In the Times, Olympic Gold Medallist Victoria Pendleton, talks of the problems she has from car drivers during training:

“I have to train on the road daily. It’s crucial for endurance work. But the abuse I get from drivers … ‘Get of the effing road’, and ‘Buy an effing car’, are typical. I’m usually dressed in the Team GB kit, but drivers take no notice of that.”

[...]

“It does my head in that people have no regard for my safety. If someone cuts me up, I will sometimes catch up and have a go at them. It’s not like their journeys are so important. They’re usually off to the shops to waste some more money. Honestly, what’s a few seconds in their pointless life for the sake of not killing me?”

(Via Quickrelease)

I think every cyclist has experienced this. I’ve had people overtake dangerously in order to slam on the anchors and take a left turn forcing me to brake hard (in UK, we drive on the left). I’ve had people slowing down to catcall when I’ve done nothing but be on a bicycle.

I’ve had people overtaking dangerously for the honour of sitting in a traffic queue which was perfectly visible when they decided to squeeze past.

The difference is that nobody could mistake me for an Olympic cyclist!

It does help to cycle defensively. This means, for example, that if a car could not overtake safely (e.g. due to a narrow lane, or due to a central bollard) then I’ll take the lane so that can’t overtake at all, and pull over once it’s safe to pass.

As I said earlier, I hoped that the cyclists would use their Olympic success to promote everyday cycling. I’m glad to see this has started - and I hope it’ll continue.

The Legend that is 7 times Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, has announced his return to professional cycling.

It looks like he’ll be in the Astana team. However, this may be problematic as Astana were not allowed to compete in the 2008 tour due to doping offences under its previous management. Christian Prudhomme from the Tour de France says "if he is in a team that we will choose for the Tour, L.A. (Lance Armstrong) will be at the start of the 2009’s Tour de France in Monaco the 4th of July"

Prudhomme also talks of doping regulations: Lance Armstrong… pourra participer au prochain Tour de France s’il respecte les règles concernant notamment la lutte antidopage - Lance Armstrong… may participate in the upcoming Tour de France if he respects the rules concerning the fight against doping.

I’ve only really been watching cycling for a little over a year - and there’s still a lot I don’t know. I don’t know the history - or anything about the doping allegations against Armstrong. I barely know the major rider and teams (they change names so often!) - however, I know this. Lance Armstrong is a name that I knew before I got interested. In this respect he’s the Lawrence Dallaglio of Cycling - and as such, it’s a good thing to get the chance to see him ride again.

(Additional: Today has been a good day for Cycling. The Tour of Britain had a nail-biting stage finish today, with the yellow jersey puncturing, and the pelaton making good ground on the lead riders for a nail biting finish. In addition, Team GB have been storming the Paralympics in the velodrome… a good day. However, I drove to work, so my cycling record isn’t too hot).

With the update of the official site, I’ve taken it upon myself to transfer the London Freewheel route into MapMyRide.

I hope people find this useful.

(The London Freewheel event is a free cycling event, and takes place on traffic free streets)

If you’re in the UK, and you didn’t see ‘The Man who Cycled the World’ this week, I strongly suggest that you get yourself to BBC iplayer and watch it before Monday (when it will start to be removed). It really was an awesome achievement (there are four episodes)

Mark Beaumont’s site contains details of his journey.

I was heading out yesterday to cycle to the supermarket, doing my “pre-ride checks”, and I noted the back wheel had a great big kink in it. Really hard to see by eye, but as it spun it did a big sideways ‘pulse’.

I’d broken a spoke and the wheel was out of true.

Now, wheelbuilding is something I don’t know how to do well, so I took it to the bike shop (who are booked solid until next week) - and left it with them until they get a clear slot. I’d rather leave it with them than have it sit in the garage with no possibility of being fixed early. Whilst there, they’re going to give it a pre-autumn once over (it’s my commute bike, as opposed to my good bike). It saves me a job.

I was surprised at how hard it was to detect the broken spoke without physically pushing the spoke - there was no ‘bang’ as it broke, and the wobble on the wheel was sideways, and so didn’t translate into a regular ‘bump’ I could feel in the saddle.

Ah well.