You are wearing gloves aren't you Billy?

That hill is mental isn't it? YOU know you can't be helped when you look at something like that and your first reaction is to gulp and your second is to want to try and ride up it.
Does anyone else drive their car up hills and always think about cycling up it?

Did 50 miles today to Brecon and back, which takes in a few pretty big hills. Suffered like a dog coming back. Just didn't eat or drink possibly. headwind on the way back and I just caved in. It's a delicious type of suffering but awful as well. I just wanted to get off and lie down on the side of the road.

The Purple Cow wrote:
I'm signed up to do the Cheshire Cat Sportive on 28th March, and I'm massively behind my training schedule, mostly due to thw weather, but also from guilt associated with cycling when I should be looking for a job.

Both the 100k and 72k routes include the ferocious 25% Mow Cop climb.


Eeek!




Yikes!

I'm not doing much riding at the moment, I injured myself pretty badly on the tram tracks a few weeks ago, and I haven't had much sleep (or time for OTF) since Christmas. That should change shortly, though, and I'll be doing some big stuff this summer. I may have had too much of a setback to manage the original aim of a Ventoux trip, though.

Does anyone else drive their car up hills and always think about cycling up it?

Ha ha, yeah, totally.

Mow Cop is quite some hill. I had all but forgotten about it - Cheshire has some pretty good hills all about come to think of it.

Nothing to match Fausto's 50 hilly miles (and I don't know how he gets any positives out of 'bonking'), but I enjoyed the sunshine yesterday and did 30+ on a long-way-round to work, on the 'new' Orbea.

The lighter frame is noticeably different on steeper climbs-I felt like I shot up one of the S Shields ones.

It's nothing like that one in the pic, tho', and while I certainly do assess hills for riding while driving up them, it's usually in my case 'Well, I suppose I might just manage it...'

Anyone else watching the Paris-Nice at the moment?

I missed days one and two, but enjoyed watching the highlights last night of day 3.

It's fun from a 'cycling porn' persepctive to see the range of cold-weather outfits on display. Gilet with long-sleeved jersey? short-sleeves withn arm-warmers? Cap under helmet?

All present and correct.

And the Rabobank domestiques in short sleeves representing cycling's equivalent of a 'bloke-in-winter-outside-with-his-top-off' saying 'cold? what are you, a puff?' with every glance.

Just came across this topic, great to see some fellow cyclists!!

I've cycled for fun and raced road and mountainbikes for a large portion of my life - racing mainly in my teenage years at a pretty competitive level. I got away from it for a few years in my early 20's but have been back riding for pleasure the last 4 years again with the odd race or time-trial thrown in!

I moved to Toronto Canada 18 months ago and now find my winter cycling limited big time due to the weather and in the summers having to get used to the numerous amounts of traffic lights on my local city runs. This past weekend it was finally warm enough to actually get out so was nice to put in 50 miles. Looking forward to it getting warmer in the coming weeks and months though.

Blimey a proper racer.
The acid test though. What is the last letter on your favourite bike? a? e? i? o? u? or something else?

Nice one, Fausto-keep up the fight!


Tirreno-Adriatico highlights were really good last night-steep cobbled climb into the finish town, Cadel Evans tried to show off his rainbow jersey but Garzelli not only pipped him on the line, but took the seconds in bonus required to bring him within 2 seconds of Scarponi for the overall.

Dunno how the race works (i.e. whether it's traditionally a procession on the last day), but today's final stage might be worth catching, if there's enough lumps for Garzelli to consider having a go.

I'm missing out on all this stuff, not having Eurosport or Sky sports.
Went cycling in central London on Saturday. What a nightmare. I went from Ealing up to Hyde Park and then meandered around all the touristy bits. Great sites but no chance of any rhythm, speed or safety. No fun. Also, the state of the roads, blimey charlie. The snow and ice have caused havoc. I take my hat off to you. I had to laugh though as my brother-in-law said to me, "Come on, I'll take you up some hills." I did wonder. Notting Hill.
He dropped into the top gear, got out of his seat and rode like Federico Bahamontes up the slight incline. Hhhhmmm bloody cockernees.
I went to a meeting of the London to Paris ride in the afternoon. Seemed like a nice bunch but I felt a bit as if I'd walked into the wrong party. Used to chamois cream, Assos, Colnago's and campag, the talk was more of vaseline, how to fix punctures and whether to ride their mountain bike or get a racer. Hats from Halfords and make sure you clean your reflectors and your bell is working.
You can imagine what a shocking bike snob like me thought. Anyone insists I put a bell on my 'Nago, let alone a poxy reflector and blood will be shed. I can see that me and my chums may have to have our own mini-peloton and do a lot of work at the front. Anyone here done it before?

Can anyone recommend a bike maintenance book? I'm riding a road bike so I'm not too fussed about sections on suspension or disc breaks. I'm looking for something that covers all the basics and probably has pictures so I can see what I'm meant to be doing.

youtube is good, but I also use 'Road bike maintenance' by Guy Andrews. Very good.

I really like Park Tools' Big Blue Book.

Cheers guys I'll have a look at both

To Fausto, Your comments about the London - Paris sounds what I heard on other forums, a big range of "abilities" and "interests".

Plus, I don’t know why it reminded me; but it did, of an article in my wife's glossy mag "Red" she read last year.

It was an interview with old Gary Kemp, it seems old Gary has become a bit of a cyclist.
He obviously went out of his way to tell the interviewer of Red that he owns a Colnago - spelling it out to her, maybe even showing her his baby.
Then they embellish the article with some pictures, his family, him playing "True" back in his hey days, together with a picture of a random mountain bike with no markings - I mean to an editor in Red magazine a bike is a bike, and she obviously just Googled an image of a bike.

Would have loved to seen his face when he saw the finished publication.

I'm not a cyclist, but i am, increasingly, a cycling fan. Was in belgium over the weekend and took a wander in the countryside on Saturday to watch the E3 Prijs race (a warm up for the Ronde) go up the paterberg (20% incline, cobbled). there was a fair little crowd assembled(though presumably nothing compared to what will be there this sunday) arriving on foot, bikes, motorcycles, cars, swigging beer and standing around waiting, listening to handheld radios in the gloom. 4 guys turned up a little ahead of the peloton, and then Boonen - the only rider i recognised there and then - charged up at the front of the pack and it all went crazy for 30 seconds. and then 5 minutes later everyone was pretty much gone. a lot of fun

Those cobbled hills look insane, especially the bits that approach 20%.

I've just bought some white bar tape, I'm going PRO baby!

What tyres do you guys and girls use? I've done 3000km on a pair of Vittoria Zaffiro that came with the bike but am thinking that they maybe aren't ideal.

In the light rain on Tuesday I managed to get wheelspin twice on some cobbles and then I kept feeling the rear kick out a bit. I've not had this problem before, not even in much heavier rain but I can't think of what it could be but the tires.

I'm shod - on my good wheels, anyway - with Vredestein Fortezzas at the moment. They're not Italian, but I have absolutely no complaints otherwise - hard-wearing, low rolling-resistance, light, and grippy.

I used to have Vittoria on my Cinelli, but they were prone to 'flat spots'. Well, if you didn't change them for years they were.

I've got two sets of Continentals now-one on each bike. German efficiency, so far anyway.

Anyone catch De Ronde? Massively impressive performance by Cancellara...