Riding to End Polio

Post Script to the Posts

2011-03-20T05:35:00.002+11:00

It is now over 24 hours since we all dismounted for the last time ... there has been some excitement for the team:

a presentation to the Rotary conference by Graham, with the team on stage as well
Graham impressed the audience by telling them the total raised by the riders over 3 years has been over $50,000 !
a award to one of our riders for "Rotary District 9790 Sportswoman Award for 2011" - which is great recognition for cycling! The award was not given for navigation, it appears.

... but at other times the riders have been seen wandering vaguely around the conference , murmuring "ding ding" or "car back" from time to time. They seem restless, and reluctant to sit down. Whenever they see Margaret or Sandra they become much more animated, and only then do they begin to smile or talk.

Medical opinion is that they are clearly sufffering from a disorder known as Bike Separation Syndrome. There is only one known remedy for this disorder : get back on your bike ! It is only 364 days until Ride to Conference 2012 - which will be Wangaratta to Moonee Ponds (no doubt the long way) ... so, Dear Reader/Supporter/Friend why don't you join us? - you will be guaranteed beautiful scenery, great company, fabulous organisation and a really worthwhile cause.

Thank you once again Graham and Margaret and Sandra

from the 2011 Team,

and thank you to our generous sponsors

You have helped to ...

2011-03-18T11:53:00.002+11:00

There were mixed emotions on the morning of our last day Riding to End Polio 2011

elation : we had almost made it !
apprehension : we still had 92 km to go though
sadness : we would soon have to say goodbye to each other
excitement : about the multiple photo shoots planned for today, the end-of-ride celebrations, with DG Alan Anderson attending, press conferences and even a fly-over !
pride : in raising over $19,000 for a great cause - eradication of polio is within reach
hunger : is breakfast ready, John Gatt ?

Highlights of the day
It was a superb day for riding along the rail trail out of Wangaratta - green pastures glowing, blue hills beckoning, magpies warbling, kangaroo grass shimmering, cleats clicking, riders puffing.
We thought of Our Little Mermaid completing her 900 th 50 m lap !
We were joined today by David Wohlers, who rode until he punctured and then wasn't seen again.
Glenda graduated from a tractor to a light plane and buzzed us over our morning tea stop.
Katrina and Bruce somehow missed the Beechworth turn off - 25 kilometres later, and several hills later, it dawned on them that they had gone to Myrtleford instead, and so they had to cycle back all those extra kms again ...they had wasted all that uphill effort, and missed out on a chicken and avocado focaccia and a vanilla slice, and they had only one tiny muesli bar between them and this was the one day Katrina did not put jelly beans in her pocket .... but she did not make any of these comments of course, but rode on bravely, trying not to think of Woori Yallock ...
However the two haplesss riders rendezvoused with the Angels, who even brought the aforementioned focaccias and vanilla slices, and smiles were restored all around.
Luckily there was still time for the now-traditional visit to the Sam Miranda winery and obligatory photo of The Boys in their Sam Miranda caps ( Secret Men's Business).
Then followed the final leg, a triumphant coast into Wangaratta - to be greeted by the DG, the press, tearful families and a stray dog.
Congratulations Graham "Ernest Shackleton" Brown on getting your Team safely to its destination after 600 km of sweat, blood, tears, grease, Gatorade, a lot of fun .... and a great cause.

Day 5: Cobram to Wangaratta

2011-03-17T07:45:00.004+11:00

Day 5 of The Ride seemed to dawn unfairly early, but our reluctance to leave the comfortable beds of the Charles Sturt Motor Inn was tempered a little by the smell of the eggs and bacon being cooked by ...The Boys ... yes the author had to rub her eyes to verify the fact. Margaret and Sandra were so elated they put some flowers in their hair and threatened to ride bikes today ... until they heard the details of the route. The extra nutrition assisted us for some of our early kms, but we required frequent boosts of energy  - it was Hot, Hard and Hilly , and it was Horribly Long - the promised 108 km was "rounded up " to 110.
We have had some changes to The Team - Joy of Joys - Lance (Trevor Smiith) is back ! ( Alberto looks a bit worried). Phil Liggatt left us for media duties, but we have been joined by Glenda MacKay, Dave Barrat , Rob Wallace and Eilish Wallace.   These four have all been assigned to our Domestiques - ie they are supposed to help the rest of us get where we are going. This is a great honour for them, of course, but they don't seem to realise what their duties are. Glenda has been swanning  around- in the sag wagon or just cruising on her bike or even on tractors. (!)
Rider Of The Day award does go to Eilish (age 14)  who rode brilliantly without any Fancy Schmancy Bike or Lycra.
Alberto and El Nino disppeared completely from view today - doing some sort of macho bonding thing in the Warby ranges --both wearing knicker bockers, they apparently think they look cool, but we wonder what local farmers may have thought had they discovered them ? Having wandered off they then proceded to complain over dinner (or was it boast?) about the extra kms and extra climbs they had done blah blah blah ... yes we are all impressed ...

Day 4 : Rutherglen to Cobram

2011-03-15T23:59:00.001+11:00

The cyclists had an event-packed day today, as they continued their celebrity tour. Phil Liggatt commenced with an early radio interview - as it was at 6.30 am it was heard only by Graham ...but Graham pronounced Phil's voice as "mellifluous" and his presentation as "flawless". The Riding Team were then taken on a tour of Rutherglen, which involved a greet-and-meet for the assembled fans, and much autograph signing. They were to have been given the keys to the city, but apparently ... no-one could find the Master key. The team then proceeded onto the Rail Trail , into NSW once again (it is a multi-state tour after all), and then for a household visit to Don and Wendy Burrowes. The Burroweses won this celebrity opportunity in a raffle : first prize was half an hour with The Team, second prize was an hour. The Burrowseseses had spent weeks preparing their garden and home for this very special day- "They even ate my scones" said Don "all of them ... and all the jam and all the cream".
Lunch was at Mulwala by the Lake - a welcome cool breeze and shade, for the ride was getting hot. Another 20 km, and The Team stopped for yet another photo shoot. Katrina suffered a puncture - of her bike tire that is, and possibly her pride ...when Bruce wrote an unkind caption to the relevant photo (see slide show 15 March). The team arrived in Cobram hot and tired after an 86 km day. Accommodation was in Cobram's Ritz - where some riders were later seen enjoying the pool . Paparazzi are strictly banned from the hotel. Screaming girls gathered in the streets outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cadel or El Nino in wet lycra.
Tonight it was Graham's turn to perform : the Team attended a meeting of the Rotary Club of Cobram, and Graham spoke very emotionally about The Cause.

Alberto :"Io knackered"
(Spanish for "I am a bit tired")

Our Little Mermaid, Eileen swam 8 km today, and now has a total of 29 km, for this trip !

Night has now fallen, cycling tops are strung on trees outside motel rooms, bikes have been lovingly put to bed, and their Riders are lying blissfully horizontally, giving certain parts of their anatomy a rest and some fresh air ! Tomorrow there is over 100 km to do ...

Snappy haps

2011-03-15T23:06:00.000+11:00

Happi Snaps

2011-03-15T07:11:00.000+11:00

Day 3 : Culcairn to Rutherglen

2011-03-14T23:59:00.000+11:00

From Rosemary and Katrina : in comparison to Day 1 it was easy riding ! The riding conditions in the morning were ideal with cloud cover, no wind and cool temperatures. First morning tea was at Walla Walla - some of us were not quite sure if this was in NSW or Victoria - and second morning tea (yes!) at the wonderfully named Burrumbuttock -this is a hybrid of two European and Aboriginal words meaning "multiple buttocks in padded shorts".
Photo quiz : Match the burrumbuttocks to the correct team member

Lunch was at an idyllic riverside park at the appropriately named Howlong (?NSW or Vic).

Too long !

We were joined today by an international rider - Jon Grundtmann - from Sweden. As there don't seem to be any Swedish cyclists of note, we asked Jon to suggest a new name for himself , and he has modestly suggested "Awesome"..... Awesome it is !

Awesome

Graham, being a local, met lots of friends along the way ....

Friend of Graham

We are now at Rutherglen and staying at the historic and evocative Victoria Hotel. Our hosts Sarah Pilgrim and Sean Morris, have won an award for being a most cycle friendly hotel ...

El Nino and El Nina

2011-03-14T07:11:00.001+11:00

As promised, we feature today our riders Alicia and Tony Thomas . They ride 3 times a week. Alicia has Italian heritage- in honour of that, and their dogged devotion to cycling, they are to wear the Nino Borsari badge of honour - and henceforth will be known as El Nino and El Nina ... photo to follow.

The legendary Nino Borsari, cycling champion of Italy
and well known cyclist of Melbourne

Borsari's corner, Lygon Street

Tsunami

2011-03-14T06:58:00.000+11:00

The Riding to End Polio team is devastated to hear the shocking news of the tsunami. We can't imagine the horror of it. We will continue cycling, and be grateful that there is a simple prevention for the scourge of polio - all it takes is will and money - and in this case, it has been the community that has done it. Eradication of polio from the face of the earth is achievable; sadly prevention of tsunamis is probably not. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy to all those affected in Japan.

Day 2 : Walwa to Culcairn

2011-03-13T23:27:00.001+11:00

ward round

The day started with Graham suggesting that we round up our 92 km ride to 95 km - not quite sure of the reasoning - hope he doesn't decide to round up even further tomorrow (also could be contravening some ACCC legislation concerning rounding ??). So instead of leaving Walwa directly we had a tour of the Murray River, Jingellic and whatever else Graham felt like. Cadel soon figured out what was going on and decided to do a ward round of local farms instead.

He claimed to not have time to see all the patients waiting for him.

We have a couple of new celebrities on our ride : the first is a media personality known for his silver tongue and readiness to share his extensive knowledge on a range of subjects (including cycling) - Ray "Phil Liggett" Terrill.

"Phil Liggett" in the limelight, taking yet another media call

The second is John "Alberto Contador" Fry. John has earned this title after demonstrating impressive endurance - he has ridden the last 2 days with a broken spoke on the rear wheel - meaning he hasn't been able to brake on the back wheel. Rumour has it that this was a strategic move to foil Cadel - as the ancient Romans did with spikes on their chariot wheels.

Alberto and chariot wheel

Two riders who have kept a low profile to date are Alicia and Tony Thomas from Yarrawonga Club - but rest assured they will be exposed in tomorrow's blog.

The ride itself took us through tranquil pastoral vistas, though our reveries were interrupted by a couple of killer hills between morning tea (Lankey's Creek) and lunch (Holbrook). Aforementioned killer uphills were followed surprisingly by a massive downhill. Alberto , on front brakes only, recorded a terminal velocity (almost literally) of 68 km/hr .

The team is based at Culcairn for the night. The dinner at the Culcairn Hotel was excellent, and we were regaled by John Gatt describing how he wooed Eileen. Apparently he inducted her into Rotary, then installed some software six months later. The hardware installation came later again. Incidentally, we hear he has changed his knobblies to slicks.

The highlight of the day was the discovery of a box in the hotel containing some long standing charitable donations. The proprietors told us these had been donated for disabled children, and they have decided to direct them to Polio Plus. We thank Paul and Patricia Watson for their thoughtfulness.

Paul and Patricia Watson, with Ray Luck

Our wonderful cook and our generous hostess at the Culcairn Hotel

Australia Felix

2011-03-12T22:29:00.001+11:00

Australia Felix

Dear Friends,

Your intrepid Riding to End Polio team is somewhat weary tonight after 115 km on the road today - it was a most beautiful riding day over a full Hume Weir, through lush pastures, full of fat cattle - truly Australia Felix. There was the occasional change in gradient - termed by some an undulation , others an incline, others a hill and the realistic ones a mountain .

A few details from the day :

Pick the DG

media scrum

We were farewelled in Albury at 8.30 by Past District Governor David Cooke, and gingerly negotiated the media scrum.
Most team members obeyed instruction of "small soft sided bag"

John "Cadel" Paton's small soft-sided bag

We now have two angels - Chief (?arch-) Executive Angel (Margaret) and Asst Angel (Sandra)
The traditional cheering crowds lined the route, and our team responded with waves and kisses.... at least initially. Morning tea was at 32 km at Talgarno. By lunch at 68 km at Thologolong ( I kid you not) some members were suffering cramps , some stomach pains , and some, shall we say, heavy weather in the nether. Waves and kisses were less frequent. I would suggest that one of the crampers , at least, needs to slow down and not try to keep up with the Young Bloods.
Rosemary and Michael have received offical monikers - since they never stop talking about all their European cycling, they will carry the revered name of Hubert "Oppy"- and they will be known as Opperman and Opperwoman.
We are now in Walwa - we have increased the population here by about 100%. We had a great pub dinner, tops and knicks are washed (Bruce, have you washed yours ?), and most of the team members are gently snoring and dreaming of another 90 km of bitumen tomorrow.

Chief Executive Angel

Thank you Friends for your support and interest.

The Man from Mt Stromlo

2011-03-12T21:22:00.000+11:00

At dinner in Albury on the night before our bike ride we encountered some local yobbos (see pic) - purporting to be relatives of Katrina - obviously anxious to garner some reflected fame and glory. They claimed they were on their way to the 3 Peaks Ride to act as supporters and crew ....a likely story ...we know all they'll be supporting is the cappucino machine .

We also met a bicycling legend - the Man from Mt Stromlo - who told us how he did a 360 over a kangaroo, still in his cleats ... made contact with the kangaroo with his head, and with the road with his face ... gave the facio-maxillary surgeons and the orthopods some work. he now has a beautiful smile - see photo. So does the kangaroo.

It's amazing what plastic surgeons can fix

The Man from Mt Stromlo is undeterred and was passing through Albury on his way to do the 3 Peaks Ride - now that is a Real Man.

one more sleep ....

2011-03-11T19:48:00.013+11:00

Rosemary and Michael and Bruce carbo loading

Dear Virtual Riders,
Our big ride starts tomorrow ... we are in Albury ...and have met 2 of our companions for the next 555 km -Rosemary and Michael ... who not only have carbon fibre in their bikes, but seem to have cycled the whole of Europe . Not to be outdone, we told them of our massive epic ride from Lilydale to Woori Yallock AND BEYOND (for some) ...

two bikes at the Hume motel - all ready for the Big Ride

medicinal purposes only... getting rid of the nerves

So it will be an early night, as we contemplate 115 km tomorrow ! We will have a joyous reunion tomorrow with our Bike Support Angel Margaret Brown, and our resolute leader Graham Brown. Plus we will meet the rest of the group - yes ... Cadel will be back, and our King of the Mountains and the Little Mermaid (in-jokes for 2010 blog readers) ....and some new riders - a group of ten in all - this could be the beginning of a song ...ten green riders etc etc
Hope I am not the first rider to "accidentally fall " (behind)

Katrina

Servicing

2011-03-10T00:53:00.003+11:00

From Katrina :
As we approach our big ride my mind turns to servicing - should I take my bike to be serviced ? What about Bruce - should he go in for a service too ? They could go in together -two for the price of one - or should we do it ourselves ? I dutifully google "bicycle service" .... and I discover that many items in a bike service could apply to Bruce as well, as follows - (where you see the word "Bike" substitute "Bruce" ....)
.. the italics are my notes !

Cleaning -- It is important to start with a clean bike (or Bruce). Keeping your bike clean will extend the life of your components. As you clean the bike take the time to inspect everything (their words not mine). Look for cracks or other signs of wear that could cause future breakdowns or part failures (we definitely don't want that). Clean the chain, chainrings, cassette, derailleurs, etc. with a biodegradable cleaner. Use an old tooth brush and clean everything (Would you like a soft, medium or hard brush, Bruce ?). Use as little water as possible (Bruce will approve of that ). Clean the pedals, the brakes, tires, rims, and the frame. Remove the seatpost from the frame and wipe off any dirt. (this could be a bit uncomfortable, be brave Bruce). Wipe the inside of the frame where the seatpost slides into (ouch). Apply a very small amount of good grease (only the best of course) to the post and reinstall.

Brake System -(Bruce has brakes on most of the time - except when on the way to Woori Yallock - so brakes do need checking) Check the brake pads. Unfasten the brake cable and look at the brake pads closely. The pads should be wearing evenly. If you have a ridge in the pads then your brakes may need to be adjusted. If the pads are worn or not smooth then get some new pads. Old brake pads tend to harden and If the pads are ok then reconnect the straddle cable and squeeze the brakes.(just take deep breaths, Bruce). Do the pads strike the rim at the same time? You can adjust the brake arm tension screw that is usually on one of the brake arms so the brakes are even (awake now Bruce?).

Wheels - Clean the rims with a cloth and rubbing alcohol, beer won't work (sorry about that )! Check the rim for pits or grooves in the sidewall of the rim. Spin the wheels. Do they go around straight or do they wobble -? You can make minor adjustments to the wheel with a spoke wrench (wrench , not wench Bruce). For major tweaking take it to a shop or use a truing stand and get it back in true (that means tell the truth about W. Yallock, or you will be put onto a truing stand and given a major tweak).

Drive train -- Elevate the rear wheel and spin the pedals. This is where a stand comes in handy. Shift through all the rear gears. Shifting from gear to gear should be smooth. If it skips try adjusting your rear derailleur(skipping unlikely - has anyone seen Bruce skipping lately ?) If this fails to correct the problem your chain, cogset, and chainrings may be worn. The chain is the first to go. Chains last from 6 months to a year. A good chain only costs $15-40 and is well worth the investment. Examine your chain closely for side slop (see photo) and stretch which are signs that your chain is wearing out. If your chain is worn it can prematurely wear on your cogs and rings. In the front try shifting the derailleur. Adjust your front derailleur if needed. Check the front chainrings for excessive wear or missing teeth (yes, some are). Small chainrings wear out much faster your larger ones. If all is well your bike will now shift perfect ( Bruce will shift perfect-ly, for sure ....but he would never shift perfect). Apply some fresh lube of your preference (we'll lash out and get some Vaseline).

cold this be early side slop?

Tires -- If the brake pads were out of alignment they may have damaged the tires. Check tires for splits, cracks, or tears in the sidewall. Check the tread of the tire for worn knobs (no danger of that !) , uneven tread wear, or excessive wear. Replace the tires if needed. There is nothing worse than having a tire blow out because it needed to be replaced ( I think Bruce has learned that lesson - see last year's blog!)

Lube -- Apply lubrication to the chain. It should be applied so there is an even coat on the inside and outside of each link and between the pins and rollers. Leave it one for a few minutes, then wipe off the excess lube with a rag. A few drops should be added to the cables at the nipple end (we'll let Bruce do that bit himself).. Gore-Tex and other Teflon cables should never be lubricated. All the pivot points on the front and rear derailleur should be oiled. (derailleur Bruce, whch is different from derriere - both words may be from the same language, but they have quite different meanings). Apply a few drops to the brake lever pivots and to the exposed brake cable.

Is everything tight? Check all nuts and bolts on the bike. Do not over-tighten any of the quick releases or bolts. For Shimano torque specifications click here. Congratulations if you made it through and completed your spring tune-up (are you still there Bruce ? oops he's gone ! ....Back to Woori Yallock I suspect)

The Cog Blog

2011-03-02T16:26:00.019+11:00

Many of our readers will know that Bruce occasionally edits a weekly newsletter "The Cog" for the Rotary Club of Heidelberg. On our bike ride this week we found a special place for Bruce.

Not Gog and Magog ...but Cog and Blog !!
(same hairdresser ??)

...a land of drought and flooding rain ...and great coffee at the Cog bike cafe !

Bruce in top gear
( preparing to speed away from his loyal riding companion ?)

where - y - yallock ?

2011-03-02T16:25:00.009+11:00

Dear Readers
Below pls find two versions of our training ride this week
the Authorised Version (from Katrina) and the Alternative ("In your dreams, Bruce") Version from Bruce:
Authorised Version :
10 am : Bruce calls, and asks if I would like to do the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail - of course I agree with alacrity - Bruce says he would be picking me and bike up at about 12 midday.
2.30 : Bruce arrives, and so we do not make the beginning of trail til 3.30.
3.30: Bruce decides we can only do half the trail - maybe to a place called Woori Yallock and back. Bruce announces airily he is leaving his phone in the car.
3.40 :We set off companiably, riding together as might be expected when you are going for a ride together.
3.45: We have a coffee at "The Cog" (see next post) then continue on together for a while.
4.00: Suddenly, without any warning, Bruce speeds up and peddles off into the distance. I realise he is wanting to "gallop" for a bit after cantering /? trotting/? walking along with me and think to myself he will stop after a while .... I think we are getting close to Woori Yallock, though don't really know, and feel sure that Bruce will wait for me there .
5.00 : After about an hour more of riding I wonder where Woori Yallock can be ? A turn off to a few shops appears - I explore up there - but no Bruce, no visible bike . I continue on the main trail ... till it runs out.
5.15 : I find myself on a major road - no bike trail - no Bruce .   I have to peddle along the shoulder of this highway for a few km until I come to what seems to be a large town. I find a few teenagers on skateboards in a reserve, and ask them (feeling quite embarrassed) what the name of this town is ? Fortunately they don't laugh audibly, but tell me it is Yarra Junction - a place I have heard of , but have never been to.   So I call Bruce's phone and leave him very polite messages as to where I am and what I plan to do - turn back and ride back to the car, hoping I will make it before sunset. I buy a packet of jelly beans and eat the whole lot -do not save even one for Bruce. That makes me feel a bit better.
5.45: Finally, Bruce calls - he has gone back to the car, retrieved his phone and decided to make contact with the person he was supposed to be riding with ... what was her name again ?
6.30: Bruce picks me up at Launching Place (half way beween Yarra Junction and Woori Yallock apparently).  Not much conversation on the way home - I must have been tired .

Rotary helping everywhere ....
except at where-y-yallock ?

Alternative Version :

The Facts :

There were some unavoidable delays at the start of the day
Planned ride was altered to Lilydale - Woori Yallock and return
Approx 3km from Woori Yallock Bruce accelerates from 15km/hr to 30km/hr in order to improve aerobic fitness and find place for coffee in Woori Yallock
Bruce rides 500 metres from Woori Yallock station (pictured below, how could she miss it?) towards shops and then back to the station and waits, and waits
No sign of Katrina; has she had a puncture, fallen off the bike or thrown a wobbly and gone back to Lilydale?
Bruce rides back towards Lilydale for 3km but no sign of Katrina
He returns to Woori Yallock station and waits, still no sign so he cycles at high speed to car in Lilydale and receives several voice messages from Katrina who is where? Yarra Junction first then Launching Place! What the...!
Katrina is then rescued by gallant companion - quiet trip back to Melbourne

Professionals

2011-02-23T00:20:00.026+11:00

From Katrina : Bruce and I, as you know, have a very professional approach to our riding, including photography. So I thought you might like to see this video, taken last week on a new i phone, at The Boulevard Restaurant [a brief break (very brief ) between our many laps of the Boulevard]

doing synchronised 360s ??

where are Bruce and Katrina ?

Why Bruce goes so fast

2011-02-23T00:15:00.000+11:00

We have found it difficult to fit in any long rides lately and so have been doing laps of our old standy-by route -the Kew Boulevard. This is a favorite haunt for cyclists because it offers the following : 1. road riding 2. proximity to the city 3. minimal traffic and 4. .... a few hills ! Yes , the hills are a necessary form of masochism in our training regime. Each complete lap of the Boulevard is 14 km, which takes us around 35 mins (B) or more (K!) ... and longer if we stop for coffee at either Studley Park Boathouse, Fairfield Boathouse or even The Boulevard Restaurant.... yes - choice of three cafes - that is the real reason it is Bruce's favourite ride! .. and also the reason he goes so fast on the "Last lap before coffee".

Pilgrims' Progress

2011-01-25T10:51:00.000+11:00

Do you recall Christian and his Pilgrim's Progress towards to the Celestial City ? The analogy may help our Faithful Followers understand some of the travails along our voyage towards Ride to End Polio 2011. This was our first training ride for 2011 - Kew to Altona return, 76 km
6 km : first coffee shop, a temptation, yes, but one disdainfully spurned by Bruce as "too soon"
13 km : a myriad of tempting coffee shops (Pilgrim's "Enchanted Land " ?) at Southbank ... our two pilgrims resist for a few seonds , but then relent , but partake of a small coffee only (see pic below).
16 and 20 km : several comfort stops required as a result of "small" coffee ("Valley of Humiliation")
37 km : tropical Altona once again (see pic) and a modest (?) lunch. Discusion re weight at lunch - Lite 'n Easy mentioned ...a Slough of Despond settles (or does it arise ?)
37 -41 km : begin hot slog home...
41 km: we decide to "take a punt" - that is to take the little punt-boat from Newport to Westgate Park- you might think this was cheating, but we actually did not save any distance - ie it was still the same distance to go ...
76 km : back in Kew, vowing to do more training and lose weight ! What are the chances , you say dear Readers? Well, you could sponsor us by kg of weight lost or km of training done ... that would spur us on!

It's nearly time for the bike ride again .... !

2011-01-25T09:15:00.001+11:00

Dear Faithful Followers of the Ride to End Polio 2010 .. ...our blog bloggeth again...

Seems like only yesterday that we completed our big Geelong to Albury ride , but no it was almost a year ago !
... and now it is not long to go until the 2011 ride, and what have Bruce and Katrina been doing to keep fit ? hmmm ..

Witness this conversation, overheard this morning (but on no account tell Graham Brown about it please ):
Katrina : "How long does fitness last Bruce ? You know if you stop exercising ...could it last 11 months do you think ..."
Bruce :"Oh easily .."
Katrina : "How come your fingers are crossed, Bruce?"

and this one, also from today:

Bruce :"So what do you know about Lite 'n Easy, Katrina ?"
Katrina : "Just what are you implying, Bruce ?"

This was our 2010 ride : a ten minute video tells you all (Click on the arrow to start and the icon at bottom right hand corner to get full screen)

2010-03-28T02:09:00.007+11:00

Dear Readers and VRs

Bruce and Katrina and the whole Tour de Vic Team finished their Ride to End Polio over a week ago . Perhaps you have been wondering at times what our intrepid team has been doing ....well Lance at least appears to be suffering from PBRDS (Post Bike Ride Deprivation Syndrome) - he actually rode into a restaurant in his knicks, on his bike last week , between the tables, and all ! What about our Cadel ? He will have completed his warm down ride over about 3 mountain ranges - hope that bike is still shiny! ; Stuart O'Grady will be back in Shepparton, and Laurie-lie must seem like a dream; the King of the Mountain Bikes is probably a mere mortal now, and Eileen, who swam 36 km in 6 days - well hopefully she will have stopped flapping, closed up her gills and learned to breathe normally on land. Margaret will have unpacked "Rovah" the van - will she be walking the streets of Rutherglen looking for nomads to mother ? And what about Graham - has he recovered from the shock of seeing all of us ride into Albury together - getting us all there intact eclipses the achievements of Shackleton (in fact Graham that is your new moniker : "Ernie"). Bruce "himself" Nichols has been wearing a green jumper ever since he got home, wistfully dreaming of that green jersey he never did attain; and your other correspondent Katrina "Kathy Watts-on" (yes self-titled!) - well she has made a little video above for you to all to enjoy -see below it only goes for 10 minutes - don't be fooled by it - we didn't really have such a good time and we really did suffer ! Thank you one and all for your generous donations and sponsorship - the whole Tour de Vic (7 riders, 1 swimmer) - raised $16,000. The 6 extra riders who joined us for the last 84 km also contributed to this grand total. Bill Gates will match this - so there is $32,000 - which will help us to ... END POLIO NOW ! So it's Over and Out from The Blog - Goodnight from all of us and glub glub from Eileen ! Until next year ... we'll contact you, don't worry !

Day 6: Wangaratta to Albury- the Last Post !

2010-03-19T01:00:00.000+11:00

The Tour de Vic riders were elated this morning - only 84 km to go , and no big hills ! A presentation was made at breakfast time to Margaret and Graham by the team, to say thank you for their magnificent care and leadership. You could not get a more decent couple anywhere, nor could you find a couple with better values, or who better fulfil the ideals of Rotary. We were joined today by 6 cyclists from the Yarrawonga-Mulwala Rotary Club. It was a beautiful ride through river red gums, along the service road next to the Hume Freeway. Lunch was in the historic and unspoiled town of Chiltern.
We all filed into Albury in triumphant style, and were met by the DG (District Governor) David Cooke. We were filmed for TV, and photographed by the Border Mail. Eileen was singled out by the press for her remarkable swimming effort, totalling 36 km in 6 days !
Our main objective was not fame and glory, or a week's travelling round Victoria , but was to raise money for Polio Plus : the team has raised in total about $16,000 - that $16,000 will go directly to polio vaccination (and will be matched by Bill and Melinda Gates). Bruce and Katrina have raised $6000 of this - all from you, our Virtual Riders and supportive family and friends. Thank you to our generous sponsors, and to the Rotary Club of Heidelberg.
A tinge of sadness was felt by all as we approached Albury - how would we cope without Margaret ? or our new friends? Could we in fact actually get off our bikes - or would we feel like taking them to bed with us ? Who would give us a few laughs when we no longer have King of the Mountains, Lance, Cadel and Stuart O'Grady ? How can we further help Polio Plus eradicate polio ? The sore quads seem be improving already ...we think we might have to ride again next year ! Consider joining us - virtually or in person !
Here endeth the blog - thank you for your interest and your support ... End Polio Now !
from Bruce and Katrina , and the rest of the Ride to Conference Team.

Day 5: Mansfield to Wangaratta

2010-03-17T23:22:00.003+11:00

Breakfast this morning was unusually quiet as team members reflected on the challenging day - known to them as the "killer day" - to come. The seven riders ate their breakfast soberly. The Ironman cereal had, of course, been scoffed by Lance and Cadel days previously, but there was still a goodly collection of cereals, some with antioxidants. Of course some team members felt this was probably a waste , as their chances of living more than a few hours were slim. Perhaps Margaret even felt that she might not need to wash up the entire 9 cups and bowls as team numbers might be diminished by nightfall. In the Athlete's Village the three guys - Cadel, Lance and Stuart - were being unusually considerate of each other - making way for the others to have showers, shave etc. Graham, our Ride Director, had given us a no-holds-barred briefing .... before morning tea at Tolmie there would be a long, slow, steady climb, but we should conserve our energy, because from then on we could expect a long and very steep climb of 7 km over The Divide, the last 1 km being particularly severe. Graham then stated that each rider needed to prepare in his/her own way. Bruce was heard saying over and over: "It's Day 4 and fitness improves on the ride doesn't it ?" Laurie appeared to be in a trance-like state, possibly conjuring up visions of his Laurie-lie, sorry Lorelei. King John had acquired slick tyres and a slick hairstyle, but was disappointed tha the Mansfield barber had refused to wax his or Lance's legs. Lance also had gone for the slick hairstyle, but this only served to emphasise his striped suntan (see photo). Even Graham was heard mumbling about : "limpid streams and bucolic hills" and appeared to be hearing heavenly song birds already. And Cadel was polishing his bike... yet again. Last group photos were taken.... tearful farewells from Eileen and Margaret and the riders were off. The group managed the first leg of the ride comfortably. At Tolmie cheering crowds awaited , their cheers increased somewhat after Graham threw bread (see photo). Cadel's cousin and retinue arrived somewhat unexpectedly to say last farewells. The riders set off on what would be the most gruelling leg of their trip - and to the astonishment of all, the seven riders all summited successfully within the hour. They were rewarded by a long downhill swoop to Whitfield (King John even applied brakes). A delicious lunch, then onwards to Wangaratta . The riders were bathed all day in glorious sunshine "which you could almost taste" (according to Graham), and experienced the most wonderful vistas of King Valley. On arrival in Wangaratta the team processed triumphantly through the streets and congratulated each other on 116 challenging but exhilarating kilometres. Eileen was there to greet us, having swum another 7 km .... and we were treated to a BBQ dinner by awe-struck local Rotarians (Appin Park).

Day 4: Alexandra to Mansfield

2010-03-16T16:43:00.002+11:00

The Tour de Vic is now over half way, having now done 335 km - and 200 km to go. Ride Director Graham organised a relatively short day today of 70 km - so the Team can rest up before our killer day tomorrow - 116 km and big hills, over the Divide. We are in Mansfield. The day commenced with delicious al fresco breakfast, prepared by Margaret in the dawn light, in Alexandra. Three reasonable climbs before morning tea, and then gentler hills before lunch at Bonnie Doon. After lunch the guys practised bike etiquette, under the supervision of Graham (see photos). Then a short 20 km to Mansfield. Everyone is bearing up well. Katrina has cycled every km and has not needed the Rider Physiological Restitution Centre. Laurie even made it to the motel with the group today. Yesterday, on arriving into Alexandra, he followed a fluoro figure, whom he presumed to be Graham, for 7 km. The fluoro figure turned out to be a young, pretty blonde on a "ladies bike". So while we were all resting at the motel, Laurie was riding off into the sunset, following his Lorelei (who he claims he thought was Graham). Apparently Lorelei didn't think too much of being followed and gave him a filthy look when she arived at her turn off, and Laurie had to turn around, and do another 7 km back to the motel. Eileen swam 5 km today - altogether she has swum 25 km - magnificent ! Finally, Bruce made some dashing breaks to the lead today - but failed to sustain the lead for long - sometimes politely dropping back to allow the Macho Men* to continue at the helm, and sometimes gallantly dropping back to keep Katrina company. Because of this chivalrous, non-macho behaviour, and because he has a pink camera , he has been awarded the inaugural Pink Jersey.
* Note : so-called Macho Men Cadel (John Paton) and Stuart (Laurie McGoldrick) only joined on Day 3 .... "fresh legs" !

Day 3 : Seymour to Alexandra

2010-03-15T15:51:00.006+11:00

Here we are at the public library in Alexandra. For those Virtual Riders who dutifully did the perineal homework (see yesterday's blog) I recommend Vaseline, liberally applied, however I note that one of our followers has kindly suggested Proctosedyl. Today was a relatively short 72 km, through beautiful country - rolling hills, green farmland and some sclerophyll forest(how's that for made-up stuff ?). Today we were joined by two serious riders - John "Cadel" Paton and Laurie "Stuart" McGoldrick - both on very fancy schmancy bikes with off-putting writing all over them. However the Yellow Jersey Honours were actually taken out by John Gatt on his King of the Mountain bike. Bruce is a bit upset that he hasn't won a jersey yet but I have a special one in mind for him. Other highlights today included a press conference in Yea - when there was a media scrimmage - the Yea Chronicle was there, with a reporter AND a press photographer (secret : they were actually the same person). The celebrity Tour riders had to suck tummies in hard. Eileen has apparently swum a marathon today but details were not to hand at the time of going to press. On a slightly "sour" note, Lance publicly wondered whether jelly beans supplied by one of the Tour riders contained performance enhancing drugs - because they were purchased from a pharmacy. It was later noticed that Lance took a large number and placed them in his pocket.

Day 1 : Geelong to Gisborne

2010-03-14T19:32:00.002+11:00

Day 1 : Geelong to Gisborne

Good evening Dear Readers and Virtual Riders - your on-road riding team is now safely ensconced in Gibsorne, 93 km from our departure point. The team all met this morning at Eastern Beach in Geelong. We are an athletic and fit bunch, as you can see in the photo below, well equipped to cope with the rigours of the ride to come. Not only do we have 5 intrepid riders - Bruce and Katrina have been joined by Team Leader Graham Brown, John Gatt and Trevor Smith - we also have a marathon swimmer (Eileen Gatt). None of us would have made it to first base, however without the ministrations of Margaret Brown, our Road Support. We won't be losing much weight this week, more's the pity. This morning saw us easily complete a 58 km leg to Bacchus Marsh, our road lined by wildly enthusiastic onlookers (see photo below). But things got more serious for the "Tour de Vic" riders in the afternoon - we had to ask our fans to clear the roads so we could concentrate on some significant hills between Bacchus Marsh and Gisborne. John is attempting the Tour on a mountain bike and thus is our King of the Mountains. Graham has the yellow jersey tonight, having led the field most of the day. A new category of Speedo Jersey has been awarded to Eileen , who swam 4 km this morning. For those wondering, Bruce did put new tyres on and has had no punctures today - funny about that. In fact the only puncture was suffered by Graham, who is therefore already in the running for the Holey (?Holy) Jersey.

Day 2 : Gisborne to Seymour

2010-03-14T18:43:00.000+11:00

This morning Margaret served a delicious breakfast in the Gisborne motel grounds, just before sunrise. It was a bit chilly! We set off for Seymour at 8.40am and had to ascend a steep hill right from Gisborne. Once Katrina got into her chosen gear she zoomed past all of us and was immediately awarded the "King of the mountains" jersey. At the 33km mark we reached Lancefield and had coffee and various pasties, coffee scrolls etc. Next stop after some major hills was Shelmerdine Winery where we enjoyed a gourmet lunch in beautiful surroundings. While we had been cycling, Eileen swam 6km at the Seymour pool, and arrived for lunch looking as fresh as a daisy.

The final leg for the day took us through scenic countryside and "undulating" terrain and we reached our Seymour Motel at the 100km mark. - Bruce

From Katrina : Bruce has made this sound like a walk in the park - the real truth is we have had a very gruelling day ... "undulations" being a euphemism for major hills. True, we had a nice morning tea at Lancefield but our "Lance" (Trevor) took a tumble over the handlebars, when his chain "locked". Virtual Riders, to really appreciate the experience you should do the following - take a cigarette lighter and lightly singe your perineum * then abrade same with a little sandpaper. Then bash your thighs a few times with a mallet and ask someone to punch you in the upper arms a few times. Only then can you truly feel like we feel. However we are safely in Seymour, Trevor is fine, we are riding for a good cause, and John even spruiked successully for donations in Lancefield.
* -medical term for nether regions

Cadence - the truth - and thank you all

2010-03-12T10:02:00.001+11:00

We have covered many technical aspects but we haven't yet told you how to ride. The serious rider (SR) dons his or her heart rate monitor, and sets it for an aerobic range of say 65 to 85% of maximal heart rate . SR then pedals at the same fast rate - called cadence - of about 80 per minute - and does not slow down. In order to achieve the fast peddling he/she will need to adjust the gears. SR tries to keep heart rate in the selected range otherwise an alarm goes off. If heart rate is too low he / she won't be gaining fitness or controlling weght. If heart rate too high ie over 85% maximum, he/she is at risk of cardiac event or drop in cardiac output. The very amateur rider (VAR) - like me Katrina - might find it hard to keep up that cadence, but makes a valiant effort. It is better to keep up the cadence in a lower gear when going up hill, than letting your cadence drop and try to push hard against a higher gear. In fact two things are likely to happen if you do that : your chain might come off, or you fall off ! So the rider who is happily tootling up a hill, looking a bit dorky, is doing better than the one pushing hard. Have a look at our two new cycling friends - at the bottom of the page.
The Virtual Rider - you - will hopefully enjoy next week's trip through Victoria . No pushing required ! Our Virtual Riders have done the hard yards in supporting our ride .... to the tune of over $5300 (for Bruce and Katrina; other riders in the team have raised money as well)! We riders and support team members are paying all our own expenses (motel , food, petrol etc), and there are no administrative expenses, so every dollar of the money raised goes to Polio Plus. And Bill Gates is matching your donations dollar for dollar. Thank you to our Bitumen, Cobblestone and Gravel sponsors! We will try to blog again, internet coverage permitting, at the end of Day 1 - 93 km up the road (Geelong-Gisborne).

Come on a virtual ride !

2010-03-12T09:57:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow we start our Big Ride. You gentle reader, you too should be almost ready to come on the virtual ride - we have blogged about Seats and Cleats, Nix and Knicks, Pockets in Rockets, Waxing and Relaxing, Punctures at every Juncture , Computers and Hooters (well we haven't done hooters - but we can say "Yes" to the old Isabel Knock Knock Who's there? ......a bell is necessary on a bicycle !) ). We still have some of your pre-ride preparation to do, in the last couple of blogs before the Big Ride. This penultimate blog will cover ... Bikes ! and the last will try to "put it all together". Re: Bikes : what sort? how much? and, most important of all, what colour ? Bruce and I both have GIANT brand road bikes - road bikes are lighter than hybrids, are geared for faster riding, have skinny wheels, fast tyres and a more bent over riding position. They do not usually have wicker baskets, skirt guards or streamers. Nor do they have any form of suspension, and so going over bumps can be bone shaking. We think our bikes are pretty cool, but they are in fact only "entry level" bikes. Serious riders pay thousands for extra light weight and extra strong bikes. As to colour - well I guess it is a bit like dogs and their owners .... colour could reflect owner personality? Katrina has a sunny yellow and Bruce has pure white !

What I carry in my Glomesh bag, sorry Rocket top

2010-03-11T14:27:00.007+11:00

From Katrina : I remember an advertisement which was doing the rounds of the women's magazines years ago - with the heading: "What does celebrity-so-and-so carry in her Glomesh bag ?" - and there would be a photo of the handbag contents disembowelled, always including some trappings from a glamorous life (theatre ticket stubs, receipts from upmarket stores , photo of celebrity boyfriend etc). Well here is the cyclists' equivalent : "What I carry in the pockets of my riding top ". For the uninitiated , the riding shirt usually has 3 pockets at the back (see photo of the 3 pockets in my "Rocket" top). ). I defy anyone to pack more into 3 pockets than this ... spare tube, camera, phone, lipstick of course, hanky of course, banana, muesli bar, fluoro rain jacket, arm warmers , leg warmers, medications, sunscreen, money, credit card, house and car keys, photo of celebrity boyfriend and more ... that's what I carry in my Glomesh , sorry cycling, top (Now .... a Glomesh top -that's a thought !)

Maribyrnong River Trail to Brimbank Park

2010-03-11T01:21:00.001+11:00

Today's 40km training ride (the last?) got off to a late start as we had to "fettle" a hybrid (Katrina's Mongoose) that had not been used recently. The back tyre was flat, so after attempting to inflate it, Katrina decided that it had a puncture. She removed the wheel, tyre and tube and replaced the suspect tube with another previously repaired tube. After getting it all back together again (with some assistance), and attempting to inflate the tyre, it turned out that the original tube was good and the replacement was faulty!

However, it was a nice scenic ride of 20km to Brimbank Park from Edgewater, but a hybrid is the best option, especially as the recent storms have caused considerable damage to the track. The kiosk hours at Brimbank Park are 10 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and we arrived at 5 p.m! We did manage to get a coffee at The Boathouse, between Essendon Rowing Club and The Anglers Arms.

If anyone else is tempted to ride this trail, check out the Route details and Cue sheet at bikely.com Bruce

Welcome aboard the good ship Blog

2010-03-10T00:05:00.002+11:00

Welcome aboard: Bruce and Katrina welcome aboard The Blog some crucial members of the Ride to End Polio team. Firstly Margaret and Graham Brown, who are the indefatigable ride convenors plus driver (Margaret) of the Road Support Vehicle (aka Sag Wagon*) ... let us introduce them to you:

Margaret: Retired NSW high school maths teacher. Rotarian for 8 years, currently secretary of District Youth Exchange Committee.

Interests involve 6 grandchildren, quilting, line dancing and walking. Second time as Road Support for Ride to Conference.

Graham: Retired NSW Primary school teacher, married to Margaret and living in Rutherglen. Has been a Rotarian for 12 years - Past President Rotary Club of Corowa and Paul Harris Fellow. He has always cycled and particularly enjoys tour cycling in Europe with panniers and tent. Has cycled to Conference 3 times with D9800 and now twice with D9790.

From Katrina : I haven't met Graham or Margaret yet - Graham sounds frighteningly fit, and Margaret sounds awesomely organised .... at least they will know from reading this blog that we are neither!

Note : * Sag Wagon - to be the subject of a later blog !

Rename the Sag Wagon Competition

2010-03-09T18:26:00.017+11:00

As our ride draws closer Katrina is having some doubts - will she be able to pedal every single km ? Will her sponsors know? Would they mind ? She is definitely going to try to pedal every single km ... but just in case, there is the Sag Wagon ... "No shame in the sag wagon" people say ... but it really does sound a bit shameful ... so here is a competition ...
to rename the Sag Wagon into something a bit more professional or at least poetic.

I notice Margaret calls it Road Support .....so how about the
Elite but Exhausted Rider Support Vehicle? or the Rider Downtime but Still Going Forward Vehicle, or ...New Pedal Paradigm Vehicle ??? .... further suggestions welcome - there will be a prize for the best suggestion- a bottle of wine from North East Victoria, to be purchased on the ride - I hope the Road Support team can be persuaded to take a small detour - just a brief sag - ino a local winery - mind you, for medicinal and competition purposes only, of course ) ! (Comp closes 12 March, 5 pm )

Cool Rule No 1

2010-03-09T01:09:00.009+11:00

Today Bruce and Katrina rode down to Southbank with Bruce's son Jamie and enjoyed a coffee on the banks of the Yarra, Jamie and Bruce looked golden (see photo) - Bruce was wearing his 2008 Around the Bay in a Day(ATBIAD) top .... which reminded Katrina of the information we received from her sister-in-law, R - who is an expert rider. She and Katrina's brother have welcomed us into Team Pill ( see blog March 3) . The night before 2008 ATBIAD R asked us what we were going to wear? We said the Official event top of course. Prolonged silence ... then R said "I don't know how to say this, but it's not very cool to wear the event top on the day of the event".
(This is our 16th post - scroll down to see the others!)

Bacchus Marsh - Gisborne Loop

2010-03-09T00:59:00.003+11:00

Bacchus Marsh - Gisborne loop training ride Sun March 7, 2010 Intention : Gisborne to Bacchus Marsh via Toolern Vale, back via Bulllengarook 72 km , lots of hills
2:18 pm - Commenced ride. 2:30 pm - puncture in Bruce's tyre after 10 km , repaired by Bruce. (See photo above: Bruce Repairing Puncture). Katrina wonders aloud whether it isn't time Bruce put on the good tyres, recommended by an expert friend in 2008, after Bruce had had 4 punctures during Around The Bay in a Day. Implication was that tyres needed to be fitted not merely purchased. Bruce's rejoinder includes the information that he likes to get maximum use out of things before disposing of them. 2:38 pm - Bruce stops to attend to matters behind a tree - emerges with pair of jocks in hand - no, not an accident , but his own discovery that it may be best to wear Nix Next to the Knicks after all ! (see blog of 1st March 10 : Secrets of the Knick). After some consideration, Katrina refrains from saying I T Y S. 2:40-3:30 Happy riding up and down hills into Gisborne, beautiful countryside. Could not call in and see our dear friend J as her road too boggy after rain, we thought. 3:30 pm Coffee in Gisborne 3:45 Commence return jouney 3:55 Through Bullengarook, starts to rain 4:15 Rain heavier, wind picking up, thunder and lightning start and Bruce hears a loud pop in tire (yes, another puncture). Both stop to repair tyre, Katrina huddles under a tree (aka lightning conductor) in cold, wet, windy thunderstorm .. See photo

- Bruce Repairing Puncture - (from the Series : Bruce Repairing Punctures). ) - camera shake evident, due to shivering. 4:30 Difficulty changing tube, and then last remaining tube bursts. Bruce utters some words unknown in Rotarian English, presumably foreign. Katrina helpfully mentions that this wouldn't have happened had Bruce put on the new tyres in the first place, then suggests a taxi home before she dies.

Local Good Samaritan resident spots stranded shivering duo, drives his ute down to them and offers them shelter and warm drinks while they await taxi. Asks the duo : Are you seasoned cyclists or is this your first time?

Rain, hail or shine ....

2010-03-09T00:29:00.001+11:00

Rain, hail or shine ...

This is our fourteenth post - scroll down to see the others ...

Sat March 6 , 2010 , 1430 hours

Bruce decided to ride from Kew to Maribyrnong. He checked the weather map ...

and set out ....

He arrived an hour and a half later, a little wet ....

Cleats 101

2010-03-05T13:37:00.003+11:00

This is our 13th post - scroll down to see the others ...

Cleats 101

Today we're blogging about cleats - those clips in the bike shoes that hook into special pedals, as in the photo (yes, that is a pedal!) . You may have heard the clacketty clack when a gang of riders all take off together at the lights, as they all click into their cleats again. Cleats make riding more efficient because you are utilising the "pull" muscles as well as the "push" muscles to move the crank around. I was told once they make you about 30 % faster. They also change the ergonomic position - our little red rider at the top of our blog page is clearly using cleats (even though she seems to be going backwards some of the time!), whereas our friend in the (dangerous) scarf at the top of the blog is pushing only. You can see his riding style if you scroll right down to bottom of all the blogs. Admittedly he has a more upright bike than her road bike.

The main hurdle with using cleats is that you have to remember to take your foot out of them when you want to stop. You can't just slide you foot off the pedal - you have to make a conscious twist with your foot, i.e. you have to think about it ahead of time. If you don't, you come to near stop with no way of balancing, and you fall over. I (Katrina) was told that every novice cleat-user falls over 19 times before they beat the cleats - well I have fallen 4 times, I think, and Bruce 4 or 5 - a memorable time in Gisborne after we had done a gruelling 40 km uphill ride into a headwind - he was so elated at arriving into Gisborne ahead of me, he rode in like a hero -and then fell over at the lights.

I am a very cautious rider and take one foot out of my cleats at the slightest sign of trouble ahead - a dog, a child, traffic lights, a sharp bend. I can't get my left foot out very easily and so have to rely on taking the right foot out. I have my cleats set very loosely too, so they are easy to disengage. I have ridden throught the whole of the CBD many times with one foot uncleated ...you just "ride on your heel" - that is a nervous rider for you ! I shall have to develop some aggressive habits to make up for it - bang on car roofs, and swear loudly at all the drivers - what do you think? - End of Cleats 101!

Mt Dandenong training ride

2010-03-04T10:33:00.000+11:00

This ride was a little more ambitious. It was Kew to Mount Dandenong via Canterbury Road and return via the 1:20. It was an "out and back" ride with a loop that went Bayswater North, Montrose, Kalorama, Mount Dandenong, Olinda, Sassafras, The Basin. Nice view of Silvan Reservoir but Kalorama to Mount Dandenong was quite steep. A fine day but rather hazy. 79 km at average 18km/hour. Managed the hills on the way there, but my main problem on the way home was cramps in my legs. Obviously not fit enough yet! Katrina was going to join me on the ride but she got b(l)ogged down, again! Katrina found a web site, www.bikely.com, which is good for planning rides. In addition to a map, quite a lot of useful route information is included. However, I wouldn't recommend the ride I did (between noon and 6pm) because for most of the way there are no bike lanes and traffic was heavy on Canterbury Road. Mont Albert Road does have bike lanes, and is better than Canterbury Road for that part of the route- from Bruce. By the way ..... if you are new to our blog and would lke to make a donation to help end polio, lease follow the following link called ....."how to donate" thank you !

The famous Canberra Team Pill and more

2010-03-03T04:30:00.020+11:00

This is our 11th post - scroll down to see the others ...Team Pill ... We are privileged to have been admitted to the exalted ranks of Team Pill, a famous elite bike riding group from Canberra. Pictured are some Team Pillers in their Team Pill tops - which depict a pill for just about every calamity which can befall a bike rider- chill pill, help pill, parked car pill, pain buster pill, Mt Lofty pill, pass me pill, last lap pill, cramp pill, totally lost pill etc etc
Thank you Team Pillers !

What new pills might we need on this ride ??

The Great Divide Pill, Yet Another 100 km Day Pill, Blog Pill maybe ?

For Bruce a Get Out of Bed pill ?

For Katrina an Answer the Mobile Pill?

and of course a Polio Pill - we are doing well with that one - we have received over $4000 in sponsorships so far !! Thank you everybody - you have been amazingly generous. We have received sponsorships from children, teenagers, people on disability pensions, from Rotarians, and non-Rotarians and from tinkers, tailors, soldiers, sailors, rich men, poor men, beggarmen, thief(s), doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs . Thank you one and all

Just to remind you - donations are tax deductible, details of how to donate are on this blog page .. all cobblestone and bitumen donors receive some greeting cards, as a thank you from us.
You could not do anything better with a little bit of money than helping prevent children from contracting polio. Congratulate yourselves ! (no pill needed for that !)

Real riders

2010-03-03T04:19:00.006+11:00

Real riders ... Bruce and Katrina are real riders but we do feel a bit "shammy", in our shammy shorts when we note what other riders are doing ... Katrina's brother Ashley is doing the 3 peaks this weekend- an inaugural gruelling extreme ride - 3 peaks being Falls Creek, Tawonga Gap nd Mt Hotham in a 230 km circuit in one day ! Lots of long hard climbs. That is real riding. They are not raising money for anything though ... our purpose is to End Polio Now so we don't feel so shammy after all. Good luck Ash, ride safely and defensively and don't let that heart rate go over 145 please !

Sweet seats

2010-03-03T00:04:00.020+11:00

Take your seats ladies and gentlemen .... the bike seat is probably the single most important component of a bike ! The comfort of a seat is not necessarily related to softness ie giant lambswool covers may not really help. What is more important is the set-up of your bike - the distances from shoulders to handle bars, height of seat, tilt of seat, size of frame. Katrina was lucky enough to have Brad of Cycling Supermarket in Altona set up her bike - he fine-tuned all the adjustable parts, and tinkered and tweaked (the bike, not the body), and achieved a certain amount of improvement - but the real change came when Brad found in his store room a magic women's seat ... called, aptly (Katrina thinks), a "Venus". Like most road bike seats it has a cleft in the middle for what Katrina calls "the squishy bits" (no, she wasn't very good at Anatomy in medical school). You need to sit on your two ischial spines, and not on the squishy bits.

Katrina was going to go into the special problems guys can have if they sit on their squishy bits, and certain symptoms they have to watch out for, but Bruce has censored all that, (even though Katrina is a doctor, and she was just doing some public (with an l) education) . So we have left that section out (you can alwys post a question to us in the comments though !).

Well, now you have the right knicks (no undies), the right seat and the right set -up - will your bum be ok ? There is another mysterious factor called "conditioning"- we don't understand it, but it is a fact that the more riding you do the less your bum suffers... we hope this remains true between Geelong and Albury !

Bruce is worried we are concentrating too much on the nether regions in our blogs, so in the next blog we will go from seat to cleats and feets !

This is our 12th blog so please scroll down and read the others !

2010 bike computers

2010-03-02T23:36:00.003+11:00

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Bike Computers
How technology has changed since I got my first bike 57 years ago. I was so proud of my Healing "semi-racer" with Sturmey Archer 3 speed Hub gears. It had a mechanical odometer which worked with a pin attached to a spoke, striking a star-shaped wheel each rotation, to record distance travelled in miles and tenths of miles. I now have a Sigma computer, which although not the most sophisticated, tells me that on my training ride yesterday, I travelled 22.36 km in 1hour 7 minutes and 35 seconds at an average speed of 19.86 km per hour. My maximum speed on that trip was 46.62 km/hour (downhill with a tail wind)!
Although I know the total distance I have done in training, it is somewhat short of what I should have done, but there is still time to fit in some long rides before 13th March! Bruce

Secrets of the knick

2010-03-01T12:18:00.008+11:00

Photo : Knicking off on the Great Vic Bike Ride , 2007

Secrets of the Bike Knick : Today's Question You Were Always Too Afraid To Ask is ... What is actually inside a bike knick ? They seem to be constructed to be unnecessarily revealing in some departments and mysteriously padded in others . Should middle aged -to-elderly Rotarians ever wear bike knicks ? Or is the mysterious padding to do with continence ? And are there any undies under those bike knicks ?

Well, we are happy to reveal to you the innermost Secrets of the Bike Knick, only because you are supporters of our Ride to End Polio Now. The bike knick has chamois (pronounced "shammy"- could be true too !) - chamois leather inside , stitched in - to protect and cushion nether regions, and absorb sweat (sorry about that). There are no seams to chafe. Katrina , along with 99.99% of the world's bike riders , maintains that one doesn't wear undies as well -as that would defeat the purpose - ie to have wet cotton next to the skin. Bruce, being a good Rotarian, is modest and always wears undies under his bike knicks . Is this TMI (too much information) ?

Would you like more information on washing bike knicks, design of bike seats , what men should watch out for, and more ? ... Let us know ....

Waxing (not lyrical)

2010-02-27T22:28:00.009+11:00

This is our seventh post - scroll down to see the first six !

Photo: Is Bruce saying goodbye to the hairs on his legs, individually ? (see below)...

We have to admit, somewhat ruefully, that we didn't actually go on the proposed Mt Dandenong Ride - we got involved in setting up this blog. Neither of us has done this before and there was quite a learning curve. We have tried to put information on the blog as well, so it is a hybrid blog-website. We hope some people find it of some small interest.
One thing we discovered while researching bike-ride-blogging was that we are not first! Quite a few Rotary groups in the U.S., Europe and Australia have organised marathon bike rides to raise money for Polio Plus. A couple have kept blogs. One example was a blog written by John Gatt (Junior) during last year’s Ride to Conference. He had some novel ways of raising money, including having his legs waxed and head shaved for the ride - the waxing event was even videoed.
Hmmmm ...a thought....would we be able to convince potential donors this way ? I suggested same to Bruce ... wondering whether he could go even further and undergo a Brazilian - but Bruce felt that no, that would not attract much interest , and anyway Rotarians would not know what a Brazilian was. But the discussion reminded Bruce of a story he'd heard at Rotary ....
Three Brazilian Soldiers
Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed.""OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

By the way I wonder if our readers know why road cyclists wax their legs ? More Things You Always Wanted to Know About Cycling will be featured in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, see our quiz question !

Scroll on down to see all our posts ....there are six before this one.

Our current theme song

2010-02-24T07:56:00.001+11:00

Audio Clip

Thanks to Margaret and Graham Brown

2010-02-24T07:46:00.005+11:00

Many many thanks to Margaret and Graham Brown, the organisers of, and support team for, this ride - without them it woudn't be happening. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail is amazing .. and I haven't even met them yet! (Katrina). Today we are doing a training ride to the top of Mt Dandenong from Camberwell.. And back (I hope).

Thanks to you all

2010-02-23T10:50:00.004+11:00

We have been overwhelmed by the initial responses to our first email asking for sponsorships : we already have $1300, and many more "pledges" to come. Now we really will have to do this ride , and not walk at all ...

.... we have both become quite committed to the cause , as we have learned just how much Rotary has done , as the prime mover (leading other organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, and the Gates Foundation).

But how great it will be to get the job finished - until then, every case of polio is a preventable tragedy.

Tropical Altona

2010-02-22T02:02:00.006+11:00

Today's ride was to Altona and back - the cooling sea breeze counteracting the 34 degree day. I (Katrina) remember at some time in the past thinking Altona was a long way. Now it seems a very short ride although it was 50 km return. There are beautiful bay views, and also, silhouetted proudly in front of the refinery ... a single date palm- well, with climate change Altona may end up being tropical.

Bruce's most edifying remark today was that owners definitely do resemble their dogs - this said after we passed a Beagle and its owner - both possible candidates for The Biggest Loser. I remarked that I should therefore own a stout and determined short-legged dog such as a corgi - and not a frisky young poodle cross, like our Mopsy. So today's competition question for our readers is: "What sort of dog should Bruce own ? " Please email us your suggestions ! (He is hoping you all suggest a greyhound ....)

Kinglake ride

2010-02-19T04:18:00.012+11:00

Today we did a 75 km loop from Hurstbridge through Kinglake and Whittlesea and back. It was very sad to see the sites where houses had once stood, and the lonely "For Sale" signs. The charring of the trees reached up 7 metres or more, making us realise how enormous the inferno had been. There is green growth everywhere , and the gum trees look like huge monsters with furry wavy arms.

The Kinglake ride was otherwise very beautiful - except during the very long climb up to Kinglake, continuous uphill for about 15 km, climbing to 550 metres. One of us had to walk up the steepest hill, and it wasn't Bruce.

Whittlesea to Kinglake Loop

http://www.bikely.com/

Erudite dialogue of the day :

Bruce : I don't seem to be losing any weight

Katrina (always nice): Oh I think you are ..

Bruce: No, off my bum

Katrina : Ummmm ... I think you are

Bruce : Not bum, bum bag - because we haven't used any of the food in it

Photo : Does my bum look big in these?

Kinglake ride : Our conclusion : highly recommended - it is quite beautiful away from the bushfire-affected areas, and you can support the Kinglake community.

One month to go

2010-02-14T03:46:00.002+11:00

One month to go .....

When Bruce and I first considered doing the 2010 Ride to Conference we truly believed we would be able to do heaps of training over the Summer ... now it is only one month to go and neither of us feels as fit as we woud like ! 525 km in 6 days ... Geelong to Albury ... first day is 99 km, that might be OK , but then we have to get up and do day 2...