Mini Week 5 - Mini Plastic Cyclists

Today's post is an 'homage' to a feature in issue 11 of Rouleur magazine that had as it's cover stars these little plastic fellas. I finally tracked some down at a stall at the start line in Barcelona (God, that trip was a rich seam that I continue to mine!). Unlike the painstaking attention to detail and set design that features in the magazine, I prefer to show my low-fi version which sees our little riders gallantly racing down the wooden floored Champs Elysee that is better known as my mantelpiece. After watching my dad as an adoring son in his ill fated attempts at creating model armies which involved blu-tacking them to dowling wood and then proceeding to splodge paint all over them, I thought I would leave them on their unpainted steeds for this photocall. There jerseys are merely stuck on bits of nylon and disappointingly outdated with the exception of Franciase des Jeux. To see how it's really done click on the link below -

Janol Apin - photographer and master model positioner

Mini Week 4 - Mini Pumps

Weekend riding for me needs to be as low on baggage as possible and I have been searching for ages for a well priced and aesthetically pleasing mini pump. Being the type of person who tends to impulse buy lower priced items (as opposed to the weeks I spend searching the internet for a high priced bargain) I jumped at this little wonder straight away. The Blackburn Airstick SL has excellent minimalist design, 15.5cms long (is this the smallest?), £23 and weighs in at just 58g. Nothing beats the thrill (or pain) of inflating a compressed air canister but, for the pessimists like me who need back-up, this little gem does the trick.

Blackburn

Mini Week 3 - Mini Rider

'Awww, hoose da littel fella den?' is something that Chrissie the Irish cleaner might well have said if I'd shown her this picture. Well it's Alexander Bocharov sitting casually astride his mini bike waiting for the start of this years Tour stage to Arcalis. Standing at 5'4.5" little Alex is one of the smallest riders in the peleton. Rumour has it that he was only allowed his place on Le Tour after his team, Katusha, realised they were a seat short on their bus and needed somebody who would sit quietly on Pippo Pozzato's lap without playing with his hair. Anyway, he took his chance well and finished a very impressive 18th overall. The smallest rider in the peleton is Samuel Demoulin (5'2") but sadly I've no picture as he passed through my legs whilst I was looking out for Wiggo.

Mini Week 2 - Mini Wheels

Behold my weekday wonder - the Pashley Moulton TSR9. I love this bike not only for it's utterly unique looks, not only for it's nimble and speedy ride, not only for it's subtle undercoat colouration, not only for it's ability to cope with all terrains, not only for the rare but satisfactory salutation from a fellow Moultoneer but also for it's sheer bloody Britishness. It's eccentric in some ways but it absolutely works and is built like a tank. Whilst nothing will beat a Brompton's portability (although my version will split in half) I consider the PM to be the ultimate commuter bike for those who don't take the train. The only slight change I've made is to add a Brooks (who else?!) saddle which really should be standard issue on a bike like this. The saddle bag is a neccessity for lights, tubes etc but I'm also rather pleased with the way that my curvy Arbus lock juxtaposes with the pylon frame geometry (deep, deep, geekdom on that one). 20 miles a day and every inch an utter pleasure.

Moulton bikes

Welcome to Mini Week

Suffering the post Tour blues (and a horrific hangover from yesterday's wedding) I thought I needed to set myself a little theme for the week in order to regain my focus in life. So, with much fanfare, I herald Metropeleton's first Mini Week well and truly open. Each day this week we will take a look at the smaller, but no less important things in cycling. First up is this mini version of Le Tour that I stumbled across back in March when we were killing time in the rain (Paris is quite a depressing city in the wet) before getting the train home. It was the 'star' feature in the offices of the Limoges tourist board who had an exhibition dedicated to their most famous sporting son, the perennial bridesmaid, Raymond Poulidor. It was a treasure trove of all things Poulidorian but, and apologies to the purists, it was the attention to detail of this model rather than the various jerseys and momentos that most attracted my eye, right down to the (slightly sick) crash at the back of the peleton as it crossed the line. Anyway, very nicely done and I like to tell myself that it was the work of an enthusiastic 12 year old rather than a 50 something geek (which no doubt it was). Chapeau, les petits!

We've come a long, long way together

And so we come to the end of another Tour. It's been a great journey and how I'll miss the anticipation of each day's events, constantly checking the Eurosport website (although the official Le Tour site was the best for the Annency time trial) and then rushing home to watch the ITV4 evening show. Nothing will ever beat the Barcelona experience that triggered something in me that I don't want to let go of and the shock (and delight) of my beloveds occasional insightful comments on the riders. It was always going to be Contador and anybody who thought he might bonk like he did the last time he was in Provence underestimates quite what a phenomenal rider he is - Lance, you should have come back by managing a team and not riding in HIS team. No matter how impressive your return has been, ultimately it is pointless. Well done Britannia, 4 riders, 1 the fastest, 2 the most improved, 3 the most articulate and 4 the most loyal. Other honourable mentions go to Herr Haussler for raw emotion (and the nod of acknowledgement), The God of Thunder for his breakaway to show he had earned his jersey and for Brice Felieu for his ride to Arcalis (an annoying missed photo opportunity).

However, after 3 weeks of following the peleton, the intrigue and the scenery I am irked to say that I am writing this knowing that I will not see the finale in Paris. Compulsory attendance (only joking Nick & Carey (?)) of a wedding means that I will miss a certain person's record breaking 6th stage win. Anyway, I'm so confident he will do it that I leave this post with his picture - I saved it for now in the hope that it would have been more relevant (as I did the headline 'Thor Loser' - genius!). Next year for sure.

High Garate!

No picture today (scared of image rights!) but a huge 'chapeau' to Juan Manuel Garate for his superb poker face during his winning ascent of Mont Ventoux. He looked more like a glum accountant as he dib-dabbed his way to victory ahead of the glamorous chasing pack - outstanding! Also, the day can't go without another 'chapeau' to Wiggo - truly courageous stuff. How many of the others on that hill have Olympic gold medals? And how many have them for the track? Less than one year on and fourth in La Tour - superb. The only let down today was Ligger & Sherbet's lack of excitement as the clock ticked down between Schleck F and Wiggo for overall fourth - surely another Roche-like opportunity for the voice of cycling?