Blogs

Dear manufacturers: we've come a long way since those grey boxes that took batteries the size of your fist and spat out enough light for you to see your front tyre, so praise where praise is due: we've had some progress. Now we've settled on what looks to be the perfect solution, the humble LED. In a decade we've moved forward a long way, from those green flashy things that cateye used to make to 1300 lumen searchlights you could use to light a football stadium. And it's all good. There's one thing that hasn't really changed though.

Forests have already been felled and a zillion innocent pixels, er zapped bringing you the news that Lance Armstrong and Don Catling the UCLA drug-testing expert have agreed to end their independent doping program before it started. So what do a few more matter!

Just in case you've been locked in a cupboard for the last 24 hours I might as well throw my two penn'orth in, and point you at the choicest opinions aired on the matter so far.

1) overtrousers don't break when you're trying to get your bike in the boot

2) If your overtrousers rub on your wheel, you don't need a spanner to make them stop

3) if you get a stone jammed in your overtrousers you don't end up in a hedge

4) it doesn't take half an hour to put your overtrousers on

I don't mean just commuting on a 15 year old mtb, which I did today, but spend my Saturdays mornings riding round the Peak District when I could be in the Westfield centre. Or doing the tour of Flanders sportif the weekend of my partners birthday when we could go to Barcelona instead.

I wouldn't have that big bruise and graze on my thigh from coming down on ice last weekend or had a 10km walk home the other week.

Whilst sifting through youtube following tangential threads starting from 'amusing cat videos' I ended up on this. Now, don't get me wrong, I like tricks on fixers but this makes me feel a little confused. Please share your comments.

Justin Burls is tucked away in a quiet corner of Harwich. His background in classic vehicle restoration and metal fabrication have equipped him with an unsurpassed eye for detail, making the transition to bespoke frame building a surprisingly easy one. He still has his first frame-a TT mount built for his own sporting his trademark, super-smooth fillet brazing and deep, luxurious blue livery.

Idly browsing on the web at lunch I came across the Kona Africabike on www.sbrsports.com. it didn't really strike me as a good triathlon mount, but now i've seen their suggested accessories, who knows? i might give it a go...

I’ve been making minor modifications to my son’s tag-along- nothing radical- despite what might be termed my fiximytosis, he hasn’t incurred my zealot like passion for the purity of the fixed sprocke – not least as I’m loathe to drill resin platform pedals for clips and straps.

Well, you won't be surprised that due to certain weather conditions the Cayo has not ventured forth since....however, I decided to head to the Velodrome which promised to be much warmer and drier.

So, I needed to pinch the pedals back from the Cayo, to put back on my track bike. Imagine my surprise when I found that one of them was solid - and I mean solid. You could not move it by hand. Only after a mixture of vice, GT85 and a suitable large lever could I free it up, take it apart etc etc.

...nowhere near the road.

My training continues not to begin properly, but I got my mojo back somewhat over the weekend by some non-road riding.