Tourmen - The Men Who Made The Tour de France

First off apologies to Bill McGann of McGann Publishing for not reviewing Tourmen - The Men Who Made The Tour de France earlier than this.  Bill kindly sent me a copy of the book back in August and it has taken me this long to write the review.  Yes I know, terrible! But hey, better late than never.

There are plenty of books on the market focused on bike racing and particularly the most famous of races the Tour de France.  What differentiates this book from the others is the knowledge that the author Les Woodland brings.  Woodland has been writing about cycling since the mid-sixties and this is his 25th book.  There are not many who can claim to be better qualified than Woodland to write about the men who started the Tour de France, and those who run it now.

That is essentially what this book is all about, the people and organisations who made the Tour what it is today.  Broken down into six parts with multiple chapters in each Woodland takes us back to a time before the Tour had been conceived.  He describes it's conception and evolution through the decades up to the present day.  Along the way topics such as organisation, riders rights, war, sponsorship, teams, technology, language and doping are discussed in relation to the development of the biggest bike race in the World.

What really makes the book particularly interesting for me though is the depth to which Woodland describes the many tales, some obscure and previously unheard of to my knowledge, of those people involved in the Tour's history.  Woodland delivers these tales in his own fascinating and humorous style and it is this ingredient that most appeals.  An example of this is the not so humorous but nevertheless fascinating tale of Henri Pélissier and his tragic end.  The number of tales interwoven within the books pages are too many to mention here but they really shine a light on many almost forgotten events, events that helped shape the Tour.

In fact I have only one small grievance, the book feels like it flows less smoothly towards the end.  Specifically the switch in choice of subject matter in the final few chapters varies more greatly.  Maybe Woodland was just trying to fit as much as he could into the last few pages. That said the content is no less interesting and entertaining to what is an exceptional read and one that at this time of the year I would certainly recommend as a perfect stocking filler gift!

Tourmen - The Men Who Made The Tour De France is published by McGann Publishing and available worldwide.

Six Days Of Ghent

I'm a big fan of Kristof Ramon's images and have previously featured some of his portrait work here and here.  On this occasion Ramon demonstrates his skill at taking photo's of track riders going full bore at this year's Six Days of Ghent at the Kuipke velodrome in Ghent's Citadelpark.  Not only are the images highly dynamic but they also capture the speed, effort and intensity of the riders with great clarity.  I really must get myself to one of these events soon.

Via Kristof Ramon.

Saxo Bank Are Cowboys

I must have missed this first time round.  Unique comedy images of what used to be some of Saxo banks finest riders (Andy Schleck, JJ Haedo, Jens Voigt, Matti Breschel and Fabian Cancellara) giving a nod to Keven Costner and American Flyers during this year's Tour of California.

I think JJ may be one of the few who will stay at Saxo next season.

Via domestique.cc.

Carb Loading Italian Style

The temperatures dropping rapidly here in London and my eating habits are starting to reflect that.  Comfort food really comes into it's own for me during the winter months. Pizza certainly qualifies in the comfort food category and although it isn't the most effective way to carb load it's not a bad way and if you know what's going in it and your the one making it then chances are it's going to be better for you than something that is bought pre-made.

The recipe featured below is a simple tomato, mozzarella, mushroom and olive pizza, although feel free to put what ever you like on your pizza.  What is most important here is how to make the pizza dough and a tasty tomato sauce to go on it.  I've nicked the recipe out of Jamie Oliver's (celeb TV chef here in the UK) Jamies Italy book which I highly recommend.  Having made pizza from scratch four or five times using Mr Oliver's recipe I reckon I'm getting the hang of it. This time I managed to get the pizza bases just the way we like them, really thin and the tomato sauce was so good I'm going to use it as a pasta sauce too.

The ingredients listed below make 3 to 4 medium size thin pizza bases. The remaining ingredients for the tomato sauce and toppings are listed later.

• 500g strong white bread flour or Tipo ‘00’ flour
•   or 400g strong white bread flour or Tipo ‘00’ flour, plus 100g finely ground semolina flour
• 1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
• 7g sachets of dried yeast
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 325ml lukewarm water

Sieve the flour/s and salt on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

Dust the ball of dough with flour and wrap the ball in clingfilm and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to give the dough time to expand.

Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straight away, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas – this amount of dough is enough to make about three to four medium pizzas.

Timing-wise, it’s a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don’t roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though – if you are working in advance like this it’s better to leave your dough, covered with clingfilm, in the fridge. However, if you want to get them rolled out so there’s one less thing to do when your guests are round, simply roll the dough out into rough circles, about 0.5cm thick, and place them on slightly larger pieces of olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted tinfoil. You can then stack the pizzas, cover them with clingfilm, and pop them into the fridge.

 Pre-oven, looking good

Next up is the tomato sauce.  Here are the ingredients, the quantity is to match the quantities for the pizza bases:

• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and torn
• 1 x 400g tins of good-quality, whole plum tomatoes
  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Timing-wise make this sauce after you've rolled out the pizza bases but before you prep any toppings.  You can also start heating the oven 250C/gas 9.

Place a non-stick frying pan on a medium/low heat and pour in 2 generous glugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, shake the pan around a bit and, once the garlic begins to colour lightly, add the basil and the tomatoes. Using a potato masher, mush and squash the tomatoes until smooth.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a further 20 minutes to concentrate the flavours.  Let it cool down a bit then it should be the perfect consistency for spreading on your pizza bases.

See the side with all the olives, that's my half.

The final step is to prep the toppings then put the whole thing together and cook it.

• 4 to 5 medium size mushrooms
• 300g mozzarella
• couple of hand fulls of pitted green olives
• Small handful of fresh basil

Smear your tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Lay over your sliced mushrooms and olives.  Place small pieces of ripped mozzarella in between the gaps, throw on ripped pieces of basil, drizzle with olive oil. Cook until crisp and golden, usually around 10 to 15 minutes depending on how efficient your oven is.

I can't make my mind up whether I prefer it hot or cold the day after.

Give The Drummer Some

Did you ever hear such I funky cyclist drummer?  I know I didn't, pass the mic.

Daniel Wakefield Pasley Photography

I was blown away by the quality of photography I saw when I came across Daniel Wakefield Pasley's website.  Man this guy can take pictures.  Examples seen in his project and studies work feature people, portraits, landscapes and sport to name a few of his inpsirations, all captured in a steady crisp style.

I was initiatly drawn in by Pasley's photos of cyclists and bicycles but I went back to his website later and had a closer look.  In considering which six images to profile here (I limited myself to just six) I was pulled toward's featuring more of the frontier influenced landscape shots.  They perfectly capture the natural beauty of North America.

You can see much more of Daniel Wakefield Pasley's work by clicking here.

Run For Your Life

Emmy-Nominated Filmmaker Judd Ehrlich’s documentary chronicles the life of the relentlessly ambitious and endlessly quirky founder of the New York City Marathon, Fred Lebow.

Watch the full film online for a limited time only:

Watch the full episode. See more THIRTEEN Specials.

For more information, visit http://www.fredlebowmovie.com/.

The High Life

Below is a taster of a documentary about Scottish cycling star Robert Millar called The High Life.  Millar created a stir in 1984 by winning the King of the Mountains jersey and finishing fourth overall in the Tour de France. In this unique film made in 1985 with the eyes of the UK on him, the camera records his feelings about the year, his performance and morale within the team. With flashbacks to his stage win in 1984, mixed with 1985 footage of the Tour, Vuelta and Worlds, the bike fan is treated to a behind the scenes view of life in the Peugeot team.

Unfortunately I've only been able to provide a taster because the remainder of the documentary has been removed from YouTube.  However, the seven plus minutes certainly help to give a valuable insight into Scotland's greatest ever road cyclist.

19th November 2011 - Regent's Park Ride

What a great day it was for a ride today. The sun shone brightly and kept my spirits high. I rode the Regent's Park loop. This loop is my equivalent of an outdoor turbo trainer. If you hit the lights right around the park's perimeter road then you can just keep on going. It's perfect for getting the distance in without having to battle through endless urban sprawl.

I worked on my form today cupping the break hoods loosely and relaxing my shoulders, trying to keep my back fairly straight and knees and legs moving straight up and down.

There was only one downside to today's ride as there has been to most of my rides during the last few months and that is the onset of a pain that runs down the side of neck and along my right shoulder. I think it continues down my right arm. Actually I'm pretty sure the problem started when I crashed ages ago. I stupidly thought it might correct itself but it hasn't.

I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I must seek the advice of a physiotherapist.  I'm supposed to be focusing my attention more towards cycling next year (I'm not running any marathons) so if I don't get this sorted now I'm lining myself up for a shit load of unnecessary pain when the distances start to increase on the bike in early spring.

I've already been told of a good sports injury therapy centre I could go to outside of London, (Thanks Richard) but can anyone else recommend me a good sports physiotherapist within the London area?

Danny MacAskill - Way Back Home

Here's a new video from Scottish street trials rider Danny MacAskill.  If you've never seen MacAskill ride before then your in for a treat.  I've never seen anyone come close to being so at one with their bicycle.  He was surely born to do this...



You can see other MacAskill videos and hype I've previously posted here and here.

Velodrome In The Olympic Park

Here's an update video on the progress of the Olympic velodrome along with an explanation about certain elements of it's design.

I pass it by from time to time and have to say the wooden panelled exterior is very good looking.  I can't wait for those tickets to go on sale.

Pat Cleary Art

Every once in a while I come across artwork that really excites me. I had that feeling when I found Pat Cleary's work a couple of days back.

Pat who lives in the Lake District in the north west of England has an interest in painting a number of different subject matters.  The one that's of particular to me is his cycling inspired work.

It's obvious from his paintings of great moments from pro cycling history that Pat knows his stuff when it comes to bike racing.

The paintings below are a sample of Pat's work along with his descriptions of each piece:

PANTANI Tour de France 1998

Tour de France 1998 Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) attacks the Ullrich group on the Col de Galibier during his epic stage 15 ride from Grenoble to Les Deux Alpes.  The high point of a tragic career..

COPPI AND BARTOLI

Fausto Coppi (Italia) and Gino Bartoli (Italia) share a bidon in the Alps.

TOUR DE FRANCE 1985

Bernard Hinault (La Vie Claire), Sean Kelly (Skil) and Greg LeMond (La Vie Claire) descending the Alps.

BOARDMAN

Chris Boardman (Gan) on his first yellow jersey ride in the prologue at Lille, Tour de France 1994.

LOUISON BOBET & RAPHAEL GEMINIANI  Tour de France 1955

Eventual winner for the third successive time Louison Bobet (France) with Raphael Geminiani (France) battling to bring back Charly Gaul (Luxembourg) in the Alps.

HENNIE KUIPER Paris-Roubaix 1983

Hennie Kuiper (Aernoudt) et al in the hell of the north before going on to win alone by over a minute.

I think you'll agree, great paintings that bring back such fantastic moments.  To find out more about Pat Cleary's art, including further detail on the prices of his pieces, click here.

14th November 2011 - Regent's Park Ride

I couldn't get anyone to accompany me on today's spin around the perimeter road of Regent's Park and, to be honest, I can't blame them. It was easily the coldest, wettest and most miserable ride I've done so far this year. By the time I got home my fingers were so cold I found it difficult to get the house keys out of my rear zipper pocket. I'm glad I went out though because I hadn't ridden all week. I'll try and get out again in the next few days although I'll make sure it's a dry day next time.

Haile Gebrselassie Retires

Just a few days ago the great Haile Gebrselassie retired from marathon running at the New York City marathon after having had to drop out due to an inflamed knee.

Below is footage of an emotional Haile breaking the news immediately after the race.



However, there may be a ray of hope for Haile fans. Days later, he posted to his Twitter account that he is reconsidering his decision and wants to run in the 2012 London Olympics. I for one hope he makes that decision. Seeing the marathon world record holder grace the streets of London would be very special.

It was during my first marathon in Berlin that Haile broke his own world record time by 27 seconds, finishing in an incredible time of 2:03:59.  That's an average of 2:56.5 per kilometer (4:43.7 per mile).  Words really can't describe how amazing that is.  Haile Gebrselassie, a great and humble man.

Assos Airjack 851

I'm a firmly believer that in most cases you get what you pay for.  I know that isn't always true but in my experience and with the things I've purchased over the years (maybe I'm lucky), I've found this to be the case.  I remember so many occasions when I've spent less only to regret not having purchased the more expensive item in the first place.  In some cases I've ended up replacing the cheaper item with a more expensive one.  Sometimes it's cost effect to spend more.

I'm lucky enough to have been able to have purchased three or four pieces from Swiss cycle wear brand Assos over the years and every time I've never been disappointed, it's been worth every penny.  Even so it's taken me the best part of a year to muster up the courage to fork out for the Assos Airjack 851 and now I have it I wish it had been the first winter cycling jacket I had ever purchased.

Better late than never though.  I put the jacket through it's paces on last Saturday's ride and it performed beautifully.  The 851 has been part of the Assos winter range for a few seasons giving them plenty of time to consider every single little detail on the garment. There isn't anything they haven't thought of.  There's the full front zipper, high collar with button closure, reflective visibility stripes and plenty of room for me to put my stuff with four rear pockets and of course a zippered safety pocket.

The fabric Assos use for the jacket is top quality.  Not only did the jacket keep me warm on my ride, on what was a chilly late autumn day, (I only had a short sleeve base layer on underneath) but it's moisture wicking properties really do work.

I know Assos isn't everyones cup of tea, I mean they don't do the whole retro-style very well, but you'll be hard pressed to find cycle clothing made to such high technical and performance specifications.  Not only that but the build quality is top notch.  It just lasts and lasts and lasts.

For me information on the Airjack 851 click here.

Riders' Collective

The Riders' Collective is a cyclist's sampling of some of the Web's best blogs, tips, videos, reviews, and photographs and is published, edited and designed by avid cyclist Paul S. Kramer.

Check out Paul's excellent website and online magazine, published monthly, by clicking here.

Mornington Chasers Winter 10k

 

As I mentioned yesterday this morning I ran a 10k race on Regent's Park put on by the Mornington Chasers running club.  The club organise a winter and a summer series of races.  With each series made up of six races it's possible to run a competitive 10k at the park every month of the year.

Personally I like to keep the amount of competitive 10k's I run to a minimum because they hurt so much which may explain why I haven't run one since March 2009.  I don't see the point in running a race unless I'm going to give 100% and I certainly did that today.

It was a perfect late autumn morning for a race.  Like yesterday it was bright and sunny although I could feel the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees.  By 8.30am I was on the park, having cycled there, ready for a 9am start (a bit bloody early for a Sunday morning but never mind).  After meeting Dave, my brother-in-law, who was also running the race I warmed up for five minutes then it was over to the start line.

The course is roughly 3.33k and is repeated three times.  I'd say it isn't a particularly fast course since there are two or three mild up hills that don't seem like much but trust me after one lap of going full gas I was straining to gulp air in when I ran up them later in the race.

As I reached the end of the first lap I saw the clock said 14 minutes.  I was surprised since the pace per km on my wrist computer told me I was about 30 seconds quicker.  I already knew it was slightly out but I didn't realise it was out by that much.  I must re-calibrate it and the footpod, which measures my speed, this week to improve the accuracy.

I picked up my speed  and for the remaining two laps sat in behind a couple of runners who I calculated would bring me home in a good time just so long as I could keep contact with them.  It was tough going but I held it together with a mixture of will power and experience.  I say experience in the sense that I knew I could hold the uncomfortable pace until the end without blowing up which I did.

As I entered the home straight I gritted my teeth and sprinted home in a not too shabby time of 41:28 for a new personal best, my previous being 42:50.  To top off a fine morning Dave also achieved a PB finishing in a very quick 39:11.

That's definitely it for me and competitive running this year and maybe even next year as I really want to concentrate on cycling in 2011.  A trip back to Mont Ventoux in France is on the cards as are other possibilities currently being considered.  I will continue running, that goes without saying, but it will be easy base stuff rather than specific training for races.

6th November 2011 - Surrey / Sussex Ride

I was out on my own today due to half the usual crew having other commmitments and the other half being ill.

Rather than riding one of the usual routes into Essex or going round in circles at Regent's Park I took the relatively new East London Line from Haggerston station, close to where I live, down to West Croydon Station. The great thing about doing this is it gives easy access to the Surrey and Sussex countryside for those of us based in North East London, especially because it cuts out having to cycle through endless urban sprawl to get there.

Before setting out I'd planned an 80km loop, however only a short way into it I took a wrong turn and ended up getting lost. I really should pay more attention to my own instructions! In the end I rode a little over 90km although it took me along many busy roads I wouldn't normally choose to take.

It wasn't all bad though. The sun shone brightly enhancing the glorious autumn greens and browns of the falling leaves and I had an impromptu stop on the way home at my sister's, in Lewisham, for some well deserved coffee and baked beans on toast.

It was also a great chance to road test my new purchase, the Assos Airjack 851 jacket. I'll post a seperate review of the jacket in the coming week.

Tomorrow it's back to running and I'll be rounding off my competitive season by taking part in the Mornington Chasers Winter 10K race. It's one of a series of six put on by the Chasers from October to March. I'll be looking to break my rather average PB of 42:50 set on the same circuit last year.

For more information on the Mornington Chasers Winter 10K GP Series, including online entry, click here.

Mike Stilkey Artwork

I've stumbled across some really imaginative bicycle related artwork recently.  This book sculpture by California based Mike Stilkey certainly qualifies not only as being highly imaginative but also unique.  At least I've never seen anything like this before.  The piece above is one of many book sculpures created by Stilkey.

The except below is taken from an interview with the artist featured on the fecalface.com website.  To read the entire interview click here.  Also check out more of Stilkey's work at his own website here.

Why did you choose to paint on books? It seems like it would have been a challenge to go from working on paper to painting on something so dimensional. What was that transition like?

It was sort of an accident. I was painting on book pages for forever, and actually published a book in 2005 titled "100 Portraits" in which I drew one hundred portraits on old book pages. At the time, I was drawing on books, records or anything else I could find at a thrift store. Eventually, I started drawing on the books themselves. I was going to do a project where I just drew on the covers of the books, and as I finished them I would stack them against the wall. It dawned on me that it might be a good idea to paint down the spines of the books instead of just on the covers. The first one I did I didn't really think much of, but I brought it down to BLK/MRKT, and I remember Jana going crazy over it. We showed it at the second Artists' Annual group show where it got quite a bit of attention, including attention from Kim Davenport, the director of Rice Gallery in Houston.

Homemade Hummus

It's been a while since my last mention of what is one of my favourite subjects - food, so I thought it about time for another little foodie post.

I've been getting into making my own homemade hummus recently.  I've always been a massive fan of the stuff and although I've made it myself in the past I've always ended up reverting back to buying it from the supermarket.  Well this time it's different.  I've made two lots so far over the last two weeks and I'm going to carry on making it once per week, it only takes a few minutes.  The thing I like about making it myself, apart from it being cheaper than buying it ready made, is that it's easy to make subtle changes to the taste by adding or taking away ingredients.  The recipe below is for a basic hummus (the one I've been making) and will make four or five generous servings.  Once made transfer it into a tupperware box and pop it in the fridge.  It will last for a week, no problem.

500 grams chick peas (two tins) - Tinned don't need soaking and are pre-cooked
1 T sea salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup tahini (also called sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 t cayenne pepper, more to taste
1/2 c filtered water, plus 1/2 cup or more as needed

Put all the ingredients into a food processor (chop the garilc first) and process until smooth and well combined.  That's it!

It's such a simple recipe you can't really go wrong.  One recommendation though, go easy on the water at first and only add more little by little depending on how you like the consistency.  Better to do it that way than to add too much at first and it be too sloppy.

Breaking Away with Scenes from Breaking Away

Incredible!  This is a photomosaic of a scene from cult bicycle movie Breaking Away made up from actual scenes from the movie.  How the heck StellaMe did this I have no idea, great work!  To see the orginal size of the mosaic with closer detail click here.