Venge & HFM

Hey!

Been a while now, I think you dropped me a few weeks ago, Iv'e just made a Pomegranate and Blood Orange Smoothie, so I'm pumped and roaring pack up to the pack.

I'm here.

So,

I'm going to start with Healthy For Men Magazine, this is just a cheap magazine you can pick up from GNC stores and Holland&Barrett.

I've been reading HFM for the last 3 months now, only because that's when i first saw it, i wish i had seen it before. They cover a lot of subjects Nutrition, Diet, Science in sport, Fitness, Male body image and Supplements.
I think the magazine is supposed to be an advertisement primarily for the products stocked at GNC and H&B, but also lets you know how to use certain products to get the right results. Most of the cover stories are success stories, last months cover model was the winner of a competition and they talked you through his routine, goals, achievements and lifestyle, so you can see how much hard work goes into being fit and healthy.

This months cover model was Actor Joe Manganiello, star of True Blood and How I Met Your Mother, in his article we read how he turned his life around, from a budding movie star (Flash in Spiderman) he fell into the wrong group of people, fame obviously being too much for him and started becoming a drug and alcohol abuser. After realizing he needed to turn his life around he started with his body, he swapped drugs and alcohol for workouts and training. Getting ripped and stealing attention away from other actors he landed job offers from Hollywood agents, thus turning his life around, he started at the bottom and is now at the top.

 After realizing his success came from his fitness he has written a book, Evolution, not wanting anyone else to make the same mistakes that he had.

So if you're interested in being fit and healthy and getting the right advice from professionals who can talk to you about the right products and work out regimes and also supply you with the necessary equipment, supplements and information head to H&B or GNC and pick up a magazine, I personally have learned a lot from them, there are vouchers for products inside so you can buy products cheaper, expert advice and interesting stories about male body image (this months being the rise in liposuction for men). It costs £1.25, a total bargain, it can get you off your butt and fill you with knowledge at the same time. Well worth it.

Check out their site healthyformen.com
Grab a mag in GNC or H&B stores!

Moving on,

For the past few weeks I've been looking for a new bike, i searched around at a lot of bikes until i found the one I really really wanted, I then made the decision based on the fact that I am very happy with the construction, quality and speed of my Specialized Langster (Spartacus) So i guess they're who I'm going to stick with... for now. So having visited bike shops and firstly looked for the Roubaix, which I do love, then Tarmac, which is a really nice general use bike it left me with one option.

Aggression, Aerodynamics and Speed.

The Specialized Venge.

So today I visited Hargroves Cycles to get measured so I can work out which size I should go for. For Spartacus I am at 54cm sized frame. Mark Cavendish is a prime example that this bike is the best, he uses it and wins races! However, he uses a a 49cm sized frame... This is too small for him, he should be riding something like a 56cm. But he is a professional and that is the reason he uses a smaller frame size, I am not a pro... yet.

So, my riding position of Spartacus is almost upright, its very comfortable and I don't speed around on him so I don't need to be lent over the bars, so this got me thinking about the size I should use for a road bike. I should get the 54cm as it is the correct size, however I am not in a speedy position, so I need to go up a size to the 56cm so I can stretch out a bit and get aero when I need to go fast!

Having checked that a 56cm would be an OK fit for me I now know what size to get, I am so happy and can not wait to get that box in the post!

I did look at this years Venge, its White and Blue, not something I would like to be seen on so I looked for last years model, Black and Red, plus at least £1000 cheaper than this years model. Sold to the man in the cycling cap!

Spending £21.50 on a bus pass a week, which is not very cheap for my bank or the planet, dictates what time I have to be at the bus stop, waits at traffic and takes more time to arrive at my destination than actually riding a bike (I have ridden the route many times and my times are faster) compared to paying "x" amount for the Venge, which runs on my own engine which in no way harms the planet, is a one off payment for travel, is good looking, keeps me fit and healthy and gives me bragging rights is ridiculous.

I am sick of seeing other cyclists riding past my bus in the mornings, I'm bored of sitting on my butt, I'm just not happy traveling anywhere if I'm not on a bike. Now I can ride to and from work, go out on my days off, sit and marvel at how beautiful it is when I'm at home carbing up.


A bike is freedom, a bike is green and a bike should be your friend. A friend that will take you from one place to the next, puts a smile on your face and keeps you healthy. A companion for its life and a reason not to sit at home in front of the TV being fed bullshit from the people who run the planet.



Finally,

The main reason for writing about HFM today is because of the opening paragraph of this months issue, recently I saw something that made me stop and think, and then seeing this today has confirmed that my life is changing/ has been changing since saw what I saw recently. (I'll let you know about that soon anyway).
Back to the point, it was a surprise/coincidence that the following paragraph sums up the last few days and explains how I feel at the moment, I want to help people and this really got to me.

"The reasons for lifestyle changes can be as varied as the individuals making them, although one thing they will all have in common is that each individual will be able to pinpoint the exact moment that they decided to take action"

-

Wesley Doyle

It's a strange feeling I'm feeling right now, and its funny because you don't always see what people are feeling, we wear masks during the day and when you get home, you take it off and look in the mirror and you look into your own eyes and think about what you're feeling, and the more you think about it the harder it is to stop thinking about it. It gets worse and worse everyday, you're stuck in a loop and you need to get out, you don't know how and you know that when it eventually happens the people around you wont be expecting it and the responses will be different.

Just be yourself and do what you need to do. 

Never has my sign off meant more than it does right now,

Stay Flemish

Irideroad

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

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