Balcony ride is supposed to be very pretty, read the PDF I sent you Tommy, it has most of the climbs listed, location, gradients and distance.
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Balcony ride is supposed to be very pretty, read the PDF I sent you Tommy, it has most of the climbs listed, location, gradients and distance.
<Tommy>
Illegitimi non carborundum
- Location
- Camden, London
Mixed bag for me. Good to see the form of Froome and Thomas of course. Froome in particular. I’d be super surprised if Thomas lasts the distance but I guess he’s got a better chance than ever before. I’m not Froome’s biggest fan by any means but he really is an incredible rider. He just seeems to be a level above the rest most days. For a moment it looked promising for Bardet and Quintana in the GC standings. And then a moment later we probably see their level for this year. And the sky train just rolls on, and on, and on... And of course Cavendish... that’s a real shame for me. Not that he’s had a good year at all, but it’s still a real shame he is so off.
bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
I was watching live today until last 8km when work interfered so only just caught up. Smashing race. And for anyone interested in Joining some of us on an Alps ride next year we are likley going to bourg st Maurice and the D Pre, La Rosière and Roseland are some of the many local rides in a fantastic play land for those that like to climb.
I hope to find a locale, that has a few mountains, an inland lake/sea and lots of various terrain, so mountains arent the only option. To ride a variety of courses, stop off etc. Chambery looks interesting. Also fancy the Dolomites-TBT are looking into routes
bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
Bourg is in a valley and lots of lovely flattish or lumpy rides to keep you interested. But only on of manysimilar places in France. TBT? You scared of joining us lot for foreign rides? 
Bourg is in a valley and lots of lovely flattish or lumpy rides to keep you interested. But only on of manysimilar places in France. TBT? You scared of joining us lot for foreign rides?
I'd be happy to pootle up mountains, just half an hour behind you chaps
bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
I'd be happy to pootle up mountains, just half an hour behind you chaps
Well dont rule out joining us too
bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
This is lovely...
https://chpt3.com/blogs/journal/well-done-mark
Well done, Mark.
2005, somewhere in Tuscany.
I was on my ban, I was training hard and Max Sciandri was looking after me. He was also looking after the newly created men’s British under 23 team, led by an ex-bike racer and newly converted coach called Rod Ellingworth.
Occasionally I’d ride with Rod’s boys (Rod and I knew each other from racing together in the nineties). They were a motley crew, all part of the British Cycling funded system led by Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton. Rod’s job was to not only train physically, but develop mentally, a bunch of wunderkinder into Olympic medal winners. Dave and Shane knew that they needed their young track protégés to become elite road racers in order to assure their velodrome success.
I remember vividly one of those rides. For some reason it was just the two of us. He was cocky AF. I was on a recovery ride yet he was panting next to me, mainly due to the fact he wouldn’t stop talking. He told me he was the fastest sprinter in the world. He’d just won a bunch sprint in Berlin and put 20m into the next guy. I thought he was insane and overweight. He was 19.
Six years later I was his road captain at the Worlds in Copenhagen. We became good friends, Rod continued to coach him, and all his other boys beyond the British team, teaching them to be not only bike racers but honourable sportsmen. Rod always made that his priority.
2018, somewhere in the Alps.
I’d just finished commentating on stage 11 of the Tour de France. We always have time to kill afterwards, Ned and I do our own thing until the evacuation begins. It’s the only time in the day (the rest of the time we’re cheek to jowl) we have a bit of space.
I decided I’d walk up the finish straight and use my proper camera to try and capture some shots of the stragglers coming in, I thought I’d get some powerful expressions in my photographic naivety. I did this for a bit and then realised I was shoot at it and made a mental note to get some lessons on using not-a-phone as a camera, so started taking photos of fans as they don’t move much and I could frame everything appropriately.
It then became apparent to me that everybody was waiting for Mark Cavendish to finish, I thought he’d stopped as it had been so long since any rider had been through and they were taking down banners. I thought, shoot, I must get a picture of Mark coming up here amongst the shutting down Tour de France.
The longer I stood there the more I thought about him. The road was so empty, people stopped caring, normal life was starting to take over. I put the lens cap back on my camera and started walking up to the race car deviation. I didn’t want to take a picture of him, I wanted to be on the road next to him to cheer him on 200m from the line. I knew he wouldn’t notice me, but he would hear me, and I wanted him to hear me.
My commentator pass allowed me to get through and stand on the road, and there were only two other people there, the marshal to direct the cars off the road, and Rod Ellingworth. We shook hands.
“Rod, JESUS, where is he?”
“I feel responsible for this. I always told him you don’t stop out of respect for the race.”
I said, “We should run with him for a bit.”
“No, I just want to see him.”
“I’m going to take a photo of you.”
Rod is the Performance Manager and Coach for Team Sky. And so, there we stood, me a bit further up the road, still incapable of using my good camera. Rod crouched down, clapping one of his boys home.
One of his other boys from those Tuscan days had finished an hour before with his arms aloft, first and last, both honorable. You did it, Rod.
https://chpt3.com/blogs/journal/well-done-mark
Well done, Mark.
2005, somewhere in Tuscany.
I was on my ban, I was training hard and Max Sciandri was looking after me. He was also looking after the newly created men’s British under 23 team, led by an ex-bike racer and newly converted coach called Rod Ellingworth.
Occasionally I’d ride with Rod’s boys (Rod and I knew each other from racing together in the nineties). They were a motley crew, all part of the British Cycling funded system led by Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton. Rod’s job was to not only train physically, but develop mentally, a bunch of wunderkinder into Olympic medal winners. Dave and Shane knew that they needed their young track protégés to become elite road racers in order to assure their velodrome success.
I remember vividly one of those rides. For some reason it was just the two of us. He was cocky AF. I was on a recovery ride yet he was panting next to me, mainly due to the fact he wouldn’t stop talking. He told me he was the fastest sprinter in the world. He’d just won a bunch sprint in Berlin and put 20m into the next guy. I thought he was insane and overweight. He was 19.
Six years later I was his road captain at the Worlds in Copenhagen. We became good friends, Rod continued to coach him, and all his other boys beyond the British team, teaching them to be not only bike racers but honourable sportsmen. Rod always made that his priority.
2018, somewhere in the Alps.
I’d just finished commentating on stage 11 of the Tour de France. We always have time to kill afterwards, Ned and I do our own thing until the evacuation begins. It’s the only time in the day (the rest of the time we’re cheek to jowl) we have a bit of space.
I decided I’d walk up the finish straight and use my proper camera to try and capture some shots of the stragglers coming in, I thought I’d get some powerful expressions in my photographic naivety. I did this for a bit and then realised I was shoot at it and made a mental note to get some lessons on using not-a-phone as a camera, so started taking photos of fans as they don’t move much and I could frame everything appropriately.
It then became apparent to me that everybody was waiting for Mark Cavendish to finish, I thought he’d stopped as it had been so long since any rider had been through and they were taking down banners. I thought, shoot, I must get a picture of Mark coming up here amongst the shutting down Tour de France.
The longer I stood there the more I thought about him. The road was so empty, people stopped caring, normal life was starting to take over. I put the lens cap back on my camera and started walking up to the race car deviation. I didn’t want to take a picture of him, I wanted to be on the road next to him to cheer him on 200m from the line. I knew he wouldn’t notice me, but he would hear me, and I wanted him to hear me.
My commentator pass allowed me to get through and stand on the road, and there were only two other people there, the marshal to direct the cars off the road, and Rod Ellingworth. We shook hands.
“Rod, JESUS, where is he?”
“I feel responsible for this. I always told him you don’t stop out of respect for the race.”
I said, “We should run with him for a bit.”
“No, I just want to see him.”
“I’m going to take a photo of you.”
Rod is the Performance Manager and Coach for Team Sky. And so, there we stood, me a bit further up the road, still incapable of using my good camera. Rod crouched down, clapping one of his boys home.
One of his other boys from those Tuscan days had finished an hour before with his arms aloft, first and last, both honorable. You did it, Rod.
Aleman
Knees are FUBAR but I don't like to mention it
- Location
- Blackpool UK
Spoiler alert!!!
What a stage!!!
What a stage!!!
