So Saturday saw us competing in the Gravity 12 hour, hurling ourselves round a 13km mountain bike course – single-track, firetrail, and swathes of mud.
Three teams of us competed, I was in a team of three that became a team of two after losing Nick to injury. Lap times, all around an hour. Final laps completed in the dark, complete with bikes covered in red LEDs and tinsel.
In short, it was muddy, and lots of fun.
;)
well, my first play on the new and shiny clipless pedals didn’t end in disaster. after sitting on my bike in a doorframe for a while, clipping in and out successfully, i went out for a proper ride. everything went according to plan. the only time i nearly did myself in was when a sudden turn down a bikepath involved negotiating one of those zigzag slow-down set ups. at which point i had to grab at a pole to avoid falling over. but, being fair, if the pole hadn’t been there to hang onto, it also wouldn’t have been there to make me slow down and nearly fall over. score so far, me: 1, clipless pedals: 0.
EDIT. After a week of use I discovered the BBB Clip and Go pedals are useless – the cheapest pedals aren’t always best! I had huge issues with the spring screws loosening. Then I lost one. Then two. So I couldn’t clip into my pedals on one side. Then I got fed up and bought the Shimano SPD pedals, and they are FANTASTIC.
well, my first critical mass was fun :) the ride took us from the city, through the car park at the crown casino, past the melbourne international motor show at the exhibition centre, then across the citylink tolled bolte bridge. where we stood and waved our bikes around, and waved at the media choppers that were following us. some of the motorists thought it was excellent, some were amused, some were patient, some glared, and some yelled abuse. i like the fact that things like this ride happen. and watching the security guards get all stirred up at every place we cycled near (and through) was pretty amusing. although online newspaper reports about it are labelling it as a protest – according to the abc: “The group, which calls itself Critical Mass, was protesting against society’s reliance on cars and the shortage of bike lanes on major roads.”
critical mass is on again in melbourne – the 100th event! it started in san francisco in 1992, and it’s been going since november 1995 in melbourne. it’s that whole unorganised coincidence thing, where a heap of cyclists turn up and happen to block the streets, and celebrate alternative transport (and stuff like that). meeting outside the state library, 5.30 on the last friday of each month if you want to play.