PDF - Pedal Your Cycle

Transcription

Coast to Coast
Memorial Ride
“Some people had said
they’d ridden it in one
go and that they’d never
do it again. A few people
said they had done it in 3
days and that was hard.”
P.4
Focus on local
talent
Meet
Annesley
Park
Power To Your Pedal
Painscastle Hills Cycle Route P.12
Part One
Welsh three Peaks Challenge P.14
Follow Dawn Farnworth
on another ‘Power To
your Pedal’ adventure.
Van life part two
California
P.8
P.6
P.15
Veterans CC Red Dragon Weekend P.21
The cyclists paper for the Midlands & Wales
Online Issue
Winter 2014
Issue 03
www.pedalyourcycle.co.uk
Pedal Your Cycle
Nairn to Glencoe
Coast to Coast Triathlon
This was the third and final race in the Coast
to Coast series I took part in this summer.
The Crossing, which some of you will have
already read about was all Mountain Bike,
Hadrian’s Wall, all running, the Coast to
Coast on the other hand was a mixture
of disciplines with the biggest chunk of
mileage done on a bike.
The logistics on these events can be
slightly stressful: registering; getting your
bike to transition; bag drop for half way
camp and finish; booking buses for return to
start on the Monday and finally collapsing at
your pre-booked hotel the night before the
start PHEW. Only thing left was to take part!
Continued on Page 3 >
2
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Issue 03 - Winter 2014
twitter.com/pedalyourcycle
Cycling News
Triathlon
NEWS
Cycling Makes You
Cleverer!
It’s been great to hear
about all the cycling
challenges some of
you have been taking
on over the summer
and we have some
more
inspirational
tales for you in this
issue: read about Rob
Eveleigh’s Welsh 3
Peaks challenge or
what happened when
Dawn and Steve took
off at the last minute
on a cycling trip in
California.
It
was
also
wonderful to read
how Michael Lyons
managed to convert a
tandem to enable him
to take his disabled
daughter with him
when he goes cycling.
We are happy to
launch our updated
website, which now
features local events,
reviews and general
cycling news. This
January we will also
be
launching
the
Pedal
Your
Cycle
online shop, where
you will be able to
find all sorts of cycling
gear so keep an eye
on our website.
If you have any
experiences
you’d
like to share then
please get in touch.
Keep warm and
stay safe.
twiiter.com/pedalyourcycle
Contact us
Jeni Hughes
Editor
Adam Haworth
We’ve already written about the health
benefits of cycling - now, medical
research shows it makes you cleverer.
Monitoring healthy “older athletes”
aerobic exercise not only increased
fitness, but improved brain functions
associated with recognition and
recall memory, offsetting the effects
of increasing age. Why not get some
fresh air, get fitter and cleverer too!
Safety
Autumn Ideas
Cycling Etiquette
Fancy getting out for an autumnal ride
before Sunday lunch? The forestry
commission have some great trails at
Hopton Woods in Shropshire. Lovely
walks and cycle routes suitable for
all levels, off-road. More details and a
review coming on our website.
Pedestrians and cyclists are potentially both vulnerable,
mainly to cars, but also to each other. As cyclists, we reckon
it’s worth going out of our way to be polite, courteous and
helpful to all other road users. Don’t jump lights, let people
and animals know you are there well before you reach them,
slow down and pass wide if it’s a horse.
Worcester Council’s good cycling code includes the
following sensible advice:
On all routes:
• Please be courteous.
• Always cycle with respect for others using the route and
acknowledge those who give way to you.
Safety
On shared-use paths:
The Near Miss Project
As the cycling season comes to an end,
the keener ones amongst us carry on
regardless. Out come the extra layers etc
to cope with the rigours of the rain, wind,
sleet & everything else that descends
from on high but cycle safety still remains
high on the priority list for all. You may
have read about The Near Miss project, a
project that all cyclists have been invited
to participate in, recording their cycling
trips and any incidents that may have
happened during the trip. The survey
Cycling Hereford
C
ycle Hereford is a small collection
of local cycling activists who
think Hereford could be a UK leader
in bicycle-friendly urban transport.
Hereford’s size and compact form
make it ideal for getting around
on a bicycle. Continual increase
in cycling in Hereford will benefit
everyone who lives in the city and
everyone who uses its road network.
With the right policies, levels
of investment and — crucially —
political will, Hereford could have
much higher levels of cycling
than today. Our aim is a 20%
share for the bicycle by 2030. We
Continued from Page 1
Ideas
(Molecular Psychiatry 14.10.2014)
Safety
3
will take place between the 20th October
and 2nd November so unfortunately by
the time you read this, it will be too late
to participate in this pilot. However we’ll
be chatting with the organisers about the
results and their conclusions in a future
issue. In the meantime, have a look at
their website for news and updates at:
www.nearmiss.bike
• Give way to pedestrians, wheelchair users and horse
riders, leaving them plenty of room.
• Fit a bell and use it - don’t surprise people.
When cycling on roads:
•
•
FROM ANY ‘A’ TO ANY ‘B’!
To realise the full potential of
cycling in Hereford, Cycle Hereford
works for:
• a complete network for cyclists
in Hereford. Based on safe and fair
road-sharing and high quality cycle
infrastructure, this should allow
any cyclist to cycle anywhere in
Hereford — from any ‘a’ to any ‘b’.
• Competent and lawful cycling.
We believe that a cycling culture
must develop around a shared
understanding of safe road use.
SPACE FOR CYCLING
We are currently working on
Keep your bike roadworthy.
• Do not cycle on pavements except where designated pavements are for pedestrians.
•
don’t think this is over-ambitious
since it was achieved by many
European cities in the last century.
Always follow the Highway Code.
• Be seen - consider wearing high-visibility clothing and a
helmet, fit lights and use them in poor visibility.
Use your bell to make your presence known.
the national Space for Cycling
campaign (see goo.gl/X3JPza). The
campaign reflects our key objectives
of protection for cyclists on busy
streets and through junctions and
20mph speed limits on streets
where motor traffic should not
dominate or where there isn’t space
for on road cycle lanes. So far 26%
of Herefordshire councillors have
signed up.
SUNDAY SPINS
SUNDAYS
AND
EASY
We hold regular rides into the
Herefordshire countryside. To cater
for adult cyclists of all abilities most
of our rides are designed to be easy
to moderately challenging.
The Sunday Spin (around 20
miles) takes place on the second
Sunday of the month. We meet at
10:30 a.m. at the statue of Elgar
in Hereford Cathedral Green and
depart at 10:40.
The Easy Sunday (< 10 miles)
takes place on the fourth Sunday of
the month. This makes use of some
of the best cycle infrastructure in
Hereford — including our amazing
Greenway Bridge — to tour the
outskirts of our beautiful city. The
ride takes around an hour. We meet
at 11:00 a.m. at the statue of Elgar.
Cycle Hereford is a member of
the national campaign for cyclists,
Cyclenation, and is affiliated to
the CTC, the national cyclists’
organisation.
Contact us at:
[email protected]
Day One
By Jo Lord
We all congregated on the beach
at Nairn, dipping our toes (or
fingers) in the sea for a true Coast
to Coast experience. The experts
had already left, they would be
completing the course in one day.
For the rest of us two glorious
days lay ahead of running, biking
and kayaking across Scotland.
The race got under way with a
7 mile run along the river and
through woodland. It was hot
and sticky but a very pleasant
run until I tripped over a tree
root barely within 3 miles. Knees
a little sore but still working I
ran in to transition to pick up the
bike. There are several things
to take into consideration on
these events, if you wear bike
shoes then you have to carry
your running shoes; road or off
road tyres as the first day is all
road and the second off road.
I decided to just wear one pair
of grippy running shoes and off
road tyres on my bike.
This was a mistake with
hindsight.
Other
more
imaginative riders had stuck
Day Two
their running shoes to their
bikes with duct tape rather than
carry a bulky rucksack. Also the
tyres on my bike were holding
me back, it felt like cycling
through gloopy mud. Not being
able to change anything I settled
in for the ride. The further we
travelled the more stunning
the surrounding area became.
48 miles snaking by Loch Ness
with some surprising ascents
and a killer climb just before the
fast descent in to Fort Augustus.
Racking the bike, legs like jelly
we ran towards the Loch to pick
up a kayak for a short loop out
and around 2 buoys, followed by
the final mile to the finish line.
The midway camp was a
time to catch up with friends I’d
met over the summer on other
events. Having had some food
and a pint I totally crashed and
we were all pretty much asleep
by 9pm.
A rolling start gave us a bit of a
lie in if we wanted but I opted
to start cycling by 7.30am. Tent
down, bag packed and I was
standing in the queue waiting to
time into the race. Having been
a bit of a novice off-roader in the
summer, I now had a few more
skills under my belt and was
feeling more confident about
today’s ride. After following the
canal for a couple of miles we
entered the woods for 20 miles
of single track and forestry trails.
This was the best part ovf the day,
the sharp turns, climbs and fast
descents were absolutely joyous!
Great camaraderie amongst
everyone on this race, lots of
encouragement and banter.
We hit a bit of a bottle neck
before the road so riding stopped
temporarily, then a quick sprint
up the road and back into the
forestry. This time the tracks were
wider, swooping down and then
up, twisting through the woods
until the track turned to road
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One more mountain to climb and a fast fell
running descent to Glencoe and the final
kayak to the finish.
Just a brilliant weekend and I now know for
certain that I am a biker as well as a runner.
and the final slog to Fort William
began. Despite the ride being
hard with some steep climbs, the
views were wonderful, Ben Nevis
majestically peeking out of the
clouds.
It was quite a shock to come
out onto a busy road before the
transition in Fort William. I cycled
into the racking area feeling tired
but quite exhilarated by the ride.
At this point all your bike kit had
to be attached to your bike in a
bag as it was being transported
back to Nairn where we would
be reunited on Monday morning.
The next stage was a 14 mile
mountain run. I made up places
on this stretch, my running legs
came back and I powered up the
hills before some wild running
down and down to the most
beautiful valley below. One more
mountain to climb and a fast fell
running descent to Glencoe and
the final kayak to the finish.
Just a brilliant weekend and I
now know for certain that I am a
biker as well as a runner.
4
Coast to Coast
The Coast
to Coast
T
spent riding around Swindon (but that didn’t
seem like much of a challenge) and a lot of our
happy family times were spent up in the Lake
District and particularly in Yorkshire where
my grandparents lived. One of my friends had
proposed to mountain bike from one side of the
country and road bike back but he ended up
unable to do the event so we revised it to road
cycle both ways although, as will become clear
later on, road cycling is a slightly ambiguous
statement.
We started at Whitehaven in
what can only be described as a
heavy downpour and we struggled
to find the start place which was
really a sign of things to come. From
there we rode through a post-war
council estate with lots of concrete
rendered buildings on the Cumbrian
coast where Sellafield dominates
the skyline. Very quickly we were
zig-zagging through the estates at
the back of what would have been
industrial Whitehaven. We picked
up an old railway line and gradually
descended for about 10 or 12 miles
out of town. It was hard going crisscrossing roads, trying to avoid people
walking their dogs and countless
other obstacles but suddenly we
were in the countryside on Cleator
Moor. We then emerged in the Lake
District and it was like going from
one extreme to the other. We’d left
the sea and a run-down industrial
town behind and suddenly we were
in the beautiful Lake District.
The first leg was a hard climb
on slippery roads covered in wet
mud and manure, which was
pretty unpleasant, up to the top of
Whinlatter and then a very quick
descent down into Braithwaite.
As we rode into Braithwaite and
along into Keswick the sun came
out and we could see Skiddaw and
Blencathra (Saddleback) in the
background. This area was quite
poignant to me because of time
spent as a child looking at that same
view every day for weeks. On the
way into Keswick, Carl suggested
stopping for coffee. At that point we
were both wet, cold and tired, we
couldn’t find our support vehicle
and it had already taken us 3 hours
to ride just 30 miles. Based on the
fact that normally in 3 hours we’d be
doing something like 60 miles, we
did start to feel slightly daunted by
the other 100+ that we had left to do.
“Both of us were pretty daunted by the fact we’d had such an
almighty cock-up the day before and we were going to be riding
into a 40 or 50 mph headwind”
We eventually picked up another old
railway track and that’s when we realised we
hadn’t researched everything properly as we
were riding what can only be described as a
cinder track with sharp stones. I was riding
a Cervelo carbon fibre road bike which has
absolutely no padding or way of absorbing
shock at all. If it’s going to be like this, I
thought, it’s going to be really slow. Inevitably
one of those sharp little stones went in and
we had our first puncture. Carl was riding
an Orbea which at the start of the day I was
slightly envious of because it had electric gear
shifters, but the shifters locked on the big ring
on one of the descents out of Threkeld which
then resulted in an hour of unsuccessfully
trying to make the gears work. We decided to
put road tyres on a cyclocross bike to give Carl
a chance of finishing the day.
We then climbed up from Threkeld and
began to pick our way out towards the
Pennines and gradually started to feel better.
After lunch we set off following Sea to Sea
route 7 but an hour later when we should have
been on the top of the Pennines, we were still
riding parallel with the mountains. It began
to dawn on us that maybe we’d gone wrong
and a quick look at Google maps confirmed
that we were 30 miles away from where we
should have been, in the wrong direction!
By this time it had gone 4.00pm, we’d been
riding since 8.00am and we were only about
half way! At this point we were forced to make
the very difficult decision to drive to the start
of the return journey and try again the next
day. So after riding 70 miles we were driving
to Newcastle, both feeling pretty dejected
and fed up with the whole thing. We’d only
climbed 6,500 feet and we were realising that
maybe we’d bitten off slightly more than we
could chew.
By Jamie Booth
he idea for this challenge was conceived
following the death of my mum in March.
We had proposed to do a coast to coast
ride 3 years previously, when my dad was
ill, to raise money for motor neurone disease.
This never happened because unfortunately he
died a couple of months before we were due
to do the ride and I didn’t have the enthusiasm
or the energy. So when my mum died I felt that
doing something up in the Lake District was the
right thing to do. A lot of my time as a child was
After a very troubled night’s sleep, we got
up in the morning to face bright blue skies and
sunshine and decided that we’d have a crack
at riding back in one go. Both of us were pretty
daunted by the fact we’d had such an almighty
cock-up the day before and we were going to
be riding into a 40 or 50 mph headwind. We
didn’t have a grand depart this time as we set
off on our way back following a route which
was very carefully completed with diversions.
We finally got out of Newcastle and started
climbing to the top of the Pennines. We’d been
climbing for 60 miles into a headwind and as
we emerged onto one of the moors it felt very
daunting as we realised we weren’t even half
way and it was already 1.00 in the afternoon.
We started to wonder if we were actually
going to finish the challenge...
We came into this thinking we were going
to set a fast time for crossing the country
and back when actually the idea began as
a memorial ride to raise money for various
charities. Because of my contacts with various
cycling organisations and things we’d done
in the past, it was suggested that maybe we
could beat the fastest time for this journey. In
hindsight it was a foolish idea to get carried
along with and at this point on the ride I was
starting to admire anybody who had done it.
Some people had said they’d ridden the route
in one go and that they’d never do it again.
Others said they had done it in 3 days and that
was hard. I just thought it was going to be like
any other ride but this was a hard challenge,
particularly the return journey...
5
6
Local Talent
7
Climbing
Focus On Local Talent
Annasley Park
Interview by Jeni Hughes
How did you get into cycling?
Originally I was a runner until about
three years ago, when I was 15, I
injured myself from overtraining. I
damaged my hips and had to stop
running. I picked up cycling during
re-hab and I liked it so I just went on
from there.
It started as a bit of fun in a team
that John Wood owns in Hereford,
called NFT0. John was sponsoring my
brother at the time and he asked if
I’d like to join his team and provided
all the kit and bikes. NFTO had great
success as an amateur team and now
it’s a full pro-team which is fantastic.
I then moved to a more specific
team, the Abergavenny Racing Club
and from there I moved to RST which
is a Yorkshire based team and this is
my first proper season with them. The
team is made up of six girls who are
a great bunch. We’ve got a boys team
too who are doing really well. Quite
a lot of the riders are on the Olympic
Development Programme so they’re
funded through British Cycling but
I’m too old to go on it now.
What bike do you ride?
I ride a Swift at the moment and train
on a Giant. They’re both good bikes
but I really love my Swift. It’s never
been broken despite all the crashes
it’s been through.
What is your training regime?
From about February I train twice a
day about 6 times a week but towards
March time it’s all about racing which
I’ll do 1 or 2 times a week and training
is maybe 1 or 2 hard sessions. It’s
more about keeping the legs spinning
during the season but in the winter it’s
about getting the miles in and more
power to weight ratio work in the gym.
Tell us about some of your
memorable cycling moments?
Last year I won the RTTC National
Circuit Championships. I was really
excited. It was my first national title
and I felt good winning that.
I won the Young Leader’s jersey
in the stage races which was a 3-day
event in Bedford. I was pretty happy
with that because it’s a national series.
The races were all about 50 miles
max., it was quite hard but great fun.
I did my National Team Series and
the Tour Series but during the last one
I crashed and had to have shoulder
reconstruction so that finished my
season quite early and I missed
the Nationals, the TT series; all the
important stuff towards the end of
the season. Luckily I had the most
amazing physio, Rosie Bartlett who
has been brilliant. She got me back
into shape in the space of two months.
Mark Cavendish did exactly the same
thing a couple of days after me!
I’ve really enjoyed the stage races
this year. I feel I’m stronger at long
distances and I like it to be really
hilly. If it’s hilly you can make breaks
easier. But the races I’ve enjoyed
the most this year are the criteriums
around the town centres. The crowds
are brilliant and it just feels amazing.
Caroline Sinno
introduction
to climbing
How do you keep motivated?
I’m
pretty
self-motivated
which I get from my parents.
Dad’s a very motivational
person and my Mum has
always been very sturdy
and supportive. I’ve also
had Danny King as a
mentor and the NFTO pro
boys have given me lots of
guidance too.
My managers, Chris Walker,
manager of RST and Rob Holder who
is the manager for the girl’s team,
have both been amazing. They are
ex-professionals and know exactly
what they’re talking about so they’re
a great help.
In winter I sometimes listen to
music to help keep me motivated
during the 3 to 4 hour training
sessions. I particularly like Ariana
Grande and Clean Bandit.
Cycling
is just the
best thing
ever
What’s next?
Since leaving Hereford sixth form
college where I did a level 3 BTEC
diploma in Sports Science, I cycle fulltime. I’d love to make it into a UCI
team and my goals would be to do the
Commonwealths and ultimately the
Olympics.
I’m going to be doing a lot more on
the track this year and next year I will
be trying to win a few National titles
and go from there really. I’m hoping
to do a few more races abroad too.
I did one in Holland and it was very
different to British riding. It’s more
aggressive, there’s more attacks and
it’s full-on, constantly. The standard
is just incredible so you’ve got to be
a strong rider; you’ve got to be tough.
I’ve had all the opportunities to be
a good cyclist, I’ve now just got to put
it into practice.
Interviewed by Jamie Booth
How do you train?
Danger is also appealing. But I will say that, for myself, it is
more about the control of the potential danger that I like.
How did you get into climbing?
I started climbing with my family. My
dad, who worked in Paris, was climbing
every weekend in Fontainebleau and my
grandma, his mum, was living in the Alps
and climbing easy multi-pitches routes and
doing alpinism courses during the summer,
up to 68-years-old.
How long have you been climbing?
I have always climbed! Climbing has always
been a part of my life.
What do you love most about it?
Climbing is more than a sport or a way
to get your daily fitness routine. It is a
true passion. There are a lot of aspects of
climbing that I’m passionate about, like the
mental dimension (when you fight your
fear of falling or have to be really focused
to do a hard movement); its palpable
improvement scale (it is really motivating
for beginners) and its community (you can
meet people from all around the world and
feel connected with them sharing the same
sport/passion).
What about friendships you make, and
the danger of climbing?
Follow Annasley Park
www.rstracingteam.com/annasley-park
twitter.com/annasleypark
Of course the friendships are extremely
rewarding in climbing because you
often share pure moments of happiness,
difficulties and great adventures with your
climbing partners. You will never forget
these moments and will tell these stories to
your grandchildren. I will always remember
when we had to finish two pitches in the
dark on a long multi-pitches route in
Vercors. We didn’t have any headlamps and
were trying to light up the climbing holds
with our mobile phones. It took us forever
to finish the route. We were exhausted! But
what an adventure!!
Danger is also appealing. But I will say
that, for myself, it is more about the control
of the potential danger that I like.
I like to feel when I am climbing a high
ball, where I know falling is impossible, that
I am doing each move with extreme control
and precision.
What do you want to climb more than
anything else in the world?
I have so many projects I’d like to do it is
hard to choose just one so I’ve chosen one
in each climbing style.
Bouldering: I would like to climb a
boulder in Branson Switzerland called les
Feux d’Azeroth, 8A+ opened by my idol Fred
Nicole who is a pioneer in bouldering. He
opened amazing boulders all over the world
and did 8B+ ten years before anybody else.
Alpine style: I would like to climb le
Grand Capucin in honour of my grandma
who climbed it and died of cancer several
years ago. She was my mentor and I will
always miss her.
Sports climbing: I would like to climb
Digital Crack in Mont-Blanc. This technical
route looks so appealing to me.
Travels: I also would like to travel to
Japan to discover their climbing community
and culture.
I usually don’t train a lot because I don’t
compete a lot. I did the Natural Games
event last year in Millau and that’s it.
I find my motivation in training to
achieve my outdoors projects. For example,
if I require more core for a specific move I
will do some core training circuits twice a
week for 3 weeks.
I try to do a fingerboard session every
week or fortnight. I have a good 40 mins
training session. I do mostly dead hands
and pull-ups on different types of holds.
I try to climb between 4 and 5 times a
week. The dream week for me would be
doing 3 sessions in Fontainebleau (my
home area for bouldering which is la Mecca
for bouldering), 1 gym session and spending
the weekend sports climbing in the south of
France.
Do you watch what you eat?
I usually pay attention to my diet. I try
not to eat too much carbs and gluten and
I eat protein after each workout and have
a varied diet. Using a blender is an easy
way to eat more fruits/veggies but I’m
not too strict about what I eat as I have a
sweet tooth. There are too many bakeries
in France.
How do you look good and climb?
Ha, that’s a funny question. Special thanks
to my sponsor Third Rock Climbing for
making tank tops and leggings that fit
women who climb. I have always tried to
stay feminine even when doing a male
driven sport up to 5 times a week. I take
care of my feet and hands because they are
really a mess. I apply argan oil to my hair
because it is really dry after all that time
spent outside in cold weather. Also the key
is to moisturise every day!!
What’s the riskiest climb you have ever
done?
I have never done any risky climbs really.
Of course high balls are risky but I wasn’t
really scared because I knew what I was
doing.
I did some pretty risky off pist skiing
when I was living in Annecy close to La
Clusaz and Chamonix. I can tell this was
way more dangerous because I was totally
ignoring the danger and I was reckless
when I was a teenager.
What advice would you give to someone
starting out?
Make sure your first pair of climbing shoes
are not too small. If your feet are hurting
you will never really want to climb again.
And have fun!
Do you listen to music when you train?
Yes I like to listen to music when I train.
Music can push me and help me to get more
focused but I find it weird when people are
wearing their music devices when climbing.
I still can’t get used to that.
What exercise do you do when you can’t
climb?
When I can’t climb I am really sad. I do
abs and pull ups on my door or I go on a
long hike. I’ve never been a fan of cardio
training.
What country would you live in given
the choice?
I would like to live in the US. I like the
climbing community there and the weather
is also drier and usually more predictable
than in Paris.
8
Travel
Power To Your Pedal
CaliforniA
Part One
H
By Dawn Farnworth
ow did that happen? Not with
much planning or packing
time that’s for sure, four days
to be precise, but it all came
together beautifully - proof
that adventures are best
spontaneous. We had had the idea for a couple
of months after seeing a programme where
a group cycled the Golden Gate Bridge and
thought ‘we will do that some day’. I got the
book ‘Bicycling the Pacific Coast’ and put it in
a drawer, then came the end of October and
we had a window when we could go. I booked
two return flights to San Francisco and off we
went on 4th November, armed with our world
on our backs and an address for a cycle hire
shop on pier 49, SF. Oh, and the book - all we
needed right?
Route 101 is perhaps the most historic
highway in the US, built in 1926, taking
travellers from the Mexican border through
the Central Coast of California all the way to
the Canadian border, over 2000 miles in total.
We were ready to take it on, well, part of it,
from San Francisco to the border at Tijuana,
and there is a very good reason you ride North
to South but I will get to that later.
The Bike Shed, pier 49: We rented two
great bikes, one set of panniers and a trailer
for the camping gear. They couldn’t have
been more helpful, enthusiastically they
stored our backpacks and sent us on our way
with only a rough idea when we would return,
and the price - only £280 all in – BARGAIN.
We took a look at the Golden Gate Bridge
You can’t buy
happiness but you
can buy a bicycle and
Citizen Chain
Bike Store,
SF
that’s
pretty
close.
- Citizen Chain Bike Store, SF
and decided to ride that as
a last celebration when we
got back. So off we set, and
promptly got more than a little
lost, it took the rest of the day to get
out of the city and on the road proper. Still
looking for the bike path and running out of
daylight, we found a room in El Camino and
a fellow cyclist who the following morning
pointed us towards the cycle path – finally –
Route 101.
The weather was beautiful, perfect for
cycling. Needing to catch up with the route
according to our book, we only cycled about
30 miles over the Santa Cruz Mountains to
Half Moon Bay and our first campsite. The
state parks in California have a hike and bike
scheme whereby if you turn up on foot or by
bike you are guaranteed a camping spot, so no
forward booking necessary and this important
feature means you don’t need a destination –
freedom to travel as far as you want! They
cost roughly $5 a night. Here we started to
meet others on the route, all with different
stories, some had started in Alaska and had
been on the road for months!! A mixed bag of
people from 20 to 70 somethings all out for a
ride. This set the scene, each morning we set
off in our own little gangs and ended up at
night pretty much together swapping stories,
and laughing. We arranged nothing and just
kept bumping into each other along the way.
Setting off from Half Moon Bay, excited
and a little nervous wondering what the
day would bring, it soon became apparent
this was more than just a route: rugged
coastlines, breathtaking scenery, national
and state parks, historical monuments
and of course the incredible wildlife.
When you’re cycling all your senses get
hit at the same time, and you become
so much more aware of what is around
you, this overwhelming desire to explore
consumes you and you just have to hang
on and experience it. The light got the
better of us again and we ended up riding
through Santa Cruz in the dark trying to
find New Brighton Beach. Lesson learnt:
start earlier and aim to finish before
sunset, leave yourself plenty of time to
take a break and enjoy your new-found
surroundings. Earlier in the day we
happened across two streetwise city kids
from Denver, Elvis and Zeb, riding fixies,
no gears and no brakes. Their destination
was Los Angeles, on a tight budget,
they cooked a lot and introduced us to
Chilli beans and tortillas and seemed to
have a problem with raccoons who kept
stealing their minimal stuff. They were
our neighbours that night when we finally
found our camp. Today we had done 70
miles instead of the 56 as stated in the
book, damn this getting lost / exploring.
New Brighton Beach to Vets Park,
Monterey was apparently 40.8 miles
and we couldn’t wait to get started. The
terrain here varies between gently rolling
and level, easy riding along back roads
and cycle paths. Nearing mid day, the
path turned and put us alongside a large
bay where elephant seals had
taken up residence, hundreds
of them. From a distance they
looked like large pieces of
wood, it was only when we
got close we could see them
wriggling across the sand like
oversized maggots. Time for
lunch, a burrito from one of
the streetcars along the way
and one by one the rest of the
gang appeared. We shared the
experience and moved on.
Vets Park: the book told us
to get supplies from Monterey
as it was a steep climb to the
campsite and it certainly wasn’t
wrong! About a mile – straight
up and then up a little more, to a
nice campsite where you leave
your money in the box. This
was our first proper encounter
with the level of homelessness
in California, whole families
living in cars and tents, making
the best of their situation, trying
to work and get on. At first I was
a little uneasy but in America
it’s dealt with differently: some
people live in houses, some
don’t and that’s just the way
it is. Here we met Vanessa,
23, never cycled before, from
Quebec who had started her
journey in Vancouver. She had
spent about a month on her own
before finding Brett and Bob,
the 70-somethings from Alaska,
who had taken her under their
wing. We cooked by torchlight
and shared stories about the
day, trying to stay up past eight
o’clock and being observed by
the deer on the grass. You could
hear the incessant barking of
the sea lions down at the bay,
which is quite a nice way to
fall asleep, and Elvis shouting
at the raccoons for stealing his
stuff.
Up early, the usual porridge
and tea, brief discussion and
study of the book. At some
point we needed to check into
a hotel to do some washing,
charging of phones etc. This
general housekeeping meant
that periodically gang members
would dip out and stay over
somewhere for a day, then catch
up later on the road. Monterey
is a fascinating place, busy and
vibrant, we rode onto the pier
where there was a sign for a
whale watching trip – had to go,
didn’t we? Luggage stored, we
locked the bikes to the pier and
stepped aboard, not knowing
how long we would be out, but
the weather was great and the
turquoise water calm. Well, I
want to do this every day! We
saw Rizzo Dolphins on the way
out, then just in the bay, roughly
1000 sea lions and over 100
humpback whales all in feeding
frenzies around us. There
was diving and breaching,
tail and fin slapping, and even
courtship being displayed, and
something you don’t get from
the tv – the smell from the blow
was unbelievably dreadful. You
had to cover your nose and
mouth it was pure, rotten fish
and boy did it stink. The captain
and crew didn’t want to go back
and miss this so we were out
for most of the day. Apparently,
it was one of the best trips of the
year so far, and all down to a
shoal of anchovy that had made
it to the Bay Area.
Time was getting on, and
one other ‘must do’ - 17 mile
drive, awaited. Possibly the
most famous stretch of road
on the California Coast, it’s a
private road and you have to
stop at the security gate and
sign a form waiving your right
to sue should you get run over.
We decided to head back to
Monterey and spend the night.
We found a nice motel just on
the edge of town and set about
our housekeeping...
Part 2
Coming to issue 4
9
Cycling In
The Midlands
12
01562 850499
www.theoldvillagestore.co.uk
Welshpool
Where to stop & things to do
1
13
Shrewsbury
18
17
www.smithscycles.co.uk
1
14
Stan’s Cycles
53-54 Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1XJ
12
www.stanscycles.co.uk
www.svr.co.uk
14
15
Kidderminster
Black Pear Tea Room
Droitwich Road, WR3 7SW
www.newentgolf.co.uk
THE BOWENS BED & BREAKFAST
The Bowens Bed and Breakfast, Fownhope,
Herefordshire, HR1 4PS
16
Ludlow
www.bowensbandb.co.uk
4
Elan Valley Visitor Centre
www.wctheatre.co.uk
Rhayader
Elan Visitor Centre, Elan Valley, Rhayader,
Powys, LD6 5HP
17
8
10
www.elanvalley.org.uk
Leominster
23
The Granary
The Granary, Wernfawr, Talgarth, LD3 0DY
www.brookscycles.co.uk
Worcester
Pembridge
18
www.thegranaryinthepark.com
16
Llandrindod Wells
Lady Foley’s Tea Room
01684 893033
7
Biped Cycles
7
10 Ship Street, Brecon, Powys, LD39AF
3
20
15
Burford House, Burford, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire
WR15 8HQ
Ross-on-Wye
www.eastgatecycles.co.uk
Gloucester
21
Abergavenny
Monmouth
Cwmdauddwr Arms, West Street, Powys, LD6 5B
www.glynfieldhouse.co.uk
21
22
www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk
Mount Pleasant Lodge
23
01568 708031
www.mplaymestrey.co.uk
11
Ivy Cycle Works, 271-273 Worcester Road, WR14
1AA
01684 577238
www.malverncycles.org.uk
The Start Bed & Breakfast
Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR3 5RS
Map Legend
Bike Shop
01497 821391
Mount Pleasant Lodge, Aymestrey, HR6 9SU
Malvern Cycles
Glynfield House
Glynfield House, Glynfield Rise, Ebley, Stroud,
GL5 4QP
07788 985764
24
Clive Powell Mountain Bikes
Eastgate Cycles Ltd
76-78 Eastgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1QN
01452 300366
20 19
01597 811343
10
The New Inn
16 Northgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1SF
www.newinn-hotel.co.uk
01584 810777
9
19
01452 522177
Burford House
thegardenstore.ltd.uk/stores/burford-house-garden-store
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/powis-castle
11
5
Brecon
www.bipedcycles.co.uk
Powis Castle and Garden
Powis Castle and Garden, Welshpool, Powys
SY21 8RF
01938 551944
Malvern
Hereford
Hay-on-Wye
01874 622296
8
6
22
Great Malvern Station, Imperial Road, WR14 3AT
Brooks Cycles
9 Severn Street, Welshpool, SY21 7AB
01938 553582
2
01874 712 101
6
The Theatre of Small Convenience
Edith Walk, Malvern WR14 4QH
01684 568 933
9
01597 810880
5
Newent Golf Club and Lodges
Coldharbour Ln, Newent, Gloucestershire GL18
1DJ
01531 820478
01432 860 430
4
Severn Valley Railway
Number One, Comberton Place, DY10 1QR
01562 757900
13
0844 288 5183
3
Smiths Cycles
3 New Road, Kidderminster, DY10 1AF
01562 823 721
0844 888 2008
2
The Old Village Store
Wolverley, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY11
5XB
24 Church Street • Hereford
HR1 2LR
01432 271892
07870 81 81 98
[email protected]
Tel: 01432 358171
Open Mon-Sat 9am-5:30pm
Vegetarian Health Food Shop with
a large range of organic, local and
specialist foods, plus treats too!
Hereford’s Local. Easygoing
pub serving the local Wye
Valley Brewery ales, plus pool
table and terrace.
69 Saint Owens Street,Hereford
Bike Friendly Cafe
Ye Olde Steppes
Place of Interest
High Street, Pembridge, HR6 9DS
01544 388506
The Barrels Pub
26-27 Church Street; Hereford
www.the-start.net
www.yeoldesteppes.co.uk
24
© Painting by Alix McGregor
[email protected]
Pedalabikeaway
Cycle Centre, Cannop Valley, Nr Coleford, GL16 7EH
01594 860065
www.pedalabikeaway.co.uk
Cyclist Accommodation
Do you know of a place or bike shop that
you trust, or maybe a business that is bike
friendly? If so we would love to find out more
and even feature your suggestion on our map.
[email protected]
12
Trails
News
Frog Launches
Team Sky Range
Painscastle
Hills
Cycle
Route
By Rob Eveleigh
UK
Distance: 21.65 km’s (2-3 hour ride)
Trail Grade: Difficult
Location: Painscastle, Builth
Wells, Powys
MAP: goo.gl/MWAMKf
T
By Isla Hampson
hick precipitation on rusting
bracken that morning, the air fresh
and autumnal. A margin of space
between bike and cloud hung
silently, as we headed up into the
Painscastle Hills.
The history of these hills is rich and
brooding. This is a land of prehistoric
remains, hill forts, stone circles, big skies,
hidden streams weaving through secret
valleys, paths fringed with bracken, heather,
oaks, wind swept, wild, disappearing into
the very heart of Wales and on out to the
west coast. “It is a fine thing to be out on the
hills alone. A man can hardly be a beast or
a fool alone on a great mountain.” Francis
Kilvert, the legendary diarist vicar, that
roved these hills in times of isolation and
hardship.
My name is Isla Hampson. I’m a
photographer and a keen mountain biker.
Riding makes me happy, as do good bike
paths, remoteness and a decent bike!
My objective is to give you some fantastic
routes to try out and introduce you to new
areas.
Having a good bike helps a lot. Mine
is full suspension, making light of rocky
ground and drops. 29-inch wheels on a hard
tail is another great option, it’s a personal
thing. If you don’t have a decent bike, hiring
one for the day is easy enough. In the HayOn-Wye area local to this route, Drover
Bikes, or Wye Valley Canoes both hire at
very reasonable rates. Drover Bikes have
the latest high spec range, making you
look and feel a pro! Always, always wear a
helmet. Gloves are a bonus too. If, like we
did, you encounter horse riders, do give way
to them.
I rode out with two good friends, Polly
Clarke who runs combined yoga, bike and
walking holidays, ‘ Mountain Yoga Breaks’,
and Debbie Gilbert, a biking enthusiast. Its
fun riding with friends but a good idea too,
if you’re riding in isolated spots.
This particular route I am writing about is
one of my favourites. It partly follows a wellknown route in Southern Radnorshire, up in
the Painscastle Hills crossing over into the
Begwyns area. The route starts and finishes
at a fabulous pub called The Roast Ox, in the
centre of the village of Painscastle.
Starting on the lane with a steady hill
climb for 500 metres or so, the route veers
right just after the cattle grid, up an old
grassed track. Straight onto the hill, the
track levels out amid bracken and gorse,
the track well visible to follow. From here
the great views, open expanse and big skies
are the pleasure of this route. Bring decent
waterproofs and a map, as you will need to
navigate through the many paths that grid
the hills.
Traversing the hill for 10 minutes or
so, dropping down to the road, it’s a right,
then take the first left sign posted to Bailey
House. A short climb and a right takes you
down to a ford and through a glorious old
farmyard. Through a small gate and up
through a wonderful valley, following the
lower trail, fringed with high bracken and a
burbling stream to your left.
Joining onto a high, well-paved track, it’s
a left, flanked on both sides by remote hills.
As the track evens on the brow, take the left
fork that curves around the side of Red Hill.
Once again the far reaching views lift your
spirit and eyes, the feeling of riding along
the edge of the earth lightens the legs!
Crossing over the road, the track
continues along the ridge, where disused
quarries cut into the hillside. This section
is my favourite as it’s so dramatic and some
good speed can be gained. Just before
Henllyn Lake, take a left dropping down
a steep grassed bridleway, to a beautiful
old farmyard. (Ignore the very scary
looking dogs, they are caged but sound like
monsters).
From here follow the lanes across the
valley to the Begwyns, joining onto another
beautiful old track that fringes the north
side. A fun ride through a ford, speeding
along the stony, grassy track until you hit
the lane at the far side of the Begwyns.
Nearly home now.
A steep drop down the lane from here
and a short climb back into Painscastle.
You made it! Time for a pint of Doom Bar
or Butty Bach, some fabulous sour dough
bread, courtesy of the local artisan baker,
Alex Gooch, or a delicious meal beside a
roaring fire.
Happy pedalling until next time!
Photography by Isla Hampson view more
of Isla’s photography on her website:
www.islahampsonphotography.virb.com
kids’ bike manufacturer
Frog has come on leaps
and bounds since it set up
shop last year – and the
new range of Team Sky steeds look set to
be a sure-fire Christmas winner.
Frog unveiled the Team Sky range for children aged 2-14 – at Eurobike this
summer.
Co-founder Shelley Lawson, who
built the firm from scratch with husband
Jerry, said they were “very excited” at
the chance to sell bikes with Team Sky
backing.
“It’s a well-respected brand and
the response from the public has been
phenomenal,” said Shelley.
Frog spotted a gap in the market for
lightweight, quality and affordable kids’
bikes that – crucially – were sold in local,
independent shops where children could
try them for size.
After overcoming the hurdle of
sourcing parts suited to junior riders,
the brand has found itself working
alongside big names like Shimano and
Tektro helping develop components built
specifically for little hands and short legs.
Shelley explained: “When we started
out, all the big brands had slightly
forgotten about kids’ bikes – they hadn’t
benefited from the improvements in
materials and components for a decade.
“As we’ve got bigger, it’s become
easier to persuade the big manufacturers
to build things specifically for us – every
part of our bikes has been chosen
specially for children.”
The Sky link-up came about after the
cycling giant approached Frog a year
ago.
“They spoke to a few manufacturers
about producing a bike for them and
chose us,” says Shelley. “It was huge
news for a company that had only been
trading since February 2013. We’re very
excited about the new line-up. Finally,
kids’ bikes are getting the attention they
deserve.”
The
range
includes
pedal-free
balance bikes through a range of sizes of
hybrid and drop-handlebar road bikes,
all equipped with slim-grip brakes and
lightweight frames – and all bearing the
iconic Team Sky blue line.
One independent bike store stocking
the new range is Drover Cycles in Hayon-Wye, who leapt on board with Frog in
summer last year.
Drover co-owner Anna Heywood said:
“There’s so much interest in cycling at
the moment and it’s fantastic to see lots
of kids saddling up, riding to school and
just generally getting about on their
bikes.
Frog’s lightweight frames make a lot
of sense for young riders as it allows
them to keep up with mum, dad and
older siblings. Light doesn’t mean flimsy,
though, as the bikes are robust enough to
withstand tumbles and the odd tantruminduced hurl to the ground!
As well as selling the bikes, we’ve
been running them as part of our hire
fleet and we’re really impressed with
their performance. We’ve also noticed an
increase in the number of ‘serious’ junior
cyclists, so it’s great news that Frog have
linked up with Team Sky to cater for this
market, too. The Frog Road 58, 67 and
70 look particularly impressive – they’re
proper little road bikes!”
Frog bikes should be available in stores
now.
Contact Drover Cycles on 01497 822 419
or online via the website – www.drovercycles.co.uk – for more info or to discuss
a Frog demo ride.
13
14
Adventures
15
Review
The plan
was to ride
the three highest
summits in Wales Snowdon, Cadair Idris
and Pen-y-Fan
in a day
Van Life
Part Two
© Hefin Owen tiny.cc/ohefin
L
Welsh Three Peaks Challenge
ying awake listening to the howling
gales, it looked like our 3 Peaks
challenge was scuppered before
we’d even got our tyres dirty.
The plan was to ride the three
highest summits in Wales – Snowdon,
Cadair Idris and Pen-y-Fan – in a day. They
totted up to a comfortable 50km – and an
intimidating 7200 feet of ascent. Blimey!
By the time the alarms trilled at 4am, the
gales had downgraded from ‘dangerous’
to ‘worth a stab’, and promising patches of
blue studded the grey skies above.
Porridge. Bikes on the roof. Off to
Llanberis.
Snowdon’s Llanberis Path started with
a steep tarmac dig before the off-road
began and the gradient eased. We span up
the trail, grunting and cajoling the bikes
through baby-head rocks, passing a party
of walkers heading down after an eventful
night camped wild, their own 3 Peaks bid
abandoned in face of the appalling forecast.
The winds kicked back in after a steep
push past Clogwyn Station, slicing through
sodden gloves, and after a bitterly cold
summit photo (bang-on two hours to the
top), we tried to thaw our digits before
scrubbing off some altitude and descending
to warmer weather.
Popping and hopping down the summit
stairway, we crossed the railway to a loose
section that steepened through jagged rocks
By Rob Eveleigh
into a series of tight hairpin switchbacks.
Hairy corners skirted with dizzying
plummets had me off the bike and walking
in a couple of spots, but by 8.30am we were
back at the motor and loading up for the
drive to Cadair.
In the valley, the weather was balmy and
driving round to Llanfihangel-y-Pennant we
thought our Cadair assault would be under
sunshine.
It started that way, but by the time we
reached the Pony Path threatening weather
lay in wait. The gales returned, dragging
sheets of fog over the summit ridge cliffs like
a magician whipping away a tablecloth. The
temperature plunged and as we reached
the boulder fields leading to the summit we
were bombarded by bullets of hail.
We shouldered the bikes for the final
difficulties through the fog and – in one of
those joyous summit moments – the skies
cleared to reveal stunning views over to the
glittering ocean at Barmouth.
The descent felt like a ten-minute
plummet, technicalities less demanding
than Snowdon. Surfing loose rock, picking
islands of safety from the sea of boulders,
we were on vegetation – and in sunshine –
again before we knew it, scooting back to
the car down a dribbling rut of a stream and
then swoopy grass track. We’d taken just
shy of three hours.
There was some respite, then, basking
in healing sunshine with sodden clothes
strung along the barbed wire to dry, while
we stocked up on calories and gulped down
liquids.
By now, the legs were starting to feel it.
With six-and-a-half thousand feet of ascent
nailed, we were confident, but the bit I was
dreading most was coming up – the long
drive down the A470 to home turf in the
Brecon Beacons. Time for tired muscles
to start seizing up, eyelids to droop. We’d
been up since four, and our bodies were
complaining.
With two-and-a-half hours of driving at
our backs, Pen-y-Fan came into view, its
summit thrust into more angry cloud. It
would be wild on top.
Parking below Neuadd Reservoir, we
carefully lowered sore backsides on to
saddles and struck out up the Gap road to
the pass between Cribyn and Fan y Big.
Muscles quickly loosened. We’d both been
expecting a slow and torturous dig but,
bizarrely, it felt like we were flying.
We shrugged, enjoying spinning up,
popping front wheels over trail obstacles
here and there. In a little over 20 minutes
we were at the Gap and contemplating the
push to the top of Pen y Fan.
Without another soul on the hill, it
seemed ludicrous that mountain bikers
should be refused passage along what is an
undesignated pathway contouring Cribyn
below the footpath. It would make a brilliant
ride. Still, rules are rules – but you can’t
helping thinking the CROW Act and Right to
Roam maybe needs another look.
The final shove up the armoured stone
motorway to the summit was an agony
of lactic burn and meddlesome weather.
Calves sang as we shoved our useless lumps
of metal and rubber to the top, swatted by the
raging gales – the worst we’d experienced
all day. Each foot of ascent was hard-won,
snatched in moments of respite from the
winds. A fall would have made casualties of
both bikes and bodies.
Then we were there.
Naughty, I know – but we had the hill to
ourselves – we pedalled the last few yards to
the summit cairn, and then crawled on top
of it to snap some hurried photos.
It was just gone 6.30pm. We’d done the
lot in thirteen-and-a-half hours.
It’s not one I’m looking to repeat – the
challenge is done and dusted – but certainly
on Snowdon there are more adventures
to be had, and I’ll definitely be back for a
rematch with the Ranger Path.
One thing we both took away from our
day in the hills – the number of people
surprised to see mountain bikes on top of
mountains.
It’s kind of what they’re made for, isn’t it?
www.wild-rides.co.uk
I
By Jamie Booth
have owned my van for about 3 or 4
months now, since the beginning of the
summer and for anybody considering
buying one there are a few things that
you may want to think about.
Air conditioning would be useful in
the summer and a window that opened in
the back. The other issue is the constant
complaints about the seats in the back being
too upright. The advantage of this is that
you can get six bicycles in the back but you
can’t recline the seats. The comment that,
“It’s a bit like a prison van,” has been said
on numerous occasions.
The other thing for anybody considering
buying one of these with the intention of
using it for cycling and going to places that
are off the beaten track is to look at the tyre
and wheel choice. If you are going to go for
the big, funky alloy wheels like my orange
T5, then go for the chrome effect ones, not
the black ones because they don’t show up
The Golden Fleece
Traditional pub in
the heart of Hereford;
friendly atmosphere
The Golden Fleece, 1 St.
Owen Street, Hereford,
HR1 2JB
01432 508245
every nick, scratch and dent. Don’t go for
budget tyres. I didn’t realise that mine had
budget tyres until hitting a stone and finding
out the side wall of the tyre had split!
On a more positive note, it does hundreds
of miles on the motorway; it’s economic,
being no worse than a large family car; you
can store lots of equipment in it, although
you need discipline about cleaning it out on
a regular basis; it seems to improve your
driving as you can’t drive it particularly
quickly and people seem to like the look of
it as they often smile and wave.
I have made a few modifications to my
van. I’ve installed extra sockets in the back
so that devices like mobile phones, cameras,
bike computers and bike lights can be
charged. The satellite navigation has been
wired in which was retro-fitted because it
was cheaper than buying the model with it
already fitted. It seems great and all works
fine. We’ve got a work light for the winter
which runs off
of a cigarette
lighter.
It’s
the same as
the ones the
police use for
floodlighting a
road if there’s
been
an
accident. The
one we have
is on a magnet
so we can put
it on the back,
side or front of the van so we can use it to
maintain the bikes or load the van at night.
We’ve ordered a simple pop-up awning
that’ll go on the side which means that if we
are riding in the rain during the winter we
can put it up and sort the bikes out without
getting soaked. Also, the theory is that if
it’s hot in the summer it will provide some
No. 10 The Teashop
The Antique Tea
Shop
Nutters Vegetarian
Café
Delicious cakes and
mouthwatering lunches
to eat in or take away.
5A St. Peters Street,
Hereford, HR1 2LA
Nutters, Vegetarian Café;
wholefood coffee shop
and licensed pavement
café; Homemade food;
gluten free and vegan
options.
10 Church Street,
Hereford, HR1 2LR
01432 371371
01432 342142
Open 6 Days a week
9-4:30pm
Serving Breakfast,
Lunch, and afternoon tea
Capuchin Yard, Church
Street, Hereford
Tel: 01432 277447
shelter where we can sit.
There are a few things that still need
to be done but generally it’s been a very
positive experience and I can’t imagine ever
going back to driving a normal car.
G & R Tudge
Herefordshire
Pagan Moot
A traditional family farm,
producing the highest
quality meats; Christmas
Geese and Turkey Orders
Being Taken Now
Herefordshire Pagan
Moot; A gathering of
Pagan and spiritual
folk; We meet on the
first Wednesday of each
month; All are welcome
Tel: 01584 831227
[email protected]
www.tudge-meats.co.uk
www.facebook.com/herefordshire-pagan-moot
and honoured
herefordshirepaganmoot@
gmail.com
16
News
17
News & Reviews
2014
Tour Of Britain
F
By Sue Hughes
ollowing the three main grand tours,
Italy, France and Spain, next came
our very own Tour of Britain; not
quite in the same league but certainly
growing in popularity and attracting
some very well known international riders
who have ridden in the big tours, for
example, Bernard Eisel, Sylvain Chavanel,
Kristian House, Mark Renshaw, Sebastian
The Bike Ride
T
By Neil Coleman
wo years ago, a small group of
us sat chatting about how the
popularity of golf days seems to
have dropped off. What was once
the popular way to get customers
out of the office for a day, get to know
them and hopefully raise a few quid for
a chosen charity at the same time, now
seems to be a struggle to break even, let
alone be a money spinner.
Crazy as it may seem, we decided that
cycling is the new golf and what better way
to get people together than to organise
a bike ride for our colleagues, peers,
customers, in fact anyone who fancied
joining in on a ride. As we’re involved
in the paper, printing and publishing
industry we managed to call in a few
favours to get some promotional material
out and without the help of any marketing
gurus, came up with an original title for
the ride. Hence the Paper, Publishing and
Printing Bike Ride was born!
After a quick phone call to the police
regarding route planning, protracted
discussions with the local village hall
about sharing amenities for registration,
negotiations with a local sandwich shop
who agreed to supply refreshments and
an investment in local ordnance survey
maps, we set about planning a route
in, around and to some extent over
The Chilterns. At the same time, others
worked on nominating a charity and set
about designing a commemorative jersey
that we gave away as part of the modest
ride fee and on a warm, sunny day in
September last year, 37 of us set off from
Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire
to tackle a 43 mile route which everyone
enjoyed and completed. As one of the
organisers it was great to see how much
everyone enjoyed it and with the added
bonus of a Mark Cavendish signed jersey
as a raffle prize, we were delighted to
raise just over £3,500 for CLIC Sargent.
Upon reflection, it was interesting
to see how our bikes had brought us
all together and how some people, who
at the start of the ride had never met
each other, were chatting and pedalling
together, encouraging each other up
some of the climbs and racing each other
down the other side. In a similar fashion
to golf, there were a few glances at the
beginning of the ride, checking out who
had Pinarellos and Cervelos and who’d
tipped up for a day out in the countryside
having dusted down a more modest bike
that had a saddle that was of a similar
size to armchairs that are sold in various
well known furniture shops. In all cases
though, we used the same roads, we
did the same route and everyone really
enjoyed it.
So, with one year under our belt, we
set about a repeat and this year’s ride
has just taken place and once again The
Chilterns featured heavily although we
planned a shorter route of 37 miles and
a longer route of 57 miles to cater for
requests made from the previous year.
The group taking on the longer route
started off by climbing Whiteleaf Hill
which features in the top 20 climbs in
the country and has an average gradient
of 8% for a kilometre. It proved to be a
tough warm up for the keener riders who
were then able to enjoy the pleasure of
descending Kop Hill which exactly 7 days
earlier had put some of the best riders in
Europe to the test as they ascended it on
the Tour of Britain. There are few other
sports where you can compare yourself
against professionals but cycling is one as
we’re able to use the same roads and with
the help of Garmins, Strava & iPhones, we
can all record our results for comparison
later on.
Again it was a great success and having
decided to focus purely on the ride rather
than fundraising, raffle’s etc, we still
managed to hand over £1,500 to Beating
Bowel Cancer, a very worthy cause,
having received fantastic support from
riders and some generous companies
within the industry too.
So, on we turn to planning next year’s
ride which is going to be bigger and better
than ever. What seemed like a simple
thought a couple of years ago is starting
to feel as though it is true: cycling is the
new golf. It’s great fun, a great way to get
fit, a brilliant way to socialise but it’s even
more accessible.
Roll on next year’s Bike Ride.
Lander and Marcel Kittel.
Twenty teams took part, each consisting
of six riders, covering a distance of 1375.7
kilometers over 8 stages. British hopes were
pinned on Bradley Wiggins retaining the title
and Mark Cavendish winning sprint stages.
Mark returned to the race after crashing out
and getting injured in the Tour de France.
The tour started with massive crowd support on a lovely sunny day on the 7th
September with eight laps of an eight mile circuit in the heart of Liverpool. All
went well until Mark Cavendish had a crash injuring his leg. He continued to race
but came third, losing the stage to Marcel Kittel of Team Giant Shimano.
Steve Holloway, Rob Henshaw and Nicky Henshaw outside the
new hub at Bennetts Business Centre, Pontesbury.
Life On The Edge
Stage 3 on Tuesday 9th September, saw the tour in our area starting in Newtown,
passing through Knighton, Talgarth, Abergavenny and finishing up on the Tumble
mountain near Monmouth. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation among
the huge crowds that turned out to witness this amazing event, as there was
along the rest of the tour routes.
Stage 4 started in Worcester travelling through Eversham, then on to the finish
line in Bristol. The tour continued over what has been described as the toughest
and best yet in Britain, with long stages, steep climbs and much sweat and
suffering. The leader’s yellow jersey was changing hands almost daily and by the
sixth stage (no rain so far) 9 riders had withdrawn.
The finale promised to be a very compelling last day in London with stage 7, an
8.8 km time trial in the morning and in the afternoon, stage 8, 10 laps of the same
course with a sprint finish. Bradley Wiggins won the time trial putting him 3rd in
the overall general classification and Mark Kittel just pipped Mark Cavendish to
the sprint finish, making Kittel the winner of the first and last stages of the tour.
Final result placings
1st Dylan van Baarle (Netherlands) of Team Garmin Sharp
2nd Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) of team Omega Pharma-Quick Step
3rd Bradley Wiggins (British) of team Sky
Yellow Jersey - Overall winner
Dylan van Baarle
Blue Jersey – Points winner
Michal Kwiatkowski
White with green polka dot jersey – Kings of the Mountains
Mark McNally (Britain) - team Post Chainreaction.
Green jersey – Sprint winner
Sebastian Lander (Denmark) – team BMC
Overall team winners
IAM cycling.
I am not a young active cyclist, in fact I am
a great grandmother in the later stages of my
life but oh, how I do like to watch competitive
sport on television especially cycling and do
try to get out to watch live action whenever
possible. I appreciate the effort, enthusiasm
and determination of all riders taking part
in these events, not only the main leaders of
teams but also the domestiques who tirelessly
ride back to team cars for water for the rest
of the their team and often surround their
leaders to help keep them safe and in the
right positions within the peloton. The more
I watch these races the more I learn about
the sport which in turn makes it even more
fascinating to watch. I would urge anyone, no
matter what age, to take an interest, you will
be surprised just how enjoyable it can be.
By Reanne Atherton
My typical weekend road rides
are getting noticeably longer.
Compared to a year ago when
I was only venturing out for
10-15 miles in a day, being
done and dusted in no more
than an hour, and with most of
that journey my main concern
would be what cake to indulge
in as my post ride treat. Now my
training has naturally upped
itself where I can be out for the
majority of the day with mileage
ranging from 60-100 miles,
therefore making the most out
of the day with a proud feeling
and a satisfaction of having
thoroughly worn myself out. Of
course the sweet reward is still
needed, whether before, during
or at the end. I don’t feel as if
I have to force myself to go out
for epic all day rides; I just enjoy
being out on the road bike a lot
more than I used to. Maybe the
reasons why I’m much more
motivated could be as I have
recently upgraded to a stunning
carbon bike, making climbing
those wicked hills a little
easier, or it could be because
I’ve become quite fond of those
sportive events. I’m pretty sure
my new purchase of a GPS has
something to do with it.
With
my
cycle
routes
branching out and becoming
longer, I decided to take
the plunge and upgrade my
cycle computer. Until now,
I have made do with a basic
speedometer which was great
for distance, speed and calorie
information, but to accompany
my recent need to cycle further
afield I wanted something a little
techier; not too complicated
that it results in me frantically
hitting the wrong button in total
frustration quick enough to see
the % grade of the climb that
I’m on before I reach the top.
My decision to go for the
Garmin Edge 500 was purely
because I wanted a decent
cycle computer to enhance
my training, and have enough
battery life to record a full
day of riding that can then be
uploaded onto the computer. Of
course I didn’t choose it for its
attractive blue colour – which
happens to compliment my
bike very well! I also wanted
a device capable of following
a set route for those longer
rides in unknown territory
– and for that it has been a
godsend. Uploading a route
onto the device is really easy. I
find a bit of patience is needed
plotting the initial route on
the computer as it takes some
time if the route is complex. I
use Garmin Connect to do the
plotting but there is plenty of
other software available too.
Once the route is complete it
is as simple as plugging the
device into the computer to
upload it – and away I go! The
route is easily accessible from
the main menu. The mapping
is non-existent with nothing
more than an arrow pointing on
a black line (which is the road)
and when the arrow strays
away from the road it beeps to
alert me that I have gone off
course. Simple, but effective.
After I had spent far too long
assembling the mount with its
fiddly little pieces, the sleek little
GPS looked the part. Turning
the device on automatically
picks up the satellite signal,
and once this is attained it’s
ready to record some data.
This particular model has just
enough functions to not distract
too much from the road. With a
choice of what type of data you
want to see on each page as you
scroll through. So for me, my
main priority is distance, speed,
time, average speed and total
ascent. If out of curiosity I want
to know my calories, grade %
or even the temperature I can
easily press a button to find this
out.
Maybe it’s because this is the
newest addition to my bicycle
that I’ve become a little obsessed
with it; flicking through the
various functions it offers. So
far I’m very pleased with this
gadget and I would even feel a
bit lost without it now. I strongly
recommend treating yourself to
one, whatever type of cyclist
you are. You don’t have to be a
pro racer or a technology geek
to qualify, it can be used as a
bit of fun, or a serious training
tool. Either way, it will keep you
spinning those legs.
A
Quest 88 Launches
New Cycling Centre
n
innovative
Shropshire
company and Chamber of
Commerce
member
has
opened a new shop in the
county to cater for an increased
demand for its unique products, just
in time for October which is officially
Love Your Bike Month.
Quest 88 is a specialist cycle
firm based in Shifnal and has won
numerous awards for its equipment
and customer service, having been in
business for over 25 years, catering
mainly for the disabled and people of
limited abilities by creating specialist
cycles, trikes, parallel tandems and
recumbent bikes.
Managing director Rob Henshaw,
said: “As part of company expansion,
we have now opened an ‘all
ability cycle hub’ in the village of
Pontesbury, near Shrewsbury. The
location is ideal because we not only
have a disused railway line nearby
and the new cycle lane alongside the
road to Minsterley, but Route 44 of
the Sustrans’ National Cycle Network
passes close by as well.”
“We are having an official opening
on 29th October, but in the meantime
people are welcome to come along
and view our demonstration range of
Fast Forward, A2B and Roodog cycles,
as well as our adaptive cycles.”
“The new centre will showcase the
very latest range of electric bicycles,
also known ase-bikes, which are
proving to be very popular with riders
young and old and with people with
limited movement, as they provide
a potential range of 40 to 50 miles
whenpedal-assisted.”
“This is not cheating, says Rob, but
will help club and social riders who
still wish to travel the distances that
they have in the past, but possibly
need a little assistance to enable
them to carry on with their hobby,
and the e-bikes are also ideal for
commuters who want to arrive at
work feeling less sticky than on a
regular bike!”
Based in Bennetts Business
Centre, the shop will benefit from an
association with ‘Cycling Guru’ Steve
Holloway, of Cycle Smart, Telford, who
will offer expert advice and guidance
for people wishing to try out the range
of specialist and e-bikes, whether
they are beginners or experienced
cyclists, using his vast knowledge
for correct fitting and safe riding of
bicycles and recumbent machines.
The ‘All Ability Cycle Hub’ in
Pontesbury can be contacted on 0845
604 7258
The Start B&B
Gateway to Wye Valley, Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.
3 ensuite rooms.
Secure bike storage.
Off road parking.
Free Wifi.
Drying room.
Bike tools.
Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5RS
www.the-start.net
01497 821391
ncn 8 & 42
[email protected]
18
Local - Hereford
Disability Cycling
Wheeled Sports
I
4 Hereford
n 2004 Anna Toon and Brian Stephens began
to look into the possibility of setting up a
skateboarding venue after conversations
with their daughter and son respectively,
having interests in wheeled sports, said
there was nowhere for them to practice.
A group of youngsters and volunteers came up
with the idea of getting a purpose built skate park
established in Hereford. A charity was formed
19
and became known as Wheeled Sports 4 Hereford
who then spent the next three years looking for
a suitable site. Then came consultations with
Skaters, Bladers and BMX riders of different ages,
and an architect to design a site based on what
the youngsters wanted. Planning permission
was applied for and then the daunting task of
fundraising began.
Financing the project was going to be a big
issue but with money from the
National Lottery, Coop Lottery
fund, City Council grant, fund
raising events, donations from the
Police force, many, many individual
donations and putting bids in for
various grants, they had enough
to start. Everything took time and
the kids were beginning to think it
would never happen, but in 2009
the first build of phase 1 was started
using concrete. Within eighteen
months phase 2 was done and then
within another two years (Dec 2012)
phase 3 was completed.
The park is in the open air and
accessible for use 24 hours a day 365
days a year. At weekends from 10am
to 4pm there are volunteers on site
to help resolve problems, see fair
play, do maintenance and gardening
and more latterly to do stock filling
and replenishing of drinks. The
volunteers try to be there on a
Wednesday and Friday afternoons to
cater for college students and also,
during school holidays, try to open
12noon to 4pm.
The community of users and
volunteers has grown considerably
and now have over 1700 members
on their facebook page: Hereford
Skatepark. On a Saturday it’s not
unusual to get an average of 300
users during a weekend and about
500 throughout the week. All of the
users feel part of this community
and will often help each other with
the use of tools or just to give a hand
perhaps with repairs. Users ages
range from 2 to 48 and are a real
good mix of people.
As younger users and also scooter
riders started using the venue they
began to pose a challenge for the
BMX riders. The younger riders
have little, if any, spacial awareness
and as the BMX bikes are big and
can travel up to 20 mph, there was
the risk of a serious accident; these
riders had to be separated, so now
on a Sunday morning 8am to 12
noon, the park is used for the under
10 year olds, learners and scooter
riders then during the afternoons 12
noon to 4pm for the skateboarders,
bladers and BMX riders, some of
whom are of a very high standard
and come from great distances, even
from abroad.
A ‘street’ section was completed
in 2012 which goes all around the
park making it one of the biggest in
the country. The layout of the whole
park has been the responsibility of
the project group and young users.
The area becomes a whole
different scene at night since full
lighting was installed. At the moment
a hat is passed round to collect
money towards the electricity costs
but eventually there will be a card
token system to switch the lights on
during the evenings for specific time
periods.
The park now has a new building
consisting of two 40 foot container
units, one on top of the other,
designed to look like a boombox
which was the concept of Jay Davis,
one of the volunteers. It is nearing
completion and will house a shop,
repairs area and a viewing area for
spectators, particularly pleasing
for parents who can watch their
offspring practice and perform.
There is an ongoing need to
continue raising funds for future
developments and help cover the
running costs which are about £3000
per year for such things as insurance,
accounting, maintenance etc. The
proceeds from the shop cover most
of the running costs enabling the
venture to be self sustaining. As
an inspired facility the charity was
given legacy money from the 2012
Olympics and during its journey
around the country, the Olympic
torch stopped at the park, much to
the delight of all those present.
The next phase, which is in the
planning stages, is to build the
‘Peewee Park’; a separate designated
area for those under 10’s, learners
and scooter riders, this should
all be completed by 2015. Future
aspirations are for the building of
a toilet facility, café and a proper
cycling repair workshop.
The local police, who have been
very supportive of this venture
from the beginning have said that
since the opening of the park, the
anti-social behaviour in relation
to skateboarding & BMX riding in
public places has gone down to zero.
Due to the hard work and
dedication of all the volunteers,
Hereford Skatepark is a lasting
tribute hopefully to be used by
many future generations. It has
been ten years in the making. A
charity enterprise run completely
by volunteers with a committee
and trustees, dependant entirely on
grants, donations and fund raising,
with no funding from either local
government or council.
‘Cos you’ll look
sweet upon
the seat of a
BICYCLE MADE
FOR TWO!
G
By Sarah Murray
eorgia Lyons is a special young
lady.
Actually she’s extremely
special. I’ve known this for quite
a long time having made ‘virtual’
friends with her father, Michael
around 8 years ago. I had just
moved to Herefordshire and in an effort (still
ongoing) to improve my fitness, I started running.
This caused me to join in the Runners’ World
online forums where I met ‘Georgia’s Dad’ (GD)
as Michael calls himself on the forums.
From the warmth and affection shown to GD
in the running community it was clear to me that
Georgia was very much loved by all who came
into contact with her. I couldn’t help but admire
the close bond the family have and how each
member of the family joins in to support Sarah
and Michael who strive to give Georgia the best
opportunities available to her.
‘What’s all this got to do with cycling?’ I hear
you cry. Well, I’m coming to that bit but first, let
me introduce you to Georgia.
Georgia was born, thirteen weeks early,
weighing 1lb and 4oz. She had a major operation
on her bowel in the first two weeks of her life and
was on and off ventilation over the next two years.
Georgia has Ataxic Cerebral Palsy and Chronic
Lung Disease. She has learning difficulties and
goes to Fred Nicholson School (Special School).
Although relying heavily on a wheelchair
Georgia is a very active young lady, who enjoys
the outdoors including camping, walks in the
woods and even going up mountains in her off
road wheelchair (Trekinetic K-2). She also loves
holidays, especially floating with a life ring in
the Red Sea while her father scuba dives and
her mother snorkels. She loves kayaking and has
even gone across the desert in a dune buggy.
Georgia rides a horse and in 2011 she came
3rd in the RDA Nationals Junior 1A Dressage.
With school she enjoys swimming, sailing,
kayaking, zorb balling and roller skating (with
Mum and Dad holding her up).
The
Country
Store
The Grapes, a taste of Herefordshire.
TEL: 01432 272 001
Two for one on all main meals.
12 KING STREET, HEREFORD,
HR4 9BW
East Street, Hereford, Herefordshire
HR1 2LW
tiny.cc/andy
Twitter : @andyshereford
Georgia grew out of her tow-along and
her trike which had been slow for her and
as she struggles with her co-ordination,
she could never go off on her own.
Michael and Sarah had money left
over in the off-road wheelchair fund and
decided it would be much better to spend
it on something Georgia had always
enjoyed which they could all do together
so they hatched a plan to buy and convert
a tandem.
The rear cranks were removed and
a foot plate with SPD pedals added so
Georgia can have her feet securely fixed
but still have movement in her ankles.
They also installed a new seat post with
a wrap round seat guard so she can’t lose
balance and fall off. To this, they have
added a very large, padded seat!!!! Lucky
Georgia! This means she has a safe and
secure place to sit while joining in with
the whole family.
Since adapting the tandem, Georgia
enjoys her cycling trips and has travelled
up to 20 miles on the back, even in the
rain. She has been on rides with her
brother running alongside allowing
Georgia to support him with his training.
He has also run the London Marathon and
is a PE and ICT teacher at one of the local
High Schools.
Georgia has also been on rides with
her grandmother and her partner who are
also keen cyclists. Mum, Sarah has now
bought a road bike so the family can all
ride together and chat to Georgia while
they make their way through the Norfolk
countryside.
Michael told me that “the freedom and
joy that being able to go on bike rides
brings to Georgia is amazing. She can be in
a bad mood but once she gets on the back
of the tandem her whole mood changes
and the smile on her face is worth all the
effort I have to put in to pedal up front!!
She does give me lots of support from the
back and enjoys the downhill fast bits.”
The family have the added bonus of
living in Norfolk which is relatively flat
and the smaller roads they cycle on are
quiet.
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that
Georgia is, indeed, a very special young
lady. I told Michael that she is lucky to
have Sarah and Michael as parents. I
knew exactly what his answer would be
and Michael didn’t disappoint when he
said, “No, we’re very lucky to have her.”
Lucky indeed. I for one feel very humbled
and more than a little bit lazy!
Photography by:
www.extremeimmortality.com
Andy's Kitchen
WE ARE A SMALL INDEPENDENT
CAFE SERVING FRESH HOMEMADE
FOOD AND GREAT COFFEE IN THE
BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL CITY OF
HEREFORD.
Georgia has completed the R4L 3
times in her wheelchair which included
her getting out and walking over the line
herself which was a very special moment
in her life.
It comes as no surprise to me that
Georgia is so active given the people who
surround her.
After a family friend ran the London
Marathon 2003 to raise money for a
tricycle for Georgia, Michael decided
to start running and ran his first of 3
London Marathons the following year
raising £6000 for East Anglian Children’s
Hospices. After having a hernia operation
Michael had problems running and
so started cycling up to 70 miles and
swimming up to 100 lengths of the local
pool. See! I told you we’d get around to
cycling!
After Michael’s first marathon in 2004
Sarah also started running and Michael
would ride alongside her with Georgia
in a cycle seat on the back of his bike. In
2013 Sarah and Michael ran the London
Marathon again to raise the money for
Georgia’s off road wheelchair.
What I really want to tell you about
though is Georgia’s tandem bicycle. The
idea of the tandem came about after
Tel: 01432 360034
www.grapeshereford.co.uk
[email protected]
The Lichfield Vaults
The Lichfield Vaults. The home
of good beer, Greek food, and
great hospitality. Real ales
- from Deuchars IPA, Doom
Bar, Golden XPA to Adnams
Broadside
11 Church Street; Hereford;
HR1 2LR
Tel: 01432 266821
www.lichfieldvaultshereford.co.uk
The Country Store; Hightown
Hereford.
Clothing, footwear, and gifts for
country families.
Always pleased to see you.
Hereford Cycle Hub
Hereford Cycle Hub puts
community before profits.
Our vision is to become a
focal point for cycling in
Herefordshire.
[email protected]
www.herefordcyclehub.co.uk
Oceans
of Hereford
Finest fish and chips in
Hereford. Right opposite
The Barrels Pub
All products locally
Try our Christmas
selection of 7 Real ales,
they are available in 5Ltr
tins. Ideal Christmas gift.
sourced
56 Saint Owens Street,
Hereford
Tel: 01432 279558
Unit 22c, Tillington Road,
Hereford, HR4 9QJ
01432 355 496
07713 563 985
20
Electric Bikes
21
Veteran-Cyle Club
E-Day
Veteran-Cycle Club Hereford Section
Red Dragon Weekend
By Jeni Hughes
I
don’t cycle much these
days, mainly because
I’m surrounded by hills
and as everyone who
knows me will testify... I
don’t do hills! So when I
got an invitation to take
part in an Electric Day
with the opportunity to
ride an electric bike and
drive an electric car, I
jumped at the chance.
I arrived at West View
Guesthouse in Llowes and
met Ian Foster, one of the
founders of the Eco Travel
Network (ETN), a not-forprofit company that rents
out the electric cars. The
bike I was given to ride was
a Raleigh Motus supplied
by Drover Cycles in Hay.
This is a new model from
Raleigh with an alleged
118 mile range, which I
thought would be handy if
I ended up getting lost! It
has 5 power settings and
10 gears, handy for getting
up all those hills, and
wide handlebars which
helped to make the bike
feel stable. The power was
delivered through a crank
driven motor as opposed
to some cheaper models
that have a motor on the
front wheel.
Anna
from
Drover
led us out on a guided
ride and as soon as we
set off I instantly felt the
assistance from the motor,
even in a low power, but
it really came into its own
when we hit the first hill
going into Hay. A quick
press of the button into
high power and it was not
much harder than cycling
on the flat. Wonderful.
There
then
followed
a leisurely ride on the
cycle path along the river
through Hay then via the
back roads of Llanigon
and Velindre ending up
at Talgarth Mill for an
enjoyable lunch break. I
hadn’t even broken into a
sweat!
The return journey was
in the quirky little Renault
Twizy, a cute-looking 2
seater electric ‘car’. I must
admit it felt a little bit like
a go-kart when I sat in it
for the first time. The lack
of any engine noise was a
bit unnerving but I soon
settled into the drive. As
we turned off the main
road at Llyswen and onto
the back roads to Hay I
really started to enjoy this
little fun vehicle as it felt
quite nippy on the smaller
roads. It was an attention
grabber too and raised a
few eyebrows and cheeky
smiles from onlookers
along the journey. I think
I must have been smiling
quite a lot too.
With a top speed of
50mph and a range of
around 50 miles, the Twizy
is an ideal vehicle for all
those short journeys we
do when our internal
combustion powered cars
barely even get warm.
The Twizy can be charged
very simply by plugging
into any 3-pin socket so no
need for specific charge
points.
The idea behind ETN
started as an innovative
green transport project to
show how an alternative
transport system could
work in rural areas. Alison
Kidd and Peter Williams
converted a petrol B-Bug to
electric powered and ran
an 18 month trial but they
found it was very difficult
to insure. They then won
£10,000 in a competition
at Hay Festival and were
able to use this money
to subsidise buying the
first few Twizys. After
being awarded a grant
from the Brecon Beacons
Sustainable Development
Fund in 2012, Alison,
Peter and Ian set up the
Eco Travel Network and
started to hire out the
Twizys to businesses.
At the time they were
the only company in the
country to hire out electric
vehicles.
They
have
since
won Edinburgh Green
Transport prize and more
recently the Low Carbon
Champions Award 2014.
ETN have recently run
a very successful trial on
the Isle of Egg where fuel
is very expensive and they
hope to run similar trials
on other islands around
Great Britain. Their next
project is to try to produce
an
off-road
powered
wheelchair to enable less
able people to more easily
access the countryside.
The
event
was
organised by the Brecon
Beacons Good Business
Sense Programme as part
of the Rural Alliances
project and funded by the
EU’s Interreg IVB NWE
programme together with
the Welsh Government’s
Targeted Match Funding
programme.
E-bikes can be hired from:
www.drovercycles.co.uk
For more information about ETN or to hire a Twizy visit:
www.ecotravelnetwork.co.uk
20/21 September 2014
T
By Bob Damper
his was the third in the series of
annual Red Dragon weekends
centred on Rhosgoch in Powys,
mid-Wales (Radnorshire in old
money) organised by Dave Twiddy,
and profiting from the enviable facilities of
the local golf club, something of a social
institution in these parts. For whatever
reason, there were many fewer overnighters this year, which hit Saturday’s
numbers in particular, although attendance
picked up very satisfactorily with daytrippers for the Sunday. But anything we
may have lacked in numbers was more
than made up in quality, with some fine
companionship over the weekend.
After Friday’s bouts of heavy rain,
Saturday dawned dry but somewhat dull
and cloudy, with a definite autumn nip in the
air. From my usual base at the Baskerville
Arms in Clyro, it was a very pleasant 4 mile
amble over the substantial hills to Rhosgoch
to meet the others for a pre-ride coffee
and chat. Dave certainly uses his local
knowledge to good effect in planning these
rides, and had devised a lovely route through
quiet lanes via Newchurch, Michaelchurchon-Arrow and Brilley Mountain, where we
encountered the border with England. It was
unpatrolled at this time and as there was no
customs control to be seen, or anyone to
check passports, we took the opportunity to
sneak across unhindered. Shortly after the
border crossing, we encountered one of the
many short, sharp hills that abound in these
parts, which we attacked with gusto. So
much gusto in fact that Dave suffered, as Dr.
Spooner might have said, a choken brain.
However, the combined mechanical nous
unsunghero are a surf company
based in Pembrokeshire. we make
custom boards and sell the best
hardware and accessories on the
market. we have a shop in St.Davids
Pembrokeshire.
of the various engineers present, plus the
Cyclo chain riveter tool produced from the
ample depths of Bob’s Chossy saddlebag,
soon unchoked the brain and got Dave
back to mobility (if not nobility) again,
although a minor oversight in threading
the chain fore instead of aft of the guide
in the derailleur chain-cage necessitated
another short stop and demonstration of
collective practical engineering ingenuity
to achieve final resolution of the problem.
Time for lunch! This was had at the
very acceptable Royal Oak hostelry in
Kington. On emerging from the pub,
suitably refreshed, we were pleased to see
that the weather had brightened a little for
the afternoon. A rather nasty climb out of
Kington past Croft Gardens then took us
to open country and the Offa’s Dyke path
across Hergest Ridge, where Dave showed
us the remains of what is apparently
believed (seriously) to be a Roman chariot
race course! At the crest of the ridge, from
(according to Garmin) our height of 1371
feet, the views were spectacular with the
Black Mountains prominent to the south.
Easy riding across short sheep-grazed
grass then took us back across the border
into Wales and down the steep and stony
descent off of the ridge into Gladestry. More
narrow, hilly lanes led us to Huntington
and, bewilderingly, back into England.
Here, Blunders insisted on a short diversion
to show us the highly rustic local Swan
pub, which in days past had done a roaring
Sunday trade by virtue of its position just
a few hundred yards outside “dry” Wales.
Although entry was denied us at this time by
Saturday afternoon closure, I got the distinct
impression that Blunders was not entirely a
stranger to the pub’s interior. From here,
pleasant roads (if a bit uppity and downity)
returned us safely to Rhosgoch and the end
of a lovely day out in magical country.
Sunday dawned bright and clear, as
lovely a late September day as you might
wish for. Coffee and chat were again the
order of the day at the golf club, before
setting out through the lanes via Bryngwyn
and Glasnant to plunge down the ultrasteep descent into the village of Glascwm.
Here, the old youth hostel, which before
that served as the village school, was a
forlorn looking sight. This was sad to see
in view of the many enjoyable stays that I
have had here over the years. The YHA has
certainly lost its way badly since the days
of my youth, seemingly no longer being at
all interested in catering for adventurous
travellers in our wilder places. Ah well!
Immediate compensation was to be had
in the delightful roughstuff crossing of the
Giant’s Grave track from Glascwm to our
lunch stop at Hundred House that Dave
served up next. Apparently, Steve Griffith
had introduced him to this track a few weeks
back and very nice too. At the top (1462 feet,
thank you, Garmin), we lingered by the
round barrow that gives this route its name
to appreciate the beautiful views all around,
and especially of the Brecon Beacons away
to the south west, looking splendid in the
bright autumn sunlight. Following a very
acceptable lunch at the Hundred House Inn,
we took the undulating lanes route back
to Glascwm, where the entire party quit
saddles and put feet to tarmac for the ascent
of the fearsome climb out of the village. This
even included young Joe, who up to that
point in the day had given us an impressive
demonstration of how to ride a 72-inch
fixed gear in mountainous country. A slight
variation on the morning route then took us
back via Newchurch and more undulations
to Rhosgoch, to conclude another excellent
Red Dragon weekend. Here’s to next year’s!
unsunghero surf shop, 28a High Street,
St. Davids, Pembrokeshire,
SA62 6SD.
www. unsungherosurf.co.uk
07799 626779 / [email protected]
22
News
23
News
Brooks Saddle
End of Race Results
1st A.Contador
2nd C.Froome
3rd A.Valverde
Overall leader.
Red Jersey A.Contador
Points winner.
Green Jersey J.Degenkolb
La Vuelta
a España
T
Combined.
White jersey. A.Contador
King of the mountains.
Blue/White polka dot.
L.L.Sanchez
By Sue Hughes
he Grand Tour, as always,
started with a grand flourish in
the city of Jerez de la Frontera
in south western Spain. There
were a possible five main riders
contending for the overall general
classification and thereby getting the Red
leader’s Jersey: Alberto Contador (Spanish)
of team Tinkoff Saxo, Chris Froome (British)
of team Sky, Jocquin Rodríguez (Spanish) of
team Katusha; there was not a clear leader
of team Moviestar when the race started,
could have been either Alejandro Valverde
(Spanish) or Nairo Quintana (Colombian),
but as Quintana crashed out after hitting a
barrier in the mountain, the leader became
obvious.
Both Froome and Contador were to prove
their fitness after six weeks, when coming
back from injuries sustained in The Tour
de France - both pulled out of that race,
Froome with a broken hand and Contador
with a hairline fracture of the Tibia.
198 Riders from 36 countries started the
race, made up of 22 teams each of 9 riders,
there was a ‘wild card’ team riding, MTN
Qhubeka, from South Africa, the first time
a team from Africa has taken part. 38 Riders
did not finish the tour, two of which were
disqualified for fighting!
Contador took the lead in the mountains
and retained the Red Jersey to the end.
Chris Froome put up a good fight and tried
to take back some time in the final time trial
stage but was unable to better Contador.
Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen did the
commentary with their usual expertise
and the views from the helicopter cameras
were as spectacular as ever. Temperatures
Saddle Up by Reanne Atherton
I
remember when I used to work
in my local bicycle shop, more
often than not, the swapping of
the standard saddle seemed to
be a regular occurrence. The bike
would be purchased, the mechanic
would do all of the safety checks
and within minutes the request for
a more comfortable saddle would
be made. It may even have taken
someone a week or so to put up
with a sore rear end before they
came marching back into the
store in quest of eliminating that
uncomfortable feeling. This saddle
dilemma was more noticeable
amongst the female customers in
particular. For the men it wasn’t as
much of a priority to them.
With so much choice out there
now, it can be a minefield. From the
untrained eye they can all look the
same. There are subtle differences
in each one. Believe it or not, some
of the most comfortable saddles
are the hardest looking ones. It’s
not always about that squidgy
feel you think you need; hoping
someone has come up with a mini
sofa construction at long last. The
comfort comes from the sit bones
being correctly positioned on the
saddle and that the angle is spot
on so that there is no unnecessary
pressure where there shouldn’t be.
Different cycling disciplines all
require the body to be in a variety
of sitting positions to get the most
out of your performance. For the
down on the drop bars in race
mode style, the sitting position
will be different to a more upright
recreational
rider.
Therefore
the saddle will differ slightly to
accommodate this. So whether you
are a speed demon, an endurance
cyclist, a leisurely cruiser, or the
off road mountain bagger; there
is a saddle out there to suit your
favoured discipline.
Saddle design has improved
greatly and ladies are able to get a
women specific fit, with the shape
structured to better fit the female
anatomy. With some brands, not
only do they offer a saddle for
every occasion, but there is also
a choice of width for that precise
sit bone comfort while you are in
your preferred riding position.
One very useful appliance I
used to encourage customers to
use was the body geometry bum
measurer! Once customers had
got over the embarrassment of
my straight faced suggestion of
measuring their bottom, they
actually found it very useful. It is a
fairly accurate tool for measuring
your sit bones. Simply a soft pad
made up of memory foam leaving
an imprint of the sit bones.
Being more of an endurance
cyclist myself, it wasn’t long before
I was on the lookout for a saddle
which would still be comfortable
even after miles of sitting on it. I
fully understand the importance
of finding that perfect companion.
Once you’ve found it, if I was you I
wouldn’t let it go!
ranged from a sweltering 42 degrees to
cold heavy rain in the mountains. There
were enormous crowds all along the route
to witness this wonderful event, needless
to say the finish in Santiago de Compostela
was phenomenally supported. David Millar,
a British rider, was retiring at the end of the
race and gave a very emotional interview at
the end.
A Look Back at the
Career of David Millar
D
avid Millar was born on 4th
January 1977 in Scotland.
He now lives in Girona with
his wife Nicole and two
sons Archibald and Harvey.
As a 19-year-old in 1996, Millar
headed to France with dreams
and a meagre grant, to pursue
a professional career in cycling,
choosing to do this instead of going
to study at art college. He turned
professional in 1997 and during his
career, has ridden for Cofidis 19972004, Saunier Duval 2006-2007 and
then with Garmin Sharp of which he
is still a part owner.
He first rose to prominence as a
23-year-old in 2000 when in his first
tour he won the opening prologue
time trial over a distance of 16 km
in the Tour de France and has since
gone on to achieve an impressive
array of overall and stage wins
He was the first British cyclist to
wear race leaders jersey in all three
major tours: France 1997, Spain 2001
and Italy 2008.
Other wins include: Volta a la
By Sue Hughes
la Sarthe, Tour of Burgos, Three
days of West Flanders, Paris-Nice
and Chrono des Nations, he also
came third overall in the 2010
Commonwealth Games road race
and second in the 2010 World
Championship time trial.
Millar became a close friend
of Lance Armstrong and in 2001
Armstrong asked Millar to join his
team, their friendship came to an
end in Paris at the end of the Tour
de France in 2007 in a stand up row
over drugs. When living in Biarritz
in 2004 Millar admitted and was
arrested for taking EPO drugs, he
was banned from cycling for two
years and stripped of his World
Time Trial championship rainbow
jersey which he had won in 2003
and at his own request stripped of
his stage 19 win in the 2003 Tour de
France. Since returning to cycling
he has been an avid and determined
crusader against doping.
In 2007-2008 Millar, along with
Jonathan Vaughters, became a
founder member of the Slipstream
retire from cycling after 17 seasons
and confirmed his decision in a video
interview given to the Dutch cycling
magazine Wieler Revue. Amongst
controversy over his health, Millar
was disappointed to be left out of
the Tour de France squad just days
before the grand start, which would
have been his last opportunity to ride
a 13th and final tour, beginning on
home soil in Leeds. He rode his last
race at the end of the 2014 season,
the Tour of Britain and gave an
emotional interview during which
he said, “I just don’t want it as much
as I once did.” He has admitted to
suffering increasingly from health
and injury problems as the last 20
years on the road have taken their
toll, he also said he wants to spend
more time with his wife and two
sons.
Millar wrote an autobiography
entitled ‘Racing Through the Dark;
The Fall and rise of David Millar’,
which was published by Orion
Publishing Group Ltd, on 28th June
2012, in which he tells of his dark
Other major wins during his career are:
2000 – Stage 1 Tour de France opening prologue individual time trial.
2001 – Stages 1 & 6 Spanish Vuelta. Won the Tour of Denmark.
2002 – Stage 13 Tour de France.
2003 – Stage 17 Vuelta and Stage 19 Tour de France individual time trial.
2006 – Stage 14 Vuelta. Became British national individual pursuit champion.
2007 – Became British national road race champion and British national time trial champion.
2008 – Stage 1 Italian Giro d’Italia, team time trial.
2009 – Stage 20 Vuelta time trial.
2010 - Won Commonwealth Games time trial and Stage 3 individual time trial in Criterium International.
2011 – Stage 21 Giro individual time trial
2012 – Stage 12 Tour de France.
Comunitat Valenciana; mountains
classification, Overall in the Circuit
de la Sarthe, Tour of Denmark, Three
day of De Panne, Tour of Picardie
and the Edinburgh Nocturne.
Stage wins in Tour de I’Avenir,
Three days of De Panne, Route de
Sud, Tour of Denmark, Circuit de
cycling squad, this became GarminSlipstream, an American team which
turned into one of cycling’s leading
teams and is now sponsored by
Garmin Sharp and for whom Millar
last rode.
At the age of 37 in January of 2014,
Millar announced his intention to
period.
He is still part owner of the team
Garmin Sharp and says, “I’ll always
have that involvement, I have such
an emotional investment in that
team, but I’d like to help young
riders, perhaps in some kind of
mentoring or coaching role.”
By Blunders
How long should a leather sprung black Brooks cycle saddle last?
Reminiscing on all the miles that have past
All those including me that have sat on
And complained about their aching bottom.
£29.50 was the pricy sum
It started life on my Dawes Tandem
‘Twas when I was aged around thirty three
The stoker was then- Stephanie
That relationship failed with the passing of time
But as usual things turned out fine
Along came Myfanwy
To sit on and take to the saddle immediately
The saddle had lasted thirteen years all told
But like the saddle I refused to admit to getting old
I preferred to immature with age
This sends Myff into a grown up feminine rage
I was given the choice to “Grow up or get out!”
Bugger- what was that in aid of- what’s this all about?
One day I found my clothes packed in bin liners and on the lawn
No female posterior on it...is the saddle now feeling all forlorn?
A new home is found for the Brooks saddle
A mountain bike is what I’d straddle
Christened Hawkwind as it was a Silver Machine
Many thousands of miles now the saddle has seen
But Hawkwind gave up the ghost
And Scott the highbred became the saddles host
How many pub miles the saddles done now...who knows
One, Two or six with countless zeros
A broken dropout spelt the death of Scott
But the saddle was not forgot
It’s now on Merida my shopping cycle
But whilst delivering the Kington Chronicle
did the saddle deliberately to my bum become spiteful?
The saddle was extremely expensive at the time
But I’m now aged fifty eight, a month off fifty nine
Question if it was ever really comfortable
But being unemployed a new one is unaffordable
The saddles tension adjusting rod has stripped its thread
So is the Brooks saddle now...finally dead?
Or will a couple blobs of weld do the trick
And once again to the pub my bum on the Brooks saddle sit?
T
What To Wear For
winter cycling
he main issue is how to
wick sweat away from
the body and avoid
getting a chill.
Layering of clothing works
all the time in theory, so what
I wanted to do, was outline a
few ideas and include a few
tips I’ve picked up along the
way, on what to wear and how
to keep warm when riding in
the winter.
The main thing is to try
not to get too cold; it’s really
important to keep your body
and head warm. The old pros
used to shove a newspaper
down their cycle jersey to
keep the wind chill out and
I’ve even used a plastic bag on
a recent trip to the Alps.
There are a number of
options and fabrics that can
be used, some new and some
old. I never really understood
the use of Gortex over more
traditional waterproofs; I
understand the theory, but
having used the product when
sailing, climbing, canoeing
and cycling, it just doesn’t
work for me. The idea is to
create a seal to force sweat
through the membrane but I
can’t seem to do this, as I get
too hot.
I recently got involved with
a project in South Wales and
noticed that all the old pros
were wearing Merino Wool
jerseys over a cotton T-shirt;
these did just fine in the wind
and rain at the coast. I tried
using the Casteli string vests
as a base layer for a month,
but in the end I went back
to North Face thermal base
layers and in the winter I use
M & S long sleeved thermals
as recommended by my
granny.
From about March to
October, I wear normal length
cycling shorts and Merino
socks, adding Nano Flex knee
warmers as the weather gets
colder, but when it is really
cold and wet, I don tights or
long johns and over shoes.
The top half is more
complex: I wear a North Face
base layer and Nano Flex
arm warmers, other times a
thermal layer and a windproof
of some sort with full finger
gloves on my hands. In recent
years I have started to carry a
spare pair of gloves when it’s
wet, because after a coffee
shop stop, it’s such a nice
feeling to put on a dry pair.
In really bad weather I also
put on a Neopreen skull cap
under my helmet.
Summer time is much less
of a problem, one simply has
to remove sweat moisture and
protect the body from UV rays.
By Paul Trepte
at Trekitt
Hiking Backpack Gear
Whats in our packs
B
ack in the day when I first
started mountain walking the
only way to keep your kit dry
inside your rucksack was to stuff
a bin liner inside your pack first and
then cram everything inside. Whilst
this was a simple and effective solution
it had its drawbacks. When you needed
to get at the bit of kit at the bottom of
the pack you had to unpack everything
else (usually in the pouring rain) just
to get at it, no matter how organised
you thought your packing was. This
could be exasperating in foul weather
or in emergency situations; imagine
trying to find your first aid kit when a
friend is bleeding heavily. It’s stressful
enough without having to search for the
emergency kit in the first place.
Despite being made from plastic, and
therefore waterproof, unless you were
prepared to tie a knot in the top of the
bin liner it could easily let water in and
then all your kit would be wet, and stay
wet for the whole day. Constant delving
in and out of the flimsy bin liner could
easily rip it, rendering it useless.
Nowadays the solution provided
by most pack manufacturers to keep
your kit dry is the ubiquitous pack
cover. These are normally PU coated
waterproof fabric covers that stretch
over the pack. Whilst this can be an
effective solution it cannot guarantee
to keep everything inside your pack
completely dry. The covers don’t
cover the whole pack, and when you
encounter the kind of driven horizontal
rain we often experience in the UK hills,
the water will find a way in. Rucksack
covers can be blown off by strong gusts
of wind and there is also the practical
problem of accessing your kit. You still
have to remove the cover to get access
to the pack potentially exposing the
contents to the elements and you’ll still
have to delve around to find exactly
what you need.
At Trekitt we advocate the use of
Exped Fold Drybags to both protect
and organise the contents of your pack.
These inexpensive bags are based on
the original canoe bags used by river
guides and are therefore completely
waterproof and come in a variety of
sizes, colours and fabric weights. A
selection of bags will keep your kit dry,
dust free and organised. My “hill” pack
stays packed all of the time so all I have
to do is chuck it on and get out there
and I can also easily check what may be
missing (nicked by my kids) or needs
replacing.
To give you some idea of how to use
these versatile bags I have listed below
how I organise my “hill” pack. Please
bear in mind that I am Mr Cautious
and always over pack, I suppose this
is a hang up of being an ex-mountain
rescue team member.
In the main compartment:
Exped Fold Drybag Medium Black - Mountain Hardware Ultralamina 35 sleeping bag (I told
you I was Mr Cautious).
Exped Fold Drybag Medium Olive - Jetboil Flash (including 100g gas canister) Spork, Coffee,
Whitener, Sugar, Hot Chocolate and Trek N Eat freeze dried meal.
Exped Fold Drybag X-Small Olive - Food and snacks, usually dried fruit and nuts, Snickers
bar and some flapjack.
Exped Fold Drybag Ultralite Medium Red - Lifesystems Adventurer First Aid Kit, Black
Diamond Spot headtorch, spare batteries, emergency bivvy bag.
Exped Fold Drybag Ultralite X-Small Orange - Rab Bergen overtrousers.
Exped Fold Drybag Small Yellow - Rab Bergen Jacket.
Exped Drybag Ultralite X-Small Red - Rab Strata jacket (spare insulation)
Exped Drybag Ultralite Small Yellow - Hats and gloves
Source Widepac 2.0 litre hydration bladder - I only half fill this and then top up if needed
using a Sawyer Mini Filter.
The other advantage of this system is that I can
quickly and easily transfer kit from one pack to
another, so if I’m going climbing I’ll grab the first
aid pack and the jetboil pack and stuff them into
My “hill” pack is a Gregory Z35 and always
contains the following with a total pack weight
of around 8.5kg (depending on amount of
water and food).
In the top pocket:
Map - in a waterproof Ortlieb map case (the only map case worth buying).
Garmin Etrex GPS (just in case) - in an Aquapac waterproof case.
Mobile phone in an Aquapac waterproof case - I can use the phone whilst it is in the
case.
Sawyer mini filter and 1 litre pouch - to top up the bladder and to gather water for
cooking (it’s lighter than carrying spare water).
In the hip belt pocket:
Energy gel - I am getting on a bit!
Silva Type 4 compass with tachometer - all the compass you’ll ever need!
Lifesystems plastic mountain whistle - plastic so it doesn’t stick to your lips in
freezing conditions.
my climbing bag; or if I’m going on a longer trek
I’ll transfer what’s needed to my large pack along
with the kit specifically required for that trip
(tent, kip mat, spare clothes etc). You can also
easily adapt the contents of each bag to suit the
conditions.
Once you get used to using drybags you’ll never
go back, but beware they can become addictive!
For more info on the products
above visit www.trekitt.co.uk

PDF - Pedal Your Cycle

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