THE TOB AND BARGAIN HUNT - TWO

I took a trip out to the Queen's 'favourite residence' yesterday to watch the finish of stage 7 of the Tour of Britain. Sandringham provided the perfect back-drop to the end of an amazing day's racing. We were all expecting the bunch gallop with Cav pocketing another win, but the break-away managed to stay away all day, holding an impressive advantage all the way to the finishing line. It was a shame Ian Wilkinson jumped a little early, missing out on the stage win. 


After the stage my eldest son Joe and I managed to see Geraint Thomas, who was tirelessly signing autographs and chatting outside the SKY bus. We also had a chat with the nearly man of the day Wilkinson, and with Dean Downing, who although not riding was there promoting Rapha-Condor-Sharp. We had a good chat about Rapha kit...


All in all it was a great day and I am sure the TOB will be back to Norfolk again in the near future. And as we were leaving I am almost certain I saw Liz herself heading off on her bike for a quick reccie of the finish...


Still, on to more prescient matters. Much like the stage finish yesterday, that Planet X BOGOF offer ended quite abruptly in the end. There's just a 'you're too late' message on their website now. I am sure it will be back...


There are, however, plenty of new deals coming through thick and fast. Worth a mention are BikesYouLike (the web arm of the rather excellent Thatto Cycles in St. Helens and my dad's LBS). They have some great deals on jackets from Altura, Polaris and Funkier - up to 75% off in fact. The best of the bunch is probably the Altura Night Vision at half-price, a great commuter jacket. They are also offering some good deals on Cateye light sets - up to 50% off.


If you missed out on the Planet X BOGOF deal, you might be interested in their wheel deals. They are shifting out Shimano Dura-Ace carbon clinchers at a healthy discount. A pair of Dura-Ace 7850 50mm rims are being let go for a penny under £800, from £1250, and the budget Dura-Ace 7850 CLs for £500 from an already reasonable £700.


Shame I am a Campag boy!