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.

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.

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. ]

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!

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!