Welcome to the PBP edition of the Queensland Newsletter. We have 10 riders entered for PBP from Queensland and with staggered starting times and different riding speeds the dot watching has been spread across the entire length of the route with Nick Booth as I start this newsletter was less than 100km from finishing and some of our riders were yet to reach Brest.Nick’s completion time was 46 hours 50 minutes.As I complete this, our last continuing rider is still on the road, pressing on towards the finish.
I have had trouble selecting a suitable photo this week as the banner so uncharacteristically this edition won’t have one.
PBP is nearly over and I take my hat off to all riders who have taken part. I cannot fully appreciate the effort everyone has made as I have yet to ride my first 400, let alone anything longer. Here is a summary of the results so far (Times are unofficial but indicative, locations are approximate):
I have found several photos of our riders before they became weary from the ride, except for Mark Riley whose photo is from the end.
I encourage people to keep an eye on Vaughan Kippers in the Smiling for Smiddy challenge commencing in Townsville on Friday 23rd August.They are due to arrive at the Mater Hospital, Aubigny Place, Raymond Terrace in South Brisbane at 3pm on August 31st.If you have time please come along and give a cheer to the riders as they arrive.
Hugh Fyson has been exploring some cycling tours in the Andes and thought he should share some information for any interested riders.The information is for tours in Peru, Bolivia and Cambodia. Read some more here
There has been a lot of cycling distraction in the last week or so with PBP preparations and departures so no updates this edition on the completed rides other than the weather has been pretty good for riding recently. I will provide details of completed rides in subsequent newsletters.
It is amazing how we go about selecting items for our riding kits with great care and attention only to come unstuck when we go to use them. My little problem was operator error with my pump when connecting the hose to the valve. I use a pump with a hose on advice from seasoned riders who tell me that the non-hose pumps can damage the valve stem. Having had a valve stem start to separate from the rest of the tube on a time pressured ride last season I appreciate the reason.
On a recent ride, I had a rapid de-pressurisation of the rear tire on the Western Freeway bikeway due to the environmental vandals that insist on throwing glass bottles onto every hard cycling surface they can find.The When removing the hose from the valve stem, the valve came unscrewed from the valve stem. I had a valve tightening tool in the kit, so after tightening, I re-inflated with exactly the same result. I capitulated and used a CO2 inflator to get us underway again but that left me thinking about the root cause of the problem.
I happen to like the Maxxis welterweight tubes because they are very compact and fit nicely in my tube bag. These tubes have a removable valve (hence my problem) so I did some web surfing to try and find a good solution to my problem. I found a variety of solutions ranging from Loctite, plumbers tape, through to using the valve tightening tool. The two resolutions to my problem turned out to be very simple, and I had both at the time to my embarrassment.The pre-cursor is to use the valve tightening tool to make sure the valve is properly tight. I am a bit cautious as the valve stem can twist and I worry about damaging the tube.
Solution #1 – don’t overtighten the hose – This is harder than it sounds and requires a bit of practice. I’m not sure if I have this bit right just yet.A new pump doesn’t help my confidence either.
Solution #2 – use a Presta to Schrader adapter and reverse the hose. These adapters do lock onto the valve but don’t seem to require the same tension to properly seal as the hose seems to require. These only cost a few dollars and as I indicated, I had one in my kit. Simple really once you know.
Co-incidentally, and apparently about the same time that we detoured around a vehicle recovery operation via the landscaping at Gailes ‘something’ happened that mostly fixed my problem of the chain skipping on the 11 tooth gear.Whilst not completely gone, I am now thinking that there was something jamming the correct operation of the rear derailleur and it had fallen out or mostly disappeared. This weekend I will have a very close look and do some intensive cleaning. Watch this space.
To see the full calendar, head to https://www.audax.org.au/public/ridecalendar
| Click on the ride name to see the ride details |
| Saturday 24/08/2019 B-P-B 200km BRM *** Registration is now closed for this ride. 10 Sunwell St. Brighton. Couldn’t make PBP this year? No worries, here’s the next best thing! |
| Tuesday 27/08/2019 River Loop – Social Ride Regatta Ferry Stage 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. |
| Saturday 31/08/2019 Goat Track Gambol 200km BRM Anzac Park, Toowong. Take a gamble on the Goat Track: an easy and traffic free way up Mt Glorious. A gentle descent over the back leads to a flat return via Fernvale, Rosewood and Mutdapilly. There are small sections of dirt road well-suited for road bikes. |
| Tuesday 03/09/2019 River Loop September 50km and 100km BA Regatta Ferry Stage Toowong. A social ride followed by a coffee somewhere interesting on Montague Rd |
| Saturday 07/09/2019 Low and High UAF 200km BUAF Jindalee. A group ride in the UAF style on relatively quiet roads starting at Jindalee, breakfast at Peak Crossing, morning tea at Rosewood and a lunch stop at the historic Glamorganvale Hotel. |
| Tuesday 10/09/2019 River Loop – Social Ride Regatta Ferry Stage 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. |
| Saturday 14/09/2019 The Hippie Highway 200km BRM Tyalgum. Cruise the Hippie Highway and pedal your way back to simpler and more colourful times. Magnificent hinterland riding, with many ups and downs. Some lovely gravel roads to give riders the good vibrations, just like the good old days |
That pretty much wraps it up for this edition. If you have any ride reports or articles to contribute, please send these to qld.communications@audax.org.au