T-Blog

Do you ever fantasize about the perfect job? I think mine's pretty close, but if I didn't have it, I'd want a job riding in spectacular places on new bikes made of trendy materials, sparked by great tips for being a better rider with a wealth of cycling information at my fingertips. If I could write about having this much fun, I'd tell the world.

Meet Hannah Reynolds. Is there, doing that! On a weekly basis. But not at a store near you. Unless you happen to have a subscription to Cycling Weekly. In January, 1891, this weekly UK magazine was born to satisfy riders who felt the current dozen magazines of the time just weren't doing the job. "The Comic", as it's known in the UK, has come a long way since then. For a weekly dose of European and local cycling news, fitness and technical reports along with a shot of straight-up editorial and fresh humor, nothing else comes close.

Hannah is the Fitness Editor of Cycling Weekly. Week in and week out, she churns out pages of articles to benefit all cyclists, from the racer to the club rider. Recent topics include "Fitness Myths", "Sports Testing - How Fit Are You?", "Common Cycling Afflictions", "Hydration Tips", "Know Your Strengths", Get Ahead, Get a Coach" and "Guide to Climbing". Of course, good bike rides are the stuff of inspiration, so Hannah is no stranger to cycling the European haunts of cycling lore. Much like it is in the US cycling scene, she is a woman in man's world in the UK. And enjoying it thoroughly!

I asked Hannah how she happened to land the job:
I started work at Cycling Weekly soon after graduating from University where I studied Sport Science. A friend of mine worked at CW and said she could get me a temp job. At first I was an editorial assistant - glorified secretary - but I got more involved with products and start to contribute to the fitness pages which at the time were being written by a free-lancer. After about 6 months the decision was made to get rid of the free-lancer and for me to take over the fitness pages full time. That was a bit of a shock to go from an under grad to a secretary to having to churn out fitness features week in week out for a national magazine with 30,000 cyclists listening to my training advice! I remember being out on a club run and hearing a couple of guys behind me talking about a feature I'd written - without knowing it was me in front - that made me realise that what I write counts and makes a difference to the way people think.

Where do the ideas come from?
Generally I write about things I am interested in. If I read a new science paper or an article in another magazine and it makes me think about my own cycling and training I want to research it so I can share those ideas with others. Often ideas come out of long rides with my friends when we start pondering whether we could be fitter, faster or thinner! The main thing is that I ride and race myself. By being interested and engaged in the subject coming up with the concepts is easy.

It must be a blast testing all the new bikes that come in.
Bike tests are great - they can be hard work and you often end up riding bikes that aren't quite right but then you also get to ride bikes that normally you could only lust after through a bike shop window. A lot of a photo shoot is riding round and round the same corner for pics which gets a bit dull - but it is normally a beautiful hairpin with fantastic views and the sun beating down which always makes it a bit more enjoyable. We also manage to squeeze in a few rides and a couple of bottles of local vino tinto at the end of a hard day.

Aside from Fitness, some of the most inviting articles in CW this year have been about the UCI's Golden Bike Series. Have you had a chance to participate in any of those events?
I have done lots of sportivs - the Etape (ed: a stage, always mountainous, of the Tour de France) in 2002 and this year the Beaumes de Venise Mont Ventoux ride and the UCI Golden Bike Quebrantahuesos. The Mont Ventoux ride was great - it went over Ventoux twice in 120 miles. I was very pleased to come second in my age group. I also took a sabbatical last summer and went cycle touring on my own in the Alps - I wanted to ride all the climbs over 2000 metres! I think I've bagged most of them now.

Whew! Not bad! Hannah also had lots to say about the women's cycling market in the UK. Amazingly similar to ours. We'll talk more about that next time!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 08:44 AM | Permalink

Recently, a reader wrote and asked me to discuss "compact" chainsets. What is a compact chainset? It's a chainset with two chainwheels; a "double" as opposed to a "triple". What makes it different from a traditional double is that it has smaller chainrings. A typical Shimano double has 39/52 rings. A new Shimano compact which will be available in January has 34/50 rings. This chainset, the FC-R700, will come in 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm crank lengths. Good news for those with shorter legs since no one else makes a compact shorter than 170mm.

The theory behind a compact is that it gives you lower (easier to pedal) gears than a traditional double without having to use a triple. In a September 17 review of the Shimano compact, Cycling Weekly said, "Triple chainsets on road bikes are beginning to look as if they've had their day as more and more sports and fitness riders turn to the most elegant solution to overgeared race machine."

Marcel Wust, ex-Festina pro bike rider, rode a compact for the first time while reviewing a bike in the October issue of procycling. He wrote, "I ordered this compact chainring set-up, because in the last year or so they have become totally en vogue, and I still didn't know how they felt....I don't want to equip my bike with an uglier looking triple chainring that doesn't shift as comfortably."

Caution is in order here, however. If you're considering a compact for lower gearing, make sure it really can deliver what you expect. Most compacts have a 110 bolt circle diameter (the diameter of a circle through the bolts that connect the chainrings to the chainset). The smallest chainring they can accept is 34 teeth. Shimano's compact is intended to be used with 10-speed chain, cassette and front derailleur. Shimano 10-speed cassettes do not currently come with a larger cog than 27 teeth, so the lowest gear obtainable will be 33.2 gear inches. For most riders, this may be plenty adequate, but if you're looking for true low gears, this won't do it for you. Other manufacturer's compacts may work with 9-speed systems. This opens up more possibilities, since 9-speed cassettes are made with 34 teeth cogs. Combine this with a 34 on the front and you have a 27 gear inch low. Much better for serious climbing. Or, you may want to test the compatibility of a 10-speed chain on 9-speed cassettes. I don't think I'm ready to toll the knell yet for the triple chainset.

10 speeds...good or bad? From my perspective as a designer: not so good in its current state. The 9 speed system gives me a lot of choices in gearing. The 10 speed system (so far) does not. Because both mountain and road components are available in 9 speeds, by judicious choice of components, I can build a road bike with anything from gearing for racing to gearing for loaded touring. But once you decide to build a bike in the 10 speed world, it becomes very difficult to do this. At this time, Shimano has no plans to introduce a 10 speed mountain group. They acknowledge a 10 speed cassette with a 30 tooth cog is a possibility......but it will require manufacturing a new rear derailleur that can accommodate 30 teeth. All credit is due Shimano: their products are fantastic. But sometimes I think they fail to realize just how cyclists really use Shimano components.

In my next blog, I'll introduce you to Hannah Reynolds. If I didn't already have my perfect job, I'd want Hannah's job. Stay tuned.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 05:01 PM | Permalink

This Spring, I was reading some news on a bike web site and I clicked on a little ad that caught my attention. This one had to do with core strength and cycling. We've all heard this a million times, right: you can't be a strong cyclist without strong core muscles - abs, lower back. I landed on a site called Cyclo-Zen ("Bridging the gap between cycling and yoga"), the brainchild of Graeme Street. Graeme could turn me into a cycling powerhouse if I followed his routines for "power yoga, low back conditioning, power training and recovery techniques". I didn't buy, but I did sign up for the email newsletter which came faithfully once, sometimes twice a week and really had good stuff in it. But I still didn't buy...

August found me in Vermont on our Terry Tour which started in Stowe and wound its way into the Northeast Kingdom. There, I was reintroduced to some roads I hadn't ridden in fifteen years. And there, in the words of a friend, I "had my you-know-what handed to me by a couple of hills". Bad enough, but even worse because these were hills I had climbed on that last trip. OK, so hills and I have never been on particularly good terms; but this was a total shut out. Ever since I left Pittsburgh, my hill-climbing abilities have waned. Frustration!

Back home, another cheery email awaited me from Graeme. OK, time to buy. The week special offered me a discount if I bought not only the Cyclo-Zen, but the Cyclo-Core program, too. I loaded them both into my cart.

I decided to start with the Cyclo-Zen program and to save Cyclo-Core for the off season. Two routines caught my eye -- a stretching session and a strength session. Graeme recommended doing the stretching as frequently as desired and the strength session once a week. So, I started with stretching for a few days and then hopped on the bike for my regular 40 mile loop. Hmmm....was it my imagination, or did I indeed feel very fluid and loose on the bike? The fit of my bike is excellent (better be), but this was something new: relaxation on the bike. Nah - it must be the cooler weather.

Several stretching sessions and one strength session later (and I see why he says weekly is sufficient!), the weekend rolled around and so did the 40 mile loop. Only this time it was even better. Not that I was going any faster, but I was sure riding easier and with less effort.

Now I'm about six weeks into this program. I'm pushing slightly higher gears, continuing to feel like a well-oiled machine and wondering just what the off-season is going to be like when I try the Cyclo-Core program. I'm hooked. If you want to put a little pizzazz in your riding, take a look at this program. This guy is on to something.

I hope to have an interview with Graeme in a future blog. I have lots of questions for him!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 08:47 PM | Permalink