Stages power meters

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Stages power meter promise reliable power meter recording at a relatively cheap price. Whilst many SRMs can go for over £2,000. Stages power meters will be £599 (For Shimano 105) to £799 (Shimano Dura Ace 7900). Not only that but they are lightweight (20grams) and easy to switch between bikes.

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This summer I spent quite a bit of time researching power meters and I came to the conclusion, I wanted  to get the cheapest one. For me, this was Quark, I ended up spending £1,400 and it was a big hole in the cycling budget.

Quark Elsa

Firstly, the Quark experience has not been so good. A few weeks after buying (and after one race) it broke. We spent ages trying to fix the power meter reading, but the problem was in the crank arm itself so with help of Beeline we sent it back to the distributor. After a delay they sent it back saying it worked. But, it didn’t work, and they hadn’t even put a battery in it. Then we had to send back again. Eventually, four months after it stopped working (Sep 15) I’ve finally got it back in working condition yesterday (Jan 15). It would have been interesting, if not useful being able to use for the hill climb season. It was a lot of toing and froing between the bikeshop. Though in retrospective, I was glad I bought it from Beeline, as they were very helpful in dealing with the Quark distributor.

Whilst the Quark was in the workshop, getting returned , I came to hear about a new power meter called Stages which you just fit to a crank arm. I soon started to regret buying Quark and thought if I’d waited I could have saved £800 and the pain of my Quark not working. Stages seemed to give everything I want from a power meter.

Advantages of Stages

  • Very light 20 grams! (important for hill climbers)
  • Easy to put on – Even easier than Quark. Even I a self-confessed non bike mechanic could move Stages around without even having to drive bike to bikeshop (something I dislike having to do)
  • Much cheaper than other power meters.
  • You don’t have to worry about changing wheels / changing bikes. As long as you have same crank arm (which I do) it is quite easy to take off and put on another crank arm. This is a big bonus for me, because I have so many different bikes and wheels.
  • Reviews suggest consistent power meter readings.

Too good to be true?

I’ve already splashed out £1,400 on a Quark, but I plan to leave this on my time trial bike. Once you get used to riding power, you want to see what you do on your other bikes. Even though I only used it for four weeks, I would like to have power meter on road bike to measure hill climb interval efforts. The problem is that I often change from road bike to TT bike almost every day. If I was a pure time triallist one pm may be enough. But, I’m not. Stages seems the obvious choice for a second power meter. Only £700 or £800 so it’s pretty enticing because it doesn’t blow the budget completely.

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Patience is a virtue on the road

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One thing about being a British road user is that it teaches you patience. Well, it’s either you learn to be patient, or you become really quite angry and irritable. I was dropping my bike off at Beeline this morning to re-fit a power meter. It took a long time to drive the one mile during rush hour; it’s so much slower than cycling. I realised now why I never drive in Oxford, unless I can avoid it. It takes considerable patience to drive the one mile down Cowley Road. The problem is that most of the roads around here were not designed for two rows of parked cars and heavy traffic.

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They were designed in the halycon days of the 1930s, when everything was in black and white and people couldn’t afford a motor car.

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The good old 1930s. Workers leaving factory. What happened when all these workers bought a motor car?

But, if you start off with the mindset of being patient and expecting it to be slow, it’s much easier to retain some equanimity. If you can’t enjoy the drive into town, and least at doesn’t leave you agitated.

As a cyclist, you often have to be patient. You could look at the top picture and get annoyed. Why are cars taking up so much space? If the other person was on a bicycle, there would be no delay.  “Why can’t you be nice and thin like me?” But, if you start thinking like that, you don’t end up in a good place. A little patience goes a long way; sometimes you have to wait a few seconds for a 4WD to carry its great hulk through the road. But, that’s fine, we all share the road – even Chelsea Tractors. 

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Returning to cycling after injury

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One thing about cycling is that you will always have time off the bike due to injury, illness e.t.c. In my case, these enforced breaks have been anything from one week to several years. Returning to cycling after a lay off can be a great feeling, but you have to be careful to manage it in the best way.

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Firstly, it can be very frustrating to be sitting on the sidelines, nursing some injury – These periods off the bike always seem to correlate to the best beautiful weather. Outside it’s sunny and dry – perfect for clocking up the miles, but you’re still hobbling up the stairs trying to detect any slight improvement in your strained muscle.

How much fitness do you lose when you’re off your bike?

  • After one week, you will begin to lose top end speed quite quickly.  As soon as training stops, you find anaerobic threshold and VO2 max drop off  fairly rapidly. Though after a few weeks, the rate of decline tails off.
  • After two to three weeks, your endurance capacity will also start to fade away too. In one study, Madsen et al, cyclists who stopped training for four weeks found their ability to cycle at 75% of VO2 max dropped from about 80min to just over 60min—a 20% decrease. This is a good approximation of basic endurance fitness. Still 20% reduction from four weeks of rest is not the end of the world.

Taking a month or two off the bike is never quite as devastating as it feels at the time. The body is adaptable – what you lose you can regain – there just needs to be a degree of patience.

Difficulties in coming back after Injury

  • There is always a danger you could do too much, too early and aggravate rather than help the injury to get better. There are no hard and fast rules about how much you should do because it depends on type of injury and recovery. In some cases, light exercise can help get blood to the affected area and speed up healing. For want of any better advice, if you feel  pain, it is a sign you might be pushing too early. If you can ride without pain, then it is a guide signal to begin lightly.
  • During injury, some muscles will have wasted causing imbalances in the body. This can cause knock on injuries, due to over stretching other parts of the body. One thing I’ve noticed about recent injuries where I mainly landed on left hand side, is that I’ve gained muscle strains on my right hand side in my back because I’m overcompensating on the other side.
  • Also, because I haven’t been using my left leg much, I can feel the muscles are really declining in power. When I wake up I feel my left leg involuntary stretching because the previously strong muscles are becoming much weaker due to non-use. Unfortunately, this has aggravated the imbalance between my left and right leg.

Tips in Coming back to Cycling from Injury

  • After long break, start with short distances and a very steady pace. Build up distance and intensity gradually. The last thing you want is to over-stretch yourself. The good thing about cycling is that it is ideal for taking it gradually. You can cycle a few kms whilst maintaining a very low effort. It becomes nice if each day, you can add a few kms, taking it step by step.
  • Be careful of setting goals too early. We are tempted to start thinking. ‘Right this injury is going to be over in 2 weeks.” But, you can’t put your own time scale on it. If you have a deadline, you are likely to suffer from failed expectations.
  • If you have a target for a 100 mile sportive 3 weeks after injury, it can become very tempting to push too hard. To achieve a big target requires great determination, but recovery from injury requires listening to the body and patience rather than stretching yourself. Once you have a fixed goal, it’s hard to be patient with yourself.
  • Manage expectations. To use the oft-quoted line from A Fish called Wanda ‘It’s not the despair I can’t stand, it’s the hope’ Be wary of giving yourself unrealistic expectations of recovery. To use a footballer manager cliché just take each day as it comes and do what you can with that.

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Highlights of 2013 and targets for 2014

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This is the kind of thing you only have time for when you’re lying on your back with an injury. Well, I’m not quite lying on my back, but there’s only so much internet browsing you can do, before you lose the will to live. So this is a recap of results from 2013 and a look forward to 2014.

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Before the hill climb season, a few things stood out.

  • Buxton Mt TT 1st and getting close to Stuart Dangerfield’s course record.
  • Taking 9 minutes off my personal best for 50 miles. At the start of the year it was 1.49. In July I reduced it to 1.45 (up in Yorkshire). Then on the super-fast B50/6, it reduced to 1.41. (and it may have been a 1.39, but for a wrong turning)
  • I also set a pb for 100 miles in the national 100, up in Lake District. It was a good honest course, and 5th sounds pretty good, even if some of the fast guys were chasing faster courses down south for the BBAR.
  • I also enjoyed doing the National 50 down in Wales, where I finished 9th. I think this is the first year, I’ve done 3 Nationals in the same year. I hope to do more next year.
  • I also set a pb at 10 miles, though it was a case of shaving off a few seconds (19.02) on the superfast V718- course, at the end of the M65.

For the hill climb season, obviously winning the national title, was probably the most significant achievement in 9 years of racing. But, the season leading up to hill climb was also good fun. Setting course records on Snake Pass, Cat & Fiddle, Leith Hill, Porlock, Mow Cop, Guise Edge and finally on the Stang. 12/13 1st places was good. But, it was hill climb number 13, which was really the one that counted. I wouldn’t say it’s the national or nothing because that diminishes the open events. But, I’m glad not to end up with the title of ‘person who won the most open hill climbs, without winning national title.’

Mileage

I did a total of 10,570 miles during 2013. The biggest month was June – 1,263. The shortest distance was Feb – 412. There were 717 miles done in races.

I don’t want to calculate how many miles I did driving to races. I should just be grateful to my parents’ B&B up in Yorkshire.

Targets for 2014

The stand out target for 2014 is to retain the National hill climb title on Pea Royd Lane. I think it is possible, though perhaps a little more difficult than the Stang. Setting course records on Leith Hill (3.33) and Guise Edge (3.23) is encouraging in that I reckon the winning time in 2014 will be around that mark.  I would love to have another go at Horseshoe Pass, I was 13 seconds off the course record – that would be a special one to get.

The other big target for 2014 will be to have a go (injuries permitting) at the BBAR competition. This is a long standing competition which involves getting the best time and average speed at 50 miles, 100 miles, 12 hour. I enjoyed the 50 and 100 miles this year, and am really looking forward to (finally) having a go at a 12 hour. I will also try to do the National 50, National 100 and National 25. I think it’s quite possible to improve on last year’s positions. I was definitely getting faster towards the end of the season.

Apart from that I will be doing any hilly races I can get to. Circuit of the Dales and Buxton hilly CC are top of the list. Also, I’m already salivating at the prospect of the Dursley Hardriders WTTA 28 mile time trial. According to sales pitch of organiser “Last year just three riders averaged better than 20 mph on a course including four severe climbs. Riders were typically 7-8mph slower than their pb for 25 mile times. This year the finish of the course includes a final climb up the awesome Stouts Hill! So that’s five climbs, three of which have been used as Dursley RC club hill climbs. One thing’s for sure, this CTT event will again have the “slowest” winning time of the year”

Apart from racing, I have very few goals, though I will continue to tick off any hard hill climbs in the 100 hill climb books, I have a trip to Great Dun Fell (Knock, Lake District) lined up. and I’ve even toyed with another trip down to Box Hill.

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Tips for commuting by bike

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Commuting by bike has several advantages, it can save money, get you there quicker, plus give a useful bit of exercise. I’ve been commuting into Oxford for the past 13 years. It’s not a long commute  – only about 2.5 miles each way. Despite the stress of dodging Oxford buses and taxis,  commuting by bike is a great way to start the day. Even when I started working from home, I found in practise I preferred to keep commuting into a city centre cafe – rather than stay at home. More than anything a 10 minute cycle ride is a great way to get the brain working.

Over the past 13 years, the main change I’ve noticed is that I’ve become a slightly slower and more patient commuter, but as a result probably enjoy the experience more.

These are my top tips for commuting by bike.

1. Patience. Depending on the city, commuting by bike is likely to be significant faster than most other forms of transport. To a large extent, you can escape the traffic congestion and queues of traffic.

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However, it is not a race, if you have a little patience, you can make the ride less stressful and safer. Running red lights is dangerous and can end up leaving you with a fine. You will also annoy a lot of people – both motorists and other cyclists. If you give yourself a little more time, you won’t feel the need to push on regardless. Similarly, if you have a little patience, you won’t take unnecessary risks like squeezing inside buses to save a few seconds. It’s potentially very dangerous. Having a little patience also make the commute more enjoyable. If you treat the commute like a time trial, you are creating unnecessary stress, and you will probably end up riding like an idiot. I’ve nothing against cycling fast, but doing it up the High Street with buses and  innumerable traffic lights, is not the best of places.

2. Check different routes

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The best cycling route is often different to the one you would drive. Slow minor roads can often avoid busier junctions

Any commute can be made a little safer and more enjoyable by seeking out quieter roads and better journeys. If there is a nasty section of road or junction, investigate whether it is worth a detour. Planning alternative routes may add a little to your journey distance, but if it makes it safer and less stressful, it is worth it.

Be seen

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In an ideal world, cyclists wouldn’t have to dress up like a Christmas tree to be seen. I’m not a fluorescent yellow evangelist, but it does worry me when I see cyclists wearing only dark clothes at night without lights. If you ride on the road without lights and in dark clothing, it really increases the risk of an accident. Also it annoys other road users. If you spend any time driving, you will understand the importance of cyclists being visible.

Be a considerate road user

In any commute, you will come across irritating and inconsiderate behaviour. This will be from any road user, be it pedestrian / car / bus / lorry driver / cyclist. You can not influence how other road users behave. But, the best thing is always to be considerate yourself. If you are considerate and use your common sense, you won’t get into needless dispute, but find it is quite easy to obey the highway code.

Dealing with road rage

Unfortunately, being a considerate road user doesn’t insulate you from all problems. If you commute anywhere in the world, you will face dangerous moments, which are out of your control. It is easier said than done, but there is a lot to be said for keeping calm and not getting drawn into arguments you can’t really win. My general philosophy is generally to have low expectations and let little irritations go. Of course, it is different if you are involved in an accident. In that case, you should take down all the details you can. But, I never expect the advanced cycle boxes to be free. I expect cars to turn into the road, making you slow down. I’m half expecting cars to be on the wrong side of the road. This is all the downside of commuting into town. But, it’s a lot easier to accept as long as you don’t feel it is your responsibility to educate all the car drivers in your city because you won’t be able to!

Maximsing safety

The perceived safety of cycling is often the biggest deterrent to cycling in cities. To some extent you can reduce certain dangers and risk. The big ones include:

– Avoid undertaking buses and lorries – unless you are very certain they are going to be stationary.

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– Learn to look over your shoulder and signal before manoeuvring out into the road.

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The simple joy of cycling into town

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A week last Friday, I spent all day on my back, only struggling to the bathroom with the greatest difficulty. It’s not the most fun way to spend a day, and you do start to fear how long this incapacity might last.

But, fortunately the muscle seems to be healing quite well. After a few days of going crazy staying inside watching the ‘best’ of Christmas TV on BBC iPlayer, I was relieved to be able to get out of the house. This time, of course, taking very great care stepping out of the front door. Didn’t want to go rolling into the rose bushes for a 3rd fall of the week. Those kind of things are only funny when you watch them happening to other people on Youtube.

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Quite slowly and carefully, I was able to cycle into town. It’s only 3 km or so, but it feels quite satisfying after just a few days of inaction.

My Portugal experience has been rather clouded by getting knocked off bike at 50km/h by rabid / crazy dog. But, the simple commute into Oxford did have me nostalgically looking back to those very quiet and wide roads of the Algarve.

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I soon forgave Portugal all its crazy dogs after being reminded of what it’s like to cycle around Oxford.

There may be no dogs in Oxford, but I got passed (closely) by more double decker buses in 5 minutes of cycling around Oxford than I did in two weeks of ‘idyllic’ cycling around Portugal.

Perhaps, because I’ve just recently been brought crashing to earth, I’m a little more sensitive. But, it is was a stark reminder that Oxford is no cycling paradise. Too many big buses and cars for my liking. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed the simple sensation of cycling into town, viewing the beautiful spires and seeing the flooded plains.

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Altura night vision flite jacket – long term review

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I’ve been using this Altura night vision jacket for over a year. I received it last year as a free product for review.

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In summary: it is an excellent light weight / breathable jacket, that you can keep in back pocket or saddle bag. Even after consistent rain for an hour, you stay relatively dry and warm, yet you don’t sweat excessively.

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The first downside to the jacket, is that in my case the zip didn’t work. I can’t undo it, without a long time of frustrating tugging and pulling. I have to leave zipped up, and just put over my head. On noting this flaw in the product, I mentioned to the Altura rep, who sent the jacket in the first place. He replied by saying, ‘OK, please don’t mention in your review.’  I never heard anything else, like perhaps a replacement jacket. It wasn’t exactly  the most amazing piece of marketing strategy and customer care.

In fairness, I think I was unlucky. Looking at other online reviews, I’ve not noticed anyone else complain about a broken zip. Perhaps if you had bought a jacket, you would have got better after sales service. The bizarre thing is I keep thinking the jacket is so good, it’s worth buying one just to get one with a working zip, but in the end it doesn’t seem worth the £70 just for jacket with a working zip so I use this good jacket which needs unorthodox putting on. It means I have to stop to put it on, but to be honest I’m no good at putting on jackets whilst cycling – like the pros anyway.

Sizing

I chose a size L because I’m tall, (6ft 3″) and have long legs. I’m as thin as the proverbial hill climb whippet (36″ chest maybe) so it is inevitably baggy. But, it’s not too bad, I’ve usually got quite a few layers underneath anyway. It does make a difference having a waterproof jacket which goes down just past your wrists. Helps to keep your hands warm. I like it because it seems designed for the racing position. It’s a little on the short side when standing up, but quite good in position.

Waterproofing and breathability

When looking for a waterproof jacket, there seems to be a three way trade off

  1. Price
  2. Waterproofing
  3. Breathability

To score highly on both 2 and 3, you need to pay a lot. At £70, this jacket is quite expensive for a small fold away jacket, but it offers an excellent combination of waterproofing and breathability. This is definitely a proper waterproof jacket (as opposed to ‘water resistant’) I’ve been out in some heavy rain, and feel securely protected from the worst of the weather. But, it’s never too hot, and you can go as hard as you like up hills without becoming excessively sweaty.

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Classic cycling photos

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This is another collection of classic time trial photos from the Bernard Thompson collection. I have already published some of these on my last cycling blog, but this is a new collection from the 280 images, and bigger sized (640px) than last blog. I hope you enjoy these insights into the ‘golden era’ of domestic British cycling and time trialling.

Thanks to Peter Whitfield for including this CD of copyright free images in his excellent cycling books – ’12 Champions’ and ‘History of Time trialling’

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Beryl Burton at the start with large crowd.

 

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A familiar scene for early morning Sunday time trials. Time keeper and pusher-off.

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A road with no markings, must have been relatively quiet.

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A classic shot from the Catford CC hill climb – the oldest cycle race in the world.

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At the start of the national 100.

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Looks like this rider got a good push from the pusher off. Many people checking watches and looking on.

Time Trial Legends

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The 1960s was the peak of the BAR competition with the best timetriallist competing with the best road men.

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Alf Engers – the King of the short distance time trial

Alf Engers set a new competition record of 49.24 for 25 mile TT in 1978, before the advent of tri bars and disc wheels. It was the first sub 50 25 mile TT. He had a habit of annoying the establishment, but he was a class act on the bike. Engers was national 25 mile TT champion in 1969 and 1972-1976.

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Dealing with road rash

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In the perennially popular lists like: ‘Top 10 reasons to take up cycling’ –  you don’t usually see –

  1. Learn how to deal with blood and treat your own wounds.

But, unfortunately it does seem to be a bit of a compulsory extra in the cycling curriculum. Cycling is undoubtedly a marvellous thing – good for health, weight, fitness, congestion, carbon neutral e.t.c. but if you do any amount of cycling you will, at some stage, be picking yourself up from the side of the road, with less skin than when you set out. On the positive side, you do learn some elementary elements of first aid.

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This would be funny if it happened to anyone else, but yesterday, I fell over for a second time – and I wasn’t even on the bike, just going out of the front door. I managed to hobble around Faro and Gatwick with my suitcases and get home to Oxford. The next morning I was feeling pretty pleased with the progress of my leg so started to clear up the house. Going out to the bins, my trailing left leg, tripped over the lip of the front door and I went tumbling over on to the old injuries and picked up some new ones on my right hand side just for good measure. I now have a symmetry of road rash. I cried out, but the street remained as deserted as a Portuguese mountain. Eventually, after lying on the drive for a while, I realised no one was going to come and help, so I had to pick myself up and go through the tedious process of dressing wounds again. The fall didn’t do my leg any favours – though I still hope it will get better sooner, rather than later.

Dealing with Road Rash

It’s hard to improve on this page here – dealing with road rash But, my tips would include:

  1. Check for signs of breakage and more serious issues. A doctor will check for more serious things and leave skin to the last. Also make sure it is not a deep gash rather than superficial cuts.
  2. Be careful you may be in shock.
  3. Wash out any dirt
  4. Betadine is a good cleanser which doesn’t sting that much. (much better than traditional iodine) (see: Betadine at amazon) Anti bacterial soap is another option.
  5. Have big patches ready. The best are duoderm hydrocolloid types  Road rash tends to be quite big, get some good big strips ready. You can also use non-sticking gauze pads they are cheaper than duoderm. I have a range of sizes in my cupboard.
  6. Change once a day and wash wounds. (duoderm can be left on for longer. (3-7 days – see: link) A warm bath is a good way of loosening bandages before changing and giving wound a good clean.
  7. If you ever fall off, you will really understand why cyclists shave their legs. It’s easier to keep clean and it’s easier to put on and take off bandages. Though, I seem to always fall off in winter, when I can’t be bothered to shave my legs.
  8. It’s an uncomfortable feeling riding with road rash, though it is possible to keep cycling. Often it looks worse than it is. But, the pain of road rash maybe hiding other more serious injuries.
  9. If you do crash, especially with deep cut, be careful about getting a long haul flight. the risk of blood clot is high.
  10. After a few days, try leaving open at night and dress during the day. When it has scabbed over it can be left open.
  11. look out for infection. Signs ill include: increased pain, pus or spreading redness.

Self treating road rash

Often for minor cases, you can treat yourself. It’s easier than finding a nurse. When I fell off in Portugal, it was too extensive and I couldn’t do. When treating yourself, the important thing is not to skimp on the cleaning and applying anti-septic which can be a little painful..