Recently in General Category

It's a difficult time if you are looking for gifts for your cycling-obsessed, loved one. Thankfully, the subject is covered in some detail (and a jolly good job they do too) by the Two Johns podcast. A little American-centric but neatly divided into price points, it's a great little listen:

The Two Johns Podcast - Christmas buying guide

This all helps to cover for the fact that I've yet to get any training done. I've managed to catch two or three of the many colds going round London in a row wiping out the last fortnight to three weeks.

I've managed not to balloon up the scales and I'm still holding tight to the 75kg mark which is a good place to be. Previous years I've done cyclocross or taken it easy for most of November and December so I'm not panicking as yet about my fitness, just concentrating on getting healthy again.

Even if you start in January you've got a good few months before you have to seriously think about your racing. I don't usually get into the road racing stuff until late February when you start to get beginners' races in the calendar and the Winter Series start drawing to a close.

I had planned to get some winter series action in before Christmas but after all this illness, I don't feel much like wearing myself out chasing wheels in the freezing cold. Especially as I'm currently looking forward to my snowboarding holiday in Banff over Christmas and will get killed if I break/injure myself before then. It's just tempting fate to go racing isn't it?

I know she's cute, I know she's pretty much unbeatable in a sprint event, but why is she the most common search term people end up at this site via? Is there nothing I'm writing about that is of interest *awaits predictable "no"?

Five out of my top ten searches are for her, or feature her alongside other terms. Unsurprisingly two of those are "nude" and "naked". The other is "observer" which I assume is the newspaper.

The other five searches cover the title of the blog plus some things that maybe I've written about more than most:

• Rapha
• Condor Tempo
• Bagaboo
• Cyclocross Wheels

The number of visits via google search as a result of these is pitiful in cold statistical terms. It's less than 30, compared to the 250 plus from Victoria Pendleton's name on its own.

I keep on saying I'd like to review more kit but I guess I need to pull my finger out and do it, and write more about pro racing. Once the Etape comes back on my radar then I'll be updating that blog as well and figuring out how to make the two cross-post to each other, which is apparently doable.

If you love riding a bike is there really such a thing as "the off-season"? It feels like there are less competitive periods of the year but, as I ride most days to commute, I don't feel like I ever have a season without the bike.

Last year I contented myself through the winter months with cyclocross which was fun but hard work; not just in terms of riding on the red line of my ability for an hour, but in terms of the time it took up in my weekend. It's a big commitment riding in the London League because it eats up your entire Sunday getting there and back without even counting the bike cleaning time.

This year I'm thinking I might look out for some races which aren't closer to Calais than London. Although, I'm quite keen on giving Penshurst a go because it was such a great course - proper off-road madness that gets the adrenaline going.

Then again I might just put the road wheels on the Dolan 'cross bike and take it out riding wherever I fancy. I've got the 25mm tyres on which is, as Steve described it on Saturday morning, a "sensual experience". It's buttery smooth and a bit like a hovercraft through the corners - you glide round rather than dive.

I'm already lining up my goals for next year and I think I want to do the Etape again. My year has lacked a focus like that to motivate me and I've been riding for fun rather than to achieve. Nothing wrong with riding for fun, it's just that I feel like I'd have more fun if I was achieving something.

Malcolm Elliott and Stephen Roche, originally uploaded by leguape.

Malcolm Elliott and Stephen Roche having a chat. No I didn't ask for an autograph, although I swear Roche thought I was a nutter because I kept on going past them and muttering as I got a bit lost and was going round in circles.

As the season draws to a close, the big shows also get underway as manufacturers show off what they think we will want to buy next year. I've got a few items on my wishlist, most of which aren't brand-spanking new.

Bont cycling shoes (350 USD)

As worn by the GB cycling team at the Olympics. Jamie Staff had a pair I think and possibly Victoria Pendleton too. I fancy a pair in black, maybe white, that patent leather look is slick and suitably futurist. I'm apparently a size 40, according to their sizing chart.

Zipp 404 clincher wheelset (1500 GBP)

The daddy of the deep section. I've seen enough people riding them and heard them whooshing past me often enough to know I would like a pair. They may not be the lightest wheel or whatever but there's something about the shape and look of them on a bike that says business. I've marked myself down for Shimano drivetrain clinchers because I can't face the prospect of tubulars and getting glue all over the kitchen.

Hed Jet 50 wheelset (663 GBP)

I'll settle for these in lieu of the Zipp wheels. My friend Robin has a pair and they look very swishy indeed. He says they roll well and give that proper aero feel once you get up to speed.

Bianchi B4P 928 T-Cube Frameset (1300 GBP)

Call me heathen if you must but don't tell me it doesn't look sexy in monochrome, even more so that the classic celeste. I've been wanting one for quite a while now and it's nothing to do with it being what the Barloworld team ride. It's a Bianchi, they are always sexy. The 53 size seems to be exactly the same geometry as my current Merckx frame, something which sways me further.

Rapha Cap (25 GBP)

My current one, which I've had since sometime in late 2005, has given up the ghost - the peak cracked and caved in. So I'm in the market for a new one as it's one of those items which I get far too much use out of to go without. The depth is right, the material is comfortable and unlike other caps I've tried, it does the job in the rain and sun alike. The medium size fits me fine.

I'm sure there's more stuff I'd love to try or buy but these are the top items. If you would like to buy them for me don't let the current financial climate stand in the way of an impecunious purchase for me.