Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen

Went to the Oyster and Otter with eight friends last night and was extremely impressed. All food freshly prepared to order, the staff were friendly, fun and attentive but not overly so. A good menu choice but not so one felt the range beyond the kitchen's capabilities. All of us felt we'd had a very good evening at just under £15 per head including drinks. Far superior to the Clog and Billycock which in our collective opinion needs a new menu and "lighter" food as the portions seem to be all about quantity rather than quality, much of the cooking seems quite heavy these days. Two of our party had been to a Newcastle Loch Fyne on Saturday night and felt the O&O superior to that as well. We will be going back

When the Earth Moves Again - Jefferson Airplane

The Guitar Man - Bread

Shut up and Drive - Rihanna

Get Up - I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine. James Brown

I think we have to accept times have changed but all the social aspects of club riding still exist. I don't know where you live but Ribble Valley CRC meet your criteria. With a user name like yours I'd assumed you belong to a club

One More Cup of Coffee - Bob Dylan

White Room - Cream

Do you have a floor anchor in the shed? Piece of concrete sunk in the floor with a floor anchor bolted into it? I have one on my garage wall though it's never been tested!

Goin' Down the Road - Woodie Guthry

Well that seems to have brought the thread to a juddering halt! Just have to use another Radiohead track: Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes and Ladders)

I'm off to cycle the Way of the Roses from Wednesday next week which runs from Morecambe to Bridlington via Settle, Pateley Bridge, Ripon, York and Driffield. As I've already ridden the Morecambe to Settle area on many occassions I plan to pick up the route in Gargrave, overnight in York, overnight in Bridlington and then head home. May have to catch a train home from York on the return as I really want to get to the Shabby Singh meeting and have the feeling this is a four day rather than three day trip. Anyone done this route? Comments would be good.

Not Fade Away - The Rolling Stones

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - Police

Dance Little Sister - The Rolling Stones

You're welcome. Ahead of the TDF each year on Channel 4 / ITV4, depending on who has the broadcast rights, there is a usually an item on their respective websites eplaining the finer points. Once you have grasped the basics listen very carefully to the commentators, these guys are very, very good and give plenty of explanations as to what is happening in the general commentary. I regard the Velodrome as one of life's mysteries......................not a clue!!

Sisters of Mercy - Leonard Cohen

For the vast majority cycling is simply about enjoying riding in whatever style suits the individual. You're right pro cycling has evolved into a complicated event often with individual prizes for time-trialers, sprinters, climbers etc all taking place within the same race. It isn't as complicated as it sounds and if you look around on Google for an explanation of how the TDF works this will give you a good grounding as to how every major cycle road race is constructed. It's not unusual for people not to understand a sport and find the apparent complexity a turn off. I don't understand the rules of rugby and so rarely watch a game. I've tried to find you a link but can't so using the TDF as a basis: Yellow jersey worn by the rider with the lowest cumulative ride time at the end of each day's racing. This is the "general classification" often called the GC. Green jersey is for the rider who accumulates the highest total of points in the race. Points are awarded at the end of each stage for 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. plus there can be intermediate sprints. Generally, but not necessarily, the green jersey is won by sprinters Polka dot, King of the Mountains, jersey is worn by the rider who gains the highest points total on the designated climbs. Not all climbs carry points. White jersey is for best young rider Other than the above all teams wear their own colours except for the "rainbow" shirt which the current world champion gets to wear in the TDF. The other are is the time-trial which I guess is self-explanatory The very, very basic tactics are for the team to work to get their best rider(s) in to a winning position for the GC, green jersey etc. By following the rider in front you gain / save around 30-35% of your energy which is then needed towards the end of the day. The best riders follow team mates to allow them to rest for as long as possible. So in the case of Cavendish he will follow all day doing the minimum of work before being "launched" into the sprint, often from behind Wiggins, to race the last 200-300 metres. In the same fashion Froome protected Wiggins in the GC. Tactically teams will often work together through the day and then race over the last few kilometres. Wthout this cooperation the riders would struggle badly to complete day after day of a stage race. (This is what happened to GB on Saturday) When attacking each other riders are often looking to tire the opposition by forcing them to ride harder than they wish. If a breakaway occurs leaving your best man behind a team mate will head off to catch the breakaway and attempt to slow the group down by disrupting the rhythm etc. alolowing his man to catch up. There's a lot more to it but those are some very basic tactics. The other thing that can cause confusion is at the end of the stage all riders finishing within a certain time limit of the stage winner are awarded the same time. So if the 1st, 2nd and 3rd riders in any particular day's stage have no chance of winning overall you will often find the actual race leaders being careful to stay close to each other and finish within the time limit, thus the race leaders do not lose time over their opponents. In the TDF this year for example, for a while Wiggins was careful to at least equal or better Cadell Evans times as Evans was one of the main threats to Wiggins. It is actually possible to win the TDF without winning a stage. As regards radios etc. this is nothing other than teams looking to gain every advantage they can as happens in every professional sport. This year the Sky team used "power meters" in the TDF. The idea is for the rider to be able to monitor and maintain his own individual power output - there's some theory or other about power output measured in watts or something being the best gauge of overall performance, I don't even begin to understand this. The idea though is the rider should maintain a constant power output matched to his ability thoughout the day as opposed to working at his limit for a period and then needing a rest. No doubt all the riders will have them next year. Most amateurs have a small computer that monitors their cadence, the revolutions per minute of the pedals. The majority will try to ride at around 75-90 rpm, I ride at 85-90 on a constant basis

I can't say when team radios were introduced but all pro riders will be in touch with their team manager and support crew throughout a pro race. Every rider has an earpiece these days. There has been some form of communication between riders and cars for decades. Even if it was just a bit of card held up with times on - which appeared to happen today. Riders will have every scrap of information available and to give an example last Sunday Wiggins was given a clear instruction on the lines of "go now" one kilometre out to lead Cav to the line. The information will contribute to managing the breakaways and keeping pace with them but once a sprinter is delivered to the front it comes down to his ability to accelerate out of the peloton which is riding at perhaps 50-60kph having ridden 150-200km!!!

I've read people wondering about the radios thing and lack of other information which is standard in pro cycling. It probably does make a big difference but if wheeled out now would sound like excuses. It was the same for every rider and they are all very serious pros so there can be no excuses. If the radios made such a difference the tactics should have been adapted to allow for it.

Time trial apart this was the only event I cared about so very disappointed with the result but a good race to watch. Like Baz I know it was the lack of help from Germany in particular that made the difference. Surprising none of the sprint teams were prepared to have a real go at. I think GB should have sent Froome out with the breakaway. It would have confused things, could have helped to control that group or even set Froome up with a medal chance.

Big crash Should give GB a chance to catch up Cancellara down and now out

Very nervous now Wiggins is taking it on now - go Bradley

Boardman giving Sky plenty of "accidental" promotion! Excellent race so far and should get very exciting over the last hour.