Women are weaker?

bigwheeler88 wrote:

Impressive, but online cycling is nothing compared to the real thing. Then it's a mental game, and as much as I love my wife, I know that women just aren't as strong mentally as men.

I guess you're fishing, but ... is it your wife you're extrapolating from to all women, or ... a similar looking one?

Update. We may not see responses from the OP on this debate, Cugel appears to have PFU status (previously flounced user). He is active and well back on the Cycling UK forum after an 8 month absence, educating and informing the forum denizens in a pompous and sneering manner, 15 paragraphs at a time. 

Well I'm pleased they're well.  I always wonder, if someone disappears.  If it's not a Nigel / TIMUN / Socrati/Martin / other frequent revenant spontaneously combusting.  And if it's not an obvious flounce (like IIRC ShutTheFrontDawes did) - I do find myself thinking "hope they're OK".

Cugel said they did a lot of country road riding and while it sounds like they're in a local paradise in south-west Wales, country roads are where some of the worse crashes occur.

Anyway, thanks for the update.  Obviously they needed an outlet for their prose so that will be good for them too.

Don't worry; we're all Rendel Harris anyway, according to some.  Seriously, though, I have wondered more than once what happened to Captain Badger, so I know what you mean.

Où sont les blaireaux d'antan?

That's what I'd like to know.  Hopefully not where I most often see them.

Bloody cyclists...

SaveTheWail wrote:

Don't worry; we're all Rendel Harris anyway

I'm reminded of an old Stephen Fry piece to camera on the F&L show referencing the Milton Keynes advertising of the time ("Wouldn't it be nice if all cities were like Milton Keynes?"): "No, I don't think it would be at all nice if all cities were the same, but especially not if they were all like Milton Keynes..."

chrisonatrike wrote:

Well I'm pleased they're well.  I always wonder, if someone disappears.  If it's not a Nigel / TIMUN / Socrati/Martin / other frequent revenant spontaneously combusting.  And if it's not an obvious flounce (like IIRC ShutTheFrontDawes did) - I do find myself thinking "hope they're OK".

I did ask him a few months back what he was actually playing at, and he answered he liked to stay on a site for a few months at a time and "offer the benefit of my wisdom and experience" [sic] and then disappear again. Highly peculiar and often deliberately vexatious but not actually malicious, I thought?

26"?  There will be injuries...

Now, this is a new event in the Olympic calendar so Brian, talk us through the rules.

OK Steve, well obviously the winner of this contest is the first competitor to fit a pair of Schwalbe Marathon tyres to the judges’ satisfaction.  Marathons come in a wide range of sizes, as do the wheels they are fitted to. The competitor supplies the wheels, which must be Mavic made that he or she wishes to compete with, but the judges issue the inner tubes and crucially the matching tyres.  

Sounds simple enough Brian but there’s a few technical catches here aren’t there? 

Yes, Steve, this is where the ETRO sizing is a major factor.  The rules are that the Tyre and tube must be the same diameter and the width within the Sheldon Brown rules  -  that’s the first number in the ETRO rating  - as the competitor’s chosen wheelset.  Competitors can choose the width of tyres they work with and bear in mind too that they will receive the relevant inter tube - that can all make a difference.  

And what are the judges looking for in a completed fitting?

When a competitor declares their wheels finished, there is a 90 second inspection of their work. The tyre must be pumped-up to the highest pressure in its specification and it must hold that pressure throughout. Any bulges of inner tube or punctured tubes a the wheel will be disallowed. 

And the tools they are allowed to work with, Brian?

The judges issue 3 tyre levers - there’s Park, Schwalbe, traditional metal, Decathlon types to choose from. Each type has its pro and cons. It’s a test of competitors’ strength but also their skill and dexterity. 

Thanks for that, and let’s cross now to the arena, and join Kirsty who’s in what looks like a suburban garage. Kirsty.

Thanks Steve, that’s right, this is an upscale authentic replica of the garage of no 32 Acacia Avenue where this competition has its roots.  The competitors are lining up now, let’s take a look at that leaderboard. 

"Next up Brian, the qualifiers from this heats round will be removing and refitting a rear Schwalbe Racer on a 6 speed Brompton with mudguards at the roadside in the rain. I don't know where this is going to go. There could be tears before we get to the medals. Remember the call of shame home is instant DQ."

#beenthere

mark1a wrote:

"Next up Brian, the qualifiers from this heats round will be removing and refitting a rear Schwalbe Racer on a 6 speed Brompton with mudguards at the roadside in the rain. I don't know where this is going to go. There could be tears before we get to the medals. Remember the call of shame home is instant DQ."

#beenthere

I've been there too. In the dark.

Of course - this is the international version.  Locals swear by (and during) their own version of the contest, featuring at minimum a bike weighing a significant fraction of your bodyweight, sporting a chaincase...

To be fair Workcycles actually make this job "easy" - just remove "a few" bolts and detach a section of the frame "for easy tire changes"...

Are marathons directional and should the logo be aligned with the valve?

Paul J wrote:

what your point is exactly is hard to discern

I think he likes it that way.

The Quidditch Quadball champions of the future?

Aside from brave new ideas (which might not be so new) ... where physical speed, power or strength are less central there's lots of space for discovery.  There are also some more "physical" disciplines which are contested more evenly between sexes.  For one there seem to be some extreme endurance events which regularly feature women beating men at the top level (ultrarunning, the Transcontinental etc.)

Different subject, though maybe not unrelated.

peted76 wrote:

What's an uberman? Is that german for Superman?  

It's a taxi driver, there's an app you can order them with.

Not 'round 'ere you can't. The app never actually admits defeat in finding a car for you but you will have lost patience/ walked to where you need to go/ drained your phone battery in the meantime.

Rendel Harris wrote:

peted76 wrote:

What's an uberman? Is that german for Superman?  

It's a taxi driver, there's an app you can order them with.

Superman is driving taxis in Herne Hill? Times are tough.