STUFFE

THE BEST CYCLING PICTURE EVER, CONTINUED
I have no idea what the story behind this shot is, or was, but no one can deny that this guy has it going on. Chopper bike, checked trews, and a lady looking on admiringly.

That's HOW I ROLL, BABY. (He might be saying).

(Found on Bike Hugger, original image from the Smithsonian)

HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE - AND CHEST
Of course, the sun has disappeared the very instant I began to think of these, but Howies have a stylish "Vive Le Tour" t-shirt as their t-shirt of the week.

Also worthy of note, and not so time limited, are Brian Opsal's lovely cycling inspired shirts, including this Bernard Hinault inspired number, and (perhaps for Lamby) this Pantani shirt.

And of course, no round up of bike shirts would be complete without the artwork of Richard Mitchelson, whose "Tete De La Course" series are really nice. (Series 1, Series 2)

Urban Cyclists could do a lot worse than check out City Cycling's Red Bubble store, which does include some pro-cycling shirts, one of which is a Maillot Pois (Polka Dot) shirt subtle enough to not write cheques your legs may not be able to cash...

HOW TO EMAIL
Nedroid Picture Diary has some invaluable advice.

ISO TRUSS FRAMES
Cozy Beehive blog looks at these unusual Carbon Fibre frames. in this post.

VELO ORANGE
They've updated about their "Grand Cru" cranks, in this post. One paragrpah caught my eye in particular;

I do apologize for being out of so many items. The super busy spring season really cleaned us out and we've once again seen growth beyond what I'd anticipated and planned for. The good news is that we should have two containers of products, including several new items, sailing in July.

In some ways, that's a pain, after all, we all want our stuff. But looking at it another way, a company like Velo Orange, who make nice things that they care about making well, is so successful that they (briefly) can't meet demand - that has to be a good thing, and more power, and more success, to them.

SHUTT & ALWAYS RIDING
It's also good to see nice chaps, and manufacturers of top quality gear Shutt Velo Rapide going from strength to strength - their latest venture is a tie in with Always Riding;

Shutt Velo Rapide, UK manufacturer of fine handmade Sportwool™ jerseys, has today teamed up with online e-tailor Alwaysriding.co.uk to create a new range of cycling jerseys inspired by the heyday of British Motor Sport.

BING MAPS TOUR DE FRANCE APPLICATION
Podium Café has an article about this, which will include commentary from Podium Café on the stages. Click a stage in the sidebar to see the route map and profile - move your cursor along the profile to see a rider follow the route. The application also includes weather forecasts for the stages!

It's better seen than described, so click here to check it out, it's very impressive.

SCIENCE OF SPORT TOUR DE FRANCE ROUND UP
If you don't already read the Science of Sport blog, it's well worth a look. They're looking forward to the tour like most cycling fans, and they've collected some relevant prior posts, and some new commentary here - do add them to your rss feeds if you're following the tour this year.

CYCLOCOSM
A single heading for two good posts, first a bit of pre-tour talk, including a look at the "Radioshack won't start" rumours, and an interesting snippet on pre-tour coverage in the US;

I’m sick of the sad-music-for-Lance, evil-music-for-Contador recaps of last year, the LA vs. AC previews...

Which struck me as a bizarre spin on things from the broadcasters, given that a lot of the acrimony and division in the Astana camp last year seemed to stem from the Armstrong camp either not supporting, or lending only half hearted support to Bert as the self evidently stronger rider.

Cosmo also looks at the rules related to bunch sprints in this post, unpicking what the UCI says about what it's ok to do, and not do in the race for the line.

LE TOUR DES VINS
For a different look at the Tour De France, you could do a lot worse than Jack Thurston's "Tour Des Vins de France", a meander through the tour's stages sampling hop and grape. Mrs. Monkey has personally approved this approach to the tour, and is following Jack's articles with great interest.

WOMEN'S CYCLING
Podium Café have an interesting round up of the field for the Giro Donne, which runs from 2nd to the 11th of July. It's a treasure trove of links, related to the Giro Donne in particular, and women's cycling in general - have your bookmarks folder open when reading it.

INFOGRAPHICS
Information is Beautiful looks at the work of "Always with Honour", a duo you may not have heard of, but whose work you'll almost certainly recognise if you're a fan of Good Magazine's "Transparency" features.

Also well worth a look is this FIFA player value infographic, examined by Flowing Data - what would you do to improve it?

CHAPEAU
To Karl on Sea, who completed his Ironman triathlon. You can read his race report on his blog, and still sponsor him (a surer proposition now, if you were wavering, as you know he's completed the race) here. Monies will be going to Macmillan Cancer Support, an excellent charity that provides practical, medical, emotional and financial support to people affected by cancer, and advocates for better cancer care.