Clik here to view.
Meanings revisted
I like the bike for the usual reasons – exploration, freedom, camaraderie, the rush of endorphins – but also the possibility it holds out, when I can admit to feeling more competitive than I like to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Armstrong 3.0 – part 1
Comeback 2.0 is a curious addition to one’s cycling book collection. Gorgeously presented, in the spirit of Rouleur, the book is “Lance Armstrong’s first-person photo journal of his 2009 comeback...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Armstrong 3.0 – part 2
“They don’t like me saying that in 2009 I was clean but these things are the truth. But I also understand the people who say they don’t believe me… What I’m saying is that the day there’s a test of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Armstrong 3.0 – part 3 (in 3 paras)
1. Imagine if you will, dear reader, that Armstrong stepped off his bike early in 1998, having successfully recovered from his cancer and returned to pro bike racing, and announced his retirement....
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the big ring and carbon clinchers
Reader feedback is always satisfying to receive. A recent email posed two questions: how to put into practice the advice put down here to use the big ring at least once on every climb; and your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three paras: Cavendish, heroes, Millar
One must confess, dear reader, to being confused as to the motivation behind Mark Cavendish’s book ‘At Speed: My Life in the Fast Lane’ (a big thanks to VeloPress for the review copy). It is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The dangerous summer (revisited, yet again)
1. In Paul Morand’s story, the ‘Six-Day Night’, part of his ‘Open All Night’ collection published in 1922, the narrator of the story is pursuing a woman named Leah whose companion is taking part in the...
View ArticleDemystifying speed
“Of all the equipment on your bike, your legs are the most critical component… The bike typically makes up 30 percent of your total aerodynamic resistance, less than 15 percent of your total bike/rider...
View ArticleTipples and tonics revisited
The seasons of tipples and tonics – fall and winter (maybe spring) – are fast approaching and while we may be focusing our attentions on a set of winter wheels with appropriate tyre-age, or that...
View ArticleOn passion
As Daniel Kahneman has argued, success equals talent plus luck. In his view, we give too little credence to the latter in assessing outcomes related to success. If we break it down further, though, we...
View ArticleEtre en forme
I don’t know the climb well enough to quote its exact length and grade, but I do know it well enough to recall how the road first pitches up on a right-hand bend before a 90-degree left where it really...
View ArticleThree paras on Contador
One must admit, dear reader, to now finding Alberto Contador an all-together more interesting rider now that he has shown some fragility and humility. Just one victory this year and 4th in the Tour – a...
View ArticleOn meaning
Cycling is a beautiful sport. At its most artistic it is captivating and breathtaking. There is something about the juxtaposition of the machine, the suffering of the rider, and the backdrop of the...
View ArticleThree paragraphs on LeMond and winter training
Greg LeMond says that without doping Lance Armstrong would have been top 30 at best in the Tour and certainly not top 5. LeMond knows more about the physiology required to win the Tour than most, but...
View ArticleThe ride better project (or: A rambling manifesto)
I. “We think in generalities, but we live in details.” – Alfred North Whitehead It is a staple of cycling media that the main purpose of cycling is to go faster. How-to articles are a regular...
View Article
