About 3 months ago I ventured out of the boundaries of Chester and visited the very friendly folks at Eureka Cycles in what was, at the time, their brand new location. The idea was to have a bike fitting and see if adjustments to the bike would easy the occasional lower back pain, frequent knee pain and the seeming inevitable pain between the shoulders.
They have a rig that measures an amazing number of parameters such as inside leg, shoulder width, torso width, torso length, reach (both arms separately) etc. etc. That's then all pumped into a computer program along with the style of riding you're aiming for (mid-long distance sportives translate to sport endurance). The program then prints a bike frame with a vast array of measures such as top tube length, stem height, bar width, saddle height, crank length, saddle position fore and aft, distance from saddle centre to bars (including stem length) etc. etc.
So we compare this against the Via Nirone and discover that I have the saddle height set within 5 mm of the recommendation and that the bars are within 2 mm of being the correct width. From there it all goes a bit wrong. Basically, although the 53cm semi-compact frame is big enough to provide correct saddle height, its woefully short in top tube length. This is bad news! We um and ah a bit (I'm sure Eureka would love to have sold me a shiny new Orbea or similar at this point!), but that's not currently an option. I leave with a 120 mm stem with adjustable inclination. It looks clunky and is pretty heavy, but we agreed that it would be good to give a few tweaks a try before buying a fixed stem. We also made a significant adjustment in the position of the cleats on my shoes.
So that was the config I rode with for the Sportive out of Builth Wells noted below and the comfort was a major improvement. Despite the amount of climbing involved, there were no lower back problems and the shoulder stiffness took a good bit longer to kick in. And, importantly, no knee pains at all. So based on that, I purchased a 130mm stem with a 10 degree rise (standard is 6mm) and put as many spacers as possible in underneath. This was the config for the 100 mile sportive that I got through reasonably comfortably - no back pain, no knee pain, but still stiff across the shoulders. So given the spend involved, pretty good improvements really.
So using the (some would say very bad for you!) helpful alerting system on ebay I've been watching out for frame options coming along at a reasonable price. Lo and behold, last week a Alu Carbon via Nirone 7 came up only about 40 miles from home and it was a very similar spec to my existing bike but crucially has the 55 cm frame - one size up. Won the auction for a reasonable amount and picked up the bike on Friday night last week. It's not got such a high spec as my existing via Nirone and has done a few more miles. Frame's in excellent condition though.
So set to it over the weekend and about 6-7 hours work has seen a complete strip down and rebuild of both bikes with every single component swapped over with the exception of the new frame's bottom bracket which was past its best. So a new Campag BB has gone in too. This means 2 complete via Nirones with the new one resplendent with its Xero wheels, later Bianchi X-Vid Carbon forks, carbon seat post and Pave etc. etc. are sat in the garage. I have a couple of stems to work with on the new bike but already I have exactly correct measurements for saddle height, saddle fore and aft position and the reach from saddle centre to bars is now within 10mm or so of being per the computer recommendation (previously it was 110mm short!).
So now we'll have to see how it feels on the road - hoping for some good weather to find out next week. And the smaller framed version will be up on eBay soon - hopefully all this can be achieved at virtually zero cost! Fingers crossed.
Showing posts with label sportive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sportive. Show all posts
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Friday, 3 September 2010
20th June 2010 David Lloyd Challenge
Being not far from home and running out of Ruthin in amongst the Clwydian Hills, the David Lloyd Challenge sportive has 3 routes, of which I chose the shorter. Shorter being 50 miles and a total of 1300 metres of climbing for which the route and profile is published here.
This isn't a tale of success and daring-do, but it is a story of a ride that was hard, incomplete and yet still something that's given me a lot of benefit to my riding.
Heading out of Ruthin school on the via Nirone 7, it was straight into the climb along The Shelf (it runs from left to right and slightly down across this satellite photo) towards the East of Ruthin:
View Larger Map
This went well - its not VERY steep, but it does go on for some time. Halfway up the climb the sleeves came off as the Sun's heat started to make itsself felt. Great views and surrounding countryside.
Next up was the A542 - the Horseshoe Pass ascent up to The Ponderosa Cafe - still feeling comfortable up here, passing a few riders on the climb, but a bit diasppointing not to stop at the cafe at the top - its a favourite on a sunny Sunday with all the motor bikes, classic cars etc. The following descent would normally be great fun, but today its brakes on all the way and be aware of potholes appearing from nowhere. There's some deep holes down here and hitting them at 40mph could be a really nasty experience.
Photo - about to overtake a couple of guys on the ascent to The Ponderosa Cafe
The next climb was over World's End. Never been over there before (seems a bit ridiculous, given how close it is to home), neither in the car nor on a bike. Its a long long climb up to the main plateau (which continues to climb for most of the way, but its only gentle) which is wild and a bit desolate. A couple of cyclists when past me on this climb, but I caught another couple up too, so no net loss or gain - not that its a race of course. In the valley and up the climb the temperatures had climbed to over 20, at a guess, but up on the top it was distinctly cooler. Once over the top, there's a very fast, very long descent towards Llangollen, turning left and heading through towards Llandegla, just before getting to the final descent into Llangollen itsself. The road is pretty rough and you need to be prepared to stop at the t-junction at the bottom which comes up pretty quickly. The lightweight waterproof went on for this descent as its long enough to bother and it was chilly enough to care. You can see the road snaking across World's End from Egwyseg to Minera below:
View Larger Map
When I think back, I probably wasn't drinking enough - I don't remember taking any fluid on during the World's End climb - I currently find it difficult to drink / breathe / climb at the same time.
From World's End it was a flatish / downhill run towards Rhydtalog, which was very welcome, but then the climb up through the village and passing close by my usual MTB haunt at Llandegla forest. This was followed by the roller coater road down to Llanarmon-yn-lal. From there the route headed over another less vicious climb over to the main A494 Mold to Ruthin road. Just before the A494 and some 35 miles in was the one and only refreshment stop. It was here I realised that I hadn't been drinking enough as I still had half a litre on board and the plan would've been to have finished pretty much all of my 1.5 litres between 30 and 32 miles. The section along the A494 is a bit dull, but at least the newly resurfaced road is very smooth and makes for swift progress.
Turning left at Tafarn-y-Gelyn and then immediately right onto the road to Cilcain its back onto single track roads and some undulations but with the general lie of the land being upwards into Cilcain itsself. Once past Cilcain there's another section of downhill to the A541 between Mold and Denbigh - turning left here. After a very short section its left again and onto another main climb over Moel Arthur. The scenery here is great, as is the view from the top, but this was a real struggle for me this time. I've created a ride on the cycle routes site that includes this and the next climb as a route out of Mold so I can start to practice them somewhat more often. The descent is really fast and again the road is very rough in places. By the time you join the road to Llandebr DC, the hands are aching somewhat with being on the brakes for so long. The descent goes right to left and you can see the peak of Moel Arthur in the top right of this image:
View Larger Map
Heading along the reasonably flat road back over to Llanbedr DC and the A494 again, I began to realise just how tired I was becoming, with concentration becoming difficult and even the reasonably small rises being quite hard work. And there was still the 1 in 4 climb up to Moel Famau to come. Realising that was more likely to be a walk than a ride for me, I took the decision to cut the route and turned right on the A494 and headed back to the event HQ at Ruthin School. Of course, this resulted in a "DNF" (did not finish) and no official time, but at least I know where my limits are at the moment!
Had some advice from a local enthusiastic roadie about tyre choice for this event. Lots of advice about the very poor state of the roads and where to avoid pot holes etc. I managed to avoid any serious trouble, but there were a number of potholes and road edges that caught me out, but suffice to say that the Conti Gatorskins peformed with utter reliability, even with only a 23C tyre.
This isn't a tale of success and daring-do, but it is a story of a ride that was hard, incomplete and yet still something that's given me a lot of benefit to my riding.
Heading out of Ruthin school on the via Nirone 7, it was straight into the climb along The Shelf (it runs from left to right and slightly down across this satellite photo) towards the East of Ruthin:
View Larger Map
This went well - its not VERY steep, but it does go on for some time. Halfway up the climb the sleeves came off as the Sun's heat started to make itsself felt. Great views and surrounding countryside.
Next up was the A542 - the Horseshoe Pass ascent up to The Ponderosa Cafe - still feeling comfortable up here, passing a few riders on the climb, but a bit diasppointing not to stop at the cafe at the top - its a favourite on a sunny Sunday with all the motor bikes, classic cars etc. The following descent would normally be great fun, but today its brakes on all the way and be aware of potholes appearing from nowhere. There's some deep holes down here and hitting them at 40mph could be a really nasty experience.
Photo - about to overtake a couple of guys on the ascent to The Ponderosa Cafe
The next climb was over World's End. Never been over there before (seems a bit ridiculous, given how close it is to home), neither in the car nor on a bike. Its a long long climb up to the main plateau (which continues to climb for most of the way, but its only gentle) which is wild and a bit desolate. A couple of cyclists when past me on this climb, but I caught another couple up too, so no net loss or gain - not that its a race of course. In the valley and up the climb the temperatures had climbed to over 20, at a guess, but up on the top it was distinctly cooler. Once over the top, there's a very fast, very long descent towards Llangollen, turning left and heading through towards Llandegla, just before getting to the final descent into Llangollen itsself. The road is pretty rough and you need to be prepared to stop at the t-junction at the bottom which comes up pretty quickly. The lightweight waterproof went on for this descent as its long enough to bother and it was chilly enough to care. You can see the road snaking across World's End from Egwyseg to Minera below:
View Larger Map
When I think back, I probably wasn't drinking enough - I don't remember taking any fluid on during the World's End climb - I currently find it difficult to drink / breathe / climb at the same time.
From World's End it was a flatish / downhill run towards Rhydtalog, which was very welcome, but then the climb up through the village and passing close by my usual MTB haunt at Llandegla forest. This was followed by the roller coater road down to Llanarmon-yn-lal. From there the route headed over another less vicious climb over to the main A494 Mold to Ruthin road. Just before the A494 and some 35 miles in was the one and only refreshment stop. It was here I realised that I hadn't been drinking enough as I still had half a litre on board and the plan would've been to have finished pretty much all of my 1.5 litres between 30 and 32 miles. The section along the A494 is a bit dull, but at least the newly resurfaced road is very smooth and makes for swift progress.
Turning left at Tafarn-y-Gelyn and then immediately right onto the road to Cilcain its back onto single track roads and some undulations but with the general lie of the land being upwards into Cilcain itsself. Once past Cilcain there's another section of downhill to the A541 between Mold and Denbigh - turning left here. After a very short section its left again and onto another main climb over Moel Arthur. The scenery here is great, as is the view from the top, but this was a real struggle for me this time. I've created a ride on the cycle routes site that includes this and the next climb as a route out of Mold so I can start to practice them somewhat more often. The descent is really fast and again the road is very rough in places. By the time you join the road to Llandebr DC, the hands are aching somewhat with being on the brakes for so long. The descent goes right to left and you can see the peak of Moel Arthur in the top right of this image:
View Larger Map
Heading along the reasonably flat road back over to Llanbedr DC and the A494 again, I began to realise just how tired I was becoming, with concentration becoming difficult and even the reasonably small rises being quite hard work. And there was still the 1 in 4 climb up to Moel Famau to come. Realising that was more likely to be a walk than a ride for me, I took the decision to cut the route and turned right on the A494 and headed back to the event HQ at Ruthin School. Of course, this resulted in a "DNF" (did not finish) and no official time, but at least I know where my limits are at the moment!
Had some advice from a local enthusiastic roadie about tyre choice for this event. Lots of advice about the very poor state of the roads and where to avoid pot holes etc. I managed to avoid any serious trouble, but there were a number of potholes and road edges that caught me out, but suffice to say that the Conti Gatorskins peformed with utter reliability, even with only a 23C tyre.
Saturday, 22 May 2010
22nd May 2010 - Builth Wells CycleOps Sportive
Partnered with the Chain Reaction Cycles Mountain Bike Marathon Series, the CycleOps Road Sportive Series called in at Builth Wells this weekend and it caused a strange shift in time, moving the weather forward into a very unusually hot weekend in late July / August. Or so it seemed.
25 deg C, 51 miles, 1800m of climbing. This is the furthest and highest I've been on the via Nirone 7 so far. Hopefully the gradual ramp up of distance and hills is making the difference. After today, I think currently I could've done more miles, but no more climbing. The ride today didn't feel like it was overstretching, but still felt like a challenge, so just about right then.
With such a good weather forecast, 2 interests were combined this weekend and the via Narone was loaded up into the back of the Sunbeam. Leaving at 19:30 on Friday, the 2 hour drive down to BuilthWells was reasonably straightforward, with the A483 between Newtown and Builth being particularly entertaining with a never ending series of sweeping bends, twists, climbs and descents.
Some flies were harmed in the making of this weekend
The campsite and event village were at Penmaenau farm just beside the Royal Welsh Showground. Already, at 21:30, the field was well over half full, and there would be many more to come during Saturday as the MTB run on the Sunday is far more popular than the road series. The grass is very long and pitching the tent means flattening it all first, even then it takes the pegging out before the tent stops floating a few inches off the ground. The "facilities" are a bit basic, with a dozen or so portaloos and a couple of trailers with showers in - they're going to be causing some queues after the MTB runs on Sunday, I would guess.
Sleep was a bit fitful - a combination of getting comfortable, a bit of nerves about the ride, but mainly The Jam tribute band at the scooter rally in the field next door. The morning was very bright and the field was wet with a heavy dew. Warm already. I woke at 5:45 and had a bowl of cereal then went back off to sleep. At 7:30 a smaller amount of cereal and a banana formed second breakfast, with a large cup of tea from the event marquee finishing the job off at 8:30, ready for the off.
Then I discovered one of my mitts was missing but re-tracing steps didn't help. The Chain Reaction guys were still busy setting up their stall, but dug out a set of Endura mitts for my and very kindly(!) sold them to me. But then the credit card machine couldn't get a signal to it was back to the car to get some cash. So rather than an 08:30 start it was 09:16 when I finally went under the starting kite.
So the 51 mile route started with a gentle climb up the main A road to Newbridge and from there on in was a very enjoyable combination of climbs, descents, smooth roads and beautiful scenery. A particular favourite part of the route for me was the run along the valley bottom beside the river from Abergwesyn to Llanwrtyd Wells via Cwm Irfon which was very picturesque with the sunlight sparkling on the water and the mist of bluebells under the trees. I only had to do one bit of walking (yes, I know, even one bit is disgraceful) but it was only 100m or so as the route turned back on itsself at Cynghordy and climbed the extremely long haul up over Crychan Forest. 2 feeding points along the route were welcome with High 5 drinks top-ups, bananas and choccie one sides. The complete route map is here.
Back at the event village, 3 hrs and 55 mins later (and 3 hrs 44 mins of actual riding time) and there was a very welcome cup of tea and chunk of cake available. The computer says 50.33 miles, 13.2 mph average speed, 42.7 mph maximum speed. That'll do, but was hoping for a sub 3 hr 30 min time. Next time maybe. Norwich City College Extreme Sport Therapy Unit were on hand to offer a free massage in return for a donation to their unit. I would recommend anyone to make use of this service - it's now late in the evening and I've had no stiffness in the muscles at all. Packed the tent away and then availed myself of a veggie salsa wrap from the food stall in the main marquee.
Took a bit longer to get home as the roads were a bit busier and had to drop into Tesco at Newtown for some 99 Super Unleaded, plus, with the window open due to the heat, the 'beam was even noisier than usual. Still great fun though.
Results published here. 34th out of 57 entries is OK, but would rather be in the top third rather than the lower reaches of the middle third. Clearly, flatter routes suit me a little better at the moment.
Report at Road Sportives
News Article at Road Cycling
25 deg C, 51 miles, 1800m of climbing. This is the furthest and highest I've been on the via Nirone 7 so far. Hopefully the gradual ramp up of distance and hills is making the difference. After today, I think currently I could've done more miles, but no more climbing. The ride today didn't feel like it was overstretching, but still felt like a challenge, so just about right then.
With such a good weather forecast, 2 interests were combined this weekend and the via Narone was loaded up into the back of the Sunbeam. Leaving at 19:30 on Friday, the 2 hour drive down to BuilthWells was reasonably straightforward, with the A483 between Newtown and Builth being particularly entertaining with a never ending series of sweeping bends, twists, climbs and descents.
Some flies were harmed in the making of this weekend
The campsite and event village were at Penmaenau farm just beside the Royal Welsh Showground. Already, at 21:30, the field was well over half full, and there would be many more to come during Saturday as the MTB run on the Sunday is far more popular than the road series. The grass is very long and pitching the tent means flattening it all first, even then it takes the pegging out before the tent stops floating a few inches off the ground. The "facilities" are a bit basic, with a dozen or so portaloos and a couple of trailers with showers in - they're going to be causing some queues after the MTB runs on Sunday, I would guess.
Sleep was a bit fitful - a combination of getting comfortable, a bit of nerves about the ride, but mainly The Jam tribute band at the scooter rally in the field next door. The morning was very bright and the field was wet with a heavy dew. Warm already. I woke at 5:45 and had a bowl of cereal then went back off to sleep. At 7:30 a smaller amount of cereal and a banana formed second breakfast, with a large cup of tea from the event marquee finishing the job off at 8:30, ready for the off.
Then I discovered one of my mitts was missing but re-tracing steps didn't help. The Chain Reaction guys were still busy setting up their stall, but dug out a set of Endura mitts for my and very kindly(!) sold them to me. But then the credit card machine couldn't get a signal to it was back to the car to get some cash. So rather than an 08:30 start it was 09:16 when I finally went under the starting kite.
So the 51 mile route started with a gentle climb up the main A road to Newbridge and from there on in was a very enjoyable combination of climbs, descents, smooth roads and beautiful scenery. A particular favourite part of the route for me was the run along the valley bottom beside the river from Abergwesyn to Llanwrtyd Wells via Cwm Irfon which was very picturesque with the sunlight sparkling on the water and the mist of bluebells under the trees. I only had to do one bit of walking (yes, I know, even one bit is disgraceful) but it was only 100m or so as the route turned back on itsself at Cynghordy and climbed the extremely long haul up over Crychan Forest. 2 feeding points along the route were welcome with High 5 drinks top-ups, bananas and choccie one sides. The complete route map is here.
Back at the event village, 3 hrs and 55 mins later (and 3 hrs 44 mins of actual riding time) and there was a very welcome cup of tea and chunk of cake available. The computer says 50.33 miles, 13.2 mph average speed, 42.7 mph maximum speed. That'll do, but was hoping for a sub 3 hr 30 min time. Next time maybe. Norwich City College Extreme Sport Therapy Unit were on hand to offer a free massage in return for a donation to their unit. I would recommend anyone to make use of this service - it's now late in the evening and I've had no stiffness in the muscles at all. Packed the tent away and then availed myself of a veggie salsa wrap from the food stall in the main marquee.
Took a bit longer to get home as the roads were a bit busier and had to drop into Tesco at Newtown for some 99 Super Unleaded, plus, with the window open due to the heat, the 'beam was even noisier than usual. Still great fun though.
Results published here. 34th out of 57 entries is OK, but would rather be in the top third rather than the lower reaches of the middle third. Clearly, flatter routes suit me a little better at the moment.
Report at Road Sportives
News Article at Road Cycling
Sunday, 18 April 2010
18 April 2010 - Entry in For Builth Wells
Got an entry in for the CycleOps Power 53 mile road event on the Builth Wells bike weekend - this is a much harder route than the Cheshire Cat, with 1800 metres of climbing. This is a good series with road events on Saturday, skills training for the kids, camping and mountain bike rides on the Sunday.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
28 March 2010 - Cheshire Cat Sportive
So the weather turned out nice again. Great. Crewe on a Sunday morning is a new experience for me. It was OK. The signage for parking could've been better - turns out that you just park up at the side of the road on an industrial estate about 1.5 miles from the Crewe Alexander football stadium that was hosting the event.
With 2,600 entries, organisation was required. And it seemed OK, but there was what appeared to be a longish queue waiting to get over the start line. To register you had to leave your bike in the car park which I wasn't too keen on, given that I wasn't in a group who could take turns to keep an eye on the security of the bike. Otherwise it was all smooth and the queue only took about 10-15 minutes to get around to the startline.
Groups of 25 or so bikes started every 3 or 4 mins. You get the usual mix - some blasting away either because they're really quick, some because they think its the thing to do (usually pass them again soon enough), some slower than me etc. The roads were really rough with potholes and many were at the roadside for the first 15 miles or so, fixing punctures. It seemed that most of the puncture sufferers were in amongst a group. I think being in a group probably hides the potholes from view and/or minimises your ability to dodge them as you risk taking out your mates.
I did the 45 miles route and it was pretty flat. Too
k it steady to the food point (at 20 miles) then decided that everything was going to go OK and gave it some more hammer for the last 15 miles. Great chunks of flapjack at the feeding stop and some (extra cost) chunky pasta soup at the finish. A buff type scarf / hat thingy as finishing gift.
Pretty pleased with my time - just over 3 hours and 72nd out of 227 finishers on this route. Maybe I can go for the longer route next time.
With 2,600 entries, organisation was required. And it seemed OK, but there was what appeared to be a longish queue waiting to get over the start line. To register you had to leave your bike in the car park which I wasn't too keen on, given that I wasn't in a group who could take turns to keep an eye on the security of the bike. Otherwise it was all smooth and the queue only took about 10-15 minutes to get around to the startline.
Groups of 25 or so bikes started every 3 or 4 mins. You get the usual mix - some blasting away either because they're really quick, some because they think its the thing to do (usually pass them again soon enough), some slower than me etc. The roads were really rough with potholes and many were at the roadside for the first 15 miles or so, fixing punctures. It seemed that most of the puncture sufferers were in amongst a group. I think being in a group probably hides the potholes from view and/or minimises your ability to dodge them as you risk taking out your mates.
I did the 45 miles route and it was pretty flat. Too
k it steady to the food point (at 20 miles) then decided that everything was going to go OK and gave it some more hammer for the last 15 miles. Great chunks of flapjack at the feeding stop and some (extra cost) chunky pasta soup at the finish. A buff type scarf / hat thingy as finishing gift.
Pretty pleased with my time - just over 3 hours and 72nd out of 227 finishers on this route. Maybe I can go for the longer route next time.
Friday, 12 March 2010
12/03/2010 Cheshire Cat Entry In
Decided to do the Cheshire Cat Sportive on 28 March - just the 45 miles with it being early in the season (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!).
Saturday, 4 April 2009
What's It All About Then?
This blog might be increasingly inaccurately named over time, but, for now, its a reasonable working title. It's about riding bikes in, around and sometimes away from North Wales in the UK. Two out of three of the bikes are Bianchis, hence the blog title. More soon, but for now, here's a quick summary:
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon is the road bike - used for summer riding in the main, shortist leisure rides and medium size sportive riding;
Bianchi Mutt hard tail MTB - use mainly for winter riding and most of it on recognised trails such as those at Llandegla and Betws-y-Coed;
And the interloper, a cboardman urban pro- the commuting machine. I used to commute once or twice a week in the summer, now its all year around.
So there'll be mechanical content, mtb, sportive and commuting news, commentary and riding thoughts, something about how unfit I am and maybe a bit about polishing, who knows?
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon is the road bike - used for summer riding in the main, shortist leisure rides and medium size sportive riding;
Bianchi Mutt hard tail MTB - use mainly for winter riding and most of it on recognised trails such as those at Llandegla and Betws-y-Coed;
And the interloper, a cboardman urban pro- the commuting machine. I used to commute once or twice a week in the summer, now its all year around.
So there'll be mechanical content, mtb, sportive and commuting news, commentary and riding thoughts, something about how unfit I am and maybe a bit about polishing, who knows?
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