How To - Wrap/Re-Wrap Road Bike Handlebars

Hi guys!

I'm back today with another 'How-To' video for you.  This time, I show you how to wrap your Road Bike Handlebars.  I've done it a bunch of times for friends who desperately needed to give their bikes a bit of TLC and finally decided it was time to treat my hands to a new set of wraps too!  It's a really straightforward process; it just takes a bit of patience and practice to get it looking good but the good thing is that you can usually unwind the wrap over and over again without damaging it so, as long as you don't cut it until you're happy, you can just keep trying again until you get it right!



The 'Kit' I used was the Fizik 4mm Bar Tape Kit.  I'll pop a link to it below and if you are thinking of buying it then please consider doing so through Amazon using the link.  It'll give us a little bit of commission which makes it easier to keep bringing you the 'How-To' videos! :)

Please like and share the video on YouTube / Facebook / Twitter etc and don't forget, you can follow me on my Twitter account and keep up with my day to day ramblings here:  www.twitter/com/matt_williams83 .

Until next time, take it easy, train safely and see you soon!

Matt

How To - Remove, Clean and Re-Install your Rear Bicycle Cassette ( Shimano / SRAM )

Hi guys,

Another short 'How To' video for you - sorry it's been so long since I last posted... Things have been absolutely manic for the last 6 months or so but hopefully, this is the beginning of a quieter period which should see me getting back into my training and the video making!  This time round, I show you how easy it is to remove, clean/degrease and then re-install your rear cassette...  All you need is a few simple and cheap tools and it can make a huge difference to your gear changes and increase the life of your gear train and your bike!



I hope you find the video useful and if you have any comments or questions please leave them below and, as always, i'll do my best to answer them.

Make sure you Subscribe to the channel to stay up to date with future videos!

Thanks for watching and catch you soon,

Matt

2013 RAF Road Race Championships, RAF Barkston Heath - Race Report

Ok, so – here goes, my first ‘proper’ taste of road racing! For a change, the weather gods appeared to be breaking at least a wry smile and graced us with warm conditions with sunny spells… I say a ‘wry smile’ as they also provided us with a 25mph headwind for the home straight! Guess you can’t always have everything!:)

The race was held on a closed circuit at RAF Barkston Heath and was to consist of 50 minutes racing, followed by an additional 5 laps once the time had elapsed. I was entered into the ‘Novice’ category as it was my first time racing in a group and for a warm-up, we went out in small groups with more experienced racers to learn the course and to practise both ‘racing’ in a group and some specific bike handling skills… All good fun.

Then, grab a quick bite to eat, fill the bidon & line up at the start! Almost succeeding in keeping the butterflies at bay, the field of around 30 riders set off for a neutralised lap and then – it was on! Straight away, one guy leapt off the front and steadily pulled out a fair gap. We had a chat about it and decided to let him go and leave him ‘dangling’. I tried my best to hide in the group, especially when we were heading into the savage headwind on the home straight but, as one of the bigger guys they were having none of it and I ended up doing quite a few ‘pulls’ on the front into wind… Enough of this, time to mix things up a bit, rather than letting everyone stay in my wheel I broke clear, smashed the group apart and only 4 guys came with me. We worked as a small break for the next 15 minutes or so but eventually they began to pull away, trying to reel in the ‘lone ranger’ who was about 35 seconds ahead at this point and showing no signs of slowing.

Trying to bridge the gap, solo, to the lead group...
I just couldn’t hold on; my heart rate was near my max and as soon as I let the wheels go ahead of me, the wind & speed really took it’s toll… Time to regroup – I managed to drop back a little to rejoin one of the guys on my team, we worked together for a couple of laps which gave me a chance to get out of the wind for a few turns and get my heart rate back down…

The break were about to swallow up the ‘lone ranger’ and they had 47 seconds on me, I had my last turn out of wind, took the opportunity to get an SIS Energy Gel on board and jumped up a gear as soon as we got the wind behind us… I was off, in the zone and chasing them down! I’ve found this before when I’ve been riding, it takes me about 40 minutes to get properly warmed up and for my body to settle down and get comfortable at working hard… Maybe it’s psychological but either way, I felt great & pushed on as hard as I could – Rob Gray, my training partner & all round legend was keeping me up to date with the gap every time I passed him, it was coming down & fast!  47 Seconds became 35. 35 became 20 and then, I turned onto the home straight and I could see them up the road ahead of me… Still feeling good, I gave it everything for 2 more laps and, with lots of encouragement from the crowd, managed to get back into the lead group, boom! I felt elated as I never thought I’d be able to bridge my way across the gap. In fact, the lead group were more surprised than I was when they saw me back with them , haha! I got a couple of minutes of well deserved rest, hiding in their wheels and went for my last Energy Gel… This did not go so well – I ripped the top off with such force that it split open and covered me and the bike in sticky sugaryness – I did manage to get some of it inside me and I have to admit that it made me chuckle to myself; Typical! Haha!
Me, wearing '96', about to re-join the lead group

I had timed it perfectly, probably more luck than judgement truth be told, and got my ‘rest lap’ just before the 5 laps to go board was shown… Back to work again – there was no way I had put all that work in, not to get a place on the podium! The speed ramped up and up and I placed myself in third wheel with a lap to go. I moved up into second with about 500 metres to go but didn’t quite have enough left in my legs to contest the sprint for 1st place… 2nd place it was! I honestly felt like I’d won anyway, having work so hard to jump the gap and then getting myself up into 2nd!

So, that’s it – first race done and dusted. Successful & no road rash, can’t ask for much more than that! Next year, I’ll be in the ‘Open’ race with the elite riders, so the training for that starts now… Time to get serious about this, eat properly, lose the excess weight and train smart – more on this in future blog posts! For now, I’ve been bitten by the racing bug & I’m on the lookout for my next racing challenge!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by, ride safe and catch you soon!


Matt

Riding the Boards!

Ok, so - my job is one of highs and lows (figuratively and literally I guess)... But one of the best things about it is that it occasionally affords me the opportunity to try out new experiences; in work's time, too! :)

Since I started Cycle Training, i've always wanted to get into Track Cycling; Don't get me wrong, I love riding on the road and am looking forward to getting into some Cat 4/3 races this year but it's the speed and teamwork required on the track which really floats my boat - I guess because it kind of takes me back to competing on the athletics track in my younger days... 

Last week I got the chance to go with the RAF Cycling Team and do my first track session at the Newport Velodrome in South Wales. What an amazing experience (which completely made up for the 5AM wake-up alarm!)! There were about 30 riders in total, the majority of whom had never been on the track before so, to this end, we had organised for one of the Velodrome Coaches to look after us for the day and run our training whilst the 'Experts' in the team hit it hard for the duration.


Newport Velodrome, Wales, UK.

We spent the first hour or so getting used to the bikes on the inside of the track; Learning how to stop with no brakes definitely takes some practise and was well worth the time before we started to pick up some serious speed... After a short break, it was our turn to try our hand on the banking! :) This is where it all went wrong for me and, in true 'Matt Williams' fashion, (See Turbo Trainer Danger...) I stacked it on the first turn - not enough speed and down I went, sliding, unceremoniously on my side, still clipped in to the bike, into the centre of the track (burning my elbow, melting the side of my shorts and ripping my favourite BMC Jersey)... Bugger! Hey ho, i've fallen before and i'll fall again so - before i'd even stopped sliding, I picked myself up, ran with the bike to get up some speed & smashed round the next turn! What an amazing feeling this is!

Before we knew it, our 20 minutes was up and it was time to leave the track to allow the other guys to run some pursuit training and do some timed efforts while we topped up on water & energy bars... Soon enough, it was our turn to get out and practise holding a wheel, exploring the track as we went and soon, we were running the track in a 10 strong snake, breaking out at the end of each lap and clipping along at quite a pace... We also got the chance to do some timed efforts - I managed a fairly reasonable 35.2 seconds for 500m which I was more than happy with for my first attempt and was only 1.4 secs behind the fastest Team Rider... So I guess all this training is starting to work out.

To that end, i've decided to try and do more track riding and tailor my training towards it. I'll still do the same endurance work and look to race on the road through the summer but i'm going to look to do more leg-strength exercises in the gym and way more sprint sessions on the Turbo - I want to beat 34 seconds for my 500m time when I head back to Newport in May for the team trails, bring it on!




One of the 'Expert' RAF Team members on a timed effort...
(Photo Courtesy of RAF Cycling)

If you've ever considered trying out a bit of Track Riding, I can't recommend it enough - it's a great feeling and can really help your cycling skills; particularly holding a wheel and getting the confidence to stay close to the rider in front...

If you want any advice on how to organise a track session (not that i'm an expert or anything) or fancy some company if you're going to try the track for the first time then feel free to drop me a line - Any excuse to get back on the 'pringle' whenever I can is good enough for me!

Train safe and catch you again soon,

Matt

Join the Club...

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Blog!

Those of you who have been following my progress over the last 6 months or so will no doubt be aware that Cycling Training has pretty much formed the basis of my new exercise regime. Yes, i'm about to start mixing it up and adding running into the mix along with getting back into my weight training in a big way - but these are really only 'vehicles' to help condition my body to generate the best Power to Weight ratio for my cycling.

Whilst I really enjoy getting out for a few hours on the bike and training hard - I have to admit that on some days it is very difficult to get the motivation to get out there and ride; particularly when it is as dark, wet and cold as it has been over the past few weeks! (As much as I love riding; feeling that pain as your fingers and toes warm up, post ride, that you haven't felt since you were forced to play School Boy Rugby in the snow is not a pleasant experience and one which I thought i'd left behind years ago! ).

Also, I was beginning to get to the point where I couldn't really force myself to improve without some additional help! So, after much deliberation and research, I took the plunge and joined one of the local Cycling Clubs, here in Oxford. It was pretty daunting, turning up in front of a cafe, decked out in my full lycra at 0900 on a Saturday morning, not knowing anyone; But do you know what? I'm so glad I did!

Despite the training I had been doing and knowing that I was fairly 'Bike Fit' I didn't want to turn up, go riding, get dropped in the first 10 minutes and be left feeling a complete fool; finding my own way home, head hung in shame in a sweaty, red, lycra clad mess! 

Yes, biting the bullet and heading to the club meeting point was quite daunting - indeed, this wasn't alleviated much upon my arrival, as pretty much everyone there was decked out in club attire, straddling their shiny, carbon fibre steeds and looking very professional! As soon as I arrived though, everyone welcomed me with open arms and I was made to feel completely at home... Seriously, within 5 minutes of setting off with the 'Slow Group' (which cruised at around 16.5-17.5mph for the 55 mile ride) we were looking like a pro peleton. Fifteen riders happily chatting away; everyone taking turns to ride on the front as and when required and shouting words of encouragement when the next hill came into view! (We even passed the 'Medium' group about an hour in as they'd suffered a few punctures! :) )...

Probably the best part about riding with the club is the feeling of camaraderie and 'belonging'; everyone was more than happy to offer their experience and wisdom and, given that our club is based around an amazing Cafe in the centre of Oxford, telephone numbers were exchanged during the post training Coffee and Toasted Banana Bread so that we could meet up for drinks that week and also to organise lifts to the start of the following weeks ride! It doesn't get much better than that!

Seriously, if you are even contemplating joining a Cycling Club, wether it be to get into your training more seriously or just to experience some new routes - bite the bullet and 'Join the Club' - you won't regret it! :)

If you live in or around Oxford and want to join our club - check it out here: 



If you want any more information or just to chat about joining, then feel free to drop me a line below; If i'm free I might even be able to meet you in the Cafe and chat in person over a coffee! :)

Incidentally, the cafe which our club is based in is also called 'Zappis' - an independent, run by 'The Two Dans'... If you are in Oxford and want to experience the best coffee around head on over; you might even bump into some of the Zappi's Club Riders who frequent there on an almost daily basis!

              
 
                                 
                                     Zappis Cafe
                  The best Coffee & Service in town!


             Check out the Zappis Cafe Website Here:

                        Zappis Bike Cafe Website 



                  
                    'The Two Dans'


Thanks for stopping by & until next time, train safely!

Matt

Goals

Hi everyone, & welcome back! It's been a really busy few weeks on the training front with lots going on; Mostly cycling wise & there's a few posts to come about all that so I won't touch on it this time...

So, i've started to get back into my running - just a few miles at a time for now but fingers crossed the 'running fitness' will come back reasonably quickly and i'll be back into the swing of it by the summer (Although I could barely walk for 2 days after my first 4 miler! :S )!

It seems like i've hit a bit of a plateau weight wise; It came off really quickly in the first 8-10 weeks but i'm now hovering around the 85-86Kg mark no matter how many miles I do on the bike each week or how much running I do; Although if i'm honest I don't mind - i'm in good shape, i'm getting quicker on the bike & i'm still eating and drinking whatever I want so if I really wanted to I reckon I could lose the few extra lbs around my belly no problem with a week or two of 'calorie control'!

The only thing which has been getting to me lately is the whole; 'What's the point' issue... So, to that end - i've decided that the only way forward is to give myself a reason to train and set some goals. 

I've entered my first 'race', the Goring 10km on the 3rd March - i'm just going to enjoy it and get a time so that I can try to beat it at another 10km in the summer, hopefully under 50mins! I can't wait (although the running isn't going too well so far!) and there's a few friends doing it too so hopefully that'll provide a little morale, at least at the start line! I'm also hunting for road cycling races to start competing in, once my Cat 4 Licence comes through so if anyone has any suggestions for decent races for a noob racer around Oxfordshire then drop me a line and let me know! :)

I think that's pretty much everything up to date for now so until next time, train safe & catch you soon,

Matt

Gore Bike Wear Power WINDSTOPPER Winter Cycling Gloves - Review & Sizing Guide


Hi guys,

Welcome back to the Blog! So, it's been suuuper cold here in the UK for the last couple of weeks and i've finally had to invest in a proper set of Winter Cycling Golves! The video below is just a short review of the gloves i've bought to try and help fight my way through the winter training rides! I'm really glad I spent the money on them, despite them being a little more than I really wanted to pay, you cannot put a price on being comfortable and not feeling like your hands are going to fall off when you go for your post ride shower! :) 





I've not found anything about them that I don't like so far, they kept my hands toasty warm on a 2 and a half hour ride in -3 degrees celcius the other day and when I wore them on a rainy commute to work a couple of weeks ago they were reasonably waterproof and certainly kept the wind from getting my hands cold!

If you want to purchase a pair then please use the link below to purchase them on Amazon, it's the cheapest place I could find them and by purchasing through the Blog, you will help me to create more review / info videos in the future! 




Thanks again, train safe and until next time, wrap up warm! :)

Matt