Back in the saddle: Finding my legs, losing them in my first crash and the London Classic

It's been an eventful return to cycling after 5 months off that felt like an absolute eternity. Unfortunately, work, study and very short days meant that from the end of October last year until the beginning of March, I was pretty much unable to do any riding. It was a massive loss, and it's been a huge gain to climb back on the saddle in the last few months.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly all your hard work and training dissipates when you spend some time away from riding. Not so long ago I was riding up mountains in the Alps and completing my first 100 mile ride. 40 mile rides were a doddle, the 'light jog' of cycling. A few months later, they seem like marathons again. My legs lost all that hard muscle, had no definition, and wore the fatty coat of a long winter break which saw many calories consumed and very few burned.

That said, after my most active year on the bike yet, 2010 has left my base level of strength undoubtedly higher than it was and I felt back into the swing of things after only a few weeks. That was quite a gentle routine for a while, involving short evening rides and the odd weekend 40 miler. Unfortunately, one such ride ended unceremoniously when, whilst taking a drink I hit a large pothole at 35kph and wobbled, hit the deck and bounced into a ditch. It could have been worse, and a very bruised hip aside, the worst I had to show for it was a left side that looked like a second bout of the measles (said ditch contained brambles) and cuts on my face resembling a fight with a cat!

Apart from a little hurt pride, there was no major damage and I was only off the bike for a couple of days and was more than ready for the first event of the year: The London Classic. I only first heard of the event at the start of the year but immediately knew I wanted in. As one of the few rides that now take place on the same day as Paris-Roubaix, the LC pays homage to the Hell of the North by covering large sections of London's cobbled streets over a kind, early season 37.3 miles.

My dad, who has caught the cycling bug (albeit on a fixie), also joined in and we both found the day an absolute joy. Starting from The Alma pub in Crystal Palace, the route heads towards East London for the toughest of the 26 cobbled sectors, via Look Mum No Hands in Old Street for a mid-morning coffee and cake. The sections of Stepney Green, Wapping High Street and Pennington Street all in E1 were the toughest, longest sectors. OK, they're probably nothing like Roubaix, but it felt good to experience a bit of a bone rattling shake under my tyres on the same day the pros would later be putting themselves through hell in Arenberg.

Making my way across the cobbles of East London

The route then crosses the river over Tower Bridge, heading for the 'lung-busting hills' of South London, only one of which was thankfully lung-busting, but oh my was it lung-busting. Reaching ramps of 20%, I was only just about able to grind my way up it before having to slam on the brakes, as the summit was no wider than a pin head and it dropped down at gradients most likely even steeper than 1 in 5.

Once over the hills, it was more or less an easy stroll back to the Alma for the last 40km of Paris-Roubaix, in time to see Johan Van Summeren's mammoth effort to take a surprising but thoroughly well deserved victory, which doubtless any fan of cycling would not have been happy to see. Don't you just love it when the domestiques have their day in the sun?

All in all, the London Classic topped off what was for me, a joyous early season return to the saddle, after which was to be the time to step it up for my biggest test yet, 200km of hills in South Wales's Dragon Ride...

Training hills - Hendon, Mill Hill, Barnet

Let's be honest, North London is hardly endowed with fearsome climbs. Even nearby Herts only throws up the occasional rise longer than 2 or 3 km.
This means when it comes to climbing, I often go for hill repeats, which are a great way of learning how your body copes with constant climbing, whilst allowing for a little bit of recovery after each ascent.

I thought I would share some images of the few little hills that I regularly train on when I don't want to have to travel too far to get some gradient in my legs. I will try and put up some better images another time, but unfortunately this evening I was pushed for light, as autumn brings the sunset far too early.

We start in Hendon, with Greyhound Hill:

From the bottom of Greyhound hill as it starts to gently climb

Greyhound hill is probably about 550m in length, so short but sweet. It starts very gently, rolling uphill at about 2% or 3% for 300m, then it starts to curve upwards for the last couple of hundred metres, rising through sections of 4-6%, before it reaches its steepest slope right at the top, probably about 8-10% at the very maximum around the bend, before flattening out by the Greyhound pub.

About 10 minutes riding away we get to Bittacy Hill, in Mill Hill East:

Bittacy Hill is probably about a kilometre in length, with a similar anatomy to Greyhound hill. It starts gently rising from Mill Hill East station. This photo is taken from just past the traffic island where it ramps up to about 3-4%, which continues for a few hundred metres.





Just like Greyhound Hill, the steepest part of Bittacy Hill is right at the top, where it probably ramps up to 10-12%. It's always fun to look back at the top and watch the double decker buses almost come to a standstill as they struggle up. Here we are at the top of the steepest part, looking back down. The road carries on rising very gently as false flat before panning out into the beautifully flat Ridgeway, all the way to our next hill.




The next little rise is Highwood Hill, somewhere inbetween Mill Hill, Totteridge and Barnet, which rises up towards another pub (see a theme developing here?) the Rising Sun:

Highwood Hill, typically busy with school parents

Highwood Hill is very short and sweet, no longer than 400m and probably no steeper than 10-12% at its very very steepest, again right at the top. However, this photo is very representative of Highwood Hill on a typical day. Busy! I always have to navigate my way through a traffic jam on my way up, which often involves coming to a standstill behind one lousy driver or another. Never used for hill repeats but often provides a little sting in the legs as I try and sprint up at the end of a long ride.

From Highwood Hill, I turn right, then left along Hendon Wood lane, at the end of which is another 700-800m rise:

Hendon Wood Lane is an enjoyable little climb which takes you up to Arkley. It is never really that steep, probably 6-8% at most, and it is really nice to sprint to the top in the hope that there is a green light and you can take a fast sweeping 90 degree right hander onto the fast and flat Barnet Road. Again though, I rarely use Hendon Wood Lane for hill repeats, it isn't really steep enough. It is far far more enjoyable going the other way, where its shallow bends and consistent gradient make for a very short but exhilarating descent towards a very sharp bend.

By far my favourite little climb in the area is Milespit Hill. It looks about 600-800m long on the map but I have clocked it at exactly 1km. It starts at Westminster Cemetery, with its steepest ramp right at the beginning, a section of about 200-300m at what must be 7-8%, seen below:

The first ramp up tree-lined Milespit Hill

At the top of this first ramp is a false summit, as the gradient drops to around 4% for 100m or so, before then ramping up again to about 6% through a shallow S bend, right up to a beautiful little green and a pond at the top of the hill.

The leafy road climbs through an S bend

Then summits at a pond by a little church

Though again, not particularly long, steep or hard, I really liked this road and used it as my hill of choice when I was training for the alps. It is only about 10mins riding from my house, yet it feels like it is right out in the country. On a beautiful summer's day, it even has an almost alpine feel as it is lined with trees and log fencing and the road is so immaculate and traffic free that it could be French! In any case, 20 times up here leaves you feeling pretty exhausted and there's no pub at the top!

When I'm looking for a really tough climb I head over to Highgate for Swains Lane, which needs no introduction as it recently made Simon Warren's immensely popular '100 Greatest Cycling Climbs', and is a proper climb in the middle of the city, hitting ramps of 15%. Here's a link to the book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Greatest-Cycling-Climbs-Cyclists/dp/0711231206

Club ride with the Gregarios Superclub Ciclista

Sunday 26th September

Cycling clubs are a hard thing to come by in the London suburbs. Makes sense really, there isn't an awful lot of riding to be done on residential roads full of traffic and pedestrians, so clubs tend to form on the outskirts, in the home counties.

That's not to say London clubs don't exist of course, there's Finsbury Park CC, London Dynamo, Southgate CC to name a few. Even so, those clubs begin their club rides out in the countryside. So really, the name is just a name.

I've been looking for a club that is friendly, unique, relaxed but with competition available and most importantly close, seeing as from my experiences most fit the former.

I recently stumbled across the Gregarios Superclub Ciclista - whilst watching Eurosport's coverage of the Giro d'Italia actually. Commentator Dave Harmon is a member and occasionally ventures out on a ride with the club who pride themselves on their Italian connection. The celebrity roster doesn't end there either; Paolo Bettini is the club's honourary member. I didn't really know how to react to this, I thought it perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, but was assured that Bettini's management team had in fact been in contact with the club on numerous occasions.

That said, it is not something the club takes overly seriously; in fact it fits in perfectly with what seems like an extremely laid back, fun and approachable ethos.

I'd been meaning to head out with the Gregarios for many months, but Summer holidays and weekend breaks had got in the way. Not anymore. As the winter rains and headwinds began I decided now was the time to pick up my cycling activity again. Of course.

Meeting at 9.15am every Sunday morning at the Alpine restaurant in Stanmore (ideal for me, a 30 min warm up ride away), the Gregarios head out on rides around Herts, the Chilterns and occasionally further afield. For my first ride, we headed off in the direction of Great Missenden, intending to cover about 65-70 miles of reasonable hilly roads.

The pace was steady, somewhere between 25-28 km/h for the first hour or so as we made our way out of the suburbs, then Watford and into the countryside. The ride was conversational as everyone got to know each other, although the entire time we were riding into a fierce headwind, meaning it wasn't quite as easy as it could have been. After a half an hour stop at the halfway house, a pleasant cafe somewhere near Tring, that pace was lifted as we tried to work on perfecting a pace line and a chain gang.

Unfortunately, the way back was marred by terrible road surfaces, meaning too much time was spent concentrating on staying on the bike, and keeping the bike in one piece rather than keeping the pace high. That said we averaged around 35 km/h on the way back and soon found ourselves back at the Bushey arches, which begins a short but sharp climb back up Stanmore Hill to the Alpine.

'Every man for himself here' I was told, as the hill sprint began to the post-ride cafe for one last coffee.

I had totally forgotten how much more alert you have to be riding in a group, always keeping a watchful eye on the wheels in front and to the side, making sure not to overlap, or make any sudden movements. But there is something so enjoyable about the dynamic of a group of cyclists, not to mention having great company when out on the road. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with the Gregarios, and having been out with a couple of clubs think I've finally found one that I will keep going back to. I really love their jersey too, which is always a huge bonus!!

Here's a link to the club website for anyone in the area also interested in trying them out:


http://www.gregarios.co.uk/cycling-clubs/cycling-london-watford-middlesex-herts.html

2010 Road World Championships - The fight for the rainbow jersey

3rd October 2010 - Men's elite road race: Melbourne to Geelong

Cadel Evans wore the jersey with style in 2010

In just over a week, one man will be adorned in all the colours of the rainbow, as he takes his place on the podium as the new road champion of world cycling.

The rainbow jersey is a funny one. Theoretically, you could have had an absolutely useless year, hit form at just the right moment, and in the course of one race become the world champion of cycling, just like that!

Of course the title has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It doesn't carry the same weight as for example, the world champions of football, rugby, or athletics. Those titles are the absolute pinnacle of their sport, fought for over months of qualifying, often weeks of competition, on a level and consistent playing field, and generally always produce a winner worthy of being called the best in the world.

Cycling on the other hand carries many prestigious prizes, for many different types of rider. Some of the best cyclists won't even be taking part on October 3rd, because the parcours doesn't suit them, they don't have the form, or they've simply already achieved their goals for the season. Alberto Contador for example could hardly top winning the Tour de France for the third time, nor would he compromise that goal by attempting to peak again for the World Championships. Also, not many would have argued at the end of last year that Cadel Evans was a better all round bike rider than Contador, but he was nevertheless a very worth world champion.

So why do all world champions adorn their jerseys with rainbow piping for the rest of their career? If it isn't the race itself, what makes the rainbow jersey so prestigious? In my opinion it is the riders who have worn it: Fausto Coppi, Tom Simpson, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond, Stephen Roche, Johan Museeuw, Oscar Freire, the list goes on, and on, and on. This is what motivates so many riders year after year to go for one final push, in one of the last but most anticipated days of the season.

Unfortunately, the rainbow jersey has traditionally carried a curse, often damning the winner to an atrocious season the following year. This only serves to illustrate what a fantastic year Cadel Evans had, littered with highlights, and if he is unable to defend his title next week, a feat accomplished by only 5 riders since the competition began in 1927, it will be with some sadness that I watch him give it up.

Funny, given that just over a year ago I couldn't stand the man who was all fists and elbows with reporters at the 2009 Tour de France. In 2010 he has shown he is a rider and a man of real character, if seemingly a little eccentric at times.

His season began strongly, placing 6th at the Tour Down Under, before going even better with a highly consistent 3rd overall at Tirreno-Adriatico. But it was at the Spring Classics that he really began to find his legs, with a strong showing at Amstel Gold and 5th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which followed a brilliant win in the Fleche-Wallone. That win called on all the craft and experience attained from 6 previous attempts at the race, as a late surge for the line blew Joaquin Rodriguez and Alberto Contador out of the water.

Cadel Evans, victorious on the Mur de Huy

But it is Evans's two Grand Tours that I will really remember his year in the rainbow for. Although he eventually finished only, 'only', 5th in the Giro, he wore the maglia rosa for a day, won the points jersey, and won what has been touted as one of the best ever stages in a Grand Tour.

As the riders entered Montalcino at the end of stage 7, bloodied, bruised, and drenched to the bone with the wet and mud of the sodden Strade Bianchi, it was Cadel Evans with a typical late surge, reminiscent of his attack at Mendrisio, who took a famous win. He may have looked like the riding dead as he crossed the line but it only made his victory seem all the more epic.

The sight of Evans dragging his bike up the Zoncolan in pursuit of Basso is another memory I will cling to. He seemed to be tearing every sinew, fighting every demon to get to that line. He didn't have the legs but my God did he have the will.

His Tour de France was not quite so successful, eventually finishing 50mins behind Contador in 26th place. It was, nevertheless, with tremendous courage and resilience that he rode on to the end of the race with a fractured elbow. The number of times I saw him fighting to get back onto the leading group, having been dropped on the climbs, is testament to his worth as a world champion.

It wouldn't be crazy to suggest that there is a chance he could retain his title this year. The parcours is tough enough to eliminate a lot of the really fast men, and favours someone punchy and good in the classics, just like Evans. But I think it will be a real strong man who takes victory, and he will have fierce competition from a number of in form rivals.

The 2010 Road World Championship route profile

Everyone's favourite is Philippe Gilbert. He showed fantastic form in the Vuelta, the strongest performance for me being his stage win in Toledo. That finish was not dissimilar to the finish in Geelong, although the final climb in Geelong is shorter and sharper. But the finishing straight was a long drag, just as it will be in Australia. The way Gilbert held off a strong challenge from Tyler Farrar clearly shows he has very good legs on at the moment.

On the basis of that performance however, I wouldn't write off Tyler Farrar. He has proved he can get over a lump or two and still come up with a powerful finish. He is one of a selection of sprinters who could still provide a stern challenge come the end of the race.

Mark Cavendish is another. The Manxman has another extraordinary season, with 5 stage wins in the Tour, 3 in the Vuelta to go with his points jersey, and he seems to be finding top form again just in time to challenge for the rainbow stripes. He also proved he can overcome the bumps when he took a fantastic win in San Remo, 2009. For me though, the course is just too hard. Without a large team around him to pull any attacks back, he'll need to rely on the work of others as I can't see him being able to follow. Hopefully he can prove me wrong.

That leaves a handful of other assorted riders in with a shout: sprinters with strong resistance, like Oscar Freire who is going for a 4th title, even Pozzato; other strong classics riders like Frank Schleck who came into form at the back end of the Vuelta; perhaps even the climbers like Vincenzo Nibali, what a feat that would be on the back of his first Grand Tour.

Two men it could also well be worth keeping an eye are Simon Gerrans and Peter Sagan. The young Slovak had a ferocious first half of the season, taking 2 stages at Paris-Nice, 1 at GP de Romandie, and 2 at the Tour of California. He will be more than ably supported by the Velits brothers and could be a big threat. Gerrans will be on home turf, and though he's had a season marred by illness, he is sure to come to the race in some kind of form and he is the ideal rider for a course like this.


It will come down to how the course is raced. A sprint finish will only be on the cards if the fast men are feeling good on the day, and if their teams have the manpower left to pull back any attacks. I would love to see Mark Cavendish in the rainbow jersey next year, but I get the feeling that once the attacks go, they will go hard, and the course around Geelong is enough to blow the race apart.

I predict a small coming together on the run in to the finish, with one of the quicker strong men taking it in a sprint.

Here's to hoping!

Cycling Caps or Casquettes!

I've recently rediscovered my love for cycling caps, or casquettes as they're called in French. Since the introduction of compulsory helmet wearing in the peloton, you only see cycling caps worn under helmets or not at all, though fortunately they are still worn by some riders when out of the saddle. They serve a whole variety of obvious functions: protection from the sun, rain, heat, cold, sweat absorption, and so on. But more importantly I think they look pretty cool, regardless of the fact that most, no, all of my non-cycling friends and family disagree with me. Here's a look at my collection, minus the Cime de la Bonette one I picked up in Jausiers:

Clockwise from top left : Australian Institute
of Sport, US Postal Service, Lampre, Mapei, Xacobeo
Galicia, AG2R and ONCE in the middle.

I've noticed that they've become a bit of a fashion item among some circles too, particularly the hordes of fixie riders, cycle couriers and East London cyclists. I'm all for it, and I'm definitely going to keep adding to my collection. They're a great way of showing your support for a team without having to splash out on a jersey. My preferred way of wearing them is peak turned up, slightly to the side.

My first century! South West Pro Tour Ride, 175km (108 miles), 3200m ascent

I recently completed my first 100miler at the Pro Tour Ride in the South West. 108 very lumpy miles with 3200m of climbing.

Much is made of achieving your first century in the cycling world, and I was surprised that in 3 years of pretty serious riding it is something I was yet to do. It became clear on the day though just how far 100 miles is. Doing such a distance can require a lot of time, route planning, and as I was to find out, resources and patience.

Having such an organised ride made it much easier. Logistically, there were route marshalls, signs, support vehicles and feed stations. Physically, it always helps being surrounded by hundreds of other riders sharing the pain and spurring you on, and generally buzzing off the adrenaline of a mass participant event.

All that said, it surprised me how physically ready I was. I have not even come close to 100 miles this year. My rides have been limited to short evening runs, the occasional weekend 40-50 miles and a few hill training sessions. Perhaps the best training I had was the trip in the Southern Alps which was about two weeks prior to the event. I certainly felt like this took me to a level I've never been to before, but I was always aware that it was achieved in a very short space of time and that that strength/fitness might not last that long. Yet, even with 95 miles under the belt I still had the strength to really push on at the end.

The ride was actually far more of a learning experience, not so much about my fitness , but about the bike, eating, drinking and patience! I had a bit of a nightmare, puncturing 5 times and running out of inner tubes. Luckily I was able to profit off the ubiquitous support vehicles, who always had a spare tube and a good mini pump. Without them I may have been walking to the end. But they all frustrated my rhythm and my state of mind and by the 5th time I was ready to throw my bike off the nearest cliff.

I think what I learnt from it, was to prepare myself for the length of time a century can potentially take, and to stay patient in the face of the other disruptions that can occur in that space of time. Also, to take a good variety of food, because mule bars really aint that nice after the 45th one. Maybe the next time it will all go a bit more smoothly, making for a very pleasant surprise! And yes, I'm very keen to do it again, if just to prove to myself I can do it in a far quicker time.

Cycling Tour of the Southern Alps: Day 6 - Isola to Puget-Theniers

Sunday 29th August

We woke on day 6 facing a decision: to tackle one last climb, the Col de la Couillole, or take an alternative route back to Puget, that being a 75km cruise along the valley following the river Tinee. One crucial contributing factor to our final decision was that we had not had any dinner the night before!! On arrival, Isola seemed like a quaint, pretty, but highly resourced alpine ski resort. Having checked into our hotel at about 3pm we managed to grab ourselves large baguettes and bevvies whilst watching a fair amount of life go by.

Then, at about 8pm, the whole town seemed to disappear. It was as if the lights had gone out on a model village. Apart from one little square full of village elders partying on plastic cups of wine, the whole town was dead. There were 3 or 4 restaurants, none of which were open. That left us with a mile walk out of a town to a nearby campsite, but all that was there was a canteen full of French holiday goers and it all looked a little too bizarre to approach. So we starved.

For that reason, we chose to avoid the Col de la Couillole and opted instead for the valley ride. It was blissful, and reminded me of something I learnt a couple of years ago when cycling from Land's End to Edinburgh - that flats are good for your soul. Don't get me wrong, I love mountains, and I really caught the climbing bug, but after 3 days of tough cycling, there is nothing like flat roads to put a smile on your face.

The ride back to Puget took us no time at all, and as we raced back into our home away from home, along the sunlit boulevard, we reflected on 6 beautiful cols, some stunning towns, great cycling and a fantastic trip.

The finishing straight, back to Hotel Alize