Tree Hugging

"aw, aw, aw... dead leg, dead leg, dead leg!!"

It's funny how things always come in three's isn't it?... bouts of bad luck, Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France bikes (see later)... and in this case- tree stumps..! Only thing is that it is the first of three that my partner Ali is currently hugging (she obviously hasn't read the script).

We're out mountain biking in Leigh Woods on the outskirts of Bristol, and it's obvious that neither of us are

very used to these bikes on this terrain and the lack of cleats. Ali has only been road cycling for 6 months now, and whilst I don't have that much more experience on the road than her we're both much more used to dodging potholes and puddles instead of slippery rocks and trees. Being out on the MTB's is great fun, but

also what I'm hoping to make quite a key part of my winter training- it's much harder work and really helps to improve bike handling so I'm hoping that when I do hop back on the road then I'll see a difference!

I've actually been out on the MTB quite a bit, what with the threats of an early Arctic winter for the UK I'm quite happy to get on with the hard work of riding HUGE tyres on the ride to ensure that I'm staying upright for the off-season. I'm hoping that this'll help with strength training for next year- only time will tell I suppose (and Strava times!)

In other, far more national, news- how many people saw that one of Sir Brad's 2012 TdF bikes was up for sale? If you've kept an eye on the BBC sport pages then you might have seen that one lucky chappy one one of these and has just sold it through the London Bike Exchange, now whilst some people have apparently given him a load of stick for doing this, saying that he is ungrateful etc etc most people must be able to see where he is coming from? I mean, how many people can afford to keep a bike that they don't ride at home, and if so then how many of us have space to fit a bike up on the wall?!!

Copyright: London Bike Exchange

Hopefully in the next week or two I'll have more chance to get out on the bike(s) and get some more training milage under my belt- even if it is on the turbo trainer!

Keep an eye on here, every Tuesday between 7 and 8pm (UK time) for the weekly blog post. And please share with anyone else who you think would enjoy reading!


Keep 'em Spinning!

Robo.

The long weight...

"Light is right..."

That's the motto that one of the guys I ride with goes by, and funnily enough he's only just over 50kg and rides a bike that would be barely legal in a UCI event... All in all, I'm slightly jealous of the chap (he's the monkey by the way (see below))...

As I mentioned last week I'm over 6', and I currently weigh around 86.5kg so along with the targets of certain events over the next 12 months I'm also aiming for a reduced strain on the bathroom scales!

Weight is a hot topic of debate with anyone, as some people take things to the real extreme which is just plain unhealthy, but I think that if managed correctly then it's fine to take an interest in one weight. There are also plenty of debates about whether being lighter is an advantage (Cyclist magazine had an interesting article on whether larger people have an advantage going downhill) but a lot of the time I think that it is almost as powerful as a psychological weapon as a physical one.

So, onto my main targets for the next 12/13 months (up until Dec 2014):

• Main ride target is the Tour of Wessex- I've signed up for this 3 day, 300+ mile event already so this'll be where the true training is aiming for!!
• Another ride that I am certain I'll be going for is the White Horse Challenge, I rode this last year and what a brute it was for a first sportive! This year I'll be testing myself out for the Tour of Wessex and trying to set as good-a-time as possible instead of acting as dominestique for a KOM challenge!

• Weight-wise I'm aiming to be down to around 80kg by the beginning of May, just in time for the main events of the season, and depending on how I get on to there I may even set another target for the end of the year!

As you can see, this week was a quiet one on the bike as I only managed to get out once. However I did make sure that this was a decent ride- popping over the 100km mark for a single ride for the first time in a couple of months!! I did try to get a couple of photos on the way round but never got any decent ones to pop on here. Don't ask about the bananas by the way (none of them were eaten by me by the way!) it was like riding with a monkey the amount that were being consumed/sticking out the back of the jersey! I'll be sure to get a good photo of that next time round!

Please share the blog around if you like it, and +1 the new Google+ page as well to be first to see the blogs as they go live between 7 & 8pm every Tuesday evening!

Keep 'em Spinning!

Robo.

Stay Safe!!

After the recent number of cycling fatalities on the news in the past couple of weeks, I thought that it might be nice to show a small tribute to those people on here. Although at the time of writing not all names have been released as to the deceased, we should remember all of them and remember to be safe out on the roads ourselves.

• Eric Codling (Sheffield)
• Venera Minakhmetova (London)
• Roger William De Klerk (London
• Francis Golding (London)
• As yet not formally identified 62- year old male (London)
• As yet not formally identified male in his 30s (London)
• AS yet not formally identified male 63 - year old male (Bristol)

Have fun, stay safe, wear a helmet!

Keep 'em spinning!


Robo.

New beginnings...

Here I go again....! I tried to write a cycling blog sometime in 2012, but somewhere along the way I got distracted and now that blog seems to have got lost out there in the expanse of the WWW!

I'm hoping that this blog will help to give me the extra motivation to keep on putting the kilometres in in all seasons and conditions, and hopefully it will inspire some of you guys to get out on your bikes as well and enjoy the beauty of being out in the great British countryside.

Before I continue, I'd just like to make it clear that I am not sponsored by anyone, nor in anyway am I being asked by anyone to endorse or promote their products or services. All opinions and reviews posted on here are my own and not those of the manufacturers/brands that I may use or write about.

Now, I'm 23, 6'2" and most definitely not the typical build of a road cyclist! My legs are more the size of those that you expected to see thundering around the pine boards of the velodrome in sprint matches rather than out on the asphalt of the open road.
I'm also an accountant, which means that I spend most of my working time sat at a desk on my computer or in meetings. I know that this is something that a lot of people suffer from (sitting at desks, not accounting!) so I'll be sure to add to the blog anything that I see of here that helps office prisoners such as ourselves to keep fit and flexible even when we are not out on the bike.

Food is another thing that I love, as most people I know will agree with- it's not often that you don't see me nibbling on something when I'm not working away (and to be fair even when I am working away!!). So of course I'm always on the lookout for little tips for the kitchen from the TV and magazines, and hope to share some great little recipes with you all whether pre-, post- or during your rides and training, or even just a tasty (and sometimes naughty) meal to enjoy at any time.

I also wouldn't be much of a cyclist if I didn't point out all the great cakes stops that I encounter when out and about on two wheels!

Finally, I'd just like to mention Strava if I may... I know that for some people Strava is now the bane of their lives - "Look how fast I just went on xyz segment" and "Oh no, abc just stole my KOM!!"
I have to admit that at times I can be one of those, but I also think that this website has certainly helped me keep me motivated over the past 12 months and contributed to my improvements on the bike! I'm planning on posting a quick summary on here every week to show what I've been up to on my bike, and if you want to see my activities on Strava as soon as I upload them then just click on the link below and 'follow' me!

Rob's Strava Profile

For now, keep 'em spinning!

Robo.