Category: News

  • Kenyan Sporting Dreams

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    Lowell
    in

    In the spirit of being part of what makes champions; be it academic success or gold medal superheroes, I’m making an appeal for a young man called Alex.  It’s his first time in London and I was honoured to be asked to help him around during the start of the Paralympics. As you can imagine…

  • Prelude to a Tour – 2012

    Prelude to a Tour – 2012

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    Lowell
    in

    “Howdy!” comes the warm greeting from the cheery man in flip-flops.  Alex and Rob are beaming as we rendezvous on this fine Friday afternoon.  It’s the start of summer, which must mean a Tour for the Baroudeurs. Try as we may to avoid an exhausting road-trip like last year’s; wouldn’t you know it, we’re off to…

  • Gold

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    Lowell
    in

    I’m on foot and it feels very alien.  My normal mode of transportation is nestling back at home and I’m on my way to pick up a new steed from the master craftsmen – Rob S.  I have great expectations. R.S. recently returned from his epic, and yes it is epic: sailing across the Atlantic,…

  • Toby ‘T-Bay’ Oliver

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    Lowell
    in

    Do you have a cycling name? If so, who gave it to you and why? I don’t have cycling name but I’ve been called a few unsavoury ones on my commute. My philosophy of vehicular cycling isn’t appreciated by all! Never my fault of course! What do you do when you’re not riding a bike?…

  • Glen ‘CHRONOS’ Thomson

    Glen ‘CHRONOS’ Thomson

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    Ben
    in

    What is your name? Glen What do you do when you’re not riding a bike? Look at bikes on the internet, advise others to look at and buy bikes from the internet; this does not pay very well so as a side-line I offer young people advice and guidance What bicycles do you own and,…

  • How to make your super bike even lighter

    How to make your super bike even lighter

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    Lowell
    in

    Imagine being able to make your bike lighter and faster.  Simply separate your bike into three parts, or more, and see the kilos fade away!  Disclaimer: however riding a bike in this state, or its individual pieces, is not good for your health, nor is it recommended.  Faster?  In this case, a privilege to ride…

  • Strava Tackle

    Strava Tackle

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    Lowell
    in

    It all began so well, Big Chase (BC) leading out with me on his wheel.  First lap done and we’re going strong.  The Friday sun on our backs and the winds all but gone.  Hello weekend. Second lap to come and we organise ourselves ready for the next jump.  Shooting up the straight, we exchange…

  • Alex ‘The Bear’ Hill

    Alex ‘The Bear’ Hill

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    Robert Sargent
    in

    Name:       Alex – ‘The Bear’ Do you have a cycling name? If so, who gave it to you and why?  In the words of Captain Ben, ‘He’s big, he puts up a mighty chase, and the girls would let him catch them up a hill’. Age?  The youngest member of the team. Generally show the ageing members how to…

  • Ben ‘Captain’ Ackland

    Ben ‘Captain’ Ackland

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    Ben
    in

    Name:  Ben Ackland Do you have a cycling name? If so, who gave it to you and why? Captain, on account of my nautical beard, I assume. You’ll have to ask Lowell… What do you do when you’re not riding a bike? I’m a father and a teacher. What bicycles do you own and, importantly,…

  • Moonstruck London

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    Lowell
    in

    It’s a sunny afternoon and Smithfield’s market is packed, and not because it’s market day either.  The crowds are out in eager anticipation of a racing spectacular imbedded in the heart of the capital, The IG London Nocturne. …enthralling entertainment. Smart organising means that on a Saturday night even non-enthusiasts can’t help but take a…

  • Lowell ‘Disco’

    Lowell ‘Disco’

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    Robert Sargent
    in

    Cycling name? Disco Why do you ride your bike?  I love the adventure and the people I meet along the way. Favourite place to ride?   France. Up or down mountains? Both, in equal measure. Favourite climb? Ventoux. What song/tune/music goes through your head while riding?  Climbs: “Ghosts” by Made in Heights | “Flynn Lives”…

  • Robert ‘Crazy Legs’ Sargent

    Robert ‘Crazy Legs’ Sargent

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    Robert Sargent
    in

    What’s your name? Robert Frank Sargent Do you have a cycling name? If so, who gave it to you and why? Crazy Legs. I think it was Lowell the first time he saw me ride up a hill. What do you do when you’re not riding a bike? Once a web developer, turned sailor, who is…

  • Things we hate about cycling

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    Ben
    in

      First, Stu: people with super expensive bikes- b*stards! not getting 2 lie-ins at the weekend pretending not to be tired on a Sunday afternoon wet feet when it rains getting dropped! punctures headwinds on the way home cycling cliques bonking walking in cleats Next, Ben: getting passed by someone wearing fluoro and trainers. unidentified squeaks,…

  • Meeting Vin Denson

    Meeting Vin Denson

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    Ben
    in

    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.

  • On Tour – Chalet Tourmalet

    On Tour – Chalet Tourmalet

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    Lowell
    in

    From the outset this was already going to become a herculean effort; what with several people descending onto one obscure location, followed by a quick getaway to Dover and onwards by road to the Pyrenees. This was going to be tight. …she finds hilarious as we’re travelling in such a way. Fortunately, I had been…

  • Extracts from Colombia

    Extracts from Colombia

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    Robert Sargent
    in

    The first of many Preparations made, and debts having been settled, I arose uneasily at 5.30am to the hammer of my alarm. I am not an early riser, unless I rise early. I hadn’t slept for fear of what was about to happen. The idea of cycling to the bottom of the world seemed fairly…

  • The Weather Forecast

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    Ben
    in

    …said rain, and rain it did. Aside from which, the ride also began inauspiciously as certain B-boys, extolling a 7am at Richmond start (with the words ‘lie-ins are for losers’) then pulled out last minute! Fortunately, sense prevailed, and 8 o’clock was agreed upon. I had some fun fitting mudguards to the Peregrine to keep me…

  • Riding in the shadows of Legends

    Riding in the shadows of Legends

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    by

    Debbie
    in

    space Headliners Only en velo do you get to score at Wembley, headline Glastonbury or walk on the moon. The velodrome at Herne Hill, South London is 120 years old this year and in its day was a cycling equivalent of Wembley, hosting the 1948 Olympics and cycling legends like Jacques Anquetil, Fausto Coppi and…

  • New Forest Epic

    New Forest Epic

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    Ben
    in

    I’d done this New Forest ride before, but it was new to DC and Disco. It was also to be our first 80mile+ ride of the year so far – an uncomfortable fact with Nustu’s logistics indicating some very big miles in the Pyrenees this summer… Early rising all round led to the inevitable very…

  • Hell of the North

    Hell of the North

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    Ben
    in

    I had hoped to provide a feast of images to illustrate Rapha’s third annual Hell of the North ride yesterday; but in the event I was too busy hanging on to both wheels and my own handlebars. Wheels, because my instinct is always to ride just that little bit faster than I’m capable of sustaining,…

  • Disco & DC, Richmond Park, 7.45am, Sunday 20th March

    Disco & DC, Richmond Park, 7.45am, Sunday 20th March

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    Ben
    in

    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……