Ride OzGolf Ride

[Toolish]

I keep thinking I should commute but I have never quite got it organised. Planning to make it happen in the next few weeks though.

For me it is an organisation thing, getting everything ready early enough to ride in an issue and also I am thinking I will have to drive some days and ride others, so should bring a bunch of stuff in one day when I drive then I can ride in with it all here...still hasn't happened though!

[goughy]

thanks goughy. I had similar shoes (Shimano) and pedals years ago but ended up selling them as I was mainly riding on rough dirt tracks etc and felt safer with normal bear trap pedals. If I get into cyclying to work I'll prob get a road bike anyway, with the requisite shoes etc etc..

Honestly, grunt's commuter/hybrid idea is best I think for what you're planning on doing. And I'd still go the shoes/pedals I'm suggesting just for the ease and extra safety they afford if you have to get off for any reason.

[Grunt]

Have to agree with Goughy about the pedal shoes setup. Got some MTB one's I can post a pic of my Nike one's I got from the clearance shop down here.
I did not go the double sided pedals as it was for the MTB and I would always wear the shoes when riding it.

[BrisVegas]

I had my first meaningful bike ride today in about 10 years. Rode into work (just the last 15km or so, it's 35km total) on the MTB.

A couple of points have come up.

1. I need slick tyres. The nobbies are not helping my cause.
2. I need to fix my front derailieur (sp?) so I can get onto the big chainring for the downhills.
3. I need to buy a pump, spare tubes and tyre levers.
4. Clip on pedals & shoes would help too I think.

I'll see how I pull up in the morning after tonight's ride home. I might have a crack again tomorrow.

I 've been doing this ride for a couple of weeks now and I'm loving it. It's getting slightly easier too! I scored some Shimano SPD pedals and shoes off my brother last week and that's helped a bit. I'm waiting on some slick 26" tyres to help speed things up a bit now. If I keep it up I will get a road bike sooner rather than later and work up to longer rides. Eventually, I'd like to ride all the way to work (35-40km each way). It's a way of getting exercise that doesn't really impact my work/family life as I was spending an hour commuting each way anyway. It takes me an hour now if I drive to Mt Ommany and ride from there. Even if I rode all the way it would be less than 1.3 hours.

[Bruce]

It seems I will have to buy myself a bike.

My eldest did bike ed at the end of last year at school and has been nagging us to get her one. So I hit up eBay and found a decent one for her.

We can't get her off it. She got up at 6:30 on a Sunday morning to start riding around. She only really rides around the block and up to the school etc. But she does 30 laps of the block and goes to school and back a couple of times. Comes back, sits down for 10 minutes and then goes out and does it again.

I guess I'm going to have to get a bike of my own and take her down to the nearby cycle trail. I wonder how the tendonitis will hold up.

[Toolish]

As of this week I have started commuting.

It is 8.5 km so not much of a ride, takes me about 18-19 minutes to do. Downhill to work and I cruise so there is no need for a shower once I get here, then pump it home up the hill and both times come out the same.

I am planning to get more organised over time and get some breakfast sorted in at work and do training rides finishing here just to save myself some time.

[BrisVegas]

good stuff toolish. I'm doing 16km each way still (haven't got the fitness to go all the way from home yet, as that's 35km) and it takes me 20 minutes to cool down when I get to work. I usually check emails and have breakfast while I wait and then go have a shower. Getting organised to bring in a week's worth of shirts and pants is the other thing to consider. I got a laptop lock at work now so I don't have to lug that home anymore.

I'm loving it. Mind you, upgraditis is hitting me bad.... I want a road bike now!

[BrisVegas]

Rode all the way home from work this arvo! 1hr20 for somewhere between 35-40km. My old mtb is making some ominous creaks and groans.... Me too actually

[BrisVegas]

this is fast becoming my bike blog...

I'm still at it. Riding 4-5 days a week now. Will need to do something soon about cold weather gear and lighting as it's getting dark and cold in the mornings. The weight is still coming off. 11kgs so far since January. Only 17 to go to hit a healthy BMI!

[Grunt]

BV, are you riding in bike gear? If so get the arm sleeve and leggings that just add to what you have. I use them and they are great. They are just sleeves and leg that if you warm up you can easily remove. Also it means you will not cook on the way home if it has warmed up more than it was cold in the morning.

Mine are Netti ones.

[BrisVegas]

I don't have any bike "gear" yet. I was thinking about getting a high-vis long sleeve jersey or two soon. I can't see me ever getting into the fancy "team" jerseys and knicks etc.. I prefer functional and low key.

My brother was telling me about those sleeves that pull off once it warms up. Not a bad idea.

[just]

Keep an eye on Aldi they sell cheap functional cycling gear a few times a year.

[BrisVegas]

yeah, I got some knicks from Aldi which are ok. The stock didn't last long though, as I went to buy another pair 2 days later and they were cleaned out.

[Grunt]

Also look at a place in NZ, Ground Effect, is good functional gear.

Ground Effect

[AndyP]

11kg!!! Well done.

I use an exercise bike occasionally for cross training. That should be enough to stop this thread from feeling like a blog.

[BrisVegas]

11kg!!! Well done.

yeah. almost 10%

[Moe Norman]

Vegas,

Cycling gear is 'functional' especially the jerseys. I keep my spare tubes, phone, a snack in the pockets at the back.

To keep warm, just grab some Bioslyx from Big W. They are like skins, but about 20% of the price.

should be able to get full length pants for $35 and shame with the long sleever shirts

[BrisVegas]

there is functional and there is functional + gaudy mobile billboard for some obscure Euro race team's sponsors....

the former is what I'm after, ie.
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/...s-cycle-jersey
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/...s-cycle-jersey

I'll checkout the skins stuff at Big W, cheers.

[Moe Norman]

oh yeah, I don't have any of those stupid ones.

I have plain ones and also have a Devine/Leighton one, a Suncorp one and hopefully an AMP one soon!

I'll admit to some Discovery Channel knicks with AMD on them, but they were $8 on ebay!

[goughy]

I buy mostly Jaggad brand stuff for my cycling and tri gear. I have a heap of discount vouchers still for them, plus being a member with them I get my hands on the odd 'damaged' or ex display stock. Got a tri suit for the price of shipping at one stage.

I second the bioslyx stuff. it's how I layer up up here. Had the long pants on over my knicks this morning, with arm warmers, shirt and vest. But in the worst of winter days up here I've gotten away with long bioslyx, knicks then leg warmers, and then jersey and winter cycling jacket up top. Effective layering and working out just how cold it's gonna be can be hard up here, especially with 4am start times. 9hrs and 230k for me this week thus far.

[Toolish]

My cycling has been pretty well non existant lately...a little girl going to sleep at 10 then waking from midnight to 4am every night this week makes getting out of bed to ride before work near impossible.

BV, I have to torpedo 7 arm and leg warmers, they work great. Got them on special for about $20 all up I think...and I have a torpedo7 jersey which was 20-30 also. Good value to be found at Torpedo 7 but need to be looking for the right thing at the right time.

[BrisVegas]

Goughy, what lights are you using? The dx magic shines get good wraps, as do ayups if money is no object.

[just]

Ayups are a local business, they are based and have a shop in Sandgate. Nice lights from what I've seen, would be my next bike purchase.

[goughy]

I've actually got a loner set from a mate who couldn't believe I was riding with like a woolworths cheapy; they only work on about 30% power but are about 5 times brighter than standards. Having now used decent lights, I will never use cheapies again. A cheap flashing led is fine for on the back. But I ride in pitch dark like twice a week and there is nothing like decent lights.

You can consider ayups expensive, but the reality is they are competitively priced for decent lights. Quite a few I ride with have them and they will without a doubt be the next ones I get. You can get a decent set with a hard case for a bit over 300 I think. The other ones I see around a lot are the nightrider range, also very good and comparable on price to the ayups.
http://www.ayup-lights.com/systems/l...v-twin-sports/
This is the set I'd get. Maybe an upgrade to the longer life battery.
I have learnt that you can never have enough lights on your bike. One guy I rode with has aout 5 flashing red on the back (including ayups backwards), a set of ayups flashing facing forwards and a set of ayups on his helmet - at least a grands worth of lights.

In reality, a $40 red led set backwards and flashing and one decent front light does the job. Flashing tends to be noticed better, and even when riding during the day I'll generally have my rear light on flashing and my front set flashing too. You can't be too obvious out there.

[BrisVegas]

Sorted out my light situation last week. Got the Planet Bike Blaze 1watt headlight and Superflash tailight combo for $75 landed. They work well and are very visible on flash mode. The headlight isn't enough for pitch dark riding, but I couldn't afford the ayups. Got some new knicks last week two, which are a revelation compared to the dodgy aldi ones I was wearing.

I also got new bars and stem the week before last, as the set on the bike (my brother's) were too narrow for me. I got some used SR Sakae ergo drops and longish quill stem that was hanging in the workship of a bike shop in town. $20 bargain! The wider bars have helped a bit with comfort and leverage up the hills.

Been riding pretty much every day now and I'm enjoying it still. Have lost just over 12kgs now (down to 104kg) and the fitness improvement is noticeable. I walked 18 on Sat at Brooky and carried the bag with little fatigue.