Since using Strava this last year I’ve found a few nice little tools that either expand on the service somehow or extend it via their API and make it better or do something interesting that I thought would be worth sharing.
This little tool takes your Strava (or Runkeeper) activities for a set period to make “your exercise data as art”. You simply allow it to talk to your Strava account and then play with a few variables to get a nice A3 sized print and an image you can then share online. The graphics it produces are from the shapes created by your GPS track which is actually pretty interesting. Hopefully there’s more styles coming soon.
It’s interesting picking out the routes you’ve done. The Isle of Wight is pretty recognisable as is the Brompton race. Regents Park also sticks out whether as it’s own unique shape or tacked on to my commute. Nice to see a few more interesting shapes towards the end of the year though. This is mine from 2014 but it could equally be useful for say a big ride such as Lands End to John O’Groats or a big tour somewhere. Just put the date ranges in and plot a graphic. They do prints at £40 for an A3 one which seems reasonable – the quality is allegedly very good.
Multi ride mapper
This is a seriously clever little tool with lots and lots of configuration variables to allow you to create a unique graphic with your rides overlaid on one map. Again I’ve done the whole of 2014 but again this could be interesting for an event such as LEJOG.
The interface appears complex but it’s pretty simple to control. Once it’s set just hit run and it does its thing. Generating mine was interesting as you see lots of activity in London and then it expanding out gradually as rides got longer and more ambitious.
Anything I’ve missed? Hit me up on Twitter and I’ll add them to the list.
I haven’t fully understood this one yet but it does appear to allow you to cut up your Strava data in a myriad of ways. Data overload perhaps but it looks pretty powerful. Will have a play with this one tomorrow in a bit more detail. There’s also a similar function with the map as well as numerous others.
It’s been a long time coming but my winter bike finally arrived mid November and just in time for the really shitty weather. I won’t go into why it was late and the various mis-communication issues with Canyon apart from to say thank you to Russell at Canyon UK who actually sorted it out in the end. Although even after I got the notification it was in for manufacture I got another email saying it would be delayed further. Confusing and frustrating but we got there in the end. I would probably only order something from their in-stock section if I was doing it again though.
Having got into road riding this year I really wanted to keep going with a similar distance over winter rather than getting fat and slow having worked so hard this summer. I asked around and Andy suggested the Canyon Inflite AL 8.0 S as a good winter bike. It was a bit of a bargain at the time but then the range changed for 2015 and it was even more of a bargain as they had moved to 11spd Shimano 105. Although I wasn’t as keen on the colour I kind of accepted you weren’t actually going to see it that much over winter. Having said that the images they released later showing it being ridden made it look so much nicer and it really does look nice in the metal.
About this time in the year I normally switch to riding the fixed, with mudguards on, around town. The fixed is not a fashion item and is purely utilitarian. With only one gear and no freehub it lasts forever and is perfect for winter although does feel a bit limiting in terms of distance and speed. This year I wanted to have gears and have something to go longer distances on, not that it stopped me earlier in the year on the fixed, but I’ve got a few 200k trips planned and I think gears is sensible.
Anyway essential ingredients include mudguards, wider tyres (28mm) and disc brakes. Having used disc brakes on my MTB for the last 15 years going to a road bike with rim brakes always seemed a bit odd. Whilst they look nicer the experience of riding in the wet with them is also a bit hit and miss. A number of times I’ve grabbed the brakes only to have to wait a few seconds for the water to come off the rim and the pads start to bite. The other thing I hate is all that pad residue that goes everywhere over the frame and forks. Everything about discs seems far more suited for a winter bike. The only thing that might have been useful is some rack mounts on the stays but I think I have a way around that. The other option I’ve seen is to use frame bags and travel much lighter which seems far more appealing for big trips and a potential Addax or LEJOG trip.
And then finally it arrived. It came in an incredibly well packaged box and took 30 mins to get it all out and start assembling it. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the colour was and also at how much chunkier it was than my steel Condor.
The graphics are also pretty nice and seem to have some form of reflective treatment on. It didn’t feel as heavy as I thought it would and all I needed to do was fit the bars and put the front wheel in.
I love how it looks with the big 28mm tyres on. It looks purposeful and it also seemed a shame to put the mudguards on. I had a go when it first arrived but there was a 50p part missing and also the image of them on their site is incorrect. It took a few days to get my head around how to fit them so abandoned the idea at first. After that it was the usual crap of lights, saddle bag, bottle cages, Garmin mount etc. I also dropped the stem height a bit by flipping the spacers around.
Of course none of this means anything without riding it. I jumped on and rode to work on it the next morning. Oh my word. It went like a rocket which is partly due to that new bike feeling obviously, but it does roll incredibly well no doubt due to the 28mm tyres. It felt more stable but more direct which is presumably due to the aluminium frame. It feels a little short and I need to get a layback post but it feels right. Riding 11spd Shimano 105 after 9spd Tiagra since 2009 feels incredible. The quality of shifting is something else and it takes far less effort to move the chain up the gears. The feel of the levers is amazing although I seem to have a bit of a reach issue on the drops.
I was expecting a winter bike to be heavy and a bit crap but this is neither. There’s an air of quality about it even though it’s at discount prices. They’ve specified decent kit all over. The tyres are decent, the bars have a great shape, the wheels are light and have a nice sound to the freehub, even the inner tubes are branded not OEM. It’s a really really good package.
After doing a week of commuting and the Thursday changing I went down to Brighton to see Chrissy for a proper ride. It was wet, mucky, off road in places and proved to be perfect for it.
It definitely felt like the right choice although I would have loved to have been riding it a few weeks earlier.
Seeing as it’s a winter bike I’ve also accepted that I really do want to be as visible as possible at night in London. I’ve got my usual set of lights, a big USE LED one on the front, a long fibre flare on the back and also another little flashing one slightly lower. I’ve also bought a few of these little 3M reflective tubes that clip onto the spokes to increase visibility from the side. They’re about 99p for a pack of 12 on eBay and they do a decent job of improving side visibility at night. That and the fact that the wheel is in motion suggests it’s a good idea to me. I haven’t covered the wheel entirely but just added a few to get a splash of reflective material as they spin round. I also found some 3M reflective tape in black on eBay that I’ve run around the mudguards occasionally. The nice thing about that is that it doesn’t have the silver reflective tape look during the day but does the reflective job at night. I know I’m a tart but I don’t want to ruin the look of the bike with bits of silver everywhere but do still want to improve my chances of being seen. Hopefully it looks subtle yet ridiculously visible when needed. It’d also be nice to get some of the amazing Michaux bar tape which has 3M reflective material behind the leather but with little holes to expose it enough so that when a light hits it the whole of the bars are illuminated. It’s a bit pricey though and probably not worth it for now.
The other thing I’ve added is a saddle bag. Whilst it’s not the most attractive of things it does mean I have everything I need in there ready to go and don’t have to overlaid my jersey with bits. Riding without a bag was one of the nicest things about road riding but then on longer trips more and more kit needed to be carried & it kind of spoilt it all again. I’ve gone for the Ortlieb Micro one as it seems to be the nicest looking and also I highly rate their stuff. It’s always really well made and entirely waterproof – I also have a set of their panniers. Moving all that crap to a saddle bag makes the jersey pockets feel much lighter and allow room for a jacket and food without trying to squeeze anything else in.
So far I’ve managed to squeeze quite a bit in there including a CO2 canister and adaptor, small first aid kid and sterile gloves, two tubes, patches, spare chain link, spare brake pads and a multitool. So the only thing I need to do is grab some gels / bars and my pump and jump on the bike and go. That is if I can stomach the rain and cold.
It’s had a fair bit of use so far and everything seems to be working well. The only thing that didn’t fair so well was the Conti tyres which I shredded in 800kms. I’ve changed to a set of Michelin Pro4 Endurance tyres which are much much better and have lasted longer and show less signs of damage in the tread. Unfortunately they only come in a 25mm not 28mm. The Conti’s came up as 31mm for their stated 28mm size and were confidence inspiring, especially round the rough lanes of Kent. However the Michelins are far nicer in the wet and cornering generally. They’re due to bring out a 28mm version in the New Year according to the distributor which will be going on as soon as I can get a set. The only other issue is that the rear guard has developed a rattle which needs fixing with a slither of neoprene. Strava tells me I’ve done 1200km on it so far which isn’t that much. I’ve hit my targets for this year and also been working on a competition at work which meant Dec has seen less riding. I’m not doing Festive 500 but will be back on it in earnest after Christmas day with a few longer rides round Kent.
I think this will be used as a do everything bike and for commuting and wet winter rides. It’ll be nice to keep the other bike purely for dry days, races and the Thursday chain gang. A perfect, but enjoyable, workhorse.
Before going on eBay I have a load of stuff that needs a new home from the bike box. Of course it’s a ridiculous time to be selling things as everyone is broke from buying Christmas. But come back when Granny’s cheque has cleared!
Contact me on whichever social platform I’ve whored it out on for pics / more details etc. All going in the tin for a new bike build. Pictures can be emailed or you can come and see / collect in Camberwell / Denmark Hill.
Good condition and has plenty of life in the rim. Only ridden since March. £15
Hope Pro 3 Mono rear hub – Shimano 130m / 32 h / silver.
Excellent condition and bearings and free hub body replaced under warranty by Hope. Only reason for sale is that I went with the newer Mono hubs for 11spd compatibility. Was £130 new and only used since march. Lovely clicky freehub to warn pedestrians of your arrival. £70
Front wheel
Hope Pro 3 32h wheel built with Mavic Open Pro silver rim. £70
Rear wheel
Shimano Tiagra hub built to Mavic Open Sport rim. £40
Drop racing bars
Deda, 42cm wide. £15
Carbon seatpost
Condor own brand carbon seatpost 27.2mm. £15
Brake caliper
Shimano 105 brake caliper in grey. £15
Chainset
Shimano Tiagra chainset / cranks with chainrings (size TBC). Silver 170mm length. Ideal for commuter / beater bike. £25
Unfortunately there’s only a week or so left to see this documentary on iPlayer but it’s well worth watching. It’s so incredible seeing the way in which different people approach this event. Some ride as a team, some solo and some ride through the night, some use hotels, some sleep at the side of the road. Everyone is trying to get there though.
What does the word ‘Audax’ mean?
It’s Latin for ‘bold’, and was first used in the context of endurance sports towards the end of the 19th century.
What do the words ‘Randonnée’ and ‘Randonneur’ mean?
‘Randonnée’ is a French word which loosely translates to ‘ramble or ‘long journey’ – it’s not really cycling-specific, but in AUK we take it to mean a long cycle ride.
A ‘Randonneur’ is a person who has completed a recognised 200 kilometre ride.
Having to get a stamp at certain spots as well as meticulously plan your arrival time at ferry crossings adds a lot of stress fun to it all it seems. Whilst I’ve done a few rides this year that count as an Addax the thought of getting up the next morning to do them again seems a little tougher. Whilst the distance might be manageable the elevation round the west coast of Scotland seems to add a little more fun to it all.
There’s also a really good podcast on the Bike Show about Audax which is well worth listening to. It talks about the ways in which people manage to ride extreme distances as well as a few more bus shelter stories. It does seem like something that would be good to get into. I love how some people talk about riding 100k, then 200k, then 300k and so on.
My mate Neil has branched out on his own recently. I haven’t seem him for a while but I’ve been following his progress online with his new venture, Bowman Cycles.
It’s been really nice to see him get some positive press recently, culminating this week with an outstanding review on Road.cc as well as some fantastic comments which is unusual for that site. I’ve read a few reviews on there and nothing has come close in terms of its effusiveness – apart from the Giant Defy review but that’s close to 8k! It looks like a great bike at a pretty competitive price.
It would look even better with black bar tape and a black Shimano 105 groupset as well as nice pair of 28mm tyres – in black of course. I wonder if they could do it without the majority of the graphics and just the big downtime panel. Looks like a lot of fun. Hope to swing a leg over one soon.
I’m more and more amazed by some of the service available in the bike industry. I’ve had a pair of Bontrager RL road shoes since March and they’ve been brilliant. Lovely and stiff, comfy and look pretty good. Looking at my Strava I’ve probably done about 8000km in them. Sadly they had started to come away from the soles on the left shoe and on the off chance I showed them to the guys in Balfes to see if there was anything that could be done. That was last Sat and now I have a brand new set of shoes thanks to the amazing warranty of Bontrager UK. They didn’t even want the old ones back so I now have a set to wear to death through winter and a lovely box fresh set for the spring! Credit where it’s due, that’s brilliant service!
It took a while to get organised but a few weeks ago I managed to get down to Brighton to chase a few Bostals on our bikes and generally ride around the South Downs with Chrissy and take in the scenery. I know Chrissy from many years ago but we both have recently moved from MTBing over to the dark side and this was the first time we had met up on these new fangled skinny tyre, lighter, drop bar, shiny racing machines.
Bostal or Borstall. A narrow road-way up the steep ascent of hills or downs. (Anglo-Saxon biorh, a hill; stigelë, a rising path; our stile.)
I got there a little later than planned, changed into my kit, said hello to Chrissy’s lovely wife (Fleur), daughter (Eve) and cats – one of which was being dragged around by Eve in a tight death like grip. The cat seemed ok with it even though its legs were dragging along the ground. I received a lovely pink sticker from Eve which she kindly stuck to the back of my mudguard. If a 3 year old offers you a pink sticker you accept! Besides it was something to break the boring black and green aesthetic. It was my first proper outing on my new winter bike since receiving it on the Tuesday and I hadn’t really got fully comfortable on it yet. I’d managed the Thursday chaingang ride but nothing that long. Fortunately I’d added mudguards a few days before as it was pretty damp for the rest of the week and showed no sign of respite on the Sunday.
We met a few others from Hovélo who rightly looked a bit pissed off they had been kept waiting in the cold whilst some idiot from London was late. We got going after brief introductions and a trip to the cash machine. No time for the promised coffee at Small Batch unfortunately but then that was my own fault for not getting out of bed in time. As usual with any ride around Brighton it usually starts with a hill. This time a bit of a slog out and up towards the downs. The rain started and within 30 mins there were two punctures. It then started tipping it down. On the third puncture I sheltered in a bus stop whilst choosing suitable filters in VSCO.
After that we ended up at our first bostal. A greasy, slippy, muddy affair with an exposed flinty finish. It felt more like mountainbiking than road riding except without the low gears and suspension. Trying to keep the tyres from spinning whilst finding the power to keep the wheels turning was fun. I kept clicking the shifter to see if there were any more gears left, but no, that was it. My forearms were killing me at the top from honking on the bars and trying to manoeuvre my body around to keep weight on the tyres.
Fortunately the view from the top was worth it and it was nice to grab a breather briefly. We waited for a while to see if anyone else from the group was on their way but they’d been more sensible and not bothered once it got muddy. We had time for a few snaps including this corker of Chrissy sporting the ‘hollow eyed misery’ look, aka Rapha’s new 2015 model.
This is slightly nicer though.
And then it was time to head down which was actually harder than going up. Even with 28mm tyres and discs it was still a bit sketchy. We completely confused a bunch of mountainbikers at the bottom of the climb in our lycra and road bikes coming down the sketchy slope. We surprised them even more by cheerily saying hello.
After re-grouping at the bottom we headed east to find the next one. At least this one was surfaced with tarmac but then had a beautiful layer of green slime covering it. It was also steeper with a few steep turns in it. As we crested the hill round the last corner the sun was right in our eyes glinting off the wet road surface. Again we slowly descended trying to stay upright on the bikes. Wet, greasy and green roads didn’t inspire confidence. Again we headed further east behind the downs and then said goodbye to the rest of the group before heading up Ditching Beacon. Knowing that I’d ridden it in the summer the temptation was there to give it some and try and set a few PRs on Strava. I started off well but soon remembered how long it was and how it pitches up at the end. Unfortunately I had a car behind me for most of the way, who although patient and polite, did add a little bit of pressure to keep the pace up. I got to the top and assumed the pained position over the bars trying to get air back into my lungs and get the heart rate to drop to a more sustainable level. We bumped into the same mountainbikers who had come along the top of the downs whilst we had done the uppy-downy thing. Even though I hit my PR on the up I only averaged 5.4km/h which surely seems wrong. Maybe the GPS is faulty or maybe I just need to pedal a bit harder!
After that it was over the top of the downs and back into Brighton then back up yet another hill and then down to the seafront. After that we tried to pop in to see Finn at his gallery on the seafront but apparently he doesn’t work on Sunday the slacker! We carried on along the seafront looking for food and ended up at Marrocco’s in Hove. Two double espresso’s and a massive bowl of pasta each we then ventured out again after regaining feeling in our fingers.
It took ages to get warmed up again as usual after a food stop. We headed out through the stinky bit of Shoreham by the poo plant and over the dry dock. We stopped for a bit on the beach on the other side, said hello to some dog walkers, and their dogs, and pressed on. I spent a while admiring the strange collection of beach houses along with their rusting painted metalwork and strange extensions. There were a few that looked like they could have been half reasonable modernist houses in their day but looked less appealing after 40 years in the harsh environment of the coast.
We then took the road along by Shoreham Airport and got a glimpse of the listed airport building although it was covered in scaffolding. Apparently it has a fine interior.
As we came round the back of the airport we saw an incredible sight on the hill and had time to take a detour up to it, Lancing College. Even from a distance you could see the incredible detail of this imposing building. The main feature of the campus being the highly detailed Gothic Revival (with French Gothic influences) chapel sitting on the side of the hill. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to have a good look at it.
Chrissy looked after my bike whilst I peered inside. I was completely blown away by the scale and detail of the interior. I was also fortunate enough to have a bit of a tour from the wife of the Director of Music at the School, although this seemed a little odd in lycra tights and clippy-cloppy shoes.
Looking back in the other direction there is an incredible organ and rose window above. It’s well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. Then it was back down onto the country lanes in more rain to get the last climb done. We slogged it up, had a quick pic, and then head back towards home. Except there was one more climb over the back of Devil’s Dyke to do still.
By the time we’d got back it had just started to get dark and we’d both started to get quite cold. Having a shower felt amazing with that tingling feeling you get with a slight burning from the warm water. It was so good to get into some clean clothes and have a quick drink before heading back. I fortunately had time to have a good chat to Eve where she showed me a few of her games, some more stickers and she also showed me how she likes to hold the cat.
It was great to ride some new roads as well as having someone else guide you. It’s so nice to not be looking at the Garmin and just be looking around at all the wonderful sights. In the end we did just shy of 100k with 1500m of climbing. Needless to say I slept well that evening! Thanks Chrissy!
I wear my cycling clothes a lot – for commuting, weekend rides and also popping to the shops or pub. They get stupid amounts of use and inevitably they wear out reasonably quickly. In the case of cycling jeans I usually get a year out of them and then a further six months when they’re less than presentable as the crotch has worn out. I had this with a pair of Swrve jeans and then binned them when they became too ventilated shall we say. This time I tried the Rapha jeans out and they have lasted really well, as well as being a nicer cut. They also smart enough to wear to a meeting with a shirt, whilst cycling on the Brompton there. So I was a bit gutted when the crotch started to go meaning they couldn’t really be used for smarter occasions. But then I remembered that there is a free repair service. I filled out a form which is this neat little PDF where you can describe the issue and dropped them off at the store in Soho.
Two weeks later they were delivered back with whole new sections neatly sown in where they had worn through. The quality of the repair is incredible and you’d never know it had been done. It’s not like that thing your mum used to do where she’d take the pockets off your stone washed jeans and stitch them over the knee area leaving a bright blue pocket bit. It’s almost invisible and is incredibly well done. I also had a set of 3/4 length tights which had some stitching come loose round the chamois. Again, fixed with beautifully neat stitching and came back like new.
On top of that I also received a little email from Hamish letting me know they had received them and were working on them. He also enclosed a nice little hand written note. Thanks Hamish for the incredible service!
I’ve been thinking about whether this would pop up again this year and also my thoughts on the event. Today I got an email from Strava noting the arrival of the 2014 Rapha Festive 500.
Give your legs the greatest gift this holiday by riding 500 kilometers with Rapha and Strava.
Once again, Rapha and Strava are challenging riders around the world to clock 500 kilometers between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
I really like the idea of it and it seems like a fun challenge to get involved in, especially when the weather is a bit crap and everyone is filling their faces. But then I’ve been riding a lot this year and getting into doing lots of challenges on Strava and for the last few months I’ve aimed to do a Fondo and try and hit 1250k each month. I’ve been riding lots during the week which means an evening or two not at home as well as Sunday riding. The Sunday rides usually end up far longer than planned and result in me coming back in a complete mess and unable to do anything else apart from eat and have a bath.
Which is why I won’t be doing the Festive 500.
Having had so much understanding and encouragement all year round from Emma and other family members it would seem pretty rude not to give my full attention to her, and them, over Christmas. But in some ways I want to say thanks for all that understanding and “sure go riding I don’t mind..” when I ask if it would be ok to be out all day on Sunday.
I’ve got a decent stretch off this year, from the 18th Dec to the 5th Jan so I’m sure I’ll do a few rides in there. I just don’t think I’ll be slogging it out trying to hit that target. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good idea or poo pooing anyone doing it, it’s just that I’ll be watching Die Hard with a nice ale in my hand eating sausage rolls.
And if you are doing it go and read all about Richard Seipp and his wonderful Son who have completed it two years in a row. His son was 7 when they first did it! What a legend.
