Sweeties, Pies and Ginger

Patrik Sinkewitz testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone before the tour, Alexandre Vinokourov out due to blood doping, Michael Rasmussen missing tests and breaking news of another rider caught with elevated levels of testosterone. It's far too depressing.

Rasmussen has been my main man since he burst onto the Tour a few years ago; I always end up following the climbers. Anyone who can go up a hill that steep at that kind of pace deserves respect. Now it's just depressing, as much I I'd like to believe Rasmussen is clean, I know in my heart that doping is endemic in cycling and chances are he's as dirty as the rest of them.

What is even more annoying is drug cheat Millar preaching from his soap box. Quite frankly, once a drugs cheat, always a drugs cheat. Personally I think they should introduce a six month ban for the first missed dope test, a year for the second and a life time ban for the third. Also, you should get a lifetime bad for a failed dope test, this two year ban nonsense is just too soft.

So David Millar has finally admitted to taking the banned substance EPO (Erythropoietin) to boost his performance on the bike. Quite rightly has been removed from the British Olympic team and banned from this year's Tour de France. It also calls into question his Individual Time Trial success at the Worlds last year. To think that I supported this cheat is really galling; I hope they throw the book at him.

BBC News article...

You get on the bike and your arse hurts from the previous couple of days in the saddle (only because it's the third day on the trot I've cycled to work). You've got no energy and it feels like your legs are made of lead. You get to work and check your computer and you've slashed three minutes of your best time...

Went out on the bike last night, just felt a bit fed up when I got home from work and though it would cheer me up. So I left Cottenham and headed North to Wilburton and then turned left down to Aldreth. It had all been going well up to this point and the only reason I’d gone down the Aldreth is I’d never been there before and wanted to see what it was like.

Aldreth is small, is what it’s like and once you’ve blasted through it you end up spat out onto a single track farm road. This wouldn’t be so bad if the quality of the road was okay, but it was terrible. It reminded me of the Paris-Roubaix World Cup cycle race that is dubbed the “Hell of the North”, as they cycle along single track cobbled farm roads.

What I could see was quite scenic, although it was all a bit shoogly as I was being bounced all over the place by the holes in the road. I’m just really glad that I’d pumped up my tyres to 120psi and that it wasn’t raining. As nice as it was I don’t think I’ll take that detour again and I’ll just head for Willingham.

So once I was back on the main road I headed for Willingham and then Rampton, before coming full circle back into Cottenham. I was totally knackered by the time I got back and my arse was in agony from my new saddle. I think I’m going to have to adjust it all before I go out on it again, I’m not sure if the new saddle has slightly increased the height of my riding position or not. The new helmet was great though, as you could really feel the air flow over your head, something, my old helmet actively discouraged.

I've been using some of the money I was given when I was made redundant from Accelrys to buy some new bits for my bike. I fitted a new saddle the other weekend, one of these fancy ones with the cut out bits to relive the pressure on your bits. I bought a new pair of shorts, although they are way too warm to wear in the current heat wave.

I decided that a new helmet would also be a good idea since my old one was over 7 years old and have been bashed around, so I've now got a fancy new one with loads of ventilation. I even spent a short period this evening fitting new inner tubes and Continental Grand Prix tyres to both wheels, this only leave a set of new brake blocks and I'm ready to roll.

So why have I been doing all of this when I haven't been on the bike in anger since last year? I decided that it was about time I cycled to and from work again, as well as going for recreational cycles in the evening or at weekends. I like my bike, it looks mean, I should really use it more and besides a bit of exercise would probably help me physically.

So if you're a car driver in the Cambridge area you'd better beware, cross me when I'm on my bike and you're insurance company will gladly up your premiums.

I was in right copout mode this morning, as I just didn't want to cycle to work. Yesterday I didn't feel like it either as the inside of the left thigh was giving me a bit of jip, but I climbed on and everything was fine. This morning I woke and god was I stiff, everything felt like it was screaming in pain, my back, my legs and across my chest, I just felt like a wreck. I'm not sure if it was just me being a lazy sod, but I sit here at work and every time I have to stand up I get shooting pains in my thighs and I can barley hobble around.

I was totally dead to the world this morning, it took me ages to actually wake up and when I did I got the fright of my life. Karen left to go to the gym and I was so tired that I feel asleep again, when I came to and looked at the time it was 9 o'clock, I was going to be well late for work. I jumped out of bed, fed the cats had a shave and was about to jump in the shower when I looked at the time again, imagine my surprise when it was only five past eight.

The cycle into work was pretty uneventful until the last major junction before the office, this is a particularly bad junction due to the lay out of the road. I'd been cycling in my usual short sleeve shirt and shorts and it was a bit on the chilly side, I think it's time to start wearing the windproof and the over boots all the time now. I still had the muggy not full awake feeling at the back of my head, but not enough to compromise my cycling ability.

The problem with this junction is that you turn right and then immediately turn left onto a different road. Cars coming down the road you've turned right onto, also want to go down the road your then turning left into to. The problem stems from the fact that the entrance to this road is very wide, and cars turning right across you just ignore the fact that you're a cyclist and turn right regardless.

This stupid cow in a white Rover has obviously seen me as I'd just turned right and was steaming straight towards her. As I was turning left she just ignored the whole concept of give way and followed the car in front of her into my path. If I hadn't been paying full attention I'd have been under her front offside wheel. Car drivers at this junction don't realize that cyclist can come through this complex doing quite a speed, which means that we have to swing into the middle of the road as we turn left.

Since it's my right of way, I can damm well cycle into the middle of the road if I so choose. As it happens the road surface isn't the greatest next to the curb, so floating into the middle of the lane sets you up to miss some puncture prone surface. Car drivers just don't seem to realise the speed you're going at, nor appreciate where you're going to end up. It must be something to do with the fact that they're encased in a lump of metal and think they own the road.

The only good thing to come out of it all was that it woke me up, I no longer feel tired. All I feel instead, is a massive pent up anger and frustration that some car drivers are a bunch of fucking idiots who need a damm good kicking. I feel so incapable of venting this anger and frustration and I know it's going to lead to a nasty accident at some point in the future.

The worst thing about cycling at this time of year has to be the weather, yesterday it was chucking it down, but today is all clear blue shies and sunshine. This variability in the weather leads to occasionally getting wet on either the way into work, or on the way home in the evening. I’ve still not worked out which is worst yet, as it really depends on how wet you get and what sort of drying facilities you’ve got.

I got wet on the way into work yesterday, but it wasn’t really wet enough to totally soak me so my clothes were dry enough by the time I went home. There was a lot more standing water on the way home and I got properly soaked, so everything was hung up to dry. Since its still autumn we haven’t yet started using the central heating and it was quite chilly lat night, chilly enough for us to get the small fan heater out to warm the living room up a bit.

This all meant that bits of my clothing didn’t really get a chance to dry, as it wasn’t warm enough. So you can imagine my delight at pulling on my shorts only to feel the damp crotch area sliding up my legs. My gloves weren’t totally dry, but it was my shoes that were the worst, still completely sodden. A nice hot shower at work this morning should have cured any after effects of the damp, I just hope the office is warm enough to dry off the remains of my gear for the cycle home.

It was well windy on the way into work this morning, which made for a slow cycle, I made it in an average of 16.6mph, which is pretty slow. The only good thing about a strong head wind on the way in is that it generally means a strong tail wind on the way back. This meant that I could really put the boot down and managed a maximum of 28.7mph and an average of 20.9mph on the 3.85 mile return journey.

I've been wondering if it would be possible to do the journey in under 10 minutes, but I suppose that I would have to have some luck with the traffic lights and the volume of traffic at some of the junctions. I made it home on Friday in 11 minutes 6 seconds, so going under 11 minutes shouldn't be a problem. To go under ten minutes I'd have to average around 30mph all the way home, which in my present condition, I've got no chance of doing.

This morning dawned all damp, misty and cold and I cycled to work with my over boots and windproof on, plus my rear light, just in case. Half way through the village I had to take my glasses off and they were covered in fine water droplets from the mist and I couldn't see anything. I made it to work in good time though and it did seemed to give my hangover something to think about. It just seems a bit early in the year to have to start wearing all the clobber, summer is definitely over...

Twice in the last two days I've been buzzed by arseholes in vans while cycling home. This evening I wasn't even cycling in the middle of the road or obstructing the guy in anyway. Put a twat in a van and suddenly they think they own the road and have the right to verbally harangue anyone they see fit. On the upside I made the 3.85 miles home in 11 minutes 49 seconds, at an average of 19.6 mph, with a maximum speed of 25.7 mph.