Tom Hill

In Yorkshire too!

Greig You're supposed to practice on the bike!!

me

Game for the slow group.

Hope to make this one.

Parental duties this weekend........ looks like a family bike ride then

I shall be recovering from a hard night on the sauce!

Considerably tougher than the Etape Caledonia, but not close to the Nove Colli..... if that helps. As you would expect it was well organised and the closed roads is a great way to ride.

John thanks for the helping hand to Largs! Had a look at the bike tonight. Looks like a damaged connector from the battery/CPU pack to the front derailleur. I guess it happened during the rebuild. It was making the same buzzing noise in the shop. I assumed at the time that it was a low battery. Expensive replacement!.

Should make this one.

Anything over 250km, I tend to lose my sense of direction. Don't think this is for me. Bon chance!

You pair obviously suffered metal impairment as a result of the vibrations from the cobbles happening at the resonant frequency of the two neurons you each possessed!

OK guys signed up and paid for entry. How is everyone intending getting there? I thought about either flying or train and hiring a bike (£95 for carbon framed for weekend) Alternatively we could drive, taking our own bikes, assuming a share of the driving, the journey would be ok. Could also go down in camper van if looking to do it on the cheap.

Thought I'd make it but held up at work. Should be ok for next week.

1. Don't have a road bike. 2. Vin rouge withdrawal symptons. i.e. now weaning myself off - 1/2 L less per day! 3. Need road time on my new TT bike. To be fair, I did contrive to make it so, re. Allan at Thomson Cycles not dismantling my Dogma and Mr Couttie offering to drop off my PR conquering Giant Defy. Anyway Have a good one! Tom

Chung pretty well gives a flavour of the soul destroying torment and perverted satisfaction of riding 170km of silky roads interspersed with 55 god foresaken kilometres of the the worst road surfacing known to man that was the norm before Mr Macadam came to be. Why the rural north didn't adopt it we'll never know. But then I guess it would not have been a day in Hell if they had. (Not to mention a holiday) Now that 24hrs have passed and some semblance of touch has returned to my hands I am, through a vin rouge mist, thinking that I kind of enjoyed it. Though it is a box that does not need ticking twice!!! There is of course the usual Johnstone Fare and tales to be told of blocking roads and reversing up dual carriageways at 4:15 in the morning. As a previous "winner" this has my vote, regardless of the year remaining, for the Hamuk award!!! Mind you Coutie's unconventional use of a roof rack almost converting road side vehicles to convertibles does come a close second! A great couple of days, proud to be a part of the JWCC's group finish in the Roubaix velodrome. Well done guys!!

Proof that I do not have enough bikes; I only possess n bikes!! Allan collected my Defy for PR this morning. Dogma is at Thomson Cycles to be re-incarnated as a Foil. Flying Scot is in bits to be cleaned and rebuilt and my track bike does not have any brakes.(Would be a bit dodgy in the chain gang anyway!) Ergo the proper number of bikes needed is n+1!!

Guys I leave for France this Saturday coming. Can I drop my bike off with someone? Couts, do you have space for a 5th or will the bike be broken down? Also if any roof bars, fork mounted or conventional and/or 3-bike tow bar carrier are required, please advise ASAP.

Guys, I am going to France next Saturday so which of you kind chaps will be taking my bike? I am fitting new tyres either Monday or Tuesday depending on when they arrive. I could drop it off on Wednesday. Thanks Tom

On the red wine recovery shakes tonight so do not expect to see morning sun!

Only finished Flanders counselling in Dec 2013! Something to do with cobblitis I was told

Colin I checked the bollard is still large, luminous yellow and blue with only the slightest of scratches. Still very easy to see

Speedy recovery Chung!! ...... What's Chinese for bollard? Three weeks to PR so you will be fine, I'm sure :-)

Me too!

Ah, I thought the art of communication was part and parcel of being a solicitor?