Jonathan Vaughters has just tweeted

“Wanted: bicycle mechanic w electrical engineering and/or jet propulsion PhD. Highly confidential work. Must speak fluent Canadian”

Not read the book, but was listening to the Cycling Podcast this morning and Adam Blythe seems to fit the profile of a very talented rider without the discipline/desire/single-mindedness to achieve his full potential. Choose to walk away from BMC with a year left on his contract and drop out of the world tour, though maybe now wants to get back in at a different team.

Saw interesting comment re: JTL this morning at the link below too, good timing! Offered up purely for completeness, not out of any claim for the quality of the anonymous source

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/08/the-secret-pro-transfer-season/

There must be enough clues in these articles for the authors identity to be revealed. Or would that ruin the fun ?

Does this mean that being hungover is no longer a valid excuse for a poor day on the bike ?

Well done STW

Bought a cannondale Synapse Ultrega in the spring and have been very happy with it. OK not got much to compare it with – my last road bike was really crap and went for recycling years ago – but it’s done what I’ve wanted to do, all days rides with plenty of hills thrown in.

Wasn’t sure about the disks and still not sure – as everyone points out it not the brakes that is the key factor, it’s the contact patch. One factor for me is that being 14 stone and riding around Sheffield (pothole central) I’ve had a tendency to buckle wheels and that becomes less of an issue with discs than rim brakes. Another factor is that the bike industry seems keen to improve disc brakes – they may not be better now but in 2 or 3 years who knows, and having a disc compatible bike gives you some future proofing. Then again I don’t think we’ll see discs in road racing any time soon.

Terrible vid, terrible idea, well done to the OP for taking a stand

Had the same problem yesterday – assume it’s a problem with the notoriously rubbish Garmin Connect website rather than the Edge. Told me it was a problem connecting with Garmin Servers. I decided to leave it a couple of days and then try again.

Uploaded the track to Strava OK

Meant to save the track through Base camp, but forgot

Only world champs can wear rainbow strips, only race winners can wear race winners jerseys, and you must live in Yorkshire for at least 25 years before you can wear a Yorkshire shirt –
pic

I wouldn’t buy a current team kit, but very tempted to get a La Vie Claire top

Sky don’t seem to have had the depth to rely on the ‘Sky train to final climb then launch’ tactic this year

The fact that no team has been desperate to control the pace has meant the stages have been far more exiting, even if the Yellow Jersey hasn’t been in doubt since Bertie crashed. We have riders going off the front as well as being shelled out of the back.

How it will have played out if Froome and Bertie hadn’t crashed out we will never know. I agree that it’s unlikely that Sky would have been able to set the pace as they did in the last 2 years, Tinko maybe, but on top form both riders should have been able to keep up with Nibbles attacks. One thing to remember is that part of the reason for Bertie’s crash was that he was forced to take risks because of Nibble’s lead, so who knows

Article here on why Nibbles is getting an easy ride on journos

I think the big factor is that the French are doing so well, so their journos will conclude that this is a sign that things have changed

Since Festina, French riders have faced criminal prosecution for doping, which apparently had quite an effect

I’ve grown to like BaseCamp over the years – yes it’s hard to use at first, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it is very useful and does stuff like stitching together GPX files, which I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Yes you can see OS maps online – but sites like bikehike are limited to a small display area, and a finite amount of data per day.

Have got an Edge 800 and one of the biggest drawbacks is not being able to synch wirelessly, so yes it probably is worth the extra

I do find the OS maps useful though – they are better than the opensource maps I’ve used. Admittedly limited by the screen size.

However one useful feature is that when the Edge is hooked up to your PC you can view the maps using Base Camp. And then using Print Screen you can print OS maps for anywhere in the country

Blawith is an excellent suggestion – very quiet too – but it sound like it will be a long drive.

Circuit of Buttermere ? Ennerdale ?

Whinlatter Blue is nice, but quite short. The red are on the stiff side IIRC

Further south there’s Loughrigg Terrace. The bottom half has been completely sanitised and is devoid of anything technical, and the top isn’t very tricky either, but it’s still a picturesque ride.
Claiffe Heights is quieter and better, although I’ve known people to complain about both the climbs and the descents there !

Problem is that these all tend to be long ups followed by long downs

A place in the lakes was selling mugs with the following

“It never gets any easier. You just go faster” Greg Lemond

“Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill” Fausto Coppi

Also like Stephen Roche’s quip, after being given oxygen at that famous finish in 87, that he wasn’t ready for a woman just yet

Ah you might be right – I thought the OP said the work was from Redmires to the Pole – I didn’t see the bit about Derbyshire CC workmen. Everthing makes sense now. I’ve had a bad week OK ?

In the same way I don’t expect a rock garden on the local sustrans route, I don’t expect a sustrans route on Stanage Edge.

The causeway is wide enough to allow for both – a smooth option for walkers, horses and touring cyclists, and a bit of rough for those of us who want it. Sheff has done that to an extent on Houndkirk, although the rough side is nowhere near as rough as it used to be.

So now we’ll have two very smooth sections and a horrendous boulder field in the middle – that should keep everyone unhappy.

No, it’s the “horrendous boulderfield” all the way up to Stanage Pole that is to be flattened. The section from the pole to Redmires is the Sheffield CC part and that is not being touched

That’s not what the OP says. The boulder field is on the Derbyshire side

Hold on – this is the Sheffield side right – the bit that has never really been much of a challenge to anyone. The bit that’s in better shape than many of the roads in Sheffield.

The only bit that is a challenge is the 200m from the crest to the gate posts on the Derbyshire side. That is now very unpleasant to everyone but the hardcore, but the cost of doing anything is prohibitive due to the state of the retaining wall.

So now we’ll have two very smooth sections and a horrendous boulder field in the middle – that should keep everyone unhappy.

As said above it all about the routes – finding quiet roads and exploring new places. You can go a lot further from home than on a MTB, and a road bike is much easier to maintain.

Just had a week in the west of Ireland and the road biking was stunning – don’t think I’d have had much fun on a MTB

Tea
Cheese on Toast
Cake
Simple coffee – none of that poncy FrappeMachiaLatte rubbish that takes 15 minutes to make whilst I’m standing in the queue trying to get a cup of tea

Heres a link to a fairly epic day I had a couple of years agoStrava

Started off in Elterwater – went through Grizedale doing a fair bit of TNF, then down parkamoor and round Blawith. There was some great singletrack around Stephenson Ground, but after climbing the fireroad there was a very boggy section – Caw Moss – before you joined the Walna Scar road. I guess this could be avoided by going round to Seathwaite. And despite the descent being sanitised I still managed to rip open a tyre !

Yep – slapped some cross tyres on my Hardtail (Trek x-caliber) and locked out the forks. Did a 3 day tour of the Yorkshire dales and had no problems keeping up with the roadies – in fact I was first up Tan Hill !

Yep a bit slower (but not much), but a more comfortable riding position, lower gears and better brakes – ideal for touring on hilly terrain

Bertie does have a new beef supplier link[/url] and he has also been back on top form this year.

Anyone know if he is riding Dauphine or Suisse ?

I don’t think this even scrapes it in as a “first world problem”.

You should have heard me ranting about BBC iPlayer not working on my telly last night !!

One bug bear I’ve had with it is the ease with which you can accidently hit the start/stop button (e.g. when lifting the bike). You can’t protect against this with lock.

Another is trying to scroll around the map. Always seems to put in waypoints. “Navigate to start of ride” never seems to work. My data screens frequently change themselves !

Low battery warning isn’t obvious (enough) !!!!

There’s more but it’s all pretty minor or avoidable – mostly it’s been brilliant, but you just feel it could be better

A search on the Garmin Forum took me here[/url]

I’ve had mine 3 years and generally been very happy with it – but there are one or two major flaws with it

I find it hard to believe that Wiggans isn’t ‘good enough’ to make the team. There’s Froome and Porte, so that leaves 7 others. Are you saying there are 7 Sky riders better than Wiggans? If so, name them. If not, he’s in.

Unless Froome doesn’t want him in… but is it up to him?

The way Froome talks he makes it seem like there only room for one “number 2” – namely Porte, which is clearly boll*cks. Plus how many races has Porte failed to finish in recent months – is it 3 ?
And as for the rest of the team being settled – more rubbish. Sky have been struggling to field a full team in a number of races, so they can ill afford to drop one of their few riders with any sort of form this season.

So if they do, it’s purely going to be under threat from Froome.

They’ll be crashes aplenty in that first week (surely Geraint Thomas is too much of a risk!!) so Sky ought to have a Plan B.

It’s the best software I’ve found for logging just how much mileage I’ve done on different bikes. Gives me an idea on how long stuff is lasting and when it needs changing

Those signs are advisory. (And stupid.)

You know that, I know that, but I wonder if everyone else knows that.

Or do some people think “there goes another cyclist ignoring the law” ? I do remember a UKIP candidate ranting along these lines whilst defending his party’s stance on cycling.

You never see signs saying “Motorists – get out and push”, or “Pedestrians – Hop”

Various ways to import them (drag in basecamp, upload using BikeHike, or put into the new files directory with explorer

However I find that it can only cope with one at a time, which is a bit of a pain. Anyone else have this problem, or know a way around it ?

Has anyone got any experience of the new Bontrager Sealant. I used to use Superjuice but found it was less effective than Stans, though it did last longer

I’m another local(i.e. Sheffield) rider who wouldn’t ride WLT (or cutgate) with conditions as they are at present, and certainly not given the forecast for the weekend.

WLT from Cuthroat Bridge is a beautiful climb, but the ground is very susceptible to damage and I’d hate to see it have to be paved like some other areas of the moor.

It’s also very visible from the road and could be used as a stick to beat us with. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean we should ride it in all conditions (and just because somethings cheeky it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ride it when conditions are right…)

Last year I put some CX tyres on my 29er hardtail and used it for touring and road use.

This year I’ve gone and got a full on road bike and the difference has been … disappointingly small

The road bike feels faster, but when I look at Strava the difference is only about 0.5 mph over a long run. Other factors (wind, fitness etc) clearly pay a part, but even so. Plus on the 29er I was far more inclined to do fire roads and the like, and less nervous about the state of Sheffields roads

So yes, if limited on number of bikes, a 29er hardtail is very versatile

Not been impressed myself, and it would put me off buying an MTB with one in the future.

My experience so far has been of a £25 part that costs £30 to change, or requires tools costing around £125 (you may already have some of the tools – I don’t). It lasts as long as the screw-in BBs that cost £25, which isn’t very long (especially if you ride in the wet, in the winter and through fords), but at least those ones are very easy to change.

I’ve now upgraded to the Hope, which should last longer and be easier to change the bearings, but still may be a job for the LBS. Time will tell if this is a good investment

It’s cheeky, but there’s a nice path through Carr Wood and up past Lees Hall Golf Club which avoid the worst of the uphill grind – I always approach it along Albert Road but there might be a better way.

On the other side of the dual carriageway you can go past Hazelbarrow farm – some BWs around there, but heavily used by horses and likely to be churned up until the next drought. Also there’s a BW that DCC has closed “for repairs” for the last two years. Worth exploring when you’ve got a spare evening, but not whilst wearing shorts and a t-shirt…

Another vote for saying that Jacobs is harder than Potato Alley, has a few scary bits (including right at the top) but is a bit easier than the Beast, and much easier than Cavedale

And it’s best done clockwise unless you are either very very good, in which you might just be able to ride most of it, or very very poor/unfit, in which case you’ll be walking most of the hills whichever way you do it.

Most of all, it is well worth doing !!

This is excellent – my advice is to do it clockwise, others disagree but that involves lots more pushing

Vert graphics

Whether it is teenage friendly depends on the teenager – it’s 95% off road and much of that is steep in one direction or the other.

Head towards LadyBower for easier stuff – this mapbike map is very useful

Not quite permanent – had a few pop out or work loose. Maybe putting a dab of glue on the hole first would help. Might also depend on how much and how soon you ride on it.

Had a puncture after 35 miles of Kielder 100, each time the fix lasted a further 30 miles, meaning that I had to fix it for a third time 5 miles from the end – just as the midges decided it was time for their evening meal.