I’ve been told I’m a bit psychotic and need help after posting a little anecdote as a comment on a YouTube video. It’s prompted an uncharacteristic bout of self-analysis while I was on the indoor trainer this morning ....... and after some deep inner soul searching and deeper self reflection on the incident in question …
Winter Bike Part 2 – it’s not easy being retro ……
The hoods of torture So, as detailed in the previous post my eBay Winter Bike project had had a pretty strong start. My bargain 1990’s Dawes Galaxy had been treated to a complete drivetrain refresh for less than the cost of a contemporary rear cassette, and I’d even found some less offensive bar tape to …
Continue reading Winter Bike Part 2 – it’s not easy being retro ……
Buying a Winter Bike – Is this the path to all year round riding?
I’ve never bothered with a specific bike for winter training. I’ve either just ridden my usual road bike all year round and accepted the increased need to perform distasteful tasks like cleaning and lubing the chain more frequently, or just ridden off road for most of the winter. After all there is to my mind …
Continue reading Buying a Winter Bike – Is this the path to all year round riding?
Has Riding Trail Centres Made Me Go Soft?
Now Wales has gone back into lockdown and the valleys are being patrolled by terrifying close harmony male voice choirs looking for anyone with an English accent, my usual goto off road trails of choice are off limits to me. I’ve got an expensively assembled new bike and nowhere to ride it ...... Well actually …
New bike, new fears ……
The basis for riding heaven? So, for those that read my last missive, here is the result of much internet auction site searching in my quest to replicate the unobtainable Santa Cruz dream machine that realigned my Mountain biking expectations last time out. It’s a 2019 Cotic Rocket frameset and this will be the basis …
The Pearl Beyond Price. A Mountain biking Parable For Our Times.
One of the perhaps lesser known Biblical parables is the story of the Merchant and the Pearl often known as The Parable of the pearl beyond price. To heavily paraphrase the verses basically a rich Merchant see’s a beautiful gigantic pearl and is so consumed with the need to possess it he sells everything else …
Continue reading The Pearl Beyond Price. A Mountain biking Parable For Our Times.
Lockdown KOM Hunting – Suddenly after all these years I’m feeling competitive again …..
A surprise appearance on a Strava leaderboard leads to a worrying obsession
Zwift Tips For All The Isolating Newbies!
Wowsers, Zwift is a crowded place these days. Since the world went into lockdown and with cycling actively banned in some countries, thousands of frustrated cyclists are flocking to the virtual world of Zwift to get their two wheel based fix of mild nausea and lactic acid. Now there’s literally hundreds if not thousands of …
Time to admit my Failings !
One of the things I really like about Zwift is the little coloured power graph that shows your effort at the bottom of the screen. The only trouble is it works off your last recorded FTP and if like me you haven’t done nearly enough riding lately to maintain your previously fantastic levels of fitness, …
Winter is Coming….
Cometh the winter, cometh the season to plot how to spend whatever disposable income and free time you can seek past your significant other in the pursuit of next summers cycling goals. For most cyclists this is a pretty clear nivarna - we all want to be faster, look cooler (and slimmer!) and perhaps most …
The Declining Cyclist 