Since last weekend's BBC ride, I have been mentally planning to complete the ride this coming weekend. Knowing just how short I missed out on making the turnaround point, I am more determined than ever this coming Saturday.
Our plan is to leave at the same time as last weekend and to retrace our steps, stoping for a small break outside BBC, then riding straight down to Black Rock where a small rest and drink will be followed by riding back to St Kilda for breakfast. Then after breakky, I hope to be able to ride all the way home.
If I can do all that, I will be really proud of myself. In fact, the mere fact that I am posting my plans on my blog means I am putting pressure on myself to complete the ride this week. I'll make it by hook or by crook!
This week we have been riding to and from work everyday except for Tuesday when I had to take mum into hospital for her final Chemo treatment. After taking back the bottle cages (they turned out to be handlebar fitting ones) I bought on Sunday, I finally found some black plain aluminum ones at Melbourne Bicycle Centre this morning. With the different route we rode this morning, it was a lot of fun flying down Queens Parade where I hit over 40kph with minimal effort.
Tuesday night, I flipped around my stem to lower the bars a bit and I also adjusted the bar ends, shifters and brake levers to fit me better. After riding the bike on Wednesday to work, I was immediately more comfortable on the bike in every aspect and I felt less like a wind sail. Strange really, I would have thought lower bars would equal less comfort.
So far, I have been feeling ever so slightly stronger on the bike with my legs and lungs suffering less on the inclines. I just wish i could shake this nagging dry cough I've had for the past few months. It's really starting to piss me off when I ride.
During the week, Kenneth from the BBC ride had a pretty big crash at 50kph. Apparently he was riding down a hill when for some reason he was thrown over the bars, hitting the ground face first. After a trip to the Alfred Hospital, he was released that night and is recovering at home. Reading his posts on the BV forum, I get the sense that he is a bit fearful of getting back on his bike. I really hope he doesn't let that put him off.
Lastly, Polka Dot Lisa bought a very cool jersey off eBay this week which she should have very soon (it's coming from the USA). Whats really cool about the jersey is the back of it is covered with Polka Dots. Perfect!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Peer pressure, polka dots, crashes and flipping stems!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Are you the mystery woman in the silver Subaru?
Today while Polka Dot Lisa and myself were walking across Johnson St (cnr Brunswick St), a young woman in a silver Subaru with P plates and bike racks on the roof tooted at me, then smiled and waved wildly at me just as I got to the other side of the road.
I turned around and didn't recognize the face or car and did the classic "must be for someone else" *turns head around to see no one about*.
I'm assuming from the bike racks on the car, that it was someone from the BBC ride? Or was it someone who reads this blog? I "was" wearing my green track suit top that I wear when cycling after all.
The sun was reflecting off the windscreen a bit so it was hard to see her face properly, and I met so many people on the BBC ride last Saturday that it was hard to remember who was who (plus this woman wasn't wearing a helmet either... LOL).
Who are you?
Monday, August 27, 2007
Does anyone make a bicycle helmet for a cat?
After our ride on Saturday, I was fiddling about with our bikes on the rack while Miette, (our cat) was purring around our legs. She was just too cute so Polka Dot Lisa picked her up and I suggested she put her in the basket of her old ladies bike.
To our surprise, Miette didn't freak out at all. She slumped down and just relaxed, purring away the whole time. We even tried pushing the bike along the balcony and she just sat there, totally care free. Hmmm... I wonder how she would go on the open road? LOL
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Doing it with a group for the first time (oh get your mind out of the gutter)
Yesterday was the BIG day for me and Polka Dot Lisa- our first group ride! I had heard about it on the BV forum and after reading up about it, we decided to give it a go.
The ride starts at 7.30am outside the Belgium Beer Café (BBC) just off St Kilda Rd and rides down to Black Rock and back for breakfast at the BBC starting at 9am. If you join the BBC cycling club ($30 each), you get the breakfast free on the last Saturday of the month which includes all you can eat waffles with chocolate sauce, fruit salad, muesli, croissants, cereal, juice, tea, coffee, etc, as well as a goodies bag with food and drink vouchers and a BBC drink bottle.
So with GREAT trepidation, Polka Dot Lisa and I got up at 6am and rode down Punt Rd > Swan St > St Kilda Rd to arrive just about 7.30am. At first when we took off the road was a bit wet from an overnight shower which made Polka Dot Lisa a bit nervous but she quickly learnt it was fine.
Down Punt Rd we went and it was a good run at this time of the morning. We had a bike lane of sorts to ride in until we crossed Victoria Pde where we were in a normal lane but due to the lack of traffic, it wasn’t a problem. During normal times there is no way in hell I would ride down Punt Rd, but for now it was fine.
After climbing the hill around Bridge Rd we sped down to Swan St where I topped out just over 50kph. At the Swan St intersection, Lisa almost fell while trying to unhook her feet from the pedals but she saved it JUST in time.
Down Swan St we rode and up to St Kilda Rd where we were passed by another rider who was also going to the BBC. Eventually we made it and as we rolled up to the large lycra clad group, the first thing we heard was- “You must be Polka Dot Lisa”. After a few hello’s and introductions (sorry, I wasn’t able to take it all in so I may have forgotten a few of you already), we took off to start the ride with Euan riding with me.
As we came to a stop to turn into St Kilda Rd, (less than 50 mts from the start), a guy up the front couldn’t get his foot unclipped and he fell right in front of everyone. While I sympathized for the poor guy, I have to admit it made me feel less of a newbie and for that I was glad. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb at this point!
We rode through St Kilda junction as a group and Euan was riding next to me as we chatted. I was really nervous about the whole group ride situation but quickly caught on and enjoyed the safety in numbers.
Along Beach Rd and I was amazed at the number of riders along this road. BIG groups (peletons) were whizzing along on both sides with some looking like pro teams, all decked out in the same gear (including one group in hot pink jerseys). They were so fast and close together- it was really impressive.
Our group rode along as I chatted to Euan. We past by Racer Café and it was crammed wall to wall with bikes and riders. Yikes! Euan dropped back behind me to ride with his friend who joined up along the road and I rode with Polka Dot Lisa for a while.
At one stage, Polka Dot Lisa's mobile phone alarm started playing music in her backpack. She forgot to turn it off so it went off every 8 minutes, trying to wake her up. Just to give you an idea of how stupid it sounded, the tune is called "Cartoon"! It gave all the cyclists around us a good laugh anyway... hehe.
At a set of lights, Commi from the BV forum said hello and he and I got chatting while Polka Dot Lisa rode off at her speed (which was faster than mine). Commi and his friend Kenneth (see pic on right Commie in yellow, Kenneth in Red) rode with me for a long time and I was grateful to have someone stick with me as I dropped back off the pack. I was giving it my all to keep up a good speed but any slope really hurt me. I felt pretty stupid calling them hills as they were little more that an incline but try as I might, I got slower and slower. I tried the Lance Armstrong style of riding and dropped gears and raised my cadence but nothing worked. The indisputable fact IS I am carrying a shit load of extra weight with me and its bloody hard work on a hill/headwind/etc.
Eventually it was just Kenneth and me riding along and while it was nice to have a tail wind, I knew it meant that I would have to ride back into this wind. As we came to the top of a hill and I saw the lovely downhill ahead of me, I knew when to say enough and Kenneth and I turned around and waited for Polka Dot Lisa to come back the other way.
I felt bad about having to turn around at this point as it was only another 3km to Black Rock but I was really worried about coming back up that hill into the headwind. So Kenneth and I waited and waited. I was hoping Polka Dot Lisa would get the idea that I had turned around and as a group of riders from BV rode past us towards Black Rock (they had stopped to help a woman who had bike probs), I figured they would tell Polka Dot Lisa that I had turned around which they did.
Eventually the BV group came back towards us and we joined in on the tail end with Commie joining our little straggling group of 3 riders. The head wind was not a lot of fun and I was working pretty damn hard to keep some speed up. I felt bad for being so slow but I gave it all I had, even getting a calf cramp at one stage and had to stop for a minute to stretch it out.
Towards the end we caught up to Polka Dot Lisa and some others but later I found out that Polka Dot Lisa was having some knee pain issues and she also slowed waiting for me. We rode as a group of about 10 up Fitzroy St to BBC where I was relived to have made it!
Inside BBC, we joined up and took a table with Commi and Kenneth. The place was packed and apparently it was a really big turn out. BBC looked like they weren’t prepared for just a big gathering and were struggling to keep up the supply of food, After quite a wait, I managed to get some food and sat down with the others to enjoy the spoils of my labour.
As we sat, eat and chatted, I could feel my body cooling down and the muscles tightening up. Man I knew I was gonna hurt bad that night! I met several people from the forum (Atomic Kitten, Weg and others) but in the back of my mind was the 10k ride home uphill.
After breakfast we went outside and the sun was shinning and the sky was a lovely blue. It’s been so long since we have had a nice day like this- it felt great with the sun on our faces. We took some photos of all the bikes racked up and had a bit of a perve at all the carbon wonder bikes. Mmmm… we are both thinking how much we would like a pure road bike now.
We go to our bikes to head off and "sachamc" from BV offers to take our photo with our camera which was nice of her. Finally a photo of us together on our bikes; cool!
On the way back home down St Kilda Rd we are riding into a headwind and while the road itself was easy, I could really feel the strain on my body. Thinking ahead of the hills, I had to wave my little while flag and catch the train home from Flinders St Station. I felt really bad about this but I have to not be full of bravado about my exercise regime, I have to work up to it slowly and meter out my energy output. If I try to do too much, I know I will hurt too much and start to hate it. If I am to achieve my goals, it has to be fun (well, sort of…).
I'm happy to have achieved my highest average speed (22kph- my previous best was 17kph) and overall my riding has improved with every weekend. While I AM pissed off I didn't do the full ride (both to Black Rock and also all the way home), it's an improvement all the same. Maybe next month I can do the full ride. Lets wait and see...
Ride stats 25-08-07
Dist 44.40km
Trip Time 02:10:40
Av Speed 22.00kph
Max Speed 50.10kph
UPDATE
Today (Sunday after the ride) I drove down to look at some cycling clothing with Polka Dot Lisa. As luck would have it, the shop was just off Beach Road so we went to have a look at how far away from the clock tower I stopped.
BLOODY HELL! I just missed the clock by 1.2km (see the Google map right). I was happy to go as far as I did, yet furious at myself to miss it by so little.
Next time.. that clock will be mine!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Apartment bike storage on a budget
Several months ago, my apartment's secure car park was hit by a spate of bicycle thefts. Over a period of 6 weeks, about 8 bicycles were stolen during the nights and of course- my Giant Iguana MTB was one of them, despite the cable lock I had securing it (they cut straight through it).
So with the purchasing of our new bikes, there was no way in hell I was going to put them back down in the car park- no matter what lock we have. So for several weeks after picking up our bikes they lived in the lounge of our small 1 bedroom apartment which was annoying to say the least. We didn't want to put them out on the balcony as they would end up getting wet and we really wanted to take good care of the bikes.
After some digging about online I found a nice solution that would store the bikes one above each other up against the wall on the balcony with minimal drilling (we are renters). With the bikes up against the wall, they would be out of the rains reach and keep our small balcony reasonably bike free. The only problem was that this storage system came in at around the $200 mark. OUCH!
A quick visit to the Ikea website saw a similar solution for only $77, and with a simple 10 minutes of installation and we were all set.
It works really well although I wish the hooks that hold the actual bikes could be locked into position rather than them swiveling from side to side, but this is a minor point really. The other great thing about the storage solution is I can use it as a repair stand. Very sweet!
Do you see the light ?
Last Monday, I was finally able to finish setting up our bikes with rear lights so we could start commuting to work. While the front lights were a breeze fit, the rear lights were a problem as the mounts for the light go on the seat post, yet we already have a bike lock mounted there on my bike and a tool bag on Polka Dot Lisa’s bike.
After much looking and planning, I figured out that I could bolt a hand made aluminum bracket to the seat mount bolt where it sticks out under the seat. For my bike a longer bolt was required to allow the bracket and nut to fit while Polka Dot Lisa’s bike just required a nut.
First of all I started on my bike as it looked like it was going to be the easier of the two. I purchased a strip of 20mm wide aluminum from Bunnings for a few dollars and drilled a hole to fit over the seat bolt. I then determined the length required, cut and filed it nice and clean and then drilled a hole to bolt the light mount onto. I couldn’t mount the light bracket yet as it would have gotten in the way of bolting on the bracket to the seat mount bolt. Once bolted firm under the seat, I bolted the light mount on and then checked the position of the light. A few attempts taking the bracket off and on to give it a few strategic bends, resulted in the light tucked in close and neat to the seat. It looks like it was made to work with the seat from the factory- good job!
Polka Dot Lisa’s bike was another matter. The tool bag mount clamps onto the seat rails, leaving bugger all access to the seat mount bolt and even if I did make a bracket, the light would get in the way of the bags zipper. So what to do? I started making a similar bracket to my bike but that soon turned sour so I tried bending a bracket to slip into the loop on the back of the bag. Unfortunately, that was flimsy at best and I couldn’t be sure that a few big bumps wouldn’t see the light falling off. Back to plan A and a bracket off the seat mount bolt.
My second attempt at a direct bolt bracket saw more attention being paid to the bends in it to- 1. Allow access to the bolt to tighten it up; 2. Enable the bracket to clear the tool bag mounts and; 3. Sit hard down on the tool bags zipper (to stop the bracket wobbling and vibrating over every bump) but far enough out from the seat to allow the bracket to be pushed up when you want to open the bags zipper. While this meant that the light wasn’t tucked up under the seat as well as my bike, given the restrictions of the tool bag- it was a pretty good result all in all.
The next day (Tuesday) we rode to work in the morning via Rushall Station and down Brunswick Street. It may not be the most direct route but we don’t have to deal with Queens Parade and the cars zooming by. The only annoying part is we have to dismount and walk the bikes under the station underpass.
I have to wear my cycling shoes with my pedals so I jam my skate sneakers into my bag (which is a bit of a squeeze) and change shoes at work. After trying to remove my shoes from my backpack at work (which is also holding my laptop, mouse, power brick, discs, keys, wallet, mobile, wireless modem, diary and plenty more) I contemplate buying some shoes to keep at work for ride to work days. It will mean one less thing to lug about and cram into my already over stuffed bag.
I also wear the pants protector that my mum made for me, around my right ankle to keep my jeans out of the chain ring. I figured I would need something like this for commuting and tucking into socks doesn’t really work that well, so I enlisted mum into sewing one for me with some reflective ribbon I purchased for safety. It works a charm, is comfortable and we are at work in about 10 minutes.
After work we ride home in the dark and we're happy with how the lights work. No cars hit us and in the dark back streets of North Fitzroy we change the front light from blinking to steady beam so we can actually see the road (yeah- its THAT dark). The ride across the foot bridge over the creek was a tad spooky in the dark but it’s all ok and we are home before we know it.
Overall the ride is a nice start to the day and I can see us riding to work several times a week, which mean more exercise in my weight dropping regime.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Time to hit the road
After a slow start, the riding is getting more regular and we are more and more familiar with the whole deal. We really look forward to our rides and it's really important to make sure we structure a day on the weekend to go for a decent ride.
So it was quite frustrating when after trying to arrange to catch up with my Auntie on Saturday for the first time in 15-ish years, that she was too busy and it had to be postponed to Sunday lunch (which meant cutting into our riding time).
19-08-07 Ride 4 - A decent ride with a late start
Dist 33.70km
Trip Time 01:58:40
Av Speed 17.00kph
Max Speed 50.50kph
It's a late start after family commitments but at least I was able to get mum to bring her overlocker over to take up the length of my leg warmers. After Polka Dot Lisa sewed velcro onto my knicks and leg warmers, the leg warmers sit pretty low on my thighs which makes them about 200mm too long at the ankle. Ah the fun of customising gear to fit my ample frame...
We start off doing the same route as our first big ride the weekend before, along the Capital City path to Docklands and then on to Middle Park. Along the way I am again leading the way when we get to a nice steep drop in the path just before a uphill, and this time I am determined to beat Polka Dot Lisa to the top of a hill. I head down hill as fast as I dare, doing just over 50kph.
As I'm zooming down the path through parkland, it occurs to me that if an animal were to dart out in front of me, I would be toast. Funny, I used to do this and more when I was younger without a doubt to my safety, LOL.
OK- the hill. As per usual I start to slow down on the hill but I'm determined to beat Polka Dot Lisa over the top and for the first time since we started riding, I beat her and I raise a fist in the air in triumph! I know my victory is mostly from my ability to go down hill faster than Polka Dot Lisa, but I'll take it all the same!
Onwards we travel under the City Link Freeway and I really hate this bit for some reason. I don't know why- the path condition is good, there is minimal traffic on it and its pretty flat. 
Anyhoo, at one stage Lisa passes me and she has a good speed going. In a moment of foolhardiness, I take inspiration from my green jacket and sprint past Polka Dot Lisa just like Robbie McEwan did on stage one of the 2007 Tour. I even commentate myself out loud and as I speed ahead I sit up and give the McEwan pointing to myself salute. I'm oh sooo funny!
The only thing about these shenanigans is that it really takes it out of me and I wasn't really feeling that great to start with. Note to self- do what Cadel does and ride my own pace.
Eventually we make our way to Docklands and we stop for a break and drink. Sitting watching the tourists wandering around, we are both feeling a bit crappy and lacking in energy. I had a really hard week so thats my excuse.
We decided to ride around Albert Park so we cross the Yarra River and work our way through the back streets to Albert Park. We stop and take some photos of each other while riding and we continue to lap our way around the lake. At one stage, a car has stopped ahead of us in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. As I come up alongside him I see several black swans slowly waddling across the road. Very cute.
Polka Dot Lisa tells me there was a section of road back a bit that had some really nice shadows across it that would make a great arty cycling photo, so we double back to get some photos. Along the way we kept going straight in the cycle lane that runs to the right of the left turn lane. With Polka Dot Lisa ahead of me, I was aware of a car coming up behind me but did the car wait several seconds for me to clear the left turn lane? Nooo... The black Porsche 4WD speed around us both and cut straight across in front of Polka Dot Lisa. What a freakin' hero!
After turning around, Polka Dot Lisa went ahead to find a spot to take my photo from but she indicated to me to stop where she was. So I rode down to her and as I came to a stop on the side of the road, I was far too casual with my clip pedals and.. OH NO... CRASH! I hit the road pretty hard on my LHS and somehow managed to roll over, lifting the bike with my clipped in feet to end up on my RHS. Go figure how I did that?!
I untangle myself and check myself and the bike for damage.
Bike- fine.
Clothing- fine.
Body- skinned and bruised my elbow, bruised shin and somehow took a knock to the head.
Ego- Damaged badly.
The sun is getting low in the sky and I'm feeling a bit shaken up from the fall so we head home via St Kilda Rd, up through Swanston St past Melb Uni where we encounter the Copenhagen bike lanes for the first time. The lanes work well, except for the intersection where the intersecting road on the left is blocked off by workmen so where do they put the sign to warn drivers? Right across the bike lane, forcing us out and straight into the path of the cars. Brilliant!
The rest of the ride was incident free and we cross the 100km total k's traveled so that is a mile stone for us. Although we only did 33km this ride, we had less breaks and our average speed was our best yet.
We are on track!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Harden the fuck up!
Today I received in the post, two "Harden The Fuck Up" wristbands from a BV forum member who was selling them.
For those that don't get the reference, Australian rider Stuart O'Grady from Team CSC at Le Tour De France this year had HTFU wristbands made up to give out to his team mates. The idea was when things got tough on the bike, you just look at your wrist and- "Harden the fuck up".
So where did this phrase come from? See below (from the Aussie comedy show- The Ronnie Johns Half Hour)-
For those who don't get the reference in the comedy skit, the person in the video is meant to be Chopper Reid- One of Australia's most notorious criminals who has gone on to be a media darling.
More shopping and a work commute trip
This is yet another post playing catch up with the time line, so bear with me as I continue reminiscing...
With a decent ride under our knicks, It's time to get some lights on our bikes so we can start to commute. With a really hard week including 2 all night working sessions, I am pretty stuffed and I don't get a chance to buy lights till Saturday when I decide to ride to work to do a few things.
18-08-07 Ride 3 - To work and back
Dist 6.50km
Trip Time 00:26:47
Av Speed 14.70kph
Max Speed 39.70kph
This is the first ride to work but I have already ridden down Brunswick St many times so none of this is new. On the way I stop at BSC to buy lights for both our bikes and also a tool bag to carry tube, tools, etc on Polka Dot Lisa's bike (I'm already carrying the lock).
In BSC I choose a Cateye lights set that includes a TL-LD600 5 LED rear light and a HL-EL220 5 LED front light, as well as a Top Peak Aero Wedge Pack DX bag and I get a really good deal (saved $55!). BSC have been really good to me with every purchase and I have saved quite a bit there. One thing that seemed odd tho was when the guy (who I have seen several times) asked how my bike was going, he asked if the "wheels were still straight". Now, maybe I'm being paranoid but was that an inference that because of my weight I would bend and buckle wheels easily? Hmmm.. I dunno- it just seemed like a strange comment to make.
After work I head back home and I realise that I forgot to get some decent alloy water bottle cages (black). I stop in at BSC again but they are all out of black ones. They have some nice looking black carbon fiber cages but $80 to save a very grammes? Sheesh... I'll wait for stock to come in I think.
I decide to head home via Queens Parade to see if Melbourne Bicycle Center have any black cages (I'm impatient) but they are closed so I head on home.
The last climb up High Street from the creek crossing is a bit of a killer to me. I get home but I'm out of breath and sweating (but I sweat easily so there is no surprise in that).
Tomorrow (Sunday)- we go for a decent ride again.
Second ride- now we're getting somewhere
Continuing with my posts looking back at my cycling renewal, here is a review of my second ride.
11-08-07 Ride 2 - A real ride
Dist 46.18km (Note- this distance includes the 2km we did in the car park a week earlier)
Trip Time 02:55:00
Av Speed 15.80kph
Max Speed 46.10kph
After all the holdups, we finally had a fine day with nothing else getting in the way of a ride. We set off with the plan to follow the Capital City bike path from Rushall Station (which is just 100 meters from our home) around to Docklands, over the river to South Melbourne, work our way through Middle Park to Beach Road and down along as far as our legs will take us with the backup that we can just catch a train home.
So finally we are off and everything feels great. The mitts feel comfy with the winter under gloves keeping my fingers warm, the bib knicks really do feel good on the bike (even though I am hyper aware that a guy my size in lycra is going to get plenty of looks), the shoes feel great to pedal in and the bike feels nice to ride. But just 5 mins into the ride the gears are playing up and the chain jumps off, jamming the rear wheel solid, causing me to come to a skidding halt (lucky I was only going slow). In my panic, I almost didn't get my foot unclipped in time! Yikes!
I put the chain back on and we continue to ride along the path but my bike is just not right. The gears are jumping all over the place and we decide to ride to BSC to have it looked at straight away. We ride down Nicholson Street and its Polka Dot Lisa's first real time in traffic at speed and she does fine.
I take the bike straight into the workshop and they look at it straight away. After fiddling about with it for a few mins, the mechanic tells me that it was adjusted really badly and that it should be fine now. I'm starting to think that our bikes were put together in a rush as there has been several little things not right (Polka Dot Lia's headset bolt was finger loose, the top cables seem incorrectly routed at the headset, etc). I don't know if its BSC's fault or Kona's; I'm just saying - thats all.
While my bike is being fixed, Lisa gets a new battery for her bike computer as it was dead as a dodo and we are off again, back up Brunswick St to rejoin the path.
We ride along the path and we are both enjoying it. We pass through Carlton and we hit a few small hills and as per usual- Polka Dot Lisa cruises past me, however this time I'm able to make my way up without feeling like I'm gonna die as I'm comfortable and my shoes on the pedals make a huge difference.
At one stage there is a decent downhill followed by a hill straight away so I try to pick up speed down the hill in a vane attempt to beat Polka Dot Lisa up the hill but nope again. Lisa cruises past. Damn- this is getting annoying... LOL!
On we go as the path follows a creek under the City Link road and I find this bit rather tedious. I would rather be on a road for some reason.
When the path comes to Footscray Rd, I can't see further any path so I suggest (to Polka Dot Lisa's displeasure) that we ride along the road to Docklands. As we ride along with traffic zooming past us as quite a rate, I see we have to move across 4 lanes of traffic to get to the right hand lane and with a few head checks I see a nice big gap in the traffic and yell out to Polka Dot Lisa to follow me (I just know she's hating me for this). We move through the lanes without any drama and make our way to Docklands without a problem.
We follow a path that seems to be headed in the general direction we planned and we stop at a funky playground for a natural stop, drink refill and a photo op.
Onwards we continue and we ride through Middle Park till we hit a busy street with cafe's - mmmm breakfast time! It is about now I can feel the looks from diners as they notice the big fat guy in lycra. I wish I could hide but there is nothing I can do so I just walk on by, holding my head high.
Mmmm- breakfast. Eggs Benedict goes down great and a Soy Chi hits the spot. We both enjoy the stop and we feel refreshed and ready to go again. This cycling thing is really starting to be a lot of fun (especially when you combine it with yummy food).
Back on the bikes and down to Beach Road. Riding along we are doing about 32kph which I am impressed with. That is until some of riders in team kits fly past us at least 15k faster. Oh well, baby steps.
Beach road feels good- its flat, the surface is good and there is minimal traffic lights to slow us down. As we came up to the intersection with Fitzroy St, we came to a stop at the red light only to see a team kit rider sail past us and straight through the red light. Bad form dude... :(
We turn off at Luna Park to check out St Kilda Cycles. I had been advised that they have a great selection of lights there and seeing as we will be purchasing lights soon- this would be a good opp to see what you get for your money.
After checking out what St Kilda Cycles have, we head back to Beach Rd and continue south. The k's roll past and we are doing OK. We ride without stopping for breaks and at one stage I see a cyclist ahead that we are catching! WOOHOO! Finally I get to pass someone. As I move up on the guy, I can hear Phil Liggett's voice in my head, commentating me up the Alp d'Huez (lol). As I pull out and pass the guy, I say "G'day" and he does like wise to me. Its only now that I realise that the guy I'm passing is in his late 50's. Oh well, it felt good while it lasted.
As we ride on, suddenly I hear Polka Dot Lisa yell out to me from behind so I pull off the road. Polka Dot Lisa's shoe lace got caught in the chain and she was lucky it went in one end of the chain ring and came straight other the other side of the revolution and didn't get really badly caught up. Hmmm... cycling shoes for her are now looking like a more important purchase than first though.
We ride on, through Elwood and Brighton. There is a long slight hill around here somewhere and I start to drop off the back as Lisa powers past me. Damn this extra weight I have to lug around- it's bloody hard work!
As we ride on I can feel my legs starting to feel wobbly and I begin to look around for a sign pointing to the nearest train station. We have done about 36k so far and I'm pretty happy with that effort. Polka Dot Lisa spots (get it- SPOTS..ok- bad joke) Hampton Station and we turn off and catch the train back into Melbourne.
As we ride the train back, a group of teen boys get on with their fully tricked out, top of the line, full suspension mountain bikes. I can tell these bikes are never taken bush and its just a sign of rich mummy's and daddy's. They act like a pack of tools and we can't wait for them to get off the train. Damn kids! LOL
While traveling into the city, we look out the window and see the city buildings in the distance and I feel better about how far we rode. When you can see a marker like that, suddenly it feels that little bit longer that you have actually ridden.
We get off the train at Melb Central as I want to get another jacket in the city (a blue version of the green one) and we feel super conspicuous in our lycra walking through the Saturday shopping crowds. As luck would have it- the shop was all out of my size in the blue jacket and they don't have any in their other stores *sigh*. I will be sooooooo happy to fit into a XL so I have more shopping choices.
Next Polka Dot Lisa pops up to Lincraft to get some velcro she can sew to my knicks and leg warmers to stop them sliding down. Because of the size of my thighs, the leg warmers keep sliding and rolling down and exposing my knees. Very annoying having to pull them back up every 10 mins.
Back on the road through city traffic and Polka Dot Lisa is really doing well with the traffic. I'm really proud of her as she was a bit nervous about how she would go with traffic when we were planning to buy bikes. Now she's doing fine. Very cool!
As we ride down Brunswick St, some boys about 12 think its funny to play chicken with Polka Dot Lisa by running in front of her and causing her to brake and swerve. I was in front and didn't know about this till she caught up to me later. If I knew this was going on at the time I would have doubled back and given these punks a piece of my mind (lets see how brave they are with a 6ft tall, heavy set bloke)!
Up through North Fitzroy and back under Rushall Station to home we go.
I'm a bit sore all over and yes I'm tired but I loved it and an pretty thrilled that we did 44km today.
Onwards and upwards (tho that night I was pretty sore all over.. LOL).
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Do you have that in a size XXXXXL?
After our first ride, I swore I wouldn't ride till I had clip shoes and knicks which- given my size is not the easiest thing to find. However, our second ride was unfortunately delayed several weeks due to my work running behind schedule which also gave me time to find some cycling clothing.
During this time, I found some cycling knicks and leg warmers to fit me at Le Knicks which was a big, BIG relief. We stumbled onto Le Knicks as a fluke and they had size 9 in Vermarc bib knicks (size 9 = 5XL) to fit me and also some XXL Santini leg warmers which I was JUST able to fit into.
When I tried on the bib knicks in the change room I was horrified to see myself in the mirror. I called Polka Dot Lisa over to the change room and told her through the curtain that I didn't want to open the curtain as I looked like a Bulgarian Olympic Wrestler LOL! Little did I know but the shop owner was standing right next to the curtain and heard every word I said. Anyway, I took the knicks and leg warmers and they even threw in a pair of cycling socks (blue- argh.. it clashes with the bike).
When we finally did have a free weekend, our plan was to shop on the Saturday for cycling shoes for me and a winter top and mitts for both of us, and go for a decent ride on the Sunday.
After checking out a few bicycle shops looking at shoes and getting a base layer long sleeve and jacket for cycling in the city (High and Mighty menswear), we decided to go down to Dandenong to check out a Big Mans clothing shop for a polar fleece vest but they had bugger all and I left empty handed.
After wasting our time in Dandenong (man- what a hole of a place!), it was too late to go back to Fitzroy Cycles to get the shoes I settled on so we would have to get them the following morning before our ride.
So the following morning I tried to find a shop that would, a) be open on a Sunday and, b) have the shoes I want, in my size. So got up early expecting to get my shoes and hit the road, however, any shps that were open on a Sunday didn't open till 11. ARRRGGHH...
Finally I found the shoes I wanted at The Freedom Machine in Port Melbourne (I had settled on the Specialized BG Sport MTB Shoe), we went and got then, wasted time looking for a winter top for Polka Dot Lisa and eventually got home about 1.30pm.
Quickly we dressed up in our new gear and went down stairs with our bikes. But wouldn't you know it- just as we were about to open the front door it started pissing down with rain and was blowing a gale. FUCK!
With the rain falling hard and showing no signs of stopping, we turned around and rode round and round in the apartment under cover car park to allow me to get used to the shoes (where we did a total of 2k's LOL).
After getting changed we jumped in the car and went to visit family, stopping by TFM in Prahran where Lisa found a really nice reversible Jaggad top and we both got Specialized mitts (my mitts and Polka Dot Lisa's mitts) to absorb some of the jarring of the road.
While we were at TFM in Prahran we got chatting to guy in the shop and he pointed out Cadel Evans' actual bike in the window. Cool... my brush with greatness! LOL
Next- Finally, our first "real" ride.
A new take on bicycle security
This photo was taken on Brunswick St, Fitzroy on a Sunday afternoon. The funniest part was the bike had a cheap cable lock on it (but not around the pole).
UPDATE
I walked past the same bike today and ITS STILL THERE one week later. So there you go kids, bike locks are a waste of time. I'm just gonna carry a roll of gaffer tape with me from now on. Cheaper, lighter and it seams safer! :)
Aluminium? Carbon Fibre? Titanium? Pfft! Try Bamboo!
Recently someone from the BV forum posted a link to this bike with a bamboo frame (yes- I'm serious). The company Calfee Design does some pretty cool looking custom bikes and even if your not into bicycles- these are worth a look!
If your not game enough to go the whole hog with a bamboo bike, they have some Uber cool Rosewood water bottle cages and bamboo headset spacers.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Catch up - First ride
Ok- so I have a few rides to catch up on. So far all I have really talked about was my reasoning for starting cycling and the picking up of the bikes. So with a few rides now under my bib-knicks, its time to document them starting with our first ride.
22-07-07 Ride 1 - The first steps
Dist 24.1km
Trip Time 1:42:00
Av Speed 13.2kph
Max Speed 37.5kph
Lisa and I picked up the bikes and hit the road. We started by riding up the back streets on our way to the studio to drop off some stuff before our ride proper. Lisa was pretty nervous on the road and is very I'll at ease when ever we come across a car on the road. I feel pretty comfortable and I am sure with time Lisa will loose some of her fear.
Along the way, my pump falls from the frame clip that BSC scrounged up to hold it onto the bike (note- my old MTB was stolen from our apartment carport a few months earlier and all I had left was the pump which I had brought upstairs). Oh well, BSC did what they could to find a frame clip that would fit the pump. This will need more investigation later.
After fiddling about with the bikes in the studio (remove all the crappy reflectors, attach the bike lock mount, work out the bike computer), we head off towards the Yarra bike path near Victoria Gardens, Richmond. Along the way we stop and adjust Lisa's seat (down a tad so she feels more comfortable) and on one downhill back street I am inspired to accelerate away and pick up some speed (the wind rushing by feels great but yikes- that really took it out of me!).
Finally we make our way to the path and there is group after group of Christians walking along the path, blocking the whole damn thing and only moving after I yell out several times (and then having to endure their smart ass comments as I pass by). They all seem to be walking to some prayer meeting (?) in a park and they mostly act like a pack of dicks to Lisa and I on the bike path. Not impressed and I wish I had the presence of mind to stop and challenge them.
After passing the morons, we follow the path along the river and I am dismayed at the condition of a lot of it. Its all cracked and bumpy and not a great deal of fun. I suggest to Lisa that we ride on the Boulevard but she isn't too keen on that idea and we stay on the path.
After a quick stop for a drink, we keep riding and hit our first hill (OK- so it was a slight incline). I was riding ahead and had picked up some pace on the previous downhill in an attempt to clear the upcoming uphill easier, but as I slowed... and slowed.. and... slow...ed, Lisa came riding past me in a high gear looking cool as a cucumber. At the top of the hill, Lisa was waiting for me and I was both amazed at her ability to climb with NO effort and also dismayed at my lack of fitness. Reality check- OUCH!
We ride on and make our way to Southbank for lunch, locking our bikes and admiring them (hehe). While walking about looking for something to eat, I realise I am still walking about with my tracksuit pant tucked into my sock and I feel an even bigger dick than I already do in these crappy clothes. Mental note- MUST get some proper clothes for cycling for self dignity!
After lunch we ride over the bridge to Finders St Station taking the underpass to the road. We walk up Elizabeth St and turn to ride up Collins street. Its about now, riding up Collins St hill that I realise part of the reason I am hurting on the hills SO much is that I am riding with sneakers on the plastic clip in inserts in the clip pedals. I am trying to put the power though a very narrow platform with half the width of my foot hanging off the edge and my feet and ankles are starting to hurt as a result.
Lisa does her trick again and rides up the hill like it is not even there, while I am spinning along in a very low gear, sweating and straining and generally feel crap about myself. It's about this time I decide that Lisa will now be dubbed- "Polka dot Lisa", in honor of her climbing prowess.
We make our way up Nicholson St and I am really in a world of pain. The hills are killing me (yes I know- what hills?), my feet and ankles are hurting from the crappy narrow pedals and my butt is sore and chaffed from the tracksuit pants I am wearing. This is SHIT with a capital S and I vow not to ride again till I get some proper clip shoes and padded shorts.
Turn right into Gertrude St and left down Brunswick Street- ahhh.. a nice downhill I can regain my breath and composure. Through the busy part of Brunswick St and it feels good to be whizzing past all these cars. Up Queens Pde towards home we go (Hooray!) and yet another damn hill. We are in the service lane (Polka Dot Lisa doesn't feel confidant enough to be on the main road and I'm slow and starting to weave a bit). Eventually we make it home and I am rooted, while Polka Dot Lisa didn't even raise a sweat. *sigh*
This is going to be a long road ahead for me.
I am disheartened, but not discouraged!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Gearing up- bikes and clothing
Well so far I have talked about how and why I got into cycling and what it means to me. But because I didn't get my blog done until AFTER I had been on a few rides, I will go back and report on our bikes and our first rides.
Setting ourselves up- clothing and bikes
After choosing our bikes and putting a deposit on them, Lisa and I had intended to wait until the end of the month when we had some payments in to pick up the bikes. But anticipation was burning away inside us and after looking at our credit cards- we figured we would pick them up now and get a head start on training.
The day before bike pickup day we had some things to do (shopping, work, etc) and Lisa brought some Netti shy shorts and leg warmers to wear on the bike. Lisa was a bit phased by the whole padded lycra shorts thing and opted for the less revealing option of the built in baggy over shorts. Combined with the leg warmers, Lisa was looking really good and she was surprised at how comfortable the gear was (she did the "try it all on at home and wear it around for a while" thing).
We also both brought BBB RaceShield winter gloves that are thin enough to wear under mitts (which we intended to buy later) so that should give us the option to change as the days warm up.
Cycling clothing for me was a total loss situation. No one had anything big enough to fit me so I was left with no option but to wear a crappy old pair of tracksuit pants that normally never leave home (you know the sort- loose and baggy that you throw on at the end of the day to vege out in). At this stage I figured I would have to search online for knicks to fit me.
The worst part was (or maybe it was a blessing in disguise) that while searching online for clothing, I saw all sorts of cool, retro cycling gear that didn't fit me, and that only served to make me want to drop the weight even more.
Sunday dawned and we eagerly walked down to Brunswick Street Cycles to pick up our bikes. Along the way we stopped in at The Melbourne Bicycle Center to buy a bike lock. The night before after doing some research online I settled on the ABUS Steel-O-Flex Raydo 1460 lock for everyday use. I figured that the high quality U-locks while being super safe, weigh a ton and for the majority of our locking duties (outside a cafe while we stop for lunch) is probably over kill.
We buy the lock and head on down to get our bikes and while waiting for them to bring them out we see they have the exact same lock here as well. Damn! We could have got it here at a discount (let that be a lesson to online store operators- keep your online stocks up to date, otherwise people will make decisions based on what they see online and you'll lose sales).
Finally our bikes are brought out to us along with the accessories we also purchased with the bikes, all fitted and ready to go.
David's bike-
Cat Eye Astrale 8 bike computer
Serfas E-Gel saddle
Rav-X Ergo X bar ends
Rav-X Cross X grips
And a MET Duello helmet for my head.
Lisa's bike-
Rav-X Ergo X bar ends
Rav-X Comfy X grips
They also threw on a free bidon cage on each bike (along with the obligatory BSC bidons) but I asked for black ones instead of the silvers ones they normally give away and we ended up with crappy plastic Giant ones. Oh well- I'll replace those with something a bit nicer in time.
After Matt from BSC makes some adjustments for us (levers, bars, seat, etc) we take them for a quick test up the side street. When we come back and Matt is adjusting the seat on my bike again with a Park multi-tool, I mention that I will be needing one of those myself and Matt just hands it too me and says- "keep it". Its service like that, that will keep me coming back time after time. Good stuff.
So we have our bikes with all the accessories fitted, Lisa has her gear on and now its time to head off on our first ride. I'll save that post for tomorrow (this one is long enough as it is!).
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A new beginning
So this is my blog. What's it all about you may (or may not) ask?
I began this blog as a way to document my life, experiences and happenings involving cycling. To document my (hopefully) improved fitness and weight loss, the good and the bad, the highs and the lows.
Why cycling you ask? Well, I used to ride my bike (BMX) as a kid after school and on the weekends, each and every day. I was a budding motocrosser and seeing as I couldn't ride my motocross bike on the streets- BMX would have to do.
Several years later and with the arrival of my baby sister Sara, my family moved to a larger house in Ringwood (an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne). I was used to living in the inner city (Richmond) and somehow, riding around the dead suburban streets of Ringwood just didn't cut it and I soon lost interest. Richmond had industrial obstacle to jump off, leap over and bounce off. Ringwood had... umm... empty streets and I knew no one. Sure, I got older and tried a bit of mountain biking but it never really seemed the same and my time on a bicycle became nothing more than a memory.
Cut forward to 2007 and my wife and I are watching Le Tour de France on SBS TV late one night (we had become fans of the race and watched it every night) and it was great. I loved watching the drama of the race, the crazy crowds on the side of the roads (especially the mountain stages), and the beautiful French country side. I had always dreamed of cycling from village to village, stopping to buy fresh bread and cheeses for a picnic lunch but of course I have never been able to travel to France and I can't see being able to do so in the near future.
So anyway, I'm watching the TdF pass me by on the TV when it hit me like a bolt out of the blue- "Why can't Lisa and I buy road bikes and take a touring holiday around the Barossa Valley?" I pose the question to Lisa and she jumps at the idea and we are off! We start looking at bikes online, visiting bike shops and getting into it all. Lisa buys some cycling magazines and suddenly- its all we can both think about. I'm more excited about the idea of Lisa and me going cycling than I have been about anything else for a long, long time.
I'm not only excited about the idea of going for a holiday around the Barrosa, I'm also excited about the idea of loosing weight, gaining fitness and most importantly- sharing the experiences with Lisa.
So we settle on Kona flat bar road bikes each (me- Dr Dew and Lisa- Dew Deluxe) and we find Matt at Brunswick Street Cycles great to deal with. And so- with great excitement we buy our bikes, some cycling clothing (who would have thought we would be wearing lycra!) and we are off on the start of our new life.
We have been on two rides so far (weather has conspired against us so far) and I will talk about those rides and other cycling related experiences we have encountered in later posts. Also coming will be a log of our rides once I get around to setting up a spreadsheet and linking to it.
Ok, thats enough rambling from me for now.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Header archive
From time to time I will be changing the header image using both my own photos, my wifes photos and also some assorted stock image photos. Take a look here to see the header image archive.
06-09-2007 - Photo by Polka Dot Lisa
25-08-2007 - Photo by Vidman
19-08-2007 - Photo by Polka Dot Lisa
14-08-2007 - Photo: Stock Image
