Mt Ainslie Ride
Once again, beautiful weather this weekend. So what did I do? Go riding, what else.
At the entrance to the reserve behind the suburb I live in, I found two lost dogs. The white one is Daisy and the other is William. I didn't know what to do really. Luckly two old folks came by to walk their own dog -- a big dog. It was quite scary when the big dog came over and I thought it was going to attack the little guys. Nothing happened though. Old folks are wise. They read the collar tags, and found a number to call. So I left the dogs in their able care and continued my ride.
Daisy
Daisy and William
Today's aim is to find the track to Mt Ainslie. Not too hard really as there were not many to choose from and when you do come across a junction, just choose the one that goes up. On the way, I had my first fall/crash today! This happened while going down a rocky section on the left of the path and I decided that the right side of the path would be better. The front wheel slipped while "changing lanes" and I PKed! Well, the bike PKed and I just jumped off and ran over it. So the bike was injured, not me. Now the right handlebar grip has got some damage :(.
Soon after I arrived at a junction and, following the "junction rule", took the path that headed up. This was too steep to pedal so I had to push. At the top of the seemingly never ending slope was a little light tower. "WHAT! Did I just climb up the wrong hill!", I thought. From where I was, I could see the light tower that stands on the peak of Mt Ainslie. Up on this unknown hill, there was another path that went some where else. After a couple of minutes deciding whether to go down this other path or go back down where I came from, I decided to check the new path out. And it did lead to the road up Mt Ainslie!
Half way up Mt Ainslie
The rest of ride was by the road. At least until by the road didn't exist and I was forced to ride on the road. After all the rocky hill climbs, followed by the "by the road" hill climb, the tarmac "on the road" hill climb was a piece of cake. So smooth! This lasted only for awhile before the fact that it is still a hill climb became apparent (especially in the thighs). Thankfully, the peak was near. :)
Me at the peak of Mt Ainslie
Canberra Triangle
View of Anzac Parade from Mt Ainslie
The great part about climbing a hill is to go down later. Going down Mt Ainslie was a breeze. And what a breeze it was! I took the road all the way down (I've had enough of off-road for one day). On the way down, I reached a top speed of 63Kmh. I also learnt, as I pedaled from 50+ Kmh to 63Kmh that the RPMs required were very high. Looks like reaching 61 Kmh on Northbourne Ave might be impossible. At least not on my current bike. :(
Max Speed 63Kmh
At the entrance to the reserve behind the suburb I live in, I found two lost dogs. The white one is Daisy and the other is William. I didn't know what to do really. Luckly two old folks came by to walk their own dog -- a big dog. It was quite scary when the big dog came over and I thought it was going to attack the little guys. Nothing happened though. Old folks are wise. They read the collar tags, and found a number to call. So I left the dogs in their able care and continued my ride.
Daisy
Daisy and William
Today's aim is to find the track to Mt Ainslie. Not too hard really as there were not many to choose from and when you do come across a junction, just choose the one that goes up. On the way, I had my first fall/crash today! This happened while going down a rocky section on the left of the path and I decided that the right side of the path would be better. The front wheel slipped while "changing lanes" and I PKed! Well, the bike PKed and I just jumped off and ran over it. So the bike was injured, not me. Now the right handlebar grip has got some damage :(.
Soon after I arrived at a junction and, following the "junction rule", took the path that headed up. This was too steep to pedal so I had to push. At the top of the seemingly never ending slope was a little light tower. "WHAT! Did I just climb up the wrong hill!", I thought. From where I was, I could see the light tower that stands on the peak of Mt Ainslie. Up on this unknown hill, there was another path that went some where else. After a couple of minutes deciding whether to go down this other path or go back down where I came from, I decided to check the new path out. And it did lead to the road up Mt Ainslie!
Rule Two: If there is only one option other than backtracking, it's not a junction!
Half way up Mt Ainslie
The rest of ride was by the road. At least until by the road didn't exist and I was forced to ride on the road. After all the rocky hill climbs, followed by the "by the road" hill climb, the tarmac "on the road" hill climb was a piece of cake. So smooth! This lasted only for awhile before the fact that it is still a hill climb became apparent (especially in the thighs). Thankfully, the peak was near. :)
Me at the peak of Mt Ainslie
Canberra Triangle
View of Anzac Parade from Mt Ainslie
The great part about climbing a hill is to go down later. Going down Mt Ainslie was a breeze. And what a breeze it was! I took the road all the way down (I've had enough of off-road for one day). On the way down, I reached a top speed of 63Kmh. I also learnt, as I pedaled from 50+ Kmh to 63Kmh that the RPMs required were very high. Looks like reaching 61 Kmh on Northbourne Ave might be impossible. At least not on my current bike. :(
Max Speed 63Kmh
posted by peterpiper at
6:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home