Cycling uphill

Ways to improve aerodynamics for timetrials

January 7, 2017June 9, 2014 by tejvan

There are many ways to improve aerodynamics. They can be incredibly expensive (e.g. new frame £5,000), very cheap (e.g. custom modification to skinsuit £50) or free (learning to ride in turtle position with head low and looking forward)

joanna rowsell — Joanna Rowsell British TT champ (f) Photo: The Trouser (aka Richard organiser of Buxton MTT) – Flickr

Bear in mind aerodynamics is very complicated. For example, it depends on the angle of the wind. The results of aero equipment may depend on whether you are riding into headwind or crosswind. Wind tunnel tests may not always replicate conditions you experience in the real world.
More aerodynamic isn’t necessarily faster. e.g. lowering your handlebars could make you more aero, but it maybe harder to put out power in that position.
You can be very aerodynamic without spending a fortune. Resist the temptation to buy on a credit card every product which offers to give you 20% improvements in aerodynamics (this advice is primarily intended for myself…)
There’s no harm in looking at the top riders who will have spent loads of time researching aerodynamics and seeing what you can adapt for your use.
Aerodynamics is not just about how the wind hits the body, but also how it leaves. I’ve seen positions which don’t look obviously aerodynamic, but power figures suggest they are.

Bike

Time trial frame. A time trial bike will give a very significant advantage over a road bike. This can be anything from 1-3 mph faster. See: Difference between road bike and time trial bike

Bear in mind for a time trial, weight is usually less important (unless doing hilly time trials)

To get the most from a timetrial bike, you also need to be comfortable riding in that position. Remember if you want to go faster, it’s not just about aerodynamics. Some road riders who rarely train on a TT bike notice it’s harder to get out the power when they switch to TT bike.

Bike Radar try to test the aero drag of different time trial bikes

Next generation TT bikes. Every year, bike manufacturers bring out a new time trial bike with claims to be ‘at least 10% quicker’. . . There is no doubt that the latest generation of time trial bikes have made improvements in hiding cables, brakes and the like from the air flow; whether this is as much advantage as manufacturers claim, I doubt, but it does seem average speeds are rising. Anything sticking out, interrupts the airflow, removing that will improve aerodynamics.

Bear in mind, although the bike is the most obvious place to start (and spend money on), it only accounts for around 10% of overall aero drag. By far the biggest drag is you – your body!

Position on bike

Dropping your handlebars just a few cm. Dropping your handlebars a few cm, can make a big difference to improving aerodynamics because your frontal position incurs the biggest aerodynamic drag. However beware that dropping your position will eventually compromise your power output – through making breathing more difficult. Lowering stem and handlebars requires experimentation and testing. The best is to use a power meter and controlled testing to see different speeds from different position. When I went in a windtunnel, the first thing they did was to raise the stem a few cms. They found raising tribars didn’t increase aerodrag, and most people can get more power in a higher position. This is why aerodynamics are complicated. I would never have thought to raise my handlebar position, but that is how I came out of the wind tunnel.

Mountain high review

June 9, 2014 by tejvan

Mountain High is a compilation of 50 of ‘Europe’s greatest cycle climbs by Daniel Friebe and Pete Goulding.

Mountain High arrived through the post at a fortuitous time. It was the day the Giro d’Italia was due to ascend the legendary Mount Zoncolan, in northern Italy. I went straight to the section on Mount Zoncolan to read about the mountain.

Widely considered one of the hardest climbs to be used in procycling, Mount Zoncaolan is one of the epic climbs of European racing. Hopefully, it will be remembered for it’s steep slopes and dramatic backdrop rather than for the ‘stupid spectators of 2014’ – who seemed to have a field day on that particular stage. (youtube video of closeup)

Mountain Zoncolan from Priola – av.gradient 13%. Heigh gain 1,140m – length 8.9 km.

The book gives us lots of fascinating insights into the riders and climbers. For example, In 2007, Gilberto Simoni said climbing Mount Zoncolan was a like a slow, steady execution. ‘Mortifying’ was the adjective he used. He used a 34*27.

For each 50 climb, you get a good overview of the climb and also rich snippets of history and racing, which give even more drama to the climbs.

National 50 mile TT 2014

January 7, 2017June 8, 2014 by tejvan

The 2014 national 50 mile TT was held near Poole on the P418 course, and was organised by Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers.

bottrill-skin — Matt Bottrill and bike. His skinsuit really is a ‘skin’ suit

In the men’s event Matt Bottrill (Team Drag 2 Zero) won. 2nd place was multiple 50 mile TT champion Michael Hutchinson(In Gear QuickVit). Third was current BBAR champion, Adam Topham (High Wycombe CC). I was 4th with a time of 1.48.04 Men’s result at CTT

The women’s event held yesterday was won by Hayley Simmonds, VELOSPORT-PASTA MONTEGRAPPA in 1.58. 2with Emily Robertson CC LUTON (1.59) in 2nd. Women‘s results at CTT

The National 50 mile TT championship was one of my targets for this summer. Last year I finished 9th in a time of 1.49. This year it seemed to come around pretty quick. The 50 mile champs used to be later in the year, but now has been moved forward to early June. I’ve only done two 50s this year – The Circuit of the Dales and The Charlotteville CC 50 a month ago. The Charlotteville was run in near gale conditions, and I scraped a 1.54 – not that much faster than the Circuit of the Dales! Since then I’ve done a lot of training, and one 100 mile TT, which went quite well. But, I wasn’t too sure of the form I would have. Usually I get faster as the summer progresses, usually peaking in July (for TTs).

The course was mainly single carriageway with some dual carriageway. There were quite a lot of roundabouts and I spent yesterday watching a youtube video and trying to memorise the course. As it happened, it wasn’t really necessary. Even if you ‘learn’ the course – when you ride you’re never sure anyway. Fortunately, it was very well sign posted and marshalled by the promoting club and other clubs from South D.C. When there are many roundabouts you worry you might get held up – a problem for any course. But, I didn’t have any problem today and sailed through them all. There was also a patch of newly laid chippings. But, fortunately they had been bedded in, and it didn’t seem much slower than elsewhere.

A 7.40 start meant an early rise from Oxford. By the time I arrived in Poole I felt more like sleeping in the car, than doing a 50 mile TT. But, once I got on the bike, I felt fine. For a change, the weather was excellent – warm and light wind. The first 20 miles were hard. It was slight headwind and a surprising amount of climbing – nothing steep, but plenty of long drags. By 20 miles, I was averaging about 295 watts – well over average for my last 50. My 25 time looked a bit disappointing 55.21. But, the last 25 miles were faster – seemed to be a tailwind and a bit of downhill.

Bike maintenance tips

March 3, 2016June 7, 2014 by tejvan

Firstly, there’s an excellent article from Bike Radar here – top 10 bike maintenance dont’s

The advice may sound obvious. But I’ve been guilty of most of them over the years. If you speak to anyone who works in a bike shop, you will learn never to take it for granted that people know how to do the obvious – like blow up tyres.

The most important tips of bike maintenance I’ve learnt from bitter experience

Learn how to repair a puncture without getting a pinch flat. (use hands, not tyre levers. After putting on, go all the way around both sides of rim to make sure no inner tube is stuck between rim and tyre.) Alternatively – go tubeless
There’s no shame in taking your bike to a bike shop. Something like wheel truing is a fairly rare job. You’re better off taking it to an expert rather than trying to do it yourself.
If you take your bike on a plane and have to redo stem and handlebars, make sure you learn how to tighten the headset. In the words of Bike Radar ‘Never tighten the top cap without loosening the stem bolts’
After rain, speedplay pedals need greasing like mad – unless you want to keep forking out £200 for a new pair.
For a bike you race on, it is worth changing chain every 1,000 miles to get better efficiency and make expensive cassettes last a longer time.
Never rush bike maintenance. You will pay for it in the long term. Take your time, use the proper tools. Don’t work at awkward angles which will round the screws. Avoid disasters like this stem fitting

Confessions of an amateur bike mechanic

You wish there was some kind of natural law which meant that when you increase your cycle fitness, automatically your mechanical competence increased in equal measure. You feel that if you can cycle 50 miles in under two hours the gods of cycling should, at least, give you the capacity to change a tubular or adjust a gear without losing the will to live and contemplating becoming a cross country runner just to avoid bike maintenance.

But, alas, life is not so straightforward; not only do we cyclists have to train through wind, rain and sleet, but we also have to learn the intricacies and challenges of bike maintenance. Give me a 20% hill and I’ll cycle up it all day long, but give me a Shimano Dura Ace 10 speed group set and, for the life of me, I will never be able to remember whether tightening up the front chainring position is anti-clockwise or clockwise.

Instead, I will mindlessly keep turning the screw in all different directions until by a random chance of fate, it nearly aligns like I want it to. This is assuming I haven’t given up and taken it to a bike shop.

Over the past 20 years of cycling, I’ve become a reasonable descender, a competent timetriallist, and a pretty good hill climber. But, whilst my cycling capacity has risen from rank beginner to good amateur, my bike maintenance capacity is still languishing in the ‘might be able to manage 10 miles, if the weather is nice’ kind of category. (i.e. he can change a puncture, so long as the tyre is sufficiently pliant and malleable.)

Nevertheless, despite years of frustration, broken allen keys and gear shifters which resolutely fail to shift, I still have some wisdom to pass onto those who find themselves in a similar situation.

Your best bet is usually to take it to a bike shop who know what they are doing. You will save yourself time, money and you won’t have a large dint in your carbon fibre frame because you hit it with a spanner in frustration. Now, this is not exactly scintillating advice – but, it’s always been my great saviour. No matter what you start you know that when you fail to finish it, you can always take down to bike shop. In 20 years of having my bike repaired, only once have I felt bike repair was expensive; often it’s embarrassingly cheap – at least compared to motor car maintenance, which seem to have a £50 minimum charge just for turning up at the garage. Here, I will give a shout out to Reg Taylor Cycles on Iffley Road – they have been doing a good job for 10 years.

Cycling nutrition

June 6, 2014 by tejvan

When cycling any distance food and nutrition plays an important role. The most important things are

Taking on enough food and energy to sustain energy levels during the ride.
Eating the right combination of foods to fuel both the ride and recovery.
Long term nutrition, which helps promote good health to sustain high intensity training and nutrition.

The three main types of energy

Carbohydrate – the main source of energy whilst cycling.
Protein – important in recovery. Can play some role in fuelling a ride.
Fats – Good in the correct proportions. Not recommended to take whilst riding very hard, but on long rides, is fine in suitable proportions

Glycaemic Index.

In short ,the GI of a food tells you how quickly it converts into sugar. It is useful to know the GI of foods. As a quick rule of thumb, limit very high GI foods unless you are in the process of riding.

A low GI, like oats (26) is ideal for breakfast, giving a long slow release of energy throughout the day, without energy spikes.
A high GI gives an immediate release of sugar e.g. pure glucose has a GI of 100. High GI foods are OK, whilst riding, because the sugar will be used straight away. But, it is still advisable to take a mix of GI Index when riding – using both complex carbs and simple sugars.
However when stationary, high GI foods cause spikes in blood sugar that raise insulin levels to store it. Big spikes in blood sugar levels are not helpful to maintaining constant energy levels.

Food pre-ride / Breakfast

A typical cyclists’ breakfast is porridge / muesli. Oats are a very good food because they have a low glycaemic index; also they are gluten-free and can be easier to digest than a heavy wheat based diet. I am not gluten intolerant. But, I still like to take gluten free carbohydrates.

I choose a muesli without sugar added. I have quite a sweet tooth, but I don’t like sugar in my breakfast cereal as it is unnecessary. It is better to have foods with low GI for breakfast. To sweeten the porridge – honey or some chopped natural fruit is the best.

If it was a really long ride, then I may take some eggs for breakfast during the ride as well.

Pasta for breakfast? There was a time when I though pasta was the holy grail. I heard Procyclists took pasta for breakfast so I did too. But, now I hear that is quite rare. I never fancy pasta for breakfast.

Things to avoid pre-ride

High GI snacks
Excess fibre
Excess fatty foods.
Spicy foods
Very heavy doughy foods (like Pizza is)
Red Meat (the days of pros eating rare steaks before long rides are long over)
Anything you’re not used to eating.

When to eat before cycling?

It depends on the effort involved. If it is a steady ride, then I can go out soon after eating breakfast. If I’m racing, I don’t take solid foods for 2-3 hours before the race. If it is a moderate intensity, like a sportive, an hour before should be fine.

Carbo Loading

Carbo loading is the attempt to fill the body with carbohydrate for the day of a big race. It may be useful for a rider doing a one-off ultra distance ride. Generally, it involves have 3 days of low carb consumption, followed by a day of heavy carb consumption, the day before. This can increase your weight as you take on more water and energy. Bear in mind,

If you eat much more food than usual, it can put too much pressure on the stomach, causing problems on the morning of the race.

Carb loading is not really used by pros, because they are racing on consecutive days anyway.

I only practise carb loading in moderation. If I have a long race, I will make sure I take a good amount of complex carbs, the night before. I keep a usual evening meal, but perhaps a bowl of oats for supper or possibly extra carbs as liquid food.

Food during the ride

During a ride, you need to take a lot more calories than usual. It is helpful to have a rough idea how many extra calories you will be burning. This will depend on your weight, duration and effort level.

I have written in more detail at energy consumption during a ride. But, to summarise,

The body can absorb around 60-80 grams of carbohydrate per hour.

Therefore, for optimal energy replacement, this should be a target. This means you should try and take 2-3 units of energy (25g energy bars) per hour.
For 1-2 hour rides, you will have enough energy stored not to really need much food. But, for long rides of 3-4 hour+, you need to start fuelling from the first hour to maximise energy uptake.

Food on a ride

Maltodextrin – a good complex carbohydrate, which is the most popular ingredient in sports energy drinks. Sometimes I like to have just plain maltodextrin. It is easy on the stomach and avoids problems associated with high fructose. I buy this Torq natural organic energy – which is 97% maltodextrin. Torq energy at Wiggle

Fructose / maltodextrin 2:1. Energy drinks now often have a mix of maltodextrin and fructose, some studies suggest this can enable a higher level of carbohydrate uptake because the gut can process fructose and maltodextrin separately, and so is good for long rides. Just be careful not to overdo the fructose consumption, it can cause digestion problems. High 5 2:1 energy drink 1 Kg currently just £9.99

Carb – Protein 4:1 Another energy power mix is Four parts carb to 1 part protein (usually way protein). Studies suggest this can help for long distance endurance riding. The protein can be used as a source of fuel. It can also help the recovery process towards the end of a ride. I have bought a few boxes of 4:1 sachets. If I have 4 bottles of energy drink. I may have this for the 3rd or 4th bottle. I wouldn’t use for short distance, as I would prefer just a carb solution. High 5 4:1

Electrolyte / carb drinks. Quite a few energy drinks are marketed as ‘electrolyte drinks’ These are energy drinks which generally have higher levels of salts (electrolytes) and relatively lower percentage of carbs. I rarely get too hot on the bike, so only really need these in the height of summer or abroad. Again, I would be unlikely to just rely on electrolytes. For example, if I had a long ride, I may save the electrolyte drink for later in the day when it really hots up and it gets very sweaty.

GI index. During a ride you don’t have to worry about the GI of foods as much. For a short 2 hour race, I would take just mainly high GI foods. For a long ride, it is still good to get a mixture of food and slow release carbs, like oat based cereal bars.

Energy Bars

I take a lot of different energy bars. I don’t really have a favourite brand. Though I often buy boxes of 24 powerbars and 24 Torq bars. As well as these more expensive energy bars, you can take some cheaper bars that you find in a supermarket, like Nutrigrain and Fruesli bars. There energy composition is often quite similar to bars which cost twice as much.

There is a more in depth review of energy bars here.

Other non-specific Energy foods

Banana – The cyclists’ food. Ideal for popping in back pocket. Good source of Carb, relatively high GI of 65. Lower GI if more green and less brown.
Malt loaf – A good complex carb source. Gives you something solid to chew on. Not the easiest thing to eat, but can make a nice change on long rides.
Figs – I’ve never seen attraction of taking figs during a ride, but it’s often mentioned.
Marmalade sandwiches. Never did Obree any harm.

Recovery foods

After a ride, the first hour is very important to get good nutrition. During the first hour, the body is most receptive to absorbing nutrition. It is a mistake to wait for a long time to start refuelling. If it was particularly hard, I like to take a recovery drink because.

Easy to absorb.
Helps rehydrate.
You don’t always feel like eating after a big effort.
Keeps you going until you’ve had time to prepare food.

Quite often I start with recovery drinks food towards the end of a long ride. I like these protein recovery bars, I may have this at the last hour of a long ride. Recovery drinks can come in the form of Soy or Whey / milk powder. Again, I have both, I’ve used SIS recovery which is Soya.

Post ride meals

There is no hard and fast rule about what to eat after a ride. I try to get a good balanced meal – carbs, protein, fats, fresh vegetables. I like lentils for a low GI and mix of carb and protein. Usually I take with vegetarian (tofu/ quorn) sausages and quite a lot of vegetables.

One very rough rule of thumb is that a colourful plate is likely to have a good range of nutrition (excluding the tomato and brown sauce)

Cheaper recovery food drink

Milk – is an excellent recovery drink, unfortunately, I just don’t like drinking straight milk.
Coconut Water – excellent for de-acidifying the stomach after long ride.

Training and food uptake

Food intake depends on the rider in question. An experienced rider will train the body to better and burning fat. Therefore, they can get by on less carb intake than an untrained cyclist.

Long term nutrition

Western diets can be unhealthy, unless we are careful. There is a lot to be said for avoiding processed / fast food and eating a well balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. If you eat a balanced diet, you should gain the trace minerals and vitamins that the body needs. Many riders like to take vitamin supplements on the basis that you can ensure you don’t miss out. Personally, I always buy and then forget to take.

Supplements for cycling?

Are there any supplements worth taking? Some suggest Beetroot juice and Beta Alanine. – see Supplements

Managing a balanced diet is the best way for long-term weight maintenance.

Related pages

Energy consumption during a ride
Energy bars for cycling

Specialized Armadillo long term review

November 22, 2015June 6, 2014 by tejvan

I’ve been using Specialized Armadillo road tyres for the past four – five years. In that time, I’ve only had one puncture, and that was a pretty big nail which would have puncture most tubs, tubeless and tyres. I use Armadillo’s on my commuting bike and sometimes on my training wheels for winter training. I know other people who have used them for a similar time and have either not punctured or just got the occasional puncture.

armadillo-allcondition — An Armadillo in action on rear wheel of training bike. Winter grit and thorns seem to have no effect on the tyre.

In summary, Specialized Armadillo are a very sturdy, strong and puncture resistant tyre. The inevitable downside is that they are heavier and with a poorer performance on rolling resistance. But, if you don’t mind some compromise in performance, you can get greater peace of mind and spend less time at the side of the road mending a puncture. This is important for the commute into town, where I don’t carry any spare inner tube or pump.

They are not completely puncture proof. It maybe a tubeless tyre with self-sealing slime liquid offers an even better puncture resistance system. But with the Armadillos a puncture is going to be a very rare occurrence.

This winter, I did ride quite a lot with a Specialized Armadillo on my front and rear training wheel. (I didn’t really plan to do this. It just kind of happened.) Now it is summer, I wouldn’t want to be riding an Armadillo whilst training. You feel there is some compromise in performance, and there are other lighter tyres which still offer very good puncture protection (e.g. the Continental GP and Gatorskin) Compared to a Gatorskin, the Armadillo feels slightly slower and a harsher ride.

Durability

The Armadillo’s also seem to be much longer lasting than other tyres. My commute often involves a rough canal path and they haven’t needed changing for a long time. I think I’ve had my front tyre for nearly 3 years now. The back tyre needed changing after 2 years commuting. So even though they cost £30, they are good value. After three years, my front tyre is now looking tired and in need of a change it. Though I could probably get more use out of it, if I really wanted to.

Exceeding the speed limit

June 6, 2014 by tejvan

Recently, I was researching an article – Cycling Facts – one interesting thing I came across is how in the 1920s American pedestrians were successfully demonised for crossing the road. A strong road lobby decided it would be good to shame pedestrians who wanted nothing more than to cross the road (and therefore inconvenience motorists). A law was passed making jaywalking illegal (In the US pedestrians can only cross a road at a marked crossing – if you cross the road where you feel like it, you could end up with a fine of $200). But, this law was also accompanied with a sophisticated campaign to make pedestrians seem outdated and ‘dangerous’. – Successfully taking blame away from the real cause of the surge in road accidents – speeding motorists.

According to the BBC

Clowns were commonly used in parades or pageants to portray jaywalkers as a throwback to rural, ignorant, pre-motor age ways.

Another ruse was to provide local newspapers with a free service. Reporters would submit a few facts about local traffic accidents to Detroit, and the auto industry’s safety committee would send back a full report on the situation in their city.

“The newspaper coverage quite suddenly changes, so that in 1923 they’re all blaming the drivers, and by late 1924 they’re all blaming jaywalking,” Norton says.

Breakdown of all trips made in the US

Driving: 83%
Walking: 10.4%
Other (includes cycling): 4.2%
Public transport: 1.9%

Source: National Household Travel Survey, 2009

Speeding drivers

Source: Gov.uk

Speeding drivers kill every year. In the UK, there are 2,500 deaths on the road. These are not caused by cyclists or pedestrians, but almost entirely by cars, lorries and buses.

Yet, speeding has no real social stigma. There is no outrage from British newspapers at the preventable accidents caused by speeding drivers. In fact, the only outrage you are likely to get is the fact that speeding cameras ‘caught you’ i.e. breaking the law.

Rectory hill climb

June 5, 2014June 4, 2014 by tejvan

The Hamptons Rectory hill climb will be part of the Chiltern Cycling Festival. It looks like it will be a good event with many cycle events lined up for the day. By the afternoon there could be a good crowd watching the pain and suffering of the hill climbers. The hill climb will be on closed roads, which will be good for riders and spectators. There are quite a few prizes, such as Solo clothing, and I hear a good entry.

It will suit the short sprinting type of hill climbers. Depending on where the start and finish are, it’s not that dissimilar in length to Monsal Head / York Hill (Catford CC)

It is steep, with a gradient of 14-15% at the bottom before levelling off near the top. Ironically, the hill climb finishes by the underground line (Metropolitan line from Amersham). There can’t be too many hill climbs where you climb to a London Underground train line.

During a long ride yesterday, I did 2.05 up the 0.5 mile hill. And two and half minutes up the longer 0.6 mile version.

But that was after 50 miles of trying to find “Old Amersham” without a map. I would imagine a winning time of something like 20-30 seconds quicker.

As much as I love hill climbs, it will be a tough one for me. It’s a day before national 100 and I might be in with a shout of a good placing in the national. 3 efforts of 2 minutes are not quite my forte. It will be good to wear the national jersey – though using a granny ring will be very tempting. It’s looking like a good one to come along and watch.

Hamptons Rectory Hill Climb at Chiltern Cycle Festival

Cycling facts

February 7, 2018June 3, 2014 by tejvan

A random list of cycling facts – from the invention of the bike to the fastest time circumnavigating the world.

When Was the Bike Invented?

No one really knows exactly. The Frenchman Ernest Michaux invented a bicycle with pedal and rotary cranks in 1861, but it is doubtful this was actually the first design.

Early precursors to the bicycle include:

1817 – The Running Machine. Invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais, this had no pedals, no chains, but two wheels. It was propelled by pushing your feet on ground. It was sometimes known as human horse. It was largely a form of entertainment for aristocratic families with their own estate. It never really caught on, but is important for giving idea of bicycle shaped objects.

The Running Machine. Photo by Gun Powder Ma wikipedia

The Velocipede – 1860s. In the early 1860s, two Frenchmen Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement put pedals on the front wheel and introduced the velocipede, which looks more like our modern bicycle. It had no chain and was very uncomfortable due to the wooden wheels. The velocipede helped the spread of the bicycle.

The Penny Farthing. A development of the Velocipede, this was faster due to the larger diameter of the front wheel. But, considered dangerous because of its height. Nevertheless Penny Farthings became quite popular and the first cycle races were on these high machines.

1890-Humber_Safety_Bicycle — 1890 Humber Safety Bicycle

1885. The Safety Bike. It was around the 1880s, that the first safety bikes appeared. These are considered the first real bicycles. With their standard two triangle frames, pedals and chain, the basic design has remained unchanged. Starley’s 1885 Rover is considered the first real bicycle model.

When was the Pneumatic tyre

In 1846 Robert William Thomson patented a pneumatic tyre. But, he was never able to make it a practical reality. In 1888, Scotsman John Dunlop invented the first practical pneumatic tyre, which created a much more enjoyable and comfortable ride. A year later, in 1889, the racing cyclist Willie Hume won 4 races using Dunlop’s tyres in 1889 The bicycle was ready for mass participation and the first puncture repair kit was invented pretty soon after.

Innovations for bicycles which later appeared in motor cars

Pneumatic Tyres
Precision ball bearings
Tension-spoked wheels
chain-drive,

Motor Engineers who started off producing bicycles

Henry Ford, Wright Brothers. Dunlop tyres, The Rover Cycle Company, Morris Motor Company.

Who were the first group to campaign for better roads?

Cyclists. In the US in the 1890s, it was cyclists who were prominent in the Good roads movement. A magazine Good Roads Magazine was founded in 1892 by cycling advocates. It reached a subscription of 1 million within 3 years. A year later (1893) after Good Roads magazine was founded, Charles Duryea produced the first American gasoline-powered vehicle, and within 20 years cars had replaced bicycles as the most popular users of American roads. But, those early motorists befitted from the campaigning by cycling groups.

Everesting Beeley moor and more

June 2, 2014 by tejvan

Firstly, well done to Pee Jay for successfully ‘everesting‘ Beeley Moor over the weekend. I believe he was 3rd UK rider to complete this unique challenge.

If you want to see a decent interval session, have a look at his graphs for his ride on Strava

Peter Johnson with Dave Brailsford who happened to be in the area.

195 miles
30,000 + Ft
13 hours
If you want to donate to PeeJay’s charity

Other news

triathlete-basket — Shopping baskets allowed. One for Dave Brailsford’s marginal gains.

I had a weekend off racing. I was marshalling at the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence ‘tri a triathlon’ in Portishead.

Because I wasn’t racing, naturally enough it was a float day with pb’s set across the country.

One pb of particular note was Movistar Pro Alex Dowsett smashing the 10 Competition record taking a whopping 25 seconds off to reduce the 10 mile TT mark to 17.20. That’s an average speed of 34.5 mph or something suitably ridiculous. A great ride by a top pro.

Today I did seven * one minute intervals up Boars Hill. That’s 7 minutes of training, but my mind was wandering to the idea of everesting something.