Evening, All.
Well, the weekend is drawing to a close again, but it's been a good one on the cycling front. I was out on the bike Saturday and today, which I don't usually do in the winter. Road yesterday, off road today. But my goodness it's been windy! And hard work it made it at times. Setting off yesterday I struggled to get over 10mph for the first mile or so into the teeth of the wind. All I needed was a straw shopping basket on the front to complete the "old lady on a bike" appearance.......and perhaps a blue rinse. But, I struggled bravely on. I decided a spot of hill work was in order and put together a 25 mile ish route with plenty of ups and downs. I'm no Lucien Van Impe that's for sure, but I do like to climb. Or should I say, I like to climb when I'm feeling good! Anyway, considering I'm really just emerging from my winter hibernation I didn't feel too bad all in all. The old pins were firing well enough and my heart wasn't beating too hard when I put the hammer down every now and then for a few minutes. I fueled up well before setting off though, which no doubt helped - big bowl of porridge with plenty of raisins - "excellente!", as the Ambassador might say. I can wholeheartedly recommend said dish as a good cycling breakfast. So, battling the wind aside, an enjoyable couple of hours in the saddle. Sadly, on returning home and stepping into the shower, the bloody thing didn't work! I will be drafting a stern e-mail to my landlord, Mr Rigsby, shortly!
For today I'd arranged an off road jaunt with a friend of mine. I don't venture out much at all on the MTB during the winter months, but it was good to get a few miles in on the knobbly tyres. No traffic to worry about, flying along on single-track through the trees, etc. Most enjoyable. Unlike me, my friend isn't that keen on climbing, but he's much improved since his early off road days. Billy Bunter they use to call him at school, or something like that, but now he's a pretty fit guy. He use to be big into pumping iron a good few years ago. Rumour has it that he could bench press 500lbs at his strongest, but I think someone must have added a "0" to the figure by mistake! Anyway, he faired very well on the ups today - a testament that climbing ability can be greatly improved with a bit of hard work. No wildlife spotted on the trail today unfortunately. There's usually the odd deer or two to be seen at least. We did come across an entire family out on their bikes though, which was good to see - humans not deer. I'm looking forward to going out on the MTB with my friend and his young daughter some time this Spring. She's 8 and has just got her first mountain bike. We'll be taking it easy on her though - no more than 30 miles on the first outing.......
Well, my glass of real ale is nearly dry and I can hear another bottle calling me from the kitchen cupboard. Time to put the feet up and rest the legs a while.
Yours
TPR
Sunday 24 February 2008
Thursday 21 February 2008
Any Old Iron?
"Any old iron, any old iron, any any any old iron?!", I once sung on stage at junior school whilst clanking two pans together and donned in flat cap, one of my grandad's old shirts and braces. What the audience of parents, teachers, etc made of it I don't like to ponder, but I enjoyed myself!
But what the Dickens is this talk of "iron" about, I hear you ask? Well, push irons of course, and in particular, just how good they need to be. Can you get by and have fun with just "any old iron"? The simple answer is "yes!". Bikes, hey? Where do you start.....or finish?! Mountain, road, hybrid, track, single-speed, fixed gear, carbon fibre, steel, titanium, alloy, £500, £1,000, £2,000, £5,000, etc, etc. But, it's the latter I'm concerned with here - cold, hard cash. You earn it, the bike shop wants it. Some guy once said, "It's not about the bike". I can't remember his name but he was a rider of some note. He was right though. It's about enjoying yourself on the bike and when it comes to going faster, training wisely and increasing your fitness/eating well can more than make up for the fact that you're on a significantly cheaper machine than other cyclists. My first mountain bike was a fully rigid Marin. Second hand. £100. Bargain. A steel machine, with pretty basic components, it was certainly no light weight. But, it was reliable, comfy and a great bike to learn the basics of off road riding on. One of my most memorable rides aboard my Marin was when myself and a friend blew away a group of fellow mountain bikers riding much more expensive machines - an excellent case in point that money can't buy fitness. More than a few years ago........
Me and said friend were riding one of our favourite routes in very hilly country. We'd paused at the bottom of a tough climb to fuel up on butties and flapjack - lunch al fresco. Into view, approaching the bottom of the climb come a group of four riders. As they get nearer we see that they're all riding very nice bikes indeed - a couple were Dekerfs, with top notch componentry - we're tallking £2k plus. We exchange "hellos" and as they pass I say, "See you later" (not meaning it literally). But one of the guys seems to think so and replies, "Yeah?..." with a chuckle and backwards, disparaging glance at my "bottom notch" Marin, as though to say, "I doubt it!". Well, I'm not one to rise to the bait......but we quickly finished our lunch stop and set off in pursuit! Half way up the climb, the "Dekerf boys" are spitting blood and as we sail by with a cheery "Awright?", they don't look too happy. We top out well ahead of the four musketeers and begin the long, fast descent. By the time they catch us up in the village at the bottom we're already eating more buns and drinking coffee. They look even less impressed.
The moral of the story is clear - it's not the push iron your on, but how you ride it.
Fast, slow, in between, expensive or cheap - just enjoy the ride.
Yours
TPR
But what the Dickens is this talk of "iron" about, I hear you ask? Well, push irons of course, and in particular, just how good they need to be. Can you get by and have fun with just "any old iron"? The simple answer is "yes!". Bikes, hey? Where do you start.....or finish?! Mountain, road, hybrid, track, single-speed, fixed gear, carbon fibre, steel, titanium, alloy, £500, £1,000, £2,000, £5,000, etc, etc. But, it's the latter I'm concerned with here - cold, hard cash. You earn it, the bike shop wants it. Some guy once said, "It's not about the bike". I can't remember his name but he was a rider of some note. He was right though. It's about enjoying yourself on the bike and when it comes to going faster, training wisely and increasing your fitness/eating well can more than make up for the fact that you're on a significantly cheaper machine than other cyclists. My first mountain bike was a fully rigid Marin. Second hand. £100. Bargain. A steel machine, with pretty basic components, it was certainly no light weight. But, it was reliable, comfy and a great bike to learn the basics of off road riding on. One of my most memorable rides aboard my Marin was when myself and a friend blew away a group of fellow mountain bikers riding much more expensive machines - an excellent case in point that money can't buy fitness. More than a few years ago........
Me and said friend were riding one of our favourite routes in very hilly country. We'd paused at the bottom of a tough climb to fuel up on butties and flapjack - lunch al fresco. Into view, approaching the bottom of the climb come a group of four riders. As they get nearer we see that they're all riding very nice bikes indeed - a couple were Dekerfs, with top notch componentry - we're tallking £2k plus. We exchange "hellos" and as they pass I say, "See you later" (not meaning it literally). But one of the guys seems to think so and replies, "Yeah?..." with a chuckle and backwards, disparaging glance at my "bottom notch" Marin, as though to say, "I doubt it!". Well, I'm not one to rise to the bait......but we quickly finished our lunch stop and set off in pursuit! Half way up the climb, the "Dekerf boys" are spitting blood and as we sail by with a cheery "Awright?", they don't look too happy. We top out well ahead of the four musketeers and begin the long, fast descent. By the time they catch us up in the village at the bottom we're already eating more buns and drinking coffee. They look even less impressed.
The moral of the story is clear - it's not the push iron your on, but how you ride it.
Fast, slow, in between, expensive or cheap - just enjoy the ride.
Yours
TPR
Wednesday 6 February 2008
Ride Safe
With the sad loss of a well known cyclist recently, thoughts turn again to the dangers of cycling on the road.
There's no doubt about it, cyclists are very vulnerable. I've had several close shaves myself, including one a couple of years ago where I still can't believe I got away with it. It was so close (in the last fraction of a second I resigned myself to the horrendous impact) and "serious injury guaranteed" that instead of the anger, or shock, one usually feels after such incidents, for some while afterwards I couldn't stop grinning with sheer relief! I was very lucky.
As a cyclist, I think it pays to assume that at every junction, roundabout, etc there is the potential for you to get knocked down. Proceed with the mind set that drivers will not see you. If possible try to make eye contact with drivers. Have they seen you? Will they approach or pass you with caution? At every parked car, assume that someone inside will open the door as you approach. You can guarantee that on the one occasion you don't, out will pop the car door! The ultimate example thus far of a driver not seeing me on my bike happened one Christmas not too long ago.
I was approaching a cross roads down the main road indicating right. At the cross roads was a chap in a car who was clearly intending to go straight over, i.e. he was at the give way - my right of way. Despite the fact that there were no over vehicles in sight, visibility was excellent and I was wearing a bright blue top, as I started to make my turn, I knew that the guy in the car hadn't see me. Out of the junction he started to pull. Only at the point of me being just to the side of his wing (after taking quick avoiding action!) and literally staring him in the face through the windscreen did he see me. And when he did, the look said, "Christ, where did you come from!?". Well, up the road, plain as day, for about 100 yards was the answer!
Whilst being cautious, you should assert your position on the road. If you ride too close to the kerb or side of the road, drivers will be tempted to go around you when they should wait for any traffic coming in the opposite direction to pass, if there's clearly not enough room. You may feel pressured by vehicles behind you, but by trying to accomodate them and tempting them to pass, you may well put yourself in more danger. If, however, you feel the breath of an enormous lorry bearing down on you from the rear on a quiet, narrow, country lane, it might be very sensible to pull in and let it pass. Employ common sense. Not only might this prevent you from being squashed, it will help make the lorry driver in question that bit more cyclist friendly, which can't be a bad thing!
Above all else, NEVER ride pillion on a brakeless BMX with a lunatic at the controls who has a tendency to ride through busy cross roads without looking, screaming like a banshee, after spending the afternoon in the pub and whilst carrying a large bag of takeaway curry!.........as an also "very lucky" friend of mine once did many moons ago.
Take care out there.
The Pale Rider
There's no doubt about it, cyclists are very vulnerable. I've had several close shaves myself, including one a couple of years ago where I still can't believe I got away with it. It was so close (in the last fraction of a second I resigned myself to the horrendous impact) and "serious injury guaranteed" that instead of the anger, or shock, one usually feels after such incidents, for some while afterwards I couldn't stop grinning with sheer relief! I was very lucky.
As a cyclist, I think it pays to assume that at every junction, roundabout, etc there is the potential for you to get knocked down. Proceed with the mind set that drivers will not see you. If possible try to make eye contact with drivers. Have they seen you? Will they approach or pass you with caution? At every parked car, assume that someone inside will open the door as you approach. You can guarantee that on the one occasion you don't, out will pop the car door! The ultimate example thus far of a driver not seeing me on my bike happened one Christmas not too long ago.
I was approaching a cross roads down the main road indicating right. At the cross roads was a chap in a car who was clearly intending to go straight over, i.e. he was at the give way - my right of way. Despite the fact that there were no over vehicles in sight, visibility was excellent and I was wearing a bright blue top, as I started to make my turn, I knew that the guy in the car hadn't see me. Out of the junction he started to pull. Only at the point of me being just to the side of his wing (after taking quick avoiding action!) and literally staring him in the face through the windscreen did he see me. And when he did, the look said, "Christ, where did you come from!?". Well, up the road, plain as day, for about 100 yards was the answer!
Whilst being cautious, you should assert your position on the road. If you ride too close to the kerb or side of the road, drivers will be tempted to go around you when they should wait for any traffic coming in the opposite direction to pass, if there's clearly not enough room. You may feel pressured by vehicles behind you, but by trying to accomodate them and tempting them to pass, you may well put yourself in more danger. If, however, you feel the breath of an enormous lorry bearing down on you from the rear on a quiet, narrow, country lane, it might be very sensible to pull in and let it pass. Employ common sense. Not only might this prevent you from being squashed, it will help make the lorry driver in question that bit more cyclist friendly, which can't be a bad thing!
Above all else, NEVER ride pillion on a brakeless BMX with a lunatic at the controls who has a tendency to ride through busy cross roads without looking, screaming like a banshee, after spending the afternoon in the pub and whilst carrying a large bag of takeaway curry!.........as an also "very lucky" friend of mine once did many moons ago.
Take care out there.
The Pale Rider
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
