Spring Cycle - Choose Your Own Adventure

You may find yourself, perilously close to an eight lane highway.
You may ask yourself: Well, where is my iPhone?
You may say to yourself. Did I lose it? Have I lost my mind?

(With apologies to Talking Heads' Once In A Lifetime)


Mobile phones can fly. Smartphones fly further.
Car rooftop aerodynamics is a singularly esoteric field of research. Sponsored largely by global automobile manufacturers, I unwittingly took it upon myself, already running late to the start of the 2011 Spring Cycle, to see how far an iPhone 3GS, wrapped in a silicon protective case could travel - at speeds of up to 80kmh in Sydney Sunday morning traffic. 


As it turns out, Neutral Bay to Epping Road, near Epping Station is not too big an ask.

As you might imagine, Stalking Horse, on his first 'official' Team Iron Horse Ride, was underwhelmed by this last minute flight of fancy. I saw him at the start as he rode off with Lightning Horse, then I backtracked across the Gore Hill Expressway/Bradfield Highway motorchange, hoping to seek solace from a palm-sized touchscreen--the recently departed iPhone. No dice.

Unsung Hero ... Sung about.
We didn't actually know that high-speed Sunday Morning automobile rooftop experimentation was underway (although there were some suspicions in my mind); until an elderly gentleman finally relented and answered my wife's 28th phone call; agreeing to have the phone collected from his Ryde home if she would just stop calling him.)


Caffeine Induced Respiration
In fact, if truth be told, Lightning Horse and I were commiserating over the absence of the iPhone when its reappearance was discovered. (Lightning Horse hadn't lost his mobile.) These commiserations involved Ricotta Cannoli and coffee in Haberfield, just a short distance from the Spring Cycle route. 


[Editor's Note: If you're wondering why there are no spectacular images in this blog, see note re missing iPhone ;-) ]


Top Gear
Maybe it was the coffee, maybe it was the stop-start nature of the route, but shortly afterwards my gears decided that only the top half of the range should be available to me. Fine on the downhill, not really a problem on the flat, but uphill-a grind. The sort of grind that leads to pain that leads to strain that leads to cramps. (In an attempt to remedy the gearing situation I managed to baffle a bicycle mechanic. Which was odd, because my local bike shop fixed it in a minute. [Truth be told, their fix wasn't that permanent and the issue remains. But I digress.]


Another Coffee
Having lost time at the start, as we wound our way through some 'interesting' routing in Balmain and then suffered a standstill more than once at choke points along the route, we figured a quick bite and another coffee at the Armory Wharf Cafe would benefit our efforts. 


In fact, we were so happy with our efforts by the end of the coffee and banana bread, that we figured calling it a day was entirely understandable. 


Our wives thought differently.
So, we finished the ride. It was, after all, only another 5km or so. But the cramps made it 'special'.

Honey, I finished.

As Lightning Horse and I crossed the finish line, sometime around noon (yes, a leisurely pace), Honey Shots were being handed out, thanks to Capilano. 

It's a packaging disaster in the making, but absolutely hits the spot if you're desperate to kill  off leg cramps. Definitely give it points for targeted marketing. Think I'll pack a tube for the Gong ride, alongside the sunscreen, Dencorub and ... something for my he- he- haemmorrhoids. ;-)

Pedal on!


Thunder Horse.


Postscript
Stalking Horse is still on speaking terms with the team and led a fantastic ride along Cooks River today from Centennial Park to Sydney Olympic Park. Haematite Horse even made a showing!

Tempus fugit, when in doubt ... Latin

Apologies to avid readers for the lapse in updates of late.
Life. We're in it.

This weekend marks the team's third stomping attempt at the Sydney Spring Cycle. A Team Iron Horse triumvirate will partake of the pedalling festivities this year. We depart North Sydney around 7am for a 55km sojourn across the 'arbour, around the parks and gardens of Sy'nee, then out west toward Sydney Olympic Park.

New route this year should be quite picturesque, whatever the weather.

Here's a quick re-cap of fanatical, if erratic, training since the last Blog update.

Centennial Park to Bronte
OK, we actually went around Centennial Park quite a few times before heading out to the Bronte Public School Fair. Let's call it 30km and a bag of fairy floss. Stalking Horse, Dark Horse, Lightning Horse and I in attendance.

Point Pilcher and the art of flat tires
Crazy Horse and I set forth from Blackheath on a 26km-ish MTB ride via Medlow Bath, past the Katoomba Airfied, to Point Pilcher. (Think mirror image of Evans Lookout Blackheath.)

   

Would have been a quicker ride, but for a flat tire and mismatched pump/tube combo. Got there in the end.

Stalking Force

Stalking Horse completed two epic solo training rides, at least. Cooks River (North Ryde to Campsie). Check. Sydney to Kurnell and back. Check. And all despite rain, dive-bombing magpies and curious misdirections. He'll be a cycling force in the Gong Ride.

More news following the Spring Cycle.

We'll be mounting our Gong Ride sponsorship campaign on completion, so please tell your friends.

Pedal on!

Thunder Horse

Back on track

Winter is dead.Long live winter!
Team Iron Horse has pedalled itself back into gear. First gear ... at least!

Two training rides under our wheels with Horses, Lightning, Dark & Thunder scooping double-ride bonus points already.

On 7 August we had our inaugural kickoff training ride at Sydney Olympic Park. 18 kms of cycling that would have made Olympians proud ... of our warm-up efforts. Baby steps.

It was a surprisingly sunny day compared to forecasts--a chance to explore some of the great cycling tracks around SOP, as well as the new cycleways on the far shore between Ryde Bridge and our Silverwater Bridge crossing of the Parramatta River.

Today, Stalking Horse joined us for his inaugural TIH ride, earning instant self-naming rights and joining the quest for this year's award for King of Kineticism!

Circling Centennial Park at pace, charging up the hills with determination, snubbing our noses at the lowering skies, four horsemen of the TIH apocalypse shook off scales, rust and verdigris to put another 30 km or more into their legs.

With the Gong Ride our ultimate goal on Sunday, 7 November, the Spring Cycle shakedown is only 8 weeks away. (Sunday, 16 October)

Will Saw Horse find the time to make a training session, let alone the Gong Ride?
Will Haematite Horse stop investing in carbon fiber and start investing in team training rides?
Will Highland Horse's shoulder see another handlebar?
Has Crazy Horse found teammates who can keep up with him in the carbon fiber endowed Haematite Horse and ... As Yet Unnamed Horse?

Will fortnightly training be the making of a record-breaking Gong Ride this year from Team Iron Horse?

Stay tuned for the answers of these questions and many, many more.

Pedal on!

Thunder Horse

Insert shoulder here: The Braeside Incident

Here standeth Highland Horse. Arm in sling. Shoulder in pieces.

He's at the scene of his cycling mishap. At the time, he was en route to Evans Lookout via Braeside Rd. An excellent morning ride including speed, hills, views and great coffee at the end, after a couple more hills.

Here's a shot of the creek crossing just around the corner:

What you can't see in Highland's pic is that preceding this sharp, rocky bend, there is a long, steep hill. At the time of his mishap, he was going very fast, downhill, taking the bend very tightly.

Here's his blow-by-blow recount and the outcome:

"I was hammering down a dirt road at full pelt in damp conditions. The last thing I remember is the back wheel starting to lift and then I was lying under the bike in a lot of pain, trying not to vomit and unable to get up. Lay there in the mud and rocks for about a minute before I could lift the bike off and get to my feet.

The front wheel was locked, so I had no choice but to abandon the bike in some bushes and hobble painfully home.

Didn't realise how significant the damage was until I got my shirt off and saw the new right-shoulder arrangement. Suffered what is called a "separated shoulder", which basically seems to mean various bits and pieces are no longer in their original order and I have a second step on the shoulder."

The prognosis isn't entirely certain as yet. The latest advice from the Osteopath is to seek surgical advice.

Highland's advice, for future reference, is: Slow down. Go wide.

Do not, do not, try to take the inside track at speed. It will break you.

 

In our last post, we begged the questions:

Is it the chill in the air that's causing these incidents?

Cycling into the sun?

It seems that cycling into the sun on chilly mornings is indeed the culprit.

So, once my ribs are mended, Highland's shoulder is repaired and our bikes are again roadworthy, what to do?

Perhaps ride later in the day; or, if cycling in the morning, ride away from the sun?

Perhaps slow down?

Highland Horse's anvil-like bike was relatively intact after the incident and a day of rest; shrouded in shrubbery nearby. We went out to retrieve it before cycling archaeologists stumbled upon it.

In vintage, it rivals Dark Horse's old machine. Its only sign of wear and tear? A slightly bent rear derailleur.

As Toad of Toad Hall would say:

"Poop, poop. What marvellous machines!"

Take care and pedal on!

Thunder Horse

A farewell to cycling innocence ... Ouch!

So, I noticed the merry month of May was without a post and thought it must be well past time to update 'the readership' on Team Iron Horse antics.

Shortly before, after or during that thought, I fell off my bike. And no, it wasn't stationary at the time. 

In fact, it's been over a week since, at around 40kmh I reconnected with Planet Earth; rediscovering the fact that gravel and gravity don't mix.

In short, (clinically*) fractured ribs, lots of abrasions and bruises (mostly on the upper left arm and both shoulders). Bruises have been coming through all week on the legs, hips and arms. 

Irreversible damage and dismemberment was visited upon various cycling accoutrements: shredded seat, burst CamelBak, torn rain jacket, busted helmet and I suspect that I need a new front wheel.

What caused such mayhem? A rock in a pothole ... I think. Without video footage to review I suspect the exact cause may remain a mystery.

We were descending Hat Hill Road, past the Pulpit Rock turnoff, aiming to walk up Hat Hill itself. Highland Horse was along for the ride, another of our regular thrice weekly micro pedalathons. Shortly after the incident he expressed amazement that there wasn't more blood!

Here's his eyewitness account:

"Nasty business. We were going at the clappers at the time and riding into the sun. Thunder went down hard in an explosion of dust and just kept bouncing - he could have taught Barnes Wallis a thing or two."

Guess I must have rolled quite a few times after being catapulted over the handlebars. Don't recall a great deal.

So, be careful out there.

:: NEWSFLASH ::
As I was about to post this entry, news has come to hand that Highland Horse met with injury while cycling along the Braeside Road earlier today. Scant information at the moment. Dislocated shoulder. More news as it comes to hand.

Is it the chill in the air that's causing these incidents?
Cycling into the sun?


So, once more, be careful out there, but have fun!


Pedal on!
Thunder Horse

* Clinically fractured, as per the Doctor who saw me in Emergency when the pain escalated. No breaks found on the Xray, but they're bloody sore to the touch. 
It seems I need visible fractures to elicit any sympathy at home. [Not entirely true ;-) ]

Ampersand toe knuckle ... ?

No idea.

Just wanted to make sure everybody on Team Iron Horse had the following dates etched into their brains:

7-29 May [21 stages] Giro D'Italia: ... think, hill climbs.

15-22 May [8 stages] Amgen Tour of California:  ... think, sunny sight-seeing.

[4 stages] Tour de Luxembourg: ... think, tiny.

11-19 June [ stages] Tour de Suisse: ... think, chocolate.

2-24 July [21 stages] Tour de France: ... think, spectacle.

20 Aug - 11 September [21 stages] Vuelta a Espana: ... think, tapas.

29 Aug - 4 September [4 events] UCI MTB World Champtionship: ... think, brakes.

For dates of other events, visit: SBS Cycling Central or UCI Pro Tour.

I realise we're not going after professional sponsorship, but you never know when the penny might drop and pure, unadulterated inspiration will make one of us blindingly rich beyond the demands of cycling team sponsorship ... then we can go global! (By the way, for a 3 year exclusive sponsorship, covering all likely costs, you'd be looking at around $30M.)

On that note, have a Happy Easter!


Pedal on!

Thunder Horse.

Letting in the light

Another great afternoon for a bike ride. Inspired by the dusting off of the pedals, Crazy Horse plotted a course from Blackheath out to nearby Hargraves Lookout and then across to Mt Blackheath. The connecting road in particular was a great find, used mostly by bushwalkers but clearly an old fire trail.

The very picturesque avenue that whisks us at a leisurely pace (children crossing), past a riding stable always impresses. Such a stark contrast to the sandstone escarpment.

Distance all told on this ride was 25km; and this time we remembered the sunscreen.

The lack of significant climbs led to some unusual antics from Crazy Horse and Highland Horse.

On a more technical note, I think my Iron Horse is due for some serious maintenance. I don't think it's supposed to chirp like a bird...(I'm guessing it's a disk brake issue but I'm just the rider.)

Special thanks to Highland Horse's better half for putting on dinner after the ride (and even a nosebag for those of us who couldn't stay past a couple of cleansing ales).

Until next time,


Pedal on!
Thunder Horse

Dusting off the pedals

OK, it’s a late start to Team Iron Horse cycling blogs for 2011, but it’s a start.

While aiming for a bit more consistency, detail and timeliness in blog posts; I’ll be happy just to get one posted per quarter … OK, looks like I missed the last quarter entirely. Perhaps a bit more blogger ambition required. I'll try to dial it up.

You might think that the lapse in blogging over the past couple of months is due to a lack of cycling. Not so.

In fact, Highland Horse, a newcomer to Team Iron Horse, has shown cycling dedication through mist, rain and occasional howling wind, with Thunder Horse in tow, at least twice a week on average since late January. I suspect it’s his Scottish heritage that has caused a post-cycle caffeine fix to be increasingly replaced by a post-cycle cleansing ale: in moderation, naturally.

Perhaps ensorcelled by the strength and fitness that this arithmetic progression of pedal-powered proclivity had thrust upon us, we deemed the 40km return trip out to McMahon's Lookout a worthy outing on Friday, 25^th March.

It was a spectacular afternoon and Crazy Horse had joined the quest for this particular vision splendid with box trailer in tow. (This vehicular miracle made managing the logistics of cycle and rider retrieval later in the evening, by our better halves and young'uns, all the more possible—particularly after saluting our fine achievement with a couple of cleansing ales. There’s definitely something to be said for cycling in the afternoon.)

Crazy Horse hadn’t been on his bicycle since the Trial Bay Triathlon over a month earlier, so he was probably not going to fare as well as Highland Horse and I after our grueling training regimen … hmmm, ok, a triathlon may trump a morning ride and coffee, even if you do it three times a week. Point taken.

So, it was a beautiful afternoon. A light breeze nudged autumn leaves from their perches, the temperature rested pleasantly in the low 20s a well maintained dirt road lay before us.

One error of judgement was the lack of sunblock, but hey, we had finally managed to get 3 cyclists to the start of a ‘distance’ ride, we had to pedal on.

I’m delighted to report that according to this entry, what we had achieved is considered a long day’s ride!

McMahon's Point ride - Wentworth Falls

Mountain biking (medium difficulty)

General information

This is a long day's ride across the heath and forests of Kings Tableland. The route travels along an unpaved road, running south from Wentworth Falls along the clifftops above Kedumba Walls. The road ends at McMahons Lookout, where you can stand some 500 m above Lake Burragorang and survey the huge reservoir which supplies most of Sydney with water. Access past the lookouts is restricted, as it is within the 3-km stored-water zone of the the Sydney Catchment Authority. Do not venture past the fenced lookouts.

Turn off the Great Western Highway at Kings Tableland Road, just east of Wentworth Falls Township. The road is sealed to the old Queen Victoria Hospital then unsealed to the end.

In the interests of fairness, we did start at the Queen Vic Hospital, about 5km from Anderson’s Firetrail so total return distance was a little over 40 km, instead of a possible 60+].

But, not to lessen the achievement, here’s a satellite image of a bloody terrific ride.

There were quite a few highlights. Number one, it was a beautiful afternoon. Here are a few random shots of magic cycling conditions.

The lookout itself was pretty impressive.

 

As per Highland Horse: ‘twas a top day out, Grommit. While Highland Horse pulled up the next morning better than he’d feared it was a real eye-opener how much water and food you need for these rides.

While the ride out was generally dowhill, with a few kicks up, the return was generally uphill, with occasional descents. This was not a descent on the return leg ...

([In fact, shortly thereafter it would be fair to say that cramps took Thunder Horse with a vengeance.)

So, this year’s lesson number 2: Remember food and water.

Did you miss lesson number 1? Remember sunblock.

Special thanks to Crazy Horse's better half for hosting a post-cycle dinner for the families of us rusty Iron Horses.

(Since writing this update another epic Blue Mountains adventure has occurred. Word has it that experimentation with handheld video while cycling has taken place, with some arresting results. So stay tuned for more heroic adventures of Team Iron Horse.)

Pedal on!

Thunder Horse.