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not what we thought

i apologise for the lack of content this past week, but, as previously advised, i have been in percussive mode since tuesday evening, leaving scant time to scribble anything of velocipedinal interest. however, unless something unexpected transpires, i believe i may have returned for the foreseeable future. whether that's good news or not, depends entirely on your point of view and how much your existence has become dependent on monologues of no particular intrigue whatsoever.

ever since i began purchasing a daily copy of the times newspaper in the late 1970s, i have satisfied myself as a fan of what was referred to as the broadsheets. the uk dimensions of this particular genre of newspaper varies slightly depending on the publisher, but roughly speaking, we're looking at 37.5mm wide x 57cm tall. granted, this was often a tad tricky to read in starbucks, trains or buses (and aeroplanes, for that matter) or even the breakfast table. however, the large format allowed for an expansive layout and, in certain cases, inspired page designs, but it seems that a majority eventually tired of attempting to fold the pages in order to read in one or more of the above examples, and thus avoid disturbing one's fellow passengers, who were quite possibly attempting to do likewise.

i therefore look back with nostalgia to pre-september 2005, the month in which my current daily read (the guardian) migrated from broadsheet to berliner format, reputedly easier to manage, but a move that required a substantial financial investment in custom printing presses. however, after only 13 years of savouring the reputed benefits, the guardian moved to tabloid size, while managing to escape direct comparison with the so-called red tops with which it now shares shelf size. apparently the original departure from broadsheet size was, according to the guardian website, an attempt to counter "free tabloid newspapers such as metro saturating the market alongside access to fast, cheaper broadband internet connection in the home, and 3g phones bringing the web to an increasingly mobile generation."

evidence of the failure to counter the online world can be demonstrated by the newspaper's decline in print sales by approximately 100,000 in the last couple of decades. to an extent, that has been countered, however, by their highly successful embracing of the online world. currently the only uk newspapers still printed as broadsheets are the financial times, the daily telegraph and the sunday times.

newspaper sales are a tad more complex than simply looking at the decline in print, but one aspect that has followed from broadsheet to berliner to tabloid is the infuriating inability to separate the corners when attempting to turn the pages, a factor that remains to this day, when avoidance of licking one's thumb and forefinger to accomplish has become a thing of the past. however, making inherent alterations to previously traditional modes of operation is hardly confined to the newspaper trade. and in the majority of those cases, expecting an improved outcome as a result is often left unsatisfied. uk residents may recall that in 2022, courier company hermes rebranded as evri following widespread customer dissatisfaction, low rankings in delivery league tables, and negative publicity regarding parcel mishandling. yet, despite the change, the company's reputation seems scarcely to have improved.

i was reminded of a velocipedinal instance while playing drums at thursday's annual islay show, as i watched a ponytailed gent continually walking to and fro from the beer tent, wheeling a cream-coloured folding bike of indeterminate brand. long have i wondered about the third aspect frequently cited as ripe for improvement by government and local authorities. 'walking, cycling and wheeling' are three words apparently joined at the hip when funding for active travel is being discussed; but for years i wondered just to what wheeling referred? perhaps thursday's gent embodied that very aspect, though why he would have required funding for doing so, remains something of a mystery.

almost one year past, in september 2025, the artist formerly known as sustrans changed its name to the far less satisfactory walk wheel cycle trust, nomenclature that just rolls off the tongue (not). over nigh on 50 years, sustrans had cultivated an enviable reputation, praised by transport activists while currying respect from the opposition was almost a unique situation. and while it may be a tad soon to assess any advantages or disadvantages that may have accrued, i have yet to read or receive a press release announcing an improved profile and notable achievements as a result of the new name. some people are just too myopic to realise just what they already have.

mind you, edge carbon componentry migrated to enve, and can now be seen writ large on tadej's wheelsets.

saturday 15 august 2026

ninety degrees of separation

a friend of mine has lost his driver's licence for, i believe, a period of one year as the result of a coming together with his car and an approaching motorbike. from what i can gather, it was a smidsy - sorry mate i didn't see you situation, where the motorcyclist may, or may not, have approached at speed and my friend failed to note his imminent arrival. this probably references a point made only a few days past, that motorists tend to selectively look for other motorists; it's not that they don't physically see other road users, it's just conditioning that tends to lower the importance of doing so.

although in a distinctly different set of circumstances experienced at the weekend, where no-one was ever in any danger of injury, one of my fellow sunday morning peloton riders and i observed an oncoming car at least half a kilometre distant. yet, despite both of us featuring flashing white lights on our handlebars, and the glaringly obvious fact that, if we could see the car, the driver had unhindered vision of two bicycles heading in the opposite direction on the same stretch of road, at the point of coincidence, it was clear that the driver had failed to notice either of us in advance.

i know that, when learning to drive, my instructor laboured the fact that i should always look well ahead in order to 'read the road'. judging by practical experience in recent years, that advice would appear no longer to be on the agenda.

however, as is frequently the case, i have digressed.

the fellow who now finds himself legally carless for a period of at least twelve months, has substituted an e-bike as his principal method of transport. he is fortunate to live quite some distance outside of any village conurbation, with impressive views across the landscape and seascape, but consequently, nowhere near anything that might resemble public transport. the gentleman in question is considerably younger than yours truly, but freely admitted that, had e-bikes not existed, he would find the alternative considerably less palatable, despite being apparently fit enough to contend with riding under his own efforts. he remained unimpressed and unphased by my helpfully pointing out that the mighty dave-t, some fifteen years my senior, still rides an acoustic bicycle, having renewed his subscription with pedal power via a new gravel bike only last year.

it is only a matter of days in excess of one week since the annual ride of the falling rain took place for 2026, a bike ride which preceded its subsequent naming by several years. having read in a copy of america's bicycling magazine in the mid 1990s, an article entitled riding your first century, i had set off one sunday morning to undertake my own century ride, woefully underestimating just how difficult that would be for a first-timer on a mountain bike, without sufficient cash to acquire sufficient sustenance along the way. however, from that point onwards, i would attempt to ride a century at least once every year, if only to prove to myself that i could manage to do so.

latterly, each year i placed a brief article in the local newspaper, advising of my impending lengthy bike ride, enquiring if anyone might find it in themselves to join me, even if only for a portion of the total distance. i'd be fibbing if i said i could recall the exact year, but two chaps both named tom arrived at the appointed hour outside the leisure centre in bowmore, and we set off into the unknown.

one of the two is still a fully-paid-up member of the sunday peloton, having since permanently moved to the hub of the universe. the other fellow, who was inordinately slow, yet perfectly happy on the two occasions he comprised the trio, owns a house here, but lives most of the year on the mainland. and despite not having been in contact for a year or two, as i trudged meaningfully back to the office yesterday afternoon, following a medicinal shot of espresso, i met him outside the premises, proudly displaying his retirement bike, a muted red, steel surley, with rear rack, pannier and slightly chunkier tyres than would win him le grand boucle.

fate and coincidence are probably quite familiar bedfellows, but as we discussed his resplendent new bicycle, the disbarred motorist with the e-bike stopped on his way up the road. this is islay; everybody knows everybody, so all three of us engaged in deep and meaningless conversation where i was moved to note that the gent with the retirement surly was also of an age greater than the newfound e-bike rider, and while i will happily agree that e-bikes have their place in velocipedinal society, if the two elder statesmen of the story have no qualms about remaining the progenitors of their own motive power, why is it that a youngster (by comparison), was satisfied to relinquish that task to a motor and battery?

and, had the e-bike not existed in contemporary society, his alternative to an acoustic bicycle would be missing in action; there would be no convenient alternative. it's not, therefore, the portent of an artificial intelligence future of which we need be aware; for some fit and healthy members of society, that particular future might already be here.

odd that, after so many years of evolution, it seems some of us are content to subcontract to artificial means, that which has stood us in good stead over the centuries.

tuesday 11 august 2026

learning to samba

though i can no longer claim to be even a pale replication of robert millar, at one time, out of all members of the velo club, i was frequently the individual who arrived first at the summit at whichever gradient we had opted to ascend. cyclists arriving at port askaig ferry terminal (currently the only option for the next three years while cmal upgrade port ellen pier) are often dismayed to see before them a 9% gradient that subsequently increases by a further 5% after the hairpin turn about a third of the way up. granted, many are weighed down by panniers and backpacks, but at one time, port askaig brae was an annual rite of passage, a hill that we'd climb if only to prove that we harboured the je ne sais quoi to do so as the years began to take their toll.

in my first year of participation in hot chillee's london to paris bike ride, rather than be thought of as arrogant or ostentatious, i would reluctantly sit at the back of the peloton as cyclists both younger and fitter than yours truly, grunted and moaned as they toiled up a succession of lengthy, yet not altogether steep inclines. finally, finding it harder to continue at their pace than my own, i pulled out to one side, and rode past the majority of the peloton towards the top. so doing did gather one or two comments, not all of them praiseworthy, but then not all of them particularly damning either. however, as i mentioned above, those days are long gone, and i'm far more likely to be the last of our group to reach the top, though i try to keep the grunting to a minimum in the process.

i am still of the opinion that the difference is a psychological one; whereas i tended to perk up when any apprciable gradient hove into view, the majority of my londres-paris colleagues were more or less defeated before the road started to rise, despite a combination of youth and fitness.

islay is not completely flat, a fact that is easier to discover from the saddle of a bike than it is from the armchair comfort of a motor car, but all its cycleable hills are of the short and sharp variety. transfer the skill of conquering the hebridean variety to the much longer hills of france is simply a matter of pacing, a skill that i believe can be learned, rather than one that is necessarily present at birth. during those three weeks in july, commentators are keen to point out that there is the grupetto of sprinters and the peloton of 'pure' climbers.

but history is peppered with riders who began as sprinters and ended their careers as wearers of the polka-dot jersey. the first who springs to mind is laurent jalabert. i can only assume that, as his sprint edge began to decline, jalabert concentrated more on getting himself up the hills that had once been his bête noir. and then there's riders like wout van aert, who seems to do whatever he wants.

in jalabert's case, i'm sure that occurred as a matter of professional necessity. if the annual contract once depended on aiming at the green jersey, when that becomes unreachable, the ability to change focus midstream no doubt kept him in the manner to which he had become accustomed. it is the ability and willingness to voluntarily learn something new that often marks us out as human, allied to the tenacity to persevere.

the week ahead will bring me to play pipe band music, ceilidh and a mixture of folk-rock and pop music; i've been playing those for years and at the risk of sounding over-confident, none are particularly challenging. i would never discount the mantra that 'less is more' when it comes to percussive accompaniment, but a fellow needs a bit of a challenge in life, a challenge that has had me watch and rewatch a youtube masterclass by brazilian drummer, isac jamba, in order to learn the correct way to play brazilian samba. this requires that i cultivate a bass drum/hi-hat ostinato (repeating pattern) over which i will then attempt to play variable patterns.

it's a work in progress.

though i have always been advised never-to-say-never, it is highly unlikely that i will ever be required to play samba on the drumset at anytime in my percussive future. i've been playing for over 55 years, and it hasn't happened so far. but that doesn't mean i can't enjoy the journey. same goes for cycling, and particularly hill-climbing. it's quite possible that you'll never be asked or afforded the opportunity to ride alpe d'huez or the ventoux, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy (if that's the right word) the task of arming yourself with the skill to do so; just in case. many of us go out on a sunday morning for a bike ride, the length of which will vary depending on individual enthusiasm and terrain. there may or may not be any challenge involved, but if the latter, there's no harm in instilling a smidgeon.

we should all learn to samba.

monday 10 august 2026

ubiquity

i do not have any insight into the pattern of stocks held by bike shops all across the country. i would imagine that, depending on the size and location of the cycle retail outlet, it is necessary to carry a wide range of products, some of which might take several years to sell, depending on what we're actually talking about and the proclivities and needs of local and visiting cyclists.

in 1998, along with a cycling friend of mine, i took a ferry to kennacraig and cycled to campbeltown at the southern point of kintyre, where we took another ferry across to ballycastle, then rode several hundred kilometres farther south to dublin for the start of the festinagate tour de france, ultimately won by marco pantani. my colleague on the trip was in thrall to tubular tyres which he had fitted both front and rear, carrying a glued spare under his saddle and another in a saddlebag. during the length of the trip, he suffered two punctures and as we returned north to ballycastle on a sunday, we were both keeping our eyes open for a bicycle shop that just might have a spare tubular for sale at the back of a long-forgotten cupboard.

we never found such a place, but fortunately his last fitted tubular remained intact until we arrived back at campbeltown.

as a result of what was perceived, at the time, as more than just a potential problem, on my return to civilisation, i bought in two, relatively low-cost tubulars, and a job lot of milremo sprint rims, just in case there was the portent of a similar situation afflicting a forlorn cyclist on islay. those tubulars are still at the back of thewashingmachinepost bike shed, as indeed, are the milremo wheel rims. not only has there been no tubular emergency in nearly thirty years, but when i still built wheels, nobody ever approached me to transform those sprint rims into a suitable pair of wheels. and i'm pretty sure nobody ever will.

though i no longer practise as a bicycle mechanic, and nor do i purposefully stock any spares, other than for my own use, there are still a few odd tyres in the selfsame shed; i recall seeing the occasional 26" mountain bike tyre and i'm pretty certain there is a least one 27 x 1 3/4" touring tyre. the latter was once the de-rigeur size of tyre for all british roadgoing bicycles until the continental standard of 700c took over regular duties. which is where, up until recent time, standards resided. these have, of late increased in girth and tread, particularly in the light of so-called all-road bikes and particularly for gravel bikes.

presently it seems unlikely that the latest 32" fad is likely to migrate to the road (though you just never know), but even apportioned to the gravel meme, i have my suspicions that it's the equivalent of wondering what to sell householders once everyone has double-glazing (the answer to that question is, of course, solar panels). differently-sized tyres by definition, require suitably sized wheels, though i do wonder if anyone has been duped into augmenting their 700c gravel bike with a 32" version? at any rate, it has opened up a new marketing opportunity even though, for the vast majority, it will make little to no difference whatsoever.

there is currently a youtube video featuring drummer brian tichy where he asks viewers which of two ludwig 402 metal snares sounds better in a side-by-side comparison? perhaps if you'd been sat in the auditorium listening solely to mr tichy playing each respective snare drum, a tiny difference might have been possible to hear. but on macbook air speakers, or even through apple earbuds, the difference is so infinitesimal as to remain pointless. when the rest of the band kicks in, who really cares?

but this apparently ever-increasing variety of wheel and tyre sizes ultimately has repercussions for those who omitted to consider the future purpose of their chosen bicycle and the area(s) in which they subsequently choose to ride it. mountain bikers have the original 26" tyres, 29ers (no different from 700c) and 27.5 inch, and it's eminently possible that 32" tyres may also be forced upon the bouncy farm gate brigade at some point. those in thrall to gravel have 700c, 32" and in some cases, 650b, the latter size often preferred by touring cyclists. when it comes to small, local bike shops in remote locations, particularly in the highlands and islands of scotland, that's a lot of differently-sized tyres of which to carry suitable inventory, to say nothing of bmx and shopping bike sizes.

it therefore makes pragmatic sense to consider such matters prior to heading out, either for a summer tour, or something more specifc like riding the north coast 500. for once, this is not me surmising potential pitfalls for the unwary; just over a week ago i received a telephone call from an unfortunate touring cyclist whose 650b touring tyre had blown out, leaving a gaping hole in the rubber. though he sounded in good spirits when he called, that may well have changed for the worse on learning he was very unlikely to find anywhere on the island that stocked such a tyre size. i certainly have nothing of that size, but i passed him onto a mechanic friend of mine who might just have had one tucked away in his workshop, but i tend to think not.

that being the case, it's quite likely that the nearest town in which he might prove successful would be either campbeltown (a couple of hours on the ferry and then 60 kilometres south), or oban, which can be reached by ferry from islay, but only on certain days of the week. otherwise, it's the same ferry trip to kennacraig and 90km north. the cunning plan would have been to carry a folding spare, an option the fellow might well have chosen by now, whatever transpired after i put the phone down. the last time i undertook any touring, i carried a cassette remover, a spoke key, several inner tubes, one folding tyre and a handful of spokes taped to the non-drive chainstay. i also had a pair of rim-brake pads and both brake cables and gear cables. none of those took up too much room or bore undesired weight, but it's always better to be prepared if you're cycling somewhere likely not to feature a bike shop in every town.

maybe i should have written this a couple of months back?

sunday 9 august 2026

lumen aid

to a greater or lesser degree, this is an unabashed ploy to get in before the major sites do, by bringing up the subject of bicycle lighting. i like to think, however, that i would not be so crass as to presume to provide a so-called group test of available products, the results of which are often questionable and highly subjective. all manner of lighting products are measured in lumens, 'the perceived power of visible light emitted by a source' to quote from wikipedia. you would, perhaps, imagine that ordinary house lighting would adhere to a similar standard, rather than an equivalent number of watts, but i can only presume that the latter unit of measure was in place long before anyone invented lumens.

as an exemplary unit of measured light, the definition provided above would also appear to be somewhat subjective. after all, if it truly is the 'perceived power', surely that would depend on who is doing the perceiving? were it to be an objective unit of measure, would not the definition refer to a measured power of visible light? however, rather than enter an affray of which i am wholly unqualified to mediate, i should simply admit that i have (once again) digressed, and proceed with my original intention.

the subject itself raised its not altogether ugly head, on friday lunchtime when, as i prepared to ride south-west to debbie's for a timely luncheon, i failed to find my rear light amongst the scattered array of cycling accoutrements on the kitchen table. having had the lights switched on in flashing mode on sunday as i undertook my portion of the ride of the falling rain, on my return, i plugged both of them to the wall socket in order to recharge ahead of my next mission. as is my untidy practice, once both were fully recharged, i returned them to the kitchen table, an act that frequently infuriates mrs washingmachinepost. my rather carefree attitude is currently willing and able to fend off her often vocal protestations.

despite a thorough search of all the possible places i could think of where that missing rear light might be, any further delay while searching, would have rendered the lunch i hoped to consume as more akin to afternoon tea. i therefore desisted and headed, un-illuminated towards a soya latte and cheese and pickle toastie, intent on resuming the search 'pon my return. you may well query why i find it necessary to outfit the bicycle with front and rear lights during perfectly visible daylight, a question that brings me to the point i have yet to make.

i was once of the opinion that bicycle lighting, as per the law, was necessary only during the hours of darkness; i am firmly of the opinion that cyclists who ride at night without front or rear lights, deserve everything they get, including the probability of a stern telling-off from passing constabulary. however, research has effectively proven that motorists frequently don't see cyclists in their path, often resulting in accidents or collisions that are otherwise hard to explain. my bicycle is a combination of fluorescent green and orange, i regularly wear highly visible apparel augmented with an orange cycle helmet. in other words, i am not hard to see. however, the research alluded to above contends that motorists seem predominantly conditioned to watch out for other motorists; cyclists and motorcyclists, highly visible though they may seem, tend often to slip through the net, hence the smidsy (sorry mate, i didn't see you) acronym.

averse as most of us are to being carved up by an errant motorist driving over one tonne of metal and plastic, it has become de rigeur to outfit our bicycles with at least flashing rear lights, hopefully obviating any likelihood of being flattened by a vehicle approaching from behind, the driver of which subsequently claims not to have seen the bicycle in front. however, experience would seem to inform that, despite being perpetually told by driving instructors to look ahead and read the road, adherents to such advice are few and far between. observations carried out around loch gorm, a single track, perimeter road affording clear vision of between one and three kilometres, brought the realisation that, while the velo club peloton had sighted oncoming vehicles at least three kilometres distant, when the inevitable meeting took place, it was painfully clear that the motorists had not seen us.

keen not to have the letters byd or tesla impressed upon our personage in reverse, one or two of us voluntarily took to affixing a front light to the handlebars and set in flash mode in the occasionally forlorn hope that intermittent lumens would cross the vision of drivers less than concentrated on the road ahead. i cannot deny that this cunning plan has probably worked as often as it hasn't, acquitting itself as a good idea. given the relatively lightly trafficked roads of the principality, even at the height of summer, extrapolating this cunning plan towards urban and city environments would suggest, i believe, that any cyclist who believes in self-preservation, ought to follow suit, day or night.

while the law demands that, after the hours of darkness, it is a requirement that any form of transport be suitably illuminated, i would humbly suggest that any cyclist who hopes to remain so for the greater portion of his or her life, fits front and rear lights at all times of the day or night, making sure that they flash as brightly as possible. granted, in the evenings, it would surely be better to set the front light to a bright, static mode, all the better to see where you're going. but in daylight hours, a flashing front light is, i would suggest, an absolute necessity.

i do recognise that peloton refugees riding state-of-the-art carbon fibre costing the price of a small house, will be less than willing to sully those aerodynamic lines with often chunky lights, but surely it's better to swallow one's pride in favour of remaining alive and kicking in order to ride another day? tadej, wout and remco probably train with lights and mudguards.

saturday 8 august 2026

the song remains the same

we have discussed these matters on several previous occasions, and i truly thought that their lifespan had come to an inconclusive end. but it seems i was wrong. i'm talking about the ironic optimism engendered by the majority of the world's bicycle manufacturers, city mayors, governments and online fitness purveyors such as peloton. all of the above were initially affected by the pandemic and its associated lockdowns in a positive way; cycle shops were selling out of everything that had once occupied their shop floors, and were subsequently placing larger orders for replacements. the manufacturers, caught on the hop, so to speak, responded with dramatically increased product requests to their predominantly far eastern suppliers, both from the standpoint of expected additional (and hopefully endless) sales and to counter the delays in shipping schedules promulgated by the initial lockdowns in countries such as taiwan, china and malaysia.

i am still at a loss to comprehend why highly-paid and experienced individuals within the industry were of the reputedly informed opinion that increased sales during covid were likely to persist indefinitely, once it was all over. as it transpired, their optimism was seriously misplaced. but it wasn't only industry figures that fell foul of nature's cunning plan. many a senior figure in governments and cities across the world vowed that no more would their urban dwelling places suffer at the wheels and exhausts of the motor car. from now on, they said almost of one accord, city-centres would be green and pollution-free at the behest of dramatically increased bicycle use.

along with several others possessing a greater perspective on such matters, i recall writing that all this increased love for the bicycle was likely to evaporate very quickly when the first rains of autumn permeated the atmosphere. after all, cycling in bad weather has never been the preserve of the great unwashed. sadly, it turns out that i, and others, were right. but if a bloke writing a daily cycling blog in his living room could see what was coming, why not those who earn their living from strategising future production/sales demands?

the covid pandemic arguably came to an end in 2023, yet the ripples from the above misguided prognostications continue apace.

midst financial woes, amsterdam-based accell group, the owner of bicycle brands such as koga, batavus, lapierre and, for our purposes, most importantly, raleigh, was bought over in 2022 by new york investment group, kkr, for the princely sum of 1.8 billion euros. in february, when matters had improved not one whit, kkr handed over its remaining stake in accell to lenders following a second debt restructuring. not only did kkr investors lose the initial investment, but several millions more pumped into the business in subsequent loans. this week, accell group filed for insolvency in the netherlands, the reasons given being their e-bike sales growth being lower than expected, supply chain shortages and an admission that kkr had underestimated just how much accell had over-ordered parts in response to (you guessed it) 'heightened pandemic demand'.

according to a report in the financial times, "The firm's dealmakers had originally eyed a take-private deal for the company in a bet that sales of e-bikes in particular would continue to flourish after the pandemic." accell's ceo, jonas nilsson, stated that "every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none has resulted in a solution to continue the group in its current form."

raleigh bicycles, founded in 1887, was once the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, latterly, but before the acquisition by accell, it had ceased uk production in favour of outsourcing to the far east. accell purchased raleigh for £74 million in 2012 after it vacated its original home in eastwood in 2024 and moved to nearby, but smaller premises. should the current insolvency situation fail to be resolved, this may be raleigh's final hurrah, yet another, and hopefully the last, victim of the covid pandemic.

friday 7 august 2026

interruptions (again)

i got nuthin' at all today after a longer than expected pipe band practice on wednesday eve. with several events over the next week for which my ever-increasing percussive ministrations are required, there may be one or two interruptions between now and the end of next week. so i'm just giving my apologies in advance.

thursday 6 august 2026

have things changed for you?

i won't deny that the entry for this year's ride of the falling rain was somewhat on the minimal side. i'd stop short of categorising it as disappointing, in part due to a lack of promotion on my behalf. i recall making mention on a couple of occasions, but forceful they certainly weren't. last year's event, held as usual on the first sunday of the year, was but a few months after my rather unfortunate medical infraction; in my reputedly fragile state of health, i rode but a mere fraction of the route, not wishing, or willing, to push beyond my self-imposed limitations.

this year, having been given the all-clear, healthwise, i resolved to cover more of the hallowed ground, though i think it true to say that my days of undertaking one hundred miles at a single sitting are probably well behind me. however, though i fell marginally short, i'd aimed this time for 100 kilometres, with scant regard for the velocity at which these were covered. however, there is nothing more certain than change, not only in the attendance of a smaller peloton, but even in terms of the route. adhering to the original was only just manageable this year, when argyll & bute council had to delay major roadworks on the singletrack road between port charlotte and portnahaven. had they been able to fulfil their original promise, contingency plans dictated a double loop of loch gorm, once in each direction.

but then what of arguably one of the rides major attractions? distilleries are ten a penny over here; ask residents if they've ever toured one of the island's single malt production facilities and you'll find few who reply in the affirmative. after all; they're everywhere; why would they? but to the foreign or mainland visitor, they harbour a certain attraction, and the thought of having lunch at one of them (ardbeg), was often a wish come true. unfortunately, a change in head-office strategy has placed an unfortunate curb on dining activities at said distillery, to the extent that no longer do they serve food at weekends during the summer months.

though the full 100 mile route still requires adherents to at least visit the ardbeg location, should sustenance and refreshments be required, for the time being at least, port ellen village is the only realistic port of call. however, the still-under-construction portintruan distillery ought to be operational by early august 2027; with a top floor restaurant featuring glorious views along the coast, that may well be included on the route map for next year. this time round, my fellow traveller and i stopped at the bothy in port ellen playing fields pavilion, where i scoffed the finest panini i have experienced for years.

with the exception of a couple of kilometres, i rode my entire portion of the event with one fellow who admitted to only having begun cycling once again a few months prior to the grand départ, and who had participated in the previous day's islay half marathon. i like to think that, on the bike at least, i mostly keep my comments and ideas to myself, however, the height of his saddle followed that of the majority who are relatively new to cycling; too low. following a brief stop outside the hotel at bridgend to raise the seatpost a centimetre or two, i believe he found the experience a great deal more palatable.

but while i might express mild disappointment over the start-line numbers, it seems possible that the falling rain suffers from a nationwide malaise affecting what we lovingly refer to as sportives. admittedly, the ride of the falling rain has never attracted the thousands who flock to higher profile and visibly more professional events. we have no prize money, no timing chips, no feed stations (ardbeg and the bothy notwithstanding), no marshals, and total reliance on self-sufficiency. but then the entry fee relies on a £10 voluntary donation to world bicycle relief, rather than the £83 required by the etape loch ness.

according to a cursory search on the time outdoors website for scottish-based cyclo-sportives, my only options for this year would be ride of the north, or september's perthshire challenge. north of the border, that's pretty much my sole options until 2027. even searching yorkshire revealed only a single option for this year, held later this month. i remember the times when the the comic featured page upon page of sportives; had the money been available, it would have been possible to have had a full-time career riding one or two sportives per week across ten or more months of the year. it seems unlikely that sportives would find their longevity tied to that of cycle-racing in the uk, yet both seem to have dwindled in equal amounts in the last decade or so.

i first rode hot chillee's londres-paris ride in 2007, then again in 2008, leaving nine years vacant, before, at their invitation, i rode it once again in 2017. granted, that particular three-day ride complete with technical support, luggage transport and, latterly, some of france's finest hotels, was several steps up from a sportive. but, as reported in these very pixels, it no longer exists, having collapsed under its own demands, costs and french bureaucracy. but of course, this apparent reduction in leisure cycle events could just be that we're less keen on joing the happy peloton. or, perhaps, as with evolution, only the strong have survived, a wide variety of factors, not least insurances, sponsorship, lack of marshals and the cost of police co-operation to feature closed roads, having weeded out the weak.

for the ride of the falling rain, we have always scraped by on the basis that a group of us are going for a long sunday ride, and you're more than welcome to join in. thankfully never tested on a legal basis, effectively, if you are keen to join, you're entirely responsible for your own wellbeing. it has worked fine for almost two decades, and i really rather hope that it continues to do so, but maybe now is the time to begin promoting the 2027 edition, when the peloton-at-large is still basking in the glow of whatever sportive it rode this year and looking for a different challenge for 2027.

i will admit that it's utterly impossible to book passage on a calmac ferry this far in advance; next year's summer timetable is scarcely a twinkle in calmac's eye at this point. however, the island's accommodation providers are presumably always eager to welcome with open arms. leaving from debbie's café at 10am on sunday 1 august (one week ahead of islay's half-marathon), we're all going on a longer-than-usual sunday bike ride. feel free to join us.

ride of the falling rain

wednesday 5 august 2026

really?

at one point in time, it well-behoved me to keep abreast of computer developments, having been pretty much caught in the wrong place at the wrong time without a viable excuse. specifying and replacing apple mac computers for the community newspaper had been devolved upon yours truly from a great height, and since i would be spending other people's money, i figured it prudent to pay due diligence to the rapidly 'improving' technology in order that any decisions were based on reputed fact rather than the shinyness of the packaging. though i pay far less interest nowadays, it is my impression that computers are no longer sold on the merits once considered essential.

most windows computers nowadays are keen to pin their allegiance to intel for the internal processor, where once apple was in thrall to motorola. the so-called processor wars concerned themselves predominantly with the clock speed of said components, in much the same way that even family saloons tended to compare the 0-60 times, despite the knowledge that said vehicles would likely spend much of their lives either sat all day in a car park, or the commuting portion of the day stuck in a traffic jam. likewise, the knowledge that one model of computer was almost twice as fast as its competitor or predecessor, was truly of little interest to an operator who simply sent e-mails or typed word documents.

let's face it; if one processor could complete a task in 25 milliseconds, and its competitor claimed to be twice as fast, realistically, how quickly can you type? would you ever notice the difference? however, such is the conceit of marketing, that failing to point out the reality of the claim was every bit as much a part of the strategy as portraying a gent in a radiation suit putting out a fire in one trouser leg (you had to be there).

times may have changed, but in truth, marketing ploys have scarcely advanced by much. those tasked with selling each annual incremental change in carbon bicycles, are still utilising similar ploys.

it would be futile to contend that there is not at least a sparkle of truth in manufacturer aero claims that are expected to result in reduced times at the behest of improved wattage. that the recently ended tour de france was alleged to be the fastest in history, surely points indirectly at least that the bicycles have become a smidgeon faster. however, the fact remains that those more aero-efficient bicycles are, in and of themselves, inert objects, incapable of achieving anything at all without a rider in the saddle. and those riders are far better trained than before, while benefitting from advances in nutritional science. what the marketers pretty much keep to themselves, is that those few extra kilometres per hour can realistically only be achieved by highly-trained professional riders.

at the speeds most of us are conditioned to ride, the much-vaunted aero gains are purely academic, requiring higher sustained speeds to take full advantage. were colnago of a mind to lend me a yellow-painted y1rs, my expected time of arrival at debbie's café would show remarkably little difference to that attained on my current bicycle. and while many of us are fully acquainted with the law of diminishing returns when considering lighter (and more expensive) componentry, ultimately the same proves true for the purported gains accrued by the very latest to emerge from the wind tunnel. in other words, there comes a point when bicycles are as fast as they'll ever be.

tadej pogacar won the 2024 tour de france at an average speed of 41.8kph, the 2025 edition at 42.8kph and the 2026 tour de france at 43.3kph. he was a full kilometre per hour faster between 24 and 25, but only half a kilometre per hour faster this year. as i said above, the law of diminishing returns. in which case, one does have to wonder the point of continuing to spend quite so much money on next year's model.

in 2003, i purchased a colnago c40hp, replete with a mixture of campagnolo chorus and record componentry and a pair of handbuilt wheels. the invoice showed this to cost marginally under £2,500 which was a bit of stretch for thewashingmachinepost funds in that part of the 21st century. yet, peruse any bike review in the weekly comic, and it will take you little time to learn that the price of admission has increased five-fold in marginally over two decades for a top level bicycle. this is a percentage increase comparable with the motor industry, so not altogether untenable. however, the 2003 tour de france was completed at an average speed of 41kph, meaning an improvement of only 3kph in 23 years, not all of which could be attributed purely to the bicycle itself.

diminishing returns indeed.

the true, quantifiable difference between the winner's bicycle in 2003 and tadej's 2026 race-winning colnago is essentially an improved advertising industry. time to cool the autoclave, methinks.

tuesday 4 august 2026