T minus 35 days and counting, to the Grand Depart from Leeds 5th July, with two stages in the White County, and then a third from Cambridge to the Mall in London. It's just soo exciting!
It's the biggest biking event in the world, with approx 190 professional riders in about 20 teams racing across tarmac and cobbles, up mountains and down Dales and ending on 27th July on the Champs Elysee, Paris in the now traditional sprint finish there.
So here's the thread to share in it all, swop info about accommodation for Tour watchers, road closures, the parcours (courses), peloton gossip, potential meet ups, tv coverage, who's got the nicest legs etc.. and everything to do with the thrills and occasional spills with the event that is a game of poker played out every day on 380 wheels.
OF course if you are a newbie to all of this and are curious about the whys and hows of racing then ask and someone will pop up to answer questions. Hopefully.
So I'll depart here next with the routes of the UK 3 stages being taken so no-one gets lost and ends up in the dreaded broom wagon.
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Tour de Yorkshire, Cambridge...and oh yes France as well!!
Panwearsjaune · 31/05/2014 13:05
Oh boy, you really are stuffed then, I can't do ibuprofen (and friends) but fortunately the rest of them are very good friends of mine 
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I think I did a good job patching my beloved up yesterday 
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So what's on telly cycling wise today? I am having a rest day, I need entertainment
It is, time trial just finished, I won't say anything incase people are doing catch up but WOW, there was a statement laid down just then .
That outfit v kindly pointed to by Lost was a statement.
Where would I put my extra bottles and lunch box?
did we say we could just get on with chat in the day, as waiting for h/lights means folk have gone to bed? And people could just not come on IF they wish to miss stuff?
You should definitely get the outfit, Pan, if only to make it easier for those of us at home to spot the MN peloton on the TV coverage
We did say we could get on with chat during the day & avoid the thread if necessary, didn't we? Who's brave enough to start?
Froome HAMMERED the second half of the TT didn't he? I wonder how much was down to training and how much was 'fuck you Wiggins, watch this' . To have so many seconds over the rest of the field in such a short TT was well, I hope he's not blown his weeks worth of pedalling in one shot of angry adrenaline. It's like watching a soap opera this week, currently Wiggins looks like the petulant teen.
Young man I'm raising my eyebrow at you, now put on your nice spiderman kit or I'll get you the Captain America one
Haha, Lost, spoken like a true mother of three boys
Froome was incredible. What a start. Hope he hasn't peaked too soon...
Brailsford is now saying that Wiggins is not ruled out of the Tour despite what he's been saying, and that the final decision on team selection has not been made yet.
Lost, with six boys between us I think they need the two of us to go & sort them all out 
They wouldn't know what had hit them Drama I drove to Italy and back with three boys in the back of my car last year, my withering look and confiscation of sweeties is at an expert level and would immediately silence the toughest of men
Yes, over the years I have cultivated a death stare that can reduce grown men to jelly
It scores over the competing Cannondale as it is £100 cheaper with no apparent disadvantage, has upgraded Shimano shifters and derailleurs, and a less aggressive geometry (yes I read that and thought about geometry lessons at school and thought' well they weren't aggressive at all!'). The only down side is the colour scheme - the Cannon comes in a variety of white/red/green whereas the Spesh only comes in satin black, silver and white lines. But it does have gels fitted in the carbon forks and gelled Roubaix tapes on the bars. Oooh and paddles rather then button-shifting. I know someone with last years Spesh and he described it as faultless. It also has 50/39/30 chain rings - it's really hilly round here!
Still about the clip-in pedals thing. 
Froomey did utterly nail it didn't he? Would have still liked to see Nibbles do something fantastic.
'Tis a thing of beauty, Pan. I like the colourway, it's classy.
Does 'a less aggressive geometry' 
mean it has a less angular shape? The crossbar has a gentle curve to it.
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I think it means the stem angling and handle bar set means it easier to ride on the horns, or sit up purely on the taped bars rather than in the drops. A more 'aggressive geometry' means the emphasis on design tips the balance more in the favour of riding in the drops. The seat post angling also determines something of it.
I think.
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