New Year and Stuff.

So, here it is. The New Year.

Happy New Year to you, I wish you all the best for the coming 365 days.

I’ve got quite a few plans for this year, most of which are cycling, education and fitness related. Maybe a little bit of self improvement too?!

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog/s. Without seeing the hits on my posts I’m really doing this for nothing, it would look like I’m only typing to clear my head. However the stats show me that people from all corners of the world have read and continue to read my blog/s.

To start…

The year just passed.

If you’ve read my blog throughout the past year you’ll know that a lot has happened to me, some good and some bad. I did a lot for myself last year and really just started to understand who I am and what I’m doing here on this planet. I did quite a few things I’d never really do, I regretted some of the decisions I made but I also took opportunities I would never take too!

Everything I did has helped me to become who I am now and has helped me in planning a future based around the things I love.

The year ahead.

This year I aim to give you as much information as possible about what I’m doing, Training, Food, Music, Races… blah blah… And in return I’d like to hear back from you. Does anything I write about offend you? Motivate you? Even interest you? Let me know so I can improve what you see.

I have a secret plan for this year. I can’t tell you what it is obviously but I’m sure as the years comes to a close you’ll guess and maybe even understand what’s happening. Everything I do this year is working towards the secret… Dun dun dun…

You can follow me on…

Twitter; @Irideroad

Facebook; RideWithI

Instagram; @irideroad

Stay Flemish,

Orca Out.

Gran Fondo 8, SiS Summer 100 and Shimano Summer Challenge!

Sunday 10th August 2014

You always get a good view when you're on a bike

I'm sat here listening to E-Bow by Sigur Ros, a beautiful track, staring at this screen, teary eyed as the music fills my ears and memories fill my mind. I find a quote after searching online for something to express how I feel right now and this is what I found...

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."

The last week has been brilliant for me, in so many different ways.

Coffee

Thursday...

I finally got to see the insides of the Conti, something I've wanted to do for a long time. I need to know how it works, without this machine I wouldn't be very good at my job.

I managed to speak to the technician as he went about repairing the machine. He was extremely patient as i wrote notes and drew diagrams for future reference, he talked me through every single part of the machine, mentioning what they do and how they do it. It was a brilliant experience...

Cycling

I did just under 300k this week, I should have really done more... Training is all that matters...

Monday...

I'm waiting for my Racing licence to come through the in the post so I can start looking ahead at the CX season over winter. This will be a great learning and training season for me, I'm' not going to be looking for the win, but if the opportunity shows itself I will attack until my legs are jelly!

Wednesday...

So this ride was pretty cool, minus the fact I was left to go solo 25 Miles in due to Dale having a puncture... But that's not going to stop the Orca from smashing his way up and down hills in the dark! I managed to cover 91.2km in the end, so i wasn't too disappointed about doing it solo. Plus I was on a total high due to the night before...

Sprinting around on Alice, no hands!

This ride made me feel incredible, the mixture of being out with my best friend, doing the thing I love more than anything, the views and the great memories from the night before made me break down. I cried on a downhill section overlooking Clanfield. The feelings were too much for me to handle, I just had to let it out... I also had to let Dale know how much I appreciate him.

Saturday...

I finished work at 6.30, went home, cleaned my kit, threw some food and gels into my musette, charged my Garmin and planned the route... I then rode to Dales to pick him up and off we went.

Gran Fondo 8 and SiS Summer 100 were my goals, complete them both in one ride! On top of that I used the ride as a top up for the Shimano Summer Challenge, 600k in 16 days.

At first I didn't think Dale would have been able to even do 100 plus miles, thankfully I was wrong. He was great company for what was to be a cold, windy and rainy ride.

We climbed, we descended and we CTFU. We rode 50 miles before our first break, we sat in the road on top of a hill somewhere near Bishops Waltham.

One of the nice things about being up in the hills and away from towns is the lack of traffic and the fortunate lack of light pollution. Unfortunately the sky was full of huge clouds and we couldn't see the moon or stars, this is usually a perk I look forward to. Thankfully there were no cars around for miles, so we were not blinded every ten seconds unlike on other rides.

We had ridden around 60 miles when Dale mentioned he had a front puncture... Fuck!

Just what we needed. I was standing around not being very much help at all, freezing to death and CTFU. Dale luckily had packed his saddle bag with everything we needed, he fixed the puncture promptly and we were off again... Then it started raining... Not just raining... Pissing down!

We were drenched, worried about our phones in our jersey pockets and the terrible country road surfaces in the wet. I was blinded in one eye for at least a mile and a half, which was not very fun considering we were on a downhill.

The rain stopped as we re-entered Meon, however the wind was still howling at us, it was torture.

So, anyhow we managed to get on top of Portsdown Hill, somewhere near Southwick, but not using the A road... It was a complete mission climbing 128 meters after riding in conditions we had been riding in. At last we made it to the top... Everyone knows that what goes up must come down... And we did... Fast!

We descended into Fareham and rode towards Gosport... This is when I threw in the towel "I don't want to ride down that fucking road" I really dislike this particular road, I was cranky as hell, tired and cold. I just wanted to get home.

So we turned around and headed back towards Portsmouth.

We got onto the island and headed towards Clarence Pier, we needed to do a lap of the seafront and then add on how ever many miles Dale needed to make it to a complete century. We finished our lap in Eastney and turned to find another 4 miles. We pedaled and pedaled. In one mile I had completed my 3 challenges, 3 miles after that Dale would complete 2 of them too! I started shouting words of motivation. Our speed raised as well as our spirits.

Its a brilliant feeling seeing someone complete such a big ride, the biggest ride they've ever done! The longest time spent in the saddle! The highest number of meters climbed! The personal records stacked up!

A smile crept onto my face. Dale had done it! I had done it!

I didn't care much for my own goals, I only had time for my best friends achievements!

I'm so proud of him for everything! He really impressed me on this ride. He was great company, a great wind breaker and a complete fighter!

I rode back to Dales to pick up some amazing cake he had made, Peanut butter and chocolate spread marble cake! It was amazing and definitely helped in my recovery!

I got home and collapsed onto the floor, looked around for a while and decided I needed sleep. I slept.

Flandrian tanlines...Hot!

Check my Strava/Challenges page for all my ride information.

Personal/Other

 Go out and listen to Arkells new album High Noon! Its great, I wouldn't say its better than the old albums but it's on par.

Saw nan, all is ok. She went to Legoland with my Brother, she's a total nutter!

Get in touch?

Facebook-Instagram-Twitter

Just click on the boxes on the right!

Stay Flemish!

Orca out!

R to the V-V, P to the R & C to the Obbles

Hey!

Its been a while, lacking motivation the last few days, but lets see if this makes up for your lack of reading material....

#RVV
I'm sure you know by now the great Tour of Flanders happened back on Sunday. I only managed to catch the last 70km but what I saw was amazing!
The Breakaway disintegrated down to two riders, who fought all the way to the end Stjin Vandenbergh of Omega-Pharma QuickStep and Gerg Van Avermaet of BMC. They lead for quiet a while until Fabian Cancellara of Trek and Sep Vanmarcke of Belkin joined them, where the group then rode to the finish attacking each other numerous times but to no reward until finally in the last meters Cancellara sprinted to the finish line ahead of the others.


How sick are these?!

Whilst browsing on the Specialized website a few days ago looking for the perfect custom S-Works frame i spotted an article celebrating their 40th Anniversary. In this interactive article i found these awesome 1988 Specialized Shoes click the link to see them.

Paris-Roubaix this Sunday

If you didn't know by now, Paris-Roubaix will shortly be upon us, and as always I shall be watching with high hopes that my main man Tom Boonen wins his 5th P-R, breaking the record he already shares with the great (and my 2nd favorite rider of all time) Roger De Vlaeminck.
Tom and Roger's record is likely to have another member to share the glory of 4 wins this year in the shape of Fabian Cancellara, winner of this years Tour of Flanders. Fabian is probably the favorite to win after his performance at RVV, if he uses strategies like he did on Sunday he could pull it off, but with Boonen right behind him.

Boonen did not enter the race last year because of a fractured rib, which in a way gave Fabian no excuse not to win as the number one contender for the race win was absent. Boonen will be riding with team mates who will be supporting him so there should be no excuse for not winning/being top 3. However, both Boonen and Cancellara both won in solo efforts from 50km out, so they're capable of going it alone, now that would be something special (we can only hope something that awesome would happen)

So in preparation im going to be wearing my P-R Cap from Red Dots Cycling all day and drinking some fine French beers, I hope you enjoy the race and your favorite rider wins... (It'll be Boonen though so bet on him to save disappointment)

Well I'll be back on Sunday after shouting at the TV, I hope you all enjoy the race and ride lot. Weather looks like it might be good, no excuses...

Stay Flemish!

JC

Keep in touch...
Facebook: /ridewithi
Twitter: IRideRoad
Instagram: irideroad

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.

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.