The Running Man, covering the half marathon distance

Two weeks and counting until the I “compete” in the Roding Valley Half Marathon. Nervous about never before having covered the full distance for this event (21km or 13 and a bit miles) I took it upon myself to give it a go in advance. My worst fear on the day is not being able to [...]

London Tri offers “Olympic Plus”, what a liberty!

Having already entered this year’s London Triathlon I’m now used to receiving a fair few emails from IMG, organisers of the event, inviting me to sign up to some of their other events which I’m tempted to do and no doubt will at some point in the future. IMG’s latest communication however took be aback [...]

5 week countdown to Roding Valley Half Marathon

The Roding Valley Half Marathon, my first “competitive” event of 2010 looms closer taking place on 28 February. I’ve never run further than 10km previously, and to this day still haven’t run past the 12.5km mark, so yet to know if I’m able to last the extra 9.5km that I’ve not run previously.
I do keep asking [...]

Blenheim tri here I come, first of 3 triathlons in 2010

Blenheim tri here I come, first of 3 triathlons in 2010
Quite unexpectedly I recently signed myself up for this year’s Blenheim Triathlon. It wasn’t an event I was planning to participate in as I’d already signed up for the Windsor Triathlon olympic distance taking place the following weekend on 13 June, but I caved under the [...]

Brightening up my homebound winter commute

As the nights draw in and each ride home from work is submerged in darkness that much sooner than the previous day, I’ve been thinking much more about my visible presence on the road. Can other road users see me as well as I assume they do?
To be honest I haven’t taken this subject as [...]

Images and review: Islabike CNOC 16 kid’s bike

Following the success of my eldest son’s first bike, a LikeAbike Mountain Classic purchased for his second birthday, the time came to consider a successor as his size and skill approaching the age of four, meant he had graduated to the next stage, a real bike with pedals.
After a reasonable amount of research and having gathered a consensus [...]

Video: The Hidden Valley on Afan’s Penhydd trail, Wales

Here’s a piece of video of a great section of the Penhyyd trail in Afan. The section is called The Hidden Valley and is a lovely sweeping single track descent through tight switchbacks and tree lined trail. Great fun!

Taken on my Oregon Scientific ATC5K, handlebar mounted.
See video of the “Black Run” at Afan’s Whites Level [...]

Video: Black Run on Afan’s Whites Level

Early start Saturday morning, headed over via North London to pick up Gavin on route to a day’s riding in the hills of Southern Wales at the Afan Forest Park, hosting what are arguably a handful of the best trails in Europe. With the Santa Cruz Blur and Spesh Enduro safely packed into the [...]

Images and review: LIKEaBIKE Mountain Classic

When the time came to buy my eldest son his first bike – at the grand age of two – it wasn’t a decision I could take lightly. Well, his entire future as an Olympic track rider/Triathlete/or Tour de France legend could hinge on this very fundamental choice.
I needed to make sure that this first [...]

Images and Review: Specialized Enduro SL Expert

Meet my off-road full suspension pride and joy, the Specialized Enduro SL Expert, 2007 model.
From reviews I’d read at the time it was clear the engineering and rideability of the bike wasn’t in question, having evolved from a trusted and proven design. On the looks front however, it was very much a Marmite experience, you [...]

Images and review: Planet X SL Pro Carbon

I’ve owned my Planet X SL Pro Carbon road bike for two years now. Originally purchased directly from Planet X via the Halfords cycle to work scheme I can honestly say that I’m very happy with this purchase, one of my best bike buys to date.
Value and service?
In terms of value, it can’t really be knocked. [...]

Images: Cannondale Bad Boy 8 close-up and dirty

It’s been over a week now since I’ve had the pleasure of owning a Cannondale Bad Boy 8 in which time I’ve managed four in/out commutes to work, so 120 miles so far. I’d like to offer this brief short term review of the bike and follow it up with a longer term review, maybe [...]