I always skim, I might pick a few words I want to look up later, but understanding the gist is an important skill when you don’t have the luxury of a dictionary… exams, watching a Spanish film with Spanish subs for example.

That said, there are always opportunities to do it both ways.

OP you don’t have to stop at 500 you know. Last time I looked there were folk with 1500+ logged. Or maybe even that’s piffling for you :wink:
Just got 80 to do today to finish, quite pleased as I missed 4 days of it. Couldn’t care less about Rapha, if it weren’t sponsored by them it would be some other company I’ve no intention of patronising anyway.

I’ve got one of the first Potenzas (from ’05 IIRC) built with Deda zero tubes, much nicer than the current Potenzas. Might be worth looking for one of those.

Yetitony – Roanhead? Nice, my neck of the woods.

This is where I went. Started t’other side of the furthest mountain, up the coast to here (Biarritz) then back via an inland route.

How waterproof is waterproof? I bought some Sealskinz waterproof winter gloves last winter but didn’t really get chance to properly test them til today. After 3 hours of heavy rain they were waterlogged and so heavy they were making the bike handle funny.

That’s because it’s consistent, no variation due to inexperienced or lack of specialist staff and easy for an idiot to operate. The coffee from them is defiantly mediocre but better than a badly made burnt/over extracted shot made by somebody who doesn’t know what they are doing.

Seems a shame to go to all that trouble in the kitchen then serve duff coffee. In contrast, a local restauranteur is big into coffee (link, sorry it’s in Spanish), can’t imagine them making do with a nespresso machine :?:

To the OP, if you’ve got upgradeitis, something like this will make the biggest difference.
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/mahlkonig-vario-coffee-grinder

Heston swears by nespresso at the fat duck, say no more….

This the guy who poisoned 500 diners? Maybe it’s for safety reasons…

I’d like to try this. UK made, excellent customer service, same internals as their commercial machines.

http://www.fracino4u.co.uk/featured.asp?featured_item_id=1

Silvia is not really an ‘upgrade’, it’s got the same shortcomings. Fine for knocking out a few espressos a day, but struggles if you need to make a few drinks in short order.

The classic is very good, adjust the pressure to 9bar (it’s overpowered from the factory), even fit a PID controller to really get the best out of it. Upgrading your grinder would give you much more bang for your buck.

I’ll believe the nespresso hype when I see them being used in bars. It’s alright, a step up from instant maybe, but appalling espresso.

That AC/DC gig was only a tenner a ticket as well IIRC…

That nespresso article just reads like an advert.. Either that or the guy just couldn’t be bothered (which is fine but why not state that?)

Kinda like saying I CBA learning to read a map, I’m just going to buy a GPS.

There’s a Nespresso at work and I think it does pretty good coffee as it goes.
Wouldn’t have one at home though as I can get much better shots out of my 8 year old cheapie Gaggia with very little fuss, and I’d hazard a guess it’s cheaper too.

I only use moka pots when I’m camping tbh and it’s probably impossible to regulate the extraction with a trangia :-) however there must be some truth in the speed it brews affecting the taste. With machine espresso the extraction speed is crucial, too quick and it’s sour, too slow and it’s bitter. Can’t see why it’d be any different with a moka pot.

What do you make the coffee with?

My drink of choice is espresso (a double ristretto to be exact) and you really do need a burr grinder. If you don’t have one, the next best thing would be to get fresh roasted beans ground in the shop, in small quantities.

I use speedplays so not sure if this helps any but..

Bont Vaypor 181mm from heel to cleat centre
Specialized S Works, 185mm
S works with rear setback plate, 170mm

All size 43s measured with heel butted up to a wall.

If that seems a bit anal I’ve been crippled with foot pain in the heat the last couple of seasons and seem to get more relief the further back the cleat. Considering trying midfoot :?

blast from the past.. I’ve seen Kingmaker more times than I care to remember, they seemed to support every band going for a while. Couldn’t tell you one of their songs.

Couldn’t repair this one on the trail on Friday. Ears are still ringing…

There is/was a company round here doing road cycling holidays for not much less than that (and didn’t go to the Pyrenees ‘proper’). Staying in posh hotels, gastro food, ex-pro guides, etc.

Can you imagine how insufferable the other guests would be? *shudders*

Was gonna post a mirafiori earlier. I learned to drive on on exactly like this, 2.0 twin cam. Had to scrap it in the end,had weld on the weld on the weld underneath.

Hoogerland knocked off road and into barbed wire fence by camera car.

Didn’t Indurain ride a Pego? Boonen? I’ve raced one for the last 4 years,trained on it every winter, crashed it… I confess to the odd cafe stop but can’t remember ever seeing another. Cervelos , BMCs, certainly :-)

maccruiskeen – Member
The most interesting underpants in London

I lived in Bowes Park for a few years, those pants have been like that since about 1998! Nice write up… I see you’ve captured the creepy Naxos school uniform dummy as well!

Smurfs from the National garage.
The little glass domes on the petrol pumps.
White crayons to colour in your tyre logos.
Yellow headlights on French cars.

In old money, 615,000ft (barometric GPS, not smartphone), a bit over 8000miles. About 75/25 road/MTB.

+1 The Cramps
Janis Joplin, Monterey 1967
Ramones, Rainbow Theatre New Year’s Eve 1977

Would also loved to have seen the MC5, John Coltrane, Beefheart, Clash…

And GG Allin, that’d be something to regale the grandkids with :-)

Bought a grinder like that too, I think they have to dial them in at the factory.

My sis gave me her ’96 2 door Vitara this summer (can’t get new baby’s pram in it*), I drove it back from Cumbria to northern Spain on the m’ways, interesting handling in crosswinds and a little uncomfortable but not horrible. Was going to scrap it when I got here but will keep it as it’s been handy for getting me and the bike up to new trails.

*unfortunately neither will it accommodate more than one bike

Birdage, I was reading in the local rag that route continues all the way to Hendaye on voies verts (might not be finished yet, only scanned the article as I was reading it in the shop). It’s all traffic free to Bordeaux?

+1 aracer – I haven’t found they roll better than, say, Veloflex or Open Corsas with a latex tube (seat of pants comarison of course)
Didn’t Tony Martin just win the worlds on clinchers?

I suspect the reason most normal folk ride tubs is the kudos of having the spare taped under the saddle :?

The closer to the mediterannean you get, the worst the driving gets.

Isn’t that why a lot of pro teams moved their training bases to Girona or Tuscany?
I train a lot on the French Basque coast and it’s not great here either. More respect on the other side of the border. Although my San Sebastian club kit probably marks me as a target, no love lost there.

Currently using Michelin Lithion 2’s mainly because they were free when I got a pair of Pro4’s, although haven’t put nearly enough distance on them to know what they are really like.

Tried these last winter (Lithions*), in the wet they were like riding on a skid pan. Horrific.

I tend to use up the half worn Veloflex and Open Corsas left over from summer first, then a pair of Rubino pros will see me until the season starts.

* next model up (Krylion?) supposed to be good though.

I helped my uncle jack off his horse once :oops:

uff! Knees cringing at the very thought, I meant 39×25 :lol:

A local climb, Muro de Aia, goes up to 33% on my garmin, the last 100m over 30%. I can just about make it on 53×25, but would be walking if it was wet.

David Arroyo pushing up the same hill on the Tour of the Basque Country ’10, but that’s 140km into the stage at 40km/h.

a spiiiike

You cut the stalks off bananas to save weight.

don’t see so many mullets these days, the haircut du jour in the provincial towns is the mushroom head, looks like they put a pudding basin over wet hair, then blowdry around the edges. ANyway I digress…

bloody Guipuccis

Nice bike, Leku . With that username you could quite easily go native ;-)

Callouses don’t seem to be symptomatic of hot spots, I wonder if one of your cleat screws is protruding too far through the sole. Some insoles have a bump to spread the metatarsal bones as mentioned above – a severe one could cause a callous I suppose.
Also check your feet aren’t moving around in the shoe while riding.

What pedal system do you use?

Oldgit, my 600 group is from 96 and still looks and works like new. My car is the same age and everything in it is broken or wobbly… Go figure!