thewashingmachinepost




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yes, it can be done

ardnahoe distillery

i've made mention on several previous occasions concerning the folks in our village who will scarcely walk the length of themselves to get from home to work, or to the shops, or any other reason that might involve exposing themselves to the great outdoors. particularly at this time of year. most of these trips would scarcely justify a bicycle to accomplish; walking would make far more sense. however, despite arguably subtle persuasions, including a few articles in the local paper last year from members of the sunday peloton, describing our favourite bike rides, there has been no notable reduction in car jouneys, and certainly no addition to the sunday peloton.

however, despite my advancing years, i do not, nor do i intend to, own a motor car, meaning any journeys out of the village require to be carried out by bicycle. and to be honest, public transport is scarcely an option. though i am of an age where i qualify for free bus transport, the islay service does not extend to the outer regions and network of single track roads. nor does the sparsely populated timetable allow for joined up thinking, hence my reliance on my bicycles, and, indeed, a level of fitness that makes that a practical option.

my services to the local newspaper now include a need to populate several of its pages with visible content, either by way of the written word, or imagery, or both. given that january is hardly a month filled with local activity, it becomes necessary to be more creative than watching for suitable press releases to arrive in my inbox. 'fifty things to consider when purchasing a garden shed', or 'the best place in britain to walk your dog' are hardly likely to come under the heading 'relevant'. which calls for the creativity i mentioned earlier, the result of which is now going to involve several kilometres of cycling later this week (probably thursday, if the weather forecast is to be believed).

at the north end of the island, sits islay's ninth malt whisky distillery at ardnahoe, midway along the twisting singletrack road leading to bunnahabhain distillery. ardnahoe recently reached the memorable occasion on which its new spirit passed the three year-old limit allowing it to be officially called scotch whisky. the distillery had already submitted a successful planning application to build ten warehouses adjacent to the distillery, ready and waiting for the casks that will contain the future ardnahoe single malt. on thursday, i plan to ride the 20 kilometres from the croft to the distillery for photos.

but just before i head along the aforementioned road, i plan to pop down to the nearby, diageo-owned distillery at caol ila, the visitor centre of which is currently undergoing major refurbishment to include it in the johnnie walker experience. the majority of caol ila's output is used in the famous blended whisky. and at the other end of the island, in port ellen, work continues to rebuild port ellen distillery, officially closed in 1983, before being demolished earlier this century. however, given the notable increase in sales of islay whiskies, the decision was made to revive it in a new format. it too is owned by diageo, as is port ellen maltings in the same grounds.

the trip from ardnahoe to port ellen is approximately 35 kilometres, depending on which route i take. but, as is the flurry of activity that surrounds islay malt whiskies, the cycle trip will not end there. on the outskirts of port ellen village, between the primary school and laphroaig distillery, islay's eleventh is under construction at farkin. the owners, elixir spirits, advise that the distillery will not be called farkin, but for the time being, everyone refers to it by that name. in the process of filling column inches, i will cycle those extra few kilometres for yet more photos. it transpires also, that laphoroaig is in the process of building a few more warehouses, so i may take more images there. if you were to form the opinion that islay is rapidly transforming into a verisimilitude of an industrial estate, i would not disavow you of that opinion.

if my arithmetic is correct, by the time i return to the croft at day's end, i will have covered around 75-80km on a bicycle, all of which can be directly attributed to a working day. though such a distance is probably mere bagatelle to many mainland cycle commuters, i'm sure they also suffer from the accusations of eccentricity of which i thoroughly expect to be on the receiving end by friday morning. but the fact is, it can be done, and by folks as ancient as am i.

i wonder if sue gray would be willing to conduct a judicial enquiry into why more fit and healthy folks do not do likewise, particularly following daily demonstrations that it is perfectly possible?

monday 17 january 2022

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an imperfect storm

bicycle components

a well-known, major online cycle retailer, which shall remain nameless, but i figure you'll probably know of whom i write, has become a principal irritant in the eyes of many potential customers. and though i write from personal experience, i know from others that the irritation is not confined to the croft.

though i do not wish to dwell on my own mechanical woes, suffice it to say, i require a replacement rear derailleur for my specialized cyclocross bicycle. in the habit of ordering from said online retailer, i dutifully typed the brand and number of sprockets into their home-page search field, and was rewarded with a sizeable number of options, displayed in the form of several thumbnail images, accompanied by the price of each. however, clicking on all that fitted specification and budget, returned a larger image accompanied, in every case, by red lettering indicating that every option was out of stock.

i do understand that the supply chain is going through something of a hard time at present, but if it's not in stock, either highlight this on the thumbnail image, or simply remove the item from the search results. i doubt many of us enjoy a good fifteen minutes of clicking on a series of results, only to find them out of stock. in the unlikely event that someone influential from said online retailer reads this and recognises the problem, might i suggest you do something about it?

the out of stock message, however, is not confined to this one retailer; the problem is far more widespread than that. only last week i read of a bricks and mortar retailer with a customer who required a similar component as yours truly, though evidently one further up the food chain. on contacting the manufacturer, the shop was told they could supply the customer's needs by august this year. unless, of course, he wished to upgrade to the electronic version for considerably more money, in which case, he could have it by march.

thankfully, the majority of bicycle components offer a substantial mechanical life, unless, of course, they become damaged as a result of an accident. for many of us, it's not quite life or death. in my case, the part still works, but not as effectively as it was designed to do. and, indeed, i have other bicycles i could ride in the meantime. however, there are those who race and those who use their bicycles to commute to and from work or school, for whom a lengthy period of enforced downtime would either incur great inconvenience, or have them resort to the car or public transport.

according to sram's chief executive officer, ken lousberg, demand for their products as a result of covid encouraging more to cycle, has increased as much as 100% on certain products. he claims that the company is currently running continuous shifts at their factories in order to bring supply in line with demand, stating that they've never had so much product available on the shelves as is currently the case. so why is it that online and offline uk retailers seem not to have benefited appropriately?

the obvious target for shortages of any kind in the uk would surely be brexit and the hassles it has caused for receipt of product from europe. one supplier, who prefers to remain nameless, in order to provide review items for the post (and likely elsewhere), has had to have the item sent to their media department and have it mailed directly to me. the previous, corporate method, incurs more red tape than any of us are willing to handle. and there's also the tangible reality that many containers are getting stuck in western ports. in other words, though the turnround at the asian ports of supply has improved dramatically, congestion at this end undermines the majority of those improvements.

and, of course, it's not only the little bits and pieces that are in short or slow supply. those in charge at several major uk cycle importers contend that we'll likely see continued production and supply issues throughout the remainder of 2022. it's not purely the bicycle industry that is suffering, but, at the risk of being parochial and self-absorbed, it's the bicycle stuff that's likely to concern most of us.

so, if this was the year you'd planned on upgrading your bicycle, or the componentry on your existing velocipede, it may be worth delaying that for a few months until things improve.

however, such advice is of little succour to those with broken bits that need replaced sooner, rather than later. admittedly, if you search around, you'll probably manage to find something to keep the cycle in trim. i was able to source the very derailleur i needed, and grabbed a cassette and chain while i was about it, just in case those prove to be a problem in the future. for though supply chain issues may be ironed out, if the number of cyclists has increased as much as we're being told, sometime soon, they too are going to be needing new parts to replace things that have worn out, a factor that could keep things in short supply for longer than might otherwise have been the case.

if for no other reason than this, it remains excellent advice to keep the bicycle in tip top condition, keeping it clean and having it serviced regularly. not to do so might result in some unplanned and unwanted downtime, a potential travesty as the weather begins to improve and daylight hours lengthen.

once again, you're welcome.

sunday 16 january 2022

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cyclists' defence fund

cyclists' defence fund

on my second visit to portland, oregon, i was privileged to have been loaned a bicycle on which to get around, at the time, the cycling capital of north america. more used to the british regime, where it mostly pays to give way to motorised traffic, purely on the basis that they will rarely return the favour, i was confused on reaching a four-way junction, on my way to sugar wheelworks. a car approaching from the right, stopped at the junction more or less as i came to halt during my own trajectory. road markings indicated that no-one seemed to have right of way, and i had expected the driver to assert the might of his tonne of steel and exercise his option to prioritise his trip.

confusingly for me, he stopped and indicated that i should move first. conditioned to the british way of thinking, i indicated that he ought to take precedence, until it became plain that we would be there all day, for he had no intention of moving first. i would imagine i'd struggle to find many uk cyclists who have experienced a similar situation on this side of the atlantic.

however, the latest version of the highway code introduces changes that might possibly begin to make my portland situation more common on uk roads, always assuming that existing motorists find the time to purchase and read this new highway code. i think that might be a hope too far. but were they to do so, they would discover that a new hierarchy is advised, where we have theoretically reached the road-going equivalent of 'steam must give way to sail'. thus car drivers now have the onus of looking out for cyclists, and we in turn should prioritise pedestrians.

but what happens when none of those situations prevail? what happens when, for instance, a motorist hits and either kills or injures a cyclist?

experience shows that the law seems predominantly to be on the side of the motorist. it often seems that a paltry fine, a few points on a licence will accompany a stern letting-off. manslaughter seems not to apply in cases of drivers changing stations on the radio, changing compact discs, or, more commonly these days, talking on their mobile phones. the latter is a highly common occurrence, despite legislation outlawing the practice. it is a feature of islay life to indulge in what is referred to as 'the islay wave', a local custom whereby we all wave to each other when passing on the road, every bit as applicable to cyclists as to motorists. however, it is often of great concern to pass a motorist or truck driver, holding a phone in one hand, while waving with the other, neither hand on the steering wheel.

the local police seem oblivious.

i have often mentioned that i think it good practice for every cyclist to possess third-party insurance, achievable through membership of either british cycling, or cycling uk. membership of either also brings free legal advice and support in the event of an accident. however, cycling uk also operates a cyclists' defence fund which "specifically helps fight significant legal cases involving cyclists and cycling, especially those which could set important precedents for the future and could affect the safety of all cyclists."

to highlight this, they have produced a short animated film illustrating two cases where legal procedure unfairly placed the onus on the cyclists, neither of whom were at fault, yet a cyclist, opting to legally ride on the road rather than cross three lanes of traffic to reach a cycle path, was prosecuted by the police. the cyclists' defence fund stepped in on all three cases. however, as we are all aware, legal process these days can cost a great deal more than a small fortune, money that many individuals cannot afford to risk, in case they lose their case in court.

in order to continue this essential service on behalf of the cycling public the fund needs money, and that's where you and i come in. hopefully it's a fund of which we will never need to avail ourselves, but as more and more vehicles fill our roads, that expectation may well become a forlorn hope. contributions can either be made via a monthly direct debit, or a one-off payment by card. i'll leave it to your own discretion and judgment as to which option you choose.

cyclists' defence fund | cdf video

saturday 15 january 2022

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trendy

gravel biking

within the last couple of weeks, apple computer became the first american-based company to reach a capitalisation of three trillion dollars, five hundred billion more than the current value of britain's national debt. achieving this has a lot to do with the performance of its share price, a factor that seems to depend very little on a company's financial performance. however, apple's $104 billion profit in 2020 no doubt played a strategic part in the trillion dollar bit, aided and abetted by sales of the ubiquitous iphone. its launch in 2007 became the beginning of the end for a number of high-profle mobile phone manufacturers.

since 2016, the iphone has been the world's most successful smartphone, despite apparently incremental upgrades, where simply toying with the size, colour and processor speed seems not to have dissuaded millions from upgrading to the latest version. and not confined solely to cupertino, i find it distinctly odd that the majority of smartphones are advertised on the basis of the quality of their cameras, rather than any inherent ability to make phone calls. yet, where once apple were at the vanguard of technology, they seem to have adopted the wait and see philosophy practised by ernesto colnago.

at the annual international tech show several years past, there was more than a single start-up demonstrating the ability of hi-resolution screens to bend and fold while still maintaining a useable integrity. it's a feature that has been notably exploited by apple's main rival, samsung, with their galaxy z fold3. rumours have abounded for many months that apple has also been working on a foldable phone, though for the present, none have been seen in the flesh. a well-respected apple rumour monger has declared that cupertino is indeed working on a folding phone, but, like ernesto, is biding its time to see "whether foldable smartphones will continue to have a place in the market, or will fall into obsolescence."

that very situation could have applied to the ascending world of the gravel bike, but quite plainly didn't. unlike german manufacturer, kalkhoff, who dismissed the advent of the mountain bike as 'just a fad' and almost went out of business as a result, every bike manufacturer and their best pal has not only eagerly entered the gravel market, but already managed to split the genre into at least two unequal parts.

in evidence for my contention, compare the ritchey outback, with its plethora of braze-ons for racks and cages etc., with cervelo's aspero 5, described by the jumbo-visma bike sponsor as 'a faster, lighter, better looking aspero', a bike that resembles little more than a road bike with knobbly tyres and rather large climbing gears. it seems that the choice is between bikepacking on the road less travelled, or being a lycra lout on the road less travelled.

the decision, that no-one seems keen to make, could be to watch from a safe distance to see if gravel bikes will continue to have a place in the market, or will fall into obsolescence. for let us not forget that, in essence, the gravel bike has been here before, only in the first incarnation, it was designated as a hybrid. in this case, the hybrid status referred to being half road bike, half mountain bike. while the mountain bike market was still maturing, it was the bicycle that pretty much everyone needed, but not the bike many wanted. 700c semi-knobblies married to a road style frame, augmented with mountain bike gearing. mountain bikes, obviously enough, survived untainted; the hybrid more or less disappeared without trace, until resurfacing in carbon fibre with disc brakes and a new, trendier name.

much like the continued exapnsion of the scotch whisky market, at some point, the bubble's going to burst. granted, the uci has offered its blessing by sanctioning an international gravel series, a move decried by many gravel aficionados as the beginning of the end of gravel's devil-may-care attitude. that said, such an attitude seems to have survived almost intact within mountain biking, despite its uci status. and then, of course, there's still the age-old question of quite why we need gravel when we already have mountain biking and cyclocross?

i'm sure there is a commercial bicycle manufacturer which has yet to bite the bullet and add a gravel bicycle to their range, but offhand, i can't think of one. no doubt new trends in cycling have to be grabbed with both hands by all and sundry, lest it turn out to be highly popular, and their tardiness result in diminished profits and shareholder unrest. though i have little in the way of commercial nous, sometimes i wish that a bicycle supremo with the same relative clout as apple, would opt to wait and see, or even decide to pass altogether.

and then i wake up.

friday 14 january 2022

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stop messing about

a pile of bicycles

in the latter part of last century into the beginning of the current one, it was not unusual to find magazine adverts promising two mountain bikes for a penny less than £100. with good reason, those and their kin were subsequently dubbed 'bicycle shaped objects' by many a cycle mechanic and the cycling press. to this i can attest, having had a bowmore resident bring one to my back door, confused as to why the rear wheel continually pulled to one side as soon as the pedals were depressed.

convinced that this was simply a case of pilot error, i pulled the appropriately sized spanner from the bikeshed to tighten the wheelnut. but the minute any pressure was placed on either pedal, the wheel dutifully pulled to one side and jammed against the chainstay. on further investigation, it transpired that the drive-side droput had been welded squint, meaning that the wheelnut could not sit flat against its surface, thus unable to hold the wheel in place.

on contacting the customer service department, the plaintiff was told that a replacement would be sent out, but there was no need to return the faulty bike.

around the same time, i had two others with similar faults: one had the two cantilever posts on the rear chainstay welded at different heights, and a child's bicycle had the rear cantilever cable stop welded too high on the wishbone stay, meaning the cable could not fit into the cable stop correctly, affecting the efficiency of the rear brakes (they didn't work at all). there have been others with no grease in the bottom bracket bearings, one where the cantilever posts had been welded onto the back of the front forks, which had then been fitted back to front to place the brakes at the front. i'm sure there are a legion of bicycle mechanics with similar stories, always assuming they deigned to work on such bicycle shaped objects in the first place.

the trade supplier from whom i purchased my stock of cables, brake shoes, wheels, saddles, etc., confided that certain of their lines had suffered, because bike shops were buying up these cheap'n'nasty bicycle shaped objects and strippng them down for spares. let's face it, if you could buy a bicycle for £50, yet achieve close to £40 for the wheels alone, wouldn't you?

however, sales of bicycle shaped objects was hardly confined to the colour supplements; many a supermarket decided to get in on the act, from whence arose the image of a kid's bicycle on a display stand in tesco with the front forks assembled back to front. if ever the bicycle industry needed an advert demonstrating why prospective customers ought to stick to bona-fide bike shops, that was probably it.

however, there comes a point in time when enough is simply enough, and it appears that time has arrived. following a discussion in trade magazine bikebiz in november last year, an american-based campaign has begun to call upon the manufacturers to "stop producing and selling bikes that fall apart after a few months of use." aside from being potentially harmful to the environment, cheap rubbish such as this is more than likely to erode customer confidence at the entry level. the latter makes a great deal of sense, if you accept that, having purchased just such an item, intent on adopting a velocipedinal lifestyle, to find it disintegrate before their very eyes is hardly the introduction anyone would appreciate.

however, i find it hard to believe that these unidentified manufacturers are blissfully unaware that their products are distinctly sub-standard. in which case, appealing to their better nature seems likely to fall upon deaf ears. i would have thought that perhaps a concerted campaign on behalf of the cycling industry to underline the advantages of purchasing from a local bike shop, instead of from a sparkly advert in a weekend colour supplement, would be a more cogent solution.

this would kill two birds with one stone (not that i condone any methods of culling innocent birds), by advising the inexperienced and unwary against potential disappointment as a result of purchasing a bicycle shaped object, while supportng the nation's network of independent bike shops, particularly as the world gets to grip with the effects of the covid pandemic.

just a thought.

bicycle petition

thursday 13 january 2022

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should you do it yourself?

park tool cone spanners

bicycle wheels are complex items, round structures that have to maintain as near perfect roundness as balancing the lateral forces between one side of the wheel and the other. those forces are just a smidgeon unequal on the rear wheel due to the existence of an ever increasing number of sprockets. building bicycle wheels was once seen as one of the black arts; though there are a number of devices available to the earnest wheelbuilder to ensure equality of tension on each spoke and the elimination of any low-spots on the rim that affect the circularity, the (near) perfect wheel relies as much upon the ability and experience and skill of the builder.

unless, of course, it's a factory build. the construction aspects are remarkably similar, but the skills (if they can still be referred to as such) exist in the programming of machinery used in the build process. adjustment is not always user-friendly.

i reviewed a brand of factory built wheels, one which shall remain nameless, several years ago. following a bike ride, when putting the bicycle back in the bikeshed, i noted that the rear wheel had taken on the form of a potato crisp, a situation that had not existed during the ride. a standard spoke features a thread at one end and a 'j' bend at the other. however, this particular brand replaced the 'j' bend with a proprietary fitting, meaning a non-standard replacement had to be sourced at substantial expense. when replacing the broken spoke, another one broke, at which point i gave up and sent the wheels back.

the point of this early discussion has less to do with wheels and more to do with repairs. if you break a spoke, do you have the ability to fix it? in fact, if any part of your bicycle malfunctions, could you rectify the problem, even if you had the necessary tools? and just to open the discussion more widely, should you? does it make practical and economic sense to consider undertaking your own repairs and servicing, purchasing the bare minimum of tools and arming yourself with a manual or two explaining how certain aspects of the bicycle can be fettled?

bear in mind that, nowadays, many bike shop mechanics are professionally trained in the minutiae of modern-day bicycles, fully aware of the risks associated with incorrect assembly or fitting. it's also more than likely that the shop is insured against damage while the bicycle is in their possession, and that there will be some guarantee on any work carried out. and if you don't mind me harping on yet again, my campagnolo twelve-speed compatible chain tool cost me £150. if i acquire a campagnolo ekar equipped gravel bike, i'd need to buy yet another tool to fit the ekar chain. that's a lot of money for relatively infrequent use.

in the days when such things still played an essential part in wheel hubs, i purchased a full set of park tool cone-wrenches to cover all bases. and bear in mind that, for a number of years at least, i repaired the majority of bicycles on the island, which i felt justified my purchase. currently, a similar set will relieve you of just over £60. i should point out that, with the advent of cartridge bearings, cone spanners are rarely demanded nowadays and that you need not necessarily purchase the whole range of sizes.

so maybe it would make a great deal more sense to simply drop the bike off at the bike shop and let them worry about from where that noise emanates. let's face it, contemporary bicycles and componentry are a great deal more reliable than was once the case, while the onset of internal cable routing (cervelo's upcoming cyclocross bike, supports only internal cable routing and only electronic groupsets) has turned a ten minute maintenance job, into one that could last all day.

however, to a certain degree, i'm acting as devil's advocate. though i have no bicycle shop in which i might leave anything for repair, as i've said on many an occasion, bicycle fettling qualifies as one of life's (perhaps not so simple) pleasures. it brings with it the confidence of understanding the inner workings of whichever bicycle you happen to be riding, quickly able to comprehend when something's not working the way it ought to, and possibly even how to fix it when you get home.

i'm sufficiently distanced from bike shop culture to be unaware of the costs involved in having your bike fixed, though fairly clued up on the price of doing it for myself. aside from which, i quite like having the small amount of technical knowledge i possess. obviously enough, your situation and circumstances may differ; if the services of your local bike shop are second to none, maybe you should stay put, unless you are a serious wannabe mechanic. maybe they offer classes in bike maintenance that would allow you to undertake the simpler pleasures and leave the heavy lifting to the guys behind the counter.

i like to believe that, though untrained, i have a good working knowledge of cycle mechanics. however, that knowledge stops short of anything to do with electronics and pretty much only skirts the periphery of hydraulics and press-fit bearings. it's a conversation you can have with yourself while out on the next solo ride.

you're welcome.

wednesday 12 january 2022

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tell me about it

free data

i have , on occasion, referred to strava as 'facebook for cyclists', ever since the software platform decided to add the facility for its members to converse with each other via an included messaging and social media addition. this interactivity feature, ostensibly included to allow strava protagonists to offer comment and kudos on the activities of others, was likely more to encourage the spending of more time within strava's four corners of the web browser. should you enquire as to why that might be the case, the single-word answer would most likely be 'data'.

though i believe strava now charge members for the majority of their 'services', ownership of this freely given data, helps monetise their venture, making anonymised information available to transport departments acrosee the world, frequently keen to ensure their traffic planning activities more closely resemble the likely demand from runners and cyclists. no point, i should imagine, in building a bridge solely for the use of cyclists and runners, if your particular corner of urbanity is bereft of adherents to either activity.

though someone recently asked why, if we're always told to read the small print, why isn't it larger, the important part of strava's small print states, 'You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display any Content and any name, username or likeness that you post on or in connection with the Services in all media formats and channels now known or later developed without compensation to you.' in plain english, strava can use all your stuff anywhere, for any reason, free of charge until such time as you delete said content or your account. for this, they're more than willing to take your money.

this very closely resembles the parody terms and conditions included with a now defunct piece of software called auto illustrator. ostensibly a vector drawing package, the controls were deliberately set to do pretty much the opposite of what you'd hope they'd achieve, while the user agreement stated that were any valuable works of art created with the software, the creators owned the copyright and any income derived thereof. to make sure the user participated in this eccentric snippet of humour, auto-illustrator would not load until the agreement had actually been read and agreed. unfortunately, so keen are most of us to use the services for which we've just paid, we sign the terms and conditions without reading a word.

though the majority of terms and conditions may well be fairly innocuous, you still need to be aware of how much information you're also providing to all and sundry. there were some noted occasions when criminals were targeting strava members on the basis of knowing when they were out cycling, and what other expensive bicycles were left behind in the bikeshed.

and just like facebook, instagram and probably twitter, the indoor chaps are no different. peloton explains that, while it intends to maintain the security of your personal data, it reserves the right to provide an anonymised version to third parties or agents acting on its behalf. zwift apparently does likewise. and when it comes to some of those dockless bike hire initiatives, i recall reading of a chinese entry into the british market which was garnering substantial financial investment back home. the article explained that this was not because bike hire was likely to make millionaires out of them all, but as a result of the data collected from the system's users.

it may be of some comfort to learn that said company has now departed the uk.

this catalogue of acquisition was underlined earlier this week when garmin released their 2021 'connect fitness' report, one that apparently confirmed a near 50% increase in gravel cycling. such information has been gathered from the connect fitness app featured on the garmin smart watch. while increases in almost every strain of fitness activity throughout the pandemic should be of great optimism to us all, i would suggest, however, that garmin's saving grace is that their 'connect' service is free of charge. but the fact that it's relatively easy to export the activities into strava, brings us back to the 'bang for buck' conundrum once again.

in these days of internet scams, data breaches and the like, it pays to be particularly careful about whichever online service with which you find favour, and it would hardly seem overly objectionable for a company to make use of your freely supplied data, if there's no charge for said service. however, there's an annual subscription costs for zwift and peloton, also bearing in mind that the latter requires purchase of a not inexpensive proprietary indoor exercise bike. the cost of strava premium has been commended as worth the outlay, partly on the basis that in providing a service, it would be churlish to complain about the price. however, i'm of a mind that, if you're paying for any of the above, there ought to be a simple means of restricting their use of the data you generate.

if i was paid to write an article for rouleur magazine, then hawked it round every other cycling publication and website, how happy would ian clevery be?

tuesday 11 january 2022

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