@lancearmstrong: Hey Glasgow, Scotland!! I'm coming your way tomorrow. Who wants to go for a bike ri

[maurice]

That last bit could have been phrased rather better...

It'll do nicely.

 

[Chuffy]

GO WIGGY!

 

[jann71]

There's some good photos on Flickr, you'll probably see yourself Gavin.

 

[gavintc]

I was even on the 10pm news last night. And I was on my own, as my wife and son were out, so I could not go into full on boast mode. Sometimes, you just need an audience.

 

[Jonathan M]

Damnit I'm jealous.

Right, so whose up for petitioning Wiggins to do a London ride?

He might be from London originally, but doesn't he live (shock horror ) somewhere north of Watford Gap now?

Why not have Wiggo do a Manchester ride, the home of British Cycling? Central to most of Britain, on the west coast mainline services or well served by motorways.

 

[yenrod]

May I be the first to offer the phrase 'publicity stunt' on this thread?
<checks stopwatch>

Chuffy - jealous ?

It was a cracking ride. I had presumed that he had arrived early morning to the hotel, get a few hours sleep after his transatlantic flight and then go for a spin. however, he arrived directly from the airport. The crowd had grown steadily and was pretty massive when he turned up at the hotel. After a shortish time, he had signed some stuff chatted to some people and given some interviews, we were off. What a crowd.

The rain moved from drizzle to rain and as well left Paisley, some of the riding on display was simply shocking. I believed that what I was witnessing was a road race without the marshalls. I am pleased that no one was injured in the process. The pace was pretty steady at just over 20 mph on the flat, so quite comfortable. I have not a clue where we went and just hung on for the duration, noting that the number of riders was getting smaller and smaller as we charged along country lanes in a constant spray from the rain and from wheels. We then hit a decent drag and I will admit to sliding off the pace here. I could see the peloton tantalisingly in the distance and had resigned to coming home on my own or with the other tail enders. however, I then spotted that the peloton had stopped for a photo opportunity and this allowed me to get back on. We then descended back into Paisley with about 40-50 riders. Quite a contrast to the mass start which I reckon was around 300. Things were far more controlled as we headed back to Paisley. I think my average overall was somewhere around 18-19 mph. I failed to restart the computer and my last ride affected the average.

At the end Lance signed some stuff, chatted and then headed off. It was quite an event and I am pleased to say that I cycled alongside him for a few hundred metres.

Incredibly, the rain eased as I headed back into Glasgow.

Thanks for the report Gavin - really great !!!!!!!!! must've been brilliant!

Like someone else has said - what other pro' has done that, look at it from the optimistic p.o.v. - its doing a whole lotta good....and anyone who gets his twits can see he's straight talking - and has managed to outfox the press in doing so'...

I reckon he's fantastic !

 

[Chuffy]

Chuffy - jealous ?

Eh? No, why would I be?

Like someone else has said - what other pro' has done that, look at it from the optimistic p.o.v. - its doing a whole lotta good....and anyone who gets his twits can see he's straight talking - and has managed to outfox the press in doing so'...

Yes, because there were no press there or any media coverage at all. In fact I've definitely not read about it on the front page of the BBC website or on the Guardian...
Three words for you Yenners....Cheap. Publicity. Stunt.

That's not necessarily a bad thing but it shows how well he works the media, new tech and his fans. It's not new, but nor is it just a chap fancying a bit of company on his training ride. Bands have been doing 'secret' gigs in unexpected venues since the Beatles and I'm pretty sure that they didn't decide to have a rehearsal on top of the Apple store just because they fancied a bit of fresh air...

 

[johnnyh]

hehehe you old cynic Chuffy

 

[Globalti]

FFS, somebody had told him that deep-fried Mars bars were good for recovery after a long tour so he just nipped over.

"Hey: Glasgow, SCOTLAND......" Like Paris, France and London, England?

 

[Chuffy]

hehehe you old cynic Chuffy

You fanboys do love your rosy tinted specs don't you?

 

[yenrod]

Eh? No, why would I be?


Yes, because there were no press there or any media coverage at all. In fact I've definitely not read about it on the front page of the BBC website or on the Guardian...
Three words for you Yenners....Cheap. Publicity. Stunt.

That's not necessarily a bad thing but it shows how well he works the media, new tech and his fans. It's not new, but nor is it just a chap fancying a bit of company on his training ride. Bands have been doing 'secret' gigs in unexpected venues since the Beatles and I'm pretty sure that they didn't decide to have a rehearsal on top of the Apple store just because they fancied a bit of fresh air...

Chuffy - you done a troll post - packitinnowhilstyourahead !

Could i say 'you on here talking of your bollox is a cheap publicity stunt ????

 

[Chuffy]

Chuffy - you done a troll post - packitinnowhilstyourahead !

Pack it in with the cockney jive talk, fool!

Could i say 'you on here talking of your bollox is a cheap publicity stunt ????

Heh, I'm not a global brand with am image to promote....

I don't begrudge him doing it, it was a smart piece of work and neat use of new media. But anyone who thinks that he just spontaneously fancied a ride must surely believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny...

 

[Chuffy]

Any marketing and PR professionals reading this will be:-
a) Impressed and jealous that they hadn't thought up that wheeze themselves
and
P*ssing themselves laughing at the naivety of some people

 

[BigSteev]

I don't begrudge him doing it

Really? Doesn't read that way.
I think it's a pretty cool thing to do, don't see how you feel he needs to do it as an ego boost - I'd have thought that 3rd in the Tour after years off and a broken collar bone would have taken care of that. As to whether it should have been an all-singing, all-dancing charity ride, again why? He's done loads for charity, sometimes it just makes a change to just ride.
Even I can't be bothered with the hassle of making every 60m+ ride into some fund raising effort and I just have to turn up and do them.
So why not give some of his followers the chance to ride with him. No-one was forced to go, but those that did seemed to enjoy it. These days the opportunity to get close to any world class sportsperson seems extremely limited so I think it's an interesting idea.
My personal views on the man are pretty neutral, not a hater, but nor is he my favourite rider, and as to whether I'd have gone along - probably not. After all, it was in Scotland and it's always raining there.

 

[eldudino]

I'm not sure why Chuffy's so anti-publicity stunt. Who cares? Even if it was purely for self promotive purposes, it doesn't stop the fact that people had a good time and enjoyed themselves with a living legend (lover or hater, who else has won 7 TdF's?). I don't understand why you're so negative about the event.