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Friday 31 August 2012

Just 2% of people in Manchester cycle five times per week

At least that's what this research form the Department for Transport says.  Although based on a sample of just 500, its likely to be statistically accurate.
Courtesy of The Guardian. Fortunately not a party political map 
It really goes to show the huge cultural shift that is required in the county to get that figure closer to the high figures recorded in other places - in Holland 59% of journeys in cities are done by bike.
Let's face it, Holland can be pretty bleak in terms of its weather as anyone who's been to Amsterdam in the winter will know.  Yes they have much better infrastructure for bikes, but the real difference, the thing that makes people take bikes out, is that cycling is engrained into their culture: kids ride to school, parents ride to work and elderly people ride to tulip arranging classes.
The encouraging lesson is that there is no fixed reason why Britain cant do better - look at Cambridge's figures for example. After all, if you go back to the 1950s, many more journeys were made by bike right here in Blightly.
Let's hope the wonderful year of cycling we've had so far, boosts these figures by the next time they're done.
The Guardian has produced a lovely map of the data which you can find here

Thursday 30 August 2012

Look, pedals

One of the first things that happens to anyone who has used one of the various forms of clipless pedals is a moment of sheer terror. One moment you'll be happily cycling along when up ahead the lights will change to red.
'Ah ha, no problem' you'll think. A bit of brake, avoid the pothole: Bob's your uncle and Fanny might well be your aunt.
Then, with your speed at around half a metre per second, the sudden panic sets in as you realise you're still attached to your bike by your feet.
Frantic pulling ensues before you finally remember to twist your heel. Your foot pops out and you stabilise yourself about 1/10,000 of a second before you would have fallen over to the sound of an imaginary swanee whistle, making everyone at the bus stop opposite smirk.
Fortunately you learn this lesson PDQ and your clipless pedals soon become a close friend.
I recount this lesson as I've recently switched to using Look pedals for the very first time and I confess, I'm struggling to adjust a bit.
Like a decadent night club: lovely but a bugger to get into
I've always used SPDs, even on road bikes. Probably because I rode a mountain bike for years, I just really get on with SPDs.
While I haven't come close to toppling over with the Look pedals, I find them much more difficult to clip in rather than clip out.
So, while with SPDs from a standing start, you are just up and away, the amount of faffing around you have to do at 3mph trying to get the Look pedal and plate to the right position is a bit of a pain in the arse I'm afraid to say.
Obviously, I need to persevere and I'm sure I'll get my technique down in due course. But it's particularly important when cycling through traffic to get out in front of cars from the lights - make them see you and all that jazz.
This is quite tricky to achieve when your trying to marry two components which are necessarily invisible to you.
The resulting pedalling with the arch of one of your feet is ungainly and not especially effective.
I'm sure I'll get better at it in due course.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Free cycling training in Manchester

Hats off to the people over at Bike Right on Ashton New Road who are giving away free bike training to commuters.
The fear of the roads is a huge barrier to increasing cycling for commuting or pootling to the shops - journeys which could easily be done by bike.
Training has to be one of the central tenants of any effort to get more people on two wheels along with better infrastructure and some dry weather.
A dead rainbow, yesterday
There is a positive to all the rain we have here - it has rained every day in Manchester since February 26th 1982 - it enables you to spot obstacles in the road more easily in two distinct ways.
Potholes become more easily identified as they fill up with water and diesel spills (known by children as dead rainbows) reveal themselves in all their colourful slippery grandeur.
So, I'm trying to be positive about the rain as it is the only course of action really.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Steel fork failure

If you are reading this post because the title has recently happened to your bike, then I really hope you are OK.
I'm posting this as a lesson, to myself and to anybody else who's interested.
Having not come off my bike for four years, I've now had three spills this year; two of which happened within 6 weeks of each other. My most recent bike accident (see 8 Aug 2012) was as a result of a catastrophic failure of the steel forks on my bike.
It was a pretty horrible experience all round: riding along in the sunshine one minute, then out cold with blood coming out of my head the next.  Throw in some short term memory loss and this was one of the worst spills I've ever had.  Fortunately I was in the bit of bike like which crosses the Mancunian Way above Chester Road underpass and so not on the road. It could have been much, much worse though so I do consider myself to be lucky.
For forks' sake! New two-piece fork system
Having had a good look at the forks it's clear that the weld failed on one side of the steerer tube inside the fork crown - to the right side of the holes which take the break calliper bolt - leaving the opposite side very vulnerable to lateral movement.
Probably just too many years of riding on the superbly surfaced British roads for them.
Anyways, I'm mostly healed now and was finally able to whizz them out and measure the steerer tube so I can order some new ones.  So it should be up and running again before you can say antidisestablishmentarianism. 


Sunday 26 August 2012

Sturmey-Archer gallery

Another evocative British cycling brand of yesteryear is Sturmey Archer.  Those of you who had a Raleigh Grifter or Chopper  will be used to the wonders of their 3-speed hub gear systems.
In a similar vein to the Reynolds post of yesterday, Sturmey-Archer has a wonderful gallery of old marketing materials to feast your eyes on.  You can read all about it here.
The Sturmey Archer brand survives to this day even though it has been owned by Taiwanese company Sunrace since the year 2000.
The new hub gears are really good stuff too and they've retained the wonderful thumb-shift selector design which I had on my Grifter - my better half now has one on her beautiful Pashley Princess.

Saturday 25 August 2012

Reynolds gallery

I've just stumbled across this fascinating gallery of images on the Reynolds website.  Some lovely stuff there.
I find historic advertising fascinating.  It's really interesting to track how ideas and sensibilities change over time.
Advertising is an unusual medium which seems to date far quicker than others - like film or art.
Maybe it's because it is usually based in the here and now.  At a base level it says: this is a great product now - go and buy it - go on - now - to the shops with you!
Of course, trading on a history is something different entirely. It's all about reassurance, proven quality and expertise.

Friday 24 August 2012

Lance Armstrong: just behind Prince William's todger.

Being positioned just behind Prince William's todger is a situation I wager Lance Armstrong thought he'd never find himself in, but that's exactly where he was on Radio 4's Today Programme, today.
There is only one story in cycling today.  In recent months cycling has become accustomed to its prominent position on the news agenda thanks to the positive vibes of recent British success.
Today however, we find ourselves transported back to the early 1990s with the news of Lance's tacit acceptance that he cheated.
For me, the whole thing is a little unsatisfactory: Lance's decision to pack in his defence means that we'll simply never know what, if anything, really happened.
We can draw inference and speculate but we'll never really know - until one of his former team mates needs a few bob and writes a book about it all.
Lance's defence basically consists of denial: never failed a test, there's no evidence etc.  He follows this with an absurd conspiracy theory that the USADA is out to get him.
Look into my eyes: I didn't do it
In all, it's a bad, bad day for the reputation of the sport in a year which has otherwise been superb.
I'm going to seek solace in a few bottles of performance-enhancing Old Peculiar to recover.
Ride safe.

Thursday 23 August 2012

GPS cycling tracker experiment in Manchester

There are a whole host of smart phone apps and other widgets which track your routes and provide you with a whole host of data relating to your ride.
I've used a few of them over the years and have just decided to give Strava a go.
First impressions are that it's really good: easy to use, has lots of little bits and bobs to keep you interested in using it and, up to now, has worked for the duration of my rides.
Admittedly I've only used it on my daily commute so far, so it remains to be seen how it will respond to a longer ride.
Yes, that's a full 23 meters of climbing
The two main problems I've had in the past with other GPS trackers are: it draining the battery before I've finished the ride and the GPS dropping out leaving you with an incomplete or inaccurate reading.
But, so far so good for Strava.
Apparently I can add the routes to this blog which I'll do in due course - presuming, that is, that I keep on using it.
I'm using the free version at the moment so don't have all the whistles and bells.  That costs $59 per year - love you long time.
Ride safe.

Wednesday 22 August 2012

BikeRadar - PR disaster

This is a colossal cock up from Bike Radar exacerbated by Gary Lineker's stupid follow up on Twitter.

What on earth were they thinking? 
Read the full story on BikeBiz
I always rated BikeRadar too.  Kudos to Bike Biz for covering the story.

Gatorade bidon challenge comes to Manchester

Some people's jobs are a piece of piss aren't they?  Take this bunch from the Gatorade Hit Squad as an example.  As part of a national marketing push, they are taking to the streets of various cities and towns in the UK, riding their bikes about a bit and giving away free stuff including the green Gatorade bidons made famous by Team Sky.
If you already have a Gatorade bottle make sure you have it with you on the relevant date as they will be dishing out 'exclusive Gatorade prizes' to anyone they spot with a Gatorade bidon on board.  The dates will be published at the link above soon.
Fortunately for me, I have such a bidon which was not launched at me by Edvald Bosen Hagen during the climb up the Peyresourde in this year's tour.  You can see that his initials are written on it which is obviously to ensure he gets the right concentration of orange squash.
EBH's bidon which he did not throw at me
Actually, there was a fair bit left in it when it landed which means I can exclusively reveal what the Norwegian power house fuels his rides with.
Resisting the temptation to have a taste, I can report that the contents looked a bit like milk and had the unmistakable aroma of frangipane. So, the evidence is clear, EBH's secret weapon can only be liquidised Bakewell Tarts. 
A surprising finding I'm sure you'll agree.

PS.I'm trying to find out what the words '100% biodegradable' down the side refers too: the bottle, the lid, the rubber bit, its contents, everything? If I find out, I'll let you know.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

New cycling specific rain forecast for Manchester

Cycling in Manchester and the north west in general makes you very aware that we have weather in the UK.  I admit, I do obsess about the weather and have various forecast sites bookmarked on my computer.
One of my favourite, and most accurate in my experience, is metcheck.
Its dead easy to use if you a. know where you are and, b. can type.
They have just added a function which allows you to select your activity and it provides a tailored forecast detailing those elements of the forecast which are pertinent to said activity.
So, for cycling you get wind speed, a meaningless UV index and something called the SweatIndex.
How much is it going to rain this weekend?
Although the Sweat-dex doesn't appear to be operational yet, the wind and rain volume counts are useful. It's easy to understand and you can tell, at a glance, how wet you are going to get, how intense the rain will be and at which angle the rain will be battering you from.
Good stuff I reckon.
Ride safe

Monday 20 August 2012

Wiggins adds gloss to Tour of Britain

The organisers of the Tour of Britain must be absolutely cock-a-hoop that Mr Wiggins has agreed to ride this year's event.
It is a huge PR scoop to have the main man of the moment taking part and it's a move which should add some badly needed impetus to the levels of public interest to the event.
I remember watching the Milk Race as a lad on one of its many visits to Liverpool in '87.  There was a huge crowd at the finishing line on the cobbles of William Brown Street to watch local lad Joey McLoughlin win a group sprint against a field which included Stephen Roche.
I'm sure the daily stages were shown on Channel 4 as a highlights package - the race was really in the public eye.
Since then the Tour of Britain has fallen off the radar somewhat and of course ceased to exists for five years at the turn of the 21st century.
Wiggings' inclusion will draw crowds from outside of cycling to roadsides up and down the country - there are many other good riders taking part too, of course.
He's a PR dream at the moment is the sideburned one - his Mr 20 per cent must be getting offers and request left right and centre.
It's a bit of a shame that the route does not include visits to the major centres of population: stage two skirting Manchester and Liverpool in favour of Knutsford and Knowsley Safari Park.  Both wonderful places in their own right but on a Monday afternoon, I'm not sure how successful it'll be in terms of visitors.  I hope I'm wrong and besides, what do I know about organising a major sporting event?

Sunday 19 August 2012

Installing new bike computer

I finally got round to fitting my new bike computer today and I have to say, it was incredibly easy to do and to set up.
'It' is a Cateye V3 unit which measures speed, cadence and heart rate.  Never had a cadence monitor before and I'm looking forward to seeing what insights to my riding style it provides.
It's a neat little affair requiring the ability to use five zip ties and peel the back off a sticker in order to install it.
I like the look of having the main unit set on the stem but prefer the housing type which clamps underneath the top cap rather than the band around the stem: not the end of the world though!
Centrally mounted: neat
The sensors are contained in one single unit which attaches to the non drive-side chain stay. With the magnets attached to the back wheel and the crank arm and everything tightened up, snip the ends of the zip ties and that's all you have to do.
Aligning the sensors is straightforward
Calibration is easy: insert a four digit code which corresponds to your wheel and tyre size and press 'set'.
A quick test reveals an initially bewildering range of numbers flashing up on the display but it's quite obvious what they all are.
Time to go and get some clicks on it!
Ride safe

Saturday 18 August 2012

Broadening the appeal

Back in March 2011, the outspoken president of the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels (AIGCP) and Garmin Sharp general manager Jonathan Vaughters threw a gauntlet down to cycling claiming that the sport should be as big as Premiership football or Formula 1.
To achieve this, he argued that a ten point plan be implemented which would launch the sport into the global stratosphere.
Leaving aside any power grab which he may be manoeuvring the pro teams to make against the UCI, Vaughters' plan - such as it was - had, in my view, a coherence and energy that would broaden the appeal of the sport; particularly as a TV event.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy watching an entire day's racing from signing on to the broom wagon making it home, but not everyone is the same.
But why does this matter now?
Looking good: AG2R in 2009
Well, the 5th idea of Vaughters' ten point plan was to introduce more team time trials.  Although he doesn't really expand on the idea, you can understand that the team time trial is a photogenic and dramatic looking event and ideal for TV.
And so it will be later today when the teams line up in Pamplona for the start of the Vuelta. 
In the last couple of years the Vuelta and Giro have started with team time trials but the Tour de France hasn't. It should be interesting to see how it goes and the response from the media the race receives in the UK.
With Froome leading the Sky team and Bertie back in the saddle, it should provide a fascinating glimpse into next year's Tour de France.

Friday 17 August 2012

Hit the North

I've always counted myself to be very fortunate to live in the north west.  Not only for the famed hospitality, humour and fine baked pastry products, but it you have an enjoyment of the great outdoors, you really are spoilt for choice in this neck of the woods.
Within a couple of drive you can get to pretty much anywhere in North Wales, the Lake District or England's best attempt at wilderness around Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
Other parts of this sceptered isle will no doubt lay claim to similar fortuitous locations but if you add in the fact that an hour's ride from Manchester city centre, you can find yourself lost in the magnificent surroundings of the Derbyshire Peak District which bleed seamlessly into Staffordshire and the plains of Cheshire, then the North West does have a great claim to being the UK's best cycling region - especially which you factor in the the wonderful roads around the Trough of Bowland.
It appears that I am not alone in this view.
Every week, Cycling Weekly publishes a training ride with a significant figure from UK cycling.  The idea, presumably, is to provide a bit of insight into the rides 'the pros do' and to inspire and educate the enthusiast to try different routes or expand their horizons.
While the feature covers all four corners of the North West is regularly represented with this week's entry being a case in point.
Russell and Dean Downing take the Weekly readers on a ride along the Hope Valley in Derbyshire along familiar roads to club cyclists from the North West - although we'd usually approach from the west.
Route around Derbyshire in this week's Cycling weekly
Now maybe the region has an unfair advantage as British Cycling is based in Manchester with much of the squad being based here too.
But they're here for a reason or reasons.  One of those must be the access to tough but relatively quiet roads.
Ride safe

Thursday 16 August 2012

If we build it, will they come? Does investment encourage cycling?


Yesterday the Department of Transport issued an evaluation report of the Cycling City and Towns.  The report aims to ‘explore their [the people in those areas] experiences, attitudes and behaviours in relation to cycling and the cycling investment in their towns.’
Furthermore: ‘the research aimed to provide evidence to help interpret the findings of the post-intervention survey when the results are available in 2013’ and also ‘it aims to contribute to our understanding of cycling behaviours and how people may best be encouraged to consider cycling as a viable transport option’.
There are 12 Cycling Cities and Towns in the UK which are essentially areas which are testing whether increased investment in cycling encourages long-term behavioural change – or to put it more bluntly: if we build it, will they come?  Among them are Chester, Blackpool and Southport.
The 7.5MB pdf makes interesting reading for anybody interested in what motivates non-cyclists to jump on a bike or occasional cyclists to become more regular users.
Although I’ve not read the entire report [yet] the central finding appears to be an incredibly detailed way to say it’s complicated.
The diagram below shows the various inter-connecting elements which can influence people to cycle more or to cycle at all.  We all have our own ideas on which elements of these should be given precedence over others and these in turn are influenced by our own circumstances and experiences.
Factors which encourage cycling - taken from the report
It’s clear that there’s no silver bullet which will make people take to their bikes in large numbers but the core understanding that effort, in all its forms, needs to be applied to encourage people to do so, is encouraging at least.
The bigger question of course is if, when and how will policy makers respond.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Brompton respond...

My new favourite people in the world are the lovely folk at Brompton's marketing department who have taken the time to send me the following update on how the Manchester Brompton Dock is doing.
From a standing start in March I reckon this is pretty good going - I clearly need to keep my peepers open to spot the bikes around town.  So, there's my challenge.


We are pleased to be able to tell you that the dock is doing very well. We currently have exactly 100 members signed up and a steady 50% utilisation rate. 


Virgin Trains have been incredibly helpful in getting this dock going and despite them loosing the franchise this morning (effective early December) we would like to reassure our members that this will not affect the docks at Manchester or anywhere else.  

You and others can follow us on Twitter (@bromptondock) or like us on Facebook to stay up to date. 

We are busy preparing to install docks right across the country, everyone has seen the one at Manchester and wants one for themselves!

How is Manchester's Brompton Dock doing?

Back in March Brompton, in partnership with Virgin Trains, launched its Brompton Dock hire scheme at Piccadilly Station - a dead easy and convenient way to hire a lovely Brompton for the day.  Six months on, it'd be interesting to know how it's been going.
The first half of 2012 in the north west has provided a superb test bed for widening the participation in cycling with two huge forces pulling in opposite directions.
In one corner, is the hugely enhanced profile cycling is currently enjoying thanks to Team Sky's successes and to Team GB's Olympic successes.  With Manchester being home to both organisations, you would hope that the Brompton Dock would receive wholehearted backing of commuters.
Pushing in the opposite direction has been the wettest April, May, June and July on record [this mightn't actually be the case but it's felt like it].
While the set up of the scheme can't really be faulted and the lockers are well positioned, unobtrusive and have a certain industrial chic, I have to confess that I don't see many people whizzing round the city.  But that's just my impression so I've written to Brompton to ask them how it's going.
Hopefully they will give me a line to say it's going 'very well' or 'initial take up has been encouraging'. I really hope they tell me it's oversubscribed and they are installing more but we'll see.
Ride safe

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Barrel of laughs. Sheered adjuster on Specialized Allez

One of the most fiddly and annoying things ever to happen to my Specialized Allez  was when I discovered that one of the downtube barrel adjusters had sheered off leaving the thread encased inside the downtube boss.
I discovered this as I was in the process of stripping it down to upgrade the group set to Shimano 105 - off the peg you get a mix of Sora and Tiagra.
After loosening the cables off and pulling them back through the shifters, I found the thumb twist top of the rear mech adjuster on the floor and the thread still in situ.
Ah ha, I thought, long-nosed pliers will do the job.  If I can get a good enough grip from the underside, a clockwise turn should see it out.  No chance.
Despite the lower part of the thread protruding enough to get a grip on it, there was no way I could get the required purchase.
Plan B.  If I drive a screw into it from below, that might help turn it out the other end.  I found the perfect screw for the job and began turning.  A couple of turns in, a satisfying 'click' sound came from the frame.  Removing the screw I found about 3mm of the adjuster thread had been stripped away by the screw.  Smugly satisfied, I shone my torch into the boss to view my handy work. Bugger!
All I'd successfully managed to do was remove the lower section of the adjuster thread up to the point where it engaged with the thread inside the boss.  So I now had around 3mm of adjuster thread stuck fast inside the boss.
There was only one thing for it - fetch the drill.
I was really apprehensive about taking a drill to my bike but it was the final option really.  I figured that as the adjuster thread is hollow - to allow the cable to run through - if I could drill in a reasonably straight line, with the right sized bit, I should be able to remove the last piece of adjuster thread without stripping the boss thread.
3mm bit looked about right and if you ever have to do this, use a drill with a variable speed - one that starts turning very slowly.  On the first attempt, I felt the bit engage then as I increased the load, disaster, a high-pitched 'ching' sound and the bit had snapped.  On to my second and only other 3mm bit, same procedure and I watched as a thin cork-screw of black metal turned out of the bit.
Looking inside, it looked pretty good.
Using the opposite side adjuster which had been removed in tact, it screwed in and out just fine - it bloody worked!
Only slightly more challenging than removing the dislocated thread was finding a replacement as Specialized dealers don't stock them and Specialized themselves advise you to ask your dealer. Hmmmm.
I ended up with the insides of a couple of Ritchey rear mech adjusters which work a treat.
So, is there a moral to the story? Yes, grease the buggers before they seize.
Ride safe

Monday 13 August 2012

Sky. Why?

I find Sky's association with cycling in the UK a fascinating conundrum.
Sky is the trading name of British Sky Broadcasting which came into being with the merger of News International's Sky TV and BSB in the early 1990s when they were both haemorrhaging cash. 20 years later, with Premiership football rights sewn up, the company now has a revenue of £6.5bn.
So, what's this got to do with cycling?  Well, that's a good question.
Why would a company which wants to sell us television subscription channels, actively promote a sport in which it has little or no broadcast interest? An activity which, by definition, takes you out of your home and away from your TV?  Just what is the motivation?
It seems to me that there are three plausible explanations:
1. What's clear is that Sky has tried to take ownership of the sport in the way that Red Bull for example try to own 'extreme' sports like base jumping, flying planes through hoops and stuff.  Maybe Sky simply took a flyer at cycling hoping that it would turn out to be successful and that millions more people would get involved.  This would reflect well on the company and hopefully help them sell more HD boxes.  If this was the case, why didn't they outbid the competition for Tour de France coverage, the spring classics or even the Tour of Britain? Maybe they did but I can't imagine ITV4 and Eurosport could have outbid Sky if Sky really wanted an event to concentrate on.
2. So, probably something else is at play.  Sky's involvement in Cycling really consists of two things:  sponsoring the pro team and being the principal partner to British Cycling.  Sky's first involvement dates back to 2008 with the sponsorship of the British track team based in Manchester, the establishment of the pro team came a year later. The pro team sponsorship provides them with the marketing cut through to promote the brand on a national level.  Think about how much more commercial the riders are these days: Mark Cavendish's embarrassing shampoo advert for example.
Their other strand is centred on public activity such as the sky rides - closed road city centre cycling events for all comers.  There's a clearly a corporate responsibility function being played here for Sky.  They altruistically set up these events to get people off their couches and out on their bikes in return for a high viz bib.
3. The final explanation is what a former colleague described to me as 'Chairman syndrome'.  That being when the chair or other senior party of an organisation decides they are doing something without reference to any kind of marketing strategy. So could Sky's involvement be down to a whim of one senior executive?  Or a result of a relationship between senior Sky and British Cycling people?  Well, possibly.
If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a mixture of two and three.  I think somebody in British Cycling has done a superb sales job on Sky and that Sky can see how they benefit from it.
I must state that I'm not against Sky's involvement in cycling, I just find it curious.
Ride safe

Sunday 12 August 2012

Retro cycling jerseys

What would the Tour de France be without the Malliot Jaune?  And the Giro without the Maglia Rosa? These are among the most recognisable jerseys in sport.  In the case of the tour's yellow, it's right up there with Brazil's famous football strip and the intimidating All Blacks kit: instantly recognisable around the world.
The design of the current crop of pro-team kit is quite interesting to read.  The obvious purpose of the design is to afford the sponsor as clear a platform as possible to build their profile.
It's odd that from my seat in the UK that exotic sounding teams are in fact just sponsorship platforms for the most mundane corporate activities.  I don't know what I was expecting but to find out that FDJ is the French equivalent of the National Lottery and that PMU, sponsors of the Tour's Malliot Vert is a bookies where French blokes go to have a flutter on the nags, kind of destroys the magic.
The nicest kit in the Peleton of le Tour this year was, in my view, Saxo / Tinkoff Bank, closely followed by Europecar's green.
However, it was defiantly Team Sky shirt which fulfilled its sponsorship objective most successfully.
It's retro styling is clean and neat and judging by the amount of people you see out wearing it, the sales of replicas have been strong for them.
I started watching the tour in the late 1980s - in the days of Channel 4 coverage and I really love some of the jerseys from that era.
Sean Kelly in the yellow of Kas, Roche in Carrera Jeans, the superb Systeme U shirt worn by, among others Lauren Fignon and Luis Hererra's Cafe de Columbia.  My favourite however, was the La Vie Claire top worn by Hinault and LeMond.
The Molteni shirt made famous by Merckx is a classic too which still looks fantastic.
Designs of almost everything go through a period of being naff before acquiring a retro cool and I think this is where some of the 1990s cycling shirts are now.
So whereas you can buy a new reproduction of the Merckx Moltenti and La Vie Claire from the superb Prendas Ciclismo, you can't get US Postal, T Mobile or Mercatone Uno.  But their time will probably come.

Saturday 11 August 2012

Logging the miles

Bike computers have come a long way since the early days of analogue mileometers and speedometers.
The first one I had, in the mid 1980s, was essentially the same as the one shown in this Lucas advert from the 1950s.
It worked on a similar principle as today's computers: a striker unit was attached to your fork which turned the little star shape wheel on the side of the counter. With only four numbers, it reset every 9,999 miles - something which never affected me at the age of 10.
I've just got a new cateye unit to fit to my summer bike which probably has more computing power than the Apollo missions which put man on the moon.
It's a really neat wireless unit which records cadence and speed from the same sensor. The sensor is housed on the non-drive side chain stay rather than the front and is dead easy to set up.
You can also programme in a different bike and have two totals running as well as a cumulative reading.
Finally, it's a heart rate monitor so it'll tell you exactly how bad you are going!
I really rate cateye products if for no other reason than you can, if you need to, replace clamps and other perishables which don't last forever. The products are spot on too.
So with cadence, heart rate, speed, distance and intervals all measurable, I have no excuse for not being able to identify marginal gains!
Ride safe.

Friday 10 August 2012

Classic year

2012 has already been a superb year for cycling and with lots more to come, it's set to live long in the memory.
Sure, the tour de France wasn't that exciting (Voeckler aside) but it was great to see Bradley on top of the podium in Paris. Wiggo's close win in the Paris-Nice and obliteration of the field in the Olympic TT, were great performances too.
Thomas de Ghent's stage win on the Stelvio in the Giro was inspiring as were Tom Boonen's gloveless rides in the spring classics.
With Chris Froome leading team Sky in the Vuelta and Olympic mountain biking this weekend, we really have been spoilt this year...

Thursday 9 August 2012

Put a lid on it?

Bradley Wiggins put compulsory helmet wearing right back at the centre of the cycling debate recently with comments which he's since distanced himself from.
We all have the choice as to whether to clip into a helmet or not when we set off any many would have it remain that way: a choice made by sentient beings.
For me, I always wear one, unless I forget it and leave it on the kitchen table. The thing with it being on the kitchen table is that if I come off, it's not going to protect my swede.
After not coming off at all for over three years, this morning I clocked my third spill of 2012, the second in six weeks, and this one was the most significant.
After a long Wednesday night club run, my legs were heavy on my commute. Bizarrely the forks on my steel framed hack bike sheered off and sent me sprawling.
The crack to my noggin was cushioned by the helmet which, fortunately wasn't keeping the fruit bowl company.
So, with Sunday's club run now a doubt for me and my scalp glued together in A&E, I now need to find some new threaded forks for an early 1990s road bike - oh, and buy a new helmet!
Ride safe

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Fuel for cycling

Pop into your local bike shops and the chances are there will be a display stand somewhere holding a range of products which scream at you about their energy boosting or sustaining qualities.  Then there's the 'recovery' products too which, the helpful sales blurb tells us we should take to replace things we loose when we're riding.
There are gels, powders, liquids and chewy things mainly brightly coloured all wanting our attention.
I often wonder what people in 50 years time will think about these products.  I recall listening to a radio documentary about how attitudes toward bathing had changed.  It included an interview from the early 20th century with a guy who was convinced that bathing more than once per month would sap his strength - to our current sensibilities, those are the words off a mad man.
I recount it here as it shows that truth and knowledge are historical and open to change or as Nietzsche efficiently put it: "Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth." 
I cant help thinking that our current trend for consuming these dietary additives will too be seen as a quaint absurdity by the time the year 2100 rolls around.
So are we just being sold snake oil?  Well, I'm not a scientist but I can say that you can ride your bike for 6 hours at reasonable intensity, over the hills of the Peak District without having to use any of these uber-products.
If I was riding competitively and needed to 'accumulate marginal gains' then maybe these products are the way to go.  But I, like the 99.9 per cent of cyclists in the country, am not and can get by quite comfortably on bananas and water.  But yet it's me who feels the subtle pressure to buy into this stuff.


Graeme Obree famously fuelled himself on jam butties (sandwiches) and that's good enough for me.  I'm never going to ride a 3 week stage race, attempt the hour record or compete in a spring classic and, therefore, I don't need to buy any of that stuff to ride my bike.

Ride safe.

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Long way from home...

Once again the success of Britain's cyclists at the London Olympics is leading to commentary relating to how we can make the UK's roads safer for cyclists.



This is all connected to the thrust to increase participation in cycling.
The discourse goes something like: if more people cycle they will be healthier, it will cost the NHS less money in the long run and traffic congestion will be reduced.  But to achieve this, people need to feel safer on the roads.  There needs to be better infrastructure, better road surfacing and a more 'European' attitude toward cyclists and cycling.
Out on the club run on Sunday I was reminded of the attention which a group of people riding can garner.
On two occasions, random people shouted stuff at us as we rode along.  It's not that what they said was particularly offensive or upsetting in any way, but it demonstrates that for some people, even as cycling is riding the crest of a wave, it will always be an incomprehensible pursuit undertaken by an alien people.
Cycling has revelled in its status as Other and it's often marketed to us as such.  While the Olympians are doing wonders for the sport, we need to champion the everyday cyclist too if the unimpressed are to be educated.
Ride safe.

Monday 6 August 2012

We have the technology

News that the French track cycling team at the London Olympics are suspicious as to whether Team GB is using stock Mavic wheels on their bikes is not just sour grapes.
Technology lies at the heart of modern cycling and those marginal gains which the whole of British pro cycling is built around, leave no stone unturned in the pursuit for 1000th of a second advantages.
Of course, all bikes, no matter how old, are technology but the development of new materials and new ways of thinking has ballooned over the past couple of decades.
Competitive cyclists have always used the very best machinery available to them.  Reading about Merckx recently, it's striking the lengths he went to to ensure he had the best kit available.  Outside of the infamous saddle tinkering, his bikes and other kit were all top of the range.
Take one of his bikes from 30-odd years ago out now - 10 speed, gear shifters brazed on to the down tubes, none of the benefits of hyper-glide cassettes and it's like travelling back in time - exactly like it in fact, because it is!  The image is of Merckx's hour record bike which is on display in a train station in Belgium I think.

But for the French, and everybody else, they must be racking their brains as to how the British team manage to peak in the correct week every four years.  The finger pointing at the technology must be out of sheer exasperation rather than bitterness.

Ride safe

Sunday 5 August 2012

...always believe in your soul

The Olympics in London have been superb.
Despite the rabid commercialisation of everything and the disaster with the security company, the real stuff (the events) have been superb; and not just from a Great Britain (Team GB) perspective.
British cycling has been the undoubted star of the show in my view. On the back of the Wiggo show in France, cycling has eclipsed the swimming, rowing and even track & field. The design of velodrome is considerably more attractive than the main stadium - although the flame cauldron is a triumph and on two wheels our team have really delivered.
From a marginal sport, cycling keeps being catapulted onto the front and back pages with superb and emotional performances from the team.
Of all the great successes one stands out: the women's team pursuit.
Setting five consecutive world records on their way to an overwhelming performance in the final, it was refreshing to see competitors be genuinely emotional with their win.
The question for British Cycling is how to turn the surge in interest in the sport into a lasting (cliche alert) legacy.
This is a tough one but there has to be more marketing, better facilities and, ideally, less rain.
But more than that, if the country is to really embrace cycling, then lots needs to be done to encourage more participation. And not just 30-something white blokes on £1500 carbon bikes. There are many under-represented groups when it comes to bike riding - as opposed to cycling - and too many still drive their cars 1/4 mile to the shop or to visit friends.
A real legacy would be to see this type of behaviour change and see all sorts of people choose their bike for diverse journeys - without being considered a loony.

Friday 3 August 2012

Undercover

I count myself a as rather fortunate when it comes to parking my bike at work.  For years I had to leave my bike locked on the streets of Manchester City Centre, open to the elements and in the eyes of ne'er-do-wells.
A couple of years ago the inevitable happened and I had my bike nicked.
It was a really nice Cannondale and was, at the time, the first brand new bike I'd ever owned.
Even back to my royal blue Raleigh Grifter, I've always had second hand [pre-loved in current parlance] bikes.
So I was gutted to find my lock attached to a Sheffield stand with no corresponding bike.  The thing is, whoever took it must have cut through the rear triangle to get it free - buggerists.
So, following that episode, I made it my mission to seek out alternative accommodation and I found some under my feet.
My pride and joy now resides, safely I hope, in the basement car park of my work building.  I even have a rag and some GT85 next to it to give it a bit of a once over when it rains - which is every day.
I recently spotted some very enlightened staff bike parking which consisted of a perspex dome with coded entry and everything.
It so important to keep you bike out of the elements for extended periods, particularly when the roads have been gritted [September - May  in some parts of Greater Manchester].
Have a look at some of the bikes which are kept outside the next time you're walking around and check out the spectrum of chain colours - silver, black through to the full rust orange experience.
Ride safe

Thursday 2 August 2012

New boots

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to take my 'summer' bike out this weekend.
This is the first year when I've had a dedicated summer and a winter hack bike at my disposal.
The summer machine is a stock 2010 Specialzed Allez Sport which I've upgraded with 105 groupset and a few other bits and bobs. It's not the pinnacle of cycling hardware but it's my bike; my trusty steed and we've done thousands of miles together.
I rode it last in the dead of winter on the turbo trainer and, as a consequence, there's a 2mm strip worn through in the back tyre. So, here's the question which faces all cyclists: which tyres should I use?
People get obsessive about tyres: 'only use conties me' or 'I use bonties, they're superb'.
For me, and keeping up with the absurd abbreviation requirement, I favour michies. I did have a spell of using vredestein slicks on a mountain bike years ago, which were superb incidentally, but I generally stick to Michelin Pro Race 3 boots.
I've not ridden on all tyres in all conditions but I do find I trust the grip with these guys.
Shop around for them though as you can practically get a 2 for 1 on some of the prices. I just paid £36 for two which is a cracking buy I reckon.
Ride safe.

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Trials of a nation


So, here we are. Following the disappointment of the men's road race when plan A didn't work and, in homage to George Osbourne there was no plan B, Britain's (Team GB) cyclists today carry the hopes and expectations of the nation.
Both men's and women's time trials take place today and our riders are expected to figure.
I find watching Olympic cycling unusual for one reason: the kit. You get used to seeing the riders in their pro team kit and it looks odd when they pull on the national garb.
If you ask me Belgium's riders have got the best deal with this classic jersey.
Britain's Stella McCartney abstract job is nice too.
It'll be interesting to see the bikes too. The tight rules on olympic sponsorship mean that manufactures are limited to how many logos they can use on their products. This is a problem for bike makers and might explain the hideous paint job on Vino's Specialized which he rode to victory in the road race. There's a review of it over on bike radar.