Viva Le Tour

We sat up until 2am this morning cheering as Cadel Evans tried hard but fell just short in the final time trial of the Tour de France. A shame, but I think with his effort Contador showed himself to be a worthy champion. It must be tough for Cadel being 23 seconds down with one day to go, knowing it's unlikely he's going to be able to make it up. Still, 2nd in the Tour de France isn't bad - the best result ever for an Australian.

Of course there are some true champions in France at the moment getting ready for a real test of a rider's character. Bring on the PBP!

Inspired by both I finally got my Round the Bay in a Day entry in. I've entered to 250km Legends Ride. As usual, I'm too late to get the 'free' jersey, which really gives me the shits. The entry fee is $125. The event is not until October 21, you'd think they could make the jerseys available for a little longer. Either that or drop the price for people who aren't getting a jersey. It's not as if you get much for the money except the the right to ride on public roads, a woeful cut lunch and a ferry trip across the heads. If it wasn't for the fact I had a few mates riding and I want to enjoy a day out with them, I wouldn't bother. Yet another reason I don't join Bicycle Victoria.

My first post in 20 days, sadly it reflects the amount of riding I've been doing. The excuses end when the alarm goes of at 7am tomorrow. I've found the showers at work, organised a locker and the bike is ready to go.

3,544km so far this year.

Riding the web.

It's still quite cold outside and I've just started a new job, so the only riding I'm doing is 2km each way from the car to the office morning and night on the single speed. It's great fun zooming down the long downhill that is Macquarie Street in Hobart in my suit, darting in and out of the peak hour traffic enjoying the odd looks I get. Less fun is the uphill ride back to the car with the 42X18. Mrs Surly and I managed to sneak in a ride to Huonville today so I've racked up a mighty 50km for the week. This week will be better!

Cold weather means more time surfing the web than riding. Someone recommended Dave Moulton's site, which has turned out to be both entertaining and informative. His ten commandments for road riding are solid gold. Number nine made me laugh:

• The meek shall inherit the earth. Blingy equipment that is lighter than an anorexic butterfly, will not substitute for miles in your legs.

So true. I've also been jealously enjoying the blogs by bikejournal buddy Amy and Mike as they prepare for the Paris Brest Paris. Next time I will be there, I promise.

In other news, husky65 has has passed me on bikejournal.com after threatening for a while. Well done. And, somewhat surprisingly this, is my 100th post. I hope writing for a living isn't going to reduce my zeal. Not so sure I like the look of bikeradar, who've taken over bikley though.

Photo top left shows me aged about 19 with some mates who used to race together in a team we called 'The Bumblebees'. I'm on the bike, front right.

3,343km so far this year.