Want vs Need

Want: Subura Forester or Mitsubishi Outlander

Need: Corolla or Honda City

Price: $30-32k (want) vs $21-23k (Need)

Engine: 2.4L vs 1.5-1.8L

Fuel/100km: 9-9.5L vs 6.5-7.5L

I probably only need the 'want' car 20% of the time, if folks visit or I'm going biking/camping.

The 'need' car would probably suffice for 80% of my time.

I'm a logical person but when I pose the Qs to my hsemate, the reply was:

" you only live once.."

Its a write off

Here's a Christmas Lunch that the whole office is not gonna forget anytime soon.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/14/2770593.htm

Cyclone Lawrance was just passing through the gulf of Darwin but it brought along with it 250+mm of rain in 1 day (which is what we might have gotten in a month). Iwas having Christmas Lunch at the Vibe Hotel at the waterfront but next thing I know, the cars flash flooded.

I'm insured with AAMi but unfortunately, people down South just have no clues.

Me: I'd like to put in a claim for my vehicle that got flooded in a storm

AAMI: Oh, thats no good, was it raining

Me: Yes, it was (We've just got a freaking cyclone pass through)

AAMI: Were you trying to drive through it?

The hardest thing about the episode was that whenever a big 4WD decides to drive past, the wakes it creates from the water was just bobbing and hitting the semi floating cars against the kerb.

A friends Hyundai (parked behind me) and another driving a Mitsubishi Magna was written off straight away as the engine could not even start. But I was able to start and actually drive it off. So if you want a reliable car, I cannot recommend Toyota more than enough.

The Airbags electronics are located near the central console so even if I was able to drive off, the airbag circuit had actually been short-circuited. Most insurance will write it off as its too hard to repair electronics and its a safety issue. If I was to be involved in a accident, there is always the likelyhood that it will not deploy.

So here I am off to look for another car...

Gravity 12hr MTB race (Melbourne)

Went down to Melbourne's Apline regions for the annual Garvity 12hr bike race. Basically, the aim of the race is to complete the most number of laps within the 12hrs. I teamed up with a mate; Mihkel and entered as male pair.
Melbournians called it a heatwave that weekend, while me and Mihkel who flew down from Darwin called it great weather.

The day was fairly hot and dry but the nights were still freezing. Above; the guys discussing the pros/cons of hardtail vs a full suspension bike. I'm crap at the downhill sections but always catch up at the uphills.Pre race startThe fairies were out. He was in that outfit with the time trial helmut for most of the whole day!Mihkel before going out on his nightlap.

I was fine the whole day until my nightlap where I took a dive at one of the ditches. Could not see my bike line or path to take as I was going down. Next thing I know, I'm sprawling on the gravel. Just took some bark off the right knee cap.

Some facts:

600+ participants, 250+ teams; 4 male and female cubicles (equates to long q's at the toilet in the morning)

How I fared:

Team name: Mixed Nuts; 148th out of the 250+ teams and rank 19 within the male pair category.

So Mike, I was doing some free promotion with the Shimano Jersey, any luck for me on sponsorship?

Sydney 'Work' Trip

I think the guys still didnt believe I was in Sydney for a work trip.

Anyway, I was not in the best of shapes that night. The drug company wanted to fly me in overnight and expected me to attend a full day conference on Saturday and Sunday. I was also watching the Tour De France (live) in the night and survived with a few short blacks the next day.

There arnt many tickets/flights from Darwin so I flew via Adelaide to go Sydney. But that meant I could be there the night before. I even managed to catch up with an old friend/hsemate (Adiemus and Debbie) at the Adelaide Airport.
Siew was taking the pics but she was there as well. Am glad Serene could make it with Ed and Charlotte. Am sure Serene has more picts and things to blog about but perhaps getting to the computer is not so easy these days ;)

Top End Tour: Day 3

Day 3 was a more relaxing ride; no matter what I did, even if I contested all the King of the Mountain climbs and Town Sprints, it would not change my standing on the group. Here I am leading the group out but everyone was pretty relaxed to start.Attacking on one of the climbs up the hill

Me taking out Stage 5 of the race.

Group picture of the the winners from the various stages

Neighbour, good mate and oldest rider on the tour (turning 66 this year) which just goes to show age is no barrier.

Top End Tour: Day 2 Race

The order of the day for pretty similar on Day 2. A road race in the morning followed by a criterium in the afternoon. Good friend and one of the oldest rider on the Tour listening in on some race tactics....

Me in the Criterium

Top End Tour: Day 1 Road Race

After my experience at a 3 day road race, I'm starting to go beyond what people would call normal. My usual 40km road rides do not give me a kick anymore. The standard is now 85-100km on a saturday morning.
Anyway, here are some picts of the road race:
Day 1: 80km road race followed by 20km time trial in the afternoon.
Race brief in the morning. Hanging in 3rd place within the pack.

Here's what you get after a road race and lunch. Tired cyclist.

I never ever buy softdrinks and only drink them 'socially'. But I gulped finished a 1.25L within the hour.

The slow, slow walk to the start of the Time Trial

MIA..but getting stronger, fitter, faster

I had been busy recently with the Arafura Games which is held in Darwin every 2 years. It comes no where near the the prestige of the Commonwealth or even the South East Asian Games, but its a little something that Darwin is proud to hold. And I must say, the event attracts many developemental athletes from various countries. Here are some picts of the Criterium (an event where you race round a circuit to score points at specific sprinting points or at the end) in the city. The exercise physiologist I work with was racing so was there to support.I think I only mentioned this to Mike. 3-4 weeks ago, I competed in a Time Trial (basically you are on your own and race from point A to B in the fastest time). And guess what, my ego was bruised by 25sec (and alot longer after that) cos I lost to a guy turning 66 (more than twice my age) in 3 months time!!

At the end of the day, its time on the bike. And that's perhaps why Australia produces such great cyclist, cos there's nothing but vast open space/land.

Well, no more will my ego be bruised! Been training hard; clocked 85 km on the bike yesterday and another 50+km today and I dun feel sore at all. Gimme a bike tomorrow, and I'll be riding it. Taking part in a 80km road race next week and a 3 stage road race(http://topendtour.webs.com/) in June.

Foreign Concept

Hey, I just paid my dues and got my license to ride my bike. Been riding my bike since my secondary school days for tuition and just about anywhere and never with a helmut. But now, I have to get a license to ride. Now thats a concept I have to learn to accept.
"...we are pleased to advise...cover for all memebers 24/7, whenever they are on their bike..." Guess part of my memebership goes towards that as well.The second part goes on "...Cycling Australia promotes a zero tolerance of drugs in sport..the anti doping policy applies to everyone who particpates in cycling competition..."

Now, just where am I going to get the drugs from? I had been crook last week and just popped a couple of panadol and thought, problem solved. But I had this lingering sore throat that would not go away, and after doing a supermarket tour for clients last night, I practically lost my voice this morning. Never in my life have I lost my voice. I guess I was pushing it last night with the tour.
I am a firm believer in the body heals itself so I rocked up to work but the boss still wanted me to see the doc even when I was perfectly all right (just without sound).
Made an appointment with the Doc, rocked up, he looked at my throat, listen to my lungs, I indicated I had no coughing/headcold and next he goes, its phyringitis. Here, I'll write a prescription for some STEROIDS and that should clear it up. I have never been offered steroids in Singapore for any 'common' ailments. Frankly, its still sore throat to me, but there you go, I got my steroids. Now I wonder if that will make me go fasterrrrr...

Back to the rationale of why I needed the license. I have been doing the local criterium bike races every thursday night and unfortunately in Aus, you need a license to race. Above are just some of the usually fast suspects. The race is conducted on the V8 race track in Darwin so there's no issue with cars or potholes. Basically racing heaven.For Mike's interest, the average speed for 40-50km/hr for the first 4 laps, but I lost it towards the end. Maybe cos I didnt take my steroids...ha

Grade C was a little too easy so I went up to Grade B but as I mentioned, I got hammered by the second sprint.

http://www.darwincyclingclub.com/news/displaynews.php?id=1239276331

C Grade: 8 Riders:
First Sprint: Luke Hansen 1st; Graham Smith 2nd; Gerard Wong 3rd:
Final Sprint; Luke Hansen 1st; Graham Smith 2nd; Gerard Wong 3rd:

Zipp SL145

Good things come in little packages. This was never an option but I got some credit from my last purchase at Team Cyclist ( in the US) as it was their policy to price match and beat. I found one on the internet and needless to say, they honoured their claim.I needed a shorter stem and got the 100mm. Picture after I brought the bike in to the shop to have the excess fork steerer cut.
Notice the massively oversized stem/clamp area. One thing that drew me to the stem was Zipps claim of extreme stiffness. It may not matter to most, but for a small rider like me who practically pulls on the handlebars on climbs and sprints to squeeze out that extra bit of wattage, it matters.
On the old aluminium Avanti Corsa, stem flex/vibration were part of the daily ride order of the day. But going from that to the Pinarello stock MOST carbon, its been a delight. That was until I put the Zipps on. I guess its slightly biased as the 1cm drop does make a huge difference as well; I am finding that I am getting to ride more and more in a compact position.

In terms of weight; Ritchey 4Axis 100mm (116g)

Stock 'MOST' 110mm stem; (151g )
Zipp sl 145 100mm stem; (147g)

While the Ritchey wins hands down on weight, it is something I will not trade over for the stiffness of the Zipp's SL145. The former also exhibit more signs of flex as compare to the 'MOST' stem.

A day out on the harbour

The humidity drops, the air is crisp and fresh after a storm. Its the change in seasons for us. Only 2 to start with, the wet and the dry. You start to notice when you cannot get a table at your favourite restuarant without having to book. The tourist buses seem to be full and there is just generally more people than usual at Woolies. Anyway, it was a good time to get out on the harbour on my ex-bosses catamaran.

Housemate relaxing with a cold beer in hand.

Eat your fruits

As a dietitian, unfortunately you get top pecking order of being cc-ed into any and every fruit and vegetable joke. Here's one of them..

Cooked Out

Besides my Diabetes cooking class, I also work with young athletes. Part of keeping myself in the loop of Sport Nutrition. Do I make a killing? Not really. My books just about balances. Meaning I have a slight profit hopefully to keep the tax office happy.
The good thing about having your own business and ABN is that I could go buy a cookbook, new frypan and even dinner at a restuarant and call it work related expenses...
But, I'm pretty cooked out these days working the 2 jobs.

Strong Light CT2 and under-torque

Standard gearing 53/39 versus compack 50/34 cranks (which some traditionalist scoff at).
Frankly, I think the comapct ratio are a gem. Being 55kg and not very massive legs, I can hardly hold/pull the 53T for long. The only downside is the 34T combo which I find too low (unless I am cycling up the Pyrennes!). Thus, the 110 BCD makes it easier to change or upsize to a 38T. Spot anything wrong with the picture. I always thought over torque was bad but under torque can be worse. I didnt even notice anything until last weekends ride when I notice I had lost 3 of the 5 bolts holding the crank together! Here's the last surviving two.

Here's one area which I would not mind using steel bolts. The alloy inner bolts on the crank are already starting to round off.

Gore Ride On and Bontrager

With newer designs and wider and ever engorging bottom brackets, the front derailuer cable now has to thread through part of the frame. One of the criticisms of the design is that a small plastic sleeve is actually placed just when the cable curves up. Maintainance is an issue as dirt and gunk tend to built up much more easily.
Enter the Gore Ride On Sealed system with teflon cables which are said not to need lube during service. You can feel the 'teflon' immediately as you try to pull the cable to tension before screwing in the bolt clamp. Any difference in shifting? Not that I could notice, but I do not shift the front that often and the old cable arent that old to start with.The cable is pretty easy to install. Time needed: 30min max. The plastic sleeve runs all the way through.Cable/frame 'donuts' tend to slide up and down and congregate at an area after a while. Not much use. Install some Bontrager rubber sleeves/widgets on the outer cable.
Time needed: 20mins!! The are a pain to get onto the cable but once at the required location; DOES NOT MOVE.