Monday Bike Style: self portrait

Me post Selkirk MTB marathon

Crit race – a gopro view

mmmm

Must order a bar mount for the bike …..

Learn more about the Competitive Cyclist Racing Team athttp://proteam.competitivecyclist.com/

 

Hushovd ‘not obsessed’ with Roubaix

interesting article from velonews …

There’s only one race that Thor Hushovd wants to win, and that’s Paris-Roubaix.

The former world champion doesn’t hesitate when he says that the Hell of the North is his top goal for the upcoming spring classics campaign, but he insists he is “not obsessed” with the cobblestone classic.

“It’s not an obsession, I just want to really win that race,” Hushovd explained to VeloNews.com. “I have had a few major goals in my career and I’ve been lucky enough to achieve many of them. What remain are a major classic and the Olympics. And if I had to choose one classic I want to win, it’s Roubaix.”

His high-profile move to BMC for 2012 will put him center-stage for the cobblestone classic.

With the spring classics season officially opening this weekend with semi-classics Omloop Het Nieuwsblat (the former Het Volk) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, many are wondering how Hushovd and new BMC teammate Philippe Gilbert will manage their classics ambitions.

The pair insists there is no conflict over their respective ambitions. Both want to win and expect to win, but they are close friends and often train together from their European home base in Monaco, and promise to divvy up the monuments between them.

The choices are obvious, with Gilbert naturally drifting toward the hillier classics such as Liege and Lombardia while Hushovd takes on the more punishing courses at Flanders and Roubaix.

The one point of conflict could be Milan-San Remo, but Hushovd says having the two superstars share the leadership duties in any race will only enhance their team’s and individual chances.

“Philippe can attack on the Poggio and I can sit in on the bunch. If he stays away and wins, that’s great. If he’s caught, then that means I won’t be doing the chasing and I can be fresher for the sprint,” he said. “Having us both in the race is a benefit, not a problem. We are good friends. We understand each other and we communicate.”

Gilbert says he will make a run for Flanders this year, meaning that he and Hushovd will likely play a similar San Remo strategy at the Ronde, but the world No. 1 says there’s no way he will race Paris-Roubaix, at least not for the next several years. That means Hushovd is BMC’s leading captain for his favorite classic.

“It’s the hardest one-day race out there. I just love Roubaix and the whole history behind it,” Hushovd continued. “It was one of the few bike races that I could watch as a kid on TV back in Norway. I remember the mud, the dust, the cobblestones, the crashes, bikes breaking. I won the amateur version in 1998. That gave me a taste.”

BMC brings perhaps the strongest classics lineup to the monuments this year. Hushovd and Gilbert will be the team’s clear leaders, but behind them is tremendous depth with other potential winners, including George Hincapie, former Flanders champion Alessandro Ballan, Marcus Burghardt, Greg Van Avermaet and workers such as Quiziato.

All of those riders, including Hincapie, say they will work for BMC’s frontline leaders, but anything can happen during a race and there might be unseen scenarios opening up to allow one of the team’s wild-card riders to stay clear in early moves. Having such a deep team will force the others to chase, allowing Gilbert and Hushovd to pounce at the decisive moments; or at least that’s what team brass is hoping for.

“We will be among the strongest teams during the classics; just look at the names,” says BMC sport director Fabio Baldato, no slouch during his day on the cobblestones. “With Philippe and Thor, we can expect to win just about every classic we start. Everyone will work together so the team wins. Whoever that might be doesn’t matter.”

Hushovd has been nipping at the edge of Roubaix success the past several years. Last year, Hushovd was hoping to fulfill a dream of winning Paris-Roubaix while donning the world champion’s rainbow jersey.

Instead, Garmin-Cervélo played a wily team tactic, putting Hushovd on pre-race favorite Fabian Cancellara’s wheel and allowing Johan Vansummeren to make a go. Vansummeren was strong enough to stay clear, giving Garmin an emotional and elusive classics victory, but leaving Hushovd with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Hushovd, however, said his best chance to win was in 2009, when he was flying in Cervélo’s first year, but crashed late in the crash to lose position to eventual winner Tom Boonen.

With such a powerful squad at his disposal, Hushovd knows that this year could be his best chance ever. He also knows that there’s no hiding on the cobblestones.

“Of course, I would like to win Roubaix, but I will not freak out if I do not win it,” he said. “If I am not able to win it, it is because I am not strong enough.”

And just to get a feel of the event have a look at a slower take on the classics…..

Shaw 650 sports boat …… I’ll have one please Santa come Christmas time

The Shaw 650 is an amazing boat from deep south – taking off from where the SB23 and others led before …

A sportboat is a performance day sailor designed for performance, safety and stability. The Shaw 650 brings speed to more people, with maximum performance at this size, combined with affordable pricing. Lightweight and well mannered, easy planing and easier transportation – this is the answer to performance one design racing.

• Fast: one of the quickest sportboats in this size, competitive in keelboat, sportboat and OD fleets
• Affordable: highest levels of specification and construction at a reasonable price, with long term value thanks to NZ technology and expertise in construction and high quality parts
• Fun: easy to sail, low sheet loads, easy to rig and transport

Every boat features the same high quality of construction which has been created by marine professionals in New Zealand most of whom also own or race Shaw 650s themselves.

It’s around $50 000USD so out of my price range but looks like a good option for entry into this market …. here is a video of it going though the paces

 

and another

Friday Bike Poster: Old Race Posters

old race posters

I love these old posters – such class

Only 7 month until the next Giro d’Italia

 

From Saturday May 5th to Sunday May 27th 2012, the 95th edition of Giro d’Italia will start from Herning (Denmark) and will arrive in Milan.

guardian.co.uk – The route for the 2012 Giro d’Italia, which was unveiled on Sunday, will be easier than in recent years, when it has been labelled inhuman, and riders are expected to spend less time on transfers between stages.

The race will start with an 8.7km individual time trial in Herning, Denmark, on 5 May and after three days fly to Italy. It is the 10th time in its 95 editions that the Giro has started abroad and on this occasion the first three stages will all be held in Denmark.

The world champion, Mark Cavendish, who wore the leader’s pink jersey for one stage and won stage 10 of this year’s race, is likely to be pleased with the profile of the first week, which clearly favours sprinters, but the Giro should be decided in the final week, with the penultimate stage, a 218km mountain trek ending with the tough climb up the Stelvio, likely to create significant gaps.

The race ends on 27 May with a 31.5km individual time trial in Milan – this year’s version of which was won by David Millar – the third test against the clock after the first stage and a team time trial in Verona.

Unlike last year, when exhausting, high mountain stages were lined up in succession with long, energy-sapping transfers, the 2012 route features a flat stage between two mountain treks in the final week.

Riders have complained in the past about the Giro route, and the former director Angelo Zomegnan has accused of setting up a “freak show”. But Zomegnan has been replaced by Michele Acquarone, who promised to take riders’ demands into consideration.

Perhaps partly as a consequence of the demanding 2011 route, Britain’s Team Sky entered effectively a second-string team, with Russell Downing and Peter Kennaugh – who would finish as the highest placed Briton, in 87th – the only British riders on the squad. But the prospect of Cavendish possibly lifting the pink jersey for the team in the first week, and the profile being much more suited to Chris Froome or Bradley Wiggins, who finished second and third in this year’s Vuelta a España, respectively, are likely to persuade the team principal, Dave Brailsford, to enter a strong squad next year.

The 2011 champion, Alberto Contador of Spain, who has already announced he will not be taking part but focusing instead on the Tour de France, spoke positively of the 2012 route. “This Giro will be more human,” he said. “There are more ‘recovery stages’ and, although I don’t think I’ll take part, it seems to be a very interesting route.”

Contador, a three-time Tour de France champion, said of his decision not to defend his Giro title: “I don’t think I will ride in the Giro; it will be very difficult. It’s very difficult to do both the Giro and the Tour. Maybe in two years’ time. I still have to talk to the team managers and discuss it with them but at the moment it’s not in my plans.”

Of next year’s race he said: “It’s a nice course, a bit different to last year and maybe a bit more even. For me the Giro is the best race in the world. It has a particular fascination for me. And if it was only up to my heart, I would race it. But next year I will think of other objectives, such as the Tour de France.”

The Liquigas rider Ivan Basso, the 2010 winner, said it would be a pity not to compete against Contador again. “I think it’s too early to talk about who’ll be there and who won’t because we’re in a bit of a particular situation, in that they’ve only revealed the route about 15 minutes ago so the cyclists have still to look at it properly, talk to their teams,” the Italian said.

“We also have to finish this season. But I would definitely prefer him to be there. I want to race against him.”

Next year’s Giro will have a solemn tone, with the third stage to be dedicated to Wouter Weylandt, the Belgian cyclist who died after a fall during this year’s race. Weylandt crashed on the descent of the Passo del Bocco on the third stage of the race – the same stage he won the previous year. The jersey No108, which Weylandt wore during the Giro, has also been retired.

Take your time to view these …. Le Coq Sportif L’Eiroca

L’Eiroca Official Site

Cycling has been on the up for years now, and an increasing number of Brits are choosing to combine their hobby with a holiday. There are lots of options, of course – both L’Étape du Tour and La Marmotte allow ambitious amateurs the chance to race a small slice of the Tour de France, for example. But these are for serious roadies only – it’s all Lycra, carbon and electrolyte drinks. Likewise, jumping on a touring bike with a tent and spending weeks in the wilderness is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Which is why L’Eroica in Italy offers something truly unique: a race on ancient roads using obsolete bikes, surrounded by gorgeous scenery and fuelled by a mouth-watering selection of food and wine.

As a period cycle race – only bikes made prior to 1987 can enter – riders also dress in appropriate costumes (Merino wool jerseys, leather shoes, small peak caps), and most of the course is made up of the bone-shaking “strada bianche”, Italy’s crushed gravel tracks. When it was first held in 1997, it was intended to help save these roads from being gradually replaced with asphalt.

And it worked, because the route is now marked with permanent signs and the hundreds of miles of lumpy, pot-holed lanes are still there.

L’Eroica has an entirely different ethos to modern events on the cycling calendar – for many years the event was sponsored by the classic saddle make Brooks; now it is backed by Le Coq Sportif, who once made woollen jerseys for the Tour de France. The name literally means “the heroic”, and that’s precisely how it feels. The rough surface breaks bikes and shreds tires, crashes are a distinct possibility and there are no support cars to help you out when any of these things happen. The food stops are lavish buffets rather than places to simply wolf down calories – cakes, stews and fruit are all laid on, and gallons of local Chianti are on tap. This is all designed to be as authentic a slice of the golden era of cycling as possible.

Bikes must be made before 1987 – and the outfits are retro too. Photograph: Philip Diprose

The race starts each October from Gaiole in Chianti, a picture postcard town that boasts a clutch of medieval pieves (churches), cobbled streets, cafes and trattorias. In 2008 Forbes magazine named it one of the “most idyllic locales in Europe to live”. During the weekend of L’Eroica more than 3,000 competitors flock into town early to register for the race and peruse dozens of stalls which spring up selling vintage bikes, parts and jerseys. These traders arrive not only to make a little money, but largely to show off their own collections.

The majority of riders are Italian, but the UK is the next best represented country with 310 British cyclists making the long journey this year. John Keyes had driven from London, having taken part the previous two years. “It’s the ethos behind it,” he said, explaining L’Eroica’s appeal. “It’s about getting to the spirit of what cycling was really like in the old days of gravel roads, old bikes, woollen jerseys – that was the spirit behind those great heroes of the Tour de France we all emulate today. They were fed brandy, figs, salami, then they’d go on their merry way again. It’s set up like that and it’s a real treat to come and experience it.”

The races are divided into distances to suit all levels of riders, from the 38km that the majority tackle to the full 205km course, which is so demanding that anyone who finishes in under 12 hours is awarded a huge hamper.

That there Ruthin MTB marathon I did

map of the 50km route

A race weekend and I felt ill prepared. I had not bothered with the 100mile Sportive the weekend before due the remnants of the hurricane hitting Scotland’s shores. I did however make the most of it by going kitesurfing and filming it on the GoPro - see last weeks blog post for that bad video ….

I am currently working on a CH5 series which will go out in 6 weeks – I can’t give out any details but suffice to say that some of the subjects are a lesson in taking care of yourself (both in what you eat and exercise) So I was in the edit when ‘he who shall remain nameless aka NICK’ started sneezing away spreading germs by the ton.

I knew then that I would get it being confined in a small room with the sick bastard and true to my prediction come Saturday afternoon as i packed the bike and set off down the road I had a sore throat and the start of a runny nose.

In retrospect had i realised this was a 4+hr drive I might not have bothered to do it by myself. I got down to Ruthin about 9pm as the Exposure Big Night Out race was finishing … amazing to see the guys waltz in after 40km looking as fresh as a daisy.

I went to the table where they were getting tea and begged for a cup of boiling water … it was a lemsip for me then and there and quickly going off to crash. I hadn’t bothered with a tent, instead sleeping in the back of the estate which was remarkably comfortable.

Up at 8am and off to the catering tent for porridge and tea. Prepare the bike – making sure the Racing Ralph was still holding air … I ripped the sidewall out of the last one in Selkirk in August. then set shock and I was ready to race.

Porridge and tea please guv'nor

My race plan due to the cold was this:

Do the 50km race not the 75km

Keep heart rate below 150bpm

Start and better still ... FINISH

10am Start – at 10:06 hit the bottom of the hill that would only go up for the next 30 minutes, quickly wished I hadn’t started at the back as idiots all around stopped pedalling and thought about walking and in a lot of the cases did. My rohloff speedhub goes down to to about 19 gear inches so I can get up most hills as long as I have traction and can keep the nose from rising too much.

nice singletrack through moor

The weather was alright although the rain had made the course very muddy – something I regretted having the Racing Ralph on the back which held the claggy mud and made it pretty sketchy at times. Plodded along the whole way …. cleaned all the technical sections although had two very stupid falls, both times breaking on nearly level grass before a sharp turn to a technical section. A bit of back brake and the RR shot out sideways leaving me feeling rather stupid but completely unhurt.

down to the reservoir - big gaps between riders at this time

I only stopped at the first feed station but had enough to keep going through the rest. The finish was the biggest challenge trying to follow the signs through town and then not seeing the turn in to the park and the finish. Ended up down at the roundabout looking for directions before retracing my steps and eventually seeing another marker.

more mud and shorten course blob of paint for 75km entrants that did 50km

End result 3hr 54min (-2min spent looking for finish) AVE speed (a slow) 13.5 km/h

HR average 145 / 173 max

Nice to be finished – had a quick bike wash, shower for myself then treated myself to leg massage before the 4.5hr drive home.

Bontrager RXL shoes are fantastic fit and really stiff and comfy. Lost a bit of disco white with mud but cleaned right up.

proof on the speedo

OVERALL:

Course not great – pretty boring the Selkirk event was more varied and challenging

Camping and Event site – fine and would have been good if family were along as well.

Entry fee – a bit sharp

strange man and penny farthing - my rohloff'ed ti bride 96'er

Were you there at Ruthin? …. how did your day go?

SIDE NOTE

Was using the Bryton Cardio 30 on the bike as well as the Garmin Edge 305 (which is great and now around £175) and there was quite a large difference in readings.

There was a small section in woodland but not enough for this difference.

Blue=Bryton Green=Garmin

I am still testing the Bryton Cardio 30 and so far I would advise people to hold off buying … their website was playing up and there are various things missing from their functions that should be addressed.

TP52 bow and stern video

Keith Brash gives you yet another look from on board the TP 52 Quantum Racing. The boys get rolling today in Cartagena, Spain…. this gives you a flavour

this is on Quantum but all I can say is come on Container ….

 

Looking Back: TdF winner 1903

The First Tour De France – oh how things have changed.

peloton and no team cars

The 1903 Tour de France was the first Tour de France, a cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper L’Auto, ancestor of the current daily, L’Équipe. It ran from 1 July to 19 July in six stages over 2,428 km (1,509 mi), and was won by Maurice Garin.

The race was invented to boost the circulation of L’Auto, after its circulation started to plummet from competition with the long-standing Le Vélo. Originally scheduled to start in June, the race was postponed one month, and the prize money was increased, after a disappointing level of applications from competitors. The 1903 Tour de France was the first stage road race, and compared to modern Grand Tours, it had relatively few stages, but each was much longer than those raced today. The cyclists did not have to compete in all six stages, although this was necessary to qualify for the general classification.

The pre-race favourite, Maurice Garin, won the first stage, and retained the lead throughout. He also won the last two stages, and had a margin of almost three hours over the next cyclist. The circulation of L’Auto increased more than sixfold during and after the race, so the race was considered successful enough to be rerun in 1904, by which time Le Vélo had been forced out of business.

Winner Maurice Garin on right. Paris, July 1903

Soto 40′s – a class to watch ( and race if you have the money)

Watching the Audi med up I was amazed by the racing TP52′s speak for themselves but the smaller boats the soto40′s were amazing too although racing in a fleet of 4 was about 8 boats short of a proper fleet.

Reminded me of a posting on sailing anarchy some time ago encouraging the soto 40 growth – just need all the Italians to start campaigning these boats instead of the big heavy farr’s.

big pimpin’

sex machine

Here it is… the Soto 40 OD. 40 foot of marine SEX wrapped up in a quality product backed up some passionate people who know their stuff. Check out the square-top main, the hiking wings, the enormous cockpit and all the good gear on board – this thing just wants to GO. And there’s nothing like it around. You were looking for a replacement for the aging Farr 40?

The Soto 40 is not an idea or a set of VPPs – the fleet are racing NOW and have been doing so for the past year. There will be ten Soto 40s fronting the start line at Ilhabella Race Week this July and there’s currently another five in the construction queue. And the whole Soto 40 story has happened in just 18 months, from idea to fleets in Argentina and Brazil. Torben Grael liked the Soto 40 so much he bought one for himself (Magia V) and will be a part of the fleet at Ilbabela.

With the ‘going global’ of the Soto 40 the builder, M Boats, is fixing the price at US $297,000 for the rest of the year… pretty good value if you compare it against anything new out there in the same zone. Add some water, sails and dials and you’re a part of the fastest production 40′s going around at the moment.

Now that it’s all go, go, go in South America the Soto 40 juggernaut heads to Australia and Asia with meetings being held in Singapore and Hong Kong this July to discuss the establishment of fleets in the region. You can register on the Class website if you’d like to attend and be involved in getting exciting OD racing back on the calendar in the region. There will be a few surprises and some special offers to those who can get along to the meetings.

Unlike your latest 40 ft IRC boat or box-rule flyer, the Soto 40 One Design is a yacht for 2010 and beyond. And definitely faster too. If you want to do a bit of IRC? ORCi? Performance? – all good, with the numbers and performance to back it up. It’s not a ‘rule’ boat and has simply been designed to be a light, fast, simple yacht built to strict one design guidelines.

Top Ten Cyclists of all time

From LISTVERSE - A guide I like

This is a list of the top ten best road bicycle racers of all time. My criteria are that the bicycle racers have performed well in both the three big stage races – Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España – but also in the minor stage races such as Tour de Suisse, Paris-Nice and Dauphiné Libéré and the Classics like Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I have not looked at doping verdicts or accusations as trying to separate the “clean” from the “guilty” would lead to absolute chaos.

10

Jan Ullrich

Jan Ullrich is a German former bicycle racer born in 1973. He won the Tour de France in 1997, the white jersey in 1996, 1997 and 1998, and he has 5 second places in the Tour, this earned him the nickname: The Eternal Second. Ullrich has also won Vuelta a España in 1999 and the Tour de Suisse in 2004 and 2006. Other notable wins are the World Time Trial Champion in 1999 and 2001 and the Olympic Road Race in 2000. Ullrich is a powerful bicycle racer with a soft, athletic style, but he often got out of shape during the off-season and had problems losing the extra weight before racing the big races.

9

Lance Armstrong

The American Lance Armstrong holds the record of most victories in Tour de France with his 7 consecutive wins. Armstrong also won the 2001 Tour de Suisse and the World Cycling Championship in 1993. This earns him a place on this list, but because Armstrong never impressed in the Giro D’Italia, the Vuelta a España or the Classics, I can’t place him any higher on the list.

8

Miguel Indurain

Miguel Indurain was born in Spain in 1964. He has won the Tour de France 5 times in a row and the Giro D’Italia 2 times in a row. He has also won the Olympic Time-Trial Championship in 1996 and the World Time-Trial Championship in 1995, as well as two wins in both Dauphiné Libéré and Paris-Nice.
Indurain was relatively big compared to other professional riders – 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) and 80 kg (176 lbs) – this earned him the nickname “Miguelón”, meaning “Big Mig”. At the top of his career, Miguel Indurain had a physique that was not only superior when compared to average people, but also when compared to his fellow athletes. His blood circulation had the ability to circulate 7 liters of blood around his body per minute, compared to the average amount of 3-4 liters of an ordinary person and the 5-6 liters of his fellow riders.

7

Fausto Coppi

Fausto Coppi was born in Italy in 1919. He won the Tour de France twice, in 1949 and 1952, and the Giro D’Italia five times in 1940, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953. He also won the World Championship in 1953, the Giro di Lombardia in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1954, the Milan-Sanremo in 1946, 1948 and 1949, and the Paris-Roubaix and the La Flèche Wallonne in 1950

6

Felice Gimondi

Felice Gimondi was born in Italy in 1942. In 1968 Gimondi was nicknamed “The Phoenix” after winning the Vuelta a España, this victory made him the second rider after Jacques Anquetil to win all three big stage races, he is one of only five riders to ever win all three. Gimondi won the Tour de France in 1965, the Giro D’Italia in 1967, 1969 and 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1968. Gimondi also won Paris-Roubaix in 1966 and the World Road Cycling Championship in 1973.

5

Gino Bartali

Gino Bartali was born in Italy on 1914. He has won the Tour de France twice, in 1938 and 1948, both times also winning the mountain competition, and the Giro D’Italia three times in 1936, 1937 and 1946, also here he won the mountain competition all three times. Bartali also won the Tour de Suisse in 1946 and 1947. Bartali was a good climber and a pioneer of derailleur gears. His style was unusual: he rarely danced on the pedals and often stayed in the saddle throughout a 15km climb. When others attacked, he stayed in the saddle but changed up gear, to a sprocket three teeth smaller.
He rode smoothly on mountains but every now and then freewheeled, always with his right foot lowered with his weight on it. Then a second or two later he would start pedaling again.

4

Séan Kelly

Séan Kelly was born in Ireland in 1956, and became one the most successful rider of the 1980s and the best Classics rider of all times. His wins include the Vuelta a España in 1988, 4 point class wins in both the Tour de France and the Giro D’Italia, 7 consecutive win in Paris-Nice form 1982 – 1988, 2 wins in Tour de Suisse, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liége.

3

Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil was born in France in 1934. He has won the Tour de France five time, in 1957 and 1961-1964, the Giro D’Italia twice in 1960 and 1964, the Vuelta a España in 1936 and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1966. Anquetil also holds several records:

• He was the first to the Tour de France five times
• He was the first to win all three big stage races
• He was the first French rider to win the Giro D’Italia
• He was the first French rider to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France form the first day to the last.

2

Bernard Hinault

Bernard Hinault was born in France in 1954, and is one of only five riders to have won all three big stage races, and the only to have won each more than once. Hinault is the only rider ever to have finished either first or second in each Tour de France he finished. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, the Giro D’Italia in 1980, 1982 and 1985 and the Vuelta a España in 1978 and 1983. Among Hinault many other victories are Paris-Roubaix in 1981, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1977 and 1980 and the World Road Cycling Championship in 1980.

1

Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merchx was born in Belgium in 1945 and became the best road bicycle racer the world has ever seen. He won the Tour de France 5 times in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974, the Giro D’Italia 5 times in 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1974 and the Vuelta a España once in 1973. Merckx also won the Tour de Suisse once, Paris-Nice 3 times, Dauphné-Libéré once, Paris-Roubaix 3 times, Liège-Bastogne-Liége 5 times and the World Road Race Championship 3 times. Eddy Merckx is also one of only five riders to win all three big stage races during their career, the four others are: Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador.

WHO WOULD YOU ADD TO THE LIST?

Great tech on the TdF (tour de france)

transponder ziptied onto seatpost

Several riders using SRM power meters on their bikes in this year’s Tour de France are also toting small wireless data transponders that are zip-tied to their seatposts. Teams can use the information to monitor the performance of their riders during the stage and race fans can follow along in real-time through a link on SRM’s website.

“The data being sent is the same as what’s displayed on the PowerControl on the riders’ handlebars [including] power, cadence, heart rate, speed, etc,” said SRM’s Mike Hall. “This is then transmitted to a cell tower, then to our servers, then back to television, webcasts, etc. The telemetry is Uli’s [Fahl, SRM founder] effort to bring power data to the masses for direct viewing in real-time during events. Most event organizers are interested in promoting this to bring more viewers and hits to websites and TV viewing.”

screenshot SRMlive

SRM have equipped several riders in this year’s Tour de France with real-time data transponders so that fans can see performance metrics in real time.

For those already familiar with power, such information elucidates just how hard the riders are working but there’s value even for novice viewers who are just in it for the spectacle. Indeed, such public on-screen telemetry is already commonplace in motorsports such as Sailing, Formula 1, Moto GP and NASCAR so people can see just how different those experiences are from rushing through freeway traffic when you’re late for work. Likewise, the casual road racing audience can marvel at just how different pro riders are from average folks – quite literally, this is no spin in the park.

James Bowthorpe – Ride across America – RAAM

ROAD.cc

Cast your mind back to the London Bike Show in January and you may recall we spoke to everyone’s favourite ginger-bearded long distance specialist James Bowthorpe about his plans to ride the RAAM this year. Well he’s still going to ride but the date’s gone back a year, to 2012. And to mark the year-to-go point in his training he’s going to be riding for 24 hours straight in the window of Look Mum No Hands. And then doing a talk. Assuming he can still talk.

James is aiming to ride 300 miles in 24 hours, starting at 7.30pm on Weds 15 June. To put the challenge of the RAAM into perspective, you’d need to do that ten times in a row, with four hours’ sleep between each ride, to even finish within the time limit of 12 days. The record time is a scarcely believable 8:03:11, set by Rob Kish in 1992. The RAAM seems like madness to most people but James is relishing the challenge, and he reckons he’ll be fresh enough after his window stint to do a presentation on his plans for the year, which include training for the Paris-Brest-Paris, several non-stop MTB rides and a Hudson River adventure. It’s bound to be an interesting evening so worth getting along to if you’re in the area.

James will be riding a Qoroz road bike on a specially adapted Rollapaluza rig, with a giant LED display to show the time and distance elapsed. If you’re passing, get on down and cheer him on. He’ll need all the encouragement he can get!

Look Mum No Hands! 49 Old Street, London, EC1V 9HX

http://www.lookmumnohands.com

The Alinghi Spearing of Team Extreme

It is a bit old news but just around to watching the footage of Team Alinghi showing just how much damage can be done with a small miscalculation in the ferocious Extreme 40 Catamarans, when they misjudged a duck around the stern of starboard tack Team Extreme in the recent Istanbul round of the series.

With damage so severe that the Team Extreme boat is a near right-off – the Extreme team can be forgiven for being more than a bit pissed off with the seemingly light sentence handed down in the post race protest meeting. They need to be a bit more clued up the rudders were practically out of the water (and had no steerage) and only dumping the main would have settled them but they probably didnt want to lose the speed …..

The really interesting thing will be to see if this classic catamaran nosediving tendency carries forward to the Americas cup boats (AC45). So far they have seemed to be more buoyant in the bow but I am not sure they are really pushing them yet. For sure what will make for exciting sailing is the speed of these machines – the 45s will be way faster than the extreme 40s and the AC90 will be beyond extreme!

americas cup teaser video

Will the reality match the hype? Right now, the hype, at least on video, is pretty damn good. Maybe they should just produce the entire AC via 3 minute you tube clips? Might get a larger audience…

Scary descent speeds on a roadbike

From a while ago on the Tour De France …. 100km/h

The race is never over until it is over

this must have been painful to his pride ….

Have a look at this – video wont embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxjIn3wh6I&feature=player_embedded

iPhone iPad app to make your sailing better

Best sailing tool might not be a gps or amazing fitness – it may be post race analysis to see where you are poorest … tactics. This is fascinating for sailors wanting to improve. I was watching a series the other night on my my iPad and it was really interesting to see why the goog always rise to the top. Was watching on particular race series and enjoyed one were a guy who was pretty good had a bad second race start … was interesting to see how he tacked his way out of trouble on the first leg. See their home page here

BLURB

We’d all like to improve our sailing, but often it’s hard to really know what to improve. On a typical weekend, the good guys are quickly in front and there is no way to tell what they are doing right and you wrong.

Sometimes a race is lost on a “bad leg”, but what actually happened and what went exactly went wrong? Often we never find out. How do we identify our current weakest point of sailing that we should be attending to first? What is needed is information; hard facts, that are often not available to you on the race course.

With the availability of inexpensive GPS tracking devices, such as the QStarz BT-Q1000X,  it’s now easy to record a boat’s track around the course. And with TackTracker, you can play your GPS tracks and watch the race again, as it happened or navigate tack by tack.

But TackTracker is much more than just a player. It is a race analyser, and can give us leg by leg information on how far we have sailed, how fast we were going, and how high we pointed on both port and starboard tack.TackTracker can even deduce the ambient wind direction, and indicate which tack a boat is on at any time, and whether it was close hauled, reaching or running!

Its fun to play your track around the course, and there are plenty of things to learn. The real value is attained when a number of sailors get together and share their tracks with each other. Then you can ascertain who travelled the shortest distance on the windward leg, who was sailing fastest, and who highest. At moments in the race where you may have fallen back, you can see what you were doing in relation to the other boats you were competing with.

 

A Complete GPS Solution

TackTracker is designed to deliver a complete solution, streamlining and automating the entire process from uploading tracks into the software, archiving and managing tracks, to viewing and playing tracks.

The track browser maintains a library of your tracks organised by date, so you can easily find tracks from past races.  You can select individual tracks, or an event (race) which may contain multiple tracks. As each track or event is selected, it is displayed in the track player.

The track player has a group of navigation buttons at the bottom, which you can use to drive your boat around the course. You can also press “Play” and sit back and watch. Then speed up and slow down the action as required.

The track player lets you pan and zoom with the mouse, or you can turn on “auto zoom” to have the player automatically track the race boats. You can also drag the mouse to create a distance and bearing meter allowing you to assess the separation between boats at any point.

Races are defined in the “Event Editor”, where you set the start time and lay the course marks. This is all done graphically, allowing you to define the course in a matter of minutes. Once the course is defined, all participating tracks are analysed and all race legs computed. The Legs table gives you a summary of all the key statistics for each leg for each competitor.

 

You can sort the table by any column to compare results for any leg or competitor. Powerful!

TackTracker also has a great range of interactive charts that provide additional insight into your boat’s performance. The speed chart shows boat speed over the course of the current leg, whilst the deviation chart shows how high or low you are sailing to the true course. Together, these charts are an effective visual summary of your sailing efficiency.

The vertical bar indicates your current location. As your boats progress through the leg, the bar moves to the right. Alternatively, you can drag the bar with the mouse, and the boats will follow. (My daughter says this is really cool!)

There’s lots more to TackTracker, but this will serve as a quick introduction.

To learn more, the best thing you can do is download and install the free race player from the Download page. You can watch and interact with races available online that have been recorded at regattas for a range of classes. You can also read the User Guide, available from here.

I hope you have fun using TackTracker and that it helps you improve your sailing.

 

For a limited time, the TackTracker Player App is a FREE download from the Apple App Store.  Go to the App Store

New! You can now get a TrackTracker Player for your iPhone and iPad. You can browse the online races database and play and review all the racing from the convenience of your handheld device, wherever you are.  You’ll be impressed by the full-featured player with multi-touch panning and zooming and all the familiar graphics from the PC players. Includes a full regatta browser, competitor selection, and leg by leg stats and charts. See stats and charts for any two competitors side by side.

This new player is the first manifestation of a significant investment TackTracker is making in the Apple platform. We now have all the core software running natively in Apple’s application frameworks. Stay tuned for more to come.

iPhone Screen Shots

 

Searchable Regatta Index. Tap any Regatta to see the Regatta detail, including a photo and list of races.
Player: Note you can tap in the player to hide the top navigation bar.

 

 iPad Screen Shot

The iPad is a wonderful medium for TackTracker, with plenty of screen real estate for a compelling replay wherever you are.

 

I love these MASH UP races: Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks Main Race: The money was almost mine! well this was the main race for the MASH store opening.. i had crushed the TT part for fixed but Kyle got me at the end for the main. And the 2nd place roadie passed not 1st! Super fun race though!