Lisa's Mum presents: What Would Cipo Do

Hi all - just letting you know that Lisa's Mum has migrated to the new Ride Happy site and today presents her new column, What Would Cipo Do? She is getting restless... please write to her so she can stop rearranging the furniture and ironing underwear.

Ride happy

Something to make you smile

Happy Friday! I saw this yesterday on my way home and it made me laugh so hard I had to share it. Hope you enjoy it too (whether you are a child of the 80s or not!).

Don't forget to check out http://www.ridehappy.com.au/ - the new home of Ride Happy.

Cheers

New Ride Happy website!

Hold onto your hats, readers - Ride Happy is evolving and now has a new website! The place to be is http://www.ridehappy.com.au/. Be a cool kid and save it to your Favourites like Lisa's Mum would do. 
This blog will still be around for a while but all the good stuff will be on the website. A HUGE thanks to Niki Fisher who designed Ride Happy's awesome new logo!

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You know it's time to hit the gym when...

...you can see the bottom of your coffee cup.

Last night I went to Pilates for the first time in a few weeks. I've been in Adelaide and I've found it hard to find to find anywhere as good as Perfect Pilates in Melbourne. So it was good to be back on the mat again.

1 June marks the start of winter and the start of Get Buff month. Get Buff month (also known as Get Ripped Month, Get Massive Month or Fatty Begone Month) was established in 2008 with an old training partner of mine as we were both recovering from various injuries and happily coincided with the discovery of a $4 gym in our neighborhood. It was a good way to bring some fresh motivation into a pretty cold and wet Winter.

Now, each Winter, athletes around the world celebrate Get Buff Month with the purchase of new bike lights and winter gloves. The month starts with the historic 'Unveiling of the Winter Doona' and 'Festival of the Higher Heating Bills'. Ceremonial robes (generally made of gortex) and waterproof booties are worn and cement smoothies are enjoyed by all to harden up and get out there.

I've seen a few people already preparing for Get Buff Month... If you aren't one of them yet, get on board! There's no better way to feel better in the winter.

Ok, enough talk from me. I'm off to hot the VIS gym. Either I'm getting old, or just more in tune with my body, but I'm really finding a benefit from doing more strength work off the bike.

Ride happy

It's almost the weekend!

Just a very quick post to say have a great weekend, whatever you are up to. Stay safe on the roads, be predictable and smooth in the bunch, and remember to smile at your barista in the cafe afterwards!

As it's Friday, it's only fitting to end the week with a joke. Not very cycling-related, I know, but it made me laugh.

The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists... Two men and a woman.
For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
"We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances.
In side of this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!!!"
The man said, "You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife."
The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job."
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the man came out
with tears in his eyes." I tried, but I can't kill my wife."
The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."
Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions to kill her husband.
She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls.
After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman.
She wiped the sweat from her brow, and said, "This gun is loaded with blanks. I had to beat him to death with the chair."

Ride happy



Read more: http://www.ajokeaday.com/Clasificacion.asp?ID=58#ixzz1MrqqZlWP

Cyclists beware! New baggage restrictions for Virgin Australia

I am sitting in Melbourne Airport on my way to Adelaide, fuming about my excess baggage charge. Virgin Blue have just changed their rules about carrying sporting equipment. Your total baggage allowance is now 23kg, including bike. Previously having a bike entitled you to 28kg. Excess baggage is $15/kg and no matter how much you bat your eyelids you will be slugged!

I'm heading over to Adelaide to see my family, do some training with my old mates at SASI, and do a race. Packing the bare minimum (which is still a fair bit of stuff when you do all of that) took me way over and I'm now $90 lighter- almost more than my airfare.

If you booked your ticket before 27 April you are entitled to 28kg, although you need to argue that at checkin as they don't volunteer it.

It's sad to see Virgin going the way of other airlines as they used to be the cyclist-friendly airline. No more.

Ride happy (without excess luggage!)

The Famous Five and the Canberra Tour

Sometimes when I get tired all I want to do is look at pictures, not words. Also, my sister and I are in the midst of writing a children's book and I need to practise my children's writing skills. So I enlisted the help of Greg Long from Greg Long Photography, and my VIS teammate Sarah Roy's 'Memoroys', to tell the story of the Famous Five (aka the Jayco-VIS girls Kendelle, Roy, Jo, Lisa and their coach Donna)  at the Canberra Tour:

The Famous Five were fresh from the Summer hols and ready for a jolly good time taking on smugglers and eating lashings of energy gels in Canberra.

(c) Greg Long Photography 

'I don't think we'll find any smugglers out here in Stromlo Forest Park,' mumured Jo doubtfully.

'Woof!' said Timmy.

'What was that?' asked Donna.

'I think it was one of the Bundaberg Sugar girls,' said Kendelle. 'They're trying to distract us so they can attack and win the tour. I know, we'll attack first in the opening crit and take them by surprise.'

(c) Greg Long Photography

Bother!' said Lisa. 'Those girls were onto us from the beginning. Now we'll have to spend the next 45 minutes chewing stem and bleeding from our eyeballs. That is a jolly old bore.'

'Woof!' said Timmy.

'Who keeps making that noise?' said Donna

(c) Greg Long Photography

'My, that was a smashing ride,' said Roy. 'And Kendelle came 3rd! Let's celebrate with tea and lemonade and then go sit in an ice bath for 14 minutes. Hurrah!'

(c) Memoroys

The next day, the Famous Five went back to Stromlo and did a 114km road race in the morning followed by a 20km time trial in the afternoon.

(c) Greg Long photography

'My goodness,' said Lisa. 'I feel like somebody has taken to my legs with a hammer and smashed them into a million pieces. But Jojo came 3rd and is looking jolly good for tomorrow. Let's all sit in another ice bath while Donna washes our smelly kit.'

'Jolly good idea!' agreed the Famous Five. 'You're a brick, Donna!'

That night Lisa had nightmares about her time trial.

(c) Greg Long photography

On Sunday the Famous Five rode out to Stromlo again in the fog (ideal conditions for smugglers), and raced the 84km final stage road race.

The Famous Five did their best on the final stage, but they could not peg back the time needed to move Jojo up on GC - although Kendelle put on a jolly good show in the road race and earned the team's Lazarus Award for her rise from the dead.

'What a smashing weekend! said Roy. Let's all go home and eat lashings of steak sandwiches on the way.'

'Jolly good idea!' chimed the Famous Five. 'Let's go sit in the car and eat salty treats while Donna drives for 8 hours. You're a brick, Donna!'

'Woof!' said Timmy.

Next: the Famous Five ride to Lorne!

Lisa's Mum wraps up the Tour of Canberra

Lisa's Mum loves Canberra because she enjoys driving around in circles and believes buying fireworks for domestic use is a right, not a privilege. So it was with great delight that she travelled with us to Canberra. It took us a while to wedge her onto the roof racks of Supercoach Donna's station wagon but that is the price you pay for being a hitch-hiker.
Mum was very impressed with the calibre of ladies racing the tour. Miffy Galloway in particular stomped the house down. And Grace Sulzberger proved that while she might not be called Wes or Bernie, she can bring home the yellow jersey just as well as either of them.
But mostly, Lisa's Mum thought the VIS ladies team was a tight and supercool bunch, with an awesomeness rating exceeded only by the awesomeness of Roy's mum's date and banana loaf. Jo timetrialled like cancellara, Kendelle turned into the super domestique from hell with a stomping stage 4, and Roy proved that lacking a time trial bike was no obstacle to riding a kicker time trial (11th in a national series race, anyone?). And Lisa introduced everyone to the joys of a steak sandwich with the lot, so everyone went home happy. Mum found the AIS ice baths a little cold for her liking, but you cannot have everything Mum.

And now, as Supercoach drives us home along the Hume, it has begun to rain. We must be nearing Melbourne...