R O T H A R . C O M

So after successfully building and maintaining the IF online shop, the Boston team approached me with another little project for them. Well I’m not sure that partially redesigning the homepage of their site can be described as a little job, but I had a bit of fun doing the work and the results seem to have been quite popular so far. Here’s the new look. The old version is lurking here.

UCI Cyclocross World Championships are just across the water in Holland. After the fantastic results from the IF team at the recent US Nationals, Mo Bruno-Roy will be bringing her Ti Planet Cross over for some racing action on 28-29 January in Zeddam, Netherlands. It’s about 90 miles from Rotterdam and I reckon that’s ridable…

This commuting business is a dangerous thing when you start thinking about the people driving cars. I remember seeing a guy write off a brand new 5 series BMW getting the back out under lift-off, losing it, spinning and hitting the underpass of the A11 at the Thickthorn roundabout a few years ago when I was riding in to work in Norwich and all I can say is it was only the side airbags that let him get out and walk away from that one. This one is however much scarier.

From: Jed
Subject: Crunch

Witnessed an interesting bit of driving the other night. Going home down Newmarket Rd I was near the kitchen place/Spread Eagle pub when an oncoming car 70 yds ahead moved into my lane. I thought he may have been doing some dodgy move (like ignoring keep left bollard) to turn into the school. But no, he drove straight into the streetlamp that was by then just 50 yards in front. Hit it square on and knocked the light out. First on the scene and there was a very confused/dazed looking lad in the driving seat. Don’t know why he did it – either blacked out or fell asleep – but he’d only driven in from Wym and he was stone cold sober. A bit close for comfort that – you expect an oncoming car to avoid you but if the driver is not there then the potential is for us to depart.

That’s a fairly scary account. Keep lookin’ out for those crazy drivers.

So Peru has stirred some interest and it turns out there is a way to get some riding in South America and benfit some others. The 2006 Peru cycling challenge takes riders from Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, across remote altiplano, through amazing Andean villages, and past incredible snow-capped mountains, to Machu Picchu – the fabled ‘Lost City of the Incas. Check out the ride website. It looks really good with a great Itinerary, awesome countryside and a bit of money raising for charity.

Not happy with just improving the shop interface, teh team at The Cycle Jersey have started the process of adding some new and interesting, hard to get products from the world of cycling and beyond, including NATO specced adventure racing kit boxes…

Love America or not this is ace.

Finally it looks like the ProTour is about to end. According to cyclingnews.com the organisers of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España have pulled out of the series with immediate effect. The organisers announced that they are also withdrawing the eight other races organised by them, namely Paris Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Tours and the Tour of Lombardy. More here.

“The 10 km descent took us two hours and was a big mix of smooth dirt singletrack, wide grassy runways hemmed in by ancient stone walls, rocky technical sections with water ditches and stone staircases”. Sounds like a real hardship doesn’t it? Check out Grady Semmens’ account of riding over 170 km in Peru and taking in more than 9,000 metres of (mostly) downhill riding in six days over at nsmb.com.

Take one made Polish mountain biker, give him a mad mission like riding across three deserts and having to be entirely self sufficient and give him a camera and a load of other survival gear and leave him to get on with it. Oh, and don’t forget the Surly Pugsley.

If you’ve got to go, you gotta go big. So said Bender. Well he’s been living up to that motto ever since, but has now unfortunately had a nasty off as sensationalised over at MBUK. What really happened is described in more journalistic etyle here.

From: Katie
Subject: Chain letter from Billy Connolly

Hello, my name is William and I suffer from guilt for not forwarding 50 billion f**king chain letters sent to me by people who actually believe that if you send them on, a poor six year old girl in Queensland with a breast on her forehead will be able to raise enough money to have it removed before her redneck parents sell her to a traveling freak show. And, do you honestly believe that Bill Gates is going to give you and everyone to whom you send “his” email, $1000?

How stupid are we?

Ooooh, looky here! If I scroll down this page and make a wish, I’ll get laid by a model I just happen to run into the next day!” What a bunch of bulls**t.

Maybe the evil chain letter leprechauns will come into my house and sodomize me in my sleep for not continuing a chain letter that was started by St Peter in 5AD and brought to this country by midget pilgrim stowaways on the Endeavour.

F*ck ’em.

If you’re going to forward something, at least send me something mildly amusing. I’ve seen all the “send this to 10 of your closest friends, and this poor, wretched excuse for a human being will somehow receive a nickel from some omniscient being” forwards about 90 times.

I don’t f*cking care.

Show a little intelligence and think about what you’re actually contributing to by sending out these forwards. Chances are, it’s our own unpopularity. The point being? If you get some chain letter that’s threatening to leave you shagless or luckless for the rest of your life, delete it. If it’s funny, send it on.

Don’t piss people off by making them feel guilty about a leper in Botswana with no teeth who has been tied to the arse of a dead elephant for 27 years and whose only salvation is the 5 cents per letter he’ll receive if you forward this email.

Now forward this to everyone you know, or otherwise, tomorrow morning your underwear will turn carnivorous and will consume your genitals.

Have a nice day.

PS: Send me 15 bucks and Then F*ck Off

Finally after seeing these photos from Lucy and Phil at Bike Verbier I have decided that this snow biking mullarky really does have to be done…

So the latest fad isn’t almost getting killed when you’re commuting it’s actually breaking your commuter through sheer brute force. Hence this public service broadcast:

The gauntlet has also been thrown down for the new Twentyfour12 Endurance Event. The completely new, purpose built venue of Lodgewood Park, Ellesmere in Shropshire, is a totally private estate and has a fully serviced campsite complete with water and of course, enough toilets and showers for all. The Twentyfour12 will take place here on the 22 nd and 23 rd of July 2006, with both 24hr and 12hr races being run concurrently, both races starting at midday on Saturday. Singlespeed. Solo. 12 hours.

A local 12 year winning streak at La Ruta de los Conquistadores was finally snapped last weekend when Thomas Frischknecht became the first foreign rider to win the three-day event. The Marathon World Champion bounced back from a disastrous second stage (three flats on the final descent caused him to lose 15 minutes) to Costa Rican Marvin Campos. On the final day the 126km stage featured 1785m climbing. With nearly 7400 metres of climbing in their legs from the previous two stages, Frischknecht worked with Jeremiah Bishop) and defending champion Paolo Montoya toisolate Campos from his team and then ride far enough away from him to take the win.

This Wade Simmons video is worth a look. I think the zip line camera shot as it follows a run from the tree canopy is stunning.

Update time because I need a break from what I’m supposed to be doing. There’s a bit of news too. Firstly, Keith Bontrager has put a few words together to describe his efforts in this years Three Peaks Cyclocross race. They’ve been up on the Cyclingnews site for a while now, but here’s the link.

Jed has procured his new ride and Alps bike. I think he was intimidated by the IF prospect and has sensibly opted for some classic Ti in the form of a rather svelte looking Merlin Oreas. Seeing as Nige and Jam are probably also taking similarly fantastic bits of expensive metal, it looks like the Trans Alp bike isn’t decided just yet… Jed has also been ribbing me about SITS too. Third time lucky is the quest, but this 24hr business as a pair is fairly hardcore stuff. I’m game. Just need to sort out food and drinking on some big rides in the UK first.

Outside of the UK, Macpuppy has been finding some sweet trails. Don’t click if the last lot were too painful. yip groof wuff awooooooooooooo indeed.

Crazy dude Nathan Rennie has been busting himself up trying to get in the Guiness Book of Records. Nathan was gunning for the World Record in terms of long jumps and was towed in by a motorbike at 96 km/hr (60 mph) into this monster ramp. He managed to hold onto his Santa Cruz V10 for the 121 feet from the take off ramp to landing. He flat landed the front wheel and “blew up” three quarters of the way down the landing ramp. Nathan separated his shoulder and smashed his prized Troy Lee full face helmet, as well as sustaining cuts and bruising to most of his body. So that’s a repeat on the cards then…

Tyrell sent in this link to Supercycling. It’s a South African Equivalent to Cyclingnews. There’s a lot on there including details of the forth coming XTERRA race. I’m not sure Ned Overend will be contending, but in any case it looks sure to be a great race. It’s a damn sight warmer in SA this time of year than it is here thats for sure.

Don’t steal bikes from people is the simple message here. Ahearne Cycles were featured in the latest edition of Dirt Rag and the man behind beautifully crafted bike parts can be tracked down here. The Spaceman Bicycle Flask holster is clearly inspired genius.

The Sexmidget has some photos from his trip to the Alps here. Snow and no sunshine in these shots from June. Catch up with Cyclenaut here – she’s still working on the road in the US for Trek. The Coogle is broken (hand again) – his website’s here. The Samuri hasn’t been having much luck with his opticians then… Finally Tim’s the proud owner of a bike shop with a sorted website. No need for a stock listing that needs constantly updating. He’s even got a shop blog…

Finally here’s a couple of Apple Mac links. First of all I can’t help thinking that this will look crap once it has all the necessary wires plugged in. The Mcmac site on the other hand is just plain cheeky. Front row has indeed left the iMac and works just as well on any other OSX10.4 Apple. All you need to do now is find a way to get the remote control to work…

Mid week posts aren’t really looking like a likelihood until some point next month so you’ve been warned. The best bit of news from the world of rothar.com is that the Trans Alp bike is built up and ready to rock. Welcome Indy Fab #3 – photos are here. It’s taken a while to get the build to this stage and I’m still waiting for one of the new SDG Bel Air RL saddles and some more Candy Ti pedals – in the mean time the Singlespeed’s been pilfered for bits.

Havind departed Scotlandshire and headed over to the land of the French, the Macpuppy has just reported in:

From: Macpuppy
Subject: A commute of two tails…

Bonjour smellee British peeps,

Rumour has it that the common wolf was hunted out of existance and hasn’t been sighted in the Vercors national park for over 30 years but ‘le Daupine post’ reported this week that although no sightings have yet been confirmed rumours of howling, barking and pawprints are circulating amongst shepherds in the high pastures …… methinks Mushers been out exploring !

But that’s beside the point, I was going to tell you about my first true commute to my new desk.

After a week of un-seasonal sunshine, warm winds, high temperatures and settling in to the new environment, I finally pulled the skinny tyred machine out of it’s bag and headed for work at 8am yesterday. The sky was still crystal blue, the temperature was dropping and the weather looked set to turn nasty so I thought I’d better get this done before it becomes impossible until the spring.

Now I’m no roadie …. but on the strength of this first descent – 26Km, 35mins, -2800ft, a few bends and two rows of fly spattered teeth – I could be converted. It’s a strange feeling hurtling at 45mph towards a hairpin looking down at 18mm tyres with pathetic wee brake pads when your used to the stopping power of Mono M4’s working through 63mm Weirwolfs but somehow we always manage to get round the bend and blast out the other side before grabbing the levers as the next hairpin approached. Near the bottom a car stutters out of a driveway onto the road ahead and we seamlessly drift to the other side of the road and pass before the driver scrabbles for third gear. Ooof that was fun and the flat section at the bottom of the hill is probably still as far as the old commute in Edinburgh was.

Lunch came and went, e-mail was read and sent, meetings endured, coffee inhaled, brief snippets of bad French – the weathers still solid blue but as 4.30pm approaches monster black clouds suddenly tower over the Vercors and all hope of getting home dry is gone.

I’ve been worrying about this first ride home all week, not because it’s long or steep or long AND steep for a long long way but because there are no street lights for 20Km of it and every time I’ve driven up it it’s full of loons dirfting and cutting corners and I’ve never seen a cyclist ride it in the dark. Strangely the French, those people who live on their bikes don’t seem to keep riding when it get’s dark and cold. They put their bikes away for months !

So I headed off out into the rain – soaked to the skin in the first couple of Kms but feeling good. 15mins later I’m at the bottom of the climb and the end of the streetlights and the inky blackness swallows evarything except the 12Watts worth of Lumi spot dancing up the road in front of me. My thoughts drift back to the loons in the cars are they going to see me in time ?

Well I have 3 rear lights deployed, 2 flashers, 1 steady and one of them is on my helmet, so if they do push me off the side of the mountain my tombstone can at least testify that I tried to warn them off …. it seems to work as every car that comes up behind me flashes it’s lights to let me know they are there and then pulls over to the wrong side of the road to overtake, they even slow right down and wait patiently on the bends – how cool is that ? One bloke comes alongside, rolls down his window and jabbers at me in some strange tounge – he’s pointing frantically at the tailgate of his car with one hand, fag in the other and steering round the bends with his teeth (still on the wrong side of the road) there’s a bike rack on the back so I guess he’s offering a lift, I politely decline and get back to the job in hand.

It’s tipping buckets, the Lumi’s are now trying to punch holes in thick cloud and one of my tail lights has drowned but I’m no longer worried about the cars so settle into the climb and suddenly realise something wierd has happened. I’m sitting in the saddle spinning and continue to do so for mile after kilometer after mile ….. eh but as you know I only ever climb out of the saddle !!!! Mind bending stuff for sure but 25Km, 1hr 20mins +2800ft and 2billion gallons of rain later I’m in the village home and ‘dry’ :o)

Merde !!!! ….. I forgot the last Kilometer and bonk :o( …. but that’s what roadies do, not hairy ersed mountainbikers ?????? Schecht the world is swimming before me, someone has stolen my legs and I’m cold and wasted. Five whole minutes to cover the last click but I get there and stuff shortbread down my face as fast as possible. Another five minutes later and I’m thinking about heading back to the office to retrieve the pen I left on my desk :o) At least I now know ‘the bonk’ is just a 10 minute roadie thing.

I’ve just ordered a Lumicycle tail-light and a spare battery …. now looking forward to heading back to work on Monday and surfing for a Garmin USB cable for the GPS so I can download the tracklog for you all to enjoy.

What tyres for Alpine hairpins ??????

Ohhhh. How jealous? Sounds like a great way to start and end the day. He’s going to be getting seriously fit with that bad boy on the schedule everyday.

Meanwhile IMBA and CTC have agreed to disagree over the clauses prevenning byway claims by motorised vehicle users. CTC regards any restriction of motor vehicles as being good for cyclists, while IMBA recognises that if groups like the TRF are prevented from making claims, then some thousands of potential routes will be lost – as no other group has the capability to fill the gap. IMBA has written to Minister Jim Knight to warn him of this consequence, noting that the more important task is to manage vehicular byways so that routes are not trashed by inconsiderate and unsustainable use.

Went North to the Lake District yesterday for a bit of walking and fresh air. It wasn’t a fantastic day weather wise, but the rain kept at bay until we were in the car on the way back. The light was as always an uncertain factor, but the beauty of the autumn colours in the Lakes was no disappointment. Photos are up here.

right click and save as here
for the video (130mb)

Truls from Norway posted a link to the great video above and I thought I’d share it here, because it looks ace. Each summer Truls and his mates arrange an informal get-together for readers at terrengsykkel.no. which is a bit like the Norwegian version of Bikemagic as far as I can tell. I registered with them in a bid to try and get more european IF owners signed up to the Owners’ Club. Apparenetly they’ve been doing these mini festivals for the last three years at a ski resort kalled Skeikampen. This year 80 readers spent three days on marevellous trails in the Norwegian mountains.

The team at Cyclingnews have managed to get their hands on some Spinner Aeris forks. Yep they’re light and costly and totally impractical for someone like me…

The Cyclingnews Mountain Bike pages also have details of the 2006 Temple to Temple. This is a race following the path of the ancient Mayans more than one and a half thousand years ago, it’s the world’s first bike race/tour linking the great temples of Lubaantun to Caracol, Belize. The race/tour kicks off January 29th, 2006, and runs until 4th of February, 2006. The 7 day, 750 km race takes challengers on and off road through rugged mountains, steaming jungle, caves, local villages, and Mayan ruins!

Dave Barter has been busy over at Phased. Looks like I now have some more trivia related to my birthday:

In 1939, Tommy Godwin entered the golden book of cycling as the greatest long distance rider in the world. He rode 75,065 miles in a single year to set an endurance riding record that will never be beaten. On October 26th 1939, Tommy rode into Trafalgar Square, having completed 62,658 miles, gaining the record with two months to spare. That wasn’t enough. He rode on through the winter to complete an astounding 75,065 miles in the year. Still that was not enough; in May 1940 after five hundred days of riding he secured the 100,000 mile record as well. Tommy dismounted his bike and spent weeks learning how to walk again before going off to war. More…

I’m not sure there is anything new over at Temple ov thee Lemur, but the Visible Mars Bar Project is a fairly good summary pf the weirdness involved.

It was my birthday yesterday. Lots of great presents including Lamb: Remixed. I didn’t even know it was out. It’s a great album though and I’m well pleased to be listening to it.

I’ve also had some good feedback:

From: Hans Kellner
Subject: Nice Site

Found your site through some twisted google trekking. But it’s a nice find with some good stuff.

Cheers!

Hans

I don’t share the same photographic talent as some, but I enjoy looking at other people good photos and trying to improve my shots.

I’m on holiday. A bit of time off to get things back to normal on the home front. It’s hard to believe that I moved house almost two months ago and I’m still unpacking and finding homes for things. I upgraded the memory in the PowerMac too. Doubled it up and have to say there is absolutely no noticeable difference. I guess there’s no point getting any more then.

The last month has been a bit of a shocker on the rider front. Touch wood, I’ve been lucky, but chatting to the guys in the bike shop on Saturday it turns out that 3 people have been knocked off and killed or badly injured in recent weeks including Norfolk rider Zak Carr who was a customer in Harry’s when he was in town and Emma Davies who suffered a broken back after her run in with a car. With Chilly’s close shave and other interesting moments, it’s a big reminder that this is a dangerous time of the year to be out there on the roads.

I thought I should also give a heads up to Robin Sharman, who now does a great job of keeping people interested in bikes and riding and racing as he works in Harry Halls. Robin made some great breaks and had some top results this year including making the British Squad for the Worlds. Asked about the inclusion of Robin Sharman, manager John Herety agreed that Robin’s ride on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain was one of a number of factors in him being picked.

Robin currently leads the Premier Calendar and the GB Manager added “he’s also been consistent all year and having been on our under 23 program in the past we know what he is capable of. Robin gives 110 per cent and we had very good feedback from Roger during the stage he was away with Robin.” One thing is for sure, next season he’ll be gunning for more victories.

This is just in

From: Tyrrell
Subject: Giving it up

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.

The man took out his wallet, extracted 10 dollars & asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead?”

“No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless man replied.

“Will you use it to gamble instead of buying food?” the man asked.

“No, I don’t gamble,” the homeless man said. “I need everything I can get just to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?” the man asked.

“Are you NUTS!” replied the homeless man. “I haven’t played golf in 20 years!”

“Will you spend the money on a woman in the red light district instead of food?” the man asked.

“What disease would I get for ten lousy bucks?” exclaimed the homeless man.

“Well,” said the man, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”

The homeless man was astounded. “Won’t your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The man replied, “That’s okay. I just want her to see what a man looks like who has given up beer, gambling, golf & sex.”

I think I can expect some grief over that one. This one is from Kate

From: Kate
Subject: Inner Peace

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me.

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.

The article read: “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish off all the things you have started”. So I looked round the house to see all the things I had started and hadn’t finished …and before leaving the house this morning I finished off:

A bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, the Baileys, three Bacardi Breezers, the Jack Daniels, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a Box of chocolates.

You have no idea how bloody good I feel. Pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace…

I’m on holiday. A bit of time off to get things back to normal on the home front. It’s hard to believe that I moved house almost two months ago and I’m still unpacking and finding homes for things. I upgraded the memory in the PowerMac too. Doubled it up and have to say there is absolutely no noticeable difference. I guess there’s no point getting any more then.

The last month has been a bit of a shocker on the rider front. Touch wood, I’ve been lucky, but chatting to the guys in the bike shop on Saturday it turns out that 3 people have been knocked off and killed or badly injured in recent weeks including Norfolk rider Zak Carr who was a customer in Harry’s when he was in town and Emma Davies who suffered a broken back after her run in with a car. With Chilly’s close shave and other interesting moments, it’s a big reminder that this is a dangerous time of the year to be out there on the roads.

I thought I should also give a heads up to Robin Sharman, who now does a great job of keeping people interested in bikes and riding and racing as he works in Harry Halls. Robin made some great breaks and had some top results this year including making the British Squad for the Worlds. Asked about the inclusion of Robin Sharman, manager John Herety agreed that Robin’s ride on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain was one of a number of factors in him being picked.

Robin currently leads the Premier Calendar and the GB Manager added “he’s also been consistent all year and having been on our under 23 program in the past we know what he is capable of. Robin gives 110 per cent and we had very good feedback from Roger during the stage he was away with Robin.” One thing is for sure, next season he’ll be gunning for more victories.

This is just in

From: Tyrrell
Subject: Giving it up

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.

The man took out his wallet, extracted 10 dollars & asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead?”

“No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless man replied.

“Will you use it to gamble instead of buying food?” the man asked.

“No, I don’t gamble,” the homeless man said. “I need everything I can get just to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?” the man asked.

“Are you NUTS!” replied the homeless man. “I haven’t played golf in 20 years!”

“Will you spend the money on a woman in the red light district instead of food?” the man asked.

“What disease would I get for ten lousy bucks?” exclaimed the homeless man.

“Well,” said the man, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”

The homeless man was astounded. “Won’t your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The man replied, “That’s okay. I just want her to see what a man looks like who has given up beer, gambling, golf & sex.”

I think I can expect some grief over that one. This one is from Kate

From: Kate
Subject: Inner Peace

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me.

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.

The article read: “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish off all the things you have started”. So I looked round the house to see all the things I had started and hadn’t finished …and before leaving the house this morning I finished off:

A bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, the Baileys, three Bacardi Breezers, the Jack Daniels, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a Box of chocolates.

You have no idea how bloody good I feel. Pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace…