Bury my bike at Wounded Knee

My bike is trying to kill me. Twice in two weeks I've been thrown over the handlebars. The first excursion was puzzling, the second simply painful.

It started with a relatively low-speed crash as I came off the bike track in Hobart after a morning spin. One moment I was bobbing along out of the saddle, the next I was on my arse. At the time I put it down to a mudguard stay popping out at an inopportune moment and lodging in the front wheel, although there was no marks on either to indicate they'd jammed together. Nonetheless, I fixed the stay and carried on assuming all was well.

Then yesterday on my way home from my regular Sunday ride, it happened again. I rose from the saddle in a low gear on a slight rise and bang, down I went, taking the impact on my right knee again. This time the damage was a lot more - a big open wound on my knee with lots of dirt and gravel. I picked up the bike and noticed the chain had snapped, although I suspect this isn't what caused the accident. Puzzled and not a little sore I walked the bike the three kilometres back to the car, coasting down the hills where I could.

Once I cleaned up my knee I had a closer look at the bike. Not a mark on it. I thought it might be a mudguard problem: a sudden flexing of the wheel under load stopping the back wheel. But that didn't seem likely. I consulted my brains trust on Facebook who came up with a bunch of possibilities, the most likely of which seems to be chainsuck, a jamming of the chain which happens when the chain fails to disengage from the back of the chainrings properly. It's more common with worn chainrings apparently. Two things confirm this diagnosis; a slight hooking of the chainrings indicating they're a bit worn - hence likely to catch - and a few telltale chips in the paint on the chainstay.

I'll be replacing the worn chainring and the chain, and likely the cassette as well. The two incidents have spooked me a bit, but I guess it will make me a bit more focussed on regular maintenance, something I might have become a bit slack with of late.

A million types of wrong

Spotted in Hobart the other day, the bike that is one million types of wrong. The odds are high that a bike shop was involved in this atrocity at some point. They should hang their heads in shame.

2153km so far this year.

Cygnet loop

It's been a while since I did the very agreeable loop down along the Huon River to Cygnet and back. The ride follows the Huon River, pretty much from my house, along the Glen Huon Road, through Huonville, then along the delightful Cygnet Coast Road from Cradoc.

Even though winter is upon us and the forecast was somewhat inconclusive, Saturday turned out to be a very pleasant day for the outing. After fitting a new set of the magnificent 28mm Grand Bois tyres and a new set of brakes, I set off from home - joining up with the other four at Huonville.

Luck seemed to be with us. The day was still and the views through the trees of the river were lovely. There was hardly any traffic - just three cars in the middle 30km of the ride - and though it was overcast we didn't get a spot of rain. The dirt road section of the ride was smooth and dry and fast, the hamburgers at Devour at Cygnet were terrific and even Balf's Hill didn't hold its usual sting. We made it back to Huonville just before the rain hit and watched the worst of it pass over a hot chocolate in DS cafe before the gentle spin home. All in all a magnificent day to be out.

1796km so far this year.

The app happy cyclist

I haven't really been doing the miles lately (nor updating the blog) mainly thanks for work and weather. Of the two work can probably take more of the blame, sometimes a ride in the wind and rain can be just the invigorating thing one needs, as I found out today, racing the rain squalls down the valley.

One of the things that has sparked my interest of late has been the iphone app Strava. I've been using Cyclemeter for the last 18 months or so and I'm very happy with it. The app is reliable and does more things than most people would ever want from an app. My favourite feature is the app talking to you at pre-set intervals, informing you how you're doing. It's quite a nice addition to the top pocket of the handlebar bag.

Strava takes a different approach. The app itself offers a similar, if simplified interface for logging rides, but it's online that it really comes into its own. Think of it a social networking for cyclists. Apart from "competing" with your own times, Strava logs the times of every other cyclist who rides sections of road nominated by users as "segments". These are usually hill climb. The app then ranks you against other riders automatically, producing a league table for the segment. So for any given ride, the app or website may inform you that you've done a personal best, or even ridden such and such a segment faster than anyone before.

I'm a pretty slow rider so there's no King of the Mountains results for me in there, although it is quite amusing to know that on my meanderings I'm recording the slowest or second slowest times for sections near and far.

There's a paid version of Strava, which adds some features. I'm always keen to support apps and websites when they provide useful features. I'm holding off with Strava for a few reasons. One is the app is still pretty basic, displaying only time, distance and  average speed on the front page, which makes Strava pretty useless as a bike computer replacement (the workaround here is to use something like Cyclemeter and upload the GPS file to Strava.) It lacks auto-stop,meaning if you stop for a coffee, you need to remember to stop and restart the timer. Somewhat obviously the whole concept is oriented to the go-fast brigade, with little interest shown in how you're competing with yourself. For example, while the website notes only your fastest time for any particular segment, there's no way of seeing your other times. Cyclemeter offers this within the iPhone app.

Strava offers a little applet for your blog, which is handy, although mine displays miles not kilometres despite the opposite being my preference and doesn't seem to update correctly. These little niggles are perhaps outweighed by the fun of seeing just how many speedy cyclists there are out there to 'ride against'. The free Strava app is well worth a look. I'll see how Strava develops before laying out for the Pro version, which estimates watts and gives a 'suffer score' - whatever that may mean.

1607km so far this year. 

Window shopping

It's raining today and though the urge to ride it strong after two days off the bike it's definitely not a good day for it until the weather clears and the fog lifts. I'm spending some time instead wandering the web, window shopping for the perfect bike.

I've raved about Grand Bois tyres before, having picked up a pair from Compass Bicycle and enjoyed their terrific responsiveness. But Grand Bois also make a stunning range of bikes, stylish and functional rides, with mudguards and handlebar bag racks and lights designed into the package, not tacked on as an afterthought. They're based in Japan, so their website is not surprisingly in Japanese, although some random clickling unearths some real gems. For mine, the Model D above is pretty special: demountable steel frame with SandS couplers, old style one-inch stem, decaleur and bag rack. Exactly the sort of bike at home on a fast bunch ride, a daily commute or on a 400km plus day. It's old school, but the good bits of old school, and in many ways reminiscent of a 1950s Rene Herse which is clearly part of its aesthetic inspiration.

Grand Bois are lovely bikes, but somehow I can't see myself jumping on a plane to Japan (particularly when I have a perfectly decent randonneur bike as it is).

My absolute favourite window shopping destination on the web is Mitch Pryor's MAP Cycles. There is eye-candy galore on this website. All of it as beautifully photographed as it is constructed. His rando bikes are sublime but every bike on the site is a stunner including a mixte which I've drooled over more than once for it's sheer beauty. If I had the money, I might fly over to the US for a chat with Mitch. Nordavinden over at Rawland entices with its rough charm too: if I was only allowed to have one bike, perhaps it would be this. But what cruel world would allow us only one bike? No doubt more lovely machines will emerge from the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle Show this week in Sacramento. I was sorely tempted to buy a plane ticket this year, one day I will visit for sure.

From the trends emerging at NAHBS and elsewhere, it's my firm conviction that disk brakes and perhaps even electronic shifting will become the norm on road bikes within a couple of years, so even the remotest thought of a new frame had been banished from my mind until the technology settles down. Funny to think such a timeless piece of machinery is still evolving so quickly for the better.

859km so far this year.

Oppy training begins.

Oppy 2012 is a shade under two months away and I'm  not particularly fit. I haven't done many miles and I haven't shed the festive season flab as quickly as last year. The goal this year is 400km in 24 hours, though at the moment I'm in no fit state. It's very rare I'll go for a ride for a reason other than for enjoyment or for transport, but I'm going to need some more miles in my legs than I have at present for this one.

I took the Crosscheck out for a quick 30km on the dirt today, a nice run up through the rolling hills to Lonnavale and back. Felt a bit slow on the way out but this ride is always a lot harder on the way out, being slightly uphill and usually into the wind. There was a little traffic from the campground on these normally quiet roads, checkout time must be 11am, after then it was quiet and I finished up out in the forest near the Russell River. The return ride is super-fast on lovely dirt roads, with the odd sketchy corner thrown in for good measure. The Crosscheck has a rock-hard seat on it, so I feel every bump. My homeward momentum was broken only by one of my bottle cages breaking - presumably because of the jarring uneven surface. I had wanted to add another 25km loop on the end, but it's only day one and it would be a shame to try to do too much too soon. Next week's goal will have to be a bit more ambitious.

My last Oppy was a good one, and while my January this year was a little better than last year, I've got a lot of miles to ride in February to make the 676km which set such a good base for last year's effort. Time to get busy.

411km so far this year.

Crosscheck redux

The Crosscheck has done some epic rides over the years but was looking a bit the worse for wear. For the last few months the frame has hung in the shed awaiting a new mission. A fresh paintjob and it's as good as new, ready for another 30,000km. Mostly parts from the shed, downtube friction shifters, fat tyres and a hard road bike saddle that makes me miss my Brooks, but keeps the weight down. Without lights, mudguards and racks, the old girl feels like a racer.

We did a short test ride today, which will be followed up with a longer ride out into the wilds tomorrow. Will take my mind off the fact I'm skipping the the carnival of suffering that is the Alpine Classic. Good luck to all those who are riding, while you're heading up Buffalo, I'll be having a swim in the Weld River.

308km so far this year.

Dickhead of the week

Former Australian cricketer, uber-bogan and all-round oxygen thief Shane Warne has had a funny run of luck lately. Last week he had a bleat about cyclists riding two abreast, something that's perfectly legal in every state in Australia. Drawing on a fairly limited store of intellect, Warne managed to trot out many of the same tired old cliches that most cyclists would be well familiar with, to the delight of some of his dopier followers and the dismay of anyone who rides a bike. It's a familiar debate, we've seen it time and time again on the websites and blogs and comments sections. Nothing new or interesting here. For shits and giggles I've reproduced it below, read from the bottom up:

warne888 Shane Warne 

Please do something about it council and govt - single file all bike riding on the road or a ban for 12 months ! And pay rego - fair ?

13 Jan Favorite Retweet Reply

warne888 Shane Warne 

Ps actually if you are going to ride on the roads you should pay rego and have a number plate, only fair Once again,single file please !!!!

13 Jan 

warne888 Shane Warne 

Seriously I'm all for allowing bike riders to ride on the rd's etc but please act responsible and stay in file...

13 Jan 

Yesterday the plot took an interesting twist. Poor old Warnie was sitting innocently  in his luxury car at traffic  lights when for no reason he was attacked by a maniac on two wheels. Again his first post is at the bottom:

warne888 Shane Warne 

its amazing how things pan out, i have only been saying recently please bike riders obey the road rules and keep it safe for everyone ...

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

that i was being polite and careful and the drivers around him otherwise if anyone decided to be an idiot then he was in real trouble.

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

anyway, i drive off he rides off and everyone was shaking their head at this bike rider as he was being very dangerous. he was very lucky

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

can't move nor anyone else, i go to slowly move around him and he just moves with me, yep clipped his tyre and he then abuses me some more.

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

are you doing he abuses me i say get off the road, he stops in front of me and holds up traffic and just stays on his bike ! so, now i.....

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

he pulls out in front of me whacks my bonnet with his hand and pulls out in front of all the traffic, i yell out hey buddy what the hell ...

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

thump on my boot, looked in mirror a bike rider hit my car then held onto my car to pull himself through the traffic, lights change.....

21 hours ago 

warne888 Shane Warne 

guys stay with me here its important... so there i was driving home after a training session at the mcg.. pulled up at the lights, felt a..

21 hours ago 

The story got some play in the papers this morning, quoting Warne's tweets. Turns out the cyclist saw Warne's tirade and came up with a totally different version of events. Some highlights:

“What are you doing? You don’t own the road! Get out of the way” he yelled repeatedly. I shook my head and probably yelled something similarly inane back. Now even more agitated the driver continued to yell, “you don’t own the road”. 

"Before I could the driver lurched his car forward forcing my bike wheel and almost my leg under the front of his car. Dumbfounded at how overtly aggressive the driver had been and aware that we were now holding up the traffic, I pulled my bike from under the car and attempted to continue riding. My wheel was jammed against the frame of my bike and the chain was tangled so I had to carry it to the footpath to fix it."

Long story short, the bloke says Warne drove into him and failed to stop. He posted a photo of his buckled back wheel to support his version of events and reported the incident to the police who are apparently doing nothing because the damage to the bike is a civil matter. And oddly, Warne now just wants to put it all behind him as quickly as possible.

warne888 Shane Warne 

Have just seen bike riders version of events, please buddy - whatever ! I'm not going to get into a 5 year old tit for tat..,

3 hours ago 

I suppose it's too much to expect Warne to be some sort of role model. For a bloke who wants cyclists to obey the law, he's got a funny way of showing the respect he demands. By his own account he ran into someone and left the scene of an accident. He may have been a first-class cricketer but his conduct over the last week does nothing more than show him up as a first class dill.