The Rides
The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.
The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture our collective imagination as cyclists. We spend our lifetimes searching out the best routes and rides; we pore over maps, we share with our fellow disciples, we talk to non-cycling locals all in pursuit of the Perfect Ride.
The Rides is devoted entirely to the best routes and rides around the world. Some are races or cyclosportives, others feature in the Classics and stages of The Great Races, while others still are little-known gems, discovered through careful meditation on The V. Be warned: these rides are not your average Sunday Afternoon spin; these rides are the best and most difficult rides in the word – they represent the rites of passage into La Vie Velominatus. It is to be taken for granted that these rides require loads of Rule #5, many of them Rule #10, and all of them are best enjoyed in Rule #9 conditions. They have been shared by you, the community. The Rides also features articles devoted to the greatest rides and providess a forum for sharing other rides for discussion.
If you’d like to submit a ride or an article about your own favorite ride, please feel free to send it to us and we’ll do our best to work with you to include it.
[rideitem status=”public” title=”Haleakala” distance=”56km” category=”Grimpeur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50412514″ location=”Paia, Maui, Hawaii, USA”]
Haleakala is simultaneously the longest paved continuous climb in the world as well as the shortest ascent from sea level to 10,000 feet in the world. Though not terribly steep, this is a long, grinding climb that will reduce a strong rider to a whimpering lump.
To put the effort in perspective, this climb is 60km long a an average of 6% with two pitches as steep as 17%. That translates to somewhere between 3 or more hours of nonstop climbing, usually in Maui’s direct heat and often into a whipping headwind that spins around into a headwind no matter which direction the switchbacks take you.
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[rideitem statuc=public title=”Liege-Bastogne-Liege” distance=”265″ category=”Rouleur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58053308/” location=”Liege, Belgium”]
Liege-Bastogne-Liege is not only La Doyenne, the oldest of the Classics, but also represents perhaps the most demanding course in cycling. The 280 km, 3000m vertical route starts with an easy ride out from Liege to Bastogne which lulls riders into a false sense of security; the hills are frequent, but none of them terribly demanding. Into Bastogne, and the story changes on the way back to Liege with 9 categorized climbs in the second half, including the fearsome Côte de la Redoute and the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.
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[rideitem status=public title=”Paris-Roubaix” category=”Hardman” distance=”265″ url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58052610/” location=”Compiégne, France” guideurl=”http://www.cyclingpave.cc/” guide=”Pavé Cycling Classics”]
L’enfur du Nord. The Hell of The North. The Queen of the Classics. This isn’t a ride over the stones from your local brick-paved roads. You think climbs are what make a ride tough? We’ve got news for you: this is the hardest ride on the planet and it boasts a maximum elevation of 55 meters. These are vicious, brutal stones; the kind that will stretch each kilometer to their full length, the kind of stones that you will feel long after the rattling of the bars has stopped. These stones will change you. Forever.
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[rideitem status=public title=”Mortirolo/Gavia Loop” category=”Grimpeur” distance=”115km” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/59027020/” location=”Bormio, Italy” contributor=”Joe”]
The Mortirolo is perhaps the most feared pass in Western Europe, and the Gavia the most storied. Given their proximity to each other, its a wonder why this isn’t the most talked-about ride in Italy. Maybe it is; its impossible to say without being Italian. The loop nature of this ride makes it feasible as a solo escapade, but any ride with the kind of stats this one bears – 3200 meters ascended in 115 kilometers including the viscously steep Mortirolo – is best enjoyed with a riding partner or support car.
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[rideitem status=public title=”200 on 100″ category=”Grimpeur” distance=”330km” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/58052808/” location=”Vernon, VT” contributor=”cdelinks” contributorurl=”http://cyclowhat.com”]
“Dumptruck of Awesome” has become the catch-phrase associated with this brutally hard, yet strikingly beautiful 330 kilometer (200 mile) ride down Vermont Route 100. This ride was made popular during the summer of 2011 when Ted King, Tim Johnson, and a local amateur cyclist, Ryan Kelly, documented this ride on film. The ride starts on the Canadian border and finishes on the Massachusetts border. With over 2500 meters of climbing on this 330 kilometer ride, you will need to pack a few lunches to get through this one. Do this ride in the Fall, and the foliage might be beautiful enough to distract you from the horrible pain you will most certainly suffer.
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[rideitem status=”public” title=”De Ronde Van West Portlandia” distance=”76km” category=”Grimpeur” url=”http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/15276210″ location=”Portland, Oregon, USA”]
A ride that officially “never happens” each spring, this 76 km route charts a course through Portland’s West Hills, paying homage to the European Spring Classics. Approximately 1,800 meters of paved and unpaved climbs are spread throughout the course, with several sections reaching grades of over 20%. More information can be found at Ronde PDX.
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[rideitem status=public title=”Seattle Master Urban Ride” category=”Rouleur” distance=”130km” url=http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/57732282 location=”Seattle, Washington, USA”]
This is perhaps the most challenging urban route in Seattle, hitting three of the big hills that define Seattle’s topography. The route starts and ends on Phinney Ridge, but hits the climbs of Interlaken and Alder Street/Lake Dell Drive on its way to Mercer Island, before coming back to hit Queen Anne and Magnolia, weaving its way up each of these hills as many times as possible via the steepest route available before the finale to the north via Golden Gardens, Blue Ridge Drive, and Carkeek Park. Panoramic views of the Cascades, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, The Olympic Penninsula and Puget Sound makes this a standout Urban ride.
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Did my first 100 mile TT on the weekend… bloody hell that was hard.
It’s not just staying in position, it’s the constant pedalling – probably a good thing I do so much training on the turbo.
I wasn’t sure how to pitch it but I tried to go out at 80-90% to get the miles done and then hold on to the finish however I could, rather than taking it easy and trying to ramp up. I was a bit worried when I overtook my minute man at about 10 miles in – wondered if I would see him coming past me later on !
I just kept an eye on the average power and my average speed. Would have been happy with anything under 4hrs30 and my optimistic target was 4hrs15 (so avg 38 km/h). In the end I managed 4hrs10 so I was pretty pleased – and it’s close enough to aim for a sub 4 at some stage on a fast course.
Not sure I can contemplate doing it again in a hurry though. Got a 50 next week which will seem easy ny comparison I hope – I’m aiming for a new PB and a sub-2.
@Teocalli
Seems like there should be a good market for quality, original-like hairnets. Surprised they are not making any good ones.
@ChrisO
Dear GOD, Man! Why in hell would you do that?!?!? Bordering on Ironman madness there!
But, in all seriousness, that is one HELL of a Bloody Fucking incredible ride! Chapeau!
@ChrisO
Chapeau indeed! That’s great for a first 100 – I was never quite that mad – I stopped at the 50 in TTs. (PB was 2:00:24) That’s a helluva machine you have there too – wow! But why no aero helmet? Too warm?
@wiscot Taking advantage of CTT rules !
It was a bit warm yes, certainly by the last hour – very glad I wasn’t starting off at 9am, and the scratch rider ended up DNF.
But also, because I don’t normally wear one I do tend to notice the extra weight on my neck muscles, especially a heavier aero helmet. And four hours in TT position has actually left my neck and shoulders more sore than my legs.
As far as I’m aware a backwards cap is as good as, if not better, than any aero helmet anyway. While the fabric of speedsuits is faster than bare skin the helmets still have disadvantages. But I’d be lying if I said I was doing it for aero purposes.
I do wear a helmet in most TTs as I find having the visor and being able to look up without looking over the top of the glasses is quite beneficial.
@ChrisO
Yeah Gods. A Merckx. Chapeau.
good lord what a hard ride. that’s great stuff. congratulations!
@Buck Rogers
First thing I thought of too ! Ironman madness. 100 mile TT ?!? Never heard of such a thing except in Ironman races is essentially a 100 mile TT. @ChrisO cheers to that madness and effort. I did our club 10 mile TT last week… sounds so pathetic in comparison.
Well 50 done today and hit my target of going sub-2.
Was on course for a 1.56/57 when I had a little incident at a junction and my chain got jammed in the derailleur in a weird way – lost a minute trying to get it out plus the momentum.
In the end I did 1.58.10 and I guess the chain incident means I can realistically hope for a better time at some point – it’s a good course but it wasn’t a float day by any stretch of the imagination.
I really tried to get down and aero after seeing the pictures from last week. My NP was about 25 watts lower than my previous 2 hour best but I was definitely more aero – my glutes were killing me after the ride rather than my hamstrings and quads so something was very different.
@ChrisO
Chapeau
@ChrisO
Nice one Chris! The seemingly never-ending power vs aero equation.
I’ve finally got myself a power meter and in a TT a couple of weeks ago my average output was only 2 W lower than the guy who came 2nd (and who regularly beats me my 2 minutes over 10 miles). So either, my pacing is shoddy or I’m as aero as a brick wall. Probably a bit of both.
But last week, in my last 10 of the season I paced on power, rode a really controlled race (apart from the last 500m where I was suddenly riding on fumes) and set a new PB- 22:16.
Hit my season target of a sub-22:20 time and I know I can still get quicker.
@ChrisO
Curious what kind of turn out do you see at these 50 and 100 TT’s ? You get a lot of people sign up (and pay ?!) for these efforts? I can imagine a 100 mile TT where I’m from just might attract a handful of folks (if none at all ??) at best but I have no idea. I’m not even sure where we could set one of these up. 100 miles of reasonably flat without a lot of back and forths on a stretch of road. That’d be a neat little challenge to create that course. Our club will run a little 10 mile series and our State Champ TT is 23 miles. 50’s and 100’s ? Those would be hard for sure. And not just to race but also to create and attract a lot of racers. Interesting idea though. Cheers for the efforts your’e doing.
@Randy C
TTs are pretty popular in the UK – it has a lot of history from the days when road-racing was literally not permitted. It was the only way people could compete on a bike and was huge. I’m not sure when that changed but not until the 60s or 70s I think. I saw a photo recently of the programme from the 1953 annual TT association awards which were held at the Albert Hall in London – if you don’t know it, that’s like Carnegie Hall in New York !
I gather it was a bit like an illegal rave – a course code would be publicised (they’re still used – the one I did on Sunday was Q50/11) riders would go to a point and set off at one minute intervals. Often wearing black, not club colours. So if anyone official asked it was just that all these gentlemen and ladies were individually riding their bikes as fast as possible.
Consequentally the organising body, Cycling Time Trials, is not part of British Cycling and doesn’t follow UCI rules either. Most clubs will have a TT group within them and nearly every club does a 10 mile club TT on a Tuesday or Thursday in spring/summer, but there are some clubs which are basically known as attracting time triallists (or Testers as they’re often called), and more recently there are some sponsored teams like Drag2Zero and Team Bottrill who coach and specialise in TTs.
So yeah they’re pretty well attended. Most events would have 90-120 entries depending on length and time of year. The 50 on Sunday had 100. Another strange legacy is there are often places for a number of tandems and tricycles – tends to be the older guys but on Sunday there were 5 trikes entered. They aren’t expensive either, usually under £10 to enter.
In fact a TT on a fast course will often be so popular that you can’t get in unless you have a fast qualifying time (has to be set in the last three years). That was one reason I wanted to set a new PB although 1:58 still wouldn’t get me into some of the more popular ones. So some events will actually reserve places for the slowest entrants who are looking to improve their PBs but I’m annoyingly in the middle !
Other variants are:
Veterans Standards – as we don’t usually get faster as we get older there’s a thing called the Veterans’ Time Trial Association. In a VTTA event there’s a table of times called the Veterans’ Standards which is basically a target time which increase by a few seconds for each year. A bloke worked it all out in the 50s using mountains of records and they’ve pretty much stayed the same ever since. So the 50 mile target for a 50 year old is 2:20:00 and for a 40 year old it’s 2:17:52 and for a 65 year old it’s 2:28:38. That means when I did 1:58:10 I got a ‘plus’ time of 23:50. A 40 year old who did 1:56:52 would beat me by over a minute on scratch but I would win on standards because his plus time was only 21:00. There are usually prizes for outright place and for place on veterans’ standards at most events. The table goes from 40 to 100, and I have seen a 90 year old competing – in fact he won on standard !
SPOCO – so because a lot of testers are very obsessed with getting PBs what can happen is they either don’t enter unless it’s a fast course and then if it’s bad weather they just don’t turn up. A ‘float day’ is the term people use for days when conditions are perfect. And when people don’t turn up you get big gaps in the start list and it takes away the fun of chasing your minute man (or being chased). So there’s a thing called the Sporting Courses association which promotes events on more challenging courses (a ‘sporting’ course is one that is rolling or hilly) and apart from positions on the day they award points in a series based on your placing and there’s some other complications of previous performances etc. I’ve done some of their events but not the series so I can’t recall the details.
Generally the TTs don’t have to be flat, but you do need a course that doesn’t have interruptions like traffic lights. Sometimes you have to deal with pedestrian lights and other road stuff but generally they try to make it left-turns only (right turns for you). If there is a possible bad intersection they might have a rule like everyone having to stop and put a foot down, or not be on aero bars through a section.
So yeah, it’s quite a thing here and you do sort of feel like you’re part of a distinct cycling tradition when you do it, even though you’re turning up with carbon disc wheels and a magic hat !
Just to clarify, the Veterans’ Standards apply to various distances too e.g. 10, 25, 50, 100, 12 hour, 24 hour and there are male/female categories.
Even with irregular distances (SPOCO events are often non-standard distances) there are Standard times calculated for veterans (40+).
@ChrisO
The PB obsession means that round here you only get good turn outs on the few flat drag courses.
I personally like the idea of ‘racing’ a TT, by which I mean trying to place as high as you can or beat someone who you’re similar in ability to.
I rode a 10 on a sporting course a couple of weeks ago, did 23:44 but was actually quite pleased. I took over a minute out of my minute man (who was a woman), who had recorded exactly the same time as me the week before.
I’m all for a sporting course with draggy hills, crap surfaces and wind as it’s the only time I’m likely to beat the skinnier aero guys who are good on flat drags.
@ChrisO
First of all chapeau on the sub 2 hour 50. The closest I got was 2:00:24 on a course near Stirling.
All our courses were GD something (Glasgow District). The code was created (I believe) when mass-start racing was banned and TTs took over. That was so I could say to you “7am Sunday GD1” and no-one but us would know what were talking about!
From what I’ve seen on trips back to Scotland, there’s much more traffic on the roads and they’ve totally fucked up a lot of courses with roundabouts and traffic lights. How anyone can race on them is beyond me.
We always had a nice smattering of hilly/odd distance TTs and two-ups early and late in the season which were fun. Tour of the Shire and the Tour of the Trossachs to name but two. I think both were in the 40-45 kms range and pretty damn hilly!
@wiscot
Cheers, yes I’m hoping maybe with some aero work I can get under 1:55.
Your post reminded me I missed a couple. Two-ups of course and also the Gentleman’s TT… a traditional end-of-season event where a veteran is paired with a younger rider. The idea being that the younger rider tows the older one around the course until he makes an all out effort for the last few hundred metres.
The other end of season thing which comes under TTs is Hill Climbs. These are also a Big Thing in the UK. Usually held in October on some horrible 500m 20%+ climb. The Catford Hill Climb, which is not far from me, started in 1886 and is allegedly the oldest continuing cycle race in the world. It usually takes place in the morning and the nearby Bec Hill Climb in the afternoon. (Catford and Bec are clubs not hills).
When David Millar ended his cycling career his last race was the Bec Hill climb. He said he wanted to finish in the way he’d started, at a club event which was part of the sport’s history.
Brad Wiggins is also known for turning up at club weeknight TTs… and if he doesn’t have an official PB set in the last three years he goes in with the unseeded riders like everyone else. Then the riders ahead get the thrill of being chased down by an Olympic champion. It’s one of the reasons Froome could win the next ten TdFs but he’ll never be as well liked as Wiggins, not here anyway.
@ChrisO
Wow! Brilliant post with tons of super interesting info! Thanks for that!
@ChrisO
Memories of good times! I rode a few Gentleman’s races BITD with Dave McCallum from Dundee Wheelers. Fast old guy. We usually shared the pacing; some years I was stronger, others he was. We usually did well on actual time but got killed when the age allowances were factored in. These races were usually hyper competitive as the older guys had been racing against each other for years and there was quite the rivalry!
Did a couple of hill climbs each year but not being gifted in the “lighter is better” category, just rode them to support my club or the event.
Indeed. Time Trialling is/was the bedrock of the sport in the UK. It’s not like road racing where there are skills, tactics and distances that might put off a younger rider, in the TT world you can start at 10 miles and race against yourself and others. Changing at the side of the road or in someone’s car or van, getting someone to pin your number on, giving it your all.
I can’t imagine the thrill of being a young rider and having a Wiggins or Millar show up to a club 10. I think that’s why Kelly is still so popular – he always seems to be willing to ride with regular guys. It was always awesome to have Graeme Obree catch you as no matter how fast you thought you were going, he was going much faster!
Gents,
Love the history the backdrop and stories shared on the UK TT scene. That’s really special stuff. 100 folks show up for a 50 miler w/a person off every minute ? Wow. Two man “gentleman” teams. Gaming the system for PB’s. The idea of it being underground and code names for routes back in the day. And so much more. All very cool to learn. Much respect. Thank you.
In add’n to our club’s ten mile route we also have a 2km uphill run. That one is not as popular. It’s fun to see the new riders come out each season for their first efforts and we have a club member that keeps tracks of series points and historical PR’s. It all makes for good stories and in year’s past we’ve celebrated the year’s points winners at our Christmas Party.
Speaking of TT’s… why can I not get used to seeing Tony M in red with K ?
Cheers all
Another day spent on the service station at Newlands Corner for Ride London. Fingers trashed from fixing punctures but loads of folk put back on the road with various ailments (bike wise) fixed and smiles back on faces. Manic but great fun and good to get people back on the road when some might have thought their day was over. Boy oh boy though, but some people could do with a lesson on basic bike care. Maybe we should stock The Rules at the hub. We ran out of emergency rear mech hangers – how do so many people manage to break off their rear mechs when they hit the first climb? Those things were brilliant though vs doing single speed conversions.
@Teocalli
How did it go this year? I rode the first two editions, really enjoyed the first but not the second. In the latter case it had nothing to do with the monsoon weather, the event simply felt too large. Huge numbers of cyclist, with a good percentage of inexperienced and bonehead riders, spoiled it for me.
I know the hanger question was kinda rhetorical, but is there a fairly common reason? Is it just lack of maintenance/ lube?
@Steve Trice
I think the hanger question is down to riders trying to change gear while monstering a gear on the first climb which we are at the top of. Probably mostly folk who live in the flatlands or do all of their riding in Richmond Park and never met a climb before. Some of it is bad maintenance and some were from crashes. It was certainly busy but we are set back from the road in the service hub so you don’t see much of the riders going by – and once things start it is just non stop fixing till the last riders go through. Loads of comments though of riders not knowing how to ride in a group and crashes as a result.
Amused by a few folk who came in “I had this fixed at the previous service point but it’s still wrong” which indeed it was. Previous station to us was manned by a certain large UK retail brand.
@Teocalli
In 2013 I was at a standstill in Richmond Park for a good 30 to 40 minutes, got very cold and wet. Only recently I found out that the hold up was a result of a fatality, which made me feel bad about being pissed off, but generally novices in huge groups are a problem. I had five pu***ures that day (at least one may have been a recurrence due to using a wet patch).
I think this was the first time in the last few years I don’t know somebody who had a serious crash in Ride London… although maybe I just haven’t heard about it yet.
Wouldn’t ride it if you paid me. The route is nothing spectacular or challenging and the roads may be closed but frankly I’d rather take my chances with occasional motorists than 10,000 cyclists, 95% of whom are a liability to themselves and others.
I went in the other direction. Cycled down to Camber Sands and met the family there for a dog walk and a lift back. 75 miles through gorgeous Sussex countryside; castles, oast houses, steam trains, beautiful views, the peal of Sunday church bells and quiet back roads with the reward of seaside fish and chips at the end.
Fair to say I don’t regret the decision.
More photos… didn’t all upload.
@ChrisO
I gather there were 24000 riders this year, but I agree Chris that it’s not the most spectacular route (although I love to ride up Box Hill, especially given the view round the corner at the top). If I recall correctly the first event only had 10000 entrants, and that seemed manageable. After an awful 2013 event I heard rumours that they were further increasing the “field” to 20000 for 2014, which cemented my decision to “never again”. Closed road riding is great fun, but there are an increasing number of choices on that front nowadays.
Does anybody else think we must be at saturation point for cycle sportives (and music festivals for that matter)?
we’re at the saturation point for humans in general, and their various proclivities in particular, and i feel it will get worse before it gets better.
@Cary
Fair point. I kind of hope never to see it get better, because it will take a cataclysmic event to sort things out.
@Steve Trice
No idea if numbers were given out sequentially or batched in some manner but I did see one number circa 39400 come into our service point…….
Blimey, 34000 is ridiculous.
Just realised by the way that 2013 was the inaugural edition, my sportive horribilis was in 2014.
Nothing bad about the route and you’re right it has some lovely views especially from Box Hill, I just meant that it isn’t like it’s the Etape or the Marmotte or a gran fondo up the Stelvio. Which is why I can’t understand why people want to do it with tens of thousands of others when they can do it any time – it isn’t exactly inaccessible.
As a south Londoner it’s very much in my regular range. Only the week before I did a ride with some friends taking in much of the route plus some added climbing – I hate to think of the chaos on Bar Hatch and White Down if Ride London went up them. I think a few PKWs would abandon their Pinarellos.
While I’m in ‘yelling at clouds’ mode, I very much lump these mass events along with the growing trend for boutique cycling clubs. I keep getting suggested posts from a cycling ‘club’ in London which has been set up by a marketing agency and is aimed at people from banking and media, who get together once a month for organised, supported epic rides that most of us could do twice in a weekend with no more help than a spare tube and a banana. At least with Rapha CC you get free coffee.
@ChrisO
Ah those clubs, yes. Kit first, ethos second.It’s not about the ride, it’s about how much the bike cost.
@Steve Trice
The key differentiator here of course is that it’s ethos first, kit second…………(insert random punctuation of choice)
Talking about kit, i took delivery of my Rule #5 jersey and bibs today from Rouleur. The jersey is lovely soft material, but even so I can’t believe I fit in to a size small. At 5’10” and 12 stone, I wonder how skinny climber types manage to get snug fitting kit if I’m fitting in the smallest size. To be fair is have probably also got away with a medium, but they had sold out.
@Teocalli
that’s if you’re one of the lucky ones to actually receive the kit you’ve paid for…
@Steve Trice
@Mikael Liddy
Ta’ Fuck???
You are able to order and receive Velominati Kit through Rouleur and we are still waiting almost 2 fucking years later for the kit we ordered from the site here???
That’s just fucking wrong.
@Buck Rogers
It’s not the same kit as sold on here – https://rouleur.cc/velominati-rule-5-jersey.html
@Buck Rogers
I feel your pain.
The order was FUBAR. OK, I get it, he didn’t mean to screw it up, shit happens.
What’s pissing me off now is that despite many, many emails telling him that “fine, OK, I’ll take the hit as this site has given me easily $120 worth of value/pleasure” he still won’t write a bloody email to the me, nor the suppliers, saying “do him a jersey if he pays you direct”.
I’ve spoken to them – they have the design, it can be done – but only if Frank writes them a simple bloody one line email saying that he’s happy for them to do it.
Why he won’t write it is fucking beyond me.
@Steve Trice
No hate on you, Mate! Sorry if it came across that way.
@davidlhill
Dude, cannot even begin to reply on this bullshit. So fucking much that is wrong about this.
I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt for a fucking long time and I understand that shit happens but at this point, I think it is purely a lack of character and integrity that is going on.
I mean, he can go ahead and have a fucking mid-life crisis if wants to and whatnot but you do not fuck over your mates, esp your “business” partners (i.e. other Keepers) and not your friends.
I’ll be with Gianni on the beach drinking.
Good roads to you all!
@Buck Rogers
It certainly didn’t come across that way, Buck, so no problem. Apologies for opening a can of worms, I was aware that delivery of Velominati kit was slow but hadn’t realised that it had ground to a halt.
@Buck Rogers
I’ve been feeling that this has all been coming to an end for a while now. Without this community the books are worth shit. It took me a year to get a top in 2014 and I’ll be fucked if I’m paying for any more that won’t arrive by the sounds of things. Now the VSP seems to grinding to a halt. It’s a sad time but hey, good things come to an end sometime. Enjoy your time on the beach man.
@Buck Rogers
you can’t go just because of this shit!
How else are we going to make contact should you do UK Eroica?! Or ideed the Italian one which I’m aiming for in 2018?
Cheers,
David
@davidlhill
Plus Strade Bianche and Limburg next year
Went to see the final stage of the Tour of Britain yesterday. managed to get a good spot just after the finish line so we got to see Eddie Boassan Hagen storming across the line after his superb break from the pack with 3kms to go.
I think he might be my new favourite rider, looks awesome, is a sprinter but doesn’t just sit in, and seems a really nice guy.
had a great ride today. t’was nothing special, a few miles in the afternoon sun, on smooth pavement, astride Reynolds finest chromoly. it is GOOD to be alive, fellas, ain’t it?
This is how it’s done.
https://twitter.com/teamsky/status/908677519712428032
@RobSandy
Uber cool
had my first LONG ride on my new Masi yesterday. South Louisiana is quite beautiful:
this is what we refer to as “hilly”, here, and for me, it is the challenge of the year to do a ride this long in this terrain.