Re-crossed

The Tricross has had a transformation back to how it should be. Peeved after attempting to copy MASH, where I aborted after previewing what is essentially a wanky scene designed for poseurs who are more into the image than the ride, I dragged out the 'cross tyres and mounted those babies. Josh caught wind of the impending mods, and being the tinkerer that he is, was soon digging out a set of cantis from his box of mystery, citing "ya gotta keep it authentic" as a reason to sacrifice the braking power of V-brakes for a more traditional set-up.
Of course he's right, and the knobbies don't roll fast enough on my commute to warrant needing any brakes anyway! Now, to get it off-road again...

The new Anger Management tool

Someone once commented to me that trackies all have anger issues. Really? Brett often tells me that I have deep-seated hate issues, so this could be quite an appropriate venture (although he's usually half joking, there is some truth in that statement, since I do find everything about him utterly repulsive and am not usually shy about sharing this sentiment with him in public). Anyway, last week my new Avanti Pista track bike turned up. I've swapped out the more boring stock parts for some nicer bits that I had lying around. The finished bike looks like this:

I'm looking forward to getting it into the Hataitai Velodrome and racing on it once track season starts in a month or so. I've only ever ridden track a couple of times. I turned up on my Surly Cross Check with a bigger gear and gave it a go last year; good fun, but the Surly is definitely more of a street cruiser. The Pista couldn't be more different; it's plenty stiff and way tighter and steeper (uh, like a track bike, I guess...). Anyway, once the track dries out (it's outdoors and it's raining a lot today) I'll be out there for a trial run. To exorcise some of the hate.