Saturday 17 February 2024

Barcelona cycle ride: Part 3 - Tibidabo and Sagrada Familia

After a ride around Montjuic, I then attempted the other great vista in Barcelona, Tibidabo, followed by a stopover at Sagrada Familia. I ran out of time to reach the summit, but it was still a pleasant if tough uphill ride.

Check out the route I took on Strava

Unlike Montjuic, this area is not in the heart of Barcelona, but it is a popular venue visited by walkers, joggers, on- and off-road cyclists, plus joggers. Set in the suburbs of Barcelona a trip to Tibidabo makes for a pleasant day trips given the pleasant trails and also the amusement park. 

So on a Friday afternoon I set off by bicycle from my lodgings, feeling a mixture of apprehension and excitement. The excitement was around discovering a new place to cycle, but knowing how high above the city this place is I was slightly apprehensive about how steeply the road would rise. At 512m above sea level Mount Tibidabo is the highest peak in the range of hills outside the city known as the Serra de Collserola. Would I have the legs or low enough gears to get up the ramp? Would it be like the Mur de Sormano in Italy, or Hardknott Pass in the Lake District?

Tibidabo skyline

On my previous visits to Barcelona I had not managed to get the time to go to Tibidabo. On public transport it's a bit of a trek as you have to get to the Avinguda Tibidabo by metro or local train, or bus and then pick up a funicular. When standing in the city, particularly to the North, the iconic view of the Sacrat Cor cathedral next to the vintage-style fairground rides look distinct, and evoke a kind of other-wordliness in a far-off land. Indeed the Tibidabo amusement park dates back to the early 1900s and is one of the oldest in Europe.

From my flat I passed through the neighbourhood of Saint-Andreu before riding along the very long Passeig Maragall, a road heading up north with a gradual uphill drag. Interestingly this road didn't have any cycle path, and so it was a question of me freestyling it along the road and keeping my eyes peeled for the many buses that would stop at the frequent bus stops. Despite the Friday afternoon traffic, I didn't feel particularly unsafe and motorists generally gave me a wide berth.

At Horta market, a signboard indicated for me to go straight on up a quiet but the slightly steep Carrer de Lisboa, which meant that I was that bit closer to my destination, as the signature big wheel and cathedral appeared bigger than it had done half an hour earlier. However, there would still be more climbing to do. Hopefully I would have the legs.

Eventually I reached the women and children's hospital at Vall d'Hebron. At this point I became aware I was quite on the outskirts of the city given the suburban feel of the area, and the city centre looked quite small down below in the distance. Even the Sagrada Familia, a behemoth of a monument in Barcelona looked small. Furthermore, I was on a slightly busy ring road characteristic of the edge of any city.

This was probably the most unpleasant part of my cycle ride as there was no cycle lane and I had no choice but to join the fast road. Thankfully it only lasted a couple of miles before I took a right-hand turn to get into the meaty part of the ride - climbing up the hill the Tibidabo.

Climbing stats for ascending Tibidabo from Barcelona

Folks that live around this residential area, Vall d'Hebron, must be pretty fit as you can't go anywhere without going up a steep hill. It was like a hardcore version of Crystal Palace - after all my neighbourhood in South London also has a park at the top of a hill, and a fairground at various times of the year!

So my work began by tackling the Carrer de la Enginyeria which round around through various hilly residential streets, which were actually a hive of activity given the slightly remote location. In fact this wasn't just a Friday - it was also the last day of school before the half-term holidays, and more importantly for the excited kids, it was carnival weekend. So the street was full of groups of children walking around wearing elaborate costumes - and there was I thinking it was their normal school uniform! 

This road wound round and round a few switchbacks with distinctively short sharp steep sections where I had to get out of the saddle and push hard. Thank goodness for 30-tooth sprockets on bikes!

Eventually I reached a point where the road levelled off and reached a car park where many people were pulling in to take part in different outdoor activities. It was a crossroads for various activities as some cyclists and joggers were arriving from downhill while others emerged from trails that were coming downhill. A few motorbikers arrived too. If I wanted to proceed further uphill I would have needed a mountain bike or gravel bike. In fact I saw a few mountain bikers doing just that. But on my road bike it would not have been possible, so at that point I rolled downhill. 

A ride all the way to the summit would have required for me to have left the main road at Vall d'Hebron to head towards Sant Cugat, then taken the longer road to reach the Mont Tibidabo. Unfortunately, just as with the previous day when I went to Montjuic, time was marching on and sunset was approaching. It's a shame as the area where I had to head downhill, Passeig de les Aigues, looked very picturesque with trails as well as beautiful vistas across the city.
My Canyon Endurace bike outside Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Wanting to be prudent, I decided to take the long twisty road back down to the city centre. 

It was necessary to pay attention on the descent, not just to watch out for other vehicles, but also the tramlines that were part of the funicular going to the summit. 

I'm sure many a cyclist riding up would wish they could throw their bike in the carriage and get a lift up!

After the long downhill my route arrived back at the roundabout at Vall d'Hebron from where I followed Avinguda de la Republica Argentina to the city centre, and made my way to Sagrada Familia, the centre piece landmark in Barcelona. 

I must say I find this cathedral incredibly impressive as it dominates all the other buildings in the city. Antonio Gaudi, the architect, must have had an incredibly expansive mind to have dreamed up this creation.

By the this time it was early evening and Barcelona was full of  tourists enjoying an early evening drink. (The locals probably wouldn't start their night out before 10pm!) 

It had been a very pleasant ride, even if I didn't get right up to Mont Tibidabo, but I hope to return there in the near future. I can't imagine I will be very fast given the gradients, and I must say that the guys who race up it sometimes at the end of a stage of the Tour of Catalonia professional cycle race are blooming impressive!
And for those who are brave enough to race it, there is a hill climb race that takes place on Tibidabo in November.

 
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Thursday 15 February 2024

Barcelona cycle ride: Part 2 - Up and over Montjuic and down to Port Vell

Kitted out with my hire bike, a Canyon Endurace from Terra Bike Tours, I did a couple of mini tours around Barcelona - My first ride was a short spin around Montjuic

Check out the route I took on Strava


I cycled out to Montjuic, a popular area with tourists. Its castel by the same name, and the Joan Miro museum at the top of the hill make it a draw already, and the vistas over Barcelona are stunning. Pedestrians can use the funicular to reach the top, while those of us pedalling rely on our quads.

My route to Montjuic and home via Port Vell

My ride to get there was practically all on segregated cycle lanes. I crossed the area of St Andreu, up some quiet streets through this rather arty neighbourhood of Barcelona, then I joined the Avinguda Meridiana, one of the principal axes through the city. The road itself is quite busy, but as a cyclist you are shielded from all of the traffic thanks to cycle lanes. Initially the lane passes close to the pavement and you have to pay attention as it sometimes juts right onto the pavement, weaving around recycling bins and bus stops.  Then soon the route crosses the road to put you onto the central reservation, which has a two-way cycle path bordered by trees. A lot of care has been taken to make this part of the itinerary pleasant for cyclists. 


At the bottom of the wide avenue comes a narrow less picturesque section bordered by construction railings as it passes Gran Clariana park to reach Avinguda Diagonal where there are various building works in progress (as described in my previous post). 

A typical cycle lane in Barcelona

A short stint along Diagonal, a main thoroughfare that runs through Barcelona from south-west to north-east, led to another road called Carrer de la Diputacio which seemed to continue forever, passing through various neighbourhoods and landmarks. The beauty of it was there was a parallel cycle lane the whole way along, and a well-used one at that.

I knew I would have to turn left at some point, but it wasn't clear when. Although it's great to have lots of cycle lanes and special bike traffic lights, not putting up sign boards to indicate the route to the most famous landmarks and neighbourhoods was a significant omission. Who knows, maybe it was a deliberate ploy to not flood the cycle lanes with local riders and tourists. I seem to  recall when the local authority first introduced the city bikesharing scheme it was only open to those who had proof of residency in Barcelona.

With the help of Google map I found the correct turning to head towards Montjuic. There was no cycle path for this part of the route at Carrer Vilamari and Carrer Lleida which ran uphill past the Barcelona Teatre Musical, but the road was comparatively quiet. At this point I began to see the first of a few other brave souls like myself who had opted to take on this climb to the highest point in Central Barcelona. 

My hire bike from Terra Bike Tours - Canyon Endurace WMN Disc AL 7.0

The last time I was here I had taken the funicular to reach the summit, and marvelled at those who had walked or cycled all the way up. And 15 years on, here I was taking on the same challenge. 

I must say it didn't actually feel as tough as I had expected. My hire bike, a Canyon Endurace felt very comfortable to ride on this terrain. It was light and responsive as I pushed on the pedals. In fact I didn’t have to press that hard, as the gears were low enough to just twiddle up the hill comfortably. Sure, it was possible to use a harder gear and make an out-of-the-saddle effort, but I was feeling slightly tired after my early start, so wanted to take things easily. I was glad to have had this bike to do the job. 

Montjuic is a popular climb with road cyclists, and professional cycle races have taken place there over the years. In the 1960s and 70s Eddie Merckx won the famous Escalada A Montjuic cycle race many times. More recently Montjuic has been included in the Vuelta a Espana, the Tour de France in 2009, and a couple of editions of the World Road Race Championships too.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints I couldn't hang around long at Montjuic as sunset was approaching and I didn't want to get back to my lodgings too late. I was able to quickly check out the various ornamental gardens and certain landmarks - the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Ethnology and a museum of archeology, as well as various Olympic sport venues. The place looked very neat and prim, set among buildings with a mixture of modern and catalan modernism architecture, set among stone pine trees.

Being up at Montjuic was like being in a large fortress surveying the city, ready to spot any unwelcome advances. In some ways it reminded me of Edinburgh when at the castle, or on the other side of the city, at Holyrood. Sadly I only had mental picture memories to take with me of Montjuic as I didn't even have time to take any photos. 

My ride finished with an enjoyable, long, sweeping descent to Plaza España, and then the homeward bound trip via another principal axis with a central reservation cycle lane, Carrer Paral-lel, and onwards through the old port, Port Vell.


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Tuesday 13 February 2024

Barcelona cycle ride: Part 1 - Picking up my hire bike

I decided to do a city break in Barcelona and while there I would rediscover the area by bicycle. That's my preferred way of getting around any place I visit. Taking my bike on a flight wasn't worth doing for just a weekend, so I managed to hire a nice road bike and check out the city, using its various bike lanes.


On a long weekend to Barcelona I couldn't pass on the opportunity to get out on a bicycle. Barcelona is pretty bike-friendly too.

It's been a long time since I was last in the capital of Catalunya - probably about 15 years ago. I don't know why I left it so long before returning, The city has a laid back atmosphere, coupled with an artistic vibe which I guess is in no small part influenced by its most famous son (after Pep Guardiola), Antonio Gaudi.

I remember on my very first trip, being impressed by the Casa Batllo and La Pedrera-Casa Mila, especially when I got on the roof of the latter. Of course I walked around his opus magnus, the Sagrada Familia cathedral - which was then probably the most touristic building site in the world!

Anyway, after all this time I was happy to return to Barcelona, and hopefully visit the surrounding area too.

Whenever I visit a city I try and get around by bicycle - either with my own bike or a hired one. Given that I generally only spend a few days away and the cost to transport a bike on a flight can be over £90, hiring would be a no-brainer. 

After a quick Google search I identified a couple of companies to hire from. Given that it was February I figured it wouldn't be a problem finding a bike at short notice. So I emailed the company, Terra Bike Tours while in the airport lounge at Gatwick Airport. 

By the time I touched down at El Prat de Llobregat I had received a reply saying that the women's specific bike of my exact size (2XS) was not available, but I could try the XS which they did have. That slightly surprised me, but I was willing to give the XS a go.

As soon as I had checked into my apartment to the East of Barcelona, I hurried across to Terra Bike Tours, in the heart of the city before they closed for lunch, and tried out the Canyon Endurace they had set aside for me.

It felt fine for, so we did the paperwork and the mechanic put on my Look pedals and pumped up the tyres, ready for use.

Xavi the sales assistant told me I shouldn't have problems with punctures as the roads were of smooth quality and without much débris. That was reassuring to hear given that my run of punctures of late in London had made me quite pernickety about keeping tyre pressures high. He reckoned I only needed 90PSI in the tyres but for peace of mind I asked him to go to at least 100 PSI.  

As well as Terra Bikes being a bike shop, they also organise cycle tours around the city and club rides in the surrounding areas. So very helpfully Xavi gave me the QR code to download routes from the members section of their website, and talked through a few of them. 

When I told him I was hoping to ride to the nearby seaside town of Sitges he made a point of strongly advising me not to do so because the road is narrow, busy and with fast traffic. It's not even a route they include among their itineraries.

"It's really not a nice route, I must tell you," he warned. It would be better to catch the train for part of it to the less busy section of the road, and go to the other side of Sitges."  

He continued advising me that if a coastal ride was what I was looking for it would be better to head in the opposite direction, towards Girona.

Another customer in the shop, a local guy, joined in the conversation and added his opinion, saying to avoid cycling towards Sitges. He knew of people who had been hit by a car cycling that way. 

So it was clear, Sitges was off the menu - at least by bike. Given that it was almost 2pm and I hadn't eaten since early that morning it was unlikely I'd be riding out much further than the city limits so riding to Sitges or along any coastline became academic.  

I paid my 70 euros for 2 days' hire and we wished each other a good day before I hit the city streets of Barcelona. Unfortunately because they don't open on Sundays and my flight back to London would be first thing on Monday morning I had to bring back the bicycle on Saturday and hope I could find an alternative bike hire place for Sunday.

For the afternoon my itinerary would be fairly basic - just a discovery ride around the local neighbourhoods of Barcelona - more like a rediscovery ride.

On previous trips I had ridden around the city to reach Sants train station and also the Port when I sailed to Mallorca once. 

My recollection was that the roads were okay - no worse than Central London, though the motorists would generally give cyclists more space - which is always a good thing. 

The main difference on this trip was that the city council, like many city councils around the world, had splurged out on cycle lanes - lovely smooth cycle lanes with no débris in them, and cyclist traffic lights. Many roads in central Barcelona are one-way streets and the cycle paths generally follow the same direction. But there are some streets with two-way cycle traffic within a cycle lane, like what you see in central London on Park Lane, or along the River Thames at Westminster.  So that makes it handy that you don't have to navigate the one-way streets network. 

The cycle paths network was still under construction in places, so at times you were randomly dumped into the road, or would have to ride on narrow sections of path between building site railings.

One of the main roads, Diagonal, notably near the park by the same name, was a building site. When riding down the narrow path among all the various cyclists and e-cyclists and scooters either privately owned or from the city transport sharing scheme all travelling at vastly varying speeds, you had to pay attention. But I'm sure it'll be great when it's completed. Another main road, Avinguda Meridiana was one I used a lot and that had a two-way cycle lane down the central reservation and was bordered with trees. Again, it wasn't complete but will be a great lane eventually, especially as it's a lovely downhill to the heart of the city.

My focus was on getting back to my lodgings near Sant Andreu, resting up and grabbing some lunch before going out again to Montjuic.


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Tuesday 30 January 2024

Operation Etape du Tour: January update

In my third month of preparing for the Etape du Tour, January was a bit of a challenge as I had a wobble in my commit to the cause and I ended up playing catch-up to get in the miles - in the dark, damp weather

My ride around South London took me out past Hampton Court Palace

I am beginning to step up my training for this year's Etape du Tour. It still seems a long way off though, and in these dreary winter days it's hard to imagine riding in brilliant sunshine over lovely dry roads through the countryside or National Parks in the UK or beyond. A lot of my riding has been done in darkness or semi-darkness, on damp suburban streets of London, and only venturing into the countryside on the odd ride.

As much as I would rather ride outdoors than in the rarefied virtual world of a smart turbotrainer, riding outdoors still has its challenges and frustrations to deal with. 

So this is how I've been doing my riding in January. Firstly, I ride alone. I find it hard to join in with club runs because my daily schedule is a movable feast. I like to have flexibility in when and how I do things, as well as where I go. 

My cycling club has a system of signing up for a ride via RiderHQ, a platform for signing up to sports events. As it's a big club the rides can sometimes get fully booked as they want to limit the size of groups on a road. That's understandable. So that means for me, that if I sign up for a ride I should commit to going, or go online to remove my name, and thus free up the space for another club member - which I must admit is a palava. The thing is, I just like things old skool - wake up in the morning, see if the sun's shining. Go if it's a nice day, or do something else if the day looks dodgy.

As someone who is generally motivated and a self-starter, I don't need the pull of a group or someone else to get me out on a ride. I've taken myself out on rides since I was in my late teens, so at the age of 54 I'm unlikely to stop doing that now!

As someone who is a bit of a map geek I know the roads around my local area, so am capable of planning myself a route, and maybe discovering new ones too. So I don't need to have a group leader showing me which way to go.

So ultimately, I am happy enough to decide when and where I go on a ride. The whole concept of signing up onto RiderHQ and committing to turn up at the bike shop meet-up point at a given moment on a Sunday morning come rain or shine has all the charm of wearing a straight jacket. My working week is full of appointments and deadlines, so the weekends need to be more chilled and laid back.

So with all that, I do my own rides on my own, deciding the day before, on the day itself, or even during the ride on where to go, and I am happy enough to say hello to other riders that I see along the way. For me, it's freedom and it's bliss!

Spotting other Sunday morning riders at Kingston Bridge

Secondly, I do my rides at slightly unsocial times. As a person who has a tendency to take on various activities, I need to optimise on the hours of the day. I prefer to do sporty things first thing in the morning - like as soon as I wake up. It's the purest time of the day. No one to disturb you, and I feel at my most motivated and energised. So for me, that means 5am - sometimes even before that. So that's when I've taken to going out. 

The London streets are great. There's hardly any traffic - just Uber drivers, a few black cabs, the odd night bus. When cycling through Central London at that time the traffic lights are generally with me, so I hardly have to stop - which is handy for someone who is not a red-light jumper.

You get to see a bit of London life too - the fox community, clubbers tipping out at Vauxhall or Brixton, lovers tiffs, all the action at the 24hour grocers or the kebab shops. During the week, I say hello to the dustmen and I can learn the different days when the different London boroughs do their refuse collections!

In the early mornings  I prefer to ride through London rather than in the country lanes which are unlit and for which I don't have suitable lights. For me, the Royal Parks serve as a great place to do laps - be it the cycle path around Hyde Park, the loop of Regents Park, or the very Royal loop around St James's Park, taking in The Mall, Birdcage Walk, and Horse Guards Road. 

So, even if I did think about doing a club run it'd have to be one that does this sort of itinerary at this time of the day. I am not aware of any cycle clubs that do that.

So that has been my riding I've been doing in January, with a few rides out to another Royal Park, Richmond Park, when I break a habit and decide to ride during daylight hours.

My routine consists of doing a hilly ride on the local hills around Crystal Palace, a fast ride through Regents Park, and then medium paced rides around Cator Park, Crystal Palace, Park or Dulwich Park, plus rides around the Bromley and Beckenham suburbs. The aim was to get in 600km for this month.

The only issue was I did suffer a little wobble in early January and I came very close to deciding not to ride the Etape du Tour and just giving myself a quiet life, tootling around doing leisure rides. Sometimes getting motivated to ride frequently when the weather is rubbish and you get punctures can be demoralising and sucks the joy out of bike riding. As mentioned before, I am not cut out for indoor cycling. But in the end, the fire in my belly wouldn't let me give up on targeting this epic ride through the Alpes-Maritimes, so I got my act together.

Roehampton Gate Cafe at Richmond Park

Once I regained my resolve, that left me with around 300km to ride within around five days. For some, that may not seem an unreasonable distance to cover if your days are free from other activities like going to work and getting on with the every day chores of life. But with full-on days at the advertising agency I was working at it was quite a tall order.

But by putting in place a strict plan of starting rides even earlier than 5am, and fitting in rides at lunchtime and in the evenings, I somehow managed it. There were a few rides done when it was pretty gusty as January seemed to have one gale-force wind storm after another, and there were a few drizzly days too. But my determination got me through. 

I was happy to have gotten in a 100km ride as well, when I did a big suburban ride around South-West London, going past Hampton Court and out to Walton-on-Thames, and then heading into South-East London into Greenwich and Lewisham. It was one of the few days where there was wall to wall sunshine, the day was dry and there was no wind or rain. Lots of cyclists were out too, and there was a genuine feelgood factor, especially at Richmond Park, as always.

My South London ride took me to the South-East corner of London to Greenwich

Achieving the 600km has emboldened me to know I am capable of dedicating myself to quality training rides, and hopefully I will be able to build on that over the coming months.


Related posts

The sound tha sucks the joy out of cycling - the puncture fairy

Etape du Tour comes to Nice and I'm riding it (hopefully)!

Another cycling mission for 2024 - Fred Whitton Challenge 

Thursday 25 January 2024

The sound that sucks the joy out of cycling - the puncture fairy

Getting punctures can be one of the most frustrating things when out cycling, particularly over the winter months. I had so many punctures that I almost gave up my bike rides. But a hunger to ride the Etape du Tour kept me going.


I must say, I have had a wobble in my preparation for the Etape du Tour. I am normally pretty motivated in the things I do, but my patience has been tested recently. 

Over the Christmas period and in the early part of January my rides have been plagued with punctures. The wet conditions have just led to ride after ride being interrupted, even aborted due to a puncture. 

Punctures: they happen and they're frustrating 

I don't enjoy my rides as I even feel anxious when riding. Every time I go over a bump or see broken glass I feel stressed thinking, this is it - ride over. And of course it then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when that heart-sink moment comes, as the bike suddenly becomes sluggish to handle, and I see that the tyre - usually the rear one - has gone down like a failed meringue.

That happened on Christmas Eve while I was out in the lanes at Cudham. After folornly changing the inner tube, I decided I no longer wanted to continue along these damp roads on a tyre with a sub-optimal amount of air. (I am not physically capable of pumping a tyre up to 90 psi with a hand pump.) So, with Dunton Green just being a short distance after Star Hill I rolled down to the station and wended my way home, thanks to Souteastern Trains, via Sevenoaks and Orpington.

I then got another puncture on Boxing Day, this time in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill. With it being local, and in any case having no choice due to no trains running on this public holiday, I hobbled home. Thankfully I salvaged the ride session by picking up my cyclocross and doing a comparatively stress free, albeit more energy taxing ride on fatter tyres.

There had been other puncture incidents in Hyde Park,  and at Elmers End, too. This compares with previous years when I might have had just one puncture a year if that. 

Putting on new Continental tyres for front and rear wheels hadn't made much difference. It's not necessarily a negative reflection on the tyres, but probably more an illustration of the condition of the debris-covered and pot-hole infested roads these days. It's not helped by the fact that our roads are almost permanently damp with all the rain we've had over winter. 

My road bike is a bit "old skool" with no disc brakes, and the wheels aren't set up to hold tubeless tyres. So I may just have to suck it up - which sadly also leads to the joy of cycling being sucked out of me.

Given that there are other sporting activities I like to do like running, swimming, or even ice-skating, all of which are low maintenance and don't require hours of practice, it would be easy enough to ditch the bike for a hassle-free activity. After all, I do cycling for my enjoyment. There's no fun in sitting at the side of the road in the wind and rain fixing punctures.

So I decided not to do anymore riding for the time being. For about a week I felt quite relieved to not have to get out and ride during these dreary winter days, and was happy to hear about my sporting mates' tales of derring-do from the warmth of my home, while looking at their records on the Strava app. I was looking forward to spending Sunday mornings going for a mini run, followed by playing my flute or clarinet, and maybe doing some crochet or reading a book. 

But of course there was the small matter of the Etape du Tour which I had entered and paid for, along with all the other logistics, and more importantly my friend Angie with whom I had organised to do it with. I didn't want to let her down, particularly as I was the one who had been going on about what a great event it is.

Deep down, I wanted in. I wanted to be part of that massive merry band of 10,000+ riders wending our way through the Alpes-Maritimes, one of my favourite parts of the world. 

Also being in my mid-50s you don't know how much longer you will be fit for. There are lots of illnesses or other things that can suddenly generate from here on in. Sadly, a few people I know have even died suddenly. 

Without wanting to go any further down the morbidity road, I'll just say the whole carpe diem spirit began to wash over me and I realised I do want to ride the Etape du Tour and give it my best shot. So I will get in some miles for January.

What I decided for January and February would be to ditched the road bike and do all my rides on the cyclocross bike.

So that's what I've been doing. It's not ideal given the sluggishness of the bike on the road, but it's better than nothing, and is probably making me stronger - which isn't a bad thing.

Related posts 

Operation Etape du Tour: December update 

Freewheeling: Why I'd rather ride outdoors than use Zwift - even in mid-winter

Operation Etape du Tour: Understanding the challenge 

Tuesday 16 January 2024

Freewheeling: Why I'd rather ride outdoors than use Zwift - even in mid-winter

It's that time of year when the all we want to do is curl up in a ball and hibernate until March.

The Christmas holidays are a distant memory, and we are too far away from Spring to have things to look forward to.

Things aren't helped by this freezing weather. We've been shrouded in this cold blast from the north, as the mercury barely rose above zero. 

So, for many folks based in the Northern hemisphere that would only mean one thing - Zwift. That form of e-sport cycling in which folks ride their bikes while hooked onto a turbo trainer and smart app simulating an outdoor ride has been a mainstay for millions of riders.

Initially folks could follow training intervals and do cadence/power reps. This gave rise to Zwift Academy in which folks could do a series of rounds of speed and power tests with the ultimate winner getting a professional racing contract with Canyon-SRAM (for women) or Alpecin Fenix (for men).

The app also simulates various well-known cycle routes and climbs so you can get to ride routes like Alpe d'Huez or the World Championships course without ever going there.

Zwift came into its own during the Covid lockdown when riders could do the Tour de France or Giro d'Italia virtually. Then local races were set up between more average riders. To add even more authenticity, folks have avatars of themselves racing on their computer generated bikes. If you don't ride or race along a known course you can go for a ride in fictional places like Watopia and the Makuri Islands.

And for a star-studded experience you can attend one of the many social bike rides with famous pro cyclists like Geraint Thomas, or even with the whole of the SD Worx women's team.

This e-sport cycling has become so commonplace that the Union Cycliste Internationale, has established the World E-Sport Cycling Championships, and have introduced regulations to prevent against cheating.

The whole set-up sounds great. Why worry your head about getting your gear on, braving the elements, maybe having to repair a puncture or even get into a "discussion" with an irate motorist when you can stay in the comfort of your own home, watching these avatar racers and listening to your favourite music? You can have that for the price of your favourite designer winter cycling kit - Le Col, Rapha, Pas Normal Studios etc.

It's really handy isn't it? Well, I must say all this indoor cycling isn't for me really. 

I am very much a firm believer in riding outdoors. True it can be challenging trying to find a decent day to ride when your fingers and toes don't go numb. Furthermore, the chance of punctures shoots up when riding on damp debris-covered roads you get a lot in winter - and frustratingly I have had a few. 

But despite all that, I must say I like the feel of the road under my wheels. Even if Zwift can replicate routes and gradients, it can't quite simulate the feel of a rough road, a head wind or street furniture, and of course other road users. I feel if I spent time on Zwift I would lose the ability to deal with that.

For me, all those rough and ready elements are part of the fun and adventure of cycling. It also improves my road craft when riding - be it when commuting or racing.

A couple of people I follow on Strava ride exclusively on Zwift. Then there is the odd day when they attempt to cycle outdoors, only to abandon their ride because they were terrified of the traffic. That's clearly the downside to riding in a virtual world. So for me, that can't be a great advert for Zwift. I would definitely avoiding that rider if they turned up at a road race or group ride I am doing as well. They'd be too much of a liability.

So, as much as Zwift provides the benefits and fun moments I mentioned above, I will always opt to keep my cycling firmly in the real world!

Sunday 31 December 2023

2023 over and out - hoping for more in 2024

2023 was not a bad vintage. It wasn’t brilliant, but at least nothing dreadful happened - a positive thing in these unsettled times. I did a few things, though hope to do more in 2024.

So here we are at the end of another year, feeling slightly full up with left over festive food and Prosecco, heading that bit further out of middle age and into older age. My bones and joints are beginning to tell me, as such. Well, I had a sports injury which refused to go away for the first five months of this year. Sure, that happened when I was 26, but back then in 1995 sports injury treatment was a relatively new thing.  Almost 30 years of adopting the various and evolving techniques, my worn out knees are becoming less and less responsive to the typical RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) methods. They just groan, creak, and stay stiff. The wood rot is setting in. That has been quite frustrating. 

Thankfully, after a few physiotherapy and podiatry trips I recovered enough to be able to take part in the Paris Triathlon, Paris-Versailles Grande Classique running race, and the Ötillö Cannes SwimRun, my first such event abroad.

I also got up to Scotland during the World Cycling Championships and swam in Loch Lomond. Then I went on to Edinburgh and swam at Portobello Beach and ran around Holyrood and Salisbury Crags.

I feel blessed to still be able to do these activities and maintain reasonably good health - something I don't ever take for granted.

Through sports I made a couple of new connections, notably at the SwimRun, where I met some friendly women from Lyon, with whom I enjoyed a good time on that glorious day on the Côte d'Azur. I hope to see them again in 2024 at another event. 

Away from the sports field I got more into language speaking, by keeping up my conversation exchanges. There were my Italian partners - Ilaria from Milan and Alessandro from Rome, plus my Spanish contact, David from Burgos. As for French, I became more integrated into my French conversation group and got to know the folks better. I think Michèle had a great idea setting up this group, and I have gotten to know Deborah, John, Monika, Nick, Pamela, Paul, and Sonja a bit better. We have our own little group in South London, and that makes a big difference to have folks to socialise with locally.

Music continued to feature in my everyday life too - more specifically, making music. Although I regularly played my clarinet and my flute, I feel that my level plateaued. I only did one concert in 2023 - at Fairfield Halls, Croydon with my local symphonic band. Then I bombed out of doing the other dates. The concerts with my folk band clashed with other things I had planned, and the concerts with my concert band were hampered by unfavourable conditions for me. I must admit that as much as I enjoy playing in community bands I realise I am not prepared to play in the rain, in the freezing cold, or in blazing heat with no shade! I also like to play either before or after a decent meal. This might sound a bit "I don't do stairs" à la Mariah Carey (!) but I need to keep in mind certain fundamentals. I pay for the pleasure of playing my musical instruments in these bands. So pleasure is what I intend to get. I can't see that happening on a miserable winter's day like what we had between October and December. Also I don't feel comfortable being in a band where the leader thinks it's okay to accept those conditions for its players. So I think 2024 will be a year of new beginnings, and hopefully good progress on the music front.  

Work has been steady, with no new type of project done. That has been remiss of me for not getting properly organised. I did too much coasting along in 2023, and not enough striking out. I hope to do more of that next year. I have always been one to see the opportunities presented to us in the free world we live in, and take up those opportunities. Folks in many parts of the world just don't get the chance to do what we are able to do in the UK and other economically developed countries. So I don't like to pass over those moments. 

Still, I did a few things. My medical copywriting ticked along, and so did the cycling journalism. I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to interview the Amaury siblings at their headquarters in the west of Paris. Jean-Etienne and Aurore between them (with input from their mother Marie-Odile) head up big name brands like the Tour de France, Le Dakar (formerly Paris Dakar) and L'Equipe newspaper. These family directors hardly ever give interviews to any media - French or international. So I was very honoured to have done the interview with them for Rouleur magazine. This came on the back of the interview I did with Marie-Odile Amaury in 2021 for Cyclist magazine. Another person I interviewed, also for Rouleur, was Amina Lanaya, second in command at the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling's world governing body. I even got to do a bit of modelling, when I did a photoshoot for Brompton cycles.

Getting out and doing things has become more important to me as I get older. Every second week the newsreaders announce the death of yet another person from my era - people that formed the tapestry of my life - even if I didn't meet them. Of course in 2022 we lost Queen Elizabeth II, which was nevertheless very sad even though it was imminent. At the end of that year we lost Pele, and also Vivienne Westwood whom I did meet - and that trend of folks exiting the world stage has continued with increasing frequency. I was saddened when Friends star Matthew Perry died. (Caveat: I read Friends, Lovers, and that Big Terrible Thing at the start of this year and was so shocked to learn about the extent of his substance addiction I was amazed he was still alive.) He was the same age as me. He's actually six months younger than me, though his co-star Jennifer Aniston shares exactly the same birthday as me. There is something disconcerting about folks of a similar vintage to yourself dying. I felt the same about Sinead O'Connor's passing.

Then there were household names like Tina Turner, Terry Venables, John Mottson, Henry Kissinger and George Alagiah.

In cycling Tijl de Decker aged 22, and Gino Mäder aged 26, died in cycling accidents, and also incredibly shocking and tragic was the death of Melissa Hoskins aged 32, who was killed in what appears to be a domestic incident with her husband.

I was also very sad to see the demise of a fellow local cycle racer, Tabitha Rendall, succumb to bowel cancer in the space of four months - just aged 52.

Reading about so many people of various ages passing away makes me think about my own mortality. I don't want to get too morbid about things here, as I help myself to another glass of Prosecco while watching the Jools Holland Hootenanny on TV. But before we do the 10-second countdown to 2024, I want to just say no one knows what's around the corner, so I just want to do what I can to write that book or do the round the world trip or any other bucket list stuff before exit day comes. 

That round the world trip could even be done on two wheels, as I made progress with my motorbiking when I got my A1 license earlier this year. I even went to a couple of biker meets in Surrey, and next year I hope to go further afield in the UK and even to France. Some say it might be a typical mid-life crisis thing to do, but I say Carpe Diem!

So in short, 2023 was not a bad year. I did a few good things, and there were a few fun moments. I am not one for New Year's resolutions, and just prefer to change habits in an organic progressive way. I do hope to do more in 2024. 

Happy New Year!