Pedal Your Cycle - Issue 3 - Winter 2014 by lakewoodmedia

Coast to Coast Memorial Ride

“Some people had said they’d ridden it in one go and that they’d never do it again. A few people said they had done it in 3 days and that was hard.”

P.4

Focus on local talent

Meet Annesley Park

Power To Your Pedal

Painscastle Hills Cycle Route P.12

Part One

Welsh three Peaks Challenge P.14

Follow Dawn Farnworth on another ‘Power To your Pedal’ adventure.

Van life part two

California P.8

P.6

P.15

Veterans CC Red Dragon Weekend P.21

The cyclists paper for the Midlands & Wales

Online Issue Winter 2014 Issue 03

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Pedal Your Cycle

Nairn to Glencoe Coast to Coast Triathlon

This was the third and final race in the Coast to Coast series I took part in this summer. The Crossing, which some of you will have already read about was all Mountain Bike,

Hadrian’s Wall, all running, the Coast to Coast on the other hand was a mixture of disciplines with the biggest chunk of mileage done on a bike.

The logistics on these events can be slightly stressful: registering; getting your bike to transition; bag drop for half way camp and finish; booking buses for return to

start on the Monday and finally collapsing at your pre-booked hotel the night before the start PHEW. Only thing left was to take part! Continued on Page 3 >

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Cycling News NEWS

Cycling Makes You Cleverer! It’s been great to hear about all the cycling challenges some of you have been taking on over the summer and we have some more inspirational tales for you in this issue: read about Rob Eveleigh’s Welsh 3 Peaks challenge or what happened when Dawn and Steve took off at the last minute on a cycling trip in California. It was also wonderful to read how Michael Lyons managed to convert a tandem to enable him to take his disabled daughter with him when he goes cycling. We are happy to launch our updated website, which now features local events, reviews and general cycling news. This January we will also be launching the Pedal Your Cycle online shop, where you will be able to find all sorts of cycling gear so keep an eye on our website. If you have any experiences you’d like to share then please get in touch. Keep warm and stay safe. www.pedalyourcycle.co.uk facebook.com/pedalyourcycle twiiter.com/pedalyourcycle

Adam Haworth

Managing Editor / Creative Director

Jamie Booth

Equipment Editor / Marketing Director

Neil Coleman

Advertising / Sales Director

Charles Jarrold Production Director / Product Testing

Hello@pedalyourcycle.co.uk

Produced by and in association with Lakewood media Limited. www.lakewoodmedia.co.uk Pedal Your Cycle is part of Peloton Marketing Services. pelotonmarketingservices. co.uk Registered in England & Wales 831 4554

We’ve already written about the health benefits of cycling - now, medical research shows it makes you cleverer. Monitoring healthy “older athletes” aerobic exercise not only increased fitness, but improved brain functions associated with recognition and recall memory, offsetting the effects of increasing age. Why not get some fresh air, get fitter and cleverer too!

Ideas

Safety

Autumn Ideas

Cycling Etiquette

Fancy getting out for an autumnal ride before Sunday lunch? The forestry commission have some great trails at Hopton Woods in Shropshire. Lovely walks and cycle routes suitable for all levels, off-road. More details and a review coming on our website.

Pedestrians and cyclists are potentially both vulnerable, mainly to cars, but also to each other. As cyclists, we reckon it’s worth going out of our way to be polite, courteous and helpful to all other road users. Don’t jump lights, let people and animals know you are there well before you reach them, slow down and pass wide if it’s a horse. Worcester Council’s good cycling code includes the following sensible advice:

On all routes: • Please be courteous.

(Molecular Psychiatry 14.10.2014)

• Always cycle with respect for others using the route and acknowledge those who give way to you.

Safety

On shared-use paths:

The Near Miss Project As the cycling season comes to an end, the keener ones amongst us carry on regardless. Out come the extra layers etc to cope with the rigours of the rain, wind, sleet & everything else that descends from on high but cycle safety still remains high on the priority list for all. You may have read about The Near Miss project, a project that all cyclists have been invited to participate in, recording their cycling trips and any incidents that may have happened during the trip. The survey

Safety

Cycling Hereford

ycle Hereford is a small collection of local cycling activists who think Hereford could be a UK leader in bicycle-friendly urban transport. Hereford’s size and compact form make it ideal for getting around on a bicycle. Continual increase in cycling in Hereford will benefit everyone who lives in the city and everyone who uses its road network. With the right policies, levels of investment and — crucially — political will, Hereford could have much higher levels of cycling than today. Our aim is a 20% share for the bicycle by 2030. We

will take place between the 20th October and 2nd November so unfortunately by the time you read this, it will be too late to participate in this pilot. However we’ll be chatting with the organisers about the results and their conclusions in a future issue. In the meantime, have a look at their website for news and updates at:

www.nearmiss.bike

• Give way to pedestrians, wheelchair users and horse riders, leaving them plenty of room. • Fit a bell and use it - don’t surprise people.

When cycling on roads: •

•

FROM ANY ‘A’ TO ANY ‘B’!

To realise the full potential of cycling in Hereford, Cycle Hereford works for: • a complete network for cyclists in Hereford. Based on safe and fair road-sharing and high quality cycle infrastructure, this should allow any cyclist to cycle anywhere in Hereford — from any ‘a’ to any ‘b’. • Competent and lawful cycling. We believe that a cycling culture must develop around a shared understanding of safe road use.

SPACE FOR CYCLING

We are currently working on

Keep your bike roadworthy.

• Do not cycle on pavements except where designated pavements are for pedestrians. •

don’t think this is over-ambitious since it was achieved by many European cities in the last century.

Always follow the Highway Code.

• Be seen - consider wearing high-visibility clothing and a helmet, fit lights and use them in poor visibility.

Use your bell to make your presence known.

the national Space for Cycling campaign (see goo.gl/X3JPza). The campaign reflects our key objectives of protection for cyclists on busy streets and through junctions and 20mph speed limits on streets where motor traffic should not dominate or where there isn’t space for on road cycle lanes. So far 26% of Herefordshire councillors have signed up.

SUNDAY SPINS SUNDAYS

AND

EASY

We hold regular rides into the Herefordshire countryside. To cater for adult cyclists of all abilities most of our rides are designed to be easy to moderately challenging. The Sunday Spin (around 20 miles) takes place on the second

Sunday of the month. We meet at 10:30 a.m. at the statue of Elgar in Hereford Cathedral Green and depart at 10:40. The Easy Sunday (< 10 miles) takes place on the fourth Sunday of the month. This makes use of some of the best cycle infrastructure in Hereford — including our amazing Greenway Bridge — to tour the outskirts of our beautiful city. The ride takes around an hour. We meet at 11:00 a.m. at the statue of Elgar. Cycle Hereford is a member of the national campaign for cyclists, Cyclenation, and is affiliated to the CTC, the national cyclists’ organisation. Contact us at: paigeinhereford@phonecoop.coop

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Triathlon Continued from Page 1

Day One

By Jo Lord

We all congregated on the beach at Nairn, dipping our toes (or fingers) in the sea for a true Coast to Coast experience. The experts had already left, they would be completing the course in one day. For the rest of us two glorious days lay ahead of running, biking and kayaking across Scotland. The race got under way with a 7 mile run along the river and through woodland. It was hot and sticky but a very pleasant run until I tripped over a tree root barely within 3 miles. Knees a little sore but still working I ran in to transition to pick up the bike. There are several things to take into consideration on these events, if you wear bike shoes then you have to carry your running shoes; road or off road tyres as the first day is all road and the second off road. I decided to just wear one pair of grippy running shoes and off road tyres on my bike. This was a mistake with hindsight. Other more imaginative riders had stuck

Day Two

their running shoes to their bikes with duct tape rather than carry a bulky rucksack. Also the tyres on my bike were holding me back, it felt like cycling through gloopy mud. Not being able to change anything I settled in for the ride. The further we travelled the more stunning the surrounding area became. 48 miles snaking by Loch Ness with some surprising ascents and a killer climb just before the fast descent in to Fort Augustus. Racking the bike, legs like jelly we ran towards the Loch to pick up a kayak for a short loop out and around 2 buoys, followed by the final mile to the finish line. The midway camp was a time to catch up with friends Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d met over the summer on other events. Having had some food and a pint I totally crashed and we were all pretty much asleep by 9pm.

A rolling start gave us a bit of a lie in if we wanted but I opted to start cycling by 7.30am. Tent down, bag packed and I was standing in the queue waiting to time into the race. Having been a bit of a novice off-roader in the summer, I now had a few more skills under my belt and was feeling more confident about todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ride. After following the canal for a couple of miles we entered the woods for 20 miles of single track and forestry trails. This was the best part ovf the day, the sharp turns, climbs and fast descents were absolutely joyous! Great camaraderie amongst everyone on this race, lots of encouragement and banter. We hit a bit of a bottle neck before the road so riding stopped temporarily, then a quick sprint up the road and back into the forestry. This time the tracks were wider, swooping down and then up, twisting through the woods until the track turned to road

One more mountain to climb and a fast fell running descent to Glencoe and the final kayak to the finish. Just a brilliant weekend and I now know for certain that I am a biker as well as a runner.

and the final slog to Fort William began. Despite the ride being hard with some steep climbs, the views were wonderful, Ben Nevis majestically peeking out of the clouds. It was quite a shock to come out onto a busy road before the transition in Fort William. I cycled into the racking area feeling tired but quite exhilarated by the ride. At this point all your bike kit had to be attached to your bike in a bag as it was being transported back to Nairn where we would

be reunited on Monday morning. The next stage was a 14 mile mountain run. I made up places on this stretch, my running legs came back and I powered up the hills before some wild running down and down to the most beautiful valley below. One more mountain to climb and a fast fell running descent to Glencoe and the final kayak to the finish. Just a brilliant weekend and I now know for certain that I am a biker as well as a runner.

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Coast to Coast

The Coast to Coast

By Jamie Booth

he idea for this challenge was conceived following the death of my mum in March. We had proposed to do a coast to coast ride 3 years previously, when my dad was ill, to raise money for motor neurone disease. This never happened because unfortunately he died a couple of months before we were due to do the ride and I didn’t have the enthusiasm or the energy. So when my mum died I felt that doing something up in the Lake District was the right thing to do. A lot of my time as a child was

spent riding around Swindon (but that didn’t seem like much of a challenge) and a lot of our happy family times were spent up in the Lake District and particularly in Yorkshire where my grandparents lived. One of my friends had proposed to mountain bike from one side of the country and road bike back but he ended up unable to do the event so we revised it to road cycle both ways although, as will become clear later on, road cycling is a slightly ambiguous statement.

We started at Whitehaven in what can only be described as a heavy downpour and we struggled to find the start place which was really a sign of things to come. From there we rode through a post-war council estate with lots of concrete rendered buildings on the Cumbrian coast where Sellafield dominates the skyline. Very quickly we were zig-zagging through the estates at the back of what would have been industrial Whitehaven. We picked up an old railway line and gradually descended for about 10 or 12 miles out of town. It was hard going crisscrossing roads, trying to avoid people walking their dogs and countless other obstacles but suddenly we were in the countryside on Cleator Moor. We then emerged in the Lake District and it was like going from one extreme to the other. We’d left the sea and a run-down industrial town behind and suddenly we were in the beautiful Lake District.

The first leg was a hard climb on slippery roads covered in wet mud and manure, which was pretty unpleasant, up to the top of Whinlatter and then a very quick descent down into Braithwaite. As we rode into Braithwaite and along into Keswick the sun came out and we could see Skiddaw and Blencathra (Saddleback) in the background. This area was quite poignant to me because of time spent as a child looking at that same view every day for weeks. On the way into Keswick, Carl suggested stopping for coffee. At that point we were both wet, cold and tired, we couldn’t find our support vehicle and it had already taken us 3 hours to ride just 30 miles. Based on the fact that normally in 3 hours we’d be doing something like 60 miles, we did start to feel slightly daunted by the other 100+ that we had left to do.

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“Both of us were pretty daunted by the fact we’d had such an almighty cock-up the day before and we were going to be riding into a 40 or 50 mph headwind” We eventually picked up another old railway track and that’s when we realised we hadn’t researched everything properly as we were riding what can only be described as a cinder track with sharp stones. I was riding a Cervelo carbon fibre road bike which has absolutely no padding or way of absorbing shock at all. If it’s going to be like this, I thought, it’s going to be really slow. Inevitably one of those sharp little stones went in and we had our first puncture. Carl was riding an Orbea which at the start of the day I was slightly envious of because it had electric gear shifters, but the shifters locked on the big ring on one of the descents out of Threkeld which then resulted in an hour of unsuccessfully trying to make the gears work. We decided to put road tyres on a cyclocross bike to give Carl a chance of finishing the day. We then climbed up from Threkeld and began to pick our way out towards the Pennines and gradually started to feel better. After lunch we set off following Sea to Sea route 7 but an hour later when we should have been on the top of the Pennines, we were still riding parallel with the mountains. It began to dawn on us that maybe we’d gone wrong and a quick look at Google maps confirmed that we were 30 miles away from where we should have been, in the wrong direction! By this time it had gone 4.00pm, we’d been riding since 8.00am and we were only about half way! At this point we were forced to make the very difficult decision to drive to the start of the return journey and try again the next day. So after riding 70 miles we were driving to Newcastle, both feeling pretty dejected and fed up with the whole thing. We’d only climbed 6,500 feet and we were realising that maybe we’d bitten off slightly more than we could chew. After a very troubled night’s sleep, we got up in the morning to face bright blue skies and sunshine and decided that we’d have a crack at riding back in one go. Both of us were pretty daunted by the fact we’d had such an almighty cock-up the day before and we were going to be riding into a 40 or 50 mph headwind. We didn’t have a grand depart this time as we set off on our way back following a route which was very carefully completed with diversions. We finally got out of Newcastle and started climbing to the top of the Pennines. We’d been climbing for 60 miles into a headwind and as we emerged onto one of the moors it felt very daunting as we realised we weren’t even half way and it was already 1.00 in the afternoon. We started to wonder if we were actually going to finish the challenge... We came into this thinking we were going to set a fast time for crossing the country and back when actually the idea began as a memorial ride to raise money for various charities. Because of my contacts with various cycling organisations and things we’d done in the past, it was suggested that maybe we could beat the fastest time for this journey. In hindsight it was a foolish idea to get carried along with and at this point on the ride I was starting to admire anybody who had done it. Some people had said they’d ridden the route in one go and that they’d never do it again. Others said they had done it in 3 days and that was hard. I just thought it was going to be like any other ride but this was a hard challenge, particularly the return journey...

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Local Talent

Focus On Local Talent

Annasley Park Interview by Jeni Hughes

How did you get into cycling?

Originally I was a runner until about three years ago, when I was 15, I injured myself from overtraining. I damaged my hips and had to stop running. I picked up cycling during re-hab and I liked it so I just went on from there. It started as a bit of fun in a team that John Wood owns in Hereford, called NFT0. John was sponsoring my brother at the time and he asked if I’d like to join his team and provided all the kit and bikes. NFTO had great success as an amateur team and now it’s a full pro-team which is fantastic. I then moved to a more specific team, the Abergavenny Racing Club and from there I moved to RST which is a Yorkshire based team and this is my first proper season with them. The team is made up of six girls who are a great bunch. We’ve got a boys team too who are doing really well. Quite a lot of the riders are on the Olympic Development Programme so they’re funded through British Cycling but I’m too old to go on it now.

What bike do you ride?

I ride a Swift at the moment and train on a Giant. They’re both good bikes but I really love my Swift. It’s never been broken despite all the crashes it’s been through.

What is your training regime?

From about February I train twice a day about 6 times a week but towards March time it’s all about racing which I’ll do 1 or 2 times a week and training is maybe 1 or 2 hard sessions. It’s more about keeping the legs spinning during the season but in the winter it’s about getting the miles in and more power to weight ratio work in the gym.

Tell us about some of your memorable cycling moments?

Last year I won the RTTC National Circuit Championships. I was really excited. It was my first national title and I felt good winning that. I won the Young Leader’s jersey in the stage races which was a 3-day event in Bedford. I was pretty happy with that because it’s a national series. The races were all about 50 miles max., it was quite hard but great fun. I did my National Team Series and the Tour Series but during the last one I crashed and had to have shoulder reconstruction so that finished my

season quite early and I missed the Nationals, the TT series; all the important stuff towards the end of the season. Luckily I had the most amazing physio, Rosie Bartlett who has been brilliant. She got me back into shape in the space of two months. Mark Cavendish did exactly the same thing a couple of days after me! I’ve really enjoyed the stage races this year. I feel I’m stronger at long distances and I like it to be really hilly. If it’s hilly you can make breaks easier. But the races I’ve enjoyed the most this year are the criteriums around the town centres. The crowds are brilliant and it just feels amazing.

How do you keep motivated?

I’m pretty self-motivated which I get from my parents. Dad’s a very motivational person and my Mum has always been very sturdy and supportive. I’ve also had Danny King as a mentor and the NFTO pro boys have given me lots of guidance too. My managers, Chris Walker, manager of RST and Rob Holder who is the manager for the girl’s team, have both been amazing. They are ex-professionals and know exactly what they’re talking about so they’re a great help. In winter I sometimes listen to music to help keep me motivated during the 3 to 4 hour training sessions. I particularly like Ariana Grande and Clean Bandit.

Cycling is just the best thing ever

What’s next?

Since leaving Hereford sixth form college where I did a level 3 BTEC diploma in Sports Science, I cycle fulltime. I’d love to make it into a UCI team and my goals would be to do the Commonwealths and ultimately the Olympics. I’m going to be doing a lot more on the track this year and next year I will be trying to win a few National titles and go from there really. I’m hoping to do a few more races abroad too. I did one in Holland and it was very different to British riding. It’s more aggressive, there’s more attacks and it’s full-on, constantly. The standard is just incredible so you’ve got to be a strong rider; you’ve got to be tough. I’ve had all the opportunities to be a good cyclist, I’ve now just got to put it into practice.

Follow Annasley Park www.rstracingteam.com/annasley-park twitter.com/annasleypark

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Climbing

Caroline Sinno

introduction to climbing

Interviewed by Jamie Booth

How do you train?

Danger is also appealing. But I will say that, for myself, it is more about the control of the potential danger that I like. How did you get into climbing?

I started climbing with my family. My dad, who worked in Paris, was climbing every weekend in Fontainebleau and my grandma, his mum, was living in the Alps and climbing easy multi-pitches routes and doing alpinism courses during the summer, up to 68-years-old.

How long have you been climbing?

I have always climbed! Climbing has always been a part of my life.

What do you love most about it?

Climbing is more than a sport or a way to get your daily fitness routine. It is a true passion. There are a lot of aspects of climbing that I’m passionate about, like the mental dimension (when you fight your fear of falling or have to be really focused to do a hard movement); its palpable improvement scale (it is really motivating for beginners) and its community (you can meet people from all around the world and feel connected with them sharing the same sport/passion).

What about friendships you make, and the danger of climbing?

Of course the friendships are extremely rewarding in climbing because you often share pure moments of happiness, difficulties and great adventures with your climbing partners. You will never forget these moments and will tell these stories to your grandchildren. I will always remember

when we had to finish two pitches in the dark on a long multi-pitches route in Vercors. We didn’t have any headlamps and were trying to light up the climbing holds with our mobile phones. It took us forever to finish the route. We were exhausted! But what an adventure!! Danger is also appealing. But I will say that, for myself, it is more about the control of the potential danger that I like. I like to feel when I am climbing a high ball, where I know falling is impossible, that I am doing each move with extreme control and precision.

What do you want to climb more than anything else in the world?

I have so many projects I’d like to do it is hard to choose just one so I’ve chosen one in each climbing style. Bouldering: I would like to climb a boulder in Branson Switzerland called les Feux d’Azeroth, 8A+ opened by my idol Fred Nicole who is a pioneer in bouldering. He opened amazing boulders all over the world and did 8B+ ten years before anybody else. Alpine style: I would like to climb le Grand Capucin in honour of my grandma who climbed it and died of cancer several years ago. She was my mentor and I will always miss her. Sports climbing: I would like to climb Digital Crack in Mont-Blanc. This technical route looks so appealing to me. Travels: I also would like to travel to Japan to discover their climbing community and culture.

I usually don’t train a lot because I don’t compete a lot. I did the Natural Games event last year in Millau and that’s it. I find my motivation in training to achieve my outdoors projects. For example, if I require more core for a specific move I will do some core training circuits twice a week for 3 weeks. I try to do a fingerboard session every week or fortnight. I have a good 40 mins training session. I do mostly dead hands and pull-ups on different types of holds. I try to climb between 4 and 5 times a week. The dream week for me would be doing 3 sessions in Fontainebleau (my home area for bouldering which is la Mecca for bouldering), 1 gym session and spending the weekend sports climbing in the south of France.

Do you watch what you eat?

I usually pay attention to my diet. I try not to eat too much carbs and gluten and I eat protein after each workout and have a varied diet. Using a blender is an easy way to eat more fruits/veggies but I’m not too strict about what I eat as I have a sweet tooth. There are too many bakeries in France.

How do you look good and climb?

Ha, that’s a funny question. Special thanks to my sponsor Third Rock Climbing for making tank tops and leggings that fit women who climb. I have always tried to stay feminine even when doing a male driven sport up to 5 times a week. I take care of my feet and hands because they are really a mess. I apply argan oil to my hair because it is really dry after all that time spent outside in cold weather. Also the key is to moisturise every day!!

What’s the riskiest climb you have ever done? I have never done any risky climbs really. Of course high balls are risky but I wasn’t really scared because I knew what I was doing. I did some pretty risky off pist skiing when I was living in Annecy close to La Clusaz and Chamonix. I can tell this was way more dangerous because I was totally ignoring the danger and I was reckless when I was a teenager.

What advice would you give to someone starting out? Make sure your first pair of climbing shoes are not too small. If your feet are hurting you will never really want to climb again. And have fun!

Do you listen to music when you train?

Yes I like to listen to music when I train. Music can push me and help me to get more focused but I find it weird when people are wearing their music devices when climbing. I still can’t get used to that.

What exercise do you do when you can’t climb?

When I can’t climb I am really sad. I do abs and pull ups on my door or I go on a long hike. I’ve never been a fan of cardio training.

What country would you live in given the choice? I would like to live in the US. I like the climbing community there and the weather is also drier and usually more predictable than in Paris.

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Travel

Power To Your Pedal

CaliforniA

Part One

By Dawn Farnworth

ow did that happen? Not with much planning or packing time that’s for sure, four days to be precise, but it all came together beautifully - proof that adventures are best spontaneous. We had had the idea for a couple of months after seeing a programme where a group cycled the Golden Gate Bridge and thought ‘we will do that some day’. I got the book ‘Bicycling the Pacific Coast’ and put it in a drawer, then came the end of October and we had a window when we could go. I booked two return flights to San Francisco and off we went on 4th November, armed with our world on our backs and an address for a cycle hire shop on pier 49, SF. Oh, and the book - all we needed right? Route 101 is perhaps the most historic highway in the US, built in 1926, taking travellers from the Mexican border through the Central Coast of California all the way to the Canadian border, over 2000 miles in total. We were ready to take it on, well, part of it, from San Francisco to the border at Tijuana, and there is a very good reason you ride North to South but I will get to that later. The Bike Shed, pier 49: We rented two great bikes, one set of panniers and a trailer for the camping gear. They couldn’t have been more helpful, enthusiastically they stored our backpacks and sent us on our way with only a rough idea when we would return, and the price - only £280 all in – BARGAIN. We took a look at the Golden Gate Bridge

You can’t buy happiness but you can buy a bicycle and Citizen Chain Bike Store, SF that’s pretty close. - Citizen Chain Bike Store, SF

and decided to ride that as a last celebration when we got back. So off we set, and promptly got more than a little lost, it took the rest of the day to get out of the city and on the road proper. Still looking for the bike path and running out of daylight, we found a room in El Camino and a fellow cyclist who the following morning pointed us towards the cycle path – finally – Route 101. The weather was beautiful, perfect for cycling. Needing to catch up with the route according to our book, we only cycled about 30 miles over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Half Moon Bay and our first campsite. The state parks in California have a hike and bike scheme whereby if you turn up on foot or by bike you are guaranteed a camping spot, so no forward booking necessary and this important feature means you don’t need a destination – freedom to travel as far as you want! They cost roughly $5 a night. Here we started to meet others on the route, all with different stories, some had started in Alaska and had been on the road for months!! A mixed bag of people from 20 to 70 somethings all out for a ride. This set the scene, each morning we set off in our own little gangs and ended up at night pretty much together swapping stories, and laughing. We arranged nothing and just kept bumping into each other along the way. Setting off from Half Moon Bay, excited and a little nervous wondering what the day would bring, it soon became apparent

this was more than just a route: rugged coastlines, breathtaking scenery, national and state parks, historical monuments and of course the incredible wildlife. When you’re cycling all your senses get hit at the same time, and you become so much more aware of what is around you, this overwhelming desire to explore consumes you and you just have to hang on and experience it. The light got the better of us again and we ended up riding through Santa Cruz in the dark trying to find New Brighton Beach. Lesson learnt: start earlier and aim to finish before sunset, leave yourself plenty of time to take a break and enjoy your new-found surroundings. Earlier in the day we happened across two streetwise city kids

from Denver, Elvis and Zeb, riding fixies, no gears and no brakes. Their destination was Los Angeles, on a tight budget, they cooked a lot and introduced us to Chilli beans and tortillas and seemed to have a problem with raccoons who kept stealing their minimal stuff. They were our neighbours that night when we finally found our camp. Today we had done 70 miles instead of the 56 as stated in the book, damn this getting lost / exploring. New Brighton Beach to Vets Park, Monterey was apparently 40.8 miles and we couldn’t wait to get started. The terrain here varies between gently rolling and level, easy riding along back roads and cycle paths. Nearing mid day, the path turned and put us alongside a large

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bay where elephant seals had taken up residence, hundreds of them. From a distance they looked like large pieces of wood, it was only when we got close we could see them wriggling across the sand like oversized maggots. Time for lunch, a burrito from one of the streetcars along the way and one by one the rest of the gang appeared. We shared the experience and moved on. Vets Park: the book told us to get supplies from Monterey as it was a steep climb to the campsite and it certainly wasn’t wrong! About a mile – straight up and then up a little more, to a nice campsite where you leave your money in the box. This was our first proper encounter with the level of homelessness in California, whole families living in cars and tents, making the best of their situation, trying to work and get on. At first I was a little uneasy but in America it’s dealt with differently: some people live in houses, some don’t and that’s just the way it is. Here we met Vanessa, 23, never cycled before, from Quebec who had started her journey in Vancouver. She had spent about a month on her own

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before finding Brett and Bob, the 70-somethings from Alaska, who had taken her under their wing. We cooked by torchlight and shared stories about the day, trying to stay up past eight o’clock and being observed by the deer on the grass. You could hear the incessant barking of the sea lions down at the bay, which is quite a nice way to fall asleep, and Elvis shouting at the raccoons for stealing his stuff. Up early, the usual porridge and tea, brief discussion and study of the book. At some point we needed to check into a hotel to do some washing, charging of phones etc. This general housekeeping meant that periodically gang members would dip out and stay over somewhere for a day, then catch up later on the road. Monterey is a fascinating place, busy and vibrant, we rode onto the pier where there was a sign for a whale watching trip – had to go, didn’t we? Luggage stored, we locked the bikes to the pier and stepped aboard, not knowing how long we would be out, but the weather was great and the turquoise water calm. Well, I want to do this every day! We

saw Rizzo Dolphins on the way out, then just in the bay, roughly 1000 sea lions and over 100 humpback whales all in feeding frenzies around us. There was diving and breaching, tail and fin slapping, and even courtship being displayed, and something you don’t get from the tv – the smell from the blow was unbelievably dreadful. You had to cover your nose and mouth it was pure, rotten fish and boy did it stink. The captain and crew didn’t want to go back and miss this so we were out for most of the day. Apparently, it was one of the best trips of the year so far, and all down to a shoal of anchovy that had made it to the Bay Area. Time was getting on, and one other ‘must do’ - 17 mile drive, awaited. Possibly the most famous stretch of road on the California Coast, it’s a private road and you have to stop at the security gate and sign a form waiving your right to sue should you get run over. We decided to head back to Monterey and spend the night. We found a nice motel just on the edge of town and set about our housekeeping...

Part 2

Coming to issue 4

Cycling In The Midlands

Welshpool

Where to stop & things to do

Shre

18 17

Stan’s Cycles

53-54 Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1XJ

0844 888 2008

www.stanscycles.co.uk

Black Pear Tea Room

Droitwich Road, WR3 7SW

0844 288 5183

THE BOWENS BED & BREAKFAST

The Bowens Bed and Breakfast, Fownhope, Herefordshire, HR1 4PS

01432 860 430

www.bowensbandb.co.uk

Elan Valley Visitor Centre

9 Rhayader

Elan Visitor Centre, Elan Valley, Rhayader, Powys, LD6 5HP

01597 810880

www.elanvalley.org.uk

The Granary

The Granary, Wernfawr, Talgarth, LD3 0DY

Pembridge

01874 712 101

www.thegranaryinthepark.com

Llandrindod Wells

Lady Foley’s Tea Room

Great Malvern Station, Imperial Road, WR14 3AT

01684 893033

Hay-on-Wye

Biped Cycles

10 Ship Street, Brecon, Powys, LD39AF

01874 622296

Brecon

www.bipedcycles.co.uk

Burford House

Burford House, Burford, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire WR15 8HQ

01584 810777

thegardenstore.ltd.uk/stores/burford-house-garden-store

Abergavenny

Clive Powell Mountain Bikes

Cwmdauddwr Arms, West Street, Powys, LD6 5B

01597 811343

www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk

Mount Pleasant Lodge

Mount Pleasant Lodge, Aymestrey, HR6 9SU

01568 708031

www.mplaymestrey.co.uk

Malvern Cycles

Ivy Cycle Works, 271-273 Worcester Road, WR14 1AA

01684 577238

www.malverncycles.org.uk

24 Church Street • Hereford HR1 2LR 01432 271892 07870 81 81 98 ben@rocketkitchen.co.uk

The Barrels Pu

26-27 Church Street; Hereford

Tel: 01432 358171 Open Mon-Sat 9am-5:30pm

Vegetarian Health Food Shop with a large range of organic, local and specialist foods, plus treats too!

Hereford’s Local. Easyg pub serving the local W Valley Brewery ales, plu table and terrace. 69 Saint Owens Street,He

The Old Village Store

Wolverley, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY11 5XB

01562 850499

www.theoldvillagestore.co.uk

ewsbury

Smiths Cycles

3 New Road, Kidderminster, DY10 1AF

01562 823 721

www.smithscycles.co.uk

1 14 12

Severn Valley Railway

Number One, Comberton Place, DY10 1QR

01562 757900

www.svr.co.uk

14 15

Kidderminster

Newent Golf Club and Lodges

Coldharbour Ln, Newent, Gloucestershire GL18 1DJ

01531 820478

www.newentgolf.co.uk

Ludlow

The Theatre of Small Convenience

Edith Walk, Malvern WR14 4QH

01684 568 933

www.wctheatre.co.uk

01938 553582

www.brookscycles.co.uk

Leominster

Worcester

16 6

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/powis-castle

11 19

The New Inn

16 Northgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1SF

01452 522177

www.newinn-hotel.co.uk

15 20 19 Ross-on-Wye

Eastgate Cycles Ltd

76-78 Eastgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1QN

01452 300366

www.eastgatecycles.co.uk

Gloucester

Glynfield House

Glynfield House, Glynfield Rise, Ebley, Stroud, GL5 4QP

07788 985764

www.glynfieldhouse.co.uk

24 Monmouth

The Start Bed & Breakfast

Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR3 5RS

Map Legend Bike Shop

01497 821391

www.the-start.net

Bike Friendly Cafe

Ye Olde Steppes

Place of Interest

High Street, Pembridge, HR6 9DS

01544 388506

www.yeoldesteppes.co.uk

going Wye us pool

ereford

Powis Castle and Garden

Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool, Powys SY21 8RF

01938 551944

Malvern

Hereford

Brooks Cycles

9 Severn Street, Welshpool, SY21 7AB

24 ÂŠ Painting by Alix McGregor alix@lakewoodmedia.uk

Pedalabikeaway

Cycle Centre, Cannop Valley, Nr Coleford, GL16 7EH

01594 860065

www.pedalabikeaway.co.uk

Cyclist Accommodation

Do you know of a place or bike shop that you trust, or maybe a business that is bike friendly? If so we would love to find out more and even feature your suggestion on our map. hello@pedalyourcycle.co.uk

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Trails

Painscastle Hills Cycle Route Distance: 21.65 km’s (2-3 hour ride) Trail Grade: Difficult Location: Painscastle, Builth Wells, Powys MAP: goo.gl/MWAMKf

By Isla Hampson

hick precipitation on rusting bracken that morning, the air fresh and autumnal. A margin of space between bike and cloud hung silently, as we headed up into the Painscastle Hills. The history of these hills is rich and brooding. This is a land of prehistoric remains, hill forts, stone circles, big skies, hidden streams weaving through secret valleys, paths fringed with bracken, heather, oaks, wind swept, wild, disappearing into the very heart of Wales and on out to the west coast. “It is a fine thing to be out on the hills alone. A man can hardly be a beast or a fool alone on a great mountain.” Francis Kilvert, the legendary diarist vicar, that roved these hills in times of isolation and hardship. My name is Isla Hampson. I’m a photographer and a keen mountain biker. Riding makes me happy, as do good bike paths, remoteness and a decent bike! My objective is to give you some fantastic routes to try out and introduce you to new areas.

Having a good bike helps a lot. Mine is full suspension, making light of rocky ground and drops. 29-inch wheels on a hard tail is another great option, it’s a personal thing. If you don’t have a decent bike, hiring one for the day is easy enough. In the HayOn-Wye area local to this route, Drover Bikes, or Wye Valley Canoes both hire at very reasonable rates. Drover Bikes have the latest high spec range, making you look and feel a pro! Always, always wear a helmet. Gloves are a bonus too. If, like we did, you encounter horse riders, do give way to them. I rode out with two good friends, Polly Clarke who runs combined yoga, bike and walking holidays, ‘ Mountain Yoga Breaks’, and Debbie Gilbert, a biking enthusiast. Its fun riding with friends but a good idea too, if you’re riding in isolated spots. This particular route I am writing about is one of my favourites. It partly follows a wellknown route in Southern Radnorshire, up in the Painscastle Hills crossing over into the Begwyns area. The route starts and finishes at a fabulous pub called The Roast Ox, in the centre of the village of Painscastle. Starting on the lane with a steady hill

climb for 500 metres or so, the route veers right just after the cattle grid, up an old grassed track. Straight onto the hill, the track levels out amid bracken and gorse, the track well visible to follow. From here the great views, open expanse and big skies are the pleasure of this route. Bring decent waterproofs and a map, as you will need to navigate through the many paths that grid the hills. Traversing the hill for 10 minutes or so, dropping down to the road, it’s a right, then take the first left sign posted to Bailey House. A short climb and a right takes you down to a ford and through a glorious old farmyard. Through a small gate and up through a wonderful valley, following the lower trail, fringed with high bracken and a burbling stream to your left. Joining onto a high, well-paved track, it’s a left, flanked on both sides by remote hills. As the track evens on the brow, take the left fork that curves around the side of Red Hill. Once again the far reaching views lift your spirit and eyes, the feeling of riding along the edge of the earth lightens the legs! Crossing over the road, the track continues along the ridge, where disused

quarries cut into the hillside. This section is my favourite as it’s so dramatic and some good speed can be gained. Just before Henllyn Lake, take a left dropping down a steep grassed bridleway, to a beautiful old farmyard. (Ignore the very scary looking dogs, they are caged but sound like monsters). From here follow the lanes across the valley to the Begwyns, joining onto another beautiful old track that fringes the north side. A fun ride through a ford, speeding along the stony, grassy track until you hit the lane at the far side of the Begwyns. Nearly home now. A steep drop down the lane from here and a short climb back into Painscastle. You made it! Time for a pint of Doom Bar or Butty Bach, some fabulous sour dough bread, courtesy of the local artisan baker, Alex Gooch, or a delicious meal beside a roaring fire. Happy pedalling until next time!

Photography by Isla Hampson view more of Isla’s photography on her website: www.islahampsonphotography.virb.com

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News

Frog Launches

Team Sky Range

By Rob Eveleigh

kids’ bike manufacturer Frog has come on leaps and bounds since it set up shop last year – and the new range of Team Sky steeds look set to be a sure-fire Christmas winner. Frog unveiled the Team Sky range for children aged 2-14 – at Eurobike this summer. Co-founder Shelley Lawson, who built the firm from scratch with husband Jerry, said they were “very excited” at the chance to sell bikes with Team Sky backing. “It’s a well-respected brand and the response from the public has been phenomenal,” said Shelley. Frog spotted a gap in the market for lightweight, quality and affordable kids’ bikes that – crucially – were sold in local, independent shops where children could try them for size. After overcoming the hurdle of sourcing parts suited to junior riders, the brand has found itself working alongside big names like Shimano and Tektro helping develop components built specifically for little hands and short legs. Shelley explained: “When we started out, all the big brands had slightly forgotten about kids’ bikes – they hadn’t benefited from the improvements in materials and components for a decade. “As we’ve got bigger, it’s become easier to persuade the big manufacturers to build things specifically for us – every part of our bikes has been chosen specially for children.” The Sky link-up came about after the cycling giant approached Frog a year ago. “They spoke to a few manufacturers about producing a bike for them and chose us,” says Shelley. “It was huge

news for a company that had only been trading since February 2013. We’re very excited about the new line-up. Finally, kids’ bikes are getting the attention they deserve.” The range includes pedal-free balance bikes through a range of sizes of hybrid and drop-handlebar road bikes, all equipped with slim-grip brakes and lightweight frames – and all bearing the iconic Team Sky blue line. One independent bike store stocking the new range is Drover Cycles in Hayon-Wye, who leapt on board with Frog in summer last year. Drover co-owner Anna Heywood said: “There’s so much interest in cycling at the moment and it’s fantastic to see lots of kids saddling up, riding to school and just generally getting about on their bikes. Frog’s lightweight frames make a lot of sense for young riders as it allows them to keep up with mum, dad and older siblings. Light doesn’t mean flimsy, though, as the bikes are robust enough to withstand tumbles and the odd tantruminduced hurl to the ground! As well as selling the bikes, we’ve been running them as part of our hire fleet and we’re really impressed with their performance. We’ve also noticed an increase in the number of ‘serious’ junior cyclists, so it’s great news that Frog have linked up with Team Sky to cater for this market, too. The Frog Road 58, 67 and 70 look particularly impressive – they’re proper little road bikes!”

Frog bikes should be available in stores now. Contact Drover Cycles on 01497 822 419 or online via the website – www.drovercycles.co.uk – for more info or to discuss a Frog demo ride.

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Adventures

The plan was to ride the three highest summits in Wales Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen-y-Fan in a day

Welsh Three Peaks Challenge

ying awake listening to the howling gales, it looked like our 3 Peaks challenge was scuppered before we’d even got our tyres dirty. The plan was to ride the three highest summits in Wales – Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen-y-Fan – in a day. They totted up to a comfortable 50km – and an intimidating 7200 feet of ascent. Blimey! By the time the alarms trilled at 4am, the gales had downgraded from ‘dangerous’ to ‘worth a stab’, and promising patches of blue studded the grey skies above. Porridge. Bikes on the roof. Off to Llanberis. Snowdon’s Llanberis Path started with a steep tarmac dig before the off-road began and the gradient eased. We span up the trail, grunting and cajoling the bikes through baby-head rocks, passing a party of walkers heading down after an eventful night camped wild, their own 3 Peaks bid abandoned in face of the appalling forecast. The winds kicked back in after a steep push past Clogwyn Station, slicing through sodden gloves, and after a bitterly cold summit photo (bang-on two hours to the top), we tried to thaw our digits before scrubbing off some altitude and descending to warmer weather. Popping and hopping down the summit stairway, we crossed the railway to a loose section that steepened through jagged rocks

By Rob Eveleigh

into a series of tight hairpin switchbacks. Hairy corners skirted with dizzying plummets had me off the bike and walking in a couple of spots, but by 8.30am we were back at the motor and loading up for the drive to Cadair. In the valley, the weather was balmy and driving round to Llanfihangel-y-Pennant we thought our Cadair assault would be under sunshine. It started that way, but by the time we reached the Pony Path threatening weather lay in wait. The gales returned, dragging sheets of fog over the summit ridge cliffs like a magician whipping away a tablecloth. The temperature plunged and as we reached the boulder fields leading to the summit we were bombarded by bullets of hail. We shouldered the bikes for the final difficulties through the fog and – in one of those joyous summit moments – the skies cleared to reveal stunning views over to the glittering ocean at Barmouth. The descent felt like a ten-minute plummet, technicalities less demanding than Snowdon. Surfing loose rock, picking islands of safety from the sea of boulders, we were on vegetation – and in sunshine – again before we knew it, scooting back to the car down a dribbling rut of a stream and then swoopy grass track. We’d taken just shy of three hours. There was some respite, then, basking

in healing sunshine with sodden clothes strung along the barbed wire to dry, while we stocked up on calories and gulped down liquids. By now, the legs were starting to feel it. With six-and-a-half thousand feet of ascent nailed, we were confident, but the bit I was dreading most was coming up – the long drive down the A470 to home turf in the Brecon Beacons. Time for tired muscles to start seizing up, eyelids to droop. We’d been up since four, and our bodies were complaining. With two-and-a-half hours of driving at our backs, Pen-y-Fan came into view, its summit thrust into more angry cloud. It would be wild on top. Parking below Neuadd Reservoir, we carefully lowered sore backsides on to saddles and struck out up the Gap road to the pass between Cribyn and Fan y Big. Muscles quickly loosened. We’d both been expecting a slow and torturous dig but, bizarrely, it felt like we were flying. We shrugged, enjoying spinning up, popping front wheels over trail obstacles here and there. In a little over 20 minutes we were at the Gap and contemplating the push to the top of Pen y Fan. Without another soul on the hill, it seemed ludicrous that mountain bikers should be refused passage along what is an undesignated pathway contouring Cribyn

below the footpath. It would make a brilliant ride. Still, rules are rules – but you can’t helping thinking the CROW Act and Right to Roam maybe needs another look. The final shove up the armoured stone motorway to the summit was an agony of lactic burn and meddlesome weather. Calves sang as we shoved our useless lumps of metal and rubber to the top, swatted by the raging gales – the worst we’d experienced all day. Each foot of ascent was hard-won, snatched in moments of respite from the winds. A fall would have made casualties of both bikes and bodies. Then we were there. Naughty, I know – but we had the hill to ourselves – we pedalled the last few yards to the summit cairn, and then crawled on top of it to snap some hurried photos. It was just gone 6.30pm. We’d done the lot in thirteen-and-a-half hours. It’s not one I’m looking to repeat – the challenge is done and dusted – but certainly on Snowdon there are more adventures to be had, and I’ll definitely be back for a rematch with the Ranger Path. One thing we both took away from our day in the hills – the number of people surprised to see mountain bikes on top of mountains. It’s kind of what they’re made for, isn’t it? www.wild-rides.co.uk

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Review

Van Life

Part Two

By Jamie Booth

have owned my van for about 3 or 4 months now, since the beginning of the summer and for anybody considering buying one there are a few things that you may want to think about. Air conditioning would be useful in the summer and a window that opened in the back. The other issue is the constant complaints about the seats in the back being too upright. The advantage of this is that you can get six bicycles in the back but you can’t recline the seats. The comment that, “It’s a bit like a prison van,” has been said on numerous occasions. The other thing for anybody considering buying one of these with the intention of using it for cycling and going to places that are off the beaten track is to look at the tyre and wheel choice. If you are going to go for the big, funky alloy wheels like my orange T5, then go for the chrome effect ones, not the black ones because they don’t show up

The Golden Fleece Traditional pub in the heart of Hereford; friendly atmosphere The Golden Fleece, 1 St. Owen Street, Hereford, HR1 2JB 01432 508245

every nick, scratch and dent. Don’t go for budget tyres. I didn’t realise that mine had budget tyres until hitting a stone and finding out the side wall of the tyre had split! On a more positive note, it does hundreds of miles on the motorway; it’s economic, being no worse than a large family car; you can store lots of equipment in it, although you need discipline about cleaning it out on a regular basis; it seems to improve your driving as you can’t drive it particularly quickly and people seem to like the look of it as they often smile and wave. I have made a few modifications to my van. I’ve installed extra sockets in the back so that devices like mobile phones, cameras, bike computers and bike lights can be charged. The satellite navigation has been wired in which was retro-fitted because it was cheaper than buying the model with it already fitted. It seems great and all works fine. We’ve got a work light for the winter

which runs off of a cigarette lighter. It’s the same as the ones the police use for floodlighting a road if there’s been an accident. The one we have is on a magnet so we can put it on the back, side or front of the van so we can use it to maintain the bikes or load the van at night. We’ve ordered a simple pop-up awning that’ll go on the side which means that if we are riding in the rain during the winter we can put it up and sort the bikes out without getting soaked. Also, the theory is that if it’s hot in the summer it will provide some

No. 10 The Teashop

The Antique Tea Shop

Nutters Vegetarian Café

Delicious cakes and mouthwatering lunches to eat in or take away.

5A St. Peters Street, Hereford, HR1 2LA

Nutters, Vegetarian Café; wholefood coffee shop and licensed pavement café; Homemade food; gluten free and vegan options.

10 Church Street, Hereford, HR1 2LR 01432 371371

01432 342142 Open 6 Days a week 9-4:30pm Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and afternoon tea

Capuchin Yard, Church Street, Hereford Tel: 01432 277447

shelter where we can sit. There are a few things that still need to be done but generally it’s been a very positive experience and I can’t imagine ever going back to driving a normal car.

G & R Tudge

Herefordshire Pagan Moot

A traditional family farm, producing the highest quality meats; Christmas Geese and Turkey Orders Being Taken Now

Herefordshire Pagan Moot; A gathering of Pagan and spiritual folk; We meet on the first Wednesday of each month; All are welcome

Tel: 01584 831227 mail@tudge-meats.co.uk www.tudge-meats.co.uk

www.facebook.com/herefordshire-pagan-moot

and honoured

herefordshirepaganmoot@ gmail.com

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

News

2014 Tour Of Britain

By Sue Hughes

ollowing the three main grand tours, Italy, France and Spain, next came our very own Tour of Britain; not quite in the same league but certainly growing in popularity and attracting some very well known international riders who have ridden in the big tours, for example, Bernard Eisel, Sylvain Chavanel, Kristian House, Mark Renshaw, Sebastian

The Bike Ride

By Neil Coleman

wo years ago, a small group of us sat chatting about how the popularity of golf days seems to have dropped off. What was once the popular way to get customers out of the office for a day, get to know them and hopefully raise a few quid for a chosen charity at the same time, now seems to be a struggle to break even, let alone be a money spinner. Crazy as it may seem, we decided that cycling is the new golf and what better way to get people together than to organise a bike ride for our colleagues, peers, customers, in fact anyone who fancied joining in on a ride. As we’re involved in the paper, printing and publishing industry we managed to call in a few favours to get some promotional material out and without the help of any marketing gurus, came up with an original title for the ride. Hence the Paper, Publishing and Printing Bike Ride was born! After a quick phone call to the police regarding route planning, protracted discussions with the local village hall about sharing amenities for registration, negotiations with a local sandwich shop who agreed to supply refreshments and an investment in local ordnance survey maps, we set about planning a route in, around and to some extent over The Chilterns. At the same time, others worked on nominating a charity and set about designing a commemorative jersey that we gave away as part of the modest ride fee and on a warm, sunny day in September last year, 37 of us set off from Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire to tackle a 43 mile route which everyone enjoyed and completed. As one of the organisers it was great to see how much everyone enjoyed it and with the added bonus of a Mark Cavendish signed jersey as a raffle prize, we were delighted to raise just over £3,500 for CLIC Sargent. Upon reflection, it was interesting to see how our bikes had brought us all together and how some people, who at the start of the ride had never met each other, were chatting and pedalling together, encouraging each other up some of the climbs and racing each other

down the other side. In a similar fashion to golf, there were a few glances at the beginning of the ride, checking out who had Pinarellos and Cervelos and who’d tipped up for a day out in the countryside having dusted down a more modest bike that had a saddle that was of a similar size to armchairs that are sold in various well known furniture shops. In all cases though, we used the same roads, we did the same route and everyone really enjoyed it. So, with one year under our belt, we set about a repeat and this year’s ride has just taken place and once again The Chilterns featured heavily although we planned a shorter route of 37 miles and a longer route of 57 miles to cater for requests made from the previous year. The group taking on the longer route started off by climbing Whiteleaf Hill which features in the top 20 climbs in the country and has an average gradient of 8% for a kilometre. It proved to be a tough warm up for the keener riders who were then able to enjoy the pleasure of descending Kop Hill which exactly 7 days earlier had put some of the best riders in Europe to the test as they ascended it on the Tour of Britain. There are few other sports where you can compare yourself against professionals but cycling is one as we’re able to use the same roads and with the help of Garmins, Strava & iPhones, we can all record our results for comparison later on. Again it was a great success and having decided to focus purely on the ride rather than fundraising, raffle’s etc, we still managed to hand over £1,500 to Beating Bowel Cancer, a very worthy cause, having received fantastic support from riders and some generous companies within the industry too. So, on we turn to planning next year’s ride which is going to be bigger and better than ever. What seemed like a simple thought a couple of years ago is starting to feel as though it is true: cycling is the new golf. It’s great fun, a great way to get fit, a brilliant way to socialise but it’s even more accessible. Roll on next year’s Bike Ride.

Lander and Marcel Kittel. Twenty teams took part, each consisting of six riders, covering a distance of 1375.7 kilometers over 8 stages. British hopes were pinned on Bradley Wiggins retaining the title and Mark Cavendish winning sprint stages. Mark returned to the race after crashing out and getting injured in the Tour de France.

The tour started with massive crowd support on a lovely sunny day on the 7th September with eight laps of an eight mile circuit in the heart of Liverpool. All went well until Mark Cavendish had a crash injuring his leg. He continued to race but came third, losing the stage to Marcel Kittel of Team Giant Shimano. Stage 3 on Tuesday 9th September, saw the tour in our area starting in Newtown, passing through Knighton, Talgarth, Abergavenny and finishing up on the Tumble mountain near Monmouth. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation among the huge crowds that turned out to witness this amazing event, as there was along the rest of the tour routes. Stage 4 started in Worcester travelling through Eversham, then on to the finish line in Bristol. The tour continued over what has been described as the toughest and best yet in Britain, with long stages, steep climbs and much sweat and suffering. The leader’s yellow jersey was changing hands almost daily and by the sixth stage (no rain so far) 9 riders had withdrawn. The finale promised to be a very compelling last day in London with stage 7, an 8.8 km time trial in the morning and in the afternoon, stage 8, 10 laps of the same course with a sprint finish. Bradley Wiggins won the time trial putting him 3rd in the overall general classification and Mark Kittel just pipped Mark Cavendish to the sprint finish, making Kittel the winner of the first and last stages of the tour.

Final result placings 1st Dylan van Baarle (Netherlands) of Team Garmin Sharp 2nd Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) of team Omega Pharma-Quick Step 3rd Bradley Wiggins (British) of team Sky Yellow Jersey - Overall winner Dylan van Baarle Blue Jersey – Points winner Michal Kwiatkowski White with green polka dot jersey – Kings of the Mountains Mark McNally (Britain) - team Post Chainreaction. Green jersey – Sprint winner Sebastian Lander (Denmark) – team BMC Overall team winners IAM cycling. I am not a young active cyclist, in fact I am a great grandmother in the later stages of my life but oh, how I do like to watch competitive sport on television especially cycling and do try to get out to watch live action whenever possible. I appreciate the effort, enthusiasm and determination of all riders taking part in these events, not only the main leaders of teams but also the domestiques who tirelessly

ride back to team cars for water for the rest of the their team and often surround their leaders to help keep them safe and in the right positions within the peloton. The more I watch these races the more I learn about the sport which in turn makes it even more fascinating to watch. I would urge anyone, no matter what age, to take an interest, you will be surprised just how enjoyable it can be.

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News & Reviews

Steve Holloway, Rob Henshaw and Nicky Henshaw outside the new hub at Bennetts Business Centre, Pontesbury.

Life On The Edge

By Reanne Atherton

My typical weekend road rides are getting noticeably longer. Compared to a year ago when I was only venturing out for 10-15 miles in a day, being done and dusted in no more than an hour, and with most of that journey my main concern would be what cake to indulge in as my post ride treat. Now my training has naturally upped itself where I can be out for the majority of the day with mileage ranging from 60-100 miles, therefore making the most out of the day with a proud feeling and a satisfaction of having thoroughly worn myself out. Of course the sweet reward is still needed, whether before, during or at the end. I don’t feel as if I have to force myself to go out for epic all day rides; I just enjoy being out on the road bike a lot more than I used to. Maybe the reasons why I’m much more motivated could be as I have recently upgraded to a stunning carbon bike, making climbing those wicked hills a little easier, or it could be because I’ve become quite fond of those sportive events. I’m pretty sure my new purchase of a GPS has something to do with it. With my cycle routes branching out and becoming longer, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade my cycle computer. Until now, I have made do with a basic

speedometer which was great for distance, speed and calorie information, but to accompany my recent need to cycle further afield I wanted something a little techier; not too complicated that it results in me frantically hitting the wrong button in total frustration quick enough to see the % grade of the climb that I’m on before I reach the top. My decision to go for the Garmin Edge 500 was purely because I wanted a decent cycle computer to enhance my training, and have enough battery life to record a full day of riding that can then be uploaded onto the computer. Of course I didn’t choose it for its attractive blue colour – which happens to compliment my bike very well! I also wanted a device capable of following a set route for those longer rides in unknown territory – and for that it has been a godsend. Uploading a route onto the device is really easy. I find a bit of patience is needed plotting the initial route on the computer as it takes some time if the route is complex. I use Garmin Connect to do the plotting but there is plenty of other software available too. Once the route is complete it is as simple as plugging the device into the computer to upload it – and away I go! The route is easily accessible from the main menu. The mapping is non-existent with nothing more than an arrow pointing on

a black line (which is the road) and when the arrow strays away from the road it beeps to alert me that I have gone off course. Simple, but effective. After I had spent far too long assembling the mount with its fiddly little pieces, the sleek little GPS looked the part. Turning the device on automatically picks up the satellite signal, and once this is attained it’s ready to record some data. This particular model has just enough functions to not distract too much from the road. With a choice of what type of data you want to see on each page as you scroll through. So for me, my main priority is distance, speed, time, average speed and total ascent. If out of curiosity I want to know my calories, grade % or even the temperature I can easily press a button to find this out. Maybe it’s because this is the newest addition to my bicycle that I’ve become a little obsessed with it; flicking through the various functions it offers. So far I’m very pleased with this gadget and I would even feel a bit lost without it now. I strongly recommend treating yourself to one, whatever type of cyclist you are. You don’t have to be a pro racer or a technology geek to qualify, it can be used as a bit of fun, or a serious training tool. Either way, it will keep you spinning those legs.

Quest 88 Launches New Cycling Centre

n innovative Shropshire company and Chamber of Commerce member has opened a new shop in the county to cater for an increased demand for its unique products, just in time for October which is officially Love Your Bike Month. Quest 88 is a specialist cycle firm based in Shifnal and has won numerous awards for its equipment and customer service, having been in business for over 25 years, catering mainly for the disabled and people of limited abilities by creating specialist cycles, trikes, parallel tandems and recumbent bikes. Managing director Rob Henshaw, said: “As part of company expansion, we have now opened an ‘all ability cycle hub’ in the village of Pontesbury, near Shrewsbury. The location is ideal because we not only have a disused railway line nearby and the new cycle lane alongside the road to Minsterley, but Route 44 of the Sustrans’ National Cycle Network passes close by as well.” “We are having an official opening on 29th October, but in the meantime people are welcome to come along and view our demonstration range of Fast Forward, A2B and Roodog cycles,

as well as our adaptive cycles.” “The new centre will showcase the very latest range of electric bicycles, also known ase-bikes, which are proving to be very popular with riders young and old and with people with limited movement, as they provide a potential range of 40 to 50 miles whenpedal-assisted.” “This is not cheating, says Rob, but will help club and social riders who still wish to travel the distances that they have in the past, but possibly need a little assistance to enable them to carry on with their hobby, and the e-bikes are also ideal for commuters who want to arrive at work feeling less sticky than on a regular bike!” Based in Bennetts Business Centre, the shop will benefit from an association with ‘Cycling Guru’ Steve Holloway, of Cycle Smart, Telford, who will offer expert advice and guidance for people wishing to try out the range of specialist and e-bikes, whether they are beginners or experienced cyclists, using his vast knowledge for correct fitting and safe riding of bicycles and recumbent machines. The ‘All Ability Cycle Hub’ in Pontesbury can be contacted on 0845 604 7258

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Local - Hereford

Wheeled Sports

4 Hereford

n 2004 Anna Toon and Brian Stephens began to look into the possibility of setting up a skateboarding venue after conversations with their daughter and son respectively, having interests in wheeled sports, said there was nowhere for them to practice. A group of youngsters and volunteers came up with the idea of getting a purpose built skate park established in Hereford. A charity was formed

and became known as Wheeled Sports 4 Hereford who then spent the next three years looking for a suitable site. Then came consultations with Skaters, Bladers and BMX riders of different ages, and an architect to design a site based on what the youngsters wanted. Planning permission was applied for and then the daunting task of fundraising began. Financing the project was going to be a big

issue but with money from the National Lottery, Coop Lottery fund, City Council grant, fund raising events, donations from the Police force, many, many individual donations and putting bids in for various grants, they had enough to start. Everything took time and the kids were beginning to think it would never happen, but in 2009 the first build of phase 1 was started using concrete. Within eighteen months phase 2 was done and then within another two years (Dec 2012) phase 3 was completed. The park is in the open air and accessible for use 24 hours a day 365 days a year. At weekends from 10am to 4pm there are volunteers on site to help resolve problems, see fair play, do maintenance and gardening and more latterly to do stock filling and replenishing of drinks. The volunteers try to be there on a Wednesday and Friday afternoons to cater for college students and also, during school holidays, try to open 12noon to 4pm. The community of users and volunteers has grown considerably and now have over 1700 members on their facebook page: Hereford Skatepark. On a Saturday it’s not unusual to get an average of 300 users during a weekend and about 500 throughout the week. All of the users feel part of this community and will often help each other with the use of tools or just to give a hand perhaps with repairs. Users ages range from 2 to 48 and are a real good mix of people. As younger users and also scooter riders started using the venue they began to pose a challenge for the BMX riders. The younger riders have little, if any, spacial awareness and as the BMX bikes are big and can travel up to 20 mph, there was the risk of a serious accident; these riders had to be separated, so now on a Sunday morning 8am to 12 noon, the park is used for the under 10 year olds, learners and scooter riders then during the afternoons 12 noon to 4pm for the skateboarders, bladers and BMX riders, some of whom are of a very high standard and come from great distances, even from abroad. A ‘street’ section was completed in 2012 which goes all around the park making it one of the biggest in the country. The layout of the whole park has been the responsibility of the project group and young users. The area becomes a whole

different scene at night since full lighting was installed. At the moment a hat is passed round to collect money towards the electricity costs but eventually there will be a card token system to switch the lights on during the evenings for specific time periods. The park now has a new building consisting of two 40 foot container units, one on top of the other, designed to look like a boombox which was the concept of Jay Davis, one of the volunteers. It is nearing completion and will house a shop, repairs area and a viewing area for spectators, particularly pleasing for parents who can watch their offspring practice and perform. There is an ongoing need to continue raising funds for future developments and help cover the running costs which are about £3000 per year for such things as insurance, accounting, maintenance etc. The proceeds from the shop cover most of the running costs enabling the venture to be self sustaining. As an inspired facility the charity was given legacy money from the 2012 Olympics and during its journey around the country, the Olympic torch stopped at the park, much to the delight of all those present. The next phase, which is in the planning stages, is to build the ‘Peewee Park’; a separate designated area for those under 10’s, learners and scooter riders, this should all be completed by 2015. Future aspirations are for the building of a toilet facility, café and a proper cycling repair workshop. The local police, who have been very supportive of this venture from the beginning have said that since the opening of the park, the anti-social behaviour in relation to skateboarding & BMX riding in public places has gone down to zero. Due to the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers, Hereford Skatepark is a lasting tribute hopefully to be used by many future generations. It has been ten years in the making. A charity enterprise run completely by volunteers with a committee and trustees, dependant entirely on grants, donations and fund raising, with no funding from either local government or council.

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Disability Cycling

‘Cos you’ll look sweet upon the seat of a

BICYCLE MADE FOR TWO!

By Sarah Murray

eorgia Lyons is a special young lady. Actually she’s extremely special. I’ve known this for quite a long time having made ‘virtual’ friends with her father, Michael around 8 years ago. I had just moved to Herefordshire and in an effort (still ongoing) to improve my fitness, I started running. This caused me to join in the Runners’ World online forums where I met ‘Georgia’s Dad’ (GD) as Michael calls himself on the forums. From the warmth and affection shown to GD in the running community it was clear to me that Georgia was very much loved by all who came into contact with her. I couldn’t help but admire the close bond the family have and how each member of the family joins in to support Sarah and Michael who strive to give Georgia the best opportunities available to her. ‘What’s all this got to do with cycling?’ I hear you cry. Well, I’m coming to that bit but first, let me introduce you to Georgia. Georgia was born, thirteen weeks early, weighing 1lb and 4oz. She had a major operation on her bowel in the first two weeks of her life and was on and off ventilation over the next two years. Georgia has Ataxic Cerebral Palsy and Chronic Lung Disease. She has learning difficulties and goes to Fred Nicholson School (Special School). Although relying heavily on a wheelchair Georgia is a very active young lady, who enjoys the outdoors including camping, walks in the woods and even going up mountains in her off road wheelchair (Trekinetic K-2). She also loves holidays, especially floating with a life ring in the Red Sea while her father scuba dives and her mother snorkels. She loves kayaking and has even gone across the desert in a dune buggy. Georgia rides a horse and in 2011 she came 3rd in the RDA Nationals Junior 1A Dressage. With school she enjoys swimming, sailing, kayaking, zorb balling and roller skating (with Mum and Dad holding her up).

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Georgia has completed the R4L 3 times in her wheelchair which included her getting out and walking over the line herself which was a very special moment in her life. It comes as no surprise to me that Georgia is so active given the people who surround her. After a family friend ran the London Marathon 2003 to raise money for a tricycle for Georgia, Michael decided to start running and ran his first of 3 London Marathons the following year raising £6000 for East Anglian Children’s Hospices. After having a hernia operation Michael had problems running and so started cycling up to 70 miles and swimming up to 100 lengths of the local pool. See! I told you we’d get around to cycling! After Michael’s first marathon in 2004 Sarah also started running and Michael would ride alongside her with Georgia in a cycle seat on the back of his bike. In 2013 Sarah and Michael ran the London Marathon again to raise the money for Georgia’s off road wheelchair. What I really want to tell you about though is Georgia’s tandem bicycle. The idea of the tandem came about after

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Georgia grew out of her tow-along and her trike which had been slow for her and as she struggles with her co-ordination, she could never go off on her own. Michael and Sarah had money left over in the off-road wheelchair fund and decided it would be much better to spend it on something Georgia had always enjoyed which they could all do together so they hatched a plan to buy and convert a tandem. The rear cranks were removed and a foot plate with SPD pedals added so Georgia can have her feet securely fixed but still have movement in her ankles. They also installed a new seat post with a wrap round seat guard so she can’t lose balance and fall off. To this, they have added a very large, padded seat!!!! Lucky Georgia! This means she has a safe and secure place to sit while joining in with the whole family. Since adapting the tandem, Georgia enjoys her cycling trips and has travelled up to 20 miles on the back, even in the rain. She has been on rides with her brother running alongside allowing Georgia to support him with his training. He has also run the London Marathon and is a PE and ICT teacher at one of the local

High Schools. Georgia has also been on rides with her grandmother and her partner who are also keen cyclists. Mum, Sarah has now bought a road bike so the family can all ride together and chat to Georgia while they make their way through the Norfolk countryside. Michael told me that “the freedom and joy that being able to go on bike rides brings to Georgia is amazing. She can be in a bad mood but once she gets on the back of the tandem her whole mood changes and the smile on her face is worth all the effort I have to put in to pedal up front!! She does give me lots of support from the back and enjoys the downhill fast bits.” The family have the added bonus of living in Norfolk which is relatively flat and the smaller roads they cycle on are quiet. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Georgia is, indeed, a very special young lady. I told Michael that she is lucky to have Sarah and Michael as parents. I knew exactly what his answer would be and Michael didn’t disappoint when he said, “No, we’re very lucky to have her.” Lucky indeed. I for one feel very humbled and more than a little bit lazy!

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

Electric Bikes

E-Day By Jeni Hughes

don’t cycle much these days, mainly because I’m surrounded by hills and as everyone who knows me will testify... I don’t do hills! So when I got an invitation to take part in an Electric Day with the opportunity to ride an electric bike and drive an electric car, I jumped at the chance. I arrived at West View Guesthouse in Llowes and met Ian Foster, one of the founders of the Eco Travel Network (ETN), a not-forprofit company that rents out the electric cars. The bike I was given to ride was a Raleigh Motus supplied by Drover Cycles in Hay. This is a new model from Raleigh with an alleged 118 mile range, which I thought would be handy if I ended up getting lost! It has 5 power settings and 10 gears, handy for getting up all those hills, and wide handlebars which helped to make the bike feel stable. The power was delivered through a crank driven motor as opposed to some cheaper models that have a motor on the front wheel. Anna from Drover led us out on a guided ride and as soon as we set off I instantly felt the assistance from the motor, even in a low power, but it really came into its own when we hit the first hill going into Hay. A quick press of the button into high power and it was not much harder than cycling on the flat. Wonderful. There then followed a leisurely ride on the cycle path along the river through Hay then via the back roads of Llanigon and Velindre ending up at Talgarth Mill for an enjoyable lunch break. I hadn’t even broken into a sweat! The return journey was in the quirky little Renault Twizy, a cute-looking 2 seater electric ‘car’. I must admit it felt a little bit like a go-kart when I sat in it for the first time. The lack of any engine noise was a bit unnerving but I soon settled into the drive. As we turned off the main road at Llyswen and onto the back roads to Hay I really started to enjoy this little fun vehicle as it felt quite nippy on the smaller

roads. It was an attention grabber too and raised a few eyebrows and cheeky smiles from onlookers along the journey. I think I must have been smiling quite a lot too. With a top speed of 50mph and a range of around 50 miles, the Twizy is an ideal vehicle for all those short journeys we do when our internal combustion powered cars barely even get warm. The Twizy can be charged very simply by plugging into any 3-pin socket so no need for specific charge points. The idea behind ETN started as an innovative green transport project to show how an alternative transport system could work in rural areas. Alison Kidd and Peter Williams converted a petrol B-Bug to electric powered and ran an 18 month trial but they found it was very difficult to insure. They then won £10,000 in a competition at Hay Festival and were able to use this money to subsidise buying the first few Twizys. After being awarded a grant from the Brecon Beacons Sustainable Development Fund in 2012, Alison, Peter and Ian set up the Eco Travel Network and started to hire out the Twizys to businesses. At the time they were the only company in the country to hire out electric vehicles. They have since won Edinburgh Green Transport prize and more recently the Low Carbon Champions Award 2014. ETN have recently run a very successful trial on the Isle of Egg where fuel is very expensive and they hope to run similar trials on other islands around Great Britain. Their next project is to try to produce an off-road powered wheelchair to enable less able people to more easily access the countryside. The event was organised by the Brecon Beacons Good Business Sense Programme as part of the Rural Alliances project and funded by the EU’s Interreg IVB NWE programme together with the Welsh Government’s Targeted Match Funding programme.

E-bikes can be hired from: www.drovercycles.co.uk For more information about ETN or to hire a Twizy visit: www.ecotravelnetwork.co.uk

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Veteran-Cyle Club

Veteran-Cycle Club Hereford Section

Red Dragon Weekend 20/21 September 2014

By Bob Damper

his was the third in the series of annual Red Dragon weekends centred on Rhosgoch in Powys, mid-Wales (Radnorshire in old money) organised by Dave Twiddy, and profiting from the enviable facilities of the local golf club, something of a social institution in these parts. For whatever reason, there were many fewer overnighters this year, which hit Saturday’s numbers in particular, although attendance picked up very satisfactorily with daytrippers for the Sunday. But anything we may have lacked in numbers was more than made up in quality, with some fine companionship over the weekend. After Friday’s bouts of heavy rain, Saturday dawned dry but somewhat dull and cloudy, with a definite autumn nip in the air. From my usual base at the Baskerville Arms in Clyro, it was a very pleasant 4 mile amble over the substantial hills to Rhosgoch to meet the others for a pre-ride coffee and chat. Dave certainly uses his local knowledge to good effect in planning these rides, and had devised a lovely route through quiet lanes via Newchurch, Michaelchurchon-Arrow and Brilley Mountain, where we encountered the border with England. It was unpatrolled at this time and as there was no customs control to be seen, or anyone to check passports, we took the opportunity to sneak across unhindered. Shortly after the border crossing, we encountered one of the many short, sharp hills that abound in these parts, which we attacked with gusto. So much gusto in fact that Dave suffered, as Dr. Spooner might have said, a choken brain. However, the combined mechanical nous

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of the various engineers present, plus the Cyclo chain riveter tool produced from the ample depths of Bob’s Chossy saddlebag, soon unchoked the brain and got Dave back to mobility (if not nobility) again, although a minor oversight in threading the chain fore instead of aft of the guide in the derailleur chain-cage necessitated another short stop and demonstration of collective practical engineering ingenuity to achieve final resolution of the problem. Time for lunch! This was had at the very acceptable Royal Oak hostelry in Kington. On emerging from the pub, suitably refreshed, we were pleased to see that the weather had brightened a little for the afternoon. A rather nasty climb out of Kington past Croft Gardens then took us to open country and the Offa’s Dyke path across Hergest Ridge, where Dave showed us the remains of what is apparently believed (seriously) to be a Roman chariot race course! At the crest of the ridge, from (according to Garmin) our height of 1371 feet, the views were spectacular with the Black Mountains prominent to the south. Easy riding across short sheep-grazed grass then took us back across the border into Wales and down the steep and stony descent off of the ridge into Gladestry. More narrow, hilly lanes led us to Huntington and, bewilderingly, back into England. Here, Blunders insisted on a short diversion to show us the highly rustic local Swan pub, which in days past had done a roaring Sunday trade by virtue of its position just a few hundred yards outside “dry” Wales. Although entry was denied us at this time by Saturday afternoon closure, I got the distinct impression that Blunders was not entirely a stranger to the pub’s interior. From here, pleasant roads (if a bit uppity and downity)

returned us safely to Rhosgoch and the end of a lovely day out in magical country. Sunday dawned bright and clear, as lovely a late September day as you might wish for. Coffee and chat were again the order of the day at the golf club, before setting out through the lanes via Bryngwyn and Glasnant to plunge down the ultrasteep descent into the village of Glascwm. Here, the old youth hostel, which before that served as the village school, was a forlorn looking sight. This was sad to see in view of the many enjoyable stays that I have had here over the years. The YHA has certainly lost its way badly since the days of my youth, seemingly no longer being at all interested in catering for adventurous travellers in our wilder places. Ah well! Immediate compensation was to be had in the delightful roughstuff crossing of the Giant’s Grave track from Glascwm to our lunch stop at Hundred House that Dave

served up next. Apparently, Steve Griffith had introduced him to this track a few weeks back and very nice too. At the top (1462 feet, thank you, Garmin), we lingered by the round barrow that gives this route its name to appreciate the beautiful views all around, and especially of the Brecon Beacons away to the south west, looking splendid in the bright autumn sunlight. Following a very acceptable lunch at the Hundred House Inn, we took the undulating lanes route back to Glascwm, where the entire party quit saddles and put feet to tarmac for the ascent of the fearsome climb out of the village. This even included young Joe, who up to that point in the day had given us an impressive demonstration of how to ride a 72-inch fixed gear in mountainous country. A slight variation on the morning route then took us back via Newchurch and more undulations to Rhosgoch, to conclude another excellent Red Dragon weekend. Here’s to next year’s!

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Issue 03 - Winter 2014

News

End of Race Results 1st A.Contador 2nd C.Froome 3rd A.Valverde

Overall leader. Red Jersey A.Contador Points winner. Green Jersey J.Degenkolb

La Vuelta a España

Combined. White jersey. A.Contador King of the mountains. Blue/White polka dot. L.L.Sanchez

By Sue Hughes

he Grand Tour, as always, started with a grand flourish in the city of Jerez de la Frontera in south western Spain. There were a possible five main riders contending for the overall general classification and thereby getting the Red leader’s Jersey: Alberto Contador (Spanish) of team Tinkoff Saxo, Chris Froome (British) of team Sky, Jocquin Rodríguez (Spanish) of team Katusha; there was not a clear leader of team Moviestar when the race started, could have been either Alejandro Valverde

(Spanish) or Nairo Quintana (Colombian), but as Quintana crashed out after hitting a barrier in the mountain, the leader became obvious. Both Froome and Contador were to prove their fitness after six weeks, when coming back from injuries sustained in The Tour de France - both pulled out of that race, Froome with a broken hand and Contador with a hairline fracture of the Tibia. 198 Riders from 36 countries started the race, made up of 22 teams each of 9 riders, there was a ‘wild card’ team riding, MTN

Qhubeka, from South Africa, the first time a team from Africa has taken part. 38 Riders did not finish the tour, two of which were disqualified for fighting! Contador took the lead in the mountains and retained the Red Jersey to the end. Chris Froome put up a good fight and tried to take back some time in the final time trial stage but was unable to better Contador. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen did the commentary with their usual expertise and the views from the helicopter cameras were as spectacular as ever. Temperatures

Saddle Up by Reanne Atherton

remember when I used to work in my local bicycle shop, more often than not, the swapping of the standard saddle seemed to be a regular occurrence. The bike would be purchased, the mechanic would do all of the safety checks and within minutes the request for a more comfortable saddle would be made. It may even have taken someone a week or so to put up with a sore rear end before they came marching back into the store in quest of eliminating that uncomfortable feeling. This saddle dilemma was more noticeable amongst the female customers in particular. For the men it wasn’t as much of a priority to them. With so much choice out there now, it can be a minefield. From the untrained eye they can all look the same. There are subtle differences in each one. Believe it or not, some of the most comfortable saddles are the hardest looking ones. It’s not always about that squidgy

feel you think you need; hoping someone has come up with a mini sofa construction at long last. The comfort comes from the sit bones being correctly positioned on the saddle and that the angle is spot on so that there is no unnecessary pressure where there shouldn’t be. Different cycling disciplines all require the body to be in a variety of sitting positions to get the most out of your performance. For the down on the drop bars in race mode style, the sitting position will be different to a more upright recreational rider. Therefore the saddle will differ slightly to accommodate this. So whether you are a speed demon, an endurance cyclist, a leisurely cruiser, or the off road mountain bagger; there is a saddle out there to suit your favoured discipline. Saddle design has improved greatly and ladies are able to get a women specific fit, with the shape structured to better fit the female

anatomy. With some brands, not only do they offer a saddle for every occasion, but there is also a choice of width for that precise sit bone comfort while you are in your preferred riding position. One very useful appliance I used to encourage customers to use was the body geometry bum measurer! Once customers had got over the embarrassment of my straight faced suggestion of measuring their bottom, they actually found it very useful. It is a fairly accurate tool for measuring your sit bones. Simply a soft pad made up of memory foam leaving an imprint of the sit bones. Being more of an endurance cyclist myself, it wasn’t long before I was on the lookout for a saddle which would still be comfortable even after miles of sitting on it. I fully understand the importance of finding that perfect companion. Once you’ve found it, if I was you I wouldn’t let it go!

ranged from a sweltering 42 degrees to cold heavy rain in the mountains. There were enormous crowds all along the route to witness this wonderful event, needless to say the finish in Santiago de Compostela was phenomenally supported. David Millar, a British rider, was retiring at the end of the race and gave a very emotional interview at the end.

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News

Brooks Saddle

A Look Back at the

Career of David Millar

avid Millar was born on 4th January 1977 in Scotland. He now lives in Girona with his wife Nicole and two sons Archibald and Harvey. As a 19-year-old in 1996, Millar headed to France with dreams and a meagre grant, to pursue a professional career in cycling, choosing to do this instead of going to study at art college. He turned professional in 1997 and during his career, has ridden for Cofidis 19972004, Saunier Duval 2006-2007 and then with Garmin Sharp of which he is still a part owner. He first rose to prominence as a 23-year-old in 2000 when in his first tour he won the opening prologue time trial over a distance of 16 km in the Tour de France and has since gone on to achieve an impressive array of overall and stage wins He was the first British cyclist to wear race leaders jersey in all three major tours: France 1997, Spain 2001 and Italy 2008. Other wins include: Volta a la

By Sue Hughes

la Sarthe, Tour of Burgos, Three days of West Flanders, Paris-Nice and Chrono des Nations, he also came third overall in the 2010 Commonwealth Games road race and second in the 2010 World Championship time trial. Millar became a close friend of Lance Armstrong and in 2001 Armstrong asked Millar to join his team, their friendship came to an end in Paris at the end of the Tour de France in 2007 in a stand up row over drugs. When living in Biarritz in 2004 Millar admitted and was arrested for taking EPO drugs, he was banned from cycling for two years and stripped of his World Time Trial championship rainbow jersey which he had won in 2003 and at his own request stripped of his stage 19 win in the 2003 Tour de France. Since returning to cycling he has been an avid and determined crusader against doping. In 2007-2008 Millar, along with Jonathan Vaughters, became a founder member of the Slipstream

retire from cycling after 17 seasons and confirmed his decision in a video interview given to the Dutch cycling magazine Wieler Revue. Amongst controversy over his health, Millar was disappointed to be left out of the Tour de France squad just days before the grand start, which would have been his last opportunity to ride a 13th and final tour, beginning on home soil in Leeds. He rode his last race at the end of the 2014 season, the Tour of Britain and gave an emotional interview during which he said, “I just don’t want it as much as I once did.” He has admitted to suffering increasingly from health and injury problems as the last 20 years on the road have taken their toll, he also said he wants to spend more time with his wife and two sons. Millar wrote an autobiography entitled ‘Racing Through the Dark; The Fall and rise of David Millar’, which was published by Orion Publishing Group Ltd, on 28th June 2012, in which he tells of his dark

Other major wins during his career are:

2000 – Stage 1 Tour de France opening prologue individual time trial. 2001 – Stages 1 & 6 Spanish Vuelta. Won the Tour of Denmark. 2002 – Stage 13 Tour de France. 2003 – Stage 17 Vuelta and Stage 19 Tour de France individual time trial. 2006 – Stage 14 Vuelta. Became British national individual pursuit champion. 2007 – Became British national road race champion and British national time trial champion. 2008 – Stage 1 Italian Giro d’Italia, team time trial. 2009 – Stage 20 Vuelta time trial. 2010 - Won Commonwealth Games time trial and Stage 3 individual time trial in Criterium International. 2011 – Stage 21 Giro individual time trial 2012 – Stage 12 Tour de France. Comunitat Valenciana; mountains classification, Overall in the Circuit de la Sarthe, Tour of Denmark, Three day of De Panne, Tour of Picardie and the Edinburgh Nocturne. Stage wins in Tour de I’Avenir, Three days of De Panne, Route de Sud, Tour of Denmark, Circuit de

cycling squad, this became GarminSlipstream, an American team which turned into one of cycling’s leading teams and is now sponsored by Garmin Sharp and for whom Millar last rode. At the age of 37 in January of 2014, Millar announced his intention to

period. He is still part owner of the team Garmin Sharp and says, “I’ll always have that involvement, I have such an emotional investment in that team, but I’d like to help young riders, perhaps in some kind of mentoring or coaching role.”

By Blunders How long should a leather sprung black Brooks cycle saddle last? Reminiscing on all the miles that have past All those including me that have sat on And complained about their aching bottom. £29.50 was the pricy sum It started life on my Dawes Tandem ‘Twas when I was aged around thirty three The stoker was then- Stephanie That relationship failed with the passing of time But as usual things turned out fine Along came Myfanwy To sit on and take to the saddle immediately The saddle had lasted thirteen years all told But like the saddle I refused to admit to getting old I preferred to immature with age This sends Myff into a grown up feminine rage I was given the choice to “Grow up or get out!” Bugger- what was that in aid of- what’s this all about? One day I found my clothes packed in bin liners and on the lawn No female posterior on it...is the saddle now feeling all forlorn? A new home is found for the Brooks saddle A mountain bike is what I’d straddle Christened Hawkwind as it was a Silver Machine Many thousands of miles now the saddle has seen But Hawkwind gave up the ghost And Scott the highbred became the saddles host How many pub miles the saddles done now...who knows One, Two or six with countless zeros A broken dropout spelt the death of Scott But the saddle was not forgot It’s now on Merida my shopping cycle But whilst delivering the Kington Chronicle did the saddle deliberately to my bum become spiteful? The saddle was extremely expensive at the time But I’m now aged fifty eight, a month off fifty nine Question if it was ever really comfortable But being unemployed a new one is unaffordable The saddles tension adjusting rod has stripped its thread So is the Brooks saddle now...finally dead? Or will a couple blobs of weld do the trick And once again to the pub my bum on the Brooks saddle sit?

What To Wear For winter cycling

he main issue is how to wick sweat away from the body and avoid getting a chill. Layering of clothing works all the time in theory, so what I wanted to do, was outline a few ideas and include a few tips I’ve picked up along the way, on what to wear and how to keep warm when riding in the winter. The main thing is to try not to get too cold; it’s really important to keep your body and head warm. The old pros used to shove a newspaper down their cycle jersey to keep the wind chill out and I’ve even used a plastic bag on a recent trip to the Alps. There are a number of options and fabrics that can be used, some new and some old. I never really understood the use of Gortex over more traditional waterproofs; I understand the theory, but having used the product when sailing, climbing, canoeing and cycling, it just doesn’t work for me. The idea is to create a seal to force sweat through the membrane but I can’t seem to do this, as I get too hot. I recently got involved with a project in South Wales and noticed that all the old pros

were wearing Merino Wool jerseys over a cotton T-shirt; these did just fine in the wind and rain at the coast. I tried using the Casteli string vests as a base layer for a month, but in the end I went back to North Face thermal base layers and in the winter I use M & S long sleeved thermals as recommended by my granny. From about March to October, I wear normal length cycling shorts and Merino socks, adding Nano Flex knee warmers as the weather gets colder, but when it is really cold and wet, I don tights or long johns and over shoes. The top half is more complex: I wear a North Face base layer and Nano Flex arm warmers, other times a thermal layer and a windproof of some sort with full finger gloves on my hands. In recent years I have started to carry a spare pair of gloves when it’s wet, because after a coffee shop stop, it’s such a nice feeling to put on a dry pair. In really bad weather I also put on a Neopreen skull cap under my helmet. Summer time is much less of a problem, one simply has to remove sweat moisture and protect the body from UV rays.

By Paul Trepte at Trekitt

Hiking Backpack Gear Whats in our packs B ack in the day when I first started mountain walking the only way to keep your kit dry inside your rucksack was to stuff a bin liner inside your pack first and then cram everything inside. Whilst this was a simple and effective solution it had its drawbacks. When you needed to get at the bit of kit at the bottom of the pack you had to unpack everything else (usually in the pouring rain) just to get at it, no matter how organised you thought your packing was. This could be exasperating in foul weather or in emergency situations; imagine trying to find your first aid kit when a friend is bleeding heavily. It’s stressful enough without having to search for the emergency kit in the first place. Despite being made from plastic, and therefore waterproof, unless you were prepared to tie a knot in the top of the bin liner it could easily let water in and then all your kit would be wet, and stay

wet for the whole day. Constant delving in and out of the flimsy bin liner could easily rip it, rendering it useless. Nowadays the solution provided by most pack manufacturers to keep your kit dry is the ubiquitous pack cover. These are normally PU coated waterproof fabric covers that stretch over the pack. Whilst this can be an effective solution it cannot guarantee to keep everything inside your pack completely dry. The covers don’t cover the whole pack, and when you encounter the kind of driven horizontal rain we often experience in the UK hills, the water will find a way in. Rucksack covers can be blown off by strong gusts of wind and there is also the practical problem of accessing your kit. You still have to remove the cover to get access to the pack potentially exposing the contents to the elements and you’ll still have to delve around to find exactly what you need.

At Trekitt we advocate the use of Exped Fold Drybags to both protect and organise the contents of your pack. These inexpensive bags are based on the original canoe bags used by river guides and are therefore completely waterproof and come in a variety of sizes, colours and fabric weights. A selection of bags will keep your kit dry, dust free and organised. My “hill” pack stays packed all of the time so all I have to do is chuck it on and get out there and I can also easily check what may be missing (nicked by my kids) or needs replacing. To give you some idea of how to use these versatile bags I have listed below how I organise my “hill” pack. Please bear in mind that I am Mr Cautious and always over pack, I suppose this is a hang up of being an ex-mountain rescue team member.

In the main compartment:

Exped Fold Drybag Medium Black - Mountain Hardware Ultralamina 35 sleeping bag (I told you I was Mr Cautious).

Exped Fold Drybag Medium Olive - Jetboil Flash (including 100g gas canister) Spork, Coffee, Whitener, Sugar, Hot Chocolate and Trek N Eat freeze dried meal. Exped Fold Drybag X-Small Olive - Food and snacks, usually dried fruit and nuts, Snickers bar and some flapjack. Exped Fold Drybag Ultralite Medium Red - Lifesystems Adventurer First Aid Kit, Black Diamond Spot headtorch, spare batteries, emergency bivvy bag. Exped Fold Drybag Ultralite X-Small Orange - Rab Bergen overtrousers. Exped Fold Drybag Small Yellow - Rab Bergen Jacket.

Exped Drybag Ultralite X-Small Red - Rab Strata jacket (spare insulation) Exped Drybag Ultralite Small Yellow - Hats and gloves

Source Widepac 2.0 litre hydration bladder - I only half fill this and then top up if needed using a Sawyer Mini Filter. The other advantage of this system is that I can quickly and easily transfer kit from one pack to another, so if I’m going climbing I’ll grab the first aid pack and the jetboil pack and stuff them into

My “hill” pack is a Gregory Z35 and always contains the following with a total pack weight of around 8.5kg (depending on amount of water and food).

In the top pocket:

Map - in a waterproof Ortlieb map case (the only map case worth buying). Garmin Etrex GPS (just in case) - in an Aquapac waterproof case.

Mobile phone in an Aquapac waterproof case - I can use the phone whilst it is in the case. Sawyer mini filter and 1 litre pouch - to top up the bladder and to gather water for cooking (it’s lighter than carrying spare water).

In the hip belt pocket:

Energy gel - I am getting on a bit!

Silva Type 4 compass with tachometer - all the compass you’ll ever need!

Lifesystems plastic mountain whistle - plastic so it doesn’t stick to your lips in freezing conditions.

my climbing bag; or if I’m going on a longer trek I’ll transfer what’s needed to my large pack along with the kit specifically required for that trip (tent, kip mat, spare clothes etc). You can also

easily adapt the contents of each bag to suit the conditions. Once you get used to using drybags you’ll never go back, but beware they can become addictive!

For more info on the products above visit www.trekitt.co.uk