October 2011 Blog Posts (24)

I recently rode a charity ride from Taronga Zoo, Sydney, to Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo over 3 days in October (read more here).

After resting in Dubbo overnight I rode off on my own personal cycling tour from Dubbo to Canberra. It was a small "t" tour, staying in motels and buying my food along the way.

 …

Zoo2Zoo 2011 Sydney to Dubbo (14-16 Oct 2011)

Day 1: Taronga Zoo to Mt Victoria via Richmond and Springwood (about 165 km).

 

109 riders started at about 6.00 am from Taronga Zoo and headed off through northern Sydney to Windsor and Richmond. It was to be a long(ish) wet day on the road.

We started in 9 groups with the intention of staying together in those groups for the day. Groups 1 & 2 were designated…

In all of traffic engineering ( and snow skiing I might add ) there is a simple concept that you shouldn't have to give way to anything that is coming from behind you. Changing lanes on the motorway can be harrowing but in a car you do have a mirror; and a quick look over your shoulder to check your blind spot is always a good idea. However as a cyclists on an off-road path there is a situation where you DO have to give way to traffic coming from behind, I call it the 'back…

Hi all, I'm coming to Sydney for a week in December and will be based at the Novotel at Brighton Le Sands.  Can you tell me of any regular bike rides (during the week and w/ends) in the area?  I stayed here last year and on the Sunday saw large groups of riders pass by heading towards the airport and groups going in the opposite direction as well.  I am of a good standard of fitness and looking for anything up to 100km ride.

Cheers

T

Third day I rolled between home and work within walking distance. I suddenly feel smarter already - I changed my choice of street from what I usually walk on to one that has less traffic, and all of a sudden this sense of awareness and "route detection" clicked into my head. Now when I see a street I naturally evaluate how cycling friendly it is for my level of comfort.

Today I also pushed myself mentally to pedal up an up slope when I was heading home. I was struggling to…

I've been chipping in 10-15 minutes worth of small practices here and there throughout my last week during my study. I manage to improve little by little everytime, and today is my first day attempting at riding to work, which is also in Annandale within walkable distance, so it's only a short ride, but provides a feasible practice.

I still stagger a lot and when I have to use more force on the pedals with up slopes, I still lose my balance easily. I do find it easier to…

OK, we finally arrived in Nice to live for 3 years. The boss, and the next boss up, both kept giving instructions on how to get a car, and I kept insisting that we  were not going to get one. How will you get to work then? Well, this is Europe, so of course going car free and using a bike will be easy, I kept telling them. I'd heard a podcast of a guy who lives in Los Angeles and even then, went car free. Needless to say, this was putting my complete lack of knowledge against their  local…

rolled into work monday located said idiot just in time to hear him telling a couple of apprentices about how he gave a bloke on a bike a hard time, i call all three of them into the office and did my fortune teller bit, as in this is your future if you behave in this manner and then encourage others to do the same , being ex navy i have rather a salty turn of phrase, 

message received, idiot and apprentices now hopefully wiser,idiot on a warning

all our people have had a wake…

This happened on the day I bought my bike. I live in a studio apartment with an open car park where I initially left my bike locked to a pillar. After finishing my dinner I decided to mess with it, then I found a note stuck on the frame suggesting me not to leave the bike there, for the writer of the note has had his bike stolen twice there, even with the lock. I took the advice and now awkwardly carry my bike up and down the stairs between my room and outside. 

I would have…

On Sunday I went to RNP for some riding, preparing for the Sydney to Gong ride. I picked a nice route on bikely whch starts at Audley weir, going south via Lady Carrington drive and the back north on Sir Betram Stevens drive. 

I had never been to Lady Carrington drive so I was surprised that it was more of a track than a drive. I wonder what Lady Carrington had thought of it. This one is more for MTBs than normal bikes. I made it through on my trike but it took me over an hour. At the…

My wife loves planning cycle tours. I don't. But I do like riding them. I indulge, even encourage, her fantasies because she has often designed superb trips in out-of-the-way places on near deserted roads amid fabulous scenery in both Australia and overseas.

Over the years, cycle-touring has changed for us. In the time BC (before children), we had toured on solo bikes for months…

A few weeks ago I participated in the inaugural Canberra to Mogo Zoo2Zoo ride. The ride was, not surprisingly, from Canberra Zoo to Mogo Zoo. We covered almost 200 km over two days (17-18 Sept) mostly on dirt roads or single track. A small group of 13 riders participated this time. 

I rode my tractor. The tractor is a Salsa Fargo - a drop bar, rigid 29er. I stripped the racks and excess bottle cages off the tractor and swapped the skinny tyres (40mm) for the fat 29ers (55mm).…

Hi Everyone, 

Went for a ride with some friends this morning, and finally got another WITWIMB for you. And BTW Sorry for taking so long to do another one. Let the guessing begin!!…

I finally got around to doing something I’d been meaning to do for months – get a child seat so I can take Toddler Dan with me on the bike. What finally prompted me to get it was necessity; it seems with the various schedules for Mrs Dan, Baby Dan II and Toddler Dan I was going to need a way to get Toddler Dan to her oh-so-middle-class-structured-playgroup thing without using the…