Cycling World August 2015

Cycling WORLD

L’EROICA BRITANNIA RETRO FESTIVAL

WIN TICKETS TO THE BIRMINGHAM CYCLE SHOW

RALEIGH LAUNCH 2016 BIKES CW August 2015.indd 1

SWEDEN: NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL CYCLING

THE TOUR’S LEGACY IN UTRECHT

AUGUST 2015 £4.75

August 2015 Cycling World

1

18/08/2015 11:14

2

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 2

18/08/2015 11:14

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 1

1

18/08/2015 11:14

CONTENTS

12

50

2

PEDALARE BELFAST! Belfast to become a European Capital of Cycling

RALEIGH BIKES New for 2016

18

58

THE PEAK DISTRICT L’Eroica Britannia

CYCLE TAIWAN A breathtaking tour leading to a national festival

26

64

RIDE SOCIAL Is Getting Us Out T

UTRECHT: GRAND The Tour’s legacy great Dutch city

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 2

18/08/2015 11:14

CONTENTS 5 Editor’s Letter Cycling World welcomes a new editor

@CyclingWorlduk www.cyclingworldmag.co.uk @cyclingworld_uk

NEWS SECTION

6 News 8 Immerse Yourself in the World of Cycling The Cycle Show in Birmingham is bigger than ever 11. Win tickets to The Cycle Show and Prizes for Letter of the Month 12 Pedalare Belfast!

Director of Sustrans Northern Ireland, tells how Belfast has started the journey to become a European Capital of Cycling 15 Tools of the Trade Guilford Bike Project helps people with work skills

UK FEATURES

OCIAL ng Us Out There

30

AGE NO OBSTACLE Macmillan Cycletta

16 Bicycle Book Tour from Land’s End to John o’ Groats 18 The Peak District; L’Eroica Britannia The Retro Festival in Bakewell 26 Ride Social is Getting Us Out There 30 Age No Obstacle Macmillan Cycletta’s first 150km cyclist 32 Food Family Fun Ride Autism 50-miler 34 Glasgow to Falkirk The delights of canal cycling, recapturing a former world 42 Get Dirty in Yorkshire Great outdoor riding on the Moors

NUTRITION

46 Beetroot Juice is the New Cycling Superfood 48 Back Pocket Nutrition with a Charitable Aim

BIKES

50 Raleigh Bikes: New for 2016

WINTER TRAINING CAMPS: SPANISH SPECIAL

52 Andalucian Cycle Experience 54 Sun Velo in Mallorca 56 La Manga tackles La Veulta

HT: GRAND DÉPART ur’s legacy in the Dutch city

70

OVERSEAS FEATURES

SWEDEN Riding through the Swedish night and beating cancer

58 Cycle Taiwan A breathtaking tour leading to a national festival 64 Utrecht: Grand Départ 2015 The Tour’s legacy in the great Dutch city 70 Sweden: The Vatternrundan Riding through the Swedish night and beating cancer

FILMS

78 MTB Film Release First feature MTB film is “unreal”

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 3

3

18/08/2015 11:14

E Any terrain without the strain

Introducing the new

EmateMTB 13AH

Winner of the 2014 Atmosphere World Championship

Tel: 01709 886677 4

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 4

18/08/2015 11:15

Editor’s letter August 2015

I would like to introduce myself as the new editor of Cycling World Magazine.

My vision is to maintain our focus on leisure, sportives, commuting and tourism; covering riding in both the UK and abroad. I also want to extend our coverage of endurance riding and other disciplines such as cyclocross and mountain biking. In short I intend the magazine to do what it says on the cover: to look at the whole world of cycling including bikes, accessories, films, books, cafés – anything bike related the team are interested.

Something that is very important to me is communication with our readers, so I am starting a Letter Page. Do write and email with thoughts, comments, ideas and insights; there will be a prize for letter of the month.

A bit about my background- I’ve been riding a two-wheeled bike since I was 6 years old and presently commute to work by bike and ride club runs and time trials. Previously I have worked for Sustrans, the Sustainable Transport Charity. I am a British Cycling Coach and committee member for my local club, Thanet Road Club established in 1947.

This month’s issue looks forward to important events; nationally the Cycle Show in Birmingham and internationally the La Veulta a España, with a feature on Spanish training camps. We also look back on successful events: L’Eroica Britannia Festival and the legacy of the Tour de France in Utrecht. Of course, as ever, great rides are featured to encourage you to get out on your bike, be it Scotland, Taiwan or Sweden.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

PUBLISHED BY:

Cycling World Limited Myrtle Oast Kemsdale Road, Fostall Faversham, Kent ME13 9JL Tel: 01227 750153 Publisher: Colin Woolley colin@cyclingworldmag.co.uk

EDITORIAL:

Editor: David Robert editor@cyclingworldmag.co.uk Production Manager: Alice Allwright production@cplmedia.co.uk Senior Designer: Ivan Boyanov

ADVERTISING:

Sales Manager: Simon White simon@cyclingworldmagazine.com Sales Executive: Joe Nardone joe@cyclingworldmag.co.uk Sales Executive: Ben Emery ben@cyclingworldmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS:

Gordon Clark, Rick Perkins, Chris Burns, Gordon Cairns, Alison Salthouse, Graham McCann, Keith Gilks

DISTRIBUTED BY:

COMAG Tavistock Road, West Drayton Middlesex UB7 7QE

Although every effort is made to ensure the content of features in Cycling World is accurate and correct, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. No guarantees can be made upon the safe return of any unsolicited copy of photographic images. Thepublisher reserves the right to alter or amend any submitted material that is printed in Cycling World. All material in Cycling World is the copyright of the publisher and any reproduction of said material would require written permission from the publisher. ©Cycling World Limited 2015 ISSN: 0143-0238

David Robert, Editor

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 5

5

18/08/2015 11:15

NEWS Debate over legality of Bradley Wiggin’s Hour Record

The coach of former UCI Hour Record holder Alex Dowsett, Steve Collins, has said that Bradley Wiggins’ recent hour record was done illegally. Wiggins set a new record of 54.526 km at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Sunday June 7, though Collins stated in an interview with BBC Radio Essex that the bike used was against regulations. He said “for attempts like that it should all be production available so you can buy it off the shelf. You can’t get 3D-printed handlebars moulded to your own arms to make it easier for your own attempt.” The rules of the Union Cycliste International state that the bike must become commercially available within nine months of the attempt. Pinerello, who developed Wiggins’ bike with motor company Jaguar, claim in a website press release that the bike was sanctioned by the UCI. Opinion remains divided as, for example, Velocast pointed out in a special Hour Record edition of the podcast that Wiggins’s team merely have to release the 3D cadfile for others to print out the handlebars to comply. It was pointed out during the podcast that “The UCI have been all over that bike with a fine toothcomb…they’re not going to let him start with an illegal bike.”

Dowsett’s coach also commented on the amount of support Wiggins seemed to have from British Cycling, the national governing body, which is not permitted. Both Dave Brailsford and Performance Director Shane Sutton of British Cycling were present at the record attempt though the governing body denied giving prohibited support, stating he was helped by members of the Great Britain Cycling Team coaching staff to earn a place in the team pursuit squad for Rio 2016.

Alex Dowsett, who withdrew from the recent Tour de France with an elbow injury, is up for another attempt at the record.

6

Bradley Wiggins at Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic

Spanish Tour starts this month

La Veulta a España starts on 22 August and ends 3,374kms later on the 13 September. The twenty-one stages consist of six flat stages, thirteen hill and mountain stages and one of each individual and team time trial. It promises to be another breathtakingly scenic event as Javier Guillén, the General Director of the Tour has been awarded the Medal of Merit in Tourism by the Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria. He gave credit to Televisión Española saying it “showcases our extraordinary country, making our many marvels reach every corner of Spain as well as many other places all over the world.” UK highlights will be shown ITV4 for British audiences to enjoy the race and revel in the scenery. Our readers can find out about riding in Spain in this edition’s Spanish training camp feature.

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 6

18/08/2015 11:15

August

Froome wins second Tour De France

After 21 stages over 3360km Chis Froome of the British squad Team Sky won the 102nd edition of The Tour de France. He previously won in 2013, but crashed out in last year’s edition won by the Italian rider Vincezo Nibali. This is the third British win in four years as Bradley Wiggins also of Team Sky won the 2012 edition with Froome in second place. As well as taking the winner’s Yellow Jersey, Froome won the Red Polka Dot Jersey, the climber’s jersey. Many are claiming he is the first rider to achieve this double since the Belgian Eddy Merckx in 1970, but in a manner of speaking the Spanish rider Carlos Sastre won both in the 2008 edition. The confusion lies in the fact that he was not awarded the Polka Dot Jersey on the podium, this honour going to Austrian Bernard Kohl who was then stripped of the title for use of the performance enhancing substance EPO, and the award has never been remade.

Peter Sagan, a Slovakian rider of Tinkoff-Saxo, won The Green Sprinter’s Jersey for a fourth consecutive year, though failed to take an actual stage win this year. Second-placed rider overall, Nairo Quintana the Colombian rider of Movistar, won The White Jersey for the Young Rider’s Classification. The German Sprinter André Greipel of Lotto-Soudal won four sprint stages whereas Britain’s Mark Cavendish of Etixx- QuickStep only took the one.

The final day of the Tour, Sunday 26 July, also saw the second edition of La Course, an 89km women’s race doing laps of Paris and finishing on the Champs-Élysées. It was won in the pouring rain by Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team).

Mildenhall Cycle Rally-something for everyone

Mildenhall Cycling Rally will, as usual, take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 29th – Monday 31st August 2015) at the Sheldrick Way site of Mildenhall College. Last year’s event was a roaring success with over 5000 visitors. The festival includes grass-track racing, family events, quiz nights and trade stands, including the renowned cycle jumble.

The grass-track will form the centrepiece with racing every day from 12 noon. Other competitive events will include a Madison Cyclo-Cross and, especially for the under 17s, there will be the ever-popular Children’s Duathlon and for the under 16s the Go-Ride Skilful Riding. On the touring front Cyclists Touring Club Suffolk will be organising 50, 100, 160, 200 and 300km Audax Rides on the Saturday. For those that want something more relaxing, Mildenhall Cycling Club will have their range of touring routes, offering a variety of scenery over varying distances.

The Rally is a very popular event with top riders that have then gone on to win National and International recognition. Riders such as Olympic champions Victoria Pendleton CBE and Nicole Cooke OBE honed their bike handling skills on Mildenhall’s grass-track, whilst more recently Laura Trott was a regular at the Rally, until she shot to prominence at the Commonwealth Games before taking the London Olympics by storm in 2012.

The event also provides a boost to the local economy. A survey carried out by Mildenhall Cycling Club and Forest Heath District Council in 2012, revealed that nearly a quarter of a million pounds is put into the local economy every year. A significant proportion of that is benefiting those providing accommodation as well as food.

Mildenhall Grasstrack Racing photo by Wolfe Cottage Productions

CW August 2015.indd 7

More details of everything happening at the Rally can be found at www.mildenhallrally.org.uk

August 2015 Cycling World

7

18/08/2015 11:15

IMMERSE YOURSELF

In The World Of Cycling The Cycle show in Birmingham is bigger than ever: and our readers get reduced tickets With over 260 exhibitors at the 2015 edition of The Cycle Show, covering everything from road to cyclocross, e-bikes to gadgets, it is a show like no other. Back this year at the Birmingham NEC from Friday the 25th until Sunday the 27th of September, the show is a chance for the public to get up close and personal with big names in the cycling world, as well as discovering some of the most innovative products in the industry.

Meet top bike brands The Cycle Show is the place to get a first look at the latest trends and attracts some of the best brands in cycling. Among the brands to make their show debut this year are Canyon from Germany and Planet X from the UK - both offering great value bikes.

They’re joined by Olmo from Italy and Kross from Poland who appear at the show for the first time, plus back after a hiatus are GT, Lapierre, Foffa

8

and Charge bikes. Visitors will also be about the benefits of e-bikes, test them and also be advised on how to choose able to see the latest offerings from the right one for the right purpose.” show regulars including Trek, Cube, Pinarello, Bianchi, Condor, Raleigh and Boardman as they showcase their Top 3 component newest and most popular models ahead of the 2016 season. manufacturers The big three component manufacturers: Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM will be bringing their latest products to In line with the surging growth of the Birmingham. Shimano are at the show e-bike scene over the past few years, in force with the first appearance of the show will be host to all of the leadtheir 40ft double-decker support trailer ing e-bike brands. Over 100 bikes can which will packed full of Shimano and be tried and tested on the track at the PRO components including Dura-Ace dedicated Electric Bike Village. and XTR products plus the latest incarnation of DEORE XT and the STEPS The brands on show include A2B, e-bike system.

Royal Dutch Gazelle, FreeGo, KTM, Wisper, Raleigh, RooDog, Juicy, Momentum, Cube and Batribike offering Garments, gadgets and gizmos every type of e-bike including folding bikes, hybrids, town-cruisers and The Cycle Show will also host a selecmountain bikes. tion of cycling apparel brands, including Oakley, Scimitar, Kalas, ProVision, Chris Holman, Event Director, says Madison, Lusso, Giordana, Rudy Proj“There has been a huge uptake in peo- ect, Compressport and Primal Europe. ple riding e-bikes, both in the UK and abroad. The Cycle Show brings the For those who are into their gadgets, biggest brands in the industry togeth- the Cycle Show will give the chance er so that visitors can find out more to get hands on with the latest from

Plug into e-bikes

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 8

18/08/2015 11:15

GoPro and Garmin.

Spend a happy hour shopping for accessories from the likes of Cube, Lazer, Lezyne, Northwave, Recon, Fad Lad. Stock up on all your favourite energy products from High5, SiS, Torq and more.

Get involved Following its successful debut last year and the increasing profile within the cycling community, cyclocross racing will be held on Saturday 26th September, and this year includes youth, junior and veteran categories as well as elite men and women. The races, organised by Just Ride, will start and finish inside the show, with new outdoor sections including a beach section on the NEC lakeside and indoor steps and ramp.

Entry to the cyclocross event is now open via www.cycleshow.co.uk/cx Visitors will also be able to enjoy the return of the UK’s biggest dirt-jumping contest with Monster’s Sam Pilgrim inviting the sport’s best riders to the NEC competing for a £5k prize.

Further activities include four separate test tracks, allowing visitors of all ages and interests to test ride the latest bicycles.

New this year is a Kids’ DryTri where 7-13 year olds can have a go at being a triathlete. The UK BMX Flatland Championships are also making their first Cycle Show appearance. This is all in addition to a packed programme of seminars and Q&As with pro-riders and cycling journalists, on the ever-popular Cycle Show Stage.

Book your tickets and save with Cycling World Magazine Tickets to the Cycle Show are available at www.cycleshow.co.uk/book An adult advanced ticket is just £12 (that’s a £1.50 saving) when the promotional code CWO is used online. Alternatively, an adult ticket is £16.50 on the door. Children aged 14 and under can attend for just £1.50 each.

Children aged 5 and under go free. Concession prices are also available to students and those over 65.

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 9

9

18/08/2015 11:15

BOOK NOW AND YOU COULD WIN THIS BIKE WORTH £3000!

JOIN US AT THE UK’S #1 CYCLING EXHIBITION

BOOK NOW AND SAVE

USE DISCOUNT CODE ‘CWO’ WHEN PROMPTED

TICKETS JUST £12 IN ADVANCE (£16.50 ON THE DOOR)

CYCLESHOW.CO.UK Show supporters:

10

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 10

Keep in touch:

@CycleShow

facebook.com/CycleShow

18/08/2015 11:15

N

E D

)

K

Win tickets to The Cycle Show NEC Birmingham

Cycling WORLD

Question: How many times has Chris Froome won the Tour de France?

All answers need to be received by Monday 14 Sept 2015. All correct answers will go into a prize draw.

Good luck.

25-27 September 2015 Cycling World Magazine is giving away 5 PAIRS OF FREE TICKETS to the show.

Just send your answer to the question below with your name, telephone number and email via one the following: Twitter: @CyclingWorlduk Email: editor@cyclingworldmag. co.uk Post: Editor, Cycling World Magazine, Myrtle Oast, Kemsdale Road, Fostal, Faversham, Kent ME13 9JL, United Kingdom

Cycling World Letter Page

We are starting a Letter Page so please send your thoughts, feelings, ideas and insights about all things cycling. Letter of the month wins:

A Velo Hinge Home Bicycle Storage. It is a foldaway hook that fits most standard road, mountain and kids’ bikes Send letters to: Email: editor@cyclingworldmag.co.uk Post: Editor, Cycling World Magazine, Myrtle Oast, Kemsdale Road, Fostal, Faversham, Kent ME13 9JL We may edit your letter for brevity and/or clarity.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Editor

w

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 11

11

18/08/2015 11:15

C

Pedalare Belfast!

Gordon Clarke, Director of Sustrans Northern Ireland, tells how Belfast has started the journey to become a European Capital of Cycling Edited from full article courtesy of Belfast Telegraph There are more bikes than ever on the streets of Belfast and not just men in lycra. The Belfast Bike Share Scheme has been a great success and is set to expand.

In October the city will celebrate its first Ciclovia event where cyclists are given the freedom of the streets by closing a route between Botanic Gardens and the City Hall to car traffic. So are we witnessing a cycling revolution in Belfast or does more need to be done to embed a true bicycle culture in the city?

Sustrans is a UK-wide charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of our daily journeys. It has an Active travel programme which is essential to tackle obesity and important for improving physical and mental health in general. All four chief medical officers across the UK agree that “the easiest and most acceptable forms of physical activity are those that can be incorporated into everyday life. Examples include walking or cycling instead of travelling by car, bus or train.” Additionally Active travel helps reduce congestion, improves air quality and makes urban spaces more pleasant places to shop, work and live in.

Priorities for Government in Northern Ireland should focus on how economic prosperity can be underpinned by a well-being strategy. Active travel can help deliver both. It benefits both employers and employees through reductions in sick leave, increased productivity and encourages access to employment. If the number of people cycling to work in Belfast was trebled, that alone could contribute an additional £3m annually in economic benefits, including health care savings.

Sustrans has already been making great strides to promote a cycling culture. If you want a revolution, you begin with young people. Sustrans Active School Travel Programme, funded by the Department for Regional Development (DRD) and the Public Health Agency (PHA), is working in 191 schools to encourage pupils to walk or cycle to school. Of course Sustrans is

12

working with just a fifth of the schools in Northern Ireland so it is vital the programme is extended to reduce the overall number of children being driven to school.

Sustrans has also been working with a number of large employers in Belfast through the Leading the Way programme, funded by the PHA, to encourage staff to use public transport, walk or cycle to work.

This has involved engaging with staff in Travel Plans and incentives to help them leave their cars at home.

There are many challenges to getting people to try cycling. These can be summed up in four categories: safety fears, bike ownership; image of cycling and the weather. There’s not a lot we can do about the weather but it seems perception of poor conditions is what puts many people off getting on their bikes.

Certainly, the weather is no worse than Copenhagen which has among the highest levels of cycling in the world and regularly tops polls for one of the world’s best cities to live in.

In the long-term we would like to see Belfast follow the example of the Danish capital. Every two years the city carries out a Bicycle Account or survey.

Belfast has been picked as one of seven UK cities for a similar citizens’ survey of cycling in the city, called Bike Life, which is aimed at boosting the bike as a mode of transport. Sustrans is working with the DRD and will publish the Bike Life Report in October and a follow-up survey in 2017. This will give the most accurate assessment to date of cycling in Belfast and will act as a tool to inform and improve investment.

In the Belfast Metropolitan Area, Sustrans recommends additional expenditure of £6 million annually to deliver a true cycling revolution. We are a long way from matching Copenhagen…but the journey has just begun.

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 12

18/08/2015 11:15

info@wight-walks.co.uk www.wight-walks.co.uk Tel: 01983281662 Wight Wander’s Coastal cycling holidays on the Isle of Wight are the perfect way to discover unspoilt and secret beaches.

Join Alandscapes Cycling Our cycling routes offer the chance Experience atatthe to explore your own pace along maintained cycle routes.

CanyonTowell Cambrils make it easier we move your Park International luggage leaving you free to explore

16th April 2016

Cyclosportive in Costa Daurada, Spain.

Packages cost from £259 per person + transfer & flights Call and book today 01923 283339 or email: info@acyclingexperience.com www.acyclingexperience.com

吀栀攀 䤀爀椀猀栀 䌀攀渀琀爀攀 昀漀爀 䌀礀挀氀椀渀最 挀愀渀 漀昀昀攀爀 礀漀甀 挀礀挀氀椀渀最 栀漀氀椀搀愀礀 眀椀琀栀 愀 搀椀昀昀攀爀攀渀挀攀⸀ 䈀愀猀攀搀 椀渀 䴀愀氀愀栀椀搀攀Ⰰ 䐀甀戀氀椀渀Ⰰ 䤀爀攀氀愀渀搀⸀ 吀栀攀礀 愀爀攀 戀愀猀攀搀 樀甀猀琀 ㄀ 洀椀渀甀琀攀猀 昀爀漀洀 䐀甀戀氀椀渀 愀椀爀瀀漀爀琀Ⰰ 洀攀愀渀椀渀最 礀漀甀 挀愀渀 爀攀愀挀栀 琀栀攀洀 椀渀 愀 挀漀甀瀀氀攀 漀昀 栀漀甀爀猀 昀爀漀洀 琀栀攀 唀䬀℀ꀀ

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 13

13

18/08/2015 11:15

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Guilford Bike Project Helps People With Work Skills

G

uilford Bike project and Surrey Choices have initiated a bicycle work experience course.

Surrey Choices EmployAbility service has teamed up with Guildford Bike Project to offer 12-week work experiences places, to support disadvantaged or disabled customers to get ready for work or full-time volunteering.

The Guildford Bike project takes in donations of unwanted bicycles from the local community, which are then up-cycled, whilst providing training, valuable life skills and work experience.

Through the project individuals will learn the mechanics of a bike, how to fix them, and the basics of running a shop, including ways to keep customers happy. Each participant will be able to keep the bike that they’ve been working on at the end of the project, experiencing the accomplishment of working for their very own bike. Bikes are also sold to members of the local community at an affordable price, providing a healthy transport option.

The work experience course is designed for people over the age of 18, in the Westborough area. David O’Connor, Surrey Choices Employment Support Officer said: “It’s great to be able to welcome back this fantastic project, giving people the opportunities to gain valuable life skills as well as recycling old bikes in the area. As our third project at Guildford I’m sure it will be another phenomenal success. Over the past projects,

14

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 14

18/08/2015 11:15

the results have been outstanding and I hope we can continue to make a difference to many more of our customers’ lives.”

Surrey Choices supports a range of people to find the best care, activities and services for their needs across Surrey. EmployAbility is a dedicated service that helps to find work placements, training, volunteer opportunities and paid work. Surrey Choices EmployAbility also runs a job club, which supports individuals to find employment in the future, including helping to write their CVs, setting up email accounts, giving them basic IT skills, interview tips and help with finding a job.

Bicycles from the Guildford Bike Project can be purchased from The Bike Shop at 35 Dartmouth Avenue, Sheerwater, Woking, GU21 5PE.

To find out how you could get involved, contact David O’Connor, Surrey Choices Employment Support on 07713 479590 or email david.oconnor@surreychoices.com

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 15

15

18/08/2015 11:15

BICYCLE BOOK TOUR

from Land’s End to John o’ Groats In September Anna Hughes, author of Eat, Sleep, Cycle: A Bike Ride Around the Coast of Britain, which Cycling World reviewed in May, will tour her book from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.

She will visit cycle clubs, bookshops and cafes at various points along the 1000-mile route, promoting her book through talks, readings and signings. And of course, she’ll be pedalling each mile as she peddles her wares.

Anna’s passion is cycle touring, especially within the UK, and her talk is perfect for inspiring others to get out on two wheels and explore our beautiful island. Anna is an experienced and engaging speaker, having given talks to thousands of adults and children about her various cycling adventures. The book Eat, Sleep, Cycle has been well received by experienced cyclists and armchair adventurers alike, with Anna’s vivid descriptions putting the reader right there on the road beside her. We thought it was a great read, and one that would inspire others to follow in Anna’s pedals. The book touring event includes a talk with pictures, readings form the book, Q and A and book signings.

The book tour will take place throughout September, with the

following approximate itinerary; though do check on Anna’s website: Land’s End (1st Sept) Exeter (6th Sept) Bristol (8th Sept) Shrewsbury (12th Sept) Manchester (14th Sept) Lancaster (16th Sept) Carlisle (18th Sept) Glasgow (21st Sept) Inverness (24th Sept) John o’ Groats (26th Sept) Cycling World wishes Anna a great ride.

We’ll be catching up with Anna in its December Issue.

To book your event on the Eat, Sleep, Cycle tour, contact Anna Hughes at: speaking@annacycles.co.uk Website: www.annacycles.co.uk, Twitter: @eatsleepcycle

16 1 6Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 16

18/08/2015 11:15

ELECTRIC BIKES FROM £899 RIDE THIS WAY

info@wight-walks.co.uk www.wight-walks.co.uk Tel: 01983281662

Above & Beyond, The Abbot’s House, Blackfriars, Bristol BS1 2NZ Switchboard: 0117 927 7120 Fax: 0117 925 2017 www.aboveandbeyond.org.uk

Wight Wander’s Coastal cycling holidays on the Isle of Wight are the perfect way to discover unspoilt landscapes and secret beaches.

Our cycling routes offer the chance to explore at your own pace along well maintained cycle routes.

To make it easier we move your luggage leaving you free to explore Registered Charity Number: 229945

JUICYBIKE.CO.UK August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 17

17

18/08/2015 11:15

Our reporter Rick Perkins dons his retro gear, mounts his 80s Pinarello and heads for a festival of like-minded cyclists in Bakewell

18

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 18

18/08/2015 11:15

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 19

19

18/08/2015 11:15

For every nasty in the road, there’s the new Durano Double Defense.

20

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 20 SWB02845_001_DD_NOT_SO_CUTE_DRAIN_AD_297_x_210_AW.indd 1

Advanced cut resistant SnakeSkin sidewalls and RaceGuard puncture protection.

More than a match for your city’s streets.

18/08/2015 11:15 14:52 10/04/2015

Everyone’s a hero at the handsome bike festival

festival, food, music, vintage Eroica Britannia is a vintage dress, entertainment; including the cycling festival in Bakewell family and cycling. To participate now in its second year. The entrants are expected to ride a first event was a huge success pre-1987 bicycle that conforms to with over 30,000 people travelling the following rules: from all over the World to make the event truly wonderful; the big

Plus some other minor question was would the follow-up requirements … however, these event live up to the billing of the rules are not enforced so the first one ... whole situation is left to the disThe event was started by Giancar- cretion of the riders and on the lo Brocci in 1997 who had a desire whole people followed the spirit to preserve cycling history and the of the event and rode on period Strada Bianche (white gravel roads bikes. The bikes are only the start synonymous with the Giro stages) though … for many the dressing in his native Tuscany. Since then up is just as much a part of the the event has grown beyond all event as the bikes and there were expectations and the concept has some very fine examples of vintravelled far and wide with Eroica tage dress; and facial hair.

Events now held in the USA, UK, Japan and Spain as well of course, Given the success of last the starting point Italy. year it was a tough act to follow.

The event is a mixture of both Word travelled quickly amongst

L’

CW August 2015.indd 21 0/04/2015 14:52

TO PARTICIPATE ENTRANTS ARE EXPECTED TO RIDE A PRE-1987 BICYCLE THAT CONFORMS TO THE FOLLOWING RULES: •Heroic bikes will only be permitted: Road racing bikes built before 1987 both with gears and without gears.

•Heroic reproduction bikes will only be permitted. No mountain bikes or modern racing bikes •Gear shifters must be on the downtube •Pedals with toe clips and straps.

Quick release are NOT allowed apart from Cinelli M71 •Brake cables must pass outside the handlebars but other cables can pass inside the frame

August 2015 Cycling World

21

18/08/2015 11:15

cycling heroes and the 2015 event sold out with almost double the amount of riders registered.

This year the festival goers were charged an entrance fee which obviously gave the organisers a much bigger budget to work with. This resulted in the vast improvement of the facilities in terms or toilets and showers which seemed to be the only gripe from the previous year.

Unfortunately you can’t buy good weather.

The event starts for riders on the Friday afternoon as we arrived after lunch in our VW Camper and were quickly camped up in the “home fields” and made our way to rider registration. Registration was simple and the musette of goodies was handed over, with yet again an impressive contents including: Thornbridge Eroica exclusive beer, Hendrick’s gin, Fentiman’s lemonade, Lush cosmetics, Yorkshire tea and a traditional Bakewell Pudding plus rider numbers, rider card and maps.

The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the festival stalls that were retailing and/or promoting. There was a mixture of big name corporate sponsors promoting their goods but the vast majority of the vendors were

small artisan outfits that were very much in keeping with the theme of the festival. In the background there was constant entertainment on the main stage and other tents.

The brass band deserve a special mention as they played outstandingly and the sound drifting across

ON SATURDAY MORNING AFTER A LEISURELY BREAKFAST I HAD DECIDED TO ENTER MY BIKE IN THE BEST IN SHOW, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CATEGORIES FOR BEST IN SHOW LISTED BELOW •BEST BIKE •BEST DRESSED FAMILY •BEST DRESSED DOG •BEST DRESSED FESTIVAL GO-ER ‘MR’ •BEST DRESSED FESTIVAL GO-ER ‘MRS’ •BEST DRESSED MISS •BEST DRESSED MASTER •BEST DRESSED RIDER •BEST MOUSTACHE

22

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 22

the festival grounds really did set the whole event off. There was also a fine selection of quality food outlets and of course a substantial beer tent.

The Best Bike competition started with the various contenders with a vast array of machines parading around the show ring as the judges selected a number of bikes for a “short list”. These bikes were then placed in stands in the Parade Ring where they could be admired and critiqued by the festival goers and judges alike. My Pinarello Montello made the short list with a lot of interest from fellow cyclists, but did not make the final 10 … a travesty … although this later turned out to be a blessing as the finals overran and

18/08/2015 11:15

(Photos & Report © Rick Perkins rick@force5marketing.co.uk)

The alarm went off at 5:30 and after a hurried breakfast I set off through a sleepy camp ground towards the start in the centre of Bakewell. As I had entered the 100 mile ride my starting slot was between 6am and 7:15am.I did feel particularly sorry for the chap I saw fixing a puncture watched by his mates; they hadn’t even got to the start and they had problems; but it was all in hand.

At the start you get your card stamped; gather up and you are set off in waves of about 10 -20 riders. You are soon out of Bakewell and after a few

would have interfered with our dinner arrangements! The Best Bike was won by a chap called Macca who had a very nicely restored Raleigh Panasonic Replica. There were so many nice bikes on show spanning over 100 years of bicycle production the judges didn’t have an easy job. Whilst the Best Bike category was popular and hotly-contested the other categories had been approached with equal dedication with some impressive outfits and facial hair on show. In the evening we had booked a meal with Seven Mile; a mobile event caterers. The three course dinner was very tasty with carefully selected wines per course if desired. It was nice to meet other festival goers over dinner and chat about the anticipated ride the next day.

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 23

23

18/08/2015 11:15

miles you are directed off the tarmac roads and onto the Monsal Trail. This is a wonderful trail that takes you through a number of tunnels in which it is of course compulsory to shout and whoop for the echoes … not long after that you hit the first food stop … or should that be feast stop.

The Eroica Britannia ride is not a race and it is certainly unlike a Sportive; it is a fun ride with so many fine food stops that I suspect it is the only 100 mile event where the majority of riders finish heavier than when they start. The feast stops are not stocked with sugary, sticky processed energy products but with bacon and sausage baps, rolls, scones, cakes, ice creams, beer, cider, champagne and water … it has to be seen to be believed. All this fine fare is served by wonderful willing supporters and volunteers and you really get the feeling that the people manning these stops in the various villages are enjoying the event as much as the riders.

24

Leaving the first food stop took us out onto the Peaks; the weather deteriorated a little and I endured a number of showers and some quite high winds although it never really got cold. The toughest climb of the route was Mam Nic Tor. Last year I tackled this alone but this year given the increased numbers there was plenty of company … much of it walking with their bikes. Vintage bikes come with vintage gears and with my smallest of 42x24 it was some effort to keep moving but, keep moving I did and made it over the whole route without walking.

The next feast stop was at a sailing club at Goyt Valley then on to get your card stamped at Hartington; the routes had merged just before this stop with the 100 & 55 milers all riding together so there were a lot of bikes on the road now and more company.

As seemed to be the pattern, a hill followed all feed stops; so cautious dining was recommended. After 60 miles the routes split again and only the 100 milers were treated to a fine

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 24

18/08/2015 11:15

visit to the Ilam country house for another feast stop, card stamp and cool towels to freshen up provided

by Volvo. Then onwards again to Carsington Water where the routes once again merged to make the run into Chatsworth House a busy affair ‌ the route has the privilege of using paths through the Chatsworth Estate to arrive at the final feast stop on the lawns of Chatsworth House where an impressive range of food and beverages were on offer ‌ then off again for the final few miles.

The organisers had the last laugh routing the riders over one more final tough climb before we rolled into the show ground. The atmosphere in the show ground was great with the final route section being lined with hay bales and supporters cheering and applauding riders home as their names where announced over the tannoy by the event ringmaster who must have vocal chords of steel given his stamina on the microphone. After the finish it was off for a shower and change then back to applaud home the other riders. Watching the finish was well worth it to see all the incredible bikes and outfits that the participants had ridden in. It was great to see so many old bikes lovingly preserved and still ridden. It was a real mark of the spirit of the event that the final 10 riders to arrive were all held back whilst the ring master whipped the crowd up into a frenzy of applause to welcome the last 10 home at 7pm.Then it was finally time to celebrate with music, food, festival beer, wine and of course a great British downpour of rain.

It really was a heroic event. Everyone who attended got into the spirit of the festival. It was clear many

had made a huge effort prior to the event with some impressive bikes, outfits and moustaches on show. Cycling World will certainly be back riding next year. Congratulations to all those who took part and contributed to the successful running of the event. Chapeau!

(Photos & Report Š Rick Perkins rick@force5marketing.co.uk)

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 25

25

18/08/2015 11:15

RIDE SOCIAL Is Getting Us Out There Chris Burns visits Sky at the Manchester Cycle Centre and is surprised by how many of us are riding together

It happens to all of us: every once in a while, something which you thought you knew a fair bit about surprises you. Maybe, like me, you’re the kind of cyclist who just gets on a bike, texts a friend or two, or commutes regularly.

Maybe you’re a regular club rider or have a group of buddies like well-thumbed phone book entries for your excursions. Either way, like me, you might not have even heard of RideSocial. Yet, right now, there are over 60,000 members using this unique networking tool, designed especially for

26

cyclists the country over. Like all social networks, people are the key and the driving force to RideSocial – and, like many other success stories, it took the foresight of just a few to get the ball rolling, but the enthusiasm of many more to keep it rolling.

I was invited to an exclusive event at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester – a chance to meet the brains behind it and, perhaps more importantly, talk to (and ride with!) the everyday cyclists who organise, promote and encourage social riding.

HOW TO START WITH RIDE SOCIAL

•Go to https://www.goskyride.com/ social •Click ‘Sign in or Join Now’ •Create an account with some basic info about yourself •Click ‘Sign Me Up’ •Edit your profile to give some information about your riding ability, preferences and availability as well as a photo if you like •You can look for buddies, browse and book rides, look at maps of routes, all from the dashboard. Go and get out there!

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 26

18/08/2015 11:15

#ridesocial

a social network but what they needed was a tool to organise it. Kellett and his team were right on it – the reach of online social networking was readily apparent. Facebook passed 200 million users in early 2009 and the internet began to burst with people’s hopes, heartbreaks and pictures of cute cats. RideSocial had just one altogether healthier aim, however: to get people together riding bikes.

Bums off the sofa and on the

Branches Grow from Olympic Routes

saddle

To find out how RideSocial began, I spoke to Stewart Kellett, Director of Recreation and Partnerships at British Cycling. Beginning with the UK’s successes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the nation’s renewed interest was a massive boost to the sport. As his title suggests, though, Stewart was more interested in using that momentum to drive real change in everyday cycling.

“It wasn’t just about racing. It was about creating normal cycling opportunities, the outdoors, meeting people and, most of all, fun”.

From that mind-set came a series of new ventures between Sky and British Cycling, including Sky Rides, organised group events led by trained ride leaders. It seemed that balance between popping down to the pub with your mates and turning up at a slightly intimidating club ride totally green had been struck. Participants wanted more: people started swapping numbers and organising their own group rides. The riders were already building

How do you get people back on a bike, or on it for the first time? The RideSocial platform is centred around accessibility, friendliness and choice, so that riders feel comfortable with whatever ride they choose.

Members (or ‘Buddies’) are encouraged to share a little about their cycling experience and the kind of riding they like, as well

as their availability. Anyone can start a ride, posting the distance, duration, pace and number of stops, so people can search for the kind of ride they feel good about joining. It’s such a fluid and people-centred approach that members quickly meet others with similar aims or abilities, as well as fears or hang ups, which, luckily, are easily quashed by the encouraging atmosphere RideSocial promotes.

As if to distil this kind of attitude in one person, we had the pleasure of meeting Sean Conway as special guest, a passionate adventurer and the only man to have cycled, run and swum the length of the British Isles. With his bushy beard and history of outlandish journeys, he might not have seemed like a man who sympathised with those taking their first pedal strokes back into cycling, but his first big bike trip was just that: the classic Land’s End to John O’Groats, with no

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 27

27

18/08/2015 11:15

deadline and a £300 second-hand bike from eBay, which was much too big. Like many of us who ride today, he then gave up riding completely for years, until the realisation of an unfit body and an unmotivated mind led him to try for a round the world trip. In spite of the grandness of that attempt, his message was clear and to the point: it doesn’t matter how small the achievement, it’s a journey towards better health and social interaction.

In his own words: “If cycling gets bums off the sofa, it has to be a great thing, surely?”

The main presentation, of some very smart and unique RideSocial jerseys, was to those who had organised the most rides or started the most groups, motivating others to achieve similar goals.

The statistics were amazing. Ian Cameron, the top “creator,” had organised over 200 rides. It was clear the success of their rides was down to approachability, inclusiveness and fun. I asked Colin Goodman, another creator, to explain some of the ways he achieved this.

His mantra was “everybody starts and finishes together”. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But with mixed abilities and bikes, on public roads, it’s a testament to the patience, communication and skill of the leaders. Colin even rides a bike that works but looks like a

28

piece of junk – there’s little more intimidating to a novice than your leader arriving on the latest carbon aero race bike in team lycra!

Joy Lummis, with 40 rides to her credit, summed up her motivation in the best way possible: “Cycling today reminds me of going out playing in the fields as a kid and returning hungry.”

At this point, I started to notice that lots of people were itching for their outdoors time today.

When it was time to get riding, there was definitely something of a scrum to the bikes, when everyone had decided which of the three rides to take part in. There was a steady road ride, a longer ride with some gravel tracks; I chose the MTB route through the purpose-built Clayton Vale trails, led by some of the guys responsible for building them. As we stopped frequently to keep the group together, it was great to see grins from ear to ear, particularly Elaine and Janine, two

ladies whose laughs became the soundtrack to the next hour, in spite of (or perhaps because of!) their inexperience on winding trails. Those who looked a little nervous were gently encouraged by the leaders and others, but never pressured. Soon they were having almost as much fun as the guy riding his vintage Bianchi tourer, who tackled everything with a smile and a healthy ambivalence towards his headset bearings. I was a convert – social riding, whatever the terrain, speed or distance, is essential to getting people on bikes. If riders can start in a safe and encouraging environment, they’re more likely to start thinking of a bike as regular transport as well. British Cycling has ambitious targets, including 1 million more women on bikes by 2020, so if you know any friends who haven’t ridden for a while or are thinking of it, there’s a great way to get them started.

Ride Socially!

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 28

18/08/2015 11:15

PATENTED

www.barnsdalelodge.co.uk

A friendly welcome, fresh local food and a comfy bed await you at Barnsdale Lodge.

Barnsdale Lodge Hotel is set in a unique rural location in the heart of the glorious Rutland countryside with views of undulating hills and Rutland Water. This delightful, friendly hotel offers a warm welcome, delicious seasonal food, individually styled bedrooms and inviting sitting and dining rooms.

• 45 ensuite bedrooms with lovely bathrooms • Delicious food prepared with fresh locally sourced, seasonal ingredients • Glow hair salon • Country walks • Cycle trails • Why not stay in a luxury self catering Retreat • Local boutique shops in Oakham & Stamford • Activities on and around Rutland Water – cycle & sail

We offer a special rate for a 3 night stay and complimentary cycle hire from Rutland Cycling!

CHANGING PRECONCEIVED IDEAS ABOUT BICYCLE MIRRORS

Ride Safer with Significantly Increased Rear View Awareness Detailed Information at:

WWW.BIKE-EYE.COM

THE WIDER RXL MODEL SHOWN

Distributed to the Trade by: Fisheroutdoor leisure, Madison & Reece Cycles

cycling holidays with Saddle Skedaddle

Discover beautiful places on two wheels with us.

Call 0333 123 9559 or visit hfholidays.co.uk/cycling

Cycling

HOLIDAYS www.rutlandretreats.co.uk

UK & WORLDWIDE 0191 265 1110 skedaddle.co.uk

The Avenue, Rutland Water, Nr Oakham, LE15 8AH enquiries@barnsdalelodge.co.uk telephone 01572 724678

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 29

29

18/08/2015 11:15

AGE NO OBSTACLE

Macmillan Cycletta’s first 150km cyclist Macmillan Cycletta, the UK’s leading series of women-only cycling events, was Heather’s first big ride, just before a significant birthday.

After the massive success of our British athletes in cycling across the world, more and more people up and down the country are getting on their bikes and powering those pedals for many reasons, from feeling the fresh air on their face to livening up their daily commute to work. But, what kind of person signs up to take part in a 150km distance event? Meet Heather McCormack. A woman who, with a landmark birthday on the horizon, didn’t let age be a barrier to enjoying herself and seizing the day, while getting a rather large spot of exercise, of course.

Heather was the first person to ever sign up for the brand new distance at Macmillan Cycletta, the UK’s leading series of women only bike rides and tackled the 150km on Sunday 19th July at Scone Palace, Perth.

To mark this landmark distance for the event which takes place up and down the country through the year, the team at Human Race, Macmillan Cycletta event organisers, decided to track Heather to find out her story.

No stranger to a physical challenge, Heather was looking for an event that suits her personally in this

30

extra special year.

“I decided to take part in Macmillan Cycletta for various reasons, but the main one is that 2015 is a significant year for me as I will be turning 60.

“Over the years I’ve done running and half marathons. I even completed the London Marathon in 2012, which was a lifelong ambition of mine. I was the tortoise rather than the hare, but loved every minute of it. I was looking for new inspiration since and found it in an event like Macmillan Cycletta”

Based in Edinburgh, Heather re-discovered cycling after her work relocated and the commute was a bit too far to walk.

“I’ve cycled all my life, but stopped when I had my family. I started again more recently when my work moved further away. It ended up being my incentive to get back in the saddle. My partner and I went to Yorkshire to see the Tour De France last year too which was really inspiring. There was such a fantastic atmosphere and it was really sociable, so it got me thinking about finding a cycling

event that suited me.

“I considered cycling groups locally but they seemed a bit more family orientated which didn’t suit me as well since my son is all grown up.

I felt I needed something to build my confidence. “

Heather’s search for an event was over last December when she received an email from Human Race about Macmillan Cycletta and saw that they ran events all over the counCYCLETTA EVENTS ARE TAKING PLACE AT:

Guildford, Surrey (Loseley Park) Sunday 6th September 2015 Distances:

50km

100km

150km

New Forest (Beaulieu Palace) Sunday 20th September 2015 Distances:

50km

100km

150km

Cheshire (Tatton Park) Sunday 27th September 2015 Distances:

50km

100km

150km

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 30

18/08/2015 11:15

try. She then signed up for the Scottish event, taking place at Scone Palace, Perth this year.

“I had signed up for these emails when my partner and I took part in a Human Race event, combining it with a visit to my son in Kingston-Upon-Thames. When I read about Cycletta, I knew it was right for me and just went for it. It was very spur of the moment.

“I was attracted to Cycletta because it is a women only event. The idea of a Sportive felt a bit too intimidating – especially as this was my first cycling event. I wanted something less pressured and more fun and sociable.

Even the name, Cycletta, has a more friendly feel.”

So, as well as birthday celebrations to plan, Heather had to think about fitting in some all-important training.

“I found a training schedule online. I never follow training programmes religiously though. I usually wiggle it a bit to suit my circumstances.

I’m not really that competitive. It’s not about that for me; it’s more about the personal challenge. I know it sounds crazy, but training doesn’t faze me – I’m quite happy doing it.”

Heather’s ride was a huge success; her time for the 150k was: 7:42:15 - meaning her average speed was an impressive 19.47 km/h in challenging weather conditions. Her thoughts post ride reveal her sense of joy:

“I had a great time at Macmillan Cycletta Scotland. The weather might have been awful but it didn’t detract from the experience. The event was extremely well organised and the team and marshals coped admirably with the appalling conditions leading up to and during the event. The marshals out on the course, and those manning the fuel stops, couldn’t have been more helpful or encouraging and I never felt like giving up. I even managed it in a quicker time than I thought I would, given the rotten weather, so all in all a really great experience!”

In the year of her 60th birthday, Heather has some very wise advice for any ladies out their looking for a challenge.

“Just give it a go. It doesn’t have to be competitive and you meet like-minded

“Unless you experience it, you don’t know how friendly, fun, relaxed and social these sorts of events are.”

people. Unless you experience it, you don’t know how friendly, fun, relaxed and social these sorts of events are.

“I know it seems like a huge distance to cycle, but people often underestimate themselves. Believe me, I’ve thought I was going to be at the very back whenever I’ve

taken part in events, but I’ve never been last yet. Also you always get just as much of a cheer if you’re at the tail end as you would if you were at the front.

The Cycletta is the same and doesn’t have that competitive edge – winning isn’t the be all and end all.”

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 31

31

18/08/2015 11:15

FOOD FAMILY FUN

and fairground and a bike ride

R

ide for Autism is a 50-miler where you’ll be cared for whilst helping a great cause

It’s your last chance to join The National Autistic Society on their fun and inclusive 50 mile cycle ride, across the picturesque East Anglian countryside.

The short and relaxed ride on 22 August is perfect for beginners; starting in Cambridge, you’ll cycle along flat terrain, through quiet B-roads and idyllic villages, and you’ll be supported the whole way by experienced cycling professionals and medics.

Along the way, you’ll stop at one of the NAS’ adult residential services for a mid-morning snack. Here you can meet people supported by the NAS as well as some of their wonderful support workers, as you refuel for the second half of the ride.

Finishing at the beautiful Thetford Forest, you’ll be greeted with a family fun day including food, drink and Favourite fairground attractions.

You can bring your friends and family to meet you at the finish, and relax with other cyclists and NAS volunteers.

Ride for Autism is a fun and accessible bike ride. It’s not a race and they won’t be timing you; it’s all about coming together to help support people with autism.

There’s no need to worry about your fitness levels as there will be riders of all abilities. Included in your place is three month’s free cycle train-

32

ing with ex-professional cyclist Alex Wise, which will help you continue cycling once ride is over.

Plus you’ll also get advice on fundraising and a discount on the uber fashionable NAS cycling jerseys!

You can get more information and sign up at www.autism.org.uk/rideforautism

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 32

18/08/2015 11:15

Ride for Autism!

Join our fun and inclusive bike ride and raise money for people with autism to lead the lives they choose! > 22 August 2015 > Cambridge to Thetford Forest Followed by family fun day at Thetford Forest!

> Approximately 50 miles

Sign up and read more at www.autism.org.uk/rideforautism The National Autistic Society is a charity registered in England and Wales (269425) and in Scotland (SC039427) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England (No.1205298), registered office 393 City Road, London EC1V 1NG 2228 200515

2228_Ride for autism Cycling world_190x130mm_1pp_4colour_FINAL ARTWORK_200515.indd 1

20/05/2015 14:19:57

.UK ISLEOFWIGHTCYCLINGFESTIVAL.CO

5 TO 27 SEPTEMBER 2015

CHALLENGING RIDES

RURAL RIDES

FRIENDLY RIDES

IWCYCLINGFEST 01983 821000 ISLEOFWIGHTCYCLINGFESTIVAL

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 33

33

18/08/2015 11:15

34 3 4Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 34

18/08/2015 11:15

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 35

35

18/08/2015 11:15

Our reporter Gordon Cairns

For a spell the Forth and Clyde was allowed to become derelict with parts filled in and new bridges built which blocked barges passing through the waterway. However at the turn of the last century, it was decided to regenerate the canal at a cost of £86m with the Falkirk Wheel as its centrepiece as a grand millennium project. Now the income is

An off-road cycle across ScotTower. On the other side of the canal generated from tourism rather than business, although earlier attempts at land’s densely populated centre belt is Spiers Wharf; originally used to from the country’s largest city to its mill and store grain in the 19th Cen- opening the canal for leisure weren’t culturally most important may sound tury which had been brought into the so successful. implausible, but by following an 18th city by barge. These imposing build- I remember a friend working for the Century super-highway, it can be done. ings were converted into loft spaces canal board a decade before the major regeneration work began when it My bike ride from Glasgow to the in 1989, when being called a yuppie Falkirk Wheel along the Forth and Clyde was seen as an insult rather than an opened up a section of this long moribund canal in the north of Glasgow Canal is more or less half way across the aspiration. and celebrated with a sailing a barge centre of the country, yet it gets to be so The canal was built 200 along a stretch of the water, full of peaceful as to be almost soporific. The years before that, connecting local dignitaries drinking champagne path continues in the same vein across Glasgow to the Union Canal comand eating canapés. I don’t know to Edinburgh. The only stressful element ing from Edinburgh and the sea at if his tale was apocryphal, but he about this route is getting to the startGrangemouth which allowed goods described some local small boys ing point at Port Dundas in the north of to be imported from the North Sea throwing sticks and reeds at the boat Glasgow as there is no designated cycle countries into the west of Scotland. as it passed by, like something out of path through the city centre, so I have to It was even used by the east coast battle it out with the city’s buses, taxis Forth River fishing fleet to cross the ‘Heart of Darkness’ as the natives see and jay walking hen parties on a busy country and fish in the Irish Sea. The a boat in their own territory for the first time and have to attack it.

Saturday afternoon. introduction of the railway system

Leaving the heart of the city,

Port Dundas is a platform that in the 19th century first acted as a the canal first heads west, passing looks down onto the north of the city competitor for the canal but then behind Partick Thistle’s football from above the motorway and also ofsounded its death knell as trains ground which sits just in front of the fers a view of all of the important towers moved passengers and goods more Firhill basin in Maryhill.

I get a birdsin the city’s west-end from the University quickly and cheaper than a system of eye view into the ground, although of Glasgow to the Free Church College barges ever could.

treats us to the delights of canal cycling, recapturing a former world as he goes

36

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 36

18/08/2015 11:15

if the bird is a fan of football it might want to look away when Thistle are at home. Further into Maryhill, the canal splits in two at the Stockingfield Junction, with one section heading further west down to Bowling on the Clyde. In order to continue east to Falkirk, I need to come down from the canal side and then ride underneath it at Lochburn Road before cycling back up the embankment.

Following the canal west is also recommended, as it gives you two options; first coming off of the canal just before it passes over the River Kelvin on a grand aqueduct, and then following the river into the city’s west end; full of interesting shops and pleasant bars and cafes. Alternatively you can ride pass Bowling and follow National Cycle Network Route Seven down to Loch Lomond at the town of Balloch.

The quality of the path I choose is variable from the rough to the very rough and I almost immediately regret choosing to ride on a road bike, as the first stretch at Spiers Wharf is cobblestoned. The next section is gravel, not ideal for road bikes and very noisy and then I traverse across mud, a narrow section of hardpacked earth which makes passing other riders difficult followed by a stony path where I fondly recall the gravel sections. Perhaps this is because Scottish Canals focused their attention on the water rather than the land. And the water has certainly been open up to different

activities, with kayaking, sailing or rowing all on offer at different points along the canal, from Pinkston Basin in Glasgow through to Auchinstarry Marina near Kilsyth.

Despite the poor surface, the flatness of the path and the lack of barriers across it are encouraging me to ride faster, in fact for sections of the ride I feel I could be on a treadmill as I pick up speed without much resistance. I am also enjoying the benefit of the prevailing wind, which tends to blow from west to east in Scotland, and I seem to be having an easier ride than the oncoming cyclists, some of whom are puffing hard. Every so often there are notices reminding us cyclists to control our speed and so I carefully slow down when approaching other tow path users.

Today the sun is high in the early evening sky, casting a strong clear light on the prettified landscape littered with passers-by in their garishly luminous sportswear making it difficult to associate the canal with the bleak existential thriller ‘Young Adam’, written by the Scottish beat author Alexander Trocchi, which is set on these waters. Later turned into a movie starring Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton, it tells of a disillusioned young man working on a barge in the 1950s who pulls the dead body of a pregnant young woman from the water. It has been described as a Scottish equivalent of ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus.

Now the barges are full of tourists on boat cruises from Kirkintilloch and Falkirk enjoying the sun rather than brooding young men with murderous thoughts. The largest group who are engaging with the water are actually standing on the canal banks, fishing. I wonder what the attraction for these men is, and yes it is only men.

I see a few of the fish which have been tricked out of the water and I don’t think there would be much eating in them, nor is there much scope for quiet contemplation. Out near the village of Twechar, a great name to get your mouth around, I see a rather jolly looking, red-faced chap casting his line into the water. As I cycle closer he greets me rather cheerily and then I notice the cause of his merriment, a bottle of very strong fortified wine of a type very popular in this part of Scotland, lies next to him. The next few fishermen I pass are also enjoying the same refreshment. I decide that this is what allows them to sit for hours in the

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 37

37

18/08/2015 11:16

pursuit of the inedible; they are in an alcoholic daze.

The canal path at Kirkintilloch comes over the bridge rather than under and I pass a group of charity cyclists stepping out of a pub looking well refreshed. This town is almost the last place to get any type of refreshment before you get to the Falkirk Wheel 14 miles away, so it might be a logical place to stop, although the marina at Auchinstarry does boast Scotland’s first eco-pub. The original sloggers on this canal path were the horses which pulled the barges along, needing stables with hay and board at regular intervals. The imaginatively titled The Stables, was originally built for the horses 200 years ago, but already has a number of bikes parked outside its beer garden as cyclists indulge the hunger, or thirst, they have worked up.

The number of dog walkers

38

and cyclists drop off after Twechar and the canal meanders across what used to be the industrial heartland of Scotland through fertile fields of farmland.

The canal banks are lined with trees and the raised path I am travelling down gives me a good view of the land below. As I hit a straight stretch and see the water roll on for miles in front of me, I begin to imagine this journey in the past, quietly carried along by the current and a strong horse, although perhaps my image of the 19th Century may be slightly romanticised. I suppose the reality would be an animal used as a machine to support the livelihood of the barge family; the poor beast having been worked very hard.

Although the Falkirk Wheel can be seen for miles, from the canal it is hidden until I turn a corner from what is a quite stretch of waterway into a visitor centre, ice cream vans and at the centre of it all, the aptly-named Wheel

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 38

18/08/2015 11:16

- a giant chain-link shape of a wheel.

This concrete structure connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, 35m higher and it makes it possible to travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh by boat.

I can’t feel the local football team, Falkirk, have missed a trick by preferring to keep a steeple of a local landmark on their club badge rather than this iconic shape. Its green credentials are impeccable; using Archimedes principle of displacement, each arm of the wheel acts as a counterbalance and so the wheel turns using very little electricity. The trip on the wheel itself lasts 50 minutes and costs almost £8, perhaps the World’s most expensive Ferris wheel until the arrival of the London Eye. Unfortunately, the wheel is only used for holiday barges as it would take the best part of a week to travel between the two cities.

Although the Kelpies, which are described as the two largest equine sculptures in the world are at

the end proper of the Forth and Clyde canal at Carron and only a few more miles away, I decide to save the trip for another day and use the landmark of the Falkirk Wheel as the logical place to end my journey and so head for the nearest mainline train station.

I ride the slope up to the Union Canal, which stops mid-air above me in a concrete viaduct connected to the wheel.

As part of the millennium project to build the wheel, the Rough Castle tunnel, which I at first misread as roughcast, thinking it is a description of the walls, was dug for the boats to pass through underneath the Antonine Wall, a Roman construction built to mark the Northernmost frontier of the empire, and so save it. Like the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Roman wall stretched across the centre of Scotland like a belt and was at the cutting edge of technology of its time. The tunnel is named after Rough Castle Fort, which is about a 15-minute walk away from the wheel

and is described as the best preserved section of the wall. I pass through the tunnel at the same time as a barge, which sails serenely on at 4mph.

Coming out of the tunnel, I now follow the Union Canal for about two miles before a sign directs towards Falkirk High train station, whose entrance is about 50m away down a grassy slope. This station is on the main Glasgow-Edinburgh line and has spaces for bikes without needing to book in advance. And so I sit back and swiftly cover the 28 miles I have just cycled along, on the form of transport that made these canals obsolete over a century ago.

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 39

39

18/08/2015 11:16

Cycling WORLD

ORDER FORM Post the completed form to Cycling World Magazine subscriptions, Myrtle Oast, Kemsdale Road, Fostall, Faversham, Kent, ME13 9JL.

I would like to subscribe to Cycling World with this introductory subscription offer. lThis introductory subscription offer represents a 30% DISCOUNT on the full cover price.

Full price £57. Introductory subscription price £40. This price is guaranteed for the first 12 months.

YOUR DETAILS MR/MRS/MISS/MS

FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION & APP

SUBSCRIBE TO CYCLING WORLD TODAY FOR £40

FORENAME

SURNAME NAME EMAIL ADDRESS

P0STCODE HOME TEL MOBILE

PAYMENT DETAILS NAME ON THE CARD DEBT/CREDIT CARD CARD TYPE (VISA/MASTERCARD/AMEX CARD NUMBER START DATE EXPIRY DATE ISSUE NUMBER (IF APPLICABLE) CVC (security number on the reverse of the card): SIGNATURE DATE Offer open to new subscribers only. The full subscription rate is for 12 months (12 issues) and includes postage and packing. If the magazine subscribed to changes frequency or cover price, we will honour the original subscription price for the first 12 issues.

Subscription gifts, where applicable, are only available to new subscribers on the UK mainland. Any faulty products should be returned to Cycling World Subscriptions for a replacement.

All UK enquiries should phone 01227 750153 or 00 44 01227 750153 from any other country.

Email enquiries should be sent to subscriptions@cyclingworldmag.co.uk Cycling World Magazine is published by CPL Media, who will collect your personal details in order to process the subscription. Cycling World and CPL Media would like to contact you by post, email or telephone to promote and ask your opinions on our magazines and services. Please tick here if you would prefer not to be contacted by CPL Media.

40

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 40

SUBSCRIPTION BENEFITS

l GUARANTEED DELIVERY DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR EVERY MONTH Never miss an issue l NO PRICE INCREASES FOR YOUR INITIAL SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD If the cover price increases, you won’t pay a penny more SPORTIVE’S

Cycling ERT ADVICE ON

G GIVES HIS EXP

DEAN DOWNIN

HONDA

Cycling

WE INTRODUCE

ldmag.com

www.cyclingwor

WORLD

TEAM WIGGLE

dmag.com

www.cyclingworl

WORLD

CINGMI RA UK’S MOST

CYCLING EAST E ADVENTUR EPIC

THE SUCCESSFUL CYCLING TEAM

ED SHOOTE JOURNEY

HOURA-

BALLY NG IN MOUNTAIN BIKI RICK CO.LIME

LINCOLNSHIRE NG BY SOME GREAT RIDI THE COAST

AUSTRIA

POPULAR INCREASINGLY WITH CYCLISTS

■ MALLORCA SHOW ROUNDUP S & MUCH MORE LONDON BIKE EM TIME PLUS ■ WOODEN BIKE ■ TAND

.99

April 2015 £4.75/€4

ALBANIA-

TOUR SHIREDE YOTRK DAVID MILLAR WE MEE

PLUS

RIDING THE TWO HEADED EAGLE May 2015 £4.75

l L l RE-CYCLE N l RIDE SOCIA ADVENTURE l CHARLOTTE GREE CYCLING EAST l VELOVIXEN l .

TOUGH CLIMBS & MUCH MORE TANDEM TIMES AGINCOURT l

TEL: 01227 750153 18/08/2015 11:16

BS SU IB

E CR V SA

E

3

&

S

Cycling WORLD

L’EROICA BRITANNIA RETRO FESTIVAL

SWEDEN: NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL CYCLING

WIN TICKETS TO THE BIRMINGHAM CYCLE SHOW THE TOUR’S LEGACY IN UTRECHT

RALEIGH LAUNCH 2016 BIKES

AUGUST 2015 £4.75

COMPL 1ETE ORDER FORM

August 2015 Cycling World

www.cyclingworldmag.com

August 2015 Cycling World

CW August 2015.indd 41

41

18/08/2015 11:16

Get Dirty in Yorkshire

Great outdoor riding for all abilities and ages on the Moors

Dalby Bike Barn is the true epicentre of biking in Yorkshire’s biggest and best-loved forest. Its fully-loaded workshop, expertly-stocked shop and warm, welcoming, staff provide the perfect pre ride prep or post ride rewards for anyone tackling the forest’s fantastic trails.

We have everything you need to hire for a taste of the best mountain biking in Yorkshire. We run regular guided rides and skills courses and also have a hire fleet of proper mountain, road, kids and balance bikes including baby trailers, tandems and electric bikes.

Whatever your bike or biking experience, Dalby’s network of green, blue and red rated trails are perfect for first pedal strokes or pushing your skills and fitness into the far reaches of the forest.

Dalby Forest’s traffic-calmed roads along with the stunning valleys and ridges of the North Yorks Moors are a brilliant place for road biking so no surprise that the first stage of the first ever ’Tour De Yorkshire’ international pro stage race came right past our door before looping out north through the Moors to the beautiful coastline of Whitby and Scarborough.

Don’t just take our word for it now, come and visit yourself, we can’t wait to show you why we love riding in Dalby so much.

Sutton Bank Bikes have created a totally new type of Biking Centre at the National Park Visitor Centre at the

42 4

gateway to the North York Moors.

Literally minutes from major A roads nearly 1000ft above the surrounding farmland you couldn’t ask for a more stunning place to start a ride. And what riding!

Sutton Bank Bikes and the National Parks have developed their own network of naturally-flavoured, vista rich local trails. Both family friendly short circuits and more testing trail loops radiating out from the super popular Skills Loop just outside the shop door.

Where Sutton Bank’s real riches and focus lie though are encouraging you to explore the lifetime’s worth of wild riding waiting beyond the waymarked routes.

Surf the challenging natural descents and climbs around Sutton Bank or flow the pulse racing arteries of singletrack east and north into the heart of the moors.

We run regular guided rides and skills courses and we’ve also got a fresh Hire Fleet of quality mountain, road, kids and balance bikes. We also hire Tag-aLongs, Child Seats & Trailers.

Sutton Bank is also the ideal start point for hundreds of miles of some of Britain’s best road riding not to mention our own select six graded road routes.

Onsite parking, Café, North Yorks Moors’ Visitor Centre- Sutton Bank is the ultimate destination however you like to enjoy your outside.

Cycling World August 2015

2

CW August 2015.indd 42

18/08/2015 11:16

SUTTON BANK BIKES www.suttonbankbikes.co.uk 01845 597759

TAKE A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE

at Dalby Forest & Sutton Bank — North Yorkshire’s two iconic cycle centres sales/hire/service/courses 3 cycle skills parks ✚ 8 routes for all abilities ✚ 71 miles of dedicated trails

DALBY BIKE BARN www.dalbybikebarn.co.uk 01751 460049 Ad5h2a.indd 1

04/04/2014 10:37

Provision of cycling holidays and training camps in the Costa Blanca and Costa del Azahar in Spain.

Choose your preferred option from our packages and ride surrounded by an amazing cycling culture, food and weather.

Visit us at www.velofuturcyclingpro.com Email: enquiries@velofuturcyclingpro.com

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 43

43

18/08/2015 11:16

Prescription cycling glasses specialists • www.optilabs.com • 020 8686 5708

W

READY • SET • GO!

hether you are a road cyclist or mountain biker, you’ll know how essential sunglasses can be. If you require prescription cycling eyewear, you need to speak to the experts. With over 50 years of optical experience, Optilabs are the prescription sports eyewear specialists, precision-making all lenses in their own in-house UK laboratory. Optilabs offer a full range of prescription glasses including bifocal and varifocal options for those who want to use a cycle computer or GPS.

MADE FOR YOU

All Optilabs lenses are tailor-made to your own prescription. Highly specialised software and machinery at Optilabs analyses each individual prescription in relation to the curvature of the chosen frames and eliminates the distortion often experienced on the edges of your lenses. It is one of the additional processes that guarantees the best possible vision, giving you that all-important competitive edge.

A WIDE CHOICE OF FRAMES & LENSES

Choosing the right cycling sunglasses is an important decision and Optilabs have a wide range of direct-glazed and RX insert styles to choose from.

Direct-glazed glasses: Direct-glazed is the technical name for a ‘normal’ pair of sunglasses, where the prescription lenses are fitted directly into the frame.

They often come in an ergonomic wraparound design, which allows for a slightly wider field of vision. Direct-glazed lenses are not interchangeable, so choosing the right lens is important. Optilabs can offer a wide choice of lenses but photochromic and polarised lenses are the top choice for cyclists.

RX Insert styles: These glasses come as part of a sports pack which includes a range of interchangeable coloured polycarbonate shields (suitable for different light conditions) that attach to the frame. An optical insert, made to your individual prescription, clips to the nose bridge behind the coloured shields.

MODERN & VERSATILE Optilabs offers over 20 cycling frames, all of which are lightweight, durable and designed with comfort and protection in mind.

See our website optilabs.com for our full range

■ SWIFT (Sports pack with RX insert): Choice of 3 colours, made from shock resistant thermoplastic and advanced aluminium alloy.

Amazingly lightweight and flexible whilst still being ultra-rigid and durable. Features anti-slip rubber arms and bridge which include FLEX techology allowing you to customise the frames perfectly to your face shape. Includes 4 interchangeable shields including a polarised shield.

■ FLOW (with direct-glazed, fixed prescription lenses): New frame and fast becoming one of our best sellers. Contemporary wraparound style with a ventilated design for increased airflow.

Choice of 2 frame colours. Many lens options.

PRESCRIPTION SPORTS EYEWEAR SPECIALISTS

ride with vision

PRESCRIPTION FROM

£169.95

Maximum visibility and maximum vision are the inspiration behind Optilabs’ new MAX cycling glasses.

On-trend colours including 2 neon shades, superb styling and lightreactive photochromic lenses, mean that the MAX provides all the clarity of vision needed for your ride – whatever the weather. Plus, with lenses that go virtually clear in very low light, MAX provides superb protection for cycling at dawn and dusk. An optical insert is available for prescription wearers.

For more information and expert advice visit www.optilabs.com or call 020 8686 5708.

for frames and lenses / optical insert

MAX FRAMES 4 frame colours inc.

2 neon shades. Made from ightweight shock-resistant thermoplastic

44

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 44

Darren Rhymer wears Optilabs MAX frames with interchangeable lenses and prescription optical insert. Plus FREE clamshell case, cleaning cloth & lanyard.

Ventilated entilated design for great airflow

Photochromic, light reactive lenses. Will darken and lighten with changing conditions

Adjustable bridge with flex technology

18/08/2015 11:16

Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th September 2015 At Edinburgh Corn Exchange

r e com ull

www.cyclefestedinburgh.com

August 2015 Cycling World

CW August 2015.indd 45

45

18/08/2015 11:16

BEETROOT JUICE IS THE NEW CYCLING SUPERFOOD Favoured by the Team Sky Chefs, James Whites drinks tells us the secrets of the purple wonder

B

eetroot juice is the word on everybody’s lips; top athletes and cyclists swear by it and science supports it too, after a growing number of research studies show the nitrate contained in beetroot juice can increase endurance, speed reaction times and help with post exercise recovery.

Research has found that natural dietary nitrate, found in beetroot, increases the Nitric Oxide (NO) supply in the blood system, speeding up the flow of blood and oxygen to the skeletal muscles to boost

“David Weir is a Beet It convert and attributes nitrate to achieving his Paralympic gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics”.

46

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 46

strength, muscle reaction time and endurance, during high octane activities.

Most research, conducted at over 200 universities worldwide, uses Beet It concentrated beetroot juice shots. This is because the nitrate content in straight beetroot juice fluctuates widely, making it an unreliable source to test from. However, Beet It Sport shots have a standard controlled dose of 400mg natural nitrate per shot.

It is a common misconception that all products with beetroot content will produce the same results, but it’s the nitrate content that truly matters and this will vary widely from product to product.

For example, beetroot named juices with less than 50% beetroot are unlikely to be beneficial, unless being consumed by the litre. More disconcertingly there are beetroot powders and beetroot pills on the market with almost no nitrate content whatsoever, making it essential to do your research. Unless a product declares its nitrate content, it is reasonable to assume it contains little nitrate and won’t aid exercise. By sticking to trusted products such as Beet It, you’re guaranteed to consume the optimum amount of nitrate needed.

So how exactly does high nitrate beetroot juice, such as Beet It, help you tap into your best sporting self and ‘beet’ your personal best? Professor Andrew Jones PhD, Head

18/08/2015 11:16

of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter is internationally recognised for his research in to sporting performance physiology and the role dietary nitrate plays. He kindly answered some of our top questions.

during endurance activities. Recent research indicates that performance during high-intensity intermittent exercise, such as occurs during team sports, is also enhanced by high nitrate beetroot consumption.

Why is beetroot so good for us in general?

What does it contain that we need?

Beetroot has a high content of natural nitrate.

This is converted in the body to nitrite, via the action of bacteria in the mouth, and can subsequently form nitric oxide (NO). NO has a number of functions in the body but is well known as “vasodilator”- it helps open blood vessels and increases blood flow around the body. The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded in 1998 for this discovery.

Why it can help us to exercise for longer?

The increased blood flow following beetroot consumption improves the supply of oxygen to the working muscles. At the same time, the efficiency with which muscles work is improved.

In combination, this can improve stamina

How much should we be eating?

We use Beet It beetroot juice rather than beetroots for our work because nitrate levels can vary widely in beetroots. Nitrate is soluble, so boiled beetroot is ineffective – the nitrate leaches out into the cooking water. It is better to consume beetroot raw or roasted. In terms of quantity, about 600mg of nitrate is the optimum dose – equivalent to anywhere between 2 and 6 beetroots, depending on size and their unpredictable nitrate content. In terms of standard beetroot juice, this is about 750 ml – which is why we have tended to use concentrated beetroot juice shots for our work.

When should we be eating it?

About 2 hours prior to exercise onset to allow time for nitrate to be processed in the body.

Tested by science, trusted by sports professionals David Weir, CBE Powered by Beet It since 2011

Beetroot shot & bar

• World’s No.1 natural nitrate supplement • Contains c400mg natural dietary nitrate per dose • Researched by more than 150 universities worldwide

• Pre-training & race essential for the sporting elite • 70% more natural nitrate per serving than any other UK nitrate supplement

    www.beet-it.com Available at Wiggle and other online stockists cycling world (jul 15).indd 1

CW August 2015.indd 47

August 2015 Cycling World 22/07/2015

47

15:31

18/08/2015 11:16

P 5

A m

I

Back Pocket Nutrition

C

with a charitable aim

9

BAR, the original mixed seed energy bar, has an exciting new look and a powerful aim: to “give good energy, twice.” That means providing good, natural super-seed energy to anyone who eats a 9BAR, and also giving good, sustainable energy to families in Africa through teaming up with UK charity SolarAid. How does it give good energy twice?

Every great-tasting 9BAR is handmade using super-seeds and other naturally high-fibre, gluten-free ingredients. The bars are packed full of protein and provide the right mix of nutritious ingredients, keeping you fuller for longer and helping to avoid empty calories.

Furthermore, 9BAR has a revamped recipe with reduced sugar and reduced saturated fat.

48

F

O

But 9BAR wants to do more than look and taste amazing. The brand has always supported good causes, and now it’s teamed up with UK charity SolarAid to make good energy really count. SolarAid provides solar lights to those who need them most across Africa, with the eventual goal of eradicating dangerous, expensive and toxic kerosene lamps by the end of the decade. The impact these solar lights have is astonishing: just one of them can save a family over £130, provide light for over 1,000 extra hours of study, and eliminate half a ton of CO2 emissions and toxic fumes.

W

So every 9BAR sold will not only give long-lasting energy to consumers, it will also provide a night’s clean, sustainable energy for a child in Africa – that’s “good energy, twice”.

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 48

18/08/2015 11:16

THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON CYCLE 2015

Put your legs to the test and cycle this iconic 54 miles route on the 6th September 2015 A fantastic day out for all the family and meet amazing people along the way Ideal event for corporates Cycle for charity or just for fun Free lunch!

5000 cyclists expect

ed

on the day

Optional return transport back to London

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Call us now on

020 7424 5533 www.doitforcharity.co.uk/LondonBrighton @doitforcharity CW August 2015.indd 49

@doitforcharity

August 2015 Cycling World

/doitforcharity

49

18/08/2015 11:16

Criterium Sport

£750

Cycling World Editorial Team was at the recent Raleigh bike launch. We’ve highlighted a couple of bikes that our readers should know about

Getting into Sportives

T

he £750 Criterium Sport is one of the line-up which Raleigh classify as Endurance Race. An aluminium bike with a geometry and riding position that is slightly more relaxed than the Militis bikes raced by Team Raleigh GAC , but still capable of being ridden hard and fast. By extending the head tube and having a slighter shorter top tube less stress is placed on the arms neck and lower back allowing you to find a more comfortable riding position. It is suitable for both men and women The size-specific butted alloy frame is 200g lighter than last year’s equivalent bike and is fitted with a carbon bladed fork to take the edge off bumpy British roads. A couple of nice features are the internal cable routing and tapered head tube.

By taking the cables inside the frame they are protected from the worst of the weather and help make the bike look very neat. The tapered headtube spreads the loading on the headset bearings over a greater area

50

improving wear and making the handling more responsive Size range: so you have greater control on 49,52,54,56,58,60 high speed descents.

The bike is equipped with Shimano’s new Tiagra groupset.

This is a significant upgrade to the existing Tiagra with many of the features from more expensive groupsets finding their way to this price point.

The most obvious are the cable routing which now goes under the bar tape, tidying up the look of the bike and the 4 arm chainset which is visually very similar to Ultegra. Less obvious are the new brakes, which Shimano claim have 30% more stopping power, and a new pitch on the derailleurs for “precise and long lasting shifting performance”.

Weight: 9.7kg

Frame: Aluminium Fork: Blend carbon Brakes & Rear Derailleur: Shiumano Tiagra 4700 Freewheel/Cassette: SRAM PG 1030 11-32t Cassette Crankset:

The bike is finished with Shimano Tiagra 4700 Raleigh’s in house RSP wheels 50/34 and components which complete a great looking bike.

Wheels: Criterium Sport £750 available mid September

RSP AC2.0

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 50

18/08/2015 11:16

Mustang Comp

£1500

A light tourer for mixed terrain In the recent past British cyclists have been poorly served in their choice of road bikes suitable for the quality of our roads and weather conditions. Bikes designed for international markets have only taken narrow clip on mudguards and up to 25mm tyres. Raleigh look set to change this with their much expanded range of Gravel Road bikes for 2016. Following on from the Reynolds steel Mavericks, Raleigh have added 4 aluminium Mustang models and 2 carbon Roker bikes.

Whilst the industry may struggle with how to categorise this style of bike it’s the shear versatility that appeals to us. These bikes are not just designed for use off road but are equally at home on our local potholed roads. Raleigh have taken advantage of improved disc brakes, wider rims and tyres to develop a bike that meet the needs of an awful lot of UK riders. Disc brakes

allow improved stopping control in all conditions but also greater clearance for wider tyres and mudguards. But these are not just relabelled cyclocross bikes; the whole range has the lower bottom bracket height and comfortable riding position of an endurance bike that you can ride all day.

The Mustang Comp is the top of the aluminium Mustang range at £1500 it has a lightweight double butted frame, a carbon fork and features thru axle hubs front and rear.

The thru axle comes from mountain bikes and it allows easy location of the disc in the callipers and larger diameter of the axle stiffens the frame and fork for better handling and power transfer.

The Rival 1 groupset is also a development from SRAM’s mountain bike 1 x 11 proven technology and

Size range: 52,54,56,58,60 Weight: 9.6kg Frame: Aluminium Fork: all-carbon

this is the first time we’ve seen it on a road bike. A single chain Brakes: ring shifting is a simplification SRAM Rival and becomes very intuitive Hydraulic Disc because you just shift up or down to the next gear on one Rear Derailleur: lever. Raleigh have specified a SRAM Rival 1 44 tooth chainring with a 10-42 long cage cassette giving a very wide Freewheel/Cassette: range gears, comparable to a SRAM 10-42 Cassette compact chainset with an 11-32 cassette. Whilst there are some big steps between some of the Crankset: gears with the nature of the SRAM S350 1X 44T way this bike will be ridden we don’t see it being an issue as it Wheels: American Classic TCX is not designed for racing.

Tubeless

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 51

51

18/08/2015 11:16

FEATURE : ANDALUCIAN CYCLING EXPERIENCE

Your Winter Training Camp

Your cycling training camp in Spain is the perfect way to get into shape for the cycling season.

52

T

hroughout the winter and spring in Andalucia, road traffic is minimal; the weather is bright and warm, with average daily temperatures between 16 and 25 degrees……just perfect for riding!

Andalucia is the perfect destination to train for your Gran Fondos, cyclosportives and, come to think of it, any other cycling event. This area is frequently visited by the Vuelta de Andalucia and Vuelta de España, so if it’s good enough for the Pros then it’s good enough for us.

Pumping up the steep grade of the numerous climbs which include several Vuelta a Espana and Vuelta a Andalucia cols, your legs burn and your heart pounds, however, you keep the wheels turning to the summit to become the King or Queen of the mountains.

This is why you are here – to train, to loose a few unwanted pounds and to prepare yourself for your next cycling event. So, head for the Andalucian sun and get some quality miles into your legs and some sunshine upon your face. This is what training is all about.

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 52

18/08/2015 11:16

Your winter training camp in Spain is the perfect way to get into shape for the cycling season. Throughout the winter and spring in Andalucia, road traffic is minimal; the weather is bright and warm, with average daily temperatures between 16 and 25 degrees ‌‌ just perfect for riding!

Contact details: Email ashley@andaluciancyclingexperience.com Telephone: 0034 952 184042 August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 53

53

18/08/2015 11:16

Mallorca Feature

Chasing the sun with SunVelo in Mallorca S

unVelo are leaders in cycling holidays and training camps based in the north of Mallorca in Playa de Muro, a thriving cycling community in the spring and autumn seasons giving the area the name of “Mallorca’s bike mile”. SunVelo, one of the few ABTA member cycling businesses that offer full financial security for holiday bookings, use two adjacent premium 4 star resort style hotels situated within 200 meters of the popular Playa de Muro beach and back onto the stunning S’Albufera nature reserve. All rooms have a spacious apartment style layout and the vast buffet breakfast and dinner at the hotel restaurants will never leave you going hungry, catering for all diets and tastes.

SunVelo prides itself on focusing on an individual’s cycling objectives, offering a variety of different daily expert-led guided rides for all levels of cyclist from novice to serious competitive racer. Alastair Irvine; multiple Commonwealth Games medallist and former professional racer heads the riding programme with an expert team - all of which are either qualified cycling coaches or CTC/Skyride nationally certified group ride leaders that have vast knowledge of group cycling and the little-known roads and routes on the island. You have the opportunity and flexibility to pick any level of group you want to ride with on any day depending on how you feel or the route you prefer to tackle. Most that come out to ride with SunVelo enjoy the convenience of hiring a full carbon bike for the duration of their stay, that are available onsite with full bike set up and professional mechanic support. So there’s no need to go through the hassle and cost of flying out your own.

Most cyclists stay for the week, running weekend to weekend, however flexible arrival and departure packages are available with a minimum four-night stay, arriving and departing on any day. While there are numerous options available for cycling in Mallorca, SunVelo is one company that seems to be getting it right with a good mix of perfect location, quality hotels and expert ride leaders. All levels of groups have equal priority and importance and SunVelo is

54

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 54

18/08/2015 11:16

not just focusing on those wanting to train for events or a racing season; a “touring cyclist” gets as much attention and support as someone preparing to ride the Etape. This seems to be echoed by the loyal SunVelo customer base, many of whom return year after year and in the company’s 2015 feedback survey results; 100% of those that completed the survey stated they are happy to recommend SunVelo to friends and fellow cyclists.

SunVelo is supported by sister company Sunsport Coaching that provides a sports lab set up for full metabolic fitness assessment and VO2 max testing. As well as offering full spring and autumn seasons, SunVelo also acts as the leading UK tour operator for the popular Mallorca 312 and 167 sportives taking place on the last weekend of April each year.

For more information about SunVelo holidays and training camps in Mallorca email: enquiries@sunvelo.com or view information on their website: www.sunvelo.com

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 55

55

18/08/2015 11:16

Discover La Manga Club And The Region Of Murcia

From climbs of up to 1,600 metres with amazing descents to smooth flats perfect for building up speed, riders of all ages and abilities can test themselves on all sorts of terrain surrounding the five-star La Manga Club sports and leisure destination resort.

The award-winning venue in Murcia, south-east Spain, has set the benchmark for activity holidays in Europe for more than four decades and offers the perfect solution for individuals and families seeking an active break, with 300plus days’ sunshine each year and an array of sports ranging from golf, tennis, football and rugby to triathlon and cycling.

56

La Manga Club provides the ideal base for cyclists to explore the region’s many delights, including the chance to tackle some of the same roads used by professional riders in the Vuelta a España, including local favourite, former Vuelta winner Alejandro Valverde.

There are also a multitude of mountain bike trails on the resort’s doorstep to enjoy, with the surrounding area providing various routes and terrain for cycling, fitness and triathlon enthusiasts in beautiful unspoilt Mediterranean countryside.

A full range of bikes are provided by the well-established

Biking La Manga company (www.bikinglamanga.com) where the latest range of children’s Frog Bikes are available in addition to its Dolan Road and Commencal Mountain Bike fleet.

Younger members of the family can also indulge in the UK’s fastest growing sport of triathlon this summer with La Manga Club’s new TriKids five-day camps, which offer expert tuition in cycling, swimming and running for children aged seven to fifteen.

www.lamangaclub.com sales@lamangaclub.com

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 56

18/08/2015 11:16

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 57

57

18/08/2015 11:16

58

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 58

18/08/2015 11:16

Cycle Taiwan a real adventure I

’m renowned for having a go at everything connected to bikes – so I shouldn’t have been surprised to get a call asking if I fancied a trip to Taiwan to try out the cycling they had to offer to tourists. No-one who knows me was surprised when I immediately said a big YES please......... and that was the start of an incredible journey for me – sometimes painful – but always amazing.

I flew into the Taiwan capital Taipei with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (flights from Hong Kong are every hour) and met up with my colleagues for the week – 2 French journalists, a rep from the Taiwan Tourist Bureau and a member of Giant Bicycles. I’d been asked beforehand for my details and a suitable bike awaited – a rather lovely Giant Avail Liv with disc brakes – another first for me – disc brakes on a road bike! Taiwan has lots of cycle hire and cycle holiday options – with Giant and Merida offering rental stations across Taiwan. Additionally Giant Adventure, Du Vine, Green Island, Grasshopper, Spice Roads, Bike tours (and others) offer both group and bespoke touring holiday options.

Our journalist Alison Salthouse enjoys a breathtaking tour of

Taiwan and looks

ahead to their annual

Cycling Festival

I had done some initial research and realised that Taiwan was a small island with a mix of mountains and fabulous coastline..... I’d also seen that they hold a ‘King of the Mountains’ (KOM) event which looked like it would scare even the most hardened climbers. 2015 will be the fourth year of this competition – this year being held on the 30th October. The Taiwan KOM Challenge is firmly established as Asia’s premier hill climb event and is one of the toughest of its kind in the world. After visiting the climb and having a go at the ‘lower’ slopes – I can attest to that – but then I don’t like hills...... so, for those that do, what does it involve?

The 105km route travels from the eastern coastal town of Hualien, starting at sea level, and rises along its route to the roof of Taiwan, up on HeHuan Mountain at 3,275 meters. The course takes the participants up at an average gradient of 4% through the breathtaking Taroko Gorge to the 97km point at Dayuling, and then rises up over its remaining kilometres to a maximum incline of 27%, making for a brutal final 8 kilometres. However, it is worth noting that it is continually uphill for the whole ride............. with only a few areas of respite.

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 59

59

18/08/2015 11:16

an iw Ta Cy cl e

The mountain dwarfs anything that North America and Europe have to offer, making the Taiwan KOM Challenge truly a once in a lifetime experience. Spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, oxygen-depleted air and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment wait to greet those who finish the ride within the 6 and a half hour time limit. Last year’s winner John Ebsen of Denmark completed the race in an astonishing 3 hours 40 minutes and 5 seconds from the official timed start, which begins after the 18km of neutralised riding. The temperature at the top is significantly lower than that below, the roads narrow and the risk of falling rocks from the mountain slopes.

I did ride the first part of the route to the Taroko Gorge from Hualien – zero to 1184ft in around 10 miles........... and found it a painful challenge due more to the constant, unrelenting climbing, heat and humidity than the actual elevation (4% at this stage). Luckily I was supported by the Giant Ride Adventure team broom wagon – so was able to hitch a ride after this for 3 miles when exhaustion got the better of me.

60

I covered the rest of the climb by road as the day we were going to make an attempt it was raining and considered too dangerous – in fact, our minibus had to stop so a smattering of fallen rocks could be cleared to allow us to even drive up.... and the mist at the top was so thick that our driver struggled to see the road. However the views on the way up were tremendous and I held in awe any cyclist who entered and those that managed to finish – well – they truly deserve their medal!

So – whilst the climbers in your group are off up the mountains – what is there for the cyclist who prefers a more leisurely, sedate ride? Each year Taiwan holds a cycling festival – for 2015 this starts with the KOM Challenge on the 30th October and continues until the 22nd November. It is run by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and has events such as a 9 day/8 night tour around the island, ‘Happy-go-Lucky Joyrides’ for the whole family, cycling challenges, night riding and various other events. The weather in November averages 23 degrees during the day with around a 50/50 chance of rain – in keeping with Taiwan’s mix of both tropical and subtropical climates.

The Sun Moon Lake area holds a special place in my heart. The lake is breathtaking and I can heartily recommend the 30km ride around the lake, complete with temples and both on and off road (cycle paths) routes. The day I rode around the lake was warm (around 32 degrees) and around 95% humidity – so..... take your time if it’s like that as there was little air and it was not all flat. There is a lot to see – so make sure you have frequent stops – especially at the temples, visitor information centre and not forgetting to enjoy the views of the lake itself.

Back in Taipei there are several cycling opportunities. You can pick up a free City Cycling Map from any information centre and hire a bike from one of the many available outlets. You can even rent a bike from one centre and arrange to drop it off at another. I rode the Riverside Cycleway from the Old Town through to Danshui – totally traffic free, by the banks of the river and with stunning views of the city. Again, there were

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 60

18/08/2015 11:16

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 61

61

18/08/2015 11:16

Welcome to In association with

Exclusive warm weather cycling camps in the Algarve 5 star luxury accomodation, breakfast, lunch and three course evening meal, plus marginal gain workshops to enhance your cycling knowledge.

Exclusive Dates for 2015 October 3rd to 10th October 10th to 17th

October 17th to 24th October 24th to 31st

Interested?

To book your place or for more information, please email us: info@globalcyclingcamps.com

Price: ÂŁ745.00 Transfers included, plus a complimentary cycling jersey. @cyclingcamps

62

Global Cycling Camps

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 62

18/08/2015 11:16

lots of places to stop, with seats, shade and refreshments to keep you going..... and it was FLAT!

Travelling large distances around Taiwan with your bike is made even easier if you use the High Speed Train as they actively encourage (and make it easy) you to take your bike. I travelled from Taichung to Taipei (around 100 miles) in 51 minutes and it was the smoothest train ride I’d ever experienced.

Another word of caution – it does rain a lot in Taiwan.......... but that didn’t stop me from riding my bike and appreciating the freshness that that brought to the air and the gorgeous green vista – often not associated with hot countries. I rode to a fabulous Waterlily Tea Stop and stopped to appreciate several rice fields along the way. I also learned that my cycling gear wasn’t waterproof (but skin is!) and shower caps can be useful as helmet covers.

Roads in Taiwan are generally good quality and you very quickly go from busy, bustling traffic clogged roads to quiet, almost deserted countryside. One of the biggest challenges for me (apart from the hills) was the fact that the Taiwanese drive on the right and in the city and turning left can therefore be a challenge (tip – if there are traffic lights - turn right first and join the traffic going in the direction you want to go when the lights change).

My trip to Taiwan was over so quickly – but it has definitely left a place in my heart to maybe go there again and to tackle more by bike – it’s a truly wonderful, spectacular country with friendly people, scrumptious food and breathtaking cycling!

Alison travelled to Taiwan with Cathay Pacific and rode with Giant Ride Adventure Cathay Pacific flies from London or Manchester to Tai-

pei via Hong Kong. Lead in return fares to Taipei start from £779 in Economy, £1,829 in Premium Economy and £3,569 in Business class from London Heathrow, or £759, in Economy, £1,799 in Premium Economy and £3,549 in Business class from Manchester.

For further information, visit www.cathaypacific.co.uk or call 0208 834 8888.

Giant Adventure www.giant-adventure.com.tw For further information about travel in Taiwan, please visit: eng.taiwan.net.tw

August 2015 2015 Cycling Cycling World World August CW August 2015.indd 63

63 63 18/08/2015 11:16

This year’s Tour de France started in the Netherlands- Graham McCann explores Utrecht and discovers what legacy will be left by Tour’s visit

F

ollowing a successful trip to Amsterdam last year, I had been invited back to the Netherlands and Utrecht and I was hoping to immerse in this historical city. Stena Line were happy to provide me with similar hospitality which as always was superb and as our ferry departed Harwich, my mind wandered, was Utrecht going to live up to my expectations? Plenty of people had raved about its qualities, I didn’t want to be disappointed, but I was brought back to reality with the arrival of my delicious starter. Another Dutch adventure had begun.

We were staying on the outskirts of the city at the modern Postillion Hotel in the Bunnik area. The rooms were rather Ikea-esque but comfortable and not too far out of the city centre to give us a transportation headache. The city is home to approximately 330,000 residents but with a massive 70,500 students utilising the services of the best university in the Netherlands, it’s definitely a youthful, exuberant place to be. The city is only 20 minutes by bus (Bus No. 41) or 30/35 minutes by bike, path-side red and white signs display location names, the networks simple and clear design signage prevents any confusion and ensures you arrive at your desired destination with the minimum of inconvenience.

Lunch provided by the De Rechtbank immersed us into a delicious assortment of typical Dutch fare. The sumptuous ‘nooner’ was as much a treat on the eyes as it was on the palette. I was reliably informed by the attentive waiter that the ‘soup, veal croquette, filet American, egg salad, green salad with parma ham concoction was a type of Dutch tapas. It was bursting with a taste of Utrecht, enhanced by the modern and friendly surroundings; a gastronomic joy.

Utrecht is without doubt a bike city, they are absolutely everywhere; no lamp-post, railing or tree is left bikeless.

Every day, between 7am and 7pm, over 100,00 cyclists ride to work, school, university, stations, shops or home via the city centre. The city is endeavouring to make cycling even more attractive, with the bike given precedence in the mobility policy of the municipality in Utrecht. The

64

stunning amount of bikes utilising the designated ‘Bike Parking” places near the Central Station currently stands at 12,000 but the hope is to increase this to 33,000 by 2020. The construction of bicycle tunnels and fly-overs displays the commitment by the city to provide a convenient, safer alternative to the motor vehicle. They lead by example and the UK definitely needs to take note and put proposals in place to match this forward thinking approach to cycling.

Our first task after a hearty (local) lunch was to meet our guide, Iris, for a small portion of the afternoon. The weather was wet, but being staunch British, I idiotically refused to don any wet weather gear. Iris was a wealth of knowledge, possessing a wonderful sense of humour and delivery; she explained the local history in a manner that ignited glorious, vivid images of the past. As we explored, the weather improved, the occasional chink of blue sky replaced the gloom. The time flew, and as we listened intently to her perfect English, she exposed us to the unique canal system with its medieval wharves pinpointing out an unexpected ‘hidden’ world in unhurried surroundings, just a short distance from the main thoroughfares, the switch of emphasis from the hustle and bustle above was superbly indulgent. We were both intrigued by the steam rising in a theatrical but rather ominous fashion from sections of the roadway. Iris explained this hallucinogenic image was in fact modern art created to identify the location of the Rhine which was re-located many centuries previously. Unfortunately our cultural jaunt had come to an end and we departed via the Dom-Under on the historic Domplein, the dramatic next stop on the itinerary.

The Domplein is the city’s epicentre, with a lively mix of locals and tourists all around. Since 2014, the Dom-Under has provided visitors with an insight into 2,000 years of the city, as you descend into the darkness you are presented with a fascinating underground amphitheatre.

After selecting a rather large torch, you are free to wander and explore the relics from the Romanesque cathedral, churches and the remains of the Gothic cathedral which

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 64

18/08/2015 11:16

was left in tatters following a tornado in 1674. It was great adventurous fun, for a brief moment I felt like a child once more. Then, like a child, an early night was required. Plenty of fresh, if slightly damp air, and an interrupted night’s sleep on the water, had eventually taken its toll.

The next morning I met my cycling guide, Edwin, and as the rain conveniently reappeared, we decided to use a couple of the hotel’s rather basic (but more than adequate) stash of bikes. He explained we would be exposed to a part of the tourist route (interestingly devised by himself for Toerisme Utrecht) and the majority of the route of the TDF Prologue, with frequent forays onto the 2nd stage’s ride which departed Utrecht to finish 166km later in Neeltje Jans in the province of Zeeland. As we departed the rain ceased, maybe we were in for a dry couple of hours. It was the sixth time that the Tour has started in the Netherlands (Amsterdam 1954, Scheveningen 1973, Leiden 1978, Den Bosch 1996 and Rotterdam 2010) and transformed Utrecht into the cycling heart of the Country with the world’s eyes concentrated on its cycling qualities.

The tourist route took us away from urban surroundings and into the wonderful tree cover of the Amelisweerd where we stopped for a coffee in the idyllic surroundings of the fairy tale Theehuis Rhijnauwen. After a brief rest we continued to follow the tourist route dissecting the greenery towards the city, we halted briefly by the Fort Rhijnauwen which was built in 19th century as part of the New Dutch Waterline, unfortunately only a small proportion of its structure is visible from the cycle route. We moved sedately through the campus of the vivid Science Park with its buildings by celebrated international architects like Rem Koolhaas, Eric Egeratt and Wiel Arets, this was our first interaction with the Prologue route.

STENA LINE offers twice-daily, seven-hour return crossings between Harwich and the Hook of Holland.

To make a booking visit www.stenaline. co.uk TOERISME UTRECHT is the central tourism organisation for the city of Utrecht. www.visit-utrecht.com or pers@toerisme-utrecht.nl HOLLAND TOURISM Anything you ever wanted to know about Holland in one place see Holland.com. www.holland.com

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 65

65

18/08/2015 11:16

EVENTS / ROUTES / HOLIDAYS / INFORMATION

www.lakedistrictcycling.co.uk ‘Your cycling rescource for the Lake District & Cumbria’

‘THE SADDDLEBACK’Sept13th Lake District’s 1st Adventure Duathlon!

CYCLE HIRE

Penrith & Oxenholme stations *mobile delivery/collection available* info@lakedistrictcycling.co.uk 07917 608 566 (Just 3hrs from London Euston)

Gentle cycling holidays since 1991 Penrith Station, Ullswater Rd, Penrith, CA11 7JQ

Suffolk & Norfolk France, Austria, Germany, Italy & Spain Use our bikes or bring your own Please call to find out more: 01449 721555

www.cyclebreaks.com

Welcome to Canoe Wild for an enjoyable, fun, safe and memorable experience with an exceptional service that enables people to feel the benefits of canoeing as an outdoor activity and adventure.

We provide trips along the Great Stour from our sites at Fordwich and Grove ferry, including guided tours, early morning paddles and Guided sea kayaking tips.

• Canoe Hire by hour from £20 • Kayak and Canoe self-hire ½ day and Full Day From £45, £75 • Learn to Kayak with our taster sessions • Book on line at www.canoewild.co.uk

We66takeCycling E-bikesWorld seriously August 2015

+44 (0)1227 469219 www.canoewild.co.uk

fb.com/blackmanpowerbikes CW August 2015.indd 66

18/08/2015 11:16

Edwin was desperate to show me the city’s most famous architectural masterpiece, the Rietveld Shroder House, which was nearby. Once again, my pre-conceptions were blown away, as I was expecting a medieval structure but the house was confusingly modern. As Edwin explained the background of the house, it became quickly apparent why this house was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. Built in 1924

by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld, this revolutionary structure is known worldwide as the highlight of ‘De Stiji’ and is visited by thousands from all across the globe.

We were now only a short pedal into the heart of the city, enroute Edwin proudly introduced the separate bike, car and bus bridge which has stood in the city for many years. The bus section is part of the prologue route, this fact evidently made him even prouder of his adopted city, judging by the grin. Another detour found us on Maliebaan, which is believed to have been the origins of London’s Pall Mall. The tree-lined boulevard appeared to be just a normal straight road seen in the majority of towns and cities across the world.

However it held a wealth of historic prominence.

Hidden amongst the greenery was a house in which the first Dutch Cycling Association, the Netherlandsche Velocipedisten-Bond, was founded in 1883 and it’s believed was the location of the first designated cycle path in the Netherlands. On that historic cycling note, we pushed on, and as the crazy preparations for ‘Kings’ Day’ began, we saw the occasional fancy dress costume struggling to pedal through the traffic.

Eventually we arrived in the medieval heartbeat of the city, the Domplein. Everywhere, construction was taking place, re-surfacing roadways, re-generating buildings, re-inventing opinions: this is what the TDF evokes; a pride and passion in local issues and local community and hopefully this legacy will continue long after the star-studded peloton has ridden off south towards Zeeland. The highlight was pedalling along the

cobbles towards the Dom Tower, knowing that the likes of Valverde, Contador and Froome (to name just a few) had also negotiated the same magnificent route.

Edwin deposited me at my next port of call, The Dom Tower (Domtrum) which on Stage 2 of the TDF saw the riders pass through its welcoming medieval arch, albeit in the neutralised area due to the cobbles and narrow streets and lanes, however it made a stunning addition to this illustrious race.

It’s an ideal setting for strolling, pausing and contemplating. The tower is the world famous symbol of Utrecht; the 600-year-old structure is the tallest medieval tower in the Netherlands. Climbing the 465 steps (it’s not as bad as it sounds) culminates in a rewarding vista of the city, the totally different perspective to street level is astonishing. I descended with some moderate speed as I was conscious we had an appointment at the Het Spoorwegmuseum (the Railway Museum).

The Museum had decided to showcase Dutch Tour

HET SPOORWEGMUSUEM (RAILWAY MUSEUM)

Maliebaanstation, 3581 XW Utrecht www.spoorwegmuseum.nl DOM TOWER Domplein 9, 3512 JC Utrecht www.domtoren.nl/en POSTILLION HOTEL Kosterijland 8, 3981 AJ Bunnik www.postillionhotels.com/utrecht-bunnik

August 2015 Cycling World 6 767 CW August 2015.indd 67

18/08/2015 11:16

de France history, the exhibition titled “It’s a long way to Paris – Dutchmen in the Tour” had been granted exclusive access to use archives and exhibits from a collection held at the House of Cycling Museum with railway carriages utilised to display the glorious array of bikes, jerseys and pictures of the Dutch athletes who have participated in the Tour since its inception. There was plenty on offer for all ages, with a bit of pedalling, if you so desire, especially the chance to experience the bumpy ride afforded by the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix. The subtle but effective use of sound and imagery provided a wonderful tribute to the Dutchmen who have experienced the highs and lows of this world famous race and appealed to all cycling aficionados (and obvious train buffs). The exhibition ran until 26th July 2015.

A dinner had been arranged at Humphreys, the restaurant is located in the historical city wharves at the ancient channel under the town hall. Wow, astonishing, speechless, unexpected, mesmerising are all adequate descriptions as you enter this underworld of gastronomic splendour. The décor is wonderfully ostentatious with simple exposed brickwork arches, sitting comfortably with an orchard of glistening chandeliers and walls splashed in an understated ‘boudoir’.

The highlight of the three courses was the mixed grill, I suggest you remove the stereotypical ‘Wimpy Bar’ image and replace it with a more refined minimalistic approach. A plate dominated by a trio of meats (chicken, pork and beef) adjoined in neighbourly harmony by a simple skewer and surrounded by a colourful array of greenery.

After dinner we were introduced to a feast of orange, as it was the start of the ‘Kings Day’ festivities. We quickly learnt the Dutch can definitely celebrate, the centre was awash with makeshift bars, temporary stages brimming with bands, boats overwhelmed by slightly inebriated locals and a wonderful noisy hilarity, but the pace was still sedate. It’s a great city to explore at night, you can follow artistically-lit locations throughout the historical city centre. Walking the ‘Trajectum Lumen’ route is a delight, as the historic city centre is the backdrop to theatrical light art.

Utrecht has been in the shadows of Amsterdam for far too long, it is wonderfully compact, easily discovered by foot and even easier by bike brow. It’s a stunning

mix of chic restaurants, friendly cafés and a bubbling underbelly of artistic flair. The city is happily juxtaposed between the modern and the ancient, with plenty of Roman remains, the medieval wharfs, the gothic Dom Tower (the image that most hold in their minds’ eye when they think of the city) and the architectural modernity of high-profile designers like Rietveld Schroderhuis and the buildings of the Science Park. It’s conveniently located making it easily accessible by all manner of transportation, so why wouldn’t you want to venture to the inspirational destination of Utrecht, it’s a recipe for magical exploration, though at a more relaxed pace than the recent pro riders.

68 6 8Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 68

18/08/2015 11:17

THE VÉZÈRE VALLEY For on-road or off-road cycling, for recreation or training.

Accommodation for groups, families or couples, we are in the ideal location to explore the amazing Dordogne region of France.

www.lemanoirdesgranges.com

Want to know how diet can affect your training and performance?

Want Want to to know know how how diet diet can can affect affect your your Want to know and howperformance? diet can affect your training training and performance? andTIME performance? ** training INSERT CYCLING TRIAL PICTURE

Mallorca Cycling Holidays The best way to ride Mallorca Amazing new Summer Camp Special Deal!

This Summer we are honoured to be running some special training camps with ex pro-rider Toni Tauler!

From the 27th August to 2nd September

HERE **

During this camp you will train where the pros train and learn what it takes to make the grade. The camp will cover hill work, gym work, time trialling, nutrition, bike maintenance and more!

** INSERT CYCLING TIME TRIAL PICTURE ** INSERT CYCLING TIME TRIAL PICTURE HERE ** ** INSERT HERE ** CYCLING TIME TRIAL PICTURE HERE ** We are recruiting well-trained male cyclists for a study

looking at different amounts of dietary carbohydrate and their effects on training adaptation and performance We are recruiting well-trained male cyclists for a study We are recruiting well-trained male cyclists for a study looking differentwell-trained amounts of male dietary carbohydrate and We are at recruiting cyclists for a study looking at different amounts of dietary carbohydrate and The study will require you to adaptation complete 4 weeks of prescribed their effects on training and performance looking at different amounts of dietaryand carbohydrate and theirendurance effects on training adaptation performance training and to adhere to our diet plans their effects on training adaptation and performance The study will require you to complete 4 weeks of prescribed The Participants study will require youfeedback to complete 4fitness weeksand of prescribed receive and on theirto endurancewill training to adhere our diet nutrition plans The study will require youand to complete of plans prescribed endurance training to adhere4toweeks our diet endurance training and to adhere to our diet plans For furtherwill details please contacton Abdullah Alghannam: Participants receive feedback their fitness and nutrition Participants willA.F.Alghannam@lboro.ac.uk receive feedback on their fitness and nutrition Participants will receive feedback on their fitness and nutrition For further details please contact Abdullah Alghannam: For further details please contact Abdullah Alghannam: A.F.Alghannam@lboro.ac.uk For further details please contact Abdullah Alghannam: A.F.Alghannam@lboro.ac.uk A.F.Alghannam@lboro.ac.uk

CW August 2015.indd 69

Contact us today to find out more or book your place

Price: £350

includes full weeks training and meals and airport transfers Contact us or see our website for more details OCTOBER 2015 SPECIAL DEAL! From the 22nd - 31st October, book a bed, breakfast and evening meal stay with Hotel Atalon and get a tour with guide plus bike hire included for just €85/£65 per person per day! If you want to bring friends or family or want a few non-cycling days, it's just €40/£30 per person per day!

Call or email for details All you need to do is book your flight and transfer to your chosen hotel and then email me the days and dates you would like to join us on our cycle tours. Tours start at resort and finish in resort on the same day. Also if you need a bike we need to know your height - pedals we can sort out when you get here.

Transtramuntana 2015 Special, 24th October 2015 3 nights bed and breakfast in Cala Millor Guest House or Hotel Atalon, entrance to the TT, plus transport to and from event

only £150 per person

19th-21st October 2015

Minorca Sportive Call or mail us for more details and to reserve your place today!

We have over 40 riders going from Mallorca - why not join us?

www.cyclingholidaytoursmallorca.com 38 Paseo Maritimo, Cala Bona, Mallorca Tel: + (34) 602-622-074 info@cyclingholidaytoursmallorca.com

August 2015 Cycling World

69

18/08/2015 11:17

Sweden: The Vatternrundan Riding through the Swedish night to fight cancer

By Keith Gilks.

Photos by Sportograf and David Townley

W

ell that should do the trick.” I was searching for a challenging event to push my boundaries of endurance and raise money for fighting cancer. Riding the Vatternrundan, 300 km through the night around Lake Vattern, Sweden, for Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC) suited my objectives perfectly. And what a year to do it; the 50th anniversary for the stamina sapping event and the 10th anniversary for CFC. The Vatternrundan was created by the physician Sten-Otto Liljedahl. Sten-Otto was the team doctor for the Swedish football team and came up with the idea of monitoring the effects of training, exertion and nutrition on participants cycling around the Lake Vattern, when he was based in the town of Motala in 1966. The ride still starts at the town to this day. The event has grown in popularity year on year, indeed when registration opens it becomes fully booked within minutes. Quite a mean feat considering over 20,000 entrants start each year.

If you sign up with CFC and are within the first 30 entrants you’re guaranteed a place. CFC are the only UK outfit that arrange and organise entrants for British participants. No minimum sponsorship is required, but it is only right funds are raised for the marvelous work the Stratford-upon-Avon based charity carries out nationwide. Cyclists Fighting Cancer enables children and young people living with cancer in the UK to regain their physical fit-

ness, strength and confidence by giving them new bikes, adapted trikes, tandems, other equipment and support.

After a two-hour British Airway flight from Heathrow and a four-hour transfer from Stockholm, I met Mike Grisenthwaithe, founder of CFC, at the leisure park next to the infamous lake in Motala.

We chatted outside one of the beautiful log cabins which were to be our home for the next three days.

Mike discovered the advantages that exercise gives in both fighting and recovering from cancer when he was first diagnosed with the disease in 2000, and again in 2005 when his cancer came back.

Mike found exercise helped in his recovery and his fight against Hodgkin Lymphoma and so did a little research. He says: “Numerous studies have shown exercise to be the most effective way of improving both physical and mental wellness for people surviving cancer. The effects of the disease and its treatments can result in amputations, physical weakness, co- ordination and balance issues as well as lack of self-esteem.

Cycling is the best form of exercise-based rehabilitation, as it provides all the benefits of improving the effects of treatment in a low impact and fun way, both for adults and children. I decided to set up the charity and to concentrate on children as we could not help everybody with the disease, but children form a relatively small number of sufferers, in comparison with the adult population, and

70 7 0Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 70

18/08/2015 11:17

we could make a huge difference to their young lives” Mike went on to say: “Cancer also causes massive disruption in families, therefore we also give bikes to their siblings and in many cases their parents in order that they can take part in an activity as a family once again, after what can be years of hospitalisation and upheaval.

We plan to supply another 500 awards this year which will take our total since we started in 2005 to over 2000 cases. In addition we are funding a dedicated research study with the University of Leeds to clearly illustrate the relationship between physical and mental well-being and physical activity in children surviving cancer. Our main focus is raising awareness and to provide a bespoke service to each individual applicant where possible.”

Annoyingly I woke the next day at my usual time of 6am; I was hoping to sleep through to mid-morning as the start time for our adventure was 9.28 pm from the centre of Motala, and I had estimated the ride was going to take me at least 14 hours, including stopping at one or two of the ten food and refreshment stops, conveniently located approximately every 30 km. The day consisted of assembling my bike (Scott CR1) from its transportation state, signing on in Motala, wandering around the festival type camp, browsing trade stalls, carb loading and taking a ‘cat nap’ mid-afternoon.

Eventually after what seemed like an age as we were all keen to start the ride, the time came for a quick team photo and then we were off to the start.

The start was very well organised with three lanes clearly marked for each group of about 60 riders to join and wait, until given the ‘green light’. After a quick interview for Vatternrudan TV by Kevin our ride leader, we set off to much shouting and applause from the large crowd and were escorted out of town courtesy of two official motorbike outriders. At about 5 km our protectors peeled off and we were set free to attack the course!

Riding in our peloton of 30 riders all dressed in CFC team jerseys was quite special. We received more applause as we sped passed the crowds and classic red and white buildings at about

32 km/h in the evening light. At about 10:45 pm the

It is not too late to sponsor Keith and help CFC, just go to www.justgiving.com/Keith-Gilks-CFC

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 71

71

18/08/2015 11:17

nd an nr u er Va tt Th e

sun dipped below the horizon. I wondered if my lights would survive the duration of the night, but I need not have worried as it remained light in a ‘twilight kind’ of way for another two hours.

Our pace increased as we got closer to the first refreshment stop, highlighted by loud music from a local rock band playing on a makeshift stage. Here we were introduced to the normal array of bananas, coffee, and energy drinks, but also to what appears to be the Swedish passion for gherkins.

The combination of a brioche bun and gherkin was a refreshing change to what I have experienced in other countries: waffles in France, bacon sandwiches in Britain. However by the end of the ride I was sick of the sight of them. More on that later.

By now it had become quite dark and chilly. Two concerns hit me; one - would I be able to keep up the pace and two - had I brought enough layers with me. I was riding with my friend Dan and we had both been a little mislead by the weather bulletin, forecasting temperatures of no less than 13 degrees for the night time hours. On reflection this was probably true for town centres but not in the open countryside and through the many wooded areas we were travelling through. As for the pace, we decided to stick with the group a little longer as we were both enjoying the speed that drafting provided and passing others riders.

Everyone switched their lights on and for the next

few hours the route ahead was highlighted by a ‘red snake’ stretching out as far as the eye could see. It reminded me of sights at the Le Mans 24 hour motor race, which was actually set to start in a few hours’ time in France. It was quite fitting that our endurance event was on the same weekend.

At the first hot food site, we were looking forward to consuming something different to the menu described earlier. We were treated to meatballs, mash and wait for it; gherkins! I was beginning to wish I had been sponsored for how many gherkins I could eat in twelve hours. Dan, I and four screaming quad muscles, decided it would be best to go at our own pace for a while. Only one person from CFC in the last ten years has failed to complete the ride and we did not want to add to that total.

Additionally we also decided not to stop so often, with the intention it would reduce our overall time.

However drinking strong black coffee on a regular basis put paid to that!

The terrain wasn’t difficult, with rises consisting of a mixture of short and long drags of no more than 10%. However to maintain our average speed we took turns to draft each other. Although our energy, digestive system and muscles were becoming less enthusiastic about the whole thing, the population of the area was quite the opposite and was out in force. We passed people sat in deckchairs, blankets wrapped around them, shouting support.

Incredible, especially considering it was now the

72 7 2Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 72

18/08/2015 11:17

early hours of the morning. Whizzing through one town at 1:30 am, students on a night out were beginning to either go home or to the next club (apparently it was the weekend to celebrate the end of their academic year), each and every one of them gave shouts of encouragement. Not sure if that would be the same in every European town.

kms, when the road rose a little and ‘twang’, my left inner thigh muscle went into cramp. I gave a little a whimper and pulled over to one side. Normally if I soft pedal I can work the cramp off, but as I was half way up one of the steeper inclines (it must of been all of 7%) I had no choice but to get off and walk to the top.

As it began to get light, we hoped it would become warmer. Disappointedly and for some meteorological reason that I do not understand it became even colder. At just past 3 am I was at my lowest ebb, I felt sick and generally unwell. It could have be from my body trying to shut down and attempting to tell me I should be in bed fast asleep or it could have been from my recent diet of gherkins, bread, energy gels, energy drinks, meatballs and a bucket full of caffeine. I suspect the latter to be true. I battled through what must be the equivalent of ‘the wall’ marathon runners experience. For a moment or two my mind played tricks; seeing long shadows as the sun came up and experiencing the chilly atmosphere temporarily fooled my tired and feeble brain in thinking it was evening and about to get dark. The realisation that it was early morning and I had at least another five hours cycling ahead of me was a little depressing.

Dan had gone on, so I was left licking my wounds and soft pedaling for the next 35 kms. Feeling stronger, I managed to increase the pace, just as a German couple started to draft me. I hoped they would pass so I could draft them. Eventually they got the message and took a turn at the front, and we rolled into the next fuel stop.

A train of riders swished past us, we instantly had the same thought and dug in, catching them and then enjoying drafting at around 40 km/h. Before long I was at the front. By now we had cycled 200

My legs were tired, my undercarriage felt uncomfortable, my shoulders ached, and my stomach rumbled. I just wanted to get this thing done. By now it was light and we could look across our

I meet up with Dan again, and the usual mix of coffee, bread, and gherkins (of course) were soon consumed and we were off again. 250 kms tripped over on my Garmin and I entered uncharted territory. I would like to say my training schedule had been scientifically-based and religiously adhered to. However in reality it had been a little disjointed, with just two 160 km rides and one long ride of 240 km completed. I had hoped leaving the full distance to the actual day would work. I was about to find out.

August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 73

73

18/08/2015 11:17

nd an nr u er Va tt Th e

right shoulders at the water again. Actually views across the Lake had often been hidden because of the dark and the large wooded areas so typical of the environment in southern Sweden.

The last hot food stop was a welcome sight; more fuel, a rest and a beautiful view across a small harbour at Howe.

We ate our feast consisting of lasagne and guess what- gherkins again! It was remarkably quiet in the hall we were eating in; obviously we weren’t the only ones feeling the pain.

Begrudgingly we climbed back onto the all-too-familiar saddles and spun the pedals, heads down, in a business-like manner, just wanting to get to the end.

As if by magic a large peloton rocketed past us. Dan was straight on it. I had to work a little harder to catch the comet like train, but when I did it was absolutely amazing. I had never been in such a large group. There must have been over 40 riders. The noise and speed was intoxicating. We flew past single riders

74

and small groups as if they were standing still. Averaging about 43 km/h, the kilometres simply melted away.

We flew past the next coffee stop not needing to rest and not wanting the experience of feeling like pros to end.

After about 30 kms, completed in record time, the train pulled into the penultimate service point. Distracted by a couple of Vikings, we unfortunately missed the train leaving the station. There was nothing for it but to knuckle down and grind away the last few kilometres.

However, fortune was on our side and just by coincidence we met up with others members of the CFC team exiting the last stop. Drafting was back on the cards and as a small group we eventually crossed the finish line at 10 am to sounds of applause and cheering.

With a finisher’s medal proudly worn around our necks, Dan and I toasted the completion of our longest ever bike ride with our complimentary beers (albeit

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 74

18/08/2015 11:17

A new range of Sports ID Bands Pure Silicone.

Soft, Stretchy and Comfortable.

Waterproof.

For Cycling. For Running. For Sports.

www.theidbandco.com/Sports-ID CLUB BULK DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE

0800 999 3669 August 2015 Cycling World

CW August 2015.indd 75

75

18/08/2015 11:17

CW_HPV_2015-06-25 (Aug15 Ed).pdf 1 02/07/2015 15:29:13

cle

y /c VE om SI map.c LU at C ls at s EX dea

S GP ke Bi

C

M

Y

CM

YOUR IDEAL CYCLE TOURING AND MTB NAVIGATION PACKAGES

MY

CY

CMY

K

Active 12 GPS Unit & Full OS GB 1:50k Bike Mount Kit, LiPol Rechargeable Battery 1 Year Access to Premium Xpedition - online planning on worldwide mapping

30% Mapping Discount

Promo Code : CWI-30-OFF Spain

Sweden

Morocco

Norway

UK

satmap.com/cycle Offer ends 30.09.15 - terms apply (satmap.com/terms)

Tel : 0845 873 0101 @satmapgps

76

satmapsystems

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 76

18/08/2015 11:17

e Th tt Va er u nr an nd

alcohol free - damn those sensible Swedes), before tucking into our complimentary gherkin free meal. Completing 300 km, with the added challenge of cycling through the night was a truly satisfying and proud achievement.

I had achieved several Personal Bests; averaging a speed of 29 km/h, remaining awake for a total of 29 hours, eating more gherkins than I have ever done before, and raising approximately £1000 for CFC. Out of 20,002 starters, 19,352 cyclists finished, and although the event is not a race, the Swedish bike team of Tre Berg set a new record of 6 hours and 33 minutes.

Dan and I were a little off that pace, with a ride time of 10 hours 16 minutes.

My afterthoughts, as I enjoy a gherkin-free meal: there are several cycling events that are recommended for the serious cyclist, from etapes to sportives following the routes of classic bike races. The challenges this event throws up, together with the faultless organisation assisted by over 4,000 volunteers, in my mind makes the event one of the best in the world.

The Vatternrundan; the world’s largest recreational bike ride - put it on your top ten ‘must do list’.

VATTERNRUNDAN For more information about the Vatternrundan go to www.vatternrundan.se

CYCLISTS FIGHTING CANCER For more information about Cyclists Fighting Cancer go to www.cyclistsfc. org.uk

August 2015 Cycling World 7 777 CW August 2015.indd 77

18/08/2015 11:17

UnReal Mountain Bike Fi unReal is the first feature mountain bike film inspired by theunlimited imaginations of some of the world’s best mountain bikers

unReal is for those of us who escape. A film that celebrates breaking free from the confines of reality and venturing into a boundless world. This place isn’t remote or hard to find, and yet many never see it. Here, glacial walls transform into mountain bike trails, rain and snow aren’t the only elements to fall from the sky and thousand pound mammals become riding partners. Breathtaking visuals conjure feelings of awe and pure joy; feelings that only those of us who venture outside can truly understand. This film is dedicated to you — the dreamers, the rule-breakers, the ones who never grow up, the ones who know the secret — the ones who know the way into the unReal world.

The film the result of a collaboration between media house Teton Gravity Research (TGR) and production company Anthill Films. To promote the film’s release Brandon Semenuk’s One Shot segment titled “Get Lost in the Moment” is available as a free download; it is the first mountain bike film segment to be filmed in one continuous shot. Brandon Semenuk is widely recognized as the best slopestyle mountain biker in the world. This uninterrupted shot was filmed by the most advanced gyro-stabilized camera system, the GSS C520, mounted to a truck on a custom road built next to a custom trail that took three weeks to build. This true cinematic achievement required perfect coordination between Semenuk, Anthill Films, and TGR with regard to athleticism, planning, timing and logistics. Injured at the time, Semenuk only hit the full line once. unReal is currently on a worldwide film tour. The film is also available for digital download on Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, PlayStation, MGo (4k), Vimeo on Demand, and on demand via Comcast Cable VOD, DirecTV On Demand, and Dish On Demand. Releases on Blu-ray and DVD will follow.

Riders Brandon Semenuk Brett Rheeder Cam McCaul Graham Agassiz Steve Smith Tom van Steenbergen Thomas Vanderham Brook Macdonald Finn Iles Ian Morrison James Doerfling Matty Miles and friends

78 7 8Cycling World August 2015 CW August 2015.indd 78

18/08/2015 11:17

e Film Just Released

Download One Shot segment for free: https://youtu.be/5ud5T5I4XcA

Feature film for £9.99 at iTunes: http://radi.al/unReal

Photos by Sterling Lorence August 2015 Cycling World CW August 2015.indd 79

79

18/08/2015 11:17

SHOWCASE DIRECTORY Madgetts v2 1-9

16/10/08

14:04

Page 1

August 2015

M CC

adgetts

y

les Ltd

* SALES - SERVICING - REPAIRS *

Superb choice of Clothing and Accessories Great range of Cycles on display in...

4 showrooms (incl. Unicycles, Tandems & Tricycles)

Excellent Wheel Building Service and Workshop 8, SHELFANGER RD, DISS, NORFOLK IP22 4EH email: madgettscycles@aol.com www.madgettscycles.co.uk

01379 650419

Holland Bike Tours Excellent road biking

The Nightingale Centre 01298 871218

or recreational cycling in a cyclist’s paradise

www.hollandbiketours.com

LIcensed Four * Group Hostel Accom with great food. Secure bike storage and bike wash.

Groups and individuals welcome.

Discover more of the Peak District. Take the opportunity to enjoy country lanes and challenging rides around the area; or get down and dirty with great mountain biking! Situated between the Dark and White Peaks; a popular area for Sportives! info@thenightingalecentre.org.uk www.thenightingalecentre.org

J

SPECIALIST OUTDOOR FABRICS & ACCESSORIES

B

• Water resistant and breathable fabrics • Wind resistant microfibres

T

• Technical fleeces and thermal fabrics • PVC coated polyesters, clear window fabric

C

• Extensive range of buckles, webbing and clips etc.

• Threads, patterns, water resistant zips • Repair products and seam seal tape

www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk Pennine Outdoor Ltd. Central Buildings, Main Street, Bentham, Lancaster LA2 7HE Tel: 015242 63377

80

Sh

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 80

18/08/2015 11:17

JOIN US AT THE UK’S #1 CYCLING EXHIBITION

BOOK NOW AND SAVE

USE DISCOUNT CODE ‘CWO’ WHEN PROMPTED

TICKETS JUST £12 IN ADVANCE (£16.50 ON THE DOOR)

CYCLESHOW.CO.UK Show supporters:

CW August 2015.indd 81

Keep in touch:

August 2015facebook.com/CycleShow Cycling World 81

@CycleShow

18/08/2015 11:17

82

Cycling World August 2015

CW August 2015.indd 82

18/08/2015 11:17