Ware's Cambridge

This last Sunday I rode my very first ever sportive. Wares Cambridge. I refuse to be drawn on either the pun or my navigation skills in relation to this name. I had felt a small amount of snobbery towards these types of events, in the past, as effectively it is a big bike ride on open roads. You can do this for free anytime you want. There are refreshments and signage, timing chips and a mildly competitive atmosphere. It isn’t a race, it isn’t a leisure ride and it doesn’t have the navigation/problem solving issues surrounding Audax.

We signed up for the 50 mile route as it is early in the year (still have arteries full of christmas cheer) and I duly downloaded the TCX file on the Saturday afternoon... I should say at this point that I had my leaving do from my job on the Friday which involved 6 hours of drinking… then cleaned my bike and packed my kit.

David and I met up at Finsbury park station and got the train up to Hertford North. It was chilly and overcast and I had forgotten my leg warmers so I was chilled through after our brief wait on the platform. We tagged along with some other riders and soon found the start. Once there we met up with the other two riders who will make up our Ride London relay team.

We made a motley crew. Phil and his brother had carbon road bikes (Mekk and a very aero looking Rose) whilst David had his trusty Condor touring bike (sneakily fitted with new race wheels) and I on the Kona.

Once we got going I soon realised I was going to be doing this ride (mostly) alone as the other 3 sped off into the distance. I didn’t go flat out as it was my first 50 miler of the year, but I wasn’t overtaken much either. I’d got my Garmin programmed with the route but as I hadn’t tested the pre-programmed route function I was glad of the very effective signage. 

As I pulled into the first refreshment stop at 26kms (yes I was doing a ride measured in miles, but I’d calibrated in kms) I spotted the other three and we had a little chat, a few cream crackers and cheddar and set off. I got dropped about a mile in again.

This section was much more open and windier. I really enjoyed this and the next section as the sun had come out and there were some proper ups and downs. At one point I got down to 8kms and at another up to 50kms an hour. There are no really big climbs but you get around 800m of climbing and the same of descending.

I followed the pattern of catching the guys briefly at stops and then getting dropped, enjoying being out in the countryside, and the cheese and crackers until finally I realised we were nearly back. 

I was half an hour outside the bronze time for my age group, but to be fair we hadn’t really been trying. My rolling time was within the gold time so if I eat less cheese and hadn’t had that last cup of tea who knows… but then that’s it isn’t it? There is the competitive part, if you want it, but you can ignore it if you want.

I was fascinated to discover that mine was by far and away not the worst bike choice for this event. All sorts of velocipedes and been roped in for the event with kit ranging from what looked like an ex-team sky pinarello and full team sky kit to one fellow who looked dressed for arctic exploration.

As it is I had a great time (the journey back was frustrating but not difficult) and I felt I got my money’s worth to the degree that I might just sign up to their other events this year. I realise as well that I had packed way too much. Ok so i needed the tubes in case of punctures but I could have got 2 tubes and repair kit plus all the food I ate in my jersey pockets... Next time... That's bound to shave half an hour off isn't it.

The London Bike Show

This Sunday David and I went to the London bike show and neither of us bought much. In fact I only bought some electrolite tabs as they were half price and I'd been meaning to get some for when the weather picks up a bit.

David had been threatening to buy a bike, but good sense prevailed and so we drooled and enquired, oooohed and aaahhhd, discussed the various merits and asked a lot of questions. One thing that really struck me was how passionate and loyal to the brand they work  for many of the staff are.

I went expecting to see the Canyon Endurace and be smitten by it's sensible German attitude and equipment. It is a very good bike, but there was a real  lack of passion at the stand. All the Canyons collectively displayed in their incredibly competent and good value spec lacked a bit of sparkle.

Helmets

In my quest to find a helmet that I can't get burnt through and is  comfortable on a bald head I spent a fair bit of time looking at helmets.

Bikes

We made the mistake of heading to the Dolan stall early in the morning. To get there we had to pass the Starley stall with their beautiful Stainless Steel bike blocking my path. Beautiful but I don't need a race bike so I'm able to resist. We're heading to the Dolan stall to look at the Tuono but I'm immediately stopped dead in my tracks by the Dolan ADX ti. Very pretty in the flesh and with a really great spec on the show model very unfair. All through the day I kept coming back to it in my mind.

The Kinesis and Enigma both had better frames... The Orro and the Canyon a much  more affordable type of performance... but the Dolan had it. 

"It"

That weird thing that happens when a bike is just right. The Dolan staff are an absolute credit to the company, being both knowledgeable and passionate whilst remaining helpful and unobtrusive. 

The lovely Kask Protone 

 Giro space age commuter helmet

 The Kinesis Racelite GF_Ti

Orro Oxygen

The very pretty Dolan ADX Ti

Front view

 Campagnolo Chorus fitted to the Dolan ADX ti

Already looking forward to the London bike show.

I'd really like to buy a new bike this year. My trusty Kona is a lovely bike but...

• The wheels are heavy and nearly worn through at the rim,
• The chain set is a little shonky (It's actually fallen apart once on a ride)
• The rear derailler is bent beyond repair (by that I mean I've been told not to straighten it again)
• The brakes are awful (I realised the brakes on the brompton are much, much better)

I looked at replacing all the worn parts and I'm looking at a few hundred quid, which I might still do if I'm allowed to have 3 bikes.

David and I are off to the London bike show ostensibly to get him a new bike, and whilst I'm not in the position to buy one yet, I'm using the opportunity to see some possibles and some unobtainables in the flesh (carbon,steel and ti)

What do I need from this bike?

• Light. It's all relative isn't it? I mean around 8-9kgs for steel or ti and 7-8kgs for a carbon offering
• Comfortable. I'm going to ride it for 20 out of 24 hours in August
• Reliable. See above.
• Something I'm proud to ride.

I'm probably going to carry 2-3 water bottles a snack and a jacket, tool, 2 tubes, snacks, batteries, more food, and a first aid kit (did I mention snacks?). I'm thinking that it'll need to be sturdy.

My list at the moment is...

• Canyon Endurace (probably the Ultegra but I'd love the Campagnolo Chorus)
• Orro Oxygen
• Van Nicholas Ventus
• Starley (something unmemorable like a number)
• Planet X - RT58

I'd also like to look at lots of others. Weirdly the endurace in a size small is almost the exact same proportions and dimensions as my Kona...

New rules of the road: #2 Addison Lee

Rule #2

Addison Lee

Addison Lee vehicles to be confined to the far left hand lane in all circumstances: Except when actually turning right after an appropriate signal. If this fails to limit the amount of sudden breaking and turning without signalling then a secondary offence of "impersonating an actual cab" should be brought into  play.

New Rules of the Road: #1 Hi Vis

On my journey to work this morning, I was inspired to come up with a couple of ideas that I think would dramatically improve the highway code. I made myself agree that they would target all road users and be for the greater good...

Rule #1

Hi Vis

Hi Vis clothing should be only worn by cyclists and those working in or near roads and trainlines. Hi Vis should only be worn in such a way as to draw appropriate attention to one's location. There is no excuse for looking like you're going to a rave in the early 90's.

Cars are not painted Neon green. They have lights. Try getting lights.

Cycling in 2015

In my first post of the year I talked about 3 decisions for 2015. Decisions 1 and 2 are progressing nicely with my leaving date getting closer and my first application activity getting under way so onto...

Decision 3: Do a cycling event that pushes me harder than I've been pushed on a bike.

I've signed up to do the Newcastle to London ride.

"Hey!" I hear you thinking. "That's not further than you've ridden before?"

That's right. It's only about 300 miles (483 kilometres). Lands end to John O'Groats is further. This event however has a target time of  24 hours; Which means I  need to average 20 kms an hour over 24 hours. I'll have a couple of hours off the bike and stops every few hours to refill water and snack supplies so my average will need to be nearer 25 kms an hour.

This is a much bigger ride than I've ever managed before. To achieve this I'm going to need to get some progressively bigger distances in between now and August. This is basically the Dunwich Dynamo 2.5 times in one go.

I've got the Velothon  in Cardiff  which is 50 kms as my first mass participation ride of the year and I'm thinking of the Ride to the Sun as an overnight practise run at about half the distance. In between I think I'm going to have to do some hill based interval training and some London-Brighton-London or London-Cambridge-London weekend rides leading up to it.

There is also the small matter of directions....

BONT Vaypor shoes - A first look

Just before Christmas (because timing is everything) I treated myself to a new pair of shoes for cycling in. I had to stop using the basic Shimano shoes/Cleats/Pedals combo I had purchased for the LEJOG ride back in 2011 as the soles were very flexible by 2014 and had contributed to my foot injuries.

After much research I decided upon a pair of BONT shoes as they have a wide fitting last and are heat moldable. They are of course preposterously expensive for a non-pro non-racer. I measured myself using their on line fitting tool and followed the advise to go a half size up on the charts.then I hit the Internet. In December I could only find the BONT Riot at an affordable price until I hit eBay.

An eBay user was selling 2 pairs of BONT Vaypour in exactly the size I was looking for. 1 slightly scuffed looking pair in the perfect colour and a pristine looking pair in a flouro lime green. I swallowed my pride and went for the pristine pair.

In Fluorescent lime green.

To be clear I don't normally buy second hand footwear as it can already have molded to the foot shape of the original owner and be full of bacteria... However These are heated in the oven to 70C(That should kill any bacteria) and then you wear them to mold them to your own feet.

Anyway the molding process is quite simple: First remove the cleats, bolts and fittings. Then:

"Pre-heat the oven to 70C/160F. Place the shoe in the oven for 20 minutes. Higher temperatures will void your warranty and may damage your boot. Caution: Do not place your feet in the hot shoes or you may burn your feet. Let them cool a little and test the shoe temperature with your hand before placing your feet in the shoes. Tighten the straps and allow to cool. If you have any lumps or bunions on your feet or if there are any areas causing discomfort, while the shoe is hot you can use the round end of a screwdriver to press out any part of the boot. You can heat mold the shoes as many times as you like."

Followed the advice and it worked. I can feel the depression under the ball of my foot and the sole feels in contact with my foot the whole way around.

I've only ridden once with them so far so a review is a fair way off, but I'm impressed with the fit, comfort, stiffness and construction so far. A word of warning though - Check you know how to undo the ratchet system before you put them on or you will be asking your significant other to google "undo-ing BONT Shoes" before you know it.

First post of 2015

At the risk of pretending anybody reads this...

Happy New Year!! Happy New Shoes!!

So since my last post I've discovered that I can indeed take voluntary redundancy and have accepted and then emailed the recipient of the letter to check they'd got it. As of the beginning of march I am no longer working at my current employer. I work in Local Government and gradually the similarities between this line of work and the problems facing the cast of "Parks and Recreation" are becoming too similar to bear.

So decision 1 has been made.

Decision 1 - Leave my current job

This ties neatly into  decision 2 which is...

Decision 2 - Develop an exit strategy for my current sector

Decision 3 was a little harder. I am back running again after my broken foot, but I have done little cycling as I've had to buy new shoes and pedals and they are not tuned in yet. It got me thinking though. I love cycling, I enjoy running and I can tolerate swimming. I should do more cycling and less of the other two. Last year I did little cycling as I needed to get my running and swimming up to "survival standard" to complete my chosen event.

I can do this now. I got a respectable time.

I'm going to do some of the Aquathlons and Duathlons in the Lee Valley area over the spring and summer to keep my strength and overall fitness up. I will continue to run and swim because I can but mostly I want to cycle.

An injury free year where I am doing some running, should build up a bit more strength. The Pilates has really helped here so that must continue. Swimming should help my back and upper body strength...

Decision 3 - Do a cycling event that pushes me harder than I've been pushed on a bike.

I've got lots of ideas but I won't post until I'm committed to an event.

Looking forward to 2015

I nearly always forget that pretty much the whole of December and much of November is spent planning for Christmas. Once Christmas is out the way then I start to wonder what we should do for new year, and then my birthday, and then....

This morning David wanted to know who wanted to see the velorution series at the lee valley velodrome. Sarah Storey is putting on a go at the hour record which should be good. I also suggested we should book in for the London Bike show as the brands we are both considering for new bicycles have stands there (to get hands on with their wares so to speak).

But what about me? What do I want to do in 2015?

2011 was LEJOG
2012  was my first bike tour and Bike to Bestival
2013 was the London Gypsy Orchestra and my first Dunwich Dynamo and a go on the Manchester Velodrome
2014 was my first time trial, duathlon and triathlon

2015 looks at the moment like it could be any number of things. At the moment I have the Cardiff  Velothon booked. I'd also like it to be the year I...

1. Try an Audax event
2. Try different night rides
3. Join a cycle club
4. Run a half marathon.
5. Finish a triathlon in under 3 hours

I'm  hoping to find out whether I am allowed to take voluntary severance from my job tomorrow. If so then 2015 will be the year I start doing something different for a living... Finish saving for a deposit... buy a nice shiny new bike... who knows. Maybe even  get an interesting job.

Knee pain

I have been suffering from knee pain for the last few weeks. It is a weird pain inside the knee that only really hurts when I'm climbing a lot of stairs. This wouldn't be a problem but I live on the fifth floor and work on the fifth of another building. It didn't hurt to walk. It didn't hurt to run.

This Saturday I got out on the Kona for a brief ride to pick up some shopping and noticed immediately that my left knee hurt. I got off and checked the bike. The saddle was adjusted wrong and the seat post at the wrong height...

My Dad took the seat post out to get the bike in the car after the triathlon... I should perhaps have also made adjustments after changing the pedals.

Last night I lowered the saddle and moved it correctly in the clamp. Sat on it for a try. Lowered the bars by a few mm to compensate for lowering the seat and hey presto it felt fine.

I rode in to work today (in the dark!!) and guess what? Apart from residual soreness from... well...it being sore... It felt fine.

Lesson learned?