Centennial Park is now patrolled by speed nazi's, so hard-core riders avoid it like the plague. And most riders would probably prefer to MTB the Blue Mtns (eg. Wentworth Falls-Woodford-Glenbrook) rather than fight for roadspace with cars on those narrow goat-tracks.

I rode Manly to Newport (flat) one weekend and it was chockers with cyclists. Never seen so many groups on one stretch of road except for Akuna Bay and Bobbin Head (both for climbing-freaks).

Cycling NSW only has 3500 registered members, which goes to show that most cyclists don't necessarily wanna compete. Social cycling/fitness/latte dominate at the moment.

Another thing that I have noticed is that the number of bike commuters is increasing all the time, and as a result most peak hour drivers are becoming more tolerant than say 5-10 years ago. It's the Sunday drivers who provide the scary moments!

Eh? Who are these speed Nazi's? I went flying around there on my mtb a month or so ago and never had anyone in knee high gum boots jump out of the bushes at me.

Race venues are scattered all over the state. There are 23 Metro clubs and 30 non-Metro clubs, each having (or sharing) 1 or 2 circuits. Criterium circuits in the metro area are often purpose built courses within parkland (eg. Heffron Park, Lansdowne Park) or shared roadspace in quiet light-industrial areas.

30kph speed limit. Non-cycling park users got uppitty in the late 90's and kicked up such a stink that the boys in blue now do regular patrols. Sucks

My mate is a pro photog and he has one of those huge lightish grey Supersonic (?) lenses.

That's all you need to look pro. Get one of those. I think it was only 2700 second hand

Thylacine, supersonic is soooooo 1970's. Concorde is dead. The new, hip term is UltraSonic (USM). And the fluorite lenses speak much about the geek behind the shutter. Droooool.

More drooling here: https://www.canon.com.hk/en/Product/S...Category_ID=25
These look cute: https://www.lensbabies.com/pages/using.php

A must have for all you Melbournites: https://www.graysonline.com.au/lot.asp?LOT_ID=447624

What? 30kph for everything? Gah, coppers have got to catch yer first. Cars, and pavement stompers should be banned.

Hey, where do you guys buy cables and cable outers from? Are some better than others? Why is it impossible to google this up?

My flatmate has the 'pro' level 2.8 wide Sigma zoom, and it's very nice optically. Slightly better than my Canon 20-25 2.8L. And yes, we have done tripod mounted tests using his DSLR. Build quality isn't as good as a Canon, but that's to be expected.

I guess I somehow managed to avoid all the cyclist areas when I was back last year!

Commuter numbers have increased? That's scary- commuting numbers in central Sydney seem to be tiny, so if they're up, the numbers must have been truely miniscule before. I can't blame them though- Sydney drivers scare the utter crap outta me.

a bike shop. buy in bulk is easiest, keep a whole stash and cut up as needed, just get a bunch of cables as you go. I got some nice ones of Expat, he'll surely chime in later today with some bargains for you.

I find standard stuff is fine, just replace it when needed and you'll be ok.

Next time your in town drop into a bike shop and ask where the local rides and races are.

And yes the numbers are tiny in comparison to the number of cagers, but increasing all the time regardless. I ride and drive the Pacific Hwy down the north shore regularly and I'm always passing cyclists at all hours. The guy on the recumbent seems to have a death wish tho.

Well I don't want to buy form my local, as it seems whatever they put on earlier this year was cr@p. I can't believe one ride in the rain has gummed it up like it seems to have.

Any tips Expat?

Anyone got an opinion on MONOC frames? Good/bad/indifferent.

This summer I want to ride from Bathurst to Sydney (specifically Rose bay where my adventure racing mate is). Besides the bridge on Mt Victoria, none of the ride freaks me out until I get to Paramatta Rd. Be farked if I'd ride it, but I don't know any other way to go. Don;t know how you fellas ride in Sydney.

rain? when?

I just use std housing, no lube inside, just put a tiny dab of grease on the ferrule hole when you put them on to keep the dirt out.

nope, only ever seen the cyclo-cross one. Seemed halfway decent though, those and the Fort frames are fairly popular in the US for CX racing, the Fort frames are nice and a decent price. I think they are both Czech companies aren't they?

Adventure race on the 26th of June at the Royal National Park. It p!ssed down.

Ferrule hole? I'm not sticking grease in any of my holes thanks.

My mistake, Ultrasonic is the one he's got.

Lucky bastard is shooting models in China at present. Tough gig. Anyone wanna see some pix?

Pic me!!!

You could take Bells Line then up through the Galston Gorge then its a simple crooz down the North Shore. You can always take the iron horse if it all gets too much. But riding in Sydney traffic is pretty easy: expect the unexpected to happen and take action as required, ride like they drive, don't bother arguing with anyone, and above all NEVER stop traffic flowing no matter what.

who knows about website hosting?
The wife wants to maybe get a bit of stuff up so her o'seas mates / family etc. can view it. Seems pricey to get plenty of spce but I guess how much do you need?

These are the plans available form my e-mail provider. I wouldn't hoard heaps of blogging and pics, only put up new stuff and get rid of the old evey month ro so.

Plan Disk Space2 Monthly Data Limit3 Address Type Set-up Fee Hosting Fee (monthly)

Family 5 5MB 100MB $0 $2.95 per month1 …

Family 10 10MB 200MB $0 $9.95 per month1 …

Family 15 15MB 250MB www.[yourwebsite].bigpondhosting.com $0 $14.95 per

Family 20 20MB 300MB www.[yourwebsite].bigpondhosting.com4 $0 $19.95 per month1 …having your own web domain

Bloody 'ell. I was after a 200 km ride but you're sending me out on a 350 km jobbie! Don't know if the bells line would be as safe as the great western highway as most of that has good shoulders now. It's an option though.

I've done a fair bit of riding up and down the eastern suburbs and northern beaches which aren't to bad (except for the Spit bridge) but I rekon paramatta road would be a different story. The fast lane on that roads the left lane as people try to keep out of it because cars sometimes park in it. So the hero's always seem to jump the cue up it. I rekon I've been up and down that road a few hundred times but I have never seen a cyclist on it. Maybe they know another route?

Doesn't the polution you suck in and get covered in worry you when you're riding down in Sydney?

Climbo, hasn't your ISP already given you some free space?