STUFFE

LANDIS
This is old, but on the off chance that you've not seen it, it's well worth a read. The Science of Sport Blog reviews reaction to Floyd Landis' allegations (as of 27th May). It's full of good stuff;

However, the point is that cycling has slowed up, and while there are numerous factors (race situation, conditions etc.) that contribute to this, the suppression (not the removal) of doping is one strong possibility.

Lots of good commentary and links for further reading, highly recommended. Personally, I really like that they take the "So what?" attitude to the oft repeated "defence" of cycling that other sports have doping problems too (on which less harsh spotlights are cast).

For those of you who cross train, there's also a good piece on the Barefoot Running movement here.

MOTORISED DOPING
Two good debunkings of the allegations against Mr. Cancellara from Cosmo, and the Cozy Beehive (here, here and here).

BIKEHACKS "BECAUSE IT'S THERE" DEPT

Using a bike wheel to store your pans, and the MONSTER BIKE (strictly speaking, isn't it a trike?)

BIKE COMMUTING ESSENTIALS?
There's a nice post on the Utility Cycling blog about clothing for bike commuting. Predictably, it's brought out the hair shirt brigade, who balk at the very notion of bike specific clothing being thought of as essential.

Here's the thing. People are different - for me, anything up to about 5 miles is doable in my regular clothes (and I run errands of that sort of distance regularly on the Brompton without bike specific gear). Past that distance, sweat starts to make cotton uncomfortable, and the benefits of bike specific kit become more apparent. As Dave Moulton points out here, people didn't wear "racing" gear in the past because it was expensive, hard to care for and uncomfortable. That's no longer the case, and you have the choice, if you want it. As Dave says;

I would not dress up in Lycra for a short trip to the post-office or store, but if I am riding for an hour or more, I love it and would not go back to wearing regular clothes for a long ride. The modern clothes are so comfortable, and the great thing is, I can throw the shorts and jersey in the washing machine, they are almost dry after the spin cycle, and air dry in a few hours.

WOODCUT
Lines and Colors blog features these wonderful woodcuts by Canadian artist Lisa Brawn. There's something about the fairly modern subjects & colouration, rendered in a medium we associate with aged prints that's undeniably appealing. The commitment required to work in this way astonishes me too.

Also from Lines and Colors is this wonderful look at the backgrounds from animated films.

COMICS
A bumper harvest of three panel strips at "Hark! A Vagrant" demands your Lols.

Also, if you know me, you'll be unsurprised to learn that I was unable to resist the lure of Hyper Monkey Force.

STUFFE

THE MOUSTACHE BRACKET
home of "The System", Roscott Inc. brings this bit of typographic fun (and an ampersand eye test chart into the bargain). Those of you doing this year's "Mo'vember" may want to combine your love of facial hair and love of typography...

ASK RITTE
Pavé blog brings you an new feature, the advice column "Ask Ritte".

"If you can’t win the race, at least win the party. I heard that once from a guy in a San Diego bar, but I think he was talking about NASCAR."

You can mail your questions to paveblog@gmail.com - remember to put "Ask Ritte" in the subject line.

VELO ORANGE
Some new product listed on their website, including an interesting looking dynamo light from Shimano. In this light, a secondary bulb flashes as the dynamo turns, with the main light switching on as ambient light falls below a certain level. Looks like a good solution for commuting. Also in the post is a nice looking front rack, and a cleverly designed rear brake hanger.

GIRO D'ITALIA
Close now - Podium Café has a team round up here.

And you can try your own hand at being a director sportif at these fantasy pro-cycing games;
NRToone
Velogames

"TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK"
Cosmo comments on the recent bio-passport bans on Cyclocosm.

"From the horrific press release, which seems to have been optimized to avoid search engine results, to the lack of specific data on what makes these riders’ information abnormal, the UCI has created a massive information vacuum..."

I'm in full agreement with him in that the values placing these riders' passports outside the tolerances of the system need to be discussed in detail, otherwise we'll just have endless claim and counter claim.

STUFFE

The Paper Boneshaker - Original image from the makers' site.

THE PAPER BONESHAKER

Just how much does Japanese deisgner Shinichi Iwami love bicycles? Enough to have 1/24 scale kits laser-cut out of 0.5mm black paper with enough precision and detail that they require a scalpel, tweezers, glue, instructions, and nerves of steel to assemble.

More information here, at Bikehacks.

300 KM TO THE SEA
Just when I'm feeling pleased with myself for having done a couple of rides edging close to 60 miles, Redbikes puts me in my place by riding a colossal 192 miles. And this despite exploding saddle bags and having to make running repairs to his bike. Chapeau!

WHEN I WERE A LAD
BrokenTV, king of the bar chart, and producer of the epic "Top 100 TV shows of the '00s", turns his attention to board games. (Younger readers: Board Games are sort of like paper and card based Wii games. It's what we did for fun in the olden days, after telly had ended for the night, or if there was nothing on on the three(!) available channels).

This time, it's the turn of the TV Times board game. You can read the first in this series (covering the game based on Carla Lane's "Bread") here.

HOW OTHERS SEE US
Cycling Inquisition has been to London;

Instead, British cyclists look like Mr Bean, they favor day-glow attire and often ride a Brompton folding bikes.

The full article is here.

AND SO IT BEGINS?
Podium Café has a decent timeline of events in the recent unpleasantness surrounding Liquigas and Franco Pelizotti.

Liquigas have responded;

"Right now the evidence presented does not appear able to show with certainty, at a scientific level, illicit behavior by the athlete," Liquigas said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hopefully the evidence is going to be open to scrutiny, so the UCI scientists, and those in the employ of Liquigas can make their case. I'd be interested to see quite what values Liquigas are disputing.

There's a fantastic interview with Michael Ashenden on the site most of us know as the home of Toto NYVelocity, on the UCI's Biological passport system and how it works here.

"However I believe the point you are making is that if they had been doping, they should have been sanctioned via the Passport in the first place. The issue here is sensitivity - the Passport is the most sensitive tool we have available to detect doping once the banned substance has left the system. But it is not 100% sensitive - it won't catch every single rider who had doped. A large part of this is due to the margins of tolerance we must allow to ensure that riders are not wrongly accused of doping."

(My emphasis).