Dirty Weekend

Ok, so I haven't had much to talk about of late, yeah there's been a few beers under the belt, a few early morning Saturday rides before work, and a lot less training than is really satisfactory. So with only two weeks to go until the Highland Fling, some drastic measures must be taken to put some sting in the legs and air in the lungs. This is just what the doctor ordered. A road trip. Bikes, beer, beats, more bikes. We are loadin' up K-Man's WRX and pointing it in the general direction of Port Macquarie, where the festivities include a Saturday arvo social ride, a night race, and a 4 hour enduro on Sunday. I'm definately up for the 4 hour, nice and slow and hopefully the form will magically appear. There's a solid crew of Newy lads heading up, including "I don't hop anymore but I can clean up B Grade club XC" Tomkinson, Quaino, Freemo, some other guys whose names end in 'O' and Scotty and Dean(o). I've missed the road trips this year, so a couple in the space of a few weeks should sate me until next season.

Humans?

Why do people do this to themselves? Because they can? I'm still amazed at the efforts of these two guys, and also a little inspired... so much so that I challenged Col to do the Working Week Series 8 hours next year as Solos...I'm sure sense will prevail soon.

near-death experience


Chris Eatough (right) sits in the first aid tent after the 24 Hour Solo World Championship, with an I.V. in his arm, while medics treat Australia's Craig Gordon for severe dehydration following Gordon's win in the epic battle.

Golden Gordon

In only his second ever 24 hour solo race, Aussie Craig Gordon has taken out the 2006 World Championship in the US. No mean feat, as he had to contend with 'Mr. 24' Chris Eatough, who was gunning for his seventh straight title. Apparently Gordo was punching out super fast laps early on, and kept it up all throught the night, eventualy lapping Eatough and taking the win. The guy's an animal. I remember at the Mont 24hour last year, I was on my third lap at about midnight, when I was passed up a hill by Gordo, who was on probably his 12th lap or more. That was his first solo 24, which of course he won. And now this. Well done, Gordo!

The numbers never lie...

Went out for a little road ride with Col before work this morning, and felt pretty good. When I checked my computer, I realised I don't need to train anymore... I'm on FIRE!


2 hours on the bike... Yeah, seems about right.



101 kmh top speed! Geez, I know I was hookin', but...



Did I really only average 59 kmh? Hmmmm....



Yeah, I suppose it's about 122 km to Swansea..... and back.

Maybe something's up with my computer?

I want that one... or that one, or....

Got the Jones for a new mounno lately. I was thinking more travel, maybe 5 inches, but lately 4 inches has re-emerged as the most appropriate to my needs. Here are the contenders so far.


Titus Moto Lite AL. This was at the top of the list a few weeks ago...5 inches, fairly light and proven design. Great reviews, and the suspension system I prefer.


Titus' 4 inch rocket, the Racer X. Lighter again, wins lots of 'best bike' awards in U.S. Firming in the stakes because of Horst Link design.



Santa Cruz Superlight. Klink's choice. Simple, sexy, single pivot. That's the only thing I don't like much, the lack of a Horst Link. But it looks hot, and is once again a proven design.



Stumpy... Oh yeah... carbon goodness, light, not quite 5", but F@#K Me! $3300 for a frame? And that's my cost price!


Ah, I know how this bike performs... awesome! But this baby is carbon fibre, so mucho expensive. (Actually not much more than the previous frames, just over 2 grand). I'd only buy this though........



Frame only... black. Cool. New Specialized shock. Mmmmm....


But I'll probably just stay with this, it's a great bike, it works, and I probably shouldn't spend money I don't really have!

Consistency... it's not just for custard

It's hard to get good fitness, but damn easy to lose it. An old wive's tale? No. My 'training' (read: riding) for next month's Highland Fling has been going ok, but I just can't seem to get the C Word right just yet. One week I'll get in a good dose of road k's, then the next I'll struggle to squeeze in an hour on the MTB. Just when I start to show signs of my form, something gets in the way... last weekend it was Phillipa and Steve's annual table tennis tournament, coupled with a BBQ and the NRL Grand Final. A top day was had by all, but the next day was written off due to sleep and alcohol-induced aches and pains. So now it's back to the drawing board again tomorrow, getting spanked up hills by Col before work. Then I'm gonna try this consistency thing for the next 4 weeks, and hopefully have a good race to make up for my disappointing DirtWorks 100. Bring it on.

Cricket season

When I woke up this morning to check on the results frome the mens road race at the Worlds in Salzburg, I made a mental list of who I thought might have taken the rainbow stripes. Boonen, McEwen, Valverde, Vino and 'an outsider' were running through my head.





When the page finally loaded, it was no surprise to see the name Bettini. How could I forget 'Il Grillo' (the cricket')? What a rider! The guy is 5'2" of pure power. Whether it's a bunch gallop, small breakaway or soloing in, the little Italian can do it all, with panache (or sometimes not, just ask Baden Cooke!).

Anyone with gold shoes, helmet and bar tape is alright with me.


Valverde showed he is a class act with 3rd, and my god what a legend in 2nd, the Big EZ! How good would it have been to see him take the win. He's certainly found some life in those old legs lately... now, if only I knew his secret....

A nice little Monday ride.....

After a weekend of no riding due to hot weather and laziness, today I needed to get out on the bike. Too windy for an enjoyable road ride, so it was a quick text to Freemo for a Glenrock MTB mission. His reply sat well with my designs on the ride, "Raced yesterday, need an easy one. Real easy." Now as Freemo is a 7 foot tall A grader (he won the HMBA A Grade Club Chamionship yesterday, well done), his easy is usually my fairly hard. So I thought 'real easy' would be good for me.
Freemo takes a short cut through the scrub trying to catch up to 'the old guy'


Waiting at the Burwood Rd carpark, another rider pulled up and asked if I had a shock pump, which of course I didn't. I mean who carries a fuckin shock pump? This guy looked kinda pretty serious, kitted out in full Australian National Team gear, nice bike and shaved legs. We got chatting and introductions were made. "Brett". "Shaun". "Shaun? Last name?" "Lewis".... "Ahh huh!, thought so" Former National Junior and Under 23 XC champion. 2nd in National XC Champs as a first year senior. World Cup experience.
Lewis at the Worlds 05, training for his Glenrock encounter with 'the old guy'...


Turns out he was here on a short holiday from Adelaide. Suddenly the ride wasn't looking so 'easy'. Freemo turned up and of course the guys knew each other, and off we went to meet up with Crewsy as well (after Freemo had driven my car back to his place to get a pump). The rest of the ride was spent hanging off the back, riding my own pace rather than try to keep up with those lads. They were probably taking it easy by their standards! Shaun's fork stayed inflated for about a km but having about 1 inch of travel didn't seem to affect him too much. If I was 20 years younger, fit and talented, I reckon I would've stomped those guys....

Bar-gain hunting

Working in a bike shop has it's benefits, namely cheap parts. But sometimes you've gotta look outside the square. If I didn't get such good staff discounts, Ebay would be my source for cheap bits. I picked up a brand new set of Ritchey Lo Rizer carbon bars last night for 90 bucks! They retail over $250, and I couldn't get em that cheap through work (I'll still get a new stem from there though). No wonder consumers love Ebay, and bike shops are suffering.

Vino vexes Valverde - views Vuelta victory

What a legend is Vino. After missing the Tour because of his team being involved in the doping scandal (he wasn't), the Kazahk powerhouse vindicated his Tour favourtism by taking outLa Vuelta. Like the Giro, the Vuelta features some crazy hard mountains, with super steep gradients and finishes on what look like moonscapes, rather than the resorts the Tour uses. Good to see Zabel take another stage too, the old stager is back. Now it's on to the Worlds, where the two V's will no doubt be in the thick of it again. Gotta love bike racing, drugs or no drugs.