I’ve been tossing up for some time whether or not to buy a mountain bike. The ingrained snobbery of a former road and track cyclist such as myself towards the fat tyre brigade kept me from even considering it for a long while but times have changed.
Mountain bikers have become as much a part of the road cycling scene as track riders, possibly more so recently and many people seem to complement their road riding with mountain bike riding nowadays so I hardly have a cause to maintain my ignorant grudge.
Linda has expressed an interest in going riding with me and she has a very nice bike herself but of course the speed differential between myself and her makes it impractical. So I have gradually come around to considering buying a mountain bike as my road machine is of course made for speed and I would feel a bit silly wobbling around on it trying to slow myself down so Linda could keep up with me and I felt a mountain bike would fit my needs better in such a situation.
I guess I also had an aversion to forking out money on another bike when I have a perfectly good one sitting in the shed but heck, what else do I spend my money on? I’m not about to abandon my road bike for good, not that I have used it much lately but that is something I hope to remedy when the weather gets warmer and after those black and white fiends finish their breeding season in the first half of spring.
I also have a hankering to do a ride down in North East Victoria for which I would need a machine which would travel over the dirt more comfortably than my Hillbrick racing bike.
Whitfield is a town out in the King Valley, a beautiful place for anyone who hasn’t traversed those parts. An old stomping ground of Ned Kelly and his relatives and about as historic as Australia gets.
There is a waterfall near there called Paradise Falls and I have always thought a ride out there from Whitfield would be a pleasant experience but I haven’t had the machinery to do it. A mountain bike would be essential.
Just a little fantasy I have had for a while but you never know, I may get around to it someday.
So tonight I bit the bullet and bought a mountain bike online. It’s a beautiful Bottechia and it’s lovely red, white and blue colours and attractive lines seduced me well enough for me to fork out a modest sum for it. I don’t know if it will meet all my needs but it will be enough for me to go riding with Linda on and that is good enough for an entry level machine such as this. I’m looking forward to getting hold of it.
I bought it online as the world seems to be going this way in regards to shopping and I have been so far out of the loop when it comes to cycling equipment that I couldn’t face going into a bike shop and trying to explain what I want and need to some pasty faced teenaged shop assistant who would then proceed to try and sell me some top of the line monstrosity which would break my bank balance.
So, the bike I bought seems fine for what I initially want to do and I will judge it’s performance on how it goes when I am in the saddle. I’m certain it will be a fine addition to the stable.
Speaking of cycling the Tour de France has reached it’s last weekend and will finish in Paris tomorrow night our time.
Every Tour de France is a spectacle and some of the racing this year has been good but it is not an edition that has reached any great heights and will not be remembered as a classic.
I am probably looking at it a through rose coloured glasses a little as our defending champ Cadel Evans hasn’t been able to defend his title and it will be taken, barring any miraculous misfortune, to, of all people, an Englishmen!
Bradley Wiggins and his Sky team have been far too strong for their opposition all year and the Tour has just continued this trend. They have suffocated the race using very conservative tactics and have in some ways been a throw back to the old US Postal team of Lance Armstrong and the tactics devised by him to win seven Tours straight.
This has lead to accusations of shenanigans regarding doping which Wiggins has vehemently denied in no uncertain terms using the foulest of language in international press conferences whilst denigrating cycling fans who dare to question his legitimacy as a champion.
There certainly is some cause for concern when a team dominates the sport as Sky have this year and the aggressive demeanour in answering these allegations certainly does make you wonder.
It’s been my observation over the years I’ve spent watching professional bike racing that if it looks unbelievable then it probably is. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.
I won’t make any specific allegations but I do believe this victory has set the sport back ten years in the fight against doping. It would be naive to think that there are many clean riders in the Tour at any time in any year but as a cycling fan I don’t like the dirty side of the sport to become as apparent as I believe it has this year. I don’t like it being chucked in my face so blatantly. They are just my thoughts and I hope I am wrong. But I doubt it.
So, before I retire for the night I may just tune in and watch a bit of the Tour, get my last fill for the year as I don’t think I will sit up tomorrow night and watch the coronation of the new champion. A Pommie winning the Tour? We will never hear the end of it!
Have a good night.
Mountain bikers have become as much a part of the road cycling scene as track riders, possibly more so recently and many people seem to complement their road riding with mountain bike riding nowadays so I hardly have a cause to maintain my ignorant grudge.
Linda has expressed an interest in going riding with me and she has a very nice bike herself but of course the speed differential between myself and her makes it impractical. So I have gradually come around to considering buying a mountain bike as my road machine is of course made for speed and I would feel a bit silly wobbling around on it trying to slow myself down so Linda could keep up with me and I felt a mountain bike would fit my needs better in such a situation.
I guess I also had an aversion to forking out money on another bike when I have a perfectly good one sitting in the shed but heck, what else do I spend my money on? I’m not about to abandon my road bike for good, not that I have used it much lately but that is something I hope to remedy when the weather gets warmer and after those black and white fiends finish their breeding season in the first half of spring.
I also have a hankering to do a ride down in North East Victoria for which I would need a machine which would travel over the dirt more comfortably than my Hillbrick racing bike.
Whitfield is a town out in the King Valley, a beautiful place for anyone who hasn’t traversed those parts. An old stomping ground of Ned Kelly and his relatives and about as historic as Australia gets.
There is a waterfall near there called Paradise Falls and I have always thought a ride out there from Whitfield would be a pleasant experience but I haven’t had the machinery to do it. A mountain bike would be essential.
Just a little fantasy I have had for a while but you never know, I may get around to it someday.
So tonight I bit the bullet and bought a mountain bike online. It’s a beautiful Bottechia and it’s lovely red, white and blue colours and attractive lines seduced me well enough for me to fork out a modest sum for it. I don’t know if it will meet all my needs but it will be enough for me to go riding with Linda on and that is good enough for an entry level machine such as this. I’m looking forward to getting hold of it.
I bought it online as the world seems to be going this way in regards to shopping and I have been so far out of the loop when it comes to cycling equipment that I couldn’t face going into a bike shop and trying to explain what I want and need to some pasty faced teenaged shop assistant who would then proceed to try and sell me some top of the line monstrosity which would break my bank balance.
So, the bike I bought seems fine for what I initially want to do and I will judge it’s performance on how it goes when I am in the saddle. I’m certain it will be a fine addition to the stable.
Speaking of cycling the Tour de France has reached it’s last weekend and will finish in Paris tomorrow night our time.
Every Tour de France is a spectacle and some of the racing this year has been good but it is not an edition that has reached any great heights and will not be remembered as a classic.
I am probably looking at it a through rose coloured glasses a little as our defending champ Cadel Evans hasn’t been able to defend his title and it will be taken, barring any miraculous misfortune, to, of all people, an Englishmen!
Bradley Wiggins and his Sky team have been far too strong for their opposition all year and the Tour has just continued this trend. They have suffocated the race using very conservative tactics and have in some ways been a throw back to the old US Postal team of Lance Armstrong and the tactics devised by him to win seven Tours straight.
This has lead to accusations of shenanigans regarding doping which Wiggins has vehemently denied in no uncertain terms using the foulest of language in international press conferences whilst denigrating cycling fans who dare to question his legitimacy as a champion.
There certainly is some cause for concern when a team dominates the sport as Sky have this year and the aggressive demeanour in answering these allegations certainly does make you wonder.
It’s been my observation over the years I’ve spent watching professional bike racing that if it looks unbelievable then it probably is. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.
I won’t make any specific allegations but I do believe this victory has set the sport back ten years in the fight against doping. It would be naive to think that there are many clean riders in the Tour at any time in any year but as a cycling fan I don’t like the dirty side of the sport to become as apparent as I believe it has this year. I don’t like it being chucked in my face so blatantly. They are just my thoughts and I hope I am wrong. But I doubt it.
So, before I retire for the night I may just tune in and watch a bit of the Tour, get my last fill for the year as I don’t think I will sit up tomorrow night and watch the coronation of the new champion. A Pommie winning the Tour? We will never hear the end of it!
Have a good night.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 