Oi,

I'm back!...don't swoon, I know ya missed me!...well i reckon the 'Alpine Classic' gets harder every year. I had the secret plan happening this year....don't get P!ssed the night before!. Alas, whilst i stuck to this pre ride plan, I still suffered like (insert appropriate suffering adjective!). Forecast, 33 deg & sunshine...Oh great, so by the time we add on the reflected heat from the road & mountain side rock, my S720I said max temperature got to 42!....Hitchy doesn't go well in the heat!. The first part was ok (6.20am start), & was back to Bright at the 130km in a tad over 5hrs. 70km & Mt. buffalo to go....I'm thinking a sub 9 hrs is in the bag!....But the sun gets higher in the sky, Mt buffalo seems steeper than in the past, no shade whatsoever.....1/2 way up pushing the 25 I'm getting the message from my thighs WARNING, WARNING WILL ROBINSON, WARNING CRAMP IMMINENT!......usually I suffer with calf cramps in these situations, but not today, thigh cramps instead, which I've never had before. Can't manage a single pedal strke without cramping. 1/2 hours rest & massage & off again.......9 hrs is out the window now....try for 10. Arrive at the top in just under 9 hrs...woo hoo...35 km to go & its mostly down hill!....grab a drink, some tucker & off down the mountain at breakneck pace....the roads as rough as guts in the braking areas making smooth descending difficult.....arrive back in Bright & check in 10 hrs 13 mins....a whopping 2 1/2 hrs quicker than last years 'p!ssed ride'......a mate hands me a 'crownie'...I swear as I neck it that steam is coming from my mouth....never, ever again am I doing this.......mind you, I said that last year too....& the year before & the year before!.......so some observations & questions

1/ I've been gone 6 days & you blokes can only manage 3 pages?...& half the posts are from 'seppo's'?...waddya doing!

2/ For those that don't subscribe, 'Ride' is out...mine was in the letterbox when i got home, presumably in the newsagents now

3/ anyone know how to get blue dye out of a white saddle?. It appears the dye in the blue knicks I had on during the Alpine (hey its the club colours alright!) decided to part company with the 4 trillion gallons of sweat running down me @rse & has tinted my White Arione a sort of yucky light blue colour!....I thought about scrubbing it with 'nifty' or sumphing, but don't wanna make it worse....any clues?

4/ Tiger has been sending me 'porn' thru the internet!....hubba, hubba!

cheers,

hitchy