Riders Blog

Cycling has its ups and downs and taking a fall just goes with the sport.

Bigfella I knew you would be dirty on me!!! I haven’t been able to sleep properly since…….. 
 
When the tube went “bang”, I saw the despair on your face, and the tears spring to the eyes. At first I thought the tears was due to the fact you had lost a fair piece of ya mow-haired undies off the ’ol bot bot Bigfella, not to mention the other tube, tyre and rim which had just been destroyed.
 
When I pulled the tube out of your ”bum” bag, I could see you had been taking real care of it. It was well powdered, very neatly folded, and placed very neatly in the plastic bag. looked like a family heirloom it did:)  
 
You impressed my little mate Goldie to no-end. He’s rang me twice since last Saturday’s ride. Reckons he’s been watching heaps of the winter olympics, and not once has he seen the free-for-all skiers perform a complete 360 degree, forward summersault, followed by a neat half pike as good as the one you tried to show him on Saturday. He reckons if the the front tyre hadnt blown while you were about 2 meters above the bike, finishing off neatly with the half pike move, you would have easily landed back on the bike bigfella. He reckons it was the most tidiest he’s seen. He was that impressed with the move he wants to ride with us again :)
 
Bigfella promise I will buy you another tube………..
 
K2

Some people will do anything to get out of finishing a ride. Not bloody likely with such a great tail wind about to present itself on the way home. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capitalise on that aspect as the buffeting cross wind caused me to veer off onto the gravel shoulder. Well, it felt like riding one of those bucking cows you see in amusement centres.

Visions of Banjo Patterson’s “Mulga Bills Bicycle” flashed across my mind. It jumped and bucked on and off the gravel to the bitumen and back. The fate sealer was the high bitumen shoulder that blew the tyre and the last crossing onto the bitumen which pushed the now flat tyre off the rim. It’s one of those memorable sounds of a bare metal rim running on chunky bitumen? The rest is history and so was I, down with a splat. I think my butt hit first closely followed by hip, shoulder, elbow and knee. Oh forgot to mention that i landed on my head as well.

Results - New RSR kit no longer new anymore. Last years Helmet kindly organised through Cyclemania “Lasar Gensis - RD Edition” did its job and is now useless, broke through 3 segments on the left side. Marvellous though, no concussion. The picture on facebook doesn’t show the whole storey but i feel like i have a 3rd butt cheek with the swelling on my rear end. Starting to show some nice colours today, haven’t got a picture up yet.  One week to go before we start and I’m already feeling stiff and sore. Thanks to everyone who helped, I trust this event encouraged people to brush up on our procedures for any  crashes i hope we don’thave.

This will truly be one of the rides to meditate on. Oh how i love the thought of doing 170 kms when i know whats ahead of me

Saturday 23rd January - 154km - What a ride, not the hillyest but did require some endurance. I started out the front door to meet at the Bell Tower, bye Dianne only 85km today because of the heat? Somewhere down Albany Hwy I remembered that we were going to Wungong Dam. Wasn’t feeling too well at all with stomach cramps. A short pits stop later after riding over the Dam wall and i was right, well, i was feeling better than what I was. Temperature wasn’t too bad at this stage must have been around 27. Out towards Serpentine and a short stop for more water. I was starting to have visions of the other Dam being on the itinerary. The heat was now sitting on about 35. Out across the flat lands of Rowley Road and I’m sure my Polar recorded a temperature spike up to 40 degrees. Practising a few roll throughs got everybody to concentrate while riding on the flat and hone up their team working skills. Out towards Baldivis and North along the Freeway to expire back at the Bell Tower. Some of us actually had to ride home while others took the “phone a freind” option. I suspect Biscuit that you will have to pay the ferryman for that one.
While suffering up some hills, Tinkle Bell amused himself be recording the faces of pain with his camera, Wiggles was glad to hang in there, Clare was shooting off the front during the roll throughs (no speedo) and i think there was a caste of thousands trying to sit behind me.  Had a Good Ride - The Big Fella 

What a brave little trooper she is, our Clare has perfected the dive, roll and recover. A little bit bruised, a little bit shaken but not stirred and still determined. No bones broken, she just got back on the bike and still did the rest of our so called flatish recovery ride. There was no whining or complaining, she just got back into it.

Our training will up its intensity after Christmas ?  I thought that doing 155km to Jarrahdale and back was quite a challenge in 38 C temperature. What has gone unsaid; well there was Marco who felt hungry after we got to Rockingham one ride. On the way back he wished he hadn’t ordered a chicken and avacado foccacia with chips. Man that is one way to suffer.

On the way to the Bell Tower one morning, one of the Kingsley kids in the abscence of a responsible adult took a dive at a wet ”round a bout”. End result was a fractured Scafoid only 3 months out from the ride. Ably assisted by Nurse Gladys “Wilson” the patient ended up in plaster, only after completing the 85 km ride that day.

Responsible imbibing and the correct choice of dietary intake the night before a ride resulted in one very green looking “Sonny” alias the “Vindaloo Kid”. He was also the less fortunate rider who failed to avoid a few rocks on the road on the up and back to Two Rocks - 2 flats.

My lucky day was today, 95 km before Christmas Eve. I went for a ride with “Hollywood”, “K2″ and the other young bloke - 6′ 5″ and built like a greyhound. He kept us all honest. Luck or misfortune, I punctured  just before the Roe Hwy bridge on Welshpool Road on our way to Kalamunda.

Bike fixed and tyre pumped up I removed the pump complete with the valve stopper for an immediate flat. Start again. Thats why you carry two spare tubes. The rest of the ride was uneventful really, Lewis Road and then Watsonia , Ridge Hill and a coffee at the top. Down Kalamunda Road and off home.

I’m sure there will be further posts of the intersting overtraining mistakes that people make. Yours Truly will hoping that the 3 previous days of riding and the one recovery day of imbibing  at Christmas will allow him to do the Canning Dam ride on Boxing Day.

  ”The Big Fella” - every hill is a challenge.