Author: Ben

The B-boys with Vin Denson, team-mate of Anquetil and Simpson, Giro stage winner and one the few British riders (if indeed there are any others) ever to have beaten Eddie Merckx.

First day of spring, and the first splashes of summer kit are spotted on the highways and by-ways of west London and Surrey over the weekend.Just the standard 50miles to Box and back, but the promise of longer, lighter, warmer days ahead was putting thoughts of ‘earlier, longer, faster,’ into the minds of these two……

Scarcely have we apasionados drawn breath from the excitements of Paris–Nice and Tirreno–Adriatico but another hyphenated legend looms. This Saturday brings the first of the one-day monuments: La Primavera, Milan–San Remo: 300km of sprinters’ classic. Last year, Oscar Freire was The Man, his second win. 2009 was all about Cav; the year before, Cancellara. 2011…

We’d only landed that morning, miles away from the Alpe. Arriving at the campsite, the mountains loomed around us and looked on as we fettled and fussed over our bikes. Lowell, Frank and I went for an epic shop with the van. 6 hungry B-boys+ Marmotte route(4 HC cols)= heavy trolley. We arived back at…

On the drive to Richmond this morning, the weather man on the radio said ‘today is disappointing’ which I thought a little harsh. It was drizzling, and the winds were blustery, but disappointing. It was only 7.30… Conversation on arrival was all about Dixon’s recent Champion status (of which, more below), Disco and Nustu feeling the same…

The myth of Odysseus adapted by Lanarkshire author Des Dillon. Narrated in the short film Standing Start by Iain Agnew. Man: a being in search of meaning. Even in the calamity of a demented battle ground, we are vessels. A surface of senses. Beneath, there’s skin and bone and the engines that thrum blood. Coded by…

The first 60 miler of the year for me, and boy did I feel it. Much of my ride involved adopting a zen attitude to being dropped. Box Hill I climbed alone, the opposite of a breakaway. Almost 9 minutes, passed by all sorts. The journey home was so painful I was forced to fall…

Crack of dawn, Sunday. Everything says go back to bed, except the pile of clothes in the corner and the quietly patient, waiting bike that leans against the bookshelf. It watches my clumsy preparations. Mercifully, all of the rummaging, pumping, fiddling and fettling was done the night before – which sounds a little like the…

Kilometer 32-34. Seven plus two is nine [ed.: off the front]. Still, I’m not climbing badly, that amazes me every time. It hurts, but it’s also sort of nice. Heavy labor you can handle, carrying a pile of pouffes up to your girlfriend’s new apartment. Keep the steer steady, going slow here. The way I…

Scene: A Comprehensive School Year Room. Park Tools everywhere. Daddy Cool and Kiwi Glen attempt to install bijoux bike bling chainset and cassette onto DCs Focus, thereby giving him a greater range of gears because ‘more is better’ (Jens Voigt, 2004). Sounds of banging. KG is beating DCs bike with the handle of a pedal…

I received some rollers in the post on Friday. A large box, heavy. My first physical challenge involved getting them home on the bike. I kept the anonymous plastic wrapping on the huge box as I stuffed the bottom third into my Tardis Sack – I didn’t want any jokers shouting ‘You’re supposed to ride ON…