Tonight, dusk, Westerfolds Park, in the CARPARK I crashed my MTB!  Showing off, I thought I'd ride through a pothole.  Front suspension was still locked out, front wheel goes in hole, bike stops.  I don't.  Right over the handlebars!
DOH!

That'll learn me to showboat!  Neil would indeed be proud, nice gouge in thigh from pedal I think, no damage to knicks, save for a bit of blood staining (rinsed out now, all good ...).  It's only superficial damage, not enough to warrant a bit of Mefix, but it does sure sting in the shower. 

I did get up the steep hill that I normally have to bail out and walk up though, and recovered from overcooking it into a tight corner with a bit of front wheel sliding(w00t!), so it wasn't a disaster of a ride.

I ordered one of these today, for winter night MTB fangs.  It'll be just like the old days with the old rally car, but cheaper and colder.  Mmmm, cross-training ...

Myself and a couple of other aboc'ers (Richard Grace & Nathan Larkin) piggybacked onto a Blackburn training session at DISC last night.  I'm not a real tracky, just using track as a bit of cross training and intensity work for road, but wanted to have a look at the place anyway.

First impression (I've seen track racing at Vodafone before, but never from a rider's eye perspective), wow ... that's .. um ... steep.
42 degree angle I think?  And wooden boards .. slippery? 

John Nicholson's advice - don't go slow!  Ok!

So I roll around the flat bottom of the track, looking up, work up a bit of speed and courage, and then pop up onto the track proper.  The first time around the bank I'm up on the blue line, and looking down ... it's a long way down!  I don't think I've been this tense on a bike ever?  Keep pedaling ... hold the line ... relax your hands ... ok ... made it around a lap.  I do a couple more laps up on the blue line, not daring to change lines, now, how do I get off the track?! 

On the flatter straight, I slow the bike as much as I can and drop down onto the duckboards. hoping the concrete surface will give enough grip.  It does, and I survive unscathed.  Back to the pits and relax for a few minutes.  Lucie's taking some photos, Richard is equally wired by the experience.  Nathan seems as cool as can be.

We do a few more laps, and work up a bit of speed, at one point I'm laying off the back of a rolling paceline and keeping my distance from them, HR up into high E2/low E3, and feeling the bike squat down into the banking around the corners.  This is kinda fun, but I'm not game to look around much or change lines just yet.  Next time, I think, my shot nerves are done for today.

We help the pursuit teams with timing and holding for a few of their practice runs, and that's it for the night.

I'm riding to Glenvale on Sunday morning, big tailwind down Springvale Rd, doing around 44km/h down the hill towards Wellington Rd.  There's a rider on the left doing maybe 30?  I scoot past, she's wearing a CCCC jersey, must be on her way to Glenvale too ... cool, if she wants, I guess she can suck some wheel.  My speed is considerably greater than hers, so I don't say anything as i go past, not that I necessarily would, I don't recognise her, just some random roady.

So I'm stopped at the lights at Wellington Rd, and she rolls up, and proceeds to ask me just exactly why I didn't say hello to her.  A little taken aback, I pause, and suggest that I was going a lot faster than her and didn't think to say anything.   She looks unimpressed and rides off when the lights change, sure enough, to Glenvale.

What's with that?  Do I somehow owe her something because we're both on bicycles?  Often I'll say hi to someone on the road if I feel like it, but when I'm going somewhere, and there's a big difference in speed, why would I? and what gives her the right to suggest that I should?