Oh we’re from Tigerland….Premiers 2019

Dear Rouleurs and Tigers fans,

Its been a huge 2 weeks since MMT’s last blog. The Tiges rolled the Cats in the Preliminary Final and then destroyed the GWS Giants in the Grand Final. To quote one of MMT’s favourite Vinnie Jone’s lines from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, ‘Its been emotional…’ Saturday’s Giant killing spree meant that the Grand Final was all but over by the 10 minute mark of the third quarter. What followed was an unbridged celebration of Tiger football, where the opposition was left to play the role of witches hats in Richmond training drill. MMT could go on, on, on, on….

MMT had a tough week leading into the Grand Final. For starters, he caught the late season Melbourne flu and was down for the count all of that week. Further, due to his incompetence, completely missed the Ticketek ballot widow for club members and didn’t have a Grand Final ticket. The a series of very fortunate events occurred. First, GWS Giants knocked Collingwood out of the finals race and in the process forced another 10,000 or so club tickets to be released. Second, the gods of Ticketek on Tuesday, 12.15pm, gifted MMT a decent ticket to the big dance. You bloody beauty……

Any how, here’s a photo of the victorious Richmond team, the 2019 AFL Premiers.

Gee…Trent that cup looks heavy 😉

Finally, speaking of Collingwood, MMT heard a cracking Pies joke the other day –

Question: Do you know what’s the difference between a pyromaniac and the Collingwood football club?

Answer: A pyromaniac doesn’t waste 22 matches. Boom, boom.

After the 2018 Preliminary Final aka Tiger Ambush , MMT thinks the Pies deserve a bit of trash talk.

Until next time, Go Tiges

MMT

Still not really thinking about cycling

Dear Rouleurs, or really should I say fellow Tiges Fans,

The big game Richmond vs Geelong is on at the G at 7.50pm. MMT is very, very nervous. Last time, these teams played, Geelong treated an under strength Richmond team like witches hats at a training session, as it went on 67pt rampage. This time its Geelong that looks like its a bit underdone with some key players out. So with that in mind, MMT isn’t really thinking about work or cycling, hence this blog.

Collingwood blew Richmond off the park by half time, to be 40 odd points up, in last year’s preliminary final. MMT was about 10 metres away from the Collingwood Fan Club at the city end. MMT had to bear the agony of watching Joffa put on his gold ‘pies are gonna win this jacket’ before half time. That really sucked…..

Any how here’s something liberated/plagiarised from today’s Herald-Sun.

MMT wishes his boss was elsewhere. That way he slip off to the gym and then home. Given MMT’s level of distraction its unlikely that anything useful will get done today.

Until next time, Go Tiges

MMT

Football, Football, Football, oh the La Veulta and the Ashes…

Dear Rouleurs,

Honestly, MMT’s mind has not been on cycling, at all. No it has been thoroughly preoccupied with the trials and tribulations of his beloved AFL team, Richmond. MMT is still trying to figure out how his team won enough games to be in the final to begin with. At one point, 3 of the team’s best 5 players were out injured. Richmond’s 4 time All Australian fullback, Alex Rance, has been absent the entire season with a knee injury.

Friday night’s Preliminary Final against Geelong is looking like a doozy. The Cats have lost their main forward Tom Hawkins due to a silly suspension. Richmond have a full strength, excluding Rance and Sydney Stack and an in form list to choose from. Richmond’s VFL side is in the VFL Grand Final having beaten Port Melbourne in the Preliminary Final.

The one gloomy cloud on an other wise promising horizon, is that MMT, wasn’t paying attention when the Grand Final ticket ballot was on and missed the brief 2 hour window to register for the ballot. Bother!!! Any how this is the maths that is occupying MMT’s time – will Richmond get past Geelong and will it be Collingwood or the GWS Giants they meet in the Grand Final.

Oh yeah, MMT mention that Primoz Roglic (tell me that his doesn’t sound like brand name for meat smallgoods, MMT digresses!!) riding for Jumbo-Visma, became the first Slovenian to win one of cycling’s three Grand Tours, La Vuelta. Also the Aussie cricket retained the Ashes but its paper thin batting, poor fielding and dreadful use of the DRS system cost it the final test at the Oval. Mere footnotes in history, if Richmond wins the flag in 2019.

Until next time, Go Tiges

MMT

Tempus Fugit…or how MMT learned to love ZWIFT

Dear Rouleurs

Where does the time go?? August has zipped past and MMT has done almost no work on this blog.  Last blog, MMT was willing Julian Alaphillipe on to win the TDF 2019.  Then a couple of really interesting and unexpected events occurred.  Alaphilippe finally cracked at altitude, many days after the pundits predicted.  He finished a highly credible fifth in the GC.   Geraint Thomas passed the baton of team leader to a hitherto unknown 22 year old Colombian Egan Bernal wrote himself into the history books.  In between there was the landslide on stage 18 that caused the stage to be abandoned and stage 19 to be shortened. MMT is still seeking to source a copy of Procycling to read the event summary.  This race was one for the ages.

MMT has shamelessly stolen the GC and Sprinter’s results from the letour.fr  I’m sure that the UCI and ASO lawyers have better things to do than sue MMT for breach of copyright 😉

Here’s the GC Top 10 rankings

Probably the two biggest disappointments where Richie Porte failing to fire a single shot in the race and seeing the emotional abandonment of Roman Bardet.

Here’s the Sprinter’s Top 10 rankings

Isn’t it great that 2 former Orica/GreenEdge and Aussies, Caleb Ewan and Michael Matthews finished in the top ten.  Caleb Ewan’s 3 stage wins means that Robbie McEwan’s record of 12 is now on notice.

Now the other big thing going on in MMT’s life is ZWIFT….yes that’s right MMT bought a very expensive but really good TACX Neo 2 trainer.  Clearly the ZWIFT advertising in the TDF got to MMT.  MMT has done almost 500 km and 3600m of climbing.  In short, MMT was surprised at how tough some ZWIFT courses were.  Doing a 9km lap round virtual Central Park NY contains about 150m of climbing some which is 12%+.  MMT is knackered after 3 laps.  Similarly London has some nasty punchy hills.  There’s a Strava segment called Tempus Fugit, which consists of boards laid over the top of a stairwell coming up from a tunnel running under the Thames, is 15%.

Doing ZWIFT at night, after the junior members of Team MMT have gone to bed, has been a tough ask.  Nevertheless, MMT has done a minimum of 2 sessions a week and generally enjoyed the experience.  The TACX trainer has all manner of tricks, being able simulate running over rough ground, like cobbles and being able to free wheel down virtual hills.  As it give fairly accurate power readings, MMT was greatly disappointed to discover how few watts he was actually generating.

So that’s it from MMT. It’s time to start listening to la Vuelta podcasts.  Until next, ride safe.

MMT