Why I ride

I have just posted on another blog about an article related to cyclists who were killed by car drivers. Not one, but two or three at once. I find that my answer has caused an emotion in me that is close to meloncholy and so, in order to cheer myself up and to explain why I cycle, I thought I would put down on paper, or screen, why I ride my bike and what I get from cycling. I first wrote this down as a post on Yahoo Answers, but it still encompasses what I do and why I do it:

My muscles burn as I fight to keep the front wheel in control as I slowly power up the hill. It is not easy, since this is no road or even track, but a field boudary that is grassy and uneven. I am standing up in the saddle, resulute in my determination to stay out of the granny ring. It is a struggle and sweat pours down my face in the warm evening heat. But eventually, with the last of my strength seeming to have been sapped from my legs I start to rise over the top and the peddling gets easier. I reamain standing, just to get clear of the top before finally stopping at the summit.

Below me, the fields take on darker hues as the sun becomes an orange ball on the horizon and I take this opportunity to take in the gentle slopes of the valley below me. Contmplatively, I munch Jelly Babies as my breathing returns to normal and I take a long gulp from my hydration pack before examining the map that I have bought with me.

I have never been to this place before. I am exploring possible routes for a run that I am organising for my club. There may be twenty or more riders on my run and I must ensure that, as well as hard climbs, there is an element of fun. I compare the map to the vista before me and decide upon my route.

Replacing the map in my back pocket I start to peddle, quickly shifting into the top gear powering down the bumpy, grassy hill. However, after only a few seconds I no longer need to peddle as gravity takes hold and I am propelled downwards, at high speed as my bike jumps over bumps and the rear wheel jerks beneath me as I stand clear of the saddle and pull myself backwards, abandoning all caution as I commit myself to the descent.

Shortly and all too quickly, the ground levels out and I whoop for joy as I fly past startled walkers and cannon into the woodland that was only an outline on the map. Reluctantly, I tab the brakes as I skip and bounce over roots, bringing the bike back to a more managable speed, pitting my whits and skill against this new, unpredictable terrain.

Quickly and again, all too soon, this new thrill is over and I am catapulted out onto a quiet, paved track and I start to power up the slope as I look forward to the next challenge.

Luck

The Times

The Times has been doing the rounds on the cycling forums this week, following their TV advert offering 30% off of bikes with Evans cycles. So I bought the Times on Saturday. There is a lot of junk in the paper, with various lifestyle sections and general blurb. However, there was a nice little booklet on cycling, and there was the Evans voucher. My heart sank when I read the "On selected bikes" bit, but I went along to Evans for a look.

Most of the bikes are on 30% for a reason, they can's sell them. However, I was quite interested in the Lapierre X Control 310, knocked down from £1800 to £1300. Tempting, but the only fault I can find is that it has a home brand rear shock. Otherwise, well kitted bike.

Anyway, I am looking at this bike and giving it serious consideration. There will be a different selection on Monday, so I will see what takes my fancy.

Anyway, I decide to read the other blurb and come across a few interesting articles. The first shows the best places to cycle in the UK:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/active/article7125801.ece

Some of my local runs are on there, including Pitsford Cycles and the Brampton Valley Way, as well as Rutland Water. Easy runs, but fun for the family.

The other thing that I found interesting is the new craze for retro style clothing on bikes. Apparently, there is a craze to dress like a 1920s cyclist, complete with woolly jersey leather cycling shoes and tweed knee lengths. Some people go for the complete tweed look and have a three piece suite. It is not just the blokes. Many women are now dressing for style and riding vintage bikes, you know, the sort of things that Mary Poppins would have felt at home on, complete with wicker basket and long skirt. Rather than sports drinks, a Thermos of tea can be found in the bottle cage. They even have clubs:

http://www.tweed.cc/

http://www.londonsinglespeed.org.uk/the-tweed-cycling-club

These are not people who are speed merchants. They amble from tea house to work, with a sandwich stop on the way. For the complete retro cyclist, rather than a Parshley or old Peugeot, you can even get penny farthings (Not the massive ones, but with modest four foot wheels).

Anyway, it appears that they also have large outings called Tweed Runs. Although they have only done runs in London, with respectable turn outs of 400 or so, they are planning runs for San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo and Durango, Colorado.

It should be interesting to see what happens.

Luck

New Bike

I have been drooling over a new bike for ages and I am within a hairs breadth of getting it. I have been looking for about 4 or so months and I am nearly ready to part with the cash. Bike buying is a very drawn out event, but it needs to be. I am going to spend a fortune of this beasty. I am going to spend many hours in the saddle and I want it to do lots of specific things for my riding.

I have just been onto Yahoo Answers again. There are questions like, what size bike should I buy or is this the right bike for me? How should I know? I can tell you how to size the bike and a bit about set up, but as for knowing if this is the bike you should be riding?

It is a sad fact that many people buy bikes without actually thinking about it or finding out a bit about the model or style. If they are buying a car or a motorcycle, then there will be a fair amount of discussion, looking through magazines, talking to freinds and test drives. But a bike is just something you sling your leg over and turn the crank on.

There is a thread on MBR going on at the moment about a commuter bike that one of the readers found chained up outside an office. By the amount of rust on the chain and gears, this has been left outside and not ridden much. The concern was that this was £1000 worth of Specialized hardtail mountain bike. The problem is that it has no chance of getting anywhere near XC. But this is what people do. It is the equivelent of the Chelsea Tractor. A 4x4 driven by people in afluent London addresses who will never take it off road. This mountain bike is the same, an expensive fashion statement that will never be ridden properly.

The other day a colleage was sharing her thoughts on buying bikes for the unemployed so that they could commute to work without having to rely on the bus. She seemed quite pleased that she was contemplating spending a lot, in order to get a good quality bike for them £100. I didn't tell her how much I will be spending on mine.

The point is that, when I was looking at my next bike, I put a lot of thought into it. What sort of riding do I want to do? What do I want the bike to be able to do? How much is weight, travel an issue?

To answer these questions I poured through magazines, talked to all of my local bike shops and then arranged a test day, where I could just turn up and ride several bikes (5). I then went away and reflected on the ride, read some more reviews and looked at the spec sheets, but by that stage I already knew. The bike that I would be spending the next few thousand miles getting aquainted with and exploreing it's finer points, was the Giant Anthem X2.

But I suppose that, although I put a lot of work into my choice of bike, people still order bikes from supermarkets without even sitting on them. They spend a fortune of a machine that is just going to spend it's life left in the garden or chained up at work, half a mile away. What a waste.

Oh well, rant over.

Luck

FNSS Races

Summer is definitely here. The first of the Friday Night Summer Series has happened. 169 riders turned up to race. Not bad for a local level race.

I rode the route with the club, doing course setting, on the Wednesday. A fun ride for the first half, quite quick. But then the race got into the woods. Imagine this. It is on a hill. It has lots of trees and roots. It has badger holes and rabbit holes. There is loose shingle going down and a swampy bit to ride up. The trees are close packed with low branch. You then have some killer climbs, gullies, logs etc. It is not paved, but loose earth and grass. Oh yeah.

So I fell off twice. But consider this environment with 169 nutters pounding around the course at full tilt and you get the idea. Damn fun. This isn't the only venue though.

The Friday Night Summer Series is the brain child of my local bike shop, or more to the point, Niel at George Halls. It takes in various sites around Northants, Leicester shire and Bucks (MK). The races last about an hour and are a fun, mud filled romp that test skill, endurance and your will to keep going.

Here is the link:

http://fnssmtb.com/

If the riders thought that this one was hard, the new course at Bulwick Estates are said to be even steeper and even harder. Yum Although booking on line closes six days before the race, you can still turn up and ride, cash in hand. It only costs a tenner.

The point is that normally racing is viewed as the preserve of elite international athletes who chase sponsorship and glory. The reality is that glory, or more usually the fun of getting out and giving it a go is open to anybody who just wants a good night out on their bike. No works teams, no uba athletes. Just people with bikes who want to get down and dirty.

Enjoy.