On a bike almost everything can be made of carbon, that doesn’t sound to me to be - as promoted - a low carbon method of transport.
My Colnago Master frame and forks is half steel and half carbon: does that make it Carbon Neutral?
My Sidi shoes have carbon soles. I am a Size 11 UK. Do they leave a bigger carbon footprint than someone who’s a Size 9?
Lots of cars, motorbikes follow the cyclists in professional races thus undoing all the good environmental work the cyclists have done in cycling all the way from, say - Milan to San Remo - for example. Maybe the cameramen and race directors should have to cycle too.
Recovery drinks and bars make me fart, therefore increasing my methane output and making me less environmentally friendly
Cows are the main producers of methane which causes global climate change, therefore, cows should not be encouraged to cycle competitively or consume Rego after any other sporting activity.
Lance Armstrong is getting a bit old for racing: is he burning more fossil fuels than the younger cyclists?
Here are a few things that I have bought recently that have proved to be fantastic. This affiliate ‘widget’ is also a further shameless attempt at generating some income to fund my blog! I do genuinely recommend these products though (and Wiggle who I use regularly). In particular: The thermal liner gloves were fantastic this winter underneath my goretex gloves and also squeezing in underneath my standard long finger gloves for added warmth. I love the Continental undersaddle bag because it’s so small and moves easily from bike to bike without needing any attachments - couldn’t be without it now. And also, the Cliff Bar Shot Bloks are great: six blocks in each pack, three are roughly equivalent to a gel so you can be quite economical as to how and when you consume them. (I prefer to eat carbs and drink water rather than constant energy drinks because I think it’s a little better for my teeth.)
I’m sure we’re all looking forward to this Easter’s Paris - Roubaix (except for the riders and their mechanics perhaps,) known variously also as the Queen of the Classics or The Hell of the North. The race has not been a lucky one for George Hincapie and I have dredged up this famous photograph of one of his near wins. Normally riders suffer due to not taking on board enough food, however, as this photograph clearly shows: a leading Hincapie’s is clearly hampered by his carrying of far too much food in his effort to make sure he doesn’t run out of carbohydrates.
Hincapie is being caught, on the famous cobbles, as he is forced to dismount and push his specially adapted bike up the vicious incline. The famous Oakley Racing Jackets just about manage to conceal his fury and disappointment as he surely realises the cost of this strategic error. Most people would have expected Jan Ullrich to have been more likely to be the one to make this mistake.
I was reminded of the picture because it’s reminiscent of the famous Hovis ad and The Hell of the North is coincidentally also what we call Hovis sliced bread in our house. Not only due to it’s taste and texture but also because it was invented contemporaneously with the Paris - Roubaix (the Paris-Roubaix was first raced in 1886 and Hovis patented in 1887).
I have just had leaked to me information regarding a new system being developed by the UCI, in collaboration with the ISO (International Organization for Standardization), designed to control blood doping in professional cyclists. You can visit the ISO website by clicking here although no information is on there regarding this breaking news as yet.
This is the cover of the upcoming issue of “ISO Focus” which shows the lead article regarding this new system. Due to the fact that cyclists seem to be capable of staying one step ahead of the testers a new strategy was necessary. The UCI are now in the final phase of development of a system which, if successful, could then be rolled out and used in all competitive sports and could revolutionize the professional sporting world whilst restoring spectators’ confidence.
According to the article the system will work like this: prior to a race all riders will report to a UCI “standardization zone”. In this zone all riders will have all of their blood extracted and replaced with an ISO standard “Sport Blood” (ISO 1-4-2009). In this way all riders will start off equal and even if they have used undetectable red blood cell boosting techniques this will immediately be rendered immaterial by the complete removal of the ‘contaminated’ blood. “Sport Blood” has been developed in all necessary formats A, B etc and will be assured to be disease free. I have been leaked a photograph of a bag of “Sport Blood” from the UCI commissioned laboratories:
The ISO “Sport Blood” standard has been carefully developed in collaboration with the world’s top medical professionals and is assured to be of ‘professional athlete’ quality and not equivalent to the blood of a ‘couch potato’ stuffed full of crisps, kebabs and biscuits. However, other “Sport Blood” standards are thought to be under investigation in order to create a handicap system where Alberto Contador could be filled up with rubbish blood so he could race against, well me, for example.
It seems that competitors will be allowed the option of having their removed blood returned at the end of the race/event; although it is assumed that most riders would rather be getting back to their hotel rooms instead of returning to the ’standardization zone’ for the extra transfusion.
If you didn’t catch the semi final between Gregory Bauge and Kevin Sireau in the Men’s sprint at this year’s World Track Cycling Championships here it is. The amazing thing about the crash is how Bauge’s fixed wheel skills and the strength in his legs allow him to stop himself crashing when it looks inevitable…
Since my investigations into Facial Aerodynamics for Time Trials I have been wondering about what other qualities one needs to have in order to be fast at Time Trial racing. Most of the drag produced in Time Trialing is produced by the body, rather than the bicycle, so a powerful and aerodynamic body is what I am interested in here. Since we cannot change our bodies that much I have turned my thoughts to fantasy: what would the ultimate Time Trial ‘animal’ look like?
Powerful legs are essential. But what about the rest of the body? Thinking about the legs I would think that perhaps the ultimate, real, Time Trial animal would be a Tyrannosaurus Rex (with it’s enormous thighs and puny torso and arms). However, I think we should be able to improve on that in terms of aerodynamics. My mythological thoughts turned to the Griffin due to it’s excellence with both power and flight. The problem with the Griffin is clear: wings are not allowed by UCI regulations.
The fastest animal in the air is, I believe, the Peregrine Falcon. So I have used the body of a Falcon minus the wings. My first thought was that the Falcon’s face would suffice as is - but unfortunately their are a number of reasons why not:
air intake ability is not good enough
pecking at an energy bar or gel is no good, a proper mouth with incisors and molars is needed
and more importantly I found out this fact: supersonic planes are fitted with a long pointy nose as this is more aerodynamic at supersonic speeds. I think our mythical, ultimate Time Trial animal ought to aspire to supersonic speeds don’t you?
So, we have the legs of a Tyrannosaurus Rex (I have left the tail for aerodynamic flow and stability) and body of a Falcon. What would be the ultimate head to finish our mythical Fastest Time Trialist Ever?
So this is a picture of what I conclude to be the answer:
The Pinocchiotrice
The final element was perfect: the head of Pinocchio! The long pointy nose creates fantastic aerodynamics and what’s more: the more our mythical Time Trialist lies about his speed, power or performance enhancing supplements - the faster he gets! Also, the human face allows good oxygen intake and the ability to facilitate the facial aerodynamic techniques I have championed earlier in my blog. I believe The Pinocchiotrice would even beat Chris Hoy on the track.
From now on this is how I will now see myself in my mind’s eye as I dig deep in my future Time Trials and try to motivate myself into believing I can get a new PB!
Next I think I ought to investigate the possibility of plastic surgery for time trial aerodynamics: hump implants, nose profiling and tail construction etc…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If you liked this post please look at the rest of my blog >
I imagine the whole world is aware by now that Lance has broken his collarbone - for the first time. For those of you who don’t look at Twitter here’s a candid photograph he posted of himself with Johan Bruyneel that evening:
Lance is said to be feeling pretty dejected at the whole scenario and who wouldn’t be? Let’s compare this photograph with two previous pictures of Lance and Johan:
How far away from them can you get? In the latest pic poor old Lance and Johan have completely finished their wine; it’s not even a question of ‘half-full’ or ‘half-empty’: they’re just empty. I was expecting a follow-up snap of them asleep on the bathroom floor with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels beside them. What a contrast to the two full glasses of champagne in the Tour pic. And look at Johan - he’s not looking quite the same slender bike rider as in the photograph. It’s all going a bit ‘pear-shaped’ for them both!
You can see why it’s gloomy times for Lance, but, knowing him (and I don’t) I wouldn’t be surprised if his broken collarbone heals in record time, pushes aside his focus on the Giro d’Italia, and allows perfect timing for him to peak for the Tour de France.
It was The North Devon Wheelers’ first club race of the season (and an Open registered with the CTT) on Sunday 15th. I wasn’t racing because I’ve had one cold after another (courtesy of my five year old daughter) this year. The weather was beautiful. I was jealous of the riders because I’ve only done this route in 20 to 30mph winds, usually rain, and the year before last it hailed on us during the race! So I took the opportunity of enjoying a leisurely long ride out to Filleigh, where there is a long uphill trawl at roughly the 25-27mile mark, and took a few photographs of the race to show what a lovely place this is to Time Trial. Here are four of the pics:
The results can be seen on the North Devon Wheelers website. Well done Mark Lees.
It’s a tough course because the last ten miles back are pretty hilly. The “Round the Houses” S12/32R route is as follows:
Can’t wait for the start of the Race to the Sun tomorrow! It’s starting in Amilly actually, rather than in Paris itself but this is normal and it always finishes on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Here’s a link to the course route on the Official Website (the Tour de France site because it’s an ASO event).
Just in case you’re not familiar with it: Steephill TV is a great site that has lots of info and links to ways to follow the race live etc if you haven’t got Eurosport (though today’s TT is not on Eurosport live unfortunately) or not subscribed to Cycling TV (although I think Cycling TV have had a bit of trouble with their live streaming recently due to a third party supplier - maybe that’s sorted out now?).
I can’t see past Contador as favourite to win it again (he couldn’t defend his 2007 title last year because Astana were barred from all ASO events,) but I’ll enjoy watching out for Bradley Wiggins, David Millar, Phillipe Gilbert and Jens Voigt. Maybe Frank Schleck will have a chance this year? The defending champion Davide Rebellin isn’t taking part because his team are racing the Tirreno-Adriatico instead.
I love the beginning of the racing season. However, as usual, watching the Pros getting going is always a sad reminder that my own personal fitness is weeks behind schedule due to a multitude of wintry ailment and alcohol based excuses (I have another sore throat as I type this)!
UPDATE 8/2/09:
Looks like it’s going to be wet for the Time Trial today!
Here’s a great link to CyclingNews where you can follow live cyclist data today (Speed, Wattage, HR, Cadence and also their position) click here. Well I say that but the race has started now and I can’t get it to work - I can only see ”Björn Schröder - Team Milram” - maybe I’m missing something?
Also courtesy of CyclingNews if you’re out you can keep up to date with live data on your wap mobile by going to http://live.cyclingnews.com/wap/
RESULT: 1 Alberto Contador (Astana) 11.05
2 Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) 11.12
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) 11.14
4 Tony Martin (Team Columbia - Highroad) 11.17
5 David Millar (Garmin - Slipstream) 11.19
6 Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) 11.23
7 Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) 11.24
8 Antonio Colom (Team Katusha) 11.25
9 Vladimir Karpets (Team Katusha) 11.27
10 Rémi Pauriol (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) 11.28
So Contador top already! Maybe he’ll lead the whole race? Well done Bradley Wiggins though.
