Team PBK.com manager and rider James Smith has a go at getting a professional bike fit. We’ve all seen the adverts and flyers, but is the initial cost really worth it? We hope to find out:

“The advantages of a professional cycle fitting are many, from correcting poor position, increasing power, reducing the risk of injury and simply increasing comfort and safety. Pain, numbness and swelling are usually signs of a poor fit, especially in the feet, neck, lower back, hands and knees. Cycling does not need to hurt!” – rideplymouth.co.uk

Here I was quite happily just jumping on a bike moving the saddle round a bit adjusting my cleats and ten minutes later I was set. Well that was until I saw a flyer for a local Bike Fit in Plymouth, so I went and spoke to Paul. He explained to a somewhat sceptical Mr Smith (me) that a bike fitting is fundamental to any sport involving cycling be that road, MTB, TT or triathlon. A bike fit is supposed to minimize the risk of injury, improve your pedalling efficiency saving you energy and increasing your power transfer and finally minimize power leakage through poor saddle and cleat positioning. In a nutshell “make the most of what you have.”

Sounds amazing hey?  Well I booked my appointment and decided to remain sceptical to prove my self right!

As I arrived for my three hour bike fit I was impressed with the set up, a clean and tidy facility with none of the normal clutter seen in a bike shop, airy, spacious and friendly.  This was helped with the immediate offer of a cup of coffee from Paul the owner.  Paul himself is a qualified bike fitter learning his trade at the Serotta International Cycling Institute in Cincinnati.

So duly impressed with the facility and Pauls’ shiny certificate I began to settle down for a 45 minute question and answer session.  Paul already had a lot of my information from the pre fit questionnaire which asks questions such as occupation, weight,  even to what you spend your day doing and in my case it is sat at a computer.
So I had now been in the plush surroundings for nearly an hour before Paul finally finished his battery of questions and began my measuring process.
First off – Posture assessment off the bike:

Weight assessment – Paul asked me to stand on with my feet on two separate scales, this led to me finding out that I put 1 stone extra through my left side whilst standing.

My left leg weight was much higher.

My flexibility was above average….to my surprise I was not too bad scoring a 7/10.

Then Paul spent an inordinate amount of time looking at my shoe and cleat positioning.

Finally my bike was positioned on the plinth and the meat of the bike set up took place.

Once Paul had reviewed my current position a number of small yellow sticker dots were positioned over my moving parts such as knees, hips, forefoot and ankles.  Now I was starting to be impressed  but the really cool bit was yet to come as he turned on his laser and began assessing my pedalling efficiency immediately it was clear that my left knee drifted inwards as I pedalled.

A wedge was fitted beneath my cleats and again my left knee was assessed and if by magic the drift had gone now for my right which proved to be fairly normal.

Now my fore and aft position was assessed with the angle of my back and forearms Paul was able to work out my exact ideal position and to my utter astonishment moved my saddle forwards by some 1.5cms bit by bit before tipping the saddle upwards and then adjusting my saddle height by 5mms.  These were massive changes but strangely once on the turbo felt comfortable and not at all odd.

This whole process took three hours and Paul was attentive at all times responding to my suggestions thoughtfully.  I am a complete convert to the bike fitting process throughout the last twelve months I have been struggling with back injuries and left leg numbness, after one ride my left leg was responding as it used to and my back pain was not its old excruciating self.  I guess though the proof is in the pudding and we will see how the next few races go.

I guess doing the math a professional cycle fitting is a bargain

• A new racing frame £2000 at least.
• Carbon wheels £1100.
• Power meter £800.

Or a cycle fit at £150!

This weekend we were invited along to the Blackpool Nocturne by the great people at FACE who organise the Nocturne Series around the country and also Revolution at the Manchester Track. Arriving on a fresh breezy night Dave, Bruce (Dave’s Dad) and I found our way to the VIP tent and I began proceedings with a nice cold beer.

After settling in, Dave who was racing in the support race went to warm up and I was persuaded to enter myself for the Cycle Hire Challenge which involved racing around the track on one of the Blackpool City hire bikes.

Now coming from a carbon race bike these are quite something…32mm tyres, a front basket, hub gears and a hub dynamo to run the in-built LED lights not forgetting the centre stand.

Seen here in all their beauty:

After some precise saddle height adjustment of “that’ll do, there’s free beer waiting” (it didn’t really matter as riding a bike like this is just comical with it’s swing back handlebars) and a quick can of Red Bull we lined up for the first qualification race. Luckily my jeans and t-shirt just about cut-it, I’ve never pinned a race number to a t-shirt before! It wasn’t until the final that I was up against a guy in full Italia race kit and a guy who had done this many times before!

6 entrants on bikes that felt 4 foot wide and the first corner being a hairpin corner made for some close action – baskets make great bumpers. The sprint down the back straight was into a headwind so finding cover here was vital, accelerating into it was tough, on a shopper bike even tougher!

Next up was a string of two 90 degree corners, on the first I managed to catch my pedal on the inside while hastily trying to sprint out of it, I don’t know if this put the challengers off but it let me lead into the next one! Into the home straight, slightly uphill and with chasers all over my wheel. The final kink in the track made for single file and if you could get into here first chance are you’d be first over the line.

A race of just one lap (just my sort of thing) I managed to bag first! My first win of the season which I’m most definitely taking and adding to my palmares! Importantly now I had to prepare for the final race which had some of the fastest guys from the other heats in, food and drink was called for…

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Dave’s race:

The interval to my racing included Dave in the Cycling Weekly support race:

A convincing breakaway from Jamie Shirlaw (Herbalife Team) and Will Penn (Mammoth Lifestyle RT) split the Cycling Weekly Support race, with a lot of the field strung across the circuit. The pair established a good lead and it was Shirlaw who took the victory, proving just a tad too strong for Penn. David Everett (Team ProBikeKit) came in third.

You read it right, another podium for Team PBK, Dave got third with solid support from Richard Wilkinson (with his very nice Marvin watch) who came up to support the team.

Dave’s review of the race: “A rapid, well organised race that has a third of the crowd made up of drunken hen night women screaming in admiration of my skinny legs. The back straight being a street that would challenge any epileptic to last the distance with its disco lights and strobe flashes” – well done Dave (he does have epilepsy).

Results:

Support Race:

1 Jamie Shirlaw Herbalife Team
2 William Penn Mammoth Lifestyle RT
3 David Everett Team Probikekit
4 Matthew Pilkington Dulwich Paragon
5 Bill Nickson Bill Nickson Cycles RT
6 Adam Cairns Chevin Bang & Olufsen RRT
7 Milan Sihelsky Kuota-Spinergy-gsg
8 Richard Wilkinson ProBikeKit.com
9 Tom Armstrong Ribble Valley Juns
10 Dan Evans Rhos on sea C.C.

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Hire Bike Final:

So now the big race which was to take place just before the main Elite race which had lots of big names entered: Dean Downing, Kristian House, Rob Hayles and Malcolm Elliott to name a few.

The final: “Members of the public qualified over two heats for the Cycle Hire Challenge, celebrating the success of Blackpool’s scheme, which is set to expand to 500 bikes. Chris Johnson was first across the line on his yellow hire bike, with the bright Dynamo-powered lamps lighting up the circuit. ” – From BC.org

Some nervousness on the line had us all lined up touching bars and ready to roll/pile into the first hairpin corner. This is where all my 4th cat and proud experience came in, my strategy was to sit in until the final sprint along the back straight. Slightly unchivalrous, but this is racing after all! With prizes and pride at stake.

Once under-way the events do become a blur and my eagerness to power round in my trainers was taking its toll. The last run down into the headwind was hard going and I somehow ended up in 4th with two 90 degree corners to go! Not what I’d planned, a cheeky pass past Diane Lee (who came close to having me in the first heat) into the first meant I just had two more to pass, being a brave and slightly stupid 4th cat I soon had just one to get around on the final straight. Running through my head were visions of glory and all those miles and efforts I’ve put in chasing tractors and trailers along the lanes, Paul Rowlands was the man to beat and it took every watt I could produce to get around his left hand side. White line fever and a shout of “on your left” through the s-bend led into a barrage of camera flashes and most importantly VICTORY!

Results:

Blackpool Hire Bike Challenge
1 Chris Johnson
2 Paul Rowlands
3 Diane Lee
4 Paul Gaida
5 Ryan Naylor
6 Patrick Moran

I’m now the proud owner of a Kask Sky helmet and more hours than I will ever need for Blackpool cycle hire. So 2010 so far: Wins – 2, Podiums – 1:

Dave managed to catch most of the Champagne that got sprayed his way, we also did quite well in making sure it didn’t go flat or warm in the evening heat – we drank it all before watching in awe, the speed of the Elite riders.

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The Elite Race.

I thought they were eager to get me off the podium, the reason being that the Elite boys were waiting to start. Dave used to live with Dave Clarke who races for Pendragon Colnago and on the line everyone was having a good chat. Also here racing was Rubens Bertogliati who went backwards in the race but he certainly looked the Pro.

The group of elite cyclists took the mass of spectators by surprise as they hurtled around the streets of Blackpool at phenomenal speeds. It was a fantastic atmosphere further added to by the Brilliance Light and Sound show on Birley Street.

Downing (Rapha Condor Sharp) and Simon Richardson (Sigma Sport Specialized) spent much of the time off the front of the race, with Downing seemingly the only rider able to go with Richardson’s huge attack in the early stages. It was a decisive breakaway and one that even managed to lap some notable contenders over the tight course. Downing’s sprint was too much for Richardson’s endurance-style and it was always going to be likely that the punchy Yorkshire rider was going to be too powerful for Richardson.

“It’s taken me four years to win one of these,” laughed Downing after the finish. He and Richardson worked well, but were kept on their toes throughout the race by an impressive Dave Clarke. Despite Clarke’s best chasing efforts, he was outnumbered by a Rapha Condor Sharp squad looking for another podium position. Kristian House and Dean Windsor kept Clarke company, but it was Windsor who pealed off through the Red Bull chicane to take third.”

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The Comedown:

After the glory of 2 podiums along with products and prize money we made for the Rapha coffee stand and sampled some of the best coffee I’ve ever tried, made by a chatty Frenchman who took a shine to the nights winnings. After all this excitement and adrenaline we thought we best call it a night.

We have to thank massively James Pope for the invite along with Katy and Bethan who made us feel really welcome  and seemed to bring sunshine with them (plus thanks for allowing the stragglers in). The whole night really was well organised and they had plenty going on for everyone.

These girls actually know what they’re on about when it comes to racing and have even just received their racing licences through – boosting the 4th cat numbers even more, welcome!

Let’s hope Revolution goes well and we’ll hopefully be able to go at watch that too for some more unexpected fun!

The British Cycling Report can be seen here.

The Nocturne Series website is here.

Dave has put together a video of all the clips which we took from the night (Nice one Dave, please excuse the spelling mistakes!):

We had a bit of a reminisce in the office yesterday afternoon about cycling as kids. We all agreed that the carefree nature and lack of hazard awareness made for a blissful time when out cycling with our friends.

Now that the days of 8 week summer holidays have gone, we don’t get much chance to pull big skids (road tyres soon wear through to the canvas, as I’ve expensively found out but still haven’t learnt!) or play ‘foot down’ on the field – essentially who can unknowingly trackstand aged 5!

Soon of course the talk turned to bikes and kit which we had all been given or had passed to us from older cousins. We span a few generations between us in the office and so there was plenty to learn about and plenty of fads which we all took part in!

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We’ve brought together a collection of our old bikes, the accessories we used to fit and what we used to get up to on them.

The Bikes:

Dave:

Dave was the proud rider of a Giant Stonebreaker bike, his pride and joy for many years. Given that Dave now races around the world and will happily disappear into the distance on climbs it must have had some hidden magic to it – just look at that colour scheme, imagine the team kit that would go with that!

Dave’s honest review: “awesome for endo’s” : Rating:

Chris(me):

My first bike was an Apollo mountain bike from my cousin who’d grown out of it. Sadly I hadn’t yet grown enough to fit it without getting on from the kerbside!

My next bike was a bmx, for racing around the local field which had an almost purpose built bmw track dug into it. My Pro Performer was purple and had a great ability to sit on it’s back wheel for miles and miles with me happily sorting things out with the rear brake.

For it’s wheelie ability: Rating:

Alex:

Alex, one of our Graphic Designers used to cruise around on one of these.

This article wouldn’t be complete without the Raleigh Chopper. Originally from the 70′s it has become an icon of this age, complete with it’s ‘safety issues’ it made for some great fun.

The long seat made ‘backies’ simple, the smaller front wheel made for some massive speed wobbles and the gear shifter could easily put an end to any future development you were hoping for.

“Accidents were not uncommon” therefore: Rating: – you’ve got to learn your bike handling skills at some point!

John:

Way back in John’s day, the Raleigh Tomahawk was the bike to be seen on. Slightly smaller than the chopper and without the hazardous gear shifter this bike was a turning point in his life.

The second hand beauty was John’s first bike and was the one he learnt to ride without stabilisers on, mainly due to the fact that none were available!

“a fantastically cool first bike until you realised that it was a poor relation to the Chopper. Great for skids”: Rating:

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Here’s what the kids are up to in 2010:

It’s only fair you see this footage we found while “researching”………

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The add-ons:

As children, bikes weren’t complete without toys or something to make them sound like a motorbike!

Gone are the days of toys in cereal boxes, probably some health and safety rule after a super hero figurine wrapped in plastic was mistaken for a cornflake – very easy to do I’m sure.

These Kellogs Cockerel reflectors will bring back some memories, they even have a facebook ‘like’ button for them!

I wonder how’d they go on bladed spokes? The aero advantage may well be worth trying!

Spokey Dokeys:

After getting some of these on a birthday I vividly remember the painstaking effort it took to fit each and every one. These are coloured plastic balls that you fitted to the spokes of your bike so that when you rode around slowly they would clatter up and down noisily and when you rode fast the centrifugal force would push them all out to the wheel rim and they would just look like a coloured blur.

Everyone must remember the sore fingers after fitting and the knack you needed to take them off again!

It is even possible to fit these to your race bike:

The Card and Peg trick:

We’ve sadly all done it! To re-create that motorbike sound nothing gets further away from it that a card and peg on the seat-stay.

Easy to do and up to a certain speed the card stays nicely intact.

The coolest bike I’ve found today and the one I’d have if I could do it all again (even including the scraped knees, battered elbows and sore chin) would be this:

What did you ride as a child? What cool toys did you manage to fit to your bike? Any great stories? Let us know below:

The 2010-2011 season PBK Team Kit has finally arrived just in time for the Tour de France and the British summer and although the look is similar, we have moved the goalposts with the design and manufacture. The quality and design of the PBK Team Kit outshines most team kits on the market (at any price) and some of the design specifications leave others wanting. Before you say it yes, we are a touch biased here, but when you put your heart and soul into the design and development of something like this, you can’t help it! Also, we know that our reputation means we can’t offer you anything sub standard either, so you can rest assured it’s top quality!

Aero Jersey: This brand new short sleeved jersey is ideal for flap free low drag racing. This second skin fitted jersey in a supportive MOA exclusive Lycra offers a degree of compression to reduce muscle fatigue and has special mesh side panels and nape section to help control the airflow therefore reducing drag. This makes you more aero and also actively aids cooling. The Aero Jersey still has 3 easy access rear pockets and a hidden full length zip, as demanded by our racing team!

Chris (4^th Cat and Proud) on the Aero jersey: “It has been designed specifically for racing and fast training. The cut of the jersey is figure-hugging and the sleeves are Lycra to prevent any annoying flapping in the wind. There are mesh panels up the sides and at the top of the neck. After testing it out on a ride at the end of a muggy, warm day, these honestly do a good job of dissipating some of the heat and sweat to keep you comfortable and more focused on the road ahead.”

Bib Short: The Aero Jersey is something for the racers, but the bib short is perhaps the best piece of the 2010/2011 range. They are suitable for all, from racers to sportive riders and no wishy washy prints here! The shorts are made from hard wearing, muscle supporting, Power Lycra with an additional ultra high wear resistant crotch area. The logos are super stretch heat stable silicon prints (allowing Power Lycra to be used for the whole short). We then use a printed Lycra power band instead of the cheaper leg grippers found on most team items! The power band provides extra comfort and support without chaffing, there is a super cool mesh upper and we even include a radio pocket! Race radio or MP3 player the choice is yours, (but please ride responsibly). A firm and supportive anti bacterial pad finishes off a very high spec short.

Chris on the Bib Short
“These are some of the best racing bibs I’ve worn. After just a few pedal strokes the power-band leg grippers find their position and then stay there with a re-assuring amount of compression – not once after this did I notice them. They also look great! The pad has proved comfy so far, it’s plenty wide enough and light-weight.”

Team Gilet: Again after lots of feed back from team riders and customers we bring you not one but two Gilets. A gilet really is an essential piece in any cyclists’ wardrobe and as such, we put lots of effort into their design. The Summer Gilet has a lightweight windproof front with a full mesh back. Designed for racing, protection on alpine descents and just those cool morning/evening rides where you may get caught out! It offers chest protection and great breathability in a garment that can easily be stowed in a jersey pocket (we still managed to squeeze some reflex on though!!) The Winter Gilet is made from a heavy weight windproof fabric called ‘Mantovent’ and has been treated to offer very good water protection, (the seams aren’t sealed though) so it should protect you from showers and misty rides. It features 3 rear pockets and again some reflex detailing, which are ideal for days when you need some good upper body protection, but don’t want a sweaty jacket on. I’m thinking damp cold races, long early season sportives or cold dry training days.

Chris on the Gilet: “One of my favourite pieces of kit. I wear a gilet in all conditions purely as a wind break on descents and don’t seem to notice much extra warmth on the way up. It also keeps everything in your back jersey pockets stable and rattle free – priceless! Whether you’re training, riding to a race, warming up, the windproof front and back cater for persistent downpours. Again, I hope I can’t test the winter gilet for a while! When racing, a good gilet won’t make itself noticed. If you really get too hot, they also fold up nice and small.”

Winter Jacket: We haven’t changed a thing here, as we feel that we got this piece right first time (just a graphic change). Our Manto Winter Jacket has been a long term favourite with racers and real cyclists and the small design additions makes this jacket far exceed other similar offerings (even at higher prices). The Addition of the Lycra cuffs, stretch sides and double collar, its ability to shrug off a shower and the excellent Manto fabrics unique blend of warmth/windproofness make this a winner. Ever conscious of safety, we have incorporated reflective piping to help a little with poor light and night visibility.

Chris on the winter jacket: “We’ll hopefully have to wait a long long time to test its performance in sub-zero conditions, but I can tell you that the fabrics in this jacket are top notch. The front panels are breathable, water and wind proof while the interior is brushed thermal fleece like the L/S jersey to keep you cosy. The jacket also has a high collar and Lycra cuffs to keep drafts out and warmth in. If you need a winter jacket, do take a serious look at this.”

Training Jersey: The Training Jersey is actually the same cut and material as last years Race Jersey just with a full hidden zipper. It is a great piece and very cool despite peoples preconceptions of black. It’s very comfortable and an essential for every fan of PBK. Great training and race wear especially for those of us with a less than gaunt figure.

Chris on the Training Jersey: “Slightly more relaxed though I was surprised at how well fitting it was. I know we’re bound to be a touch biased, but I really mean this, I certainly wouldn’t be ashamed to go racing in it and the extra comfort will be welcome on longer rides.”

There is also a ‘Little Snow’ Winter Jersey which is ideal for pre race warm ups or can be used with the winter gilet for cool weather and long days out in the saddle. Pull on mitts and you have the complete look. There are more items to come as well, including Winter Tights (again silicon printed), Team Skinsuits (but check out the plain skinsuit on the site now) and TT Overshoes.

There’s never been a better time to get kitted out and join the biggest cycling team in the world. Whether you want to go for the full PBK Team look or compliment your wardrobe with the addition of a piece of PBK Team kit, there will be something for everyone. Don’t forget to send us pictures of you in your team kit, so we can share them with your global team mates!

Team Probikekit arrived at work on Friday morning, complete with their bikes and kit for the weekend’s 24 hour race.

A bright sunny day put us all in a good mood and with a generous donation from the PBK bosses we loaded up the van, with 5 hours ahead of us comfort and music were high on the list.

It would seem that some of the guys here at PBK take travelling seriously, made most apparent by Nick: his combination of hard bike box and kit bag made fitting his stuff in easy.

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I, on the other hand travel light – rolling up to work on my race bike and a well used Intermarche Bag for Life full of a weekends race kit:

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Once packed up we were on our way, a quick stop for fuel and jaffa cakes and the south of England and lots of M6 motorway beckoned. On the way down we discussed race tactics for the next day, my vaguely large head, saw some unbelievable driving and hoped that the sat-nav lady was leading us the correct way. Our overnight stay was in High Wycombe, luckily just 5 minutes walk from what looked like a pub from the outside. After ordering a few pints we sat down to hone our strategy when we noticed this:

All we wanted was to talk about the race, and after checking in with the boss, receipts for this wouldn’t be accepted.

With Fatty and Dave retiring early me and Nick took it upon ourselves to sample a bit more of High Wycombe’s night life, specifically the pub a further 10m down the road which didn’t turn out to be outstanding either. It did however serve beer, have some girls in it who didn’t want our money and shelter us from the rain.

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Race-day AM:

An early (slightly hung-over from some) start and a bowl of bran-flakes (If they work for Chris Hoy they work for us), some black coffee and the final stage of the Dauphine Libere on WorldSport spurred us on for the 24 hours ahead.

A quick drive down and around the M25 led us to the Top Gear Test Track. Windy, open, windy and windy would sum it up. We had to set up our tents and get bikes re-built in time for a demo-lap so we all knew the course, checked our timing chips were working and had chance to have a chat with everyone. The wind was immediately going to be a big factor in the race. The back section of the track was tail wind, once we’d turned around to come back even on this warm-up/demo lap everyone was hiding from the constant onslaught of wind. The last turn brought us out onto the wide runway and at the end in the distance was the red finishing tunnel.

A welcome sight after 3 or 4 minutes of runway, and beside it was the ominous clock set at 24 hours ready to start counting down…

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Midday:

Race time and Dave was first up for an hour of power, followed by me, Nick and Fatty who all stuck a fast hour in to keep the pace up and keep us placed high.

Dave stuck in there and with the addition of a crash on the main runway (we hope he’s OK) was firmly in the front group and looking fairly relaxed. The group had lots of quality looking riders, lots of deep section wheels (how they must have loved the cross winds!) and a couple of Di2 equipped bikes made for some serious racing. The Cobbleshocks Team had a guy with Di2 who had seemingly endless amounts of power – more on him later.

A flying visit from the Johnson family/photographers gave us these pics along with some from our camera.

To be honest we all agree that the 24 hours were a complete blur – you were either racing, had just finished racing or getting ready to race (if you’re Fatty you can also add getting massaged after each stint and Nick having a trip to the first aiders after falling out of his tent and dislocating his thumb – thank you for not screaming and waking us up, really, thank you.)

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Here’s each riders view on the race; Dave:

Two weeks and two 24 hour races, as I write this I’m still in a bit of a daze. More from a come down from what seems like a years worth of energy gels than from lots of travelling and lots of hours in the saddle.

Two weeks ago Italy; last week an old air strip made famous by The Stig in Dunsfold.

Winds were the one thing that seems to characterise the event. That and a lack of sleep.

Roll out was 12 mid day on Saturday; when I say roll out what I mean is a quick hobble of a jog to your bike in cleats then roll out. Yep! the race started with a Le Mans style sprint. Then 24 hours to be completed.

Lap after lap a fast back straight a slight hill that got harder as the hours ticked by then turning the bottom corner hitting the head wind and seeing a red square in the distance gradually turn in to a large inflatable start/finish banner. What else would you want to do with your weekend?

Chris and I took care of the majority of the day shifts leaving Adrian and Nick with the 10:30 till 6am night shift. A great idea, the two diesel engine riders churning out the long dark hours and during the daylight when you could see the pot holes us two fresh from a good nights kip putting in the laps. A good idea, but you try sleeping after several caffeine energy gels on a dodgy lie-low!

Still up at 4:30 and with a banana for breakfast it was time to hit the track for 6am, letting Adrian hit the sack for some shut eye.

Sunday was fast with everyone wanting to clamber up the leader board. With a great crowd and marshals cheering everyone on it made for an enjoyable event, as enjoyable as it was with 8 hours and 300km in my legs, I was glad to see Chris bring home the final lap for our team.

Nick:

So after my intensive training resume building up to the race, I was confident that I was turning up fully unprepared and ready for nothing, but somehow I came out the other side still standing and with a smile on my face. Admittedly, I was only still standing because my a**e was too sore to sit on and the smile on my face was induced by the caffeine that had now replaced my blood which was merrily pumping around my body keeping it in a perpetual state of disbelief. This was definitely one of those occasions where at one thirty in the morning whilst pedalling my bike around in the dark on a airfield for three and a half hours my whole body had become numb to what was going on. Ideally I would have liked this sense of nothingness to have kicked some time earlier to have somewhat eased the pain in various parts of my body. Of course, falling out of my tent just before my four hour night time stint and dislocating my thumb wasn’t the best of starts, yet I was never the less undeterred from doing my bit for the team as this was one of those times through all our different beliefs, sexual preferences, massive heads, witty remarks and general tomfoolery we had all pulled together as a team. We came through the other side victorious in the knowledge we had all put our hearts and souls into doing our bit for the team and a worthy cause.

My only regret? Well the lack of dancing girls we didn’t manage to acquire to welcome us over the finish line and possible my lack of training.

Would I do it again? With out a shadow of doubt.

What would I do different? A lot more training, a lot more!……… and dancing girls, a lot of dancing girls.

Fatty:

Fatty on sleepless nights at the 24hr and banter that the youngest in a team will always get…

Ok, lets cut to the chase here. I was not practically well prepared for this event. The cycling had been going well (well enough) but the week before the event saw me on holiday and a little poorly, I got back at 2.30pm on the Friday and had a hour to get ready…

A bag full of summer race kit and a bike with the wrong tyres then…

So how great that the weather dropped 10 degrees from the supposed cold north, to the warmer climbs of the south? Oh and the wind picked up, Global warming my a**…..

It’s lucky we were a “team”. Nick unpacked the van while I swapped tyres, I rode round in David’s knee warmers and gloves. Chris had done all the arrangements, all I did was turn up and drive the bus,  so one word of advice to wannabe 24h’ers – be prepared.

As for the racing I did an hour early on to get my legs in and then rode in the dark (thanks for fitting the lights Nick) for 3 1/2 h. It was surreal, full of caffeine on a super wide runway wondering if the event has been cancelled as you haven’t seen another light for 3 laps!

What can I say it was dark, cold and windy then it was light, cold and windy, then Dave came into the pits and I went back to my tent but sleep evaded me probably due to too much caffeine.

The event was really well organised (I clearly am not) and a big thank you to all at Action research AND TO OUR SUPPLIERS. Great light and motion lights courtesy of Madison, great caffeine gels and other nutritional support from High 5 and a great weekend, now where did I put my shoes…

P.S. Chris got lots of stick all weekend most not deserved so just a quick note to say your heads not THAT big!

Chris:

Gutted to not find out who the Stig was, also:

In a word ‘blooming hard’ especially if you didn’t have anyone to shelter behind into the wind you were a gonner. From the timing you can see the massive increase in lap times, it added about 30 seconds onto a lap – not ideal when trying to chase groups ahead. My highlight was chasing the attacking no.88 – the man with Di2 who was just unbelievably strong. He said he needed to get a lap back on the leaders (Sky) and so we had a good go along with a man on a red bike. I was so far out of my league here, I was hanging on for dear life but somehow I managed to come through and give him a bit of draft before he took over again. Some of the memorable quotes:

• A rider who “stormed around for 1 lap and then blew up spectacularly” made my day, along with the brilliant catering on offer – many chocolate muffins and pieces of flapjack were consumed over the 24 hours.
• Me directing my parents to me when I was “in the tents”. Given that the camp site was approx 250m long, it wasn’t the best description.
• Dave’s early morning meal of beans on bread – “hard to get into my pocket, even harder to get out”.
• The gels with so much caffeine you could see through time.

It’s not often you get to ride with so many cyclists of all abilities and so many friendly people. The only stressed people I saw were when a change-over didn’t go quite to plan, in the pits there were many hand shakes after some good companionships out there, which were vital to prevent other groups from catching you as easily.
The worst part? It must have been the morning when even un-worn kit had become damp and the sprint out of the pits to get onto a group felt like my legs weighed 2 tonnes. Once the sun had risen the temperature rose a bit but even the last few hours were done with warmers and a grimace.

But it was all worth it. As a team of 4, we managed to ride around for 24 hours and put 177 laps in (at an overall average of 21mph) and that is what these events are all about. It would have been impossible without Fatty, Nick and Dave to get anywhere near this.

See the results and timings here: http://dbmax.co.uk/store/results

Thank you again to everyone who’s sponsored us, there is still time to enter the prize draw here. Madison kindly donated us the Light and Motion lights for the night time, Nick and Fatty were more than impressed with the units, a 700 lumen and 900 lumen kit were definitely the brightest lights out there and Fatty didn’t even use his on ‘high’ which says a lot. High5 provided us with plenty of gels, bars and recovery powder which even at the darkest of hours was palatable and worked a treat out on the track – I’ve become a real fan of the raspberry plus gels.

(A video will appear here soon – depending on how busy PBK towers get this afternoon)

The highlight of all our seasons is taking place this weekend in Surrey. The Action Medical Research 24 hour race around the BBC’s famous Top Gear test track starts at midday  Saturday and finishes at midday on Sunday, followed by a celebration lunch and a well earned beer (or two..).

There is still chance to enter our prize draw – click above to go to the website.

How have we been preparing?

Dave: Lots and lots of miles including a 24hr race last weekend. It has hopefully given Dave some wisdom of how a 24 works and how we can utilise the time and hone the change-over to perfection. See Dave at the Castelli 24hr race here interviewing a Cervelo Test Team Pro . There can’t be much better preparation than doing an identical event!

Nick: Some miles including a 24hr race 2 years ago. He’s now fully recovered having been on a diet of Port, noodles and black coffee.

Fatty (Adrian): Some big rides around the lakes in the last few weeks. He may have had some time off the bike, but he can still give as good as it gets on the flat, which is ideal on a windy airfield!

Chris: Many miles and a couple of TT’s. Hailing from Lincolnshire, the flat parts are the least of my worries. All this effort has been undertaken (mainly) to have an excuse for rather a lot of red wine afterwards.

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Logistics!

The race is over 300 miles away, so planning is key here. The day before leaving and we have some Light and Motion lights arriving along with a massive sugar stash to help us through the night.

There is a long list of items for the van: spare tubes, tyres, wheels and chains. Thankfully we get all our food provided so a pasta-fest will ensue from 12:00 onwards. We will also have to make sure we eat after riding to recover well for the next stint – nothing feels worse than going out on tired legs.

Does beer count towards carbo loading?

Along with rollers, bikes and tents, this alone should almost fill the van. I’ve only been camping once, so a Saturday night spent camping and riding my bike sounds great! (I’ve factored in an hour to pitch my tent). We now have to come up with some tactics – something which we will have plenty of time to discuss on the drive down (Driving while England are playing their second group match in the 2010 Football World Cup – brilliant timing).

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Now for the plea and questions:

• Have you raced a 24hr event? Tips please!

• Does anyone have tips for racing in changing light conditions, with the pits floodlit and the outfield pitch black.

• Any games we could play while out riding/the journey down to pass the time?

• If you haven’t sponsored us, have a look at the great prizes you can win – they may change your mind! They include Speedplay pedals, DT Swiss wheels, Lezyne Tools, PBK Team kit and lots of energy food. Also in there is a Giro helmet and glasses package worth £150.

I’ll be doing a full report of the weekend’s events in next weeks blog, so you can get a first hand account of a 24 hour race from a weekend warrior!

Today is instalment two of my diary in the run up to our 24 hour race in June, (which incidentally you can sponsor us here and at the same time be entered to win a whole load of prizes – DT Swiss wheels, Speedplays and Craft clothing to name but a few).

Our recent run of unbelievable weather here has meant we’ve all been riding a lot more than usual and it has given us an insight into the sorts of riding that many of you lucky lot take for granted. It’s no wonder we produce a lot of good track riders here in the UK! At the minute, we’re intending to do 2 hour stints at the 24 race, so I’ve been trying to ride for at least this long or longer. Apart from two days of hobbling around after doing my shoes up too tight, (school boy error I know) all has been going well.

As I explained in my earlier blog, I am a 4th cat rider who is juggling the demands of work, weather and a social life. I love cycling, but I also love my bed and the odd glass of red wine.

The recent run of good weather has also meant that a lot of BBQ’s have taken place….I’ve re-lived my year 8 IT classes today and come up with this: A wine v’s training chart -

As you can see, the social arrangements and training have been fighting for my attention and precious time! I don’t plan to continue the upward trend of wine and the Wednesday peak of red wine did coincide with some healthy Italian food – my excuse anyhow.

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As I write this I have a busy office day ahead, my racing licence has expired and after last nights efforts just walking down the stairs was a painful experience.

First on my agenda is getting my 4th cat. licence renewed! There is racing tonight, but I doubt I’ll manage 10 minutes with legs as heavy as mine. The Salt Ayre crits are quite fast and tight, definitely not for the faint hearted, but great for getting some ‘racing speed’ into your legs. My decision to give this a miss is I feel a wise one, as the psychological damage of getting dropped after the first couple of frenetic laps could be long lasting. This would also mean paying £10 to ride round on my own.

Second is to keep up the 2hour or more sessions on the bike. Last night, after a long day I went out with just High5 zero in my bottle and it went really well, 2 hours – fairly hilly – no sugar – 19mph – I’m happy.

On Saturday it was very hot (27 degrees c), I went out and was soon panting like a hot dog which didn’t do my spirits much good at all – hence the onslaught of cheap beer later on. Also on that ride, I inadvertently ended up checking what was in the verge – gravel and racing tyres don’t mix too well – pay attention when riding!

Sunday was spent watching the epic Zoncolan stage of the Giro and changing the fork on my bike – it’s developed a creak and an annoying cracking sound whenever the tarmac isn’t perfect – unnerving and very rare to have a nice surface around here for more than 10 metres. The steerer doesn’t look cracked as such but its definitely at the end of its life.

The other notable ride was on Tuesday with Fatty, a similar route again with a few climbs and a perfect evening for it. Check out our route here, mapped on his trick Edge 500:

There’s no better motivation than having a mate or two out with you, pushing you on the climbs and providing a useful wind-break when you need 30 seconds to recover.

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So: 4 weeks to go until the 24hr race.

Plans:

• Keep up the rides of over 2 hours.
• Start to plan a list of equipment we need to take with us – any bets on what we’ll forget?
• Renew my licence to regain my 4th cat. pride.
• Reduce (notice I didn’t say stop) the intake of alcohol.
• Bag as many prices as I can for the prize fund.

What have you guys been up to? Training for a particular race? Please share your wisdom with us!

We’re a dedicated lot, Jose has been busy riding in the Lancaster 50 TT:

My first ’50’ of the season.  I left the house at 6.30 to face the near 100 mile drive to Cockermouth for the first flat(ish) ‘50’ of the year.  For me a ‘50’ is a midway point between a long distance event demanding accurate pacing and stamina and the more pure speed based distances like the 10 and 25, so it’s always nice to get one in to give me an indication of how I’m going.

I arrived at 8.30 which left me exactly an hour to get the tubs to full pressure, sort my bottle and warm up the legs just a little.  With a relatively small but top quality field I was realistically looking at a top 10 place.

From the off I felt quite strong on the first leg towards Keswick, the tailwind helped to give me an average of over 27 mph by the first turn, however the return leg to Cockermouth was a different story especially up the drag of Embleton Bank, and by the time I reached the top end back at Cockermouth my average had dropped to a touch over 25mph.  I knew I had to ‘up it’ if I stood any chance of ‘getting under’ two hours.

I decided it was time for the second of my 3 High 5 isogels and that coupled with the increasing wind helped me back to Keswick to face the last return leg back into the wind and up the long drag.  At Keswick round about it was time for my 3^rd gel and then the final push to the time keeper.  Still feeling strong I kept the power on right up the flag.  I had just managed to ‘get under’.  1.59.12 which gave me 6^th over all on what turned out to be a very tough but promising day.

Jose in action

The Lincoln GP is one of the toughest races on the premier calendar here in the UK and it attracts some of the best riders from the UK and the continent who all want to bag the win. Team Probikekit.com had 5 riders in their team this year, James Smith, Chris Lobb, Richard Wilkinson, Jamie Howard and Nick Boost.

There was a strong turnout from Rapha Condor, Pendragon Kalas, Motorpoint, Sky, Endura, Sigma Sport, Raleigh and the Irish National team.

The Lincoln GP is 11 laps around Lincoln with a cobbled climb up through the town centre – the climb about 500 yards of bumpy hell with the best chance for survival being the gutter at the edges of the road. Riding this climb is tough because it’s such a bone shaker, you need to ride the gutter if possible and with such tiny gutter space, you need to be out front to get a chance – otherwise it’s just a massive cycle-jam. After the climb the course flattens out and winds around through the top of town, the pace picking up instantly as the riders hit the big ring the second their off the cobbles and hurtling on to the flat sections and decent out of Lincoln.

This race is not for the faint hearted either, blink and your out the back, the only chance to stay on is to ride hard and stay as far up to the front as you can. Getting stuck too far back means getting binned on the climb as there’s only a few places on the course to make up places as the pace picks up rapidly after the climb.

The atmosphere with the cheering crowds around the course is amazing, along with the closed roads it gives this race a real continental flavour.

For most of the Probikekit riders, this was the first Premier Calendar so it was a trial by fire. Richard had ridden it before and rode as the team captain, Chris Lobb rolled his tub on the 2^nd lap and came off – no serious injury, then James and Jamie missed the big moves after getting caught up in the mayhem and got black flagged on the 8^th climb. Wilkinson finished in the 4^th bunch on the road – a hard, hard race with a fantastic atmosphere. Better luck next year

Results:

1^st Chris Newton (Rapha Condor)

2^nd Phil Lavery (Ireland)

3^rd Simon Richardson (Sigma Sport Specialised)

Unfortunately our 4th cat trooper Chris was not in the race this year and nor will he ever be. His claim that he should be allowed on the grounds of his being born in the county of Lincolnshire have luckily for him fallen on deaf ears. He would most certainly have suffered miserably and it could have put him off cycling for life. More from our weekend warrior soon.

Tales from the back of the pack – Is an honest account of life as a weekend warrior and my homage to the trials and tribulations faced by the majority of ‘ordinary’ riders out there.

With the majority of us having to achieve a sensible work/cycling balance, getting fit for racing and putting the hours in can be tough.

4th Cat. and Proud

With me being a 4th cat racer, we’ll be following (vaguely) my progress and all that happens in between to give some sort of insight into the life of a ‘regular’ racer’. After blowing up at a local crit 2 weeks ago it was time to travel down to Spalding to have a go at their town centre crit, which was run in conjunction with their annual flower festival. This gave me 2 weeks to train and get my strength back after a disjointed winter of training and social engagements.

Preparation (2 weeks to race day)

Sadly it was time to give up wine during the run up to the race, (apparently) there is no point in training hard only to go and negate the benefit on these warm summer evenings with a nice glass of red. With an OK  base fitness, I planned to ride everyday and taper off slightly the couple of days before the race. The race was a 3/4 cat race and only 30 minutes long plus 5 laps. This meant it was basically a sprint from the start!

With it not going dark until at least 20:30 here, there is plenty of time after work to get a comfortable 2-2.5 hours riding in. I was lucky with the weather and the first week went well, riding each night on varying routes and with different people to prevent me from getting bored and tired of it all. By the weekend when I was planning to put some longer rides in I was starting to feel the effects, empty legs from the beginning and a slight lack of enthusiasm – luckily nothing that a bottle of High5 extreme couldn’t conquer. The continuing good weather meant that I managed to get out, but some encouragement would be needed for the next week of riding.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège

The motivation from some excellent recent classics racing, a new pair of shoes and plenty of pretty girls out on MTB’s, did their best to keep me focussed. With the crit being so short and on a short course, now it was time to start riding hard and try to get a feeling for the constant accelerate – brake – accelerate nature of the race. This could mean only one thing……….INTERVALS!!!

Love them or hate them, intervals make an unbelievable difference in your performance. You really should give them a go and see the benefits.

1 week to go:

On Monday I went out and tried some 30 second intervals with 20 off in between. As I’m sure some of you will be thinking, these are far too short and yes they you would be correct in thinking that, as they are. With just 30 seconds I was constantly clock watching and never really got into a rhythm and a quick rethink was needed, though they did up my average speed nicely!

On Tuesday I took a nice ride up to the top of Kirkstone pass, which is local climb and is 454m and 1 in 4 at its steepest. We took the nice (easy) route up through Troutbeck and over, coming back down the ‘struggle’ with a howling headwind. The last 10 miles were done solo and again I tried some on/off riding on the rises and had a real good 53/16 ‘attack’ on a climb trying to drop a local rider before finishing. He was of course dropped and I then had to do that awful… ‘just bust a gut to get past you and must continue at this pace so you don’t catch me up and pass me in an embarrassing heavy breathing frenzy’…type thing! Pride can be a great motivator!

Thursday night was my final bout of intervals and this time I used the turbo to really go all out, especially as the weather wasn’t great! Instead of the 30 seconds, I did 5 minutes of a big gear with medium resistance and spinning at around 85-95rpm with 3 off. After 5 lots of these I was done, feeling stronger and so glad to have the Friday off and just an easy spin on Saturday to finish of the preparation.

Race day

The day was cold and very windy which surprisingly didn’t seem to put many people off racing. This meant that there was a full field of 40 riders all trying to ride the same line through the first hairpin corner, where predictably a touch of mayhem prevailed. Luckily no crashes occurred and only one or two mechanicals made for a good days racing.

As always a good breakfast of porridge and orange juice gave me the slow release carbs I needed and in the run up to the race I sipped on High5 energy source and just before the race had a caffeine gel which was raspberry flavour – very nice indeed!

I expected the race to be hard and from the off and it lived up to my expectations. Each corner was followed by a sprint back up to full speed and I don’t think I used the top half of my cassette at any point in the race. The 30 minutes flew by and then came the bell for the final lap. Somehow I’d managed to stick with the leading pack and into the last corner (which was very tight) I wanted to be 4 or 5th out, but just didn’t have enough left to ride around the pack and slot back in. Starting the sprint in about 1/2 way down the pack, I gave my all and made for 12/14th (results yet to be released). Position here is slightly unimportant, as finishing in the main pack after slogging it out was the main achievement.

To top it off while returning my race numbers and kicking my bike around I gained a chainring imprint on my calf which refused to wash off in the shower. Classic 4th cat!

I’ll be keeping regular blogs of my exploits over the season and you can revel in my ‘normality’. On a serious note though, this type of racing is the mainstay of the cycling industry worldwide and without the support of an army of volunteers, organisers and willing participants, they wouldn’t exist. We can’t all be professionals, but we can enjoy the thrill of a race, even if it is from the middle of the bunch!