Sunday Cyclist

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this website, I'm neither an experienced road cyclist, nor a technical wizard when it comes to bikes. Yes, I can change most parts, give my bike a decent service and usually make sure that everything is working well. I do not speak the language of 22 x 30 gear ratios, I am not completely obsessed with carbon and I don't run out to spend GBP 1500 on the new Shimano electronic derailleurs. I do really admire people that are into all that and sometimes wish that I devoted the time to learn more in this area. However, I feel that I know enough to be operational and unless something serious goes wrong, I'll get by. If you're not a mechanical wizzkid, jut make sure that you always take a spare iner tube, tyre levers and pump and you should get hom. Below I'll list a few "things" that work for me when I am cycling - you'll be able to pick and choose what works for you, it's really a personal choice:

Old faithful

Until less than three years ago, I was a hairy legged, no-lycra, mountain biker - climbing up hills and then hurtling down as fast as I could, loved mud and didn't appreciate long stretches on tarmac. My mountain bike (old faithful) has been in the family for almost 10 years: it's a sturdy old thing, made by Author (Czech Republic manufacturer) and has never caused me any problems. My local bike shop owner calls this bike "la merde", which at times I have to agree, but she has never let me down and we have been through so much together. Slicks in the summertime for commute to work and then knobbly tyres in the winter for rides in the mud. I really enjoy mixing up mountain-biking with road biking and cycling with my kids would not be that practical if I had to put on my cleats and padded shorts every time they wanted to go for a ride around the lotissment.

Bike computer with ESSENTIAL cadence meter
Okay, so you've got the bike, the nice shorts, windproof gear, what else do you need? A bike computer of course: you'll need to know how long you've been riding, how long you're been "in the zone" for your heart rate and, new to me: how fast you've been turning those old pedals! My neighbour put me onto a cadence meter for the first time in July last year and it is amazing - you really can track yourself on hills if you set yourself a goal not to go below - this really makes a difference when climbing. it's also good for when you're out riding in a group: make sure you're 90-100 rpm when you're close to the front and then you can take it easier when you're sluching around at the back drafting along in the small gears... This was the best piece of kit I bought last year and really help me increase my efficiency on the bike.

My beloved Trek

I bought this bike last Spring, after much deliberation and humming and hawing. I wanted to splash out on a super carbon baby, but just couldn't justify that to the "investment committee" i.e. my wife. In the end, I'm so happy with this bike, I'm glad I didn't spoil myself. I know I will upgrade to something more advanced in a couple of years time but this, for me, is a great balance between my steel swiss engineering (above) and blowing the bank on a bike above GBP 1,000. I don't want to repeat the technical analysis (click on the link above), I will simply say that this is my first real racing racing bike, so for me it was like saying goodbye to an old comfy pair of jeans and pulling on the armani jeans: they both do the same at the end of the day but one makes you feel slightly better.

Classic Swiss Engineering

When I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a road bike, I didn't want to commit to buying a brand new bike in case, for whatever reason, I ended up not liking road biking. Therefore I jumped on the well known classifieds and picked up this 10-year old, Cilo Challenger, hand made, steel frame beauty. It has shimano 105 gears with frame mounted shifters (not great for hills but fine otherwise), a double chainring (not compact), strong Mavic wheels (quite old though) and is a solid bike in perfect working order. Since I graduated up to my Trek I have just not had the heart to give this away or sell it on, so this is now my official "winter bike" and also my "mechanical experiments" specimen.

Indoor spin bike
So, you know you need to do lots of kilometres to be ready for the étape, you know it's cold outside, you know the kids are in their beds so you can't just leave them can you, you know you'd rather watch Champions league than go outside in the dark - what are you going to do: get on an indoor bike of course.

Kaenon sunglasses

You are going to need sunglasses for all the training you're going to do - even if it's not so sunny, I always find that having my shades on protects my eyes from wind, rain, insects, wee stones that fly up from the person in front of you. There is no other way to put this, Kaenon sunglasses are THE BEST!! I have a few pairs ( I fell in love with the lenses) , but their "kore" model is the best for cycling. I use copper 12 lenses for sunny days and yellow lenses for evening/morning training rides - the clarity of vision is amazing and I hope you love the polarisation as much as I do!