There’s a wide spectrum of styles within cycling retailers. From the legendary old school shop that we’ve known since childhood, where they put the coffee on and we simply chat, to the ultra modern and unfortunately sometimes pretentious retailer, where they keep their main showroom locked and only open it for invited customers – no, believe me, these people exist.
Watching SIDAS and Lake setting up at the Boardman Centre, it was clear that this was going to be an interesting day. True to this, a skeletal foot came out … interesting.
It’s over a week now since I arrived back from Sibiu in Romania. It’s a place that I love dearly, for its amazing history, the beautiful mountains nearby, and for its people – some of whom are like family. Riding up the Transfaragarasan Highway was one of my life moments – something that I’ll remember forever.
When you look at most bike boxes, the design, even of the newest models, often seems to follow the classic design from our own favourite brand – Bike Box Alan. Now, we’re based in Yorkshire too, so let’s get this out of the way immediately; yes, we see BBA as a partner, now and into the future. Why – well, simply because they cannot be beaten in terms of looking after your precious bike.
Described as probably the best road in the world, the Transfargarasan Highway is truly an epic climb. Thankfully you can now ride it as part of a unique closed road event once a year – so we went along 🙂
Before every ride I do the same things. Albeit that I’m 56 years of age, I seem to be no different from what I was racing track and field years ago, lining up my shoes, with the socks placed across them and a lucky jacket nearby.
Yes, my best fitness days are behind me and things tend to break or creak more easily, requiring repair. And so, as a consequence of this, getting out for long winter rides isn’t always a great idea or possible, meaning that when spring comes along, on occasions I’m playing catch up on the hills, as I battle to get that early season fitness that we dream of.
It’s not always great weather for riding. However, as cycling writers, we don’t always get a choice – motivation and the weather may be against us, requiring extra personal strength just to get onto the bike…
Yakima make carriers all kinds of bikes, and their Front Loader is probably one of the most secure and well fitting bike carrier on the market. We tested it both in Romania and in the U.K.
Waiting for the end of winter can be mentally tough. The first warm days can be simply a test of our mental strength, as the thermometer rises towards 20 degrees, only to be plunged towards 0 again soon, with snow showers and freezing rain. Robert writes about his own thoughts while waiting for spring.
