Cycle Show 2012

I struggle to accept that a year has gone by since I was last at the NEC drooling over the latest bike porn!

This year I was accompanied by 7 other Palefish CC lads. I drove and took Ken, Iain and Phil, and Paul also drove Scott, Pauric and Tim. I would like to say that The lads in the other car were given a picnic for the journey by Tims Fiance!! 

We met up at the NEC, My group were there first as we didn't stop for a picnic on the way, and as reward for getting there early we managed to see Olympic Silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead being interviewed by Dave Harmon.

Right next to the Stage was the stand for the Tour De Force. Sarah from the Loch to Loch ride was there and it was good to catch up and talk about the possibilities of doing the famous Tour route, one day!

My next destination was the Onimpex Bio Racer stand. I thought I would take the opportunity to talk to Ken about our order, and also it was a good chance for the lads to see what they had bought! Ken was great and explained how the kit was made, and the differences in fabric and pads used ( very interesting ) 

It should only be a couple of weeks now and then the club will be kitted out!

Next to the Bio Racer stall was probably the biggest, and definitely one of the busiest stalls at the show, Pinarello.
After Bradley's successful Tour the marketing team had gone to town, and I thought it was a great concept.

After a bit of mooching I came across old friends, Craig and Mike from Onix. It was great to see them so busy that they didn't have time to chat at first. It seems that the next few months are going to be really exciting for Craig, so watch this space for updates. We also spoke about taking the club ride up to the new Onix showroom and doing a ride from there into the Ribble Valley. More details to follow.

Rob Hayles actual Onix RH Pro! 

 Throughout the day we seemed to gravitate back to the Onix stand and as we did all the lads had a chance to meet Craig and talk about his bikes.

A Mike tool time master class!

Next to Onix was the C3 products stand. I bumped into someone else I had met before here. C3 were the main prize sponsors for the 10 minutes of hell Tunnel Time Trial last year. It was great to catch up with Paul, and nice to know he still reads the blog!

We spent the rest of the day roaming the halls taking in all the new technology and Bling.
Here are some of my favourites.

Colnago Ferrari Bikes

Olympic Gold Medal winning Bike

Tour Of Britain King of the mountains Jersey, and Kristian House's  bike above

Albero Contador's winning Vuelta Bike

Paul Smith Designed Lotus Condor

Palefish CC Colours?

That would look nice above the fireplace.

oops!

 We  also spent quite a lot of time in the Campagnolo Box. My personal favourite bling is the Super Record carbon groupset. Very light and extremely stylish.
As the day drew to a close we took advantage of the reduction in numbers and managed to get close to the Campanolo EPS test bikes. Paul was first, then Phil. We are not quite sure how it happened, but Phil managed to slip the chain off the rings! after a little fettling the chain was back on and we carried on abusing the extremely well engineered highly tuned piece of tuned engineering!

 I think my favourite bike of the show was the Demon Manhattan. Typically I didn't get a good photo of it, but here are some from the website. http://www.demonframeworks.com/

 I also liked the track bike, and the Copper plated finish.

So, that was the 2012 Cycle show. The Wiggo effect was definitely apparent, and the traders were commenting on the high level of interest from people new to cycling, long may it continue.

I haven't got any ride information to add this week. We didn't have a club ride on Tuesday, we decided to have a social at the 12th man instead, and have an opportunity to chat in comfort. It was well attended, and some great ideas about group riding safety were discussed. I couldn't make Thursdays ride as I was driving the length of the country, almost, and back to deliver my eldest Sons birthday present! And of course, we were at the NEC today!! Some of the lads went out yesterday, and on Tuesday I shall be back in the saddle too!!

Enjoying the Spring sunshine

It wasn't particularly warm as I left the house this morning, but I had decided that today was going to be a Shorts and Short sleeve jersey day, and it looked like the mist would burn off. When I got to Paul's he had just changed into a short sleeved jersey, and was taking the mud guards off his bike. It was getting warmer even as we rode up to the shop, but just to remind us it was only March, there was quite a cold breeze.
As it approached 9.30 the shop filled up with cyclists, all wearing shorts,  some with leg or knee warmers, but all needing a little bit of sun, except Dave who went to Lanzarote in Feb with a few of the other lads.
There were 17 of us in the group today.

I had planned a route that zig zagged through the lanes, and as I didn't want to get lost for the third ride in a row, I set the route as a course on the Garmin, and asked Paul to do the same.
I bet you can guess what comes next? Yep, I got lost!! and only about 5 miles into the ride! It was a simple mistake, left instead of right! But it wasn't too much of a problem, all we had to do was negotiate a large busy roundabout over the M53, and we were back on course.

We headed down to the Dee Path, and were greeted with a strong headwind. We worked as a team and kept the pace up, until we reached the bridge half way along. We crossed the Dee and were in our third county of the day! As we got to the end of the runway at Hawarden Airport we were treated to the spectacle of the Airbus Beluga taking off. I wasn't quick enough to get my camera out, but here is a video from You Tube.




It certainly is a bizarre sight, and doesn't look like it should really fly!

The reason for heading over the Dee was to introduce a new hill into our Saturday rides. The climb up into the village of  Hawarden isn't particularly long, just under half a mile, but after 30 miles it certainly tests the legs a little.

With the wind behind us now, the miles disappeared quickly, we even rode past Eureka without stopping!!
We decided to ride straight  up the Chester high Road, as a couple of the group needed to get back, and for once, with the wind at our backs, it was quite enjoyable.

Not all 17 made it all the way round, a couple split early on in the ride, Anthony went off up into Wales to play on the proper hills, and a couple headed home instead of going back to the shop. I hope all our weekend rides will be as warm as this now for the rest of Spring and summer!!!!

I have finally purchased some new shoes. They were dispatched today so should be with me next week. After much deliberation, and cogitation I went for a pair of Giro Factor's. They are in the colours of the Rapha Condor Sharp racing team. Now everyone is used to me wearing lycra, they have to prepare for the introduction of accents of pink!! (Condor bike next time?!?!?!?!?)

Paul had mentioned during the ride that it was Star Wars weekend at Spaceport, and seeing as my kids and his are hooked on the films and Lego kits we decided to take a trip over to Seacombe. While we were there I think I spotted the person who was throwing things at us along the prom a few weeks ago.
He fits the description, black hoodie etc!

Today's ride details