Now, this might, or might not, come as a bit of a shock to you: in 361 days, I’ll turn 50. That’s almost eighteen thousand days I’ve been living, breathing, and learning here on this planet. So the big question is: what have I learned over these thousands of days. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, which I hope you have, you’ll know that I’ve learned that you can never lose those illusive seven pounds, that you should always wear sunscreen, and that you should never underestimate a wiry old rider. But there’s more.
Back when I was in the bike shop, the workshop was my domain. It was a narrow dog-legged room with a door at each end: one led to the shop floor, and the other to the attic come bike store come dumping ground for 100-years of shop history. From the ceiling, wheels in various states of construction or deconstruction hung, and along the walls there were countless tools and storage bins filled with parts old and new. Besides this, there was the timber bulk of a pre-war workbench, two workstands plastered with past mechanics’ names; and a cylindrical black bin: the kind they used for street collections when I was a kid. This bin is where my story starts.
The other day I was talking to my brother, and he was telling me that he wanted to up the size of the Big Dog (outer chainring) on his TT bike. He asked if there was anything he needed to consider. This got me thinking, and I realised there are several considerations, so I’ve written this piece in case you have the same question.
You’ve got a couple of grand burning a hole in your pocket, and you decide now is as good as a time as any to invest it in a new bike. So let’s go. No, stop! Knowing when to buy may save you a substantial amount of change, which you could splash on other shiny new toys. In this post, I offer you an insider’s view of when is the best time to grab a bargain.
One particular morning, the alarm went off at stupid o’clock. It was dark outside; the air was crisp; and the house was quiet. It was a day that neither of us were relishing: Em on account of his lack of pre-pre-season training, and myself because I have a near allergic reaction to early mornings and early rides…
Last week, I wrote an article on the women’s Spring Classics, where I highlighted some of the inequalities in the racing calendar. This article led to some interesting debates and a lot of questions. What is clear is that there’s an overwhelming groundswell of people who want equality in sport and genuinely want to watch women’s racing. So, what’s holding us back? In this week’s post, we’ll explore some of the big questions and invite your ideas on how we can answer them.
Unless you’re living on the moon, you’ve probably noticed that the Spring Classics are underway. These are one-day races that take place mostly in northern Europe and are renowned for being especially brutal. Some of them date back to the first decade of cycle racing, but what progress have they made in representing women…
We want to entertain, inform, and make you a better rider – we’re nice like that. So, why on earth are we telling you how to ride slowly? It’s simple – failure helps us learn. Learning from others’ failures is even better; it saves us time and energy. In this latest post in our Starting Time Trialling series, we explore some of the ways you can sabotage your time trialling performance.
It’s the 24th July 2010, and I’m stood at a Bordeaux roadside watching rider after rider whizz past. There’s a deafening roar; a wave of excitement passes through the crowd. In a blink of an eye, Fabian Cancellara flies past us, and the crowd goes wild. We are in awe of the fastest man on two wheels – a time trialling legend.
Pedals are one of your three contact points with the bike; the other two being handlebar and saddle. Your choice of pedal affects your power, endurance, and stability. As a triathlete, you have to keep in mind that you have a transition between run and bike where your pedal choice determines your shoe choice, and this in turn affects how you approach transition…
It’s easy to imagine that training is something reserved for professional athletes or those at the peak of their abilities; not something for people starting out in a new sport. Far from it. Training is simply adopting a structured approach to activities with the aim of improving performance. Following a simple training plan, when starting triathlon, will help you complete your chosen distance to the best of your abilities…
Congratulations on committing to your first triathlon! Of the three disciplines (swim, bike, and run), the bike has the potential to deliver the biggest time gains, but also cost you the most money. It’s a fact that high quality road bikes are expensive, and you may be wondering whether you have to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds to take part in your first event. Don’t worry because in this article we take a practical look at how you complete the bike leg of your first event without breaking the bank.
It’s that time of year when the dark nights and chilling weather get us all thinking about sunnier climes and the idea of a spring cycling holiday. One of the most popular European destinations is Mallorca. With over three hundred days of sun a year and a tempting mixture of mountains and flat roads, it has become the number one choice…
Do you find that you ache after a long ride or suffer discomfort that almost makes you want to stop riding altogether? You’re not alone: thousands of women are riding badly fitted bikes and are suffering as a result. This is wrong. Not only does it take the enjoyment out of riding, it reduces power and efficiency, and it can lead to injury.
Back when I was in the bike shop, the workshop was my domain. It was a narrow dog-legged room with a door at each end: one led to the shop floor, and the other to the attic come bike store come dumping ground for 100-years of shop history. From the ceiling, wheels in various states of construction or deconstruction hung, and along the walls there were countless tools and storage bins filled with parts old and new. Besides this, there was the timber bulk of a pre-war workbench, two workstands plastered with past mechanics’ names; and a cylindrical black bin: the kind they used for street collections when I was a kid. This bin is where my story starts.
The other day I was talking to my brother, and he was telling me that he wanted to up the size of the Big Dog (outer chainring) on his TT bike. He asked if there was anything he needed to consider. This got me thinking, and I realised there are several considerations, so I’ve written this piece in case you have the same question.
You’ve got a couple of grand burning a hole in your pocket, and you decide now is as good as a time as any to invest it in a new bike. So let’s go. No, stop! Knowing when to buy may save you a substantial amount of change, which you could splash on other shiny new toys. In this post, I offer you an insider’s view of when is the best time to grab a bargain.
One particular morning, the alarm went off at stupid o’clock. It was dark outside; the air was crisp; and the house was quiet. It was a day that neither of us were relishing: Em on account of his lack of pre-pre-season training, and myself because I have a near allergic reaction to early mornings and early rides…
When I was down south at the bike shop, I’d commute on my single-speed every day. And every day I would pass Roadie labouring his way up the hill; we would lift a finger from our bars to acknowledge one another. Then one morning, Roadie came into the bike shop…
Back in April last year, I wrote A Travesty Unfolds, which took a tongue-in-cheek look at older cyclists who pass their winters on the Costa Blanca. The upshot was that Brexit might curtail their winter sorties, and they would, once again, clog up the UK’s winter roads. Now that we’re on the eve of the end of the transition period, I unravel what the new year will bring for all of us who enjoy stretching our legs under the European sun.
Back when I was in the bike shop, there was always a steady stream of people gingerly carrying mangled bikes in for repair—or for last rites before I sent their bikes off to the great bike shop in the sky—as the result of the owner unsuccessfully wrestling with a car. None of us likes the idea of head-butting bonnets or eating gravel…
It’s the weekend and you’re out on the club ride when one of the old boys asks something like, “When I was your age, I’d climb that in a 91 inch gear; what you pushing?” Or, maybe, it’s the mid-week time-trial and one of the skinsuit clad wannabes boasts, “Yeh, anything less than 130 inches and I spin out!”.
Now, this might, or might not, come as a bit of a shock to you: in 361 days, I’ll turn 50. That’s almost eighteen thousand days I’ve been living, breathing, and learning here on this planet. So the big question is: what have I learned over these thousands of days. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, which I hope you have, you’ll know that I’ve learned that you can never lose those illusive seven pounds, that you should always wear sunscreen, and that you should never underestimate a wiry old rider. But there’s more.