Legs, Feeling No Pressure

Archive for November, 2008

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

Product review: High 5 energy gels

I’m mid-way through a box of 20 High 5 energy gels, so I’m qualified to reveal that… they aren’t that good. While some may favour the fairly diluted juice-like consistency over other, thicker gels, my first priority is an energy kick. You just get the feeling with these that they aren’t giving you much.

It says on the pack that you should consume ‘1 sachet 10 mins before, then 3 sachets per hour during activity’. So, for a 5-hour ride, that’s 16 sachets? Are they crazy?

Energy stat breakdown per 100g:

Carbohydrate – 56g (of which sugars 26g)
Energy – 224 kcal

Well I’m out, they don’t deliver. To be continued by the way – if this blog does nothing else over the coming months, it will definitely identify the best nutritional products for endurance riding!

Tags: energy, gel, product
Posted in kit, nutrition | 1 Comment »

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

London Phoenix

I joined London Phoenix Cycle Club just before the Japan trip. The Phoenix has an (I believe) 80-strong membership spread around London, has regular socials, an AGM, and a great website with a very active members’ forum. Because the club’s members are scattered around the city, it can’t organise regular local rides – so if you want to head out, you just scan the forum posts and hook up with a group in an area that suits you. My big club debut is yet to come – and judging by yesterday’s performance, it may be a while…

The forum is probably worth the £20 membership fee alone. It’s got a firmly competitive slant, so it’s great for picking up tips about training, kit and events.

Tags: forum, london, londonphoenix, website
Posted in news | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Racy stuff

And now for something a little different. What I’m wondering is, is there a flat bar or drops behind that wind-shield?

Thank you Christian for this one.

Tags: babes, fun, future
Posted in out-there | No Comments »

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Taking time out sucks

Some thoughts on taking time off the bike, as much to record my own condition as anything else.

Prior to my trip to Japan, i.e. around 25th October, I was on pretty good form. Not summer sportive level, but feeling strong and easily able to ride 4-5 hours with some brisk climbs thrown in. My first ride for 3 weeks was yesterday’s commute. I got a cold in Japan which has left me with a kind of post-viral malaise that I’m still shaking off.

Here’s my condition at 18th November:

Legs: weak, no zing.
Lungs: tired, weak, fragile.
Flexibility and general physical strength: poor.

The only consolation is that I’m still light from all that sushi. The lessons learned are:

Don’t let anybody tell you that 3-4 weeks out of the saddle won’t hurt your fitness.
A cold, even a minor one that you don’t take time off for, really hurts your fitness for at least 2 weeks. Don’t expect much (and don’t push it) before a fortnight is up.

Tags: cold, fitness, illness, legs, lungs, winter
Posted in fitness, news | No Comments »

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Japanese do bike shops better

Just back from a trip to Japan. Generally, it was awesome. One of the things you always catch yourself saying when you travel around the country is ‘Why can’t we have that back at home?’. Everything appears to work better, everyone appears to work harder, and everyone goes that extra mile to make things better for everyone else.

One evening I was wandering around the backstreets of Kyoto when I looked up and saw this store:

It’s a men’s retro clothing store that ALSO sells vintage road bikes, fixies and track frames. Incredible. I barrelled in there with my camera at the ready.