Willehond

At least you get all the good Guinness. Remember they call Ireland The Emeral isle because it's green and it's green because it gets wet... Anyway, it's only May! Lots of time befor summer starts straatvark and Easyjet has so many flights from Ireland to Europe

The cows over here aren't as impressive as in Swiss ville. Well, the're actually sheep and they're shorn... EVERYONE was out on their bicycles today. Absolute stunner of a day.

Out with the kids:

Swiss, I can see you are happy! Spring is just a blast!!! (For me without hills ofcourse) I went out with the wife, kids and sister-in-law today and had a picnic in the 'heide' and afterwards went for some sweet singletrack on my own, Very, very nice... Will post some pics in a minute

Looks like the right rig for the lighthouse to lighthouse race! Sand monster

I could tell you that I can watch it on Dutch or Belgian public tv (or even on Eurosport), but that would be like gloating, so I won't....

Come on, a bit of TLC, some lube and fresh bakes and Chappies is a breeze! I know you're up for a challange

I just told my wife I wanted this. Badly... She was not amused... KEEP IT ORIGINAL. Restore it, fix the leather. Do the Argus. Well, that's my dream.

Shhhh, quiet about that! ...and it's 88%! Nothing actually makes you go any faster, some things are just better at telling you how crap you are.

this makes lots of sence.. I need a trainer there is no better way of improving your pedal stroke like what I have said....and it is cheap/not rocket science plus the added benefit is that you will get a lot stronger!!! Why? I don't get it AL. I have an IDT and I don't see how it improves your pedal efficiency (unless you focus on it). Seriously' date=' what do you mean?[/quote'] Do one legged pedaling on the indoor trainer until your pedal stroke is smooth. Try 3min/leg. My question isn't what excercises to do, it's why AL says riding on an IDT improves your pedalling stroke.

this makes lots of sence.. I need a trainer there is no better way of improving your pedal stroke like what I have said....and it is cheap/not rocket science plus the added benefit is that you will get a lot stronger!!! Why? I don't get it AL. I have an IDT and I don't see how it improves your pedal efficiency (unless you focus on it). Seriously, what do you mean?

Analysis paralasis Too much mumbo jumbo. Just ride the thing hard

For me tempo is riding at a high constant pace (please correct me dear experts), the 'hill' intervals are shorter and at a slightly higher intensity - threshold stuff. Three intervals at the max intensity you can maintain for that period is ideal. Nothing that improves you cycling like threshold intervals.

Do yourself a favour. Borrow a power meter for a day and go out riding with you normal pedal stroke and note what power you get. Then concentrate on sweeping and pulling up and getting a smooth pedal action and note you power output. You will be amazed at the difference. The thing is the perceived effort is the same, but the result very different. Maintaining it is the problem...

OK, when it comes to riding without hills, I'm king. There aint nowhere flatter than here!!! The thing is you have to ride at max power, not just a big gear! The only reason people associate big gears with hills is because they run out of gears on steep hills and then grind their way up. You will just hurt your knees and get no real benefit. The secret is to find a good headwind and ride as hard as possible (constant power/effort!) for about 15 or 20 minutes. Relax and repeat it a couple of times and your climbing will improve. Hills don't give you the option of relaxing when climbing, so try to simulate that on the flat. It's about power, not cadence. Long high power intervals.

What has the PPA got to do with it?!

This kind of "trade-in" deal is quite in fashion in Europe. I think it comes from the motor trade where currently if you take your old banger to the scrapyard, the German government will refund you something like ?2500 on a new purchase. It has given the German motor industry a huge boost in the economic crises. Suddenly car dealers in the Netherlands are also giving scrap discounts even though the Dutch government are not giving a scrap rebate! Good marketing though and people get a big discount without the maufacturer looking like they are just massively discounting their wares (which is what they are actually doing). Clever. Sounds like the bicycle trade has seem a good gimmick and is copying it! Sounds like a win-win deal to me...Willehond2009-05-04 08:18:37

Story of my life. Surrounded by idots! Now if we can get people to use their "it's" and "its" correctly we might be on our way to a miracle... No, that would be the guy UNDER the helmEt!!!Willehond2009-05-03 06:36:23

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGH, it's HELMET, not HELMUT!!

Stunning bike (but please loose the mudguardy thingy for photos and other other times people might actually see you!) Again, GREAT bike!

Why do they need to care about the end user/customer? They are supplying a solid bike at a price realistic in the current market. Sounds like good business to me. The price was too high for the current economic climate so they dropped the prices. Simple. Get over it and be happy!

Stunning setup! I love the white accents and the frame is full of detail! Great job. You know what to do. Keep 'em coming!

Apparently two of the 8 positive tests were from cyclists. So either Rebillin yested positive twice or we have another surprise on the way!!!

Just ban them when they get caught and leave me to enjoy the racing! I've had a great time watching the Classics (though Fleche Wallone feels all wrong suddenly) and can't wait for the Giro/Tour freakshow!!!!

Little-Ben, looks like we posted with the exact same attitude/ opinion! SNAP! It's fun to chase, but only if it helps your training goals. If you need to push it's great, but if you are doing intervals/recovery/tempo rides just ignore the duelling fools.