mwg

today was a really good day. things were all in alignment. i had taken the day off as it was aidan’s presentation day from kindergarden. the presentation began at 10.00am and went through till 12.00pm so it meant it was a bit crazy to try and make into the city and work after the event.

we drove down not really knowing a great deal apart from the fact he was going to sing. when we arrived we found a seat and read the programme. it was at this point we realised he would be receiving an award for excellence … topping 1st grade mathematics. the amazing thing though is aidan is actually in kindergarden. he is a G&T kid [Gifted & Talented] which is why and how he ended up in Penrith Anglican College.

Next year he will grade skip 1st grade - go straight into 2nd Grade and the school are planning on trying him with 3rd Grade mathematics. what is really exciting though is the school will only trial all this and if he suffers in any from, be it socially, mentally ect he will be able to just go back to 1st Grade etc.

We have spoken to him about it and it is really up to him. obviously he is smart enough to know what it all means and make these kind of decisions. if he feels uncomfortable for any reason he will return to his mates in 1st Grade. i personally was so proud. one of those very special moments in your life.

Another funny thing though is he was also given his report card. he had basically straight A’s throughout but he did have B’s for visual arts. i think that is just tripped out shit. both karen and i are visual people, although i was always very close to the top of both mathematics and science.

check the video - he gets a special mention with a golf clap from the crowd of 300+ people. such a legend.

aidans presentation 2009 from mwg on Vimeo.

and of course… after the presentations it was lunch then a trip to blackmans

yeah!

the time had come to pick up the roadie. i was already on such a high so picking up the CR1 team was just such icing. i arrived excited and ready but with a mission and a focus. i really had to leave the store with everything.

bike

shoes

lycra

and two tubes

if that came through my mission was complete. as it turned out i left with so much stuff i was off my dial.

Bike - fully sized and sorted. shorter stem 90mm replacement for the stock 110

Pedals - shimano 105’s [i almost came home with look keo’s but decided to keep the 105 family alive]

Shoes - there were no shimano R132’s in my size so we rang parramatta store. they had some and were on there way. whilst trying on shoes i did ask if there were any other 45’s. they did have a pair of louis garneau ergoair’s so i tried them on. they were a perfect fit, i did like the colours/look of them… but they were $320! i’ll take em…

Lycra - netti ballistic nix - with the triple core over weave thingy-ma-gig chamos that feels good
Two Tubes - 700 x 23 - 60mm prestas [tarini needs some rolling action]
 EXTRAS

Jersey - netti joker - seriously! for once a jersey that doesn’t have 57 logos on it & need 3 AAA batteries to power the brightness of it

Socks - [black] louis garneau if course to match the egoair’s
Bottle Cage - black wire

i was now set to enter roadie-ville. a scary world of lycra, long distances, smooth surfaces & a city that thinks all roadies have a target on their back.

thoughout the entire set-up/purchase/pure endulgance jason had waited. his son tom also goes to PAC where aidan does and we had planned on riding back home. we were set now and though pure excitment i have completely forgotten to mention the fact the whole time it had been raining/drizzling outside.

FFS - i just wanted to ride the thing… and that we did. i had brought down all the stuff to ride and off loaded everything i could to karen when she left to drive home. it was time to start pedalling. basically we left the store and i went around the car-park once to get used to the strength of the clip-ins as well as this latest fan-dangled STI shifting mechanism.

i was totally blow away. the sti system was just too easy and the bike felt seriously like a rocket. it is ultra light, perfectly set up for me. i had some issues [and still do] with clipping in. its a different system to the crank bros and SPD mtb’s i am used to but that will come with time. the bike felt really sturdy, straight and stable. i am really starting to appreciate a good bike fitting now and i need to address the length of the stem on carbo asap.

we left the carpark and headed down to the penrith regatta centre. jason’s smart, really smart and he knew it would be the best thing for me to just run it in a bit before we took on the petrol guzzlers. we did one lap then returned back to the road and headed up to the mountains along side the nepean river. the first real climb was lapston hill and it is reasonably steep with a start of 3% and finishing on a 6%. jason pulled away which is to be expected but i was still i awe of how the bike felt. it really felt comfortable on the climb and did it with ease.

half way up it level out ever so slightly so i pinged it for a few metres to pick up pace and found it really easy then to hold it. i was slowly catching jason and by the top i had done so and was at a normal riding distance behind him. i was sold.

the shoes were great, the joker felt perfect, nix were unreal and the bike was in a league of its own compared to any roadie i had ever ridden. i was grinning big time and could seriously see myself using this bike a lot. training was going to be easier now and i had already fallen into the thought process of checking my pedal strokes.

we turned off and headed towards our homes and at this point it is were the climbs finish and the descents begin. jason mumble ” well stick it to it ” and that was it. i did just that, i seriously started to mash the pedals and ping the thing past the golf course at a cracking pace. he was behind me but i had a better start on him and he had recorded a maximum of 68km or there abouts so i would have been pushing around 70-74. again the bike was stable and felt like it was just rolling along minding its own business.

jason pulled off to his place and i continued on home. the last section nearing my house can get quiet bumpy and the bike hit some sections with a shattering experience that was actually quiet stable considering. it soaked up the quality road surfaces the local council provides for free and i felt confident that the bike was able to do so.

when i reached our drive i reached around to get the N95 to stop the sportstracking software only to find it had failed to start recording correctly. i was pretty pissed off but then looked down at the bike and just laughed. this thing is awesome. thats a little time spent tonight on may my ride to work it all out time/distance wise.

i was really happy with a 44.6km / 25.58km/hr average speed ride on the first outting.

i later brought it out onto the deck to give it a wipe over, it was pretty dirty considering the last 20mins of the ride was done in full drizzle conditions. once off the ghetto bike stand i couldn’t resist and brought out carbo.

i started to laugh. they were TWINS! not identical but twins none the less

i will do a proper shoot during next week but here are some “first sightings” of the purchased items and the twins.

pickup will be thursday… just in case you were wondering

my new steed fuck yeah!

all mine….. mwahhh hahahhahahHHHAHAH….. [well soon]

after 1.5 hrs at blackmans i walked out without as much as even putting a deposit down on a bike. chris is a great guy and measured me up on the scott to be 100% certain the size fitted. the CR1’s are not compact frames so it is almost tradition styling which i do like - so sizing is a little bit easier as they don’t come in as many different sizes.

i am such a shocker with these size purchases and after months of contemplation i was still as indecisive as always. should i, shouldn’t i, maybe the TCR, maybe not. maybe an avanti, cannondale, BMC, EMC2…. ahhhhhhh.

the TCR is still a great bike but not for me…
although i would love to move the black 105 groupset onto the scott.

i had read online about a guy who had the CR1 and in a crit race & had been slammed up the rear. the rider had accidentally connected with his rear derailleur which in turn ripped it off and because the CR1’s don’t have a replaceable rear hanger it had pretty much destroyed the frame. the thing is, the CR1 doesn’t have a replaceable rear derailleur hanger, which is sometimes considered unusual. so for me would this be an issue. i am pretty sure i won’t be racing the bike. i took a long hard look at the TCR alliance 2 as well. it is a great bike no doubt… but… it is much heavier. i predict the scott to be around 8.7-8.9 and the TCR to be mid to late 9’s. it would still be reasonable as the TCR is lower half alloy top half carbon. the wheelset is probably a tiny bit lesser quality on the TCR.

i did a walk-by lifecycles just to window shop and see what was available in my price range. they stock avavti & specialized, both were good but i still think they weren’t on par with the scott.
i then decided to give jason a call. he is a roadie/MTB’er who knows all so i questioned him on whether he knew of, or himself ever had to, replaced a rear derailleur on a roadie. he rides mega km’s, does triathlons etc. he had never needed to himself, or ever heard of anyone with a need to replace the derailleur or hanger with that kind of problem.

he did speak to me about possibly purchasing a second hand bike off ebay with all the gear [possibly dura-ace or even ultegra] for a lot lest $’s than a new bike. i had been considering it and had around 20 odd bikes watching on ebay but i am really scared of a purchase that is over $2k on ebay without sighting the bike beforehand.  with most auctions only 7-9 days long, it would also mean driving around everywhere to check out bikes for size, damage, etc and it was all just a bit to daunting for me. a new bike works, has the warranties, and i can feel assured it will be the correct everything from the onset.

that was it. i was sold. time to just move on and put the deposit down even though i still haven’t been paid but i am sure i will be within the next week, so i called in on the way out for the day/night on a friends boat around pittwater.

when we called in, funnily enough chris had already taken the scott out the back and put my name on it. he laughed and asked which one i wanted after my debate around the TCR and scott. it was the scott all the way.

included in the package will be a set of pedals as well as an almost cost pair of shimano R132’s carbon soled roadie shoes.

carbon - the new black

so after all the stress of the last couple of weeks. the decision making hassles of the roadie, the prospect of a weekend night on pittwater in a very large crusing bike was bloody awesome. you just cannot beat australia. its the best place in the world.

leaving the marina

chicks dig boats

the girls…. relax as the sun sets

… panic as their cocktail making jug is blown over board

… and smile as the jug is recovered

sadly though is it has been the first week in about 8 months that i have not ridden a bike at all for 7 days. i am really hoping to pick the new scott up this week go for a ride…

and best of all

name the new bike.

well last night i was paid for one of the freelance jobs i have completed - well 99% completed. i will ham it up tonight and get it live. its a very simple html site.

as for the “other” one i am still waiting on payment which is really the new roadie fund. the first one has to go to the house/family. we need some major work done around the house, fences, and i really want to resurrect our yard back to its glory days.

from this

back to this

but the big things is the hold up on the second payment which means no roadie! i am really hoping the money will come through tonight and i can go down saturday morning and buy the scott - if it is still there. i spoke again to grant from mccyclery about the price of the masi 3VC. unfortunately it is quiet out of my budget, so it is really now down to the scott and the TCR alliance.

finger X’d - the money comes through, the scott is still there. if all the planets align i will be doing the grind next week on a 8.5kg carbon fibre roadie.

…
i made it up this hill twice before i though i would video it.
funny shit. no damage to me or the bike thank god.

as justin pointed out. notice how all i am interested in is the
bike and making sure there is no major damage.

synopsis
1st run. no chance
2nd run. large click is my right cleat letting go [has now been tightened]
3rd run. priceless

Untitled from mwg on Vimeo.