Ty's Blog

Pics for John. Pt1

2010-08-25T21:40:00.002+10:00

Goodbye blogspot, hello tydomin.com.

2009-09-12T23:47:00.003+10:00

Thanks for all your support over the years. I've ventured abroad and found a new provider as my post have become more and more photo related and blogspot truly wasn't designed for my kind of blogging.

You can now find me at the imaginatively named tydomin.com

Go well.

Ty.

MTB World Championships - Stromlo, Canberra.

2009-09-06T20:01:00.014+10:00

As you may or may not know, the UCI MTB and Trials World Championship were held in Canberra over the weekend. I was lucky enough to score the full three days worth of tickets free from Liam so I made the most of the event and headed out after work on the Friday night to enjoy the 4X.

The atmosphere was fantastic as the trailside filled with people and the lights came into action.

Before you knew it, the riders erupted from the gates.

Australia was lucky enough to score gold in both mens and womens!!! (Graves and Buchannan).

The next day was the x-country. Two hours of pain for the riders on what was a very technical and challenging trail. We fueled up on beer to get us through the ordeal of walking round the mountain.

France (Absolom) and Switzerland (Schurter) fought each other for the entire race, with Swizerland taking the win.

Sunday was the downhill, or judging by the fact that Commodores outnumbered Subarus in the car park for once, the 'day of the bogan'. Another great spectacle and a great opportunity to get the flash out and take some nice actions shots.

Steve Peat finally managed to take the champion jersey after so much effort. Even though he's a pom everyone was stoked.

Tim convinced me to head down to the trials to see some of the freakery. It was astonishing as usual.

Not likely that Australia will get the worlds again in the next decade so it was great to be able to see it. I feel the competitive motivation coming back........

Coffeeeeeee!!!

2009-08-29T14:00:00.003+10:00

A few weeks back my automatic espresso machine malfunctioned and a light of doom came on. Instead of fetching the instructions to remedy the problem I threw the machine out. It always made less that acceptable coffee and the light was a perfect excuse to spend up big on a new Rancilio Silvia V3 with matching Rancilio Rocky doser grinder.

Ordered on the Friday and I picked it up from the PO on the Monday. I knew it was good quality when the post office ladies wheeled it out on a trolley because it was too heavy to lift.

The deal I found at Cafe A Roma (the Aussie importer for Rancilio) left me with everything I needed to brew my first espresso. I didn't really know what half the things were but it wasn't long till I was making coffee, albeit terrible coffee.

After a few weeks of experimentation and practice I'm over the moon with the quality of espresso I can get out of the machine and will never go back to an automatic. The process is a little longer but very therapeutic.

I've purchased a timer that switches it on automatically every morning so that by the time I rise it's nice and hot, ready for me to do my magic. Enjoy.

Rach's Canberra Visit.

2009-08-29T13:39:00.008+10:00

Rach came to visit for a few days this week. We didn't venture too far as I still had to work for the week but there was a great deal of cafes, pubs, lounge bars, restaurants, country roads, markets and random goings on.

Coffee at Spill the Beans.

Lunch time beers at The Phoenix.

Gelati by the lake.

Cocktails and live funk at Trinity Bar.

Markets and a country bakery lunch at Braidwood.

Perfect weather for a drive to the coast.

The National Botanical Gardens were flowering.

We eventually needed a quiet night in to catch up on Scrubs.

Elroy came with us for a hike to the top of Mt Majura.

Tea at Cafe Essen.

Lunch in front of the fire at the pub we discovered on a drive out through Collector.

Wine and dinner with Trent and Steve at Tilley's.

A quiet afternoon tea at Yaralumla Nursery where the cherry blossoms were in bloom.

It seemed like longer than a week which is always a good sign, gotta love how much there is to do in Canberra, despite what people say.

Fixed to Lake George.

2009-08-15T13:13:00.005+10:00

In what has become a regular Saturday morning thing, we rode out to Lake George via the Old Federal Highway this morning. Fixies only, and at a surprisingly fast pace, we cover around 65-70km before breaky at Spill the Beans. For those bike nerds out there, we roll on around 73 gear inches.

Today me and Steve took the journey in what started off as a 2 degree, frosty and foggy morning. My house is situated on a 'fogless' hill, so as I left it didn't dawn that I'd need flashers to warn cars of my presence. Within a couple of hundred metres I hit it and my distrust of cage drivers became apparent as I stuck to the bikepaths for safety.

The fog rolled over the hills until we reached clear skies. Steve decided to disrobe as he was getting a bit toasty, but as Murphie's Law would have it, the fog came in again until we reached Lake George.

Steve's bike, looking ever so colour coordinated with his apparel.

A bit of a moonscape, with windmills in the distance catching the wind from the open plains. Well worth the ride for the view, but breakfast was calling.

Steve took a moment to contemplate........the journey home.....after all, he is old (his words not mine).

And this is the last thing his breakfast saw once we reached Spill the Beans.

The night of the good samaritan.

2009-08-11T17:27:00.005+10:00

Something slightly unusual occurred on Friday night.

It certainly wasn't unusual that I decided to head to the Wig & Pen for eleventy thousand after work Kolsch's. Starting at 3pm probably wasn't a great idea but my plan was to have a few followed by dinner then off home on the trusty fixie. But we had the much sought after corner table, which couldn't be given up lightly.

What comes next may surprise a few of you who know that I really don't like the Moose as an establishment for enjoying a few quiet ones. Luckily the 'ones' I had there weren't that quiet.

Everything soon after I reached the Moose began to blur, at one stage I remember chatting to a barman about my fixie, he'd seen it locked up outside. He asked if he could contact me by email; however, in my state I couldn't even write or remember it (even though it is MY NAME).

The night progressed somewhat ordinarily for a blinder of a night.....until I decided to leave.

The bouncers firstly noticed that I was having issues unlocking my bike. They came over and offered a helping hand. Little did they know that the key we were trying to unlock my Kryptonite lock with was in actual fact my house key (little did I know that it was my house key). They retrieved a small ladder to try and lift my bike over the sign it was locked to, to no avail.

Next was the biggest surprise. The police arrived and also tried to unlock my lock. Using their own tools to try and pry the lock open. I was very noticeably intoxicated and everybody was trying to help me ride home.

The next thing I saw was quiet amusing. A bouncer running from the Moose grasping a spinning angle grinder - probably not the thing the local punter trying to enter the pub wanted to see. Within a couple of seconds sparks were flying and my bike was free.

The next thing I remember is waking up lying on the bike path somewhere near Lyneham (about six km from town). Two men were running toward me asking if I was okay. I assured them that I was fine, was just on my way home and that I'd be on my way in no time. The two guys, speaking in strong South African accents, told me that they would drive me home. I said I'd be fine but they started to pick my bike up and ask how they could remover the front wheel so that it fitted in the car. Clearing the garden debris from my body I grudgingly agreed.

Once I was crammed into the back of the hatch-back with my disassembled bike, I abruptly fell asleep again before being awoken as we arrived in my suburb. I directed the guys to my place where they unpacked my bike and were on their way, like masked heroes of the night.

I now believe in Karma.....because I didn't even wake with a hangover.

Mike and Maciej's 30th.

2009-08-03T18:40:00.006+10:00

It was Mike and Maciej's 30th on the weekend so I headed to Sydney to celebrate with them.

They had generously booked a room on a cruise boat for the evening complete with enough food to keep even Tim happy.

The Birthday Boys.

The cake was great and the service was second to none!

No expense was spared as the fireworks flew on on journey back to Darling Harbour.....or maybe it was just coincidence......

Then it was off to our favourite establishment, The Loft, for some fresh fruit......mixed with selected alcoholic beverages of course.

The drinks just kept on coming, in all shapes and sizes.

Not surprisingly the night soon turned to a blur......thanks and congratulations go to the boys for organising such an awesome and memorable night. May the next thirty be just as good. Cheers.

Skiing Thredbo and Perisher.

2009-07-27T20:34:00.009+10:00

Tim, Mike, Langers and I headed up to the snowies for a quick skiing weekend. Although the 'two bedroom villa' I booked turned out to be a bit less than was to be expected for $215 a night, we weren't too fussed as we were just keen to get out on the slopes the next day.

They say your skiis say something about you, guess which ones are Tim's.

So we packed ourselves into Langers' car for the short trip from Jindabyne to Thredbo.

The first glimpse of the snow wasn't far away.

Literally a couple of hundred metre walk from the car and we were on the slopes.

I spent a good portion of the morning falling over and accidentally attempting Blue runs, having not skied for eight years this left me a little sore......no, VERY sore and a little bit disgruntled.

So we breaked for a short mornos before Langers took me under his wing for a some pointers on how to actually ski.

Before I knew it I was having a ball and it was time for some Lowenbrau.

After the days skiing we stopped over at Wild-brumby Schnapps distillery for some beer, coffee and schnapps tasting. I ended up with a bottle of my favourite sour apple variety and also a chilli flavour called Devils-tongue. Can't wait to get into them.

On arrival back in Jindabyne we quickly headed into town for dinner and some beers at Clancy's. Dave and Mattis rocked up and the night went a bit longer than planned for me and Mike until we called Langers to come pick us up, there was a distinct lack of taxis. The next morning was a bit rough for me at least.

The weather for Sunday was predicted to be a bit less pleasant than the blue skies of Saturday so we headed to Perisher to try our luck on their slopes.

Mike, Tim, Me and Dave's chosen forms of transport on the slopes.

It was a great mountain, with a bit more traversing for us to endure but well worth the work.

Snowboarders are funny, they can't stand still and are often found clinging to trees on the top of mountains.

It ended up being a great weekend and I'll definitely be back before the season is out.

A massive thanks to Tim for the photos.

New Zealand - Sweet as! (Part II)

2009-07-21T22:03:00.010+10:00

Day 6 - Taupo/Lake Taupo/Mt Tongariro

After an afternoon in Taupo we decided that we liked the place enough to take a well earned rest and spend two nights in the town. So the next morning we allowed ourselves a short sleep in before boarding the Ernest Kemp, a small replica vintage boat that would take us for a cruise on the huge Lake Taupo.

The weather was a little miserable as we breakfasted and got moving but by the time we had had a coffee by the lake and arrived at the harbour it had already begun to clear up. By the time we were on the lake patches of blue sky were reflecting off the classy water. The captain remarked that it was a relatively rare occurrence that the weather was so still.

We were lucky enough to view these carvings, although only constructed recently they were pretty cool.

After the cruise we decided we'd head out into the country side and find one of the popular road side cafes for lunch. New Zealand is great for its quality roadside cafes, no franchises or road houses, just plain old home cooked meals in the most unexpected places. The captain of the boat had recommended the cafe his son worked at, about 30km South on the shores of Lake Taupo. We weren't disappointed.

We then took a gamble and headed toward the snow on Mt Tongariro. I wasn't sure how close we'd be able to get without chains and in the beast, so we just drove until we hit the snow. It was great to discover that you could actually drive all the way to the snow fields without chains and, if you wanted to, practically step out of your car in your skis and head of into the white yonder.

The snow fields were so easily accessible and by the looks of it not over crowded.

We eventually headed back North to Taupo for dinner and drinks before retiring to bed..

Day 7 - Taupo to Auckland

What was supposed to be a relatively short drive to Auckland, of a few hundred kilometres, turned into five ours of frustration. Highway 1 was abysmal in its 'highwayness', with the last hundred or so kilometres zig-zaging through outskirts of major towns and barely reaching 80km/h. We then hit the expressway which should have shot us through Auckland to the other side of town where out accommodation was; this didn't occur as we spent almost ninety minutes stuck in traffic caused by a disintegrating truck.

All was good once we'd parked the van and caught a bus to the CBD. A healthy Japanese lunch was on the cards before we went on a bit of a shopping spree in the hilly city. We were both pretty knackered after walking up and down hills for a few hours and retired to Vulcan Lane to enjoy the awesome little pubs and restaurants.

I've never been huge on mussels, but this trip to NZ has really given me a hunger for these huge and tasty shells of delight.

At Cassette#9 we divilged in some of their Long Island Iced Tea, served in tea pots......logical I suppose.

Day 8 - Auckland to Canberra

Our flight wasn't scheduled till four in the afternoon so we dropped into the Auckland Museum, reputed to be well worth the visit. The museum covered everything and even included a war memorial and museum on the top floor.

Once we were done there we headed for the airport, returning the van and spending our last few hours roaming the airport and devouring the remaining smoked fish we had brought from Coromandel.

Once in Sydney we caught a bus for Canberra. I was more than comfortable and about to nod off when we were advised that we'd be swapping buses. Our worst fears were confirmed when we boarded a dilapidated, smelly and overheating bus that delivered us to Canberra over an hour late, just after midnight.

All in all we had a fantastic holiday and honestly can't wait to go back some time. The people were extra-ordinarily friendly, the beer was tasty, food was quality and sights were unforgettable. Now for the South Island, and this time with my own bike!!!

New Zealand - Choice Bro' (Part I)

2009-07-21T20:23:00.010+10:00

A few months back I was trying to decide on where to head for my sole week of leave for the year. Asia was my immediate choice but was priced out of the market for a short trip. So I decided to check out the New Zealand options. It ended up being so cheap that it would have been criminal not to make the most of the off season deals - $260 return flights on Qantas to Auckland and $35 a day for a medium campervan!! The credit card was charged up and we were on our way.

Day 1 saw me catching a 4am bus to Sydney international airport to meet up with Rach and board our flight for Auckland. An entire day of commuting had us arriving in Auckland late in the day after losing two hours in time difference. We arrived to a windy and rainy evening and picked up our van. I must say, driving a large vehicle, in a strange city, during evening peak hour, in the dark and rain, was slightly unnerving. The GPS came through and after a dinner of pizza and beer by the fire at the local pub we eventually bedded down at the Caravan Park for our first night in New Zealand. Within hours of hour arrival we had already had the obligatory ‘choice’ and ‘bro’ thrown in to common conversation. We definitely felt we were on holiday.

Day 2 – Auckland to Russell

The weather forecast wasn’t looking overly promising, especially considering the North of the Island had just been hit with massive storms – a tree had fallen on a caravan killing a young girl, coastal houses had been dislodged and trampers had been lost in national parks due to bad weather. We headed North anyway and the clouds parted.
Almost immediately immersed in rain forest we decided to stop for a couple of short walks and museum stops. The most amazing part was the immensity of the Kauri trees. One of them had a girth of 13.8m at its base!!

Can you see Rachael at the base of this behemoth?

By the time we reached Russell, in the Bay of Islands, we had seen a major city, open highway, quaint farming villages, dense rain forest, fierce coast lines and finally beach side tourist towns. The funniest part was the fact that everything seemed a little similar to Australia but just different enough to make it feel like what Rach described as ‘a parallel universe’.

We caught the vehicle ferry across the bay to Russell and headed out for dinner at a local bay side pub. Seafood and beer was the choice of the day before we again relaxed by the pub fire.

Day 2 – Russell to Coromandel

We awoke to crisp blue skies and headed back down to the bay for a coffee and a look around before we headed South along the coast.

The roads we quite windy and we ended up covering 60 or 70 km in a couple of hours (which may have been a result of my photographic tendencies), it was quite a work out at the wheel of the beast.

Back through Auckland and West to the Coromandel Peninsular where we hit more windy roads, this time at almost sea level before we hit the Northern most extremity and crossed the green grassy range to spectacular views.

We roamed around the small town of Coromandel and decided to stop for a beer at the Star and Garter Hotel while we waited for the restaurants to open. The huge selection of Monteiths beers ruined that plan as we settled into a tasting session and ended up ordering food from the counter; the good new was that the food actually came from a selection of restaurants surrounding the pub, that’s community spirit.

Day 3 – Coromandel to Rotorua

We left Coromandel along the same road we arrived after some advice from the locals. I was lucky enough to meet the local constabulary and receive a small fine for doing 25 over the limit through a small town. The policeman was a good guy and said he didn’t want to ruin our holiday so reduced the fine to $NZ120!!!

Coromandel was famous for its smoked fish, so we bought a sample pack before we left.

We stopped at a cheese factory for morning tea and left so satisfied that we skipped lunch.

Next major stop was Rotorua, the journey was a mix of farmland, rolling hills, gorges and townships.

We really knew we were in thermal country the minute we spotted huge plumes of steam rising randomly from bushland, so as soon as we hit town we went for a stroll in search of warm water.

The natural springs didn’t look too inviting so we headed to the Blue Pool, built in 1933 and sporting warm water of around 38 degrees.

And of course the only heated camp sites in the world!!!

That night saw us back in town enjoying Mexican dinner, then beers at a couple of the local bars, one packed to the rafters with locals and travelers performing live music. A great way to end the night.

Day 4 – Rotorua to Taupo

It came as no surprise to Rachael when before out departure I warned her that she would need to amuse herself for half a day when I went mountain biking in Rotorua, I had heard amazing things about the place and couldn’t wait to sample the singletrack.

I’d been warned of the guy who hired bikes from the local trail head and within minutes realised why he had such a bad reputation. Starting off by ignoring me as he was “waiting for a group of six to arrive”; he then insulted his own wife and told me I had to wait for her to organise a bike for me as he was busy waiting. Once his wife arrived (and he was still ‘waiting for the group’) she organised a bike in a mater of minutes. I had a look at the map and asked him if the trail was well marked, he replied that it was not marked well enough for Aussies. At this stage his wife began apologising for his behaviour stating that he had previously thought i was British, as if that mattered. He topped the cake when he started complaining that my ‘foreign’ pedals (EggBeaters) had threaded his cranks and that his ‘local’ eggbeaters don’t have that problem. I then remarked that of my seven pairs of the very same pedals I had never had that problem. From that point on there was silence until he virtually shoved the bike at me and I rode off. Morale of the story, DO NOT hire a bike from Planet Bike.

The trails were quite impressive and I had a great few hours exploring. Signage was excellent with all trails well marked and most junctions sporting an area map so that you could orientate and continue. As far as its reputation as being the best in the world, well, I’d have to pass on that claim; it was great but suffered from overuse and lack of flow in a lot of areas. I still maintain that Canberra trail builders are fantastic and have left me spoiled in that regard.

Covered in mud I met Rachael back in town and utilised the van’s shower to clean up before we had a look at the museum. It was housed in the original ‘bath house’ of Rotorua, which, back in the turn of the century was claimed to hold magical healing powers. It was quite an eerie place to visit as the old baths and vacated rooms still contained the original fittings; including electrical sockets for the electroshock therapy!!!

We headed for Taupo and arrived just in time for a coffee and slow walk along the lake before checking out the North Island’s most visited attraction, Huka Falls.

Again we enjoyed some fantastic dinner before sampling a selection of local pubs, what a life.

Water under the bridge.

2009-06-22T16:49:00.003+10:00

I was trawling though my computer today in an effort to make it tidier when I came across a folder from a long time ago. Not all that exciting beside the fact that this photo was taken no more than half an hour after I met Rachael for the first time. I must have thought she was special even after such a short chat.

It was two days before New Years 2007. I'd just returned from Afghanistan, was in a relationship, lived 2 and a half thousand kilometres away and was spending the summer crashing at my olds. A lot of water has gone under the bridge!

Rocket Fuel.

2009-06-22T15:27:00.004+10:00

Everyone knows that it's not hard to twist my arm and make me buy some random bike related item; whether it be fashion, bling or air tickets. The other day as I was 'studying' and came across a cool little site selling hand made hats made of recycled fabrics and almost exclusively individual or limited production designs. Rocket Fuel.

So I bought one......express post saw it in my hot little hands within a business day.

So how does it work? Really well. It was a crisp day in Canberra as usual and I decided to 'study' all day by sleeping in, jumping on a fixie, breakfasting at Cafe Essen, buying some nice wool pants, picking up an ebay purchased vintage Campag shifter and just ambling around the bike paths of the Capital. The hat kept my head warm, was comfy and looked better at a cafe than my racing striped cotton cycling caps.

I really like the hat and can see my self wearing it a lot, even when not on a tredly.

Natural colours.

2009-06-17T12:40:00.002+10:00

The good life.

2009-06-15T14:20:00.006+10:00

It's been a good week so far. Bought a pile of stuff I don't need on Saturday (including 2 pairs my favourite MacPac short which are out of production but still stocked at MacPac........I found it exciting anyway).

Sunday was spent riding. A very crisp morning road ride with the bunch who call themselves 'il Groupetto', followed by a big breaky at Cafe Essen. Then it was off to Mt Stromlo for an arvo mountain bike ride. The weather at the moment is perfect, just above ten degrees and sunny.

Then today I slept in. Yes it's Monday but I have the week off to 'study'. The reason 'studying' is a bit of a joke is that I only need four percent in my Communication & Informations Systems exam to pass. Yes, I'm that good.

So I took a pile of crap to the dump and stopped at the dump shop. Every now and then you're in the right place at the right time.

I bought this Bennet Racer for a twenty. It wouldn't be far from the truth to say it has never been ridden. The rims are chrome and barely show any contact with the brake pads. The chainrings are grease free and the tyres are original but brand new. This is pretty good considering it'd have to be from the early seventies; judging by the Shimano 'Thunder Bird II' and 'Eagle' front and rear derailleurs. Bennett was a spin-off from Malvern Star back in the day; it has no markings but I wouldn't hesitate to say it's a cheap Asian frame badged 'Bennett' for sale in Australia.

So I thought I'd pick it up for someone to use as a pub bike. For fifty bucks of course.......

On the way home I thought I'd drop in to the bakery a few of my friends have been raving about, The Flute in Fyshwick. It happens to be situated in the middle of an industrial area, which makes it even more like you're stepping into a different world. I bought a trio of sandwiches made of mini baguettes and devoured them atop Mt Ainslie, admiring the snowy mountains in the distance. The sour dough loaf/ring/thing and the danish made it home.

Let's hope the rest of the week is just as good.

Canberra Tweed Ride.

2009-06-08T16:33:00.012+10:00

Every now and then someone comes up with a brilliant idea, most of these ideas have bikes and alcohol involved. On Saturday I was lucky enough to be involved in one, The Canberra Tweed Ride.

As the poster suggests, we met up at Gorman House for a coffee and a few minutes of admiring each others bikes. There certainly was a good mix; all unique, some rare, some rescued from the dump and some cobbled together out of old parts.

While some were just proud Monarchists.....

We headed out through the streets of Canberra, there were some astounded looks and lots of smiles.

It wasn't long before our first stop for a mechanical. There certainly wasn't any hurry as it takes a while to smoke a pipe.

We soon arrived at Olims, where Steve had organised a presentation to the best dressed gentleman.

I'm not sure if Olims has seen this much tweed since it's establishment sixty years ago.

We hit the streets again on our way to The Front in Lyneham.

We owned the road.

Steve was happy to see some local art on the walls.

The award was also made to the best bike of the day, A ninteen thirties no-name rescued from a dumpster. (Seen in the photo five up).

The mean streets of Canberra dealt a harsh blow when Lainey was punched in the face by a passing bogan. Completely unprovoked and spineless, the man waited till the last person before he took action; obviously too scared to take the brunt of the Tweed wearing men in the bunch. Maybe she should have been wearing her Roler Derby getup, he would have thought twice then. Luckily she was carrying an emergency beverage and a rest was had before moving on.

We settled into the Phoenix after being rudely treated at the Wig & Pen by a bogan staff member, such a disappointment; maybe the local bogan sporting team had lost some kind of local bogan sporting competition and all the bogans were angry that day?!?!?

The female fashion award was judged and much merriment was had by all before the gentlemen and ladies started fading away like ghosts of a far simpler time.......

......I didn't fade away til three in the morning. Had to escort Lainey home on her bike (didn't want her to see the unsightly underbelly of Canberra again that day), crashed once and was so cold by the time I reached my house that I could not use my fingers to turn the key in the door. Do they make winter weight tweed gloves????

Thanks need to go to Steve, John (Mr RiotAct below) and everyone else that made the day fantastic.

Fixie Ride - Old Fed Hwy/Sutton

2009-05-30T13:21:00.006+10:00

I felt like a long ride on the fixie this weekend and thought I'd see if anyone on fixed.org might be interested. It was a 5 degree morning and ended up with four of us heading out along the Federal Hwy, before leaving the traffic for the Old Federal Hwy. Then out to Sutton and home. A shortish ride of only 60-70km but perfect for the fixies, no hills too big and barely any traffic.

We returned to town and had the best breakfast ever at Spill The Beans in Dickson. This cafe is now officially my favourite, great food and great service (free beverages of our choice because they were a bit slow on our breakfasts!!!!). My only gripe was that my breakfast (the French toast with banana, strawberries, syrup and bacon) was a tad too big and the two 'bowls' of cappacino I had will keep me awake for three and a half days.

Do you think Damian looks a bit cold???

And can anyone spot the resemblance???

Later on in the day I thought I'd visit Fruitilicious (my favourite smallgoods shop) for some sauerkraut I needed for an extra special crock pot feast I am developing; I saw this parked out the front.

That's a 60t front ring with a 19t rear. Yes, that is 83 gear inches! And some weird form of TT handlebars with an upside down brake lever. Hmmmmm, I want to see the quads on this person......

Brindabellas Ride.

2009-05-27T21:17:00.008+10:00

David organised a ride for Sunday, it was to take us on a loop through the Brindabella Ranges just outside of Canberra. The weather looked great and held out perfectly for an early start.

Initially it was uphill on well formed fire trail. For some reason I thought we'd soon reach the top of the range and it would flatted out, but it didn't. I suppose the major difference between this ride and the Ororral ride earlier in the year is that instead of super steep pitches it incessantly climbed through the hills and really tested your physical and mental endurance. An hour or so in we stopped for mornos.

Many kilometres later we crossed into the more dense foliage of the Brindabellas. The roads became a little more confusing and before long we needed a map stop. There was some confusion before we deployed a scout in the form of Ian, in no time he had confirmed the right way to go.

Not too soon afterward we again stopped for a 'check'. I wasn't overly concerned as long as we didn't need to go up THAT hill. Luckily we were to head in a more humane direction.

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We ventured further until we reached a truly awe inspiring sight. The only issue was that the trail was barely rideable due to its downward gradient; so much so that if we rode down it we would actually have issues getting back up if the need arose. David had planted a seed of doubt in his own mind earlier and decided to actually utilise his GPS to confirm our position.

We were in the wrong spot but luckily the calf workout was only short lived as we had barely descended....it still hurt though!!

We eventually lost Chris to fatigue and he headed home once we reached the intersection almost at the top of the range. We had been climbing for four or five hours and were all starting to feel the cold now that the temperature had dropped.

The historic Mt Franklin Ski lodge was an interesting stop and made me think that it may be a fun ride to come up here one day when it's a bit snowy.

We then headed for the summit of Mt Ginini. It was cold; in fact only 5.7 degrees at 3pm according to the bureau. Needless to say we didn't stay long.

We left the summit before David and Jeff actually arrived and later found out that Jeff had suffered so badly from 'Single Speed envy' that he destroyed his Sram Black Box rear derailleur in order to convert his newly purchased Voodoo Dambala into one; after all, with its sliding dropouts it was always destined to be that way.

Of course this meant that his ride out was going to be a little more difficult, but it turned out that luck was on his side. I swear that out of the 30 or so kilometres we needed to travel back to the cars, maybe 5 actually required pedaling. So we adopted the TT position and flew back. I wont mention the close calls with random 4WDs and sharp blind corners, although Marea and Ian did comment on the odd looking skid marks leading very close to the edge of the precipice on some corners; Jeff, Trent, any ideas??

So we made it back to the cars after around eight hours and eighty kilometres of riding. It was a fantastic ride and an area I'd love to explore again, especially once it gets a bit icy.

Huge thanks to David for getting it organised.

The leaves are fallin'

2009-05-23T15:46:00.003+10:00

In contrast to my last photos of Canberra this time of year, the colours are fading and the leaves are falling. Half of my morning rides are obscured by fog but rather than dwelling on the lack of colour I instead find it quite beautiful in a different way.

If you've noticed, I've added bull horns to the pug and they are fabtastic. I've used them before but never really liked them, this time I've set them up perfectly and the bike is built for speed.

Adelaide in May.

2009-05-23T15:29:00.010+10:00

I was lucky enough to score a free trip to Adelaide for work so I made the most of it and headed to Rach's two days before I needed to be there.

Caught up with my bro and Lindsay at the Bacchus Bar as usual.

And Rach got a new car after some kind soul wrote hers off.

Glenelg beach in the cold.

The Belgian Beer Cafe.

We met up with all my workmates at The Lion in North Adelaide.

And on Monday night headed to the Tap-In for some tappas and golf!!

Yummy Indian on Tuesday night on Melbourne Street.

Then I headed to Brisbane for some great views and a few drinks on the town.

Jade Buddha.

The Brisbane Belgian Beer Cafe!!

Fixed Canberra Video.

2009-05-05T19:58:00.003+10:00

I decided to try out the HD video capability of my new D90. It's fun being able to use DSLR lenses in making video, such a different perspective. Enjoy.

Canberra colours.

2009-05-05T19:49:00.003+10:00

Had the day off on Monday so thought I'd make the most of the Autumn colours.

Sydney study escape.

2009-05-05T19:43:00.006+10:00

Too much study makes me crazy, and a guaranteed remedy for such an affliction is a visit to Tim and Mikes place in Sydney.

We started with warm up schnaps.

Before catching a taxi to Darling Harbour.

We met up with Linda (from London) for dinner before heading to my favourite night spot in the universe.......

........The Loft.

Even ran into Maddis from high school, so there were four Cardijn peeps there, small world.

The walk home in the drizzle was nice and chilled.

Pics from the Mont.

2009-04-21T16:23:00.007+10:00

This years Mont was run over the weekend of the 4-5th April. It was great to be in a team 24hr race for once, living a life of leisure I even fitted in a couple of beers between laps.

The trails was perfect, having absolutely bucketed down the night before it had turned into a path to heaven. Somehow, I swear with out a word of a lie, it had become tackier than fresh bitumen and was quite literally the best surface I'd ever ridden on. If you don't believe me click on this pic and have a look!!!

It ended up being a great race, completely social and non-competitive. The weather was perfect and I even got six hours sleep before my exam on the Monday. Enjoy.

Track bike re-incarnate.

2009-04-20T22:02:00.006+10:00

The old Hillbrick has only seen the velodrome a couple of times in the last year. The guilt started to get to me so I decided to make it street worthy. Carbon forks and my old carbon Salsa bars make her ride nice and smooth, while the Ellipse wheels keep her nice and stiff. Can't get enough.

Rach's Canberra Visit.

2009-04-20T21:52:00.005+10:00

We spent the weekend just bu,bling around Canberra, I'm still exploring just as much as Rach is when she comes up.

I know these photos aren't really Rach oriented, but there was a Corvette show on and I thought I'd get some photos of shiny things.

We even went to the Kingston Markets, where there is a crazy antique shop, I think they may need to expand.....

And we paddled around the lake.

Tim and Mike met up with us again in Canberra and we headed to my favourite restaurant/pub the Tongue and Groove.

We even got photos with the Goon Bag memorial.....

Before we visited one of the best little secrets in Canberra, The Phoenix.

Coffe and cake at the National Archives. Yum yum.

Kosciuscko National Park Walk.

2009-04-20T21:39:00.008+10:00

Rach came up to Canberra for Easter and Tim and MIke decided they'd head up to the mountains for a look around. We decided to head up and meet them to do a walk.

We decided on the Blue Lake walk in Kosciuscko National Park.

Spot the difference!!!

It was freezing but a couple of layers were eneough to keep us warm as long as we kept moving.

It was a fantastic day out in our challet gear. Can't wait to get up there once it snows.

Saturday arvo fixie ride.

2009-03-23T20:38:00.006+10:00

Jack, one of the guys from fixed.org organised a ride on Saturday arvo with the aim of getting some nice shots of the fixie guys around town. We met up at three and ventured onto the streets for a great ride, followed by customary post ride beers at the Wig & Pen.

Here's a couple of my favourites that he took on the day.

Make sure you check out his flickr here.

Then we headed off around the lake.

I planned on hanging around for Skyfire, little did I know it was to turn the lake into a bogan fest. So instead Tim and I ventured to Tongue and Groove for the best Spatchcock I've ever eaten, and not too bad a Mojito. It wasn't till after midnight that I headed home, as usual.

Adelaide weekender/Joe's wedding.

2009-03-22T21:10:00.008+10:00

Visited Adelaide again last weekend, it was Joe's wedding too. Here's some randoms, in no particular order.

Too much champagne, a lot of memory loss and some crazy antics in town latter in the night.

The next day we needed a good rest!

Fridge to Fridge.

2009-03-09T13:28:00.010+10:00

The 'Fridge to Fridge' concept has been around for quite a while - the basic idea of conveying oneself by bicycle from one house to another fueled by alcohol alone. This one had the added them of dressing up as someone/thing you wanted to be as a child. Luckily for me I always envied the bike couriers I saw flying through the city. So the fact that I always dress as a bike courier was an added bonus.

We started off at the married patch at Duntroon, quiet a few G&Ts were demolished before departure.

For those of you wondering if God can get air, all your questions are answered.

We saw the sites of Canberra as we traveled, maybe we could market the concept.

Arriving at house two, quickly the games started.

There were races.....

......and coordination challenges.....punishable by sculling.

Then God preached to us, as He does, before we headed to the next house.

This picture depicts the horrors of a bicycle crash. Don't scuba, drink and ride!

Pepps brought Bruce along. He did well to keep up until he suffered a blister on his right hand, poor bugger.

House three was a surprise visit, we emptied the fridge of all there was.

But perhaps the most terrifying sight of the day was this doll, belonging to the host's daughter!!!!!! Danger!!!!

Then God got more air.

House four was where the cake eating was to take place. Each team had to devour a pie , using no hands. The hardest part was breathing through the copious amounts of cream....has anyone ever drowned in cream?

Roesey adopted his usual post game change room stance.

Then we headed to the lake for the next stop, unfortunately James' bike was well and truly DOA.

So he returned to his natural environment.

We headed to Parliament House, via the bridge and up the ramp, for a photo.

The bike fuzz were quite happy for the photos to be taken as long as we had no banner!! I've never seen them so receptive... This is what it looked like to have your photo taken by God.

We ventured east for one of the last stops.

It was a tight squeeze, but we made it.

The last stop was at God's house, interpret that as you will. There were more games, some involving very very small tricycles and donuts. Then we began to settle into some more serious beverages for the remainder of the night.

All in all a great day out involving bikes, as usual!!!

Variations on the Pug.

2009-03-04T18:19:00.002+10:00

The Pug is my beloved commuter, but the drop bars were less than confidence inspiring when confronted with peak hour traffic everyday. So I pulled out the blue anodised flat bars I found at Off'n'On Bikes in Townsville last year. Thank God for the eighties, and hoarding bike shops.

Still rides like a dream, only now I can pull sick stunts.

Sydney Drinkfest

2009-03-04T17:08:00.009+10:00

Headed to Sydney for work last week and began a long weekend of drinking at the Wine and Meat Company on Darling Harbour.

The food and company was great.

Then on Friday it was time to catch up with Tim and Mike and crash at their place for the rest of the weekend.

We started off at The Oaks for a few drinks.......

.....before Tim had to clean the house for Fran's arrival the next day.

The rest of us relaxed outside over some G&Ts.....amongst other things.

Mike and I awoke before lunch the next day and headed to the Kirribilli Markets.

Mike found some limes that became the chief ingredient for some scrumptious Mojitos that night.

Then we headed to Terrigal Beach for a chill out in preparation for the night.

The weather was 100% perfect along with the water temperature.

We arrived home in the evening ready for a BBQ and some drinks. First off the rank were Mike's Mojitos (Good name for a bar?!?!?!)

Then Tim's Flaming Absynth!

We headed to the Golden Sheaf briefly.

Then, back at Darling Harbour, we visited The Loft. Truly stunning.

Tim had an inside line on the bar staff for some express Baghdad Ice Teas.

It was soon time to retire, but no night is complete without 4am long jump!!!

It was a great weekend, so much so that I think Sydney is actually growing on me.

Now where's that rehab brochure??

Epic Ride - Orroral Tracking Station to Blue Water Hole.

2009-02-22T16:59:00.016+10:00

It was a fresh 10 degrees as we met at the Orroral Tracking Station ready to depart on a journey through the mountains. Half of us were planning to turn around at Murrays gap while others would venture all the way to Blue Water Hole.

It was to be a long trip so we all had quite a bit of food. I carried three litres of water, breakfast bars, hot crossed buns, Allens mixed lollies and gallons of GU; as well as my tools and some emergency clothing. GPS were on every second bike and Flip was carrying an EPIRB.

Simon had done the trip to the gap before and regaled us with chirpy accounts of how much walking we would have to do up the mountains. We started heading up these 'hills' and began to doubt Simons ratings, they were very rideable and slowly carried us up until we could see the peaks and valleys surrounding us.

We stopped often to regroup and refuel and found a couple of huts on the way, decked out with wood fires and running water for campers/hikers (will have to investigate for future reference).

The hills started getting a little steeper........

.......then almost everyone started walking. Unfortunately Simon was right.

The pain seemed to cloud any concept of time, I think we spent hours on that hill, but it felt like days. False crest after false crest, without exageration, it was the most consistently steep hill I have ever riden.

We eventually reached the top and refueled again.

The grade leveled out and we ventured into the 'fragile eco system'. Less formed roads, greener foliage and much more water.

A note for next time - if Zed is waiting on the other side of a water crossing and says go right, go left.

We finally reached the gap after over four hours of riding. It was quite a contrast to the rest of the ride - open swampy plains and lush green grass that engulfed entire wheels - probably the best place on earth to crash!!!

Zed was keen to get moving back to the cars so we took the photo without waiting for Jason - we figured they'd catch him on the way back, and worst case would be able to relay a grid to the SES for body collection.

Zed, Simon, Me, Flip and Jeff.

Flip, Jeff and myself decided to head on to Blue Water Hole - another 16 kilometres.

Oldfield Hut.

More open plains.

And some friends. The sound of the brumbies running across the plains was awe inspiring - a rolling thunder.

Eventually, after far too much ascending (as you ascend down any hill on an out and back journey all you have in the back of your mind is the sinking feeling that you will have to climb it on the way back....) we reached Blue Water Hole. A beautiful and magical place where pure blue waters flow out of the rocks and tumble their way down the mountains.

We filled our Camelbaks and headed back to the Orroral Station.

The climbs in general were less steep than the outward journey, with a few exception where i actually had to walk. Unfortunately the down hills were just too steep and loose to enjoy at any real speed, so it was a slow journey back. Jeff started to bottom out and was in dire need of some sustenance, which came in the form a KFC on the way back to Canberra.

I wouldn't hesitate to say the ride was one of the harder non-racing days I have spent on a bike, mostly due to the amazingly long and steep climbs. All in all the weather was great, we kept a good pace and the scenery was priceless. Zed and Simon are planning on repeating the entire journey to Blue Water hole with camping gear - not something I'd contemplate but good luck all the same (the fact that there were numerous screaming kids and overweight parents who had driven the three hours to the campsite tends to reduce my enthusiasm). The day ended up at 9 or 10 hours and just under 90 kilometres of riding.

Can't wait for the next epic.

Canberra Fixed Ride II

2009-02-22T15:52:00.000+10:00

Same meeting point at the Legislative Assembly, this time it wasn't 40000 degrees, perfect weather. A few beers before we started, thanks to Jock, and we were off.

Headed out toward Campbell, through Ainslie all the way to Watson.

Onto the Highway and back into town........

.....for some refueling on pizza and beer at Debacle.

Another great ride.

Milk run.

2009-02-16T20:40:00.003+10:00

Took the new old bike for it's maiden trip to the corner store for milk. As the only flat pedaled bike I own it is now the choice for quick grocery trips. Rides like a dream, the Noah bars transform the bike from slick Italian racer to smooth European Townie.

There's also a couple of changes, see if you can pick them.

New old Olmo.

2009-02-14T14:01:00.011+10:00

I suppose I should have been studying for the exam I have on Monday, but, slightly hungover and very adept at avoiding study, I decided to build another bike.

The Olmo frame I restored last year was to be the base and the aim was to build a town bike for light duties and cruising. I’ve had this idea going through my head of late whereby I could add extra cogs to the rear of my bike and rig up some kind of a device to push the chain from one cog to another in order to ‘change gears’ and make it easier to ride up hill or faster on the flatlands.

I even went so far as to devise a way of controlling the device from the front of the bike, possibly utilising cables, so that I wouldn’t have to get off every time I wanted to ‘change gears’.

As I pottered around the garage looking for bits to build the bike with I found some parts that someone, somewhere had obviously built to do just the task I had thought of mere weeks earlier.

I even found a clamp type device that grips the back wheel and slows you down, no need for legs like steel springs.

It may seem like a big call but I would even go as far as saying that fixies and singlespeed bikes may be a way of the past and all bikes may one day be adorned with this new technology. Just wait till I turn up to my first race here in Canberra with my new ‘geared’ bike, can’t wait.

Stats:
Frame: Olmo
Wheels: Something French
Cranks: StrongLight, 42t chainring
Deraileur and shifter: Suntour Cyclone
Bars: Some Fabrications - Noah's Arc
Grips: Jet Black foam
Stem: Nitto Pearl 9
Headset: Shimano 105
Saddle: Brooks B17 Special with copper plated hardwear and hammered rivets.
Pedals: Christophe
Brake and lever: CLB and Salsa

Canberra Fixed Gears.

2009-02-07T15:27:00.015+10:00

I decided to take a study break between lectures on Metallurgy and Composites yesterday and jumped on the net to check out fixed.org. Low and behold I found a message stating that there was to be a fixed group ride in Canberra that evening. We were supposed to go to the bar for after work drinks that night but I ‘excused myself’ and burned home as soon as I could. Unfortunately yesterday was somewhere between 40 and 10 000 degrees and I nearly turned my self into jerky on the way home.

A quick bite to eat and I was off back into town to make the rendezvous. A few riders were already assembled on the steps of the Legislative Assembly and over the next half hour more trickled in before we headed off around the lake. There really is nothing like riding with a bunch of other fixies; skid stopping, slow corners, track stands and obnoxious behaviour.

We headed out toward Fyshwick and even enjoyed some dirt trails before we started heading toward parliament house. Note for nextime – don’t ride passed the Police Academy, it attracts a little too much unwanted attention, including a suggestion that I should in fact ride with my hands on my bars – “Two hands for beginners”. Not to mention the fact that most of us were sans brakes and some were sans helmets.

As we were passing Kingston I suggested that we could stop for a beer before we headed back to town for a beer. There were no arguments so we found ourselves walking into Filthy McFaddens minutes later. A few confused looks from the patrons but the beer was sooooo refreshing.

It was then time to head to the Wig and Pen via parliament house, again attracting the attention of the bike police on premises. No real chance of them catching us but we made sure we were out of there post haste. Down the ramp and express along Commonwealth avenue, over the bridge, through civic and to the pub.

No room for our bikes on the racks (gotta love Canberra, pubs full of cyclists) so we made our own. I’m pretty sure the two innermost bikes were locked to the pole, the rest were daisy chained to each other – which made it a bit of a shuffle everytime someone decided to go home, we’d all head outside, unlock each bike, shuffle the right bike out and re-lock. Team work.

I must admit after five pints of Canberra’s finest I did have trouble mounting my bike, but riding it was easy. A burrito helped fuel the ride home.

It was great to see a bunch of like minded people from all corners of life getting together through a common thread of simply loving fixies. Next ride to be some time in the next couple of weeks.

Canberra in the darkness.

2009-01-30T20:46:00.006+10:00

Have been getting out quite a bit lately, the suburb of Kingston seems to have some kind of gravitational pull.

James lives there, which often provides a good starting point.

Then it's a stumble to the pubs. My favourite so far is the B-Bar; with a nice setup, pale ale on tap......

and good gin.

Occasionally Langers experiences a moment of clarity.

and we discover droids.....or hydrants?

And I Can't forget the Australia Day Stockmans Cut steaks, holy cow!!!!!

MTB Nationals - Stromlo

2009-01-30T20:24:00.006+10:00

The MTBA Nationals were held at Stromlo MTB Park over the weekend. It was nice to stroll around there for once and not actually be competing in a 24hr race.

The trail looked great, with some serious technical sections and some really windy stuff.

Chris was racing again. Much the same as when we last saw him in Adelaide last November, he blew the field away. Almost two minutes of daylight before the rest of the field crossed the finish line!!

SS convert?

The A and B lines, over and around obstacles, often provided much entertainment; some harsh words were muttered.

Had a look at the DH run as well, some impressive stuff with some painful crashes!! But I think I'll stick with the 24hrs of pain.

The Pug.

2009-01-13T15:52:00.004+10:00

Yes I went and bought another bike. But this one oozes with pure old school style!

A bit more expensive than the Lady, $150 with a full build of Suntour Cyclone and various other parts.

I didn't see much point in rebuilding the bike with the Cyclone gear as it wasn't in the best condition and wouldn't really serve a purpose as an unreliable geared bike. So a fixie it became, but with a difference - a brake and toe clips, for relaxed duties.

The frame is Tange double butted CrMo tubing and the model seems to be something along the lines of Classique or Prestige - well that's what's written on it!!

Looks like it hasn't ventured far from it's original seller. Who knows who Easgate Cycles and Harware was, but the old 7 digit Canberra number indicates it's a local.

And it even comes with subtitles if you can't speak French!

She rides like an absolute dream and may step up to heavier duties one day, but at the moment I just have to sit back and admire..........(sigh).

p.s. there's nothing wrong with my camera, just thought I'd give the photos a bit of an eighties feeling and fade the colours back. Enjoy.

New home.

2009-01-13T15:41:00.004+10:00

Well I arrived in Canberra on the 4th of Jan and was welcomed in true Canberra style,. with a beautiful sunset over lake Burley Griffin.

Moved into my house the next day, discovered at least five cafes a five minute cycle away, found the local fresh food markets and planed my cycle route to work.

Yesterday I sold my soul to the devil (university started). Looks like it'll be a busy year! There'll be lots of travel, but none of my patented cycling odysseys. Had to grow up and do the hard yards I suppose and every day this year is money in the bank, or future funding for said odysseys!!!

So what are you trying to say???

2009-01-08T17:09:00.006+10:00

Okay, it may be a ladies bike, but I bought it for Rach, honestly! And who could walk past a bargain like that - German imported ladies bike (still wiz ze German shop sticker)- $10.

After spending much of my spare time sifting through the more affluent suburb's hard rubbish I came across this gem at the dump shop.

Meet Lady.

It had a severely taco'd rear wheel which I replaced with a had lying around. From five speed to six speed the rear Positron derailleur didn't seem to mind at all.

I was most impressed with the fact that the dynamo and front and rear lights were still fully functioning. The rear light had been damaged in the taco'ing incident so I completely removed it (I'd rather a super bright Basta light on there for safety anyway) but the front lamp shines like the sun - at any speed above walking pace anyway!!

Only a few parts on the bike are Asian, most are French or German.

Unfortunately I found it just before I left Adelaide so we haven't been out on a double date yet (that's two bikes and two humans, just in case there is some confusion......)

X-mas and New Years.

2009-01-08T10:20:00.009+10:00

Of course, the reason we all get holidays over the Dec/Jan period is to get pissed....um....celebrate Christmas and New Years. So here's some images of just how I did that.

Christmas Eve with Tim and friends.

Christmas drinks at Rach's house.

And New Years Eve with a seventies theme, still trying to figure out the relevance but it was fun either way.

Now for detox.....

The Black Keys

2009-01-08T10:11:00.006+10:00

I saw the best live show ever on the 30th. The Black Keys played at HQ, which was a bit funny for me as it was my old Adelaide haunt from back in the days when I could tolerate night clubs.

They were supported by Dr Dog who I'm now a fan of.

Unfortunately there is no way I can describe how much sound comes out of these two guys, truly jaw dropping. I couldn't stop smiling for the entire show.

Neglectful blogger appologises.....

2009-01-08T09:56:00.008+10:00

Internet access has been seldom whilst on holidays, which is the way it should be, so what follows is a random selection of images from the remainder of my Adelaide experience. I am now situated in sunny Canberra and settled quite comfortably into my new house. Once my flu is dead the trails will be mine!!!!!!!!

Oh, and the riding was great, except when those pesky koalas would howl at me from the trees or block the trail!!!

More Adelaide.....

2008-12-18T15:59:00.004+10:00

More goings on in Adelaide. Seems to be an endeless procession of dinners, drinks, rides and traffic.......bloody traffic!!!!!

The Torrens River looking out to see just near Henley on a fine day.

The T-bar is where Rach and I get our favourite breakfasts from, and some great tea. Located at the old Adelaide Central Markets.

Rach has been busy decorating, I love the huge clock.

The Adelaide Museum.

Henley jetty before a night out at the Bacchus Bar with my bro and Rach.

The trusted fixie with an Adelaidian backdrop on a sunny day this time.

A great Australian backyard is never complete without the Hill Hoist.

And Dave has gone a step further with an inflatable swimming pool, pity he can't actually row anywhere....

And finally Dave's dog Britney posing and playing.....

Adelaide so far....

2008-12-12T13:09:00.007+10:00

Just some random pics from my Adelaide trip so far.

The old paddle boats on the Torrens.

A couple of afternoon beers at the Seacliff Pub.

Rach relaxing.

Lots of afternoon strolls at the beach.

Lots from Glenelg.

A ride to the city along the forshore then the Torrens. A good ride.

And two less Commodores on the streets, that's good news for everyone.

Leaving the 'ville.

2008-12-12T12:55:00.003+10:00

It was with a certain level of elation that I said farewell to Townsville. The bogans, rednecks, obnoxious drivers, same old rides and outrageous humidity had all gotten to me.

The house was packed up by two redneck bogans who showed as much respect for my belongings as I would for their over-weight, smoking and unemployed spouses. Half of my stuff should make it to my new destination unscathed………

On Tuesday I packed two bikes (one more than when I travel by air) and entered my climate-controlled capsule to head south for the holidays. The plan was to fit as many mountain trails as possible into my trip. This plan lasted the first contact, Rockhampton.

Rockhampton is the worst cycling city I have ever had the displeasure of visiting. Let’s see, there’s the cycle paths that do not allow cycles, the bike shops that refuse to give out information on local trails (or just plain don’t know) and the homicidal traffic. All of this was experienced in less than two hours.

Traffic was the big one for me, within one hour I had nearly been killed twice – Once by a tradie towing a trailer who decided to speed up and enter a roundabout with me (he was kind enough to look in his re-vision mirror to check whether or not he had killed me). He was less than impressed when I stopped at the lights 50m up the road and took a nice portrait photo of him in his companies ute. The second incident involved a 4wd mounting a foot high gutter to get around traffic. The problem was that I was JRA in the bike lane (clearly divided from the road by a foot high gutter) when he decided to do so. Needless to say, I let go at him and his girlfriend, they weren’t willing to wind down their windows and have a chat to a redfaced, shaking and soon to be violent cyclist; the driver’s final reaction was predictable – stuck his finger up at me and sped off as I reached for my camera. I have my ways of finding people in highly upspec’d Defender 110 Tdi’s, a very unique car his was……I’m thinkin’ he belongs to the local club?!?!?!

No accommodation was available in Brisbane so I took the b-line for Canberra the next day, made Dubbo by bed-time and continued the next 400km the next morning. Checked out my new house in Canberra (moving in in Jan) and found accommodation to be lacking once again as a result of a sporting carnival of some sort. It was 1pm and Adelaide was 1200km away but it was an easy decision to make a run for it. I arrived at one thirty in the morning and was officially on holidays!!!!!!

It was a great three days - 3600km and an average of 5.8L/100km in the Focus (at 105-115km/h).

Thompson the bat.

2008-11-15T23:28:00.009+10:00

It was Jen's Birthday drinks tonight at her and Clwedd's new digs. Great to catch up and we had a special guest join us for a few.

Meet Thompson the baby fruit bat. He was orphaned and is now looked after by one of Jen's colleagues.

I've had my rabies injection so I was lucky enough to be allowed to hold him.

He was a pretty chilled out little dude.

Until he got upside down, then he was all about drinking and screeching!!!

White Industries.

2008-11-11T22:14:00.003+10:00

A package arrived in the mail today. Part of a secret weapon in development. Stay tuned.

Goth Photo Shoot.

2008-11-11T20:07:00.005+10:00

Last week Zak Sherwood (involved in this trip) came to town from Darwin and lined up a photo shoot for the Wednesday night. The venue was at the West End Cemetery, the most historic in town, and the client was a young lady who like to dress as a goth.

We were lucky to get good weather as it was threatening rain, but the cloud cover provided some even light and a bit of colour.

I was along to learn from an experienced photographer and to lend a hand both physically (holding reflectors/directing strobes etc.) and creatively.

It was a real eye opener for me. Mostly to do with what it is like to deal with a model, but also in the fact that I have only just picked up some strobes and now can't wait to get popping!!!!

Do yourself a favour and check out Zak's website.

Queenslanders.

2008-11-10T20:47:00.004+10:00

Headed out for a walk with Elroy to photograph some of the classic old Queenslanders in my suburb, just before the storm.

And a tree.

Townsville Cup On Wheels.

2008-11-09T21:06:00.010+10:00

As well as the criterium this weekend, the Townsville Cup On Wheels took place. Again it felt great to be able to watch instead of race, but at the end of the day it really made wish I was on the banked track. Here's some pics, in no specific order.

Paul Craft was up from down south to commentate again, a brilliant and entertaining job as usual. On Friday night we were lucky enough to have the pros turn up prior to their crit the next day. I was astonished at how small they all were, Robbie was even shorter than me!!!

And Sara Carrigan raced.

Track carnivals seem to be a never ending cycle of warm-ups, racing and resting.

Simon turned up looking worse for wear. A fractured C4 vertebrae, 14 stitches and numerous cuts and abrasions. The result of a cowardly hit and run on the Tuesday bunch ride. Gotta love bogans in the ville.

The only full contact form of cycling.

Some classic faces.

It was a great weekend of racing.

Nick Gates Foundation Criterium.

2008-11-08T15:46:00.005+10:00

The Nick Gates Foundation ran a criterium up here in the 'ville to raise money for up and coming cyclists. All the stars were there but unfortunately Cadel Evans was held up on a flight so he missed the start. Imagine that, airlines fucking it up for cyclists!!

The weather was nice and sunny, but bloody humid and hot. The pros must have really been suffering as Channel 10 forced the organisers to push the race back till 12 noon. Not really a cyclists time of day.

Lee, my team mate from BNG Sports.

Nick Gates broke away to take the victory in the last few laps.

Henk Vogels and Robbie McEwan showing fine sprinting form as usual.

Although Henk looked pretty hot and bothered by the end.

Breakfast, Glenelg and Henley.

2008-11-07T16:42:00.005+10:00

Rach worked everyday while I was down south so I had a chance to see Adelaide bright and early. Alfresco Cafe was another place we used to frequent as a family, so I stopped in for breakfast. The old red plastic chairs are gone but the vibrancy remains.

We went to Glenelg on Saturday Night for gelato.

And headed to Henley Beach for sunset dinner and some drink with my bro at the Ramsgate, his local.

Adelaide Botanical Gardens.

2008-11-07T16:33:00.004+10:00

I haven't been to the botanical garden for years. It seems so much smaller when you're grown up, a long time since the family picnics.

We couldn't resist a lie down, even if it made us super itchy!

Before we left, we spent a moment basking in my magnificence.

Australian MTB Series #1 - Eagle Park, Adelaide

2008-11-06T21:42:00.004+10:00

Some pics from Adelaide on the weekend.

Light.

2008-10-23T19:37:00.003+10:00

I have light, and lots of it. A couple of strobes (a SB600 and a 285HV) and some Cactus trigers rocked up in the mail the other day. I'm enjoying getting used to external flash. Here's a couple of glimpses of what I've been up to.

The story of a Sunday night.

2008-10-22T18:21:00.003+10:00

Did the usual Sunday arvo thing, rode into Jamaican Joe’s around four and met up with Derryn, his brother and Heath. We’d started complimenting our beers with shots of Appleton’s rum before Jeff even turned up at five-ish. It began to get scary from there on.

Are they judging me already?!?!

We graduated from the standard rum to the 12 year old, couldn’t afford the $43 shots of 30 year old.

After dark we headed to the Watermark, I rode there and vaguely remember dodging a man with a pram, then promptly colliding with a light pole. Luckily the boys were there to catch the action and much ridicule and laughter ensued.

The Watermark was still pumping and we continued our drinking, me on Asahi. The special Asahi glasses were deposited in my bag for the house collection.

This is right about where I begin to lose my memory. I found these photos in my camera, but have no recollection of taking them.

I do have some recollection of abusing someone, then Reece flattening me before said person could take a swing at me. That’s what mates are for. As far as I remember it was all in good fun, and I do remember laughing it off, but in a town of rednecks this probably isn’t the best idea.

So I volunteered to escort myself from the premises. I then rode my brakeless fixie home.

The thing here is that I woke at 4am on my couch with no recollection of how I got home. Walked into the kitchen to find a loaf of bread (I’d been shopping), a clean set of dishes (I’d cooked an entire Latina Fresh Pasta meal), and the remnants of a ham and cheese sandwich wedged into my toaster (yes, not in the sandwich press). I then checked under the house to confirm I had ridden home, the ‘assclownretard’ was indeed leaning crooked against my tool chest.

I had to get to work in two hours…………