Iv set myself a goal of 4000 km for the year, theoretically I should do that pretty easy. But its always pretty hard to know how the year will pan out. Iv also set my self a goal of doing Norton Summit in sub 17 minuets. This goal wont be so easy, in actual fact im farily sure it will be impossible. Well it will be impossible if I only manage 4000 km’s this year. Iv only managed to crack 20 mins (19.45) once so iv got my work cut out for me. But I figure why not, it will give me something to aim for and you just never know.

There were 2 rides in particular over my holidays that are worth noting, the first was on Boxing Day. I got out with a few of my mates and we rode to Mt Lofty via Nortons, the reason it was of note was that Casey Stoner rode with us. He is generally only in Adelaide once a year and iv managed to get a ride in with him the last two years. He’s a ridiculous amount stronger on the bike than me but its good to sit on the wheel and learn as much as possible.

Shannon and I had another great ride out into the hills on some roads iv never ridden. We ventured out to Carey Gully, along Deviation Rd and finished up at Cudlee Creek via Lobethal. The girls met us for a coffee and some lunch at the Cudlee Cafe. It was only about 70km’s but was a superb ride.

After a quiet intense period of riding i spent the last 2 days off the bike. I noticed a small twinge in my knee on Sundays ride up Montacute so spent all day yesterday icing it. I plan to get back onto the bike before work tomorrow morning and make it a regular thing. Nothing long but 20 or 30k before work and trying to sit on my threshold the whole time should go a ways to getting some more power in the legs.

Bon Iver live on the late show. What a great song, especially for a lumberjack.

So for cyclists in Adelaide the weather is finally starting to fine up, whilst opportunities for me to get on my bike are still as limited as ever, the weather is doing its best to make those few opportunities as plesant as possible.

Over winter I rode probably about once a week, I had planned to ride my mountain bike quiet a bit but ended up just logging the k’s on my roadie, with intermittent runs on my fixie. But coming into summer heralds the beginning of our cycling season and the host of rides that follow; amy gillet, ride like crazy, coast2coast and Tour Down Under. So there are some good goals to work towards

Upon getting the blessing of my sensational wife I purchased a new bike last week. I was very happy with my Avanti however came across a deal that was too good to say no to. So whilst answering the question of how many bikes does one man need I have come up with an equation n+1, where n is the number of bikes you currently own. There is another form of equation, equally as accurate which is x-1, where x is the number of bikes that will cause your wife to leave you! But seriously its farily addictive.

Anyhow I purchased a Malvern Star Oppy C6. Malvern Star is trying to re-establish itself as a quality bike company after too many years of producing K-Mart bikes. So whilst my new ride does not have euro appeal of a Look, Casati or similar it does far exceed my abilities as a cyclist, whilst still appealing to my appreciation for quality. Ill not go into an indept review here, as frankly iv only logged 45 k’s on it so cant really make a call, other than to say it has far exceeded my expectations so far. For the deal I got on it I kind of expected some inadequacies, but so far its been superb. Anyway ill get back to the bike in another post, but here is a quick snap.

Whilst its not completed as yet I have managed to get it operational. I took it for its first shakedown run on the weekend which was just a quick 5km run around the block. I took it nice and easy to let all the new bits bed in and sort themselves out. I have to say it is great to ride, fixed gear on the road is excellent, it gives a whole new aspect to your ride. A lot more concentration and fluidity is required to be efficient on it. Also the power required is a lot more than a geared bike, yeah I know state the obvious!

On a geared bike there are a lot of things to distract you; am I in the right gear, could I make this easier or harder, gee im a bit tired ill just free wheel, did that gear engage correctly etc…. on a fixed its really so simple, you just pedal. I think a good training regime on it will help to increase my wattage/power. Yesterday I was riding on a long stretch of road that normally i go quiet hard on, so i did the same on my new bike and found that i was starting to blow a little, I went to just free wheel for 100m to get my breath but as you could imagine that did not work! After composing myself I realised that you can still half pedal a bit and just go with the crank revolutions but its just not the same. But this was a perfect example of when i normally would opt for the easy way out on a fixie you need to maintain your effort for a longer period.

I dont race or anything, im not overly fit either but I do enjoy riding my road bike, so if this can help me get to the shops, increase my power and technique then it can only help my when im on my roadie.

Anyhow have a look at the pictures and let me know what you think, I have installed a front brake since the photo was taken as well.

The wheelset I ordered arrived, I ended up going for a flip/flop set from velogear.com.au, they have a 18 tooth free wheel on one side and an 18 tooth fixed cog on the other. They are entry level quality but from all reviews they seem to be nice and strong/reliable.

The paint was allowed to cure for the last week. I wanted to make sure it was really set before doing any assembly.

I have to say that I’m really happy with how its coming up. The guys over at http://www.mawsonlakescycles.com.au/home/ were great, they have helped me out quiet a bit so far.

I still need to get a few more bits and pieces like; crank set/pedals, tires and a break lever. But over the next few weeks they should all come together and then ill be able to get it finished off and take it for a shakedown ride.

Let me know what you think so far.

Ovi and I decided to go for an early ride, we were on the road by 6.30, we ended up doing about 50km’s and averaged around 28kph. It was a great way to spend the morning.

Iv also just about finished painting the fixie frame, its been a long process as iv done about 15 coats and it takes a long time for the Epoxy Acrylic paint to dry between coats, ill post an update on that soon but for now here are some photos from yesterdays rides, courtesy of Ovi’s helmet cam.

Fabian Cancellara, aptly named Spartacus, took out the 250km+ race with a late attack on Tom Boonen. That kind of abbreviate’s the race quiet a bit but it was notable for several reasons.

First and foremost, the GC (General Classification) riders at the Tour de France should not/will not be winning races at this part of the season. The current races will be won by ‘Spring Classic’ riders, or riders who will have differing roles when the biggest race of the year rolls around. Whilst Cancellara cant climb  well enough to win the TdF, he will likely be in the yellow jersey for a period of time. So for him to be in such form at this part of the season (Also won Tour of Bahrain) is pretty impressive.

Lance Armstrong put in a good showing and seemed to be gaining some form on the long lead up to July. Its going to be good to see how he races in the Tour of California in May, as he will not be competing in the Giro Italia. But going on what we have seen so far this season its hard to see anyone beating Alberto Contador. He is clearly the best stage racer in the world at the moment, and his early season form seems very strong.

I think the only way to beat Contador is to do it mentally, Armstrong started that mental assault during the 2009 TdF, whilst it began subtle it did not take long to become blindingly obvious. This is what Lance does best, mentally he is so strong and determined. He is probably, physically, in the top 5 in the world when it comes to outright ability. But its that aggression and determination that set him apart. Combine that with Johan Bruyneel (his long time Sports Director/coach) they are a formidable team.

I am really not sure if Lance has what it takes to stick with Contador & the Schleck brothers through every one of the important climbs and mountain top finishes, but if anyone can do it he is the man….so it should be a belter of a race.

Iv managed to completely strip the frame of all the paint work and decals. I started doing this using paint stripper and steel wool, that was ridiculous, the steel wool was no way near abrasive enough and although it did the trick it required a lot of hard work. I picked up a steel brush fitting for my drill and that did the trick no worries at all.

Once it was stripped I went over it with mineral turpentine, suspended the frame from the ceiling of my garage and began to prime it. Here are some progress pictures.

On a side note, Mark Webber has put his Rb6 on pole for todays Malaysian GP, all the best to him for todays race!

Iv just started to strip the paint off the bike, im doing this using a paint stripper and steel wool. Its pretty hard going and time consuming. I started to get a bit annoyed yesterday as it became apparent how long it will take to do a good job of stripping the paint. But i’ll just take my time with it. One concern I have is that once the paint is stripped the exposed steel can begin to oxidise really quick. Just the atmosphere can start to deteriorate the finish of the steel, to counter this I have covered the exposed steel with olive oil. Not sure if it will do the trick but here’s hoping.

I also have started to restore and polish the components that I want to use, ie the handle bars and bolts etc… dont get me wrong I may replace some of these bits and pieces but i’d rather have the option of using the originals or replacing them, as opposed to having to replace them.

I put the quill stem and bolts in a tub of Coke a Cola and let them soak for 2 days. They went in pretty rusty and average, when i took them out they still had rust on them but it came off with a simple light scrub! I then went over them with Brasso and they came up a treat. The handle bars are still a work in progress as they were really discolored and rusted, but they are getting there. Well here are some progress pictures.

Im pretty sure my mate Luke is going to do his own conversion!!

Through this process I’v started to get an idea of what I can salvage/use, and also how things work on a bike. I need a specialised tool to remove the Bottom Bracket and the quill stem too. So ill have a crack at that over the weekend.

Once iv got it stripped back it will be a matter of stripping the paint work etc.. and going down the painting path.

Iv been researching what parts ill need to buy and so far have come up with a few options;

Wheelset, iv come across some nice looking cheap wheelsets, and i mean real cheap, $99 for one set and $120 for the other! They have Quando hubs (apparently pretty rubbish) but for what im looking at these could be a good option. I mainly want this bike to look good and hold up for the occasional coffee ride/commute to friends & 50km training ride when i feel like a hard work out. So it wont be high volume use.

The crank will be the other part that ill likely have to replace, and possibly the bottom bracket. But ill know more about this when i pull it off and investigate if its serviceable or not.

Here are some pics of the progress so far.