Well, you know, after putting in that fantastic time (not that it was wind-assisted or anything...), I thought I would rest on my TT laurels a bit.

To be honest, I am still recovering from the Giro Tas 1000 I did at the beginning of January, and I don't want to push things too much. Two extra long distance randonnees in three months tend to take it out of me.

Sounds fair enough. was that outstanding TT time the record for the fixed gear elite?

Nup. In the saddle. Balancing wheelspin and wheelstands. One get's used to it on the goat tracks around here. :D

No, I brought out the Merida Extreme 900 for that run. I've still got the FG record, I think.

Hey, talking of single speed, Simon van der Aa did WildsideMTB on a singlespeed mountainbike WITH fixed front fork.. Brave man, but he survived and did quite well, finishing in the top 50. He did a lot of running up the steeper hills (but so did a lot of other geared riders) and his only real physical complaint was sore hands. He's one of the faster riders in the TTs. Nice guy, too. Rode a Scapin the last time I was at a TT.

This is funny, and you may find it hard to believe, but when you metioned the personalised number plates yesterday, I nearly posted my silly: "personilsed number plates are the worst thing since Hitler" gag. :p

As of Jan 10, you were way ahead of me on annual kms. I hope I've caught up since. :p

How many you got now?

Dave, I'm a VERY late nighter. If your Melbourne ride was in the arvo I'd be there in a heart beat.

Died in the @rse, mate. Muscle spasm in the back last week had me in bed two days over the long weekend here (but I did manage to get a sail in on Saturday). Bussed to and from work Tueday and yesterday. Rode today.

But, I think around 1,600km for the year, maybe a tad more.

I'll see what I can organise, but an arvo ATABFR could be arranged I think.

Not totally off subject, but I have a friend coming to Sydney in a couple of weeks and was wondering if there was a place he could rent a bike. And while we're on that subject, if he can get a bike, are there any recommended rides he could take?

Koffee

Would love to, except I'll be skiing in Japan. Knee deep powder snow! Can't wait!

are you talking scenic/city rides or actual hard training rides?

Nah. He's hardcore, so we're looking for something for serious road riding.

Sorry, should have mentioned that.

Koffee

Can he bring me a headset adapter for my Cannondale? I'm serious.

Some hardcore rides can be found with Turramurra Cyclery. The most savage would be Dawn Patrol on Wednesday morning 6am sharp. 100km up hill and down dale at a hard pace. They also do paceline training at Homebush on Thursday evenings, a little climb ride on Tuesday evenings. Checkout http://www.turramurracyclery.com.au/...es&ida=Regular

I do Akuna Bay on Saturdays

But if he's staying down south or way out west then those rides prolly aren't any use to him...

ok, there are plenty of rides, bikes rental might be the hard bit. I'm talking SERIOUS bikes like he probably rides. Best thing would be to try and call a few places before he gets here. Some of the clubs that are attached to shops may be able to lend hima bike for a while but only if he made contact before getting here.

Some of the clubs that do regular training rides and races are:

http://www.turramurracyclery.com.au/...=ride&ida=ride
http://www.randwickbotanycc.com/
http://northernsydneycyclingclub.org.au/
http://www.parramatta.cycling.org.au/
http://www.sydneycyclingclub.org.au/

and a bit further afield (an hour north) but also awesome is THIS great club:

http://www.centralcoastcyclingclub.com/ [Just doing my bit hey munchie?]

And in general our cycling body is Cycling NSW which posts race info and news etc. It also has phone numbers of all the clubs in the area.

http://www.nsw.cycling.org.au/

And then our advocacy organisation might be able to help also.

http://www.bicyclensw.org.au/index.php

I've rung a couple of the local shops and the consensus is that he's probably looking at having to buy a throw away. Anything halfway decent (say 105 Al + carbon + crap wheels) is going to start at AUD1000 (USD800) unless you put in a lot of research time.

There is one other thing... the roads. He won't be riding on supersmooth hotmix for any great length of time no matter where he rides in Oz. He needs to be able to ride on some of the crappiest surfaces if he's going to return home with all his skin intact. He will have to contend with verges and cycle lanes filled with debris (eg logs, girders, etc), numerous potholes, loose paving, enormous cracks, corrugated surfaces (especially on sharp bends and steep descents), animals (live and not so alive, some poisonous and cranky), oh yeah an the odd cranky motorist. [EDIT] and we drive on the correct side of the road, which makes crossing intersections interesting (and sometime spectacular) for the unsuspecting tourist

if he's from Chicago this shouldn't pose much of a problem... except the riding on the left bit :)

that's Pommie food, did you have a cuppa tea with it? Suck back a VB or 2 with some dry Weetbix for brekky, then you're an Aussie !! :D

Tried the new Silca pump head, it sucks, the thumb lock one works much better. You can't pump tyre above 100 psi without the thing leaking air. I'm going to try and fix the thumb lock.

I thought you only had one wife...

are you pushing it onto the stem proper? It has to go on further than just the tip of the valve. You won't be able to do this if your stem is too short (eg. 28mm in a deep V dun werk)

What was wrong with the thumb-lever pump head?

Yep, all the way on. Every time it twists to the side it leaks, and when the pressure goes UP it can't hold on. Maybe I need extra long vales to get it way on there but at the moment it sucks. I suppose I could try my valve extenders on there and see how that goes to get it WAY on but it should work as long as there is enough to seal it on the valve stem. It's not like pushing it on an extra inch is any different to the mechanism of it.

Sounds like your stem is too short. If the silca head is touching the rim then you're hosed. Remember the seal is recessed inside the head by 2mm and it needs a further 2mm of purchase to make the seal tight.