..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
words, words, words
i am not a sporting person in any way, shape or form. i enjoy watching cycling in pretty much all its formats, though i should confess that i rarely watch mountain biking, for no reason other than the fact that i've not come across much in the way of online or eurosport live coverage. however, that probably says more about me than it does about tv coverage or mountain biking.
a bit of history that you probably didn't need to know, when at secondary school, when p.e. was still compulsory, i would regularly opt to run the cross-country course. i had no interest whatsoever in running, but the route meandered past the airport's main runway, so the opportunity to sit on a log and watch planes take-off, filled several minutes of each run. timed well, it was possible to return to the games hall just too late to join in whatever the teacher had decided was the exercise du jour. thus, i departed after sixth year with nothing resembling a competitive instinct, and little in the way of any physical conditioning.
so, when all around are watching world cup football, six nations rugby, australian open tennis or even cricket, i remain oblivious to any interest those events may engender. with rugby underway this past weekend, one of the local hotels offered a burger and a pint, plus access to their compact and bijou, in-house cinema to watch scotland lose to ireland. amongst those still sober enough to care, i doubt there was much succour to be gained from other than the aforementioned burger.
once again, i remained ignorant of the result until later in the evening, when mrs washingmachinepost caught the last five minutes or so, prior to the start of whatever it is mrs washingmachinepost watches on netflix. and those mere minutes that passed through on our way to somewhere else, consisted of several blokes sitting around a table, discussing why it was that the country of my birth had failed to capitalise on an apparently superior gameplay. and i don't mind telling you that this particular part of televised sport is the one bit that i have yet to comprehend. particularly, since i'm reasonably sure that the same blokes sat round that table, enacted precisely the same procedure prior to the commencement of battle.
in the sporting milieu, this concept is referred to as punditry, where those with an avowed, or self-annointed expertise in the sport under discussion, provide the watching public with the excesses of that expertise. and oddly enough, insofar as i can ascertain, along with consultants, pundits are one of the few strains of public life in which there seems no requirement to be right, and no noticeable consequences if proved wrong. as an extreme example, had i prophesied that yesterday's world cross championships was likely to fall to wout van aert, the fact that matthieu van der poel crossed the finish line some considerable distance ahead of an unbelievable and superb second place from tom pidcock, would probably not be held against me in a subsequent post-race, round-table recap of the seven laps of mud.
of course, that's more than likely due to my being some considerable distance from any kind of expertise, with probably more idea of who rides what make of bicycle, than any real clue as to who might be likely to do well under varying conditions. but really, does it make any difference?
it may well be that scotland went into saturday's rugby match as favourites against the competition. but no matter how often i heard them to be pronounced as the better side, they lost. which, to my way of thinking, hardly made them the better of the two. all the punditry and prognostications prior to dubendorf yesterday, proclaimed that the race was van der poel's to lose; nobody was wrong and everybody (as far as i know) was right. i should, i believe, declare something of a vested interest, since more than one or two of people i consider to be good friends, would definitely consider themselves to be pundits of the highest order. therefore, to be seen to diss their profession might be eventually prove counter-intuitive, and probably not in my favour.
yet, were we to agree to turn off the punditry on all sports for a whole year, would anyone really notice? games and races would begin, they would take place and, eventually, they would end. someone would win and somebody (maybe a lot of somebodies) would lose.
can we make that happen? pretty please?
major kudos to yorkshire's tom pidcock on his superb second place in dubendorf.
monday 3 february 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................washing powder
dubendorf is, i was surprised to learn, in switzerland, a country not particularly noted, as far as i'm aware, for its cyclocross culture since the days of thomas frischknecht. comments on the interweb seem less than impressed with the course, remarks i feel less than qualified to critique. however, i'd imagine those who fare less well in the racing will be inclined to agree, with the winners observing that the parcours and conditions were well-suited to their abilities. since this particular post is likely to appear on the web around the time of the men's elite race, i will refrain from offering any prognostications or results; if i'd been into that sort of thing, you'd have been reading this yesterday.
but, as we have read pretty much all last year and on into this second decade of the century, cyclocross now has a smidgeon of competition from the new kid on the block: gravel. the latter's american heritage is easy to define, given that europe is hardly as well-equipped with kilometre upon kilometre of gravel; we're probably a touch more acquainted with mud and grass. that said, there's no doubt that the nomenclature appended to any particular genre of cycling is often bears less than specific intent. i'm thinking here of those dratted mountain bikes, few of which came anywhere near a mountain, let alone a humpty back bridge. thus, gravel is probably whatever you want or need it to be.
either way, both 'cross and gravel engender a certain mindset, one that scarcely includes tarmac, other than for reasons of getting to and from either mud or gravel. in this perspective, it would seem practical to consider both of the above as the bass players of cycling. the latter is frequently categorised as the ambassador between the drummer and guitarist/keyboard player, translating rhythm into melody. given that 'cross riders and gravelists ride on drop bars, but with a more irreverent attitude than the dyed-in-the-wool roadie, they probably inhabit the mid-point between the gnarly mountain bikers and chris froome, by way of peter sagan.
with peter stetina having removed himself from the realm of road-racing to undertake a season of gravel, and one or two members of the ef education first team already entrenched in the activity, one can only assume that it's a branch of the sport experiencing a golden period at present. personally, i have little experience of the category, embroiled as i am in that of cyclocross (notwithstanding matthieu van der poel's less than entrancing domination of the current season). but it would be misleading of me to imply that my embroilment is that of a participant; i am regularly to be found searching on youtube for gcn's live broadcasts, cowbell at the ready.
my lack of participation is, i'm pleased to say, confined to the competitive arena, for i do thoroughly enjoy bashing about the undergrowth on my specialized 'cross bike, demonstrating a total lack of finesse and technique. yet, throughout the current 'cross season, the specialized has remained in the bike shed, extricated solely for the occasional brief commute. there is no shameless way of redeeming this situation, for it exists purely for one single reason: i don't like getting muddy.
sven nys, jeremy powers, richard sachs, tom pidcock and their peers seem totally at ease with plastering their bicycles and clothing with thick dollops of mud, revelling in the opportunity to enhance their bike-handling skills. but, try as i might, i cannot come to terms with entering debbie's on a saturday lunchtime, fresh from a few laps of bridgend woods, spattered from head to toe. it's a look that fails even more when i've removed my eye shades, and that's before attempting to consume a double-egg roll without dried mud peppering the yolks, to say nothing of the mud-caked bicycle sat outside.
over the past two years, i have confined my faux 'cross activities to the summer months, when the undergrowth is green, not brown and the parcours has coagulated into a substrate that refrains from attempting to swallow me whole. i realise this is hardly in the spirit of cyclocross, though i think it might be less of an embarrassing admission for a gravelist, meaning i might be the first amongst us to straddle the two with aplomb. i take this to mean that i can ride my 'cross bike with a gravel mindset, surely making me an attractive proposition for any team manager keen to inhabit the leading edge of modern velocipedinality?
or, as mrs washingmachinepost has alluded, a bit of wimp.
sunday 2 february 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................on track
there is a common apprehension, apocryphal or otherwise, that more people would cycle, if only there were better facilities or infrastructure available, to ease their way into the pedalling life. in urban or inner-city areas, i would imagine that such is probably particularly true; cycling midst motor traffic, with drivers intent on getting to work on time, often with scant regard for others attempting the same, can't be much fun. riding on designated or segregated cycle tracks, arguably engenders a greater sense of safety.
however, the term 'cycling facilities' can mean a great deal more than just cycle lanes. while many schools participate in the bikeability programme, to teach primary school kids the basics, there are still many who fall through the gaps and close in on adulthood, still bereft of the ability to ride a bicycle. therefore, in a world where reduction of carbon footprints has gained a higher profile than in the past, and city centres are beginning to take steps to make cycling and walking easier than driving, learning to safely ride a bicycle begins to look like a priority, rather than a luxury.
and, aside from the above, what of those with disabilities, and for whom cycling takes on an altogether hue, especially those on specially adapted cycles which may feature more than two wheels?
taking all the above into consideration, perhaps the existence of a dedicated cycle track/circuit within reach of a sizeable portion of the population makes a great deal of sense. additionally, if you were to consider the youthful members of the population who may have their eyes on sporting success, coaching and training would be a great deal safer over a dedicated circuit, rather than taking chances in the middle of rush-hour traffic. so just imagine if one of those were to suddenly appear on a doorstep near you. wouldn't that be fun?
the incredibly astute folks in west lothian, have spent many a busy hour, day, week, month and year planning, fundraising and seeking permissions to install just such a facility on their own doorstep, one that is in close proximity to two-thirds of scotland's population. they've helped form linlithgow community development trust, which receives support from west lothian council, the local community, clubs and national sporting bodies. to kickstart the project, they're holding a crowdfunder launch party at 8pm on thursday 6 february in lowport centre in linlithgow. the object of the exercise is to raise £30,000 in addition to the £518,000 raised so far.
ultimately, the cycle track will consist of a 1 kilometre, traffic-free circuit, made up of four, fenced and floodlit loops for year-round use. the trust will work with the local council, sport cycling and cycling uk to deliver the first half-kilometre, two loop circuit. the goal is then to continue with fundraising to reach the full distance and add a further two loops, helping to create 'a society where cycling is a part of everyday life for everyone.'
if you live anywhere near linlithgow's lowport centre, you can reserve a free ticket via eventbrite. you know it makes sense.
saturday 1 february 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................mixed media
standards have been lowered, or are about to be.
it's been many a long year since i attended any cycle shows, for which there are a number of reasons, not least of which are time and cost. the most recent expedition south was to the impressive rouleur classic, an event held in salubrious surroundings and mostly providing access to the upper echelons of apparel, componentry and bicyles. however, it's quite a long way from the hebrides to london village, to say nothing of a three-day expedition for the sake of five hours bicycle watching. eventually, that becomes commercially unsustainable.
that is not in any way intended to denigrate the event's popularity or excellence, but whatever the manufacturers might tell you, one bicycle is pretty much the same as the next, most of the time, and at the rouleur classic level, nobody's exhibiting crap. yet events such as this, for famous members of the cycling media such as yours truly, fulfil the necessary function we like to categorise as networking. the only downside to the classic is its insistence on having the cognoscenti (me), mingle with the proletariat (you), while intent on interrogating the trade representatives eager to make my acquaintance (i may have made up that last bit).
but, when discussing the annual cycle show, i have not attended since the event was moved from the late-lamented earls court in london, to birmingham's national exhibition centre. with no disrespect to the latter city, one that i have never visited, there is still more of peripheral interest in the nation's capital for a country bumpkin such as myself. the national and tate galleries for instance.
in those halcyon days of london cycle exhibitions, i usually timed my arrival to coincide with the so-called 'trade days', when fellow, famous members of the cycling media, nodding our gracious approbation for each other, had free reign to traipse around the industry stands, upon which we had chosen to favour with our collective presence. as one who could talk for britain, i frequently found myself mid-afternoon, experiencing hunger pangs, having failed to take advantage of the various catering outlets surrounding the principal areas of interest, while boring every sales and marketing representative within earshot.
however, there was a certain pragmatism to those trade-days; other than those who had managed to gain entry on dubious grounds, the representatives in charge of each stand could be assured that their interlocutors were interested either in placing an order for the products on display, or media folks, keen to acquire or borrow items of interest for subsequent review or written feature. by and large, there was likely less need to nail everything to the floor, and keep unannounced prototypes hidden from view.
but now, it seems, we are collectively undone. our hitherto acknowledged fame and perspicacity on all matters velocipedinal, has been unceremoniously dismissed in favour of having us mingle with the proletariat. this may arguably have reduced the financial imperative on distributors and manufacturers to invest their money over a mere three days, rather than four, but now there is every possibility that we, the accredited cognoscenti, will no doubt be beseiged by autograph hunters and instagram followers as we earnestly attempt to ply our trade.
national cycle show organisers, the 'immediate media' owned 'upper street events', have decided to dispense with the bona-fide, trade-only day for this september's edition, in favour of an exhibition lasting three days. thus, the media, trade and industry insiders will have to take their chances midst the public melée, desperately attempting to enquire of marketing just how the rolling resistance of the latest tyre impinges upon top line speed, while a snotty schoolkid tries to grab every brochure and monogrammed carrier bag within sight, wondering if a folding tyre would fit in a rucksack.
according to the organisers, the change has been implemented after exhaustive consultation with exhibitors. organiser, rob hayes has said "a three-day format ensures that we keep costs down for exhibitors, whilst still giving everyone in the trade the opportunity to have valuable facetime with suppliers at the show." having also attended cycle shows on non-trade days, i beg to differ. i've often found it remarkably difficult to sustain a coherent conversation midst the cacophony, while the representatives keep a sharp lookout for attempted shoplifting. it's a decision that i fear might return to bite them on the posterior, but, as a famous member of the cycling media, i'm far too egotistical and self-obsessed to say so.
friday 31 january 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................beauty is in the eye of the beholder
you may recall a review posted on twmp late last year concerning the highly effective bicycle quickguard distributed in the uk, by chicken cycle kit. this robust set of mudguards/fenders, replaced the drive-side nut of the quick release skewer with a longer, splined nut onto which the mudguard stay slid and was subsequently clamped in place. following my initial review, i retained the guards on the ritchey logic throughout the persistent inclemency of the festive 500 and on into the new year. they're still protecting my back and footwear as we speak.
for many, this will be of no real consequence; i believe that many a sunday ride peloton positively insist that participants ride fully-fendered. the fact that i have chosen to do so of my own volition is hardly what could be described as earth-shattering news. however, though michael hutchinson once observantly wrote "mudguards are unfashionable, in the same way that a brown stripe up the back of your jacket is.", i cannot deny that one of the main reasons i have previously refrained from fitting mudguards, is on the superficial basis that they tend to seriously unravel the aesthetic of any bicycle under question.
if push came to shove, i might be moved to point out that the ritchey scarcely has sufficient clearance for the archetypal cigarette paper, thus obviating the possibility of attaching a regular set of fenders. add to that, the fact that hebridean crosswinds tend to ignore any fixed rain protection, by blowing spray in every direction, and the point seems a tad moot. i doubt i'm alone in my stylistic misgivings; the pros ride their state-of-the-art carbon, fender free, clearly demonstrating the fine lines and carbon filaments crafted by the design department. and since we desperately wannabe like our heroes, why on earth would we sully our reputations with mudguards?
however, if we can disregard the more usual purpose assigned to the humble mudguard, perhaps there is hope on the horizon (though i seriously doubt it). null winds technology of los angeles, california appear to be following a mission capable of simultaneously smoothing out the airflow over the wheels, while making you look like a dork on a bicycle. referring to their mudguard lookalikes as aerofenders for which they have filed a patent, they state "...minimizing overall vehicle drag reduces drag specifically on the critical uppermost portion of the exposed wheel, where wind speeds exceed twice the vehicle speed. And as ground headwinds also rise, this critical uppermost wheel drag reduction becomes even much more significant"
naturally enough, any self-respecting cyclist, having dressed themselves in the finest apparel available and suitably honed their physique will be less than keen to characterise the bicycle as resembling a carbon wheelbarrow. yet the pull of higher speed without recourse to extra training hours in the saddle, is likely to exert more of a pull than could be readily admitted over coffee and carrot cake. ever prudent in their mission, null winds have apparently already thought of this; "We recognize that timid and fashion-conscious road racers will be slow to adopt change. So we challenge those few who are more concerned with speed and aerodynamic efficiency, than with current fashion trends, to consider our products."
you do have to grudgingly admire a company that can make a positive sales pitch at the same time as making the majority of us appear shallow and less than dedicated to the cause. however, for the majority of us, speed has become of secondary consideration, simply because there is little more to be found in the tank. and while the attraction of appending a pair of aerofenders, might appear rather tantalising as a result, i would urge you to consider how a full aero helmet with tinted visor would appear to others in the sunday peloton.
i think my point is well-made, particularly if i alert you to the cost of the full carbon set at $699 (fibreglass costs $429) and that i found no accompanying mention of rain protection.
thursday 30 january 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................at the flick of a switch
in my early teens, for a few pounds pocket money (and i really do mean 'a few', i had a daily paper round, delivering newspapers seven days a week and pretty much 365 days per year. as i recall, the only time off was, at the time, christmas day and new year's day; i believe there are now newspapers published on both days, but since we have no ferry service on either, i couldn't honestly say.
anyway, my younger brother also held down a paper round in the same newsagent, so the plan was that we would both leave the house simultaneously each morning. sadly, that state of affairs lasted only a matter of days, purely on the basis that he took three times as long as any normal human being to achieve anything. to the best of my knowledge, that situation continues to the present day. the irony, in those far gone days, related to the fact that he owned a ten-speed racer, while i rode a raleigh shopping bike.
while the latter proved far more pragmatic than the ten-speed when it came to delivering oversized sunday papers, potentially, he owned a set of wheels that ought to have delivered him to the newsagent well ahead of yours truly. only, due to his reluctance to arise in a timely fashion, it didn't.
i cannot deny that, despite the practical nature of my own bicycle, with its capacious saddlebag, twist-grip shifting and dynamo lighting, i really, really wanted a ten-speed racer, purely on the basis that such a machine looked decidedly cool, and certainly not because i had any knowledge of the exploits of a certain mr merckx (or any other racing cyclist for that matter). however, on any occasion that my dad took me to visit the local bike shop, the proprietor proclaimed derailleur-based transport to engender nothing but endless mechanical trouble. this, despite my brother having had no notable problems with his red and green machine.
i'm pretty sure mr benzie's response was based purely on not having a suitably-sized racing bike in stock, coupled with an apparent unwillingness to place an order for one.
without wishing to reprise the technical history of the derailleur bicycle, let me simply mention that those ten speeds (five at the back and two rings up front), were delivered via a screw-on freewheel. but as those sprockets increased in number, tautologically, the freewheel increased in width, entailing the portion of axle between the hub flange and the dropout remaining not only unsupported, but effectively subject to greater stresses. in more cases than you'd like to think, the (solid) axle would simply crack at the cone.
enter the freehub.
aside from allowing the sprockets to slide onto a set of splines, there were now three sets of bearings: left outer-edge, right-hand flange and the outer edge of the freehub itself. allied to that, a hollow axle as required by the ubiquitous quick-release, was inherently stronger than the solid version and ultimately supported across its entire length. breakages virtually disappeared overnight.
but what of the hapless derailleur? having adopted suntour's parallelogram on the transpiration of its original patent, shimano and campagnolo engineered their rear versions to accommodate this growth in number of rear sprockets, each addition requiring subsequent modification of the angle and length of travel. thus, if you own ten-speed campagnolo record, for example, replacing the ergopower levers with the eleven-speed version, was likely to end in tears. however, with the introduction of electricity to the equation, that state of affiars might soon be a thing of the past.
you will perhaps remember my poking fun at the news that shimano, sram and campagnolo electronic shifting systems allow programming via a smartphone app. i'm unlikely to apologise for doing so, but it turns out that having been constituted in this fashion, these systems offer the potential of having their firmware updated to keep abreast with any future developments by any of the above. therefore, last year's eleven-speed electronic derailleur might conceivably be programmed to work with this year's twelve, via the simple uploading of a compact and bijou piece of code.
naturally, this is not something writ in stone; as yet, not everything is compatible with everything else (particularly in the case of campagnolo, it seems), but the principle exists nonetheless. it's knowledge like this that frequently has the luddite part of my psyche yearning for the ten-speed racer of yesteryear.
but definitely not the tardiness of my younger brother.
wednesday 29 january 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................music to my ears
a friend of mine, owner of a reasonably modern iphone, was intrigued by the current trend for so-called ear-buds, not only to listen to music on itunes, but, should the situation arise, answer a phone call while mid-way through a choice piece of music. the downside, of course, is the financial outlay required to join the party. purchased with apple's charging case, your bank balance would be lighter to the tune of £159; wireless charging will take another £40 while £50 more is needed if you fancy the customisable pro version.
somewhat more miserly with his hard-earned, the fellow mentioned above spent considerably less on a pair of made-in-china replica pods, which, to all intents and purposes, are indistinguishable from the originals. he has demonstrated just how functional these copies are in use; the only unknown quantity would be how long they continue to do so, given the enormous difference in price from that of tim cook's domain.
however, there is no likelihood of the gent in question using his phone/earpods while perambulating the islay countryside by bicycle, for the simple reason that he doesn't cycle. in fact, to the best of my knowledge, he doesn't even own a bicycle. gratifyingly, i cannot recall the last time i saw a cyclist listening to his/her phone/ipod, though the same cannot be said about those i've come across who consider running to be their modus operandi. while i'd be less than comfortable being seen to criticise fellow exercisers (is there such a word?), i can't actually see the difference between cycling on the public highway with one's ears immersed in the finest sounds that blue note records have to offer, and the same situation when wearing a pair of reeboks.
in both cases, safety is the name of the game.
my own viewpoint, should you be even remotely interested, revolves around the delight of the hebridean countryside, populated as it is by acres and acres of farmland, punctuated by the occasional distillery. it's an intrinsic part of an islay bike ride that there are sights worth seeing and country sounds worth listening to (though it would be nice if the geese would tone it down occasionally). i can already hear the groans attesting to the admitted fact that i am probably over-privileged, a situation that could only be improved were i in favour of sipping the amber nectar. and i totally agree with you.
the subject was brought to mind by twitter no less, when someone tweeted a photograph of their in-car entertainment display, demonstrating impeccable taste on listening to blue bolivar blues (take 2) by thelonious monk, from the album 'monk's dream'. if this is a delight that has, until now, passed you by, i suggest popping over to itunes at the end of this monologue and listening to the composition on your pro-level air buds (link below).
in this regard, and pertaining specifically to the act of commuting, one might reasonably question why it is that motorists have the comparative luxury of heated comfort accompanied by thelonious monk? for surely, they too ought best to keep their eyes and mind on the road ahead and behind, without the distraction of syncopated rhythms emanating from their state-of-the-art in-car entertainment system? granted, few motorists are in danger of bein run over by speeding cyclists, but there are plenty of alternative, motorised obstacles of which to be aware.
pro cyclists are rarely seen without at least one earpiece gaffa taped to an ear, all the better to ignore the instructions of the ds driving behind, probably not listening to 'blue bolivar blues', but there's no denying the relative safety that the peloton enjoys from the iniquities of distillery pot-ale tankers. the existence of various on-line streaming services nowadays may arguably have made start to finish listening a far more attractive option, but for the purely selfish reason of wishing to retain as many readers as possible, i would strongly implore you to learn to love the sound of cars, buses, taxis, fellow cyclists and flocks of barnacle geese.
just say no to air pods on the bike, no matter how tempting the price.
tuesday 28 january 2020
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