Friday 24 August 2012

Bye bye dear friend!

All ready to go!
I really love my faithful Brompton, but there is just no point in having such a wonderful bike laying around doing nothing!
I had a Brompton M6R - six speed with rear rack. It also had a granny gear, effectively giving me twelve speed but more importantly meaning that I had never had to get off and push it up any of the extremely steep hills around Ossett. I had fitted a sublime Brook's B17s Saddle in green leather and a front dynamo hub with Schmidt Edelux light, along with a host of little tweaks and mods to make it into an even better "system"
I will miss it, and I hope that the new owner, Jonathan in London, will get much use from it.

Lance Armstrong, still an amazing athlete.

Seven Times TDF winner Lance Armstrong
- image from  http://www.telegraph.co.uk 
So, it would appear to be over, or at least the long drawn out campaign to prove that Lance Armstrong is guilty of "doping" is entering the last stage which will almost inevitably lead to him being found guilty.
This morning Lance issued a statement on his website (see http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstrongs-statement-of-august-23-2012) in which he outlines why he thinks he is innocent and why is not continuing to fight USADA against their claims that he used artificial means to win the Tour De France a record seven times.
Lance Armstrong is an amazing man. From an early age, he showed exceptional cycling ability and his genetics and determination made him an outstanding athlete. He won events in running, swimming and cycling (and ironman style events with all three) from an early age and became a very successful athlete. Even when he discovered that he had testicular cancer, he never once gave up and not only fought but beat cancer, he re-trained and brought himself back to a level of fitness that even the world's best athletes find hard to understand. I have read many books from various Tour De France cyclists and they all give a similar image of Lance. His appearance in a room, or on the road was like a steam train, his legendary anger against the other cyclists were the driving force that made him perform to an exceptional level.
Away from cycling, Lance turned his energies to providing a massive support network for cancer victims and against a condition that we are gradually finding ways of beating. To date the Livestrong Foundation has raised $500 million which in an age where large numbers are commonplace still makes most people draw in breath and say "Wow"
"Doping" in cycling used to be incredibly common. Even cyclists who would profess themselves to be clean and to stick to the rules would still inject concoctions of "recovery" drugs and sleep in an oxygen tent between stages of a race - all perfectly legally. It was common for athletes, especially cyclists to use blood transfusions (sometimes for their own stored blood), which allowed them to carry more oxygen in their blood and therefore perform at an even higher level that they would do otherwise. When the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) was found to help boost the bloods hematocrit level for six to twenty four hours after injection. When this is combined with a very hard training regime, athletes recovery times are much quicker and performance is greatly enhanced. Steroids were often used as well, which reduce weight and also enhance recovery. After several weeks it is difficult to detect that athletes had used these methods (the Americans allegedly set up a college training programme where the time that these drugs took to be undetectable where studied - Ben Johnson's spectacular fall from grace where he was exposed as a "drugs cheat" has led to much speculation that this was widespread among all athletes at the time.). It was also found that EPO can be masked by using plasma infusions and that an elevated hematocrit level can be reduced in just thirty minutes.
Male fake phallus urination device image.
Source: The Original Whizzinator website
(accessed online Dec. 3, 2008)
When the Festina team car was stopped and searched at the 1988 Tour and found to be brimming with illegal drugs, (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festina_affair), all hell broke loose and the cycling fraternity had to be seen to do something. They acted slowly and often turned a blind eye to dodgy practices. When David Millar was caught with two empty EPO syringes hidden in his apartment (he claims he had already decided to be "clean" but was keeping the syringes as souvenirs), he became an outspoken campaigner against the use of drugs in cycling. He tirelessly fights against doping, and has offered advice at every level to the industry. Gradually cycling is cleaning up its act. You will see that a stage winner is escorted straight to the toilet where they have to give a urine sample. The cyclist has to strip and an observer watches the urine leave the body. It goes into two containers which are then sealed (the A and the B sample). The A sample is tested and the B sample is stored so that it can be re tested in later years. Incredibly cyclists have tried to use devices like the false phallus shown above in the Tour.
The question of whether Lance has used performance enhancing substances or methods to train is difficult to give a straight answer to. He did use performance enhancing drugs to fight cancer, which is of course a very normal thing to happen and we are all glad that he did so. I have no doubt that he was not an out and out doper. He possesses exceptional ability and determination and he deserves the reputation that he has for being one of the best cyclists that there has ever been. I am also pretty sure that he will have used methods that would not be allowed today, but then again it was once common for Tour De France riders to have a flask of brandy with them, and that would definitely not be allowed today.
At the time that Lance won his incredible seven Tours, I would say that he won fairly and did not have an advantage over his fellow cyclists other than his amazing talents abilities and mental attitude.
Should he be stripped of his seven titles? No, I dont think so, but I do think its about time that everyone took a more honest and less hypocritical view on what used to happen in cycling. Let's move on...

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Spoiling the boat for a h'apeth of tar!

Cheap Replacements
My Giant Defy 2 bike came with Tektro dual pivot brakes which weren't at all bad but had the most awful rubber block brakes. When I came to do some routine servicing, replacing the chain (For an excellent Wipperman Connex phosphor bronze coated chain) and brake blocks, I bought some longer blocks. Unfortunately I made the mistake of buying some cheaper ones from an obscure manufacturer.
Brake shoes must be fitted slightly "toe-in", which means that the front of the shoe should be angled so that it is slightly closer to the rim than at the back. This prevents brake squeal. On these cheaper shoes, this is accomplished by a dished washer and nut that fits onto a bolt that protrudes to each side.
I really cant remember why I bought these blocks other than that they were cheap, but it may be that they were part of a larger order so I tagged them on to save postage costs. They are longer which I thought may give better braking.
Shimano Blocks
When I fitted them, I thought they looked awful! The bolts protrude quite a long way and they just look ugly. In use, they also squeal whenever I clean the bike (every week) or if they get wet.
As soon as I could, I went to Blazing Saddles at Hebden Bridge and bought some "proper" Shimano blocks. These come with a shoe and replacable blocks that are held in place by a small allen bolt. Two pairs of blocks came in at just under twenty pounds, and I was also supporting a local bike shop in a town that has been flooded twice this year and needs every penny they can get.
These blocks are in another league completely. Instead of a protruding bolt, they use an allen bolt that fits into the block which makes it much neater and also easier to adjust. The blocks don't squeel at all and stop the bike very effectively.
Next time, I will not try and scrimp - a definite false economy!

Thursday 2 August 2012

Tell 'em Wiggo

Of course, when the 32 year old Bradley Wiggins completed his time trial event in characteristic fashion yesterday, I was as pleased as the next man, but probably for different reasons.
The fact that he is now our most successful Olympiad with seven medals to his name spanning three different events over three games is amazing - and he has already remarked about getting a fifth gold in Rio which seems very possible.
More importantly is the effect that becoming the first Britain ever to win the coveted General Classification yellow jersey in the Tour de France and now the gold medal in the time trial, is having on the UK's attitude to cycling. Already, sales of cycles and cycling accessories have risen as people start to get onto two wheels which can only be a positive thing. Better cycling facilities and hopefully safer cycling routes will follow.
No, for me the best thing about Bradley's win is that he has retained his irreverent view of the powers that be and has remained unswayed by the pressure from his sponsors. He has always been outspoken against doping in the cycling fraternity and his criticism of established cyclists who fail drugs test has not been silenced by sponsor or media pressure as it so often is. On the night on his first yellow jersey win this year, the press asked him some doping related questions which led to him firing a string of expletives at the reporter responsible leaving everyone in no doubt that he is not swayed by the pressure to say the right thing.
When he eventually won the Tour, he did not face the cameras and the 'dippy president', instead he turned around and spoke to the British crowd, joking about drawing the raffle tickets but actually showing his great appreciation of their support.
Bradley Wiggins, at last, a very British champion!

Wednesday 1 August 2012

DOMS

I went for a run two days ago and I am now in agony! Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is caused by unusual exercise of muscle groups and is probably a result of minor tissue damage caused by the exercise. As I get older, I find that DOMS kicks in much sooner, for example, I cut a hedge last week and after only twenty minutes of exercise, I was sore for several days.
The good news is that DOMS is only caused by unusual exercise, so repeat the exercise regularly and the pain will be much less. Its a sign that the training has worked, in fact its a sign that the training has been optimal.
So, I've had a days rest, time to load Runkeeper and head off again!