This event is the usual curtain raiser for my racing season, and it's also the first 2-up event that I ride each year and as such gives an indication of how Team Grumpy's form is at this early stage in the season.  Usually, we also take advantage of the journey over to Wales to visit interesting archaeological sites, previous visits having included the Avebury stone circle, the Uffington White Horse and Wayland's Smithy.  This year was slightly different: we stayed in Bath for a couple of nights en route to Wales.I'd never visited Bath before - we enjoyed traipsing about seeing the Royal Crescent and visiting sites such as the Assembly Rooms, the Roman Baths, and the Herschel Museum.  Bath appears to be astonishingly well endowed with restaurants, and we visited a fish restaurant (One Fish Two Fish) and a Moroccan restaurant (Cafe Du Globe), both of which were excellent.On to Wales for the main event, and the signs were ominous.  Gerry's training programme had recently gone slightly off the rails, while as observed over at the Team Grumpy blog, I had suffered an extraordinarily painful back injury three weeks before the event which not only prevented training but threw my participation in the event into question.  To add an interesting frisson of excitement, it transpired that the Team Grumpy entry had been lost in the post, and only a phone call of enquiry from Gerry earned us a start in this event.Absorbing medical advice, I did in fact manage to recover in time turn up in South Wales in a relatively pain-free condition.  All that remained was to see how we'd perform on the day.In time-honoured fashion, we conducted our usual preparation: consumption of sufficient energy drink. Thus fortified (and indeed entertained by 80s pop music courtesy of Sky TV), I retired to dream soothing (and deluded) dreams of time trial success.The morning of the event dawned rather cloudy and cool - but not as cold as the sub-zero conditions faced by riders in the 2010 edition of this 2-up.  We set up the bikes with clear apprehension: what would the consequences of our combined lack of training and form be?  And would my back hold out for the whole 25 miles?  More to the point, what was the road damage on the second half of the course to which riders' attention was drawn on signing on?  And, indeed, how significant was the presence of traffic lights on the same section (to which the instruction that riders must 'obey the highway code' was appended?In an effort to answer these uncertainties, we mounted the bikes and nipped out for a brief warmup. It was quickly apparent that (a) the road was in a shocking state, and (b) the traffic lights were at the top of a climb and looked like they could present real problems if at red.With reconnaissance over, and all too soon, we were lined up and ready to go.  We launched ourselves onto the course (see map below), with only a brief backward glance from Gerry.  The opening dual carriageway stretch proved to be very fast, with a gentle tailwind.  We were pleased that we were able to fall back into 2-up mode straight away.  After the first turn, the going got a little harder, as the head wind was nagging.  We were gratified to see our "Manager" on a bridge apparently videoing proceedings as we made their way past the start area (see video below).  Once off the dual carriageway, the usually efficient Team Grumpy changeovers became rather ragged as the pitted and potholed road surface made it difficult to judge whether a rider was pulling out to let his team mate through or merely to avoid crashing through a pothole.A massive sprint pulled us into the traffic lights on amber, but at the cost of a bit of an oxygen debt: this rendered the approach to the turn somewhat arduous.  Returning to the traffic lights, delays were once again avoided.  This was just as well, as by this time we were hanging on for grim death, looking for the finish line, which seemed to take an eternity to arrive.  Eventually it did, at 1:04:36.This wasn't an excellent result (though not as bad as it sounds: the course is rather hard at times), but enough to take a composite team prize.  More to the point, at least Team Grumpy proved their ability to ride well as a team, even after a lengthy winter lay-off.Results are here.  And here's a map of the course: Here's a video, showing us coming out of a roundabout, and doing a changeover: PTW-2-up 6th March 2011.

Road.cc reports that a (or, more accurately, another) major clenbuterol doping ring appears to have been uncovered in Spain (Where's the beef? Spanish police seize clenbuterol, and not a cow in sight | road.cc).  It's all highly topical, given Contador's 'get out of jail free' card this week following his positive clenbuterol test last year.  After successive failures at dealing effectively with sports doping, will this lead to greater crackdown?  This doesn't just reflect my unbridled optimism: incidents like the idiot Ricco's home-brew transfusion reveal the dangers inherent in tinkering with one's physiology.Recent news stories have failed to reveal any Spanish cattle containing clenbuterol, while here's a case of a doping ring actually dealing with the stuff.  Oh and EPO too.  Let's get real here, and not prat around failing to uncover the full story (c.f. the Fuentes affair).  And let's get the UCI and its constituent national federations singing from the same song sheet.A bit more information via BikeRadar.com (Spanish police arrest seven doping suspects): those arrested so far aren't cyclists.  But as Road.cc point out, clenbuterol's clearly in use as a performance-enhancing substance in Spain... An interesting point in the BikeRadar.com report touches on how the police got wind of the doping ring (which mostly targetted amateurs):

The operation began in December based on information received from a professional cyclist. The rider, who wasn't named, received an email "from a person he didn't know offering doping substances," the spokeswoman said. No cyclists have been arrested, but police have yet to disclose who was being supplied with the drugs.

I find I'm just getting used to the accumulated smudges on my iPad screen, and no longer obsessively wipe it clean. Now, I see that this represents a map of the iOS UI! (Remnants of a Disappearing UI: Design Language News)!  As it turns out, each app generates its own pattern of finger-smears, which is actually quite interesting from the perspective of UI design.  So for example, the mail app generates a very different pattern than, say, Safari use - and interestingly the article implicates personal usage patterns relating to how the iPad is held - portrait vs landscape.  The video app only has two fingertip smudges!Which all brings to mind a game I bought for the iPad the other day.  I was intrigued by Papa Sangre, a game with virtually no visuals, in which you navigate in pitch dark using binaural sound effects, in an effort to rescue a lost soul.  It's genuinely quite creepy, but you no need to have decent headphones, a reasonably quiet environment and not too many visual distractions.  Time will tell whether it's fun enough to keep my attention (I don't play too many games on computers or the iPad as a rule).The minimal graphics in Papa Sangre would undoubtedly generate a limited 'heat map': one only uses finger-swipes to orient oneself relative to the soundscape, then finger taps to regulate one's speed in the labyrinth.  And you can trip over your own feet!

One of the reasons I think modern doping in sport needs to be treated more harshly is that increasingly the doping products of choice are likely to be risky. Not only are many of the products biologically active hormones (such as EPO, growth hormone, testosterone), with unpredictable long term effects of the athlete, but it seems to me that practices such as blood doping are in themselves particularly dangerous.Hot on the heels of news that Riccardò Riccò (who has only just returned from a doping ban) had collapsed with kidney failure while out training, comes further revelations that he's to be investigated fro blood doping (Italian Police Investigate Riccò For Blood Doping | Cyclingnews.com).These practices can have dangerous consequences, and it's a shame that the Fuentes blood doping ring wasn't fully prosecuted by the Spanish authorities.I don't know whether he has been blood doping and in any case I hope Riccò makes a good recovery, but I also hope that if he is found guilty of blood doping he gets the life ban he'd be due.Update (0): Velonews reports that Italian media report Riccardo Riccò confessed to transfusion.Update (1): Road.cc reports that the Italian Olympic Committee is to begin a Doping Investigation into sick Ricco.

With news announced this week that the Spanish Cycling Federation is to hand down a one year ban to Alberto Contador for testing positive for clenbuterol in a sample taken during the 2010 Tour de France, I believe there is at least one issue that raises a concern about justice in this case. At the time news of this positive test result broke (see for example Alberto Contador Positive For Clenbuterol - BikeRadar), I noted one aspect of the case that worried me. A spokesman for the UCI is quoted as saying

"The concentration found by the laboratory was estimated at 50 picograms which is 400 times less than what the antidoping laboratories accredited by WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) must be able to detect," it said, adding that testing of a second "B" sample taken at the same time confirmed the result.

I have to add that, as I recall, the UCI later revised this from 400-fold to 40-fold.  Nevertheless, I believe this to be problematic in delivering justice in dope testing, chiefly because of the sensitivity in testing.Let's assume that Joe Bloggs, a cyclist in another team entirely was tested at a different event. He has a similar (very low) level of clenbuterol in his urine as did Contador.  However, the organisers of his race send the samples to a different testing lab, one which can only detect clenbuterol to the level specified by WADA.  Under these circumstances, Contador comes out positive, but Bloggs does not.Is that fair?  It does seem to me that where WADA make a specification of the testing sensitivity that accredited labs must deliver, that has to be the limit above which a result is declared positive.  This is important as analytical techniques and equipment continue to be improved, delivering greater sensitivity.I don't know whether Contador did dope, and I do applaud the efforts of the UCI, WADA and race organisers to weed out doping, but I do have concerns about how these cases are handled.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph (Last refuges of England’s rarest species revealed), Natural England has released a list of the most sensitive SSSIs, often the refuge of some of the most endangered species in the UK.It's often seemed to me (on the basis of nothing more than reports in the national media) that SSSI status offers little in the way of protection.  Indeed, in my (increasingly frequent) moments of black humour, I often suggest that SSSI status seems to indicate the next place to be tarmacced over in some property development.Anyway, it turns out there are over 4000 SSSIs, including the habitats of the startlingly lovely ladybird spider (illustrated in the Telegraph article), and the alarmingly named Queen's executioner beetle.  I looked up the Queen's executioner beetle in Wikipedia, and discovered that it's only had that name since July 2010, when a newspaper competition was run to find a common name for it.

The full calendar of club time trials organised by the North Bucks Road Club in the 2011 season is now online over at the NBRC website.  Also available at that page are links to events organised by the Northants & District Cycling Association and Team MK.

My cycle commute is a little over 6 miles each way, and takes me through unlit country lanes for part of it.  At this time of year, my working hours mean that both journeys are in the dark, particularly the homeward leg.  I have been riding this route for about 11 years, and during this time I've used a Cateye Stadium 3 lamp (which is no longer available).  This is said to pump out an equivalent to an 84W halogen lamp.  It's given me good service over the last decade, and indeed its durability does seem good.  It's always been a bit of a faff to take on and off the bike (it effectively has three parts: lamp, ballast and bottle battery).  Charging the battery is a bit problematic, the charger that was supplied blew when I connected it by mistake to the output cable; it was prone to overcharge (so the lamp wouldn't light).  The replacement charger couldn't be relied upon to fully charge the battery. Recently I was plunged into darkness en route to work when the battery ran out of juice.  Time for a change, I thought.Browsing the Lumicycle website, one thing was striking: the modularity of the lighting systems.  Initially, this makes deciding what to buy a bit complex, but it does mean you get to select the lamp configuration that is best suited to your needs.  In my case I like to have something that really will illuminate the road ahead in the pitch dark of country lanes at night.  I chose the high end LED4Si lamp.[caption id="attachment_1293" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Lumicycle LED4Si"][/caption]This is a very compact four LED lamp, with an impressive array of features.  The lamp unit has a single switch and a single power input.  There is a multicolour LED indicator that indicates the brightness mode (of which more later) and the battery state.The switch operates by upward or downward presses, and is sensitive to short and long presses.  This enables the user to select four different brightness levels and modes.  At first this seems complex, particularly when confronted by the switching diagram in the manual (below), but in practice seems very intuitive.  The base level that the unit is in when the lamp is turned on is very bright. A short downward press switches to the low setting.  Alternatively, a series of short upward switch presses take you to high and then boost brightness levels.  The first boost level is set to operate for 3 minutes before dropping back to high.  This is particularly useful when negotiating stretches of dubious road surfaces or conditions.  A long upward press takes the unit to permanent boost.  Obviously the brighter settings use up battery power more rapidly.  This arrangement is illustrated below (click for larger version).  Trust me, it's easier than first sight might suggest![caption id="attachment_1289" align="alignnone" width="471" caption="Lumicycle switching diagram"][/caption]The beam pattern seems to be very even - more so than one might expect from a set of four super-bright LEDs.  It's helped by the shape of the housing, which encourages a downward spread.  The lamp unit itself has a simple quick release clamp that can be used on either standard or oversize bars.  This makes it very easy to move the lamp between bikes - unless of course they have different diameter bars.  Fortunately I'm a fairly conservative road cyclist, and most of my road bikes have standard bars!So, what sort of battery life does one get with such a high spec lamp?  I selected the top option, the Li-ion bottle battery, because it seemed the easiest to attach to the bike (in the bottle cage) and because of its high charge capacity.  The battery comes with a neat charger that seems well designed to avoid over-charging.  A full charge is indicated by the LED indicator changing from red to green.  The small (but very informative) manual is very clear on how to treat the battery - it is a general manual, so it also covers NiMH batteries as well.Run times (claimed by Lumicycle) range from 4.5h at boost level through 19h in mid brightness to 63 h in low.  Using the flash mode gives a whopping 144h.  On the very limited testing so far (I generally prefer not to let rechargeable batteries discharge too much), I've no reason to doubt these figures. Indeed since I commute using the lamp in high or medium with a short period in boost, I'm unlikely to see the battery discharge unless I miss several daily topups.So far, and on the basis of only a couple of commutes (four rides), I'm very impressed with the system, and highly recommend it.  On the long term durability, I can't of course comment yet, but I do note that all the components are available separately. It's not a cheap system - the system reviewed comes in at £305 - though cheaper (and indeed more expensive twin lamp systems) combinations of lamps and batteries are available.

According to a report at road.cc (Valverde loses Swiss appeal, considers taking case to European Court of Human Rights), Alejandro Valverde has failed in his bid to get his ban overturned.  The ban was for his apparent involvement in the Fuentes blood doping ring.  A blood sample taken while he was racing in Italy apparently matches DNA in one of the bags of blood found in Fuentes' fridge, helpfully labelled 'Valv. (Piti)' - Piti supposedly being the name of Valverde's pet pooch (names of pets seems to have been the code names used).So, assuming the DNA work was done correctly, it would seem to be an open and shut case, and one wonders why Valverde will continue to take the case to ever higher courts.  Of course doping athletes do seem to press on with delusional self-belief in their innocence beyond the evidence.  Examples (not related to the Fuentes affair as far as I know) include Tyler Hamilton (and his vanishing twin), Floyd Landis, and the fabulous tale of Richard Virenque (who famously came clean and confessed in court).  It's a shame they don't all take the rap for doping as openly as David Millar.Still, I have some sympathy for Valverde.  Why have so few athletes faced justice over the Fuentes affair? And I don't just refer to cyclists.  It doesn't seem right for only a handful for Dr Fuentes' clients get taken down, when all the others can just carry on.

The cyclingnews.com website released the results of the readers' poll on best technical innovation of 2010 (Electronic widgets voted Cyclingnews Best Tech Innovation - where you can see the full results).Somewhat bizarrely, pedal-based power meters top the list with 26.9% of the vote, edging GPS-enabled bike computers into second place.  But isn't that a bit odd?  After all GPS-enabled bike computers have been doing the rounds for some time.  Indeed, I bought a Garmin 500 in the summer of 2010.However, we have two contenders for the pedal-based power meter category.  Firstly Metrigear's Vector system.  This has been widely discussed by Metrigear via their website and blog, detailing the ongoing product development, but it's not yet been released, despite slipping past several proposed launch windows.  And since Metrigear has been snapped up by Garmin, not much information has been released.As for the Look/Polar confection, supposedly based on Look's Keo pedals, all I've seen has been some CAD mock-ups of what the pedal will look like.Yes, these would have been significant technical developments or innovations of 2010 - it's just that they weren't.  Having said that, I will quickly join the queue to buy one (preferably the Garmin) when they do emerge...