The previous video was a tad on the boring side, so I spent a little bit of time playing around with Movie Maker on the train and came up with this…

Where can I find some royalty backing tracks I wonder…

So I received an email last night, asking if I’d be interested in assisting the local paper in an article about Eastlink. Being a local paper, I’d guess that this would have a few quotes from me about how I love to ride my bike on the trail that runs alongside, accompanied by a photo.

One problem though…

I don’t actually like the trail that much [1].

So I think I might have to give this great media opportunity a miss. It’s probably not the feel good news that the local paper is after. None the less, I’ve had a think about how I could put a postive spin on things…

Eastlink – One Year On

As the one year anniversary of the opening of the Eastlink Tollway approaches, the Journal has asked local residents for their opinions of the facility. We approached a wide cross-section of individuals to see how their lives have been impacted by Eastlink.

Saves money Rob, 42, Park Orchards

I have a holiday house down on the Mornington Penninsular and Eastlink saves me around $4 in petrol compared to driving my Land Crusher down Springvale Road and it’s great that they cap the tolls at $4.96. It’s also excellent how all of the freeways out of the city now funnel into that narrow stretch of highway behind Frankston.

Fun for young… Scott, 8, Ringwood North

I like how the little tag beeps when we go through the gates. But why are you asking me? I can’t drive yet…

… and old. Ethel, 87, Ringwood

Oh it’s wonderful that they’ve opened the freeway just outside my back window. I just love to sit near the kitchen window in the afternoons counting all the colourful cars as they go past. Can you believe that I saw a whole 16 cars go past over 2 hours yesterday afternoon?

Delivers recreational facilities… HYG, 28, Ringwood

As a keen recreational and some-time competitive cyclist, the Eastlink Trail has opened up massive opportunities for me. Firstly the designer of the Mullum Mullum trail has done an amazing job creating a location for hill intervals. As you can see from the photo (inset), the gradients of the hills provide me the perfect opportunity to max my HR while more recreational trail users, such as the mother with the child seat on her bike in the background, must walk their bikes up the hills, keeping them well out of my way. Also, the inclusion of wooden bridges which never really dry out due to the dampness of the gorge, ensures that the trail is kept clear for me as it sends other trail users sliding off into the bushes.

However, it is not just this component of the trail which the designers must be applauded for. Other components such as the long expanses of straight path that run alongside the road in the southern reaches of the trail provide an excellent location for me to test my aerodynamic profile and maximum speed. It was an excellent choice to avoid diverting the path through a more scenic route, as this ensures that I am able to focus on my training goals (I hit 48km/hr on the trail the other day!) for sustained HR at time trial effort.

Furthermore, while other trail users see the delays in building road overpasses as an inconvenience, I have turned these into an opportunity. These construction sites have, over the last 12 months, provided excellent locations for me to test my skills on the mountain bike. Bumps and ruts that I’d normally have to travel to the bush for can now be found at my doorstep. Hub deep gravel and sharp, unmarked drop offs where the trail enters the construction site ensure that I always stay loose on the bike.

Great work Eastlink!

Do you reckon they’ll publish it?

[1] I say “that much” because I will concede that they have actually built a bike trail that effectively links my house to my girlfriend’s place… that would be the one saving grace.

Interesting discovery today – road rash and express lifts don’t mix.

Limped my way into the lift this morning, which runs express to the stratosphere where my desk is. As the lift blasted off, I felt the usual increase in gravity and change in air pressure, followed by a swell of pain in my left leg.

Something like my left shin being on fire.

Ouch…

For the most part, Melbourne is a great place to ride. Decent weather. Wide roads. Hills that are manageable around town. Bigger hills to test yourself just out of town. Sure there are some things I could complain about, but for the most part, I love riding around Melbourne.

There is one thing I could do without however…

Tram tracks…

Ouch…

What is it with MTB videos that make them look so slow? Even DH videos, when taken from onboard the bike, somehow manage to look kinda slow and tame. Yet, I maintain that it FEELS fast when I’m riding through some twisty bit of singletrack and that I could defnitely pedal harder, but choose not to because of the upcoming corner or log.

Okay, I admit it, I’m very average in the techy stuff.

Time to go for a road ride and get some speed going…

Who says home videos are out of fashion?

Stunning day for a ride around the Yarra Trails…

Finally getting up to building a set of wheels for a project that I’ve been working on for a few months.

How excitement.

First set of nine. Flip it over.

Second set of nine. Feed some spokes through.

Third set of nine. Cross some and do them up

Fourth set of… eight?

What the?!

Where’s my last spoke!!?!

*phones the shop*

What? Won’t get another spoke until Tuesday!??!?!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…

In amongst all of my late-Autumn-Spring cleaning, I’ve discovered that I actually have a bit of a project backlog. Things to tinker with or fix, which I’ve never really finished – half complete bikes, wheel giblets and all sorts of other little things.

So I’ve decided that as part of this late-Autumn-Spring clean, I’m also going to clear this backlog of projects and reclaim a bit of garage space.

On top of that, I’ve decided that I’m going to try and do it with a budget of $0. That means that if I need to buy any parts for any of the projects, I’ll be doing it out of the money I get from sellings other bits.

This could take a while…

Finally managed to fix that annoying little creaking sound on my road bike and confirmed it on the commute today.

As it turns out, it was the seat post, which was completely bone dry and grease free.

How did that happen? I’m sure I greased it when I put it in.

Anyway, a good layer of grease later, a clean of the collar and clamp and we’re good to go.

Of course, it rained on the commute today, which no doubt means that I’ll have a host of new creaks to deal with by the end of the day.

The other morning, as usual, I woke to the annoyingly insistent sound of my bedside alarm clock. I reached over to turn off the alarm and in the process knocked two chain tensioners off my bedside table, to the floor, which landed on a pile of bike magazines.

It made me realise something…

My precious…

I’ll admit it…

I’m a hoarder.

Being a bit of a DIYer, I have over the years, collected a decent collection of left over bike bits. This collection includes stems, handlebars, chainrings, bottle cages, rear racks and bolts. Don’t ask me why I have left over bolts. I try not to think too hard about that fact while I’m rattling down a rocky singletrack.

These bike bits somehow manage to spread themselves out to all rooms of my small two bedroom unit. This can be handy because it means I’ve always got something to play with while I watch TV or eat dinner. Of course, the flip-side of this is when I need to explain to my friends why there are black grease stains in the kitchen… or worse, the toilet.

(To people I’ve built wheels for : don’t worry, I didn’t build them while doing a number two)

Grand sale! Grand sale!

So I’ve decided that it’s time to clear the books, get rid of some parts and finish off all of the projects that I’ve left half completed.

So keep your eyes peeled – specials coming for wurple.net readers.