Exit.

Hahahahaha.

End of thread.

bigbossman 

Hey - now there's a good idea..... add a couple more pounds on the already comparatively heavy race bike before the Big Day. Maybe you can fill your water bottles with nickels to smooth out the road buzz while you're at it.

oldmuthariley

well the count down to the "race of my century begins..."
training is going well , have been averaging 60km rides on the gazelle and bob jackson fixed gear.
This weekend will consist of an 80KM on saturday, 50km sunday and then a couple of shorter rides in the week.

Cycling in New Zealand is a seriously risky business, a good proportion of car drivers are unbelievably ignorant and arrogant and cyclists get hassled daily (and seriously injured) - i'm looking forward to just being part of a mass ride where pedal power takes over from the car for a few hours.

pics and results will be posted up soon - (not that interesting to anyone else but you never know)

maybe i should shave me legs?

javal

...them poor alu´s and carbons! You got the upper hand! Be careful in large groups and rainy weather: You dont want to scratch your bike

(I´m on the far left antecipating another attack...)

kiwisimon

Where in Dorckland are you? My older Bro' is riding a single speed south of Manukau most days, longer rides on weekends. Try riding in the Mainland, we're a bit more tolerant of cyclists.

oldmuthariley

i ride all over auckland - some motorists are great, others are downright inbred.
there's a lot of cyclist vs motorist antagonism around - the thing a lot of motorists seem to forget is that most cyclists actually drive cars too....

they should introduce compulsory insurance - it might make drivers be a bit more careful and take some responsibilityfor their crap driving (IMHO)

oldmuthariley

well today was the day - the purple 531 did me proud!

there was a field of around 1200 riders starting at 9.00am with the 100km start - staggered in 4 groups and then the 50km and 30km starting later..

Auckland is well known (in Auckland) for having 4 seasons in one day and today was no exception - we started with a torrential downpour, followed by sun, very strong head and sidewinds that were blustery and causing riders to tuck in behind each other for most of the race. The circuit was rolling with some nice downhills and a few draggy climbs.
There were 35 kmh headwinds for the first 30km, tailwind for 20km, and the same again for the last 50km.

I saw a number of crashes , caused i think by clipped wheels in the bunches and loads of punctures- luckily i escaped unscathed although had a couple of glass cuts in the tyres.

here's some quotes from riders who posted on a forum here in NZ:


"Wind, and rain, and now I finally understand what is meant' when they say "I was lashed by the rain", it felt like it was leaving welts on the face. Jo saw a guy lose control because of the wind and come off, there were in fact quite a few accidents. "

"I opted for the 50 as well, it was a tough ride with constant wind and a big rain squall hitting us around the 20k mark, the guys doing the 100 were struggling at that point, it was tough for them for sure. At the Waiuku turn we had the wind at our backs which made quite a difference. I saw quite a few mechanicals and blood at the finish."

"It was tough alright.
I’ve never seen so many horizontal bodies on an event course before. I passed three crashes and witnessed two others – and that was within the first 30kms! As Gervase says above, I saw one guy lose control in a wind gust, and after I’d been buffeted onto the gravel a couple of times, my confidence started to sag a little. So I gave away my spare tubes to a guy who’d already had two punctures and decided to call it a day at 50kms, very disappointed. Got chatting with a blood splattered pair at the finish who had crashed in a multiple pile-up within the first 10kms – one of them gave me $10 so I could get myself a coffee and muffin while I waited for my brother to finish"


I got a bit of cramp at 75km but rode through it and finished with a bit of a sprint!

The bike rode beautifully - super quick downhill (overtaking others who were pedalling whilst freewheeling in a tucked position - mustv'e been the purple 531), uphill i had a bit of a disadvantage with gear selection/ratios but the friction shifters did their job and only slipped a couple of times.
Comfort wise the bike was great although i had a numb derriere for a little bit ( and toes).

I saw a number of other steel steeds out there including a Merckx Corsa Extra in 7/11 colours, a couple of Lemonds and masses of aluminium and carbon - and i passed a load of them which was quite satisfying to say the least.

Time wise i was pleased as i finished 100km in 3hours 50 mins, top speed 62km, average just over 25km per hour - considering the conditions, course and my training (not a great deal!) i was pretty chuffed and have got the bug.

SO the question is would i have been quicker on carbon? the answer is, i reckon yes, lighter and quicker up the hills, easier gear selection and more to choose from - however i felt like i really earned my stripes today - not the quickest time by any means but i was pretty chuffed - roll on next year!!!

gomango

Let me be the first to say , we knew you could do it! Sounds like you had a tough, yet challenging day of riding. Probably a "little" bit of fun as well.

txvintage

Well done! While a modern carbon bike may have had some technological advantages I think it unwise to discount the awesome karma of the purple 531.

oldmuthariley

Thanks chaps!
i'm definately going to enter some more events - there was a great feeling of camaraderie whilst riding which made the day even more enjoyable

deanp

Congrats and good job!

kiwisimon

well done. Next year Taupo!