July 2nd, 2009 — cycling-
Pedaling a Velib Bike
Here a man is pedalling a free bike hire bike by Velib (well, free for first 30 mins). They were quite common in Paris and seem to indicate a fairly successful bike hire scheme.
Cycling in Bastille
Cycling through Bastille, there is a very good ice cream shop near here.
Fighting through traffic
A woman weaving her way through stationary traffic. This was taken outside Gare Du Lyon on a Saturday afternoon. It was quite a chaotic scene, French car drivers are quite liberal with the car horn, the traffic was mostly stationary and cyclists were weaving through the stationary traffic.
Continue reading →
July 1st, 2009 — bikes-
I must have had about 9-10 different cycle computers, I seem to go through cycle computers quicker than I do bikes. As a bit of a statto I do like to know how far I’ve been and at what average speed. It’s useful to keep a training diary and record how far you’ve been. When training it’s good to have a vague idea of how fast you’re going. For example, when you do your first 10 mile TT in January in 27 minutes, at least you know, your usually this slow at this time of the year.
Looking back through the training diary, it can remind you of epic rides.
- Stow On Wold - 105 miles, 5:20:08, av. Sp 19.1 mph may not mean much to many, but it reminds me of a great ride 4 years ago. Just seeing that one line in the training book can recall memories of a ride long ago.
Cycle Computers can have their disadvantages, recently, I’ve been paying alot of attention to average speed. Finishing with an average speed of 21mph feels great. But, to maintain the high average, I’ve been choosing faster, busier roads. They are not that busy, but, if I didn’t have a speedo, at least sometimes, I would choose, quieter, hillier roads.
There was also a time when I would put down every single ride, in the training book, - even a 3 mile commute into town, but, when my computer on my commuting bike broke, I never replaced it. Somehow using a speedometer for a slow 3 mile commute into town doesn’t seem worth it. As a commuter I’ve become slower, especially since I started using a canal bank for the commute. When you’re going slow you don’t really want to be told, your doing 12mph.
I used to check the cycle computer at regular intervals during a ride, but, now pretty much ignore it until the end.
I’ve found cycle computers quite prone to breaking down, and the watch function is usually bad at keeping time.
Continue reading →
June 30th, 2009 — cycling-
I don’t know how the older generation of cyclists managed without being able to visit cycling forums to gain all the latest news, endless discussion, criticism et.c. They probably spent more time training…
There was a time when I spent quite a bit of time reading and posting on a few cycling forums. But, when I started to have my own cycling blog, I lost the habit, and now try and use them as a source of information - very rarely posting anything but trying to find some information.
Some Observations of Cycling Forums.
Endless Debate. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thread where everyone agrees. Whatever the topic, you will get different opinions. If it is about doping. Opinions will range from ‘everyone’s at it’ to ‘Cycling’s the cleanest sport’. Sometimes you think people like debate for the sake of it. The problem is that if your looking for advice, you can read a thread with many conflicting ideas / opinions. After reading some threads, rather than gaining any useful information I just left confused - although maybe that’s me, I mean I have got confused between Km and Miles in the past… But, when every Tom, Dick and Harry gives his opinion it can be difficult to learn anything. There’s probably good stuff posted, but, it’s hard work separating the wheat from the chaff.
It Can be Addictive. Sometimes I go to a cycling forum to find a result of a race and before I know it I’m reading a thread about the relative merits of a riding on a dual carriageway in Essex. I’ll never visit this dual carriageway in Essex, yet I end up spending time reading about traffic flows on the A46 like it actually meant something to me.
It’s easy to criticise. It’s easy to criticise and forums have more than their fair share of criticism for just about anything.
Sometimes Humorous. The only thing that saves cycling forums is humour. You can easily take yourself too seriously writing on forums. At least humour can puncture some of the more absurd opinions and egos.
Sometimes they can actually be useful. On very rare occasions, cycling forums can be really useful giving you a piece of information that you can’t find anywhere else. Where else could I find the weight in grams of a Shimano Dura Ace, 9 spd rear mech - except on a cycle forum dedicated to talking about the weight of cycling components? Weight Weenies I once asked a question where a course was, and within 5 minutes someone had asked all my questions. The problem is that to get the useful piece of information, you often spend 15 minutes getting sucked into useless threads.
Continue reading →
June 29th, 2009 — cycling-
Cycling across the Channel
An interesting site by Yvon Le Caer. In his earlier days Yvon Le Caer raced on the continent as a pro. Later he retired to America and took up the challenge of cycling on water. One challenge he successfully completed was to cycle across the English Channel from Cherbourg To Poole (75 miles as crow flies, 92miles in event. The crossing took 16 hours 42 minutes.
It’s certainly a great achievement. I can’t say I’ve heard of many who have cycled across the English channel. As well as the athletic challenge there are also the great logistical challenges - not least avoiding one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. His attempt gained him entry into the Guinness World Record book.
Yvon racing in Europe
Yvon Le Caer biography
June 27th, 2009 — bikes-
A model bike rack at Leeds Central train station. Bikes are highly visible and close to the train terminal. This helps protect against theft. The bikes are covered from the rain and although it is well used, there is space for more bikes. The U frames also enable you to lock the bike frame.
The great advantage of bikes over cars is that they take up much less space. (see: pic space taken by bikes and cars) Parked cars frequently reduce half the width of a road, turning a reasonable sized road into a one way system. If parked cars were replaced with parked bicycles, there would be a huge improvement in traffic flows as so many roads would be effectively widened.
Competition for bike parking in Oxford is intense meaning that bikes often spill onto the pavements
Yet, despite, the low space required by bikes, parking for bikes is often inadequate and cyclists find no suitable places to park. This is a typical scene outside Lincoln college.
Abandoned bikes often contribute to the problem of bike parking. A high % of parked bikes are abandoned, you can tell by their rust and broken components.
Continue reading →
June 26th, 2009 — training-
A slow recovery ride
After a 50 mile TT on Saturday my legs have felt heavy this week. Usually after a long ride I like to go out the next day to spin the legs. Light exercise is one of the best ways to aid recovery and avoid getting too stiff. Because I was staying near the Yorkshire Dales with my parents I ended up riding 40 miles to Burnsall and Grassington. It was more of a tourist ride than a training ride, averaging 17mph and taking time to take a few photos e.t.c. After racing yourself into the ground it’s nice to ride a bike just for the sake of enjoying it. 40 miles is quite a long recovery ride. But, just going out for an hour can help.
View from Wharfe Valley
A short ride is particularly helpful if you have been racing and have accumulated lactic acid in the legs. A steady ride can help to get rid of the lactic acid. But, even if you have just ridden a long ride, a short ride the next day can help.
Post Ride Recovery Drinks
During a long ride, you may have become dehydrated and depleted your carbohydrate stores. You may not feel like eating and drinking but your body may need it. In this case recovery drinks can definitely aid recovery. Typically, they have a mixture of protein and carbohydrate. Most people think about food and drink before a ride, but, neglect proper rehydration and nutrition after a ride. But, this time period is important for helping the muscles to recover. We should always think we are eating for the next day. The problem with recovery drinks is that they may not taste too good and it can be a hassle to mix the powder and drink. But, to aid the fastest recovery they will help. It is also good to just eat sensibly. After a long ride, I often start eating easy to digest fruit like melon, apple. If it has been very hot and sweaty, I will make sure I take something salty.
Recovery Drinks at Evans Cycles
Stretching and Recovery.
After a long ride and tired muscles, stretching seems the natural thing to do and try and relieve the tired muscles. Stretching exercises
Massage and Recovery.
Massage is very effective for aiding recovery. Every professional team will have a professional masseur. See if you can persuade a close friend / partner to learn the art of massage.
Principles of training - stress and recovery
June 26th, 2009 — commuting-
photo by RIghtee
No, it’s not some belated April Fools joke. A town in Germany has actually made the leap to being a car free town, where cyclists and pedestrians have the right of way. Vehicles are only allowed in to make deliveries at certain times of the day.
image by Carnotzet
In Vauban, a suburb of the university town of Freiburg, luxuriant beds of brilliant flowers replace what would normally be parking outside its neat, middle- class homes. Instead of the roar of traffic, the residents listen to birdsong, children playing and the occasional jingle of a bicycle bell.
“If you want to have a car here, you have to pay about €20,000 for a space in one of our garages on the outskirts of the district,” from: Independent
image by Kafeestein
Residents seem happy to travel around by foot, bike or the ultra efficient German tram system. It is been heralded as a city of the future. Not just good for the environment but good for quality of life and a lower rate of road fatalities.
June 25th, 2009 — cycling-
A freebie at the National 50. Kind of makes it all worth while really….
At the National 50, each rider got a free box of ZipVit energy bars, vitamins and water bottle.
If you want a box for just £3.95 P&P. You can order it here
It includes
- Energy drink * 2
- Energy Gel with caffeine - it says on the bar caffeine intake equals 2.5 Red Bulls! Talk about a caffeine injection. Funnily enough on the box it says guaranteed no drugs (Caffeine is not on the band list of UCI drugs, though its use is said to enhance performance, at least in short run.) I didn’t like idea of drinking 2.5 red bulls, so I had about a third of the energy gel before race.
- Energy bars * 2 (1 with protein)
- Water Bottle 750ml Cervelo team colour.
- Cod Liver Oil tablets
- Multivitamins
Well, it’s probably a clever marketing strategy (e.g. people like me advertise ZipVit for free). But, the water bottle alone is probably worth £3.95. And, I always look out for cheap water bottles. I’ve had some for decades and they really need throwing out because they look a bit manky. But, being a Yorkshireman I’m always reluctant to fork out £4.00 just for a plastic water bottle.
It’s debatable how necessary energy gels and bars are. You can buy cheaper substitutes from supermarkets. However, for long rides, I think it is nice to have a ‘proper’ energy bar, even it the nutrition content is not that much different from cheaper muesli bars. Energy drinks and electrolytes become very important on hot days. Because it is so rarely hot in the UK, I only use a couple of packets per year.
Related
June 24th, 2009 — cycling-
My sister, Lynne, is not a cyclist, but she is a great photographer (as well as being a best selling author of The sociology of work - well best selling in the niche market of the sociology of work…) I’ve been told it’s a good read 
Anyway, my sister went to see a city centre race in Colchester with some of the top domestic riders fighting it out in a one hour criterium. THey were taken with a Nikon D70.
Peleton strung out in a line
The chase is on.
Pedestrian crossing
Fast cornering
You can catch the tour series on ITV4
The race was won by 1. Tom Southam RAPHA-CONDOR
Tour series.co.uk
June 23rd, 2009 — timetrials-
Last year I published some classic time trial photos, by Bernard Thompson which were very popular. So this year I’ve found another 30 to publish.
Beryl Burton at Start of 24 Hour Time Trial
The legendary Beryl Burton O.B.E at the start of a 24 hour time trial.
Ray Booty
Ray Booty was the first man inside 4 hours for the 100 mile time trial. He rode 3 hrs. 58 mins. 28 secs. in the Bath Road Hundred of 1956
Norman Wiles cycles through a flooded road
Darryl Webster Climbing Horseshoe pass
Gasping for Breath
Note: Spare tub on the underside of the seat.
It's hard work cycling
Continue reading →
