25

Ras De Cymru Stage Race

The Ras De Cymru is a stage race consisting of 6 stages and spread over 5 days (30th June to 4th July). The event is held around the city of Newport and riders from all over the UK have entered. This year the Welsh police have granted organiser, Chris Landon, permission to expand the rider entry from 80 to 100 riders due to an increase in entrants.

The race is open to 2nd/3rd and 4th category riders including women riders of all abilities. The stages are all held on the open road, mainly road races, but two events are time trials one being a short 4.3m prologue TT and the other a 14.2m team time trial.

Team Wiggle has entered a team for this year captained by Ben Simmons and managed by Richard Pearman. The four riders who have entered for Team Wiggle are: Ben Simmonds (2nd), Jon Cannings (2nd), Peter Kitching and me, Richard Pearman, (both verging on 2nd cat). After every stage I will endeavour to send Jason a brief report on our progress who will then publish it on the Bloggle site the following day.

The Ras De Cymru is the brainchild of Chris Landon and it all started back in 2005. It is promoted by a partnership between Cadence Cycle Racing – a Welsh cycling club – and the University of Wales, Newport. Due to an increase in popularity the 2010 event has been extended from 80 riders to 100 riders with Team Wiggle just making the final cut.

Ben lives in Wales very close to Newport, but the remaining three riders all live in Hampshire and will start our journeys early Wednesday morning. We need to leave early as we must attend the rider briefing which starts at 12.30pm.

What Does a Rider Take?

Being a stage race and away from home we, as riders, have to take enough spares, clothing and food for the full duration of the event (5 days). Food usually consists of energy drinks (High Five), recovery drink (For Goodness Shakes) and food bars or gels (Torq, Accelerade). Once the riders have completed the stage, they usually down a bottle or two of recovery drinks to aid their recovery. These could be either SIS Rego or For Goodness Shakes, either way both will help the riders by replacing lost minerals that were lost during the stage and also to help muscle recovery.

Riders also bring their favourite cereals, snacks and other items which they enjoy so to eat prior or after the stage. We also have to take enough race clothing to get us through all six stages bearing in mind that the weather could be wet from time to time. Another essential thing to remember is spares. Once racing the riders face many changing road conditions and also challenging weather conditions. It is wise to bring a spare set (or two) of wheels, a couple of tyres, brake pads and also cleaning lubricants like Pedros lubs to clean and oil the chain. Tools area must too.

Results

The results will be displayed on the www.cadencecycleracing.co.uk website. You will also be able to view any photos from the event and read a full report of the day’s action.

What to Expect?

From the outset the racing will be hard. The courses are not flat with a couple having mountain finishes. Ben Simmons (team leader) has won this event before and knows what to expect. Jon is finding his form quickly and should be able to ride well aiding Ben at those crucial moments or possible get into a break if Ben misses the opportunity to do so. Peter is new to stage racing and if I’m honest will find it hard as the race continues. His job will be to finish and aid Ben or Jon for as long as possible and as for myself, I’ll find it tough too. I do have the experience with teams in stage races (The Ras in Ireland for example) and will know what to look out for and when to ride hard. For Pete and myself it will be the case of saving our energy to help Ben and or Jon and remain with the bunch over the climbs or for as long as possible. Quitting the race is not an option in my eyes unless a rider falls. This is a team event and riding as a team is extremely important even if Pete and myself are many minutes down on the leaders.

Well, roll on the first stage and I hope the good weather continues.

Richard

PS Please revisit the Bloggle site to see how our progress unfolds.

After a hard early afternoon in the dentist’s chair having a tooth pulled, a slightly grumpy Chris (our Wiggle Email Ad Developer) had that frown turned upside down, when he was called by our workshop advising him that his lovely new Focus Cayo Team Milram Replica was ready.

Chris made the most of the Wiggle Cycle To Work Scheme to make his purchase and now I’m sure he can’t wait to test it out for this weekend. All I can say is thank goodness for that phone call!

Enjoy it Chris!

14

dhb Sportive Ride

On this lovely sunny Sunday morning I (Richard Pearman) and 10 others, including Nikki Wheeler ( my partner), Richard Land (Wiggle employee), and 8 members of i-Team Cyclists Club met up at Wickham Square to ride a 73 mile route that Wiggle intend to use for a possible 2010 Wiggle Sportive Ride.

Click the link below to view the ride information

As I know the local lanes quite well, due to the number of years I have been a cyclist, I planned the route along fairly quiet country lanes, taking in beautiful scenery and incorporating some challenging climbs to test riders on the day. The route itself is based on the numerous dhb names given to Wiggle’s clothing garments – Wickham being the starting point, which is the dhb eVENT Waterproof Jacket. Other examples include Weston (Waterproof Jacket), Rogate (Long Sleeve Jersey and Bib Tights), Elstead (Wheel Bags) and Finchdean (Long Sleeve Jersey and Shorts/Bib Shorts).

After having all met up, we set off at about 10.15 am to recce and get a feel for the route that goes through many quiet villages, which on a day like this particular Sunday (hot and sunny) was very pleasant and enjoyable. The pace was not too fast, just a steady ride, with all of us staying together on the flat parts and then re-grouping at the top of the tougher climbs.
The first long climb was Hampton Hill, which is just outside of Swanmore and is a gentle climb that takes you up to Corhampton Down. Once at the top of Corhampton Down there are lovely views of the Meon Valley all around you. Descending down to the valley below we then crossed the main A32 to take the quieter country lanes to Meonstoke. Just before the Hurdles pub, we took a sharp left turn and it was at this point that one of the rider’s chain came off. Could of done with a K-Edge Chain Catcher, but it didn’t take long for them to sort this out and rejoin us.

Meonstoke is a beautiful village next to the river Meon and during the summer season it is used as a starting point for a couple of local road races. The reason I say this is because we went past the village hall that is used as the HQ for these races. Shortly after passing the village hall, we then began the first tough climb of the day that takes you to the Naval base called HMS Mercury, which is a favourite training area for local cyclists due to the steep climbs, fast descents and excellent views of the basin surrounding East Meon.

It was here that we saw Toby Neave riding in the opposite direction, but we didn’t stop to chat as it looked like he was on a training mission. Once we went through HMS Mercury we then took a sharp left and descended heading towards East Meon. Before getting to East Meon we took a right hand turn to Weston, which is just west of Petersfield, and were able to cycle two abreast along this picturesque country lane enjoying the usual banter along the way.

As this ride was going to be a long day in the saddle, certain riders would have to peel off along the route due to prior family commitments. Bob Hatton was the first to leave us at the top of Mercury, but knowing Bob he probably did extra mileage before he joined us and afterwards as well.

The route took us through Buriton, South Harting, Rogate, and having crossed the A272 we then climbed the long (and energy sapping – according to Nikki) drag to the Milland Valley. From here we cycled to Milland and took a right hand turn to Iping, finally stopping again at the A272. After about a 5 minute stop where everyone regrouped we crossed the A272 and cycled into Elstead taking in a climb (short, but very steep) and descended back into South Harting. As we approached South Harting we took the little lane on the left that took us to the top of the South Downs. This climb is extremely tough and is also known as ‘Downs Place’ and gradually steepens as you near the top. I would suggest gearing of 39 x 25/27, or if you have a compact a 34 x 23/25 or even higher.

Once we had regrouped again at the top it was a fast descent back down to Chilgrove where we took a right turn, and then briefly stopped for a group photo and a breather before continuing through North Marden, Stoughton, and finally briefly stopping once again at Walderton. Chris Powell left us at this point, heading back to Hayling Island, whilst the rest of us carried on through West Marden, and Compton.

We stopped at Compton’s newly refurbished village shop/tea room (which comes highly recommended to any cyclists who find themselves out this way) to replenish our water bottles, but discovered lovely homemade cakes and plenty of choice too, so we decided to stop as it would have been rude not to sample the wonderful cakes on offer. As some of the riders needed to be back by a certain time, Sam Arnold, Andy Redding, and David Shaw carried on whilst the rest of us were marking the cakes 10 out of 10.

Twenty minutes later the remaining 6 riders clipped back into their pedals and started the final leg of the journey back to Wickham. We had about 25 miles to complete the route, and the following climbs ahead of us – Finchdean Down, Chalton, (where Rob Capel and Richard Land peeled off – Rob back to Cowplain and Richard to Chichester), Speltham Hill (Hambledon 1 in 7), Cams Hill, and Lodge Hill (Newtown).

On the final leg, Fraser unfortunately punctured as we came into Clanfield and although he told us to carry on we decided to wait for him to change his inner tube so that the remaining 4 of us finished together.
Once we reached Hambledon Nikki made the decision not to tackle Speltham Hill (as it’s not one of her favourites and would have been one very steep climb too many!), but to carry on to the Cams Hill (another steep one) ahead of us and at her own pace with no pressure from us men.

The three of us then tackled the “brick wall” (it certainly felt like it at the time). It’s a lovely climb with fresher legs, but not quite so enjoyable with tired legs, but nonetheless a great challenge for anyone. After about 3-4 minutes of pain it was a quick descent back into Hambledon to tackle the next steep climb – Cams Hill. Once at the top it was downhill all the way to Newtown to start the final climb of the day – up Lodge Hill towards Hundred Acres. Once at the junction it was a right turn and only about half a mile back into Wickham, where there are at least 3 choices of tea rooms.

Out of the 11 riders who set off about 5 hours previously 4 riders made the complete journey back to Wickham.
Personal note – I think the route is challenging with a couple of steep climbs, numerous smaller climbs to stretch your legs, plenty of fast descents, and lots of fairly flat sections to recover before the next climb and to get into a nice steady rhythm.

The final route is going to be approximately 80 miles which will be a good challenge for many riders, but not too long to become a struggle if you have a bad day or run out of energy. The climbs are evenly spread throughout the course giving you plenty of time to prepare yourself for the next one.

Here’s an update on the Wiggle Employees MS Trust Charity Challenge.

This weekend Saturday 2nd May 2009 the Wiggle lads are going to hold a charity day at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, off the A3 near Petersfield.

The day will involve a lots of fun activities, including raffle with a Focus Highland Peak mountain bike as the top prize along with some bike clothing, DVDs and more! There will be a static bike challenge on a turbo trainer (sprint challenge with prize for fastest 200metres), possible guided rides around the park, family fun games including splat the rat, welly fling, guess the sweets in the jar etc. We’ll have a BBQ there too you noone goes hungry!

We’ll have Focus bikes there to demo, including Raven, Raven Expertand Raven Pro hardtails, Super Bud Expert, Super Bud Pro and First Expert full suspension bikes.

To demo, you will need to bring photo ID: driving license, passport etc. AND proof of address such as a utility or C/C bill.

People can bring pedals if they want and must bring helmets. There is no need for pre-booking.

It’s running from 10am to 5pm and all monies made is in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Trust, and any donations are appreciated.

See you on Saturday!

Richard Land our guy in Merchandising tackled the Tour of Flanders randonnee last year for the first time and he wanted to pass on some useful info to all Wiggle customers. Here are some of the things that he learnt from last year.

Starting from the front of the bike:

Handlebar tape. Although not as rough as Paris Roubaix, Flanders still has a lot of cobbles, depending on the route up to 27 km. Last year I went for Fizik Gel pads and Fizik bar tape. While this proved to offer some comfort from the vibrations, this year I will go for the classic ‘Belgian Wrap’ this being two rolls of bar tape to absorb the pave. For most riders in the UK we are just not used to riding on that type of surface so any extra comfort is a welcome relief.

Tyres:

Last year I opted for the Vittoria Open Pave tyre, lured by the Pro look and the countless victories the tyre has been used for. The extra volume and lower tyre pressures added comfort while not detracting from the overall speed. Tyre pressure should be run at around 10-30 psi lower than normal depending on riders weight and the weather conditions on the day. Don’t like Vittoria tyres, well another good option would be to fit the Continental GP 4 Season or the Gatorskin tyres, again go for the 25 mm size as the bigger air chamber adds suspension (if only a limited amount).

Saddle:

Don’t be tempted to swap it to something that may be deemed more comfortable, stick with what you know.

Wheels:

Last year I ran a pre built wheel set. This was okay and proved no problem from a strength point of view, but for the pave it was maybe a little stiffer than I would ideally of liked. Hand built wheels are still very popular for this event with last year’s winner Stijn Devolder using a pair. Other good choices would be the Neutron (for Campag users), DT wheels or Shimano 105, all proving popular.

Bottle Cages:

Leave the lightweight carbon options at home and use either stainless steel or an alloy option as you can bend these a little to secure the bottle in place.

Finally, don’t forget to bring some nutrition, stick to what you know and avoid anything new (unless you have to)

The link below has some useful information regarding the stages of the Tour with some pics of what you will be riding.

Tour Of Flanders Randonnee

Now you’ve got a good idea of what to take with you for the Tour Of Flanders why don’t you have a go yourself check out www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk for all your cycling holiday requirements.

Update 06/03/2009

This year, as you may of read 3 of our employee’s here at Wiggle felt they needed a bit of a challenge, each for different reasons, and an event cropped up that was perfect for them…..A huge cycle ride from London to Paris in support of Multiple Sclerosis Trust. The Charity ride takes place in June 2009 and here is an update from the guys.

Well since we first told you about our sponsored London to Paris cycle ride we have been fairly busy…… So far, Carl has setup a pub/music night at The Fat Fox on 8th march in our home town of Portsmouth for friends, workmates and anyone who fancies a good evening of fun, frivolity and fantastic music. Naturally, as this event falls the weekend before the majority of our sponsor money is due in (Wednesday 11th March. So get donating!), all three of us have been advertising, inviting, and planning for the event 24/7, even during lunch hours just to do the most we can to make this event a success!

If you can make it-

5pm till 10pm, The Fat Fox, 8th march 2009, 11-13 Victoria road, Southsea.

I (Doug) have a meeting planned with the forestry commission chaps at Queen Elizabeth Country Park to set about planning an event somewhere in the park grounds. I’m hoping to arrange a large BBQ to go along with a ride, possibly even a demo day of the Focus Bikes we sell here at Wiggle. But all will be revealed in time so keep an eye on the Bloggle for updates. Myself and Carl have also been harassing fellow employees on lunch and tea breaks to sponsor us and, to our astonishment, our colleagues have been unbelievably generous!

Ben has been planning a day, possibly two, where the three of us will be cycling the distance of the London to Paris ride on a turbo trainer in a very public place. He is currently waiting to hear back from the council regarding a few legalities. He’s also been rallying the help of a few friends, who work for respectably large companies gaining donations from the employees they work with, and also using an invaluable connection with the local tabloids to gain advertising for what we are aiming to achieve, hoping it inspires people to attend our events and donate towards the cause.

Our combined sponsorship total so far comes in at £797 and that’s before any of our planned events!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated but we still need more to hit our target of £3750 so keep the donations coming and we will keep updating!!

www.justgiving.com/teamwiggle

Thanks Again

Doug, Carl and Ben.

Ben, Carl & Doug London To Paris MS Trust Challenge

This year, 3 of us regular riders here at Wiggle felt we needed a bit of a challenge, each for different reasons, and an event cropped up that was perfect. A family member works for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust, who are taking part in a London to Paris bike ride in June. We all felt that would give us something to aim for and raise money for a very worthwhile charity at the same time. There is also a small possibility we may enjoy it a little!

The ride its self is spread over four days, the first leg starts with London to Dover (125km), then getting on a ferry to Calais in France where we will stay the night, then Calais to Abbeville (120km) on the second day, Abbeville to Beauvais (110km) on the third, finishing with the slightly more comfortable Beauvais to Paris (only 95km) on the forth day. Our ride will then come to an end under the Eiffel tower, relief and elation should then ensue! We aren’t embarking on this alone though, in total there will be 20 people representing the MS Trust but a number of other charities are also getting involved with like minded people representing them as well.

All signed up, sponsorship forms in hand and bikes between legs, we are ready to begin the challenge.

The 3 of us are Carl, Ben and Doug. Myself and Ben are full-time workshop mechanics and Doug is split between order processor and workshop mechanic. If you have bought a bike from Wiggle, there is a good chance it was assembled and set up by one of us!
We take pride in our work and obviously hope you are pleased with your purchases from us, and if you are, maybe we could ask if you could give a little back and make a donation towards our ride!
We have set up a sponsorship page on justgiving, where you can safely and securely make a donation which in turn is forwarded directly to the charity.

You can find our page at www.justgiving.com/teamwiggle
(more…)

(more…)

The hardened Sportive or first time sportive rider will find the Southern Sportive an awesome challenge, the classic course takes in some serious hill climbs however complimented by rolling back roads and views out along the south coast.

Here is Wiggle’s very own Richard Pearman’s account of his ride during the Southern Sportive Event 14th September 2008.

“Crickey, what’s that noise” I said to myself as I slowly opened my eyes. Turning to hit the alarm clock I then remembered setting it about 6 hours ago and as I punched the top of the alarm clock to switch it off, I started to remember why I set it in the first place. It was now the morning of the Southern Sportive and I recall saying to my fellow colleagues at work that I would cycle to the start. What a silly comment to make as I didn’t take into account what the weather would be like and also that I would be getting up so god-damn early on a Sunday morning. Being a racing roadie cyclist I’m far more use to getting up around 8.00 am ish, then driving to the HQ, with the race starting at a more favourable time, but as I had said I would cycle out I always like to be true to my word, so cycle out I did.
(more…)

Some of Wiggle crew have been heading out to the forest at Rogate while there is still a few hours of daylight left in the evening after work and just passed me a CD of a few photos that are worth sharing… check ‘em out!