I know you guys have probably waited desperately for me to write something positive and get rid of my 2011 curse. And here it is...

My Renault Clio is here and I have to say the colour is perfect for our Scandinavian nature. And nature it has seen already. This was taken on a winding and hilly little road in Lerum.

At first I was paranoid trying to drive it from Mölndal but once I was back in familiar territory I can declare, happily, that car technology has evolved since 1997. This is a completely different experience than my Colt. And when I change from the dubbdäck to summer tires this is going to be even more of a laugh. My Colt used to take off quick from the line but have zero power once I got to highway speed. It was still better than a Peugeot but was useless on hills. The Clio is slower starting and reminds me a lot of VW except that the steering is way more fun and responsive. At highway speeds the 112hk make all the difference and I found myself going a bit fast without noticing and shaking or noise. It is just safe and has a quality feel even though it is not expensive. I understand why there are so many Clios around now...

But my old Mitsubishi Colt was a very good choice as a first car and I have had a lot of cycling experiences with that. I noticed this because I seem to have a picture of it most places I went. So when I have nothing better to write about I can do a little tribute to the car that is probably now on its way to becoming a can of ärtsoppa. Or maybe half a can.

Finally I had that phone call. The one that will save 2011 and make all my cycling goals possible for 2012. The call that will cheer me up even though I am basically sick thanks to my co-workers and their evil plans to spoil both my birthday and Christmas by spreading germs. Yes...THAT call. My car is here! Tomorrow it will be mine!

Yes...my Renault Clio is here! The car that TopGear actually gave 14/20, something they only do for seriously sporty cars. And in true TopGear style they call it 'a huge kick in the balls to the Peugeot 207'. We shall see about that. It appears to be the second most popular car around Sävedalen after the Volvos.

Maybe the subject should say leraning but perhaps some of you are sick of Göteborgsskämt. Anyway, you all know that my training has been extremely uncreative lately. Or maybe repetitive is a better word. So today it was time to throw my brain a nice little trick and see what would happen.

Reversed direction was the theme of the day. Start with the usual tempostyle riding along Säveån (not flooded this time) and then over to Lexby along the road I usually end with. Back along the river in Jonsered and then up the hill of death...halfway up I took a right and went over to that muddy grusväg hill and then continued the rest of the way. Aj. This was more tung than Thåström in Way Out West. Turning left at Knipavägen made things no less tung so by the time I rejoined the road at the top of the hill I was hurting. No more clean MTB either.

I believe that this is the way Tahultsrundan is supposed to go and I can understand. It is much harder in this direction. Those steep uphills I always talked about are short downhills while the rest of the time is a very long gradual up all the way. And then in Landvetter you have to get up to Tahult which is a mother of a hill.

At Öjersjö it was time to turn left and return to the usual route again...except this time with a lot more cycling in my legs. There was no wind today so this was just a transport section until the hill at the golfcourse which I barely managed to attack today. At the start of Delsjön I slowed a bit to have some water and prepare for the rest. This was non-stop and full gas today and by the time I was passing Skatås I was seriously tired. But I pushed on home and now have a nice tingle in my legs.

Yes...a lovely 40km for the legs and under 2 hours. I will probably take a couple weeks off from training now but it is very strange for me to have this much leg strength in December. I think a bit of running would be nice but this distans/hills stuff is perfect for långlopp.

First I want to say how wonderful it was to see everyone on Sunday. It was obvious that Chris Cross has been missed this fall and I feel the same way. Life is crap without MCK. Hmm...maybe we can use that phrase for advertising? Anyway, at least I got to see the season's best CX track.

My car is on the way and is probably at Hedin Bil now but I am not going to relax until I have the keys and am sitting in it. The banks have become extremely tough lately and I am worried that they could put a stop to this whole deal. Of course that would be seriously bad for the car dealer too since I know they will have a hard time selling a Clio automatic in blågrå.

So now it is comment time from someone that hasn't even raced this year...
Here Oscar Ekstam has started the discussions and so far there are some decent suggestions.

It sounds like most are trying to get me to do Sportklass next year and that is fine so long as it is 40 minutes and has points. One of the main advantages with the introcross concept is that you don't have to worry about clubs or a licence. Anyone in this sport certainly has insurance already so why should we force people to pay a load of engångslicens cash just to try things out? No one will do Sport and yet I know from our local races there are lots of people with CX bikes who race for fun and enjoy it. As I see it Sport is as doomed as Prestige with the current rules.

Then we have this thing about races in city centres. I know the goal is to bring in crowds but let's be honest...cykel = nörd and a large group of men in tight shorts are not going to attract any public interest. That is the simple reality. If we look at the classic MTB marathons like Mörksuggejakten or Finnmarksturen, there you get local people watching. But that has taken years and we all know that cycling has a much greater following in Dalarna. My point is that we could have much better tracks in Borås and Sthlm. Ymergården is perfect for cross and the same was true for Frescati, Bosön or Drottningholm. If we are to prioritize good tracks we need to get rid of this 'centrum' thing. And if we want more people watching we should all start our own supporter clubs. =)

While we are starting to compare things to the Danish system, I have always agreed with the A-B-C system and moving people up when they win too much. But that kills the whole cup status since people stay in their class just to win the cup. I am thinking a variation on the stafett they have in Västgötacupen except in reverse. Have one cup and give extra points for being in Prestige compared to Super. So then one has an incentive to not just sit in Super for the sake of winning the cup. In Denmark they also only have two starts in their CX races...the first start is for Sport and younger and then the second is for everyone else (Super + Prestige). Of course it would mean more difficulties for keeping track of people but having everyone race 50 minutes could be a good compromise.

I am sure I will come up with more ideas but this is enough for now...

Sitting here at home on a Friday night is probably not something I should admit to. Especially when my most exciting plan for the evening is to try the new kebab-flavoured calzone while watching the Idol final. But when I listen to the mad rainstorm going on outside I think I have made the right choice.

Just like I predicted we had far too much nice weather before and sooner or later we would pay. Now we are paying. This is the second massive windstorm to hit Götet and this one is much worse since it is raining heavily AND windy as hell. I was completely drenched on my way to work this morning and even more thoroughly soaked on my way home since I had to get my kebab calzone from Allum. Waterproof winter jacket my ass...what is the point when the 3C rain is coming directly at you at 20 m/s???

Someone at work said they would rather have this than snow. That someone must be mad. Or they drive to work and actually never go out.

Good news is that the weather looks pretty good for Sunday which is reassuring since I will be outside all day helping and am already half sick. But the track must be in horrible shape after today. Tire-sucking grass? Oh yes.

Things are getting very routine here on Sveriges minsta cykelblogg so I am adopting the 'less is more' approach. After sleeping in a bit too much on Sunday I had what might be my last ride of the year outside given the quick change in weather here and the emergence of ice patches. But I think some running would be a good thing while I get my old Trek into winter mode and prepare to rebuilding my Full Dynamix.

Anyway, Sunday was yet again an Öjersjö experience but with an extra side tour into the centre and a lussebulle stop next to Ullevi. It was kind of raining and very much freezing so those of you doing CX this weekend will freeze. I will be there on Sunday helping and will try for Saturday also. Friday afternoon I have a meeting yet again. =(

And then last night, just to be completely predictable again, I did CXWORXS30 at Exclusive except this time I had warmed up my shoulders a bit to minimize the muscle pain. Just when I get the hang of the routine they started changing parts of it but the new variation on our dear friend plankan is worth remembering and doing at home for longer. The stomach burns nicely when you lift up one arm and make a circle with it while supporting yourself with your stomach and other arm. Aj.

Next year is also looking pretty good for långlopp so that is nice to look forward to. But, most important of all, I get my car in 2 weeks and can return to normal life again.