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NEWBIE

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:07 pm
by bgorton
Recently found this excellent web site while looking to buy an old frame to build up for my son and learned that there is good buying and selling going on. Then there are the rules.

What on earth can I post about before I can get busy, post pics of my bikes? No.

Inspiration, as it often does, came to me a while ago during my weekday ride, I'll post about it. Definitely not NYC Bike Snob, but maybe the spirit of http://diabloscott.blogspot.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; can guide me. It's a while since I started the notes so they don't describe what happened today, but they do start the climb to getting stuff out of my shed and on to someone who can use it.

So, here we were at 6.30 rolling out the driveway and down to Kalinga Park, in Brisbane, on the way to the bike path that runs for around 7 km through wetlands free of cars, busy with cyclists and occasional joggers and alive with birds. Its a nice path and at my usual turnaround, the tap, gives me 20 km, just right to keep the beer/exercise calorie business balanced.

This morning was fine, almost cold, though not cold enough for gloves, a neck warmer or buff. However did neck warmers get to be called buffs? Needed two layers and a jacket though.

The ride was unexceptional though a mum and dad duck did an angry waddle towards the bike defending their newly hatched family. It always amazes me that ducks, usually as intimidating as furry kittens, become really brave when the babies are born.

There was no breeze today, just sun, and blue sky, and a lazy circuit and a half of the criterium track to round out the distance.

Home in 53 minutes, which is average for me these days.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:08 pm
by NhiTrac
bgorton wrote: What on earth can I post about before I can get busy, post pics of my bikes? No.
Welcome. Any why not? Head to the gallery thread and post a pic of your bike... That's two posts!

Thank me in this thread... That's three! :mrgreen:

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:13 pm
by RonK
The rules exist because this site is not simply a marketplace for you to unload your unwanted goods. It's a forum for cyclists, and the marketplace is for the convenience of the members.
If you just want a place to flog your stuff then there are other sites that are probably more appropriate.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:26 am
by bgorton
Thanks for the welcome NhiTrac, here we go with post 2, though I look forward to keeping the diary going.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:34 pm
by MattyK
bgorton wrote:It always amazes me that ducks, usually as intimidating as furry kittens, become really brave when the babies are born.
You haven't worked with cows have you? Placid grass munchers turn into 500kg of psycho around calving time.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:51 pm
by bgorton
Not nice friendly cows surely. Obviously a townie as well as a newbie

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:54 pm
by bgorton
....earlier this month

Clear skies and no breeze again today with the temperature a cool 10°

Decided on a long ride today as it's easy to get into a lazy routine that the body gets accustomed to and and needs to be reminded that it's all about exercise.

Beyond the tap is either a 7 km return journey to Nudgee Beach, the usual destination for the serious folks, or a longer trip out to Sandgate and beyond. Again the ride takes in wetlands, then a few easy urban streets are added. After that the spectacular arrival above Sandgate Beach and a view up towards Redcliffe and the Glasshouse mountains beyond. It's a magic moment arriving there. Morning calm and blue skies reflected in a mirror sea.

There is a choice of a 5 km long wide shared path beside the sea or the road. For me it's a no-brainer though speed needs to be checked to make allowance for heaps of people out enjoying the morning. Almost at the end of the path today there were workmen busy fixing up a section so stopped short of the 30 km turnaround and had a chat to a young guy on a beautiful urban bike that he had inherited from a cousin. Absolutely the perfect city ride, flatbar, 28ish x 700c and high-end spec. He was a bit bothered by the posh looking SanMarco saddle after his fat MTB one but couldn't believe how perfectly, and quickly, the bike rode in comparison to his old workhorse.

On the ride back I started to tire and there was an unpleasant clunking sound coming from the rear end as we bounced over some of the less than perfect concrete sections on the way home.

Need to do that long ride a bit more regularly, it's 3 years since I did it with reasonable regularity getting ready for half the Lake Taupo ride with my son.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:26 pm
by darkelf921
Keep these posts going, I'm enjoying reading them :-)

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:12 am
by bgorton
Yesterday there wasn't time to investigate the rear end clunk, apart from taking off the chain, so inspired by the sweet flatbar I saw yesterday took mine down, pumped up the tires and away we went. Its a nice steel Univega frame from the mid 80's, carbon forks and Sram Force compact running gear. Rare find those carbon forks with a 1" steerer.

It spins along nicely and the steel frame is pretty comfortable, as is my oldest leather saddle that has looked after my sit bones for 5 or 6 years now. I can't believe how uncomfortable regular saddles are compared to Brooks, and how long it took me to make the switch.

We are having our driest month on record so i guess it's hardly worth saying that the skies were blue and the early morning sum welcome. High tide when I rode today, which means the canal is right at the top of it's banks. There are fish that jump out of the water and can make more than a metre in the air before splashing back. On calm days they are very obvious and when the tide is high there seem to be more of them. One person told me they are mullet and another catfish, I wonder which...or are they something else.

On the return journey my wrists were feeling the effects of being locked in one position and I was musing about bar ends. No, they would ruin the aesthetics, a bit of discomfort is a small cost.

In the afternoon went out to the shed to tighten up the cluster which wasn't loose but was the only thing that could clunk, and when I went to put a swap chain on the link didn't fit. Odd. Jump on the web to check out the numbers and make sure it was 10SP and while doing that learned that there is an inside and outside to HG chains! How about that?

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:56 am
by bgorton
Today I found myself at the start of the bike path behind a mixed bunch being led by a couple of experienced looking riders. Now I hate it when I'm driving and someone passes then sits right in front and this thinking transfers to the bike path so I never pass a rider before making sure I'm not going to bug them by pretending to be Cadel and then sitting in front of them. Followed this group for 500 metres or so and decided that I had to pass so whizzed by, and kept the cadence and heart rate up to get a decent lead going.

About 5 km later, and feeling the effects of the effort, I heard a conversation going on behind me with no sign of breathlessness while I was gasping to keep up the pace. Reckoned the group had caught up so I put in some really hard work for the remaining kilometre. Just about fell off the bike at the tap. The two serious riders had broken from the group and they rode on by on their way to Nudgee looking totally relaxed.

Arrived home in 49.47 my second time under 50 minutes this year. Might try hard again tomorrow, maybe too focussed on the milage goal and not on the work.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 5:10 pm
by bgorton
Today's ride started a long time ago when I was given a set of disk brakes. Some time later I bought a pair of 26" wheels on line just because they were quality at a crazy price and I wanted to fix up a klunker then found the big stickers that said they had no braking surface, suitable for disk brakes only. Match made in heaven? Not really as I only use my "good" MTB to ride to the supermarket a couple of km away and while it is a nice enough bike it's never going to go bush bashing and there is enough work looking after my bikes as it is.....until a couple of months ago.

We have a new road tunnel in Brisbane and in the building of it sections of our local park and bike path were torn up with the promise of better things when the tunnel was finished. One of those things turned out to be a pump track that was fenced off for months and which I ride past on my daily ride. Now I've seen lots of pump tracks, and they look like fun, but the idea of wobbling around one at my advanced years, with people looking on was definitely not on, but here was one in my own back yard.

Changed over the brakes, had an epic struggle fitting a pair of ridiculously fat knobbly tyres that a friend left with me after borrowing the bike for a weekend ride one time, and we were all ready for the pump track at 6.30 this morning. Sneakers instead of road shoes, my trendiest T shirt in case someone saw me, and off I went. Zipped off the main path up the small rise to the track and BAM, a magpie wanted a piece of my helmet, and BAM again, and swoop and swoop and BAM BAM BAM. Lots of vocals too, and I took off at the highest cadence I have ever achieved, heart pumping, scared out of my wits. Those kids that ride pump tracks must be pretty brave.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 5:33 pm
by Mrfenejeans
darkelf921 wrote:Keep these posts going, I'm enjoying reading them :-)

:shock: :shock:

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 7:09 pm
by darkelf921
Mrfenejeans wrote:
darkelf921 wrote:Keep these posts going, I'm enjoying reading them :-)

:shock: :shock:

??? Where is the problem with telling someone you enjoy the posts someone is posting?

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:48 pm
by Mrfenejeans
Non what so ever.

Re: NEWBIE

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:15 am
by darkelf921
Cool. I saw your shocked emoticons and thought my wording might have portrayed seething else. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]