2 in each tag team. Wiggins chases Evans, Froome chases Nibali.

Wiggins wins 35s ahead of Froome !

Voigt only 13s slower at the 2nd check. Either Jens is going super fast or Martin is not having a good day (not surprising with a broken wrist).

Remember that small mid-axle trailers are an absolute pig to reverse.

There are worrying rumours of a behind-the-scenes effort to revive plans to sell off England’s woodlands.

Are there? Who says?

Next week, the government panel will publish a new report on the future of our woodlands

Probably worth reading to see what it says then.

Cwm Rhaeadr is only 6.7Km – small but perfectly formed.

Sheer “Obreeness” will provide the additional 10!!!

Plus the fact his pedigree is rather more distinguished than the Dutch ‘pilots’ – 10, 25 and 50 mile TT champion, world pursuit champion, twice world hour record holder. Not just some random cyclist.

someone who’s never come close to winning the Tour. Or even contested it really

Apart from coming 4th in 2009, behind Contador, A. Schleck and Armstrong.

Try Actionsports http://www.actionsports.de/gb/Components/Brakes/Disc-Brakes/Shimano-XT-disc-brake-BL-M785-silver::43828.html

Would be worth asking him what he thinks of Obree’s human-powered record attempt.

Bike designer, known for his recumbents, such as the Windcheater, and also for designing Broadman’s Lotus on which he won the Olympic pursuit gold.

“The problem with internet quotes is that their accuracy can’t be trusted” – Winston Churchill

Difficult to see from the pic (a full side-on view would be best) but it looks as though it’s 3x except the drive side pulling spoke that goes down to the rim logo in the bottom right of the picture is 2x.
So no, it looks like something’s wrong.

Aren’t approach shoes what you wear to walk from the car park to the indoor climbing wall? :-)
Mind you, I’ve got a pair of Merrells which are excellent, both off and on the bike.

this has (unsurprisingly) not resulted in me going on any rides with him.

Shame. I hear he’s having a cycling holiday in France this summer, why not ask if you can go with him ?

Not that light though (weights from Actionsports) :
EX823 657g
XM321 570g
EN521 540g
Flow 470g
Arch 400g
XC717 395g
Crest 340g
Podium 284g

I’ve ridden with :
Alf Engers
Suggs
Shane Sutton
Alexei Sayle
Magnus Backstedt
Derek Brockway

717’s are about as close as you can get to the holy grail of light/strong/cheap.

Not exactly a mountaineering book, but A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby is a classic and hugely entertaining.

Rouleur[/url], a bit more intellectual than Big Ring

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-18141421
A royalist County Durham tearoom owner told how she threw three women out after they refused to stand when the national anthem was played.

They told me my coffee was rubbish but it is a tearoom so I don’t care

Next thing you’ll be telling me that Coca-Cola and McDonalds are official sponsors.
Oh, hang on …

Primera Sports[/url] are advertising the Super Record EPS groupset as available – for the bargain price of £3,464.87

Athena is alloy and plastic, not carbon, and due to released in 2013. So I wouldn’t send Ribble my £281.16 (for just the rear mech!) quite yet if I were you :-)

It’s always very sad to hear of a singer passing away that isn’t Cliff Richard.

Never mind Ultegra, you want Campag EPS

As much a technological marvel as work of exquisite sculpture rendered in carbon fiber

Of course it’s not available to mortals yet, and when it is it will be the price of a small house, but it’s Italian.

‘You’re not real cyclists until you’ve coughed up a lung on Buttertubs’

That takes me back. I remember reaching the top only for two young ladies wearing wetsuits to suddenly appear from nowhere. I thought I was hallucinating from lack of oxygen, but it turned out they were cavers and had just emerged from a sink hole.
I did a bit of off-roading round there on a CX bike in the 80’s – Malham Tarn, Goredale Scar and so on. The point was to get off the beaten track, not set speed records downhill.
And yes, I am an old duffer!

Canoeists are pretty unpopular on the Tywi, at least upstream of the Gwili, as this is prime sewin and salmon water.
The Wye is much more welcoming. There a couple of outfits based at Glasbury who offer canoe hire, guiding etc, including camping trips who might be able to advise.
http://www.celticcanoes.co.uk/%5B/url%5D
http://www.wyevalleycanoes.co.uk/camping.html
I’ve done Glasbury to Whitney a few times with my sons and it was good (the Boat Inn is a nice place to stop)

The Raven starts from the car park at Byrgwm 1½ miles east of Brechfa on the B4310.
The Gorlech starts from Abergorlech, another 3 miles further east on the same road.
From the M4 continue on the A48 then turn left at the sign for the National Botanical Gardens. Follow the B4310 to Nantgaredig and go straight across the A40 here to Brechfa.
You can link the red and black together, or do various combinations of the green, blue and black. See the FC trail guide leaflet
The bus cafe is no longer there. Nearest place for food and drink is the Black Lion in Abergorlech. Nearest shop is Bryn Stores in Brechfa.

Redacted after a closer read

A great big vice and not 1 but 4 hammers. A precision engineer at work!

Uncanny
I’d bet it’s been ridden no more than 5 times
Apostaría que se ha montado no más de 5 veces

Henson not going to Aus with wales

I don’t think that exactly comes under the heading of news does it?
I’m told Llansawel 2nds are short of an inside center, so there’s hope yet.

:D
All I need now is a well thumbed copy of Razzle and a packet of ten No.6 and the jobs done

Perhaps needs merging with this thread Do you have a ‘hack’ for bashing round trail centres?

I built myself a rat bike recently; 1×9 rigid, ebay frame, rattle-can paint job, old wheels persuaded into a vaguely circular shape and parts from the spares bin.

I found it wonderfully liberating. The ‘real’ bike is several ounces of carbon lovliness adorned with Mr. Shimano’s finest bling that won’t even let me touch it unless I’m fully lycra-ed up. A joy to own and ride, but sometimes you want pie and chips, not a Michelin starred meal.

The rat bike has several advantages :
You can’t wreck it – it comes fully pre-wrecked
It gives you a perfect excuse for riding like an arthritic granny – “course, if I was on my real bike, I would have totally nailed that”
Low maintenance – just blast it with the pressure washer when it’s so coated in mud you can’t tell which way up it is.

I can hop on the rat and be out the back door into the mud at a moments notice, just pausing to put the cycle clips on my trousers. If I did that on the dream machine it just wouldn’t feel right. Somedays I feel like pretending I’m an XC riding god, somedays I want to pretend to be a 12 year old boy messing around in the woods.

After careful study I have found that a combination of gasses in the following proportions works perfectly in tyres :
Nitrogen 78%
Oxygen 21%
Argon 1%
Plus trace amounts of other elements such as Neon, Helium, Krypton and Xenon

I am willing to supply this pre-mixed to STW readers at a bargain price (collection only)

Rusty junior has

Les Paul
Fender Strat
Steel strung Ovation acoustic
Nylon strung Spanish acoustic
Fender bass
Mandolin
Ukelele
(all left handed, just to make life more difficult)
Practice amp
Performance amp
Enough pedals, boxes, cables and gizmos to construct a proton accelerator

He considers himself seriously under-guitared

I’ve gone really minimalist.. I’m now doing all my all terrain biking on foot.. with no bike at all.

You still have far to travel on your journey grasshopper. Only with no bike and no mountain are you truly mountain biking.

And where does the driver sit ?

Brechfa green/blue/black all OK (but wet)