– Thin people

– People without tattoos

he also gave me this one too

love this, got it from my now 27 y.o. boy when he was at uni. Is that a dog barking?

my grandad died on his 80th birthday. It was a great shock to us all.

we were only halfway through the bumps.

Here’s another view of this incident, its actually worse thanit looks in my mate Nick’s vid. People like this really need to be taken off the streets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziBfrD34Y5U

not sure which route you are riding but there are shops to buy water plus cafes etc in Sault, Malaucene and Bedoin plus a massive cafe at Chalet Reynard which is 6km from the top of Ventoux.

also a nice restaurant in Nesque which seated 16 of us (see vid below)

I’m sure I’ve posted these on other Ventoux threads here but as @jkomo asked:

Cingles – Contact https://www.pinkbike.com/video/488976/

Gorges de la Nesque – Comfort Eagle https://www.pinkbike.com/video/488995/

Make sure your brakes are working. check again. That net on the second or is it third hairpin of the ADH is there for a reason.

but seriously, Bourg d’oisin has more than enough for a beginner. you can make a day out of riding ADH. a good two hour climb, a nice long lunch at the top, take pics, pose on the podium and then either reverse your steps or take the alternative descent.

Get used to climbing very, very slowly with no end in sight. Get used to descending very, very fast with consequences if you get it wrong.

ADH is beautiful and will likely be full of other riders doing the same as you.

Take breaks on the way up. every second hairpin for example.Take at least two litres of water.

As above, take layers and a gilet plus arm-warmers in your pockets. when you have sweated out that two litres plus of water you get very cold at the top especially when hitting speed on the way back down.

Enjoy it, it’s brilliant.

more news on the Stockwell ting. i posted this link in my update yesterday but it didn’t work.

https://road.cc/content/news/246106-video-motorist-drives-aggressively-london-cyclists-knocking-one-over

My mate Nick also got contacted by ITN to appear on the news at ten but he declined. he was after all just the cameraman and not impacted by the ‘action’. don’t need too much xxxxin your life.

Any idea what sparked it all off – obviously the driver was in full-rant at the start of the video. Driving onto the pavement and using your vehicle in an obvious threatening way, though? I hope he’s not too attached to driving it…

a bit more detail from the lensman although he’s not entirely sure either

there are some utter wrong’uns out there. This for example filmed this morning by my riding buddy on my normal commuting route

IANAL either.

As others have mentioned, particularly in a sales role then aren’t these usually related to your contact list?

So you cannot take your contact list to your new job. Don’t start emailing existing contact lists to your personal email address for future use. Your existing employer WILL be monitoring what if anything you are sending ‘home’ and will no doubt use it against you.

When you start your new role you can’t contact any of these existing contacts to try to sell from your new place for the first three months.

However you can make sales to new business i.e. clients that you haven’t come into contact with during your existing role.

Get proper advice.

Are children allowed in pub’s nowadays?

Christ, I’d avoid anywhere like that like the plague.

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is the best kids’ voices song of all time evah.

Pedant alert.

it was actually the London Bach choir singing on that classic track, not a bunch of kids.

Bill Wyman’s pic of the choir on the day of recording below

they don’t even pay road tax..

wow, well done you for even considering it this soon after chemo.

I rode the cingles in June, the traditional pattern i.e. Bedoin first then Malaucene and finally Sault ascents. I don’t think you are planning on doing all three so it depends what you want.

Depending on how you feel, the Sault ascent may be ‘easiest’ (a 25km ascent to 1,900 metres altitude can never be classed as ‘easy’). It’s still a very lovely climb and still 25km long plus you get the classic lunar landscape at the top from Chalet Reynard (the cafe). The Bedoin and Sault ascents share the same final section from this point.

The Bedoin ascent is the classic TDF ascent through the trees. it can get very hot in here depending on time of day.

The Malaucene is the hardest ascent. 3 km at 11% gradient almost did for me on this climb.

Re timings, we set off from Bedoin at 7-30 am and were at the top by 9-30 a.m. Temps were lovely, circa 20 degrees and fresh.

Down to Malaucene and a quick croissant and coffee and back up again, cresting about midday. There was a large cloud overhead which kept it cool for the final tough bit.

Down to Sault and back and a typical Provence afternoon crossing the lavender fields at about 2 pm with temps well over 30 degrees.

The only benefit in climbing is that it gets cooler every 100 metres.

At no stage during the day was I ever cold but i wore a lighweight gilet and arm-warmers for each descent. They are at least half an hour long for each descent and after sweating so much on the way up it’s easy to get a chill on the way back down especially when you are averaging 50 km/h on the descents (25km descent takes circa half an hour = 50 km/h av speed).

Contact https://www.pinkbike.com/video/488976/

Video if you are interested.

If you are in the area or an extended period I also have another route from Bedoin for a different days riding. We did it as a warm down the day after. It was only 60km but it takes you up to 1,000 metres altitude and then down through the beautiful Gorges de la Nesque (Google it). https://www.pinkbike.com/video/488995/

Post here if you want me to share the route.

Oh, BTW, I’m no racing snake. I’m 53 and 16 of us did it for a mate’s 50th birthday celebration.

We stayed here in June, houses 16 plus has a pool and they do a mean breakfast. Weirdly enough you can buy a new car there at the same time.

Great place, really nice owners and accomodation

https://domainedespierres.fr/

there is bike storage in an open-doored barn but there isn’t anyone within miles and we didn’t suffer any losses

or Royskopp – Remind Me for anyone who has ever had to work for the man proving that mankind has erected immense, resource-devouring systems of almost incomprehensible complexity just so you can sit in your cubicle.

or Arcade Fire

Designed for Google Chrome, it allows you to manipulate light, placement and object, allowing you to see (or not to see) various aspects of the video

How about REM – Imitation of Life

The entire video took only 20 seconds to shoot and what you’re watching is a  loop that goes forwards for 20 seconds, backwards for 20 seconds,  forwards for 20 seconds, backwards for 20 seconds and so on.

I had a theory earlier on during the tour that Sky had a plan to have G as the leader to avoid Froomy/Sky taking too much flak on the road and then Froome would be a stalking horse and come along at the last minute and jump into yellow on the penultimate day.

Stage 17 would suggest that is no longer possible due to Froome’s form but hey, he looked cooked a number of times during the Giro and look what happened there.

Someone also commented on the whales on Sky jerseys in stage 17 thread. I hadn’t noticed until watching Eurosport and Carlton Kirby pointed this out during commentary about a week ago in one of his tortured phrases.

G was attacking and It was something along the lines of:

“Sky have killer whales on the back of their jerseys and Wales are making a killing right now”

Dylan must have been to Lourdes when he wrote:

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred

went there a few years ago following Le tour, weird place. we rode the Tourmalet too – damn that’s a tough climb…

Come on G

My mate Martin Pelley was bullied at school by a girl who called him Fartin’ Smelley

#Fact

I bought a six day pass (€110) early July and then pranged my wrist on the second riding day.

I just stood around at the bottom of Pleney on day three and within 20 minutes had sold the remaining four days for €50.

Electraglide in Blue

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probably belongs in the cult films section though.

Oi; I said cult!

You watched it on your telly didn’t you?

You sir are correct.

it’s like when my wife booked for us to go see Avatar.

I was mildly excited, if only cos of the media spin about it. we got inside the cinema and sat down and i asked my wife where the 3D glasses were.

oh, we aren’t watching the 3D version…

Gravity

I mean the signs were there; Sandra Bullock, George Clooney…

But all our friends told us it was an amazing film.

Me and the old lady watched it  **** me, what a boring film, I mean did anything actually happen?

I’m not normally very good at that stuff but I did once manage to drop “articulate the end game” into a presentation I was giving.

I’ve not taken a camper but i have taken my car and two adult sons to the mountain stages of the tour for the last seven years.

Our MO is usually to ride from our B&B/Hotel or depending on the distance to drive as close as possible without getting onto the actual mountain and then park up and get the bikes out and tackle the mountain ourselves.

My observations on camper vans on the mountain/road closures would be:

– road closures are usually clearly advertised including times and dates

– many camper vans arrive days in advance but these are usually for the major climbs e.g. Alpe d’Huez and for the best spots on the climb

– if you plan on arriving at the foot of the mountain on the day i would suggest getting there early i.e. 9 am to avoid road closures. But if you have a camper getting there the night before would be more sensible. you may not get the prime spot but you will get a spot

– it will be chaos on the mountain, but it’s very entertaining to watch

– it can be a long day with nothing happening but you have a van, a toilet, drink and chairs, enjoy the moment

– cheer or clap every rider that crawls past you during the day (the rider fans as well who are heading up the mountain,  not just the pro’s)

– the higher you go the longer it will take to get off the mountain afterwards. It can take an hour to get off the mountain on a bike and that is whizzing past all the cars and campers in a fifteen mile queue down the mountain. The sensible people just stay on their ‘plot’ after the race passes and fire up the BBQ and leave hours later/the next day instead of joining the queue

– take your bikes. I often see camper families park up and then ride up or down the mountain and am always jealous of the facilities waiting for them on their return to the van

– the final climb will be most popular but there are plenty of other climbs to pick and a cat 1 is just as much fun as the final Hors Categorie climb. (I haven’t checked the pyrennean stages so have a look at the route profiles and pick a climb that looks good.

– top up your water reservoir and have coolers/fridges stocked and be prepared to offer water to thirsty riders making their way up the climb,I got given a cold tin of beer from a fella dressed in orange as i rounded Dutch corner whilst climbing ADH and it was the best beer I ever tasted. i didn’t even stop, just drank it while riding

Have fun, it’s awesome

I went to the Black Country Museum last weekend and visited the working blacksmiths.

When I asked if I could have a go at making a horseshoe he asked me if I’d ever shoe’d a horse before.

I replied “no, but I once told a donkey to eff off”.

I remember the first time I used my Universal Remote Control; amazing. I thought “this changes everything”

People say I’m condescending. That means I talk down to people.

A girl in my office has been visiting a personal trainer for a year now in preparation for her wedding.

I thought “how long is the aisle going to be?”

My old maths teacher was terrified of negative numbers. He’d stop at nothing to avoid them.

St Jean de Maurienne.

so many fantastic road climbs available from there and a decent sized town to cater for all.

Campsite also available at Camping Le Marintan in St Michel de Maurienne a few miles further south on the A43. The Col de Telegraphe actually starts at the cross roads on the high street and you follow that to get to the Galibier.

St Jean yesterday

We are in the head office of a multinational global corporate here with hundreds of people of multiple nationalities. TV screens that normally show financial news/Bloomberg have been switched to Beeb 1.

Every. Single. Person cheered when South Korea scored.

have a cup of coffee before you start. Proper coffee, not that instant shoot.

oops sorry, checked and its miles (or kilometres) away. Who knew Belgium was so big!

There are purpose built trails near Vossemeeren which is near to a Centre Parcs that i visited a number of years ago. it was a bit like the old version of swinley forest, not much elevation and lots of pedally trails.

I’m sure Google can tell you whether this is close enough to where you are staying.

not an F1 but an English-owned B&B we stayed at a few years ago just outside Le Mans and can recommend was:

http://www.lalunelake.co.uk/

I had been driving all day, we rocked up and were welcomed by the owners. Dennis said ‘alright Rich, want a beer’?

Yip, I do.

New owners now but have apparently kept the relaxed vibe going,

Depends on your idea of a great day out but La Rochelle is a beautiful town to visit.

I spent a great day with my wife and kids in the Musee des Blindes in Saumur if you like military history and specifically tanks. More WW2 German armour there than i have ever seen anywhere else.

The dunes at Arcachon you already have covered. My wife wanted to go there and i wasn’t keen, i mean who wants to see a sand dune? But when we went along i was like ‘whoa! that is a monster’

Take or hire some bikes near arcachon. Pan flat and bike lanes that are totally separated form the traffic (not just by a small break but 20 or 30 metres to the side of the road. you can easily do a loop of 70km without a single pothole or car

Another year i spent a great day again with the family wandering around Le Mans museum. Obs very car heavy but it was great. A motorbike club had hired the circuit for the day so we could see bikes racing along too