Mundaring to Midland 2011

Mundaring to Midland day 9, Tuesday 1 November 2011.

I left Mundaring at 9:00 on a mild sunny morning with moderate easterly winds. I reached the edge of the scarp at Bilgoman Road at 523 and started the run down Greenmount Hill.

Midland

I didn’t try to go really fast because the road is winding and the traffic busy. Also, I was surprised to find that although the Great Eastern Highway east of Mundaring is really good now, west of Mundaring it is still the same old road that hasn’t been fixed up for many years. I got to a top speed of 57 kph. I was doing about 55 kph when I saw a crack in the road. I managed to avoid it but there was another one too soon after it, that I didn’t avoid. I went over it with a bump that didn’t seem too bad, but almost immediately I heard a hiss and felt the rhythmic rapid jolting of the back wheel that told of a blow-out. At that speed it could have been dangerous because the bike became very hard to handle; fortunately there was no traffic immediately behind me and there was a left-turn lane just ahead, into which I was able to turn and come to a stop, at 526. This was similar to my experience in 2008, when, after a ride free of punctures, I ran over a crack in what should have been a good road, at over 50 kph, only 15 km from the end of the ride, and blew out a tube.

I got the tube replaced in 15 minutes and resumed my run down the hill. I was supposed to go to my sister’s house in Bayswater and watch the Melbourne Cup with her and her friends, so I was now a bit late and had filthy hands, but in the event I got there in time to have drinkies and watch the Cup.

I reached Midland train station without further incident and was able to wash my hands in the toilet, with soap. The 2011 ride ended here as I boarded the train with the bike, heading home to Cottesloe.

Not long after completing this ride, I found that some of the spokes on the back wheel were loose and the wheel was wobbling about as a result. Normally spokes don’t work loose like that, they either break or stay tight. I don’t know how long they had been loose. Also, the saddle had slipped down about 10 cm. I don’t know when it slipped or how gradually it had done so. During the ride, I squeeze the tyres each night, and if they are hard, I don’t check anything else, not wanting to have to worry about anything, although I carry a good kit of tools and spares with me. The loose spokes and too-low saddle would have made a difference and could well have been the cause of my difficulties on the first day. In future I will have to give the bike a thorough check each day. I will also need to fit a triple sprocket to get a better range of gears before starting another ride.

Reading at Midland, end of day: 532. Day’s ride: 17km.
Cumulative distance: 357km. Average km/ riding day: 45.

Mundaring to Midland 2011

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