STUFFE

WHO STOLE THE ROAD?
I hate bikes, they get right in the way, don't they?

Or maybe not...

A graphic illustration of how much road space is used by 35 people using different modes of transport.

PERIODIC F*****G TABLE
Flowing Data points out that we all secretly love the Periodic Table infographic - here's Modern Toss' take on the format, with the Periodic Table of Swearing. Surely it's obvious that the page beyond this link contains bad language?

You can buy a print of this too, although I'm not sure who would think a nicely formatted collection of swears makes a nice talking point.

EGGS, BASKETS &c
Cosmo has a good piece on why the "Lance vs Bert" take on this years' tour by US media was a stupid idea here, and more fundamentally why the focus on one rider's exploits to sell cycling to Americans is a daft idea. The killer paragraph for me;

Can you even imagine it? No more armies of dentists dragging the LBS out of the red each year with Lance-replica Trek purchases. No more Chris Carmichael promising phantom results to middle-aged racers about to train themselves out of love with the sport. No more laurel wreaths cast at the feet of DS whose prolific success in July has allowed him to brush years of downright miserable classics results under the rug.

What will the US bike industry look like post-Lance? Is the focus on one rider as figurehead a fundamentally flawed idea?

BANANAS
The first bike I can remember coveting was the Raleigh Team Banana. I didn't follow pro-cycling at the time, but knew instinctively that the black & yellow colour scheme, cutting edge 531 frame and 12 speed gearing was very cool. Re-living that youthful yearning without upsetting Mrs Monkey *or* the bank manager by adding yet another bike to the garage is easier now, thanks to Prendas, who are doing these replica Team Banana caps.

STUFFE

Look at all those lovely bikes! Pic from Garmin's Website.

TOUR PREP
Garmin-Transitions offer a look inside their Service Course, as they prepare for the Tour De France. The thing that strikes me is the sheer amount of stuff, and work to do. As the article says;

Each rider will head to Rotterdam with 6 bicycles: their race bike, one spare for each car, a roubaix bike, and two time trial bikes.

And every bike is being built up from new frames and equipment by the mechanics. The article gives a real insight into the behnid the scenes work of mechanics and soigneurs, and is well worth a look.

INFOGRAPHICS
Examining whether sequels live up to the original film, at Flowing Data.

TOUR PREVIEW #1

Well, let's face it and be honest about it: any time trial would put the jersey on Fabian Cancellara's back.

Over at Pezcyclingnews, this preview examines the first week of Le Tour.

Also, Pez have managed to get tour fixture Didi (The Devil) to pose with their range of kit, which is quite the coup...

TENNIS, AGAIN

Therefore, in 11 hours and 5 minutes, the energy burned would be around 8500 kCal. How much is this? Well, if someone like Isner, who weighs 110kg, were to run a marathon, he would burn approximately 4600 kCal. So, his 11 hour tennis match came at the cost of almost two marathons. Sure, it was "run" over 3 days in installments, but the numbers are extra-ordinary.

The Sports Scientists blog returns to Mahut vs Isner, and some estimates of the energy expended by the players. Interestingly, their commentary has been picked up by the Washington Post - it's good to see them being recognised in this way.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Cycling Weekly rounds up the results of the various National Championship races that took place over the weekend. I'm very pleased to see Stijn Devolder in the Belgian champion's jersey, and doomed breakaway specialist Thomas Voeckler take the French championship.

Interstingly Sky took all the podium places in the UK race, with Geraint Thomas taking the win.

THE GREATEST CYCLING PHOTO EVER

Simon Lamb offers this picture of Coppi and Bartali as the greatest cycling picture ever. I've not given this a great deal of thought, but it seems to me that the shot above (Anquetil and Poulidor on the Puy De Dome) would be my choice - a graphic illustration of their rivalry.

PEDAL TO PROPERTIES
This is a brilliant idea, a realtor that offers bike tours to prospective house purchasers. A bike is a great way to cover distance quickly, but in a way that still allows you to get the feel of an area. I met a chap last year who was house hunting by bike locally to me (and was able to tell him where the local Surly dealer was, among other things).

DISC BRAKES IN CX
The news that the UCI has embraced a post-war technology shocked many of us last week, with their allowance of disc brakes in cyclocross. Bikehugger has a good piece about this, with the following being one of the conclusions I think they're absolutely right about;

...we are perhaps now on the eve of the next big revolution in bicycle equipment. Cyclocross is the doorway through which disc brake systems integrated into dropbar shift/brake reach the consumer as well as the natural path for discs to reach UCI acceptance to road racing.

VELOCLUB DON LOGAN
...becomes an investigative journalist. No, really.

CHARLES BURCHFIELD
I'd not heard of him either, but this post and lines and colors is a great introduction, and his work is lovely.

SPACESUIT OF THE WEEK
Or, features I wish I'd thought of. From Kitsune Noir (and my eternal thanks to Gem at Bianchista for introducing me to that blog) comes the spacesuit of the week.

STUFFE

TIPS FOR CYCLISTS

This is really very funny. I especially like the shouting out the window bit (that it comes out as un-intelligible garbage is entirely true, personally I always imagine it's a compliment about my bottom, or something.)

OUT RAPHA'ED

Moncler Gamme Bleu Spring/Summer 2011 Runway from LAT Videos on Vimeo.

Moncler launched a cycling themed haute couture collection at the Vigorelli velodrome. Whilst I'm not certain the gear will be as good for riding in as Rapha's undoubtedly is, (those bike pattern capes in particular look like a colossal pain in the arse) it's certainly going to be more expensive.

Cycling Weekly has its own take here.

The only problem I have with cycling being fashionable, is that at some point, it inevitably becomes unfashionable once again. Once the trendies ditch it, what happens then? The optimists hope that the majority of people keep pedalling, having seen the convenience of getting about a city by bike. I hope they're right.

COMMUNITY PACE CARS
I love this idea. As noted on the Urban Velo blog;

Basically you get a black and yellow diamond shape car window sticker with Pace Car on it. By having this sticker you agree to abide by the road rules and be courteous to cyclists (and obey the 1.5 meter rule) and pedestrians.

It's simple, and it's done by one of the few road users motor traffic will take notice of, i.e. other motor traffic. It's sad that everyone can't drive in the way the pace car programme suggests (after all, this is how they're taught to drive) but the idea of setting an example with your own driving is an excellent one.

NEW!
There's a new Velocast!

BELGIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

"But the riders make the race, and here's where Belgium is unique. Almost everywhere else the top riders are guarding their form. Only in Belgium can top international stars be planning as much for their home nats as for the Tour -- or more so, in some cases."

A good piece at Podium Café about the Belgian National Championships.

"NONE OF US IS THE FAVOURITE"
There seem to be echoes of last year's "The road will decide" attitude in this year's pronouncements from Mr. Armstrong about the tour.

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WHAT CAR HORNS ARE REALLY SAYING
A great comic from "The System".

MORE NAKED THAN NAKED

...although work safe, I think. Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog has these oddly disconcerting X-Ray "pin ups", created for a medical equipment manufacturer's promotional campaign. Some good may come of them, as Mr. Plait points out;

Check out what stilettos do to your metatarsophalangeal joint between the metatarsal and proximal phalangeal bones! Perhaps one outcome of these pictures is that the next time I see a woman wearing 4 inch heels, this’ll be what I think of.

CLOSE TO FLYING
Cozy Beehive blog points you towards this interview with world champion Cadel Evans, partly promoting his book, "Close to Flying". It's interesting stuff, although I can't help feeling that the Cadel Evans story has more chapters to be written yet. Cozy Beehive has an older, interesting article about Evans that you can read here.

MAJOR THE MOVIE
Marshall "Major" Taylor was American and World Cycling champion in 1899, a feat that makes him the first black world champion of any leading sport, according to the film makers.

Urban Velo has a small piece linking to the preview of the Major Taylor film here.

CARGO/TRAILER CORNER

Moving House by bicycle, from the Utility Cycling blog.

Of course, moving your entire house by bike is pretty extreme - but a weekly shop? Piece of cake...

JIM DENEVAN

Lines and Colors blog has these amazing pieces by Jim Denevan;

...an artist who makes his works in the sand and earth, but in a much more elaborate and large scale manner. He makes his marks with a stick or rake, stirring up the sand to make it darker and walking carefully while making the pattern.

Given the amount of work he must put into them, I find it amazing that they're done in such an ephmeral medium.

Also from Lines and Colors are these beautiful posters for America's national parks.

THE LAST CITY CYCLING
Can be found here.

When I started riding to work, City Cycling was one of the resources that I used a lot - once you get past the basics, sites like City Cycling provide other people's real life experiences of riding in traffic, and beyond that, food for thought about cycling's place in your life, and in society generally. I was also fortunate to have some of my writing published in it, thanks to tireless editor Anth.

Although this is the last monthly issue, City Cycling will live on, albeit in a different form, so keep your eye on the site for news.

"THE LITTLE GUYS LIVE HERE..."
From drawn.ca, Kevin Huizenga's blog about cartooning practice. I like the illustration that leads the article, it says an awful lot about the difficulty of transferring your ideas to paper.

R.I.P. FRANK SIDEBOTTOM
I'm from Timperley originally, so Frank Sidebottom has flitted in and out of my consciousness from time to time throughout my life. I remember once seeing him wave from a house on one of the Timperley bus routes (as we all waved back).

Chortle and BrokenTV both have good pieces about his life and work.

STUFFE

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Richard Mitchelson has another run of "Legends" shirts on the way. This time, the roster includes Bernard Hinault and Robert Millar, among others. I love these - Richard's talent in this limited format is evident if you look at the Hinault portrait, I think - it's recognisably Bernard, even without the more commonly portrayed "La Vie Claire" colours.

To use a phrase from the Velocast, "I'm havin' one".

THAT WORLD CUP FEELING
Comes to Monkey Photo Manchester. (Or any other website you fancy).

STIPPLE
Lines and Colors blog has this piece on Noli Novak, a staff illustrator at the Wall Street Journal.

Contrary to what you might think if you haven’t tried it, you cannot apply stipple mindlessly; the dots must be laid down carefully, with attention to the spacing between them. Get two dots too close to each other and you have a glaring error, dark enough to stand out in your otherwise smooth tone.

Given the difficulty of the technique, it’s a delight to have a bastion of modern stipple illustration in the form of the “hedcuts” (”headline cuts”) that have graced the pages of the Wall Street Journal since 1979, when the style was codified by Kevin Sprouls. The WSJ hedcut style, in which stipple is used in conjunction with engraving-like cross hatching, is employed for small portraits of well known figures, and has become an identifying characteristic of the paper.

You can see Noli's "Hedcuts" blog here, and her flickr art set here.

"I DON'T BIKE TO THINK"
The System has a great comic today - which is also going to become a t-shirt.

It reminds me of what (I think) Murakami said about distance running, that he did it to create a void in himself, where running was all there was. Of course, you are thinking when you ride, about how far you've gone, what route you're taking and about the traffic, but it's very focussed, and not about the worries of the day, in general.

THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP
Nedroid Picture Diary shows us, once again, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. IN COLOR!


GLASSES
I've no idea of the original source of this, but it features on Flowing Data - the difference a pair of glasses can make. A great idea, executed beautifully.

FISHER, CARGO BIKE
James at bicycle design has a piece that muses on the changes to the Gary fisher line. It also features a look at a bike that first appeared in concept form as the "El Ranchero", a longtail cargo e-bike, that looks rather nice (it's also available as an all human powered bike). The name is now the "Transport", and the e-bike version is the "Transport +" more detail on those bikes at cyclelicious.

HOW THE RACE WAS WON
Cyclocosm covers the Dauphiné in this video post.

Pavé has a Dauphiné wrap up (among other things) in text form here, as the "Monday Musette".

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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.

Le Tour, Classifieds

I've often heard it said that pro-cycling teams sell some of their kit at the end of the season, as a way of raising funds and divesting themselves of unused bikes and parts.

Obviously the Tour de France doesn't mark the end of the season, but we found these interesting little snippets in the classifieds section of a little known cycling magazine.

(Or we strung together a lot of tenuous in jokes as an excuse to put another post up without doing too much work).

ITEMS OFFERED:
Team Astana Rider Trading Cards.
Complete Set Available, Happy to Split.
Contact: J. Bruyneel.

"Win Friends and Influence People" Book (French Edition).
Unread.
Contact: B. Hinault.

"It's a Family Affair" - Sly and the Family Stone (CD)
Contact: A. Schleck

"O Brother Where Art Thou?" DVD
Contact: B. Feilliu

"Tales of the Unexpected" DVD box set
2009 Italian and French editions available.
Contact: B. Wiggins.

"Nice Guys Finish Last" book.
Contact: K. Van Hummel

Stage Winner T-Shirt - Euskatel Euskadi Colours.
Medical Condition forces sale.
Contact: M. Astarloza

ITEMS WANTED:
Mountain/All Terrain Bikes (x9)
Can exchange for 9 slightly dirty Time Trial Bikes.
Contact: BBox Bouygues Telecom Team HQ.

Complete Team Kit.
Most pro-tour considered, Not Astana please.
Contact: A. Contador.

Stabilisers / Training Wheels, or Racing Trike.
Cash offered, or can offer exchange/part exchange (can offer road bike, tt bike (with torn handlebar tape and some scrapes from use) or several pairs of bib shorts (torn)).
Contact: D. Menchov

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:
Entire post inspired by a joke I saw on twitter about Denis Menchov offering several pairs of scraped up Rabobank bibshorts for sale.