Unfortunately the evenings are getting darker earlier. I needed my lights on last night when I was going out - up to now I’ve been putting them on mid route. Staying safe during the winter months is important for all of us, cyclists and runners, so here are a few of our Vizion Tips for when the nights draw in, courtesy of Ronhill and their new 2008 Vizion run range.

1. Run with a friend, if possible, or join a group. This way you not only feel safer but it also makes your run more fun and sociable!

2. Vary your route and times you run.

3. Run on well-lit routes after dark and where high visibility clothing.

4. Always tell someone what your planned route is and approximately how long it will take you. Even text when you’re leaving and when you get back so someone knows that you are safe!

5. Don’t use an mp3 player after dark as impairing your hearing, along with your vision, can be dangerous. It may also attract the wrong sort of attention.

6. Take extra care crossing roads when it’s dark and wet. Also look out for cyclists – remember you can’t hear them!

7. Wear a water or windproof jacket to stay warm. An internal pocket is always useful for a mobile if you prefer to carry one with you.

8. Small change for a phone call or bus if you get lost or in trouble is advisable. A £5 note is ideal.

If you have any other tips for running and cycling at night please share them through the comments below. :-) 

Future’s top mountain bike magazine is taking it to the extreme this month as its riders challenge their skills and ride seriously close to the edge.

In the October issue of Britain’s best selling bike magazine, Mountain Biking UK, readers can witness some awesome riding skills as trials supremo Martyn Ashton proves to be ever the dare devil rider pushing his capabilities to the max on his most terrifying outing ever.

MBUK is relentless on testing and this month it features its toughest bike test ever in a hard-core assessment of four top models.  Up against each other at the Mega Avalanche the Marin Attack Trail, Santa Cruz Bullit, Orange Patriot and Scott Ransom all compete to be king of the hill.

Editor of MBUK Danny Walter said: “This month we’ve pushed Mountain Biking UK to the absolute limits with our toughest ever bike test and some of the most jaw dropping pictures ever of trials legend Martyn Ashton riding a step away from certain death. Put that together with usual mix of riding tips, top quality race action, route guides and the latest product reviews and you’ve got an issue of MBUK that’s not to be missed!”

Also in issue 216 of MBUK the team take the king of freeride Darren Berrecloth to some of their very own UK North shore spots and MTB legend Keith Bontrager runs through his TransScotland experience.
 
Covermounted in this issue is a pedal spanner and it is the final heat of the Downhill Factor competition as MBUK searches for a new DH star who will get the chance to ride at Whistler.

Mountain Biking UK goes on sale Wednesday 29th August with a coverprice of £3.95.

The winners of the Wiggle & Helly Hansen Golden Ticket III competition have just returned from their trip to Andrew Shandro’s Summer Gravity Camp in Whistler with HUGE grins and a few bruises!

In the end 2 winners were drawn, Oliver Wayte from Leicestershire and Graeme Ward from London, although Graeme was unable to go so he unselfishly let his girlfriend Joanna go instead! As it turned out the piece of Helly Hansen gear he bought was a ladies base layer for Joanna anyway so it all worked out for the best in the end… although I’m not sure I would have done the same thing!

I’ve had great emails from both winners, they had the time of their lives so they will be both doing a full write up later, hopefully with a few photos that I’ll put up here on the bloggle to give everyone a true insight of what the Summer Gravity Camps are like and what it’s like to be a Wiggle Golden Ticket winner!

It sounds like they both had an amazing time, Joanna said;

“The whole trip was just unreal. It was truly the experience of a lifetime. And to be honest, a week in Whistler is not enough. I even considered moving there!”

and Oliver was along the same lines;

“It was a whole load of fun. For sure.. without doubt the best time of my life!”

I think Oliver is planning on going back next year so he can master a heli-drop!

These sort of responses are what it’s all about!

Keep checking back to read their full stories soon.

Sunday 19th August
Hi hope you’re all well? I’m back in the UK and back at my base in Loughborough. What’s happened to the weather? Hope this rain doesn’t continue! It’s good to be back after a week of solid training in France. The French Grand Prix race, was always going to be a tough one being my fifth consecutive week of racing. I had a good swim and led out of the water, unfortunately my bike wasn’t as strong and I wasn’t able to keep the pace, it’s all good training though!

As I expected, there are many tales from our time in France. The week started by us not looking too carefully at the numbers on the houses, to find that we had been dropped by a taxi outside number 26 instead of number 6. I tried to save the day with my sat nav, but it only works in the UK. Eventually we found our home for the week and followed the instructions on the soggy water stained e-mail that clarkey had printed out. It turns out we were going to have a bit of a treasure hunt. When we read the first instruction it read the “key is under the stone”. Me, Alistair and Clarkey then spent 2 whole hours turning over every stone in search for the key. After lots of searching we then found out that the key had been removed by the cleaner!! Surely this was just a minor hiccup and nothing else could go wrong now that we are surrounded by the security of our new home? How wrong was I? A series of events followed including Alistairs crash with a motorbike, fortunately Alistair was un hurt but his bike is now in two. Our coach Dan locked his keys in his car, and missed his flight and when I returned to Stansted airport do you think I could find my car? I couldn’t remember where I had put it, so I hid my bike bag and all my belongings in a bush, pulled my running shoes out of my bag and ran a whole lap of the car park in search of the car. Yes, I’ve found it I thought - oh no, my keys are in my bag! I had to run back to the bush and then back to the car. What a nightmare….

Next stop is the Worlds! Please let it be a lot less eventful…. Until next time, take care, and train hard

Stu

Advert: Domestique help wanted

Now I have to admit, triathlon is a sport that does need lots of equipment, but last weekend I learnt that these days pro’s need another essential tool, - domestiques.

After the Salford race I took things easy and tried to psyche myself up for my next race The London Triathlon.  It’s is a great weekend because the weather always seems to be good and I get to race in front of lots of friends and family.

I tried to stay focused on my race preparation but it was hard for me not to be distracted by all the discount shops near the ExCel Centre. In the end the only bargain I got was my dinner from the reduced section of a supermarket, a bad idea it turned out………

At 3 a.m I woke up feeling sick. After a night of looking at the bottom of the toilet I wasn’t feeling quite so confident.  My goal for the race had changed from winning to finishing.

Once the race started a group of four got an early break on the swim.  My swim was pretty disappointing.  I knew I had to work hard on the bike with whomever I came out of the swim with to catch the lead pack.  I jumped on my bike and urged the girl with me to work together.  However, I was a bit surprised when she apologised and said she couldn’t ride with me as she was being paid by another athlete to assist that athlete to make the lead pack.  I later found out she wasn’t the only one doing that job!

I made a half-hearted attempt to cycle alone but it wasn’t long before the ‘Dillon Express’ caught me so I jumped aboard and took the ride!

When we came into T2 our group was only about 50 seconds behind the main threat former world number One Annabel Luxford.  My bike to run transition was a decent one and I set off onto the run in 4^th place over all.  I moved up to 2^nd  behind eventual winner Michelle Dillon and was happy with that considering my preparation hadn’t been the best.

I don’t think I’ll be buying reduced food again!

Andrea.

As I briefly mentioned in my last post we’ve got the new Shimano 2008 Deore XT on site and in stock!

Don’t forget you’ve only got 2 weeks left of the 20% off orders over £100 August special offer so you can get next seasons kit at last season prices, just like the Shimano XT M770 Hollowtech II Triple Chainset, RRP £119.99 but you can get this for only £95.99, or wheels, Shimano XT M776 Centre Lock Front Wheel, RRP £149.99, now £119.99! - this is all original kit and not OE. You won’t find many sites on the net that have huge discounts on brand new kit that’s in such high demand! So in short… it’s upgrade time!

2008 SHIMANO Deore XT Marks 25 Years of Off-Road Innovation

In 1982, what started as a phone call from Yoshi Shimano to the HQ in Japan about a growing cycling movement resulted in a full set of components designed specifically for mountain bikes. Here Shimano Deore XT was born.

2008 Shimano Deore XT represents a component set designed to take on the challenges dished out by modern day mountain bike riders on aggressive terrain. With several new products and plenty of options you’ll see why the new XT delivers the choices and products you seek. 

View are full Shimano Deore XT range at wiggle now!

We’ve added some really exciting stuff to the site this week as the 2008 stuff starts to arrive including bikes, components and few uber cool gadgets!

My personal favourite being something I’ve been waiting for a while - the H2O Audio waterproof iPod cases! We’ve got them for both iPod Nano’s and Video iPod’s and they allow you to take your music collection up to 10ft below the surface! Perfect for surfing, wake-boarding, snorkeling, swimming as well taking out in all weather conditions such as rain, snow and on sand!

Here’s a bit of a break down:

 We’ve also got the outdoor case for the Nano’s which is ideal for rainy days like this!

 Also on the site this week we’ve added;

• - 4 superbly specced 2008 Focus Cross bikes 
• - Great new 2008 FSA Kit
• - Freeplay windup radios and torches - always a good gift!
• - Shimano 2008 XT - wheels, derailleurs, brakes and more

Plus you can still get 20% off orders over £100 and get all this brand new kit at massive discounts - only at wiggle!

It was another great (and hot!) weekend in London for Stu and Andrea with both athletes securing the silver spot on the podium at the Worlds biggest triathlon! Here’s what Stu had to say about the day;

 ”I am so pleased to be on the podium again at The London Triathlon. This is my favourite race, the atmosphere is awesome and the home crowds really lift you and urge you to keep going, I had my friends and family there cheering me on too. I really enjoyed the weekend and I hope the 12,000 other competitors also had a fun weekend of triathlon and racing”. 

On Saturday you can also catch highlights of the Salford BG Triathlon World Cup on BBC1 with from 12:10 to 13:30 so if you plan on being outside all weekend make sure you get the video or Sky+ boxes ready to record!

May the fourth be with you!!
 
Yep, fourth again! The Salford World Cup isn’t usually a happy hunting ground for me, so on reflection fourth was a decent result. There is always more pressure in home races but I felt strangely calm before this race, probably because I knew I was race fit and pre-selected for the World Champs.
 
The race weekend always kicks off with a pasta party at the plush Lowry Hotel on the Friday night after the race briefing. Everyone uses these pre-race gatherings as an opportunity to suss out competitors fitness and to catch up on gossip from around the triathlon world.
 
Race day was dry thank goodness as this course is a bit tricky in the wet. It was great to go down to the start pontoon with the friendly cheers echoing around the quay. I shocked myself by having a blinding start to the swim, up in the top 5, but when I got battered around the first buoy I ended up losing a few places. I emerged alive from the swim in about 20^th place sprinting up the steps like mad and ripping my wetsuit off. The first transition is where a race can be won or lost and I can assure you none of us have time to be lady-like in that situation.

Once on the bike, after the initial mad scramble, the pack settled into a decent pace but without any serious attacks, which was fine by me. Being in large bike packs of about 40 people is still a novel experience in women’s racing and still a bit scary as the level of bike skills is pretty variable (and that’s being generous).
 
Two people broke away at the end of the bike but all of us main contenders were watching each other as we knew it was going to be decided on the run. Vanessa Fernandes (World No. 1) did her usual blasting off on the start of the run while I decided to leave my attack late. As I moved through the field the great biased home crowd inspired me. My sprint in the home straight to pip the Japanese girl Niwata to fourth place, I must admit, was motivated by the bill I had just received for some new carpet and flooring. What a hard way for a girl to make a living!

London Triathlon here I come…

We’ve got our hands on tons of more superb Sombrio mountain bike clothing and we’ve put it all on the site with up to 40% off! There’s tee’s, shorts, jerseys, belts, gloves and more!

Sombrio’s quality speaks for itself as pioneers in the mountain bike clothing industry. Through the unique vision and expertise of the riders and designers, Sombrio continue to create a desirable and functional line of mountain bike active and lifestyle wear for men and women of all ages.

Be quick though as its selling fast!

Wiggle’s full Sombrio clothing range