Any question answered...

and i think its 9 hours. at this point, i jsut want to finish. fuck good times.

There's very little you can do in only 20 days, other than eat properly, get enough sleep and stay injury free.

Cramming in any intense training at this point really won't help, i'm afraid. Just ride your bike and make sure it's set up comfortably :-)

Spend a couple of hours on the bike every other day until a few days before. Not commuting, proper uninterrupted cycling with some hills, and the few days is to let your body recover.

All good advice. It might sound like you don't have enough time to train, but you don't want to do too much too soon otherwise you'll injure yourself.
As people have said, start out doing ~30 miles and then add on additional miles in small steps. You can then do longer, slower rides on the next few weekends. If you can ride 80miles fairly comfortably, then I'd say 100miles wouldn't be a problem on the day.
Plus, it's not like you have to do it all in one go. Stop often, eat/drink frequently, don't go too fast, etc...

What is the combined H x W x L of a Shimano Di2 battery mounted in the SM-BMR2 short battery mount?

Shimano tech docs don't seems to do sizes.

would you fly Malaysian airlines?

would you fly Malaysian airlines?

Is that a euphemism?

CB - what's your start time? unless you've got a late start in reality you have more than 9 hours. so pace yourself. I did it last year on very little training - I think I got in 2 rides in the preceding month, neither of which was more than 40miles, and little even in the way of commuting. I would suggest short rides are ok if it makes it easier (30-40 miles) but try and get a couple of hills in. If you can get out to either Leith or Box Hill on the route then do that, get a train out of Waterloo so you're closer or whatever. If they're familiar it won't seem so bad. I walked Leith Hill anyway, and I'll probably do the same again. the ride is well supported with plenty of food/water/toilet stops so you don't need to carry much, and most of it is pretty gentle. YMMV of course, but I wouldn't do any training after the 3rd. just rest and eat. so that gives you two weekends to go riding in, and a bit of extra weekday evening stuff, up to 20 miles. But see how it feels for you - I know for sure that I would completely tire myself out if I attempted Hovis' training plan.

n/a

would you fly Malaysian airlines?

Whyyyyyyyyy does no one get their name right?

I've been reading about Tom Simpson.
On his Wiki page the following is written,
He made his own saddle, a design which is now standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson#Riding_style_and_legacy

Can anyone elaborate on what the saddle design was before his, and which of the current saddle designs reflect this standard please?

Says here that:

"One of the complaints about ealy plastic racing saddles was a lack of breathability. Tom Simpson used to claim he had ridden the TdeF on his wife's handbag when, in fact, he had made a leather cover for a plastic saddle using one of her handbags"

n/a

Quoted for new page. Any opinions on this?

It's a purely aesthetic problem, functionally it will be fine.

Simpson had even devised his own saddle by glueing foam onto a plastic shell, and adding a leather cover made out of one of his wife's crocodile handbags. 'It wasn't perfect, because he tried to stick down the edges and they kept coming loose. It was a bit tatty, but he liked it. He was probably the first person to think of it,' [Harry] Hall notes. In fact, Simpson was 30 years ahead of his time: virtually all racing bike saddles are now made in this way, comprising thin leather cover, foam padding, and plastic base.

Page 25 of Put Me Back on my Bike.

Whyyyyyyyyy does no one get their name right?

Whats the name hets?

Got a tax rebate yesterday :)

Now what's my best option for a steel hardtail mtb?

New or used, 26" and under £450

^ Don't suppose you're after a big frame :-)

Got a tax rebate yesterday :)

Now what's my best option for a steel hardtail mtb?

New or used, 26" and under £450

Inbred or 456.

I have a coyote dual slalom jump frame for cheaps if you want

Travelex Cash Passport mastercard thing.

Anyone recommend/ward off?

The only fees I can see are 2% loading fee, and fees for ATM withdrawals. They seem to be offering a similar FX rate to my bank, HSBC, and it's currently quite good at 1.67

On the face of it, seems like a good deal - certainly better than taking $2500 in cash to USA - but there's always drawbacks with these things. Any ideas?

Just use your current account debit card.
I only get charged for ATM withdrawals on mine.

Travelex Cash Passport mastercard thing.

Anyone recommend/ward off?

The only fees I can see are 2% loading fee, and fees for ATM withdrawals. They seem to be offering a similar FX rate to my bank, HSBC, and it's currently quite good at 1.67

On the face of it, seems like a good deal - certainly better than taking $2500 in cash to USA - but there's always drawbacks with these things. Any ideas?

I've just used one in Spain. Went though Asda as, at the time they had good rates.
I had no problems with its use, but the woman at the Asda booth who set it up for me didn't activate the account properly (fortunately I tried changing the pin before I went) and had to go back for them to sort it out with Travelex. Best you check it works before you travel.

The website you use to register so that you can top-up online is a bit of a faff, but if you need any help with it, I can probably assist.

reported Phifko phor phishing

Just use your current account debit card.
I only get charged for ATM withdrawals on mine.

HSBC charge an admin fee per transaction and charge a % per transaction and withdrawal.

If I spend £1500 in 50 transactions - that will cost me £100 in admin fees, plus 2.75% overall. So $2500 spent will actually cost £1641, instead of £1500.

By comparison, the Travelex will apparently cost me £30 the first time I load it up with money.

Where could the 2013 UCI road race gps be found?
Where could the strada bianchi gps be found?
Has anyone put together any routes based on Gino Bartali's resistance rides?
Are they available anywhere as gps?