Category: Bikes

Sand is fkn hard to ride in. No two ways about it. I’ve tried dropping the tyre pressure in my 2.1 Kenda Nevegals to between 17 and 20 psi and even with the increase tyre bag it’s still fkn hard work peddling over sand. Frustration set in after my last training ride and I decided to come home and do some research on the net.. The Surly 1×1 has massive tyre clearance which got me to thinking ‘how big a tyre could I run?’… A quick hunt about on Google presented the above image ^^^ a Surly 1×1 Minnesota ‘Snow Bike’. The Minnesota locals have to suffer snow for months and months on end and have adapted their bikes to suit the local conditions. These fellas use the Surly ‘large marge’ rim (65mm wide) with Nokian 3.0 tyres to ‘float’ over the snow. To fit these huge wheels they cut off the v-brake lugs to improve clearance in the fork arch and rear stays. This might be a tad more extreme solution than I was looking for but I’m thinking about trying a wider rim and maybe using my old DH tyres, the 2.7 Maxxis Minions to see if I can get anymore float. Might also experiment with Sammies 650b wheelset..

     

Whoa! This is one of the hottest vintage rides I’ve ever seen!! Pimp as fk! The owner claims it to be his Great-great Grandad’s ride, whipped up in 1896 outta cast aluminium! Still rollin’ on the original 27′ wooden tubular rims and skip tooth pitch chain. The lamp is a sweet brass kerosene number, I’d love to know what sort of illumination it would provide on the road ahead.. HID 1890’s style? Haha, nah. It’s got me so pumped for a full resto job… Think I’ll send my Dad around to Frunks Shed to pick up that Massey-Harris..

   

Training takes on a whole new dimension out here. You need water and lots of it. You discover that you can run tyres at 17psi. You eat alot of flies. You’ll discover that sand is hard to pedal through. Cycling in 42c is an option you accept as it is the ONLY option ever on the table. Training hurts alot more in the outback. Bring on winter I say..

     

Yep, airline tickets are booked and paid for, so is the campervan and the entry fees.. Benny and Mishmash are taking the Bottles and Chains singlespeed roadshow across the ditch to compete in the 2009 New Zealand Singlespeed Championships in Rotorua on the North Island. I’m sure the Kiwis will be able to throw a good shin-dig and we’ll be taking the skills learnt at the 2008 Australian Singlespeed Championships with us (thanks Neil).. so we should be able to hold our own (fingers crossed).

Take a quiz @ the event for yourself.. http://www.nzsinglespeeds.com/

Benny did it again.. Producing the goods for the B’n’C coffers @ Hobarts ‘Bikes and Spikes’ Carnival for the second year running.

Standard pre race prep was undertaken, a +3hr dance off Saturday night @ Jibbo, Tommy, Disco and Dookies combined 30th party washed down with a carton of larger and a few flutes of champy for style and I was race ready (that is with a dry mouth, throbbing head and cramped legs). Didn’t do so well in the wheelrace heats, the sprint derby or even the Kieran but it was the C Grade Scratchie that Track Coach Hunners and I had targetted and produced the desired results in..

I was feeling tired after my 4 earlier races and Coach Hunnibell decided I needed an energy drink before my next race to er, ‘pep’ me up a tad. My Mama wasn’t too impressed when Hunners handed me a cold beer, she suggested that I better put it away as my race was coming up next.. so I did. I dont think she quite meant for me to ‘put it away’ in the manner it was put away..

The scratchie started badly with my left shoe unclipping from the pedal, so whilst I faffed around clipping in again the peleton rode away leaving me to close a 30m gap. Argh. Cach Hunners and the Praties/Dirt Devils crew gave me all the ah, ‘encouragement’ needed to bring the gap and they suggested that I employ the signature ‘Storer’ manouever to try a win a few of the sprint laps..

 

I took the boys advice and sprinted away from the peleton, holding a 50m gap from the lead riders for the next 5 laps.. Each sprint lap was worth the princely sum of $10! As I crossed the line to take out the 1st and 2nd sprint laps I claimed the ride with a Robbie-esque finger waggle, hoot and hand slap with the Coach who was hanging over the rail cheering like the yob he is eh. Awesome. It was definately the ride of my carnival series. Big shout out to Hunners for all the advice and beers. A shout out must also go to the Hong Kong rider who stole my show in the sprint derby by jumping off the line at the gun. That guy is a champion.

I’ll be back again next year to defend my title. Haha.

 

 

• 11 Rider entries
• All in, 700c, 26inches, gears, singlespeed, brakes, brake-less, male, female, fat, thin, ranga, kiwi, fixed and freewheel racing together
• Grass track dual slalom course
• Two and a half cartons of beer
• Skin removed
• Race categories included: ‘Bike swap’ (Which was a problem for our resident pirate as he was only able to use the front brake on others bikes), ‘Good vs Evil’ (black vs white bikes), ‘Virgin Brakeless Fixed’ (This was a particularly amusing category, especially the Mashmonsters tree ploughing action on Pringles prized Kenny Self.. very funny), and finally, ‘Beer in Hand’ (again, a difficult race for the pirate child)
• The 2008 ‘Silo Run’ Grand High Bike Champion must have ben taken out by one of these guys but fkd if I can remember who..

 

   

 

What the fuck? Isn’t summer supposed to be hot?? Is it January or July??? This has been the coldest Christmas Carnival Series I can remember, it has been SERIOUSLY cold!

The B’n’C carnival results haven’t been that hot thus far either. Kicked off the string of dud results at the Simplot Carnival with a run of 5ths, rolled on to the Roseberry Carnival where I placed 1 outside the podium in every race (argh!) including a points race where I contested all 4 sprint laps and came 2nd in ALL of them >:(  ..next was Latrobe, similiar dice there too I’m afraid, all 5th’s and 6th’s.. The two day carnival at Devonport followed.. much the same there again, except for my heat of the 2000m handicap where I rode off 220m and managed to finish 4th beating scratchmen Steve Rossendell, Kam Po Wong, Nathan Clark and Matt Goss! Pretty stoked about that one. Burnie was the most recent carnival, no amazing rides from Bennyboy there either I’m afraid, although I did almost pull off a win using my signature move from last year.

The carnivals have been pretty exiciting with the Malaysian, American, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australian Track Teams all racing. A number of pro teams also turned up alongside the West Australian, South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian Institute of Sport Teams. Some fast riders in amongst that mob!

Couple of speccy crashes too.. including a corker at Devonport where Jeremy Hills attempted to squeeze through an imaginary gap and took down another rider. Hillsy copped a pedal in the spokes of his Zipp 404 and some skin loss for his troubles.. (check out the broken spokes in the photo below..)

Hobart Carnival will be on this sunday, so if you feel like a little track action, back ya backside trackside!

     

Yep, we’re doin it.. reviving the former Friday night tradition on a Saturday arvo. Ok bike punks, grab ya rolling gear and meet us for a ride (and beer) on Saturday 27 December @ 4:00pm on Salamanca Lawns opposite Knopwoods.

The ride will be 95% pavenment (5% grass skids on the lawns) and ANY type of bike will do the trick, so no excuses now.. Bring a lock cause there will be beer afterwards and you don’t want’cha bike to go AWOL do ya..! We”l be keeping it easy for the fat-kids(Hunnibell) with some hills thrown in to punsh Pringle for buying a dual springer with GEARS.. (shock, horror!)

More details on Facebook if ya keen: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=53766941664 Come have a yarn, a roll round and get loose!

Benny

Okay kids, its getting silly, it must be nearly Christmas. The fitness campaign has been abandoned, the 100k plus singlespeed rides have suddenly stopped and all that good work is quickly being undone in the lead up to those few weeks of mayhem. If everyone else’s behaviour is anything to go by, im way up there in my preparations. Last Sunday’s early morning ride was the icing on the cake. Me, i like an early morning ride, you get to laugh at the leftovers stumbling home from their Saturday night. Pity it was in reverse…Riding home at 6am is never a good idea, being pissed as a fart doesnt help either. Being a showoff and pulling skids is just a recipe for disaster.

So the moral of the story is dont pull candybars while paraletic. Inserting your foot through your spokes is never a good idea. Its worse when you have bladed spokes i found out…

Nice to see these awesome people are onto it. Makes me wonder how i ever made it home from London in one piece

 

Fk yeah!

Talented Bottles and Chains youngster, Benny McCamerabitch, took out the Bronze Tripod for outstanding News Cinematography in the 2008 Australian Cinematographer Societies Victorian /  Tasmania awards on Friday night.  

Benny and his Camera-sidekick, Mitchmash, shot the pants off Cameramen from the other Tassie stations and a whole heap of Melburn competition by capturing some freakin’ amazing footage of the Myer building burning down earlier this year. Fk yeah!

Link to the ASC website for those interested in reading further:

http://www.cinematographer.org.au/awards/state/victas/08winners 

Link to the Mercury newspaper Myer Fire Gallery for fire pics:

http://tools.themercury.com.au/photo-gallery/index.php?group_id=101