#bikerax

Most sane people are probably sleeping in on a Saturday morning, not me, Saturday mornings generally mean riding my bike along beach road with Lenny.   Pick-up time 7.30am at the famous Black Rock clock tower, direction dependent on wind, Lenny insists riding into the wind going out, tail coming home.  Great plan if the wind doesn’t change direction, but a total disaster when it swings.

Saturday ride is more about a weekly catch up with Lenny.  Let me paint the picture; Lenny is seventy next year, suffered several shocking car and bike accidents in his life time, some injuries extremely serious, the most severe being a broken neck, which has left him with virtually no head movement from side to side.  Lenny rides a flat bar road bike, which enables him to keep his head up so he can see where he is riding.  We have our set sides to the road, I’m on the inside, and this ensures I can call out for cars, red lights or any obstacles along the way. History has shown that when Lenny is riding alone his most serious accidents have occurred, giving me a sense of responsibility to ride Saturday’s even when I’m tired or had too many wines the night before. 

Accidents aside our rides are fairly textbook, we head north or south (wind depending) and grind away until we’re back in Hampton for our coffee at Sebastian’s.  You’ll see us around 9.30am sipping coffee out front discussing the worries of the world in some shape of form.  I won’t tell you how far we go because if you are a keen cyclist you may work out our average speed (it rather shocking), however it doesn’t help that Lenny insists on grinding away in the big ring; he hasn’t grasped the concept of higher cadence equals quicker leg turning, equals faster ride! 

Truth be known I love my Saturday ride, it’s not about riding for me, it’s about listening to Lenny’s words of wisdom, some days I may seek advice, other days just listen or share stories and events, and sometimes it’s just too darn windy to talk, peddling along in a comfortable silence like two old bats who have known each other a lifetime.  What’s special about the Saturday ride is that I’m lucky to have a dad to ride with, how many people do you know who get to ride with their dad, these are the kind of days I will look back on and miss with warm tears, these are the moments in life that are simple yet so special.  Yes, riding on Saturday is a ritual I will continue until the physical challenges prevail, and even when I am too tired or haven’t had enough sleep, I will get up and meet dad on Beach road for yet another Saturday ride.

Recently I had the pleasure of mountain biking on the East Coast of NSW along the Sapphire Coast.  I had been told that the Mountain biking was great at Mandeni Park.  I have to be honest on arriving at the park it felt like something out of a horror movie, perhaps a version of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' style.  The car park was virtually empty bar one other car and there was a old man probably in his 70's with a overweight labrador in the same vintage who greeted us on his rundown golf buggy (he reminded me of the professor in Jurassic Park, you know the one with the walking stick and amber stone handle!).   We handed over $5 each to ride the trail which was to help with upkeep of the trails and the facilities etc so I guess that seemed reasonable.  

The track itself was beautiful and there's something for every standard.  I was with my dad on this day and it really did cater for both of us.  There was plenty of jumps and log rides, drops, river crossings, ups and downs, and if you felt like doing more you could cross into the next park over a fence and extend your ride by another 6 km or so.  The beauty of this park was it's diversity, scenery, wildlife and surprisingly tucked away somewhere between the trees a perfectly maintained golf course (honestly I have no idea where this golf course came from but it was seriously special). 

For more details on this great ride check out http://familypark.mandeni.com.au

It has something for everyone, take your friends and family there, you'll find  more than mountain biking, there's accommodation, golf, archery and much more.  

p.s watch out for Slippery the Eel! 

I recently discovered Frameskin after my hubby bought a new mountain bike and wanted something to protect the frame.  I watched him work away in the garage covering his bike in this special material that sticks on to your bike frame and protects it from general bike wear and tear.  I was a little fascinated so I jumped on the website to have a look and discovered another product called Frameskin Wrap, it's generically used for protecting the frame from chain slap, so I ordered some to try.  I have since discovered it has many other uses as well.  At home we have floor boards and I do find that my bikerax slip around on the floor when taking my bike out, so I strategically wrapped the Frameskin Wrap around the corners of the two legs of the stand.  What's amazing about this wrap is that it doesn't require any sticking or glueing, the adhesive wrap goes around and sticks on very tightly. Since putting it on over a week ago the Frameskin Wrap seems amazingly grippy now and there is no movement of my bikerax on the floorboards anymore.  If you have the same problem and would like a solution, this is it, check out the sales page http://www.bikerax.com.au