I first really became aware of cycling as a sport in the late 80’s, I well remember Stephen Roche’s triumphant season in 1987 when he pulled off the historic triple of Giro D’Italia, Tour de France and World Championships and then two years later watching in wonderment as Greg LeMond overhauled Laurent Fignon on the Champs Elyses to win the Tour. But for me the greatest was always Sean Yates, the Sussex rider who did it the hard way (and boy was he ‘hard’) upping sticks and moving to France to race with the fabled ACBB club near Paris, part of a generation which included the great Robert Millar who is to this day the finest Grand Tour rider these Isles have produced. In those days if you wanted to make it on the Continent you were on your own, no help from British Cycling. Many years ago we had a guy who worked at Mosquito who had ridden with Sean at the ACBB and looked to have a fine racing career ahead of him, but back home during the winter and working as a postie (a popular job with racing cyclists, up early and all day to train once your round was over) he damaged his back lifing sacks and never raced seriously again although his class was enough for him to turn up at Herne Hill track years later and show us how real riders race!
Anyway, back to Sean Yates whose career spanned the years from the late ’80’s when cycling in Europe was opening up with the arrival of American teams such as 7-Eleven right through to the early Armstrong years and the Motorola team. Best known as a super domestique, plugging away on the front of the bunch making all behind him suffer, he also had his moments of personal glory not least being wearing the Yellow jersey of the Tour de France in 1994. This was the year the Tour came to the UK and I well remember standing on the side of the road in Brighton shouting myself hoarse as he and his fellow ‘kings of the road’ raced by.
Forward 15 years to this past wednesday and i turn up,for the regular wednesday night track league at Preston Park track in Brighton less than a mile from where I once watched Sean race by. We have ridden a few of these events this year and I’m really getting to enjoy racing on the track again, a discipline I haven’t turned my hand to in over a decade. This week was different though, we arrive to find a fully liveried Astana team car parked at the gates of the track. Now in the Burnett family this is a sight to cause sopme excitement, team cars are something we associate with summer holidays and watching the Tour pass over Pyrenean climbs. Then the penny drops, it can only mean Sean Yates is riding, he still lives in Sussex and is a Directeur Sportif with the Astana squad. Still fit, he likes to turn up for the odd race when work allows, the competitive spirit still shines bright.
Final race of the evening and Yatesy puts in a bit of an attack to string out the bunch, I didn’t hesitate and glued myself to his wheel - it may only have been half a lap but it gives me a thrill to say I’ve ridden on Sean Yates wheel. I wonder if in 10 years time David Beckham will be turning up for a kick around at his local park!

Can I take this one home please!

So, at the end of last week Roger and I spent a hectic three days visiting Milani and Pegoretti in Italy. Too much eating, too much drinking and too much driving (I think Italians must be the worst drivers in the world!).
The Milani workshop is in Gallarate, 50 or so km north of Milan. It’s where Milani orignally began and where the complete bikes are now built up and frames stored. Celeste Milani showed us round and we watched as Emilio (ex Italian Cyclo Cross champion, now in his sixties) built up bikes for customers.  The evening saw us out on bikes (very nice Milani N107 full carbon) for a couple of hours on Celeste’s regular route - a lovely warm evening with the sun setting behind the Alps on the horizon.

A Seigiorni track frame in the jig.

Thursday we visited the frame factories where Milani’s are handbuilt. Framebuilding in Italy is struggling as an increasing number of brands take the cheap option of outsourcing production to China. This is something Celeste Milani has no interest in, preferring the higher quality and customisation possibilities available in Italy. All Milani frames, whether carbon, aluminium or steel can be fully custom built. The carbon and aluminium frames (carbon road and cyclocross, alloy track and cyclocross) are built in a factory in Rosa where a team of three guys handcraft the frames from raw tubes. The steel frames are built in Padova by artisans with a huge amount of building experience, real engineers. Milani currently produce just two steel frames which are both lugged, we spoke to Celeste about the possibility of producing a tig-welded steel frame - watch this space!

Dario welding a Luigino fork.

And so on to see Dario Pegoretti in his workshop in Caldonazzo, a small town nestling amongst the mountains in the Dolomites. It was great to see Dario looking well and in good spirit after his health problems of the last couple of years. He and his co-workers Pietro and Daniel are busy working away on a long backorder list which is a testament to the Pegoretti believe in the continuing strength of steel as a frame material and the importance of comfort and efficient power transfer in a frame.

(click here for more pictures)

So the spring weather continued and saturday February 28th found me out on my mountain bike for a birthday ride. A week of good weather had left the local trails dry and fast and meant the bike could be put away without the usual half hour cleaning session which often puts me off getting the MTB out in the first place. I have to say I really enjoy my mountian bike rides - a chance to hone riding skills, check out quiet corners and in three hours give  oneself a great workout, the leg strength taining on a mountain bike is second to none.
Then into week 10 of Base training and the legs are beginning to feel the effects after six weeks without a break. The idea of base training is to get the body ready for the tougher training and racing ahead and for me this winter has consisted of regular two hour commuting rides, weekend road or MTB rides and a couple of strength training sessions a week. I’m into my final week of it before an easier week and then a few weeks of faster riding with intervals thrown in before the racing season proper kicks in. Once racing starts in earnest things get simpler and more fun - race, recover, race, recover…..
The birthday reminded me of the increasing years and the inevitable slower recovery between workouts, so I found myself asking my wife for a pair of Skins to celebrate another year added! She did look at me slightly oddly but when I explained more fully the look turned more to one of bemused acceptance.Anyway what are Skins? Basically fancy looking, very close fitting and expensive tights which claim to aid circulation post exercise thus helping with removal of lactic acid from the legs and aiding recovery. The idea is that you put them on as soon after a workout as possible and wear them overnight. Having tried them a few times now I would say they certainly help, my legs have felt fresher than I would normally expect after some hard workouts.
Sunday saw me out with 300 fellow riders enjoying the sunny if windy conditions enjoyed on the South West Road Clubs Reliability ride, actually they now insist on calling it a Sportive but that’s just marketing. Reliability rides are traditional early season events designed to test the legs of the aspiring racing cyclist before the season proper begins. The idea is to complete the route in a set time and  they inevitably end up in a good burn up as the finish approaches, often tougher than the races for which we are preparing. These days the lure of the bike reaches out beyond the mysterious world of the club cyclist and events such as this regularly sell out. A great ride in good company, hopefully a sign of the year to come.
Next week Roger and I are off on our annual Italian sojourn to visit Dario Pegoretti and, for the first time, Celeste Milani. What better way to spend a recovery week than talking bikes, eating Italian food and drinking good wine?

Gill, Phil, Celeste and Evo

I don’t like to speak too soon but just maybe the weather tide has turned and we are beginning the long journey to another glorious English summer (ok, that’s being a bit hopeful but one can but dream). The signs are all around - the Mosquito workshop is full of bikes as hibernating cyclists make a re-appearance,I am suddenly finding myself poring over racing calendars and planning the season ahead, and last weekend, the first ride of the year with a warm sun on my face.

Saturday was three hours in the Surrey Hills with a local cycling buddy and a glorious ride it was too. Training on your own you forget the extra effort required to stay with a riding companion as the inevitable element of competition creeps in! Having been doing some extra strength training over the winter I was interested to see how it would help my climbing, well after the ride with Niall I am still no wiser - all I can say is that one-legged squats the day before a hard ride make the legs sore! I started off with clothing suitable for the snowy conditions of previous weeks so spent much of the ride peeling off layers, not quite time for shorts and mitts but the time will come - although I expect the weather has a few more tricks up it’s sleeve before it finishes with us.

Sunday was the LondonCycleSport Test Ride Day at the recently opened Hog Hill Cycle Circuit. A fun day and well attended, there was plenty to do with bikes to ride from Mosquito and several other local dealers, Roller racing on the famed Rollapalluza rig, demo bike fits by our very own Roger Graver and a showing of cycling films. It was great to get so much positive feedback on the bikes we brought along. Of course after saturdays glorious sunshine the clouds returned and a bitter wind blew, oh well I’ve always been an optimist.
It was particularly pleasing for us to have Celeste Milani and his colleague Evo in attendance - they made the journey up from the Milani factory in Gallarate north of Milan to be with us. Leaving at 7.30 pm on friday evening their plan was to drive as far as Dijon for a stopover, unfortunately they missed the turning and kept going to Reims by which time it was 4am. Understandably they were pretty tired when we met with them for a meal in Islington on saturday, but a few glasses of wine soon revived them and a convivial evening of bike related talk ensued.

Matt Seaton - Not sure if this was before or after Matt lapped me.

As I slogged around the muddy playing fields of Wilmington Grammar School, Dartford, last Sunday it suddenly occurred to me that A - I am not very fit at the moment, B - I’m not cut out for this muddy cyclocross game and C - perhaps I don’t actually enjoy cyclocross racing! This last point is the one I’m most worried about to be honest - everybody is meant to enjoy cyclocross, but as I trudged away, on the limit, for over an hour I couldn’t help but question my sanity!
The good thing about this particular race was that it was the last of the season - meaning that I would no longer have to lie in bed on a Sunday morning feeling guilty that I wasn’t out there supporting my Mosquito team mates. Not that they need the support of a mid-field plodder such as me - Matt Seaton admirably won the Veterans category of the Mosquito London Cyclocross League ably supported by Ian Cleverly who himself achieved a top 10 position at the National Championships.
In fact I only managed three races throughout the whole season - a bitterly cold race in Footscray at Christmas, a bitterly cold and snowing race in Brighton and last weekends sorry effort.
There is something excrutiatingly painful about cyclocross - you basically ride at your lactate threshold for an hour (making it a rather good way of determining LT) without any chance of the freewheeling one gets on a road ride, and just when you have hade enough you get to run up a muddy bank! Having said that, it is great training for both one’s gut fitness and bike handling skills - it is pretty impossible to go as hard on a training ride.
So having put away the ‘cross tyres till next winter my thoughts turn towards spring training, and summer road racing. After a lacklustre winter I am now trying to put in some good base miles before switching to  higher quality work in a few weeks time.
This is the season of Reliability Trials - traditional early season events designed to test the mettle of club riders before the season proper kicks off. These days many have converted themselves into ’sportives’ and achieved popularity well beyond the old days of a few score local clubmen riding out. I had hoped to ride the Morden CTC Hilly 50 event last saturday but unfortunately they had to cancel due to the state of the roads - a pity as it was a beautiful day, the views from the top of Leith Hill being particularly spectacular. The next event on my radar is the South West Road Club 100k on March 8th and then it’s pretty much full swing into the road season.
This weekend I’ll be up at Hog Hill road circuit with Gill and Roger and a bunch of beautiful bikes for the onCycleSport Test Ride Day - a great chance for people to get a ride of some great bikes not just from Mosquito but other London retailers also.

Ian Cleverly - almost lapped me!

Never point your camera into the sun!

Every year I plan to get out on plenty of rides in November and December, maybe do a few ‘cross races, generally ‘get the miles in’ bearing in mind the old maxim that summer races are won in the winter. And every year the same thing happens - the combination of work, the seemingly inevitable winter colds  (having kids is a sure way to be exposed to every bug going) and the fact that the weather is so bloody miserable, conspire to ruin the best intentions.
I’m afraid to say this year is shaping up to be no exception and as I sit here on the train to work typing this rather than riding my bike, it’s getting me down! The thing is I never know when is a cold a cold and when is it just a psychological bar to riding? Am I alone in being racked with self doubt every time I forego a ride in the name of ‘being sensible’ I feel guilty and somehow less of a bike rider - surely the greats were never put off by mere aching bones and a few sniffles, wasn’t Sean Kelly’s response to such an affliction 10 hour rides in the Flemish rain?
So, when I awoke on Sunday to glorious sunny skies and the opportunity of a couple of hours in the Surrey Hills - I decided to act like a real cyclist and get out there. And, it was fantastic - clear frosty conditions, the Downs sparkling with morning frost, scores of riders out on Boxhill, views to the South Downs from the top of Leith Hill and the chance to re-acquaint myself with the art of riding on icy roads. I felt great, the cold was beaten, why had I been such a wimp to even consider not riding, a bit of fresh air never hurt anyone! Well the next day I had my answer - achy body, aching head, a cough to be proud of, in other words the real thing, and it looks like no prospect of repeating last weekeds ride this coming sunday. I suppose it will give me more time to put up the Christmas decorations, yippee!

the executive suite

After three days of intensive bike-fitting theory and practice, I had another important date on my American itinerary, a visit to the Independent Fabrication factory in Somerville, Boston, Massachusetts. After several days spent in leafy (and seemingly affluent) Saratoga Springs, driving into Somerville was a nice contrast - gritty, urban America like you see in the cop films!
Whilst on the bike-fitting course I had been shown around the Serotta factory, housed in a purpose built building, where the talk was of ‘vertical integration’ and frames were built in an almost pristine enviroment. The contrast with IF couldn’t have been greater! The IF factory space is housed in a fairly old red brick building in an industrial area of town. The only clue that you are entering into one of the worlds finest framebuilding workshops is provided by a fading Independent Fabrication sticker on the heavy duty metal door guarding the factory. However once inside there is an immediate sense of light and space, not unlike how one imagines an artists studio, which I guess is appropriate given the beautiful creations which come out of this place. I was reminded of visits to Dario Pegoretti’s workshop in Italy - hulking machines which almost seem to belong to another age but are in fact fully functioning and all part of the process of handcrafting frames individually.
Joe Ingram gave me a guided tour of the factory and then left me to snap away, no trade secrets here.Eleven souls work at IF and as an employee owned organisation there’s a good amount of democracy when it comes to decision making. Each member of staff specialises in a particular area; from Joe who designs the frames (in conjunction with Roger in our case) through tacking, welding, finishing, painting and finally despatch. I always enjoy watching craftspeople working and the hum of quiet industry was palpable.
As someone who sells this stuff it’s always great to go to the source and see where the frames begin life and as a cyclist who is lucky enough to ride an IF Planet Cross it’s good to know that the frame I ride was built with the same passion I try to put into riding it.

For a look at the pictures, go here http://mosquito-bikes.co.uk/blog/?page_id=68

More than a week after the Three Peaks, and I’m still aching in places. But three days after, I could hardly walk. It felt as though I’d rolled down Pen-Y-Gent, trampled by sheep on the way, rather than rode down it.

There is nothing like the Peaks, everyone tells you beforehand. You can’t really train for it. You just have to do it. You worry about tyre choice and camelbak, bivvy bag and cross-top levers. You go running, you run up steps, you practise your portaging. It makes no difference: you’re still going to hurt like hell.

But it’s a legend, a monument, so what are you going to do but get on with it?

I’m not the best bike-handler in the world, but I usually get round cyclocross courses without too much mishap and fast enough. In the Three Peaks, I fell off in the first field. Then I fell off three more times in the first hour.

The last time was a Peaks classic: a nosedive into a bog. I nearly broke my thumb going over the bars, so I took it a bit easier on the descents after that. Still, it could have been worse: a guy behind me did the same and snapped his frame. I don’t suppose he was too happy by the time he’d walked the two miles off Ingleborough.

Then I found myself riding around with Chris Young, supervet and past winner of the Peaks in his prime, so I stayed glued to him as long as I could. On Whernside, I even opened up a small gap on the climb, only eventually to be overtaken by him running through the grassy hummocks on the way down as I picked my way gingerly through the slabs and rocks of the path. Local knowledge, it helps.

By Pen-Y-Gent, I was running on empty. In my haste to get down off the mountain and hit the final stretch of road for home, I flatted twice. I think I was just so tired that I was sitting heavy in the saddle, instead of riding on the pedals, so impact-punctured. I probably only lost 10 minutes and about 20 places overall. I hardly cared: I’ve never been so glad to see a finish line.

But a cup of tea, a shower and a chocolate digestive or three later, and my only regret was not being able to look up and admire the view from Whernside. Ribblesdale viaduct? I didn’t even see it.

Another time, perhaps. When I stop aching.

Anyone who has been to a bike show in the UK would think that two days would be plenty of time to get to get to see everything but after a frenetic 48 hours in Germany Roger and I left feeling there was more to see. Eurobike is now widely regarded as the biggest and most important in the world as Joe Ingram of Independent Fabrication was heard to say “man, this show is huge” - being European we had always looked across the Atlantic in awe at the Interbike Show in Las Vegas although I’m not sure Friedrichschafen can match Vegas in the ’entertainment’ stakes.
Anyway,here is some of the stuff we liked.

Baum frames - beautiful creations in steel and titanium built in Australia by Darren Baum, another of the growing worldwide band of small scale builders crafting frames with love, care and not a small amount of expertise. The frame names give away his love of coffee - Ristretto, Espresso, Cappucino, Cubano..

 
Bont Shoes - Custom choes from Australia, as used by the GB track squad in the Olympics (to beat lots of Australians!). These look good and are a step on from the semi-custom (uppers only) Shimano system. A cast is taken of your foot and the shoe produced from the cast. It’s going to cost a wee bit more and take longer than your average shoe purchase, but what price comfort?
Litespeed/Merlin - The Litepseed Blade has always been one of the top time trial bikes on the market but the new stealth looking model is likely to be at the top of the wish list for any aspiring triathletes and ‘testers’ (who have pockets to match). The Merlin Cielo makes a welcome return to the range, carbon/ti-lugged bikes seem to be quite the thing right now.

Independent Fabrication - IF didn’t have a stand as such but Joe Ingram popped over from the factory to be on his German distributors stand. It was good to see the IF 953 range expand to include a ‘cross bike, the durability and ride characteristics of 953 should suit the discipline well. 953 seems to have really caught on in the States (less so in the UK), the main problem Joe has is in getting enough of the stuff.