Tour de France 2013 – review

By on July 23, 2013 in tour de france

The 2013 Tour de France is over, and this year I really enjoyed it. I thought it was the best tour I can remember watching. Nearly as exciting as the breaking news that a British woman has just had a baby. Though Froome was clearly the strongest rider in the tour, there was sufficient drama […]

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My moment of fame slips away

By on July 21, 2013 in tejvan, timetrials

After last weekends 100 mile TT, it was back down to more familiar territory this weekend – a 10 and a 25. This week saw little training. A nice easy week, motivated by a combination of Tiredness after national 100 Tour de France in the third week on TV After two big national events, it […]

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Zipp 808 Firecrest review

By on July 19, 2013 in products

I’ve had a pair of Zipp 404 since 2006. They are a good versatile wheelset. They are lightweight 1,250grams – so I was able to use in hillclimbs for several seasons (Until I got some Zipp 202s), but the deep rim profile is also aerodynamic. 404s are a good all rounder. The Firecrest 404s are […]

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Spectators at the Tour de France

By on July 19, 2013 in cycling, tour de france

. L’Alpe d’Huez. photo Bryan77 Watching the Tour de France stage to Alpe d’Huez I was in two minds about the spectators. Was this the greatest collection of sporting fans in the world? or the craziest and most dangerous? Watching the riders battle through a sea of flags, cameras, running spectators, people dressed as giant […]

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Getting overtaken in a time trial

By on July 18, 2013 in cycling

It’s not too often I get overtaken in a time trial, so when I do I tend to remember it. I remember once in the 2010 British Time trial championship. I was happily speeding along at 33mph on the flat. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself when a Sky rider came past like a […]

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Power meters and the romance of pushing the limits

By on July 18, 2013 in cycling

I’m about to get a power meter. I’ve resisted for several years. But, nearly everyone tells me power meters are great. I feel like I’m missing out by not having one. To be honest, I’d probably prefer it they hadn’t been invented. But, they have – and so it seems a mistake to miss out […]

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Cycling in Hills of Yorkshire

By on July 18, 2013 in cycling

Some of my favourite hill climbs of Yorkshire. The Stang, North Yorkshire. The Stang is hidden away near Reeth. On the road towards Tan hill, it is left turn towards Barnard Castle. It’s a good long test. Steep at the beginning. It proved quite a testing climb. The 15% gradient section lasts quite a long. […]

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SIS 1 litre wide water bottle – review

By on July 17, 2013 in products

For this years 100 mile TT I was worried about carrying enough water. I’m pretty thin and generally don’t feel the heat, but dehdyration can be very costly.  I was still hoping to get by without relying on a helper. This means trying to work out how to carry enough drink for four hours. Earlier […]

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Doping questions – It’s not about Froome

By on July 17, 2013 in tour de france

I think it was J.Vaughters who said this was not a good year to win the Tour. The first year after USADA’a 2012 report on Armstrong, it’s only to be expected the spectre of doping would loom large. If Froome had crashed out on the first stage, there would have been just as many questions […]

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Merckx 1969 – Stage 17 – riding alone for 140km

By on July 17, 2013 in tour de france

It would have been ‘interesting’ if Merckx had been riding in the present generation of riders. In 1969, Merckx won his first tour de France by a margin of 17 minutes 54 seconds. On the 17th stage, over four cols from Luchon to Mourenx, he won by eight minutes after riding alone for 140 km. […]

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The slowest recovery ride

By on July 15, 2013 in training

They say one of the hardest rides to do is a proper recovery ride. A recovery ride where you really take it easy. One hour of gentle spinning, nothing over 60% of max heart rate. The problem is that, because it feels so easy, we instinctively want to make a recovery ride a little bit […]

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