Big Block

One warm February Sunday (Feb 4)... another training ride. The local cyclists refer to it as the 'Big Block'. I suppose you might call it riding 'round the block'. It's just a BIG block.

We drove into Coffs and parked near Park Beach, then headed out to the highway, rode up the 'Big Banana Hill', down past the Big Banana, and then 'turned off the highway and rode 'up Bruxner', a 3 km uphill grind, winding up through banana farms. It actually isn't too steep, but tell anyone you've ridden up it and they are impressed. Sensational views to the ocean, problem is you're riding away from the view, and you're too busy focusing on riding up, you don't think to stop and take a photo!!

It's a good feeling to reach the top.. you suddenly find yourself in a patch of rainforest...

And, having been here before, you know the next bit down the hill, through the rainforest, is yee ha! And you lap up the coolness because the rest of the way, out of the trees, is going to be hot, hot, hot. The stretch along Bucca road to Nana Glen was pretty challenging - from a traffic point of view, plus there were a few unkind hills in there. I was feeling it - and got the 'you need to work on your aerobic fitness' lecture. Hmmm, well, what was I doing right now then?! Also considering during the week before my back was playing up -it hurt to just walk! - and that cough I had for 6 weeks really knocked me.. yes, well.. this was aerobic training!

We stopped at Nana Glen for lunch. Didn't see Russell, but a bunch of middle aged trail bike riders chatted to us and gave us a big rap for having ridden with the kids 'up Bruxner' and out to Nana Glen (and that we planned to keep going through Coramba back to Coffs.)

The road from Nana Glen to Coramba was mainly through farmland.. Cait snapped a few photos when she could. Loved this:

We had to deal with a few wallies in their cars being impatient about overtaking.. one clown freaked me right out, he roared impatiently past Cait and me who were behind the others a bit.. then screeched in behind the triplet.. then sped all too close past them. Then, because he was obviously in such a hurry, after Marc made it kind of obvious that he didn't appreciate his actions *ahem* (well, I gave him the finger as well!!) slowed down, as if to have some sort of confrontation with us for daring to be on the road.




Karangi General Store.

Total km, by the time we got back to the car in Coffs, about 63. Not bad for a hot day and a few hills. What you might call TRAINING!!

Photos from the Yamba-Grafton return trip.

Breakfast at a cafe on the river at Yamba before heading off. The girls were fascinated by the jelly blubbers or whatever they are called in the river!
And the triplet drew a bit of attention from passers-by!

Heading into Maclean... on a bike you have time to read all the names on the tartaned telegraph poles. Maclean has been promoting itself as 'The Scottish Town'.. and it combines trappings of Scottishness with quaint old country town buildings.



The girls spent a lot of time in the trees both days. Just made for kids to climb and sit in.

The bridge back over to Woodford Island.

and riding onto the ferry
On the road between the ferry and Lawrence we noticed all the birds in the trees in this bit of marshland..

Just resting!
In the park at Lawrence again...
On one of the country lanes between Lawrence and Grafton.

Backtracking to Tracey and Cait riding into Lawrence - the general store behind us is just across the road from the park and the river.

I think this one was taken back on the island, with all the sugar cane fields...
And this was along the west side of the river, heading to Grafton.

Grafton to Yamba - and back.

Last weekend of school hols (Australia Day long weekend.)

We got the idea from the family that was riding in Cuba. (I wonder how they went.) An overnight 'credit card' bike trip. Drive up to Grafton. (60km from here.) Park car somewhere. Get on bikes. Ride to Yamba. Stay in motel. Ride back the next day.

Why? To make ourselves do a reasonable distance as training for the Big Ride.

Logistics? Pack the bare essentials in panniers, ride along the non-highway side of the river, crossing over on one of the vehicle ferries at one point, buy snacks and lunch on the way.

So we did it; got the bikes sorted (some mechanical jobs, and a wash) on the Friday, and we did it Saturday and Sunday. It was a good trip, despite the near 40 degree heat on the Saturday. I suppose you'd have to call that part training as well.

I've marked the route we took in purple. About 32 km to Lawrence. Catch the ferry across to Woodford Island, then 12 km to Maclean, and then about 18 to Yamba. It's easy riding - mostly flat, bar a minor 'hump' just short of Lawrence (which we even avoided on the way back by taking the 'scenic' route.) It was a great ride to get into a rhythm and test your pace.

I'm sure people thought we were insane - particularly on the Saturday. In fact, a woman at Lawrence looked at us - I nodded .. and she said dryly, "Bit hot for that, innit?" I was inclined to agree, as we only about half way - or less. Still, when you tip water over your head and clothes, and then move through the air quite briskly (ie. on the bike), then you get a cooling effect.

I suppose when you have embarked on what seems to many others as sheer madness, (particularly when you appear to be dragging the kids with you on your madness) you look perhaps more intently than you might have done for all the positives.. all the good things that come out of it.

Riding through the countryside lets you experience and appreciate the surroundings in a way you just don't do in a car. The kids greet the cows... "Mooo!". The tandem travelling behind usually gets to witness the "What the hell was that?" reactions to the weird contraption that has just whizzed past them. One horse did a classic double take. And while most cows were fairly unflappable, the calves tended to react. One pair looked like they racing us as they loped along the fenceline the same way were were going. (Or maybe they were just looking for mum.)

People also talk to you to ask you about the bikes. And so you get to meet interesting people. One guy with his family in tow talked to us for a bit, and then told us he owned and lived on an island on the river up near Iluka. And invited us to go and camp on it sometime!

Anyway.. guess the pictures we managed to get ("we" mainly meaning Caitlin of 'Stoker Photography Inc' - and Beginner stoker photographer, Alison.) tell the story.

Riding out of Grafton.

Morning tea at Lawrence.

On the vehicle ferry crossing from Lawrence to Woodford Island.

[still more to add... this is time consuming!]

Lunch at Maclean.

Things not quite going to plan..

I'm ashamed to say that there hasn't been much in the way of bike riding happening in the Schmidt household of late. Not really ideal with the Big Ride looming; thank heavens it is a few weeks later this year. So much for the aim to get more training in this time.

December:

Back in mid December we did rock up to the Community Ride with the kids in tow (bribed with promises of Big Brekkies from the Town Centre outdoor cafe where we usually have a coffee and OJ after the ride.) The lure of bacon and eggs had Ali and Zoe all up and at 'em. Caitlin was (unsurprisingly) grumpier,.. couldn't find socks, blamed Mum for not being able to find socks, blamed Mum for her socks being in Alison's drawer... Not received very well by Mum before 6 am, as you can imagine.

"Mum" was already dealing with her own doubts about going. The weather didn't look too crash hot, but Marc was sure it'd be ok. Half way to town, the rain began. (I tried not to give him the "I TOLD you so" look.) We kept going because, well, we were up already, we'd made the effort to get the bikes on the car (no mean feat getting the triplet on its super rack), and we had limited riding opportunities together because of Marc's overseas work commitments. We had rain gear. It wasn't that cold. Training. He We said.

Not the usual turn up at the Community ride.. Only a few other crazy people with a 'rain, hail or shine' mentality, but there was a sense of camaraderie as we set off. Well, I felt it. Marc, Ali and Zoe felt it. Cait didn't. She was cold. She had wet feet... Her bum was wet and cold. Her legs were cold. Etc etc etc. I suggested she put her thermal top on under her rain jacket, but she wasn't cold there. Just the legs. And they were going to freeze and drop off. 'Just think of the Big Brekkie' I said..... "Don't care about the breakfast." We got as far as the airport, and I couldn't handle the carry-on anymore. Maybe I could have if I wasn't trying to push through my own issues; I'd been coughing for a few weeks, and it was a bit of an effort to keep up with the triplet and the rest of B-group, especially with the stoker on strike.

She got an earful from me the whole way back to the car, and for the next half an hour. This might sound harsh, but she had committed to doing the next Big Ride with us - committed to it the minute she crossed the finish line on the 2006 one. She's played rep level netball. She knows that for sporting achievement you have to push through discomfort sometimes. Etc etc. When I found out that she'd worn cotton undies under her bike nix, despite having been advised on numerous occasions not to, I really hit the roof. Small wonder her bum was staying wet. "Decide NOW, Caitlin, if you want to do the Big Ride or not, because I WILL NOT be let down by you again. I need to train (you need to train).. and if you aren't prepared to do it, I will do it on a single. Without you."

I left her in the car, and rode the tandem solo back a couple of blocks to meet the others for coffee and breakfast. No! No way was she getting the breakfast that she didn't care about. The others did ok on the ride - no great drama - the rain stopped - Zoe copped a bit of spray on the back, but she was fine. And they enjoyed their brekkie.

Unfortunately, Christmas was the next thing to get in the way of more riding. We went to the Blue Mountains for a week for family commitments, and it wasn't practical to try and take the bikes as well. And I coughed, coughed, coughed through everything physical we tried to do - a course of antibiotics the week before Christmas not achieving anything.

January:

A few days after we got back I went to the doctors again. Different antibiotics. And the advice to rest. I figured that as soldiering on (with trying to swim and bushwalk) hadn't worked, I'd better try the rest thing... difficult as it was. Hate being a blob. Husband with itchy pedal feet - and both of us frustrated that we were wasting riding time while he was on leave. What can you do... ?

By yesterday I was starting to feel like I was almost better. Almost. Grand plans to get to the community ride on Saturday morning. Yesterday while having a late bodysurf with Ali and Cait, Marc dislocated his shoulder. Something he does from time to time (and he probably should get a shoulder reconstruction, but the time involved in recuperation would kind of cramp his/our style!, so he keeps putting it off. He is just careful about activities where he is likely to put it out: diving at Touch, sleeping with his arm 'above' his head, and being a bit cautious with bodysurfing.. usually. Till he gets carried away and the waves are dumpers, and he gets dumped.

So, sore shoulder.. arm... rules us out for bike riding in the morning. It usually takes a few days to settle down again. So today I figured I had better test my lung capacity. Rode my bike round to the tomato stall to get tomatoes (6.5km grand total)... few inclines... and I feel like an asthmatic (or what I imagine an asthmatic might feel like.) So perhaps 30 km tomorrow morning would have been a tall order. Perhaps I should fill the repeat script for antibiotics tomorrow and really try to knock this thing on the head.

And we will have to get our riding in where we can. Marc is back at work next week. Unsure yet when he has to go back overseas.

Meantime we are working on making some improvements to 'the green tandem'. I want/need a cluster with lower gearing.. but with the current arrangement being a 7 -speed freewheel cluster (do I sound like I know what I am talking about?) I am a bit limited with options and will have to go with a 'megarange' one that makes a big leap to a super granny cog (something like 24 to 32 teeth.) I gather that people like the 'bail out' gear concept, but I feel like I will miss my 28 tooth granny. I don't think that I want such a big jump... I think we were still talking about maybe changing the front wheel.. and were kind of interrupted by the shoulder dislocation thing. I also want to drop the height of my headset... so a bit of work to do to make 'The Tank' more ..... appealing...

Saturday morning riding, yeah!

Marc was due home from KL before last weekend, but as often happens, he was delayed into the weekend. One more missed weekend activity (ie. the Community ride last Saturday) to go on my I-Hate-the-Company-he-Works-For file.

I guess I could have gone myself again, but I hadn't got round to fixing my flat tyre! (And I've been a sloth.) I waited for the private home tuition this week... and now I'm ready to rock and roll on my half-bike again, AND I think I might even manage to change a tube by myself IF I don't have anyone looking over my shoulder and giving me a hurry up. I also bought myself one of those short pumps this week that will fit on the bike. So theoretically I should be more self-sufficient for getting around on my bike more often.

Anyway, this morning; despite me courting a lingering cough I've been trying to fight off the past week and a bit, and Marc nursing a slightly sprained/strained wrist from falling in a divot at Touch during the week, we got ourselves going and rocked up to the Community Ride with the Santana at 6.30 this morning.

Decided to ride the B group again, given my shortness of breath, and enjoyed the ride. Missed the start because Marc was lending his spanner to someone to fix a flat, but didn't have too much problem catching up. Whether we could maintain an A-group pace for an hour and a half I'm not sure...)

The B group probably did a faster pace than last time, and we weren't the only tandem either. The Dad and one son from the family going to Cuba on a Bike Friday triplet + single were there, but their Bike Friday was in tandem mode. "Where's the rest of the team?" we asked. Younger son had broken his arm a few weeks ago!! Oh! (They should be right for their departure on Jan 4... talk about bad timing though.)

Had a bit of a spin a few times around the velodrome at Toormina, Marc with a more 'go fast' approach to it than me. (Yes, I was a bit scared of falling off - never having ridden on a banked track before!)

32km @ 25kph (could do better, really - we've gone faster and further on solo rides pretty much) followed by a coffee/OJ, a BLT and good company as we chatted to the "Cuba" guy and his son. We've talked the girls into coming with us next Saturday - with the 'carrot' of a BLT or a "Big Breakfast" of bacon, eggs and all the trappings. With the numbers looking like they might be dropping off a bit as we enter the Silly Season, we can do our bit by turning up with 5 of us.

Now this is a biking family:

Exploring America on a triplet and a single.

I 'discovered' these guys a week or so ago: an American family of Mum, Dad and twin 8 year old boys. I 'lost' a few hours that day catching up with their trip so far, and I've been keeping tabs on them ever since.

I'm in awe!

(Warning: if you check out the category links on their home page, you could be there for hours... days.. reading about bike touring by a huge range of people. And people think we're crazy doing the supported Big Ride!)

Big Ride 2007 - We're in.

Marc decided to pull out of the Touch tournament in NZ... so that we can do the Big Ride in March!!! In the end the family adventure time won out. Which is good for the girls and me.

Despite hoping and hoping that he would fall this way on the decision, I am a mixture of emotions about it. I am really looking forward to doing it as a 'returnee'... and knowing that we'll know quite a few people now.. all the other tandemers.. and quite a few from the Coffs BUG that we didn't know last year. (And that was a big reason for being really sold on the idea of backing up for the NSW one for another year.. that and how much of a shame it would be not to be taking the triplet on it now that we have it.)

There is a little niggly part of me, however, that wonders if we have taken leave of our senses (again)! The hills! The early mornings! The greater likelihood of rain. The training..!

Must actually do the deed and register on Monday (there is the complication of my winning entry).. and start thinking about any other gear we need.. new riding jerseys for a start...

Bring it on!

Tracey on a "short bike"

I amazed myself, and Marc (over in KL) by getting myself up and in to the Coffs community ride last Saturday morning. (Had something to prove to myself, as well as him after my carry on the previous weekend... Note: It helps to go to bed at a sensible time the night before!)

The Coffs BUG people didn't recognise me at first. "You're on a .. short bike" they exclaimed. I must look lost without a tandem.

I had been worried about keeping up on my MTB, but had no problems in the C group, and I was happy that I handled any of the hills with ease. Must have been getting a bit of bike fitness with all our rides.
The only bummer was that the group got really strung out.. There were a few of us in the middle that I think lost track of the rest who did a last detour out past the racecourse and round the headland and we cut back to the city centre maybe too soon.

I had been paranoid about getting a flat and not being able to fix it myself. I grabbed a 1.75 tube (which Marc said would get me by)... When I got the bike out of the car, I realised the pump didn't fit on my bike with the water bottle holder. Thought I was clever and moved the holder.. then realised the pump still didn't fit. So I just went and hoped. And was ok.

Got home, got bike out of car, wheeled it round the back and left it propped against a pole. About an hour later I did a double take as I passed it. Front tyre was flat as a tack. doh!

I've yet to fix it... though I did get a replacement tube. Might attempt a DIY tomorrow and if I am successful I might risk riding again on Saturday. However, I'm kind of looking forward to a bit of a sleep in. (The Sloth Within is prevailing this week.)

Pretty high on the priority list for when Marc gets home is a lesson in changing a bike tube. And other bike maintenance-y type things. I have spent far too long just relying on him to look after all that stuff. There are a few more tyre valve issues to sort out with my bike too.. I have one of each kind now, which makes carrying one spare tube only a bit dicey anyway. Add to list of Marc jobs.

*******

Meanwhile, he has an even bigger dilemma to sort out. He managed to, in theory, double book himself for the weekend of the 17th/18th March by making himself available for selection in an Aussie mens over 40s touch side to play in a tournament against New Zealand. In New Zealand. (He got selected.) The 17th is the start of the Big Ride... but it didn't click with him that the ride had set down for later than this year's, despite the fact that we'd talked about our rainfall concerns for that time of year still. Oops.

Meantime I've very much warmed to the idea of doing it. (Despite flashbacks to the early mornings.) Know heaps of people doing it now. Just got the triplet. Etc.

And now... to really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Seems I have won myself a Big Ride entry... got a call from Bicycle NSW earlier this week to say I'd won their 'Who Am I' competition. (I won something!!!!!!!)

Just to make the decision that much harder for him.

Fate?

I think he's wavering. Stay tuned.

Coffs Coast Community Rides... a plug!

This is copied from an email sent out this week by the organiser of these rides, Cr Ian Hogbin.
I'll be linking to here from the sidebar.. it's a handy guide for anyone considering going. It would be great to see it grow and grow.



What a great turnout last Saturday. Magic weather, TV Camera, and 84 riders. Lots of bikes on the cycleways, roads and in City Square is really great. It's on again this Saturday at 6.30am, and every Saturday. So bring along a friend to join in the ride and enjoy the company of others.

So the deal is

City Centre Square
6.30 am, back at 7.45am
All bikes catered for.
All standards catered for.
(If under 18 years of age, you will need to bring your parent with you)
Coffee at City Centre Cafés upon return.

INFORMATION ON RIDES

All Riders: Please follow all road rules, including maximum of 2 abreast at any time.

Information on Groups – It is better to start off in an easier grouping and move up in following weeks:

A Group : Travel around 35-40km at an average speed of around 30kph. You will need a road bike and to be quite fit for this group. This group is for those riders that just like to go fast. The ride can include climbs such as Red Hill.

B Group : Travel around 30km at an average speed of around 26kph. Again a road bike is recommended for this group, but the speed is a far more acceptable level for social interaction. The route will generally be around Sawtell and return.

C Group: Travel around 25km at an average speed of around 20-22kph. This group caters for a wide range of riders, and does include mountain and hybrid bikes as well as road bikes. You will need a reasonable fitness level for this group and a good understanding of gearing and drinking whilst riding.

D Group: Travel around 19km at an average speed of around 16kpm. This group caters for a wide range of riders, and includes the younger riders, together with the newcomers. It is likely, that in coming weeks this group will break into 2 groups along Hogbin Drive, in an endeavour to best cater for all riding levels.

Information on Bikes – New Riders:

A couple of pointers that will ensure the new riders enjoy their ride and return. Please see a bike shop and try to borrow a mountain or hybrid type bike if you don’t have one. Please avoid road bikes, drop handlebars and foot straps on your early rides. Also, have a look at your gears, and try them out on a quiet street before venturing out.

The best option for the new riders is to leave the chain on the middle chain ring(if there are 3), or the small chain ring(if there are 2) for the duration of the ride. (The Chain rings are the cogs attached to the peddles). This set of gears is usually driven by the left hand side gear lever, so I suggest you leave that control alone. Then you focus on the range of gears on the back wheel, which is controlled by the gear lever on the Right Hand Side of handlebar.

Why being a stoker isn't such a terrible thing!

For the uninitiated, first a lesson in tandem terminology: The Captain is the one in front, who steers and brakes, and basically has responsibility for the bike. The Stoker is the one on the back. The engine. (And we have gleaned that on a triplet, the one on the very very back is called, by some, the 'Rear Admiral'!)

We are discovering that there are quite a few misconceptions about the role of the Stoker. The most common we hear, mostly when we are riding with the kids, is the clown call: "Hey, the one on the back isn't pedalling!". Yeah, hah, hah. Wish I had a dollar for everytime someone said that. It might hold true for some kids on trailer bikes (although when they pedal they really can make a difference!) but on a tandem, guys, the pedals are linked, and you can't help but have your feet go round and round in time with your Captain. Of course, you can 'put in' or 'clock off', but it's essentially not true to say the Stoker isn't pedalling! [Throughout the time that Alison was my stoker I would always answer that call with 'Oh, but she's my Turbo!' ]

The real myth that needs shooting down, though, is that being Stoker is second rate. We had someone ask us about that on the community ride on Saturday... and I once came across some pretty intense criticism about riding on the back of a tandem on a blog I found once (when I did a random search for tandems.)

Both are essentially ignorant assumptions by people who have only ever ridden a tandem round the block... but both make this assumption that it is some sort of dominate/submissive relationship and there seems to be some 'gender control' issue involved. The blog I read must have been by a raving feminist - "Why is it the man is always in front." (She was really uptight about it and made a ribald suggestion about why you wouldn't just "bond" in another way, then go out and ride your own bikes!) The question I got on Saturday was "Don't you hate not having control?"

So, to address these questions and more... here are some reasons why it's cool to be a Stoker.

• You might usually see the guy as captain because more often than not, the guy is the stronger, and fitter, person in the team. And the tallest. So it makes more sense for him to go at the front. Mind you, the woman we bought our original two tandems from used to ride Captain, as her husband was losing his eyesight. It's not something set in concrete.
  
  
• Riding a tandem is a teamwork thing.. so while the stoker isn't in control of the steering and brakes, she/he has a job to do, and to do it well involves being alert to the nuances of the pedalling needed. When to put in, when to relax.. you learn to read that through what the captain is doing. You're not just a dummy on the back.
  
  
• Again on the teamwork thing, it's about trust, and you do need to trust your Captain's bike riding ability. I don't have a problem with this with Marc. We have a 20 year relationship (which helps)..and early on we paddled canoe marathons together in a double kayak. So we are used to the teamwork/partnership thing. And we like it.
  
  
• As Stoker you get the liberty of being able to check out the scenery more - you don't need to be as alert, or keep your eyes glued to the road ahead. (I could also mention the perks of getting a close-up view of your husband's backside - in bike nix - but I won't.)
  
  
• Any 'control' you relinquish to your Captain is more than made up for in Speed when you crank it up - particularly when you go downhill. Yee-ha.
  
  
• Some stokers enjoy the chance to sit upright, give their arms a rest from the handlebars.. give them a stretch, and even take photos. (Just ask Cait.)
  
  
• Most of the people who stress out about the idea of losing control as a Stoker would quite happily travel as a passenger in a car with another person driving. No difference. (In fact, the stoker on a bike is not passive like a car passenger.)
  
  
• Another analogy: tennis. Think playing doubles vs playing singles. Noone blinks if you play doubles tennis - but in reality you relinquish some control to your partner, but gain a teammate in the process. Like any good tennis doubles combination, a tandem team will be better the more time they spend together.
  
  
• For me, riding on a tandem with Marc is brilliant. We get to spend time together - reality is he would leave me for dead if we were on singles - and we are doing something we both enjoy. The teamwork needed increases the bond between us - and his commitment to buying a tandem for us to ride together is a bigger investment in our relationship than any eternity ring or bunch of flowers could ever bring.
  
  
• If you ever decide to try riding a tandem with anyone... whether it be your sweetheart, your kid, your mother, or an acquaintance.. do yourselves a favour and take it out for a decent ride. Not just around a carpark or around the block where you won't get a chance to find rhythm and balance. The Stoker, particularly if he/she is used to piloting their own bike, will need time to learn to follow the Captain's pedalling habits - the biggest one is the timing of coasting (When I am captain I coast more - while Marc likes to keep pedalling.) The Captain will also need to be patient while his/her stoker learns to read him, and also learn to communicate stuff like 'bump!' and 'duck!', and other warnings - until the 'team' develops a non-verbal understanding (which you will.)
  
  

Riding a tandem is a hoot. You really oughta try it!

Bike riders in Coffs coming out of the woodwork!

Back in September a few Saturday morning 'Coffs Community' bike rides were organised - initially in conjunction with Bike Week. They proved so popular, that they are now happening every Saturday morning - and so Marc and I rocked up on the Santana yesterday morning to see what it was like.

We had actually tried to do this 2 weeks ago - only the information in the paper was incorrect! We turned up at Bob Wallis cycles at 7am - when the starting place was the city centre, at 6.30am!

That day we took ourselves over to Sawtell anyway, and passed a couple of groups coming back along the bike path, figured it was the Community Ride, so we detoured via the City Centre on our way back, found everyone having coffee at one of the outdoor cafes in the mall, and got the correct info.

I am still not quite sure why I agree to these things... as I am not much of a morning person. I was particularly bad getting up at 5 am yesterday morning - probably something to do with still not going to bed till after 11pm the night before - and muttered about it loudly enough to myself to give something Marc can tease me about for the rest of our days. I was serious though! It was bringing back the bad memory part of getting up on the Big Ride, and I was berating myself for even contemplating doing all that again!

Of course, once I get going it is ok.. (though I was quite shattered by mid-afternoon and needed to go and have a sleep - something I normally only do if I'm sick!)

Around 78 people (I gather) turned up for the ride; the numbers are increasing all the time. All ages, all abilities and experience by the looks of it. A mum and dad with a trailer bike on one seat, and a child seat on the other. A couple of kids with road bikes and cleats. Plus a heap of other people. They made up 4 groups - A grade do around 35-40km... B1 does 30ish. ... B2 does around 25.. and C does around 20. I think.

We decided to go with B1. We'd heard that the A group are super serious about their riding, and certainly don't wait for you if you fall behind, so didn't want to bite off more than we could chew. We had no trouble, however, with B1, and spent a lot of our time on the brakes... and never really put in at all, so we figure next time we'll tag along with the A group and if we get left behind, so what. It will give us something to work towards.

We headed out to Sawtell along the bike path on Hogbin drive. Glad Marc put a suspension seat post on for me.. it made a lot of difference on the bike path, which is a bit of a ka-thunk affair. I'm not sure of the wisdom of such a big group riding along a narrow bike path (especially having experienced meeting such a group head on the other week!).. but I guess you have to use the bike paths when they are there.

One of the good parts of riding in this sort of thing is the opportunity to meet other people who are keen about bike riding. Straight up there were people from the Coffs BUG, so we didn't feel so alone. Plus another women started chatting to us because we were on a tandem.. because their family had a Bike Friday triplet on order - AND - with their 2 kids, they were going on a bike riding holiday in Cuba in January. Classic.

The idea of the community bike ride is to return to the city centre by 8am.. and then most people order a coffee or whatever from the cafe. Nice morning out.. bit of exercise.. and home in time to do a few truckloads of washing.

A wild and woolly Gong Ride

So it wasn't quite what we had in mind. Without the challenge of those southerly gusty winds, the 90km would have been a doddle!! - well, if you don't count the congestion caused by 10,000 cyclists with a range of experience, and riding nous. Next time we do it, it'll seem impossibly easy! (Odds have got to be for better weather, surely!) The big shame is that the conditions weren't really conducive to Stoker Photography.

Possibly some of those who registered pulled out before the day began, given the rain we'd already had, and the forecast. But as we'd travelled some 600km, we had to make an effort to complete the course, and hope for the best. At least we didn't actually get rained on till the last 6 km!

This is a great link where you can follow the route at whatever zoom you like. Very clever!

But first things first.

Backtrack to Friday, and despite some packing stress on the Thursday night, I had the luxury of a few hours to pack the car (by myself), as well as ducking out to the supermarket for the 'munchie' shop. Wasn't a bad way to do it, actually!

The rain started mid afternoon.. fortunately I'd finished packing the car by then, and just had to wait for Zoe and Cait to get home from school, do a quick change, and then we picked up Alison at 4.00 at a band workshop, and headed into town. Marc had left for work in the morning after we got the tandem on the roof; he still had the triplet at work, and we got that on when we got in there around 4.30. The rack is a beaut - the only drawback is that it extends beyond the rear of the car, so that you can't lift the hatch right up. Bit of a stoop happening with the packing, but what can you do. At least the triplet was secure.

Rain, rain, rain on the way down to Tea Gardens. Not an early night (after stopping at Kempsey RSL for dinner), but we were able to sleep in till around 8.00. Marc set up a new TV his mum had bought for her bedroom, and then we made Hornsby, and my sister's place, for lunch.

Had good intentions to get an early night, but the meal ran late (as they do), and we only managed to get the girls into bed by around 10.30, and ourselves about an hour later. Not ideal.. Alarms on mobile phones set for 4.50... and we woke to a slight hitch. No lights. Blackout. Not a good notion... We did the angst thing about that for a few minutes, wondering how we were going to get the girls packed and organised in the dark! Then, hey presto, and hallelujah.. bang on 5am, it came back on again. Thank god.

My sister and brother in law emerged then; their answering machine 'complaining' about the power being off had woken them an hour earlier, and they'd been worrying about how we were going to get their automatic double garage door opened. With the lights on, we sent them back to bed, and managed to get ourselves gone, and at St Peters in time. And we didn't seem to have forgotten anything..

After queueing for the loos, it was probably 7.40 by the time we got going - and by then we'd already come across one of the Sydney Tandem guys (though his stoker had piked, and Chris was on his half bike.)

A fair bit of the first section (to morning tea at Loftus) was congested. Just what you get when you ride these rides, I guess. Spent a lot of time on the brakes. And watching wallies darting out into the car lanes and getting hooted for their trouble.

* One of the most notable experiences early on was when a jet flew over on its approach to land at the airport. It was so low you wondered it didn't knock a few roof tiles off the buildings, and so loud, and so right above us, that Caitlin nearly jumped off the bike. It did feel just like the big spaceship hovering over London in a couple of the recent Dr Who episodes. As one guy commented to Marc - 'NOW I understand what people living under the flight paths are talking about.

The section along Brighton-le-Sands is usually quite picturesque.. but today wasn't the best I've ever seen this part of Botany Bay. And it wasn't the most pleasant riding, right into the teeth of a southerly. At least it wasn't raining.



We stopped briefly at the first rest stop (Cook Park, on Botany Bay) at 14km. Quick snack (and Chris suggested I didn't offer bananas to the kids quite so loudly in case I got mugged! - so we were from Coffs, where you can find them at roadside stalls for only $5 a kilo - as opposed to the current $12/kg in supermarkets everywhere.)


Morning tea was at Loftus at the 30km mark. They were giving out free muffins that were quite nice too. And on my way to the bin, I stumbled across the other Sydney Tandem guys... Malcom and Damon, and Roger and Richard. They had decided, given the headwind we'd already encountered, that the bit along the coast was going to be a shocker, and they decided to call it quits and catch the tailwind back home. It was a tempting idea, but we'd come too far to give in. (Besides which, our car was already en route to Wollongong!)

The last time Marc and I had done the Gong Ride (nearly 20 years ago, I'd say), the route had detoured off the Princes Highway at Loftus, with much more of the ride through the Royal National Park. We thought it was a bit of a shame that this time (and I don't know for how many years it's been like this) you had to continue along the highway until turning off at Waterfall.


Cait and I kept losing the triplet.. due to their superior speed, and Marc's superior skill at getting past the dopes who would ride two abreast.. slowly. We then caught a few traffic lights, and lost them until we caught up to them waiting by the roadside, and talking to another couple on a tandem. Blow me down if it wasn't Richard - an old friend from our canoeing days - and his Mum on the back! Certainly not someone we'd expected to see - although his family can take some credit for reigniting Marc's tandem passion. (The chance ride mentioned in this post! - they had brought a tandem with them to a canoe race at Mylestom a few years back, and we had met up, and Marc had ridden it around the car park, with me freaking out on the back.) His brother and his wife were also on the Ride - and when we talked to them at lunchtime, it turned out that we had spotted them with their tandem on the roof of their car on the drive to the Start!)

At the start of the detour (and downhill) into the National Park they were stopping people - while motorcycle escorts returned from down the hill. I had to beg to be allowed to duck through so I could 'be with my husband!' Heaven knows how long he would have waited at lunch for us otherwise. (He is also faster on the downhills. I am definitely more circumspect.. plus he reckons the Triplet handles incredibly well at high speed.)

Cait tried to take a few more photos here, but they all turned out blurry.. and I was yelling at her to get her hands back on the bloody handlebars while we went downhill, thank you very much!

While we knew that what went down must go up, it was beautiful riding in this section. It had rained earlier, so the dampness gave it a rainforesty feel. Lunch spot at 51 km, and a welcome rest. By then I'd developed a stomach ache. Weird. And even weirder that Zoe felt the same. Including pain round into our kidney area. Marc had already joined the queue for sausage sandwiches (I was wishing I'd made up lunches, but frankly, I couldn't see myself getting up any earlier to do so!) I wasn't quite sure what to do; maybe we hadn't drunk enough? Zoe definitely hadn't. She decided to tell us then (not at the two earlier rest stops!) that her drink bottle had been empty from the start! I have no idea how that happened.. and who was responsible for putting it on the bike like that! Whatever.. "Drink, Zoe, drink". I drank too, and strangely enough, the staminade seemed to help ease the stomach ache. Zoe had told me that the ride was harder than she thought it was going to be.. not in a complaining way though. Just acceptance.

In hindsight we probably spent far too long at lunch. It's a delicate balancing act - the desire to enjoy the "Ride" vs the need to keep moving. The lunch spot had cleared significantly by the time we got going, so I had this feeling of being at the back of the field... but we did pretty well up the hill out of the park, and started to catch more people as we reached the first lookout south down the coast to Wollongong. And caught the full gusts of wind! Oh boy.

A big downhill at Stanwell Park.. and then the new Sea Cliff bridge. (Here's another link and photo). So much for any ideas of taking photos along here... It was 'hang on for dear life' time, as the wind gusts threatened to blow us off the bikes. A few people on their single bikes had given up trying, and walked instead. Cait got off at the end of it, and took these photos looking back.. though they don't quite do it justice.





(See that kid there on his bike? Marc saw him cause an accident which almost involved the triplet as well. There is a good reason why the rules for the race have no kids under 12 being able to be registered; it isn't the route or ride for kids that young piloting their own bikes. We saw 2 boys apparently registered, and I don't know how that works. (And there I was stressing about taking our younger two on the tandems!)

Anyway, straight after the bridge.. more uphill!!!


I have to say that Cait and I handled the undulating ride down the coast far better than I remember doing all those years ago. (A few more bike riding kms under my belt since then!)

About 15kms out, the route joined a bike path for pretty much the rest of the way. A bike path that stayed close to the beach. Doh! Must be fantastic in nice weather...


The other downside to riding on a bike path is that it is, by nature, narrower than a road lane... and people have a tendency to want to wander all over the place without regard to the fact that faster bikes might be coming up behind them! By this stage we weren't in the mood to be held up... some stretches into the wind were hard yakka..sometimes with sand being whipped up and blown into our faces. (We stopped for a last rest about 10km out - something I don't think we would have done if the weather had been kinder!) I think Cait took this picture as an older couple on a tandem limped in.. the stoker was in pain and her riding partner snapped 'What's the matter, haven't you seen an old couple doing it tough'.. or words to that effect .. when Marc tried to acknowledge them as fellow tandemers! - I don't think he noticed we had tandems lying alongside us!



And that was the last photo we took. About 6km out, the rain came in, and we stopped yet again to put our bike spray jackets on. At the finish, on Flagstaff Hill, it was really copping the rain and wind. We sheltered behind some bushes to get our thermals on underneath our raincoats.. and decided it wasn't conducive to hanging around.

Mum and Dad had left the car back about 500m or so back up the road.. so we cycled back and started getting the bikes on the roof. We knew that more friend of ours were going to be on the Ride. Kim was riding with 14 year old Emily and 12 year old Samuel- all on their single bikes - and Andrew and youngest son Rowan, were picking them up at the end. Their start time was later than us, so we weren't expecting to see them on the road, or Andy in the crowds at the end. Of course, Andy had ended up parking across the road from our car! A chance to catch up a bit while he helped us with the bikes! (He'd not been able to get mobile phone contact with Kim very much, and we were quite dubious about how they were going to cope with the weather and wind along the last stretch. Found out later they made it, which was a HUGE effort, given they haven't ridden terribly much... certainly nothing like the distances we've been doing.)

We were damp, and decided to go and check in to the cabin accommodation I'd booked at the Wollongong Surf Leisure Resort. Bzzzt... We were getting a bad feeling as we drove round to the cabin. (They had somehow managed to make a very tacky and ordinary looking holiday park into something that looked pretty good on a website!) The $135 cabin I had begrudgingly booked to sleep 5 (or 6) - instead of an $89 one for 4- had as its 5th and 6th person "bedding" just a corner lounge. (Not even a sofa bed). An extra $45 for that?!! (And the cabin was as poky as!) We spat it, took the refund they then offered., and decided we had no better option than to ring my folks and ask if we could drive back up to Sydney and stay there.

We did a clothes change in Maccas car park (rummaging around in the back to find our gear - well - I went into the loos!)... bought some fries (and a VERY BIG cappuccino for me) to keep us going... and headed back to Sydney. Bikes back down off the car .. in the rain.. and wheeled through wet foliage round to the back of Mum and Dad's house... But a welcome hot shower, and a meal of pasta.. and bed!

And then on Monday a big drive home, through some heavy rain - of course when I drove! - and home sweet home. A long way to go for a bike ride... but it was fun to be a part of it, and to be able to say we did it... We can say "We did the 25th Sydney to Gong. The one with the shocker headwinds."

Now THAT's a rack.

I am babysitting the triplet. It's on the new super duper heavy duty rack Marc had made up, and is on the roof of the Commodore. He just dropped it off at home (on his way to Grafton for a work job - it was an opportunity to do a test drive, with work mate following to observe.) He is picking it up on the way back through, to add a few more things to it later this afternoon. Not sure quite what... though he will need to find something stronger/thicker to tie the wheels down with.

He didn't like the idea of me going out and leaving it sitting there in the front yard (supermarket trip thusly postponed) so I figured while I was babysitting it, I may as well take photos and post them up. (There are people out there who might be interested, you see.)





Possibly over-engineered.. but he's having none of that 'shearing' thing that can happen with light aluminium sections with flexing and fatigue. (See the Spring Cycle write up for details on the problems we had.) I joked last night that now the weak point now will be the roof bars.

He still has to make some decisions about the properties of rubber padding on the clamps. It needs to be gentle on the bike, but not soft enough that it will wear through.

Sydney Spring Cycle

Finally. A report. Before the Gong Ride is upon us!

Yup, it was a long way to go for 50km! But it was fun nonetheless.. and not least because we caught up with the other tandem guys from the Big Ride (and the Sydney Tandems Yahoo Groups). And another family we befriended on the Big Ride, and who have been sucked into the tandem thing - although they did this one with a trail-a-bike and their girls doing about 20km solo (ssshhhh - don't tell Alison.) We were too slow to catch up with Bob and Barb from Coffs BUG who had been among the early birds. (Guess it's easier to do that when you're not chasing up 3 kids!)

Where to begin? The trip down (and back) was memorable for the 'road test' of the trailer/tandem carrying set up. (It failed.) And for the usual stuff that you deal with when you travel with kids. Like the fact that at Port Macquarie we realised that Zoe, wearing a short denim skirt, had no undies on. And unlike the last big car trip, this time she had the cd walkman, AND the cds, but no earphones.

Bike related highlights - copied from where I have written about them elsewhere:

"... Stopped at Port for lunch ... and Marc realised that the aluminium extension to the bike carrier rack that has carried the green tandem over many kms (but mostly on the roof rack) had sheared through. The trailer suspension was obviously way too hard. Couldn't cope. Problem. No drill, no bolts... This was a job for Super Field Technician. (Lucky that's part of his job description - well, just one of the expectations of his job - troubleshooting fix-its in the field when you don't necessarily have every tool you could wish for.) We detoured into Port to Bunnings. He bought another bit of wood to slide under the back end of the rack - and lashed it on with rope. And a bit of gal pipe to lie along the aluminium, (and the join) - and taped that on with duct tape. .... The jaws that clamped the downtube of the triplet had also fallen off!! (They have a problem too.. the 'padding' inside the jaws was wearing off.. and had actually scratched the paintwork on the bike - through some foam padding that didn't work. Eep. So, more padding with rags for that part on both bikes.. and taping them up a bit with good old electrical tape.)"

Arrived at my parents' place in Sydney sometime after 6pm and Marc managed to reverse the bike-laden trailer up their driveway and into their carport (using low-range on the 4WD) - with me propping up a very overhanging shrub. The alternative (for security) was taking both bikes off, and wheeling them up the driveway and around the back of the house.

Sunday morning:

...Up at 5.30. (I always go through this 'why am I here and getting up at this insane time' feeling, which lasts till I get going and have a good time... I will just never ever be a 'morning person'.) We were aiming to leave by 6.30. Doing ok... till Alison approaches me. Borderline tears. "Mum. I've accidentally got two left shoes." (New joggers = same as old joggers, only a size bigger. Old joggers = not been thrown out yet, don't ask me why, just slack. - In her 'hurry' to pack (and organise her mp3s) she has picked up one of the old shoes. It couldn't have been an old one, but the other foot, would it?!)

What the HELL were we going to do about this? Can't take the kid on a 50km ride in thongs. Can't make her wear a left shoe on the right foot.

*Thinking... thinking....* OK. What if...? Caitlin wears my joggers (as I wear the bike shoes with cleats to ride). And Alison wears Cait's shoes. *hold breath.*.Will Cait agree?... yes. Uh-oh.. not so fast. I wear orthotics, so I cut my inner sole, so only the front bit of it is in my shoes. Pretty uncomfortable for someone else to wear my shoes like that. Cait takes her inner soles from her shoes (after all, it's Alison's problem,...) Alison can put in one inner sole, but then of course then has the two left inner sole problem. She ends up cutting up the old one, and wearing double socks. Or something. We left her to it with instructions not to complain. It didn't seem to impede her bike riding, or stop her running around (at the finish).....

After all that we made the start for our 8am meeting time.. after one of our famous navigational spats.. where I failed to decipher the on and off ramps of the expressway at North Sydney in the street directory when under pressure from The Driver. Last year he followed his nose, and got us there. This year he insists I figure out where to go from the street directory.. questions my call when I make it.. so I say ' ah.. oh... maybe not, I can't actually SEE where Alfred St is - if you think that's the more northerly off-ramp, then maybe there's one more'.. But there wasn't and we ended up making an unnecessary (and toll paying) crossing of the Harbour Bridge. (We did get to see all the other bikes who had already started riding over the bridge, including a unicycle!!)

It was still raining as we drove to North Sydney and we had our fingers crossed that the weather bureau predictions would hold true - 'showers clearing' - and they obligingly did so; we didn't get rained on at all. When the sun came out it was warm, and despite the sunscreen I came away with a red face to prove it.

Same parking as last year, no worries. Getting everything sorted, and along comes one of the tandem riders from the Big Ride that we were arranging to meet at the start - Malcom, with some-time stoker Damon riding his own bike this time, daughter (??!!) riding stoker, and Sam, his other half on her her 'half bike'. She rolls up, looks at Marc, and says " Hello! I know you!" When she took her sunnies off, he recognised her. She remembered both of us from working on the Sport and Rec camps .. way back. (Which is where Marc and I met each other.) SPOOKY!!!

We met up with a few of the other tandem people at the prearranged location...and worked on connecting names to faces again. Apart from Malcom and co, Roger and Richard were easy - Marc, Cait and Zoe rode quite a lot with them on the Big Ride. And there was Chris + crew and Ken + crew. (My memory has failed me with the kids' names!) I guess we'd all like to think we made an impact all starting off together at the same time! We did the 50km at quite a leisurely pace.. tending to stop at rest stops we wouldn't normally have done so, just to wait for the others. [We can't afford to do that on the Gong Ride!] although we lost track of half of them along the way. Something to do with coffee, I believe.



My stoker (I told everyone I'd upgraded to a bigger engine) came not only with Intuition, but a camera, and a penchant for cycling and taking photos at the same time. A mixed blessing. The outcome - of quite a few photos as you'll see below - are only because of her. It did wear a little thin though, as you can feel the difference when she is cycling in 'hands free' mode. And I shouldn't have to get agitated about her putting the camera away so we are able to deal with the downhill/uphill/corner/bunch of people up ahead.







This year, with many more tandeming miles under my belt, I was able to appreciate the city scenery a bit more. I still get a buzz from riding over the Bridge. (Photos above include ones of some of the Sydney Tandem dudes.. (including Damon who was awesome for a nine year old on his gearless single bike - and with a lot more road sense than a lot of the adults!)




Riding along with so many other people has its moments, of course, and especially so when you are piloting a tandem. I know the aim of the event is to get everyone out and cycling, but a bit of awareness for others behind you wouldn't go astray. Some were intent on cycling, spaced apart, two or three abreast. A lot of kids (and a few adults, I have to say) had no bike nous, and you learn to never expect anyone to keep their line. And don't talk to me about the ones that stop in the middle of the path on a hill!! Despite the fact that tandems don't tend to 'do hills' as easily as 'half bikes'... both the triplet and our tandem flew up any inclines.. leaving many single bikes for dead. All experience I suppose.





We hung around for a few hours at the end. Queues for buying lunch were long (and the prices quite exhorbitant, but you don't feel like carrying a picnic lunch in your panniers on a day like that.)

Alison had been stressing all day about seeing Stella - a friend she'd made on the Big Ride. Stella had done a half ride with her Dad on a Bike Friday tandem, and they'd kept in touch via email ever since. No sign of them through the whole ride - I mean - what chance was there? And as we wove our way through the crowds at the finish, Alison commented "I'll have no hope of spotting Stella in this." Literally two minutes later, there was a joyful reunion with a big spontaneous hug and much jumping up and down.




We also finally met up with Duane and Kylie - this time assisted by having exchanged mobile phone no's. They had done an epic of a day with their 3 kids. (And epic of a week actually - they had been camping at Narrabeen, and the rain and wind (on the coast) had provided them with one of those bad weather-type family camping challenges that you dread.) Duane and their eldest daughter (aged 8) did the first 30km with her on the trail-a-bike, having only just made it to the start as the sweep rider was departing. At Rhodes they met up with the rest of the family and swapped. The older two girls rode their own bikes, with Kylie, and youngest, Alex, took a turn on the trail-a-bike. A pretty big effort.

By the time we managed a rendezvous, Marc had to leave to catch the train back to North Sydney to pick up the car. I'd anticipated it being a bit of a drag waiting, but the time flew with Duane and Kylie to chat to.. and all the kids seemed to hit it off - as kids usually do.




When Marc got back, they were still there, and we probably could have talked for another few hours. They had to get back to their car at Rhodes, and we had to drive back up to Tea Gardens.. more than 2 hours from Olympic Park. They are planning on doing the Big Ride on their newly acquired tandem , with Jess on the trailer bike. Knowing that they'll be there is a big factor in wanting to take the plunge into the madness and sign us up again. (Making that decision is the topic for another separate blog post!)

So we made it to Tea Gardens and dinner with Nana. I had grand plans of getting away on Monday morning in time to make my 1.30pm swimming class, but I didn't have the heart to wake everyone up early. (Including myself.)

As it turns out, even if we'd left by 8.00, I might have had problems getting to swimming. The trip was going ok, though Marc was still paranoid about how the bikes were faring on the trailer. At Kempsey, I took over the driving (boosted by the caffeine ingestion from the 'tall' cappuccino takeaway I'd brought with me from lunch.) He promptly went to sleep (as he always does when I drive, because the only time he doesn't drive is when he's too tired - and possibly he can't handle being aware of my driving.) I was under instructions to keep an eye on the bikes through the rear vision mirror. I was .. indeed I was. When I didn't have my eyes glued to the road, especially through some of the more notorious stretches of the Pacific Highway south of Urunga. At one point I'd woken him up to ask for his judgement on the bikes.. and whether the wheel wobbling was within the 'ok' parameter. He'd said yes, and dropped off again.

Just as we were coming into Urunga, (and I'd only just checked again), he woke up.. looked around, and then let forth with a curse. One of the aluminium struts he'd bolted on to each bike had sheared through. Of course the one from the Triplet. Couldn't I see the strut wasn't there? (Trust me, a minute ago it had been!!).... *sighs... why does this always happen to me?*

So, a prolonged stop at Urunga while he had to come up with a way of tying down the triplet.. by untying the lashings, using one rope for 2 sides for that, thereby freeing up a rope.

Needless to say he drove the rest of the way, and would have spent the whole time thinking about how to get the bikes back up on the roof racks again... where there is not such a force imposed on the bikes as there is bouncing around on an unloaded trailer.

Stay tuned for the details on the rack he's had made up since!! Baptism by fire for that on the Gong ride, this weekend.

Last minute training?

I said I was going to record every "training-worthy" kilometre I did... so riding the 'just short of 5km' to pick up the car from the mechanics yesterday qualifies. Particularly as I'm the one who probably requires the most training. Even if 5km hardly seems worth getting the bike out for.

I feel quite odd, as you just don't see many other 40 + yr old local mothers getting around on their bikes as a means of getting from A to B. For that distance I throw on all the bike clobber, and bike shoes, simply because they are more comfortable to ride in. Think I've said before that I feel like a bit of a wally, but if it makes the riding easier, well, who cares.

The bike shoes are one of the best investments we made. I'd never experienced clipping in to the pedals before, and couldn't believe the difference they made. Had them a year now. I christened them on the Spring Cycle last year - a baptism by fire as there was a bit of stop/starting involved on that route. Caitlin is starting to agitate for a pair.. now that her feet are almost as big as mine, she thinks she will be safe from growing out of them. As she still wants to grow a couple of inches (to catch up with friends), I'm not sure she's grown out of her puppy feet yet... so it's hard to know when to make the investment for her.

Meanwhile, I'm getting interested in the idea of another bike - more road than mountain bike. Though perhaps the slogging along the road on the chunky tyres qualifies as the equivalent of weight training.

So.. anyway... Sydney bound on Saturday.. and hopefully meeting up with a bunch of other tandem nuts around 8 am Sunday morning.!! Lets hope it doesn't rain like they are predicting!

Coffs BUG ride.

So we decided to do another Coffs BUG ride.. this time a Medium grade one, a bit of a drive (1.5 hours ) south down the highway. Scotts Head to Stuarts Point, start time 9.45am for a 10am departure. Approx. 35 km return.

We decided it was worth going to a) test the trailer set up, b) a different way to get us riding that sort of distance, and c) it would be more social than just us trying to clock up that many km by ourselves. (We ended up joining up to Coffs BUG... at the end of it. I am pretty keen to help out in any way I can with bicycle advocacy.. more bike paths I say!)

We arrived to find that Bob and Barbara (who live about 100 metres from our place in the next street, and who we met on the Big Ride) were there. Barbara had apparently considered knocking on our door during the week to ask us to go on the ride (but hadn't.) The mental telepathy had done just fine instead!

The ride was pretty cruisy.. we had no problems keeping up, and didn't even get overtaken on the hills (a nice change from the Big Ride.) It was a smaller group than the Breakfast ride, so it was easier to talk to people, and this time we got to learn a few names. Riding with the BUG is a safer way to ride on roads - a case of motorists seeing a few riders, and (hopefully) being more alert as to other riders ahead. The leaders are very caring, so less experienced riders are well looked after.

Needless to say there was a little bit of interest in the triplet, and how we got it. I guess if you can't confess to a bit of a mad-sounding jaunt overseas to pick up a special kind of bike while you're in a group of bike riding enthusiasts, then where can you confess to it?

So, around 13 km to Stuarts Point. Stop at the local takeaway, order lunch for a bit later, sit down and have a snack.. then zip the 5km out to Fisherman's Reach and back. Pick up lunch.. coast down to the park, and eat burgers by the river.

Anyway, here are some photos of the day...

The group at Fisherman's Reach .

Caitlin did her 'pillion photography' thing; this one is taken from our bike, looking behind (yes, we did get ahead of the triplet a couple of times), while Mum tries to keep the bike steady, on the road into Stuarts Point.

Fisherman's Reach.

Stopping after a hill to regroup and wait for the slower riders. A good excuse for a rest.

Us at Stuarts Point. Team Blue.

Awww....

And this is how the bikes are travelling.

There were a few other photos.. As the Blogger in Charge here, however, I retain the right not to publish any unflattering ones of me. (And believe me there were a few of them... I should ride 35km every day ... and not eat rubbish in between.)

Trailer tinkering

He has been busy this week, in between full time work, getting the rusty, trusty old trailer ready for triplet transportation.

Last night in the carport:


With 'new' tyres, and new lights, she's ready to go. We think we will go down to the Coffs BUG ride from Stuarts Point to Scotts Head (35km) on Sunday morning. Test drive the trailer transport as well.

Test rides, and a whole lot of tinkering...

Finally, the weekend, and a chance to take the new machine for a proper spin. Friday night we made grand plans to go riding in Coffs, after Marc had done an hour of training for Touch. By midnight he realised that neither of his two ideas for transporting the triplet were going to work.

One idea, using its convertible features, had been to pull it apart, reconnect it as a tandem, and put the middle section on the Mac Rac (where we'd previously carried the trailer bike.) He pretty quickly decided that that wasn't going to be practical.. couldn't be good for the bike to be pulling the connectors apart frequently... never mind the time involved (removing the chains etc as well.)

Next he decided to extend the racks we were already using. (He had come up with a very clever system of overlapping, and screwing together two bike racks, for carrying the other tandem. - more details about that some other time...) It was strong enough in the middle, but hung over the roof rack too far at the front, and the clamp was thus moved too far back, so that wouldn't work either.

Hmmm.

Looks like the only option was going to be to use a trailer... and that was going to take some tinkering to set it up. Just another bike related project.

Meantime we have a backyard full of tandems:

To get the 'Tank' (which is what I've now dubbed the green tandem), operational again, he had to borrow the back wheel from the purple one while we get two broken spokes replaced. For now, he's also had to borrow the pedals from the purple one as well, for the CoMotion. So it's sitting there, cannibalised for spare parts at the moment.

Anyway, we finally got out... basically in our old configuration (Marc, Cait and Zoe on one, Alison and me on the old faithful green one) because we were running out of time to muck around with seat heights. (Alison is due for a turn riding with gung ho Dad, and not stuck with Mum... 500km with Mum is probably more than anyone deserves...)

We headed north on the same route we did with the Coffs BUG breakfast ride, and ended up at Mullaway for a quick icecream from the general store, then hightailed it home before it got dark. Clocked up 26km, and Marc had only praise for the CoMotion. He confessed that he'd been just a bit anxious about whether it was going to be as good as the hype (and the money!)

Even I could tell it was good.. they were leaving us for dead - even faster than he was when they were handicapped by the trailer bike! He said it handled like a dream at higher speeds as well. And the gearing was great.. didn't even hit granny gear. - stayed on the middle gear, even up a couple of short sharp hills. He had the grace to feel a bit guilty that he was riding such a nice bike, and two of us would still be on the Tank. [*Well, to be fair, maybe I could ride the Santana, but I will need to wait till he is able to change the gear levers on it... Or maybe I could just play on the conscience factor, and get me a nice CoMotion tandem as well. It wouldn't be as pricey as a convertible triplet! At the very least, I demand a lower geared cluster on the Tank!]

I just wished I had helmet-cam or some such, to record the reactions of people we passed. Some would do a double take just after the CoMotion whizzed past them, when they realised it was a triplet. The funniest was the person on the tennis court, serving, who stopped, mid-toss, to gape. "Take it again!" we heard their magnanimous opponent say.

At least we all felt pretty good after 26 km - like a walk in the park. Must be some residual bike fitness left over from the Big Ride. A new experience for Zoe having to pedal along with the pace Marc sets, but she is all positive about it all, acknowledging that she has to get used to it, but keen all the same.


Much of Sunday Marc spent working on the trailer, which is a bit of a rust bucket. We are really due for a new one, but it will have to do for now. New lights were needed; there had always been a problem with the earth on the old ones.

I went out to pump up the tyres on the Tank, and just as I was asking Marc if the triplet would need pumping up too, I saw that its back tyre was flat! Another job... this time patching. And the realisation that we didn't have the correct spare tubes for it!

So we decided with this ride we'd have to stay close to home.. just in case. We headed out with new combos... Caitlin and me on the Tank, and Alison on the triplet. Pretty quickly I realised that Cait wasn't just a pretty face.. (or just a pain in the bum - trust me, most days I feel like strangling her at least once.) She had learnt a lot from riding stoker to Marc... , had good 'stoker intuition' and was giving me instructions on how to get into a rhythm! And it certainly evened out the ledger... Marc was struggling a bit more with Alison, who, to be fair, still has to get used to the way he rides. Plus she also tends to be more erratic with her riding... either full on turbo, or clocking off! Caitlin, meantime, has the benefit of age (maturity?) and the fact that she has never ridden enough solo to get used to doing her own 'thang'.. unlike Alison who has clocked up 387 km on her own bike, riding to and from school, since she got her bike computer last christmas!


I suggested to Caitlin that she might have to do these next two rides with me... we'll be even faster if she's not taking photos as we ride along!



Might be harder for Marc, (the CoMotion didn't seem quite so fast!) .. but at least I won't be left behind!

We only managed just about 20km, doing 2 circuits of the same route... but it's better than nothing. Listen to us... "ONLY 20km" !!!

Twice during the weekend's rides, the CoMotion had two near misses, which is pretty damn scary. On Saturday, we were barely a block from home, when a car just about sailed out of a side street into the triplet. Both Marc, and I following on behind, could see that he looked right, past both of us... a road train of bikes, and was about to sail on out till Marc yelled. At least he had the grace to acknowledge the near miss as he passed us... and it was a reminder of the importance of making eye contact with drivers, so that you know they know you are there.

On Sunday, just whizzing around the local streets, a guy picked up a big chair or something out of the back of his ute, and just stepped out into the street without even looking, only a few metres from Marc. I suppose he expected that he would have heard a car, and wasn't expecting a triplet bike in stealth mode. Again Marc yelled, and the guy jumped back just in time. Could have been nasty.. never mind the injuries to the people.. it'd be impossible to replace any bent bike parts in a hurry.

Anyway, back home, and Marc was back out in the carport tinkering on the trailer. No rest for this boy over the next week or so... It's tough being the bike mechanic and general handyman and resident technical expert.

An early morning ride.

.. and on a weekday too!

Marc will confirm this - I am so not a morning person. I normally struggle to get up at 7am. But I suppose I make an exception for bike rides. [Yes indeed.. how many early mornings on the Big Ride?!] But basically, if it's suggested, I'm not really game to say no! Can't be a party pooper.

We made arrangements to meet a bike riding friend to do the ride down the highway again.
Despite being half an hour earlier than the other Sunday we did it, the highway was, of course, much busier, which freaked me out a bit. Still, we had a good ride... think I did better on the 3km ride up through the banana plantations this time. Marc said he could feel the 'after burners' kicking in a couple of times. Perhaps a few of my little rides helped. [*Note to self - continue solo ride training, there's a good girl]

45km, 1 hour, 45 mins, average speed 26.1 kph, max speed 69 kph. (yee ha!) With a tail wind back along the highway, Marc reckoned we were doing around 40 kph. Home by 8am; Zoe was only just getting up, and the other two were still asleep!

Riding the Santana is a real hoot!

[Oh yes, the magpie factor! We'd just passed the school, and I said to Marc, "Phew, no magpies today". Oops, spoke too soon. We got swooped a couple of times, but at least the tandem moves faster than my MTB. Needless to say, though, the return trip was playing on my mind. By unspoken agreement our rate increased as we approached the maggie zone. Increased? I was pedalling as hard as I could. Hah! .. too slow this time Maggie. ]

Locked in...

We decided, what the hell, what's a thousand kilometre drive, twice, only a fortnight apart. We are going to the Sydney Spring Cycle on the 22nd October. The Gong Ride is only 2 weekends later.

We figured we should test drive the triplet on the 50km route before embarking on the 90km Gong route. (Plus there are some people from the Big Ride that we'd like to meet up with on the Spring Cycle.)

And we are a bit crazy.

So then come the logistics!

We decided, in the end, to stay at Wollongong the night before and after the Gong ride. We discussed many variations, including staying in Sydney the night before, but as Marc will have to catch the train back to pick up the car, (unless we can find someone willing to drive the car down for us, and make their own way back) we would have needed to pack the panniers up with clothes to change into, ra, ra, ra.

Accommodation for 2 nights starts getting expensive, particularly when you have 3 kids. Only people with 3 or more kids would know what it's like to find that most 'family' accommodation only accounts for 2 children. (Mr Costello should consider that when he urges families to have 'one for the country').

When a cabin at the caravan park was going to cost us $135 a night (for a cabin that takes 5 or 6) as opposed to $85 (for a cabin that only takes 4 people) we decided in the end (after revisiting the 'stay in Sydney Saturday night option') that if we could camp on the Big Ride, we could manage to camp for two nights in a holiday park resort.

Fingers crossed it doesn't rain, eh.

We have this u-beaut canvas touring tent now, which we bought so we can start doing some serious touring/camping trips with the (finally acquired) 4WD. Problem is, we haven't yet sorted roof racks for carrying bikes on the landcruiser, and we won't have the time to sort that in the next couple of weeks. (There will also be a height issue involved in getting tandems onto the top of a landcruiser!!) For now the tent touring and the bike touring won't mix, but that probably won't stop Marc working on it.

So it's the old faithful Commodore again for these two bike adventures, and so we have a space issue with the canvas tent (plus all the bike gear). Back to using the two domes we took on the Big Ride. At least we are flexible!

The kids won't mind if the trade-off is getting to go SWIMMING after the Ride (and, indeed, the afternoon before!)


That weekend's sleep sorted. Next is to hassle some relos for somewhere to sleep before the Spring Cycle. And sweet talking my Dad to do the car shuffle for us like he did last year.

Things are just that bit more complex when you're carting round tandems!

And exactly how are we going to transport the triplet? Lucky it's a convertible... plan is take out the middle section, put it on the mack rack (where the trailer bike used to travel).. make the triplet into a tandem, and carry on top as before. Easy. (Just trying not to think about the time we will have to get up on the morning of each ride so as to stick it all back together before starting off!)

Road test for everyone...

Monday afternoon after more twiddling.




And you're not seeing the one of me on it... till I lose about 10 kg. I am resigned to the fact that it might be some time before I end up getting a seat on it on any long distance ride.

Still a few things to fix up on it.. a few issues to decide. Thinking we might put Zoe in the middle. Still have to fix the front brake. Marc wants to replace the cable ends.. and a chain. More stuff that wasn't done properly in Lithuania.

Oh yeah, apparently Co-Motion do supply instructions.. and a CD... but no sign of them.

Road test time...

Yesterday afternoon (just before we were due to go out) he got it ready for a quick road test.


No, it's not got a great turning circle! - but hey, you can't have everything!

Pedals now required for the back two.. (plus a shopping list to be made of 3 new sets.) Meantime will have to borrow from our other bikes.

Plan today is for us all to go riding... short straws to be drawn for who gets to go with Mum on the other tandem.. or rather, one of the other tandems.

Pity I'm not quite confident enough to captain the Santana... With zilch experience in riding a single road bike, and not being comfortable with the current gear shift set up, for now I'm happy with my stoker status on the back of this one.


Marc intends to change the gear shift set up. Just something else on the list!

What instructions?!

Had a Special Request from a certain friend, to show blow by blow photos of the triplet as it is assembled. So E. This is for you. (Would have done it anyway, but I like to make people feel special!)

No, there weren't any instructions! (Foreign language or otherwise!) I suppose the US company that shipped the bike to Lithuania for this beer company competition assumed that someone would know what they were doing when they put it together.
Marc discovered during the dismantling process, that the Lithuanian bike shop that had been called upon to help this guy put it together didn't really know what they were doing and had made a few mistakes. Lucky it never got ridden anywhere!

Anyway... Saturday 30th September:

Marc arrives home with the precious cargo. Barely time for the 'welcome home' hugs and kisses - he was straight into it (in between, as you can see from the streamers out front) watching the Swans lose the AFL grand final by one point... *sobs*


The wheels went in one half of the case... he even had to let tyres down to fit them in! (The case, incidentally, was one a mate at work was about to take to Vinnies (full of old clothes). The clasps were broken, but it was certainly useable, especially as Marc intended to tape it shut anyway.)


Tubing in the other half.. (and at KL he had to repack it with the few extra clothes he had taken for work.)


And the frame, and seats, and more bits, were in the carton... complete with screwed up Russian language newspaper (some of the pages raising Marc's eyebrows because of some rather raunchy photos - think Page 3 girl but more so). Sergej, the guy he was buying it from, helped him. They managed most of this without an interpreter - as Sergej's wife's friend (who had been helping out a lot with interpreting and translating leading up to this moment) had to go back to work. They did pretty well - despite the fact that Marc came away thinking Sergej had never seen electricians tape before - when it turns out he actually just wanted to know what it was called in English! Doh!

Hmmm.. looks like it could make a bike...







By dusk, he pretty much had it all together.. just waiting for daylight on Sunday (and getting it back out of the shed) to take a decent photo. Marc is on a mission this morning to get a couple of new cable connectors (the dude in the bike shop over there hadn't assembled the 'travel agent' correctly (info for all you bike geeks out there)... and so when done properly, the cable came up short. So we weren't keen on taking it for a spin with only the front brake 'sort of' working.

Also missing is one little spring that went 'boing' off some cable and got lost in the grass. And he needed to get a bigger allen key for tightening up some other part... (Techo talk from Tracey here: could be revised when He proof reads this!..)

More photos to come today!!

Rate your fear factor..

Bloody magpies!

I rode to my hairdresser friend's place today (for a haircut). She's maybe about 4km from here. Nice day, plus it was in line with the pact I made to myself about choosing to ride instead of drive where possible.

The route took me by the school, and, silly me, I'd forgotten about the current Magpie Factor. Alison has been complaining about it for a few weeks but, heartless mother that I am, I've tended to dismiss it a bit. "Make a choice then Alison.. either ride to school and cope with the mapgpies swooping, or catch the bus for the duration of magpie swooping season. It will probably be nearly over by next term, anyway." Despite having actually been pecked once (on the helmet), she keeps opting for magpies over bus, and makes elaborate plans to meet up with other kids who walk or ride, so they can run the gauntlet of the magpies together. And they devise strategies, like holding a stick up on top of their heads. (I have no idea why that helps, but apparently it does.) The territory is right on the boundary of the school, and extends into school, and, as I discovered, a few hundred metres up the road as well. I gather the magpies have been razzed up a bit too, by stupid boys (being boys) throwing rocks at them, so they are possibly even more evangelical about protecting their nests than they might normally be.

I was past the school gate, and the stand of trees, when suddenly I heard flapping, and felt the swoop. I kept pedalling, waving one hand above my head, as I weaved crazily over the road (much to the amusement of passing motorists I daresay - I bet they wished they had a video camera - potential Australia's Funniest Home Video material (though only if I'd crashed I guess.) With the sun behind me, I could see the shadow of my head, and the shadow of the bird, and it was pretty determined I'll give it that. And it looked pretty close too! I didn't think it could really get at my head, but, hey, I didn't really want it to peck my good helmet either.

It's a bit hard to then contemplate returning via the same place. Chicken? Who me? Yup. I did have an alternative though, but not an attractive option. I could take the long way home, going out on the highway for a few km, in the 100km/hr section that I've sworn not to do, because of a) the speed of the passing traffic, and b) the narrowness of the shoulder on that section of highway.

Hmmm.. Magpies vs Pacific Hwy traffic. Swooping magpies? Swooshing trucks. Decisions. Decisions.

I'll take the highway.

It wasn't as bad as I expected... though fortune favoured brave old me this time because I wasn't passed by a B-double on the narrowest bit of shoulder. Glad I was on the MTB because I caught a few of those reflectors, and the shoulder was pretty rough and gravelly.

It extended my ride to 10.5 km, which still isn't terrific, but it was 35 mins of riding time - certainly better than nothing.

[And, yes, I'm going to post about every bloody kilometre that I manage to drag my butt over, because I want it all credited to the 'Tracey is working on her bike riding AND general exercise' ledger.']

Not even worthy of being called training...

.. but I did go for a ride... to pick up some tomatoes from a local tomato stall. And dropped in on a friend for a coffee (and a much needed chat about being the parent of a teenager..)

Funny how your perspectives on things change. Now anything under 10km .. (anything under 20km in fact!) doesn't seem like it's a worthwhile ride.

Didn't quite chalk up 7km in all. To be fair I was going to go further (to another fruit stall!).. but it rained.. so I waited for a break in the rain.. and .. yeah, well.

But I did 'put in' up a few small hills.. and I can feel it in my legs. So it's got to be better than not going out at all.

Feel like a bit of a gig getting dressed up in my bike clothes for 6 km, but they are just the most comfortable thing to ride in. And a good thing to ride in if you get a bit wet.

Tomorrow I'll go further, I promise!

Countdown is on.. 3 more sleeps till Marc and the Goodies machine get home. Big question is whether it will be assembled by Sunday!

[I spent the time I was riding trying to come up with an idea for getting like-minded other mums (or dads I guess) around here together to get active... bike riding, walking.. whatever. More pipe dreams...]

Triplet in Transit

It's a packing marvel!


And this stuff went in hand luggage: stems, seatpoles, derailleurs, headsets, brakes..


Countdown till he gets it home: 7 days. Estimated time to reassemble: at least one day.

'My Precious... my Precious..'

Marc got back to KL ok with his precious bike cargo. Vilnius -> Helsinki -> Hong Kong -> KL. Bit of an epic. It will be interesting to see how it is packed... he put a lot of thought and research into how to do it, (never mind the flights and connections) and it all worked out, with only a couple of minor changes. He has a few bits and pieces in his hand luggage as well, and as it went through the x-ray machine as one of the airports he did get asked "What on earth are those things?". Bike parts. They shrugged and let him go.

He was also asked what was in the carton. "My bike frame". They scanned it, and probably wondered what the hell kind of bike it was, because (I think - he can correct me on technicalities if I'm wrong) it was just the back end of the triplet - so it can't have looked much like a normal bike. No problems though.

So he has to endure another week of it sitting packaged up in the apartment in KL, when he is just busting to be able to put it together and take it for a spin. I have this mental image of him sitting there, Gollum-like, stroking the case and muttering 'My Precious.. my precious' (Of course he is too pragmatic for that, but why let facts get in the way of a good analogy.)

The whole thing still feels kind of surreal and bizarre. It is going to give the bike that extra character... and judging from the weekend he had there, we might well continue the Lithuanian connection by keeping in touch with the guy he bought it from. Marc had dinner with him and his family, and spent the Sunday doing some sightseeing. We are going to send something Aussie over for his young kid, and send him some photos of us riding it.

Back to Basics

One of the downsides of having a trail-a-bike is that Zoe (who is almost 8) has managed to avoid riding her own bike for quite a while. She's never been that keen, to be perfectly honest. Not a natural daredevil. Anything new or different has had to be introduced very carefully, and any physical challenge, or anything involving adrenalin, has required advance notice, psyching up, and gradually getting her to realise that it is a) possible, and b) either a bit of a hoot, or it gives you a sense of accomplishment!

Riding in the bike seat used to scare her, particularly if she wasn't psyched up for it. I learned to call ahead to preschool to prepare her if I'd decided to come and pick her up on the bike, after much screaming and tantrumming when I once turned up on the bike as a surprise. (With no alternative to getting her home, how bad do you feel physically strapping your child in to a bike seat, and setting off down the hill with her screaming her head off!)

Teaching her to ride without trainer wheels was an excruciating process. We'd been spoilt with the other two who only needed a few sessions on a deserted netball court to get the hang of it. (Alison needed only the one.) All of that was a Daddy job, as my back would never have coped with the bent-over running-alongside-bike action required. I remember one time them coming home in a right old state after a clash of wills, and Zoe refusing to try what she had already accomplished earlier.

She finally could do it, but then avoided riding. (Most kids find the release from their trainer wheels their finding of freedom; not so our Zoe!) Meantime we went the trail-a-bike option so we didn't have to wait till she was 13 or so to join us on family rides!

She outgrew the 16 inch wheel bike throughout this period of procrastination, and so the move onto Cait's old 24 inch bike has been a quantum leap for her. and fraught with all her anxieties.(Admittedly the others were a teeny bit older when they were bought those bikes new - but I also think Zoe has had an earlier growth spurt than they did. Certainly she was way too tall for the old bike, and it was particularly an issue because she couldn't/wouldn't stand up on the pedals (and still can't.) We have tried to get her out on it, because it is practice, practice, practice she needs, but all the other riding has taken priority a bit, and to be frank, it's a very frustrating process.

Today I decided it was time to revisit this. Earlier I declared that today was riding day. (Rule 1. Give advance warning.) Surprisingly she didn't argue when I gave the 'shoes on' order. And out we went (after a tyre pumping session that Daddy would have been pleased to see.)

And, oh boy, it had been too long. The old 'one step forward, two steps back'. Plans of practising the route to school were quickly shelved, and it was back to getting used to starting off again...

We clocked up around 5 km in the end, just going round the local streets. I wish somebody could invent a patience pill. While she is not a natural on the bike, I am not a natural at being patient and encouraging! To be brutally honest, you've never seen a kid more awkward at handling her bike - getting the pedals in the 'right' position to start, stumbling around half tripping if she had to pick the bike up after 'overbalancing' - ah poor Zoe. I did only get cross once.. and I did get better with her, especially when we "lost" the other two, who were basically just a distraction she didn't need.

We spent some time trying to explain the gear changes for her. Seems a bit silly, when we realised more than a year after Alison got her bike that she'd left the gear stuck on one ring, and just stood on the pedals when she needed to go up hill! No way in the world is Zoe going to stand on the pedals.. not yet.. so I figure she needs the assistance of the gears to get up and down the 'inclines' we might come across.

She did do better by the end. Lesson for Mum - she is going to have to be taken out way way WAY more often.

I am not sure how to teach her how to stand on the pedals. Marc and I disagree on the merits of riding on grass. Today I took her across the park, because I thought the different surface might help. (Maybe spongier grass might stand in for a 'hill'.)

I will have to content myself with the knowledge that some parents struggle through things like the process of getting their kids to read or write, and Zoe just took to that like a duck to water. And who am I to talk. Here I am in a tizz about a 7 year old's bike riding, and I never got a bike, or learnt to ride one, till I was 12 !!! How times have changed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Text from Marc 10.30 this evening (3.30 pm Lithuania time) - while I was editing this post! - Bike is packed. She's a beauty. Looks like he has a day of sight seeing in Vilnius tomorrow. I had never heard of Vilnius before this!!

A bit of a ride at least.

Chalk up 12 km to my "time in the saddle" register, and a big tick for actually doing what I promised myself. Only 6km/22 minutes to get to lunch, and the virtuous feeling of having done so outweighed the 'feel like a dag in my bike shorts and shoes' look. Proved to myself I could use the bike as transport.

As I left the tavern, there was a short uphill bit, and I overtook a bloke riding up himself. "G'day" I said, and zoomed past him, but, as I slowed near the top (pretty typical of me), he caught me, and we exchanged a few words. He managed to tell me that he probably shouldn't be riding because he has Muscular Dystrophy! Whoa. (But his car was out of action.) Wasn't sure what to think! To be cheesed that I'd been caught by by a guy with MD? Or just impressed that he was out there on the bike himself.

Either way, it emphasised the camaraderie bike riders tend to feel.

And I felt good. Like I'd done some exercise! Funny that. I backed that up with my usual one hour adult swimming squad at 5.30, and am now hyped up on endorphins and making plans on fitting in a bout of exercise after a planned slothful morning! (I do like a good sleep in!)

Grand plan for tomorrow is to get Zoe out on her own bike and chalking up some solo kms herself. She has managed to avoid it because she is scared. Not a natural at bike riding like her older sisters, she got spoilt when we bought the trail-a-bike, and has used it as a 'get out of riding my own bike' card. I have to be in a very good - in fact, excellent - mood to deal with her procrastinations. Fingers crossed I manage that tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~
Marc should be arriving in Vilnius, Lithuania, soon. Fingers crossed that little adventure works out as well.

Training rides... and triplets!

I have all the best intentions in the world, but unless I have someone to lead me by the nose, I don't tend to get out riding like I should. I decreed (to myself.. and promised Marc I would) that I was going to use my single (mountain) bike to 'just get around'.. Ride to Woopi... ride to the school... whatever. The whole notion of getting around by bike rather than car appeals to me.. despite the lack of suitable bike paths around here. Only problem is I haven't got around to it.

Tomorrow is the test, if a planned lunch date at the Seaview Tavern at Woopi is happening as proposed, and hopefully it will enthuse me! It is only about a 12 km return ride from home. Only problem is the issue of getting around in bike gear once I get there. (And, yes, to the uninitiated.. it is absolutely more comfortable to wear!).

I bought (with some birthday money) a pair of Undinix, but they weren't that comfortable under what are pretty much the only pair of shorts that fit me comfortably at the moment. Perhaps if I ride more, lose more weight.. then they will work.

The other issue with riding around solo is that it is a hard thing, mentally, to slog away along the road on a mountain bike. Perhaps our purchases of mountain bikes (rather than hybrids) a few years back weren't that sensible.. but back then we hadn't imagined we'd be riding tandems in 9 day long BIG rides! There are the forest roads beckoning as well, only a few kilometres away from here - just not something we can all do together just yet, with Zoe's solo riding still at a very elementary stage, and the others' bikes being more hybrid than 'mountain' and probably not so good on dirt. And Marc and I haven't made the time (yet)to do that without the kids. I have one bike riding friend who is prepared to (and capable of) venturing onto dirt, but she has even younger children babysitting issues and had to cancel this week. Maybe next week.

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, if all goes well this weekend, we will own a triplet.



It is a Co-motion Periscope Trident Convertible.
(On that link, scroll down to see the convertible).

There was one for sale on eBay. In Lithuania. Didn't bid, but made contact with seller. It passed in.. he agreed to sell to us. Brand new, never ridden.. he won it in a raffle/lottery. *[Edited 6/10. Actually it was a competition run by a Lithuanian beer company - the sort where you have to collect coupons and send them in to enter.. this guy likes his beer, although the particular brand turned out not to be his favourite!] Marc made contact with Co-Motion, and, yes, indeed, they know that bike, and sent it to Lithuania.

After the freighting experience from the US, plus knowing that this guy knew nothing about packaging up a bike, Marc worked out that it would actually cost less for him to make a 'side trip' to Europe from KL (while he was there for work) using FF points, plus a bit more. He has allowed the weekend in Vilnius to dismantle it enough to package up.. He left here with a huge suitcase that happened to be hanging around work!, and cardboard packaging. And having studied up on how to take this and that off it!

He is going through Helsinki.. and we just happen to have friends who are living there for a year! So they will meet him and keep him entertained on Monday while he happens to have a long stopover on his way back.

And then we have to wait till around the 29th for him to get back from his work stint in KL.

To be honest, I'm a bit reticent about writing this here, because there will be people (particularly family) who will think we have really gone bananas with this.

But we rationalised it as follows:
Do we want a triplet? Yes - if we are going to continue riding as a family. Zoe has just about outgrown the trailer bike.
But the price!! Well.. this one is a couple of thousand cheaper than buying from the States, with freight or retrieval costs factored in for both. Yes, it's a few thousand.. but hell, some people spend thousands and thousands more than we do on buying new cars. (We don't.) And.. you only live once. Life is short.. so a few thousand for what will be a sensational family bike... the price we pay for having 3 children and wanting to do this sort of crazy, family bonding, challenging type stuff!