Life In The Saddle

Sometimes you just find a piece of kit that works; it feels good, it feels great, it just feels right. On Sunday morning I spent an age trying to fit a set of 28c tyres into my SKS Chromoplastic mudguards on my steel touring/commuting bike. I've previously run 25c and 23c tyres on this bike, but I fancied a change... Why? Because it's spring, and with that comes the Spring Classics; cobbles, gravel and rough roads. Look at most of the bikes the Pro's use in the Spring Classics, and you'll spot 27c, 28c and even 30c tubular tyres are the norm; these help to give grip, comfort and keep things rubber side down on the cobbles of Northern France and Flanders. I'm not going cobble hunting, but I did fancy seeing what the difference was in terms of feel, grip and performance. My tyre of choice was the Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech 28C; I've reviewed the Vittoria Rubino on the blog ( Link ), and the Pro Tech version is the latest incarnation, which features a foldi...

What a place to ride a bike... Loving the new GripGrab 2014 Progel XC Looking out towards The Needles Heading to the coast Dry trails in Brighstone Forest Springtime lighting SPEEEED... Good to be back in the woods Keep on rolling

WHAT a finish that was! Definitely one that will be remembered.

I've blogged on energy products from High5 before, in my recent Advice for Multi-day Events post . Their nutrition range is perfect for those that want to get the best from their sport; it's easy on the stomach, with a great taste, and a wide range of flavours to suit every preference.  In this blog, I consider the High5 caffeine energy range; that is the EnergySource Plus drink , EnergyGel Plus gels and EnergySource Xtreme  high caffeine boost drink. There are benefits of caffeine for endurance sports that have been well known for years; it is a stimulant, so keeps you more alert, improves reaction times and reduces fatigue; all significant benefits for endurance athletes.  Interestingly, new research ( Link ) has also shown that caffeine can increase carbohydrate absorption level; providing an additional benefit. High5 were ahead of the game on absorption with the 2:1 Maltodextrin-Fructose mix; this enables the body to absorb up to 90 grams of carbohydrate an ho...

What a race!

First TT of the year this morning. 25 miles on the Colemans course; fairly hilly. Struggled a bit to be honest, did a 1:02:01 (more than 2 minutes off my PB on that course). Some photos to show the pain... Thanks to Arthur Venables for the photos.

Recognise those bikes/bottle/backgrounds?

The Classics - what a great series of races. This is just as exciting as the men's race.

The Mekk Primo 6.5 is my current race bike, shown here with a set of 50mm Saturae Carbon Clinchers.  You can read a review of the bike on the Wiggle Blog HERE , but here are some photos to showcase this stunning looking aero road bike.

Running lights are becoming more common on cars; first it was Volvo, but now they are everywhere. Is there a benefit to adopting daylight running lights for bikes though? The short answer for me, is YES, definitely! With the invention of high-quality, compact, USB chargeable lights, there is very little hassle or cost of running lights every time you ride your bike. Very little cost, and a significant list of benefits... Don't leave your visibility to chance: It is dawn and fairly low light conditions, but there is probably enough light to see where you are going. So, you risk it, you ride without lights. Because it will get lighter, right? Yes, but in that 30 minutes when there are still significant shadows around, your visibility is dramatically reduced. Getting into the habit of using running lights all the time will ensure this is never a risk that you might take. Out of the shadows: Even in the middle of summer there are shadows around; wooded descents, shady juncti...

Check out this fun short interview with British riders Dani King and Laura Trott, filmed at the Wiggle Honda Training Camp I attended last week:

Published in the May 2014 issue of Cycling Active Magazine. Words by Rebecca Charlton.