..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
the other bike
it presumably can't have escaped your notice that thewashingmachinepost is somewhat partial to the bicycles emanating from cambiago - colnagos that is. it's a perfectly normal sort of favouritism; many cyclists are obsessed with italian frames of one hue or another, but there is only one italian bicycle just as famous for its colour as for the great riders associated with the marque and the victories they achieved. yes, we're talking about bianchi.
and even though my passion for colnago knows no bounds, i have to admit that appropriate cycling or leisure apparel dedicated to the marque is somewhat thin on the ground. not so for that of bianchi. that's not to say that some of it hasn't remained on the exclusive side, and devilishly hard to get hold of, but if there are any two people on the face of the planet dedicated to finding the very best that can be had from the land of the giro, it's mick and andy at prendas ciclismo. and guess what?yes, indeed, not just one bianchi jersey, but four of the blighters, all bearing eduardo bianchi's coat of arms, but issued for four different reasons: the world championships, the giro, the classics and le tour. victories in each of the above are listed along the thin line between front and rear of each. colours are ascribed to match - yellow, bianchi blue, white with championship bands, and pink. obviously every self-respecting bianchi fan will have to own all four. but just to add the frosting on the cake, there are bib shorts and socks to match. granted this is all going to lighten the bank balance just a tad, but it's only money (and how much did you pay for the bianchi in the first place?).
each jersey retails at £49.95 ($99), bib shorts at £59.95 ($118) (in black or white) and the socks (also in black or white) round it all off nicely at £6.95 ($14). all are due into prendas within the week, allowing for a following wind.
just time to arrange the bank loan and buy some flowers for mother's day.
posted on monday 25th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the possibilities are endless
i recently made a remark in these very pixels about sandal wearing vegetarians, which was not meant in a derogatory fashion, since i myself have been a vegetarian for a considerable number of years, as were the great robert millar and sean yates. and if you have ever witnessed the sheer power of sean yates in full flight, there could hardly be a better advert for such a diet - similarly robert millar going uphill.
i can remember possessing a book on cycle coaching written by the eponymous eddie b, which remained little opened due to his dogmatic stance that all cyclists required to eat red meat. no discussion, no arguments. fortunately dietary ideas and physiology research have moved on since those darker days, and chris carmichael's food for fitness, contains an entire section on the dietary requirements of the vegetarian athlete. and while i have never raced, and am therefore not in a position to comment, being a vegetarian has never given me cause for concern on any of the longer rides i've undertaken.
but there are folks whose belief system requires them to move at least one stage further, and become vegans. if we ignore the jokes about pointed ears and 'live long and prosper', veganism seeks to exclude the use of any animal products whatsoever, including clothing and leather footwear. it does, i believe, involve a degree more stoicism and effort than vegetarianism, but has often been characterised as being a diet lacking in some of the more prudent minerals and vitamins, such as calcium, iodine, vitamin b12 and vitamin d. somehow, the idea of performing as a top level athlete, while adhering to such a regime would seem to be almost mutually exclusive.
however, it seems that we could be wrong in this affirmation. organic athlete team vegan, formed in december 2007, plan to race in north america with riders committed to a diet of whole plant foods and avoiding animal products throughout. while there is little information to be gleaned about the riders and team setup until the new website is launched in spring, what i do know is that they are being provided with bicycles manufactured by top american builder, craig calfee of calfee bikes, la selva beach, california. and in order to fit in with the teams ethical and sporting demands, while keeping the carbon footprint as low as possible, the calfee bikes will be made of bamboo. i asked craig for a few more details:
"bradley saul, the team captain and founder of organic athlete, bought a bike from us a while back. at the time, i talked to him about sponsoring the team, but we both felt it was a bit in the early stages. however, after riding the bike for a season, and calfee building quite a few more, we decided to go ahead. this will allow us to co-promote as much as possible through expos, trade shows and some print media.
"the idea to build with bamboo came when thinking about what to do for a show bike at interbike. building a bamboo frame uses a similar wrapping technique to that employed on our carbon fibre tandems (each tube joint on the bamboo frames is wrapped with hemp fibre, creating a very strong juncture - see above). the frames can be as stiff as you want them to be - we just use a larger diameter, thicker wall bamboo. the beauty of the material is that there is an infinite variety of wall thicknesses and diameters to choose from, including taper wall occurring at the base of the cane.
"it's not that easy to replace a tube if the frame is crashed, but it's a lot harder to damage than carbon. we commonly use a 1 1/8" headset but sometimes move to 1" on smaller frames where maximum vibration damping is required. we prefer the traditional headset, if only because in our frame repair business we've seen too many ruined frames that could have been saved by simply replacing the headset cups.
"construction takes about thirty hours, spread over several days, but they are labour intensive, and therefore quite expensive (from $2700 - $3500 [£1300 - £1800]). we tend to use titanium threaded inserts for the bottom bracket cups, but we've also used aluminium. we've learned quite a lot about bamboo as a frame material since we started with these, the main one being that when riders are exposed to less road vibration, they tend to have more energy towards the end of a ride."
vegan or not, if you fancy a bicycle frame that is quite out of the ordinary, you can check out more details on the calfee website, where you can also order your own bamboo frame (calfee design also make mtb frames from the wood). in france, you could try velo loco
many thanks to craig calfee for invaluable assistance with this article.
posted on monday 25th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................hard core
i like my cycling. not a sentence that's likely to be a surprise to most of you, and i will confess that there are oft-times when i am out pedalling when it would be so much more cosy and practical to be curled up with the bassett hounds in front of the central heating (if i had bassett hounds, that is). but it's an addiction - i don't cycle to profess anything to any third party that i think may be impressed by such, but according to most writing on the subject and the way that i feel when returning from said activity, it's doing me a lot of good in the fitness and health stakes.
and even on this small island, there are one or two others happy to join in what passes for bizarre behaviour in a somewhat sedentary community (now i'm in trouble). however, we are always open to recruits, either by their own volition, or as believers of our constant propaganda - not that there are many takers. i can't say that i'm particularly surprised by this, but it was somewhat of a revelation to discover at least one of the reasons. we're considered to be 'hardcore'.
like i stated above, i enjoy my cycling too much to need it to prove anything, but being thought of as hardcore has certainly elevated my status within my own bike shed, and possibly even that of my foul weather colleagues. and the reason i'm sharing this with you, is because there's a strong possibility that the self-same appellation could be applied to yourselves. and doesn't it feel good? when you're off down the street, on the bus or train, or just sitting in the office, looking forward to the weekend, just make sure that you have a cycling cap in your pocket - or even just a 5mm allen key or puncture repair kit. and no matter how crap or brilliant a week you're having, you can just think of yourselves as hardcore.
yes, i know, it makes no sense whatsoever, but when has that ever stopped me?
posted on sunday 24th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................in his own words
now i really don't want to get into this cross-blog posting where i tell you what someone else has written on their blog, and they tell you what i've written on mine, because then we'd end up like today's pop bands who are plundering the greatest hits of the sixties. twenty years hence, there'll be no new material left to plunder. and similarly with blogs - the circle game.
however, in this case, i thought it was worth linking to michael robertson's velodramatic blog, because he went riding with the rapha continental crew up mt. tam on america's pacific coast.
i'll let michael tell you the rest...
posted on saturday 23rd february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the unmentionables
with velo club d'ardbeg being not one of the world's largest, there are a limited number of resident members with which to discuss those things that ought to be discussed. i refer not to the usual what size inner ring do you have on today? or that's a rather fetching bar tape you have there - is that cork? questions such as these can easily be considered as the peloton reaches warp speed, and if we happen to turn into a tailwind (hope breathes eternal), then asking such out loud is unlikely to gain quizzical stares from those in the wake.
however, here i am referring to the lubrication, if indeed such a word is appropriate, of the comfy bit in your shorts. this used to be referred to as chamois, but since i can't think of anyone still using such ancient and animal unfriendly means of padding, i believe we shall heretofore refer to this as the insert. happily, such inserts are considerably less prone to acquiring the consistency of stiff cardboard after washing, but some of you may have noticed that, even in their clean state, they can still chafe where it is inadvisable to have chafing. and the way to alleviate this? chamois cream.
there are numerous brands on the market, and you'll proably find someone to swear blind that the one they have employed for the last forty years, is the only true remedy for undercarriage scouring. of course, a decent pair of shorts in the first place is always a good idea, but there are times... so it behoves me well to recommend a fine brand of chamois cream fresh from the vaults of prendas ciclismo; relief by agu sport. this white cream is expended from a metal tube not unlike a toothpaste tube (but you wouldn't want to mistake one for the other), and while the instructions declare it to be a fine idea to rub into the insert itself (or chamois, as this italian company would still have it), it works just as well if you put it directly on your nether regions (i wouldn't shout that too loudly on a quiet day in the peloton).
my previous brand, which shall remain nameless, i have used for years, and satisfactorily so, but after only a week or so of regular use of the agu sport, i can, surprisingly, declare there to be a finite difference between the two, and very much in the favour of the latter. it doesn't sting, and it isn't cold, but it does make a good job of providing a thin layer of comfort.
unfortunately, prendas have not placed the item on their website, and i don't know the price, but for a 150ml tube of their previous agu cream the cost was £6.95. the product on test contains 100ml, so pricing could possibly be pro rata.
just tell them where you saw it - they'll know of which you speak.
posted on saturday 23rd february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................winter must be nearly finished
there are either some folks who live in that rarefied atmosphere of several months hence, or those who hold a greater degree of optimism than some of us up north. i say this because rapha have just released details of their spring/summer range - on a day on islay when we have been battered by gale force winds, heavy rain and, believe it or not, hailstones. that's why we wear helmets up here.
most of the new range is not available until next month, and i hope to deal with this in a more comprehensive fashion at the beginning of same when i visit rapha's offices in perren street, but just now, here's a brief overview of what's coming:
last year's stowaway jacket was billed as highly waterproof (it was, and still is) and breathable, which it also was, but not quite as breathable as rapha would have liked. so the latest version has a higher degree of breathability but a lower degree of waterproofness. gone is the pink, and replaced, in the high visibility stakes, by acid green which is set to become the new pink. there's also black and cream available.
perhaps the most striking change is the range of colours introduced on the club jerseys, which remain the sportwool favourites they have so rightly become. favourite is the orange with black hoop, though the red with light blue runs it a close second. completely new products joining rapha's fixed range include a shirt (as in 'normal shirt') and a pair of fixed trousers - much more amenable to scottish west coast perambulating than the fixed shorts, at this time of year. there are also a pair of touring shorts arriving in april.
the gilet has been updated to use the same fabric as the stowaway, with a special giro version featuring a gazzetta print front and back. and veering more towards the giro theme while retaining the rapha racing pink, is a special version of their sportwool jersey celebrating andy hampsten's winning ride across the passa gavia in the 1988 giro d'italia. this even features a removable race number. and as you can see from the illustration (top) there is a new version of the club jersey called the club jersey - belgium, france and italy.
time to start saving.
rapha are also conducting a small exhibition of pete drinkell's photography from the forthcoming graeme fife book the rapha guide to the great road climbs of the pyrenees published on 13th march. the exhibition is at tapestry, in frith street, london from 22 february until 31 march, 10-18:30. entry is free.
posted on friday 22nd february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the athlete's guide to yoga by sage rountree. published by velopress 264pp illus. £15 ($21.95). with sampler dvd.
i'm assuming that my approach to getting out on the bike is similar to everyone else's - i'll be very disappointed if it isn't : whenever there's a window of opportunity, clothing is grabbed from the cycling wardrobe, hastily put on before grabbing the colnago from thewashingmachinepost bike shed and pedalling commences as soon as possible afterwards. sometimes the window lasts several hours, sometimes less, but the heck with all this pre-ride stretching and other such faff. i want to get out on my bike.
except attitudes such as the above have an uncanny habit of coming back to bite you later; that twinge in the back as you sit down to read the comic/velonews, and the knee that stiffens while walking up bowmore main street. it's the instant gratification syndrome - we all want to spend as much time as possible in the saddle because, particularly at this time of year, you just never know when the weather might let up and allow for another serious pummeling.
yes, it's probably an 'old' thing - twinges and aches have a habit of not inflicting themselves upon the young, but much like a pension, you should really start saving when you're less advanced in years. going to the gym is not quite my style, turbos are instruments of the devil, and bouncing on swiss exercise ball in front of coronation street has not endeared me to mrs washingmachinepost one whit. what is required is a nice soft method of exercise, that can be carried out in limited space and doesn't leave me looking as if i've spent several hours in warm rain...
...yoga
now you may have sniggered at the mere mention of this, but it's not quite the hippy dippy palaver its reputation may have garnered. if you've ever tried to reach the extreme positions shown in some of the illustrations or dvds, that's when you'll find out just who's fit, and who isn't. the majority of yoga books are seemingly aimed at the general public; all yoga exercises will do you some good, but sage rountree's volume is aimed specifically at those of an athletic disposition. and while i would back down from placing myself squarely in the athletic realm, i do have a degree of aspiration in that direction - i cycle a bicycle don't i? and presumably, so do you.
unlike several books i've received for review, this one demands practical application - it's not just a nice book of photos, nor is there a narrative prior to discovering the butler did it. i've not had a chance to attempt every exercise in the book, but i have had a go at some of the introductory versions - i used to practice yoga many years ago, before the screaming brats arrived and violated early morning calm and meditation. it definitely works, and it's a tremendous help to have exercises aimed specifically at those with at least athletic pretensions.
this is a very well designed book, both graphically and logistically, with a clear and concise layout, and a veritable number of colour illustrations showing people who can actually do this stuff. sidebars discuss specific sport variations or difficulties - cyclists are apparently prone to tight ankles - and there is a superb illustrated index at the back, showing each individual pose and the page on which details can be found. from this you could quite easily put together a programme of exercises that suits your particular regimen or requirements, preferably after trying out the whole gamut to gauge their efficacy.
but the biggest message to come from this book is that thes exercises don't/won't work in isolation. to gain anything from yoga, same as from any other form of exercise, is to practice regularly and systematically. after all, if thomas chapple insists that we spend several months cycling at an uncomfortably low heart-rate to improve fat burning and stamina, then it's done. because we all love riding our bikes. and if cycling comfortably into your dotage is at least a possible priority, the sooner yoga is incorporated into a daily routine the better, as far as i can see.
and if you're concerned that sitting about on a mat, slowly moving limbs about won't provide the same benefits as hammering up a 14% climb, then don't you owe it to yourself to find out? if still photos don't quite explain it well enough, the book comes with a sampler dvd with warm-up and cool down exercises - quite exceptional in a book costing only £15. ($21.95). (a dvd of the exercises in the book will be released in april 2008). at that price, can you really afford not to investigate further - a new tyre costs more.
the athlete's guide to yoga is available from cordee in the uk, and from velopress in the usa.
you can also download video podcasts by sage rountree at sageyogatraining.com
posted on friday 22nd february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................art lies in the details
a true statement if ever there was one, but details that can often go unseen. sometimes that may be the idea - when you buy a state of the art bicycle, what often separates it from a standard shop floor model are the details that either make it more attractive to look at, or hopefully, more pleasurable to ride or to adjust. admittedly there is nothing that springs immediately to mind, but i'm sure given a warm danish and a double espresso i could come up with something.
however, the detail(s) of which i wish to refer in this instance are twofold. the first of these may already have been spotted by eagle-eyed readers, or even those who have their browsers set to a regular size. on what i refer to as my navigation menu on your left, i have added another link, second from the top. the ride of the falling rain.
at the current point of the year, this seems almost vacuous - pretty much every ride round here (and probably elsewhere) is a ride of the falling rain, but the specifics related to this link are due to take place on the first sunday in august 2008 when, you would hope, precipitation is a degree less likely. not so last year, when 27 hardy souls braved whats left of islay's roads, to complete what we then termed the gran fondo d'ardbeg. i doubt that i have to explain why the name has changed.
if you're keen to help swell the numbers and cover around 160km of cheerful riding, click the link so carefully placed for your attention, and where you will be fed even more details.
if you need the sales pitch, there's whisky involved.
posted on friday 22nd february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................wood hoops
you would be forgiven for thinking i might be joking here; my initial reaction to photos of ric hjertberg's stand at the north american handbuilt show, were, i'm now embarrassed to say, of a similar nature. surely, in this day of space-age materials being routinely employed in the fabrication of bicycle frames and components, offering wooden bicycle rims as a serious alternative to both alloy and carbon, was a project doomed to failure. boy do i feel like a klutz.
the rims proferred by mr hjertberg (who now works for fsa in north america, but was one of the founders of wheelsmith) are handmade in ghisallo, italy, adjacent to the madonna di ghisallo chapel of international cycling repute, in the provice of como (about 60km from milan). while wood rims were made over sixty years ago by d'alessandro in milan itself, when the man retired, his partner transported the whole kit and caboodle to magreglio in the italian alps where manufacture by hand has continued ever since.
construction is in laminated form - thin laminates of slovenian aged beech are fabricated with marine adhesives and varnish, producing a beautiful finish, and a very sturdy bicycle wheel rim which can then be married to the hub of choice for, at the very least, a particularly exciting looking wheel. wood apparently exhibits similar heat conducting properties to that of carbon, making it almost essential that the brake calipers are fitted with carbon specific pads. ghisallo wood rims are produced for a variety of cycling purposes: you can have track, touring, cruiser and elegant/city in both tubular and clincher format.
according to mr hjertberg, due to the angle of the spoke holes, wood rims more or less demand a three cross pattern, and require a longer spoke nipple than usual for carbon or alloy rims. tension is generally lower than with what we should perhaps refer to as normal wheels, and provide a ride of comfort by comparison. (since the mavic r-sys employ quite a low tension on their carbon spokes, i can readily attest to this factor).
however, for those intent on fitting clinchers, despondency may be at hand. due to a lack of 'hooked' beads on the sport rim, it is apparently unseemly to power up more than 4.5 bar, and widths of 28-40c with a wire bead seem to be de-rigeur. folding tyres are unlikely to be a great idea, so that rather takes them out of the running to put on the company colnago.
ric hjertberg imports ghisallo rims into the usa and sells for around $174 per rim - there is no uk importer at present, and while ric will ship to europe, he seems to figure that it might be cheaper to buy direct from italy. makes sense. if you're into a pair of wood rims for that ultimate final touch - particularly on a lugged steel frame - and perfectly happy to ride on tubs, these are probably worth investigating
ric hjertberg can be contacted through his weblog wheelfanatyk, or you can bypass and go straight to his ebay store. you can also check out cerchio ghisallo for the full monty.
posted on thursday 21st february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................oh calamity
oen almost any of the 'quality' daily papers in the uk, and at some point during the week you will find, either in the paper pages, or the colour supplements, a motoring page. britain, at least, is obsessed with its motor cars, witnessed by the fact that they all seem to be able to road test at least one new car every week, without danger of repetition (of vehicles, not words). sadly, cycling is considerably less well served - except if you have had the perspicacity to purchase the guardian.
for some considerable period of time, allowing for the occasional special feature, guardian readers have had the great good fortune of an alternative meaning to the phrase 'when thursday comes'. aside from garnering a copy of the comic from the newsagents, matt seaton's regular cycling column two wheels has been the start of my thursday for what seems like a happy eternity, even producing a compendium of previous articles in book format late last year.
but now it is no more.
yes, it bothers me that levi and alberto might not get to ride the tour this year, but i'm much more distraught at the apparent loss of the two wheels column from the guardian. matt, you have changed my perception of cycling, through that weekly breath of fresh air, and even if the guardian find someone else to fill your cleats, thursdays will never be the same again.
matt's two books ('the escape artist' and 'two wheels') are available from prendas
posted on thursday 21st february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................softly, softly
im sure there are the few who will disagree, but i feel quite confident in my assertion that chris king components are amongst the finest in the world. while i have no long term experience of their hubs (restricted to an afternoon of single speeding on the late lamented ibis single malt several years ago) i have had one of their pretty and strong pink headset on the company colnago for the past year and a bit. and in the true test of any component worth its salt, it is completely transparent in use - you'd never know it was there. (actually, that's not true - it's very difficult to ignore a pink shiny headset). it can be worn as a badge of honour, in similar fashion to a my other car's a ferrari sticker - it announces to the cognoscenti that 'i know where it's at'.
so how could they improve it? mechanically, short of cramming in some ceramic bearings (with a concomitant increase in price), probably not at all, but as lance armstrong once wrote 'it's not about the bike'. indeed, in the rarefied atmosphere of custom builds, from all parts of the world, the three magic words are 'style, style and style'. ever heedful, the chaps from portland have produced generation two of their no threadset headset, garnished with the classic appellation sotto voce.
the practical result of this is the losing of the bright alloy display of the king name on the top and bottom cups - sotto voce blends the name into the headset's anodised colour, in similar fashion to the white rapha logo on the white hoop on a jersey sleeve. you can compare for yourself with the pic of the pewter version above (sotto voce on the left), and chris distefano's personal favourite in black below. at present the sotto voce is available only in 1.5", though they did produce a special run of 1.125" for builders at the north american handbuilt show. feedback has been, to quote chris 'very, very positive, so they're now going to sit down in portland and discuss the next step.
i'm lobbying hard for a 1" pink sotto voce for the company colnago, and i'll let you know if anyone's listening. if king components decide to stick with 1.5", that rather excludes those of us on skinny wheels, so it might be worth dropping a line via the chris king website to voice your support for a size more suited to roadie aspirations. after all, style is our middle name is it not?
posted on wednesday 20th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................classique indeed
theres' a huge range of cycle clothing available to today's cyclist - perhaps often a case of you pays your money, you takes your choice but in my experience, you usually get what you pay for. if you'd like to be wearing that jersey, or those shorts for more than one season, penny pinching may not live up to your aspirations. and unless you are in a club with a standard dress code, variety is a very pleasant spice of cycling life.
while pat mcquaid pays lip service to his notion of promoting cycling as a world class and world reaching sport, he has likely been beaten to it by those with less political need. quality apparel hails from scotland, england, italy, switzerland and new zealand, the land we might more readily associate with a sport such as rugby.we've featured the cleverly executed, and stylishly designed apparel from solo in these pixels previously, from both their classique jersey range and strikingly simpler (graphically speaking) equipe range, but it is the latest addition to the former that concerns us here. paul mason of solo featured a survey on the solo website during 2007, asking which country ought to join the current faux european teams range, and despite my demanding a recount because scotland didn't win, common consent was that deutschland join the ranks.
despite a lengthy delay due to the need to acquire special inks for its printing, the konig - farrad riefen jersey is finally available at a cost of £63 ($117), in sizes ranging from extra small to extra large. I'd have one on the strength of the script lettering alone, but you needn't be german to consider owning one - style knows no boundaries.
posted on wednesday 20th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................give a guy an honest break
thewashingmachinepost deliberately doesn't concern itself with the politics of modern professional cycling. yes, it impinges on us all in someway or another, but since i have neither the wherewithal, nor the expertise to bring you insight other than that far better reported elsewhere, i tend to try and concentrate on the happy stuff.
however, when there are well respected people making considerable efforts to alleviate professional cycling from some of its past ailments, it seems only fair that they are given our complete support. so after vino et al, bringing the astana team into disrepute during the tour of 2007, it was something of a relief to see johan bruyneel take over the running of astana, sign some fine riders, and prepare to not only do battle with their competitors, but to prove that the astana moniker now deserved our respect. unfortunately, it seems to be an effort lost on the organisers of the big tours - italy and france to name but two, since they have decided not to invite the 2008 astana team to their prestigious races later this year.
with sponsors not exactly queueing up to hand over their money to professional cycling, this is not exactly what you'd regard as a clever idea, and it doesn't really seem to play fair with the careers of the riders wearing astana jerseys, most of whom have no connection with the team's past. happily, it's not a decision that is being accepted without some carefully chosen reaction. the tour of california, currently being shown on cycling.tv, does have the astana team in its peloton, and levi leipheimer, american national champion, is using the moment to publicise an online petition at letleviride.com.
if you think that politics are getting in the way, pop over to the website and add your e-mail address to levi's petition. maybe it won't make any difference, but as i have always said if you don't ask, you don't get. show the amaury sport organisation that they're messing with cycling's future, and it doesn't just belong to them, even if they think otherwise.
but if you agree with aso, then that's sort of ok too.
posted on tuesday 19th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the slate olson interview
who the heck is slate olson? with a name like that you could be forgiven for thinking he might be a sidekick of pierce brosnan in the latest bond movie. close, but no cigar. slate is the latest rapha appointment across the pond, responsible for developing the north american market of pain and suffering.
those on this side of the pond could perhaps care less, but that may be a bit of a mistake, because this chap has a great sense of fun, he's good friends with chris distefano of chris king components and he's based in portland. and admit it, wouldn't you just give up your last inner tube for a job like this?
posted on tuesday 19th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................coming soon to a bookstore near you
books often have a long gestation period, something with which i can readily identify. if you've perused the four corners of thewashingmachinepost, you may have noticed an area described as 'cycling on islay' which pretty much does as it says on the tin. however, long dribbles of text about cycling on the hallowed isle are all very well when you've time to relax and lull yourself to sleep in front of the central heating, but less than handy if you feel compelled to visit and test out the theory. i have, believe it or not, met folks holding sheafs of a4 paper with the entire affair printed out, determined to follow same by real bicycle, rather than virtual.
as originator of said sheafs of paper, i thought it would be a far happier solution if i turned it into an illustrated tome, available for download in pdf format. with many of today's smartphones capable of reading this format, it should be a portable delight for all those who fancy the freedom of islay's crumbling roads. or at least it would be if i had made it further than page three - i know, i know, but there's always stuff that gets in the way. one of those days i just might.
however, one guide to cycling somewhere that has finally made it to press, around two to three years after first being promised, is graeme fife's long awaited 'the rapha guide to the great road climbs of the pyrenees'. formerly known as 'massif, rapha have had a pdf taster available on their website for a wee while, though the final copy may be a tad different. illustrated with photos by pete drinkell, simon mottram at rapha describes the book as 'truly an inspiring guide to the cols in the pyrenees', and is a far grander affair than my lapsed guide to cycling on islay.
the book is launched on thursday, march 13th, and will be available from rapha's website at a cost of £40 ($78). with a bit of luck, i'll have a full review around the publishing date.
posted on monday 18th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the importance of being cosy
jez was working this saturday past, so it was left to me to continue some solo training in order to perpetuate the myth - that there's actually any hope of peak physical fitness before heading off for the eiffel tower in june. however, this isn't june (astute observation), and prolonging the agony by cycling at a tiresomely low heart-rate has the distinct disadvantage of being cool - and not in the good way.
so off it was at 10am, ready to do battle with the elements which, surprisingly for this part of the world were in temporary abeyance (we'll pay for it sometime soon) after a particularly bright and sunny week. unfortunately, during such blinding light, i had been stuck in an office with blinds on the windows, and had seen little of the outdoors, apart from an escape for lunch, and the short walk home at the end of day. as is often the case, the sun had disappeared for the weekend, resulting in dull grey, but with a similar degree of cold. my error had been to underestimate the almost total lack of temperature - i put on an appropriate solo winter top covered by a matching gilet, both over the top of a long sleeved base layer. that probably should have been enough, but as you get fitter (i am, i am), the body starts to relax more as the road surface happens by, so anything under 130bpm, doesn't really allow for much generation of central heating.
after just under 40km, the unthinkable happened - the air escaped from the rear inner tube, though if you had seen the road just covered, it may have been unthinkable but not incomprehensible. while dunlossit estate concentrate on constructing a new abattoir, which initially managed to trash the road off which it is sited, they then decided to cut down the pine forest on the other side of the road, meaning that very large trucks with lots of wood on the back, have finished off that which the excavators started. paris roubaix looks like a motorway by comparison. however, it was merely a matter of minutes to remove the distraught inner tube and replace with a new one, before re-inflation. this mere matter of minutes contrived to lower body temperature even lower - if i'd had the forethought to stash a stowaway jacket in one of the buttoned rear pockets, chilling could have been avoided.
so you live and learn, but it seems prudent to inform of my minor misfortune, that others may benefit. i have observed that cycling colleagues either seem to wear remarkably few layers when pedalling, or err towards the other extreme. at this time of year, the latter may be the preferred option, so do as your mother tells you, and wrap up warm - you can always have hot porridge and jam when you get home.
photo copyright 1999-2009 trengove studios, inc
posted on sunday 17th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................mellow johnny
if robert garbutt (cycling weekly's editor) were to read this, he'd either be doubled up with laughter, or in possession of a self-satisfied grin. because this piece is about lance armstrong, and it's all positive - not a smarmy jibe in sight. during his tour de france career, i felt that armstrong gained far more column inches in cycling weekly (and, to be fair, in just about every other cycling publcation too) than he truly deserved - even when he retired, they featured a 'what lance did next' article over about four or five pages, and i figured that was just adding insult to injury. so robert was on the receiving end of numerous e-mails pointing out what i thought were the errors of his ways. stoic to the last, he never replied to any of them.
however, he we are three years on from armstrong's domination of le tour, and the guy's in the headlines again. only this time, i'm not complaining - in fact i'm positively overjoyed to employ some washingmachinepost pixels in this fashion. lance is opening a cycle shop in austin, texas (where else?), but rather than being a celebration of just how great a cyclist he was/is, lance wants to create another portland, oregon, in the south. the shop/centre will be called mellow johnny's, a colloquial derivation of maillot jaune (quite clever, if you think about it) and armstrong hopes that it will be a catalyst in transforming austin into a place where biking is part of the culture, where people pedal to work, to restaurants, and to run errands.
now i confess to having not an inkling as to how much of a transformation this is likely to be, because i know not how many folks in austin currently use bicycles as a means of transport. however, lance and his partner, bart knaggs (now there's a name) hope to persuade the city to create bike lanes separated from cars and a similar bike rental scheme to that currently deployed in paris (and soon to be in london, if ken livingstone gets his way).
perhaps unsurprisingly, mellow johnny's will carry top of the line trek road bicycles, along with commuter bikes, fixed, cruisers and hand made 'art bikes'. however, just to underline his commitment to creating a bike friendly city, there will be showers and a locker room, allowing those who don't have these facilities in their place of work, to safely leave their machines and walk or take a pedicab to the office. this is not the sort of thing you manage in a telephone box, so the store covers 18,000 square feet over two floors, including a chris carmichael training facility in the basement.
so, you have to hand it to lance for capitalising on his fame and prowess as a bike rider in a positive way, and creating 'the coolest bike shop in the world' - since it will use an old dumb-waiter to transfer bikes between floors, that's a good head start - rather than simply basking in the glory of past successes.
it would be nice if a little bit of bicycle coolness started to head across this side of the pond - it seems we have to lobby like stink to have politicians take notice of any 'pro-bike' movement in the uk (london, apparently, excepted), but if car obsessed america can...
posted on saturday 16th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the man in portland
there are all sorts of folk involved in the bicycle industry, from the guys who invent stuff, to the chaps that actually make it, to those who pedal around on it. but the ones that those of us in the media come across most often, tend to be the folks whose job it is to tell us all about the stuff that they would prefer us all to buy and fit to our bicycles. unless, of course, they're selling bicycles, in which case it's sort of the other way round.
chris distefano could be loosely described as the media person for portland component whizz, chris king, and since he is one of the more entertaining media chaps i have had the good fortune to be in contact with, one of the infamous washingmachinepost interviews seemed like a nice way to introduce him to the rest of you. it's a fun read.
posted on friday 15th february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................preaching to the converted
i like a bit of continuity now and again. it's not often that it happens, but when it does, it seems only practical to take advantage of it. if you read my previous article regarding mike flanigan's alternative needs transportation bicycles, you may have noticed my developing a soft spot, or more likely a pragmatic approach to the bicycle as a viable, future form of transport. to be truthful, i have always viewed the bicycle in this way - my regular use of a colnago is because i can: i actually have no current need of a weight carrying cycle on which to carry the weekly shop. mrs washingmachinepost and i live within easy walking distance of all the shops in the village, and i can walk to the office in considerably less than five minutes.
however, i am very much aware that we are in the minority in this island's rural idyll, and that most of the folks in britainshire who have need of such mode of transport, really do need something a might more practical than several thousand pounds worth of italian carbon fibre. or do they?
you may have shared the same degree of dismay on opening any one of the bicycle monthlies - perhaps more so if you live across the pond - and finding a full page advertisement for some form of motorised transport. ironically, this is more than likely to be for one of the dreaded suvs or people carriers. and it's not only printed matter: cycling.tv recently ran a banner ad for a citroen something or other. presumably the motor manufacturers are counting on the seminal fact that quite a considerable number of cyclists are also drivers, and therefore fair game for their future sales.
now i could be shooting myself in the proverbial foot here, but i figure it's a fairly safe bet that very few, if any, of the favoured motor publications or websites carry advertisements for bicycles. to be honest, i haven't done a serious amount of research, other than to thumb through the occasional issue bought by my teenage son (who is also too young to drive). yes, ok, so bbc's top gear magazine had a one page article and photo of the colnago ferrari, but it certainly wasn't constituted as a hard sell. and it strikes me that this is a serious misdemeanour on the part of the bicycle industry.
the nearest british comparison i can think of, to the previously discussed stylish american commuting and transportation bicycles, are the models proffered by pashley in stratford upon avon. yet the only advertisement for the latter that i have ever seen (to my recollection) was in bike-biz - a trade only publication. preaching to the converted indeed. there seems little point in the likes of pinarello, wilier, colnago et al placing advertisements in magazines other than the ones you and i buy on a regular basis each month, however, those involved in providing two wheeled transportation could seriously benefit by displaying their wares to a travelling public, ever more aware of green issues and pollution of the atmosphere. instead it's the likes of sterling house, flogging £50 crap in the weekend supplements by way of full page advertisements featuring happy couples astride their taiwanese mountain bike lookalikes that will be lucky to see out the summer, and are, most definitely not the ideal form of bicycle that the new travelling public either needs or wants.
all these adverts accomplish is to undermine the viability of the bicycle as a truly modern and fashionable mode of transport - one that deserves to acquire a reasonable proportion of the household income, which will be repaid with style, economy, health, and a damn fine way to get about in the city and suburbs, with or without the shopping.
somebody needs to spread the word.
posted on thursday 14 february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................if only
it has often been said that britain and america are two countries divided by a common language, but it seems that we may also be two countries divided by a common love of the bicycle. i alluded several months ago, to the disappointment that america could hold a successful hand-made bicycle show, supported by a myriad of frame builders many of whom exhibit a fascinating respect for cycling history, as well as a stunning vision of the future. britain seems to consist of frame builders who concentrate on mountain bikes or classy road bikes - ordinary transport philosophy seems woefully missing.
maybe it will happen yet - ken livingstone seems hell-bent on improving cycle access around london, hopefully leading to an increase in the number of cyclists on the road, and perhaps even a concomitant increase and improvement in the availability of proper bikes. the presence of the latter was one of the principal features of the recently completed portland staging of the 2008 north american handbuilt bicycle show. i haven't seen too many of those on this side of the pond.
and not that he was completely alone in his style of frames, nor necessarily in his vision of the future of transportation in the united states, but mike flanigan of alternative needs transportation (ant), had some exceptionally fine wares on display at the show. and before you or i start throwing accusations of wooly thinking in mike's direction, it should be made clear that mike was one of the founders of independent fabrication in 1994, and their line of bicycles is hardly the work of sandal wearing vegetarians (i apologise in advance to any of the latter who may be reading)
portland may be the hub of the universe as far as cycle friendly america is concerned, but ant are based in massachusetts on the american east coast, which seems also to be gaining a positive reputation as a cycle friendly place to pedal. but with the possible exception of pashley cycles in the uk, nobody seems to be designing and making bicycles for those whose sole aspiration in life is not to acquire a shed full of colnagos. while the average brit seems happy to bolt racks onto anything with two wheels in order to fashion a pragmatic commute, mike's machines are purpose built for this very ideal.
handlebars are swept back, seating position is upright, and the racks are incorporated at the drawing board stage rather than bolted on as an afterthought - ant's philosophy is to encourage and influence people to ride their bikes for transportation and to do it in style. and here we reach the the nub of the difference - brits would seemingly prefer to bolt racks onto a mountain bike. ant are just as much about style as they are about transport, and it is this ethic that marks them, and many of their co-exhibitors at portland, apart from the majority of europe. there's nothing that says basic transportation has to be basic in concept.
ant bicycles also tick the economic boxes - the base frame retails at $1200 (£612) with a further $300 (£150) for unicrown forks with a choice of extras allowing for 'tuning' to personal taste. mike has also embraced the collective bike ride - you can browse a list if cycle activities on the ant website, most of them a far cry from the current european obsession with cycle sportives.
it might be kind of nice if some of this alternative philosophy were to make inroads (pardon the pun) to this side of the pond. if you're already in the usa, absorb as much of this as you can get - i'm sure we'll thank you for it very soon.
posted on wednesday 13 february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................exclusively exclusive
i am no stranger to exclusivity - a cycling plus photo article last year described velo club d'ardbeg as the world's most exclusive cycle club. while this isn't strictly true, as you will see if you check the velo club page on this very site, our apparent exclusivity was based on the notion that there were only four resident members. since one of the four seems not to have renewed his acquaintance with the velocipede, we are effectively, three. making us even more exclusive.
but of course, this state of affairs isn't restricted to islay. the great brintoni, illustrator extraordinaire of the heros du velo calendars, as well as work for velonews, decided to agglomorate himself and a few other 'elderly' cyclists in his home town of boulder, colorado. (dave will like me for pointing out that he is, in fact, the youngest member) it's always a happy benefit if any new club can adopt a name appropriate to either its location, or its purpose in life, and brintoni has been nothing if not self deprecating in adopting the nomenclature scorregie vecchie which, loosely translated from the italian, means old farts.
as the years are advancing and the speed decreases from my more usual warp factor three (captain kirk), i feel this is something that could easily be applicable to thewashingmachinepost cycling genre, and my application for membership was pleadingly sent to mr brinton. however, it's not just the boost to self esteem that comes with being recognised as an old fart (at least in the world of cycling), but the opportunity to wear the utterly wonderful jersey that dave has designed (above). i should point out that the great brintoni not only draws pictures for a living, but frequently undertakes design work for clothing company, pearl izumi. much of what you'll see on the slipstream jerseys, maintains its degree of cohesion due to brintoni's expertise. and since it's part of the day job, he knows just what you can put where on a jersey, and how well it can be reproduced using contemporary techniques. the picture of coppi reproduced here is actually a part of the overall design (right sleeve).
there are two other unnamed persons in great britainshire who have been granted old fart status (wholly deserved, in my opinion, but my lips are sealed) making scorregie vecchie a truly international club.
but i'll still wave to you.
i'm sure you'll agree that brintoni would have been the very person for team high road to approach, saving them from the embarrassment displayed below.
posted on wednesday 13 february
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................it's a skill
it has been my very good fortune to test and review some of the world's finest cycle clothing, and to be in contact with some who's job it is to design not only the way the apparel is put together, but also those who provide the visual design placed on the surface. and there is undoubtedly an art to getting this just right - examples of getting it horribly wrong abound, but two that spring readily to mind are offerings from liquigas and, historically, polti.however, the world of fabrics, and methods of applying design work to same, has improved in leaps and bounds over the past few years, along with the general desire to please sponsors and to portray an altogether more professional appearance. while i spend no time at all watching the laughing boys in formula one motor racing, they do have a reputation for ensuring machines, drivers and support staff are suitably kitted out with clothing of both a practical and sartorially appropriate style. and that is, indeed, the pivotal word - style.
it is apparently pat mcquaid's (current uci president) desire to have the world of professional cycling, emulate that of formula one motor racing in becoming a world-wide sport and holding similar professional ideals. so what in the name of the wee man were they thinking about at team high road (formerly t-mobile) when they designed their new jersey for the remainder of the season? i have jazz albums from the sixties that display more taste than this. it is such an abomination of the word 'style' that the uci ought to implement a regime similar to their all-encompassing drugs tests, designed to weed out jerseys such as displayed here. heck, rapha, solo, prendas, dave brinton are but a phone call away, and stapleton's financial settlement with t-mobile and adidas surely gave him the financial clout to come up with something better than this?
no disrespect to the guys who ride for the team, but someone surely has to have the sense to just say no? hope they don't win anything soon, or the monthlies and websites will be plastered with this stuff - two arms raised aloft. even the black one was better.
please gentlemen - standards.
posted on tuesday 12 february
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