More pics

Ah! Why can't I post more pics. I'll try again later.

At last time to post again

I've been just a tad busy lately, but still time to ride and take photos (just no time to upload them or blog).

Definitely enjoying this beautiful weather.

Sunrise

Another Glorious Day

This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

It was certainly spectacular this morning with the full moon above Gungaderra Grasslands on my right and on the left the planets Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the sky above Mulangarri. A light fog and lots of frost, but only -3.

It was so beautiful this morning and I had the time so I detoured a little around the lake towards Yarralumla. The mist over the water, the early morning rowers, the balloon inflating near Old Parliament House -- it was simply glorious.

If only I could upload my photos easier. I have to go home and put them on the computer before uploading them. Still haven't done Monday's, hopefully tonight in between violin and scouts.

On a cold and foggy morning

A slower ride today by choice -- I could hardly see the cycle path!

It is an eerie feeling when there is nothing around you but foggy blackness. Between concentrating on where I am going (just keep following the white line) and keeping my feet on/off the pedals at the appropriate time my mind was well and truly occupied.

Just a pleasant -6.5 this morning. Not that I rode in that, when I left it was -4.5. But once again I was cozy and snug. I still haven't got the long cycling pants, just my shorts, but thankfully the good old Razzamattaz tights do provide quite some warmth. It's just my toes.

The lake was covered in grey mist but set off against the red of the leaves it looked lovely. Again will attach the pic when I can download it at home.

Friday the 13th

I may have missed seeing the planets due to cloud cover, but by 6.30 when I was down at the lake it was truly spectacular. As usual, the photos don't do it justice.

It was a balmy 5-6 degrees and I didn't need as may layers. It was lovely.

An almost record-breaking ride today and not because of a northerly. I think it is adjusting the position fo the cleats that made the difference. My average speed was up to over 25.3 kmph (normaly sits around 23) over the full length of the trip. I was slowed by a cyclist on Northbourne that I didn't feel comfortable passing -- something to do with traffic and for some reason heaps more buses than normal. And for the note, it was not an elderly person, but a cyclist in lycra with clipless pedals too, not just any old random.

Another major difference today was clipping out. Almost impossible for some reason. Then it occured to me right at that awful time-stands-still moment when "timber!" as I started falling to the left in slow motion. After moving the cleats in my shoes last night (which has made pedalling much easier now) I think the left one must have been loose making it difficult to clip out. Thankfully before going splat on the ground my left foot suddenly came free! Hooray! Phew! When I was unlocking our office door I realised the left foot sounded odd on the tiles. Hmm, one of the screws had come righ tout of the shoe and the other was flapping around. I hope I can at least find an allan key at work to tighten that for the trip home.

So, moral of the story, make sure your cleats are crewed in tightly! I've learned the hard way that you don't want ot have a screw loose!

Tuesday and Wednesday 10 and 11 May 2011

Didn't blog on Tuesday but did go for a ride, and during daylight hours! Something very different for me. Enjoyed the ride and the novelty of full sunshine!

Wednesday I walked for a change. Not as cold as I was expecting and I enjoyed the early morning from our hill.

Snug as a Bug in a Rug!

A beautiful -4.7 degrees at the moment (-8.6 when allowing for windchill according to the BOM) but coming to work on my bike I was snug as a bug in a rug. So much so that I almost stopped to take my jacket off! My woollen scarf is again doing double duty, keeping me warm on the commute, but now a fashion accessory matching my shirt/co-ordinating with my skirt. The only cold part were my toes. Perhaps 2 pairs of socks or I will need to invest in those shoe cover things.

The morning was spectacular! There were these 3 stars in the east just above the horizen, they looked magnificent, two in a line, the third slightly above the other two -- Jupiter, Venus and Mercury according to Sydney Observatory -- they were great! (Tomorrow Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will form a triangle with Mars below, perhaps a good event for the trusty Samsung.)

The mornings are much darker now and I'm at work before official sunrise. In hindsight I'm sorry I didn't take any photos of LBJ, but I was on a roll, literally!

My clipless pedals are improving although it takes some getting used to having the pedals so far forward on my foot. Sometimes I think it is the toes that are over the clip, but realistically it is supposed to be the ball of the foot, perhaps I can move the cleat slightly farther back (not sure if I can, but I can always try). I think that I may have been a bit faster though. Average speed 24.8kmph, and completed the trip in 47 minutes. The wind wasn't northerly either but ESE and then E, so despite me having reservations I do think I might be a tad faster.

The weird thing is, I'm now sitting at my desk at work and feeling colder than I did on the bike. Time to head back out on the bike I think (or at least sit at my desk in my bike attire!).

A Windy Morning!

My first day riding to work with my clipless pedals (why they are called clipless I just don't know). I had been avidly waiting for the day and expecting to notice such a big difference. Well I didn't. My legs were aching by Gungaderra Grasslands and my average speed was down 2kmph! Probably more due to the fact of a 20kmph headwead (SSE) this morning! My slowest trip ever at 54 minutes!

I didn't having any problems clipping out (usually only unclipped on the left leaving the right ready to push off). Amazingly, only once was I not able to clip straight in and that was almost at work (Cnr National Circuit & Kings Avenue).

Did notice a couple of things. Having the pedal under the ball of your foot rather than the arch means using different muscles! Also, I think the saddle might need to go up. I was going to look at it here at work, but need tools which I don't have. Have even considered calling Matt or Tobias at EA and seeing if they have a tool kit and could help at lunchtime. More realistically, I will go home as normal and then get to Norwin's tool box and adjust the height.

Looking forward to the next ride where hopefully there won't be such a strong headwind.

Oh and it was a lovely clear morning, the sky looked almost a green in the east when I was on Gungahlin Drive. Most of the time I was too busy concentrating on the pedalling that I didn't appreciate the beauty around me.

Mother's Day

Well this morning was the Mothers Day Classic 5km fun run/walk to raise funds for Breast Cancer. It was a beautiful clear morning over Canberra as the whole family set off to do the walk around Lake Burley Griffin. Unfortunately I had to leave my lovely bike at home and use my legs to do the familiar trip along the lake.

Even Sophie and Andrew made it to the end with no complaining (except over who was walking in front -- Sophie wanted to always be in front of Andrew and cried when Andrew got ahead!).

Once home I got to play with my Mothers Day present. I was very proud of myself changing the pedals over all by myself. Then came the fun part. I think I would be in hospital now if it weren't for my indoor trainer that allowed me to practice clipping in and out. I am still alive and have been for a short ride around the Nicholls bike paths.

Clipping out doesn't appear to be a problem although it requires a little more effort than I originally thought, it is the clipping in that just doesn't happen. And then the left pedal ends up upside down on the platform pedal side and then ... you can just guess! These things were supposed to make my riding easier. I think tomorrow morning might actually be slower and I am hoping that I can actually clip in and get across the lights before they turn red again!

So although not at the same time, my Trek and my Samsung have both had a workout again today. A lovely mothers day for me!

A spectacular, but cold, ride to work

Oh what a beautiful morning! Another truly spectacular sunrise. When I left in early nautical twilight the sky was lightening with several bright stars still in the eastern sky. Plenty of frost on the ground near the school and again going down Gungahlin Drive. The warmest spot was actually at the top of Palmerston – or was I just hot from effort getting up the hill. Despite being -3.5^o at 6.30am (When I was going down Northbourne Avenue) I was cosy in my spencer and Ice Queen shirt with just my Aldi lightweight jacket – and I did have my scarf on.

Although not officially the coldest temperature, the coldest part of the ride was on Kelleway Avenue when my nose nearly froze and then on Ann Clarke St when my fingers felt rather cool. Apart from that I was cuddly and warm for the duration. In fact I was surprised to read it was quite that cold.

The lake was steaming it looked wonderful. Saw the two balloons setting up for take-off on the lawns of Old Parliament House. Another enjoyable ride in despite my average speed being down slightly and the trip taking around 1 minute longer than usual. Part of the trip seemed to take more effort this morning.

I am really looking forward to my new pedals, but I am concerned I might fall off. I’ve been trying to practice but struggle to work out which foot to put down. My current thinking is to release both feet sooner rather than later and then once I am used to them, work out what actually works best for me.