Sunday 11 November 2012

Water bottle anyone?

Water bottle anyone? by Bazzaphotos
Water bottle anyone?, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.

Lawrence for lunch without the bikes. New Gold rail trail looks to be developing well. Bottles are printed in Lawrence at Tuapeka Gold Print.

Lead dog.

Untitled by Bazzaphotos
Untitled, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.

Virus has kept rides very short for the last month. This shot shows how slow the riding has become. Mack is barely trotting. Still on the bike every day.

Monday 22 October 2012

Why dogs don't like mountain bikes.

Chuck the bike in after the ride and Mack the Spangold jumps into the larger space. Saphire the Kerry Blue usually tip-toes over the bike to sit near the front wheel, but not today!

Sunday 14 October 2012

Almost horizontal

Almost horizontal by Bazzaphotos
Almost horizontal, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
The last ride of the current holidays was with the dogs around the river bank with the return leg into the wind.

Saturday 29 September 2012

Sunday 16 September 2012

So would your knees cope?

This is the funniest idea I have seen for weeks.
Not sure how it will catch on, though.





Eclectically hoping it dos not!


Saturday 15 September 2012

Paper boy rides.

Every morning I ride off to the mail boxes to retrieve and deliver 5 morning newspapers to the neighbours. An enjoyable way to start the day.


Yesterday this was he sight I had to endure on the way back from the letter boxes. Such are the difficulties of life.

Eclectically waiting for the next natural phenomena.

Friday 14 September 2012

Honesty

Honesty by Bazzaphotos
Honesty, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.

I just like this photo from a few weeks back. So here it is again.

Last Saturday I made this.

Ride # 157 & #530

I think this says it all.





Eclectically planning the next ride'n shoot activity.


Friday 31 August 2012

Rides #149 & #522

Well, here we are!
End of August - Spring tomorrow.
Rides are utilitarian and short at present.
Nice video below!

Eclectically ready for spring.

Thursday 23 August 2012

Honesty. Rides # 141 and #514

Honesty by Bazzaphotos
Honesty, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
Tired after the days work. Honesty and vipers bugloss highlighted in the weeds on the commute home.
Honest stop to make some art.
This lifted my spirits and the climb home went quickly.
Eclectically knowing art and cycling are good for the soul.

Sunday 12 August 2012

Infact this is Ride #502 & #131.

Oamaru double act. by Bazzaphotos
Oamaru double act., a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
Oamaru double
How can a dedicated cyclist be a whole week out in the daily count?
Previous post indicating 500th ride was wrong!
Following a day excursion train trip to Oamaru Ride #501 was very short Saturday.
Sunday's ride (Rides #131& #152) saw the local favourite MTB loop armed with a GoPro HD2 camera. Results not yet available.

Oamaru local

Oamaru local by Bazzaphotos
Oamaru local, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
Oamaru Local at railway station.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Ride #501 - read from the cyclist who helped a cyclist

Morning paper run in brilliant moon light. Cold.

Olympics - London 12   -  plenty of sport.
But one of the buses killed a cyclist.

Read the blog from a fellow cyclist who was with the unfortunate man who was killed.

Eclectically sad from thousands of kilometres away.

http://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/xiud7/just_sat_down_with_some_poor_bloke_for_his_last/

Wednesday 1 August 2012

No not #500 Ride in a row!! Remembering Peter Wells.

Celebrat e... celebrate .... celebrate. I have ridden for 500 days non-stop!
That's 121 days since 1 April 2012 and 500 days in total since 1 April 2011.  Yeehaaa.

That said, it is a sad day with the Otago Daily Times reporting on road works brought about following the death of cyclist Peter Wells last November.


This following less than a week after the release of this link which shows video of dangerous driving at this intersection.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/218950/frightening-driver-behaviour-caught-camera

RIP Peter - the above sky greated the dogs and I during our 500th outing today.

Eclectically happy to have ridden 500 days in a row and eclectically remembering a fellow cyclist.

Sunday 29 July 2012

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Rides #116 = #484

Chilly paper run and commute on the chainless wonder.
Great morning to be out and about on a bike.

Interesting bike art going overseas.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/218492/art-work-has-wheels-korea

Eclectically thinking about the old bikes in the sheds around here.

Monday 23 July 2012

Rides # 114 & #482 Video

I am riding the same route each day to see what that's like (probably on a different bike each day)
While I work on the photos / video why not have a look over here:
http://www.bikeminded.org/film-competition/

Eclectically looking around my neighbourhood.

Saturday 21 July 2012

Ride #'s 112 & 479

GoPro Trial 2 by BazzaphotosMornings are becoming lighter. by Bazzaphotos
Unlikely ride about 10k on the mountain bike around the block with the new 'GoPro' video camera mounted. Couldn't resist the shot above when I swept past the car wreckers!
A little proud of the dawn shot with the light catching the rotor blade.
Eclectically worrying how to shift all the photos below into one post.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Air frost Rides #92 & #459

Air frost by Bazzaphotos
Air frost, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
This was about 0800 hrs. Didn't get out for a ride until aboot 1230hrs and the air was still chilled, although the sun had been out for more than 4 hours.
This reading is taken under our veranda. The ground temperature must be - 6 / -7 degrees C.  Chilly.

Saturday 30 June 2012

I'm not tough!

As a cyclist I tend to just get on with it. Out on the road or the track some days are harder than others and at times I do have to concentrate and bring in some 'top two inch' skills to get to where I want to be. That was until I read this:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fadventure-journal

In this article I found out what I do is 'tough it out' just like I used to do when tramping or climbing!
I had never really considered that to be the case.
Last month's ride from my Aunt's home in Milton to my home via the mainly gravel roads through Toko Mouth, Measly Beach, Wangaloa and Kaitangata turned out to be one of these rides!
It started out with a mild ride beside the Tokomairiro River:
The final 15kilometres were fine from Kaitangata over the bitumin to Balcutha.
The 30 km in between was difficult due to the darkness, gravel produced by the grader having worked over the road in the last few days and the skinny tyred bike I chose to ride.
So, I 'toughed it out' and smiled all the way.




Why not to promote wearing helmets.

Interesting research and findings here!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxrqD5hJ9efAaUNnMy1uRUNieUk/edit?pli=1

Eclectically knowledgeable about certain aspects of this research.
(The close proximity of other vehicles)

Dodgey New Bike - ride #91 & #458

Good frost, sunny day sees Martin and I rolling to Kaitangata on his first run on his new (to him) Melvern Star Oppy C5  - yep, it's carbon.
We strolled along with the impatient Saturday drivers while dressed for half way up the Eiger.
This first ride in the holidays is developing into a 'must do'. Gives us time to turn a wheel together and to gossip. Even 'vent'.
Thanks Martin for 30km of debrief cycling.

Eclectically worried that once Martin is fit I'll need to ride carbon just to keep up.






That's Martin hiding at the right hand side!

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Winter rack. #88 & #455.

P1010434 by Bazzaphotos
P1010434, a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
Lined up they beg for comparison.
Using the same photo two posts in a row is not the best idea, but following short rides in very wintery conditions I had the idea that racking bikes does allow for some comparison.
Closest wheels on an almost 25 year old bike were re-built by my mate Scott about 6 years ago. The furtherset away wheels have spokes with airodynamic cross section.
If only I could ride them fast enought to help make a difference in speed!

Rides #88 and #455 were very short and not so sweet!
Eclectically  thankful  to wheels.

Monday 25 June 2012

Monday Rides #86 & #453

Commuting  in the pre-dawn hour brings me up against frost. While it appears readily on our deck it does not seem to settle on the roads (thank heavens).
Which brings me to consider wheels. They are just there on the end of the forks, rotating constantly. Amazingly robust. The ones I rode on today have small stickers cautioning against the excessive use of the brakes!
Seems to be a strange message to have on a bike wheel.
The brake surfaces are a bit scoured, but that happens over time.
 Had the thought that I could upgrade the rims. Wonder if I could go for a wheel set with disk breakes for 'Belta' the belt driven 'chainlesswonder".

Eclectically waiting for gale force winds overnight.

What will tomorrow's ride be like?

Saturday 23 June 2012

Another new orphan. Now on Ride #84 & #451

Another new orphan. by Bazzaphotos
Another new orphan., a photo by Bazzaphotos on Flickr.
What a week!
A head cold and an environmentally cold week combined with the need to fly pre-dawn to Christchurch on Thursday returning well after dark on Friday.But, I did manage a ride EVERY day!
On Thursday during a double decker bus tour of the Red Zone of earthquake ravaged central Chrischurch I spotted 30 cyclists congregating rigged for a Matariki  (mid-winter) night ride. Oh did I want to get off the bus and join in! Had I known I would have flown with a bike!
Daily cyclists have to be creative to get out on the bike daily! Take Friday for example.
All day at a Virtual Professional Learning Develepoment Hui, learning about blended and connected learning.
Off the aircraft and a quick drive into a flat in the student area of Otago University to pick up the bike illustarted above.
Bought through  http://www.trademe.co.nz/  the pick up was from a flat on the banks of the Leith a stream which runs through the campus. The ride was short as the rear tyre needed considerable air pressure to improve the ride! characteristics.
So, even with many barriers in the way the determined cyclist can get a ride in every day.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Have a cold - Ride #80 and #447

Difficult ride back up hill home due to head cold.
Speaking of cold - these two share who's closest to the fire!
The one on the left is a guest!


Eclectically hopeing that the cold clears up!

Sunday 17 June 2012

Late afternoon Ride #78 & #445.

Brakes better!
So, if you crane your neck you'll see a new brake block on the over 25 year old bike.
 Always ride it in the second half of winter which ticks over this week.
The bike is ready! Ice and frost in the shadey areas today.
Eclectically expecting to ride a knobbly tyred bike in the morning. Cheers.