Blogs

The nice folks at madison gave us an insulated stainless steel mug for going to iceBike. Anyone want one to keep their beverage slightly warmer? Just reply to this and you're in the draw. You've got, like, a week, i guess...

Here at road.cc I enjoy a reputation for the obscure. Things quirky and just a little different fascinate me. My red Univega is a prime example. Based around a high- end (double butted 4130) Cro-moly frameset hailing from the late 90’s, it features Ritchey ends, curly stays and braze ons a plenty.

Bit quiet at road.cc towers today cos we've been out at Madison's inhouse show, iceBike. Madison are the UK biggest distributor of cycling bits 'n' bobs handling major brands like Shimano, Cervelo, Kryptoinite, Profile, Blackburn, Giro, Bell and a load more plus their own bike brands Ridgeback and Genesis and their own clothing and parts brands too.

Did a lot of hours at work since last spring and consequently less cycling. New Years resolution was to finish work twice a week on time and go for a ride. This has rarely happened so far and today was another late night at work and no riding. So gets to the bike for the short ride home and a puncture, the sixth this year. I only had a standard size tube with me which was not quite long enough for the rim, lbs having sold out!

There is nothing better than a late winter holiday to get some sun on your bones and to get the motivation for cycling back.

I wasn't yearing too much for my bike whilst relaxing in Spain and then on a mountain drive back to the coast from Girona I saw it.

Simple white letters painted on a road to one of the peaks used in the Volta e Catalunya last summer.

"Hincapie"

The past few evenings have seen me confined to the garage for the annual rust-proofing of my fleet. For those unfamiliar with this ritual, it involves standing a five litre drum of gloop in a bucket of boiling water for about twenty minutes in the hope of it liquefying to the point it can be sprayed, or otherwise poured into the seat-tube(s).

For those of you that keep a close eye on all things sport you might have seen a worrying trend in the last few months - early death in young athletes.

There have been two high profile deaths in athletics over the last month or so. Firstly, 26 year old Rene Herms died of a 'heart related' illness http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=48890.html. Then only yesterday it was announced that another 26 year old athlete Kamila Skolimowska has also passed away http://www.iaaf.org/aboutiaaf/news/newsid=49374.html. She 'collapsed' which can normally be construed as heart failure.

Lying in bed enjoying those few minutes after the alarm has gone off but before actually getting up, right arm dangling off the edge, scruffling the top of the cats head while she's marthering for food.

Thinking about the ride for the day.

Has anyone noticed the latest Diet Coke advert with the Welsh singing strumpet Duffy 'borrowing' a single speed bicycle to nip to the shop for a can of pop before her gig? Now, am I just getting excited about seeing a girl on a bike (I would have been more excited if she was riding fixed) or are advertising honcho's seeing single speed bikes as the coolest thing to travel about on? Does this mean we are heading towards a large mainstream trend? I hope not because after every fad comes the back lash.

Just been writing up the BMC SLC01 Pro Machine that's just in, and it got me all angry about carbon stems again. Not because it has one – sensibly BMC spec the EA90 – but just because they exist, really. Why do they exist? The EA90 and EC90 are a good case in point. The EA90 is an excellent stem. The EC90, which is £100 dearer and 5g heavier, is average at best. Why even bother?