After a disastrous sickness and injury ridden last four weeks leading up to the Solo 24hr World Championships, I jumped at the chance to ride to the coast again in an effort to get some kilometres into my legs, 180 of them to be precise. Bec, Andre, Ed and I followed virtually the same route as when we did the C2C 200 in July.

(Now, because I'm lazy and not very smart I'm going to tell this story without utilising any place names other than Canberra, where we embarked, and Moruya, where we concluded our journey. If you really want to know check the previous blog entry or look at the map......sorry for any inconvenience.)

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So I started at my house, bright and early. In fact, surprising bright and early considering it was 5:30am and I had no need for lights; a welcome surprise after a long, dark and cold winter. There was still some mist and a chill in the air that warranted some cold weather garb though.

Before we departed we consulted Confucius in that place near the bike shop, interestingly he said two things.

Firstly, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves", which kind of concerned me as this gave me a fifty fifty chance of survival. Luckily he also said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do". This statement came to make more sense when Bec crashed just before lunch......

We eventually weaved our way out of town and caught a glimpse of freedom through the mist.
It was a relief to be on the dirt, less traffic and a more enjoyable ride for all. We journeyed through some forests and over some hills, and a bridge.
After a lot of dirt road and some great scenery we caught a glimpse of the most anticipated destination so far, the valley that has the pub in it. When ascending the big hill Bec decided that she would test her Confucianism and see if she would indeed get up every time she fell. She only did it once but stood good to her word, albeit a little bloody.

It was a lunch of champions for myself and Bec (beer and pies), while at the 'other' table they enjoyed energy drinks.....need I say more?
Back on the bikes we endured what is perhaps the hardest 60km of the journey. Incessant rolling and dead road, only punctuated by the small section of road-works we were forced to navigate by foot.
Soon enough we were on the coastal fringe and back in civilisation. We enjoyed a beer and some chocalate milk in the park before completing the journey to the beach. Note: Bec chose to accept a lift from Phil for the last fiver or so kilometres, so technically did not ride the 'Canberra to Coast'.
Just across the road from out destination, the Dolphin Beach Holiday Village, was a pristine beach of white sand and rolling waves. Well worth the ride.
Claire and Joel had riden the previous day and Claire offered to cook her prized Risotto, to say it hit the spot is an understatement. We enjoyed beer and great conversation before an early to-bed. Joel and Ed may very well still be riding while I write this, I took the easy option and spent the morning exploring with Rach who drove down to the coast for dinner, the Braidwood food stop on the way home was well appreciated.

Looking forward to next time, always a great ride, and especially enjoyable when done at leisure!
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Another great arvo on the hard court. A few of us significantly under the weather but still keen to get half a dozen games under our belts.
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That time of year again, Floriade. Although, to be truthful I haven't been since 1998 or so, haven't missed much by the looks of it. So I decided to do something different and have a try at black and white photography at a festival built around colours. There's something kind of alien about what came out of it all.
Then it was off to Adam's for wine and cheese. I brought a dead fish. I also may have sprained my ankle trying to ride Ben's freak-bike......and may have had a lie down part of the way through the night........great times!
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Spent another couple of days in Melbs. Went berzerk with the new Canon AE-1. So easy to take photos in that city, especially when the full four seasons arrive in one afternoon.
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It all started at a bar and ended at a bar. Way back at the beginning of 2010 Mike got us all together for the first of the meetings that would end in the Canberra One Gear Society (COGS) hosting the Singlespeed Nationals. Of course not even the society existed back then so there was a long way to come.
The weekend however, started with an alleycat I pulled together to show off the best of the Nation's capital, a beautiful place to ride at night. A wet and wintry day left us all a little concerned about just how bearable Canberra was going to be for the weekend, but like an act of God the weather cleared literally minutes before the scheduled meeting time at Olim's, it remain that way for the rest of the weekend.

As for the alleycat; well, some made it out of Olim's, some made it passed the Wig & Pen, and some didn't make it anywhere, enjoying the ales on offer at the start line. Points were obviously awarded for those who completed the cat, but Woody et al proved their mettle by devouring one of each beer at the Wig, so were awarded full points. The night ended far beyond midnite for a few of us, something we paid dearly for the next day.
But what a day! Blue skies, singlespeeders, bikes, beer, trails and bands.....that about sums it up.

It began with a Hill Climb and gee those bikes looked clean, the last time they'd be that way for the weekend. The last few weeks of rain had soaked sections of the trail but left the rest as perfect hard packed single. Much loss of breath resulted from the 10 minute climb to the top of the forest.
Then it was the Time Trial, a deadly section of trail named Auto Alley; one of my favorites on a good day but I was glad to be wielding my camera that day, still well under the weather. I think the trail took a lot of people by surprise but all were impressed with the quality of the trail and the challenge it offered.
It may seem as though I'm skipping over the important stuff, but honestly I've seen and done a lot of racing in my days, what I was waiting for was the serious stuff; which began with the 16" crits! There is not a person on earth who would not find enjoyment in watching full grown human beings ride tiny bicycles, circuses have been doing it for years only they train on the things and get paid to look slightly retarded. The carnage began immediately and continued 'til the bikes were neatly stacked ready for the skid comp.
Garth was very nearly run over as he successfully skidded out of sight and toward the highway, leaving most of us wondering whether or not his rear wheel was actually on the ground. Events soon turned to demonstrations of upper body strength with the Huffy Toss and then the canines raced the big wheelers in the Husky Race.
The Coopers (over forty cartons provided by the Adelaide brewer) flowed all day, then as the daylight began to fade the temperature came down and the volume went up. Mal decided to let us hold our party in the back of the shop. Three fantastic bands, concluding with Hancock Basement, played the night away. Parking was limited so the bikes were racked, standing space was limited so the roof was the place to be.
Another horrid morning for most, those who camped at Majura were lucky enough to only have to roll out of bed and they were at the start line. Once Mike had the crowd under control he released them for the warm up, a bike hunt. Bec and I had hidden a purple pedal machine in the forest (maybe submerged in a dam) and the first to find it would take all. It was a very happy punter that felt the cold water between his toes.

Of course it was then the main event, the XC. There was lots of riding through the forest....yep....but then there was.....
.....the beer tent. Each lap had a short cut (the beer tent) through which you needed to devour one of our cool ales, provided by a friendly blonde behemoth.

I headed out for some photos and to watch some of the carnage and mud, but soon found myself in the same place as most. Some never made it past the tent. That's true endurance!!
The formalities were short and sweet with ridiculous amount of sponsor shwag being given to winners, participants and the brave. I do however think that the overall winners, Aiden and Anna, had neglected to reed the fine print.
Overall winners would be marked for life. Reluctantly it seems, they were taken away;  the next time we saw them we were enjoying after event beers at the Old Canberra Inn, and they were plastic covered and inked.
It all seems like a dream; a haze of bikes, beer, mud, friendly people and perhaps most importantly, perfect weather. One of those event I hope to be at every year no matter where beer is at. It all started at a bar and ended at a bar.

Of course Mike needs to be acknowledged for his skill in pulling together a bunch of side-tracked, mostly drunk, generally exhausted, ramshackle singlespeeders to bring about a full weekend of festivities with not a hint of tragedy (besides a stolen bike, but Wil was given the free On-One so he's on his way back to a full ride). And of course Canberra now has a new organisation - COGS lives! And, once we've recovered from the weekend, will be seen back on the trail with more beer fueled mud, sweat and single-gears!
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A few from film. 09/13/2010
 
Just a few of my favourites from the last couple of rolls of film.

Some 35mm.
And some 6x6.
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