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!!

Oh dear, I've discovered Rapha!

Some new kit arrived today. Nothing unusual you would think, but I was very excited, and have been watching the tracking closely, willing the postman to get here quickly!
A black postage bag with the words Rapha and the obligatory flash of Pink raised the expectation of what I knew was inside even more. I had ordered the kit so I knew what was in there but it was just like Christmas as I carefully opened the package. Inside was another bag, this time like a musette ( a feed bag that Cyclists use on day races) without the strap, but emblazoned with the words, Rapha Performance Roadwear.
Now I don't want to disappoint you with the contents, but I am now the proud owner of a Rapha+Paul Smith Cap and a pair of oversocks.

I didn't get a chance to wear the oversocks tonight as it was a bit too wet, but the Cap is excellent. I have been wearing a Castelli Thermo Skull Cap through the winter so far, which has been excellent, and I wasn't sure how well the Rapha cap would work in comparison, but I need not have worried. It kept my head warm, and wicked the sweat well, even with the efforts we put in up the hills and along the Hoylake/Meols seafront.
I'm not going to say how good the cap is and how much I like the Rapha range to Claire, because I'm sure she will cut up the credit card and put a lock on the computer to help me resist!!!
The sale is still on so get on to http://www.rapha.cc/ for some bargains.

Tonight Was windy and the roads were quite wet from a day of showers, but Paul, Phil, Owen and me headed out from the 12th Man towards West Kirby into a nice gusty headwind! We decided to do a couple of loops over the hill and then take advantage of natures propulsion on the way back. We climbed up an over the hill 5 times and then did a bit of sprinting down the Prom. It is really helping  having the lads come out in the week, as we all motivate each other to get on the bike, even in rough weather.
We were chatting tonight about the Saturday ride, and decided that we should leave a bit earlier so that we can fit in a cafe stop and still be back by lunchtime. So this weeks club ride will leave the shop at 9.00. I will load up the ride route tomorrow.

Tonight's Ride Details: http://app.strava.com/rides/3465123