Weather in the country! (Inland)

User avatar
martinjs
Posts: 3402
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:54 pm
Location: Fivebough, Leeton
Contact:

Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby martinjs » Fri Feb 07, 2014 8:41 am

I keep an eye on the weather every night on the news am always amazed at the temperature differences between coastal town in NSW and Victoria and the weather the other side of the mountains!

Yes Sydney and Melbourne get hot days but the main difference is the duration. We had 7 days of over 40c and when the cool change came it dropped to 37, 34, 32 and now it's back to 38c. Makes for different planing when you go for a bike ride. Must always carry water because out on the road there are NO places for refills so depending of the distance you must be prepared to carry all you'll need.

Heading for another heatwave, how's it going else were in the Sticks? (or the cities)

Martin
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!

brawlo
Posts: 486
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:01 pm
Location: Goulburn, NSW

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby brawlo » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:29 pm

I raced the Golden Wheel track carnival in Wagga Wagga last weekend. 41°C at around the start time for the seniors was not fun, but I ended up with some good results, and we were all in the same boat. The big difference from there to home on top of the range is that we get the cooling easterly quite often of an evening. No such thing out there!

User avatar
silentbutdeadly
Posts: 2294
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:52 am
Location: Somewhere flat...

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:34 pm

We just go carefully...either first thing in the morning or avoid anything too long on the middle of the day rides.

Our last MTB race meet was an early start on a short track and (despite this) most everyone fell in the river afterwards. Something I've not seen in four years with the club...
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

User avatar
cancan64
Posts: 1971
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 9:13 pm
Location: Raglan NZ

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby cancan64 » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:26 pm

I work in south west qld... base is 600km from Brisbane... Completely different climates... yesterday it was 41in cunnamulla which was the hottest part of qld... Fortunately this week I am in Brisbane but next week I will be in cunnamulla, charleville and Roma... early morning rides for me

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
“Some say he isn’t machine washable, and all his potted plants are called ‘Steve’.

User avatar
WarrenH
Posts: 664
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:58 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby WarrenH » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:43 pm

Yesterday's cycling lingers in my legs and will for a day or two yet ... but the past couple of month's cycling weather, is here, for a long time.

All from the Murrumbidgee River Valley, in the N'West and West of the ACT. Stinking hot, smokey or stormy.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Hemmingway wrote that the lay of the land is truly described by cycling, ... I feel that the weather does, even more so. I like cycling ... out in the weather.


Warren.
"But on steep descending...Larson TT have bad effect on the mind of a rider" - MadRider from Suji, Korea 2001.

"Paved roads ... another fine example of wasteful government spending." - a bumper sticker.

User avatar
WarrenH
Posts: 664
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:58 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby WarrenH » Thu May 08, 2014 8:57 pm

Don't you just love riding in Autumn? The weather is here ... I wish you were beautiful.

I don't know where you're all about and what it's like where you are, but in my neck of the bush, most days are still somewhat smoky. About a week ago I rode down Cavan Road and back. It was good in the morning riding with a tail wind, but the wind was filthy and acrid smelling on the way back. It swung around to being a tail wind on the way back. To quote Borat, "A big success." The next two shots are from the ride at Big Hill above Lawtons Crossing looking to Baby Mountain on the Great Divide, morning and then in the afternoon. About 70 klicks away, on the far horizon is the Divide. Cavan Road is in NSW just over the NW ACT Border.

Image

Image


A frequent trip for me is from near Macgregor Primary School, a short way down the hill to the Murrumbidgee River. About 12 klicks return.

Image

Image

Image


Last week I drove to Warroo Travelling Stock Reserve on the Yass-Wee Jasper Road and rode from the lower gate at Warroo TSR to the top gate ... what a hoot. A view from the top gate ... Black Dog Gully to Devils Pass.

Image


The next couple of shots are on the BNT. Looking to the northern spurs of the Alps from Narrabundah Hill. The boomer is on the BNT at Little Black Mountain.

Image

Image


... and a rainy day. The Bullen, Hardy and Brindabella Ranges. The second image is heavy rain on the Bullen Range. I wasn't the only goose out that day, although it was fine when I started out. I saw at least a dozen MTB riders on the Cotter Road in the late afternoon, when it was raining heavily.

Image

Image


Enjoy the mild weather while it lasts, if you're also in the SE, West of the Divide.

Warren.
"But on steep descending...Larson TT have bad effect on the mind of a rider" - MadRider from Suji, Korea 2001.

"Paved roads ... another fine example of wasteful government spending." - a bumper sticker.

User avatar
open roader
Posts: 3642
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:05 pm
Location: Dueling Banjo Country, Otway fringes, Victoria

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby open roader » Thu May 08, 2014 10:15 pm

Cracking good photography here Warren! Low angle sunlight is gorgeous at this time of year. What camera are you riding with?

Pleased to observe the leg is still attached and pedal worthy......... :D
3rd class cycling is always better than 1st class walking

silkishuge
Posts: 2083
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:07 am
Location: Adelaide

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby silkishuge » Thu May 08, 2014 10:17 pm

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing. I have been away from the bike for a couple of months and still sick. By the time I get well, it will be too cold. The mornings here are already 4 deg and it was minus 1 a few days ago.

Jon

User avatar
WarrenH
Posts: 664
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:58 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby WarrenH » Sat May 10, 2014 7:14 am

Silkishuge, thank you for your appreciation of the shots. I'm sorry to hear that you've not been well. Do you have a trainer to put the bike on while watching the Giro? To get fit for riding along with the Le Tour, when it gets really cold. I can relate to the cold. I took the first two shots at Hogans Flat last winter ... -10°C. My sleeping bag coped thankfully. And the third shot is on the Main Range, when riding a bike wasn't excluded from any of the tracks of the Main Range. Bikes can still be hiked or carried on the Main Range nowadays. Bikes are called push-bikes. The Summit Road is legal to ride with one other.

All shots west of the Divide ... but Hogans Flat is just west, by only one klick.

Image

Image

Image


Open Roader, thank you Mate. The leg is relatively good now apart from a scar with a diameter about that of an orange. I have a Canon DSLR 40D, its about 6 years old, with two kit lenses both cheap zooms and two professional quality lenses, a prime and a zoom. The 40D must be nearly towards end of the sensor's life by now, which the manufacturer claims happens about 100,000 exposures. The camera is heavy, with a lens or two, and a few plastic bags to keep the rain out. I don't notice carrying the weight now. I also take a tripod and a cable release.

A few more shots from this past week, just over the NW ACT border. With so much recent rain, the valleys in the region are stunning.

At Ledgerton Woolshed looking towards Devils Peak on the edge of the Bramina Wilderness. Thirty years ago I climbed Devils Peak and found a large Aboriginal quarry site. A metadolerite quarry, for making axes and hatchets. Back then I added Devils Peak to the Aboriginal Site Register.

Image


Horseshoe Road ... off Mountain Creek Road not far from Ledgerton Woolshed.

Image


Glenrock Road ... joins Mountain Creek Road to Cavan Road, in the valley below the Baldy Range and is one of the top roads to ride in the region. All the best roads for riding around here are dirt.

Image


It ain't just the recorded temp, throw in the chill factor and it's always below zero ... then it rains.


Warren.
"But on steep descending...Larson TT have bad effect on the mind of a rider" - MadRider from Suji, Korea 2001.

"Paved roads ... another fine example of wasteful government spending." - a bumper sticker.

User avatar
open roader
Posts: 3642
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:05 pm
Location: Dueling Banjo Country, Otway fringes, Victoria

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby open roader » Sat May 10, 2014 8:03 pm

40D and 2 lenses is admirable....... plus tripod........ the best photos happen when you fight harder than average for them.

The gravel roads look properly hard packed or at least the ones in the photos do. Too much loose gravel wasted on dirt roads here in the Otways......

Fabulous verdant landscapes, we too have had a corker of an autumn break - many old timers say the best in living memory.

Cheers!
3rd class cycling is always better than 1st class walking

Mountcyclo
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:02 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby Mountcyclo » Sun May 11, 2014 4:26 pm

Thanks for the stunning photos and the story of the ride, that frost covered tent and frozen bike made me shiver. :)

Reminded me to get a new sleeping bag prior to my next run.

User avatar
WarrenH
Posts: 664
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:58 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby WarrenH » Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:56 pm

oper roader, Cheers to you too Mate.

mountcyclo, thank you Mate. Do you know about the Sea to Summit range of Thermolite Reactor sleeping bag liners. I've the -11.0°C liner and it saved me buying a new down bag last Winter, when my down bag was somewhat tired. The Reactorlite liner plus two +3.0°C silk inner sheets was first class. Although, I see now that I should have bought the -15.0°C liner for Winters on the Great Divide. I would be just a bit more comfortable had the -15.0°C Thermolite.
open roader wrote: The gravel roads look properly hard packed or at least the ones in the photos do.
They certainly are. On a road bike, off-roading, one might not think so, though. There's a post cursing the dirty bits of the Boboyan Road here in the ACT, posted in the touring section, recently posted. I guess that locals everywhere can feel smug ... because we know when not to go on the different the roads, seasonally speaking, in our particular districts.

Here in the ACT the back roads and lesser dirt tracks are usually in great shape. I spent the last two afternoons on the Canberra Centenary Trail, and sections of the BNT, starting at Snow Gums Reserve just North of the Cork Plantation at the National Arboretum, going South to Pine Island, checking out the tracks. It was nice and sunny on both days but with the chill factor, it was probably close 0°C, mostly. The max App Temp recorded by the BOM was 11.2°C this past weekend, when I was out and about. One of the things that I found interesting during this cold weather was that even Roadies gave me a wave and some even said Hello. Wow, I've now been welcomed to the Roadies Cold Cycling Tribe. There are all levels of bike snobbery here in the ACT.

Some shots from the past 8 days in the NW and West of the ACT.

On the first day of Winter, mid-afternoon the rain stopped ... so I rode to Shepherds Lookout in the NW of the ACT. Mid-afternoon the App Temp was 7.1°C ... before the real down hill wind chill cut in.

The Hardy, Bullen and Brindabella Ranges from near Strathnairn. From Strathnain to Woodstock it's all downhill. Coming back warms you up.

Image


Pig Hill from Woodstock Natrure Reserve at about 4.00pm ... it was finally warming up. The App Temp was 9.4°C (AT) 4.00pm.

Image


From this past weekend. On the summit of Urambi above the Murrumbidgee River looking towards Mount Tennant. App Temp was 6.2°C (AT) 3.00pm. Here the Canberra Centenary Trail runs closer to the river while the Bicentennial National Trail stays higher up.

Image


From the southern saddle at Urambi Hills looking towards Baroomba Rocks. App Temp 5.6°C (AT) 4.00pm.

Image


Warren.
Last edited by WarrenH on Tue Jun 10, 2014 4:49 pm, edited 9 times in total.
"But on steep descending...Larson TT have bad effect on the mind of a rider" - MadRider from Suji, Korea 2001.

"Paved roads ... another fine example of wasteful government spending." - a bumper sticker.

User avatar
WarrenH
Posts: 664
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:58 am

Re: Weather in the country! (Inland)

Postby WarrenH » Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:56 pm

A shot from the Warroo TSR ride. Truly rural.

The fire place at the old drover's campsite at Warroo TSR. There was a nice little skinny too to ride up hill on ... or to try to stay on.

Image


Warren.
"But on steep descending...Larson TT have bad effect on the mind of a rider" - MadRider from Suji, Korea 2001.

"Paved roads ... another fine example of wasteful government spending." - a bumper sticker.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users