heusden-zolder cyclocross world cup highlights

beautifully filmed and edited highlights here from the elite women's cyclocross world cup in heusden-zolder, belgium from 26 december 2011.  it really captures the toughness and atmosphere of racing in the number one country in the world for elite cyclocross racing.  seeing these stars makes a mere mortal like me desperately want to take up the sport.  just got to get myself a cx bike now.

5ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

via cyclingdirt

chasing legends (stage 21)

i watched chasing legends for the first time yesterday. the film follows the then htc-columbia team and their roster of stars such as mark cavendish, mark renshaw, george hincapie, tony martin and bernhard eisel as they raced their way around the 2009 tour de france.  it was the edition which also included the imfamous lance armstrong - alberto contador astana team.

i thought the movie was very good and made all the more entertaining by including plenty of interviews with jens voigt, always a winner right?  my only criticism of the film was the corny and ever so slightly cringe worthy introduction and conclusion to the movie featuring what was supposed to be old black and white footage of a young boy peering over his garden gate as the tour hero's of yesteryear race by, pure cheese!  that aside the film is definately worth a viewing.

i found the clip below showing the run in to paris giving a good flavour for the style of the film.

Chasing Legends (Stage21) from deekay on Vimeo.

roller training

i posted this video of myself training yesterday in my back garden on the rollers to show that they really are not difficult to use. i thought it would take me ages to get the hang of it but it did not. i just got on them a few weeks back and off i went, with a wobble or two, but nevertheless i was rolling!


rollers training from Jason B on Vimeo.
i wish i had known sooner that riding rollers is so simple especially since my wife had bought them for me at least two years ago as a christmas present. until three weeks ago they had sat collecting dust unused, although for around a year and a half of that time we had been living in a little flat in hackney london with no decent space in which to set them up, or at least that is the excuse i use to console myself with.

since relocating to bath though we have much more living space including a back yard, featured in this video, and when the weather is really bad a garage/man cave! i therefore no longer have the lack of space excuse.  a few weeks ago when the weather was much colder than it currently is i set the rollers up in the garage, put the bike on the rollers, positioned myself on the bike, started peddling, let go of the wall and the rest, as they say,  is history. one important note though, i did not clip in to the peddles with my cycling shoes on the first attempt, instead opting for caution by wearing a pair of trainers for an easier escape should it be required, which is was not.

since that first attempt on the rollers i have been using them between three and four times per week.  maybe it is still a novelty but i actually enjoy using them although anything more than a 45 minute session does get a tad boring.  that said, compared to riding the turbo trainer, which i used to do, the rollers are far more fun.  they require a level of concentration and focus not needed when training on a turbo trainer where the bike is locked into the trainer.

because i am still a relative beginner on the rollers i am experimenting with how far i can push myself in terms of balance.  for example, i can ride them one handed for short periods of time, i can ride them with my hands on the tops of the bars or the hoods and i can turn my head to the side and down a little, although it is surprising how much turning the head can effect the direction the bike goes in.  my arms still seem to turn slightly when i turn my head so i have to be very careful doing this.  what i cannot do yet is take my arse off the saddle or go non-handed, those two options would definitely end in disaster.  i am sure though that my form on the bike will improve as i hone my technique on the rollers.

for the first winter ever i will now be able to guarantee myself a certain level of bike fitness as i head into spring thanks to being able to train on the rollers plus, of course, getting out for as many rides as i can during the winter months.

i use a dutch brand of rollers by tacx called the tacx t1000 antares rollers which retail for around £125 here in the uk.  so far they have worked perfectly well, they roll smoothly, do not make too much noise and the build quality is solid, what more is needed?

for more information on tacx rollers visit them at www.tacx.com.

journey to a dream

journey to a dream was created by film maker nigel dick for team garmin-cervelo's team presentation in boulder, colorado on 17 november 2011.

and the winner is...

congratulations to mark cavendish on winning last nights bbc sports personality of the year award, it really did cap a stunning year for the manxman following his stage victories in the giro d'italia and tour de france plus the green jersey in the tour and the world championship win in copenhagen.   cavendish finished ahead of golfer darren clarke who was second and world 5,000m champion mo farah who came third.

cavendish become the third cyclist to win the coveted award after tom simpson in 1965 and sir chris hoy in 2008.

the soigneur diaries

a busy day in the life of a htc-highroad soigneur.

The Soigneur Diaries from BrakeThrough Media on Vimeo.

sidi dominator

i will always be faithful to the sidi dominator.  from the first moment i started wearing sidi's classic mtb shoe i was hooked.  come rain, shine or snow the dominator has protected my feet whilst on the bike for so long now i would not have a reason to swap them for anything different.  this work horse of a shoe really comes into it's own as a commuter/around town/shopping/off to the pub cycling shoe which is what i have been using it for over the years, although i have been known to ride the odd hundred miler in them too.

although the dominator is meant as an mtb shoe i have only ever worn them whilst riding road bikes with a mtb pedal since i consider it a little foolish to be riding around town with a road shoe, with it's slippery sole when starting off from lights it is more of a challenge and walking in them is something akin to a cross between a penguin walk and bamby on ice.  this is why i have always fitted either shimano spd or crank brothers egg beater pedals to my around town road bike and thus have worn the dominator more regularly than my specialized s-works or sidi ergo road shoes which are reserved for weekend outings.

as you can see from the above photo my current dominators are a tad worn and i have only one small complaint about them and that is the velcro on the fastening straps become less sticky over time.  that aside most parts of the dominator, as indeed are all of sidi's shoe range, are serviceable.  the buckle ratchet system on my shoes are nearly broken, i can tell by the fact that sometimes they will not release when i press the red levers in.  i did not want to get to the point where the buckle would not open leaving my foot locked into the shoe and me having to call one of the emergency services to have me released.

foolishly i have thrown a pair of dominators away in the past when one of the buckles had broken thinking i could not get it fixed or that it would take too long and be too expensive.  this time though i knew better and contacted sidi who told me they could pop a pair of buckles in the post for just over a tenner and all i need do is unscrew the old buckles and screw in the new ones.  actually the delivery of my buckles was very quick and i received them a day later, great service!  replacing the buckles will add a new lease of life to my old dominators and velcro straps apart should allow many more years of use out of them.

for those of you living in the uk and who have service issues with your sidi shoes contact sidi cafe - www.sidicafe.co.uk.

fizik dual tape

i have tried so many bar tapes over the years.  it is the one bicycle accessory that is relatively cheap and that can freshen up the look of one's bike and can even motivate the rider to get on their bike, should they like me need motivating occasionally.  that said i recently purchased some new bar tape for a different reason.  i was looking to replace the old fizik microtex bar tape on my wilier with a more cushioned tape.  i was actually looking to buy some pro digital carbon smart silicon tape (what a mouth full!) which i have on my de rosa and which is very padded and comfortable.

following a crash i had back in 2008 i sustained an injury which i have not been able to shake off despite getting treatment from an osteopath.  whenever i ride for more than 50 or 60km i start to get pain in my right shoulder/neck area.  to help ease the pain i will now only use bar tape with plenty of cushioning.  i also use some cinelli gel inserts on the wilier which stick to the bars under the bar tape, although this only helps when holding onto the tops of the bars.

back to the bar tape purchase i ended up buying some fizik dual tape, in colour black with red trim, since by local bike shop cadence do not sell pro.  on first impressions i am very impressed and so i should be since the dual tape is quite pricey at at around £13.  the dual tape is as padded if not more so than the pro and will provide as much shock absorption as i am going to find in a bar tape.  it should certainly help ease my shoulder problem, a little, on longer rides.

for those who regularly ride cobbles or are thinking of riding one of the spring classic sportives such as flanders or roubaix both the pro digital carbon smart silicon tape or the fizik dual tape should be seriously considered as appropriate bar tapes to use for riding on such uneven surfaces.

nicknames of the peloton

via fabbrica della bici

anton krupicka

from old school to new school tony krupicka is an american ultra runner based in boulder colorado who has won races such as the infamous leadville 100, miwok 100k and rocky racoon 100 not to mention coming second in the western states endurance run in 2010.  yes this man has serious credentials.

renowned for often having ran upwards of 200 miles per week and more recently for running up mountain peaks most days krupicka is an inspiration to us runners especially when as the film below shows we see him running through the cold winter in the snow.  actually running through snow is great fun, i have done it plenty of times and can recommend it.



also check out krupicka's blog here.  there is some breathtaking photography of the beautiful colorado wilderness.  i really have to go there sometime.

joss naylor

joss naylor (mbe) was born in 1936 in my favourite area of the lake district, wasdale head (there is a great campsite and pub there and not much else apart from stunning rugged countryside and england's biggest mountains).  although not well known outside of fell running circles joss is one of the most prominent figures in britain's rich fell running history and as i have previously mentioned features in richard askwith's excellent fell running book feet in the clouds.

joss spent his life running and sheep farming on the hills in and around the area in which he was born and bred.  he first raced in 1961 when he saw a trial beginning near his father's farm at wasdale head. on impulse, he joined in his work boots, led for eight miles until he got cramp, and had found what he wanted to do. by the time he was 30, he was best on the circuit.

later as a prolific fell runner and building on the basic bob graham round naylor's incredible achievements gained recognition when in 1971 when he ran 61 of the lake district's peaks in 23 hours and 37 minutes. asked which single run gave him the most pleasure, naylor chose his lakes, meres and waters record run of 1983:

it was one of the most beautiful things i ever did, seeing every drop of water in the lake district, 27 of them in 19 hours, just over. when we finished at derwent water, it was becoming dark, but we saw everything else in a single day's daylight - a beautiful clear june day it was, only a little bit of of mist early on. that was something.

however, his greatest ever achievement is considered to be his 1975 bagging of 72 peaks which involved him running over 100 miles and about 38,000 feet of ascent in 23h20m, surely placing him amongst the best ever ultra distance mountain runners and ensuring him legendary status.

in 2006 aged 70 naylor still managed to run 70 lakeland fell tops covering more than 50 miles and ascending more than 25,000 feet, in under 21 hours.  in an age where many athletes are overpaid and over pampered naylor is an example of an athlete driven to compete for the sheer joy and excitement of the challenge where monetary recompense is secondary.  what a man, what a hero.

below is an excerpt from a series entitled to see ourselves about joss naylor's life called naylor's run giving us a small glimpse into his humble and down to earth life and featuring part of his 1997 60 lakeland fell tops in 36 hours run, all at the age of 60.  although humble naylor recognises his extra special talent when as he states in the film he was once told by a specialist that his level of ability might be found in around 1 in 200,000 people.  a special man indeed!

the off day... when nothing goes well

frank patterson