A Sting in the Giro Tale

I rode the Passo Gardeccia a few years ago during a Gran Fondo cyclosportive in the Dolomites.

Despite riding with a compact which gave me lower gears, that made no difference as I used all my gears up early. I could have done with a mountain bike! It was painfully steep with an unrelenting gradient. As the road twisted round each corner I thought things would level off, but it didn't. Those 6.5km were just painful! In fact "racing" up it was the most painful bit of cycling I have ever done. Local hill climb races give around 3 or 4 minutes of pain. This stretch gave me 40!

I felt sick, I was nearly crying, my quads were killing, and by the time I reached the ski resort at the top I just fell off my bike, too broken to do anything apart from panting loudly in a heap.

Yes, Gardeccia may only be a short ramp in the grand scheme of this year's Giro d'Italia route but it's damn tough. That final climb on Stage 15 will be a real sting in the tail for the riders once they've completed Passo di Giau and Passo Fedaia (which they scale from the hard side).
So those who gave their all on Monte Zoncolan today may have to pray that there's another protest and the course gets re-routed somewhere easier! Whoever wins up there tomorrow will have definitely earned their pasta! I look forward to watching this stage.

Pink is Tough!

There is a growing interest in women's cycling these days. I guess with the success of the likes of Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley and Victoria Pendleton the general public has gotten quite excited at the prospects of these ladies striking gold at London 2012.
For the cycling fraternity the interest comes from more money being granted by different authorities to encourage more women into cycling.

Lo and behold, this year a few all-women cycling events have been scheduled. Davina McCall's ride took place a couple of weeks ago, and over the coming months there'll be the Victoria Pendleton Cycletta rides and CTC all-women rides.

A few weeks ago I went down to Bewl Water to take part in the one organised by the all-women cycling club, Kent Velo Girls.

I sometimes see the Kent Velo Girls in the lanes when out on my bike and they seem a friendly bunch. The perception I had had of them was of being a leisure cycling club, with the girls all decked out in stylish pink jerseys with flowers on.

The women are of all ages and their rides appeared to be done at a gentle pace. I had never seen anyone from that club at competitive cycling event.

So I went along to the cyclosportive expecting the ride to be a gentle jaunt through Kent and East Sussex where there was a choice of a 20mile, a 40-mile or a 60-mile ride. Wanting to get in a few miles, I did the 60-miler.

Well, how wrong I was about the "gentle jaunt"! Within the first few hundred metres of crossing the start line we were climbing. That had not been a surprise to me as it was on the profile. Profiles can be deceptive though, and the little lumps that came in the middle section of the ride were steeper than I'd imagined. There were rather more 7-8% ramps than my legs had budgeted for!

Kent, East Sussex, the High Weald - why on earth did I think this terrain would be gentle?? It has been hilly since prehistoric times so why did I think the terrain would be any different on this day?!

So on I plodded - through Wadhurst, Mayfield, Dallington, Robertsbridge and a challenging loop around Bodiam Castle, before returning via the long climb through Robertsbridge.

Descending homewards after Robertsbridge I heaved a sigh of relief as my legs got some respite, but then uttered a yelp as I suddenly had to dodge a snake in the middle of the road! Hmm, not your typical Kentish creature!

I managed the ride in a reasonable time, but by the time I was back at Bewl Water I was crawling. I'd spent the first half of the ride hanging onto the coat-tails of a triathlete from Sevenoaks Tri Club. It was great training for me, but once the elastic snapped that was it. The lack of fitness took its toll on me and I steadily drifted backwards. Still, it was a good day out and I really appreciated the beautiful scenery as we snaked through quiet country lanes, passing woodland, fields and different monuments.

Don't get me wrong. This cyclosportive had something for everyone, and it was great to be in a testosterone free environment. The 20 and 40-mile rides were routed in a way to make them do-able for new riders, and there was even a Go Ride for youngsters.

The event was very well organised and carefully planned. The goodie bag reminded me of a "Generation Game" conveyor belt, but without the fondue set and the cuddly toy!

The ride may have been testosterone free but it was still every bit as testing.

In fact, Kent Velo Girls have women who take part in time trials, and they plan to get some girls into racing, and even hill climbs. Pink may be all pleasant and fluffy, but it is also tough!


Thanks to Bee Gregorie and the Kent Velo Girls for putting on a lovely event.

A Classic in London

London may not have pavés (cobbles) like in the Forest of Arenberg or bergs like Geraadsbergen Muur but we do have cobbled streets and we also have short sharp climbs.

So using these facts, a group of imaginative folks from South London put together The London Classic, based on the series of bike races held in the Spring on the steep and cobbled roads of Flanders (Belgium) and Northern France. This ride was less than 60km long, but it was quite a bone shaker for those uninitiated to the quirky world of Spring Classics.

Under sunny skies we set off from a pub South of the river and then headed into central London where we were treated to our first section of easy pavés in Covent Garden.

Then it was on through The City where the more serious, bumpier stuff was to be found on the old streets of Stepney and Wapping.

Having ridden the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders cyclosportives in the past, I thought I would have been ok on the cobbles of London. But then I remembered that I had been spared the worst of the jarring at these events by being on my sturdy cyclo cross bike with chunky tyres. On this day I was on my delicate road bike with slicks. So in fact I suffered the shakes more than I'd anticipated. Thankfully the cobbled stretches in London were nowhere near as long as those in Northern France or Belgium.

Heading back to South London via Tower Bridge I took a quick breather before preparing myself for a tough final 10 miles home. We were treated to a rapid succession of steep hills through South East London - Maze Hill, St John's, Honor Oak Park, and the worst of them all - Canonbie Road (oof)! This road should carry a "don't try this at home" warning. It. Is. Steep!!

After somehow surmounting that challenge, the 10% gradients of Eliot Bank and Gipsy Hill were a breeze!

Back at the event HQ of the Alma pub at Crystal Palace we then watched how it's done (or not, in Tom Boonen's case) when we followed live coverage of the queen of the classics, the Paris-Roubaix professional bike race.

We may not have had to negotiate 260km of cobbles in pouring rain and wind on our ride, and it was far from being the "hell of the north" (or the south even), but I had definitely ridden my bike, and Stepney had felt like my Carrefour de L'Arbre while Canonbie Road was my Koppenberg! Maybe for next year the organisers should award us with a genuine Stepney cobble as a form of trophy for our efforts! (I hope the Council aren't reading this!)

Thanks to Dave Mullarkey and Brixton Cycles for putting on a great event!

Photos by Wig Worland

A Stylish, Polite Bike Ride - The Tweed Run

I remember seeing the write-ups on the Tweed Run last year and was quite impressed at the idea of riding around London looking all dapper.

It's true that in recent times people in London, as well as in other cities have embraced "urban chic" culture, and folks try to look a bit fashionable as they zip around the traffic in the City and the West End.

Dressing up to the nines in clothing that is not far off your Sunday best, and in tweeds or plus fours is quite something else.

Entries for the event opened on 27th February and closed 7 minutes later! Fortunately I managed to get a place and make the start at St Paul's Cathedral.

The place was awash with folks in all shades, textures and styles of tweed. As the event also incorporated a moustache competition men (and a few women) had gone to the effort to fashion themselves a mo for the day.

It was a real meeting point for eccentric people on vintage bikes of all different fashions. There were old postman bikes, Dursely Pedersens, Penny Farthings,etc. Even one girl just got a Boris Bike, circa 2010 and decked it out in tweed for the event!

So at 12 noon after the class photo on the steps of St Pauls all 400 of us set off on our merry way through central London.

We must have been quite a sight to the tourists and the Saturday afternoon shoppers as we wound our way through the London streets.

From The City we rolled to Westminster via Blackfriars Bridge and back over Westminster Bridge. Then we passed along Birdcage Walk, Buckingham Palace, and up through the West End. Of course we couldn't pass through the area without showing our respect for the shirtmakers at Jermyn Street and the tailors at Savile Row, purveyors of exquisitely fashioned suits and all other things gentlemanly.

Onwards we twiddled, chatting and laughing amongst ourselves in our 400-strong peloton, bidding "good day" to the traffic, the men doffing their caps at the other motorists and taxi drivers.

Some folks had managed to tack gramaphones and other musical appliances onto their bikes so we were even entertained to the sounds of 20s jazz and classical music.

It was all so very civilised, with a feed station at Lincolns Inn fields, where cucumber sandwiches and tea was served, then at the end of the ride in Bethnal Green, mini Gin and Tonics were offered - a spiffing end to the ride!

It's funny how the peloton of the Tweed Run was no smaller, probably even bigger than that of the monthly Critical Mass rides that take place in London. However, because we were dressed in very smart clothes and looking terribly British, the reception we got from the public, motorists, and even taxi drivers was much more positive. Permission to organise this ride had been granted by the authorities, though it was the responsibility of the organisers to sort out the escorting of the peloton and controlling the traffic at junctions. This was carried out with the utmost precision and we felt very safe within the group.

Organiser, Ted Young-Ing who cycles regularly says when he cycles in tweeds he definitely feels a more positive vibe from other road users than when he's in lycra or urban clothing.

So it seems that wearing tweeds when cycling is the way forward - although as we leave behind the warmest April on record and approach summer it might not be the ideal fabric!

In any case, I tip my hat to the excellently turned out ladies and gentleman who helped to make this a splendid day out on the Tweed Run.

Nice New Mitts from AnaNichoola

I have never really been one to hunt out and buy cycling mitts that were of a particular style or design. The ones I have accumulated over the years are mainly out of functional need - for example thick padded ones for the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix cyclosportive last year - or just giveaways as part of an event goodie bag.

In any case women-specific gloves have tended to be much of a muchness and they have never really excited me, so I am quite neutral about what to wear on my hands when cycling.

The good news is designers are thinking more about producing aesthetically pleasing women's cycle wear.
One designer who has thought alot about this is AnaNichoola who recently launched a line of women-specific fingerless gloves.
The Kestral is designed for the woman who'll be out riding for a few hours, while Bow-Peep is more for the commuter lady cyclist.

I had the priviledge of trying out the Bow-Peep mitts during the 10-mile Tweed Run bike ride through London.

What I liked:
The cotton crocheted upper side of the glove provided some warmth while allowing my skin to breathe and not letting my hands get too hot on that warm day.

There was ample padding for when cycling around town.

The loops between the fingers meant I could remove the gloves quickly and easily.

The Velcro is good quality so mitts could be fastened securely.

The grey crocheted design coupled with the pink bow and the grid design on the palm side gives an overall stylish look that does not look out of place even when in smart clothes.

It's good that there is a range of sizes that fit my big hands!

What I need to bear in mind:
The Bow Peep gloves have been designed as commuter gloves, so the padding is not suitable for long rides. If I plan to be out on a 3hour+ club run I'd probably be better off using the harder wearing Kestral gloves.

I am not so dainty with my sportswear and sometimes I do tear around a little without too much care for what I'm doing with my garments. I would have to take care not to scuff the bow or catch it in the velcro!

Overall, I would recommend the Bow-Peep as a great glove to wear when commuting around. Whether you are going for the cycle chic image, the casual look or even wearing your tweeds this glove will fit the bill nicely.

P.S. I hope to try out the Kestral mitts in the near future.

Tweed Run photo by Wig Worland

London Women Back on the Circuit

So after a great first year of the London Women's Cycle Racing League we are glad to see the London women are back again contesting league on the local circuits and aiming for glory and even the admiration of their peers.

The format's pretty much the same as last year, save a couple of tweaks.
This year Olivier from Bean About Town mobile coffee bars has very kindly supplied us with coffee so we award a Rider of the Day prize to the woman who has shown the most application in a race. It's a bit of a subjective prize, but it also means that anyone can win it - whether you finish first or last. So then even people who aren't that strong can have something to race for when they turn up, rather than feeling despondent at the thought that these races are just about the fast girls.
And that sort of climate would not be good for local women's racing, nor would it have achieved the goals of the London Women's Cycle Racing League.

We want this to be inclusive and feel that all levels of rider can take part.

So the first round got underway a couple of weeks ago at Redbridge Cycle Circuit (aka Hog Hill). There were glorious conditions for the women and we had a field of over 30 starters.

Anna Grundy, now racing for Look Mum No Hands became league leader, while Emma Grant who raced for Rapha Condor was awarded the Bean About Town Rider of the Day.

What has been good has been the number of new faces that have come along and are having a go, as well as seeing the established racers still hanging in there and trying to fend off the new competition.
Last year, in the early season it looked like the team to beat would be Pearson CC, but then Rapha Condor came along and grabbed the top spot. This year it looks like it's all about the Look Mum No Hands RT ladies. But who knows, things may still change though if other racers get more tactical.

I guess that's the beauty of cycle racing - and it's great to see that we have the luxury of healthy local competition among female racers in London. Long may it continue!

Top Photo: Dave Hayward
Bottom Two Photos: London CycleSport

Spring in My Manor

The current issue of Cycling Active magazine has a ride story about cycling around Crystal Palace, Dulwich and the surrounding areas. I am very proud to say that I am the author of the said piece.

What gets me excited about this is because it's in my neighbourhood. There's something quite flattering about seeing the area in which you live mentioned in the media (for the right reasons of course!). Whether it's featured in the property pages of the London Evening Standard or it's the area visited for episodes of Come Dine with Me, that sort of mention gives me a buzz.

So it was great to be given the chance to write about a bike ride around Dulwich, Crystal Palace, Herne Hill and even a bit of Peckham and Brockley. We managed to include one of the nearby pubs, which actually comes out looking good in the final pictures.  In fact it looks so quaint I feel guilty continuing to refer to it by its local nickname - The Dog and Vomit!

I realise alot of people get excited about going off and doing photo shoots in spectacularly scenic places like Southern Spain or Utah. I do too. However, as much as I like the idea of going to these places I don't think I can ever get a greater sense of pleasure than when I see in the media the places for which I have an emotional attachment - the places where I feel at home.

Thanks to Andy Waterman for taking the pics and to Sarah Strong for being a model for the day!