Since February I’ve been riding all the time on my time trial bike. It makes sense to get used to the bike you race on. But, although it’s only late April, in the back of my mind I start to think about the hill climb season. So when the weather turns a little better I get the road bike down from the loft and start to do some hills on it.
It’s always a bit of a shock to the system. It’s hard switching between TT bike and road bike. When I got on road bike yesterday, it felt uncomfortable, slow and hard work. I find a time trial bike much faster and more comfortable. It feels a little strange, usually the problem is cyclists going the other way. They ride all year on a road bike then really ache after doing a time trial in TT position. Still it’s important for me to get back into the swing of going uphill on the road bike, even if it is much harder work cycling the 20 miles from Oxford to the Chiltern ridge.
Today, I went to Kop Hill and Whiteleaf Hill. Kop Hill is just 20 miles from Oxford
Kop Hill
From Vimeo video by Ian Warr (see below)
Kop Hill is a good hill for hill climb practise, Just over a mile long, averaging over 9% – it is a typical Chiltern hill of variable gradient. For the full climb, you goes south east out of Princes Risborough, leaving town on Brimmers road, and after 400m or so, you turn left on to Kop Hill proper. Kop hill starts off fairly gradually, but gets steep in the middle and towards the end there is a tough kick. It is perhaps 20-21% at the steepest and will definitely have you getting out of the saddle.
The hill reminds me a little of a ski slope. It’s a great view coming back down.
Kop Hill + Brimmers Road
Distance: 1.1 mile
Average gradient: 8%
Height gain: 449ft / 136m
Just Kop Hill
Distance: 0.7 miles
average gradient: 9%
Height gain: 333ft / 101m
From the top of Kop Hill you can turn left straight down Whiteleaf Hill. If you are so inclined you can do a u-turn at the bottom and come straight back up Whiteleaf. Whiteleaf Hill is slightly harder than Kop Hill, but essentially quite similar. But, if you’re looking for hill intervals, you are spoilt for choice in this part of the world. I did a few reps of both Kop Hill and Whiteleaf hill. By the time I got back to Oxford, I’d managed 74 miles with 2,100m of climbing. But, I was starting to ache much more than usual.
Kop Hill Tour of Britain 2014
Tour of Britain – Kop Hill, slow motion from Ian Warr on Vimeo.
In 2014, the Tour of Britain went up Kop Hill towards the end of a long stage taking around five minutes.
The break on Chinnor HIll
The 2014 stage started in Bath and also went up Chinnor Hill it finished in Hemel Hempstead and was a really epic stage. It put Alex Dowsett into the leaders jersey after a day long break with Matthias Brandle and Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis). I watched the race on Chinnor Hill.
This weekend
This weekend is ironically the first hill climb of the season (Shap Fell). But, at around 3% I will probably be using time trial bike. It is also the Tour de Yorkshire, so hopefully I will get to ride some hills and perhaps watch a stage as it goes up the Cow and Calf.
A couple of years ago, I received a copy of – ‘The Rules – The way of the cycling disciple‘ by Velominati. It gave me a lot of food for thought. I enjoyed reading it, and I also enjoyed critiquing it. The problem is that a part of me definitely aspires to join this elite group of cycling cool, but there are too many rules, where I am, alas, an abject failure. It leaves me only good for riding my time trial bike on a lone furlough, shamelessly exposing an ill fitting undergarment because I can’t get any arm warmers long enough to fit my stick like arms. I want to be in the club, but I’m a rebel without a cause. I do like the aesthetics of a bike, but I can’t quite bring myself to schedule a 500ml water stop at a petrol station, just because 500ml water bottles look cooler than 750ml water bottles. Do they really look better?
Yet, even in my critiques, there is a nagging suspicion they are correct, and if only I was a better person – I would aspire to all 91 rules.
Synopsis
Cycling is more than just a sport and means of transport, it can be a way of life, a club with rules of aesthetics, class and elegance. Two people can go out on a bike with different results; how do you approach the bicycle, how do you treat it? Is it a means to an end or is it an end in itself? The rules of cycling remind me, in a curious way of the Japanese tea ceremony. Anyone can drink tea, but to drink tea in the proper way with great awareness, dignity and elegance elevates a mundane experience into an opportunity for the joy of perfection.
The big problem I had with the book is that it immediately got me off on the wrong foot.
Some may have impression cycling is primarily done by middle aged men in lycra. Fortunately, that is not the case. When taking photos of cyclists in Oxford, I often think of H.G. Wells quote
“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”
H. G. Wells
You can think of many reasons to encourage cycling, but there is also just the basic joy of seeing someone ride a bike. I don’t know why.
Nice way to get to school
Spot the cyclist. Don’t forget to take out trouser from sock.
Following up from Road fatalities in the UK this post looks at fatality rates going back to the 1920s.
Reading a book – the History of Time trialling by Peter Whitfield I was struck by some statistics about the level of road fatalities, during the 1930s and 1940s.
Despite road traffic being only 10% of today’s levels. Road deaths reached nearly 10,000 a year. There were up to 1,000 road fatalities a year of children under 10.
Yet, despite these shocking statistics, there was a widespread acceptance of these deaths. Nearly all road fatalities were put down as ‘accidents’. It is quite a shock to learn that during the Second World War – 50,000 people were killed on British roads (Source: Time, Speed and Truth, P.Whitfield) – This was a greater number of fatalities than the blitz (where 40,000 civilians were killed in air raids)
I bought a Zipp 404 wheelset in 2005. Ten years later I’m still using the 404 front wheel in most races. This is a personal record for long lasting time trial cycling technology. It was expensive at the time (£1,000 for tubular wheelset, but has turned out to be really good value (by time trial standards anyway).
zipp-404 perhaps rims are getting a bit worn now.
I think they have offered an excellent combination of aerodynamic performance, strength and rigidity. I use the front Zipp 404 in most conditions. Only if it is exceptionally windy would I take it out and use a front wheel with out any deep section rim.
I have used the rear wheel a lot less because for time trials I nearly always use a disc wheel.
Using Zipp 404 in Westclose hill climb 2011 (Yes, I did forget to take out my water bottle for that hill climb.)
Today was the 2015 Jack Clements Memorial Little Mountain Time Trial organised by Beacon R.C. It was also the third round of the RTTC classic time trial series.
It is a 39 mile hilly time trial. The first loop is rolling with no major hill, but the second loop takes in two significant hills; it is not a pure climbers course, but it isn’t one for the rouleurs either – it’s a good blend of terrain offering a bit for most riders. It was good to see a big field with close to 150 riders entered. I was last to 3rd man off – no. 154.
Firstly, it was really hard to decide which race to do this weekend. Riding the Beacon meant missing my favourite race on the calender Bristol South Megahilly. It’s obviously a popular weekend for hilly time trials as there is the Teeside Mountain TT and Wrexham R.C. all on the same day.
Anyway I wanted to support the National series and the Beacon is always a great event. I did it back in 2013 and have done parts of the course in other events.
A review of different saddle bags I’ve used over the years. The number of saddle bags I have bought in my cycling career is bordering on the faintly ridiculous. This is only a small selection I’ve tried and used. I really don’t know what I do to saddle bags, but they never seem to last.
I think part of the problem with saddle bags is that no matter what size I get, I always end up stuffing more stuff than is sensible. My saddle bags end up bulging at the seems. In addition, I often try to fit them around Aero seat posts, which leads to straps getting frayed. Perhaps that is where I’m going wrong.
General Points on Saddle Bags
People often seem to get attracted to buy ‘small’ compact saddle bags because they look good. But, when I get small saddle bags, I tend to regret it because I can’t fit in what I need to. Or you can fit everything in, but you need to spend ages stuffing it in and then having to take everything out to get at something. I’m also not keen with having weight in my jersey pockets, I’d rather have everything in a saddle bag and leave the jersey pockets for food only.
Training in the past few weeks has been disrupted. A cold before Buxton MTT, then two weeks in New York. For some reason it is much harder to train in New York (not just the roads and drivers) but the general motivation. It’s a combination of factors, but for some reason, I always feel like I’m swimming against the current (or cycling into headwind for want of a better analogy). I think my longest ride in NY was 23 miles. In England, 23 miles is the warm-up before the intervals start.
Fortunately, a quiet few weeks doesn’t matter so much after a good winter’s training. I cycled nearly 1,300 miles in March, which is a lot of miles. It’s probably good to have an easy few weeks every now and then.
In New York, cycling was a struggle, the familiar enthusiasm for cycling ebbed away – on the positive side, you remember there’s more to life to cycling. Another thing about not training is that you remember what it is like to have fresh legs – not tired out and recovering from some hard session – it’s almost a joy to walk up stairs. Still, when you get out of the habit of training, you start to worry about losing the cycling bug.
But as soon as I got back on my own TT bike and went up the Chiltern hills, the rhythm came back and you soon pick up where you left off. I didn’t seem to lose anything by having three weeks off. But, this week I’ve had to hold back a little because the knees felt a little strained after 3 hours of hilly training. Nothing serious, they seem to be getting used to it again. Still I just entered a 100 mile time trial, and that’s enough to get you worried about training volume. Even with 4,000 winter miles, a good cyclist is always worrying about doing enough training.
This Sunday Beacon Mountain Time trial. I hope all the jet lag has evaporated with Matt Bottrill off a few minutes after me.
I’ve had quite a few Bontrager tyres on new bikes I’ve bought from Trek. I’ve never replaced them with Bontrager tyres, preferring other tyres instead. But, since I’ve had four tyres in recent past. This is quick review.
Bontrager R4
The Trek Speed Concept came with Bontrager R4 clinchers. These are the top of the range Bontrager tyres with 320TPI, weighing just 230 grams, which makes them a high spec top end road tyre..
It has a super supple polyamide synthetic fibre reinforcement for added casing strength on the outside. Also, as well, has the ‘hard case lite protection’ underneath the outer tread to protect against punctures.
Making it easy to solve the tyre width dilemma, it is available in 25c only.
It is quite supple and easy to put on and off the tyre rim (even with tubeless ready rims, which often make it a little tougher). The tyre rolls quite well, though it’s hard to evaluate given that I was riding on the Speed Concept which is supposed to be a super fast TT bike. Whether the feeling of speed is from £6,000 bike or £50 tyres, take your own guess.
Cycling can seem an expensive hobby. I am the worst culprit – just look at my product reviews Shimano Dura Ace Di2, AX Lightness saddle (69grams) e.t.c. Whatever branch of cycling you take up, it seems there is no limit to the amount of money you can spend. However, here’s a short reminder that it doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. It’s quite possible to keep cycling very cheap.
1. Homemade mudguard flap
50 years of mudguard flaps
A cut off bit from a washing up liquid bottle is the perfect size for a mudguard flap. It’s surprising how much a bit of super-glue and reusable plastic ties can do for your bike. This is the old make do and mend philosophy. Don’t just buy something new, try fix and adapt.
2. Make do with one bike
24 hour record holder (541 miles) Andy Wilkinson is a true legend of long distance time-trialling. He deserves more recognition than he gets. How does he do such impressive distances? Well, for a start he only has one bike – a basic steel frame; on this one bike he does his commuting, training and racing. He says that only having one bike enables him to really get to know his bike, perfect his position and enables him to do better races. For those of us who work on the principle that the optimum number of bikes is N+1 – this is truly radical, (but, how much money would I have in the bank if I had followed this advice) It is a reminder that you don’t need to keep buying a new bike in order to do better.
3. Make your bike last
I went through a period of reviewing potential new commuting bikes – shiny single speeds, foldups, hybrid bikes, and lower end road bikes. But, when it came to the crunch, there seemed no point in spending money for only a relative minor improvement. My commuting bike has been going for 15+ years, and shows no sign of age; hopefully, it will last another 15+ years at least. It is true, a carbon fork would give a modicum of more comfort. Perhaps the braking power of disc brakes would improve performance 15% – but do I really need these? No. My commuting bike has already outlasted quite a few cars. When I try to work out the cost per mile of my commuting bike – it is incredibly low. My winter training bike cost £700 and has done (at a very rough estimate) 40,000 miles (0.0175 pence per mile). Is there any cheaper form of transport?
3. Homemade energy drink.
If you want to avoid paying £1.30 for every sachet of energy drink, why not make your own. Get some maltodextrin powder, fructose powder, a touch of salt, some orange juice and you have. Alternatively, you can just use ordinary table sugar. One simple recipe for a homemade energy drink. For 1 litre of energy drink, add:
60-80 grams of sugar
No added sugar cordial
A pinch of salt
topping up with water
4. Avoid the fashion labels
You can spend a fortune on Rapha clothing and the like. It looks good but comparatively expensive.
5. Buy from non-cycling shops
Often the cheapest place to buy cycling undergarments e.t.c is from non-cycling shops. Thermal underwear and wicking layers can be cheaper from clothes shops and other outlets. I got quite a few good thermal layers from Marks & Spencers – they do the job for winter training.
It’s the same with energy bars, often you can get same performance from much cheaper non-branded energy bars. I often go to my local Pound Shop and buy six Fruesli bars or similar (12p per energy bar, and if you look at the ingredients, it’s effectively the same percentage of carbohydrates.
How did Graeme Obree prepare for his hour record? Marmalade sandwiches; I bet that is not part of Team Sky’s hour record preparation for Bradley Wiggins, but it did the job for Obree. You don’t always have to spend a fortune on energy bars to get the best nutrition.
6. Get aerodynamics for free
If you really want to go faster, then the secret is to make yourself more aerodynamic. At 40kmph, 90% of resistance against a bike is air resistance. If you look at some pictures of time triallists, you will see how they can reduce their frontal area. The secret to reducing frontal area is not spending £3,000 on a time trial frame, but, getting the body into most efficient tuck. Even a cheap pair of aerobars for £20, will make a huge difference to reducing wind resistance and give you a good bang for your buck. You can spend a fortune on aerodynamic aids, but many of the key improvements can be made with very little cost. Tips for aerodynamics.
7. Do you really need it?
So often I’ve bought something because it was well marketed and looks nice, but I don’t really need it. There are some accessories you need like a lock and lights. But, for some reason, I’m always gullible for the latest light, which is brighter than the last. So I have a whole shed of different lights and components. When I look at my shed, I’m embarrassed about all the things I’ve bought thinking these will be good, but they hardly get used.
8. Ditch obsession with low weight / expensive components
A 1 gram weight saving really not worth making!
This is a definite case of the kettle calling the pot black. Is there a worse culprit for spending silly money on silly weight saving components? (marginal gains hill climb bike) Probably not, but unless you miss a major hill climb championship medal by 1 second, those 500g weight saving is not essential. Even a bike 1kg heavier is not the end of the world. If you look at time saved from weight loss on a bike – it is less than you might imagine. 1kg up the Rake is worth 2 seconds.
If you really want to save weight, eat a few less chips; that’s the really cheap way to loose proper weight.
9. Buy the complete bike
It is amazing the equipment you can get on a sub £1,000 bike. If you spend £1,000 on a road bike, the constituent parts would cost you roughly double. Therefore, always try to buy the best bike you can and resist temptation to add expensive parts which only marginally add to performance.
10. Go down a groupset
The main difference between Shimano Ultegra and Shimano Dura Ace is about £500. The main difference between Dura Ace Di2 and Ultegra Di2 is about £1,500. If cyclists had to do ‘blind testing’ of different equipment, would we notice the difference? Probably not. I appreciate blind testing is difficult for bicycles, but if we were really honest, we would often struggle to notice the difference.
12. Do your own repairs
Rather than taking it down bike shop, and getting someone to do it for you, you can save quite a bit. Though with my experience is an amateur bike mechanic, this may prove a false economy. Also, compared to motor repairs, I’ve always found bike maintenance to be very cheap.
13. Ride the bike
Croissant on the commute – cheaper than filling up car with petrol
The real way to get value for money from your bicycle is to ride it around town. Save money on the bus, save money on parking and petrol. Or even use a bike instead of owning a car. If you use a bike like this, it will pay for itself within a few months.
Conclusion
Cycling can be a very cheap method of transport. It is only in recent years, that we have been increasingly enticed to spend more on bicycles and bike components. However, I’m the worst culprit. I just like spending money on bicycles. Many times, I don’t really need to spend the money, but what else are you going to spend it on which will give as much joy? The only thing is if you’re on a tight budget, just remember the 24 hour record holder – a relatively cheap old steel frame. At the end of the day, it’s the human engine and not the size of your wallet, which makes a cycling champion. And if you’re not in the world of marginal gains, cycling can be very cheap indeed.
From Vimeo video by Ian Warr (see below)
