Recent comments

you keep your seatpack in your backpack?

...and I reckon he's got the desire to win a classic. He's also going well at the moment, and the backing of a good lead out train.

Chavanel would be great to see, he'll probably attack after 4k, and keep on doing it if they reel him back, he is such a great rider for entertainment value.

My money is on Cav, but that's just because I really want him to win it.

Cryptic, eh! On-One Pompino. Enough fun for anyone.

I'm jealous of those of you doing this - my fitness is a good year at least away from this being even a remote possibility - best of luck, and enjoy yourselves!

(And yes, 25s would seem a good idea... )

 Not as full as usual but:
17in laptop+power cable,
various usb cables,
wireless dongle thingy + little aerial,
business cards, business cards from my last job, business cards from the job before that (so three years old),
bills + bank statemements all mulching down nicely, some some of which transplanted from previous back in 2006,
Eurobike lanyards 2006, 2007, 2008,
IceBike, 2007,
Fishers, 2009, (just lobbed about three years of Cycle Show ones),
BikeRadar launch party invite,
memory sticks x3,
2 dead inner tubes,
Park multi-tool,
Argon 18 brochure,
notebook,
biro,
bits of silver paper.
Passport! (wondered where that was),
wallet,
cheque book,
rear LED,
beanie hat,
E-cell emergency capsule,
Claq
bundle of old dvds a mate gave me to use as bird scarers on the allotment (two years ago)
Kryptonite New York lock - to keep it all safe

I've got two other bags for other occasion pre-filled with comforting levels of old crap - ready to go at a moment's notice. Organisation is the key in these matters!

As you say Shaun fabulous resitance training - especially if you've popped into Sainsburys on the way home too. Any bike feels light when I take this bad boy off - so a very cheap and effective way of giving an instant performance upgrade.

Late breaking… just found two brake blocks… no, make that three and two bottle cage bolts in the pocket that should have a rain cover in it but doesn't so I don't to there much.

my Timbuk2 is worse than a womans handbag, it's heavy with grubble before i've even put anything needy in

2 sketchbooks, a camera, a handful of pens/pencils and a PrittStick, drivers license, my sisters front-door key, a watch that stopped two years ago, mini-pump, allen-key multi-tool, inner-tube, a Buff, Rapha cap, Kona beanie, 2 cheque books and a paying-in book, 2 tyre levers, 1 American cent coin, glasses case, 4 safety-pins, a plastic-bag, three sachets of sugar stolen from coffee-shops, 1 flat-head allen bolt (bottle-cage size), a little tin of French menthol sweets, the plastic bit off the end of a firework (now binned), a confetti of receipts and pieces of paper with useful things written on

 'Flat' makes a pleasant change every now and again.

Hope you're going to take your camera to Flanders and have you checked out Rapha Condor's tips to riding the cobbles

I have the flat barred version and can agree with the adaptability comments. Initially set up with a 7 speed cassette and single chain ring to give a bit more flexibility. After another bike was stolen I needed more gears for winter so fitted a s/hand 105 cranks and cassette and swapped a thumbie for some XT shifters.
I started doing a bit of touring and needed more gears so a triple was added.

Also did the Hell of the North Cotswolds on it last year and it was a blast off road - really surprised me. Struggled uphill, but that was my legs....

Relatively affordable if you live in the US - but if you live in the UK you also have to get it shipped over  - the frame and fork come to about £300 on their own. Plus if you live in the UK you'd have to build the rest of it up over here or else be liable for tax when you imported it.

The other problem is that Soma don't ship overseas although fair dos somebody from the UK could buy one in a US online shop that does.

In the UK at £500 a Charge Plug counts as a relatively cheap bike. I'd be very, very surprised if you could get a new bike made from Tange Prestige for that money in this country - particularly now that the pound has tanked against the dollar and the euro.

If you're in the US Jorge you've definitely got one on us there

For a Tange Prestige-tubed frame that can be relatively affordably built into a singlespeed/commuter, check out SOMA's 'Rush' frame.

Yes, I'd say he'd definitely got some storm drain issues there.

Those people in Copenhagen don't look to be going as fast as this fella, they do sort of make we wish I lived in Copenhagen though.

Obviously all definitions of cool are to some degree subjective (I should know I'm a hamster) , but he doesn't look that self consciously cool to me… not with that umbrella, and what looks like a knotted hanky on his head. His main problem seems to be that he has persisted with the crappy umbrella long after the point where it has ceased to do him any good - doesn't look like he's any wetter after splashdown.

okay...that sounds good to me.

Im on one point! Roll on summer.