Bye

Heck guys, don't go. Still plenty to talk about, heck cross is just around the corner...

mmmm okay see you all next year, now where did I put those photos of Boonen [img]cyclingforums.comrolleyes.gifOpen ↗[/img]

nns1400 said:

Hey, Klodi, you are indeed a valiant one. I'm taking a break, in fact I kind of just slipped off but then I discovered others were polite enough to say bye for now. Couldn't just leave my posse hangin' (you, Edie, etc. I'll include janiejones even though she claimed tonot like the boy toys...hee hee). I obviously don't need to tell anyone my opinion about the misogynist troll.

I think I'll write in a journal instead of a forum this winter. This gives me the obvious disadvantage of having to laugh at my own jokes, plus I have become dependent on emoticons. And I'll have to tape my own tiny pictures of Clive Owen in the margins. But it might help keep me sane...

Anyway, spring will come, the sun will shine, and we'll all believe again...

I hate goobyes... 🙁 don't let the troll win

but if you do take a hiatus, you'll be missed...

If the trolls are decapitated-and the early signs look good-how are the departees going to find out and, hopefully, return?

In fact, everybody seems to be leaving just at the very point that the trolls are on the run. The wrong way round, surely?

Gregers said:

In fact, everybody seems to be leaving just at the very point that the trolls are on the run. The wrong way round, surely?

Agreed.
The two trolls that tried to hijack the threads were removed yesterday.

Hopefully those members who left here voluntarily will reconsider their participation.

Good stuff. Now how do we let them know so we can throw a welcome home party?
Incidentally, Lim. Are you reasonably confident that we have seen the back of them for good?

Gregers said:

Good stuff. Now how do we let them know so we can throw a welcome home party?
Incidentally, Lim. Are you reasonably confident that we have seen the back of them for good?

I'm hopeful - let's put it that way.

Great. No trolls. Now all we need is something interesting to talk about since the Giro is seven months away.

earth_dweller said:

Heck guys, don't go. Still plenty to talk about, heck cross is just around the corner...

mmmm okay see you all next year, now where did I put those photos of Boonen [img]cyclingforums.comrolleyes.gifOpen ↗[/img]

Edie, you are a wicked woman, lol. Now I have to check back for those pics...
There are too many laughs around here to stay away for long. I do have to get through youth sports seasons around here -- too much time on the computer and the kids are wearing the wrong cleats to their games. 🙄

Frigo's Luggage said:

Great. No trolls. Now all we need is something interesting to talk about since the Giro is seven months away.

Well, the Tour DownUnder is 3 months away - so we could spend several pages in endless speculation about which teams will be bothered making the trek that far south.

Or maybe not. :p

matagi said:

Well, the Tour DownUnder is 3 months away - so we could spend several pages in endless speculation about which teams will be bothered making the trek that far south.

Or maybe not. :p

OK. I didn't really fit into the circus life.

I don't understand what is the big attraction to the Tour Downunder. A six stage race where the biggest climb is 400 metres at a 2% grade. Where's the fun in that? Why couldn't Victoria host the race and it include some climbs up the Snowy Mountains?

Can you fill me in on the history and internal politics a bit matagi?

Crankyfeet said:

Can you fill me in on the history and internal politics a bit matagi?

Alas! You've asked the wrong person. I have no idea about the background to the TDU. Sorry. :o

I hope this confession doesn't mean I can't post here any more. :p

Oh, and the Snowy Mountains are in New South Wales so Victoria would be treading on a few toes if it tried to host a cycling race there. However, the Victorian Alps have some challenging (if short) climbs and some quite specatacular scenery.

Crankyfeet said:

OK. I didn't really fit into the circus life.

I don't understand what is the big attraction to the Tour Downunder. A six stage race where the biggest climb is 400 metres at a 2% grade. Where's the fun in that? Why couldn't Victoria host the race and it include some climbs up the Snowy Mountains?

Can you fill me in on the history and internal politics a bit matagi?

Willunga Hill is actually 3km long at approx 7.5% gradient.

On the tourtourdownunder website they list a mob called Events South Australia as the owners of the race.
Events South Australia is the major events division of the South Australian Tourism Commission.

So it's extremely unlikely that they would send the race into the neighboring state of Victoria.

In Australia there does at times become wars of State ownership of events.
eg:F1 Grand Prix used to be held in Adelaide (Sth Australia) for many years until Victoria out trumped them and got the rights to hold the race.
The motorcycle GP races likewise used to be held in Victoria until NSW out foxed them when Victoria's licence to hold the race was up for renewal and won the rights to hold it. Years later Victoria got it's revenge and won the race back again.

So the Tour Down Under would only ever head into the Snowy mountains region if either Victoria or NSW competed for the ownership and UCI pro tour rights to hold the race.
Or it became a national government back thing which would eliminate state involvement, then they could hold it anywhere. That will never happen though as it's always a state run thing. Even the Olympics where state run and nothing is bigger than that.

where oh where did I put those photos

I would assume that some of the TDU's attractiveness has to do with the weather and getting a trip to Australia for some of the riders. The riders have to be in training in January, why not do it during a race in nice, warm weather in Australia than cold, rainy in Belgium for example.

Makes sense to me.

Now why make it a ProTour event is a whole other kettle of fish.

Trev_S said:

Willunga Hill is actually 3km long at approx 7.5% gradient.

So its sounds like its:

"First to the top of the hill wins the race!". 🙄

Without an ITT, it doesn't exactly make for alot of twoing and froing in the GC race. I may be a little biased/spoilt after watching the longer stage races. I was just hoping that it could include Australia's more picturesque and challenging landscapes, as it is a tourist vehicle like the TdF. But your explanation of the politics was very helpful, if not disappointing.

earth_dweller said:

where oh where did I put those photos

Edie, why is his right arm four times as big as his left. I know his right arm is closer to the camera, but Tom doesn't have big arms (at least not when he slept with me in 2005). Either this is a photoshop edit or he's playing a lot of tennis at the moment.🙂

Crankyfeet said:

Edie, why is his right arm four times as big as his left. I know his right arm is closer to the camera, but Tom doesn't have big arms (at least not when he slept with me in 2005). Either this is a photoshop edit or he's playing a lot of tennis at the moment.🙂

oh, good catch! I totally didnt notice that till you pointed that out. freaky :eek:

Crankyfeet said:

Edie, why is his right arm four times as big as his left. I know his right arm is closer to the camera, but Tom doesn't have big arms (at least not when he slept with me in 2005). Either this is a photoshop edit or he's playing a lot of tennis at the moment.🙂

arms? who's looking at his arms?
[img]cyclingforums.comeek.gifOpen ↗[/img][img]cyclingforums.combiggrin.gifOpen ↗[/img]

Crankyfeet said:

So its sounds like its:

"First to the top of the hill wins the race!". 🙄

Without an ITT, it doesn't exactly make for alot of twoing and froing in the GC race. I may be a little biased/spoilt after watching the longer stage races. I was just hoping that it could include Australia's more picturesque and challenging landscapes, as it is a tourist vehicle like the TdF. But your explanation of the politics was very helpful, if not disappointing.

Yeah pretty much.

and then the GC winner tends to come from a breakaway from one of the early stages (stage 2 or 3), from those on that particular breakaway, it's first up the hill wins.

I agree it would be good if they could get into a more picturesque and challenging locations.