Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

On Sunday 16th October is the annual Bicycle Victoria 'Round the Bay in a Day' - 210km cycle challenge.

I'm entering (this will be my 3rd time - didn't finish the first though) and was wondering if anyone else is interested? Teams are eligble for special prizes - and can even be run in a relay format (ie: 4x people doing 50km each)

More info at http://www.bv.com.au

Anyone game?

It takes a minimum of 4 for a team - with no limit.

All entrants get a jersey - but I can look into custom ones if we get enough numbers (10+)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/82251-round-the-bay-in-a-day-sau-team/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 123
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

A friend and a cousin of mine are.

We have made a rather large bet with my cousin that he will give up half way through and wont make it to the end (coz he always brags how fit he is when he clearly is not). Part of the bet is if he doesent make it he has to walk around southland shopping centre with full body lycra for a few hours with his helmet on. :uh-huh:

Done this a couple of times. Only took about 8 hours all up but I'll give it a miss this year. Must do with friends, otherwise it's a slog. I was doing my Sunday 100km ride in 3 hours at the time though :rofl:

Bris: I did it on an MTB last time (with slicks) and regretted it. A road bike would be sooo much better. I have to get one though - I only have the mountain bike.

Alan: Go Team! You me and Bris - 1-more makes a team!

I find a Frankston and back ride is pretty good for training (plus you can pop into Snowy's for a beer) - so if you both keen, we can work out some weekend training rides?

Mav: Don't laugh - we may indeed need some support vehicles. After about 100km, your ass is made of concrete. The first time I did it - I got 140km and just couldn't go further (was on MTB with knobbies) - had to call in the GF with the bike racks on the car to come get.

Cars cannot travel with the pack - but having some crew in Melb ready to collect people if required would be very handy. Golgo's roofracks fit any 2-door R33.

Got to agree with Jamezilla, you'll only do it once on a mountain bike!! I did it for the first time last year. I come from a running not riding background, did a couple of rides (frankston and back) before the race thinking I'll be sweet. It was a killa!!! Took me close to 12 hours...but i did it!!!

It is one hell of a ride, although was a great feeling watching the sun came down as I rode over the westgate.

Wouldn't want to hold you guys up so i'll stay outie...

You'd be no holdup at all - I'm no speed demon. Took me about 13hrs or so to finish :rofl:

Worth noting to all - that unless you are Lance Armstrong, or an experienced rider like Geoff (who would be cheating since he'll be bionic soon) - it's f*cking hard work. You need a padded bum and gloves in a big way... but it's massively rewardng to complete - even if you can't walk the next week :D

I did the ride to Mornington side with some guys 3 years back on the day but didnt get on the ferry as I wasnt entered officially. I only ride mountain bike and have raced for about 7 years but have rested the bike for the past couple as I finished up uni and discovered excess alcohol. 15-20 hour weeks are not uncommon in the off season and weekly racing during the season was what I was used to.

I can still mix it with a few roadies now but need to fine tune it again.

James weekend ride sounds good, let me know when and where.

I'll try to help with some coaching tips. I used to coach the NT junior development team, which was part of the deal for Shane Bannan (current national cycling coach) coaching me. I raced with the likes or Robbie McEwen (and won) and even shared a double bed with the little guy on one tour. Also picked up a national silver time trial medal doing 50km in 2:02. Even higher achievemant was riding the 30 km from home to work on St Kilda road in 37 min :)

Nothing too intense, just the comfort and condition side so you can make a good ride of it.

James - Frankston sounds good. Will go for couple of spins this weekend to check all is in order but "old faithful" hasnt let me down yet! You are welcome to drive to my place and park out the front as its a little way round the bay from your place.

I was trained for 3 seasons by a pro UK racer called Jamie Norfolk as part of the team I raced for. Did a good mix of stuff from velo, circuit training, road rides etc. The club was affiliated with another club who owned some land that one of the XC rounds was on so we used to go there for technical skill building also.

Yeh great, sign me up:)

Ill do some ringing around this week about a bike, next weekend sounds good. Biggest thing i need to do is the cycling with one leg trick you see them do when warming up, i tend to only really put in any force on the downward stroke, so only for about 180deg, i think the pros do 360 and on the up stroke as well:(

I have 3 roadbikes (and a spare frame) and the mountain bike if you wanna get started training. Trading post is the cheapest for a bike. I'll help you select something comfortable that won't blow the budget. Or just borrow my $7500 race bike :P I won't be using it for a while. Seriously, I have a good spare ally bike that I can rerig.

Pedalling is a 360 degree motion, but it takes time to develop the pedal stroke. Best done on small (fast pedalling) gears, maintaining around 100rpm. I use a computer with a cadence sensor. Eventually you will get that nice smooth stroke you can impress your friends with by riding one legged.

My first recommendations are to focus on comfort. There are 3 points of contact. Hands, seat and feet.

Hands: make sure you use some nice gloves. They not only pad the hands but will protect in a fall. Thers are some good gel ones that absorb the vibration that Vic crap roads will generate. Look for something with a piece of terry or absorbent material on the back for wiping the sweat. Change hand position frequently to keep from stiffening and getting sore. Every 5 minutes is a good idea. A nice fit that gives room to move. Too tight and the hands go pins and needles in no time.

Feet: Comfortable shoes are a must. Not too tight or loose, not too heavy either as they are moving a fair bit. Toe straps and clips cut circulation but they are cheap. Clipless pedal systems abound and can really be a godsend if yoy have an accident or unsteady moment. The classic Look style is the oldest and one of the best for ease of use and setup, but are crap for walking. I've tried them all (as a guy who part owned 3 bike shops and my mate still has 3 shops) and keep going back to the look for road. Wiggle your toes regularly. Velcro straps and adjustable closures can cost more but allow you to soften and harden your contact as you need to.

Seat: First, a good set of shorts with a comfortable chamois is vital. No jocks, minimal seams and a little barrier cream or savlon to put a barrier between your skin and the salty sweat buildup in the chamois will help prevent chaffing. Chaffing lets you know you are in contact with the seat. REALLY!! I have no problem with lycra, it gives the best fit so don't be bashful. Your seat is important and must fit your butt. If you are like me, leather is the best but needs to be broken in. Big doughy gel things seem soft and comfy but just block circulation and are actually uncomfortable on really long rides. Some good seats have gel inserts and can be nice. The only way to condition ass and seat is to ride. The seat must be dead level as well or you will slide on it and stretch and damage that soft tender groin skin. Get a spirit level and set it on the nose and tail of the saddle and adjust until flat. Plenty of people keep moving the nose down to stop the pain of contact. Little do they realise they are just making it worse and making their legs work harder to stay on the seat.

Next installment, bike fit and position and those stupid aero bars.

Agree with Geoff on the above. Best way I found to develop my pedal stroke was on a turbo trainer. Doing it that way means you can focus on it and safely rest the other leg somewhere else so the pedaling leg utilises the upward and downward stroke.

Then switch to work the other leg before clipping back in to see the results.

Only thing I have not heard is the seat to be perfectly flat. Certainly too far up and as a guy you know about it and too far down you do slide off but havent heard of the spirit level flat. I have learnt something new there.

Clipless pedal systems do take some setting up and need careful analysis of the individuals pedal stroke though otherwise very sore knees and inefficient cycling will result.

Keep up the good tips Geoff.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
    • Hi,  Just joined the forum so I could share my "fix" of this problem. Might be of use to someone. Had the same hunting at idle issue on my V36 with VQ35HR engine after swapping the engine because the original one got overheated.  While changing the engine I made the mistake of cleaning the throttle bodies and tried all the tricks i could find to do a throttle relearn with no luck. Gave in and took it to a shop and they couldn't sort it. Then took it to my local Nissan dealership and they couldn't get it to idle properly. They said I'd need to replace the throttle bodies and the ecu probably costing more than the car is worth. So I had the idea of replacing the carbon I cleaned out with a thin layer of super glue and it's back to normal idle now. Bit rough but saved the car from the wreckers 🤣
    • After my last update, I went ahead with cleaning and restoring the entire fuel system. This included removing the tank and cleaning it with the Beyond Balistics solution, power washing it multiple times, drying it thoroughly, rinsing with IPA, drying again with heat gun and compressed air. Also, cleaning out the lines, fuel rail, and replacing the fuel pump with an OEM-style one. During the cleaning process, I replaced several hoses - including the breather hose on the fuel tank, which turned out to be the cause of the earlier fuel leak. This is what the old fuel filter looked like: Fuel tank before cleaning: Dirty Fuel Tank.mp4   Fuel tank after cleaning (some staining remains): Clean Fuel Tank.mp4 Both the OEM 270cc and new DeatschWerks 550cc injectors were cleaned professionally by a shop. Before reassembling everything, I tested the fuel flow by running the pump output into a container at the fuel filter location - flow looked good. I then fitted the new fuel filter and reassembled the rest of the system. Fuel Flow Test.mp4 Test 1 - 550cc injectors Ran the new fuel pump with its supplied diagonal strainer (different from OEM’s flat strainer) and my 550cc injectors using the same resized-injector map I had successfully used before. At first, it idled roughly and stalled when I applied throttle. Checked the spark plugs and found that they were fouled with carbon (likely from the earlier overly rich running when the injectors were clogged). After cleaning the plugs, the car started fine. However, it would only idle for 30–60 seconds before stalling, and while driving it would feel like a “fuel cut” after a few seconds - though it wouldn’t fully stall. Test 2 – Strainer swap Suspecting the diagonal strainer might not be reaching the tank bottom, I swapped it for the original flat strainer and filled the tank with ~45L of fuel. The issue persisted exactly the same. Test 3 – OEM injectors To eliminate tuning variables, I reinstalled the OEM 270cc injectors and reverted to the original map. Cleaned the spark plugs again just in-case. The stalling and “fuel cut” still remained.   At this stage, I suspect an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, caused during the cleaning process. This has led me to look into getting Frenchy’s fuel hanger and replacing the unit entirely. TL;DR: Cleaned and restored the fuel system (tank, lines, rail, pump). Tested 550cc injectors with the same resized-injector map as before, but the car stalls at idle and experiences what feels like “fuel cut” after a few seconds of driving. Swapped back to OEM injectors with original map to rule out tuning, but the issue persists. Now suspecting an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, possibly cause by the cleaning process.  
×
×
  • Create New...