Thursday, May 20, 2010

STUFFE

SUPPORT MACMILLAN, WIN STUFF
Cyclist, triathlete and all round good egg Karl on Sea is spoiling a 112 mile bike ride by doing a 2.4 mile swim before it, and a 26.2 mile run after it, by way of competing in an Ironman triathlon. He's doing this in aid of Macmillan cancer support, a great charity that works to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

You can sponsor Karl at his "justgiving" page here, but if you like, you can also enter his competition to win four "money can't buy" prizes from his sponsors. You can find details of the competition and how to enter at Karl's blog here.

REAL CYCLISTS

Cozy Beehive Blog has been musing on the question of the "Real" cyclist;
Among our available dose of cliches, one you'll hear many say is that real cyclists are the ones who race. Or that real cyclists are the one's who ride fast, break bones, lose skin and come back to bite the tough again. Or that real cyclists have so many well-defined muscle groups. And so on...
He invites your comments on what makes a "real" cyclist, and indeed, whether there's any such thing.

YEHUDA MOON
A lovely comic today dedicated to the "Ride of Silence" in memory of cyclists killed in traffic collisions. Also proof that there's no comic too classy that commenters won't ruin it with a pointless discussion on helmets. Or what type of bike you should ride for commuting.

GIRO D'ITALIA
The most interesting stage of a race that's already been pretty damned interesting unfolded yesterday. Cycling Weekly has an account of Stage 11 here. I can't remember a grand tour stage that has changed the complexion of the race in such a dramatic way. Essentially, the people we'd thought of as being beyond the reach of the two main GC contenders, are all back in the game again, with the GC turned on its head.

Whilst I'm disappointed for Evans, who's ridden a champion's season (particularly so in this race, with his victory on the gruesome, mud drenched Stage 7) for the fans the race has become all kinds of interesting once again, with Sastre and Wiggins among monkey favourites now back in serious contention. Also having an amazing first grand tour is Richie Porte, holder of the best young rider jersey, and now in the Maglia Rosa leader's jersey - superb stuff.

Incidentally, a commenter on Simon Lamb's "La Gazzetta Della Bici" has heard a rumour that the weather had interfered with radio at the giro, and that could be why the break got away. If this isn't proof that a radio ban is a good thing for exciting racing, I don't know what is.

Salsa's Enabler Fork, pic from Salsa Website.

THE THIN LINE BETWEEN GENIUS AND MADNESS
So it's a front fork that runs rear wheels, yeah? Hmm.

This is another really interesting product from Salsa cycles, well worth a look. I can't decide if it's fantastic, or the most barmy thing I've ever seen, personally.

TERPSICHOREAN HIPPACOTORA
More lovely stuff from Lost Myths, "The Dance of the Hippacotora".

2 comments:

Red Bike said...

I'm loving the extra bottle mounts on that fork. They'd be ideal for use with a frame bag / touring.

Being able to run two gears ratios would also be very handy for longer multi-day rides too.

John the Monkey said...

You're right, you know - I'd sort of skimmed that bit of the Salsa article, but that could be really handy. And for proper, back of beyond touring, having a spare freehub up front could be a real plus (maybe carrying a spare cassette too...)