Saturday 24th ride.. Surf and Scenery

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=479912

This is the ride a few of us are doing this Saturday. So far myself, TinaG, BruceG, and a couple of possibles.
If anyone is keen, let us know. Start point is the park on Duringan St at Currumbin, turn left off the Thrower Dve bridge and its on your left. A bit over an hours drive from Nundah. The park has toilets and a tap.
I'm putting 5.30 as a start time but if you want to start earlier I'm ok with that also.

This ride has some great scenery and not too many gnarly hills, probably only about 2000mts max elevation (BRT says 1300+, but disregard that)

Anyway, hope to see you out there.

180

5.30a start is fine with me.
talk to you about logistics tomorrow morning.

Phil. Rain check tks. I'll get back into it once our renovations are done. cheers Scott

Where we're going tomorrow







1st coffee shop

What a cracker of a ride!! Just the three of us, Bruce, Tina and I.
Bruce had 'some' mechanical/tyre issues but I'll leave that to him to explain how the occasional ride can just go 'pear-shaped'..

We cut it short a tad by leaving out the Wardrop Valley Rd loop due to leg fatigue early on, but this only chopped off about 5kms from the original distance.
It ended up being 145k with only about 1450mts elevation but we got around in a ride average of over 26km/hr. I seriously have to put a besser block in Tina's back pocket as a handicap!!!

The pics that Bruce put up really does highlight the scenery around that area. It is nothing short of spectacular.

Getting pretty excited about next Saturdays 200k loop. A few more hills in that one.

Stay tuned if interested.

Should totally make that a Sun ride and Race Sat.. Way better idea so I can come

Hmmm.....ok.....much egg on my face......for gettiing the most flats of any ride I've heard about.
5 in one day.

Alright, what can we learn from this:

- the first flat happened within 3km of a 530am start. so me seriously pee'd off to hold others up. quick check of the tire to ensure no glass. rubbed my fingers carefully through inside and out of a tire turned inside out....nothing found.
- pump up the second tube....get to about 90psi, and bang. it blows. fck.......check the tire again....nothing found in it by me....Phil checks and finds a slither of glass.....
- third tube inserted and pumped to 90psi and bang......fck fkc kcf.....check the tire again and find massive split in side wall of tire.

lesson to be learned? never change tires in a hurry. never presume it is one thing like a slither of glass that caused the puncture. double, ney, triple check ALL of the tire......rolling surface and walls.

ok, it is 6am and no bike shop is going to open until after 8am. Tina and Phil roll on. I try to get back to car. in the meantime, I think about offering any of the large peletons $100 for a tire and 2 tubes. but they are all moving at pace.....so try to calm down, and chill.

A kindly young fella in a tray back sees my distress as Tina and Phil roll off, and offers me a lift back to my car. (first guardian angel)

get back to car, and seek out three closest bike shops.....the earliest opens at 8am. SO i phone a friend (Judy) to go have breaky with, and chill at little bean cafe.
At 8am, we go to Mike's Bikes at Mermaid Beach. I forego the $100 Vitoria Diamonte tires for a $50 model. and a couple of tubes, after they didn't offer to fit it. The tire felt cheap....nevertheless, met Tina and Phil at Flutterbies for the ride back, courtesy of Judy's patient and helpful nature. Rode off from Tyalgum and within 2km had a flat. fck fck fck....only through Phil's patience did we change the tire and I rolled on.....forgetting to zip my saddle bag.....so lost my $25 multi-tool....rolled on and made it to Chillingham for a mystical frozen chocolate coated banana (really worth the ride).....then rolled on again.....only to get 1km down the road, and get another flat.
fck fck fck fck fck.....spit the dummy....and ride over.....call poor old Judy to drive back and pick me up.

OK.....in the calm light of day....
the first three flats were most likely due to the tube pushing out through an ever larger tear in the tire....a gatorskin no less.
the 4th flat most likely due to a pinch flat from a cheaper tire with poor lateral structure, and poor tube insertion technique.
the 5th flat probably due to the compromised tire structure and possibly a pinch flat due to 80-90psi on rough road (and my 88kg of weight.)

lessons to be learned
- stay calm and comprehensive when changing tubes. check every mm of your tires for damage.
- be doubly careful not to pinch the tube when rolling the last of the tire on.
- pump up a little, then check for pinching (which I do anyway). then continue to pump.
- don't buy cheap tires. carry at least one spare per two riders on a long ride. carry a spare in the car if driving more than 30km to a ride. you cannot buy tires before 8am.
- carry gas and pumps so that you can get the tire inflated to 100+.
- lose body fat so you have less chance of getting a pinch flat.

remember, if you are 80+kg, you are faced with a myriad of probabilities lighter people are not.

apart from that, the route is as Phil says, an absolute cracker.
The GC Hinterland is another world, especially before 10am.
I could not believe the number of large peletons cycling along Currumbin Creek Road before 8am.
The GC must have the most prolific cycling fraternity in AUstralia. A must do for all velo afficionados.

OK, lessons learned.
I hope this helps the rest of you avoid such a frustrating chain of events.

Phil and Tina in the last 5 of 145km, on Currumbin Creek Road. both as fit as fiddles.