2012 London Bike Show - Cervelo S5 Team Issue

Bikes can have beautiful, flowing lines, some bikes' beauty can be in their obvious functionality and then there are plain ugly bikes.

I'll be honest - I really don't know where the Cervelo S5 sits for me. There is a beauty about it but its way at the end of the functional end of the scale. This bike just looks like it will do a job. And that job will be done with the maximum of aero efficiency.

It is so functional that certain design areas are jarring in their intensity, but what do you want a bike for? To hang on a wall or ride really, really fast with the minimum of effort?

Don't get me wrong, this is no fugly BMC. (Not much comes close in my book...)

I like Cervelos. I love some of them. I think I am going to have to settle for admiring this one.

2012 London Bike Show - Wilier Twin Foil TT

I thought Cav's black Pinarello Dogma 2 looked stealthy until I saw this piece of machinery from Wilier.

Frankly, if Darth Vader were to come out to play at your local 10 you would expect him to be feeling The Force on this monster.

Its outrageous. Its Gorgeous. You would only get a couple of notes and a few coins change out of 10 grand (Sterling), but my oh my.

Testing, Death Star Style!

2012 London Bike Show - Cervelo T1 Track Bike

It may simply be because I haven't been looking, but this was the first time I had seen the Cervelo T1 track bike.

An aluminium frameset that will set you back a grand (sterling) but is super light and utilises all Cervelo's trademark aero tricks.

It all looks so simple, yet effective. Replace the showbike hoops with a Zipp disc and 808 front as shown on their website and you have one mean looking track bike.

http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/2012/T1/

2012 London Bike Show - Seven Cycles Mudhoney Ti Crosser

I know I raved about this bike at the NEC Cycle Show, but I still love it.

It is a thing of real beauty.

Way too expensive for me, but a real Lottery-win dreambike.

I'd settle for just the enve wheels to be honest. Stunning.

2012 London Bike Show - Mark Cavendish's Pinarello Dogma 2

It only seems like 5 minutes since I was at the Cycle Show at the NEC, but the London Bike Show has swung by already.

I was lucky enough to spend my lunchbreak at Excel soaking up all the industry has to offer.

I guess this is the shot that everyone has already seen, but still wants to see - Cav's 2012 steed - a very stealthy black Team Sky Pinarello Dogma 2.

As those who know me will testify, I am not a natural Pinarello fan - I guess I just like straight lines too much and can't see the point in them persisting with their wavy davy (Onda) forks and seat stays. BUT I have to confess this is the nicest looking Pina since they started insisting on putting a kink or bend in every straight line they come across.

Really very nice.

British National Cyclocross Championships 2012

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...

The Comeback

Road to recovery - shadow training

Well I did it.

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".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgRlcIS0TIs&feature=player_embedded

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXjTxn8-H8A&feature=youtu.be