How's the assos?
What was the race? firetrails or singletrack?

the assos is fine, but my shorts / the seat on the cannondale i was borrowing didnt do the boys at the front too many favours! esp the 2nd lap, it was a b it of murder. thankfully the discomfort eased up. ironicly i had plenty left in the legs at the end ( besides the cramping) but my triceps, back and hands ( i have at least 3 blisters on both hands) called enough!

its a mix of singletrack and fire road, probably 70% singletrack and one of the more technical courses in NSW.

Rode a century on saturday, up and down hills, into the wind, hottest it got was 35deg,well thats my excuse for taking 3hs 40 min.

Did my first crit for a good while without back pain last nite! (and got a third ) The on going adjustments I've been making to my position to get me more aero finally ganged up on me and lower back pain has been my norm on the GT for about six weeks now, bugga. Been riding my Orbea for a week as it's more comfy. If the thing was only 2kilos lighter...... Bloody good bike though even at 10k.

Now I gotta sort out the GT

ordered me a nice new cannondale rush mountain bike yesterday. pick it up on sat, v excited

Lucky you. I'm doing three Thylacines so far next month, busiest Thyla-month ever. Welcome to Club Excited.

I've got my eye on a Dahon folder on ebay. 16" wheels!

acually when the time comes in the not too distant future, id like to have a chat about a hardtail frame for myself....

How much?

1 arm, one leg, I'm sure.

not far wrong, i know some people on the inside of the business so was able to wrangle up a deal. bike is 5500, with crossmax SL's. normally same bike without crossmax's retails for 6000. so , i feel i got a decent deal out of it.

You do realize that you could have flown to LA, had a nice Mexican dinner, bought your bike, and come home the next day with about $1,000 still in your pocket?

Yeah, I know a bloke got one for $1500, with a trip to France and a unit on the gold coast

Smart arse.

Berny, could you re-post your wife's ride on mower, along with explanation?

Been to LA, and not going back is worth a grand to me!

the mexican dinner sounds good tho! also warranty issues come to light with OS bikes, have considered it a i have friends who live in SF/san jose, but its too much of a pain to use a proxy to purchase a bike. then there are the import duties as well....

was going to buy a nice paul reed smith geetar over there when i was there, but again the fear of paying the duty on it when i got back scared me off!

If I can walk my family through customs with 22 pieces of luggage, including 6 or 8 box of bike parts, you should be able to bluff your way through as well. Your new guitar goes in an old case, and you are a travelling musician. When you return with your shiny new bike, you are returning from a race. Why would they hassle you about a bike? They're too busy looking for drugs.

for the couple here that ride MTB's, phantom cycles in tahmoor has 1/2 price XTR cranksets for $495 bucks..... tempted but odnt have the cash!

hmm i dont know maybee i look sus! when you go back to the states is it possible that ican keep you as contact for parts? always nice to have somone over there that knows what they are talking about.

New flash! When I return to the states, I will be selling parts and gear online again, but on a much bigger scale. I had heaps of parts and stuff shipped here, but it was all on speculation. And I paid dearly in postage, which cut into my margins. I've still got all my connections in the US, so it's not a worry at all. You need something, you let me know, I quote you a price with postage. Easy as. I'll maintain an account here so that Paypal doesn't get any richer. I've got it all worked out. And if I'm coming back on holiday, someone's going to score a new bike.

What explanation? A new ride on mower for the misses is a new ride on mower for the misses. What else is there to say?

If I recall correctly, you had a funny little story to go with it before.

ummmmmmmmmm.......... have to try to remember. Wot wer we talkin bout at the time?

Now that's a classy mower. I'm sure the GF would love one