Winnersaint

If we've learnt anything from last year anything can happen and probably will. My gut reaction is we will lose Alderweireld, Clyne, Schneiderlin and Wanyama, probably Rodriguez and have to resist overtures for Mane. I can also see a promising youngster like Reed doing a Chambers. The simple fact is that the 'Sky Six' do not want to become the 'Sky Seven'. Unsettling players initially and then dismembering the team if they can is probably the only way they can stop the rise of Saints at the expense of one, two or even three of them. I don't think there is any conspiracy going on as such, it just the other teams protecting their interests and at present they can afford to outbid us in terms of pay due the inequalities created by FFP. Our players as Champion League/Europa League contenders have an even greater stock than they did last season as upper mid-table players so hopefully transfer fees if they become relevant will be fixed accordingly. I am sure the club do have a plan to stop as much of this hemorrhage as they can, and a plan for the worst case scenario should it happen. We can only hope that with a manager hopefully staying rather than the situation last season there will be some degree of stability that wasn't there in 2014. Additionally these sort of things tend to be cyclical coinciding with World Cup and European Championship years.

Wolf Hall. Had it downloaded to the Kindle before I knew of the TV series.

Caught Reginald D Hunter's Songs of the South on Beeb 2 over last three Saturdays. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Fantastic visuals, great music, much of which is new to my uncultured mainstream ear, a great car and insightful commentary. Great stuff, all round.

Actually surprised he didn't join the exodus last year. However, he will have done us proud for three seasons by the summer so have no real issue with him taking the next step. As England's right back for potentially the next 10 years to improve further he would probably need to be playing Champions League regularly to cement this position as his once and for all so a move in the summer makes sense. As far as valuation is concerned, who knows? He is worth what another team is willing to pay so a potential auction between United and Chelsea can only be to our benefit. That said, moving to Manure at present is just as likely to achieve CL football as staying at Saints would. They are certainly not nailed on qualifiers, so Chelsea could emerge as front runners especially as he is a Londoner.

Grow up!

Exciting times VFTT. Looks like I'll have to wait until later in the year for my new steed. Pretty much undecided, but narrowed it down to either Cervelo R3 with either Di2 or better wheels, but not both, or a Storck Scenero, Scentron or Visionar C. There are pros and cons for each. Retirement plans have gone a little awry so trip to Alps has gone by the wayside regrettably. Looks like July finish now to allow me to go back on P/T contract in September. Happy days!

If he is then get rid. One of the worst defenders I've ever seen!

The Directeur Sportive fell on some ice a week or so ago while walking the dog. Cue A&E at a local hospital. She has a broken humerus so having to grab turbo sessions as and when I can. Did one yesterday called the SWEATS. 10 minutes warm up followed by 20 minutes at 95% threshold pace 5 minutes recovery and then intervals of 5,4,3,2,1 minutes done as hard as you can to ensure you complete the interval with three minutes recovery between each effort and five minute cool down after the last one.

Led Zeppelin at Earl's Court May 1975. Was late arriving as London was swarming with 'sweaties'. England had beaten them 5-1 at Wembley in the afternoon and there were about 80000 of them around and about. Had to queue for tickets overnight at a record store in Bournemouth in February though, which was a little on the chilly side. Used to see quite a lot of gigs at Bournemouth Winter Gardens as we were living near Fordingbridge at the time so it was a bus ride down the A338. The first was ELP in late 1972, also saw Purple a couple of times, Genesis, Yes, Lindisfarne, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep, Rory Gallagher.

Good luck with that. You've certainly put the work in over the winter. For more general consumption I've just killed my old turbo trainer, it was second hand and used very regularly over 5 winters. I have replaced with a Cycleops Fluid 2. Heartily recommend it if you are in the market for one. Very smooth with a flattish resistance curve which means you really have to use the gears to full extent in a similar way to the road. As realistic feeling a trainer as they can be. Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is very similar but about £75 more. Btw Wiggle had the Fluid 2 on at £209..

Just added you Jack. Welcome to the Saints Fans Cycling.

Time to join Saints Fans Cycling on Strava methinks. Enjoy. Happy New Bike!

Fantastic stuff. Just looked at your stats on Strava. That's some kilometreage (that's not as easy as mileage to say!) I am unlikely to reach 6000 for the year, but looking forward to 2015. If retirement plans come to fruition then I could be in the Alps second week in June when Criterium du Dauphine is on. Looking to do Tour of Berkshire and St Georges's Sportive early season in the run up to Bourg d'Oisans, and Three Counties Cycle Ride just before, other plans not really formalised yet. http://www.dengieevents.co.uk/#/tour-of-berkshire-cycle/4580041427 http://www.southernsportive.com/?go=sunday&page=event&eventid=150426

Not been so good this month. Heavy cold at start and then a persistent tooth infection that's taken three lots of antibiotics to clear. Only a couple of spins on the turbo recently, but nice to see no real drop off. On an even more positive front, plans to bail out of teaching and take early retirement in April are now looking good. The best part of 35 years teaching the teenagers of Berkshire and there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. When I emerge I will go for the N+1. Now looking at the Canyon option, not sure if I like the idea of direct selling with no opportunity to ride or be fitted for it, but you get plenty of bike per buck as these three which are on my radar show. http://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3614 http://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3583 http://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3677

Nice! Just read review here. http://road.cc/content/review/132852-eddy-merckx-sanremo76-road-bike Well specced also. On a purely personal level and only to keep the Campag theme I might be tempted to swap the Racing 3s for a pair of Zondas. Pictures when get you get it?

Got a PS4 last weekend bundled with AC Unity, which is OK. Bought Shadow of Mordor also in the week. Just starting on a bit of Uruk-hai slaying now. Never had an X Box so cannot compare any of them with the previous Sony consoles I've owned PS, PS2, PS3 and now PS4 have done pretty much everything I've ever wanted from a games console. I might have missed a few exclusives on the other side but I've also had the benefit of the Uncharted series which have given me the most enjoyable gaming experiences I have had. Don't do online, too old/slow and can't be arsed to learn maps etc.

Either weear bibs with legwarmers. Prefer these to the tights as the zips on legs and at front don't exactly lock out properly so can come undone. Various base layers depending on temperature either short or long sleeved with any one of my tops over that, finally topped off with semi windproof jacket. Have various glove arrangements. Warmer days will wear normal mitts with Decathlon £1 black fleece gloves underneath, on colder days then its any of my full fingered gloves and I also have neoprene ones for coldest and wettest rides, mind you if it's cod and wet enough to need them then it's the garage and turbo for me. Various socks usually two pairs with neoprene overshoes. Suffer badly with cold feet. Must be an age thing. My first full cycling winter was around 5 years ago and was the coldest in 40 years, since then I've wised up and go out when weather permits and otherwise tick over in the garage. Screw Rules 5 and 10.

Recovery week last week, so mainly zone 2 stuff on turbo with one shorter threshold interval session squeezed in between. Start on some tempo sessions this week. All about providing a base for next year. This is the session I'll be starting with Warm up 10 minutes 7.5 Minutes @ Tempo Pace Effort Recovery 5 minutes 5 Minutes @ Tempo Pace Effort Recovery 5 minutes 5 Minutes @ Tempo Pace Effort 5 minute cool down Cadence 88-90 rpm Will increase one 5 minute effort by by two and a half minute increments next week and the third interval similarly the week following that so by the end of three weeks will be doing 3 x seven and a half minute efforts. This is just to re-familiarise myself with working at this level of effort on a turbo. Will start 10 minute intervals at the beginning of Xmas week go from there. By Feb should be doing 15 minute efforts. This will be interspersed with more high-intensity intervals at this point than will be the case from now until January. On my turbo my tempo pace is around 27.5 building to 29 kph. In the new year

Get to Bagneres de Lucheron and just ride.

Tis the season to be thinking of new bikes I see. Had just about enough of this teaching lark so contemplating bailing out after 35 years so planning bike purchase with part of lump sum. Reckon I can go to around £3500 which puts that Bianchi in the frame. So far I've been to the Newbury Specialized Concept Store looking at Tarmac SL4s. Was shown an S-Works SL4 with SRAM Force, all carbon cockpit and Zipp 30 wheels, which they quoted me £3400 for that build. Trouble is I'm not a big fan of Specialized and if you park up outside Starbucks in Henley S-Works are two-a-penny. Probably will use Boutique Cycles near Hook. They stock Storck, Cervelo and Ritte as well as Cyfac. They reckon I'm into the realms of custom build. As the Aldi advert goes. I like this one. http://images1.slanecycles.com/bmz_cache/2/28bf3f18fdd271d777d9a67089bf4ea4.image.560x400.jpg And I like this one. http://www.cyclomonster.com/cart/storck-scentron-carbon-road-bike.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAs6GjBRCy2My09an6uNIBEiQANfY4zJYbNP0P7bhhWg3wAs7WKRWVNFVNpHL4Dk8z6P189rwaAhKw8P8HAQ# Deviating from the ad, I also like this one too. http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-ritte-bosberg-3-0-14-48740/ Will be able to discuss build options when the time comes, but may well have to swap out stock wheels for my Ksyrium Elites on the Ridley depending on what they are. Only a new freehub to worry about there from Campag to Shimano.

Took my end of season break last week. A loop out towards Legoland and Windsor Great Park then out to Wargrave and Henley on Thames before returning to Wargrave and going up Wargrave Hill, which isn't very long but a challenge after 40 or so miles. My mate big ringed it and is now top ten for segment on Strava. I bonked. Don't eat enough or drink enough. Roads were atrocious. Lying water, gravel/flints, horse**** and rotting leaves that made it pretty slippery. Had a visit from the puncture fairy towards the end unsurprisingly. Couldn't find the cause, nothing wrong with the tyre or anything stuck in it so have assume it was a pinch puncture. Forgot to check tube before binning it. GP 4000S have been good throughout summer and that was the first puncture I've had. Will have a look at new rubber now. Schwalbe Durano S, Michelin Pro4 Endurance, or GP 4 Seasons. Will probably go with whatever I can get the best deal on. Not a fan of Gatorskins. Have then on commuting bike and found them to be decidedly skittery in the wet on occasions.

Don't know why but the Ronde is one of the continental sportives I would like to do.

I waited until pm before venturing out. Still needed arm warmers, two pairs of socks and full fingered gloves at that time of day. Planned 60K but weather was closing in. Rain in the air, wind freshening and more importantly every car with lights on helped me make the decision to bale out early. Enjoyable for 36K though.

Bobby Stokes RIP, Skate from Paulsgrove, nothing Lallana did or ever could do will ever elevate him remotely close.

I remember playing Rovers at home in L1. Tense game that started the promotion run in. Think it was just after we'd lost away at Rochdale in the midweek before. Only settled late on by Guly. There was some relief around SMS that afternoon.