Fat Tyre

After a few morning set-backs with flat tyres, fat tyres and bike bars we set off on our first day's ride back on the Mawson Trail

Day 1: Athelstone to Birdwood (take II)

So 7am in a light rain, my nosy neighbour helped me fit my new bike rack properly, with the key ingredient of a few extra washers from a shed full of nuts, bolts and washers that might come in handy one day.

Graham, Pete and Sally and I met at Gorge Road and crammed two bikes onto the bike rack, and the remaining two bikes in the back of the station wagon. Bay to Birdwood traffic aside (good planning!) we drove to the start of today's ride in Birdwood. Like last time I did this section, it was decided that it would be best to do it backwards.

Stopped for lunch in Lobethal, and after a spinach and ricotta roll that was fresh, last Wednesday, and waiting for our vegie or chicken burgers to be made with all the bikies food, we tackled the steep hills after Lobethal. Lots of pushing bikes up hills, I think there was some discovering that ppl weren't quite as fit as they thought. I recall how much pushing my bike up hills I did last time with Alex, and was very happy with how I could pretty much ride up every hill now, even if I needed little breaks on the way up.

With a fat tyre, not quite sure what happened there, I ride my bike to and from work several times a week yet it's out on a trail that the tyre wall seemed to fail. A fat lumpy tyre made for some hard riding...





Stats:

• Distance: 39.3km
  
• Start time: 10.30am
  
• End time: 4:45pm
  
• Moving duration: 3h 5m
  
• Stationary duration: 3h 5m
  
• Moving average: 12.7km/h
  
• Overall average: 6.4km/h
  
• Max speed: 52.7km/h