Podcast Review - ITV Tour de France Podcast

With this year's Gallic cycling circus starting the day after tomorrow, the excitement continues to build, here at Riderific Towers.

There are loads of things I love about this race. Many are essential ingredients and the ITV Tour de France Podcast has, over the last 4-5 years, become essential listening.

I love podcasts and, thanks to my daily commute, have the chance to listen to plenty.

If you don't do podcasts and love your cycling (you must love cycling to be reading this, right?) I would highly recommend subscribing (for free) to this one for the next 3 weeks.

Of course this is only a preview as the race and this year's 'casts are yet to start, but based on previous years, its well worth a punt.

Acclaimed author, journalist, podcast veteran and ITV TdF general dogsbody Matt Rendell anchors the show, while former world record holder, bike builder and technical guru Chris Boardman provides the punditry and analysis. Matt's Real Peloton podcast partner and ITV reporter Ned Boulting provides on the spot post-race interviews and his interpretation of events.

Being ITV, this is the day job for Rendell and Boulting (not Boardman - he's mostly building and marketing bikes) and their professional quality shines through. To listeners of their freeform and wonderfully erratic Real Peloton podcast, the ITV TdF Podcast may seem restrained, almost corporate, but the quality of the reporting and analysis is superb while they are still able to inject some of their trademark humour and boundless enthusiasm for the sport.

At between 10-20 minutes, this podcast packs in an easily digestible, concise summary of that day's action and the key events surrounding the Tour. The podcast is normally available following the UK broadcast of the ITV Tour highlights package - roughly 20:30BST

The ITV TdF Podcast is often criticised by US listeners as being too British. Well, yep... guilty. But then ITV are the UK national broadcaster with TdF rights, and it's right for them to cater for their primary audience… if I can subscribe to and enjoy The Two Johns Podcast, I am sure our colonial cousins are capable of listening to this and quite enjoying it.

To remind myself of some of the early ‘casts I listened to their 2007 Prologue episode. This exchange between Matt and Chris made me smile:

MR - I am looking at the guy who's 15th in GC, who's a little Spaniard riding for Discovery Channel, Alberto Contador. I don't know how much you know about him. He's the man who's got the most explosive acceleration going uphill.

CB - He can climb hills, yeah? So that might be a name that we're going to see in the coming days.

So, some of Chris Boardman’s predictions can be quite accurate.

Available through iTunes at:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/itv-tour-de-france-podcast/id163658288

http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/

You can also find these guys on Twitter

@itvcycling

@mrendell

@nedboulting

@chris_boardman

Oh, I am on there too @riderific

Official Tour de France iPad App - Review

The official 2011 Tour de France iPad App is now available from ASO through iTunes for £2.99.

They say:

Official 2011 Tour de France application for iPad powered by ŠKODA

By Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O)

View More By This Developer
Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

Description

The Official Tour de France Application powered by ŠKODA.

This is a must-have for cycling fans this July to stay up to date with the race as it happens. Get LIVE minute-by-minute race updates, real-time GPS Tracking of where the riders and breakaways are on the course, and after the race access highlight videos, daily race results and standings.

Features:

• LIVE Minute-by-Minute Race Updates and Breakaway Tracking
• LIVE GPS Tracking showing the location of the race on the map and race profile
• Highlight videos of every stage (streaming over 3G and Wifi)
• Results and daily standings for each stage
• Photos from each stage and Tour de France Twitter feed.
• Rider profiles
• Detailed profiles of all stages and categorized climbs

ŠKODA Auto the official sponsor of the Tour de France, the world's premier cycle race.

 

 

 

 

iPad Screenshots

I say:

This is all very promising and looks like £2.99 well spent - particularly when compared with the prices of the many Tour de France guides in print currently available through the nation's newsagents.

However, it really has to work, and work well to be of any value.

There are a few days left for ASO to iron out the bugs so this App can fulfill its promise, but they need to get on it fast...

So far, the things that have bugged me include:

Slow start up, poor quality video, crashing video and poor navigation (I couldn't find a way) between stage data.

The poor quality video is a particular disappointment as this is where the iPad itself excels. The fact that it keeps crashing, renders it almost useless.

It remains to be seen how this App will handle live data once the race actually starts. I expect this to be its real strength, but only time will tell.

The map data shown for Stage 1 on the access page doesn't appear to be matched by any of the other stages - it would have been useful to be able to scroll through, particularly if you were planning places to watch. You can find introductory info on each of the stages through the calendar function, but this is just not the same.

I understand from someone in the know that there will be an ITV Tour de France iPad App which will be "the nuts"... I do hope so, because this effort from ASO a couple of days out from the Grand Depart is pants.

Pre-ride, Crap Weather Procrastination

The forecast for a fine weekend was wrong. It should dry up later, but what I am looking at now, is not dry or appealing.

Writing this is pure procrastination - my kit is all ready to go but I am doing the classic "hang on for 10 minutes; it might get better"



Haven't worn this one in a while



I really don't mind getting wet but after being put through some seriously foul weather last week, my bike received the full royal clean up treatment and I am just reluctant to inflict any more abuse so soon.

I have a nice relaxed  Stour Valley ride planned with my son for later today, but I wanted to get an hour or two of training in before the house stirs.

Deep breath, here goes...

Podcast Review - Rouleur

Lets dispel any illusions immediately. This podcast has been produced as a promotional vehicle.

Like any business, Rouleur want to showcase their product so that our appetites, suitably whetted, lead us to our local stockist to part with a crisp tenner, or online to order a subscription.

That's not a bad thing for me, as I happen to love their magazine.

Rouleur - Issue 24

Anchored by The Bike Show's Jack Thurston, this first podcast is a 32 minute plug for Rouleur Issue 24, which is now on general sale. Jack is joined by Rouleur Deputy Editor, Ian Cleverly and funky super snapper, Geoff Waugh for background conversation on some of this issue's key pieces.

I have to admit, it didn't start well for me. I found the cut glass tones of Jack Thurston jarring, while the sound quality from the two contributors was dodgy to say the least. Production quality is never the first thing I look for in a podcast - in fact some of the classics are shambolic at best, but you expect more from a brand like Rouleur - I guess I was hoping for the aural equivalent of their beautifully crafted magazine. How I expect them to transfer the unique smell of their mag to audio, I have no idea... but that's up to them, and if they do it, they are on to a winner.

That's the negative out of the way - I thought the content was great and my initial pickiness was placated by a genuinely well balanced conversation about David Millar's new book and fascinating behind the scenes discussions on current articles, including the African Racing Scene and flying Scotsman, Graeme Obree.

By the end, I had completely forgotten my initial misgivings - Jack's accent possibly tempered by the familiarity of Geoff's much more manly North East Essex drawl and the listener friendly tones of Ian Cleverly.

7/10 for this first effort - I will be back for more and hope to give it a higher mark next time. This podcast has real potential and I hope they achieve it.

Listen for yourself - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rouleur-podcast/id445620088http:/itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rouleur-podcast/id445620088

If you are into Twitter, you can find the guys here:
Jack Thurston @thebikeshow
Ian Cleverly @iancleverly
Geoff Waugh @theWarhead

Poor Preparation - the result/short update

Well, the 21 mile TT was a new one for me - never done the distance before and only really knew that I wanted to go under the hour... ended up with 55.32.

I was very happy with that until I saw the time of one of our youth riders... he's 13 and put in a 55.46. A very close shave, but its only a matter of time before he well and truly batters me... Just the way it should be!

After the ride out, warm up, event and ride home I was also able to deposit 43 miles in the training bank for next week's 10. Win/win.

Poor Preparation

Tonight I have a time trial and I don't exactly feel prepared.

In fact its been that way for the last few weeks.

As much as I love this sport and pastime, like most people, I have other commitments - usual stuff like a job, family, chores, social life. Fitting a decent training programme around these other commitments can seem impossible at times. Some of the time, I manage it and sometimes I don't.

I was able to put in some seriously good miles earlier in the year and saw the benefits - feeling stronger, improving TT times and that powerful ache in the legs that tells you when you're off the bike that as soon as you get on, you are going to be awesome.

For me there are two potential barriers to putting in some good training - motivation and the much harder, "impossibility of the situation"

Motivation goes a long way - I personally need a target, something on the edge of achievability or something new. This is where events are great, because the last thing I want to do is turn up and be crap, having spent good money to be there. I must confess a genetic advantage here - my dad was a Yorkshireman and I am determined to get my moneys worth, even if it is only a £2.50 pre entry TT.

Motivation helps you shoehorn training into times that previously didn't exist. Although I often have a long working day, I can normally fit in sessions at the most unsociable times - mainly very early in the morning.

If I don't have to be at work early and don't have any meetings requiring a suit, the perfect start for me is a full on commute to work. I must confess a geographical training advantage here as this gives an instant boost of 60+ miles to the training bank and generally puts me in a great mood for the day. Unfortunately, this approach is limited to about once or twice a month over the half of the year when its light early enough.

There are other early morning routes I use closer to home - some out in the countryside around the town where I live - great for the soul, or more concentrated tight circuits in town including hill reps, but close enough that if I have a mechanical, it will not mean my whole work morning disappears down the drain

Recently, things have been different.The "impossible factor" has come in to play. I am sure some coaches would attribute this very phrase to a lack of motivation or creativity in my time management. However, I think it is important to recognise that sometimes you just can't do it all. Recovery, is as important as doing the hard stuff and an essential component in any successful training programme. It is not a soft option, its not a get out, its part of the process and in my life, long working days and a long commute can also be "hard stuff".

This week has been a very good example - a heavier than usual workload has meant earlier starts, many meetings requiring socially acceptable clothing in decent condition and later nights. Trying to squeeze in a training ride this week, would probably finish me off. Thats the reality.

So, tonight I have a 21 mile scratch TT and I feel very underprepared.

I did the club 10 last week and that was my first ride since the previous week. I still managed a course PB, so this was hardly a disaster. I had the following day off work and had a great ride with a fantastic bunch of guys around some of the 2012 Olympic Road Race course - a total of 76 miles and good for the soul. Character building stuff as well - probably the wettest I have ever been on a bike. My final "training" session was on fathers day and involved a hybrid, a riverside track, some haddock, chips, Guinness and a short hail storm.

Tonight will be my first ride at this distance, so whatever time I conjur up from my limited reserves, it will be another PB. And that is good enough for me.

... and as every cyclist knows, there's always the next ride to prepare for.

Belgium

Perspective. Its how things look from where you are. As a cyclist, you immediately have a very different perspective to non-cycling members of our society. You see things differently. You might not think that you do, but believe me you do. It does no harm to remind yourself of this every now and then. Its good to get some perspective.

Examples of cycle-specfic perspective are many, but the most obvious include:

Lycra - to the cyclist it is practical, essential, even cool. To huge swathes of the public at large it is not acceptable in any polite circumstance. Ever. I do lycra quite a bit. Most days.

Shaved Legs (male) - again, completely acceptable to those in the know (although there appears to be no consensus on exactly why) and guaranteed to raise more than an eyebrow in most outside circles - particularly the non metro-sexual ones. Haven't taken the plunge personally - doubt I will.

Red Traffic Lights - for far too many of us on the cycling side of the fence, these appear to mean nothing. Perspective, bordering on blindness. To society in general a red traffic light means you stop and wait for a green one, or amber at the very least, but you stop, before ploughing on. I'll say one thing for motorists (I am one from time to time) at least the vast majority know a red light when they seen one and stop.

Belgium - for me, this is the big one. A country that separates itself as clearly as the cycling community can define itself from the nasty outside world. Belgium - a political basket case of a country which finds itself without a government for over a year, paralysed by the failure of the two populations to come together. Belgium - its a joke.

Can you even name a famous Belgian? Belgium - known for beer and chocolate that most people think is French anyway. Belgium - Plastic Bertrand, Tin Tin and  Poirot. Again, most people probably assume anything marginally famous and Belgian to be French.

We live in blissful ignorance of Belgium, until we cycle.

It is possible for your perspective on Belgium on its own to define you as a cyclist, even if you never ride a bike

Perspective. Belgium - commonly viewed by many as the epicentre of the cycling world. A cycling Garden of Eden, if you will. The spiritual home of cycling as a real sport. The races, the riders, the cobbles, the climbs - only in Belgium, and most of us want a little bit of Belge to rub off on us. We crave it. We even pay for it. Kit with a flash of black, yellow and red. Bikes from Ridley, Merckx, Flanders...

The greatest of the cycling greats? Why it can only be Eddy Merckx... the Belgian legend that grows each year - he is the starting point for most newbies to our sport (at least they can see past Armstrong). By the time my son is boring people in pubs about the unbeatable Mr Merckx, the legend will have grown yet further to prove that he won every single bike race on the face of the planet between 1967 and 1976.

Think about beer and sport... Budweiser/Carlsberg/Amstel, Official Beers of whichever football tournament is currently raking it in... talk to a cyclist about beer and you will get one of two responses - CTC leaning types will invariably go for "a pint of old stuff with bits in it" (beards are wonderful bit filters) but talk to anyone with a modicum of race interest and I would be surprised if you weren't bombarded with some of the most obscure Belgian brews available. I am a little more commercial in my tastes and happy to settle for Duvel or Leffe, but your hardcore race fan will swear by some Flemish Monkische Scrotebrau and settle for nothing less.

Belgium - produces more World Tour riders than any other country. Given the size of the place this is amazing. The Spring Classics fought out on the cobbles and climbs of Flanders and Wallonia each year are OWNED by Belgian winners in a way that French fans of the Tour de France or British Tennis fans at Wimledon can only dream of. Take the Ronde, or Tour of Flanders as an example - run on 95 occasions. Won by Belgians 67 times. They own it.

How many famous Belgians can you name? Newbie cyclists, probably at least five. More established riders and fans, at least 10 to 15. I bet many hardcore, long term race fans will be able to name 25 - 50, or even more.

Cyclocross - don't even get me started on cyclocross, my favourite racing discipline - I could be here all night... there will be many posts to follow on cyclocross in the coming months, but you cannot deny that 'cross is possibly more Belgian than Belgium itself.

Oh Belgium... how I have come to admire you... but only because I cycle.

Riderific - What I am and what I am not

Yes, this is another general cycling blog. No, it has not been thought through and it is not a business - this is a sideline to my hobby. I am not a writer, but I do ride a bike.

I am a relatively recent member of my local cycling club - an old established institution which celebrates its 120th birthday this year. I have two seasons of cyclocross and one and a bit of time trialling under my belt. I am not fast, but I love competing and trying to improve. I have never ridden a Road Race or Crit - a gap that is likely to remain unfilled on my cycling CV, but who knows? Although I have only competed for 2 years, I have ridden a bike, on and off, for as long as I can remember. I am 43.

I also like going on trips - I have done a few, and hope to do a few more. Some might categorise this as "touring" but for me it is purely leisure cycling - riding around the world (not done) or to a local pub with your family (done) are pretty much the same thing - its just that one takes a bit longer and requires a bit more stuff.

I admire people and I admire things. There are lots of both of these to admire in cycling. There is also a lot of rubbish. I am more likley to blog about the things I like than the things I don't although this is not a hard and fast rule. I shy away from the concept of "reviews" - I am not a reviewer but I will pass on my opinions of the things I come into contact with as a cyclist - bikes, accessories, races, events, clothing, food, websites, podcasts, books, magazines, DVDs etc etc.

Keen cyclists consume a huge amount of stuff - if you, like many others are just starting out with "serious" cycling this will cost you a huge amount of money and you will make mistakes. If my opinions help minimise those mistakes, great. Whatever you do, don't just take my word for it - there is a wealth of information out there, and where possible, I will point those sources out.

Cyclists are good at sharing their opinions - sometimes a little too good - but whatever opinion is being shared they are mainly born from a passion for the bike. This is Riderific.