Breaking The Chain

Hey,

I have been busy recently hence the lack of posts, but in my free time I have been reading/have now finished Willy Voet's Breaking The Chain.



His short book focuses on his arrest and the events which lead to his arrest as-well as some insight into the world of doping in cycling and the whole Festina Doping Scandal, all from his point of view.


While reading you can fully connect with Voet and you start to understand why he would do what he did, Voet worked hard to reach the top, and when reaching it he had to risk his own and others careers by helping with transportation of drugs, the distribution and then application of these drugs on the teams cyclists.


You can't help but feel for Voet as you read about his rising through the ranks from a nobody to one of the biggest Soigneurs in cycling. He talks of techniques used to dope, famous cyclists who have doped and how they did it, the drugs used and what they do individually, Voet gives you all the information you need to learn about doping whilst also mentioning those who were against doping and the ways doping was tested for.


Voet's book is an honest and accurate insight into the world of doping, his first hand experiences and the way they are written really gives you a sense of how much work goes into doping, from transportation late at night, the application of drugs and the methods he used, the countless hours spent on the road, the planning of when to use the drugs so they wouldn't show up when tested for, personal issues in his life and the close calls and stories he had heard which should have stopped him in his tracks.


I'll stop there because I have already written too much and have already deleted 2 paragraphs.... I don't want to ruin it or tell you things in my own opinion as i don't want to sway yours. Just go and buy this book, you can probably find a copy cheap on Ebay.

Its definitely an eye opener, leading me to start reading David Walsh's Seven Deadly Sins.
I'll also write something up about that when I finish.






I missed Milano-SanRemo on Sunday due to spending time with my family so I cant really talk about that other than I was disappointed to hear Cavendish did not win.


However a big well done to Ben Swift on his 3rd place in his first Milano-SanRemo.


More soon,
SF,
Irideroad

The Sea, Cake and Pie

The sea,

The weekend was pretty sweet, nice and warm. So off we went for a walk and i managed to snap this after getting pretty close to being soaked.

Cake.

At Southsea Coffee Co we were very happy to receive this super tasty cake from Ian....

Pie.

Me and Ian went for a man date, we ate, talked about Cycling and London.
We visited Pie & Vinyl on Castle Road because neither of us had been there before.

The shop is pretty cool, they sell Vinyl of course and Pies... The name suggests this. But the interior is quirky, full of old stuff. Its almost like a charity shop, there's loads of different things all over the place, you can look in different places over and over and still find new things when you look again. The Menu is quite limited... Pies... Or you can have Pie, Mash and Peas as a meal. We both chose the Deerstalker pie, which contained venison, bacon and lentils which was a nice change from having a Pork/Beef/Chicken based dinner. The meal was served on a vintage plate, the drinks were served in teapots... House teapots! Old school teapots. I have no idea what they're called but they were pretty cool.

Anyway,
The Vinyl is on one side of the shop, displayed on the walls and in boxes ready for you to flick through and find what you're looking for. They sell new and old Vinyl, so don't worry, i'm sure there's something for you in there. They also have events in store, recently they had Frank Turner and on the  20th of March they have The Feeling in for an intimate gig. Tickets are few so head over to their website for details.

Pie & Vinyl

Dope. 

I'm currently reading Willy Voet's book Breaking the Chain, its a really good book if you're into cycling and want to understand what happened to the Festina team way back in the 90's. It also gives you some information on how to dope and which drugs to use for certain effects. I don't suggest you follow any of those instructions.

But it makes you think, there is so much doping going on and will there ever be a completely clean team?
So if you can find a copy, buy it and read it, then pass it on to someone who hasn't read it.

Stay Flemish and don't dope.

The little things.

I was Flemish last night.

Whilst out last night riding with my buddy i came to the conclusion that I am stupid person.
It was cold as hell and I was only wearing a t-shirt, some 3/4 length shorts, arm warmers and a thin flannel shirt. So while riding along at our 20mph pace trying to keep my cadence high to warm me up i thought to myself "why didn't I prepare"

If you haven't guessed yet, this post is going to be about the little things, the items of clothing we all forget to wear out on rides or just don't buy because we think "i don't actually need those"
Well let me tell you, after last night i am definitely looking into buying the following items:

Arm Warmers
Leg Warmers
Gilet
Long Socks/Socks
Shoe covers
Winter Cap/Cap
&
Gloves

These are now ESSENTIALS.
So check out the list below and maybe buy some things?
Hopefully the selection I've picked is ok for you guys, the price range is varied and so are the styles.

Arm Warmers
Not only are they tight and warm: they look Pro as hell.
Pick some up from:
PBK
Wiggle
Or if you've got luxury in mind check out these
Rapha


Leg Warmers
Again tight, but not too tight because of muscle compression, also very warm and Pro.
Pick some up from:
Ribble
Tredz
Or check these out
Gore

Gilet
Gilets are really handy bits of kit, you can wear them on and off the bike and can buy them almost anywhere depending on how big your budget is and how good you want to look. For example you could buy the Rapha Hi-Vis Gilet which is bright pink and will make you receive some strange looks if you wear it out to town rather than or you could buy the Odlo Flame Gilet which will look good with normal clothing all year round.

Long Socks/Socks
Long socks/socks are a great way of getting an extra layer on your feet and lower leg, I find that with my shoes, the vents in the bottom to keep my feet cool often turn my feet into blocks of ice when out riding without shoe covers on. So the extra layer always helps.
If you're looking for a quick buy check out PBK, they currently have a 3 for £10 deal on their selection of own brand socks.
If you fancy some socks with class check out the beautiful Vulpine Long Socks

Shoe Covers
Shoe covers are Aero, waterproof, toe saving and so Pro!
These will stop your shoes getting soaked, feet becoming frozen and make you look like you know what your doing.
Check them out at Castelli, they have Covers for all your needs and some of the designs are amazing.
There are cheaper alternatives out there but with Castelli you're paying for design and quality.

Winter Cap/Cap
You guys should know by now that when it comes to caps, there's only one company I'll go to, Red Dots Cycling. I would recommend their caps 'til the day i die, the selection is great and all caps are stylish and handmade to the highest quality, and if you cant find what you want...They do custom caps!
However if you fancy blending in with the rest of the peleton you can check out
Castelli
Rapha

Gloves
These to me are probably the most essential kit you need to buy (other than a helmet)
If your hands go cold and numb how are you going to brake? Shift gears? Eat? Or wipe the snot from your nose?

Choosing gloves is hard because everyone has different sized hands and fingers. So you need to try before you buy so you get the best fit. Also, buy more than one pair of gloves, you'll need some for Summer, Winter and rain. Summer gloves should be finger-less, Winter gloves should be Full finger and Rain gloves should be thick (usually neoprene) and waterproof.

Try to buy gloves which have a gel pad as a feature, you'll be surprised how much pain you can be in if you're leaning on the bars all day with out a gel pad to absorb some of the vibrations.
Some gloves do come up your wrist a bit, i guess this is for comfort and is more aero than standard gloves.




Now you've been told!
Go buy some kit, Let me know what you bought or even what you own. Give others some advice and recycle your old kit, give it to someone who might not own a certain bit of kit or pass on the warm items to someone who really needs them.

So you could either be Flemish and fight through the cold, which may affect your health... Or you could take some advice from someone who knows how it feels to freeze.

Stay Flemish (sort of)

Rapha's lady love and Vulpine's new gear are all on my mind.

At last the weekend you say...

Today has been a bit strange really, for a start waking up in my mum’s house rather than my own at 5 in the morning is a weird feeling.

Travelling to work I found it hard to stay awake as I was up until early this morning finishing posts and making sure everything was ready for today. Because the different bus I had to get today arrived at work really early i had time to kill.

I visited a well known coffee brand for a tea, yes tea. Why would anyone drink the “unique blend” that comes from their machines?

Unique blend, meaning a blend of beans from unknown sources all roasted together until they resemble beetles that have died and been left out in the sun too long. Then ground and left in a chamber for who knows long before being crammed into a porta-filter with no consistency what so ever to weight of shots and taste.

After avoiding the “coffee” I headed to work…

Today was unusually quiet for a Saturday, the only reason for this could be blamed on the weather, another sunny day. Nothing of any real importance happened so I’ll skip ahead to what’s happening right now…

Strade Bianche

The Italian race was won today by  the  Polish National Champion Michal Kwaitkowski of my favorite UCI Pro Tour team Omega-Pharma QuickStep, after dropping Peter Sagan on the final climb.

Find out more on the Official Omega Pharma-QuickStep website by clicking on their name.

Rapha Women’s 100

Rapha announces this years date for the women's 100. An event designed to encourage women to get on their bikes and take part in riding with other women who enjoy cycling all over the world.

Rapha are offering all who complete the rides a woven commemorative badge to show off to all your friends. However you do need to sign up at Rapha.cc and join an official ride, unfortunately currently the closest is in London (if you live in the South), however there is also a ride in Cardiff, Cambridge and 2 in Manchester if you live closer to these cities. 

This year’s date is Sunday 20^th of July and Rapha are hoping to beat entries of over 4000 women worldwide last year to double at this years rides.

If you would like to join a ride go here

&

If you just want to shop click here

Vulpines new season

Vulpine unleashed their new season to the web yesterday. The spring collection features New jerseys, merino boxers and merino t shirts for men. While offering New jerseys, t shirts and boy shorts for women.

They also created a beautiful lookbook which shows all the range being used in practical ways, so you know what you’re buying looks good and that it’s up to the challenge when you decide to jump on the bike.

If you check out the lookbook be sure to take advantage of the free extras on the last page (not going to tell you what they are so you'll have to look for yourselves)

Check out the lookbook here

&

Check out Vulpine.cc here

I’m off to chill for a bit,

Stay Flemish.

FEA of my day.

Left it really quite late now...

Today was pretty epic for me, well not even just for me, the whole of Southsea Coffee Co.

Today we had a meeting about becoming ambassadors for Portsmouth, a huge responsibility for all of us.
I'll speak more about that later when I'm not so tired.

Today was really hot, which is fine with me! Its nice to have a day off from work and the weather be awesome.
Instead of riding today i spent the day with my girlfriend who had booked the day off from work, which is really quite nice as we don't get full days off to see each other.

After Lunch at Southsea Coffee Co we went for a walk along Southsea seafront and ended up in Clarence Pier, where we then spent the rest of the afternoon winning handfuls of really pointless prizes. A stuffed unicorn and alien later we met up with my mum and had something to eat.

So here i am sat on the sofa writing this up, ignoring my girlfriend and glancing at the TV and wishing someone would do something about that really annoying "One Sheet" dude from the Bounty advert.



Bike for bedtime?

Check this out...

This is a custom painted S-Works Venge.

Owned by Garret Chow the paint job may look strange but for any nerds out there who will know whats going on here bear with me while i explain to everyone whats so special.

The paint job is the result of an FEA Analysis, this is a map showing where the main points of stress would be, these are crucial results when designing bikes as designers will need to know where to use different strengths of carbon to keep the frame strong when being put under stress.

So, as you can see...
Red areas are where the frame would be under the most stress.
Yellow and green are medium stress zones.
Blue areas are not really affected by stress.

This is a very clever design painted on an equally impressive bike with Campagnolo Super Record EPS, slammed stem and some neat unbranded deep dish carbon wheels finishing off  the ultimate custom bike, this ride is sure to turn heads anywhere it goes.


More tomorrow as I'm up early for work.


Goodnight guys,

Stay Flemish

Happy Dots makes for a happy Irideroad.

Hey!!

If you saw my post yesterday about Red Dots Cycling you'll know how awesome they are, if not click here.

A few minutes after posting to my blog and Twitter I received a tweet from Red Dots Cycling.

As you can see were very happy about my post, which in return made me happy.

They later Tweeted again expressing their good mood to all of their Twitter followers, its nice to be appreciated.

Now, I've only been doing this a few days and to already have a few likes on Facebook and over 100 page views in such a short amount of time is awesome, i thank you all so much for being a part of Irideroad and being here from the beginning, hopefully you'll still be here in he next few months to see things progress into something epic.

More to come later,

Stay Flemish.

Red Dots Cycling, The Perfect Gifts.

Red Dots Cycling, The Perfect Gifts.

When I received my Birthday presents last year from my girlfriend i was expecting her to completely fail and buy me something pointless and uninteresting.
Well that didn't happen.
Among the presents was a cycling cap.
A very nice cycling cap.
A cycling cap to make all others  look obsolete.
This was the Paris-Roubaix Cycling Cap from Red Dots Cycling.

A handmade cotton and polyester cap, with flawless stitching and embroidered brand logo finished with a tiny French tag is what you get, for your very reasonable £21.47*, but you're not paying for just the cap, you're paying for high quality, style and practicality.

Not only does it finish of your cycle-wear for your Saturday morning ride, it looks the part with almost anything.

You can grab one now here!

But...
If the Paris-Roubaix is not your cup of tea, try this instead.

The Release the Hounds-tooth Winter Cap.
Who would wear this you say? Well the answer is elementary.
Any modern gentleman...Or cyclist who knows how to look good on and off the bike.

Made from Cotton and Italian wool, this cap is sure to keep your ears and neck warm on those early morning rides. Again, this is another handmade cap, which also looks well made with quality and overall finish as a main priority.
And don't be worried about it not fitting under your helmet, as its designed to be light and warm without needing extra padding.
Take into consideration that a big brand such as Castelli or Rapha would charge a lot more than £31.90 for a winter cap the Release the Hounds-tooth Winter Cap is a bargain.

You can grab one now here!

There are many caps to choose from as well as Smart Wallets which they make using recycled inner tubes, so you cant say there isn't anything that suits you.

Red Dots Cycling are currently selling their handmade cycling items on Etsy.
So please be sure to check them out and you might just fall in love with a cap like i have.
Also head over to:

Red Dots Cycling Blog
Red Dots Cycling on Facebook
Red Dots Cycling on Twitter

To make sure you're up to date with all their news.

Red Dots Cycling is run by Carolle and Richard out of their Vancouver based studio, the reason for the * is the current price due to shipping as they ship worldwide.

And as always,
Stay Flemish.

Roubaix, I see a future in you.

Specialized Roubaix SL4. The ultimate endurance race bike.

For the past few years I have yearned to own a Roubaix, a proven winner of Pro Tour Race's.
Yesterday I visited Hargroves Cycles in Chichester and took a look at the various models available, because if you haven't guessed yet, I'm going to buy one.

The Roubaix is named after the grueling Paris-Roubaix race, a race held every spring and is one of the many "Spring Classics". Most of which are held in Belgium, with others held in Italy, France and The Netherlands.

The frame has Zertz inserts built into the seat-stays and fork, these are vibration dampeners which will absorb most of the vibrations roaring through the frame as you cruise along the cobbles at 30kph.

This bike has had a lot of design input from recent record breaker Tom Boonen, who in most cyclists opinions is the "King of the Cobbles". One of the greatest cyclists of all time Roger De Vlaeminck, who also happens to be Belgian shares the most wins of Paris-Roubaix with Tom. 

They have each crossed the line in 1st position 4 times and i'm sure that Tom will be looking to add to the joint record in the next few weeks, where we will hopefully see Boonen win again riding his very own custom Roubaix SL4.

Buy a Roubaix here, probably as cheap as you're going to get it unless you go to eBay and buy a used one?

Stay Flemish.

Spartacus rides again, fueled by Turkish coffee.

Yesterday was awesome,

After posting the last post i went to Chichester town and ate some cake, drunk coffee and then looked at some art.

The sun was out!! It was amazing, riding around on Spartacus in shorts, t shirt and beanie hat was so cool, that's what life's about, i felt so good.

My first stop was H&M Coffee, based in Chichester train Station, for a Turkish Coffee. H&M is the only place i know that does authentic Turkish coffee, they even use coffee imported from Turkey.
£2.50 was paid and in return i was handed a paper espresso cup filled to the top with a wonderful sweet smelling thick crema topped coffee.

Now i haven't had one of these for about a year, and as i too my first sip, it all came back to me. I could drink Turkish coffee all day long. Its so sweet and rich, i think a chunk of Biscotti would have gone well with it, imagine dunking that! It would be heaven in your mouth.

If you've not tried Turkish coffee i would suggest you visit H&M.
Its really easy to get to if you're traveling on the train, the shop has an entrance on the train platform and a take-away window on the car park side.The shop is just a 5 minute walk from the high street.

More to come later.

Stay Flemish.

Banana and Nutella Pancakes with a side of Southsea Coffee Co, Cycle Chic and VeloBeats

So,

Yesterday was pretty strange, the weather was terrible and cold, but fortunately i was indoors looking out at work. I got home tired, gorged on Banana and Nutella pancakes and went to bed. Soooo exciting....

I work at Southsea Coffee Co if you're wondering, an amazing coffee shop in Southsea. Its one of a kind, Tara and Martyn have put so much into the shop to save the people of Portsmouth/Southsea from horrible "Italian" style coffee provided by the big chain coffee shops, which is in a working, we have regulars and i'm sure they'd agree that they now have a greater understanding of coffee and what tastes good and what doesn't.
So check them out over on Facebook : Southsea Coffee Co on Facebook

Be sure to like them and follow them on Instagram and Twitter too :) If you're lucky you might see me on there somewhere ;)



Moving on,

While at work a customer was just leaving when i noticed this in her partners arms...

This is a Lazer Urban Deluxe Wood.
A beautiful looking everyday use helmet, featuring strong leather straps and 16 vents to help keep your cool (and avoid frizzy hair... ladies) This is an alternative to those tacky looking single colour helmets which are available out there.

When i asked about the helmet the customer said that it was bought as a present from Cycle Chic for only £49.99, which may i add is a bargain!! She mentioned the straps didn't itch/scrape against her cheeks either which is a good thing, i find that with my Specialized helmet  i start to get an itch along my jaw after a few hours.

She also mentioned she's the only one in the area that has one, so if you see her riding around give her a shout and mention reading about it :)




Finally I'm of out now,

I'm one of those people that has my earphones/headphones on all the time when I'm out on my own and last year i stumbled upon VeloBeats on Soundcloud.

VeloBeats is run by John Braynard. John creates remix's perfect for riding and sitting at home too.
They range from an hour to 2 hours long and are mixed for different moods, a personal favorite is the Pre-Race Pump, a mix which sinks into my mind and prepares me for the ride ahead.
The Chillstep tracks are really cool for relaxing after a good ride too, you can cool down to some soothing sounds, these are also great for just having on during the day as they're not too noisy.

So please check that out too!

Time to get on Spartacus and enjoy this sunshine :)

Stay Flemish.

Irideroad

Hi there peleton.

Hi guys,

So at last i'm starting my blog.
I've been planning to do something like this for a while now and seeing as i'm totally free at the moment i have the time to start.

Irideroad is my "thing"

For the last few years almost everything I've done has had that name in it somewhere, it is me, but everything you don't usually see. Its like  split personality, there's Jordan, then there's Irideroad. The fanatic, passionate, less boring and more energetic me.


What you can expect. (Sort of?!)

Personal posts, i'll try not to get too emotional.
Bikes... Bikes... Bikes
Riders, hoping to do a rider highlight thing where i'll focus on a Oldie, Upcoming and a Present Pro.
Fashion, not my strongest point, but... I know a wrong fitting jersey.
News, riders, tours, bikes, doping... Anything that catches my eye really.
Coffee, lots of coffee.


I have designs waiting to be seen for tees and for walls, lovely images for you to view. Stories to hear, links to share and who knows what else right now.

So please feel free to follow me here...
Facebook: RidewithI
Twitter: IRideRoad
Instagram: IRideRoad
Outlook: irideroad@outlook.com

So you're completely up to date.

Thanks for reading,

Stay Flemish, Life is a headwind.

Irideroad.