The Secret Cyclist

The end is nigh

2011-12-26T16:51:00.004Z

As 2011 draws to a close I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and hope you all have a successful 2012.

The Secret Cyclists top banana Pro Cyclist Mark Cavendish did. He finished 2011 by being voted as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Well done Cav!

Heart Rate max- how to get it up.

2011-12-05T11:19:00.001Z

I went out for a run on Saturday afternoon, just a gentle jog of a couple of miles.

About half way through I came across the immediate aftermath of a car V pedestrian accident. An elderly gent was laying in the road with a young guy leaning over him on the phone. He was the only person who seemed to be getting involved whilst cars tried to drive past and pedestrians gawped but kept walking.

I want over and found that the young guy was the driver involved. he was in a panic but was on the phone to ambulance control.

I took over, rendering first aid to the casualty and the driver, commandeering drivers to block the road and pedestrians to pass info to the impatiently waiting traffic. I also got nearby businesses to get blankets etc. Having done that I was introduced to the wife of the driver. She was in the car when the accident happened. She was a) 7 weeks pregnant and b) going in to shock. I rendered first aid to her.

On arrival of ambulance and police I passed all information I had established to them, helped where I could and then continued on my gentle jog once surplus to requirements.

Throughout the entirety of the run I barely got out of breath but on checking my heart rate monitor when I got home, my max heart rate was measured an 179 bpm!

Incident management is certainly a good cardio workout!

Cav gets another medal

2011-11-30T15:29:00.001Z

Secret Cyclists favourite Pro Cyclist and all round Good Egg, Mark Cavendish has been in the news again. He has been nominated as one of the shortlist of 10 for the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of The Year.
The full list is as follows-
Mark Cavendish (cycling)
Darren Clarke (golf)
Alastair Cook (cricket)
Luke Donald (golf)
Mo Farah (athletics)
Dai Greene (athletics)
Amir Khan (boxing)
Rory McIlroy (golf)
Andy Murray (tennis)
Andrew Strauss (cricket).
The winner is apparently selected by public telephone vote on the night so, Good Luck Cav!

In addition to his SPOTY nomination, Cav went to the Big House at the end of The Mall, London the be awarded his MBE by Her Majesty the Queen-Cav gets a gong
On talking about his conversation with Her Majesty, Cav said "We were talking about the Olympics and my event finishing on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace next year - I told her to give me a cheer when we come past."
He is a wag isn't he?
Well done Mark!

I hate running but....

2011-11-22T14:35:00.003Z

I used to go out running on a regular basis. It was part of my regime to keep me in shape for some of the specialisations I used to undertake. Since giving up those specialist tasks four or five years ago, I stopped the running.

To combat the danger of a spreading waistline that spending 80- 90% of a working day sat at a desk presents I joined the local gym. This worked fine and the weight stayed hovering at around 80- 82 kilos (I have always had a rapidly fluctuating weight within a half a stone region). I started to get very annoyed with the gym bunnies however, spending more of their time checking themselves out in the mirrors or chatting to their barely active buddy whilst occupying a piece of equipment or floor space I wanted to use so got a bit dispirited. Alongside regular back and elbow joint pain brought on by doing weights I got a bit dispirited so decided I couldn't justify the expense of continuing my gym membership, letting it lapse at the end of September.

I have started to run again. Initially just a mile/ mile and a half loop in 12-15 minutes but I am now extending it. I will stop at a maximum of about a 6 miler (and this will take a several of months to get to) with the possibility of once a week running home from work and then back to work the next morning.

We shall see.

I still hate running but......

Somewhere over the rainbow

2011-10-26T15:00:00.002+01:00

Yesterday evenings ride home from work started off dry but cool. 5 minutes up the road however and the cloud I was approaching decided to unload, so I endured 15 minutes or so of rain.

Not to worry, it is only water and skin is waterproof.

Another bonus for me is that the route I ride home is generally North West so I am cycling towards the sun with the exception of the descent from Winter Hill and the ride into Marlow itself which is Northerly (ish). As I come down from Winter Hill I am initially into the sun but the hairpin puts the sun over my left shoulder. Yesterday this meant that after the turn, the sun was behind me and the rain was in front of me. This presented me with the most vivid rainbow I have seen in a long time. The rainbow had a duller twin outside it and outside that, hints of a third!

I really need to get me a helmet camera.

10 days out of the saddle

2011-10-25T15:04:00.003+01:00

Due to work commitments and a chest that sounded like a cement mixer mixing a vat of the slime that drips from the jaws of the alien in the film Alien, until my ride home from work yesterday I had not turned a pedal for 10 days.

My bike let me know that the neglect was noted by delaminating a puncture repair patch whilst it relaxed in the drying room at work. I had arrived at the bike all bouncy and raring to go.

That'll learn me.

Golden Years

2011-10-07T14:31:00.001+01:00

Today, Ma and Pa Secret Cyclist celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Well done them!

Clan Secret Cyclist will be visiting them on Sunday and we will drag them out for a nice dinner and the odd glass of bubbly to celebrate.

Jeebus! That was close.

2011-10-05T13:47:00.002+01:00

On the ride home yesterday afternoon, I had one of those life flashing before your eyes moments.

I rode up to a T junction and was positioned just left of the broken white centre line, at point. I looked right and saw a car a little way off but too close for me to risk going for it. I looked left and saw a car a little bit closer than the one to my right, indicating to turn right. I had the feeling the driver was going to risk it so looked back again to see if he was going to make it.

I was right about the car to my left. I heard the sound of wheels locking up and saw the front of the car approaching my front wheel, taking the short cut through the junction in his efforts to save a second or two. My heart was in my mouth as I waited for the inevitable collision and pain.

Somehow the driver managed to avoid me and execute his turn- having slowed to a crawl and brought the car coming the other way almost to a standstill.

The driver who nearly had me gave an embarrassed wave and continued on his way whilst I tried to get my heart out of the way so I could draw breath and continue my journey.

No further incidents after that.

Autumn rides- sights and sounds (and smells!)

2011-10-03T14:40:00.004+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I decided to head out on my Cannondale R800 for a countryside loop.

I am fortunate in that I have some wonderful lanes to ride within 5 minutes of home.

The ride took in a few climbs which would normally be reasonably easy on the 'Dale (lighter than the commute bike and no luggage) but, I am on the recovery phase of a cold and have an annoying cough. The upshot of this was that the climbing was painful, really laboured breathing and heart rate maxing at 178 bpm at one point (Apprentice crumbly less than a year from the half century) so not good. Hurry up and bugger off cough!

Anyway, as it is autumn, farming folk are quite busy, preparing the land for the next crop. Part of the route I rode took me out of Hambleden village and towards the little hamlet of Parmoor. As I rode this, a farmer was ploughing a field beside the road. I could see something was occurring from a distance as there were 12 or 13 Red Kite gliding overhead watching what was going on. When I got level with the field, I could see 20 or so more Kite on the field itself checking out the freshest furrows for goodies. They leapt into flight as I passed, settling back again soon after. A wonderful sight.

Other farmers had been busy feeding their fields and the smell of well rotted manure was everywhere. Not so wonderful but, if you can't stand the smell- get out of the countryside!

A lot of the loop had tree cover over the roads and many of the trees were Beech. The roads beneath the trees were strewn with beech nut husks and riding over the husks sounded like muted automatic gun fire! I was waiting for the hiss of rapidly deflating tyre but I got away with it.

Autumn afternoon rides are only bettered by those bright, autumn early morning rides with mists over the fields.

Mark Cavendish is on top of the world!

2011-09-26T12:48:00.004+01:00

Bloody awesome performance from Mark Cavendish at teh UCI Worlds in Copenhagen!

Not just Mark though. Every member of the GB team buried themselves kepping the race under control and deliveing him to the launch platform in the final few hundred meters. I was watching live and, to be honest, thought the other temas had done enough to thwart the Team GB efforts, managing to make him loose the wheel of Gerraint Thomas as the bunch was in the last kilometer or so. I should have known better and kept the faith.

I have only one problem with yesterdays outcome.

Mark Cavendish spends the next 12 months wearing the Rainbow Jersey as the winner of the Elite Mens Road Race. He was first accross the line.

7 other Elite men got him there- David Millar, Bradley Wiggins, Gerraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Jermey Hunt, Steve Cummings and Chris Froome. They should all have the right to wear some form of symbol on their jerseys to show the world that they were partially responsible for their man winning the jersey.

Former winners of the World Championship wear rainbow rings around the cuffs of their jerseys as homage to their achievement. Perhaps the other 7 riders from Sunday should be allowed to wear one rainbow cuff for the year that Mark is World Champion?

Image from Cycling Weekly article here

Brisk but Beautiful

2011-09-15T15:49:00.002+01:00

When I got up this morning to get ready for work, I went through the usual routine- you know the score, unmentionables in the bathroom, feed the cats, make the families lunches etc.

When the cats had finished their breakfast I let them out and noticed a distinct nip in the air. Cool summer mornings have given way to brisk autumn dawns.

I decided that this morning would be the first commute of the post summer period where knee and arm warmers were order of the day.

I'm really glad that I did because it was a tad on the chilly side as I headed out. Once again though, I had the opportunity to experience one of those glorious mornings- mist rising over the meadows, cattle chewing the cud, steaming breath as they did so and the sun lighting it up with a diffused golden glow.

The moments like this are the reason I ride all year round.

To cap it all off perfectly, the hot water system at work has been repaired so I indulged in a nice warm shower on arrival. Much more enjoyable than the recent mains cold water temperature affairs.

Priceless.

Have travel- will take bike.

2011-09-07T22:48:00.002+01:00

I'm on a course this week, 5 days residential at Wyboston Lakes.

During my prep for the week, I decided that I would bring a bike with me so I packed some bibs and a jersey, my shoes and other stuff required and tooke the wheels of my 'Dale, which makes it all fit snugly in the boot.

Tonight, after the days education and prior to dinner, I got changed, rebuilt the bike and headed out for an hour or so in the saddle.

A 23 mile loop through St Neots and some of the surrounding lanes was a very pleasant change. The only problem was, this area is reasonably flat so I was in wind the whole route.

Can't have everything though can I?

SRAM Wagon

2011-09-02T15:43:00.001+01:00

I have just seen a link to a Pinkbike post relating to SRAM's new on site competition workshop trailer.

Awesome!

Well done Garmin Cervelo

2011-09-02T13:56:00.002+01:00

Every so often stories are printed or aired about arrogant sports stars treating their fans like crap. No specific sport is as guilty as any other and no sport that I can evidence is more accommodating than any other. There is good and bad in all aspects.

It is nice however, to read something that paints the stars of a sport in a better light.

One of my regular haunts is the blog created by Eldon Nelson- The Fat Cyclist. Fatty is away for a little while and in his absence he has a guest blogmeister, Paul Guyot. On Wednesday, Paul uploaded a lovely post about an experience he and his 8 year old son had involving team Garmin Cervelo. Have a read

September? Where did summer go?

2011-09-01T14:26:00.002+01:00

Well, that is the end of summer I suppose, though British weather will probably throw up some far hotter weather in Autumn than we have had recently.

At least my mileage for August was slightly more respectable than July. Nearly double but still a long way off what I used to do. I need to make more time for riding on my days off. I'm on a residential course just outside St Neots all next week so commuting miles will be out. I will have to consider taking a bike and getting some miles in after hours. Cannondale or Fixie, that is the question.

Todays Yehuda Moon made me laugh. It brough to mind my first 50mph + descent a few years ago. Woo Hoo! doesn't come close.

Currently, pro riders are engaged in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain). Well done to Team Sky who are doing well, with Bradley Wiggins currently in the leaders red jersey, which he took over from team mate Chris Froome. To steal a line from the great Marlon Brando, I think Wiggo Coulda been a contender for the overall victory in the Tour de France if he hadn't spanged his collar bone. If only.....

Garden Beastie

2011-08-19T23:37:00.001+01:00

Rescued from my cat earlier today-

A very beautiful bug.

Pay attention to your kit......

2011-08-19T23:01:00.005+01:00

..... or else it will bite you on the arse.

I had a chain snap on me the other day. Fortunately I was only a 5 minute walk from home. It could have been a lot further. I was also fortunate in that I wasn't honking up hill on the way to work or standing out of the saddle accelerating like a mad thing. If I had been, the sudden loss of resistance could well have resulted in a VERY painful manbits/ stem or top tube interface. That doesn't bear thinking about!

Anyhoo, on examining the chain I found that my maintenance had been somewhat lacking. I had been religiously cleaning and oiling the chain but, my inspection of its integrity was somewhat flawed. I had been suffering a slightly sticky link section which had responded to WD40 application, lateral pressure to loosen the links and much manipulation after soaking in oil. I thought this had solved it. What I didn't realise was that although the side plates had freed up, the rollers on the affected link were seized. Look at the profile of the rollers on this section of chain-

See how they have worn away and deformed.

In this image you can see a small stub of metal protruding beyond the side plate. This is part of the roller also-

Look after your kit folks, then, once youv'e done that, look after it again- just to be safe.

London Riots (And Elsewhere).

2011-08-12T23:29:00.002+01:00

I haven’t had much chance to get on the blog recently as I have been otherwise engaged. Not on duty dealing with the disorder but helping to back fill and cover other stuff whilst my colleagues have been deployed.

This post isn't about the disorder in particular. I am going to say a little about it before I get on the thrust of this post though.

First, I feel absolutely gutted for the family of Mark Duggan. They are dealing with the loss of a member of their family. I'm not going to post about the circumstances. It is being investigated and to my mind, we should wait until the investigation is complete before saying our piece. No, I feel gutted for them as a result of the objective of the original peaceful protest being hijacked and turned into a number of nights of criminal activity. Shameful.

I also don't want to get too embroiled in the war of words between the Police leaders and the Political leaders about tactics and who did what or what could have been done better. This will also be decided after an investigation. My Bosses probably could have done better and reacted mores speedily. Perhaps they felt apprehension, a fear of being torn to shreds by our political masters if it was perceived we went over the top? I don't know. What I do know is that we need to keep Prime Minister Cameron, Home Secretary May and the rest of them close. Best know where your enemy is. They should have stepped up and backed us up to the hilt initially, when the bricks were flying and the officers were going down. Save criticism for afterwards, when my colleagues have stepped back from the front line and the inquiry into events has provide the real answers, not the knee jerk spin the politicos seem to thrive on.

I'm not going to go into hang em high or hand wringing apologist modes. I have my views about those engaged in the criminal activity and I will save them, maybe for another time.

No, what I DO want to talk about is the good stuff that has come out of these last days of chaos, fear and tragedy.

I will start with one of the most noble and heart rending moments of recent days. In Birmingham, 3 young Muslim men were run down and killed by a car whilst they were on the streets, looking after their community. Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the young men, Haroon, spoke out the other day. Was this in anger? No, it was in grief but, despite his grief, he still had the dignity to appeal to his community to not escalate things, to live together and not allow themselves to find themselves in the situation he was in- the loss of a loved one. This is a man with dignity.

I then want to mention the various groups around the country of all backgrounds who have come together to protect their communities, be they Turks looking after the local businesses, Sikhs and Muslims preventing criminals attacking their temples, Joe Public preventing the attack on local shops. Some may criticise this perceived vigilante action. I applaud it. They are not being vigilantes, they aren't roaming the streets hunting down hoodie wearing looters and dispensing summary justice. They are just stepping up and saying "No. Not in MY community."

Next I want to talk about the Broom Brigade. Recent news footage has included many images of ordinary folk getting together and clearing the streets of the debris of the overnight battles. Men and women of all races, religions backgrounds and ages getting on the streets and trying to restore as much an element of normality as they can. Not in response to some TV request by a politician. In response to a feeling that their community has been hurt and needs to be made well again.

Finally I want to talk about the unknown folk who, having seen the plight of people who have lost their homes to arson, hard workers whose businesses have been looted or destroyed and many other victims who are now struggling to get by after becoming victims of violence and thuggery who have felt compelled to lend their support in the best way they can. In some cases it is turning up at a ransacked shop and offering to help the owner to straighten things out so they can get back into operation. In other cases it is the offer of financial assistance to businesses and families who have lost everything. It may only be £5, £10, £20. It may be more. It doesn't matter. It is help. That is so important now.

Over the last week, Britain, particularly England, has been in the news spotlight. The rioting and looting and destruction isn't Britain. Not MY Britain.

The dignity in adversity. The coming together and saying NO. This will not continue. THAT is MY Britain.

90.5 mile!

2011-08-02T12:43:00.003+01:00

What a p**s poor month for mileage July was!

I don't know what happened but 90.5 miles is terrible. Only beaten in 2011 by the just over 70 miles in February.

I did have a stinking cold for a few days and a week or so away from work doing DIY type stuff (I HATE gloss painting!) at home didn't help but, 90.5 miles?

Me! You are a looser!

Gah!

Yet another thing of cycling beauty

2011-07-27T23:42:00.004+01:00

When I recently fitted my Brooks Team Pro saddle to my commuter bike, I was unsable to fit the saddle pack I had been using as the rail spacing was too wide. As a result, my spare tubes and tools were carried in my pannier. The outcome of this was them migrating to the bottom of the bag, hiding under the poly bag I use as a waterproof liner. Not an ideal situation so I decided to invest in some new luggage.

After a bit of research, I decided to invest in a Carradice Barley-

Carradice of Nelson are manufacturers of a range of bike luggage, clothing and other equipment. The Barley saddle bag is from their "Originals" range which hark back to their begginings. In the early 1930's, keen cyclist Wilf Carradice was looking for a good saddle bagbut was unable to find what he wanted. He had the brainwave of trying to make one for himself. His resulting bag was so succesful that his friends started to aske him the make bags for them. Carradice of Nelson was born. Their craftsmanship (or craftswomanship) is plain to see. Their Originals (and possibly othet ranges) are all signed by the person who made them. Mine is a Christine

My Barley is made from traditional materials- Cotton Duck, a tight weave heavy duty cotton fabric proofed with naturally sourced waterproofing and leather straps. As I said, it is a thing of cycling beauty and, being British made, complements my Brooks saddle perfectly

The boy done good

2011-07-26T21:05:00.002+01:00

As did the Aussie!

Well done to Cadel Evans on finally nailing the yellow jersey in Paris. A really gutsy performance in the Alps. I think there are going to be some very overhung Aussie heads for the next few days.

Even better though was Mark Cavendish finishing the Tour with his third Champs Elysees victory in a row and winning the Green Jersey overall. Last year Cav became the first rider ever to win in Paris two years in a row. Doing it three times just confirms what many along with I think. Cav is now a legend.

Congratulations also go out to Samuel Sanchez for his King of the Mountains victory, Pierre Rolland for his Best young Rider win and to Team Garmin Cervelo for taking the Best team prize.

This year has been the most exiting Tour I can remember. The organisers came up with a cunning plan to liven things up. It worked a treat! Roll on next year!

Rest day

2011-07-18T14:58:00.002+01:00

So our heroes are taking a well deserved rest day today, not that they won't get out and ride for a couple of hours just to keep the legs moving.

The last few days have been very interesting, watching the GC contenders watching each other and apparently not knowing what to do. I expected at least one of them to use the Pyrenees as a spring board and launch an attack on the rest of the contenders and maybe pull out a decent lead. I expected wrong. What the indecision from the favourites has done however, is leave Thomas Voeckler in the yellow jersey. It has now reached the stage where everyone (except Tommy himself) thinks he can do the whole hog and win the Tour. The Alps will be extremely telling. If Tommy can dig in and hang on in the Alps like he has in the Pyrenees, the favourites will have to do him in the individual time trial on the penultimate day.

It was nice to see Jens Voigt doing what Jens Voigt does best the other day. Two unscheduled dismounts and he still gets back on board and makes the rest of the peleton feel pain. I love that guy!

A Layman's (or Laywoman's) guide to the Tour de France part the second.

Some tactics.

Breakaways.
Just about every road stage in the Tour involves one or more riders launching themselves off the front of the peleton after a few kilometres in a break. Why? Well, sometimes this is for commercial reasons. A lone rider (or small group) gets a lot of airtime on TV and this is very good exposure for the team sponsors. Other breaks are for good tactical reasons. The protagonists might be feeling good and believe they have a chance to win the stage. Generally, if there is no one in the breakaway that is a GC threat, the peleton will allow them to build up a considerable time advantage only for a team to start upping the pace to reel them in. More often than not, this reeling in process is completed in the last 3-5 kilometres however, sometimes it can go right down to the wire, with the break getting swallowed up in the final few hundred meters. Occasionally, the break will succeed and one of them wins the stage. I believe this was more prevalent in the days before all the riders were in radio contact with the team cars. A break could launch and the peleton might get its calculations wrong in the chase, or they might think they had caught the breakaway but not realise that a lone rider had broken away from the breakaway. Technology is progress though, right?

Drafting
By this I mean the practice of riders following each other very closely. Why? Well, apart form the sections of a stage where a climb is going on, the most difficult thing for a rider to do is cut through the air. If a line of cyclists are riding along, each rider only separated by a couple of inches between back and front wheels, the lead rider is probably putting in as much as 20% more effort than the rider behind him/ her. If you look at the peleton closely, the riders across the front of the bunch may all be down on the drops of their handlebars, pedalling hard to make progress. Those in the middle of the bunch may well be sitting up on the hoods, hardly turning a pedal, chatting away. This is because their effort level to maintain the pace does not include breaking through the air.

In a small group of riders, you will see them in a file, riding what is known as through and off. In this instance, the lead rider will stay on the front for a few hundred meters and then you will see him/ her flick their arm as a signal for the following rider to come through to the front as they peel off and tag on at the back for a slight rest. As the group progresses they take repeating turns at the front.

Some riders may abuse this slightly to increase their chance of a win by feigning fatigue and either taking very short stints at the front or just hanging on at the back or wheel sucking.

The ultimate exhibition of drafting is the Lead Out Train. This is a tactic used by the teams who have a sprinter to challenge for a stage win. They will probably be the teams that are dictating the pace of the peleton in the chase to reel in the breakaway. In the last couple of kilometres you will see the team trying to hold a line with their sprinter at the back. The lead rider of the line will ride as hard as they can to keep the pace high, limiting the opportunities for a last minute lone rider break. As they run out of steam they break off and the next rider keeps the pace going. This repeats until the last 500 meters or so when the last lead out rider goes hell for leather with the sprinter right behind him/ her. Their mission is to use all their energy to deliver their sprinter to a position where he/ she can kick out from behind them and take the stage win. HTC are prime examples of this skill with Mark Renshaw being the man who delivers Mark Cavendish to the line. Cav can (and does) win stages by following the wheel of other sprinters but, his team have become experts at bossing the peleton and putting mark on the launch pad. He rarely lets them down and his appreciation of their hard work is evident in his interviews.

Echelons
These are diagonal lines of riders combating cross winds. A cross wind is very disruptive to the peleton as shelter from a headwind is easier to find and organise- just get riders in front and swap out regularly. Having a diagonal line only works for the riders in that line. Once the edge of the road is reached, another echelon has to be formed for the tactic to be effective. Because of this, an astute team can cause chaos and, with a perfectly timed acceleration, cause a split in the bunch. The reason a split occurs is because concentration lapses with fatigue and combating a cross wind is hard work.

Catch up

2011-07-13T23:23:00.002+01:00

A good couple of days on the Tour recently. Europcars Tommy Voeckler maitaining the Yellow Jersey, Johnny Hoogerland not only continuing to race but holding on to the Polka Dot Jersey, Mark Cavendish winning another stage and now in the Green jersey. NO SERIOUS INCIDENTS!

Lets hopet his can continue.

A big shout out to Johnny Hoogerland though. Watching him step off the podium today, he looked to be really stiff and sore. Hardly surprising after 33 stitches. Jens Voigt better look out. He has competition!

What an aweful day on the road.

2011-07-10T23:53:00.004+01:00

Todays 9th stage of the Tour de France was marred by a couple of incidents which were bad, but could have been much worse.

The first was a crash involving a number of riders where it looks like someone overcooked it on a bend and went down. Others followed but the problem was they were on the outside of the bend on a descent and many went over the barrier and down the hill. Astanas Alexandre Vinkourov was one of those and he has had to abandon with a fractured femur and possible broken hip. A horrible end to what he was billing as his last TdF. Also involved were Dave Zabriskie of Garmine Cervelo (retired with fractured wrist) , Omega Pahrma Lotto leader Jurgen Van Den Broek (retired with broken shoulder blade) and Frederik Willems also of Omega Pharma Lotto (retired- broken collar bone). Others went down in tbe crash including David Millar of Garmin Cervelo but were able to continue.

Whilst this was going on, a breakaway including the ultimate winner of the stage Thomas Voekler of Europcar, Sandy Cassar of Francais des Jeaux, Johnny Hoogerland of Vacansoleil DCM, Juan Antonio Flecha of Team Sky were up the road some 4 or 5 minutes.

In another moment of madness, a TV car started to pass some of the breakaway riders on their left. It suddenly swerved to avoid a tree the driver obviously hadn't noticed, colliding with Flecha who went down heavily on the road. As he did so, Hoogerland was unable to avoid him and hit him, sending him off the road and tangling him up with a barbed wire fence. Flecha was able to get up and running again quite quickly but Hoogerland needed extracating from the fence. Elsewhere on the web are images of Johnny tangled in the fence and with his shorst ripped to shreds. I'm not going to link to them because they are not pleasant for Johnny but, the evidence of his pain is there to see. Later footage showed him with blood streaming down his legs whilst one of the Tour doctors treats him on the move. It turned out he needed a total of 33 stiches in various injuries to his calf, buttocks and thigh. He finished the stage 16'44" down, 139th of 180 finishers. His efforts today saw him taking the King of the Mountains jersey. He was quite tearful on the podium. In his interview after the presentation he was very composed and forgiving of the driver. He put things in perspective reminding everyone that he and the others were still alive. Other incidents this year have been worse. Respect to Johnny.

Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefuly the time will enable a lot of sore riders to recover. It will also give Christian Prudhomme, the Tour Director, time to decide what he and the Tour staff are going to do to reduce the risk posed to the riders by dodgy drivers/ moto riders. Two incidents this Tour are two too many.

Sweet and Sour

2011-07-09T23:36:00.005+01:00

That is my take on yesterdays stage of the Tour- the sweetness of another stage win for Mark Cavendish marred by Bradley Wiggins leaving the tour with a broken collar bone. Bradley was on good form this year and I believe he was a contender for a podium place. Give him his dues though, the interview he gave as he left the hospital was quality. The morphine or whatever it was that was killing the pain made him very entertaining.

Anothet casualty of yesterdays crash was Radio Shacks Chris Horner. The winner of this years Tour of California ended up in a ditch in the same incident as Bradley. He obviuosly took a serious crack on the head as, after he crossed the line, he had no memory of the crash and didn't understand why he had finished 12 minutes down. As he was being laid on a stretcher to be taken to hospital afetr finishing, he was still asking if he had finished and where he was. He was withdrawn from the race this morning.

Also retiring before the off today was Tom Boonen. His crash on stage 5 I think it was, also resulted in a concussion, which he was still suffering from. That meant 189 riders staretd this morning.

Today was the first day of more serious climbing with the first category 2 climb of the race and the finish being at the top of a category 3 climb at the ski station at Super Besse. A 9 man break headed out after 6 kilometers and one of them- Movistars Rui Alberto Costa hung on for the remaining 183 kilometers to take the stage. A great ride.

In the peleton, the usual suspects were together, Alberto Contador, Andy and Frank Schleck and Cadel Evans. Cadel finished ahead of the rest but on the same time. He looks in good shape so far.

Not the sort of stage for MArk Cavendish but he got 3 more points for the green jersey.

Sky 1

2011-07-08T12:28:00.002+01:00

Well done to Team Sky in general and specifically Edvald Boasson Hagen for notching up their first Tour stage win. A really good effort and a much deserved result. The smile on David Brailsfords face was good to see. This could be the boost the team needs to help it settle and capitalise on its good performance so far this tour.

Not so well done to Levi Leipheimer. He lost 1’05” on the main bunch, finishing 91st. His problem was caused by the road markings. White lines and other markings can get very slippery in the rain and yesterday was very wet. It looked like he was on the outside of the bunch, to the right of the road and he drifted onto an edge marking and down he went.

Looking at the start list for yesterday, I saw that the Euskaltel Euskadi rider that I had seen laying in the gutter on stage 5 was Ivan Velasco. He had to retire with a broken collar bone. Hard luck Ivan. He finished the stage on Wednesday, rolling in 12' 43" down on the winner in 193rd place. Gutsy stuff riding with a broken collar bone.

At the start of this morning- stage 7 from Le Mans to Châteauroux, there have been 5 withdrawals, so the race is currently running with 193 riders. Stage 7 is about as flat a stage as you get and looks to be an ideal opportunity for mark Cavendish to add to his tally of wins. In fact, Châteauroux is the scene of his first ever TdF win.

Come on Cav, give it some mate.

Now thats what I'm talking about!

2011-07-07T09:06:00.000+01:00

What an epic stage that was yesterday! There are more than a few riders licking their wounds and feeling sore this morning.

I can’t believe how many crashes there were, all on what looked to be very innocuous roads. Bradley Wiggins, Sylvain Chavanel, Laurens Ten Dam and Levi Leipheimer all got involved in a crash early on, necessitating Wiggo having to swap his bike for a while whilst the Team Sky mechanics put it right for him.

Next, Team Radioshack leader Janez Brajkovic crashed with Rabobank rider Robert Gesink. Brajko had to retire and was taken to hospital with a minor head injury and apparently, a busted collar bone. GWS Brajko.

Not content to miss out on the tarmac kissing, the next star to fall was Alberto Contador. He seemed unflappable and just calmly waited for his team car to help him out. He soon lost his cool slightly however as he was seen throwing his bike down whilst waiting for his mechanics later.

Nicki Sorensen got tangled up with a passing Tour motorbike which dumped him onto the verge and tangled his bike up with a passing team car, dragging it 200 yards down the road.

Another crash involved one or two Euskatel Eskadi riders and one was left laying in the gutter for a while. I hope he was OK.

Tom Boonen was also felled, along with team mate Gert Steegmans and Lars Boom of Rabobank. Tom looked very sore, with much road rash and, for a little while I feared he had bust his collar bone also. He rode on but seemed to be favouring his right arm as if in lots of pain.

That wasn’t the end of Tom’s trouble. In the earlier intermediate sprint, Tom, Jose Rojas and Mark Cavendish were all pushing for the 5th spot. Tom and Rojas were all over the road, baulking Cav. Tom and Rojas had their points docked by the commissars after the end of the race. This dropped Rojas out of the Green jersey position, which he had been awarded on the podium post race.

With the main peleton going hard and post crash stragglers trying hard to catch up, with just over 30 km to go Europcars leader (and a top bloke) Thomas Voeckler launched himself off the front in an attack. He was followed by Francaise Des Jeux rider Jeremey Roy and they hung it out there until the 3 km to go banner when Roy got swallowed up. Tommy managed to keep it going for another kilometre but soon got caught.

It was then down to the lead out riders. HTC booster rockets Tony Martin and Matt Goss were in line at the Flamme Rouge (1 km to go banner) and were riding hard. I think Cav had this planned. It was an uphill finish and he wanted the run in to be so fast that others couldn’t launch a sprint. He just stuck to the fastest wheels he could and went for it with about 300m, at which stage he was down in 9th or 10th. He just flew and managed to get past Philippe Gilbert with about 25m left. Now that’s what I’m talking about (thanks Big Al Simpson, my IPMBA Instructor trainer for that one).

That is stage win number 16 for Cav and that puts him up there with Tour legend and 5 time winner Jaques Anquetil. It also gets him back into the points competition fight.

Freedom of the Press?

2011-07-06T10:17:00.003+01:00

This post is inspired by my disgust at the developing News of the World phone hacking debacle.

Recent allegations suggest that Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was jailed for 6 months in 2007 for unlawfully intercepting other persons voicemail messages, managed to hack into the voicemail on the mobile phone of Millie Dowler. The suggestion is that Mulcaire listened to frantic messages from Millie’s family and, when the mailbox was full, deleted messages to make room for more. The fact that messages were being accessed and deleted was probably available to Police investigating her disappearance. The obvious conclusion to draw was that Millie was probably alive. We know this not to be the case as Millie’s body was found 6 months later and, last month Levi Bellfield convicted of her murder.

This activity is, in my mind, outrageous and indefensible. It is only right and proper that the Press maintains its freedom to investigate and report as this is an important weapon in the fight against wrong BUT, there are limits beyond which even a totally free press may not step. Mulcaire overstepped. Anyone in the hierarchy at the News of the World, News International or News Corp with knowledge of this activity needs to be brought to book.

Aussie Rules

2011-07-06T09:24:00.003+01:00

Way to go Cadel!

A gutsy ride by Cadel Evans and good support from the Team BMC after the mechanical within the last 20km or so. Just hung on long enough to pip Alberto Contador by the width of a tyre at the line.

Not the sort of stage to suit Mark Cavendish who, after gaining 7 points on the intermediate sprint, rolled in with the rest of the sprinters 4 minutes 17 seconds down.

Today could be another for him to target though. The route between Carhaix and Cap Fréhel is 165km and include only one categorised climb, the 4th cat. Cõte de Gurnhuel at 45.5 km. The rest of the stage is relatively easy going with gentle rolling hills, setting up for a sprint finish?

What could put the cat amongst the pigeons however is the fact that the last 70km run lose to or along the Brittany coast so, wind could play a major part.

Well done Tyler Farrar. Not so well done the Commissars

2011-07-05T09:55:00.005+01:00

At last Garmin Cervelo rider Tyler Farrar has got a TdF stage win under his belt. A good sprint by him and his team. It was quite moving to see him saluting his friend Wouter Weylandt who we lost at the Giro Click for image and story

Tyler and Wouter were best friends and Tyler was absolutely devastated by his loss.

For me though, the stage was spoiled by the reaction of the Commissars to what they must have thought was outrageously dangerous riding. Disqualifying Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd from the intermediate sprint results. Yes there was a bit of contact but hey, that is what sprinters do. It looked like Thor wanted to get onto the wheel of the rider ahead of Cav, which is a legitimate tactic. Cav wasn't going to let him, which is also a legitimate tactic. Thor tried to ease Cav out of the way, Cav leaned into Thor a bit to stop him. Both are experienced and skilled sprinters so, no risk, no danger, no problem- unless you are a Commissar.

The Commissars are the 'referees' of the race, keeping an eye on wht is going on, ruling on any disputes and dealing with any breaches of the rules. This time they got it wrong, horribly wrong. If sprinters are going to be penalised every time there is a bit of contact in the race, things are going to get very pedestrian and boring.

Thor lost 4 points in this but Cav, who was first across the line in the peleton (but 6th across the line in total because of the breakaway), lost 10 points. Thor apparently offered to take the punishment alone but Cav was still disqualified. A nice gesture by Thor.

The Tour continues

2011-07-03T23:35:00.004+01:00

Well done to Team Garmin Cervelo winning todays Team Time Trial and getting Thor Hushovd into the Yellow Jersey and David Millar into second on the same time. A very good ride. In fact, there were a few good rides today, BMC surprising many by getting second spot and putting Cadel Evans into third in the GC, just 4 seconds off the pace. Team Sky had a good run at it also, finishing third and getting Geraint Thomas up to 4th in the GC, also 4 seconds off the pace. If Sky play their cards right over the next few days, Geraint could find himslef in Yellow, the first Welshman to do so. Give it some G!

Mark Cavendish and the boys had a good ride, finishing in 5th place. They were hindered today though as they lost Bernard Eisel from the train very early. It looked like he and another HTC team member may have touched wheels in a tight left bend which took Bernard down. The course being so short, they rest of the boys couldn't really afford to wait for him so they had one less person to take their turn on the front. Chin up guys. Early days.

And they're off!

2011-07-03T00:00:00.003+01:00

So the Tour is under way.

A good stage today to get the ball rolling (or at least I thought so). Good result for Phillipe Gilbert, he's having a stonking year! Not so good for Alberto, what with being on the wrong side of that big crash with about 10k to go. Over a minute and a half down I think.
I bet that spectator that collected the Astana rider to set crash in action has got a sore shoulder.

It looks like the organisers have changed the rules for the points competition. Instead of 2 or three intermediate sprints earning the firs three riders 3, 2 and 1 points, this year there is just one intemediate sprint per stage with 20 points on offer to the first rider and the next 14 riders also earn points. The stage finishes have different points totals as well-

On Flat stages, first place takes 45 points, then 35, 30, 26, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2.
On Medium Mountains stages, first place takes 30 points, then 25, 22, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
On High Mountain stages, first place takes 20, then 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
For Time Trial stages, first place takes 20, then 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
This seems, on first glance, to favour the sprinters like Mark Cavendish. It may result in some tactical changes however. We will have to see.

More on tactics when I do the next Laymans (or Laywomans) guide.

Allez Allez!

2011-07-01T11:42:00.006+01:00

This evening sees the commencement of my annual three weeks of staying up late to watch the highlights of the days Tour de France stage.

The race actually starts tomorrow but, British Eurosport being the Damn Good Eggs that they are, are showing a Mark Cavendish special plus two previews, one about the main contenders for the race and the other being the official introduction of the teams.

Seeing as how Cav is the Official Pro Cyclist of The Secret Cyclist blog (not that he knows, but I know), it would be very remiss of me not to watch him wouldn’t it? The other two programmes are proper fan fodder and I will watch them cos it is cycling on the tellybox, which is A Good Thing.

A Layman’s (or Laywoman’s) guide to the Tour de France (TdF) Part 1

The TdF starts on the first Saturday in July each year and finishes on the Sunday, 3 weeks later. This entails 21 days racing with 2 rest days. This year, the rest days are between stages 9 and 10 and stages 15 and 16.

Most years, the first day is a prologue, a short Time Trial stage of 5 to 10 kilometres. This year however, stage 1 is a full on mass start stage of 191.5 kilometres.

There are 4 types of stage in the Tour. Time Trail (TT) stages, ‘flat stages’, medium mountain stages and high mountain stages.

For TT stages each rider sets off individually at timed intervals. Stage lengths are between 20 to 50 kilometres roughly and it is literally a race against the clock. There is another TT type, called the Team Time Trial (TTT) where each team sets off together and rides as fast as it can over the course. The Teams time is taken as the 5th rider crosses the line. If all 9 members of the team finish together, they get the time of the 5th rider. If the team splits, the first 5 riders get the time of the 5th rider. The remaining riders get their own actual time.

Team Lampre's TT bikes at Monaco the day before the prologue for the TdF 2009

Cav on the prologue in Monaco for the TdF 2009

Flat stages are pretty much just that, flat of lightly rolling roads with no climbs of note. These tend to be targeted by sprinters for stage wins.

A team Liquigas Cannondale being prepared for Stage 1 of the 2009 TdF (Mrs Secret Cyclist in the background)

Medium mountain stages involve more strenuous climbing but not the really hard mountains.

High mountains are just that, lung busting, leg killing mountain passes and summit finishes.

There are 5 separate competitions within the race as follows-

The General Classification (GC). The leader in the GC is the leader of the race overall. He is identified by the fabled Yellow Jersey (Maillot Jaune). This is the rider with the smallest aggregate time for the race at the start of each stage. Contenders for the ultimate prize need to be very good all round riders. In recent years, contenders have been strong climbers with good time trialling ability.

The Points Competition, often called the Sprinters competition. The leader in this competition is identified as he wears the Green Jersey (Maillot Vert). Each road stage includes one or two intermediate sprints. Points are awarded in descending order to the first three riders across the line- 6, 4 then 2 points. The same happens at the end of stages also but, a stage winner can gain up to 35 points on a flat stage, with the first 25 riders earning points down to 1 point. On Medium Mountain stages it is the first 20 riders with the points range between 25 and 1. On High Mountain stages the first 15 riders earn between 15 and 1 point. TT stages also have points, ranging between 15 and 1 for the first 10 riders.
The winner of the point’s competition is the rider with most points who finishes the Tour

King of the Mountains (KoM) who is identified by the Polka Dot jersey (Maillot a pois rouges). This is a white jersey with red polka dots. This competition is another point’s competition, where the points are earned by being in the first number of riders to cross the line on climbs. The climbs in the TdF fall into 5 different categories, depending on their length, gradient and where they occur in a stage.
The easiest climbs are 4th category climbs with 3, 2 and 1 points being awarded to the first 3 across the line.
Next is 3rd cat climbs with between 4 and 1 points awarded to the first 4 riders.
2nd cat climbs have the first 6 riders earning between 10 and 5 points.
1st cat climbs earn the first 8 riders between 15 and 5 points.
That leaves climbs that are beyond classification or Hors Categorie (HC). These are the steepest, longest and hardest climbs in the Tour. The first 10 riders on HC climbs earn between 20 and 5 points.
The winner of the KoM completion is the rider with most climbing points who finishes the Tour.

Best Young Rider who is identified by the White Jersey (Maillot Blanc). This competition is amongst all riders under 26 years of age as of 1st January that year. The leader in the competition is the qualifying rider highest up the GC competition.

The Team Competition is similar to the GC but is worked out using the time of the best three riders of each team, each day. The team leading this competition is identified by the numbers on their jerseys being black numbers on a yellow background as opposed to the standard black on white.

It is common for the same rider to lead several competitions. In the event this is the case, he wears the jersey of the higher competition so, a rider leading the points and GC competition would wear the yellow jersey. The rider second in the lower competition then wears the competition jersey. As a result, not every rider you see wearing a competition jersey is actually the leader (apart from the GC jersey).

Not a competition but, seen by many fans of the race as a badge of honour, is the Lantern Rouge or red Lantern. This is the rider last in the overall classification- the rider who has taken the longest time so far. In early years, the Lantern Rouge was just that, a small red light on the back of that rider’s bike. I think (though am not certain at the moment) that the Lantern Rouge wears red numbers on a white background.

More later.

The countdown begins

2011-06-30T23:08:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow night is the start of three weeks of late nights as I sit up after Mrs Secret Cyclist has gone to bed, watching the days recording of the Tour de France highlights.

The tour kicks off on Saturday but tomorrow, Eurosport is showing a Mark Cavandish special which, seeing as Cav is the Official Pro Cyclist of the Secret Cyclist blog (not that he knows, but I know), it would be wrong of me not to watch, followed by two previews, one about the General Classification contenders and another being the official introduction of the teams.

Get in there!

A brief idiots guide to the Tour de France-

It starts on the first Saturday in July and finsihes on the Sunday 3 weeks later.

The first day is usually (though not always) a prologue, a short time trial (TT) stage of around 5 to 10 kilometers.

There are 6 competitions within the race-

General Classification or GC. This rider wears the fabled Maliot Jaune or yellow jersey. It is worn by the rider who has clocked up the shortest combined time for the race as it progresses. A GC contender needs to be a good all round rider but recently,good climbers with TT ability have faired well.

The points competition (often refered to as the sprinters competition). The leader in thei competiton wears the green jersey. Points are awarded in most road stages at intermediate sprints (usually 2 per stage) where the first few riders accross the line get points in descending order. There are also points (a larger total) won at the end of a stage, which is why the likes of Cav or Thor Hushovd are seen in the jersey a lot. Sprint stage winners can gain 35 points per stage.

The King of the Mountain (KoM) who wears the polka dot jersey (white with red polka dots). This is similar in style to the points jersey but the points are won by being first to cross the line on classified climbs. There are 5 classes of climb from Cat 4 being the easiets categorised climb, getting harder (steeper and/ or longer) through Cats 3,2 and 1 and then onto Hors Categorie (HC) of out of category. These climbs are those that are so long and sustained that getting up them sometiems leaves quality climbers shattered.

I found someones map!

2011-06-29T23:03:00.002+01:00

On my ride home after work this evening I happened across a couple partaking of a cycle touring holiday. They were riding in the opposite direction and needed directions to Maidenhead. As I helped them, I thought I detected a Dutch accent (Yes Tommy, a Dutch accent. The time spent with you has rubbed off and added to my accent identification skills!).

I pointed them in the right direction and left them to continue their journey. About 5 minutes up the road however I spied a map laying in the middle of the road. I stopped and checked it out and found it to be a tourist map of the Thames Valley. I guessed that one of the couple I had met a few minutes ago had lost it so tucked it into my jersey pocket, turned round and gave chase.

I followed the route I had given them but got to the main junction with no sign of them. I had looked along a couple of side roads as I passed without seeing them either. Not happy I decided to turn round and try the main side road but got a considerable way along it without finding the couple. I thought al was lost and turned round again to make my way home but, as I rode back towards my route home I saw the couple riding towards me. I stopped and handed their map over.

It turned out that they had seen a small cycle path sign saying Maidenhead was 2 miles along a cycle path. They had tried to follow but, British cycle facilities being what they are, they found that they couldn't get their luggage laiden Dutch Bikes through the narrow barriers just along from the start of the route. They had turned round and decided to follow the road.

We chatted for a little while and I learned that they started the day in Oxford and had cycled along paths along the banks of the Thames, planning to ride to London but, on reaching Marlow they decided that the route was too rough so decided to head for Maidenhead and get the train into London. I was right about their accent, they were from the Netherlands, living near to Arnhem. I explained that I had a friend who was a Bike Cop in Den Haag (The Hague) and the guy said he was born in Den Haag and their son lived in Scheveningen. I know someone who lives in Scheveningen don't I Tommy?

I said goodbye to them and finished my ride home. An extra 22 minutes and an extra 5 1/2 miles on the commute. All miles are good miles.

Awesome light this morning

2011-06-28T13:12:00.003+01:00

As I went to bed last night, I was wondering where the thunder storms that the weather bods had suggested were coming had got to.

Their absence led to a hot sticky night but, on waking up at stupid o'clock this morning, the sky had clouded over and the temperature had dropped quite markedly.

Whilst I was in the kitchen preparing my (and No.1 Sons) lunch and feeding the cats, there were a couple of flashes of lightning, followed a second or two later by rolling thunder (for Vietnam Veterans I mean the noisy natural weather phenomenon, not the noisy B52 induced phenomenon). I expected to get very wet on the ride in.

Once the lunches had been done, tea drunk and Shredded Wheat consumed, I got dressed and went out to the bike. The sky was still dark but no rain was falling so I decided to risk no waterproof jacket as that would have been far too hot. Within 5 minutes of setting out the sun started to make a concerted effort to break through. The light was amazing. I can only describe it as glowing silver, a sort of mean and moody black and white film atmosphere. Something to behold.

I bet the drivers didn't even register it.

I arrived at work without getting rained on, though the last half mile or so were on damp roads. There was a lot of very wet cycling kit hanging in the changing room.

I love riding my bike.

Legs still missing

2011-06-27T20:01:00.003+01:00

Rode home this evening (bike lives at work over the weekend) and my legs are still missing in action.

Just under 7 miles took 1 minute 30 seconds more than my average summer homeward commute.

If you have got my legs, can I have them back please?

If you see them skulking around somewhere, have a word with them and direct them home.

Thanks.

Where have my legs gone?

2011-06-27T15:56:00.001+01:00

That was the question I was asking myself yesterday afternoon as I rode a gentle but steepening climb out of Stonor, near Henley.

The day started really well. I managed to delay the getting out of bed bit until gone 9:00 a.m. Result! Then it was into the garden for a bit of leylandii butchery. A couple of hours trimming a couple of trees in our garden resulted in a bin and two bags full of cuttings and me covered in scratches. I then relaxed with a coffee surveying my domain.

After lunch I decided it was time for a ride so kitted up and headed out. By this time, the warm day was getting decidedly hot so I was expecting a bit of a sweaty expedition. As I rode out of Marlow towards Henley I was passed by a guy who eased off once he was just ahead. I caught up and we had a nice chat for about 5 miles until we got to Henley. It turned out that he and a mate were out for a bit of an Iron Man training day. They had been open water swimming (very tempting in the heat!) and were finishing on the bike. He reckoned he would have done about 110 miles all told by the time he got home.

After we parted company, I turned right towards Nettlebed and, on reaching the right fork toward Pishill and Stonor, I followed this route. It was the climb up towards the junction to Christmas Common or Watlington that had me wondering what the hell had happened to my legs. They just weren't working. I was struggling to climb an ascent that barely registered normally. Hopefully it was the heat.

On reaching the top I turned left towards Nettlebed and got my oomph back as I rode the gently rolling road. When I got to Nettlebed I turned left onto the A4130 back towards Henley. As I did so, a peleton went past in the opposite direction, towards Wallingford. I guess a race was on as the peleton was followed by a few vehicles including an AW Cycles van (cracking bike shop in Caversham but don't enter if you have your credit card with you- you have been warned about the ensuing spend frenzy urge) and an ambulance.

I continued to recover as I rode into Henley and decided to turn left and retrace my route back to Marlow, planning to finish with a 30 mile ride. The best laid plans however tend to turn to crap when I try them. I got to Hambleden and should have kept going but, for some inexplicable reason, turned left. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I turned off and, sure enough, a few hundred yards up the road, as I saw the sign for the left turn towards Rotten Row, my bike inexplicably took this left turn. A couple of hundred yards of relatively flat road then it starts to go up. Once it has finished going up it goes up some more! There I was, standing out of the saddle trying to dance on the pedals. I must have two left feet however because the 'dancing' turned into me barely being able to keep going forward. My legs had done another disappearing act. Gits!

I just made it to the top and was able to keep rolling, with a few little descent s and minor ascents between me and home. It turned into a 32.68 mile ride.

Just to add insult to injury, on arrival home I stripped down to my bib shorts and sat in the garden to relax a bit. It was at that time that the sweat boost hit me and the leylandii rash started to sting like you wouldn't believe. Why do we do it eh?

Trophies and Medals

2011-06-13T13:02:00.002+01:00

Well done to Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky for his GC win in the Criterium du Dauphine. Wiggo is only the third Brit to take the trophy after Brian Robinson in 1961 and Robert Millar in 1990. This was a tremendous performance by him and his team, some of whom roded themselves into the ground keeping him safe and defending the gold jersey.

Another shout also goes out to The Secret Cyclists adopted Pro Cyclist. None other than my boss, Queen Elizabeth II has seen fit to declare him a good ol boy by awarding him an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in her Birthday Honours list. Well done Cav.

Mark Cavendish

2011-05-24T10:33:00.004+01:00

The Manx Missile

I have just finished reading his autobiography- Mark Cavendish, Boy Racer

and thoroughly enjoyed the read. The opening few pages, aptly named the prologue are him talking through the final 100 kilometres or so of a stage in the TdF where he feels he can take it. As the stage winds down to the last few hundred meters the tension climbs and for me, I was right there with him.

The book then goes on to take you through his involvement in the 2008 Tour with each chapter represented as a stage, each stage also looking back to a particular period in his life and his development from a keen young rider, through amateur to the fastest sprinter in the world. The edition I have also includes a chapter taking in his epic 2009 6 stage wins. I recommend this book.

One thing about reading this book is that my opinion of Cav has changed. I always liked him but, I thought that he was a somewhat arrogant bloke. He says in the book that a lot of folk have him twigged as an 'arrogant prick', well, I didn't take it that far but arrogant was in my description. Before the book, I thought this was the natural, necessary arrogance for someone who is and wants to remain, the best in the world at what he does. I now understand that he isn't so much arrogant, as driven. Driven to repay the balls out effort and suffering of the team mates he loves and knows are so important in his ability to get the results he does.

Mark Cavendish has now been officially adopted as The Secret Cyclists supported Pro Rider.

Others will get my support but Cav is the main man.

Mrs Secret Cyclist has booked the hotel and flights for us to be in Paris for the weekend of 24th July 2011. Hopefully I will be cheering Cav across the line on the Champs Elysées for his third win on that stage in succession.

Go get em Cav.

The hills are alive with the sound of- PAIN!

2011-05-23T11:03:00.004+01:00

I have been watching the highlights of both the Giro d Italia and the Tour of California over the last few days. The last 2 days of the Giro and Saturday’s stage of the Tour of California both involved some rather 'lumpy' territory.

Watching the Radio Shack duo Levi Leipmheimer and Chris Horner as they went up Mount Baldy was a sight to see. How the hell Horner can keep smiling whilst he does this is beyond me. Plus this dude being 39 years old! Well done that apprentice pensioner. Respect. The mountain name is quite apt as well considering the tonsurial elegance of our two heroes.

Levi

Chris

The climb of Baldy looks to have the potential to become the ‘Mythical Stage’ for the ToC that all tours need- Ventoux/ ď Heuz in the Tour de France, Zoncolan/ Mortirolo in the Giro. The fans were all over the place on this climb, right in the face of the riders- like they are in the other classic climbs. Just the sort of spectacle to improve the feel of the ToC.

As for the Giro, Watching the suffering going on on Monte Zoncolan was awesome. Some of the sections looked like they were almost vertical. The climbs in the Giro are not as long as they are in the TdF but they are certainly steeper. To add insult to injury in the Giro, some of the climbs they use finish on unmade tracks. The riders can’t stand up in the pedals and honk up the hills as the wheels spin out!

I love it.

(Not) On Yer Bike

2011-05-20T15:16:00.003+01:00

This month is proving to be absolutley abysmal on the commuting front.

Because of stuff I have going on at work, I am spending far too much time driving to and from work and various other locations.

To date, I have commuted 2 journeys, one to and one from work. That is out of a possible 16 journeys.

How crap is that? The way things are going, it isn't going to improve any time soon.

Cruel and Unusual punishment

2011-05-17T10:18:00.003+01:00

Thats what I call it anyway.

On Saturday afternoon, Mrs Secret Cyclist and I were walking along Maidenhead High Street when we passed DNA Cycles. I stopped in my tracks because, hanging in the window was this beauty-

"That is a gorgeous bike" says I.

"Yes it is. Do you want it?" Says Mrs SC!

Do I want it? Of course I want it!

Bank Manager says No at the moment though.......

Cruel and Unusual.

Secret Cyclist activates Scheming Mode.

Wouter Weylandt

2011-05-10T10:55:00.003+01:00

As I have mentioned before, I love to watch the Giro 'd Italia and the first couple of days had me glued to the TV, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. HTC coming out on top in the Tea, Time Trial for Stage 1, Mark Cavendish getting the Maglia Rosa after Stage 2.

All this eneded yesterday when I saw the news about the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt, a talented young rider who was to become a father for the first time in September.

I don't know what happened to cause his crash and I don't expect to find out any time soon. What I do know is that there is a bunch of guys this morning, probably as I write, who are riding the roads of Italy, taking part in one of the best sporting events in the world, and they are feeling low. It is now up to the spectators to show their repect for Wouter and appreciation fo the rest of the riders and do what they can to raise the spirits of the athletes as they pass.

Some may suggest that the race should be cancelled. Some may suggets his team mates should go home. I suggest that the race continue and his team mates ride like the wind to win for their fallen colleague.

RIP Walter.

Clubbing

2011-05-02T15:42:00.004+01:00

I never thought of myself as a 'Club Rider' when it came to my leisure riding. I had looked at various clubs in my area and they seemed to be too competitive for me.

What I was looking for was company when I went out of a weekend, someone to chat to whilst riding, someone to share experiences with, someone from whom I could learn.

Well, I seem to have hit the jackpot.

Marlow Riders is a new group in my area, born from a group of runners called Marlow Striders. A number of this group are/ were apparently suffering the problem that hits many long term runners- their knees were telling them to knock it on the head. Then another of the group had a brainwave. He wanted to invite as many friends as could make it to join him in paris for dinner to celebrate his 60th Birthday. The qualifier? He and they were riding to Paris. Many took him up on his offer and had to go out and buy bikes and other riding equipment. They then had to put in the training as the ride was over 3 days, finishing with an imperial century to the Champs-Élysées. They made it and a jolly good time was had by all.

I now have folk I can meet with on a Saturday or Sunday morning for a social ride.

One unexpected benefit of this is that I am discovering parts of the area surrounding where I live that i didn't know. Over the last few weeks I have been introduced to some stunning scenery and some cracking new climbs.

Brooks saddles

2011-04-27T20:09:00.009+01:00

The other day whilst sorting through my 'Box 'O Bits' I rediscovered my Brooks team Pro-

This used to be fitted to my work patrol bike and I removed it when I 'retired' from bike patrol. I decide to fit it to G G G G granville, my commuter/ tourer.

A Brooks saddle is a thing of beauty. All I need to do now is get my backside reaquainted with the saddle.

Yehuda believed it?

2011-04-27T14:10:00.004+01:00

One of my regular sites to visit (and one of my favourites) is Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery.

On visiting today I saw that they were inviting folk to add the daily comic to their blog.

"Why not" thought I.

Hope you like the addition.

Time Travel

2011-04-19T14:54:00.004+01:00

I don't know about your riding habits but I am an all weather cyclist. I commute by bike come rain, shine, ice, snow- whatever.

I will put my hands up and admit to the odd chikening out session when the wind is stupidly strong and gusty (I do not want to get blown accross the road into/ under a truck or bus).

I do have favourite weather conditions however and this time of year is when my favourite conditions start to crop up. Warm but not too hot, clear and bright.

These conditions make me smile and feel far too chirpy when I'm in the saddle.

Another benefit of this warmer weather is that it creates my new found ability for time travel.

My regular commute to work takes in Marlow High Street, accross William Tierney Clarks suspension bridge, left after the Compleat Angler Hotel and up Quarry Wood Road. This first section of my commute takes me 10 minutes to the top of the hill. This morning saw the time travel kick in and I got to the top of the hill in 9 minutes.

Dr Who eat your heart out.

The Bats are back in town!

2011-04-18T14:54:00.002+01:00

Every spring, SWMBO and I spend time in the evenings keeping an eye out through the patio doors waiting for the first bat of the year.

Last night was the night. At about 7:30 we spied a lone bat doing aerobatics around the garden hunting bugs for dinner. It spent about 10 minutes doing circuits and loops and wingovers, at times nearly bouncing off the windows.

In previous years we have had usually 2 but occasionally 3 bats doing their thing at the same time.

I love watching bats.

Happy Birthday Mrs Secret Cyclist

2011-04-07T09:26:00.004+01:00

The young lady (in the red T shirt) below is Anne, Mrs Secret Cyclist, my loveley wife. She celebrates her birthday today.

I'm too much of a gentleman to tell you which birthday but, it is a milestone.

Needless to say, I love her as much today as I did mummmbley mumbley years ago when I first met her.

Happy Birthday Darling

XXX

Spring

2011-03-24T10:52:00.002Z

The other day I posted about Cherry Blossom and it being Spring hurrah!

Well- Spring? Hurrah!

Chuffing Hayfever? Gaaaahhh!

That is all.

Punishing killers on our roads

2011-03-23T14:33:00.004Z

Yesterday the family of Rhiannon Bennett, a teenaged girl killed when she was struck by a cyclist on a road in Buckingham in 2007 were present in the House of Commons when their MP presented a 10 minute bill to the house. The Dangerous and reckless Cycling Bill will now receive its second reading in November 2011.

This incident was tragic and I believe that all road users who, by reason of reckless or negligent action, cause the death of another should be punished accordingly.

My slight problem with this matter however is that the outcry over the incident that caused the family to lobby their MP was because the cyclist, Jason Howard was convicted of Dangerous Cycling and fined £2200.

I imagine that Rhiannons family expected a custodial sentence. If this was their expectation I fully understand it. This was not an option available to the Magistrates however as there is no prison sentence tariff for this offence.

I believe the option of sending the responsible party to prison should be open in all cases arising from a death of another being the result of someone’s actions. All I ask is that the punishments are used equally and fairly- driver, rider, or pedestrian.

There are plenty of examples of drivers causing deaths and being 'punished' by paltry fines.

Hollywood Happenings

2011-03-23T13:34:00.002Z

Yesterday Captain Kirk (William Shatner) made to to Birthday number 80. Well done that man.

Today, Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor)passed away aged 79. Thanks for the memories Liz.

Yay! Spring had sprung.

2011-03-15T12:34:00.002Z

Cherry Blossom!

Loads of it on the trees on the way in to work this morning.

Crocuses, Daffodils, Snowdrops.

Lovely.

It makes me sad also though. The Cherry Blossom is very important to Japan.

Japan- Tsunami.

2011-03-11T15:14:00.003Z

Recent days have been quite stressful for the likes of me and my colleagues, what with reports being published after reviews of both police pay and conditions and Public Sector workers pensions. Needless to say, I and many of the folk I work with are not exactly happy.

I woke up this morning however, to see the news about the earthquake off the north east coast of Japan and the devestating effect of the subsequent tsunami. Watching some of the footage of the deluge as it literally ate up the land was horrifying.

It certainly put my minor worries into perspective.

My youngest son was in Japan until November last year and, had everything panned out the way he wanted it to, he would still be out there now. Admittedly he was in Okazaki, some way south of the area hit by the catastrophe but, who knows, he may have decided to take himself to other parts of the country to explore. I don't want to think about the worry I would be going through right now if he had still been out there.

My thoughts are with the Japanes people.

The bond between Man and his Best Friend

2011-03-04T12:18:00.002Z

I watched the news last night and it included an item and documentary footage about this incident.

L/Cpl Liam Tasker was working in Afghanistan with his explosive detection dog Theo when Liam was shot and killed by a sniper. Sadly the incident seems to have been so traumatic for Theo that he sufferd a siezure and died back at base.

I have worked with dogs and handlers in both the Police and Army and the bond between the members of these little teams is painfuly obvious, particularly within the military.

I am not ashamed to say a tear came to my eye as I watched the item.

A right result!

2011-03-03T16:37:00.001Z

A few days ago I posted about some friends who had a lot of their bikes stolen. Well, Check this out!

Frinds have had their bikes stolen!

2011-02-25T11:19:00.002Z

See here

I have just learned that some good friends from ealing have had a goodly selection of their stable of bikes stolen. Have a look at the above link for me and, if you see or hear about any of the bikes, let Charlotte or Liz know.

Thanks.

Doping in sport

2011-02-25T11:13:00.000Z

I have kept away from the debate whilst the Alberto Contador saga was played out. Now it has come to a conclusion and, with the comments from some folk following Lance Armstrong announcing his retirement, I thought I would say my piece.

Alberto Contador has undergone examination by his national governing body and was found to be not guilty of doping. End of. Time to move on.
Fans of our sport may not agree with the findings but the verdict has been passed and we need to put the matter behind us.
My personal feelings are that I pray he was truthful. I enjoyed watching him in the 2010 Tour de France and to have that enjoyment destroyed if he had doped would be tragic for me.

Lance Armstrong continues to be subject of accusations and rumour about practices he allegedly involved himself in during his epic journey to 7 Tour de France victories.
I think he should be left alone. During his career, he has been subject to numerous in and out of competition tests, each of which he passed at the time.
The thought that Armstrong is a liar and cheat is something I do want to contemplate. Watching him race was great. The time trial ability, ‘The Look’ that Jan Ullrich received as he was passed by Lance, the recovery from the spectators bag induce crash, the cyclocross escapade after Beloki crashed out- all fantastic memories, memories I want to cherish. If it turned out he doped, these memories will be diminished. Not destroyed because they were still good things to watch, but sadly diminished all the same.

What is my take on the fight against the scourge of doping?

I think the time has come to take the responsibility away from national and international sporting governing bodies and national anti doping agencies.

All aspects of doping control should be the responsibility of one international agency with law enforcement status in each signatory country, perhaps overseen by an already existing international organisation - the United Nations. I know we have WADA but, they seem to be more an oversight committee than a control agency. I will call this agency the ADA for the rest of this post.

Doping and associated offences should be subject to criminal conviction in the countries where either the sporting event took place or the home country of the athlete involved, with custodial sentences the automatic outcome of positive tests, which strikes me as a stronger deterrent than a 2 year ban. This is a good reason to have the UN oversee the ADA.

This one agency should be responsible for sample collection, delivery to labs that they control and testing. Knowledge of what labs are being used during a particular competition should be possessed only by staff of the ADA.

International and national governing bodies should be required to sign up to the ADA constitution under penalty of exclusion from international competition. The International Olympic Committee would obviously need to be a very early signatory.

In competition testing should include all athletes finishing in the top 3 of an individual event and random testing should account for at least 10% of athletes not falling within that category by the end of an event (so 10% of riders in the TdF for example, who did not top 3 on any stage would still have been tested by the conclusion of the last stage on at least one occasion). Team events such as Football, Cricket, Rugby etc should be subject to 10% of the players at each event being tested.

Out of competition testing should be unannounced. Athletes should be required to keep the ADA appraised of their whereabouts at all times if away from home overnight. They should also be contactable at all times. The ADA should be able to contact an athlete to establish there whereabouts at all times. This would then facilitate testers attending the athletes’ location and obtaining samples. Procedures should be established to take into account such situations as an athlete being at a cinema/ theatre/ other venue/ situation where having a mobile phone go off would get them lynched.

Athletes not wishing to be subjected to these stringent lifestyle intrusions have a choice- don’t compete. If you want to compete, you sign up.

Retrospective testing of samples e.g. testing Lance Armstrong’s samples from the 1999 TdF in 2011 doesn’t happen. If it passes the scrutiny of the day, it passes.

Breaches of confidentiality and integrity of the processes and systems should be treated as criminal offences in the country the breaches occurred.

Testing labs should ideally be owned by the ADA but, in the event this is not possible, ADA officers should be posted to each accredited lab on a permanent basis with the responsibility of ensuring the labs comply with the rules, practices and conditions required for robust and resilient results.

This is going to be an expensive undertaking but it is a necessary expense I think.

Rising to the challenge

2011-01-18T10:16:00.002Z

I got jumped on the way to work this morning.

I was riding the tourer along Quarry Wood Road, minding my own business when a 20" wheeled bike passed me at about 4- 5 MPH faster than I was progressing. The pilot was dressed in all the wrong gear for a folding type bike, but all the RIGHT gear for a commuter race - tights, waterproof jacket, ski cap etc. As he passed my ears heard a cheery "Good Morning" but, my Babel Fish translated this to a cynical "Race is on you sluggish, tourer mounted toad"

This narked me slightly so I started formulating my attack. We were fast (he faster than me) approaching the climb out of Marlow towards Cookham Dean and, knowing I was good on that climb, I relaxed. I let my prey eke out a lead of about 100 meters and, as he negotiated the right hand bend at the bottom of the hill, I looked on with glee. Just as I expected, my prey was exhibiting all the characteristics of a flat road sprinter. He could not put any more distance between us on the start of the climb.

I too negotiated the bend and dropped down a chainring and a sprocket or two. As I did this I stood out of the saddle and started to spin. I gained on my prey quite quickly and, as I passed him I said, breathing easily "There you go sucker, eat my dust", which I think his Babel Fish translated as "I can't think of a better way to start the day". he responded "Yes, it certainly gets the blood pumping" which was Babel Fished to "Ye Gods Sir, your awesome climbing power is too much for me!" I was through the hairpin and gone before he got half way up the first straight.

Commuter Racing- I love it!

Band of Less Brothers

2011-01-13T13:06:00.003Z

I was sad to read yesterday of the recent death of Major Richard Winters in the USA on 2nd January 2011.

Dick Winters and his men were subject of a book about their experiences in WW2 during the invasion of Europe, which was subsequently filmed as the HBO mini series 'Band of Brothers'.

As a young Leiutenant, he commanded a platoon of paratroops- 'Easy' Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division when they dropped into Normandy on D Day and beyond.

He and his troops were decorated for a number of actions and one of them- The Brecourt Manor Assault on a fixed position of German artillery pieces shelling Utah Beach is still taught at West Point today as a text book example of such an action.

An inspired and inspirational leader.

Catriona Patel

2010-12-17T11:38:00.003Z

I have been catching up on news etc. today and one thing that caught my eye was from November. It revolved around the trial of the driver responsible for killing Catriona Patel as she cycled to work in London-
from The Mail online

I read the article with horror as I believe I know one of the paramedics who attended the scene.

I was absolutely horrified as my reading into this incident progressed. The driver, Dennis Putz, was over the drink drive limit at the time of the incident, was involved in a mobile phone call and had a string of convictions, jail sentences and disqualifications relating to driving offences. What the hell was he doing behind the wheel of a vehicle of any sort, let alone being employed to drive a large tipper truck on urban streets?

At least Putz has been jailed for 7 years and banned from driving for life

To cap it all, his employers Thames Materials recently had another vehicle involved in a fatal incident, where one of their tippers collided with a number of vehicles on the A4 near Heathrow, including a taxi, one of the occupants of which died of his injuries.

Something appears to be wrong somewhere.....

Fuzzys' On The Road Again

2010-11-30T12:14:00.001Z

I am settled in to the new job now and have got back in the saddle.

This morning was my first cycle commute since 11th November.

It may have been cold. It may have been slushy and wet. Some drivers may have been arses but, Gods, I've missed riding!

How many!?

2010-11-10T21:31:00.004Z

I started logging my mileage on 30th September 2005, logging all rides I do with the mileage from my computer. if I haven't got a computer, I map it and round down to the nearest mile.

I use Cyclogs as my logging site of choice and, since earlier this year, started to log on Bikejournal also as a back up.

As you can see on the left hand sidebar, I keep a running mileage total by month and year on here. I just decided to include a Running Total of miles since I started logging. I'm up to 17,924.85. I have cycled nearly 18 thousand miles in the last 5 years. I am well chuffed with that!

The end of the road?

2010-11-03T22:12:00.002Z

As I write this I am preparing for a change of job. I will continue as a Copper but will be moving from my current posting to do a similar job but at a different level. This change takes effect on 15th November- a little under a fortnight away.

All good I hear you say and, to a major degree I concur BUT, one of the requirements of my new job is that I become what we call an 'Essential User' on the car front. This means that I have to use my private car for work. Not a problem as I get an annual alowance to offset insurance and other costs plus a mileage allowance. Well, I say not a problem but, the downside is that I need to have immediate access to the car all the time I am at work. This could mean the end of my cycle commuting! Not a happy state of affairs. I am looking at the possibility of being able to leave the car at work during the week, using the bike to get too and fro Monday evening to Friday morning and taking the car home at weekends. I hope it works out.....

The Secret continues

2010-11-02T11:12:00.009Z

I seem to remember early in September, posting about a ride I did on Arran and promising to post about the second ride. Sorry for the delay but here it is.

A couple of days after the first ride I met up with a neighbour of the friends we were staying with. Ian is his name. He is a forestry worker and a Highland Games competitor so a tad on the healthy side.

We decided to do the Northern loop out of Brodick. The route takes you North (as if you hadn't guesed) along the coast towards Sannox with lovely views back towards Brodick

and occasional sightings of local wildlife

The above image is of a wooden sculpture. Good isn't it? There were a dozen or so other tourists trying to photograph the seal!

As we rode, we met a couple of youg guys who it turned out, were doing a self supported End to End, doing the Lands End to John O'Groats version. They had arrived the previous day and were taking in the island before going back to the mainland the next day and heading for their next stop- Loch Ness

Ian is on the right in red and black. I didn't catch the names of the two lads unfortunatley. We rode together until we reached the Youth Hostel at Lochranza where they were staying. They were on holiday from school and having a bit of an adventure. Well done them. I hope they finished ok and had the experience they anticipated.

The route was all coast road until we left Sannox, where the road cut inland a little and started the long climb up The Boguillie. Though only to 200 meters, it was over quite a long distance, so sustained but no too steep. Once again, the countryside and views were beautiful

Sorry about the crappy photos' but my point and shoot was letting me down a bit.

Once we had topped out, there was a nice smooth descent towards Lochranza and, in true Secret Cyclist style, it was Yahoo Banshee Warrior time as I tucked in over the top tube and gave it loads of wellie. We then rode into Lochranza where our end to enders peeled off, leaving Ian and I to continue our ride. Lochranza is a pretty little place tucked away in a little bay to the west of the Northern tip of the island, known as The Cock of Arran. I think its location must have been quite significant once upon a time-

By now, the geography of the island was demonstrating its effect on the weather. It was dry and bright on the East side of the island but, the West side was the opposite. The mountainous spine of the island was keeping the weather on the west side and wew were riding in a fine drizzle. Not to worry though becuase the riding was very pleasant and the views kept the spirits up

This was the last picture I took on this ride as the camera didn't like the wet.

We rode south along the coast again, through the little vilages of Pimmill, Dougana and Tormore, a nice flat road where, if you were minded, a bit of a chain gang could get going but, Ian and I were just out for a pleasant ride. As we approached Blackwaterfoot, we turned off the main drag and cut inland towards Shiskine and The String, which wold give me the opportunity of doing this road in the opposite direction. The drizzle had kept it up so the roads were wet, though not too bad. The String in this direction presents a longer, shallower ascent up to its 235 meter summit and the effort needed to make the climb had the added benefit of keeping the body temperature up, shrugging off the cooling effects of being wet.

Once at the summit, we were then confronted with the steeper, shorter descent in to Brodick. It was still drizzling and the road on the East side of the mountains was now wet as well. I still tucked in and gave it wellie, though maintained a slight air of decorum, keeping the speed under control. Because of the wet I only managed a 49.1 mph descent. I'd love to do this in the dry!

After getting to the bottom of The String, it was a short run in to Brodick and a nice cup of tea. A loop just shy of 38 miles with gorgeous views, quiet roads, great climbing and cracking descents.

I love Arran. Don't tell too many folk though otherwise the place will get swamped!

About my Secret

2010-09-02T12:06:00.018+01:00

Sorry about the delay. Stuff going on and so little time yadda yadda yadda.....

Anyway, last post I wrote about a secret location which I would share with you if you promised not to tell. Well, I'm going to hold you all to that promise. The secret location is the Isle of Arran, of the west coast of Scotland, tucked in between Ardrossan and the Kintyre peninsula-

This is a beautiful island. For me as a road cyclist, there are a handful of routes to explore, with the bonus of it being impossible to get lost. I say this because there are a very small number of roads that lead anywhere other than into small residential closes or to remote farms. There is the main island circuit road of around 57 miles and two other roads that bisect the island. These roads provide a number of options-

Each of these routes starts at the main town (big village) of Brodick.

The Island Loop- the full 57 mile loop.

The Northern Loop- Via Lochranza and then cutting across the island on The String Road from Blackwaterfoot on the west side of the Island.

The Southern Loop- Via Lamlash and Sliddery, again cutting across the island on The String Road.

The Northern Loop can be extended by cutting across the island from Sliddery to Lamlash via The Ross Road.

The Southern Loop can be shortened by using The Ross Road as opposed to The String.

Any one of these options can be interchanged to make longer r shorter routes (a figure 8 ride doing north and south and cutting across The String or The Ross?)

Each route can be ridden clockwise or anti clockwise, providing different challenges such as climbing steeper sides of the ascents.

I did two rides whilst I was there. The first was thew shortened Southern Loop, starting at Brodick, over The String to Blackwaterfoot and then back over The Ross to Lamlash-

To start with, The Ross goes up

and up

and up

but ends up providing stunning views back down towards Brodick

and onwards towards Blackwaterfoot

a pretty little village looking towards the Kintyre Peninsula and, on a clear day, the coast of Northern Ireland

I then headed south towards Sliddery along the coast road

(looking back toward Blackwaterfoot) before cutting back across the island via The Ross and through Glen Scorrodale

which eventually started going up

and then dropped down towards Lamlash

which is just a short boat ride from Holy Isle

It was then about half an hour back to Brodick where, after dinner, this was my view whilst doing the washing up

A 31 mile loop and lovely all the way.

Some of the road surfaces are a bit iffy, particularly on The Ross. The descent into Lamalsh is steep and fast but I wasn't confident about it's quality so took it a bit easy. A few laps and a bit of familiarity would soon see Yahoo Banshee Warrior descending though. One 'moment' was on this descent. I had walked across a couple of cattle grids because they were the large gap type but, as I reached the bottom of the last descent I saw another approaching- fast!. I grabbed big handfuls of brake and stopped with a couple of feet to spare. I bloke was just getting out of a van as I did this. He commented that it could have got interesting to which I agreed. He reassured me though that all would have been well. He was leading a Scout camp and there were several young folk dying to practice their first aid!

I will post about the second ride when I come back from my holiday.

See you all in a couple of weeks.

I have a secret

2010-08-10T16:19:00.002+01:00

I have just returned from a break at a secret location. This location has some tremendous cycling routes and stunning views.

Once I get my photo collection sorted and if you promise not to tell anyone (don't want just anyone finding out) I may share some of it with you.

As a taster, on the second of the two rides I did, the second half of the ride was in rain and drizzle. Therfore the descent I rode was taken a little on the 'cautious' side, mostly freewheeling. I still topped out at a smidge over 49mph!

Butterfly and Clarion got married

2010-08-02T19:38:00.003+01:00

On Saturday 31st July 2010 I rode from my home to Didcot Parkway railway station.

What possesed me to do this I hear you ask?

I rode to Didcot Parkway railway station to meet up with fellow cyclists with whom I am aquainted at yacf. Included in the cyclists I was to meet were Butterfly and Clarion. They ahd got married earlier that day in London and had then ridden their tandem (in complete wedding regalia) to Paddington where they boarded a train to Didcot. We then had a wedding convoy to a camp site in Watlington where the happy couple hosted a wedding reception BBQ/ campover. A really good idea and a tremendous day.

Thanks to Charlotte (aka Bicycleslut) who took the photo.

Many more can be found here along with a flavour of the day.

Congratulations again to Butterfly and Clarion.

The Tour is over

2010-07-28T15:38:00.002+01:00

Well, that's it for another year. The dust has settled (hopefully) on the latest installment of Le Grand Boucle and I sit here waiting for next year.

I thoroughly enjoyed this years instalment ad will write more when time allows.

I survived.

2010-07-09T16:16:00.002+01:00

On Monday I posted about Yin and Yang and Karma and stuff just before setting off for home.

Just to put your minds at rest- I survived but, no thanks to the lawmakers known as Murphy and his evil henchman Sod.

Murphy saw fit to make sure EVERY traffic light was at red and a lot of junctions were occupied whilst Sod just wound up his lungs and spent the whole journey providing me with my very own private 15mph headwind.

To cap it all however, a mad Scientist somewhere must have failed an experiment which caused a warp or a tear in the Space Time Contiueinueinueinum. That is the only explanation I have. What happened was I was negotiating a roundabout and as I did so, a car that should have given way failed to. Why the theory about the warp or a tear in the Space Time Contiueinueinueinum? Well, as the driver failed to give way to me, he also failed to even look at me. The only explanation I can come up with for this is, he didn't look at me because I wasn't there. The only possible explanation for me not being there must be because I was viewing our universe from a parallel one on the other side of the warp or a tear in the Space Time Contiueinueinueinum.

Simples.

P.S.

The Tour de France!
Wow, what a great first few days. The stage across the cobbles used during Paris- Roubaix is probably one of the most exiting stages I have ever watched.

Bring it on!

Should I be scared?

2010-07-05T16:22:00.002+01:00

I am about to leave the desk and get ready to ride home.

The problem is that, what with Karma or Ying and Yang, this could be payback time.

The ride to work this morning was flawless. Each junction I came to had no approaching traffic on the major route so I didn't need to give way/ stop. Each roundabout I came to was clear to the right so I didn't need to give way. Each set of traffic lights I encountered was either green or changed to green on my approach so I didn't need to stop. Each vehicle that overtook me this morning did so giving me loads of room.

If you don't hear from me for a while- Murphy must have caught up with me.

Me and my big mouth!

2010-06-30T12:58:00.003+01:00

Remember the question I asked at the end of my last post?

A reminder- Whats not to love about this cycling lark eh?

I'll answer the question for you now shall I?

Headwinds. That is whats not to love about this cycling lark.

My ride home last night was into wind all the way. Not the end of the world but it doesn't half detract from what should have been a fine ride.

To cap it all, when I got home I decided to hit the gym before my evening meal. I got changed and walked down to to the gym intending to do 45- 60 minutes on the weights and sit ups. I signed in and was just about to start when a mate, who is a spinning instructor said that there were 3 spare bikes for his class about to start and that I should join in. I tried to cry off but he persuaded me against my better judgement.

My mate is also a colleague and I often wonder why he does spinning insrtuction. I think there are two prime reasons-

a) He is a bit of a babe magnet. H is the type of bloke that makes women go weak at the knees. I have seen him walking through the crowd at Ryal Ascot and suddenly get grabbed and have his tonsils tasted by a succesion of young fillies. Spinning gets him within striking distance of pretty young things.

b) He likes to cause pain. Ever been to a spinning class?

Last night, he caused me pain. I wasn't prepared for spinning. I was wearing training shoes and had no towel with me. I enjoy spinning but like to use clipless pedals. Clips and straps and me don't get on. I can't sprint unkless 'clipped in. When the class was doing sprints I had to make do with winding up the resistance and 'climbing'. It was horrible. I was blind for a lot of the class because of the sweat getting into my eyes.

I won't let him persuade me aging (until next time.....).

Cracking ride this morning Grommit!

2010-06-29T13:56:00.004+01:00

This mornings commute encapsulated just about everything I love about riding a bike.

When I dragged my tail out of bed at 5:30 this morning I took a peek out the window to see what was going on with the world (I always do this so that I am steeled for whatever surprises Mother Nature may throw at me). To my surprise I saw that the ground was wet- overnight rain. Wahey! The lawn might survive a few days more yet thought I. Having completed the recce it was time for prep so off I went to the bathroom to do what us rider folk need to do first thing in the morning (fear not Dear Readers- no graphic descriptions here). It was then time to head downstairs to make my lunch, make a cup of pre ride tea, feed the cats, eat breakfast and get ready for the ride. Not necessarily in that order- apart from the last bit. I absolutely refuse to wear a helmet whilst feeding the cats or making lunch (though leather gauntlets might be a good idea for feeding the cats).

Once it was time to leave the house I decided that as it wasn't raining I wouldn't do the wet weather gear. My route this morning was via Winter Hill which involves a good early climb out of Marlow and is a route I love. From the top of Winter Hill it was a descent through rural roads into Cookham where I turned off towards and subsequently through Maidenhead. Whilst riding through Maidenhead it started to rain. How did I feel about that? Do you know what? I couldn't have given a hoot. Rain at this time of year is something I thoroughly enjoy riding through- waterproofs or not. In fact, I probably had a few folk heading for cover because I found myself singing as I rode. Not just to myself though. At times I was belting it out at the top of my lungs- quite a horrible prospect if you have ever heard me sing. The playlist included "Sunshine on a rainy day", "Starlight" (Muse), "Things can only get better" D-Ream) etc.

The 'First rain for a long time' smell was very strong and very pleasant.

A cracking 10.39 mile bimble at an average of just over 16mph.

Whats not to love about this cycling lark eh?

Football

2010-06-28T13:49:00.002+01:00

England- Ye Gods, the pain!

A conspiracy amongst useless players, blind officials and the dinosaur who allegedly runs the game.

You'd think I would have learned a long time ago NOT to invest too much emotional energy in my teams.

Well, I haven't and now I sit here, in despair.

Roll on the new season when the pain can start again.

Cycle patrol on a budget?

2010-06-24T18:53:00.002+01:00

Some of you out there will know that I am a former Bike patrol Cop. Back in the day, being properly equipped and having a good bike underneath me was very important.

Hell, I will put my hands up and cough to being a fully paid up Kit Monkey.

I would hazard a guess that most Bike Patrol Cops can a) understand that and b) join the club.

Anyway, despite no longer being a full time practitioner, I still keep my eye in. I also write a regular piece for the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) quarterly news magazine. To help with this I subscribe to some news alert services.

The other day, I found this blog entry

I had a read and found myself quite humbled. 12 hours a day, 7 days a week! Equipped like that? Much Respect to Aaron!

Attacks on cyclist

2010-06-16T15:26:00.002+01:00

We often hear about verbal and sometimes physical attacks on cyclists in the UK, often caused by road rage or general yobbish behaviour. We should than our lucky stars however. In some parts of the world, they have more challenging assailants to deal with.

In Alaska for example, the local Ursine population has the odd pop at riders.

Think on.......

An observation about descending

2010-06-13T14:21:00.001+01:00

The other day I decided to vary my route home from work. Instead of doing the 10.26 mile ride along the A4 from Burnham towards Maidenhead and then turning right towards and subsequently through Cookham and Bourne End, I opted for the just under 8.5 mile route directly north out of Burnham, past Cliveden and then down the hill into Bourne End.

I have ridden parts of this route many times, especially the hill adjacent to Cookham (Bourne End Road/ Hedsor Hill) and, when descending, have found it to be a bit uneven and some of the corners off camber. On my Cannondale R800 this is sometimes a little squirly and uncomfortable which has led to me descending in banzai mode, as opposed to BANZAI!

Anyway, on the ride home the other day I was aboard G G G G Granville, my steel framed Ridgeback Voyage touring bike. Definitely not a racing snake machine but, I tell you this for free, when hooning down the hill, he was solid and planted. I wonder if the racing legends that run the teams for the Grand Tours are missing a trick? What would happen to Bradley Wiggins time coming off The Tourmalet if Dave Brailsford was waiting at the top with a Team Sky badged Voyager for him to descend on?

Another reason for hard hilly climbs to be favourite...

2010-06-04T16:07:00.002+01:00

Whilst engaging in a hard hilly ride the other day I remembered a major factor contributing to their 'favourite' status. For every up, there is a down! Hooning down hill after a good lung busting ascent can be bonkers fun!

I tend to give it my all when the road falls away and as you saw in an earlier post, 50mph+ is not alien to me.

Sometimes things get a little squirly but that only adds to the rush. I fully expect that one day, the slightly squirly feeling will develop into the cyclist equivalent of an unrecoverable tank slapper but, until that time, BANZAI!

Enjoying the ride

2010-06-02T13:03:00.002+01:00

I was thinking the other day- what type of riding do I enjoy most?

To get the answer to this question I had to work out what types of riding I do.

I broke it down as follows-

1) Commuting
2) Errands
3) Leisure

I then had to break some of them down further-
Commuting a) Geared and b) Fixed
Leisure a) Pootle b) Hard

I then had to break the leisure rides down a bit more with each category having a flat or hilly category.

Once I had done that I could then think about what was my favourite.

For the Commuting rides, once you remove the fact that I am riding to work 50% of the time which is going to have an obviously negative impact on the ride I was left with the riding itself to contemplate. I have a couple of routes that I can use to vary things and have no particular preference. What I do currently have to use as a guide to my feelings is the fact that Stig, my fixed bike is currently ill. The sprocket started to slip under load the other day and I thought that maybe the sprocket had become unscrewed under leg braking. When I got him up on the stand and examined him however, I discovered that the thread on the hub had stripped and was knackered. I went to turn the wheel and screw the sprocket on the other side and found the thread on the sprocket was suspect so I had to garage Stig whilst I sort out a replacement sprocket. The last couple of commutes have been on my Ridgeback tourer. There is no doubt about it, riding G G G G Granville to work is still fun but nowhere near as enjoyable as riding Stig.

Fixed Commuting wins that contest.

Errands are what I call jumping on the bike to pop to the shops or into the next town to sort something out. They could be as short as a mile return or as long as the 76 mile return trips to hospital appointments in London- basically a ride with a purpose other than enjoyment or earning a crust. I enjoy each and every one of these rides, for a different reason in each case. The quick dash to the shops I enjoy because it is a stolen moment on the bike. The trips into town for whatever reason because I’m revisiting areas that I may not have ridden for a while. The hauls into London because they are always a bit of an adventure- packing my lunch for a swift solitary picnic in Regents Park or because I have on previous appointment trips arranged to meet up with folk I have got to know on yacf or its predecessor ACF.

There is no contest here- I enjoy them all for their own reasons.

Leisure rides are those that I do on my days off- the Sunday morning loop on my Cannondale ‘Best Bike’. I classed them as Pootle or Hard to describe the way I tackle the ride. If it is a nice comfortable ride just for the hell of it, this is a Pootle. If I go out and want to tear up the roads (usually after watching an epic Grand Tour stage or other race footage), then it is a Hard ride. The flat or hilly bit is self explanatory. Living in South Bucks, on the edge of the Chilterns, most loops take in some degree of ascending and the accompanying descents but, if I want to do a good hilly ride, I can do loops with at least half a dozen climbs ranging from about half a mile to a mile or more with gradients ranging from about 6% up to 20% or steeper. Now, when I have decided to do a hilly loop, often I find myself experiencing the Alien Chest Burster feeling I mentioned in a previous post. Some of the climbs are tough and I feel like I am dying as I tackle them and if you were to see me as I summit, you might be tempted to reach for a handy defibrillator, just in case. I am absolutely certain I look nothing like someone should look if they are having a good time.

Te feeling I have after a good hilly loop is much better than the others. Don’t get me wrong, the others are damn fine rides however.

Having looked at all the evidence. The conclusion I have come to is that I enjoy all my riding for various reasons but, the riding that gives me the MOST satisfaction and enjoyment is the hard hilly leisure ride.

Perhaps there is something I like about the pain…….

Feeling the Love

2010-05-25T14:13:00.003+01:00

The other day I posted this on YACF-

What I sent to Andrews of Tideswell by e mail a short while ago-

To whom it may concern.

This e mail is to thank the driver of your coach that made a big difference to my day yesterday. I did not get the registration of the vehicle concerned but hopefully the details of the incident will be enough to identify the driver and pass on my regards.

Yesterday afternoon (23/05/2010), probably at around 3:00 p.m. I was cycling on the A4130 between Hurley and Henley on Thames (heading towards Henley). I was aware of a coach behind me. The driver of the coach showed patience and courtesy, waiting behind me as we descended a hill (I am quite fast when descending but many drivers still force their way past). He continued to wait until there was a good, safe passing opportunity.

Often drivers pass cyclists far too close (I have often been passed on empty roads so close that I could easily touch the passing vehicle) and I include professional goods vehicle and coach drivers in this. Your driver however knows his stuff and he ensured there was plenty of space between us. This is where the story gets interesting. When your driver was about half way through his passing manoeuvre I saw the front of a silver car appear at an entrance on the offside of the road ahead of us. This driver of this vehicle was obviously only looking to their right as they started to emerge from the entrance, turning towards us, into the path of your coach.

Many drivers confronted with what your driver had to deal with would have forgotten my presence beside them and pulled back into the left lane. This would have required me to bail out by riding into the bank at the side of the road and crashing. Your driver did not do this. He was fully aware of me at all times and dealt with the situation by doing 3 things that I was aware of- 1) Started braking. 2) Sounded his horn and most importantly for me 3) held his position until we had both stopped. Once the coach had a clear road, your driver pulled away and continued on his way.

I did not get the chance to acknowledge your drivers skill and professionalism directly to him so hope that you can identify him from the route and time detail. If not, perhaps you can bring this e mail to the attention of all your drivers in order that he gets to see it. I am sure that the right man will recognise the incident.

Thanks again to your staff.

Well, this morning I got more 'Love' from a driver. The pilot of the O2 shuttle bus that was running between Maidenhead and Slough was behind me at traffic lights. These lights are at a point on the A4 which is, to be frank, bloody awful. My dental bills are bad enough without shaking the fillings out of my head over ruts and potholes. I therefore stick to the middle of the road until I clear the dodgy surface. The shuttle pilot waited patiently behind me, no over revving or tailgating until I pulled over to secondary position. I waved an acknowledgement as he started to pass and got a cheery wave in return.

O2 will be getting an e mail from me later!

The Only Way Is Up!

2010-05-24T14:02:00.004+01:00

No folks, relax. I'm not talking about the catchy little ditty by Yazz!

What I'm talking about is busting my cherry for hill climbing on my fixed gear.

I have been riding Stig, my fixed wheel conversion pretty much exclusively since early January this year and had not tackled any even slightly daunting uppage, let alone what I would consider a challenging hill.

Anyway, Saturday saw me invited to a friends surprise 60th birthday hog roast (the hog roast was the surprise, not the fact that it was his 60th!). I had a feeling that I might be led astray and have more beer poured down my throat than would be legal, let alone wise, to drive home on. I decided to ride Stig to the bash. My rationale being it would be a damn sight easier to push Stig the 5 miles home than to push my Mazda!

Come time to wend my way home I was right. Too much beerahol to allow me to drive but I was sober. Being sober and thinking straight however can often be very unrelated and Saturday evening was one of those occasions. As I left the party, the options were turn right and have a nice flat 10 mile pootle home OR turn left and have a big hill in the way. I remember my thought process perfectly. "Fuzzy, you have never ridden Stig up anything more demanding than the bridge over the Thames. What are you, man or mouse?"- "MAN"- cue left turn and after 2 minutes my arrival at the bottom of Marlow Hill.

Marlow Hill used to form a daily part of my commute to work. I would descend on the way in and ascend on the way home. This used to be on an 8 speed double road bike though. Saturday was on a 42x16 69" fixed. On one descent I broke the 50mph barrier-
so I knew the hill was a challenge. By the time I got to the top however, I felt like my lungs had done an Alien Chest Burster impersonation. I made it without stopping though! The only close call was the traffic lights about 3/4 of the way up. If I had to stop at them I would never have got moving again.

The ride down the hill to home was entertaining! Hooning down hill on a fixed wheel, clipped in on SPD's is an 'Interesting' experience!

You know it makes sense!

2010-05-21T12:46:00.002+01:00

I had a cracking commute in to work this morning. Nice clear skies and the temperature was just right (bib shorts, light base layer, short sleeve jersey and arm warmers).

The roads were fairly clear of traffic. Rabbits hopping around the grass verge, cows peering over the fence at me, herons stalking fish in the reeds of the streams adjacent to the road, swans and their cygnets and ducks with their ducklings in the Thames. The sun rising over Cliveden House and illuminating the mist hanging over the meadows.

I though to myself, is this the only sane way to travel to work? I suspect I will say yes as I ride home this evening, past the queues of vehicles waiting on the A4 because of the roadworks on Maidenhead Bridge (or because it is POETS Day).

Cycle commuting- what a way to travel!

Adhesion

2010-05-11T19:42:00.000+01:00

Having watched the last couple of stages of the Giro d’ Italia, there were lots of images of fallen cyclists and torn lycra and blood and road rash.

Now, like a lot of you cyclists out there, I have had my fair share of falling from the steed situations during which I have suffered varying levels of lumps and bumps and road rash. I then got thinking about the diverse downsides of these injuries. The thing is, for every downside I could think of at least one upside-

Bashed hip or thigh causing you to walk with a limp for a little while- get it right and folk will be falling over themselves to help you.

Broken collar bone- think of the tales you could weave about the way you smashed your body to bits but recovered and bravely cycle on.

Cuts and abrasions- these leave scars and (apparently) Chicks dig scars.

I then got to road rash.

Road rash can also leave scars and as I said, Chicks dig scars.
The problem with road rash is that it weeps and weeping road rash has a nasty side effect- adhesion.

When I get road rash, it is generally on my hip or the outside of my thigh and buttocks. I clean it up and try to get on with my life.

The problem with getting on with my life is that it involves things like wearing clothes and sleeping. I get dressed, pulling on lycra bib shorts for the ride to or from work, or underwear (I don’t do commando other than when wearing cycle kit) and the weepage from road rash sticks to the garments. I go to bed (I subscribe to the Marilyn Monroe sleep wear ethos- she wore Channel No.5 I wear whatever body spray or aftershave I have in the bathroom) and at some stage in the night roll on to my side. The weepage from road rash sticks to the sheets.

Unsticking from sheets or lycra hurts.

I hate adhesion.

Giro d' Italia

2010-05-10T15:36:00.004+01:00

The Grand Tour season is upon us and the first of the Grands is underway- The Giro d' Italia.

Of the three Grand Tours, I regularly watch the Giro and the Tour de France. The Vuelta a Espana has yet to grab me. I don't know why but that is the way it is.

The Giro started in The Netherlands this year. I watched the prologue in Amsterdam on Eurosport and have got to say- brilliant ride Bradley Wiggins! Cadel Evans has done himself no harm either.

I watched the stage 1 highlights (Amsterdam to Utrecht) on Eurosport last night. Ouch! It was carnage. I don't remember seeing so many significant crashes in one stage. I'm not sure if anyone was seriously hurt physicaly but, the splits in the bunch that the crashes caused have certainly hurt some of the riders GC times. Bradley lost the Maglia Rosa (leaders pink jersey) because he got distanced after being on the wrong side of a crash.

I don't know whay there was so many crashes- well, I lie, the traffic islands and road furniture caught lots of riders out but, I don't know why they were caught out. They knew the route was littered with hazards and have radios so they can be pre warned of approaching dangers. Something wasn't working though.

Makes for interesting racing.

Yehuda Moon and the kickstand cyclery

2010-05-05T13:50:00.002+01:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Over at yacf many a cyclist partakes in a bit of web browsing. A site that recieves plaudits from a diverse bunch of crank turners is the comic strip Yehuda Moon and the kickstand cyclery

Worth a visit and a bit of a chuckle.

Enjoy.

Best bit of cycling kit?

2010-04-22T13:22:00.005+01:00

I was thinking the other day when I was considering whether to spend more money on more kit- what is the best bit of cycling kit I own? Now, when I ask this, I am discounting actual bikes as cycling kit. What I was considering was things that I wear, things that I carry, thingst that I fix to my bike and things that I use to fix my bike.

There were a few candidates- my Tacx Spider workstand

was certainly in the running, as was my Altura Airstream jacket but for me, the hands down winner was my Exposure Joystick light-

(mine is red by the way).
I wear mine on a helmet mount-

This light is the dogs wossnames. it is light, bright, rechargeable and cable free. I have mine on the helmet because it gets me noticed. I have it on flashing mode and this seems to get noticed as it is higher than the general background clutter.

They can be a bit pricey but, if you are looking for really good lights, the Exposure range is well worth a look-
Exposure lights

A change of tack

2010-04-14T21:10:00.003+01:00

Over recent months, the Cycle Patrol fraternity amongs British police has come in for quite a bit of stick. The first aggro episode related to what was called the 93 page manual on how to ride a bike. This firestorm about nothing seems to have been lit and stoked by The Sun- obviously the Glitteratti of the Celebrity World hadn't been up to much in the preceeding 48 hours or so otherwise pages of rubbish about who had been seen clandestinely "talking" to who or which Premier League footballer had been arrested for what would have taken priority.

One of the journalists who wrote about this non event was Peter Walker of The Guardian. He went on to ask Is a 10 hour cycling course for Police a waste of time? which, when read closely is actually a genuine question. he wanted to know whether or not it WAS a waste of time. I responded to this and explained that the training was not about learning to ride but learning to use a bike as a tool. I suggested he have a go at training and he was interested. A friend from the City of London Police at Snow Hill, James Aveling (fellow instructor) contacted him and invited him to try a condensed version of the 4 day CoLP course. Peter accepted and subsequently posted about why he was foolish to mock police bike training. A number of things came out of this. 1) He learned what the training was about. 2) He learned some new skills. 3) He has written an article that supports the training we do. He also admits openly that he was wrong in his original cricism of the training ideas. Saying so publicly takes guts.

Respect to Peter Walker.

The importance of recycling

2010-03-29T19:30:00.002+01:00

Recycling has many benefits. Not only does it help towards saving the planet and making us feel better about ourselves, it can save a crap load of stress.

When Knuckles, my now deceased Saracen Morzine which I used as a commuter was dealt a fatal blow (reversed into by a truck which knocked me off and put a hefty dent in a seat stay) I dismantled him and saved as much as possible. As a result, his front wheel, complete with deflated tube and tyre were hanging in the garage roof.

What relevance is this? I hear you ask. Well, when it came time to leave for work this morning I was busy doing things at home that needed doing before I left. This meant that I was running about 30 minutes late (I usually get to work about 30 minutes early). It was at this time that I discovered Stigs front tyre was flatter than a hedgehog that got run over a fortnight ago. Cue much effing and blinding and the odd "Oh No!!! What am I going to do now?" cos I knew changing the tube would take a while but then a was hit with a flash of inspiration- Knuckles front wheel!

I ran to the garage, retrieved the wheel, swapped them out and inflated the replacement. I got to work, showered and entered the office dead on time.

That is why recycling is important.

She's right you know....

2010-03-25T15:51:00.002Z

In this article my friend Bicycleslut advises regular check of ones steed or things could get a bit 'emotional'. She knows her onions! I had an annoying noise from the bottom bracket area of Stig for a little while and couldn't work out what it was. Well, yesterday I solved it. 4 of the 5 bolts securing the chainring to the spider were finger tight or looser! That could have got really 'emotional' if I had been hooning it down a little hill.

Check your tackle riders! You know it makes sense.

The lycra is out!

2010-03-15T19:33:00.002Z

I don't know how long this will last but, it was warm enough today for me to go for my bib knickers instead of my trousers. I also ditched the long sleeved base layer in favour of short sleeves. A recipe for impending blizzards probably.

I subscribe to a few news feeds looking for bike patrol stories and I saw this in one of the e mails I got sent- very inspirational-

Bike repain man in Afghanistan

Tap tap tappity bl***y tap!

2010-03-11T12:18:00.002Z

...and other noises.

This morning as I rode Stig to work an annoying, worrying and irregular tapping noise was eminating from somewhere withing Stigs bowels. It started about half a mile into the ride and sounded like it was coming from the headset area. I knew it couldn't be a headset problem because I was riding in a straight line. I kept looking around the bottom bracket area and trying to see if I could feel any knocking or anything else during my pedal stroke. I couldn't feel a thing out of the ordinary. After about 20 minutes of fretting over whether this was the sound of Stig in his death throes I sussed it out. My left shoe lace dangly bit was a little bit longer than usual this morning. The tappity tap noise was the plasticated end of the lace hitting my water bottle- Doh!

The other noise I heard this morning was a kind of Spoing sound. I can only describe it as the sort of noise made by a tired old mattress or sofa when you sit on it. I looked around again and then relaised what it was. I coud see Snowdrops that had flowered. The Spoing was Spring in the final stages of winding itself up to, well, spring!

Wahoo!

2010-03-04T16:23:00.002Z

Hey Gang! How is everyone?

I've been out of circulation for a while due to workload (at work and at home) and have been neglecting my blog. Excuse me while I hang my head in shame.........

OK, that's enough shame for one day.

My mileage log is looking more neglected than my blog. Unfortunately Cyclogs, the logging site I use has been experiencing problems and the guy that runs it needs to rewrite some of the code. he is in the same boat as I was and we will have to wait for him to get time to do his thing.

My mileage is also taking a bit of a beating. I am sure I am nowhere near the mileage I was at same time last year. To be honest, I haven't been enjoying my saddle time so much recently. Part of the reason for this I think was that I wasn't reaching my targets. I have decided now that I am going to bin the target of 300 miles per month. I will still log my miles but not get so worked up about reaching the 300 miles. I am going to get back to getting the miles in because I want to ride- not because I need to reach a magic number. Another reason for not enjoying the riding is because I am getting hacked off withe the weather. I don't mind riding in the cold or the wet, or even the odd cold wet ride but, this winter seems to have been going on for ever! Now the days are drawing out and the weather is improving, I am starting to get the buzz again!

I had a good ride home the other evening. I am still on Stig and am developing a bit of a taste for riding fixed. Anyhoo, as I was riding along the Bourne End to Marlow road, a roadie on a nice Scott (CR1 I think) blasted past me. I hadn't heard him coming so was a bit startled. Anyway, he started to pull away so I tried accelerating to keep up (yep, you got it- Commuter Racing mode was well and truly engaged). He was on soot and titanium chimera whilst I was on a steel and luggage laden fixed so I was on a hiding to nothing but I kept trying. When I reached the A404/ A4155 roundabout though, he had sat up and I managed to pass him. Had I caused him to blow by working hard to reel him in or was he resting? I know what I think.........

Mind that ho..........!

2010-01-18T14:17:00.004Z

One downside to the recent snow filled fun has been the effect the snow and ice has had on the road surfaces. Roads the country over are falling apart now, with potholes of varying sizes, from putting green cup size up to Grand Canyon scale behemoths.

These potholes can be sneaky buggers, hiding at the bottom of innocent looking puddles or lurking in the shadows cast by bike or following car lights. One of the things we try to teach when taking bike patrol courses is that puddles should be avoided when riding for just this reason. Hitting a big pothole at speed can really ruin your wheel, if not your whole day.

In fact, potholes caused a couple of moments of consternation on my commute in this morning. Today was the first day back on Stig, my fixed wheel road bike after relying on Jeeves whilst dealing with the snow. I found myself trying to set up to bunny hop or ‘soften up’ on the pedals and handlebars to ride over a pothole. Cue the “You dumb idiot, you’re riding a fixed” bouncy on the pedals and rapid unplanned deceleration moment.

I’ll get used to fixed eventually!

Anyway, returning to the potholes, if you have problems in your area visit http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/ to report it. They will make sure the right council is notified.

Ride safe folks.

Snow poblem...

2010-01-06T19:27:00.001Z

As I write, I am preparing to get changed and ride home. 10 and a smidge miles and the white stuff is still falling from the sky. Yay!

Last night I did the same thing. When I started the ride, all the roads had a good coating of snow. I was on Stig and his 700 X 23 road tyres were able to cut through the snow and get grip on the road beneath. The ride was great, the snow had that sound deadening quality that makes me feel like I'm riding through the inside of a quilt. What little traffic that as on the road took it easy and gave me loads of room when passing- if it could go fast enough to pass that is. The ride was pretty much incident free, just a few loose moments as I negotiated the odd wide compacted wheel track. 50 minutes of glorious fun. The only problem was getting the snow out of the vents in my helmet.

The ride into work today was on my utility bike, a 1990’s 7 speed steel framed nil suspension MTB. I have decided to call him Jeeves as he is my ‘Bike that does’. Anyway, the main roads were slush covered with the side roads either slush, compacted snow or a combination of both. Once again the ride was incident free. This time however, the motorised traffic was a tad faster than last night. As they overtook, sometimes they did so with one set of wheels in the thick slush line- cue slush explosion from under the car/ truck etc. I managed to avoid getting coated. 47 minutes of having a blast.

Unlike a couple of folk I know, I don’t own a Surly Pugsley. One day maybe……

Never underestimate the effectiveness of one wheel drive.

2010-01-02T17:17:00.001Z

Well, Stigs transformation is complete-

The next images are of the conversion that I did-

42 tooth chainring moved to the outside of the spider

with flat spots filed onto washers to space out the now too long chainring bolts

The business end

and a none too shabby chain line considering I did no spacing of sprocket, chainring, bottom bracket etc.

My first ride of 2010 was aboard Stig. I'd never ridden a fixed before so limited myself to a loop of slightly over 13 miles which took in flat, slight ascending, more pronounced ascending (last 100 yards of Marlow Hill in High Wycombe) and some descending.

A few things became evident-
1) Riding fixed certainly requires better anticipation than a freewheel bike.
2) With the current set up, 23.5 mph is the max comfortable descending speed.
3) Trying to freewheel when riding a fixed is an ‘odd’ experience.

The anticipation relates to many things, arriving at traffic lights as they change to green to allow a good launch, unweighting the saddle at the right point in the pedal stroke when negotiating speed bumps etc.

The descending speed cadence at 23.5 mph was as fast as I could comfortably maintain. Faster had me bouncing in the saddle. I thought this odd as hooning along a flat at 24.5 mph was not uncomfortable in that way- just lung and muscle busting.

This fixed lark could be habit forming.

More reports as I get the miles in.

Happy New Year folks.

2009-12-31T19:49:00.002Z

Well, Stig has undergone his first bout of surgery-

All I have to do now is learn to ride him.........

More photo's after he has had te odd nip and tuck to tidy him up.

Christmas.

2009-12-23T15:59:00.002Z

In the next copule of days I expect to recieve a delivery from a big dude in a red coat and hat with a white beard. This delivery will be in the form of a new back wheel for Stig, a fixed wheel no less!

I haven't told him yet but he is soon to undergo surgery. I will be performing a cassettectomy on him so that the next time I ride him, I better remember NOT to stop pedalling

I probably wont get on the web between now and the New Year so I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cold Turkey

2009-12-21T21:25:00.001Z

...as in "I'm going Cold Turkey". There is loads of snow out there and I can't play in it!

Due to work commitments, I have spent most of the last week getting to and from work by car. I want to be riding to and from work on the trusty rigid MTB.

I'm missing riding my bikes.

I guess it isn't summer any more.

2009-12-01T11:54:00.002Z

When I woke this morning I noticed a definite chill in the air. I looked outside and saw the reason- the first proper frost of the autumn (or is it winter yet?). After yesterdays wind and rain I have accepted that the summer is definitely over. As I arrived at work yesterday, my crewmate got into work at the same time, driving his Porsche. he commented that only a dedicated loon would ride in the weather w were experiencing. That got me to thinking. Am I a dedicated loon or just someone who has experienced the full range of weather conditions England provides for me to ride in and has equipped himself to deal with?

My summer riding kit is basically a pair of bib shorts, a short sleeved jersey, ankle socks, mitts and sunglasses.

My autumn/ winter kit is any combination of the following-

For feet. Sports socks, GoreTex over socks, Sealskinz socks, touring shoes, GoreTex overshoes.

For lower body. Padded shorts, knee warmers, quick dry cycling trousers, Rainlegs.

For upper body. Short sleeved base layer, long sleeved base layer, arm warmers, windproof fleece cycling jacket, windproof fleece gilet, waterproof cycling jacket.

For head and neck. Windproof skull cap, micro fleece head and ear warmer band, Buff, motorcyclist neck tube, helmet.

For hands. Endura singletrack gloves, Specialized Equinox gloves (knackered but baggy enough to fit over-) coolmax inner gloves. Waterproof heavyweight gloves.

For eyes. Interchangeable sunglasses/ clears.

I have learned that the important thing is to get the layering right. Too much and I sweat so much that I am soaked at the end of the ride. not enough and I am still freezing at the end of the ride though I will have perspired slightly and the cold makes it worse.

The trick is to accept that you will be cold for the first 5 minutes or so after which your physical efforts warm you up just right.

I do wish however that I could find some shorts with a windproof gusset. The coldest bit of my body in any ride always seems to be my nethers. Getting to the end of a winter ride and needing the loo can be a bit of a problem with cold and withered nethers. You guys out there will know what I mean. You lasses don't know how lucky you are!