For the Cycling Geek

OK, this one is for all the bike geeks out there. This is intriguing for its efficient use of existing technology, most people have a mobile and these day most are Bluetooth enabled. So, all that is required is a sensor and some software for you phone and you have a bicycle computer that can record all the information it gathers. I like it, however, it appears quite clunky in it's current form, a sensor of 60mm long and if you would like to see all this information as you are riding, well you need to mount you mobile phone on you handle bars. No thanks, I like my simple little bike computer that is far more discrete.

Gear Adjustment

I know I can not be the only novice out there that struggles every time they attempt to tune there gears at home. This is a very specific and very useful video to learn how to do it your self. Hope this helps.

Tour de Hills

The past two months has seen a rather haphazard approach to my training for the Dirtworks. It began strong with more off road training. In resent weeks, however, the wet weather has played havoc with the training routine, not to mention the bike. Wet sand dose not do kind things to you drive train or brakes, nor large rocks to your chainrings It is a sure sign of problems when for every hour you spend on a trail your spending two repairing the bike for the next trip. After doing this for a couple of weeks I have decided that many hours in the saddle has as much value in an endurance race as technical finesse. Shear fitness will make the whole ride much more enjoyable in the long run… right (well that’s what I am hoping). So now the bike fixed the road tyres on and signed-up for Tour de Hills. Little or on knowledge of the course, I trust that I have done enough training on my rides to work during the week. The a 70km round trip twice a week becomes valuable training time that I have been missing on the weekends lately, until this week. Plagued with punchers, I am yet to get to the bottom of and brakes still not quite right after the 1.5hr off road session, destroying brand new pads and I now have to stop kidding myself that the rotors are fine….. They are stuffed and only days out from the Tour de Hills. This is a 20, 30, 50 or 100km road ride, yes of cause I had to choose the 100 didn’t I. Well if I can’t do 100 on road without any problems, how can I expect to do it at the dirtworks?

Dirt Works 100km Classic

The commitment has been made, 4th May 2008, myself and a small group of keen riders from work are going to attempt the Dirtworks 100km Classic. This is a 100km off-road MTB race (if you choose to race) around St Albans about 1.5hr north of Sydney just on the other side of the Hawkesbury river. I remember reading a review of this about 2 years ago, not long after getting my MTB and thinking you must be kidding, a 100km off-road, scary steep hills, why would you do it to yourself? Well mot much has changed, I am just now one of the crazies going put them selves through the pain of it all. I have begun training…. To a point. I have now got the knobblies back on the bike after having the slicks on there for many months, in the lead up to the Sydney to Gong ride.

On the weekend I had a rude shock as to how out of form I am ridding the bush. Besides being the sweeper guy to clear all the single track of spider webs, I seemed never to be prepared for the next rise or dip, which saw me scrambling up a few hills in the walking (climbing) gear. A word of warning for everyone who thinks this is the safest gear on the bike, you can still fall and do damage. Ouch. Well, didn’t need that skin anyway. After doing battle at the foot of the mountain with the mud caking on the bike and clogging every moving part, I did manage to get higher enough to turn around and get some speed up, however this only brought its own issues as the mud began to fling back in my face. So I guess what I am saying here is I have much work to do before 4th May. Lucky there is still some time left to do it.

National Ride to Work

Tomorrow, as you probably know, is national ride to work day here in
Australia. For myself this is my weekly ride to work, with a free
breakfast courtesy of one of the major sponsors Lend Lease. I would
encourage all readers of this blog to join in. It was this event last
year that encouraged the group of seven or so people i now ride
regularly with. It has been an excellent way to meet cyclists in my
area and also leads to other social rides. Give it a in and then let
us all know how it went.