RESTING !

Since returning to Austria i have felt like i am back in the winter since just about every day has had rain if not all day . Certainly the periods of the day i would normally choose to ride . Generally i prefer to get going as soon after 9am as possible as with a good breakfast i am able to sustain several hours of effort and after warming up will even go for the climbs but the afternoon sessions tend to be more about passing the time even with a good lunch having replenished lost energy .

Wednesday was a day when i managed both morning and afternoon sessions but Thursday turned out dismal weather all day and Friday only improved in the afternoon and with using the " Specialised Frame " donated during the TDF i found myself doing a few adjustments as i headed out to enjoy the sun . Having ridden with a local for a while i decided against heading uphill with him and continued elsewhere and in doing so incurred a puncture . Of course the wheels i was using were redundant to my normal road use and are used on the Tacx trainer normally . The tyres are older Vittoria kevlar that have seen more miles than i care to think about , so i should not have been using them .

The wheels are Shimano R540 16 spoke style ,about 10year old also and are no longer used for the tours as the spokes are beginning to be unavailable . Whilst i still have some spare spokes i have not found any in the shops in the past 5 years . When the wheels were given to me by Max of MIC , i had no idea how many miles they would be expected to survive . The reason for using these wheels was that the casette is a 9 speed as are the shimano 105 STI levers on the frame . Since returning to Austria i have changed the chain and twitched the brake action so that the right hand controls the rear brake as is the case with all my bikes .

The saddle is about to change since it is a " softy " and i over the years have enjoyed the use of " San Marco " Magna and Carbon saddles which my rear end finds more comfortable . The current item is a " Ritchey Pro " and like all leather style saddles will suffer damage easily .

Chainset cranks are about to be changed also as i have several Shimano 105 cranks that will do the job and look more at home than the " specialised brand " on this frame .

During the crap weather i have enjoyed reading the news reports on Cadel's victory and offer here a selection of the items that some of you may enjoy reading at your leisure :

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-cas-hearing-postponed-until-november

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/zomegnan-replaced-as-giro-ditalia-director

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/why-evans-beat-the-schleck-brothers

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/sophie-smith/blog/124575/cadel-is-aussie-cycling-s-great-white-shark

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/mark-cavendish/8666039/Tour-de-France-green-jersey-winner-Mark-Cavendish-annoyed-that-only-cycling-is-associated-with-doping.html


http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-little-aussie-battler-does-it-again--you-beauty-20110725-1hx96.html

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/theres-room-in-our-world-for-all-types-of-heroes-20110729-1i383.html

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/cadel-evans-is-he-a-hero/

Contador must be really annoyed about this further delay . At Torino i was photoed by an Italian shaking hands with Alberto at the team hotel but the guy has buttonholed me at the Grand Depart on the saturday , so as to get into the Guest area of a " sponsor " , but once again failed to email the photo ! During the years there have been many photos of which i would have enjoyed getting a copy , so if any of you out there have photos of me , PLEASE let me know so that i can arrange to either get copies or give you credit for them .

RESTING !

NEW BIKE !

Having met 4 Aussies in Les Essarts i was agreably surprised to come across them in Aurillac on Sunday night . Monday morning the team donated a "Specialised Allez elite Alloy bike sans wheels " that was surplus to their needs and thus was somewhat unlikely to make the journey back to Oz ! This frame is bigger than my black model but with seat height correct it will require a replacement stem to make it the correct length for the best fit for my use !

Perhaps i should ask my readers to nominate a "Para Athlete " who can put it to use as they train up to the level required for National Team ?

Photo of Cadel from some days ago , perhaps friday ?

Passing through the Swiss Border Control after the finish of the TDF i was stopped for a " Contents Search "! There was surprise to find 3 bikes but they went to the Internet and looked at this blog post photo and were thus satisfied that i had the ownership of the bikes . Of course a piece of paper saying you are passing ownership of a bike to another person is really not satisfactory . Yet to hear from these guys about their travels since our parting , should be plenty of stories from their visit to the Galibier and Alpe d'Huez .

Come on Guys add your story !

NEW BIKE !

CADEL COMMENT

Mr up of brisbane probably has problems pulling his socks on every morning so let us disregard his comments as they were probably dictated but applied to the computer by another!
Cadel is doing the TDF and his team a great honour by his display of courage and you need look no further than the captain of the Garmin team and his companion from south africa.
Neither of those guys wish to be at home, but their teams sent them home and when the truth comes out it will be the same with BMC's choice if Cadel had allowed that !
Cadel deserves to make it to Paris but the reality is that the human body can only stand so much so it will be a day by day effort on his part to overrule the teams concerns for his welfare!

Good luck to the racers today in a cold wet Pau where i am not even thinking about walking to the start whilst my back continues to suffer from actions of the turd brigade at St John de M on the 13th( google tourdafarce for the story) !

Could even be snow/slush on the Tourmalet today so sitting in the warm watching TV with a coldie will be a first for me after riding 13 TDF routes !

CADEL COMMENT