February 2015 - TC's Best Buys

Craft Mesh Baselayer - for those in between times I've bought this to wear under my road cycling tops mainly just to take the chill off in the intermediate weather when the chances are good that you might be too warm or too cold if you take or don't take a jacket. Really good price. They have with sleeves on sale as well.http://www.wiggle.co.uk/craft-womens-cool-superlight-sleeveless-base-layer/

Winter waterproof socks
I've had my pair for the past probably 4 or 5 years. They keep your feet relatively warm, but the cold does come through sometimes, but at least your feet are dry. These have been little lifesavers over the years to me. These arrived today and delighted that they fit over my problematic calves.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sealskinz-mid-weight-mid-length-sock/rp-prod87860

Overshoes
I do have a pair of overshoes... They are NOT warm, but they keep my shoes at least clean. I got so cold on Saturday that I almost wanted to cry so I decided that it would be the very last time that I'll be that cold. Been trying to buy these for ages, but they have been out of stock in my size every time I tried to buy it before. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-neoprene-nylon-overshoe/

Pearl Izumi Tights
I love Pearl Izumi tights. Their sizing works for me (the more round figure), their padding is good and they last a long time. I still have my very first pair and I can't get myself to throw it out as it is still comfortable although a bit big. Liezl borrowed one of my old pairs last year when we were in Italy & she wanted to buy it from me... That is how good they are when someone wants to buy a pair from you second hand! http://www.evanscycles.com/search?query=pearl+izumi+tights&x=0&y=0

The only thing with these are that it unfortunately depends if your size is available. I was lucky enough to find the sizes that work for me.

Thought I'd share the saving's love!

Wake-up it is 2015!

On 8 February the most regular ladies from Tango Cycling kicked off this year's ladies rides.

As we all had a long winter we decided to start gentle and drive down to Peaslake instead of taking train. In our defence South West Trains have also had major engineering works over weekends. 

Vera was so stoked to ride but overslept to her own annoyance. She didn't let that put her off and still made her way over to Peaslake! 

We faffed a little bit pumped tyres at the always friendly Pedal & Spoke and chatted to Howard for a while before we started. 

It was an abnormal warmer day for February and we had to stop a few times to strip off some layers. I can't ride when I'm overheating. I was slow as it was, but being hot made me even slower. 

We climbed singletrack towards the top of Yoghurt Potts and I skill fully navigated us the flattest possible route. :-) 

We had a chat with some other mountain bikers at the top of Holmbury Hill and fantasised about the idea of having a little coffee & cake van right there. 

I spotted the first Pyga, South African brand bike designed by Patrick Morewood and was interested to ask why this guy decided on that bike. He previously had a Morewood and apparently tries a whole lot of other bikes, but still decided to go with the Pyga as the others just didn't feel right. Loved the colour of the bike, it was a bright happy yellow! ;-)

Yoghurt Potts were the muddiest I've seen it in a long time. I stopped in the dip where we forked off to the right before they made changes to the route to take some photos. I sneakily then rode down the old way. I used to love that part even though it was rooty and very muddy at times, it was a great challenge. I knew once I've come past that point the fun really started. I felt quite nostalgic thinking about the first time Simon & Christiaan took me down Yoghurt Potts in the mud. I was screeching all the way and shaking at the end of it, but just wanted to do it again and again! 
 

Marie pumping nicely through Yoghurt Potts

Telegraph was on our list next. It can be hard work at times, but it is still nice to pick up speed and just flow towards the end. We bumped into Albert at the bottom of Telegraph he had really bad bike trouble. First something on his cassette broke so he had to turn his bike into a single speed then his frame cracked! How tragic?! 

Cecilia cruising down Telegraph

I promised Cecilia & Marie that we will take the short and steep way instead of the longer steadier climb... Unfortunately we popped out a bit too low and had to do slow and steady. 

At the top of Barry's we met up with Vera who finally made it over to Peaslake. There was a group of about 12 guys taking a running start from the reservoir across the road. More than I've ever seen. I didn't like the idea that much as they came across as if they knew what they were doing and could easily be intimidating, but sorry guys when I saw you push your bikes back up the hill at the bottom of Barry's you lost all your credibility. :) 

We headed to Peaslake to the warmth of the Village Store and a bit of love from Trudy before we headed back home. 

It was with shock and embarrassment that I realised we only cycled 10km. What was worse is that I ran 10km faster the day before! Things can only get better from here... This ride was rude wake-up call and I'm determined to gain back my fitness slowly but surely!

Happy to ride in the winter sun!

Introducing Tango Cycling to Jonkershoek!



Some of my cycling Besties!



I'm not sure why you ride your bike, but I ride my bike because of the people I ride with and the fun I have when I ride my bike.  

On 3 January I had the privilege to ride in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, South Africa with 3 of my besties, Christiaan (MC), Elisca (Dolla) & Liezl (Pokkeltjie). (Listed in no particular order. :-))

I've studied in Stellenbosch for 4 years and cycling was my mode of transport to lectures but that is how far it went. I knew guys who cycled in Jonkershoek & washed their bikes afterwards but to me that was a weird concept and something I never heard off before. 

I remember how I chased down the hill in true last minute TC departure style to try and be on time for my lecturew. My granny flat was in Uniepark and there was a shortcut down a grass field towards Stellenbosch High school. The people that were on their way to work had to skill fully jump out of my way because my green mamba had no brakes, it was metal on metal and one hell of noise going towards them. With a bit of luck and grace I managed to get my bike to stop in time at the pedestrian crossing. Maintenance of my bike was not high on the priority list or included in my budget. Hanging out at Tollies on a Wednesday & Saturday night were more important!

10 years later I returned to Stellenbosch, older, wiser and knowing what fun I had missed out on for not riding my bike in Jonkershoek. 

The plan was to borrow Steph's bike, but unfortunately we were not able to ride together due to logistics and timings so I contacted Specialized & Ride In via twitter and found out that I can hire a bike from Ride In cafe for the day. I've been following the cafe on Twitter and many a day wished that I could rather be there than sit at my desk in London

To my delight they rented out SpeciaIized bikes. I requested a small hardtail for the day. Gavin contacted me in reply and said unfortunately they don't stock small hardtails, but he had a small full suspension bike for me to rent.  I've never ridden with a full sus before as I know that I would want one if I did ride it and that I won't be able to afford it so it would be best to avoid the temptation. 

Upon our arrival at Ride In Cafe I spotted my favourite women's mountain biker, Ariane Kleinhans. Liezl met her the week before and wanted to say 'Hi' to her, but I was too shy so we didn't go over. :( She is phenomenal and a mean Swiss Cycling machine!

My hired bike wasn't just a full suss, it was a Specialized Camber, full suss, 29er! I was sceptical and overwhelmed and the same time.



With the awesome Specialized cycling machine!

We set off to Jonkershoek from Ride In Cafe. We climbed up the Canaries which is an ascending & descending trail. This climb reminded me of the first climb in Afan from Clyncorwg Trail Centre. Rocky, twisty & technical. I was worried about my fitness when we set off, but soon learnt to my surprise that this bike was just too willing to roll over everything without too much effort. 

Selfie time in the fog.

Typically TC I kept the rear shock locked so that I won't get used to it too much, but after some stern words from Christiaan that I paid to ride this bike I might as well enjoy it to its full potential. So I started playing with the suspension settings. Hard, trail and soft... I don't like it when you sink in too much at the back when you go over an obstacle. I don't like that lagging feeling. It is like you are halfway down the trail but the bike is still following you. I prefer the medium or harder setting. 



Going down the first singletrack I crashed in the first switchback turn as I didn't concentrate on what I was doing and corners are a lot more tight than on a 26" where a late response is very forgiving. 



Trail side support

On the last section I was following Christiaan's wheel. This is always a dangerous move as he just flies down the hills. I was not too far behind him until almost at the end of the trail where I missed a corner and travelled about a metre parallel to the trail. Don't fear with the tractor wheels it didn't seem to turn into a crash thankfully. The bike just continued rolling whilst I was laughing in amazement. I did slow down though for my own good as it is better to arrive alive! 

 



Beautiful Stellenbosch!

From there we went across to the other side at The Quarry. This downhill was the favourite for the others, but not that much for me. I think I was getting tired and didn't know the trail and were a bit more weary. 



Happy times, awesome ride with great friends. My cup is overflowing :-)

We rounded off our ride with lunch at Ride In before heading to Cape Town for a kuier with my favourites! I am so thankful that I finally got the chance to ride in Stellenbosch and that I was able to check out Ride In Cafe. As mentioned in previous blog post, "Call me Maybe" I think that running a café like this would be my dream job; ride my bike, share cycling stories, serve nice food, share the trails ... what more can you ask for?! The food was great! Most of you know I love my meat, but I actually went for a salad with roasted aubergine & off course feta cheese (my meat replacement) and I thoroughly enjoyed that. Filled me up nicely and I didn't have too much food envy over the others burgers. :-)
 





Lunchtime at Ride In Café

 

TC's Observations of riding a Full Suss 29'er: 

Pros: 

• It can roll over everything without any effort and as Iain said its like cheating, I can not agree more! 
• It is fast going uphill 
• And equally fast going downhill
• I loved the 2 x 10 chainring - the transition wasn't too much from a 3 x 10

Cons: 

• Downhill switchback turns are somehow an art to be mastered
• Lifting the 29er for a little bunny hop seems to be harder or not yet possible for me (Christiaan had the same trouble when he hired a 29er)

Myth buster: 
 

Small/Short people can't ride 29ers - They can! 

I can conclude that I would DEFINITELY consider a full suss when I buy my next bike. In terms of wheel size, I will definitely consider a 29er and not just 650b! 

Ps. As we got ready in the car park people asked us about Tango Cycling... we were just too happy to tell them more. We also overheard others asking who we were, but left them hanging, they can figure it out or just think we are the newest MTB Racing Team in South Africa on training camp. ;)

https://www.strava.com/activities/236059887/segments/6080535761

Baggies or No Baggies?

Most mountainbikers wear shorts over their cycling tights apart from most of the South African racing snakes, myself and a few others. I have never owned baggies or wore any until this past weekend. 

My main objections were that I am short so I am going to look short & stocky. It is also another expense when your tights are already serving the purpose.

I started thinking about getting a pair since I've been on this MTB-Leadership course. 

The weekend before last Albert and I went out for a ride, it was so muddy and we were such a mess on the train back home. People didn't just look strangely at us they moved away. Back home I had to get changed downstairs and that is when I thought I am going to start to look for a pair.

One evening whilst I was searching for stuff on Amazon, I started falling a sleep and when I woke up after dosing off I saw a pair of Odlo baggies available at £8!!! I thought I was literally dreaming... These usually cost £75. I immediately hit the buy button. 

They arrived and fitted comfortably, not pulling in places where they shouldn't be pulling. 

This past weekend was the 1st time I officially wore them and my conclusion is as follows. 

 

PROs

1. They are comfortable 

2. It didn't obstruct me when I went behind the saddle going downhill

3. It is another layer that helps to keep your bottom dry & warm

4. You look like a real mountainbiker apparently (in my case at the cost of looking shorter & stockier) :) 

CONs

1. It makes me look shorter and stockier than I already am

2. It is going to be warm in summer

This is the link for the pair that I bought.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00IIKR71E/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Don't ask me how the pricing structure work as now they are £15 or £75 again and I bought a second pair at £6.95

 

Essential Spares

Everything you need on every ride – ALWAYS

All the Essentials

1. Spare tube

Check what valve your inner tube has, you get 2 (Schrader & Presta). Schrader is fat, Presta is skinny & have a little screw top & is more compressed. If in doubt ask someone who knows or just buy Presta as it will fit through any valve hole.

You won’t know how lost/stuck you are with a flat wheel until you get a flat & don’t have the right stuff with you. Spare yourself that feeling of helplessness

2. Tyre Leavers

These are to help you lift off your tyre from the rim so you can access the tube quickly

Recommendation: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bontrager/tyre-levers-ec019385

3. Patches

Patches - quick fix & small

Recommendation: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/park/p02c-glueless-patch-kit-ec005508

4. Pump

Any small powerful pump, make sure that you know how to use it. I've recently purchased this one from Topeak as it is the only one I seem to be able to use without deflating the tyre first.

Recommendation: http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/MiniMorph

5. Hanger

This is a small piece of metal that connects your rear derailleur/drivetrain to your frame.

Each bike has a specific hanger so make sure that you order the correct one, they cost around £8 - £12. Your local bike shop should be able to advise which one you would need

Purpose: To protect your frame from cracking when a rock or any other obstacle might bash against your derailleur and damage it

6. Multi-tool

This is personal choice, but make sure that you have a range of a few allan key sizes at least

Purpose: To be able to make small adjustments to your bike

Recommendation:

Mini-tool kit with 9 functions - I lost mine
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/topeak/mini-9-compact-tool-ec006581

This is the big daddy of multi-tools. 17 functions all in one tool. Personally my favourite all time tool!
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/crank-brothers/multi-17-tool-ec007558

7. Quick link

This is again is bike specific so make sure that you get the correct link

Purpose: A quick way of fixing a snapped chain

8. Saddle bag

This is your personal choice, but you get different sizes of these & they fit nicely under your saddle & could potentially keep all of the above apart from the pump nicely in one place.

Putting your SAFETY first!

A few hints, tips & links to put your & your bike’s safety first!

We always think I won't get hit by a car, I won't crash, they won't steal my bike... It can happen to any of us! The things I mention are not a guarantee, but in the unlikely event of a crash or theft they might come in handy.

1. ICE-Card (In case of Emergency Card)

Always make sure that you have your personal details with you. It is best to include the following information:

- Your name

- Surname

- DoB

- Emergency Contact & their telephone number 

- Allergies

There are companies now specialising in making durable wristbands with this information on them, one of these companies are local to us and called OnelifeID.

2. British Cycling Membership

If you register with British Cycling as a member, one of the benefits include insurance for unlikely events like getting hit by a car. It is worth looking into this especially if you are commuting. It also includes certain discounts with some of the retailers or bike theft insurance (3rd party & deals on bike insurance)

                             

3. Bike register or Immobilise

I got my bikes marked by Bike registered a few years ago, they mark your bike with a unique number and special paint that can't be removed from your frame and then they keep your details on record. If your bike was to be stolen and retrieved by the police the police would be able to identify the owner by tracking your bike back to you, they will re-unite you with your bike then. This is also a good deterrent for thieves as they will know that they won't be able to sell your bike second hand if it had the bike register markings on it.

Immobilise offers the same service as Bike Register, but on any type of product, so you can upload all of your valuable items and get it traced back to you if they were to be stolen, all you need is the serial number for each. So it is a bit of admin, but rather do it now before it is too late.

4. How to lock your bike

One of the two only good things about Evans is that they taught me how to lock my bike properly in 4 easy steps.

You need:

-          A good U-lock/D-lock and a cable

Step 1: Find an immovable object

Step 2:  Put the U through the rear wheel making sure it goes through the rear triangle of the frame around the immovable object

Step 3: Hook your cable through your front wheel & fork (if you have a mountain bike) & loop the cable through the other hook on the cable

Step 4: Put the cable hook through the U & lock the U-lock securely

You can get more creative with this practice as I often add my saddle & helmet into the mix as well.

 

 

5. Helmet always wear a helmet!

I always ask myself the question, what will you do if you do get hit by a car & you didn’t wear your helmet? Will I be able to deal with the consequences or not? I often find myself quickly running back into the house to get my helmet.

Peaslake MTBO 2014

I originally had other plans for yesterday, but it got cancelled so Pokkeltjie & I decided to go for a fun ride on Sunday instead. Simon then suggested this event, Peaslake MTBO that I sent out in my recent newsletter & we decided to support this local race instead and entered as a team.

Simon sent out links with tips for us to read/study before Sunday, we soon realised that our fun ride might be a little bit more serious than what we had in mind originally.

For those of you who know us, the team dynamics were more than interesting, 1 gadget map reading loving male, 1 female who rides on memory & another female who are happy to follow most of the time. :) We are all good friends and knew that this event might put a test to our friendship. I prayed that I would be 'not' myself just for a day & just follow the lead. :-)

On Saturday we had a quick catch-up meeting to talk strategy & to just get an idea of how orienteering works.

Shucks my head wanted to explode with all the route options, there were too many decisions to make.

On Sunday Simon continued to quiz us in the car. One of the questions was, if it is mid-day and the sun is on your right which side is North? I continued driving and left Liezl to answer the question. Needless to say we all knew who the weakest link in the team was before we even started ME! I can't even tell left from right, how would I be able to work that one out.

Albert joined us as a last minute add-on. He is fitter than most of us so we decided it would be best to make one female and one male team.

Simon kindly made us all some DIY perspex map holders by drilling holes into plastic photo holders which we then mounted on our bikes.

Pokkeltjie plotting points

At registration we received our maps with all 21 check points marked. We sat down and transferred some check points over to another bigger picture map of our own. This was exciting, I recognized most of the points were near areas we knew and have ridden before.

Unfortunately we didn't keep a closer look on the time and had only 15 minutes left to plan our route, decide which check points are not worth going to etc. There were 21 check points & we had 3 hours to get to all of them.

Team work, Si plotting points & Albert working out their route

Simon & Albert offered us their sequence of points and due to the lack of time we decided to go with that. Unfortunately we missed the first turn off and had trouble finding our first CP. Eventually we saw others with maps flapping around their necks and got our first CP.

I was confident that the next check point could've not been far away, it was almost in a straight line from there. But this one was the elusive one. We wasted so much time cycling up and down in the same road not finding it. So close, but yet so far. We then decided to give up hope to find that one. We have ridden for an hour already and only had one CP. We went over to the summit of Pitch Hill where we quickly got the next point. The next point was located on single track, now I know a few single tracks on Pitch Hill and didn't want to go down the wrong one as then we would need to climb back up. Thankfully Pokkeltjie was able to tell which way was North so we bagged this one quick-quick. We then hit it over to the bottom of BKB to grab some points on Holmbury Hill.

Here we bagged one of the big ones very quickly BEFORE getting horribly lost in our search for number 10. We were desperate to find 10 as without 10 we won't be able to find 11 & 8. After many junctions Liezl suggested going up a steep rocky climb. In my head I hoped that it would be worth going up there. It was! Not too far away we saw the tiny grass triangle with the bunting on marking CP10. We blitzed down the wide fire road to pick up 11 before going left in search of 8. I knew 8 was potentially going to be near one of the other memorable trees that I get teased about. Thankfully I saw some people to our right and we found 8. We took a single track section we know and did with Richard from All Biked Up back to Peaslake and got back with 8 minutes to spare.

The winners of this event have done it plenty of times before and we can tell that there are some really fit people out there that are able to combine their fitness & map reading skills very well. The Men’s Winner cleared the course in 2:10! #Machine!

I am glad we were able to support an event hosted by the community of our local weekend playground. In all honesty I think I prefer a way marked route, but it was good to do something outside my comfort zone & I am walking away knowing that I can learn the following from this event.

TC’s Tips & lessons learnt:

1. Buy the same map for each team member so both are on the same page

2. Keep an eye on the time before you start

3. Plan your OWN route

4. Teach yourself the difference between left & right, then NORTH, SOUTH, EAST & WEST :-)

5. Then LEARN how to read a map correctly

Links Simon sent that might be useful if you ever wanted to an event like this:

Some good tips in the "Techniques" section of this pdf:
http://gphxo.org/Events/Intro_to_bike-o.pdf

Simon’s Strategy Advice:

1. Accept that we have zero chance of visiting ALL checkpoints, so weigh up which are the "least bang for buck" and cull them early

2. Long uphills come at a price, so plan our route to minimise them and do them on road where possible

3. Decide on your plan A CP grouping - "definites"

4. Decide on your plan B CP grouping - "ambitious maybes" if you still have the time after done with A

5. Start with plan A and then re-assess along the way if B going to happen or perhaps a scaled down version of it

6. Key knowledge is familiarity with the fastest and easiest routes between checkpoints, which will often be at the tops of hills. Obvious, but worth thinking about.

7. Make sure the stronger person at least even if they are apparently slower with being unwell :)) has a good map and holder. This will allow them to plan the route while they wait for their partner(s) to catch up at the top of hills after clipping the checkpoint card.

All done & ready to go home!