@gmcycling demands space4cycling in Manchester

The name of this blog was always intended to be partly tongue in cheek. Don't get me wrong, Manchester is a great city to cycle in: lots of people interested in cycling at all sorts of levels and we're blessed with some superb terrain within striking distance of the M60. But it's not a cycling utopia; far from it.
So, what do you do about it? Well, the lovely people at Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign would like you to get out on your bike and make your feelings known. 
To coincide with the Tory party conference which started at GMEX today, GMCC is organising a awareness ride around the roads which are closed due to the conference. Starting at 6.30pm tomorrow evening (30 September) at St Peter's the space for cycling ride is not a protest and is apolitical.
It is taking place to raise awareness of the barriers to everyday cycling and to keep the issue of safer cycling on the political agenda.

If you can't make it  - because for example you'll be riding home from work in Uppermill - you can sign the petition here. The petition will be presented to members of the APPCG, Manchester City Council and TfGM.
If you have even the faintest interest in cycling in Greater Manchester, then you should sign the petition and go along for the ride if you can.
Good luck to all those taking part.

The 2013 Cycle Show - my review

I managed to blag my way in to the trade day of the NEC cycle show on Thursday and it was an interesting visit. 
Without wanting to sound like a complete old fart, you do have to say that there's very little to choose between the current crop of bikes - particularly the £1,000 - £3,000 road machines. So while most visitors where checking out the 2014 models from Pinarello, Trek, Specialized, Raleigh, Bianchi, CUBE, Ribble et al, I decided to try and find some different machines. Fortunately, I wasn't too disappointed.  

My search for difference was initially quenched at the KTM stand. OK these bikes aren't radically different from the market leaders but they do have a different DNA to most bike companies. Most famous for its trials motorbikes, the Austrian company branched out into cycle making, in, well, 1964 as it happens. The road bike models - the Strada and Revalator - are both nice looking bikes and haven't gone down the bent and oversized tubes favoured by others.
UK distribution is looked after by FLI Distribution based in Delph - so they must be a good bunch!

The next thing to catch my eye was this very nice looking Cinelli Zydeco frameset. Apart from it being at eye-level, it just looked lovely hanging there. It's a cross frame and will set you back £750.








The real stars of the show was the beautiful bikes on the Spin stand. Had a nice chat the the owner who enthuses about his bikes which he manufactures as a bit of a labour of love on the side of his aerospace components business.
Titanium bikes have always looked the business and even more so when you're surrounded by aluminium and carbon frames which are practically indistinguishable from one another. There's care and passion in these bikes and only about 100 of them made every year. Get one while you can.

Away from the road bikes, I was drawn to an importer of Dutch town bikes. The remarkably enthusiastic guy on the stand was 100 per cent convinced that his bikes were 'the future of cycling in the UK'. His view, shared by many, is that cycling should be undertaken in everyday clothes and for most short journeys. So while covered chains, mudguards, racks and baskets are not new, some of the configurations of belt drives and hub gears look like a real leap forward. Lovely looking bike too.

Speaking of lovely looking things, Hope Tech never manage to make things look bad. It was interesting to chat to the sales chap and discover that 80 per cent of their product is made for export, principally to the far east. All the superlatives have been used up about Hope and their demonstration of UK manufacturing excellence. The company has a sense of the plucky underdog about it - probably being based in Barnoldswick - but their product is, as you know, excellent quality and excellent value.

The final thing which caught my eye was this simple iphone bar clamp from BBB. Dead easy to use and operate. I reckon these'll sell like hot cakes.

A great day out and well worth a visit - closes tomorrow (Sunday). Sadly the coffee at the NEC leaves a lot to be desired.

Breaking news

Cookson wins! 

Voting is open

Interesting to hear the lead sport piece on Radio 4's Today programme today was the vote for the next UCI president.
As you'll be aware, the cycling world is baying for change following Pat McQuaid's tenure which has seen the meteoric rise of our sport in the UK coincide with its greatest scandal.

Awkward handshake awards 2013

There's a sense that the UCI has become a hubristic untouchable clique with jobs for the boys. The white knight challenger is a straight-talking Lancastrian called Brian and he hates Pat, a lot.
Anyway, it won't be long until we know who's the next grande fromage and who's the croque monsieur.

Oldham pot hole festival

Among all the excitement of the Tour of Britain and the pending world champs I missed this story which broke last Friday. 
One of the 'bosses' at Team Sky - Fran Millar - trousered undisclosed damages from Oldham Council after injuring herself by falling off her bike. Nasty injuries too.
The circumstances will be familiar to many. As described by the BBC, Fran '...swerved to avoid one pothole in Oldham's High Street but then injured herself on another.'
Now, I do have some sympathy for the council's view that there is a 'national pothole funding crisis'  but it seems to me that the further east you travel in Greater Manchester, the more threadbare the cycling infrastructure gets.
My regular commute takes me through, Manchester, Stockport, Tameside and Oldham. 

Potholes can be creative too

Using the Fallowfield Loop, I barely notice Manchester and Stockport despite the loop's inadequacies. 
On my route, both Tameside and Oldham have zero bike infrastructure which is pretty poor. Actually, tell a lie, there is 400m a shared bus lane and one advanced stop box.
As cyclists we get to know the road surface intimately and often have to pick our way along rutted and damaged roads - roads that we all pay for.
We have a long long way to go.

Keep going keeping going

It's happened to all of us at one time or another and its difficult to shake. I'm talking about those times when for whatever reason - weather, relatives, family, circumstance, injury - you can't get out on your bike. One minute you feel like you're going OK then the next, you've missed three weeks of riding and  you feel further away from any sort of strength than you have for months.

This week's Strava report. Athlete?

I'm in the middle of an up-turn in activity which I'm, once again, determined to build on. In fact, for the first time since I started working in Uppermill last December, I've ridden in everyday this week. It's a bit of a surprise that I've not previously managed it but a clear work diary has finally allowed me to do ten 18 mile rides - presuming I get home in one piece later on.
There's nothing quite like keeping going to make you keep going is there? Long may it continue!
Ride safe

Dutchman clocks 83 mph on his bike!

Check out this guy - Sebastiaan Bowier - who is soon to be known around the globe as the flying Dutchman. He claims to have hit 83 mph on his bike which he's ensconced within a whale egg for aero reasons.
Rather makes Greame Obree's 56 mph record seem rather trivial.

Click on the egg

The anatomy of a British cycling crowd

The picture above was selected entirely at random from TV coverage of the Tour of Britain stage on Monday when the route tackled the Honister Pass (from the easy side) in Cumbria. Selected entirely at random by me, it serendipitously captures the full, rich spectrum of cycling enthusiasts who bless this sceptred isle.
You could take any still from the media coverage and find the following people represented. Interesting stuff.

1. Wet cyclists wishing they were in Spain
2. Chorlton Velo member (IvdB) complete with old skool trainers
3. The bloke off The Crystal Maze
4. A woman
5. Numb-faced enthusiast
6. Man dressed as chicken
7. Hatless hardman
8. Lost souls
9. Bewildered mountaineers
10. Tier four broadcaster
11. Lollipop man
12. Accountant
13. Future Olympic champion
14. Annoying iphone user
15. 4x4 owner
16. Aldi shopper
17. Rain

10 mins with... @BritishCycling

It can be difficult to develop new content on a daily basis for a blog. Especially when its of such high quality and chock full of devastating insight. Frankly, I don't know how some of those blogger do it! 
I, on the other hand, write any old rubbish which springs to mind: the rain, falling off, puncturing, the rain etc.
So, in a bid to bring some new dynamism to these virtual pages, I offer to you the first Outstanding Natural Cycling interview.
I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Scott Dougal who is the Grande Fromage at British Cycling's communications department. He kindly agreed to answer a few questions.
I know this isn't critical interviewing but this blog is supposed to be a celebration of being on two wheels rather than a misery fest. Enjoy.

What was your first and what is your current bike(s)?

First bike was a Grifter, although I think I’d have rather had a Chopper. I've got a Trek mountain bike which is perfect for trails near where I live.

What’s the biggest challenge facing cycling in the UK?

Sustainability. Cycling has come a very long way in the last 10 years – a good indicator of which is the membership of British Cycling. Having rattled around 15-20,000 for much of our history, we shot past the 80,000 mark recently and we've seen 50% year on year growth since Brad won the Tour  last year. But the challenge is to make the gains sustainable – both in terms of popular interest in cycling as a sport as well as people using their bikes for fun or to get around.

Will cycling ever become as mainstream here in Britain as it is in the Netherlands or Denmark?

It’s certainly possible. I've been professionally involved in the sport for just over 10 years and where we are now is extraordinary compared to where we were then. And at British Cycling we remain very ambitious and I think the key thing will be to create a better environment for people on bikes out there on the roads.

We've been consistently successful in meeting our targets for elite success and increasing participation – what will make both of those sustainable is that once we've done our job of getting people on bikes, the habit sticks because using a bike is as easy as possible. British Cycling has significantly stepped up its campaigning work in the last two years and we’re seeing real dividends already, particularly because the growth in our membership means we have real clout.

Should we expect Britain to produce more star Olympic and pro cyclists in the coming years or are we living through a golden age?

The talent pathways are there and just this year we've seen significant success for Becky James, Simon Yates and Liam Phillips among others. But, again, key to sustainability of elite success is having as many people on bikes as possible, whatever their ability.

2014 should be spectacular for UK cycling with le Tour and Giro both visiting our shores. How much of an opportunity for the sport is this in your view?

Next year will be huge but this year, which you might have expected to be quiet compared to 2012 and 2014, has been pretty lively too. In 2014, we've got an international stage race for women, the Tour de France in England, Glasgow 2014 and the Tour of Britain. In amongst that, there is the national road race championships which broke new ground this year in terms of the spectators it attracted. So taken as a whole, there is a four-month period when cycling will really capture mainstream attention again. Can’t wait.

...and, in the red, Horner

Once again the Vuelta has trumped the other two - more prestigious - world tours for excitement, drama and superb racing.
While this years Tour was excellent and much better than last year's, the Giro was essentially a bit of a very cold and wet damp squib.
The drama played out in the mountains of the Pyrenees eventually saw the 42 year old Chris Horner eventually break Nibali to ride into the leader's red jersey with just two stages remaining. Leading by just three second with two stages to go, the final mountain stage was bike dueling at its very best. 

At 42, it shows there is hope for us all. Right, I have three years to get a ride at a pro team then ride myself into contention for a world tour.

The greatest ever cyclist is...

Everyone like a good poll don't they? I know this has been done a million times before but prompted by a reply to the post from earlier today, I've set up a poll to determine - once and for all - who is the greatest ever cyclist. See left.
The shortlist is of my doing so includes some names which don't appear on other lists - not just the usual suspects.
I'm probably missing some obvious candidates too.
So, have a plump for your fave - the poll runs for two years (optimistic blog lifespan alert) and all those who vote for the winner will go into a prize draw for an all expenses paid trip to the Alps to watch the tour in 2018*.

Quick, the poll's open. *= not really

Cycling quote No4 - Jacques Anquetil

"It was eleven more than necessary."

Jacques Anquetil after winning a cycle race by 12 seconds

Autumn - getting the difficult cycling clothing choice right

Summer is most certainly leaving us with a bang rather than a whimper this year. 6.45 this morning was bloody cold in Manchester - I was glad to have opted for the warming values of a semi-fleece as I rode to work. 
There was brilliant sunshine though too - low in the sky so I had to shield my eyes. It looked very moody as I rode through the hanging mist with dew dropping off the trees - very picture postcard it was too.

So, while I was congratulating myself at my choice of attire, I was met with a vision of insanity coming toward me. Bloke, mountain bike, trainers (trainees), running shorts circa 1983 and vest. Not a running vest mind, a cotton vest. Pale blue ribbed for extra discomfort.
This unusually clad guy cut a bizarre and red raw figure as he pushed himself along. Unless this chap was mentally infirm, then you do wonder how on earth he managed to make those sartorial decisions. And if he is mentally infirm, then who's looking after him?
Poor sod, I thought as I rode on.
Ride safe

@cycletowork day encourages two-wheeled commuting

If you need an excuse to get on your bike then next Thursday [12 September] offers one: it is national cycle to work day.
It is hoped that thousands of additional people will leave their cars at home and take to two wheels for their daily commute.
Just one day cant hurt can it?
They have Dame Sarah Story to front the campaign and you can pledge the distance you will ride on the day. Rather neatly, it calculates the cost and carbon savings you'll make and the calories you'll burn - see image.

What is 1,694 calories in pasties?

Anything that encourages people to ride is a good thing in my view - just hope it doesn't rain :)
The cost is just about bob on for public transport but a little bit over the top for petrol cost - unless I was driving an AC Cobra bouncing off the rev limiter in second gear all the way. 
Ride safe.

Hello September, it's been a while

I love the autumn and there was a distinct autumnal feel in the air this morning. It wont be long until lights are put back on bikes, thermal gloves and hats are being dug out of drawers and riding becomes a little bit less enjoyable.
But before then, there is autumn. From now until the middle of November we have ten weeks of the potential for the most pleasant riding conditions of the year - in my view.

Those halcyon days of crisp blue skies and falling leaves are a thing of wonder which just make me want to ride all day.
If chilly mornings put you off then you can always follow this year's Vuelta which is beginning to come to a head, check out the world championships later in September in Italy or look out for the Giro de Lombardia October - the race of falling leaves.
Just get out there...