As promised yesterday, here’s another Open University series on cycling, The Science Behind The Bike, starting with the History of the hour record and covering technology, physiology and the physics underlying the whole thing. Enjoy!
The Maverick Series is here
The author at Capital Punishment 2013
Australia now has an embarrassment of riches in terms of XCM racing, and yesterday that lineup was further strengthened by the announcement of the Maverick XCM Series.
The name is something of a thumbed nose towards the Real Insurance XCM Series, which formerly included two of these races but was dropped for 2013 and revamped for 2014 without its former flagship events, but with the backing of Cycling Australia, who have ambitions to integrate it into the national XCO and DH series, thus making it a far more national-scale event. From this it will gain a far wider reach but possibly alienate some of the XCM-faithful who could formerly ride each and every Real Insurance XCM event, but will now be hit with huge logistical hurdles if they want to do the same in 2014.
Obviously more than a few people were annoyed by the whole thing. Hence, I assume, the name of the new series. Continue Reading →
The Design Behind The Bike
I’ve been watching this excellent series from the UK’s Open University on the subject of design in cycling. It’s a fascinating helicopter view of bike design from several angles. Enjoy!
It’s on: Three Peaks Challenge 2014
I did it. I signed up for the 2014 Three Peaks Challenge. In March 2014, barring flood, fire, disaster or accidentally being maimed by a tree, I’ll be lining up for about 235km of highly scenic – and steep – riding through Victoria’s Alpine region.
Not coincidentally, I’ve also signed up for the 7 Peaks, a more spread-out seasonal event that runs through the same area, and my Three Peaks ride will knock over two of those seven peaks, Hotham and Falls Creek.
My plan will be to arrive in Bright in plenty of time, warm up on Mount Buffalo, then fuel up and get some sleep. The next day, line up for the Three Peaks ride itself. Then a few beers with friend Jon from the Bright Brewery, more sleep, and next day – legs permitting – either Dinner Plain or Mount Buller before heading to Melbourne for a couple of days of cocktails and culture. And rest.
It also means I’ll be on structured training as of Jan 1st, which is one of my pre-requisites for next year’s objectives anyway, and I’ll be following some of this advice, courtesy of Cycling Tips. And I won’t be using the bike I rode up Mount Hotham last time – pictured.
Are you doing the Three Peaks this year? Are you in the area and interested in joining me on one of the other hills? Or perhaps for a beer? Let me know.
15/140
Image: Daily Telegraph
The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough. In Sydney and London, my two most recent home cities, cyclist deaths have been mounting up, and naturally nerves are wearing somewhat thin. For my part I’ve been alternating between despair and fury over the situation. I either want to stay at home and never ride again, or I want to go out and kick some wing mirrors off.
In the press and on the blogs, much ink has been expended on the fact that the Amy Gillett Foundation’s “A Metre Matters” campaign needs to be implemented here and it needs to be implemented now. With this I strongly agree – though I personally think more than a metre is needed.
Very few column inches, however, have been expended on the fact that we already have safe overtaking laws, right now.
In NSW, rule 15 defines vehicles. It is abundantly clear over the fact that a bicycle, for the purposes of the rules, is a vehicle.
We are not second class citizens on the road.
Many road users, cyclists included, seem to be entirely ignorant of this, so let me just underline it – because it’s important for what follows. A bicycle, for the purposes of road rules, is a vehicle, and therefore carries all the rights and responsibilities that any other vehicle carries – with some specific exceptions.
Further down the rules, you come to Division 3: Overtaking. Within this division, rule 140 forms a master template for safe overtaking between vehicles. It’s pretty clear and unequivocal
A driver must not overtake a vehicle unless:
(a) the driver has a clear view of any approaching traffic, and
(b) the driver can safely overtake the vehicle.
Let’s just repeat that
A driver must not overtake a vehicle unless:
(a) the driver has a clear view of any approaching traffic, and
(b) the driver can safely overtake the vehicle.
This rule, part B of rule 140, would cover every single one of the dangerous overtaking moves that I’ve experienced as a cyclist, and criminalise them with 20 penalty units. What we seem to lack is general knowledge of this rule, the fact that it applies to overtaking cyclists, and meaningful enforcement. Being inside a metre is emphatically not safe. A driver passing this close has breached rule 140.
NSW Police, and more broadly all jurisdictions in which similar laws exist – yes, they exist in the rest of Australia and in the UK too – could be enforcing this rule right now. But they never seem to bother. What we get is mealy-mouthed excuses and instead of being charged under rule 140, drivers are sent on their merry way with a mere warning – or at best an incorrect charge – while at the side of the road, the ambulance service and the health system is left to pick up the pieces.
Enough is enough.
If, like me, you’ve over it, may I suggest you write to the NSW Police Commissioner and demand that rule 140 is enforced, in the absence of more specific one metre rules. Demand that his officers correctly handle collisions and near misses when reported. Write to your local politicians and press home the point that we need a metre or more, and mention that we already have unenforced laws which can handle this. And if you have driver friends who aren’t aware of these rules, tell them. Make sure they know that if they can’t get past a bike with a safe margin, then they must not overtake. Make sure they also know that bikes are vehicles and therefore they are treated as such – at junctions, roundabouts and when emerging from parking spaces. Give way, give space.
This needs to change. Enough people have died.
Now that’s how to transport a bike
Found via @stravacycling on Instagram.
But I think to myself: where do I keep the shoes, helmet, toolkit, spare wheels, energy gels, electrolyte, recovery drink, arm warmers, leg warmers, rainproof shell, spare jersey, spare tubes, multitool, tyre levers, gloves, eyewear, spare eyewear lenses, lights, sunscreen, garmin, water and all the other nonsense that gets packed into my van on race day?
My passport has arrived
Not that kind of passport. The other kind of passport. Specifically a 7 Peaks Challenge passport. Yep, I intend, sometime over this summer, to head south and ride up some mountains, logistics permitting.
I rode up Mount Hotham around this time last year, and had one of my best days out on the bike into the bargain. This year, I hope to get myself a three-day or four-day weekend and knock over Mount Buffalo, Mount Hotham, Dinner Plain and Falls Creek, thus getting me the four summits required for a partial completion of the challenge. Baw Baw, Lake Mountain and Buller may have to wait for a different trip, though.
My sketched-out plan is to drive down early on a Friday with a couple of bikes on board, arrive in time to do Bright to Mount Buffalo, then retire. On the Saturday, I have a big day planned, with 250km of road over Hotham, down into Omeo and return to Bright via Falls Creek and Tawonga Gap. Then on Sunday, drive out to Omeo and ride Dinner Plain return, then drive home to Sydney. In between, I’ll probably be overnighting in Bright, and enjoying the hospitality of the Bright Brewery, where my friend Jon is head brewer, so some of that riding will inevitably be in a very hungover state. I’ll probably also be calling in at Beechworth, which won’t help on that front. If you’re a reader of the blog (I know there are at least a couple of you) and you’re in the area, I’d love to catch up and maybe see you on one of the rides. Or in one of the pubs.
Fingers crossed I can get the weekend pass, because frankly, I’m excited.
Flung
Yep, the 2013 Camelbak Highland Fling went off yesterday, but for me the day was not without a hitch or two.
Last year, I signed up late for the Fling after posting a competitive time at the 2012 Kanangra Classic. I figured another 100+km XCM a week or two later would be awesome, so I headed off to Bundanoon at an unholy time of the morning, only to end up parked at the side of the Hume Highway with a flat tyre and no spare. I’d used my spare the week before and not got round to replacing it, so 2012 was a no-show. I went home and sulked.
So this year, inevitably, I had unfinished business with the Highland Fling Continue Reading →
The Great Cycle Challenge: done and dusted
So there it is. 1500km done so far in October, one big crash, one new bike, lots of ups, surprisingly few downs. 55 hours and 26 minutes in the saddle, 14,233m of ascent and the month isn’t quite over. But the Great Cycle Challenge is done for this year. I also made my fundraising goal, a relatively modest $750 – or 50c per kilometre. That’s pretty good value, so if you want to add a little more, head on over to my sponsorship page and donate.
The cause, obviously, is a great one. The Children’s Medical Research Institute, which runs it, may be familiar from the annual Jeans for Genes day you may have seen around. Hopefully the Great Cycle Challenge will remain as a yearly event. It’s a great event for several reasons
1. All skill levels are catered for. Because you set your own goal, you’re not constrained by your own fitness or lack thereof. An enthusiastic racer like me could knock over 1500 or more in a month, or your grandma could set herself a target of 25km on her local cycleway and still have the same potential to make a difference.
2. It’s designed to fit in around your other commitments. Because you can ride any time in October, you don’t get a clash with, say, a race weekend or a birthday or a workday or any other commitment. You can ride whenever you want and that helps maximise participation
3. All the tools you need are provided. You don’t need any special equipment other than a bike and a web browser. You don’t need a $10,000 carbon race monster (though it helps), you don’t need a GPS unit (though it helps) and you don’t need all the lycra, dietary supplements and daily massages that a pro cyclist gets. Though they’d probably help too.
So yeah, I’ll be doing it again next year. And you probably should too, even if it’s only an excuse to up your monthly training volume.
First Ride: Bianchi Methanol SL 29
Yes. Yes, it is.
So as I intimated in an earlier post, I’m now the proud owner of a carbon hardtail MTB, more specifically a Bianchi Methanol SL 29 XT. I took it out on dirt for the first time yesterday, and my impressions so far are more than positive.
So the basics on the bike
- 29″ Carbon hardtail.
- RockShox Reba RL 100mm fork w/poploc remote lockout
- XT groupset (with the exception of a Truvativ X9 double chainset and FSA chain)
- FSA components, Magura hydro discs, Selle San Marco saddle
- Fulcrum Red Power wheelset, shod with Kenda 24seven rubber
In focus, it’s a racing-oriented carbon XC hardtail. Pretty straightforward, right? Well yes. But no. Because there’s some serious thought gone into this frame and while you might not agree 100% with what’s come out, you have to tip your hat to the design. Continue Reading →
