2Wheel Chick

My Cycling Moment of the Week - 2

2012-01-30T23:32:00.001Z

It is great to hear that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the National Trust have decided to increase spectator capacity on Box Hill. Where originally access was limited to just 3,500 spectators for the Cycle Race, this figure has now been increased to 15,000. After missing out on tickets for the track cycling, myself and many other cycling fans I know had been relying on going to Box Hill for a piece of cycle racing action. It was quite disappointing therefore, to discover that there would only be comparatively few people having access to Box Hill.

For most club cyclists in London and the South East, Box Hill is a cycling mecca. Its zig zags to the summit make Box Hill the nearest you get to an Alpine climb. To be honest, it's not that tough as climbs go. It's probably one of the easiest of the Surrey Hills to cycle up. But there is something quite iconic about riding up the zig zags, and then when you reach the top the views over Surrey are too impressive to be missed. Oh, and there's a National Trust tea shop that serves the best cakes. Many club cyclists like to ride up Box Hill as fast possible, using it as a de facto hill climb competition, then collapse in a heap at the summit, thus justifying the need for cake.
Go to Box Hill on any weekend and you will find cyclists in their droves riding up the hill, and even more queuing up for their just friandise!

So really, the inclusion of Box Hill as part of the London 2012 Road Race route has been a good call in terms of showcasing cycling in London.

The trouble is, every single cyclist and their friends and family including Old Uncle Tom Cobley will want to be there - especially given the popularity of road racing nowadays. That will make slightly more than 15,000 people applying for tickets, I think! Although I am happy to know that my chance of getting access to Box Hill has suddenly benefited from a 4-fold increase, I don't think there is any cause for celebration. The section around Box Hill will now also be a ticketed event, with tickets on sale in April. The capacity at the Olympic Stadium is 80,000 but yet lots of people lost out in the ballot for tickets for the athletics events. So, if past record is anything to go by, I will only get onto Box Hill if there is a small section reserved for Greco-Roman wrestling where the cyclists wouldn't even bother to ride by! Or, I'll just resign myself to not getting a ticket and start making alternative plans. Leatherhead, here I come!

Victoria's New Bikes

2012-01-30T14:07:00.000Z

Following on from the successful Cycletta events which aim encourage more women into cycling, Victoria Pendleton has taken things one step further by launching a range of women's bicycles for new lady cyclists.

In the genteel neighbourhood of Knightsbridge, a very graceful Ms Pendleton showed off one of her two-wheelers - the stylish blue and cream Somerby.

Victoria got the idea of launching this new range while at the Cycletta ride last year. She noted the great number of women doing their first ever cycling event were using bicycles borrowed from their son, their brother or another male relative.
The ladies expressed a wish to ride a women-specific bicycle that they can use for keeping fit, and something that they can look good on when riding.

With that in mind, the Olympic Individual Sprint Cycling Champion set to work designing bicycles that would suit new women cyclists and women looking for a traditional bike that can be ridden in neat non-cycling clothing.

So, from 22nd March (online)and 29th March in stores we ladies will have the choice of a step through Somerby with optional basket on the front, a Brooke hybrid, or a Dalby hybrid with more gears and mud guards - all at reasonable prices from Halfords.

"I have cycled since I was 6, so I know a bit about bikes," said the eight-time World Track Cycling champion. "These bikes are designed to be lightweight, functional and useable, though not competing with performance bikes. I just want women to enjoy riding their bike while looking good. I'm really excited to have had the opportunity to design these bikes."

My personal favourite is the Somerby as I fancy something that I can wear with a skirt. I may have a little penchant for the rough and tumble of a bike race, but it's still nice to feel like a lady when I ride my bike at other times. Good call, Victoria!

My Cycling Moment of the Week - 1

2012-01-20T19:13:00.001Z

Happy New Year All!

Inspired by Andrew Neil's This Week programme I have decided to post my moment of the week on the blog. It won't be about politics (or at least only where it relates to cycling), I won't have the charm of Michael Portillo, the smoothness of Diane Abbott or the looks of Jacqui Smith! But it will be weekly and it will be on here rather than in a late-night studio with soft lights and a cosy settee. You won't even need BBC i-player to look at the post if you miss the first airing of the piece! It'll just be sitting here for you, dear Reader - for your enjoyment as you sip a glass of Blue Nun!

So, here is the first instalment.

Dear Miss David,

I am writing to both cyclists and drivers to remind them to take care on London’s roads.

Cyclists are reminded to:
• Be aware of blind spots all around large vehicles. It’s often safer to hang back
• Make eye contact with drivers to make sure they have seen you
• Not ride through red traffic lights. It’s dangerous and you can be fined £30
• Allow space between you and parked vehicles. Doors may be opened suddenly
Cycle training courses are available in most London boroughs.
For more information, please visit tfl.gov.uk/cyclesafety

Yours sincerely,

Ben Plowden
Director, Surface Planning

The good people at Transport for London (TfL) sent this rather helpful email (above) to cyclists earlier this week providing tips and guidelines.

I must admit that when I received it I could see the good intentions behind the note and how it could be useful to new cyclists. However, it made me chuckle a little and a sentence along the lines of granny and suck eggs crossed my mind.

Some of my fellow cyclists were particularly inflamed by the email and poured scorn on the memo, dismissing TfL as patronising and completely missing the point in terms of ensuring cyclists’ safety on London’s roads.

Although I did not react in the same way, I think that the people who got annoyed do have a point.

We have just rounded off a bad year for cyclists in London, with sixteen riders killed on the capital’s roads in 2011 (compared with ten in 2010). There were even two fatal accidents in as many weeks on the Bow roundabout, on one of the Mayor of London’s signature Cycle Superhighways.

Clearly, a review and re-design of busy junctions needs to take place. If people received details of the new measures being implemented, that would give a better signal to cyclists that TfL are addressing our needs.

A note like the one above may be useful to a newby commuter cyclist, but really TfL would be given more credit if they demonstrated what they will be doing to improve traffic flows for cyclists. Strangely enough I don't see any briefing to motorists reminding them not to drive so close to cyclists, cut us up at junctions or jump red lights....

TfL announced last week that it will be re-designing the cycle route on the Bow roundabout. I look forward to them sending me an email setting out the new cycle facilities.

That's your lot for this week!

A Year in Words

2011-12-31T18:38:00.000Z

The weather in 2011 was quite memorable - from a snowy January in Yorkshire to a wet balmy December in Sligo. I got a good soaking on the Champs Elysees in July, though had enjoyed glorious sunshine on my bike tour of Cork and Kerry in April. We even experienced tropical temperatures on the North and South Downs in October. The weather did go a little topsy turvy in 2011 but it certainly wasn't dull!

With all this talk of revolutions and natural disasters, not to mention certain economic pressures on my purse it's not surprising that I didn't get out of the UK much. In 2011 I learnt to appreciate my home country that bit more. I did various trips to other parts of England - a boat trip along the River Ouse in November, riding around the South Downs in October and the New Forest in November, going to the Notting Hill Carnival for the first time in decades in August, Morris dancing in East Yorkshire in December, and walking the Three Peaks in June. I did a bit of English Theatre in February, French Theatre in March, and Italian poetry in May just by hopping on the number 3 bus to Oxford Circus!

2011 was a year in which I met lots of new folks - mainly through the cycle journalism. Jens Voigt (July), Victoria Pendleton (September), Mike Smith (December) were the more famous names, but I also met various cyclists when gathering vox pops for event features and through interviewing people. I found that no matter how confident you may be there's always that apprehension, during that first meeting, about making the first 20 secounds count. The pressure to have a stimulating conversation or get an interesting quote always lurks.

I have done alot of visualisation this year to get myself into the right frame of mind when leaving my comfort zone. I've visualised so much that I'm almost tuned out of the real world!

I don't know how much impact I actually made on the interviewees, or if these folks even remember me. Whatever, I'm happy with the way things went!

Of course this has been the year for lots of writing. In 2011 I had regular slots in Cycling Active and event features in Cycling Weekly magazines, as well as features in Cross-Crazy, Sportsister and Bike Magic online magazines. Thanks to the editors of the publications for taking a chance on me! :)

You may or may not have gathered that I do like putting pen to paper (albeit in a virtual sense). Sometimes it comes out abit waffly. Sometimes it's lucid. Occasionally it's higgeldy piggledy as I have been known to write my blog entries in the small hours of the morning after a tipple. Either way, writing has always been and always will be a pleasurable activity for me.

Huge thanks to you, for reading my bits and pieces during 2011.

Happy New Year!

Cyclist meets Huntsmen

2011-12-29T14:57:00.000Z

I usually like to take a walk on Boxing Day and burn off a few calories before the next deluge of Christmas stuffing.

As I was up North on this occasion I decided to add a little more interest to the outing by stopping by at the gathering for the Holderness Hunt in Beverley.

I'm not a fan of fox-hunting but I was still curious to see what goes on at these events and what type of people attend.

The masters of the Holderness Hunt had actually placed an article in the local newspaper inviting people to come along for a meet and greet session prior to them galloping off with their hounds.

So at around 11am on Boxing Day I and around 2,000 other townsfolk rolled up into Westwood Pasture. There were around 70 horseriders out and about all dressed up in their best livery. Their horses had also been dolled up for the occasion - with plaited mains, some with tinsel on, their coats trimmed and hooves clipped.

I was struck by how many women were out. It seemed like more than half the riders were women, many of them dressed up like Zara Phillips lookylikies. Once I got talking to them though, there was no chance of mistaking them for a royal. They were just straight-talking Yorkshire lasses! To be honest, in a funny way it made them seem more approachable and less stuffy. The riders were polite and friendly, and many of them seemed to have just come along for the ride. It was a chance to have a Christmas chinwag with other horsey friends and a quick hack around the local fields in East Yorkshire. The hunt was scheduled to leave around midday and finish around 3pm, though many of them were not expecting to stay out that long.

For some, a combination of the Christmas hangover and being up grooming and preparing their horse had put paid to anything longer.

Just before midday the master called everyone to order, ready for the off. Firstly he made the traditional Merry Christmas, "thanks to everyone for turning out etc," and then made the slightly controversial "please bear with David Cameron, I know he will repeal this unworkable hunting act, he's just got alot on his plate right now, please understand that the Conversatives are our friends and they have a strong bond with the Countryside Alliance."

And with that, the dogs were let out, the bugle sounded and the huntsmen and women rode over the Wolds in the December sunshine. Who knows what happened next....

I must say it was interesting to watch a few of the proceedings. I guess in that part of the world, these activities are part and parcel of their heritage and also the livelihoods of many folks in the area. It is still difficult to digest the brutality of what happens to the foxes though, so I can't say I am a supporter.
On a personal note, I was glad to meet the riders because I am likely to meet a lot of them on the local bridleways when doing my off-road bike rides. Speaking to the different horseriders in the area helps in maintaining good relations with other bridleway users - which is always a good thing.

Night Clubbing

2011-12-29T02:35:00.000Z

You don't have to confine your weekend cycling to Saturday and Sunday morning club runs. How about a Saturday night?
That's what me and Higg did. Ok, so it was just a club run of two but then size doesn't matter as they say!

It's not always necessary to travel out so far to reach off-road trails. There is a pleasant circuit in nearby Banstead, so that's where we went. This was also the chance for me to use the Exposure Lights that I have on loan.

Good lights make such a difference to a night riding experience. I was using the Toro model on my handlebars and the Diablo on my helmet. As we weren't moving very fast it was possible to leave the Toro on the low setting and have the Diablo on medium. In fact, I found that if I left the Toro off completely it was still possible to see perfectly well with the Diablo alone. The Diablo has quite a powerful beam considering that it's just a helmet light.
Having two sets of lights is very helpful though when going round twisty trails, especially on a fast descent.

On we plodded through the Wallington small holdings and then on to Surrey Oaks Park and through to Banstead. It was great just riding along and not having anyone else around - not even animals. I think our presence scared away the most audacious of foxes - or maybe they just chose to have a night in with their mates! Ironically you notice so much more at night since your senses become heightened, and you see lots of lights in the distance from various places you had been unaware of by day - other buildings across Surrey, or the London skyline way in the distance.

There is also a night-time feel in the damp atmosphere which feels charged up as though something was about to happen, and you wait in anticipation. But nothing happens - it's just unassuming woodland in the London suburbs.

The ground beneath my wheels shows up as varying shades of black, and I can't tell what the texture is until I ride through it. Generally, the going is a constant medium to firm and easy to ride through. The fun gets thrown into the mix when the bike suddenly decelerates and pedalling becomes laboured - I keep turning the pedals, without really knowing when this interlude will end, or what it has taken me through. It is only when I get home that I find out whether it was mud or manure that I rode through! It's also interesting to check out the other bits and pieces I inadvertently pulled on my night out - dried leaves, pieces of twig, even the odd piece of rotten fruit.

When we started our ride at sunset the weather was still balmy and mild, but once the sun has well and truly retired I notice the drop in temperature more acutely and it's therefore better to not be out for too long. After about an hour we turn around to take the descent back home. It was a good way to spend a Saturday evening. We didn't do an all-night session and we weren't treated to pumping techno beats, but going out on a night ride is a rave - it rocks!

Photos by Higg

Shoot Story - The Chilterns

2011-12-20T04:26:00.001Z

My ride story on cycling around Great Missenden is in the current issue of Cycling Active magazine (The Dahling of the Chilterns, Cycling Active - January 2012).

The story's not bad if I don't mind saying (!). What I like best though is the "Big Picture" feature in the opening pages of the magazine. This month the photo chosen for that feature was one taken during the photo shoot for that ride story. Andy Jones, the snapper on the day did a great job on the photo and, what seemed like a rather tedious job at the time actually turned out very well.

The other photos featured in the article also look good too. So, with that in mind I thought I would put in a few memories of the day.

The ride was originally meant to take place one Thursday in October, but typically that was the one day that week when it poured with rain. Thankfully both Andy and I were able to rejig our schedules to do it the following day, which turned out to be lovely and sunny. Bad weather is one of the main occupational hazards when doing ride story photo shoots.

I arrived at Great Missenden train station feeling really good that I was going to do a shoot on a swish stylish new bike that my peers weren't riding. I had new cycling clothes, kindly sent to me by the cycling mag. I felt good in myself - and the sun was shining.

When I met Andy he told me straight away that my drop handlebars had been raised too high and it made my bike look stupid. He also said that one of the other writers had exactly the same bike and had been riding his for a few months. So I wasn't riding anything that original!

Like with other photo shoots, I had already recc'ed the area so I knew where to go for the shots. Our first spot was Great Missenden High Street, which had lovely quaint houses. When I had previously been there the road was nice and quiet - ideal for a country village shot. In fact on the day of the shoot it was not much worse than Piccadilly Circus! For a small high street there was alot going on. Even worse, it was the Friday of half-term school holidays and we were trying to get photos of the main attraction - the Roald Dahl museum.
Loads of kids were out with their parents going to visit the museum or its cafe. Some people politely stopped to allow Andy to take the shot of the building, but then a delivery van or a 4 x 4 or an Audi driven by a lady who lunches would pass by so everything was scuppered.

To get the shot I needed to wait, parked on my bike some distance from the cafe ready to quickly ride by and be photographed riding in front of the museum when the road is clear.
The folks who only saw me but not Andy must have thought I was a bit odd, just waiting on a bike in anticipation of something that wasn't actually apparent.
The folks who only saw Andy must have thought he was even odder. A bloke with 2 large cameras hanging from his neck, loitering around opposite a kid's venue! I assumed he had his explanation properly lined up if a police officer came along!

A man in one of the nearby shops came out and started chatting to Andy about photography. Andy, naturally very into his subject, talked quite knowledgably and enthusiastically and it was quickly apparent that the bloke didn't know much at all about this art. After a short while the man went back to his business. I guess he was just sussing out Andy, and the "conversation on photography" had been a pretext.

We finally got our pictures, thankfully without needing too many takes, and we moved on to the next part of the route.

Along many of the roads around Great Missenden are large "No HS2" posters giving out different messages of protestation to the Government. In case you don't know, plans are underway to route a high speed railway line from London to Birmingham straight through the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Looking at how beautiful the area looked on this autumn day it's hard to believe that anyone would want to destroy such an idyllic area. There are lots of nice cycling and walking trails (including the historic Ridgeway long distance trail) plus nature reserves. It would be a terrible shame to dig all this up.

On our travels through the woods we got chatting to local walkers and residents who highlighted the situation to us. Once they knew we were taking pictures for a magazine they encouraged us to take photos of the area to show the public what we would lose if this "monstrosity" were given the green light. One woman was prepared to give her name and be quoted in the article. Sadly, this didn't actually fit the brief of what we were doing.
Andy did take some great shots of the area and the beauty of the Chilterns certainly comes out in the feature. So if you look at the article, look hard at the pictures and enjoy them - who knows how much longer this will exist....

One of the conundrums of doing a shoot off-road is that you want to look stylish and neat on your bike in the photos, but in reality people don't look so well manicured when off road - especially when riding through muddy trails!

On a shoot with Andy we often just take photos in one area, dismantle the bike, put it in Andy's car and then drive to the next place. On this ride, I didn't think it was worth going through that palava just to drive relatively short distances so I rode to the different areas and arranged to meet Andy at the given spots.

Embarrassingly, in my wisdom I took one off-road trail that I thought would be a nice short cut. The trails we had been on that day were clear and dry. Sadly, this one wasn't. I got caught up in lots of brambles, it was extremely muddy and in parts the trail was too steep for me to ride. I ended up walking through the muddy trails and getting my hands cut on the brambles. When I met Andy in the next village my legs and shoes were all muddy and I was covered in catkins!

Also, the lovely new bike was not looking so swish and stylish anymore! This probably didn't impact on the shoot for this particular feature as we were at the end of the first session. The problem was the photos taken during the afternoon session were for another story that would be predominantly on road. So that won't look so good! Hopefully the picture editors will be able to salvage something decent. All the fun of a photo shoot!

Photos by Andy Jones

Boardman teams up with Dallaglio and Flintoff

2011-12-12T09:10:00.006Z

This Autumn I have mostly been riding Boardman bikes.
Earlier in September I had the pleasure of riding the Boardman Team Carbon Fi (female informed) road bike at the CTC Champions women's cyclo sportive. It was a challenging hilly course but the lightweight bike coped well.
Since October I've been riding the Boardman CX Team cyclo cross bike. Again it handles well thanks to its sturdiness, and the disc brakes are very helpful when on undulating technical terrain. (See the reviews I wrote for Sportsister and Bike Magic)
I will soon have the chance to ride the Boardman Urban Mountainbike Team. Hopefully this will be just as much a joy to ride as the other Boardman bikes I have ridden.
It seems I'm not the only one riding Boardman Bikes.

Former rugby international Lawrence Dallaglio and cricketing legend Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff are embarking on a 2,817km gruelling cycle ride from Olympia (Greece) to London next year. It will be for their Cycle Slam 2012, in aid of Cancer Research UK and children’s charities. They too will be riding Road Pro Carbon bikes, as well as receiving mechanical support from Halfords.
The two sporting heroes are due to start their epic ride on 23rd April (St George's Day) in Olympia, and finish one month later in the Olympic Park, London. The terrain won't be easy. Who knows how they will fare! But at least they will have pretty decent kit to get them through the challenge. Best of Luck guys!
To find out more on how Dallaglio and Flintoff are getting on, and to help with their cause check out the DallaglioFlintoff2012 website.

SPOTY - It's not about the BBC

2011-12-06T09:15:00.004Z

There's been a lot of furore over the lack of women featured on the nominations list for BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY).
Twitter has been virtually ablaze with fiery emails from female sports pundits and personalities, while others have branded the BBC as disgraceful and called on women to boycott the show.

I must admit that I was a little disappointed at the sight of an all-male shortlist, especially given that some of the men listed, eg Andy Murray have never won a major tournament, while the likes of four time World Ironman Triathlon champion Chrissie Wellington did not get a look in. True also that Sarah Stevenson should have been given credit for her inspirational victory, winning the World Tae Kwon Do championships shortly after losing both her parents to cancer a short time before (maybe she will honoured with the Helen Rollasson award). I could go on....

But let's look more closely at the situation. In its 58 year history BBC SPOTY has had 13 female winners (including ice dancer Jayne Torvill). Swimmer Anita Lonsbrough was the first woman to win this accolade in 1962, and Zara Phillips was the last female to win the award, back in 2006.

Every year there have been female nominees. I am therefore not in a rush to brand this award scheme as sexist when women have had a history of being recognised and celebrated in the BBC SPOTY awards. This year is the first time ever that no female sports star has been nominated under the current voting system. This year is showing as the anomaly.

Of the panel of editors from 27 publications 10 (The Independent, The People, The Irish Times, Metro, Evening Standard, Nuts, Daily Post, Western Mail, Daily Star Sunday, and Zoo) did not vote for a single woman. The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Voice fared best by each voting for 3 women.
Rebecca Adlington received 6 votes, Keri Anne Payne had 5 and Chrissie Wellington got 3. After that there was a spread of various names mentioned - Jessica Ennis, Sarah Stevenson, Victoria Pendleton, Kath Grainger, Shanaze Reade, Hannah England, Stef Reid and Nicola Adams.

People have been outraged that the nomination panel included editors from Nuts and Zoo magazine. According to a spokesperson from the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation a woman would definitely have been among the nominations if these strongly male dominated publications had not been on the panel, and women's sport magazine Sportsister had been included.

She may have a point. Boxer, Amir Khan, who is among the shortlist of nominees received just one vote more than Rebecca Adlington. But then again, why should we be worried about such and such a publication. Is it not a question of attitudes and awareness?

In the past, people like Paula Radcliffe, Kelly Holmes, Liz McColgan, Princess Anne and Fatima Whitbread have all been presented with the famous television camera shaped trophy.

What else do these women have in common? They all took part in sports which already had a high profile (apart from Princess Anne, who is high profile). So when the editors of the various publications have to submit their nominations they will automatically think of women in high profile sports - names that are already in the public consciousness.

Sports like triathlon and tae kwon do not quite fit that bill, let alone the names of the people who take part - still less the folks in these sports who could be dubbed sports personalities! Note that no male athletes from these sports made it onto the shortlist either.

The work to nominate a sportstar for the SPOTYs needs to be done a long time beforehand - at least before the request for nominations reaches the editor's desk. The role of the sports federations, governing bodies and sports marketing PR companies needs to be called into question here.

Nominations are made on the basis of the diet the editors and public opinion has been fed over several months - even years.
Cyclist Mark Cavendish appears to be a favourite among the nominees this year. It is only really this year that he has become a household name - despite claiming many victories in the Tour de France and in other major cycle races over the last 3 years. In fact it has only been in the last 4 years that the general public have renewed their interest in cycling as a sport.

In short, the most notable achievements by women sports stars this year have either been in minority sports or sports that do not have such a high profile.

Furthermore, the athletes in question have not been backed by a significant publicity machine.

Without these key elements athletes like Keri Anne Payne, Rebecca Adlington or Chrissie Wellington would not be absorbed so readily into the public consciousness.

So, let's look at those high profile sports that the general public follow - tennis, athletics, cycling, football, cricket, rugby, motorsport, golf, boxing. Have there been any outstanding performances by British women on the world stage in these sports this year? Tennis? absolutely not! Motorsport? Golf? Cricket? Cycling? Victoria Pendleton failed to keep her sprint title at the World Track Cycling Championships despite being the favourite. Nicole Cooke finished outside of the medals at the World Road Race Championships. Football? The England ladies made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup this year. A little disappointing considering they had high hopes - speaking of which, Hope Powell must surely deserve manager of the year for being the longest serving manager of a national football team in the Britain. Boxing? Interestingly Nicola Adams received one vote from the panel of editors. Athletics? Jessica Ennis literally threw away all hopes during the heptathlon. But hey, Hannah England won silver in the 1500m. The England women's rugby team, under their impressive captain Maggie Alphonsi beat the All-Blacks twice this year - a feat that their male counterparts can only dream of, and would have filled column feet of the back pages. But the public barely heard a peep out of the sports writers regarding the achievements of the rugby girls.

So, women's versions of these sports do exist. But there's just not that much coverage of it.

Which leads to another very important point - investment in women's sport. A recent report by the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport revealed that between Janary 2010 and August 2011 UK Sponsorship of women's elite sport was a paltry 0.5% of the total sports sponsorship market. Small wonder that public awareness of women's sport is low.
According to the BBC, the SPOTY award goes to the sports person "whose actions have most captured the public's imagination." It's hard to capture the public imagination if the public is unaware of the actions!

So, if this is the landscape in which women's sport exists, how can you expect to reap a healthy crop of female SPOTY nominations when it is ultimately down to a handful of esoterics and experts on minority sports to come up with some names?

It is not wholely down to the BBC to change prevailing attitudes. There needs to be a concerted policy across all quarters to shift public opinion of women's sport in general. Investment, sponsorship, greater support from sports federations, and a joined up communications plan.

Meanwhile, the BBC stands to gain out of this polemic. As a result of the countless comments and analyses on SPOTY, this award ceremony which was previously perceived as a dreary, cringeworthy display of mutual back-slapping has instantly become a cool, must-be-seen-at gig!

Who knows, as a result of all this talk we may see a change in the nomination patterns. Or might we see something new borne out of this along the lines of the Edinburgh Fringe? An alternative women's SPOTY could be set up which becomes bigger and more coveted than the stuffy bland original! And maybe that would change perceptions.

Off-Road Spin - 2

2011-11-30T23:49:00.003Z

Here's another route which goes through the Surrey hills. This time it's going up to Leith Hill Tower, the highest point in Surrey.

I have ridden there from my home before, using the network of trails from West Croydon and the trails mentioned in Off-Road Spin-1. That ends up being quite an epic day.

It's probably quicker to jump on one of the frequent trains to Dorking and then start from there, as shown on the map. You then have the chance to try out other places along the way, such as Box Hill - or go further afield towards Gomshall and Peaslake, another big mountain biking meeting point in the Surrey Hills.

Anyway, enough waffle - here is the route from Dorking to Leith Hill Tower - a full write-up can be found on the Sportsister magazine website, where I originally wrote this piece.

(photos by Higg)

Thanks!

2011-11-24T23:57:00.001Z

We don't do Thanksgiving in the UK as such, though since many people know someone from North America people usually acknowledge this feast day - rather like how many non-Irish people celebrate St Patrick's Day.

So I usually pick this day to say thanks.

I have had a reasonably good 2011 so far. Finding myself out of work, and a small problem in the family have stopped 2011 from being a great year. However, there have been lots of good things that have happened to me and I still feel that I have been lucky.

I haven't had any serious illness, or any family tragedy. I haven't been hit by any of the terrible natural disasters there have been this year.

A few people I know have had the misfortune of breaking bones while cycle racing, or being knocked off their bikes while commuting. None of that has happened to me.

I feel very thankful to have stayed healthy, to have been just about able to make ends meet, and to have had healthy food - as well as good wine and some enjoyable bike rides.

Touch wood that the trend continues. And if it does, I will be even more thankful!

Off-Road Spin - 1

2011-11-22T08:16:00.000Z

I like to get out on a little off-road spin around London. It doesn't need to be anything hardcore or onerous. It's surprising how many little cycle paths and trails there can be not far from your doorstep.

I'm always impressed at how easy it is to find nice country lanes even within the London conurbation. Fair enough, this isn't Wales or the Lake District, but the areas still make for very pretty views on an autumn day and they are fairly easy to get to. Overall the trails are a good starter for 10 before you get into more involved stuff, and they are also a handy half-way house if you can't be out cycling for too long.

Surrey Trails - Wallington to Reigate
Today's route goes from Wallington to Reigate via Banstead, Epsom Downs and Walton on the Hill, fringing the North Downs. From Reigate the route then goes over a of couple of ridges near Kingswood and through Chipstead to reach the start point. We don't quite get to the famous Box Hill, but we go quite near to it. You do get comparable vistas when you reach Reigate Hill though, and you can even say hello to the cows up there!

This route is 98% within the M25 motorway boundary so you are very much in the London area. That means there are lots of roads that you can take if you need a fast run in home on the tarmac, and there are lots of suburban train stations if you completely run out of gas!

(photos by Higg)

Tour de France : Fun on the Last Day

2011-11-09T02:37:00.006Z

When the Tour de France route is announced, as well as keenly looking to see which mountain passes are going to be included, I also like to see what the last stage will be. This year the route into the Champs Elysées was from Créteil, in Eastern Paris and I went along there with Higg.

This route, though short was a spectator's dream. Créteil is at the end of Line 8 of the Paris Métro (Balard-Creteil Préfecture), so for us it was an easy direct half-hour tube journey from where we were staying in Bastille. The route up to the Champs Elysées was equally straightforward. Actually, there was a slight hitch on the day as Line 8 had engineering works taking place at Charenton and the replacement bus was not running due to the Tour de France. No problem at all though. The engineering works were only taking place on a short section between Charenton and Maisons Alfort and there were RATP (Paris Transport) members of staff on hand to give directions for the 10-minute walk to pick up the Métro to reach Créteil. Even better, was the fact that this walk took us right through the Tour de France route. On our way to Maisons Alfort we saw the locals setting up picnics and laying out banners in anticipation of the arrival of the publicity caravan and the peloton.

On we went to Créteil, where we arrived in time to see the publicity caravan leaving. The local council had laid on a mini outdoor cycling exhibition and activity area with freebies for spectators. Many people spent only a limited period of time in this area and instead, headed past the cordoned off VIP area to the car park where all the team buses were.

It was pretty easy to see the different cycle racers and in fact spectators had just as much chance of seeing their cycling heroes as those with media passes. Whether you were in the private area or on the other side of the fence you had just as much of a scrum to see the stars if you had not made a special arrangement to meet the riders. There was also the dilemma as to which team bus to crowd around.

It was hard to predict which racer would emerge from their team bus when, and the buses were arranged in such a way that it was a good 150m walk to get from the first bus to the last bus in the line. There was a distinct order in the way the buses were arranged and a definite hierarchy could be seen. Teams like HTC-Columbia High Road, Garmin-Cervelo, Sky, Cadel Evans' BMC team, Leopard-Trek of the Schlek brothers and Thomas Voeckler's Europcar team had barriers around them and some security staff in the vicinity.

There was a long wait to see any of their riders come out of the bus, and whenever anyone emerged there was a big cheer followed by a surge of microphones and cameras from professionals and amateurs alike. The lower ranked teams like Vacansoleil and Movistar were way down at the rear of the line of buses and didn't even have barriers. There were no journalists around, and barely any fans pandering to see them. The racers got on with their business completely unhindered, practically unnoticed. Team RadioShack were also in this category. What a difference a year makes!

It was easy to spend a couple of hours watching the pre-race activity. As this was the last day of the tour most of the riders were quite relaxed and there was a last day of school atmosphere. Riders were amenable and happy to greet fans, even if it was just to say a quick hello or pose for a photo.

Also, there was a sense that the townsfolk of Créteil were thrilled to have Le Tour in their neighbourhood. Créteil is a suburb of Paris - not quite in the same league as Versailles, but more like Croydon, South London. Creteil forms part of "la banlieue", but thankfully not as bad as other eastern Parisian suburbs that endured riots in 2005 and there's no furniture store that got burnt down either. Having Le Tour would have been a real boost to the morale of the folks and this must have been very inspirational for the young people - even more so, as a plaque was unveiled there in memory of the late great Laurent Fignon.

There was a very friendly atmosphere among spectators, and even when it got a little crowded when taking photos people were happy to take their photo and politely stand back to let others have a turn to take a few snaps.

After the presentations of the various cycling stars on the stage, everyone ran across the large green to watch the riders set off. To accompany the 170 odd riders there were countless vehicles in tow - team cars for each of the 22 teams, cars for commissaires, first aid, neutral service, ambulances, media, VIPs, TV crew, motorbike outriders, motorbike photographers, time keepers on motorbikes and of course the team buses. There must have been around 80-100 vehicles plus a a couple of helicopters. Cycling is dubbed a carbon neutral sustainable form of transport, but when it comes to the Tour de France all that goes out of the window!

To the cheers of all the crowds the riders set off on their final stage into Paris. We had only been at the departure town for a couple of hours but it already felt like we'd been there all day, with everything we had seen.

I managed to see Jens Voigt, Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert, Thomas Voeckler, Frank Schlek, Alberto Contador, Mark Renshaw, Juan Antonio Flecha and George Hincapie. Ironically I didn't see any of the British riders. It was good to have seen a few high profile riders in the flesh anyway.

Next stop was Maisons Alfort. We had to walk between there and Charenton during our tube journey back into Paris, so we stopped at the side of the road where by now the crowds had thickened, and we waited for the peloton to come by. We waited, and waited and waited. The race had started at 2.30pm and they were due to hit Maisons Alfort at 3.10pm according to the schedule sheet. But there was no sign of the riders at all. The peloton eventually came through at around 3.50pm, riding along slower than me on a bad day!

They were chatting and in no mood to make any effort. I guess everyone has the right to an easy Sunday club run every now and again!
The real action would begin when they reached Paris proper. It was great that the riders travelled along so slowly as this lent itself to taking half decent pictures - at least for Higg, that was. My photos still came out blurred!

After this rather pleasant interlude during our return trip to Paris we picked up the Métro to Concorde station, where we literally arrived there as the riders were doing their first lap of Central Paris. Concorde was so packed and there was no chance of us getting a decent view so we walked down the back road, rue St Honoré to get us out near Tuileries station, then found a great spot on the rue de Rivoli as the peloton blasted right past us.

I was really enjoying the atmosphere in the July sunshine and it was really uplifting everytime the pack of riders steamed along at a phenomenal pace all to the cheers and claps of the crowds, as well as to the excitement of the commentators.

Suddenly we realised we were cutting it fine to get our train back to London. Sadly, we had to abruptly leave behind all this excitement to hotfoot it through Place Vendôme and pick up the Métro to Gare du Nord. So it wasn't until I reached London and turned on the TV that I was able to see Mark Cavendish clinch victory on the Champs Elysées! How ironic!

Not seeing the heartstopping finish of the race was a bit of an anticlimax, but it had still been a really fun day out. I would definitely recommend going to the departure town for the last stage of the Tour de France. Some departure towns are easier to reach than others. This year was an extremely good vintage in that regard and I am glad to have been there for almost all of the Tour de France proceedings of the day!

The final stage of the 2012 Tour will start from Rambouillet, a western suburb of Paris. When I lived in France's capital city I remember Rambouillet being this deep in the forest, out in the styx place. Who needed to go all the way over there when we had Versailles?! I therefore don't really know the area, but what I do know is that it will be in a leafy suburb that has a big forest and a castle; I will need to catch a suburban train rather than the Métro; and I should book a late Eurostar when returning to London!

bottom 3 photos by Higg

Don't be Afraid of the Dark!

2011-11-08T07:28:00.002Z

Once again, the annual Rollapaluza Muddy Hell cyclo cross took place at Herne Hill. I had deliberated somewhat because I wasn't sure I'd be fit enough to race, given my acute lack of cycling fitness. In the end the prospect of doing a women-only race in fancy dress in the dark was all too tempting. Something about dressing up in a daft costume for a bike race always makes it more fun. It also diverts attention away from how bad you may be cycling!

So at 7pm I lined up in the dark with the other fancily dressed ladies to do my first cyclo cross race of the season. Even though the obstacles were largely similar to last year's course I felt a certain level of apprehension. The ramp up to the bridge seemed higher, or maybe the ramp was on a steeper gradient. One thing was for sure, we were not going to have the full momentum from a downhill slope to carry us up the ramp like we did last year. No, we we're going to have to work to reach the summit. A sharp right hand turn after running over the planks meant that we would have to remount our bikes and give it some almighty welly to develop the speed to ride up the 25% gradient. Many people just didn't get the pace and ran out of momentum two thirds of the way up and either fell sideways or just put a foot a ground to walk. So for me, not only did I have to think about how I would get up the ramp but how I would ride around people who couldn't quite climb it in the saddle (which was about 20% of the field). Once up the ramp and on the bridge a down ramp threw me at full speed towards a table-top jump which made my bike leap for a split second! Not something to be doing on a full stomach! I would be in for some fun.

This year I was riding a Boardman CX Team cyclocross bike, kindly lent to me by Halfords and my path was being lit by USE-Exposure, who had provided me with a Diablo helmet light and a Toro handlebar light. With this combination I knew I would have no problem seeing the path ahead. Also with my new bike that had disc brakes that would help me on those short sharp descents. With all this new gear I felt motivated to give the best performance I could. It's funny how new kit raises your motivation!

So, on the whistle I set off in my Halloween dress and facepaint ready to blast around for 40 minutes. It was great. The course was a real fairground ride. From the sandpit to the bridge with table-top jump, via the BMX berm, the steep "Galibier" run-up, the single track, the muddy strip, the whoop bumps and the plank barriers. All this to the beat of the pumping sound system made it a real fairground ride. Small wonder I didn't get dizzy!

Anyone who thinks 40 minutes is easy, think again - the pace is almost twice as fast as what we do at the usual London Cyclo Cross League 60-minute races, but as this paricular course had so many obstacles in it, there was extra energy needed to hold it together and not completely "stack it" in front of everyone. It goes without saying that spectators were gathered around the trickiest parts of the course! I was happy with my race considering it was the first one of the season. I felt surprisingly more fluid in my movements, though I was lapped by a clown, a witch, and Batwoman!

The women's race has definitely become more competitive, as the top 3 women were regular National Trophy riders, and there were a number of strong women who had travelled down to South London from other parts of the country who raised the level of the race that bit higher. (The generous prize money may have had something to do with it!) Even with really fast women racing, there was room for all levels and I had fun on the course. I was glad to have signed up for it and I executed my best race possible.

Once across the finish line all that was left to do was to get on with enjoying the evening over a beer and catching up with folks I hadn't seen for a while. Another great night from Rollapaluza!

Photos by Higg

From Crystal Palace to Alexandra Palace

2011-10-27T02:46:00.003+01:00

So I took out the new steed I'm testing, the Boardman CX Team cyclo cross bike. It was a shame to have to put the tyres out on the road, and even more so on the muddy grass and gravel in my neighbourhood, but it had to be done.

First of all, I resolved to nail the cyclo cross mount. How many years have I been riding cyclo cross and I still haven't learned to mount and dismount the bike confidently and in that lovely fluid motion that you see the Belgians do! Ok, so I'll never be at that level. I'd even settle for a stuttering mount and dismount any day!

Sometimes I wish I could have been a bit of a "youf" where my parents could have left me out all day doing tricks on BMX bikes in some dodgy car park or skateboarding on the ramps under an urban tower block, instead of reading books all the time - then at least today I would be a lot happier to fling myself and my bike around a cyclo cross course!

So two weekends ago I decided to learn the mount and dismount in the playing fields by South Norwood Lake. The dismounting was not actually a problem. It was more about mounting the bike and putting the two elements together.

Initially the beginner stuff was to be done on my own Planet X bike since I felt more comfortable about falling over with that than with the brand new Boardman!

Feeling motivated I set out to the playing field with my bike in the morning. After about half an hour of looking at the bike, wondering where to put my legs and what the sequence of movements was meant to be I made a few half hearted attempts where I committed myself to a run and then suddenly uncommitted myself on the jump mid-flight, thus tumbling down. Then I stood looking at the bike again for another 10 minutes willing myself into thinking I'd be ok. By lunchtime I'd spent 10 minutes looking at the bike, 20 minutes psyching myself up to mounting the bike, 20 minutes running with the bike, 30 seconds jumping and 2 minutes falling to the ground and picking myself up - not very productive, in fact quite demoralising. It must have been quite amusing for the dog walkers and joggers wondering curiously what this cyclist was doing in the park wandering with a bike and then falling over with it!

Then suddenly something slotted into place - I'm not sure how, or what. For some reason unknown to myself, I did a cartwheel. I hadn't done one of those for about 30 years! Something about the act of throwing my body in the air into an unnatural position translated exactly into the same movement process as doing the cyclo cross mount. I had nailed it. It was a nice feeling to suddenly be able to do it. It wasn't pretty, but at least I knew what to do.

Being able to do the cyclo cross mount and dismount was something that made me feel like a wholesome cyclo crosser, and not a phoney! After five years, I had passed my cyclo crossing initiation and could now join the big wide cyclo crossing world!

Once I had made this significant milestone I went to the nearby Crystal Palace Park where I could practice on a whole range of surfaces - grass, tarmac, gravel, wood chip - on the flat, going slightly uphill, going slightly downhill. My new found skill meant I was now worthy of getting out the Boardman and practising all of this on the new bike. The handlebars were slightly wider than on my own bike, and I was using different pedals but that was not an issue. It was actually easier to do the mount and dismount - not just because the new bike didn't have a rack on the back but also because the higher grade aluminium frame was lighter and therefore the bike could move along that bit quicker on the rough terrain. This lightness was particularly useful for me when running up the steps at Crystal Palace five times over.

With my new found confidence, and only slightly more fitness my prepping at Crystal Palace was done. It was time to face the Rapha Supercross race at Alexandra Palace the following week.

Ally Pally, which is about as far North of London as Crystal Palace is South, has a very similar feel to my neck of the woods. It's at the top of a steep hill, where there's a television transmitter and a grand Victorian Grade II listed structure. Set in pleasant parkland this area commands impressive views over London. In fact from Ally Pally you can see the two Crystal Palace transmitters.

One key difference between Ally Palace and Crystal Palace is that there is an actual Alexandra Palace building, whereas it's Southern counterpart was sadly burnt down in 1936. The other big difference is that last Sunday we had to ride all the way up the Ally Pally Hill between eight and ten times and carry our bikes up a series of steps every time, in front of lots of people while feeling sick and sometimes seeing stars! I've never done that at Crystal Palace!

Yes, despite a warm-up of riding around Crystal Palace and a cyclo cross race at Herne Hill, nothing could prepare me for the gruelling race at Alexandra Palace. It wasn't just the fact that the long steep hill had to be scaled so many times, but also the fact that once at the top of the hill I had to do dismount from my bike, while my legs felt like jelly, run up the steps and then remount the bike - all in front of the cheers, jeers, ringing cowbells and flying marshmallows from spectators and photographers. This was a real test. At one point I felt so tired, that I fell over as I remounted my bike. I just didn't have the energy to lift my legs high enough! Falling over was actually a relief as it gave me a brief respite as I lay on the grass!

Just when I was wondering how many more laps I could take the "one lap to go" bell was rung, which was a Godsend. Strangely enough I got a second wind and gave it all I'd got on what would be my last lap for quite some time at this formidable but very scenic venue. I crossed the finish line happy to have survived the race.
My Boardman CX Team bike performed very well - certainly better than I did, and I think the bike was a help to me in quite a few ways. It's wide range of gears meant I could ride 34 x 32 gearing on the steep hill, and the SRAM Apex double tap system meant that I could click between gears quite smoothly. Furthermore, the disc brakes meant that on the twisty descents I could slow down without worrying about sliding around and I could take the corners with confidence. Most importantly, the bike was nice and light when carrying it umpteen times up THOSE steps!

From my lows atop Crystal Palace I had grappled to reach the heights at Alexandra Palace. It wasn't a walk in the park, I wasn't pretty, but I just managed it - and with a smile on my face.

Most photos by Higg

Cross is coming!

2011-10-13T06:01:00.001+01:00

Well, cross has been here for over a month but I'm only just getting into it! Better late than never. I haven't ridden my cross bike since February this year when I took part in the final race of the 2010/11 season. I hope I haven't forgotten how to ride a bike. I am ashamed to say that my lovely red Planet X has been sitting in the hallway, unkempt, untouched, unloved. So it's time to dust it down and ride it - soon.
I have just taken loan of a brand new Boardman cyclocross bike thanks to the good people at Halfords. The bike is going to be used in ride story shoots and of course a few races. So there'll be a few sightings of the bike in my features.

At the moment the bike is lovely, clean and bright - so much so that I dare not go out and sully it on the trails. It's gotta be done though. So I'll be going to a cyclo cross race at Hemel Hempsted this weekend. Then the weekend after will be the big cross weekend in London, with the Muddy Hell race at Herne Hill, and Rapha Supercross at Alexandra Palace. Although I haven't done much on my cyclo cross bike for a long time I have been doing mountain biking regularly, so hopefully things shouldn't be too much of a shock to the system. I will need to practice mounting and dismounting from the bike though. So I will have to brave the strange looks as I wheel my bike around my local park, not riding it but trying to jump on and jump off the thing, probably very clumsily! I'm looking forward to the cyclo cross events. Having seen the courses there will be some uphill struggles - literally! My Planet X bike will get its day out soon, but I sense that the Boardman will be my new best friend over the coming weeks. Turning up at a race with both bikes? It's an ordeal to have to clean one muddy bike when I get home after a race. Why would I want to add to the task by bringing home 2 dirty steeds? As well as that, if I turn up at a race with two bikes people might start thinking I'm really good! Gee, what a scary thought!

One Day One Photo - 30

2011-10-01T23:55:00.000+01:00

We are experiencing a heatwave in London. It's pretty strange that the hottest days of the year are at the end of September/beginning of October! Furthermore, London is experiencing temperatures that are higher than Madrid and Rome! And that's official! It was a shame that this was the very time that Fred chose to go to a very cold and rainy Ireland for a long weekend. Anyway, while he was away I used my day off work to go on a mountain bike ride. I don't know if riding around the Surrey Hills was the wisest choice considering the scorching temperatures. I even rode up the killer bridleway that climbs up to the summit of Box Hill. No it wasn't easy, and yes I was completely drenched by the time I reached the top. I'm glad I didn't see anyone there who knows me! Once I'd got my breath back I took a couple of photos of the view of Mole Valley and Dorking down below. It doesn't matter how many times I go to the viewpoint at Box Hill. I always love watching the world go by from this high point in Surrey. Many people were out having picnics. It would have been nice to do the same, but I had to push on to bag a couple more hills, albeit easier ones further along, near Reigate.

So, there you have it. That was me for 30 days of September. I hope it has conveyed a little bit of what I get up to during a typical month.

One Day One Photo - 29

2011-10-01T23:43:00.000+01:00

The Cycle Show is a one of those annual events that everyone in the cycling community tries to make. In many cases it's a chance to catch up with other folks you know in the cycling community than about visiting stands. Of course looking at the latest novelties and having the chance to see some of our top cyclists is a draw in itself. This year, for the first time the show was not held in London. Instead, the NEC Birmingham was the venue for the event. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to travel all the way there, especially as I wasn't convinced of the use in me going. In the end I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and I went there on the Trade/Press Only day, with no expectation. The train ride from London to Birmingham International was quicker than I had imagined so it almost felt like travelling locally! At the NEC I made a number of connections - mainly in relation to women-specific items and future cycling events, so the trip was beneficial to me after all.

One Day One Photo - 28

2011-10-01T08:26:00.000+01:00

Some of you may have already seen my stories in Cycling Active and Cycling Weekly and also on-line on the London Cycle Sport website. As well as these publications I have now started doing features for Sportsister, a sports magazine for women. I think this is a great idea for a magazine. Even in this day and age people seem to think that women aren't that bothered about sport. Wrong. We are but it's not always easy to get involved and get the coverage when the various sports disciplines are so male dominated. Women's sports receives less media exposure and sponsorship sport can be quite lean as well. Anyway, this magazine, which was the idea of Danielle Sellwood and Louise Hudson is great for raising the profile of what women do across the various sports. Of course they cover cycling, but they also cover all other sports. Through Sportsister I have had the chance to take part in a few events on their behalf and write event reviews. I was recently at the Cycletta South event, and my next challenge will be to do the Royal Parks Half Marathon. I guess that as well as being able to write I need to be fit! So, after a 5 year absence from any sort of long distance running I will find myself lining up in Hyde Park ready to put myself through 13.1 miles of London Parks. Hopefully I'll get round it before they take down the event hoardings and the marshals go home! In any case, there will be a story from me about the race. I look forward to writing more stories and sharing creative ideas with Danielle and Louise.

One Day One Photo - 27

2011-09-30T09:01:00.000+01:00

I haven't had much time to get involved in that other ongoing cycling project I'm part of, the London Women's Cycle Racing League. In case you didn't know, it ran during the 2011 road season, and with the same level of interest as last year. The main difference was that the publicity side of things was scaled back. We had a few commercial organisations provide prizes, which was good. We also had a few hiccups with commercial organisations. I guess they are just lessons one learns when you get involved in this sort of voluntary organisation-commercial partnership. Also, after two years of running this with a couple of other amazing women I am stepping aside from the league and leaving it to others to run. I am quite looking forward to taking a back seat. It's not that I didn't enjoy it. On the contrary. I am just glad to have one less thing to think about. Being a co-ordinator is quite time consuming when juggling it with the writing projects that I am doing more and more. On top of that there's also the day-to-day business of keeping the wolf from the door, which in these economic times is becoming more and more tricky. Anyway, I have enjoyed running the league, it's been fun, and I've met lots of great people. It's not over just yet though - we've got our prizegiving social on October 20th. I look forward to it!

One Day One Photo - 26

2011-09-30T08:42:00.000+01:00

If you want to win the bike bling competition between you and your cycling buddies forget about your stylish carbon fibre Colnago or Pinarello, ditch your pretentious steel Independent Fabrication and go for one of these. This relaxing Swarovski-studded low-rider designed by Ben Wilson comes complete with approximately 110,000 crystals encrusted into the bike. It's on display at the Power of Making exhibition that I went to at the V&A museum in London. If you really want it you'll have to wait a few months. The exhibiton runs until January 2nd 2012. I guess that gives you a bit of time to save up!
For a less expensive alternative you may want to consider other interesting offerings on show, including a Sanomagic Mahogany bicycle and a Nylon Airbike. Whichever two-wheeler you go for, you'll be the envy of everyone around - well at least the guys on your weekend club run!

One Day One Photo - 25

2011-09-29T06:00:00.000+01:00

What can I say. This has definitely been Cav's year. Points jersey and victory on the Champs Elysees at the Tour de France, victories in London at the Olympic test event and the Tour of Britain - and now World Champion. It's thoroughly deserved. I was really pleased that he won the World Champs because that was as much down to the efforts of the other Team GB guys as to Mark Cavendish's sprinting efforts. Cav's HTC-Columbia team boasts the best lead-out squad in the world, and they have mastered to a T the art of delivering Mark Cavendish to the best possible sprinting position 200m from the finish line. The lads at Team GB did not have the same reputation as the power houses of Team HTC. So grand chapeau too to the likes of Ian Stannard, Jeremy Hunt, Geraint Thomas and David Millar. Particular mention has to go to Bradley Wiggins who practically turned himself inside out during the penultimate lap. He towed round the whole peloton just to bridge the gap to the leading riders and set up a favourable position for Cav to deliver his trademark explosive sprint to the line. It was definitely one of those moments when it felt really cool to be British!

I must also mention Fabian Cancellara, who may not be feeling too pleased with his performance at the Worlds, after having failed to defend his title in the time trial. However, it's always amazing how he manages to be in the mix during the dash for the chequered flag in a road race, considering he's anything but a sprinter! That shows what a great all-round cycle racer he is, and I admire him for that. In the grand scheme of things he shouldn't feel too disappointed with his performance.

One Day One Photo - 24

2011-09-29T05:28:00.001+01:00

I like to keep fit. Of course I like cycling and running, but I like just bog standard fitness activities like what I used to do as a member of a gym many moons ago. I'm not keen on what gyms have become nowadays. I don't understand why I should get locked into a practically unretractable contract to pay at least £60/month to join other mice running round wheels and trying to do aerobics in a crowded cage. These days I enjoy doing simpler stuff. I like the activities we did as kids, which back then we did without any effort. As an adult, I find doing those activities quite physically demanding and they actually keep me in shape, cakes permitting! I have a hula hoop, which I bought in a toy store - great for the waist, hips and bum. I also have a skipping rope - great for the arms and legs. Ten minutes of jumping with a rope in the park at the end of my road gets me as out of breath as a half-hour run, or riding up the hills in my neighbourhood. Once you get over the initial self consciousness of jumping up and down in a public park, it's no big deal. People have a sort of curious admiration that you are doing something that many can't/wouldn't dare do. So thanks to £15 spent on a length of rope and a plastic hoop I have managed to stay basically in shape. I just hope the park doesn't get full with everyone trying to do these activities now - could get a little crowded. I may just then take up hopscotch instead!

One Day Three Photos - 23

2011-09-29T04:55:00.000+01:00

Every few weeks I have a bad hair day. Well it's not so much a bad hair day as the regular grind of having to undo my plaits, comb out my hair and then have the plaits put back in again. I might only have cornrow plaits but the process still takes more than half a day. My bedroom becomes a hotbed of hair as I meticulously unpick the plaits and comb out the knotted mesh. It's all very tedious. Thank God for trashy soap operas, X-factor and the Dave Channel! Once the plaits are out I have to run the gauntlet of travelling down the street to the hairdressers with scary hair until the good ladies have styled something that makes me feel like me again. Not long ago a boy was banned from school for having his hair in cornrow. The school feared his hair was synonymous with gang culture. If his hair's anything like mine then I'd say more fool the school! People in gangs have their hair in many styles, including short back and sides! Cornrow is neat and keeps my hair nicely in place. It would be nice to keep a nice massive mane like Angie Stone but in reality my 'fro is high maintenance, and it's scary - well it scares me! Thank God for cornrow.

One Day One Photo - 22

2011-09-28T02:30:00.000+01:00

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson invited the local people to come along and "talk London" so I went over to Sutton to see what it was about. It was the first time that I was seeing Boris Johnson in the flesh addressing an audience. We talked about various local issues like crime, the recent riots, schools, traffic calming measures, supporting the voluntary sector etc. I took the opportunity to ask Boris a question about making the streets safer for cycling (it would have been rude not to). It was very interesting attending the meeting and seeing the Mayor of London answering questions from the man (and woman) in the street. But it's always the same in these types of functions. You get the electioneering answer rather than the real answers. It didn't really matter how much detail BoJo gave to his plans - it seemed to be more about the way he presented himself, and the amount of "entertainment" he gave the packed auditorium (which he did in spades). Ultimately, it'll be simply the fact that he's turned up at these meetings around London, met the people, and given them a good show that will get him the votes for next year's mayoral election. Maybe I'm being cynical - but then again, does he actually have much competition??

One Day One Photo - 21

2011-09-28T01:42:00.001+01:00

Sometimes after a bike race or a cyclosportive I hear my cycling buddies say something like - "my cycling is so bad I should just give up and take up needlepoint or knitting". Well, I have a confession to make. I have taken up crochet. And I haven't given up cycling. Mind you, my cycling hasn't actually been too good this year, so maybe I should have given up! I fell into crochet when I was between jobs for a short while. It was one of those periods where I was a little under pressure and the stress manifested itself by me picking my nails during idle moments. So I just hit on the idea of doing something productive with my hands during these times. I could have done needlepoint, but it seemed quite involved. I could have gone for knitting, but having two needles to look after was too much of a responsibility! The good thing about crochet is that the small hook makes it easily portable and you can even do it on public transport if you are working on a small project like a mug mat. I have now begun to notice lots of knitting and craft shops around London and they seem quite trendy. You can even turn up at some shops,cafes, pubs and meet other crocheters and knitters. It's like a whole new social network that runs(or even stitches) rings around facebook! So there you have it. Out of alot of nervous energy has come a few hats, many mugmats, a shawl, a kid's blanket and a little frog! My family don't need too many guesses to know what they'll be getting for Christmas either! I won't be giving up the bike just yet though.

One Day Two Photos - 20

2011-09-27T09:00:00.001+01:00

Gee, this all looks Greek to me - it's frightening! Apparently in a matter of months I am meant to understand what all this squiggling is about! I've always wanted to be able to write shorthand. There have been a number of occasions when it would have been so useful to have that skill. Some journalists say it's debatable show necessary shorthand is nowadays since the technology is there to record interviews etc. Personally, I think it's a good skill to have even if you are not pursuing a journalistic career. So at the moment I am going around visualising squiggles in my mind in an attempt to memorise the countless symbols and characters. At the same time I am getting back on the Italian job. It's that time of year when I sign up for an evening class of some shape or form. This time around I have plumped for Italian. I realise that A Level plus three weeks during the Giro d'Italia is not enough to keep a useful level in the language. My first class revealed just how rusty my Italian is. I am therefore in crash course cramming mode in a hope that that the teacher in the advanced level class I am in doesn't discover I am a fraud and relegate me. So over the next few months my evenings will be a mish-mash of T-line and Italian - I'm already getting excited! Andiamo!

One Day One Photo - 19

2011-09-27T08:37:00.000+01:00

The Tour of Britain has definitely grown in popularity over recent years. People have been commenting on how much thick the crowds are along the streets - not just in London, but at stages in parts of the country. I guess it's all in keeping with the ever growing popularity of cycling in the UK. I didn't really have time to hang around at the Tour of Britain as I was abit damp from my damp Chilterns ride. I did manage to do a quick detour round Westminster on my connecting cycle commute between Paddington station and Victoria station. I just managed a quick snap as the peloton was doing a loop round the Houses of Parliament. Shame I couldn't stay, but I was still pleased to hear that Mark Cavendish got the win again. Winning in London is getting to be a habit for him now. I hope he can keep it up through 2012.

One Day One Photo - 18

2011-09-27T08:22:00.000+01:00

This photo is from the CTC website and advertises women-only challenge rides. It's quite a nice photo, showing lovely green rolling countryside. I did the CTC women-only challenge ride in Reading. The ride went up through the Chiltern Hills, and I'm sure the landscape looked just as scenic as this. Sadly, I didn't get to see much of it as the rain poured down part way through the ride and never really stopped. It was just grim and grey. It was a shame as it was a friendly well organised event. I would have liked to stop and chat but by the time I finished I was too cold and drenched. As I was car-less I just wanted to head back into Reading and get on a train to London. Thanks to Patrick Trainor for the invite to the ride though, and Graham "Wheels in Wheels" Temple for organising it, and of course to CTC. This was a good initiative and I hope it grows.

One Day One Photo - 17

2011-09-23T09:04:00.001+01:00

I realise that bicycles aren't just for looking at so I decided to go out and ride it. The Boardman Team Carbon Fi is a really smooth ride. For me, going from my heavier aluminium bike to the carbon was like having a large weight taken off the bike. Going up the hill at Farthing Down suddenly got easier, without me even needing to lose weight!(Thanks to Aodan for the photo.)

One Day One Photo - 16

2011-09-23T09:01:00.000+01:00

I took delivery of a brand spanking new Boardman women-specifi carbon fibre bike - aka as the Boardman Team Carbon Fi. It looks a lovely piece of kit, and nicely finished. I must say, I like the fact it's not pink all over, which is what some bike manufacturers seem to think that's what all women want. Anyway, as ever, whenever I get anything new there's always that exciting moment when the item is first in your home and you look at it shiny and bright. It looks so perfectly formed that I almost don't want to taint it by using it. I am quite happy to just look at it and admire its form.

One Day One Photo - 15

2011-09-22T09:02:00.000+01:00

Haeeyyy, It's Fonzie! Happy Days was my favourite programme - when I was 9 years old! The Fonz was so cool in his jeans and leather jacket, hanging out with the guys and charming all the girls. The thing was, he was always well behaved. He was always polite to Mr and Mrs Cunningham and he never swore. He was my hero! Anyway, I was quite surprised and pleased to hear he'd been awarded an OBE - especially as these awards go primarily to British citizens. Apparently it's in recognition for his services to dyslexia and how he raised the profile of this condition and gave confidence to alot of kids who suffer from it. I never even knew Henry Winkler was dyslexic and he managed to achieve all that he did at a time when life would have been pretty difficult. That makes me have even more respect for him. What a cool guy!

One Day One Photo - 14

2011-09-22T08:47:00.000+01:00

Sweet sixteen. My nephew celebrated his 16th birthday. I didn't get the chance to see him as he lives in the North of England, but I hope he enjoyed celebrating his first landmark birthday. I guess it's not that easy to do when you have school and homework. This takes me back to the time when I turned sixteen - so long ago I can only just remember! I lived in small village, where the most exciting thing to happen was cows blocking the road when walking to school and my raiston d'etre was the prospect of maybe meeting George Michael one day! My biggest concerns were whether I would have enough money to buy the latest Wham or Culture Club LP, and my parents thought I was a rebel because I had dressmaking as a hobby! I did watch the Tour de France in those days. It was on Channel 4 once a week and Phil Liggett was the anchorman even then! But France, still less riding a road bicycle in race seemed like another world I would never reach..... Needless to say Dan is into very different sorts of things. He can't believe that we didn't have computer gadgets and I-phones in those days, or that I would fancy George Michael! I hope he has aspirations that he can realise in the future.

One Day One Photo - 13

2011-09-21T08:45:00.000+01:00

I just want to big up Jens Voigt. I saw him at the departure village in Creteil this summer, on the last stage of the Tour de France. Everyone was crowded round the team buses trying to get to speak to Cadel Evans, Thomas Voeckler or Jens's Leopard-Trek team mates. While Messrs Schlek and Cancellara were jiving around in their bus listening to Michael Jackson songs The Jensie was on a bench on a grass verge being interviewed by a German film crew. He wasn't exactly hiding from anyone. It's just that hardly anyone thought to look at that unassuming piece of grass verge round the side of a council estate block in the suburbs of Paris! So a handful of us were able to walk right up to old Jens and chat to him, get his autograph, pose for photos etc. I'm not a massive groupie so I'm not fussed about being photographed with a famous person - unless asked to do so, or unless they are a friend of mine. If the person autographed a programme or a card for me, I'd probably end up losing it as I'm not good at keeping those sorts of things. I was just happy to smile at him, say hello, shake hands and ask him about his tour. Perhaps I regret not having had my tape with me. That would have made for a good interview. I was quite pleased to hear he'd be in the UK for the Tour of Britain. But sadly, it wasn't to be - the British roads got the better of him. So it'll have to be another time before I am graced with his presence. Why do I like Jensie most out of the peloton? Nothing to do with his looks, his cycling ability, his spirited mentality. No, quite simply because he's touching 40 years of age and is doing a great job representing my generation. When I think I'm over the hill, and too old to be falling over or putting my body through the mill I look at Jens Voigt throwing himself down a ditch, or crossing the finishing line beaten up and bruised, and think - you're doing a great job, mate! Fingers crossed he does the Tour de France next year.

One Day One Photo - 12

2011-09-21T08:25:00.000+01:00

This double life. It goes without saying that cycling activities take up a significant amount of my time. I get the impression of leading a double life. It's like being the programme I watched as a child, Mr Ben. He was suited and booted, did a mundane office job by day and had a fairly dry character. Then at one point he would step into a fancy dress shop and become this really interesting person having fantastic adventures. That feels like me. By day I do drugs, by night (well evening) I do cycling. (As opposed to certain dubious athletes who do sport by day and drugs by night!) Anyway, in my case the drugs bit is really not as glamorous or rock'n'roll as it sounds! I provide medical information for a pharmaceutical company and talk about drug interactions, side effects and other medicines related issues. I have always worked in pharmaceuticals in some shape or form - whether it was being a drug rep, doing the marketing communications for pharma companies or discussing medical research at the Department of Health. Perhaps it's a bit dry compared to the writing I do for the cycling magazines, the different events I attend and the variety of people I meet through cycling. But I must say I am glad to be doing pharmaceuticals, and to have knowledge of a different sector. Plus, that's what pays my bills and keeps the wolf from the door. I say very little about the cycling stuff when I am at work, and I talk even less about the pharmaceutical stuff when cycling (which is not a bad thing!). And to be honest, I am quite content to keep these two worlds apart.

One Day One Photo - 11

2011-09-13T00:02:00.001+01:00

I didn't know what profile of woman would be riding the Cycletta event or what the pace would be. All I knew was that I needed to get at least 11 vox pops, and some words from Victoria Pendleton. I would also have to press the flesh with organisers, the Sportsister girls (who had obtained an entry for me), Halfords PR and of course the cycling magazine crew. I made alot of mental preparation in terms of how I was going to go about fitting it all in, as well as giving guidance to the photographer. Then there was the bike ride itself. Would I ride the 25 miles hard and try and get back to the HQ early to interview folks? Should I just ride slowly and mingle during the ride and obtain vox pops then? After a while you have to stop thinking and just let things flow naturally. Well, at 5am on a rainy Sunday morning I wasn't in much mood for thinking anyway! In the end it was a good day. I talked to the people I needed to, and more. I interviewed our Queen of the Cycle Track, Victoria Pendleton - who I must say was very amenable and charming. And we even had a surprise visit from the sun!

One Day One Photo - 10

2011-09-12T23:23:00.001+01:00

Many folks who live in other parts of the country imagine London to be so choked with traffic that there must be nowhere for Londoners to cycle - at least nowhere nice. They think Londoners are reduced to cycle training on turbo trainers at home, or on a balcony if we are lucky. Well, maybe for some Londoners that is true! But for many, it's not the case at all. Living in South London it is quite easy to reach the countryside and ride through the lanes of Kent and Surrey. And as for off-road cycling it's equally easy. Just by twiddling steadily you can find yourself in woodland without much effort at all. I set off from near Croydon and managed to get to Chipstead, Banstead and Epsom Downs. Furthermore, these places are all within the M25, the motorway that encompasses the Greater London area. I then pressed on through Walton-on-the-Hill, up near Box Hill, and finally arrived at Reigate. It was all a very pleasant jaunt within the London area, and hardly a car in sight - just a few cows on Colley Hill that were pretty nonplussed to see me! But hey, I was happy to be there.

One Day One Photo - 9

2011-09-12T22:05:00.001+01:00

Friday was spent sorting out all the paperwork and logistics for the Cycletta ride at Whipsnade Zoo which I will be covering for the cycling magazine. As a free agent like myself there's alot of thinking ahead to be done when attending events. Sometimes it makes my head hurt, especially when I'm thinking about other deadlines at the same time. My mind gets cluttered like a boy's bedroom. I'm sure it's so much slicker when you're staff on a newspaper or magazine and everything gets sorted in advance by a very efficient secretary with a tight bun in her hair, wearing a sharp suit and speaking in a crisp voice. Maybe not! A press pass for me was not really crucial as I already had an entry to ride the event, and the star of the day, Victoria Pendleton would be riding among us anyway. The main reason I was sorting out a press pass was so that the photographer could gain free access into the zoo. Also it wouldn't be a great idea to have some random bloke taking photos of women in sports kit, I guess! Anyway, thanks to the friendly guys at Participate Sport the paperwork was sorted even more efficiently than our fictional secretary with the tight bun in her hair.

One Day One Photo - 8

2011-09-08T22:40:00.001+01:00

I get so tired these days. I can't do the things I used to do even one year ago. If I go for a training ride I need three days to recover before I get on with any other physical activity. If I don't allow enough days to pass before I do any further exercise I'm just worn out and my legs fall apart. I can't believe this is the same person who managed to ride from Dieppe to Nice last year. If that was me, it was certainly a lifetime ago. Strangely enough my aerobic capacity is fine. It hasn't gone downhill in any noticeable way. So, I have to admit it, age is catching up with my legs. And soon it will get my back, my arms and my lungs. I'll be ready for the knackers yard. Shall I resign myself to a future of sitting in a rocking chair doing crosswords and crochet or shall I try and fight this process that is surreptiously taking over me? Who knows, let me have a rest and then I'll decide!

One Day One Photo - 7

2011-09-08T22:22:00.000+01:00

It's always good to hear about one of your local areas in the news - for the right reasons, mind you. The long awaited resurfacing of Herne Hill track was completed and the velodrome was reopened yesterday. A few prominent people like the Minister of Sport, the local MP and cycling legend Chris Boardman made the trip to the opening ceremony. That's great news that the track has been resurfaced. But hey, let's not get carried away - sadly, the rest of the facilities are still running to rack and ruin and we are along way from having a stadium that's anything like it was in the glory of the 1948 Olympics. It would be great if Herne Hill could benefit from the sports legacy that was proposed in the London 2012 Olympics bid. But that sounds far too logical! We just have to hope that the Save the Velodrome campaign is successful in its project to build a sports facility that is fit for purpose, which local cyclists deserve.

One Day One Photo - 6

2011-09-06T23:55:00.001+01:00

It's all go during September....I just can't keep up sometimes!

One Day One Photo - 5

2011-09-06T00:03:00.001+01:00

Running is my alcohol. Well, it's my other alcohol. I like to indulge in it. When I do, I feel good. If I indulge in it too much I suffer the consequences the next day. When I was younger I indulged in it a lot more without it giving me any problems, but nowadays my body tolerates it less and less. Sometimes the morning after a running session I feel glued to the bed in pain and struggle to emerge from under the duvet. Once up and about I have to take it easy, and have a quiet day. It's debatable how good running is for me given all the wear and tear it's been progressively inflicting on my knees. But hey, I'm still going to do it. I like it. I want the endorphin hit. I like that feeling of being bright and alive - just like when drinking a good wine. So I'll keep on running, and I look forward to doing my half marathon next month. Hopefully I won't succumb to cirrhoses of the knees in the meantime! (photo by JJurkiewicz)

One Day One Photo - 4

2011-09-04T23:07:00.002+01:00

People say it must be good having a boyfriend who is also into cycling. Yeah, we have done a number of fun cycling holidays together - something which would have been difficult if only one of us had been interested in this two wheeled activity. However, it can be a little testing when, for example on social bike rides on the road, he goes so quickly that I end up panting and sweating a mile behind him; or when he tries to "advise" me on what I should do to improve my cycling without bearing in mind my actual circumstances. Having said all this, it is very nice to go out on off-road rides together. Being away from traffic and close to nature, exploring beautiful landscape just gives both of us a real feelgood factor. Something that can only serve to enhance our relationship. We've been on a few rides in the last week - South Downs, Surrey Hills and Epsom Downs. I enjoyed all the trips, especially as we were lucky with the weather. I also want to thank my other half for patiently waiting for me as I fumbled through the trails when he could have been out with his much more skilled mates!

One Day One Photo - 3

2011-09-03T17:47:00.001+01:00

Today's photo shoot for Cycling Active magazine was a little different, as it involved riding with the De Ver Cycles beginner group. It was a real pleasure running a story involving Maurice Burton, owner of the De Ver Cycles shop, and organiser of these rides. I have known Maurice (pictured in the centre of the photo) for many years. When I got into cyclesport I bought my first bike from him. It was a Dawes Hybrid which I used in a triathlon, and also for commuting. He built me a cheap road bike when I wanted to get into cycle racing, and I have bought other bicycles from him ever since. Even though Maurice is an ex-National cycle racing champion he has time for all customers, be they champion road racers or newbies. He doesn't patronise or brush you aside because you aren't a top road racer or because you don't know the jargon. That's what makes me enjoy going to his shop. Maurice has always been very encouraging towards new cyclists and was very happy to see lots of newbies on his ride today. I am glad to be writing about these rides for the magazine.

One Day One Photo - 2

2011-09-02T20:38:00.001+01:00

I like Fridays. They are my "non-cyclist normal person" days. I don't do much sport, I just cycle to get from A to B, do some household chores, watch trashy tv and of course have a beer at my local. For all the sport I do I still enjoy days like these - especially in London, the town I call home, and in Crystal Palace one of the friendliest neighbourhoods to live in. I will savour my pie and my pint while listening to funky tunes, knowing that it'll be a week before I can do it again!

One Day One Photo - 1

2011-09-01T23:53:00.001+01:00

Every day something happens, something's on your mind, you feeling some sort of emotion - whether it's happiness, fear, anger; whether its meeting and old friend, getting out of your comfort zone, thinking about the tasks ahead, reflecting on something good, getting irritated about an event, wishing for something to happen, or just pointless daydreaming in your favourite chair.
For 30 days - effectively the month of September, I plan to represent one of these facets in a photograph. The photos may not necessarily have been taken that day, but they will capture something that is relevant to that particular day. This is no photographic exhibition so don't expect Testino type shots (at least not the ones taken by me!). Hopefully the snaps I show will still convey my message.

So here goes:
Mountain biking in the Surrey Hills, enjoying a breather at Ranmore Common. I am feeling almost as happy as I look in the photo now that I have got the write-up for it off my guilt pile! This was for a piece I am writing for SportSister website, and I had meant to send it earlier. I am glad to have finished it finally! Thanks to the lovely Aodan for the photo.

A few Summer Highlights

2011-08-23T21:58:00.000+01:00

Life moves on quicker than I can write! Quite a few things have happened since 27th June (date of my previous post). In this day and age of smartphones, tweetdeck and google+ etc there's probably no excuse to fall behind on blog posting. But my fingers just can't keep up with the speed of the conveyor belt of technology, or even life itself!

Anyway, some snaps of a few things I recall from this summer so far.
I will probably write about them over the coming weeks. Here's hoping for a go-slow so I can catch up and regroup!

all photos by ahiggins except bottom photo by jjurkiewicz and second bottom by andy jones

My Favourite Bike Rides

2011-06-27T01:33:00.003+01:00

I thought I would mention my favourite bike rides. At first I was going to list my favourite bike rides around the UK only, but then I decided to also include a list of some memorable bike rides I've done abroad.

I won’t go into much detail now, but over the course of the months I will do blog entries about the different places, if I haven't done any about them already.

Note that I have included bike rides, rather than bike challenges. Rides to be enjoyed rather than endured! I have therefore excluded all those rides that gave me that quad-busting feeling! I have done quite alot of those in my time, but those will be written about another day!

UK Rides

Lake Coniston, Lake District (Cumbria)
This is a really pleasant loop around the Lake Coniston. It's a quiet lane that runs parallel to the lake, gently undulating and twisting through the forest. It's quite a joy to ride, especially at a leisurely pace. When you're done you can either go into Coniston village or catch the Hawkshead Ferry to Windermere.

Lake Vyrnwy, North Wales
The road around the lake is very pretty. Just follow it round and you have the long lake on one side and woodland on the other. It's quite a popular area so don't expect to have the road to yourself. The day I rode this I was just very happy to be there on easy flat land, as I'd spent the previous couple of hours riding up over Bwlch y Groes!

Blanchland (Co. Durham)
An off-road route which I did from Blanchland, a village within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, over the moor and through Slaley Forest. There's a short steep climb to get up to the moor at the start of the ride, but once I was up on the moors there was not much climbing to be done. While up there, I had great views of the Derwent Reservoir below. As well as scenic moors there is also forest land with a stream running nearby and areas to stop for a picnic. Along the way you see various monuments and historic buildings which are a reminder of the North Pennine's bygone lead-mining era.

Grassington-Kettlewell-Yockenthwaite (Yorkshire Dales)
This route runs parallel to the B6160 road as a quiet alternative. The B6160 is not a very busy road though. However the lane parallel to it is really tranquil. There's not much going on at all - just trees and farms where you can ride and not think about anything, apart from enjoying the countryside and woodland around. You'll probably meet walkers and cyclists, plus the odd horse. But it's a very quiet, pleasant road and there is nothing challenging about riding this lane. At Kettlewell the route joins the B6160 but it is fairly quiet and the route goes on to Buckden and Yockenthwaite, where the terrain opens out and you get great views of the peaks above, notably Pen y Gent. At Deepdale retrace your route back to Grassington (unless you want to tackle the 25% climb to Fleet Moss). There are a few country pubs and cafes along the way at Buckden, Kettlewell and many back at Grassington.

Hornsea Rail Trail (East Yorkshire)
Cycle paths along disused railway lines are an increasingly common feature around the UK, especially in the North of England. This one leads from Hull right to the coast. The route is very straightforward and easy to follow. It's pan flat and on good quality surface. The first half of the 15-mile route is on tarmac, so fine for road bikes. Later on it is on compact gravel, so better to have more robust tyres. This is a great route for all the family, including beginners. When you get to the end you can reward yourself with fish and chips and ice cream! Oh, and there is a picnic site along the way.

Spa Trail (Lincolnshire)
Another similar path to the one above. This one leads from Horncastle to Woodhall Spa. It's quite picturesque and along the 3-mile route are various modern art sculptures representing aspects of Lincolnshire heritage and wildlife.

Millington Dale (East Yorkshire)
Just outside Pocklington, in the Yorkshire this lovely route goes through what I think is the best part of the Yorkshire Wolds. Passing through a mixture of pasture and woodland there are spectacular views of the moutains around. Riding through the dale is really quiet apart from the sound of the flowing stream nearby. Your only company is the highland cattle that make an appearance at intervals along the way. It's like a mini version of the Pyrenees. From Millington it's a gradual climb, otherwise it's a lovely descent from Huggate. At either end are pubs/cafes to round off a pleasant jaunt.

Ide Hill/Brasted Chart (Kent)
From the village of Brasted, near Westerham take the road that leads up towards Ide Hill Village. This is a gradual climb, though nothing too difficult, especially if taken at a leisurely pace. While riding upwards, enjoy the scenery that Kent has to offer. Once at the top, a park bench and village shop awaits where you find lots of other cyclists having a short break and on a sunny day, bathing in the heat on the village green. Return to Brasted by rolling approximately 100 metres down Ide Hill, taking the first left and riding uphill towards Emmetts Garden. From there turn right and enjoy the lovely descent down Brasted Chart. For another cafe stop turn left and head to Westerham where you can enjoy cycling cafe culture in Kent at it's best.

Box Hill (Surrey)
I can't not mention this one, given that it will feature heavily in the London 2012 Olympics. In the cycling road race the men will ride up it no fewer than 9 times!
To be honest, it's not that onerous a climb when ridden at a steady pace and just once. Even if you don't like hills this hill isn't so bad, and it is probably the best introduction to the Surrey Hills - it is one of the easiest! I like riding up The Zig Zag, as it is known, because it is like doing a mini Alpine climb. After the first two corners you begin to see how far up you have climbed and there's a real feeling of achievement that you have managed to get up so high already. The early part of the climb is scenic but a little exposed, so gets quite warm on a sunny day. As you near the top, the trees form a pleasant shield and it is a blessing to be in the shade. When you turn the final corner and see the car park you know the work is done and a trip to the National Trust tea and cake shop is a just reward for this effort. Fifty metres after the tea shop is a large green space where you can contemplate the panorama around Dorking and the rest of Surrey. To do a loop you could continue on this road through Boxhill Village, turn left at the T-junction towards Headley. Turn left down Tot Hill (Leech Lane), and left again into Lodge Bottom Road. This gives one of the best descents in the area. You barely have to pedal at all! At the end of Lodgebottom lane turn left onto the main road and then left again up the Zig Zag.

Some Foreign Rides
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Col de la Madone/Peillon, France
Col d'Eze/La Turbie
Cloue de Greolieres
Death Road, Bolivia
Sally Gap, Ireland
Gorges de la Nesque, France
Eastern coast road, Mallorca, Spain
Lac du Bourget, Aix les Bains, France

Urban Cycle Racing in London

2011-06-19T20:42:00.003+01:00

It's that time of year when various towns up and down the UK put on circuit races around their main shopping centres. From Jersey to Beverley, Ixworth to Abergavenny all these places provide their share of cycle racing action.

London, the great metropole, doesn't want to miss out on the action either.

With a stage of September's Tour of Britain being held on a circuit around Westminster, and the London 2012 preparation bike race finishing on a route around Buckingham Palace, not to mention the bike racing in the ITU triathlon at Hyde Park there's plenty to look forward to.

In the meantime I was treated to two other urban cycle races in London.
Last Saturday week the Smithfield Nocturne provided a great evening of pedalling action. There were road races for higher and lower category male racers, as well as a women's race.

In the spirit of representing the eclectic mix of cycling done in London there were other competitions - Penny Farthing races, the longest fixed wheel skid, and the ever popular folding bike race. So there was something to keep everyone entertained.

The women's race was of particular interest to me as it was included in the London Women's Cycle racing series. It was great to see so many women out racing in front of huge crowds. The vast difference in ability between the lead riders and the backmarkers was quite noticeable and made it a little challenging to count laps, as I found while in the commissaire's box.
It's a real credit to Bob and his commissairing team that they managed to keep the lapped riders in the race and produce results for the 40 women who raced.

Once my work for the women's race was done I was able to relax and enjoy a beer in one of the nearby bars while pressing the flesh.
Smithfield really was the place to be last Saturday. Thanks go to James and his team at the Face Partnership for putting on a fun packed evening.

A few days after that, I went down to Canary Wharf to watch the finale of the Halfords Tour Series - a 3-week long circuit racing team league with races in different parts of England.

I had no involvement in this event, but it was great to watch the race and see how the semi-pros do it, especially in the damp and rather windy conditions encountered when sandwiched between tall buildings!

The bad weather didn't deter the crowds and so, as with these events it was another chance to say hello to cycling folks I hadn't seen in a while, as well as to meet new people.

It was good to see the team prize go to Rapha Condor Sharp, which I consider to be a local team - even if their riders are based in various places outside of London!
Anyway, another good night. Thanks to Ryan for organising me a guest pass.

photos by Dave Hayward www.DaveHayward.com

A Sting in the Giro Tale

2011-05-21T18:02:00.002+01:00

I rode the Passo Gardeccia a few years ago during a Gran Fondo cyclosportive in the Dolomites.

Despite riding with a compact which gave me lower gears, that made no difference as I used all my gears up early. I could have done with a mountain bike! It was painfully steep with an unrelenting gradient. As the road twisted round each corner I thought things would level off, but it didn't. Those 6.5km were just painful! In fact "racing" up it was the most painful bit of cycling I have ever done. Local hill climb races give around 3 or 4 minutes of pain. This stretch gave me 40!

I felt sick, I was nearly crying, my quads were killing, and by the time I reached the ski resort at the top I just fell off my bike, too broken to do anything apart from panting loudly in a heap.

Yes, Gardeccia may only be a short ramp in the grand scheme of this year's Giro d'Italia route but it's damn tough. That final climb on Stage 15 will be a real sting in the tail for the riders once they've completed Passo di Giau and Passo Fedaia (which they scale from the hard side).
So those who gave their all on Monte Zoncolan today may have to pray that there's another protest and the course gets re-routed somewhere easier! Whoever wins up there tomorrow will have definitely earned their pasta! I look forward to watching this stage.

Pink is Tough!

2011-05-21T12:10:00.003+01:00

There is a growing interest in women's cycling these days. I guess with the success of the likes of Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley and Victoria Pendleton the general public has gotten quite excited at the prospects of these ladies striking gold at London 2012.
For the cycling fraternity the interest comes from more money being granted by different authorities to encourage more women into cycling.

Lo and behold, this year a few all-women cycling events have been scheduled. Davina McCall's ride took place a couple of weeks ago, and over the coming months there'll be the Victoria Pendleton Cycletta rides and CTC all-women rides.

A few weeks ago I went down to Bewl Water to take part in the one organised by the all-women cycling club, Kent Velo Girls.

I sometimes see the Kent Velo Girls in the lanes when out on my bike and they seem a friendly bunch. The perception I had had of them was of being a leisure cycling club, with the girls all decked out in stylish pink jerseys with flowers on.

The women are of all ages and their rides appeared to be done at a gentle pace. I had never seen anyone from that club at competitive cycling event.

So I went along to the cyclosportive expecting the ride to be a gentle jaunt through Kent and East Sussex where there was a choice of a 20mile, a 40-mile or a 60-mile ride. Wanting to get in a few miles, I did the 60-miler.

Well, how wrong I was about the "gentle jaunt"! Within the first few hundred metres of crossing the start line we were climbing. That had not been a surprise to me as it was on the profile. Profiles can be deceptive though, and the little lumps that came in the middle section of the ride were steeper than I'd imagined. There were rather more 7-8% ramps than my legs had budgeted for!

Kent, East Sussex, the High Weald - why on earth did I think this terrain would be gentle?? It has been hilly since prehistoric times so why did I think the terrain would be any different on this day?!

So on I plodded - through Wadhurst, Mayfield, Dallington, Robertsbridge and a challenging loop around Bodiam Castle, before returning via the long climb through Robertsbridge.

Descending homewards after Robertsbridge I heaved a sigh of relief as my legs got some respite, but then uttered a yelp as I suddenly had to dodge a snake in the middle of the road! Hmm, not your typical Kentish creature!

I managed the ride in a reasonable time, but by the time I was back at Bewl Water I was crawling. I'd spent the first half of the ride hanging onto the coat-tails of a triathlete from Sevenoaks Tri Club. It was great training for me, but once the elastic snapped that was it. The lack of fitness took its toll on me and I steadily drifted backwards. Still, it was a good day out and I really appreciated the beautiful scenery as we snaked through quiet country lanes, passing woodland, fields and different monuments.

Don't get me wrong. This cyclosportive had something for everyone, and it was great to be in a testosterone free environment. The 20 and 40-mile rides were routed in a way to make them do-able for new riders, and there was even a Go Ride for youngsters.

The event was very well organised and carefully planned. The goodie bag reminded me of a "Generation Game" conveyor belt, but without the fondue set and the cuddly toy!

The ride may have been testosterone free but it was still every bit as testing.

In fact, Kent Velo Girls have women who take part in time trials, and they plan to get some girls into racing, and even hill climbs. Pink may be all pleasant and fluffy, but it is also tough!

Thanks to Bee Gregorie and the Kent Velo Girls for putting on a lovely event.

A Classic in London

2011-05-09T13:47:00.003+01:00

London may not have pavés (cobbles) like in the Forest of Arenberg or bergs like Geraadsbergen Muur but we do have cobbled streets and we also have short sharp climbs.

So using these facts, a group of imaginative folks from South London put together The London Classic, based on the series of bike races held in the Spring on the steep and cobbled roads of Flanders (Belgium) and Northern France. This ride was less than 60km long, but it was quite a bone shaker for those uninitiated to the quirky world of Spring Classics.

Under sunny skies we set off from a pub South of the river and then headed into central London where we were treated to our first section of easy pavés in Covent Garden.

Then it was on through The City where the more serious, bumpier stuff was to be found on the old streets of Stepney and Wapping.

Having ridden the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders cyclosportives in the past, I thought I would have been ok on the cobbles of London. But then I remembered that I had been spared the worst of the jarring at these events by being on my sturdy cyclo cross bike with chunky tyres. On this day I was on my delicate road bike with slicks. So in fact I suffered the shakes more than I'd anticipated. Thankfully the cobbled stretches in London were nowhere near as long as those in Northern France or Belgium.

Heading back to South London via Tower Bridge I took a quick breather before preparing myself for a tough final 10 miles home. We were treated to a rapid succession of steep hills through South East London - Maze Hill, St John's, Honor Oak Park, and the worst of them all - Canonbie Road (oof)! This road should carry a "don't try this at home" warning. It. Is. Steep!!

After somehow surmounting that challenge, the 10% gradients of Eliot Bank and Gipsy Hill were a breeze!

Back at the event HQ of the Alma pub at Crystal Palace we then watched how it's done (or not, in Tom Boonen's case) when we followed live coverage of the queen of the classics, the Paris-Roubaix professional bike race.

We may not have had to negotiate 260km of cobbles in pouring rain and wind on our ride, and it was far from being the "hell of the north" (or the south even), but I had definitely ridden my bike, and Stepney had felt like my Carrefour de L'Arbre while Canonbie Road was my Koppenberg! Maybe for next year the organisers should award us with a genuine Stepney cobble as a form of trophy for our efforts! (I hope the Council aren't reading this!)

Thanks to Dave Mullarkey and Brixton Cycles for putting on a great event!

Photos by Wig Worland

A Stylish, Polite Bike Ride - The Tweed Run

2011-05-05T01:10:00.000+01:00

I remember seeing the write-ups on the Tweed Run last year and was quite impressed at the idea of riding around London looking all dapper.

It's true that in recent times people in London, as well as in other cities have embraced "urban chic" culture, and folks try to look a bit fashionable as they zip around the traffic in the City and the West End.

Dressing up to the nines in clothing that is not far off your Sunday best, and in tweeds or plus fours is quite something else.

Entries for the event opened on 27th February and closed 7 minutes later! Fortunately I managed to get a place and make the start at St Paul's Cathedral.

The place was awash with folks in all shades, textures and styles of tweed. As the event also incorporated a moustache competition men (and a few women) had gone to the effort to fashion themselves a mo for the day.

It was a real meeting point for eccentric people on vintage bikes of all different fashions. There were old postman bikes, Dursely Pedersens, Penny Farthings,etc. Even one girl just got a Boris Bike, circa 2010 and decked it out in tweed for the event!

So at 12 noon after the class photo on the steps of St Pauls all 400 of us set off on our merry way through central London.

We must have been quite a sight to the tourists and the Saturday afternoon shoppers as we wound our way through the London streets.

From The City we rolled to Westminster via Blackfriars Bridge and back over Westminster Bridge. Then we passed along Birdcage Walk, Buckingham Palace, and up through the West End. Of course we couldn't pass through the area without showing our respect for the shirtmakers at Jermyn Street and the tailors at Savile Row, purveyors of exquisitely fashioned suits and all other things gentlemanly.

Onwards we twiddled, chatting and laughing amongst ourselves in our 400-strong peloton, bidding "good day" to the traffic, the men doffing their caps at the other motorists and taxi drivers.

Some folks had managed to tack gramaphones and other musical appliances onto their bikes so we were even entertained to the sounds of 20s jazz and classical music.

It was all so very civilised, with a feed station at Lincolns Inn fields, where cucumber sandwiches and tea was served, then at the end of the ride in Bethnal Green, mini Gin and Tonics were offered - a spiffing end to the ride!

It's funny how the peloton of the Tweed Run was no smaller, probably even bigger than that of the monthly Critical Mass rides that take place in London. However, because we were dressed in very smart clothes and looking terribly British, the reception we got from the public, motorists, and even taxi drivers was much more positive. Permission to organise this ride had been granted by the authorities, though it was the responsibility of the organisers to sort out the escorting of the peloton and controlling the traffic at junctions. This was carried out with the utmost precision and we felt very safe within the group.

Organiser, Ted Young-Ing who cycles regularly says when he cycles in tweeds he definitely feels a more positive vibe from other road users than when he's in lycra or urban clothing.

So it seems that wearing tweeds when cycling is the way forward - although as we leave behind the warmest April on record and approach summer it might not be the ideal fabric!

In any case, I tip my hat to the excellently turned out ladies and gentleman who helped to make this a splendid day out on the Tweed Run.

Nice New Mitts from AnaNichoola

2011-04-22T04:06:00.000+01:00

I have never really been one to hunt out and buy cycling mitts that were of a particular style or design. The ones I have accumulated over the years are mainly out of functional need - for example thick padded ones for the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix cyclosportive last year - or just giveaways as part of an event goodie bag.

In any case women-specific gloves have tended to be much of a muchness and they have never really excited me, so I am quite neutral about what to wear on my hands when cycling.

The good news is designers are thinking more about producing aesthetically pleasing women's cycle wear.
One designer who has thought alot about this is AnaNichoola who recently launched a line of women-specific fingerless gloves.
The Kestral is designed for the woman who'll be out riding for a few hours, while Bow-Peep is more for the commuter lady cyclist.

I had the priviledge of trying out the Bow-Peep mitts during the 10-mile Tweed Run bike ride through London.

What I liked:
The cotton crocheted upper side of the glove provided some warmth while allowing my skin to breathe and not letting my hands get too hot on that warm day.

There was ample padding for when cycling around town.

The loops between the fingers meant I could remove the gloves quickly and easily.

The Velcro is good quality so mitts could be fastened securely.

The grey crocheted design coupled with the pink bow and the grid design on the palm side gives an overall stylish look that does not look out of place even when in smart clothes.

It's good that there is a range of sizes that fit my big hands!

What I need to bear in mind:
The Bow Peep gloves have been designed as commuter gloves, so the padding is not suitable for long rides. If I plan to be out on a 3hour+ club run I'd probably be better off using the harder wearing Kestral gloves.

I am not so dainty with my sportswear and sometimes I do tear around a little without too much care for what I'm doing with my garments. I would have to take care not to scuff the bow or catch it in the velcro!

Overall, I would recommend the Bow-Peep as a great glove to wear when commuting around. Whether you are going for the cycle chic image, the casual look or even wearing your tweeds this glove will fit the bill nicely.

P.S. I hope to try out the Kestral mitts in the near future.

Tweed Run photo by Wig Worland

London Women Back on the Circuit

2011-04-21T11:01:00.000+01:00

So afer a great first year of the London Women's Cycle Racing League we are glad to see the London women are back again contesting league on the local circuits and aiming for glory and even the admiration of their peers.

The format's pretty much the same as last year, save a couple of tweaks.
This year Olivier from Bean About Town mobile coffee bars has very kindly supplied us with coffee so we award a Rider of the Day prize to the woman who has shown the most application in a race. It's a bit of a subjective prize, but it also means that anyone can win it - whether you finish first or last. So then even people who aren't that strong can have something to race for when they turn up, rather than feeling despondent at the thought that these races are just about the fast girls.
And that sort of climate would not be good for local women's racing, nor would it have achieved the goals of the London Women's Cycle Racing League.

We want this to be inclusive and feel that all levels of rider can take part.

So the first round got underway a couple of weeks ago at Redbridge Cycle Circuit (aka Hog Hill). There were glorious conditions for the women and we had a field of over 30 starters.

Anna Grundy, now racing for Look Mum No Hands became league leader, while Emma Grant who raced for Rapha Condor was awarded the Bean About Town Rider of the Day.

What has been good has been the number of new faces that have come along and are having a go, as well as seeing the established racers still hanging in there and trying to fend off the new competition.
Last year, in the early season it looked like the team to beat would be Pearson CC, but then Rapha Condor came along and grabbed the top spot. This year it looks like it's all about the Look Mum No Hands RT ladies. But who knows, things may still change though if other racers get more tactical.

I guess that's the beauty of cycle racing - and it's great to see that we have the luxury of healthy local competition among female racers in London. Long may it continue!

Top Photo: Dave Hayward
Bottom Two Photos: London CycleSport

Spring in My Manor

2011-04-20T22:19:00.001+01:00

The current issue of Cycling Active magazine has a ride story about cycling around Crystal Palace, Dulwich and the surrounding areas. I am very proud to say that I am the author of the said piece.

What gets me excited about this is because it's in my neighbourhood. There's something quite flattering about seeing the area in which you live mentioned in the media (for the right reasons of course!). Whether it's featured in the property pages of the London Evening Standard or it's the area visited for episodes of Come Dine with Me, that sort of mention gives me a buzz.

So it was great to be given the chance to write about a bike ride around Dulwich, Crystal Palace, Herne Hill and even a bit of Peckham and Brockley. We managed to include one of the nearby pubs, which actually comes out looking good in the final pictures. In fact it looks so quaint I feel guilty continuing to refer to it by its local nickname - The Dog and Vomit!

I realise alot of people get excited about going off and doing photo shoots in spectacularly scenic places like Southern Spain or Utah. I do too. However, as much as I like the idea of going to these places I don't think I can ever get a greater sense of pleasure than when I see in the media the places for which I have an emotional attachment - the places where I feel at home.

Thanks to Andy Waterman for taking the pics and to Sarah Strong for being a model for the day!

Catching Up

2011-04-20T21:34:00.001+01:00

This blog has been on my guilt pile for a while so here I am back with a few instalments. It's not even as if I have the excuse that I've had nothing to write about. On the contrary! I guess a point comes where you get so many things happening one after the other that it becomes difficult to find the time to write about stuff in between events!

It would be easier if fewer things happened to me, so that I could have more time to write on this blog. But then I'd have no events to write about, just aimless ramblings that wouldn't actually be worth writing about at all.....! OK enough.

In early March Ryan from Brands 2 Life kindly invite me to the Futures Gallery near Covent Garden for the launch of the latest Boardman Elite and Performance Series range of bikes.
At the event, which had Chris Boardman himself in attendance, was a presentation of a range of the usual range of suspects - road bikes, triathlon bikes, mountain bikes etc. What really caught my eye though was the CX Comp cyclo cross bike, which has the new UCI approved disc brakes.

Purists will probably still trying to get their heads around this, but it looks like manufacturers have quickly caught on to the UCI lifting of the disc brakes ban and have raced to have these modiications incorporatd into their models in time for the 2011/2012 season.

It remains to be seen what difference exactly this will make when I do a cyclo cross race, but I know there will be a difference for me when I take the cyclo cross bike on a cycle touring trip. Descending an alpine climb with 10kg of panniers, sometimes in the wet, with just my cantilever brakes has always been a bit of a bugbear for me. Knowing that I can have a bike with more powerful brakes will give me much more piece of mind.

The equivalent versions of their fi (female informed) range of women-specific bikes had not been launched at the time of the presentation, but I was reliably informed by Mr Boardman that these would follow in a few months. I look forward to trying those out.

All in all, a good evening.

Ring out the mud!

2011-02-23T23:06:00.010Z

So the cyclo cross season is over. Well, actually it didn’t properly get going for me. I was quite keen at the start, all pumped up and full of zeal at first. I did a few of the London League cyclo cross races, but it all went flat after early November.

A combination of cross country running and cyclo cross racing made for an angry cocktail and my legs did not appreciate it! By early November my calf muscles were groaning, by late November they were on strike!

Working conditions did not improve for them over the snowy December period. However, I managed to cut a deal in time to race the London Cyclo Cross Team Championships in February, and our women’s team even got silverware when we won for the third year running!
It was a nice way to end the season, but it's a shame that for the second year running wear and tear injuries scuppered my season. Maybe it's my old body's way of telling me to stop this frolicking and take up embroidery or something!

Anyway, a quick summary of my rather brief cyclo cross season:

My favourite race

The London Cyclo Cross Team Champs. It was horribly muddy and very sketchy, plus it rained the whole time. However it’s my favourite because our team won the ladies’ competition. This was in no small part helped by Delia who was first lady. That was our Godsend because Caroline, who got round ok was marked down as a dnf (did not finish)! My bike packed up, so I had to complete the last muddy lap on foot while wheeling my broken bike! Thankfully my result plus Delia's and Monica’s were still enough to get us the win.

Toughest Race

The London Cyclo Cross Team Champs. There were some long uphill muddy sections that were like riding through thick custard. I couldn’t rest on the descents as the bike slid all over the place. The dry sections weren’t easier as they had switchbacks that were slippery. When my chain got jammed I had to run round the course with my bike, which was tough work.

Most Memorable race
Rollapaluza Muddy as Hell Halloween Cyclo cross. A great race to watch and to take part in. Racing in fancy dress, music, beer, loads of people – it’s the perfect recipe.
I still haven’t gotten used to racing in the dark, but it doesn’t matter – there’s still a great adrenaline buzz. The crowds that cheer you on as you ride through the beer tent and run over the hurdles is amazing. I was pretty rubbish at dismounting and remounting. My wig kept getting in the way so couldn’t see what I was doing! But what the hell, it just added to the entertainment value! The table top was good too and saw a few people clear it bmx style, which was a real crowd pleaser.

Muddiest Race
Hog Hill. It was a mud bath! It seems like the course at Redbridge Cycle Centre doesn’t drain at all! When it’s that muddy I get afraid to do a practice lap. I don’t like turning up at the start line in a muddy mess! At least wait for the whistle to go first before I get stuck in! Not only was the race muddy, the course had no continuity. It wasn’t flowing so you had to ride a bit and then get off your bike and run. Some sections were so muddy it was quicker to run than to ride!

Crashes?
Yes, lots! But they are more messy than painful. I had a spectacular one at Herne Hill Velodrome when I failed to see a solid wooden plank on the course, hit it at speed and went flying into the mud. Once I got disentangled from my bike I was ok. The damage to me was a dent in my leg that was the shape of my chainring, and losing a few placings on the rankings. There was no damage to my bike - which is always a relief since that works out more costly to fix than bruises!

Cyclo cross bike
Planet X Uncle John, sporting new Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels. Sadly, I probably did more miles on-road than off-road with it during the cyclo cross season!

Plans for next year
Hopefully to be able to do a full season and stay injury free. And who knows, I might even get lucky and get to the Yorkshire Dales for the Three Peaks Challenge!

So, that’s it. Cyclo Cross season is over until August. What to do now? Well, I guess going on the tarmac is a bit more preferable to twiddling my thumbs. Better dust down the road and track bikes……

Top two photos by Fred; Bottom photo by R. Marston

Welcome to Humberside!

2011-02-22T00:11:00.000Z

Out and about up North with photographer Andy Jones, we did a shoot for Cycling Active magazine in the middle of the snow chaos in December.
This time we were in East Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Wolds, also known as Humberside!

Sorry, I know they abolished that name some years ago and some places may impose a "swear-box" fine for calling the place by such a name. However, I want to use the term as it does what it says on the tin, and it includes the name of that giant, elegant structure over the estuary.

It's the longest single span suspension bridge in the UK, and the fifth longest in the world. So allow me a moment or two to look in praise at the Humber Bridge - this wonderful feat of structural engineering which marks the grand entrance to the county as you hurtle towards Hull.

Thank you - I enjoyed that!

In the interests of balance we went to a few other places -
Skidby

and Welton.
All very nice spots too. It soon got cold and dark so we had to call it a day. Anyway, whatever you want to call the region, the ride around there was very pleasant and is highly recommended. Oh, and you can read the full story of the ride in the current issue of Cycling Active! (shameless plug!)

Thanks to Andy for a good day out and for rustling up these great shots.

photos courtesy of Andy Jones

Travel Notes: Sea, At Last!

2011-02-20T17:58:00.003Z

Condemned at La Condamine

Barcelonnette, Jausier and La Condamine-Chatelard came and went quite quickly. The most memorable thing that happened there was the hotel at La Condamine - and it wasn't for the best reasons. I'm sure the proprietors meant well and wanted to give a warm welcome to their guests but it all seemed a bit dingy and meagre over that way.

The village is on the way down from the col du Vars where there is a little ski resort, St Anne. It's one of those small family resorts popular with locals rather than long haul international ski jet-setters. It's quite off the beaten track with not much apres ski apart from admire the church over a small glass of vin chaud. In the summer, the abundance of trails in this part of the Ubaye valley makes it quite popular with local mountain bikers.
I can't imagine you'd get many of them staying in this hotel though. Granted, the establishment is cycling friendly like in most hotels in France. The woman was friendly enough, but she was abit stingy with the food. On my arrival, at around tea time it was very welcoming to hear her say "I have a lovely meal of endive, a bit of rice and sauce for you." Great, I thought.

My heart sank as I got exactly what she said. One endive, a very carefully measured, small scoop of rice, with a smattering of sauce. There was no chance of seconds either. Oh, I did get a bonus bread roll. It was smaller than any that I'd seen in any hotel or boulangerie.
Dessert was again one scoop of ice cream, exactly!

Unfortunately there was no chance of getting a "top-up" meal at a local kebab shop or chippy. This was a very sleepy town with no one around below the age of fifty-five!
Actually, there was one bloke at the hotel who was about my age. I think he'd been staying in the hotel all week to do some walking in the local area. The poor guy was skinny like a rake! Thank God I'd only have to put up with such austere conditions for one night!

Dignified in Digne

The schedule for the following day had been to continue in to Ubaye to the Tinée valley via the Col de la Bonette (Restefond) - arguably the highest passable road in Europe. However the morning turned out to be grim, with very misty watery skies. The forecast had said for the weather to clear up during the morning. "That rain won't be going away any time soon," the other guests pointed out. It was what they called a journée fine. So, under very rainy skies I made the decision not to go over the col de la Bonnette, and instead diverted round to Digne les Bains, making an impromptu stop over there.

I hadn't reserved any place to stay, but I feel someone must have been watching over me for I found a very pleasant hotel which had just one room left - a single room. That suited me fine. The bloke was very friendly and was very keen to feed me. (I must have been looking quite emaciated by the time I reached his place!)
Breakfast was a very hearty affair with the whole schbang English style, including ham and saucisses plus extra bread "pour la grande sportive" as he dubbed me. I almost felt like a VIP!

Jean-Pierre was clearly quite impressed to know that I had travelled all the way from London, and was really keen to chat. He gave me all the lowdown on tourism and cycling in the area, and was even more pleased to know that I would be passing through his home town of Gréolières. After lots of chatting about life and the universe, and him wishing me well, I finally left the Hotel du Provence and made my way to Nice.

Napoleon Rode Here!
The route I took was fairly straightforward - the N85, also known as the Route Napoleon. It's highly recommended - there are dramatic twists, turns, ups and downs in the road. It's not challenging, though it's quite long. A few club cyclists overtook me and chatted. Bon Courage was what I kept hearing when I told them I was hoping to get to Nice that day. "You'll be cycling a tad longer than me today, I suspect!" one guy said wryly. Didn't I know it!

It was lovely to cycle in warm sunshine and admire the spectacular views of the Alpes de Provence. I also passed through Castellane. This town was really pretty, though crammed full of tourists from all over Europe, visiting the famous Grand Canyon du Verdon. I had originally planned on spending the weekend there with Fred, but sadly logistics wouldn't allow it. The nearest I got to the canyon was the Casino supermarket! That was a landmark place for me, as my salt levels were beginning to flag and the extra Coca cola with crisps was just what I needed to get that extra zing to get through the remaining 40 miles.

Clued up in Gréolières
About 12 miles beyond Castellane I left the route Napoleon to ride on even quieter twisty roads than what I'd been on. This last section of my ride was the nicest. The D2 road was pretty flat, and completely deserted - just farms and forests all the way to Thorenc and Gréolières.

From Gréolières I was then treated to lots of fun and games as the road plunged down dramatically and twisted and turned through a series of tunnels known as the Clue de Gréolières. I was on the edge of a gorge and had the most amazing views of various rock formations. I wanted to study the sights but it was more important to keep my eyes on the road, especially as there was only a low barrier to separate me from the sheer drop on my side of the road!

Gorgeous Entry!
Just when I thought I'd done all the descending possible, I discovered more, as the road continued its steady drop through the Gorges du Loup. This was a real beauty spot, with lots of people stopping and parking up along the way to admire the landscape. Lots of cyclists were also out on a jaunt in this area.

I would definitely come back to ride here, especially as it is not far from Nice and could be easily done as a day's club run while staying there.

Finally, after lots of downhill, and one small lump at La Colle-sur-Loup I was on the coast at Cagnes-sur-Mer. I was within touching distance of the finish line - well not quite. The ride along the coast from here is quite long. It's wonderful to have a dedicated cycle path to follow, though my day in the saddle had become abit long and I yearned to join the punters on the beach, preferably with an ice cream.

Very Nice Arrival
At approximately 6.15pm, my estimated time of arrival, the phone rang. "Where are you?" asked Fred. "I'm waiting for you at Beau Rivage". "Sorry, I'm running a little late, I'm just along the Promenade des Anglais." I replied. "Ok, I'll look out for you," said Fred in anticipation. Five minutes later, after dodging some rather sketchy looking roller bladers and cyclists I was face to face with Fred's camera as he snapped me reaching the finish line!

I was really glad to see him after 88 miles, 6 amandine cakes, 2 packets of crisps and a pint of coke! I was even happier to have reached Nice after my adventurous route to get from London to the South of France. We celebrated with pizza and ice cream!

Happy New Year

2011-01-23T08:18:00.000Z

A bit late, I guess but it's a start!
Anyway to quickly recap on last year - it was pretty good. I did a few new things like setting up and co-ordinating the London women's cycle racing league. I got a regular slot in Cycling Active magazine, which was abit by default - but good anyway! I met some famous Spanish cyclists and got to interview a few, which was....interesting given the lingo difference!

There were a few other things of note - getting my inerpreting qualification, using my French a bit more and enjoying my job - something that hasn't always come easily to me!

In his new year I look forward to developing on what I started last year. The women's cycle racing league will be running again. This year we have added in some social bike rides, which should help get more folks on board. I plan to do more writing - hopefully in a variety of publications. The language side of things is something that'll definitely get used more - especially as my French and Spanish will be regularly tested at the Meetup groups I go to.

And of course, there's always sport - the thing that keeps my head clear and my body fit (at least when I'm not injured!). During a recent healthcheck I was weighed. The figure did not look pretty! It showed that even a couple of weeks of indulgence is all it takes in my advancing years!

Happy 2011!
P.S - The French cycling trip was fun. I made it to Nice. I will finish the story - just been abit lazy, sorry!

Travel Notes: Riding the Alps the easy way round!

2010-12-04T19:38:00.000Z

Thursday 19th August

Embrun - Savines-le-Lac - Lac de Serre Poncon - Le Sauze-du-Lac - Lauzet-Ubaye - Barcelonnette - Jausiers - La Condamine-Chatelard
45 miles

Who says you always have to take the tough cols to get around the Alps? There are plenty of easier roads that undulate gently through the valley as you pass dramatic and beautiful scenery.

Such was my ride as I rode from Embrun to La Condamine-Chatelard. The plan had been to get to this place from Briancon via the col d'Izoard and the col du Vars. However, owing to the problems I was having with my back I had to take the soft option, so travelled to Embrun and started my ride from there.

Embrun is famous for having an Ironman triathlon race - the EmbrunMan. When I passed through it there were lots of hoardings still up for the race had taken place just a few days before. In fact, a guy local to where I live, Steve Bayliss had competed in this epic race and finished in the top 5.

Soon after this town I was riding alongside the beautiful Lac de Serre Poncon. The place had lots going on as there were various people out sun bathing, while others were cycling, doing watersports or handgliding. There are a few caravan and camping sites around and it seemed like a place where you could spend a week holidaying. There were lots of activities as well as a proper sandy beach.

Although I wasn't going over any significant cols, the road went uphill steadily for around 3 miles and I started cursing. At one point my phone rang and it was Fred checking to see if I'd finished my day's riding. I was only just getting going, and I felt so annoyed at the climb out of Embrun that I felt ready to stop and set up camp on the beach right there! "What goes up will eventually come down," assured Fred. "You can't have that much more climbing to do if you've done 3 miles by the side of the lake. Just keep going." Those reassuring words kept me going and very soon I turned a corner and plunged down through the village of Le Sauze-du-Lac on a very twisty road.

It was quite an amazing road as it seemed to twist right back on myself, rather like the famous Sa Calobra road in Mallorca.

Then I was back at sea level riding right next to the sun bathers.
From here onwards there was no more climbing for the rest of the ride - just flat and false flat. Soon my route left the lake and for most of the ride, followed the River Ubaye along the side of the mountains. This area seemed to be popular for white water rafting. There were lots of vans arriving or leaving with punters ready to plunge along with the currents. Rather them than me. I was happy to admire the fast flowing torrents from the vantage point of my saddle!

After a couple of hours of skirting around the Chambeyron peaks I arrived in a place where there were more signs of life - the quaint town of Barcelonnette, where there was a buzz from the circus that was taking place. Then it was on to Jausiers, where I began to leave the valley behind to head back towards the higher Alps. In fact, I didn't have to travel very far, for I soon reached my destination, La Condamine- Chatelard, which was not particularly high up any hill.

All in all, this had been a very easy and pleasant ride, and one I would recommend for those not looking for a big challenge.
Still, I was glad to get into my hotel and rest up before my last big day in the mountains.

Vuelta a Menorca

2010-11-28T13:43:00.001Z

I had heard of this event when the organiser, Arturo Sintes Lluch told me about it last year at the Quebrantahuesos cyclosportive in Spain.

This year, as they were celebrating 10 years of the running of the event and giving it a bit of fanfare with the presence of Spanish Tour de France winners I decided to go.

With my club mates, Charlotte and Dyanne we made the trip over to Mahon for a weekend of racing around this Balearic island. It was a really fun weekend and we got to meet the guests of honour - Carlos Sastre (2008 Tour de France winner), Pedro Delgado (1998 Tour de France winner) and Jose Luis "Chechu" Rubiera (from Lance Armstrong's Team RadioShack).

We didn't actually do as much hard core racing as I might have anticipated, but in fact the ride was done at a fairly manageable pace that was set by the lead car, and the peloton was kept together. If riders were dropped off the back the car stopped for people to regroup, though that didn't happen much.

Stage 1 was a 113km ride from Mahon to Ciutadella and back, taking in towns of Es Mercadal and Alaior. Stage 2 was shorter, but was the main race where we raced up the highest peak on the Island, Monte Toro. Although it's not that high, 358m the height gain over the 3.5km is pretty significant so there are a number of 16% gradient ramps along the way - pretty tough work!

What really made this weekend for me was the whole social element. People were very friendly, with or without the language barrier. The pros were very amiable and approachable and were willing to chat about their racing days quite readily. I went to a mini Q&A session with all of the riders and they had a few funny stories to tell.

We made a few more friends - notably Gema from Madrid, and Patrick from Cycling Weekly magazine. Also, it was great to be somewhere in late October where the weather was warm and you didn't have to worry about taking your coat!

The final day consisted of a prize giving, where Dyanne, Charlotte and myself were presented with a prize for the "most friendly team"! I'm not sure what made us more friendly than anyone else, but it was very flattering all the same. I definitely recommend this for a pleasant end of season cycling weekend away.

Photos by Elena Gomila Pons

Planning for the Big Day - 29th April

2010-11-26T07:02:00.000Z

So Wills has popped the question and Kate said yes. They've done the interviews, shown off the rock and announced their hitching date. And guess what, we get an extra public holiday next year. And since it's happening at the end of Easter week and right before May Day bank holiday that means for those who are employed you could have a 10-day holiday and only need to get 3 days of authorized leave from your employer. Thanks chaps - jolly decent of you!

All the best on your big day and all that, but it might be that I'll have other stuff on that day so won't be able to attend the wedding.

Who knows, I might be at:
Tour of Sardinia cyclosportive from 23rd - 30th April
or
in Mallorca for Cyclosportive Mallorca 312, 30th April
or
I might go up to Scotland for the Drumlanrig Tearfund Challenge.

But then again I don't have to leave London. While everyone is getting stuck into watching the Royal wedding the roads will be so quiet. It'd be criminal to not make the most of this rare occasion and get out for long spin!

I don't know where exactly I'll be riding, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be a great day, especially in London!

Sunny Days in the North East

2010-11-16T00:28:00.001Z

Normally when I go up north with my bike I go to Yorkshire - the Dales, the Moors or the Wolds.

For the first time I ventured into the North East. It was to do a photo shoot for an article I was writing for Cycling Active magazine on the Pack Horse Trails.

I had a good two days of riding around various trails in the County Durham and Northumberland area with photographer Andy Jones, and our guide, Shane Harris of North Pennines AONB. We went through Baldersdale, Hamsterley Forest and Blanchland. The trails were great fun - a mixture of single track through heather, challenging stony descents, grass tracks and the odd bit of smooth paths and lanes for a rest.

Shane hadn't been sure that my bike would be up to the job, but I'm happy to say that the Uncle John cyclo cross bike handled the trails royally, and the rider survived too - even managing a smile! Thanks to Shane who took the snap. The full write-up on the ride is in the current issue of Cycling Active.

Travel Notes - A Day in the Briançonnais

2010-11-14T21:51:00.003Z

Wednesday 18th August

For those of you who have descended from the col du Galibier and turned right at the bottom to go down the col du Lautaret towards Le Bourg d'Oisans, I'd recommend trying something different. Try turning left!

This road, which leads towards Serre Chevalier and Briançon is equally exhilarating - possibly even more so than the road towards La Grave and Le Bourg d'Oisans.

You are in a wide open valley and can see the panorama with the various ski resorts of the Serre Chevalier and Meije region quite clearly. The descent is not so techical as the curves sweep gently round and the gradient isn't particularly steep. Some parts of the road don't curve at all, and your bicycle picks up great speed on the straight drop down. Just don't dare look down at the speedometer! Above 40 miles an hour on a bike I'd rather not know my travelling speed until afterwards!

I very quickly reached La Salle les Alpes and then went up the short steep climb to the old part of the ski resort, known as Le Bez.

This hamlet had a very authentic homely feel to it. All the folks hanging out in the street knew each other, and it seemed the sort of place that people live in, rather than visit, unlike the neighbouring villages that make up the Serre Chevalier network.

At the youth hostel in Le Bez the receptionist introduced me to the only other woman who would be in my dormitory, Ivana a Czech girl who'd been living in France for 15 years.

As we'd both arrived within a few minutes of each other, tired and having had our own challenges getting through the Alps, and it was just the two of us, we went out for dinner in the neighbouring Le Cavaillou restaurant.

It was a good night out. Like me, she was on her way to Nice except that she'd set off from her home near Strasbourg that morning on her motorbike. She'd been slightly anxious as she'd not travelled this far on her own on a bike before and she'd had some dicey moments riding over mountain passes in the rain. Tomorrow she'd be continuing her route to Nice via the Route des Grandes Alpes. If only I could have had assisted power to get over the cols around here! So what possessed her to ride all the way from Strasbourg to Nice on her motorbike all alone? Ivana said it was the challenge of pushing herself out of her comfort zone and striving for the desired result. She'd gotten used to going on motorbike trips around Europe with other biker friends and for once she wanted to try something different. I could fully understand that. We got through a fair bit of wine and chatted to the locals as well as the bar owner. It ended up getting quite late, and although the effects of the wine put paid to me getting an early start the following morning I didn't feel bad about that at all! It had been a good night.

Thursday 19th August

With a seriously achy back I didn't feel that brilliant when I woke up. I considered enquiring about seeing a physio. It was a shame I felt so bad as the sun was definitely out and it was a glorious day for being out on the bike. I made a decision not to ride over the col d'Izoard which would have been too much for me.
In fact, it felt like any hill would be too much for me so I decided I would get the public transport to Embrun, and then ride to my next stopover point from there, thus avoiding any high mountain passes.

I have ridden over the col d'Izoard and through the Casse Deserte on a previous occasion and I would thoroughly recommend it. My back was not ready to go over the 2360m summit today though. A local guy mentioned an alternative lower road, the N94 through Queyrières to reach Mont Dauphin. Apparently that is a popular scenic road too. I didn't take this. Instead I went to do some sightseeing in Briancon before getting my train to Embrun.

The roads leading up from modern Briançon to its old town are very steep. If I couldn't put my back into getting up those roads I certainly didn't want those roads to put my back out! So I did as much as I could in the upper Old Town before leaving to get to the train station in the lower town.

Briançon Old Town with its Vauban battlements is delightful. The main road, known as La Grande Gargouille is steep, quite narrow, cobbled and fully of arty boutique style shops. The other main feature, as per its name is a drain that runs down the middle of the whole street. For me it was work enough just walking down this street with my bike and trying to avoid tourists and this gap in the road. This road is sometimes used as the home straight during the Dauphiné Libéré professional cycle race. Rather them than me!

Briançon is definitely a sunny town. At an altitude of 1300m it boasts of not only being the highest altitude city in France, but also the city which receives the most days of sunshine per year.

Sitting on the Citadel admiring the views of the town and the nearby mountains became a moment not for taking photos as planned, but for talking to folks. The locals all seemed to have something to say - whether it was to ask where I was from and where I was going, recommending where I should go, asking about cyclo cross in England (Some recognised the type of bike I had.) etc the people had something to say.

One lady got into a long discussion with me about cycle touring. She'd been wanting to do it, but didn't know what type of bike to use or how to plan it. So I ended up giving her a mini talk about my journey so far. She seemed glad of what I had to say and seemed fired up to have a go. I should have set up a stand in one of the square and given a formal presentation. By the looks of things I would have had an audience!

By lunchtime I'd seen most of Briançon old town (Cité Vauban), and alot of its townsfolk too! So I made my way down the steep hill to get my train and start my ride from Embrun.

Travel Notes - Onwards and Upwards - Part Two

2010-11-10T01:50:00.012Z

Wednesday 18th August

Grenoble (Echirolles) - Le Pont-de-Claix - Vizille - Sechilienne - Livet-et-Gavet - Rochetaille - Le Bourg-d'Oisans - Le Freney d'Oisans - La Grave - Le Monetier-les-Bains - La Salle-les-Alpes = 65 miles

This was a tough day in more ways than one. The ride was simply a 65-mile grind along the same road, the D1091 between Grenoble and Briancon. It was difficult to keep motivated, just looking at the road in front of me.

The ride was also very tiring - more tiring than I'd imagined it would be. The col du Lautaret was the main climb of the route, and I'd naively thought that it would be just a little bit harder than a false flat!

Well, to be fair it was like that just outside Grenoble, but once past Le Bourg d'Oisans I began to get a full appreciation of just how tough this is. I have ridden this section of the route in reverse a few times in the past - usually during La Marmotte cyclosportive, and it's a lovely descent. Practically no pedalling from the summit of col de Galibier to the foot of Alpe d'Huez! So the difficulty of riding from Grenoble in the direction of the Galibier should have given me a clue really!

So the day consisted of me riding uphill for most of the route, with the worst section being the 11km climb from La Grave to the summit of col du Lautaret.
The whole day's ride was done under a grey threatening sky! The sun was not in a mood to come out and smile!

Despite all of the above I still found the landscape to be truly awesome. Where the previous day I had been surrounded by the green peaks of the Chartreuse, today was about towering majestic jagged peaks of the Parc National des Ecrins, many of them covered in snow even at this time of year.

It felt strange passing through a deserted Bourg d'Oisans, a place which I associate with being full to the brim with cyclists taking part in La Marmotte.

Actually, there were a few cyclists around on this day, but nothing like the numbers you see during that first week of July. I even spotted the AG2R-La Mondiale professional cycling team, all kitted out, speeding round the corner and up towards Allemont, their team car in hot pursuit behind them.

So after my feed stop at Le Bourg d'Oisans I ground my way up the remaining 40 miles to reach my destination - La Salle-les-Alpes, just outside Briancon.

As I said, the ride was basically a gradual climb, with some notable steep bits near the Barrage du Chambon and La Grave. As I heaved my way up the col du Lautaret I could feel my load getting heavier and heavier and my breathing was more laboured as I was gaining significant altitude. A few times I had to stop to get my breath back, or just to rest my back which was aching alot. I was hungry but I was getting sick of eating the same biscuits and jelly babies. It was after tea time and I wondered if I would ever get there. The ride seemed interminable! I began to curse the fact that I'd planned such a long ride. Why couldn't I have just ended my day's riding at Le Bourg d'Oisans, or even La Grave? What a silly idea doing a whole 65 miles + 10kg of uphill!

I had to forget about the above and remember that the last 12.5 miles would be downhill. Even at this hour of the day lots of motorists were still coming up and down this very zigzaggy climb. Maybe I was just getting tired and everything just seemed to roll into one, but I could have sworn I was just seeing the same old camper van, Renault Megane or motorbiker driving up and down to the summit!

Eventually after alot of battling internally with my mind, and externally with my bike I saw the characteristic dark blue sign that told me I was at the summit of the col du Lautaret, at 2058m.

I was beaming from ear to ear. It was a combination of the relief that I'd made it, the joy of beholding the most spectacular views, and the prospect of riding an amazing descent that put me on such a high - well that and the 1800m altitude gain! It had been a long day but I was happy to know I would make it. Some people may have thought I was a bit weird walking around with a permanent smile on my face, but I didn't care. I knew what I'd been through to get there and I was looking forward to zooming down the slide that would get me to the warmth of my lodgings at La Salle-les-Alpes below.

Travel Notes - Onwards and Upwards - Part One

2010-11-07T23:54:00.002Z

Tuesday 17th August

Aix-les-Bains - Le Bourget-du Lac - Chambery - Entremont-le-Vieux - St-Pierre-d'Entremont - St Pierre-de-Chartreuse - Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse - La Tronche - Grenoble
= 60miles

After a day of getting soaked in between watching the rain I was glad to see the sun come out in the morning. The youth hostel staff seemed more relieved for me, knowing what I was about to do!
One of the members of staff was born and bred in this area and hoped that I'd be able to see the best of the area as it really is beautiful. "You'll not be disappointed." She said.
As I left she asked me to say hello to the manager at the Grenoble youth hostel for them, as that was where I was headed.

The ride from Aix-les-Bains to Chambery is very pleasant indeed. It's a purpose built sign-posted cycle track that goes along the side of the Lac du Bourget and through the woods. You are distanced from the main road and there are just lots of other cyclists and runners around.

The Lac du Bourget is worth a stay in itself. It's pretty big - the largest and deepest lake situated entirely in France. There's a marina and a beach area. Various cycling challenges take place where you can ride the whole circumference of the lake. One for next time.

So it was on through Chambery, another old pleasant town and up through the mountains proper for the first time on my trip. What a pleasant introduction it was - all the way into the Massif de la Chartreuse.

With these things it's those first few kms where you rise out of the town that feel the hardest. It was quite hot on this day as well. Sweat poured down my face as I went over the first climb, the 15km col du Granier. Once over the initial shock of no longer being gravity assisted it was just a steady ride up the gradient that averaged 5.6%, with sections through the trees to keep me cool.

A nice descent though Entremont and then I was up again going up the col du Cucheron, an average of 6.3% over 8km. I didn't take any cafe stops along the way - just kept riding. Seeing lots of leisure cyclists stopped at the little mountain cafes taking lunch or afternoon tea made it tempting to stop, but I soldiered on.

The final climb was col de Porte, which was around 13km. This one went on forever, but I really enjoyed looking at the views around me - the green peaks that watched over me in the afternoon sun were very welcoming. I was getting a little tired though. There hadn't been any long section of valley road between each of these cols. It was just a case of going up, then down, then straight back up again. I was overtaken by a couple of club cyclists along the way. One of them wasn't going much faster than me! I almost caught him at the summit - with my 8kg of panniers racing someone had not entered my mind!

The summit formed a crossroads point with people arriving from all directions. This area seems to be a hub for cross country ski-ing, off-road driving and paintballing. Not feeling in the mood to any of these activities, I rolled down the 18km long descent straight into Grenoble. Lovely, I didn't need to pedal at all. The views of the Grenoble conurbation looked very impressive, nestled in the valley between the two sets of mountain ridges.

Once in Grenoble I crossed the Isere river and then picked my way through the town centre to reach my youth hostel in Echirolles, to the south of the City.

Centrefold

2010-11-04T09:13:00.000Z

Ha ha! Well, not exactly the centre pages of a mag, and there's no hint of a sultry looking semi clad playmate model either!

But for me, it was just as much a shock when I featured in the "Big Picture" double page spread photo in the current issue of Cycling Active!

Nice photo taken by Andy Jones when we were doing a shoot for our London ride story around Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Regents Park. Some of you may recognise the bridge as the one leading from Primrose Hill to Chalk Farm. It was actually a busy Friday afternoon, so credit to Andy for catching the right moment when there was no one coming through.

I also note that quite a few of our shots featured in Mark Ronson's Transport for London/"Ride My Bike" video. Copy cat!

Off-Roading Again!

2010-10-30T10:03:00.001+01:00

Cyclo cross season in London has been going since mid-August, but I've only just got round to commenting on it.

I've done a couple of races and other cyclo cross events. It's been fairly slow for me, but happy to say I haven't had any rear mech snapping so far and the weather has been largely ok. We were especially blessed at the race in early October at Hog Hill, where the sun came out and the rain stopped for one hour between the torrents while we raced. Needless to say we were all covered in mud and my bike was unrecogniseable afterwards! But it was fun!

Anyway, my first cyclo cross event was the Tour of the Cornfields. It took place near Royston on the Essex/Hertfordshire border. I'd describe it as a mild answer to Paris Roubaix - riding along largely flat windy roads which were interspersed with off-road sections round farmfields. The 60-mile ride did what it said on the tin. It was well organised and I'd recommend it, especially as it set me up nicely for the cyclo cross season.

Conditions were pretty dry, which meant was hard on the bones (and on the bike), but on a muddy rainy day this could be a real challenge! Thanks to Mark and Stevie Wyer for putting on a great event.

Patrick at Cycling Weekly magazine asked me for a few words about the event and I gladly obliged!

Hope to do it again next year.

Painful Moments on Yorks Hill

2010-10-27T13:38:00.001+01:00

It was actually a painful 3 minutes and 45 seconds that I spent on Yorks Hill for the Catford Hill Climb. It wasn't that quick (the winning lady was about a minute quicker than me) and it hurt alot!!

When they pushed me off from the start line I gave it a lot of welly and momentum for all of 20 metres - that was easy! But then the false flat changed very quickly to hill and then stupidly steep hill. About half way up I felt sick and had that awful "how will I get to the top now??" feeling, just when the crowds were getting thick. I could vaguely hear the commentator shouting out my name as I was approaching. Oh God, I had no escape as I heard the cheers (and the jeers) while I hauled my heavy body with my light bike up the 25% slope. I was in pain but had to shut down my brain and switch to machine mode. With mouth hung open, eyes with a vacant stare, sweat and snot trickling down my face I ground up the hill. The path was really narrow, as people crowded the tight lane. Somehow they shifted out of the way just as my wheel reached them - good job, as I wasn't going to change my line! After what seemed like an eternity I saw the chequered flag and the finish line.

I rolled over, all hypoxic, gasping for breath. My legs were like jelly and I could barely hold myself up.

A few people came up and said well done, but I barely had the breath to reply to them. So I'll thank you people now!
Anyway, I managed it - through all the anxiety, nerves and humiliation I got to the top, and I was relieved!

Maybe one of these days I will be able to hill climb gracefully and quickly like those Tour de France guys - Maybe not!

Travel Notes - Burgundy to the Alps: A Washout!

2010-10-21T01:07:00.001+01:00

Monday 16th August

Bourg en Bresse - Les Rippes - Certines - La Trancliere - Priay - Chateau-Gaillard - Amberieu-en-Bugey = 20 miles
Train from Amberieu-en-Bugey to Aix-les-Bains

My arrival in Bourg en Bresse initially was a celebration that I had made it after what had looked like it would be a big wet one.

The historic town centre is very picturesque and lent itself very well to being photographed. So that's what I did for the first half an hour after I arrived there.

Being under the warm sunshine among 15th century buildings in the narrow walkways was a rewarding way to end the day's bike ride.

Sadly, all this was very shortlived. Within the space of 10 minutes the sky turned black, and worst of all the sky looked even blacker in the area where I was headed!

Like a fox trying to evade the hounds, I pedalled as fast I could to try to beat the rain, but I was very quickly caught. The raindrops were heavy and beat down on me hard as I tried to find anywhere that I could shelter.

If I'd known where I was going I would have continued to the hotel, however no one around here seemed to know where the Formule 1 hotel was. After a couple of hours sheltering in a dustbin area and also a supermarket petrol station I made my way to the hotel, which, I was reliably informed was about 3 miles out of the town.

Luckily I did't have to travel far for my dinner on this rainy night - just next door actually to La Courte Paille.

Despite the weathermen's best efforts to reassure us that there would be sunshine, I was determined to keep an attitude of "I'll believe it when I see it." I was right to have followed that line, for the following day the sun stayed firmly locked up and rain was once more on the menu. Not nice.

The rain lashed down around us, and I knew that the planned itinerary of going over the cols, including Grand Colombier had to be shelved. The only problem was that by staying in the valley I would be on the main road, which was not the place to be with reduced visibility on a fast road and with lots of trucks around.

In the end, I followed a convoluted route which took me around various little hamlets - still in the valley but away from the main road. It was all a bit testing as I was following an unfamiliar route and had to check the map quite frequently, which was made all the more challenging in the pouring rain. By the time I reached Amberieu en Buguey I was quite drenched. I'd also run out of quiet valley roads so I had to either go uphill and pray to that they bike would handle the fast descents in the rain - panniers, cantilever brakes and all, or stay in the valley and pray that no one wouldn't be broadsided by a truck or other vehicle at 50miles an hour.

Strangely enough, neither option appealed to me. So after a quick drying off session in a local hypermarket I made my way to the train station and luckily found a train that was going to Aix-les-Bains.

It was great to be in the Alps, especially to be there earlier than planned. But this was not quite the entry I'd been hoping for! Once in my youth hostel I used the rainy afternoon to get my laundry done and relax at the youth hostel. By evening, the rain was drying off a little so I explored the nearby Lake and the town centre of this somewhat regal spa town. That was the most I could salvage of this day, which had effectively been a washout!

Travel Notes - Burgundy Wine and Chicken

2010-10-19T16:47:00.006+01:00

Sunday 15th August

Train from Dijon to Chalon sur Saone
Chalon-sur-Saone - Ouroux-sur-Saone - Cuisery - St Trivier-de-Courtes - Montrevel-en-Bresse - Bourg-en-Bresse(Peronnas) = 53miles

My trip to Dijon was abit of a non-event. Not that Dijon is an unpleasant town at all. On the contrary, with its Palais des Duques, and Centre Historique there's quite alot to see. The shame of it was that this was a pretty grim day and the forecast suggested the rain over this part of France was here to stay a while. Thing is people couldn't complain too much. This département was among the ones which had experienced drought for a large part of this year. Typically, the heavens opened when I arrived there!

So I made a decision not to hang around much in Dijon. Instead I took a train a few miles south to a place where I believed there would be less rain, Chalon sur Sâone. Sorry to say that I did not see the wine producing areas around Nuit St Georges or Beaune. The memorable moments of my trip to Dijon were firstly, having a very nice glass of Burgundy and secondly, falling off my bike when my wheel got caught on some tram lines. These instances are not connected - honest!

From Chalon sur Sâone I took the road direct to Bourg en Bresse. I could have ridden via Macon, but as the weather wasn't too brilliant I was more keen to get the riding over and done with. Chalon was pretty but didn't have much else going on, except for a suspension bridge. It looked quite impressive, though a little overstated compared with the unassuming sleepy town this was!

The terrain for this ride was quite easy. No real hills to speak of. It was definitely easier than the previous day's cycling. Thankfully as I progressed further south the weather improved, and after a couple of hours the sun even came out. As I passed more and more villages there were more and more signs of life in these country villages in the heart of the French countryside. It was Assumption Day and also a Bank Holiday in France, so some places had put up bunting and banderolles for a village fête. I wasn't sure if the festivals were for Assumption or for chickens. There seemed to be loads of monuments, posters and pictures of chicken everywhere. This place gave a whole new meaning to Henmania!

In one village - Saint-Trivier-de-Courtes - a local man got chatting to me. Intrigued by my panniers and my cycle touring get-up he asked where I was headed. When I told him Bourg en Bresse, he was very impressed and told me how I was in the best place in France because I could get the best chicken. It's the only place where I would find Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée chicken. I should therefore have a good plate of Poulet de Bresse with cream, and a glass of vin jaune,the local sweet wine, which would see me right for the rest of my trip. It's very important to eat well for long rides like this one to Bourg en Bresse. Take care now, he said as he waved me good day - you've got 30km so you'll be riding for at least 3 more hours!

Travel Notes - Paris to Burgundy - Part Two

2010-10-17T08:49:00.005+01:00

Saturday 14th August

Train from Paris to Montbard
Montbard - Venarey-les-Laumes - Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye - Dijon
45miles

So I finally left Paris on the 1.24pm train for Montbard. As it was really just a glorified local train, my travel time would be abit more than 2 hours. Significantly slower than the TGV option, but then I didn't want to pay 50 euros when I could have paid 25!

The journey was pretty straight forward, and at nearly 4pm, somewhat later than scheduled, I began my ride to Dijon. This area is quite scenic with lots of old dukes' palaces to visit and hill-top villages.

On this Saturday afternoon in August there was hardly anyone around. It was brilliant just having these quiet roads to myself. My ride on Friday through Normandy had been flat with hardly any hill to deal with. I had ridden almost 70 miles without thinking about it.

Today's 45 mile ride was actually quite challenging. It would be the pre-cursor to what I'd be riding in the Alps I guess. There were a number of mini hills and climbs with switchbacks. It looked as though this might be an area where they hold cyclo sportives or time trials as there were lots of markings and people's names written on the road, and "Allez Allez" slogans. So it's not just on the Tour de France climbs where they write stuff.

If I had more time I'd quite happily come back to this area between Auxerre and Dijon, known as the Côte d'Or, and make a long weekend of it. There are lots of cycle lanes around, some of which climb quite high. So no worries about getting in a good work-out. Then finish your day with a glass of locally produced wine - maybe even from the nearby village of Chablis.

Sadly, on this particular day I was riding against the clock so didn't have time to stop and visit sites. My target was Dijon and I needed to get there before dark. After meandering around lost and lonely burgundy villages I was then dumped on to the main road to Dijon and gradually counted down the remaining kilometres to reach my destination.

Although it was the main National 71 road, this was pretty quiet. It just constantly twisted, turned, dropped down rapidly and then climbed up steeply all the way to Dijon. Along the way, I got a great view on the approach to a village called Saint- Seine-l'Abbaye, a very old settlement at the bottom of a twisty steep drop. That part reminded me of the villages you see in certain mountainous parts of Italy, where you approach the down via a steep twisty switchback.

I'm not sure if it was a good idea to stop here, but I couldn't resist it, and wanted to rest a little. Seeing the sky turning intermittently grey and black at the end of what had been a sunny day was a sign that I shouldn't hang around too long so I pushed on reached Dijon around 7.30pm that evening.

My stop-over was the Formule 1 hotel on the other edge of the town, out near a big retail park known as La Toison d'Or. It was handy having shops and a cinema nearby, but it was hardly the most touristic part of the city.
By the time I'd checked in it had started raining heavily so I decided that sight seeing around the city would have to wait until tomorrow.

Travel Notes - Paris to Burgundy - Part One

2010-10-16T17:27:00.006+01:00

Saturday 14th August

Paris

Once I'd found my way to my youth hostel in the East of Paris I dumped down my stuff, got showered and was out again to see the sites of this town which I never tire of visiting.

I could have got on a vélib and zoomed in. There were a couple of stations near Porte de Pantin. I'd had enough of two wheels for one day so used some old RATP metro tickets which I'd been hoarding since last year. Luckily enough they worked, so managed to use my carnet for the day without forking out for any new ones.

Since I'd arrived in Paris a little later than planned I didn't really have the chance to do too much. I did get to see an innovative sculpture based on a kiddies' playground outside the Pompidou Centre. Although it was quite simple there was something quite delightful about looking at the various colours over the fountain. There were more adults interested in it than children. I guess we are all big kids at heart!

Les Halles/Beaubourg area was as crowded as ever. People say that Paris is empty in August as most folks have decamped to the South of France. I think that phrase applies less and less - especially at these times of measures of austerity where people don't really want to go away anywhere. From what I could see Paris was swelling, even positively inflating itself during the month of August - almost to the point of bursting!

I didn't stay out too long as I wanted to be up for my early start to get down to Dijon the following day. So I had an early night and was up early to get the 10am train out of Paris-Bercy train station. I had to get from the edge of the 19th arrondissement over to the 12th. The most logical way to do this would have been to take the Boulevard Extérieur. That was pretty straightforward. It was just a case of following the road which circumvents Paris. You pass all the various Portes or gateways into Paris.

I started out at Porte de Pantin and went through Porte de Bagnolet, Porte de Montreuil, Porte Vincennes, and finally Porte d'Orée, close to where I used to live. It was just a case of turning up the big Avenue Daumesnil and then over through Boulevard de Reuilly to reach the train station.

I must say, everyone talks about how hilly it is around the 18th arrondissement and the Montmatre/Sacré Coeur area, but the area of the 19th should not be forgotten either. Having to work my legs so hard to get over the Buttes de Chaumont at 8.30am was a rather rude awakening!

The other thing which I noticed riding around Paris is how haphazard the roads are. The numerous road works did not help much, but the layout of traffic lights is a maze itself. They seem to be placed so you can't see them very well unless you are standing right up close next to them. Also the lack of an amber light for you to get ready for the green makes you feel like you are about to start a sprint race. You stand there in a state of being "on your marks" ready to burst forth ahead of the eager vehicles behind you.

Junctions are not of a regular shape. They are mini versions of the Charles de Gaulle Etoile roundabout, so you are never sure which way you are meant to go until you have gone right up close to the arrow to know which way it is approximately pointing. You also need to be ready to suddenly change direction when you realise that's not where you want to go. And guess what, the motorists are no more enlightened than you are when it comes to knowing where to go! They chop and change too, so cycling definitely involves constantly factoring contingencies as well as the obligatory risk assessment at each junction! Thankfully, there wasn't that much traffic, and I reached Bercy unscathed!

I was all set to get on the 10.24 to Montbard in Burgundy when I noticed from the long queues at the information desk, and people wandering around that there was a problem. How could it not happen while I'm in France - a transport strike! A trip to France just isn't complete without some sort of disruption due to industrial action! And this was my day for it. Thankfully this was not a full on general strike with demonstrations. It was so discreet that no one really new - apart from the people who needed to use SNCF-TER Bourgogne services to get to Dijon and Burgundy, right where I was going! I didn't have any particular contingency, apart from to book a later train, which I was assured would be running. So I had to suffer the inconvenience of being held up in Paris for an extra 3 hours - what a shame!

As I was in the 12th arrondissement I decided to hang around mainly in that area, with one of my first ports of call being Gare de Lyon and the Bastille area. The clock tower at the station, and the coloumn in the middle of the busy junction are sights which I've taken so much for granted. On this sunny day, however I thought I would look around them a little more, and then visit other less touristy areas which are just as interesting - the Promenade Plantée, The Viaduc des Arts and the bohemian Marché d'Aligre with the Baron Rouge bar. These areas have a warmth and a character that is quite appealing, and it's not surprising that I really enjoyed living in the 12th arrondissement even all those years ago.

Travel Notes - Normandy to Paris

2010-08-13T18:13:00.006+01:00

Friday 13th August

Dieppe - St Saens - Buchy - Vascoeuil - Lyons-la-Foret - Gisors = 65miles
Gisors-Paris by train

I'm working my way through France and seeing how far I get on my bike.
I crossed the channel early this morning and started my French adventure from Dieppe.

This part of the ride is familiar to me now, having done it a few times. But a combination of being half asleep at 4.30am and being shrouded in a mist over Normandy meant I did a couple of circuits of the town centre before I found the road I was looking for - the D154. Once I was on the right route it was a case of following my nose in the dark through various sleepy villages (literally).

Arques La Bataille, Bellencombre, St Saens were pretty run of the mill places, give or take the odd war memorial or commonwealth war veterans cemetery.

Terrain was pretty flat and unchallenging, which was fine with me!

The barrista in the Cafe at Buchy gave me strange looks at 8am when I walked in wearing full cycling gear complete with helmet light. I think he thought I was a walking lighthouse!

The prettiest towns of the day were Vascoeuil, which has a medieval castle. It's the gateway to the Andelle region of Normandy. The other high point (literally as well as metaphorically) was Lyons La Forêt - an medieval town that's really quaint and well preserved. A bit touristic, but not hugely. Well healed Parisians have weekend homes here it seems.

Stopped and enjoyed a coffee in the main square before deciding if I should head towards Gisors or Les Andelys. I chose the former, but in hindsight should have chosen the latter - a) because I already know Gisors, and b) because Les Andelys is much more picturesque.
Got on the train for the last section of the ride - saved time and hassle, and I've already ridden around Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. I had the joy of riding from St Lazare station through the centre, to get to my lodgings near Porte de Pantin. Riding through Paris is always fun and games. Enjoying my evening and looking forward to the next instalment tomorrow.

London Cycle Revolution? I Hope So!

2010-07-27T23:20:00.005+01:00

As I sit here watching a full evening's worth of cycling themed programmes on BBC4, having returned from a bicycle maintenance class in one of the London bike shops, and ridden on a "cycling superhighway" to get home, I realise that things could be picking up for cycling in London.

Is cycling really growing in popularity and in the conscience of the everyday Londoner, or is it just something us cycling folks would like to believe? Some type of optical illusion?
Who knows.

London now has a cycling specific cafe, Look Mum No Hands. Good old Bojo, our Mayor has launched two cycling Superhighways that are meant to make cycling from the suburbs into central London safer for cyclists. We've even got a cycle hire scheme (like what you get in Paris or Barcelona), which will be launched this Friday. Apparently over 3,000 people have already registered to use the scheme.

This all sounds very good, and a great advert to the rest of the world that London is making inroads to becoming a bicycle friendly city.
I suppose the fact that people from all sections of society have been paying a little attention to the world's most famous bike race, the Tour de France, makes July an apt time to launch all things cycling related, and uptake is always going to be better during the summer months.

I hope that the people marketing these schemes have properly thought the whole process through. The music will eventually stop and suddenly there won't be enough chairs (or bicycles) for everyone.

The cycling superhighways will no longer be sporting the lovely luminous blue that makes the motorists give cyclists more room - there may be a few vehicles too many parked in the cycle lane - people out on a Barclays Hire Bike may get lost, have nowhere to redeposit their bike after use and get overcharged. Such are the potential hazards and teething problems when significant changes are made in cycling.
I'm not against these changes at all. I am very pleased to see that Boris Johnson and Transport for London are doing their bit to improve cycling facilities in London. I just hope that they will follow their plans through thick and thin. No one ever said the road to success would be smooth.

The Hurting

2010-07-23T13:35:00.005+01:00

Isn't it a mad world when crowds of people gather along a steep hill to watch us suffer on a slopy bit of road with a horrendous gradient. We are probably madder for signing up to these challenges.

Entering the start gantry arms a-quaking, legs a-wobbling, adrenaline rising, I realise that in a few moments I should explode out of the blocks and tackle The Beast (aka Swains Lane). The time is now! I can't get out of it. OK, I'll put my hands up and say I did the crime. I had the strange moment of excitement and I signed a form to do the race, and took myself off to Highgate yesterday evening. So, I'm on the start line doing the time. Yes, I am the prisoner - I'm held in place, unable to move. I'm trapped in a wobbly body on an overweight bike about to try and defeat gravity and get up the hill! If only I could get out of this "contraption" - I can't walk away, as I'm all set with my number on. I can't get going either - must wait for the countdown. I so just want to release the tension in my body and stop the shaking. Shout, shout let it all out!

The countdown begins - 30 seconds and my breathing's getting shorter - 15 seconds, body's getting more tense - 5,4,3,2,1 and I'm released - I break out ready to tear on up the road. Trying to find the right gear - or at least the gear I'd run through in my pre-race strategy. Oh well, I press on, using my energy but not feeling like I'm going anywhere. Is this the start of the breakdown?

A few metres in, I remember what I'm supposed to do and begin to focus. The first 100m seem long, and drawn out. A few people shout words of encouragement. Then, just as I'm getting used to the gradient, another "step up" appears in the road and the high wall of the cemetery becomes visible at the side of the road - the net is closing in on me! There's no way out of this! The road is getting steeper, the crowds are getting thicker. People cheer, but I can't make out what they're saying. I'm just hurting, I think I will burst, or faint or both. Have the people come to watch me bleed? Oh God, how do I get out of this? Pedalling is the only answer - and hard, if I don't want to fall head over heels! I focus as much as my body will allow me, and pump the pedals with what limited energy I have left.

The finish line comes into view, but it's still so far away. Someone shouts "sprint for the line." I feel sick, I try, but I just crawl to the chequered flag and turn right into the side street. All flaked out, I throw myself off the bike and sit at the side of the road. My legs have buckled and I can't walk anywhere for several minutes. I see other riders finish in a similar state. We are broken!

So that was my hill climb - 2mins 40s up Swains Lane, and alot of pain! But hey, I did it. Memories fade, and I will probably do something like this again!

Photo by John Mullineaux, London Cyclesport

[I couldn't help make references to that 80s band, Tears for Fears - it seemed apt at the time!]

A Sucker for Punishment!

2010-07-19T22:20:00.005+01:00

I don't know what's gotten into me this year. I keep complicating matters for myself by signing up for different cycle challenges. It's true that I like to do cyclosportives or challenge rides of 200km. Those type of events are as much about discovering new scenic places to cycle and meeting new folks as they are about the mission of the ride itself. In any case, I have got to the stage where I know what to do in order to get through a 100mile hilly bike, and I have confidence in my ability to complete such events. (Of course the time I take is a different matter!)

This year I have hardly done any of the usual cyclosportives. Instead I have found myself signing up for tough challenges - the Fred Whitton, the Paris-Roubaix. These are the sort of challenges where you really don't know if you'll make it through.

Signing up to ride the Paris-Roubaix had made me quite nervous. I felt very anxious in the days leading up to the race, and was quite worried about what effect the cobbles would have on me and my bike. At times the feeling of going out of my comfort zone was overwhelming, to the point that the mere thought of battling through the event had my heart skipping a beat.

I'd had very similar feelings in the run-up to riding a cyclosportive event abroad for the first time about 8 years ago. The fact that I eventually made it through the race should have given me the confidence to know that I would be able to make it through this new challenge. But my mind was up to its old tricks and I didn't feel as if I'd be up to the job at all.
The smile on my face when I finally crossed the finish line at the Velodrome de Roubaix said it all, and I was elated to have accomplished this feat.

So, as if all that was not enough for me for one year, I now find myself once again faced with a challenge - two in fact.

Firstly, I've got a hill climb to do this Thursday. A hill climb taking place within striking distance of central London is completely unprecendented and sounds too cool an event to miss out on. So I signed up to do it - the Rollapaluza Urban Hill Climb. Slight snag is that I must winch me and my bike up a 13% gradient for about 950m and endure stretches that reach 20%! I am not the best racer, and with a hill thrown in that complicates things even more!
Five minutes of pain and humiliation ?? Of course I'll survive it, but it will be very uncomfortable!

Secondly, I'm down to do The Three Peaks Cyclo Cross challenge. Now this goes off the scale in the cycling self harm stakes! Thirty eight miles of off road riding is not too bad. It's a different story when it involves riding up and down the 3 highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales. Actually, riding will not be the verb! The story goes that no one rides up them. The first climb involves scaling up the side of a mountain, bike slung over shoulder, gripping tufts of grass for leverage. It's impossible to wheel the bike along, especially when considering that riders go up the peak in a procession and to know who's in the line you look above your head or between your feet! The descents are rocky and treacherous, and have people and their bikes reduced to bits.

So, you've guessed it I've signed up for this challenge. While I do take part in cyclo cross events, this event is a completely different kettle of fish. Rather than the usual hour-long frenzy over grass and muddy trails usually with a small hillock, this will be around 5 hours of all types of terrain that can be thrown at the rider in mountains! The stakes are high in this one. I may not finish. I may finish but with a broken bike, or with broken bones, teeth and skin. I may be lucky and get round, having had a thoroughly miserable time carrying my bike up and down the "ultimate assault course"!
I don't know what possessed me to sign the dotted line and send in my cheque to commit to this event. Now that I am over the initial shock of seeing my name on the start list, I am ready to take on the challenge and punish myself in order to get through it.
I have yet to know the real answer as to why I keep on putting myself forward for these crazy challenges. Maybe I just like pain!

Another Pleasurable Sunday

2010-07-12T21:24:00.006+01:00

As the anti-dote to thrashing around on my road bike I went for a leisurely off-road ride with the guys from my second claim cycling club.
It wasn't exactly that leisurely as there were a few stiff climbs on the trails around Banstead and Epsom, but what I like about the off road rides is that because I'm no good at the rough stuff I do it with no expectation in mind. That in itself is a nice place to be when riding.

This was also a nice place to be - the lavender fields just outside Banstead. Loads of people were out picking them for their therapeutic and homeopathic needs. We were quite content to stop and marvel at the beauty of it all.

We pressed on with our loop to Epsom, Ashstead and then Reigate where a well deserved flap jack was waiting for me at the top of Colleys Hill.

So, a leisure bike ride on two Sundays on the trot. People will start to think I'm slacker!

I actually raced on both weekends but have no results to show for it as technical hitches gave me a dnf and a big fat zero on the score sheet. I look forward to doing more leisure bike rides. I hope that one of these days I can also finish a race!

Taking it Easy

2010-07-04T18:59:00.008+01:00

Today was a leisure day in the saddle. I enjoy days like these. There's no pressure to ride to a particular pace or ride in a chain gang. You just ride along and enjoy your surroundings. A sunny summer's day on a Sunday is one of the best times to do this.
So a group of us from the cycling club did a social ride out to Knole House, Sevenoaks from Crystal Palace. The route went along a few of our regular lanes to Keston and Cudham, down Brasted Hill, and across to Sevenoaks via Ide Hill and Stubbs Wood.

By the time we reached Knole House we'd done almost 30 miles so were ready for scones and tea in the pleasant tea room gardens. The deer with their baby "Bambis" were happy to see us too! They are much friendlier than the ones in Richmond Park, as they are quite happy for people to go up to them and say hello!

After our little stop we made our way back to London - some, keen to get in their miles rode back, while the rest of us took the train. This was the first of our women's social rides and we wanted to make it do-able by all. Overall, people were glad to have tried out a few new parts of Kent, and also to have challenged themselves a little on the hills.
I was glad to have found another place to do a pleasant cafe stop!

Crash!!

2010-06-29T23:47:00.005+01:00

I'm not sure what's going on, but there seem to be alot of crashes happening in the road races these days.
It's a given that road racing carries an inherent risk of crashing . In fact there are certain races like the 4th cat races at Hillingdon or Goodwood where no crash occurring is quite newsworthy!
What is of great concern is the number of crashes that have been happening at places which had been hitherto considered as relatively "crash-free" zones.

Tuesday nights people could choose between Hillingdon or Crystal Palace. Apparently Crystal Palace was favoured by the experienced racers because the technical nature of the course meant there were hardly any crashes, since the standard of bunch riding and cornering was very good. This year that hasn't been the case though. Practically every week the first aid man and marshalls have been kept busy picking people off the ground after crashes. A couple of weeks ago there were so many "offs". I stopped counting after the fourth one! Generally, people end up with a bad case of road rash and a slightly dented bike.
But this year we've seen a few broken bones - and we've still got half the series to go. For the first time ever we had a nasty crash in the women's race too. Sadly the casualty ended up with a triple fractured collar bone.

Even the women's national championships last week were halted for an hour after a pile-up involving 12 riders. Yes, a few of the local girls have had prolonged absences from racing due to significant injuries from bike racing. That's been the downside to the growth in local women's cycling this year.

Furthermore, crashes have not been just confined to road racing. A couple of pile-ups at the track league in Herne Hill Velodrome this season have resulted in riders being left with nasty injuries and no functioning bike. This business is getting very risky and for some, quite costly. Accidents don't just lead to expensive bicycle repair bills, but in some cases, lost earnings from sick notes.

It looks like the growing popularity of cycling racing is resulting in all and sundry taking part. Some folks don't having the required bike handling skills but think they are Lance Armstrong anyway!
Maybe British Cycling also has a part to play in setting up bicycle training programmes - not just training cyclists to commute on the roads safely, but also for those who want to bunch race safely. The drive to get everyone racing is an accident waiting to happen - hell, the accidents are already happening! So how many more accidents are there to be before more is done to upskill would-be road racers? This is definitely an aspect of cycling that needs reviewing.

Surviving the Cobbles - Final Part

2010-06-23T00:27:00.007+01:00

SPOILING THE FLOW

Pressing on through the countryside we passed through a series of more straight forward sections of cobbles. Fortunately, they were not too wet so there was no inherent hazard of riding the stretches - or at least no more than I'd hitherto experienced. What was becoming more evident though was the pain from riding cobbles. My arms weren't aching so much, as I had definitely found that taking the cobbles at speed was the way to experience the least amount of juddering - that technique had paid off. Also having gel bartape and foam on my handlebars certainly helped.

However, I was finding that because of the number of riders on the stretches and strangely enough, a number of naughty drivers who had chosen to take their support cars onto these roads, there was more congestion and I was unable to ride the cobbles as quickly as I wanted. I had to take things down a gear as I found myself at the back of a group of guys who in turn were caught up behind a car or van. Of course this low speed meant I was shaken around alot more, and I also found it more tricky controlling the bike. A few cyclists vented their frustrations on the drivers and a few angry words were exchanged. Nothing like a cyclist/motorist altercation to remind me of home!

PAIN IN THE PEVELES

As we did more an more cobbled sections my fingers hurt as they were getting the brunt of the shaking, given that they were only loosely hanging on my handlebars. Then, as if that irritation wasn't enough we got caught in another shower. The guys in my group soldiered on in the rain, whereas I stopped under a tree to put on my jacket, while hoping that the rain would stop shortly. It was also a pretext to give my fingers and my bones a bit of respite. Luckily the rain didn't last long, and the sun came out again.

Sadly, the sun was not able to dry off the ground in time for us reaching what I felt to be the worst section of the day - Mons-en-Pevele. This section was not quite as brutal as the Arenberg section, but it was challenging enough on my nerves. The cobbles were again higgledy piggledy with holes at irregular intervals. Of course the holes were full of water so it was anyone's guess how the bike would land when you went over them. The road also irregularly changed camber so there was the added risk of the bike sliding around in the damp conditions. In the dry, riders could have ridden on the dirt track verge. However, because this was riddled with holes it became risky using these so we had no choice but to brave this section that was like a mini obstacle course.

Added to the mix was how to negotiate round slower riders, or stay out of the way of a falling rider - of which there were a few. I attempted to overtake one man, and failed dismally when, to my misfortune, and to others' amusement I careered out of control towards the ditch. Although I'd managed to spare myself from a crash, that was an embarrassing lesson in how not to overtake people. So I spent the remainder of the ride, learning to sit behind people patiently while being bounced to smithereens!

The 3km stretch of Mons-en-Pevele, at this stage of the ride was too long for me to take on in one hit. So half way along the road I dismounted to gain my composure and destress before continuing the rest of the section. Were the guys suffering as much as me, or were they just grinning and bearing it? It felt like I was the only person in pain. Some of the Dutch guys riding this section rode side by side and chatted as though they were on a leisurely afternoon club run! Were they actually human??

LAZY BONES!

Finally, to enormous relief I came out of the other end unscathed! At the Pont Thibaut cobbles I took time out to take a few pictures. An old man who lived at the side of the road came out to watch the riders.

"Oh yes, of course Paris Roubaix." It seemed like he didn't realise it was on. "I rode this about 30 years ago. It was a great ride. Back then, we didn't have the crowds that you have now. The organisers were crying out for entrants. I thought I'd have a go, and it took me 7hours. I was a rare breed from the region because many of my cycling buddies didn't want to do it. They thought I was mad! I bet people think you must be mad doing it. You don't get many women riding this you know!" I guess he made that last statement because he was thinking I'd been so focused, on my drop handlebars, in racing mode that I hadn't noticed the other folks around me! If only he knew about my 2 hours of stoppage time and my extended tea breaks!

As I was taking pics he looked at me anxiously. "Are you sure you should be doing that? The cut off must be in about an hour's time."
"No, they close the finish line checkpoint at around 8.30pm" I replied.
"Gosh, they're very generous nowadays aren't they? In my day we had almost 300km to do and we had to be finished by 5pm. And we hardly had any feed stations. You guys are spoiled. Well, good luck to you young lady!"
Onwards I continued, thinking what a lazy bones I'd been stopping and taking photos and not taking the Paris-Roubaix seriously!

THAT COMING HOME FEELING!

The next significant section was the Carrefour de L'Arbre, which was in fact three sections of cobbles in rapid succession, that made up almost 5km of bumps. The last section was very straight and all the crowds could be seen in the distance during the last kilometre. This was the time to look like you were enjoying it, you were fresh and energetic, and in control of your bike. Not! I was all over the shop, tired and bedraggled. And d'you know what, I was past caring. I was on the edge of my limits, and just focused on holding everything together at the lowest common denominator. Appearances were the last thing on my mind!

Thankfully, for the last set of cobbles in Hem, and the run back in to Roubaix there was a group of guys that I tagged onto. It was just a case of hanging onto their wheel road race style all the way back into Roubaix. Once at the entrance into the Velodrome there were lots of folks cheering us on. It felt quite emotionally finally realising I'd made it through the 173km that I started at 7 o'clock that morning. I felt like Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and Thor Hushovd all at the same time! It was a great feeling. Even one of the officials from Velo Club de Roubaix who I'd met from the previous day recognised me and came up to congratulate me at the finish. What an honour! What a day!

I'm not really one for souvenirs, but I made a point of picking up my commemorative Paris Roubaix stone, which now sits proudly on the shelf at home. I was just so glad to have survived the cobbles, and in proper "classics" conditions. At the end of the ride me and my bike were a muddy mess. I was glad my hotel was only a few minutes away. Will I come back and do the full 255km? Probably, but give me 2 years to prepare first!

Surviving the Cobbles - Part 3

2010-06-21T23:45:00.013+01:00

MERRILY ON OUR WAY

From the first check point I made may way along with Jo. Although there were many riders doing this event – around 3000, there were very few women taking part. So the ones we saw, regardless of nationality, instinctively acknowledged each other with a "hi" or a "bonjour". We saw a woman with a group of guys. I’m not sure which club they were from but they were French and looked very stylish in their orange kit. One of the guys kept photographing us, which made me feel like putting on my most stylish pose as I went over the cobbles – not an easy thing to do! The woman in that group had a very lean physique, and looked very fit in her hot-pants and matching jersey. She just glided over the cobbles like it was her regular club run. I couldn’t understand how she was going to embark on a 100-mile bike ride over cobbles when heavy showers were forecast. Surely she’d catch her death! I guess one of the guys in the group was her domestique - lucky thing!

At one point Jo and I caught up with John, Stevie and Mark from Ashwell CC. We rode together, and it felt good to ride with Roubaix savvy folks who had done the event enough times to know the route off by heart.

WATERSHED MOMENT!

Sadly, that happy comfortable feeling soon disappeared when the sky turned black and the rain began to fall. At first I thought it would just be a brief shower, but it didn’t show any signs of going away. Damn, it looked like this would be our lot for the rest of the day! Fortunately we didn’t have any stretches of pavé to negotiate during this time and we soon arrived at the second check point at Arenberg.

As we rolled into the checkpoint at Wallers-Arenberg organisers were hurriedly moving all the refreshment tables from the courtyard into the sports hall. Considering how much food was out there and how many tables and chairs had to be moved they did this pretty efficiently.

I used the opportunity to find the first aid people. When riding over cobbles your aim is just to get to the other end of the stretch any which way, hopefully without falling. You don’t think about anything else. You simply focus on pressing ahead regardless of all the rattling and shaking. You are unaware of any friction on your body, especially in places where you wouldn’t expect it, until later on.

It was after the first six or seven stretches of pavé that I noticed my little finger on both hands were bleeding. What had happened?
When going over the cobbles I was keen not to grip the handlebars too much. I just held the tops of the handlebars lightly. The consequence was that my fingers were shaking all over the place, and my little fingers were knocking against the side of the brake hoods. They’d been knocking and rubbing so much that the friction had begun to take the skin off and they were red raw! It was when I stopped at the Arenberg check-point that I began to feel the pain from them. The first aid group were happy enough to give me plasters for both fingers, though I had doubts about how long they would last, especially given the wet weather.

By the time I’d eaten abit, had my card stamped and received first aid I had cooled right down and I felt too cold to re-start. Not knowing what else to do, I went to the loos. It wasn’t that I needed them, it was just something to do! Those loos were the best thing for me at that time. They were in a new building and the lack of women in the event meant that they were hardly used, so clean. Most importantly, the room was really warm - exactly what I needed! This was definitely the place to be! So there I stayed – not for really long, but about 20 minutes – enough time to warm up.

ARAINBERG!

Afterwards I faffed around at the check-point looking for pretexts to not go out. Why would I want to go out in that pouring rain?? I wanted to enjoy my experience of Paris-Roubaix. If I could avoid a miserable ride over the cobbles I would do so. The check-points were fairly hospitable places with areas to sit, and there were lots of people around to talk to.
As I sat eating I saw various people arriving, all look pretty bedraggled and sodden. No one complained about the conditions - it was just dubbed as Paris-Roubaix weather! People did talk about how treacherous the cobbles had been and how folks were slipping, sliding and falling all over the place. Did I really want to put myself through that? This isn't a timed event so I could take my time riding the course. As long as I left the check-point some time within the next 3 hours I would be within the cut-off!

The folks manning the refreshment tables were pretty chatty. They commented on how they don't often experience bad weather at this event. People still arrive at the check-points in a bit of a state – but they’re just covered in dust and coughing. On a day like this some people were happy to be getting wet rather than breathing in loads of dust!

INTO THE FOREST

After two hours of torrential rain and a mega long tea break (!) I and a number of other riders were back on the road. By now the rain had stopped, the sky was turning blue again and the sun had even come out.
About 100m after the feed-station I reached a level crossing where there were crowds of people and many riders came to a stop. This was the (in)famous section of pavé in the Arenberg forest. Lots of people stopped for photo opportunities with friends and club mates.

The cobbles here are really something else, compared with the other stretches. They are all of completely irregular sizes - some big, some small, some round, some square.....they are not paved in any regular fashion either. The stones point in all different directions and in some parts are very compacted together, then suddenly there are big gaps between them. It's a real botch job of paving! Riding over them was the ultimate bone shaker ride. I could hear my bones rattling as my body vibrated along! Thankfully, I only rode the perfunctionary 100m or so as far as the photographer and then bailed out onto the wide dirt track that ran alongside the paved stretch. I was happy to use this "cop-out" stretch, and so were most people!

Notwisthstanding the difficulty of these cobbles, I'd say that this was the prettiest section of the whole route. I imagine there'll be tons of people there again in a couple of weeks when the Tour de France passes through this stretch.

LIGHT RELIEF

Once over the Tranchée d'Arenberg I felt relieved to have "done" the most challenging section of the ride - or at least as far as I was aware! It was good to bump into more folks I knew, like the guys from GS Invicta, who were out in force. A few of them are accomplished cyclocross riders so they could adeptly overtake riders on some of the later stretches of cobbles that had become a little congested as well as wet and slippery.

Knowing that I was roughly at the half way mark of the ride was a feelgood milestone and I began to feel confident that I'd be able to get through this, even though I still had around 17 sections of pavé still to do! I felt fine, and my arms weren't aching so I was ready to give this my best shot. By this point there were lots of groups of riders so it was easy to jump in with them and get a tow and save energy for the serious business of conquering the stones!

World Naked Bike Ride

2010-06-14T01:09:00.007+01:00

Once again I missed out on the chance to ride my bike nude through the streets of London.

Instead of getting into the spirit of the World Cup in a Crystal Palace pub, I could have been joining the free spirits for World Naked Bike Ride day on Westminster Bridge!

Maybe next year I'll be organised enough to join in with this carry-on. It's not as if I'll need to find myself something where! I'll just make sure I use a very comfortable saddle!

Here's what I missed:

Surviving the Cobbles - Part 2

2010-06-13T22:08:00.018+01:00

Race day, when it arrived was quite a straight forward matter, to the point that I wondered what all the fuss had been about! After we boarded the bus at around 3.30am and our bikes were carefully placed in the trailer we made our way to Bohain-en-Vermandois.

The race HQ was a sports hall in a back street of an unassuming small town. Strangely enough there was no fanfare at all - no banner about the event in the street, no P.A announcements, no music. Just a few volunteers doing the sign-on and handing us route cards, with others serving the teas. It was more like a village scout hut - albeit a rather large one. I had to be shown where the ride actually started. There were no signs!

Jo and I started the ride to minimal ceremony, apart from a couple of photos with a friend of hers. Once on the road, it was a case of just following the painted yellow signs on the ground. In general they were easy to follow, although in some cases the paint had faded and on a couple of occasions we missed the turning. Thankfully other riders around shouted to us if we were going the wrong way.The sight of paintings of people's names on the road showed that we weren't too far off course. It was great to ride the same roads that had been graced by the likes of Thor Hushovd, Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara etc. OK so, our exploits were not being televised and there were only a handful of folks cheering us on in the streets, but I still got a sense of doing something historic.

Within 10 miles we were on the first cobbled section at Troisvilles. I immediately concentrated myself on the experience ahead, and reminded myself of what everyone had said. Attack the cobbles in the big ring and ride as hard and as fast as you can. Stay on the apex of the road rather than on the side. Hold the tops of the handlebars lightly. That seemed to work, and my first experience of Roubaix cobbles didn't seem so bad. There were a couple of dicey moments I had to deal with. Firstly, as the bike jolted around all along the cobbles I heard a sharp noise on the bike as something appeared to have hit the frame and dropped on the ground. I shrieked, thinking it was my mobile phone that had dropped out of my pocket! In fact it was the lamp cover on my rear bike light that had fallen off. I wasn't going to bother picking that up, so I just continued.

Suddenly the road went downhill and I had to come to a dead stop to cross a main road before continuing to the next cobbled stretch. Having to brake suddenly led to alot of jarring in my head and neck. There was also a sharp right hand turn that I almost missed and had to swerve round very quickly. I didn't have full control of the bike at that point and almost rode into the ditch! Luckily there weren't many people around. But I survived all of this, and felt that as I hadn't come a cropper over this first 2km stretch I could immediately declare that a success!

The next few stretches were quite similar, except that there was one section at Quievy that was almost 4km long. The terrain was not nominally challenging. It was just gently rolling, but when you have to do that over bumpy roads littered with large erratic stones thrown together with a bit of cement, it aint that easy. I found that I was quite out of breath when riding over these sections. It was partly due to the physically demanding situation, and also a certain nervousness that I hadn't quite overcome. I did my best to stay relaxed by letting my jaw hang open so as to keep my faced relaxed, and also to keep my wrists limp.

Riding over the cobbles definitely jiggles you about. It's not just a jostling bike that you have to deal with, but anything and everything that's slightly loose on your body. I could feel all those loose bits of flab on my dinner lady arms, and my flaccid calf muscles. I was just glad that I had no loose teeth and was wearing a firm bra! It still didn't stop my internal organs shaking. There was something in my chest that was suffering a bit at first, and I was worried I might end up with internal bruising!

In spite of all these thoughts I pressed on and was still intent on enjoying myself, and admiring the views over northern France in the early morning sunshine.

Very soon we were at the first check point/feed station at Solesmes. There wasn't the bun-fight that you sometimes get at popular cyclosportives, so it was very easy to access to the copious amounts of sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, fruits and other refreshments. As we were in the playground of a sports centre there was lots of space to hang around and chat to other people as they arrived. I bumped into John from London Cyclesport at this station, who was in good spirits and really enjoying himself on his bling bike with the electric gears. I didn't have electric gears but I was quite happy with the wheels he'd lent me for the ride. They were bearing up very well!

During that time I began to realise just how many people from Britain were at the event. I saw jerseys from London Phoenix, Kingston Wheelers, Manchester Wheelers and various other cycling clubs. This event is definitely popular with Brits. Given the various languages I heard - German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish it was also popular with people from other countries too!

Surviving the Cobbles - Part 1

2010-06-07T21:25:00.015+01:00

I'm just back from another fun-packed weekend in northern France - the Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix to be precise. It certainly was north, but even with the rainy muddy conditions that we experienced I find it hard to say that it really was hell. It was a celebration of cycling.

When we first arrived in northern France I'd been feeling a little apprehensive - from the staff at Lille train station to the local chemist, there was a hint of fear for us in their voices as they bid us "Bon Courage" - whatever do these two young ladies think they've let themselves in for on the pavés that even we, as cyclists won't ride??

A trip down to the legendary velodrome in Roubaix made me feel more reassured. My friend Jo and I had decided to ride to the stadium on Saturday afternoon to recce the route to get there later at 3am when catching the bus to the startline.

Coincidentally we arrived there when the organising team from Velo Club Roubaix were doing their event briefing and getting ready to travel to the different start towns for each of the routes.

We spoke to a few of the club members, who were very excited about the whole event. For them it was the culmination of a year's preparation, and they were really looking forward to the coming 24 hours. Mind you, they weren't going to be riding the cobbles!

Marc, one of the guys was really impressed at the size of the British contingent. They'd had 350 pre-entries from the UK, which was a record number. They'd also had 2300 pre-entries in total and were anticipating a final number of around 3000, including on-the-day entries. Seven coaches had been laid on to take riders to the different start towns, and tens of thousands of sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, fruits etc were prepared for the four feed stations.

Another guy gave us tips on how to ride the cobbles, what pressures we should put in our tyres, how to pace ourselves and an idea of the weather forecast.

These guys were not just jobbing event organisers. They were people who were really passionate about cycling, and all the history behind it. Their club house has photos of all the previous winners of the Paris-Roubaix professionals race, though some of them were abit dubious about this year's winner and his bicycle tactics!

Apparently plans are afoot to build an indoor velodrome in the same sports complex, adjacent to the current outdoor velodrome, along with a hotel. This will be ready for 2012 when it is intended for use as a training base for London 2012 Olympic athletes from various countries.

It was good to hear some of the stories behind this legendary event.

Quick Season (so far) Summary

2010-05-31T23:02:00.005+01:00

I've barely written any race reports this season. It's not that I've not done any (although in truth I haven't done many), it's just that I'm not good at recounting races. I just do them, enjoy/endure them for what they are, note down any fitness/skill gain as "money in the bank" for future races, then move on. I check out any stats that I might have recorded if my Garmin was working or if I remembered to switch it on, but overall I don't take it that seriously.

It's always good to test yourself against your peers and see how you stack up at a particular moment in time. That's how I see it really, and also a chance to catch up with folks. I know my racing place - just a local lass who likes to get out on the circuit. I'm good with that. If ever I won a race I can't imagine I'd feel much different to the way I feel when I get a mediocre finish! The enjoyment comes from knowing I've raced to the best of my ability and I had a good encounter with the other competitors. After that, there's not much else to say!

My season so far has been ok. My first race, Hog Hill Spring Rumble was abit chaotic as I hadn't intended racing it, but made a last minute decision to have a go. Afterall it was a London League race and my result would help the club. I finished second last!

The Windsor women's team series race was a bit better. A furious pace was set by the junior hopefuls on the road circuit near Maidenhead. People were steadily being shelled off the back. I managed to get into a good group with girls from the Eastern Region and South Western Region. We all worked together, and managed not to get lapped by the leaders, which has happened to me in the past.

The first Crystal Palace circuit race was a bit of disaster as I had to pull out due to a freak asthma attack. (I blame the ash cloud!) That also impacted on my result at the Addiscombe 25 mile tt. When the time keeper heard me coughing and spluttering on the start line he wondered if I'd even make it to the first roundabout! Fortunately I did - I even finished. Even though my time didn't set the world on fire I was just glad to have been able to heave my way round and get through, while helping my club's ranking in the London Women's League.

I did another Crystal Palace race in which I was dropped from the front group but managed to work with Liz from London Phoenix and we had our own little race-off on the circuit. On this I managed to get ahead of her, unlike the previous time when we raced at Palace.

Those first few races didn't give particularly impressive results. Hey, ho. The last couple of races have been better for me.

I managed to get 4th place at a Surrey League Goodwood race. There were only 10 of us (!) but the fact that I ended up in a sprint-out with other women who I judged to be stronger than me, showed that I had made some improvement.

The improvement showed again when I managed to stay in the main group for most of the race at the SE Championships. When I've done that race in the past I've been dropped within the first couple of laps. Again, I finished ahead of women who I would normally think are stronger than me.

So, my season racing is steadily improving it seems. Good news, though as long as I can still enjoy the scene and enjoy turning up at the races, that's important thing.

Top photo by Glyn Durrant (Surrey League). Bottom photo by John Mullineaux (London Cyclesport)

Busy Busy Busy!

2010-05-30T23:17:00.002+01:00

I have been looking forward to this bank holiday weekend so that I could have a break and take it easy in London. It's often the case that I use bank holidays for the chance to go away somewhere - usually with my bike - and do something challenging. I then return to London feeling like I need a break.

This year I have limited my trips away. I have barely left London this year. Not been out of the country at all - something which I would have done a few times by now. Apart from one trip up to Cumbria to do the Fred Whitton cyclosportive I have barely left the home counties. All this "homing" should be good on my purse - especially since I haven't had to the Euros thing - and be easy living. Wrong. I may be spending less money as I'm not travelling far these days, but somehow I always seem to create work for myself!

So I now find myself using my bank holiday as the chance to stay in London - with my bike - to do a few challenging things that will leave feeling like I need a break!

As I've been involved in the London Women's Cycle Racing League in recent months I need to keep on top of the admin side of things, and keep the mini reports flowing. I've had various emails come in from women who would like to get into cycle racing and are asking how to get started. I also get similar emails from women interested in joining my cycle club, Dulwich Paragon, where I am the women's cycling co-ordinator. I think the good weather has made quite alot of women come out of the cycle racing closet! "I've always thought I could be a racer but I don't know where to go for advice etc.." Result: email backlog.

Writing is taking up more and more time as I've been contributing articles about bike rides in different regions to Cycling Active magazine, as well as little pieces for London Cyclesport.

Also, all that work that I was doing on the community interpreting course has now paid off. I've got my accreditation so I am now setting about looking for assignments - time consuming.

And of course, there's the biking and the bike racing. I'm not even that competitive these days, but it's always good to get out and meet the folks and keep up with what's going on. Believe it or not, even just doing that requires abit of training. I can't get that all-important interview with Vicky Pendleton if I'm too unfit to ride along with her for 10 minutes! I can't do the photo shoots for my articles either. Some of the roots are off-road so photographer Andy can't just drive us to the various spots!

And talking of biking, this time next week I imagine I will be splayed out, feeling shattered, with aching arms after 10 hours of Paris-Roubaix cobbles! I will need time this weekend to take some damage limitation measures!

So, a nice relaxing Bank Holiday weekend....I don't think so!

Summer Cyclo Cross Racing

2010-05-16T18:35:00.008+01:00

Cyclo cross is my favourite cycling discipline so I was really pleased to see that they'd included some in this year's Giro d'Italia.

Erm, actually not! That was officially a road race stage from Carrara to Montalcino (Tuscany), but held on the characteristic "strade bianche" or gravelly unsurfaced roads seen in this region of Italy. There is a pro race, and also a cyclosportive (Eroica) which takes place on these roads, but we normally see these in the early spring or early autumn (respectively) and the conditions are usually dry.

So this is what happens when you run such a race on a rainy day. One great muddy mess! As I said, I like cyclo cross, and all that sliding around in the mud is actually quite fun in a big kid sort of way. But cyclo cross races last for no more than an hour, and I'm good with that. However, enduring all this cack as part of a 220km (almost 140miles) race would just go a little beyond a joke!

I suppose that for most of those guys it's just like doing a "Spring Classic" - a Paris-Roubaix or Tour of Flanders - but with no tapering beforehand and no recovery day, just racing 100 mountainous miles the day before, and the day after! Gosh those guys are as hard as nails!
And huge respect to Australia's Cadel Evans who won the stage in a hotly contested sprint finish - a worthy result for the current World Champion.

Café Culture

2010-05-12T23:37:00.005+01:00

Cafés are pretty standard on a club cyclist's itinerary. Most people have one - whether it's at the start of the ride, during, or at the end of a ride. I have been known to do all 3, if I was feeling a bit rough. My club's local is Café St Germain at Crystal Palace. Many of the local riders in South London go to the café in Fanny's Farm Shop in Surrey. My second claim club stops at Nonna Rosa's in Purley. The thing in common with all these places is that they are cafés that cyclists go to while doing a club run.

Well how about a café that cyclists can go to without needing to be on a club run, or even in cycling gear. How about just going to a café that has a cycling theme, but without there being any sign of lycra. Anyone who has a vague connection to cycling could go in there. Whether you are a club cyclist, a courier, a teenage BMXer even old Bojo or our new Prime Minister could go there with a nervous George Osborne in tow! You don't even need to have your bike, and you can drink beer!

That's what Look Mum No Hands is all about - a new café in Old Street that has a cycling theme and appeals to all types of bicycle rider. I went to the launch a couple of weeks ago and the inside is nicely decked out, with arty furniture in a bright clear room with trendy music - various styles of bicycle hang in the windows and themed modern and retro posters on different aspects of cycling adorn the walls.

The coffee is good, as Lewin is a real connoisseur in this field. And if you need repairs doing to your bike, they have a workshop where Sam will be able to attend to your steed's needs. I look forward to going there more, as it looks a great place to hang out.

This month they'll be showing the stages of the Tour of Italy bike race on their big screen so that'll be another reason for me to go there. Andiamo!

Tentative Beginnings

2010-05-06T00:23:00.003+01:00

The road racing season is well upon us - yeaaauugh!!

Well, actually I've been quite enjoying it because I've been at a number of races and been getting to know the new names and faces in our region, as well as catching up with the old faces. I always enjoy the social aspect of women's cycle racing.

There have been quite a few women's races on, and also with the London Women's League taking off you keep meeting the same women on regular occasions and having almost identical duels.
Having such a league where there are regular ride-offs against one another to be at the top of the individual and team rankings is almost like the race for the Football Premiership title, or even like Formula 1 where there is an individual title and a constructor's competition.

We've had 4 rounds so far in the London Women's Cycle Racing League. All of the races have drawn record turn-outs, including the last round which was a time trial. The 25-mile time trial, organised by Addiscombe Cycling Club normally only gets a handful of women taking part. This year, as it was round 4 of the women's league, they had 23 women. I think the men must have thought Christmas had come! The competition was hotly contested too, with the seeded girls going to all lengths to be sure to stay in the top placings.

We've got a little break in proceedings before the next race takes place in mid-May.

So yeah, the league has gone well so far, and I'm very pleased about that.

I've been at quite a few races, but ugh - I haven't done much racing. All this co-ordination of league races and being women's captain in my cycling club takes me away from training and I don't always have the mind-set to compete or put on the gung ho instinct while racing. It's making me all soft! So, my races have been quite mediocre so far. This hasn't been helped by a bout of asthma, which I am sure has been spurred on by this mysterious ash cloud from Iceland that's hanging over the northern hemisphere.

So, I did Hog Hill a couple of weeks ago and absolutely suffered, I did the Windsor women's team series road race and thought I was going to faint off the bike after one lap. I did the Crystal Palace Road Race and conked out with an asthma attack. I chanced it with the Addiscombe time trial and got through with a fairly modest time. The way I was coughing and heaving at the start I wasn't sure I'd make it to the first roundabout! So I was glad of my time all the same.
Crystal Palace this week was the first race I did where I was trying vaguely to be competitive, and I actually felt good about it. I worked with Liz from London Phoenix and we shared the work as we raced around the tight circuit. Of course it all became a case of each one for herself in the closing laps, but we were really pleased about the way we'd raced - even if we were at the back end of proceedings! I even gained my first British Cycling point of the season! I look forward to getting out to more races, hopefully with more training under my belt. What I look forward to most is enjoying going to the races and feeling like I want to go back at the end of the day.

Photos by John Mullineaux (London CycleSport)

Choices, Choices!

2010-05-05T22:56:00.004+01:00

I've been really pondering things recently, wondering what choices I should make. I've been reading all the various publications and websites and looking at the different trends and polls. What is the best policy? It'll be a difficult choice to make this week, especially after all this uncertainty and at a time when there's been so much running around, meeting people and spreading the word about our plans. I guess it will all become clear after tomorrow evening - when I finally decide if I'll take the cross bike or the road bike with me to the Fred Whitton cyclosportive!

Yes, all that running around telling people about the London Women's Cycle Racing League, and analysing the interest and trends for women's racing has kept me really busy. I've been trying to fit in some training, for the cyclosportive, but it hasn't always been possible as I was concentrating on preparing for the road racing season.
And so, tomorrow I will have to decide if I pack the cyclo cross bike which has low enough gears to get me over the quad-busting gradients of the Lake District. Or instead, should I go for my lighter road bike, which will be more responsive and so less taxing on my resources. Oh, speaking of taxing on resources - there's a General Election tomorrow, who'd have thought it! No idea what the result of that will bring us.
Answers to all the questions will be the day after tomorrow - hopefully!

Warm Weather Training Camp?

2010-03-31T21:18:00.002+01:00

It's that time of year when various cycling and triathlon buddies go missing from UK soil as they head to a warm weather training camp somewhere, usually in Europe - Lanzarote, Mallorca, Cote d'Azur, Cyprus, Southern Spain. There are lots of choices.
I often envy them, as I always welcome any pretext for getting on foreign soil with my bike. I can't help noticing though that March temperatures in these places seem to be dropping with each passing year, while temperatures in more northerly countries including the UK seem to have stayed the same or even gone up (barring today of course!).

Last year in April I had to choose between going to Mallorca or going to Belgium for the Tour of Flanders. Not wanting to put myself through rainy, windswept plains (or rattling my bones) the decision was a no brainer. Sadly, on our arrival in the "sunny island" we were greeted by showers in Palma. The second day was not so bad, but I still had on longs. The third day was the best day, but after that things went downhill again, with the last day being a complete washout. Although I really enjoyed being in our appartment, it felt strange that I constantly had to put the heating on and I couldn't walk barefooted on the freezing floor tiles. Meanwhile from Brussels to London people were enjoying heatwaves!

Some folks who were in Lanzarote this year talked of how they cycled all day through showers. Ok, it's not really a big deal, but when you've paid £400+ for the priviledge and you have to deal with unfamiliar surroundings without your usual home comforts plus other incidental expenditure it makes me wonder if it's worth it.

Looking at the BBC Weather worldwide average temperature charts, London is shown to be colder than other Mediterranean towns in March and April - naturally. But it's not that much colder. Average maximum temperatures in Marseille and Nice in the south of France are only two or three degrees higher than in London during March. Both towns are wetter, experiencing significantly higher amounts of rain during these months!

So, with that in mind and also the wish to avoid being messed around by British Airways and any other airline that's threatening to go on strike I am doing my "warm weather" training camp in Surrey and Kent. I don't need to plan it too far in advance. If the weather's really rubbish I can postpone it till the next day without losing out on valuable time. If I do get caught in a shower, no worries I just dry off and get out other warm clothes. No need to get annoyed at realising I've left behind my favourite base layer or fleece! I've got my home comforts, and I won't be penalised with a mountain of work to do on my return from a week of cycling - because I won't have been away anywhere! And it goes without saying that my purse will not feel the Euro strain, from a week of bike riding around - just my old legs!

League Opener

2010-03-30T22:28:00.008+01:00

Sunday was a big day for women's racing in the London/SE region. The London Women's Cycle Racing league finally got underway with the first round being held at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. OK, not quite London but we wanted the first round to be a race that would encourage new riders. The Surrey League Cat3W/Cat4W races seemed the best option, but due to them being unable to secure the traditional test-track venue at MOD Chertsey, we had to go with Goodwood. To be honest the historic motor racing circuit is a great place to race around, even if it is over 60 miles from London!

Lots of women were gathered at the sign-on desk, which is always a good omen. I just hadn't quite expected so many women on the start line. Thirty-eight women lined up rearing to race at 9.30am on Sunday morning.

I was amazed - it wasn't just the number of women, but also the fact that a) the women were mainly from London so would have woken up at stupid o'clock to get there b) we'd already lost an hour's sleep due to British Summer Time starting c) there was another women's race taking place some miles away at Thruxton motor circuit on the same day.

Racing got underway after one neutralised lap of the 2.4mile circuit. It all happened in earnest with girls trying to breakaway, but with not much success due to the windy conditions. There were various tactics going on among the girls from the different clubs.

While the women at the back end were chaperoned and made to feel comfortable by the roving marshalls, those at the front raced as aggressively as you will get in an all category race.

The race was won by Pearsons rider and former olympic rower, Elise Laverick-Sherwell, as she managed to edge out the highly experienced Hannah Reynolds of Team MuleBar Girls.

Speaking to all the other girls they had really enjoyed the racing and look forward to more racing.

I was really pleased that the event had gone well and the sun even came out for the race - which is always a bonus.
This was a really good day for women's cycling, and it just goes to show that with a little application it is possible to get a good turn-out for a local race. This was the first of twelve rounds of the London women's league, and was a great launch pad for the subsequent rounds. Next rendez-vous is at Hog Hill on 10th April.

photos by Gavin Percy gavpercy.co.uk

The Chicks are Out!

2010-03-30T05:17:00.007+01:00

The road racing season is upon us. I still haven't done any road races this year, but with a little "luck" I should be on a start line near me some time soon!

I might not have done any racing but I've been keeping an eye on what's been going on. What I've noticed is the palpable sense of people gearing up - not just talking about races, but talking about team/club strategies, kit, tweeting about training regimes and gadgets - and this is just to do the local circuits!

There have also been team launches. This year we have a few London-based women's teams starting up. A couple of weeks ago was the launch of the Team MuleBar Girls.
We've now got a revived women's Rapha Condor team, and Pearson Cycles have become serious about their women's squad. It's not just women's teams that are getting organised, but even the local cycling clubs are beefing up their women's sections. A couple of years ago London Dynamo club was the place to be if you were a female road racer.

Now, you've got the pick of few clubs - Twickenham CC, Kingston Wheelers, London Phoenix, and of course my own club Dulwich Paragon. It's all happening. The girls are getting put through quite rigorous training regimes (well from what one reads on Twitter!) and there's a real race on to be the Queen of the London Peloton. Yes, the London girls are out there and it's all getting rather exciting. Now, where's my turbo trainer?

Bottom two photos by Gavin Percy www.gavpercy.co.uk

A nICE Bike Ride in Surrey

2010-03-09T07:22:00.004Z

A big group of us from the club went to ride the Twickenham CC Surrey Rumble. It was my first cyclosportive outing of the year and I saw it as a good chance to get in some miles during an event and also to catch up with people I hadn't seen for a while.

Although the ride started within reach of the Surrey Hills the route didn't actually venture that far through them. The nearest we got was the descent of Whitedown and a stretch through Holmbury St Mary before heading on to Cranleigh and out towards Farnham, Hogsback, Woking and then back to the HQ. We therefore didn't have to toil over many stiff climbs, but the rolling terrain was still quite energy sapping, especially when we spent alot of time riding into a head wind!

The day was pretty pleasant as we had wall to wall sunshine the whole time. But boy, was it cold. Spring is apparently round the corner, but it's going to take a bit more convincing! The temperature can't have been more than about 5 degrees C, and it got even colder when we were in the wind. In fact, there were a number of stretches where we had to dismount from our bikes and walk round icy or slushy sections. Thankfully we didn't get this on the steep descent at Whitedown.

The organising club did a great job in putting on a well organised event, and it was especially considerate of them to have laid on hot drinks at the feedstations!

Most of the Dulwich riders set off as one big group, and then we split into smaller groups as we found our own natural paces. I rode with my club-mate Peppi, who was around the same speed as me. We then parted company at the intersection when she did the 75-mile long course and I opted for the shorter 57-mile route. I wasn't on my own for too long though as I was able to latch onto different groups that went by. Finally, I settled with two riders from Crystal Palace Triathlon club. They were training for an Ironman, so this bike ride must have been a stroll for them! It was good to have people to share the work with and keep each other going towards the end, when we were all beginning to feel it.

Back at the HQ was a chance to endulge in more hot drinks, plentiful sandwiches and that all important element, cake! All in all, a nice, if a little chilly bike ride.