Hi folks,
Well, finally, yesterday I cracked the magic 1000km barrier. It's taken a bit of doing, as circumstances have conspired to keep me off the bike.
First, on Wed 24th March, I went for my last 5:30am ride of the season. I decided it's just a bit too dangerous now, with the lack of light, after I nearly collided with a 6 foot kangaroo. I was happily tootling along at about 33kmh, when one of the bushes just in front of me suddenly stood up and crossed the bike path :shock:. Then he was hopping along beside me about 4 feet away!! Some of these animals can get a bit aggressive - I read about a jogger in Canberra who got bashed up by one a couple of weeks ago, so I'm afraid the morning rides will have to cease until late September.
Then, in the wee small hours of March 25th, 12:30am to be precise, I woke up with pains in the stomach :cry: I thought to myself, "Happy Bloody Birthday, Trevor." It seems that turning 45 is an excellent laxative. I had a real crappy birthday, I can tell you :x :x :x . Still, the doctor told me to only drink clear fluids, and beer is clear, so the day wasn't a complete write-off :lol:. Took me nearly a week to shake the stupid bug off, (nothing to do with the liquid diet, I'm sure) during which time riding was definitely off the agenda.
So finally, yesterday I knocked off that last 10 ks to make the 1000.
And today, to celebrate, I rode to Dawesville and back - 101km, in 4 hours 42mins ride time, 5 hours 15mins total trip time. I even managed to break the speed limit
. I had a car on my tail, the road was too narrow for him to pass and the curbs too high for me to get off the road. Then I came round a bend and it all came together - lovely fresh smooth tarmac, l-o-n-g downhill, and a good wind at my back. I checked the speedo, it said 48 and I thought ....hmmmmm.......HIT IT :twisted: :twisted: . The car was well behaved, so I left him behind!! 54.4 kmh before I had to slow for the bend at the bottom
So, there it is. 1000k's and still loving it. My bike control is coming along nicely - to the point where I am now confidant that I can experiment with countersteering without worrying that I'm going to get thrown off. And on the subject of countersteering, this bike is a lot more sensitive than death rattles ever was. On death rattles, I could give the inside bar end a significant push to quickly initiate a turn. On Sofrider, the slightest touch has the same effect. I'm wondering if this could be the reason for the high speed oscillations some people have reported - the act of trying to counter the current oscillation produces the next one? Some thing to ponder..... I've still to go clipless, as I've been too tight-fisted to get myself another pair of MTB shoes. I've discovered the best budget panniers available - those el-cheapo cloth bags you get just about anywhere these days. I have a Topeak micro wedge bag, and I just hook the handles over the wedge bag, chuck the stuff in, and tie the top shut. The bag sits nicely against the rear swing arm, with everything well away from the wheel.
I heartily recommend this bike to one and all. It suits my needs perfectly, and has me riding distances that I would have considered insane 6 month ago. Unfortunately, some folks just can't get over the FWD, so now I feel I must do something to appease them, too.....something that sounds like SIGMA! Time to start saving :lol:
Cheers,
Trev
