Taming the Beast

Yep it has been an interesting week. Busy at that. Teaching rounds are in full swing and the whistle is in over time. Scary thing is my lack of knowledge of 'mainstream' sports these days, who would have thought for a PE teacher eh? Although got my Outdoor Ed class doing mtbing so it's not all bad really. Had one kid freaked out when i brought in an old wheel (with a cracked rim side wall) and it collapsed in half when learning how to change a flat... It was also time to return the favor this weekend and travel to the Dingo' to stay with the bro before the 150km Shep classic and do some road training. It was not a good day on Sat, in the words of AC on my worn out cross' dvd, "Dude I sucked ass!". The lights went out and there was definitely nobody home...or maybe just the guy attaching bricks to my legs cause thats what they felt liked most of the day. Then i flatted. Ahh well it happens...enjoy the photos y'all. lator cw.

Road Trippin' with my favourite allie...


The Shep Road classic featured two major climbs for the day. I studied them pretty well. Pre race focus at its best.


The Tour de Bendigo featured a stop at a the Green's stompin' ground the velodrome. Here tries to explain the bike never turns right...this gig is more complicated than i thought.


My thoughts exactly...



My "Burg' Dog" and the Green's "White Dog". Sadly the WD is now officially retired, but it's legendary legacy still lives on in the BD, now sporting a newly donated steering wheel, rear treads, dash and gear stick knob. Thanks for the wrenchin' Bryce!


Green's new bird, "Smuggler". Look out Bill Lawry and "Wendy Jnr" this thing is another level...

Days to Remember, Days to Forget

After getting my fix earlier in the day with a hit out on sassa (thanks for the ride Ross, hope you enjoyed some new trails!) the next aim of the day was to get out and make a ruckus for the bro out at the Officer 6hr Enduro...this also meant dusting off a few special items to try and get some atmosphere happenin' on an otherwise hell wet day...hats off to all those who finished, great job...enjoy the pics but they'll never do justice to the amount of rain that came down...back to teaching kids tomoro...out, cw.

Felt Racing's Ash T lovin life in wet town

Some white trash dude escaped from his trailer and proceeded to heckle with his cone on the back climb.


Castlemaine's hometown hero Lochie Norris excites the fans with his new see through hat!


The bro posted a solid 4th in the mixed pairs. Get that man a beer.


DJ Mac Attack, best of luck for Worlds next month bro!

Doin' The Maths

Melbourne to Ballarat + Crosswinds= Box action. Simple sums really. Road racing is always good, simply cause the fact you get a race like today where it is a big ring fookin' grind the whole day into wind and in the end it's just damn good training. Nuff said. This was my third time rollin' the Western Highway and it was my best outing for sure. The race was not with out the usually dramas, namely the riding in front of me somehow throwing his derailluer into the rear wheel and consequntly getting all pear shaped but thankfully holding it upright otherwise i would have tasted tarmac big time...whatelse is there to do on a saturday really?? Football?? Not likely Roy...

So the ole' Rowndog has taken his famous 1minute of metal mayham down the phoneline to another level with a live feed from the Sydney Wolfmother gig the other nite...awesome...
lator, cw.

Blowout.

Crisp was the best way to describe the day. El Shito was the best way to describe my legs for the outing, but thats okay you get that from time to time. Least i didn't lose 10mins on the GC.

Decided to step up the chops program to combat the cold days..plus to flip out my kids when i return to teaching rounds next week...Definitely at the point of no return now

About a km stretch of the tourist road was littered with onions today...quickly wiped the grin of my face when a passed the three pissed dudes salvaging the unsquashed ones but gee it was pretty funny cause they just kept on appearing.

Got second scratch for Melb-Ball this weekend so should be a real grinder....over and out, cw..

Growing Pains

So its almost been a week between posts, and I guess that could possibly translate to meaning potentially something exciting has gone on in that time but well, truth is the other side of the coin..not a hell of a lot really! Last weekend was the time to quite hinding behind long days in the saddle with no really hurry, and pin a number on the back and open the road racing account for 0h six. The debut race was a newbie for me, the Metro Titles held way out west near the Ford Proving Grounds, which a lack of time prevented me to fully test the reco'd Corolla against the might of the blue oval. The first race of the season is always an exciting one, bit of a yard stick to measure against so I was hopin' to walk away with more postivies than negatives but at the end of the day it is only July so I wasn't expecting much.

With a few hitters there I kept my eye early on the Drapac-Porsche boys, on what would likely be a day where a strong break would get and stay away. Sure enought after a McFlurry of attacks a break formed including the boys in red and fellow mtber M Spink while i missed the all important boat. Bugger. In the bunch work was frustratingly intermittent at best, perhaps some of the others not realizing the simple fact that with the calibre of riders in the break our day was over unless we did something. We had the break dangling like a T-bag for most of the second lap and it was highly annoying not to close out the very realistic gap. Fuelled by this frustration and a cola flavoured gel, I had a dig at bridging myself, didn't have anything to lose, figured the worst I would find myself back in the bunch that was never going to get there anyway. So with an extended stint over the redline I had a decent crack but came up short. With all hope of catching the 7 leaders gone, all that was left was to salvage something outta the bunch kick home. With an extended up hill finish then a plateau I left my run almost too late, and doing my best McEwan impression minus a billion watts he produces just snuck over the line to take it out, finishing in 8th..

So I'm back at uni this month which is pretty excting (??) cause I figure everyday now is so so close to finishing. Oh yeah, and I've grown another 2cm when I thought i was done at 22! Who would'a thought eh?? Guess you never know whats around the corner...lator, cw.

Simple Minds WIth Long Days

When you ain't got great legs but still a whack of hours to punch out for the day usually the little things can provide comic relief. So today when me and the green, whose commitment to the live tour stages has been unwavered, came past a bull, donkeys, camels and the odd llama in some random pocket of the nongs we couldn't help but take the piss and put on our Dr. Harry hats...although we left pretty soon after the camel started to sound like a coffee maker brewing up something that could have possibly been useful for the lack of lube on Cams chain...

Mr Dangerous living on the edge.




It was quite cold today, even the camel's hump was steaming. Seriously!

So the brothery comedy shannigans end today with the Green returning to the Dingo tomoro...thanks for the week of riding bro, has been a real honor and a treat. lator cw.

Blow by Blow

So today was meant to be an ez day (well best you can do on the mountain) but with gale force factor 52 going on outside things weren't so smooth sailing (but hell good for sailing..if your into that sort of thing.)

The bro took out the 'Fresh legs Francis' award today, namely due to his resting yesterday whilst others were battling coastal hurricanes... but today his enthusiam and constant renditions of The Butterfly Effects new single was a welcome distraction for some ordinary legs..actually come to think of it dont know which was more painful.

My cross' fantasy continues...


Ever read the book "When the wind changed" when you were a kid? Cam didn't.

The Show Must Go On

So Winnie Green is down again to bust out some kms and most importantly pick up where his trailside singing career left off in the mist of the nongs yesterday..least he's changed the show a little with a museli bar microphone than a multi tool...showbiz genius..where will he go next people??

Today we hauled ass down to the Casey fields crit for a dog day afternoon. The green showed his trackie class taking out the C grade win, and I was completly in the box trying to hang with the winning break for as long as I could but finished the day back in the bunch with a blow dryed mullet my only reward.

Check out this schweet ride we saw on the way home.



When roads bite back.




'Wonder if I could bust out a few bars of Manilow on the box? Now where's my micorphone..'

Beat By Beat

So today for something different I thought I'd give you an insight in whats feeding the ears this week out on the open roads on my ipod...

Arctic Monkeys- "Whatever people say I am, Thats what I'm not"
Can't believe these guys are like 17 /18 odd, madd. Punchy swagger rock pop with fly on the wall lyrics. Wish I had a cool brit accent.
Best lyric- "Put on your dancin shoes, you sexy little swine!"
Best track- "From the Ritz to the Rubble"

A.F.I- "Decemberunderground"
Only bought it yesterday so still kinda new. Havok has a massive fringe going on, dig it but wouldn't go well under a lid. Bit o' the screamo thing going on which is nice.
Best Lyric-"Part your lips a bit more, I'll swallow your fear"
Best Track-"Kill Caustic"

COG- "The new normal"
Introduced by Rowney and last live gig seen in the maddness that was the Comm Games week. Awesome big epic sound for a three piece, radness to the maxness. A proven performance enhancer during VO2max testing.
Best Lyric- "And I hope you notice, when I said its not okay"
Best Track- "Anarchy OK"

Bruce Springsteen- "Best Of"
One that used to float about at work. Hard luck stories, street survival lyrics, the Boss writes a damn good tune with soul.
Best Lyric- "The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive"
Best Track-"Murder Incorporated"

The Music- "The Music"
Resonating Zepplin-esque vocals over disco drumming and solid riffs. Good for longer climbs and settling into a rhythm.
Best Lyric- "Can't dream, what you gonna do now?"
Best Track- "Take the long road and walk it"

Pearl Jam- Self Titled
Never dissapoints, going to be huge in Novemeber, Ed Vedder the greatest individual that walks the earth. Another level.
Best Lyric- "You're always saying you're too weak to be strong, you're harder on yourself than just about anyone"
Best Song- "Life Wasted"

Propagandhi- "Potemkin City Limits" and "Today's Empires, Tomorrows Ashes"
Hardcore socio-political melodic punk. These guys rule. Their albums are insane, the 4 year wait between them suck, but never dissappointed when they arrive. Incredible songwriting not afraid to say what they feel about the state of the world.
Best Lyric-"I'm punch drunk on the sickening cadence of iron fists, in velvet gloves"
Best Song- "A Speculative Fiction"

Radiohead- "OK Computer" and "Pablo Honey"
Late bloomer with these guys, but hooked nonetheless. Songwriting and lyric genius.
Best Lyric- "For a minute I lost myself"
Best Song- "Electioneering"

Satanic Surfers- "Going nowhere fast"
Holy smoke these guys are awesome players, tight as a fishes butt, can't believe the drummer sings while going completly off tap at warp speed. Hardcore melodic Swedish punks, 15 songs in under 30mins, sweet for cadence work.
Best Lyric-"I think it's love and it's simple complexity, I think its love and its complex simplicty"
Best Song-"Worn out Words"

I think I wasn't a bike rider, I'll still be thrashing about on a stage somewhere. Over and out...cw

PS- I have a whole bunch of ex-pro team new and used clothing for sale cheap, all size small, if anyone is interested drop us an email

White Out

So I got the rain I was hopin for yesterday, and plenty of fog too which was good, finally felt like a proper winter training day rather than this false is it gonna rain or not bullshit thats been happening the last few weeks! See the best thing about wet weather is i get to roll out madd Pearl winter gear which is schweet. Hit up some special loops today, some old school back roads void of all shite tourist drivers, and only a few P plate slums racers about - actually i was mighty impressed with the degree of sideways action from a ruby red VP today, i think the slick roads and the 1992 'No Fear' sticker on the rear window gave him the edge..shame couldn't get the camera out fast enough! cw

Check out my nifty waterproof case for my ipod, formally a Breathe Right packet, fits sweet!


Lookin' for Nessie' up da Nongs!

The Sound Of One Jacket Flapping

So she was a bit blowy out on the roads today, but compared to Tinker's 15hr stint through the winds of Kansas during the RAAM I aint got nothing to complain about.. ventured down the beach today for the first time in a long time, kinda nice grey skies and seas and plenty of riders of all sorts out and about which is a good thing..see as a studying PE teacher we get to learn about all scary facts about things like physical inactivity being the second most risk factor burden for disease in Australia ('darts' are no #1 of course) plus scary things about cardiovascular disease (one Australian dies every 10mins from CVD) and diabetes, athritis the list goes on but the underlying theme is get off your ass and do something cause most risk factors are modifiable...ahh anyway, nuff of the soap box stuff...

So i swore it was going to piss down today for sure and once again I was prepared with the full winter kit but got nothing but hell sweaty...damn was kinda looking forward to it.. so it was a day for spinnin the pixie after pretty much spending this whole week in the big dog, a day spent groveling into a headwind spinning your ring off and going now where fast..kinda scary being blown back towards Frankston! Hills tomoro. Rad.

Check out the old man's new rig. 23years previously driving the same Datsun Twincab, I think he's earned it!

Hey here's a joke, the average wage of a AFL footballer is over 200 gorillas. Incredible. And I hear they are threatening to strike over pay... So I'm proudly going to wear my Dopers Suck shirt tonight as the tour kicks off tonight minus the alledged...lator cw.

Ps- Thinkin about gettin the new AFI album, any verdicts??