Life In The Saddle

April hasn't been a great month for me; I was off the bike for two and a half weeks at the start with a persistent throat infection and sickness.  Just two races in April, and two race results that I wasn't overly satisfied with (probably related to the lack of miles and proper training that I've been able to do due to illness). Hoping that May and June will be better months. Next race is on the 9th June, got to get my Finals done first before I can start concentrating on racing again.

I travelled to Loughborough this morning to take part in a 54 mile road race run by Loughborough Uni on the same course as the BUCS road race that I competed in last year. This was a Cat 2.3.4. race, whilst the BUCS race was an E.1.2.3. BUCS last year was only my second road race ever, and I was pleased to finish it (only 24 of the 80 starters did!), but with this race being on a circuit that suited me, with a less high-level field, and with a years extra experience, I was hoping for a half decent result. Unfortunately a few things weren't in my favour... The course comprises of five laps of a fairly exposed and rolling circuit; finishing each lap with an ascent of Harby hill; a long climb that ramps up to a 16 percent gradient at the end. To be honest, it is a very similar circuit to the Milland Hill RR I did a month ago... Tough! Today there was a strong headwind on one side of the box shaped course as well; which further added to the attrition rate (only around 30 of the 80...

There are a lot of different chain lubes out there; wet lube, dry lube, wax... the list goes on. In this post I look at four different lubes from Weldtite that I use on my bikes, and explain when is the best time to use each one, and what the benefits of each are. Firstly though, a little bit of advice on how to apply chain lube... The first step is to make sure your chain is thoroughly dry, and there is no water left on it or inside it. Pro bike mechanics often use their air compressors to dry the chain, but for most of us that is not a luxury we have to hand; a clean rag coated in some water displacer such as TF2 Aerosol Lubricant is just as effective if you wipe the chain over with it. Chain lube should then be applied to the INSIDE of the chain, this way the centrifugal forces of the chain moving round mean the lubricant is moved through the chain to the outside as you pedal (rather than being sprayed off the chain if you put it on the outside). To apply chain lube properl...

The tag line of the BaileyWorks Super Pro Messenger Bag is "Built for Life In The Saddle". Perfect! BaileyWorks is a US brand, making hand-made bags with quality materials and expert knowledge for 20 years. The Super Pro comes from their Professional range; designed to deal with the rigours of intense everyday use, this is a pack built to last. The Digital Super Pro is an evolution of the Super Pro bag; with a padded laptop sleeve and a shoulder pouch for your smart phone, making it ideal for commuting to the office or university. The Digital Super Pro feels like a quality bag the moment you pick it up; the hand-made detailing is clear, there is no stitch unchecked, and no material that isn't the highest standard. The outer shell is made of Cordura, the same fabric found on motorbike skid wear (it's damn tough). The inner is made of Coverlight, a fully waterproof tarpaulin type fabric that ensures water doesn't get into your kit even in the torrential Br...

When you go touring you soon realise that quality kit is a real asset. You put your bike, your apparel and your accessories through many hours and miles of continuous service, and you need them to perform well every moment. On my 2011 France and Spain tour a better saddle bag was one thing that I found myself longing for; something with a higher capacity, and more importantly waterproofing... soggy tools are never a good idea. I started doing a bit of research into high quality touring kit and came across Arkel; a Canadian based brand who are renowned for their products the "other side of the pond". Interested to see the quality of their kit first hand I decided that their saddle bag was a great place to start. Whoever designed the Arkel Waterproof Saddle Bag had an incredible ability to think outside the box; this really is one of the most innovative and practical products that I have come across... Using technology that has been around for years in waterproof bags, t...