This is the saddle thats been on my winter bike for the past 6-8 weeks now. I've pretty much been testing it out for Paul @ Wiggle. (Mine is the black one..)

I have to say it really is an excellent saddle. I previously had a Specialized Toupe on there and this replaced it. And it replaced it very well! I would say it took about an hour to get settled on it properly and get the height tweaked a little.
But once that was done, its been all good. I guess the best thing I can say is that I haven't actively noticed the saddle because it hasn't hurt, it hasn't rubbed, it hasn't slipped and its been damn comfortable.

That's *damn* comfortable throughout all the random riding I've been doing too. Because its winter training time, the time spent in the saddle has been longer and at a slower speed so you tend to notice things more. Also it has been subject to some time trial efforts (yes I know.. shouldn't be doing them at this time of year) on the way to work and also a few interval sprints (yes.. shut up.) ending in my slapping my arse on the saddle fairly firmly.

The only downside to it, is that it could be a little lighter. Its coming in at 240g+ whereas a Toupe is about 160g so near 100g difference.
I don't think I'd put it on the race bike due to the weight, but for training and winter... its pretty much perfect.

Would I buy it? Hell yeah. Great saddle, great price... only minor downside is that its a bit heavy. Of course... I could just lose some weight.... hmm.

Spending time going nowhere

But at least we tried to do it fast.

Yesterday myself and the boss-man were off to a meeting in Dundalk so demo some of the work we've been doing over the past while.
Journey there was fine till we hit Newry, then it was tailback city. Eventually got through this, made it on time and did our thing.
All good. Then we started to head home, and got caught in more traffic again in pretty damn rotten weather.
An hour later we made it through and started making a bit of progress again... then I was home and that was pretty much it for the day.

Not a terribly exciting story. The reason I'm waffling about this is that while I was sitting in traffic I could see some fantastic looking scenery that was around the Mourne area with lots and lots of rolling hills and some mountains. Where did I want to be? On my bike, pulling faces, while climbing up the mountains. Not stuck in the damn car.

The Newry and Mourne area is home to one of the best amateur races that runs during the year, the Newry 3 day. This is the type of race that makes everyone riding it feel like a semi-pro, even just for a few days.

Its got police escorts, rolling road closures and all the good stuff that makes you feel like you are a pro for a day.

I rode this last year, and while I finished in mid table obscurity I had some great rides in it and some standout sections, like when I rode a TTT trying to bring back the break on the first night so our GC guy wouldn't lose too much time, like when I attacked off the front on the second day taking the GC guy with me to get him a gap and then spectacularly blow up to get dropped on the next climb, only to get back on during the descent.

Well... stand out moments for me anyways :-)

Anyways, the basic upshot is that I had some nice daydreams when busy going nowhere.

Friday.

Been a long week. A *really* long week.
Busy busy in work trying to get some iphone stuff tidied up and also in some of the services work I'm doing at the moment which is pretty full on and tiring. But its Friday... so this is good, even though I can't summon a lot of enthusiasm for it... kinda feel more like just going to bed.

Anyways... on a separate story.... some days you are just angry on the bike... this happened to me yesterday (thanks bank people - shitheads). At about 3-ish got a call from the bank taking away my overdraft and forcing me to put the amount of it on a loan. One would image that they are trying to save money.... one would also imagine that they should look more at themselves instead of people who put a a decent salary into their bank account every month. Anyways, this really pissed me right off... so obviously the way to teach them a lesson was to ride home *really* angry.

So I did.

Drilled it hard into a headwind for a good 3 miles without dropping intensity, sprinted at every single minor incline (I swear not even hills... just rises in the road), leant the bike over to take corners at full speed, trying to rip my feet out of the pedals and break cranks off and just generally riding like an animal. Completely in contravention to the training plan at the mo... but damn it felt good. The only thing that could have been better would have been if I had have been on a lighter stiffer bike instead of the trusty winter steed.

It was fun! But the bank still suck donkey ass.

Rich G's Lyrnskey

PB250270, originally uploaded by richard.gearing.

Have to say, this looks pretty damn awesome.

One of the weapons for next year!

caad 9 bb30, originally uploaded by Voodoo2.

Yeah... it took a while, but I managed to get it. At a cost to credit rating, money in bank and all that sort of shit.

But here is spanky caad 9 with bb30 crankset... and man this baby just flies!

Ok... so its been a while.

This is mainly because I have been twittering away like a numpty instead of updating the blog! Well, perhaps now I have something profound to say... or maybe not.

Basically at the moment we (the royal we) are in winter training mode... this basically means lots of long-ish slow-ish miles trying to build up my base fitness. What I found last year was that I was burning out on races over 50 miles. So this will hopefully rectify the issue!

Even so... it's hard not to want to put the boot in and give it a lash every now and then!

I've also recently been testing out a saddle from the Kiron me2 range of saddles and I have to say its pretty damn excellent. I would say I've put close to 50 hour solid sitting on it now and it really is very comfortable and fits my arse nicely! I would recommend anyone picking up one of these. The only possible complaint I could have is that if it were a race saddle it could be a bit lighter.

No news on the gardening front... except that the veggie patch has been replaced by a shed. I just didn't have time to maintain it this year so it has become a new shed with my bikes and training kit in it. :-)

Puddles Posing II

Puddles Posing, originally uploaded by Voodoo2.

The cat in flowers again.... can't do anything in the back garden!

Puddles Posing

Puddles Posing, originally uploaded by Voodoo2.

well it's the cat. trying to be dead sophisticated and not looking at the camera and stuff. however, she's still a fluffy monster.

want.

these:


awesome looking cycling shoes. bloody dear though.

preparing for the weekend

So it's Thursday evening.... and the weekends racing (first of the season) is almost upon me. This week has been interesting. I was happy to get round the Phoenix CC reliability last Sunday without and damn mechanical issues... but it was hard work.

Monday, I did a bit of a recovery ride.
Tuesday, I started to come down with man-flu.
Wednesday, spent all day in bed (more or less).
Thursday, back to work and on the bike... did a turbo session of 90 second intervals.
Friday, working from home as the Sky man is coming to fit a new Sky+HD box.
Saturday, Annaclone GP
Sunday, Phoenix GP

The man-flu is more or less shifted, but nose is still fairly congested... I'm hoping a good nights sleep will sort it out.

Yep... kinda planning to do both races. This is more or less in prep for the Armagh-Downpatrick St. Patricks Day classic... but yes... I am going to be body-bagged if I manage to do both.

Bring it on..... ( I say in pretend arrogance and true idiocy...)

ranting.

Today seems to be a ranting day.

In that spirit, let me tell you how much I hate IVR systems. They just don't work with Irish accents. Ever. Never mind telling you what date my holiday is on... let me use the keypad. Or talk to someone!! What happened to press one for payments etc??

Muppets.

mechanical difficulties

I am not having a good start to the pre-racing season. Its just not good... firstly I turn up at the Dave Kane reliability and go with the a-run, little did I know that it was full of first cats who wanted to ride at 30mph on shitty roads round the ards peninsula. And with me being a bundle of nerves at getting back into riding into a fast pack. Joy. I got shelled after about 30 miles and had no intention of finishing it then... too windy by yourself. Feck that.

Next... a training run doing some hill repeats on Stormont on the canyon bike with tubular tyres... all good, hard work (but we like that)... until warming down and I hit a pothole on the newtownards road. I think I may have been the first person ever to pinch flat a tub. Argh. Ok.. so need to get that off and get it repaired to save buying a new one at 40 sheets.

Next... Maryland reliability... going well... had got over initial nervousness and starting to settle in nicely for some hard work... going uphill.. pop. Argh. Chain has popped the missing link used to join it. And thats me stranded in Katesbridge somewhere.... phone Mrs Henderson for a lift him. Doh. It would seem the bike shop put the wrong missing link in for that chain. The difference is a whole 0.2mm.

Next... training run home yesterday.... finishing off with a spin up Castlehill road to warm down. Oh whats that? A crater? Yep. Did I see it? No. What happened? Flatted two tyres and had to walk home. Only half a mile but even so.

Its not going well!

the sky is falling

Or so it seems to me. A new low has been hit by Marks and Spencer. They're starting to sell Strawberry Jam Sandwiches.

According to the Telegraph, m&s describes the "Simply...Strawberry Jam" sarnie as a "perfect quick fix, credit crunch lunch" - part of a range of no-frills nourishment which also features free range egg or British ham cunningly deposited between slices of white bread.

M&S sandwich specialist Katy Patino enthused: "We are delighted to be launching this national favourite. It really is the ultimate comfort food at an unbeatable price, plus it's the only place on the high street where you can get a jam sandwich. For those who haven't eaten one for years, one bite takes you straight back to your childhood."

For those who are incapable of making a jam sarnie.... there you go. For the rest of the world that has at least 2 fingers... go and make it yourself you lazy git.

tune-age

Hyped-up Psyched-Up Tunes

Ok... so as mental motivation is a big part of the whole cycling thing... well for me anyways... I find a good way to get mentally prepp'ed for a race or a reliability is to listen to top music. So in the spirit of that, I've compiled my ultimate playlist for getting ready to motor. Its is a bit of a mad mix of screamy rock and fast dance music. But generally pretty awesome.


Pretty Handsome Awkward - The used
Runaway - Avril Lavigne
Contagious - Avril Lavigne
Buck Rogers - Feeder
Seven Days in the Sun - Feeder
Normal like You - Everclear
Paint your Target - Fightstar
Grand Unification - Fightstar
A piece of mind - Finch
I'm so sick - Flyleaf
Pefect - Flyleaf
Waiting - Finch
Faint - Linkin Park
Everyday Combat - Lostprophets
See you again - Miley Cyrus
Next Contestant - Nickleback
False Pretense - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Misery Business - Paramore
Taste the poison - Story of the year
Hooch - Sum 41
Speak of the Devil - Sum41
King of Contradictions - Sum 41
Confusion & Frustration - Sum 41
No Reason - Sum 41
Welcome to Hell - Sum 41
Asshole - Sum 41
Lights & Sounds - Yellowcard

[daily dose of imagery] houses and the sun

[daily dose of imagery] houses and the sun

excellent pic of snow, sun and houses.

Just A Dream Away

Just A Dream Away, originally uploaded by kevin mcneal.

what an awesome pic. I love this... its almost computer generated in look, but from a camera. Some day I would like to be this good with a camera. Awesome stuff.

in anger.

In anger. Is what I've not ridden my fixed gear bike in, since I broke my collar bone. As it's all healed and sorted out now, I thought as part of this weeks training regime (which has consisted of wine most nights), I would take it to work today and do an easy spin in over 5 or 6 miles, nothing too hard.

So I did.
And I think I'm still feeling pretty skittish on it. Nothing I can put my finger on specifically, but I seem to keep looking for something to go wrong on it. Not great taking off from a stop either and I'm also definitely not as confident riding in traffic on it as I used to be. Although, this morning it was cold and the roads felt a bit greasy too which didn't help.

Argh. One thing I've just remembered. I work on the 2nd floor and you have to ride up the ramps... so obviously I also have to ride down. Hmm... perhaps not such a good idea.

Also, I'm not quite sure where this leaves me with the fixed gear/track bike. The first season I did it, I loved it. But I never crashed that season... so will I go back to it this year? I don't know... I know I will be doing a lot of the club races which are on Tuesday nights anyway, so that rules out some of the track cycling... or is that just an excuse? Should I just sell the bike and give up on the fixed gear stuff?

the wheels on the bike...

... go round and round, as the old nursery rhyme goes. Although in fairness... thats all I can remember of it.

Anyway. I digress. (Ha... I've always wanted to say that, even though it has no relevance.)

Ok... so this weekend the start of the reliability trials start in Northern Ireland for all the cyclists. For those that don't know (or care), a reliability trial is known as a faster paced club run over 50-70 miles or so to basically verify your bike is working properly, your winter training has taken etc etc.

In reality... its the start of the 'not-racing' season.
In reality... reliability trials are cunningly disguised as 'not-races'. They end up at race speed, are dead competitive and for some bizarre reason some people put a lot of prestige in doing well in them. Sounds like a race to me. Only in colder worse weather.

So, I'm planning to do the one on Sunday from Lurgan. I believe there is a 65 mile distance for it, so I'll probably go for that and see how I get on. My main dilemma is which bike to take... break out the newest addition... or take the old faithful planet-x? hmmm.

neaw year... new gear.

ah... near year, new year.
after a nice break over Christmas which pretty much consisted of eating too much, drinking too much and then eating too much turkey... its back to porridge.

back to work, back to training.

back to work.
back to portal. need I say more? lots of work to do and not anywhere near enough time to get it done in. but just gotta put the head down and plough on with it. time to get busy.

back to training.
in fairness... I had a good christmas break training wise... got plenty of miles in and was cycling most days, but not all. still, I need to start getting some race fitness beginning to happen even a little.... as the reliability trials are coming up soon and then it will be racing time.. it all seems to kick off fairly early this year for some reason.

anyways... been doing some fun(!) turbo trainer sessions this week. let's leave that at that... torture.

also... a new toy arrived for me from the US. well.. not new, as I knew it was coming and its an ex-team frame... but gonna get this built up into a racing machine. Yes, I know. I don't need a bike. I know that. Seriously. Been telling myself that since I bought it. But even so... those numbers kept typing themselves into the web shops that have the parts. Honestly, not a clue how it happened. :-) for pimpin'


twitter
hmm... started doing this thing... its pretty much social not-working... but all good. check it out: http://www.twitter.com/henderson_mk