Cycling And Running Podcasts

Just over a year ago I discovered the world of podcasts. Without going into too much detail podcasting allows people to create their own audio/visual programmes and to publish them on the internet for very little cost. The great thing about them is they allow the user to not only listen to them whenever they want but also to download that podcast and play it on an MP3 player wherever they want.

I subscribe to a number of podcasts the majority of which touch on the subjects of cycling and running. I'm well and truly hooked to these podcasts and subscribe to them through iTunes. This means that whenever a new podcast becomes available it automatically downloads into my iTunes podcast library.

iTunes is not the only way to listen to podcasts. They are also available for download through the podcasters own websites or blogs as well as other podcast directories.

I've listed, in alphabetical order, all my favourite cycling and running podcasts below. As I say you can either access them, as I do, through iTunes or follow the links I have provided to download them direct from the podcasters own site or link.

• The Age Grouper - Triathlon and multisport Podcast. (http://www.theagegrouper.com/)
• The Bike Show - Resonance 104.4FM's weekly radio show devoted to the art, science, politics, and transcendental pleasure of cycling in London and beyond. (http://www.thebikeshow.net/)
• The Bikescape Podcast - Commentary and interviews about bikes and bike culture. (http://www.bikescape.blogspot.com/)
• The Competitors Radio Show - Interviews with great athletes from the sports of triathlon, running and cycling. (http://www.competitorradio.com/)
• Fitness Rocks - Discussion on topics of health, fitness, weight loss, stress management, diet and exercise. (http://www.fitnessrocks.org/)
• Ironman Talk - Latest news, reviews and tips for ironman triathlon. (www.ironmantalk)
• JBST - Training, nutrition and technology advice to improve your triathlon, duathlon, ironman and cycling performances. (http://www.jbst.com/)
• KBOO Bike Show Podcast - Bicycle news, culture and advocacy in Portland, Oregon. (http://www.bikeshow.portlandtransport.com/)
• Phedippidations - Thoughts, opinions, observations and rambling diatribes composed during long distance runs. (http://www.steverunner.com/)
• The Runner Roundtable - Live discussion on the joys of running. (see iTunes)
• Running From The Reaper - A 40 something English guy running in the English countryside. (http://www.runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com/)
• Running The Narrow Path - Swedish guy running the roads and paths of his neighbourhood. (see iTunes)
• Two Johns Cycling Podcast - Bicycle racing, bike repair, training techniques, interviews and listener feedback. (http://www.twojohnspodcast.missingsaddle.com/)
• The Ultradad Podcast - Aspiring ultra runner managing family, career and running life. (http://www.ultradad.podbean.com/)
• Zen And The Art Of Triathlon - A triathletes view on training, racing and living the multisport life. (http://www.zentriathlon.com/)

British Professional Track Team

British Cycling and Sky Sports have come together to form the all new Sky+HD Trade Team. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's the first time there has been a professional track team put together in the UK. Team members include, Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Shanaze Reade, Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar and Jason Kenny. That's a dream team right there!

The Teams superheroesque skin suits have been designed by Adidas and will be seen in competition for the first time this weekend at the UCI World Cup hosted at the Manchester Velodrome.

Sky's sponsorship of the team now means our track stars will be paid like professional cyclists without having to leave the British cycling fold. It also means there will be extra funding for academy and development programs as well as leisure cycling.

If like me you can't make it to the sold out event in Manchester this weekend, and you live in the UK, you can watch all the action this Sunday 2 November, 2.00-5.00pm BBC TWO.

Head On Collision With Another Cyclist

So I'm riding to work this morning on a beautiful sunny, if a little chilly, autumn day. I've made it through the West End and have crossed Hyde Park Corner as I enter Hyde Park along a narrow cobbled cycle path. Two cyclists are riding towards me on the opposite side of the cycle path. The 2nd cyclist decides to overtake the one in front without seeing me and SMACK, he hits me head on. Just before we collide I see the situation unfold with a slow motion effect, giving me just enough time to think "oh shit this is going to hurt". We both rebound slightly off each other and fall to the ground in a tangle of bikes and bodies. My first reaction is to say "this isn't a good start to the day" with the thought in my mind that my lovely scratch free (steel) De Rosa is going to be a twisted wreck. He asks me if I'm OK and I ask him the same. We untangle ourselves, get up, brush ourselves off and roll our bikes over to the side to assess the damage.

Luckily for both of us we not only escape with minor scratches and bruising but miraculously the bikes come out of it unharmed too. I'm not so much surprised by ourselves getting off lightly. I know through past experience that the body can take a certain level of stress, especially when not given the chance to tense up. However, I am surprised both bikes came out of it unharmed. Thankfully I wasn't riding my full carbon bike. There's a good chance that if I had been the collision would have cracked the frame.

The guy who caused the crash was very apologetic and embarrassed. At least he won't be making any overtaking maneuvers in future before looking ahead as well as behind.

The Tashkent Terror!

When I were a lad back in the late 80's and early nineties there were some real hard men sprinters rolling in the peloton. Names like Sean Kelly, Laurent Jalabert and a little later Tom Steels would strike fear into opponents. Around the same time as Steels and Jalabert came a cyclist with perhaps the most colourful personality ever, Mario Cipollini aka "The Lion King". Although these sprinters were undoubtedly champions my personal favourite was a much darker, mysterious character and possibly the 'hardest' sprinter of them all, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, pronounced "jah-mohl-ih-deen ahb-doo-ja-pahr-awf".

Born in Uzbekistan, Abdoujaparov was nicknamed "The Tashknet Terror" because of his ferocity in the sprints and his erratic sprinting style, (Swinging from side to side, all elbows).

He was a graduate of the Soviet sports programme and came into his prime just as his country gained independence back in 1991 at which point he joined a western team, Alfa Lum, and became a world class sprinter. Following a year with, Alfa Lum, "Abdou" went on to ride with big name teams such as, Carrera, Lampre, Polti and Lotto amongst others.

"Abdou's" greatest achievements came in 1991, 93 and 94 when he won the Green Jersey for the points classification in the Tour De France. He also won the points classifications in the Vuelta a Espana (1992) and the Giro d'Italia (1994). This set him apart as one of only 3 riders to have won the points classification in all 3 Grand Tours. The other 2 are Laurent Jalabert and of course who else but, Eddy Merckx.

For me his most famous moment came in 1991. It was the end of that years edition of the Tour. All "Abdou" had to do to win the sprinters Green Jersey was to cross the finish line. However, he also wanted the prestige of winning the final stage on the Champs-Elysees. 100 metres from the finish line "Abdou" hit a giant promotional drinks can and somersaulted into the air. He fell to the floor unable to move for a good 15 minutes. Despite still holding enough points to win the sprinters jersey, he had to cross the line. With his team mates helping him to push his bike and medical staff surrounding him "Abdou" staggered over the line bent double with pain. What a hard man!

I remember watching the highlights of that awful crash back in 1991, its a moment in cycling I'll never forget. See it for yourself and wince.....

Roche to run NYC Marathon

Retired Irish cyclist Stephen Roche has announced his intention to run the New York City Marathon on 2nd November. I saw this news for the first time today and have to admit I was surprised. I haven't been aware that Roche has been training hard for this race. The Irishman will be running his first marathon as a fundraising project for the foundation of cancer survivor and ex-footballer Geoff Thomas.

"Training for the marathon is hurting me, but I know there are people who are hurting even more. I have a choice about whether I run in the New York Marathon. I am healthy enough to do it and in doing so I can raise funds and awareness for people who are less well off physically and have no choice."

Roche's career as a professional cyclist peaked in 1987 when he became only the second cyclist to win the triple crown of Tour De France, Giro d'Italia and World Championships. The first cyclist to achieve this, back in 1974, was none other than....you guessed it, The Cannibal himself, Eddy Merckx. Unfortunately Roche never contended the Grand Tours after 87 due to knee injuries.

(Roche, back in the day, showing grit and determination)

It will be interesting to hear from Roche after the marathon on how difficult he found the run compared to his days on the bike. Good luck to him!

For more information on the Geoff Thomas foundation, visit http://www.geoffthomasfoundation.com.

2009 Tour De France Route Unveiled

The owners of the Tour De France, ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), today announced what may turn out to be a far more interesting route for 2009 compared with the previous year. The legendary Mont Ventoux will be the final summit finish just 1 day before the race ends on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Having ridden up, and down, Mont Ventoux I know how tough it is to climb this beast especially after drinking copious amounts of the local Vin rouge the night before! It will certainly mean the overall winner will probably not be decided until the end of this stage.

It will also be the most international Tour for many years. Starting in the Principality of Monaco it will pass through, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy.

Below is a list of each of the 21 stages including 2 rest days.

Stages
July 4, stage 1: Monaco ITT, 15km
July 5, stage 2: Monaco - Brignolles
July 6, stage 3: Marseille - La Grande Motte
July 7, stage 4: Montpellier - Montpellier, TTT 38km
July 8, stage 5: Cap d’Agde - Perpignan
July 9, stage 6: Gerona - Barcelona, 167km (Spain)
July 10, stage 7: Barcelona - Andorra-Arcalis, 224km (uphill finish)
July 11, stage 8: Andorra-la-Vella - St-Girons
July 12, stage 9: St-Gaudens - Tarbes (via the Tourmalet)
July 13, rest day and transfer to Limoges
July 14, stage 10: Limoges - Issoudun, 192km
July 15, stage 11: Vatan - St-Fargeaud, 200km
July 16, stage 12: Tonnerre - Vittel, 200km
July 17, stage 13: Vittel - Colmar (via col de la Schlucht)
July 18, stage 14: Colmar - Besançon
July 19, stage 15: Pontarlier - Verbier (Switzerland)
July 20, rest day
July 21, stage 16: Martigny - Bourg-St-Maurice (via col du Grand-St-Bernard and Petit-St-Bernard)
July 22, stage 17: Bourg-St-Maurice - Le Grand Bornand (via 5 climbs, starting with Cormet de Roselend, finishing with col de la Colombière)
July 23, stage 18: Annecy, ITT 40km
July 24, stage 19: Bourgoin - Jallieu-Aubenas
July 25, stage 20: Montélimar - Le Mont Ventoux
July 26, stage 21: Montereau - Paris/Champs-Elysées

Highwire Bicycle Daredevil

I wouldn't normally make 2 postings in a day but since I just found this I thought I'd share it with you. It's a video of 29 year old Nik Wallenda riding his bicycle on a highwire 135 feet off the ground in Newark, New Jersey. There's no safety net below him, nutter!

Is Jumping Red Lights A Good Idea?

Yesterday the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, called for cyclists to be permitted to jump red lights.

“If it’s (allowing cyclists to turn left on red) going to save lives, it’s a good idea. Women are especially vulnerable because they tend not pull to the front of the traffic at lights which can be more dangerous.”

His statement comes in the wake of a number of high profile fatalities mainly involving women being run over by lorries turning left.

Although the number of cycling fatalities in London have fallen research from the Transport for London suggests women are far more likely to be killed whilst cycling than men because they tend to obey red lights, waiting at junctions in the drivers blind spot.

In contrast to the Mayor's statement nearly 400 cyclists have been issued with on the spot, £30, fines in the last 3 months by police in an attempt to reduce the number of traffic offences. I myself was stopped, for the first time ever, by the police only a month ago for jumping a red light. Fortunately for me I admitted I was in the wrong, "fair cop" I told them. For my honesty the police let me off with only a warning. Can't say fairer than that I suppose.

For those of you in the UK and especially if you live in London you'll know the Mayor is a keen cyclist and uses his bike to commute all over the city. We can assume he knows a thing or two about the dangers and dynamics of cycling on the streets of London.

I have to say I totally agree with the Mayor's statement and in fact would go further than allowing cyclists to only jump lights in order to turn left in advance of other traffic. I would leave it to cyclists judgement as to when they want to jump a red light. For example, I'm a very experienced cyclist with many years of cycling on busy City streets. I'm extremely aware of what is happening around me when I'm riding my bike. When I approach a junction I'll make a judgement on whether or not to jump a red light based on if there is any traffic or pedestrians crossing that junction. If I deem it to be safe I'll jump the light. Let me be clear on this point though, I do not condone cyclists riding head long through red lights at a busy junction, that kind of behaviour is as bad as the lemmings I was talking about in my last post.

Overall I feel the risks associated with jumping red lights are less than the risks associated with obeying the lights, as long as the junction is clear. Not only is there the risk of being run over by a lorry turning left but there is also the risk of leaving the junction at the same time as all the other heavy traffic such as lorries and buses. Jumping the lights often means the cyclist is allowed a period of time were they can ride traffic free along the road making for a safer journey.

In Jack Thurston's latest excellent "Bike Show" he talks about lorries killing cyclists and what can be done to stop this happening in the future. To download the show click the link below and then look for the download options at the bottom of his latest posting.

http://thebikeshow.net/

Lemmings

Wikipedia provides the following paragraph relating to Lemming myth and misconception:

"While many people believe that lemmings commit mass Suicide when they migrate, this is not the case. Driven by strong biological urges, they will migrate in large groups when population density becomes too great. Lemmings can and do swim and may choose to cross a body of water in search of a new habitat. On occasion, and particularly in the case of the Norway Lemmings in Scandinavia, large migrating groups will reach a cliff overlooking the ocean. They will stop until the urge to press on causes them to jump off the cliff and start swimming, sometimes to exhaustion and death. Lemmings are also often pushed into the sea as more and more lemmings arrive at the shore.

Why the hell am I going on about Lemmings on a blog that is supposed to be all about cycling and running, let me explain. I recently talked about my commute by bike through London. What I didn't mention in that post was the challenge I face, daily, along certain sections of the route from what I term "Lemmings". For me the definition of a Lemming is a person who wonders out into oncoming traffic without looking. There are two types of Lemming, Local and Tourist. Usually the Local Lemming is too busy on their phone, chatting to friends or day dreaming to be concerned with risking life and death as they attempt to cross the road. The Tourist Lemming displays the same behaviour, however, they seem to think the highway code in Britain is different to the highway code of the country they are from meaning they can walk out into the road and all traffic will stop and let them past no matter how close they are.

I've been cycling the same route to work now for a couple of years and have come to understand where the Lemming "hot spots" are. I can confirm that Shaftsbury Avenue is particularly bad, as is Oxford Street. Actually, I've started avoiding the later due to the lethal combination of Lemming and bendy bus deeming safe passage difficult to say the least.

Until now I have had only one collision with a Lemming, this was a few years back. I was riding along a busy Oxford Street and what should step out from between two buses but a pair of Lemmings. Unfortunately I hit one of them, she fell over and I came off my bike. Luckily, neither myself nor the Lemming was hurt and my bike came out of it unscathed. This episode really did press home the dangers and now I'm always on the look out.

Although I would encourage people to commute to work by bicycle I would warn them not only about the obvious dangers, such as cars and lorries but also about the sometimes risky business of anticipating a Lemming jumping out in front of them at any moment.

Whatever happened to the Green Cross Code man eh with his "Stop look and listen" slogan? I say bring him back!

2008 Hall of Shame

The Tour of Lombardy, or the "Race of the Falling Leaves", one of Italy's premier classic cycling races will take place this coming Saturday, 18th October. It signals the end of the Pro cycling season here in the Northern hemisphere.

It's a time of the year when most cyclists can take it easy for a while and recover from a grueling season. Unfortunately its also become the time when, since there isn't much road racing left to talk about, the spotlight switch's fully (well apart from Mr Armstrong that is) to the topic of doping. To mark the occasion I've decided to list who has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs so far this year and discuss how this news should be viewed. Below is a list of riders we know have doped in 2008:

Cyclist	Banned substance
Patxi Vila (ESP)	Testosterone
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)	Stanozolol (steroid)
Giovanni Carini (ITA)	EPO
Paolo Bossoni (ITA)	EPO
Manuel Beltrán (ESP)	EPO
Moisés Dueñas (ESP)	EPO
Riccardo Riccò (ITA)	MIRCERA
Emanuele Sella (ITA)	MIRCERA
Dmitry Fofonov (KAZ)	heptaminol
Maria Moreno (ESP)	EPO

Since the above list was compiled (courtesy of Wikipedia) there have been 3 more positives announced, Stefan Schumacher, Leonardo Piepoli and Bernhard Kohl bringing the unofficial total to 13. At this point I can't confirm if any of the above 3 have requested B-sample analysis or not.

Compared to previous years its seems more riders have been caught due mainly to the combined efforts of the Union Cycliste Internationale(UCI), World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA), International Olympic Committee(IOC), various national anti-doping agencies and event organisers.

The sport of Road cycling falls deeper and deeper into the abyss each time a new rider is found to have cheated. Or at least that's what much of the media would have us believe.

In my humble opinion as a cyclist and a fan of professional cycling we should all be celebrating the fact that each time a cheat is caught it not only means one less cheat in the sport but also shows to the world and particularly other cyclists that it's getting more and more difficult to get away with it.

Unfortunately that's not how many people, mainly outside of the sport, as well as most sponsors see it. Cycling is seen by many to be a sport full of dopers. In the past all but the most niave would have had to agree but these days and especially this season we have seen a significant shift in the way the various sports bodies and the teams themselves are tackling the issue of doping. Garmin-Chipotle, Team Colombia and Team CSC-Saxo Bank are some of the teams leading the way when it comes to investing in internal testing. A fresh approach to tackling the problem of drugs in sport was taken recently when Roche Pharmaceuticals, makes of Mircera, Continuous erythropoitin receptor activator (CERA), a new class of third-generation EPO, worked with WADA on developing tests for Mircera before it became available on the market. The very high profile consequence of this relationship has seen the likes of Ricco, Sella, Piepoli, Schumacher and Kohl all test positive for the use of CERA.

How many other sports can honestly say they have invested in similar extensive stratagies for tackling use of drugs. Apart from some of the more traditinal Olympic sports such athletics and swimming most having only scratched the surface of the problem. If you look at the USA's favourite big three sports, Football, Baseball and Basketball it's well known drug use is going on but governing bodies, teams and most fans would rather keep their heads stuck in the sand and deny its happening.

Cycling has started to face the reality of drugs head-on. Let's applaude and support this approach and hope in doing so it encourages other sports to follow it's lead.

Friday Fun With The Fixed Pushers!

Hipster Spoof........

My Daily Commute

Google Maps tells me my daily commute is approx 9.13 miles (14.7km) each way. It takes me from Stoke Newington in East London all the over to Hammersmith in the West. On the way I cycle right though the middle of the West End passing by Piccadilly Circus, Green Park, through Hyde Park, the Royal Albert Hall, Kennsington High Street and up finally to my place of work on Hammermsith Road. Its a ride through some very busy streets. Not only do I have to look out for vehicle traffic but also people crossing the road without looking or Lemmings as I like to refer to them. Aside from all the risks that present themselves every day I do enjoy my daily commute. Its great to be able to cycle through Hyde Park on a sunny morning, like today, taking in the beautiful autumn colours of the trees and watching the Queens Guards riding their horses along the sand track. Check out the link below to see my route:

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/gb/hackney/605168865350

On a different note I went on my first training run yesterday evening following the marathon 8 days before. I thought I was fully recovered until I started running. After only a couple of miles I could feel the tightness in my legs and had to re-evalute how far I could run. Instead of running the intended 8 miles I ended up running just over 4 albeit at a fairly fast pace. Thursday is my next scheduled run before my final running event of the season on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if I feel any better tomorrow.

Berlin marathon 2008 - Certified Finishing Time

I've received some information from the organises of the Berlin Marathon, a certificate and the finish clip. My official finishing time was 04:02:23. The clip below shows me as I finish. I'm the one walking in from the top left hand corner on red t-shirt and dark glasses (I appear about half way through the video. As I cross the line you see me stopping my watch and placing my hands on my hips). I'd realised at that point I wasn't going to finish in under 4 hours and was so tired that I decided to walk the last 10 metres.