A pootle along the Schuylkill River

In late August, Alberto and I visited my family in Philadelphia. Despite spending the first 18 years of my life there I have basically no experience of cycling in Philly, so I was keen to give it a try. When I first got into cycling (already in London), my brother had trash-picked a women's bike which had been sitting in my parents' basement ever since. That, along with another utility bike that once belonged to my brother, was good enough for us on this short trip.

We spent an afternoon getting the bikes road-worthy, changing inner tubes and greasing chains. I say 'we'--I napped through most of it but Alberto had a good time!

Test ride

We took the bikes on a short test ride in Philly, from my parents' house in Powelton Village, into center city and back. Satisfied that all was in working order, we made plans the next morning to take a ride on the Schuylkill River Trail.

The Schuylkill River Trail is a path along the (surprise, surprise) Schuylkill River which starts in center city Philadelphia and heads out into the suburbs, to Valley Forge National Park and beyond. There have been some real improvements to the trail since I've been away from Philly, adding sections and improving the landscaping. I was looking forward to trying it out.

We got a late start after a detour to my brother's house to pick up a spare pump, just in case. Then we were off, heading past the Art Museum and up Kelly Drive, up past Falls Bridge, without ever riding in traffic.

Taking a break past Manayunk

There was a brief section in Manayunk where the trail directs you onto the road - actually we took the sidewalk anyway as there weren't many people around. Then along the Manayunk Canal Towpath and eventually past the Philadelphia city line.

By the time we reached Conshohocken we were ready for a cold drink, which was convenient as the Outbound Station cafe was literally just off the trail. We had dinner plans, so decided to turn around and head back the way we came, even though we were curious to see what the trail was like as it headed out towards Valley Forge.

We crossed the Schuylkill River at Falls Bridge for a different flavor on the way home, taking West River Drive, but still not having to contend with any on-road sections. Soon we were back in West Philly and heading back home after a satisfying 30 miles on the bikes.

The route is pretty much completely flat and I don't think you could call it interesting - but in a built-up area like Philadelphia I think it's a great luxury to have a traffic-free route to ride on. It was nice to be able to ride completely relaxed, at whatever pace we felt like. And for longer rides, it's probably the best route out of Philly and into the countryside that there is. Cetainly if I lived in Philly I think I'd be making regular use of it.

Critical Mass 18th anniversary & The London Big Ride

The last weekend in April has been a busy one for bike demonstrations. On Friday 27th I attended the Critical Mass, which happened to be celebrating its 18th anniversary. And the following Saturday 28th, the London Cycling Campaign had organised what it was set out to be the biggest protest ride ever in London (thus its name, The Big Ride!).

Critical Mass was surprisingly nice this time. Very peaceful and not too busy. It was dry and relatively mild, but still, not many people attended, perhaps because of the following's day event? Londoners on Bikes made a presence handing out free high-vis vests.

The London Big Ride was also quite nice. Despite the miserable rain, cold, and wind, apparently about 10,000 of us turned up to cycle the few miles from the Marble Arch to Embankment. The main purpose of the ride was to show the mayoral candidates that cycling in London has to be an important point in their agenda. The best thing of all is that cyclists of all backgrounds gave up their Saturday morning to attend this event: full lycras/carbon framed machacas, little kids, parents, grandparents, tourers, fancy bicycles, trikes, tandems etc. For a good write up, best to read this.

Below are the pictures of both events, including one from the London Cycling Campaign in which we are both featured!

View of critical mass from Waterloo bridge

Pink was the theme

Exciting going down the tunnel

Exiting the tunnel

On the Euston Road, near University College Hospital

Oxford Circus

Old faces from the Dunwich Dynamo: guy and his dogs

Fancy new Routemasters in Picadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square and countdown for the Olympics

And now, the photos from The Big Ride:

Park Lane, waiting for the go

Cyclists of all ages

5 min prior to the start and still people joining

Still smiling despite the rain

Deep messages here! "Burn fat, not oil"

And the odd beautiful Moulton, of course. 

She's been featured everywhere!

Cycling instructor from Camden and his musical instrument

What a nice view

Recumbent tandem

Stunning tall bike

Lucy in commuting mode, along the Thames

That's me, heading for the finish line

Etape Cymru: cycling the north Wales hills

 After a week without doing any proper training, other than commuting to work, time had come. We got on a Saturday morning train bound for Chester, where Duncan parents lived, and where we would spend the night before the event.

Once in Chester, we made a start on our very English (culinary speaking!) weekend. Sausage rolls, custard cakes, and a sweet that reminded me of roscón de reyes were eaten within seconds. Also managed to get a thimble for mum (always good to keep her happy!). Duncan showed me around, took the silly picture and soon we were off to his parents, some km away from central Chester. The lanes over there are fabulous, you're in the countryside after 10 min of riding!

Chester seemed pretty...

 In the afternoon, we got a lift to Wrexham, where we had to register for the ride. This seemed to be one of the major complaints for people, since having registration the day before meant you either drive there and back, or spend a night in a B&B or similar. Surely registering ~1000 cyclists is not easy on the day of the actual event, but come on, posting the entry packages would have saved a lot of headaches! We had a massive, yummy dinner and went to bed ridiculously early...earlier than I ever remember! The weather forecast seemed unclear at this point: 18C, heavy rain and up to 29 mph winds (50 km/h).

The alarm went off at 6 am, and I was suprised it was completely dark until past 7 am. Autumn is kicking in. We devoured a massive bowl of porridge with berries, and some bacon, and felt ready for the ride. We decided on our clothing: I wore shorts and short-sleeved jersey with arm warmers. Duncan would do the same. High clouds and warm temperatures predicted a warm and probably dry-ish ride. At least before we hit the mountains. Upon arrival to Wrexham industrial state, we started to spot plenty of lycra and fancy road bikes. Most people wore full lengh lycra, and some even overshoes. Being from Spain, I thought I had made a major mistake and was going to freeze. Oh well, too late. Amongst those, I saw lots of titanium and even more carbon. I think Duncan and I were in the minority, riding old-fashioned aluminium framed bikes. Some folk had converted mtb, convenient for the steep hills that we would face later on. It was 8 am and everyone seemed ready, except the organisers. Apparently they were still sorting out the road closures...and that's because this was meant to be a closed-roads, traffic free event. Well, not quite, as we later learnt first hand! 8:20 am and off we went.

Smiley faces before the start

 The start was quite slow. Riding with another 1000 cyclists is not easy, and requires a bit of handling skills. I saw a tyre blow-up (scary stuff!) shortly after we departed, and plenty of punctures. The peloton rode at an easy pace (well, at least in our peloton!) up until the first hill "The Garth (16%)". On top of being quite hilly, it proved very challenging to filter through people, some of them already walking. I was surprised to see extremely good bikes being walked up. It's all about the rider, I thought...! At this point I felt incredibly strong and tried to emulate Contador. I reached the summit in good spirits and no pain. After that, we had some steep descends. The roads were quite slippery due to the overnight rain and mud. I nearly had a fall in of the downhills, although managed to control the bike. Even got congratulated by someone riding behind me! All those years riding mtb paid off I guess!

Narrow lanes were common

 Without even realising, we were climbing up "World's End". We knew that there was a ford (water flowing over the roads) so were extremely careful here. This hill was quite steep at places, reaching 20% apparently. Despite the UK not being very high, the steepness of the roads make it very challenging. Also, the roads were covered by mud and water, so standing was not a good plan either, and was tricky to get good traction in certain sections. The climb became a narrow road towards the summit, and again, I felt strong and went for it. The scenery was extremely beautiful and reminded me of the north of Spain. I managed to take some pictures at the top, which show how pretty this area was. The wind was blowing incredibly strong here, so could not hang around much. We saw an ambulance and what it looked like a crash by one rider that went straight through in one of the sharp turns. Hope (s)he is ok!. After the downhill we had our first feeding stop. I was quite surprised, they seemed to have plenty of food and drinks. I always go for the traditional bocata de jamón or some pita bread instead of artificial glucose mixes, but gave them a go this time. As I had predicted, I threw them out immediately as were completely disgusting. Pretty much anything tastes good on the bike, so they must've been really bad. It seems that we were lucky to get there early, as they run out of food shortly after we left.

The Worlds End I think...beautiful scenry, tough hills

Steep and technical descends

 After the 10 min stop we were, again, riding uphill. I was amazed at how disgusting some cyclists are, throwing all their gels/bars' wraps all over the place. I even counted three inner tubes on the road. Do people think that they're real pros and that somebody is behind them collecting their rubbish? It really does not help us to have idiots dumping their crap on the roads, honest! Anyway, the ride up to the second feeding station went by pretty quickly, as we gained some speed going downhill and people seemed to have found their own little pelotons. It got very windy on the flats, but we found some riders that were keen to work together, and the km flew by quickly. It really helps a lot to sleepstream, especially if it is windy. I went up in the front several times and it was knackering being there, which made me think of the poor domestiques of the Tour de France. In no time we reached the second feeding station. Or should I say...the second NO food NOR water station? The organisers had not planned for enough food or even water - they had run out by the time we got here. I was quick and made it to the local pub's toilets for a refill, but as I was leaving, there were dozens of cyclists queueing up... Really pathetic organisation. On top of that, I heard something coming out of Duncan's tyre. He had a massive crack on his front tyre, that even compromised the integrity of it. We patched it up on the inside and asked the not-very-friendly mavic mechanic to pump up the tyre for us (he had a track pump and was doing nothing). When I politely asked him for the pump, he said I should've had one...!? Aren't these people meant to help in cases like these or what?! Anyways, we got it pumped up and left.

Atmosphere at the second stop while Duncan patched up his tyre

 The third climb of the day, which name I have forgotten, was challening. My legs had started to complain, despite the rest of me feeling fine. Not sure why, I guess it was lack of hill training. So far the local support had been fabulous, people cheering us on from their houses, ringing bells, some even dressed up! I can imagine why people love the Paris-Brest-Paris so much. Having local support really gives you a push on the hard moments! The downhill sections were incredibly steep and technical, with sharp turns and slippery, rough surfaces. My wrists were in pain sometimes because of the vibrations coming from the road. Apparently there were plenty of falls here. The organiser had not put up any signs or marshalls, and sometimes we did not have a clue as to where to turn in some intersections. It turned out that someone had removed the signs showing their annoyance to the closed roads. Still, organisers could've done a lot better.

Rolling hills past half way

 The Horsehoe Pass was the highlight on the day, at least on papers. It actually was not that bad, despite the long 6.1 km climb. The problem was that we had already gone over ~65 milles and the legs were burning. Only some sections were very steep, about 20% according to the road signs. At that point my right quad was in pain and I had this great idea of stretching it while on the bike, climbing up. As I was going to pull it, a cramp on the opposite muscle warned me that it was not very smart to pull any further, so I kept pedalling uphill. I met a nice chap who said that it would get a lot easier a few meters further up the road. When we were talking, my computer did register double digits. I kinda fancied a break, but I had to push or else it would have been bad for my sore muscles. He happened to be an Italian living in Wales for some ~40 years. You always find the charming mediterraneans in the most unique places! And he was right! The last 2 km were very easy going, I even put my big chainring on and had Duncan in sight...Overall, it took me 32 min, Duncan 29 min, whereas the pros made it in 14 min! The fastest Etape Cymru rider completed it in 19 min, not bad either. Unfortunately the weather had turned quite nasty, and it was incredibly windy all the way up and at the summit. Rainy as well. And of course, the food was completely gone and so were the drinks. Another example of terrible organisation and many £££ in the organiser's pockets that should have been spent on the feeding stations. No smiley photos atop the Horshoe Pass due to wind, rain and cold.

We put our raincoats on and made our way down the Pass. Or rather, we battled against strong head and gusty winds. Legs were starting to recover and we felt ready for the very last climb of the day. Apparently the World's End via different route. However, the organisers, blaiming it to the weather, decided to cut that bit off the route and direct us straight back to Wrexham. Oh well, we will not complete the 100 miles. Weather got better as we made it down the mountains, and we dried out quickly. Again, we bumped into yet another ridiculous and unexpected hill. We were boiling and had to take our rain coats off before climbing up the hill. You could see how everyone was struggling at this point. After this last hill, it was all gentle dowhill back into Wrexham.

We pressed on and averaged >30 km/h for the last 25 km or so. In some of the latest sections we joined roads that had traffic in either direction. Again, we thought this was a closed roads event? Maybe the organisers had a different opinion? Here and anywhere else on the route, we saw various cars. Some riders had crashes and problems with them, and we were at all times aware of the possibilities of cars coming towards or behind us, which was not the point of riding such an event. Before we even realised, we were crossing the finish line. The weather was quite pleasant (for English standards) and we chilled out on the grass with a plate of pasta. No drinks or anything else offered by the organisers!!! I still remember when I did mtb rides back home...5 euros would get you proper feeding stations and a massive bbq upon arrival. Good old times.

Blanquita needs a thorough clean

At the finish. This must be a yoga move or something...

 Overall the stats said:

- 6 h 52 min moving time
- 50 min stopped time
- 148 km
- 21.4 km/h average
- Max speed 59.6 km/h
- Average heart rate: 138 bpm (max of 175, min of 88)
- Ascent 2636 m and descent 2632 m (difference due to changes in atmospheric pressure?)
- Highest point 477 m, lowest 83 m
- 8 bottles of water (6 litres)
- Countless wees (as usual)

In general, although we had a challenging day on the bike, through beautiful countryside, and lovely locals, I was very dissapointed at the organisation, especially given the £60 price tag. Something likely to be found in a £10 event for sure. The major complaints that I have can be summarised as below:

- Cars let through the closed roads?! We even rode on completely open sections towards the end! Completely unacceptable and potentially dangerous (as others' reports are proving!)
- Feeding stations run out of food AND water. Not acceptable.
- British Cycling membership included on entry? What if you are already a member of LCC, Audax UK and CTC? Why do I need a membership that I do not want when I am covered by three different insurances?
- Advertised as 6193 feet climb, when it actually was >8500 feet, not including the last pass. I would imagine lots of people could not cope.
- No signs, no marshalls at critical points. No GPS files available beforehand either.
- Goodie bag contained nothing but rubbish and publicity
- We only got a bowl of pasta upon arrival. No drinks, of course not. They surely run out of water too.
- £5 refund for a gilet that we did not get and was advertised as £20 rrp? dodgy

It was my first and last "sportive" event. Definetely not worth the money. Someone must have made a fortune out of us fool cyclists though. Wales has so much to offer, for free, so we will surely be coming back in the near future. Saw plenty of mtb-ers, and will probaly take the "fat tyres" ones next time.

The route back was uninteresting, with a rewarding smooth ale and a some good sleep on the train...

Bed time

I also found other interesting write ups on the net:

• The Cycling Mayor
• A Monster, a Marathon, a Duathlon and La Manche
• Chester Middle Age Cyclist

And a news story where people seem to put their comments:


http://www.wrexham.com/news/etape-cymru-disrupted-markers-moved-3008.html

Preparing (mentally) for the Etape Cymru

In less than two weeks Duncan and I will be going cycling in northern Wales. I have found a nice map (thanks to Dave Dee) that describes the pain we are going to be through:



This is meant to be an sportive event, with closed roads. It was fairly pricey, but having missed the Etape Caledonia in Scotland, I wanted to give it a go at the closed roads. My two concerns are 1) this is the very first event of this kind held in Wales and 2) the amount of people may make it difficult on the downhills, if not a bit dangerous. We will have to take it easy and try not to walk up the Horseshoe Pass...

Almost 100 milles and more than 9000 feet (or 3000 m) incline will make for the hilliest ride on a road bike thus far for me... Pob iwc to us (good luck in Welsh, apparently!)

WnrItp (Weekday night ride In the park)

What a great way to finish off a regular Tuesday. Bring the bike into work, put lycra on, carry jeans and underwear in the backpack. Take the overground and 40 min later you are in one of the most beautiful places in London: Richmond Park.

One of the main downs is that it gets very busy with cars fighting for space against the hundreds of roadie machacas that hit its roads every day. But, at 8 pm the doors shut for cars, and remain open for the rest of the unmotorised population.

Light beam, blinking red lights, sunset, and trees on both sides of the road. Long exposure moving picture

So, shortly after 8 pm you hardly see any car, only the few that were not aware of the restrictions and are trying to get out. The deer seem to relax and we saw literally hundreds of them, of all sizes. By 8:45 pm it was so dark that we had to use our proper night lights to see a few meters ahead of us. Despite the delayed start due to a mechanical on Bec´s Trek, we managed to put in two laps of the finest riding in London, making some 28 km at an average of 22 km/h.

This park has it all: fast descents, a couple of proper-ish hills, flat bits, abrupt turns, and a fantastic sunset (or sunrise, if you are brave enough!). We were obviously not the only ones experiencing this, as it seems that lots of people enjoy the quietness of the park after 8 pm. We spotted hikers, night mtb-ers, night roadies and even a girl on a unicycle!

Definetely have to try and make this a regular weekday out throughout the year.

Fancy a traffic-free ride in London?

Back in November 2008 I joined my first Critical Mass (CM) cycle ride in London. In simple terms, CM provides cyclists from as many as 300 worldwide cities

with traffic-free cycle rides on the last Friday of the month. In political terms, it is a monthly reclaim of the streets for cyclists. According to Wikipedia, it was born in San Francisco in 1992 and has spread out to many other places in the past 20 years. What is amazing about it is its non-existing organisers, no membership, nothing. No leaders on the day other than the people that go in the front of the group, which can potentially be you! Only a location (South Bank under Waterloo bridge in London UK) and a time (6 pm). You just turn up and wait until everyone gets excited, bells start ringing, and audio-systems-on-a-bike playing. The route changes every time, and it usually passes through politically hot places such as the Spanish Embassy on the last May ride (to show support to the Spanish ex-pats demonstrating in London) in Belgravia. Of course it always includes visits to Trafalgar, Big Ben, Buckinham Palace, and other emblematic places.

The pictures on this post were taken last summer in one of our CMs in central London. It is quite common to do a "bike lift" at some point during the ride, as well as corking (blocking cars to allow the mass to cycle safely as a group) along the whole way. Not everything is perfect though: some dudes take it as a drink-as-much-as-you-can event on a bike, while others jump all red lights not letting pedestrians cross when they have a green light. It gets especially bad in the good weather, but on the other hand the turnout for these months is massive!

The variety of people (from bmx kids, to fixed E1, Bromptonians, mums and dads with the whole family on Christiania/Dutch bikes, oldies with amazing steel old-fashion touring bikes and to bike freaks like us), atmosphere, and interesting routes make for a nice alternative (or pre-warm up) Friday in the pub. Some cars get annoyed when being held up, just put a smile on your face, thank them for their patience and keep riding. If you happened to be in London (or in Madrid, Philly, Chicago, or even randoms such as Leicester!), do join and you will certainly have a great time.

Happy Critical Massing!

Etape Cymru

I have finally registered for the Etape Cymru, the second only UK event with closed roads. It is very pricey indeed, but I have been wanting to do Etape Caledonia up in the Highlands for years and I could not get a place this past May. I thought I would give it a go before next May 2012.

Briefly, we will be in for over 100 milles of traffic-free roads in North Wales on a Sunday in October. Yes, it will probably be wet and windy down there...but skin is waterproof! The ride itself seems pretty challening, with over 2000 m incline with hills of up to 20%. My memories of the 25% Peak District hills (very short and intense ones though) are telling me that perhaps I should change my 12-25 cassette for a 11-28? We will see if nearer the time I feel fit enough... One of the passes is about 6.5 km long, which is not terrible, but certainly the longest I have ever attempted since I moved to the UK. All this has to be completed with an average of at least 12 milles/h, nearly 20 km/h. Not easy.

My aim is to complete under 6:30 hours. I will start doing long distances with decent inclines as often as I can. Hopefully all this training will help me unwind after long hours of writing-up? Here we come Cymru!