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Ever seen this before? Happened to tech ed Dave on his lunchtime ride. Check out this nifty bodge that got him home

Hmmm that's not ideal pic.twitter.com/NWf2hiOqvw

We might not have mountains, but we have our own challenging conditions. Don't complain, plow on!pic.twitter.com/Zz4HVEZYz2

This clip could give the actual Dutch Headwind Championships a run for its money and perhaps even surpass it, as hardy Dutch commuters attempt to ride on despite facing winds that are so strong, numerous bikes appear to be blowing away from their owners. 

As The Cycling Professor says, what the Dutch lack in hills they more than make up for in gusts... 

"What is love?" Ask Oakley in their Valentine's marketing campaign that also celebrates the launch of their first shades in 1984... apparently it's the new Sutro Eyeshade (from £135 via Oakley's website) with absolutely massive vented lenses and Oakley's original logo that are modelled on the originals from the 80's. 

The differences between new and old are mostly found in the Prizm lenses that improve colour vividness and clarity, and they're available in an array of loud colours: "The definition of eye-candy", boast Oakley. 

Was it love at first sight when you first saw Oakley's Sutro Eyeshades, or is this particular style best left consigned to history? Let us know in the comments... 

15 yrs ago when we were making around 10k a year @BromptonBicycle I put a bottle of champagne, given to me by some students who used us as a case study, under my desk. I vowed not to open it until we sold 50k. 15 years later, countless desk moves I opened it! pic.twitter.com/wS8VfsmPHZ

— Will Butler-Adams (@Will_Brompton) February 14, 2020

Brompton have finally reached the milestone after selling 48,956 bikes to March 2019, and are now firmly established as Britain's biggest bicycle manufacturer. They were founded in June 1976 by Andrew Ritchie, with Butler-Adams taking up the post of CEO in 2008. 

Big 🐖 in the middle @vantagewindows Elite National TT Champs. Had to drop some watts to beat slippery 🐍 @georgenbennett. Thanks to Ryan @evocyclesnz Cambridge for getting my rig ready at the last minute. @rocketfoods_nz National Rowing Champs next week... 📸@elkomedia

A post shared by Hamish Bond (@hamish_bond) on Feb 13, 2020 at 10:31pm PST

The 34-year-old 2012 and 2016 gold medallist in the coxless pairs beat Jumbo-Visma's Sam Bennet to clinch the title by a margin of 15 seconds, crossing the line in 46 mins 52 secs. 

Bond has always supplemented his rowing with cycling, and rode at elite level in 2009. He had his eye on cycling at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but recently decided he would row again. 

Epigram reports that the students will travel by Eurostar and French rail instead of flying back from their trip to the Alps, which UoBCC President Sam Tiller said will be similar in price to flights and could reduce overall emissions for the return journey from 255g/km to 6g/km.

32 students will embark on the trip in total, with a vegetarian-only menu on offer for the duration of the trip which Tiller said "proved popular" on their last excursion to Snowdonia in November.

Colin has a bit of a problem. He voted for something that we all told him would make his life worse but he didn't listen.

Colin also hates cyclists passionately. I detect a theme... pic.twitter.com/fy88UgaCyB

— Alan Stedman 🇪🇺🇬🇧#RejoinEU#FBPE (@alanjstedman) February 14, 2020

It's not been the best morning for Colin Browning (assuming he's a real person and not a 'bot', as some have suggested), who took to Twitter to complain about the immigration queue at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport last night: "This is not the Brexit I voted for", said Mr Browning. 

What does this have to do with cycling? Nothing at all, but we've had a peruse of Mr Browning's account and found the majority of his tweets don't have a lot of kind things to say about cycling, cyclists and anything with two wheels, so it seems. On a clip posted by broadcaster Jeremy Vine in which he is almost left-hooked by a van driver who failed to signal in time, Mr Browning replied: "You’re far to close to him, would he be able to see you in his mirrors? And to me it looks like you’re trying to undertake him. Yet again though like all cyclists it’s the big bad motorists that are in the wrong."

Alarmingly, in the tweet above Alan Stedman has suggested Mr Browning's political views and his anti-cycling rhetoric are related... what do you think? 

*Since we posted this update, 'Colin' is now also trending worldwide and Mr Browning has become the subject of a debate on James O'Brien's LBC radio show. 

Have you ever seen a more lovely stem top cap than this new limited edition one from Fairlight Cycles?

... • Right then people. We have 20 of these beautiful brass top caps available on the web store at 12:00 GMT today. Machined by @bentleycomponents . • • A lovely bull nose machined finish on the surface that Mark [Bentley] likes to call ‘Radial Burst’. In his words: “It's milled with a ball nose and the radiused Shape is generated up and over then steps round.I do it so when the light hits it it refracts off rather than being a shiny smooth surface and reflecting in your face”. • • You get a lovely ‘collars and cuffs’ match up with the brass dropout plate on the orange Strael and black Secan. Also because it is brass you get a gorgeous patina over time and it becomes darker in colour. Subtle branding with a focus on machining quality. • • £20 plus postage. If you are still waiting for your frame or bike then they will be sent together and we’ll fit it to the bike. • • If they prove popular then we’ll do another run. • • Happy Friday folks.

A post shared by Fairlight Cycles (@fairlightcycles) on Feb 14, 2020 at 1:54am PST

It's now been six weeks since my little accident, initially this is how long I was expected to be off the bike. To speed up the healing process of my spuds, I decided to do the most manly thing I could think of. Rip the motor out of my car, pull it apart, and put it back together in the hope to make it a little faster, leak less oil and drop phat skids. I succeeded. And in the process I did in fact heal much quicker than everyone thought. I've been properly training for about a month now, and will be racing again in about a week and a half! I'm back off to Europe today, despite having to sit out all the racing it's been a bloody good summer. Gave me a lot more time at home with the family, and Hank, some extra time to travel with @ivonreijers and got to see @brettmaherrr and @ashlinfitzgerald tie the knot. See you all when I'm lookin at ya ✌

A post shared by Chris Hamilton (@chrishamo_) on Feb 10, 2020 at 5:52pm PST

If you've been eagerly awaiting some more ruptured testicle news from Team Sunweb's Chris Hamilton, fear not as he's recently posted an update on the state of his 'spuds'. 

Hamilton posted on Instagram: "To speed up the healing process of my spuds, I decided to do the most manly thing I could think of. Rip the motor out of my car, pull it apart, and put it back together in the hope to make it a little faster, leak less oil and drop phat skids. I succeeded. And in the process I did in fact heal much quicker than everyone thought. I've been properly training for about a month now, and will be racing again in about a week and a half!"

Hamilton's unfortunate balls-up happened in late December due to a 'small crash' on a bike path while out training in Australia, and although he's missed out on racing during their summer, it's given the 24-year-old more time to spend with his family. 

Show me a better pothole photo than this. I'll wait (📸 Steve Robards) @angrypiln pic.twitter.com/DPVS8bKhBf

This might just be local newspaper nirvana, although the ever-reliable Angry People in Local Newspapers were quick to offer some healthy competition... 

You were saying... pic.twitter.com/8bvi7Euq7Y

— Angry People in Local Newspapers (@angrypiln) February 13, 2020

To read more about the problem blighting Britain's roads for cyclists and motorists alike, check out our interview with Mr Pothole to mark National Pothole Day from last month. 

Fair play to the cycling industry for creating a highly successful new genre of bikes designed to ride on the boring fire-road-type tracks that mountain bikers have long aimed to avoid.

The ultimate in gravel pessimism...

Honoured to be back as Secretary of State for Transport. In a government working hard to level up Britain, connecting communities means everything! 🚆🚍🚎🚘🚡✈️🛩️🚢🚀

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) February 13, 2020

Trains, planes, automobiles and, erm... rockets. First spotted by Chris Boardman yesterday evening, Grant Shapps' tweet to announce his continuation in the role as Transport Secretary has been met with disbelief that he managed to pepper his post with emojis featuring pretty much every mode of widely-used transport known to man... except for cycling and walking. 

Congratulations @grantshapps on your re-appointment but a missing emojis on your Tweet, surely? 🚲🚴🚴‍♂️🚵🚵‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚵‍♀️. Look forward to joining you on a bike ride soon.

He’s actually put a space rocket in before cycling

Well we see what your priorities are. And they’re not 🚲👩🏼‍🦽🧑🏼‍🦼🧑🏽‍🦯🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏿 as they should be.

Some believe it sends out the wrong message when the environment and the climate crisis is such a hot topic; and if anyone should be at the forefront of promoting sustainable transport, you'd hope Britain's Transport Secretary would be one of them. 

Shapps was also criticised last week for tweeting in support of the expansion of Bikeability cycle training for children, when there is supposedly little evidence that the government is backing this up with investing in safe places to ride. 

Do you think the offending tweet was simply a case of Shapps missing a couple of keystrokes in his excitement at not suffering the fame fate as some of his (now ex) cabinet colleagues yesterday, or do you find it more worrying/sinister? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments as always... 

25-year-old Josephine Gilbert died in a collision with a lorry on the A52 near Marketon Island on January 21st, and a JustGiving page has been set up in her memory to raise funds for the mental health charity Mind; so far, £3,165 has been raised. 

It says: "Instead of flowers, we are asking for donations to be made on Jose's behalf to Mind. Jose was not only an impressive sportswoman but a huge advocate of the benefits and importance of sport for the mind."

If you want to donate, click here. 

The Elite Road Pedal is brand new from Bontrager, compatible with Look Keo cleats and featuring a carbon composite body for a claimed weight of 250g per pair. They have sealed cartridge bearings on the underside to keep things clean, and a fully adjustable tension-release bolt lets you dial in or out for optimal ride feel. They cost £84.99 a pair and are available to buy on Trek's UK website now, and you can read our full story here. 

Assam: Bhupen Likson, a cyclist from Tinsukia reached Guwahati yesterday after cycling a distance of over 600 kms, to meet Salman Khan. He says,"I started this journey on Feb 8 from Jagun (Tinsukia) on a cycle to meet Salman Khan who will be in Guwahati to attend Filmfare Awards" pic.twitter.com/td28ojdXIS

If you thought celebrity culture was a little obsessive in the west, it's got nothing on the lengths 52-year-old Bhupen Likson went to in order to meet his hero Salman Khan. 

According to Hindustan Times, Mr Likson began his journey in his home town of Tinsukia on February 8th, and after roughly 600km in the saddle reached Guwahati on February 13th, where Mr Khan was attending the Filmfare Awards. 

If you thought that sounded tough and/or obsessive, Likson has form for extraordinary cycling feats; it's also claimed he cycled an astonishing 48 kilometres in one hour without touching the handlebars for an Indian record, although as far as we can tell this is unverified; the Guinness World Record for cycling with no hands for one hour is 37 kilometres and 417 metres, achieved by Erik Skramstad of the USA in 2009. 

He is: cycling 🚴🏻 pic.twitter.com/KEwe63pylU

It appears Sir Paul was quite the day tripper on his bike back in his younger days. 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

They did him a favour. Costa Coffee is rank! It's always served piping hot and they recently swapped all of their milk alternatives to some...

Be careful, Nosferatu will be on to you. He/She/They will be calling you names again.

Because they are more useless now than they were ten years ago? They certainly are in Lancashire.

"Dark horse" a poor choice of words... yes... i meant as oppose to Roglic or Pogacar... ...

I suspect that not all valves have an external thread and I'm not sure they are a standard thread size, especially on non-removable cored inner...

Or they could do what triathletes do, and draw the numbers on their skin with Sharpies.

I'd imagine the two could have basically the same definitions....

It doesn't bloody appeal to me! (Sorry I know that'll be an autocorrect but couldn't resist)

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