1'15"

The leaving test from the Keirin school is to do a km in no more than 1'15". Gear must not be bigger than 49:15. Thats pretty quick...Might break out the rollers and see if i can get close....then dwell on the fact thats without wind resistance....



Keirin tracks are roughened concrete, so that they are all weather. Thats going to smart a little.

What else? personal comms have suffered in the face of work. Im training to be a trainer. Scary thought eh? Anyway, its been a pretty interesting few days up in Stirling at the coal face. I did a section on ethics teaching. Ethics being the tool with which Moral Philosophy is dissected. Ive been all logical positivist recently. The great human experiment will lead to the right and the wrong becoming apparent, not so much basing things on some old, fuzzy list of moral duties.

Collecting a few bits for the skeletor. I'm liking the campag seat tube collar. It seems that a lot of eat tube clamps focus the force over a small part of the circumference of the tube in order to grab the seat post. The idea of the offset slot and bolt is to create more circumferential spread of force. Important with a sub 1000g aluminium frame in which i will be using a shim and a ti seat post. Probably.



We had a pretty interesting discussion on aluminium nipples for wheel builds between friends recently. Amazing the polarised opinions. I don't use anything else. why would you? Calls of corrosion and splitting have never been apparent in my experience. As an insightful birthday boy (happy birthday marquis of darkness!) pointed out i dont tend to keep the same wheels in use for very long, the longest running set at present is 2 years. But that is on the town bike, that is covered in road salt, gets used 5 days from 7 at least and hasnt been washed in 12+ months. I had a look. No corrosion noticeable and retention of good spoke tension, fwiw. Maybe if my bike lived outside (rather than next to a radiator in a warm house) my experience would be different. As its not, i have no reason not to keep using aluminium nips.

Jeff has a new video up. Check it out. Yes thats his trails from his door. Yes, thats a larry, and yes it works well. I might need to invest.

Parts are being collected for the Vertigo. I am really stoked on how this is going. My only concern is that i wont be rider enough for the bike. We'll see. At present, 120mm reba with tapered steerer up front, maxle to DT 440 dt supercomps Aluminium nips (!!) to stans flow. Headset, details tba. But it will plug into a 44 i.d headtube. Thomson stem, prolly jones bars, though i might use some Groovy's. Moving back, saint crank, 40 tooth e13 ring, with mrp chainguide (thanks to Adams tinkering) and a DT 440 rear with 6 speed 17-34 block, supercomps to flow, with a saint short cage doing shifting duty.

The bike will be stopped by saint hydros - a first toe dipped into the mineral oil bath of hydros for me. ESI grips of course, and xtr pedals. Rubber tbd. Thomson seat post, Selle san marco Zoncolan saddle.

It will rip. Its rider will bleed.

I'm still reading through Robert Fsk's book Pity the Nation (thanks Anja). It is an incredible, mind blowing, harrowing and enlightening read about the history of Lebanon, in particular the 1982 invasion by Israel. Massacres, infightoing, politics at its worst and war crimes. I was 9 when this was firing off. I do pity the nation. Israel, not so much.

Lastly, my sock guy socks arrived. The post office have been insanely incompetent. These socks were ordered to arrive for christmas. They were lost and more sent (thanks sock guy) and after 10 days of harassing the post office they finally delivered them today. Assholes. Good socks tho'.



Still, the sun is shining. I'm joining davechopsoptional for a farewell from Alpine bikes ride tomorrow. All is pretty good.