Tag Archives: 1:20 Ride

Something good, something bad

June 1, 2011 12:35 | Leave a Comment |

I’ve noticed a pattern. Something good is always either preceded or followed by something bad. It’s like I can’t have one without the other.

Things at work have gotten… umm… stressful. For the first time ever, I’m caught in the middle of a restructure. Plenty have happened around me (it’s a university, we restructure all the time) but this is the first one that has directly affected me. From where I stand, the process hasn’t been handled particularly well. There’s a lot of misunderstanding and defensiveness on both sides now and right now I can’t see how it’s all going to be resolved in a way that makes everyone happy. How we’re all supposed to work together, I have no clue.

I know that I should be worrying only about myself but I can’t help but be really angry at what’s being done to some of my workmates. I’ve worked with these people for over five years now. I see them every day. How can I not be concerned about what’s going to happen to them? Unlike them, I have the (dubious) fortune having a position to move to. I know I should be happy to have this certainty. However, I can’t help but have some doubts about what it’ll be like to work in the new group. The position description for the job I’ll be slotted into is vague at best and I’m not sure I want to be a “Content Analyst”.

Still, the daily work stuff continues as it always has and there’s a strong sense of solidarity in the team now. That’s one good thing to come out of the whole sorry situation.

All I can do is wait and see. The situation is out of my hands, I can’t change it.

It’s funny… I had a terrible week at work and spent a lot of time wanting to punch someone in the face but get me out on my bike and it just doesn’t matter. The stress just falls away. The weather on Saturday was – in a word – crappy. But it didn’t matter. I was with people I like, who make me laugh and I was doing something I love. Work is just work, it’s a means to end so I can do the things I actually want to do – like get totally filthy and saturated. Then sit around in damp bike kit, drinking cider at Little Creatures Dining Hall while my companions had a pint.

Sunday was another go-round of the Emerald Bakery Loop. The something bad of this was the stretch between Emerald and Kallista. I have no idea what happened but I was really suffering. I dropped further and further behind, I was gasping for breath and my legs felt like they were about to fall off. It was so incredibly hard and I still don’t know how I managed to get up the really tough section (3kms at about 7 – 9%). I felt sick and exhausted but somehow I did it. I wonder if the climbing is ever going to get easier or if it’ll always be this hard for me. Something good was that I had someone drop behind to stay with me for most of it so I had a wheel to follow.

Still, I had a ball flying down The Wall. When I hit 70km/h I figured I should probably slow down a bit as I was overtaking quite a few people, riders who had been 3 – 5 minutes ahead of me. Got to one corner and all I could smell was burning brake pads from the person who had gone through previously. Every time I get to the bottom of a descent like this I always have the biggest smile on my face. It’s an awesome feeling.

The descent down to Montrose was amazing as always. I don’t think I braked once and I managed to pick and stay on some excellent lines through the corners. I love it, just love it. Thinking about it now is making me smile. There’s nothing like the sensation of speed and the world flying past in a green blur. All those tiny movements you make on the bike which make it lean and shift with you. The bike feels like it’s a part of you, that it’s alive. It’s joy, pure and simple.

Something bad (work) countered by something good (bike and an unexpected development in my private life). The universe likes balance so I suppose this is the way it’ll always be.

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So, this thing called sleeping in…

April 26, 2011 19:06 | Leave a Comment |

I’ve heard it’s this idea where you don’t get up while it’s still dark and no birdies are chirping in the trees.

My sleep in during this Easter break was on Good Friday where I managed to make it until just before 9am. Surprisingly enough, no one put on a load of laundry at 8am – a normal occurrence on the weekend mornings when I’m actually home. My first though when I woke up was (after going eeeeuuugghhhh) hey, the sun is up.

No sleep in on Saturday as I tootled my way over to Ringwood North to join in on the Easter Bunnies Emerald Bakery Loop Ride. The group I ride with had been talking about tackling the well known Emerald Bakery Loop for awhile so why not do it when everyone was on holidays? Just over 75km of hills, hills and yet more hills. But of course that meant plenty of opportunities for descending 🙂

The Yarra Ranges actually make climbing kinda fun. The area is stunningly beautiful and this time none of us were busting a gut to get to the top of the 1:20. The funnest descent of the day was coming down The Wall. As I was unfamiliar with the descent, I was on the brakes a few times to make sure I didn’t crash by being overly enthusiastic.

The bakery at Emerald was worth the effort of getting there. Been a long time since I’ve seen so many yummy cakes and slices crammed into a glass display unit. I have to say that these stops during rides are one of my favourite parts. It’s great to just sit around and chat. I’ve never been great in social situations and this one of the few times I feel okay. Plus there’s usually nummy treats involved which is fine by me!

What I thought would be the hardest climb of the day came as we left Emerald and headed towards Kallista. It was about 3kms of slogging away up what around 7 – 9% gradient. There was water cascading over the road and I was glad we were climbing (!!!) and not descending but it still made for a hairy climb as the road was rather slippery.

I must admit that I didn’t enjoy the descent down to Montrose as much as I normally do. I was feeling pretty knackered by the time we got there and my body was starting to complain. However, I made it down the whole way without touching the brakes once which is the first time I’ve managed this. I think I descended a little more slowly than normal because it was taking a lot of effort to concentrate. I love to descend as fast as possible but I’m not willing to risk my safety when I know I’m tired. See, not totally stupid!

By the time I got to the bottom I was ready to call it a day but of course that meant getting back to the starting point. And that’s when it happened. For the first time ever, a climb defeated me. I had to get off and walk. Eastfield Rd in Ringwood East. We could see it from the other side of the traffic lights we were stopped at and it didn’t look good. I only got about a third of the way up before starting to struggle and at the halfway point I realised I was going to fall over so I stopped. I looked down at my garmin and it was telling me the gradient was 22%. I was sure this was wrong but this reading has been corroborated by other garmins. I felt so defeated. Everyone else did it but I walked it. I just felt so inadequate. But what can you do? Nothing but get over it and swing the leg back over the bike.

The funny thing is that there’s a bike path marked on the road. The running joke at the moment is that someone needs to go out with a can of spray paint to add a happy cyclist at the bottom and a dead cyclist at the top. It would be appropriate.

After 70kms of hills, I decided I needed a cruisy ride on a flat roads so I took my bike to my parents’ place. I did learn one important thing – if you’re not 100% sure about where you’ll be riding, check your route beforehand. I was out in the orchards, pedaling away and I realised I had no clue where I was going. I had a rough idea of where I was but no idea where the road I was looking for was. In the end, I took a punt and turned down a road I thought I recognised the name of. Turns out I wasn’t that far away from where I wanted to be and if I’d continued on I would’ve found the road I wanted. Typical! I had a laugh when I looked at the elevation after downloading my stats. I went from climbing 1,324 metres to a grand total of 37 metres.

Today’s spin was a MRR loop with some extras tacked on. I like the MRR loop and I’d do it during the week but the logistics are too difficult to overcome. I’d have to be up so early and there’s no guarantee I’d be able to get to work on time. I’ll be sticking with my laps of Yarra Boulevard.

And to finish off…

Tree project, week thirty one

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Tree project

March 19, 2011 15:51 | Leave a Comment |

Week twenty six

Okay, so now it’s been half a year since I first picked up my camera and aimed it at a branch on the fig tree that overhangs my tiny back yard. To be honest, I was sure I’d get bored of it and stop after a few weeks in but it has been interesting to record what been happening with the tree. The last photo will be taken when the tree is bare.

In the meantime, my new photography project – 52 weeks is coming along. But I do wonder why I set myself such long time lines to complete something. Maybe this will be the one I get bored with.

Aaaaand… stats from today’s ride. It was my first go at the RRR (Ringwood Road Ride) and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The climb up the 1:20 was hard though. Still managed to shave 10 seconds off my first time so I suppose that makes it a PB for me. Hooray?

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SkyHigh

February 15, 2011 11:38 | Leave a Comment |

Sunday’s ride was an adventure out to the Dandenong Ranges.

And it was a total blast. It was the most fun I’ve had on a ride which involved climbing.

We started at Mitcham where two of us on the ride parked our cars. We picked up two more companions on the way and headed out to The Basin and the famous 1:20 ride up to Sarrafras. Unlike the ride the weekend before (which went something like oh my god, it’s so gorgeous up here on the way up to Aaarrrggghhhh!! I’m gonna die!! on the way down due the fact that it started pouring with rain about five minutes into the descent), the weather was kind if but a little chilly. At least this time I was better equipped. Had my arm and knee warmers as well as full finger gloves for the descent.

There was quite a bit of chit-chat until we hit the 1:20 ride and I did my usual thing of falling off the back of the group. The 1:20 climb is one you’re supposed to measure your time on. The road has start, distance and finish markers painted on it so you know exactly how far you have to go. I was hoping to do it in under 25 minutes but I couldn’t quite get there. I hit the finish line painted on the road at 25:20. So close!! However, I have a problem in that I get distracted by how mind-bogglingly beautiful the area is. I spend too much time admiring the view than concentrating on my time (check out Cycling Tips Blog for some photos of the area). Still, I have a target now so hopefully there will be some improvement. I’ll just have to learn how to set up manual laps on my Garmin. I should really read the instructions one of these days!

After a break in Sarrafras, we headed up to Olinda and SkyHigh on Mt Dandenong. It was chilly up there but the view was quite spectacular if a little hazy.

Having never been up there before, I was admiring the view when it was pointed out to me that the map that explains the view to tourists actually had shopping centres on it. So naturally enough I had to take a photo.


Look ma! I climbed 2069 feet!!

After coffees and hot chocolates to warm up, we headed down the mountain. The initial sharpness of the descent caught me totally off-guard and I found myself struggling to control my bike, trying to slow down whilst doing over 60km/h with really grabby brakes so I was essentially fish-tailing and scaring the crap out of myself. Once we hit Mount Dandenong Tourist Road it was so much fun. Unlike the Kinglake descent which is all S-bends and switchbacks, this was big sweeping turns. Means a lot less riding the brakes and a lot more free spinning. It was amazing. As I was hurtling down the hill, I could feel a huge bubble of laughter building. How else can you express the sheer joy of it? It’s as close as humans can get to flying and it’s simply amazing.

Rode the rest of the way back to The Firehouse in Ringwood in a kind of euphoria. The rolling hills on the way back were hard but I didn’t feel like I usually do. I’m never going to be a brilliant climber but on Sunday I actually felt pretty good. I felt tired and the effort at some points felt enormous but it was a good kind of hurt. Except when I dropped my chain near the crest of a hill. It seems that whenever I do that, I always manage to drop it in a way that means I can’t pedal it back on and I have to stop. Must be my special skill. (Can I get another special skill? This one is really annoying.)

I felt that all the effort warranted one of these…

Rides like this one make up for all the crappy ones. The ones where you feel like death and the effort of turning the cranks is enormous. There’s nothing quite like cycling to put the hurt on you but when it’s good, it’s the best thing ever.

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