Topolino 700c Clincher Wheelset

What I want to know is – how do you fix a broken spoke in country Australia?

I’d like to apologise to the guy riding the blue Coppi, wearing blue knicks, black leg warmers and an orange/yellow long-sleeve jersey.

I’m very sorry for injuring you.

(cue music “I’d hate to be you” sung to the tune “It had to be you”)

Yes, I’m very sorry for ‘bruising your ego’.

It must be very painful for you to run all those red lights and still have a guy like me pass you, repeatedly.

I’d like to thank you for getting me to work a bit quicker this morning but if you could perhaps just run a few less lights I could remain in my aerobic hr zone as I’m supposed to.

I’m curious as to whether or not you race? If you do, do you take shortcuts during a race?

Maybe you cut through the infield on the track or through the buildings at Glenvale? I’m sure you think performance enhancing drugs are okay to use too?

I pretty certain you are the same guy I chased from Ringwood to Camberwell some time ago in the Fitzroy knicks. Obviously you haven’t learnt your lesson. I’ll just keep embarassing you by riding past your slow arse until you do. Ya know, if you stopped at lights you might have to pedal a bit harder to start rolling again – think of the training benefit – you might actually get faster!

Fsck it.. I don’t really care if you run red lights, I’m just tired and grumpy, just don’t do it in front of me and expect me to let you go..

Doncaster Rd is heaps cooler than Maroondah Hwy.. bigger hills for faster speeds but the uphills don’t seem any worse!

I ‘sat on’ the best and worst types of “drafting” vehicles. The first was a tray-truck with a tray that was almost made for chopping the heads off close-following cyclists! (and I was CLOSE following!). The other was a common LandCruiser. The Toyota was just the right height to see through the front windscreen while making use of its ample size for wind pushing duties. I hooked up with that at just the right speed and sat on for ages! Weeeeeeeee!!

Also met a d.u.d.e with red/blue flasher on his backpack.. Cop stylee for $10 from Carribean Gardens 🙂

Details: 2004 Cervelo Team Soloist

Found a section of Doncaster Rd today where they are redoing the tram lines. No access to cars.. but bikes slip through 🙂

It was at the tail end of 3.5hrs on the roadie (Burwood Hwy, City, Doncaster Rd, Home). I’ve decided to add Doncaster Rd. to my list of “commute routes” just to get some extra kays in. Did it today as part of my program and to see what it looks like in daylight 🙂

I rode past all the construction (barriers are for carse not bikes :P) and noticed they are laying down some serious amounts of concrete in some deep holes – not something I want to hit at night!

Pretty sore today after 5-6hrs on the bike yesterday, including 1hr spent racing a hot C grade crit at Dalmore Drive. DFL thankyou very much, after doing a turn chasing a break and then being caned by the following bunch! Shit! Carl won it from the break – nice one!

Also used Saturday to find that I can’t corner for shit! It was basically a hard day’s riding that left me physically drained and mentally depressed. Not good.. must fix that during the upcoming season. Maybe I should start bike drag racing? Then I wouldn’t have to worry about hills or corners!! 🙂

Axiom SprintAir (~$40AUD)

I think it has “Axiom” on the barrel and “Air Supply” on the head.

Sales blurb:

– High efficiency aluminum barrel

– Ribbed aluminum handle with twist lock

– 160psi maximum

– Instant attach Presta head

– Patch kit and schrader adapter inside handle

– Lifetime guarantee

– 110g

My blah blah:

I’ve used this for two roadside puncture repairs since buying it and it’s my favourite frame pump to date. Prior to this I’ve used a Blackburn and another one that I don’t know the details of right now (good reviewer eh? :P). The Blackburn is still going but the other one is dead. The Axiom is lighter and skinnier than the Blackburn and doesn’t require twisting a lockring once on the valve – just push it on and start pumping. Too easy. It feels reasonably solid for a light frame pump unlike the last one I had. It looks better too. There’s no pressure gauge on this one, but I figure pump it up as hard as possible and get yourself to a track pump asap.

Okay.. my fault for leaving a holed tyre on the bike with no repair attempted but still..

(If only I’d patched the tyre.. If only I’d patched the tyre.. If only I’d patched the tyre.. )

I think I’m going to take the Michelin’s off and fit some training tyres with a bit more meat on them. They have to be red. I think I spotted some red Vittoria Rubino’s in my LBS the other day, they’ll do. Cheaper than Pro Race too.

At least the recent bout of punctures means I got to test Gemma’s “leave your bike up the right way when fixing flats” method. It is easy but I still forget to shift into the smallest cog first (The wheel goes in with the chain in the middle of the cassette but it’s easier if the chain is on the smallest cog).

I’ve also used my new frame pump a couple of times now and it works a treat!

Thanks to Carl for the lend of a tyre and his spare HRM so I can send my S710 back to get its battery replaced.

Bloody hell.. that ride was kinda cool but kinda sucked too. I mean, it was shit weather and it was tough just pushing the pedals, but I was still grinning like an idiot down in St. Kilda when the wind was so strong I couldn’t steer in a straight line! Respect to Neil who after stacking on wet tram tracks and needing an hour in front of my heater just to thaw out was insane enough to go out again for another dose!

My brakes disappeared on the way home thanks to all the road grit combined with water. It all set into this mess:

This is ‘some’ of the road grit that I squeezed out of my clothes.. yes.. my clothes! We are talking road bike here, not mtb and this is only the grit that didn’t get washed down the drain! Messy stuff: