If you can find them, American Classic Sprint 350s are a really good wheelset for the money, you should be able to get them for under £400 and they are under <1500gs. JEJames have them listed for £375.

I like my Zondas but had to search long and far for a spoke kit which was £30, there are three different spoke lengths in the wheelset so it seemed like a good insurance policy to buy one when I eventually found them. They roll really well though and I havent had any issues with flex.

Fulcrum 3s would be my recommendation if the AC Sprint 350s are getting hard to find. The Vision Trimax 30s get good reviews and GB cycles have them for 350 and they are worth a look.

IMHO fish and chips arent worth it unless you are by the sea, sounds obvious realy, but the best fish and chips i’ve had recently were in Penzance (where they sold whatever the boats caught that day) and Whitby where the langoustines were simply amazing.

Fish from inland chippies is always a disappointment and I’m never entirely sure that whatever I ordered isnt a much cheaper substitute that they have just battered and over-cooked. Pie and chips for me and yes, i recognise the irony of this comment bearing in mind I am dubious of the fish they sell and yet choose an offal and trotter pie…

SLX is racier than I thought it was looking at the geo, >73 deg head angle and a relatively small head tube, endurance is only slightly less racy to be honest, a bit more upright at the front but not by much.

a friend has an SLX and loves it, i’d get that…

MrsBristolPablo and I are terrible, we should have shares in Swizzels Matlow… her vice is refreshers and love hearts, i can eat my body weight in milk teeth (oh the irony!) and monkey bars…

beer before wine, you’ll feel fine
wine before beer, you’ll feel queer

Had an email today saying I am doing something around sector 3 on stage 2 (Harrogate). I asked to be a course marshal so hopefully will achieve my ambition of standing in front of a traffic island waving a small triangular orange flag… :)

Kittel, Bouhanni etc may not ride all three weeks as the last week is a bit of a hill-fest.

Scarponi, Basso and Cunego are going to be in the top ten, Quintana and Roriguez are probably favourites but I think Uran is a dark horse and will be leading OPQS and Roche will feature… If only he could TT!! On paper it’s the most open Giro in years..

The Wiggle Mendips sportive in August has 3 good climbs, you have Burrington Combe, Cheddar Gorge and then a hill near Wookey Hole (Priddy?) which is a real slog. There are about 40 miles of flat between Cheddar and Priddy which offer some respite but its a good route.

http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-mendips-sportive/

I have a “5 off 50” if you want it. email pmonisathotmaildotcom for the code!

Meh, cup and cones just need a bit more attention. I’d go for Campag neutrons, less than £500 at wiggle. 20/24 spoke count, under 1500gs, superb hubs and bearings that roll forever, Magnus Backstedt won Roubaix on Neutrons so they will be fine for the roads in the lakes…

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-neutron-ultra-clincher-road-bike-wheelset/

If you really don’t cup and cones, go for so,e handbuilt Hope pro 2 on dt Swiss rr545s rims with sapim xc ray spokes then…

The STW route through Wotton, Dursely and Nibley is pretty good but quickly gets boggy in bad weather. There are loads of other good bridlepaths around that area though and some good routes out east of Sodbury towards Badminton, Sherston etc

Ashton Court is dull but encourages you to ride quickly and you find out how fast you really are comapred to how fast you think you are (or maybe thats just me!?)

FoD or Cwmcarn are an hour away for a full days riding.

I do struggle to see the fascination with segments that lack any discernible climb, the clue is in the name…

http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/local-groups/

there are a few local HNH groups who will probably be willing to help organise a demo or help get this greater publicity

I use a Thule 591 with a carbon road bike, in my experience the wheel straps offer more support, the bar on the down tube just helps keep it upright, fundamental bug nit load bearing so to speak. If you are really cautious then some bubble wrap around the frame may help calm your fears but carbon frame preciousness can be quite bewildering at times.

apologies that this too late for today but http://www.steephill.tv always has a list of live tv streams for the classics, there will be a few places which carry british eurosport feeds for the Amstel Gold race, Fleche Wallone and Leige in the coming weeks.

http://www.baristas.co.uk is the finest coffee shop in the South West and conveniently enough on Vic Street, though I am biased as its owned by a friend! pop in and you could end up talking classic cars, house renovation or cycles for a while…

The Watershed does good food and drink and its a nice environment but does get busy. The Olive Shed is hit and miss, sometimes the service is good, sometimes its dire but the food is consistently good. Bordeaux Quay is nice too. The Raj on King Street is one of the better curry houses too. The Vindaloo is the only one in Bristol that I like.
Other good places I like are Moreish in Clifton if you need to get some brownie points and the cafe/restaurant in the Lido which is criminally underrated. If you like cider, the Apple is worth a visit too.

My favourite restaurant in Bristol is Greens Dining Room but its about 10 minutes up Glos Rd in a taxi. Its well worth it though.

have a look at the wild swimming coast book for some inspiration. as others have said, sennen and porthcurno are stunning, i love st just because its a bit quieter and the coast around cape cornwall is amazing. make sure you pop in to the maritime agency lookout huts as they normally let children have a go on the big telescopes! perranporth and praa sands are also worth a look.

personally, i’d avoid st ives between june and september, its busy and the seagulls are chavs.

http://dolgellau-restaurant.co.uk
This place is pretty good, might need to book in advance.

There is an Iceland in Barmouth too.

the very last thing you want to take to the ring is a £500 ford puma with not knowledge of the history of the vehicle and how well it has been serviced. It could be on cheap and cheerful black rubber things pretending to be on tires, the head gasket could be ten minutes from shot and you really dont want to be responsble for dropping a sump’s worth of oil all over a race track…

I dont think you know what Psychology is.

This was my first proper bike, its a Specialized Rockhopper Sport with snowflake wheels from Merlin. I gave it to a mate who needed a bike to commute on and lost touch with him, then saw it again in Bristol City Centre near Cabot Circus like this, badly locked up. The saddle, pedals and riser bars were different but I doubt there are too many of these around with those wheels…

I watch them on the laptop, if you go to http://www.steephill.tv there are usually half a dozen links to streaming tv feeds for each race, mostly European tv channels but RTL is often there as well so at least you get English commentary. I watched and Italian TV stream when Moser won Strade Bianche last year which was hilarious as they predictably went bonkers!

Just submitted my application, hopefully I’ll be out on the route doing something.

possibly not over rough ground and jumps but more on climbs and endurance. a good work out is the “arse an inch above the saddle for as long as you can bare it/until your quads explode”….

You just need a few race simulations as part of your training, go for a ride then a run immediately afterwards, when you start the second run it is normal to be unable to feel your legs for a mile or so, just keep running!

I’m a big advocate of rollers, they make you stronger and keep you focused. Most people I know seem to switch off on turbo trainers and just grunt their way through a session rocking their body around with technique very low down on their list.

Firstly, you dont have to clip in with rollers, just get used to them before you start using spds etc. Yes you will fall off, we all did but its part of the learning process, just stick with it for a few sessions and it will be fine. Most accidents are because people fail to realise how important it is to set the distance between the drums correctly. The front wheel should be just behind the centre of the front drum, most people have the front drum too far back and the ride is very scary. Just experiment with what feels right.

As for getting out of the saddle, again it takes time but the most effective workout is to hover over the saddle barely an inch off it and just sit there, your core muscles will engage to hold you steady and it will start to hurt after little more than a minute, then hold it…

Whilst they are no substitute to riding, I find rollers are perfect for just building up the cadence and the miles, people assume you cant do turbo-esque workouts on rollers but you can, it just takes time. There is no point jumping on a turbo and wrenching the bike around on the climbs just because its bolted in, you dont ride like that on the road so why do it in your garage? shoulders level, core engaged, let your legs do the work….

The Elite Parabolic rollers have raised sides to the drums which gently nudge your wheel back in line, very useful! I’m not sure if this is a feature of all their models but its worth checking.

Put my name down on the “i want to volunteer” website but i’d need to know sooner rather than later to sort out travel and accom etc. I suspect they will try to use local folk which is fair enough but i’ve waited a long time to hold a small triangular flag whilst stood in front of a traffic island and wave it from side to side as the peloton approach… someone may or may not have writted “adeiu daveeed” near that particular traffic island…

Richard Herrings edinburgh fringe festival and leicester sq theatre podcasts are great and worth downloading, i like rhod gilberts weekly too. the victoria derbyshire interviews are good, the ones with mo farah and chris hoy in particular. the ricky gervais podcast from a few years ago about comic relief is good and i think there is an eddie izzard live set available too, all free.

The “catch” (if thats the right word) is that its not full ultegra, the brakes and chainset are from the Shimano “A.N.Other” range but thats not to say they are not going to do the job. Its good value for money though and you wont get much better value for money elsewhere. There are carbon bikes around with full tiagra for roughly the same money but Ultegra shifters and mechs really are silky smooth.

Despite a tip off from my mate on both occasions, I managed to miss both the Strokes and the Libertines at the Louisiana (tiny Bristol venue – 200 covers-ish) which would have been ace. Missed the Killers at the Fleece and Firkin (another small Bristol venue) on the Hot Fuss tour, that would have been epic.

Have been lucky enough to see Streetlight Manifesto 7 times though…

Ah, didnt realise the points made it free and not just reduced… have fun!

I was just ignoring the IHG bit, there is nothing “fancy” about those three though, its just they are somewhat formal and business-y. I do understand that having points can help reduce costs but honestly, somewhere like Kingsway Hall is just a world away from a big chain hotel like an Intercontinental and regardless of whether you are in a suite or a cupboard, you get treated the same at Kingsway which is nice. If you go to London a lot then use the points and stay at St James’, if you dont go that often, honestly I’d go elsewhere and save the points for another time.

Yes, the gloopy bits are horrendous but given the weather, the singletrack sections are holding up remarkably well. No idea what Leigh Woods is like at the moment but as drainage can be an issue there I’d stick with the Nova loop.

Kingsway Hall Hotel in Holborn is superb, very different to all the Hiltons etc in London as it has a very personal feel to it, almost like a Country Club but not snobby, just nice. We got lucky with a cheap deal there ages ago and had a fantastic time. I also like the Gouman at Charing Cross which will be a bit cheaper but again has a nice personal feel. Gouman is slightly better located being on the Bakerloo line but the Kingsway is at the east end of Oxford Street if thats ideal? Stayed in plenty more hotels in London but they are by far the nicest.

When the commentator on 5 live welcomes listeners from the BBC World Service. I like that.

The Greatest Rock Song of All time as requested

I thought the clothing rule for Cat 4 has been all but waived, it was generally perceived that anyone turning up wanting to race at that level could wear what they wanted?. Sure, it takes balls to turn up in full Sky attire for your first Cat 4 race but I dont see the harm personally, its another person racing which can only be a good thing. Stupid rules and things will only put people off though I appreciate there is an advertising issue somewhere.

Ah thanks, I didn’t know about the Go Race events.

“Go Race” events are for under 16s.

I’ve raced in the che Castle combe series which is hard work, lots of fast, talented, experienced riders seem to enter, some easily good enough for a higher standard but who just stick in the 4s. Average speed was about 40 km/h for an hour with a brutal headwind for 1/3 of a lap. The biggest shock I had was how quick the race was from the off, no messing about, gun goes bang, clip in and then straight out at 40 km/h down the straight so you need a good warm up first, casually lapping the car park for ten minutes wont help. You really need a turbo trainer or rollers.

Havent seen a crash yet, though no one will thank you for weaving around. 99% of accidents are through corners where the inexperienced can not hold their line and drift to the outside. Again this is something that rollers will help you with as they encourage good pedaling stroke and concentration. You dont need a super bike, quite a few were on good alu frames, you dont need deep carbon wheels either. You can hang around at the back if you are nervous but be prepared to be caught out on the sudden bursts of pace as you will need to work hard to keep up.

A few sessions at a velodrome will also help your cornering and how to hold your line!! Go for it, its great fun and a really good beasting!!

If they give me a little triangular sign and tell me to wave it in front of a traffic island and i will be as happy as a pig dans le merde….