LITHGOW NSW
DAY 3
KATOOMBA – LITHGOW
49.50 Km
Total Time – 12.50 – 17.30 (4h 40m)
Time on Bike – 2h 56m 28s
Max. speed – 67.8 km/h
Av. Speed 16.8 km/h
Such a nice night to sleep under the stars - so this is what I’m doing.
Thanks again to Nathan and Tina for their fine hospitality in Katoomba. I departed well fed and well rested for the final section of the Blue Mountains crossing.
The bike still presents a number of issues, although I think that by this time next week, I will probably have it sorted. Today was a day of running repairs – first Katoomba and now here in Lithgow and I am getting there with it.
A re-spoking of the rear wheel took place this afternoon, followed by the replacement of a very mangled rear derailleur.
Next will be the brakes, which are growing increasingly feeble.
And not without cause – any self-respecting brake cable should indeed seek a life of leisure after a hell-raising 1100 meter drop down Victoria Pass.
I know I would.
Tomorrow will be the final stretch of the Great Western Highway into Bathurst. An intensely populated stretch of arterial road is to be fully expected. The most visible conveyances along it are those natural enemies of the low-riding bicycle warrior –B-double semi-trailers which frequent the daily route west of Sydney in their hundreds.
My head is rarely inches from becoming one with 32 rolling wheels of steel, rubber and death. Sure, these guys have a job to do and some of the big-fellas have even been – shall I say “courteous” towards me. Nor do I believe this is something to be taken for granted.
The original plan was to have reached Bathurst by today, but this will be now waiting until tomorrow.
I have something of an itinerary in Bathurst, including a well-earned rest day. I’m not meeting up with anyone specifically, but have some plans to make interesting use of my time there.
More to follow.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
DAY 2 - KATOOMBA NSW
KATOOMBA NSW
DAY 2
HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS – KATOOMBA
47.38 Km
Total Time – 11.00 – 16.30 (5h 30m)
Time on Bike – 3h 50m 15s
Max. speed – 57.4 km/h
Av. Speed 12.3 km/h
A day of uphill and a dose of sunburn. That’s the way it goes.
At least the climbing was distributed over about 50 km although there’s yet more to come.
First things first, and attending to some essential repairs in Katoomba is a priority.
The past 2 days haven’t been made any easier by the bike clunking and grinding underneath me every time I load it up to take on another protracted ascent. It’s not a good feeling.
Thankfully no new problems have been added today, which must be a good thing. Aside from some sunburned legs, everything is generally rolling well – physically anyway.
I’m staying in Katoomba with Nathan and Tina – old friends who have moved away from the inaffordability of Sydney to raise their young family in the Blue Mountains and more power to them, I say.
I am expecting Nathan to feature in my next video posting and it is sure to make for very interesting viewing……
DAY 2
HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS – KATOOMBA
47.38 Km
Total Time – 11.00 – 16.30 (5h 30m)
Time on Bike – 3h 50m 15s
Max. speed – 57.4 km/h
Av. Speed 12.3 km/h
A day of uphill and a dose of sunburn. That’s the way it goes.
At least the climbing was distributed over about 50 km although there’s yet more to come.
First things first, and attending to some essential repairs in Katoomba is a priority.
The past 2 days haven’t been made any easier by the bike clunking and grinding underneath me every time I load it up to take on another protracted ascent. It’s not a good feeling.
Thankfully no new problems have been added today, which must be a good thing. Aside from some sunburned legs, everything is generally rolling well – physically anyway.
I’m staying in Katoomba with Nathan and Tina – old friends who have moved away from the inaffordability of Sydney to raise their young family in the Blue Mountains and more power to them, I say.
I am expecting Nathan to feature in my next video posting and it is sure to make for very interesting viewing……
DAY 1 - HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS NSW
HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS NSW
DAY 1
COLLAROY – HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS
121.14 Km
Total Time – 05.20 – 17.50 (12h 30m)
Time on Bike – 7h 12m 15s
Max. speed – 75.6 km/h
Av. Speed 16.8 km/h
Day 1 Casualty List:
1 x Shredded Rear Derailleur
1 x Spoke sheared from rear hub
1 x lost bite valve from Hydration Bladder (recovered)
1 x lost padlock (recovered)
1 x mudguard sheared from bracket
1 x case of very sensitive chafing and 1 x heavy case of physical buggeredness.
Well, without resorting to overstatement, it was a challenging day.
It started in good order, I believe. A confluence of 5’s has to be good by my thinking – given that this trip is the result of 5 months solid preparation and I will be receiving the best possible support from the 5 wheels that are on the ground throughout. I guess then it was a formality to begin at 5 am and finish at 5.50 pm on the first day. I could also draw importance from the numerological value of 29 March 2008. That’s 2 + 9 + 3 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 8 = 24 + 2 + 4 = …..well, 6…..
I think I’ll just stick with 5’s.
Actually, I think Cattai Ridge Rd was the 6 in proceedings today, because that’s where everything started to go wrong.
Yes, it was – I turned off into Cattai Ridge Rd at 66 km. That’s it.
And immediately after I had been commending myself on a number of fronts – from the weather, to coming through Galston Gorge before 11.30 am to generally what a great morning’s ride it had been - by any standards.
Windsor was my location by 2 pm and how things had changed.
I had become spontaneously pre-occupied with what was once a finely tuned, touring machina – important repairs were needed post-haste and on a Saturday afternoon in Windsor, that’s not to be found. Or any time on a Sunday for that matter.
There are certain running fixes I can attend to myself, but shredded derailleurs and sheared spokes aren’t amongst them. I could probably get around to changing a few spokes in time, but carrying around a quiver of derailleurs for all seasons is not entirely smart travelling.
My choices by 3 pm therefore, were to either camp out in Windsor till Monday, in turn forfeiting forthcoming accommodation arrangements (naturally enough at my own expense), or to push on with a lame machine, even as it would happen, straight up the steepest inclines of the Blue Mountains escarpment.
The choice was simple in the end.
Repairs will now be (hopefully) completed in nearby Katoomba on Monday and all will be in readiness for an assault on the Central West tablelands of New South Wales.
DAY 1
COLLAROY – HAWKESBURY HEIGHTS
121.14 Km
Total Time – 05.20 – 17.50 (12h 30m)
Time on Bike – 7h 12m 15s
Max. speed – 75.6 km/h
Av. Speed 16.8 km/h
Day 1 Casualty List:
1 x Shredded Rear Derailleur
1 x Spoke sheared from rear hub
1 x lost bite valve from Hydration Bladder (recovered)
1 x lost padlock (recovered)
1 x mudguard sheared from bracket
1 x case of very sensitive chafing and 1 x heavy case of physical buggeredness.
Well, without resorting to overstatement, it was a challenging day.
It started in good order, I believe. A confluence of 5’s has to be good by my thinking – given that this trip is the result of 5 months solid preparation and I will be receiving the best possible support from the 5 wheels that are on the ground throughout. I guess then it was a formality to begin at 5 am and finish at 5.50 pm on the first day. I could also draw importance from the numerological value of 29 March 2008. That’s 2 + 9 + 3 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 8 = 24 + 2 + 4 = …..well, 6…..
I think I’ll just stick with 5’s.
Actually, I think Cattai Ridge Rd was the 6 in proceedings today, because that’s where everything started to go wrong.
Yes, it was – I turned off into Cattai Ridge Rd at 66 km. That’s it.
And immediately after I had been commending myself on a number of fronts – from the weather, to coming through Galston Gorge before 11.30 am to generally what a great morning’s ride it had been - by any standards.
Windsor was my location by 2 pm and how things had changed.
I had become spontaneously pre-occupied with what was once a finely tuned, touring machina – important repairs were needed post-haste and on a Saturday afternoon in Windsor, that’s not to be found. Or any time on a Sunday for that matter.
There are certain running fixes I can attend to myself, but shredded derailleurs and sheared spokes aren’t amongst them. I could probably get around to changing a few spokes in time, but carrying around a quiver of derailleurs for all seasons is not entirely smart travelling.
My choices by 3 pm therefore, were to either camp out in Windsor till Monday, in turn forfeiting forthcoming accommodation arrangements (naturally enough at my own expense), or to push on with a lame machine, even as it would happen, straight up the steepest inclines of the Blue Mountains escarpment.
The choice was simple in the end.
Repairs will now be (hopefully) completed in nearby Katoomba on Monday and all will be in readiness for an assault on the Central West tablelands of New South Wales.
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