My gosh… new record for me I think. Haven’t posted in almost 3 months!!! (And yet I’m still ahead in the total post count).

Anyway, went out for my mid-week ride today, doing some hill repeats as per last week. I don’t know what it is but I seem to be very consistent when it comes to a lot of my rides. Considering I had about 6km of traffic to deal with, it still took me almost exactly the same time to the second as my last week’s attempt.

Some other examples of my consistent performance (or lack thereof).

• Time trial course I did 2 years ago in Melbourne. My first leg out was almost identical to the second again as my return leg back.
• My regular commutes into work is usually +/-30 seconds apart from the commute back home, despite the hundreds of traffic lights that I have to deal with.

And it’s not like I try to time them that way. I just don’t look at the elapsed time figures until I get home.

Is there an explanation for this?? Or am I really just consistently slack?

After piking on cycling to work today (laziness), I decided to go explore a little around my area after work despite getting home a little late. Found some recommendations on bikely, and headed off towards a hilly route near my area.

Approx 3km from my place.
1km in length.
Gain of about 70m according to bikely, hence roughly 7%.

I think this could be the start of a new love-hate relationship….

Phew… tired now. L2P photos up on my Facebook.

I’ll hopefully have some energy and time to write up more about it later.

*Walk into some sort of bakery, see a sign saying ‘Belgian Bun’ which looks something like a coffee scroll*
*Points at Belgian Bun*

Me: Is that the Belgian Bun?
Shop Assistance (SA): Yer.
Me: What’s in it?
SA: *Shrugs shoulders* Dunno.

…they’re all just till operators here I tell ya. And if the cash machine didn’t tell them how much change to give, they wouldn’t know that either.

(BTW I did buy it in the end, and it’s pretty much the same as coffee scroll except without the coffee flavour)

The Gherkin (a.k.a. Butt Plug as I just found out reading that article) - Gin works in this building and as one of the priviledges she has access to the bar at the very top.

Here are some pics from a Friday night drinks session up there (the service is absolutely crap up there and the prices are a rip off).

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Given that I haven’t posted anything for a while, here’s a few words (and pictures.. sorry HP) on what I’ve been up to:

Turkey
Went to Istanbul over Easter. In short, worth the visit for a weekend if you haven’t been to Budapest or Egypt, but 4.5 days was just a bit long. Or if you’re going to be there for that long, go travel around Turkey a bit more. I hear it’s pretty in other parts as well (just don’t go too close to the Iraqi border though I guess…). Photos on my Facebook if you haven’t seen them yet.

London (general living)
Well and truly settled in now with the UK tax year just passing (they have it on April 5th), but the one pet hate to date still is British service. It’s so bad and we have so many stories about setting up phone lines, internet connections, etc that we thought about starting up a thread just to b!tch about it. The latest casualties have been Anh and Hay given that they’ve recently moved (they were crashing with us for a little while).

Here are some pics from our apartment on the Sunday when it snowed in London. It’s still been cold, but slowly warming up (hovering around 10 degrees during the day).

And finally…. Read the rest of this entry »

Guys, just some random pics from a couple of trips/ shows from last year. the cities should be pretty self explanatory for you geography buffs out there… enjoy

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Hey, I had an encounter with a famous person tonight! Mind you, I had no idea who he was tho… I just saw everyone taking pictures of him (actually I thought it was the girl who was famous initially) and I managed to get a picture with him. And unlike HP’s photos of FPEs, you CAN actually see him very clearly. This was all at the Indian restaurant while we were catching up with Phil.

Anyway, he (my man Amir ) is supposedly fighting tomorrow night.

Will have to wait until Anh gives me the photo before I can upload.

I’ve just put a deposit down for the London to Paris 2008….

2008 - A Quick Glimpse

Just when you were wondering what goal to set yourself for 2008, a dramatic new route is announced for the 3 day, 600km London-Paris Cycle Tour! If you need a new challenge, try this. Every year we introduce something new. Special for 2008 it is a “Classics” style route. Ever done a 200km stage, you have - good, so now try a 230 km stage, add some Paris-Roubaix cobbles and some steep gradients and you begin to get the picture.

Sound too hard core? Every year we have riders who push the boundaries far further than they believed possible. The satisfaction of achieving the impossible with friends that you have trained with for many months is indescribable, you may not be Nicole Cook or a TdF Pro but you sure get to know that great feeling of satisfaction and achievement. You will ride in a seeded group to match your ability.

Still not sure? Imagine riding like a Pro in the Tour de France, with rolling road closures, full service and mechanical support and your every need looked after. Just concentrate on the riding. No other amateur gets to experience this.This is a chance to meet other like minded riders from all over the world. The event is extremely sociable with 4 previous years of established camaraderie you will find riders who have completed every event and come back for more!

If 600km in three days sounds easy then riding in Group 1 will be right for you. Sean Kelly and Johan Museeuw thought it was hard! Think what it’s like whilst riding flat out on the Yellow Sections (GC Classification), Sprinter Teams leading out in the Green sections and the Mountain Goats ripping the legs on the Red Sections…..and well in between its pretty social!

The Facts

• The 5th Edition of the London-Paris Cycle Tour takes place from the 26-29 June 2008
• Cost of Entry is £649 (Food, Accommodation, Support, Ferry to France). Excluded is the Eurostar Return and bike repatriation to London which can be purchased separately.
• Registration Deposit is a £99 (non refundable).
• 2007 Riders get guaranteed entry whilst places are available (Mid November).
• Registration takes place late November.

P.S. Mr Admin, I need a new category… I will be living, breathing and sleeping in prep for this ride.

Just wishing everyone a safe and merry Christmas. I’m going to miss those Boxing Day BBQs…

What’s everyone up to for Chrissie?

Gin and I will be going over to Pete and Elaine’s place for dinner on Christmas day itself. We have a Secret Santa (that’s what they call them over here) with a limit up to £15. Zada and Hamish will also be there. I’ll try and take some pics and post them later. Other than that I have the next 5 days off! Yippee. Sleep-ins!