So... that's a Tail Wind

Saw Mark on his morning ride this morning, unsure how far he finally got before turning back towards home, but the wind and temp at 7:30am was looking good for a ride, I slacked out and got a lift to work with my Shogun. But I still got some exercise, when myself and a couple of Garbos were going up Sextons Hill. In a stationary traffic jam we jumped out ran up the hill for 50 or so meters and pushed a stranded car, causing the delay, from the left lane of the North bound lanes and then ran back to the car. Quite a workout for this little going grey duck.

Today's afternoon commute was quite amazing. Bright sunny sky, and a strong NNE wind blowing. The ride through South Tweed was as usual through the afternoon traffic but the wind made it a 40km/hr spin just about matching the car/truck traffic... Then the chug up Sextons Hill was nice as it included the cooling effect of the strong tail wind. Ah!

The only bad, if you can call them that, times during the ride was the occasional tree and hill lee sections that appeared every now and then along the freeway where the tail wind was equal in direction and speed to my forward movement. These spots caused the body temperature to rise very rapidly and required a bit of water pouring to get some relief. Thankfully these interludes were gone as fast as they arrived.

Quicki

A quick Commute with a 25km/hr tail wind today got a average for the 23 km of 29km/hr.... on the Shogun. I rode the Coast Rd without incident! Just the but got numb.... I must look at getting a better saddle?

Dry Windy Ride

The ride today was hot and windy. A strong WNW-NW wind was blowing. The humidity was a low as it gets here about 30% and there was no sweat in the eyes at all. The perspiration evaporated before it even came out of your pores.
I used 750ml of water just occasionally tiping some over my head and back through the 35 km spin around Reserve Creek Round Mountain gravel sections... The wind has dropped this evening.

[caption id="attachment_305" align="alignnone" width="159" caption="Dry and Windy "][/caption]

Save Hasting Point -Battle Win

The locals have had a breakthrough! The Tweed Shire Council has voted to create/implement a Development Control Plan (DCP), see the Echo Story, the developers and their council sympathisers were out voted by a slim 4-3 margin.

This may not be the end of the war on every natural and cultural environment destructive development in the area but at least it is a small battle victory.  The general idea that more of anything is better than less is something that I disagree with.

I feel a rant coming on....

The idea of sustainability was summed up in the late 70's when I was undertaking a Business Degree at Ku-ring-gai CAE and the theory of the Steady Sate Economy was presented to me! Ah the light was blinding... but the greed is good promoted to the community during the next 30+ years has lead to the economic crisis we find ourselves as a community fast required to deal with. Many of the precepts of a Growth Economy can easily switch to become that of a Shrinking Economy. The magical multipliers work geometrically just as well in both directions!

Both the Federal and State Parliaments are proving themselves incapable of consensual action, even though the economy ship is on the verge of sinking the powers to be are deciding what colour to paint the frigging lifeboats, even though there is no rescue ship close by to save those that can fit in the limited capacity lifeboats.

Remind you of a story you may have heard? Does the Sinking of the White Star Line's Titanic come to mind, not enough lifeboats, a ship said to be unsinkable, musicians playing to placate the passengers while the ship goes down, water to cold to survive in for long, passengers deciding when is the right time to jump ship, passengers thinking the crew will save them they can sit back and be told what to do, not enough life jackets for those that can't fit into the lifeboats, no practice drills in case of emergency, etc... the list of similarities between the economy and the Titanic sinking goes on, definitely neither are or were a boy scout

... ah that's better

Dry Dawdle

Well I did manage to get on the bike today, just 12km checking both headlands to the South and North, but I was only very gently and sparsely sprinkled on. The weather prognosis is for more rain and a lot heavier, lucky we missed the mess that hit North Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, although I sure noticed it from the passenger seat in the plane on the way home on Sunday!

Today the rear rack worked well as a spray reducer through todays puddles. Although it did nothing to ease my mind as I approached the Coast Road, Round Mountain Intersection. When I was about 100 meters away from the corner this pale blue late model ute suddenly appears turning out of the South bound traffic on the Coast Rd onto Round Mountain. The young male driver decided it was a good place to give himself a bit of an ego boost through the self administering of adrenalin by drifting sideways through the corner taking the whole width of the wet, greasy intersection. I felt luck to watch from a distance rather than be closer and directly involved!

Just Wet

I have been slowly unwinding after the express trip for lunch on Saturday with Mum in Sydney for her 90th birthday next week. Quite exhausting the drive, flight, train, bus, taxi, walk and talk repeated in reverse on Sunday.... anyway as I was feeling lazy I waded through all the past Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand comic strips but noticed there was no full view images of Yehuda on his bike in any of the past strips and thought I would muck around with Paint.NET and cut and paste one here are the results... feeble though they might be...

Me Doing a Yehuda or is that Yehuda doing a me!

[caption id="attachment_301" align="alignnone" width="160" caption="Long Ride yehuda -slowing down"][/caption]

Enjoy... I might even get on the bike this afternoon if the weather holds clear for a bit!

Thinking of the Whole Forest

RANT RANT RANT

After reading through the comments on Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery today. It becomes pretty obvious that the whole Cycling community is split over what is Best Policy, and it seems to depend upon the "Self", that is, Promoting the idea that will give the best outcome for themselves... The idea's are always set as the best from and for that individuals perspective. I think I find it difficult to describe what I am saying but thinking is that it really comes right down to selfishness, the same thing that is behind the so called bad attitudes of all road users, cycles, cars, taxi's, trucks and buses etc... The real situation is not going to simplified by saying "this is what I reckon ... the rest of the available ideas are just rubbish because....".

In a utopian reality, one in which the big picture were to be taken into consideration, that is, a long term world view rather than a selfish narrow minded view promoting only a short term gain for the individual, what does it matter what methods are implemented to get bums on seats as the norm for the general population of the oil fueled transportation obsessed western cultures.

With a dramatic climate change forcasted to be just around the corner and no foreseeable successful attempts to impliment any policy at all that might see it's impact diminished.

It's always the same thing. Points of view that diverge on how to achieve the consensually agreed outcome. The circular argument over the detail then begins. Why can't all the protagonists keep seeing the forest not begin focusing on just the tree in front of them!

Any action must be better than none at all! Inaction, for what ever the reason, is going to have nothing but a told you so effect on the situation in the future. Consensus is rubbish. With everyone agreeing that something needs to be done sometime. But it must only be imlimented by having the smallest proportion of any sacrifice going to themselves, don't you agree? 

BUT the present and past generations have already taken all the benefits long before they NEEDED TO BE PAID FOR, we and our kids have got to pay for them, now it is the time to pay up! Not unlike free primary and secondary public education you are "given" long before you are required to start paying for it with your taxes! It's not free, just bought on credit! There is no such thing as a free lunch!

Anything is better than nothing, if you have nothing to start with!  Why don't more people get started making a noise, any noise will do just so long as it is not in argument for pedantic selfish causes!

Human nature will continue to move along the same path it usually takes, with the same eventual outcome for everybody as it has always been for all previous generations. The individual will end up dead! 

The present generation of individuals will continue to look at decision making by what it considers the best option for themselves as an individual with little thought for it's consequences in the future, Why are so many overweight people? It tastes good so eat it, now!

As for complaining about taxation. Taxes are only required if society openly recognises that it's members are incapable of sharing without being told they have to and that they need to be penalised if they don't! Every society views greed as good and hoarding as one of the pinnacles of success (well not every society, but at least the modern western one does)... Take the lane and "F" everyone else! Slip past where there is no room and "F" the other person! Get out of MY way!  I'ts my space! Share, Why? Whose going to stop ME taking what I can? I'm here now I don't care about those that come after me I'll just chuck this here! I'ts not in my way or messing my car up now! 

 

WHOA! WOAH! enough already!!!!!! END RANT RANT RANT

 

PS I must of had too much coffee today!

T-was-OK

Well the 27-12 was excellent for my climb over Sextons and also the grind against the 40km/hr head winds on the way home this arvo. Nice

Day's Mech

I rode the Samurai to Cabba Bike Shop this 'arvo after work to get the front derailleur fitted and also to have the cluster changed to give me a granny gear of 27-12 range. Ahhh! Sextons Hill without any knee pain is what i want! So I will most likely see tomorrow if the reality is what it's cracked up to be....
hear's hoping! The Chain was OK for length so I will have a spare 10 speed chain now.

The 105 cluster didn't come in so Jeff put a 10 speed Ultegra 27-12 on for the same price, thank-you. Some have said I should have used e-Bay but I don't completely trust main component parts that may be used or faulty rather than as described.. It was only a few extra dollars for a local guarantee.and supporting a shop that I will want to be there for long a while yet especially when I need it in a hurray! Things are fairly quiet in the shop at the moment, after the flurry of activity during the last school holidays. Is it the rain, wind or heat? It might even be the economy!

Windy Worker

Just returned from a quite windy rerturn home commute just managed to get an average of 21 kms/hour. the wind was a head wind all the way except for the last 200 meters.

 



And it was cool on the verge of raining all the way threatening to but not able to with the wind blowing it away...

Afternoon Delight

The mornings bothers were forgotten in the heat and humidity of a quick 25km circuit on the Shogun (in thongs again) this afternoon. The heat was quite draining, but a little nap later in the evening was all that was required to feel refreshed again.

Roadie Respect, or the lack there of

Begin Moan;

Today's little trip saw me pass by a couple of "roadies", don't know what else you would call them. I do not think they are members of the fellowship of general cyclists. The first, after I said Gid'day, returned the greeting whereas the other saw fit to yell a callous or could it be spiteful remark "Hope you fall off!" Nice I thought! I was in usual attire, so probably stood out like dog balls to a lycra clad unpaid billboard, but, as is often the case at this time of year when going for a light road cruise, wearing thongs on my feet. (yes If I was to come off at any speedI could do some damage to my feet, but lets not forget my elbows, shoulders, knees, palms and fingers, head,hip, bum, did i forget anything? oh yeah my face.)

During the rest of the ride my thoughts drifted to contemplating the passing comment. Why bother saying that? Why not keep your negative remarks to yourself? Do you hope that others will go through your own experiences? Are you such a bad rider that you expect to fall, again, during  every ride?  Is he the type of person who verbally abuses people whilst in a queue at the bank,etc? Does he just like to tell other people they are wrong to make himself feel better about his own decisions? Is he a road rage practitioner when he gets behind the wheel of his motorised vehicle which is probably a hotted up ute or some such thing? 

It must of got to me a bit, as our paths crossed only a couple of hundred meters from the start of my ride. 

Later around the half way point in the ride, I passed another solo rider near Clothiers Creek road and that consisted of a more standard experience, just exchanging "the wave" and move on about your business.

Moan Ends here;