Blackheart

It's bad for your health. After the fires here, if I catch you lighting up at the side of the road, you're getting a slap.

Thunder rolling into Hout Bay and it's started to rain proper. Lets hope it buckets down and puts a halt to this.

I live and work in Hout Bay. Fire is creeping down the mountain towards houses... Less smoke around than yesterday though. I think the wind (what little there is now) has shifted back towards noordhoek. We all have red eyes and sore throats from the smoke I went for a short ride this morning, not pleasant, difficult to breathe properly. It's 42degC today, I think a bit of greenhouse effect. Rain forecast for tomorrow, which will be great for the Fire Services - who are doing epic work by the way. I remember some years back when we had those really big fires, I rode Cape Point route the day after the rains came and helped to extinguish the fires. It was like riding through some desolate lunar landscape, and we all got completely covered in wet black ash.

When they advertise beer based on how cold it is, you know it's pretty s**t beer.

I'm loving Nibali's aggression and panache, but... When was the last time a yellow jersey was winning stages for fun and going past climbers "like an aeroplane"?

Never was a fan, still not. But huge respect for his courage now. "You can take a hardman and make him a cyclist, but...." (To paraphrase).

Locally. Bridge Cycles in Cape Town had a few pairs.

I bought these specifically for Trans Karoo. Sportful Total Comfort Very happy with them, paid about R1700.

Wasn't that last night?.......

A cheat is a cheat. Paul Kimmage (now an anti doping crusader) didn't want to dope but eventually had to just to stop abandoning races, found out he still wasn't good enough, saw out a brief career in bitterness, wrote a whiney book, now 'exposes' drug cheats. HIs hypocrisy is more offensive than his cheating.

Trek Factory look like a really strong team....from 2008

I thought the point of cheating was not to level the playing field, but to make sure you beat everyone else.

Don't think so. He always has one really, really bad day.

Before the start of this years TdF I picked Nibali to back just because he was my 'least worst' of the big 3 contenders. Now I am a fully paid up member of his fan club. That was a proper old school defence of a Yellow Jersey on a proper old school stage. Great ride, tough, brave, agressive and very smart. His team too. Chapeau! Negative Chapeau to Froome The complete opposite, nervy, timid and not very clever. His team too. I hope he has a real injury, not to see him hurt, but to abandon like that as defending champion because it's a bit wet, you're a bit sore and things are not going your way is unimpressive. To me it also dishonors previous riders who have ridden through proper injury, illness and far worse weather just to finish.

Maybe he's showing Brailsford after Froome's crack on Dauphine that he's gone from having two 'potential' TdF GC contenders on his team to non at all... Apparently Wiggins excuse is that he's been training track for the last two weeks.

Thank You. Hout Bay - riding up past La Cucina towards Suikerbossie lights. It gets narrow there.

Haahaa

OK, I know this is a proper rant with no hope of a positive outcome. But: Yesterday I was clipped by a passing car. I got a wing mirror to the elbow, nothing serious, nothing broken. But the asshole in the car didn't know that when he decided to accelerate away with his mirror dangling off the side of his metallic turqoise hyundai santa fe. So, this morning i have a purple elbow and a story about a close call. The driver has to reconcile himself with not knowing if he did me some serious damage, or worse. What is wrong with stopping to ask a fellow human being if they are hurt? If they can help? To express that they are sorry for making a mistake? If they'd stopped it would have been cool, I could have told them that it's ok, I'm allright, we all make mistakes and I'm sure it was just an accident, thanks for stopping and take care. He was unfortunately away before i could note the license plate. Ok, i feel a better now, thanks for listening.

Putting all the personal stuff aside, i just don't see how a professional team doesn't put out it's strongest athletes. Winning sportsmen often have 'big' personalities, managers have to manage them, that's what they're paid to do. Ask any manager of a winning outfit - any F1 team, any football, rugby, baseball etc team if they care about which of their drivers wins, or who scores the most or winning goals, tries etc. They couldn't care less. As long as the team wins and the athletes put in a proper professional performance they've done their job. Clearly the two strongest GC riders Sky have are Wiggins and Froome, by omitting either one Brailsford is conceding that he can't do his job properly and is compromising the teams chances of winning.

Sure, don't need it. Let me know..

Hope Pro II on Arch with DT Revolution spokes. Custom built by me. Silver spokes with 2 black ones at the valve, Hope logo on the hub pointing at the valve. 4 years of hassle free riding.

Found one! But i'm in Cape Town..Happy to post it to you though.

Thanks. Enve Sweep and I'm loving them.

Good luck to All! See you tomorrow. I'm on the Niner wearing CHOC kit, raising funds for Childhood Cancer Foundation.