Adding a bit of 'impact' to B&W conversions (getting rid of the grey!)

Wow, I am certainly impressed by what you guys can achieve with this image in such a short space of time. Probably further than I would want to go, and certainly well outside my skills, but very creative, thanks.

I will have some time to absorb these suggestions and try them out myself in photoshop, so thank you all for taking the time to respond.