Super Tuesday..

..once again lived up to its's name yesterday, and I think the following day should be named also too, something along the lines of "Struggle Street Wednesday". Tuesday is always a cracker of a day with the Sandown crit and last night was another great nights training, cept perhaps being a little more switched on could have made it an awesome nights training. So when I saw D-Mac and Brauny hit out to bridge across for the fast establishing break I thought yep this could be the goods...but being 3 or so wheels back from those guys and in some traffic the timing just wasn't so flash when I jumped, and I died pretty hard trying to come across on my own. So back to the bunch it was for me and of course the break stayed away for the rest of the race...damn, well that's the way it goes sometimes...kinda like picking the right lottery numbers but not submitting a ticket on a much, much smaller scale.

Playing around with this little bad boy on the rig at the moment...for a bike nerd who likes to crunch numbers and play with excel spreadsheets then this is keeping me well busy at the moment..and yes I know I am behind the times but remember this is a guy who brought an ipod only last year...

So the count stands at one month to go before heading over to start my race season in the States. It's gonna be one hell of a year no doubt and I'm absolutely hanging for it to begin. To be honest I thought I would be subject to a fair bit of back lash for switching to a season on the tarmac this year with such strong previous mtb ties...you know, the old 'dark side' joke...but its been great the amount of positive feedback I've had and that people have been supportive of my decisions to follow opportunity....I truly believe that to be successful in life you need to surround yourself with positive like minded people and I'm happy to say that for me that is true. Or they're just good liars! Ok I'm out..biggest hurdle this week at work will be worming my way outta the staff relay at the swimming carnival...triathlete I ain't..lator..cw.

Waking Up In August...

...or that's what I thought this morning when I had a look out the window. Fog, rain and cold..the big three. Rode Donna B and almost lost the plot on the way down in the such crappy conditions chilling me to the core. I wasn't the only rider on the mtn, but it was scary to say I was the most clothed rider by far, with some not so bright individuals climbing in jerseys and shorts and no legs or arm warmers...no wonder you hear the stories of hypothermia coming back down. Luckily the 5 lyrebirds scratching about on the side of the road (and the three courageous fellas who thought it would be a top idea to dart in front of me) kept me alert enough to hold it together for the 17km arctic expedition down. Consequently any pedalling after that sucked big time. The body shut down hard trying to pedal again at the bottom and I crept like a wounded penguin for the next 3hrs home wondering what just the hell happened to my legs. Nice. Where did all the sunshine go? Lator, cw.

Big Wheels Keep On Turning.

Well, okay maybe not for this guy..but it was a happy ending and he did make it out okay in the end (and I asked him if I could take a pic too). Its the weekend again and I have absolutely no idea just where the hell the last working week went...a blur for sure and that's the way I'll take it. Tuesday is now known officially as 'Super Tuesday' due to the fact the Sandown Crit is always a heap of fun and damn good training...and the ride home on a balmy full moon lit night capped it off. Rad. Can't wait for the next one.

This guy has been in town for the last week kickin' about. Will be representing the big Spanish 'O' down at Otway this weekend...I'm still licking my wounds from just even thinking about last year, and perhaps wondering of today's 7hr Tour of California stage in torrential rain and cold would be anymore enjoyable..but least the age old question was finally proved..mullets do win bike races...not sure about mo's though Mr Cozza.

And it finally it brings me to the brand new the 'Things That Frustrate The Hell Outta Me All The Time When It Happens' column..see pic above and below. Yep, thats why I never was a 'yo-yo kid' or will work as a roadie (musical variety people..ya know the guys that roll up guitar leads) or an electrician. Stuff that tangles cracks me big time. Spaghetti is the only exception cause you dont have to deal with it. Oh and a close second on that list is mosquitoes...at night...when you hear them and are fully in stealth mode and on thier A game...yep. Ok I'm done..lator y'all...cw.

Worth Fighting For...

Nice one DZ...

Doing Some Sonic Strength Efforts

I've said it plenty of times, but if I wasn't being bike racer I have no doubt I'd still be playing in a band of some sort. Yes once upon a time I was singer/guitarist in a rock rolll quartet. As fun as it was Im pretty sure if I could never be capable of creating as something as unbeliablely intricate and full on crazy as the lastest album I picked up the other day tho...okay, one mans roof is another man's ceiling right, so whatever I say about the Mars Volta's latest creation it really only comes down to the two things on either side of your head and whether whatever comes through them makes you smile or frown. But... every Mars Volta album I have (thats all of them!) are by far the most challenging listen in my musical collection. The fact that they are completely on thier own agenda in terms of musical direction - as in experimenting with sound on so many different levels it is way beyond the drive time shift of most radio stations and

therefore most peoples ears also. It breaks down the barries of what constitutes music as most people know it...and as I said, im sure there would be plenty of people out there who would just call it noise pollution. No problem. Perhaps these are the same guys who think the sound of a Harley engine is the best thing sinc..ahh whatever. Anyway, so this latest album is, well to put it mildly, off it's guts. Incredible drumming, swooping guitar work and a hefty dose of oddball time signatures (4/4 is nowhere in these guys vocabularly) makes this a definate no-no for a lounge room party background soundtrack. Perhaps more fitting on a long solo drive or an ergo session I must admit that I haven't even scratched the surface in getting my ears around this album yet. Their sound is somewhere between freestyle jazz, fused with Latin influence but set in a big rock/metal mould. Yeah. Lyrically imagine cutting every single complex word outta the dictionary and placing them in a big hat...start pulling out them out and then pasting together in a random sensical / non sensical way on the lyric sheet. Still, from being at big At The Drive-In fan (go look these guys up on You Tube and check out the old high school footage...) Cedric's vocal prowess has increase ten fold. Armed with red rag to a bull intensity combined with a vocal range that has to be heard to be believed, to quote one ex Yeti racer now Scottish CX killer it is another level. Okay, so perhaps this post sounds like a spruiker for a sale, but those who hang around me enough know that I love music just about as much as I like bike racing. But this is one sweet album but aint for the faint hearted thats for sure...either way these guys are know how to play thier instruments as if thier life depended on them..and makes a lot of other bands look very, very ordinary at the same time. Lator..cw.