I had withdrawal yesterday...all those lovely live threads with Auntie, where the chat was probably more enlightening than the race call, although we all enjoyed the atmosphere that was created. So I thought I'd do a little list of the things I learned from TDU 2012. A few detractors say it's impossible to learn anything from the TDU, but I say they're just so last century.
What we learned...The List:
- Andre Greipel, (who likes to be called Andre), is very fast. He is also now blessed with a good lead-out train whom he trusts. I'll be cheering for him. Come July I'm hoping he's happy, because my guess is that the team won't be dedicated to him. Prediction: I will be ranting about Marc Sargeant again, even if it's unwarranted.
- Sean Yates says GreenEDGE weren't fit enough for the race. So the gamesmanship for the Olympics, where Oz and Great Britain discount all other competitors except each other has begun. Goss also acknowledges that beating Greipel is very, very hard, and he's dreaming of the Classics.
- GreenEDGE men cry a lot. (This European influence might stop those Australian lads from being 'blokes'. They need to head North fast.) Neil Stephens cried when Gerrans won, McEwen cried when he talked to the team about his last race in Oz, and Durbridge cried because Robbie did.
- UniSA was as usual the coolest team in the peloton. Will Clarke's win was masterful and Rohan Dennis is Flatty's 'kiddie' for 2012. Helpful hint: Do not put them on your VDS team. In fact also remember not to put any trackie from GB or Oz on your team before 2013.
- Valverde is back and ready to rock and roll.
- Stuart O'Grady really IS the Mayor of Adelaide. I've never seen less sensational reporting of an alleged assault by a sportsman in all my years of reading newspapers. Rupert Guinness even wrote an opinion piece on the problems of being a sporting celebrity, even before it was announce that O'Grady would not be charged.
- McEwen's body has taken enough punishment, so retiring will be a boon for him. See onev.com for proof.
- Linus has had a hair cut. Oh, and he's finally losing the boy band thing. Veeral Patel has taken the first 'grown up photo of Gerdemann.
- Veeral Patel (aka O'nev) is a brilliant photographer. See above.
- Sergey Lagutin is off contract at the end of the season, so we must talk him up at every opportunity.
- LooseHorse is ready for a haircut, which is big news, Zoe is coming to Oz to live, Muk, as an expat needs a little 'fix' of TDU to get him through the winter months in Philadelphia. Drongo has not read Cloudstreet...deportation is imminent. Pablo may soon stop being an expat and TDU suits American audiences in regard to time zones. Umwolverine can translate all time zones and TV viewing times.
- The TDU is a viable stage race to be enjoyed, if you appreciate it for what it does well, instead of tuning in just to note its inadequacies.
- PdC members would probably watch two flies crawling up a wall if they were on bikes
- Thank you all again for making this a special TDU, at least for me.
What I learned at TdU
1. Lotto has the best kit in the peloton, even with the mismatched shorts
2. Saxo and Garmin’s kits look too similar, but both look really great
3. Adding a sponsor actually made me like the RSNT kit
4. I’ve come to realize my attitude toward returning from suspension dopers is due almost exclusively to whether or not they admit they doped/did something wrong. Making Valverde’s return very unpalatable to me
5. People can get way too sensitive about defending their favorite pro riders. It’s just bike racing.
PopUp Rolen - January 24, 2012
I agree completely with 1 and 2. I miss the old RS kit which had sharper colours.
4 and 5…I think my level of forgiveness to sanctioned dopers is determined by the moral outrage of others…or contrariness if you like.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
re: #4. I have to say I agree, and even more so in Valverdes case. Can't stand seeing him win.
ykgday - January 24, 2012
On 2. I really like the white stripe on the Saxo helmets.
Makes them easy to recognise
tgsgirl - January 24, 2012
+1
I love that your top 3 reasons are kit related
Willj - January 25, 2012
Fashion is so very important
Albertina - January 25, 2012
There's a photo on Marcus Burghardt's Twitter that shows he has style...except for those bloody yellow shoes.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
GreenEDGE men cry a lot. (This European influence might stop those Australian lads from being 'blokes'. They need to head North fast.)
This is the nation who started the ‘men crying’ with their cricket captain Kim(!) Hughes and their crap PM Bob Hawke blubbing on live TV. Very sad and very un-crocodile dundee!
Maratsafin - January 24, 2012
'Crap' PM...oh my God, you're a Tory, but politics..worse than doping or being dopey.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Tdu for me
I’ve ordered Cloudstreet and the castle, they are on the way.
Glad to see Valverde back.
Glad to see Greipel looking good. But really i don’t see him giving cav much of a run.
Glad to see the aussies being aussies. Yap yap.
yeehoo - January 24, 2012
+1 on Valverde
A lot of people thought Movistar were too quick to sign him up, but I disagree – he’s done his time, seen out his punishment and paid his dues, so let’s welcome him back.
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
Except he still claims he didn't do anything wrong
And the team happily follow that line. I expect a minimum amount of decency before I welcome someone back.
TheFigurehead - January 24, 2012
But think of how morally superior Valverde makes you feel. Doesn't that make his return worth it?
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
No
Because as a result of his return, I just got asked an awfully stupid question about being morally superior.
TheFigurehead - January 24, 2012
Hmm.
Yes, I can see your point there – and the evidence against him (three bags of blood, in Fuentes’ fridge, tainted with EPO wasn’t it?) looks damning.
However, as some people on here already know, I was charged with a fairly serious crime last year and faced a year in prison. I knew I hadn’t done it and so do all the people who know me, but there was very strong evidence against me and nothing in support – I can still hardly believe the court found in my favour. Had they not have done, I’d have continued to state my innocence in prison and after I was released and had nothing to gain by doing so (just as I did right through the investigation, even though if I’d falsely confessed I’d have probably got six months in prison, possibly suspended and reduced to three for good behaviour, rather than going through half a year of hell and risking everything).
Not too long ago, I’d have believed Valverde was guilty as sin, but having been the situation I was in I can’t help wondering if Valverde’s insistence that he’s innocent might mean that he in fact is.
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
99.99% of the innocent says they're innocent
And 99% of the guilty says they’re innocent. OK, I made those numbers up. But the point is that the claim of innocence in itself says very little. I’m more interested in the evidence.
TheFigurehead - January 24, 2012
If my jury had been too
then I’d be an innocent man in prison right now. I suspect a lot of guilty people don’t bother to say they’re innocent once they’ve served their time.
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
Doping is different
in that regard that most often the athlete will return to the “scene of the crime”, competition.
TheFigurehead - January 24, 2012
Also a fair point. I was going to say that he’d have nothing to lose now his suspension has expired, but I suppose that when trying to win a decent contract with a major team a rider might want to continue protesting innocence.
OK, you’ve got me convinced. :-)
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
Do you really think Unzue was ever NOT going to take him back?
Alexandra_5236 - January 24, 2012
what I learned at the TdU
1. I learned I should take 1 sec and breath before I post if I am posting emotionally reactively.
2. I learned/was reminded no dope talk in a live thread
3. I learned I should apologize if I rashly make personal nasty comments – so sorry I said s$#!w you all, when I really meant whats up with the “F that guy” comment.
4. Further to 1.above, I did not at all really mean 99% of current riders are doping, I meant maybe at a guess 1/2 the riders in the peloton have doped either minor or major at some point probably (who really knows) in their careers. And I really believe(and HOPE) as do we all I am sure that currently doping in the peloton is getting under control.
peterfish - January 24, 2012
and Phil you are right it was not classy at all
and neither were my replies to your posts that followed
peterfish - January 24, 2012
I learned
that peterfish is a cool dude, despite the slightly rocky start ;)
tgsgirl - January 24, 2012
thanks tgsgirl
and I told seahorse its going to get to be like the loveboat around here! (ouch was her reply to this pic) :
peterfish - January 24, 2012
I'm too young for this, really
tgsgirl - January 25, 2012
No really, you're too old for this. It's awful.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
and figurehead just a funny note:
I guess I am in the 1% of the guilty who say they are guilty
peterfish - January 24, 2012
i regret my frustration-fueled outburst; podium cafe is classier than that!
valverde has served his time and i need to get over myself.
gravel road - January 24, 2012
Get over the gravel road. This sounds like cx.
I approve.
tgsgirl - January 24, 2012
I hate gravel. It's all skiddy.
Albertina - January 25, 2012
I love gravel
Great fun at high speed on the MTB. I also like singers who have a throatful of it.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Well I am a mezzo...
Albertina - January 25, 2012
So you sing, play the flute, ride CX, write articles, hold down a job and introduce people to Basque pelota… do you have time to sleep?
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Rarely, which is why I am frequently to be found nodding off at my desk after lunch ;)
Albertina - January 25, 2012
As a great supporter of the siesta
it’s my belief that all employers should be forced by law to provide keyboards with a pillow function. How else will humanity bring an end to the horror of qwertyitis?
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
I miss living in Germany
Lunchtime was 2.5 hrs so workers could go home, eat with the family and have a nap
ZoeRochelle - January 25, 2012
Germany,
in my opinion, is among the world’s most civilised nations.
John Cyclopunk - January 26, 2012
many many many hearts gravelroad, thanks
talking about gravelroads have you heard of this cool shop/club/team in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that loves gravelroads cycling of all sorts?
http://talltreerides.blogspot.com/
http://www.talltreecycles.ca/
peterfish - January 24, 2012
thanks for the share
those guys look like they know how to have fun.
here in NC we have the Autodrop guys who are really into hosting creative, adventure filled racing. check ’em out:
http://autodropltd.blogspot.com/
gravel road - January 24, 2012
cool!
I went for spring (bicycle) training and early season racing in NC in 1982, got into my best ever racing shape there, came back to Canada and got some top 3’s !
peterfish - January 24, 2012
+1
ykgday - January 24, 2012
That's pretty much how I feel
I find I’m able to separate Valverde the human being from Valverde the bike rider, though. Haven’t really done that before.
Alexandra_5236 - January 24, 2012
You know I love you almost as much as I love holmovka ? ;)
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Just to be clear
That’s a LOT.
omnevelnihil - January 25, 2012
You mean I wasn't as discreet as I thought? Oh the shame :(
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
What, are you saying I can't be uniquely perceptive?!
The outrage! ;)
omnevelnihil - January 25, 2012
i love you almost as much as i love holmovka too ;)))
(jus kidding holmovka, no worries)
yeehoo - January 25, 2012
:)
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
+1 on Velverde and +100 on Greipel / Cav comp.
holmovka - January 24, 2012
+1 to all of it
I have downloaded a sample of Cloudstreet to my iPad, that is the first step towards reading it ;)
And about Valverde, I am happy to see him back, nice with some competition to Gilbert. It does not bother me that he will not admit or apologise, as I see the man, he is too proud to do that, I see him with a personality like a “toreador” ( a bull fighter) and I do not mind a proud personality and see no reason why all sinners should brake down and cry, if they take their punishment then that is ok with me.
LittleOldLady - January 24, 2012
Amen Sister! And I so hope you enjoy 'Cloudstreet'. If you are reading it in English, I think some of the Australianisms will
be challenging. Although Tim Winton is a contemporary writer, the book is set between 1945 to the mid 1960’s. Perhaps we should start a Cloudstreet thread ;)
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Sadly, I missed the entire TDU
So I have no idea what you’re all talking about. But I did just reserve Cloudstreet from the library. I’m always looking for something to read.
catnurse - January 24, 2012
Yay! I hope you love it.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
A televisation is on tv in the UK at the moment
of course, i found that out AFTER the 1st episode!
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
can always try the
sky player to play catch up
andrewp - January 25, 2012
"if they take their punishment then that is ok with me"
But he didn’t, did he? He exhausted every possible legal option in the hope of avoiding punishment on a technicality. Then when his suspension finally became reality, what option did he have but to “take the punishment”? You see him as a a bull fighter, I see him as a bull shitter.
It’s the lies, lady. The lies. The lies get to me.
Now, you enjoy seeing Valverde back on the bike. Good for you. I’m genuinely happy for you. :)
Holdenmate - January 24, 2012
Lots of good points, folks!
Not all of us. TDU suits the West Coast. It was too late for the East Coast.
Do you have a link for the grown-up Leeenooos pic?
majope - January 24, 2012
Near the bottom of http://blog.onev.com.au/wordpress/?p=3927
tedvdw - January 24, 2012
Thanks.
Those hollows in his cheeks look a bit scary to me—he seems to get a bit too thin at times.
majope - January 24, 2012
Yeah.
Looks kinda like Willem Dafoe on crack there.
swells - January 24, 2012
Give that boy some fries!
tgsgirl - January 24, 2012
Well heck
Now you kinda know what it’s like during the TDF.
Versus’ coverage usually started at somewhere between 5 and 7 AM EST – a perfectly reasonable wake-up time. Notttttt so much for us on the left coast.
Alexandra_5236 - January 24, 2012
FWIW,
I wouldn’t mind watching flies ride bikes up a wall (unless they’re on carbon fiber – Bah!).
swells - January 24, 2012
Only if they have little lycra kits :)
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
If they were wearing any combo of blue/black/white...
well, that’d just be ridiculous.
swells - January 24, 2012
WOW! Seahorse, how did you know!?
Currently watching a few flies crawling up the wall, probably the bunch sprint! ( Bikes are purely imaginary ) :)
holmovka - January 24, 2012
Is there a baby Cav there?
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
A baby Cav, eh?
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
Is this the new trend? Babies that look like procyclists?
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
John! Today, purely by accident, I discovered your blog.
I love it!
Bike’s antitheft device…… Man! I still laughing!
holmovka - January 24, 2012
Yep, I noticed you!
…and thanks for the kid words. Your camels are forever welcome to graze in my pastures.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Learning is phun.....
1) Streaming Radio broadcast of a race didn’t over run my account and I didn’t get Fapped, Whoooowa!!!
2) Fill yer Tucker Bag before ya go on a long trip / or daily, which ever comes first.
3) Simon says……Gerro & Greenedge are off to a great start of the season
LooseHorse - January 24, 2012
Nice...!!!!
Glad to start the year with a TDU of this caliber…! Loved everything good and bad…!
What is good for me is not good for others? I don’t care I am still happy..!
pablo777 - January 24, 2012
Oh thanks for the mention..!
So far is a dream, can’t wait to materialized
pablo777 - January 24, 2012
Corrections and Additions
Muk currently lives in Pittsburgh, not Philadelphia (I think that matters more to natives of those two cities than it does to me though) – and I LOVE any cycling downunder, it warms my heart so to see something on the scale of the TDU getting stronger year by year.
My confidence in the ability for the PDC to talk about anything, literally anything during a live race thread was reinforced – this is perhaps the most eclectic gathering of individuals that I know of or could begin to imagine – so cool!
I missed Auntie more than I realised – and yes am now listening to the cricket via Auntie streaming over the interwebs.
You missed the bit about Valverde drinking a beer in order to help generate a post-race sample. That act alone raised him a notch higher in my reckoning – clearly he has been rubbing shoulders with some Aussies lately…
Flatty is possible the toughest individual I know. Most people with an injury would skip a bike ride, but no, he just shifts to a different style of bike and knocks out 140km rides anyway (might have something to do with the views he was afforded?) – great to see you back in the Cafe Flatty!
Zoe is well on her way to an Honorary Aussie Passport – quick learner that lass…
I think that a happy Andre is an Andre that should be feared within the peleton this year. And he has a good train around him and a few reasons to be happy…
muk - January 24, 2012
At least it was a city starting with a P :(
As for Flatty, they broke the mould when they made him, and I should also have said that his on the spot photos were a wonderful addition.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Word has it
that Jens! wears Flatbagger pajamas.
swells - January 24, 2012
+1
muk - January 24, 2012
Comment of the TDU.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Radio coverage was great.
It would be interesting to see this format being used other places.
Uphill - January 24, 2012
Agreed
It added a whole new (and yet very original and old) dimension to the experience …
muk - January 24, 2012
I was so happy
to be able to read a live thread again! TDU is a great beginning to the race season and did seem even better than last year.Happy to see the sponsor reup,we can use every bit of good news.Even when I can’t watch it’s fun to come here and listen to everyone.
Great pictures,sorry I missed Robbie crying,I would have probably cried too.I am going to miss him and the others that are getting close to time to go.Happy for Oscar,Still think Stuey should have won(or Jensi).
Loved the Aussies educating us on all thing Australian.
Thank you Seahorse and all the others that make this stuff happen.
Dustbunny8 - January 24, 2012
I swear I post a comment on this thread yesterday but now its gone. Sadface.
I learned that Koalas are cute and slow (dopey from the leaves they eat) but if you get too close they will claw yer eyes out, or yur skin off.
Also, Australia will let anyone that Seahorse approves have citizenship.
ZoeRochelle - January 24, 2012
Third thing I learned:
Seahorse is an excellent live race host.
ZoeRochelle - January 24, 2012
Is there actually any animal native to Australia that can’t either kill or seriously maim you in some way? You can’t help thinking that if there is a/are any god/gods, they only created the place so they’d have somewhere to keep all the dangerous stuff.
John Cyclopunk - January 24, 2012
There's the wombat....
or the platypus (just be careful of the spur at the back – venomous! – Wikipedia description: egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal!)
Also – The Castle is the(!!!) movie of Australia – you can take that straight to the pool room
Marcus in Oz - January 24, 2012
I bet a wombat would hurt if it fell out of a tree onto you!
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
A wombat'd probably hurt you more while you were trying to put it in the tree.
Naturally they’re pretty docile burrowers.
omnevelnihil - January 25, 2012
They are car wreckers extraordinaire...basically too slow to get out of the way, and too camouflaged
to be spotted in time.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
Take your pick: the bilby or the quoll :)
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Don't corner a quoll
Had one find it’s way into our tent one time while camping in Tasmania.
All I’m gonna say, is don’t corner a quoll.
Can’t comment on the Bilby…
muk - January 24, 2012
I think bilbies are very very safe. I always think possums are cute too, until I hear their blood curdling
screams at night.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
blood curdling is right
I remember hearing that scream for the first time after I’d been overseas for a while. Scared the living daylights out of me until the brain clicked into gear and I realised what it was.
Drongo - January 25, 2012
Welcome to the land down under
Where even the animals that look cute and cuddly deserve respect and can scare the shit out of you :-)
muk - January 25, 2012
Just for the hell of it
I thought I’d provide some Wikipedia links to some poisonous Australians:
the funnel-web spider
the stonefish
taipan
eastern brown snake
tiger snake
box jellyfish
blue-ringed octopus
But you should all just read Bill Bryson’s Down Under (a.k.a. In a Sunburnt Country) to see his take on Australia’s nasties and our peculiar reaction to them. (Not to mention his own paranoia.)
Drongo - January 25, 2012
+100 for Bryson's Book
When people on the USA ask me about Aus, I recommend this book to them. Every tie I read it I get all nostalgic. For a visitor he does a fantastic job of capturing a lot of what makes Oz, Oz.
muk - January 25, 2012
His best book
He comes across as a bit annoying in his others, I think. Josie Dew is the travel writer of choice – and she does her travels on a bike.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
That spider looks nasty
But fun links, thanks.
MathieuG - January 25, 2012
I don't know about that bilby...
…doesn’t look trustworthy to me. I bet if you tried to cuddle him he’d pull out a blade and be off with your mobile phone and wallet before you knew it. Also, when I first came to Cambridge, I rented a room from a 90-year-old female psychopath who always thought my surname was Bilby for some reason (it’s not, and though the latter half sounds a bit like it, my surname actually starts with L) – so it reminds me of her, listening to her yelling abuse every time anyone with brown skin was on television, how much she used to nag if anyone dared to use the bath more than once a week and her horrible bed-bug infested house.
In other words, I’m not going to drop by the pet shop later to see if they have any in stock.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
The Bilby gives out chocolates in March/April time
Win-win I say :D
RollinRollinRolland - January 25, 2012
Poisoned chocolates with razor blades in them, probably.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Or just a guilty conscious
surfacing every 12 months or so…
muk - January 25, 2012
Love it.
muk - January 25, 2012
says the man who keeps ferrets....
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
Ferrets are well known for their great sense of social responsibility
Ours put in a minimum of 20 hours a week down at the local orphanage, handing out gifts and helping to raise funds. They wouldn’t dream of breaking into the kitchen and ripping the bin bag open, nor shredding a brand new pack of cotton wool pads in the bathroom so it looks like there’s been a blizzard. Oh no.
(Come to think of it, I might be blaming the unfairly. With how cold it gets in our bathroom, it’s not beyond the boundaries of possibilty that it was in fact a blizzard.)
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
So, how would a ferret stack up against Aussie animals?
Which would it be able to eat? (I’m fairly sure it would try to eat everything)
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
Something like this...
Though I may be confusing ferrets with tyrannosaurs again.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Nice!
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
Somebody asked me how big ferrets get when I was in the pub once. I convinced them “around fourteen feet” before I couldn’t keep a straight face.
They’d make short work of an Aussie spider – when we first had Yentl, she found a rubber tarantula under the bookcase, grabbed it by the back end and shook it violently to kill it before biting its legs off.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Awesome!
majope - January 25, 2012
Ha! Nice work.
ZoeRochelle - January 25, 2012
the quoll looks likw a cross between a rat and a fawn. Cute spots!
ZoeRochelle - January 25, 2012
John Cyclopunk - February 9, 2012
I like
the threat of Dannii Minogue.
tedvdw - February 9, 2012
Easily the most terrifying factor on there. Sharks? Pah.
John Cyclopunk - February 10, 2012
I live just to the left (east coast) sharks label :)
Seahorse - February 10, 2012
Thank you!
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Thanks for all the threads, awesomes stuff :)
Jen See - January 24, 2012
Thanks Jen. It was a lot of fun and somehow all the hilarity surrounding the radio call enhanced it.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
There's a small hint in the article title
“Now image free” — the first one used photos from various sources without permission. I think this might be a completely new article instead of an updated version of the old one.
tedvdw - January 24, 2012
It's not, although I didn't realise taking something down meant it would be trashed.
Thank goodness I saved a draft on my computer, because PdC said it no longer existed.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
My thread was removed because of the photos in it:(
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
No
It was just hidden, ready and waiting for you to update it. Jens sent you mail about it, did you not get that?
tedvdw - January 24, 2012
No.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Sorry, I used the hotmail address registered to your account
Jens - January 25, 2012
No problem Jens. I haven't changed my email address. My fault.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
I should also have remembered to add something about Twitter.
There were guys who signed up like Ballan and Vincente Reynes, and then guys who were outstanding at tweeting regularly and oFten amusingly. Andre Greipel is back on Twitter, as is Adam Hansen. Benna however, and his teammate Jens! also provided lots of photos, as did Bole. Vincente Reynes and Tiago Machado are endearing Tweeters. Greg Henderson is also very good value.
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
Adam Hansen is fun too
Cause apparently he likes to make fun of his teammates :)
tgsgirl - January 24, 2012
Adam Hansen is fun, full stop. He is also handsome :)
Seahorse - January 24, 2012
I enjoyed Benna's steady stream of photos. A lot.
Albertina - January 25, 2012
'deportation is imminent'
Bollocks. Utter tosh.
Drongo - January 25, 2012
To which I add, don’t push me into not reading the book as a point of perverse principle.
Drongo - January 25, 2012
I doubt I could push you into anything Drongo, never fear.
You missed the thread that was taken down, where Runitout also admitted he’s never read it. To each his/her own.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
Well, I have been spectacularly busy
For about a year and a half.
With any luck, I will soon revert to the land of the living, in order to:
- see daylight
- race bicycles
- climb with tehGrindCrusher
- contribute to live threads
- drink Westmalle
- read Cloudstreet
Not necessarily in that order.
Runitout - January 25, 2012 via mobile
LOl. I actually also play CDs/MP3s of books when I'm driving.
Luminaries like William McInnes read Winton’s books, so I keep being tempted to drive to Cairns :)
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
I also like this review of the TDU
by Lisa’s Mum!
Sarah Connolly - January 25, 2012
Damn, was a shame I missed all this
Events conspired against me and I wasn’t even around to watch the live races or be on here! Sounds like you did a great job Seahorse.
Must say I enjoyed the racing a lot. For a dull sprint-fest there was a lot of action. Stage 1 crash, W.Clarke’s breakaway success, Freire’s win from a split peloton and then the battle up Wilunga was memorable as always.
One of my biggest memories to come from watching it (on replay :P) though, is the finale of the race, where the camera showed Durbridge and O’Grady talking, dissecting the events of the day like an after action report.
Maybe its just me being over-sentimental about this but to me one of the most talented espoirs to come out of Aus, chatting with a seasoned and acclaimed pro such as O’Grady like that after helping an Aussie win an Aussie WT race in the first WT team…well it’s just great. Not trying to sound all patriotic (it’s the furthest thing I want to be) but can anyone from Aus say 5 years ago that they knew this was going to happen despite all the dreaming? So for whatever reason you may think the GE team is wrong or too one-sided I am at least appreciative of what Gerry Ryan and co have to for the sport here.
A (bad) screenshot of Durbridge & O’Grady:
RollinRollinRolland - January 25, 2012
If Stuey could read this, he have a little tear in his eye. It's exactly why he left a team he loved.
And who better to mentor than young men like Durbridge? Not only does he ride well, he is a delightful young man from what I’ve seen.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
Indeed, the future is very bright for Durbridge
I think there will be many riders cursing his name in the future when he gets to the front of a peloton…
RollinRollinRolland - January 25, 2012
+1
Aus cycling has come so far it is incredible.
Sure Australia is a sports-crazy nation (seriously people, you just can’t fully appreciate it until you’ve experienced it!), but it is easy to forget just how far off the radar cycling was.
BTW, how appropriate that in the scene you’ve captured above O’Grady is wearing the red numbers (I assume following the standard protocol for most aggressive or combative rider from the day before?)
muk - January 25, 2012
It was for that. He never stops.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
Yeah most aggressive on Stage 5 although tbf, Haas must've felt a bit harshly done by after the work he did in the breakaway.
Still, not like O’Grady didn’t deserve it
RollinRollinRolland - January 25, 2012
Seahorse, my recommendation is don't buy "Death Comes to Pemberely"
it was a waste of of my time reading it. Long wordy sentences and paragraphs, words getting in the way of the story, telling not showing, and a boring “mystery” plot. I am disappointed. That writer is supposed to be an excellent mystery writer.
ZoeRochelle - January 25, 2012
She's a brilliant mystery writer...in fact second only to Ruth Rendell within her genre. She's also well into her eighties,
so I suspect she’s a little weary. That said, I must admit, than when I read a few pages in the bookshop, I wasn’t hopeful.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
I like Minette Walters
Not really my kind of book and hers are real pot-boilers, but I enjoy them as a guilty pleasure.
John Cyclopunk - January 25, 2012
Absolutely! I particularly love 'The Scold's Bridle'. Brilliant.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
Yup
That one was good. I liked The Echo especially.
John Cyclopunk - January 26, 2012
What has occurred to me is that she doesn't seem to have published anything new for quite some time.
Is she still alive/writing? I also should have named Reginald Hill and Val McDermid in my list of favourite British crime writers. Hill’s later novels are outstanding.
Seahorse - January 26, 2012
Reginald Hill, I love that man
I love his later novels, Dialogues of the Dead and Death’s Jest Book are outstanding novels by anyone’s standards and On Beulah Height never fails to move me to tears and I’ve read it many times.
I lived in Yorkshire for a long time, and Hill captures it beautifully – both the urban landscape and the desolate beauty of the Dales.
Retancourt - January 26, 2012
I read she is actually 90 now. I give her kudos for the effort. The mystery plot was actually good
if it had been written differently. Not enough teasing or clues. Its the writing that was really below par. I had to re-read often because I couldn’t get what was happening due to poor sentence construction. Ah well.
ZoeRochelle - January 25, 2012
To Seahorse
Whose name has become synonymous with replying to someone but not using the reply button.
I would like to introduce the idea that to Seahorse should also refer to someone who comments but doesn’t post, but then slowly changes her ways to become the writer of some of the best pre stage introductions. It’s not an easy task. Thanks for sharing your love of Aussie cycling on a daily basis and keeping the threads fun.
flying dog - January 25, 2012
but then it would be too hard to seahorse
as it is, we are all brilliant at it and can even do it drunk
yeehoo - January 25, 2012
Thank you for your kind words. As I've said elsewhere, I really enjoyed doing it.
Seahorse - January 25, 2012
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