Nice rack !

I am a bit of a Freeload rack fan-boy. (Previous post). I used one on the inaugural Kiwi Brevet and have found nothing bad to say about them since then. One of the big advantages of the Freeload is that it will fit on almost anything, one rack fits all, rigid or suspended, front or rear.

One day I noticed that there was actually a heap of clearance between the wheel and the rack on my 26 inch bike - the same rack also fits a 29er. Tim, one of the designers said, yes it was made one size for all. I thought that maybe if I "chopped" my rack, I could get even more clearance between my kit and the back of my seat under full suspension compression. Tim reckoned it might work and sent me a couple of frames to hack up.  See the results below. It worked brilliantly for my application, but mileage may vary given frame/swing-arm angles etc.

Chopped rack at top, original rack at the bottom.

I have also had a new tour deck, but have not yet had the chance to use it. I lent it to my work mate Andrew (one of 4 of us at work doing the Kiwi Brevet) and he installed it yesterday with some very serious looking panniers on it ! It feels rock solid. I reckon one pannier would do, they are massive.

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Xmas 2011 - Nelson to Penzance

I always have a great time when I head south to holiday with both my wife's and my families who live in Nelson and Blenheim respectively. I was keen to ride over from Blenheim to Nelson via the Mangatapu track but had to double back when seeing the (erroneous) road closed signs. Apparently they had been there for over a year. That meant back tracking to Pelorus and back onto the road. An extra 26kms of gravel, but all good training: )

Once we got to Nelson I was lucky enough to get invited out by my "Cuz" Paul McNabb for some early starts while the whanau were still asleep. One day before (Paul's) work we managed to sneak in a lap of the Coppermine circuit with event organiser James Hufflet. They were both keen to check out if the flooding the week before had washed away any of the new work done on the track. It was all mint, and nothing like the track I had ridden two years earlier. The next day Paul got my old Hutt bogan buddies Susie Wood and Gazza organised and we met up at 6.30 to ride a newish track called Involution up the Marsden Valley near Stoke. 

Pelorus River

The Xterra atheletes Suse and Gazz were smacking it good up the roadie climb, but Cuz was about to get his revenge, at least momentarily. At the top we came across Eloise Fry and her dog, that made 4 Santa Cruz's on the ride. The Santa Cruz virus has run rampant in Nelson with Stylianou Mansions dealing it out like crack in the Baltimore slums. The previous day's ride was also a Santa Cruz affair, with James as always sporting a very bling looking carbon Nomad.

Cuz was eager to show off the merits of his new acquired seat dropper and spanked it down the "Involution" track proper. A few minutes later I caught up to him as he was rearranging his undercarriage having just smacked into a newly fallen tree - a byproduct of the floods. There was some more damage at the lower parts of the track but nothing too fatal.

Opouri saddle

A couple of days later I loaded up the bike and headed off early for our final holiday destination, Penzance Bay in the Marlborough sounds, via the Mangatapu Track. Sifter had been through the previous day, so I knew it would be open, despite all the stupid signs at both ends.

I was reminded how short the hill was on the Maitai side, and there were only a couple of very small unrideable bits. It was lovely travelling in the shade of the bush canopy in the early morning. The descent down the other side was a bit rougher, but nothing too bad. By the time I got to Pelorus it was heating up, and was getting pretty steamy as I navigated the 4km climb over the Opouri saddle. This was a real beauty, probably the gnarliest road climb I can think of, for that distance.

The scenery from the top of that hill was incredible. Penzance Bay seemed like a very well kept secret. We met up with all of my family and indulged in lots of fresh seafood for the next 3 days. One day Ash and myself did a very gnarly run up the hill for a couple of hours and took in even more sights. A day or two later I did a leisurely ride along Archers Track for 9kms to Elaine Bay. It follows the coastline the whole way and is a very achievable ride or walk. I came across a set of deck chairs in the middle of nowhere. There were no bogans to steal them this far away from the civilization !

Pelorus River at Mangatapu end

Maitai side of the Mangatapu

Pelorus end of the Mangatapu

The girls shucking scallops

On the way to Elaine Bay

Returning from Elaine Bay

About 3kms out from Elaine Bay !

More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrwhippy/sets/72157628766540243/

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Freeload straps - first impressions

I make no secret. These "straps" were bought for the ultimate epic adventure, the Kiwi Brevet.
But how could I test them to failure without endangering myself unduly? Fate smiled upon me in the form of the end of year christmas function double header. A lunch at the Upper Hutt Cossie Club followed by an epic duel on the Killing Fields of the Upper Hutt Bowling Club. Heady stuff.

We started with an entree of the sea-food platter, which I duly followed up with a main of the seafood platter. Even the batter had batter on. My zip was bursting, the Freeload strap was straining but it held fast. I didnt even need to re-cinch it once. We had some Ginger Crunch and a very good Latte and we adjorned to the green. Bending over with that much seafood onboard was a risk, but things stayed in place. Phase one of the testing was over.This is by no means a final test, but its a good start. Stay tuned.
http://www.freeload.co.nz/store/0/12/Straps

Elite bowls action, Upper Hutt styles

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How buying a new pair of pants added value to my day

It’s funny how progress happens, or as often doesn’t. Many times we are told that the latest thing is the best iteration of a product in a long evolution. Often it is complete bullshit and is usually a fix for something else that the marketing guys botched along the way. Bike racks and bottom brackets are a good example. You won’t get me giving up my square taper internal BB just yet.

Ground Effect Supersonics

I had an excellent experience the other day that made me think about the evolution of bike pants. My mum had given me some loot to spend for my birthday, and after much deliberation I decided to buy something sensible. A pair of cycling pants. I'd heard very good things about Ground Effect’s kit, so opted for a pair of Supersonics. These are not bib shorts. I quickly realised that 95% of my shorts are bibs. I started to wonder why. Have you ever been to a ladies race and seen the poor women trying to have a nervous one before a race? A very tricky manoeuvre with bibs on.... not so for the guys, but why were bibs invented? This is a guess, but maybe the original shorts were woollen and shoulder loops were a means of keeping them up, kind of built in suspenders.

Back on to the subject at hand.The upside of these new Supersonics shorts was how they have streamlined my day. Now I can jump straight out of bed, throw on my shorts and wait in line to do my ablutions. None of this faffing about, not being able to get dressed while I wait for the log-jam at the bathroom door to clear, because of the complexity involved with putting a top on over the bibs and then having to take it off again for a number 2. Time is money. I can get out of bed at 7.30, do my stuff and free-wheel down the hill to be at work in about 5 mins, by 8am!

Not only was I very happy with the freedom these new shorts gave me, but they were on my desk when I turned up at work the next morning, having only ordered them at 3.30 pm the previous day. That is impressive. On top of that, they are very comfortable, and look to be very solid in construction. Also you don’t get a sweaty patch up the middle of your back from the bib part when wearing a back-pack. Apparently they are made in NZ too. I get the impression these are going to be my favourite shorts.

Once again, popular with the chicks

I have had quite a few rides on these shorts now and can fully recommend them. The first two rides on the shorts were long ones, about 5 hours each and I got a bit of chaffing on the left as they settled in, but now they are fully broken in and comfy-as. The special "lower leg bands" are just right. They seem to give a real wide band of support, unlike your traditional leg grippers which can cause a bit of a pressure point, and the back is just high enough to protect you if your top rides up. There is a little internal pocket in there as well, not sure what it’s for, maybe a spare patch or two.  The lyrca seems very robust which is what I like. The last time I brought two pair of shorts they both failed in different areas. The Cape Storm bibs material wore out in about a year (became transparent) and while the Tinelli shorts I got at the same time are still going really well, the stitching has come away on the chamois on one side. Only time will tell how robust these pants will be but they come with a good reputation, a good price and laser fast delivery.

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A real challenge

View from the window

The Huka 80km MTB challenge was to prove to be just that, a challenge. One of our 5 members didn't know until 12pm whether he would make a work deadline, and then the pick-up deadline, luckily some slower than planned packing gave him the time bonus required. Then Marco had a spell in the drivers seat. More uncertainty. There was also a minor fly in the ointment when Marco realised he had left his camelbak holder at home. Botty. With a roll of duct tape he managed to fashion my new "eski-bag" spotprize into a passable camelbak. I am sure it wasn't as light as the original though!

Bad norty elitist pedal : (

The wind seemed to follow us up from Wellington and it was a little bit brisk as we started the 15 minute trundle from the accommodation to the race start. Unfortunately 1 minute later Cleetus's XTR pedal just fell off the end of the spindle. Bugger. What to do. Calling on his past as a proponent of one-legged drills the only option was for Cleetus to try to make it to town. For once I had my eftpos card on me and if we could find a bike shop open at 6.30am we might strike it lucky. I pushed him with my left hand while he jammed away with his left leg. The exposed bit along the front of the lake was pretty brutal. Fortune smiled on us and he found a shop and scored some new pedals with time to spare!

sus-pension-ers

The race started and it was up the hill and into the single track. Singletrack that just went on and on. It was awesome. It was a bit windy, but nothing like what Cleetus and myself experienced the week before while riding the "Skyline" track in Wellington. Before long there were ominous creaks and groans, then crashes in the trees. The trees were falling down in the forest. It was pretty damn freaky. Some of them were very very close. After a couple of hours the organisers decided to pull the pin before anyone was badly hurt. It was the right call. They cut out about 20kms of the course and we carried on, some continued hammering, some didn't, it didn't matter, it was race over : (

After we cleaned up we called into BushLove HQ for a bit of a bullshit and then endured the prizegiving and headed back to the digs for a beer and sossies.

A big thanks to Ash for the transport and the accommodation, and Matt-2 for his colourful stories.

I havent done "Taupo" for about 15 years so was blown away at how big it is now. We have unfinished work, so will probably be back next year, hopefully all the weak trees will be gone !

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Surly Karate Monkey second impressions

At Single Speed nationals with front 3.0 Knard

You may have read my Surly Karate Monkey first impressions here. Now I am a few months down the track I reckon its time to revisit and see what else I have discovered with longer term ownership.

I tend to think that the Karate Monkey is a tinkerers bike. I come from the generation of people that grew up working on their own cars and motorbikes, so its second nature to want to build their own bicycles. Especially if there are budgetary constraints. If you are the kind of person that buys a bike ready-made, and doesn’t enjoy messing with it, then the Karate Monkey may not be for you. Why? Because there are so many options for the person who enjoys getting their hands dirty. Building my own bikes is a big part of the enjoyment that I get out of cycling, and it helps with “mechanical empathy”. That link you have in knowing how what you assembled effects how your bike hangs together, sounds and feels. Some of my contraptions may not even look pretty, but they are my babies, and you never tell anyone their baby is ugly : )


The Karate Monkey was my first 29er, first drop-barred bike, and first rigid bike (since the late 80’s), so you have to bear that in mind when reading my findings. The reason I chose it was because of the many options it gave me. I wanted to try a 29er, and apparently the Karate Monkey was one of the very first out there. Canti mounts meant that I could build it up with old crap already lying around the shed, v-brakes, road wheels etc. In this first iteration it was a very capable Cyclo cross machine as it weighed in at a passable 24 pounds. (CX images from Craig Madsen).

For the second build iteration of the Karate Monkey I picked up some cheap wheels, complete with new tires and discs off trademe. With the addition of mechanical discs it rocketed up to around 28 pounds. The discs certainly took some getting used to. There is none of the progressiveness associated with hydraulic discs - they are on or they are off. On the trails of the Wainuiomata Trail Park the Karate Monkey was great. It climbed awesomely and descended with confidence. At no time did I think I would have been better off with a flat bar. In fact, I suspect the drop bars may even have a little bit of suspension built in, they certainly feel that way. Unfortunately I mis-read the course signage in the race I was doing there, did an extra lap and dropped from 2nd to about 8th in my class by the races end.


One thing you will notice with drop bars, you can be a bit limited with braking set-ups. If you go with road levers you will need to get the appropriate discs for them. I had some special road levers that had normal MTB-style-pull so went with standard MTB discs. If I wanted to go from the bar-end shifters to STI levers, I would have to get one of these : http://problemsolversbike.com/products/travel_agents/ or change to the road specific calipers. This is starting to sound more like its about drop bars than it is the Karate Monkey. I will try to keep on track.

There are many strange things about the Karate Monkey. It is the swiss-army-knife of bicycles, so in many ways it is a compromise. It can take very fat tires, but there is little clearance for your front derailleur or derailleur cable so you might have to use the “monkey-nuts” which push the wheel more rearward in the horizontal drop-outs to give better clearance up front. This in turn would negate the whole idea of having a bent seat tube which is presumably to allow the wheel to be closer to front for that legendary Karate Monkey cornering.  Of course if you go single speed its not an issue. My widest rear tires have only been 2.0 inches so I haven’t had any issues at all. Personally I hate the horizontal drop-outs which are a bit of pain when installing the rear wheel, but apparently a big improvement on previous models. At least now you don’t have to unbolt the disc calipers to change the wheel!


Something which I think is a real mistake on the latest Karate Monkey is the dropping of the canti bosses. They really gave you a lot more options. Mine is the 16 inch model. I was concerned that the 18 inch, with drop bars would be too long for me. With the 16, its great, but if I throw a normal flat bar on it, it feels a bit short. Bear this in mind when choosing frame sizes. I did a lot of research online for sizing, it did not help. An 18 with a shorter stem may well have done the job even better. Typically when using a drop-bar you are extending your cock-pit length a fair bit so you need a shorter top-tube or a shorter stem.
Some of the cable routing is not that great with the 16 inch frame, the bottom triangle (because of that silly little gusset) is only 13.5 inches tall. Presumably it’s for a better standover height. This does not leave much room to braze on a derailleur cable stop, hence you have crazy loops of cable sticking up above the top tube, and a very steep exit angle on your cable. Once again, not a problem if you are running it singlespeed.


There is only the one cable stop on the Monkey which is intended to use continuous cabling. I am not sure what I think about this. I am getting used to it, should improve cable life in theory.


I wasn’t really expecting to say anything good about a 2 and half pound steel rigid fork. I was wrong. It goes exactly where you point it. There is a lot of confidence to be gained from knowing that your wheel will go where you want it to, and it wont in fact wallow down the side of a rut and spit you off. As I said, I haven’t ridden a rigid fork since the late 80’s, but I cant help but think that the 29 inch wheels make it less of an issue. 

A good example of the merits of the wagon wheels came to me the other day when riding the river bank section of the Crazyman ride. There are a series of man made speed humps. When you hit them on the 29er, you just launch off them. When I hit them on my 26er, they really knock my speed back.

In really tight single track the karate Monkey’s geometry is amazing. It even turns better than my Santa  Superlight which is my best handling bike to date. That's with the drop bars on. I haven’t ridden it that much with the flat bar on, although I can say unequivocally, the drop bar is better for long descents as you only really have to brake, and not brake AND grip the bar simultaneously. Gravity and the shape of the bar means you can relax your grip and your hand wont slip off, or get arm pump to the same extent. This is one of the main benefits of a drop bar. There I go again. 

So what else have I found out? Its the only bike Ive ever had to use a proper head-set tool on. It was a tight fit. Luckily Marco had one in his garage. The bottom bracket shell is 73mm wide and I am using a 113mm wide spindled square taper BB on it, like most of my BB’s.

More things, not necessarily to do with the Monkey, but more the 29er format.
1. You can run MTB tires on Mavic Open pro road rims.
2. You can run road tires on 29er MTB rims.
3. If you flat, a 26 tube will fit a 29er tire no problem with a bit of care.

I have had a lot of fun with this Bike. It handles really well, its very robust, cheap and adaptable. I will probably ride it a bit more with the flat bar on, then put the drops back on, then do some big day trips on it, then maybe turn it into a singlespeed for a while.  I am interested to see how the drop bars cope with the big leverage efforts you get when SSIng. The “on the hoods” position on my current Woodchipper bar gives excellent leverage for in the saddle efforts anyway.


At around 5 and a half pounds for the frame, this is indicative of the many steel hard tails that are turning up on the market. Cheap and robust, and heavier than a lot of fullies. But if you are not suffering from weight weenerism and you like messing with your own bike, then the Karate Monkey promises hours of fun!

Other links. Worlds fastest Monkey. 

Karate Monkey First Impressions.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/karate_monkey 

monkey with KNARD !

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Karate Monkey Landspeed Record attempt

In my bid to build the fastest Karate Monkey on the planet I have a way to go. My second attempt at wind tunnel testing on the Rimutaka incline proved problematic as a southerly came through. I was in danger of getting hypothermia in the actual tunnel as the wind tried to wrestle the 2nd rain jacket I was trying to put on from my grip.

It's at this time of the year (spring) that the weather is always at its worst. Winter is a doddle in Wellington. It's always mild and mostly dry and most of the time you don't even have to wear gloves. Ok, it snowed this year. But that has never happened before. Spring sucks. I am getting probably 1 dry ride out of 3, and the trails are a mess.

The first speed enhancement I tried was my home brewed aero-bars, followed by a reverse slammed riser stem, the Freeload rack speed-pod, then the Wheelbuilder.com wheel covers (disc wheel emulator). A 46 tooth big ring helps too.

Room for an expresso pot, tools and spare shorts. 

Wind tunnel testing is all very well, but its on the race track where you see if all the hours of computer modelling you have been doing pays off. Unfortunately the disc cover caused a slight rubbing on the brake caliper, so I had to eliminate it from the test. I could have run my tri-spoke on the front, but that would have meant putting the v-brakes back on. Too hard.

The race was on what the UK Time Trial testers would call a "sportsmans" course, a winding 22kms in the country with lots of the nasty coarse 3/4 chip that we specialise in here in NZ. You can tell it was slow when the fastest time was a  41kmh on a hi-end TT rig. We got hammered with a rain squall coming through as well.

The best I could manage was 35kmh in 37.25 mins. Pretty pathetic, but with 32 spokes smashing into the wind, Armadillo tires and very wide handlebars I guess I shouldn't have expected too much. I did sit on 54kmh for a bit on the wednesday worlds ride early that week, but then I also went out the back some time shortly afterwards : )

The fat tires are back on now. But if anyone else wants to have a crack, we can start with the Karate Monkey World Landspeed record at 35kmh for 20 kms. All results must be verified.

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A different kind of parrot sketch

I got out on my road bike before work yesterday, but by golly it felt horrible compared to my Karate Monkey. Tiny carbon handlebars with negligible brakes. I was buzzed though when a flock of about 7 Rosellas flew directly over my head. Better than the Coach Track Magpie who must have had a crack at me 8 times in about 800 metres a week back. Then as I was going past the Rimutaka prison turn-off I saw an adolescent Pukeko chick with its parent and directly across the road were a pair of Paradise Ducks with the tiniest of chicks. Unfortunately this morning on my commute I found a severly injured male Paradise duck on the road that I had to euthanise. A real shame as they are said to mate for life. I thought I would cheer myslelf up with this clip of a Kakapo getting jiggy on some guys head.

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Wind tunnel testing for Brevet

Well I know I said I wasn't competitive about this thing... but there was a tunnel, and it had wind in it...

I left work at 4pm on friday with the idea of a getting a longer ride in, leaving the weekend open for all the other stuff like, house maintainance, market and veggie shopping and as it turned out, BBQ prep. 

I loaded up on batteries and a cookie time, with the idea of heading to the top of the Rimutaka Incline summit, travelling as much as I could on the gravel. Unfortunately I always get lost at the bit up the Plateau road, so I bypassed this and had to do some tarmac from Moonshine North. Next time I will sort it out.

I was testing my new home modified aero bars and I was rapt with the way they felt. Actually more comfortable, more aero and lighter than the Profile T2's that I used in the Brevet last time. The position is a bit more extreme than the position on the T2 as the pads are ON the handlebar rather than BEFORE the handlebar. I was amazed at how much control I had when I had built up my confidence, and that was with the narrow CX tires on. Unfortunately it was quite a short ride, with a tail wind on the way out, and downhill on the return, it was a little bit over 3 hours and not even dark when I got home. Maybe next time I will drop down to Cross Creek to make it a bit longer.

Its great getting out on the gravel river trails, no stress from the traffic and quite relevant to XC or Brevet riding. I have tended to completely ignore them in the past but no more! People don't tend to think of the Hutt Valley as a Picnic/River destination but its as good as many other places in NZ that people rave about.

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Only 134 sleeps til the Kiwi Brevet !

I knew I was really looking forward to 2012's Kiwi Brevet when I was daydreaming about the new course and I nearly rode into the back of a parked car. I also had this strange dream where I was riding my bike flanked by a group of Pukekos. Birds are very portentous to me. Native birds anyway. Maybe it was a combination of Brevet memories of all the Wekas we came across near Moana, and the time we were riding with a baby deer. The mind does strange things. I have done a lot of very cool things over the years on my bike, but so far the Kiwi Brevet tops them all. A special combination of adventure, camaraderie and challenge.

Last time I was very green, and apart from doing Outward Bound in 1984 I didn't have much outdoor experience. My aim was to able to cope with anything that nature threw at me. I wasn't interested in buying into the "accommodation anxiety" thing, riding on into the small hours to try and make it to pre-booked accommodation. I felt the need to be prepared. If you break a freewheel in the middle of the bush your credit card wont save you, so I took a bivvy sack and a sleeping bag.  As it happened we did experience a breakdown of sorts with my buddy coming down with heat-stroke and an enforced camp 3/4s of the way up the Mangatapu on day 1. Its not like he wasn't fit. We had done a fair bit of training together and I was worried about keeping up with him to be honest. Anyway, we had the gear for a comfy night out so we were sweet. It was the most memorable night of the ride for me too. Camped out on Murders rock, with an amazing night sky..

In the end we were all very lucky, with good weather the whole time and what seemed like a perpetual tailwind. That doesn't mean to say it will be the same this time around. New Zealand's weather can be very changeable.

This time I am looking at different bike options. Last time I adopted a pretty simple approach. I brought a Freeload rack and bolted it onto my Santa Cruz full suspension bike (my installation pix here). Freeload built the first, and to my knowledge only rack that will bolt on to almost any fully (or suspension fork). If you have a fully the only other option is one of these overgrown seat bags. Having never used a seat bag I cant comment on how they work. I guess the weight is up a little higher. Freeload also do a pannier specific rack now, which I have but have yet to test.

I ended up riding with two other guys with Freeload racks. Jonty had them on both ends and Nick had one with panniers on the back. While they would have have been very envious of my fully as we rode through the Molesworth corrugations, I was very envious of the ease of access that Nick had to gear in his saddlebags. There was no messing about with un-strapping a dry bag which you probably just spent 15 minutes cinching up so it wouldn't wobble off after a couple of hours on a gnarly track. A couple of small side panniers like Nicks were brilliant.

Outside the Black Ball Hilton.

Now that I have a rigid 29er Surly Karate Monkey I am wondering if I should use that. Its going to be at least 2 pounds heavier than the Santa Cruz which weighed in at 28.5 pounds with aero-bars and rear rack (no load). The 29er wheels roll beautifully and I am not yet convinced the weight would make a lot of difference.

It didn't seem to be a problem for the Aussie Brovet guys who came over with their fully loaded Salsa Fargos.  There is a hell of a lot of climbing in the Kiwi Brevet, but it is spread out over 1100kms. Its got to be pretty damn steep for a heavier bike to make a big difference. There will be a few very steep segments this time around, probably more than there was last time, but if it comes down to it, if you get out of bed 30 minutes earlier the next day, any disadvantage from having a heavier bike would be gone (I think). This implies a degree of competitiveness, which we weren't actually buying into in 2010.  I am pretty sure I wont be buying into it again in 2012 ! The Karate Monkey is also a very simple bike, cable discs which are so set and forget, compared to my finicky hydraulics, and friction bar-end shifters. No pivots or shocks to break. Who am I trying to convince?

Cleetus in Port Underwood. It was hot.

Riding a fully in 2010 made it fun for me. I am wondering if that's what kept me fresh and enabled us to bang out the last 200 plus kms from Hanmer in under 11 hours. How tired would I be if I rode a steel rigid bike the whole way. That is the big question. Am I stuck on the big-wheeled band-wagon? I guess I need to do a few long rides. Some with CX tires, some with full sized tires. The CX tires fairly scream along on the flat stuff, but in lieu of suspension, a fatter tire is the only suspension you will be getting on a rigid frame.

More questions, a camera or not? I took some good photos last time, many of them good enough to be used in magazines, and I also used my little phone to take some passable photos for blogging. What's the use of doing such a cool event if you don't take the time to snap a few quality shots to document it and skite about what a fun time you are having while you are doing it! There is a lot of weight in there if you also take a phone charger, plus one for your lights. The new Ayup light's batteries come with a low-power light setting so that could greatly extend battery life.

The next thing I am geeking out on is a bivvy sack versus a tarp. A tarp could be a bit smaller and breathe a lot better. I only used my bivvy sack twice last time and I found it a bit sweaty. Here is a very cool set-up. Charlotte used one like this in 2010. Check out this website pimping the pros of "quilts". It actually makes a lot of sense.I am also keen to use aero bars again, they are a great place to hang some light gear off and you really appreciate having another position for your hands, and the ability to stretch out and take some more weight off your butt. I made sure I was well used to my aeros before the last Brevet and even did a lap of the Coppermine circuit when in Nelson with them on. Right now I am messing with some home-grown minimalist aeros in my shed. Never throw anything out : )

So that's were I am at at the moment.Thinking about the Kiwi Brevet on February 4th 2012.
Only 134 sleeps !

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Some of my favourite pix

I reckon you are better to have a crappy camera in your pocket than an expensive one at home in your cupboard. Here are some of my favourite pix. None of them are from particularly flash cameras. All of them point and shoots, a Canon Power Shot A460 and a Canon Power Shot SX200IS.

If you want to see what you can do with a compact camera, check out this guy's stuff, its really impressive. http://www.gnatlikes.com/


Cleetus ripping up Mt Climie on his Singular Gryphon

 

Jonty and Chris on the Molesworh in the Kiwi Brevet

 

Cleetus on Mt Climie again

 

Jonty in the Waiuta on the Kiwi Brevet

Snow on Belmont Trig this year.

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Flatter than a flat thing. Nth island CX champs.

That was the worst I have felt in race since the singlespeed world champs last year.
I was flatter than a flat thing. Such is life. But I have got to tell you about it just so I can include this cool photo that Craig Madsen took. You can't tell that I am complete rubbish in it. At least I had the option to have a free beer on each lap, not that I did... I dont think I have recovered from the 6-peaks 6-pack ride I did a few weeks back... thats probably why I am flat... Too old for that kind of nonsense.
Craig Madsen had just got off the plane from Interbike 2 hours earlier, he raced, took photos and was full of gossip and tales which I could tell you about but then I would have to track you down and kill you, and I am too flat for that right now..

Well done to Bike Hutt's Mike Anderson for putting on a great series of events. Cyclo-cross was the winner on the day and there were costumes and all sorts of dodgy things going on. I am not sure, but I think one of the Hawkes  Bay guys won, but on a beer count-back the local Yeti Alex Revell may have taken home the trophy. A good report here from Ken.

Legend of the day had to go to Mark Humphries for riding his Pugsly in all three races! He is gonna kill himself or get very very strong. It was also good to see "Frog" Woodward who I don't think I have seen since the North Island Cup at Dry Creek in 1993. Funny how things go. I am pretty sure that back then Frog was on a double chain-ring set-up with drop-bars. How bizzare. There is truly nothing new under the sun.

It was great catching up with heaps of the local crew and some of my old Brevet buddies who are starting to get a bit amped about Simon Kennett's 2012 Kiwi Brevet !!

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