What's been happening

around here? Not a lot really, the mountain bike remains stranded as the trails get a soaking, the road bike and the fixie are getting their morning and afternoon rides still, and my keyboard will be getting a bit more of a workout as I've now been made a 'staff writer' for SPOKE magazine. I'm taking over the spot left by Tama, so my inane ramblings can be inflicted on the unsuspecting Kiwi MTB community every issue. What the hell I'm gonna inflict on them, I'm not really sure... maybe I'll talk about the weather, seems like the topic of interest most discussed these days. If only there were riders like <<--- her to write about...

The Giro is going to script (well, the script I predicted anyway) with Contador taking the pink jersey on the second mountain stage. Di Luca is up there too, and things could get interesting in the last week with more big climbs to come, including a brutal uphill TT tonight which should rip the legs off a lot of contenders, with grades up to 18%! The old stager Simoni is hanging in there, I like him beacause he's always having a go, and doesn't mind telling everyone what he thinks. Could be a stink for the pink...

I'd do this too

if I had to ride a FELT...

The tundra is no respecter of fashion

and nor is a Wellington winter. Back in Aus, winter riding meant an undershirt, some arm and knee warmers and maybe a dose of BKW. Here, I add a jacket, skullcap, thick gloves and shoe covers to the mix. Some of our early morning rides have seen the mercury down around 4c, but having good gear has kept me toasty until I get back for my toast. And while I may be a fan of all things PRO, I leave the PRO-kit to those who are paid to wear it, all bar one item; the cap. The more obscure the team the better, but it's an essential item for those of us who are follically challenged (right Josh?). My old gloves just weren't cutting it, so a pair of Louis Garneau's Wind Tex jobs did the trick, along with their booties...if your feet and hands are warm, you've got it made. Some of the best cold gear I've found is by DeFeet, who make awesome arm and knee warmers, and the best damn socks ever, Wool-E-Ators. If they're good enough for Boonen, they're good enough for.. Josh. But don't take my word for it, here's proof in song format...

It's been a nerve-wracking few weeks

for me on the football front, with my team Bolton Wanderers threatened by relegation, but we went into the last game virtually safe after three wins and a draw in the last four. And we played our part in the top of the table stakes too, drawing with Chelsea to help Man United take the title. It's been a pretty crap season for us, but at least we are still in the top flight for another season, and hopefully now we can rebuild (and maybe get a new manager... Big Sam, where are you?).

So it's getting cold here

but Josh, Karl and I have been getting out for some early morning road rides which have been bearable so far. It was Karl's idea to start doing this in winter rather than summer, the guy's just a little touched I think... but to keep him happy we've been out there trundling round the bays. It's pretty nice as the sun comes up as we hit the coast. And if I feel like it's too cold to ride, I'll just have to watch this... the epic Gavia stage in the 88 Giro, the stuff of legend as riders nearly froze to death, and Andy Hampsten became the man. It's time for the Giro again, no TV coverage of course (not even the Italian RAI channel which I'd subscribe to for a month back in Aus) which sucks coz it looks like it could be a great race. Astana will be out to prove a point after their exclusion from the Tour, and I reckon Contador might be the man to beat (even if he's not in the best nick, he'll be pretty driven by revenge). Di Luca is another who will be out to redeem himself, it's like a race for the drug-tainted teams and riders really. So there it is, Contador for mine...

Geez man, mellow out!

Mini-me and... me, went and witnessed the angriest old punk in the world, Henry Rollins last week. I've been a (not-overly-zealous) fan of Black Flag and the Rollins Band for a long time, but had never seen one of his spoken-word shows before (except on video), so I was curious as to what the big man had to say. Turns out he has a shitload to say, whether you want to hear it or not (much like this blog). I made sure my phone was turned off, because you don't want to incur the wrath of Hank (as some young fool found out when he dared to yell out some inane comment). So anyway, basically it was three (that's 3) hours of this;

I was too scared to get up to piss... by the end of the three hours I was thinking "man, just shut up..." I can see why he constantly bemoans the fact that he doesn't form relationships with women, he probably scares the shit out of them. I can't imagine he has a lot of real close friends either, he's just so intense. He never drew a breath for the whole three hours, didn't even take a drink of water or scratch his balls... that'd be weak in his eyes I guess. On the way out I heard someone say "that was hilarious!" Hilarious? I think you missed the gist fella... Thought provoking, yeah some of that, funny, yeah at times, but it certainly wasn't part of the Wellington Comedy Festival. We got our 47 bucks worth, but I don't think I could take another three hour helping, not for a couple more years anyway, maybe when there's a new President or war to talk about.

I hate it when they drop the "B Word"...

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Single in Vegas

What a weekend! I'm broken, from being abused by a rigid cyclocross bike for three hours, and the requisite drinking before and after the race. And a brutal race it was, 45km through the awesome Redwoods, which just got harder with each lap. Everyone who rode it, includding SS animal and winner Garth Weinberg, declared it as one of the toughest races ever. I declared it one of the toughest drinking sessions ever...
The course wasn't revealed until we actually got into the forest, and it was a cool figure-8 layout, nothing too long and steep but plenty of technical challenges to punish the tired and/or unattentive.

Chris The Courier got a good start and rode with the big guns for awhile, and finished in 6th place... awesome ride CTC! He would fade later that night in the drinking stakes though, proving once again that the young guys just don't have the endurance.

Kah just about to put a move on me into the first corner, followed by me putting a move on him into the second corner. My bike got plenty of attention and cheers, probably for the "why the hell are you riding that?" aspect of it.

Cabin and Garth were like this for almost the whole race, with Cabin pulling the lead after a beer stop, then Garth re-taking him on the last lap, both doing a final beer-slam to finish off in true SS style. I was doing my beer stop when Cabin came in, and I was still there struggling to get down the Speights as he flew off back onto the course resplendent in his beige skinsuit (a la the NZ cricket team of the 80's).

The first two laps I was on auto-vision when light rain rendered my glasses useless.... I stopped and removed the tinted lenses after lap two, the rain stopped, and I could see clearly now.
Didn't stop me from crashing a couple of times though, the skinny tyres, rigid fork, beer-goggles and fatigue teaming up to slam me to the ground.

When it was all over, the real event began at the Pig N Whistle, where I performed a lot better than I had earlier in the day. The rest of the night, well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
Thanks to Chris The Courier's mum Robyn for taking the pics.

Genius, part 2

Well, looky here....If there was a Spring Classics tipping comp, I'd be doing ok. Now for Liege... As I'll be away this weekend at the NZ Singlespeed bash, I'll make my tip here and now. It's a hard one, but I'll go with Rebellin, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Cunego up there again, he's got some form going for sure. Cadel as an outsider. Have I covered all bases? Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net

Midweek madness

The second last Classic of Spring. La Fleche Wallonne. Three climbs up the mighty Muur de Huy (the wall), and the usual suspects will be in the mix (Rebellin, Valverde, Cunego). Photo ©: Luc Claessen
I'm tipping an outsider, a strong rider in Spring, Kim Kirchen. But my head says Valverde after his ride at Amstel.