Life Cycle

The trials and wonderment of life on two wheels.

: Name: Chris L; Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Cyclist - tourer, commuter and recreational rider. I have never owned a car, preferring to travel by bicycle, or by public transport on the rare occasion that isn't practical. I was a regular contributor to various internet-based cycling fora over a number of years. This blog is the place where I talk about the life cycling has provided for me, as well as the occasional rant.

View my complete profile

Victoria 2002 -- The Great Ocean Road, The Grampians and on to Mt Gambier.

Tasmania 2003/04 -- The full circuit taking in some stunning scenery.

Victoria 2004 -- Phillip Island, Wilson's Promontory, the Alps, and all in between.

South East Queensland 2005 -- Some short wanderings on the all too scarce long weekends.

New Zealand 2006 -- A circuit of the amazingly beautiful South Island.

Scotland 2007 -- Amazing history and incredible scenery in a nice, compact package.

A couple of articles I've written about cycling.

Advocacy/on the road

The man in the brown shirt -- Is profiling just another word for bigotry?

Cyclist inferiority complex-- Isn't it time we got over this?

Implementing "change"-- How badly do you want it?

General

Just why is cycling such an integral part of my life?

"Crazies" and others?-- Contrary to popular belief, not all the nutters live "in the sticks"

The wave-- Is it really such a big deal to give a wave and not get one back?

Familiarity breeds contempt-- There is actually a very good reason you crashed on that "familiar" road

Essays and articles I've written about various issues -- not always related to cycling. I like to think of myself as a wannabe philosopher sometimes.

How did we get to be so paranoid?

Is this really healthy?

"Common" people -- what is so special about being middle-class?

The will of God, or a cop out? Just who controls our destiny?

Audax Australia
This is the umbrella organisation running long distance cycling events in Australia Their website includes a calendar of events.

Bikejournal
A place where cyclist can keep track of their mileage and any number of other statistics, as well as an attached forum.

Bikeforums
A set of discussion forums covering almost every conceivable cycling related topic.

Cycling Adventurer
The Cycling Adventurer has tossed in the structured life of an urbanite to explore the world by bicycle. A well-written site detailing how he came to cycling, and what he learned along the way.

Crazy Guy on a Bike

Bicycle touring journals from all over the world, including a couple of my own.

This is my LBS on the Gold Coast. While they cater more to the racing market, their service, advice and workmanship is the best on the coast.

St Kilda Cycles

Importers of all manner of things hard to find in Australia, including the legendary Schmidt hub dynamo & E6 lights.

Bicycle-eye
Wonderings and wanderings out and about in Portland, Oregon, US

The Journey
The journey begins in Perth, Western Australia.

Lance Notstrong
The "other" Lance!

Ms Mittens
The Wired Cat on-line

Aussie Writer and Cycletourist
A blog chronicling the writing and cycling of a seaside baby boomer.

Up in Alaska
Jill's subarctic journal about ice, bears and distant dreams of the midnight sun.

The Kin Chronicles
Taking mediocrity to a new level of ordinary.

Allez
Riding and running with a vengeance.

London Cycling Diary
Pedalling across the capital since August 2005.

CouchPilot-2-BikePilot (Zin's cycling blog)
Living an adventurous life with Type-2-Diabetes.

The adventures of Crazy Biker Chick
... Including cycling, adventuring, cooking, knitting and ranting.

Redneck Espanol
The two wheeled Spanish redneck.

Treadly and me
"Work is something I do between riding my bicycle".

Crowlie
Womanist philosophy and theology. Cycling, climbing, art, single-motherhood and fire-twirling.

Adrian Fitch's random rambling.
A bit about cycling, a bit about genealogy, a bit about radio but mostly a lot about nothing at all.

Geo's big adventure
The life and times of Geo.

It's about the bike
Musings on the cycling life.

Spinopsys
Various cycling tidbits.

Industry Outsider
A blog about bikes and stuff.

Tweed Coast Treadly
An old man's bicycle riding diary.

A cyclist's life in Tenerife
(Canary Islands).

Bike to work to live to bike
It's never too late to get back on the bike

Stupid Hurts
Just the random scribblings of a guy with a bicycle

I'm not drunk enough for this
Really, I'm not.

BikeHacks
What can I say? Just read it.

Mozam's cycling adventures
A random collection of the things I like to do most, and mostly that is to ride my bikes, bicycles that is... My musings from competitive riding, long distance endurance to puttering around the neighborhood..

More cycling blogs

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Monday, December 11, 2006

It's weekends like that

Last weekend was a rarity for me, in that I did very little riding. Just 70km on Saturday and nothing on Sunday. I suppose it could be referred to as one of those "in between" weekends, after the ASH Dash last weekend, and the visit to the dentist on Saturday (my bank balance now has more holes than my teeth), I really just didn't have the motivation. I probably shouldn't complain, there are people who had a worse weekend than I did.

In a sense, this time of year is normally something of a rut anyway. The summer heat combined with the fact that there isn't really much requirement or incentive to "train" for anything means that my riding is often limited to just transportational and the occasional escape from suburbia. Last year was the exception as I prepared for a February/March tour. There is a long night ride in the first week of January with Audax, so I guess I'll just focus on that -- even if a single evening 200km ride won't have the brutality that a lot of my other rides do.

Now is normally the time I'd be starting to consider my 2007 goals, but to be honest I'm still a little undecided. The Minyon Falls tour didn't happen this year, and with the tourist season virtually upon us, is unlikely now until at least February. Something similar might be said about the Ballina coast ride I was lining up. Of course, I could just go in the middle of the tourist season, but the even the Jimna campground in September was more crowded than I would have liked.

There is another road down in the Tweed Valley which has some possibilities. It's obscure nature should make it just about right for some exploration over the peak of the tourist season. The only real question is whether I can wait that long. The fact that getting there and back would probably require riding another imperial century seems to add to the mystique. Even so, that's hardly a long term project. It is, however, something to look forward to, but I'm not going to reveal anything else about it just yet. This is largely because I know little about it myself.

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