The Puncture capital of the world.

I officially confer the title of "Puncture Capital" upon Canberra.

Thick tyres, correct tyre pressure, all of that didn't really matter. I still got a puncture and Murphy's law, it had to happen on a day when I 'forgot' to carry my pump along.

I also went a bit overboard and rode on a very small patch of grass, which also could not have helped my cause one bit !!!

I just made the cab company richer by 40 bucks !!

The cold, oh the cold is a hella deterrent to not be riding in the first place. But when you go out on a nice sunny day once in a while, you hope n pray that you don't get the puncture, but there it is a nice big thorn in your tyre. And I'm reminded out from the cab driver that Canberra is the "bush capital".

I always wondered what that meant, now I know, oh boy do i know. Anyhow, I still love the bike, as much as the first day I got her, if not more.

I've added some items to the wishlist so that this kinda thing doesnt happen again.

1) Get a carbon bike pump that can be attached to the bike ...Carbon cuz my bike is !! and i have a whole carbon thing goin on

2) Gloves !!!!!!!

3) Get BLACK tape for my handle ..to make a sexy biach ..SEXIER !!!!!

4) Flashy back lights ..so that I dare to wander out in the dark and cold

Anyhow, as I don the cap of mechanic again to fix my little puppy I really really really hope that I don't have to do this as often !!!

Punctures, punctures and more punctures !!

While I'm quite content with my move to Canberra and at times elated, what literally has punctured my affinity to this delight is the punctures on my road and mountain bikes. Within the first 3 months of moving to Canberra, combined, I've had about 10 punctures. The road bike has copped about 7 of them. After about 6 punctures, I went in and got tyres with thicker tread on them to avoid this situation. The one I got for the back tyre is thicker than that for the front. Even after this, I managed to get a puncture on my last ride, which was also my first puncture and fix-it whilst in transit. I felt like a total cyclist when I was away replacing the tube after having pulled over from the road.

It wasn't pretty though. It took me close to an hour to get it up and going. Because of the thickness of the tyre, I had to pull it harder for it stay on the wheel and with half of my brain feeling the pain of another puncture, I may have well sat down, cried for a bit and then got along the job !! What that managed to do is puncture my spirit. I haven't cycled since and feel somewhat demotivated. Part of the reason is also that I got my car and have managed to get my license and am also keeping up a gym routine thanks to the vehicular transport.

Today, as I see cyclists ride, I feel the love re-kindled. I've already bought new tubes for the roadie and I don't think I'm far away from going for a ride again.

Canberra Ahoy !

I've moved to Canberra !

Bikeways are absolutely heavenly. And the roads are wide. And, the motorists have a lot of patience for us Cyclists. Cycling wise, its almost perfect. Some roads are still a bit gravely, which 

isn't quite great for road cycling. But, they are perfect for a mountain bike.

Which brings me to my mountain bike !! A few days in to living in Canberra like a Nomad, before all my stuff arrived from Brisbane, I realised I need to get around and public transport isn't the way to do it and I'm too early to buy a car, so I decided, heck its time to seal my love of cycling and become the owner of mountain and road bikes !! So, I got me a mountain and thats when Canberra started to come alive. Its kept me fascinated thus far.