Impatience Kills

Dear Cyclists of Amsterdam,

Impatience will kill you.

Yet again on my way to work this morning, I witnessed an impatient cyclist try and skirt around the side of a lorry/HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) at a T-junction. And yes, as a result of their impatience (and stupidity) they were floored as the lorry tried to pull out of the junction.

Now, I appreciate you were brought up on roads made for cyclists, where vehicles respect you and you’re given the freedom to cycle. But sometimes, the roads are also shared by larger vehicles, and quite rightly so. Vehicles that are a lot bigger than you, a lot heavier and need a lot more respect.

Not only do they require more space on the road to maneuver than say, your average car; but visibility to the driver is also limited. They can’t be expected and definitely don’t have a 360 degree view of what’s around them; particularly of traffic coming from behind or down the side.

So, do me, yourself, other road users and the driver of the lorry a favour. Next time you see such a vehicle at a junction (or on the road full stop); please give it the respect it needs, and respect your life. Try and save that extra 30 seconds on your journey and you could be lucky to get back on a bike again at all.

Happy cycling.
Hayley

 

 

 

Hayley Davies

Hayley Davies

Writer

Riding since Feb 2011 Hayley is a 30 year old female who loves adventures. If she’s not on one of her many bikes or in the water on a bodyboard/surfboard, then Hayley is probably out looking for something new to keep the adrenaline pumping!
Website: www.hjdonline.co.uk

Mark wins silver in the C1 Individual Time Trial!

Image – © Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Mark wins silver in the C1 Individual Time Trial!

Mark Colbourne has added yet another Paralympic medal to his collection after winning silver in the C1 Individual Time Trial!

He won his third medal of his first Paralympic Games after completing the 16km course in 25:29 minutes, but Michael Teuber of Germany picked up gold finishing with a time of 25:16 minutes.

The Welshman can now add his new silver medal to the gold he won in the C1 Individual 3km Pursuit and his silver from the C1-2-3 1km Time Trial last week.

Mark’s last event is the Individual C1-3 Road Race on Thursday 6th September from 14:30.

 

 

 

Hello!

Mark Colbourne and I have produced a video featuring the Para-cycling team.

As myself, Mark and the rest of the Para-cycling team are unable to attend the Opening Ceremony tonight due to the cycling events starting tomorrow, we wanted to share a little video with you to say “Hello!”

We shot, directed and edited the “Hello!” video as a thank you for the overwhelming support we’ve received from the British public, and it was a fantastic opportunity for the whole team to get together and capture some moments from our time in the holding camp and athletes village.

Making the video was fun; we wanted to get together as a team and show we have personalities outside our day job, but also show some of our preparations in Newport. In doing so we hopefully put a smile on people’s faces…. Enjoy!
 
 

Meet the Superhumans

Time to meet the Superhumans if you haven’t already they including Cycling Shorts very own Jody Cundy MBE.

Channel 4 launched its biggest ever marketing campaign on Tuesday July 17 to promote coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games with a ‘roadblock’ premiere of its Meet the Superhumans film across 78 television channels.

The 90 second long film is set to the awesome track, “Harder Than You Think” by hip hop legends, Public Enemy, the film showcases the abilities of some of the leading UK Paralympians, represents some of the unique stories behind the elite athletes, and shows the herculean efforts that have gone into their preparation for the Games. It’s an extremely powerful short film.

Channel 4 is committed to bringing a new audience to the Paralympic Games and to raise awareness of Paralympic sport.

The campaign was commissioned by Channel 4 marketing, and conceived and directed by Tom Tagholm, for Channel 4’s in-house agency, 4creative.

Dan Brooke, Channel 4’s Chief Marketing & Communications Officer said: “London 2012 is a coming of age moment for the Paralympics. This campaign will help bring a whole new audience to it and may even raise a goosebump or two along the way.”

Produced by 4creative which is Channel 4’s in-house agency who this year have picked up a D&AD pencil (their 9th in 7 years) and a Cannes Gold and Bronze lion.

The shoot took place over 14 days in sports arenas across the country from the Sheffield Aquatics centre to Lee Valley Athletics Centre to the Olympic stadium, to the home of the Paralympics: Stoke Mandeville.

The full list of locations:
Paralympics Athletics Test Event at the Olympic Stadium
Herne Hill Velodrome Cycling Meet
Newport Velodrome
Cardiff Swimming Pool
Stoke Mandeville (Wheelchair Basketball)
Lee Valley Athletics Centre
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
Reading Hockey Club (Blind Football)

Book Review – On Your Bike! by Matt Seaton

On Your Bike! The Complete Guide to Cycling
by Matt Seaton.

For somebody who has ridden a bike for quite some time, I was interested to see what would be included in something dubbed “the complete guide to cycling”.  And, I must say that I was quite surprised at the book’s ability to make me see the bike from a different angle.

When you take up cycling, whatever age you are, you don’t think about the bike itself – it is merely the tool by which you can get out on to the road/track/rough terrain (whatever floats your boat) and get “on your bike.”  And to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to find a book that was so easy to read, so interesting to read, especially on a subject that can seem quite mundane.

However, Matt Seaton appears to have successfully completed a somewhat impossible task – it has made me think differently about how I look at my bike.  No longer do I see it as an inanimate object that helps me keep fit.  No, I am now able to see the bike for what it really is – a concept built out of the Industrial Revolution, a tool that has helped normal folk (as in those who weren’t aristocrats) develop a sense of freedom and something which has transformed personal mobility into social mobility.  Yes, very deep.  But I bet you never even stopped to think that the bicycle was such an important tool.  In fact, as Matt Seaton rightly asserts, “cycling [has] become synonymous with progress.”

So, maybe the idea of a history lesson doesn’t set your world on fire.  Well, don’t worry, Matt Seaton merely uses the evolution of the bicycle as a tool to set the scene, to make you realise that the bike in itself has its own place in history.  Did you know, for example, that Peugeot, Singer and Triumph all started life as bike manufacturers?  Me neither.

Matt goes on to cover the rise and fall of the bike’s popularity, including the BMX’s development in the 1970s, to the mountain bike phenomenon of the 1990s to the carbon fibre road bikes that we have today.

Most of my cycling friends would agree with me that my knowledge of mechanics is somewhat sketchy, to say the least, despite my years of cycling.  However, this book is quite good in that it explains about the different types of bike and the basic measurements.  There is also a nice double page spread on what the different components of a bike are.  If you are pretty handy with mechanics, you will probably find this part basic, however if you are new to the sport, then the book acts as a useful aide-memoire.  It covers all types of bikes, from road, to track, to cyclo-cross, to BMX and mountain bikes, and it also provides information as to what to look for in a good bike lock and bike light.  It even covers tools, clothing and helmets!

Included in the “Your bike – and how to love it” section is also a useful sub-section about how to clean your bike.  This may seem quite a useless thing to include however, I do know people who have purchased bikes worth over £3,000 and then not known how to keep it clean.  Remember that this book is aimed at all cyclists – both those new to the sport and seasoned riders.

I must admit that I don’t currently commute by bike, however after reading the chapter entitled “Cycling and the city”, it did make me think twice about doing so.  It reminds you that cycling is a great antidote to stress, that the threat to your health from pollution is far outweighed by the other health benefits of cycling and that you can also benefit from the Government’s “Bike to Work” scheme.  But perhaps most important of all is the chapter entitled “How to stay safe on your bike.”  This is a valuable read for anybody who shares the road with other road users, which is most cyclists.  You tend to take things for granted, but this helps you to become ‘actively visible.’  Surely that in itself is worth a read?

The penultimate chapter deals with “Cycle sport”, including the pro peloton, how teams work and a piece on the issue of doping.  There is also some useful information on other types of riding, including track racing, cyclo-cross and sportives.

If you are looking for a well-written, informative, interesting book on cycling as a whole, then this could be the book for you.  It is full of colour pictures, is easy to pick up where you left off (one of those books where you can pick which bits you want to read) and is definitely worth reading if you have just taken up cycling for the first time after having been inspired by Brad Wiggins and Team Sky in this year’s Tour de France.  However, it is a bit out-dated, having been written back in 2006, but having said that, the basics and the history of the bike will always remain the same.

If you are looking for a book that will make you a faster rider, this isn’t the book for you, but if you want a book that does what it says on the tin, then you should definitely add it to your Christmas list.
 

 
 
Title:  On Your Bike! The Complete Guide to Cycling  

Author: Matt Seaton    

Published by Black Dog Publishing

Available from 7th June 2012 in Hardback & eBook

RRP Price: £16.95

 

The AN Post Rás

The AN Post Rás. It was probably the highlight of my 2011 season, so I had high expectations coming into the 2012 edition of the race. Last year I rode for the Irish national team but this year I was taking to the start line in the often-described-as ‘feckin brilliant’ black and white jersey of Rapha Condor Sharp.

I flew over to Dublin by myself to meet the rest of the team who were driving from Manchester. As soon as I arrived one of the lads noticed how much I was smiling. It isn’t just the tough unpredictable racing that makes the Ras such an enjoyable week, the atmosphere amongst all the teams and staff is something I’ve only experienced at this race. The Irish always know how to have a good time and it’s definitely the attitude of people that plays a large part in a good atmosphere that always keeps teams eager to return.

Looking back at the past winners of the race, it’s not a surprise that the team are well known in this part of the world. However, this year Rapha Condor Sharp has taken a completely different approach – focusing on the development of younger riders. The Ras squad was no exception with our eldest rider being 23, which I’m sure would give us the youngest average age of any team competing. The lineup consisted of; Rich Lang our Aussie climber/sprinter/everything’er, Chris Jennings our South African climbing specialist, big Ben Grenda our strong man from Tasmania, Rich Handley the British rider who can also do much pretty anything and finally me, Felix ‘the local’ from Ireland (and Brighton).

The first few days of the race consisted of 140km+ stages with tough rolling roads. We all rode aggressively trying to get at least one black jersey in every break. However, it quickly became apparent that the Ras was going to live up to its potential of being unlike any other race in the calendar. Break after break would try to escape but each attempt was swallowed up. The roads in Ireland are always rolling and usually have a rough broken surface, which made the averaged speeds of over 48km/h every day in the first hour pretty unbelievable.

Every stage of the Ras from beginning to end is like the first 10km of every other normal race – relentless attacks with everyone wanting to get in on the action. Straight away it was apparent that this year’s race was to be tougher than the 2011 edition. There was a lot more strength in the international teams, which meant you had a lot more riders strong enough to attack and consequently a lot more riders strong enough to close the gaps.

Rich Handley fought his way into the successful breakaway of stage two and finished with a 28 second advantage over the rest of the U23 peloton. It doesn’t seem like much, especially at such an early stage of the race, but this smart move from Rich proved to be decisive. With no time bonuses available, the only way for the race favourites to take time out of Rich was to either get away in a break (difficult now with teams wanting to desperately defend their slender advantage) or they’d have to ride away from him on the tougher climbs. Luckily for us, no one in the race was capable of doing that.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As the week progressed we became more and more organised. John kept us on our toes with tactical advice each night and our jobs were simple. Myself and Grenda were to follow all the early moves, disrupt the breakaways and, if needs be, close gaps to any splits or breaks that contained dangerous riders. Langy and Chris had to keep Rich up at the front of the race and then take over the job from myself and Ben in the last few km’s. Rich’s job of having to always be at the front was probably the most stressful – having your team mates work solely for you adds a lot of extra pressure but it was clear that was our best chance of securing the white jersey, so it we were all fully committed to him.
This organisation made things easier for us mentally as well. It’s a great feeling when you know you can ride at 100% to close a gap for your team leader, safe in the knowledge that one of your teammates will be there to immediately back you up and cover the next attack. Morale within the team was high all week, which definitely makes a big impact on the way you race together. Being able to have a laugh in the evenings and forget about the race for a few hours has a very positive effect.

Rich rode well over the very steep climbs of stages five and six and held onto the U23white jersey. One climb in particular was like nothing I’ve ever seen before – Mamore Gap on stage five. It was towards the end of a 160km day, and it must be over 30% in places. A few of us took the decision to ride 28t cassettes but I still struggled to make it over the top. It was 2-3km long and easily the hardest climb I’ve ridden. I had to ride hard in the first 2-3 hours of the stage to contain breakaways and generally try and make Rich’s life as easy as possible. Finishing the job riding over the line in Skerries was one of the best feelings I’ve had on a bike. Thanks to all my team mates, Rich, Ben, Langy and Chris for a great week. Also thanks to John, Ian, Rob and Iona for keeping us in line and for keeping it fun.

 

Cheers
Felix!
 
 

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