Simon Bullen's Weblog

British cyclist dominate the world indoor track championships

A huge congratulations to the British cycling team who dominated the world indoor track championships again beating last years amazing tally of 7 golds with 9 this year and breaking 3 world records on the way.

Its amazing we do so well at this sport with the limited facilities available to train, there are only 3 velodromes in the whole of the UK, OK manchester is a world class facility but its location will limit the number of people who can have access on a regular basis.

Lets hope we do this well in China !!

Posted at 09:38AM Mar 31, 2008 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[4]

What’s smug and deserves to be decapitated?

From The Times December 27, 2007

What’s smug and deserves to be decapitated?

Matthew Parris: My Week

A festive custom we could do worse than foster would be stringing piano wire across country lanes to decapitate cyclists. It’s not just the Lycra, though Heaven knows this atrocity alone should be a capital offence; nor the helmets, though these ludicrous items of headgear are designed to protect the only part of a cyclist that is not usefully employed; nor the self-righteousness, though a small band of sports cyclists on winter’s morning emits more of that than a cathedral at evensong; nor even the brutish disregard for all other road users, though the lynching of a cyclist by a mob of mothers with pushchairs would be a joy to witness.

Read More

Posted at 09:41PM Jan 10, 2008 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[1]

Cycle lights - review

Blimey winter is here again, the days are short and cold, well it was cold this morning.

Anyway found this great article regarding front lights with prices ranging from £30 to £430 pounds, the good news for me is that the Hope lights I purchased last year are still rated as one of the best on the market, money well spent if you ask me.

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Posted at 09:02AM Nov 12, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[1]

Why have the dutch got it right ?

I was in Holland last week and the number of cyclist was outstanding, and this wasn't a large city such as Amsterdam, it was on the outskirts of Breda.



Also the lack of need for major security, most bikes just have a lock on the rear wheel to stop them being cycled away, no need for lockers or padlocking to fixed lock points.
I did note that most of the bikes weren't worth stealing but this doesn't normally stop a thief in the UK.

Posted at 11:17AM Oct 29, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[3]

Shimano launches carbon Dura-Ace crankset

Shimano have officially launched the new Dura-Ace crankset FC-7800C.

Surprisingly, the crankset actually hides an alloy core. The alloy frame provides the structural rigidity; the interlaced and wrapped carbon keeps the weight down. The reason Shimano haven't gone down a complete carbon route is that they constantly found that although weight decreases with the use of carbon, so does the rigidity.

The halfway house certainly hasn't had a detrimental effect to the weight. Analysing the numbers, Shimano are claiming 709g for the complete crankset including the bottom bracket. SRAM's recently launched RED crankset tips the scales at a claimed 780g (including bottom bracket

Click here for more

Posted at 06:03PM Aug 30, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[2]

Petition the Prime Minister to Abolish The Import Duty On Bicycles Made Outside the EU

Almost all bicycles sold in the UK are manufactured in the Far East. UK manufacturing on any large scale ended some time ago. Bicycles are subject to an import duty of 14% which, when compared to consumer electronics rates of near zero, is bonkers. We have childhood obesity issues, congestion, global warming and an ageing population that needs exercise- the bicycle has a role to play in the resolution of all these issues. It seems crazy that the tax regime encourages a kid to sit in front of a bicycle extreme sports computer game rather than go out and ride his bike. The petition is to raise awareness of this anomaly and to encourage politicians at the highest level to start the necessary trade talks to abolish duty on a product that improves the health of the nation, helps lower emissions and is an all round benefit to society.

Click here sign the petition

Posted at 11:04AM Jul 13, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[1]

Success, I think so

Now after commuting to work by cycle for over 12 months I am pleased to say that in our office there are now more people than ever getting to work (granted some only a few days a week) via cycle than there is driving in by car .
To make it better, those that are currently driving are looking at cycling as an option for some days of the week.
What really make it great is the current weather being warm and dry, this makes an early morning and evening cycle so pleasurable.
Our office PA, Sue has the longest cycle of 12 miles each way and she is a Grandma ! So words such as too old or too far fall on deaf ears as far as I am concerned.

So come on give it a go, you may even enjoy it !!

Posted at 02:12PM May 04, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[1]

No excuses this time, just stupid riding !

Building....



Completed....



Crashed....



But still smiling....

Posted at 04:00PM Apr 20, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[0]

How to crash a KMX trike

After crashing the road bike, then progressing to the mountain bike for a crash, I thought that three wheels would add some stability and safety into my life, well no.... not when you try to pull a "stoppy" and one tyre is under inflated !



Mr Muffett has the full story and more pictures on his blog:-

www.crypticide.com

Posted at 09:19AM Apr 20, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[2]

Presta? Schrader? Woods? Get to know your bicycle valves

I found some interesting videos on YouTube that go into basic bike maintenance.

Worth a look.......

watch video

Posted at 01:40PM Apr 18, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[0]

Cateye computer killed by LED light

I have a Cateye wireless computer mounted on my road bike, I was so impressed with the unit that I treated myself to one for the Trek Y22 mountain bike.
After installation the unit worked fine, but then it started to not register MPH, the unit would wake up when you started moving, the clock would start but that was it.
The main issue was the problem was intermittent with sometimes the MPH working and then stopping again.
I adjusted the unit so the wheel magnet was in the correct position, moved the sensor forward a bit but this had no real effect on performance, still intermittent.
Then riding home last night I noticed the computer was working, the light was getting low so I turned on my Hope Vision lights, the next thing I noticed the computer had stopped, I turned off the lights, computer starts....

I turned on my secondary front light, a cheap Cateye unit and had no issues.

So it seems that high powered LED lights will help kill off your cycle computer, I need to move the Hope lights further along the bars to see if the interference stops. Either that or purchase a wired computer system.

Posted at 12:05PM Apr 17, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[2]

Cycling champ turns to 'Net to battle doping charges

Disputed Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is pioneering the use of social network tools to rally a collective consciousness in his fight against allegations that he used a banned substance to help him win the world’s greatest cycling race.

In today’s guilty-until-proven-innocent world of doping charges against cyclists and other athletes – most recently swimmer Ian Thorpe – Landis has turned to the court of public opinion using a “wiki defense” and “crowdsourcing” to gain knowledge and build his case for a formal legal hearing.

Landis, with the help of his one-time coach Dr. Arnie Baker, hopes the Web and social network technology will help them uncover and confirm what he calls grievous mistakes that resulted in a positive test that he used a banned substance to help him win the Tour de France.

Of course, while Landis professes his innocence to charges that he used a synthetic form of the male hormone testosterone to boost his performance, the Tour de France organization already does not recognize him as the race champion. The International Cycling Union stands ready to strip him of the title if his appeals process fails, and after years of drug scandals in cycling many have already branded Landis with the scarlet letter of a cheater.

He faces becoming the first winner in the 103-year history of the race to be stripped of his title, but most important, his career could be all but over.

To fight back, he has gone “full-monty” in putting his case before the public.

First, he exercised his option with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to have a public hearing on his doping charges, becoming the first athlete ever to do so.

He then took the unique step to publish online, Wikipedia-style, the 370 pages of his lab tests for the world to read and evaluate, a move that would send shivers down the spine of HIPAA-compliance officers.

“The wiki has been quite productive,” says Baker, who gets hundreds of e-mails a day from people who have pored over the documents on Landis’s drug tests and offered insight into myriad alleged procedural and other mistakes that Landis says led to his positive test.

Click Here for more

Posted at 02:17PM Apr 13, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[0]

Etape Caledonia

What is the Etape Caledonia?

The Etape Caledonia will break new ground in the UK as the first-ever timed mass participation cycling event on closed roads. Scheduled for Sunday June 24th 2007, the event will appeal to road racers and cycling enthusiasts, but will also be accessible to the fast-increasing audiences entering triathlons and duathlons across the UK. The event will be promoted and staged by a new division of Quintus Group, who also stage the London Triathlon, The Blenheim Triathlon and The London Duathlon.

Start & Finish Location Pitlochry, Highland Perthshire, PH16 5BX

Race Distances

With two distances available the event caters for all ability levels:

Challenge Course Distance - 134 km / 83 miles. Total Ascent 2,078m
Intermediate Course Distance - 45 km / 28 miles. Total Ascent 964m

Who Can Enter?

The event is open to individuals between the ages of 18 and 80.

All participants will be required to maintain a minimum average speed around the course. This is to ensure that roads are reopened to the schedule agreed by the authorities. See website for more information - Click Here

Posted at 10:42AM Mar 29, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[2]

Tour de France - stage 1

Well its been confirmed, I have one of the 5000 places to run the stage 1 of the tour de France.
The event is following the route of stage 1 of the Tour de France on its historic UK Grand Depart, on an epic 117 mile journey from beautiful and historic Greenwich out of London and through the Kent countryside to finish in Canterbury, in the shadow of the city’s ancient cathedral.
Thankfully 4 other riders from Sun UK will be taking part so we should be able to ride as a team.

Better start training then.

tags [cycling][tour de france]

Posted at 10:13PM Mar 08, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[0]

Wood is the new Carbon !

Amazing creations from a dutch engineer who has built a race bike who's frame is constructed from 34 layers of Birch wood.

The frame is strong but quite heavy at 9kg but looks sensational.

How much for this beauty, only between 14,500 and 16,000 euros each







More creations can be found at :- www.jangunneweg.nl

Posted at 09:12AM Feb 20, 2007 by Simon Bullen in Cycling  |  Comments[3]