your daily bicycle log

Good week this one. Settled in Melbourne, two thrashes down to Frankston this week. Today's ride featured a century half an hour faster than I've ever gone before. Pan flat and not too much wind, good group riding making it feel pretty easy. Blew another spoke on my wheel. I ave the new wheels, time to set them up.

Haitch, fancy a ride some time?

is melb the cycling paradise I've heard?

Pretty awesome so far. Good weather, bike lanes, bike priority lights and a hell of a lot of cyclists. I've never seen so many out as I did yesterday and it's not even properly spring yet (and melburnians do like to complain about a winter that doesn't trouble to come remotely near freezing).

Haitch, fancy a ride some time?

yes!

I can show you the fake ardennes bergs out near kinglake.

did you do olivers hill out the other side of frankston and loop back? the one sting in the beach road tail.

That sounds like a plan, Kinglake seems to be on the list of local monuments. Webmail link works. I'm pretty open right now, what with not having a job and all.

Olivers hill was done. Are you doing Around the Bay? How does the route deal with those lumps on the mornington peninsula?

Today I rode up the Merri and Yarra valleys. Out longer than I expected but it is so pretty out there. I saw Kangeroos/Wallabies on the ride, which, for me at least, was pretty astounding.

I did around the bay last year on someone else's entry (he got knocked off his bike a week before it, i got it as a freebie). did the melbourne-sorrento and back version rather than all the way around so I missed on the ride over the westgate bridge (boo) but also the pretty boring ride down the geelong highway. they send everybody on the nepean rather than taking the (awesome) coast road between mornington and dromana, which sucks the fun out of it a bit.

man the riding out here is so much better than MN it's stupid. did a nice ~17mi loop after work w/1400ft of climbing, which is rides v much not in character for this midwesterner. super fun. even felt like i had ~realizations~ about, like, pedaling form? i tried pedaling with my hips/torso (if that makes sense) instead of my legs and found it much easier to grind it all out w/blowing up. i only got out of the saddle once, which is sort of a big deal for me

http://youtu.be/IEaWz8WfWb4

smooth and easy with the pedals. i don't even know where u are man, nh, is that right? enjoy, anyways.

I passed my 2012 total distance logged this week.

On sunday I was repeatedly attacked my magpies, do the cable tie deely boppers I see people riding around with really work?

Other than that riding around here is really great, the smell of the gum trees is fantastic. I'm riding through vineyards on well made roads, life is good.

the cable ties absolutely do NOT work!

the lolzy strategy is: ride in a bunch, don't ride at the front (they always attack first in the line)

That's a relief because they look ridiculous.

I need to find more bunches to ride in.

the fred nation is very convinced of their effectiveness, i've seen attacks nontheless

got your email btw, will holla when back at home

magpie attacks?! what kind of lawless country is this

40 miles, 2,970 feet climbed, 22 PBs set on Strava. Felt like the last afternoon of summer.

just back from a week in mallorca where I put in 234 miles and 29,158 feet of climbing over colls for days

don't know if these will show
http://distilleryimage3.ak.instagram.com/79f63028342811e3bb0f22000a1fbc94_8.jpg
http://distilleryimage11.ak.instagram.com/15a64ee6342811e399e222000aeb43c4_8.jpg
http://distilleryimage4.ak.instagram.com/254fdd78332211e3a8b522000a9f3cba_8.jpg
http://distilleryimage11.ak.instagram.com/b7632f0a302d11e389dc22000aa805fd_8.jpg
http://distilleryimage2.ak.instagram.com/562b20ee302d11e3abce22000a1f96d4_8.jpg

nice!

wow

jealous

first time I've ever exercised so hard I puked

guess you probably shouldn't ride 99 miles w/1000 feet of climbing on spec

did get to play with SRAM red tho. is niiiiiiiice

10000*

Just disgusting. So insanely jealous.

Did the 250km around the bay ride today. 12km seems to be missing which I can only assume was the boat trip. Very fast ride a lot of good pacelines. The first and second 100km were, respectively, the 1st and 2nd fastest I've ever done. the 1st was under 3 hrs although mainly flat, wind behind and not having to take too pulls. Second hundred was more impressive as it was more rolling and I was more isolated, couldn't keep with the fast guys on the lumps.

Although it had an enforced 45minute rest on the ferry across the heads, the moving average was over 30km/h which was better than I hoped.

http://www.strava.com/activities/90146330

imagining your group riding in circles on the deck for exactly 12k while the boat travels 12k to port.

Outrageous effort, Ed, well done.

I did 30 miles in awful rain. Slowly.

I've done no cycling all weekend cos the rain is hellacious and I have no rain jacket, no booties, and I'm not flandrien

also yeah kudos on the 250k ride, awesome effort

Another 7 miles this afternoon, buggering around doing residential hill climbs round student town in jeans while Emma went running.

11 miles on Saturday up the long hill to Montrose. Discovering that my riding routine consists mainly of "hey look, yet another new cycling GPS/infographic app... let's go generate some GPX files!" *rides ten miles*

I'm on Strava now: http://www.strava.com/athletes/3238718

http://app.strava.com/clubs/fatmantii

Was "busted" by the filth not wearing a helmet while ago and though I escaped a fine by pretending I was a tourist it has made me not want to cycle.

guessing your username is a lie or the cops were arseholes above and beyond the call of duty since it's not a legal requirement over here.

I now live in vancouver, canada.they basically treated me like a criminal tho calmed when I told them i was here on vacation (which im not).

Yeah I think helmet laws are pretty stupid, even though I'd almost never ride without one.

I am 29 and have never wore one. I now have neither the cash for the helmet nor the fine.

Casually set a KOM in a pair of jeans on Sunday afternoon. BUT I had to set the section and only 11 other people have ever done it. Saying that, I'm 5+mph faster than anyone else.

Cos they're all students riding up a hill to campus.

Deliberately sprinted up another student-house-friendly residential street tonight (at 19.9mph) and then set it as a Strava segment so I'd be KOM. Is this bad?

Hope it's fine since I don't see myself getting KOMs any other way.

I went for an early morning group ride yesterday through a dense fog bank. Pretty cool with bike lights glowing, foghorns on the bridge.

49 miles this morning. Getting it in before the hurricane hits.

yeah not sure if we're getting the full ~hurricane~ but still got 45 miles in this morning just in case

I think of myself as being an ok group rider but I nearly caused a 10-bike pileup. I was at the front on a narrow bridge, someone coming the other way decided to pass without having enough time - was like a game of chicken but I had nowhere to go. Had to apply moderate pressure to the brakes at the last second (there was some anger and yelling behind me at this point) dude barely ducked out of the way. Shoulda braked earlier with more warning to the group behind me. Scary.

(Also, maybe big groups shouldn't do 20-22mph on the bridge ... )

I am going abt 7-12 miles a day (2.5 to bus to work in the morning and either 4.5 straight home after or 6.5 to downtown to do stuff/hang out and then 3.5 when I finally head back to my apt). When and how do I get sexy biker calves and butt?

Also guys it feels so good to be biking 7-12 miles 5 days a week

that's awesome, and sexy biker calves and butt are a state of mind, so rock them whenever.

rolled up easy on a strong looking youngster (to me that's under 35) who allowed me to pull at a consistent pace for a minute or two, and who then came by me medium hard standing, with clear gapping intention. i rolled back to him no problem and decided that i would stand and not stop pounding on him until he quit or blew up. 1:30 later he did quit, but lordy, i'm way to old for that shit. hardest effort of the year, i had to cut the ride short when i couldn't get comfortable after 10 minutes of recovery riding.

o/ \o

floated at the front of small group i led round my fave loop on sunday - in contrast to same road with ed a fortnight ago, where i was chewing stem to stay on his wheel (and failing at a couple of points, let's be honest).