Return of the Flying Scotsman

Posted on March 27, 2012 by admin

Most of you should have heard of Graeme Obree’s upcoming attempt on the World human-powered vehicle land-speed record. If you haven’t, watch this video. And if you have, also watch this video, because Graeme is brilliant.

Return of the Flying Scotsman: inside the mind of Graeme Obree from Humans Invent on Vimeo.

It’s like time trialling but without the UCI regulations on bike dimensions. Without restrictions, the type of bike that you tend towards is a recumbent with full aerodynamic faring, an ideal outlet for Obree’s design innovation and creativity. Speeds of up to 80mph can be reached and if conditions are right he hopes to hit 100mph.

If you’ve got time for a more in-depth listen, check out this audio from Jack Thurston of The Bike Show, during Graeme’s visit to Look Mum No Hands cafe in London. Graeme goes into detail about the land speed record as well as topics like motivation, training, nutrition and more.

And you can see Graeme speak in person at Stirling University this Wednesday, 28th March at the Pathfoot Building. It’s free, followed by a screening of Chasing Legends at the Macrobert cinema.

Juniors Kyle Petrie and Callum Foster make things happen

Posted on March 26, 2012 by admin

After first-year junior Tom Arnstein‘s win at the Gifford A-Race I noticed a couple of strong performances in the Fenwick APR. Not a win but good rides from a couple of young guys that I thought I would give some recognition.

As a 34-year-old ‘trier’ I always tell myself ‘next year will be better’. ‘I’ll get a good winter in, improve my bike, lose another kilo and get a bit faster’. But family life just isn’t conducive to consistent training and the other problem is that every year, a crop of strong juniors come along and overtake you pretty rapidly (metaphorically as well as on the road).

The youngsters don’t just have youth and good health on their side- they can race cleverly and use their heads as Tom showed at Gifford.

What impressed me from the brief report from the Fenwick APR by Stirling BC rider Kyle Petrie was that he had made a plan before the race, and worked with another rider, Calum Foster of Team Leslie Bike Shop, to force a split. It’s not about turning up and see what will happen.

It was a really hard race, more lumpy than I’d prefer but I surprised myself a bit. I felt relaxed to begin with and just tried to stay at the front and away from trouble (and punctures) and I was feeling quite good.

Kyle Petrie comfortable in his group before the move went
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Michael Nicolson – Belgium

Posted on March 24, 2012 by admin

Lifted from the Braveheart forum comes this race report from Michael Nicolson who rides for the Flanders team. Many of my blog readers will have seen this but I thought it was so good I wanted to push it out a bit more widely. Michael’s honesty and touches of humour make this a brilliant write-up, and gives you a sense of the rough and tumble and furious pace of racing in Belgium.

Getting out to Belgium is a way to progress a career in bike racing if you don’t get picked up by the National talent team. There are several races a week. Scottish riders have done this since the 50s and it’s still one of the best ways to test yourself at the highest amateur/semi-pro level available.

Michael at Gifford 2012
image © Ian Henderson
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I managed to get 4th the other day in Stekene.
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Alex Coutts, Team RTS Racing

Posted on March 3, 2012 by admin

Scottish rider Alex Coutts is riding the 2012 season with RTS Racing in the far east and often with this blog, posting a piece is a case of finding out about a rider, past or present, and sharing it with the readers. Alex is one who I did not know much about before now.

Alex riding grass track alongside Evan Oliphant on a foray back home.
image: Martin Steele

The Veloveritas site, formerly Veloresults has been on the case with an interview in 2010, where I learnt he has been a pro with Continental teams since 2002.

He has spent time racing in Belgium, France and Italy, most recently for Giant Kenda Pro Cycling – you can read some of his diaries going back through the past few years on a blog section of his shop site. Last year he opened a cycle shop in Burntisland in Fife.

This year he is with RTS Racing- his new team is sponsored by RTS Carbon, a frameset and wheel manufacturer established in Spain in 2005, but which has a far-eastern focus and is owned by Giant Asia’s manager. The company sells its own frames and bikes, made in the same factory as Giant.

He rode the Tour de Langkawi, a 10-day, UCI 2.HC stage race in Malaysia. With RTS Racing being a Tiawanese team, this is clearly a big goal for them.

Although there is only one major climbing stage, the day to Genting Highlands, the Tour’s length at 10 stages, the tropical heat and the level of competition make this a tough race.

As of today, Alex was 44th on GC at 15 minutes, with his Australian teammate Jai Crawford 13th at 5 minutes. The top 2 spots are occupied by Jose Serpa and Jose Rujano, a Colombian and a Venezuaelan for the Androni Giocattoli team.

Yesterday teammate Chin Lung Huang got into a break of 5, who were only allowed a short lead by Farnese Vini, for whom Andrea Guardini leads the points classification, and it came down to a sprint finish which seems customary for this race.

The team’s other events are in the Middle East and Far East with the Tours of Qinghai Lake (UCI 2.HC) and Tour of China (UCI 2.1) stage races coming in July and September.

Alex also started the Tour of Oman, one of the tune-up races for the Spring Classics, which sees lots of World Tour riders sharpening up the legs for Belgium and Northern France. He completed the 6-stage race 59th on GC at 10 minutes. It was won by Slovakian Peter Velits of Omega Pharma-Quickstep, and the race saw sprint duels between Greipel, Kittel and Sagan, who won the points overall.

Veloveritas/Veloresults have the professionally produced pieces if you want to read up on Alex- writers Martin Williamson, Ed Hood and Al Hamilton have some good pieces here:
Riding with Flanders- 2007

In Asia- 2008
Tour of Thailand winner

Scottish Cycling Foods: protein recovery Flapjack recipe

Posted on February 15, 2012 by admin

After posting about Graeme Obree’s low-fi energy food recently, you may end up ‘breathing in crumbs’, to borrow a phrase of his, with this recipe.

The recipe is the creation of my brother, who spends his spare time mountain biking and back-country skiing in Switzerland, when he isn’t trying out the trails of Borneo.

The addition of protein powder certainly makes it more of a recovery food than race fuel, but having tested it on the reliability rides this month it is good on-ride winter fodder if you nibble in small quantities, or is ideal for carrying as an insurance policy against the dreaded bonk.

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Joe Christison, Edinburgh Comet RC 1950s

Posted on February 13, 2012 by admin

Courtesy of Jennie Wells comes an image of Joe Christison of the Edinburgh Comet RC lining up for the start of a race.

There is a great set of images of the Edinburgh Comet RC riders in the 1950s – click through and explore them. Jennie’s father is John Gilliatt, who raced along with Joe Christison.

Joe Christison and Ian Greenfield

Joe Christison is pictured above- a rider who it seems little is known, these days, which does not seem commensurate with his ability. I blogged about his story in a post last year- Tour-racing.co.uk republished some archive articles about his lost chance to go to the Grand Prix des Nations– back then then the unofficial World Championship time trial.

Click through for my post, and the piece on tour-racing.co.uk – interesting story.

On the Braveheart Forum, former pro and recently-retired race organiser Jimmy Rae commented:

I remember as a junior riding out to the Tour de Trossachs 1953 with my clubmates in the Thistle and watch Joe winning, knocked he minutes off the course record, I followed his career and witness the sad demise of the pro and independent class, The last time I raced with Joe was in the the Tour of Scotland in 1958, I was in the race wining break with him and John Lackey, Joe offered to work and help me win the race which contained all the Empire Games riders.

Information is required for identifying the riders in the photos – please help if you can.

Scottish Cycling Foods IV: Marzipan

Posted on February 10, 2012 by admin

“We have evolved to eat food” said Graham Obree at a recent talk at Look Mum No Hands cycling café in the East End of London. He was speaking to Jack Thurston of The Bike Show to promote his new training manual, The Obree Way.

Energy drinks can be indigestible– you’re bypassing the first stage of digestion which takes place in the mouth, and with energy bars you end up breathing in crumbs.

So his ingeniously low-fi solution for energy food is a lump of marzipan in the cheek, hamster-style, that can dissolve and be munched on gradually as you ride. “How can you not like marzipan?” he asks, rhetorically, at the talk.

It is well worth a listen, click through to the Bike Show website and scroll to the bottom for the audio. It’s also availble on iTunes as a podcast download.

Scottish cycling foods III: Tunnocks
Scottish Cycling foods II: Irn Bru
Scottish Cycling foods I: Oatcakes
Euro Foods

Scotland’s unique time trialling stuation

Posted on February 9, 2012 by admin

February sees the first time trials of the season, the Ice Breaker 2-up, followed by the 3-up in Musselburgh in March- both races can be windy and cold affairs and the shelter of a team-mate or two to draft behind is essential. These team time trials open the year, with 10 mile races dominating the calendar in March and April before the longer 25s and 50s come in. Early on there are a couple of mountain TTs with the Knockhill Mountain Time Trial and the Tour of the Meldons, amd then much later in the season a couple more classic hilly TTs: the Tours of the Campsies and Trossachs, and finally the hill climbs starting around September. We have a lot of time trials.

The good news for any Scottish amateurs who have invested in top-end kit in the past few years, is that. Scottish Cycling won’t be adopting the new UCI regulations for the specification of time trial bikes. The bad news is that they will be phased in over the coming years. So a bike like with the Specialised Shiv nosecone below wouldn’t be allowed.

The UCI now specifies some pretty restricive technical regulations about time trial bikes, and as Scottish Cycling is the internationally recognised governing body for cycle sport in Scotland it would normally be subject to the UCI technical regulations for time trial bikes.
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Focus on mechanics: Brendan Milliken

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin

Brendan has kindly agreed to answer some of my questions about the past two years he has spent as a full time mechanic for Endura Racing.

You’ve spent the past 2 years as mechanic with Endura Racing, remind us how you got the gig?
Since the age of 14 I have been involved in cycling, as a rider and working in cycle shops as a mechanic, cycling has been a big part of my life and to be involved in the professional scene on or off the bike has always been a dream. I have been involved with Endura Racing for 4 seasons now, from the original incarnation that was PedalPower Race Team/Endura where I assisted the team with mechanics and support in the team car at a few Premier Calendar events. During the 2009 Halfords Tour Series after a mechanical-strewn 1st round, I was offered the position of mechanic, looking after team bikes, driving and logistics which led to a full time job with Endura and Endura Racing.

Tour Doonhame 2011 | Photo by Larry Hickmott | www.VeloUK.net courtesy of Endura Racing
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Velodrome progress

Posted on January 16, 2012 by admin

After reading about wood flooring being installed in the Velodrome, I have been digging around for progress updates on the project. These can be difficult to find, as generally the architects, contractors and clients on such high profile projects tend to keep things under wraps until construction is complete. For the 2012 Olympics, some companies are not even allowed to publicise their involvement with a stadium or arena until after the Games have finished.

Image by Alexander Kachkaev

After reading the sumptuous Architects’ Journal Building Study special about the 2012 velodrome by Hopkins Architects (above), I have been digging for information about Glasgow’s forthcoming track. I read a short piece in Scottish architecture magazine Urban Realm, which mainly covered the fire and thermal performance of the cladding of the building, which houses both the velodrome in its 2000 seat arena, as well as the National Indoor Sports Arena, a 5000 seat venue.
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