As the staff trickled in to Wiggle HQ today there were plenty of stories to be told about the previous days journeys home, some rode home, some walked and others drove, but we all made it this time and avoided a night in the local Premier Inn.

Amazingly deliveries also started to trickle in to us, but this left us with a bit of a problem as our Goods-in yard was a sheet of thick ice covered in snow! Luckily we operate next to a company called GAP who hire road diggers and ground working equipment, so a quick tap on their door and we had plenty of spades and brooms to start clearing the way for the delivery lorries.

Whilst we cracked on with this the kind people at GAP started to clear the roads leading up to us. People from all levels at Wiggle chipped away at the ice, even the CEO and Merchandising Director hacked away and broke into a sweat. Just as we had the worst of it cleared Royal Mail arrived to collect your orders, swiftly followed by Parcel Force and then City Link, check out the amount of snow we cleared behind the lorries! Then it was time for a quick team photo and a warm cup of tea, then back onto picking all your orders.

Photos

More Photos

Saw this post on Bike Radar featuring a nice Skills Q&A on winter riding. What with all this snow recently this may be a post you want to bookmark!

By Chris Ford, CycleActive
Skills Q&A: How to ride in the snow

We’ve been snowed under (groan) with requests for advice about riding in the white stuff, so Chris Ford of CycleActive, our skills Q&A expert, has kitted up and ridden out in sub-zero temperatures to bring you this guide.

Based in England’s Lake District, the CycleActive coaching team are no strangers to riding in snow and ice. They say the secret is to stay light on your bike, be ready for the unpredictable and react quickly to stay in control. Here’s some practical advice on how to turn these ideas into a riding reality.

Straight line speed

When you descend in snow you need to be sure your front wheel flies smoothly over the trail, and never digs in or stalls. You also need to know that if the front wheel does drop away from you suddenly it won’t pull you forwards.

To make this work in practice you need to stay low on the bike – far lower than you would normally for even a gentle slope – and ensure that you’re riding with your hips behind the saddle and your heels down.

Being low gives you a lot of flex in your elbows, so if the front wheel dives you can hold your body position and just let your arms extend. This avoids putting more weight forwards onto the wheel as it goes. With hips back and heels down you can push forwards through your feet and the bottom bracket to generate lift and keep things moving if the front wheel starts to dip.

Vision is also incredibly important in the snow and ice. Look as far ahead as you can down the trail – scanning forwards for anything jutting out or any well worn icy patches where riders have gone before. Sometimes a well worn grove is a real bonus, but it can become a slippery trench so use virgin powder on the edge of trails for grip and deceleration if you need it.

Turning at speed

Attacking a turn in the snow may not seem like a smart thing to do, but if you get it right it can be fast, exhilarating and leave other riders far behind. The key is to accentuate everything you do in a normal high-speed turn.

Get lower over the bike so you can absorb unpredictable bumps through the increased flex in arms and legs; drop the outside foot but still with flex in that outside knee, and point your inside knee right into the apex of the turn; look as far round the turn as possible for maximum planning time; crank the bike right over onto the big, grippy knobs that run down the side of the tyres.

Leaning the bike into a snowy turn is really important if you are travelling fast. Even if the tyres slip out for a second they push a small bank of snow up behind them which can act as a kind of self-styled berm. Practise throwing the bike into a hard turn on a bit of flat ground or a gentle slope covered in snow and feel the bite of the tyres in the powder – it can be surprisingly grippy.

Skid turns and singletrack

Of course, sometimes you don’t want too much grip in a turn. If you’re coming into a tight corner and there’s not much traction then you can slam on the back brakes, flick your hips as you lay over the bike and drive the back wheel out through the snow and slush.

You’ll see downhillers doing this in the dust of midsummer and it’s the same technique – you just need to get used to the feeling of letting the back wheel break out . It helps if you stay low and loose, but centred over the bike as you lean it hard into the turn.

If you’re riding fast on singletrack and the turns are coming at you quickly, you won’t have time to drop your outside foot. In this case just keep the cranks level, heels down in case you need to pump forwards for lift, and keep your knees wide and “baggy”.

This position lets you lean the bike quickly from side to side for the turns, keeping your body central over it as you go from edge to edge like a slalom skier.

Journeys in the snow

At CycleActive we run leadership courses for the SMBLA (Scottish Mountain Bike Leaders Association) and one of the big issues we have to address is how to stay safe with a group, or on your own, in all conditions. This feature covers some skills that are great fun and can be applied on all kinds of trails, but it doesn’t mean we want you to throw caution to the wind as you head out into the snow.

If you have local trails where you can work on snow cornering skills as part of a fast blast then get out and try it. See how far you can push the wheels out with a flick of the hips or a push through your outside foot. But don’t practise at the furthest corner of a big journey in The Lakes or the Peak District, for example.

Finally, if you’re getting kitted up for winter riding, be sure to carry a blizzard survival jacket or a small group shelter – both cost about £30 and will genuinely keep you warm if you need to use them.

Also, be sure to wear a couple of Buff-type scarfs around your neck to keep the warm air inside your jacket, and check the weather carefully – not just temperatures but also wind direction and strength. Sub-zero conditions make for amazing biking but need to be treated with caution.

There’s a great article just posted up on BikeRadar after their recent trip around the Derby Cycles factory where Focus Bikes and Univega are manufactured. You can see photo’s of the grueling testing regime inflicted on the bikes that pass through the production line. You can see why Derby’s head of marketing, Herwig Reus, said: “I don’t believe anyone else in the world has anything comparable to this.”

Focus First being punished!

Read the full article here

20

World Cup, Champrey – Switzerland

I was excited leading up this event because even though I hadn’t raced cross country for a good few weeks due to a break in the races, I was confident that my form was building well and I would have a good race and get the result I was after…..top 50! Unfortunately, our usual travelling van failed the mot which meant that only me and the old man could fit in the car, leaving my usual entourage (finance, daughter & mam) behind.

Driving to the race was a long haul and at some point I would have to try and get some sleep while travelling, which wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. After 27hrs constant driving we arrived at Champrey on the Friday, signed on, then headed for a couple of laps of the course. The course was quite short, a lot of singletrack, lots of roots which wasn’t technical but sometimes catch you out if you go of your line or not concentrating. Overall my lower back was a little stiff from attempting to sleep in the car, my legs felt quite fresh and my welsh champs kit went down a treat with spectators. The following day same thing, rode the course, only feeling a little more stiff which was making me feel a little awkward on the bike.

Race Day. After a good warm up and waiting in the holding pens I was really confident that the hard work had been done and today would be a good day, despite feeling a little weak in the warm up. I’ve lost count of amount of times I’ve felt s**t in the warm up and had a really good race, so that wasn’t bothering me….I was just well up for the hard race! Off the start there were a few crashes which I managed to pass fairly smoothly then onto the long tarmac climb where I planned to move up through the field. However, the longer I was putting in the effort for, the stiffer I seemed to get and ended up struggling to even stay with the guys in front of me let alone pass them.

For the next few laps I was flat out, but instead of my legs feeling tired from the effort they felt really restricted like as if I couldn’t access any power from them. By the end of the race my back was swollen and after crossing the line I felt quite fresh even though I felt like I was on the limit for the whole race. Disappointing!

After the race I decided to come home despite the plan of driving straight from there to Austria and visit a chiropractor before doing anything else. There was no point in racing the following week when something mechanical is slowing you down. Luckily the van should be sorted by then and we would have a comfy journey coming back out, and my well missed family could re-join the trip.

I’m happy to have a few races before the last round of the British Mtb Series, as the races will get my legs ready after a few race less weeks, and I should be good for a great ride!

Need a Laugh? Look no further, saw this and had a good chuckle to myself. I bet these cyclists had no clue what was about to happen to them!

Enjoy

37

Twentyfour12 Race Review

This year I had decided very early on that I would enter the two biggest 24hr solo races, the main reason being that they both fill up very quickly and should something have happened at Mountain Mayhem I wanted a back-up. Luckily Mayhem was fantastic and I won my major race, but around a week after I had decided that I’d do Twenyfour12 as well. I’ve never tried to complete two 24hr races so close to each other, so I was a little worried that I wouldn’t recover in time. My main worry was that I had been suffering with a bad lower back after Mayhem, but I had visited a Physio and an Osteopath in the 2 weeks prior to Twenyfour12 and I was no longer suffering any pain, although my longest ride was only 2-3hrs, so I wasn’t sure if it would return or not.

Looking at the entry list prior to the event there were some big names entering, including Ian Leitch, Ian Payne and my nemesis, Ant White. The strange thing about this list is that no one was entering the event totally fresh. Ian Leitch had broken his collar bone earlier in the year, Ian Payne pulled out of Mayhem with knee problems and Ant and I had the epic battle at Mayhem just 5 weeks earlier.

When I arrived at Plymouth I was fairly confident that I had recovered physically, but I didn’t have the same fire in my belly that I did at Mayhem. The weather wasn’t great, with rain on Friday and more rain forecast for Sunday. I pre-rode the course on Friday and I was a little disappointed. I realise the weather affected the length of the route and certain sections had to be pulled out, but compared to the course in 2008 it was no where near as good. I was assured that it would hold up regardless of the weather though, which can’t be said about Mayhem or Sleepless courses.

As the race drew nearer my competitive nature in me changed all that I on the start line I was ready for the long day ahead. The start went well as we did a short start loop to split the field up slightly which I planned to be fairly quick, but not go anaerobic. I was in second place at the start of the main loop, with Ian Leitch slightly ahead. By the end of the first lap Ian had already pulled over 1 minute lead, but I was fairly confident that he would not be able to keep the pace going. Ant was no where to be seen which was unusual for him, as he normally starts quickly!

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37

It’s Race Week!

I love waking up on a Monday morning when the end of the week heralds something special – a big race! This Sunday I’m racing Antwerp 70.3 and it’s a race I’ve been really looking forward to for a while. Sure, I’ve enjoyed doing a couple of sprint distance races this season but the longer stuff is what really appeals. (BTW, my last Bloggle was written a few days before the National Elite Sprint Champs where I finished 5th – OK considering the high mileage and little rest I’d had that week!)

Anyway, back to Antwerp…I did this race last year and loved it, it was my first foray into longer distance racing and the atmosphere and crowds were fantastic. It’s run by Marc Herremans, a triathlete who was paralysed in an accident while training in Lanzarote and he’s an inspirational character to say the least. His event is definitely run by athletes for athletes and it’ll be great to get back there. It looks like the women’s pro field has a few big names in it again this year (I spotted at least three Ironman Champs, but didn’t want to spend too long oggling the start list…) so it’ll be great to see where I’m at. In the meantime, the tri geek in me loves planning out nutrition, pacing, race strategies…Bring it on! Will let you know how it all goes…

Happy training & racing
EK

Technium Privilege Pedelec Electric Town Bike

We have just received a batch of 30 Technium Pedalecs (Electric bikes). I can certainly say these raised a few eyebrows here at Wiggle HQ.

A mad scramble to get a test ride occurred and after a good blat around the car park, my first impressions of the Technium Privilege Pedelec are good. Once the battery is switched on and ready to go you have three levels of power low, medium and high. As soon as you start pedaling you feel an instant and gentle surge of assisted pedaling power. I can only best describe this as a feeling similar to somebody gently pushing you from behind.

This extra assistance provided by the modern 26V Li-ion type battery makes light work of the pedaling duties making this bike a joy to ride. With it’s upright continental riding position you feel very relaxed and comfortable.

This electrically assisted bike is designed to provide battery-powered assistance to make pedalling easier when carrying loads, cycling uphill, against the dreaded wind or just cruising along for journeys of up to about 50 miles.

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We are delighted to announce that we now have Battaglin Road Bikes in stock and exclusive to Wiggle! These classic Italian road bikes are handmade in Italy and are steeped in history. Developed by Giovanni Battaglin, a former winner of the Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia, Battaglin has been ahead of fashion in developing and design. Today Battaglin continues to focus on research and development focusing on materials and shapes to improve both ride and quality with extensive road testing in a real environment. This goes beyond the normal methods of testing on a rig and puts the bicycles into a real world scenario. This gives Battaglin a great platform to test new products before it gets to the end user.

We have chosen four bicycles from their extensive range that best represents a wide range of price points for all riders. The Stealth is the starting point and a SRAM Rival groupset mates well with the purposeful lines of this Italian racer. Top of the pile is the C12 Pro Dura Ace which uses a T1000 High Modulus Carbon frame to further lower the weight and add to rider comfort.

You can watch a video of Battaglin riding the Giro here:

And for more information on their history here is a great PDF .

View the full Battaglin range at Wiggle now!

As dhb’s reputation for excellent value and high quality grows, and that Wiggle now ship to 70 countries around the world we have taken the opportunity to expand our advertising campaign internationally, and to incorporate our Australian customers check out the new dhb ad in ‘Australian Triathlete’ magazine.

The excellent dhb Finchdean bib shorts and Finchdean Jersey, which both got fantastic reviews from RoadCyclingUK, were featured. The high performance apparel, in its striking red and black design, is sure to turn heads. Included are highly technical fabrics such as Fieldsensor, Meryl Actisystem and a SilverDry Coolmax antibacterial pad in the shorts.

Also featured in the magazine is the dhb Finchdean women’s Cycling vest and Finchdean ladies shorts