Category Archives: Humour

Marv is back from holidays

Dear Rouleurs,

MMT is back  online after well earned 4 week holiday and has number of interesting stories and pictures to share. The three highlights being:

  • Meeting the grandson of  Enrique Otero, who in 1927 established the first bicycle shop in Madrid.  Unfortunately, they don’t make frames anymore.  They had a fabulous collection of old bikes. You can find them at https://www.facebook.com/otero.bicicletas/
  • Driving up Mont Ventoux in Provence, France.
  • Checking out some very cool bike shops in London and spending way too much money.

Finally, a big ‘chapeau’ to Esteban Chaves of Orica-GreenEDGE who finished 8th in the 2015 Giro di Lombardia, a slender 56 seconds behind the winner, Vincenzo ‘I won’t cheat this time’ Nibali.

Surely it must be time make Chaves an Australian citizen.

More later this month.

Marv

Richmonditis, La Vuelta coverage and the flying bike

 

Dear Rouleurs,

I’m suffering from a severe case of Richmonditis.  Its symptoms include bouts of Tourette’s syndrome like swearing, depression, and a desperate need to curl up in the foetal position on the floor, spontaneous crying and occasional abdominal pain.  It strikes epidemic like levels in Melbourne in the first few weeks of September each year. Its symptoms subside in early October.  It is followed by amnesia and irrational optimism in the months leading up to March of the following year.  Unfortunately once contracted its incurable. Those of you, that are fellow Richmond supporters, will know exactly what I mean.

Also, my current disposition is not helped by being unable to follow the La Vuelta on SBS this year.  Thirty minutes on a few sequential Saturdays is hardly sufficient.  Yes there is that wonderful thing called the Internet…but still.  It is almost enough for me to sign up for Foxtel cable tv. I’ve deliberately avoided doing this in the past for fear of further exceeding the maximum level of “pearshaped”-ness that my 45 year body is allowed to have. I digress.

Oh that's going to hurt Matthew......

Oh that’s going to hurt Matthew……

So the main reason for this particular blog entry was the spectacular crash captured in today’s Sun Herald on page 3. See above.  Dear God, I hope this kid Matthew Rice is ok.  What a horrible crash.  It’s a minor miracle that no-one else was injured. Likewise,  a big “hope you’re ok” to the rider who had a heart attack at Amy’s Grand Fondo.

It’s amazing photo by Stephen Harman and unfortunately I can’t include a link to the online equivalent.  Hopefully this newspaper’s or photographer’s lawyers are too litigious 😉

Until next time,

Marv

Woo woo, here comes the Sky Train…

Dear Rouleurs,

In lieu of a proper blog about the shenanigans at 2015 edition of La Vuelta, for example various members of the Tinkoff-Saxo squad, most notably Peter Sagan, being struck by motorcycles and Chris Froome breaking his ankle, I thought I would provide another infographic.  Its been liberated from the rather wonderful RCUK’s Infographic Guide to Cycling .  I’ve provided the link to Amazon as shameless plug, hopefully, to ward off legal action for a blatant breach of copyright.

Woo...woo...here comes the Skytrain...

Woo…woo…here comes the Skytrain…

Here at marvmadethis.com, we’ve long identified that infographics are the preferred communication media of the attention/literacy challenged Gen Y.  For those of us not in that underachieving demographic, infographics occasionally capture something useful or entertaining.

The illustration above  does both, showing how Team Sky propel their GC rider, Chris Froome, along in a mountain stage. By keeping the tempo high, they attempt to prevent attacks from less well supported climbers, for example Alberto Contador.

I’m not sure which one of these was meant to Richie Porte 😉

Until next time

Marv