I think more than one water bottle might be needed for that one. Actually on our ride the other day, more than one would have been good. Was dry when we got in town. Got pretty damn hot Sat around midday to. Between that and golf sunday, sporting some sunburn today.

Was just reading in the MTB thread about wild life encounters..

Yeah well that is prob true, but I am sure that 100km off road is a lot harder than 100km on the road, so I am not sure that my fitness levels would be up to that at the moment.

The full story is too long to tell here, but I'll tell it anyway. I had a neighbor in the states (u has been deleted, this is an American tale) who was the ultra-w@nker with his 1980's Magnum PI Ferrari. He bought what he thought was an expensive mountain bike, and invited himself to go on a ride with me. Hey, I knew those tracks a lot better. Anyhoo, he shows up in denim shorts with a nice brown leather belt. Real comfy riding gear. So we're 10 minutes into the ride, and I point out where I saw my first rattlesnake on this particular trail. This unnerved him a bit, much to my glee. (So I'm an a-hole!) We stopped for a drink in a big clearing, and he starts in with the whole "Something's not right on my bike, I better go home and fix it" spiel. I carry everything but a portable TIG, so I fixed his squeaky seat, much to his chagrin. ( I hardly ever get to use that word). We ride 2 more minutes up the trail, and there's a coyote about the size of a cattle dog, right there in the middle of the trail. Now, I know they're cowards, and won't even attack another dog unless they're in a pack, so I'm not the least bit worried. I made eye contact and kept pedalling towards it, which you wouldn't do with a dog. Knowing their nature, I had nothing to worry about. Mr. dot.com (who didn't know he was only months away from being worth nothing on paper ) just about pissed himself. It was hilarious. I nearly pissed myself laughing. This animal was about as benign as a rabbit, and he took off like it was going to shoot bees out of it's mouth. I am so mean.

Dirtworks will have to wait a year. Haven't ridden for weeks, not likely to do much until I get a job closer to home.

FWIW, I did the 101 mile race with little more than a longest ride of 30 miles off road. Most of the training was on road, long rides and races. If you had a nice 10km dirt loop you could build it up to 10 times around over a series of months to prepare properly for it.

hi,
i was just wondering what it's like to ride into the city (melb)?
and what route to take, i live near beach road, so i think i'll ride a long that, but i have to get to the other side of the cbd. any suggestions
thanks

A mate of mine is riding around with an old car tire tied to the back of his MTB. Apparently this is good conditioning, and it clears the brush off his local trails. I carry my spare tire around my waist.

What suburb are you in, and which bit of "the other side" of the CBD do you have to get to?

If you're way down Beach Rd., it might be worth getting up to the bike path runs along the freeway then the Yarra (Gardener's Creek Path), but if you're closer to Brighton, or further north, there are other ways I can recommend.

I rode into the city almost everyday for nearly 2 years.

yeah im closer to the city(so the other ways), and im traveling to uni, which is on victoria pde, on the "other" side, im pretty new to road bikes and joined these forums in nov, got my bike in late dec and have been doing ok i think with my rides. im not sure if ill do it, but was just wondering weather it was a safe, and a practical idea.

Don’t know about mean, you didn’t force him to do anything. Serve him right for trying to me more than what he was. So when the IT Bubble burst, I take it he was no longer seen? About the worst thing I have encountered on a ride yet was a thorn bush after tumbling off the top of a hill. Glorious fall, over the handle bars, down the side of a rocky hill and right into a thorn bush. Was picking them out of myself for a week!

We are going for a ride Thursday arvo back at Glenrock about 5.30pm if you are interested (will still probably go Sat as well).

I may be able to go Thursday, I'll get back to you when I know for sure. He paid too much for his place, moved in with his leaky Ferrari, and thought he was a big shot. Cheated on his girl back home, she came out, got pregnant, company went bust, sold home at a loss, moved back to Colorado with ugly pregnant girlfriend and his tail between his legs. Wrapped that up nicely, hey? Oh, I've nearly lost my glasses and fell over into cactus trying to get them. Nice big quills like toothpicks cut in half. That hurts.

The worst thing about them is, they go straight in, which makes them very hard to dig out

They're quills. They have a little barb on the end, like a fish hook. Roadies have it so easy.

I say pfft to that! yeah ok having a barb on them would not be much fun in digging out! My little effort was had single tracking in Hokitika. Came down a rocky ridge line and then had to go down a sharp embackment to get down the bottom. Hit a big rock with the front, recovered only to have the font dig into soft gravel and flip me over the handle bars and down the rest of the hill into the thorn bush. No barbs I will give you that, but when you land in a bush you get enough of the f@ckers in you that it is not fun for about a week after that. Find new ones everyday when you happened to press them further into your body Mashed up left shoulder a bit as well, but beer numbed that one

Heya,

I'm looking for some Spinergy Rev X carbon clinchers (700). I would prefer to buy from within Australia and I've been watching eBay for ages with no luck.

If any of the Aussie contingent has any to sell, or could point me in the right direction I'd be most grateful.

Haha! It's so much funnier when it happens to someone else. In my past, I did ride a road bike, and I didn't shave my legs. I know the feel of the nylon brush on road rash. Crashing sucks, but I've had so much practice, I've really gotten good at it.

You're asking about road bike gear on The Aussie Thread? What are you, new? Just kidding. Most of the guys that race or belong to clubs will probably read your post and get the word out.

Heh, yeah, I just figured I'd rather hand over my money to a fellow Aussie, and I don't wanna have to muck around with international frieght, etc.

I prefer wheels you can actually true, so I can't help ya out, sorry.

Yeah, Tiger likes the steel wheels. Or bamboo.

Speaking of which (and no, I'm not being a smartarse), are any high end rims made out of steel or stainless these days, or is it simple easier to manufacture them using aluminium?

Let me clarify: road racing (as opposed to the wheels on my kids bikes which are steel)

Yep, keen for that!

You know there's a catch, right?

You gotta ride steel? Or SS?

Don't worry. Your wheel preference won't have anything to do with my decision on which wheel I buy.

Score 1 for the new guy!