Recently, I became involved in something a little different from my usual riding. Although, with the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail behind me and the Great Vic ahead, I have to say 2016 does seem to be shaping up as ‘The Year of the Organised Ride’.
As October drew its first breath, so too did the Gold Coast Brompton Riders with its first group ride. The call went out on the group’s newly created Facebook page, sporting a photo or two from my abike4allseasons photo collection:
Gold Coast Brompton FIRST group ride
-Brompton Bicycle Riders and two wheel friends are WELCOME
Meet: Nook Espresso at Burleigh Heads @ 1pm
Destination: Parlour Coffee via Tallebudgera Creek (and return)
Distance: About 12kms return.
I haven’t seen many Bromptons on the Gold Coast. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe they’re out there riding in different parts of the coast away from my usual trails. Maybe there just aren’t that many. It seems to me that the Gold Coast’s relatively flat urban landscape is quite suitable for riding a Brompton bike.
Nine riders turned up for the group ride. Four were Brompton bicycle riders and the other five were curious two wheel friends. This included two road bikes, two tourers and one Bike Friday which is a custom built folding bike. A few local Bromptoneers couldn’t make it but are keen to be at the next ride. There was also interest from curious non-Brompton riders unsure whether to come along or not.
Among the Brompton riders was Jen Cooper. Back in June, Jen wrote a guest post on my blog about her decision to buy a Brompton. Jen followed that story with a second post about how she and her partner are enjoying their Bromptons. It was great to see Jen and Noel at the Gold Coast’s first group ride.
The beauty of inviting Brompton riders as well as their two wheel friends, meant that some cyclists were able to have their first ride of a Brompton. It was just along the footpath but it was fun.
During the ride we ventured over and along Tallebudgera Creek. Along the way we called into Parlour Cafe at West Burleigh for coffee, an afternoon snack and chat. That was all part of the planned ride. However, as we rode the beachfront foreshore on our way over to the cafe, a special this-time-of-year-only treat appeared. That’s right, we watched whales breaching offshore. Magic!
Burleigh Heads was the meeting point for the ride and that wasn’t so magic. In new ventures, mistakes become obvious quickly. This was one of them. At 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, Burleigh Heads was crazy busy and for those riders who had to drive to the event, it was near impossible to find a park. Brisbane Brompton Rider David outsmarted the traffic and parked his car at Varsity Lakes train station and pedalled over to Burleigh. Others lived close enough to ride their bikes. For future rides, we’ll aim for a meeting point where parking is easier.
Overall, for the first meet, it was a great start. And there are more rides in the making. These tiny wheels have a big heart.
Footpath fun: Having a test ride of Jen’s Brompton.
It’s that time again when skinny tyres and speed hit the streets of Kirra on the Gold Coast.
The Kirra Criterium took place last Saturday and, while I was out training for the Great Vic, I stopped to watch the first race of the event.
A criterium is a short course race that involves multiple laps around a defined circuit. For the Kirra Criterium, a 1.2 kilometre circuit was created on the Kirra Beach esplanade along Musgrave Street. Each race involved riding for 35 minutes plus two laps.
As different as racing bikes are from my style of riding, which is slower and more leisurely, I find it exciting to watch these talented cyclists speed past on their skinny tyres.
Here’s a short video of what I saw:
I decided to make the shelter shed at Kirra Point my turnaround point. It was Tuesday and my training program for the Great Vic required a 25 kilometre ride. No-one was at the shelter shed when I arrived so I wheeled my bike inside. With a strong northerly wind making whitecaps on the sea, it wasn’t a great day for photographing the water. So I positioned my bike against the timber railings of the heritage shelter shed for some photos. (There’s a link to one of those photos at the end of this story.)
After a couple of photos, I looked around and saw a cyclist on the footpath, slowing down to negotiate the pedestrians swilling in different directions along the paved path. It was Hugh the GP who I went commuting with last year. I called out. He stopped. We chatted. And then I shared his homeward commute. However, it went a little different to what I’d expected.
“Have you ridden up Woodgee before?” Hugh asked.
“Not for awhile… maybe a year ago, I did.”
“Do you want to ride over it today?”
Let me tell you about Woodgee. It’s a street that runs up and over Currumbin Hill. Walkers, runners and cyclists know Woodgee as a good climb for getting the heart going. I was hesitant. I didn’t want to over-train. But I’ve been waiting for a chance to ride Woodgee again… so maybe I will.
*
We’re climbing up Woodgee in our lowest gears. My click-in shoes are working a treat. My heart’s pumping strong. The road levels off and we talk a little. Then the climb starts again. Hugh says “turn left up here”.
“How steep is it?”
“You’ll find out,” he replies.
I glance ahead and quickly click out of my shoes for what looks like a hairpin corner. But I forget to change my gears down to their lowest. I have to dismount and walk a few metres. Hugh pauses with me and then points ahead, “ride up as far as the Crest sign”.
I pick my lowest gear and spin up the hill slowly, hoping no cars appear on the narrow road. We reach the Crest sign and the view is new to me. I’ve never been up here. Through the gum trees, over the house roofs, I see Point Danger sweeping east and the airport runway drawing a straight line south.
I thought that was my hill climbing over for the day, but not so. There were more to explore.
We descended past the Crest sign into a cul-de-sac, turned around and then climbed out. This was steep. The gradient range was 10% to 19%. As I’m spinning my way up the hill under the canopy of gum trees shimmering overhead and the late afternoon sun beaming on my back, my lungs are drawing deep loud breaths and my inner thoughts jokingly add: Thank goodness I’m with a doctor.
I made it to the top with hearty congratulations from Hugh and an invitation to climb hill number three! I decline but knowing the third hill is not as steep and liking the idea of a three hill combo, I change my mind and turn the corner.
So that’s my hill training done for the week. Thanks to a surprise ride with Hugh!
Here’s a link to the Shelter Shed photo I took.
Hill #3… not so steep so I had room for a selfie.
a bike for all seasons 