Choose your route carefully

Tuesday night is the City Cycles shop ride. After 3 months and purely for a sense of variety I decided it was time to take a different route out of town. Oh how I regret that decision now!

The first mile of the route would take us through a couple of mini roundabouts. I lead 12 riders safely across the first and at the second we were turning right. A car was approaching from the right but I had time to comfortably enter the roundabout before it arrived. I was aware that there was also a car approaching from my left, but I had priority, turned and exited the roundabout the car now behind me.

The first I was aware of trouble was the crunch of breaking carbon fibre. I can't remember hitting the windscreen of the car, but I do have a distinct memory of flying through the air with time to think "this is going to hurt!" I had no idea where I was headed and my airborne adventure could very well have ended under the wheels of an oncoming car. As it happened I crashed to ground some way up the road in shock and completely winded.

As I lay on the cold tarmac I could see the car which had hit me with its windscreen completely caved in and smashed. Two of my riding partners reached me first, but with the air knocked out of my lungs I was initially unable to speak. The driver of the car got out and I heard him ask "Is he alive?"

I was alive and although my right hand side hurt pretty bad, I wiggled my toes and fingers, completed a personal assessment and started to realise I had been extremely lucky. Of course once you are laying in the middle of the road after being launched into orbit by a car you are on a one way ticket to A&E. However after a very brief ambulance ride, and a miraculously short wait for a full examination I was home in time for an extremely uncomfortable night in my own bed.

Everyone of the riders behind me who I have spoken too about what they witnessed have all mentioned the noise. The loud 'bang' as I was fired into the air!

Unfortunately the bike didn't escape so fortunately as myself. On only its second outing and with only 60 miles under its belt the Merida Scultura met its end. The crunch of carbon I remembered  had been the rear wheel disintegrating. The handlebars are completely mangled after presumably being trapped under the car and dragged along the road.

As my wife frequently reminds me, she has now had a fair few calls from the A&E departments of various different hospitals. The roads are dangerous places for cyclists, especially at night. Even festooned with lights you are vulnerable. The best thing you can do is stay away from busy or dangerous sections of road, so from now on I'll be sticking to the usual route out of town each week.

Merida Scultura 2017 Review

The Merida Scultura is ridden by the Bahrain Merida pro tour team and will be used as their lightweight climbing bike at the 2017 Grand Tours. The bike I rode was the Scultura 5000 disc, the geometry is slightly more relaxed compared to the team bike and uses Merida CF2 carbon which gives away around 150g compared to its CF4 professional cousin. The 5000 comes with a predominantly Shimano Ultegra groupset but with a RS500 crankset and 105 cassette. The wheels are Merida own branded and although not total heavyweights they aren’t going to flatter the bikes lightweight frame. For an extra £350 the Merida 6000 provides a full Ultegra drive chain with Fulcrum Racing Expert wheels.

For me the 5000 made more sense because I was swapping out the chainset anyway for a Dura-Ace 9000 fitted with my preferred oval Rotor chainrings. I also already had some lighter carbon wheels which saved 300g and when matched to the frame really made this bike shine.

First impressions are that this is a very attractive bike. The stealth matt black is balanced nicely with the subtle neon yellow details. The frame makes use of a super wide press fit 86 bottom bracket to maintain the stiffness and help transfer all your power into forward motion. Full internal cable routing is neat and the along with the shaped downtube helps with the aero performance.

This bike eats hills for breakfast, it literally raced up the familiar climbs around Goodwood like a mountain goat on steroids! I would just be settling into my rhythm and look up to find myself already at the top! The handling is sharp and the compact rear end provides a very direct transfer of power. The whole feel of the bike is of a coiled spring ready to pounce! This does mean however that you need to stay awake as the quick handling and light weight combine to make the bike ‘lively’ on bumpy roads or fast descents.

After 5 years being cosseted on a Trek Madone stepping onto the Scultura was like igniting the afterburners! Out of the front door the bike was eager to get going and with fresh legs we galloped away and chomped up the first few climbs of the day! 4 hours later when I stepped off the bike however I was slightly sore and battered. That boundless enthusiasm starts to takes its toll. The skinny bar tape on the Scultura didn’t help, but my arms were tired from constantly having to reign the bike in. My legs and backside were also sore in a way I haven’t encountered for a long time. Leaping onto a new bike for a 4 hour ride isn’t ideal, so we’ll see if my body adapts to the pounding my bones took. To be fair the Madone is a different animal to the Scultura. It is aimed as a comfortable all day bike, with stable predictable handling. This is the same reason it is never going to set your pulse racing like the Scultura!

The 5000 is a fantastically glorious machine, it made me feel like I was Vincenzo Nibali dancing up the Stelvio Pass. Unfortunately it also highlighted that I’m not actually Nibali and three weeks around Italy or France on this bike would probably turn my joints to dust!

My final comments must be regarding the disc brakes. This is the first time I have ridden disc brakes on a road bike and I can’t see what all the fuss is about. Disc brakes are just so obviously better. I don’t mean just a little bit better either I mean, night and day, I would never even think of using rim brakes again, better! My ride started on wet roads in misty drizzle and ended in glorious sunshine. The braking remained constant throughout. Consistent one finger braking in all conditions every time you squeeze the lever. There was great feel, modulation and subtlety when needed or just bundles of power if required. Added to this I wasn’t wearing out my wheels every time I squeezed the lever.

Indoor trainer

Over the past few weeks I've been trying to squeeze in riding time in whatever varied form it takes. Last Monday I was out in the pouring rain test riding the Merida Ninety Six full susser. Under the hazy sunshine 7 days later it was the time to break out the rigid hardtail and head over to the man made trails at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. In between I've done a bit of everything, dashing around town before heading to the shop, I've even been back on the turbo trainer for the first time in 5 years!

Its been a case of a bit here and a bit there, the assorted outings without any real structure largely as a result of the winter weather. First we had the ice. I woke up early a couple of times, wrapped myself in base layers, Roubaix thermals, windproofs, buffs, overshoes and tiptoed around the lanes in the dark. Trouble was I had to concentrate so hard on staying upright it wasn't really much of a workout.

Then we had the rain! I'm no fair weather cyclist, I've no problem with getting wet, but it does hit the motivation slightly when you can hear it beating down on the roof so hard I contemplated building an Ark.

With the great outdoors not looking too appealing I organised a Tacx Vortex indoor trainer for the shop. It's been 5 years since I last used the Turbo trainer at home. I've always found it such a boring activity that I packed it away. I once managed an hour of indoor spinning staring at a heart rate monitor but usually 30 minutes was about all I could handle. However, it does undoubtedly provide the chance for a very focused session, without the variables encountered out in the real world. I used to stick to a 10 min warm-up a batch of 1 minute intervals and then a cool down. As it happens things have moved on in the world of indoor trainers to help get the most out of the time spent with sweat pouring off the end of your nose.

I downloaded the Tacx app to my phone and in about 30 seconds I could see my speed, power, cadence, time and distance. From the phone I adjusted the gradient (resistance) and could select the flavour of my torture from a range of specific training programs. There is also access to the world of online riding with (or against) other individuals around the world, who like you are trapped in their shed wearing nothing but a pair of bib-shorts.

I've found it very beneficial in terms of my technique. I started mashing away but a little investigation found that if I changed up a gear, upped the cadence and focused hard on a circular pedalling motion the speed and power increased for the same or even a perceivable drop in effort. I was able to quickly transfer this improvement to the outside world on my next ride.

So this week looks cold again. Will it freeze the mud to enable some off-road excursions, or will I be teetering around on the ice, or forced to stick it out on the Tacx? As long as it involves a riding a bike I'll be happy!

Merida Ninety-Six XT Ride Review

Skating around the issue

The ground was definitely frozen. I could feel it through my jersey as I lay spread eagled in the frosty dirt. The front wheel had shot out from underneath me throwing me onto the ground. I tried to get up but my foot slipped and I fell back to the ground. I scrambled up like Bambi on an ice rink, sliding around desperately trying to get to the top of the slope. Luckily it was only my warm-up lap!

I've never experienced a frozen race course before. The frost was like snow in places and the soil was frigid. In some areas the ice made conditions sketchy at best. In between the corners the firm ground meant high speeds, but after a few wobbles and with my confidence dented, I decided on a tentative approach for the rest of the lap.

Warmed up and leaping away from the start, I followed the leading riders through the first few bends. As we hit a wide sweeping curve all grip disappeared and we all skated through the corner desperately searching for grip. Suddenly my bike stepped out from under me, I caught it before hitting the deck, but this allowed the three in front to pull away. I resolved to use my strength on the next climb to close back up and as we hit the base of the incline I applied a surge of power. The rear wheel spun out on the frozen ground and I stalled. Forced to dismount I ran up the slope and ended up losing more time.

The gap ahead remained steady for the remainder of the lap, until we reached the scene of my warm-up incident. Two back markers from another category had dismounted and were struggling to make their way up the slope on foot. So I was again forced to scramble up the icy incline. I finished the lap with 3rd still firmly in my sights trailing by around 16 seconds.

Driving into the new lap and attempting to close the gap ahead I dived into an icy switchback too fast. First thing I knew I was on the deck. Scrambling back onto the bike I was now even more tentative and tense, when I needed to be supple and reactive to the conditions. After a couple more big scares I backed right off. It isn't often I can say I don't enjoy riding a bike, but right then the option of stepping off and getting back in the car was so strong I stopped.

I turned back towards the car, but then saw two friends who were still racing. Perhaps it was the thought of trying to explain myself to them after the race that provided the motivation to get back onboard and complete the final lap. I was very relieved to see the organisers had closed the treacherous incline by the time of my third lap.

I crossed still in forth, slightly disappointed in myself, but at the same time pleased that I had persevered.  

New team kit

The new City Cycles team kit has arrived just in time for the first XC race of the season this Sunday. Thanks to our shirt sponsors McMurdo and Strada wheels the blue shirts will be hitting the course at the first round of the Gorrick Spring Series.

Base miles

Winter is time for putting in the hard graft. If you want to reap the rewards come the summer, then you should be piling on the mileage now. Over the past 3 or 4 years I have been used to annual averages of over 150 miles a week, regularly topping 200 miles by the end of the Sunday ride. In two years I only rode less than 100 miles in a week 3 times  - each time while on holiday. (Even then I'd always managed some miles while away!)

However, taking on a new business has meant a steep learning curve and lots of extra hours planning and dealing with the inevitable paperwork. So in fact owning a bikeshop has lead to much less time on the bike. A commute of 10 minutes each way, instead of an hour hasn't helped either!

Sunrise on the South Downs before work

As a result I have only topped 100 miles over seven days, 6 times since mid August when the whole purchase process kicked off. My goal for the new year was to try and structure my week to hit the 100 mile goal for the first time in 6 weeks. I started well with a 3 hour MTB ride on Monday, my day off. I grabbed what I could during the week, before waking up early and splashing around for 90 minutes before work on Saturday. I totted up the totals - 99.8! Oh, well! I could roll up the lane Sunday morning and notch up the last few yards.

Then came the opportunity to join the boys for a longer Sunday morning social. At 8.30 I rolled down the lane into the drizzle. My legs immediately felt heavy, having ridden the previous day. It was a sobering thought that only a few months ago I used to think nothing of a daily 35 mile commute. I joined the others and toiled away at the back of the group, destroying myself by taking the occasional turn on the front of the group.  

It is obvious my fitness has suffered in the past 4 months as time in the saddle has reduced. In the short term I am not going to have the same opportunities to ride that I had in the past, but this week has proven it is possible for me to maintain a sensible level of training, enjoy time on the bike and hopefully not embarrass myself come race day!

Sunday social!