If Only.......

- Despots, tyrants and dictators had been made obsolete 3000 years ago....

- The only "drones" were those found in beehives....

- World food production was directed where it is needed, not just where it is wanted.....

- Clean, safe water was available for everyone....

- There was no need for "armed intervention"....

- People could believe that "the other side of politics" isn't out to get them....

- "The other side of politics" trusted the other side of politics....

- Some people would learn to read....

- Some people would learn to comprehend what they read....

- The angst suffered between road users could be made to disappear....

- Everyone could experience the joy that comes from making the pedals go round....

Even making the pedals go round can sometimes bring pain and suffering. Our Saturday group rides have been getting a bit unruly of late. What started out some years ago as a social coffee ride of about a dozen riders has grown (blossomed/swelled/transmogrified/transitioned) into a free-for-all of up to 60 riders.

I had been, until recently, sending out a weekly email to the group with a bit of local cycling news and what was on for the weekend- pretty mundane stuff in the scheme of things but if I didn't send it, inevitably, there would be a text or email- "Is there a ride on Saturday?"

Anyhow, I gave it away- despite my efforts to impart a bit of cycling etiquette to some of the newcomers, they just didn't want to hear it. Erratic behaviour, failure to point out hazards, leaving riders with mechanicals or flats on their own, no consideration for other road users- the list goes on.

After last week's ride when a few "new riders" (new only in the sense of new to our ride- apparently they have been riding for years- you would think they would know better) showed up and displayed their "skills" for all to see, I decided that if those same riders fronted this morning, I would ride off the back and leave them to their own.

Needless to say, Dee and I rode as a group of two this morning. We did manage to catch up to the group after about 20km- they were all standing around waiting for the ambulance to cart off one of the group who was looking decidedly "the worse for wear" after touching wheels with the rider in front of him. A broken collarbone, some road rash, a smashed helmet and some spilled "claret" took a bit of the edge off some of the group. He will be experiencing some pain and suffering for a few days at least.

My weekday rides for the past 18 months have been on my own. I ride as hard as I like for as long as I like- without having to rely on someone else to come through on the front or worrying that I'm going too soft or too hard for those riding with me. I insert intervals where I like and make the ride "mine". Ideally, I head out about 2 to 3 minutes ahead of the two main group rides and work to stay ahead. Sometimes I stay away, other times- well, let's just say I have bad luck at the traffic lights.

Then about two months ago, several riders approached me and asked if they could ride with me. They were tired of the behaviours of the group ride and were looking for a safer option. After a couple of weeks of listening to their requests, I agreed- but these were the rules- this is how I ride- basically, if you don't like it, don't bother coming along.

I have sent one bloke packing- seems he is allergic to fresh air and didn't want to come to the front. That's not the biggest issue- I have been riding solo and if I give an elbow flick, there just isn't anyone to come through and take a pull. As the Velominati would say, "Have a dose of Rule V". My issue comes from dragging his butt along for 20km and then when the group which he wanted to get away from comes by, he jumps in with them. I guess I'm just not high-profile enough....

The bunch that he jumped with make a turn and head through the port area of town- things tend to heat up a bit as far as pace goes so he avoids that part of the ride. We caught up to him in town, at which point I called the court to order, read the charge, provided the evidence, asked for evidence in defence, determined the verdict and issued the sentence in less time than it took for the traffic lights to change.

As for the rest, I have advised them that they're going to have to lift their game. I record all of my rides and over the last couple of weeks the average speed has dropped by a couple of km/hr and the intensity is dropping as well. If things don't turn north this week, well, I just may be back to riding with my group of one. And if anyone misbehaves, I know who to speak with..... I guess I am my own little dictator.

Cheers- ride safe

BoaB

September- Where Does the Year Go?????

The first weekend of September- here in the tropics, it's the first week of spring- a new beginning. Time to cast off the cold (cool by anyone else's measure) weather gear and luxuriate under the clear blue skies which so soon will fade to a washed out blue in the tropical summer. In the land of my birth, it's Labour Day weekend- that last gasp of summer holidays before the return to school.

Today (Sunday) is also Fathers' Day in Australia and Dee and I spent the day on the hop as it were. Not that we usually have a slothful Sunday- just that we usually spend the day puttering in the yard and garden. Today veered a bit from the normal course we steer.

No early morning ride and coffee. My legs were strident in their refusal, "It's not fair- you made us do something different....and we don't like it!!!" That "something" was a run. On Friday I thought I should start working a bit of running into my exercise regime. Nothing too strenuous, just a couple of km's to start out- at a pace which most runners would probably consider to be just "slightly above shuffle".

And I felt good- even the "morning after" I felt good- 55+ km ride with a few good hitouts thrown into the mix. I felt good....until this morning. Sometime during the night, I'm sure a troop of Gimli and his fellow dwarvish warriors descended and made merry with their axes and hammers upon the flesh of my legs. I could hardly walk this morning let alone pedal a bike.

After a Fathers' Day breakfast of French toast with strawberries and maple syrup, we made a trip to the local beachfront promenade, The Strand. This year is the biennial art display "Ephemera". And so we walked the Strand and took in the artworks that make up this year's Ephemera. (It made my legs "happier" and my soul)

 The giant Crayons

 Toadstool Garden

 Bagu Aboriginal art installation

 Japanese "raked sand" garden

 Glass turtles making for the sea

 And a bike- there are always bikes...

 Flying fish....

Dee and "3D" chalk work....

Cheers- ride safe
BoaB

Well That Was a First.....

Not a first in the sense of being first amongst a group of like-minded individuals to pass a specific point marking the end of a defined distance in the shortest possible time- but rather as a participant in an inaugural event. Charters Towers is a gold mining/beef production/boarding school town located about 125 km south-west of Townsville.

Each year the town has a bit of a festival (The Gold Fever Festival) centred around the gold mining industry. It is a lifestyle festival which incorporates the history of mining and current operations as well as sporting activities like a Fun Run and this year, a three stage cycling race.

Gold Fever LeTour included an individual time trial (18km) and a criterium on a 1.3km circuit on Saturday and then a road race back to Townsville with the distance varying from 103km to 121km depending on the grade.

Our local club has had a memorial race (The Bob Campbell Memorial) which has been run on this weekend for many years. This year, that race was incorporated into the Gold Fever LeTour schedule with considerable support from the Charters Towers Regional Council, Townsville City Council, Xstrata Great Western Games and many financial sponsors.

For a first time event, the support was fantastic-more than 80 licensed riders registered for the weekend's racing. There were additional riders who took part in the time trial only and as part of the festival, a "Come and Try Day" was held for unlicensed riders on the criterium circuit.

I had never taken part in a stage event and wanted to be part of the weekend so I registered and headed off Saturday morning for the TT and crit. I have done a TT before- but never one which included so many, what shall we call them- undulations perhaps??

Okay- just over half an hour of self-inflicted misery and it was all over. But it wasn't bad for for someone with a keen aversion to hills- had me in sixth in our grade (almost commuter grade). Then a bit of a break and off to the crit circuit- 25 minutes plus 3 laps of a 1.3km circuit with a couple of testing corners and a downhill finish into a headwind.

About 10 of us got away after 7 or 8 laps and managed to stay away for the rest of the crit- I didn't manage to pick up either of the sprint prizes on the intermediate laps and I didn't get lapped and was able to hang on for a top ten in the general classification after two stages.

Then it was in the car and back to town- Dee was coming back from her trip to Nova Scotia. Gawd, the last four weeks have been lonely.

So with my support crew back in town, it was up and at 'em at 4:15 this morning. We headed back to "The Towers" for a 6:30am race start. About 8C and foggy was how it all began and 103 km (2 hours and 45 minutes) later, it was all over. And despite the great hand-off of the water bottle, I didn't manage to squeeze it like I intended (sorry Dee) and it hit the deck. Fortunately I still had about half a bottle on board which was enough to see me through. Overall the race was less painful than I had feared but that last "little" hill before the finishing straight was my nemesis. Despite leading the group on to the hill, I felt the cramps coming on in my thighs and had to back off in order to keep moving. I was not alone as the sprint leader of our category fell to more severe cramps and fell well behind me.

I think I finished in about 9th in today's stage and it was enough to take me to 5th place overall in GC and plant the seeds for next year's race. The dates have been set and the planning has begun. Here's hoping this is the start of a great event on the race calendar.

Cheers- ride safe
BoaB

Now, how did I do that?

About a week ago, I woke with a sore back- lower back- sort of, just above the waist. Have no idea what I did- there hasn't been any heavy lifting, twisting or turning. No games of football, soccer or hockey- I just don't know.

I did some gardening and some painting, but nothing any different to the normal chores around the house and yard

It seems to be at its worst early in the morning although some mornings there isn't a single twinge. And I have had lots of suggested cures: You need your spine re-aligned,  you need acupuncture, you need to stretch on the balance ball before your feet hit the floor in the morning, you need to stretch your hip flexors......needless to say, I haven't taken on board all of the suggestions.

I have tried some stretches and some ball exercises and while I definitely feel better, I can't say unequivocally that one or the other is responsible for the improvement. This morning I got up for an 80+km ride and as I started to get ready, there was the twinge.

I decided to forego the long ride- it would be rather unfortunate to get to the furthest point from home on an out-and-back trek and start really experiencing some pain (other than the self-inflicted type from mashing on the pedals). Instead, I just did a 50km loop around the city. And the further I went, and the more I warmed up, the better my back felt.

So I guess I'll just have to ride more- what a shame.......

Cheers- ride safe
BoaB

How Good was That Ride???

Like 99.998% of all cycling fans in Australia, I was glued to the coverage of the ITT from Grenoble last night. The hopes of a cycling nation were resting on the somewhat slight shoulders of Cadel Evans and his not-so-slight quads and hammies.

With a deficit of 57 seconds to Andy Schleck, Cadel entered the penultimate stage which was being held on the same course as the TT stage of the Criterium Dauphine in June of this year- a race which Cadel rode as a precursor to the Tour.

Watching the intermediate times come up on the screen quickly allayed any fears that Evans would yet again fall short. Before the half way point, Cadel had erased the deficit and was quickly establishing a strong account with time being the deposits.

It was clear before Evans even crossed the finish line that he would be wearing the yellow onto the Avenue des Champs-Élysées on Sunday and become the first Australian to wear the golden fleece as the victor of the Le Grand Boucle.

Dragging my weary butt off to bed at 2:30 this morning, I didn't foresee getting in an early morning ride and turned off my alarm (and I have been suffering from a very sore lower back for a couple of days- cause unknown but as of Sunday evening is definitely on the mend).

Today was also the big event on the local MTB scene- the Paluma Push. "The Push" is a cross country race/ride which raises funds for the local rural fire brigade in the rainforest community of Paluma- located about 60 km from Townsville. There are two categories- a recreational class which covers 40 km and a competitive class which covers an extra 20 km.

A number of our friends have taken part in this race in every edition of the race and still finish with a smile on their face. I drove up to Paluma to cheer them on at the finish line- having done this race a couple of times myself, any encouragement over those last 300 metres helps you to forget about the cramps, the lactic build up, the bumps and scrapes and is well received.

I took the camera in the hopes of getting some pics- and I did get some pictures- just not pictures of what I thought I was aiming at. I find the digital display very hard to see in bright sunlight and as a result I ended up with shots of riders and backgrounds- sometimes minus the rider. Oh well...

Steve Butler and Ash O'Neill (Steve didn't even get lost this year and had a PB)

Steve Breen's back (at least he's in the picture)

Steve Donaldson (post Timor L'Este secret training)

                                          Bill and Julie (minus Julie)

All in all- good fun. Now it's almost time to watch Cadel make his way in to Paris and lay claim to the Maillot Jaune and a place in this country's sporting history.

Cheers- ride safe

BoaB

Racing Cancelled- Let's go into Rescue Mode...

This morning's (Sunday) race was supposed to be a criterium to be run in place of a road race which scheduled for a circuit which is still showing the ill effects of this year's wet season. Unfortunately, the crit was cancelled. This is a bit of a disappointment as this was to be the last crit before the 3 stage race next month.

So in light of the cancellation, I decided to do a bit of work in the garden while Dee made her final preparations for her trip to Canada. The garden beds needed to be edged and weeded so I got stuck into it. I then noticed a stump- the remnants of a wattle that came down in the cyclone in February. Better get rid of that too while I'm at it so I got the mattock to cut the roots and dig out the stump.

I took one swipe and cut one of the six roots that were keeping it anchored in the ground. As I moved on to the next one- I heard a plaintiff, little mewling cry. Turning to my right, I saw a little pinkish figure sprawled on the sugar cane mulch. It was a very young possum- still mostly hairless with eyes looking to be just recently opened.

I looked in the surrounding trees but there was no sign of Mum Possum. Not sure if this little one was the smaller of twins and was rejected or fell from her mum's pouch but she definitely wasn't going to make it on her own- not with a nesting pair of sea eagles next door who happen to have a couple of young chicks constantly demanding a feed.

I grabbed a tea towel and scooped her up and asked Dee to ring the Wildlife Carers. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful local volunteer group who look after injured and abandoned native creatures. They advised Dee that their Animal rescue Centre was open today and could we bring the possum around. We took the little possum to the carers who immediately placed her in a fluffy pouch and said they would immediately start her on a rehydration formula to be followed by a "milk" formula.

The carer advised that the possum should do quite well- she had a very strong cry and was squirming strongly- very reassuring words.

And for Dee- enjoy the trip back to Nova Scotia. Eat lots of seafood and ride lots of km's.

You know- sometimes it's not about the bike.

Cheers- ride safe
BoaB

Winter Racing and Busted Glass......

After a warmish week (I didn't even have to wear the arm-warmers and leg warmers and full-fingered gloves on a couple of days), the thermometer is having a hard time making its way to moderate and the forecast is for it to be progressively cooler right through next week.

This morning's (Sunday) race saw the club head off to a crit circuit which we haven't used for 9 or 10 years. It's in a smallish light industrial park and with nice wide corners is well suited to some of the newer riders. The only downfall was the glass. Despite the best efforts of the sweepers, some of those lovely little diamondesque daggers were just laying in wait for us.

I think there were about 5 flats in all. I managed to have two- one just before the start and one about 3/4 of the way through the race. A couple of the A graders each had one and a bloke in C grade had an absolute corker. Unfortunately his was not caused by glass but rather he was the author of his own misfortune. Pedalling through one of the corners on a far too sharp angle, he contacted the kerb (curb for NA readers) with his left pedal. That contact threw the rear of the bike sharply to the right- much to the concern of his fellow racers. He did manage to counter balance and bring the bike back under control, but it would seem that the force with which the rear jumped and hit the road was enough to roll the tyre (tire- another concession to the Canadians) off the wheel, exposing the tube which let go like a gunshot.

Needless to say, he and I sat out the remainder of the race. I put my hand up but there just didn't seem to be any team cars or mechanics anywhere to hand me a new wheel- I guess they must have all been watching reruns of the first stage of the TdF.

Given that one of our broadcasters here in Aus is showing every stage of the tour, live, I suspect there will be more than a few sleep-deprived people showing up for work over the next three weeks. The last 10 kilometres of last night's stage provided enough action to pique everyone's interest. Will tonight's team time trial provide anything like that??? Highly unlikely- but you just never know.....

Cheers- ride safe

BoaB