I've been bitten by the Cyclocross bug..

Today I watched my first cyclocross race.

It was my husband's first race / first cyclocross race.

IT WAS AWESOME.

SO MUCH AWESOME.

It was like 30 minutes of hardcoreness from all sorts of different people on all sorts of different bikes.

Really strong road cyclists on cyclocross bikes, mountain bikers on mountain bikes, mountain bikers on road bikes, girls on commuter bikes, kids on kids bikes, kids on road bikes, just all sorts of everything!

Everyone just going around and it didn't really matter if you got lapped, everyone was just going for it as hard as they could.

So much pain face, even from the start.

I was ringing a cowbell (because that's what you do at Cyclocross and trying to be as encouraging as I could (but I'm not really a coach-y sort of person) which was bit of "awesome work" and "great effort".

I think I scared some people into thinking it was the last lap..

But most people gave me a smile or a grinace (grin / grimace aka pain face) when they went past.

I think my favourite response was someone yelling out "STOP SMILING" when I was positioned near some uphill switchbacks.

My husband's mud covered bike.

I was totally inspired by another girl who was racing today on a flatbar commuter bike with a rack and everything - in normal sneakers.

I saw her and thought I CAN DO THAT!

And it was cool that once the field spreads out, it doesn't matter who's lapping who, it's just sort of everyone going for it as hard as they can at their own pace.

It wasn't obvious who was coming last.  (I'm a very sore loser and I can find it very embarrassing to come last).

Cyclocross was so awesome that I rushed straight home to google Liv / Giant Brava (cyclocross bike) - to see if there was a secondhand one available, to buy it immediately.

(I have been researching it recently and wanted to get one as a commuter / start into cyclocross - but it appears they may be sold out in Sydney).

I don't want to just put knobbly tyres on my commuter because I currently have Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres (for super protection against glass) and I understand they're one of the most difficult tyres to get on the wheel - and my tender fingers ache at the thought of swapping tyres frequently...  It's just easier to buy another bike, right?  :p

So my plan is to perhaps ride some offroad / grass on my commuter to start training up for a cyclocross event.

(The next cyclocross event in this series is the day before the Rapha Women's 100 - which would be not a great time to do my first cyclocross event!)

I think I will have to wait until the next season of bikes to come out and hope that the 2014 women's cyclocross bike is not too ugly coloured...

The (pink) Liv / Giant Cyclocross bike I missed out on..

Maybe one day I'll even look like this.

(via cxmagazine.com)

The mud.

Not the winning.

Or the riding in the snow.

I'm pretty sure I don't have the time to be the next Marianne Vos.

#notwiththatattitude

New toys! Chrome messenger bag (finally!) & new handlebar grips

Woot Woot!  Got my bag!

It's such a comfy bag.  It sits on my back and so you don't really feel any weight in the shoulder.

The velcro and clips are so strong that I can barely get them open with my tiny tiny weak little hands - which is awesome that the bag is so strong and tough!  I just need to work on my strength haha.

Except I have to be careful when I wear it because my husband thinks it's the funniest thing in the world to run up and press the button so my bag falls off.

HILARIOUS.

There is so much hilarity in my life.

In other news - I pimped up my commuter a little bit more with some hot pink handlebars.

I was wondering what else I could make pink and my husband's sister's response was.

"Seat, pedals, chain, spokes, guards and rack and then we'll talk. ;p"

It's a fair cop.

(Monty Python reference)

I want to be a fixie girl (maybe). A Messenger Bag (and maybe my third bike?)

I want to be a fixie girl.

(Like thechubbycruiser who is so super cool and does all sorts of cool bike things in New York!)

But I live in Sydney.

And we have hills.

And I just think I wouldn't look as cool as all those fixie girls when I'm walking my fixie bike up a hill...

Or spinning out of control down a hill "twiddling" my legs.

After I get back from holidays later this year, I was considering getting a Cyclocross (CX) bike.

(and it's pink!)

Friends around me are quite into it and it possibly could be something interesting to do while it's starting to ramp up in popularity in Sydney.  (Last race there were 3 girls - all quite hardcore - but it sounds like at the moment it's about participation.  Which is good, because I may be the sorest loser in the history of humanity).

A CX bike could double as a commuter bike when I just wanted to hop on it and go.

(At the moment, my commuter is all done up for all weather conditions - fenders / rack, etc - getting started involves clipping my pannier on etc and it's a bit slow and not as cool with the flat bars).

But I wouldn't put a rack on it, so to hop on it and go, I need a bag to fit my stuff.

And because I really like the fixie girl sensibility, I thought a messenger bag would be perfect.

I had a look around and decided that the Chrome series looked the coolest.

I really liked the seatbelt strap.

"We didn't have money to make our own buckle, so we salvaged a seatbelt buckle from the local auto yard and an icon was born."

I found this video that showed how much stuff you could put in the mini one and thought it was probably the most suitable one for me (since I'm only small)..

After last night, lugging around my pannier around the markets, I thought that it was time to get a messenger bag so I had a way of carrying my stuff around without bending over sideways like a baba yaga.

My Basil pannier - which I love and is great for carrying heaps of stuff, but not so great lugging around on your shoulder..

I wanted the Chrome mini messenger night bag (with reflective bits) but they didn't have it, so I settled on the black one.

I bought some reflective ribbon off ebay so I can sew some on it if I want.

They're quite expensive (approximately $200), but there is an Australian retailer - rushfaster - that works out pretty much the same as buying it from the US.

There are some extra options available when ordering from the US.  They do custom colours and there are some limited edition designs.

I have heard good reviews about this bag and very importantly, it has a "EVA foam-padded shoulder strap with cross-chest load stabilizer for increased rideability".

The cross chest strap is really important when cycling, otherwise the weight of the bag just swings to the front of you - I actually try and rig up cross chest straps (out of ribbons and carabiners) for some of my cross body handbags when I use them on the bike.

I went to the rushfaster website tonight and there happened to be a 25% off sale for the next 15 minutes!  

"I saw the sign!"

So I ordered it (I saved $50!!) and it will be here in a few days!!

I love this photo from fixiegirls.com and now I have the haircut AND the bag!

Why I Cycle (and a bit about Safety)

Why I Cycle

I was cycling home last night from Australian Technology Park where I checked out the lovely Finders Keepers markets.

I thought it was such a lovely opportunity to cycle commute - despite the weather being quite rainy in the morning.

By the time I finished work, the roads were quite dry and it was a lovely evening.

It was so quick to cycle to Fratelli Fresh on Mitchell Rd.  (Which by the way, is a much different vibe to the one in the city on Bridge St.. Not so corporate - more families / wider age range.  Much nicer I think.)

(google maps)

(www.broadsheet.com.au)

Anyway, on my way home at around 10pm, I realised why I cycle.

I cycle because, I dislike public transport.

This blog post pretty much sums it up - 

http://beckysaysthings.com/2014/04/01/becky-says-things-about-commuting/

I love cycling over public transport because:

1. It leaves from my doorstep to exactly where I need to be.
2. I can depart whenever I want without waiting for a vehicle that may or may not be coming soon.
3. I don't have to deal with the awkwardness around being near random people.
4. I don't have to sit on / touch dirty seats & handrails.
5. I am in control of the speed and route at which I travel.
6. I am engaged and interested during my commute.
7. I see much more than the inside of a large motor vehicle.  So many cats and dogs and cool buildings and people!!
8. I get exercise while I'm doing it.

Also for driving:

• I don't have to spend 20 minutes or $20 on parking.

Safety

While I was cycling home - I was thinking, this is amazing, I am travelling home independently very late at night.

I would never do this if I had to catch public transport!

That is because I feel like it's unsafe.

Cycling is a little safer because I can go straight from door to door (without having to stand and wait in a dark / unknown area).

However, as I usually select cycling routes that are a bit more quiet, off the main streets, if something were to happen to me, I'm not sure what I would do.

For example, if a group of people were to come up to me and want something from me for some reason, I would have no way to get out of that situation.

I could ride away, but my commuter bike is quite slow and if it was me against a group, I'm not sure if I could out-cycle a fit person.

Also, if I had a fall or something on a quiet street, perhaps there wouldn't be anyone around to help me.

So I was considering getting an ICE Dot.

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency.

In the event of a crash sensor, a signal will be sent to the app on your smartphone (via bluetooth) that will send a message to the US servers which will contact your specified emergency contacts by the specified methods with a specified message.

Video demonstration here:

Cycling Tips review:

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/12/icedot-crash-sensor-review/

From these articles, the sensor seems to be set off by anything stronger than dropping your helmet from a 20cm height.

The gps seems to be accurate to 100m (tested outside).

The Local Bike Shop said that the ICE dot can be attached to all helmets, it's just a matter of working out where it can fit on your helmet.

As I don't really do any offroad / outside city rides - especially not alone - this would probably suit my purposes as I would always have mobile reception / enough battery for data & gps.

It's $179 + $10 annual subscription.

Which I think is a reasonable amount to pay for safety.

Unfortunately, I have a Samsung 4 and ICEdot are still ironing out bluetooth issues with Samsung, so I will wait a little bit and see if they can work that out.  (It seems compatible with iphones - ios7 - and other android 4.3)

Perhaps in the meantime, I will install one of those partner tracking apps instead.  :)

Getting back to normal. Tip of the day on Windproof vests.

So I did a bunch ride on Friday morning and went for a solo ride on Saturday afternoon and am feeling like I'm getting my confidence back.

(image via here)

One of the main things that helped was, a friend who has been riding for yonks and is someone I look up to in terms of cycling said:

"it always takes time to bounce back from a crash, especially if it has been a while. I crashed once while cornering and it took me over 3 months to put faith back into my bicycle and corner like a normal human again. If you're feeling fearful, think about all that you overcame to ride clipped in riding in traffic for the first time. 

Which was really great to hear.

Like, even though people have been riding for years and are super confident and almost perfect on the road, everyone has gone through what I'm going through now.

(Although people don't really talk about it - I guess it would scare the crap out of me if everyone warned me about this stuff).

So I'm getting there.

I was going to ride my commuter into the city, to try the William St -> Bourke St transition again...  But it was raining and I had too much stuff to do.  Maybe another day..

Wind vests

Windproof vests are great.

They can feel like a thin piece of plastic.  

Which feels like they couldn't possibly keep you warm.

But it's amazing how toasty you feel by just keeping the wind off your chest.

There's a lot of wind in cycling.

Note, you need a wicking layer underneath.  (Otherwise, you're just trapping the sweat - sweating in a plastic bag).

My major tip of the day is - find a windproof vest that has a back pocket, or has a cutaway so you can reach your jersey pockets.

This is super useful - saves you having to reach under your vest to get things.

I didn't realise until I got a second vest and I realised how useful pockets were!  

My husband explained about the cutaway (that's his vest on the right).

Left = pocket

Right = cutaway for reaching jersey pockets (cut is lower than the breathable back cutaway).

All these little things!

Loving learning about it all!