Author Archives: Guy WR

A lighter bike will not make you climb faster

1. Here is a common question for the aspiring grimpeur: will a lighter bike help me to climb faster? You may be tempted, dear reader, to answer in the affirmative immediately, citing the laws of physics, received industry wisdom and good old common sense. However, what are these ‘laws’ anyway, is the bike industry so …

May 16, 2013 – 7:48 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills | Comments (2)

On cycling as a religion

In the book Religion for Atheists, author Alain de Botton looks at the ‘secular uses’ of religions, eschewing the supernatural claims but looking at the good ideas that religion has for running our societies and our lives. Under a series of headings, he then goes on to explore how this might be done. He assumes …

May 4, 2013 – 1:03 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Meanings | Comments (1)

Ridiculously hard training (and a giveaway)

1. In early March, a rider turned up at the first of the local spring series races with 500 kilometres in his legs since the start of the year (later to find out that many others had 4-5 times the distance in theirs) and self-seeded into the C group for cat.4s and other slackers. These …

April 18, 2013 – 9:11 am | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills, Local Climbs | Tagged | Comments (2)

A project worth supporting

New posts are coming soon, dear reader. In the interim, you may wish to consider the following. As a reader of this blog there is a good chance that you are interested in the finer aspects of cycling style. You are aware that quality is worth seeking out and acquiring. You may not be aware …

April 12, 2013 – 9:10 am | By Guy WR | Posted in Posts | Comments (0)

Re-reading Armstrong

You may be familiar with this situation, chatting on a group ride or at the café stop when the subject of Lance Armstrong came up. Everyone had a view, an opinion, or perhaps even a story of seeing him – briefly – at a Tour de France in the past. And, if pushed, everyone would …

March 31, 2013 – 12:08 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Doping, Meanings | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

On participation

1. Taking part in local races is a satisfying experience. There is pleasure to be gained in the rituals of preparation – cleaning and maintenance of the bike, preparing drinks and snacks, checking the route and planning (usually imaginary) strategies. There is catching up with old acquaintances, making new ones, and seeing others’ new bikes …

March 7, 2013 – 3:04 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Climbing Skills, Local Climbs | Tagged | Comments (1)

The spectrums of cycling

1. Draw a horizontal line, for the sake of argument, and put ‘science’ at one end and ‘art’ at the other. Is pro cycle racing an art or a science? If you think it is more towards the former, then you might be Dave Brailsford of Team Sky, interested in numbers and percentages and VO2 …

March 1, 2013 – 3:45 pm | By Guy WR | Posted in Doping, Meanings | Comments (2)