bikes and things

I love receiving Keir Alexander’s Morning Visual Treat (MVT) each morning when I’m settling in to another day at work. There’s always something interesting and thought provoking to see. I’ve no idea where he finds it all from but I’m happy to receive it. You can sign up here for this amazing email digest.

The one this morning was really nice with a series of eight Hawksmoor churches all drawn out in this really nice graphic.

The graphic is taken from an article on the AR about a new book which looks well worth getting and will contain photographs by Hélène Binet.

Much of the material was first exhibited at the 2012 Venice Biennale, where I thought at the time it would make an excellent book. This is indeed the case – each of the eight churches is presented in the same way, with finely drawn plans and elevations, counterpoised by the stark and compelling monochrome photographs of Hélène Binet. This establishes a powerful relationship between on the one hand architectural precision and, on the other, the sober, sombre reality of the churches.

One for payday perhaps.

I like Quora and have lost many hours going through the answers people post on there to seemingly random subjects. A lot of it is people too lazy to Google something but there’s some incredible answers from people’s experiences or memory. The digest they send out seems to always have a great juicy post I want to read whether on tech, arts, aviation or some other random subject it’s always pretty good. This one really caught my eye today though entitled “Why are we different when we are alone and when we have people around us?“. I love the answer.

In 1974 I wrote down what my college professor (Mr. Alexander) told me in class:

“I am not what you think I am. I am not what I think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”

and goes on to say

Many of us unconsciously try to fit in to the social group we are with in the moment. We do not stop being ourselves, but we assume the best attributes for that situation with that group.

Fairly obvious stuff when you think about it but nice to see such a concise way of putting it.

Whilst tidying some of the crap off my desktop I found an old screenshot of a KOM I got on the way back from Oxford. At 101kph I had beaten the current record holder for the small section of trail which runs parallel to it by over a minute.

Unfortunately I was on the Great Western to Paddington and had left my Garmin on. I bet someone got a shock when they received an email saying they’d lost their top spot. I’ve since trimmed down the route to delete this section. Nice whilst it lasted though.

It used to be that every weekend I would get up early, drive out to Surrey or Swinley forest and get a few miles in on my MTB. I did this rain or shine and, due to there usually being more rain than shine, I eventually bought a van to avoid ruining the interior of the car. Then I got into road riding around 18 months ago and got a bit crazy for it. Mountain biking kind of fell by the wayside. Why drive for an hour and a half each way for a 20k ride when you can ride from your doorstep and be in Kent in 30 mins? The fitness of road riding appealed and also seeing lots of new places on my bike also helped.

I’ve been back a few times but trips have been few and far between. I went at Christmas after a long period off which was a bit odd. I’d completely forgotten how to ride the thing as well as automatically starting to point out holes for the first few mins – a hangover from riding road in a bunch. This Sunday I went again with Matt to Swinley just for a change of scenery. The weekend before had seen me do my biggest ride to date so maybe a shorter chatty affair was a bit more sensible. We headed out to Swinley in the van which took a lot longer than I remember. However it provides plenty of time to chat and shoot the breeze. Shit coffee is always found and then time to unload and get changed and get out on the trails.

One of the things I enjoyed about road riding was not wearing a rucksack of any kind and travelling relatively light. Years of mountainbiking were spent lugging heavy loads around for no apparent reason. This is the second ride where I’ve just had a bottle on the frame and some essentials in a jersey and gone riding. It feels so much nicer and you feel more agile and faster too.

I found a similar thing a few years back when I got a short travel full suspension bike. The arrival of ‘freeride’ meant bikes got a lot heavier and overspecced for the riding round the South East. Getting a shorter travel lighter bike was one of the best choices I made.

Swinley is pretty flat but they have managed to make some fun sections out of it. The swoops and berms are highly enjoyable but require so much pedalling to get you through as there is no gravity to assist. Finally having put a load of work in on the road bike I had the fitness to push through it all and keep my speed. It’s way more fun this way although does go on a bit.

There were s series of trail diversions in place but new sections of trail had also been created to accommodate this. A massive water pipeline was being laid which looked expensive. It was seriously shitty out with the muck flying everywhere. I was so glad I brought some cheap clear glasses with me.

After the first set of trails we headed over to my favourite sections by the reservoir which had got even further cut in with the many thousands of tyres running over them. The v shaped cut in the trail added to the sense of speed as we shot down them. Being so close to the trees also helped. I cased a few of the first jumps but happily cleared a few of the later ones. It takes a while to get the hang of it I guess.

At the bottom of this you end up on a slightly uphill twisty section which goes on and on and on. I love this bit so much as again with some more fitness it allowed a bit more speed and therefore fun. I always come off that trail with a massive grin on my face.

After that it’s the final loop back towards the centre. Before you get there you are treated to this wonderful open section with huge sweeping berms which again is brilliant to hammer down. It has a few lumps to get a little bit of a kicker off as well as do a silly little tweak whilst air borne.

One of the things I also found interesting was that I wasn’t as afraid of descending as I usually am after a few months off. In fact I’m sure that having got over my fear of descending on the road that it almost certainly helped with the off road which is one crossover I hadn’t quite expected. The whole area felt much flatter and tamer than before and I didn’t drop my post at all for the whole thing. It’s still a fun place but not the lumpy section of trail I used to think it was.

Brilliant fun, even though it was only 20k, and even more fun to have a trip to the jet wash on the way back, drop the bikes off and sink four pints of Gamma Ray after. Next time it’ll be Wales hopefully.

I’ve ridden over this bridge most weekday nights for the last seven or so years. It’s always a treat to glance left and right at the best view in London. I’ve posted more photos of this view to Flickr and Instagram than I should have and yet it’s still able to surprise you with its beauty.

Tonight I cycled back after a shitty day at work and was blown away by the colours in the reflections of the glass on the towers of the City.

It’s a terrible photo and sadly doesn’t do the scene any real justice. After I’d taken the photo I put my phone away and just admired the sheer beauty of it all. The fade of the light reminded me of 80’s and 90’s airbrush art where there was a super exaggerated chromed look in a lot of the work. Strangely it also reminded me of the Les Rhythms Digitales artwork.

Last year I rode the Dunwich Dynamo for the first time with a few friends. We had a brilliant time and I still think back to how much fun we had and how slightly mad it was. I wrote a few thoughts about it and we also got a mention on the Strava blog.

Last year I did a bit of research before going on what it was going to be like and how to get clothing right etc but there’s a load of things I gathered from people there and from obviously doing the event which is probably useful to share in one place. I’m doing it again this year although I’m a much more experienced rider so less nervous about it. Your mileage may vary but this is what worked for me and I thought others might find it useful to have it gathered in one place like this. Most of it is common sense really.

Before

Make sure your bike isn’t knackered, your tyres aren’t full of glass and your spokes aren’t all loose, and it generally isn’t likely to break down in the wrong place obviously. Are your tyres a year old? Replace them.

The start

It’s worth getting to the start to hang out for a while and enjoy the spectacle of the whole thing as well as have a drink before you leave. We left about the right time I think, 8 ish, but maybe could have gone a little earlier to get clear of some of the crowds. If you leave too early you’ll get to the beach too early – that all depends on your pace and how often you stop though.

Route

The route is fairly easy to follow but the first section is pretty busy along some nasty main roads. We ducked through the side roads which are worth looking at if you can until you get back on the main road to Epping. With so many cyclists on the road some drivers can get a bit wound up so this felt like the most difficult part of the ride.

I downloaded a GPX file from someone online last time which turned out to be incorrect in a few places which was a bit annoying but you really can pretty much follow people for 90% of it. Pick up a route map and try and stay with others. The routes on RideWithGPS seem to be pretty good though.

If you’re using a Garmin then turn the back light down, or off if you can manage, as it’ll last longer. Turn the maps to pop up automatically and don’t keep it on the maps page as it’ll burn through the battery very quickly. I found this out the hard way once. The other thing I do on longer rides carry a little portable power pack which will charge the Garmin, or your phone, if needed.

Lights

Obviously you need lights and I managed get a good front one for evening, but in hindsight I would have used a cheap little commuter light to get me out of town before saving my decent one for the countryside. Visibility isn’t really a problem with the hundreds of other cyclists at first and it’s only really an issue when you thin out a bit later on and are in the country lanes. I would also probably pack a small head torch next time for punctures or mechanicals.

As for a rear light it’s probably less important than the front as there’s lots of others around. You probably don’t want to have it on flashing as it’ll just annoy everyone behind you. Some of the little commuter USB lights don’t last more than two hours so it’s worth checking it’ll make the distance or will take batteries, which you can obviously bring spares. For a rear light the Fibre Flares (AAA battery version) are good and I would pair this with something else, depending where you choose to mount it though.

Food

I took loads of gels and energy bars last year as I’d never ridden that far. Whatever you choose to take in terms of food I would only take what you’ve tried before as they can be a bit nasty and upset your stomach. I don’t use gels as much these days but would still take two just in case. I prefer a massive Soreen loaf in the jersey pocket and a few nut bars now.

Water

I took two large bottles (750ml) and had them filled up at the start. I met a guy at the start who suggested getting water where you could as there wouldn’t be anywhere at 2am to fill up in the middle of nowhere. He was right but we ended up filling up with some foul tasting water at a truck stop that had stayed open to serve bacon and egg rolls. I’d caveat that you should fill up with ‘nice’ water whenever you can!

Tools

I always carry a spare tube, sticky patches, traditional patches and glue, a spare link for my chain, spare brake pads, a gas canister and adaptor as well as a multitool and pump. I like the catchily named Lezyne Rap 14 as it includes a chain breaker and spoke key. All of which I stuff into an Ortlieb Micro Saddle bag or a little tool roll which straps under the seat. Either way all that stuff is out of the way and leaves more room in your jersey for food and warm clothing. If there’s anything specific to your bike in terms of tools you should also take that. How do your wheels come off? Do you need to bring a 15mm spanner etc.

Clothing

A few people had told me about the way in which the temperature drops later at night which is true. I wore my 3/4 length bibs to cover my knees even though they were a little hot at first but overall it worked put well. Some people prefer knee warmers but it’s just one more thing to carry. I would do more layering next time rather than a jersey then big jacket. This year I’ll be taking a lighter waterproof jacket, gilet, arm warmers and some light gloves. Bear in mind that you might want another layer to put on at the beach as it can be cold. We left a van there with warm clothes in but not everyone has that option.

Pace

It’s best to ride with others of a similar fitness or ability or if you’re going solo not going too fast too early. The other thing that’s worth bearing in mind is that if you go to fast you’ll be there far too early and the cafe won’t be open. You could go fast and then stop for a break at every pub you see? Either way ride at your own pace, not someone who is faster than you.

Getting back

I would definitely avoid driving back straight after as we did. It really wasn’t pleasant and I will be staying all day for a nap and driving back the following morning after camping. If you’re going back that day I’d recommend taking the day off work on the Monday.

My only other tip would be to enjoy the spectacle of it all and stop now and then to take a photo or two.

An impressively shot video of the new Arch climbing centre along with some equally impressive climbing. Now where are my climbing boots? It might be worth going whilst it’s new as the way The Castle changing rooms smell is quite something.

A link to these popped up on Twitter earlier which reminded me of a lovely conversation Emma and I had with Brian a while back about his series of diptychs he was planning for a project. That project is now in full swing and producing some beautiful results.

The work is presented as diptychs, a hangover from childhood when I would stare at landscapes first through the left eye and then through the right, delighted by the differences in the two views.

Another one to add to the “I wish I’d thought of that” photography project ideas folder. I can’t wait to get a print and see the final book. In the meantime check out the entire series.

Get the fuck outta here…

Beautifully shot and some brilliant skating.