Including a hat-trick third win on the Champs Elysees, Cavendish has now notched up an amazing 20 stage wins in four tours. At one point he was docked 40 points for finishing beyond the cut-off point, but this and a stomach bug didn’t deter him from remaining focused on his ultimate goal.
The last time a Briton was on the podium in Paris was back in 1984, when Scot Robert Millar donned the polka dot jersey as overall King of the Mountains. So what now for Cavendish? The rumour mill suggests that he may be leaving his HTC-Highroad Team for pastures new, but naturally he won’t be drawn on that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEVY9ixp-E
Is it just a coincidence that the greatest growth in obesity is in the American states that rank lowest as being ‘Bicycle Friendly’? According to a recent report from Trust for America’s Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, adult obesity rates have increased in 16 states during the last twelve months. At the moment 12 states have obesity rates running above 30%. The worst place for this problem appears to be the southern states, such as Mississippi (35th in the bicycle friendly table), Oklahoma (43rd in the bicycle friendly table), Alabama (47th in the bicycle friendly table).
Although putting in a cycle-friendly infrastructure is no guarantee of preventing obesity, giving people the opportunity to ride a bike in ideal conditions must go towards encouraging healthy exercise.
Here is Bicycle Friendly America: The Blueprint as created by the League of American Bicyclists
http://issuu.com/bikeleague/docs/bfa_blueprint
New rules on online retailing will be finally approved by the European Parliament over the next few days. These give consumers the right to return goods after two weeks if they change their minds, and also retailers will have to give an estimate of the costs involved in returning something.
Fortunately for retailers, some of the more stringent demands, such as those put forward by Germany, have not been added to the new rules. The German government had suggested that all online retailers should deliver to each of the 27 EU countries, and that retailers should also reimburse the costs of returning goods.
Here is some very swish on-street bike parking getting put up in Lambeth. I don’t know if they’re finished, but it looks like the bike rack needs to be turned 90 degrees. It certainly looks tidy and safe. http://kenningtonpob.blogspot.com/2011/07/fietshangar-arriving-in-bonnington.html
Signs that outdoor activities are reaching new highs in Asia can be seen in the new Asia Bike Show, which is running alongside the Asia Outdoor Show in Nanjing in China between 27 -30 July this year. European exhibitors taking part include Mavic; look; DT-Swiss; Schwalbe and BMW. The organisers, Nanjing Nantex International Exhibition Center and German Messe Exhibition Consulting Ltd, are expecting over 15,000 visitors to the show.
Next year the Asia Bike Show will stand alone and take place after Eurobike.
http://www.asiabike-show.com/index-en.html
I’ve just been playing with the ‘Cycle to Work’ cost calculator website. Even if it’s slightly optimistic about calories burnt, it certainly makes a rock solid case for cycle commuting. This especially applies if you can acquire your bike second hand or via Freecycle. I don’t want to go into my usual mantra about how cheap, how green and everything else, but for your own amusement put in your figures and see what you get.
http://www.cycletoworkcalculator.com/
Freecycle: http://www.freecycle.org/
And finally,
Did I see both Schleck brothers on the podium at the end of this year’s Tour?
Arthur Lamy is a freelance writer specialising in cycling: www.cycleinjersey.com
