Remind me why I ride in Australia?

Whilst riding along Beach Road in Melbourne, which for those of you who are reading from abroad or interstate is a decent bit of flattish bit of road with only a few sets of traffic lights given it's distance and which cyclists have consequently used for time trail or training purposes in their hundreds for time immemorial.

Love it or hate it, the majority of motorists in Melbourne know the frequency in which riders will take to this stretch of bitumen (alone or in largish peletons) and hence generally drive accordingly.

Unfortunately on Saturday that wasn't the case.... Basically I was out with some of my Lead Out colleagues, having ridden down to Frankston, a preview of where we'd been and what we'd done in the way of a couple of the hills and so on can be accessed here. when on the way back into town, trouble struck. Essentially, a car driver decideding to turn right at slow motion "or so it seemed", across the path of the oncoming Lead Out peleton. The result and admittedly it all seemed to happen behind me (and no I don't know how that was the case) was everyone slamming on their anchors....

Five cyclists were subsequently thrown off their bikes, with three subsequently needing transportation to hospital by ambulance given the seriousness of their injuries..... And I know this is going to sound sexist and I don't mean it to be, but the fact that two of those hospitalised were women makes it seem even worse... 

All in all the whole thing has left me feeling shell shocked and sick to the stomach and I wasn't even one of those injured.... I've got my fingers crossed that their all back out on the road in next to no time.

In the meantime please just take care out there and keep an eye out for cyclists. I know we can be a pain in the arse at times, but we've as much right to be on the road as anyone else and we won't block your path or take too much out of your time.

Amy Gillett Fiasco

Well surprise, surprise, I managed to meet my 300Km goal.....

It took a bit of doing however because not only was I a little slack during the week, but things didn't go exactly to plan on Sunday as far as the Amy Gillett Ride is concerned which was to account for a third of the week's ride...... 

Essentially they ran out of water at the first "aid" station, which was somewhat diabolical, given the prevailing weather conditions and to make matters worse, the delay in getting this message through meant that many of us spent an hour or so queuing unnecessarily in the hot boiling sun  for something that wasn't going to eventuate. A delay which meant that a large number of riders ended up being told that their ride had been shortened for safety reasons..

Amy Gillett

Well I managed to achieve my 300Km goal last week and expect by this tomorrow to be well on my way to doing the same this week....

Admittedly I have been a little slack in terms of joining some of my Lead Out colleagues, but I have been riding the distances and routes they were doing..... Hopefully I'll listen to the early bird as it starts warbling and catch up with the gang on tomorrow's ride around the Hawthorn Crit Circuit, otherwise known as "The Teardrop". If nothing else, I suspect I could do with a bit of a workout on my sprinting abilities even although ultimately I've no interest what so ever in crit races or what have you.

On Sunday meanwhile I will be heading down to Dromana to take part in the 2014 Amy Gillett Ride. It's a worthwhile cause and one I've always found it to be a well run event, though admittedly it is the first time it's been held on this side of the Bay and this late in the year....

It would also seem that my hopes / plans of riding in South America, is that little closer to fruition, as Wilbert of Bike Dreams fame, has put me in touch with a lass who's ridden the length of the continent twice before and who has agreed to meet with me to share a few pearls of wisdom about what to expect and what to take.

What can I say other than Yippeee!!! I'll let you know what I learn in due course..... 

Insurance post - script

It would seem that unless I re-read all of the fine print within my Covermore Travel Insurance policy wording and then sick some lawyers on to them, that Covermore aren't likely to be forthcoming in reimbursing me any more money and as a result I'm going to be out of pocket as far as repairing my bike is concerned, etc.

Now on a slightly more positive note however, it would seem that I may be a little more fortuitous as far as my Australian medical expenses are concerned, because it transpires that my membership of Bicycle Victoria also includes a certain amount of insurance coverage as well as access to legal aid.

I'll let you know how I get on in due course...

The goal for 2014

Rather than being someone who sat in an office saying "When I retire, I am going to......." I sort of figure that I should take advantage of my rather fortuitous position of having neither a job, partner or family that limits what I do and when I do it. As a result I'm going to take the opportunity to explore South America somewhat by riding the 11000 odd kilometres, from Quito, Ecuador through Peru, Bolivia, Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina.

With such a gargantuan distance in mind and the fact that much of the proposed route is along or through the Andes Mountain range, I figure I'll also need to do a fair amount of work before I jump on a plane. Whilst I can't do anything about the altitude, I can do something about my general level of fitness in addition to my mountain climbing skills - Not that I mind being the team sprinter Dammo!

That being the case, I am hoping to do 300 kilometres a week on my bike, and attending as many of the Lead Out training sessions as is possible. The hard part could be getting used to being up at or before sparrow fart as it is this that going to take a little bit of getting used to for this night owl. Admittedly I'm a little bit behind with this and last weeks ride target, but hopefully I'll be able to make the short fall in the not too distant future.

Wot an initiation

It's funny whilst I have been working enthausiastically for the last couple of months towards the concept of being able to ride my beloved stead I'd forgotten just how enjoyable it was to be able to do so....

Its amazing just how liberating it is..

I mean okay sure joining my Lead Out colleagues riding through the Dandenongs as my first ride on Aussie roads, since my fall may not have been my wisest move but what better way to find out if I was still capable of riding up hills and more importantly descending them without fear or a desire to reach for the brakes!

So how'd I go - well take a look at the Strava report for your own analysis - but I thought not to bad all things considered. I even felt that there was plenty of gas in the tank for the 1:20 climb.

Travel Insurance warning

Given my recent exploits and the subsequent implications from a financial as well as a physical / mental point of view, I just thought I'd tell you all a little about my experience in dealing with the travel insurance company because I've certainly learnt a thing or two....

Basically before I headed overseas I bought travel insurance from the Flight Centre preferred company - Covermore. I explained what I was doing, where it was occurring and details of my previous medical conditions (no problems there).

Now in addition to the basic (personal) insurance I also took out additional cover for my bicycle and camera. I was just a tad worried that my bike wouldn’t make it to or from Italy in one piece having heard all sorts of horror stories about the manner in which they were “handled” by airport baggage handlers….

OK – So what’s been the outcome, since my fateful descent of Passo del Stelvio?!

Well let’s just put it this way, during my stay in the Italian hospital, I didn’t have any contact from the insurance company (that I know of or recall) though I do believe they were in regular contact with the hospital staff…..

I did however receive an email from Covermore, post discharge requesting that I obtain confirmation that I was fit to fly.

As a result I headed to a Swiss hospital (It was expensive but absolutely fantasic service, if for no other reason they told me what they were doing and why).

I received said confirmation that I was OK to fly so long as someone put sufficient holes in the box to allow me to breath.

Upon returning home, I submitted a claim, firstly for:

* The cost of my visit to the Swiss hospital; and

* The cost of altering my return flight so as to get home to Australia earlier than was originally scheduled

Some two months later I am yet to receive confirmation as to whether they will reimburse me these costs or otherwise.... Seems they want a copy of my credit card statement which shows the cost of my airline tickets having been purchased using a credit card because there is thing called co-insurance.

In other words they want to chase fifty per cent of their costs / payments to myself from the credit card company's insurance policy....

Does raise the question as to why you’d bother taking out travel insurance with a private provider, if you’ve got a credit card??? At any rate, whilst I waited for this issue to be resolved I submitted an additional claim being for:

* The cost seeing an orthopedic surgeon here in Australia. I went to see him, ostensibly for an assessment of the work undertaken in the Italian hospital and to find out what I needed to do get movement back in the joint, it having been in a plaster cast for a month here on in;

* The cost of seeing a physiotherapist;

* The cost of replacing my helmet camera;

* The cost of repairing the mechanical parts of the bike that had been damaged;

* The cost of replacing some of the cycling clothing I was wearing at the time of the accident;

 Now all of these expenses could and were backed up with receipts I wasn't however claiming for things the price of which I could not support - like the arm warmers, broken helmet, rain jacket or what have you that I was also wearing at the time of the accident.

Their response as far as the second claim was concerned; was here is some money for replacing your cycle clothing and the helmet camera, but as far as the medical expenses here in Australia - we are not a medical insurance provider and therefore are prohibited / unable to reimburse these costs.

In other words if I had stayed in Europe and sought out a physio and orthopaedic surgeon who spoke English then the cost of their services could be billed / repaid by the travel insurer.

Once you return to Aussie soil however we can wash our hands of you and the costs will either have to come out your pocket or against any medical insurance policy you might have. We don't care.....

Not what I thought would be the case, what about you???

Carbon!

OK - So I might have had the inspiration to get back out on the roads, a couple of weeks ago, but do you think I did - well no - I wimped out!

Why well basically and this is where reading cycling magazines can be an expensive proposition, not necessarily because the mags are addictive or particularly expensive but rather because in addition to coercing you  into buying more bike bling they also teach you about various aspects of riding safely... 

Essentially I remembered reading somewhere that it's always a wise idea to have the integrity of your frame checked whenever you've had a bingle, fall or what have you...

As a result whilst my bike looked & felt reasonably okay whilst it was on the indoor trainer there was one blemish on my front fork which in light of this mag's comments did give me a bit of consternation.

As a result I felt it best before joining any one of the numerous Beach Road peletons or striving for a new PB on the 1:20, both of which (for those that aren't from Melbourne) are fairly well frequented bike rides by us lycra louts, I thought I should get it professionally assessed.

As a result my bike has spent the last week or so being given the once over by Luescher Teknik wherein the owner Raoul informed me that I was right - the front fork was in technical terms - cactus / stuffed!

Not only was it weakened on the side of the fork (as above) but also at the top of the fork where it enters the frame, connects with the handlebars.

Should the forks give way under any stress who knows what form of carnage / self injury could result.

In other words there was no other option than to replace it!

Fortunately however Raoul was able to obtain a replacement!

Yeah yeah, I know I'll have to negotiate obtaining reimbursement for the cost involved with the travel insurance company, but that's a whole separate story.

The important thing is that I now have a bike that's restored to as good as new....

World Championships Inspiration

Three months later and thanks to some fairly extensive workouts with one of the physio's from - Kieser Training - it looks like I will soon be ready to take to the road once more.....

OK - So I wasn't selected by Orica-Greenedge or AIS-Jayco team management to join Simon Clarke and the rest of the lads in Tuscany for the World Championships but that is hardly surprising given:

• My history of riding on Italian roads;
• My inability to partake in either the Vuelta da Espana or Tour of Alberta for training purposes;
• My love affair with the region which could lead me to becoming distracted by the scenery. It's not just a chic thing, the area is simply stunningly beautiful.

Ah well, such is life!

Now I gotta tell ya, riding a bike on a  trainer is as boring as bat shit and what's more is far from appealing when your required to do so in front of a mirror to check that your symmetry is right. 

Thank you Conan from Lead Out Cycling for the suggestion, but enough is enough - Time to hit the roads!

The way one traditionally climbs & descends Passo del Stelvio

This is a video, shot by a mate I made whilst participating in La Bella Italia, Peter Kemp, showing both the climb and more importantly the descent of the Stelvio, which I failed to complete in the orthodox fashion. 

Whilst I don't know precisely where the "incident" occurred, nor was I able to recall it when I revisited the peak of the climb several weeks later, all I know is that it was in one of the tunnels, which as you can see from this video were a little dark, wet and slippery!