Here’s the route map thanks to Gmap Pedometer.

By the numbers:

• Distance: 28.8km (17.9 miles)
• Time: ~ 1 hour 20 mins
• Average HR: 135
• Maximum HR: 170 (took it easy!)
• Calories: ~ 1149 (estimate from Polar)

Picture from Dad of a spin we had out last Friday.

Brief update with details from my cycling & camping tour to Loire Valley in August 08

940km total
15 days cycling
63km/day average
~40kg gear on bike

Tour photo set on Flickr

The canal route was pleasant, and I don’t regret cycling it, but now that I’ve done it, I think I’ll stick to a road route in future – the canal section was just too slow and wasted a lot of time early in the day. If I was on my hardtail my average speed would have been a lot better on the canal section (but not on the road ) I did take quite a few photos, but had the camera in my bar bag so that didn’t slow me up much at all. Will post all 4 videos I took while moving onto YouTube, first here: Royal Canal

Flickr set with all pictures is here

Fuel strategy was good. I made an enormous pasta bake the evening before (enough for 6 people ), ate it for dinner that night, and for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the cycle. Had 1.5l of DIY sports drink (oj/water/salt/sugar), and a camelbak of plain water. Bought some sweets (see pics) towards the 100km mark when I thought it might prevent bonk, though I was still going strong – increasing speed in fact!

The route was along the towpaths from Croke Park as far as Kilcock, then after that I was on the old N4 for most of the way. I’ve thought a lot about the next route that I’ll do, Dublin-Mayo, I’ll write up a new post for that in a couple of weeks.

All videos will be here after YouTube processes them

By the numbers

Distance: 133km
Time: 7 hours 40 mins
Avg: 17.3 km/h (approximately 12-13 km/h on the canals, 21-22 on the road)
Mechanical: 1 (broken front fender after going over a branch)
KCals (according to HRM): 6557
Average HR: 126
Max HR: 163

I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in my body fat and weight over the last 12 months and it’s past time I rectified matters. I measured a fantastic 110.8kg today — 244lbs or 17.5 stone in old money. Wow. I’m normally around 92kg or 14.5 stone. Time for a change :)

So similar to my blogging pledge, during the month of September I’m hoping to put a serious dent into that figure. Not by crash dieting or anything stupid like that, but just by healthy eating and a significant amount of exercise every day. I’ll report back here at months end and post up for the record how I got on.

• Dick O’Brien’s cycling routes

Fair play to you for the work in adding all those!

So my options are to reinstall the original theme and make some changes, or look for a new theme to work off.

I think I’ll go with the latter – so I’m looking for your suggestions! I’m interested in finding a decent looking theme. SEO optimisation would be a nice bonus, but I can add it myself if that’s not there already.

Please, if you know of any cool looking themes that might suit a sports blog, or if you really like some sports site design, let me know and I’ll take a look!

Thanks!

Alastair.

Managing director of the race Frank Bertling said: “Our basic position is that we don’t want to have any riders in the Hamburg race who are on the Fuentes list.”

That list is said to include over 50 professional cyclists who were connected with a blood doping investigation, named Operation Puerto, in Spain.

Eufemiano Fuentes is the doctor said to have masterminded doping programmes for athletes.

Police raids in Madrid and Zaragoza last year uncovered large quantities of anabolic steroids, laboratory equipment and more than 100 bags of frozen blood.

Contador plans to make a prepared statement on Friday, though it is unclear what he plans to say.

From the Beeb.

He is well in front of the 152 remaining riders (189 set off from London) in the three-week long Tour. In fact, he is 24 hours ahead as he has been along the entire route so far.

Mr Bream, however, will not be sporting any yellow jersey for winning this or any other stage of the prestigious race. Nor will his team coordinator, cook, medic, mechanic and mental coach – his mother Carolyn, 68 – be up for international accolades or sponsorship windfalls.

In a week when a blood-doping scandal involving the pre-race favourite Alexandr Vinokourov cast a shadow over the Tour, the British enthusiast is setting an inspirational example to amateur cyclists.

“He doesn’t have any sponsorship and we’re doing it on a shoestring,” Mrs Bream says, having stopped her van on the Col de la Pierre St Martin mountain pass in the Pyrenees to speak to the Guardian. “I reckon by the end of it we’ll have spent, oooh let’s see, £1,500, maybe a little more but £2,000 maximum.”

According to Mrs Bream, a former primary school teacher, each day – apart from rest days – her son sets off at 8am after a breakfast of bread rolls, jam, honey and coffee.

“At the beginning we were leaving earlier but we were starting before the race officials put arrows along the route and ended up going the wrong way,” she says. “Now we start half an hour before the arrow men. After 15km they overtake us with lots of hooting and waving and cheering and we don’t go astray.

Legend.

The Englishman who is leading the Tour de France

I’m a sports addict, regularly playing rugby (3 times per week during season), sailing (twice weekly in summer) and cycling – mountain biking and cycle touring for holidays.

Starting my internet marketing business has serious impacted my fitness – for about 4 months I’ve done almost zero exercise.

I really can’t believe how much of a detrimental effect it’s had. I’ve taken back up sailing at least once a week, I’m in my first week of running from 7am-8am in the morning, and hopefully I’ll have time in late August to do a week or two touring in the Loire.

Hopefully I can report back in a couple of weeks time that I’m back on course. If so then I’ll be able to give good data on how much fitness actually does affects business performance.

I really was enjoying this year’s TdF, it was delivering really exciting tactical and strategic racing, especially the time trial and the 2 Pyrenees stages so far – brilliant! There’s been so much to enjoy up til now in the 2007 TdF:

• Rasmussen-Contador’s cat and mouse routine in the mountains
• Vino’s great TT win
• Will Evans stay in GC contention in the Pyrenees after day 1?
• Just how good will the Astana team be if they get their team strategy in order next year?
• (before Vino’s 28 minute blow-up) Is Vino or Kloeden #1?
• Lots of great up and coming riders

So what a shame and a shock it is to learn that Vino’s been done for homologous blood doping and worse again, the entire Astana team is withdrawn from the race!

I think it’s a sad day for cycling, he’s lived under the shadow of Lance and I was looking forward to see him give a good account of himself this year after being “linked” to a doping scandal just before the kick-off of last years race.

Ulrich raced 8 times in the TdF and was never outside the top 4 – an achievement any cyclist would be proud of.

It takes less than 30 seconds. Here’s how you do it:

1. Go to www.awards.ie/vote
2. Enter your details
3. Scroll down for “Best Sports & Recreation Blog” and pick “Sportcrazy.net”.
4. Check “I have checked my nominations”
5. Submit
6. Bask in the reflected glory

Please don’t wait as voting closes this week! Thanks! :)

NYTimes: Discovery to End Sponsorship of Team

Well now I’m getting a chance to find out first-hand! As I mentioned before I’ve had serious problems with my back, to the point where my [tag]GP[/tag] has been able to help me arrest the slide, but not improve my condition.

I’ve taken a colleague‘s [tag]recommendation[/tag] and am now attending his [tag]chiropractor[/tag]. The guy seems like a good guy, and I’m delighted that one of the first things he wanted was an [tag]x-ray[/tag] – he seems to be following some sort of [tag]scientific methodology[/tag] :)

In case you were wondering why the sudden drop-off in [tag]cycling[/tag] posts, now you know why I haven’t been out much on my beautiful Cross-Check, nor out on the [tag]rugby[/tag] pitch for that matter!

“It’s Not About The Bike” was not near enough to dissuade me that Lance’s actions on Stage 18 of TDF 2004 were anything but the actions of a bully forcing a smaller man to keep his mouth shut and not speak out against drugs in cycling. Even after the stage Lance said:

I was protecting the interests of the peloton. The other riders were very grateful.

It’s difficult to interpret this statement and his “zip your lips” message to Simeoni in a positive light, in any other way but “don’t speak pubically about drugs”.

After reading “It’s Not About The Bike” I had a strong admiration for Lance and the way he got through his cancer ordeal, and his cycling performances were phenomenal, drugs or no drugs.

What about “Every Second Counts“?

Well the first thing I’ll say is that I picked this up at about 1am on a worknight as some light reading before I went to sleep. I turned off my bedside lamp at 5.30am hoping that I’d survive the day on 3 hours sleep after reading all 250 pages straight through. Bonus point to Sally Jenkins – what a fantastic writer! If you are a world-famous athlete wanting to tell your story with a ghost writer, there’s no one better.

The story takes us from his preparation for his second Tour de France victory in 2000 all the way to his fourth consecutive victory in 2003. As a cyclist and sports fan I really enjoyed his description of training and the races themselves. The other part of the story is human – dealing with the events of September 11th 2001, dealing with children, his cancer foundation, the annoyance of dealing with shameful French beaucracy.

He did mention Stage 18 ’04, giving his side of the story in a few words. Although I’m not convinced by his explanation and I still think it showed the character traits of a bully, I must admit that the book has definitely influenced me back to believing he is a clean rider. I can’t pinpoint exactly why. I think it’s a combination of the way he talked about the drugs tests and their effect on his life. The book is very personal at times and after reading it I feel I know how the guy thinks. I may not like him, but I have massive respect.

Another aspect of the book is that it is inspiring. This guy took on the world and not just survive, but conquered – his message is that you can too.

To summarise: this is an excellent book – 10/10. It’s better than his first, and better than most sports autobiographies you’ll find. I recommend that everyone read this book, you might find it inspiring, or simply a captivating page-turner.

• Home Team (score)
• Visiting Team (score)
• Date
• Location
• Was this a league match or special event/tournament
• If so, what league/territory/division
• Notables
• If there are photos, what’s the website
• Other information

This kind of thing looks ideal for Microformats if you don’t want to go down the database route. I jumped on the Microformats IRC channel to find out if such a beast already exists, here’s what the guys had to say.

[23:02] * Now talking in #microformats
<sportcrazy> hi y’all
<sportcrazy> I am looking for a MF for describing sports results
<sportcrazy> do you have such a thing?
<bewest> like a news update?
<bewest> or is that like an event?
<sportcrazy> it’s an event I guess
<bewest> that’s kind of like the results of an event
<sportcrazy> an event result
<kingryan> box scores?
<sportcrazy> e.g. sport=rugby homeTeam=x awayTeam=Y homeScore=45 awayScore=22 etc
<kingryan> well, you could start by making them hCalendar events
<bewest> yeah, but that’s only the last bit of it, right?
<ntoll> hmmm…. what about ordered results (e.g. sprinting)? Use event mf within a result mf?
<bewest> the most important thing is where and when it took place, correct?
<sportcrazy> I was thinking about that
<sportcrazy> and diving etc
<bewest> that part is easy
<bewest> ordered list
<sportcrazy> the most important thing… that’s debatable
<ntoll> sportcrazy, the important thing is to re-use what is already there and only extend when needed after looking at how other ppl have marked this sort of thing up
<bewest> I suggest you start experimenting with the who what when where of a sporting event
<sportcrazy> sure
<bewest> and then try adding on top of that with scores and stuff
<bewest> perhaps with XOXO
<bewest> with some small pieces to describe the game, resulting scores and other information
<sportcrazy> XOXO?
<ntoll> so so… my first thought was to use hCalander for when, hCard for where
<ntoll> sportcrazy, marking up lists
<sportcrazy> k, thanks for your help guys, I’ll go explore what’s available
<tantek> hCard is good for marking up hCalendar locations: link

Sounds interesting – I’m going sign up to their mailing list and have a look into creating a suitable Microformat, I think it’s needed at this point. It’d have to be fairly flexible to support the many various results types. Anyone else out there working on similar ideas?

Happy [tag]Martin Luther King[/tag] (Jnr) Day to any Americans reading this! I’m disappointed to see that the Big G didn’t change their logo…

On to [tag]cycling[/tag] – exciting news – the [tag]route[/tag] of this year’s [tag]TDF[/tag] has been released! “Running from Saturday July 7^th to Sunday July 29^th 2007, the 94^th [tag]Tour de France[/tag] will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,550 kilometres.”
We already knew that this year’s [tag]Tour[/tag] is starting in dear old Blighty and now we have the details. The 8km prologue (a short time trial) will be around the streets of London starting in Whitehall. It will pass pass the Houses of Parliament en route to finishing on The Mall. The next stage also starts in London with a 200km trip to Canterbury.

On to [tag]France[/tag], the Tour will have a series of long flat stages before it enters the Alps and the major test starts. The riders will have a brief respite along the southern coastline before hitting the Pyrenees. Read more on the official TDF website.

Brian Hennigan had a wonderful rant against what he described as [tag]antisocial[/tag] [tag]cyclist[/tag]s in Tuesday’s Edinburgh Evening News.

He targeted:

• Pavement cycling: “If you don’t have stabilisers on, the road is the only place we should find you whizzing along”.
• Running red lights: “Apart from anything else, your invisibility to other road-users might just be proven in a way you did not envisage”.
• Those who cycle where it is prohibited: “one day someone is going to get fed-up with your selfish behaviour and you will be amazed how far you can travel without a bicycle when someone jams a stick in your rear-wheel”.
• Stealth ninja cyclists: “Cycling without lights at night is not some environmentally courageous way of showing how you and the owls are as one; it’s a way of being on a bicycle that says: “I don’t care about anyone else other than myself”.
• And of course, helmets: “Anyone who thinks pedalling au naturale is fine deserves whatever non-indicating delivery van might lie in their future”.

It is a decently written rant. I’d agree with Brian on almost every point excepting the [tag]helmets[/tag] issue. I think it’s not a simple argument, and I so believe it’s up to people to decide for themselves whether wearing £25 worth of potentially life-saving plastic is really that much bother. For me, there’s no question :)

So I took quite a few [tag]pictures[/tag] down in [tag]Mayo[/tag] over the [tag]Christmas[/tag] but I’ve been slow to update and tidy up my [tag]flickr[/tag] account to a point where I’m not ashamed to link to it! Here are three photo sets you might find interesting.

Around the mountain, through the forest and down the rocky road

The 23rd of December was looking like a decent day in the midst of a stormy late December, so it seemed like a good idea for Dad and I to take out the [tag]mountain bike[/tag]s for a spin. I bought him a [tag]Giant Boulder[/tag] back in August, like every good son should, and he’s become an addict, beating me in mileage since August quite easily, like every good dad should.

• Nephin Beg Trail (23 Dec 2006 – 29 pics)

A 12 mile trail around the bottom of Nephin Beg. A tough trail on hardpack forest roads with some serious climbs and a couple of crazy descents. I was hanging on for dear life on the second last, hitting upward of 32mph and realised that the trail surface was completely washed away by storms. Great fun, and as much work as a 30 mile road trip, easy.

My dad beats me

Figuratively speaking of course. Never should have bought him that bike.

Our next trip was the day after Boxing DSt. Stephen’s Day – we had a long road trip planned, from the [tag]River Shannon[/tag] on the borders of Leinster back into Mayo. Our planned route was around 47 miles with a potential bonus 20 miles if we were still up for it at that point.

Dad was again on his Giant Boulder MTB, but this time he swapped out his knobbly tyre’d wheels with a second set of spare wheels which have faster gearing and Deore hubs incidentally… courtesy of his favourite (and only) son. I was on my lovely [tag]Surly Cross Check[/tag].

• Termonbarry to Charlestown (27th Dec 2006 – 13 pics)

He beat me, because as you’ll notice in the 2nd picture of the set, he’s cleverly wearing the under-helmet head warmer that I bought him, but I decided I’d be stylish and omit mine. It was a fairly mild day and if it did get colder I’d notice and put mine on too.

Five hours and one excruciating headache later I was reaching into my pannier for my new Thermos flask (thanks Dad!) of tea, and hoping that would help with the brain freeze.

In the end we got to Claremorris just fine, despite going half-way around a large hill, turning back because it looked to be getting steeper, and having our detour take us up over the hilltop – D’OH!

Following in the Footsteps of the Four Famous Flannerys

The interesting thing about the route we followed in the road trip to Charlestown is that it’s almost identical to the route that John Mulligan took on foot. John who?

[tag]John Mulligan[/tag], a close friend of my family’s, has released a new book called “[tag]Following in the Footsteps of the Four Famous Flannerys[/tag]” (Amazon UK 8.69) This book details the journey of the four more than 150 years ago, and John’s retracing of their route in modern day.

John and my father have walked the same route as the famous Flannerys. Dad and I were cycling the final stretch of the journey that he had yet to complete.

All of the royalties and profits from the sale of this book are being donated to the [tag]Aurelia Trust[/tag] a non-profit Irish NGO that works to improve the lives of abandoned and at-risk children in Eastern Europe.

West Mayo, next stop New York

When I said “some of the most beautiful scenery in western Europe” I meant it – west Mayo is a fantastically beautiful place. Of course I’m not claiming to have captured that scenery in these pictures, but I’ve tried. These are pictures from walk on the beach in Belmullet on the west coast of Ireland on Stephen’s Day.

• Beach walk in Belmullet (26th Dec 2006 – 20 pics)

Blatant advertising

Yes, as if that wasn’t enough already – here’s the book information again!

Books on Amazon UK

• [tag]Dancing on the Waves: The Romanian Orphans and the Grand Canal[/tag]
• Following in the Footsteps of the Four Famous Flannerys: A Walk Across Ireland from Coast to Coast, Including the Royal Canal Way

Four Flannerys website

• www.fourflannerys.com

• Scenic Route – I particularly like the Tuesday Night Urban Assault reports
  
• 32 Spokes
• Cycling London
• Messenger Of Doom – curses like a motherfucker
  
• Adrian Fitch
• Treadly and Me
• Nicomachus.net
• Great Blog Of China – moaning about the government, typical feckin’ Irish
  
• The Cycling Dude
• Drunk Cyclist
• Fat Cyclist – not as fat as me
• Up in Alaska – they’re hardcore in Alaska
• Surly Blog – makers of my beautiful Cross Check!
• Blue Collar MTB – who love tape as much as me

You gotta respect Tom:

• The Amazing Shrinking Man

And a couple of bike related forums I read regularly:

• BikeForums.net
• Cycling on boards.ie

There’s a few I read that I haven’t subscribed to, I’ll add them up as I remember them.

Update: and there are some I’ve subscribed to and didn’t list – how careless of me!

• The Best Bicycle Blog on the Planet

At about 1.00pm on Saturday 25 November 2006 on the Naas Road a few hundred yards on the town side of Newland’s Cross and maybe 50 yards from Joel’s restaurant. I came upon a [tag]cyclist[/tag] who was on the ground having come off his [tag]bicycle[/tag]. While waiting for an ambulance to arrive I put his bicycle in the back of my car to keep it safe for him.

Tallaght Fire Brigade arrived and I left him in their care. I subsequently sent a text and phoned the injured man only to discover that the mobile phone number he had given me is not in service.

I understand he was taken to Tallaght Hospital by ambulance but as I do not have his name Tallaght Hospital are unable to trace him for me. I am very anxious to trace this man as he is obviously a [tag]racing[/tag] cycling enthusiast and I should think that his bicycle cost him a fair penny.

I have no other details on this man except to say that he is a white non-national.

My mobile number is 086 8224 383 and my e-mail is kmaguire at lawlibrary dot ie. If anybody knows this man and could give him my contact details, or me his, I should be much obliged.

Fair play Kevin – I hope someone would do the same for me.

Update: I got a mail from Kevin last week – good news:

Thanks Alastair,

I found my man and he has his bicycle back, however, I don’t think he’ll get to use it for a few
months yet.

Regards.

Kevin.

The [tag]Tour of Ireland Cycle Challenge[/tag] is a four day – 800kms [tag]cyclo sportive[/tag], taking in all four provinces of Ireland, involving over 500 cyclists from all over the world and will take place on the 11th of May through the 14th of May 2007 and annually thereafter.

The tour with start on the 11th of May with Stage One from the Lagan Valley Island in Lisburn City travelling through the picturesque ‘Orchards of Ulster’ to Cavan Town, continuing on the 12th of May with Stage Two from Cavan Town through the ‘Emerald Triangle’ to Galway City, continuing on the 13th of May with Stage Three from Galway City around the magnificent scenery of ‘The Burren’, continuing over the Silvermine Mountains to Kilkenny City with Stage Four on the 14th of May taking in the challenges of Co. Wicklow, passing over ‘Aghavannagh’ and the long ascent of ‘Wicklow Cap’ and onward to a grand finally and presentation dinner in Westmanstown Dublin.

An international event to start with, the organisers have a clear objective to have Ireland united on the global stage of cycling. With a longer term objective to have Ireland included in the World Golden bike series of cyclo sportive’s were the Tour of Ireland Cycle Challenge would be included in the UCI world calendar alongside such classics sportive’s as the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Classic, Paris’ Roubaix and Liege’ Bastogne’ Liege.

Link.

Raymond runs a bike shop in the Philippines called the Rocka #1 [tag]bike shop[/tag]. He asked me to link back to him in the [tag]cyclists[/tag] [tag]blogs[/tag] section of my [tag]blogroll[/tag] so I went over to see what his place was about. I was really interested in a some things on the fledgling blog, especially when he tells the story of how they got started with the shop:

When we first thought of opening a bicycle shop in October 2005 we really didnt know how to go about it . I did a short informal feasibility study and presented it to my American brother-in-law in november of 2005. as it turned out…he didnt like the small earnings so decided to beg off.

in the beginning… business was slow. Clients were coming in to see what was on display and shaking their heads in disbelief… we wanted our place to showcase middle to high end bicycles and products so our product ranges from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands for a new bicycle. Nevertheless we soon caught the attention of middle income to higher income professionals…and soon the two onlookers became groups of 5, 10 and 20 cyclists.

Looks like they have beautiful scenery too – the picture is of Raymond and his daughter up at the Taal Volcano in Tagaytay.

for me the only way to avoid conflict with cycling time and family time is to hit two birds with one stone

I agree wholeheartedly – that’s the great thing about [tag]cycling[/tag] as a sport – it’s easier to convince them to come out for a nice cycle than to head to a [tag]rugby[/tag] match :)

Instead I ordered some presents (mainly for my cycling crazy dad) from my old reliable [tag]ChainReactionCycles[/tag]. I also bought myself a pair of Shimano glasses to replace the pair I lost on crash #14 when [tag] mountain biking[/tag] up the Dublin Mountains a couple of months back. So does their affiliate tag bring in a load of $$$? ‘Fraid not – no cash involved at all. Instead they give me a link-back – mine is currently front page, which is nice, and will move back to their partner links page when someone gets around to adding the next sites in. I’d prefer to take a percentage of sales but I have to say that I’m so happy with their superb service that they’ve earned a gratuitous plug from me.

To get an idea of how much I like these guys, here’s what I’ve bought from them in 6 months. If you’re looking for a gift idea, maybe this stimulate some ideas!

• [tag] Shimano[/tag] Eyewear – Sunglasses Karida Sunglasses Gold + 2 Free Spare Lens
• Smart Lights – Front BL-201 H Twin System 6w – 6w Lead Acid
• Cannondale Headwear Balaclava
• VDO Computers Cytec C4 22 Function Wire
• Topeak Tools Compact Tool Wedge Bag 16 Piece Tool Kit – Quickclip
• [tag] Brand-X[/tag] Bags – Pannier Pannier Set Black
• [tag] Crank Brothers[/tag] Pedals Clipless – MTB [tag] Egg Beater[/tag] SL Steel Spindle – Steel Body – Blue
• [tag] Cannondale[/tag] Gloves Full Finger Windfront Glove 6G04 Winter 2006
• Endura Shorts Cycling Hummvee Baggy Shorts inc Liner
• [tag]Brand-X[/tag] Stems – MTB CNC Style 75mm 10 Deg Polished Black 1.1/8″
• [tag]Easton[/tag] Handlebars Flat EA30 XC Bar Black 580mm
• [tag]Atomlab[/tag] Stems – MTB G.I. Stem 55mm Ano Black 1.1/8″ 22.2mm Clamp
• [tag] Endura[/tag] Jackets – Bike Gridlock Jacket
• [tag]Marzocchi[/tag] Forks – Suspension EXR 2005 105mm Black – IS Mount
• [tag]Park Tool[/tag] Tools Triple Spoke Wrench Each
• Park Tool Tools Chain Wear Indicator Fits All Chains
• [tag]Tioga[/tag] Bar Ends PowerStud 6 Mini Barends Black
• Cannondale Bags – Saddle Fast Bag 17 5BO2 Each – Black
• [tag] Kryptonite[/tag] Locks KryptoLok & Kryptoflex Twinpack U Lock – 4″x9″ & 4ft Kryptofllex
• MET Helmets A-Tomo
• Gill Gloves Fingerless Amara Track Glove
• Electron Lights – Sets F&R Front 3 LED & Rear 5 LED EHP120 2 Mode Front – 6 Mode Rear
• Tacx Water Bottles Team Body Sol 500ml
• [tag]Topeak[/tag] Computers Comp 130 Computer 13 Function Wire
• Topeak Water Bottles – Cages Mono Plastic Bottle Cage Black
• Topeak Water Bottles – Cages Mono Plastic Bottle Cage Black
• Gill Gloves Fingerless Amara Track Glove M Graphite
• [tag]Muc Off[/tag] Lubricants Muc Off Bike Cleaner 1Litre
• Shimano Eyewear – Sunglasses Karida Sunglasses Clear Pale Blue + 2 Free Spare Lens (the ones I lost!)
• Crank Brothers Pedals Clipless – MTB Egg Beater C Carbon Steel Body / Wing – Black
• Gill Jerseys – Short Sleeve Urban Jersey SS XL 44″-46″ Yellow – Carbon
• Tioga Brake Pads – MTB V Brake Pads Black
• Tioga Brake Pads – MTB V Brake Pads Black

These guys are selling in the European market at American prices – but that’s not all! They’re selling at US prices with [tag] free delivery[/tag] to UK and Ireland. I’m telling you as a fellow cycling fanatic – if you need [tag]cycling gear[/tag], CRC is where you should head.

[audio:dccparty.mp3]

Sorry I didn’t get more but I didn’t want to record conversations (maybe I should get some interviews next time).

I was delighted to finally meet robfitz, whose great [tag]photos[/tag] of [tag]Dublin[/tag]‘s wonderful [tag]cycling[/tag] “facilities” I have been borrowing for recent rants blog posts. We talked about the [tag]politics[/tag] of campaigning for better facilities and some other ideas like an Irish bicycle registration website (which I’ve considered doing but dismissed as far too much hard work). Rob is a really nice guy who is far too tolerant for his own good, and I’ve promised to steal all his website ideas.

I chatted with a lovely American guy (I think it was Charles Kading from New Mexico) who was passing out flyers for [tag]World Bicycle Month[/tag] in June 2007 and the [tag]Heartland Bicycle Festival[/tag] in Wilson State Park, Kansas (June 22-24th 2007). I spoke to another Rob – sorry I didn’t get your surname, though I will buy you that pint next time! Also met a colourful ex-De La Salle debating fellow and a guy from the Netherlands.

It had been a good party but suddenly I fell in with a bad crowd… the couriers! It happened innocently enough too!
I was talking to Alan and Gary from Cyclelogical (who sold me my beautiful Cross Check)… I think Gary is part-time in the shop and he works weekdays as a courier. He has the mis good fortune of knowing DotC, another crazy courier who used to live with some friends of mine. It was great talking to several of the couriers about all sorts, and tolerable talking to the others (just kidding guys, you’re all huggable). I’m really looking forward to the 15th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in Dublin next year.

All in all it was a great night out and I hope it’s repeated. I learned a bit about the DCC and it was great to see DotC, robfitz and all the rest.

Dublin “Port Tunnel Opening” Bicycle Christmas Party: 6.30pm til later, Monday 11th December, “The Pod”, Harcourt Street Station.

The Dublin Cycling Campaign, the voluntary lobbying organisation “Working to Make Dublin A Bicycle-Friendly City” (http://home.connect.ie/dcc), is organising a Christmas Party for Dublin’s cyclists to co-incide with the opening of the Dublin Port Tunnel (in late December).

The tunnel has the potential to transform the city by finally freeing the city centre streets of many of the Heavy Goods Vehicles which have dominated the capital for many years. All cyclists, and anyone interested in transforming Dublin City into a safer and more convivial city, are welcome to the party on Mon 11th December – 6.30pm-11.00pm.

Music will be provided by bicycle messenger DJ Seán Ó Tuathail and other DJ’s. Food will be provided for those who arrive early and a bicycle-related slide show will illuminate the venue.

Only EUR 5.00 on the door.

Looking forward to meeting you at what will be a very sociable and lively night! Details / poster found at http://home.connect.ie/dcc/events/Xmas06Flyer.pdf Spread the word to all.

The DCC Christmas party will take place in Crawdaddy on Harcourt Street, Monday 11 December. It will be open to all cyclists and friends; admission €5. All Dublin cyclists should head along for the craic.

This time after 5 minutes on the bike and realising that there wasn’t a single other person insane enough to be out [tag]cycling[/tag] for pleasure within a hundred miles of Dublin, I decided that Howth Summit was a bit optimistic. Ok, so how about the Bull Island monument? Crazy, possibly stupid – sounds great!

Struggling along the coast at 12km/h practically in granny gears was a good workout, and when I got to the slipway at Clontarf Yacht Club I saw a cool sight. There was an angle made by the sea-wall and the slipway that when hit by a decent wave, forced water 25 or 30 feet up into the air. Wow – this was really cool! Even better was my discovery that I could stand on the slipway, a little way out and not get drenched, because when the water went way up in the air like that and started to drop towards me the wind was so strong that it pushed all the water away.

I’m so childish sometimes, I spent 15 minutes standing there with my bike watching the water get thrown above me and then forced away. I finally decided I’d push on for Bull Island. Water was being thrown over the sea-wall all the way along the coast line, and I saw a couple of insane joggers out, poor fools!

On the dodgy old wooden bridge out to the Island I realised that wet, shiny old wood is a very, very slippery surface. It was like cycling on an ice-rink. Thankfully the 4×4 behind me kept well back, probably on the phone to the police reporting me as someone going out to commit suicide. I managed a whopping 10 km/h average along the Bull Road with the wind coming onto my right shoulder at around 40 km/h. The most frightening section was when the wind was momentarily blocked by a bathing shelter on the right, when I passed that the gusts were vicious.

And finally to the monument! I stopped there for 10 minutes and took some really terrible pictures with my phone, as you do. Hey, I had to prove I made it, right?

The trip back was fun – sitting upright and making sure the bike stayed on the path – I didn’t actually have to pedal until I was back on the bridge, and only then because I wanted control.

On the way home I called by the rugby club to show the lads I’m still alive. The mad eejits were out training in that wind and rain, felt sorry for them. I need to head to the doctor to confirm that my back is fully healed up from the pinched disk I had, and then I’ll be back at training shortly – thankfully!

Back to the point, [tag]storm cycling[/tag] is fun, when you’re geared for it. I had wind and [tag]rainproof[/tag]s on, and vitally my new L&M Arc HID light – I’d have been lost without all that gear, couldn’t even consider going out in that weather!

• Distance: 11.5524 km – route map
• Time: 1 hour 30-ish
• Average speed: 12km/h
• Wind speed: 40km/h
• Gusts: 70km/h
• Temp: 13C/~54F

I can understand Andrea’s point about the [tag]fraud[/tag] and missing money, but nevermind that stuff. Just think Andrea, this is the kind of bullsh!t that [tag]cyclists[/tag] in [tag]Ireland[/tag] are required by law to use! What a f’cking joke!