peugeot fixation

i still have it and grinder bikes have kinda re-kindled my love affair. i need to have a serious think about the best peugeot bike for me at this point. i have two and i need to focus on what will work best.
an ultimate dream would be to just build/convert bikes for people.
some more grinder peugeots here:
01 - the lugs look great, but she looks very lazy
02 - almost the same as the melbournien
03 - karen needs one of these
04 - clean, very clean
05 - the go fast model
06 - a tie fave with the image above

there are more. just change the jpg name...

+ how to tighten a sprocket. i would just protect the bb though. could scratch the be-jesus out of it

fixed vimeo

Taco Tuesday :: Photography Ride from Kong on Vimeo.

love the titles...

a link

29ers
\\end of line

Classic!

note to self, don't bunny hop if not necessary, and always take a firm grip on the bars

puch gone, dirty 50 a week away

the puch sold. i am so amazed, i still remember walking up the driveway with the puch over my should and karen on the deck say "you, what is that???!!!!" and being cranky. well for $78.50 whos cranky now! no-one.
now what to do with my hard earned cash!

the dirt works is only a week away and i am a little nervous about it all. i still don't have a functioning MTB and i haven't had any really training. the front derailluer is on its way, lets hope it arrives monday and i can try and install it myself, if not it will be off to the LBS.
i rode tarini to winmalee on thursday, day off as karen was ill, and got a flat just before the shops. i locked him up and walked back home. bloody road tires! i did however get a 20km+ ride in today on him so i am trying to keep up some kind of riding schedule. 20km isn't much but i did push hard on the hills etc.

jas and i will travel together. hes on the 100km so we can camp close to the track start line, as should nick and his brother be able to. i will take the camera to try and get some shots after i finish. can't wait. its going to be hard but lots of fun. weather is very iffy again. i will probably pick up some gels and electrolites etc if i can before the race.

rapha

bruce just showed me how to drop about $1000 in 20 secs on riding gear. rapha gear is the shit. but the price will cause pain

geek house track bikes

Andrew Complete 3, originally uploaded by Geekhousebikes.

there is something about the geek house bikes i like. i know they are a bit "trendy" but i would still love to have one.

puch temp build

i found this puch frame at the tip. again the bloody size is annoying. just way to small for me. lovely frame though. reynolds 501 so nice and light. tight geometry. if you like it you can find it on ebay right now.

i built it up as a temporary fixed gear as an example for the ebay ad. i would love to keep it rip the puch stickers off etc.

i seem to be able to find bikes but not yet the right size. hears hoping my day will come and i find a correct size great from for me... not ebay

i have more images of it on photobucket, i only use photobucket for ebay.

you may notice the dirty marks on our house front door. thats from kasey trying to get in the front door if she is left on the deck

i love my wife

waters edge, originally uploaded by ukalipt.

shes just beautiful

452 !

452 !, originally uploaded by ukalipt.

i raced. i took scottie down to yellomundee and raced. it was unreal. i had such a good time. the night befores sleep was great which i think always helps. scottie was in 95% condition and i wasn't because i hadn't had a ride all week. as it turns out i did really well but i am not happy with my results - if that makes any sense.

for the first time every scottie let me down. i hate to blame the bike but he really didn't do me any favours on the day. going down the hill to the track i had a solid plan of attack for the race and i think it would have worked perfectly if scottie handn't let me down. [still love him though].  i know i could probably move up to C class already but i was pressed for time as we were going on holidays after the race and we had a 3.5hr drive ahead of us so 2 laps would leave just enough time.

my plan was to attack the race early, then sit with whom ever was out in the front and see how i could pace myself against them [from the D class i entered]. in total there were 18 riders in D class. we started last which i was quiet happy with. i took off from mid to back of the pack and pretty much sat back for the first .5-1km. from memory i overtook 2 guys in that first section. as soon as we hit a hill i overtook almost all of D class. it was a bit hard to tell but i think i was in either 1st to 3rd by about the 1.75km mark. problem was i didn't know the track and i actually took a wrong turn. only to have 4-5 guys pass me as i u-turned to get back on the right path. not long after that mistake i over took 2 or 3 of the guys who had just passed me and thats when scottie let go...

i don't really know exactly what happened but it seemed as though i had gone over a bump or log/rock of some description and the chain came off. the whole drive chain stopped so i had to pull over. again a few guys over took me as i was putting the chain back on. once on i tried to start pedaling again but the pedals half turned then seized... i was quiet disorientated at this point not really understanding what was going on with the bike and i was more concerned about the leaders getting away from me. i had to stop and focus on the mechanic problem i was experiencing... the front derailluer was basically fucked and bent so badly it was hitting the crank arm and not allow it to turn. i bent it back quickly and took off. the noise was really bad from the chain rubbing on the front derailluer so i stopped again to sort it out. by this time my race was pretty much over with only one guy behind me.

i realised i could no longer fix the issue and would just either have to pull out or ride scottie in the state he was in... so the later was the only choice. after about another 2km i also had come to the realisation i no longer had the middle or smaller chainring on the front cogs - which wasn't good. i had tried twice to gear down but nothing was right at the front so i just forced the chain back onto the top ring and left it there for the remainder of the race. on the second lap i did also have to stop and have a leak, so 20+ seconds was consumed doing that as well.

it was difficult to go up hills and now realise i had started a little to hard. not having raced before that kind of distance i think i will in future not go out as hard, more just keep up with the frontish pack and slowly peck away at them.

in all i did achieve what i set out to do. finish in the top half of D class, coming in a respectable 8th out of 18 starters [15 finished with 3 DNF's in D class]. 

my times were

lap 1: 34:40 - lap 2: 33:50

the guy that came 4th's times were 33:07 - 33:36 | so with those times i could have been in 4th place.

overall i am happy.. and i have just purchased this on ebay.

next stop, dirtworks in two weeks

work deck

work deck, originally uploaded by ukalipt.

preparing scottie for the RND 2 XC - meeting at yellomundee tomorrow. not a lot needed to be done, tires swapped from the slicks i road to the city on, smallish front derailuer adjustment, removing lights etc.

rock n roll'd the chain, and placed 3bar - 42ish PSI in the tires. i will start in D class and i am hoping to finish in the top half of the pack - i would be ecstatic to be in the top 10 but "tell him he's dreaming" is on faint voice in the back of my mind.

NOS presta on for good luck

... my portfolio

bodysnatchers

i have seen the "real" version of this. its actually an educational video

Rnd 2 - Yellomundee n Blackmans

i am going to compete this weekend in Rnd 2 of the wsmtb on sunday morning. i will be in D class for sure and it will possibly be only 2 laps so i am going to go so hard it will hurt.

i am also on the case learning CSS. i want to redesign the blackmans website then present to them the designs and do a contra deal and get a bike. design will follow soon

Central tarini

Central tarini, originally uploaded by ukalipt.

Day 2 of semi permanent - and tarini begins the journey home. I believe he enjoyed the city adventures