It’s that time of year where you stop doing things and think about what you’re going to do the next year.  I have lots of thoughts, probably most of which won’t actually come to fruition.

I want to do another cycling holiday, we managed to cover 150 miles in 3-1/2 days this August ( I might retro blog it), ending at my inlaws.  A quick check of the maps today has shown me it’s 180 miles from my Mum’s new house to the inlaws (but maybe hillier), which isn’t too much of an increase.  This years trip was mostly on NCN4, I’m not sure yet how the distance will change for next years if we stick to recommended cycling routes.  There’s also the River Severn to cross.

I would like to cycle in the Peak District.  I used to live quite close, and often went walking there, but I’ve never cycled there.  It’s also not too far from my Dad’s house (notice the fitting cycling holidays in with visiting relatives theme).  I’m contemplating the Evans Cycles Ride It sportive for this (link), but a long part of it is on the Snake which in my mind is ‘the scary road’, and according to Bikely there’s twice the climb than I’d get in the same distance on my usual Cambridgeshire/Suffolk rides.

I might join a club (if I do it looks like Cambridge CC).  The other half keeps telling me to join a club, but I think that’s because she cycles much less than me (she rows though) and is annoyed by me finding the rides we do together less challenging than her.  That said, her ARA magazine is recommending cycling for rowers cross-training so she might join me on a big weekend ride more often.

I ought to start running.  I’ve never been fond of running (or swimming) but I ought to cross-train somehow too (Cycling Weekly said so), and I’ve found Triathlon interesting to watch this year (and bumped in to the Cambridge Triathlon Club a few times while out).  It’ll be just running for a while though, I don’t want to run before I can walk (so to speak).

I would like to try competitive cycling, but need to get used to bunch cycling first (I’m mostly riding on my own).  So that looks like it comes after joining a club.  It might be a bit late in next years season by then too.

Equipment-wise, I’ve already blogged that my cyclo-computer it have trouble with its connections so I expect that to be replaced.  (I really want a Garmin Edge 705:-)).  I really like my Tricross, but the tinkerer in me wants to put a bigger top chainring and v-brakes on it (it has cantilevers).  The Bolinas Ridge is just going to stay in working order.  I like it, but it isn’t for the kind of riding I like to do nowadays.  It is a good utility bike though and I’d want to keep something that did it’s role.  If, and that’s a big if, I do manage the club/triathlon/sportive/competitive thing this year I might allow my self an all out, racing, road bike.  One with no luggage facility that has no other purpose.  I’d like to try something British and less over the counter, Ribble and Sabbath are my initial thoughts.  Other than that I expect both current bikes to last all the next year and contemplate replacing the Bolinas Ridge (on age alone) in spring 2011.

Oh, and of course ride faster and for longer.

I think that’s it, I’m sure it’s plenty.

Paula and I are now registered for the Cornwall Tor on the 16th May. Paula is entering the 44m and I’ve put myself down for the 100m. I’d like to cycle with Paula and may switch my registration yet but with the Tour of Wessex only two weeks later the 100m appears too temptingly perfect as late prep.

Meanwhile, here’s the road.cc write-up of the Exmoor Beast and here’s a more personalised recollection from an entrant who gave up just after the point where Emily fell off (and one big hill before Stu and I turned round to find her).

A trecut ceva vreme de când a fost lansată cartea asta în Finlanda, dar abia acum subiectul capătă cu adevărat relevanţă şi pentru români. Publicată, deocamdată, numai în finlandeză, „Regele Vultur” („Kuningaskotka” – cred că am scris bine) este biografia săritorului cu schiurile Janne Ahonen.

Foto: www.uusisuomi.fi

De ce a căpătat relevanţă pentru români? Păi, după toate poveştile cu fotbalişti care petrec înaintea meciurilor şi imediat după ele, confesiunea lui Ahonen e chiar şocantă. Finlandezul mărturiseşte cum obişnuia să consume alcool înainte de sărituri. Spune chiar că a consumat 24 de doze de bere cu prietenul său, Risto Jussilainen, în seara precedentă unui concurs de la Planica. S-au întors de la bar, au fumat o ţigară pe terasă, după care lui Janne i-a fost teamă să iasă la încălzire, ca nu cumva să-l miroasă antrenorul. Aşa că s-a dus direct la trambulină, a sărit şi s-a accidentat. A refuzat să meargă la spital tocmai din cauză că era beat. În august 2000, Janne şi Risto au fost arestaţi în Coreea de Sud şi expulzaţi pe motiv că au consumat băuturi alcoolice în exces. Treburile astea sună dur, foarte dur, dacă le punem în oglindă cu joaca fotbaliştilor români.

„Sunt sigur că există lucruri în carte care vor surprinde pe mulţi sau chiar vor şoca. Cartea poate încânta sau poate dezamăgi”, a spus Janne, ajutat la scris de jurnalistul sportiv Pekka Holopainen. „Nu am vrut să iasă o poveste blândă, ci să vorbesc deschis şi cinstit despre mine şi obiceiurile mele.” Interesant e că finlandezul a publicat cartea după ce şi-a anunţat revenirea în circuitul competiţional (la sfârşitul anului trecut spunea că se retrage). Acum, pocăit şi remotivat, încearcă „să-şi intre în schiuri” pentru Olimpiada de iarnă de peste câteva luni. Visul lui: prima medalie olimpică individuală (are două medalii de argint, dar cu echipa Finlandei). În contextul ăsta, să spui că erai beat când săreai cu schiurile nu e tocmai un lucru care să-ţi atragă susţinători. Ce-i drept, interesul media a explodat. Şi, pentru că i-a scăpat că nu era chiar singurul cu acest obicei, Janne a stârnit interes în presa norvegiană. „Şi ai noştri au sărit beţi?”, au întrebat norvegienii. „Nu-mi amintesc”, le-a răspuns Janne, un tip direct, care, de-a lungul celor 15 ani de activitate, nu s-a ferit să-i critice pe conducătorii Federaţiei Finlandeze de Ski. „Sper ca, de data asta, să scap cu o simplă păruială”, a răspuns săritorul celor care l-au întrebat dacă nu se teme de o eventuală pedeapsă din partea federaţiei.

Fără Janne, Finlanda a dezamăgit în Cupa Mondială, ocupând în 2009 cel mai prost loc din 1993 încoace (şase), aşa că, foarte probabil, ameţit sau nu, Janne va fi reprimit cu braţele larg deschise. De urmărit acest sportiv, atât la Jocurile Olimpice (12-28 februarie 2010, Vancouver), cât şi cu ocazia spectaculosului Turneu al Celor Patru Trambuline, care, ca de obicei, va avea loc la graniţa dintre ani (29 decembrie – 6 ianuarie).

Am ales o secvenţă cu săritura de la Planica. Urmăriţi filmuleţul. Este incredibil cum i-au sărit ochelarii şi cum de nu s-a lovit mai tare cu ceafa de pământ. Janne se poate considera binecuvântat după ce a scăpat unei asemenea inconştienţe.

A Sportive event has bee announced in Blarney on Sunday 3rd January 2010. It is the Donal Crowley Memorial cycle and offers 72KM of nice countryside, with a relatively flat route. Anyone considering the M2M spin in 2010 shuold target this event as their first event of the year.

Donal Crowley Memorial Sportive – 3rd Jan 2010

The first entry on this site – the one that brought the site into existence – was my write-up of the Exmoor Beast. It would have been more satisfactory to have started before then, and the best first entry would have been an account of our time at the Blenheim Sportive a month earlier. Or perhaps it might have been better still to kick the thing off with an outline of the grand plan to do the 3 day Tour of Wessex next May.

This afternoon I did a pretty hilly 30 km ride around Hill Farm House. I enjoyed it. I liked the uphills and the downhills (though I like the severe ones less) and the miserable weather. Today’s ride also featured a stretch of “rough road” between Lydmarsh and Chaffcombe, which itself had both an uphill and then a downhill component and was all sorts of fun on my Tricross in the rain. But as I was coming back towards home I wondered, as I often do, whether I really have it in me to do five of those in a row, and then do the same the next day, and then do the same again the day after that.  That’s what the Tour of Wessex amounts to.

Knowing that it’s going to be at the margins of what I can manage, I resolved to do at least one trainer sportive first, and the one that first caught my eye was the Exmoor Beast. I was delighted when Stuart and Emily agreed to do it with me. Later, Emily came across details of the Blenheim Sportive, which is much more convenient for Londoners, and Martin, who has a place nearby, quickly agreed to join her on it. I was initially less keen – only because of the practical difficulties of getting to Blenheim for 7ish on a Sunday morning. As I reflected on it, the attraction of making my first event an easier one combined with the prospect of a nice ride with Martin and Emily outweighed the logistical issues, especially when Paula agreed to drive me there. It became a slam-dunk winner when my good friend Luca invited us to stay with him and Lori the night before. So Blenheim became the first station on the journey to Wessex, choosing the 100km rather than the 100 mile sportive as it was our first.

The afternoon and evening beforehand was perfect. We had a lovely time with L, L, Michaela, Clara and Massimo, and snuck out in the morning while the house still slept. On the way to Blenheim Palace we passed several competitors who were cycling to the event: if you live nearby I’m sure it makes sense but it was so cold, dark and early that I couldn’t imagine being outside of the car. By the time we swang into the Palace grounds it was getting properly light. We were directed to a field full of parked and parking cars and, incredibly, found that we had parked next but one to Martin, who, with Emily, had got there moments before us.

Outside, I was shocked by the cold and dithered about what to wear. I knew that the ideal bike gear should leave me a little chilly when I set off but I had no certainty about the weather that might face us over the coming hours. Luckily, as it turned out, I eschewed my warmer (and drier) Gore softshell jacket in favour of a light Rapha gilet.

Martin fixed up his Condor, which I hadn’t seen before – he has a different Condor for commuting – and which he’d reconfigured from time trial set-up a few days beforehand. It looked great. He was advised when he bought it to get a bike that he’d never want to upgrade: that sounds extravagant but is advice I’d pass on. Emily wheeled out her new Scott CR1 and that looked mean, too. I had bought my Felt at around the same time as Emily got the Scott and now, mixing it in the presence of such enviable bikes, I was glad that I’d ended up with a bike that I liked so much. I had come quite close to buying a Specialized Roubaix instead – on test, it was so easy and comfortable to ride. Ultimately, though, I preferred the stiffer-handling Felt. Equally importantly, on that morning I wouldn’t have wanted to be pushing along a bike that, like the Roubaix in Evans, was white: it’s just not me.

Before we began we had to pick up our timing chips. Emily attached hers to her shoe. Thinking that it would be more secure there, I stowed mine in my wedgie bag under the saddle and Martin followed suit. Then we crept up to the start line, Martin encouraging us to go off with the self-categorised “fast” groups. I waved back to Paula and we were off.

On paper it looks like an easy ride. As I’ve written before, all BikeHike profiles tend to look the same because they fill the rectangle with whatever hilliness the ride has. To see how comparatively gentle this is, you can look at the scale on the BikeHike profile for the Exmoor Beast: both rides are 62-63 miles long but on the Beast’s profile the y-axis runs from zero (not 164) to about 1,500 (not half of that).

By the time we started the sun had come out and the day was warming up. Literally only yards from the start line we began to pass competitors who were repairing punctures at the side of the roadway. My heart went out to them but I felt great and sped along quickly. Once we left the grounds of Blenheim and turned onto the public lanes I found that my natural speed was taking me past groups of other cyclists. However, Martin and Emily initially fell into a gentler and perhaps more sustainable rhythm and so I spent the first few miles in a speed/wait cycle that was probably not ideal for either my mood or my energy levels. But presently we settled into a pace where we were making decent progress and travelling along more or less together.

The route on the road was at it looked on the map: flatter than Somerset and, as promised, very pretty. It took us around several honey-stone Oxfordshire/Cotswold villages, one or two of which I knew from the years I spent living in Stroud. When cars passed by the number of cyclists on the roads required them to slow, and at most of the road junctions marshals either waved us through or flagged us to a stop.

The riding was perfect. Here you can see Emily looking smooth and relaxed, like a cover shot from Cycling Plus.

While we generally rode along together, the downhills tended to string us out temporarily as Emily – wisely we would learn at Exmoor – held back on the steeper ones. After one such fast stretch, Martin, who looked strong all the way, was powering up the long incline that followed. I kept with him for a while then let myself fall back, partly to wait for Emily to catch up and partly for a rest. Presently, Emily made her way up to me but by then Martin was out of sight. What we only later found out was that he had disappeared behind a hedge for a few minutes, during which time we must have passed him. So for a period around the middle of the route we cycled apart, neither party knowing who was ahead.

At around the half way mark Emily and I came to a T-junction and a marshal waved us through to our right turn. I was a little ahead of Emily and turned first, keen to get through because the marshal was holding up cars for us. I noticed as I turned that there was loose gravel in the centre of the road. About 20 yards on, I looked over my shoulder to check that Emily had made the turn before the marshal let the cars go on: I must have missed her fall by only a second or two. If there is such a thing as a good fall from a bike this probably wasn’t it, though it lacked the severity of her fall in the Beast. I wrote in that blog that “fortunately no bones were broken”. Let me correct that: now it appears probable that Emily fractured a rib. However, at Blenheim, there was blood and there was bruising but fortunately no bones were broken.

After a short stop to check herself and her bike and gather her wits, Emily decided to press on with the second half of the ride. We continued at a decent pace and not too long later Martin caught us up again. He had been unsure whether we had stopped at the food point: we hadn’t but he had checked it to be sure. For sustenance, I was carrying a Mule bar and some Clif bar shot bloks and had a protein/carb supplement in my drink. Martin had something similar I think. I’m not sure that Emily even took water: I don’t get it myself, but we all make our own choices.

For roads, scenery and weather the second half of the sportive matched the first, although one of our party was bravely riding through her pain. With around fifteen miles to go I started to become grateful that we had signed up for the 100 km rather than the 100 mile event; but before too long the entrance back into the Palace grounds appeared, earlier than we had expected, leaving us a very pleasant final scoot through the park. Martin and I tried to contrive for the three of us to pass over the timing mat marking the end of the course together but somehow Emily nosed past us. It was academic: the timing chips that we had packed safely under our saddles didn’t register and so only Emily recorded an official time. We turned in a very decent 3:39 in 67th place out of 623 (recorded) finishers. We would only have needed to save 12 minutes when Emily fell to make the top 25.

Paula was waiting on the finish line and took the photos from the end that you can see on our gallery. We dismounted and went over to see the start of the Brompton race. It was a hoot.

Nel revival dei marchi automobilistici più gloriosi si apre un nuovo capitolo: riecco le Gordini. Tornano le piccole “bombe” blu francesi, con le due strisce bianche sulla carrozzeria e i quattro fari rotondi: l’anima corsaiola della Renault. La decisione, attesa da tempo (almeno fin dalla rinascita del marchio Abarth in casa Fiat), è stata presa e di qui a qualche settimana le nuove versioni Gordini, complementari alla gamma Renault Sport, amplieranno l’offerta della Casa francese nel segmento delle sportive compatte. Si comincia con Twingo Gordini RS, che verrà presentata in anteprima mondiale il 25 novembre all’’Atelier Renault parigino, sugli Champs Elysées, nell’ambito dell’esposizione «Natale in blu»: la commercializzazione è in calendario per la prossima primavera. Seguirà, un paio di mesi dopo, la Clio Gordini RS.

 

Con circa 200mila veicoli messi a punto in vent’anni di lavoro al servizio della Renault, Amedeo Gordini ha scritto una delle più belle pagine della storia sportiva della marca francese. Nato nel 1899, appena un anno dopo la messa in vendita della prima Renault, Amedeo Gordini dà prova sin da adolescente della sua vocazione meccanica. La consacrazione come preparatore avviene negli anni Sessanta, quando permette a Renault di piazzare quattro R8 Gordini al 1°, 3°, 4° e 5° posto del tour di Corsica (1964). Nel 1966, la versione 1300 inaugura la Coppa Gordini: la R8 Gordini procurerà emozioni fortissime agli amanti della guida sportiva per tutto il decennio. Dalle corse al cinema il passo è breve: ecco le Gordini a Romy Schneider, Alain Delon e Lino Ventura. La firma Gordini, chic e sportiva, diventa in Francia il simbolo del carattere di un’intera generazione.

A quanto è dato sapere, le Gordini di oggi, come quelle di ieri, si caratterizzeranno per l’eleganza delle finiture e il design fortemente espressivo. Per la rinascita del marchio, Renault si è appoggiata a Renault Sport Technologies (Rst): due le linee di prodotti in programma, quella delle competizioni e quella delle versioni sportive stradali. Rst è, di fatto, il primo organizzatore di competizioni automobilistiche al mondo: le World Series by Renault hanno messo insieme più di 3 milioni di appassionati dal 2005 a oggi, ma ci sono anche i campionati Mégane Trophy e Clio Cup, e gli “exciting days”. Sia in assetto da gara che in quello destinato alla grande serie, le RS, dalla Mégane alla Clio, alla Twingo, figurano tra i veicoli più performanti nella loro categoria.

Fonte: www.corriere.it

Yesterday Fate told me to enroll for the Cornwall Tor. Envious of my hill-defying Felt and Emily’s zingy Scott, Paula has been eyeing up carbon bikes on the internet. To see one in the metal we went to one of our local bike shops (the Bicycle Chain in Taunton) and got chatting to one of the guys there (Alex), who, it turns out, is a sportive fiend. He told us about the North Cornwall Tor, which he described, with enthusiasm, as “unrelenting”. On the Cyclosport 2010 calendar the event is given a rare (unique?) 10 for difficulty. On checking the route, I found that it takes in the hill where the photo of Zoe on the post I’d made earlier that day was set. The timing is perfect for Tour of Wessex prep two weeks later.

As ever, if you’re interested let me know. Paula is mulling over the 44 mile route, and if she does it I’ll do that one too. If she passes I’ll sign up for the 100 mile route as it has the allure of being a Coast to Coast ride. There is also an intermediate 72 mile route.

In previous years it was called the North Cornwall Tor but they’ve dropped the “North” this year as even with “Cornwall” coming next in the description it seems that people were expecting it to be in Gateshead.

After posting the blog below I found this write-up from the organisers, which contains a number of illuminating facts. For example, 641 registered entrants didn’t even start.

“rugby sexy dei gallesi sta”

italiano? sardo? gaelico??? (by Eli Loker)
(from http://yourpapillon.splinder.com/ )

Wanted to support a work friend with his first 100 mile mile sportive, so the New Forest event was selected as it’s close to his home. I had no idea what the ride would be like aside from the fact that it wasn’t a major leg killer of a ride. My GPS showed something like 1500 metres ascent, so nothing too major in the way of climbs.

A punture in the first few miles made us both a little nervous, as we stood by the side of the road fixing the puncture there must have been 50+ riders passing us. With the puncture fixed we picked up the pace to try and make back a little time, after a few miles of pushing it we decided to slow a little, we had many limes ahead and were in danger of digging way too deep into the energy reserves.

The ride could be summed up with a few words:

Roadkill – A surprising amount of dead animals on the road from badgers and squirrels to deer.

Cattle Grids – I had never been to the New Forest and was totally unaware of the number of critters roaming loose. The grids were to be respected, any harsh breaking or attempts to corner would have resulted in slipping across the shiny metal surface.

Roadkill to be – A close calls on many ponies and very close call on a baby pig. I have never seen ponies slowly wandering around on a road before, I had lost count after the first 20 miles.

The ride coincided with an Audax event, we must have overtaken one group at least 3 times. The riders were slow and occupying a lot of the road, trying to overtake meant straying on to the other side of the road.

We clocked a finishing time of 6:37, given the puncture time and stop at the feed station to top up the tyres I think we could have shaved another 10 to 15 minutes of the time. I enjoyed the day out despite the annoyances, it was a good experience but I don’t think I will ride this event again as I thought the route was a little dangerous to attempt a fast finishing time. The food wasn’t properly though out either, there were bowls of nuts and sweets that I wasn’t even going to think about eating. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to figure out that perhaps some of the riders would stop for a leak at the roadside.

I enjoyed seeing the satisfaction on my friends face as he crossed the line. A pleasant pub lunch with a beer to wash it down afterwards was a well deserved treat to finish the day off. This was my last sportive of 2009, only 2 in my first year. The planning for next year is underway I have entered the Mad March Hare Sportive in March 2010 and aim to ride at least another 3 during the remainder of the year. 2010 should see my entrance to road racing, a little research is needed on the type of events. This winter needs to be one of plenty of training ride coupled with some weight loss to make the goals for next season feasible.

Entered the Circuit of the Cotswolds sportive in June 2009 (http://www.circuitofthecotswolds.org), as I read in a magazine recently, I had to recalibrate my hardometer. This was my first 100 mile sportive, or any sportive for that matter. I rode with G, a friend from work. We seem to work well together and are similar in ability. We suffered from a few mechanical glitches but other than that no major events. The first feeding station was bypassed, seemed like a good plan as we both had plenty of food and drink to last until the 50 mile station.

The first 50 miles seemed fairly uneventful, energy levels not depleted too much we both felt like we had enough fuel in the tank for us to last the full distance. I knew there was a big hill coming up, the organisers had made no secret of the 25% Cleeve Hill. I was totally unprepared for this hill, I think I managed to snail my way up the first third until I was a broken man. Even the walk to the top of the hill was unpleasant. I saw a few people overtake me on my hike but none of them managed to ride up to the crest of the hill. I think my weight was 90 Kilos at the time, at 170cm this puts me at over 33% fat, not exactly prime climbing physique.

The next hill came shortly after, I was still suffering from digging deep on Cleeve Hill and didn’t fair well. I had a another short walk after hitting a brick wall on the 20% climb. This was my lowest point in the ride, I spent the next 5 miles trying to recover and gain some moral to finish the rest of the course. Luckily G wasn’t feeling quite as depleted as I was so I had a welcome tow until I felt vaguely human again.

The next 40 miles were a slog, every hill seemed to be twice as steep. Looking ahead sometimes filled me with dread, I wasn’t sure I could handle any more tough climbs. Nothing really challenging hit us so we were able to plough our way through the smaller hills that stood between us and the finish line. Our legs were feeling heavy with the last 20 miles or so. We didn’t charge back to the finish but we did manage to maintain a reasonable pace, the ride time was 6:53 with an average of 14.9 mph. The event was chip timed, with all the stops for mechanical problems, food and my short walks the event time was 7:21.

Crossing the finish line was I was full of relief and emotion. We had survived a gruelling day in the saddle, faced nearly 3,000 metres of climbing and still managed a smile at the end. I would recommend the event and I plan to ride it in 2010, but this time I aim to be a little more prepared for the ride. Hopefully I can continue with the weight loss, my weight has been hovering around 83 Kilos for a few months now. With a little more dedication over the winter I would like to be 80 Kilos before the start of 2010. The aim is to hit the next sportive season better prepared than this year, hopefully I can improve on the time for the Circuit of the Cotswolds and move from a bronze to silver or maybe even gold award.

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
Untitled.

(ANSA) ROMA, 13 OTT – Settembre, con oltre 350 milioni di euro, ha battuto il record storico di raccolta del gioco a distanza (on line), e ha confermato la ripresa della raccolta dopo il calo fisiologico dovuto alla pausa estiva. Sono i risultati resi noti oggi dai Monopoli di Stato, che sottolineano come sia le scommesse sportive, con l’avvio del nuovo campionato di calcio, sia i giochi di abilità, fanno segnare decisi margini di crescita. I due comparti da soli raccolgono, infatti, il 95.4% del mercato, con in record degli skill games (poker in particolare) che ha superato i 200 milioni di raccolta mensile (211.221.197,00). La raccolta ha superato quella di maggio 2009, si è attestata sui livelli di febbraio, comunque in forte aumento (quasi il triplo) rispetto allo stesso periodo dello scorso anno, quando i giochi di abilità erano appena stati avviati. La raccolta complessiva ha fatto segnare un +29,4% rispetto al mese precedente e un +175,0% rispetto a settembre 2008. Sempre a settembre, sono stati raccolti a distanza il 7,9% di tutti i giochi pubblici (era il 3,4% a settembre 2008). Nei primi 9 mesi dell’anno sono stati giocati a distanza 2.642.528.034 euro (la raccolta complessiva di tutto il 2008 era stata pari a 1.484.351.425 euro). La raccolta di scommesse sportive on line continua a crescere in maniera sensibile (+56,1% rispetto al mese precedente, +30,7% rispetto a settembre 2008). La quota di scommesse sportive giocate on line rispetto a quelle giocate “a terra” tende ad attestarsi attorno al 31%. Dopo tre mesi consecutivi di calo della raccolta dei giochi di abilità, come previsto, a settembre si è assistito alla ripresa del gioco, tanto che questo mese presenta una media giornaliera di raccolta per la prima volta superiore ai 7 milioni di euro,quasi 600.000 euro in più rispetto al precedente mese record (maggio 2009). Questi dati fanno prefigurare, per i restanti mesi dell’anno in corso, un’ulteriore crescita della raccolta, indice di un mercato ancora in espansione. Passando ai restanti giochi a distanza, la raccolta di “Gratta e vinci” è stata pari a 6.462.262 euro (+24,3% rispetto al mese precedente, +2,4% rispetto a settembre 2008), mentre quella delle scommesse ippiche resa pressoché invariata, assestandosi sui 6.237.675 euro (+0,4% rispetto ad agosto, +8,7% rispetto a settembre dello scorso anno). Luglio ha segnato l’avvio della raccolta on line del superenalotto. Nonostante siano ancora pochissimi i concessionari abilitati alla rivendita, dopo il record di agosto, trainato dal jackpot, a settembre la raccolta è stata di 691.600 euro.

“Pizzul dino roberto dino”

Oggi come allora: GOAL!!! (ByPoetaminore)

(from http://www.siamotuttimcgyver.blogspot.com/)

“perchè quando gioco a calcio sotto la pi”

mi lasci così, col cliffhanger?Che succede quando giochi sotto la pi?! (by Inglo)

(from http://tokyoblues39.wordpress.com/ )

Je vous confirme que la Vilaine Charrue ne prendra pas sa retraite maintenant!

Ouin ben hier, j’ai été mangé chez mon beau gars du Brésil, Kayak men… Ben malheureusement, je crois que ça ne colle pas… Ben lui semble intéressé, mais cette fois-ci c’est moi. Pourquoi, je ne sais pas… Ce n’est pas ce que j’Attendais, il est bien et sincère, mais y’a un comme je ne sais pas qui fait que je ne crois pas que c’est le bon. Pourtant, il est en santé, fait beaucoup de sport, il ne fume pas, ne sort pas, ne prend pas de café, mange équilibré, etc… Cibole, je sais pas si ce que je veux c’est un bad boy ou une Nun! En tout cas, il avait planifié une activité sportive avec son ex, pas celui avec lequel il a encore une relation qu’il va terminer à son retour de voyage, son ex, il a vécu 10 ans avec… Bon j’chus pas jaloux pis de toute façon comme je suis en bon terme avec mon ex de 7 ans (oui oui, La Vilaine est capable de stabilité les tous petits !) je comprends.

Youpi, week-end débute et ce soir je repars à la chasse, je me dépêche de terminer ce post et go gay411. Je me demande ce que la vie va faire pour me surprendre ce week-end!  J’vous assure, je voudrais inventer un scénario télé avec des rebondissements que je ne pourrais pas être aussi imaginatif, rien ne se déroule comme je le planifie, alors pourquoi pas laisser ouvert les neuneuilles pour voir ce qu’il se passe. Ah oui je vous assure que je l’Ai pas trouvé drôle, vous vous rappelez hier j’arrête de fumer! Ben cibole pendant la soirée j’ai réussi à tenir le coup, mais pendant la soirée, là j’En peux plus faut que je fume…. Je lui dis bon je vais aller fumer dehors et je reviens, wow le beau cendrier en cristal qu’il me donne. Il me dit  “Je ne fume pas mais quelques fois pour les invités!” Bref elle était bonne et m’a fait tourner la tête…. Le pire ça été le matin, ben y prend pas de café… oups, là c’est pas drôle! moi pour me starter le matin 3 cafés minimum, pis le thé vert, non merci, il m’en a offert, hi hi hi! LA Vilaine avec un Thé, pas dans son pattern.  Bref je diminue de fumer, oui je sais y faut pas fumer avec une patch… inquiétez-vous pas je l’ai déjà fait, la cigarette est pas bonne mais assez pour continuer à avoir le goût.

J’espère que ce soir mon prince va apparaître, on sait jamais, je sais pas si Mars est en Saturne, faudrait que je demande à Miss V.  elle connait ça les planètes! Elle, elle m’Avait dit que j’Avais avec un gars, mon Barman, Vénus qui rétrograde, j’pensais pas qu’une vierge pouvait rétrograder, moi oui je peux me rétrograder, je vous l’assure, lol. Elle m’a expliqué une histoire charmante sur la chaloupe pis je vous dis que ça correspondait absolument à mon histoire avec mon barman…  “Vilaine, tu rencontres un gars et il te dit je t’aime, bien dans ma chaloupe on va être heureux et on rame on rame et c’est beau c’est agréable et soudainement, le gars angoissé et il te dit, non! non! je veux être seul, alors saute dans le lac, je ne veux plus te voir…  Alors toi tu nages, pour ne pas dire ramer jusqu’à la berge de peine et de misère et tu arrives sur le bord et là le beau ti-gars revient et il te dit non! non!, reviens je t’Aime, je t’aime, je ne peux vivre sans toi! et toi tu te dis ben ça se peut, alors tu rembarques dans la chaloupe et tu rames, tu rames et là le manège recommence et il te fait, ben là je crois que j’Ai le goût d’être seul, je crois que ce n’est pas ce que je veux…. Alors tu replonges… - et la correctrice qui se dit… bon… elle va tu bientôt finir son histoire parce que là y commence à y avoir des sacrées longueurs… vous trouvez pas les ptits zamis ? - et l’Hisoire ne s’arrête pas là le manège continue à l’infini !  - zzzz…. – Bref c’est ça Vilaine la Vierge qui rétrograde!”

Ben j’vous assure mais là Jojo médium avait raison, je vous dis pas combien de tours de chaloupe J’ai pu faire, j’ai ramé, nagé pis ramé pis…….. Bon j’pense que vous avez compris… la morale de cette histoire, prenez le pont c’est moins long… Pis surveillez l’Alignement des planètes, ça pourrait vous jouer des tours !

Ce soir c’est samedi et je vais sortir,  je vais faire briller la Vilaine Charrue, la Madonna des clubs Gays crouser et trouver “The Hot Men !”

Dans un autre ordre d’idée, je parlais pour parler avec Miss C, elle est folle d’un jeu sur facebook (fais-toi une ferme !) ça j’avoue je ne comprends pas ce jeu, passer des mois dans les clubs, ça c’est quelque chose, tu les vois real tes légumes pousser, lol… Bref, on se disait que mon blogue serait fort intéressant en film ou télésérie.. Peggy disait ben j’pense que ça serait la série “Ils”, version améliorée de “Elles”  OUUUUUUUUUUUUmmmmm qui ferait mon rôle comme acteur américain…. avez-vous des idées et Miss Peggy, qui incarnerait ce personnage…. Aidez-nous à faire le casting…. La première série la plus écoutée à ????? au fait quel canal ?  Out Tv ? ben c’est juste anglais, pis mon anglais est trash, j’Vous dis pas pour L’espagnol…. c’est encore pire… Bref, laissez-moi de messages, on aime ça, moi Monsieur X et Peggy…

Et si vous sortez dîtes-vous que vous pourriez rencontrer La Vilaine Charrue ! Et même que je pourrais vous signer des autographes !  A plus et dîtes-vous bien c’est important !

“lacrime de rossi”

e’ tutta corpa de Berlusconi!

(from http://lesoliteballe.splinder.com/ )

P.S. Il mio commento vero sarebbe “Per il 3-0? Godo tantissimo” ma per rispetto a Sara non lo scrivo

L’inizio del campionato di calcio di serie A nella seconda meta’ di agosto ha fatto bene alla raccolta delle scommesse sportive. Nel mese appena trascorso gli appassionati hanno effettuato scommesse per 248 milioni di euro, rispetto ai 140,5 milioni del precedente mese di luglio.

Dei 248 milioni – secondo le stime dell’Agicos -, 79 milioni sono stati puntati attraverso la modalita’ on line.

La raccolta via internet ad agosto ha toccato i 79 milioni di euro. Microgame riconquista la prima posizione tra gli operatori che offrono le scommesse sportive on line, raccogliendo giocate per 22,1 milioni di euro, cifra che gli vale il 28% del mercato. L’accoppiata Lottomatica/Totosi’ con una raccolta complessiva di 19,7 milioni di euro (dei 11,4 attribuibili a Totosi’), si aggiudica una quota di mercato di quasi il 25%. Da sole le due aziende hanno attualmente il mano oltre la meta’ del mercato delle scommesse on line.

Sul terzo gradino del podio Match Point con 8,5 milioni di euro. Seguono Snai (7,0), Bwin (6,2) e Gioco Digitale (4,3).

Il mese di agosto non e’ stato pero’ favorevole per gli operatori, visto che il payout medio e’ stato superiore al 90%, con operatori che hanno sfiorato il 100% di vincite pagate rispetto alla raccolta.

“rossi ha vinto?”

sì, un peluche di marmo (by Alberto)

(from http://tokyoblues39.wordpress.com/ )

“fotto valetino rossi”

non usare la N che il Papa non vuole (by Alberto)

(from http://tokyoblues39.wordpress.com/ )