The LL Bean Time Trial is the third race in the Maine Time Trial Series. The race is held in Freeport. The course is an 18 mile loop that features straight rolling sections, narrow roads and short steep climbs. Temperatures were in the 50s and conditions were dry for the first time in recent memory. About 80 riders start the race. This is the third race for Frame and Wheel on an Austro-Daimler tt Carbon. Frame and Wheel sets off at 8:10 am. Route 1 is rough in sections, but traffic is light so there is room to avoid the obstacles. False flats are the feature here. Frame and Wheel concentrates on gearing, position and maintaing speed on the uphills and through the corners. The road is resurfaced on the back stretch. This makes a huge difference as in previous years this section of road is capable of shaking loose handlebars. Frame and Wheel loses speed on the last turn on to the very rough and uphill section into the finish line. The drool is flying and the legs protest but the finish is just up the road. The race is over. Frame and Wheel’s time of 40:03 (2011: 40:12) is fast enough to win the day, but well off of the sub forty times routinely posted by Tim Mitchell (CB Racing ) and Dean Philips (Fit Werx). Regardless, Frame and Wheel is very pleased with the result. Frame and Wheel congratulates everyone who turned up to race and thanks LL Bean and the organizers for putting on a great time trial.
Frame and Wheel races an Austro-Daimler tt Carbon
Frame and Wheel is shown here racing an Austro-Daimler tt Carbon at the Portland Velo Club / Cyclemania Time Trial in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The bicycle features Shimano 7900 drive train (mechanical), TRP brakes and brake levers, 3T Brezza II base bar with straight carbon extensions, 3T ARX alloy stem, Adamo saddle, Zipp Disc 900 tubular rear wheel and Zipp 404 tubular front wheel. Fit Werx 2 in Peabody, Massachusetts did the fit and the build; Don McEwan took the picture. More information about the frame set and availability can be found at the Frame and Wheel website.
Swatting Up with Mitchell's Bike Mags.
Thanks for the welcome back to good old New Zealand from my friends. I know I slag kiwi motorists off a bit at times. I abuse truck drivers at other times. It’s not unknown for me to make the odd sarcastic remark when people ride on the wrong side of the cycleway, or for that matter cyclists who ride down the wrong side of the road (I mean what are they thinking???). But honestly I'm like that everywhere, and I am truly happy to be back. New Zealand is such a great place still.
We do really need to watch the overtaking on blind corners and crossing double orange lines though 'cause it can get you killed. And although we'd like to think we won’t miss the odd motorist they are people and they do have loved ones who care about them. They don't deserve to be squished. (They can’t help the fact that they are too lazy to cycle to the shop for sundry items like milk).
Sorry I digress. I'm happy to be back and I'm going to be more tolerant of idiots. But it has been hard re-adjusting this time.
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| Back Home on a Calm Winters Day. |
Firstly the NZ sunlight was dazzling me. Even with sunglasses on I'm squinting at the moment to see anything due to the low angle of the rays. At 3pm in the afternoon I start thinking it’s time to get ready for nightfall and then 3hrs later the sun still hasn't set! The autumn colours and long shadows are very romantic though. Unfortunately with Adi in a moon boot and hobbling a bit, romance is not something that immediately springs into her mind. She's happy that she can now get on her bike and cycle down the driveway.
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| My First Vespa Club Meet.(The Boys Swap Race Stories). |
I think I may need some advice on basic VW maintenance or not so basic as the case here is. Please don't refer me back to one of my previous posts when I think I may have said that any chimp can put a motor back together. This chimp needs to be shown at least once. So to that end I think I had better start making friends with people that can tell the year of manufacture of any kombi by the shape of its indicators or lack of them from a distance of 300mtrs. It may be painful going to the "Shine and tell" meetings but I need wheels to transport my bike and kayaks off to far- away places.
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The Internet of Bikes: Cyclemania / Portland Velo Club Time Trial (Maine Time Trial Series Race #2)
The Cyclemania Portland Velo Club Time Trialis the second race of the Maine Time Trial series. The race is held in Cape Elizabeth. The course is a 13 mile double loop that features long straight sections, long gradual climbs and winding sections. Temperatures are in the 50s and conditions are dry and calm. About 50 riders start the race. The main feature of this race is navigation. The course has a shorter loop within a larger longer loop. It is very easy to become confused or to forget to make the turn onto the inside loop, even though it is clearly marked. The course is in Frame and Wheel’s back yard, and it is still difficult to remember navigation details. The other feature of this course is the long straight sections on Route 77 that riders must complete twice. This is the second race for Frame and Wheel on an Austro-Daimler tt Carbon. Frame and Wheel sets off at 7:30. Traffic is light and there is little wind. Frame and Wheel makes the first right turn successfully onto Fowler Road. The section is rough in places and very flat. The second time down Route 77 seems to go on forever. Frame and Wheel makes the second right turn onto Spurwink Road successfully. The two steep climbs here bring out the drool and the rough road makes it hard to concentrate on maintaing speed. The last hill into the center of town has the legs burning. Frame and Wheel makes the sharp right turn into the school and goes for the line cautiously as there is another right turn that follows soon after. The race is over. Frame and Wheel completes the course in 29:43 (2011: 30:05) which is fast enough to win the day (One rider has a time of 25 minutes, but it later becomes clear that he missed the first turn and completed just the outside loop). Frame and Wheel congratulates all riders on their results and thanks the organizers and volunteers for putting on a great time trial.
Back Home & Settling In.
The power of flight. One minute you're stuffing yourself at McDonalds on the Casablanca coast and the next you’re stuffing yourself at McDonalds at Sydney airport trying to figure out where a couple of days have gone and why they didn’t have McDonalds at the Dubai International Airport.
It was in fact totally unintentional that I was trying to eat two persons worth of food in Casablanca. As usual I had communication problems. I merely wanted a one person meal but with two Coca Colas. The two cokes in Casablanca came in my case with 4 McChickens , 2 helpings of chips and 2 sundaes. I did however with my fluency in the French language manage to get strawberry sundaes as opposed to chocolate. (I'm quite proud of that).
Once I'd finished stuffing myself I walked down the coast to the lighthouse and Second World War gun emplacement. I'm not sure whether the Moroccans were fighting with us or against us during the war but the gun emplacement certainly looked like it had taken a pounding. While there I re called some of the stories my God father and close family friend had told me about his experiences fighting in North Africa during the conflict. Apparently they fried their eggs on the truck and tank bodies. I think I'd even struggle downing one of these infantry eggs. It was too cold to sun fry eggs while I was on the coast and it made the thought of going home to a New Zealand autumn pretty easy to bear. I noticed while at the point that there was a naval cruiser just off the coast shepherding what looked like oil tankers in and out of the port a few kilometres up the coast. It wasn’t until later on the flight back to NZ, after reading the English papers that I realised that this rather featureless grey cruiser was in fact the newest and most sophisticated warship sailing the seven seas. Just commissioned and on sea trials in the waters of North Africa I was being treated to a show involving over a billion dollars of hardware and crew practising ship boarding’s. The article suggested I’d be wasting my time waiting to see a missile firing as each missile costs a million dollars and not likely to be performed without an A ok from the accounts department. (Each new vessel gets one test firing to check the computers and other electronics. I think that must be included in the price.) Following these sea trials the vessel was off to South America to say hello to the Argentinians. (I hope they arrive with all their gear intact).
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| Ya Missed Me! At the Coastal Battery. |
The next day Mohamed was driving my bike and I to the airport for the marathon of a flight home. After a hand shake and the acceptance of yet another generous tip Mohamed was headed back towards the city and I was heading to the Emirates check in counter. This time I had the bike under one arm and a Moroccan poofy under the other. How so, the poofy you ask. Well I thought I had better get Adi a little gift for saving my arse when I needed it and getting me home, so a really romantic but practical gift was called for. Sure she’d enjoy jewellery or perfumes but what bliss to put your feet up on a goat skin poff. Once again my Mercian disappeared behind the check in counter and I was given all my boarding passes and my little luggage receipt. For some reason this time I had a little more faith that my Mercian would make the connections. The Emirates staff looked a little more organised than the British Airways staff in Rio had done. I’d certainly be happy to fly Emirates again despite the fact that they had 200 movies on offer and I couldn’t find more than one or two of interest. I also got rather disapproving looks whenever I asked for a rum and coke. Adi only later told me that she had booked me on a tea tottlers airline. (This reminds me. I haven’t properly celebrated cycling across South America yet. So I will sort that tonight if Adi’s left me any grog in the liquor cabinet.)
I’ve noticed since I got home that I have been craving certain foods. Apart from drinking litres of instant coffee I have been scoffing multiple helpings of Adi’s sultana cake heated in the microwave and lovingly drowned in cream. I have taken to having porridge for breakfast, not too thick and thinned even more by the addition of a generous amount of cream. Jellies for desert have been a treat especially with the addition of cream to give them more body. Slices of soft white bread have been disappearing down my gullet at an alarming rate but not before they have been plastered with pre warmed butter of no particular brand (as long as it’s salty). I think my bodies telling me something. And I think that something is to fatten up for your next trip.
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| Together Again. I've got to Get My Girl ready for Vietnam. |
And chocolate. I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much of that I'm eating. Luckily there's a special on 250 gram blocks at the supermarket. Currently these are $2.99 a block! Limit of 4 per customer! I got into a disagreement with the local library assistant yesterday when she tried to take $2 off me for a late returned book last Dec. Having just enough cash in my pocket for the new ‘Berry and Biscuit’ I wasn’t having a bar of that.
Next week I’m looking for a bit of part-time work involving bicycles. A bit of money would help finance our next trip to Vietnam and South East Asia. Hanoi to Singapore is the go. I have a Visa and Adi will need to test her new legs.
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