Engagements

December seems to be the time for people wanting to ask each other to marry them this year. A big congratulations to Gerro and his lady Rahna on their engagment on Christmas day. Great news!!!
Happy New Year.....come on 2008

Christmas Ride

A group of us started a christmas tradition a few years ago by hooking up christmas morning for a push along the beach to Blackrock and then back to Carlton to Brunetti's for a java or two and some breaky.
As always we had a ok turnout. Apart from Middle Cam and Rhys being booked by the local coppers (so much for christmas cheer) for running a red light outside a cop shop. Cam said first time in 10 years of running the same red light he has been pinged there....now they are both $230 bucks poorer.
The weather was not the best being a cooler (quite nippy) than a normal summers day. Huzza was back from Singapore and swung by to join us for a pedal. It was a nice way to start the christmas madness of eating and drinking way too much. Even my wife, parents and Huzza's family joined us for breaky.
Shane scored well in the christmas pressent department by getting a 3 pack of whiskey. He looked like a classic with them hanging out of the jersey pockets for the ride home....nice one! I did alright with a 4 pack of Murray brew to sample sometime in the future (thanx Big Al).
Anyway enjoy new years and see you out and about!!!!!!!!

one fucken speed

OK I am a single speed mountain bike lover....I love the simplicty of it....its all about riding the bike. Nothing gives me more pleasure than passing someone on their expensive carbon fibre 20 something gears up a hill. Sure it is hard at times riding big hills but dont knock what you aint got the balls to try!
At the KONA the campsite next to us had some guys riding Yeti hardtails....nice bikes. They say mine and Shane's Fat Chance and began a little bit of heckling....nice bmx's and shit like that. Karma is a fantastic thing. First lap out and the tool that was ribbing me ripped his XTR rear mech clean off the frame. Luckily somebody could help him out with a spare hanger. I sauntered over during the repair process and stated that now was the optimum time to try a single speed and that we rarely have such mechanicals!! Ah karma aint she a wonderful girl.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope you are all enjoying christmas!!!!!
Happy pedaling

Congratulations

Well done Richie and Kate on the announcement of their engagement...... Ritchie now you have some incentives to win some races as you have a wedding to pay for!!!!!

rained out

Few posts for December but hey thats due to working and socialising. I am busy as a mining camp hooker at the moment so stealing time to get out on the bike has been hard. Did manage a few rides this week. Got absolutely soaked last weekend down the beach with Shane and Al. It was nice rain as far as rain goes as it was warm. Not alot of folks out either which made it nice as well.
Did get out to lysterfeild for a session during the week. Did not see a single sole which was awesome as usually it is a busy place even mid wek. Only thing I saw was a shit load of kangaroos... lots of joeys which couldnt work me out.. the 29er is getting there slowly, but still trying to work out the right fork pressures. I have changed the tyres to a 2.1 ignitor by maxxis which seems to hook up a bit better than the fast traks by specialized.
Was trying to get out today but the rain over the last three days has been impressive to say the least. We have had around 100mm of rain in the last 3 days. Was hoping to get out on the 29er but even with this amount of rain it was a no go.
Saw my nephew for the first time this week. Cute little fella and it was nice to see my sister in law getting in to the mum thing easily.
Shout out to Carl M (3rd in his age group at 24 hrs Adrenaline Solo worlds) whos father passed away at my workplace after a short but strong battle against his illness. Very sad thing to witness....very sad
I was thinking about going to Revolution at Vodaphone arena this week but decided to do something else and I missed one of the best falls on a track I have seen in a while. Some of you might have seen it on the TV. Glad to see that everyone was Ok and still walking after the fall.



What is it about Christmas....people lose there minds driving on the road and the rudness of people in shops just gets bigger... chill out!
Happy pedaling

word of the month....... busy

What can I say it has been a hectic month so far with work, bikes, christmas parties!
I cant complain about much as it has been fun to say the least. I have been trying to get out on the 29er as much as possible to tune up the ride, tweaking this and that to get it dialed in. Dan Hale hooked me up with a Phil Wood BB which looked too nice to have hidden in the BB shell. A hell of a mechanic so if you need some help with the one speed thing give hime a call (check the side bar for the link at Shifter Bikes). Saw Dan's new cross frame (he loves them) sweet steel build by a local frame builder for Cog bikes.
Dan was telling me how after years of not wearing a helmet he finally bought one after the mishap with Andy White. Whilst pedaling home one evening some tool hit him in the head with a full stubbie of beer....no damage apart from the massive crack in the helmet and the local law enforcement needing to come and rescue the offender!!!
Hit the road yesterday with Gerro for a pedal down the beach. Melburn folk don't understand how lucky we are to have beech road for a pedal. All was good yesterday bar the block head wind in 30 deg heat, and lucky for me, Gerro took pity on me I think and didnt pound me into the pavement. At times all I could do was give a "Uh huh, mmmm" cause I was out of breath..... man I wish I could tap out the tempo of a pro, makes riding a bike look oh so easy!
Other news at hand is that I am a uncle after the arrival of my nephew. All involved are well...well done Renee and Kris!
10/10 for young Mister Sister with his efforts at the work christmas party.... boy did NZ Gav and I give him some shit in the forrest on Thursday's dusk ride at Lysterfeild.... had us in stiches at his expense and him frustrated as shit(yes I will get my turrets syndrome sorted out, mister sister!)
More later, happy pedaling ;)

KONA 24 hr

Well the KONA is done and dusted for 2007. What a fun event it was. Full of the usual characters, nice bikes and good weather.
Our team (the good the bad and the ugly) did well, we managed 7th out of the 25 teams in the supersixes. Good result seeming how unfit some of us were and some were more than happy to drink beers between laps...imagine if we actually got our shit together and trained!!!!! Well done to Johnny Claxton winning the solo format with 21laps in 23hrs.
Anyhow I love the 24hr format even though it it a tiring event. The Kona this year was at Forest, in the Otway Ranges, west of Melbourne. This year saw the introduction of a 3 lap format (2 different day laps and a night lap) which kept things interesting. I did have some difficulties with the night lap with a fall....but hey thats 24hr racing. The trails were awesome and the newly cut trail got better as the race wore on. the trails ran amoungst the grass trees and beech forest which was something different. Nice location for a pedal if you hve the time.
I was having heaps of fun letting the 29er rip up the trails till I lost it into a corner and into a tree on a night lap. The bike was awesome at sucking up what the trails had to offer, and those lovely berms on Marniers Run. My gearing was well suited to the coarse. I ran a 34 - 19 and everything was ridable.



Saw many a nice 29er at the race including a 29er SS Ventana. Well specked out with Midleburn cranks and industry 9 wheels. Big Al had his new 69er by Trek. Nice geared bike (thinks he has the best of both worlds with a 29er front and 26 rear) with a Fox F29 fork. Would be much nicer with a single speed conversion!!!



The start and prologue was great ripping it up the middle of the campsite which was awesome to watch.




The boys soughting out the bikes.... funny was watching Shane riding my bike!!!!! Cause he is such a short guy he was sitting on the top tube...lots of laughs!


Anyway all in all a fantastic weekend of racing.

The gorilla

Ok people it has arrived...... Mt beautiful 29er from the big S. The shop called me on Monday arvo and I was down there as fast as jack rabbit. I was excited to say the least. It is a fantstic looking machine and once I had all the SRAM and shimano drive train off and put the single speed stuff on I was fuckn wrapped and pumped for a pedal. The frame is M5 tubing and finished in a matt black and blue paint (goes well with the blue White Industries chain ring). The bike is a monster on the trail, it handles the windy single track well and rolls over everything I have thrown at it so far. The test will be this weekend at the KONA 24.
So today is pack up and drive day to forest for the KONA.....should be a blast. Pitty one of our team members is unable to attend ( I promise we will have heaps of fun for you and remind you every chance we get!!!). Will post upon returning with lots of photos.


The build
Stumpjumper 08 29er
Reba SL for with remote lockout
White Industries ENO SS Crank
Chris King Cogs and spacer kit
Shimano hubs laced to DT rims (factory)
Izumi chain
King Cages

Big thanx to Le Tour for the assistance in getting the bike sorted!!

wednesday fix

Lazy

Well I have been on nights for the last 3 weeks....over them completely. Combine nights with some extemes of weather (stinking hot 30's one day.....pissing rain the next) and my trashed knee, I havent managed to get out on the bike all week. Hooked up with Ritchie E for a trip up them far hills. Thank god he was on hid first week back from a month of layoff..... he was gentle on me! Boy I was feeling it today up the 1:20 climb. Had a nice coffee at the top and a conversation covering all the things that are wrong in our worlds.... a most enjoyable day...thanx Ritchie

oh 7 days till we are kicking it at the KONA 24hr...cant wait and I have got everything crosssed for the arrical of the Stumpy 29er before I head to the race.

single speed cross worlds

As if cyclocross aint crazy enough.....Combine beer waffles, mud, cyclocross and singlespeeders and you get mayhem and bloody funny photo's. Barry Wicks of KONA bikes won the event and shared the podium with Treebon and Craig. Looks like alot of fun was had!





All I can say is nice gold budgie smugglers!

monday fix

wrong...way way wrong

there are some things that are bad enough to see in person but really do we need to see it in a photograph!!!

trail rash

mmmm got to love this fine weather we are having here in melburn at the moment. Nothing but clear skies, warm sun and little wind, makes perfect time for riding a bike. Decided today after a decent sleep in and a big breaky that I would head out on the dirt for a couple of hours and work on the tan. Drove out to lysterfeild, parked the car and jumped straight into the trail head. Got about 30 seconds from the car into the newly cut trails and dropped myself on a non technical switchback. Fuck me it hurt, took all the impact on my left knee. Kept going but the further I rode the more it stung. So after an hour I called it a day and headed home!!
Got to love the fun of cleaning out the wounds in the shower!!!!!
Good news at hand that my 29er might be here before the Kona 24hr. I am happy it is almost here. I was getting over the revised delivery dates from Specialized. The other great news is I am going to get reaquainted with the white stuff in the northern hemisphere early next year including one loppett race in Canada.....cant wait.

monday fix

mmmm....thats goin hurt

nothin like a topple on the track and the picking out of splinters in the aftermarth!!

road trip

Headed on a road trip with Mister Sister and NZ Gav to Forest, the site of the up comimg Kona 24hr. Located in the Otways a couple of hrs drive from Melburn. Greeted by fantastic weather we set off early (managed to get a cup of morning wake up from Shano at thresa's and rub it in that we were off for some fun) to avoid the traffic and get a good amount of riding done. Never been before so we were not sure what to expect.
We were welcomed with some fantastic trails through open gum forrest, pockets of grass trees and tea tree lined single track. The area had some residual water from the soaking Victoria copped last weekend so keeping clean was not a option with many a water crossing and some muddy single track. The trails are primarly sandy loam with heaps of testing log rides in places, drop offs and berms. Some nasty hills were encounted (I ride single speed) but sweet single track over came the frustration of having to hump the rig a few times. The builders off this course love sending you between some tight V forked trees in places which increasingly became frustrating.
Managed a decent 3hr ride and am now feeling the days efforts after some quiet ales. So if you want some where new to ride check out this gem. Plenty of trail to keep you occupied!
later!!!


credit for this photo to Mister Sister....next time get my head in the shot!!!!



NZ Gav found us a unhappy local (blue tounge lizard) who was pissed at us disturbing his lunchtime cesta. Trust me he looks mellow in the shot but he wanted a taste of any human finger!!!

cyclocross is back!

Ok I am a fan of all things bike related. Cross is one of those crazy things that us as Australians do not get to see or do. Bring on cyclocross in Australia I say!!!!

stolen from cyclingnews

girl monday

thankgod for days off

Had a good week this week. Celebrated the birthday and managed to do so in a low key style. Headed out on the mountain bike heaps with 3 sessions at Lysterfeild including on dusk ride that was heaps of fun bar the back burning in the Churchill National park next door that required me to drive right around the other side of the park and then hump it in 5 kms before getting to the trail network. I was amazed at the amount of punters I saw out there at dusk!
Even got out to there yesterday with NZ Gav and Mister Sista for a burn around. Had some fun including some little falls that were funny. Good to see Gav back on the bike after his wrestle with a car last week!
The end of the week was spoilt at work by some white trash cock threatening me with physical harm cause of his shithouse situation ... needed the cops and the big guns at work to sort him out.... dont enjoy this part of intensive care nursing and definately dont get paid enough to take bull shit verbal assault or threats of physical assault from agro relatives.
Caught up with the Cartlon Crew today and headed down the beach and hooked up the the Hell Ride at Black Rock. Was hoping for a little gentle trip back to the city but the boys had other ideas and it was fuckn warp speed the whole way back to St Kilda......gave it a bit of a nudge and had some fun!

Shano even showed me his new bike and riding style!!!



Oh and Movember has started so if you want to sponser me let me know. The mo is starting to came together.

ready, set, mo

Ok chops have been sorted out and the face cleanly shaven for movember. A few of the lads at work have combined for this little event. It will be interesting!! All ready missing the chops but thats ok cause they will be back in a few weeks.

birthday celebrations

Ok firstly thanx to all who have wished me a happy birthday today. Yes I am getting old at the age of 32. I share this birthday with another bloke who unfortunatley wont be celebrating anymore birthdays after his sudden and untimely death this year.... thoughts go out to crakers family.
Anyhow had a brillant birthday....low key was the plan. Had a decent sleep in and scored some cool gifts from the wife to go with the new 29er (arriving sometime soon!). Headed out for a bite of breaky at a local cafe and then hit the dirt for a single speed fix out at lysterfeild and then off to the movies to top it all off.
Great thing about lysterfeild is most of it is protected from the wind (110km an hour winds here in melburn yesterday) so it was warm in amoungst the trees....plenty of time working on them tan lines! Few trees down but thats cool as it adds to the fun of trails. Speaking of trails I see the trail smurfs have been at it cutting 2 sections of new trail. Should be good in a few weeks when the trails are cut in a bit more. Winter had a bit effect on some of the low lying areas resulting in some heavily rutted areas. Looking at the piles of rock and sand around the loop, there is soon to be some improvements made.
Novemeber is right on the door so it means one thing....Movember! thats right people I am loosing the chops for a month and getting some form of upper lip fix with a few of the lads from work..... it will be a sight to behold!

aahh girl monday

blind corners!

Yesterday as I had a day off from the salt mines I headed up the Dandenongs for a pedal. Taking my time (I aint no mountain goat) I cruised up the 1:20. 2kms from the top after the false flat I was checking out the view I looked down and saw a bloke with a motorbike in the scrub. He was a bit daze and asked him if he was alright. He was amazingly. He had lost it coming around the blind corner and slid over the edge of the road. I still cant believe that he missed a big gum tree and numerous rocks and peices of timber he could have impaled himself on. All he had wrong with him was a 20 cent peice of skin off his knee. His bike looked pretty messed up and stated that his insurance had ran out 2 days ago! Lucky for him that some one saw him cause if he had fucked himself he could have been in the scrub for a while.
Shout out to NZ Gav who was hit by a car this week on the Tour of the Burbs....get better cause we need you for the 24hr race.
Well done to Richie E for the 4th place in the melburn to warnie yesterday. A lazy 300km race (longest in the world now I believe) averaged 40 odd kms/hr for just over 7 hrs. Long hard day in the office!

as if mountain biking aint hard enough

Hats off to this bloke who is doing the croc trophy at the moment in Northern Australia. Most able bodied people would find the race difficult enough with out having to do it on a hand cycle.... Makes you think
a) life aint that bad when you reckon you are having a bad day and that life could be worse
b) take a leaf out of his book and get the most out eaqch and every day
c) toughen the fuck up!

girl monday

its heating up

Ok the first taste of summer has hit us with a 33 degree day yesterday. After saturdays efforts I some how managed to get a dose of food poisioning. So with the day off work I headed out to the last stage of the Sun Tour and found a shadey place to sit and contemplate.
Managed to catch up with some of the famous and infamous colorful characters of Australian cycling. Seems like some are going to have a tuff year ahead with some of our local guys missing out on contracts at this stage for the next 12 months.
Managed to push my way through the throng of people surrounding the SRAM Bissel tent and got a few quick words from Rich. Lucky bugger now gets to front up to the Melburn to Warnnie (have fun with that 297km blast) next Saturday before some well earned time off!
Checked out the SRAM display.... OK the SRAM Red groupset looks cool but $3000 for a group set..... mmmm maybe not, I will stick with the Dura Ace thanks!
Caught up with Shane and wished him ahappy birthday.... I promise the present is comming!!! Ended up with Big Al and his new lady for a quiet ale at Transport in Fed Square.
Me, well this week try and get some decent riding in this week, work alot as usual and work out what the fuck to do for my birthday...... I was hoping that my 29er would be here but every time I check for its arrival date it has moved further away (might be here in mid November!! might have it dialed in for the KONA).

ciao

mountain sunshine

Decided to finally bite the bullet and revisit one of my old haunts. The famous Mt Dandenong is one of melburns destinations for cyclists. I was a regular rider up in the blue hills in all seasons but often the ride to the base was a nightmare as melburn expanded, so I eventually binned it and opted for other routes. Today was a perfect example of fine spring weather with not a cloud in the sky, cool breeze and little traffic (trust me I was expecting a battle to get there). I did get myself lost trying to ride through some side streets for a quieter ride and ended up having to ride some single track to break on through back to another road.
I rode up the 1:20 route and through Olinda back down to Montrose and home a lazy 2 hr ride. Awesome views out towards the Yarra Valley. The ride up wasnt as bad as I remebered. Managed a reasonable time in the big dog. My thighs are feeling it now (secret training miles for Glenvale!).
Other news to hand is that we have put a supersixes team together with all the usual suspects for the KONA 24HR in December. Should be a blast, I believe that the area at Forrest has some Glen Jacobsen designed single track in it.
Ran into Gerro yesterday at threso's riding his new Credit Agricole 08 Look. Bloody nice bike. Nice Dura Ace carbon singles......might have to knock those suckers off when he aint looking.
Suntour..... following it a little, might have to check out a stage live soon!

Happy Monday

what the

Ok been a busy week. Managed to get out a few times to train despite some of the weather we have had. I headed to Glenvale with high aspirations afetr last week but after waking up feeling less than average I drove part of the way to the race. The truth of the matter is that I lasted a whopping 15mins. Fuck I am pissed at myself....next time. Rule number 1 is dont chase down a break in week 2 of returning to racing!

Good luck to richie and his team at the sun tour..... I want to see some results!

later

return to racing

Well today was D Day! I returned to the little place of pain called Glenvale for a 1hr crit which I was unsure about. I was expecting that my day would be done quickly as I havent raced on the road in over 12 months. I headed down to Glenvale and was sure that i would last only 15mins in B grade. Caught up with some familiar faces that I have not seen in a while, including Trent Lowe who I thought would have been on holidays by now after the European season. He looked good and seemed happy with his new team for next year.
Well the race itself was a blast. Nothing like screaming around a crit course in a bunch. At times I was flying, others creeping.....ah the memories of when I could do it with out tiring! I must admit that I suprised myself with making it 45mins til the elasitic finally snapped and let me loose of the bunch. The first 15mins were the worst, plenty of gutter time and chewing the bar tape! Next week I am aiming for the full hour but we will have to wait and see.
Riding home I well and truely got the bonk from hell. I had to stop at a service station and devour some Mars bars and a can of Coke.
Another shout out to Richie for his efforts at the Tour of Tasmania with another stage win (bloody super criter!! Just need to pull something of at the Sun Tour now!)



Keep the wheels turning til next time
Ciao

snakes

Ok spring means many things. Sunshine comes out sand so does the magpie, but the other thing that comes out is the trusty snake (everyone has some bike riding snake meeting story). In many areas where I ride on and off the road there is always the risk of comming across a snake. I am mainly in tiger snake country and these little fuckers are in the top 10 of the worlds most deadly snakes, are angry alot of the time and have some nasty arse venom.
I have been looking after someone in the ICU who had the misfortune of being bitten this week on the ankle whilst riding a bike (how unlucky... just out enjoying the weather) and is now knocking on deaths door. Didint help that he rode for 10 mins to get home. Makes me think that I will be packing the compression bandage in the kit this year when off road!
Busy week with a bit of training thrown in. Managed to get out on the roller skis and on the bike. I have got the weekend off so I am heading up into the hills for some training tomorrow and then racing on Sunday at the infamous Glenvale!



Well done to Richie with a win down in the Tour of Tassie..... hope to catch him soon for a pedal
Check ya!!



Oh and I want these socks that sock guy has made and previewed at interbike!

Work work work!

Ok I have been slightly busy last fortnight with lots of overtime to pay for the upcomming snow trip to the US/ Canada and to pay off my new 29er. I am slight tired of seeing the four walls at work and watching daylight slip past me.There has been many a sick patient at work, thats a good thing cause it means extra work for me if I want it (ching ching ching). Not to worry as I did manage to get out on the road bike a little (boy did it hurt...muscle memory has failed me). Even managed to hook up with Az and get a lazy brew ride in (cause we were rooted from work) and have a decent catch up!
Hopefully this week will be less hectic ( I did manage 26hrs overtime this fortnight) and the weather friendly enough to let me out and about on the bike and roller skis. Managed to see a band called Daughtry....not bad ( I was a sceptic cause he had been on the US Idol, Hey I would see them again).
Glenvale crits start next sunday, something to enjoy....... (1 hour of pain). I will be racing myself back to fitness and am looking forward to giving the crit season a decent stab.

over and out

p.s. Good to see a aussie smashing up the worlds U23 road race. Young Wes Saulzberger pulled off a 2nd! Tonite the men have a go so good luck to Gerro and TLowe and hopefully they can get a aussie up for a win!

29er time

After must procrastination I have put some money down on a 29er. This is the one a Specialized Stumpjumper 29. This baby has sliding dropouts so I can run it single. Why the Specialized 29er..... cause it looks cool, I have a 26 inch version and love it and cause I can. Thing is there are going to be many a overtime time done to pay for it. Hopefully be on it by the end of October if all goes well.
Time to get my training back on schedule after a couple of weeks of nights and a week of getting my body clock back on the daylight thing. Hit lysterfeild last week but felt like crap!!! Happy trails

mail call

Ok I must admit that I love getting mail. Dont know why but always have, just like having some in the mail box for me....
I had a nice box delivered this week with my DOPERS SUCK gear. It will be a nice addition for the wardrobe. i kn ow Im getting on the bandwagon aswell but fuck it.... i agree with it so why not!



I recieved some sad news yesterday about Andy White. Some might know him from track racing others from his website fxyomatosis (check it on the sidebar). He was training last week and had a misfourtunate mishapp.... over the bars landing straight on his head. This fall resulted in him breaking some of his cervical vertabrae. He is now sporting a lovely halo thoracic brace.....not a good look! But luckily he has not suffered spinal cord injuries and is fully mobile and not looking at needing four wheels instead of two to get around. I wish him well and a speedy recovery.

happy monday

been a shit couple of weeks due to night shift but I am back in the land of the living as of this week. Plenty of daylight hours to get my shit together with riding and rollerskiing. so head down this week and get back on top of my routine!!!

happy friday

Had to finish off with something!!

US racing

For those of you that know him Richie England has been racing his way through the US for the last couple of seasons. He has shown some good form over the last couple of years and getting some decent results...(shows what some one can do when they put in the hard yards and not on the pointy end of a needle). He had some luck in the last couple of days getting 3rd behind the fast finishing Menzies (another Aussie giving it to the Yanks on their domestic scene....Rich there are ways to slow him down!!!)
Anyhow well done!! I believe he is back to the local scene in the next couple of weeks.....


Granted it is better to see him have the success than the crashes like this one in 2004 Herald Sun Tour where he ended up at my work looking a little worse for wear ( trust me readers at the time it was only a face a mother could love!!!)