Cheaper alternatives

For those that love analysing data and measuring absolutely every aspect of a ride, there are a plethora of various devices that you can strap to your bike and later hook up to your computer to upload your ride.

It all started with the humble cycling computer that displayed your speed, distance and time. Then came the computers that included your cadence and even came in wireless options. Some models then started to record your heart rate and use this to estimate the number of calories that you burn while you exercise. Following this, computers that contained a barometer could record your altitude and give you a profile of your ride at the end. This then expanded into the realm of GPS to allow you to accurately record your ride and map it out for you afterwards. Now you can mount a full map and navigation system  to your bike so you never get lost.

More recently, I have noticed a large number of cyclists that have decided to mount video cameras to their bikes and record rides. I’m not sure if this is to catch out aggravated drivers that decide to cut a cyclist off or drive dangerously close, or if it is simply to capture footage of a ride and post it on YouTube for the world to see. Either way, it’s getting to the point where people need extensions on their handlebars to accommodate all of the gadgets they use... computers, heart rate monitors, video cameras, lights, higher powered lights with battery packs etc etc etc.

All of these gizmos don’t come cheaply either... $649 for a Garmin computer with Maps and heart rate. Then it’s another $400-600 for a video camera plus more for a memory card and software. Then it’s even more $$ for a protective case and bike mount!!! What really baffles me, is that most people carry a device with them that already does all of this plus more. Imagine if you already had a device that could map your rides, record your HR, cadence, speed, etc, give you directions, sync with a power meter, record video footage, play music for you AND you can make phone calls on it!!!

The humble iPhone is already able to do this, yet people spend a fortune on other devices to do the same thing! Garmin has just released an App called ‘Garmin Fit’ that records all of your time, distance and GPS fields.

For around $50, you can get the Garmin iPhone adapter. This little chip allows the iPhone to communicate with wireless ANT+ devices like HR monitors, cadence sensors and Power Meters.

The reason a lot people don’t like using an iPhone as a cycling computer is because it’s quite big and most mounts on the market are, well, butt ugly. Topeak has just released an iPhone mount called the ‘Ride Case’. It screws into the steerer tube top cap and even tilts up and down so that if you want to record video footage of your ride, you can. For only $50, it sure beats a $500 camera.

So for about $170 in total, you can get the software, adapter, HR monitor, cadence sensor and bike mount. If you were to get these devices separately, it would be over $1000!!!

Despite already having an iPhone and knowing about these cheaper alternatives... I still have a separate Garmin.

You know you have a problem if...

If you can tick off half of the following, then you have a problem. If you can tick off 3/4, then you should probably see someone about it. If you can tick off 90%, then we should go for a ride!!

You know you have a problem if...

Your Facebook profile picture is you riding a bike.

You refuse to fly Jetstar because they are not bike friendly.

Driving somewhere confuses you because you are used to taking the bike route.

Most of your laundry is taken up by cycling kit.

You have or have had in the past, a subscription to RIDE, Bicycling Australia or any other cycling magazine.

If a cyclist goes past you when out in public, you turn to see if you know them.

If your friends go for a ride and you sleep in, you are angry at them (and yourself).

You favourites bar has more than 5 cycling related websites in it.

You absolutely cannot stand walking anywhere!

Your partner refers to your bike as the 'Mistress', 'Other Woman' or 'Significant Other'.

You check cyclingnews more than twice per day.

Your bike costs more than your car.

You 'NEED' to upgrade your bike because SRAM 2012 just came out and and Dura Ace 9000 is coming.

You knew that Dura Ace 9000 series is coming.

You keep your 'good bike' inside the house.

Every room in your house has at least one piece of cycling related paraphenalia in it.

You live by the motto, 'Why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down and why stay awake when you can go to sleep'!

You know who Phil Anderson, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil or Bernard Hinault are.

You have or plan at some time in the future to go to France to follow the Tour.

You have more than 3 sets of wheels.

You have a folder for cycling related Apps on your iPhone.

You wear cycling socks while you are at work.

Now be honest here... How many of the above statements apply to you? 10? 12? 15? More than 15??? Well, the saddest part is... ALL of the above statements where based on myself.

Supermarket Sherpa

Much to my wife's dislike, I rarely involve myself in the ritual that is the weekly grocery shop. Usually, I am out riding my bike or working or riding my bike or away at a race, riding my bike. Food seems to just magically appear in our cupboards each week and I'm not sure where our never ending bottle of milk came from but it is a blessing.

When I do manage to make the rare appearance at the supermarket with my wife, I've usually just finished a ride and am starving. Consequently, I walk around and grab pretty much everything the shelves and throw it into the trolley. Later, on a full stomach, I wonder what I was thinking when I picked up that 20 pack of donuts.

Due to this habit, I have been put on a short leash whilst shopping for groceries. My duties revolve around pushing the shopping trolley and guarding my wife's hand bag as she gathers things from the shopping list. I am given some leeway in the form of three (and three only) impulse purchases. I need to choose carefully and be sure that I don't waste any of them on something frivilous like tic tacs.

With only three impulse purchases allowed, I have had to be quite careful in my choices. So much so, that I have had to develop some guidelines and 'cheats' that I can employ.

1. Two for one deals only count as one purchase.
2. Buying bulk items like ice-cream may seem wise, but it means I need to wait until I get home to reap the rewards
3. Multi-packs are the way to go. It means I get one now and even more later.
4. If I can convince Emily the an item is a 'necessity', then it doesn't count.
5. I need to weigh up time vs reward when selecting food. If it takes more time or more calories to prepare the food than it does to eat, its just not worth it. For example: prawns are way too much effort for the reward as are difficult to peel mandarins. Water melon may seem like an okay choice but when you factor in clean up time, its not worth it. Basically, I want instant satisfaction.

So, based on these guidelines (and an empty stomach), I chose a turkish delight and picnic bar (a 2for1 deal), a strawberry flavoured milk that didn't make it out of the supermarket and a box of sultana bran (mainly because I always get blamed for finishing off Emily's home made muesli but never contributing to the manufacturing process). In retrospect, I probably could have convinced Emily that the last one was a necessity. Damn it.

QLD Team Series Rnd 3

The 3^rd round of the QLD Team Series kicked off with a 15km individual time trial around an undulating loop at Gatton. Every time trial that I have ever done has hurt like hell but for some reason, I’m always overly confident and optimistic before the start of the next one. A lengthy warm up means the legs feel good and I can’t help but anticipate a fast time. I forget the last time trial that I did and how much it hurt to somehow convince myself that I am going to absolutely smash this one.

30sec into the time trial and all optimism goes out of the window. I remember why I don’t like them as I struggle for oxygen on a usually ill-fitting time trial bike that I haven’t ridden enough to be comfortable on. This time trial was no different. I crossed the line with a dry mouth and burning legs, hoping that I beat Tim’s time because I told him I would in a moment of blind confidence before the start.

I finished in 22^nd place. A full 30 seconds behind Tim. At this point, I start to think about where I lost time... 5 seconds when I stuffed around with my water bottle. 5 seconds when I braked for that corner. 5 seconds when I free wheeled down the hill. 5 seconds when I didn’t change gears going up the hill. Etc etc etc. Why didn’t I just pedal harder??? Oh that’s right, cause I was in a world of pain! Thank goodness for hindsight.

Stage 2 was on the same course as the road race, taking in 7 laps of the 15km loop. As it was the first relatively flat stage in the QTS, all of the sprinters were hopeful and keen for their chance to shine. A bunch sprint was inevitable, so the plan was to conserve energy and finish as high as possible.

The race went by relatively uneventfully, with break aways barely getting 20m up the road before they are reeled back in. At the end of the 4^th lap, we began the descent into the finish when my front tyre exploded. We were on the fastest section of the course and strung out in single file. With the team car in the final position in the convoy, I had to wait for what felt like an eternity for a spare wheel. I pulled over, and out of pure habit, I pulled the rear wheel out of my bike, usually the tyre that suffers a puncture. I realised that I had it wrong and put it back in, hoping that the tv camera that was filming me didn’t pick up on my error. I took out the front wheel as Bruce handed me a spare before starting my chase in the hardest possible gear that I had.

Bruce made his way to the car and then back in front of me to draft me back onto the bunch. ¾ of a lap later, I managed to just make my way back through the convoy and onto the tail of the peleton. I was relieved because due to my efforts, my right hamstring was threatening to cramp at any moment. Waiting at the back of the bunch was Matt and Andy who were quick to say, ‘right, lets get you back up the front’. Aware of my hamstring’s situation, I took some time to recover and refuel myself.

I made my way to the front of the race, just in time to see a small group of 5 riders slowly roll off ahead of the bunch. No one seemed intent on chasing and as we were halfway around the final lap, they had a gap of about 150m. With 4km to go, I pounced of the front of the bunch, only to be met by an angry hamstring. I was swallowed up and did my best to avoid the usual final km carnage to cross the line in the middle of the field. Fortunately, Matt & Brad were far better positioned and finished in 12^th and 15^th positions respectively.

The following day, we returned to Gatton for the far more hilly stage 3. We had 5 laps of a 21km circuit that took in a short but painful climb. After a few undulations, we were met with a 200m climb to the KOM but for some reason, it felt like the longest 200m of my life. After 3 laps, I was pretty sure that I was not going to make it over the final two KOM’s in the bunch. My hamstring was still a little upset at me for the previous day’s effort and was getting angrier with every lap.Matt was fighting gravity each lap which left Brad, Andy and myself to search for points in the top 30 positions.

Lap 4 went over the KOM in a, thankfully, subdued manner which meant that I only had to hang on for one more lap. As we headed into the climb for the final time, I made my way to the front to give me maximum ‘backward drift’ distance as we went up. I was managing fine until 50m from the top when a touch of wheels saw two riders hit the bitumen in front of me. I braked and swerved to get around it and leave myself with a small gap to close. I made it back across and fought my way forward again. The sprint for the finish was slightly uphill, which made it look almost slow motion as everyone gave it their all. I crossed the line hopeful that I had made it inside the top 30 where points could be maximised, only to be disappointed to discover that I had finished in 32^nd place.

BOTB

Riding for a Masters Team has many benefits: The guys have years of experience. They are always well prepared for races and have thought of pretty much everything. And if you are all in a group together, they make you look deceptively younger with more hair. Despite this, during Open events, it means that they race in their own category and the younger guys are left to fend for themselves. At the Battle on the Border a couple of weeks ago, Oliver and I were left to race in A-Grade, whilst the rest of the team fought it out in the Masters A category.

Things did not start out well for Oliver. In the opening time trial, his run was interrupted by several cars that pulled out onto the course in front of him. Not expecting to be an overall contender, this didn’t faze Ollie, as he was hoping to help me better my position in the road races after finishing the time trial in 9^th position.

Stage two was 142km long with 3 laps of an undulating course. On the first lap, we hit the climb and Ollie dropped down to the small chainring only to have his chain fall off. He stopped to rectify the problem then chased the peleton down to rejoin the front group. This, in itself, is no mean feat and I was shocked to see him make it back. 

At the start of the 2^nd lap, I was sitting behind Oliver as we rolled through the start/finish line. With an extremely loud BANG and a puff of white powder, Oliver’s rear tyre exploded and he was again left standing on the side of the road. Any normal person would have had enough by now and called it a day but Ollie got a spare wheel, got back on his bike and chased the bunch down again on possibly the fastest part of the course. I was even more surprised to see him make it back a second time.

A quarter of the way around the last lap, a small group of riders was left at the pointy end of the race. Fortunately, Oliver and myself were included. On a flat, dead straight section of road, a rider, for whatever reason, moved out from the bunch. As he did so, he took out Oliver’s front wheel and he hit the ground, landing on his shoulder.

After previously breaking his collar bone, the pain made him think the worst, however, a trip to the hospital confirmed that it wasn’t broken and it was more likely dislocated.  Either way, his race was done. After a day of exceptionally bad luck, I suggested Oliver buy a lottery ticket, as it could only get better, but I think he was so high on Morphine that he can’t remember.

This left just myself to represent the Mainline team in A-grade and also made it very difficult to have a large effect on the race proceedings. I decided to sit in and hopefully finish the race in the front group. After time bonuses were rewarded for stage 2, I was sitting in 13^th position overall with another road race and tight street criterium remaining.

Stage 3 saw the race ascend what I considered a fairly hefty climb 3 times in total, and I was hoping to just hang on. The first and second ascents up the hill were at a relatively easy pace but the 3^rd was much faster and after the legs had over 100km already in them. I managed to just hang on to the front half of the group and head towards the finish line in the bunch. The finish saw no change to the overall standings.

The last stage was a tight criterium with many sharp turns. Having raced it a number of times in the past, I knew position at the start was key as it was very easy for a gap to open up and to lose contact with the front. I got to the start line 15 minutes early and still had to push my way forward. With the main contender’s teams at the front of the race, I was now hoping to Steven Bradbury my way into the top ten. After 45mins and a couple of crashes, I was still sitting comfortably near the front. Fortunately, a couple of riders in front of me in the overall standings were poorly positioned at the start of the race and were withdrawn after being lapped. In the aftermath, I managed to claw my way up to 11^th position overall, just 18sec short of the top 10. I managed to make up 2 places, but it was no Steven Bradbury.

Claw Hand

If there is an activity that cyclists are not meant to do, its rock climbing. On Sunday, fresh from my Laundry Workout Session, I had the chance to give it a go. As part of work activities, we hit Rocksports Indoor Climbing Centre at the Valley.

I’ve done it in the past, and generally only tackled the easier climbs. This time, rather than wasting what little upper body strength I have at the beginning on the easy climbs, I decided to take on the harder, cliff hanger, Mission Impossible – style climbs.

I conquered them all (with relative ease), and my forearms didn’t even cramp once. However, when I got home and opened the fridge to take a swig of milk from the bottle (as all men should), my fingers locked up.

My hand was cramped into a claw-like pose and I had to press my hand against the counter to stretch them out again. For the next couple of hours, I had limited dexterity in my hands and my fingers continued to revert to the claw pose as I tried remove clothing, open door handles and brush my teeth. Interestingly, if you Google 'claw hand', you will find that it is an actual medical term!

Laundry workout session

On many occasions in the past, I have mentioned the lack of upper body strength that cyclist (and myself) seem to suffer from. Admittedly, I never really thought that my situation was that bad, as I can generally perform most tasks that involve upper body strength better some (well, I think so anyways). That was up until a few days ago.

At work, we recently discovered that our supply of uniforms had hit situation critical, and with several new staff members starting in the near furure, I had to place an order of shirts to fill the void.

A few days later, around 200 polo shirts turned up, all neatly folded up in boxes. Despite this, the shirts were not organised into sizes, so I had to dig around to find the right shirt. As a result, I decided to pull all the shirts out and fold and sort them into their sizes. I should have let them be.

After about 100 shirts, my arms were tired. I didn't want to pick up any more shirts. I pressed on and eventually got them all sorted but I was wrecked by the end of it. The next day, my arms and shoulders were aching.

Is this what it has come down to? Folding clothes has become an upper body workout? I really didn't think that it was that bad! At least I can save money on Gym memberships. Whenever I want to work on the arms, I can just put through a load of laundry!

My Sweetopia

When I got back from racing in November last year, I went on the usual Friday morning coffee shop ride and went to My Sweetopia for the first time, a coffee shop in Southbank that had some new management.

My Sweetopia had always been there in the past, but the management were never fans of cyclists. They chose to get annoyed at us and tell us to move our bikes away rather than embrace a market that tends to drink a heck of a lot of coffee. This had always baffled me, as the cafe next door to them was always filled to capacity with cyclists drinking coffee while they looked on with an up-tight expression, trying to work out who owned that blue Trek leaning against the pole so that they could tell them to move it.

Anyhoo... the new managemnet have welcomed cyclists and they have recriprcated the offer. When I ordered my coffee they did the usual and asked for my name with the order. When the coffees came out, everyone's name was written in the froth with a syrup of some sort. I thought it was pretty cool then went on with my day.

A couple of days later, I caught a flight to China for the last couple of races. Three weeks later and I came home for 2 days before catching another flight to the Philippines to visit family. Another three weeks later, I finally came home after 6 weeks of travelling.

In that time, I had pretty much forgotten everything I had been doing at home and pretty much forgotten my own name. I returned to My Sweetopia after the next Friday coffee shop ride and ordered my coffee as per usual. This time they did not ask for my name and I didn't think anything of it. But when the coffee came out, 6 weeks and I assume a hell of a lot of customers since asking for my name, they had written 'Chris' across the top of it. I was impressed.

Recently, I had the chance to test their memory. It had been a while since Ben had a coffee at My Sweetopia but is was definitely more than once. We ordered our coffees and they didn't ask for names which was not surprising. When our coffees came out, 'Chris' was written across the top of mine but Ben was not so lucky. Perhaps he doesn't have a memorable face, but this is what came out...

Cyling is an Ugly Sport

At a race in Austria last year, I met a Russian lady who described cycling as a 'beautiful art sport'. I thought it was a fantastic way to describe the sport and characterised what cycling was to people in Europe. We catch glimpses of this 'beautiful art sport' through the TV as the Tour de France and other races are beamed to us in the middle of the night.

Today, after an uphill time trial, I have decided that cycling is ugly.

Round 2 of the QLD teams series included a 10km uphill time trial just outside of Boonah an Mt French. Before the race, having never seen the road before, I decided to ride up and check it out. For the first few km's, it wasn't so bad. Rolling hills with steep ascents but also steep descents that you can take a break on.

Then at the 6km mark, it turns towards the sky and heads up at gradients of around 25%. I decided to turn around at this point because it couldn't possibly be any worse and I'd rather not know what was ahead. It was a poor decision.



Ten minutes before the time trial began, it started raining. The roads were nice and wet and slippery for the race, just enough so that when you stood up, your rear wheel couldn't get traction. I hit the steep part of the course and struggled my way over the top to discover... IT KEPT GOING.



The final 3km was brutally steep. Some riders zig-zagged across the road as their heart rate went through the roof and their breathing was more akin to an asthma attack. Everyone was tired, wet and in a world of pain. Some people screamed, some people groaned and some looked like they were giving birth. Hence the reason why cycling is an ugly sport.

Here are some of the best hurt faces from the day...

Two birds, one stone

I have managed to get the time it takes for me to wake up in the morning, get out of bed, get dressed and on the bike down to 15 minutes. To do this, I have to sacrifice having anything to eat and the standard 30 minutes on the toilet that a lot of other people seem to require but at least I get a little bit more sleep.

To keep everything easy, I have been storing my helmet and sunnies in a cupboard near the door so I can just throw it on as I am on the way out. After several long rides and many humid days, it has become apparent that keeping my sweat soaked helmet in a sealed, confined space may not be the best idea in the world.

This morning, I opened the cupboard to retreive my helmet and recoiled at the smell. It's like opening an oven to check on food cooking only to be met by a wave of heat. I decided that it's time my helmet had a wash. I could take it down stairs and put it under the hose. I could remove the padding and run it through the washing machine. But I am a lazy man.

The most efficient way to clean your helmet is simple. Just have a shower with it on. Whack some shampoo on your head, lather it up and wiggle your helmet around. I was mid-wash when Emily came home. She walked in to find me in the shower with my helmet on.

Surprisingly, Emily didn't even flinch at the sight. She just turned around and kept on with her business. I Googled, 'cleaning bike helmet' and it seems that I am not the only one with this ingenious idea...