Share the Road: Cyclists rights and wrongs
It seems that not a day goes by on one of my commutes or group rides where a motorist takes umbrage for me riding my bike on the road. It seems that these drivers believe the road was built solely for their use and that anyone else who dares use the same piece of tarmac they chose to drive on are the devil’s spawn! To be honest I don’t think they only pick on cyclists; this class of driver hates ANYONE who dares to hinder their ability to cause havoc.
Based on my experience and talking with other non-cycling motorist, I think there is a general lack of understanding as to what cyclists rights are. In fact I’d say that most cyclists aren’t aware of the rules they are expected and/or required to follow. Both sides are guilty of not following the rules and executing some truly bone-headed moves.
So why is it so hard for motorists and cyclists to just get along and play nice?
CycloSportif: York
The York CycloSportif Event is always a good one. The course is a little challenging, but not impossible. It is certainly one of the favourite locations for these events due to the good roads, lack of traffic and general hospitality of the York locals. This year, the only thing that marred the event was the weather: usually the weather is freezing cold (<4C), this year is was warm, but the wind and rain made it “interesting”.
Andy leading the pack
Wheels for Sale
It’s been brought to my attention that I have more wheels than I really need. Especially since I just purchased a new set of race wheels. All I really need is a good set of training wheels and my race wheels. So this means I’m letting go of the wheels I don’t really need any more.
The wheel sets I’m look to part with to enable them to find a more productive home are:
- Campagnolo EURUS Clinchers (2009). Asking price: AU$350.
- Reynolds Assault Carbon Clinchers (2010). Asking Price: AU$560.
If you are interested, then please drop me an email (shadow42
iinet
netau?Subject=Wheel Sets for Sale) . I’m based in Perth, WA so if you’re interstate (or overseas) you’ll have to cover any postage costs.
UCI World Cycling Tour
WOW, what an experience the last few days have been! I’m totally shattered and nearly every muscle in my body is aching, yet I’ve never felt so alive. From my perspective I’d have to say the inaugural UCI World Cycling Tour has been a fabulous success. Perth really turned it on. Not only was the weather fantastic, but the atmosphere on the day was electric. The crowds at the top of Malcolm St were something else. Seeing so many people cheering everyone on was one of the best experiences. They were cheering everyone on; even the likes of me who got dropped on the 3rd lap and had a struggle-face-from-hell for the next 5 trips up Malcolm St. It was a tough day on the bike, but one I’d gladly repeat. Bring on next year!
So did I win or place well? Nope, I finished #105 of 150. Or 19th in my category of 27. So not an exceptional result, but considering where I was a little over 3 years ago, I personally think this was incredible. For those not keeping up, a little over 3 years ago riding just 5km was a challenge. I was also considerably heavier than I am today. So, in that light I’m very proud of my result. Next year though I’m hoping to be much more competitive. I just need to do more work on my hill climbing. That’s where I lost it yesterday; everywhere else I was comfortably able to keep the pace. It was just when the course climbed that I struggled. Oh well, something to aim for…
STRAVA: The Social Cycling Stats System
The wonderful thing about technology is that it’s always evolving. Things that were not possible or required massive, bulky gear a few years ago, can now be crammed into a tiny device weighing a few grams and not costing mega $$$! Most of this tech, especially in cycling, is developed for the professionals, but then trickles down to the enthusiasts like myself.
Not only are the materials (Carbon Fibre, Titanium, Composites, etc…) used to build bikes and components is evolving, but the technology used to drive and monitor the performance of rider and bike is also changing. Of these it’s the monitoring technologies that are becoming ever more affordable and sort after by the cycling geeks. GPS, heart rate monitoring, power meters; these are all within reach of your “weekend warrior”. Well OK, power meters are still quite pricey, but that may be changing soon…MetriGear?
UCI World Cycling Tour Details – Perth
Finally, more details about the UCI World Cycling Tour have been released. This includes the course map. Only issue for us locals, is we can’t actually ride this course to practice beforehand as the course will require closed roads due to the course going UP one-way streets. We can ride most of the challenging bits to get some practice in, but won’t be able to get a feel for the entire course.
More details can be found at the office UCI World Cycling Tour website.
I’ve also taken the time to map out the course route using Bikely to get a bit more of a detailed idea of the course.
Map Removed. Sorry about that.
Oh and the best part is that UCI will be awarding the coveted Rainbow Jersey to winners in each age category. Obviously this isn’t the same as the Pro’s Rainbow Jersey, but it’s as close as us amateurs can get! 
UPDATE: REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
A Broken Cog
Last night I had one of the strangest thing happen: I broke a cog on the cassette on my bike.
Now I’m sure your thinking that’s unusual, but certainly not strange as cogs do wear and often a tooth will break. But, in this instance the cog didn’t just break a tooth it literally disintegrated! Where once I had a complete 11s cassette, not I have a 10s one; the 14T cog is simply missing!
WTF?
Yep, that’s exactly what I thought. WTF? How the hell does that happen?
Australia Day: Great day to be out on a bike?
We Australia Day has come and gone again. Seems to fly past ever faster with each coming year. This year it was a beautiful sunny day and one best spent out doors soaking up some glorious West Australian sunshine. Seems I wasn’t alone in that thought as I saw more cyclist, surfers, joggers, and walkers than most weekends. There’s something about Australia day, more than any other day, where we all just want to get out and enjoy this great country.
For most of those out and about, the general feeling was that of one of a shared sense of joy and well being, but for others it seems they just hate fun and happiness and are permanently grumpy. These grumpy souls are generally harmless, until they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. At that point they become as dangerous as a loaded gun!
So here I am out riding with a group of mates down the west coast of WA. Enjoying the sights and sounds, happy to be alive and wishing I could do this more often (the need for a job to pay the bills and buy more cycling toys messes with this dream). Right in the middle of this minor day-dream some numpty in his steel-coffin grazes past our group blasting on his horn, yelling abuse and generally being an angry idiot!
Master’s Criterium Racing
Well it has bee quite sometime since I’ve posted here. I’d like to say I’ve been busy, but honestly I think it’s more that I’ve been a little lazy. So I’m going to try and make an effort to post a little more often. It’s apparently good for the soul to write a journal (in this case a blog), so that’s what I’ll do.
This weekend I raced my first Criterium in over 15 years. I must admit I was a little worried so I made sure I was racing in ‘B’ grade; everyone was telling me that I should be in ‘A’ grade. I’m glad I stuck to my guns and stayed in ‘B’…boy was it tough! Not only was the pace fairly high, but the conditions we’re great for such intensive racing. High temps and a strong easterly wind made for a hard race. Not only that, but every lap the lads decided to push hard heading up the slight rise past the start/finish line. Now this rise couldn’t be considered a hill, but by the 10th time up this rise it was starting to hurt…LOTS!
So what’s the difference between a standard road race and a Criterium? Primarily the distance of both the race and the course. Most Criterium course’s are short, less than 2km, in length. Some are even shorter. So the riders have to ride many laps of the same circuit. This is great for spectators and challenging for the riders as there is no such thing as a home course advantage (by the 10th lap everyone knows the course well). The other aspect of Criteriums is cornering; if you can’t take corners at high-speed, then you’ll never do well in Criteriums.
Basically, Criteriums are suited for sprinters. I like to think that sprinting is one of my strengths. So I was feeling confident.
Bike Setup: It’s the little things…
WOW, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I really must get into the habit of posting more often. That’s easier said than done, but it does need to become a habit if I want this blog to actually work.
So today’s post will be a little piece about Bike Setup. For those who aren’t addicted to cycling, you may not be aware of how much difference the correct setup of a bike can make. Those you just ride with the family will probably just setup their bike so they can easily reach the ground and not bang their knees when pedalling. It works, but it really isn’t efficient. Even those who commute, will generally spend little more than 5 minutes adjusting their bike so that it kinda kits comfortably.
All this is good and it will get you going. For most people being comfortable of a bike is more important than anything else. And if you are a recreational cyclist then that’s really what you should be aiming for:being comfortable.
However, if you are spending $1000’s on the ultimate race machine you need to get it setup and tuned to allow you get the most out it. And just because you got it setup perfectly when you first bought it or even via a professional bike fitter, this doesn’t mean that it’ll always be perfect. This is a lesson I recently learned…
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