I wouldn’t be surprised given the dominance of Pog and some of the times that those in his wake are posting. I just want to (perhaps naively) hope they’re clean. It’s great to watch and I don’t think cycling could survive another drugs crisis.
I was thinking that if Pog was doping he would chill out a bit and not make it so obvious!
Ive enjoyed it but with Pog dominating from pretty much day 1 its a long way short of being a classic tour for me. It’s been too easy for him if riding a tour is easy.
Ineos were shit. Carapaz has been awesome to watch but still off in GC terms
Shout to Jorgenson yesterday. How do you recover mentally from that?
Nonchalance from Pog today. Happy to take the front with 400m to go and blew Jonas away a few metres later.
I suppose this is expected. Sad in many ways but thats due to the sports history.
Anyone on X /Twitter heard of Mou?
I wonder how ‘The Badger’ would have faired under modern drug-testing regimes? 
It makes me sad to even think of it.
A really good interview with one of Britain’s cycling greats:
Right peeps.
In a moment of utter madness I’m nervously toying with the idea of an e-bike. To make matters worse I’m dithering over whether it should be a road or mountain bike.
Why an e-bike? Well I’ve kinda figured that the best (for me) way to improve strength and fitness, and keep the weight off (plus lose a bit more) is steady lower intensity exercise over a longer timescale with a view to creep up to my goals rather than blasting myself to oblivion.
On a bike a steady ride is a challenge round here. Geology ruled that there shall be hills and mountains everywhere. They become a challenge when your getting on and have a body screwed up by fucked up kidneys.
I’m spoiled for choice regarding mountain bike trails, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the road and i would use it to commute. For context to get work the route is 8ish miles (very doable) but with 190m descent followed by 200m ascent. Small beer in reality but given where im at and Im not competing in the TdF any time soon i need to cut my cloth accordingly.
Thoughts and recommendations anyone?
Do it.
Being out there is better than sitting on your arse injured/fatigued.
Road/mountain? Dunno.
Ps. The above does not mean I won’t throw rocks if I ever see you out there.
I will hold you liable for my increased leccy bill.
While i keep myself active, forcing myself to use it will always be the chalkenge given the price of these things nowadays. When did bikes get so expensive?
See if they are fitted with one of these :0)
Butt friendly saddle
I would just get a standard road bike. Your bike fitness will improve quickly. 5-10 rides and a 200m climb will feel easy and you’ll wonder why you got an ebike. E-bikes are much heavier also.
If you do start to get addicted, like I did, then you will want a standard bike to push your fitness further. I was in a very similar position to you and got a cheapish road bike to see if I’d get into it. Loved it and after 5 years have just upgraded to a beautiful new bike through the cycle to work scheme 
May I introduce you to our lord and saviour the gravel bike?
I’d love to get a gravel bike when my kids are older and head out on the trails with them.
Currently I cycle to get a break from them 
I chose one because I essentially wanted a do-it-all bike, and because roads are so terrible that the wider tyre clearance was most welcome. Run it on Schwalbe Marathon Mondials so punctures are never a thing.
My road bike runs tubeless (with the sealant). 32mm tyres. No punctures yet on our dodgy roads!
But then you’d have to replace the sealant every once in a while, right?
It’s honestly a tough call. My head says I should refurb my existing bike and go but I need to listen to my head for a change and at least build up to it while also being mindful that i may simply never reach a level where that is comfortable (it used to be ) or whether its doing me any good. Earlier this year i was exercising hard and dieting (both calorie restricted and kidney friendly) and I really started to struggle with my blood potassium levels. Im still trying to get to the bottom of why but i can only think it was a combination of the exercise and diet.
In addition after nearly 2 years of building up my strength and fitness Im still miles behind others. I simply dont have the strength or stamina.
Badically Im trying to find ways of working my way up without really giving myself problems. Ive found that slow running has helped and im applying that logic to a bike which is more fun.
Crossed my mind to be honest but i think theyre a little too niche for this area. You really need a full mountain bike to make it worthwhile. My current mountain bike is absolute rubbish round here. The geomtetry, wheel size and suspension really struggle. Stick me on it and its even worse.
Skipping, using a leather skipping rope, builds up your stamina better than anything else IMO - In the meantime… after reading this, anyone with blood pumping through their veins, will be getting the urge to get out there on those roads :0)
Schwalbe marathon Mondial tire review (pedalpowertouring.com)
