Winnersaint

Seriously hope everything goes all right. On a lighter note I'd be tempted out to the LBS to see what nice bike bargains are available before they start ordering and stocking 2013 models. Extra time for training. L2B should be a breeze. Good luck!

Easter Monday 1966... Channon ... end of!

Our daughter got 3As, 4Bs and 3Cs, not bad considering she has been struggling with glandular fever since March.

Good stuff! Looks like it's all coming together nicely. You should ace L2B.

Lowro spot on it seems

Always proud to be a Saint, Even through the bad times.

Terry Paine?

Possibly a mix up between Steves namely Messrs Moran and Williams, who was a cheeky chappie from London.

Don't think so! She's not Irish and really isn't very good on a bike.

Never thought that would happen in my lifetime. The day after we got married in 1987 Stephen Roche became the first person from these islands to win it, now a few days before our silver wedding anniversary Wiggo becomes the Brit to win it. Astonishing, right up there with best sporting achievements. Make no mistake at an elite level it is just nuts the speeds these guys go and the gears they turn. Just to put it into perspective, on my ride today the fastest I clocked was 55kph just about flat out and about to spin out, coming down a motorway bridge over the M4, Wiggins on the lead out on the flat on the Rue Du Rivoli was 65 kph and then some.

I concur to some extent with what Badger says, although I've not ridden a Spesh road bike. The Giant Defy has a relaxed more upright geometry than most which as he says is a bonus if you have lower back problems. In reality most bikes in this price range are probably aimed at the less experienced/newbie/ or Sportive rider and so tend not to have a more racier set up. My advice fwiw would be to get fitted at your LBS. Find a bike you are comfortable with rather than being drawn to particular brands With regards to gears. I have a triple on one bike and a compact double on the other. The three rings on the front of the triple have 50, 39. 30 teeth respectively. On the back is a 9 speed 12-25 cassette. My highest gear is therefore the 50-12 combination and the lowest is 30-25. On the double I've got a ten speed set up. The cassette is a 12-25 but with an extra gear in the middle. The chain rings on the front are have 50 and 34 teeth respectively, my highest gear is the same, but the lowest I've got is a 34-25 compared to the triple. I have to say having that bale out gear on the triple proved to be a godsend on the steeper parts of a sportive I did around West Berks last year. On similar hills on the compact double bike I can get up them, but on the really steep stuff 20% + I find myself thinking about the benefits of having that real bale out gear. If you decide to go for a compact you might look at swapping the cassette at time of purchase to say a 12-27 or 12-29, but the bigger the gap between largest and smallest the more you lose the benefit of a compact set up. Shoe/pedal wise I went immediately to SPD SL shoes and pedals. Never had any issues apart from the obligatory 'clipless' moment on first outing. I think that the power transfer is more efficient than flat pedals with clips, but it is a matter of personal preference. Some people wouldn't dream of 'clipless' while others wouldn't ride with anything else. I reside in the latter camp.

Try these or go have a look at bike shops in your area. http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk http://www.wiggle.co.uk/road-time-trial-bikes/ http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=1996 in that £500 -£1000 price range you'll be looking at a good quality aluminium frame, carbon forks with alloy steerer, and a spec level that varies with price. If you're looking at Shimano equipped bikes its Sora, Tiagra, 105 groupsets in that order. With SRAM its likely to be Apex and Rival and Campagnolo Veloce. Where the manufactures are most likely to cut corners is on wheels and tyres, although not all and that is where the biggest gain can be gained as far as upgrades are concerned. Although bikes will be around the 9 kilo mark most of us would be better off shedding a couple of pounds off ourselves rather than looking at anything lighter at the outset. One of the advantages of a road bike is the fact that you have different hand positions unlike a hybrid. On the hoods, on the tops of the bars and on the drops. That has an effect on hands arms, shoulders and your upper body in general, being able to shift everything around on long rides is essential. If your budget doesn't extend that far then these always seem to get good reviews. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-5-id_8167039.html

Got so lucky with the Ridley. Originally had a Ridley Orion Special Edition in Vacansoleil livery ordered about a year ago. bit of a bargain I thought reduced from £1800 to £1600. To cut a long story short someone stuffed up. Not my LBS. Ridley either took the order and couldn't fulfil it because it was towards the end of the promo and simply had nothing left in stock or as they claimed it had gone on a meandering journey around Europe and had been delivered by mistake to a bike shop on route. 10 weeks after having paid for the non-existent bike the LBS called and said i needed to come in because they were going to have to look at a different solution. I got to test ride a Ridley Damocles and the Excalibur. The Damocles was white and the Excalibur was black and is a drop dead gorgeous looking machine in its Flandrien paint job. It's got a sub-kilo frame and a full carbon monocoque fork. I'll accept that it is more bike than I could ever do justice to, but it is an absolute joy to ride, and all for the same price as I initially paid for the discounted Orion. Excalibur was retailing at £2100 at full price, so a bit of a bargain.

That was sheer drama! Not just the finish, but the carnage on the climb. Seeing Frank Schleck, Sammy Sanchez, Menchov, Rolland etc getting blown out the back of the peloton on that climb was worth my Sky subscription in its own right, well before next season starts. BTW that truly looked a horrible spiteful climb. 22% is monstrous at the end of 190km. Only things I have climbed similar in gradient are in the Chilterns but they're over and done with fairly shortly and aren't 6K in length. Been up Howe hill out of Watlington up towards Nettlebed (22% according to my mate's Garmin) a couple of times recently. Last time I was seeing freaking stars with the effort. Chapeau to the pros. Great day for British cycling.

Indeed. if we were about to sign him as an unknown and had that on youtube we'd be absolutely creaming ourselves. No-one who saw him play will ever forget that genius. My boss is a Spurs fan. He's going to watch this on Monday. 6 caps for England sums up all that is wrong about us as an International football nation. On that form he'd get in the current Spain side.

It certainly helps. I had to take all of last week off mainly because we had the dreaded call from OFSTED which knocked commuting out the window. By the weekend I was on my knees. Went out for a short recovery ride on Sunday and commutes have just got quicker and quicker this week. As far as hitting the wall is concerned you should be OK. The key to it is to eat and drink, particularly the latter in the first hour and keep topping up as you go along. Electrolyte drinks should help you both avoid cramp. i have found that if you miss out in the first hour you are more likely to suffer from cramp the further you go. If you have been climbing and then are faced steep short relatively normal ascents that is where it can hit. I am notoriously bad at the drinking thing mainly because I have to slow down somewhat to get the bottles out the cages so only really hydrate when it is convenient to do so. Often that is too late. get two bottle cages for each of you and fill up at feed stations if necessary. Eating wise try out energy bars and gels but I've found Soreen mini malt loaf bars more palatable than either.

Awesome stuff. Cav goes into hiding sticks on Grepel's wheel and gets lead out. Boy did he look pee'd off Stunning bike races the last two days. Peloton going 45mph in last 10k. Kin ell! Utter respect for these guys.

Be interested to know what people are riding out there. Dont want to turn this in any way into a ****ing contest, genuinely interested, particularly on people's opinions about the bikes they ride. I'll start it off. Depths of winter commute - Specialized Hardrock Sport. Hardtail MTB with lockable front forks and slicks. Normal commute - Cube Peloton. N+1 Ridley Excalibur Flandrien with Campag Centaur groupset. Just put Schwalbe Ultremos on it and looking to upgrade wheels for next year. Looking at Campag Zondas / Fulcrum Racing 3's or alternatively Mavic Ksyrium Elites or SL.

Thanks. Appreciate you starting the thread Badger Cav's aim is to get to Paris but I believe his training has been tailored to the Olympic road race more. He is quoted as saying he will be competitive in the sprints and in particular be more competitive in the type of sprints that haven't suited him in the past, but in reality it is all about Wiggo. No Brit has ever been in a similar position on the eve of a Tour. The next three weeks could herald the single greatest sporting success in my opinion by an individual or team from these shores since 1966. Wiggins is in fabulous form and there is 101km of time trialling in this year's parcours. Evans will undoubtedly be a threat as will Nibali and Valverde. That said Sky are very strong with Rogers and Froome in good shape and with Richie Porte in there as well there I think Brad has a great chance. Screw the Olympics this is the greatest sporting show on earth. Bring it on! Incidentally do people prefer Liggett and Sherwen (ITV4) to Harmon and Kelly (British Eurosport)

Time for a dedicated TdF thread. Can't start as too tight to pay fiver. Over to a full member.

My sanity is not in doubt. I frequently ride with my next door neighbour who has twelve years on me, and has been riding for a good few more than the two years I've had a road bike to play with. If I ride with him it's his gig. He's a great super-domestique kind of like Bernie Eisel to my Mark Cavendish. Seriously though I've found the most significant improvements have occurred in my riding through good endurance rides coupled with rides including hills. I have to admit when I get to the serious gradients it can be a challenge, but I harbour ambitions one day before I get too old to ride in the Alps or Pyrenees. This is my motivation to keep trying the hills in and around the Hambleden Valley. It seems your training is going well. Maybe one day there could be a Saints fans raid on Alpe d'Huez now that would be fun! Keep going, it really sounds like you are well on the way to nailing L2B. Above all enjoy it. Last year I completed my first sportive and had a ball over 70 miles. Had a long puncture delay on a crap day and couldn't get below 5 hrs but still got great sense of achievement, especially as the course contained 1500m of climbing.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/106104559 My Sunday jaunt this weekend just gone. Cant understand why climb along A40 isn't rated higher by MapMyRide. It climbs at least 8K is around 5-6% and ramps up around 10%. It flattens out into a false flat still climbing before going up again into Stokenchurch. Incidentally if you're ever in the area try the climb out of Watlington up Howe Hill. Nasty false flat gives way to between 3 and 6% before it turns into the Mur d'Oxfordshire. Worth a look on streetview on Google Earth. It just goes up. Possibly the worst minutes spent on a bike. Other gooduns nearby are Holloway Lane out of Turville (Dibley), Rotton Row and the vineyard climb on the opposite side of the Hambleden Valley to Rotton Row. also Icehouse Lane off Henley to Marlow road. Starts off at 1% and just carries on getting steeper with last 200 meters at 20%. All guaranteed to have you blowing heavily out of every orifice.

Brilliant sight seeing these. They kind of fill a similar ecological niche as vultures in Africa and Condors in South America insofar as they are normally carrion feeders than out and out predators. That said about a month ago I saw a pigeon taken out by one in flight early in the morning while walking the dog. The pigeon was absolutely foooked. Had to put it out of its misery before the dog started playing games. Often see them in large numbers when cycling in the Hambleden Valley. Quite disconcerting to see them circling on thermals while you struggle up a stupidly steep gradient hill in the Chilterns.

Great stuff. Can only endorse how problematic the wind was today. Headwind and constant climbing up the A40 today all the way from West Wycombe to Stokenchurch

Wonder if this would have happened if Jacks hadn't been promoted and stayed in Premier League or if Cardiff had been promoted?