Simon_MacMichael's blog

No-one who follows cycling will forget where they were when they heard of Wouter Weylandt’s death after that crash on the descent of the Passo del Becco, some 17 kilometres from the finish of Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia.

In my case, the worst fears were confirmed when I phoned the office as I sat on a plane about to taxi away from the departure gate at Milan’s Malpensa airport, on my way home after spending a few days at the race.

Found this video of an Oxford cyclist's intrepid commute last week.

Film is a bit speeded up, but nevertheless he/she appears to be flying - couple of nasty wobbles, but doesn't deter them from giving the camera a wipe every now and again. 

Commute is along the Banbury Road, finishing on St Giles with St John's College to the left and the Ashmolean Museum to the right.

If you like strong graphics on your frame, and you like Trek bikes, you're likely to find the Team RadioShack's Trek Madone a thing of beauty.

Just pity the poor guy at Trek's factory in Waterloo, Wisconsin who has to apply what appears to be hundreds of decals to each frame, as shown in the following video.

I've no idea how many frames he'll have to prepare ahead of (and during) the 2010 season, but if it were me, I'd be putting forward a strong case for a minimalist design for 2011.

And by the way, who knew Oakley did safety goggles?

The Guardian carried an interview with Sir Chris Hoy last week, ahead of today’s launch of his autobiography. It’s always nice to see reports about cycling in the national press, so after fixing breakfast, I settled down to read it.

Spotted this pair of four-legged fans at the Tour of Britain finale in London.

They belong to none other than Ben Swift, and if they look pretty pleased with themselves, it's probably because they got some extra-nice treats to help celebrate their master's Stage 7 win in Yeovil the previous day.

And, yes, those are Ben's hand-me-down team shirts they are wearing... truly a pro racer's best friend