July 2011 Blog Posts (12)

"You should have a lock like this" Suggested Nichole my host and guide in Dusseldorf as she produced something that looked like it would be good to shackle an elephant. Only the crummiest bikes seemed to be locked on open bike stands and many of them still held the picked over carcasses of bicycles abandoned to fate. …

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I was riding across Sydney this morning (as part of a reconnoitrer for our City Ride/Spring Cycle) and happily used the Kent Street cycleway and turned on to King Street on my way to Pyrmont.  At the cycleway intersection at the bottom of King I pulled alongside another cyclist on a lime green mountain bike (everything was painted green including the wheels!).  The fellow had white locks coming our from under his helmet and I estimated him to be in his late 60’s early…

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Eight weeks ago I woke up, jumped out of bed, and almost collapsed on the floor. Overnight my right knee had swollen. It could handle a little weight but not much. A trip to a Physio, the first of many, identify the problem as a slight tear of the meniscus.  Apparently this is a common cycling injury. But more worryingly, my knee mechanics were all out of alignment. Slowly we started retraining and strengthening both of my knees.…

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…only the wrong shoes, as I found out today. Decked out in head to toe GoreTex, I braved Sydney’s wettest seventy-two hours for sixty-nine years to cycle into the city to meet…

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Just got back from my mum & daughter weekend in Wollongong, first time I have ever visited it. In spite of the inclement weather, we managed to pack in a slow, two hour ride north, towards Ocean Park. What a lovely ride- all next to the sea and the beaches, all on bike paths, so safe for the family. I would like…

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ok web folk. I am at a dilemma... And, I ask you this.

What bike do I take to ride in the cities of Europe?

bike 1:

fast, cool, lighter and more robust.

Easy to maintain, lock and use and pack again. Cheaper to maintain if I need to repair.



or



Bike 2:

more Fun, slower, heavier and less robust (hyd brakes)x(full rigid 29er). More expensive to maintain if I need to…

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Photos here

 

On the June 2011 Queen's birthday long weekend I was lucky enough to participate in this inaugural event in Papua New Guinea.

 

I boxed my old 2009 Giant Defy One (Tiagra) road bike (didn't have my new 2011 Merida Scultura Evo Julett Ultegra bike at this stage) and wished my bike good luck on it's journey from Sydney to Cairns, Cairns to…

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Now that it's school hols, had a great little ride with the kids and a friend from Galston from Newington Armoury out to Haslams Lookout on Hills Road. Apart from the M7 & Windsor Road, this is the only flat riding area I know of in Sydney!…

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At the weekend I was playing in a concert with the Lane Cove Concert Band. There was quite a lot of logistical effort involved, as I had managed to secure the use of a set of timpani (kettledrums) for the concert, but they had to be transported across Sydney to the concert venue.

Before you get too…

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Garry I was in the workshop looking at a very sorry bunch of corroded old spokes and I could hear your voice (strange, as I've never heard your voice :) in my head saying "don't use the old spoooookess..." Yeah, you're also a ghost in my head.

Anyway I found some 27" spokes on ebay... not entirely…

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Just got back from a nice bit of circuit at Dural Curves. I rode my mtb there and back, and bombed down (and up) two kickass little hills on my gnarly little secret firetrail which runs parallel to Galston road! Can feel myself getting fitter (and hopefully lighter!?) I couldn't resist this kids T shirt I bought- the… Continue