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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

Getting psyched up to ride again!

We have had a bit of a lay off with the bike riding, but things are starting to happen again. Time to resurrect the blog, I thought.

Biggest news since the Big Ride is that we have been 'accumulating' more tandems! I said to Marc that perhaps he could give up his job, and we could import tandems and tandem-associated bike paraphernalia from the US. I was only half joking!

Sadly, there is really not much happening with tandems in Australia - well not compared with in the US - and thus, not much choice, particularly, once you have read up on tandem quality, etc, and decide that you'd really like to buy a good one. (I can't claim the researching guernsey here.. that is all Marc's cup of tea! - as is the tandem "shopping".)

A few months back he saw a Santana road tandem on eBay - in the US. To cut a long story short, he got it. It wasn't without its hassles, particularly when the guy selling it put up out of date information about the cost of freighting it to Australia.

In the end, and after a few bordering-on-heated email exchanges, Marc organised it all from this end. The freight itself didn't cost that much.. it was the taxes at this end that bumped up the end price.

But, with a drive up to Brisbane to collect it, we are now the proud owners of a Santana... *said almost in reverent, hushed tones*.

Of course, noone in Australia really has any clue as to its quality!

It is also quite a few years old, so might be considered a bit of an antique by serious Santana tandemers in the US, but to us it is magic on wheels.

We have only actually ridden it any distance twice.

When we headed down to Newcastle in July (for netball, and family commitments) I ended up having to put it on the roof of the car myself - as it turned out Marc had to work down that away, so it made more sense for him to meet us there. Between the weather, and netball watching and removalist/unpacking duties, we were able to take it for a 30km spin around Swansea.

And 2 weekends ago, we dragged our sorry backsides out of bed at 6.00 am on a Sunday morning (this is akin to a miracle for me..) - met up with a road bike riding friend, and did a 44km return ride down the highway, up through some banana farms, and back along a more 'country' road (and a bit more highway.) She hummed along on the flat, and was positively awesome down the hills. As with any tandem, it's a bit tougher up the hills, but we did ok.

Unfortunately I didn't think to take the camera on either ride, which is a bit slacko of me!

We have yet to master me being able to stand.. I am not used to the narrow handlebars.. having never really ever ridden a road bike in my life!

Anyway...

more about that later, and I will try to sort out a photo to post here... with more updates on yet another tandem purchase, and our plans to do the Sydney to Gong ride on the first weekend in November!