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Base Miles - A Coaches Perspective

2012-01-28T17:04:00.000Z

Guest Blog by Colin Batchelor of www.totalcyclecoach.com. Find Colin on Twitter @onthebanking.

I’ve been following the excellent discussion on base miles and thought it worth putting in my views as a working coach.

As we ride the training effects/adaptations happens at different %’s of our Max’s. (That can be % or Max heart rate, VO2 max, Max minute power etc) Knowing what happens at what % can help us tailor our riding to meet a specific goal. If we get this wrong we can risk failure to develop in areas that need developing. So lets look at base in a little more detail.

Zone 2 – 65-75% of max heart rate

Zone 2 can best be summed up as the ‘improves efficiency’ zone. Here we see the best results for fat burning and the best increase in the ability to use oxygen to produce power. In other words if we ride a lot in zone 2 (and all else is equal) we will lose fat and be able to produce more power with the same level of effort. In Zone 2 the combination of high volume rides and cardiovascular overload provides core development of baseline aerobic endurance and improves biomechanical and physiological efficiency (your cycling will get better/easier).

Zone 2 is where new cyclists should start to train and provide the core endurance base for competitive and sportive riders. At zone 2 you should be able to hold a conversation, but at the same time be able to concentrate on developing your skills, for example cornering and riding close to other riders.

Ideally don’t have more than two zone 2 sessions back to back (Saturday, Sunday and rest on Monday) to allow your body to recover and to build back from your training, remember the holy trinity of training: Ride appropriately, Nutrition and Rest, miss any one of the triangle out and the other two are liable to falter.

Remember as you train more and get fitter your zones will start to slowly move out, so it’s well worth taking a baseline after 4 or 5 months of regular training.

CTT Dinner - Sat 21st Jan 2012

2012-01-22T17:18:00.000Z

If you're new to road cycling, you may not have heard of the CTT -The National Governing Body for Cycling Time Trials in England & Wales. They basically oversee the organsing of the hundreds of time-trial events which happen weekly across the UK, you can learn more about them here.

Last night I attended their annual Champions night where they recognise the best time-triallists, distance cyclists and hill-climbers across multiplie categories and celebrate the best of the best in the sport.

Around 300 people attended the dinner last night, there wasn't a pointy helmet or skinsuit in sight! The whole event was masterfully compered by Eurosport commentator - David Harmon, who worked his socks off from the awards ceremony kick off at 5pm, right the way through to the final nightcap at around 3am in the bar!

Graeme Obree

I was invited along as I'd helped to organise Graeme Obree along as their guest speaker on the night, he went down an absolute storm re-counting his past achievements including the two hour records, his traning manual and forthcoming attempt to take the human-powered vehicle land speed record, more about that here.

He bought along one of his bikes (the pink one in the background, made of steel. It was remarkably light and had a massive front chain-ring on it - Obree style). You can read my previous interviews with Graeme here and here, only one word for Graeme - legend.

David Harmon interviewing Graeme Obree

Simon Richardson

Also present was Simon Richardson MBE, in his first official function since the horrific collision in 2011 which injured him so badly. There was tremendous support for Simon amongst all the attendees, the CTT displayed the #SIMONSTRONG bike on a podium in the centre of the stage during dinner. Simon also addressed the audience during the awards ceremony to thank them for all the messages of support, a very emotional moment.

Graeme Obree generously offered up a signed poster of the Flying Scotsman film for auction, with the proceeds being donated to help Simon buy a new wheelchair. A very generous bid by David Harmon's wife of over £1000 bagged it, I'm not sure David was expecting that but he dropped the hammer and they became the new owners! A lovely gesture by all concerned, which will go a long way to helping Simon achieve his aim.

I sat next to Simon over dinner. Clearly he is still in a great deal of discomfort and it was a big effort for him to undergo the car journey to get there. Simon is allergic to the bulk of prescribed painkillers, so mostly survives on paracetemol which does nothing to deal with the pain he experiences. Typical Simon though, he smiled through the discomfort all evening, putting on his face for those present and continuing to be a force of inspiration for those around him and working for his sponsors (see back wheel of the bike!).

Simon Richardson's #SIMONSTRONG themed bike

Now that's quick!

The Champion of Champions awards were dominated by Michael Hutchinson (mens category) for the 25M, 50M, 100M distances, Julia Shaw (womens category) for the 10M, 25M and 50M distances and Ryan Mullen (juniors category) in the 10M and 25M distances.

The Best British all-rounder 2011 was won by Jeff Jones of Chippenham & District Wheelers, if you want to benchmark yourself, here's the times he posted in numerous distances. 50 Miles - 1:39:03, 100 Miles - 3:31:51, 12Hrs - 305.51 miles. If you think about that for a minute, 100 miles on a bike in just over three and half hours, that's quick, I would cover about 50M in that time!

Signing Off

Graeme Obree was up until the early hours signing copies of his training manual, which was selling like hotcakes. I'd helped organise a book signing in Manchester that morning and it's amazing how far people will travel to meet Graeme. One lad cycled over from Sheffield in horrendous conditions, to get a book signed!

Overall it was a terrific evening, a total sell-out, I rolled out the bar around 3am after a really good natter with Graeme Obree's agent. The CTT celebrates it's 75th anniversary in 2013 and they will no doubt work hard to produce another fantastic evening. If last night was anything to go by, they'll have their work cut out.

Pedalling Scrape Through

2012-01-14T23:48:00.003Z

How the pedalling motion feels

I posted about a month ago about mastering pedalling technique (see here) and a few people have asked me to explain how it feels different to what I was doing before. I've concoted this little diagram to explain how it feels.

Before this goes global (not) as the very latest in pedalling science, word of caution, It's purely anecdotal with no science behind it, other than trying to visualise the feeling in my legs and feet whilst aligning that with the pedalling output data from the wattbike display to improve my efficiency.

If you imagine the red oval in your head when your cycling, with the large part of the oval being focussed towards the rear of your crank, that's how it should feel in terms of what your feet are doing. As you come feet move down with the push of the pedal, you should focus on scraping them through the point after 5 'o' clock (if your crank was a clock) as if the bottom bit of the stroke were flat.

By doing this, you are ensuring that the energy within the stroke stays fluid and constant. You are effectively keeping the power applied all the way down, through and up the stroke, rather than relying on just the push downwards of the pedal either side (effectively losing momentum). As you exit the scrape phase you are then using your uplift to move the pedals between around 9 and 2 on the clock when you're back into power through.

You have to concentrate to get it right. I'm still jumping on the wattbike and warming up and not really thinking about pedal stroke it, when I look at the data chart there is total power fade in the scrape through phase.

By becoming more aware, I think on the upstroke and downstroke "big smooth circle" - as if I need to optimise its circumference - and when scraping through I imagine the oval out of the back of the stroke. By doing this, my screen data dramatically improves and consistent power comes back through the stroke.

It should be easy riding a bike. Sit in the saddle, turn the pedals and go. If you're a leisure rider, then keep doing what you're doing - just enjoy being in the saddle. However, if you want to master road cycling and do some longer rides, then your pedalling efficiency will help considerably as you will ultimately put more watts through your stroke and be as energy efficient as possible.

One other tip I can give you is to ride one-legged, either on a turbo trainer or out on a ride (where it's safe to do so). You'll really feel the importance of scraping through and pulling up with your knees. If you can repeat that feeling with both legs, you're technique will improve significantly.

Heart to Heart (Base Miles)

2012-01-08T21:38:00.001Z

My Heart Rate and Cadence from Today's Ride

I wrote last week about heart rate zones and base mile training. The idea being to draw more on fat than carbohydrates as your fuel for your ride aswell as building an aerobic base. Ideally your heart rate should not exceed heart rate zone 2 for you to fully benefit.

When I ride base miles, I have a light breakfast like a banana and use water as my fluid, steering away from energy drinks as you don't really need to be inputting carbohydrates into your system. You're not exerting so much energy by controlling your heart rate through your speed, cadence and gearing (Disclaimer - Our biologies are all different, so please consult a coach if this is something that you want to really drill into).

My maximum heart rate is 184bpm, so my heart rate zone two (HRZ2) - which is 65-75% of your maximum - means that my training zone is between 120bpm - 138bpm.

If you have a look at my heart rate data above, you can see that the pace of today's club ride meant that my heart rate average was 136bpm, however I consistently went above that, particularly in the third quarter of the ride as the ride elevation had a gradual ascent.

My highest recorded heart rate was 173bpm, which puts me right at the top of HRZ5 - which means my system switched to carbohydrate for fuel. Carbs need to be optimised, so you end up having energy drinks or gels to replace them to keep you going. Ultimately, you end up putting calories in, which reduces your overall calorific reduction/benefit (albeit it delivers other benefits, particularly if you do this as an interval in your ride).

If you compared heart rate zone data from all of the riders our today, it will be different. A young, fit 23 year old may have a completely different maximum. If their maximum heart rate is 194bpm, then their HRZ2 is 127bpm-146bpm. What that means if I were to ride with that individual, their HRZ2 median is nearly top of my HRZ2 maximum (my heart will be working harder to ride at the same speed).

Which leads me to my point. If you want to build your aerobic base, you are probably going to need to ride alone or with someone a relatively comparable heart rate as you. By riding in a group, you go at the groups speed. Each rider will be exerting different levels of energy to keep up with the group. If you're on the front riding the wind, you'll be pushing that little bit harder. If you're hidden in the group, you'll be pulled along by draft. It's all a bit unpredictable, as my data shows today.

To do effective base miles, you need to pick a pretty flat route, ride at a higher cadence than normal and wear a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on what your ticker is doing. As your heart rate increases, either slow down or change gear but reduce the effort. It takes a bit of doing, but you soon get the hang of it.

Alternatively, you could sit on a turbo trainer. I'm fortunate enough to have a Wattbike at home which means I can work on my pedal stroke at the same time as sitting in a specific heart rate zone, it's about as good as you can get in terms of accuracy and control.

I'll see if I can get a qualified coach to knock up a blog about base miles to qualify this issue further as it is a key part of a winter training regime.

Base (miles), how slow can you go?

2012-01-02T13:18:00.002Z

The 2012 mileage account is offcially open. Setting our this morning at 9am, today's ride was all about base miles. A cold but bright start saw me setting out from home on a loop over to Knutsford. My ride today was all about staying in heart rate zone one/two (60-75% of my maximum heart rate) in order to fat burn. It's easier said that done.

First things first, I'd got my Garmin set up with an alarm to beep when my heart rate went above 120bpm. Every time I hit anything with an incline, off it went - bzzz. A lapse of concentration and you begin to push a bit harder - bzzz, a headwind - bzzzz, a rider in the distance - bzzzz, it felt like I was constantly throttling back.

It's also difficult to find a route that is pan flat to increase your chances of staying in the zone. Living in Cheshire, it's perhaps a little easier, so my route today had around 1k of ascent, you can see where those bits were as my heart rate rises.

Overall, my average heart rate was 114bpm, within my target zone for the bulk of the ride, perhaps erring more on a recovery ride than anything. I also looked to keep my cadence around the 80 mark, so that I could keep a good pedal stroke, getting back my average was 78rpm, so I'll aim for higher next time.

It's funny as people go flying by you as you ride, it's so tempting to turn the gas up, however there is an important principle at stake - go slower, to go faster - don't be tempted to increase your intensity.

By riding in a lower heart rate zone, you are burning more fat as your energy source, ultimately meaning that it can contribute to weight loss, more weight loss with no power loss, means a better power to weight ratio, therefore faster on the bike - bingo, bango, bungo!

It felt good to be out today and get some early miles in, saw a good few cyclists out and about, all smiling and happy. 2012, here we come.....

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-01T20:32:00.000Z

Reset your mileage clocks everyone, we're starting again. It's day one of a new year when you can set some new objectives for this year around your bike. Happy New Year!

For lots of people, the key objectives are based upon achieving a certain mileage, me included. This year however, I'm having a good think about those miles. Just riding brings it's advantages of course, it keeps your heart fit, helps with the weight and gets you out in the fresh air.

If you want to achieve something more specific, like a power increase, getting better at hill climbing, building a specific aerobic base, completing your first time trial or riding your first century, then it will do you a whole lot of good if you think about what your absolute objective is then plan the type of miles you intend to do around that. That is, train for what you want to achieve.

To be a better hill climber for example, you'd do well to lose some weight and get your power to weight ratio lower, so a good place to start would be some low heart rate zone rides to burn fat, then to build on your aerobic base and your strength.

I'm not a cycling coach, so please consult one if you have specific goals, my underlying point is that you would do well to get some advice and tailor your training plan accordingly. Having a quick think about what I'd like to do on the bike this year.

I am keen to surpass 4,000 miles, with more emphasis on hillier miles (according to my Garmin log, my ascent was 149K in 2011. End of year exit at 165K+ would be good - plus 10%).
I am keen for my power to weight ratio to be 10% higher than current (so I either need to lose weight or increase power, or both). Current PWR is 3.35, target 3.70.
I'd like to go under 27 minutes for a 10M time trial by the end of the season (I've never done one, so this is a bit of a stab in the dark in terms of a time).

What are your plans? Feel free to leave a comment and share with the other readers.

2011 Review

2011-12-27T15:50:00.001Z

Here's my review of 2011, both personal and things in road cycling generally. It's not meant to be exhaustive, just a few things that have stood out to me personally as a casual observor. It's been quite a year on a lot of levels......

January

Spanish rider Alberto Contador is cleared of doping charges by the Spanish cycling federation. The 2010 Tour de France winner is still awaiting a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport as to whether his title will be stripped from him after Clenbuterol was discovered in his system at a routine drugs test.
Britains Ben Swift takes third spot in the Santos Tour down Under.
Former two times Hour record holder and World Champion Graeme Obree announces he's gay. Article.
My YTD Mileage - 380M/608KM

February

Storck Scenero wins Cycling Plus "Bike of the Year" award. Article. (Storck has subsequently been aquired by fitness chain Decathlon - watch this space).
My YTD Mileage - 685M/1,096KM

March

The 2011 World Track Championships take place in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. Australia top the medal chart. France's Gregory takes the Gold in the mens sprint, Britains Jason Kenny takes Silver, ahead of Sir Chris Hoy in third place. Team GB re-state that everything is on track for London 2012.
Brtiains Laura Trott, Wendy Houvenaghel and Danielle King take Britains only gold medal in the Womens team pursuit. Results here.
Specialized launch their Venge bike, Mark Cavendish rode this in 2011. Article.
Bradley Wiggins takes third spot in Paris-Nice. Things looking good for the Tour de France.
My YTD Mileage - 993/1,589KM

April

Take delivery of my new road bike - an Onix Azzuro. Article.
Paris-Roubaix (The Hell of the North) is won by Belgian Johan Vansummeren.
Mark Cavendish wins the one day classic Grote Scheldeprijs.

May

Rode the Fred Whitton sportive. My hardest ever day in the saddle. Article.
Pro Cyclist Wouter Weylandt dies after an accident at the Giro d'Italia. RIP. Article.
Spanish rider Alberto Contador wins the Giro d'Italia overall, taking two stage wins along the way. GC here.
Geraint Thomas wins the Bayern-Rundfahrt.
My YTD Mileage - 1,401M/2,241KM

June

Get my Dolan Ares back from Performance Race Art with a brand new paint job tributed to my blog featuring every GC winner of the Tour de France from its inception to 2010 on the headtube. Article.
Bradley Wiggins wins the Critérium du Dauphiné. Go Bradley!
My YTD Mileage - 1,663M/2,660KM

July

Tour de France. One of the best weekends I've ever enjoyed. Article.
Cadel Evans takes the yellow jersey, Mark Cavendish takes the green jersey. I thought Cadel a worthy winner and Cav is the man when it comes to points and stage wins.
Britans GC hope - Bradley Wiggins - retires with a broken collarbone following a crash.
Still no English rider in the top 10 of the GC! GC here.
My YTD Mileage - 2,240M/3,584KM

August

Paralympic Gold Medallist Simon Richardson is knocked off his bike and critically injured in a road collision for the second time. The driver is subsequently charged with dangerous driving. Articles.
2011 Vuelta a Espana is won by Spains Juan Jose Cobo. Britains Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky, take 2nd and 3rd place. GC here.
David Millar takes third spot in the Eneco Tour.
My YTD Mileage - 2,595M/4,152KM

September

Mark Cavendish wins the rainbow jersey at the 2011 UCI World Road Championships. The pinnacle of a three year plan which saw the first rainbow jersey in over 50 years for a UK rider. Bradley Wiggins comes second in the time trial.
Britains Lucy Garner takes the rainbow jersey in the Womens Junior Road race at the World Championships. Results here.
My YTD Mileage - 3018M/4,829KM

October

James Cracknell and Jerone Waters attempt to break the end to end tandem record. Article.
Built my winter bike. Article.
Britains David Millar takes second place in the Tour of Beijing, with Chris Froome taking third place.
ROSPA report that 111 cyclists have been killed on the road in 2011 so far. 2,660 seriously injured, 14,414 slightly injured.
My YTD Mileage - 3,337M/5,339KM

November

Belgian Phillipe Gilbert tops the UCI world rankings.
Rob Hayles retires from cycling. A fantastic ambassador. Article.
My YTD Mileage - 3,539M/5,662KM

December

Wiggle sells for £180M. Article.
Graeme Obree launches his training manual. Article.
Mark Cavendish wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Well deserved.
My YTD Mileage - 3,658M/5,852KM

2011 has seen around 170 articles published on the blog and over 200K hits, thanks all for continuing to visit. It pleases me a huge amount when people say that the blog has helped them in one way or another. Blogging takes time, those that write blogs will tell you that, there's plenty of failed bloggers out there (I'm a previous first time round failed blogger), so I appreciate it when people pass comment, it makes the time investment worthwhile.

So, what have been your highlights? Feel free to leave a comment. Here's to a safe 2012.

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-23T23:11:00.002Z

With Christmas fast approaching and thousands of you hoping to dash down to the Xmas tree and find a new Dura-Ace Groupset, a set of Cosmic Carbone Wheels or that ticket to see the Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, it's my time to wish Seasons Greetings to all readers.

Signing off for a short blogging break, I hope that the bike shaped sack by the chimey stack is that brand new steed you've been dreaming of and that 2012 is full of safe miles, big climbs, long distances, health, fitness and overall - enjoyment.

2011 has seen visits to race-pace.net grow substantially and a heartfelt thank you to you for spreading the word and for your continuing words of encouragement. I was asked what I wanted for Christmas the other day, my answer had a strong cycling theme. Read it here.

I couldn't close the blog without passing on huge congratulations to Mark Cavendish for winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year last night, think that might be a huge turning point for our cycling superstar and a big step on his road to household name superstardom. Well done Cav.

Merry Christmas everyone, peace and goodwill to all.

Is Pedalling Technique like mastering a Golf Swing?

2011-12-18T14:08:00.002Z

The more you get into road cycling, the more you realise how much there is to it. Drawing the parallel to golf, it seems so simple, yet is so technical. How hard can it be to swing a club and hit a ball?

For those that are golfers (I'm a failed golfer fyi), they'll know the importance of the swing. It's fundamentally where everything starts and ends. Professional golfers spend years perfecting their swing.

Coming back to cycling, your pedal stroke is the equivalent of the golf swing, if you can get that bit right - time after time - as a bedded in process, you'll be as efficient on the bike as you can be (like effortlessly hitting a long straight ball).

For the average cyclist however, it's really difficult to know whether your pedalling technique is efficient or non-efficient. Regular readers will know that I've hired a wattbike for winter. One of the featues of the wattbike is the ability to show you a visual view of your pedal stroke. So, what does that mean?

What it means is how efficient your entire rotation of the crank is and how you use the upstroke aswell as the downstroke to create a smooth pedalling motion. The above chart shows how a pro cyclist pedals (a very famous name) effectively in one smooth efficient motion, making use of the entire circumference of the stroke. The chart below, shows an inefficient pedal stroke, where more force is used on the downstroke, ignoring the scrapethrough.

The gathering in of the eight towards the centre, dictates an inefficient motion. Jumping on the wattbike for an hours session this morning, I decided to focus my effort on two things. 1) A zone 1 ride. 2) Pedalling efficiency.

Earlier this week I'd had a visit from a representative from wattbike to talk me through the pedalling elements of the bike. His recommendation was to focus on the pedal stroke as a key outcome of having the bike. By optimising this, it can a big impact on your rides, like hitting a golf ball straight, time after time.

It's easier said than done! When you've got data flying at you like left leg/right leg power, the polar chart showing your power and efficiency for each leg, you have a lot to think about and you can end up trying to make too many micro-adjustments. Sticking with one thing at a time is my plan.

During my session, it was evident that I haven't got a great scrape through with my graph looking the one above. By the end of today's session, I managed to widen the points that meet in the figure of eight so that they consistently were outside of the smallest inner circle (showing improved use of the scrape through).

It will take some time as your muscles need to be encoded with this over a period of time. If I could describe the feeling, it feels like pushing a little less and focusing on ensuring that I made as large a circle as I could with my whole stroke, as opposed to pushing more on the downstroke, which I tend to do. I've also noticed that I'm quite left leg dominant, so need to balance that out.

Over the coming weeks, I'm going to have a real focus on this, so see if I can get closer to the efficiency curve. If you're interested, here's the chart below which compares four different disciplines of cyclist, you can see there is a commonality amongst all of them, which shows that their strokes are very similar.

Finishing where I started with a golf methaphor. It's no use going and hitting 100 balls at a range if someone isn't there to correct and offer feedback, you'll only continue to hit 100 balls incorrectly. Now I've got my hands on some data via the wattbike, I can have a go at seeing how easy it is to get pedalling mastered.

Graeme Obree Training Manual

2011-12-12T20:03:00.000Z

Graeme Obree is one of this nations greatest cyclists. The underdog who built his own bike, trained without technology and went on to break perhaps the most prestigious record in cycling - the hour record - not once, but twice. Cycling legend - Eddy Merckx - reckoned that the hour record "took years off of his life."

Obree's story is the stuff of legend. With all the odds stacked up against him, he flew in the face of the UCI and pushed the very boundaries of bike design eventually quitting the sport. If you've never heard his story, it's one of the most inspiring there is. I'd recommend you read his auto-biography - The Flying Scotsman - and watch the DVD.

I've interviewed Graeme previously and consider him one of the greats of the sport. You can imagine how proud I felt to be asked to edit his upcoming training manual, where he reveals some of his training techninques and thoughts. It was a pleasure to assist someone who has inspired so many. I'd encourage you to read my former blogposts around meeting Graeme, which should be below.

The Training Manual

This is a long awaited book for road cyclists. When Chris Boardman used heart rates and power cranks to train for the hour attempts, Obree took to the hills of Scotland, old school.

Obree - famed for his innovative techniques, re-invented the rulebooks so many times that the UCI locked him and his designs down. He is in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame aswell as the British Cycling Hall of Fame, recognising the massive contribution he has made to the sport.

Graeme has kindly agreed to me publishing his last paragraph. You'll see from the sentiment, what the manual is all about.

"Please trust me that this body of honest work is given in the best of spirit, I have been the guinea –pig in the quest to refine my training on every level and I can commend it really does work. Knowledge and understanding is a constant quest. This book is not definitive and keeping an open mind on new findings and developments is not only a good thing but essential if you are serious in your search for new and better ways to improve your cycling and athletic performance.

Information is the golden thread throughout this book. The more information you compile in relation to your preparation for any chosen event then the better prepared for your task you can become and this can make the difference between being a club rider and a world champion. My quest as an athlete was always to go into the minute detail in the areas I could influence to affect the outcome to my advantage in terms of my performance. Trust me, if you take care in all aspects of your preparation and performance you will become an improved cyclist and perform better in your chosen discipline, if that is your goal."

Thirty quid - at first - seemed expensive for a book, relative to other books. But this is no ordinary book, this book is by the master - Graeme Obree. A guy that never sold out, a guy who quit a top team because of his anti-doping stance, a guy who took on the highest governing body of the sport and challenged their very being, a guy who did it without money and sponsorship, a man of the people. He didn't earn a fortune in cycling, like modern day riders, why shouldn't we show our pride in this national treasure by buying his manual.

In the manual, he shares his secrets. The thing that stuck with me most was his breathing pattern. Previously only shared with a secret few but now available to all. I've used this when climbing and found it of considerable benefit.

Reflecting on what I spend on kit and stuff to make me feel like I'm going faster, thirty quid - in context - is nothing. It's the knowledge I'm buying, it's not a book - it's more than that, it's a little bit of cycling history from one of our very own cycling legends. If someone offered me a pair of shorts for £100, I'd buy them. Therein lies the value.

The manual, launching next week is exclusively available via Graeme Obree's website at http://www.obree.com/. For a limited time, Graeme will be signing copies ordered, now that is a momento worth having, I'm in. I have a feeling that this training manual will go down in cycling folklore, purchased by those that understand the story, the sentiment, the beautiful mind.

Wiggle Sold in £180M Private Equity Deal

2011-12-10T18:56:00.001Z

In case it escaped your notice, on-line retailer Wiggle has changed hands from one private equity firm to another in the past week.

Investor Bridgepoint took the business off the hands of current owners ISIS for £180M ($280M US/€210M). A handsome sum for a business started in 1999.

Looking at the numbers, ISIS investors have done pretty well out of the deal too, achieving an IRR of 69% and a yield of x15 against their initial investment. ISIS made their initial investment in 2005. You can read more about the deal on the ISIS website here and more about the investment milestones here.

It's pretty common in private equity circles for businesses to be passed along the chain. Investors tend to handle businesses with a certain value, when they achieve their growth plan, they exit, take their money and go off and find a new project. This is a textbook deal.

Wiggle have seen some amazing growth numbers, driven by a number of different factors including: -

1) A devalued currency meaning that their export numbers have dramatically increased and international markets have been opened up.
2) Industry disruption with the local bike shop marketplace being challenged by a shift to the internet for commodity items by buyers.
3) Buying power. The bigger the business has become the more powerful it has also become, giving it capability to take volume deals from manufacturers. I download their accounts every year and they've increased stockholding from around £7M to £15.7M vs. the previous year. They can't risk to be out of stock.

No doubt there will be an army of independent bike retailers, spitting feathers over a pint at this news plus the impact that on-line retailing has had in their margin retention.

On-line retailing is disruptive. I've seen it impact into the multi-tiered business model that I run in my day job. One thing I do know however is you cannot fight it, the move to on-line is a major trend driven by buyers, not sellers.

Buyers want value and convenience and Wiggle spotted this trend and went for it. I talk about this a lot. Two types of buyers exist nowadays, I-WIN (I Want It Now = price insensitive) or I-WAIT (non-urgent = price sensitive).

Local bike shops have to play to their strengths if they want to survive. They need to push the distributors in the industry to get more efficient and reduce their costs for pass through, club together more into buying collectives to have a bigger voice with manufacturers and look for more exclusive products for sale. I'm talking from ten years experience of this issue in information technology.

Ultimately, local bike shops need to give a reason for you to visit when you're not in I-WIN mode and the manufacturers also need to work with the channel to incentivise customers. The smart dealers will have already figured out that geo-location, proximity marketing and google local search gives them a big advantage over businesses like Wiggle, but they should also be realistic that you can't make 35% of every line you stock, you have to blend your margin across your entire product assortment.

Ultimately, Wiggle will continue to go from strength to strength. They have a new investor, with mountains of cash, more money for search engine marketing and expansion. I'm pretty sure they'll break the £100M barrier in their next financial year.

November Ride Stats

2011-12-03T15:39:00.001Z

Not a brilliant month for miles, but not too bad for climbing, relative to those miles.

I've had two weekends without rides this month, down to holidays and other commitments, which has knocked back my monthly mileage. However, the rides I've done have had more ascent in them relative to distance, so on the positive side, that will do the legs some good.

Now that I've got a gear ratio set-up on my winter bike which gives me a lower gear range, I don't find climbing as tough as I did previously, so I hope to do a few more challenging rides over the next few months. Year to date I've climbed nearly 97K feet, which equates to riding up Everest over three times, be good to click over 100,000ft soon.

At the beginning of the year, I set a target of 4,000 road miles, at present I'm 461 miles short, so with Christmas coming and a very busy schedule ahead, I may fall a little short of that. I'm going to push on as hard as I can and see what I can make up as the month elapses.

Month to Date
Mileage- 202 miles
Ride Time - 13hrs 44mins
Climbing - 7,431 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.7 mph
Avg. HR - (Not captured)
Avg. Cadence - (Not captured)
Calories (estimate) 11,476

YTD
Mileage- 3,539 miles
Ride Time - 241hrs 41mins
Climbing - 96,912 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.6 mph
Avg. HR - (Not captured)
Avg. Cadence - (Not captured)
Calories (estimate) 220,056

Onix Twitter Ride

2011-11-27T15:34:00.001Z

Can you recall that T-Mobile ad where a flashmob turn up to a railway station and start dancing?

When the landlady of the Leather Smithy Inn must of thought one had turned up in her car park today, when around forty riders arrived, got unpacked and ready to roll out on the flashmob ride organised by Onix Bikes today.

Taking in a fifty three mile route over the Peak District, today's run was nothing official - just turn up and ride. Attendees had been promised a sneak peak at the 2012 frame design, being ridden today by Onix Bikes MD - Craig Middleton, accompanied by a support car, photographer and plenty of cake (always a good incentive for a cyclist).

Aswell as that, there were some guest riders there. Eurosport commentator David Harmon attended, Asfra professional Dan Patten, Ken Jones, MD of Onimpex (UK agent for Bioracer clothing and an accomplished racer), to name a few. It meant there was some quality in the group and some really interesting people to talk to. I think it's an inventive way to connect with your target audience and get your bikes talked about.

Best thing I've done recently was to put a 32T rear cassette on my winter bike build, I needed it today. Pulling out of the Leather Smithy Inn we went straight into a steep climb, no messing. I was OK, however some had to walk up as it was hard going, particulalry with no warm up. As we got rolling and warmed up, everyone soon found their climbing legs.

One thing you couldn't have ignored today was the wind. It was blowing an absolute gale. At points the gusts were so strong, it was difficult to stay on the bike. Climbing up the Cat and Fiddle, there was a really strong tailwind, so we all made short work of that.

Arriving at the top, a fearsome crosswind hit us and a few riders nearly ended up off the road, Dan Patten and David Harmon needed all their bike handling skills to stay upright, that's for sure. When it hit me, it pushed me right to the side of the road, thank god I didn't have the deep section wheels on!

A decision was taken to cut the route short, which was the right call. The planned route of 53M, had around 5.2k of ascent, however wind speeds on the top of the peaks meant it was becoming unsafe .

Arriving back, we'd actually done around 27M and 2.6k of ascent, so nearly half the route. We'd had a succession of punctures as we set out, which held the group back, plus a couple of mechanicals, so although we were out for around 3hrs 20m, we were in the saddle for around 2hrs 20m, when you've got a large group, you'll inevitably run into a few more issues.

We all piled into the pub when we got back. CNP had thrown some bottles in, Purple Harry were dishing out cleaning product samples and there was some quality cake and biscuits being handed round - result. The pub landlady also forgave us (begrudgingly) for filling her car park up unexpectedly in the morning.

Highlight of the day for me was climbing the Cat and Fiddle for the first time. Heard a lot about that climb, but not done it yet, so was good to tick it off the list. I found it quite comfortable with my 34/32 gear ratio, who wouldn't.

I was also impressed about the goodwill being shown towards the brand. Some riders had come down from the Lake District to join in, Dan Patten had driven over from Belgium, David Harmon up from the South East and others from all around the North-West, quality. You can find out more about the story behind Onixbikes in this short clip below or visit their Youtube channel here.

What I thought was going to be a brutal day in the saddle (half a Fred Whitton), turned out to be an easier ride in some great company. One major thought I had on the way home was how much I was enjoying some of these more challenging routes, now I've got the gear ratio on the winter bike sorted, some of the big climbing days in the sadlle are feeling a little more doable.

All the ride stats can be seen here. My average speed is a bit all over the place as I kept tracking back, it's important when you're group riding to look out for everyone and to get everyone back in one piece, which we successfuly did. Great day and some great people.

Revolution 34 Pictures

2011-11-20T20:52:00.001Z

Rick Robson at Cycle Sport Photos has sent me over some photo's from last nights Revolution 34 series in Manchester, some corkers there! Don't forget you can see the highlights on ITV4 tomorrow.

Should you use any of them, please ensure that they are credited to Rick Robson of Cycle Sport Photos. If you want to know more about what they do, please visit http://www.cyclesportphotos.com/ or follow Rick Robson on Twitter here.

Our Road World Champion Giving it Full Gas in the Madison

Andy Tennants Bomber Inspired bike
Designed by Performance Race Art

Andy Tennants Toptube with the Bombs about to Drop

Check out those forks!

Ouch!

David Daniell and Callum Skinner of Team Sky give it full licks

Mark Cavendish and Magnus Backstedt natter in the pits

Cav signs some autographs

Peter Mitchell and Callum Skinner
You can see how steep the Velodrome banking is from this shot

Rapha Condor Sharp in black and white....

The Manx Missile

That's going to hurt....

Revolution 34

2011-11-20T17:48:00.001Z

It's been a packed weekend of cycling. A nice spin round the lanes on Saturday morning (60M), Revolution Track Series at the Veldrome on Saturday night, followed by a 50M club run today, so a decent mileage for the week of 131M (210km).

I need it. Next weekend is the ride out organised by Onix Bikes that I plan to join. It's a 50 miler taking in around 5,000 feet of ascent over in the Peak District, challenging for an average cyclist (here's the route for the Onix ride). So, I've put my winter wheels on my Onix Azzuro, as they have a 32T rear cassette on them and I'm temporarily storing my Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels on my winter bike. I thought they looked pretty good, here's a picture: -

Kinesis Racelight TK2 - My Winter Bike

With my standard front chainset 53/39 and rear cassette 12-32, it gives me a gear ratio of 1.22 (32.1 inches). If you were to compare that to a compact chainset (50/34) with a 12-28 on the back (gear ratio of 1.21 or 31.9 inches), you can see it's basically the same, so that's about as good as it's going to get without changing the front chainset, which is a step too far. More about gear ratios here.

Revolution 34

I had three main reasons for wanting to go to Revolution 34.

To see Mark Cavendish in the Rainbow jersey and back on the boards at Manchester Velodrome.
To see Rapha Condor rider - Andy Tennant - race, to see how his form was. Andy is someone I ride with from time to time, so it was brilliant to watch him on home turf and cheer him on.
To see the official tribute to Rob Hayles, who has recently announced his retirement.

Cavendish riding the boards caused a big buzz for the event, which was sold out. Speaking in an interview he said “It’s nice to race at your home velodrome. It all started off here, so it’s good to come back.”

He wasn't there to seriously race, more of a personal appearance and - although the crowd would have loved to see a Gold medal podium, it wasn't going to happen on Saturday.

Rapha Condor Sharp riders Andy Tennant and Ed Clancy saw to that, putting in a blistering performance in the 1km Madison, nailing a time of 55.351 seconds to take first place. Cavendish, riding for Team Howies, finished third with 59.421. You can see the full results here. Tennant and Clancy looked in terrific form, watch out London Olympics 2012.

Rob Hayles Retires

Hayles takes the salute from the Revolution Riders

Hayles is one of those popular riders who has enjoyed considerable support throughout his career. You can read his results here. A special guard of honour was laid on by the major riders there on the night, which was brilliant to see. Hayles did a lap of honour on a bike and then through the tunnel of pro's to a standing ovation.

He spoke of his career highs and lows during a live interview and his great friend Mark Cavendish presented him with a gift commemorating the night. It was really good to see and I really enjoyed being there. Chapeau Rob Hayles for a brilliant career (so far as phase II in the media is just starting).

Summing Up

As I sit here tonight, penning this blog - I feel tired. I didn't cover myself in glory on today's club run, I felt tired and was dropped on just about every hill. The route took in about 2.5K feet across the 50 miles, however my legs felt heavy and I didn't feel like I had much in the tank. One of those days. Still, I got up everything eventually (spin, spin, spin) and enjoyed some great descents along the way. I bought a DVD about Robert Millar at Revolution and it showed him descending on one of his training runs back in 1984, absolutely terrifying!

It felt good to get to the cafe at Rivington, a delightful little place, with an old fellow playing the piano whilst you got your tea and cake down -one to re-visit for sure. Conditions today were foggy and temperatures were cooler up in the hills, so a steaming hot cup of tea was welcome at that point.

A couple of days rest now. May do something light on the Wattbike tomorrow night, just to flush the legs out.

Power to Weight Ratio (PWR)

2011-11-12T17:38:00.001Z

If this winter is anything like last winter, it will mean plenty of time off the bike. Snow and ice were the main problems last winter, making riding conditions difficult and at times dangerous.

I've used Wattbikes plenty of times in the past at Manchester Velodrome and visiting the Wattbike stand at the Cycleshow recently, I was reminded of how good they are. You can read more about them here.

You can rent a Wattbike for £60 per month, so I thought I'd get one for the Winter to a) have a contingency against bad weather b) do some base mile work to lose some weight c) work on my pedal stroke and d) to see if I can increase my power (one of the key attributes of the Wattbike is the ability to measure power output aswell as pedalling efficiency).

Today, I did my first three minute test, which is a way of measuring your power output. You warm up for twenty minutes, then push the pedals in a timed three minute period to assess your power output (wearing a heart rate monitor to record your heart rate maximum at the same time).

By doing this, you can assess your power to weight ratio (PWR), this is derived by dividing your sustainable power by your weight (KG). The power to weight ratio is one of the key metrics used by professional cyclists to assess whether they are capable of winning grand tours like the Tour de France. Grand Tour winners tend to have a power to weight ratio above 6.7.

My three minute test showed my average power as 285W, dividing it by my weight (97.7kg) means my PWR ratio is 2.91. I shouldn't be making any major plans to enter a grand tour yet!

Over the winter, I want to lose some weight, focus on my pedalling stroke and see if I can increase my PWR by 10%. I can do this in one of three ways 1) lose weight 2) increase power 3) lose weight and increase power. It's all easier said than done.

To lose weight, you need to lots of training in heart rate zone 1, which is between 60-65% of your heart rate maximum. My heart rate maximum is 184 bpm, so my fat burning zone is between 110 and 120. By limiting your heart rate in your training sessions, your body should use fat for fuel and it should help contribute to weight loss, as the theory goes. If you then combine that with a sensible diet, the weight should start to come off.

So, between now and Christmas, fat burning is what it's all about. I'll keep a record of my PWR over the coming months and see "watt" (get the joke) can be achieved.

More about how you rent a wattbike here.

Update

Having re-run the test a couple of days later, I realised I had capacity to go harder. So, on re-test, my power output was 323W, meaning my PWR is 3.35 (around 15% improvement from the first ramp test). So, that is now my benchmark for comparison.

A bit of a whinge...

2011-11-02T22:54:00.002Z

One of my bug bears with on-line shopping is traders who show they have items in stock, take your order, then e-mail you to say the item is not in stock.

I experienced this recently whilst ordering some 3T bar tape from www.tredz.co.uk in South Wales. It's the second time I've used them for an item and the second time I've been e-mailed to say the item which was shown as "in stock," was out of stock. Should have known better.

As it happens, the item I wanted was time dependent. I was building my winter bike and needed the bar tape to take up to the mechanic, I specifically wanted 3T tape. Checking their site, I'd forgotten my previous experience, placed an order and then the e-mail came the following day.

From a user experience point of view, it's poor and far from best practice. By nature of the fact that I'm writing this blog, shows the impact on customer satisfaction that such practice has.

I speak regularly around consumer trends to business audiences across the UK. Convenience, trusted platforms and right to reply are things that are all happening right now. Consumers want to deal with platforms that are convenient (take paypal etc), trusted (stock data is correct), and if things go wrong expect someone to tell others about it (via social media).

With the on-line market place booming, Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles now have a combined turnover of £196M per annum, challengers need to excel at the things they do to challenge the market leaders, not over-promise and under-deliver.

So, last order for me from www.tredz.co.uk, they refunded straight away, as they did before. It's not about that, it's the inconvenience. You know how the old story goes, disatissfied customers tell ten others, that was before social media. Now you can add a few zero's on to that.....

What State are you in?

2011-10-30T15:25:00.001Z

My Route Today - Split into Sections

Last week, I met a really interesting guy at a conference I was hosting, his name is David Yeoman. David is a behavioural and language strategist, working with elite sportspeople and business leaders, believing that your "state" - that is your mental state - thoughts, feelings and actions, can be adjusted at any time, through words and behaviour. David talked about being able to define a number of states that you trigger based upon circumstances. Have a look at his website here.

Setting out on a 50m hilly ride today, I took some time to reflect on the things I'd heard from him when he spoke and thought how this applied to my ride. For a lot of new cyclists, the thought of hills, strikes fear to their very core. It's understandable, I've been there. Hills hurt, they need a lot of effort, they test you and can be de-motivating if you have to get off. Best avoided in favour of a flat route? No.

To really enjoy road cycling, you need to turn hills into a "positive" in your mind, not to be avoided, but embraced as part of your overall enjoyment of being out on the road. Thinking about my "state" when going up some testing short and sharp climbs today, here's where I was at: -

Hill Climbing State

Focused on pedalling rhythm and cadence consistency.
Focused on consistent and regular breathing to keep my heart rate under control.
Focused on breaking the climb up into various little staging posts of success.
Focused on the immediate piece of road ahead, more looking down than up.
Hands on the top of the bars to open the chest up.
Focused on being relaxed, arms bent.

Major positive outcome. By getting to the top of the climb I can enjoy the descent at the top and some great views.

Descending State

Focused on controlling the bike, hands on the drops and brakes.
Focused on recovering my heart rate.
Focused on the longer road ahead, looking up and in the distance to identify potential points of concern (potholes, road debris, corners).
Focussed on keeping the bike balanced, weight centre, ready to shift weight if needed for cornering.
Focussed on being alert, ready to quickly adapt to a changing situation.

Major positive outcome. All that effort going up that hill has allowed me to enjoy this exhilarating descent.

So, in other words, I now view hills as a way of accessing great descents, which I really enjoy. Being 15 stone, I can descend more quickly than most, gravity is on my side going down, less going up, where it works against me. So, some additional principles that I keep in my head.

My objective is to get up the hill without stopping, I'm never going to be the quickest.
I can't compete with a 24 year old or someone who is 10 stone in weight.
I love descending, so get to the top on my terms, to enjoy the thrill of the other side.

So, accepting that I'm not Robert Millar in the mountains, allows me to approach the hill on my terms. By changing my "state" to my "hill climbing state" I can ready myself mentally for the incline and ultimately the descent, where I get my payoff.

One other tip is to have a look at the proposed route if you can and break it up in your mind. You can see from todays route profile that I mentally had it as four parts, a warm up with a long drag, two hard bits in the middle, a hard bit at the end followed by a long descent home to look forward to. By doing this, you can mentally tick off elements of the ride as you achieve them, resulting in a feeling of satisfaction and increasing motivation to carry on.

Hills needn't be your nemesis, they are an essential component of building your strength, technique and fitness. See them positively, build up slowly and you will soon master them.

October Mileage

2011-10-30T14:47:00.000Z

Just a little shy of my monthly target this month. I target to try and achieve 350 miles per month on the bike as my base expecation to keep improving/maintaining fitness. October saw a couple of Saturdays written off, so that has had an impact on my overall mileage. Nevertheless, little bit more climbing this month, whilst the weather is still OK.

Month to Date
Mileage- 319 miles
Ride Time - 20hrs 45mins
Climbing - 8,815 ft
Avg. Speed - 15.4 mph
Avg. HR - (Not captured)
Avg. Cadence - 84
Calories (estimate) 22,832

YTD
Mileage- 3,337 miles
Ride Time - 228hrs 03 mins
Climbing - 89,482 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.6 mph
Avg. HR - 131
Avg. Cadence - 79
Calories (estimate) 208,581

Riding with Andy Tennant

2011-10-23T19:21:00.001+01:00

Andy Tennant - Rapha Condor Sharp

Check the weather, check the weather. That was the first thing I did this morning before setting off for a ride with Rapha Condor Sharp rider Andy Tennant this morning. Why? It would denote which bike I took with me for the fifty mile ride I'd planned for us today. Winter bike or slightly speedier Onix Azzuro, good news it's going to be dry. Onix Azzuro it is.

As Andy rolled round the corner on his Condor TT bike, I thought I was in for a battering. It ran through my mind, "jeez, if he goes aero on that thing, I'm going to need more than this bike to keep up!"

It's the third time I've ridden with Andy, and with London 2012 now looming firmly on the horizon, it was a great opportunity for a good natter. On the face of it, Andy is a pretty sorted guy. Model girlfriend - Tour of Britain podium girl - Lauren Bason. Professional bike rider for team Rapha Condor Sharp. Team GB pursuit rider. Despite all of this he has his feet firmly on the ground and is laid back, outgoing and friendly.

Bimbling around the Cheshire lanes (our average speed across the 62 miles was 17.1mph - down to my legs, not his), we talked across a range of subjects from the Tour of Britain, London 2012, life at Rapha Condor Sharp, British Cycling, plus other stuff. The time passed really quickly, despite a headwind for much of the ride. Andy acknowledges other roadies as they pass, which I think is a nice touch. A couple of them, took a second take, that's for sure.

A funny moment was when we saw Rapha Condor Sharp Directeur Sportif - John Heraty - over Northwich way in the team car. Pulling over for a quick chat, he gave Andy the quick once over to make sure all his kit was in order. Ever the professional, Andy was head to foot in Rapha gear - looking the part. Box ticked.

Direceur Sportif - John Heraty

Setting off, we started talking around training "by feel." A lot of the track training is done with power meters and data analysis, but on the big day, no meters, just focus on your line, your technique and your process - no distractions. Andy is able to metronome out his lap times within 0.2 seconds, which is remarkable.

It's obviously working as the Team GB pursuit squad only recently picked up the Gold medal at the European Track Cycling Championships in Apeldoorn. Tennant, part of the squad with Steven Burke, Ed Clancy and Pete Kennaugh, beating Denmark in the final.

All the training the team do is about knowing what a spot on lap feels like in terms of cadence, speed etc so that they can just concentrate on process. All very Graeme Obree. Andy rode with an SRM power meter on his bike today, we rode at around 170 watts in the main. Pushing more up hills and drags (250W). When he normally trains, he's out at 250W for the duration. I'd of been battered, if he'd of kept that pace for three hours.

It wasn't a particularly hard ride today but I was feeling it, the route was quite flat (1.5k ft), 62 miles in distance. I hadn't eaten before I went out and had forgot to put some food in my back pocket, so the tank was feeling a little empty as we pulled up to Casa Tennant. Andy was also very gracious in ensuring I was on his wheel and calibrated his speed accordingly!

For 24, Tennant has an old head on young shoulders. He's accomplished himself multi-discipline across the track and road. He's a good time triallist, bashing out a 10M in 19 minutes aswell aswell as being one of the real candidates for a medal in the Team Pursuit in London 2012. Main things for him in the lead in to 2012 is to avoid illness and injury, in order that he can continue to train to his full potential. I'll certainly be cheering him on.

Winter Build - Kinesis Racelight TK2

2011-10-22T16:28:00.003+01:00

Changing weather conditions are on the way and I've been thinking about putting together a winter bike for a bit, something dedicated for the job, rather than one of my carbon bikes with crudguards on. Over the last six weeks, I've been busy buying bits for a build. Here it is, unveiled for the first time. It's a Kinesis Racelight TK2 with DC07 carbon forks.

Fully Built Up - Click Photo to Enlarge

Having started looking around, there aren't that many decent winter bikes around to buy off the peg. A good winter bike has to have all the right lugs and bits on to mount full mudguards, I'd pretty much got the shortlist down to the Kinesis Racelight TK02, having reviewed Ribble and Dolan as potential candiates. As usual, I got to thinking about how I could create something a little more personal with the money.

Specialized Short Drop bars with Deda Stem

The Racelight TK02 has had great reviews, I really liked the colour scheme and - as my luck would have it - a 60cm frameset with carbon forks, mudguards and some Specialized bars had just gone onto eBay, hardly used.

Tiagra 9 Speed Groupset

Having successfully won the auction, I picked up a Tiagra groupset (hardly used) off of e-Bay, Fulcrum 7 wheels, Continental Gatorskin 25mm tyres, Deda stem and seatpost from Onix bikes and all the other bits I had hanging around in the garage or just picked up on-line. Within a couple of weeks, my pile of bits in the conservatory was starting to look complete and ready for building up.

SRAM 11-32 Rear Cassette

One thing I did do was buy one of those SRAM 11-32 rear cassettes, which I thought would come in really handy for some of those harder days out in the hills, when you just need to keep spinning. I spotted an on-line store doing a deal on one and picked one up for about £15, they're normally nearer £40-£50. This gives me a gear ratio of 34/32 (1.06), which is basically about the same as a 28 tooth cassette on a triple (marginally better). More about gear ratios here.

Picked up some Shimano Long Reach Callipers Cheap

You need to consider if building your own winter hack with full dedicated mudguards, that you may need longer reach brake callipers than normal as they may not go over the mudguard (short reach). You should check, as it's not the same for every bike. My estimates concluded I needed longer reach callipers, so I found a guy on eBay selling a brand new Shimano pair he'd stripped off a new bike. Sorted.

Only thing I plan to change is the bar tape. The Specialized bars I picked up on eBay, came with the tape and levers already mounted, so I'll run this until it needs replacing, then stick some black tape on.

After a super-fast and quality build mechanic mate Mike Jackson, I picked the bike up yesterday. The bike looks stunning, it's exactly what I wanted. Distinctive, with the right gear ratios, dedicated mudguards, a nice aluminium frame and equipped for whatever the winter wants to throw my way. It also means my other bikes can be put into storage, reducing the need for a post-winter service.

It's been really interesting and at times exciting, doing a self-build. Choosing components, watching auctions, ticking off the shopping list. Yes, it takes a little longer, however you bag some pretty good bargains if you're prepared to be patient. I'm very fortunate knowing a great mechanic, so bits in boxes dropped off in a box one night, came back as my new winter steed two days later. Happy days and bring on the winter.

Full Mudguards

Love the Deep Burgundy Colour

Ready for Winter

10 tips for Winter Road Cycling

2011-10-15T20:08:00.000+01:00

Picture courtesy of Cyclesportphotos.com

The "W" word. I'm not saying it yet, but you know the season that comes after Autumn where things start to get a little wetter and colder. So what should you do to prepare for the change in conditions. Here's some tips that I've picked up in my short time riding: -

Invest in a turbo trainer. When the days are just too cold or perhaps the risk of black ice too high, if you still want to spin the pedals, £100 invested in a turbo trainer will give you an option to train. They're not for everyone, some swear by them, some hate them. Try it and see if it's for you. Alternatively, you might consider investing in an indoor static bike like a Wattbike. Wattbikes can be hired from £60 per month.
Consider changing your tyres to 700x25C. Most road bikes come with 700x23C tyres, so if you don't have a winter hack, consider changing the tyre to a slightly wider tread to give you better road grip and confidence during the winter months.
Regularly clean and oil your key moving parts, chain particulalry. I use a wet lubricant, which is designed specifically for the winter months and keeps the chain in good condition.
Invest in some decent gloves. I don't mean just one pair, I have about four different pairs for different conditions. A pair for heavy rain, a pair when it's just cold but not wet, a really thick pair for when it's freezing and a general purpose pair. It's surprising what wear each pair gets.
Carry a space blanket in your rear pocket. I've witnessed riders going over on black ice and in one serious incident last year, a fellow rider hospitalised. It's vital to keep people warm if they have an accident. You can pick up a space blanket of e-bay for three or four quid.
Fit some mudguards. If you're lucky to have mudguard mounts on your frame, get a decent pair. A lot of modern road bikes don't have them, so invest in a set of Crudguards, which will mount onto nearly any modern road bike with their unique mounting system. A tip for you, put a little piece of electrical tape underneath the mount, to prevent frame rub.
Heat goes through your head. If you want to stay really warm, ensure you have a decent wooly hat on underneath your helmet.
Always wear a base layer. It's surprising how warm your core still gets on a cold day. A base layer will effectively wick away the sweat and help to keep you cool. Starting from around £15 and going up to a hundred for something at the top end, they're really worth the money.
Clear your bike regularly to prevent grit build up. Invest in some specific bike cleaning products. I use Purple Harry cleaning products and wash my bike down after every ride, it only takes a few minutes, but for the long term it will ensure that your bike remains maintenance free.
Be seen. Invest in products, lights and jacket particularly which are going to make you highly visible to other road users. It's amazing how quickly the night draws in and if you're delayed due to a puncture or mechanical, you may get caught out. Always have some fully charged lights on your bike, to overcome these situations.

What would you add to the list? Drop me a comment to share with others.

Houston, we've got a mechanical....

2011-10-09T18:55:00.002+01:00

When you ride in larger groups, mechanicals and punctures have a propensity to appear with more frequency than normal. Additionally, if you ride longer distances on your own, you need to be able to have the confidence to deal with a mechanical on the move.

Having a well equipped saddle bag, should allow you to cover most issues on the bike, however it is surprising how ill equipped some riders are when dealing with an issue on the move. I run two saddlebags, using the same clip mounting mechanism on my rear saddle, allowing me to swap them over.

Bag one is my standard saddlebag. It contains the following: -

A spare inner tube
A CO2 inflator and x2 gas cannisters
A link removal tool in the event of a chain snap.
An SRAM chain link, which allows you to connect your chain. Only a few quid.
A multi-tool with allen keys etc.
A travel pack of baby wipes to get your hands clean.
Tyre levers.
A small piece of inner tube to patch up a tyre tear.

Bag Two is my larger saddlebag which I use for longer sportives. It contains all of the above plus: -

An additional spare tube.
Plenty of room to store emergency food.
A waterproof.
A space blanket in case of accident.

Before embarking on any long ride you should have the basic ability to fix a puncture, mend a broken chain and tighten/adjust any of the major elements that you have on the bike.

One great tip that I can pass on was passed on to me by Race-Pace.net guest blogger Mike Jackson, a former pro-team mechanic. If you've had your wheels off to mend a puncture, partly tighten your quick-release levers so that you can get the bike sitting on the wheels again (assuming it was previously upside down).

Then, loosen off the QR skewers again and put some weight on the saddle with your chest (rear tyre) or some weight on the handlebars (front tyre). This will mean the wheel will find it's perfect spot in the frame lugs meaning that the rolling resistance will be in line, then tighten up the skewer with your weight on it. This ensures a perfect fit each time. If having done that, your brakes are rubbing, then adjust them with your allen key.

It's inevitable that your going to get punctures, tyre-splits, snapped chains from time to time. Prevention is better than cure by having your bike serviced regularly and inspecting tyres, brake pads and chains for wear. These things don't last forever, so keep an eye on them.

I always have a quick look when I get back home and give the bike a wash, but also ensure that my saddle bag has an item replaced if I ever have to use it as soon as possible, it's easy to forget.

James Cracknell End to End Attempt

2011-10-03T22:17:00.002+01:00

Photo courtesy of www.sjjackson.com Twitter @flashjackson

Imagine the hardest longest ride you've ever done. For me it was the Fred Whitton sportive - 114 miles and just shy of 14,000ft of climbing, in one day - it took me about a week to recover. Now imagine doing a similar tough day - back to back - about seven times, with no sleep.

In support of Headway, the brain damage association, James Cracknell and Time Trial specialist Jerone Walters attempted to beat the Road Records Association tandem record for cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats (842 miles in 50hr 14min 25sec). The fastest ever solo navigation of the route was in 2001 when a chap called Gethin Butler did it in 44hrs 4mins and 20 secs - incredible).

The record had stood since 1966 (45 yrs) and is held by Messrs P M Swinden & W J Withers. With advances in aerodynamics, wind resistant materials, bike technology, nutrition and training techniques, it seemed inevitable that the record would fall.

Heartbreakingly, the crew chief for the event -Richard Gorman - called time on the attempt, 773 miles into it, 68 miles from John O' Groats. You can read the release and the reasons why here. James and Jerone had been in the saddle for around 44 hours at this point and must have been absolutely exhausted. A tough decision for the crew chief, but that's what he's there for.

In my view, it's no failure. I chose to back this attempt as a sponsor in my day job at printer company Brother UK. We backed it under our 141% initiative, you can read what that means here. What we backed was the ambition of this attempt. James Cracknell recovered from a significant cycling injury, after he was hit by a truck wing mirror at 75mph in Arizona. He's an inspiration for anyone that life post a serious accident goes on. Read more about his story here.

The tandem was one of the most sophisticated ever built, the support crew drilled, well equipped, social media was slick with an excellent app, the riders well prepared. The first days cycling saw them go through the hottest October day on record, that can't of been easy. If you've every cycled in hot conditions, you'll know how energy sapping that can be. As they headed North into the evening, the weather got cooler and heading into the Lakes, it deteriorated.

To slug it out on a bike for 44 hours at an average speed of around 16.7mph in those conditions, takes a level of physical and mental strength that most people don't possess. What this attempt stands for is about what human beings can achieve with determination, dreams and sheer effort. A magnificient achievement, regardless of the outcome.

If you think back 45 years, you have to respect those two riders who - without modern day technology, techniques or training - set this distinguished record back in 1966. I've no doubt Cracknell will be back for this one, call it unfinished business and he'll be be supported by us all again, at the roadside or on our computers, we'll be behind you. To read his post-ride reflections, click here.

In closing, please take a moment to view this short video that James made encouraging all cyclists to wear a helmet. I one hundred percent support this, regardless of the distance, conditions or weather, I always wear one, it may be the difference between your life or death.

Awesome Bike Video - Onix Bikes

2011-10-03T18:17:00.005+01:00

Simply stunning promotional video for Onix Bikes. If you've never ridden your bike in the Lake District, this video will convince you to get your bike up there and get riding.

Rich media is the best way for someone to buy into your brand and this is a great example. I love the slow motion bit around 43 seconds in when the guy is climbing the hill, beautiful camera work, great music background and some awesome scenery.