Stuff by Jono

 Greeting cycling enthusiasts.  We are here to discuss the idea of fun in cycling. Harken your minds back to when you were young(er) and first learning to ride a bike. What a magical time it must've been. A time of burgeoning independence, or perhaps a moment to become on par with some older inspiration in your life. No matter the context the idea of freedom and fun was no doubt paramount in your mind. Obviously after the sheer terror and consequential mistrust you had at your adult for letting go of the bicycle even though they probably said they wouldn't. It can be hard, but do forgive if you can. Cue the freedom, not actual freedom because, let's be honest neighborhoods in reality aren't amazingly huge, but to a kid riding to a friends house down the road is a big deal. Bikes were fun, riding bikes was fun, testing out new terrain, testing out riding down hill for the first time, testing out the difficulty of riding uphill and perhaps the first time out of the sad...

Time Trials in Hamilton  The time trial . What is it? What's the point? I don't know, but I did one to learn a bit more. Here's what I learned. In cycling, it is a racing event. Generally a shorter distance, however it challenging in its simplicity. No drafting. No bunches. Generally, I think, not alot of hills. Just pedalling. Oh there is wind. I wish there wasn't, but there is. This time trial event was part of the Hamilton City Cycling Club (HCCC) series. It was 25km long, or thereabouts, leaving from Horsham Downs area, down Bankier road and all of those. Nervousness could be described as the dominant feeling approaching the start line. A vertical line, tyre to tyre. None of this side by side stuff. 30 seconds to go. 30 seconds was the time between each cyclist heading off to begin their effort. I was somewhere near the back of the line as, as usual, I had mis-judged the travelling time and greatly under-estimated the wind heading out to the event. Wind, which I mi...

Te Awamutu Winter series Race two was held on the 29/05/2022 It began with a congregation of cyclists convening outside Goodwood School, Fencourt Road, Cambridge. 10.20am was the registration cut off and by that time over 100 riders had signed in or signed up and selected their grade choice from A- E with another category for junior riders. Outside Goodwood school, cyclists could be heard mingling and discussing their weekday lives and deliberating about grade choice and how so-and-so should be in a different grade and how I belong in this grade. The conversation was pleasant and showed no pre-race tension which was awesome and showcased the friendly nature of the event quite well. The course was three laps of the roads Fencourt, Aspin and Te miro totaling roughly 43 kilometers. The winds were steady, though I would say strong, averaging at around 22km an hour, however the temps were cool and the sun was covered by a dense cloud that really didn't show too much sign of lettin...

 Grassroots cycling, what is it exactly? Who knows, but I entered the midi Fondo in Cambridge New Zealand. The race took part of the twelfth of February, which also happens to be my mothers birthday.  The lead up had been slightly harrowing. The previous week on the saturday, I managed to pull a muscle in my back. It hurt, cycling was pushed far from the picture as a focus on having a healthy back trumped all other matters in that current predicament. Nevertheless, I was still committed to participating because, hey, it was my first cycling event.  The weather forecast was not pleasant, though better than Sunday. I arrived in Cambridge early where nerves forced me to use a public restroom, that was fine, though I never really like using restrooms in bib shorts. I found Rob and immediately abandoned my assigned bubble and joined his. We joked and bantered, and most of all looked around at all the fancy bikes that seemed to be on parade. Partial to Cannondale myself, there ...

 Here at Daily Function the idea of cycling has taken effect. As the titular achievement suggests. This is the journey so far and it has been quite the journey. The actual beginning is unknown as it was quite a while ago. Did it begin when I was born? Absolutely, though I have time nor the memory to document 33 years of life at the current moment. So, to ring it forward a bit, I guess it began with commuting, then a small fascination and fixation with fixed gear riding which lead to some moderate city boundary rides. These were fantastic, the tarmac was beautifully smooth, intersections offered plenty of respite, and the simplicity of the bike was beautiful. Was I fast? No. Fit? Probably not either. Problem? Hills. The possible solution? Gears?            So the geared bike was purchased an old 9-speed Cervelo time trial machine. What I would consider an absolute stunner of a bike, after all, it had Ultegra and, let's be honest, more gears than I ...

  On Sunday, took to the start line for the Huntly half marathon. Conditions were brisk to say the least and a thick fog covered the land and river. The race started as most do, with everyone bunched really tight together. running slightly faster than I should've to avoid a gridlock, I settled into a pace of 4.20 per km. The run was on! Being passed by the sub 90 minute pacer was a bit lame, but I thought with having done a hard run the previous week, Waihi that I would take it easy and run some 4.30's. This didn't happen very well either. By the half way mark I was averaging around 4.20's. Doing quick maths in my head while running 4.15's, I figured if I increase to 4.10's I might have a chance of going sub 90 minutes. With around 8 km to go, I saw the balloon of the 90 minute pacer around 500 metres in the distance. Was time to chase that balloon. So I did and I caught it. Was thrilling, especially when I passed the 19 km mark and my watch said 1 hour 21 minut...