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ritchey logic ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

clash of the titans

duck derby

with easter weekend almost upon us, despite the cold, wind and rain, the island has begun to waken up. the inside back page of the local newspaper, generally devoted to 'what's on' adverts, is gradually being populated with small boxed announcements of upcoming events, the majority of which take place over the coming few days. though predominantly designed to cater to the local population, the likelihood of a few visitors to the hub of the known universe won't do any harm, possibly swelling audience participation events.

as someone intrinsically involved in said newspaper, public holidays such as those about to take place come not only with fringe benefits, but a smattering of simultaneous disadvantages. first off on sunday morning, is one of the decided advantages, brought about by the enterprising manager of the hotel in bridgend village. this is situated only a matter of half a kilometre from the grand départ of the sunday morning ride, making it an easy preamble to the morning's velocipedinal activity.

this particular hotel instigated not only breakfast with santa over the past two christmases, but bolstered those with a breakfast with the easter bunny around this time last year, an event that will repeat this easter sunday. though i feel compelled to attend prior to the bike ride in order to grab a photo or two, the manager has kindly invited me to partake of breakfast while i'm there. obviously enough, this hardly forms an integral part of my nutritional programme, but to be honest, who in their right mind would turn down the possibility of a couple of fried potato scones before cycling, no matter the professed downsides of fried anything?

however, to a certain degree, that's where the advantages end. though, weather permitting, the velo club peloton ought to enjoy a fine easter sunday bike ride, followed by coffee and a cheese and tomato toastie at debbie's (carbo loading, you understand), there is then a further, less timeous call on my limited photographic abilities at the annual 'duck derby' on the river sorn, once again, at bridgend village.

for those less than well versed in the intricacies of duck derbys, allow me to inform that each of several hundred ducks bears a specific number, all of which are purchased in advance of letting the yellow flock loose on a short length of the river. the first duck to drop over the shallow weir is pronounced the winner. i cannot deny that it is an event featuring many difficulties for the inept photographer, not least because i covered the selfsame event in 2023, and am at pains to find an alternative means of illustrating this year. however, such professed iniquities are far from being the principal obstacle of the day.

it is common practice to arrive at debbie's around mid-day, allowing for a leisurely coffee and toastie prior to wending our merry way home. the usual schedule would see me pass through bridgend village around 1pm, the very start time for the duck derby festivities. were that also the time designated for letting loose a plethora of plastic ducks, all would be well. but no; the derby itself does not commence until 2pm, and given the existence of so-called 'islay time', the chances of it starting on time are slim to none at all.

i'm sure many of you can see my dilemma, but for those in thrall to the island's easter activities, let me encapsulate my problem in three words: ronde van vlaanderen. i had hoped to return home just past the hour of 1pm, have a quick shower, change into my secret identity and fill the remainder of the post meridian with belgian cobbles. however, given the above lovingly crafted detail, i'm sure you can see that i might struggle to return and witness even the final 25 - 30km. the only solution which i can envisage, is watching the event later that same evening via eurosport's on demand feature. on that basis, i have troubled you with this monologue for one single reason:

whatever you do, please refrain from e-mailing the final result in my direction as the victor crosses the line. i want no spoilers, thank you very much.

thursday 28 march 2024

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world bicycle relief

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the maurice burton way - britain's first black cycling champion. maurice burton & paul jones. bloomsbury hardback. 258pp illus. £20

the maurice burton way - burton & jones

the late lamented procycling magazine commonly included within its masthead, the words, "inside the world's toughest sport", enlightening the new apprentice as to the nature of the sport about which he or she was about to read. on a more relateable level, this can be demonstrated by the average speeds quoted at the end of any professional race. a sizeable majority of us would struggle to equal those speeds for even five minutes when pedalling for all we're worth downhill with a healthy tailwind.

at times, you really have to wonder whether those who have chosen cycle racing as a career are actually wired right.

it is, therefore, even harder to comprehend why a black man would opt to join the happy peloton in what we might refer to as 'less enlightened' times? as if things weren't already hard enough. and based on the narrative within this excellent book, and allied with previously acquired anecdotal evidence, riding the six-day circuit in the 1970s was undoubtedly one of the sport's tougher options. this collaboration between accomplished cycling author, paul jones, and consummate track cyclist, maurice burton, is not only highly instructive concerning cycling's relatively recent past, but a particularly compulsive read to boot.

maurice's father, rennal burton, grew up in portland, jamaica, eventually travelling to the uk in the late 1940s on a fyffe's banana boat, ultimately arriving in avonmouth, shortly after the much publicised hmt empire windrush. he gained employment as a carpenter for a short period, before moving to london where "about that time, there were only two black people living there.", where he was employed in the garment trade as a presser. he met gracie spires, "...a seamstress and machinist at the same company."

setting up home in peckham, in 1955, rennal and gracie had a baby boy, named maurice, before moving house to bushey hill road where they lived until 1964. the difficulties of being a black child in a predominantly white neighbourhood were not long in announcing their presence. when most of the kids with whom maurice played were white, "It was always a problem for me to knock on their doors. The parents didn't like it. My friends had to come out to the street and meet me there."

cycling was in decline as the 1960s headed towards the 1970s. though cycling clubs were still aplenty, the encroachment of the motor car had undermined its one time majority interest. however, kids of the era still liked "...to ride around the neighbourhood on clunkers. Maurice did just that, pelting around the streets with friends." one of those streets took a youthful maurice burton within shouting distance of herne hill, at the time, the home of uk track cycling and host of such events at the 1948 olympics.

the decision of inner london education authority to place cycling on the secondary school curriculum in the mid-1960s gave maurice his opportunity to get into track cycling "...because I didn't know how to." with a lower age limit of 14 to join the secondary school cycling programme, it was 1970 "...when I first went to Herne Hill." it was but a few pedal strokes until burton joined velo club londres, established in 1964 by bill dodds and sean purcell "...with the aim of encouraging young riders into cycling." it was the former who was to become an important figure in burton's early cycling career.

the fact that schoolboys were prevented from racing on open roads at that time, rather constrained burton's velocipedinal options. further inspiration was gained from burton's attendance at the 1971 good friday meeting at the herne hill track. purchasing a copy of international cycle sport, maurice relates, "I just looked at the magazine and I thought, This is where I'm going."

'the maurice burton way' succeeds in particular because it consists predominantly of quoted discussions between paul jones and maurice burton. jones fills in many of the in-between gaps, but in a pleasingly conversational style. the usual mores of so-called 'ghost writing' would normally consist of the story being related in the third-person, or by giving the impression that the biography is self-narrated. this book is cleverly different, even deviating to chronicle solo efforts by jones, yet remaining firmly affixed on 'the maurice burton way'.

in the early to mid 1970s, burton worked closely with bill dodds, training hard to a comprehensive programme around the dimensions of the herne hill track. burton's initiation into the world of competitive track cycling came via an event ironically named the 'great white hope'. unfortunately the fitment of a smaller than ideal chainring, resulted in his coming second by half a wheel. "If I had the right gear on I think I would have won it. I mean I had the wrong gear on and I still made the final!" however, were achieving success as a track rider not already hard enough, it wasn't long before racism, arguably more endemic at the time, made life even harder.

having been knocked out in the first round in a commonwealth games event, he became not only the the only rider bereft of a medal, but a black rider bereft of a medal. the subsequent team photo depicts burton not only visibly apart from the rest of the team, but the only one with no medal on display. as burton relates "I wonder who thought it was a good idea to get a picture of everyone with their medals and have the only black guy standing awkwardly at the side without one?"

the fact that maurice burton is black and competed successfully in the years when racism was a persistent obstacle, is an undeniable thread running throughout the book's 258 pages. however, less you think that to be the be all and end all of this particular publication, allow me to disavow you of that notion once and for all. maurice burton, in keeping with a small number of british cyclists who attempted to forge a cycling career in europe during the 1970s and 80s, displayed a tenacity worthy of our admiration. nobody, or very few belgians (where burton plied the majority of his trade) went out of their way to make the sport of track cycling an inclusive endeavour. burton achieved an impressive palmares on the six-day circuit through sheer ability, speed and bloody mindedness.

there is little to deny that not only is the narrative format of this book commendably inventive, but an appreciation that paul jones is the perfect and gently cajoling foil to maurice burton, is never far from the surface. jones has the enviable ability to combine 'race footage' with presenting burton as the proud and genial fellow that he undoubtedly is (i had the pleasure of meeting the great man many years ago). it may be that track cycling or six-day racing have not formed a major part of your cycling education or interest, but in truth, essential though it is to burton's career, it is the exciting backdrop to the story of one man about whom you owe it to yourselves to learn a lot more.

though he's only one year older than yours truly, i want to be maurice burton when i grow up.

the maurice burton way is published by bloomsbury on thursday 28 march.

wednesday 27 march 2024

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willow bicycles ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

cross pollination

ridley x-night rs

i recall being informed many years ago, during the advent of the deep-rimmed carbon fibre wheelset, that such augmentation was, in truth, somewhat surplus to requirements for the average cyclist. common lore would have it that speeds close to 50kph would need to be achieved and maintained, for said wheels to be of any particular aerodynamic advantage. though i confess to being no spring chicken, velocities such as the above i could only achieve and maintain were there to be a substantial tailwind breathing across uiskentuie strand (such as was coincidentally the case on friday afternoon).

i have been fortunate to review several sets that equate to the description provided above, and while all have proved aesthetically pleasing and largely comfortable in use, i cannot claim to have reached debbie's more quickly than when aboard bicycles shod with standard wheels. though currently on loan to a fellow pelotoneer, i possess a campagnolo bora wto carbon wheelset, with rims equating to a depth of 45mm. these do roll remarkably well, courtesy of a relatively frictionless set of hubs, something observable on my custom wheelset which features a campagnolo record hubset.

but i would be hard-pressed to attribute any particular speed gains to the carbon rims; i can, however, attest to the difficulty of riding in a straight line in the teeth of an atlantic gale, despite campagnolo's claim to have accounted for such during their wind-tunnel testing. were i to be several decades younger, no doubt i might just scrape through to escape velocity long enough to benefit from all that extra carbon, but assuming the original advice to be sound, once again, i fear we are being sold a dummy.

such being the case, i have serious misgivings over the use of such wheelsets in top level cyclocross races. by the very nature of the parcours, cyclocross racers rarely reach the speeds demonstrated on the road. commentary during sunday's ghent - wevelgem, indicated that the kop van de westrijd and achtervolgers were, on frequent occasions, topping 70kph; during one of last season's more alacritous 'cross races won by mathieu van der poel, the dutchman posted an average speed, over the hour, of 27kph.

i, for one, cannot see how any speed gains can be achieved by running cyclocross bikes on deep carbon wheels, when speeds rarely, if ever, reach the sort of swiftness that would justify their use. is this simply a case of ubiquity, based predominantly on velocipedinal ornamentation?

but, in an affirmative demonstration of alice's 'curiouser and curiouser' exclamation, it seems that the use of aerodynamics in cyclocross has not stopped at the wheels, at least if the latest iteration of ridley's x-night rs is anything to go by. in a well-penned and illustrated review of the bicycle on america's velo website, alvin holbrook mentions that the frameset "...adds a focus on aerodynamics specifically with the variable speeds of cyclocross in mind." much as i love cyclocross, i cannot for the life of me comprehend how aerodynamics have any part to play in cyclocross, given the widely varying nature of the average european cyclocross parcours. it seems highly unlikely that eli iserbyt would be likely to either make his way through viscous mud a tad more quickly, or hop the planks at greater speed due being aboard an allegedly more aerodynamic frame profile based on their falcn rs road bike.

and based entirely on anecdotal evidence, i'd think it likely that cyclocross bikes require greater attention from their mechanics than necessaitated by the average road bike. it seems likely, therefore, that internalising all the cables inside the head tube, can only increase the hapless technicians' workload. and even if the professional mechanical ministrators can readily cope with this increased faff, it surely bodes less well for those of us required to carry out our own fettling. of course, those of you in the big wide world who actually participate in cyclocross races may hold a more learned and informed opinion, but i singularly fail to understand why aerodynamics have any part to play in cyclocross. any professed advantages must surely be infinitesimal?

ridley x-night cyclocross bikes | photo: ridley bikes

tuesday 26 march 2024

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back to the beginning again

chain reaction - wiggle

advice to purchase from your local bike store is well-intentioned and ultimately pragmatic. as we have also been drilled to learn, 'the internet won't fix your bike'; imagine how the owners and staff of your local bike shop will feel when you wander in with an ultegra di2 groupset purchased online, and ask them to fit it to your bicycle. how would you feel? and as bicycles become ever more complex (whether they need to or not), there will ultimately be componentry that is beyond the scope of the home mechanic, either to install or repair.

however, both we and they have to face up to the fact that all are reputedly still in the throes of a 'cost-of-living-crisis' and it's common knowledge that items purchased online tend to be a tad cheaper than those on sale in your local bike shop, for which there are many mitigating factors. it is what i believe are commonly referred to market forces, and i don't doubt that there are independent bike shops which cheerfully welcome those with internet bought componentry, making up the difference with their labour charges. those too, can be thought of as the same market forces.

there is, however, a bit of a conundrum in relation to the above mentioned circumstances. though not everyone will be aware, almost every box containing a newly purchased bicycle features wording on the lid indicating that, were the enclosed bicycle to be assembled by other than an authorised or competent mechanic, the purchaser need not expect much satisfaction should a warranty claim become necessary. quite what constitutes an authorised mechanic is a debate for another day. as far as i'm aware, trek bicycles are the only company so far to prevent their authorised dealers from supplying an unassembled bicycle to eager customers.

i brought up this very situation with trek's head office many years ago, pointing out that, should i desire to own a trek bicycle, it would involve two ferry trips, two bus journeys and an overnight stay to acquire the hypothetical trek bicycle of my dreams. due to their apparently restrictive sales policy, my trek would undoubtedly cost substantially more than a mainland-based customer. i can only suppose that trek figure that the number of sales they might lose due to this policy is hardly worth worrying about.

sadly, they're probably correct.

however, many of us in the hebrides were in the habit of ordering our necessities, such as tyres, tubes, cables, bar tape etc., from chain reaction cycles, originally based in southern ireland. the pleasant oddity that surrounded such purchases was that they would often arrive on the doormat within two days, possibly three at worst. such speedy delivery when you really needed that replacement component to continue riding was, i'm sure you'll realise, very welcome.

bizarrely, after chain reaction was absorbed into the wiggle universe and the operation moved to mainland britain, deliveries became significantly slower; sometimes longer than a week. those circumstances were often accompanied by strange delivery restrictions; who would have believed that a pair of 700x25c folding tyres would constitute a heavy package and thus be unavailable for delivery to the hebrides? particularly when the wiggle website promised worldwide delivery of entire bicycles. there followed some very interesting communications with wiggle's customer services department. so whether we ordered from chain reaction or wiggle it was often a lottery as to whether delivery would be allowed or not.

while i and my fellow sunday morning pelotoneers had great sympathy for the hapless employees who lost their jobs at both cycle retailers, we really did not necessarily shed a tear for the purported demise of both. bear in mind that we, and others like us farther north, off the west coast of scotland, mostly suffer from a distinct lack of local bike shops and have no choice but to garner a certain level of self-sufficiency, and order our velocipedinal requirements online.

but now comes news that the house of fraser group, already owners of evans cycles, had purchased both wiggle, and chain reaction earlier in march, with the intention of restoring both to the e-commerce world by the end of this month. do we trust them once again? haven't we already found alternative sources? is it possibly too little too late?

only time will tell.

monday 25 march 2024

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hot chillee ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

smug

dun bheolain

as easter approaches, it is apparent that visitors have chosen to brave the elements they may not have expected, in order to visit the centre of the known universe that is the island of islay. as i wended my merry way south west to debbie's for lunch on saturday, into the teeth of a 70kph cold headwind, i was passed by several foreign plate cars and minibuses, while as i rode my 'cross bike along the strand, i came across the first two motorhomes which had obviously opted not to pay for a power hook-up at the camp site at port mòr in port charlotte.

this had all been preceded during my walk home from the office on friday lunchtime, by three visitors ahead of me, quite clearly heading to the round church at the top of main street, either to search for family graves in the cemetery, or intent on viewing the magnificent interior of the building. during the week, the ubiquitous groups of three, four or six (you almost never come across five) predominantly male visitors wearing woolly hats and carrying backpacks, heading down main street towards the distillery. it is, we have all agreed, that time of year once again.

the surprising element has been that of cyclists. given the less than equitable weather in late march, early april, it's relatively unusual to espy any sign of velocipedinists at any part of the island. on my return trip to port ellen distillery on tuesday of last week, i met not one single cyclist, yet since friday, they appear to have come out of hibernation en masse.

my friday afternoon paper route to the rhinns was somewhat blighted by a searing headwind from bridgend to bruichladdich, resulting in a 'head down' attitude as i perambulated uiskentuie. it was only a brief upward glance along its length that had me notice two cyclists heading in the opposite direction, having a far easier time of it than yours truly. and only that morning, i had watched a small peloton of visitors on e-bikes, ascending bowmore main street as if it actually descended. and it was e-bikers that offered the opportunity for unfettered smugness on saturday afternoon.

having extended my lunchtime just a tad due to a pleasant conversation about ferries (i was fortunate to have been invited to turkey last weekend to witness the launch of the first of islay's two new ferries at the cemre shipyard in yalova, istanbul), i set off from bruichladdich to ride my habitual afternoon parcours beginning at foreland hill.

in a passing place at the foot of the hill, were six young blokes either astride bicycles or adjacent to others. offering a 'hail fellow, well met' as i passed, i had reached the final portion of the climb, when two of the riders aboard what were then clearly seen to be e-bikes, passed me with relative ease as we neared the top of the climb. as they steered to the passing place at the top, however, i witnessed them drop the bikes to the verge and sit on the grass, puffing and panting.

i passed with a cheery wave aboard my acoustic specialized crux.

the remianing four from the same group, despite also aboard e-bikes, had apparently been unable to keep up with their alacritous companions, but also failed to catch my good self. you will gain a better appreciation of my smug demeanour when i point out that, apart from having battery power at their behest, i figure they were all less than half my age. and since the e-bike hire on islay also hires out regular acoustic bikes, i questioned internally why it had been necessary to hire e-bikes in the first place? does the younger generation no longer possess any pride or stamina?

however, as if my personal self-aggrandisement and ego were insufficiently stroked already, when descending towards the rspb centre at aoradh, blown along by both wind and heavy rain, it dawned on me that those six e-bikers were probably heading to kilchoman distillery, clad only in denim or lightweight jackets. they were most certainly not prepared for heavy rain, despite this being the hebrides in march.

don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

sunday 24 march 2024

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someday my prints will come

michael blann

the newspaper at which i ply my trade was originally printed on a single-head, offset litho machine up until a matter of years ago.while the printing press itself still functioned well enough to be of continued use, the silver-master platemaker was ultimately the bringer of its demise. litho printing is based on the premise that certain areas of the printing plate will accept ink, while others reject it; rather obviously, words and pictures form the parts that are ink friendly. in order to maintain this accept/rejection process, the plate, featuring a reverse image of the final print, had to be constantly drip-fed with water, preventing the non-inked sections from drying out and thus proving receptive to ink.

michael blann

the platemaker effectively made a photograph of the final artwork (in this case, a laser print of the page) to which a photo-sensitive silver-master plate was exposed. the parts left black rejected the ink, while the silver (exposed) parts welcomed it in with open arms. sadly, the lens hood, resembling the folded concertina-like coverings featured on elderly plate cameras, had disintegrated to the point where it no longer kept extraneous light from the image, and due to the age of the machine, it proved impossible to acquire spare parts. a new one was eyewateringly expensive.

michael blann

the newspaper is now printed very efficiently on a xerox digital printer, offering a far less messy process, using toner powder as opposed to thick, gooey litho ink (of which we still have a few tins in the hall cupboard). but for those of us brought up on the messier, mechanical side of printing, those lasers have very little soul. they're also undeniably a product of the modern digital age; though there are many user-serviceable parts, if they don't work according to plan, hitting them with a hammer is not the recommended procedure. and though you'd think this modernity came with a longer shelf life, where the litho had offered three decades of (almost) reliable service, one of these digital printers collects its pension after three years and has to be put out to pasture after five.

michael blann

there's also the occasionally irritating fact that it's well-nigh impossible to colour calibrate a laser printer. the newspaper has two identical machines on which the output is close, but no cigar. at least two of us in the office miss the old days, something we apparently have in common with photographer, michael blann.

the man who brought you a book of incredible images of iconic mountains from the sport's major races was, he admits, trained as a print maker before becoming a photographer. twenty years after undertaking a degree course at kingston university, he has now found himself back in the print room, making use of a technique known as photo-polymer etching. according to mr blann, "The Photo-polymer Etchings process has made it possible to transfer a high-resolution image onto a metal plate which is then inked up and printed on a traditional roller bed. The resulting images are rich in tone and depth and have an organic look and feel to them. It's possible to print both black & white images and also full colour by separating the image into x4 CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key [black]) plates and over-printing them on each other."

michael blann

however, unlike the laser printers i use at work, which offer a high degree of predictability in their output, the etching process outlined above is a tad more fractious. "As with all printing techniques, there are a million things that can go wrong along the way, so patience and an aptitude for working through problems is an important consideration." that said, the end results are quite magnificent, as can be seen in the images available to purchase on michael blann's website. and unlike laser output, created by fusing cmyk toners onto the paper's surface, the flat bed litho process offers a more textured result. "As the plate is squeezed through the press, the image is impregnated into the paper leaving an embossed line around where the edge of the plate was. The results can be spectacular."

you can see for yourself here

saturday 23 march 2024

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draught proofing

body rocket

my reader may have observed that i have been remiss in the number of recent mentions concerning the winds often to be found strafing the principality. this is not to infer that such meteorological instances no longer feature in the hebridean day-to-day, just that my mind has been elsewhere of late. in fact, calmac have already indicated that several ferry services may be subject to delay or cancellation, both today and tomorrow. i just needed to make that plain.

persistent draughts such as those experienced across the sprawling estates have often been found to restrain the apprentice islay cyclist in the process of his or her progress across the island's decrepit, single track road surfaces. our most recent recruit, who, admittedly, has not been seen for many a sunday morning, on his first outing with the velo club, found himself questioning the veracity of his brake adjustment when other members of the peloton drew steadily into the distance. convinced that the calipers must be dragging on the disc, he stopped to check, only to realise that he was being held back by a stiff headwind.

at our particular level of velocipedinal activity, there is little by way of technological development that would offer to ameliorate such conditions. deep-section carbon wheels, while reputedly offering to slice through the air, tend to suffer greatly when confronted with any form of crosswind. and acquiring a frame possessing feather-weight properties offers little succour to the downtrodden, prone as it would be to buffeting from such disfavourable conditions. and as for the current trend to hide brake and gear cables within bars, headtube and main triangle, just don't get me started.

however, cycling's obsession with aerodynamics appears to have followed similar previous obsessions, creating yet another level-playing-field that provides not one iota of advantage to the seasoned professional, because all his or her peers have adopted precisely the same purported advantages. meanwhile, us ordinary beings scarcely have the need or power to take advantage of such niceties, despite the industry's insistence on trying very hard to sell them to us.

however, in relation to the science of aerodynamics, the immediate connotation is that any investigations would necessitate use of an expensive wind tunnel; not the sort of facility available to the ordinary velocipedinist on the sunday morning ride. well-acquainted with this coefficient of drag anomaly, a company by the name of body rocket has unveiled a prototype of what it claims is the world's first and only 'real-time aerodynamic drag force measurement system for cyclists.'

but, before we venture any further, i might mention that, many years ago, i was sent an srm power-meter setup for review, which demanded the installation of appropriately compatible software to allow post-ride analysis of the numbers generated during any particular ride. discovering this data to show a period where i appeared to have generated no power whatsoever (a bit of a stretch even for the likes of me), i began to read the manual, convinced the calibration was at fault. you can imagine how foolish i felt on realising that the missing portion of the graph was due to my freewheeling downhill.

the point of mentioning the latter state of affairs, aside from adopting a less than healthy level of embarrassment, is to show that possessing data is one thing - comprehending it, is an entirely different set of pedal revolutions. there are many cyclists now riding with integrated power-meters, the output from which makes no more sense than the uci rules concerning bicycle aerodynamics. assuming the body rocket hardware to ultimately become as ubiquitous as the power-meter, in many cases, the end result will be even more cyclists with graphs, charts and numbers that are every bit as incomprehensible as the power data discussed above.

at present the many sensors included within the body rocket hardware are the subject of a fundraising drive on crowdcube, so quite how much this unnecessary piece of kit will lighten your bank account is unknown. but despite my predictable cynicism, it would surprise me not at all to learn that there are many others positively drooling at the thought of festooning their carbon fibre with some body rocket kit.

it seems a tad incongruous, therefore, that the body rocket stem, shown above, would appear to have all the aerodynamic properties of a brick.

friday 22 march 2024

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space travel

port ellen distillery

on tuesday of this week, i was invited by diageo to the official opening of the revived port ellen distillery which last produced whisky in 1983. with the exception of the two kiln pagodas, the remainder of the buildings were demolished over a decade past, effectively leaving only the warehouses to indicate there had ever been a distillery in the first place.

as my reader will be aware, i care not for whisky, no matter the distillery from which it originates, but the opportunity for an early week bike ride to reach the distillery (32k round trip) was too good an opportunity to pass up. the latter took place during islay's rush hour, as traffic from other villages on the island headed along the low road to reach the ferry terminal in time for the departure of the morning boat at 9:45am. however, to place that in some sort of mainland perspective, not only was i afforded plenty of space when being overtaken by trucks, buses, cars and taxis, but many were courteous enough to sit patiently while oncoming traffic made its way toward bowmore.

i have the distinct advantage that, on an island of some 3000 people, a cyclist is a less than common occurrence, particularly at this time of year, and many of those passing know me personally. that in itself assists greatly with individual safety; to a large extent, that has proven true for the majority of the sunday morning peloton. however, as i scanned my twitter feed at work yesterday, i came across a posting from argyll and bute council which stated, "Every week four people in Scotland suffer serious vehicle collisions while cycling - and fear of road traffic is the biggest barrier to more people cycling."

the tweet linked to a youtube video encouraging motorists to pass safely, leaving space for a life, the on-screen graphics making it plain that every cyclist is also a human being with memories, dreams and aspirations too.

however, it seems that there may be a conundrum at work here, directly related to the number of cyclists present on britain's roads, including those of argyll & bute. if i might return briefly to my opening paragraphs, the fact that i am often a lone cyclist on islay's roads offers little cause for concern. islay's roads, even during the purported rush hour are hardly congested with traffic, and in a small island community such as this, there tends to be less in the way of apparent road hierarchy. those 40ft articulated trailers are every bit as likely to grant road space to yours truly, as i am keen to reciprocate. even at weekends, when there may be a (small) peloton of cyclists, all parties seem mostly content to look out for each other.

on the mainland, despite my limited experience of cycling in urban and city settings, i'm aware that cyclists rarely appear to be apprehended as human beings simply making use of an alternative means of transport. it seems frequently the case that cyclists are merely a mobile irritation that doesn't pay road tax, slowing down the more important members of mobile society. the tweet by argyll & bute council pointed out that the potential danger conferred by road traffic is the biggest barrier to more people cycling. the conundrum referred to above, is that more people on bicycles would clearly evidence a demand for suitable cycling infrastructure.

and where such infrastructure may prove impractical, or conditional on increased numbers, the fact that more cyclists were to be seen on britain's roads, would surely condition the driving population to their existence, as has become the case in north american cities such as portland, and davis, california.

i willingly admit that i am probably over-confident on my bicycle, though i stop short of taking any unnecessary risks. however, on blind corners, i am in the (police sanctioned) habit of riding in the centre of the road, hopefully to indicate that i do not wish to be overtaken. if i can't see what's round the corner, the car behind most certainly can't. i am confident enough to stake my claim to the portion of road along which i ride, well aware that, while this might work effectively on narrow country roads, it may be a less encouraging approach on urban roadways. however, if more were able to adopt such a stance, it might well have a positive effect on the manner in which cyclists are treated by other road users.

the tricky part is going to be convincing less confident cyclists to take the plunge and grow the happy throng. maybe we need a video showing that approach?

thursday 21 march 2024

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

wheelsmith ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

gravel rides lake district. andrew barlow. vertebrate publishing paperback 102pp illus. £15.95

gravel rides lake district - andrew barlow

i have been at the forefront of offering disdain for the current fascination with all things gravel, a genre that provides, for me at least, more questions than answers. and author of this particular publication, andrew barlow, has, perhaps unwittingly, added yet another couple of questions to the list. firstly, in his introduction to the book, he states, "Gravel riding has boomed in the last couple of decades, following its revival in the early 2000s in America." i like to think of myself as well-versed in the intricacies of velocipedinal life, but i know not of the revival of which he writes.

i'm afraid i am blissfully unaware of any gravel riding paradigm that existed prior to the current one, unless he has somehow confused cross country mountain biking with that of gravel? in 2007, at the behest of daniel wakefield pasley, and supported by chris king components and continental tyres, rapha america fostered the compulsive adventures of the rapha continental which saw a group of riders traverse lengthy stretches of american gravel aboard handbuilt steel road bikes riding on 28mm road tyres. to the best of my knowledge, the rise of the gravel meme only took place subsequent to this gravel initiative.

i'm really not sure that gravel, in its current sense, has been with us for more than the last twelve or 13 years. two decades seems a bit of a stretch. unless he refers to the rough stuff fellowship.

the second question that raises its ugly head, concerns the tyres employed in the pursuit of ultimate gravel. according to the author, writing under the heading of 'the bike', he states, "...my Salsa Fargo allows me to fit up to a 3-inch (75 millimetre) tyre, allowing me to have a slow but super-plush ride." tyre widths such as that suggested is surely more the province of mountain bike riders, suggesting that mr barlow and those he seeks to enthuse, might be better aboard something other than a gravel bike. and since mountain bikes have been around considerably longer than so-called gravel bikes, i believe a point may have been missed somewhere along the line.

though admittedly riding on the road, yesterday's bike ride to and from port ellen distillery aboard a specialized crux cyclocross bike, fitted with 33mm challenge grifo tyres, was hard enough on such rubber; the thought of riding 75mm scarcely bears thinking about. and his contention that these lake district rides can be ridden aboard, "...any half decent gravel bike" is somewhat undermined by his later statement, "Extremely efficient gearing is important when riding in the Lake District", advising that he runs a smallest gear of 30/42t, where we really are in mountain biking territory.

i am, of course, leaning very heavily towards cynicism with these comments, none of which bear any disparagement of the routes included. there is indeed great joy to be gained from riding gravel, particularly over parcours that have been curated for your personal delectation. how long this particular reinvention of the wheel continues to hold the mindset of the many remains to be seen, but presumably only as long as it takes the industry to 'invent' the next big thing.

mr barlow's book of 15 lake district gravel rides is, however, well intentioned and well organised, commencing as it does with advice on rights of way, a brief appraisal of bikepacking, and a reasonably comprehensive list of items you may wish to consider as necessary augmentation, both mechanical and apparel wise. this precedes section one: 'easy routes', followed by 'straightforward' and 'challenging routes'.

this pocket sized volume features a minimal, yet informed layout for each ride, commencing with the overall distance in both imperial and metric, a written introduction set above a graphic displaying the ride profile along with map references and other pertinent documentation. this is followed with the route overlaid on an ordnance survey map, step by step directions and several quality images from the ride. nearby bike and coffee shops are also highlighted. the culmination of this gravel crescendo is a 270km ride, wending its circular way north from the start in kendal.

opening gambit aside, this is a welcome addition to the growing number of books featuring gravel rides across various parts of the uk. pocket-sized in format, it slips easily into a jersey pocket of perhaps a chest pocket within your gravel-specific waterproof jacket. if gravel is something to which you are in thrall, your next holiday is already taken care of.

buy a copy

wednesday 20 march 2024

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

cycling uk ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

campagnolo ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

showers pass ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

endura cycle clothing ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

as always, if you have any comments, please feel free to e-mail and thanks for reading.

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book reviews

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