Brisbane River Loop – Bushfire Relief Ride

With the devastation happening this summer we can all help people in need in one way or another. Paul Witzerman has kindly offered to be the RO for a fundraising ride for the Bushfire Relief effort which will take place on Tuesday January 14th. Start time is 5:30am opposite the Regatta Hotel in Toowong.
$50 of each ride registration will be donated to Red Cross. Please help us help those in need by registering for this event even if you don’t have time to turn up and ride. https://www.audax.org.au/portal/rides/register-calendar/1577-river-loop-bushfire-relief-ride-2020

Newsworthy Bits

Jim Soorley bikeway river bank remediation
For those familiar with this bikeway extending towards Nudgee from the Nundah Criterion track please be aware that remediation of the riverbank will soon be under way in a couple of locations just east of Nudgee Road and just after the split to the bikeway beside the Gateway Motorway.
The planning information indicates that diversions will be in place however no details are available yet. The link below takes you to the a website containing the planning information that has been collated.

Information can be found here: http://www.yourneighbourhood.com.au/jim-soorley-bikeway

Cycling Courtesy

In recent times I have been observing those using all forms of transport and found enough that are worthy of discussion amongst friends and colleagues.
We as randonneurs should present to the world the best behavior of our chosen form of transport and lead by example and we may need to do a basic self check from time to time.
One of the things I have been noticing lately is that sometimes cyclists are like children who aggregate in doorways or narrow passageways. We must be careful when arriving at meeting places to ensure that we don’t block the other users from paths or driveways. I have noticed a few pedestrians with their cameras out taking photos which I assume will (like all other photos) end up circulating on the internet which can detract from the good we can do.

New Audax bling – an update

Members should have received an information email regarding the ordering and availability of the new Australian and BRM medals. The website has been updated to offer the new and old versions of Australian medals (whilst old stocks last) but only the new version of BRM medals.

The Australian Medals are still coming but the BRM medals have arrived.

Ride Reports

Russel Noble takes a 50km Permanent ride through our Nation’s capital. You can read his report here: https://audax.org.au/ridereport/canberra-parliamentary-triangle-permanent-2019/

Make Your Own ride report

How to create a ride report:
Go to the Audax website www.audax.org.au then select login from the menu bar at the top.
Once logged in, select media then My Ride Reports from the menu
On the right you will see a button “create a ride report” and click on it
Follow the directions in each box and tell your story.
If you want to insert photos – select the insert photo button above the main text window. Remember that all photos must be smaller than 1MB

Completed Rides

River Loop Christmas Special (December 24th 2019) 50Km BA. Our favourite breakfast social ride had an addition this year of a sneaky pre-christmas brevet. 19 Riders participated with times ranging from 2 1/4 hours to 2 3/4 hours and amazingly 21 attended the breakfast.

Festive 500 – 200 (December2 8th 2019) 20Km BRM. 12 riders completed the course in times from just under 7 1/2 hours through to just over 10 1/4 hours.

Festive 500 -300 (December 29th, 2019) 300Km BRM. 5 hardy riders finished this brevet with some amazing times. Official times ranged from 14 1/2 hours to just over 16 1/4 hours.

River Loop January (7th January 2019) 5Km BA, 100KM BA. 18 riders completed the 50km course with times from just over 2 1/4 hours to 3 hours. One adventurous rider completed the 100km brevet on just over 5 3/4 hours.

Completed Permanents
November 2019 saw 28 completed Permanents.December 2019 saw 36 completed permanents.

Maintenance thingies

This week’s maintenance is all about the rider. In an earlier newsletter I recalled my journey to find the perfect riding partner – a saddle that is comfortable and doesn’t chafe or otherwise cause damage. I have currently settled on a Selle Hybrid for both audax bikes and a Selle TRK for the suburban bike. Whilst my journey and recollections were aimed at providing other riders with some ideas it was from a male perspective.

One of our female riders has traveled down a similar path of saddle exploraton and arrived at a significantly more comfortable saddle selection as well but most of the saddle research is based on male riders, not female. Recently, my wife forwarded an article to me that is from a ladies perspective that follows a more serious descent into rider / saddle issues to the point of requiring surgery. Whilst this article is purely from a ladies perspective, is graphic in it’s anatomical descriptions and talks about invasive medical procedures, it did have a silver lining for the author and others will gain some benefit with some saddle manufacturers putting significant research into ladies saddles. You can read the initial article here, and the follow-up article here.

Upcoming Rides

For a full roundup of all calendar events, have a look at the Audax website https://www.audax.org.au/portal/rides/calendar

Saturday January 11th – Esk at Night – 101Km BA, 201Km / 301Km BRM (Supported)

2PM start at Esk. Starts at Esk for a fully supported afternoon ride to Toogoolawal, Mt Beppo, Somerset, then part way up the Hampton hill before reaching Esk around sunset. Night leg Esk, Fernvale, Lowood, Lowood loop, Laidley, Gatton, Coominya and Esk.

Sunday January 12th Colt 50 – 53Km BG

6:30am at the Tolga Pub. Welcome to the first Audax ride in FNQ. This year is off to an adventurous start on backroads, road reserves, rail trails and bits of black stuff. Starting and finishing at the Tolga Pub, this scenic route will take you to bits of the Tablelands that you never knew existed.
Ride contains 33km of unsealed road/tracks. An off-road capable bike (mountain, hybrid, cyclocross, etc.) is highly recommended.

Tuesday January 14th – River Loop Bushfire Relief ride– 50KM BA

5:30 am start opposite the Regatta Hotel. Ride for Bushfire Relief. $50 from each entry fee will be donated to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

Saturday January 18th Every Which Way 107KM BA, 150KM BA,200Km BRM

6:00am start at Tudor Park, Clarks Rd Loganholme. These rides head into the Brisbane City via Logan road & the South East Bikeway. The 200 km goes to Scarborough before returning over the Gateway bridge & the bayside suburbs. The 100 km returns over the Gateway bridge & follows the Bulimba Creek bikepath.

Tuesday January 21st – River Loop Social Ride

5:30 am start opposite the Regatta Hotel. This is a loose group ride with assembly locations at key points along the ride. Breakfast at Plenty in West End. Just turn up and ride, no booking necessary

Saturday January 25th Mt Coot–tha Loops 51KM BA

6:30am start at Anzac Park Toowong. The iconic Brisbane Saturday morning ride. The front, the back and the Gap Creek loop. (With time left over to mow the lawn in the afternoon). This year special! Free Coffee/Milkshake at Bean on Dean after the ride.

Tuesday January 28th– River Loop Social Ride

5:30 am start opposite the Regatta Hotel. This is a loose group ride with assembly locations at key points along the ride. Breakfast at Plenty in West End. Just turn up and ride, no booking necessary

Sunday February 2nd QLD AGM 50Km BA

7am at the Nundah Criterion Track for a quick ride to the Ted Smout bridge and return.

Sunday February 2nd QLD Annual General Meeting

10AM start at the Hamilton Wheeler’s Cycling Clubhouse adjacent the Nundah Criterion Track for the Queensland Annual General Meeting. Riders and non riders are welcome.

Tuesday February 4th – River Loop Social Ride – 50KM / 100KM BA

5:30 am start opposite the Regatta Hotel. This is a loose group ride with assembly locations at key points along the ride. Breakfast at Plenty in West End. 50km is an extended River Loop via 17 Mile Rocks and the 100km gets an extra loop over Mt Coottha to Wacol and return.

Saturday February 10th – Moreton Bay Ride – 160KM BA, 200Km BRM

6am Starting and finishing at Strathpine, the Classic Imperial closely follows the route of the original Moreton Bay Classic Imperial from days gone by touring Dayboro, Kurwongba, the undulations of Moorina (the easy way) and back via the peninsula.
The BRM extends the route at Sandgate to travel to the Gateway Bridge and return via some familiar roads but omits the Bray Park final section.

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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.