Deadshits and cowards emboldended

Menacing, harrassing or bullying a cyclist from the safety of a car is a gutless act. And this week's road rage incident in Sydney, where a driver braked suddenly in front of a pack of 50 cyclists has brought the nutters and their kin out of the woodwork.

The deadshit of the week award goes to the driver himself, ''Huss'' - who by now might be starting to realise he's driven his shitty old Falcon into a world of pain. Good. But the cowards and bullies of the world have found a new king. All hail King Huss of Campbelltown. My tip would be he wasn't rushing because he was due in the operating room to perform life-saving open-heart surgery on a seriously ill orphan. He was just driving that way.

Deadshit of the month goes to Elisa Brown of Helsinki, who for some unknown reason wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald letters page.

''The question that occurred to me was why such an enormous group of cyclists had chosen to congregate on a busy road. ''

One wonders why such large packs of cars congregate on busy roads too, Elisa, you ignorant git. Could they be law-abiding taxpayers, going about their legitimate business, breathing the free and righteous air of a democracy?

And deadshit of the year goes to that dim-bulb NSW roads minister Eric Roozendal,
who cleverly points out that because one underhung Neanderthal has a temper problem, we'd better all stay indoors, because like other victims, cyclists who get hit by motorists in peak hour were clearly gagging for it.

"I would have thought it was probably better if they weren't interrupting peak-hour traffic.''

Road ragers? Big trucks? Cars? No, you guessed it. Fuck you Eric.

2,144km so far this year.

Lighting up the night

I've used a dynohub for about four years, a Shimano at first before graduating to the lovely and super-efficient Son a couple of months ago. Teamed with the Schmidt E6 headlight they're a great choice for commuting after dark or for audax night riding.

I ride a fair bit at night, on some pretty dark roads during winter commutes and I love dynohubs. There's no need to remember batteries so you're very unlikely to be left stranded without lights and the beam from the headlight lights up a whole lot of road. The only disadvantage is the need to change bulbs every hundred hours or so.

For some reason among people who ride at night, lighting is a topic which obsesses. Everyone is keen to find that solution of perfect reliability, light weight and sun-like illumination with no blind spots, with which to light their noctournal pedallings. The advent of cheap LED lights has meant that in recent years the lighting arms race has tipped in favour of lights like the Ayup battery-powered models or similar. Those who have come to love their dynohubs have been waiting patiently.

The news is good. There are two superb new lights on the market. The Supernova E3 is so bright it's illegal in Germany. So too is the very sexy little taillight. Imagine that. Illegal in Germany. It must melt oncoming cars. People who have used it say it lights up the night. I must have one. But then, the Edelux light is also about to be released. For about the same price it's a toss up, especially when the carefully worded marketing blurbs don't allow easy direct comparison. I suspect they're both fairly similar 3-watt LED setups, but as the E6 has demonstrated, the optics in these lights can make a stunning difference for the same amount of light. As they say over at the Research Trailer Park, it's a good problem to have.

At the moment, the choice is academic. At several hundred bucks each, I'll be using the E6 for a while to come yet, reading the breathless reviews from lucky owners as they light up the byways of the night.

Oppy 2008

For some reason it always rains during the Oppy. Even in the middle of a drought. It rained last year and it rained this year too, though for longer and with a lot more conviction.

A little additional discomfort fades into the background on a ride this hard though. Despite the logistical nightmare of getting bike and associated kit from Hobart to central Victoria and back, this was a better ride for me than last year. Although I got less sleep (about ten minutes, compared with 25 minutes last year) we covered more ground (386km compared with 365km last year) and for the most part I felt a lot stronger.

The bike went fine and my the company and support of the fine bunch of blokes I rode with was - as usual beyond compare. Not sure whether I'll have another go, although the 400km mark looms tantalizingly close. At this rate we'll crack it next year. I'll have to give it some serious thought.

Now, after a week's rest, it's time to get back on the bike.

2002km so far this year.