YouCan

Today's quick test ride was up the 22% gravel driveway on the Yukon and I made it with relative ease no wheel spin or fork lifting, a bit of front wheel wobble but a better pedal action should get rid of that, next time. And also a bit of puffing and panting at the top, Jim wasn't home. So a quick 10km there and back.

Only noticeable bugs was an occasional downshifting by the rear derailleur on it's own whilst under no pressure or strain. Also the brand new brakes might need a bit of bedding in and I will also need to get used to hydraulic disc brakes as well as the levers reversed from the retired bitser MTB.

Oh yeah the title of this post the climb just impressed me so Yukon has now become my Youcan. With such a short ride my knee held up very well yeah!

Todays eXtra

Even with today's dust, west wind and lack of humidity there was still some idiots about. Today was a total fire ban in the area with only 25% humidity and high westerly winds at around school's out time this afternoon there was a fire started on the corner of Round Mountain Road and Coast Road in the Cudgera Nature Reserve.... luckily the firees were able to contain it responding with three engines very quickly. (Joy-ann rang me at work in Tweed to let me know).

What else will we see happen over the current school holiday period? Queenslanders, not that I blame them, are already tented up at Hastings Point and there is only another week and a half to go until the N.S.W ones begin!

"Idle hands are the devils workshop"

Yukon

Picked up the new Yukon 18" I ordered from Cabarita Bikes last Saturday. Couldn't actually take it for much of a test ride just around the carpark and later at home around the driveway and garden. I had already ridden a 20km circuit on the cypress through the dust and wind today and then only managed to pick it up at 5:00pm on the way home from working at Tweed Heads, lucky for the bolted on rooftop bike rack. Hope to test it on a Wabba Road loop soon but I will have a few months before the wet season begins. So maybe an attempt on the 22% driveway in the next couple of days. I will see.

[caption id="attachment_375" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Giant Yukon 2009 mid-low end sports bike"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_376" align="alignnone" width="128" caption="dusty day 23/09/2009"][/caption]

Here is a animation of images taken hourly for the Sand Bypass System  Monitoring

Burnt Out Cars

I am unsure as to what is going on around the Tweed Coast when it comes to a Council Policy on BURNT  OUT CARS. Over the last few months, in my bike riding travels, I have come across at least three freshly burnt out cars, (three because with the others I can't remember the exact locations). Wattie Bishop Road, Round Mountain Road, The Coast Road... They are only left for a matter of hours and then quickly gone! I have seen none of them burning. But they are there after weekends, possibly stolen and burnt by joy-riders. It seems that they are being left in locations which are within walking distance and centred around Bogangar.

The removal of these cars must be a particular council policy as the dumped cars are left and left and left but the burnt out ones are gone within 24 hours???? The dumped burnt out cars seem to coincide with all the fresh burnout fishtailing skid marks on the back roads of the Tweed Coast, even though these occur every weekend with monotonous regularity there is never seen to be any police presence. Maybe they are too busy undertaking radar patrols from the motorway overpasses.

A few moths ago I approached a patrol officer and mentioned the activity but obviously that achieved nothing. more later... I'm going outside now to watch the dust cloud go though Tweed, for a while anyway.

Arrogance Personified

Tweed deputy mayor labels voters 'morons'

• ABC Source

The deputy mayor of the Tweed Shire in northern New South Wales says many of his constituents are morons.

Phil Youngblutt was elected to the position earlier this month when his name was drawn from a box, after voting was tied.

Councillor Youngblutt says he does not support moves to have the mayoral positions decided by a popular vote because he does not trust voters to make the right decision.

"Even when I [was] polling, there were people coming up who didn't know who they were voting for," he said.

"I mean, that's what I'm talking about, if you're polling and you're voting and you don't know who you're voting for, really why are you voting?

"Then I would say yes, they probably are morons."

The deputy mayor says he was not looking to cause offence.

"If I've offended anybody it's only the ones that probably are [morons]," he said.

"I'm not trying to offend anyone but certainly if the shoe fits, wear it."

Typical. This is what we get to LEAD US in our community.I get it! The white shoe brigade exposes it's real feelings about why they get into politics ie to represent the people (ie the morons) and not to impose their paternalistic one eyed will upon the simple folk. My opinion of this man is just not fit to print. If I am offended he feels that I am a Moron. Thus if it is alright for him to call me and others morons then lets try an adage of  "having the shoe on the other foot"

"Councillor Youngblutt, you are a moron if you don't feel the need to apologise!"

Do your Job! Represent ALL the voters or get out of local politics and leave it to someone with some level of intelligence and the required ability to represent ALL YOUR constituents.

Pulled it off

Started out this morning as Mark arrived at 7:00am to pick me up first, but the other rider had pulled out... So off we go, then the mobile rings, my helmet and gloves are on the table at home! So we do a U'ey and pick it up, thanks Joy.

[caption id="attachment_370" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="start finish line"][/caption]

We passed through Cudgera and Stokers on the way to the top of Smiths Road. Park. Pull out the bikes from the van and kit up. From here it was away and up up up.

We rode through to what seemed the end of North Chowan Road. A wide cleared,  short grassed, vehicle turning area. Mark had arrived ahead of me, as usual, and had parked his bike and taken off on foot on a narrow track up toward the summit. I didn't know which way he had gone but If I was going to take the upper track I was not going to come back for the bike just in case it went to where we wanted to go ie South Chowan Road.

[caption id="attachment_367" align="aligncenter" width="262" caption="The easyclimb of North Chowan Road"][/caption]

By jingoes what a climb I had managed to get  about 100 meters before Mark met me on his return. He said it continued but got a lot worse before it got to the top... decision go on we had been in a similar position at the top of Burringbah Hill. So carry, shove and slip our way to the summit at times it felt as though we were climbing a cliff face. At one point there was a  rocky outcrop that served as a lookout to the West and North. images here

[caption id="attachment_363" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking North from the lookout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_364" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking West from the lookout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_369" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking southwest from the lookout"][/caption]

At another point closer to the summit we looked to the East through the trees and saw a few Norfolk Island pines at the coast and a great expanse of ocean further into the distance, we assumed they might be near Wooyung (with the cleared rural land away from the coast behind them) at this point we were at an elevation of 500m and just about at the top. There was a 100 meters of relative flat at the summit and it was here that we started to hear the sounds of two stoke motors breaking our shared silence. It turned out to be a miss-a-turn-off trail-bike rider. He passed by giving a nod, with us lifting our bikes off to the side of the track. On his return I stopped him and asked if we were on the right track to South Chowan Road. Yes and we had just climbed "Impossibles". Where few, if any, trail-bike riders can climb or descend the track due to the number of rock ledges crossing the track. So perseverance paid off.

impossibles image here

[caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Looking Up at the begining of impossibles"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="aligncenter" width="209" caption="Looking Down from the middle of impossibles"][/caption]

The decent was not as difficult to negotiate as the Northern ascent but still involved two wheel semi-controlled skidding in the trail-bike churned gravel, ruts and rocks. In places you couldn't even do this and stepping off the bike we were sliding in a nearly controlled way. After all this we reached South Chowan Road Yeah! Here a new decision was made to NOT return the way we had come as we had planed (too much time already used up and my knee!) ,  we were now going to return via UKI and Smiths Road hill which would require a final 15.5% climb to the van. More later on that...

Now for the South Chowan Road descent through the forest and then onto the vehicular section. At the base of the valley where a couple of creeks? merge there we found a well known swimming hole and waterfall completely deserted (A sunny Spring Sunday and everywhere sitting at 32 ° C????).

[caption id="attachment_368" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cooling Off at the valley on South Chowan Road"][/caption]

We cooled of with a bit of face and head splashing and returned to the climb to Manns Road. After reaching the dusty gravel road we were to ride to Hell's Hole but I piked thinking my knee would not hold out for the return to the van, what a woose! So we road to the exit of the Mount Jerusalem National Park and then along the freshly re-sealed Rowlands Creek Road. Reaching UKI we had a look through the now packing up market and pooled our money to get a sandwich for Mark and a sweet iced coffee for me at the now for-sale Cafes. During the stop I noticed how swollen my left knee was and also how painful it was becoming.

Anyway we jumped back onto the bikes noting the sore arse syndrome from the sit.

Then it was only a matter of the 7 kilometres to the van to go. Including that hill. Which to my utter surprise I was able to slowly grind up. Pat on my back!

Better images are viewable at ChrisL's site.

Oh yeah nearly forgot:- 30.5kms total distance, 824 meters climbing and descent taking a total with stops of 6 hours. Nice way to spend a warm Spring Sunday,

thanks Mark

[caption id="attachment_371" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="chowan actual ride route"][/caption]

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Next Sunday Gravel

Hope to get the chance on sunday to ride this gravel with Mark and a couple of other riders. MapMyRide Here is a possible ride... Only 32kms return trip but about 700 meters of climbing over gravel roads.... we will see!

22%

Went looking for a continuous 22% gravel incline today and I think I found something close. But it's not 1 kilometre long more like 400 meters. Anyway I swapped over the cluster from an old 21-speed hybrid onto my bodgie built MTB and took out 2 links from the chain. This gave me a better climbing ratio on the granny gear. I would of liked lower but for zero cost it was OK.

Managed to climb about 150 meters along the track but ran out of legs and needed to sit up creating a  front wheel lift and loss of direction etc. I turned down the hill and rode over the rest of Towners Road to Mark's house and convinced him to give it a try on his better ratio MTB.

It took a bit of convincing but I won out and we returned together to the climb. On the way I got a flat and spent 10-15 mins trying to get the tyre off the rim. Finally gave up and just re-pumped the tyre and luckily it held!  Then on to the hill track. When we reached the bottom of the climb Mark started out and kept getting rear wheel spin on the first pinch. He restarted about 40 meters up and eventually managed to gain some traction by leaning way forward although still seated. As it turned out he pushed on toward the top and managed to get all the way even though he said he was buggered by the time he reached the top. I gave it another try, even with the soft rear tyre, still only managing to get about 125 meters before losing the legs etc.

If I am to ride the Minion falls climb I really need to be able to climb this shorter practice hill! We will see, what will be will be.

The "I" Post

I've been following  OzCableGuy's progress for quite a while now.

I am not one to have planned exercise in any organised way at any time during my life, no training, no workouts, no sessions etc. Not that I did no exercise to the contrary I saw SURFING and WORK as exercise, move this here, carry this, dig this etc. Growing older has seen a slow down and change in work patterns, brain rather than brawn. Now sees me at a stage of life where I am neither fit nor healthy as a result! and never will be young again so it is unlikely that I will be able to change these things quickly nor practically. It took time to get to where I am now and it will take more time to get where I would like to (should?) be, not just effort.

I still, through stupidity, smoke cigarettes. Stress and weakness come to mind as feeble excuses? But I have found one way to drop a few kilos and increase my fitness over the last few years... although it might not be possible to follow this path for very much longer...

Riding too much with an "old" unfit body gave me a forced opportunity to stop, I got lumbered with an allergic reaction to the Sun ( I've never really liked the intensive itching of hives), whilst riding, cruising really, around 250-300kms per week ( Although I still think it was triggered from a massive day of using "Round-Up" a couple of Springs ago). During all that time of intense? exercise I couldn't see any weight loss just a continual bouncing up and down on the scales although I could notice physical changes. When I was then forced to get out of the sun for three months and only ride at night, and occasional very short trips during the day, It was revelled to me that after a long period of exercise  pulling around a heavy(fat) body built up big muscle, then doing no exercise and still watching what I eat saw the weight drop dramatically! I must of being eating my excess muscle! Anyway this sun trouble passed over winter and let me begin excessive riding again... To my astonishment I saw that even though I was now getting fitter, (If one can whilst still smoking cigarettes), my weight was now lower and stable.

Another forced break has seen the same transition. My knee problems saw me slow my riding to a crawl and this had seen my weight again drop. But slowly as the duration of the hiatus lengthens the old ways are coming back.... the weight is still off but I have not got to my goal weight still 8 kilograms to GOOooo....

The long and short of it for ME is "it seems that continuous intensive exercise is not a good way for me to lose weight".

An extended cyclic period of excessive exercise and then complete breaks from exercise has seen me lose the most weight. Yet, too long of a period of no exercise will leave the door open to an insidious albeit slow weight gain.

Not a good vision for my future . One where periods of intense exercise must in all inevitability become much more difficult to implement as the body wears slowly? as it gets older! How morose!

Anyway I am thinking of joining a MTB rainbow ride through Minion Falls but may only be able to finish the 20 kilometre route as there is a 22% climb for approximately one kilometre in the middle from the bottom of Minion Falls. The knees might just hate me after that climb!

Just noticed that "I" has been written 16 times in this post.

Chook Pen Reno

Not sure if there is any rally connection but this morning there was a pretty serious accident on Round Mountain Road. Four ambulances and a rescue vehicle raced past west wards. Past the freeway overpass. That's about all I know! but why today? then again why not? Anyway, I'm glad I was caught up with finishing the chook pen renovation, even though it's dad's day. Replacing the white ant/termite eaten plates and trimming the vertical lapped cladding boards to get them out of the scratched up litter. Since the heavy rains earlier this year seems to activated their climbing behaviour. Also re-wove any holes in the netting from falling limbs from last years storms. Only need to repair the acid soil corroded wall netting at ground level in a couple of places and the chooks (day old chicks which are 4 weeks old now)  might just last long enough to lay some "goggies"