I could list another 97 reasons, but what I never appreciated – was how doping creates a toxic legacy for many years after the event.
The legacy of generations of dopers, is that it has made people prone to cynicism, suspicion and disbelief. It is a very toxic legacy for cycling; yet it is not the dopers who face the music – they retire, keep their prize money, write a best selling confessional story into the bargain – or get a job in the media…
The problem is that against a backdrop of recent doping histories, exceptional performances in cycling are frequently compared against former dopers. It’s good to ride up a mountain fast, but if you ride up faster than a former doper, people are ready to jump to conclusions. Whether justified or not, it is painful to see, and diminishes the potential of sport to act as a source of inspiration and enjoyment.
The first nine days of the Tour de France were gripping and exciting stuff. As long as you weren’t one of the riders carted off to hospital with a broken bone, the Tour was fantastic entertainment. The Tour organisers were probably feeling pretty pleased with themselves for creating nine stages of great interest and unpredictability. The Tour looked to be poised on a knife edge, with the Fab Four (expanding to the Fab Five or Six as we really got carried away) eyeing each other up over the tiniest of second margins.
After 2014’s disappointing disappearance of two big contenders (Froome and Contador) this looked a mouth watering tour.
But, in the time taken to climb the last 14km of today, the Fab Four had rapidly disintegrated into the Boom Boom Froome show. To say Sky were going to ride defensively, it was a masterclass in blowing your opposition into the waters. There was little crumb of comfort for any of his opposition. Quintana did his best and limited his losses to fight another day, but he still had to suffer the ignominy of getting nabbed on the line, by a Sky super-domestique (Porte).
Motorists often give too little space when overtaking cyclists. It is potentially dangerous and an unpleasant experience. Often is just a combination of impatience and unawareness. But, once you have been a cyclist yourself, you would always approach overtaking a cyclist in a different manner.
Car overtaking on Oxford High Street very close
Big buses. Very often cars/ buses pass so close that if you put your arm out and signal right you will hit the vehicle.
Beware of lorries turning right
Cyclists – Pass with Care! – Buses overtake with Care!
‘Narrow Lane Do Not Overtake Cyclists’
How much room should you give a cyclist?
The Highway code states:
“give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)”
“As much room as a car” leaves some discretion, but, I would have thought three feet would be a good minimum. My grandma used to think the law was enough space for cyclist to fall off, without hitting the overtaking car. The highway code doesn’t quite say that but it seems a good rule of thumb.
“Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make.”
This is an interesting one, as sometimes, if you deviate less than one foot from your line an overtaking car will beep aggressively. True, you should be looking over your shoulder, but, if a small deviation from line causes consternation, it is probably because the car is passing too closely.
Urban roads and Rural Roads
It is common for cars to pass closely on urban roads, but at least speeds are lower, and often cars are more ready to slowdown. It is a bigger problem on fast rural roads where cars can be doing 50-60mph + and motorists don’t have the mentality to be ready to slow down. 50mph speed limits can become like minimum targets. If a motorist comes across a cyclist, they are loathe to slow down so just keep on ploughing on.
Speed of overtaking
There is a big difference between a car overtaking close at 20mph and a car overtaking close at 50mph. There is also a big difference when a lorry overtakes you and it is so close the drag pushes you around.
SPACE from carltonreid on Vimeo.
3 Feet Rule
A car giving plenty of room to a young kid on Cowley Road (look how close the child is hugging the kerb). I wonder if the cyclists was wearing lycra, helmet and fluroescent coat, the car would have given less room?
Some countries have toyed with the idea of passing a law that motorists should leave 3 feet when overtaking. If this was the case, 80% of drivers would break the law everyday.
Doesn’t giving Cyclists Room mean an increase in congestion / time wasted?
I’ve lost count of the number of times a motorist has impatiently overtaken – squeezed through a gap which wasn’t there and then had to slam on the brakes because he’s approaching a traffic jam. There is a certain karma to then be able to undertake them whilst they are stationary in a traffic jam. But, you would think, people would look ahead. Squeezing through gaps which aren’t there rarely get you any quicker anyway.
Generally, cars should give more space, but all rules need some discretion. As a motorist I find it quite easy to give space to cyclists because I always think empathise with the cyclist that I am overtaking. I would give the cyclist as much space as I would want myself.
I really don’t understand why cyclists get such a bad press in the media. When I think of the 100,000 miles I’ve driven in the past 10 years – how much time have I lost by waiting for a good opportunity to overtake. It is completely negligible. Furthermore, I enjoy the process of slowing down and giving space – because I know the cyclist will appreciate it.
It’s just a matter of perspective – Get mad because you have to wait 5 seconds, or take a bit more time and get to the back of the traffic jam in a calmer state of mind. Life isn’t rocket science!
But Cyclists don’t wear A Cycle Helmet / Cyclists don’t pay road tax
Would you want to run-over a pedestrian because they don’t pay an obsolete tax, no one pays?
Would you run over a pedestrian just because they are not wearing a safety helmet – to teach them a lesson?
I’m reading a book – ‘The Life-changing art of tidying’ – It is a Japanese guide to clearing clutter, getting rid of things you don’t need and creating space. It advises starting off with the easiest categories first – clothes, books, paper and then moving onto most difficult categories like photos and sentimental stuff.
Well, all that went swimmingly – even the so called sentimental childhood photos going in the bin without so much as a demur. I was getting great joy from clearing the clutter. But, the really difficult category that the Japanese author failed to mention was that of miscellaneous cycle parts…
One cycle shelf of many. Note best pair of overshoes kept here. Suspiciously tidy. Though plants pots are not cycle related.
Firstly, where to start? I have miscellaneous cycle parts littered all around the house – outside shed, conservatory, cupboard under the stair, cupboard in living room, window sill in living room, not forgetting the black hole which is my loft. There are also three very old wheels, suffering various degrees of rust – stuffed into gaps between house and shed. I didn’t dare look at the back of garden, in case I found a long forgotten rusting old 501 frame unearthed under a heap of rubble. The only room which could be considered cycle free is the bathroom – as long as we ignore the road rash bandages and creams to reducing itching in the skin – post-epilation / waxing of the legs.
One thing the book suggests is that you must keep all categories in the same place. I was getting off to a bad start, with cycle parts dotted around the house and everywhere else as well. (I even have a secret collection of cycle parts at my parents home in Yorkshire…)
Sometimes an idea comes along – and everyone thinks – why didn’t I think of that 10 years ago?
In the world of aero-marginal gains, NoPinz is a great simple idea. Reduce the aero drag from a flapping number and use a self-adhesive wallet to stick number to your back.
The other advantage of the Nopinz system is that:
It means no messing with trying to attach you number with safety pins. (even though I do secretly like the ritual of number pinning; even though I never get it right first time. )
Protects skinsuit from getting holes in. Big issue if you’ve spent a lot of money on a skinsuit
Organisers should be happy because it means no-one trying to put glue on the number to keep it aero.
Avoid safety pins falling out (which can happen)
I used this disposable speed wallet a few times back in April. You have to be careful in putting on. It’s a little fiddly, but about the same time as doing and undoing safety pins. It worked well from what I could experience. It stayed on 100% and definitely felt better from an aero perspective.
The only thing to watch out is that your skinsuit needs to be dry before putting on.
Wattage saving
I’ve heard claims of 3-5 watts saving for a speed wallet. I haven’t tested, but intuitively it does makes sense. You can sometimes feel the sail effect of a number which is held in by safety pins. Even more watts claimed here
Given it has many advantages and few disadvantages, it definitely makes sense. By comparison to other aero-savings, it is quite affordable.
After the national 100 mile TT last week, it was – in the words of Monty Python – time for something completely different. A short hill climb held in the setting of Penn House estate near Amersham, as part of the Chiltern Cycle Festival. Not only a hill climb, but three rounds, with a head to head to decide ‘King of the Chilterns’
I arrived early to have a look around the Chiltern cycle festival and a few of the sportive riders making their way back from their ride around the the Chilterns. There were lots of interesting cycle stores and displays, with retro looking bikes and clothing definitely in vogue. There were quite a few cyclists kitted out in their finest wool and Alpaca jerseys and shorts. You can say what you like about retro cycling – but it is very aesthetically pleasing. It seemed a good atmosphere and was a nice place to hold a cycling festival. Lots of children and families enjoying cycling, which is good to see.
However, in this sedate, relaxed atmosphere of vintage bicycles and L’Eroica sportives – I felt somewhat out of place with a modern bling, blong, low weight carbon fibre bike – electronic gear shifters and one piece lycra skin suit. At least, I wasn’t wearing a pointy time trial helmet, that would have been too much…
June was a very disciplined month, with around 1,300 miles on the bike. It was geared to long-distance time trial training, lots of fast miles on a TT bike – The disciplined training even meant avoiding steep hills (the shame…) and knocking out hundreds of miles at 20mph+ It’s all very well, but now, the national 100 is over – there is a certain freedom; it marks the end of the long-distance time trial season, and leaves me slightly bereft of imminent targets. The next big thing on the horizon is really the last weekend in October 2015…
With nothing to target or taper for, it’s time to get the new Emonda out of the bike shed and head into the Chilterns for some gloriously unstructured hill climb training, up as many steep hills as possible – trying to make up for all that TT nonsense of looking for long, straight, flat roads. I shall have to buy this mug or get it for a birthday present (hint, hint …)
Kings of the Road – is a look at some of the characters which helped to form British Cycling in the post-war period, but who have largely remained relatively unknown to the wider public – and even to hardcore cyclists themselves.
The author has chosen to interview quite a motley collection of characters, I don’t know whether it was a conscious choice or not – but the cyclists involved, invariably seem best be described as ‘outsiders’ – people who did things in their own way and didn’t necessarily get on with the authorities as best they might.
Some of these relatively unknown riders, will be quite well known to the timetrialling community – Beryl Burton and Alf Engers are the Queen and King of British time trialling in the golden age of the sport. Their names stand out in the list of past winners because they are the kind of rider and character who really left their mark on the sport, giving a glamour rarely associated with timetrailling.
Crowd come to see Alf Engers finish
Certainly they deserve their own chapter; it was particularly interesting to read the interview with the mercurial Alf Engers – who even now after all these years – has a certain mystique – the rebel without a cause who drilled holes in his handlebars and more importantly bestrode the Blue Ribbon event – the 25 mile TT championships like a timetrialling colossus. He also reduced the 25 mile TT record to unheard of levels. (49.24 in pre tribar days)
Another rider who had only briefly flitted across my radar was Colin Sturgees. The super-talented youngster who used to beat Chris Boardman in the individual pursuit. One went on to Olympic gold and British cycling ubiquity, Sturgees path took another, more tortuous and winding road; illustrating the fine line between success and failure – especially in such an ephemeral sport as cycling.
Today was national 100 mile time trial championship, held in Raglan, Wales. The course was mostly on the A40 dual carriageway, but with a bit of quieter back-roads to help relieve the monotony of the A40. It was fairly flat 2,990ft /900m of climbing over 100 miles. Overall, quite a good championship course. With mostly good weather, it produced some quite quick times.
drinks-for-100-mile-time-trial
The women’s winner was newly crowned BTTC champion Hayley Simmonds (Team Velosport). The men’s winner was Charles Taylor (South Pennine CC) 3.32 – just 15 seconds ahead of BBAR champion Adam Topham (High Wycombe). I was 7th in 3.39.50
Training
After finishing 3rd last year, I’ve trained quite hard for the national 100 this year and training has gone well. Last week, was quite busy with 3 big races. After flopping (relatively) at BDCA 50, it’s been a quiet week of tapering.
Racing
Firstly, it was nice to do a 100 mile TT which doesn’t start at silly o’clock for a change. It was 9.10am when I set off. The first 6 miles were on a quiet backroad. A nice place to cycle – though a bit bumpy, and I nearly lost handlebar mounted water bottle. Then it was onto 24 mile laps of the A40. This included about 3 miles of quite backroads, the rest on the A40. I enjoyed the backroads the most – a change to get away from the traffic, and also a more sporting feel, some ups and downs and fast turns. More fun than just blasting along a straight road. Because of the laps, there were quite a few riders on the course, so frequent overtaking. Up to 60 miles, it was all going to plan. After 70 miles, the power started to fade – it wasn’t as good a ride as ECCA 100, where I could lift the tempo in last 20 miles.
