Haha. Seppo lover!

A black Silca would have done the trick, at no cost to you...

ungh.....my head......stupid party people that won't get the hell out of my house at 2am when the party started at 3pm. Damn them. Damn pilsner. Damn.....everything. *grumble*

Okay, need some advise fellas. 10 weeks before the Melb 12hr enduro, which I stupidly signed a team up for. Have basically zero fitness and almost as much motivation.

What's a quick easy-ish training scheme to guarantee I won't die?

Was just planning on ramping up the road kms in the first month and try and do 1-2hrs a day during the week, and a longer ride on the weekends, then in the second month add some intervals and time on the mtb so I can relearn how to steer.

whaddayareckon?

Where's the enduro?

In a Scotch Thistle infested depression aka The 4WD proving ground, inbetween Werribee and Ballan.

from Nasbar

I have no idea what AC/DC has to do with cycling but for all you Aussies out there this is the jersey for you!

I reckon you should fake a serious illness the day before the event.

With zero motivation, you haven't got a chance - you really need to get that sorted before you start training 'coz otherwise you will keep finding excuses for not training and before you know it, the big day will have arrived and you will be no better prepared than you are today.

Don't you just love us optimistic, encouraging types?

Thylo, you might as well forget about the intervals and just get some miles into those legs. The intervals will only make you want to stay off the bike. They're not really necessary for enduro style events anyway where the emphasis is on tempo.

4 man team? That means three hours on the bike which is about 90 kays in road miles and (I think) about 60 kays of up and down hill MTB crud. You could do that with no training at all but you probably wouldn't walk for about a week afterwards

So there you have it. Start with an hour a day (28-30 kays of easy, flat road miles) then GRADUALLY increase the weekend mileage to four hours of flat/undulating stuff per day and put in some hills during the shorter rides during the week. On the hilly stuff you don't need to bust a valve, just concentrate on tempo. If you are worried about strength then climb seated (or alternate between seated and standing each repeat).

And make sure you take Monday and Friday off. You'll need mucho recovery time so your body can regenrate the stuff you'll be breaking as you increase the load.

Have fun

PS. Did I mention that you should increase the time and the effort GRADUALLY?

Jocko, I think I had your race on Saturday, dead last in a handicap race. I was the only starter on 2 minutes and when scratch caught me about 15 minutes in, I could only hang on for about 5 minutes. That made me last on the road from that point

Perhaps the borrowed bike (about 1 size too small, probably 4cm shorter in reach) had something to do with it, but I think I just had a **** day. It felt like I was towing a parachute the whole way round.

This morning's ride felt better. After changing up when I wanted to change down more times than I can count I will probably get the campy gear changing sussed just in time for it to bugger me up going back to Shimano on the new bike

Didn't a couple of you lot mention some kiwi-fruit jam recipes a while ago?
I did a search of TAT but couldn't find anything.
We got a big box of the stuff on Friday and wanted to make some luverly jam.

Bad luck vette. Starting out on your own sucks. If you don't feel strong it can often work out better if you just sit on the line waiting for the next group to roll out so you have someone to share the workload with. Either that or just roll out easy (which is the better thing to do on our road course as it is up hill most of the way out to the turnaround)

That advise would be fine if I was a tweenage child of yours Matagi, but this is the first outing for a reasonably fully fledged Team Thylacine at the races so something tells me I won't be spending the next 10 weeks on the couch.

The other two guys will be doing most of the work (they're much more of the 'racing type' than me anyway) - I'll probably only do a couple of laps so I can spend the rest of the time hoiking my wares.....I just don't want to let the side completely down by squandering the few weeks I have!

Okay, so I'll just slowly up the mileage. Sounds like a simple plan.

Thylo's Weekly Workout: Week 1
-------------------------------
Mon - zen and contemplation
Tue - 45mins flat and easy
Wed - 1hr flat and easy
Thu - 1 hr little undulations easy
Fri - massage & sauna at the local Rub 'n' Tug
Sat - 2hr road easy, no nasty hills: enjoy the scenery/company
Sun - 2hr MTB easy, nothing technical, no nasty hills: find your rhythm

What I would give to get a program like that every week

Friday sounds good

Yep, I made some basically just melted down the roughly chopped and peeled kiwis with a load of sugar for about and hour and the job was done. no need for pectin or any of that gu.

Just had a couple of hours on the local mtb trails...what a nice way to see out the weekend.
Mum and bub are visiting friends in sydney so I'm enjoying a cold coopers and watching sport

So that's why you don't answer the phone. And here was I thinking you'd be in the running for a nice ride to work in the morning!

Australia TV broadcaster is organising a special Tour de France ride through Sydney on Friday, June 30, at 7am. The meeting point will be Café Latteria (320 Victoria St. Darlinghurst), for a stroll through the CBD out to The Rocks, flanked by SBS vehicles all the way. The first 25 participants to gather will receive a branded Nike jersey, whereas the first 25 riders back at Café Latteria after the ride (about 7.45am) will get a free breakfast.

Thylo, your acerbic wit is required - https://www.bikeforums.net/professional-cycling-fans/206051-why-i-will-never-buy-lemond-bicycle.html

Will be worth it just to watch the fatty boom-bas in the sprint for the free brekkie...?

All you can eat=53x11 all the way!

Guys, I've just bought myself a set of Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL's on eBay. Just started reading some reviews...Not sure now if I did the right thing as a lot of people say they have issues with breaking spokes on the drive side.

Any thoughts??

I think you should have read the reviews before you bought them.

Ouch!!

Wattsy, not heard of any spoke failures from any of the tools I know that ride 'em. LBS tool rates them higher than Durace wheelset, so he's wither misguided or the Ksyriums are a good thang.

Ride 'em, enjoy 'em.

You have an evil streak...I think I like it!

Thanks Jock. Nice to know I've been elevated to 'Tool'.

Wattsy, I got 'em on my bike & have no complaints. Persoanlly I don't think they roll out quite as well as the Cosmics I had previously but they are a nice wheelset.

A couple of mates ride them too and like them, although if you are a big heavy unit (and I am not saying you are) you might not want to ride on them all the time. One mate is about 90kg (at 6'4") and a strong rider (been known to snaps cranks ) found them not quite sturdy enuff for day to day use.