Cycling

[Derny Driver]

Thank you to Derek and the other guys for sharing your tips.

Im on a cycling forum where I am one of the go-to guys for information due to my family history in the sport and my experience working with some of our best athletes including Olympians.

But when it comes to fishing I am a rank amateur so I am indebted to the experienced fishers for their tips and advice. Ive really only started fishing in the last couple of years and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Im doing okay, usually catch fish and am loving it. So thanks so much to this forum and the experienced people on here for sharing their knowledge.

[Little_Flatty]

@Derny Driver I didn’t realise your tag was a cycling reference! Are you or were you literally a derny rider at some point?

I raced track for several years many moons ago, but not at any notable level. I was a much better roadie and marathon mountain biker.

There’s a few cyclists on here, all giving far too much money to Shimano across two different sports 🤣

[Derny Driver]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

@Derny Driver I didn’t realise your tag was a cycling reference! Are you or were you literally a derny rider at some point?

I raced track for several years many moons ago, but not at any notable level. I was a much better roadie and marathon mountain biker.

There’s a few cyclists on here, all giving far too much money to Shimano across two different sports 🤣

Gidday mate ... what I love about bike racing is that it's a sport where intelligence beats ability most times. A thinking man's sport. I liked Derek's comment about 10% of fishermen catch 90% of the fish ... same sort of thing. 

I've done over 100,000 km motorpacing cyclists and worn out 4 motos. I do have a derny ticket and have used one on the velodrome but mostly I have a purpose built scooter for that task which I use on both road or velodrome. The Number plate reads DERNY and people call me Derny or DD which I don't mind.

I've worked with 3 different NRS teams and travelled to races in most Australian States as well as the USA. I don't really coach people but I do mentor people. Mostly masters as Juniors parents are a pain, and elites have national coaches. I do love coaching track, especially IP or team pursuit. But I just love the sport. My dad was a champion and my uncle a world famous 6 day cyclist in Europe.  I myself was pretty ordinary but am lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented people. The cycling community are salt of the earth,  so generous and friendly   and I can see from this forum that the fishing community have that same vibe. 

Hope I haven't hijacked Derek's post.

Cheers 

[R E G I C Y C L E]

On 7/25/2023 at 8:07 PM, Little_Flatty said:

@Derny Driver I didn’t realise your tag was a cycling reference! Are you or were you literally a derny rider at some point?

I raced track for several years many moons ago, but not at any notable level. I was a much better roadie and marathon mountain biker.

There’s a few cyclists on here, all giving far too much money to Shimano across two different sports 🤣

Sram and Daiwa is where it's at 😉

[Derny Driver]

42 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Sram and Daiwa is where it's at 😉

Correct

In cycling circles, Shimano bicycle components are commonly referred to as "fishing gear" 🤣

[mrsswordfisherman]

Interesting @Derny Driver

Why not start another new thread in The Bar? Seems there are a few cycle enthusiasts. 

EDIT: In fact I have split this into a new thread 😃

Edited July 27, 2023 by mrsswordfisherman
Split to new thread

[Rebel]

I have owned bikes since day one.

I joined Northern Suburbs when i was a teenager at school.

Northern Suburbs was on of the biggest bike clubs in those days along with ST.George & Enfield Burwood.

I bought a second hand road bike to see how I would go.

Won a few trophies. I wasn't a world beater. Had lots of fun.

I built a track bike. Raced at Wiley Park & Henson Park. I wasn't a good sprinter, so I stuck to road racing.

In those days the gear we used was Campagnolo. Gears, Double chainwheels & quick release hubs.

Brakes at the time were Weimann.

Did it for several years. Still have friends today from the Era.

Great memories

[noelm]

2 hours ago, Derny Driver said:

Correct

In cycling circles, Shimano bicycle components are commonly referred to as "fishing gear" 🤣

It’s kind of funny in some ways, I worked in the cycle industry for a while, and people would say something like “it’s got Shimano parts/gears” like they only ever make one model of parts, just like fishing gear, most see the name and don’t know the difference between a $25 reel and a Stella. Shimano make/made some great components, as did Suntour (that I think were much better) but Shimano just kind of out marketed them, like lots of things, marketing and exposure wins every time, just look at Bunnings, MacDonalds, VHS over Beta, just like Shimano, persistence won.

[fragmeister]

Another bike rider here.

Not a fanatic, but I use it as an exercise alternative.

I stick to reasonably fast 30K rides on Sundays and mid-week rides to and from work.

A little cold at the moment, though, so morning rides are not on my schedule.

A bet, we could share some stories about angry car drivers, bike track bird watchers and dogs on those retractable leads.LOL!

 

Cheers

Jim

[Little_Flatty]

4 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Sram and Daiwa is where it's at 😉

I changed to SRAM because I was giving shimano too much money 🤣 Still mostly on Shimano for fishing, though I’m getting more and more ‘invaders’ in my arsenal, especially after starting fly fishing.

I think cyclists share a similar growth mindset with anglers. Both sports reward hard work and persistence handsomely. You might not become a world beater, but with a bit of hard work you become very good by anyone’s measure. And like cycling, you do better if you have a good community around you, as we do with Fishraider 😎

[noelm]

A kind of funny story (and please, no disrespect to tri athletes….) but many years ago, I used to work with a guy that rode in the “Tour de France) several times, he lived in Nowra and worked in Wollongong, so, “training” for him was his daily commute. He had a special bike built to suit the standard roads between the two places, it was a mix between a BMX, a mountain bike and a road racer, it was by no means “sporty” he told me one day he was riding to work, and a couple of triathletes came along, so he “paced” them for a bit, then when he got to the big hill going north near Geroa, he started to put on some pace, the others (in all their Lycra and zillion dollar bikes) tried to keep up, he toyed with them for a while, then really stepped it up, until halfway up the very long hill, they just couldn’t keep up with him. They caught up with him on the long slightly downhill run towards Kiama and when he told them about his riding history, they all had a good laugh and “raced” most of the way to where they left him as he continued his “training run” to work. Anyone who knows the area can attest to some of the hills on that run, and he did it 5 days a week.

[Derny Driver]

4 hours ago, Rebel said:

I have owned bikes since day one.

I joined Northern Suburbs when i was a teenager at school.

Northern Suburbs was on of the biggest bike clubs in those days along with ST.George & Enfield Burwood.

I bought a second hand road bike to see how I would go.

Won a few trophies. I wasn't a world beater. Had lots of fun.

I built a track bike. Raced at Wiley Park & Henson Park. I wasn't a good sprinter, so I stuck to road racing.

In those days the gear we used was Campagnolo. Gears, Double chainwheels & quick release hubs.

Brakes at the time were Weimann.

Did it for several years. Still have friends today from the Era.

Great memories

Good stuff mate. Fantastic.

My dad was a St George man and as a kid my brother and I spent many Friday nights at Wiley park or Hurstville Oval watching the races. I never took the sport up until I was nearly 40, started with triathlon and switched to road cycling with illawarra Club. Never rode the track due to time / marriage constraints at the time ...these days track racing is my field of expertise I guess. I have a key to the local velodrome and am ofter there training someone or other.

When my dad passed away I became the custodian of his road and track racing bikes ...yes all Campagnolo stuff with Weinmann or Universal brakes (Apparently Campag made crap brakes). I since added another 50 steel track and road bikes to the collection. Mostly 1980s but I have one from the 30s and some from the 60s and 70s. I start with a frame, strip, repaint, re-decal it and then get all the period correct parts. Each bike is different. Some have Suntour, others Galli, Zeus, Shimano 600, Dura Ace, Campag record, Triomphe, Chorus ...and so on. I have mostly Italian, Australian and a few Japanese bikes. Favourites are Coppi, Merckx, Atala, Benotto, Moser ...and the Sydney builders Paul Blom, Geoff Scott, Jim Bundy, Ken Evans etc

[Derny Driver]

3 hours ago, fragmeister said:

Another bike rider here.

Not a fanatic, but I use it as an exercise alternative.

I stick to reasonably fast 30K rides on Sundays and mid-week rides to and from work.

A little cold at the moment, though, so morning rides are not on my schedule.

A bet, we could share some stories about angry car drivers, bike track bird watchers and dogs on those retractable leads.LOL!

 

Cheers

Jim

Thats good stuff Jim. Ive got hundreds of great stories. One quick one from a few years ago ...my brother was in a Sunday morning bunch riding in the Albion Park area when an angry driver took exception to them taking up the lane, he abused them all, brake checked them, then stopped and (foolishly) got out of his car. 

The group contained 2 off duty cops, a black belt in karate, a pub owner with wrestling and security training, and a bikie from the local club. The bikie got to him first. The bloke is probably still eating his dinner through a straw.

[Derny Driver]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

A kind of funny story (and please, no disrespect to tri athletes….) but many years ago, I used to work with a guy that rode in the “Tour de France) several times, he lived in Nowra and worked in Wollongong, so, “training” for him was his daily commute. He had a special bike built to suit the standard roads between the two places, it was a mix between a BMX, a mountain bike and a road racer, it was by no means “sporty” he told me one day he was riding to work, and a couple of triathletes came along, so he “paced” them for a bit, then when he got to the big hill going north near Geroa, he started to put on some pace, the others (in all their Lycra and zillion dollar bikes) tried to keep up, he toyed with them for a while, then really stepped it up, until halfway up the very long hill, they just couldn’t keep up with him. They caught up with him on the long slightly downhill run towards Kiama and when he told them about his riding history, they all had a good laugh and “raced” most of the way to where they left him as he continued his “training run” to work. Anyone who knows the area can attest to some of the hills on that run, and he did it 5 days a week.

I know the area well mate, I live in Shellharbour. My son and his cousin used to do a 120km training loop up Mac pass, down into Kangaroo Valley, over Berry mountain and back up the highway through Kiama. On one ride my son snapped a gear cable in Kangaroo valley and had to ride up Berry Mountain in the 39-12. They descended down into Berry and went to Berry Mountain Cycles for help, but it was about 45 minutes before closing time so they were basically told to go away. I picked them up in my van. Thats okay, I have dozens and dozens of people ask me where to buy a bike from. I always tell them where to go and where not to go. Giant bicycles in wollongong are fantastic. 

[Derny Driver]

3 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

 

I think cyclists share a similar growth mindset with anglers. Both sports reward hard work and persistence handsomely. You might not become a world beater, but with a bit of hard work you become very good by anyone’s measure. And like cycling, you do better if you have a good community around you, as we do with Fishraider 😎

Studies have shown that the best cyclists come from a group situation. That is, they train and race together. Thats why we have academies and institutes of sport. The group dynamic pushes and motivates people, they learn from each other and do better than if they trained on their own.

[Little_Flatty]

4 hours ago, noelm said:

A kind of funny story (and please, no disrespect to tri athletes….) but many years ago, I used to work with a guy that rode in the “Tour de France) several times, he lived in Nowra and worked in Wollongong, so, “training” for him was his daily commute. He had a special bike built to suit the standard roads between the two places, it was a mix between a BMX, a mountain bike and a road racer, it was by no means “sporty” he told me one day he was riding to work, and a couple of triathletes came along, so he “paced” them for a bit, then when he got to the big hill going north near Geroa, he started to put on some pace, the others (in all their Lycra and zillion dollar bikes) tried to keep up, he toyed with them for a while, then really stepped it up, until halfway up the very long hill, they just couldn’t keep up with him. They caught up with him on the long slightly downhill run towards Kiama and when he told them about his riding history, they all had a good laugh and “raced” most of the way to where they left him as he continued his “training run” to work. Anyone who knows the area can attest to some of the hills on that run, and he did it 5 days a week.

Yep, cycling is a great leveller like that. You can have all the gear and no idea, think you're awesome, then get smoked by someone on a much more ordinary bike.

As I said before, you could get to quite a good level through hard work, even without talent (like me). As a result of my hard work, I once held a Strava record of just under nine minutes for the Turramurra side of Bobbin Head for quite a while. That got quite a bit of attention from my club mates for a bit of time, but what a lot of people didn't know was that on that morning, I wasn't the first up the hill in the bunch..maybe I was somewhere in the top fifth? Ahead of me were a teen, a couple of younger women, veterans 50+, plus a couple of masters riders; the actual riders who had talent. That was the Wednesday Dawn Patrol bunch (@Derny Driver I'm sure you'd know them).

Then one day, the REAL riders discovered Strava. Soon after, my record was toast 🤣

[Blackfish]

I still ride a bike but have been a bit slack lately with the move and all, but after many years of knee abuse (sport and work) they now have a newish lease on life. Now back in the day I rode a bike to get to fishing spots. It was an old steel frame beast that was to big for me and a hand me down from the next door neighbour. I never knew about a properly fitted bike, I was just happy to have one. Just one gear and a back caliper brake,.That bike went on for many years and played many a role in my life.

I lived at Gladesville and you couldn’t ride anywhere without a hill. I’d ride to the end of Wharf road and also Punt road fishing for Bream. Also used to ride to the wharf that was under Gladesville Bridge at the time fishing for anything that would take my bait. As a kid my brain had no limitations on what you would catch. A line in the water was good enough for me.

The bike then went up to my Grandmothers house at Umina as we had a granny flat at the back. We were in Ocean Beach road close to the beach. I would ride down to the rocks between Umina and Pearl beach and fish near the rock baths or or walk around facing the ocean.

I would also ride to Ocean beach and Ettalong fishing for Whiting and Flathead. 
For Blackfish I would ride to Woy Woy bridge or the Baths.

So the Bike was a means of transportation rather than exercise back in the day for me but I always loved it and supplied plenty of fresh fish for the family.

Eventually getting old enough to buy a car (XR 67 Falcon) that made it easier but the bike lived on for many a year dubbed “The Booze Bike”. RBT’s we’re just coming in. Where I could ride to a party or the Ettalong memorial club, before they did it up with a mate, have a beer and only hurt myself if I fell off which I did a couple of times, Oh to be young and stupid.

My Grandmother passed away so my family sold the house but the bike went to my mates who rode it for many a year and he has just passed away as well.

Great memories.

Now people call me a MAMIL. (Middle aged man in Lycra) and I quickly correct them and tell them I’m a OMIL. Old Man in Lycra. Bahhhaaa 😃

[Rebel]

I lived at Nth. Ryde in those days. Use to ride to Palm Beach & back every Tuesday & Thursday for training. On Sundays, training could be anywhere. Picton, Katoomba, Bulli. One good thing, there wasn't a lot of traffic. Unlike today.

When I got really interested in racing, a bike shop at  West Ryde Tollis Cycles built me a road bike with all the good gear. Cost me $200 in today's money. Thank god I had my paper runs to pay for it.

I later found a guy in Bondi who built  light weight bike frames. All the Pro's use to buy off him. They were great frames so light & strong. Never knew what they were made out of.

But they worked.

Cheers.

[Bennyg78]

Ex competitive ironman Triathlete here, spent so much money on bikes I should have shares in a certain bike shop in Penrith.

Yes definitely a shimano man, when it came to gearing and Hello Di2 (electronic shifting)! I do love the distinct marketing and feel of different cycling brands like the french brands, italian and other labels, hello Corima, zipp and Campagnolo!.

Theres definitely a real feel, vibe and culture about the brand names.

After 23 years in the sport I am no longer racing tris due to some knee issues and my kids getting busier with sport. So fishing is the main passion along with combat sports!

Sold my last triathlon bike over a year ago which was an emotional departure! Still have a pretty basic dual suspension mountainbike I take out a little bit. Still love to watch all things endurance sports and talk shop!

[noelm]

It’s funny when you’re “young” fitness never entered into it, I had an old back pedal brake bike in my youth (as did my mates) and we used to think nothing of riding up Macquarie Pass to have a swim at the waterfall at the top, these days it’s an effort in the car!! We used to ride through the paddocks with a surfboard trailer on the back to surf “the farm”. A couple of my mates were “into” cycling and were pretty good, they used to ride to school, and if we passed them in the school bus, we used to chuck stuff out the window at them…..damn litter bugs, but, it’s just what we did back then! Aahhh, the innocence of youth.

[Derny Driver]

7 hours ago, Bennyg78 said:

Ex competitive ironman Triathlete here, spent so much money on bikes I should have shares in a certain bike shop in Penrith.

 

What's your favourite Ironman Ben?

And best time ?

[Bennyg78]

Hey mate 9:58 at port Mac, as for a fave I loved cairns but the old Forster course just for the sentimental value of being the first in Australia 

[Derny Driver]

1 hour ago, Bennyg78 said:

Hey mate 9:58 at port Mac, as for a fave I loved cairns but the old Forster course just for the sentimental value of being the first in Australia 

Excellent time! Very impressive. 

I set myself a goal a few years ago, to take a lady who had done 9 ironman races including kona, and had never ridden a track bike, and coach her to a world individual pursuit title in 12 months. From a 10 hour athlete to a 3 and a half minute effort. We got the State Title,  2nd at Nationals ( to ex pro Bridie ODonnell) and were preparing for world's when she was hit by a car and injured.

Ironman is really the ultimate challenge in so many ways, I've never done one but have so much respect for anyone who has, because I know what is required . Something you can always be proud of mate. 

[Bennyg78]

1 hour ago, Derny Driver said:

Excellent time! Very impressive. 

I set myself a goal a few years ago, to take a lady who had done 9 ironman races including kona, and had never ridden a track bike, and coach her to a world individual pursuit title in 12 months. From a 10 hour athlete to a 3 and a half minute effort. We got the State Title,  2nd at Nationals ( to ex pro Bridie ODonnell) and were preparing for world's when she was hit by a car and injured.

Ironman is really the ultimate challenge in so many ways, I've never done one but have so much respect for anyone who has, because I know what is required . Something you can always be proud of mate. 

That’s awesome what a great result and change of focus . Track racing always impressed me as well as the ladies that were in the track 😉

I never got on the track but loved getting to dunc gray to watch the uci world cups. I had a few mates who would race the Friday nights out there and back up with a long ride Saturday 
Bridie herself was a handy triathlete once upon a time, she was engaged to a very handy pro way back when.

I love most of the aspects of triathlon (although the rising cost of entering an Ironman wasn’t one).

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Bennyg78

[Ganguddy Goodoo]

Good to see a few cyclists on Fishraider. I'm a long term commuter (bike paths and firetrails only so don't have a go at me) and will get on the roadie once a week for fitness. My wife is heavily into it and rides in a bunch 4 mornings a week. My kids both mountain bike as their second sport. I'm a bit outnumbered in my household as most of our social network is based around cycling (they seriously outnumber fishos and climbers which is a bit of a shame for me).

@Derny Driver I'm still a relative novice so am still very much a receiver rather than a giver of wisdom in the fishing department. It is great to learn new things. If you are riding a mountain bike you should hit the South Coast for a fishing/mtb weekend/week. So many good trails around Tathra and heaps going in at Narooma and Mogo.