Eating shit

eating-shit1

Eating shit sucks. It hurts (alot) and leaves your pushie looking less than ‘shiny and new’.

Had my first decent ‘off’ @ the Alice Springs velodrome during friday nights club meet (next level up of ‘off’ from the infamous Rossi v Beans ‘off’ on Elizabeth Street last year).  I had just crossed the line at the end of a flying 200 and was swinging up to wash off speed when I clipped the fence at the top of the bank with my pedal. This threw me and the bike head first into the fence (post). My helmet took the brunt of the spill being cracked in two and my shoulder followed through next… rag-dolled down the steep 37degree bank leaving a  trail of jersey, bib knicks and skin behing me. Shaving your legs really does work as my legs were totally intact, unlike my arms, bum and shoulder that were all now bleeding profusely.

To the surprise of the onlookers I did walk away from this crash.. only to keel over a few minutes later when the adrenalin wore off. Took a trip to Alice outpatients and yep, I’d been broken. Bloody shoulder blade. Too cranky to write anymore..

Where The Wild Things Are

This book was easily my favourite as a kid, and I don’t reckon I’m alone in that. The upcoming movie was exciting news, the fallout between Jonze and the studio seemed to be tragedy, and the (so-far) movie-like happy ending is all that we could have wished for. Now we just need to see the damn thing. I feel like a kid with his first bike, totally in awe of the posibilites ahead, yet a little worried about ending up bruised and broken.

Go read this interview with Jonze, it’s probably pretty good. The screeners look awesome and I get the feeling this movie won’t disappoint.

Bottles and Chains jerseys – Last chance to order yours!

bottles-and-chains-jersey-finalised-design

Thanks for all the feedback on the jersey design, and Timmy, are you sure you need an XL? Must be in a good paddock eh mate? I’ve extended the window of opportunity.. If you want one of these jerseys you’ve got until 09:00am Tuesday 27 January to shoot us an email with your order! The address again is: benjamarn@hotmail.com I’ll need your size and a postal address.

The bell for last drinks is ringing, so gentlemen, place your orders!!

Australian Cycle Messenger Championships 2009

That’s right you mugs, the kids way over on the West coast are running this year’s annual excuse to smash beers and ride around wearing big bags whilst abusing pedestrians and skitching cars. While most of us do it anyway, there’s power in numbers and it’s more fun when you’re not alone. Word is that you don’t have to actually be a courier to enter, which seems a little odd, but who’s going to argue against inclusivity? If I wasn’t an absolute pauper with zero holiday hours I’d be over there faking it up with the best of them, but life is cruel. These events are always awesome and end up as hazy memories that are cherished for years to come, and probably a few scars that’ll take some explaining to future significant others no doubt. GET ALONG AND GET INVOLVED!

Yes please.

There are some bikes you see and want immediately and forever, usually despite the fact that they cost more than the country of Iceland and you’d probably do them about as much justice as a Palm Island cop. Nicolai just happen to make several such bikes and frequently have me lusting over heavily welded, pastel green triangles and chunks of red anodised metal. Safe to say I’m generally shit house when descending dirt at speed, have the airborne grace of an emu and have yet to wear out a set of brake pads, let alone something built to withstand abuse. That said, I desperately want a Nicolai all mountain bike. I also want a Nicolai DH bike. I’d probably like a Scott DJ bike too, or maybe a Black Market. A Jamis Dragon steel hardtail would be nice, as would a Soma Rush built into a trend-whore-hipster love beast. A nice Felt F-series road bike wouldn’t go astray, and a Surly Long Haul Trucker built up with full XT and racks front’n’back. That’s just the start, and it’s sure to be a long way from the end. God help me.

Oh, and sorry about the links looking wrong. Upgraded WP and now it hates me. Fixed shortly.

Triumphant retu..ah, fuck it.

The internet has finally dragged its sorry arse back into my home life folks, rejoice! Ever since moving into the stinking hovel of eniquity that is the Viper Den (actually probably the cleanest house I’ve lived in for a while, but why ruin the fun?) I’ve been slumming it with the technophobes and luddites whilst only using the internet at work. I’d like to say it’s been rough times, but to be honest it’s probably been for the best. There’s more than enough shit to keep me entertained without the heaving juggernaut of time wasting that is el interwebo. Being the long standing internet junkie that I am, I thought this long-awaited day of glory would result in a massive flurry of activity and visits to many an abandoned site to proclaim my return.

However, I’ve found myself faced with a 1,500 strong pile of unread mail (most of it spam I hope) that I really can’t be bothered facing, as well as a complete lack of interest in revisiting any of my old haunts. It’s almost as if I’ve forgotten how to use this thing. I get the feeling that it will only be a matter of time before I re-acquaint myself with the convenience of the internet and the many pleasures that it holds, no doubt including massive amounts of time reading and looking at worthless shit that I really don’t care about. Hopefully in there somewhere I’ll find some time to post more random shit on this here website so that you can have the occasional relief from Ben and his sick obsession with deep sand, scorching heat and bizarre looking bikes. We may have hosted last year’s SS nats, but I’ll be damned if I have come around to the idea of riding up steep, rocky hills with only one gear. Maybe it’s because I now own one of those bikes with 12 possible suspension combinations, more travel than Peter North’s member, and enough gears to pedal on water. Either way, I’ve got the internet back and stuff will probably happen.

Oh yeah, buy a jersey and look cool. You know you’ll be sad if you miss out.

Tahune or not Tahune, that is the question…

Entries for the ’09 Tahune MTB Marathon close tomorrow, so get your shit sorted! As is the usual BnC style, I’ll be doing the half-arsed effort of 50km. I also need a lift down from Hobart (just me, bike’s going separately), so if you’ve got a spare seat help a brother out! Get involved and join a bunch of bike nuts riding through some damn nice scenery (and some nasty forestry area, but you can’t win ’em all).

Do it!

Now, order a Jersey below.