Tomkinson: DNH

A disappointing end to Tomky's World Hop campaign in NZ. Apparently he did his back in during practice for the big one, and recorded a DNH (Did Not Hop) on the results sheet (in an obvious typo, it was spelt DNS). The whole thing was a disaster for the quiet one, with his bike stolen before he even got there, and then the injury leaving him to put the 'observe' in Observed Trials. But we know he'll be 'back'! Hop up Tomky!

Tomky would've owned this! You call that challenging? Pffft...

Doper beats Legend

Like a vampire in the night, Hamilton rushes towards a meeting with Dr. Fuentes.

Ned, the original 'Specialized Boy', holds back the hands of time, then beats them into submission.


Interesting results from the Mt. Washington Hillclimb on the weekend. Two names that are famous for different reasons. The winner was one T. Hamilton, yes, that one; former teammate of a one-balled Texan, former teammate of a big-balled Mennonite, and a convicted drug cheat (who is still claiming his innocence, after a list of excuses that bordered on the comedic, and makes Landis look like he's a pillar of truth). In second place was a man known in the mountain biking world as 'The Lung'; famous for winning MTB World Cups as a 35 year old, winning X-Terra off-road triathlon World titles as a 40 something, and now as a 51 year old, beating everyone to the top of one of the toughest climbs in cycling anywhere in the world. Everyone except a man banned from international competition, but allowed to ride this non-sanctioned event. Ned Overend, you are a true legend, and an inspiriration to this rider who is getting on a bit too. May my lungs be half as efficient as yours.

Wanderin' on

Yeah, the English Premier League kicked off the new season on the weekend, and my boys the Bolton Wanderers started the campaign in fine fashion with a 2-0 win over those London scum, Tottenham. It was all the sweeter as Spurs have spent over 20 million pounds on new players, while we have lost more players than we've signed, and already have a injury list to rival that of the U.S. Army. The old Spanish stager Ivan Campo hit an early contender for goal of the season, leaving England keeper Paul Robinson looking a little stupid. Already Big Sam's lads are talking of another tilt at Europe, and with the spirit he's instilled in our 'unfashionable' little club, who's to say we won't be mixing it up with the Barcelonas and Bayerns next year?

Beer of the Week

Grolsch. Is it just Dutch VB? No, I'd give that title to Heineken or Hollandia. This stuff has been brewed since 1615, so they should know what they're doing, and I reckon they do. Fairly crisp, a slight hint of a bitter aftertaste, but not as dirty tasting as the aforementioned brews. And you can get it in those cool bottles with the resealable rubber stopper cap, or go the cheap route with the standard cap (I did, coz it was only $45 a slab). Pretty good summer arvo beer, goes well with spicy foods, or cabanossi and cheese. Well that's what I did with it, and it went down pretty well... But I could've been mistaken, as I was very, very drunk.

It just gets weirder...

This is pretty strange, is it just a coincidence?

This isn't so unexpected though...

But why would he credit his team with being so good to him, when they all but abandoned him, after probably helping him to dope in the first place? The whole saga is just too twisted, there's gonna be some big revelations coming out of this when Landis finally gives up his charade and spills his guts. As for a 'curse' on the team, what a load of cobblers... Phonak was just unlucky, or more likely not as canny as some of the other big teams in their doping programs. Or is is also just a coincidence that most of the big name riders that have been busted i.e. Hamilton, Heras and Landis, are all ex US Postal riders? And we all know who ran that ship.

Randomness, Landismess

Here's a couple of links to do with the Landis affair, some serious, some not so... read, look, enjoy, make of them what you will.

Not Lance? pfft

T Shirts! Get yer T Shirts!

The 'Code'

Positive tension

No, not the Bloc Party song (cracker). The tension I've witnessed among the users of the Bicycling magazine forums. This internet mouth-off site is frequented mainly by Americans, and they really are a funny bunch, aren't they! I've spent hours this week pissing myself laughing at some of their conspiracy theories as to how Lloyd Flanders could've possibly tested positive for testosterone. Even Landis himself is starting to crack me up with his ever-changing 'explanations' as to how he could've returned the 11:1 T/E ratio. JUST ADMIT IT, you got caught, the whole peloton is doping, you were just too stupid not to get busted. And while you're spilling the beans, Floyd, how about dragging ol' one-ball down with you...that'd be the most 'positive result' to come out of the whole sorry affair in my books.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the bed

After opting out of the Canberra 8 hour for fear of cold, I didn't get any riding done as it rained most of the weekend here. Scotty and Deano enjoyed sunny, dry but yes, cold weather and buff singletrack as they took out the final round and overall series in convincing fashion. Sitting in third well through the race, Deano summoned up the anger, put on the magic G-string and reeled in John Hardwick (former hotshot) and put a couple of minutes into him in a lap (maybe two). All Scotty had to do was ride around and not fall off or go too slow. He's good at that, doing as little as possible while Dean does all the hammering. The boys were pretty happy with themselves, as I kept getting phone calls from them on their long drive home saying "we won!" Geez guys, no need to overdo it.... And just because you're on the local news, doesn't mean you are stars or anything. e.g....


Dean (left) and Scott (right) take time out of their busy media schedule to pose for a photo and autograph with an underprivileged and poorly dressed 'average' rider...

(Not) havin' a crack..or solo man wusses out

Mountain biking is meant to be fun, right? Right. With the shite weather that has come through in the last two days, and Canberra's reputation for being a cold bastard of a place (and that's just in summer!), my 8 hour solo career has lasted about as long as Mal Meninga's political career. In the immortal words of Big Mal himself, "I'm buggered". Yeah, I'm buggered if 'fun' means getting up at 6.30, in near freezing temperatures, dressing in thin lycra, getting on a bike and riding for 8 hours. I'll opt for some road k's instead, if the rain clears up. If not, I'll sleep in, watch TV and drink beer. Now that's fun!

Havin' a crack

I've been conned, convinced and/or cajoled into going down to Canberra on the weekend with Scotty and Deano (who will wrap up the Masters Pairs title) for the Working Week Series 8 hour finale. Trouble is (for moi), that I'll be partnerless...yeah, I'm having a tilt at my first solo 8. Not really that enthusiastic...yeah, I want to do a solo 8, but nah, not in August, in Canberra. It's not Antarctica, but you can feeeel it from there.

In hopping news, Tomkinson won the 3rd round of the National Trials series last weekend in the same frosty locale. The lad is hitting form at the right time, i.e. for the Worlds later this month in Rotorua. And he still managed to put the hurt to me on our singlespeed jaunt in Glenrock on Monday arvo, flat pedals and all. Hop up, Tomky!