Back on Target for 2019

Well, almost. Two thirds of the year through and my kilometre count for the year approaches 4,000. The goal for August was reached and surpassed so things are looking good for the last third of the year and hitting the 2019 target of 6,000 kilometers.

This week started poorly and by the end of Tuesday I had 12 kilometres up! Then a couple of good rides brought the total over 100 ks for the week.

Before I tell you about two of this weeks rides though I have been asked about my shoulder. Last time I mentioned it I didn’t know what was wrong and was scheduled for a injection. I since found out the problem is bursitis. The cortisone injection into the shoulder almost immediately relieved the pains and things have been going well. Back to the Quack this week to see how things really are, particularly as a stumble on an Angler’s Access ladder over a fence has caused a bit of a relapse! No trout caught either.

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A ride around Launceston with WAG.

WAG began life as the Wednesday Alternative Group. I belong to T-BUG : the Tamar Bicycle Users Group. A group of riders from T-BUG ride each Wednesday and they have got gradually into lighter bikes and longer and faster rides, leaving a number of us behind. So WAG was formed as an alternative. WAG is not an official T-BUG group so I didn’t know about it until a couple of weeks ago. But now the group meets on a Friday and needed a different name. To preserve the acronym it now means the Weally Awesome Group!

Colin and I met with the group at Glebe Gardens having first made sure that a couple of recumbents would be welcome. We were. The ride on Friday was around the shared paths of Launceston- 16 ks of enjoyable, although sometimes rough gravel, riding. On such paths I just tell myself “All is OK. Paul Pritchard rode his Magnum to Nepal!” See : http://www.paulpritchard.com.au/blog/2012/12/29/trikes-in-tibet

The ride was good. The company, great. Coffee after at the Glebe Gardens Cafe wasn’t too dusty either. I think I might now alternate my Friday riding between the Deloraine and WAG as WAG isn’t so far to drive.

The Great Western Tiers Ride 1 – The Great Country Ride.

Our first go at The Great Country Ride. We decided to stop the attempt at Bracknell, so it became a ride in two parts.

We met at Hadspen and decided to park in the Rotary Park by the river. The original intent was to park at the shop but the car park there was rather small. By the river there was a kids playground and several people were walking dogs, so it looked safe enough.

We were following the Meander Valley Council’s Great Country Ride route which is marked by a series of posts along the way. Some have numbers on indicating where to play podcasts to get info about the area. Some are guideposts pointing the way to go. All up we should be cycling 72 kilometers.

There was a climb out from the river which ran past a hobby farm with tiny horses and Guinea Fowl. The lady organising the fowl was too far way but I was dying to ask her why people farm them. There are several places in the Norfolk Plains area where they appear – often squashed on the road. Never seen Guinea Fowl on the menu or their eggs for sale. I wonder if the Red Feather cooking school in Hadspen uses them.

Once on the main road we began collecting pictures of the route signs. Here is a medley of them.

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As previously reported, the Bracknell sign had gone missing when I cycled the route 2 years ago – and on this ride we found it is still in place after it’s reinstallation a week or so back. The house next to the sign has two large, loud dogs that gave the distinct impression they would like to rip cyclists throats out. We didn’t stop too long to take the pictures.

It had been quite cold on the ride through to Bracknell and Colin wasn’t going too well. We decided to get a coffee at the Bracknell pub and work out what to do. It was entertaining in the pub. Sort of. The current owners have sold up, new owners in next week and that can’t happen too soon I should say. We had an instant coffee (somewhere in the milk) and a pie hot on the outside and very cold inside. A Rottweiler / Staffie cross kept us entertained by getting discarded lottery tickets out of a bin and asking us to throw them. It didn’t let any ticket hit the ground. A very focussed dog.

We then headed down to the picnic area by the Liffey to plan our next move. There we decided to head back via Bishopsbourne as that was the shortest and least hilly way to return. Colin still not going well.

We stopped again at Bishopsbourne. On the way we had noticed Colin’s trike was not rolling as well as Bluey and this seemed a bit odd. Checked the tyres and all OK. Then we heard a tiny, tiny squeak. Where from – ah – the left front wheel. Guess what. The brake pad was ever-so slightly binding. Probably as a result of being shaken out of adjustment by the rougher shared paths we rode on Friday. Anyway, Colin backed off the adjusters, made sure nothing was binding and suddenly the trike began to perform as it should.

That fixed, it was a nice ride to Hadspen from Bishopsbourne with both trikes going well.

So, Ride 1 remains a trip still to be undertaken in September.

Will we ride it next week? I hope so. Need the kilometers on the odometer!!