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showers pass elite 2.0 waterproof jacket

showers pass elite 2.0

on the second thursday of every august, in a field at the rear of islay house (currently in private hands) is held the annual islay show. in years gone by this used to be almost purely an agricultural show, but as time has moved on, it has become part agricultural, part entertainment, part burger stall. and the agricultural part has seemingly diminished since the demise of the creamery in port charlotte in the earlier part of this century. with nowhere to sell their milk, and the prohibitive expense of sending it off the island, virtually all the island's dairy herds were sold off; islay cheese is no more.

however, what probably started as an humorous aside several years past, has almost become a modern day islay prophecy: 'once the show's past, it's the start of winter'. sometimes it's uncanny how these prophecies have a habit of initially appearing unfortunately true. saturday morning, as we all sat on the edge of our seats watching chris hoy demolishing his opposition in the keirin, islay bore the brunt of incoming wind and rain.

under normal circumstances, this would have been seen as a bad thing, because due to the time difference between beijing and bowmore, pretty much all the cycling had taken place by lunchtime, and the afternoon was looking to be devoid of any cycling activity on either side of the globe. or was it?

several weeks ago, i received a radiant, chili pepper red, elite 2.0 waterproof jacket from showers pass, a waterproof cycle clothing company based in portland oregon. since portland seems to experience a remarkably similar climate to that of western scotland, and has a cycling culture that puts ours to shame, there is a proven need for waterproof clothing when on the bicycle. the cleverly named purveyors of quality waterproofs (the inspiration was showers pass road in california) manufacture a comprehensive range, of which the elite 2.0 is the flagship item.

showers pass elite 2.0

it features a high collar with adjustable drawcord to keep the wind from reaching the front of an underlying jersey. the collar can also support an optional hood by way of three velcro patches spaced around its outer reaches. the jacket front is closed by a taped, two-way zip and is cut slightly higher at the front to prevent bunching when on the drops. there is also a taped front chest pocket that can ideally carry an ipod - there's a handy little outlet on the inside through which a set of headphones can be threaded. a full width rear pocket is also sealed with an angled, taped zip. just below the arms, the jacket's e-vent outer fabric covers a mesh vent to aid breathability. the edge of this flap is hemmed with scotchlite reflective material bearing the showers pass logo. there are also reflective strips diagonally featured across the sleeves and a reflective logo rear and centre on the generous tail flap. workmanship is impeccable. the sleeve openings are extremely generous; putting this jacket on over bulky winter gloves would be a piece of carrot cake, and there are substantial velcro closures to make a cosy closure round the wrists. all the zips are tagged with showers pass logos.

of course, as is often the case, the best laid plans of mice and men often gang aglay. despite a howling wind and heavy rain most of the morning, at the time of my sojourn to debbie's, purely in the interests of waterproof research you understand, the precipitation temporarily arrested. apart from a brief flurry of wetness around bridgend, the tailwind took me to bruichladdich quickly and relatively dry. breathability, on the other hand was not found wanting, apart rom a not unexpected smattering of internal dampness on the forearms.

showers pass elite 2.0

as a soya cappuccino and a peanut butter and jelly bonk breaker were consumed in the favoured coffee stop, the rain re-appeared with a vengeance; a strong headwind home should prove the ideal test for rider and jacket. sadly, the rain desisted yet again prior to the homeward journey, so aside from splashing from passing vehicles and a not inconsiderable amount of sea spray along the strand, the jacket yet again had an easy time of it. it's a great jacket though; the fit is truly excellent (medium size tested) with no flapping even in such a strong wind. and should it be ever necessary to ditch in the sea, the chili pepper red would make it easy for search and rescue helicopters to find. but most importantly of all, apart from the yet to be tested waterproofness, it's as stylish as it's possible to be in the wind and rain.

undaunted, i shall eagerly await the next substantial downpour, and throw myself into the fray on your behalf. i probably won't have to wait too long.

the jacket sells for $220 (about £120 plus postage.) showers pass will cheerfully dispatch any item worldwide.

showerspass.com

posted on sunday 17th august

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oh no, we're gloating again

chris hoy and ross edgar

apologies to those not in britain, since i have just had it pointed out to me that the bbc don't let non-brits watch their video streams which, i suppose, makes some sort of sense. the link, for those unfortunate enough to be unable to view, showed chris hoy and ross edgar winning gold and silver in the keirin, hoy by some eight bike lengths.

posted on saturday 16th august

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who the heck is erik?

garmin virtual training partner

you see, it's fine doing as matty ball did and forming your own cycle club if you fancy having company as you cycle merrily along. or even if you have already realised the lack of pace in those finely sculpted legs, making arrangements to meet up with others will get you out on the days when you'd maybe otherwise have a leisurely brunch with only the odd glance in the direction of the bike shed.

however, there are obviously going to be times when you either just feel like a solo ride, nobody else fancies going out because they're all washing their hair, or you live someplace where there really isn't anyone else to go cycling with in the first place. and here's just where electronics step to the fore. not in the shape of shimano's soon to be released di2 electronic gearing, but happily in a much smaller and cheaper package from garmin. yes, we're paying a second visit to the edge 705, digging ever deeper into the multiplicity of features carried within its stylish interior (which is apparently now available in orange - why not an argyle patterned one?).

if you click the menu button at bottom right, and navigate to workouts there are a few options available, some of which will feature in the next episode of garmin chipotle - the man from argyle. i'm afraid i was particularly unadventurous in my choice of workout; basically anything that required as little effort as possible is perfectly ok by me. distance and time will give you a third panel displaying the speed required to complete same. while the first two panels are already filled in, you can choose whichever options suit - in this case i was looking at 32km. garmin had filled the time panel, but i neglected to look at how long it should take me to pedal same at an average 25km/h - since this was simply an exploratory outing, it was of academic interest at this point.

having selected one of the simple workouts, garmin's virtual training partner is automatically enabled, and adds a fourth panel to the modes available - simply click until the appropriate display appears. yet again, you can customize the figures displayed in the workout mode, but i settled for what it gave me (time/speed/distance - the other two panels are not user changeable. see above). initially the middle panel displays the speed required to undertake the workout, but clicking the joystick changes that to a graphic of two figures on bicycles. the top one is the virtual training partner (i called him erik, because it seems the sort of name that would apply to a guy that could cycle a colnago quite quickly).

pressing start as you set off starts the timer, and almost immediately erik moved into the lead and the number at the bottom displayed in red to show just how far behind him i was. and graphically, erik's electronic representation was ahead of mine; i'm sure i saw him sneering. erik must have hammered it down bowmore main street, oblivious to the ninety degree bend at the bottom, because the numbers remained red all the way through the village. bear in mind that erik always cycles at 25km/h no matter what the terrain, something that strangely didn't seem to apply to me. however, once i'd passed the gaelic college a few kilometres out of bowmore, the numbers went black indicating that erik wasn't faring as well as he might.

the fascinating, surprising and comical bit came a few kilometres down the road, when i glanced at the display to see how i was doing, and erik was gone. checking the main display mode informed that my average speed was nearly 27km/h and i was now just under three km ahead of erik, who had disappeared off the screen altogether. strangely, the need to look behind and see where he'd gone was overwhelming. i slowed down dramatically at this point, hoping to enjoy the view of erik's little figure spinning frantically trying to catch up. sadly, i was so far ahead, and erik hadn't been looking too great before we left, that i never actually saw him again. stopping at debbie's for a double espresso unfortunately auto-paused the edge, leaving erik in limbo until i'd paid and left for the return journey.

never happened. in fact, i haven't seen him since - last time i lend him a colnago. to return to a modicum of seriousness for a few moments, this seems like a pretty good way to improve your speed over set distances, provided you choose a realistic set of numbers from the outset (which i shall do next time). we've all been in the position where seeing a cyclist just a few hundred metres up the road has given us something to lock onto and chase; this is the perfect alternative. assuming you think you could manage to cover a set distance at an average of 27km/h, it would be worth popping it half a kilometre an hour higher, and chasing to improve your speed. the workouts give you a number of options to choose from - boredom would take a long time to appear.

on the return trip to bowmore, it rained quite heavily, and a suggestion to garmin for the edge 805 (should there ever be one) would be to curve the glass over the display slightly to allow the rain to roll off. after only a few kilometres, the display was unreadable due to the surface water sitting in globules atop the 705. sure, a quick wipe with the hand clears that up, but only momentarily until the rain settles again.

and if anyone sees erik, tell him distance or not, next time it's his turn to pay for the coffees.

posted on saturday 16th august

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not that one wishes to gloat...

mens team sprint 2008

posted on friday 15th august

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obeying the law

waving bye-law

as master of all i survey, at least as far as the bike shed, i felt it necessary a couple of years ago to pass a new bye-law on islay, requiring all cyclists traversing the roads (and i use the term in its loosest sense) to wave to all other cyclists doing the same thing in the opposite direction. this bye-law is of a non-discriminatory nature, by which i mean whether you're dressed in lime green lycra with an urban hunter tartan wool cap atop the ponytail, or a pudding basin helmet and a north-face jacket with cotton duck panniers at the rear of a steel tourer, you should still wave to fellow two wheeled users. notwithstanding the fact that most folk on islay wave to most other folk (a source of endless curiosity to visitors), i am willing to include those on motor bikes, if only because the phrase 'two wheels good' doesn't mention anything about engines.

my reason for such a blanket declaration at the time, was major disappointment with visiting cyclists, who seemed intent on wending their seemingly nonchalant way, without the decency to acknowledge the welcoming waves of any member of the velo club peloton. even the mighty dave t has been known to display a warm, friendly streak at times. and it seems that the bye-law may actually have achieved its purpose, since i can think of only two instances this year when passing cyclists have ignored my salutations - one mountain biker and one lycra clad, wannabe racing cyclist. result i think we could reasonably say. of course there is the addendum to this bye law; the island's landladies can easily be alerted, and you may find fewer sausages on the breakfast plate. and a cappuccino at debbie's will have a lot less froth than you expected.of course this hasn't solved the problem of what to do on catching and subsequently passing cyclists on the same trajectory as oneself. to pass at speed (oh that i could) without any comment seems a tad arrogant, but given the winds on islay, there's a good chance that the wobbling panniers in front won't have heard me coming up behind. and there has, sadly, been more than one occasion when a hearty 'hello' has frightened the living daylights out of the passee. this also smacks of arrogance, because there's every chance that said passee has been slogging into a headwind since pedalling off the ferry, and lime green or pink on italian carbon fibre conversing freely might not be taken otherwise.

i haven't come up with a suitable solution or bye-law for that one.

posted on friday 15th august

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join the club

west lothian clarion

the resident members of velo club d'ardbeg are in a highly privileged position, and one that we are very well aware of. aside from the fact that the countryside, and hence the route de jour, is right on our doorstep, we have our notional club headquarters' at either end of the island, (the old kiln cafe, ardbeg, and the mighty dave t's summerhouse) with an excellent coffee stop somewhere in between. but perhaps our finest moment is our total lack of conviction. not to cycling per se, since we're as obsessed by that as any of you, but the club has no hierarchy, few meetings of note, and we'd have to think for a good while over a double espresso to come up with any applicable regulations.

of course, there are only four of us on a good day, so most of the foregoing bureaucracy is deemed unnecessary by all concerned. and it can be thus for everyone else too. yet again, exercising my right to pontificate on that of which i have no working knowledge, the average cycle club, along with many clubs of other descriptions, occasionally manage to give themselves a less than shiny reputation, whether deserved or not. i'm sure we've all heard stories of novice riders out on their first clubrun being dropped at the first corner and seeing nary a cyclist for the rest of what often appears to have been a wet day. crap cyclists (now i know what i'm talking about) need loving too, and it's a strange right of passage that expunges those with the keenness to lower the average age of the club peloton.

of course, some folks either can't find a club in their immediate area, or can't find one appropriate to their yet to be developed needs. and the solution? form your own.

a rider who joined us on a very wet day in 2007 (and came back for more this year) was matthew ball, from the other side of scotland to the hallowed isle; west lothian to be precise. and after spending the day in our bedraggled company, though not necessarily because of it, he decided to set up a cycle club in his locale, bringing west lothian clarion into being in 2008 after conversing with prospective members through one of the better known cycle forums (well, they have to be good for something). being in the velo club mould, with zero experience of setting up and running a club, they affiliated to the national clarion cycling club.

the activities of west lothian clarion are no different to those of any other well-run cycle club, but matthew says they seem to have attracted cyclists with little prior experience of competitive club cycling, which sort of suited the new club set-up. even in the short period that wlc has existed, new members have already noticed a marked improvement in their cycling skills and fitness.

so if you fancy the insanity, hilarity, pain and suffering that goes with being a club member, assuming you're close enough, you could contact matthew and join in. or, if you're reading in some far flung location like manchester or palo alto, with no suitable club within earshot, drop matthew an e-mail and ask him how he did it.

but for heaven's sake, don't ask velo club d'ardbeg.

posted on thursday 14th august

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riding with panache

panache houndstooth training

last year i was fortunate enough to have an srm power unit on test, something that would confirm what we already knew - that i can barely pump out enough energy to run a clockwork trainset. then in july garmin very kindly supplied an edge 705 gps unit that displays even more numbers and pictures to keep me occupied throughout the islay countryside, and maybe even further afield if i'm lucky. some are obsessed with such numbers, and rightly so, because they can have a serious bearing on the curve of improvement, but some people are just obsessed. happily, i'm not one of them (though there are others who would happily disagree). i can put it all down to road testing, and mostly get away with it.

but few of us the wrong side of erik zabel's age aspire to such a competitive edge, at least, not that we'd admit to. we're only along for the ride, and digital numbers are just a delightful distraction. our modus operandi is to go for a bike ride, and to do so with style; not just in the souplesse of our pedalling, but also by way of our sartorial elegance perched on that brooks saddle. panache: flamboyant elegance or style. well, yes, but also an aptly named cycle clothing purveyor from boulder, colorado that is intent on doing it with style.

panache is the clothing design idea of don powell, a one time professional rider for the predecessor to landbouwkrediet-tonnisteiner; saxon-selle italia. if you're aware of the jerseys worn by either of such teams, it underlines why don has opted for the designer options when producing his own clothing line. he has observed that there are not so many design oriented clothing companies in the world of cycling, as opposed to those concerned with the more technical aspects. i think we know what and who he's on about.

"panache is trying to breakdown the notion that the only kit that one can wear is one's club or race kit.  cycling is one of the only sports that I know where you train and race in the same kit, literally.  we need more options.  brightly colored kits are great on race day, but we need more subtle options and options that allow us to individualize ourselves from our club and team.  That's why we make racewear (custom) and ridewear (the cool stuff for training)."

shuffle your way through the online catalogue at the panache website, and you will find don has been true to his word. while there is a jersey and bib-short pairing known as eleven (yes, from that movie), along with socks, perforated arm screens (a type of mesh armwarmer which you will want as soon as you see them), regular armwarmers and kneewarmers, there are also two training jerseys. one bears the legend g.s.panache over a fabulous houndstooth pattern, complemented by a second training jersey with the love it or loathe it argyle pattern front and centre (i'm in the love it camp). panache indeed.

but they're not just concerned with well designed apparel for the active rider, but are intent on providing the very same people in cleated shoes with clothing they can wear apres or post ride, without changing brands. at present, this has extended to only a couple of cotton-wicking t-shirts, but it won't stop there. and it's not a case of form over function; on the eleven bib-shorts, for example, the leg opening is laser cut and the gripper is applied directly to the fabric, lessening the degree of construction and fabric required.

so how would one go about acquiring some of this tasty stuff? well, worldwide, at present, the only way to do so is via the panache website, a method perhaps more advantageous to the american rider than those in europe, due to the cost of posting. but in line with increasing the panache workforce to three more than don, plans are afoot to provide a uk distributor sooner, rather than later.then we can all ride with panache.

i'm hoping soon to road test a couple of items from the panache wardrobe, while i still have a cyclist's tan on my legs. you'll be the second to know.

panachecyclewear.com | panache blog

posted on wednesday 13th august

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les amis de paris-roubaix

les amis de paris roubaix

as this is august and absolutely nowhere near spring, the time when the spring classics are held, this seems like the ideal time to mention paris-roubaix once again. only this time, it's not the race itself that concerns, but all the work that goes on throughout the year to bring us one day of unmitigated joy once a year. as yet, you won't have been able to watch the road to roubaix reviewed below, but if you'd seen the vehicles that drive across the cobbles when it's not being ridden over by bicycles, you too would fear for their safety, tough little sods though they may be.

there's not much i can do from the depths of islay's capital city to check that the cobbles aren't tarmaced over when i'm looking the other way, or that some french farmer's tractor doesn't rip a section to shreds with those inscrutable metal appendages that always seem to hang menacingly off the back of all tractors worldwide. fortunately, there are folks a darned sight closer with the wherewithal and foresight to spend the days between one paris-roubaix and the next, making sure that the cobbles remain the terrors that they are, and constantly searching for long forgotten or covered tracks that might conceivably be added to the route. and this is all carried out on a voluntary basis.

these people go under the collective name of les amis de paris roubaix, and aside from any grants they may receive from local councils (or the french equivalent), the money to carry out this excellent work comes from you and me. well, at the moment, it just comes from me and many unknown others, but i'm hoping that you'll join us. membership of les amis costs an almost miniscule twenty euros (£15.60 or approx. $30) per year, for which you receive a colour newsletter (in french) keeping you up to date with what's going on with this excelent work.

should you feel, in advance of the road to roubaix's appearance in your dvd player, that this is just the sort of thing that is deserving of those twenty euros, post it off to les amis de paris roubaix, 39, avenue fleming, 59100 roubaix. or check the website.

lesamisdeparisroubaix.com

posted on tuesday 12th august

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the road to roubaix dvd £19.95 masterlink films

road to roubaix

i have no idea what others do when they're reviewing dvds; generally i have a pen and paper at the ready to scribble notes and those incredibly brilliant one liners that i never have while watching. only this documentary was so cotton picking absorbing, that the end credits were running and my hand was still holding the pen, mid word. and the worst part is, i'm not sure what the word was. i'm not much one for swearing, whatever the occasion, but this is ****ing brilliant.

watch as tom boonen ambles his way through a pressing stream of autograph hunters pre-race, calmly and cheerfully signing everything placed in front of him. watch again as 2007 winner, stuey o'grady walks almost as many kilometres to the team bus as he's just ridden across the cobbles. and after pedalling across those huge chunks of rock for 160 miles, happily posing for photographs with folk that presumably have no business being there in the first place. david deal and david cooper of masterlink films have made one heck of a movie about one of the finest, if not the finest race in the cycling season. it's a point well made throughout the film, by several of the participants; those who dream of a win in the roubaix velodrome are generally a lot less interested in the three week tours. peter van petegem for instance, though it's obviously possible to do both. interviewee sean kelly one of the prime examples. eddie merckx' mechanic, julienne devriesse, at the point of creation, a mechanic with discovery channel team; 'you're either a rider for paris-roubaix, or you're not'.

thankfully, those are qualities not necessarily applicable to those on this side of the screen. it's a fabulous race to watch on tv, even better if you have the opportunity to stand by the side of the cobbled roads, and finally rounded out to satisfaction by this film. it's an eccentric mix of interviews too; tim kolln and camille mcmillan, two photographers who have contributed so artfully to rouleur since its inception, as well as the editor of same, guy andrews and regular contributor, johnny green, tellingly wearing a tour de france pin badge on his lapel, all the while professing undying love for roubaix. all encompassing is cycling.

the choice of riders is also eclectic. yes, there's tom boonen and peter van petegem, but contrasted by ('it's insane) lance armstrong, a rider who never took the compiegne start line throughout his career (regrettably, if his words are to be believed). juan antonio flecha, who crossed the line in roubaix almost a minute behind o'grady, gert steegmans, marc madiot, max van heeswijk, all conspire to make this an overwhelmingly, well considered documentary.

prize for the most unfortunate interview has to go to lampre's alessandro ballan, camera in his face in front of a team bus running a rather lound engine of some sort. thankfully, ballan's answers are in italian, so we have the benefit of english subtitles to 'hear' his roubaix wisdom.. the latter part of the film is a cleverly edited, monochrome overview of stuey's 2007 paris roubaix, the hours in the showers, and even tim kolln photographing those incredible post race shots in front of a large white background.

like all the best movies, road to roubaix will bear repeated viewing, because much like a joni mitchell album, you'll always find bits you missed the first, second and probably eleventh time round. the aptly atmospheric music was especially commissioned for the occasion, composed and performed by paul o'brien - as important as the moving pictures in my humble opinion. quite insane - i had shivers down my spine watching much of this.

road to roubaix will be exclusively sold in the uk by prendas ciclismo at £19.95 with stocks due at end september. in the rest of the world, orders can be placed via the masterlink films website ($27.95 plus postage).

prendas ciclismo | masterlink films

posted on monday 11th august

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bonk breaker

bonk breaker

i'm pretty sure that, unless you're only a commuting cyclist, we've all been there. i know i have, and on more than one occasion, both before and during. if you're going to cycle great distances, a modicum of training is required or, in my case, a great deal of training is required. and as the calorie numbers increase on the polar or garmin (or whatever), it becomes necessary to commence some degree of face stuffing, preferably of the high calorie variety.

little but often seems to be the name of the game (oh that it were so), and alternating between a chewy bar and a gel generally seems the ideal way to start the kilometres as they stretch out waaaaay in front. however, by the time 80 or 90 kilometres hove into view, this diet, fulfilling though it may be, becomes less than... well... fulfilling. there were several days during the early part of this year when i really, really needed to munch on something, but just could not face yet another carbo bar. the same thing happened on the second day of london-paris this year. and the worst part of it is that when this situation occurs, that calorie starved grey matter safely enclosed in the catlike starts to crave a plate of porridge, a peanut butter sandwich or oatcakes with brie. it's at times like these, that you wish somebody with a science or nutrition degree would invent a carbo bar that tasted like real food.

well wouldn't you just know it. bonk breaker bars are the brainchild of an enthusiastic american by the name of jason winn, currently residing in southern california (chatsworth to be precise), and a guy you just know has suffered from the above carbohydrate dilemma. bonk breakers arrive in a convenient 'squarish' size, wrapped in an easy openable orange foil wrap, a whole package which fits just neatly in a back pocket. peanut butter and jelly, and peanut butter and choc chip are the two flavours on offer, in a moist and appetizing bundle (though a bit of a bummer if you don't like peanut butter) holding in a bursting 250 calories (255 in the choc chip). what's even better is, these aren't for wimps - it's crunchy peanut butter.

what these bonk breakers don't have, is any dairy or wheat products, so they've pretty much got every dietary corner covered. and much as i can't stand chocolate chip, i loved these. munch them on their own mid-ride, or wait till you get to debbie's and have one with a soya milk cappuccino or double espresso; either way face stuffing has again become a pleasure, while the carbohydrates get to do their job properly.

as i write, uk distribution is in the peanut butter jar (does everyone else immediately think of that rapha ad, or is it just me?), but those of you in north america can buy a whole box of the wee blighters for only $21.99 (a dozen) from the bonk breakers website, and doubtless quantities of one or two can be had from the nearest bike store.

now i laugh in the face of multiple kilometres.

bonkbreaker.com

posted on monday 11th august

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alternative gps

ascent software

if you've been reading over the past few weeks you may well be aware that i currently have a rather fine garmin edge 705 gps unit on test from those very nice people at garmin. fortunately i have it for a couple more months because this thing has so many hidden delights, that it is going to take some fundamental investigation by yours truly to figure out what can be done, and just exactly how to achieve same. apple computer have always placed great emphasis on the fact that their software simply works as good enough reason not to include sophisticated user manuals, giving rise to a growing series of books in the missing manual series, for those who just need a quicker way to access the features.

it may be that the garmin 705 is the ideal candidate for this, because i can't always figure out how to achieve some of the chapters in the pdf manual included with the unit. and i can't help but be aware of the occasional criticism that surfaces regarding the software provided by garmin (as a free download, it should be said) for use on apple computers. i did single garmin out for praise in this respect when so many clever devices and services appear to speak microsoft only (seems very unfair that eurosport's live web streaming during the tour worked only with computers running windows vista, for example).

however, only today, i was happily alerted by a correspondent (thank you mr allen) to the existence of what has turned out to be a rather fabulous alternative - ascent from montebello software. if your computing choice or necessity has taken you to the dark side then you either need to buy a mac, or go do something less interesting instead, because ascent only functions on macintosh computers (fine by me). this piece of software will download any file from quite a long list of garmin gps units, and will even deal with some polar monitors (to check if your unit is compatible, click here) presenting all the necessary information in a rather orderly fashion. this includes what apple would call a hud (head up display) that allows replay of the route overlaid on a google earth map, and at a user defined speed. fun to watch.

the software can be purchased for a comfortable $40 (£20) but initially, to see if it suits your purposes, you can download a trial version that's good for ten routes offloaded from whatever device you are using. definitely recommended.

montobello software

posted on sunday 10th august

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scotland's jeannie longo

christine maclean

with the track events due to start in beijing at the end of this coming week, we're all sitting here in scotland with hopeful smug grins on our faces at the prospect of chris hoy destroying all that come before him. of course, with cycling being somewhat on the unpredictable side, we could be proved slightly wide of the mark, but it's more likely than unlikely on past form. it's also extremely gratifying to see nicole cooke winning the olympic road race proving, if nothing else, that britain's female contingent shines brighter than britain's male road racers none of whom finished saturday's olympic road race. but down in 24th place, a mere 33 seconds behind cooke, was the perennial jeannie longo, now comfortably into her forties and still competing at the highest level; an example to all racers of either sex.

cast your mind back, or trawl through the post archive, to the interview with shetland's equivalent of the great ms longo (well, sort of, in a relative kind of way), christine mclean, who hasn't been hiding her speed under a bushel lately. since the interview, christine has accumulated three british age category gold medals in 10, 25 and 50 mile time trials, plus silver in the scottish 10 and 25 mile disciplines. as someone who doesn't time-trial or race, that is very impressive; as someone who gets dropped quite regularly on recreational rides, it's even more impressive.

however, just to add a thick layer of icing on the cake, christine nabbed a scottish women's vets record in the 100 mile time trial championships last week (too frightening to contemplate, if you ask me), knocking 25 minutes (!) off the previous record and getting within two minutes of the overall women's record. if this was you or i, we'd now lie down in a darkened room for a fortnight and consider that the pinnacle of a career. christine, however, simply said 'i'll have to keep trying now.'

i'm off to lie down in that darkened room now.

posted on sunday 10th august

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