London tries running Tubeless

Today London was pretty much Tubeless and will remain so until tomorrow evening. The impact this has had on getting around the capital has been nothing short of catastrophic. With wind and rain forecast throughout the two strike days, many commuters have either stayed at home or resorted to the car. Given there was so much advanced warning, it seems odd that so many cars we passed this morning only contained one person. Surely if you were driving in you’d want to share the cost and ease congestion and pollution by doubling up? With many employers adopting a 'no show, no pay policy' during the disruption, lots of commuters had no choice but to bus, walk or scooter in. Others, of course, chose their bikes. The cyclists we encountered on the road were an eclectic mix of hardened commuters and strike victims – in some cases apparently cycling for the first time in years, on machines more used to languishing in the garden shed than actually hitting the road, judging by the amount of punctures and squealing brakes in evidence. We were courteous (as usual) to those around us but kept our heads down and got on with the commute. This evening we did it all over again, but this time in the rain and the dark. We shudder to think how the cycling strike victims fared on their homeward journeys.

Of a fashion...

The ever-increasing popularity of cycling has generated a growing demand for kit specifically designed for those who ride bikes. We have grown to expect cycling-specific fit and function from everything from jerseys to jeans. Gone are the baggy, flapping garments that cyclists of previous generations had to put up with. With eBay running amok with retro kit disasters, here at Simpson we’ve identified a new cycling vogue. Inspired by the wettest winter since records began and the proliferation of indoor training equipment, 'turbo fashion' has arrived! Indoor training presents us with a more intimate cycling environment – a private domain away from the prying eyes of the world. Here you can sport the kind of outdated strips, unwanted Christmas gifts, or bizarre kit combinations you would never normally dream of wearing. The possibilities are endless! Taking pride of place on the indoor training catwalk at Simpson Towers right now are the disgraced or defunct team kits of yesteryear. We could never again publicly wear Armstrong era kit without feeling like we were disgracing our beautiful sport. But the quality of the kit is as good as it ever was. Indoor training allows us to revisit this and other unthinkable outfits behind closed doors! No one need know how outlandish your choice of training kit is. Anything goes – the wilder the combination the better! But for those brave souls who are prepared to share, we would invite you to send photos of the look rocking your turbo sessions at present to info@simpsonmagazine.cc. We’ll keep them to ourselves, honest!* *We won’t really.

Is it worth it?

We all expect seasonal variations in the weather but what we have been experiencing of late is beyond a joke – it’s bordering on a disaster movie! Whatever the weather, it seems training must go on. There doesn’t appear to be an off-season anymore, but just because the pros do it do we have to follow? Most of us don't earn a living by riding our bikes. Maybe we should cut ourselves some slack. Soldiering on through the winter months can actually have a detrimental effect on the coming cycling season. A case in point: a few weeks ago our editor came to grief while out riding, hitting a patch of black ice and briefly knocking himself out (think Thomas Voeckler but without the talent). The accident only kept him off his bike for a week or so but it could have been a lot worse – one of the riders he was with broke his hip and will be off the bike for months. We believe you should always enjoy your riding and should never feel pressured into going out when the conditions are less than favourable. Whatever the Velominati say, passing on a foul-weather ride doesn't make you a fair weather cyclist. Off-season training is vital but sometimes it’s good to remember that the turbo is your friend.

New Year Honours

First, the bad: for us, the 100th edition of the Tour de France was never really going to measure up to the 99th. This year’s race was also staged in the shadow cast by Armstrong’s confession. Although it’s impossible not to admire him as a rider, we were also unimpressed by Peter Sagan’s lack of class on the podium. Finally, the weather we’ve had to endure in Britain for the past couple of months has been beyond a joke. And so to the good stuff: we absolutely loved this year’s La Vuelta. We knew the Giro was going to be good but the Spanish grand tour really excelled. We were also inspired by Nairo Quintana and his incredible climbing abilities. We were also blown away by the two vintage rides we took part in this year: the Anjou Velo Vintage and L’Eroica. Two really well put together events – definitely not to be missed! It would be unfair to moan about the British winter without singing the praises of this year’s British summer. And finally, a word for Fizik’s kangaroo leather R3 shoes: light, supple and completely gorgeous. Happy new year to you all – here’s to a happy, healthy and cycling-filled 2014.

Christmas cheer

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat…and so are many cyclists unfortunately, thanks to a combination of shocking weather and rather too many high-calorie treats lying around. But let’s not be too hard on ourselves – everyone deserves a break, right? And the thought of just how hard it is to shake off those extra pounds in the grim first couple of months of the year will be enough to give most of us a bit of self-restraint over the festive period. Here at Simpson, between eggnogs and mince pies, we’ve been working hard on our fourth issue and looking forward to our first anniversary in March. It’s been a fantastic year so far and we’re chuffed to bits with all the positive things you’ve been saying about the magazine. Thank you for being part of the great Simpson adventure so far. May all your Christmases be full of joy, love and laughter. Just spare a little thought for that first training ride in January before you accept your third helping of Christmas pud...