Ride Stats: October

Not a bad month, with bang-on 900 miles on the clock. A fair few of them commuting miles now I'm back at University, and as a result the average speed has dropped off a bit.

Weight down a bit for the hill climb, although it didn't seem to do a whole lot of good if you read my race report from it.

Into the winter training rides now, so hoping for some good miles and some cold, crisp mornings.

'The Race' Poem

Riders form rank on the starting line, 
Heart beats jumping and thumping in time 
A silent veil covers the field of loud colour 
Nervous glances and nods exchanged amongst one another. 

The commissaire shouts. The flag goes up 
Commence battle of riders, the fight for the cup. 
Eyes flash behind dark glasses. Keep rivals near. 
Watch the pack for movement, breaks try to get clear. 

At the opportune moment you time your attack 
Too early you'll falter, too late get pulled back.
Stealthily move forward, a team-mate close by, 
You click down a gear, push hard, catch his eye. 

The radio crackles, "Open the taps!" 
Use every fibre in your body to establish a gap. 
Adrenaline flows, sweat beads on the brow 
This is your moment. Right here. Right now. 

After three long minutes you chance a look back, 
You've opened two hundred yards on the bulk of the pack.
One rider in tow, you're not fully alone
Time to calm down now, get in the zone.

Like comrades you toil for twenty hard miles
Working in unison, clockwork in style,
No chance to surrender, no chance to drop back,
Commit to the cause, stay clear of the pack.

Final climb approaching, you sit second wheel
Your chance of success is becoming all the more real
Throw away your bidon. End your alliance.
It's all for one now, a battle to triumph.

You jump out the saddle. Swing out. Sprint forward.
He can't react, leave him grimacing, exhausted.
You power on, tunnel vision, you see the light,
Crowd roaring, the finish line in sight.

On the final straight with arms raised to the sky
Your victory salute waves the doubters goodbye
The podium steps beckon, the medals shine
This was your race. The Race. Your time. 

'The Race' describes my first season on the road racing circuit. Demonstrating the mixed emotions, feelings, pain and triumph associated with my first win. Cycling is a sport where races are played out moment by moment, no one is ever sure of the result until you cross the line. I hope this poem conveys the excitement and enjoyment that this experience brings.

Race Report: BUCS Hill Climb 2012...Confused

Perplexed, annoyed and relieved. Those three words seem rather juxtaposed, but that’s kind of how I felt about my result from Saturday’s BUCS hill climb championship at Curbar Gap.

I came in with a time of 06:28, which was 21 seconds slower than last year, and a long way off the pace of the best riders, who were clocking in times around the 05:50 mark.

I say perplexed and annoyed because I’m not really sure what went wrong. I’ve had a strong season and have been going reasonably well on the hills if the CRC Mountain Bike Marathon and the Seven Hills Killer was anything to gauge it by. Rather than being overly disappointed with my result, it was more a case of confusion, much the same as when you get a piece of coursework back that you think was good, and then it turned out to be a C grade.

So I tried to pin it down on the long drive back from the Peak District. It could have been expectation; last year it was such an unknown of how I would do, and as a result there was no pressure at all, although that seems unlikely as I normally cope with pressure OK. It could have been that last year my France and Spain Touring Trip placed put me in better stead preparation-wise than I thought it had, although that seems unlikely as the Mountain Bike Marathon and the riding that I did in September was pretty hilly this year.

I think it more likely that I haven’t done enough in the past month; or rather, I haven’t done enough of the right kind of training in the last month. Since the Seven Hills I’ve pretty much just been doing commuting, a few turbo sessions and longer rides at the weekend. What I should have been doing was continuing with the very hilly rides and hill repeats from the very end of September.

So there it is, post-mortem complete. Could have. Should have.Would have.

If I want to do some more hillclimbs next year, I know what to do; and hopefully with a job and a car, I can get to a few more and not just do one a season.

It was good fun though, despite the mediocre result, and was certainly a good break from studying. More than anything there is a bit of a wave of relief that the season is over; it’s been a long one, and a very enjoyable and rewarding first one on the road. I’ll write a blog post in the next few days about how many of my 2012 Objectives I completed and what has been shunted over to next year.

Right. Time for a beer.

Weekend Watch: Best Of The Tour de France 2012

Review: Geax Roadster Tyres

When I built up my latest commuter bike I opted for slick tyres, tired of the lost energy and noise from using mountain bike tyres on the road.

I chose the 26 x 1.5 Geax Roadster set, which come in at a very reasonable price of around £14 a tyre. Having used them for a few months and several hundred miles, I continue to be impressed by them, from a multitude of perspectives:

Durability: I clock in around 95 miles a week of commuting when I'm at Uni, and a similar amount when I was working during the summer. These tyres have been on the bike since July, probably racking up a total of around 850 miles to date. Yet they show nothing of it! The centre seam on the front tyre is still proud of the tread from when it was moulded, and on the back tyre, despite being burdened with heavy panniers every day, the wear is negligible. That's a pretty impressive performance by any ranking, and I can see that these tyres are going to last a good few years of abuse.
 
Puncture Protection: One of the things that attracted me to these tyres from the outset was the good comments in reviews about their puncture protection, and I'm pleased to say that I can vouch for them as well. I've ridden them through glass, thorns, jumped off curbs and even (when I was feeling particularly confident) taken them off-road down a flint covered bridleway. With all that I have only had one puncture, and in the tyres' defence, that was when I hadn't pumped them up for a while. That really is pretty outstanding for a pair of budget tyres, without any kind of secondary puncture protection!

Grip: The tread pattern is similar to a motorbike or car tread - taking water away through groves on the side of the tyre. It seems to work well, grip hasn't been a problem on wet roads, leaves or even when I've taken the bike off-road a few times. It seems to cope well with being rear-end heavy and they front of the bike still feels solid on the ground.

Versatility: As mentioned above, I've happily taken these tyres off-road, and down flinted cycle tracks. They hold their own at least on the hard-pack stuff and have sufficient puncture protection to overcome the risks that you face when you do this on a road bike. The 1.5 inch profile means that they can be used with standard mountain bike tubes, if you are careful to make sure that the rim bead is not trapping in the tube before you inflate it; this is another bonus compared to using smaller profile tyres that require a lower volume tube.

Overall, a very pleasing product purchase. Robust, versatile and fast. It's a major improvement over using nobbly tyres on the road, and in the long run it will probably save you money due to the harder compound and lower rolling resistance.

Review: The New 'Cyclist' Magazine

I picked up the launch copy of the new 'Cyclist' magazine last week, and haven't been able to put it down since. It's something a bit special, that's for sure.

With the matt finish cover featuring a stunning picture of the Swiss Alps, the magazine oozes class at a glance. Open it up and that impression permeates throughout; The 'Leadout' kit review section looks at the top of the range Trek Madone 2013, as well as £200 + Sportful jackets and Rapha Winter jerseys. It's clear from the outset then which end of the market this mag is aimed at (if the £5 price tag was not enough!).

That's not to say that there is not something for everyone in this coffee table journal. The pieces that really caught my eye were those looking at the history of our sport. Avid cyclists can't help but wonder and marvel at the intricate past of the two wheeled world; I myself am currently reading Chris Sidwell's fantastic 'A Race For Madmen', which is an in-depth history of The Tour. 'Cyclist's' launch issue has pieces on the history of Le Coq Sportif's involvement with the Yellow Jersey, Oakleys through the ages; and my personal favourite, a piece on the legendary Colnago Bikes. The writing is captivating, the photography intimate and artistic, and the opinions well informed.
For those that have an interest in the past years of the sport, there is some unmissable reading inside these covers.

It is not just an interesting, well written history lesson though; there is a wide range of articles, with something for everyone. The Swiss Alps route guide is detailed, personal and diary-like; with some fantastic illustrations and advice. For the training minded, there is an in-depth and very educational piece on the use of power-meters, which although I am not familiar with them yet, my team captain found the article very useful.
There is also a great review piece on shorts, a bit of kit that many overlook the importance of, as well as some serious bike porn in the form of new offerings from De Rosa, Cannondale and Seven.

Another rather special and unique piece for the sportive rider is the profile of the Velothon Berlin Sportive. I must admit that not being a sportive rider myself, I hadn't heard of this one, but it looks amazing! The photos of the 14,000 riders tearing through the streets of Berlin is something to behold, and frankly something that I quite want to have a go at myself! *adds to lifetime to-do list*.

So, overall a great mag. The only downside that I can see is the price tag, which is slightly higher than your standard cycling mag. There is also a fair bit of advertising, but then they have to find some way of funding the release right? Aside from those minor digs, this really is a bit of cycling reportage that is comparable to Rouleur in its feel, quality and content; but with the excitement of being a monthly release.

They have a special offer on at the moment, where you can get three mags for the price of one, and get a free gift. In my opinion, well worth checking it out!

Ride Stats: September

Not a bad month, not a huge amount of hours or miles compared to July or August, but that is partly down to weather, a few indoor sessions and a fair bit of my riding last month being made up of XC riding; which I typically do less mileage on.
Back to Uni now, so it will be all road riding for the next ten weeks, a bit of hill climb specific training until the end of this month; but otherwise the start of the long winter base mile rides.