Birth Of An Obsession

The above picture, from my personal Instagram account, was posted 5 years ago today. I had just placed an order for my first bike since I was a teenager, a 2013 Specialized Sirrus Hybrid bike, and it frightened me to death.

Rewind to the previous June (2013) and my son, Zac, had just been born. Having a child is a momentous occasion in the life of any adult and I was no different. I had the same hopes and fears as every new parent; I hoped he would be happy, I hoped he would be healthy but, more than anything, I questioned whether I would be good enough to be his Dad. Moments like that can often be lightbulb moments of clarity, where new ideas form and a new resolve to change for the better is found. It took slightly longer for me, October to be precise, but what happened changed me for good.

I had smoked for years. Not just casual smoking either, 20 a day since I was a teenager in senior school, nearly 20 years all in all. Looking at Zac I realised how unfit I had become, I had played football and cricket well into my late 20s but as my 30s hit and my knees gave out I played less and less sport and gained less and less exercise overall. I wanted to be able to do all of the things a Dad should do with his son; run around, play football in the garden, ride bikes without becoming a wheezing mess, gasping for air. For that reason I resolved to give up smoking by doing Stoptober so I got myself the worst tasting e-cigarette I could find and an app to tell how many days I’d gone and how much money I’d saved. It went surprisingly well but, in order for it to continue, I knew I had to have something to throw myself into, a goal to focus on and something to achieve so I signed up for the British Heart Foundation London To Brighton bike ride and placed the order for the bike. The rest is history I won’t recap.

I’d always enjoyed watching the Tour de France on TV and actually had a chance live encounter with the race in 1990 as a 13 year old on a school trip to Mont Saint-Michel, but I never really considered what the purchase of that bike and that goal of giving up smoking may lead to. We completed our epic cycle from London to Paris and raised a lot of money for the Rainbow Trust and I completed the Ride 100 amongst many other sportives. This year we’ll be in the Arenberg Trench to see the pros thunder by in Paris Roubaix and I’ll be off overseas to cycle through some of Sweden’s amazing landscape. I have completed things that I would never have thought possible 10 years ago and I have a deeper understanding of a truly wonderful sport, as well as meeting some brilliant people along the way.

All that from one simple order for a bike…..

IAIN

I Have A New Bike…. Well, Almost!

I got back on a bike in January 2014 after around 20 years of not being on one. I’d given up smoking the previous October and I was determined to get a bit fitter so, to have a goal, I signed up for the annual London To Brighton bike ride. I bought a Specialized Sirrus Hybrid bike (below) for that challenge and it served me well through six months of training and the 57 or so miles from Clapham Common to Brighton sea front.

My Specialized Sirrus Hybrid Bike

I plumped for a hybrid at the time for several reasons

• I thought the upright riding style would be easier on my ageing bones
• It seemed, after so long not being on a bike, less pretentious than buying a road bike
• The price at the time was decent (around £300) for a brand that I knew and trusted and there was a chance that I wouldn’t get on a bike for another 20 years!
• The operation of the bike was more familiar to me with regards to gear levers etc
• Most importantly I believed I would be more stable on it!

Since signing up for the London to Paris ride many people, including some very good cyclists, have told me to upgrade to a road bike. Their reasons range from it being lighter to more comfortable, but the one that always stuck in my head is that it is “easier, especially on climbs”. Now any help I can get on that element of cycling is worth having so I decided that I would eventually buy a new road bike.

I found that it’s an incredibly good idea to do quite a bit of research, especially familiarising yourself with common components across price brackets and then reading the reviews. I learnt to look for changes that manufacturers had made in order to hit pricepoints, usually though a lower spec chain or wheelset.

I found Bike Radar’s guide really useful and their You Tube channel has some great content on maintenance as well as equipment

It seems as though I’m buying at the right time as the 2016 models are being cleared to make way for the 2017 ranges. I’ve had my eye on a specific bike for a couple of weeks and today I took the plunge and ordered it, a Felt V75 Disc 2016 road bike from Wiggle.

My New Felt Z75 Disc Road Bike

For the price I couldn’t find a better spec online and although I have spent more than I originally planned to, I do feel that it is worth the extra money.

I have 4-6 days to wait until this beauty lands on my doorstep, I’m hoping that the autumn weather remains favourable enough that I can get a few rides out of it before winter really kicks in! I’m sure there will be some gratuitous new bike shots on our Instagram page when it arrives!

Iain