Life In The Saddle

Not a bad month considering I had 3 days off with a stitched up jaw and a week off in Italy.

This last week has been a great one. I've been in the Treviso region of Italy with the Wiggle Honda team; photographing, interviewing and getting to know the athletes, so that we can create more great content from them for the Wiggle site over the coming months. I spent the week at the Castel Brando hotel with the team, alongside our Wiggle photographer Gus Farmer. It was a really enjoyable experience; Team Wiggle Honda is a really inspirational group of people, and it was a pleasure to be in their company for a few days. To find out a bit more about what we did each day at the camp, check out this blog on the Wiggle site: ' Dispatches from the Wiggle Honda Training Camp' (Link) . I arrived back in the UK yesterday evening, and was itching to get out on the bike. Despite a week in the stunning Italian Dolomites, watching cycling every day, I unfortunately didn't manage to get a ride in. A week is a long time for me to go without riding! So, back on the Isle of W

CHRISCROSS from chris akrigg on Vimeo .

The above graph shows the trend in the number of times that the word "cycling" has been queried on Google and in headline news in the past 10 years. Does it suggest a 2012 Olympic legacy? Or a failure? A friend recently asked me what it means, so I thought I would put forward my explanation in a blog post. The initial reaction to the graph is likely to be surprise that there has been a significant decline in the height of interest since 2004. To some extent, I think you can ignore the first part of the graph however, this period was plagued by doping scandals and press attention that ultimately cycling did not want. The best period to look at is 2011 and beyond. Bearing in mind this is only searching the English word "Cycling", most of the data is from English speaking countries. 2011 saw Cadel Evans' victory at the Tour de France, causing the significant growth in the July spike, particularly from Australian searchers/readers. The biggest peak though,

Garmin Presents – The Edge : Let others follow from Garmin EMEA on Vimeo . Remember this? In my mind some of the best video marketing that has been put together to date. Great stuff from Garmin. Read my Review of the Garmin Edge 510 here (Link)

These are a rather tasty, very healthy snack. I was given the recipe by a friend, and thought that it was worth sharing on the blog. They are dead easy to make, and they store well too. Give them a go! It's ultra easy: 100 grams Jumbo Oats 75 grams Non-sweetened Muesli 1 handful of Sultanas or Raisins 4 large tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter 85ml Agave Syrup (or honey) Mix it all together until stiff and sticky and then pack into a non-stick baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C Voila!

The first race of the season is always a tough one. Your legs normally feel like they've been pummelled with a hammer by the end, and it leaves you mentally mixed up too. Today was no exception. I suffered like a dog at times, felt good at others, and was reminded by a big crash at the end, that you need to be on your toes at every single moment during a race. Luckily for me, the crash was a few bike lengths back from me, and I rode away untouched. I really hope the guys that weren't so lucky are OK and heal fast; it's everyone's nightmare and very sobering, especially at the start of the season. The race... E.1.2 circuit races are a mix of flat out attacks, and lulls of moderate (25-30mph) speeds. If you're a punchy rider you can jump on the attacks and hopefully one gets away. If you're a diesel engine (like me) you tend to motor around holding onto as many attacks as you can and hoping the bunch splits with the pace. Today was very much like that. I

We're getting there, all of a sudden things are coming together to start racing this season. As I've mentioned in previous posts, 2014 sees me changing teams from Wightlink RT to Team Wiggle. This move is to tie in with my "new" (now over 6 months in) role in the marketing team at Wiggle, and I'm proud to represent the brand out on the racing circuit. I still regularly ride with the Wightlink boys, and I'm sure we'll work with each other at races. They continue to be great mates. Anyway, onto progress... A few weeks ago it wasn't looking great from a preparation perspective; I didn't have a licence, I didn't have a race bike, and I didn't have any races entered. Bring that forward to now and I have a race bike, a licence and my first race is tomorrow afternoon! Relief and excitement are there in equal measure! The Bike Later in the year, hopefully in a month or so, Team Wiggle will all be on matching Felt Bikes (p