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?
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 …
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.
A surprise appearance on a Strava leaderboard leads to a worrying obsession
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, …
I rode au-natural the other day. Casting off the shackles of my normal riding conventions I set off unburdened and free into the unknown. It was a challenge, it was painful and exhilarating in equal measure and it felt good. Don't worry I did have lycra on. It wasn't that sort of ‘au-natruale’. I’m talking …
I had a nice easy indoor Zwift ride planned for the day after my mountain biking escapades, you know the sort of thing - an easy hour or so just to shake the previous days efforts out of the legs. No record-setting planned, or PB chasing on the climbs, just a nice easy bimble round …
It's been a busy couple of days in Declining Cyclist land. One might almost think I was thinking of taking my riding seriously again! Two days running I've put a significant ride in both in and out of doors. I'll give you a quick run down, I know you're all waiting with bated breath and …
There I've said it. It's out in the open. The secret is out, and the angst in my cyclists soul is laid bare, but that's fine. You see they say with age comes wisdom and experience. Well I'm not sure about wisdom and all experience seems to tell me is that getting up in the …
Continue reading I’m not the rider I could be, and I’m cool with that.
So I've been using Zwift for a few weeks now and according to my online stats on the Zwift app I've ridden 262 miles, climbed 24,300 feet and burned 27 slices of pizza. To be honest I'm not entirely sure of the relevance or meaning of that last stat, but burning virtual pizza slices seems …
Continue reading Training With Zwift – Indoor pain for hopefully outdoor gains…….
The Declining Cyclist 