Many congratulations to Bradley Wiggins on his Paris-Nice 2012 win. Only the second British rider to triumph in this race, Tommy Simpson being the first in 1967. It was an adroit ride to maintain his lead of just a few seconds through to the finish. Now what can he do in the Tour and the Olympics? It could be some year to look back on!
Nice win for Brad
March 12th, 2012RIP Wouter Weylandt
May 10th, 2011As a mark of respect to Wouter Weylandt, who died on stage three of this year’s Giro d’Italia, his team led the peloton home into Livorno at the end of stage four. Cycling handles these tributes so well, as can be seen in this Italian video - look for the clip marked 10 maggio 2011 Ultimo km Tappa 4: Onore Weylandt.
Is a million quid serious enough?
April 8th, 2011A cycling strategy for Birmingham has just been announced, see the article in the Birmingham Post 07.04.11.
It’s a start but a million quid won’t go very far. If the council are serious about cycling they need to find and put some serious money behind their plans.
Watch this space.
Out with the chain gang…
April 3rd, 2011The day dawns still and sunny. Hope it stays that way as I’m off for a spin round the north Warwickshire lanes with the BCWM chain gang. Bike cleaned, kit ready and now making the malt loaf snack in preparation for the off later in the morning. Time to read the Sunday paper before I go.
Bike v Car, Cyclist v Motorist.
April 1st, 2011Picked up this week’s copy of Cycling Weekly and the leader had me angry and saddened in almost equal measure. There is a much more detailed article later in the mag quoting stats etc. When will people wake up to the fact that cars and drivers outrank bicycles and cyclists as killing machines. There’s much more sense in some continental countries where the burden of guilt in motor versus bicycle incidents is assumed to be that of the motorist, unless proven otherwise. In the meantime keep your eyes pealed and in the immortal words of Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (Hill Street Blues) “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”
No, not that Tommy Godwin…
March 28th, 2011
Cycling Weekly 245.03.11
…not the Tommy who was a track cyclist and ran a cycle shop in Kings Heath Birmingham. I want to tell you about the other Tommy Godwin (1912 - 1975) whose cycling endurance record has stood for over seventy years and is unlikely to be beaten. Tommy rode 75,065 in the calendar year of 1939. Yes! seventy five thousand and sixty five miles in just twelve months!
The story of his record is told in last week’s Cycling Weekly in the 120th anniversary supplement.
The record of 62,657.6 miles, held by an Australian, had stood since 1937 when Tommy set off on 1st January 1939. He was sponsored by Raleigh and Sturmey Archer and rode a bike weighing something in the order of 30 lbs (14kgs). Two other British cyclists started at the same time as Tommy. Edward Swann crashed and withdrew after approximately 940 miles but Bernard Bennett continued to fight it out with Tommy. Both riders had support teams (including pacemakers) which dropped out at 50,000 miles. Tommy, wearing silk knickers and sticking to his vegetarian diet cycled into Trafalgar Square on 26th October having completed 62,658 miles. Bennett appears to have dropped out after the 65,000 mile mark.
Tommy cycled on through the first weeks of WW2 and into 1940 when, after 500 days of cycling, he took the 100,000 mile record! His longest day was 21st June 1939 when he completed 361 miles in eighteen hours.
A truly awesome feat which puts one’s weekend rides of fifty odd miles utterly in the shade!
Toe rag steals Joe’s tricycle
March 15th, 2011
Birmingham Observer March 2011
I was at iCycle in Harborne a few months ago on the day that Joe picked up his new tricycle. Had a quite a chat to him and he was looking forward to riding his new wheels. Now some low-life has knocked off his machine. We’ll have to keep a look out on eBay, Gum Tree and the other sites.
Brad on the podium
March 14th, 2011Congratulations to Bradley Wiggins who achieved third in the Paris-Nice. Good result bodes well for Le Tour this year?
Splat!!
January 19th, 2011Out with a few of the Bike Club WM crew a couple of Sundays ago for a ride which took in the top end of the Icknield Street just south of King’s Norton, when I sailed straight into an unavoidable patch of slushy snow stretching the full width of the road. Lost the rear end and dumped myself on the tarmac, sliding along in an impression of a one-man bob without a sled! Winded and bruised but nothing broken thank goodness.
'Scene of the accident'
I managed to carry on but it was hard work cycling home after the cake stop at Earlswood, everything seemed to have seized up and started aching. So my new year resolution is: when invited to go for a ride in January leave the road bike at home and use a mountain bike with chunky tyres! Trouble is I don’t have a mountain bike….yet! I think a little stroll down to see the lads at the iCycle shop is in order. See what they’ve got second-hand that I can pimp up.
Cracknell on the mend…
January 12th, 2011Good to read in the Daily Telegraph that James Cracknell is on the mend after his awful accident in the States last year.
As he was smacked in the back of the head by a truck wing mirror his injuries could have been fatal had he not been wearing a helmet. Confirmation perhaps that we cyclists are better off with a helmet than without.
Read the Telegraph piece here.