Some cyclists love numbers. Numbers can define what we do and how we’ve done it.
We all seem to throw numbers around - in many cases without even having to define the unit of measurement.
For example, I could ride a 10 or a 25, aspire to do a 12 and manage a short 1:04 and a lot of like-minded people would know exactly what I was talking about.
I like the numbers and although I don’t ride for their sake, they help me understand what I have done – where I’ve done well, where I am lacking and where I can improve – and they help me plan for the following year – most of my 2013 targets have a numerical quality. Either a bigger or smaller number. You know which is which.
So in review, the top line. For me;
2012 = 5549
While...
2011 = 4155
And...
2010 = 3187
That’s progression and it makes me happy.
2012 was my 2nd season of time trialling and I managed to knock 2.12 off my 10, 6.58 off my 25 and 7.34 off my 50. In 2013, I will be targeting a 100 and a 12 and hoping for another 1.00 off my 10, 3.00 off my 25 and 6.00 off my 50.
Looking at my Garmin Connect, it will tell me that the 5549 for 2012 encompassed 309hrs on the bike at 16.5mph. With an average HR of 136bpm, I climbed 27,000m and burned 258,000Cal. This included 37 races, 4 Reliability rides and 235 other training and leisure rides. I also used the bike as part of my commute to work 64 times.
Financially I made £35 in prize money, and spent a classified amount on entry fees, kit and consumables. In this game, the numbers don't always add up.
I did this for my club newsletter and thought thought why not share?
Winter Training? First tip is to do some. Training that is. And by ‘training’ I really just mean riding.
Its the easiest thing in the world for a lot of people to just stop for the winter – they just hibernate – but by God you’ll feel it when that first ‘Liability Ride’ of the early season comes round so its nothing more than common sense to keep riding and keep those legs going round in circles.
If racing is your thing, Cyclocross is brilliant – its fun, its friendly and its as competitive as you want it to be. You don’t have to have the latest CX bike - a mountain bike or hybrid (with CX tyres) will do the job. The Eastern League has regular races through the winter – each one a workout in its own right, but each also provides a little training focus – just enough to encourage you to go out when the weather is at its worst.
If you time trial, road race or enjoy doing nice long distance Spring rides you can’t just rely on ‘Cross to keep you in shape – you need to continue some base mileage work. ‘Cross keeps you sharp but it involves short efforts with very little mileage. This is where clubruns and other social riding comes into its own – the Sunday rides from Costas at Tollgate are brilliant for this – good mileage, great company and really well run by Dean, Chris and the guys.
When its really grim, that’s when the turbo in the shed comes into its own. I wish I had the perseverance to use the turbo all year round because the training benefits are obvious after just a couple of sessions, but I hate going nowhere and it really is my last port of call.
The fact is that unless the roads are covered in snow or black ice, you can ride – just add a bit more caution. And the right kit.
As cyclists, we love talking about kit, but it is especially important in the winter. If you have mudguards, winter tyres, lights and suitable clothing you will be a lot happier venturing out on a few laps of the Wadley in inclement conditions. Wear summer kit and you’ll be miserable. Full fingered gloves, tights, good socks, overshoes, a good jacket and (for me) a warm covering for the ears will see you right through to the faint warmth of Spring.
Personally, I like riding a single speed or fixed gear bike all year round but it comes into its own at this time of year. I really don’t mind riding in awful weather conditions, but the thing that gets to me in the winter is the constant bike cleaning. I just don’t feel so bad sticking the fixie straight in the shed after a wet/muddy ride and getting a hot bath without having to worry about cleaning and re-lubing a drivetrain after every ride. This helps me get out in the firstplace.
How intensive your winter training is depends on your aims for next season – train for what you want to do – be specific and don’t waste time on training fads that may not necessarily help you in your goals for next year.
Oh, and finally – coming back to kit… the other major ‘training’ gain you can make over the winter is to sell most of your possessions on ebay and reinvest the funds in some shiny carbon bits and bobs that can be assembled over the winter to build the ultimate racing machine for the following season. I can neither confirm nor deny the rumours that a secret weapon is being developed in my shed for the 2013 TT season. If it is, I just hope I have the legs to go with it.
Its been a while since I last blogged, but a significant point has been passed in my development in the sport of Cyclocross.
I have done my first National Championships!
Since then, I have been trying to figure out which one sounds better - 41st 40-44 year old out of 50 starters or 76th 40-49 year old out of 94 starters.
Statistically, the second one is best but I am going with the lower number. I simply came 41st at the Nationals.
Two more league events to ride and that will be the end of another season and time to start looking for a new bike for the 2013 Nationals...
Last Sunday at Mistley, I put the crash at Basildon behind me and raced again in the Eastern Cyclocross League.
Mistley isn't the easiest of courses, in fact its a bit of a beast, but I had to start somewhere and this was my club's promotion. With a couple of espressos and a belly full of ibuprofen and paracetamol I knew I could get through it.
And getting through was the only aim. As with any endeavor like this, all I had to do was stay upright and keep pedalling for 40-45 minutes. Pipping Dom Castle on the line for 32nd place was the unintentional icing on the cake.
Packed and ready to go. Fin looking a bit Belge.
Thanks to Mark Fraser for this short video analysis of my climbing "technique".
Due to the inter-regionals on Sunday, I have a weekend off and a chance to train for the next round at Graffham Water. Entry form for the Regionals in early December was posted this week, so yet more incentive.
Mark Fraser's video highlights of the Womens Race can now also be found here:
Following my 'incident' at Basildon a couple of weeks ago I found myself needing a new front wheel.
To be more accurate, I destroyed my old wheel - a trusty, Mavic MA3 rim on Deore hub with the manliest of spokes - a heavyweight that was built for 'cross.
So, accepting a replacement wheel was required, the thought processes began. Having some very nice, generous clubmates, there was no shortage of offers of loans, but as everyone knows, your own kit is best - you just don't want to trash someone else's. No alternative - I definately needed to buy a new front wheel.
Being a typical bloke and cyclist, I rationalised that to mean I needed a pair of wheels and started trawling the internet, gazing longingly at all kinds of circular weaponry before realising this was an emergency expense, was not budgeted for and frankly, if you stick me, a new set of wheels and a cross bike together something is going to break eventually - probably sooner rather than later. No point spending hundreds!
A clubmate, Tony Sheppard, mentioned to me that Planet X were selling pairs of CX wheels for £99 - this got me looking at the budget options.
Despite the massive increase in sales of CX bikes and growth of the sport, if you google "cyclocross wheels" you get very little of use apart from some nice looking Campag stuff. So, I started researching what "road wheels" were available and what standard wheelsets were offered on "off the shelf "cross bikes.
It took a while, but I eventually had a match.
The rather nice Kinesis EVO4
Kinesis are well known in CX circles, particularly for great value performance frames, but they also sell complete, off the peg rigs. These bikes come with Shimano R500 wheelsets (WH-R501 to be geeky).
Reasoning that if a company with the reputation and Cyclocross expertise of Kinesis can offer this wheelset as standard it must be OK, I did some more research.
Merlin Cycles came up trumps - one pair of said Shimano R500 wheels for the princely sum of £72.95. P&P was about £6 but having ordered on the Sunday night, they were with me by Tuesday morning - very efficient.
A pair for £72! Being me, this very nearly became the perfect excuse to buy another pair for the pits, but I resisted my natural urges and stuck to the cheap option for once. One pair was actually twice as many as I "needed" anyway. If I was having this dilema closer to Payday, I might easily have ended up with 2 pairs.
The wheels were also in great shape - namely round and true. After a week of good use, they still are.
Some might consider them a little heavy, but this wheelset also came as standard on my Cannondale roadbike, with the only difference being colourscheme and spokes. These ones from Merlin with beefy stainless steel spokes - no bad thing in my book considering the beating they are likely to get over the coming months.
My new wheels in the wild
They also look quite nice on my bike.
I'll let you know how they fare over the course of the season.
I can't have a cycling blog without writing something about The Great Tour.
This was one of my defining moments in cycling, encompassing all the joys associated with great rides - superb company, scenery, sunshine, mileage and accomplishment; just on a much bigger scale. In cycling, you have to accept that for every up there is a down, in every sense. The Great Tour also delivered the worst spill I have experienced.
In a nutshell, the 2010 ride was planned as a circumnavigation of the coastline of Great Britain in 64 days to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity and retail trade charity Caravan. Graeme Knott, Hugh Roberts, Alistair Cope, Mike Sweeney and Sam Mashford were the hardy souls who completed the whole thing, starting and finishing in Seaton, Devon.
My involvement was just to ride the first two weeks - Seaton to Scarborough - approx 900 miles. My trip was cut short on my home stage, close to St Osyth, when I had a nasty spill and was carted off to Colchester A&E. My focus then became getting fit enough to rejoin the ride, which I managed and subsequently had the priviledge of taking part in the final week.
It was special for me, and pulling the video clips together for this 8 minute summary of my time on The 2010 Great Tour was a really nice trip down memory lane. Sunshine, bikes, great people and an excuse to air the Superstars theme tune! My thanks go to Dan Broom for producing such a fine video record of a great event which I have randomly plundered and shoddily edited for my own purposes.
Following my incident at Basildon the previous week (see last blog – Another Tale of Cyclocross Misadventure) I was a bit bruised, sore and unable to ride a bike.
This combination of circumstance is always irksome, but was particularly disappointing last weekend. Not being able to ride my bike meant missing out on the Amis Velo Hillyfields Supercross.
Amis Velo may not be my club, but this is my home race, taking place no more than a few hundred yards from my front door. I know the course like the back of my hand – walking our dog there regularly and riding the trails most weeks. Its also home to the Colchester Rovers training sessions.
IfI was going to do well at any race this season, I felt this was going to be the one – my pre-season aim was to give this one my all and trust in local knowledge and experience to guarantee a higher than usual finish. My off at Basildon put paid to that grand idea.
Triggsy crests a climb on home turf
I have to say, I really enjoyed spectating – having the time to chat, catchup with many of the people who helped me the previous week and soak up the glorious October sunshine on the grass bank above the start/finish line.
Knowing the woods well, I was also able to walk the course, cutting corners to catch as much of the action in different spots as possible – I loved it.
Mark Fraser saved one of his diminished stock of cowbells for me, which I put to good use annoying as many riders as possible on a couple of climbs.
There were a couple of offs on the start finish line and a few thorn cuts visible of riders’ arms, but the injury prize of the week has to go to Tiffany Hore.
Following a spill on a tight corner, she ended upside down in a bramble bush. Still clipped in, she couldn’t move her legs and lying on a bed of brambles meant she couldn’t push herself back up. By the time I had made my way down the slope, she was being helped out by a guy from Welwyn Wheelers. She remounted, legs covered in blood and finished the race. One tough cookie.
Thats my boy - Fin smiles or grimaces for the camera
Some great racing was on show in all categories with outstanding rides by junior National Champ Hugo Robinson in the Elite Race and Sean Dunlea in the Youth.
The organisation by Amis Velo was, as ever, superb and I managed to spend a Sunday with bikes and cyclists without once feeling sorry for myself that I couldn’t come out to play.
Youth U16/U14 Video from John Swindells
Veteran / Womens Race video from John Swindells
*AGAIN – A PHOTO AND THE VIDEO HAVE BEEN NICKED FROM OTHER PEOPLE’S YOUTUBE AND FLICKR - John Swindells and Amis Velo, respectively...
Basildon - while surrounded by some modest hills, the town of Basildon itself is pan flat.
Well, that’s what I thought until I discovered the notable exception of GloucesterPark which boasts a few lumps of man made hill, dating from the town’s sudden post-war birth, now fully covered in grass and woodland.
For once, I had quite a good start
The perfect venue for Round 5 of the Eastern Cyclocross League, organised by Essex Roads CC.
Just one week on from Baldock, and while it was still a long way off traditional CX conditions, the temperature had dropped by over 12 degrees. My legs were feeling good, my bike was in much better shape than at Baldock, following a thorough strip-down and clean during the week, and I was ready to go. The first warm up lap immediately revealed the true severity of one of the climbs and that none of the three on offer were to be looked forward to. The second warm up lap convinced me to take it easy and avoid overdoing it too early ie. stop warming up and just stand around chatting.
The Muur Van Basildon
I had a good start and made the first hill a quarter of the way down the field. To my surprise, despite my measured approach, I found myself going past people who are normally way ahead. I kept calm and consolidated my position, passed through the first bottleneck ahead of the first pile-up to find myself clear in the top 30 or so as we approached the bottom of what became known as the Muur van Basildon. The severity of this slope was emphasised beautifully by the constant ringing of cowbells, thanks to Mark Fraser’s newly opened carpark cowbell stall. Mark’s photos and video from the race have also lost none of the sense of gradient and show this hill exactly as I remember it.
Again, to my surprise, I made ground on many of the faster guys - they were catching up or going past me on the downhills and the flat, but I seemed to have found my forte - I can't really be a climber can I? I am 6'1...
The second lap was more of the same, and I found myself passing clubmate David Triggs - I have never been ahead of him in any CX race. Ever. At this point I got a little too excited and abandoned the measured approach, pushing as hard as I could on the next two hills. That left me with nothing to offer on the flat and David duly passed me, gradually pulling away. He was followed by fellow Rover Mike Barnard who went past me one lap later. Even though they were gaining ground on me, I just kept them in sight and kept plugging away.
Ungainly but surprisingly effective
For the first time since I have been racing this bike in Cyclocross I wasn’t cursing myself over having a triple chainset and on laps 4 & 5 actually used the granny ring for what it was intended - getting over hills without getting off your bike.
On the final lap, exhausted at the top of the last climb, 2 guys went past me on the downhill. Determined to preserve what would be my best position of the season (about 23rd or 24th, for the record) I caught my breath before the final 600-700m of winding flat course and began to chase them down, keen to line up a sprint for the line.
Spoke key, anyone?
With about 500m to go and pushing through one corner faster than before, I naturally took a wider line out of it. At this point, my front wheel disappeared into a crack I hadn’t spotted on any of my previous laps, partially covered in grass. According to others who examined it later, it was about a metre long and 7-10 cm wide. Oh, and deep enough to cause a problem.
Unfortunately, I am quite familiar with the slightly dizzy feeling of being airborne when you should have two wheels firmly planted on the ground. My front wheel had refused to continue and I was up and over the bars, landing firmly on my head. Stunned, the next thing I recall is lying across the course, moaning like an idiot with a lot of pain in my back.
Even in this distressed state I was amused by the thought of becoming a human obstacle and half wished that I would cause some riders to dismount, hurdle me and remount.
Quite properly, I kept completely still. More through necessity than anything else. Help arrived quickly and riders were directed around me. My best finish would have to wait – this was my first DNF.
Dr Boyton leads her group up the Muur
At this point, Camilla Boyton of Dulwich Paragon revealed herself to be Dr Boyton of the Royal London and took charge of the situation until the ambulance arrived. The first ambulance guy arrived in a car and was told they would need a full sized ambulance as I needed to be immobilised on a board and carried out of there. Due to access issues, the Air Ambulance was discussed – I begged them not to, as I knew I would never live this one down – I felt I had made enough fuss as it was by causing the U12 race course to be shortened.
My main concern at this point was my 12 year old son – we were an hour from home, he was joining me in the full sized ambulance that had now worked its way onto the course to head for hospital and I could not move to help him out with anything. He had packed clothes, food and water into a rucksack, taken care of bikes, car keys and phoning home – he played an absolute blinder, keeping cool, calm and in control, showing exactly the qualities needed to fulfil his ambition of becoming a paramedic. Ironically, if I am ever asked about my proudest cycling related moment, the way Fin handled himself that afternoon would be top of the list by a long way. He was awesome.
He wasn’t the only one to play a blinder that day – I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who helped out – friends, clubmates, organisers, league officials, strangers – you were all bloody brilliant.
To cut what is becoming a very long winded story a bit short, following the obligatory hours in A&E with examinations and x-rays I was declared to have no more than a black eye, swollen head, bumps, bruises, cuts, grazes, aches, pains and damaged pride.
Kit damage included a broken helmet, bent front wheel and another ripped jersey.
No bike riding and full recovery is now my focus and I hope to be well enough to race Rd 7 at Mistley.
*ALL PICTURES AND VIDEO SHAMELESSLY STOLEN FROM MARK FRASER'S YOUTUBE & FLICKR
On the face of it, Saturday's CC Ashwell Cyclocross was my worst race yet.
I've never done well on this course and the heatwave temperatures did
nothing to improve the relationship this time round.
On my last couple of training rides and even the warm up on Saturday,
everything on the bike was working nicely.
However, as soon as I put the power down at the start, the crunching of
slipped chain let me know it wasn't going to be plain sailing.
After a barrier dismount a total seizure of chain and chainset lost me yet
more time as I frantically clawed at the bloody thing to try and free it.
By the time the first small rise was to be negotiated, my drivetrain let me
know in no uncertain terms it was was not coming out to play.
At this point, I have the wisdom of a 12 year old to thank for avoiding my
first DNF. "Dad? Why don't we put each others bikes in the pit in case
either of us have a problem?", he asked. I couldn't think of a reason why
not, so we did.
So, I was now able to do the next 4 laps on a 12 year old's bike and claw
back some places. From stone cold last (72nd) to 44th by the end.
Initially, I had some issues with handling, but following a single
altercation with a tree, I got the hang of it and started to get a little
quicker. I am not going to pretend my six foot frame didn't look a bit out
of place on the bike, either, but I finished and beggars can't be choosers.
In some ways, this turned out to be one of my better races.
Of course, I was last out of my clubmates who don't accept excuses easily.
Oh well.
Basildon on Saturday and we can start all over again.
Ps - I was going to post a picture of my tree gashed shoulder, but thought
this one of the fast start to the Youth race was much nicer.
Forgive me, but the Cross Season has started, so anything knobbly was
catching my eye.
How about this one for starters - a Ti Cross Bike from Seven built with
Enve, Chris King and Dura Ace.
Made to measure and a lot of money through Sigma Sport...
I love Cyclocross - I am a bit rubbish at it, but its my favourite competitive discipline, so September and the dawn of a new season is an exciting time for me. All that potential for improvement, all those summer base miles being put to good use in the mud and frost of the great British winter.
Last season was better than the one before, but I was still finishing in the bottom half, if not the bottom third, in most races, so my target for this year is to consistently finish half way through the field or better.
I was really happy with Round 1 at Writtle - finishing 37th out of a total field of 78 (76 finishers) so pretty much on target. More importantly, I felt fairly strong and fast. I did fade in the latter stages, but I had done enough and my morale was great.
I missed Round 2 at Hog Hill because of the Tour of Britain - the opportunity to ride out to the route as it swung through South Suffolk with clubmates including my son, was too good to miss. Unfortunately, I can now see the Cyclocross momentum was lost - it was an interesting race at Hog Hill with a smaller field and loads of DNFs due to a ridiculous number of punctures - a big "What if..."
Round 3 at Springfield - I was very disappointed. I just didn't have the legs on the day. I had some problems with my chain slipping on one of the few inclines and jumping off in other spots. This created some undue nervousness on the small rise which followed a dismount for steps and immediate drop - on a number of the laps I elected to run the whole thing to avoid that horrible clanking and loss of momentum. It was fairly effective in the early laps, but I ran out of steam quicker than I should. Thanks to Mark Fraser you can examine my lumbering running style here:
As with Round 1, Springfield was also a Club Champs qualifying event and I wanted to consolidate my 3rd place in the Vets category - even with a couple of our guys away on Three Peaks duty, I only managed a miserable 4th. Very well done to Peter Hall who finished behind me at Writtle only to be 1st Rover home at Springfield following an impressively strong ride.
At least there was only 6 days to wait until the next round - CC Ashwell's event at Baldock - I suffered there last year due to an energy sapping, boggy football field, but can't wait to get back into it this Saturday. Now if only I can get my bloody gears sorted!
PS - did I mention my lack of training mileage over the last month and my cold? Oh well, nevermind - no excuses, eh?!
Perspective. Its how things look from where you are. As a cyclist, you immediately have a very different perspective to non-cycling members of our society. You see things differently. You might not think that you do, but believe me you do. It does no harm to remind yourself of this every now and then. Its good to get some perspective.
Examples of cycle-specfic perspective are many, but the most obvious include:
Lycra - to the cyclist it is practical, essential, even cool. To huge swathes of the public at large it is not acceptable in any polite circumstance. Ever. I do lycra quite a bit. Most days.
Shaved Legs (male) - again, completely acceptable to those in the know (although there appears to be no consensus on exactly why) and guaranteed to raise more than an eyebrow in most outside circles - particularly the non metro-sexual ones. Haven't taken the plunge personally - doubt I will.
Red Traffic Lights - for far too many of us on the cycling side of the fence, these appear to mean nothing. Perspective, bordering on blindness. To society in general a red traffic light means you stop and wait for a green one, or amber at the very least, but you stop, before ploughing on. I'll say one thing for motorists (I am one from time to time) at least the vast majority know a red light when they seen one and stop.
Belgium - for me, this is the big one. A country that separates itself as clearly as the cycling community can define itself from the nasty outside world. Belgium - a political basket case of a country which finds itself without a government for over a year, paralysed by the failure of the two populations to come together. Belgium - its a joke.
Can you even name a famous Belgian? Belgium - known for beer and chocolate that most people think is French anyway. Belgium - Plastic Bertrand, Tin Tin andPoirot. Again, most people probably assume anything marginally famous and Belgian to be French.
We live in blissful ignorance of Belgium, until we cycle.
It is possible for your perspective on Belgium on its own to define you as a cyclist, even if you never ride a bike
Perspective. Belgium - commonly viewed by many as the epicentre of the cycling world. A cycling Garden of Eden, if you will. The spiritual home of cycling as a real sport. The races, the riders, the cobbles, the climbs - only in Belgium, and most of us want a little bit of Belge to rub off on us. We crave it. We even pay for it. Kit with a flash of black, yellow and red. Bikes from Ridley, Merckx, Flanders...
The greatest of the cycling greats? Why it can only be Eddy Merckx... the Belgian legend that grows each year - he is the starting point for most newbies to our sport (at least they can see past Armstrong). By the time my son is boring people in pubs about the unbeatable Mr Merckx, the legend will have grown yet further to prove that he won every single bike race on the face of the planet between 1967 and 1976.
Think about beer and sport... Budweiser/Carlsberg/Amstel, Official Beers of whichever football tournament is currently raking it in... talk to a cyclist about beer and you will get one of two responses - CTC leaning types will invariably go for "a pint of old stuff with bits in it" (beards are wonderful bit filters) but talk to anyone with a modicum of race interest and I would be surprised if you weren't bombarded with some of the most obscure Belgian brews available. Iam a little more commercial in my tastes and happy to settle for Duvel or Leffe, but your hardcore race fan will swear by some Flemish Monkische Scrotebrau and settle for nothing less.
Belgium - produces more World Tour riders than any other country. Given the size of the place this is amazing. The Spring Classics fought out on the cobbles and climbs of Flanders and Wallonia each year are OWNED by Belgian winners in a way that French fans of the Tour de France or British Tennis fans at Wimledon can only dream of. Take the Ronde, or Tour of Flanders as an example - run on 95 occasions. Won by Belgians 67 times. They own it.
How many famous Belgians can you name? Newbie cyclists, probably at least five. More established riders and fans, at least 10 to 15. I bet many hardcore, long term race fans will be able to name 25 - 50, or even more.
Cyclocross - don't even get me started on cyclocross, my favourite racing discipline - I could be here all night... there will be many posts to follow on cyclocross in the coming months, but you cannot deny that 'cross is possibly more Belgian than Belgium itself.
Oh Belgium... how I have come to admire you... but only because I cycle.
Yes, this is another general cycling blog. No, it has not been thought through and it is not a business - this is a sideline to my hobby. I am not a writer, but I do ride a bike.
I am a relatively recent member of my local cycling club - an old established institution which celebrates its 120th birthday this year. I have two seasons of cyclocross and one and a bit of time trialling under my belt. I am not fast, but I love competing and trying to improve. I have never ridden a Road Race or Crit - a gap that is likely to remain unfilled on my cycling CV, but who knows? Although I have only competed for 2 years, I have ridden a bike, on and off, for as long as I can remember. I am 43.
I also like going on trips - I have done a few, and hope to do a few more. Some might categorise this as "touring" but for me it is purely leisure cycling - riding around the world (not done) or to a local pub with your family (done) are pretty much the same thing - its just that one takes a bit longer and requires a bit more stuff.
I admire people and I admire things. There are lots of both of these to admire in cycling. There is also a lot of rubbish. I am more likley to blog about the things I like than the things I don't although this is not a hard and fast rule. I shy away from the concept of "reviews" - I am not a reviewer but I will pass on my opinions of the things I come into contact with as a cyclist - bikes, accessories, races, events, clothing, food, websites, podcasts, books, magazines, DVDs etc etc.
Keen cyclists consume a huge amount of stuff - if you, like many others are just starting out with "serious" cycling this will cost you a huge amount of money and you will make mistakes. If my opinions help minimise those mistakes, great. Whatever you do, don't just take my word for it - there is a wealth of information out there, and where possible, I will point those sources out.
Cyclists are good at sharing their opinions - sometimes a little too good - but whatever opinion is being shared they are mainly born from a passion for the bike. This is Riderific.
