Merry Christmas

This clip was sent to me.

It has nothing to do with Christmas.

It has little to do with bike riding.

But it's awesome.

Best of Belgium

" There's not as day goes by that I'd don't wake up and wish I'd been born a Belgian"  Joerg


We can but agree.

Mordy mornings

Another chapter in the glorious saga of 'what you missed in Mordialloc this morning'.

A most disreputable bunch if ever there was one.

Welcome to the man from the Fatherland

Nice kit

Thévenet's secret? Gallic tenacity and very stylish kit

Long night ahead...

Those of us foolish enough to have signed up for the 3 Peaks next year got a present in the mail yesterday...the SBS Tour de France 2011 Highlights package. A mere 3 DVD set with a running time of 576 minutes.

Almost as long as the Tour itself.

La Pédaleur de Charme

Koblet's front cover from Lo Sport Illustato after winning the 1950 Giro. The article ran to 12 full pages. Almost as much as the AFL in the off season.

Weird stuff..

Some of the weirdest bikes the world has ever laid eyes upon have been designed and built by Didi Senft — a 56 year old cycling fan better known as “El Diabo”

Didi’s notoriety goes far beyond the German borders, as he’s had no fewer than 10 entries in The Guinness Book of Records, including the world’s largest and longest rideable bicycle — a mere 25 feet 7 inches (7.8 meters) long and 12 feet 2 inches (3.7 meters) high.

The good old days..

CONCLUSIVE FUCKING PROOF THAT IT REALLY WAS BETTER IN THE OLD DAYS.


From BigRingRiding, again

Another day in the office...

Anthony's Big Ring

 I managed to get a shot of Anthony doing some secret training this morning. I recognised the chain ring.

The Greatest Show on Earth

My thanks to Larry and Heather from CycleItalia for drawing this fantastic piece of Italian cycling history to my attention.

Gucci Helmet

I came across this little steal this morning... a Gucci bike helmet.

For a mere $890 you too can look like a total dork.

Available at all disreputable Gucci outlets.

Cycling hurts...

In my favorite scene from Lawrence of Arabia, T.E. Lawrence, after lighting a colleague’s cigarette, allows the match to burn down to his fingertips before snuffing it out. Having witnessed the stunt, the dim-witted associate attempts it himself, only to blow out the match before it gets anywhere close to burning down. “That damn well hurts!”, he states, barely concealing his amazement. “Certainly it hurts,” replies Lawrence with cool calm. 

“Well, what’s the trick then?”

“The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.”

For the full transcript:

http://www.velominati.com/blog/defining-moments/la-vie-velominatus-not-minding-that-it-hurts/

More Fausto...

THEY DIDN’T CALL HIM THE HERON FOR NOTHING, DID THEY?

Thanks to BigRingRiding, again.

Mobile homes

Bob has been looking for accommodation for the upcoming Kona Odyssey, Alpine Classic and the 3 Peaks.

He may have found it.

Christmas comes early..

Courtesy of eBay and Anthony's persistence with lots of love from The Little Mule this fine steed saw it's first light of day this morning on Beach Road.

Both rider and bike are feeling fine.

Super Mario

Another view of the living legend from the inner ring:

 I remember when he was building up for San Remo, I was riding in the area near where Tirreno-Adriatico was starting and tagged along with his Saeco team for a tempo ride, catching the last part of their four hour ride. The riders looped back to their hotel. I planned to ride more but needed to centre my back brake, so I asked and a mechanic helpfully went in search of a spanner.
Above me, several of the riders emerged on their hotel balconies, sunning themselves in only bib shorts and calling down to almost any woman passing on the street below. As the mechanic came back out of the hotel with the spanner he was accompanied by Cipollini and a soigneur. Whilst I tweaked my brakes, the soigneur slotted two water bottles on Cipo’s bike and he was off to do hill repeats on a nearby climb.
This is only an anecdote but it says a lot, whilst his team mates were whistling at passing women, Cipollini was doing extra intervals. Yes he was a showman but he played this side up to the full whilst hiding his abilities and work rate.
Cipollini was a superb sprinter but he realised cycling relied on imagery and mythology and so he himself created the myth of Cipollini which became greater than the man himself.