My pleasure.

Well I'm obliged to tell you I got my first ever place in a road race this morning (2nd in crit at Lansdown Pk).
Rain held off till just after the presentation. Paid my race entry + $10. Laughing all the way to the bank. ha ha ha

Congrats appear to be in order. And sounds like money well spent too.

Top marks Berny. You'll be a marked man now. Better lay low for a week or two

It's a shame that you can't claim it as taxable income so you can claim depreciation for your $10000 CF bike and tools of trade expenses for clothes, tyres, tubes, etc

Expat, how are the bruises today? As indicated, you should have had the lead for that over the handle bar trick but I will take your word for it that there was snake

But seriously thanks for the hospitality, didn’t know my way around there so getting lost was not a problem. We are thinking of heading out there again next Saturday morning to give it another go.

The big bruise has really started to show some nice color. The bright red has mellowed to a more pastel shade, and has recently been joined by a faint purple at the impact point fading into a soft yellow. I can see I'm going to be teased about the snake now too, which is funny, because if you guys had walked up there, you would have seen it. It didn't spook me, only broke my concentration, which is a bad thing on that bike. But I'm fascinated by the fact that some skinny little snake can be such a worry. And you're more than welcome for the tour and live-action show. Like I said, the more the merrier. I'll do it again next weekend if you guys invite me. Faster on the dirt, slower on the hills.

Definitely, next weekend it is! yeah we will stay on the dirt this time I think is the consensus is. Christian is going to ask another mate of his who rides out there where some of the other trails are as well. Probably do the same time again, that worked out pretty good.

Little snake? looked more like 2 metres to me, fangs like you wouldn’t believe, hissing and snarling, foaming at the mouth (must have been bitten by a rabid dog)

"Wonder which of Sam Newman's exploits belonged to Thylacine.
Make note: If I lived my life over, I would prefer to be a free-wheeling former footballer and now TV star with lots of moula than a wizened up old cycling guy trying to persuade people he has the solution to their cycling needs."

The way I read this, you're inferring one of my girlfriends slept with Newman and I'M the wizend up old cycling guy trying to persuade people to buy his stuff. That's the way I read it, and why wouldn't I read it any way else? Your whole response is about "what not to give/do/say to me".

Anyway, I'm man enough to apologise if that was not your intention, but that's the way it read. The internet is not the best medium for conveying things sometimes.

Disappointing you wouldn't consider a frame over this....especially considering I've just worked out a way to put Pamela Andersons' likeness all over the frame! *sarcastic, wise-arse grin*

Anyway....I'm a passionate guy under duress *shrug*, what can I say?

Newman's still a tosser and I'd rather be dead than be reincarnated as him, but hey.....back to the cycling Did anyone watch Cycling Central yesterday? Us Vics' won the overall state track title, the Meares sisters dominated, and Jobie is one fast mutha.

It looked like something my son would keep as a pet, yet I gave it more room and respect than I would give to a rattlesnake in the states. And the biggest one I've seen of them was choking down a good sized rabbit. As far as the trail, if there's a loop that take us back over after the singletrack, that would be good. I may even throw some real tires on the bike for that.

If it was a baby brown snake (which is what it seemed to be from your description), then a wide berth is a safe way to go about things. I have been told that about nine times out of then, you scare the snake as much it usually scares you and you both go in opposite directions, but when they are provoked then that is when they are dangerous.

Will see what I can find out regarding loops in Glennrock. I really liked the start of the ride with the downhill and jumps and also the single track later on. some more of that would be great.

Took that bike track back home through Throsby creek as you suggested, didn’t realise that existed.

I found it by accident. My wife and I take that route to the beach. It's also better than riding the tandem in traffic.

Those Meares girls rock, and as for Jobie.... well all I can say is "Giddayup"

Hmmm... Pamela Anderson likeness... might change my mind.... NOT. But maybe we can talk something out later.

Peace and apologies on both sides.

Missed it, but it's supposed to be repeated on Tuesdays at 3:30pm

Jobie is quick but Theo Bos had his number on Sat night at the World Cup race, fantastic to watch !

Ah, sick-boy, you're alive! Hope you slept in this morning because there was carnage on the rail network again this morning. 1:30 to Hawksbury River before I pulled the pin and went home Gave me a chance to drop the training bike in for a service tho... bonus

Climbo - 200 new places added for the Dirtworks 100. Are you in?

****, I'd love to do that ride, except it's in Sydney and the only mtb I have up and running is my singlespeed. 100kms on a singlespeed? R-I-G-H-T.

Just off the top of my head, theoretically, would anyone be interested in fielding a team in one of the 24hr events at some stage?

If guys do 12 and 24 hour events on a single speed, what's stopping you from showing up on one of your fancy rides? Think of the publicity! Oh wait, "The last place finisher was on an old school steel single speed" may not be the best advertisement. I guess I'll find out shortly if you got your sense of humour back.

I took the morning off and went for a ride and met a potential new client for coffee, so I'm feeling pretty restored.

I'm 'reasonably' fit Expat, but 24hrs on a singlespeed for my first 24hr effort seems a bit, well, raising the bar too high shall we say. I couldn't commit to the type of training I'd have to do, plus, it'd be more fun to just up my mileage a little and build this Titanium 29er geared hardtail I've been designing for the past 2 months in my 'free time'

Who said anything about 24 hours for your first effort? Just 100k. Of torture...

Is there a web site or anything for this? just curious what it is all about.

Here it is:Dirtworks classic

So what's the deal with the 24 hour stuff, Thylocine? Endless circuits of some velodrome in the boonies?

That sounds pretty good. Would have to put some hard yards in though before entering something like that though.

If you've got the fitness, the riding skills are fairly easy to learn. And you might need a 2nd water bottle.