velorunner

roger de vlaeminck

2012-01-28T13:17:00.000Z

published in 1978 by kennedy brothers publishing ltd roger de vlaeminck by raphael luchon is a magazine format book i purchased on ebay a few days back. the images below are a sample of photographs taken from the book.

an ode to the bicycle

2012-01-25T07:02:00.000Z

The importance of the bike in the history of the world. Inspiring talk from Rob Penn.

via do lectures

stevens prestige

2012-01-22T08:20:00.000Z

over the last couple of years i have done a lot of talking with friends about how i am going to start racing cyclo cross, well now i finally have the machine to achieve this ambition.

after much deliberation on what cx bike to buy i settled on the stevens prestige. my original criteria was to buy a cx bike with disk brakes and that had an aluminium frame rather than carbon since i am sure i will end up staking it and with this in mind feel metal will be better suited for me over plastic. i managed to tick the box frame wise but could not find a bike that i liked with disk brakes for my budget which was £1500 so i settled for the traditional cantilever brake set up still favoured by most.

other bikes i considered long and hard were the cube cross race pro, kona jake the snake and cinelli zydeco all of which hit the target budget wise. i am sure they are all fantastic bikes too but i am confident i made the right choice in the end. stevens has a proven track record in cyclo cross and the aluminium frame with carbon forks is said to be both stiff, responsive and at a shade under 9 kilos reasonably light.

i purchased the bike from hargroves cycles in southampton and have to give a big thanks to jeff the manager for his excellent and friendly service as well as for knocking me off a few quid so i could upgrade the wheels from the stock fulcrum 7 cx to a pair of mavic ksyrium elite. along with the fact hargroves had discounted the prestige anyway in their sales (they still have some at time of writing this) meant i managed to get the bike with the wheel upgrade for my max budget.

i also gave jeff my set up spec from a bike fit i had done at mosquito bikes in london two years ago (the diagram below is my set up). there is little doubt i am equally as inflexible now as i was two years back so am pretty sure this fit is still applicable to me. i think jeff built up the bike himself to my specifications and apart from the stem being 10mm too short (stock stem) everything else is exactly as required.

for a list of equipment featured on this bike check out the stevens website here.

bike thrones

2012-01-17T19:18:00.003Z

for your royal arse...

my favourite is the king of the cobbles design with the lion of flanders emblem. what is yours?

www.bikethrones.com

tour de france 95

2012-01-10T20:39:00.001Z

the players

indurain

virenque

zabel

amazing images from the 1995 tour de france by the ever prolific numerius.

deep custom

2012-01-09T19:37:00.000Z

deep custom is a short documentary about minneapolis-based custom bicycle frame builder, erik noren and his company, peacock groove cycles. it is kinda like orange county choppers but for bicycles.

Deep Custom from Royal Antler on Vimeo.

flemish winter hat by galstudio

2012-01-03T19:59:00.001Z

image: betty bhandari

i was recently the lucky winner (i never win anything usually!) of this flemish winter hat from a bikes, books & beer competition. produced by vancouver based richard and carol of galstudio this hand crafted 100% wool cycling cap features an integrated belgian style fold down ear flap and the cap is also designed to fit snuggly under a bicycle helmet.

the weather here in the uk is fairly mild at the moment but as soon as the temperature drops this hat will become a welcome addition to my cold weather cycling attire. thanks guys it is a perfect fit!

namur cyclocross world cup highlights

2012-01-02T08:53:00.003Z

happy new year! keeping with the muddy theme, i was so impressed with the video highlights of the women's world cup race in heasden-zolder that i went backwards and took a look at some more work from petitesreines. i first saw her movies on cyclingdirt. it is no surprise they have started to publish her videos since she has a great eye for movie making. from what i have seen so far her work is well filmed, well edited and the inspired music selections make for some of the best bicycle related movies around. she also does a perfect job of representing the women's world cup cyclocross scene which gets unfairly overshadowed by the men's races a lot of the time.

below is petitesreines video highlights from the women's cyclocross world cup race in namur, belgium from 18 december 2011. back to front, i know, from the last video of hers i posted but who cares, i am going to watch it again. i will be keeping a look out for all her upcoming work from now on. believe the hype!

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

heusden-zolder cyclocross world cup highlights

2011-12-31T08:27:00.002Z

beautifully filmed and edited highlights here from the elite women's cyclocross world cup in heusden-zolder, belgium from 26 december 2011. it really captures the toughness and atmosphere of racing in the number one country in the world for elite cyclocross racing. seeing these stars makes a mere mortal like me desperately want to take up the sport. just got to get myself a cx bike now.

5ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

via cyclingdirt

chasing legends (stage 21)

2011-12-30T09:05:00.000Z

i watched chasing legends for the first time yesterday. the film follows the then htc-columbia team and their roster of stars such as mark cavendish, mark renshaw, george hincapie, tony martin and bernhard eisel as they raced their way around the 2009 tour de france. it was the edition which also included the imfamous lance armstrong - alberto contador astana team.

i thought the movie was very good and made all the more entertaining by including plenty of interviews with jens voigt, always a winner right? my only criticism of the film was the corny and ever so slightly cringe worthy introduction and conclusion to the movie featuring what was supposed to be old black and white footage of a young boy peering over his garden gate as the tour hero's of yesteryear race by, pure cheese! that aside the film is definately worth a viewing.

i found the clip below showing the run in to paris giving a good flavour for the style of the film.

Chasing Legends (Stage21) from deekay on Vimeo.

roller training

2011-12-26T15:33:00.002Z

i posted this video of myself training yesterday in my back garden on the rollers to show that they really are not difficult to use. i thought it would take me ages to get the hang of it but it did not. i just got on them a few weeks back and off i went, with a wobble or two, but nevertheless i was rolling!

rollers training from Jason B on Vimeo.
i wish i had known sooner that riding rollers is so simple especially since my wife had bought them for me at least two years ago as a christmas present. until three weeks ago they had sat collecting dust unused, although for around a year and a half of that time we had been living in a little flat in hackney london with no decent space in which to set them up, or at least that is the excuse i use to console myself with.

since relocating to bath though we have much more living space including a back yard, featured in this video, and when the weather is really bad a garage/man cave! i therefore no longer have the lack of space excuse. a few weeks ago when the weather was much colder than it currently is i set the rollers up in the garage, put the bike on the rollers, positioned myself on the bike, started peddling, let go of the wall and the rest, as they say, is history. one important note though, i did not clip in to the peddles with my cycling shoes on the first attempt, instead opting for caution by wearing a pair of trainers for an easier escape should it be required, which is was not.

since that first attempt on the rollers i have been using them between three and four times per week. maybe it is still a novelty but i actually enjoy using them although anything more than a 45 minute session does get a tad boring. that said, compared to riding the turbo trainer, which i used to do, the rollers are far more fun. they require a level of concentration and focus not needed when training on a turbo trainer where the bike is locked into the trainer.

because i am still a relative beginner on the rollers i am experimenting with how far i can push myself in terms of balance. for example, i can ride them one handed for short periods of time, i can ride them with my hands on the tops of the bars or the hoods and i can turn my head to the side and down a little, although it is surprising how much turning the head can effect the direction the bike goes in. my arms still seem to turn slightly when i turn my head so i have to be very careful doing this. what i cannot do yet is take my arse off the saddle or go non-handed, those two options would definitely end in disaster. i am sure though that my form on the bike will improve as i hone my technique on the rollers.

for the first winter ever i will now be able to guarantee myself a certain level of bike fitness as i head into spring thanks to being able to train on the rollers plus, of course, getting out for as many rides as i can during the winter months.

i use a dutch brand of rollers by tacx called the tacx t1000 antares rollers which retail for around £125 here in the uk. so far they have worked perfectly well, they roll smoothly, do not make too much noise and the build quality is solid, what more is needed?

for more information on tacx rollers visit them at www.tacx.com.

journey to a dream

2011-12-24T07:31:00.000Z

journey to a dream was created by film maker nigel dick for team garmin-cervelo's team presentation in boulder, colorado on 17 november 2011.

and the winner is...

2011-12-23T07:26:00.001Z

congratulations to mark cavendish on winning last nights bbc sports personality of the year award, it really did cap a stunning year for the manxman following his stage victories in the giro d'italia and tour de france plus the green jersey in the tour and the world championship win in copenhagen. cavendish finished ahead of golfer darren clarke who was second and world 5,000m champion mo farah who came third.

cavendish become the third cyclist to win the coveted award after tom simpson in 1965 and sir chris hoy in 2008.

the soigneur diaries

2011-12-21T20:04:00.001Z

a busy day in the life of a htc-highroad soigneur.

The Soigneur Diaries from BrakeThrough Media on Vimeo.

sidi dominator

2011-12-18T12:41:00.003Z

i will always be faithful to the sidi dominator. from the first moment i started wearing sidi's classic mtb shoe i was hooked. come rain, shine or snow the dominator has protected my feet whilst on the bike for so long now i would not have a reason to swap them for anything different. this work horse of a shoe really comes into it's own as a commuter/around town/shopping/off to the pub cycling shoe which is what i have been using it for over the years, although i have been known to ride the odd hundred miler in them too.

although the dominator is meant as an mtb shoe i have only ever worn them whilst riding road bikes with a mtb pedal since i consider it a little foolish to be riding around town with a road shoe, with it's slippery sole when starting off from lights it is more of a challenge and walking in them is something akin to a cross between a penguin walk and bamby on ice. this is why i have always fitted either shimano spd or crank brothers egg beater pedals to my around town road bike and thus have worn the dominator more regularly than my specialized s-works or sidi ergo road shoes which are reserved for weekend outings.

as you can see from the above photo my current dominators are a tad worn and i have only one small complaint about them and that is the velcro on the fastening straps become less sticky over time. that aside most parts of the dominator, as indeed are all of sidi's shoe range, are serviceable. the buckle ratchet system on my shoes are nearly broken, i can tell by the fact that sometimes they will not release when i press the red levers in. i did not want to get to the point where the buckle would not open leaving my foot locked into the shoe and me having to call one of the emergency services to have me released.

foolishly i have thrown a pair of dominators away in the past when one of the buckles had broken thinking i could not get it fixed or that it would take too long and be too expensive. this time though i knew better and contacted sidi who told me they could pop a pair of buckles in the post for just over a tenner and all i need do is unscrew the old buckles and screw in the new ones. actually the delivery of my buckles was very quick and i received them a day later, great service! replacing the buckles will add a new lease of life to my old dominators and velcro straps apart should allow many more years of use out of them.

for those of you living in the uk and who have service issues with your sidi shoes contact sidi cafe - www.sidicafe.co.uk.

fizik dual tape

2011-12-13T11:23:00.001Z

i have tried so many bar tapes over the years. it is the one bicycle accessory that is relatively cheap and that can freshen up the look of one's bike and can even motivate the rider to get on their bike, should they like me need motivating occasionally. that said i recently purchased some new bar tape for a different reason. i was looking to replace the old fizik microtex bar tape on my wilier with a more cushioned tape. i was actually looking to buy some pro digital carbon smart silicon tape (what a mouth full!) which i have on my de rosa and which is very padded and comfortable.

following a crash i had back in 2008 i sustained an injury which i have not been able to shake off despite getting treatment from an osteopath. whenever i ride for more than 50 or 60km i start to get pain in my right shoulder/neck area. to help ease the pain i will now only use bar tape with plenty of cushioning. i also use some cinelli gel inserts on the wilier which stick to the bars under the bar tape, although this only helps when holding onto the tops of the bars.

back to the bar tape purchase i ended up buying some fizik dual tape, in colour black with red trim, since by local bike shop cadence do not sell pro. on first impressions i am very impressed and so i should be since the dual tape is quite pricey at at around £13. the dual tape is as padded if not more so than the pro and will provide as much shock absorption as i am going to find in a bar tape. it should certainly help ease my shoulder problem, a little, on longer rides.

for those who regularly ride cobbles or are thinking of riding one of the spring classic sportives such as flanders or roubaix both the pro digital carbon smart silicon tape or the fizik dual tape should be seriously considered as appropriate bar tapes to use for riding on such uneven surfaces.

nicknames of the peloton

2011-12-06T21:04:00.001Z

via fabbrica della bici

anton krupicka

2011-12-05T19:19:00.000Z

from old school to new school tony krupicka is an american ultra runner based in boulder colorado who has won races such as the infamous leadville 100, miwok 100k and rocky racoon 100 not to mention coming second in the western states endurance run in 2010. yes this man has serious credentials.

renowned for often having ran upwards of 200 miles per week and more recently for running up mountain peaks most days krupicka is an inspiration to us runners especially when as the film below shows we see him running through the cold winter in the snow. actually running through snow is great fun, i have done it plenty of times and can recommend it.

also check out krupicka's blog here. there is some breathtaking photography of the beautiful colorado wilderness. i really have to go there sometime.

joss naylor

2011-12-04T21:10:00.001Z

joss naylor (mbe) was born in 1936 in my favourite area of the lake district, wasdale head (there is a great campsite and pub there and not much else apart from stunning rugged countryside and england's biggest mountains). although not well known outside of fell running circles joss is one of the most prominent figures in britain's rich fell running history and as i have previously mentioned features in richard askwith's excellent fell running book feet in the clouds.

joss spent his life running and sheep farming on the hills in and around the area in which he was born and bred. he first raced in 1961 when he saw a trial beginning near his father's farm at wasdale head. on impulse, he joined in his work boots, led for eight miles until he got cramp, and had found what he wanted to do. by the time he was 30, he was best on the circuit.

later as a prolific fell runner and building on the basic bob graham round naylor's incredible achievements gained recognition when in 1971 when he ran 61 of the lake district's peaks in 23 hours and 37 minutes. asked which single run gave him the most pleasure, naylor chose his lakes, meres and waters record run of 1983:

it was one of the most beautiful things i ever did, seeing every drop of water in the lake district, 27 of them in 19 hours, just over. when we finished at derwent water, it was becoming dark, but we saw everything else in a single day's daylight - a beautiful clear june day it was, only a little bit of of mist early on. that was something.

however, his greatest ever achievement is considered to be his 1975 bagging of 72 peaks which involved him running over 100 miles and about 38,000 feet of ascent in 23h20m, surely placing him amongst the best ever ultra distance mountain runners and ensuring him legendary status.

in 2006 aged 70 naylor still managed to run 70 lakeland fell tops covering more than 50 miles and ascending more than 25,000 feet, in under 21 hours. in an age where many athletes are overpaid and over pampered naylor is an example of an athlete driven to compete for the sheer joy and excitement of the challenge where monetary recompense is secondary. what a man, what a hero.

below is an excerpt from a series entitled to see ourselves about joss naylor's life called naylor's run giving us a small glimpse into his humble and down to earth life and featuring part of his 1997 60 lakeland fell tops in 36 hours run, all at the age of 60. although humble naylor recognises his extra special talent when as he states in the film he was once told by a specialist that his level of ability might be found in around 1 in 200,000 people. a special man indeed!

the off day... when nothing goes well

2011-12-01T13:38:00.002Z

frank patterson

shimano dura-ace 9000 (11 speed)

2011-11-30T15:09:00.001Z

via bicycling

but not set for release until 2013.

sunday morning with fausto coppi

2011-11-30T13:14:00.002Z

via officine 99

fausto coppi resting with his yellow jersey during the 1952 tour de france.

john player bicycle cards

2011-11-23T19:02:00.000Z

via salim virji

my first fell run

2011-11-22T08:44:00.000Z

last weekend i was up in the lake district with my family for a mini holiday visiting my sister and brother-in-law. for those who are not familiar with the lake district it is one of the few areas in the uk, in addition to parts of scotland and wales, with a range of mountains and as the name of the area suggests, lots of lakes.

i decided to take full advantage of my time there by not only bringing my bike but also my running shoes and in particular my trail shoes so i could do some proper off road running. my brother-in-law took myself and his friend out on what was to be my first ever trail run to include running up and over a mini fell.

as mentioned previously in my book review of feet in the clouds the word fell comes from the old norse word fjall meaning mountain. so essentially fell running is mountain running for which the uk has a deep and great tradition. for an fascinating history of fell running in the uk i would certainly point anyone to the book feet in the clouds.

my sister is currently working for one of the families that feature heavily in this book. their name is the blands and a number of them became very successful fell runners. they own a running store business, where my sister works, in kendal and she has helped me to set up an interview with matt bland who runs the store. if it comes off it will feature here in the next few weeks.

back to my little excursion and as can be seen from the above image of my brooks cascadia trail shoes our run up and over a fell and through the valley to kentmere and back was a very muddy affair but at the same time a hell of a lot of fun. the fell came at the beginning of the route with a sharpish rise before a quick and slippery descent into the valley. the remainder of the run was a mixture of undulating trails, fields and roads. it was the hardest test yet for my trail shoes and further to my previous review of the shoes i can now say with confidence that they past with flying colours. they gripped very well on the steepest descents as well as managing to keep the water out as i pushed on through muddy puddles and fields.

above is a map and details of the route we ran. if anyone is interested in a taste of what fell running has to offer, including spectacular views aplenty, and they are staying in the south lake district area then i can recommend this route.

tour de france greatest moments

2011-11-18T15:54:00.001Z

here is a nice little documentary produced by itv all about some key moments in the history of the tour de france. i think it was screened here in the uk prior to the start of this year's tour. it certainly makes for ideal viewing especially for those in need of a fix of pro cycling as well as for those, like me, in the northern hemisphere who may also be in need of a touch of bright french summer sun.

bicycles and the world wars

2011-11-13T19:59:00.000Z

via national library of scotland

cyclist scouts travelling along an extremely muddy road. none of them are actually riding their bicycles, they walk alongside them. all the men are wearing steel helmets and are fully armed and equipped. the countryside they are travelling through has been ravaged by warfare.

via hulpy

in the first world war, they had no rubber anymore. but people still needed their bikes. so they offered these kind of tyres which were good for forest paths but not so much for pavement.

via the library of congress

french cyclists in chanconin.


via damopabe

when i first saw finnish photos and war movies showing their soldiers in world war II moving to battle on bicycles i thought it was very strange. later i conclude that it was a very efficient way to move through the forests typical of the landscape of finland. to my surprise recently, i have discover that they still use bicycles today!


via nmsi

cycling during petrol rationing, derbyshire, wwII, october 1939.


via ah_blake

tandem snow cyclocross! rené andré and lyli herse at a cyclocross race in paris during world war II.

via velo abzu

german mortar bike.

the arena

2011-11-10T19:12:00.000Z

via kristof ramon

a) i need to buy myself a cyclo-cross bike.

and

b) i need to get myself over to belgium more often.

homemade fish cakes

2011-11-09T14:01:00.008Z

it has been way too long since my last food nutrition post, especially since the subject of food is one of my favourites, (i should start a dedicated food blog) plus as we all know good nutrition is a vital component for maintaining and/or improving athletic performance.

with this in mind let me regale you with a house speciality of mine, the humble but ever so tasty and healthy fish cake. over the years friends have had the pleasure of tasting my homemade fish cakes and i am sure most of them said they tasted good, or at least they did to my face! the ingredients and method of cooking have changed and developed as time has gone on. i like to think i have fine tuned them up to my current version which hopefully has the best taste and consistency to date (my wife can vouch for this).

as you can see from the above photo i like to serve fish cakes with salad and avocado which all goes together particularly well, plus in terms of balanced diet this plate is providing pretty much everything we need since it has good amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat and vitamins.

ingredients (serves 2)

1 tin of sardines in water
3 medium sized potatoes
1 medium sized onion
75 grams grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)
handful of fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons thai sweet dipping sauce

method

finely chop the onion and gently fry in extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil until golden brown.

while the onions fry peel and chop the potatoes into smallish chunks and boil until cooked (ready to mash).

put all ingredients in a large bowl - fried onions, boiled potato, sardines, water drained off (including bones, don’t worry), grated cheese and thai sweet dipping sauce, then mash it all up with a potato masher until the ingredients are well mashed and mixed together.

it is then time to get your hands messy. take a handful of the mixture and shape into a round patty, passing from hand to hand, until the cake is formed. you should be able to make around six cakes from the above quantities.

place the cakes on a tray and leave to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes but ideally an hour. this is important since cooking the cakes immediately will leave you with extremely crumbly fish cakes, whereas leaving them to sit first followed by cooking will give a more solid consistency to the fish cakes. it took me years to figure this bit out.

once the fish cakes have sat for at least 30 minutes shallow fry them in extra virgin oil or rapeseed oil at a medium high heat so they sizzle. after 4/5 minutes carefully turn/flip each fish cake over and fry the other side for a further 4/5 minutes, until both sides are brown and crispy. i usually fry them in two batches leaving the first batch to rest on kitchen paper while i fry the second batch. if you have a big enough frying pan maybe all six can be cooked at the same time which would be the ideal.

once all the fish cakes have been cooked serve immediately. bon appétit!

rapha super cross

2011-10-28T21:48:00.001+01:00

keeping with the cyclocross theme rapha super cross is a series of three cyclocross races that took place in the uk and was sponsored by those purveyors of bicycle wear finery rapha. each event not only gave the pro's a chance to race but amateurs too, including my friend james anderson who took part in his first ever race. this particular race took place in the grounds of alexandra palace and was the last in a series of three. many thanks to james who shares his experience on what was a warm dry autumn day in north london.

well, i know jason will have been sorry to miss that, it was a cracking event, really well done. well organised, well marshaled and well attended. there was a cracking atmosphere around the course with lots of hecklers and supporters banging their cowbells and cheering everyone on. there was also marshmallow pelting and even a tequila shortcut!

somewhat cheekily i had entered the novice category, well, i have never ridden cross before… sorry, raced cross… my friend Jon owns two wheels good, a bike shop in crouch end london, and i got roped into racing for his shop. there were four of us in total sporting twg kit, matt and alec who work in the shop joined me in the novice category and another james ended up in the veterans category.

james was off first so we had the pleasure of hanging around track side ringing cowbells as he went past and shouting words of encouragement. he looked pretty knackered by the end, but it is a race right? just before the pro’s took to the circuit i got the chance to get in a quick banker lap. Ah. that is why he looked so done in. the start of the lap featured a short steep climb followed by a fast descent back towards the start/finish arena. a nasty off camber descent led into a short complex which contained a set of hurdles. from here the course started to climb and climb it did! all the way up from the base of the hill through a piece of singletrack onto the grass slopes of the park and up to alexandra palace itself. then you got to run up a flight of steps!! one of the more evil and sadistic course features. i am sure if i had not have been breathing out my arse by that point I would have enjoyed the panoramic views across the city… luckily all the effort was rewarded with a nice descent down into the start/finish arena which was finished off with another piece of singletrack.

the pro race was excellent, it was great to see them tackle the course, especially nick craig, a mbt hero of mine for many years! it all seemed to be over very quickly with paul oldham, current british champion, taking the honours. then it was my turn. now i normally do endurance events, very little sprinting, mostly pacing oneself to the finish over a 100 odd miles. this was a bit of a departure from the usual. still, i was raring to go and sprinted off with everyone else at the start. the first lap passed very quickly, i even managed a perfect dismount to clear the hurdles! i was in about 10th spot when I charged to get ahead of a slower rider into the singletrack before the long climb. next thing i knew i was on the floor! ouch!!

i think i hit a stump in the undergrowth, whatever it was the result was a full on faceplant. i got back on my bike and rejoined the race. unfortunately CX is so fast that anything like that can leave you well out of position. i spent the next few laps frantically trying to catch back up. i pushed as hard as i could. it was carnage. i have no idea where i finished or no idea where anyone finished. the tequila shortcut mixed up the order so much that the race became complete chaos. guys i had passed the lap before were in front of me again without having passed me on course! i did not take the shortcut, i could not see it due to focusing so hard! thankfully there was a lot of support out on course with many friends and family out to watch so i got cajoled and heckled the whole way round. some friends even stood at the top of the steps to shout encouragement/abuse and take pictures as they sipped their pints, bastards!!

alec did very well finishing somewhere in the top five. matt clipped the hurdles and came down hard, i am not sure where he finished. overall it was a blast, an excellent though tough course, a cracking atmosphere and just lots of fun. despite hurting so much, i am sitting here with bruises and a very sore neck. i have heard rumours it will be running again next year it was so popular. i do hope so, though i will not get away with the novice category again!

rapha super cross

moots psychlo-x di2

2011-10-26T07:41:00.001+01:00

if i was only able to buy only one more bicycle during my life then a moots psychlo-x with shimano di2 groupset would certainly be near the top of the list. no matter how hard i try i cannot get away from favouring the north american bike builders and with names like sacha white at vanilla and andy hampsten it is easy to see the appeal or at least it is to me.

i would choose the psychlo-x is because i do not think i have ever seen a better looking utility bike. that is what it would be for me, a utility bike rather than just a pure cross racer. i reckon it would service me equally well thrashing around a muddy cross circuit as it would me fitting a child seat on the back and taking my daughter for a leisurely ride down the local cycle path. it would be one hell of an expensive utility bike but hey you got to aim high.

speaking of cycle path, that is the name of the bike shop in portland oregon who have built and photographed their version of what a psychlo-x should be. hats off to them for doing an incredible job, it is certainly a version close to the build i would specify. the psychlo-x features beautiful titanium tubed geometry with a mudfree chainstay design and wishbone seatstay configuration for superior lateral stiffness, plus super clean internal cable routing all covered by moots lifetime warranty on craftsmanship and materials. also as i mentioned this version features shimano’s electronic di2 shifting which i have been told is absolutely precise. this might be a group set too far for the non-pro though so i think i would switch it over to analogue with dura-ace. and yes i would stay with shimano rather than sram or campagnolo on this occasion because i think shimano fits the moots ethic in terms of fucntionality.

there is only one thing stopping me from having this bike built for me and that is of course the price. the frame and forks sell in the uk for around £3265, wheels (reynolds cyclocross forty six tubulars) £1300, groupset £2600 and lets say finishing kit will come to another £500. even with slightly cheaper modifications such as changes to groupset and wheels that makes a total cost of somewhere in the region of £7000 or just over $11,000 usd. for the moment at least i guess i will just have to stick with window shopping.

moots

bella and i

2011-10-25T15:49:00.002+01:00

via betty bhandari photography blog

forza italia

2011-10-21T22:35:00.001+01:00

the 2012 giro d'italia route was unveiled in milan a few days back and like the 2012 tour de france route it appears to be less hilly than in previous years. that said both races visit some infamous climbs with the french race climbing such classics as the col de la madeleine and col de la croix de fer in the 11th stage from albertville to la toussuire les sybelles in the french alps. the only thing is at only 140km it is a rather short length to be considered a truly epic stage.

whereas the tour finishes with a champagne procession into paris followed by the usual sprinters finale, the giro looks to me like it could be far more exciting. the final 21st stage will be a 31.5km tt through the streets of milan in northern italy. i think a tt is a fine way to finish a grand tour. one only has to think back to 89 and laurent fignon losing to greg lemond by eight seconds to know how captivating this type of finish can be.

however, expect to see slow times in the milan tt. not only will the riders have had to battle through three weeks of racing but the previous days stage will really show who the riders are with the greatest powers of recovery. you see stage 20, the penultimate stage, should be a cima coppi par excellence. nestled up against the swiss border and with a finish atop the mythical 2757 metre high passo dello stelvio and all it's 48 hair pin turn finery, that is 27 hair pins turns more than that most famous of cols the alpe d'huez, the stelvio will pose a great test. not only that but the riders will first face a 1883 metre climb up the passo del tonale before they get punched in the ribs by the infamous mortirolo at 1718 metres. by the time the riders reach the base of the stelvio many of them will already be in tears. what then follows is a 40km plus climb to the highest mountain top finish in italian cycling and chances are it will be snowing.

the tour may have stole a march on the giro in terms of leaks and presentation pizazz but when it comes down to the nitty gritty i reckon the giro will be the most exciting grand tour in 2012 with stage 20 and 21 providing a finish worthy of a grand tour finale.

2012 tour de france route map

2011-10-18T12:40:00.000+01:00

so the leaked route was correct.

jean metzinger, at the cycle race track, 1914

2011-10-18T08:33:00.001+01:00

via kraftgenie

giro di lombardia 2011

2011-10-16T12:52:00.002+01:00

yesterday's giro di lombardia in northern italy was the last of the monument classics to happen in the 2011 professional road race calender and thus marked the end of what has been a fantastically entertaining season. if you missed the live coverage as i did you can see the final 10km or so below courtesy of belgian tv station sporza. i am going to keep this as a non-spoiler version so all i will say is that i doubt anyone would have predicted the winner of the race.

le coq sportif - l'eroica

2011-10-12T20:31:00.000+01:00

Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 1) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.

Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 2) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.

Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 3) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.

Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 4) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.

2012 world tour calender

2011-10-10T20:52:00.000+01:00

1	January 17-22, 2012: Tour Down Under
2	March 4-11, 2012: Paris-Nice
3	March 7-13, 2012: Tirreno-Adriatico
4	March 17, 2012: Milano-Sanremo
5	March 19-25, 2012: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
6	March 23, 2012: E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke
7	March 25, 2012: Gent-Wevelgem
8	April 1, 2012: Ronde van Vlaanderen
9	April 2-7, 2012: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
10	April 8, 2012: Paris-Roubaix
11	April 15, 2012: Amstel Gold Race
12	April 18, 2012: La Flèche Wallonne
13	April 22, 2012: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
14	April 24-29, 2012: Tour de Romandie
15	May 5-27, 2012: Giro d'Italia
16	June 3-10, 2012: Critérium du Dauphiné
17	June 9-17, 2012: Tour de Suisse
18	June 30-July 22, 2012: Tour de France
19	July 10-17, 2012: Tour de Pologne
20	August 6-12, 2012: Eneco Tour
21	August 14, 2012: Clásica Ciclista San Sebastian
22	August 18-September 9, 2012: Vuelta a España
23	August 19, 2012: Vattenfall Cyclassics
24	August 26, 2012: GP Ouest France-Plouay
25	September 7, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
26	September 9, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
27	September 29, 2012: Il Lombardia
28	October 10-14, 2012: Tour of Beijing

leaked 2012 tour de france route

2011-10-10T13:52:00.003+01:00

the aso published the 2012 tour de france route mistakenly (or so it seems). anyway needless to say it was caught before being taken down again. it looks like a very bradley wiggins friendly route on the face of it.

P Prologue Sat 30 June Liège > Liège 6.1 km

1 Road stage Sun 1 July Liège > Seraing 198 km

2 Road stage Mon 2 July Visé > Tournai 207 km

3 Road stage Tues 3 July Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km

4 Road stage Weds 4 July Abbeville > Rouen 214 km

5 Road stage Thurs 5 July Rouen > Saint-Quentin 197 km

6 Road stage Fri 6 July Épernay > Metz 210 km

7 Road stage Sat 7 July Tomblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km

8 Road stage Sun 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy 154 km

9 Time trial Mon 9 July Arc-et-Senans > Besançon 38 km

10 Road stage Weds 11 July Mâcon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194 km

11 Mountains Thurs 12 July Albertville > La Toussuire – Les Sybelles 140 km

12 Mountains Fri 13 July Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay 220 km

13 Road stage Sat 14 July Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Le Cap d’Agde 215 km

14 Road stage Sun 15 July Limoux > Foix 192 km

15 Road stage Mon 16 July Samatan > Pau 160 km

16 Mountains Weds 18 July Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km

17 Mountains Thurs 19 July Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes 144 km

18 Road stage Fri 20 July Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde 215 km

19 Time trial Sat 21 July Bonneval > Chartres 52 km

20 Road stage Sun 22 July Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées 130 km

a ride through shenandoah national park

2011-10-07T21:31:00.003+01:00

my friend james anderson, of kielder 100 fame, recently flew over to rural virginia in the usa with his family to visit friends. he took with him his canyon ultimate six road bike which he had the pleasure to ride in the hills of the shenandoah national park. below is jame's travel log giving a flavour of his cycling experience in virginia's wilderness.

the usa is rather big I have decided. this summer i took a trip over there with my family (and bike!) to stay with friends in rural virginia. travelling with a toddler and a bike box was always going to be difficult, but british airways were excellent. an obvious reflection on the growing popularity of our sport - i was not the only idiot struggling through the terminal with an over sized piece of luggage and a copy of the comic sticking out my back pocket! i am happy to say though that getting the bike out to the states was relatively easy and once you’re there the average sized american car can swallow a bike box with room to spare which was fortunate as my wife and daughter wanted to bring some luggage with them too.

the first thing i noticed on arrival was the heat. it was easily up around 90f most days – sometimes nudging 95f and humid to boot. this is not weather i am accustomed to (i am scottish after all) so i decided to take it easy the first few days and let my body adapt to the heat. luckily where we were staying was fairly flat so i could just roll along and acclimatise, or so i thought. unfortunately rural virginia is home to the unchained hound most of which gave up chasing cars a long time ago. bicycles on the other hand… sprinting away from an angry dog in 90f heat is hard work!

on the whole the roads were excellent, wide, smooth and relatively traffic free. most drivers were courteous, slowed down to pass and gave me plenty of room as they did so. i sensed this was perhaps due to the novelty of encountering a cyclist more than anything else, but it made a pleasant change from the attitudes of some drivers here in the uk. the other bonus was the sheer amount of space. i was regularly doing 40+ mile rides without having to stop once at a junction or traffic lights. it was a revelation and my average speeds were well over 20mph.

the whole reason i had bargained with my wife to take my bike on this trip was to ride the skyline drive in the shenandoah national park.

http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/whole_park.pdf

when we were researching what to do in the area i came across numerous write ups of this road and every single one of them praised it highly. officially coming in at 105 miles it climbs up to the ridge line of the mountains and then tracks along the top, offering spectacular views of the surrounding forested peaks. i had to ride it. the plan was for me to be dropped off at the southernmost ranger station at rockfish gap and then ride north along skyline drive to front royal, the family would follow a little later in the car picking me up at the end.

the climbing starts right at the beginning, gradually ramping up to a steady 4-6%, peaking at 8% at it’s steepest. this meant i could happily sit and spin up the climbs without burying myself in the red all day – well, it was meant to be a holiday! despite following the ridge line the road was constantly dropping down then climbing back up again, never flat. at two points it dropped significantly to a pass between the mountains, thus splitting the road into three sections which were roughly one big long climb followed by one big long descent each and what descents they were! lots of wonderful left/right corner combinations, long looping hairpins all topped off by what i can only describe as one of the best road surfaces I have ever ridden on, smooth black tarmac that you can normally only dream of, it was excellent. in addition traffic on the route is limited to 35mph, this gave me the whole road to myself on descents which was a joy.

the scenery was phenomenal, every so often the road opened out on a vista across the rest of the shenandoah national park which happened to be perfect spots to catch my breath and take in the views. as i was on a bike as well and not in a noisy car i was encountering a lot of the local wildlife. i came close to lots of deer, almost rode over a snake (not my favourite experience) and sat at one look out point with an inquisitive hummingbird for company.

despite the gradient not being steep the length of the climbs was something i wasn’t used to. after crossing swift run entrance gap the road cranked up for what seemed like an eternity to the big meadow visitor centre. as i rounded one corner i was met by a family crossing the road on one of the hiking trails. one of them exclaimed as i passed ‘well i never, there’s a man on a bicycle! keep going buddy, only a few more hills to go!’

whilst it wasn’t as hot as in the valley below i was still having to take care to remain properly hydrated and fuelled. i had a strict regime i was following. energy bar every 20 odd miles and drink a bottle per hour. luckily the route is peppered with places to stop and refuel. it worked well, no cramp and no flagging, despite being in the saddle for 7 hours (hey – I was on holiday…)

i’d thoroughly recommend riding the skyline drive if you ever get the opportunity, it’s fantastic. on the whole I’d say that about riding in the states in general. all the people I encountered were friendly and courteous and with the states being what it is, post ride refuelling was amazing. all you can eat? yes please!

kit recommendations: I rode my canyon ultimate slx with mavic ksyrium elite sl wheels and full ultegra, which is a wonderful bike. i had a compact up front and a 11-23 out back. normally I quite like this gearing, but I felt decidedly under-geared out there, if I go back I’d consider a 53/39 over the compact with perhaps a 11-25 cassette. clothing wise I decided to use an assos summer cap turned around so the peak was covering the back of my neck to protect me from the sun. i am Scottish, I don’t tan, I burn. this also stopped sweat from getting in my eyes. the summer cap has a cool mesh section which was perfect in the heat, good for indian summers in the uk too! the final kit recommendation is a rapha lightweight jersey. full zip so good for cooling on long climbs plus a phenomenal cargo capacity – it has a zipped rear pocket which will swallow just about anything. i actually lost my phone in there…

thanks to james for guest writing this post for velorunner. he will be back again soon to report on his experiences at the upcoming rapha super cross which he will be racing in and which takes place on sunday 23 october at london's alexandra palace.

vc walcot hill climb tt

2011-10-05T16:01:00.004+01:00

(double click table to see larger)

as i mentioned a few days back last sunday i rode what was my first ever hill climb time trial organised by my local cycling club velo club walcot and sponsored by my local bike shop cadence.

tis the tradition for most cycling clubs to bookend the season with a hill climb time trial but unlike most early october hill climbs held in the uk this one took place in unseasonably warm weather with sun beating down and temperatures reaching 26 celcius. that is hot for us brits who have been used to brief spells of occasional sunshine in what has been a below average summer.

thirteen riders took part in the hill climb which started in claverton village, here in bath, and worked it’s up the avenue roughly 900 metres with a rise of 81 metres. Each rider set off one at a time with a gap of one minute between each start. i was fourth to start and with a minute to go i was called to the start line. The adrenaline pumped around by body in anticipation then with thirty seconds to go and my bike frame being held by a marshal i clipped into my pedals, held the brakes and took in my final few deep breaths. I released my brakes. Five, four, three, two, one, go!

what happened over the next three minutes and fifty one seconds was the most physically difficult challenge i have undertaken over such a brief period of time. I did a reconnaissance of the course a few days previously so knew where the hardest sections of the climb were. In reality the first fifth of the course had the easiest gradient and thereafter it would be a world of pain as the gradient ramped up and the lactic acid built in my legs. Knowing what was about to take place i started off fairly easily until the first right hand turn. My aim was to sit in the saddle as much as possible peddling at a high cadence rather than blowing up by pushing too hard out of the saddle. I achieved this apart from at that first right hander and then again for a few moments in the final third where I have to get out of the saddle otherwise I would have come to a standstill!

after a minute i felt like i was peddling in treacle or peddling squares as the saying goes. this feeling did not leave me but gradually gained a hold of me as i slowly progressed up the hill. All the time my brain was saying stop. riding a hill climb is not like riding a hill on a sunday ride or at least not my sunday rides. apart from the easy start this was a give it all you have got effort. my favourite moment, if i could call it that, was in the final third when somebody ran alongside me for a good 20 metres shouting at me to push harder, this certainly gave me the boost i needed as i crossed the line a very relieved man.

once i had crossed the line it took me the best part of five minutes to recover myself before i was able to speak again. I surprised myself at how long it took me to compose after what was a relatively short distance but i suppose when one goes all out and applies all the power they have it is bound to hurt. to top off the punishment i finished with a sore throat brought on by the hot dry air. once i had recovered i realised i had not started my garmin so unfortunately do not have a record of heart rate, speed etc from the race day which is a bit of a shame.

on a more organised note vc walcot managed the event very well, many thanks to them for making it happen as well as all the marshals and smattering of spectators who took time out from what was a beautifully sunny sunday afternoon.

the winning time for the day went to defending champion and current record holder for the course Robert gough of adeo cadence rt. i will be back again next year for another go with the goal of beating my modest time from this year of 3 minutes 51 seconds .24. i will also be aiming to help defend the team prize which i helped to win for vc walcot along with fellow cohorts paul and andy. well done lads.

regarding eddy merckx

2011-10-03T16:31:00.002+01:00

via nick rearden 34x26

jacques anquetil, the man, mystery, legend

2011-10-01T09:02:00.001+01:00

i have been on the look out for this documentary about five time tour de france winner jacques anquetil for at least a year. narrated by phil liggett, who else, the film can be seen below in it's entirety but broken down into six parts. please raise a glass to master jacques and enjoy.

bring the pain

2011-09-28T10:22:00.012+01:00

VC Walcot hill climb, Claverton

http://www.bikely.com/

i will be taking part in my first hill climb time trial this coming sunday here in bath. to celebrate the end of the season my local cycling club vc walcot have organised the event with the course running uphill for 900 metres and with a rise of 81 metres. i think i am correct in saying the course record was previously set by robert gough with a time of 2:43.1. robert who is also the defending champion will again be riding this sunday. i will be doing a reconnaissance of the course this evening to get an idea of what kind of time i can expect. i will let you know how i get on.

for anyone who is in the area this sunday and wants to watch the suffer fest unfold details of the hill climb including map of the course can be seen above. it should be a good laugh.

makau dethrones marathon king gebrselassie

2011-09-27T20:13:00.002+01:00

last sunday kenyan patrick makau set a new men's marathon world record by finishing the berlin marathon in a time of two hours, three minutes and 38 seconds. in doing so defending champion makau shaved 21 seconds off etheopia's haile gebrselassie who had set the previous record on the same course back in 2008.

the news of makau's feat was of particular significance to me since i also ran my very first marathon in berlin on that sunny autumn day when the great gebrselassie broke his own record although my race was very different to his. i finished in twice the time gebrselassie did but the effort and pain involved in just finishing 42km gave me a great appreciation for what a super human effort gebrselassie had given.

for makau to have beaten gebrselassie's record on one of the most famous of marathon circuits will certainly place makau in the spotlight and must surely make him a big favourite for london 2012.

as for gebrselassie unfortunately he did not finish sundays race having pulled up with stomach problems at the 35km mark. hopefully he will recover well and be able to get himself competitive for next year's olympics. to see gebrselassie racing through the streets of london will definately be one of my highlights in 2012 as it will be to see the great paula radcliffe who managed third on sunday behind kenya's Florence Kiplagat and Germany's Irina Mikitenko. radcliffe finished in a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds, her fastest since 2007. kiplagat won in a time of two hours, nineteen minutes and 44 seconds.

below is footage of makau's final run in to the line. it was amazing to see how fresh he looked at the finish. as soon as he crossed the line he ran back out onto the course to celebrate with the fans.

arise sir cavendish

2011-09-26T08:10:00.006+01:00

ok so a knighthood might be taking it a little far but britain's mark cavendish mbe should surely have banked his place as 2011 bbc sports personality of the year yesterday after team gb delivered him to just under one km from the finish where upon he confirmed his status as fastest sprinter on the planet by beating australia's matthew goss and germany's andré greipel to the line. in doing so he secured possibly the greatest victory of his professional career so far by becoming world champion. the beauty of becoming world champion is that he will now have the honour of wearing the prestigious rainbow stripes until next year's world championships. not since tom simpson in 1965 has a britain won this event.

this victory tops yet another fantastically successful year for cavendish having already won two stages of the giro d'italia and five stages of the tour de france along the way to taking his first points classification jersey. the victory also confirms britain's credentials as one of the top performing nations in the world of professional cycling. it has been an amazing week for britain's table topping cyclists having already scored gold with lucy garner in the junior women's road race, silver for bradley wiggins and elinor barker in the elite men's time trial and the junior women's time trial plus emma pooley and andrew fenn won bronze medals in the women’s time trial and the under 23 men's road race.

hats off though to team gb for yesterday's performance which was planned and executed to near perfection. the team controlled the peloton well in the final quarter of the race bringing back, almost single handedly, multiple attacks from a variety of escapees. the effort team gb made in order to have the race finish in a bunch sprint left them all but spent by the final kilometre apart from cavendish who demonstrated his ability to win without the need for a sprint train delivering him super close to the line. in addition to cav the team included bradley wiggins, david millar, geraint thomas, ian stannard, jeremy hunt, chris froome and steve cummings. gentlemen, i raise a toast to you all!

(check out the last 6km of yesterday's race below)

yuji yamada - tour de france 2011

2011-09-23T11:32:00.003+01:00

yuji yamada is an artist i have profiled here before. the images below are some of yuji's latest creations and form part of his limited edition handmade tour de france 2011 drawing zine.

for further details on how to purchase one of yuji's drawing zines click here.

'der panzerwagen' crushes the competition

2011-09-22T13:21:00.002+01:00

below is video footage of the climax to yesterdays uci road world championship elite men's time trial competition. the 46.4km curcuit around the streets of copenhagen in denmark was the setting for one of the most exciting tt's in recent memory which ended in victory for germany's tony martin, aka der panzerwagen, who happened to be in the form of his life. martin thrashed the competition, including a strong display from britain's bradley wiggins who finished in second place. martin's time gap to wiggins was 01:15.83 with a finish time of 53:43.85.

switzerland's very own spartacus fabian cancellara could only manage third spot after he took one of the final corners too hard and came to a near stand still beside a barrier before pushing off again to finish 4.76 seconds down on wiggins.

an honorable mention (this is a british blog afterall) goes to britain's david millar who will have been pleased with his seventh place result especially considering the birth of his son less than two weeks ago will have quite rightly side tracked his preparation.

all eyes now turn to this weekends elite women's and men's road races which take place on saturday and sunday respectively. it is one of my favourite competitions of the year and with strong representation in both women's and men's fields should be hard fought over although it is difficult to see past belgium's philippe gilbert as an obvious choice for the men's winner. victory for gilbert in this competition would seal what would be one of the most successful seasons of any pro cyclist, certainly in recent history. time will soon tell...

board track racer

2011-09-18T08:28:00.006+01:00

it was a real treat stumbling upon take charge bikes in my new home town of bath a few days ago. until then i had not thought much about electric bicycles. they just did not seem very sexy compared with the carbon and steel italian beauties i have always had a preference for. my attention was immediately drawn though when i spotted the prominently placed bicycle in the window from across the street. although my favour for the road bike has not been swayed my perception of what an electric bicycle could look like has changed, electric bicycles can be sexy too.

david, the owner of take charge bikes (that is him in the above photo) was kind enough to give me a mini tour of his store and although he keeps a varied stock of electric bicycles, including a couple of very handsome looking full suspension mountain bikes which i may well review at a later stage, my attention kept getting drawn back to the steel framed single speed board track racer. with it's derny bike / cafe racer
retro styling this cruiser is undoubtedly a real head turner.

the track racer is fabricated in scotland by polish designer and builder piotr wozny. for approximately £2000 piotr will build one bespoke and handmade to the customers size specifications. things like chain ring and cogs can also be changed depending on preference. i reckon that is pretty good value for money considering how easy it is to blow two grand for an off the peg bike these days.

in terms of bicycle specification the track racer features a 250w electric motor powered by a 24v lifepo4 battery which is housed in a handmade leather bag. the builder claims a fully charged battery will do an average distance of 25 miles although i am sure that is dependent on speed and topography of the area being ridden through.

here is a list of some of the bikes features:

front and rear hub - novatec

rims - rigida big bull

spokes - dt champion 2.0 silver

tyres - geax tattoo light 26 x 2.30

crank set - 48t

pedals - outland kustom slim

rear cog - 18t

brakes - vbrake shimano deore

brake levers - cane creek

saddle - brooks b-72

for further details on the track racer including maximum speed, battery recharge time and type of steel tubing or indeed if you wish to test ride this or any other bike please contact david on +44 (0)1225 789568, info@takechargebikes.co.uk or visit his website www.takechargebikes.co.uk.

towards the ocean

2011-09-16T11:54:00.000+01:00

a film of pete kelsey's paris brest paris 1230km cycle ride, filmed over 3 days in late august 2011.

Towards The Ocean - PBP 2011 from Milltag on Vimeo.

building and painting the colnago eps frame

2011-09-12T08:00:00.003+01:00

two short films here on the building and painting of colnago's top of the range eps frame.

the only question mark i have after after watching these films is where can i get one of those colnago head bands from? super cool.

Building a C59 Italia - The art of making bikes from Colnago on Vimeo.

Colnago Painting Process from Colnago on Vimeo.

chris froome's famous vuelta stage victory

2011-09-08T22:06:00.003+01:00

yesterday's stage 17 victory by sky's chris froome will be remembered for a long time to come. the way the kenyan born brit battled up the final climb of the day against spain's juan jose cobo was breathtaking in parts and there is no doubt froome will be getting paid a heck of a lot more money when he signs his next contact since his current contract with sky expires at the end of this season. i do not think any of us thought he could be so consistently excellent over the length of a grand tour. thanks for proving us wrong chris, it really has been a pleasure.

below is the last 22 minutes of what was one of the highlights from this season.

VaE - Stage 17 by CVChannel2

giro d'italia bike stamps

2011-09-07T08:24:00.000+01:00

via: grain edit

2012 canyon prototype time trial bike

2011-09-06T18:09:00.000+01:00

via: bike rumor

erich metze '35

2011-09-05T20:33:00.000+01:00

via: numerius

behind the scooter

2011-09-04T08:10:00.003+01:00

we have all heard the term motor pacing which is used to explain the method of training where the rider cycles behind a vehicle of some sorts, usually a scooter, at a high threshold speed for a sustained period of time. the rider is able to benefit from slipstreaming due to their being so close to the rear of the scooter. although less technical the effect is similar to that of drafting within a group of riders. i used to do a spot of motor pacing myself tucking in behind the backside of london buses. alas my opportunities have deminished since locating to bath.

below is a short video showing canadian pro michael barry during a motor pacing session. it is a perespective we very rairly get to see and perfectly shows, on barry's face, the intense effort involved in this type of training.

via le métier

a history lesson with ernesto colnago

2011-09-03T07:13:00.000+01:00

Ernesto Colnago explain all the historical models from Colnago on Vimeo.

hand to mouth

2011-08-29T08:51:00.000+01:00

via death spray custom

racing through the dark by david millar

2011-08-23T13:27:00.002+01:00

i have been watching david millar race in the professional peloton since he first came on the scene as a brash young man back in the bad old days of the epo fuelled late nineties. i always found millar an exciting rider to watch, be it in the time trial or as a breakaway specialist millar’s victories have invariably been won in style. although he has had what many would see as a very successful career to date it has not been without its lows, the most obvious and infamous being his conviction for doping which earned him a two year suspension from racing between 2004 and 2006.

in millar’s frank autobiography racing through the dark he tells the story of his rise through the ranks as a precocious young talent whose love of racing gradually ebbed away as he realised the playing field was far from level. even though he was winning races clean, most notably a stage 1 victory in the 2000 tour de france, the pressure to prepare in the right way and do his job in what would have been deemed a professional manner eventually took its toll and he started using epo for the first time in 2001 four years after starting out as a stagiaire with cofidis in 1997.

millar articulates very well his spiral into a self obsessed life where long periods of hard training, usually in isolation from family and close friends, were interspersed with off season hard drinking, increased use of sleeping pills and recovery or récup injections of vitamins and minerals during stage racing which eventually turned into the calculated use of his first course of epo and a culture where injecting became the norm.

it is well documented that millar’s world came crashing down in june 2004 when police arrested him whilst he was eating out at a restaurant near his home in biarritz. after an extensive search of his apartment police found empty epo phials and took him into custody for interrogation. what followed was a long drawn out investigation into millar’s drug usage. it was during this low point that millar admitted everything and both literally and figuratively speaking came clean. so began his long painful and very expensive recovery and eventual return to racing at the 2006 tour de france.

since his return to the professional peloton millar has experienced a renaissance in his career rediscovering his passion and joy for racing as well as becoming an outspoken advocate of the anti-doping movement. most importantly he has proven that it is possible to win clean and has notched up many impressive victories to date.

millar is somewhat of a divisive character amongst fans with many disliking him. personally i do not understand this view point. while many others choose a life of denial after being convicted of doping offences millar bravely admitted to his mistakes and turned his life around both personally and professionally which i have tremendous respect for. if all riders reacted in the way millar has, post doping conviction, we would arguably have seen a faster transfer into a culture of cleaner racing.

love him or hate him millar is undeniably an interesting character and certainly a cyclist i could easily spend many hours around the dinner table with listening to his tales and anecdotes over a couple of bottles of good wine. unfortunately like the majority of us i doubt i will get the opportunity to do this so reading his book has certainly qualified as an extremely entertaining second best, recommended reading.

racing through the dark by david millar is published by orion.

(check out an interview with david millar recorded in june by the bike show’s jack thurston where he talks about his life and his new book by clicking here.)

brooks cascadia trail shoe review

2011-08-18T20:38:00.002+01:00

one of the last purchases i made before we moved away from London to bath was to buy myself a pair of trail running shoes. i already knew that where i was moving to had trails crisscrossing the local hilly countryside and that a couple of these trails start just two minutes from my front door. although i had not done much trail running previously i made the decision to make the most of my new surroundings so a sturdy and grippy pair of trail shoes were going to be an essential addition to my running kit.

without doing any prior research, yes a risk i know, off i went to my local running store and started trying on shoes. it soon became apparent that brooks cascadia 4’s might be the right shoes for me. although i am not particularly brand loyal i already had a pair of brooks road running shoes which had seen me through many hundreds of kilometres of training and some racing without any injuries. also i am a neutral pronater which the cascadia suits due to the insoles being fairly flat with minimal arch support. the deal sealer was that i think the shoes are pretty good looking, for a trail shoe at least.

since arriving in bath i have had five or six opportunities to give the cascadia’s and good test. the trails in my area are undulating to say the least with some very steep gradients with terrain ranging from grass and mud tracks through to gravel and rubble. add a good dose of rain and it soon becomes apparent that good grip is essential unless one wants to end up on ones arse. the trail runs i have done have been in both dry and wet weather conditions and i can honestly say that i have not slipped once during those forays into the hills and that includes running down hill over rubble strewn trails. they are very comfortable too with super cushioning, think thick carpet under foot...seriously.

Downsides, well i do not want to over emphasis them since they are not major but nevertheless do need pointing out. Be careful walking or running in these shoes over wet pavement or cobble surfaces. The rugged rigid soles of the shoe are designed to grip into uneven muddy surfaces in the same way a four wheel drives tyres grip off road, they are not so good on smooth wet surfaces and the potential for sliding in them compared to a regular road running shoe becomes greater. Also the shoe pitches itself as being able to repel water. In my experience even running through fields of long wet grass has quickly resulted in damp feet, they are not water resistant.

overall i would say the cascadia is a built to last, robust shoe that does offer excellent comfort and grip but do stick to using them off road as that is where they will truly shine. i am certainly very happy with them and for around £60 they are good value for money compared with other trail shoes on the market.

danny macaskill - industrial revolutions

2011-08-17T08:11:00.000+01:00

other jaw dropping videos by scotland's danny macaskill can be seen here, here and here.

mark johnson tour de france photography

2011-08-16T10:44:00.003+01:00

i came across a stunning set of tour de france photographs recently all taken by californian resident mark johnson. below is just a small sample of his work from this years tour. take a look at his gallery of tour photos here, i was blown away when i first saw them.

also keep a look out for a book that mark is in the process of writing and shooting on the garmin-cervélo team. it's a coffee table-type book, lots of photos of the team throughout the year and with a narrative about the business side of cycling. it will come out early 2012 from velopress.

for further information on mark and his writing and photography services visit his website at ironstring.com.

bristol & bath railway path

2011-08-14T14:30:00.003+01:00

just a stones throw from where i live is the bristol & bath railway path. it was constructed on the track bed of the former midland railway which closed for passenger traffic at the end of the 1960s. between 1979 and 1986, the railway line was converted into the railway path which is a 13 mile off road route between the cities of bristol and bath dedicated to walkers, runners and cyclists.

i use it frequently for running but only once before have i cycled to it's end and back. it makes for an ideal 48km easy ride. there are no hills and there are no cars, all that needs to be negotiated are people and dogs plus i can do a there and back in well under two hours if i want which as a new dad comes in very handy when trying to fit work outs in around looking after our four week old daughter.

during this trip i had the pleasure of discovering the bath ales brewery which is around three quarters of the way along the path to bristol in a place called warmley. i could not resist making a u-turn when i saw the sign for the brewery shop. i only had a two pound coin with me which was enough to buy a bottle of their dark side stout, with twenty pence to spare. it was very impromptu as i do not usually mix riding my wilier izoard with buying beer on route, i would use a different bike for that. that said now i know the shop is there i will definitely be going back. we are really into buying local at the moment especially because the area is rich with quality local produce. the bottle of stout slotted perfectly into my bottle cage and i can report it's contents went down very well indeed as post ride refreshment.

bristol & bath railway path

bath ales

back pockets

2011-08-12T21:51:00.002+01:00

except for the garmin which clips into a holder on top of my handlebar stem. oh and i would not usually choose banana flavour anything, do not get me wrong, i like real bananas but synthetic is yuk! i was left a torq banana gel by a friend which he strategically forgot and which i discovered sitting in my kitchen cupboard a few days later. i do not like to see anything go to waste so i took it with me on my ride and ate it. eerh horrible!

croce d’aune

2011-08-10T12:07:00.000+01:00

via: building-blocks.tumblr.com

never too young

2011-08-08T19:39:00.000+01:00

isabella and i watching highlights of today's eneco tour.

splinter bike

2011-08-06T18:26:00.001+01:00

my mate dan boulton who knows a thing or two about good design put me on to this...

words taken from the splinter bike biography:

The SplinterBike project came about after a casual £1 bet turned serious. Inspiration came from many areas but the most significant was the influence of the carbon-fibre Lotus 108 time trial bicycle designed by fellow Norfolk designer Mike Burrows and made by the Norfolk based Lotus car manufacturer.

The challenge was to design and build a 100% wooden bicycle. “No bolts or screws, just wood and glues” were the rules of engagement. What developed was the SplinterBike, creating a new type of human powered vehicle... the Plicycle.

This required taking a sideways look to overcome the many challenges in producing a rideable wooden bike. Obvious problems like the chain have been tackled by connecting the power from the pedals to the rear wheel by the simple addition of a gear cog (pliCog). This however took many hours to design and prototype.

Just because the things around us are as they are, doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. Alternatives can be designed for everything we use day to day and take for granted. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel but it’s interesting to try.

The SplinterBike forced me to employ timbers previously unused in my workshop such as Lignum Vitae, a naturally self lubricating hardwood, which is included for bushings and bearings to minimise friction where one component turns in an opposing direction to another.

Many years of woodworking experience has enabled me to make a bet with a friend and end up developing something that will ultimately set a land speed record for wooden bicycles. It’s a testament to the versatility and strength of one of mankind’s oldest available materials... and of course, modern glue technology. The SplinterBike took around 1000 hours to design and construct in a rammed earth garden shed. Norfolk, England.

www.splinterbike.co.uk

a manual for speed

2011-08-04T21:59:00.000+01:00

i was hoping i would see more of daniel wakefield pasley's crystal clear sharp photographs again after seeing some of his work a few months back. i went back to his website a fair few times only to feel a slight disappointment not to see any new additions to his online portfolio. it is therefore a pleasant surprise to see pasley's work reappear again on the slick new castelli sponsored a manual for speed website which pitches itself as a collection of photo essays, videos, narratives, interviews and anecdotes all of which illustrate the pursuit of speed. below is a selection of just a few of my favourite images from the site. keep em coming daniel!

www.manualforspeed.com

tour de france series

2011-08-01T20:43:00.000+01:00

i have been scrolling down through these colourful illustrations by crayonfire and could not decide which ones i like the most so i decided to profile all twentyone of them from day one of this years tour all the way through to the final stage three weeks later in paris, brilliant! oh and you can buy the prints too.

pillars of french cycling - chapters I & II

2011-07-30T21:50:00.001+01:00

following on from the very excellent pillars of italian cycling peloton magazine produce another two fine documentaries this time focusing on four of frances most iconic cycling brands time, hutchinson, look and mavic. seeing the carbon composite being woven in time's factory is a treat and shows the value the company place on keeping everything in-house and produced and hand finished in france rather than being fabricated in the far east like many of their competitors have done in a bid to cut costs. if money were no object i would have a tough job deciding between a time and a look frame set.

Pillars of French Cycling: Chapter 1 from MovePress, LLC on Vimeo.

The Pillars of French Cycling: Chapter II from MovePress, LLC on Vimeo.

tour de france

2011-07-29T20:46:00.003+01:00

via: keiren berlin

keeping with the subject of tilt-shift photography i found this image earlier. it is easily my favourite example to date!

la caravane du tour de france en tiltshift

2011-07-28T12:20:00.001+01:00

via: velogogo

as readers of this blog will have seen before i am a big fan of tilt-shift photography. this image of a publicity caravan at this years tour de france is a great example, it looks so unreal.

velogames fantasy tour de france update

2011-07-25T20:42:00.002+01:00

So another edition of the tour de france is over and what a fantastic race is was, some say the best in years. congratulations, of course, go to cadel evans who becomes the first ever australian to take overall victory and the yellow jersey into paris. australians will be especially pleased since it has been announced they will receive an extra national holiday to celebrate the victory. this will surely make evans australia's most famous and popular sportsman and will no doubt lead to a plethora of talented youngsters taking up the sport of cycling in their country.

i can also annouce the reading spinners won the velorunner fantasy tour de france mini league and in doing so win a £50 voucher courtesy of urban hunter. in order to claim the voucher the reading spinners will need to email me at velorunner@gmail.com.

personally i am very pleased with my performance. after a slow start i managed to claw my way up to finish in a tommy voeckleresque fourth position. below are the final standings. i agree with chris boardman when he said yesterday there should be a podium spot for fourth.

velorunner mini league

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Reading Spinners	UphillSpin	7178
2	Nobeef Vegemix	Neximus	6745
3	Square wheels	Karl Bird	5856
4	velorunner	Jason B	5789
5	Murphy-Lotto	Joshua Murphy	5769
6	Velo Angels	UrbanHunter1	5374
7	SpecialK`s fruits & nuts	SpecialK	5288
8	Team Robster	Chris Dobbs	4833
9	Team Bike Tan	Jared Honn	4790
10	Ghost Riders	Phantom	4752
11	PLENTYO	Jeremy Boucher	4682
12	Benito`s Bambinos	ben everitt	4551
13	The Boo`s Boys	Betty B	4436
14	ALTRT	Tom	4282
15	Avonlea-Treasure RT	David Curtis-Whitfield	4272
16	le futur dopeur	Luke T	4157
17	ROLIVELO	roland	3948
18	Radioactive Chamois	Sam Graves	3831
19	Philip Shrimpton	Philip Shrimpton	3366
20	Mountain Lions	Billy Whizz	2899
21	Pavé/Backseat DS	Whit Yost	2857

beyond the peloton: four - tour of california 2 & 3

2011-07-24T08:52:00.000+01:00

mask the pain

2011-07-22T08:29:00.002+01:00

via: steephill.tv

seperated at birth? not quite but i think the mask and andy schleck do look a little bit similar in this moment during yesterday's action packed tour de france stage which finished on top of the col du galibier.

velogames fantasy tour de france update

2011-07-20T21:16:00.003+01:00

here is what the velorunner league looks like after sixteen stages. I have somehow managed to climb to the heady heights of eighth, yeah i know, very average. it will be tough for any team to catch the reading spinners though. they look favourite to receive the £50 voucher to spend at urban hunter.

velorunner mini league

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Reading Spinners	UphillSpin	5065
2	Square wheels	Karl Bird	4205
3	Nobeef Vegemix	Neximus	4124
4	Murphy-Lotto	Joshua Murphy	4103
5	Team Robster	Chris Dobbs	3652
6	Team Bike Tan	Jared Honn	3462
7	Velo Angels	UrbanHunter1	3217
8	velorunner	Jason B	3195
9	SpecialK`s fruits & nuts	SpecialK	3138
10	Avonlea-Treasure RT	David Curtis-Whitfield	3137
11	le futur dopeur	Luke T	2875
12	ALTRT	Tom	2596
13	PLENTYO	Jeremy Boucher	2551
14	Benito`s Bambinos	ben everitt	2530
15	Ghost Riders	Phantom	2508
16	The Boo`s Boys	Betty B	2488
17	Philip Shrimpton	Philip Shrimpton	2221
18	ROLIVELO	roland	2100
19	Radioactive Chamois	Sam Graves	2091
20	Mountain Lions	Billy Whizz	1968
21	Pavé/Backseat DS	Whit Yost	1669

life cycle

2011-07-16T20:45:00.001+01:00

introducing the new edition to my little family. this is isabella rose age 30 minutes. i am so proud.

the great bike race

2011-07-14T09:19:00.001+01:00

i had a nice surprise yesterday when i arrived home from work to find an envelope waiting for me from my good friend dan. he had posted me a (very) belated birthday gift. they say good things come to those who wait and to be honest i am happy i had to wait for this gift because inside the envelope was an original copy of geoffrey nicholson's book called the great bike race documenting the 1976 tour de france. belgian lucien van impe was the winner that year. i think the rider on the front cover of the book is that of another dutchman hennie kuiper. as soon as i have finished reading david millar's new book - racing through the dark: the fall and rise of david millar i shall get onto reading this one, i cannot wait. thanks again dan.

massif

2011-07-12T08:38:00.002+01:00

i do not usually post films by rapha here since i figure they get so much publicity elsewhere. however, i am making an exception in this case since their new short film massif (a reference to the region of france called massif central through which the tour has been racing through in the past couple of days) captures the essense of frenchness and the tour de france so beautifully.

Massif from RAPHA on Vimeo.

velogames fantasy tour de france update

2011-07-11T08:27:00.002+01:00

here is the velorunner league placings after stage 9. great to see tommy voeckler take yellow yesterday, especially since he is in my team!

also fingers crossed johnny hoogerland and juan antonio flecha recover well enough to be able to continue racing after todays rest day. the race organises need to learn from yesterdays terrible events to ensure riders do not have have to fear being taken out by race vehicles in the future.

and lastly best wishes also go out to all the other riders who crashed and broke bones yesterday including alexandre vinokourov, dave zabriskie, jurgen van den broeck and anyone else i have forgotten. get well soon guys.

velorunner mini league

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Reading Spinners	UphillSpin	3182
2	Square wheels	Karl Bird	2975
3	Murphy-Lotto	Joshua Murphy	2455
4	SpecialK`s fruits & nuts	SpecialK	2193
5	Team Robster	Chris Dobbs	2085
6	Team Bike Tan	Jared Honn	1992
7	Velo Angels	UrbanHunter1	1938
8	Avonlea-Treasure RT	David Curtis-Whitfield	1911
9	le futur dopeur	Luke T	1743
10	velorunner	Jason B	1559
11	Benito`s Bambinos	ben everitt	1355
12	The Boo`s Boys	Betty B	1330
13	ALTRT	Tom	1309
14	PLENTYO	Jeremy Boucher	1247
15	Mountain Lions	Billy Whizz	1229
16	Philip Shrimpton	Philip Shrimpton	1189
17	Ghost Riders	Phantom	1168
18	ROLIVELO	roland	1063
19	Radioactive Chamois	Sam Graves	1056
20	Pavé/Backseat DS	Whit Yost	910

the sky is the limit

2011-07-09T23:26:00.001+01:00

team sky have been through a roller coast ride of emotions over the last few days. getting the team to be competitive on cycling's grandest of stages, the tour de france, has meant the team have had to experience a steep learning curve since they're arrival on the scene at the beginning of last season. that experience paid dividends two days ago when sky's rising star edvald boasson hagen bagged his and his teams first ever tour stage victory. fast forward one day later and sky's team leader bradley wiggins crashes out of the tour after falling hard and breaking his collarbone. the highs and lows of professional cycling has never been captured so clearly.

in the immediate aftermath of wiggins crash we brits were understandably disappointed to see brad have to bow out of the race before it had even hit the mountains. wiggins had started the tour in a much more confident frame of mind compared to last year. taking responsibility for being leader has helped bring the riders together as a team. the squad, many of whom are relatively young, have a year more experience under them. there have also been useful additions to both riding staff and management. oh yes and it did not do any harm for wiggins by winning the prestigious one week stage race critérium du dauphiné in the lead up to the tour. we had every reason to think he could maybe get close to the dizzy heights of 2009 when he finished fourth overall. to have these hopes dashed must have been hard for team sky to take but i still think they have alot to race for.

now the remainder of the team are free from the shackles of looking after their leader they can attempt to cause damage in other ways. team sky have already demonstrated they are looking for victories whenever the opportunity arises with boasson hagen's victory. how relieved the young norwegian must feel. coming back from a bout of shingles to take possibly his most high profile victory to date and going some way to giving us a glimpse into the potential of one of the peloton's most talented young riders.

other major players that feature in the team's ranks include geraint thomas, ben swift, simon gerrans, rigoberto urán and the vastly experienced juan antonio flecha. swift and thomas although still young are already threatening to win and do not appear fazed when it comes to mixing it with the major players. to be fair both of them are already accomplished and know how to handle big pressure racing. isn't thomas destined for big things? i think so. gerrans has already tasted victory in the tour back in 2008 so knows what it takes to win, while classics hard man flecha could surely get himself out in a breakaway or two and possibly stay away. last but by no means least new boy columbian climber and time trial specialist urán could very well spring a surprise in the mountains. over the remaining two weeks expect to see team sky give cart blanche to their gaggle of stars. i think we will see more success from sky before this years edition of the tour reaches its finale in paris on 24 july. as for bradley wiggins i hope he recovers well from his injury and he has a chance to race again before the end of the season, good luck to him.

when i grow up i want to own a pegoretti

2011-07-06T19:21:00.000+01:00

www.pegoretticicli.com

velogames fantasy tour de france update

2011-07-05T20:19:00.002+01:00

here is what the velorunner league looks like after four stages. i am getting a proper kicking. come on boys!

velorunner mini league

Rank	Team	Directeur	Score
1	Square wheels	Karl Bird	1512
2	Murphy-Lotto	Joshua Murphy	1058
3	Team Robster	Chris Dobbs	956
4	Team Bike Tan	Jared Honn	928
5	Velo Angels	UrbanHunter1	916
6	Avonlea-Treasure RT	David Curtis-Whitfield	850
7	SpecialK`s fruits & nuts	SpecialK	822
8	le futur dopeur	Luke T	747
9	Mountain Lions	Billy Whizz	693
10	PLENTYO	Jeremy Boucher	603
11	Benito`s Bambinos	ben everitt	585
12	ALTRT	Tom	575
13	The Boo`s Boys	Betty B	521
14	velorunner	Jason B	498
15	Radioactive Chamois	Sam Graves	450
16	Pavé/Backseat DS	Whit Yost	425
17	ROLIVELO	roland	370
18	Ghost Riders	Phantom	341

beyond the peloton: four - tour of california 1

2011-07-04T20:47:00.001+01:00

Cervelo BTP: four - Tour of California 1 from Cervelo TestTeam on Vimeo.

tour de france 2009 - stage 6

2011-07-03T20:50:00.003+01:00

man, david millar can write. i have just finished reading the first few chapters of his new book racing through the dark - the fall and rise of david millar. there is an easy flow to millar's writing style that allows the reader to digest many pages at a time as he describes his unorthodox and intriguing upbringing.

millar is not every body's favourite rider, he has a history and personality that divides many cycling fans. on the one side are the haters who, for a reason unbeknown to me, like to dis the man. i do not agree with that view of millar. for me millar is a man who has learned from his mistakes and has not been afraid to tell the truth and relieve himself of having to continue lying unlike the many unfortunate pros who have decided to go down that route over the years.

in a prelude to the first chapter of millar's book, he articulates with clarity the run in to the finish of stage 6 of the 2009 tour de france on his home turf (he lived in Girona at the time) - 181km from girona to barcelona, along beautiful corniche roads that hug the cliff edges that run southwest along the Catalan coastline. i was able to visualise those famous overhead helicopter images of millar powering down the wide boulevards of the catalan capital as i read millar's account of those final kilometres into barca that ultimately were doomed to failure, but like millar says at the end of the prelude: the manner in which one loses the battle can sometimes outshine the victory. amen to that i say.

below is footage of those last rainy kilometres which does not show the carnage that went on behind with many riders on the rivet as they tried to close millar down, boonen for one took a heavy fall that day, as the peloton hit max speed in an effort to catch catalunya's very own flying scotsman. as it happens they did catch him with victory going to norwegian strongman thor hushovd.

tour de france 1928

2011-07-02T18:58:00.003+01:00

via numerius, again! he is prolific.

tour de france teaser

2011-06-29T19:52:00.001+01:00

velogames fantasy tour de france

2011-06-28T08:30:00.005+01:00

here is my team line up:

	Rider / Cost	Team
	Andy SCHLECK [24]	LEO
	Tony MARTIN [10]	THR
	David MONCOUTIÉ [10]	COF
	Vasil KIRYIENKA [8]	MOV
	Mark CAVENDISH [20]	THR
	Sylvain CHAVANEL [8]	QST
	Fabian CANCELLARA [8]	LEO
	Thomas VOECKLER [6]	EUC
	David MILLAR [6]	GRM

who is in your team? join the velorunner velogames fantasy tour league using the password given below and win a £50 gift voucher courtesy of urban hunter:

velogames
league name: velorunner
league code: 28080808

use the league code to enter the league by clicking on an open spot on your team roster's "mini-league manager" section.

you can reach your team roster by going back the the main page and clicking on the team name in the right-hand panel of each screen when you are logged in.

after clicking on an open league spot, you will then be asked to enter the league code to sign up your team into the league.

the £50 gift voucher from urban hunter will be awarded to the team that finishes first overall at the end of the tour. oh yes and only one team per person please. good luck!

tour de france: velo cycling figures

2011-06-23T18:55:00.000+01:00

staying with the toy de france flavour, i had a nice surprise arrive for me in the post today. richard from urban hunter very kindly sent me a couple of tour de france figures, one in the colours of the maillot jaune, the other in the red with white cross of switzerland. they have now taken pride of place on the top of my record shelf.

made in france by a company that has been producing them since the 1930's each figure is hand painted and stands approx 5 cms tall by 5 cms long.

other figures can be seen and purchased over at urban hunter. also keep a look out for the launch of their new website in the coming weeks. thanks richard!

stage 11

2011-06-22T18:34:00.000+01:00

tour de france 1997 – stage 11. gap-marseille 219km. seen at aerodinamica.

yesterday's bike ride

2011-06-20T21:11:00.001+01:00

until yesterday it had been two weeks since i last went out on a proper bike ride. it felt so good to be out on a light weight road bike again after the effort of using my heavy commuter bike. i felt a bit like a dog who had not been let out for a walk in a long time. to be let off the proverbial leash was a good feeling made to feel even better by some sunny weather.

the weather recently has been something similar to sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, rain and so on but thankfully this last weekend, or at least sunday was dry and a beautiful day to go for a ride. i am a confirmed fair weather cyclist and will only venture out when it is raining if i absolutely have to, such as commuting to work although even then i will draw the line at very heavy rain.

yesterday was a fine day though and made for the perfect opportunity for me to join velo club walcot on their informal sunday morning ride. heading out with them is great because they have such in-depth knowledge of the roads and lanes compared to me who has little knowledge of the local geography, although i am picking it up slowly.

i am so excited to be able to discover new places every time i go out now, it is a bit like being on holiday but i live here. london is cool and i always liked living there (all 18 years!), but the cycling in and around london does not compare to what i have on my doorstep. it is no accident betty and i ended up moving to bath. for me consideration of cycling terrain played a big part in the process of deciding where to move to. in this respect, as i am finding with many other aspects of our new life, i am realising we made the right choice.

suisse test shots

2011-06-18T19:07:00.000+01:00

tyler hamilton on 60 minutes

2011-06-17T23:23:00.001+01:00

i know this is old news but today was the first time i have had a chance to watch the recently aired tyler hamilton interview on american television's news magazine program 60 minutes. maybe i come over as jumping on the beat on lance bandwagon by blogging it but who cares? what tyler has to say is too interesting not to share.

1964 ducati trials bike

2011-06-12T21:37:00.001+01:00

my good friend dave and i took our mountain bikes and rode along a very beautiful section of the kennet and avon canal yesterday, between bath and avoncliff, which is only a stones through from bradford-upon-avon, home to alex moulton's moulton bicycle company.

it was motorbikes not bicycles though that became the topic of conversation as we cycled back from lunch at the cross guns pub. i hit the breaks as soon as i got close to the stunning trials motorbike that was standing on a grass verge next to the canal side along with it's very proud owner ant crosby who was kind enough to tell us all about the ducati that he had lovingly restored and re-built. he even let me have a sit on it!

according to ant it is a pre 1965 trials bike that was commissioned by an american trials bike rider in late 1963 for ducati to build for him as a one off. it is the only one in the world and ant has put a price tag on it of £40,000. i said to ant that if i won the lottery i would buy it off him and start riding motorbikes. it really is a head turner.

if you would like ant crosby to build / restore you a motorbike he can be contacted on +44 (0)7584 282976.

ant with his 1964 ducati trials motorbike which he restored to mint condition himself

we all ride

2011-06-09T21:57:00.000+01:00

artwork by mike joos.

fairwell giro

2011-05-29T21:55:00.000+01:00

via: daylife

i thought this photo was a painting when i first saw it. incredible!

trail running:part 1

2011-05-28T22:36:00.001+01:00

here are a few images from today, they are taken during my morning run which was half trail and half on the road. most importantly though was that this was the first run in and around my new home town of bath. gone is the urban street and city park environment of london in favour of a much more rural setting. i have been wanting this for a very long time and i will make sure i make the absolute most of it. i plan to be sharing many more photos over the coming weeks and months as i discover my new home.

beyond the peloton: three - paris - roubaix

2011-05-28T09:57:00.002+01:00

johan van summeren's greatest moment of glory...

pillars of italian cycling

2011-05-24T05:56:00.000+01:00

peloton magazine presents a fascinating behind the scenes look into the fabrication and history of some of italy's most famous cycling brands including fizik, wilier, castelli, carrera, bianchi and vittoria. it was a particular treat to see the interview with the great man felice gimondi for bianchi.

The Pillars of Italian Cycling from Testrider.com on Vimeo.

new chapter

2011-05-22T09:10:00.002+01:00

the crew- phil, alex, simon, me, james

this is an image of me with some very good friends of mine prior to my last london ride with them before betty and i move to bath. it just so happens that we look like a bunch of rapha gimps but hey where do you think all those sample sale jerseys end up? i have had the pleasure of cycling with these boys over the past four years or so and have to say it was an absolute pleasure. thanks lads and look forward to you visiting me for some bike rides through the somerset lanes.

tuesday will mark the beginning of a new chapter for betty and i. she has been in london for ten years and i eighteen. although we have both enjoyed living in the big smoke we have decided it is time for a life style change - much smaller city and having easier access to the countryside. bath qualifies in both respects and in my opinion is one of the most beautiful cities in england, the countryside is also very beautiful and quite hilly.

we are sad to be leaving london, our friends and all the good times we've had but also very excited to be able to start exploring our new home. there is one other big change too, betty is pregnant with our first child and is due in the middle of july, during the tour de france! we really cannot wait to meet the new edition to our family.

as i said our move date is this coming tuesday (i am surrounded by packed boxes as i write this) and because of this we will not have internet connection until around the end of the first week in june. i know my posts have been less frequent of late but for the next couple of weeks i may not get a chance to post at all, although a priority of mine will be to find a good local pub with wifi connection so maybe i can squeeze out a couple of posts here and there, i will see.

anyway thanks for visiting and enjoy the remainder of the giro d'italia.

jeff parr - velo art

2011-05-16T15:36:00.001+01:00

if i had some spare cash to spend on a piece of art i could easily be persuaded to buy some of jeff parr's. www.jeffparr-veloart.com