Roberto Heras
and three year's later...
Alberto Contador
and 5 years later...
Tom Boonen
and at the 2010 Ronde van Vlaanderen with Fabian Cancellara...
and a fallen hero (on the wheel of Roger Hammond) also taken at Flanders...
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Before and after
My son and I took a look through my old photographs including the 2005 Tour De France stage at Courchevel and found some interesting pictures:
Roberto Heras
and three year's later...
Alberto Contador
and 5 years later...
Tom Boonen
and at the 2010 Ronde van Vlaanderen with Fabian Cancellara...
and a fallen hero (on the wheel of Roger Hammond) also taken at Flanders...
Excellent. Roll on the 2013 season.
Roberto Heras
and three year's later...
Alberto Contador
and 5 years later...
Tom Boonen
and at the 2010 Ronde van Vlaanderen with Fabian Cancellara...
and a fallen hero (on the wheel of Roger Hammond) also taken at Flanders...
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Bucket list
I have got Man Flu; feel as though I am on death's door and lo and behold Cycling Weekly publish 26 things to do on two wheels before you die. I need to recover and tick some off:
26. Learn to ride a unicycle - that's not going to happen. I was amazed when I saw a participant riding a large-wheeled unicycle on the Dragon Ride in 2008 but it didn't make me want to go out and buy one.
25. Buy a piece of cycling memorabilia - CHECK (or at least my son has)
24. Ride on tubs - combined with #2 perhaps
23. Ride with a pro - TO DO
22. Ride as many hills from the 100 Greatest Climbs book as you can - TO DO, possibly with the Chinook-O (Which one is next Rick?)
21. Ride 100 miles in a day - CHECK. See Fred Whitton 4 seasons. My next planned metric century is a pilgrimage to Peterborough.
20. Race - CHECK. Gentlemen style ;-)
19. Ride a long-distance trail - CHECK. I rode the South Downs Way
18. Go cycle touring - when I'm older :-)
17. Meet Eddy Merckx - combined with #23 perhaps
16. Go on a training camp - TO DO
15. Join a cycling club - CHECK, but I'd like to think a cycle shop sponsored team might consider signing me up. Then I could do #16 and #20 without wearing a jacket and tie.
14. Sprint down the Champs-Elysees - No WAY. I wouldn't even plan to drive it (again) in a car
13. Watch the Tour de France, French style - CHECK
12. Do a big cycling 'do' - TO DO.
11. Ride a tandem - CHECK
10. Watch a cobbled Classic - CHECK
9. Ride with your kids - CHECK
8. Get 50 people into cycling - Nope. I used to be able to buy family tickets to the velodrome for less than the cost of getting to a premiership football match. I hope cycling gets less popular although I might retract that if I ever fulfill my dream of opening my own cycling shop.
7. Grab a ride in a team car - TO DO
6. Win a sprint - CHECK, but would love to combine it with #15 and #20
5. Ride on a velodrome - CHECK and cannot wait to try London
4. Ride a big British sportive - CHECK
3. Ride on another continent - CHECK. Yawn. I ride on the continent every year and love it. For info, Spanish roads are the smoothest.
2. Find, buy and restore the bike you wanted as a kid - TO DO: 1. I have a dream to have built for me a bespoke fixed wheel bike so that I can... 2. Restore my 1982 Holdsworth Special with a retro pair of #24 tubular wheels to... 3. Ride l'Eroica
1. Ride up Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux - CHECK-CHECK, but not in the same day - now that is a silly bet.
Others that they mention in the editorial:
* Descend at 100km - CHECK. Col d'Izoard :-)
* Tackle the white roads of Tuscany - TO DO - see plans for l'Eroica
* Ride in the snow - CHECK
* Climb Tenerife's Mount Teide - To DO - perhaps on a training camp
Mmm - I need to consider what else is on my personal bucket list? What's on yours?
26. Learn to ride a unicycle - that's not going to happen. I was amazed when I saw a participant riding a large-wheeled unicycle on the Dragon Ride in 2008 but it didn't make me want to go out and buy one.
25. Buy a piece of cycling memorabilia - CHECK (or at least my son has)
24. Ride on tubs - combined with #2 perhaps
23. Ride with a pro - TO DO
22. Ride as many hills from the 100 Greatest Climbs book as you can - TO DO, possibly with the Chinook-O (Which one is next Rick?)
21. Ride 100 miles in a day - CHECK. See Fred Whitton 4 seasons. My next planned metric century is a pilgrimage to Peterborough.
20. Race - CHECK. Gentlemen style ;-)
19. Ride a long-distance trail - CHECK. I rode the South Downs Way
18. Go cycle touring - when I'm older :-)
17. Meet Eddy Merckx - combined with #23 perhaps
16. Go on a training camp - TO DO
15. Join a cycling club - CHECK, but I'd like to think a cycle shop sponsored team might consider signing me up. Then I could do #16 and #20 without wearing a jacket and tie.
14. Sprint down the Champs-Elysees - No WAY. I wouldn't even plan to drive it (again) in a car
13. Watch the Tour de France, French style - CHECK
12. Do a big cycling 'do' - TO DO.
11. Ride a tandem - CHECK
10. Watch a cobbled Classic - CHECK
9. Ride with your kids - CHECK
8. Get 50 people into cycling - Nope. I used to be able to buy family tickets to the velodrome for less than the cost of getting to a premiership football match. I hope cycling gets less popular although I might retract that if I ever fulfill my dream of opening my own cycling shop.
7. Grab a ride in a team car - TO DO
6. Win a sprint - CHECK, but would love to combine it with #15 and #20
5. Ride on a velodrome - CHECK and cannot wait to try London
4. Ride a big British sportive - CHECK
3. Ride on another continent - CHECK. Yawn. I ride on the continent every year and love it. For info, Spanish roads are the smoothest.
2. Find, buy and restore the bike you wanted as a kid - TO DO: 1. I have a dream to have built for me a bespoke fixed wheel bike so that I can... 2. Restore my 1982 Holdsworth Special with a retro pair of #24 tubular wheels to... 3. Ride l'Eroica
1. Ride up Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux - CHECK-CHECK, but not in the same day - now that is a silly bet.
Others that they mention in the editorial:
* Descend at 100km - CHECK. Col d'Izoard :-)
* Tackle the white roads of Tuscany - TO DO - see plans for l'Eroica
* Ride in the snow - CHECK
* Climb Tenerife's Mount Teide - To DO - perhaps on a training camp
Mmm - I need to consider what else is on my personal bucket list? What's on yours?
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Hand me downs
An acquaintance in a sports car club once told me that each year he would change the oil in his car, the used oil would then go into his motorbike and the used motorbike oil would go into his lawn mower.
My Brompton is the lawn mower and my Basso (ashamedly) is the metaphoric motorbike.
I took the brake pads out of the Planet X CNC callipers on the Basso and fitted them to the Brompton. The CNC callipers then went into the 'shit that stinks' box and I fitted the Ultegra callipers handed down from my Chinook.
Somewhere along the line though I had misplaced the brake pads. In fact, I think they had made their way onto the Brompton and were the worn set I just replaced with the version that don't stick.
I had spotted some very cheap brake cartridges on a pedal to the Grafham Water cycle shop, so I decided to buy from them online even just to get new fittings and cartridges. The anodized alloy cartridges don't quite match the paintwork but they are a close match to the 'HAND MADE IN ITALY' font colour.
If the pads aren't any good then I shall just buy a set of trusted Shimano replacements and put the old ones on the Brompton.
My Brompton is the lawn mower and my Basso (ashamedly) is the metaphoric motorbike.
I took the brake pads out of the Planet X CNC callipers on the Basso and fitted them to the Brompton. The CNC callipers then went into the 'shit that stinks' box and I fitted the Ultegra callipers handed down from my Chinook.
Somewhere along the line though I had misplaced the brake pads. In fact, I think they had made their way onto the Brompton and were the worn set I just replaced with the version that don't stick.
I had spotted some very cheap brake cartridges on a pedal to the Grafham Water cycle shop, so I decided to buy from them online even just to get new fittings and cartridges. The anodized alloy cartridges don't quite match the paintwork but they are a close match to the 'HAND MADE IN ITALY' font colour.
If the pads aren't any good then I shall just buy a set of trusted Shimano replacements and put the old ones on the Brompton.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Foggy cholesterol
In Cav's autobiography he mentions that Nicole has a full English breakfast before racing. If I meet her again I will have to ask if it is true.
This morning I set my alarm to get up early, with a view to riding the route of the forthcoming Leighton Buzzard cycle club's reliability ride, approximately 75 miles for me. However, when I opened the curtains the thick fog wasn't what Siri had forecasted the night before, so I decided to delay my start with the hope that the fog might lift.
Whilst waiting I emulated Nicole and had a bacon and fried egg sandwich for breakfast :-)
The visibility had improved by about 9am so I retrieved my bicycle from the garage and put some lights on. I also realised how cold it was so I quickly added some knee warmers to my Rapha shorts, socks, long sleeve jersey and softshell jacket ensemble. I planned to stay toasty.
I had downloaded the GPX route for the reliability ride to my Garmin but it took nearly 8 miles before it managed to get the navigation sorted. I joined the route near Woburn Sands so the Bow Brickhill climb was the first shocker and a few other cyclists were congregating near the start, so it may be the annual hill climb for the North Bucks Road Club. I didn't hang about to find out.
I continued on the route following the beeps and instructions from the Garmin but around Linslade it all went wrong and the Garmin began directing back towards home instead of South and into the Chilterns. I turned the navigation off at that point and decided to head back towards Clophill to have a crack at the so-called Clophill Ball Breaker on Strava before heading home.
Through Ampthill I tried to get the speed camera to flash on the descent passed Redborne school but I guess a 31mph cyclist doesn't trigger it - must try to go another 3mph quicker to see if that works ;-)
On my way back into Flitwick I was giving my legs a final thrashing and a motorcyclist came alongside me, gave me the thumbs up and said I was breaking the speed limit. LOL.
Total ride distance: 50+ miles
Average speed: 18mph
Clophill Ball Breaker: 13th position but 5mph off KOM - maybe I shouldn't have had the bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast ;-)
Saturday, 6 October 2012
European posteria Man-satchel alternative
Rule #29 of the Velominati states saddle bags have no place on a road bike.
However, I have learned a few lessons in all of my years of riding and I like to be prepared for any punctures or mechanicals. So I carry ID, a phone, money, two inner tubes, patches, tools, a CO2 canister and inflator. All of which could go in my jersey pocket but I've also experienced crashes and landing on your back with a pocket full of tools tends to hurt.
I have decided that some sort of tool bag is essential but wanted to try avoiding breaking rule #29. The photograph of The Boot gave me an idea.
I decided on a tool roll which would give me the option of mounting it under my saddle or in a bottle cage (if I was on a shorter ride).
Rapha sell a tool roll, but when I was searching on the interweb I found the Mopha which had positive reviews. I pressed buy it now and waited for a little over two weeks for it to arrive from Seattle.
I'm quite pleased with the tool roll. Retrospectively the price of (some) exclusivity might be a tad high and perhaps I should have purchased the Rapha version.
For information:
Mopha tool roll £29.90
USPS P&P £6.34
The add-on which tips it over the comparable price:
"Customs charges are applied to imports into the EU with a value over £15 for VAT. All items valued over £135 will attract import duty. Imported gifts valued over £40 sent between private individuals will also attract VAT".
Excise duty £4.76
Royal Mail international fee £8.00
Total cost £49.00.
However, I have learned a few lessons in all of my years of riding and I like to be prepared for any punctures or mechanicals. So I carry ID, a phone, money, two inner tubes, patches, tools, a CO2 canister and inflator. All of which could go in my jersey pocket but I've also experienced crashes and landing on your back with a pocket full of tools tends to hurt.
I have decided that some sort of tool bag is essential but wanted to try avoiding breaking rule #29. The photograph of The Boot gave me an idea.
I decided on a tool roll which would give me the option of mounting it under my saddle or in a bottle cage (if I was on a shorter ride).
Rapha sell a tool roll, but when I was searching on the interweb I found the Mopha which had positive reviews. I pressed buy it now and waited for a little over two weeks for it to arrive from Seattle.
I'm quite pleased with the tool roll. Retrospectively the price of (some) exclusivity might be a tad high and perhaps I should have purchased the Rapha version.
For information:
Mopha tool roll £29.90
USPS P&P £6.34
The add-on which tips it over the comparable price:
"Customs charges are applied to imports into the EU with a value over £15 for VAT. All items valued over £135 will attract import duty. Imported gifts valued over £40 sent between private individuals will also attract VAT".
Excise duty £4.76
Royal Mail international fee £8.00
Total cost £49.00.
Be prepared
I cleaned my Brompton today and, in preparation for the Winter, I replaced the deadly Schwalbe Marathon rear tyre. Putting the 16" tyre onto the rim isn't easy and metal tyre levers are essential.
The Lezyne Saber Levers are superb for the job and, combined with having a 15mm wrench, they are ideal for the Brompton. I always carry them when I commute on the Brompton.
The maximum tyre pressure is 65PSI and I have inflated it initially to this. Let's see whether it grips in the wet.
The Lezyne Saber Levers are superb for the job and, combined with having a 15mm wrench, they are ideal for the Brompton. I always carry them when I commute on the Brompton.
I made the decision to try out a new tyre brand and snapped up a Panaracer Crosstown at a discounted price of £15.99
The tyre has the reflective sidewall, a decent tread pattern and claims to be puncture resistant. It is still heavy at 400g, so not ideal for racing.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
"The Boot"
I read the obituary of Ray Booty recently. In 1956 he became the first rider to complete a 100-mile event in under four hours.
I started to search for further information on his incredible achievements and came across Paul and Gary's blog with a piece on The Boot - http://paulandgaryaremad.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/cyclings-roger-bannister.html
We definitely need more blue plaques to remember the achievements of people like The Boot.
Mmm - I wonder how many miles a pilgrimage to Ray's once home town of Peterborough and back would be?
I started to search for further information on his incredible achievements and came across Paul and Gary's blog with a piece on The Boot - http://paulandgaryaremad.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/cyclings-roger-bannister.html
We definitely need more blue plaques to remember the achievements of people like The Boot.
Mmm - I wonder how many miles a pilgrimage to Ray's once home town of Peterborough and back would be?
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