For a change I left the bike at Warwick train station and took the train into work - good to have a rest day every now and again, if only to realise that the train is not nearly as much fun.
Banal overheard teenage conversations are no match for sound of the wind in the trees and the tyres on the track.
I timed the trip, from door to door was 50 minutes, about 5 minutes less than by bicycle, including time for showering at the destination.
It looks like I'll be at 3000Km by the end of August - the computer reads 2770 at the moment so I'm banking on 100km a week at least. Now that the weather seems to be improving and the sun is coming out earlier , its much easier to get onto the bike and go in the mornings.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
To Work
This is the route I usually take to work , from Carine to the Mitchell Freeway bike path and on via Osborne Park to work in West Perth.
It is normally ridden at quite a brisk pace - due to my penchant for setting off late - which is not all bad since it gets the heart pumping.
It's not a long ride - 14.8km, nor is it taxing since it is mostly flat aside from an exhilarating downhill into Gwelup - on which I have achieved 51.4kmh one morning when I pushed the bike ( and myself )a bit and probably had quite a big load in the panniers to help me downhill.
The initial downhill next to to the house is more of a hindrance than a help as on a cold morning I'd rather get the blood flowing with a burst of energy up a hill or at least flat than get the chill wind in in my face without any countering warmth from pumping the pedals.
But the discomfort soon dissapears once I hit the Carine Open space. The fellow early morning masochists including dogwalkers ( some in shorts...! ) trot along providing entertainment and obstacles and weaving amongst them while trying to ring the bell with gloved hands proves a challenge.
As I ride past Gwelup and through the Erindale Road underpass I pass the little old Italian lady wheeling her grocery cart toward the supermarket and the man carrying a box of lettuce from his plot to a market ( it sometimes occurs to me that I should introduce them and they can cut out the middle man and save themselves a trek but I digress ) .
Then the Karrinyup road crossing where 4x4's jockey for position at the traffic lights , daring me to cross in front of them and get flattened - I wait impatiently for a green light and cross with eyes in the side of my helmet.
A little while later I cross the Freeway on the pedestrian overpass and ride past the Stirling council administration building , then over the bridge to Osborne Park and beyond where truck and trailers, cement trucks and modified hummers and cyclists compete in uneven competition for the road. Luckily its a wide road and the only part of the journey that is not undertaken on the bike path.
Soon after Lake Monger appears and I have to veer past joggers with ipods ( no point in ringing a bell at someone with white earplugs on ) and , in summer, admire the black swans in their thousands on the lake, with the occasional migrating turtle to add a speedbump to the path.
I arrive at work with 10-15 minutes to spare, lock the bike up in the cage , run up to the showers and catch a 3 minute shower then dress hurriedly and try to appear calm, unruffled and rested while conducting the 9am meeting. Sometimes this may not be a convincing performance - the sweat beads break out on my brow and tissues are proffered by workmates while stage whispers are made about getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier - none of which makes the slightest impression - if I did , I'd just ride slower.
I like to keep the average speed at about 27kmh but I suspect it goes over 30kmh when I am running late. This is good exercise and keeps me from needing the gym which never feels like a natural environment to me for excercise.
It is normally ridden at quite a brisk pace - due to my penchant for setting off late - which is not all bad since it gets the heart pumping.
It's not a long ride - 14.8km, nor is it taxing since it is mostly flat aside from an exhilarating downhill into Gwelup - on which I have achieved 51.4kmh one morning when I pushed the bike ( and myself )a bit and probably had quite a big load in the panniers to help me downhill.
The initial downhill next to to the house is more of a hindrance than a help as on a cold morning I'd rather get the blood flowing with a burst of energy up a hill or at least flat than get the chill wind in in my face without any countering warmth from pumping the pedals.
But the discomfort soon dissapears once I hit the Carine Open space. The fellow early morning masochists including dogwalkers ( some in shorts...! ) trot along providing entertainment and obstacles and weaving amongst them while trying to ring the bell with gloved hands proves a challenge.
As I ride past Gwelup and through the Erindale Road underpass I pass the little old Italian lady wheeling her grocery cart toward the supermarket and the man carrying a box of lettuce from his plot to a market ( it sometimes occurs to me that I should introduce them and they can cut out the middle man and save themselves a trek but I digress ) .
Then the Karrinyup road crossing where 4x4's jockey for position at the traffic lights , daring me to cross in front of them and get flattened - I wait impatiently for a green light and cross with eyes in the side of my helmet.
A little while later I cross the Freeway on the pedestrian overpass and ride past the Stirling council administration building , then over the bridge to Osborne Park and beyond where truck and trailers, cement trucks and modified hummers and cyclists compete in uneven competition for the road. Luckily its a wide road and the only part of the journey that is not undertaken on the bike path.
Soon after Lake Monger appears and I have to veer past joggers with ipods ( no point in ringing a bell at someone with white earplugs on ) and , in summer, admire the black swans in their thousands on the lake, with the occasional migrating turtle to add a speedbump to the path.
I arrive at work with 10-15 minutes to spare, lock the bike up in the cage , run up to the showers and catch a 3 minute shower then dress hurriedly and try to appear calm, unruffled and rested while conducting the 9am meeting. Sometimes this may not be a convincing performance - the sweat beads break out on my brow and tissues are proffered by workmates while stage whispers are made about getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier - none of which makes the slightest impression - if I did , I'd just ride slower.
I like to keep the average speed at about 27kmh but I suspect it goes over 30kmh when I am running late. This is good exercise and keeps me from needing the gym which never feels like a natural environment to me for excercise.
Flat Perth Society begins
So this is the first post for the Flat Perth Society, which I am starting with all the best intentions, If these become reality my posts will be regular and stimulating.
They could of course go the other way - my average post frequency to other blogs is about 1.0002 per century so far which is not a record I am proud of.
Why would this blog be any different? I have discovered a new interest in my dotage - cycling - which should be grist to the blog and provide hours of stimulating reading... well thats the intention.
They could of course go the other way - my average post frequency to other blogs is about 1.0002 per century so far which is not a record I am proud of.
Why would this blog be any different? I have discovered a new interest in my dotage - cycling - which should be grist to the blog and provide hours of stimulating reading... well thats the intention.
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