Dave Lloyd's White Rose Classic Training Plan Not long now until the 23 June and the White Rose Classic. I have ridden this great sportive twice now, but the last time was in 2007! (See picture of me with Pen-Y-Ghent in the background.) It’s a challenging Sportive. You need to be in very good condition to attempt the 122 mile Hawes Long Route. If you do, maybe I’ll see you, as I’ll be riding it this year. "Think of it as two...
Preparing for a sportive with Jonny Tomes of Chevin Cycles Skipton Signing up for a sportive like the White Rose Classic can be a great way to both motivate yourself and to structure your training, but it can also be daunting - knowing where to begin training in preparation for a large ride like the Hawes long route is difficult. Lending a helping hand in this article is Jonny Tomes from Chevin Cycles Skipton, offering his experience in preparing for a...
Chain maintenance tips from Ben Wood, Wheelbase Yorkshire bike mechanic Here’s some easy maintenance tips to help you keep your pride and joy running. All those winter and spring miles take their toll on your bike, so here’s what to look for. My first instalment is on chains and how to look after them. Chain wear and what to look for Check your chain on a regular basis, you can get a chain checker or chain wear indicator from most cycling tool makers,...
Climbing the White Rose Classic with Andy Cunningham 2019 is set to be the toughest year yet for the long-running White Rose Classic. The Hawes Long Route is 120 miles long, featuring 6 "named" climbs with a total elevation gain of over 10,000 feet. Anyone planning on tackling this considerable challenge needs to be prepared, not just for the hills we have given names to, but all those in between as well. With this in mind, we asked some advice from...
Some of the common hurdles facing us all at the start of the new cycling season As riders up and down the country start the process of beginning their training for the season ahead, we’ve been speaking with Ben Wood of Wheelbase Yorkshire in Ilkley about some of the common hurdles facing us all at the start of the new cycling season. Ben is a triple endurance world record holder and has been a professional mechanic for over 20 years. His biggest...
Wouldn't a good cycling navigation app on a smartphone be handy? As I have related in previous posts about problems with my Garmin and trying to use my smartphone for tracking my rides, I have put some effort in to taking advantage of all the smarts that are packed into my smartphone. With just a little bit of fiddling, I was able to drop the Garmin and use my Android phone to track my rides in Strava. Although tracking a ride can...
Did you have a model globe in your house when you were growing up? I remember spending hours examining the globe, the vast oceans, the continents and the countries. I noticed that on a particularly open part of the seas, usually the southern ocean, was what looked like a big figure 8. At the time, I didn't pay it much attention. Now, however, I now know why it was there, and what it is: the "analemma." As a year-around cyclist, winter...