hows the seat angle?

Righto then, did my first crit today. What a blast!!
They put me in 'C' grade so's the handicapper could keep an eye on me and make sure I didn't do anything silly. 21 riders, 55 minutes + 1 after the bell.
I managed to move up near the front a few times, but partially through not having the legs (them surges are 'kin hard) and not concentrating enough on what was going on up front, i always managed to slide back. The last lap was pretty hectic and got pretty strung out but I was wrapped that I stayed with the bunch 'till then and didn't finish last.
So now I'm officially in 'D' grade. :)

Roll on next weekend!!

why D grade next week?

Dunno. I suppose that's where they reckon I belong. There's no way that I'd be competitive in C at the moment... I was just trying to hang on.
A mate that I do almost all of my riding with joined the club yesterday and for the same reasons given, had a go in C with me, but he pulled out after 15 mins saying it was way too hard (surprising cos we're always pretty evenly matched) so they put him straight in D.
He was surprised that they put me there too but I'm sort of glad cos now we get to race each other (we used to road race motorsickles together) and the pace in D might let me stay up the front a bit.

Wait till the Mormons get hold of Expat?

The funniest thing I have ever heard on the radio was the student radio station in Auckland reading out a guide given out to fresh off the plane Mormon missionary boys (you know the fresh faced door knocking lads with Utah accents that visit every now and then) to help them keep themselves "pure" whilst away from home. i.e. How to avoid w@nking or worse.

Handy tips extended to tying the action arm to ones side or even wearing a wetsuit to bed so as to keep from choking the chicken.

Larf, I had to stop the car and try not to wee myself it was so cackingly funny :roflmao:

Had a bad-ish w/e, sort of. Went the wrong way in race #2 satdy sailing, (DOH!) necessitating a major recovery from second last, and DNS'd the third with a frayed mainsheet.

Today I was going well and feeling pretty strong racing with the Waratahs at E/Crk raceway, till the bell lap when my fargin freewheel $#!+ itself. :( bugga!

How's this? Guy in our grade doing well with several wins and places brings his 30+yo son along last week to join in the fun. He's got the classic physique, and's riding a full carbon Giant. They start him in 'E' **********? cause they don't know how he'll go, (I could have told them) and he wins easily going away so he gets put up. Today he wins the prime and runs second o/all after pulling all freekin day like it's no trouble at all. I mean, don't tell me his old man didn't know given they train together. I'm bloody sick of burglars turning up each week and steeling the dosh. At Penrith they let a guy win easily three times from the get go in 'E', put him up to 'D' where he's won both starts and dragged 'D' passed 'C' last week to do it.
WTF are the h/cappers doing?

no backing out now ....

Hi Brendan

Congratulations. Your registration for entry to the Dirt Works 100km Classic was successful.

:)

Enjoy the pain! :D

Hmmm... never read that anywhere on the world wide web of lies. I always thought creatine was supposed to assist in the production of ATP. Isn't testosterone the major contributor to muscle development in males, which is why sarcopenia exists in older guys.

Ed, there's only a couple of ways to get bug muscles right? Either inherit a predisposition for them and load them up so that they get/stay that way, or add anabolic steroids to your diet and load them up so that they get/stay that way.

you can get big even with a skinny structure/fast metabolism. Just eat train eat train. Takes longer and your potential is less, but what is "bug (big) muscles" anyhow, 6 foot 100 kg under 10% body fat. Most skinny blokes could accomplish that training well with correct nutrition after a few years. Not easy. But attainable.

classic !!!

wetsuit to bed, that'd be comfortable - NOT !!!

you doing it SS? get ready for those hills...... :eek:

yep, you coming ?

Berny, after trolling through a few articles on creatine this is as close as I could find to creatine assisting with building muscle mass:

"Many body builders are convinced that creatine has helped them "bulk up" when used while they weight lift. There may be some truth to this as studies have shown that there is an increase in fluid within the muscle cells of creatine users. This does in fact increase muscle mass and bulk."

So it appears to be cosmetic at best.

Unless you read the bodybuilding pages, where you'll find a couple of articles that reckon it helps to build fast-twitch fibres. In reality fast twitch fibres have to be 'trained' to grow through specific excercises (especially in genetic groups with a predisposition for slow twitch fibre make-up in the muscles), so I don't put much faith in what they have to say.

THAT'S GOLD.

still convincing myself if its worth the cash or not. also, the guy i normally ride with isnt v fit and has an allergic reaction to gravity and its effect on upward travel. so, may do the 50 if he can be convinced if hes going to sit it out ill probably do the 100.

BTW, is anyone riding ourimbah this weekend that needs a 3rd wheel ? need to get up there and have a look before the start of the season up there as its been 6 months or so since ive ridden there. if anyone is going and doesnt mind me tagging along i wouldnt mind joining you

There's a few of us from the coast area going down for it, you're welcome to join our posse.

and I won't be riding Ourimbah this weekend, another time...

I suggest it may if it can increase ATP and you get an extra 2 reps out at you max, for a set lift. Going from 8 to 10 reps, must mean increased intensity. So, indirectly, you add muscle to compensate for the new intensity. This assumes the "creatine itself" does not assume all those benefits of intensity, ie. nothing has actually changed to the stress on the muscle, the creatine does it, and gives the benefit, and it is the same relative stress.

Ambiguous and poorly explained.
:rolleyes:

search "creatine" in the training forum, there'll be heaps of stuff on it.

Aww C'mon thunder. It'll take me years to unravel what you were trying to get at there! How am I supposed to be a naysayer if I've got nothing to argue against? :eek:

Spose at the end of the day it would seem that noone really knows for sure yet. It occurs naturally in your diet anyway. So until I see repeatable positive proof of benefit, and no evidence of adverse sidies I won't be paying $20 per kg for the stuff unless its in the form of a big juicy steak.

i said to the guys at the Vets that there should be a rule that guys can't win their first race unless it's A grade, :) but he said that guys like that get 'figured out', and everyone will think they're a prick for the rest of their time at the club.

U had a win yet Ozman? You must've had 4 or five races by now

nah :(.
grand total of 4 races. I still can't get my fat guts out of the corners quick enough :p

I reckon I'm kidding meself riding A grade vets at 91kg!!!

and I still haven't figured out how to warm up properly -- I never feel as good in a race as I do on Beach Rd

There's a big difference between racing and rolling along at a relatively constant pace on Beach Rd. That's where overall strength and fitness come into play: those who eat a steady diet of intervals will survive the constant surges the best.

As for warming up, I can't perform at my best in a crit without doing about an hour's worth of warm up. Half hour spinning along, then little hills for 15 mins to load up the legs, a couple of short sub-max efforts, then 10 mins rolling. Seems to do the trick for me.

Gentlemen, after much searching, I found a suitable vehicle for transporting bicycles as well as the wife, kids, and the dawg. We are now the proud owners of one of these:

http://images.autobytel.com/cyber/161788/iP10816_1.jpg

I think I'll go post a pic of it in Living Car Free... :D