This will impact starting numbers at our events in Brisbane to a maximum of 10 people. This may require multiple staggered starting groups as introduced earlier this year. Some of our rides have been re-mapped or replaced due to border crossing restrictions – changes will appear on the ride calendar and potentially have new ride names.
Please check the registration page carefully for details of rides and starting times and keep an eye out for the emails from Ride Organisers with any requests regarding changes to the ride.
Scott McCarthy started planning this ride for the 11th-13th of September as an excellent way to achieve your Audax Australia Nouveau award requirements in a single weekend (You still need to apply for the award to get it).
The ride centers around Maleny and is a semi supported ride with accommodation at Maleny. There will be a bag drop available from the Caboolture train station.
Day 1 is a 50Km route from the Caboolture Train Station up to Maleny, Day 2 is a 150km scenic tour of the sunshine coast through to Eumundi, Kenilworth and returning to Maleny. Day 3 is a 100Km mostly downhill to Beachmere then returning to Caboolture. Scott’s details are 0402 939 492 Email: scottlesliemccarthy@me.com if you are interested in riding this petit tour.
It has been a bit of a newsletter hiatus from me as I tend to many airborne items being juggled from week to week. I wondered what the theme of this newsletter should be in recent weeks and it I think it should be all about looking after one’s self.
Since the beginning of the year we have seen a lot of reduced riding, changed daily routines resulting in many spending more time at home, less social outings such as Audax rides and catching up with friends and generally being less in contact with people.
While this may initially seem a bit ideal to some, after months, you get a bit jaded about the whole thing and we as social creatures of habit start wanting to be in the presence of others and get out and about doing things (like riding Audaxes)
I remember growing up in a small suburb where all the kids played together and often parents would see a stream of neighborhood kids chasing each other and each age group kept an eye on the welfare of others. Over the generations I have noticed that less of this is occurring as people become focused on a changing daily life and we have been asked to keep an eye out for the welfare of the vulnerable in our community.
Recently, the message has included keeping an eye out for ourselves as well. The changing circumstances we find ourselves in certainly contributes to our own well-being and those immediately around us. I find that in recent times I spend all day tied to a PC, having on-line meetings and feel worn out at the end of the day.
The key message of the times is that we need to look after ourselves, from a safety or physical perspective as well as our mental well-being. We see this message regularly in the media these days but I would like to challenge people that whilst we look out for our own well being, that we also take the time to talk to friends and acquaintances to promote their well being too. At work we are all being encouraged to learn something new – it must be a challenge and one of the ladies has started learning Auslan – bringing a whole new perspective to her sense of community.
A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends took part in an Everest challenge at Mt Coottha (with another rider) and whilst people doing an Everest is not uncommon, I found this challenge to be different as my friend had several key goals in mind, not just for himself but to change the culture about mental health conversations and fundraising for the Love Me Love You Foundation.
What I observed for his challenge was that his riding group (The Knights of Suburbia) were fully behind their challenge and had arranged excellent support not only with the shelter and sustenance, but also with riders accompanying them up the hill for most of the challenge which started at 10pm on the Friday night, finishing Saturday Evening.
Kudos to Gary and Brendan for completing their 1st and 4th Everest.
Behind the scenes the web wizards have been working to develop a simpler way of compiling newsletters – making it easier for all the editors around the country. Currently, we use a somewhat vanilla implementation of WordPress that takes a bit of learning and manipulation to create the newsletter and a lot of manual editing to get it showing what we want. There is several hours of manipulation and I have traditionally completed it over several evenings.
The new format will be a bit like a merge between the current method and the email newsletter that you get – everything will be in the email, no link required to see all the content. The good thing is the creation process allows editors to create custom elements (such as those above) but also has a drag and drop feature for ride reports and the ‘bits’ further down in this newsletter. This will make it a lot simpler and quicker to complete while allowing editors to focus on articles.
I will admit that I haven’t followed through this year with my abundant supply of ride reports as I have done in the past. I have been sticking to the 100KM BAs as I can achieve these (with only 9 minutes to spare on the Ride for the No Shows) but I would like to challenge people to write one ride report every few months. These can be wordy, allowing us to read through your recollection of your ride, or be more like a graphic novel with pictures and captions. The simple creation of a ride report can give new riders a sense of what some of these rides are like, and how they can rise to a challenge to ride them.
Paul Guarrera is still in his first season of Audax riding and took time to share his experience on the recent ‘Half Moose’ route in July. You can read his adventure here: https://audax.org.au/ridereport/a-misty-mulgowie-moose/
Julie Kenworthy recently completed a 100KM BA in Western Australia. I associate hills with the southern states but hadn’t really thought about Perth having some – and I have even travelled some of the areas by train and car. We learn something every day and you can too by reading Julie’s report here: https://audax.org.au/ridereport/wa-perth-hills-100km-25-july-2020/
Keith has provided a few recent facebook posts with some challenging times with ‘Frank’ who has – in Keith’s words – become cranky with his bottom bracket screwing out on one side with the first leading to a walk home, the second caught a lot sooner. This makes me think about the loose bolt problems that bikes sometimes get. Normally, we would tension the bolt per manufacturer’s specifications and life returns to normal but sometimes that just doesn’t work. A jump bike I picked up for my grandson has such an issue – the bolt on the crank arm was coming loose and no amount of re-tightening would get it to stay.The problem in fact was the crank arm had play on the spline of the bottom bracket. The only proper fix is to replace the crank arm with a new one. My LBS informed me that these cranks were now as rare as hens teeth and spares would take months to source. Their option was to use high strength locktite on the thread noting that anything we need to do on the crank will require replacement anyway, and a full crankset would be readily available and cheaper than an OEM crank arm. Problem solved for the mean time in this case, but Keith certainly has a challenge to persuade Frank to keep the bottom bracket tight.
Northern Gold Coast Explorer (5th July 2020) 101km BA. Another Audax gem from Hugh saw 14 riders including three new Audax riders complete this Brevet between just under 4 hours and just over 6 hours.
Yeronga Medley (8th July 2020) 400Km BRM. One rider for this event finishing in just under 18 hours.
River Loop (July) (7th July 2020) 50km BA. Ten riders finished in approximately 2 hours 20 minutes.
Mulgowie Moose (11th July 2020) 100Km BA and 200Km BRM. A foggy and misty start and some very rough surfaces near Atkinson’s Dam with 5 riders finishing the 100Km between 4 1/2 and 6 hours 12 riders completed the BRM in times from just under 8 1/4 hours to 9 3/4 hours..
Bedrock (18th July 2020) Multiple distances from 60 Km BA to a 200Km BRM. Four riders completed the BRM between 9 3/4 and 10 1/2 hours. An excellent effort on this one with climbing Mt Nebo and Clear Mountain.
Vice President’s Quartet (August 8th 2020) 100Km BA, 300KM, 400KM 600KM BRM. One rider each for the 100KM (just under 5 1/4 hours), the 300Km (just over 15 1/2 hours) and 600Km (Just over 30 hours)
Glamorganvale Gourmet Gallop (August 8th 2020) 200Km UAF. Three riders completed the UAF in just over 11 1/4 hours.
Downs and Back 300 400 and 600 (August 25th, 2020) 4 riders completed the 600Km Brevet in times ranging from just under 35 1/4 hours to just under 38 hours.
Ride for the No Shows (August 14th 2020) 50Km, 100Km BA. This ride had 4 riders complete the 50Km in times between 2 1/4 hours and just over 2 3/4 hours. The 100Km had 12 riders finishing between 4 3/4 hours and just over 6 1/2 hours.
Sadly, one of my favourite saddles – a Selle SMP TRK – is getting very close to doing serious injury to me as it has started to develop cracks in the outer surface with some extending into the interior. I noticed the cracks in the surface a few months ago but I wasn’t too concerned at the time because I was only doing little rides with the grandson or riding the BVRT. After riding the last few 100Km brevets on my Defy (Curly), combined with my expanding physique and bibs, I have determined that I need to start riding my flat bar bike (Bullwinkle) on events to prevent the chafing and give me a more comfortable riding experience.
Bullwinkle is the bike I used for my first two years of Audax, including up to 300Km brevets so I have no hassles riding it and rode it recently on Pete’s Bikeway Explorer last weekend. Importantly, getting a replacement saddle in a matching black meant a 1 1/2 week delivery timeframe I did look for a Brooks Cambium but everywhere was out of stock or charging like they were a rare item. While ordering, I also found what looks to be a really neat day running light that even looks like it might attach to the front of the bike.
The other important item I need to address is lighting. Whilst I share lights between bikes, the one thing I haven’t shared is the mounts. For those that have looked, I use aluminium bar extensions (those little brackets that can put a 20mm diameter rod out from the handlebars) then use some 3d printed mounts for the lights themselves. My predicament is that I need to 3d print up some more mounts while I wait for the mounting brackets to arrive and the 3d printer is playing up a bit as of late.
If you have any interesting maintenance stories that can help others, please drop me a line at qld.communications@audax.org.au
To view the full calendar, head to https://www.audax.org.au/portal/rides/calendar
Please check the on-line calendar regularly as there may be updates to the calendar as COVID-19 conditions change.
7am start at Summit Place Westlake. Reasonably flat routes turning at either Rosewood, Laidley or Ma Ma Creek.
5:30am start on the Bicentennial Bikeway opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong. The 100km does a loop of Mt Coottha and a run to Wacol after breakfast.
6am start at Rotary Park, Spencer St Gatton. The Covid equivalent of The Hippie Highway. This ride heads through familiar territory to Mt Sylvia, up to Silver Ridge, back to Helidon, then Hampton before returning to Gatton.
5:30am start on the Bicentennial Bikeway opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong. A social ride around the iconic Brisbane River Loop, ending with coffee at West End. No registration necessary; just turn up ready for a 5:30AM start.
Part one of the Tour de Nouveau. 3PM start at Caboolture Train Station and rides to Maleny. Bag drop is available. Registration will be open soon!
Part two of the Tour de Nouveau. 7AM start at Maleny heading towards the coast then northwards to Eumundi, inland to Kenilworth and back to Maleny. Registration will be open soon!
6am start at Fernvale. A cycle tour over The Downs past villages like Crows Nest, Gowrie Junction & Cambooya as well as Nobby & Greenmount in historic Steele Rudd country.
Part three of the Tour de Nouveau. a 10Am start heading down through Peachester to Beachmere and returning to Caboolture. Registration will be open soon!
5:30am start on the Bicentennial Bikeway opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong. A social ride around the iconic Brisbane River Loop, ending with coffee at West End. No registration necessary; just turn up ready for a 5:30AM start.
6am start at Samford. Hilly 200 taking in Mt Glorious, Somerset Dam, Kilcoy, Woodford and Mt Mee. Very scenic, a nice 200, stacks of fun.
7am start at Dugandan Park Boonah. A choice of rides around the Scenic Rim on quiet country roads. 2 distances on offer to suit all riding abilities. All roads are public roads and can be ridden on 28mm+ tyres.
5:30am start on the Bicentennial Bikeway opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong. A social ride around the iconic Brisbane River Loop, ending with coffee at West End. No registration necessary; just turn up ready for a 5:30AM start.
6am start at Noyer Park Windaroo. The 114 Km rides through Greenbank, Gleneagle, Veresdale, Logan village and return. The 200Km heads south at Gleneagle to Darlington and back via Beaudesert.
5:30am start on the Bicentennial Bikeway opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong. A social ride around the iconic Brisbane River Loop, ending with coffee at West End. No registration necessary; just turn up ready for a 5:30AM start.
That is a wrap up for the this edition of the newsletter. If you have any articles, please send them to qld.communications@audax.org.au. If you have any ride reports, please enter them on the website.