Road Bicycles – bikesbabesbytes

2022 – a year in review

If you say that right, it even rhymes!

2022, things change, things get back to normal.

About Bikes

MOTOGP! Finally. And the ride there and back was great, and the racing was excellent. I stayed in budget (very important this year). I camped, I had adventures… yup, read the two stories here and here. Was worth the wait. The only thing that didn’t work out was Jack Miller getting taken out by Alec Marquez at the new “Miller Corner”. I do think I will stick to my two year cycle and aim for 2024 for my next ride down. It’s at an awkward time of the year, work wise.

I hit most of the roads I had planned, changed a few over, mostly due to the bad weather.

Otherwise the bike was a garage queen at least by comparison to how it (and my other bikes) have lived. It was lucky if it got a ride to the shops once a week. As the year finishes off, I think I’m in the market for a new battery. Even commuting is off the menu at the moment, as work is only 10mins away and I drop my two kids at school on the way.

I got a new bike… sort of. It was fun to build at any rate.

No bicycle riding to speak of really. Some fitness rides on the commuter.

Enjoying the sunshine and open space…. in the middle of the suburbs?

About Babes

Two girls in high school. Both doing well. One won a State Championship for her gymnastics so really well done there. Next year will be interesting as the other one can start learning to drive!

About Bytes

Nothing hugely dramatic here. My Surface is finally getting used a lot, I use as my school device and it’s been great. Except for a dead TypeCover. Replaced, but I am suspicious of the durability of this part.

I upgraded my iPad Pro 9.7 (v1) to the Pro M1 11”. It has been excellent, really nice jump in performance from my last one. They did eventually release an M2 version as I suspected, but it didn’t get the mini-LED display, so I don’t feel like I missed anything. Its keyboard cover has also deteriorated (common theme this year), there are some places where the soft covering material has worn through. It is still working, but has been put away and hasn’t been replaced.

The new PC has been working fabulously, though I really should step up the graphics card. Otherwise it’s been fast and reliable. I’ve since spent many hours using it for gaming, completing the last 3 Tomb Raiders and spending over 100hours in the Baldur’s Gate 3 pre release.

The iMac also has been going well. It has also recently received a new keyboard, a Logitech MX Keys (not the specific Mac one). I’m really happy with this keyboard too.

Having all these devices has meant all my work is available everywhere. The school mostly uses Google’s environment so that was something to get used to. But with it all in the cloud (along with my OneNote) it’s easy to work anywhere. I also switched over to iCloud Photos and this has been working well too.

D&D has been fun all year. Wild Beyond the Witchlight finished up just a few weeks ago. That was a fun campaign for all. It’s been replaced by a journey in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage, which I am not DM, so currently I am a player in 3 campaigns (Dungeon, Strahd and a face to face home-brew) and not a DM anywhere. It’s so relaxed! Strahd is likely to finish up soon and the DM wants to put us in Spelljammer (D&D in space). I have never played in that environment, so I’m a little unsure. I’m writing my own home-brew adventure for when I get a DM slot again.

About Me.

My offical career change occurred in mid-April (not Christmas as planned), I stayed in order to finalise a couple of medical issues with work. Even though that was the offical date, I was on holidays from that work from Christmas until April and actually working as a teacher full time.

I am enjoying my teaching. My school has a really nice community working environment. There are some challenges, partly due to the children and partly due to my limited experience. However, the school has always been supportive.

The pay is a significant cut from my old pay, at least in these first couple of years. Once I complete my proficiency after two years it will jump up and be a lot closer. I don’t think it will ever surpass it.

To help make up for this, I have secured some part time work in my old career for the school holidays and that will be a nice bonus for me. It’s also a way to stay relevant and connected to that old career in case I am needed.

Next year will see me having my own class, and it looks like it will be a Year 5/6 one. Equally excited and nervous, but everyone at work assures me I will do a great job. That makes me feel very supported, but then also nervous that I don’t want to let them down!

My class, as it was handed to me… a blank slate.

2023, here goes…….

Lockdown Week umm 8?

Sydney is in the throws of its biggest lockdown since COVID started. I live in one of the most affected suburbs, with extra strict rules about where we can go and what we can do. So what have I been doing. And what has been keeping me sane?

Well work carries on. I’ve even had a few teaching days. But the main thing is that I’ve been getting as much two wheels as I can…

On my bike to work…

On my commuter bike (to the shops and around the way)…

I even broke out the mountain bike. I took it to work one day and tried the trails around there. It was epically terrible, I have not ridden MTB on any trails for probably 6 years and it showed…. I will have to go back again.

D&D has also helped, with all my regular games running and a new crawl filling in for a face to face that one of the other DMs has started.

Family wise, we’ve tried to have a cheat meal once a week of ordering something in. Mostly its been nice, but unsurprisingly, the times we’ve gone to “fast food chains” they’ve been rubbish.

And we’ve built up our home gym some as well.

I also slept in my tent in the backyard one night. With the most recent extension, I don’t expect to get out for a trip this year, maybe just before Christmas? It will likely just be in NSW too.

More sloped than it looks made for an uncomfortable night

I hope you are all staying safe as well.

So 2017… how did it go.

I thought I had written one of these last year, but I didn’t. It was 2015 as I left Canberra.

So.

About Bikes

The Daytona does stirling service in a task it’s not really designed for… my daily commute. It’s had a couple of problems that have been fixed and just ticked over 50,000km. I have decided to replace it, but not sure when or with what. The front runners are still VFR and Ninja 1000. I also look forward to the possibility of a Sydney-Phillip Is MotoGP trip in the coming year… will I still have the Daytona?

I did get out on the track, one less successfully and a second was very rewarding and I do intend to do some more. I got a couple of hours fun up the Old Pac as well. I’m still slow by comparison, but I enjoy it. Sadly its currently in the shop over my Christmas break as the shifter stopped working properly and of course the parts supplier had already shut for the holidays.

I also discovered after a morning with a Bonneville, that I basically love riding, no matter the bike. There are some bikes I’ve ridden that I’ve liked less than others, but I’ve still liked the actual riding.

About Bike (Bicycles)

Err, they’ve mostly stayed in garage and the suburb, nothing to see here, move along….

About Bytes

This has mostly had two focus… the limping on of my iMac and several panics as it has almost died. But it lives on as a study device, if not really anything else.

Otherwise it has been a few reviews of random stuff like AirPods and Scala Rider gear.

I have also talked about how I study without paper (mostly).

About Study

Nearly the biggest thing in my life this year has been the switch to Masters and two Practical placements that have encouraged me to think I can actually be a competent Primary Teacher AND I enjoy it. I’m currently in the 4th Study Period of the first year. I am on track to finish the whole thing by about March 2019.

Commuting we will go…

It’s dark.

It’s cold.

It’s been wet sometimes too.

Commuting has been fun the last few weeks.

Winter eh!

We’ve had a few storms. So it’s pretty sometimes too.

But cycling to work suddenly became a challenge when it dropped to 2C. I bought a pile of warm clothes to ride in. After not riding the next week waiting for it, I headed out last Monday.

So of course it was 13C. Too warm to really test it.

Tomorrow it’s 1C again. So see how I go.

Commuting so far

The cycle commuting has been working pretty well. Its a steady 1hour 45min commute, which means leaving pretty early to start work by 0730. In this mild autumn, it isn’t too bad, but I’m not sure what it will be like in winter.

Still I’m no stranger to getting out in the weather….

I would like to start riding home as well though. The 30mins on the train is so boring! But I will still limit myself to twice a week at the moment. With that, and some serious gym work (including once a week with a trainer) I’m steadily improving my fitness and health. Since last November I’ve lost about 15kg and my waist has gone from somewhere north of 113cm to under 100!

For the commute I’ve gone and bought a rack and bag for the rear. This takes all the weight of my shoulders (exactly the same as riding long distance on the motorbike). I have a small pouch on my waist where I keep my music and ID cards. Works well.

Still the days are getting shorter so here I am, only a few minutes from work after the morning ride, and the sun is only just rising.

First Commute

Wednesday I decided would be the best day to try commuting on the bicycle for the first time. I got everything set the night before and bright and early – 0550, I rolled out of the driveway headed for the station, about 12km away.

First impressions – the days are getting shorter and at this time I’m going to need lights to see as well as lights to attract attention (which I did have). It was cool (perhaps about 17C) and I wonder how it would be in winter…

But lots of cycle paths to follow almost the whole way to the station so actually really safe.

I arrived at the station, probably a few minutes after an earlier train departed (I was well ahead of schedule) and about 30mins before the train I planned was due out. Feeling good so far, I decided to ride on and see how it went.

I arrived at the other end of my train journey about 5mins after the train would have arrived. So I covered in about an hour what the train would have taken 30mins. Not too bad.

The last couple of kms to work was pretty tough though as I didn’t have much energy left (must eat breakfast next time!) and 2hours and 40km later I arrived at the office, tired but impressed.

So there’s the next tip – eat first. Also there were a few less cycle paths on this leg.

The day was a hot one, bitting 38C before it was home time. I decided to ride as intended all the way home.

It was really hot, there was more traffic and more wind. It was tough and when I was several kms away from any station, it was too late to realise I should have trained it.

Mrs called about every 30mins or so to check on me – she was understandably concerned but I was actually going ok. Slower than the morning, but ok.

And I was certainly slower. Stopped several times for a rest, and just a slower pace (avg 15kmh, not 20kmh I had done in the morning) meant that it took over 2.5hours.

More tips – hot days, train halfway home, ride the last 12km until I’m more used to it. If its cooler, maybe you can ride the whole way.

Oh, and I must find a new inner sole to replace the one I lost a while back in one of my shoes.

Overall, nearly 75km in one day. Almost 5hours of riding. And a good recovery.

Things to fix/improve

lights for the morning (sorted)
new inner sole (sorted)
eat breakfast first (and maybe freeze a water??)
don’t be stubborn and use the train if its really hot
armband or something to hold my Opal card and ID card (to get into work)

Oh, and my Opal card has arrived.

N+1-1 (+1)

Okay, that complicated looking formula is about bicycles. I’ve decided to do some commuting on a pushbike. Not every day, at least not at first – it is 40km each way – so not really something I can just hit up without any practice. My initial plan is to ride to a nearby train station, take the take to work, then ride from the station to work. On the way home, when I don’t need to rush as much, I ride all the way.

Then as I get better and have a better idea of what it’s like, the route and timings I can ride both ways. I’ve also signed up for an Opal card, the electronic card recently introduced for buses/trains etc here in Sydney, as that lets me take the bike for free on the train. (In peak periods, you normally have to pay for the bike). The train shouldn’t be too busy as once again, I am headed the opposite way to most traffic.

But the heavy Boulder I have (along with the Trance) is not really suited to this task. I needed a road bike.

I’ve just picked up this

It’s a Giant Cross City 1 Disc. Basically a road bike, with flat bars and disc brakes. Also has carbon forks and I think the seat post too.

So that’s N+1. But to fit it into the garage, I needed to get rid of on other bike…. sorry Boulder, the decision between a hard tail $500 bike or a dual suspension $2000 bike was pretty easy. Sold it in less than a day, so N-1. (where N is the number of bicycles you have, apparently N+1 is the optimum number of bicycles – sounds like a great rule for motorcycles too)

The (+1) is that I also bought a larger 24″ bike, without coaster brakes for my eldest, so that the little one can move up to the other 20″ bike from her little toddler bike. Miss 8 gets 7 speed and no coaster brakes, and Miss 6 now has 3 speeds. It’s amazing how far the two girls have come – they only learned to ride about 10 days ago.