thewashingmachinepost




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nutritional nirvana

chips

an office colleague opted to ride to and from work during this past week on her specialized e-bike, predominantly at the behest of particularly clement weather and an uncharacteristic lack of wind. she lives about 16km from the office, so the round trip of 32km for a non-cyclist, was reasonably impressive. this led to a conversation stressing the point that the effort involved would offer the opportunity to scoff a sticky bun with afternoon coffee, bereft of a guilty conscience and the likelihood of any gain in weight.

that brought to mind an article i recall from a copy of mountain bike magazine from late last century. the author, whose name has disappeared into the mists of time, paid great heed to the joys of riding some enervating singletrack with all the twists, turns and berms that feature in that particular strain of mountain biking. however, on reaching the final paragraph, it transpired that those aspects of the ride were merely a backdrop, or excuse, for accompanying the post-ride espresso with perhaps an extra doughnut.

ultimately, the majority of us ride our bicycles in ludicrous weather conditions (who me?) and over totally unnecessary distances, because we like riding our bicycles, expectant of no particular or tangible reward. however, there's no denying that the number of calories burned during even a modest outing, can outweigh any subsequent intake of other calories along with the post ride coffee. and that does, i'm led to believe, make a great deal of nutritional sense.

apparently, there is a window of opportunity, following reasonably strenuous exercise, where our bodies are eager and willing to absorb greater amounts of carbohydrate and protein, providing the ideal excuse for modest excesses in food shovelling. i will excuse myself from any specifics concerning this nutritional information, purely because i'm considerably less than well-versed in the subject, along with the fact that it's many a long years since i made any attempt to train for anything in particular. however, if it's of any significance, when i was a teenager, i wore jeans with a 30" waist, and now that i'm considerably older than that, i still wear jeans with a 30" waist. despite not being known to hold back on my food intake, it suits my purposes to put this stasis down to the fact that i regularly cycle around 160km each week.

however, i may have blotted my copybook on yesterday's sunday bike ride, by enlightening my companions to a particular addition to the menu at debbie's. though i have made great mention of the double-egg roll that features at lunchtime on my solo saturday riding, at the risk of embarrassing my two regular sunday morning compatriots, they are both in the habit of demolishing a double-egg roll each on arrival at debbie's come sunday lunchtime. however, this weekend, i discovered that a chip fryer had been installed in debbie's kitchen within the past few months, offering the potential opportunity of double-egg roll and chips as a less than healthy repast.

personally, though i don't mind some chips now and again, i'm not a great fan of this item on the menu. however, the same could not be said for my team-mates, both of whom availed themselves of this additional menu item. so, in order to arrive at some justification for such fried excess, in the spirit of america designating pizza as one of your five-a-day, we are unilaterally categorising chips as an essential item in the athlete's armoury for potential victory. forget your salted caramel gels and isotonic drinks; we predict that it will soon be common to see team soigneurs handing up cartons of frites at world tour feed stations, and riders such as primoz roglic, wout van aert and mathieu van der poel being followed on training rides not by a liveried team car, but by a sponsor logo'd chip van.

remember where you read it first.

monday 19 april 2021

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all change

electric car and bicycle

a good number of years ago, when i owned my first steel-framed colnago, as it sat on the workstand in the bikeshed, a visitor to my next door neighbour enquired as to the cost of the machinery on partial display. i reckoned, at the time, with a campagnolo chorus groupset, the all up price would have been around £1700. despite the fact that he had arrived in at least £40,000 worth of ford sierra cosworth, he was aghast that anyone would spend that sort of money on a bicycle. payback, however, was not long in arriving, as a matter of years later, he too had caught the cycling bug, aboard not inexpensive carbon fibre.

sadly that period of his career seems to have floated on by; i've not seen him on the bike for many a long month, but he now drives a custom range rover and a powerful and shiny bmw. however, as my neighbour on the other side was wont to mention everytime i was to be seen fettling a bicycle in the garden, 'boys and their toys'.

and i must confess that it fills me with a sense of pride that meeting me in bowmore main street, strikes feelings of guilt into at least one or two motorists. it's the sort of situation that could come back to bite me at some point, but for now, i'm happy to live with it. for as i ventured out on saturday pm to collect my newspaper, i met a young woman who lives but a matter of metres from the averagemarket, yet had driven from her house in a large volkswagen suv in order to transport two small bags of shopping that could easily have been carried home. she was somewhat embarrassed to have met me, once again, having driven a very short distance that could quite easily have been accomplished on foot.

though glasgow will host a climate conference in october of this year, it can surely not only be yours truly who thinks that the vast majority expect the world's governments to solve the climate crisis, while they continue to lead their lives the way thay have always done. if residents in bowmore village find it perfectly ok to drive to the shops, to work or to school, in a village that is merely 1.6km from end to end, then it seems safe to assume that the same situation occurs all across the nation, or even the world.

pollution from cars is the single largest contribution individuals can make to the climate crisis, but if a few more decided to use the legs and feet they were born with, instead of jumping in the car, it would at least be a start. major changes can indeed, only be accomplished by governmental legislation, such as outlawing sales of new petrol and diesel cars sooner rather than later. were the latter not to be the case, there would be little incentive to acquire electric vehicles. given the extra premium to be paid for fully-electric vehicles, it's doubtful that many would voluntarily opt to pay for their electric motors. but government subsidy for electric purchase is perhaps not the only means of reducing motor-based pollution.

france is planning to enact in law, the opportunity for french residents to swap their old vehicles for €2,500 towards the purchase of an electric bicycle. this past week, france's assembly voted for an amendment to the government's climate and resilience plan to extend a series of measures encouraging the development of cycling. apparently the original plan offered no specific support for cycling whatsoever. ceo of europe's cycling industries, kevin mayne, said they had lobbied for the inclusion of cycing in any car scrappage incentives or climate plans. the french assembly has made it clear that e-bikes and e-cargo bikes will be supported as motor vehicle replacements.

we can but hope that britain's governments will follow suit.

of course, what has not been addressed, or even mentioned, is the means by which all this extra electricity demand wil be satisfied. if more and more of the population are to be found aboard e-bikes and driving electric vehicles, there is going to be huge opportunity for electrons to extend their career path. granted, renewables have been contributing a substantial proportion of britain's electrical needs, but that demand will surely increase by several orders of magnitude in the next couple of decades, and that part seems to have been conveniently underplayed.

however, i look forward to meeting folks exiting bowmore's averagemarket into a main street totally devoid of motor cars, but lined with bicycles and e-bikes. oh, and herds of unicorns.

sunday 18 april 2021

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are we there yet?

jura passenger ferry

i have not long finished work on a book, at the behest of a german publisher which engaged my services to convert a software translation, from german to english, into readable prose. this, i cannot deny, led to more than a few snigger moments, where the software entered flights of fancy that had little to do with the written word. however, the author, resident on islay, in the early chapters of his book, describes the two principal means of travelling to the island: by air from glasgow, or car ferry from kennacraig. granted, both approaches have been significantly romanticised, but that's relatively common in the world of whisky.

but it is true that those of us who may have regular call to reach scotland by the means outined above, tend to take the pleasures of so doing entirely for granted. though the flight to and from glasgow takes a mere 35-40 minutes, the ferry trip can take slightly in excess of two hours, dependent on which port the boat is destined. if you consider such a trip may be the first time folks have visited any of the scottish islands (skye no longer counts because it's tethered to scotland by means of a bridge), there is no doubt that a trip on a ferry, and the possibilities on offer on arrival, can seem quite exciting.

there is, however, an alternative means of getting to islay, by way of our neighbouring island of jura, one that is particularly cycle friendly. the village of tayvallich is situated in the knapdale area of argyll and bute. the name has its origins in gaelic, meaning 'house of the pass', and it's built around a sheltered harbour on loch sween. to reach tayvallich by bus, you'd take the citylink campbeltown coach to lochgilphead, and change to a smaller coach heading to the village. it is possible to take the train from glasgow to oban, but the road to cairnbaan, at which point you'd turn west to reach tayvallich, is not the ideal route for cyclists. there is, however, an earlier departure from the a816 onto the b8025 at baluachcraig to bellanoch, that might be a more prudent move if cycling from oban.

either way, if we assume you've made it to tayvallich, skipper, nicol mackinnon on the jura passenger ferry will be more than welcoming of you and your bicycle (the latter travelling free of charge), for the one hour sailing to craighouse on jura. this trip now promises even greater comfort than before, with the ferry having been recently upgraded from a rigid inflatable, to a 33 seater catamaran (currently restricted to twelve passengers due to social distancing), with comfortable seating both inside and out, a full-size toilet and heating. the boat (illustrated at the top of this article) offers superb views of the scenery and wildlife en-route.

on arrival at craighouse, a hearty repast can be obtained either at the antlers restaurant, or jura hotel, both of which are within a stone's throw of the island's sole distillery. presently the visitor centre and tours are unavailable due to covid-19, but with restrictions on tourism and non-essential travel due to lift on monday 26 april (from which date the ferry service commences), it surely won't be long before things change for the better? craighouse is but a mere 14km from the feolin ferry terminal on the sound of islay, from where it's possible to transport yourself and bicycle across to port askaig on islay, a ferry trip that takes a mere ten minutes. the cycle from craighouse to feolin is one of my favourite bike rides, though sadly, one that i have rarely had the opportunity to enjoy of late.

obviously enough, should you have arrived on islay via the 'regular' calmac ferry, rather than return by the same route, you could reverse all of the above, and arrive in scotland by this more spectacular means. many cyclists arrive on islay via arran, ultimately heading north to oban and across to the island of mull. this is by far, a more interesting method of travel, particularly when it includes a bike ride on jura.

you're welcome.

jura passenger ferry

saturday 17 april 2021

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wireless luddity

sram rival e-tap axs

i don't think i'm making this up, but i'm sure i recall a major component provider attempting to justify the introduction of their electronic groupset, by stating that, towards the end of a major cycling event (perhaps they had milan-sanremo in mind), riders could experience an elevated level of fatigue. apparently, this tiredness could have resulted in an inability to physically push the levers required to actuate the gears, the contention being that pressing buttons was substantially more energy efficient. i have no idea if anyone actually believed that, but it did seem a tad reminiscent of an april fool's prank.

sram rival e-tap axs

however, belief in electronic gear shifting has been sufficiently widespread to ensure that the vast majority of professional riders are aboard bicycles kitted out with some form of e-shifting. those deliberately bucking the trend are few and far between, but the fatigue excuse has thankfully disappeared. of course, as in many cases within the professional milieu, riders simply ride that with which they are provided, safe in the knowledge that there is a phalanx of mechanics ready and willing to fettle every last electron, should they prove recalcitrant in any particular way.

as individuals, without the benefit of a contract in our back pockets, and possibly a lack of financial wherewithal to service those electrons, most of us can only watch from afar at the possibility of fitting our bicycles with shimano dure-ace di2, sram red axs, or campagnolo super record eps. the latter, depending on whether you opt for discs or calipers, can set you back around £3,500, while sram red e-tap axs, or dura-ace di2 both seem to be a smidgeon less expensive. nonetheless, the costs incur a premium over the standard mechanical versions.

sram rival e-tap axs

yet only yesterday, sram introduced an e-tap rival groupset, offering wireless shifting at an almost entry-level price, accompanied by rhetoric inferring that it was time to throw those mechanical groupsets in the bin. midst cries of 'wash your mouth out with soap' (admittedly, mostly from me), bikesnobnyc tweeted "going to throw out all my mechanical groupsets now. In fact I may just throw every one of my bicycles just in case." he followed this with comments calling on the cycling media to refer to the situation as an 'upgrade emergency'. though i'm not one usually keen to join clubs, i heartily nail my own colours to the mast on this one.

the sole plus point i can see midst sram's engendered hyperbole (it's low on complexity) is that the all up price of around £1,000 for the 1x road groupset, positions it quite nicely as an alternative to 'real' gears (depending, of course, on where you'd be likely to acquire your mechanical groupset). however, though the 'throw the mechanical stuff in the bin' advice is surely tongue in cheek, albeit with a soupcon of earnest persuasiveness, it would seem to seriously disparage the efficacy and efficiency of the excellent mechanical groupsets on the market. but just as one-inch headsets have become as rare as hens teeth, and one-inch compatible stems seem to have become totally extinct, wholesale adoption of electronica could presumably affect the manufacture, and almost certainly the economics, of the mechanical options.

sram rival e-tap axs

though not possessed of the stamina of even the most lowly of professional riders, i cannot truthfully admit to having lost the energy to push the inner flip lever on my record levers, no matter the distance travelled. we've already noted that bike snob feels the same way, as does technical wizard and framebuilder, richard hallett. no doubt there will be more, and i sincerely hope that mechanical will not disappear, not only in my lifetime, but that of my grand-daughter who turns one year-old today. i've never held back on my admissions of luddidity; it's what comforts me when i can't get to sleep at night, but probably like many of my advanced years, i can't help thinking that there are now ever more solutions looking for problems, and at a faster rate than before.

if climate change is a problem that we really hope to defeat, should we not be looking for less in the way of energy hungry complexity, rather than more?

friday 16 april 2021

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a worthy cause

world bicycle relief

during the early days of lockdown in 2020, captain tom moore, a war hero, and former concrete company executive, elected to walk 100 lengths of his garden, making use of a zimmer frame, with the aim of raising £1,000 in aid of nhs charities. on the morning of his 100th birthday, the total raised passed £30 million, an amount far in excess of his original target. in july of 2020, he was knighted by the queen at windsor castle, but unfortunately captain tom passed away in february of this year, originally having entered hospital for treatment of pneumonia, but succumbing to covid-19.

on friday 30 april, captain tom would have been 101 years old, and the anniversary of the celebrations following the realisation that he had, in fact, raised a total of £38.9 million. aside from the fact that mrs washingmachinepost seems intent on filling our front garden with trampolines, sophisticated water-play and all manner of scoooters and bikes, in truth, it's scarcely long enough to serve as the stage for any form of charitable undertaking, let alone walking. one hundred lengths of our garden would probably take less than five minutes, and one revolution of the pedals on my 'cross bike would put me over the fence.

however there is a means by which we can not only celebrate the efforts made by the knight of the realm over his birthday weekend, but simultaneously raise money for world bicycle relief. to celebrate the great man's life, his family have inaugurated an event in which everyone around the world can participate: the captain tom 100. and in recognition of the fact that not everyone is possessed of the superlative athletic abilities conferred upon yours truly, you can interpret the number 100 in pretty much any way you want.

you could ride 100 miles or 100 kilometres between friday 30 april and bank holiday monday 3 may, or you could ride around the block one hundred times, or you could high-five 100 of the walkers or runners who will hopefully be out doing exactly the same thing. and with lockdown relaxing on 26 april in scotland, following on from a similar relaxing of rules in englandshire, there's no need of undertaking any of this on zwift. and if any have doubts over your ability to achieve this, take inspiration from georgina situmbeko's story.

she is a member of the palabana dairy co-operative (pdc) in the chongwe district of zambia. The majority of pdc members own fewer than 20 cows, most owning between five and ten. to reach the pdc's milk collection facility, dairy farmers must travel between two and 17 km over rough, mostly unpaved roads.

before world bicycle relief partnered with the co-operative to make their buffalo bicycles available to dairy farmers, milk had to be carried by hand or by wheelbarrow to the dairy collection centre, taking two people to carry one 30-litre can. the milk often spoiled before reaching its destination due to the long distances.

for years, georgina situmbeko made only one milk delivery each day because she lives twelve km from the collection center and had no alternative transportation options. However, she was milking her cows twice a day, and was missing out on the income her second milking could have brought. now, however, georgina rides her buffalo bicycle to deliver milk twice a day and has not missed a single delivery since receiving it.

georgina is 68 years old. if she can ride 24km each day, carrying heavy milk cans, we sure as heck can attempt 100 kilometres just once across four days. in fact, splitting the distance into four, 25km rides, on a bicycle that is probably a tad lighter than a buffalo bike, even before adding the milk can, will provide some sort of parity with georgina, bearing in mind some of those farmers ride near 34km, similarly laden.

it's a no brainer really. #captaintom100

world bicycle relief

thursday 15 april 2021

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bigger and betterer

1890 bicycle patent

judging by the number of patents recently registered by bicycle and component manufacturers, there's little danger of velocipedinal matters getting any simpler anytime soon. with both campagnolo and sram paying at least lip-service to finger-controlled wireless gear changing, the days of downtube-mounted, friction-shift gear levers almost seem to embody technology from the stone-age. which is, quite probably, exactly how they're viewed by those brought up in the days of sti and ergopower. shimano's di2 was originally introduced in 2001, but only made its way onto road bikes is 2009. that means that it will only be a matter of years before there are riders in the professional peloton who have never raced on a mechanical groupset.

i have always harboured hopes that man's increasing grasp of technology would begin to show itself by way of improved simplicity, yet precisely the opposite seems to be the case. of course, this is not an affliction solely borne by the world of the bicycle, but in the light of the bicycle's simplicity making it the ideal mode of transport in third world countries, its increasing complexity seems very much at odds with its origins. can you imagine how difficult would be the task of world bicycle relief, training mechanics in the hinterlands of uganda in the vicissitudes of servicing wireless twelve-speed groupsets made by the company founded by chief executive vice-president, f.k.day? it's worth my pointing out that f.k.day is also the founder of world bicycle relief.

and that's not to mention that those twelve-speed sram red cassettes are hewn from a single billet of alloy, just as are the rings on the matching double-chainsets. it's what used to be referred to in the automotive industry as 'built-in obsolescence', the very direction in which the bicycle industry appears to be headed.

however, i can appreciate that i have a distinctly minority viewpoint, ensconced as i am, on an island without a nearby bike shop to undertake the fettling that i find beyond my capabilities. and therein lies the second 'resentment', if i might phrase it thus. for at one time i would have thought myself almost the equal of many professional mechanics, but that, sadly, that is no longer the case, and not just because i can no longer justify the price of the necessary tools. aside from the fact that i have little truck with electronic gear shifting, and hold healthy suspicions over the necessity of hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes, both are technological developments about the workings of which, i know remarkably little.

yes, i understand the basic principles, but similarly, i understand how high-bypass jet engines work, but i'd think more than twice before attempting to service one. and when i have conversations with my good friend, velotech cycling's graeme freestone king, it is quite disarming how much at ease he is not only with the campagnolo technology that exists today, but the top secret stuff they're training him on for the future. had i not been generously provided access to the workshop manual applicable to the record twelve-speed groupset, i fear much of it would have been incorrectly fitted to my ritchey frameset. i have little doubt that, if i ever make it to record thirteen-speed, i will have to give up with a shrug of the shoulders.

i can appreciate that motor vehicles are already in the grasp of this technological nightmare; my son's last vehicle was ample evidence of that (sensor one begat sensor two, begat sensor three and so on and so on), but do we really want to scare off the would-be new cyclists, when they read the specifications of the bicycle on which they have set their desires? incomprehensibility might be quite excusable if purchasing a used space shuttle, but a bicycle?

of course, i'm well aware that this is simply a rant, one that will probably find little favour with those astride their state-of-the-art carbon fibre, changing gear with a snap of their thumbs and forefingers, while scanning the heads-up-display on their oakley lenses. nothing i've ever said against press-fit bottom brackets, integrated headsets, hydraulic disc brakes or nine-tooth sprockets has ever made one iota of difference, and i see no reason for that to change now. but just remember, when we read of 'the true power of the bicycle' as espoused by world bicycle relief, that we are moving at light speed in the opposite direction without any real reason, other than because we can.

wednesday 14 april 2021

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two days left

jumbo visma tour jersey

as advised on the post, but a matter of weeks past, the velo club have inaugurated the necessary procedures for a new jersey, little different from its predecessor in design, but with the addition of long-sleeves, essentially to complement the short-sleeve version from yesteryear. the latter is now viewed as a minor aberration, predominantly on the basis of the length of a hebridean winter, and the knowledge that summer lasts for only a week in mid-august. even this past weekend, as we involved ourselves with sheep and french fancies, a stalwart member of the peloton found it necessary to don a second jacket to stave off possible hypothermia in the face of the occasional hail shower.

however, i'd hasten to state that there was a lengthy selection process. basically, we replicated, as near as possible, both the style, colour and graphics of the previous incarnation and sent the files off to the fine folks at endura's custom kit. the procedures involved in dye-sublimating the fabric has already begun, and we look forward to receiving the completed jerseys by month's end, when no doubt, long-sleeves will still be every bit as much in vogue as is presently the case. comfort, joy and warm forearms will be our luxury to own.

jumbo visma tour jersey

there were concerns, however, when engineering the short-sleeve version, that the colour scheme of maroon and cream would avoid any clash with the yellow leader's jersey, should we be fortunate enough to be given a wildcard entry to the tour de france. yes, you may laugh, but stranger things have happened. not much stranger, i'll grant you, but straitened finances would hardly stretch to having a new set of jerseys built, were the extraordinary to occur. but those circumstances appear to have either occurred or been imposed on wout van aert's team ahead of this year's three week's in july. you really have to wonder what jumbo-visma were thinking when they designed a predominantly yellow team kit when joining the rest of the boys in the world tour band.

regular velocipedinal aficionados will surely recall marco pantani's mercatone uno team having to swap their yellow kit for pink during le tour, and i believe there have been others who have also knuckled under and spent money at the behest of dye-sublimation in advance of the grand-départ.

jumbo visma tour jersey

however, the folks at jumbo-visma seem inherently indecisive as to which of the three options they should adopt ahead of the french national event. for, rather than point to one and be done with it, simply toss a coin, or blindfold primoz roglic and have him pin a musette on one of the three options, they've opened it up to you and i for our specialist advice. there seems to be no truth in the rumour that the jersey choice will subsequently be joined by asking us the question as to who should lead the team towards paris. however, that aside, there is but two days left to influence their decision, or spend 21 days in july, pointing out just what a terrible decision they've made and why hadn't they just asked you?

come 15 april, the team will close the selection process, and announce the winning design on the following day. on 17 april, eager and intrepid jumbo-visma fans will have the chance to order a tour de france jersey identical to that of sepp kuss, wout van aert and primiz roglic. according to jumbo-visma, in what seems a much quicker production process than that experienced by the velo club, by 19 april, the chosen, limited edition jersey will be available to everyone until 28 april. even if you're hoping that tadej pogacar will repeat last year's victory, maintain the legend that cycling is the most approachable of top-level sports, one in which we are closer to our heroes than adherents of other sports. or words to that effect

vote at ourjersey.teamjumbovisma.com

tuesday 13 april 2021

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