Greek Easter

I will let age take the hit for this one, I just went away on a holiday with my roadbike. I am not sure when things changed but a few years ago that never would have happened, or at least I would never have admitted it! Me and Katie went out to the Greek island of Corfu for Easter, the bikes came along and we did a cycle tour around the island. The Greeks out there are known to celebrate Easter properly and it was a seriously cool event. Their culture is based around food and socialising and this really was the emphasis of the religious festival. The main town out there is Corfu town. It is a very picturesque place and for the whole Easter weekend the majority of the islands inhabitants could be found in the towns small streets and squares. There were big processions, fireworks, pot smashings, egg smashings and every family had an entire lamb on their barbeque and were laying on massive feasts for the occasion. Food is a bit of a passion of ours and the Greeks really understand the value of quantity so that side of things was a real winner! The craziest part of the whole easter event was the pot smashing. The main square in the town filled up from all directions with a steady stream of people. Everyone was there from grans to babies and the odd dog brought along for good measure. Once there was literally no space left to breathe a small space, literally only a few meters deep was cleared in front of the buildings surrounding the square. This was the target for the buildings occupants to hurl terracotta pots into from the balconies above. It is lucky to get hit by flying fragment (probably not whole pots) so being up close and personal with the carnage is meant to be a good thing! We were about 4 rows from the front which was more than close enough for this unordered chaos.

Greeks like competition and a chance to show off and so there were progressively bigger pots emerging from balcony windows. The climax was when a few 6foot tall pots requiring 3 people to lift them were dropped less than gracefully from a 4th story balcony. It was quite an engaging experience. The police there were taking a blase approach to protecting the safety of the onlookers and after they had blown their whistles a few times it seemed that they reasoned there was nothing else they could do and so let the crowd bulge past any optimistic safety tapes laid out on the ground. The cycling was nice, the locals thought we were totally insane, no one else cycles out there. The north end of the island has some really scenic terrain, the roads were quiet and the weather was nice without being overkill. All in all it was a really nice trip even if it does mark a dangerous descent from the cool steps of mountain biking towards becoming some kind of leisure cyclist!

...Read more!

Video Blog: Back on two Legs

Here is my first attempt at video blogging. In all honesty I am still getting my head round the software, IMovie seems to hide and disguise all the actually useful controls. This vid could probably still do with a few more tweaks particularly on the audio side but I think these projects reach a point where it just needs to be sent out, I would end up fiddling forever otherwise! It does however leave plenty of room for improvement so expect bigger and better things next time and possibly a little more mountain bike riding! First race is next weekend, I still havent tested my leg on the MTB so it could go either way. I am confident and feeling strong so with any luck it will be a good weekend and if nothing else it will be good to catch up with everyone after the winter break.

UPDATE: Followed some feedback and got the audio levels sorted so heres the new tweaked version!

...Read more!

Oot n Aboot

This is why I would be hard pushed to leave Swansea. Since the weather has picked up and we have had some stunning mornings I have been taking the long route into work down the Clyne valley cycle path. It feels fantastic to be out first thing, flying down through the woods with no cars around for miles and the dappled early light creating a striking mix of colours. For now the cross tyres are still on which help take out the odd bump and allows the Rat to keep exploring when the tarmac runs out.

...Read more!

Back on the road!

The big news is the cast is now off and I am back on a bike! The doctor doesn't recommend anything too agressive for a while so the BFe is still locked up and sitting in the corner looking neglected. After so long being immobile it feels great to get back out on the road bike and getting some freedom back. Today was a gentle but rather cold and blustery ride out onto the Gower. My leg feels far more natural on the bike than walking at the moment, cycling was actually far easier than I expected after so long off. The goal now is to stay intact and get fit ready for the race season.

...Read more!

SnowRat

This cold snap has produced some lively conditions out on the roads, the mix of snow and ice makes getting about a load more interesting than usual. I recently chucked some cyclocross tyres on the Rat. These things have been absolutely fantastic now that things have got slippery. In the snow and ice I feel as in control as on the mountainbike but with none of the excess drag. The Rat sporting these cyclocross rubbers has been perfect for flying around the city whilst everyone else is stuck inside or sliding around in their cars. I have to say that I have been enjoying it so much I keep taking the long route to work and avoiding the gritters to find the fresh snow and more challenging descents and climbs. Here are some early morning pics from the top of the hill, even the bay has had a splattering of snow!

...Read more!

Autumn Chilling

It has been a bit quiet up on here recently so I though about time for an update. Following the end of the race season and the rapidly closing in evenings I have been making the most of the local riding here in Swansea. This has involved a whole load of the trail centres with a splattering of Kilvey and Clyne on the side. Kilvey is riding really well, there are now 3 full, official DH tracks on the hill. I am really enjoying the new track which is a nice tech affair tracking tightly through the trees at a relatively slow pace making for a decent length overall run. The original trail is still a super fun, rapid run. I sometimes forget what a great bike the BFe is when the trail gets faster and more challenging as I have pretty much spent the whole year on small XC tyres. Sticking some large bouncy rubbers on her and pointing her down a proper DH trail feels beautifully natural, balanced and puts a massive grin on my face.

Clyne is all change at the moment, they have had a decent chunk of funding to link together the network of home built trails and make something more all weather and loopable. Rowan Sorrel and his crew have been involved, Moos trails has had a boost and the old dirt jumps are being rebuilt and targeted towards the beginner rider with some safe tabletop lines. This should see Clyne becoming a top quality local facility right in the heart of Swansea. Unfortunately a slight hiccup in the funding has put some the development on hold temporarily but I understand the project will be kicked off again at the start of the next financial year.



Afan 4X track has seen some action with a University club day both last weekend and one planned for the weekend coming. The club now has an elite 4X rider, Pete Warner and with a local track it seems a few more people are getting inspired to give it a go. Last weekend was good fun, we were playing with race lines. The massive open, rough corners give so many options and open up some decent battles as all lines are compromised. Cut inside get ahead and aim to block or go wide carry speed and dart through on the next straight. I think the track will produce some top class racing. In places it still needs some love but I think with more people getting up there the track will ride itself in.



The RoadRat is getting daily action. It really is a solid, setup and forget bike. I am loving the simplicity, the Alfine hub works a treat and all bar a change of brake pads the bike really has required no attention. I have just equipped it with a set of the Hope dual LED lights with the intent of also using them on the BFe for some night rides. I am still a little uncertain about these lights, I have ridden halogen lights in the past and the spread of the beam made a lot of sense. These seem a little too focused for a sole handlebar mounted light but they are yet to be properly tested out on the trail so I will reserve judgement. Build quality is absolutely top notch and they come in a very nice compact, lightweight unit. Burn time is good and they make a great head torch but I think there are a few niggles that are amplified by the price tag which sets expectations high. Expect more to come on this topic with some head to head tests out in the woods as the winter progresses.

...Read more!

Cotic RoadRat - Drop Alfine build

As I am now slowly falling down the slippery transition that is growing up I have come to the point where I need a more sensible everyday bike to do the commuting and keep the fitness up whilst work slyly takes up more of my time. My commute is not massively long but does feature a couple of serious hills, as you may have seen in the Tour of Britain Swansea has a few of those! I wanted something skinny tyred, geared and drop bar but also low maintainance and durable to cope with the stunning welsh weather. The obvious choice for this brief was the RoadRat.



Cy doesnt do the dropbar with a standard geared option. A trawl of the web found the beautifully made barcon shifter by JTEK designed for use with the Alfine hub. The final build is the standard singlespeed dropbar RoadRat with the Jtek shifter and the rear wheel swapped for its Alfine equivalent. The range of gears provided by the Alfine is sufficient for the steep climbs but I will admit the pace is high and there is not an easy cruise gear that you would find on a traditional setup. I dont mind this but I am used to fairly compromised gear setups having only ever run a single front ring on my bikes. The hub itself performs far better than I was expecting. The internet seems full of mixed reviews but I have to say there is no noticable drag and shifts are sharp however they do require easing off the pedals to change. The lever has a really solid action and is very comfortable to use. I love the subtlety and clean look that you get with this setup.

As a commuter this bike fly's. Getting to work is a shed load more exciting and is absolutely flat out down the hill in the morning, it is now a rapid and somewhat brutal way of waking up! The RoadRat handles nicely, the v brakes are so much more effective than standard road brakes which helps raise the confidence when fighting with the traffic. The bike looks really clean and understated which works well to avoid too much attention in the bike sheds. I personally really like the drops as it gives a range of positions for different scenarios whether thats head up amongst other road users or getting the head down for slogging up a hill.

...Read more!