thewashingmachinepost




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round and round

we've bored everyone to death about the exploits of sir chris since beijing last summer; something i'm as guilty of as anyone else in cycle reporting/blogging/musing, though i have excused myself from the over-frothing citing the fact that chris is scottish, so am i, and we're a parochial bunch north of the border, even if we pretend stoicism and emotional neutrality. but, and i'm probably going to get into trouble over this, sir chris just went round in a few relatively short circles: a considerably shorter distance than velo club d'ardbeg covers on the offchance we make it out on a sunday morning. yes, granted, he covers those short circles a darned sight faster than debbie can pour a soya milk cappuccino, but i'm into the stride of my argument now, and i'm letting nothing stand in my way.

dribbling back through the months to 15:30 on 15th february 2008, another scotsman (yes - we're good) managed a considerably larger circle than mr hoy in just over 194 days: mark beaumont cycled round the world in world record time. this entire journey was superbly documented principally by mark himself with the ubiquitous hand-held video camera, meeting up every now and again with a tv crew and all broadcast by bbc scotland. other than that, he was pretty much on his own - no shane sutton shouting the odds from the side of the road, no mechanic ready to tighten his toestraps at the start of each day and not a soul in a british cycling tracksuit to offer a shoulder at end of day.

mark beaumont raised a substantial amount of money for charity by putting himself and his bicycle through this ordeal, and now that it's all over and done, he's about to do the same again: fundraising that is, not cycling round the globe. in an almost stealth like manner, mark will be giving a talk at dundee university entitled the man who cycled the world on thursday 29th january at 7pm. tickets are £5 per person and you can reserve, pay, co-erce etc. some tickets by telephoning dr hubbard on 07814 562476 or e-mail s.f.hubbard@dundee.ac.uk.

the money raised by the talk will go towards a trip to trinidad this sumer by students and staff to join key environmental projects taking place in the caribbean. a group from dundee went last year, and the hope is that the work can be continued by a similar trip in 2009.

aren't cyclists great?

twmp

posted on friday 23 january 2009

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right for completely the wrong reason

rouleur calendar 2009

there has been many an e-mail, phone call and twitter regarding the riding of a fixed gear bicycle this past week, and not all of it in the one direction, though pretty much all of it engendered by my born again-ness after one ride on tuesday. since that fixed ride was contained in rather gruesome weather, the enjoyment factor can be multiplied by at least two, and i much appreciate the encouragement i have received from a myriad of real fixed riders.

what had marginally pulled the wind from my sails was my electronic correspondence with matt seaton: matt is a very experieinced fixed gear rider, and was one of the many who encouraged me to eschew a singlespeed freewheel for the stubborn sprocket. however, my misreading of the number stamped on the side of the campagnolo chainring led me to believe i had a lower number of gear inches than has turned out to be the case. riding what i thought was 49x16, i was struggling, and mr seaton told me i should stop whingeing - the number of gear inches i thought i had, matched the number he regularly rides around the capital city. fair enough, there's a bit of difference between a headwind on uiskentuie strand and rattling through richmond park, but i was fearful for my knees and fitness if my struggling was to be believed.

redemption was at hand as i fitted the replacement 18t sprocket sent me by mosquito and realised that the number on the ring wasn't 43, but 49, meaning, for those not following this very well, that i had been riding almost an 83" gear. and if it hasn't become apparent to you before now, it's likely going to very soon: any conversation involving fixed gears will, sooner or later, mention gear inches at some point. if. like me, you are of the ten speed cassette brigade (or, perchance, eleven), inches are almost an irrelevance, since there's always something in that cluster that will fit the occasion. the formula, should you need reminding, is to multiply the tyre inches (roadies deal in 27") by the number of teeth on the ring, then divide by the rear sprocket. a footer indeed, particularly if there is no calculator to hand, and assuming you've remembered the formula properly in the first place.

i have, however, been helpfully bailed out this week by the rouleur 2009 calendar which, thoughtfully, provides a complete roadie gear chart on the cover; since one such hangs on the wall behind my chair, i have been able to reply to my correspondents in real-time by flipping to the cover. of course, that's not the primary reason behind any calendar, let alone the rouleur offering: there are dates to be remembered, race dates to be notified, dates of the year's rouleur publication dates and lots of space for scribbling. and the one aspect that we now all tend to take for granted, is the utterly fabulous photography gracing each month, drawn from the works of those featured in the rouleur photography annual - ben ingham, camille macmillan, olaf unverzart, tim kolln et al.

so, if any of your cycling conversations head in the direction of gear inches, but a calendar is what you need too, this gap in your life (or wall) would surely be stylishly and practically filled by this compact, wire bound date and gear inch finder. a 2009 rouleur calendar (still over eleven months left) will cost a mere £15 from the rouleur online shop. and while you're there, nab a £6 rouleur cotton musette to keep it in when you go out on that fixed gear.

rouleur.cc

twmp

posted on friday 23 january 2009

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it's the gentlemanly thing to do

continental in california

on valentines day, 2009, some of the world's top professional cyclists will take to the start line in davis, california and race each other to santa rosa in the very same american state, commencing battle in the amgen tour of california. for the first time, this race will be broadcast on british eurosport (at what time, i know not) with commentary from david harmon, and the currently operational tour down under notwithstanding, and completely ignoring the sprintfest that is the tour of quatar, seems that the 2009 season might actually start in america. this is, of course, of varying importance to cycle fans across the world, and should keep the armstrong followers occupied for hours, if not days. but its relevance to our daily pedalfests can be harder to quantify, as indeed could the rest of the season's racing.

but there are folks happy to bring the realities of cycling tours of duty, as in that of california, a little closer to the bikeshed, but in a different way to the european obsession with gran fondos and sportives. the chaps at bicycling.com and the infamous rapha continental are currently in the process of riding the amgen tour of california before it becomes the real thing. i understand from jeremy dunn (embrocation) and daniel wakefield pasley that the weather in california is less than scorching, and in a world away from the pros, they're putting in 15 hour days of riding, eating and photography to let us see what it's like. (velodramatic's michael robertson also made an on-site appearance - lucky blighter).

pain and suffering in and out the saddle.

yesterday was, i believe, stage four, but the pain and suffering takes on a new facet when you realise that the continentals are riding with no road closures, no team car and probably precious few spectators; at least no-one that set out to be a spectator. if they puncture, they stop to fix it themselves, and when hunger knocks, they'll be looking for somewhere to eat. just like you and i if we could get that much time off work.

as is usual with the rapha continental (can you tell that i'm a fan?), all will be revealed in words and pictures, but with a novel twist: each stage ridden by the continentals will be revealed simultaneously with the stages of the real tour of california. stop by every day starting february 13 to see the other side of the coin.

so where does bicycling.com fit into all of this? well, they've teamed up with rapha usa to create a series of maps of rides that can be ridden by you and me (well, possibly only you - i live a bit too far away for that) especially if you happen to have a garmin strapped to the stem. a couple of these are already available (and very, very good too) covering portland and santa cruz, but the stages of the tour of california will materialise in conjunction with the continental daily reports.

in the words of david zabriskie - 'keeping it real'

photograph courtesy of daniel wakefield pasley

twmp

posted on thursday 22 january 2009

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singular peregrine

singular peregrine

it's a known and obvious fact within industry, sports and life that as the variables increase, it takes more personnel to cope with these variables. you need only read the cyclevox interview of a couple of days ago, or even that with simon mottram of rapha, to see that that of which i speak is true. and thewashingmachinepost is not immune from this state of affairs.

as the popularity of the post has grown over the past few years, and the regime of daily posting continues unabated, there is a physical limit as to just how many words can be written about an increasing variety of subjects, products and tests. so it becomes necessary, now and again, to farm out bits and pieces to those with a similar degree of enthusiasm. i have no wish to be regarded as a megalomaniac (though i'm comfortable with the guise of benevolent dictator), so with the arrival of a bicycle dubbed peregrine it's a logical choice that the tester be someone with more birding experience than i (admittedly, not a difficult search to conclude) so itinerant post contributor, jez hastings took this hard to classify bicycle for a tour of the chunkier parts of islay.

and then he wrote about it. you can read his words and look at his pictures here

twmp

posted on thursday 22 january 2009

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well tighten my toe straps and call me sir chris

fixed sprocket

those of you who have been around for a while may recall my shameful taste of the world of fixed sprockets on an on-one il pompino. no reflection on the bike: other than the fact that the frame and stem were a little too small for me, the performance of setting off and ultimately stopping, while both pedals did anything but, are probably still laughed about in cycle courier locker rooms up and down the country. after my dismal attempts to graduate from the world of the ten speed cassette, i retired from any thoughts of trying the same again, ever.or so i thought.

at the cycle show in earls court last year, i was privileged to meet up with joe ingram from independent fabrication on the mosquito bikes stand, and during a three-way conversation including phil burnett of mosquito, it was loosely agreed that sending an indyfab up to islay for a road test would be just the stuff that legends are made of. and, true to form, around a month or so later, phile e-mailed to say they had an indyfab club racer built up as a single speed/fixed that was all but ready to despatch in my direction. remembering all too vividly the fixed efforts alluded to above, i speedily interjected that a single speed freewheel attached to the rear hub would be just ideal for my purposes, allowing me simply to keep pedalling anytime observers were spied and become a fakenger.

for reasons far too complicated to relate, the indyfab did not reach the island shores until the tail end of last week. and in much the same way that a jack-in-the-box in a birthday cake can elicit a scare, lifting the club racer from it's cardboard encasement created a similar response upon my realising that turning the crank in either direction, made the back wheel move. now at this point, it would not have been too unfair of me (i don't think) to have telephoned mosquito bikes to point out that this didn't quite match my request; but since i thought they would probably laugh at me for being such a wimp, i elected to keep my face shut, swallow hard, and ride the fixed gear with all the bravado i could muster.

employing the remnatnts of anything i had learned the first time, i wheeled the bicycle to the nearest convenient wall, climbed aboard while holding onto said wall, clipped in and pushed off (so to speak). the rest of the day (aside from driving rain and gale force winds) was quite blissful. the only time that the 'keep pedalling stupid' mantra was temporarily mislaid, was on the occasion of a bin lorry tentatively exiting a side road in very close proximity to the front wheel, but my conservative speed in a built-up area (twenty's plenty) prevented a knee snapping moment; even scurrying sheep in rural land were negotiated with calm and poise.

so now i am going to be insufferable as a 'born again fixie', even now preparing my cv to send to shane sutton - those olympic track events are not that far away you know. one minor moment of wimpishness, however, was a phone call to mosquito after all to ask for another sprocket with a few more teeth on it. while matt seaton assures me that the 16t cog already fitted gives the same gear he uses for pootling about town, it has brought tears to my thighs trying to counter attack a 50kph headwind down the strand. and yes, while speed and souplesse are mine in the opposite direction, i'd prefer it if you'd keep that to yourselves for now.

aren't you proud of me?

(a full road test/review of the indyfab will follow in due course.)

independent fabrication | mosquito bikes

twmp

posted on wednesday 21 january 2009

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the cyclevox interview

brian and anthony

in the latter part of 2007, anthony mccrossan resigned as commercial director of cycling.tv to form cyclevox, a company specialising in uniting sponsors with sponsored, television with events and people with people. this was, in my opinion, an excellent use of the man's talents, and there are many in the world of professional cycling who have cause to agree.

the cyclevox setup allowed anthony to call on a range of associates with specific expertise to place at the service of an increasing number of clients within the pro cycling world. and perhaps unsurprisingly, one of those associates was the other half of the finest double act in the business, twice british road race champion and scotsman par excellence, brian smith. such has been the increase in cycling's popularity over the past year that cyclevox has been able to mirror this success and bring mr smith in as a full director of the company.

and then there were two.

if cycling is on the up, and cyclevox is emerging to become pre-eminent in its field, now is as good a time as any to ask the dynamic duo what it's all about, what they hope to achieve and how they intend to pull a blinder and take top honours in this year's london-paris ride. so i did.

read the interview

twmp

posted on tuesday 20 january 2009

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the simon mottram interview

simon mottram

just under five years ago, summer 2004, i distinctly remember seeing a photograph of a white cycling jersey with a black hoop on the left sleeve in a copy of the comic. this jersey was the first product of a new british cycle clothing company going by the hitherto unknown name of rapha. the uncanny fact about that very jersey (apart from the seemingly hefty price tag for the time) was that i was convinced that here was something i had missed, something that had obviously been around for quite some time and i had disturbingly overlooked it entirely. and it appears that i was not the only one: having phoned simon mottram of rapha very soon after seeing that jersey (later that same day, in fact) he told me that he had received a call from a gentleman who told him that rapha had always been one of his favourite brands and that he was happy to see it available in the uk. this only a matter of months (july 2004) after rapha was born.

the original set-up consisted of simon, luke scheybeler and claire (who dealt with telephone sales), and has now grown to an entire floor of the building in which they initially occupied one office. there are a lot more people working at rapha now. a lot else has happened in the five intervening years, and it's hard to imagine the current world of cycling without them. through the emergence of the exceedingly well received rouleur magazine in conjunction with guy andrews, the opening of a north american office in portland which engendered the rapha continental, distribution in japan, as well as a very successful cycling team co-sponsored by condor cycles, it's obvious that they are in this for the long-term and have our very best interests at heart.

since five years constitutes half a decade, now seemed an appropriate time to ask simon mottram how those five years have developed from three people in a small office in kentish town to a major worldwide brand.

read the full interview here

twmp

posted on monday 19 january 2009

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les p'tits velo - janol apin. editions lacarothe 78pp illus. hardcover. €22

les p'tits velo

after droning on for days during the week about the size of seatposts and the size of bicycle frames, it was something of a surprise to come across bikes that really are too small. but as is often the case with sleight of hand, they look larger than life: well as large as life, if we're being pedantic. french photographer, janol apin regularly succeeds in creating varied pelotons of miniature cyclists scurrying through often impossible looking landscapes that, by virtue of the clever way in which they're photographed, look perfectly believable.

while i would have you regard me in high esteem for having discovered this little gem of a book, particularly considering its being from the european mainland, integrity dictates that i own up to the fact that these very scenarios were comprehensively featured in the current issue of rouleur; on the cover by jove. however, i was intrigued and delighted by the rouleur display and e-mailed monsieur apin to inquire how i might go about obtaining my very own copy of les p'tits velo. should you feel that you too need to do likewise, i have included the info at the end of this review.

sadly, english is the only real language in which i am partially competent; i do not contentedly extend to french, though i'd like to. throughout the book there are (presumably) complimentary statements by icons of french cycling; raymond poulidor, henry anglade, jacky botherel and others, while the preface is by tour directeur, christian prud'homme. we are not talking triva here. so what do you get for your 22 euros? lots of photos of tiny cyclists in full colour making their inanimate way through giant landscapes. but they are beautiful, intriguing, inspiring, and conscious of the fact that many of these figures were originally produced in the 1960s, a real nostalgic delight. teams such as mercier hutchinson, peugeot, bic are all well represented, along with motorcyclist outriders. fabulous.

so, if like me, french is all greek to you, this is no impediment to your visual enjoyment. as cycling becomes more the whipping boy of commercial exploitation, it would seem prudent to have a sanctuary to which one can return after reading lance's twitters for the day. and as an effort to demystification, which probably ranks up there with being given free membership of the magic circle, janol apin has included a photo at the back depicting himself at work and allowing us, the readers, to see the strings. and even when you know how they saw the lady in half, in this case it detracts not one whit from the preceding pages.

les p'tits velo

the book is available from rouleur magazine via their website at a cost of £27, so just go ahead and order your copy from there. rouleur.cc

you will not be disappointed.

janol-apin.com

twmp

posted on sunday 18 january 2009

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u2needyourheadsfixed - the blog continues

david harmon

a few days ago, one half of the u2needyourheadsfixed pairing, jez hastings, started the blog that will hopefully take us all the way through the training and bike preparation part of the lunacy that will result in himself and eurosport commentator, david harmon, undertaking the 2009 london-paris ride on fixed gear machines. but that's only one side of the story and, despite currently basking in the warmth of portugal, working at the cervelo test team launch and training camp, mr harmon found time to put aside his cocktail (complete with miniature umbrella) and sit himself up on the sun lounger long enough to send his half of the loop (and i mean that in both senses of the word)

it's early days yet: i can vouch for the start of mr hastings' training regime, but we'll let david describe his own start of the project. remember where you read it first.

u2needyourheadsfixed

twmp

posted on saturday 17 january 2009

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a conspiracy theory?

cycle training

after years and years of trying to persuade folks away for four wheels on to two (i don't mean specifically me - others have done far more in this field), it seems that it has taken gold medal success at the beijing olympics, a rising oil price and now the so-called credit crunch to make an increasing minority realise that they might just be financially and physically better off on a bicycle rather than a 4x4. while this has helped the cycle industry stave off the worst of the current recession, in the uk at least, it seems that all is not well in the land of the cyles, pedestrians and motor car mix.i'm not sure if britain is the only country to operate a cycle proficiency scheme (or whatever name it is known by nowadays) but the two focus groups not riding bicycles are starting to complain about a degree of incompetence amongst these cycling newbies. just how impartial this argument is could be open to interpretation, though a quoted increase in the number of accidents involving cyclists in the past half year is hard to argue with. there is, however, a call for all intending cyclists to have compulsory cycling proficiency training to lessen the chances of such accidents, and because more than half admitted never having read the highway code. of course, they have happily ignored the fact that a large number of motorists are probably in the same category.

certainly, it is necessary to know the highway code in order to pass a driving test, but that's the last time anyone asks you to do so. although i don't drive anymore, i will confess to not having looked at a highway code since i passed my own driving test at age seventeen - and that wasn't yesterday. happily, a thorough knowledge of such on an island with no traffic lights, no roundabouts, no pelican crossings and no dual carriageways, is less of a major failing than it would be on the mainland. but i tend to figure that most drivers of my age haven't spent too much time perusing the inner pages of the code; it therefore seems a bit unfair to target cyclists.

the problem with the cycling proficiency test in essence, is that it hasn't really been updated for many a long year, and oft times those supervising the training in schools are not cyclists themselves. but perhaps its worst trait is that it has no teeth; you can fail or avoid it altogether, but you're still allowed to ride a bicycle in the midst of inner city traffic. in which case why do i figure it's a bit of a conspiracy theory that these newbie (and perhaps oldie) cyclists are being targeted? because let's face it, just because there's been an increase in accidents involving cyclists over the past six months, doesn't actually mean that all those were the fault of those on the bicycles.

well the biggest flag that all is not level is that it was a car insurance company that asked for the compulsory cycle training. secondly, the sample size of folks asked about who's read the highway code and who's sat a cycle proficiency test was 2,000. that's less than the population of islay, and to my mind not particularly representative of any group of people, let alone cyclists. add to that, the fact that the british government has received several calls to make cycling a part of the national education curriculum, but has refused to do so; surely the perfect way to ensure that everyone receives the cycle training currently being called for?what i would agree with, however, is the call for cyclists to be required to have some form of insurance. membership of one of the two major cycling organisations (british cycling and the cyclists' touring club) provides this for the cost of an annual membership fee. this way, if you accidentally swipe the wing mirror from a passing 4x4 or run into a pedestrian, you shouldn't have to bear the cost of any damages from your own bank account. and it's the right thing to do if we want to have a bit of credibility with the motoring lobby.

but maybe all it needs is a bit of savvy on behalf of those newly taking to the road on bicycles. unfortunately, having spent a week at center parcs recently, where cycling is encouraged as a means of transport around the villages, the vast majority seemed to have not the faintest idea of how to navigate even a traffic free environment. i'm not sure i'd be happy to see any of them negotiating piccadilly circus on a bike.

and i wouldn't like to see me try it either.

twmp

posted on saturday 17 january 2009

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a helping hand with the training

winter riding

a couple of days ago, jez sent me a copy of his training regime for the coming months to ensure that, even when people are chuckling behind his back as he rides london-paris on a fixed gear, they won't be questioning his fitness. the worrying bit is that, at the beginning of december, despite not partaking of the ride to paris this year, i said i would accompany him on the winter/spring training rides because it's so much more effective when you have company. having read through most of what he intends to do, he may still be training on his own, because i will likely be several hundred metres behind, doing my level best to keep my red face within the visible spectrum.

june is still six months away and the weather has seen better days, particularly this far out in the atlantic, so perhaps more rational behaviour would be to check that there's enough air in the tyres, and take a couple of spins round the block. if it takes longer to pedal out and back than it takes to get all the winter gear on, then you're probably not doing it right. of course, the old adage that summer races are won in winter still holds true. why do you think lance is off playing in australia just now? he's not wanting to win - july is still a wee whiley away.

but, and it's a big but, if you are going to emulate the enthusiastic mr hastings (do bear in mind that he is one half of u2needyourheadsfixed), it would be a very good idea to make sure that you're well covered up, even if it's only to stave off hypothermia in case of a puncture or a mechanical. of course, pipe lagging has excellent thermal properties, but has very few redeeming features in the eyes of the style council, so it would be prudent to bear the latter in mind as you prepare to expand the winter portion of the cycling wardrobe.

to aid in this necessary part of being at the top of your game during sunnier months, rapha have very helpfully put together a variety of winter riding packages complete with discounts to soften the blow when the bank manager invites you in for one of those seemingly annual account reviews. choose from a winter riding pack (jersey/tights/hat) all the way down to three pairs of merino socks for the price of two. and in case the cold weather is really too much, or you just want to make sure the cyclist's tan is showing well for crossing the line with arms held aloft, there's even a pack of training camp essentials (lightweight jersey/bib-shorts/merino socks).

to take advantage of any one of seven packs, and read a wonderful piece by matt seaton, illustrated with photographs by the masterful ben ingham, pop over to rapha's website now.

photo: ben ingham

twmp

posted on friday 16 january 2009

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now it can be yours

chain l no.5

hopefully you read of my enthusiasm for the marvellously named chain l no.5 chain lube which, since its initial arrival at washingmachinepost towers has seen duty on a number of test bikes as well as the company colnago, with unprecedented success. i like it. and till now, many of you living in the uk may have been a touch reticent to commit to buying something as simple as a chain lubricant from its american website. however, fear no more - chain l no.5 is now easily available in the uk from urban hunter: £7.95 plus £2 postage.

hurrah.

urban hunter

twmp

posted on thursday 15 january 2009

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u2needyourheadsfixed

mosquito bike fit

this is really scary: having muttered on over two days about seatpost lengths and frame sizes, culminating in custom fitting of the latter, here we are one day further on and the theme has been continued. sleepytime it is not, for this time it is not my words that you will be required to peruse.

in june last year, jez hastings and i took part in the london-paris ride (i know you've heard all this before, but bear with me), and during our pedalling and non-pedalling hours, conversations took many forms. fortunately, i managed to keep my head, while all around were patently losing theirs: shortly after knocking over an espresso, in the company of messrs hallett and harmon, challenged the latter to ride the 2009 eedition of the event on a fixed gear bicycle. and such was the joie de vivre at the time (it was at the end of a 185km very warm ride) that the challenge was accepted - hence u2needyourheadsfixed.

however, lunacy has been tempered with a modicum of social responsibility, as both fixed participants have elected to blog about bikes, training and that breathlessness which only comes at the beginning of undertaking something you probably wish you hadn't agreed to in the first place. for our two heroes will not be dragging any old fixed rubbish out of the bike shed; david harmon is having a frame built by brian rourke, while jez hastings is being supplied with a custom made fixed of italian descent from mosquito bikes.

for part one of an endeavour that has been compared to the large hadron collider, you can read mr hastings' musings on what he's let himself in for and the comprehensive fit session performed by roger graves at mosquito.

if you happen to bump into either of them, try not to snigger while offering your heartfelt support.

u2needyourheadsfixed

twmp

posted on thursday 15 january 2009

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