Trek : 1200

I like aluminium bikes. Yes ... aluminium!!!

The Trek 1200 is my current road going bicycle.

Very little has been changed on it other than the tyres, Continental GP4000 plus Sludge tyre sealant, and the bar tape, now Fi'zi:k.

The frame is far smaller than your lbs would probably advise, but as I've said before, this is what suits me, even if the bars are low and the seat-pin is a mile long.

I would like a better bike in the future, job/finances permitting of course, and at the moment I am focusing on Cannondales and Giants. The Cannondales are good bikes, but I just don't like the look, whereas the Giant geometry seems to match what I like.

But at the moment, the Trek 1200 is going well. I like it.

Punctures : update

Well, so far, so good. Last year, I was virtually running a puncture on every ride.

This year I seriously upgraded my tyres to Continental GP4000s and used a tyre sealant called Sludge from Sludge International. Apparently, Sludge is the biggest selling tyre sealant in Africa!!!

Is it working? Well, if you don't have a puncture, how can you tell? On the other hand, the Contis seem very good and have given me a lot of confidence.

I seem to drop by other riders on descents; they seem to absorb road shock better than my previous tyres even though they run at 20psi more; and they are very steady over 40mph and round even rough corners. And lastly, they're rather red ...

You can read more about Sludge and me here ...

So this seems to be a good combo and I'll stick with it.

My Bikes : Trek 6700 MTB

This is my second Trek mountain bike. It's a few years old now, but spent a lot of that time in a cellar so it still looks pretty good.

I tend to ride a smaller frame than would be advised by a bike shop, but that's what I like. It does mean the seat-pin is on the limits of adjustability and I might need to investigate getting a longer one.

There are no major mods, other than in the cockpit. A slightly longer stem and straighter, narrower handlebars get me into a good position.

I use either SPDs or Kona platform pedals depending on what's happening.

It has a facility for upgrading to disc brakes, but the present brakes are more than adequate for my use.

Tyres are currently Continental Mountain Kings which seem rather good. Both wheels have been treated with Sludge tyre sealant.

I really like this bike. It will do me for a while yet.

Giro di Jersey 2008 : Results & Images

These are the latest results:

Day One, 20.06.2008 : Ringoes ITT

• Complete results stage 1 in .xls format

Day Two, 21.06.2008 : Rocky Hill Cycling Classic

• Pro 123 through stage 2 in .pdf format
• Women through stage 2 in .pdf format
• Cat3/4 through stage 2 in .pdf format
• Masters through stage 2 in .pdf format
• Juniors through stage 2 in .pdf format * problem on results website with this file

Day Three, 22.06.2008 : The Corner House GP

• Pro123 Final in .pdf format
• Women Final in .pdf format
• Cat3/4 Final in .pdf format
• Masters Final in .pdf format
• Juniors Final in .pdf format

These files may be subject to copyright restrictions by their owners so please use responsibly.

You can also link to images from the TdJ.

These images are my property and my copyright. However, I have no objection for people to use them for their own use or to illustrate their own blog or club magazine, say. But please acknowledge and let me know ... because I'm quite interested to know where they end up.

Potential media / commercial users please contact me via comments below. Please include your email address.

• Day One, 20.06.2008 : Ringoes ITT
• Day Two, 21.06.2008 : The Rocky Hill Cycling Classic
• Day Three, 22.06.2008 : The Corner House GP

Coming soon ...

... Alan's cycling blog.

Just jiggling my template ...

... stuff like that ...