Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A photogenic memory


Oh, shut up Stuart!

This morning I rose early and rolled round the BCL, it was a truly pleasant experience. Balmy temperatures, no wind, dry roads, little traffic and the Tchek, tchek, tchek of Kingfishers and trilling of Riroriro. My heart would be a barren place if it was untouched.

Early in the piece, along the Northwestern Bike path, then further out I did get to witness another cretin contribute to the wrong side of the cycling ledger. Here's the checklist :-
No back light - tick
Ignore other riders and greetings - tick
Ride across Lincoln Road at speed through red light - tick
The yellow jacket of safety - tick

Thankfully the better part of the ride ahead saved me from mulling over this fool and his actions for too long.

The K2 is upon us and I'm not taking part as a rider. This will be the second time since the event started that I've sat it out. Unlike last time when I gave it a miss and sulked, this time I am going down to watch, take some photos, provide moral support and mockery and am thoroughly looking forward to it. The forecast is looking damn good, and it will be a great experience to watch others chew wasps and make gorilla faces while I enjoy the sun and the views.

I'm quite certain that Tristan, Serge and The Crocodile are all going to regret my presence at some stage or rather when they are in a place that hurts and there's a familiar looking buffoon on the side of the road hurling sagely advice.

I will report back in due course.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Smurfing

The equinox, a month of wind and changeable weather. Yesterday I went for a ride, my fitness and strength are somewhat pitiful at the present time. On my struggle out to Puketutu Island, across the causeway, into a SW blast, I held at kingly 18 kph and endured an HR of 173bpm. Who needs to ride hills with that sort of stupidity.

The crossing of the Mangere Bridge was fun, with gusts and sideways movements. Nothing like the day I was silly enough to ride and race in similar conditions around Akarana's Mangere Mountain circuit with a Tri-Spoke rear and Cosmic front. Handling was a little testing to say the least.

Anyway, here's something very graceful.

An octopus



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Orange Peril



On reflection, every day has a challenge or two in it, and some days those challenges are greater than others. On Sunday a rider, who shall remain nameless lest he shame the Bianchi more, faced a challenge. The challenge for him was avoiding a fence. The fence in question was no ordinary fence, it was a bright orange section of safety netting, sited in clear view near Monterey Park on Upper Harbour Drive. According to eye witnesses, and also the rider in question, it was in the open and straight in front. Said rider was looking sideways to try and locate the bike path and rode straight into the netting located in front of him. The other riders had already seen this and were able to enjoy the unfolding spectacle. He stretched the netting, then tumbled over onto the concrete on the other side. Thankfully, apart from a few minor bruises and scrapes and a dented pride he was unhurt. By all accounts it was highly amusing to watch.

Onto more cerebral pursuits than enjoying the mistakes of others. I have a variety of constants in my cycling kit that have been almost unwavering over several years and to me, are a matter of personal taste, but are close to essential for my ongoing riding pleasure. The list could be lengthy and include such absolute necessities such as helmet, glasses, etc, but I have chosen a few that have either changed riding patterns and habits for me or have proven unquestioningly reliable and I would recommend without hesitation.

Handbuilt Wheels - Handbuilt wheels used to be the only wheel one could get, then the factory wheels started appearing and became the staple choice for most riders. However I'd happily say from my own experience that handbuilt wheels are a far better choice for all riders. With handbuilt, from a good builder one can get a wheel that will suit your budget, riding style and needs. Tristan Thomas (Wheelworks) has built a couple of pairs of wheels for me, and they are simply superb. Comfortable, stiff, light and very reasonably priced, there's no drawback at all to them. Add in that Tristan is a damned good chap and it makes for a compelling argument for handbuilt wheels



LED lights - The slew of new cycle specific lighting technology that has arrived on the market in the last couple of years has changed riding in the dark for good. Based around LEDs there have been huge gains in battery life and safety, coupled with a massive reduction in size and weight, all at reasonable cost. The newer front and rear flashers mean greater safety in traffic, and the increased light output and longer battery life from the larger kits mean that virtually nowhere is out of bounds sans sunlight.


Velco Closureless Track Mitts - Riding with gloves is a pretty good idea, both for riding comfort (although not essential there) and palm saving for those moments when you do place hands on the deck at speed. I had never been a great fan of the track mitts with velcro closures as they often seemed to peel back, snag clothing and just annoy me. I prefer the elegance and practicality of the gloves without closures. I have sampled Prendas, Assos and Giordana and they have all been great. The Assos saved my palm in February's crit crash and now have a thumbnail sized hole in their palm, but are still servicable. The Giordana offering are less expensive and I'd wager slightly more comfortable, minimal padding Pittards Leather palms, nothing here not to like.

Garmin GPS - I was an early adopter of cycling GPS technology with a Garmin Edge 305. A great piece of kit for seeing where you've been and all the data captured from your ride. However that was moved on as soon as the Edge 705 hit the market. With full mapping and routing capabilities it has been a game changer for exploring, riding in different towns, cities and locales. Not to mention the ability to share rides with people and send them off to enjoy what I have had a grin from.

Good Tyres - I have two tyres that I consider as reliable and no-brain choices. I have had dalliances with a variety of other tyres and have loved the ride of some, the feathery weight of others, but ultimately have always felt let down by reliability or punctures, so now I stick to two known quantities and experiment with others from time to time. The two tyres are:-

Continental GP4 Seasons - I have ridden sets of these tyres for years, wearing out numerous rears and suffering few punctures. To me, they are reliable, ride not that badly for a training tyre, are as bombproof as anything else on a road bike and last a reasonable amount of time. They are sure footed in the wet, handle metal excursions, easy to mount and readily available. I have graduated to the 25mm version a couple of years ago, and never looked back.

Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp - Not superlight, but a lovely riding tyre that is reliable and handles and rides like a charm. A good race tyre, but quite capable of functioning as a training tyre and putting up with all sorts of surfaces without cutting up, or failing.

Selle Italia SLR - I have ridden and worn out three or four of these saddles over the years. Some view them as an ass hatchet, and a weapon of torture, but to me they fit like a charm. That said, the best saddle is the one that you are comfortable on.

Good Local Bike Shop - My local bike shop is the ongoing key to riding pleasure. They are the guys who can solve problems for me, sell me items that I do need, fix the mechanical issues that are beyond me and are hugely important, plus they give me endless friendly grief and make me feel loved in a very special way. My local shop is Planet Cycles on Dominion Road and they are very good to me and my minion, I can't recommend their service highly enough.


Monday, October 11, 2010

Seventy Elephants

One of the perils of racing bikes is that there are a few hazards involved. One of the more unusual risks is the opportunity to wear bodily fluids from another Homo sapiens. Thankfully this has been a rarity in my case, but there is one occasion where this occurred and has left the memory indelibly etched.

The race involved was in Dunedin and ran from the city to Tairoa Head and then back via the high road over the peninsula to Shiel Hill. On this particular day there was a howling southerlie tail wind for the first leg and a block headwind for the return. The tailwind section was the harbour road and almost pancake flat, the return from Portobello on was a decent sized climb, with some undulation on the top and a long gradual descent.

The race was a handicap race, and given my hill climbing prowess I was placed in one of the easy marks. The flat section was pretty uneventful, with my mark catching all the groups ahead of it, and staying clear of the chasers. When we hit the climb, that all changed. By halfway up the climb the field was in tatters and I was well out of the money, having been caught and passed in rapid fashion by a number of the back markers.

As I crested the top, up behind Larnach's Castle, I was passed by a rider, who shall remain nameless, and I latched on to his back wheel like a limpet. The section of road there is rolling, then with a swift descent and a short, stiff climb before the long, gradual final descent. The elements had really turned and we had encountered a couple of cold, wet squalls. The skin on my legs looking like the skin of an uncooked chicken.

As we rocketed down the penultimate descent into a gusty wind, the rider in front cleared his sinuses and expectorated. What launched from his mouth seemed to gain a life of it's own and pulsed and wobbled in slow motion in the wind and draft. I was transfixed by this green death star of mucus that was flying between him and I. All hope was that it would pass me harmlessly, and as it left his draft it veered downward and landed smack on my inner thigh, just below the bottom of my shorts.

There, on my cold, goose pimpled white flesh it clung. A liberal dose of water from my drink bottle did nothing, it stubbornly hang on for the passage. The sheer horror of it made it seem even larger, and to my eyes it was the size of a saucer and mountainous also.

I hit the final climb, and the other rider escaped, I was alone with my cling on. I thought for a moment of stopping and removing it with the aid of grass, but realised that there were still riders behind me, and that I may have still been in the lower limits of the prize-money, so I soldiered on.

When I finally crossed the finish line I was out of the money, but was eternally grateful for the long, wet grass on the side of the road.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Compulsive in creeping


It's not a long time ago that I was thinking that this abysmal winter weather would never end, then we set the clocks forward for daylight savings, and Voila! Spring is upon us. There have appeared those brilliant, fresh green leaves on all the deciduous trees and the sun has some warmth.

I have now managed three rides without armwarmers, and my arms are looking less like white pipecleaners than they were a week ago. I have mixed feelings about tanlines.

Given my bit of Tangata whenua I tan easily and quickly, but that's only on the skin exposed. I'm also a touch leery of skin cancer (although not really enough methinks), so rarely expose my torso, or upper arms. The net result, come mid-summer, if I do make poolside is a picture of a man who is wearing a hairy, short-sleeved white wetsuit.

I do also enjoy having brown limbs, there's something vain in that idea, but it's tied in there in my thinking as appropriate to summer cycling, along with strong negative views on sleeveless tops, the place of tea in society and wearing polka dot jerseys.

Today I rode along Tamaki Drive in the early afternoon. The bays were crowded, the beaches were busy, and there were even people standing in the water. Given that yesterday I stood in the water for several minutes after dusk waiting for the tractor to return to haul the vessel that I was hanging onto out, I can vouch that the water is still nippy. I think they were a trifle optimistic, or were engaging in an act of self-sterilisation. Yesterday, I was only knee deep, I wouldn't want it any higher, and the thought of voluntarily letting water of that temperature caress my nether regions makes me pucker.

However, Spring did yield a pleasant surprise, albeit a foolish one, but pleasant none the less. As I rode townward on the bus and bike lane under the shading pohutakawas I could see a figure roller-blading towards me in the buslane, she was lithe, tanned and clad in a pair of white Daisy Dukes and a string bikini top. Dressed like that, I felt my need to chastise her for rollerblading against the traffic was a touch churlish, so I let it slide. It was a lovely sunny day after all.