Friday 19 September 2008

Ride faster, ride longer - the secret of success.

As a coach I am often asked how can I go faster? My reply is simple, how much can you pay me?
Well I now have the answer, today I put a new speedo on my training bike and that new speedo was set to kilometers not miles. Bingo, the numbers for speed are up, the numbers for distance are up.
Gone are the days of plodding up hills with 12 showing stubbornly on the dial, it's 20 all the way now. As for distance, I sail with ease past 100 and am still fresh enough to cut the grass on my return home.

Now I see from the web site known as 'the comic on line' that Rapha are doing a range of cyclo cross specific clothing. Now here's what I don't get, if you're riding a cross race you are more than likely to have club / team issue kit to wear and so the market for the Rapha cross gear must by definition be on the small side. Will anyone be racing in this - no. Will you see poseurs hanging round cross events with it on? Not in my neck of the woods, so I guess that just leaves those that ride the weekly cross event that takes place in London Kings Road then.
Whilst on the Rapha site I had a good laugh, sorry that should read a good look round. Now I must hold up my hand here and say I quite like the look of some of the Rapha kit, they look well made and stylish. But the prices? For God sake, they really take the piss don't they. The new winter range sells softshell gloves for £90. Now I've got a couple of pairs of soft shell gloves, both were bought for about £25 - £30 from outdoor shops in the lakes. Their lightweight softshell jacket looks great, but I've got windblocker jackets from Gore, Castelli plus one from my club the whole lot cost less than the Rapha one. You just don't, in my experience, see real cyclists in Rapha kit, there's nothing wrong with it, but in my mind there's a strong link between Rapha and the famous saying 'all the gear, no idea'. I'll be happy to be proved wrong.

Hang on, hold your horses a full day in the cycling media has gone by without a Lance story. Still there's supposed to be a 'big' announcement on Wednesday, where he's riding, who he riding with, what bike he'll be on, what he'll have for breakfast and the preferred brand of toilet paper no doubt.

Meanwhile in the real world Jez Hunt signs for the Cervelo Test Team (why teat team? does anybody know the answer to that? I mean apart from the obvious one, cos I doubt they will be testing new bikes on every ride)So that's four Brits now, Dan Lloyd, Dan Fleeman and Rog Hammond. Plus some bloke from Span who's supposed to have won something over the summer, dunno what that was.

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