Something To Aspire To

So much awesome.

(image via act.mtv.com)

1st Bike Service / Cross chaining / gears

So another benefit to doing the MC Ride is that I got to ride with bike mechanics.

After the ride, they suggested I bring the bike in to check on the gears.  I had experienced some weird gear changing up the first hill but had been unable to explain it to others other than calling it a kachink kachink noise.

It ended up being my first service.  There were some adjustments made, including cleaning my pretty filthy chain (I left it too wet once and then rode around Centennial Park, basically picking up grit and flicking it all over my back wheel. :()

Also, it turned out that my derailleur hanger is slightly bent outwards.

This is unusual as usually if the hanger gets bent, it's usually inwards.

However, bending outwards meant that I am cross chaining.  Which is often a totally newbie thing.

What is cross chaining?

Cross chaining is when the gear combination you are using, causes the chain to be pulled to either extremes of each gear, causing the chain to be pulled diagonally (rather than running straight).

FRONT

BACK

(image via escapades11.blogspot.com.au)

It puts a bit of pressure on your gearing system and also can making a kinda of grinding sound.

So my husband has been trying to explain this to me for weeks now and I think only last week did I kind of understand how the gears worked, so I'm still struggling to understand it all.


The following is a bit more of a note for me about what I've realised in the last week..

Front gears - the "chain rings" - connected to the pedals

Smaller ring = easier = lower gear = left smaller gear lever

That is, you want to pedal less (smaller circles) for each wheel spin.

These gear changes are quite major.

Back gears - the "cogs" - connected to the back wheel

Larger cog = easier = lower gear = right larger gear lever

That is, you want to have the wheel spin more for each pedal.

These gear changes tend to be minor.


Sheesh - no wonder I was confused!!

(image via sandrawickham.wordpress.com)

What to do on uphills

Change the front to the smaller ring (left smaller lever)

+ change the back to a smaller cog x 2 (right smaller lever)

This should make it about equal cadence to what it was before and then you can adjust the back cog as necessary.

What to do on a plateau / start of a downhill 

Change the front to the larger ring (left larger lever).

Adjust the back cog as necessary (right larger lever).

Hopefully these tips will help me:

1. Deal with uphills & downhills better
2. Prevent less damage to my bike.

(image via iwastesomuchtime.com)

The Hidden Cost Of Cycling

(image via littlelotrthings.tumblr.com)

The hidden cost of cycling is food.

I am basically going from 

no breakfast + lunch + dinner 

to 

2 breakfasts a day + 2 lunches + dinner.

BUT

For some reason, I've gone from wanting to eat KFC / bbq chicken / chips & gravy, to wanting vegetarian meals.

I've even lost my appetite for Connoisseur ice cream.

(image via pressganger.blogspot.com.au)

I guess it's that thing where the body knows what it needs and craves that.  Or something.

First external bunch ride

This morning I went on my first MC Cyclery ride and it was fun other than a bungee cord sort of effect where whenever the slope increased a bit, so did my gap to the group.

(image via facebook)

It wasn't bad.  My average speed on this ride was 23.5 km/hr.  My usual average speed when riding alone is about 21 km/hr and keeping in mind the gains from riding in a bunch, I'm not that far off.

I think with a bit more training, I could definitely hold onto the group.  I have to keep remembering, I've only had a bike for 2 months and I'm riding with people who have been riding for years (on crazy nice bikes)!!

I was lucky, I think the universe was smiling on me, the group was slower than usual - there were lots of red traffic lights AND the breakwater was closed.  I had mentally given up on the breakwater anyway.  

That was kind of bad that I had mentally given up.  I think I could have pushed harder, but I was pretty nervous / anxious about having a massive group waiting for me and so I was a bit on edge / not relaxed.  Also, the start in Centennial Park was kinda crazy fast and it gave me a bit of a shock mentally & physically.

As this ride is usually run on a Tuesday, I wonder if it is something I can do before work.  I'd have to wake up pretty early to make it to Centennial Park by 6:15am..

During this holiday period, while I'm off work I've been trying to get through the day without a nap to see if I could potentially get through a workday, and it seems to only be ok if I get uninterrupted sleep from before 10pm the previous night.

Perhaps when work starts again, I'll need to get used to commuting every day before I starting adding 30km hilly morning rides.  :)

(image via radpropaganda.org)

However, it's nice to go on the MC LaPa ride because there is only really 1 hill - Mons.  It's also a different type of riding - in a group - so is a nice change to riding alone.

Prescription glasses

I got my eyes tested recently and I'm not too bad, I only need to keep wearing glasses for night time and when I need to see a projector screen / whiteboard.

I currently wear my fashion sunglasses when cycling - they're so huge it's actually not so bad.

(image via jokeroo.com)

However, the optometrist suggested getting prescription sunglasses for cycling, so I'm currently researching the options.

My husband has the Rudy Project Rydon photochromatic glasses and they are pretty high tech. 

They were around $200 and they're awesome: 

• super lightweight
• adjustable nose piece - good for me because my nose is funny shaped.
• adjustable ear pieces
• photochromatic = cool word for transition lenses haha.  Which is good when you're riding at dawn when the sun's not up yet.  This isn't as big a problem now, but might be when daylight saving stops.

Anyway, I found a video on some options for prescription lenses and have contacted the Sydney retailer for some more information.  

The options are:

1. RX Clip - lens on a mini frame that clip in addition to normal Rydon sunglasses
2. RX Direct Clip - lens that you replace into the Rydon frame.
3. Readers - lens with reading section in the lens
4. Direct in frame - proper prescription glasses in frame

It seems like a pretty good thing to invest in, but as my vision is pretty good in the daylight, it's still not entirely inconvenient to bring 2 pairs of glasses along if necessary.

I think the glasses might be my next investment before I go to clipless pedals - which EVERYONE seems to be trying to sell me or reacts in surprise when they find I don't use them.  :)

(image via totalwomenscycling.com - I can't believe I found a picture of a cat when googling clipless pedals!)

I think once I do it, it'll be a bit of "why didn't I do this earlier?!" but I think it's just part of my wonderful cycling journey.  There's no need to rush it all!

Stolen Commuter Bike

I commuted to a music festival in Marrickville and forgot to lock my bike and it got stolen along with 3 other bikes.

(image via www.therpf.com)

And then I woke up and realised it was a dream.

(image via cheezburger.com)

Here's a reminder of how pretty my commuter bike is..

(image via theradientlife.com)

Torrington (No Longer My Nemesis)

I went for Torrington today!

It's funny, I notice when I'm riding up Torrington, all I do is count my pedalling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) and look for people.

I think I look for people because I need to know which direction to roll down the hill so they can call the ambulance when I crack..

Today there was a female runner going down the hill and a man watering his lawn, both on the left.

I got halfway up on a pretty good cadence before I started grinding horribly.

So, I actually intended to get a 30 min headstart on the MC Cyclery - MC Classic Ride, hoping that they would catch me at the end.

(image via www.facebook.com)

Also, so I could record a time and compare with other riders to see how far away I am from joining the ride.

But, I left only 15 minutes earlier and I got mixed up and ended up doing the breakwater which I forgot wasn't actually part of the Classic Ride.

So the whole time I was gunning it because I thought they would catch me any minute.

(image via www.shoppedornot.com)

But they had actually passed me and were no where near me.

So I made it back to Maroubra and waited for the group (as they often have coffee afterward), and boy was it a group!  I guess being a weekend AND a holiday period, they had the biggest group - probably more than 50 people.

I think it disturbed some of the people at Pacific Square a little.

I get so excited when I see the group, it's fun.  Also, the MC groups tend to wear more colourful kits, so it's good looking.  :)

Anyway, Adrian invited me to the Monday LaPa ride so I think I'll have a little rest day tomorrow and plan to do the Monday.

Embarrassing..

I went to get dressed this morning to find I'd forgotten to wash my 1 cycling jersey.  (Which is basically one of my husband's jerseys that's arms are too small for him to wear, but it fits me pretty well).

I had to borrow a cycling jersey from my husband.  

I could have worn another top but then I'd have nowhere to put my phone / keys / muesli bar (cycling jerseys have pockets at the back) so the choice was between night time fluro orange jersey and the OricaGreenEdge jersey and I didn't feel ready to break Rule 17 yet.

So I went the night time jersey, which in hindsight meant:

1. I would definitely be seen on the road
2. People didn't want to go near me because I was hurting their eyes

Oh well.

P.S.  We're now officially cyclists (cause the lycra wasn't enough to give that away) I've blu tacked the Sydney Cycling Map onto the wall of our apartment.

Torrington (My Nemesis)

[Friday post]

Ugh.

This morning I decided to do at least 35km because the day before my "rest day", I only did 25km and was quite disappointed in myself.  (25km is now quite easy for me, so I feel like I'm not pushing myself if I do less than 30km).

I made a mistake and got excited about MC Cyclery LaPa catching me and I went too hard at the start on Anzac and burnt myself out a bit.

Also, I kept thinking about how bad Torrington feels, so instead, I did the Breakwater twice and Mons twice and then went via Moverly (there's a pretty bad hill up the start there).

Anyway, today I was very happy I did 38.3km including Mons / Moverly.

Crazy cars

This morning husband got swiped by a Volvo driver (aren't they supposed to be the ones more focussed about safety?) while he was riding in his pack of 20!

I also got almost swiped by a taxi and a bashed up car painted different colours.

Apparently 70% of cyclists get harassed once every 2 weeks...

Pannier!

So, the local bike store opened up again today so we brought my commuter bike in right on opening 10am and got the rack put on.

After breakfast, we went home and decided on a route to Matraville to get to Gazelle Bikes in Matraville.

I like this bag because:

1. It matches my bike.
2. It's huge and it can fit heaps.  I have been warned that it's really easy to fill panniers up to full because you have them, so I'll have to watch out for that.  :)

Riding away, it maybe felt slightly heavier, but not really anything different.

So pretty!!!  Very happy.

Here's a good demo of this particular bag in case you're interested:

Boring stuff

I rang up and added the bikes to our home and contents insurance today.  DONE.

I can now ride my commuter around with a bit more peace of mind..

Things they don't tell you #472

Me: Hey, there's dirt all up my back.
Husband: Yeah, that happens.

Things they don't tell you #472

Me: ARGH.  My butt hurts now every time I sit on normal chairs in normal clothes.  Stupid lycra.
Husband: Uh huh.

Bike Rage

I'll leave you here with a funny ABC Catalyst segment on bike rage.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3857163.htm

Being A Bored Adult / Improv Cycling Gear

Today I was very bored at home as we have run out of family to visit over this holiday season!

As today was my nominated "rest day", I didn't go for a ride this morning.

People have warned me about cycling too much and burning out, and I did feel a bit like that when I was commuting, so I am conscious about managing my rest days.
I had spent the morning doing chores and by the time it got to afternoon, I was pacing the house itching to go out and do something.

Husband was playing computer games.

I could feel myself disintegrating and about to have a 2 year old tantrum..

(Image via blogs.qut.edu.au)

So before I imploded from boredom, I decided to go for a cruisey practice ride to work near Centennial Park on my new commuter bike.  See, because it's a practice ride, it's not really "riding", it's something else, right?

Improv cycling gear

I got dressed in a dress as though I was going to work.  Because I still haven't got my rack / pannier yet, I packed a small shoulder bag to carry my spare tube etc and my phone.

I had trouble the other day taking my Crumpler bag cycling to the shopping centre because it's missing the extra strap their Messenger bags have, so it kept swinging around to my front.

So I used a ribbon and a mini carabiner I had to make the extra strap.  It worked really well!

I also decided to wear ballet flats to simulate going to work.

(Yes, I work in a pretty casual workplace - I'm very lucky!)

I thought about sandals, but a colleague recently tore half his toenail off from being swiped by a car when cycling in thongs, so I thought I'd stick with the covered shoes for the moment.

But I was worried about my ballet flat falling off and so I found some elastic loops I had sewed a while back for burlesque dance class to keep my heels on, and so I put them on my feet.

One might wonder why I would go to all this effort to avoid looking like a cyclist but still wear the hi-vis fluro ankle bands..

It's because I've been reading a lot about safety and despite hi-vis may not be the best, by that they mean because the best is to contrast with your environment, which means hi-vis is not the best ALL the time.

But, for the instances that it IS the best, I might as well.  And I chose ankle bands because the literature seems to imply highlighting a part of you that is moving on the bike is the most effective way to gain attention.

I also always use my flashing rear red light when commuting, I figure it can't hurt.  (And I'm not riding in group rides yet so I'm not blinding anyone).

While we're speaking about my defensive cycling tactics, I also always watch behind me as I'm waiting at traffic lights.  We had a friend get rear ended recently, so the risk of that is super fresh in my mind.

Anyway, I got to Centennial Park and rode around for a bit and then stopped to take a drink from a bubbler.

My handlebars needed adjusting because my brake levers weren't in line with my arm - they're supposed to be a straight line from your shoulder - so I had a moment where I felt very empowered - how good am I, here in my dress, with my multi tool, adjusting my handlebars, I Am Woman cyclist, hehe.

I got ready to start riding again but then noticed how lovely everything was around me.

There was a little old man sitting on a bench opposite, just watching everyone.

There were funky road cyclists in a line going past in their Attaquer gear..

There were crazy fit looking runners doing drills on the grass.

People jogging / cycling for fitness.

People on hire bikes struggling with their seats too low. (I wanted to help them!  Once you learn how to get on a bike the correct way and you have a good seat height, you don't need to struggle any more!  Well not in Centennial Park anyway..)

People walking their dogs.

I thought, this is so nice, I don't want to go home yet!

So I sat on a bench and read some of my e-book on my phone before going home.

It felt a bit strange but really nice.  

I realised as an adult, we rarely hang out with no real purpose.  I don't feel like we'd say "Oh, I'm just going to go hang out in Centennial Park", usually it's "I'm going to a picnic", or "I'm going there for a run / cycle".

So it was nice that I felt bored and felt like doing something and I went for a cycle to the park and to enjoy the park.  That was a nice thing to do.

I like nature - minus insects & arachnids - although, maybe for me it's more about the people watching.

I like that cycling opened up this activity for me.

(Image via www.getenglishlessons.com)

No rest day tomorrow.  

Husband is doing MC LaPa ride and I'm going to try and get as far as I can before they catch me.  Last time they caught me on the exit from LaPa..

LaPa / Riding Alone / Paranoia

So I reenacted the LaPa ride my husband took me on and it went fine.  I was bit nervous about missing the turnoffs but my husband's tips were very good.

(Image via www.virtualtourist.com)

Instructions for LaPa (La Perouse) Ride:

1. Ride along Anzac Parade
2. For Long Bay / Little Bay
1. Turn left at the playing fields.
2. Follow the playing fields around the left to Long Bay.
3. Take the leftmost option at every turn until you are back on Anzac.
3. Follow Anzac Parade.
4. Take the left to La Perouse.
5. For the Golf Clubhouse
1. At the wooden signs, turn left to go to the Golf Clubhouse and follow the road.
2. At the roundabout, take the middle road up to the Clubhouse.
3. Follow the carpark through and the road back around.  Watch the speedbumps coming back.
4. Turn left back onto the Anzac Parade - onto La Perouse.
6. Follow Anzac Parade to La Perouse and around the one way carpark loop and take the right through the roundabout to get back on Anzac Parade.
7. The Breakwater (note the road is a little crunchy down here - rough - but good time trial type riding)
1. Instead of turning right onto Anzac, keep going on Bunnerong Rd.
2. Take it all the way through until you see some industrial offices on the left - turn left onto Military Rd.  (Watch for trucks on weekdays)
3. Turn left at the roundabout.  (Watch for trucks coming out).
4. Take Prince of Wales Drive down to the end, go around the roundabout and go all the way back.
8. Turn left onto Anzac Parade and return.

Why I love cycling

In other news, I realise one of the reasons I love cycling so much is because I do it alone.

I mean, I guess it *is* more fun to ride with friends.

However, riding alone is much more preferable (to me) than sitting on a bus with strangers listening to their random conversations / interactions or being in a fitness class and having to awkwardly acknowledge other people.

(Image via zulatakana)

I'm glad I got a ride in this Christmas morning before the rain started.

I took it easier - did 2 laps of the golf course & La Pa instead of doing the Mons & Torrington climbs.  I wanted to do the Breakwater, but on entrance to Military Rd, there seemed too many big trucks moving around so I decided to turn around and head back.

Which was lucky because it started raining as I was heading back, so it seems I timed it just right!

The weird thing was, I was feeling worse this morning (hence why I chose to cut out the climbs), but my Strava stats showed that I did better than yesterday.

Pessimism / Paranoia

As I was riding up to the golf course, I was wondering what would happen if I had an accident whilst riding alone.  Worst case scenario, a car hits me and I go flying into the foliage.  What if the driver drives away?  We recently had a friend who was rear ended by a car who's driver is now denying that she hit him, so I know there are various characters out there.

I guess my road id bracelet (with my husband's contact details) is working on the assumption that:

1. Someone sees me have an accident.
2. Someone wants to help me.

I guess the easiest way is to not ride alone and make sure someone knows that I'm going and what route I'm taking.

There's new technology, for example, ICEDOT.

(image via www.icedot.com.au)

The crash sensor is $179 and you attach it to your helmet.  Then you create a profile with your details.  When the crash sensor experiences traumatic impact, it will contact your emergency contacts with your gps coordinates.

To be honest, thinking logically about it, it would be pretty hard for me to have an accident and not be found, as I'm riding pretty major roads in quite busy areas.

SOOO, it's just me being a little bit extreme in my worrying.

ANYWAY, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas Day!

(image via dept26.blogspot.com.au)

Vertigo

(Image via arresteddevelopment.wikia.com)

Just gave myself vertigo studying the Google Maps route for tomorrow's reenactment of yesterday's La Perouse ride.

Feeling really quite ill now.

Hopefully the route is in my mind now and I won't get lost tomorrow.

Fingers crossed I'll be ok.  I'm sure there'll be hordes of cyclists coming past, so if I have a heart attack, one of them can check my Road ID and call my husband.

I recently bought one for both me and my husband.  It was becoming a hassle remembering to pack our driver's license and this way, there's a contact number as well so if some does come across one of us unconscious / unable to speak, they have a number to call.

(Image via www.tallmomontherun.com)

Plus, they come in so many cool colours and styles!

Saddles..

Commuter bike saddle is still not quite right...

Went for a ride this morning at Heffron on the commuter bike.

I feel like the saddle is still not comfortable, but I'm not really sure what to do about it.

Road bike saddle..

After yesterday's road ride, I had some neck pain, so today I took my visor off - perhaps trying to tilt my head upwards too much to see the road was causing too much extension..

Also, perhaps my position is too aggressive so after my morning ride, I lowered my seat quite  a bit and also moved my seat forward a bit.

I feel like I'm too low now, at 12'oclock (looking sideways at the pedalling motion) my thigh is pretty much horizontal, but I'm not sure how else to make my position less aggressive, I can't really raise my handlebars any higher.

I might do some more googling / thinking..

(Image via bikefriendlynorthshore.wordpress.com)

My First Early Morning Road Ride (+ googling for pretty panniers)

This morning (6:30am) I went on my first road ride to La Perouse.

It was going to be my:

1. first long road ride (not a commute)
2. first real hills
3. first group ride

It actually turned out to be worse than I expected and also more fun than I expected!

Going around Centennial Park is actually quite boring after a while, so it was good to get out and about.

We met at 6:30am and I was expecting to just be alone with my husband, but we had 3 friends come along, which made it much more social and I was very glad.  (I don't work that well directly with my husband haha).

Worst parts

The hills.

I know now why everyone tells me that Centennial Park has no hills (despite me still struggling up the slight incline between the kids bike track and the horse gates)

The worst was the first hill.  I didn't realise it was happening and by the time I realised, I was halfway up and in the incorrect gear so I stomped through.

2 metres to the top I could barely turn the pedals and almost became stationery and rolled backwards down the hill but noticing a cyclist behind me, pulled out some extra and made it that extra bit.

Phew.

After a whole lot more riding, we got to Coogee.

The last hill (Torrington) was crazy.  I was about to give up after Mons, and the guys had to wait heaps for me, but I thought, I'll just keep rolling and maybe one do more hill, but I was lucky and Torrington was the last one.

Best part

Riding with friends on the road.

Having the road all to ourselves and not having to worry too much about motorists / traffic.  It actually makes the 6:30am start soooooo worthwhile.

NEW TOY!  Commuter bike update!

We also went to the local bike shop and put aside a rack to be mounted on my commuter bike.

I was thinking of getting a rear basket as well but the shop recommended getting panniers so the weight on the bike is lower and it's a bit easier to manage.

Looking briefly at the pannier bags in the store, I said "but they're so backpack looking, I wish there were pretty ones!" and they suggested Gazelle bikes nearby that stock Basil bike bags from the Netherlands.

Yeah, there's a lot of floral...

Initially, after seeing it on CycleStyle, I was thinking of getting the Basil Elements Shoulder Bag which looks more like a handbag.

(Great review by velo-city-girl.blogspot.com.au)

But then thinking a bit more about it, I think I will get this one - purple Jada shopper XL

(TomShops Youtube demo of the Jada shopper)

Rather than a bag that will replace my handbag, I think I want a bag that might fit a smaller handbag but also a change of clothes + bike lock etc, and so I think this one kind of suits.

And hopefully the purple is likely to match the pink & black of my bike.

But I'll wait until I get the rack installed on my bike so I can check the sizing.  (It's a bit hard to gauge off the internet).

It's finally happened

The car has been relegated and the bikes now get ownership of the garage.

Holiday!

My current goal (to have it recorded it here) is to go on a LaPa ride every 2 days...

We'll see.