I don't get those people.

(sob)...you sure know how to hurt a guy (sob)....but on the lighter side...the parts have turned up....& the LBS will accept my house in part payment...yay

hitchy

...so you genius'........what do i do about the scratch......its not huge or anything....but I see it everytime i look at the bike (which is often...be still my beating heart)....whats a cost effective solution, apart from repainting the entire bike, (or buying titanium, thanks tiger!).......given that I have no idea what the colour code of the paint is...how will i go about matching it with touch up paint....what about nail polish?.....help.

Hitchy

So the prognosis is positive then? The doctor says you can ride it OK? You don't have to go on a crash diet to avoid the chainstay collapsing at an inopportune moment -- like when avoiding Japanese tourists?

Leave it.
Scratches look pro.

Just wrap a bit of electrical or gaffer tape around it in a contrasting colour. Wear it like a ring of honour.

dunno about the prognosis yet...the parts have turned up......will drop the bike off to the LBS tomorrow, i'll get him to fit them etc.....nothing else obviously wrong, I'm a little worried about damage to the derailuer, but won't really know until its kinda back together
...(sob)

Sorry lads, PC has crapped itself. eeewwww internet cafe's are yuk!! Hitchy, try using a clear nail polish to cover it up. it works on the Trek. Am looking to upgrade the PC so hope to have regular input soon.

Yeah, make sure it's yellow and write 'Livestrong' on it in texta!

MAAAAATE...you're still alive!

I thought you might've had heat stroke

ATM I'm doing Gosford to Woy Woy, then a flat 10km loop Woy Woy to Umina as many times as required, then back home on Tue & Thu. Wed is warmup down to Woy Woy and back then up Kariong twice (or straight over the top ending up back at Woy Woy). All that stuff is done to set program and chasing specific HR, so I like to do them solo.

Sat is long ride usually moguls and little hills. I'm supposed to join a club ride but I can't find one on the Central Coast coz of the crits on Sunday. So I do Akuna Bay with Turramurra every other weekend, that's a blast. On the Central Coast I sometimes join small groups of other riders if I see them out, otherwise I join the coffee run at bottom of Kariong at 7:00am for an hour or so. It's slow and croozy, but plenty of shop (racecraft) talk if someone broaches the subject. The older guys just can't help but impart knowledge. Showoffs!

Sunday is long base, and I've been doing the lap of the bay with some older guys. I still get in trouble for pressing too hard coz they keep the pace up!!

Might catch up one Sunday. I was thinking of heading up to Newcastle this weekend to meet Expat, but he's prolly doin 'stuff' with his missus. Family first!

Oy! She said if I want to go ride, then go ride. And no, there was no "bugger ya!" at the end of it either.

Keep yer daks on mate!

Climbo might wanna come up too, ya just never can tell. But I've got a feeling he's hooked on crits. Can't blame him, it's a bloody nice course. Demanding, but not too technical (except for the mobile chicanes that seem to wander onto the course!!!!!).

Not making any plans until Friday. I still don't trust the BOM!

You're just thinking how slow going it will be if I try to keep up with you on my Cannondale fat tire...

The storm has arrived. Logging off to protect my precious pc.

This only applies if you take your bike on the train. If you miss the 6o'clocker just ride on down to Woy Woy and catch the next one from there. It's a nice little ride, especially early in the morning. If you don't want to get all hot and sweaty you can bypass the two little hills at Point Clare if you take the bike track, but you'll need a good light.

Then I'll just have to make sure I complete the ride to Newey at no less than 95%MHR. I should be going at a more fashionable pace after that.

I've been meaning to ask why a skinny tire guy chose the name Rockmuncher. Oh, and I'm starting a new thread - Aussie MTB Newcastle Thread. I'll log on once a day, and insult myself.

Yeah, not a bad idea the extra distance to Woy Woy would be good now and then. I'm just getting back in to it after 6 months off. Moved back from New Jersey and all my stuff was on a boat for months, no riding at all in that period. As for riding, I'm not hooked on crits at all, I just did it so I could have a race and see how my fitness was against the locals. I prefer road races and cyclo-cross and I did the MTB race last week at Ourimbah and that is also a GREAT course. That big hill they put in was killing me, I hadn't ridden the MTB at all in 6 months.

I can’t ride this weekend, nephew’s B’day down in Sydney but I’ll try to hook up with you another weekend.

For the initiation I attached the only bike pics I have, they look a bit different these days. The other one I have is just a standard chrome Bianchi Pista.

I emailed Mr Pinarello and he told me that the frames were made between 1992 to 95/96. The strange part is on the Road bike Review website they have a review on the 2000 Sestriere frame!?
There is another site with some guy talking about his 98 sestriere.
I'm not to fussed though....The bike was in such good condition I had to get it!!

Now we can all sleep at night.........

Thats a ripper

I thought the same thing when I read about Fausto Coppi in Issue 24 of RIDE. Says he did 290km at an average speed of 39.37kph in 1949......

It might have something to do with my penchant for getting up close and personal with our mother earth. Take this morning for instance:

I just renewed my Crash Club membership this morning. Busy ride, mostly E3, and I was into the roundabout that would take me onto the straight with the wind at my back. This was going to be a new landspeed record for sure!

The sinking feeling came into play about halfway round, when my exuberance was overtaken by the realisation that my front wheel had lost traction. No it hadn't. Yes it had. No it... why are those bells ringing? The Polar graph is spectacular: 34 to zero in a single poll period.

Goddammit: cracked helmet, badly bent hanger (only 3 useable gears!!!!), chips off my 105 STI's, and a nice new paintwork scratch where the good samaritan threw my bike up against the nearest telegraph pole. Oh, yeah.. and I got a few scratches and bruises too! Mostly on my ego.

Sadly the land speed record remains intact for another week.

Poor munchie. The Gitane's like an old beaten harlot now then?

I had a great ride yesterday. It was so windy yesterday arvo that I decided not to ride. And somehow to make up for that I found myself eating a pie instead. Having lost 5 kg over the last month, this made me very sad and guilty (to be undoing my good work). So I gritted my teeth and went out in the gale. Since the wind was basically a westerly, I did my 20km north south out and back hill run. On the way back almost crashed a few times from my front wheel getting blown out from under me (scary ***** that). Almost home but was still feeling fresh, and thought I would go for a run with the wind at my back. Started out and all was fine, but it was a bit swirly going that way, so one minute it'd be at my back, next I'd be pushing into it. So went out and decided to come back home on the other side of the river where it's a bit more sheltered. Last little bit could either take the road still, or hop onto a bike track. Bike track would have been going more across the wind, so took that. A little ways along came up behind a girl walking the same way. Called out to her "hello, passing on your right", to which just as I got to her she jumped into my road. Somehow I got on the brakes and managed not to hit her, as I inched past her I looked back... and be still my beating heart... she was beautiful! So in that split second I thought "say something funny", but drew a blank. So I just said sorry and rode off. I think I might be taking that bike track a bit more late in the afternoons now.