2012-02-21 16:12:00 By James Burns - I’ve just had to spend a bit of time trying to get some planning done for the remainder of the year. Despite wanting to take part in as many activities on the bike as possible, it just doesn’t make sense from either a physiological or financial perspective. Up to this point, the major focus has been on my two chosen sportives, The Dartmoor Classic and... Read More
2012-02-20 17:29:00 By Gerry Patterson - Well, not exactly ‘built’, but definitely ‘made’, as you you’ll see soon enough. __________________________ I have a race coming up in less than a week and I really should be training. Instead, Shoko and I have been eating our way through Paris, with a few breaks here and there to feed a cat; yes, our annual chat-sitting trip to The City of... Read More
2012-02-20 10:01:00 By James Burns - One of my biggest issues of late has been speed. Not the lack of it, but quite the opposite in fact: I’ve been going out like a train, only to find that I run out of fuel long before I’d like to. This weekend’s mission was simple then: To ensure that I went out on a long, steady ride to get some longer miles in my legs and to practice pacing myself... Read More
2012-02-17 15:10:00 By James Burns - OK, so it’s time to start another post where I bemoan the lack of time I’ve had to train effectively, not to mention a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing over my aims for the season. Since Monday this week I’ve been hit by a bout of the “meh’s”, and I’ve only managed a paltry hour on the turbo by means of a recovery ride, not to mention some... Read More
2012-02-14 08:23:00 By Gerry Patterson - This little post was inspired by Steve’s excellent summary of the history of doping in pro cycling, along with the little onslaught of doping news we’ve been subjected to this past week. Recently Jan Ullrich was banned for 2 years for doping and was stripped of his 3rd place finish in that year’s Tour. I wondered how the top ten of that year’s... Read More
2012-02-12 11:34:00 By Gerry Patterson - I recently read an interesting article in Velo Magazine over here and thought it might be an idea to test out my translating skills to produce a summary. In a week of less than stellar cycling news maybe we are in need of a hero. Albert Richter was one of the best sprinters in the world during the lead-up to WWII. He was a 3-time winner of the Paris Grand... Read More
2012-02-08 12:36:00 By Gerry Patterson - It has been said that balance is the key to life. With this thought in mind I started wondering why I needed to go through the pain of physically losing more weight in order to ride faster up hills. Heck, can’t I lose pounds any other way? Yes I can, and all I need is money. Take this real-life example: My Current groupset: Weight = 2700 grams Campagnolo... Read More
2012-02-05 17:26:00 By Gerry Patterson - This time last year I was taking part in my first ever race in France, under sunny skies and mild temperatures. This year, I’m not. It’s been brutally cold in Le Sud recently; part of a deep freeze that has landed on all of Europe. Our woefully inadequate apartment is frosty and a water pipe has even frozen up. I couldn’t take the cold, so I joined... Read More
2012-02-03 14:23:00 By James Burns - I’ve mentioned it in a previous post, but I just wanted to revisit my bike fitting session that I had with Koolstof Coaching in Exeter last weekend. The fit was purchased for me earlier in the month as a birthday present from my girlfriend. I’ve never had a bike fit before, so I’m a bike fit virgin! For those of you who don’t know, the whole point... Read More
2012-02-03 08:06:00 By Gerry Patterson - Oh, this one is interesting. The 2012 ‘Race to the Sun’ won’t be ending on the usual Promenade des Anglais in Nice this year, but high up above the city on the Col d’Eze, via a last-stage uphill time trial. This, I just learned, was the normal final stage of Paris-Nice until the 1990s. Check out the official websitefor a little video of some famous... Read More
