by Nick Wachter | Mar 26, 2013
How To Keep Warm Cycling
With this spring still like the depths of winter I’d thought I’d share my tips for staying toasty if you’re yearning to ditch the turbo for the outdoors.
LAYERS LAYERS LAYERS… It all boils down layers.
SOCKS
1 Pair of Thinsulated Socks. £5- £10 is such a small price to pay
2/3 pairs of very thick wool socks. You may need slightly large shoes.
OVER SHOES
1 pairs of plastic type commuter over shoes. These are not pretty, but keep the wind out!
1 pair of racing over shoe! These are 1) to be stylish and 2) they will prevent 80-90% of the wind getting to the 1st pair of over shoes
LEG WARMERS
The main advantage over leggings is then can be pulled of quickly at any stops and popped into your back pocket. I’ve never had to take them off, just keep your legs covered whether legging or leg warmers. Another advantage of course you can add fashion by mixing shorts/leg warmers.
ARM WARMERS
Cold days wear two pairs. You can always pull them off.
JERSEYS
Forget base layers. My personal favourite is 3 cycling jerseys. The main advantage is 3 zips. On climbs you can undo all 3 and let air in. On cold days this air conditioning works so well. How far you unzip, how many tops you unzip you control how much air gets in and how cool you want to be. The second advantage is pockets. 3 tops = 9 pockets. Plenty of room for spares! Also if it hots up (in Perth the temperature would be 0 degrees Celsius at 6am, by 10am it was 20 degrees) you can take a top or even two off and pop them in your back pocket.
You didn’t really think you got dropped because your jerseys were thicker than theirs did you?
CYCLING NECK SCARF
Essential piece of kit! Can be worn around neck (keeping the cold from entering your top through the collar, pull up over face for the strong head winds and fast descents, and also over your ears if need be. I normally take two, especially if climbing. When you sweat, they will get wet. So having a spare dry one to swap over for the last hour of the ride is always good.
EAR WARMERS/HEAD BAND
These allow heat to escape from your head, cool breeze to flow through helmet while keeping your ears snug. Again if you’re stopping a spare one is a good idea. These and the neck scarves take up no space what so ever. You could get 5 of each in 1 pocket.
GLOVES
Don’t be a hero. Buy expensive winter cycling gloves! Ski gloves can also be very good for keeping your hands warm (£50), but Aldi also do fantastic ones for £5.. On very cold days, a spare pair in a pocket means after 2-3 hours of working and sweating, a clean dry pair for the ride home can help. Whatever you choose make sure you opt for ones that give you the movement you need.
COATS / JACKETS
I don’t like them. However you need them for the rain. I still prefer 3 tops when it comes to cold, but obvious if it’s raining you need to keep dry. Buy a good quality gillet or you will just sweat into the arms of the jacket. One solution is to cut a small hole at the elbow to allow the sweat to drip out
Nick Wachter
PhysiKcal Fitness
Cycling Shorts Resident Elite Personal Trainer & Conditioning Coach
If you have any training or conditioning questions for me just drop me a line by clicking here.
by Anna Magrath | Mar 23, 2013
SCCU Good Friday Meeting
Herne Hill Velodrome, Burbage Road, SE24 9HE : 29 March 2013
Marcel Kalz at Good Friday picture ©Paul Wright
Top International riders competing at the historic Good Friday meeting this year are Sprinter Robert Forstemann, Six Day riders Christian Grasmann, Marcel Kalz, Leif Lampater, Nico Hesslich (all Germany) & Manuel Cazzaro (Italy).
Andy Tennant (Madison Genesis) is the leading British rider supported by Dominic Jelfs.
Team Raleigh have a strong presence with Evan Oliphant, Tom Scully and Sam Witmitz. Peter Mitchell, winner of the Open Sprint for the last two years is hoping to make it three in a row.
Live commentary will be provided by David Harmon. Paralympic stars Jody Cundy and Jon-Allan Butterworth are also competing and newly crowned World Sprint and World Keirin Champion Becky James will be making a guest appearance, but will not be racing on this occasion.
The Triumph Thunderbird motorbikes will again take to the track. Two British riders, James Holland-Leader and Symon Lewis will compete against riders from Holland, Belgium, France and Germany in the seven man 40 laps Motor paced race.
There are five races for women this year; women’s specific are the Sprint, Keirin and Scratch, and women will take on the men in the 5 Mile and Devil.
The usual SCCU Good Friday favourite races include the White Hope Sprint for up and coming riders, the International Open Sprint with top riders from home and abroad and the Meeting will end with the now classic Golden Wheel 20 k scratch, which boasts a fantastic £1000 for the winner and a further £1000 for the runners up. Last year’s winner, Marcel Kalz from Germany is returning to defend his trophy against a 125 strong field.
Apart from the usual ‘cycle jumble’ stalls there will be Bike Bling and bike related stalls around the Velodrome, plus a Real Ale Bar, proper coffee and hot food outlets. Gates open at 9.30 for spectators. Preliminary races start at 10.30 and the Finals start at 1pm, all being well it should be done by 5.30.
Good Friday By Numbers:
11: The number of countries that riders come from this year (France, Belgium, GB, Holland, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Finland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia),
22: The number of women competing in 2013
57: Hotel beds booked for the Meeting
148: The number of riders in this year’s Meeting
£675: Total Prize money for the Womens events
£1000: First prize for the Golden Wheel 20k Scratch
1903: Year the first meeting was held
£4610: Total Prize money for the Meeting
Admission is £12 for adults, £6 for 12-16s and free for under 12s. Tickets can be purchased in advance via the website or on the day. There is no onsite car parking for spectators; please arrive by train to Herne Hill station (8 minutes walk) or bike, as there will be plenty of bike parking. Spectators needing disabled parking should contact the organisers in advance.
Further information can be found at: www.bristowevents.co.uk/GoodFriday.html
by Anna Magrath | Mar 22, 2013
Watch our interview with cancer survivor and charity fundraising cyclist James Golding. “I’m James Golding, 32. Four years ago, I had no idea that I would go from having less than a 5% chance of survival and having to relearn how to walk, to cycling across countries and continents; and contributing to a charity figure raised of over £1.5 million.”
James Golding is an inspiration even if he doesn’t like to hear it. Here is his story.
James has previously cycled across America, completing 3,473 miles in 24 days. His next challenge is to attempt to break the 7-day cycling world record of 1546.8 miles to raise funds for charity and become the first official person to break this record since 1940. He will head to Australia to do so.
Golding, 32, has amazed both the cycling community and medical professionals. In 2008, doctors found an 11.5cm cancer tumour wedged between his spine, kidney and bowel; he developed septicaemia and peritonitis and was given less than 5% chance of survival by doctors.
He dropped from 14st to 6st in weight, and after coming out of a coma, he defied the odds and embarked on an incredible and inspirational journey. It started with learning how to walk again.
In 2010, he set off to ride from LA to Miami to raise money for the people that helped him and his family during his time. On day 22, he was hit by a truck just outside New Orleans, which put him back in hospital. Not being one to give up, after he recovered he returned in 2011 and started again from the beginning, this time completing the 3,473-mile journey in 24 days.
In 2011, his cancer returned. But after more surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he was given the all clear by doctors.
Chain Reaction Cycles has announced that they will support charity-fundraising sensation James Golding on his World Record attempts in 2013 and 2014.
Golding will use the support from Chain Reaction Cycles to attempt the 7-day World Record, the furthest distance cycled in a 7-day period; using the event as platform leading to 2014 where he plans to break the Round the World Cycling Record, currently set at 105 days.
He will raise funds for the Right To Play charity, whose vision is to create a healthy and safe world through the power of sport and play.
James Golding said: “Through my life I have been lucky enough to have some great people around me, supporting me to reach my ambitious goals. The support from Chain Reaction Cycles means that I can focus on raising money, raising awareness and showing people that there is so much you can do in life.”
Damien Duggan, Marketing Manager of Chain Reaction Cycles, said: “We’re delighted to support James in his efforts to raise awareness for these charities. It’s a fantastic cause and a huge challenge as he completes these two World record attempts. CRC are pleased to be a part of this project supporting James One Step at a time.”
For more information on James Golding, please visit: http://www.jamesgolding.org.
by Nick Dey | Mar 21, 2013
Consumed
by Jonathan Budds
Reviewed by Nick Dey
The cover tells the prospective reader so much; the despairingly single-minded Pantani-Armstrong-esque posturing, perhaps desperately imploring, to the cruel gods of victory, fortune and wealth. From the many hued brown tones on almost black, to the elongated limbs and warped, distended and shrinking body. All combine to suggest that we need to look beyond the obviously physical world of the professional racing cyclist and into the psychology of individual, sport and society. It is a book very much within the current self-evaluative zeitgeist of the sport. But not in the way you would immediately think. It is a novel of so much more.
Welcome to the first gothic novel set in the world of professional road cycling! Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write! This is sporting horror story full of wit, dark-humour, hope, insightful observations and unexpected and unpredictable plot developments.
Consumed, by Jonathan Budds, stands as wonderful novel in its own right.
It just so happens that pro-cycling is the chosen road of the protagonist. The book delivers on several levels and on the way delves deep into the psyche of isolated athlete, family, friends, teammates, lover, fans and, as topical as this is, medical doctor and associated cronies. It also holds a much needed mirror up to much of what dominates popular culture today.
It is almost impossible to impart detail, nuance, feeling and, unforgivably, plot without giving away the arcs of a very good, very, very well written story.
Congratulations Jonathan, you may well have penned the finest cycling novel to date.
In light of this critical disclaimer allow me to introduce you to twenty-seven year old Romain Mariani, professional cyclist (ranked 63rd in the world), native of a fictional Eastern European enclave, cricket loving son of an English mother and a brutal Eastern European former pro. Romain is a character to whom I took an instant liking, he’s someone I’d very much enjoy riding alongside, and that this positive engagement took place so early in the book is further testament to the penmanship of Jonathan Budds – who self-published by the way, but on this later.
We first meet Romain ascending the final climb of a stage race. The racing description here is somewhat reminiscent of Tim Crabbe’s The Rider. High praise indeed, but fully justified. All seems to be going almost to plan. Almost. He’s so close, there are just a few percentage points difference between him and the very best… But then, with the stage winner found dead, Romain finally arrives at the long aspired to yet dreaded cross roads. How will he handle the descent, both literal and metaphorical? And what unexpected twists does fate have in store?
Romain is, through his childhood experiences, vehemently and uncompromisingly anti-doping. But what is he to do? How can he bridge the tiny yet almost insurmountable chasm to the very top of his sport? He is at a cross roads with unexpected and long dreamed of (and feared) opportunities presenting themselves almost daily. Ah, the life of a promising pro. Much truth is hinted at here.
Meet Hans Banquo; Herr Wunderschön, Hansi the Conqueror. The leading rider of the day. Utterly dominant, yet approaching the end of a highly lucrative career. He may remind you of someone, just a little, but then again, perhaps not? Other characters enter the story but to describe them in any detail would give too much away. I can, however, dare to inform that there is amongst a smorgasbord of fascinating and often larger than life characters a rather odd and messianically obsessive doctor with the gothically obligatory oily assistant as front man, a girlfriend, also a leading but injured athlete, her highly driven and wealthy father, Romain’s family and village friends, a rather unpleasant Aussie pro with an unsettling mother-as-manager relationship, a gypsy community desperate to make ends meet, a philosophical taxi driver, and a mythical -or is it – giant wild boar called Golgotha. The latter of which both fascinates and haunts Romain. It all becomes rather more pro-tein than pro-team*!
It would be remiss of me to tell more of Romain’s tale as key plot details would be revealed and the joy of discovering his story for yourself, gone.
I can only urge you to read this excellent and, at least in my experience, unique novel*.
Still unsure if this book’s for you? Go to www.consumed-novel.com where you can download the first 10 chapters of the novel for free. There is also a limited edition musette pack containing a signed copy of the book, 200 hundred were produced, however I am not sure how many remain unsold (I bought one, it’s of real quality!)
As I’ve already stated, Jonathan self-published this superbly dark and witty book. His need to do so is, to my mind, a sad indictment indeed of the publishing houses and their narrowing priorities.
Jonathan, a veteran of twenty years in advertising, has competed in many cycling events including the Etape de Tour and the longest and largest bike race in the world, the Vätternrundan. Consumed is his first novel. His second, Chronic, in which a man is shot by his wife for no apparent reason, will be published later this year.
* vegetarians, vegans, plant-based athletes, and those with a sensitive disposition beware!
CyclingShorts Rating: 100%. A book I will certainly read again.
Title:
Consumed
Author:
Jonathan Budds
Available in Paperback and digital
Price:
RRP £15.00 +P&P (Limited Edition with Musette)
RRP £6.99 (Digital)
RRP £6.99 (Paperback)
How to buy:
- The limited illustrated edition (1 of 200) is available for £15 + Post and Packaging. Each 6″ x 9″ copy comes in its own specially-designed musette (cyclists’ feed bag) and is printed on 115 gsm paper, double the weight of the pages of a standard paperback. Available from the authors Consumed webpage: http://consumed-novel.com/buy-the-book/
- In paperback from Amazon UK for £6.29 (at date of writing): Click here to view in the Amazon Store
- In eBook format from Amazon UK Kindle Store for £2.62 (at date of writing): Click here to visit the Amazon UK Kindle Store
by Anna Magrath | Mar 20, 2013
Cycling Stars Join City’s Charity Fundraisers at Trois Etapes 2013 Launch
– Trois Etapes 2013 cycling Pro-Am has already raised $600k for charity, last year’s event raised $1.7 million
– Launch attended by Olympic Gold medallist Ed Clancy MBE, Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and a host of senior figures from the financial sector
– Plans to launch ‘Giro’ version of the event in 2014 announced
Sports stars joined forces with leading city figures last night [Tuesday 19th March] to pledge their support for the Trois Etapes 2013 cycling Pro-Am race, held 26-29th July in the French Alps.The launch for the 2013 edition of the
Carlos Sastre
The Trois Etapes provides a fundraising platform for 15 charity teams and last year raised $1.7 million for their charity partners making it the largest pro-am charity cycling event of its kind and one of the largest in sport.
The event is designed to give riders the chance to experience team cycling under race conditions, with the full support that a pro cyclist would have in a race like the Tour de France; it includes a flat Prologue and three mountain stages. The event is designed to incentivise tactical team riding. Each team of 8 riders (7 amateurs and 1 pro) has its own team car and Directeur Sportif. Every rider has a radio link with their team car and the Race Director.
Organisers of the event, Cosaveli, not only officially launched the 2013 edition of the event, but also revealed plans for a 2014 version in Italy, and an expanded 2014 version of the event in the France.
Attendees from sport and media included double Olympic Gold medallist Ed Clancy MBE, former Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and TV’s Zoe Hardman.
“I feel happy to be back for the second year, for me it’s beautiful to be here again and this is a magnificent place to be. Last year was fantastic and I think it’s a great event,” said Carlos Sastre.
He continued: “It’s a huge motivation to ride, a lot of money being raised for charity which is even more motivation for me. That’s money for the projects and it means a lot for those that really need it.”
Ed Clancy MBE
“It’s incredible the difference in the awareness of cycling in this country,” explained Ed Clancy MBE. “It’s gone from strength to strength in the past few years and that’s down to the Olympics and riders like Bradley Wiggins. Cycling is booming and it’s great to see things like this really taking off too.”
Speaking from the 33rd Floor of the Broadgate Tower, he continued: “This is perhaps the nicest building I’ve ever been in; it’s certainly the nicest lift I’ve been in to get here. I think it just shows that cycling is popular with everyone at the moment, from all areas of life, and the fact that the people here are willing to put a bit back is cracking.”
The 2013 event will be televised by Channel 4 and British Eurosport.
by Anna Magrath | Mar 19, 2013
Wiggle Etape Cymru Hits 1000 Entrants and Welcomes New Partners Giant and Mavic
Following on from a stellar 2012 event, it comes as no surprise that places are being snapped up quickly for this year’s Wiggle Etape Cymru, having already passed 1000 entrants, a 145% increase against this time last year.
After taking ownership in early 2012, Human Race have worked tirelessly to ensure the Wiggle Etape Cymru is now recognised as one of the ‘must do’ events on the UK sportive calendar, with 98% of participants rating the 2012 event overall as “Good” or “Excellent”.
As well as the incredibly positive feedback received from participants the event has also been widely acclaimed within the cycling industry and as a result has attracted a range of respected cycling brands who have now partnered with the event, including the new Title Partner Wiggle.
The latest brands to partner with the event include the world’s leading bike brand Giant, who will be providing bike checks and mechanical support for participants from the venue, and Mavic who will be providing riders with a Tour de France style support experience on the route. As more respected brands look set to add their support the 2013 participant experience will continue to improve from the already extremely well received 2012 event.
The 2013 edition takes place on Sunday 8th September and once again offers participants the unparalleled experience of riding through the stunning Welsh countryside on traffic free roads.
Starting and finishing the Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse in Wrexham, the 92 mile route features some truly testing terrain. Passing through quaint Denbighshire and Wrexham villages, riders will be able to take in the spectacular views of the Clwydian range (an area of outstanding beauty), while tackling lung-busting climbs such as Panorama, The Shelf, World’s End and the iconic Horseshoe Pass.
Olympic medallist and Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas is the event ambassador and speaks of great scenes awaiting those who are lucky enough to get a place: “My home country of Wales makes me feel so lucky to be a cyclist. North Wales, in particular, is a really special area with quiet roads, tough climbs and the reward of spectacular panoramic views.”
He continued: “At nearly 100 miles, the Wiggle Etape Cymru is a grueling sportive but everyone taking part will be rewarded with a fantastic day in the saddle on stunning roads.”
Nick Rusling, CEO of Human Race said: “The Wiggle Etape Cymru is a wonderful event and it is great to hear that we have passed 1000 entrants so early on in the year. We’re delighted to welcome the new partnerships that will continue to improve the rider experience and quality of the event.”
Participants in the event will be encouraged to fundraise for the Official National Charity Partner Macmillan Cancer Support. The money raised will be used to help Macmillan support not only people affected by cancer, but everyone their cancer has an impact on, from partners, to children, to friends and carers.
Riders will also be supporting Local Charity Partner Nightingale House. The charity provides specialist palliative care services, completely free-of-charge, to patients and their families across a wide area stretching from Wrexham, Flintshire and East Denbighshire to Barmouth and the border towns including Oswestry and Whitchurch.
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