I had a fantastic ride out to Pencarrow lighthouse. There was a mild southerly which I rode into on the way out, and of course had it at my back on the return, which made the whole thing even more pleasant.

It took me about 30 minutes to ride out from the carpark with no stops, and 23 minutes to ride back, so the breeze was really doing its thing.

My wrists did get a little sore, but nothing like last time I rode out on what was my first “long” ride. I was able to rest them a few times on the way back with the wind behind me – I was in top gear almost all the way back – and the micro break did help.

It was also the first time with a backpack. I was carrying the brand new Camelbak Mule LR 15 from Burkes Cycles in Kilbirnie. I have to say it was great. Very comfortable, I really didn’t notice I was wearing it. It was pretty light, it had 3 litres of water, a pump and puncture kit, a few nut bars, and a waterproof jacket. I was expecting my back to get pretty sweaty, but I was wearing a base layer and mid layer that probably wicked away much of the unpleasantness. But I’d certainly recommend the M.U.L.E. as it also fits a 13″ Macbook Pro so I intend to use it when I start commuting.

I finished another early morning mini road ride, about 20 minutes, and about half way to the south coast from our place. I stopped on the way up to stretch, but other than that coped fairly well with the shallow ascent.

Key things:

• I locked in the suspension which made it a lot less wobbly when vehicles went past.
• I was nowhere near as freaked out this time!
• Many cars and large trucks went past and I felt far more confident.
• Overall I was way more relaxed and almost happy to be out there!

Avoiding the traffic is a great way to get confidence up.

A very short ride from my place up the hill – only a few minutes. My goal tomorrow will be to continue up the pedestrian access to the monument – which is much steeper than the road. I’ve ridden this once before and I had to stop about two-thirds of the way, whereas this time I made it to the end of the road, so I count that as an achievement.

I was also pleased with that I was on the road again but not as nervous – to be fair the roads off the main road here are quiet on a Tuesday evening so that made a big difference, I don’t think I was passed by a car once. All good experience though.

I’ve had the bike now for nearly two and half months. I think I have ridden it 10 times, so averaging one ride per week. I need to do a lot better than that.

After a very messy Saturday due to issues at work, I was only able to get out for a short ride on Sunday. The weather was dodgy so I ended up heading to the cemetery which was reasonably sheltered.

I was motivated after speaking to Nigel about getting my legs sorted – that I need to practice the hill climbs and condition my muscles.

I rode my largest hill climb, from the lowest point of the grounds to the highest with one stop, perhaps about 600 metres, so less than half Brooklyn Hill. I needed to stop at one point, but only as I thought I was in first gear, when in actual fact I was only in 4th or 5th. I got up the rest of the way without any major issues and then did the final 200 metres again.

It was fun, but I realise that I have a very long way to go.

It’s the final day of the holidays so I took the opportunity to use the new bike rack and head to the Juvenile Delinquent track. It’s a family track and is the first single track ride I’ve done. I did four laps (with breaks in between) and could feel myself getting better each time. I had a number of incidents, but all at low speed. It’s a lot of fun, but still challenging for me. I’m super excited about heading back and trying it again.

While riding the so called kids track I went over the handle bars and landed in a tree. Naturally the first thing I did was look to see who was watching – fortunately no one was. The track has a rut which I found too challenging and I lost control and over I went. The second lap was less eventful.

The car rack (an EziGrip premium boot mount which I got from Burkes Cycles) is amazing too, it’s super easy to fit as long as you read the instructions carefully. It opens up a bunch of opportunities!

… and it was scary. And this was despite it being before 8am on the last Saturday of the holidays and the roads were deserted. I was shaking like a leaf. The funny thing was that nothing passed me for about 5 minutes as I cruised down Ohiro Road. When I stopped and turned to come back up the hill, cars and trucks were coming up behind me. It amazed me how close trucks come to cyclists as they just don’t have as much room as cars.

Overall I was chuffed that I managed to make the (pretty low) climb back up the hill with only one stop, including the scary intersection in Brooklyn.

I jumped in the car after that and headed for the Karori cemetery to practice, well, everything, but mostly climbing.

Then it was a drive to the bike store (the wonderful Burkes Cycles in Kilbirnie) for spares including an inner tube, multi tool, chain link and a wee bag to keep them in. Oh, and a car rack so I can stop putting the bike in the car. That was an expensive trip!

I also got some chain degreaser and lube in one by Rock ‘N’ Roll Lubrication. I think I applied a little too much but we’ll see. They say that you’re supposed to clean the chain after every ride, I can’t see myself doing that….