World Champion rainbow stripe to the fore.
These sunglasses rock. £60 for 3 sets of lenses, a case AND kudos-heavy rainbow stripes is surely as much as any cyclist can demand form a set of shades. They do actually fit very well too.
One of mine from Japan.
Millsy and I had a good ride out from Denham today. The weather was overcast, and a bit chilly even in 3/4 fleece-lined bibs and Rapha long sleeve.
We did 67 miles – longer than the distance on Google maps owing to an early map SNAFU on my part – in 4hrs 15. I felt OK, but as the hours wore on I was treated to an extended viewing of Millsy’s ass as he showed some solid form on the flat. I still had the edge over Whiteleaf Hill though.
Awesome. It’s another classic recon video from Mike Cotty of Cannondale and the Cyclefilm studios, complete with chronic heavy-metal soundtrack, close-ups of Cotty’s quads, and stunning mountain vistas. The only thing missing is MC’s super-dry “This is going to be tough” commentary.
Here’s a list of 2010 sportives as I stumble upon them. Please comment any I’ve missed.
No Etape du Dales – yet.
I’m really enjoying le grimpeur blog’s series on Défaillance (links below). I love this image of Greg Lemond, bent over his handlebars as his strength ebbs away on Le Col du Tourmalet in the 1991 Tour de France. It reminds me well of going up Alpe d’Huez on July 4. Now that most of my posts fall into the armchair category, it feels apt to reflect on a waning of form.
LeMond watches the ‘91 leaders ride away on the Tourmalet. [via le grimpeur
Défaillance. A sudden weakness. A synonym: un jour sans. A day without. All cyclists experience it sooner or later, from the most hardened professional to the lowliest amateur pretender. It differs from the ‘knock’, when the body runs out of energy, and the remedy for the knock is simple: take on more sustenance. Défaillance is something else, more insidious, its symptoms like a creeping dread. On a climb, one struggles to find one’s rhythm, or settle into the saddle and spin, to find a gear that feels comfortable, to follow wheels as they pull inexorably ahead. The remedy is also not immediately obvious. Overtraining? Undertraining? A myriad of other possibilities, physical or even mental.
By the way sort out your post tagging grimpeur!
Jonny emailed the link to the Hell of the Ashdown 2010 this morning. Registration is open for the first sportive of a new season. It begins.
