Yesterday was my first ride out of the new decade. Following a period of 2 months out of the saddle (a trip to Nepal was partly to blame), which itself included a 2 week drinking marathon (the party season) and a 1 week eating marathon (the Mucklow family Christmas), it wasn’t surprising that my form stank.
My leg strength deserted me; my heart rate pootled along in zone 2; my blood sugar levels bonked as my stomach craved cake and turkey trimmings. Compare this graph from yesterday (peak HR 157):
Heart rate graph 2-1-10
with this one from 18 July last year (peak HR 177).
Heart rate graph 18-7-09
I remember this ride. I never blogged about it because I was just back from La Marmotte and I couldn’t be bothered. But it was the ride of the year. I was out with Millsy on a 4hr+ circuit from Sevenoaks (possibly the Hell of the Ashdown route). I was rested from my trip to France, but still held the form from months of training. I was hitting the hills hard, and just kept feeling stronger. Then came a truly epic half-hour stretch in the closing stages of the ride, on a gradual climb up to Sevenoaks Weald. My heart rate climbed from 160 into the 170s, and I recall looking down at my wrist to check the effort and seeing 177. There was an almost other-worldly absence of pressure.
But back to yesterday. In a nutshell, I followed Millsy all the way up to Woolmer Green, whereupon he binned it on the ice, and I followed his bloodied carcass all the way back to London. My flabby core is so out of shape that it’s all achey today, and I’m saddle-sore into the bargain.
The hour approaches for my house move from North to South London. As is the way with house-hunting and flat-hunting and home-buying, last minute glitches and complications make the whole thing a nail-biting experience. However, it will happen. At some point in January I will be hauling my kit from Hornsey Lane N6 to West Norwood – SE27.
One of the reasons I headed south was the proximity to hills. Much as I love being close to Hampstead Heath and training on Regent’s Park and Swain’s Lane, there’s no contest between the quality of riding around say, Stevenage, and the riding around Sevenoaks (comparable distances away from Archway and West Norwood respectively). I’m already planning 3-hour training loops from my door to Toy’s Hill, for example:
Not to mention quick spins down to Brighton, training at Crystal Palace and Richmond Park, and the odd razz around the track at Herne Hill. The reality of all this outweighs a good chunk of my anxieties about buying and owning a property.
Millsy and I had a good ride out from Denham today. The weather was overcast, and a bit chilly even in 3/4 fleece-lined bibs and Rapha long sleeve.
We did 67 miles – longer than the distance on Google maps owing to an early map SNAFU on my part – in 4hrs 15. I felt OK, but as the hours wore on I was treated to an extended viewing of Millsy’s ass as he showed some solid form on the flat. I still had the edge over Whiteleaf Hill though.
In response to my shout out for a midnight blue Kona Lava Dome, Chris from Aldershot got in touch to offer me first refusal (or swapsies) on his purple weapon.
Unfortunately, according to the hazy pics on Bikepedia, I reckon this is 2002 vintage, officially after Kona lost the plot with its frame designs. Let’s keep it old-skool, Chris. But good luck with off-loading the rig – and nice shed by the way!
For the last 5 or so years of living in London, I’ve got by on a motley crew of unreliable commute bikes, piecing together old broken frames with hand-me-down componentry and bottom-dollar bits. I’ve only ever ridden nice, smooth bikes on the weekend. No longer.
Anyhow, I’ve now ridden the bike home. First impressions:
it’s heavy (frankly)
pretty wishy-washy steering BUT
it’s sturdy
it’s fast
the brakes are solid
it fits
The steering issue is probably more to do with my having ridden a bike with bent forks for 18 months, and I’ll get used to it over time. I’ve now fitted mudguards, SPDs and light mounts – bring on the autumn!
I passed this bike chained to a railing on Mortimer Street today. It was a near-mint condition 1995 Kona Lava Dome in midnight blue, the exact same bike I received for Christmas in 1995. This was the rig that truly launched my lifelong love of bikes and biking.
I’m just going to pause a moment to remember this bike, and how great it was (for me, and probably a generation of others):
the Lava Dome was – up until 2007, when it was mysteriously retired – the classic entry-level MTB in the Kona stable, RRP £500.
the 1995 version had stunning understated good looks (IMHO Kona’s paint jobs have just got gaudier – check out the offensive 2006 version, perhaps the reason why it didn’t sell and Kona withdrew it?).
the Tange Infinity cromoly double butted frame, with its signature sloping top tube and tight rear triangle, rode like a dream – it climbed well, it loved singletrack.
I had this bike for 11 years. A few highlights from its rise and fall:
1996: upgrade to Pace RC35 suspension forks
1996: 6 days bike touring in the Scottish highlands
1997: flew with me to Vancouver, Canada for a year of north shore trail-riding
1998: 24 hours of Adrenalin, Whistler, B.C.
1998: big bike tour down the west coast of the US, hitting some classic singletrack in Washington and Oregon
1998: frame bent on the flight back to UK, cannibalised for bits
1998-2001: frame hangs in my shed in Stoke
2002: the Lava Dome returns as a singlespeed hack for the streets of Edinburgh
2003-06: the hack moves to London
2006: after weeks of cracking, the frame snaps at the rear drive-side drop-out. The broken frame is deposited in a skip near Brick Lane.
Surveying the damage up close in 2006.
You can imagine the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced on seeing this bike in the street. Frankly, I was on the phone to somebody and had to hang up. I realised that I would pay over the odds to ride this bike again. If it’s yours, leave a comment!
View Kona Lava Dome in a larger map
I rode 90 minutes this morning when I was supposed to be working not cheating the week (ssshh, don’t tell work). I wanted to punish myself. 5 and a half weeks since the Marmotte and any really serious riding, and the layoff is getting to me. The first 3 weeks were OK – a relief in fact – but the last fortnight has been increasingly rough. Despite pinging it around town on the hack as often and as fast as possible, weekend commitments have kept me off the Wilier – stood reproachful, and a bit grubby, in my bedroom – and my general mood graph has recorded a marked slump.
Clearly, I need to set a new goal. Clearly, I need to get back on my bike, pronto. To this end I headed out today, aiming for a 6/4 Regent’s / Swain’s (in layman’s terms, 6 laps of regent’s Park followed by 4 hill repeats up Swain’s Lane. Here’s the graph:
I felt like my batteries were fairly flat from the start – even though my eating and sleeping have been fine over the last few days. In the end I managed 3/4, i.e. only 3 hard intervals on Regent’s Park. I was climbing OK, but my power output felt about 30% lower than I remember it being last time I did one of these sessions. Compare the above graph with a similar ride I did on June 24th, just prior to the Marmotte, or this one around Easter time. On both of these, I remember / blogged that I felt good, my heart rate went higher, and I did 5/6 or 6/6.
So evidently my top-end fitness has taken a hit over the last month or so, while my weight remains constant (or even slightly less, incredibly), my endurance is solid, and I can still climb. It seems like the most fragile, short-lived part of my form, that needs to be kept topped up lest it wane. It’s time to bring back the power.
Thanks to Christian for sharing this vintage Raleigh ad. I’m guessing it must date from the 50s or early 60s. Like the Coppi race bike I checked out a few months ago, it harks back to the days of full-steel frames with heavy lugs connecting the tubes. However, you can see lighter alloy componentry creeping in e.g. the rims, bar and stem. The gearing comes courtesy of a 5-speed Benelux rear cog twinned with a 48T Williams chainring. Finishing kit includes the classic ‘best buff’ Brooks leather saddle.
Truly a ride for the man who must lead the rest. And all for the princely sum of £37 16s.
Coolest bike shop sign in the world? Photo: RAPHA on Flickr
I’d like to visit Mellow Johnny’s one day. I like bike shops that try to be original, and that raise the bar in terms of design and customer experience. I like walking into a bike shop and being seduced by the stock on display. I like the atmosphere in there to feel like a club of initiates who aren’t snooty towards newcomers or those less knowledgeable.
Best bike shop in London? Possibly Condor. But I haven’t been to all of them. I’m probably not going to. What I may well do, from the comfort of my armchair, is try to find the world’s best bike shop website. I’ve reviewed some before: here’s a review of Condor’s old site – to be honest they still haven’t got it right; and of course there’s this one, the less said about the better.
So what about the criteria?
Attractive, coherent visual design
Easy navigation, product organisation etc.
Features – does the site aspire to be something other than an online flyer saying ‘we sell bikes’?
Seduction quality – I want to hit the home page and feel my debit card start to slip out of my wallet
