Category Archives: Reviews

Wiggle Bitter Beast 2015

Right then. Time for the final sportive of the season – the Wiggle Bitter Beast Sportive. Which I’d really been looking forward to, oddly, because it’s a part of the world I really like, and cycling around the Jurassic Coast seemed like a pretty good way to round off the season. However as the weekend drew near, so did Storm Barney and although it was due to have blown over by then, and yes I did do that on purpose, there were still some pretty impressive winds due to be blowing around on the day.

Hm. I hate wind. Which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. And with 40-50mph winds it’s not just that I don’t like them, they can actually be dangerous. But I wanted to do it. But 2 hours is a long way to go to then be miserable for 70 miles. But I hate bailing. And then my work threw an extra spanner in the works. Having been doing the social media for the Cairo-Cape Town world record bike race attempt for the previous few weeks, it turned out that the team were now due to arrive in Cape Town, and break that record, somewhere around 4-5pm on that Sunday. Their time. Which would be 2-3pm our time. And I really needed to be home or at the very least on-line for that, to keep the world updated, follow them in, and spread the word afterwards. Quite important really. No point doing the job and then missing that bit!

To cut a long and clearly not that exciting story short, after a little encouragement from others, I made a decision. I’d do it. I’d get up at stupid o’clock. Drive to Bovington Tank Museum. Do the shorter 40 mile route. Drive back, and be home in time to get to work. OK, so that all seems like a bit much to just do 40 miles but, as I said, I hate bailing, I wanted to do it, and more than that, since I’d been given a place so as to review it, I really felt like I should do that. Yep, I’m still pretty conscientious 🙂

Which brings me to HQ, at Bovington Tank Museum, on a very windy, chilly, grey and slightly damp Sunday morning. I was amongst the first arriving, having aimed to be so, with my usual “sooner started, sooner finished” thing going on, and was marshalled to park in the museum car park. I was sort of midway between the start line and the main museum building, neither of which were far away. Time to register before faffing then. Which I quite enjoyed. Well, registering for a sportive doesn’t usually involve quite so many tanks, and it was quite nice to get a peek at them all without having to pay. As eldest has just done his EPQ on how tanks developed as a result of and through the course of World War II, it turns out I’ve recently had quite a lot to do with tanks, and having seen the place for myself now, we’ll definitely be going back next year to pay to visit it properly. Tanks are cool, right? 🙂

Not only did I get to look at tanks, but registration was also inside, warm, dry, and had plenty of facilities. And it was also easy. Sign up, get a map, bike number, three cable ties, and the essential helmet timing chip. No queue. Unlike the Gents. But not the Ladies. Result 🙂 There’s always a perverse pleasure to be be taken from walking past their queue… Schadenfreude?

All that being done, t’were time to get back to the car, layer up, load the bike up, and head for the Start line. Being amongst the first at a smallish event where I imagine the no-show rate was fairly high too, thanks again to Barney, there were only a few of us waiting to be briefed, so it didn’t take long, and all of five minutes later I was off.

To be fair, although yes, it was bl**dy windy out there, it wasn’t quite as bad as I’d worried it might be. We were starting in the top and middle of a loop so…it goes something like this. Out into the wind for a bit. Down with side winds. Along with the wind behind. Up with side winds. Back into the wind to the Finish. Well, ish. What with there being quite a lot of trees around, there was more shelter than I was expecting. Still, it was bl**dy hard work quite a lot of the time. I have to say I wasn’t really feeling it. I’d definitely felt better on the bike. As Alan might put it, I didn’t have any zing. But since I knew I only had 40 miles to do, it wasn’t really a problem and my PMA remained relatively intact.

At least while slogging along there were thatched cottages and churches and villages and things to look at. And colourful autumn leaves. Well ok, a lot of them were on the road rather than on the trees, but hey, they were still pretty. Quite a lot of the land around there is military owned and not developed, and a lot of it also seems to be forestry, which keeps it feeling lovely and peaceful and rural. There are tank tracks, tank ranges, and military camps all over the place, all of which made the Tank Museum the perfectly logical HQ I think. The military land also came complete with red flags flying, warning that today trespassing on that land would be even less of a good idea than usual 😉

I’m was pleased to discover that there wasn’t too much climbing involved to make life even harder. I know there are some nasty hills around there, but every time we got near one of those that I vaguely remember, with my heart sinking, we’d end up not going up it and going in a different direction. This is not to say it was completely flat though, there were some ups, even the odd steepish one. The worst climb I think was the long drag down south, up to the coast. It went on for miles. Literally; it didn’t just feel like it did! Still if you’re going to get views, you have to go up, right? Sometimes up there you could even see the sea! OK, so I didn’t get to be by the beach this time around, but the sight of the sun breaking through the clouds and over the sea, if not over me, was well worth it. And after however long slogging up there, the lovely descent into West Lulworth, which I realised was coming about half way up the hill, was a joy 🙂

West Lulworth, about 26 miles in, was also where the food stop was. Marshalls were trying to slow arriving riders down, and there was a degree of chaos with riders deciding what to do, going in, coming out… Since I was feeling fine, and only doing the short route, I decided I really didn’t need to waste time, or intake food/drink (I travelled equipped as ever), so I just wiggled around them all and kept going. It being a Wiggle event I imagine it was as well stocked as ever though, they’ve had enough experience by now!

What goes down must go up sadly, and it was quite a long steepish climb back up from there. However this I knew, having done it before, which always makes up easier to deal with, and I just engaged crawler gear and got on with it. The wind was now essentially behind me and I won’t pretend it didn’t help push me up there a bit too. Sometimes wind is ok 😉 Having saluted the gate guardian tanks at Lulworth Camp near the top, and put the climb likewise behind me, the wind was more than ok for a while after that too. Wheee…..! Who’s going to turn down a few miles of sort of down/flat with a storm behind you? Not me 🙂

Time for the route split then. On another day I’d have loved to do the long route. Having looked at it beforehand I had noticed however that it didn’t include my favourite road here – the long climb up the coast past the tank target ranges, and I had half considered doing it anyway just for fun. It would have been the more logical way to go for the long route too…so I had been a bit bemused as to why it wasn’t en route…but the big red flags, and a road closed sign, explained why it wasn’t included. It also meant that I wasn’t going to be doing it for fun today either. Ah well, maybe another time? Waving a slightly regretful farewell to the road ahead, where Corfe Castle and Swanage beckoned, I took the left turn, turned tail, and headed back.

The return leg wasn’t quite so much fun, putting me gradually back into the wind. There were some interesting wiggles to get around main roads and junctions, and after hurtling off one big roundabout to get away from the traffic I missed the “turn right almost instantly” sign and nearly ended up in a military camp…though I’m thinking the armed guard and massive security gate might have prevented that from actually happening! The small bit of cycle path not long after, which would normally annoy me, took in a very pretty bridge, river, and small country pile, which placated me nicely 😉 Back to the road, and not so long after that I was being welcomed back to HQ by big tanks, and riding under the Finish arch.

After owning up to my Short route choice, I was presented with various goodies and a Wiggle Finishers t-shirt. I caused some consternation by asking for it in Large. “What, really?” Which I cleared up by explaining it would end up on eldest not me. At least they didn’t just look at me and go “yeah, no kidding” 😉 *grin*. And there you have it; Wiggle Bitter Beast done. And, as it turns out, even though it felt like hard work, and not stopping probably helped, I got me a Gold time! Woohoo! I’ve added it to my list of events to go back and do next year, to do the long route – but there’ll be no gold for that I bet 😉

I took myself back to the car for a quick change, and a quick trip to HQ to powder my nose, and then the not so quick 2 hour drive back home. I didn’t have time to hang around and besides, I have a new sportive tactic now too – pre-load the car with fizzy orange so I’ve always got some to drink afterwards, so I didn’t need to spend time finding some. Remind me about that next season? 🙂

You’ll be pleased to hear I got back home in time. As did the CAROCAP team, albeit a few hours later than planned – the wind did for them too! They did what they planned to do, I did what I planned to. I got a ride in, I (finally!) reviewed it, and I was home in time to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening sat on the sofa, on Facebook and Twitter, live posting the team in and playing a very tiny part in their amazing record. They cycled from Cairo to Cape Town in 38 days + some hours, beating the previous record by around 3 days. Which puts 40 miles around the Jurassic Coast well and truly into perspective, doesn’t it? *grin*.

Cycling time: 2:37
Distance: 38.6 miles
Avg: 14.7 mph
ODO: 11642.7 miles

Clif Bar nutrition

A little while ago I was lucky enough to be sent some Clif nutrition goodies to try out. Having met Mr Clif bar on my training camp, where he’d become familiar with my tedious nutritional requirements, he reckoned they’d do me nicely. Clif Bar’s philosophy means that they use wholesome ingredients in all their products, and that all their food is free of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. Since not eating enough on sportives is something I have been known to do, trying out new stuff that might work seemed like a good idea. So I spent April and May doing my sportives powered, mostly, by Clif. With the odd flapjack and banana thrown in of course 😉

So, let’s break this down into the four different products. In, as it happens, my order of preference.

Clif Builders
These come in three flavours – Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Peanut Butter. Each bar has 20g of protein and is supposed to be eaten post-workout. I had the Chocolate Peanut Butter ones, and I have to say I wasn’t mad keen on them – but then eating post ride is something I’m notoriously bad at, and after a sportive all I generally want to eat is something savoury – enough with the sweet already! As a result I don’t have much to compare them to. They’re a good size, quite dense, chewy, and fairly chocolately, if that helps? Having said that, coming home from one long sportive driving down a long motorway, realising I was running on empty, one of these did get me back up and going and safely home again!

Clif Bars
I tried the White Chocolate Macadamia and Oatmeal Raisin Walnut flavours (also come in Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Crisp, Crunchy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Almond Fudge). These bars are made with organic rolled oats, and are not unlike the flapjacks I usually eat on that basis – and are ok for me as I’m ok with oat gluten. Unlike my flapjacks however they have a whole heap of other ingredients which elevate them above those. Apparently this mix of whole grains, protein and fibre, means each bar contains B6 and B12 which contributes to the normal release of energy for use in the body. That’s all a bit techy for me… However they do taste good! Not too sweet. Not dry. Easy to chew. They’re a good size for my back pocket and also my top tube bag (some bars are too long and thin), plus they don’t crumble all over the place either! I certainly didn’t “bonk” on the rides I used them, and I’d definitely buy more, and not just to try the other flavours 😉

Clif Shot Gels
Thanks to the training camp and my samples, I think I’ve tried every flavour these come in – Double Espresso (100mg caffeine), Citrus (25mg caffeine), Razz, and Chocolate. Unlike my usual gels these are shorter and squarer and they come with a special designed “Litter Leash™ Packaging” that means you can tear the top, drink/eat the gel, and the top stays attached to the packet to be tucked back inside, before the whole thing goes into your back pocket to be disposed of later. Very clever – and that bit less litter on the road is a good thing! When it came to actually using them, they always come as a bit of a surprise. There are I am expecting a sort of runny jam, and these are more like a thick custard. I’d describe it better if I could – but I can’t! Initially I found the Espresso flavour a bit bitter but I’m used to it now and I especially like the Citrus one. Clearly I’m a bit of a sucker for caffeine in gels… 😉 The gels, whichever flavour, definitely do the trick. Having left it a little too late on one particular ride, and with miles and hills to go, I took one and I could really feel it cut in as needed!

Clif Shot® Bloks™
Now these I absolutely totally love! Think of a tube of 6 separate jelly cubes – a bit like the ones you used to eat as a kid. Each energy chew is 33 calories, and they come in four flavours – Mountain Berry, Strawberry, Tropical Punch (25mg caffeine per serving), Black Cherry (50mg caffeine per serving). On a ride, once I’ve got past the bars/flapjacks stage, these have turned out to be the perfect way to make sure I eat something every twenty minutes, which is so important. They’re easy to eat, and rather than gels, which give you a hit when you need it, these gave me a more sustained energy level. I like them so much I went out bought loads last month and I’ve been using them ever since!

Unsurprisingly what you eat on a ride is always going to be a matter of taste. However I’d definitely recommend the range – especially the Bloks. None of the products upset my insides, and I definitely felt fuelled throughout my rides – result!

Shutt Velo Rapide Isobel Jersey review

Sometimes there are perks to my Cyclosport “job”. This time around I have a jersey to review and also, as it unexpectedly turned out, semi-matching socks! And, to gild the lily, when it turned up last week, it’s also purple! Not that that makes a jersey better of course, right? Isobel1w

And so on to the details. That which you see before you is a Shutt Velo Rapide Isobel short-sleeved jersey. I wasn’t sure which size I would be from their size chart, falling neatly between two camps, but they very kindly supplied both so that I could have the right one (and return the other). As it turns out I’m a medium, which is no doubt better for my ego than being a large!

spots

Apart from the joys of it being purple, it also has a polka dot band on both the front and back and also inside the collar which is a nice touch. Apparently this inspires thoughts of a certain polka dot bikini song, which is close as you’ll ever get me to being in a bikini! There also isn’t a flower, butterfly, or hint of pink anywhere to be seen – result! I think it’s quite attractive – a bit quirky, distinctive, but not OTT.

The jersey has three rear cargo pockets with an extra zipped valuables pocket, which is great as I’m forever wondering where to safely stash my keys without having to worry about losing them mid-ride when I pull other stuff out of my pockets. The pocket is also waterproof on the body side, so it would be great for your phone too, though I use my trusty pOcpac for mine, which is the reason my phone survived Ride London and neither my camera nor iPod shuffle did!

pockets

Once I’d stopped examining it and put it on, some of the other features became obvious, especially when taking photos. All the zips and the piping on the hem and pockets are reflective, as are the logos, as you can see! It’s longer in the body, especially at the back, than I’m used to, with a good silicone gripper all round, and having worn it a few times now, that’s nice. It covers your lumpy bits, never rides up, and it keeps your behind covered properly. It’s not the lightest weight lycra out there, but it also has mesh side panels which you don’t really notice but will mean that it’s breathable, and means that it’s probably perfect for most of what passes for both spring and summer weather over here.

front view

I wore it for Ride London, and the extra length was both good and bad. Good because even when soaked through, you have an extra layer of warmth there. Not so good as, once the pockets were full of my assorted crap, my lovely waterproof, being somewhat shorter and relatively close fitting, couldn’t extend to go around and cover them too, so the water just ran off it and on to (into?) them. My Cyclosport gilet wasn’t up to the task either.

All that said, and most importantly however, it feels really nice to wear. I wasn’t aware “Italian lycra” was a special thing, but apparently it is, and it is lovely and soft on the skin. The sleeves are a good length, and fitted but not tight, so you can get arm warmers on under them, though you have to be a bit careful not to stretch them too much, as I think that might pull stitches, but that’s ok. The white trim on the sleeves goes well with a tan too 😉 The full length zip can be a bit tricky to get started from the bottom as it’s beneath a little protective fabric corner that it hides in, but once done it works fine, and it goes up and down easily enough en route. Oh and it tucks into a matching corner tab at the top too.

It fits pretty well, but having curves, the front doesn’t always sit flat, and there’s sometimes a bit of a gathering effect as the jersey stretches to cover them and the less stretchy front zip tries to cope, while the longer back pulls down happily. The collar isn’t quite as fitted as I’d like so it doesn’t stand up straight when the zip is fully done up, but those spots do mean it looks lovely when the zip is undone some. Also trying to have the polka dot panel horizontal and where it should be that pulls the collar down a bit too. All of which probably work better on the less well-endowed however. And none of this is anything you’d notice whilst out in it riding the bike either.

What else can I say about it? Having worn it for Ride London, it did not dissolve! And so far it’s washing (30c machine wash) and wearing well. Thanks to the fit, the length and how nice it feels on, I’ve already worn it again twice, which is pretty telling, and it’s rapidly becoming a favourite.

As for the socks well, they don’t actually match, but it’s the same colourway. And it is nice to wear matching things 🙂 Sock length seems to be a matter of personal taste; I tend to prefer my summer ones short to minimise tan lines, so these, at 9cm high, are longer than my usual. They are, once again, very comfortable, with a good fit and no seams to rub anywhere. The cuff is doubled over so they stay up well, what with that meaning double the elastic. When it comes to the technical bit, because even socks can be scientific, they have a “high-density elastic mid-foot support band and a diaphanous web on the top of the foot”. I’m not quite sure what those mean, but I’m presuming that’s why they’re so comfortable! It also means they’re very breathable which, along with the special Meryl Skinlife™ fibres they’re made out of (which “contain naturally bacteria-static silver ions so that bacteria will not grow”) will keep your feet and shoes nice and fresh. And you thought they were just a pair of socks! 😉

At £79 for the jersey, and £12.50 for the socks, it’s not cheap kit, but then neither is it up at Rapha level, it’s somewhere in the middle and don’t let’s forget that you get what you pay for. It’s really nice to have women specific performance kit that fits well, feels good on, does the job above and beyond, and is stylish without yelling “girl” at you! There don’t seem to be matching shorts available at the moment, but if there were I’d be seriously tempted to get some and go the whole matching hog 🙂

I’ve got you, under my Skin(s)

I’d heard about compression wear. I’d even read a bit about it. As I understand it, the basic idea is that compression helps increase blood flow to the muscles which helps them perform better and recover faster. I’m sure it’s more technical than that, and there are lots of studies out there about it. But I hadn’t really given much thought to it. I’ve always figured that kind of thing was for proper athletes, serious sportsmen, none of which I consider myself to be. However after doing a few sportives this year, and realising the three day Tour of Wessex was looming, it occurred to me that I didn’t have anything to lose and it might be worth a go – anything to help me get through three consecutive days serious riding!

A couple of weeks before the event, I did a bit of looking around at what’s available and, on recommendation, got hold of some SKINS RY400 Compression Long Tights and a RY400 Women’s Compression Long Sleeve Top, both for recovery. I also got some of their Cycle Pro Women’s compression long tights for wearing on my remaining training rides, as my only pair of long tights were winter weight and too warm, but it wasn’t quite warm enough for shorts yet.

Buying kit online can be a bit of a nightmare, especially for a lady with curves. However SKINS are very precise in their sizing – they’ve done a whole heap of studies, including body scans of hundreds of active women – and their unique sizing system (which takes into account your weight, height and body shape, none of which I’m sharing with you) meant that my new kit turned out to fit me perfectly. Not too tight – which would cut off blood flow – or too loose, which I’m guessing would defeat the object – if it’s not compressing it’s not working!

I started off with using the Cycle Pro long tights on a couple of training rides. Unsurprisingly they’re a little tighter than I’m used to, which felt a little strange to begin with but I soon got used to them. The fabric is really not very thick, and when my knee is strapped up you could see that through them, but I am assured they’re not translucent where it might be an issue. Although there are various panels and seamed contours to them, for very technical reasons I’m sure, nothing chafed or rubbed, and (very importantly) the chamois pad was really comfortable. They’re one of those bits of kit that you pretty much forget you’re wearing, so you can just get on with riding. I’ve worn them quite a lot now, as they’re so comfortable on, and if they’re helping me perform better too – result!

On to the big guns though. I saved the RY400 recovery wear for the big event itself, a bit like how you save wearing a new bit of kit for the first time for a special ride. (Yes you do, you know you do). It all helped with the feeling that I was prepared for the event. With three sportives back-to-back, a positive mental attitude is important.

So how was it? Well I put both the recovery tights and top on straight after each days’ riding. They’re a tad tricky to get on, being as tight as they are, and I won’t go pretending it’s a good look if, like me, you’re less than physically perfect, but that’s not really the point. They have to be tight, they feel fine once they’re on, and they’re thin enough to wear under clothes, so it’s not like anyone can see them anyway. I wore them on the drive home, put them back on after I had showered, and I slept in them, as recommended. It was a tiny bit boil-in-the-bag overnight, but that’s a price I was happy to pay if they were going to make the next day’s ride easier. Every day I got back on the bike and rode all day, and although my legs were inevitably a bit tired by the end of the third day, I didn’t have any of the kind of problems with sore, achey legs that I was expecting from that kind of riding. I wore them after day three too, and I was back on the bike a couple of days afterwards. It may not be scientific, but I’m pretty sure they helped!

As you all know, I’ve just done the Quebrantahuesos. I didn’t get to put my recovery kit on until bedtime, and during our evening out on the town, my legs and shoulders definitely hurt. So when I got in, post celebration, I put both bits on, slept in them, and by the next morning, I was feeling pretty much back to normal again. I think it’s fair to say I’m a convert to compression wear! I probably won’t be wearing them after every training ride, but I will be after every event. Well worth the money I reckon :).

RY400 Women’s Compression Long Tights: £85.00
RY400 Women’s Compression Long Sleeve Top: £75.00