Machka 

Given that it is American Thanksgiving in the US, and that several people here live in the US ...

Are any of you cycling anywhere interesting this weekend?

Machka 

Here! On Monday!! First ride in about 2 weeks ... starting to recover from surgery and biopsy.

enigmaT120

Saturday I rode my Rocky Mountain up the logging roads, in a loop that I scouted out last summer. I had gone right by a half square mile parcel of BLM old growth forest, but didn't know it at the time. My new BLM paper map shows it as an AEC something. After I got there I clambered around in the woods and brush. There were some very large trees, but not as many as the better known old growth patches. There was a much wider than usual variety of trees and shrubs. People try to say deer and elk don't use mature forests, but I found lots of "sign" and a couple of nice bedding patches. The next time I go I'll carry a pair of coveralls in my other pannier and wear shorts for my ride, as my light weight long pants were not comfortable in the Oregon Grape. Also a fanny pack, as it was difficult to scramble around with my tablet in one hand.

I finally figured out how to map a track on my mapping and gps program. Of course I forgot to turn it on until I was already a mile away from home!

20150124_115636 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

20150124_115721 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

Edge of the BLM parcel:
20150124_133027 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

20150124_133419 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

20150124_135132 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

Holly in the midst of the stand. An invasive non-native species:
20150124_134355 by enigmat1201, on Flickr

Machka 

Beautiful area enigma.

Machka 

This is a long weekend for us here in Australia ... Labour Day weekend. It's also my birthday weekend. Nice how that works out!


Saturday -- 60.87 km in 3 hours and 20 min of cycling time.

We had a fairly relaxed morning, and after a little trouble with a tire, set off on our ride. Some wind, a few minor hills, mostly overcast with a few rays of sunshine ... and mostly beautifully quite country roads. Just lovely!

I had estimated 5 hours for the trip, given how slow I have become. So I was pleasantly surprised when we finished the ride so quickly.

Could be the relatively flat terrain ... could be increased fitness ... but it might have been our titanium bicycles which we haven't ridden in a while. They certainly are sprightly compared with our touring bicycles.

And then ... dinner at a (rare for this part of the world) Mexican restaurant + Evita, the musical.

Machka 

Sunday -- The birthday weekend continued with a 37.37 km ride on our tandem. We were hoping to go further, but the winds blowing about 50 km/h were a bit daunting ... as was my saddle situation. My Brooks on my titanium was giving me some issues yesterday for reasons I don't quite understand (it used to be comfortable!) and I'm trying to break in a new Brooks on the tandem. The result ... Ow. So we cut the route short and called it a day at 37.37 km.


Then we drove to a wetlands area and did a 4 km walk. There weren't too many birds about ... I think most of them were hiding from the wind.


And to cap the day off ... we went to the Speedway. The main event was the Sprintcar finals -- State Championships, but there was a whole lot of good racing all evening long.

enigmaT120

How do you decide who sits in front with tandems? Should it be the shorter person so he or she can see where they are going?

Machka 

Usually the person in front is the person with good upper body strength ... usually the larger person. But different couples do it a different ways.

With us, Rowan is in front and I'm in the back. Because of certain shoulder injuries, I have limited upper body strength.

Machka 

Saturday -- 82.67 km!! That's the longest ride we've done since November 2.


We drove to a small village south of where we live, and started the ride from there. The route followed the coast so we had views of the bays all along the way. The route was also a bit lumpy ... lots of up and down at the beginning, then a little flatter, a bit climb just before the halfway point, and the opposite on the way back.


Our first stop was beside one bay where we watched gannets dive for fish. They're amazing to watch!


There was a scenic outlook stop a little further on. And then, we stopped for lunch at the turn-around point.


Last October we visited Cygnet on a 100K ride, and stopped at a fascinating cafe/bakery which housed all sorts of memorabilia, including a collection of cycling memorabilia. Sadly and unfortunately, that cafe/bakery had a bad fire and is now closed. As we cycled into town, we noticed that several other places were closed. Not for the same reason ... they were just, mysteriously, closed at 2:30 pm on a Saturday.


But one place was open ... and it was really good! The panninis were delicious and filling. And the raspberry cheesecake was one of the best we've had in a long time. In addition, the staff were great ... so quick and cheerful. At one point a group of them broke into song ... Sisters from White Christmas!
The Lotus Eaters Cafe - Cygnet, Tasmania


And then we headed back, trying to make it before night fall. Fortunately we had a tailwind on the way back which helped us increase our average speed on the return trip. Or maybe it was that cheesecake!!




When we started the ride, it was about 12C, the high for the day was about 15C, and it dropped back to about 12C by the end of the ride. Somewhat overcast, just a few drops of rain here and there, and winds gusting to about 28 km/h.

Jim from Boston

Where are you cycling ... for fun ... this weekend?

Believe it or not, for fun I’m doing my usual round trip commute to work this Saturday, at my convenience. Why is this fun?

Well, working on Saturday, at the job I like, allows me to get things done expeditiously without interruption, so that Monday morning is not such a hassle. The cycling fun part is I do the round trip, whereas during the week I ride in but take the train home at night because I finish after dark. After a serious nighttime accident, I had to promise family and friends I would not commute in the evening.

Even more so at this time of year, I have finally started riding the carbon fiber bike after three months on the heavy duty beater. As I posted after my first ride last weekend, similar to today,

Lest you think I’m a being a workaholic drudge, tonight my wife and I are going dining and dancing, and a two-part 30 mile ride is a perfect way to get in the mood.

Long Saturday Rides (greater than 40 miles) start up again in about two weeks

Machka 

This is the elevation profile of our route ...

Redhatter

I tend to do my major exploration in the cooler months. Too stinking hot in summer… although once I get moving I find it not too bad, I find I'm very lethargic in hot weather and this limits how much I feel like cycling.

I'll need to buy bits for my trailer soon since the design is starting to coalesce into something real as bits turn up. So that'll probably be one weekend on the bike with the trailer in tow.

Do share, I'm interested in good routes across the Queensland/NSW border. The routes I know of:

• Pacific highway: I think there's a bike lane there but I'm not fussed on the high-volume of traffic at 110km/hr
• Mt. Lindesay highway: Very Windy. While it's flat, the chances of a car speeding round a corner and not seeing me are high.
• Lions Road: Decent size hills but looks doable.
• The Head Road / Spring Creek Road: Again hilly but looks doable.
• Cunningham Highway: Trucks!!! EEEK!!!!

Out of those, The Head road and Lions Road are looking like the two most likely.

(Edit: And yes, I note I've just replied to a post from 2008… if others have some comments about the topic at hand though feel free to jump in.)

Machka 

This weekend actually looks promising! Almost vaguely spring-like. So we're hoping to get in a couple rides in places we haven't ridden recently ... or in one case, not at all before. We'll be exploring.

What about you? We might not be able to take car-free holidays every weekend, but at least we can get out and enjoy our own area.

Machka 

This past weekend we took on a mtn bike trail. Note that I'm not a mtn biker, so there were skills involved which I'm very much a novice at. In other words, I did some walking.

12.95 km on a local "rail trail" of sorts. They pulled up the track by 1934 and I think the remaining trail just sat there for quite a few years after that before they finally made a mtn bike track out of it.

Kaoota Tramway | Greater Hobart Trails

It starts with a steep climb from where you park your car to the actual start of the track, but once you're on the track, the grade is not bad. The trail is in fairly decent conditions but does require a person to pay attention ... there are rocky bits and muddy bits, and 101 small tree branches to lodge themselves in a rear wheel.

And then the descent! I was a bit apprehensive, but it was actually kind of fun. Cold but fun.

Roody

This thread was started seven years ago. How many times have you bumped it Machka? I'm seeing around four times so far. Is there no chance of a decent burial?

Machka 

Be happy, Roody ... just ... relax and be happy. OK?

Did you cycle somewhere just for fun this weekend? Or maybe one weekend prior to your health issue? Nothing transportational or utility, just for fun? Because we car-light folks do indeed cycle for fun sometimes.

Roody

FYI--not that I owe you an explanation--over my cycling career, ALL of the riding I did was fun--whether it was for pragmatic ends (commuting, errands, etc.) or purely recreational/leisure riding. You say carlight people enjoy their riding, but I believe that is true for carfree people also, at least for myself and many others who post here. Even in the many years I was totally carfree, the majority of my pedaling miles were for fun with no utility/transportation purpose whatsoever. And that was on weekdays as well as on weekends.

It was certainly a great sorrow to have to end that fun due to health problems.

But I'm now walking for about two hours a day. I'm getting a lot of fun out of that--even when I'm walking to a store or a doctor's appointment. It's funny, but, while walking I've discovered things about my community that I never noticed even on a bike. For example, there is a huge parklike highrise/townhomes complex just a few blocks from home. I've heard people talk about it; I guess I never noticed it or saw it because no roads go through it, so it's more or less hidden from cars, bikes, or buses using the streets. But it's very handy to walk through and makes a great shady shortcut when I'm going downtown.

I've discovered" some of the great architecture in my community, which I don't notice as much when I'm riding in a bus or bike. I noticed a couple more old brick houses that were evidently designed by our greatest architect of the 19th century, Darius Moon. I've also admired a lot of the big trees in my own neighborhood and throughout the city. It's easy to see that this city was settled in a huge forest only 157 years ago. Adding to the fun of my walks is a sense that they're really contributing to my health and sense of well-being. There's a good chance that I'll be returning to work in a few days, and I plan to be back on the bike within the next six to eight months.

Thanks for inquiring, Machka, and I'm sure your message--which sounded rather taunting on first read--was written out of genuine concern. I'm glad that you can understand that my critique of zombie threads isn't based on any lack of fun in my life, and certainly not based on any hard feelings toward you. I just don't like them as much as I like new threads that might feel more welcoming to new members of LCF.

But if there's one thing I could say to all carfree/carlight people, it's have fun with it! Once you get the logistics figured out, it's all gravy. Over a lifetime of being mostly carfree or carlight, I can attest that it's a lot more fun than driving--and that goes for walking and buses and expecially bicycling!

[hr][/hr]

Machka 

Saturday -- Rowan and I cycled 42 km in an area we haven't cycled in a while. Just a few weeks ago, we cycled in the start/finish area, but this time, we headed another direction.

The ride was an interesting mix of flat and climbing with 311 metres of climbing. The main hill had a 16% grade, and the last time I tackled it, I struggled a lot. I was dying. So much so, we haven't returned to this route in about a year. But today it was OK. Sure I was in the granny, but I made it up without much in the way of huffing and puffing or back pain (thank goodness).

The weather was also perfect ... sunshine, not much wind, and 19C.

And just as we returned to the start area, we cycled through a suburb full of smells of spring flowers and BBQs.

Roody

Hurray!!! Looking good Machka!!! Keep up the great work!!! I really do know how hard it is, and very rewarding also.

Machka 

Thanks Roody ... we're hoping to do some randonneuring again this year (but more than last year) so we're working on building up the strength and speed for that.

Machka 

And then on Sunday ...

Sunday -- Rowan and I started the day by going to the movies and watching Pan.
Rowan's review: Rowan's Pan Review

Then we did a 27.6 km ride on the Cycleway.

We headed out, into the wind and generally up hill. That was a little bit of a slog but we kept up a reasonable pace. Then we reached the turnaround point, had a quick bite to eat and set off with a welcome bit of a tailwind.

It wasn't long before we were passed by three roadies, and I decided to pick up the pace a bit and keep them in sight. I didn't want to wheelsuck or get involved in their paceline or anything, just wanted to see if I could keep pace with them at a bit of a distance. And we did! We hung with them most of the way back. They probably weren't going flat out or anything, it was probably a fairly relaxed ride for them, but they were definitely moving faster than I normally do. Since we were on the Cycleway, there were several places where we all had to slow down to cross a road, so the return trip turned into intervals ... slowing to cross the road, riding hard to the next intersection, slowing again, riding hard again ... good workout!!

Machka 

Machka 

Sunday -- 24.8 km ride up the Pipeline Track. It was really nice up there ... away from cars, not too many people, some great views.

The temp reached 15C, and it was quite comfortable going up, but a little chilly coming down. Still, a very enjoyable ride.


Pipeline Track

Machka 

Saturday -- a really nice 40.2 km ride up the cycleway and beyond. We had a bit of a tailwind on the way out so we kept up a good pace, and then it was into the headwind on the way back, but we pushed it a bit to keep the speed up as much as we could and get a good workout. I needed to burn off those waffles!!

And then I did some core work and weights when I got home.

Redhatter

Not going anywhere this weekend, but next Sunday will be the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride.

Sadly though, the only cycling I'll get in will be riding to and from the Bicycle Queensland office: there was the possibility that I might've been "tail end Charlie", but they need someone to sit in the back seat of the control vehicle and operate the "mobile base" co-ordinating all the safety message traffic as no one else offered to do that.

Still, did it last year, and from all reports I seemed to be doing a good job of it. Hence I've been handed the job this year.