Machka 

Happy Australia Day Long Weekend!

Tell us about your cycling (and other sports) this weekend.

Machka 

Thursday 26 January -- Australia Day

Rowan and I made a somewhat spur of the moment decision to cycle a century this month. This was made a bit more difficult by the fact that Rowan is in his busy season at work ... he has been working long days and lots of days. So at the last minute, we decided to squeeze a century into Australia Day.

Today reached 23C, and was partly cloudy. That part was nice. It was also very windy. Roughly 30 km/h gusting to 60 km/h most of the day.

Our route had us riding into the wind for the first 54 km. We were planning to go further, but by the 54 km point we had enough. We also wanted to turn around and take advantage of the tailwind while there was still a tailwind. Winds here have this habit of changing direction mid-afternoon.

It was such a relief to have a strong tail wind all the way back into Hobart.

Because we had changed the route, our new plan was to cycle back out the cycleway to the end, into the wind. Fortunately the cycleway is somewhat sheltered so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Then a quick dash back into Hobart. And finally a short run out the cycleway to make up the distance ... and at long last, back to the start point.

That's our first century since our 600 km attempt in October. Not the nicest century, but it felt good to be out there cycling all day long again.


Distance: 161.9km
Elevation: 1,096m
Moving Time: 8:40:35
Elapsed Time: 9:42:08
Avg Speed: 18.7km/h
Max Speed: 50.8km/h

2manybikes

A whole day on the bike is like a mini vacation, almost free.

Machka 

It is often like a mini vacation ... this ride, however, was a bit more like work with all the wind and repetition. However it was good to get a long one in again.

Machka 

Some photos from the Australia Day ride ...


Quick pitstop



Largest cruiseship to visit Hobart

2manybikes

Did you get my link to a photo of a thyacline? Can't remember how to spell it.

Machka 

Yes thanks! I read the article ... interesting that they're almost more like a dog than a cat.

Machka 

Friday -- 5 km walk.

Saturday -- 6 km walk + 1 hour and 20 min on trainer.

kbarch

Today, just a short, pokey, flat ride on the fixed gear (18.4 miles and only 112' elevation), up for an espresso and back home. A few flurries, but nothing to be concerned about.
Tomorrow shouldn't be too much longer, but I plan to go for some hill repeats, so I should end up with at least 2k'. Maybe I'll run into some folks - today was super quiet, at least the roads I took.

ClydeTim

50 mile solo ride in some high winds today. Actually not bad once you learn to ride with the wind and not try to beat it!

Started out with a bike cleaning. Riding during the week in some light rain and debris really trashed the bike. Couldn't take my baby out like that.

woodcraft

100, almost 7k.

Late start so glad for the new blinky/mount, and the hi-vis booties while finishing at dark.

Unusual wind direction made for a fast outbound leg & some prs.

Killer ginger scone at the bakery stop.

Lots of roadkill skunks out there.

2manybikes

Saturday the 28th, 99.04 miles. Someone is going to tell me I should have made it an even 100 miles.

High temp in the afternoon was 38F. Low at about midnight was 27f. No puddles anywhere that could have been ice.
Lots of road bike rides this winter, because the road is still clean and dry. No mater how many times I repeat a ride
route there is still new things to see every time. Riding a MTB with big knobbies 60-70 miles three times, and then switching to good road bike sure makes me feel fast! I'm not.

Two thirds Fruit punch and one third water does not freeze above about 20F. That's nice. It's not as easy to hydrate when what your drinking is below freezing, and so is the air. When I stop to refill my four big bottles, almost every time a new person comes over to me and ask how far I'm going, and how it's possible. They think I must be cold. I'm not cold or uncomfortable in any way. 50 years of experimenting with cold weather clothing for two wheeled vehicles makes it easy to be comfortable now. Lots of skiing, and lots of motorcycling helps with getting the clothing correct too.
Not much different or interesting to report about this ride, except a new person asked me about the ride. My chain came off in the middle of the woods in pitch black. Not a big deal. I don't do solo centuries at night without at least two light systems and spares. Some dogs near by kept barking at me and they never got close. Must have been a house somewhere. I still have not used the dog teats that I started carrying.

It was a great, great ride. Didn't even get my hands dirty on the chain.

topslop1

Too cold need to get on the trainer tonight for an hour.

Rowan

You should have made it an even 100.

Rowan

You might also look at the last sentence in the third paragraph. A literal there had me in stitches at the image

2manybikes

Thank you. I feel much better.

2manybikes

I had to read that about five times to see it. You never know what you might need if attacked by wild dogs.

Now..........do I leave it or fix it?

Rowan

Too late... if you fix it, it's still in my quote; if you don't, everyone will read your post five times to find it!

kbarch

38 miles, 3,000+ feet and lots of folks today.

Went out to get some elevation gain by repeating Alpine, a popular hill in the park next to the river. There were a few people out, but no one looked familiar until my third trip up. A couple of guys were headed for a little dirt riding. Although I was on the Propel, with the fancy crabon wheels and 25mm tires, I tagged along. For about 500 yards once we got to the mud and rocks. They waited patiently while I caught up to them where a tree had fallen across the path, and while I'd had fun, I told them if I didn't break something, it would only be because I'm lucky, so I turned back and they went on their merry way. I returned for another run down and up Alpine before heading to The Market for a snack. I ran into a BIG group of folks I used to ride with on my way; they'd stopped to regroup at the top of State Line. Managed to chat a while with folks as the stragglers were a ways back, and then the leaders had to do a bit of strategizing.

Didn't see anyone I knew at The Market, or on the way home, but I did stop to help a damsel in distress. She'd gotten her third flat of the day and had no spare tube, so I gave her mine and helped her change it. She took off before I could put everything away, gloves back on etc. and get back rolling myself, but I hope she made it to the nearest bike shop OK: that tire was just barely holding together - huge bald patches where you could see the fibers. It felt like it was falling apart.

Things were slow at the bike shop once I got home, so along with a replacement for that tube I gave away, I got the run-down on the various TCX models and the benefits of their various features.

2manybikes

This is getting better and better. Maybe someone will use it in a sig.

seedsbelize 

85 km yesterday in heat and wind. 50 km today in COLD (under 20C), wind rain. I was super-cooled by the time I got home. No jacket.

FeltF2Tarmac

Cold and windy but I was able to get in a 21 mile ride. Tomorrow I hope to get in a 40+ mile day.

SHBR

So I was off at around noon, the weather was perfect, 20-25C with moderate winds out of the southwest. Shanghai like most big cities in China this year, has banned fireworks for Chinese New Year. So it is unusually quiet and peaceful, reminded me of Minnesota, however I am also reminded why I left over 10 years ago. I need a little bit of chaos, disorder, peace and quiet in my life, just not too much of any of these at one time. This was one of those rides where I could truly relax, traffic was nonexistent at times, and all of the motorists I did encounter were unusually polite, except for one red sedan with Yunnan plates, which did the typical pull out into traffic maneuver without looking routine which is all too common in China. I could laugh about this though, I rode around Kunming and on the countryside roads in Yunnan, and my experience tells me that most drivers from Yunnan are much safer than the typical Shanghai driver.

As I reached the outskirts, it started getting very surreal. I’ve never seen this city this empty, ever, even late at night. There is always someone mulling around, or at least driving around. Minutes would go by and there was nothing to hear other than wind noise and my tires rolling over the pavement. Apocalypse? Not quite, the shopping malls still had signs of life and most of the chain stores were still open. I stopped at one of my usual places, a Sinopec fuel station, they usually have water and a toilet, suitable for a short break. I saw what appeared to be a Mother and her teenage son waiting around for someone to pick them up, they looked like they had been waiting for quite some time. The attendants were truly bored off their gourds, all of them sitting down, with their heads focused on their phones. Usually these stations are jammed with cars, trucks, horns honking with lots of shouting, refueling can be a real hassle as everyone must wait for an attendant.

It was close to 3PM with a distance of 43km. I was debating whether to go for an overtime ride, or just stick to my original plan. I opted to head back. Cao-an Highway was quite empty and had a new layer of fresh pavement. The wind had picked up, out of the NW gusting to 30km/h. A tailwind, new pavement and no traffic, a trifecta. Normally this stretch of road is quite dangerous, as the traffic is unpredictable, and everyone tends to go as fast as possible. I’ve seen packs of road riders doing group rides on this road because of the wide shoulders and the direct route into downtown Shanghai. Not today though, not a single rider was to be found in either direction, an occasional electric scooter or motorcycle is all. The road was fantastic, easily cruising at speeds between 35-40km/h. The whole road was available, I could choose whatever lane had the smoothest line.

Made it back in record time, I was in the shower by 4pm. 70km total, no traffic, no mechanical problems, no issues whatsoever.

kbarch

Wow - if it was that quiet in the afternoon, imagine what it would have been like in the morning! Around here, weekend mornings are more popular with cyclists than afternoons, and it's nice that car traffic is lighter then.

SHBR

I usually ride at night to avoid the traffic. Right now it could be difficult to find help if there was a problem while riding in the industrial areas etc. Its the ideal environment for criminal activity, even though most of them have left for the holiday as well.

This is what Cao-an highway normally looks like.



Imagine this road with very few cars, its a bit unsettling for anyone who has spent years living in a crowded city.