LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
That is why I ride 140mm cranks. Took me a lot a experimentation to find what worked best for me.
i am off to cross the continent 28th sept 2015 4000klm fremantle to newcastle.
- Thread starter jond
- Start date
Eric Winn
Zen MBB Master
Looks like those ear brakes are slowing you down...
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Yeah, but you know how it it: the Vendetta is so fast, we have to do "creative and interesting things" to slow it down so we give all the other bicycles a chance!
Rick Youngblood
CarbonCraft Master
super slim
Zen MBB Master
I hope they are carbon fibre chords otherwise they will break!!!
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Getting back to Jond, and his incredible ride attempt across Australia, on a NARROW national Highway 1 goat track, with NO shoulders.
He was very lucky to survive!!! In the end when approaching Kimba where the road meanders over rolling sand hills, he HAD to stop and get off the road if two trucks, cars etc were passing in opposite directions near Jond!
I have to call up the Charles law of "If there is no photo, it did not happen!!!", I need to see how a tent, sleeping bag and mattress could fit into 25L of VERY AERODYNAMIC Radical design racer recumbent bags, along with clothes, and toiletries!
How much gear was inside the bike frame?
What was in the large VERY UN-AERODYNAMIC white bag, and what was its volume?
What was in the two off 5L? head rest bags?
The bike set was VERY aero except for the white bag!
Could a 30 L aero seat back bag be made by your Newcastle bag creator, that is 425 mm wide at the front (Rib cage width), 200 wide at the rear , and 250 mm high, that also holds 2 water bottles on the outside behind the shoulders.
He was very lucky to survive!!! In the end when approaching Kimba where the road meanders over rolling sand hills, he HAD to stop and get off the road if two trucks, cars etc were passing in opposite directions near Jond!
I have to call up the Charles law of "If there is no photo, it did not happen!!!", I need to see how a tent, sleeping bag and mattress could fit into 25L of VERY AERODYNAMIC Radical design racer recumbent bags, along with clothes, and toiletries!
How much gear was inside the bike frame?
What was in the large VERY UN-AERODYNAMIC white bag, and what was its volume?
What was in the two off 5L? head rest bags?
The bike set was VERY aero except for the white bag!
Could a 30 L aero seat back bag be made by your Newcastle bag creator, that is 425 mm wide at the front (Rib cage width), 200 wide at the rear , and 250 mm high, that also holds 2 water bottles on the outside behind the shoulders.
Last edited:
jond
Zen MBB Master
hi guys and thanks for your kindness and support. it was great to meet you slim and your support kept me safe and comforted me. my wife is okay and is coming home tomorrow. i am okay with just a bit of road rash and a few bruises.
i was sad to not make it across to newcastle with 1100 klm to go but oh well it is only cycling. in the end my decision to ride to adelaide and go home was on the basis of my injuries becoming uncomfortable and my wife needing me. i was also running out of time.
it is fair to say the ride kicked my butt and i overestimated my ability. the ride was too much for me. i have a true first hand appreciation for pete heal's record.
it was wonderful to meet john tolhurst who picked me up from the perth airport and took me to his home where i met his wife and children. i got a photo and he signed my frame. i think he thought i was mad too. i left his house around midnight.
i shall never ride again on the a-1 roads with no shoulders as they are simply no place for a cyclist and they are so noisy. having trucks a lot of them road trains go past me so regularly at 110klm per hour eventually became unnerving especially in south australia where the breakdown lane disappeared totally. my mirrors saved me. coming into port augusta was just plain frightening. when i reached port augusta i gave thanks to god. my research was lacking and i had not expected no shoulder or verge on our national highway. wow some of the b roads i rode were wider and in better condition.
being hit by the caravan was a bummer but i was most fortunate to not be badly injured. it was a serious matter that i lost my food and extra water with a 130klm to go to the road house. at one stage my garmin read 51 deg celsius from the tarmac reflecting the heat. slim later told me this was a record start to spring temps in south australia since the early 1900s...... but i met a real character at the nullarbor roadhouse in "dingo" who is one of god's angels. here i rested up for 24 hours recovered and licked my wounds and made the decision to ride to adelaide if i could. my bike sustained little injury with the brifters being beat up the hood torn the rear mech bent and scuffed up and the carbon seat a little frayed. i was very lucky. i was badly dehydrated and had double vision when i got in. it was odd seeing one car on top of another one. they all looked like mini minors with great big grills for some reason.
i had some real headwinds and some heat. but i had some cool too and some tailwinds. unfortunately my ride seems to have lost itself . i recorded on my garmin edge and iphone but both files are non existent seemingly. i will see if i can retrieve anything but it is not looking good. my garmin stopped working after the accident and i had to reset. oh well never mind.
my iphone is still trying to sync some three days later. but it read around 2850klm with my particular route.
i may just put it in manually
i saw some amazing and beautiful things like wildflowers in the desert , beautiful birds , reptiles and of course some wide open sparsely populated country. i met some great people and was only abused a few times perhaps justifiably in one case......tee hee.
some of the gaps between habitation were 180 klm plus on five occasions.
so a trip of highs and lows.
i remain convinced that the vendetta is the bike to beat the record and until my caravan accident i was ahead despite the conditions. without the load i again say 400klm a day is more than do-able.
but in retrospect the vendetta is no pack horse but a sports car and i should have not loaded her up so much and could have gone with the motel option too. with the extra water i was at 30kg. this also changed the handling of the vendetta. i ran with 85 psi for comfort and thus the pinch flats. i ended up with four on the back and two on the front. one at 50 klm per hour on the front. no problems i am pleased to say just unclipped put out the legs and rolled to a stop. whew.
at night when i rode through i was able to see enough with my light on low setting in the outback. with the lights off the stars are magical like right in front of your nose. truly humbling.
i sent myself messages with details and up to my accident i had averaged 25.9 klm per hour. i had a great time despite the traffic and i am a changed person for it. at one late stage i became frustrated and angry as i had looped around a local bike track and lost my sense of direction. panic set in as i wanted to get home now quickly. i was then reminded that i am human and fallible and sat laughing at myself. thankyou slim for your great patience and understanding. thank you to my fellow cruzbike riders. i thank god that i was protected and shown what a wonderful world we live in. god's grace.
that it was just cycling that gave me all this is the joy of our shared passion.
when i tour again i shall do it on the trikes and never again subject my vendetta to the saddle. i am now going to give her a make over and protect those signatures with some clear film.
and i will stay off two lane national highways with no verge
i was sad to not make it across to newcastle with 1100 klm to go but oh well it is only cycling. in the end my decision to ride to adelaide and go home was on the basis of my injuries becoming uncomfortable and my wife needing me. i was also running out of time.
it is fair to say the ride kicked my butt and i overestimated my ability. the ride was too much for me. i have a true first hand appreciation for pete heal's record.
it was wonderful to meet john tolhurst who picked me up from the perth airport and took me to his home where i met his wife and children. i got a photo and he signed my frame. i think he thought i was mad too. i left his house around midnight.
i shall never ride again on the a-1 roads with no shoulders as they are simply no place for a cyclist and they are so noisy. having trucks a lot of them road trains go past me so regularly at 110klm per hour eventually became unnerving especially in south australia where the breakdown lane disappeared totally. my mirrors saved me. coming into port augusta was just plain frightening. when i reached port augusta i gave thanks to god. my research was lacking and i had not expected no shoulder or verge on our national highway. wow some of the b roads i rode were wider and in better condition.
being hit by the caravan was a bummer but i was most fortunate to not be badly injured. it was a serious matter that i lost my food and extra water with a 130klm to go to the road house. at one stage my garmin read 51 deg celsius from the tarmac reflecting the heat. slim later told me this was a record start to spring temps in south australia since the early 1900s...... but i met a real character at the nullarbor roadhouse in "dingo" who is one of god's angels. here i rested up for 24 hours recovered and licked my wounds and made the decision to ride to adelaide if i could. my bike sustained little injury with the brifters being beat up the hood torn the rear mech bent and scuffed up and the carbon seat a little frayed. i was very lucky. i was badly dehydrated and had double vision when i got in. it was odd seeing one car on top of another one. they all looked like mini minors with great big grills for some reason.
i had some real headwinds and some heat. but i had some cool too and some tailwinds. unfortunately my ride seems to have lost itself . i recorded on my garmin edge and iphone but both files are non existent seemingly. i will see if i can retrieve anything but it is not looking good. my garmin stopped working after the accident and i had to reset. oh well never mind.
my iphone is still trying to sync some three days later. but it read around 2850klm with my particular route.
i may just put it in manually
i saw some amazing and beautiful things like wildflowers in the desert , beautiful birds , reptiles and of course some wide open sparsely populated country. i met some great people and was only abused a few times perhaps justifiably in one case......tee hee.
some of the gaps between habitation were 180 klm plus on five occasions.
so a trip of highs and lows.
i remain convinced that the vendetta is the bike to beat the record and until my caravan accident i was ahead despite the conditions. without the load i again say 400klm a day is more than do-able.
but in retrospect the vendetta is no pack horse but a sports car and i should have not loaded her up so much and could have gone with the motel option too. with the extra water i was at 30kg. this also changed the handling of the vendetta. i ran with 85 psi for comfort and thus the pinch flats. i ended up with four on the back and two on the front. one at 50 klm per hour on the front. no problems i am pleased to say just unclipped put out the legs and rolled to a stop. whew.
at night when i rode through i was able to see enough with my light on low setting in the outback. with the lights off the stars are magical like right in front of your nose. truly humbling.
i sent myself messages with details and up to my accident i had averaged 25.9 klm per hour. i had a great time despite the traffic and i am a changed person for it. at one late stage i became frustrated and angry as i had looped around a local bike track and lost my sense of direction. panic set in as i wanted to get home now quickly. i was then reminded that i am human and fallible and sat laughing at myself. thankyou slim for your great patience and understanding. thank you to my fellow cruzbike riders. i thank god that i was protected and shown what a wonderful world we live in. god's grace.
that it was just cycling that gave me all this is the joy of our shared passion.
when i tour again i shall do it on the trikes and never again subject my vendetta to the saddle. i am now going to give her a make over and protect those signatures with some clear film.
and i will stay off two lane national highways with no verge
jond
Zen MBB Master
i will take that as a wonderful compliment ratz coming from the crazy sleep deprived pankratz that you are
. seriously thanks and i do share your opinion it was nuts to ride on that road with all the road trains. my wife is back home and doing well. she suffers from an anxiety disorder and to be honest she had good reason to be alarmed. i guess being side swiped by a caravan was too much for her. i am much recovered and feeling okay. still have numb feet and hands. but i shall be back riding tonight. my next goal is to have a go at the 100 miles and see how close (wish me luck right ) i can get to larry unassisted. it will be good to lighten up my vendetta. should be fun. ratz aussies crazy no way mate ridgey didge .
jond
Zen MBB Master
slim my cargo list for shelter was vango blade 1 man tent. enlightened equipment quilt down. ul 7 synmat and pump pillow and snozzle. one change of clothes toiletries and electronics spare tyre all fitted within the 25 litre radical design banana racer panniers. in the hessian bag i had frequent use items chargers batteries jacket lip balm etc. in the plastic bag went my food and extra water.
in the frame was two tubes oil multi tool ties rope etc. in the headrest bags were cold weather and hot weater arm warmers and leggings. never used the cold weather.
i found the synmat popped a baffle on the third evening leaving a great dividing range down the middle of the mat.
my 02 gore wear jacket was fantastic keeping me warm not sweaty with just one layer and the jacket down to 7 deg c. highly recommend but expensive and slim fitting. beware.
slim you saw the luggage felt the weight. it fitted really quite well but as i mentioned the vendetta is not a pack horse and in my opinion whilst it was do-able the handling of the bike with the extra weight was onerous especially at lower speeds.
thanks for all your help once again you made all the difference to me.
