 156km Scotty’s Ride in December has taken a bit of a beating though. Last weekend’s 80kms was so easy but this was the exact opposite.

Still, pretty pleased with my time though. I didn’t think I’d make it in four hours but I did. That’s something really positive to take from it.

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80kms on the bike – done!

October 25, 2010 09:53 | Leave a Comment |

Feeling kinda pleased with myself right now. I knocked over 80km on the bike yesterday. All the way from my home suburb of Alphington to Mordialloc and back. I think my time was pretty good too – three hours riding time. (Total time was about three and half hours which included two stops.)

What surprises me most is that I found it relatively easy. I’m apparently fitter than I thought I was. On the way out, I was very conscious of my pace and I tried to not crank it up too much as I wanted to make sure I had fuel in the tank for the journey home. On the way back, I managed to latch onto two guys who were ticking along at a healthy pace just over 30kph. I didn’t think I’d be able to sustain it but I did. All the way from Black Rock to St Kilda.

Best of all, the sun was shining, it wasn’t freezing cold and the wind was a slight breeze instead of a gale. Love riding on days like that.

I was worried that I’d set myself an task I wouldn’t be able to achieve with Scotty’s Ride but now I’m feeling much more confident. It’s just a case of stringing together a weekend where I do the Kinglake climb and then head to Mordi the next day. If I can do that over a weekend, I should be able to put it together for a single ride. At least with Scotty’s Ride, the climb is right in the middle. Once you get over the last bit, it’s all downhill from there.

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What happens next…

October 17, 2010 20:17 | Leave a Comment |

I’ve decided I need a new cycling challenge.

I didn’t realise how much focus I’d put into the Degani Kinglake Ride until now. It’s a little hard at the moment to get out on the bike because I don’t really have a reason to. And to be honest, the weather isn’t particularly helpful. I’m feeling a few aches and pains because of the temperature shifts.

But anyhoo… I decided this weekend, I need a new challenge. Something to focus on and get me moving again. Sooooooo, I’ve settled on the 156km version of Scotty’s Ride. At first I thought the climbs would be too much but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. The first climb is the biggest and it’s no bigger than Kinglake. The challenge will be the distance. 156 kilometres is a long way. I’ll need to do some serious training if I want to finish the ride in a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise I’m looking at least seven hours on the bike. That’s a very long time.

So, yes – new challenge. Gotta get moving!

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That was totally wicked!!

October 3, 2010 19:01 | Leave a Comment |

Heh. So pleased one of my favourite quotes from The Incredibles is so appropriate for today’s experience. Because it’s true – watching the start of the elite men’s road race at Federation Square was totally wicked. Obviously the biggest cheer was reserved for the Australians but there was a pretty big cheer for the Kiwis and the other big names like Cancellara, Cavendish, Frank Schleck (Andy didn’t come) and Hushovd.

Took along my trusty camera and then spent most of the time wishing I was taller. There was a guy in front of me whose bald head caused reflection in just about every time photo I took. Sigh. And I wasn’t watching my camera display carefully enough so I missed a prefect shot of Cadel Evans because as I lined it up, my battery died. Again, sigh.

But enough whinging! The experience was fantastic and I do have some photos to share.


SBS cycling presenter Matt Keegan being interviewed.


Some of the American team members lounging about at the sign-in area, waiting for a team member to turn up.


The Colombian team consisted of two members. There were a few single rider and two-rider teams.


Some of the Norwegian team, including the eventual winner Thor Hushovd (centre).


A couple members of the English team including the “bad boy” of cycling, Mark Cavendish (left)


Sign-in board about two thirds full. The Aussies have all signed in. 178 riders started but only 99 actually finished.


Spartacus!! Four time individual time trial world champion and current gold medal holder, Fabian Cancellara (centre) with two Swiss team mates.


And they’re off! See, I did get some photos of the Australian team. Eventually.


More of the Australian team.


This photo is a little blurry as I was leaning over the barrier to take photos and realised I had a cyclist heading right for me. Had to pull back pretty quickly but I was still taking photos.


So many pretty bikes out on the town today but this one really stood out. Too cute!!

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