Raleigh Chiltern Resto: Barry's First Puncture.

I like an honest puncture.
A puncture should have the decency to to deflate the inner tube quickly and visibly thus alerting the rider to the fact that it is, indeed, punctured.

I despise the sneaky, insidious, slooooooooooow puncture.

It's not a 'real' puncture.
It's more like rubber-tube-incontinence.
If you 'Google' that combination of words you will have a bad time and serve you right BTW.

Barry the Bike first displayed frontal deflation on Saturday:

'It's only flat at the bottom!'

I hate that.

I am unusually prepared for this circumstance because I got the inner tubes on a 3fer2 deal at Halfords.

One on the front, one on the back, one in the bag.

So, the easiest way to deal with this situation is to remove the front wheel, open one side of the tyre, remove the tube, establish position and cause of puncture, replace punctured tube with spare, close tyre, and inflate to 55psi.

Not forgetting to repair the now 'spare' inner tube, just in case....

In attempting to remove the front wheel I torn one of the front brake blocks from its mounting.

The reasons for this were:

That I assumed the tyre was completely deflated.

It wasn't.

That the residual inflation was enough to make removing the wheel without either releasing the brake adjustment or, removing one of the brake blocks, well, impossible without tearing one of the brake blocks out it seems.

(Removing a brake block is by far the easiest way of dealing with this situation.)

I am devastated by this development.

Not only because I now have to refit the block into its shoe, but I find the brake blocks are in an appallingly worn condition and need replacing.

Try finding cycle brake blocks with leather inserts.

The chrome steel wheel rim and its companion leather insert brake blocks are an endangered bred.

And 'good riddance' say I.

Leather inset brake blocks make little difference to the odds of a potential 'F%&K! NO BRAKES!' situation whist engaged in the suicidal practice of riding a bicycle with chrome steel wheel rims in the rain.

I know this, I learned this lesson in childhood.

I also learned something every young male learns about the need to avoid sudden heavy impacts to the groin area and just how easily I could be reduced to tears.

Meanwhile, back at the puncture...

I examined the tyre carefully, looking for any obvious cause of the puncture.

I didn't find any.

I opened up the tyre wall.

It was difficult.

The tyre was not completely deflated.

On the underside of the tube the chrome rim is in poor condition displaying heavy surface rusting and loose flakes of chromium plate.

I wanted to deal with the condition of the rims during the initial restoration, but I was unsure about finding replacement rim tapes should I snap one.

At this stage I notice that the tube is still partially inflated.

I wish I'd noticed before I'd wrestled the side of the tyre open, before I'd torn the brake block out of its shoe, before I removed the wheel.

Close up the tyre, inflate, refit front wheel.

It took two days for the tube to deflate.

I covered around 30 miles during that time with the tube holding good pressure and no front brake.

This morning the tyre was flat.

I removed the tube.

The debris in the casing is worrying:

I cleaned it out and removed as much loose chrome and rust as I could without damaging the rim tape.

I located the, very small, puncture using a kitchen sink full of bloody cold water.

Having found the puncture I was able to locate the approximate area on the casing where the likely cause may still lurk.

I carefully felt around the inside of the casing and I think I touched what might have been a very small thorn, but I may have imagined it.

I repaired the puncture:

The patch is complete over-kill for the size of the hole in the tube, but at least I've got a guaranteed 'hit'.

Everything refitted I turned my attention to the Interwebs trying to source suitable brake blocks.

I gave up and used a blunt screwdriver to ease the old brake block back into its shoe.

I took Barry out for an early evening suburban drift-about ride, turning onto the prom just short of the pier.

The sunset was on fire.

The sea was a flat turquoise.

The breezes cooler now.

All's well that ends well.

Raleigh Chiltern Resto: Barry the Bike Sits Up & Loses A Bit of Weight.

Changing Barry's handlebar and stem assembly and replacing it with an assembly fitted with alloy bars and a longer stem shouldn't present to much of a problem.

Hold that thought.

The old handlebar assembly looked like this:

The the interesting thing about this 'before' picture is the fact I remembered to take it.

So, what needs to happen here?

• 1) Remove the handgrips and replace with better grips.
• 2) Remove brake levers, gear selector, basket, bell, and hooter.
• 3) Remove handlebar assembly, fit replacement.
• 4) Refit hooter, bell, basket, gear selector, brake levers, and fit handgrips.
• 5) Test ride.

Of course No. 1 should read: 1) Have a lovely cup of tea.

So, I made a lovely cup of tea and,

Cut the old grips off with a Stanley Knife, cast them into the bin where they belong, disconnect brake cables trying to avoid loosening them from their respective calipers, loosen brake cables from their respective calipers as I've got them adjusted so tightly there's no slack in the cable, remove basket by cutting retaining zip-ties and unhooking it from the bar, send several minutes wrestling the basket from the bar, search for the hooter's bulb that was pulled off by the basket as it was removed causing the bulb to bounce off into the flower bed, remove brake levers, gear selector, bell, and the trumpet bit of the hooter.

Drink rest of, now cold, tea.

Make delicious new cup of tea.

Back to work.

Remove handlebar assembly and snap comparison photograph:

The replacement stem is around 5 inches longer than the old one.

This should do the trick.

The weight difference is significant, the new assembly being much lighter even though there appears to be more of it.

The weight loss is due to the replacement's being aluminum alloy.

Even though the new stem is heavier than the old one the difference between the alloy and steel handlebars is enough to make a significant weight saving.

Drink rest of, now lukewarm, tea.

Make delicious new cup of tea.

Back to wo..

Take natural break.

Back to work.

Fit new handlebar assembly, fit, but do not tighten all control and ancillary fittings, visit shed, uncover Apollo bike, attempt to remove grips, spend several minutes wrestling grips from Apollo bike with swearing.

Drink rest of, now cold, tea.

Decide to finish job before next cup of tea.

Make delicious new cup of tea.

Assemble right-hand side of handlebars and fit grip, attempt to assemble left-hand side of handlebars after fitting left-hand grip, discover fastening bolt in left-hand brake lever has stripped, remove both grips with swearing, remove brake levers, visit shed and remove slick two-finger brake levers from Apollo bike.

Spill rest of, still moderately warm, tea when tripping on watering hose.

Sweep up broken cup.

Check Tumblr blog while drinking delicious new cup of tea.

Back to work.

Fit brake levers, discover brake cables need replacing very soon and are just a little to short short side due to the longer stem, spend several minutes tweeking & tinkering components into correct position.

Forget about cup of tea and leave it standing on wall top outside the flat.

Refit front basket with swearing and secure with zip-ties.

Take short spin down the street as preliminary to test ride, tweak and tinker some more.

Decide job is done:

All this has improved Barry no end.

It's a much more comfortable ride now.

My position on the bike is more upright so I no longer 'slouch' and find it easier to check the traffic behind me.

Although I didn't intend making fundamental changes to Barry it seems I've achieved just that without interfering with Barry's essential style:

On testing I find Barry has turned into a rollin' machine and I spend many happy minutes drifting and swooping through the deserted Sunday evening streets onaplate mission in the heart of Bognor Regis.

When considering your own comfort on a bicycle I recommend concentrating on all the places your body comes into contact with the machine.

1) Handlebar grips, spend money, get good quality.

2) Saddles (saddles are gender specific, make sure you've got the right type). Although I have a huge sprung leather saddle on Barry a quality plastic saddle is more practical for general purposes and won't need maintaining with Neet's Foot Oil to keep it supple or need a cover to keep it dry.

3) A wide platform pedal is the best choice for this type of utilitarian machine unless your really insane enough to want to fit clips and straps to it.

I now have to retrieve a cup of, now cold and full of dead bugs, cup of tea from the top ot the wall outside the flat.

Raleigh Chiltern (aka 'Barry the Bike) Restoration Update.

Update note: I've updated the original Raleigh Chiltern Resto post to correct some errors and add info I've subsequently collected here:

Raleigh Chiltern Resto

I've also added 'Raleigh Chiltern' to the title of any post relating to this project.

This Raleigh Chiltern is beginning to change my mind about what I actually require from the machine I use for personal transport.

I build all my 'serious' bicycles with the sole intent of efficiently converting muscle power into forward motion.
The position of the rider on the bike is critical to that efficiency and, if poorly adjusted, can be bloody uncomfortable.

Barry the Bike, in its current form, is not really an efficient machine and doesn't need to be either.
I thought I'd have a test run up to Goodwood House to time how long it would take Barry to get me there.

On my Halfords Apollo Hybrid, on an average day, it takes: 49mins 38.2secs.
On The Dobson single speed cycle path rocket, on a good day, it takes: 43mins 18.2 secs.
On the Raleigh Chiltern on an Indian Summer's day under an azure sky, into a gentle headwind it takes:  54mins 20.4 secs

I didn't 'push' hard, just kept winding the gear until I reached Goodwood.
By the time I got to my destination I'd decided that riding Barry over long(ish) distances is probably not a good idea.

The front basket, when loaded as seen above, affects the steering stability adversely, but over short distances this is not a significant problem.

I found my big bouncy Dutch Lepper Saddle surprisingly uncomfortable after while.

It's not fully 'broken-in' yet, though it's strange I never noticed any discomfort when using this saddle on other bikes.

During the ride I got the feeling that I was positioned just a little to far forward for comfort.

There's no front to back adjustment on the Lepper Saddle so I have to consider the handlebar position.

I was led to believe, as a quick rule of thumb, that if one were look down from ones normal seating position at the middle of the handlebars, the front wheel hub should be in line with the bars.

If I change my seating position to a comfortable one, I find the hub has moved backward from it's position.

I need to lift the handlebars a little to compensate for this which means another stem as the current one is on it's upper limit.

That's the next task.

Many Raleigh products have very passionate fans, the Raleigh Chopper or Raleigh 20 models for instance.

I haven't yet found a Raleigh Chiltern fan club.

This is sad as these bikes are reasonably easy to get hold, cheap to maintain and can handle more abuse than most, so called, Mountain Bikes.

I'm beginning to find the world of the generic 3 Speed Push Bike very interesting indeed.

There are many potentially collectable machines being dumped in Community Refuse Facilities that could be worth a bob or two in years to come if only as props in a BBC drama series set anywhere from the late 1950's to the 1990's.

These machines have changed very little in that period.

I keep finding myself considering performing a full restoration on Barry, but I don't think I will.

I like him the just way he is.

By way of compensation to those disappointed at not seeing me riding Barry the Bike 'Look! No hands'

here's a film I did the other day whist returning from playing my uke up on the prom:

It freaked me out when I first heard it as could't tell where the sound was coming from, but how cool is that?

Cool doesn't end there either.

Look at Barry with my Resonator Uke in the basket:

All of this bicycle tippy-tap-tapping leads me to the distressing conclusion that I am in the middle of a 'Nasty Attack of Bicycles' relapse.

As we all know, the first step on the road to recovery is admitting one has a problem.

Raleigh Chiltern Resto: The Story of Barry the Bikes' New (ish) Front Carrier.

For reasons I don't want to go into involving downstairs-elderly neighbour Madge, her son Gary, rising damp, and men with very loud pneumatic hammers, we have a skip outside on the drive.
It's filled with Madge's kitchen and all the plaster from the kitchen.

I was riding Barry the Bike around the other day.
My bag was strapped onto the rear rack with bungee cords, which crushed everything in the bag.
I'd really like a front rack or basket type thing, they're much handier an' no mistake'

Truth is, although desirable, front racks are expensive for what they are so I won't be buying one anytime soon.

The following day I left the flat and, on walking past the skip, noticed someone had throw not one, but two wire-framed front mounting bicycle baskets in it.
What are the chances of that happening I wonder?

Quite high I suspect.

Anyway, the one of the two that was worth saving did once have a removable wire basket, but it had been strapped into place on the frame using cable ties.
This is not a problem.
I used more cable ties to stabilise the whole construction and then use the same method to attach the frame to the handlebars.
All this results in Barry the Bike now sporting a very versatile front mounted carrying structure.

The test ride was a quick trip to Tesco to buy a USB lead:

This machine is the best utility cycle I've owned.

I'd like to have a go at restoring a Raleigh 20.

I now have to go check what I've come to refer to as "The Magic Skip".

Adventures In Modern Cycling: To Pagham on the Raleigh Chiltern (Barry the Bike)

I'm beginning to like the Raleigh Chiltern, I temporarily gave the name 'Barry', quite a lot.

Barry's a bit of a plodder, but reliable, unfussy, does what it says on the tin.

Barry goes along.

Barry's taken me to two different Post Offices, my garden watering job, and an enjoyable aimless drift through the burbs of Bognor Regis.

I enjoyed the aimless drift so much I thought I'd give it another go,

Not so aimless this time perhaps.

A plate mission to...

Then on to...

Via....

With as little contact with cars as possible.

Along the prom, which is now nearly fully open to cyclists, toward Bognor.

Just because one can cycle on the prom doesn't mean one should, especially on the narrow bit.

The wide bit can be as bad:

I left the prom before the human/bicycle tolerance ratio became to close and someone got a Raleigh Chiltern parked in their backside.

Through quiet unglamorous streets behind the main drag back toward the pier to photograph Barry.

The above picture was taken once I'd crossed at the pelican.

I'm glad I didn't try to negotiate a path through that teaming hoard.

I don't think mixing it up on that stretch of prom is a particularly good idea.

On to the pier.

Plate placed and recorded.

It's high-tide and several hairy fishing types are casting from the end of the pier.

Here's the Barry p0rn:

There's still a significant amount of cosmetic work to do on Barry, but mechanically he's as sound as a pound.

The mudguards make a satisfyingly familiar rattle when the bike's ridden over bumps.

I turn to leave the pier and witness this sequence of events unfold:

• 01) There is a loud splash as something hits the sea.
• 02) There is a young girl dressed in a blue t-shirt bobbing about in the water whilst shouting encouragement to her friend who is hanging above the sea from the outside of the pier deck rail.
• 03) The young girl hanging from the pier deck rail seems reluctant to jump until her friend below is out of the way.
• 04) errr,, now this is about where I got a bit of a conflict going.

This was obviously dangerous behaviour, all sorts of things can go horribly wrong.

Jumping from the pier is expressly forbidden by large ominous signs, and some more polite requests of yesteryear painted in a jolly seaside font.

Y'know know what child?

F%#k the law:

And in that moment she was free.

There's lots of 'tutting' and 'well I nevers' from the few people walking on the prom.

(The guys in the picture, leaning on the rail, might not have even noticed the adolescent child launching herself into the, almost, unknown).

I hung about on the pier looking toward Pagham.

The two girls reappeared on the deck.

I called across to them, holding out my iPod displaying the picture.

They came over and took a quick glance and went back for another jump.

I'd wanted to tell girl number 2 how brave I thought she was, but noticed a few people were now eyeing me sternly.

I left the pier and hit the burbs again aiming vaguely for Pagham harbour.

I rode through street after avenue after way after close then turning round to go back because there's a clue in the word 'Close' that I chose to ignore.

Bungalow land, Death's waiting room.

That's a cliche, but only because it's true.

Oh, I seem to have drifted to the entrance for Pagham Nature Reserve.

It's a footpath which means Barry must be walked not ridden.

Some times laws are sensible and should be obeyed.

I took a while to stand and stare:

I wondered if Tara and Kevin were still an item?

I took more pictures of Barry:

and Elvis:

Barry certainly is an adventurous one.

The Raleigh Chiltern Restoration (updated)

update: In view of subsequent information I've updated this post to correct some errors and add a little more info on the bicycle.

I'm always cautious when offered a free bicycle.

More often than not the bicycle offered turns out to be low quality scrap iron the present owner couldn't be bothered to take to the place of recycling (no pun etc. etc).

I was offered a 'good' bicycle by the wife of it's Parkinson's Diseased owner.

This was very sad.

Mr. E had hoped to fix the bike up and ride it, but is now unable to do either.

The only information I could get, prior to me saying 'yes' was that it was a Raleigh and it was black.

Raleigh is not always perceived, in fact very rarely is, as a mark of quality, but this is to underestimate the resilience of the good old 'All Steel Bicycle'.

Raleigh did manufacture what I consider to be the generic 'push-bike' which seem to have more or less disappeared under a hail of shoddy mountain bikes from China (where most of Raleigh's, or any volume manufactures, product line comes from nowadays)

The classic push-bike is an unglamorous, utilitarian, sit-up-and-beg style, work-a-day machine, with calliper brakes, chrome wheel rims, SA 3 speed, but also available in single speed, full mudguards, chain guard, and soggy tyres.

Prior to collection I'd hoped it might  be the 'Pioneer' model which, although pretty bad, could be stripped for the frame if nothing else.

It turned out to be an early 1990's 22'in Raleigh Chiltern.

The most generic push-bikey push-bike ever.

It was in a very sorry state.

It's long stay in a shed had left it covered in dust, white paint flecks, and spiders.

Both front and rear tyres were flat and perished, the ends of the mudguards had rotted away, there was evidence of oxidisation bubbling up under the chain stay paint work, and it had an ugly saddle.

It's at this point I wish I'd taken a 'before' picture.

Seriously, the bike was a heap and I cursed myself for saying yes to it.

I left it in the back garden while I considered what to do with it.

A couple of days later I gave it a good-looking-at and decided it wasn't to bad really.

Within minutes I realised all it really needed was new tyres and tubes (eBay £30), a clean, and bit of adjustment

I cleaned all the exposed metal & chrome work with wire-wool.

The chrome on the rear wheel being in the worst condition, but nothing that would stop it going round and round.

It has horrid galvanised spokes that will last till the crack of doom.

I cleaned a good proportion of the dust, white paint flecks, and spiders off, but haven't given the paintwork a proper clean with something like T-Cut yet.

Under the ugly saddle cover I found a Dunlop sprung leather saddle in need of serious repair.

I took it off, put it in my To-Do-Later-Box, and replaced it with my bouncy Dutch Lepper saddle.

I shortened both mudguards (bob-tailed) cutting as close to the rotten areas as I could, drilled some mounting holes, and did some gently-bending-with-the-occasional-thump-into-shape.

All the control cables have been lubricated, as have all accessible bearings (head-set, wheels).

The brake calipers have been re-aligned and adjusted.

The brakes would now be considered 'good' by the casual cyclist.

I wouldn't trust leather-insert brake blocks on chrome rims in the dry and it's suicidal to ride in wet weather on them.

Still, they work, and work well now, which is more to the point.

The arrival and fitting of the new tyres really sped things up.

They're a size I believe to be unique to Raleigh, 26 x 1 3/8ths or, 37 x 590.

I think Raleigh must have used this smaller sized wheel as it makes it easier to put ones feet on the ground whilst sitting in the saddle.

It's a false sense of security BTW.

The gears were still set up correctly, all three clicking in as quickly and as positively as any SA product.
The date stamp on the three speed hub is 91-04 which I take to mean that it was manufactured sometime in April 1990.
It's difficult to say when the bike as a whole was completed and sold from this, but it's probably within the same year.

Considering what goes on in the hub of planetary gears and the number of parts involved they very rarely have any faults.

Gear changing faults are usually due to incorrect gear cable adjustment.

Planetary gears, when compared to derailleur gears, are inefficient.

I read that riding in 2nd gear gives the 1:1 ratio.

Go to 3rd if the wind's behind you, go to 1st if the road goes up, and hope it doesn't go up to much.

The Raleigh Chiltern, despite its name, is built for going along.... to say, the post office or newsagent.

I didn't want to let myself get sucked into a nasty attack of bicycles. I just wanted to restore this bike to running order spending as little as possible.

I did blow the budget but no more.

This is the result:

A modest push-bike that does it job well and in some comfort.

The chain lightly brushes the inside of the chain guard, but I've isolated the cause and will not cease in my efforts to remove it lest it drive me mad.

update: Job Done

The maiden ride along the prom to where the pictures were taken was a pleasant hello birds, hello sky, hello sea, pootle with contented smiling.

Then temptation drew me to its delicious bosom.

Using the tools I'd bought with me just in case, I raised the saddle as high as it would go.

Still to short for me, but I could drive the bike on a bit better in this position.

200 yards of trying to thrash this machine helped me to realise its true push-bikeness.

This machine was built for comfort, not speed.

I dropped the saddle and adopted the smile again.

Of course the true test of the bike's stability is riding it 'look mum, no hands!'

Not only did I ride no-handed, but I filmed it as well.

Errr...

update: I deleted the video by mistake.

This bike is probably over 20 years old.

It seems to have done very little except stand in a shed.

If you put an equivalently priced mountain bike in a shed and return 20 years later to restore it I wish you well.

I'll have to give this bike a name of course.

Until its true personality is revealed, I'll call it 'Barry'.

Well I Never.

Today a British cyclist won the Tour de France.

I didn't think I'd write that sentence in my life time.

Thank you Mr. Wiggins and Team Sky.

Cycling Joke.

Q: If Bradley Wiggins was a motor-bike, what kind of noise would he make?
A: Froom, Froom.

The Lull.

I'm definitely in a lull.
The C.D.'s a reality.
Having no job is a reality.

There's only one thing for it, a ride on the potato:

The first run out along the prom of the season.
I've just down-loaded a new lens and film for the Hipstarmatic camera app and snap a few pictures of Bognor Regis and Felpham.
The town and sea-front are really busy on this cold bright day.

I'm trying to remain positive whilst contemplating the smoking ruin of my 'career' but also allowing myself a couple of hours to feel sorry for myself.

I managed to get home in time to watch Sir Chris Hoy sprint his way to another cycling gold medal.
Cheered me up no end.
I'd love to take the potato on a spin round a velodrome.

Tomorrow's a day for a new strategy.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: The Final Stage.

The stage started very slowly in bright sunshine.
Lots of big smiles and back slapping within the peloton.
Eventually everybody got down to work.
The HTC machine delivered the Manx Missile and one of Cav's career goals was finally achieved.
Mr. Evans deserved his overall win.
It surprised me to learn, at 34, he's the oldest rider ever to do this.
For many reasons this has been one, it not the, best tours I've ever watched.
Anyway, jolly well done everybody.

Same time next year?

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 20

Out come the backward-pointy-hats again for a relatively short test.
Cuddles does his eyeballs out trick, very nearly takes the stage, which goes to Tony Martin, and finally wins the tour.
Australia rejoices (with a public holiday apparently).
The Bunk Bed Bros will still be able to hold hands on the podium though.

So, that's it.
All that's left is the parade ride into Paris which will come down to finding out who can cover the last 100 m the fastest.
Who's your money on?

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 19

Mr. Voelker tries a Stiff Neck Bunk Brother type attack.
Maybe a little to early as it turns out and takes it out on a bidon.
Boo Boo attacks more out of pride than any hope of a podium.
Sanchez drags Pierre Rolland (Mr. Voelker's team mate) up to Boo Boo's back wheel, Rolland goes straight through and takes the stage win.
What a cheeky monkey!

Andy Stiff Neck Bunk Brother pulls on the Yellow Jersey.
Sanchez claims this year's Polka Dot jersey.

Cav looks as if he'll take the Green Jersey to Paris.

Now then, there's no more that a fag paper between the main contenders as we go into today's test and I wonder to myself, if the individual time-trial ends up in an inconclusive result, will the traditional parade ride on Sunday turn into a race?

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 18

Today's stage was the best I can ever remember watching.
It even beat the nail-biting Lemond/Fignon time-trial.

60.3k to go and Andy Stiff-Neck makes, what must have seemed to the other contenders, an ill-judged attack.
Nobody responds.
Mistake.
He flew away and kept on flying.
It wasn't until the last 20k that any attempt to reel him in was made.
Cuddles turned himself inside-out to close the gap.
Mr. Voelker hung on to his shirt tail.
Andy Stiff Neck took the stage and brother Frank, stepping out of the passenger seat, took second.
Mr. Voelker managed to hang on to the yellow jersey but it cost him dear.
Boo Boo ended up looking like a busted flush.
Cav, along with a good proportion of the peloton, didn't make the cut off and had 20 points deducted.

Today's stage was one of the reasons I watch this great adventure.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 17

Quick visit to Italy.
The pace is high again.
14 go off the front.
Oh, look a really big fort!
Nothing of any note happens on the climbs.
On the last (dangerous) decent Boo Boo and Sanchez launch a surprise attack but are reeled in just before they hit the line.
Mr. Voeckler over-cooks a bend and ends up in someone's front yard.
(Fortunately they'd left the gate open.)
The real hero of the day is Eddie the Boss who makes up for yesterday's disappointment with a masterful piece of riding to a well deserved stage win.
Norway rejoices.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 16

Charging into the Alps at a furious pace in the rain.
Nothing much doing till the 2nd Cat climb.
Boo Boo takes a surprise flyer off the front.
His third attempt attracts Cuddles and Sanchez's attention, leaves the bunk-bed brothers wanting and seems to crack Mr. Voeckler.
Over the top and onto the ferocious 11.5k decent.
Only one rider comes a-cropper at that notorious corner.
Cuddles rides his eyeballs out leaving Boo Boo and Sanchez trailing in his wake and putting him 2nd in the GC.
Meanwhile, up at the front...
A Norwegian ding-dong takes place resulting in The God of Thunder taking his second stage win this tour from Boasson Hagen Das.
Must say The God of Thunder's winning smile makes it look like he's riding nothing more than a Sunday club run.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: Second Rest Day.

Tensooooooooooo....

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 15

The truce comes down again as the sprinters come from the back of the pack to do one last battle before the Alps.
This results in Cav tightening his grip on the green jersey with his 19th stage win.
During an interview Cav gives an insight into the motivation that puts him over the line first, FEAR.
It is to be remembered that Cav is the sharp end of an amazing delivery system. Cav never forgets that.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 14

Last day in the Pair o'Knees.
6 major climbs but very little 'action' till the last 10k of the final one.

Whittled down to a group of 12 contenders eyeballing each other intensely.
Andy Bunk Bed took a few flyers off the front which were closed down almost immediately.
Boo Boo is reported as have a 'fundamental' problem which is cited as a possible cause of his apparent lack of form.
Cuddles is being cautious as well.
The tension escalated with every pedal turn.
Nothing got resolved and the stage ended with the GC looking very much the same as it was at the start of the day.

The surprise of the day, even to himself probably, was the man whom I will stop calling Monkey on a Stick as of now.
Mr. Voeckler defended his yellow jersey against all comers and looked like the only man who deserved to wear it.
Roll on the alps.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 13

After some odd goings-on at the intermediate sprint, all today's excitement was focused on Roy's break-away.
He looked to have the stage win in the bag.
Then came a rumble of thunder.
Roy was relentlessly pursued by the god who went on to take the stage win of his life.
Roy did pull on the King of the Mountains jersey but said he would have swapped it for the stage win.
Monkey on a Stick is still in yellow.

Yesterday at Le' Tour: 12

Bastille Day is usually the day all the French riders dig down to find something within themselves that will help them win the stage.
I can tell the tour has arrived in the Pyrenees by the amount of Basque flags in the crowd.

Cuddles watched the Shreks and Boo Boo, the Shreks watched each other and Cuddles and Boo Boo, who watched Cuddles and the Shreks then they all watched Basso who...
You get the picture.

'G' took a tumble and nearly lost it on another bend prompting Mr. Liggett to wonder 'G' had been distracted by the Welsh flag that was fluttering nearby.
When the peloton hit the same bend there was another tumble involving several riders including the Monkey on a Stick in his yellow jersey.
So, I expect the Welsh flag could now be subject to a risk assessment.

After much pain and suffering Samuel Sanchez (a Spaniard) took the stage.