Intro to Cycle Touring

Keen to test my new-to-me bike I set off at dawn for 12k loop.

When I arrived at the local cofee shop everything was still shut so I rode to the next coffee shop. I got numb hands, on the way out but shook that out ok. A twinge in my R knee held my interest though.

Here's us at the second coffee shop. Unfortunately there was a massive queue of people driving grey SUVs and one even left this engine running for 10 minutes while he queued! As they didnt have a cyclists express lane I went next door and bought a Kombucha drink.

I went to the grounds of an old church and while i was there a lady came in early to set up a Sunday kiosk that sold coffee. I was the only customer, so I used thectoilwt, refilled my water bottle and had a lovely cup of Joe.

On the return i passed close by a kangaroo that he been hit by a car and decided to do the right thing. Amazingly I discovered a quite mature joey which I called in. A lovely Grench woman took him to a refuge foster carer.

A little later, heading on the home stretch, feeling high on life I was buzzed by a psychopathic idiot travellong at 100kph +. It left me momentarily shaken, but i thought nah an idiot won't streak my dreams.

Today 40k. Total 40k.

Comments

Gone to Fat

Its official, I have a new to me bike and its a fatty! I tried my best to get a hold of a cheap used trike. But after clocking up more than 1400k only to see and the worst two trikes ever, I decided to postpone things trike until I get more money. So disillusioned by the whole affair. Truthfull, I was also a lityle put off by how low triles can be. Sitting at axle height on a trike with 20" wheels, is way low. I hope that when I do buy , that I get a fat 26" wheeler. So anyway, this fatty. Its a 2016 Kona "Wo". 26"x4.80 Jumbo Jim tubeless tyres, 10 slot cassette with a twin cog forward, rack, disk brakes. The Kona brand is a joint Canadian-US design effort, made in Korea to spec. This particular bike was bought for the Running Man festival in Nevada U.S.A. in 2017, though its a 2016 model. She is asmall framed model and was imported with three larger versions, by its previous owner. They were ridden only lightly "around the Narrabeen Lakes" befo...

A Salt Path

That's the title of an ebook Im reading at present. A late middle aged couple way down on their luck are offered salvation by long distance hiking. This weekend two Greenspeed trikes come up for sale. One, a GT20 needing an overhaul for $450, in South Australia. It sold in hours. Another in Western Australia had been powder coated and completely overhauled, for $1250. It's actually great value, but a non-folder and 10 000 plus kilometres away. It strikes me, after reading about the hikers, with very little money, failing health, unemployed and homeless, they take to the trail poorly prepared and unfit. They're having a whale of an adventure. Point being, it's not about the bike. It's the person riding or walking, "the man in the arena", that determines the nature and quality of the adventure. The problem for me directly is the fact that I can't take more th...

A Legend Looking Shaky

If any on e asks, I'd say the gap in my training routine over the past 2 weeks was due to the weather. But that would be a convenient truth. The reality ours that my arse got sore after my pre- flood ride. I found an ache in bones that i never knew I had, and it out me of repeating that experience. In the meantime I read "An Unlikely Bicycle Tourist" by Stephen Peel and realised two things; I had no problems, and I had a solution. How's that for a contradiction? Well, I'd you get to read the ebook, you'll quickly learn that SP weighed 350lb. and during his journey across France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, India and SE Asia he was beset by sale soreness. No ordinary soreness, but chronic "bleeding from the arse"! So, yeh, I reckon I'm a wimp ... but he found a solution in a gel seat. By the way; Id highly recommend the read. SP was quite po...

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