[webbo]

yes in my younger days i rode to joux plan on 42 x26 on a steel bike no less.by heck they think they've got it hard these days.

[Simon S]

They've never had it so good!

Good effort on the joux plan.

[chappers]

lance is back!
just imagine...

[Joepicalli]

Oooohh, you've got a 27 on the back....tut, tut! It's only good having a 53-39 on the front if you can back it up a 21-11 on the back

I've gone for a 50-34 on the front with a shiny new SRAM 26-11 on the back. Bring on the cols!

50-34 all I've ever ridden absolutely brill for the south of france and has taught me to spin rather than push on the flat.

[jfw]

just back from mallorca...

spent a few days being terrified on a bike before another week of being terrified above the sea

aren't road bikes brilliant?!

highlight of cycling week was this



there is actually a bit where the road goes under itself like a scalextric track...

anyway my laughable cornering capability (road bikes feel all twitchy rake) combined with brake hoods where i could hardly cover the brakes and homicidal coaches - meant i probably road about as fast down it as i did up it (in fact i had to stop to rest my hands on the way down - and didn't stop at all on the way up).

this obviously was a bit frustrating for shy yorkshireman who felt honour bound to peiodically stop to make sure i wasn't decorating the road surface or the front of a coach with bits of flesh and lycra.

here are some boys doing it a bit quicker



Think i may have to join the peleton, maybe find an end of season bargain. 

(we hired bikes in porto pollensa on this trip)

[Percy B]

Just got back from France, where logistics didn't quite work out (to say the least) and I never made it to the southern alps. I did however spend a week camping in Bourg d'Oisans in the campsite right at the start of Alp d'Huez so got a bit of riding in. Rode up Alp d'Huez on two seperate occasions (the second time i managed it in 1 hour and 2 minutes, my time only effected by a nose bleed halfway up - never pick your nose when riding on bumpy tarmac on a cold morning with a heart rate of 175....its a recipe for disaster!). Also rode up the Croix de Fer (a truely painful climb - a total war of attrition the whole bloody way), col du Glandon and the very nice and under-rated col d'Ornon. And from this I have learned....

1 - I like riding in the mountains
2 - I only like riding in the mountains after a few very trying days of getting my eye in - the first few biggun's you ride could break you in every way
3 - Compacts rule in the Alps - compared to last years cols on a 53-39.....never again!
4 - My best time on Alp d'Huez is only 14 minutes slower than Bernard Hinaults best effort  but sadly my time is still 25 minutes slower than Pantanis record of 37 minutes! Mind you, I am not on the same medication as the Pirate was......the cheating little fucker....
5 - I would still like to ride the Marmotte, but would need to do some serious training before I think. The Glandon, then the Telegraph, Galibier and a finishing spin up alp d'huez is no picnic, I have now discovered!
6 - I would really like to ride up alp d'huez in under an hour - its the benchmark for a climber, so they say...

[tlr]

Sounds brilliant - lets get signed up to the Marmotte. Plenty of time for training. Probably.

[Baron]

I did Hagg Hill on the way home last night and nearly threw up at the top. Is this normal behaviour?

[Percy B]

- lets get signed up to the Marmotte.

Well, maybe. I would just like to add that having been out in the Peak for a quick ride this morning, all the usual hills seem a bit lame. On the big cols in the alps I spent most of the time spinning 34-26 - the first time I had ever used the 26 in anger! I always wondered what it was for!

I also learned that you should never look at average gradients for cols - I suckered myself into riding the Croix de Fer because the average gradient is only 5.5% (for 32 kms, mind, which is like a slightly steeper version of Froggatt hill but 6 times the length)!  However, this didn't take into account the viscious descents on the way up - one of which is a kilometer of 12% downhill down 5 hairpins which made me dread the prospect of the return trip down the col only to be faced with a nasty section of climbing when I should've been freewheeling my way the victory......bastards! The only plus side was that I hit 85kph on the descent which was very invigorating

[Bubba]

The only plus side was that I hit 85kph on the descent which was very invigorating

Wow! That seriously fast 

[fatdoc]

I did Hagg Hill on the way home last night and nearly threw up at the top. Is this normal behaviour?

yep!


well done perc,

now when do you change thread and get a MTB for the winter dude?

[Percy B]

All right, I'll admit that I am looking to purchase a MTB
Just for messing around on, mind. General XC sort of stuff. Any advice (bouncy front and back, or just bouncy front?) And it would have to be a reasonably priced affair too - got nappies to buy you know......

[fatdoc]

fuckin get in.

Budget please

Second hand or new?

[Percy B]

No more than £600 if possible and as good as I can get for the money - decent second hand or maybe a new one in the winter sales....

[tlr]

You ought to be able to get this for less than £600, otherwise you'll be looking at hardtail if you buy new, even in the sales I'd think.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12587186

Go on, just give Fatdoc a bundle of used notes and let him get on with it. It'll save a lot of heartache and hassle in the long run for you.

[fatkid2000]

Good work Percy - I'm well jealous. I've not been on a bike for three weeks, but am rarring to go - I'm feeling seriously strong, but will probably be knackered after a mile or so.

[Norton Sharley]

Percy - were you too scared to post under the "Ask Fatdoc" thread?  You dare not leave the fold of roadies yet then? 

[Percy B]

Percy - were you too scared to post under the "Ask Fatdoc" thread?  You dare not leave the fold of roadies yet then? 

And likewise, what are you doing browsing the leg shavers thread, Norton? That lycra fetish you've being keeping secret from the roughtie tufftie MTB boys looks like being found out before too much more time passes 

Fuck it - I spose its round to Fatdocs with the cheque book for the sales pitch on some big heavy pile of steel 

[fatkid2000]

Well I've just read that Mr Armstrong is going to ride le tour next year with Astana - to try and quash the view that he was a drug fuelled cheat. He'll be 38 by the tour - and in the same team as this years Giro & Veulta winner Alberto Contador. So is he mad? Will Contador want to ride as a team rider rather than the leader? Or will this just confuse thngs further, as to whether he was dabbling in the chemists cabinet during the Armstrong glory years???

[fatdoc]

if i were contador id smack him on the nose...

[Norton Sharley]

Percy - were you too scared to post under the "Ask Fatdoc" thread?  You dare not leave the fold of roadies yet then? 

And likewise, what are you doing browsing the leg shavers thread, Norton? That lycra fetish you've being keeping secret from the roughtie tufftie MTB boys looks like being found out before too much more time passes 

Fuck it - I spose its round to Fatdocs with the cheque book for the sales pitch on some big heavy pile of steel 

Mate, reading this  thread is a bit like reading UKC.  Once in a while I feel like I need to check what the other half are doing... and then leave the sad bastards to it 

[fatkid2000]

So Percy is going to get an MTB, Norton is coming out with his lycra fetish - and we can all live happily ever after.

[Percy B]

Good news for all of us roadies who have recently become fathers - Breast milk contains a very potent and natural source of EPO.

Awesome - I reckon my Froggatt hill time will tumble if only I can persuade the missus to let me have go on the baby feeders....

[SteveM]

If you're dreaming of new bikes... try this one on for size...

[Percy B]

Useful site if you like riding up hills...

http://www.climbbybike.com/index.asp