@Ron

How can we purge these folks from the ranks? Oh wait, they’re roadies, not Velominati. Let them enjoy their uptight misery.

It makes me angry because I love this sport/lifestyle/experience so much, I want to kick the people out. Sometimes you just have to let it ride, and it will sort itself out eventually.

We’ve had a lot of new people show up at the velodrome recently. I like this – new pedalwans and a chance to be a cycling sensei. The problem I have is that they’re mostly from triathlons, and think they have a right to just jump in the paceline on the back of the motorbike. This is something you have turn earn over time as it’s really quite dangerous.
Anyway, time for another Sapporo silver bullet. Have a good ride this weekend.

I wish I could just tell them to lighten up, but sadly, I think a lot of roadies are dour, boring people. They ain’t gonna get any lighter.

And since I’m on the topic of cotho types, a junior version lives right in my neighborhood. I’ve ridden with the guy before but he pretends to not know me when he sees me, whether on the bike or off. He has also drafted me, unannounced, as I was winding down and heading back into town from a long ride. He’s also dangerously overtaken a friend and I as we rolled to the pub after soccer. As if this wasn’t enough to have him sorted as a COTHO, the jackarse also gets kitted up to ride all of 3 km to campus. No joke, he pulls all that gear on for a ten minute ride. (I had the unfortunate luck of riding the same road a few mornings and know what dept. he’s in on campus, so know where he’s heading when I see him on my block in the morning).

How can we purge these folks from the ranks? Oh wait, they’re roadies, not Velominati. Let them enjoy their uptight misery.

That guy has a bad habit of finishing 2nd. That must really be frustrating.

I also saw the lead photo and thought, “That doesn’t look like the U.S.” Being an Amurcun, I assume all life transpires in the U.S. But, it did look familiar. Spent some time in Sydney and Melbourne, including the ‘burbs of ‘bern. I really liked all the ranch-style houses there. You can save the guns by not climbing stairs!

WAAAAAAAA!!!!!
no way!
i’m in sydney! you guys have gotta let me know next time you plane one of these!

At first I was slightly upset there was a Cogal just north of me, but after reading, I would have felt out of place. Bikes are great because of stories like this.
I’d like to ride with more humoured people. I am the only one who makes jokes in my posse, and although I think I’m hilarious (really, I AM!), it would be nice if someone else could do the jokes occasionally.

@harminator
Yep, me on right… my guns aren’t that impressive in the flesh, more like pop-guns.

@ChrisO

@Chris
There are worse places to live than Newy, for sure. It’s just depressing to see the city center so desolate, due to the huge malls popping up in every suburb; Charlestown Square is just obscene how massive it is now. No-one goes into the city any more, and shopfronts are defaced and there are more empty premises than occupied. I remember when I was a kid, going into Hunter St on a Thursday night, all the shops open and lit up, it was like a wonderland to me. Now I just get down when I go there.

@il ciclista medio
Fanny’s! My god, some memories of that dive… dodgy ones mainly.

@harminator
mate, if you’re serious about a Cogal, then happy to co-ordinate something? Northern beaches area yes? Some nice rides up that way or heading past Hornsby from memory? I’m south (St. George/Shire area) which has some good rides through the National Park & further. Drop me a line – ciclistomedio@gmail.com and we can suss out something if you are and then put it up in the Cogals. Same goes for you @jellybean

One part really stood out to me – I do a lot of group rides but have almost nothing in common with most of the folks, beyond cycling. That’s kind of weird to me, but how it goes I suppose. So, to find someone who you get on with and who is a Follower is pretty rare indeed.

I also only get to see some of my mates every 12 or 18 months, or longer. The times when you get back together, no matter how short, are truly special.

We lived in Sydney for four years and would often head up the coast for the weekend to places like Port Stephens, Myall Lakes, Smith’s Lake and Barrington Tops. Great camping, beaches and walking. Loads of happy memories although maybe not getting the car stuck on Stockton Beach near the Sygna with a somewhat pregnant Mrs Chris.

Not sure I’d want to live up there full time but I could quite easily head over there for the UK winters.

We lived at Hamilton for a while and then Beresfield but my parents both came from Maitland, my grandfather was postmaster for years at Lambton and my father taught at West Wallsend high school and also Francis Greenway.

Often used to catch the train from my grandmother’s at East Maitland down to Newcastle to go to Knobby’s or to the movies and shops.

Maybe I look back on it with nostalgic rose-tinted glasses – like I said I would only want to live there if I didn’t have to work, or have kids to send to school.
But you could do worse than live in some of those nice old places along Merewether way, go to the beach every morning, not far from the central coast and Sydney, inland to the Hunter, up to Port Stephens.

Every time i go back to Newy, I realise why I moved away and how awesome living in Wellington is. Can’t see myself moving back there, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

I left Minneapolis under the same guise, only I moved to a place I liked less before I moved to a place I like more (Seattle). Minneapolis isn’t as bad as it seemed to me then, but similarly – there are so many reasons to love the PNW and I can’t imagine ever leaving.

Just to name one: the fact that roads are ridable in Seattle while in the mountains (45 minutes away) there is a snowstorm dumping more powder on some of the best ski areas the world knows than we’ve had in 1985. The sun shone here today, but you’ll need a snorkel to ski in the mountains tomorrow…

Great read, thanks for the story, Bretto! Glad you got back from the loo safely…

Make me homesick… where did you ride (map ?).
I grew up just up the road between Maitland and Newcastle… if I could afford not to work I think I would quite happily go and live somewhere there.

Hexham? God I hope not…

We rode from Rankin Park, up the freeway interconnector, out to West Wallsend, back of Killingworth, Wakefield, Toronto, Speers Point, Charlestown, home…

Every time i go back to Newy, I realise why I moved away and how awesome living in Wellington is. Can’t see myself moving back there, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

I grew up just up the road between Maitland and Newcastle… if I could afford not to work I think I would quite happily go and live somewhere there.

@brett
Nice YJA too.

He won’t listen…

Me-wantee (not a feeling I normally reserve for anything Specialized)

A great submission. Fine work. What a great community we have.
And friendly enough that I can point out the Rule #29 violation… :-)

Violations everywhere! Col was the reason The Rules came about, as we were always picking at his bikes and kit… We (Johnny Klink and I) would always say shit like “Col, you can’t have red bar tape, it’s gotta be black… it’s the rules.”

WAAAAAAAA!!!!!
no way!
i’m in sydney! you guys have gotta let me know next time you plane one of these!

Yeah, well it was impromptu! There was talk from a few Sydney Velominati about a Cogal, but nothing came about in the short time I had in Aus. There is plenty of scope for you guys to get something up and running though, and I’m sure the Newy V crew would be interested.

And friendly enough that I can point out the Rule #29 violation… :-)