Iron just got easy

We all wanna better ourselves. Don't we? Maybe I should own the statement. I want to better myself. One of the ways I wanna do this is with my cycling, my general fitness. For too long I've felt like my peak performance has sat at the same level and this summer it's time to push those limits.

I'm not suggesting I'll end up a semi-pro athlete. I won't be pushing for podium in an Iron-man. That's simply ridiculous...or is it?

Thanks to Forpark Australia's Fitness Track training, maybe my dreams can come true. It was on a casual stroll through the park that Forpark tickled my eye-fancy with their ranking system at the bottom of the workouts.

I can answer my Iron calling with a gut-busting 20 sit-ups and six balance beam walks. Sure it's gonna take some serious training, that's why I've decided to sell my previous life and and train full time.

The Smart TV - Sold!

My dad's car - Sold!

The goldfish I inherited with the new place I moved into this year - Sold! (Toddlers pay a sweet price when you sell them a set of 2).

Check back in with me weekly and we can debrief how the training's going, whether my gut's are unharmed or torn to shreds. Whether my balance is akin to that of a cat on fence or dugong on highwire.

For mine I'll be disappointed if I'm not competing alongside our PM in some pronounced red budgiesmugglers come 2014!

Previous post: A great bloke

A Great Bloke

How much do we love a Great Bloke in Australia?

Well today I found one. He was spending his Sunday servicing the needs of cyclists at LeKnicks in Blackrock.

This might be a good time (pre story) to acknowledge the growing number of posts that make me seem like a bit of a space head when it comes to organising (I refer to the episode of picking up new wheels, Oct 2 post), can I reinforce that I'm not - always.

So I set out for a gentle Sunday roll and minutes in realised I'd forgotten to saddle up with a water bottle. Sure it wasn't going to be a demanding ride but the weather's turning and that sunshine was dehydrating my bodies Winter coat.

Cue the great bloke.

I stopped at LeKnicks knowing they do a pretty good deal on most things and crawled in gasping for a cheap water bottle, $5 or less. Rich of me, I know, but it was genuinely all the cash I had.
No dice. $10 was the cheapest.
"Thanks anyway", I shuffled back out into the desert, pointing my bike in the direction of the nearest palm-tree mirage.

As I went to stroke the pedals out gallops my Hero (wasn't wearing armour, so brave) offering me a $10 bottle for 5.

Not an example of where I source my water from.

"I can't be responsible for having a cyclist pass out cause he didn't have a bottle" he quipped. Possibly inferring that I appear so unfit this 17 degree sun was going to drop me like a fly.

I'd say the list of most ridiculous things to forget on a bike goes like this:
1. Bike.
2. Helmet.
3. WATER BOTTLE + WATER.
4. $3.50 coffee money.
5. A sock to stuff down the front of your knicks.

It should be noted that I did attempt to call the shop once I'd returned home to pay the extra $5 over the phone. Honestly the shop was closed. That's not some cheap lie to get me out of a debt I swear!
"Will I be calling tomorrow to pay?" You enquire.
Ummmmmmm.........yep.

So next time your passing LeKnicks, stop in and pick up a bargain, or a Great Bloke, whatever takes your fancy.


Previous post: Who knows how to crowd fund?

Who knows how to crowdfund?

Unbelievable.
I used to try and wow my friends by telling them some bicycles cost $24,000. Well that's just not gonna cut it anymore.

This bike...

click to biggify

 ...will cost you US $110,000 on ebay thanks to 'lacarrera.416'.
I'm not going to go into the details listed because I think it's a bit of a wank to try and justify that price tag. I don't know who needs to buy this anyway. You can buy a packet of smarties for $1.80 ok? That means 61,111 packets for the same price as this one packet on wheels.
Now obviously if you buy 61,111 packets of smarties you're getting somewhere in the order of 3055555 grams of chocolate and you're gonna have to keep a close eye on your health. Simple solution.

'rousep13' offers an exquisite exercise bike SANS the wanky paint job, PLUS the convenience factor of it working in front of the TV with a zero second set-up time. Coming in at the sweet little price of US $50 'buy it now' on ebay, this is a bargain without the bedbugs.

So, what have we achieved?
Well.
We've not bought a glorified smartie for $110,000. We've taken that money, sprinkled a small amount on top, and purchased a lifetime of delicious treats and an exercise bike fit for kings. We can now enjoy guilt-free chocolate morning, noon and night all for the bargain basement price of $110,050.

Right....who wants to lend me some cash?

NB: Get your beaks on cause IICC is now on twitter @ificancycle


Previous post: A toastie, a spew and some new Mavic's

A toastie, a spew and some new Mavic's

Bought myself some new wheels today despite the moaning of my bank account. But it turned out a bit like NZ did in the America's cup, those waters got seriously choppy after some deciptuv calm.

 I've been eyeing off these new Mavic Ksyrium SLR wheels for some time now [please note the K is silent. It effectively add's hundreds of dollars worth of street cred...I hope.] With payday rolling around, this morning was that sweet sunny/insanely windy Melbourne morn that I was to go and pick up my new baby's and a cot for them to sleep in. Not really with the cot, but I will be tucking them in at night. My brother and I make the ritual trip to Cycleinn and arrived early to get a coffee and some brekkie next door. 

 Now the first mistake I made is one that may yet haunt me for some time...I didn't take my bike. Yep. Just went along expecting to pick the wheels up and frolic off to work, then head home in the afternoon to fuse them with their new host body. For a rider that knows their mechanics and bicycle maintenance this'd be fine. However, I'm not that rider. I don't know the mechanics. I don't understand the necessary adjustments, and I certainly don't know whether the casette and chain I'm riding will be compatible with the new wheels and how worn this is and how much I need to adjust that and blah blah blah. I didn't pick up my wheels. Great.

That's my hallway in the background.

By this stage, I'd taken a bite of my toastie, which triggered a unique sensation in my mouth alerting me that I'd eaten that which cannot be eaten. Egg. How the hell does one get egg in a toastie? Not to mention it was a simple cheese/tomato. So all the way to work I put up with some serious stomach cramps and that excess of saliva you get when you know there’s a vomit coming on. 
When I finally arrived at work my body impulsively reacted to the sight of a toilet and brought up whatever I had down there. That's all the detail I'll go into. It meant I had to whip to the pharmacy and pick up an overpriced toothbrush/paste combo so that I didn’t repulse everyone for the rest of the day with each breath.

And there's my bookshelf on the left.

The bright side came when after work I realised I had enough time to get back to the shop (this time complete with bike in tow) and pick up my new wheels. Since then I've been caught on multiple occasions staring at them in the hall. There's only so many times "What? No. I just got my pants caught on the quick-release" will work as an excuse.



So a toastie, a spew and an unwilling bank account made getting these wheels difficult, but oh so satisfying now that they're hugging my bike. 

I may do a 'What I've got review' on them soon. Although, I kinda prefer the idea of reviewing something that noone else has or wants for that matter.

Can I just finish by adding that I'm so proud to own a puppy that's all about the photo-bombing. 

Thanks for reading!


Previous post: Pics of the week