Life In The Saddle

100Km out to Freshwater Bay and back today. So good to get some trail time in. Brighstone Forest Inevitable muddy sections Freshwater bound Bournemouth in the distance Loving the Pivot Les Clouds rolling in Late afternoon sun Time to head for home I think

Hope Cranks - Behind the Scenes from hopetech on Vimeo . These look stunning! Love seeing the process too, what a piece of British engineering!

More stunning film-work and riding from Danny Mac.

2014 is fast fading into our memories, one thing that I will remember from it though, is the hours of fun on a bike - 815 hours (20,040 km) , in absolute terms. Of those hours, around half of them were on my commuting bike: a battered and beaten, but strangely beautiful (to me at least) steel Peugeot - equipped with a vintage 7 speed drivetrain and pannier rack. With so much time spent on that bike, I find myself constantly thinking about what the 'Ultimate Commuter Bike' would look like. Of course, you can commute on practically anything, from a single speed road bike to a fat bike (there are frequently both of these in the Wiggle bike shed); all you really need is two wheels to get you from A to B. Yet, there are always things that could be more comfortable, more practical and more 'fun'. I've tried most bikes for commuting: at university, I spent a year commuting 15 miles a day on a single speed steel mountain bike, a real old beater. When I had knackered t...

MaxiNutrition asked me a few weeks back, what is #MyGoal for the 2015 season? It got me thinking. What do I really want to achieve in 2015 on the bike? In order to try and make it a reasonably succinct reply, I came up with: "Ride Further and Ride Faster in 2015"  That could mean a whole host of things though, so here's what I mean in depth: Ride Further In 2015, I hoping to do more ultra challenges; that is, more long distance non-stop rides. In 2014, I completed the Trafalgar Way from Falmouth to London in under 24 hours. The 300 miles route was a real challenge, but I enjoyed every minute of it (even the hours of rain between Salisbury and London). This year, I'm hoping to go one further, and do an even longer ultra endurance ride , perhaps in the Alps or the Pyrenees. Ride Faster Everyone always wants to ride faster, but what I really mean is I would like to race better than I did in  2014. I'd like to regain my 2nd category licence , wh...

Once the clouds had cleared, today's ride provided some stunning winter sunshine and landscapes. After several weeks of wind and constant rain, it was so good to feel a bit of warm sunshine. Here's a few photos...

This looks pretty spectacular! A mountain bike adventure is definitely on the list of to-dos for this year.

There is ice in the puddles, as you make the final push to the top of the climb. You take a swig from your bottle, and the Slush Puppie style energy drink inside suddenly numbs your mouth; you gasp for air, and quickly return the bottle to its holder. It's cold, anyway, so you don't need to drink... right? Wrong. Hydration and drinking are just as important in the colder months. Indeed, winter is one of the times when we often get hydration seriously wrong, and end up training with heavily depleted water levels, damaging the effectiveness of that training in the process. During the windy and cold conditions of winter, it is possible for you to lose almost as much fluid through perspiration and breathing, as you do in the hotter months. Those winter layers might do a good job of soaking up your sweat, and taking it away from your body, but you are still perspiring. The strong winter winds also do a good job of drying out your skin and depleting water levels. Oh yes, and...

A few weeks back, I wrote a post on Wet Weather Riding Accessories , which featured the SealSkinz Mid-Length Waterproof Socks and the SealSkinz Waterproof Cycling Cap. Both products are invaluable when the heavens open on a long arduous ride. With the mercury falling in the last couple of weeks though, I've also been thinking about winter riding accessories, and the SealSkinz Extra Cold Winter Cycle Gloves are one product that has come into frequent use. Like many, I struggle with cold extremities in the winter; when you're spinning along on gentle base mile rides or short commutes, it is hard to get sufficient blood flow to your hands and feet to keep them comfortable. To deal with this, the SealSkinz Extra Cold Winter Gloves are designed to provide maximum insulation for your hands; keeping your digits warm and flexible, even when the ground is hard and frozen. The gloves have a thick double layer construction, with an inner liner made of fleecy Primaloft fabric and a ...

2014 was a good year on the bike.