Tempte-tation Fixie Century 2010 (Dulwich Hill BC)

100miles or 160km from Bundanoon to Tempe velodrome on a fixed gear bike was one of the hardest rides I have ever done.

The day before I rode with Tim from Marrickville to Bundanoon via Hume Hwy, 130km. Due to headwind, false flat, and no fixie experience, I struggled to keep up with Tim, which totally frustrated him. We had to be rescued 12km short of Bundanoon by Tim’s dad, to make it in time for the dinner. Apparently, we were only 5km behind Lindsay, and the three Michaels who started from Campbelltown well ahead of us.

The next morning, we had around 8:30am start? Riding fixie in a bunch was scary as well as fun. I kept up with the fast bunch on the flats, but struggled at grinding big gear on the uphills. The highlight was the 10km quite steep descend at Macquarie pass. On a fixie, not just had to spin those legs bloody fast on descends, but also had to press the brake levers so hard that it hurt on my palms. No matter how much they hurt, the only option was to suck it up. There was a whole queue of vehicles behind me, which meant I couldn’t slow down. I couldn’t release the brake levers as that would make me go downhill at uncontrollable speed. I found it quite dangerous, but a thrill for sure.

We had a few laps around a velodrome on our way, just before Wollongong. We had lunch at Wollongong where I took the bugs out of my hair. The climb at the Stainwell Tops on a fixie would make even the toughest sweat. I slowly grinded the big gear up that 2-3km long steep climb all the way to Helensburg. By Helensburg, I was out of water and getting severely dehydrated. The little stop at fish & chips shop at waterfall was heaven. I rode with the bunch to Tempe velodrome, where everyone did their finishing lap, and I did an extra run lap, just to call it a brick session.

Thanks to Simon for organising the ride and the accommodation. Ian for the funny spoke cards, Lindsay for lending me the Peugeot fixie, and all the riders for riding with me. It has been a unique and rewarding experience.

Le Tour de Disneyland

Le Tour de Disneyland

Over the Christmas and New Year holidays, Gi and his band of merry smugglers rode from Sydney to Hobart, 1500km in eight riding days. Tomas Golan, Anthony Pham, and Gi Singh started the epic ride on the Christmas day, and reached Melbourne on 29th averaging 210km a day over these five days. The first three days were highlighted with winds, hills, and downpour, but the team was never worried about getting their bright clothes wet. The team worked together through the winds, and challenged each other on the hill climbs. Riding along the Princess Highway, the team stopped at Ulladulla, Bega, Cann River, Maffra and finished the first leg of the tour with a sprint along the St Kilda beach. Gi had his first crash ever about 80 km from Melbourne. It happened when Gi was drafting behind Anthony and Anthony started thinking about the humping cows he saw in the farm that morning, and stopped pedalling. The wheels toughed and Gi was on the road in a split second. He escaped with some road rashes.

Friendly triathletes Simmone and Andrew from CycleSpeed bike shop at Melbourne helped the team smuggler slipstream get ready for the Tasmania leg of the tour. While Anthony took a flight back to Sydney, Tomas and Gi cruised to Devonport in Spirit Of Tasmania on 30th Dec.

The team rode to and celebrated their new year eve at Launceston with a spectacular display of fireworks. They rode 200km to Bicheno as their first ride of the year, which turned out to be full of surprises. As soon as the team came out of Launceston, they faced 1km of 22% gradient climb, eight flats in the first 65km, and spotted two big snakes. On the final day, the team faced heavy side winds with storm like conditions, but managed to finish the tour as per the schedule. Tomas and Gi reached Hobart on 2nd Jan and celebrated the tour finish at the Taste of Tasmania food festival.

To the team smuggler slipstream's surprise, they rode faster than the Australia Post could deliver their clothes at Hobart. Thanks to Andrew Zielinski, a friendly triathlete from Hobart who arranged running shoes and swimming goggles for Gi to allow him compete in the Tasmania state sprint triathlon the next day. When Gi returned those shoes to Andrew, they were soaked in his blood. It was an epic adventure. The triathletes on Transitions forum who were betting money that it would never happen lost their bucks. Team Smuggler Slipstream made it happen.

Transitions Forum: Thread on Le Tour de Disneyland

Le Tour de Disneyland - Original Plan and The Route Map

Fund Raising for AIME