I may be a Wind God, but at least I'm a God.

In the book So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, lorry driver Rob McKenna is a Rain God - a man who causes rain by his very presence. I'm beginning to suspect I'm a Wind God.

I rode in the Malmsbury Autumnal Meander 100km yesterday, which is a lovely ride and very well run. It also has the benefit of being not to far from home. The ride passes through some lovely countryside in the Siddonia Valley which is worth the price of admission alone.

The middle 40km of the ride was straight into a screaming headwind. Just like last week in Hobart. Wind, wind and more bloody wind. Grinding along at 12km/h in bottom gear on the flat is no fun at all. Granted, there were short sections with a tailwind, but not nearly enough to compensate. I finished eight minutes faster than last year. Eight minutes! Is that fair I ask you?

I'm thinking of seeking payment for avoiding rides just so the wind doesn't ruin them. Melbourne Autumn Day Tour (110km) this weekend. Let's see if my powers hold true.

1,960km so far this year.

Double easy, single hard.

I've been riding like a bastard these last few weeks. I did the Rifle Downs 200 down in Heywood Sunday week ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite the hills and the rain and the wind I felt strong all day and managed to finish strongly comfortably under 10 hours.

I was in Hobart on the weekend and took part in a century ride as part of the Bike Week celebrations. I managed to borrow a rather nice bike, a jersey, helmet and shoes (thanks Tim and Kev) and set off with the throngs from the Cenotaph. Any confidence I'd built from the 200 was quickly dispelled.

They have hills in Tassie. Not just your girlie hills like in Melbourne, but constant rolling hills interspersed with mountains which blot out the sun. And wind! Talk about your wind! On the flat bits you're going into a headwind - no matter which way you're pointing. The wind blows in different directions on either side of the hills! Even taking into account that I was riding an unfamiliar bike, I really struggled, limping home on the five hour mark.

Even so it was a pleasant ride, very well run. And I needed the exercise. Those too-long dormant hill climbing muscles got a lovely workout.

1,859km so far this year.

They should put warning labels on them

Apparently cycling is the new golf. There seems to be a recent plague of garishly dressed wankers abusing grossly overpriced equipment, so it might just be true.

I'm generally loathe to make light of the misfortune of others, but check this bloke out. Racing on a busy public road, he went straight up the back of a parked car. Well, they can be hard to spot. And check out the damage to the bike: those pretty carbon forks just snapped like twigs.


Specialized S-Works plastic wonder bike: $8,000.
Latest ultra-lightweight helmet: $350.
Lycra boy racer outfit: $400.

Riding into a parked car because you're not looking where you're going: Priceless.

Random pic of heavy steel bike from last year's Mallee Routes 200km.

The simpler the better.

The single-speed rocks! I rode the green beast every day this week, racking up perhaps 150km on my daily commute. And it's fun. I can even feel the slight gain in efficiency through not having the derailleur gears. My commute is pretty flat so it doesn't present that much of a challenge and I can carry what I need in my shoulder bag which keeps things nice and simple for the odd day I don't ride. Hmmm, might be time to move the panniers back out to the shed.

The bike reminds me of the single-speed bikes of my youth in the days before BMX. They were heavy backpedal brake monsters, bombproof and heaps of fun.

I'm going to stick with this bike for a while because I'm enjoying it so much. No doubt there's a bit of a novelty factor there, but my times to and from work are about the same despite losing a little bit of top-end speed. The fatter tyres make the bike paths far more manageable too. The beauty of this machine lies in it's simplicity. It's testament to the fact that bikes are getting too fiddly and complex.

Sadly the experiment will end in a couple of months with my move to Hobart. I'm thinking of an eight-speed internal hub for the hiller southern city.

I just noticed that I've passed the 10,000km mark for this burst of cycling. Yay me!

1,441km so far this year.

Points in the Karma bank

Rode the single speed in today as an experiment: is it possible to do a dead flat 20km commute on a single speed bike? It turns out it is, how very surprising. I might flip the hub over tonight and ride home fixed. Fun, fun.

The other reason was to pick up a couple of geocaches which turn out to be not far from my route. My caching total now stands at 12. Early days yet - there's heaps more I can reach by bike on my way to or fro.

About halfway in I came across a bloke on a road bike with a flat tyre and stopped to help him. Patched his flat tube and had him on his way. He kept offering me money, but it wouldn't be a good deed if I took cash would it?

1,291km so far this year.

Photo by n8agrain on Flickr

The 'so funny it's true' department

The good lord knows we could all do with a laugh, this 'typical anti-cyclist' letter is from aus.bicycle:

Dear Sir

When so-called asylum seekers get free haircuts for their swans isn't it time someone did something about cyclists?

Yesterday I saw a completely invisible cyclist riding backwards with no lights or helmet, drunk, on fire, juggling bubonic plague vials as laser death rays shot out of his lights and blinded passers-by. Dozens lay slain. And they don't pay road tax.

Yours etc

Colin Apron.

1,084km so far this year.

Motoring on the motorway.

Check this out: is this the longest downhill run you've ever seen or what? I try to ride to work from wherever I'm living, although at 70km from town via the freeway I've not attempted it from here before. Last weekend the chance came up.

This is the ride profile off Bikley. It was every bit as good as it looks. I think I might have worn out my top chainring!

Judge backpedals on stupid decision

The case of British cyclist Daniel Cadden caused a ripple of outrage among cyclists online last year when he was convicted for "inconsiderate cycling" for riding on the road instead of a cycleway nearby.

According to Britain's CTC, the magistrate's decision has been overturned on appeal. Hooray!

Trivia time

Five trivial things about me.

1. I chose my screen name, Surly Dave, because two of my bikes are Surlys. I own a Cross Check and a Long Haul Trucker. They're no-nonsense bikes - inexpensive and reliable. All off my bikes are steel-framed. I also have a track bike (brand unknown), a 20-year-old road bike (brand obscure) and a mountain bike circa 1992. Yes, I ride them all.

2. I bought my first road bike for $123 earned on my paper round. It was a 1981 model Hanimex ten speed racer. My second bike was a Campag-equipped Vitus aluminium frame. It cost $1,2000 in about 1983. The frame was destroyed when I ran up the back of a car sprinting through an orange light on the day I got my HSC results about two years later. I still have many of the parts though, fitted to my 'racing' bike.

3. I worked as a bike mechanic for 12 months after leaving school. I was going to become a framebuilder, but ended up taking a different course. Knowing how to maintain my own bikes has saved me a fair bit of money over the years.

4. I have raced on the road, the track and off-road and competed in triathlons. I've done several tours and a couple of dozen audax events. Last year I competed in a bicycle orienteering event. On the list of things yet to try: cyclocross and bicycle polo.

5. In 1986, when I was at uni, I took a pair of wheels in to Stanmore Cycles in Sydney to be trued. They were lovely wheels: Campagnolo hubs with Mavic GP40 rims. Being broke, I was a bit slow picking them up and a month or two had passed by the time I returned to the shop. The woman behind the counter told me I had left them too long and they'd been sold. I was so stunned I never even thought to ask for the money. I grieved for those wheels for years, until I picked up an identical set on ebay 12 months ago. Respoked, they're just as sweet as I remember.

1,048km so far this year.

Where are the snows of yesteryear?

The weather is warm at the moment, for the first time I can remember the forecast is "fine" as far ahead as the bureau can forecast. It makes for great cycling, although I prefer the depths of winter.

But warm weather brings out legions of nutters. The off-leash dog walkers wearing ipods, deaf to all around them. The New Year's resolution cyclists, weaving and darting and sitting on my wheel. The pre-season Aussie Rules training squads, stubbornly jogging down the middle of cyclepaths, giddy on male bonding and testosterone.

I'll make the most of summer while it lasts, but I long for the dark nights of winters when the bitter wind blows, there's not a soul around, and my world is narrowed to the beam of my headlamp. There must be something in my soul which enjoys a certain level of suffering. Remind me I said this when August comes.

I've been tagged by Crowlie. Formulating trivia ... now!

1,012km so far this year.

The Descent from Towonga Gap!

I mentioned I'd been playing with a cheap helmet cam - well here are the results. This is part of the high-speed descent from Towonga Gap during the Alpine Classic, set to music to cover the howling wind noise. Pardon the occasional jerky head movement as I look for cars and check my bike computer. Seasickness tablets are optional. I've edited it down a bit to remove the worst of the camera movements and cut out some of the dull bits! Highlights include oncoming cars and a lone passing maneuver.

I shot a fair bit of footage during the ride, but because I hadn't mastered setting the camera up, this is the best of it. I pointed the camera a bit too far to the left and all I ended up with was a nice shot of the white line on the left side of the road.

The second video is of the last kilometre or so of the ride, with commentary. Oh god, I crack myself up.




Next up will be my commute, once I work out how to compress the whole thing down into a few minutes worth of video.

Junk debunked.

I picked up a new term from spending too much time to the lycra brigade* - "junk miles". I hadn't heard the term before. It refers to miles on the bike that aren't quality training, that aren't making you faster and fitter or the like. I suspect that by that definition, most of the miles I do are junk miles. It's a funny way of looking at things.

The idea has been bouncing around in my head for days, niggling me. Perhaps I should have a more structured training program, perhaps I should have a coach. A coach!

Riding home yesterday, on a seemingly endless gentle incline with the wind at my back and the sun shining, the obvious occurred to me: if you're enjoying yourself simply riding your bike, there's no such thing as junk miles. And if you're not enjoying yourself, why ride?

* road racers.

811km so far this year.

If the bike fits, ride it.

I've discovered yet another great cycling blog, written with flair and humour. The Fat Cyclist recently won and award of some kind for general cleverness and from a brief trawl through his archive shows it is well deserved. His article on trash talking is a great laugh.

In an entirely different spirit, one of the riders I was with on my 300km Audax ride, kindly pointed out a couple of peculiarities of my riding style which I'd pushed to the back of my mind. Chief amongst my sins, I ride with my knees splayed out and my hips rock a bit much. He recommended a bloke who does bike fittings. It took me a while to get an appointment, as bike fitting gurus are apparently in high demand. Yesterday I wheeled my trusty green Cross Check into the chap's office and he gave me the once over, tut-tutting as I pedalled gently on a wind trainer in front of a mirror.

When I first started cycling seriously as a young lad in the early 1980s, bike setup was a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. If you were lucky someone at the bike club might tell you your seat was too high or low and the rest was a matter of best guess, comfort and personal preference.

Happily, my best guesses weren't too far off being right. I had my seat raised about 3mm. I had my handlebars turned a few degrees upward. And I had my cleats turned so my toes (and hence my knees) point inwards a bit more. The new setup felt odd at first on this morning's commute, but my knee pain seems to have vanished. I think it will take a bit of getting used to but on the whole it seems to have solved the last few niggling problems I have with my setup. And what luxury to have it all sorted by a pro.

773km so far this year.

A classic Alpine Classic

Though I'm a bit tired and sore today, I can truly say the Alpine Classic is a ride well worthy of its name. I rode the 130km distance yesterday and despite how tough the ride is, I really enjoyed every minute of it.

I woke early to see the 800-odd 200km riders set off and before long the smaller group tackling my distance was on its way too. The first few small climbs on the way to Towonga Gap were fine, but after that I left the climbing to the climbers and spun up steadily in a tiny gear.

The downhill on the other side was a series of lovely swooping high speed corners and I stopped for a short break at Mt Beauty before setting off for the daunting ascent towards Falls Creek. The approach is a series of gradually rising undulations before the road turns straight up after the Kiewa River crossing. Riders had no problem keeping cool this year as the odd icy blasts blew down from the Alpine heights. Again, I spun up to save my knees and finally reached the top around 12.30pm - 65km and five hours after leaving Bright.

The outward journey has taken five hours. Setting off at 1pm gave me a bare three hours to get back before the 4.05pm cut off. It was always going to be a big ask.

A short and shakey lunchbreak over - I zoomed back down to Mt Beauty and braced for the 7km climb back up Towonga Gap. I plugged away, passing several people who had elected to walk the steep sections. I made the top at 3.28pm, taking me a two minute break and bracing to cover the last 20km in 30 minutes or less. Fortunately it was a long downhill run so I was able to shift up into a huge gear and fly down the other side before reaching the finish elated with eight minutes to spare.

The Alpine Classic is a fantastic ride - despite my lack of ability as a hill climber. It was well organised and there were heaps of volunteers to direct traffic and keep everyone safe. The finish in particular was great with huge crowds and a real carnival atmosphere. I look forward to attempting it again sometime. Maybe even next year!

707km so far this year.

The Cycling Gods Smile

Let the record show: I rode in today and I didn't suffer a flat tyre, I didn't hit a single pedestrian, I wasn't nearly knocked off by an inattentive motorist and I didn't have to brake or swerve suddenly to avoid a collision. The weather was fine and mild and there was little wind.

What are the odds I'll get home without incident?

532km so far this year.

Kamikaze pedestrians

Haven't been blogging much because I've been on the bike riding the big miles in my quest to average 200km a week. It's going ok so far - although I'm astonished at the distances being logged by some of the people at bikejournal. You wonder how they get anything else done. The benefit has been a huge and surprising increase in fitness, as well as enjoyment. The Alpine Classic's on this weekend, so hopefully some of that strength will be be in evidence as I grind up the big hills.

It hasn't all been dandy though. The welcome rain of the last ten days has left the streets and paths of Melbourne awash with debris. I've had three punctures in a week - one classic puncture through the tread and two from hitting stones on the path while watching where I was going instead of what was on the track. On top of a puncture this morning, I also had the pleasure of skidding into a pedestrian who stepped into my path.

Most people are very good and leave room for cyclists, this pair were right across the track and didn't heed my repeated calls of "bike!". As I tried to go around them on the left, one woman looked back, saw me and stepped right in front of me. Neither of us was hurt by the ensuing collision, my brake lever ripped her rain jacket. A matter of time I suppose.

Another benchmark yay!

As may be slightly obvious from some of my posts, I like to keep track of my rides as a means of motivating myself to keep improving my mileages each year. In 2005 I managed 2,126km, in 2006 I rode 6,441km and in 2007 I'm aiming to crack 10,000km.

Someone on one of the e-mail lists I subscribe to pointed bikejournal.com out today. Not only is it a good way to keep track of the miles, it's also a way of comparing your progress to others. I signed up this afternoon and entered my few rides for this year so far to find out I'm 380th so far this year in terms of distance out of 2,336 riders registered with the site worldwide. It also lets me compare my progress with other Audax members. Talk about your motivational tools! Even so, I suspect my stats won't be quite so good once everyone else returns from their holidays and gets back on their bike.

222km so far this year.

Too much of a good thing.

Most people would complain if their journey to work doubled. Not so this cyclist: I've found a way to work that's twice as far - which on a bike means twice the fun. The Capital City Trail loops around the Melbourne CBD following the Yarra River from the Docklands to the back of Collingwood. It's an easy way for me to turn a what's normally 15km ride into a 30km ride, which is something I'm really enjoying these long sunny summer days. There's even a few hills, which is a rarity for Melbourne.

The only drawback is the number of pedestrians out and about - particularly in the afternoons. Even with the best will in the world it's hard not to become frustrated with people who just refuse to share the shared paths, who have their dogs off leash or who suddenly veer across the track. Its hard to look out for your own safety and their when there's a minority who just don't want to take any responsibility. A few months back I followed a mountain bike rider who yelled abuse at pedestrians as he approached. I don't approve of that one bit, but I'm beginning to understand. He'd done one too many rides on the Capital City Trail.

88km for far this year.

A sad statistic.

Idly looking through the road toll figures for 2006, one figure stood out - the 14 cyclists killed on Victorian road is double the figure for the previous year. It's also double the five year average. The toll among drivers and motorcyclists was down, but cyclists really copped it. There would be some consolation if this reflected the the fact that twice as many people had suddenly taken up cycling, but I doubt it. I suspect it means that cycling has for some reason become twice as dangerous - despite the best efforts of everyone working to reduce the toll.

Happy New Year!

And what a year 2006 has been cycling-wise at least! My stats:

• 6,441km ridden - three times last year's total;
• 136 rides, an average of one ride every 2.6 days;
  
• 300 hours in the saddle: exactly 12 days and 12 hours;
  
• An average speed of 22.14km/h - up 0.99km/h on last year - not too bad considering most of my riding is on cycle paths.
• A best month of 798km, a top speed of 74.2km/h and a longest ride of 309.8km.
• 18 audax rides for a total of 2550km.
  
• My goal of riding 100km a week exceeded by 23%!

Overall I'm very, very happy with my effort. I went out yesterday and rode 65km to knock off the 300 hours and to triple last year's total double. I was too lazy today to go out and do the 59km needed to reach the round figure of 6,500km.

So now I have make my new year's resolutions. Hmmm. I think 200km a week/ 10,000km for the year is worth going for. The clock resets to zero at midnight!

6,441km so far this year!