The Rotor

Review – Continental GP4000S

July 23rd, 2010 § 0

Mamas gp4000s One of the most agonising or easy choices (depending on your point of view) is deciding which rubber to fit on your rims. My road bike came shod with Vittoria 25mm and were beginning to show some wear at the end of the harsh winter. So, about 4 months ago, I switched to these slightly slimmer Continental’s – the 23mm Grand-Prix 4000S.

As a big supporter of that other Teutonic rubber manufacturer Schwalbe, this switch-up is tantamount to massive betrayal - a two-timing, double-crossing desertion. Okay, steady on. At least they are German and I am more than willing to accept that the typical stereotype of Germanic efficiency is just as much at work in tyres, as it is with everything else that hails from the land of Beer Steins and Sauerkraut. They give you that smugness of ownership that no doubt follows every salesman who ever stepped into a BMW. You just know that they are going to work.

The Technical Bit

There are a number of features on these tyres.

First up, is something called a Vectran belt, an anti-puncture feature based on a Liquid-Crystal Polymer turned into a yarn, which according to Continental is lighter and stronger than other traditional layers, such as Nylon. This belt, which sits under the outer rubber casing should prevent small flints being pressed into the inner tyre, causing long-term wear punctures – as well as providing some sort of protection against the usual flotsam and jetsam of the road. Vectran has long been used in the sailing industry, so I’ll just take Continental’s word for it – that it is proven stuff.

The tyre also features the Black Chili compound, actually very small soot particles embedded into the outer rubber casing. Although, “very small” doesn’t cover it, since these particles are of the magnitude of 00000001 metres. These particles mould to the rubber surface giving the tyre better grip. Apparently the “S” (Special Edition) in the GP4000S is an advancement of the Black Chili that has been around since 2007. Any advancement in rolling resistance and grip is good enough for me.

Apart from the above, there is not much to say – I bought the black folding version and had no problems in fitting or filling with air. The tyre features a silver Grand Prix logo with a checkered flag.

The Ride

Switching from the 25mm to 23mm, there is an immediate difference. The bike felt a lot more flighty and it actually took a few rides before I felt comfortable with the new setup. Was it my imagination that I was getting a bit more km/h? Of course, all of this newly found speed could be due to the drop in circumference and less rolling weight, although I am convinced that new equipment can often lead to thinking yourself faster rather than any scientifically measured gain. Whatever the result of changing tyre size, I was more than happy with this choice. Harking from the world of big knobs (no sniggering please), I am often left with a feeling of panic at the decided lack of tread on modern day road tyres. However, I had to be content with the knowledge that the softer Black Chili compound used by Continental would impart that 30% more grip as advertised. The more I cornered, the more I began to lean the bike like a real pro – actually maybe new equipment can make you faster – if only due to the confidence instilled by quality of manufacture.

In 4 months, I have not had one puncture and I even rode the bike on a 5 Km section of forest road, no tarmac and full of grit and sharp stones. Blame this on trying to find a new loop to ride and the “road” looked okay on Google Earth! Not something I want to repeat on a shiny Carbon Fibre bike shod with skinny tyres and no suspension. No signs of any overdue wear either.

A lot of people swear by the GP4000 and as yet, I have no complaints.

Continental GP4000S

Gold Rush

July 16th, 2010 § 0

Often as a cyclist you will have an eye on some particular route or climb that you would like to tackle. Hence, I found myself in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle in a very wet Dumfries and Galloway yesterday. I was there to tackle the Wanlockhead Gold Rush. An old school mountain bike route of around 50 Km that takes you up into the hills surrounding Wanlockhead, a village nestled amongst the southern uplands, which has the coveted glory of being the highest in Scotland. As well as this lofty accolade, Wanlockhead came into existence because of the rich minerals that existed in the surrounding area. Lead, Copper, Zinc and Silver have all been mined in this area, an industry that probably started with those enterprising Romans, who exploited the area for its mineral wealth. Gold was also found and the hills surrounding Wanlockhead gave birth to some hectic enterprise’s in the 16th Century. Mining petered out in the 1950’s though and these days, you still might find the odd pan-handler looking to discover their fortune.

The bike route starts from the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle and for the first 10 Km, follows the west bank of the River Nith. You take the main driveway of the castle and then turn left as you come to the river. The first half of this is wooded on typical forest track. For the first hour, it rained incessantly hard and I could already feel my winter boots filling up with water. July in Scotland! I pressed on though and eventually the route opens up a little. There was a small landslide just after Crairiehill – as some of the bank had sluiced into the river, some 20m below, but it is all passable by bike. The going was very wet with many standing (and deep) puddles to negotiate. Thankfully, the weather eased up a little and I could afford to feel a little more optimistic. After skirting a farm field, you drop down onto a tarmac single-track road, turn right and follow this for another 4Km to the bridge at Eliock Grange.

There is a short section on the A76 south, before turning up the B797 road at Mennock. After 1 Km, there is a left hand farm track across a bridge followed by a brutal climb up to the farm at Auchentaggart. After the farm, you are on the open moorland. This is the time to start counting the farm gates to pass through; there are many…

Gold Rush - Auchentaggart Moor Skirting the trees on Auchentaggart Moor

The clouds still looked a bit ominous, but the rain dried up to the odd spit and the views were pretty good across the open rolling hills. From here you follow the track until you come to the Southern Upland Way, a coast to coast walking route from Portpatrick to Cockburnspath. A right turn and your on the path, which you follow all the way to Wanlockhead. At first, this is all rideable across spongy bog but there is a nasty kick up a very steep climb, which is not-rideable. In fact, pushing the bike for 15-20 mins makes for pretty hard going. Thankfully, at the top of this mound, you can remount, climbing up and over the hills until you drop back down on a grassy path to Cogshead. As you look up the moor, you can see the path and it looks pretty tortuous – it is! However, despite being a slug-fest, it is mostly rideable, although my heart rate hardly dropped below 90%.

Gold Rush - Southern Upland Way On the Southern Upland Way

The path skirts around the left of Glengaber Hill and there is a thankful respite for the legs as you drop down the hillside to Wanlock Water. Across the valley, you cannot miss the grey scars of early mineworking’s; the rubble tips and abandoned dwellings showing the industry that once thrived here.

Gold Rush - Abandoned mine workings at Wanlockhead Abandoned working’s at Wanlockhead

Coming into Wanlockhead itself, the rain began to pick up again. This felt more like winter than July and I received another soaking before I made the village. I decided to stop in the Visitor Centre and Museum of Lead Mining for a breather and a brew. There were plenty of Touring Cyclists but no daft mountain bikers. When the rain eased, it was back into the saddle – trying to erase the cold clammy feeling of dampness by movement. The route continues on the Southern Upland Way and there is more climbing – a brutish kilometre up Stake Hill – I nearly made it but had to dab a foot or two. It is a hard section this up to a small single-track service road, which leads up to the radar system used by NATS (National Air Traffic Services). The climbing continues on the road up to the first communications mast.

Gold Rush - Lowther Hill Lowther Hill

I am not sure what the gradient is of this little dinky road – but I am pretty sure it kicks up to 20% in places. Once you get around the side of the first mast with your lungs still intact, a small track drops towards a beleach, with East Mount Lowther on the other side. I mistakenly thought, that it would be all a nice downhill from here but unfortunately, in this terrain, you cannot switch off. The route drops down a steep-sided valley with the Enterkin Burn on your left-hand side, following a sheep track that is sometimes hard to find. The drop down to the burn is very steep in places, so this is a very tricky section. I would say that a lot of this is un-rideable – despite what you may have read elsewhere. Especially near the bottom, the track weaves around the burn, which you have to cross 3 or 4 times. After a few days of rain, this is a real pest and difficult on its own, never mind with a bike.

Gold Rush - The sheep track following the Enterkin Burn The route is to the left of the telegraph poles

Eventually, the track, faint in places, brings you to a rough Landrover track, which you take on the left. This is a beast of a climb and my tired legs would not take me up. At the first switchback, you go right onto a sheep track. Again, a lot of this was un-rideable and difficult to navigate. My advice would be to skirt around a few small hills – keeping to the right quite high up until the faint sheep track drops to a few section’s of trees. Once you are in the trees, you skirt around a few fields and eventually pop out onto a single-track road at Inglestone. It is mostly downhill from here, until you reach the A702 and then turn right at the Drumlanrig Castle sign at Holestane.

Ride Review

Pro’s

There is no doubt that this is a “Big Country” ride. The views across the rolling Southern Uplands is stupendous. If you are fed up with trail centres and are looking for something a bit more adventurous, then this type of old school ride will definitely take you there. With Wanlockhead village roughly half way, it is an ideal spot for refreshments and a breather. There is plenty of wildlife in the area apart from the usual farm stock – Golden Eagles, Curlew, Grouse. The weather on the open moor can change quickly, so go prepared and make sure you have everything to take care of a mechanical – otherwise it will be a very long walk home.

Con’s

Route finding isn’t easy at times so make sure you pack a map – at least OS Landranger 1:50000. The route passes through a lot of farm terrain and the number of gates and stiles you have to negotiate becomes a little bit tedious – they continually rob you of any rhythm, which is horrible. Weather-wise, I would say choose a dry day after a prolonged period of dry weather. I had to negotiate a lot of boggy ground, which sucked in the front wheel and the continuous crossing of the swollen Enterkin Burn was problematical if you wanted to avoid wet feet. The route is not completely ride-able with quite a few walking sections – there are no major technical obstacles but the terrain is difficult and challenging, especially near the end when limbs are becoming tired. Farm Land means s**t and lots of it. After a while, it becomes tiresome and not exactly picturesque.

Would I recommend this route? Probably not – it is nice in parts and makes for a great challenge, but there are just too many farm obstacles for it to have any rhythm. There are better – more cycle friendly – alternatives in Scotland.

Statistics

Time: 05:55
Distance: 48.94 Km
Elevation Gain: 1350 m
Avg HR: 151 BPM

Farm Gates Opened: 17
Stiles Negotiated: 8
Birds of Prey: 1 Buzzard / 2 Eagles (something big anyway and not a Buzzard)
Sheep spotted: 700
Grouse Scared: 4

Wanlockhead Gold Rush Elevation

Tour de France begins…

July 3rd, 2010 § 0

Tour de France 2010 Rotterdam

Finally, the waiting is over and the Tour de France 2010 opened up with the Prologue in Rotterdam. The bad news is that ITV4 seem to be screening every stage LIVE(ish) and I am currently out of work. I will leave you to put 2 and 2 together but suffice to say that any job searching will be taking a tumble if I find myself stuck to the sofa everyday…

So the Man/Machine that is Fabian Cancellara, pipped Tony Martin of HTC for the first stage win of the tour on what turned out to be a changeable day as far as the weather was concerned. Cancellara romped home in ten minutes dead on the 8.9 Km course, with a long wait for Martin, who finished 10 seconds down about two hours earlier in the day.

The biggest own goal (well it is World Cup time) for me was that of Team Sky. If you have followed the story of Team Sky closely then you will know that they analyse everything in order to create an environment of “marginal gains”. In the case of today, Wiggins was switched by his team to an earlier start time in a bid to avoid the forecast rain, however he actually rode in some of the heaviest rain of the day, whilst his GC counterparts enjoyed a bit of dry road and consequently finished higher up the standings. Sometimes it is possible to over-think or over-analyse. Had Wiggins remained in his original 4th from last start time – he would have experienced the same conditions as the other GC big guns.

Team Sky should be careful of their analysis – sometimes it is best just to ride the race! Those few seconds lost today might be rued later.

Tour de France – The History, The Legend, The Riders by Graeme Fife

June 29th, 2010 § 0

Tour de France by Graeme Fife In a happy form of coincidence, I have just finished reading this weighty tome by Graeme Fife, with the real thing itself launching from Rotterdam in a matter of days. This is Fife’s account of the Tour de France from inception to the last race in 2009, – a compendium of history, recollections and tour facts from the last one hundred years.

The first few chapters are all named after famous cols and I thought it was a clever touch to layout the book in this manner. Thus, each chapter is loosely based on the historical drama from that particular col but with many tangents and circuits on other Tour factuality. It is clear that Fife is a great lover of the mountains and the historical precis is interwoven with personal accounts of riding each famous gradient. Those who love the fast flat stages and the sprint finish might feel aggrieved that the book follows this pattern but I am sure Fife would argue that the real “tete et jambes” of the tour lies in the high mountains.

The author is not afraid to bombard you with names, dates, distances and all the factual research from such an account, so this is not the book to relax in a cafe, sipping espresso. The reader’s interest is held though, which is not easy for any book that has to recount historical data. There is no holding back with opinion either – Merckx (a “hero“), Indurain (”lovely man ; no brain“). The success of the book, at least in the first seven chapters lies in the pacy chronicle of the mountain stages, retold with passion and honesty.

However, it soon becomes clear that this book was first published in 1999 and each subsequent year is a bolt-on, to bring the whole thing up-to-date, no doubt for the wishes of the publisher to have a complete factual account republished year upon year. The use of the cols for chapter structure is abandoned in favour of an episodic, straight re-telling of that particular year. Maybe Fife himself got fed up after the Festina scandal of 1998 and subsequent drug-infested revelations and the second-half of the book suffers as a result. However, who wouldn’t feel the same, your passion continuously wounded, until all that is left is cynicism.

Fife sticks with it though, re-telling the murkier passages of the grand boucle, so that the history, if treacherous sometimes, still stands shoulder to shoulder with spirit and valour. The author’s turn of phrase is a welcome adjunct:

Next time around, a stab at a break, but it’s quickly swallowed up by the bunch, which seems to be generating a sort of combined speed, like a multi-celled dynamo. Another circuit and another break goes further ahead; two men gain a minute, but it’s not long before that advance is being chewed away like a leaf in a locust’s jaw.

What cyclist couldn’t enjoy a book that describes the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées in this manner? Thus, it is evident that this is a labour of love from an author who is no stranger to the Alps or Pyrenees. I think any potential reader would well to think that this is two books within one, with the first half as certainly the more successful. The added chapters don’t reach the same heights but are still as meticulously researched and written. Fife has a good go at making the indigestible readable and this book has fleshed out one of the greatest races on the planet with some great stories and facts. Bring along your thinking cap and you’ll be fine.

SXC 2010 – Fort William

June 15th, 2010 § 0

SXC 2010 Fort William XC

Took myself off up to Fort William on Sunday for what proved to be a 3B experience (Bruised, Battered, Bitten).

I had entered the SXC race in the Open Category for what I thought would be a couple of challenging laps around the Witches Trails at Aonach Mor. However, wasn’t quite prepared for some of the technical challenges that had been set for this race. Whilst the lap did take in some of the “World Champion XC” course and some of the “10 under the Ben” course, more often than not, the organiser’s fling you onto some natural trails through the trees with great abandon and I would hazard that most of this is at least deserving of a Black Grade and very technically demanding.

This was especially true of the first downhill section after some fearsome climbing. There wasn’t any time to catch your breath before you were launched down a brutal rock garden – very gnarly and very steep and I came a cropper during one of two practice laps, landing on some felled fir trees that cut my legs to ribbons. This wasn’t a good start and this was before any racing began. The fearsome technical difficulties continued with a a huge rock hump-backed monster of a drop-off and more super-steep natural descending. When it came to the race proper, I must admit to walking the two hardest part’s of the course – not sure my legs could sustain any more bruising.

Of course, the upshot of this is that the minutes dribble away and you end up with a very poor lap time. I think I finished 22nd out of 27th. This tells me where I am at with my mountain bike prowess or lack of. I haven’t been spending much time on the thick rubber velocipede’s in the garage and it shows. If you want to ride at this level, you need to put the time in. Any technical weakness is cruelly exposed at the rounds of the SXC race series.

Therein lies the catch though. Whilst the younger riders seem to whizz around these courses like it was nothing – anyone who is pushing their limits will suffer greatly. The SXC organiser’s seem content to nurture their “hard” reputation and I never ever thought that I would be racing on Black Graded mountain routes. Fort William, in particular, obviously has a downhill pedigree and the lines between downhill racing and XC are becoming significantly blurred with some of the route choices of the race course setters. Perhaps, this is the way that XC racing is going, since just as many riders love this type of thing than not.

For me personally, it is a grade too far and way beyond what I should be achieving from a technical standpoint. Perhaps, this type of racing is not for me, which is a great shame. I think I am leaning towards more of an endurance type event with cope-able technical sections.

The Midgie’s had a great time though. These were SAS Commando Midgie’s that nibbled at any exposed flesh and they came out in their thousands.

Photo from Colin Robinson Imaging

Derailleur

June 1st, 2010 § 0

Campagnolo GranSport

I often catch myself listening to the back-end jingle of the gear change, for there, the inner mechanic can hear a multitude of possible problems, a slight pause perhaps, or the merest whisper of a rub, or worse – a crunch of chain. Yet, most of the time, it is something that happens without thinking – it is inevitable as the falling rain on a grey April day. We almost take the capacity for gear change as granted. The dales, hills and mountains made smooth (nearly) by the application of changeable sprockets and chain-wheels. I am fortunate to have the machined beauty that is Shimano XTR on one of my mountain bikes; a CNC marvel that switches gear like a hot knife through butter; and every bit as satisfying.

You could easily argue that mountain bikes owe their very existence to the humble derailleur; impossible climbs made into reality and unless your surname is Merckx and you can push “un méchant braquet pour les montagnes”; a vicious gear for the mountains, it is very likely that gearing will play a very important part in many cyclists lives, whether mountain, road or otherwise.

It wasn’t always this way though and it probably took the professional peloton of the late 1940’s to adopt some form of derailleur – before it became a widely accepted form of mechanical gear change. A number of models and technologies had existed up to this point, but it was the French Nivex model that gave birth to the notion of the parallelogram, where the pulley follows the contour of the freewheel, allowing the chain to be at a constant and optimal distance to the cogs. However, Nivex lacked the resources to fully market the invention. The real breakthrough though came in 1950 when Tullio Campagnolo developed the first production model of his parallelogram derailleur – the Gran Sport.

The Gran Sport differed from other derailleur’s in that it was designed to be retrofitted to existing racing bikes – with the notion of a forged hanger onto which the gear changer was fitted. The clamp for the changer cable swivelled, to allow an optimum angle for the cable and the derailleur already featured limit screws. Campagnolo made many modifications in the next few years but essentially this workable design soon became a great success.

In 1964, Suntour, a Japanese company, invented the slant parallelogram derailleur: The parallelogram was mounted horizontally, like on the Nivex, but on the rear dropout, like the Campagnolo. This re-designed solution spawned the millions of derailleurs that we take for granted today.

It wasn’t until 1984, when Shimano introduced their SIS indexed shifting system; we saw the next lasting evolution of the gear change. Indexing had been around in various forms before then: Suntour with a Five-Speed Click shifter in 1969 and even as far back as 1949 with the indexing Hercules Herailleur. Shimano had previously had a go at indexing in 1982 with the Positron, which placed the shifting detents in the derailleur itself but this never achieved lasting commercial success. The 1984 Dura-Ace groupset with SIS (Shimano Indexed Shifting) brought 6-speed index shifting to the masses and the rest, as they say, is history.

So spare a thought for all those inventors who burned the midnight oil, so that we may enjoy the benefits of smooth and easy shifting.

Blood Machine

May 24th, 2010 § 0

Motorised Doping I could only wonder, during my ride yesterday with a bunch from Inverclyde CRT, between gasps of air as they ragged me silly up some nasty hills in the sunshine blanketed forests of Argyll – how this was a world away from the sensational and tardy headlines of the cycling world. First came the confessions and allegations of the disgraced American cyclist, Floyd Landis. I won’t say much on this subject, since it has been covered far more eloquently on many other blogs and newspaper sites. Then came the counter-claims and an almost surreal story on the deeply implausible concept of Motorised Doping. This was a portrayal of bikes with tiny engines hidden in the tubes that could help turn the cranks and give the rider an extra 100W when required.

I had to do a double-take and check that the date was not April 1st and even now, I am deeply skeptical. However, if the last week’s tumultuous headlines have taught anyone anything, it is the great lengths that some top cyclists will go to gain an edge, illegal or otherwise, and then will spend great wads of time and effort into defending the undefensible.

Greatly disturbing to me though, amidst all this broo-ha-ha is the notion that any top cyclist could add to the coffers of the UCI, the governing body, without batting an eyelid and current UCI president Pat McQuaid can stand there and deny any conflict of interest. Is he really serious? I am reminded of the “Cash for Questions” scandal in British Politics where a successful parliamentary lobbyist, had bribed two Conservative Members of Parliament in exchange for asking parliamentary questions. In a great piece of irony, Lance Armstrong provides the UCI with money to buy a machine that analyse’s blood – just not mine you might well ask?

As an article in Cycling Weekly probes, “the payment raises questions about whether it is appropriate for active athletes to make any financial donations to the body that is supposed to be governing the sport.” There is a stench wafting its way across the channel all the way from Aigle in Switzerland and I am of the opinion that every cyclist should be requesting a comprehensive audit of the murky going’s on at the Ch. de la Mêlée. That said, the UCI are basically a committee (if a rather large one) and when did anything ever good come out of one of those.

Maybe I am still smarting about the way they handled Graham Obree in the mid 1990’s.

Etape Caledonia

May 17th, 2010 § 0

Etape Caledonia - Pitlochry

Took part in the extremely well-organised Macmillan Cancer Support Etape Caledonia Sportive yesterday. 130 Km on the only closed road event in the UK.

The cyclists taking part could not have wished for a better day. After a slight drizzle of dawn rain, it cleared up nicely for the 07:00 AM start – later the roads dried up nicely in the sunshine. The Etape takes place in Highland Perthshire, starting at the village of Pitlochry and winds its way around Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch before climbing up around the mountain of Schiehallion and the Braes of Foss. After a slight detour via Fortingall, the route continues eastward back to the starting point. 130 Km on rolling Scottish countryside with a few sharp climbs, fantastic scenery and over 1200m of total ascent.

The start on the main street of Pitlochry was just a mass of cyclists – just under 4000 were crammed into the kilometer of the start area. We were corralled through the start area in waves of cyclists – groups going off at 4 minute intervals. I was told later that Graham Obree, James Cracknell and Ben Fogle were there to help start the event, but I never saw them as I was well back. Cracknell, the ex-British Olympian finished in 3:33 and was 23rd overall. That is pretty good going. His adventure partner Fogle, suffered in a crash and had to abandon the event. It should be noted that the “winning” time was 3:29:51. I make that an average speed of 37 Km/h. Note that this not meant to be a race – hence my quotes in the previous sentence! As if…

I would describe the route as very rolling with plenty of short ascents and descents – the first 10-20Km has a few climbs, which helps sort out the bunches. There are always cyclists to be passed, as well as cyclists going past. You can easily find your own rhythm amongst the many wheels. I had a plan of trying to dip under 5 hours – so on the whole managed to stick to that goal. I would describe the first 40K as breathless fun, rolling along the long camel humps of the shoreline beside Loch Tummel, trying not to overcook it in all the excitement – I was easily swinging around the 30-33 Km/h pace and kept reminding myself to ease off and save the legs. I am sure this is a pedestrian pace to some, but partnered with this road bike for less than a year – there is no way I would be able to sustain that.

Around the 40K mark, I was continuously swapping places on the road with an older female, who was an absolute diesel, churning out a high steady pace without any fuss or yo-yo-ing. If ever the term Rouleur was apt! Towards the end of Loch Rannoch, the wind picked up and most savvy cyclists were drafting a little from their neighbour. Apart from the wind, all you could hear was the slightly metallic gurgle of turning chains and the occasional sweeping crescendo of a passing train with half-a-dozen cyclists in tow. I was so glad at the 30 Mile marker of the Bridge of Gaur to be turning out of the breeze and thereafter, things started getting a bit lumpier in terms of altitude.

I counted down the kilometer’s to the start of the only real proper climb on the route, the 380m climb up beside Schiehallion and the Braes of Foss. There are a couple of sharp gradients, maybe around the 15% mark but I was slightly dissapointed by the climb. It certainly isn’t a monster that I had pictured in my mind nor overly long, and there is even some downhill to catch your breath. However, when you finally get up and over the moorland, the descent into Coshieville with no automobiles is pure adrenaline: dropping 270m in 7 Km. You have to be on your toes though as their are a few curves and bends – at least with no automobiles, you can use the full width of the road (just as the god of road bikes intended).

Following the wild descent, the route takes a detour along to Fortingall and along rougher farm roads before depositing you back on the B846. At this point, you have reached 65 miles (105K) and you can taste the finish. However, the last 15 miles is where you have to dig in and keep up the cadence and speed. A glance at the Edge, shows the passing of 4 hours and I knew that I was going to make my goal time. However, the Etape has a sting in its tail with a sharp left-hander at Logierait taking you up some steep pulls. The last 5 miles dribble the minutes away, the legs are complaining like crazy. As you reach the main drag into Pitlochry, the bagpipes crack open and the crowds lining the street cheer you home. You feel like a hero.

Team Sky stand at Etape Caledonia Despite all the controversy surrounding this event, there were plenty of locals who were out in support and every village that we passed through were very friendly and supportive. A big thanks should go out to all of the people of Perth and Kinross who put up with the closed roads and made every cyclist feel very welcome. I guess what makes this event so popular are the closed roads – it is a wonderful utopia not to worry about sharing the road.

Perhaps, this is what the protesters will never understand.

Vital Stats according to my Garmin Edge:

Total Distance: 130 Km
Time Taken: 4:49
Average Speed: 27 Km/h
Max Speed: 64.1 Km/h
Average Heart Rate: 158 bpm
Total Ascent: 1260m

Review – Gore Oxygen Jacket

May 5th, 2010 § 0

Gore Oxygen Jacket It should be stated right from the off that I usually stay well clear of luminous or day-glo cycling apparel. In fact, of late, I have settled on Black, White or Red as my exclusive colours of choice. Black isn’t great on the road though – so there is a fine dividing line of security versus fashion to be navigated. Of interest, Pre-War British cycling authorities maintained that cyclists should turn up to races shod in nothing but black clothing – how things have changed!

Why do I shy away from bright luminous colours? Not sure, maybe I like to fool myself into thinking that I have taste – or I just don’t like going out on my bike looking like a lost motorway maintenance man. However, I am not a bike masochist and like to be comfortable – so about six months ago, I added a packable rainproof jacket to the Rotor clothing collection. At the same time, I finally gave in to the safety vs elegance question.

The Gore Oxygen Jacket is made of a thin Goretex Paclite Shell material and most importantly, can be fitted into a rear jersey pocket. Not the most packable material compared to some of the more thinner offerings out there – but it fits into most jersey’s and that’s a plus. It is not a papery thin material like some but still pretty lightweight. You can tell there is quality at work here. Note that there are no pockets on this jersey: I guess this is so that it can be packed easily and it is meant as an over garment only. In practice, the lower bottom can be lifted for access to your inside jersey pockets – so it isn’t a great loss.

The fit is “racy”, so any billowing in the wind is kept to a minimum. You don’t really feel that you are wearing a claustrophobic waterproof jacket when riding and that is all to the good. The back is extra long with a partly elasticated hem that keeps your bum nice and covered. I once went out on my Mountain Bike (with no mudguards) in a rain storm and it remains one of the most uncomfortable times I have ever spent on a bike. I would have killed for one of these jackets. The cuffs can be tightened with a velcro tab and the neck has a high-ish collar for keeping out the elements. The side and back are broken up with black stretch inserts.

Some nice little touches are the inside of the collar is made of a softer material; there is a zip tag for easier zip adjusting and the zip parks into a zip under-flap when fully done up – saving your neck from getting scratched to bits. However, the saving grace, in my mind is that whilst the Oxygen retains the safety aspect of being very bright – the arms are featured in an alternative grey and black, which makes it a bit more “sporty” and dare I say it – a bit more acceptable than the usual all-over incandescent tunics of conventional commuting gear.

To be fair, there hasn’t been many big rainy days this year – but I did put the jacket to test on a 100K ride that rained on and off most of the way. Towards the end – it Gore Oxygen Jacket Stowage Bag really blasted down in 20 minutes of pure wet gale – the type of weather that Scotland does best. While I did grimace a bit during this onslaught, at least I could say the jacket was put to the use that it was designed for. At no point did I feel “claggy” or saturated and the biggest yardstick for me is how comfortable I felt, with no excessive sweating or water ingress.

I usually take a Large in jacket size, but went for the Extra-Large – this usually give you a bit more room for fitting the jacket over all-season cycling gear. The arms ended up being a bit long but nothing that would detract from the wearing or the riding. All said and done, this is a nicely cut bike-specific jacket that stayed watertight with no excessive overheating. It even comes with a separate stowage bag that keeps everything tucked away.

Now, I wish I had gone for the red option though…

http://www.gorebikewear.co.uk

Bike Porn

May 1st, 2010 § 0

Very occasionally, you happen to move the mouse, type in a few characters on the keyboard, click on a few mouse buttons – and you are magically transported to a world of jaw-gaping wonder. Such is the power of some internet sites and in this particular case, the awesome site that is Enigma Bikes. I am, unashamedly all for a bit of flag waving at times and these British frame masters deserve a mention. Working only in Titanium and Steel – the small taster gallery below speaks for itself.

Enigma Bikes Elite Enigma Bikes Excel Enigma Bikes XCR Enigma Bikes Edge