Being thankful and living in the present

Once again I find a cycling metaphor and experiences resonate into my wider life and lifestyle. On a recent cold morning ride my club mate was exclaiming how his hands were just failing to warm up, I turned to them and said when the elements or the ride gets difficult, I tend to find one maybe two things happening right now that I am thankful for. Usually and case in point its my rapha merino base layer or the fact i decided to wear two pairs of socks. On harder mountain days its usually a rice cake or the fact its not raining. I tend to find you start channelling your thoughts away from your cold hands they start warming up. Cupping your balls and riding one handed for a while also helps.

Recent weeks off the bike have been some of the hardest Ive been through and I've just had a moment of clarity, and started thinking everyday I'm gonna state one thing I'm thankful for and take it from there.

Cycling gives you a brilliant living in the present feeling. Off the bike its sometimes harder. I once heard someone say if you're having a bad day don't try to hide it, acknowledge it, and go talk to someone.

olivetti valentine

Read more here

Ride of the falling leaves w/ a Prologue

Ride of the falling leaves put on by Dulwich Paragon is a London nod to the Giro di Lombardia which Rodríguez took on Sunday. A great race well organised and a brilliant way to see out the season in style, we were graced with a beautiful day and beer at the finish line. My Gold time almost put into jeopardy by riding through the traffic towards the finish like a gentleman of the roads (which of course you should be at all times) and more so the club 10 was the day before. My legs felt so heavy after a super busy week, but still managed a 25min time on the hilly north london course shaving over a minute of my previous pb. All in all smiles all round.

Alpe d'H pics

Apologies for delay but heres a few pics from the Alpe in July. I've chosen 3 – its my lucky number and was very welcome on the day, plus Pantani was a bit of a ledge when i was growing up.

"Find what you love and let it kill you"

Just came across this inspiring article on the guardian. After Wales, Roubaix, Yorkshire, France and countless rides out of London since November I feel a little lost. The tour is over too. The rain is pouring down the studio windows this morning and I miss having something to aim for. Partly my body just won't let me do it, I'm not broken just enjoying/needing a more relaxed few weeks after returning from france. Social rides are the order of the day, making time for friends and family, apologising endlessly for the absence. I'm looking forward to the next event (a time trial in September), and racing next year and let it break me.

Born to climb

Great web piece from L'equipe once again found via irng

Sometimes I feel like this...

when I'm riding with steve
found at inrng

My Friend Steve

Off the bike...


On the bike...

All the days you don't see

ASICS "Made of Sport" from nicholas berglund on Vimeo.

By Henrik Hansen

Giro – Analog is king

With four days to go Bradley Wiggins, lets face it the favourite for this years Giro will be riding traditional mechanical gearing. After his troubles last year with electric. Exciting stuff this is where my season officially starts. After muscle issues after doing Roubaix I am back to hill reps and long mid season rides. Happy Pasta Days.

Reinventing the Wheel

Found at James Medcraft

Pics from Roubaix

On the velodrome day before Cancellara rode to victory





Chapeau steve for pics.

Hell only Knows

I've never dreamt of cobbles. English potholes and gravel are enough for me. I'm a 5ft8 slight figure of a man with oil painting looks. I'm a climber, a romantic with a wondering mind and imagination. I dream of wide alpine roads during the winter months. The classics esp paris roubaix, have so many tales that I don't associate with cycling, it sounds like another sport for proper bruts of men. Look at Tom Boonen. He looks like he's been carved out of the landscape. The Belge god of fire or something. I'm an artist. with a winter skin care routine. So why did I say yes to this? The suffering, the heritage of finishing in the Roubaix velodrome, and to say I have done that. Is basically why. Cos I keep thinking there must be another good reason.

Tour of Flanders

So flippin excited, usual sunday club run is gonna be finished with recovery Belgium beer and watching flanders. Taking in as much as I can for next weekend's adventure, Paris Roubaix, which looks like I'll be riding after all (more on that shortly).

Nice photography

Victoria Ling. As seen in the latest issue of cyclist magazine (which is very good btw).

Ass Saver

I'm getting me an ass saver for spring as seen at San Remo

Newport Velodrome

Well I never

Every time i think that Rapha lot have jumped the shark, they soon enough reel me back in all bulged eyed and fuzzy. I have always loved their merino base layers, I pretty much live in them and they know how to make good eye candy. Some of the emails between rapha and team sky are quiet funny and remember to refer to rule 7

I was in their air street store today for the first time and if you love cycling its hard not to be impressed, though perhaps being overly impressed with the toilets is a little wrong, but they're nice. I remember being dragged to a hawaiian themed bar in Kennington years ago, palm trees, grass skirts, inflatable animals silly drinks etc but when you went to the bathroom it was the worst toilet in south london, piss everywhere, graffiti, would it hurt to put a catcus in here? toilets are a theme too far in that theme bar. not here. Anyway enough about that. really nice application of their brand in a space basically. and got to watch cycling on a massive telly and drink nice coffee for an hour or so.

Condor x Lotus

Viva de Vivie

Just been reading about Paul de Vivie via the inner ring The guy coined the term cyclo sportive and lobbied for factories to make bikes not weapons at the turn of the century. Read the full story on the inner ring blog but he also wrote seven commandments Of cycling which still hold up today.
1. Stop rarely and briefly, so as not to lose your rhythm
2. Eat little and often and eat before you are hungry, drink before you’re thirsty
3. Never push yourself into such fatigue that you lose appetite and cannot fall asleep
4. Wrap up before you get cold, undo layers before you get hot and do not fear exposing the skin to the sun, air and water
5. Cross out, at least when riding, wine meat and tobacco from your diet
6. Never force the pace, ride within your means, especially during the first few hours when you’re tempted to ride hard because you feel full of energy
7. Never ride for show or vanity (#rapha)

Reflecting on whats ahead of me...

Spent the morning, a) worrying my winter training has been a little broken up and b) looking at the marmotte climbs against the last years etape. Now its half of one and however the rest of that expression finishes, stage 11 was either up or down with only a very short "flat" section of about 2km. Now while that middle section of the marmotte looks a bonus the telegraph & galibier kick up pretty hard with sections of 13-14%. and those 21 hairpins of alp d'huez are going to hurt. why do i keep doing this to myself.

tdf stage 11 2012 (etape)

profile marmotte

what cycling boom?

Sad news – my local bike shop (LBS), 'two wheels good' is closing its crouch end shop. For the last three years its been my saviour. Quite often something happens and i panic (like seriously fret) "my club ride is tomorrow" or "meeting is in town" and i dont have that tool to fix that. On such occasions i visit my lbs. Ive just been in on a typical visit, my single speed threaded headset came lose after hitting a pot hole last nite. i dont have the wrenches to do it myself so popped down the road to have it fixed on the spot. And two weeks ago they fixed a spoke in my winter wheels that broke, again on the spot as i made conversation. Both jobs individually cost less than a pint and a bag of crisps (or coffee and cake is more apt for crouch end) and certainly less than a well own high street cycle chain store. The well own high street cycle chain store in central london charges over twice as much for minor repairs than its same store services in other parts of london and UK. (note: i dont use them i looked online). And charges you £14 it fix a puncture. Now i agree with this one charge as if you're riding a bike you should be able to do that one yourself. but £14 is more than both my lbs service charges together. Now some of you may be thinking thats why they are closing they should charge more, but if you know anything about bikes, they is only so much you can charge for a spanner going clockwise a quarter turn in front of your eyes. Good news is that 'two wheels good' still has its stoke newington shop (please visit). Bad news is i kinda liked those guys, we'd say hello at races or events and i'd tell people at the club to use them. Crouch end has so many cyclists i just dont understand. Bad Bad news is you know the shop will be turned into another cake shop. Crouch end is the cakey-ist place on earth and doesn't even have a cake named after it. To the people of london i ask you to put down your banana loaf and support your lbs.

Roll up Roll up

Tour down under

Problem with following the tour down under is makes this time of the year even worse. Juicy pro bike pics from cycling tips – thank you. Felt F1 equipped with Shimano Di2 and Dura Ace C-50 wheels. This one is Marcel Kittel of Argos-Shimano 2012 steed. Notice the sprint shifter a la campag.

God's own Country

So as you'e heard 2014 edition of the tour will start in Yorkshire, Stage 1: Leeds > Harrogate Stage 2: York > Sheffield and Stage 3 will grace some of my training roads of Epping and Cambridge before finishing in that London. In honour of this and as Marmotte training a couple of us have signed up for the Etape du Dales ride in May. My Yorkshire side of the family are getting very excited and its true those Northerners come from tough stock. Brian Robinson (from Hudderfield) was the first British rider to finish the tour and win a stage in 1958. Riders still say doing the tour takes five years off your life, note pictures above are from 1958 and present day.