Nana Naps essential

Part of the routine: don't fight the afternoon nap, it's all part of the recovering cycle.

Australia Day – our own nation’s day and long weekend and the roads are usually very busy not only because of the holiday but also it is one of the last free weekends before school go back.

A custom on our country highway and byways are the road slogan warning us of the feeling tired, battling the yawns, weary and driving? Advice of the Road Traffic Authorities is to take a power nap or get out of the car and revive your drive.

Long weekend see service agencies offering cups of tea or coffee and a biscuit encouraging drivers and families to take a break and arrive alive and survive. Combination of the rest, the stimulant of coffee or tea, and food in the stomach all add to relieving the stress and concentration of driving and tiredness. 

Bendigo cycling club honour roll

Winning club: Ian Grindlay - Billy Stevens - Merv Dean (Dec) - Brian Sonnerman - Frank McCaig (Dec) celebrate another win for the club. (Date unknown.)

The Bendigo and District Cycling Club has been extremely fortunate in the calibre and stable of riders that have been club members over many decades. The history books of cycling, locally, state wide, nationally, and internationally have been written on the name of many great athletes in cycling belonging to the Bendigo Club.

While events may no longer be run the history still remains that Bendigo has always been a competitive strength to reckon with. While it is risky to attempt to capture all the riders names as there is always the chance the we can miss recognising a significant contributor of the sport.

Moments like these!

Ever have one of those moments where things happen that make you wonder what is behind our being? Find more and people sharing the “what are the odds of this” moments in their life, quite often is said the six degrees of separation, where someone knows that someone who is linked to our lives and circumstances.

Take them as you will, I enjoy hearing the encounters of others. Like the local rider preparing for a ride across Canada and getting the right contacts on what the conditions and environment is likely to be encountered.  There are a number of internet sites across the world for back packing tourists for getting a hot shower and accessing a sofa to sleep on where people register their availability, allowing travellers these small comforts away from home.

There is a cost!

2012 -  you’re about to start with a new beginning in cycling or any other aspect of your life as your new year resolution there is a cost factor that may well need to be considered.

Entering into cycling starts with an initial outlay of purchasing the bike that suits your vision of cycling whether for commuting, riding trails on the weekend, or wanting to join , recreational road riding. Having a budget figure of expenditure is essential or money will slip through your fingers. The bike choice then will require pedal choice and shoes to match. Good sound advice is selecting a well fitting helmet as this can be all that is between you and the road in an event of a fall. Clothing is another area where choice seems to come with some reservations but once the element of comfort is experienced in having a reasonable pair of cycling Knicks  and good gloves you won’t regret the outlay.

Gauge your bike snobbery

So, the question is not whether you are a bike snob. Rather, it’s how much of a bike snob are you?

Answer these questions to find out.

Finish the following statement: “My bike is worth…”

1. More than I admit, even to close personal friends. And it’s worth much, much more than I admit to my significant other.
2. Its weight in gold.
3. Really, just gold? Well, I guess that’s how much mine was worth before I upgraded the wheel set.

Gearing up to climb

Flat ground on an incline: the right attitude is just as important as strength when climbing hills.

Uphill and down dale the lofty heights and deep valleys where the bike riders character and metal is shaped and strengthened.

Hills once you get your mind around them can be better than a long flat ride where you are more likely to encounter a head or cross wind that can be far more of a challenge and draining. For every uphill there is bound to be a downhill that allows a degree of recovery and a reward for every rise conquered.

What seems to be one of the biggest challenges for new comers on the bike with hills is getting the gearing right to match the power to weight and level of fitness.  Hills most of the time are best ridden at your own pace and keeping control of your breathing and pedal rhythm until you have established strength and endurance of the mind to work the legs.

Taking insurance into mind

Take care: a well maintained bike and focus on what you're doing are just as important as insurance.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act has certainly changed our thinking in meeting our “duty of care”, and understanding “responsibilities” in the work place, placing duties on manufacturers and suppliers, work place management and workers alike.

It is common place to have a disclaimer on how products and equipment are to be used in a safe manner with limited risk to health and safety. Employers are to provide for employees, so far as is reasonably practicable a work place without risk to health and safety. Employees are asked to take reasonable care for themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or emission in the work place.

Christmas gifts for cyclists

What to give the cyclist for Christmas?

Christmas is looming very quickly and known as the season for giving and receiving, thought you may well like some ideas on the Christmas stocking fillers that won’t break the budget but be a joy to receive.

Getting a flat tyre is never a delight as the pumping up of the tyre wears you out trying to get the high pressure back into the tube. There is a simple smart and quick solution that reduces the gym work out of pumping; CO2 gas bottles and applicator the tyre is pumped back to around 120 psi in approximately 2 seconds, making these worth the weight to carry (which is probably less than most pumps).

I often advocate the three points of contact and how valuable the right bike set up is for the protection of the body and ability to produce the maximum power outputs. Consider a gift voucher for a professional bike fit you may well be surprised how much this will add to the joy of cycling.

Ten years of Port to Port

Team Manager Eddie delighted with team members contribution over the ten years. Photo: Neil Gladman

Can you cast your mind back to 2002 and what you may have been doing around this time of that year? A small, very diverse group of riders known as the Powercor Peddlers had combined with Bendigo Special Development School to undertake their first Port to Port cycling tour. The then principal and vice principal Russell Honey and Bill Burns both keen cyclists who had previously been involved with the Powercor Peddlers at Kalianna were keen to try this relatively new event.

The two day bicycle ride starts in Mildura and runs through Swan Hill and on to Echuca. Cyclists leave the Mildura riverfront bright and early on Saturday morning and head down the Calder Highway. At Hattah, they turn and ride on to Wemen for a break and refreshments. Then it is on to the Murray Valley Highway with the Murray River over their left shoulder. After a food break at Boundary Bend, the riders head for Swan Hill and a well earned overnight break. Sunday morning the riders are back in the saddle and look forward to about a five or six hour ride to Echuca making a total of 400klms.

Like most things when you first take them on there is an air of anticipation of what be in front of you as a team.  Some had used the Bay in a Day option of 210 km as a training ride to test the legs and ability to recover. After putting the call out to the general cycling community a strong team was rallied and we set off north with a very lean budget for food and accommodation. Seeking out local sponsors for product that would be suitable was encouraging to say the least and a 10 year partnership was formed with Pasta Master.

Powercor management at Bendigo and Mildura were most supportive of the idea of having team that rode through the middle of the business area in broad daylight. A Powercor vehicle, cycling kit and other sponsor material was supplied to all in the team as well as accommodation at both Mildura and Swan Hill depots to sleep on the floor keeping costs affordable.

Most of the riders were all in uncharted territory after reaching the 210klm mark in distance travelled in any one ride let alone backing up the next day on the bike for another 150 km. Necessity becomes the mother of all invention. The team was very fortunate to have Rob and Chris Grant attend as a rider and support as Chris is a native born to the northern end of the state and had the right contacts to make some special touches to the weekend.

Memories are a powerful part of life. The heat off the road was something we had not contemplated. Keeping the team hydrated with cold water, what distance was appropriate to cover before making a stop to regroup and refuel.

One of the most memorable moments among many of the characters we had taken was reaching Nyah in extreme heat and close to exhaustion to be greeted by Billy Burns with a huge bundle of hot chips with extra salt, seemed bazaar but certainly added some inspiration to the perspiration to continue.

Over the ten years some 60 odd riders have joined the Powercor Team raising around $20,000 for special needs students.

Looking forward to seeing you on the road soon God willing

A collector’s passion – part 2

Long-term relationship: Tim Stirling has ridden hundreds of comfortable kilometres on his Moulton bicycles

Tim Stirling was drawn to Moulton bikes after staying with a friend who has a huge collection of these unique bicycles. Together they used to compete in many long distance AUDAX rides together and every time Tim stayed at their home, he would always be planning to purchase an older style Moulton.

At a Bendigo Swap around 15 years ago, another cycling friend had a 1965 Stowaway Moulton for sale. This type of Moulton comes apart in about two minutes and is so convenient to transport and store. The person Tim bought this Moulton from had actually ridden it around Turkey. Tim restored this cycle and rode it many kilometres on rides up to 100km and has since sold this one to another Bendigo cycling enthusiast.

Since his first purchase, Tim has collected 9 Moultons, including five of the Stowaway models (16 inch wheels), a Mini complete with 4 speed Sturmey Archer gearing and a Midi (both with 14inch wheels). He has owned a very rare Stowaway model, but swapped this one for a Moulton Pashley uni cycle that he could never master! But his favourite model is a ‘late’ model (1984) Moulton AM7.

AM represents the initials of the originator Dr. Alex Moulton, while the 7 represents 7 speed gearing. This type of design looks more like the Sydney Harbour Bridge than a bicycle due to the amount of small lightweight aluminium tubing used in its construction. These style of Moultons have also referred to as the ‘Spaceframe Moultons’. Tim purchased this machine from a cyclist in Ballarat, who in turn had purchased the AM7 from the Isle Of Wight in the UK and provided Tim with the original owner’s name. Tim made contact with the original owner and he forwarded the history of the bike from the day it left the factory in Bradford on Avon, near Bath in the UK.

Tim has ridden this bike over 200km in a single ride, which included climbing Mount Alexander twice and Mount Tarrengower and marvels over the smooth and comfortable ride provided by a Moulton, due to the front and rear suspension. Nil soreness even without a great amount of training for long distance rides. Tim has ridden most of his Moultons on AUDAX rides from 50-200km, even the smaller models which has been great fun spinning along on a small wheeled bike in amongst a group of riders on conventional road bikes.

He also raced his AM7 on several occasions in the Sunday morning Vets races. The gearing on his AM7 is comparable to a road bike even though the wheels are only 17 inch in diameter. This is achieved by having such small sprockets as small as nine teeth, a feat not even available on current road bikes.

When Tim began collecting these machines, he wrote to Sir Alex Moulton asking for his autograph, he was only too pleased to forward this to Tim who has been a member of the Moulton Bicycle Clubs, both within Australia and the International Division. The Moulton experience has been great fun, the design of the Moulton has created great interest for Tim and those who have seen him out riding. With today’s busy lifestyle, being able to ride long distance with such a small amount of training has suited Tim intensely.

Looking forward to seeing you on the road soon God willing.