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Mark G

@marcostefano.bsky.social
116 followers 35 following 192 posts

Sculler & coach, cyclist, exercise physiology geek, bread baker. "Next stroke - row better..."

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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11h
Same here. I think there's a big jump (pardon the pun) between weeks 2 & 3 or 3 & 4 which is too much; shin splints every time. Going to try repeating the previous several times before continuing. 'Cos I'm going to start again, aren't I? Right?
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Cycled around the usual tourist spots earlier in the year, and then out to Versailles on the way back to our campsite. Took a bit of getting used to the cycleways and where we were supposed to be, but good. If you want to park up and visit somewhere though, difficult to find bike stands...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Lovely. And that looks like Northampton vs Bath; just watched that, what a game.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Smooth roads & tailwinds to you. Loved cycling around the Seine valley & Rouen recently.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Coming back from hols a month ago, & parked at Dieppe. Next arrivals: loud Jaguar-based Aston DBR replica, Healey 3000, Bristol coupé, very loud 1926 air-cooled Amilcar... All been to an event in Angouleme. There's something about that crossing...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Sorry about you losing your bike and favourite bars, that's a bummer. My black Fleegles were fitted to my Pompino for a few years, but now that's back to the original Midges. A change is as good as a rest, or something...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Absolutely. Just decided to change from drop bars on my tourer to flat bars to ease my old neck, using stuff I already have (apart from some bar end adaptors from SJSC). So, I'll soon be rolling with black Fleegle bars & Dura Ace thumbies. It's probably not the done thing. Oh well. 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
With stop-start systems, fuel savings start at about 6 or 7 seconds after the engine shuts off.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Cosy. I forgot, and my missus was out - coaching rugby.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Unfair to peanuts.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Just a taste of your new home... The start of today's 50 miler: la Loire before cycling to Chateaux de Cheverny and Chambord.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Congratulations! That's obviously what we drank this evening's Vouvray for. 😀 Greetings from the Loire.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"When one door closes, another opens. I had a Vauxhall Astra like tha'!" Alexei Sayle.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Looks golden to me. 😋
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
To clarify, red was from Saumur, glass was raised just outside Blois. 🙂 Komoot route this afternoon tried to take us and bikes across the Loire. Only trouble was, no bridge in sight. I mean, it's not deep, but...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Oh, that looks good. < raises a glass of red from Saumur >
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Those swivelling headlamps were fantastic, never mind the suspension, steering and brakes.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
That's the colour, and I believe that's what it was called. The GRP roof panel faded in later years to Cappuccino. 🙂 By the trim, I think that one is a Pallas (all the bells & whistles you could get in the 70s).
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Nice. My Dad was a UK civil servant who moved to Brussels in the first wave in the early 70s when we joined the EEC. The first thing he did was to buy a DSuper5 in Beetle Brown metallic (much better than it sounds). Such a cool and comfortable car. Still have the number plates... 👌
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Hope you both enjoy the season. 💪
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ouch.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Cooler where I am too, but not that cool... It'll be 30°C again before you know it.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I'm hoping that's an omelette of some kind. 😬 Just finished brochettes & salad with a bottle of Saumur fizz. Sorry.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
It's just so irrational sometimes. I ride <3 miles each way to our rowing club, not even far enough for a warmup. Most others drive, even if they live nearer. It's bonkers. The return home at lunchtime on Saturday through our very small city is gridlocked.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We have a 1 litre petrol hatchback which carries us, bikes, gear and a small caravan around La Belle France each year in various directions (now in the Loire valley from the Vendée yesterday). I rarely drive in the UK, just use bikes. My wife drives for work (girl's rugby coaching, lots of balls).
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Currently on camping holiday in France for some 5 weeks. We only use our car for transits between sites, but use bikes for all other journeys here, have done for years. Off to the supermarket with a couple of panniers today.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Oh, well that's alright then...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I remember going to a 24 hour race at Snetterton circuit in the UK, where a Civic of this type was racing. Teams published a resume of pit servicing and repairs each hour; the winning Civic's entry for the last few hours was, repeatedly, "Polished hood ornament." 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Homemade, rustic and tasty beats aesthetics every time. Do it again. 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"All it takes is a good pen, and some intelligence." Clearly not enough intelligence to decide in which case you are going to be writing.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"I won't take 'no' for an answer." "Will you take 'fuck off' for an answer?" 😡
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Crise Cardiaque de Poitrine
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I think that sometimes thinking of oneself as an idiot and being proud of one's achievements is the epitome of balance. The people who don't sometimes regard themselves as an idiot are the ones to avoid...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Swot. 😉
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Out in France on holiday atm and doing our usual local cycle touring daily from each campsite. Love seeing the variety of people on all kinds of bikes on cycle paths here, from elderly couples to families on tour by bike. One sees so much more on a bike (and we can eat more patisseries...).
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Similar here; Q risk score gave 15% risk of attack in the next 10 years, but no account taken of diet, active lifestyle, cycling, or competing masters sculler status. To me, a pretty useless measure. I declined statins too.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
You see where you are now? Wherever it is, you're in the wrong place. 🙄
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Cycled around the centre of Paris a couple of weeks ago and found it pretty good, even out into the suburbs. One thing though, even at all of the tourist destinations (Louvre, Beaux Arts, Eiffel, Pompidou, Versailles etc.), no cycle parking apparent at all, which we found odd.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Your Trends sound much more interesting...
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
A great French joke, je crois.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Thank you! Wishing your two all the enjoyment and friendships that come with sports. It's nice to win, but it's great to play well with good mates.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Thoughts & prayers. Currently in France after watching daughter play for England Women's 27s (first age category) in Touch Rugby Euro Champs, Vichy. Terrible chore. Still, swings & roundabouts and all that, since she and her teammates won. 🥇 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Sounds like the easiest job in the world.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
There's never a trials rider around when you need one, is there? 😡
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
"Hello Mudder, hello Farder, Here I am at Camp Granada..." 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
The family were surprised she'd taken her panniers off... 😁 An Olympic distance triathlon followed on a bike about 1/3rd of the weight, but still with flat pedals (quick transition). She loves it, but also loves shopping by bike.
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
This is my wife in the middle of her first sprint triathlon. She refused to remove the mudguards and rack from her utility bike for the event. 🙂
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Halley's Orchestra, surely? (I'll get my coat...)
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Mark G @marcostefano.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🙏🏻
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