BWC2012 Launch - Manchester

Bromptons in the Velodrome

Today Manchester was busy with Brompton's for the official launch event for the 2012 Brompton World Championships. It was a bit like a teddy bear's picnic "If you go down the canal today, you're sure of a big surprise ..." and 60 Bromptons on the towpaths in the rain certainly caused one or two surprises.



Gareth Rees (winner of the London Nocturne Folding Bike race)

 The action started at the Rainy City Velodrome, home of British Cycling, with people arriving from all over the place. There was Ian from Northampton, Mick from Aldershot, Alan and Jill from Leicester and a bike shop owner from Sunderland. There was world champion Rachel Elliot, Gareth Rees Winner of the London Nocturne and a whole team of people from Brompton in London. There were black bromptons, pink, yellow, claret, white, blue, red-white-and-blue,  and Bromptons of a thousand colours. There were enough to fill a Christy Moore song.

Tagging along with the factory team

Down at the trackside the Bromptons circled round and round the blue area and the riders fought the temptation to ride up on to the wooden boards (if anyone saw me it was an accident, honestly!). After plenty of laps of the dry velodrome breakfast was provided in the Velopark cafe before a couple of photocalls and a briefing and off we all went to scare the geese on the canal.

The rain grew heavier and the cobbles got more slippery but determined riders refused to put feet on the floor. Around the Fallowfield Loop, through Chorlton and back to the city centre where the London style marshalling came as a shock to the northern motorists (but at least it woke them up and they were more observant).

The atmosphere from start to finish was friendly and relaxed and the Brompton Team should be congratulated on an excellent job

Bromptons on turbo trainers

At the end of the ride everyone was smiling and chatting and enjoying the excellent company

Shortly afterwards I was back on the bike to pedal home and complete my longest day on the Brompton (just over 46 miles).

It's not always sunny, but it's always good for you!

Today and I had a meeting with a colleague in Hebden Bridge. The weather was pretty wet and quite cold but of course we both arrived by bike. The canal paths got wetter as the day went on and the overflows were very slippery. The rain became incessant and hands got quite cold with very wet gloves on.

In the end though a 30 mile ride, when you really wouldn't want to go outside the front door, is still pretty good. You still get exercise and once you've got going you can still enjoy the fresh air and the outdoors.

Today I saw a Yellow Wagtail beside the canal, I've not seen one for years, and the usual range of ducks, geese and a heron. This cycling stuff isn't only good for your body, it's good for the mind as well.

The Science Bit

Note the science here is mostly correct but sometimes it may be totally made up. It's up to you to decide which each day.

How does riding in rubbish conditions benefit the mind?

The simple scientific answer is: Endorphins

The more detailed scientific answer is: When the body is subjected to certain stresses and also to certain pleasurable things (i.e. stimulae) the production of certain hormone related substances is increased. These substances include endorphins, sometimes called the "feel-good hormones" and sure enough they make you feel better.

The secondary scientific answer is: Whilst cycling in difficult conditions, including very slippery overflows like the one above, your mind is occupied by the immediate physical requirements and the parts of your brain which might be worrying or feeling pressured effectively get a break.

Back to Basics - Scientific Training

When reading about a "Back to Basics" approach to training some people may assume that I don't approve of scientific training methods and principles. But the back to basic training methods are actually rooted in and backed up by science.

The early scientists didn't have the range of tools and equipment that modern scientists have but the principles that they worked out underpin most modern science. Similarly the successful training techniques used by cyclists in the "Pre-Baordman" era actually underpin the work done since by the likes of Peter Keen and Brailsford's team.

So, if modern scientific methods are better, why would anyone choose to use anything other than the newest most scientific methods?

The answer is quite simply that for most of us what we are trying to achieve can be achieved without the need for lots of expensive equipment and coaching. In a way if it was good enough for Eddy Merckx it ought to be good enough for you and me.

• We want to get a bit fitter
• We want to loose a bit of weight
• We need to climb faster
• We need to sprint faster
• Our tactics leave room for improvement
• We want to finish that sportive
• We want to place in the 4th cat race

All of the above can be achieved using a more basic approach to training and by our own efforts with a bit of guidance and without the need for HRM, GPS, physiological testing, power measurement etc.

For some there is a real need for more; 

• if you are trying to add a few metres onto a World Hour Record 
• if you are looking for the edge to win the Tour prologue
• if you are just a fraction away from winning an important TT
• if you are loosing sprints by a couple of inches (in a proper race, not the clubrun!)

If you are in those situations then you've probably exhausted the basic techniques just to get there and now you need the little extra edge that the latest scientific techniques can give you.

If not then Back to Basics can save you a fortune and get you where you need to be. So I'll be writing a series of Back to Basics training blogs and for those into the scientific approach I'll include the science behind the basic methods.

Wet, windy, why cycle?

Easter finished and like many people I've been decorating. Early starts and late finishes left me somewhat tired and I know I still smell of paint!

Being too busy to cycle for a few days normally leaves me itching to get back on the bike but it's April, it's raining and the wind is strong, cold and in my face. I didn't want to get out of bed yet alone cycle to Manchester!

Breakfast done and water-proofs on I set off for work a little later than usual. Going uphill straight from my front gate is rarely fun. Today my legs didn't want to know and my body ached. I asked myself why I do this.

Three times I passed quite close to train stations and was tempted to take the easy way out. But trains would mean noise, queues and more than likely I wouldn't get a seat. I carried on cycling.

About half way I was feeling better and didn't mind the wind and the rain was keeping me pleasantly cool. I really enjoyed the remaining seven miles and don't feel tired any more.

Cycling is the only way I know to convert knackered, inert mind and body into a happy, fresh and enthusiastic worker. Now it's time for another coffee - decaf of course, who needs caffeine?

Rochdale CTC Reliability Ride

Brilliant weather, once the mist had cleared over Cliviger, seemed fitting for the first official Rochdale CTC activity in a very long time. It also seemed ideal for what was my first reliability ride in a similar period.

A 50 mile route with a good sprinkling of hills took the riders from Rochdale to Todmordon over the hills to Rawtenstall, Haslingden, Grange and back through Ainsley and Bury.

The Rochdale CTC Group will be running regular rides on Sundays starting from Rochdale swimming baths at 9.30am and a list will be available from local cycle shops. A website should also be up and running soon and I'll include details on this blog when available.

The group are welcoming and the distances and speed of the rides are not too demanding, offering a good introduction to group cycling for newcomers as well as a pleasant day out for the more experienced cyclists.

BMW and Audi - Safety Recall

I'm sorry to announce a major safety recall of all models of BMW and Audi cars.

The recall, covering all saloon, estate, coupe and hatchback models dating from 1995 to the current models., is in response to serious and life-thretening safety issues affecting approximately 90% of these models.

Two major faults have been identified and all owners should stop using their vehicles with immediate until they have been checked by an approved dealer.

The faults both affect the braking system of the vehicles;

• The first fault affects the ability of the vehicle to stop at the first solid white line of an ASL when a red light is showing - however slowly the driver approaches the red light the brakes cannot bring it to a stop until the vehicle is well across the stop line and sometimes across the second stop line.

• The second fault also affects the braking system when approaching a light which has turned red such that when the driver presses the brake pedal the system misinterprets the instruction and increases the throttle causing the car to speed through the lights. In extreme cases the system will even change gear to enable the vehicle to accelerate more quickly.

Clearly this kind of system failure puts the vehicle occupants, other road users and pedestrians at considerable risk, hence the need to recall all affected vehicles.

Should the manufacturers be unable to resolve theses issues then further action may be required which could involve a major safety recall of all the licences of affected drivers.

New training partner

This evening riding home from work I was accompanied by an old training partner I've not seen for ages.

Like me he's a bit grey but he always kept just ahead. However hard I rode I couldn't get on even terms, its pretty good training!

Anyway I managed to grab a couple of pictures long the way:

 

TFGM Cycle Challenge

I'm working on  a new cycle challenge for Greater Manchester with TfGM and CTC Challenge for Change. The idea is to get lots of people to try riding a bike for the challenge and perhaps remind them of how much fun it can be.

The challenge is a competition between local businesses and organisations where they compete to get the biggest proportion of their employees to ride a bike during the challenge.

The challenge itself runs from 14th May to 5th June but we're keen to sign up businesses as soon as possible to give time to encourage the non-cyclists and occasional cyclists to have a go. Participants only need to cycle for 10 minutes to qualify and there are loads of prizes and incentives.

Please contact me at seamus.kelly@ctc.org.uk for more information or for help getting your business or organisation registered or alternatively you can go to our website at

www.tfgmcyclechallenge.co.uk/home

Please let friends and colleagues know about the challenge.

Back to Basic - 4 - Ready?

Well another good week with 110miles of commuting, a good proportion of that being off road. Tomorrow should be a recovery day so that my somewhat tired legs will be ready for the Witches Curse on Sunday.

Has the training done enough, would I be ready? 

Unfortunately I won't find out because the event has been postponed until September due to circumstances beyond the organiser's control. Not sure what happened but was the event cursed from the start?

Problem now is what to do about the entry. By September the Back to Basics training should have me well beyond the shorter version so leaving the entry standing would be a waste. I can use it to enter something else so could go for the longer and even hillier version or maybe I'll go for the Phil and Friends event in the Peak District. Interested to know what others think.

Either way I'm getting to like the training without too much extra technology and I think I'll carry on using the same techniques through the year and see what condition it brings.

What will the training include?

• Riding bikes whenever possible
• Mountain biking
• Commuting
• Road biking
• Riding up loads of hills (easy to find round here)
• Turbo trainer when necessary
• Riding on feel
• Fun
• Keeping note of how much I've done
• Plotting routes on computer and maps

What it won't include:

• HRM / Pulse meters
• Power measurement
• Detailed training plans
• Pressure

I'll probably let anyone interested know how it is going.

Back to basics 3 - one week to go

Well this weekend leaves just a single week to go before the Witches Curse Sportive and I'm wondering how well prepared I am, and how much I can do in the last week. Last weekend a road ride with a bit over 2,000 feet of climbing left me struggling to hold off cramp on the last climb.

So every time I could ride a bike this week I've been pedaling a bit harder than normal and I've cycled around 150 miles - probably more than I've ridden in a week for a good number of years.

I've commuted on my Brompton and my MTB and taken the long way around when I could. Finally a weekend ride on the road bike around the West Pennines. This time the route was about 37miles but included about 3,600 feet of climbing including four big climbs and a difficult headwind on some of the longer climbs.

To my great relief the "back to basics" training over the last week and a half had worked quite well and the same final climb, with a strong headwind this time, was tough but there was no sign of the cramp from a week ago.

The only draw-back to the ride every chance using a range of bikes was the need this afternoon to wash three bikes - I don't think I had to do that even when I was a keen racer cycling over 300 miles a week!

I expect to commute to Manchester a few times this week and I'll aim to ride as much as possible but not to arrive at the weekend tired.

Back to basics 2

Training for the Witches Curse

Only two weeks to prepare for this event so I was wondering which way to train.

I asked myself, should I take the scientific route and get into checking my current heart rate zones power outputs and so on? I could devise a schedule to bring me to the event in the best shape possible. But the answer was no! In two weeks I'd just about establish where I am at now and start to prepare a plan to improve.

So the answer is take the training back to basics. Riding the bike when you can and when you can't get on in indoor trainer. Tonight its cold outside but a nice warm 4 degrees in the shed so turbo training it was - first time since.... since.... since a very long time ago. I remember using the turbo to prepare to spend a week climbing really big hills in Spain but that was 12 years ago.

Riding on Feel

The most old fashioned bit of the training is the method of gauging the effort - I'm using something we used to use 30 years ago - we call it riding on feel. It worked then and I reckon it still works now.
So how does back to basics work?

I've got to be able to ride up lots of hills so when out on the bike I'm riding up lots of hills. I've got to be able to build a bit of stamina and enable my legs to recover while riding so I have to work quite hard, relax a bit and work hard again.

Of course "feel" is built up over time and there are special indicators you can use to know just how hard you are actually working, that's a bit scientific really. For example if you are doing sprint intervals and you intend doing eight of them you know you were going a tiny fraction too hard if you threw up after only six or seven, a bit too easy is you still had balance, coordination and speech after eight. Do it a few times and you develop the necessary feel so that you only throw up after eight and so that the balance, coordination and speech only go as you make your eighth final lunge.

Back to Basics

Having entered the Witches Curse sportive - http://www.ctcchallengerides.co.uk/CTC2012_Witches_Curse_sportive.php -  I needed to get my road bike out and do some training. I'm only doing the 45 mile version but it has almost 5,000 feet of climbing and I'm not fit!

So today I took out my road bike for a training run. This bike has only been ridden once in the last 15 years and the frame was built for me by Vernon at M&B Cycles in Dronfield well over 20 years ago.

So here I am training for an event and this really is back to basics. There is no GPS, no cycle computer, no heart rate monitor. The bike itself is considered retro or classic now and there is no indexing on the downtube gear levers, no dual pivot brakes, no compact or triple chainset, no anatomically shaped handlebars and the frame is made of Reynolds 531 Pro steel tubing.

Once back on the bike feels just so as it did when I raced on it 20 years ago.

Simplex retro-friction gear levers - these are working perfectly well on an 8 speed cassette and I never really understood why indexing is so popular on road bikes

Campag Record Strada single pivot brakes - yes dual pivots and hydraulics or discs give more power. More power is not always useful unless somehow you are also able to create more grip on the road (it works on MTB because you have such large contact patches)

Cinelli bars and stem with original Benotto tape - gloves or mits provide the necessary grip and cushioning and nothing gives such a direct feel and control as traditional thin tape

Campag Victory seatpost

Reynolds 531Pro frame and forks - there isn't really anything better - lighter yes, but better no!

Shimano Dura Ace front hub with stainless spokes on a Mavic rim - great wheels which can easily be trued and adjusted and which are built to a tension to suit the rider. I built these fairly tight to suit my style and weight

Shimano Duar Ace rear hub, stainless spokes and Mavic rim. The largest cog used to be an 18 or for particularly hilly riding a 21 but nowadays a 25 is more in order. The Record cranks only take a ring down to 42 and a 25 tooth cog the biggest I can fit with the original Dura Ace rear mech. Still a gear of 45" is quite low.