If this puts him out of contention for the Giro I think he will only be hungrier for another shot at a Tour win. Could lead to a very interesting inter-team battle with Froome

Looks like it was a hard hit to his hip. Hope he is ok and has a great TT tomorrow.

I’m one of the few who cycle to work here so am known as ‘the cyclist’. I’ve had most of these conversations but also who here has has to become a sports pundit from colleagues quizzing you about lance armstrong?

He really hurt the sport in the eyes of the general public. And I gave up trying to explain the culture difference between professional road & mtb

Still Wiggo & the lympics did a lot of good and I was quite happy to chat about that!

My 6 mile commute along the canal takes me half an hour coming in. Going home take 40 minutes as there’s a flight of 16 locks to go up

On the way home you want to use the towpath at the side nbt, there’s no need to get wet cycling up through all those locks! Plus all that work with the windlass must be tiring…

I was up there this time last year and it was a wet week but we still had a great time. The scenery is just so stunning (when the cloud lifts!) and like anywhere there are good bits & bad bits to the riding when it’s wet.

That’s the advantage of going with a guide, they will know the areas to avoid. Like this one, lol-

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Torridon2[/url] by frosty138[/url], on Flickr

I used to ride a plain gauge steel road bike on my commute as it was cheap and easy to maintain. It was heavy as heck though and I always wondered the same thing.

I occasionally lug heavy things like cans of paint in my panniers and always go home the hilly route to get the extra benefit. No idea if it helps at all but it makes me feel like a champ 😆

Form a dads MTB club and go out riding with Painey?!

Massive Dilemma…[/url]

I’m a dad of a young un too and feel your pain. I get a morning a week though so it’s not too bad.

I got a hydrapak soquel from wiggle for around £20 that seems to fit the bill nicely

edit – I see they’ve put the price back up to rrp now. perhaps if you shop around…

I also live in devon and ride similar lanes to you. I run 23s but at around 90psi as bikebouy suggests.

My wife runs 25s which I would be quite tempted to go with as well as they do seem like a good option and are supposed to have a lower rolling resistance I think.

Be careful if you go for a 28 or above as some frames have very tight clearances on them and 28 tends to be the top limit.

I love my older passat which has the flat boot. With just half the rear seat down you can get 2 bikes in side by side with room for kit etc still.

anyone looking at these should be aware that they had issues with water leaking where the windscreen meets the bonnet. VW issued a recall and if that was sorted then all good otherwise be cautious. It’s easy to fix but expensive elctronic bits might have been damaged in the meantime.

Having had an estate I don’t think I would ever go back to a normal saloon now

MTB for sure. As said above the roads can be very rough in places but I also think you would get bored quicker just on the roads.

Head to bridleways around the Tennyson trail in the Brightstone to Freshwater area. Also Bridelways off the Arreton Downs and in the Godshill, Ventor, Shanklin area.

Also anyone got any tips for removing chain lube stains from off the lino?

I may have left a wet bike in our kitchen which then dripped on the floor a bit and left a mark. I stress may have, especially if the other half is looking!

That’s interesting. Will the trails be boggy once the snow melts?

Late April would probably be better for me time wise anyway. Where’s good to stay?

I’d say just go with singlespeed for now and worry about gears later.

Of course if you’re going to do it properly it should be a fixed gear too 😆

Are you just looking to buy a rear wheel or a new wheelset.

If on the wheelset side then take a look at the fulcrum racing 7s – racing 7s

I also like the planet X wheels and this might be a good option – al30

I’d partially inflate my spare inner tube and then wrap it round my head.

In the event of an off I should be fine unless I land on thorns!

As OP says you and total weight are the 2 biggest variables.

After wheel/ tyre combo and pressure I would say drive train resistance would come next. A small amount of pedaling power is lost to friction in the drive train and the smoothness of the bearings.

Sounds like a fun project, I’ve got no head for stats!

turning over the pillow in the night to get the cool side
truing a wheel
committing to a line and making it
watching my mates commit to a line and not making it

I bet she does!

Probably down the old lane[/url]

As mentioned above –

Jon Spencer
North Mississippi Allstars
White Stripes
The Dirtbombs (especially the album – We have you surrounded)

And not like the Black Keys but if you like modern blues rock check out Bob Log III, especially the boob scotch album, it’s a classic.

full of snot
tired at work
no ride weekend
sad little frosty
😥

Definitely something from the schwalbe marathon range. perfect for canal towpaths.

My dad has done hundreds of miles round holland on his and swears by them. And they know a thing or two about canals in the netherlands too!

as well as the marathon plus take a look at the marathon deluxe and marathon mondial.

I’ve got the Avenir Powder glasses for the same reason. Cost around £10 and they are good for the money.

There is a ventilation gap between the lenses and the frame. The main downside is that they come in a range of fairly garish colour options.

There’s always an excellent range of coverage/video feeds over at cyclingfans.com

For non eurosport races the Sporza feed is great with the most enthusiastic Flemish commentators. You can pick out the names and get the gist of the action just from the emotion in their voices. If you love the euro-culture of the classics they really bring it to life 😀

For anyone looking for accommodation I’d recommend the guys at wildbike – wildbike passportes du soleil trip

I’ve ridden with them in the UK and had a great time. Shame time and funds didn’t allow me to go for this one too 🙁