I'm out!

OK, so a couple of weeks ago I wrote to say that I was going to start riding more seriously again. Right? Wrong! Last Saturday whilst debuting for my new rugby club, I tore a hamstring!

No riding for at least 3 to 4 weeks! Damn! I'm really missing it!

A break

I've taken a long break from riding. We had terrible bushfires in the area where I usually ride which claimed over 200 lives and destroyed homes. I have also been away on holiday for 3 weeks, started a new job and started playing rugby again, so haven't had much time to ride.

I would like to slog our a few kms this Sunday, but it depends how I feel after tomorrow's rugby much.

Update

Although I haven't blogged much in the past 2 months, I have actually been doing quite a bit of riding!

We went away on a camping holiday over the New Years break and I took my bike along. I did a few rides on the local rail trail - The Great Southern Rail Trail - including riding the full length one morning. 52km from Leongatha to Foster (where we were camping.)

Since getting back from holidays and starting work again, I have only managed 2 rides as the summer temperatures have soared to over 40 degrees C.

In total, I have already ridden over 100km since the beginning of the year - not bad at all for me!

Click here to see my logs at MyCyclingLog.com

Ride night

I attempted another ride on Tuesday night after fixing Saturday's two punctures. Needless to say, I got another puncture during the ride. I stripped my wheel right down checking the tyre and the rim but found nothing. So I decided that Thursday night was going to be good for another attempt.

Needless to say, 10 minutes into the ride... psssssssssssssssssssssssss... another puncture! Again, I stripped my wheel right down while changing the tube and there it was! A thin sliver of brown glass! Embedded in the tyre. It must have been rolling around inside the tyre as no 2 punctures were in the same spot.

Having wasted 15 minutes fixing the puncture and let the group go ahead, I set off on my own to do a short section of the Aqueduct Trail. It is the more technical section and is quite fun to ride especially as it was dry last night.

The ride was about 7km long but I rode quite hard, so this morning my legs are a little stiff.

A also tried out my helmet cam on the new helmet and will post the video asap.

The ride at Nokia Sportstracker.

Mt Evelyn ride

My alarm went off at 7am this morning and the plan was to go for an epic ride through the Silvan area. After a honey sandwich and a banana for breakfast, I arrived at the COG cafe, pulled on my shoes, my new helmet and set off.

It was heavily overcast and still quite wet from the overnight rain but there was no rain about as I headed down the Warburton Rail Trail towards Wandin North. There were very few people about (2 cyclists) and the bunny rabbits were munching on the fresh greens on the side of the path. At the bottom of the hill I turned off left onto the short section of singletrack. Again, there was wildlife everywhere - rabbits, king parrots, bell birds and more.

I came out onto the main road and turned right, heading back to the Rail Trail... and this is where the trouble started. As I turned back onto the trail, I fealt my back tyre slide out a bit. I looked down and... flat! Damn!

Luckily I had packed my pump and a spare tube today (I must have tempted fate, 'cos I never pack my pump!) Fifteen minutes later I was back on the bike heading back up the hill towards the COG Cafe.

Just before the top of the hill I took a left onto the main road and headed back down the hill. The plan was to take a right and head into the forest around Silvan Dam. Unfortunately, as I took the left turn, the back tyre fealt a bit soft again. I looked down and... my SECOND FLAT OF THE DAY!

Walk time... 3km back to the car park! I'd had enough!



View this ride on Sportstracker