Assos Uno from their factory outlet site scrape in under £100. I prefer the Mille which are a bit more expensive but the Uno’s are still really good shorts

Rapha now do a ‘cheaper’ range called Core the bibs are £100.

You always seem to dwell so much on the negatives and once you get into that mindset it is going to impact on your motivation as you are now finding. From my own perspective if i do worse than expected in a road race then it is extra frustrating because it takes weeks to ‘rectify’ things simply because it can be weeks for the next race to come along. That frustration can sometimes be channeled into training but sometimes it means the motivation goes too because the gap to be made up feels too big.

It might be strange to recommend that you try yet another discipline of cycle sport but if you want to try and develop a racing mentality then take up track cycling. Get your accreditation done over the summer then you will be ready for the autumn and winter. With a track league you’ll get 4 races a night, that gives the luxury of trying new things, trying new tactics, being able to make an arse of it then 20 minutes later get another chance and being able to get the frustration out the system rather than letting it stew in your mind. The progress riders can make over the course of a few weeks is vast, and so much of that is just gaining experience rather than increased fitness.

Really nicely done, probably the slickest video i’ve seen this year so far however a pretty conservative choice of music with some glaring omissions!

Depends on the tyre. Some 23c tyres are just about as big as others 25c!

For what it’s worth i dont really notice much difference when comparing like with like and going between 23c and 25c, whereas i do notice a difference between (for example) a 23c gatorskin and a 23c gp4000s ii.

Has the club entry opened for applications yet? Ive been keeping an eye out but cant find anything.

So you’re uploading a gym session to Strava?

Yeah it comes up as a stationary trainer ride rather than an actual ride (there are no gps coordinates).Ive only used them a few times so far but apart from the difficulty uploading data the bikes are pretty good, power is accurate, good position set up too – more along the lines of wattbike than a normal spin bike

Thanks for the links will give them a go

Motionbased, i doubt it can still be accessed though

i want a pair of these shoes!

At 12 o’clock there is a little plastic box you can see it a bit better in this photo (although its at 10 here)

Shimano are apparently using FDJ to test something at the moment – a few riders still have their SRM but a couple dont and have this instead.

Does this look like it could be part of a power meter?

Sounds like it is worth a go then 🙂

I suppose the people getting all annoyed that they can’t get a refund so they get the lower price would be perfectly ok with the retailer demanding more money from them if they put their prices up after you had bought something?

A polite enquire might work with the generous retailers but if they say no I don’t think you have any right to be annoyed about it.

It’s not that i think i have a right to an extra discount its just that with some brands im happy to pay extra for (at full price outwith sales) because i’ve received customer service that goes beyond what should be expected from every company – in terms of bike stuff this is hope, oakley, assos and rapha. So just getting a ‘standard’ customer service response is a bit disappointing because i expect higher from past experience.

Anyway i contacted them this morning via the ‘race radio’ chat function on their site and was offered the discount code before i’d even asked for one. So happy customer again, it doesnt cost them much for a bit of goodwill which they’ll make back many times over in the future.

Same boat and i asked (politely!) via email about it and they wouldnt match the price either as credit to future purchases or as partial refund. 🙁

Its not much money (about £15 on a £200 order) but i have to say im not particularly happy about it if others are getting refunded and will make me think again about purchasing in the future 😀

96 races for me last year. I only counted them all after Christmas if i’d known i was close to 100 i’d have made an effort to get there. Although in saying that it is an inflated figure due to 2/3rd being track league related and doing 3 races in the one evening but i dont think its necessarily a bad thing racing that much (apart from the cost of entry fees). Dont expect to peak every race just treat it as good fun and part of your training.

If you listen closely you can hear the drummer shouting **** after he drops his drumstick in the Kingsmens version of Louie Louie.

Somewhat bizarelly the FBI investigated the song for containing profanity (on another issue – there was a belief that the lyrics were different to what was published) but the investigators completly missed the **** bit 😀

Sahara, sort of Indiana Jones lite with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz. Actually i like alot of McConaugheys films, this used to be an embarrassment but it has gotten easier to admit in recent years. Not saying it is acceptable to admit, just easier!

Muppet Christmas Carol

Thats not a guilty pleasure thats a modern classic!

Terrible scenes, just dont have the words to express the mixture of anger and despair i feel at the shit that goes on the world sometimes

I suspect the Rapha image harms the brand as much as it aids them. I cant be alone in feeling a bit embarrassed wearing a new bit of rapha kit for the first time but after a while i forget that because its really comfy and well made, so my concerns are put to one side.

The finish of the clothing is IME better than most of the competition with the exception of Assos. The customer service is also pretty good too.

Wiggle often do a pre Christmas sale, maybe worth waiting for that.

Rip, very sad news

I occassionally go KOM hunting but that tends to be weather dependent. For training goals i have a couple of climbs i use as fitness test and encouragement to lose weight. Its pretty good seeing the trend on the ‘your recent efforts’ plot getting better and more consistent over time.

Nibali has built up a great palmares – all three grand tours and now a monument, many all time greats havent managed that. However at the same time id never expect him to beat any of his main GC rivals over the years if they were starting in the same race (and didnt crash out).

If Nibali is a weasel then who isn’t. People love Sagan for some reason yet he has more tantrums and prima donna moments than anyone, not to mention being waaay off the pace at the start of the year and miraculously coming into world beating form for the TDF and World Champs… Can’t have anything to do with the guys on his team with a shady past themselves can it.

Sagan didnt have a great start to the year, however he was 4th in Milan San Remo and Flanders, was a bit unlucky in Roubaix with mechanicals and won the Tour of California. It might not have been stellar form but it wasnt that bad either.

I usually change the tyres if they are crappy ones, then maybe the saddle if i dont get on with it. After that just replace / upgrade as things wear out.

Great manager but im not sure if he will work out in England – Dortmunds success was built with a group of hungry, young players who were fully commited to his system and methods and they developed together – really high tempo and hard work ethic…im not if the same ingredients are possible with players already on huge salaries who already think they are big stars.

Always a good reason to get another bike whatever it might be.

Although despite saying that a croix de fer sounds like it would be a pretty good road bike for the winter – ride it and enjoy it then you could always treat yourself to something lighter and more road orientated for the spring.

That Aussie rider (Hayman maybe?) looks a bit porky. Id hate to see what i would look like in that kit!

Anyway great race, and what a performance from Sagan.

Utter shite

Mostly because i cant stand Michael Cera – that bellend has been annoying the hell out of me for over a decade now. 👿

Tempted by a pair of prizm jawbreakers…ive tried them on a couple of times and they look ridiculously awful, but they also seem very comfortable.

An out of competition test for a 3rd cat is quite odd, i guess it must have been known beforehand that he was doping.

Cant imagine how embarrassing it must be to be caught doping and only be a 3rd cat….serves him right!

What is being alleged is not part of a normal, well adjusted persons youthful high jinx – its shagging a dead pig. You have to be pretty deranged for that to be considered excusable or in some way acceptable rather than the repulsive acts of a potential pyschopath!

I’ve done a handful of audax events and enjoyed them but i dont really see the point unless it is the big mile events like Paris-Brest-Paris or that one up the west coast of Scotland that was on the adventure show earlier in the year. For 200 or 300k i’d rather plan my own route and do it as a club run with mates.

As for sportives…i’m not going to pay £30+ to ride something i can do anytime but i will pay that (in reality it is double) for closed road events like the Etape Caledonia or Ride London. They are alot of fun and something different to the ordinary.

Sounds a sore one, hope everything is OK.

Last road race of the season for me (although i probably said that a few weeks ago too…but this time i mean it). Was an APR which is usually alot safer than a mass start so mentally a fairly relaxed end to the season, despite working hard from the gun. Never caught the groups in front, the time gaps were just too much.

such terrible news, not sure what to say apart from all the best and keep fighting.

I’ve never liked anyone i’ve worked with enough to want to socialise with them on a regular basis. Life is too short to spend any more time than is necessary surrounded by bellends.

What was that Madonna song that had her rapping in it – one of the lines had her saying she was driving a mini cooper, feeling super dooper. That wasnt even the worst line only the most memorable one….. It was bloody awful!

Worth keeping an eye on the evans cycles site as i got one there for about £45 a couple of weeks ago

Let her watch the film Amelie before you go, she’ll probably love it, then if/when she does go about Montmartre to skim stones in the canal, go to the cafe that is featured in the film etc

I really like their chips…..altough i think its something like 1600 calories for a large portion. Which i insist on eating all myself 😀

Excellent – was expecting to see a crash or a trick or something ‘normal’ so made it all the funnier seeing them chase the bike 😀