My morning commute (warning - lots of images)

dilemna

It looks like one of those steep hills oft seen in the Fens of East Anglia

jimmypippa

Is that Devon, vorsprung?

lost_in_thought

I enjoy both city and country, although I have to say that one of my australia rides was boring as all hell - 5 miles out and 5 back (duh) along a pretty flat, pretty much dead straight road. I was planning to do 10 out and 10 back, but got so bloomin' bored I gave in after 5.

I have to say though, a roadie would be fine on that bridlepath. Riding on dirt roads has taught me a lot!

Kieran_Burns

lost_in_thought wrote:

I enjoy both city and country, although I have to say that one of my australia rides was boring as all hell - 5 miles out and 5 back (duh) along a pretty flat, pretty much dead straight road. I was planning to do 10 out and 10 back, but got so bloomin' bored I gave in after 5.

I have to say though, a roadie would be fine on that bridlepath. Riding on dirt roads has taught me a lot!

I did try a roadie down there last year and it IS fine when it's dry (ish) but as soon as the rain starts it's a bloody nightmare. Brake clearances, tyre clearances on the frame everything was getting caked.
The biggest tyres I could fit were 28c and even then the clearance at the top of the forks was barely adequate fior some of the grit / dirt and yep sh*t being pulled up by the tyres... there was a constant scraping sound on the inside of the muguards and i was worried about what it was doing to the tyres.

You REALLY do NOT want to go down a wet bridlepath without mudguards... trust me on this. :shock:

Plus the surface is not good in afew places and while the CX copes perfectly the road bike was a 'mare: very uncomfortable and you were constantly having to swerve to avoid minor potholes. It really took all the fun out of it.

vorsprung

jimmypippa wrote:

Is that Devon, vorsprung?

Yeah it's the road out of Hemyock

http://www.multimap.com/s/tjBW5isx

a pox on multimap. Click on the link, then "OS Map" then move a little north to "Millhayes"
It's the hill with the 188 M mark half way up. There's a great view over to the right down to Ashculme further up at Simonsburrow

cjcp

See, this is the benefit of commuting on a cross bike: you're going slow enough to take pictures without having to get off the bike. :twisted: :P

Kieran_Burns

Just to resurrect this, and because I finally worked out how to use the bikehike site :oops:

My commute with its glorious hills!

www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=8860

I may get shouted at now....

always_tyred

lost_in_thought wrote:

I enjoy both city and country, although I have to say that one of my australia rides was boring as all hell - 5 miles out and 5 back (duh) along a pretty flat, pretty much dead straight road. I was planning to do 10 out and 10 back, but got so bloomin' bored I gave in after 5.

I have to say though, a roadie would be fine on that bridlepath. Riding on dirt roads has taught me a lot!

You aren't selling Australia, LiT.
We keep toying with a grand plan of moving somewhere less windy and cold (yes, there ARE some disadvantages to Scotland).

In about 2 years, I'll be eminently employable in Auz and NZ (I probably am now, but if I move too soon, I wouldn't be able to come back) but I'm put off by to facts;
(a) all the major cities seem to be in flat areas - and I would be limited to the cities
(b) you hear bad things about Australian drivers in particular and their attitude to cyclists

I'm probably better off forcing my current boss to go paperless so I can base myself in Genoble or somewhere like that for a month each summer.

That's what Brian Boitano would do.

cjcp

I was put off by Oz by the lack of seasons/too much sun. Perth and Melbourne were very nice, but, you're right, they're too flat from a cycling point of view.

NZ is a very long way away, but just been speaking to a couple just back from Auckland. They spent the last 18 months there. If I still sailed, the Hauraki Gulf/Auckland area would be great, but For me, it would be the south island or not NZ at all.

Is Canada not an option?

lost_in_thought

Always Tyred wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

I enjoy both city and country, although I have to say that one of my australia rides was boring as all hell - 5 miles out and 5 back (duh) along a pretty flat, pretty much dead straight road. I was planning to do 10 out and 10 back, but got so bloomin' bored I gave in after 5.

I have to say though, a roadie would be fine on that bridlepath. Riding on dirt roads has taught me a lot!

You aren't selling Australia, LiT.
We keep toying with a grand plan of moving somewhere less windy and cold (yes, there ARE some disadvantages to Scotland).

In about 2 years, I'll be eminently employable in Auz and NZ (I probably am now, but if I move too soon, I wouldn't be able to come back) but I'm put off by to facts;
(a) all the major cities seem to be in flat areas - and I would be limited to the cities
(b) you hear bad things about Australian drivers in particular and their attitude to cyclists

I'm probably better off forcing my current boss to go paperless so I can base myself in Genoble or somewhere like that for a month each summer.

That's what Brian Boitano would do.

Well, to be fair to the Aussie drivers, I didn't encounter anyone who behaved badly towards me on a bike, in fact they were a picture of courtesy! However, I was in the small hick town where the family are from.

But yeah, a lot of the cities are flat. Sydney (in places) is hilly, but you'd have to hunt down those places and the traffic there is a total @rse.

However, get out to the countryside (bringing sterling (even your dodgy scottish money) to Oz you'd be amazed at what you can buy) on weekends and there's a lot of stunning riding to be had. I massively enjoyed my rides around the area of Goulburn (the hick town) in the southern tablelands, considered to be the edge of the Sydney commuter belt. Food for thought?

roger_merriman

melbourne seem to have a few lumps and bumps certinaly compared to london any way.

jamesco

Always Tyred wrote:

In about 2 years, I'll be eminently employable in Auz and NZ (I probably am now, but if I move too soon, I wouldn't be able to come back) but I'm put off by to facts;
(a) all the major cities seem to be in flat areas - and I would be limited to the cities

You're talking about Aussie cities only, right? Cos of NZ's main cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin) only Christchurch is flat and it has the cycling-heaven of the Port Hills right on its doorstep. Auckland is built on 50-something volcanoes - enough to get your heartrate up! The drivers in NZ are no better than Aus, unfortunately.