Carlsberg don't do Sportives.....

But if they did your favourite lager would probably be called Polocini......

Have you ever wondered how much organisation goes into a sportive? My first thoughts are:

• The route, perhaps two. I had a try at this once and it isn't easy, it needs to be safe, interesting, challenging with an easier option for beginners and not get in the way of other people.
• Contact the police.
• Insurance,
• Register with BCC
• Food
• Drink
• Feed stations including what food, drink, and gels to give out,
• Where to start and parking
• Signs
• briefings
• Road maps or garmin downloads
• Medical aid
• Brom vehicle
• Sponsors
• Prizes
• How much

The list, I am sure goes on and on. For me, recently, the last one has become even more important. After all we are paying to ride an open highway that anyone can ride. While I am a huge fan of raising money for the many worthy causes out there I do think £40 for a ride with no food or drink supplied is excessive. (Won't be doing that one again). I also believe this should be made clear to participants who could find themselves in trouble during the ride as they run out of supplies.

That said there is a certain joy to sportives, riding in large bunches is social, it can increase your PB's as you sit in behind people and can be an early introduction to racing as you learn to ride in larger groups though they aren't races.

So if you haven't tried one go and give it a go. My personal favourite are the polocini events http://polocini.com/ . In the interests of disclosure I have joined their test team as it adds even better value to the rides, adds more social events, and they chuck in a great looking top for the very reasonable fee.

In their own words......

The Standard

We originally set our Polocini Standard as a simple list of what we provide at our events. Over time as we have organised more events and tours, the standard has now become a by-word for the Polocini experience.
At Polocini we aim to provide much more than a sportive but a real event experience for all riders regardless of age or ability.
We provide the following at every event as part of your entry fee (and sometimes more!):-

• All Polocini events have a single price regardless of the route length. Riders can change routes at any time. Even on the road
• All food and drink is included in the entry fee. Check out our Food page.
• A full nutrition package worth £18 from CNP to make sure you are correctly fuelled at all times
• All events are run in conjunction with British Cycling Guidelines. See Event Rules page
• All riders are insured through the British Cycling Insurance Scheme
• Entry numbers will be capped at each event to ensure facilities are not oversubscribed
• Free entry for all Under 16’s with a paying adult (subject to completion of a British Cycling Parental Consent Form). See Event Rules page
• Several extra special prize draws. There will be no pointless ‘goody bags’
• Professional photography on the routes by www.cyclesportphotos.com

Any photos or videos taken at the events by our in-house photographer will be available free on our photostream**
At the Event Headquarters

• CAKE, it wouldn’t be a Polocini event without cake!
• Rider village with shelter and bike racks
• Well trained staff and a friendly atmosphere
• Bike set up guidance by www.PedalPrecision.com
• Training and Coaching advice from www.totalcyclecoach.com
• Injury advice and post ride massage from www.summitphysio.co.uk
• Free on-site mechanical support
• Nutritional advice by CNP Professional

On the Road

• Our routes are designed to flow from start to finish. There are no unnecessary roads to make a route a set distance.
• A Motorcycle outrider rides out ahead of the event to make sure there are no missing signs or road hazards
• Instead of chip timing we use the STRAVA system. Check out our Timing page for details.
• Clear and concise signage (with a few extra special Polocini signs!)
• Back up route maps/cards in case you take a wrong turn
• Well stocked feed stations located in conjunction with CNP Nutrition to ensure riders are properly fuelled at all times
• Support vehicle

That aside they quite simply organise the best sportives I have participated in. On Tuesday 3rd June 2012 Lou, of 'en velo avec gateaux' fame http://www.patisseriecyclisme.co.uk/ a web site dedicated to cyclists second favourite topic - cake organised a 60 mile jubilee ride around Cheshire.



You should have a look at her site, a special lady with an amazing enthusiasm to all things cycling. (My first chat to her was when we were both blown off the road riding up to the cat and fiddle). Lou also has her own brand of cycling top which looks terrific.

Anyway, Lou having raised the idea of the event was lucky enough to have Polocini offer to help with the organisation, which if the few things I thought of come close to what is required would of been gratefully received.

Now, here is where things went wrong, and why you should follow the professionals advice. The event had a feed station at the world famous and oldest cycling cafe, Eureka, a great choice considering the quality of the food, drink and service, http://www.eurekacyclistscafe.co.uk/ well worth a stop!

Eureka is only 9 miles from my home so, together with fellow Wirral Mamil Ade, we decided to start from the half way point and ride back to Eureka. As members of the test team we can join and pay on the line.  We found Eureka and on towards Chester. It was cold, about 4 degrees, very windy and damp starting out at seven am, so not the best day to ride, but, the thought of Polocini's viking porridge inspires you through the worst conditions. The problem was, there were no signs out for the route. I also think the terrorist threat in the UK was on a high and garmin was subsequently sabotaged as the route took us up to the village of Northwich not Nantwich some 30 miles north of our destination. Or the other way round, I lost the will to live never mind remember. So with 10 minutes to the event start we made the decision to punch Eureka into the garmin, that beacon for tired cyclists in Cheshire to follow for a warm, coffee and cake and headed back.

On route we experienced the worst case of road rage ever. We could hear what sounded like women screaming from some distance and as we rounded a bend four motorists had stopped and were trying to chase eight young stoats of the road. As we negotiated our way through, their teeth looked, big, sharp and threatening as they continued to scream (the stoats not the motorists). I'm sure they were about to leap at us as we pushed a bit harder on the peddles.

Anyway we made it to Eureka just before the first of the sportive riders and met Al from polocini. We found out the signs don't go out until later as people steal them! He was just about to mark the route we needed! Oh we laughed.....

So if you want to know about the sportive look at the highly entertaining fellow bloggers 'palefish' site http://palefishbikes.blogspot.co.uk/ you can also read about his crash the next time we rode.

Although it was cold, and windy earlier on it is always good to chat to other people you know, and we met up with the guru of cycling on the Wirral, Stubbsy from Cheshire Oak cycling - the only place to get your bike serviced (in my opinion) and enjoyed a further 20 mile blast home with a tail wind and good company as cycling should always be.

So in summary, if you are going to ride a sportive ride it from the start and use the support available, but, even when it goes wrong cycling is still an adventure, go ride!

Stay staunch, be strong and just do it!

Other than last weeks taster session on the track it's been six months since Ade or I rode on the track. Ade because he was sent to China and me because time has slipped away from me. Just after Ade left I finished my accreditation to ride the track, the last stage in a difficult journey assessing your competence (yes I did pass). So, having ridden a hard 40 the day before we went to complete Ade's accreditation. [I mention all the previous because I am a cyclist and its mandatory to give your excuses before you begin]. Those of you who know Ade will know he is a fixed wheel aficionado for whom the derailleur is the work of the devil though he does enjoy its guilty pleasure now and again. So tonight was a special occasion akin to receiving a Nobel prize.

The session is two hours long with a fast pace throughout.The evening started with fifteen minutes of warm up. Inevitably on the track this ends up as a high speed through and off with the pace picking up every lap for around 40 laps. It's then a quick [complicated] briefing before doing the lumps and bumps. This is a steady ride going up and down the banking including the steep bits. Those of you who have seen the track will know the gradient and can imagine the torture to the legs. Still-only about eight laps. Next is the official through and off; one lap on the front before shooting up the bank and coming down to join the rear of the group, each of the fourteen riders going twice so another 28 laps (starting to build and warm up now). We then did half laps but only one go each so another 7 laps.

Things started to get complicated now, from a single moving line the even numbers stayed on the inside while the odd numbers formed an inner line so two lines of seven hurtling round the track another dozen laps into the legs. Then, get this, the front inner rider accelerates up to front of the outer row while the rear rider drops back into the inner line so constantly moving in a clockwise circle. Head hurts. Then it was moving off the front in pairs, both front riders shoot up the track together and rejoin at the back - another 28 laps.

Then the fun really started. Two groups of seven ride at a recovery pace half a lap apart and at the whistle each front rider sprints to join the rear of the group in front another 40 laps into tired legs - awesome.

That was the main part done it was a mock (yeah right) race next. 10 laps at a high pace coming through and off to the rear each lap, build it right up to race pace for the next five then its everyone for themselves for the last five. I actually had a race plan. 'stay third wheel until the last lap then go flat out'. Yeah right. As the five laps to go sign came up I was in second place and the person in front slowed down. I was forced into the front and immediately came up with the most stupid plan. Go flat out for five laps or 1250 meters. I managed 31/2 laps and everything stopped working as the bike went into reverse. At this point I refer you to my previous excuses. We both thoroughly enjoyed the shoulder to shoulder barging on a bike though.

Finally 'the Sir Chris Hoy experience' The derny. The little moped went out with 14 riders and rapidly built to 40kph for a lung busting, breath through every orifice, 36 laps (9 kilometres). The closer you got to the Derny the easier, though still difficult, it became. Incredible experience and certainly takes your speed up.

That was it, a bit of feedback to all the riders and I am pleased to say we both passed. I was panicking in case they took it off me!

Ade is still on a high 24 hours later [OK me too]. It was a tough session but you learn more than you would believe going through the process. We would both recommend anyone tries it and we are more than happy to join you, though as accredited riders we may have to flush heads in toilets or perform wedgies to new arrivals.

The smuggest you will see Ade

Never happens at football matches.....

Following Wirral Mamil Ade's extended trip abroad he needs to complete the final phase of the accreditation process at the Manchester Velodrome. Having been away so long, before participating in the structured assessment, we decided to go and join a taster session. For those of you who are yet to enjoy the sheer pleasure of sprinting round the boards, for just £10 you get an hour on the track with a coach, bike and helmet provided. Great value for money.

Before going in we had a look round the new shop at the velodrone. Plenty of bling there and the staff are not too pushy. I fancied an aero helmet but I'm not too sure it provides a significant advantage below 12mph.

Once in the track or 15 minutes before it was our session we had a chance to watch some of the British team practising sprints. They are flying round and certainly inspire us mortals. When it came to our turn there were only two people who hadn't ridden the track before so the rest of us were free to practise some through and offs for an hour of high speed cycling, it was certainly good to get the machine back out. Although both Ade and I have spent many hours on a track, the thrill of riding so close to the tyre of the bike in front heightens your awareness of everything around you, improves your pedalling technique and your speed. Not to mention the feeling of stupidity at the lack of brakes [and in my case gears]. I don't think either of us will grow up and loose the excitement of riding a track.

After an hour I felt as though I should leave the track shuffling backwards with my nose to the floor as the Royalty of cycling including Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny started their training behind a motorbike. For a while we gloated at the speed they were doing; much less than ours until the warm up finished and we were stunned into silence.

Exiting the tunnel we bumped into Poppa and Mrs Hoy who were leaving the track for lunch, after exchanging a few pleasantries about Sir Chris's performance in London we joined them for lunch. OK they were two tables away and didn't know they were having lunch with us but we did. The cafe had so many potential Olympic athletes from both the track and BMX it was a pleasure just to soak up the positive atmosphere. Ade even pointed out Bob from Emmerdale, though I have to take his word for it. He is apparently doing something on a bike for sport relief and was picking a bike up.

So that was it, you don't get day's like that at the football ground ......

Cycling season starts again

It's easy to get carried away with cycling at this time of year, the weather has been exceptional with records being broken for both temperatures and outdoor mileage. Combine that with British success on the track in the new pringle in London, Cav hitting the line first all over the place and the spring classics hitting the screens it's easy to think it is the middle of the season again.

Fortunately the British weather has a habit of bringing us crashing back down to earth. In Wirral Mamil Ade's case quite literally. This weekend was Polocini's winter sprinter. A 60 mile sportive near to the affluent area of Altringham (or for those that know the area and want to be more precise Wilmslow, Alderly Edge, Lymm, Knutsford and Hazel Grove). The event manages to find 2594 feet of climbing including the infamous Swiss Hill.

With the week before suitable for sunbathing and many riders getting their shorts out early it was easy to get carried away with the event.Polocini know how to run an event and all for a reasonable £20(more on that later). Having woken up to torrential rain and temperatures hovering above freezing, not to mention gale force winds my first thought was 'roll over and miss it'. That's the [great] thing about riding with others. No-one wants to say you are being stupid and cancel it. So I met up with fellow Wirral Mamils Ade and Paul and headed off in the team bus/Renault something.

45 miles of driving later and it was still hammering down and 3degrees. However, Allen from policini greeted us warmly at the village hall and we were soon carried away with the atmosphere of the event. There was free fresh coffee on arrival, porridge with fruit and our race packs of three gels and three energy bars. Having won the award for the biggest moaner we set off a little after 9 into what was the quietest sportive I have ridden with most people just gritting their teeth against the cold and rain.

The great thing about sportives though is, they are non-competitive and you can sit in with other groups, enjoy the scenery and 'normally' a chat about cycling. The first thirty miles are what I would describe as undulating, a great warm up for what was to follow. The scenery included some great car dealerships such as Aston martin, rolls Royce and some others too expensive to name. With the pedigree of motor vehicle available I was shocked to see Ade having a close look at a BMW X1. That was until I realised it had turned left in front of him and knocked him off his bike. Only his quick reactions  saving him from more serious injury. The driver felt so guilty he took off at high speed without stopping, (No wonder they get scratched) picking himself up Ade rode on with a stiff leg and a stream of expletives only his navy chums would understand.

Anyway back to the ride, Paul was riding his longest ride in many months after coming back from injury and straddling a Chinese frame weighing less than a 150 page novel. So no sympathy for him- on we rode. With respect to Ade for riding his Fausto Coppi up some of the most difficult climbs Cheshire has to offer. For those of us unaware, Coppi was one of the most prolific winners of bike racing in the early, fixed wheel days of the Tour D'France. Ade left his carbon Italian babe at home and lugged his heavy vintage machine up the hills before disappearing off the front charging down hills. Some say he was on a pilgrimage to the great men in recognition of his achievements. I have thought about it long and hard and know he is just nuts.

Just after the 30 mile point you hit the infamous Swiss Hill included in the 2010 tour of Britain. It's not that long but is covered with large cobbles and mud.

Add to this the downpour plus the 18% gradient and, to put my sulky head on, it's just not fair. Sit back and the the front wheel leaves the ground, stand up and the back wheel spins. It's not if you will get off but when. A few triples made it but the rest of us managed the first bit, realised what was happening and elected to walk. Just before the top I managed to ride the last section before plummeting down the reverse of the climb including the cobbles. Having survived and feeling good it's a left turn and a similar climb for close to a mile minus the cobbles. This was the way the ride went for the next 25 miles-torture.

I have to mention the feed station though at about 36 miles it included hot coffee, an energy drink top up (have I mentioned the free bottle) flapjacks, bananas, chocolate, in fact it was more like a sweet shop. With the finish just five miles away for the short course riders we debated continuing and of course pushed on for the sixty.  The hills continued to torture until about five miles to go when it felt like the rest was downhill (more or less). It was over and 25 minutes quicker than last year. After a quick change in the car park and loading the bikes up it was back to the hall for a recovery drink, black pudding, sausage and mash, Mr Kiplings trifle cakes and bananas. the food of athletes.

All in all the best sportive available I strongly recommend a look at his site and, if you fancy a sportive these are the ones to do. 

www.polocini.com

I came across this today, and given the level of argument in the UK about cyclists thought it was worth publishing.

My personal view is that motorists hate being delayed, they are in a hurry to perhaps do ...well nothing. They do not like people overtaking them especially on a cheap bike (often not realising the bike is worth more than the car). They do not realise most cyclists also own cars, pay tax and are simply enjoying some exercise. Anyway read on and make your own mind up.... 

All cyclists jump red lights and menace pedestrians

Posted on November 22, 2011 by John Sutton

Rants against cyclist in the popular press take an all to depressingly familiar tone. Even if, as this Guardian “Bike Blog” piece, facts are presented to try and make a fair case, it only takes a quick scan down to the comments section before the familiar trolls take over. The common complaints seem to be:

• Red light jumping (a fair enough complaint, but see below);
• Non payment of “road tax”;
• Danger to pedestrians;
• Lack of accountability and partial treatment in the courts.
• General lawless, arrogant and aggressive attitude.

In general, I consider myself to be a reasonably considerate cyclist and I never jump a red light. I will however, park myself in front of a car if it has edged into the “advanced stop box” which is there to provide me with a safe piece of road and protect me from left turning vehicles (the commonest cause of fatalities to cyclists in London). I have been knocked off my bike twice, mercifully without serious harm to me, and on both occasions the car driver was completely at fault: they failed to see me coming as they turned out from or across a junction. I don’t generally rant at motorists, but do gesture my displeasure if a driver passes too close for comfort.
Looking at the issues outlined above, some are very simple to deal with. Road Tax, for example, was abolished in the 1930s and replaced by Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). This is a licence to pollute and nothing to do with payment for upkeep of the roads. The lowest polluting vehicles such as electric cars pay £0 VED, and therefore, if cycles were subject to VED, then they would be zero rated, too. Moreover, the road building and maintenance budget comes from general taxation and the cost far exceeds the amount collected through VED. The cost of setting up a computer system to collect a tax from cyclists on similar lines to VED would be so expensive as to be not worth it. Would we really go down the road of taxing children’s bikes?
The rest of the issues are generally a mixed up bag of motorists’ frustration with traffic congestion, most of which don’t bear any scrutiny. Let’s take the red light jumpers issue, and danger to pedestrians, as an example. Transport for London have statistics on this very issue. In a study of the figures from 1998 to 2007, precisely 0 deaths of pedestrians were caused by cyclists jumping red lights. In the shorter period of 2001 to 2005, 7 deaths of pedestrians were caused by car drivers jumping red lights. Overall, looking at deaths and injuries caused by red light jumping, Transport for London found that only 5% of all injuries to pedestrians were caused by bicycles and 78% by motor vehicles (the remainder by taxis and motorcycles). The obvious reason for red light jumping is to avoid delay, yet there are quite a number of cyclists who jump red lights because they consider it safer then waiting at the junction. In fact, there are rumours of an unpublished Transport for London report that shows it is riskier to cyclists to wait alongside traffic at a junction than it is to break the law and jump through the red light. This is due to large vehicles and buses turning left and crushing cyclists on their inside. The obvious retort is to not cycle up the inside of large vehicles, even if there is a cycle lane. Nevertheless, considerable numbers of cyclists obviously feel safer being way in front of the stop line than they do mingling with the traffic.
As for the rest of the arguments, I have no sympathy whatsoever. Aggressive behaviour on the part of cyclists, I would suggest, is a direct result of being on the end of aggressive actions by drivers – overtaking on blind bends; passing too close; overtaking then braking hard to turn left; moving into the advanced stop box; revving engine when following etc etc. It’s a depressing litany of behaviour that even the most polite of cyclists experience all too often. It’s only a tiny minority of motorists that display this sort of behaviour, yet its enough to put lots of people off taking to their bikes.
The only way forward is to constantly educate people on the real facts: cyclists are far less likely to injure or kill other road users than motorists (even when allowing for the much greater journey miles undertaken by cars). This CTC (Cyclists’s Touring Club) report citing Transport for London’s figures makes very interesting reading and shatters a few myths at the same time:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Campaigns/1110_Cyclists-behaviour-and-law__4M__brf_rev_.pdf

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Flapjack delights

24 hours after making cycle plus's flapjacks this is all I have left and I have only ridden 30 miles. I am so ashamed! For those of you with more will power here is the recipe. The magazine points out you can save money, you know what's going in them and you can tweak it to taste. They are full of carbohydrates to boost your energy levels mid ride so to make 12 bars (I made 24)

175g butter
280g golden syrup
225g mincemeat
425g unrefined porridge oats
grated zest of two oranges (I didn't bother)
large handful of raisins

Preheat the oven to 170oc/gas mark 3 and lightly grease a shallow 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tin. ( I just used a tray)

Melt the butter with the syrup on a low heat. Add the mincemeat, the orange zest, the raisins and the porridge oats and mix it all together really well. If it seems sloppy add another handful of oats until the consistency is thick and sticky.

Turn the mixture into the greased tin and press down into the corners with the back of a spoon until it is evenly spread.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove the tin from the oven and place on a rack to cool,

Once it has cooled slightly, cut the mixture into fingers or squares with a knife.
Remove from the tin when they are cool and firm, and they're ready for munching.

Nutritional information
Energy 375kcal
carbohydrates 56g
salt 0.5g
protein 4g
fat 16g
fibre 3g

Easy to make and too delicious

WInter TIme

One of the best things you can say about winter time is 'spring is on the way'. I also have time to write a bit on the blog site while putting on weight, feeling the cold and finding more excuses than normal not to ride.

One good reason I found to cycle this week was the #onixtwitterride. Twitter rides have been made popular by Lance Armstrong and appear to me a far better use of social media that the recent riots in the UK. Lance Armstrong manages to gather thousands by tweeting a ride to join him on a short journey such is the power of a legend.

[In the middle of writing this I have just read a twitter from #millermind saying he did 3 hours behind a bike today. Hope he is somewhere hot as I now feel even worse]

Back to the blog. There is a British bike manufacturer and on-line shop called onix bikes. The owner Craig is crazy about bikes and knows a thing or two about them. It was his idea to call a twitter ride last Sunday just north of Macclesfield and then into the Peak district over the Cat and Fiddle hill (highest pub in the land).

We gathered in a pub car park but were swiftly moved on when we filled it with over 40 riders on a very cold, windy and sometimes wet Sunday Morning. Not before Craig arrived though, his face a joy to see as he looked dumb founded and perplexed at the numbers who turned up. Within a few hundred yards of the ride starting we hit a hill maxing out at over 20%. I immediately lost my co-riders (until later) but struggled over this warm up and taster of things to come. A few punctures split the group but Onix provided a service car so they were quickly back on the road. (They also provided gels, energy bars and water bottles).

To sum up the ride it was windy, I was blown off the bike just before the cat and fiddle and when I picked the bike up by the top bar it was blown horizontal with me holding onto it for dear life. The hills were steep as you can see -

In particular the long drag up to the cat and fiddle and the 20% descent the other side where a few people crashed. {Millermind has just tweeted he was joking- feel better now]. Across the moors the wind made riding very hairy with people riding at strange angles down steep descents. A good decision was made to half the distance and ride back to the pub. Here we did the usual MAMIL thing of talking about our ride like it was a stage of the grand tour, ate as much cake as we could, provided by CafeVeloBlog and warmed ourselves up.

It was an amazing day, with stunning scenery, difficult and challenging riding and great company. I think the company was the main thing that made this the experience it was. There were professional riders, professional commentators #spokesmen and the rest of us. It felt like a tight group that got on well together. I suppose the cost may interest people-absolutely nothing, free, nichts. Interested - There will be four more around the country next year and I can say it was the best group ride I have ever done.

I should also say the onix bikes look the business, they are rated by a number of professionals and all of those tyre kicking, bike lifting, no idea what to look for mortals. Have a look on their site http://www.onixbikes.co.uk/

Finally a picture to show the combined weight we had to haul up those hills, looks a fair bit and this was after the ride and before the cake so as pure sprint athletes - didn't we do well over those inclines?