Cyc'd Tour De Noosa 2012

Recently I joined a cycling club and the riding has been fantastic. As a way to finish off the year they had the Tour de Noosa. A 211km ride over a couple of bumps from Brisbane through Mt Mee and Maleny to end with a mini family holiday in Noosa.

It was a fantastic ride and quite a number of firsts...

Biggest ride in one day: 217km
Largest Climbing in a Day: 3,389m
Largest single climb: 489m

The organisation was outstanding, the scenery and the challenge brilliant. The holiday at the end was the icing on top!

A huge thanks to everyone at the club who put the day (and weekend) together!

Cyc'd Tour De Noosa 2012, a set on Flickr.

The Old Faithful: Steel Avanti Monza aka Frankenbike

At the same time I had my Colnago built I had a bit of an update for my old faithful commuter the Frankenbike. It gets that name because it's really a cobbled together bike, although it's a steel Avanti Monza at the moment, it started out as a Malvern Star before the frame rusted through. It doesn't even have matching tyres. This is a progression of it's life in photos so far.

The latest addition is a set of Velocity Chukker rims laced to a 36h hub for it's commuting duties. It used to sport a set of American Classics but they were getting a little beaten up with the heavy duty commuting runs. It's certainly not the lightest setup but it is always a pleasure to ride. The new Velocity Wheels are amazing, they roll so smoothly and silently and with the wider footprint they are a comfortable way to roll around.

Here are the specs (for those who care)

Frame:
Avanti Monza Steel (circa 1996)

Fork/Headset:
Roselli 700c 45mm Rake Chromoly Fork

Crankset/Bottom Bracket:
Shimano Ultegra 6500

Pedals:
Shimano PD-M530

Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
11-25 / 53/39 / Shimano Ultegro 6500

Derailleurs/Shifters:
Shimano Ultegra 6500

Handlebars/Stem:
42cm. FSA / FSA 90mm

Saddle/Seatpost:
Fizik Arione / FSA

Brakes:
Shimano Ultegra 6500

Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Velocity Chukker  / Maxxis Refuse

Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
Velocity Chukker  / Continental GatorSkin

My New Ride: Colnago Tecnos Competition

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a Colnago Tecnos frame cheap on eBay. It's taken a few weeks to get it all together with a big thanks to Jimmy from Bikeology for doing all the hard work. I'm really happy with the end result, looks a lot better than I would have thought.

Here are the specs (for those who care)

Frame:
Colnago Tecnos Competition

Fork/Headset:
Colnago Flash Carbon

Crankset/Bottom Bracket:
SRAM Rival

Pedals:
Xpedo R-Force Ti

Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
11-25 / 53/39 / SRAM 1090P

Derailleurs/Shifters:
SRAM Rival

Handlebars/Stem:
42cm. Cinelli Criterium / Cinelli 90mm. Quill A1

Saddle/Seatpost:
Fizik Antares / Cinellia Vai 

Brakes:
SRAM Rival

Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
American Classic 420 Aero 3 / Michelin Pro 4 Race Service Course  

Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
American Classic 420 Aero 3 / Michelin Pro 4 Race Service Course  

A weekend of adventures

The weekend just gone saw me take on  sole parenting duties for 4 days while ness took a well earned weekend away. I was a little nervous to say the list. The little girl hadn't spent a night without mum let alone three, so I was a little worried how she/I would cope.

I had a pretty busy schedule planned with the idea that if I ran them hard all day they'd sleep well at night.

The little girl and I spent most of Friday out and about while her brother was at kindy punctuated with trips to the train set and duplo. Of course we might have visited a coffee shop or two.
The first night went fairly well. Both the kids went to bed pretty well and the little girl was only up for a couple of hours. But they both started the day pretty early with 430 wake ups.

The first stop on the daddy "wear the kids out" weekend was the rail museum that was having a model train show.

There were train rides and the most popular attraction the Lego train set.

A storm threw a spanner in my plans and I ended up leaving a bit early. On the plus side the kids were asleep at 4:30pm. Unfortunately that meant another 430am start to the day and the little girl with a bit of tummy bug. But a trip to the bird sanctuary at Currumbin was on the cards for today and a sleep in the car on the way seemed to sort them out.

The biggest hit was the magic show and feeding the kangaroos (several times over)

Although the little one did save us from a python.

I must confess we may have had a short trip to Nan's after the park where daddy might have snuck a nap before driving two exhausted kids home for another nights sleep.

Monday I took the kids to the cafe for hot chocolates and freckles (they come with the coffees) partly as their last weekend treat and because I'd forgotten milk and was in need of a coffee.


All in all I had a fantastic weekend. Both kids were angels and any of my fears were unfounded with the little girl sleeping. I really enjoyed the whole time and made me really look forward to my 4 days at work next year so we can have a few more daddy long weekend adventures.