richard cross

Tour de France – Hightlights

Richard — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:51:10 +0000

2010 was a significant year for the Tour de France, it being 100 years since it first rode into the high mountains of the Pyrenees. With climbs such as the Port de Pailheres, the Col d’Aubisque and the Col du Tourmalet (twice) on this years route the organisers had made sure it would be a fitting tribute to the blood, sweat and tears which have paved it’s way here. We managed to catch up with the Tour on three separate stages, including on the mighty Col du Tourmalet – where the mountains had their own idea of what a celebration meant – shrouding the tops in thick cloud while Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador battled it out for the Maillor Jaune. None the less it was an epic moment of sporting history.

Flickr Gallery: Tour de France Hightlights

Stage 15: Pamiers to Bagneres-du-Luchon

Monday 19 July 2010

Classic French style on how to watch the Tour – with friends by the side of the road under the shade of a tree. Lunch was consumed between the frenzy of the Caravane and the arrival of the riders, all in all very civilized.

Flickr Gallery: Stage 15

Stage 16 – Bagneres-du-Luchon to Pau

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Having followed the route of the Tour along most of the route of Stage 15 we managed to leap-frog it at Bagnères-de-Luchon, pressing on in the fading light to find a great camp spot on the top of the Col d’Aspin. Having been woken early by the set up crews we settled in for the wait and spent the morning enjoying the build up. The Caravane came through at about 11.30 and the riders arrived at about 13.00, though this time we were able to see them coming from our elevated position. It took them about 30 minutes to make it up the Col, roughly the same time as it took us to drive!

Flickr Gallery: Stage 16

Stage 17: Pau to Col du Tourmalet

Thursday 22 July 2010

On the rest day of the Tour I was struck down with a stomach bug, so while Helen went up to the Col to witness the hundreds of riders experiencing the Tourmalet first hand I lay in the tent recovering. On the eve of Stage 17 and the culmination of this year’s Tour in the mountains the region was hit by huge storms. Thunder so loud and close the ground shook (we could tell as we were camping). For a while in the morning we doubted if we would make it up to the Col for the race, so bad were the conditions – but seeing countless others head up (mostly draped in plastic sheeting) and having come so far we decided we would regret turning back at this late stage. The weather – or at least the rain – held off, instead the cloud rolled in. By the time the Caravane arrived it emerged from the mist like a bizarre ghostly procession. Still – the crowds went wild as even more merchandise was dished out, hats and ponchos being the favoured items. By the time the lead riders – Schleck and Contador – arrived visibility was down to about 30 meters, still this was the epic battle the organisers and crowd had wanted and there was no way a bit of cloud was going to dampen our enthusiasm. Cheers, claps and even vuvuzelas greeted the riders to the summit of the last mountain of the Tour. Armstrong, in his last Tour got a big cheer, as did local rider Sanchez who was placed 3rd at the time. Once the main contenders had finished we tired to get a glimpse of the presentations – unfortunately, due to the cloud, a glimpse is all we got. The atmosphere was amazing, the setting epic, but the weather was disappointing. We considered two out of three a result.

Flickr Gallery: Stage 17

Edinburgh Nocturne

Richard — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:31:56 +0000

Last night was the Edinburgh Nocturne, the second in a series of bike races around the UK (others being in London and Blackpool). It was made up of several different races, including support and team races, the elite race as well as the famous folding bike race. Great weather and crowds ensured the event was a success, hopefully to be repeated next year.

Photos from the Edinburgh Nocturne 2010

6 Times – Figure III

Richard — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:31:37 +0000

The Greener Leith bike ride this month was a trip to find all of Antony Gormley’s recently installed figures. Imagine our delight when we discovered one of the statues (no. III, Stockbridge) had a declared it’s love for Leith already.

Munroist – no. 4494

Richard — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:25:34 +0000

FM 100 Hue Test

Richard — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:14:27 +0000

How good is your colour vision?
Take the Hue Test to find out…

100 Hue Test

Job interview for your next MP

Richard — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:18:41 +0000

Still undecided? Even if you are not take this quiz to find out what the candidates in your area think on local and national issues.

TheyWorkForYou Election: It’s job interview time for your next MP!

It might just convince you to decide who to vote for on their policies and principals rather than your bias!

Election websites round up

Richard — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:54:14 +0000

It’s that time again…here’s a round up of the current crop of political websites:

Who to vote for?

voteforpolicies.org.uk – simple Q&A on core policies, the results may surprise
theyworkforyou.com – what has your MP has been up to (on your behalf)?
voterpower.org.uk – how much your vote is worth in your constituency?
electornot.org.uk – sod the policies, what do they look like?
aboutmyvote.co.uk – voting information & registration (in case you haven’t already)
news.bbc.co.uk – news and updates from the BBC

Main Political Parties (England & Wales)

Main Political Parties (Scotland)

Web Design Analysis

Design Review – by coastdigital.co.uk
Design Review – by maban.co.uk
Accessibility Review – by s3webdesign.co.uk

A bag of Munros

Richard — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:46:47 +0000

Having spent 17 years chipping away at the Munros I never really thought I’d actually complete – but on Saturday 3rd April I topped out on Ben More on Mull.

There were 10 of us to enjoy some fizzy wine and drams on the summit, the fact that it was snowing didn’t dampen the celebrations, if anything it seemed quite appropriate. As to the questions of ‘what next’ – well, there are a lot of Munros I’d be happy to revisit (others less so) and of course there are always the Corbetts!

TheHighlands.com – Updated

Richard — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:00:21 +0000

This morning I discovered TheHighlands.com had been hacked to redirect different site. As I’d not kept the site nor WordPress updated I wasn’t really surprised, but it serves as a valuable lesson to keep applications updated. To plug the gap I’ve replaced the entire site with my gallery of Scottish Mountain Photography.

ScotlandIS – Naturally Cool

Richard — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:06 +0000

Promotional card for the ScotlandIS ‘Naturally Cool’ campaign using my image of Loch Morlich:

http://www.scotlandis.com/naturallycool