top of page
DSCF2493.JPG

It's a sad day. See why ... HERE

My tip for the Christmas number 1 ... courtesy (and many MANY thanks) to Christian Da Cunha and the Emperors.

cage.jpeg

Could THIS be the World's most expensive bottle cage?

A very short review of 2017 as seen through the eyes of a pissed-up, bitter and twisted screwball of a has-been ... HERE
Jesus!  I wish I'd held on to this one!
 
 
Seven or eight years ago I had a bit of a garage clear-out and sold one of my bikes for a couple of hundred quid to a mate at work.
 
Never seen him or it since ... then Andy Horner drew my attention to THIS
To be honest, I've had better days (Thursday 24 August '17)
 
No-one told me making a morning cuppa was a blood sport!
 
Low blood pressure = a few days off the bike methinks.
A shit up or just a marketingballsup?

If you think you're good enough (I'm not ... apparently!) ... do your bit. Take a look HERE to see how easy it is  :-)

DSCF2362.JPG

It's a 'fix' ... My latest project HERE

UK Classic Season Starts With A Stunner ...
                                             National press report with a 'yours truly' mention  ;-) ... HERE

 

PDQ  joins the dot.com era  ... now on Facebook.
Does this look familiar?  
 
 
It certainly brings back memories for me.  Robert Chandler's take on the 'pink' Every ... HERE
32 years ago ... and I'll never forget it ... no matter how much I try.
 
Coors Classic team time trial with Darryl Webster, Steve Poulter, Keith Reynolds, Mark Bell, Neil Martin and Pete Sanders. 
 
Preparation for the 1984 LA Olympics.  I took a battering ... both physically and mentally  :-(
33 years ago ... they all said 'don't drill your handlebars to accept internal cabling because they'll break'.
 
Well they were right!
Not my week this week  :-(
 
First my handlebars ... now my frame.  This is my Raleigh DynaTech from the early 1990s.  Doesn't anybody make things to last these days?  Now where are the receipts?  ;-) 
Just had a bike fitting session ...
 
... well not 'just' ... 5 or 6 years ago to be honest, but it might be of some interest to anyone thinking about having one.
 
It's all HERE
Power meters ... the 'must have' accessory if you take your training and racing seriously.
 
I've cracked.  Again.  Not once ... but twice!
 
What I think is good. What I think isn't ... and why (I think) so many are available to buy second hand.
 
HERE
Last year Steve Abraham's attempt at the world record mileage in one year was thwarted when he was knocked off by a motor cyclist. Well he's up and running and has started again. He needs to cover well over 200 miles a day ... for 365 days!!
 
See where he is today HERE ... and if he's passing near by, go and give him a shout.
Hour Record Update HERE ... doesn't look promising at this stage :-(
Rumours of an attempt on a World Record by yours truely ... HERE
MANY years ago  I won my first ever cycling trophy ...
with a little help from my brother David and our cycling friend Matthew Allen.  Matthew recently sent me a photo (rather surprisingly in colour too!) which bought back memories of the epic battle that went into winning the prestigious and iconic masterpiece of silverware.  See the fruits of our efforts HERE
Oh my God!  An 18 year old caught taking EPO.  What IS the world coming to? 
Believe me … you do NOT need to take drugs to win National Championships or break National Records.  I used to think Griffiths (multi BBAR and British record holder) took stuff until I broke his 100 record.  I did it clean … so can you.   Don’t be a numpty (for numpty … read  ‘cheating scumbag’).
A BIG tribute to the late great Roger Queen ...what Nobby's been up to in the outback. Nobby just sent me THIS
Another former professional cyclist's potted history ... HERE

 

The mind boggles!
How on earth does anyone manage to ride (well) over 300 miles in 12 hours?  ‘Back in the day’ I used to say “The man who can ride 12 consecutive sub-hour ‘25’s isn’t yet born”.  I was wrong.  Yet again!
Mark Holton, Adam Topham and Richard Bideau have ridden in excess of  316, 314 and 309 miles (respectively) this season alone.  That’s truly incredible.
I took some real pastings in just about all the 12 hour races I rode and I can’t even begin to imagine how mind-blowingly hard it must have been to race (and that’s what it MUST have been … to RACE) 12 hours non-stop.
Total respect Gentlemen.
What on Earth was I thinking?  In 1993 I rode this!
My mate Frank Taylor recently sent me some photos which jogged the memory ... for better or for worse. Have a look here for the full story.
I don't get out of the house much (other than to see my Counseller, get out on the bike, do the weekly  Tesco run ... and that's just about it) but last week I spent four hours or so up at The Duncombe Arms with Peter Whitfield trying to put the World right. If you've got strong feelings about preserving cycling's heritage, go HERE to see what the main topic of converstion was.
Andy Jackson - one of Team Swift's superfast time trialists chooses PDQ trispoke and Dugast Piste Diamond silks!  Looks pretty cool eh?
 
Fast too ... apparently.  47-51 in the Stone Wheelers '25' (13 Sept '14).
Back in the day I rode a few road races too.  Thanks to Mick Searle  for the photo (taken during the 1982 Pernod GP).
How mind-blowingly awesome is THIS?
 
See where Steve is now HERE
 
Give him all the help and encouragement he deserves.  Good luck Steve
So where did my 1983 competition record breaking bike end up?
 
                  Go HERE to find out.
Riding for a sponsored team - real mutual benefits?

 

A few snippets of advice HERE in response to
                          theolderIgetthebetterIwas's post on the tt forum ...
Old Skool v Full-on all-out aero.
Go HERE to see how much difference all the aero gizmos made to how fast I went.
versus
It’s just over a year now since my last race ... (today is Friday 23 May 2014). 

The ‘white van’ incident on 29 April 2013 left me mentally battered and as a result I’m still finding it hard to go out on the roads I used to love to train on.  I did however summon up the courage and enthusiasm to celebrate a year off by riding a 2 lap F2 ‘25’ the other day.  Okay … I rode with all the aero gizmos including the aero hat and Ghibli disc but I surprised myself with a middling 53 on 108” fixed.  A bit out of practice but hey … not bad under the circumstances  

Top 10 tips to ride a fast 10 ...
                   Just found THIS on my 'puter. It was done when I was with Planet X.  Still seems to make sense to me  :-)
Interesting feature / article on Scotland's new 100 mile                                         champion ... HERE
National Champions choose PDQ ... honest!  Go HERE to see who they are.
I quite like these (Mcdonalds Strawberry Milkshakes) ... but not when I'm riding along the St Neots bypass on a bright Sunday morning minding my own business when some twat in a white van lobs one at me out of his side window ...
 

... which is exactly what happened to me this morning.  

 

Since getting wiped out last April (see 'I had a ride in one of these today' below) I've been struggling like never before to get out on the bike.  I'm back on the pills, been to see a counsellor and have been making steady progress only to be hit back to the start ... like going to jail without passing 'go' and (worse still) not even collecting my £200 ... by yet another bloody moron who didn't even have the courtesy (balls more likely) to stop to talk about it!

 

Not a day goes by without some prat tooting me, cutting me up, lobbing something at me, pi55ing me off by showing TOTAL disregard to ALL other road users by breaking the law using his / her mobile phone while driving ... we're all doomed I reckon!

 
I was VERY pleased to have recently a Facebook message from an old friend of mine ... Dave Froy. 
 

Dave was a clubmate back in the days of Northampton CC - Vindec.  He used to live in Thrapston and, since I didn't have a car at the time, used to come and pick me up from Brampton Hut roundabout to go to races.  Quite often, that would mean he had to drive out this way ... and then turn around and retrace his outward route with me on board as a passenger.  Invaluable help to a keen and enthusiastic novice racer.  I can't thank him enough.  

 

He sent me the photo on the left.  One I'd never EVER seen before.  Second place in the Kettering Friendly CC open 25 held on the N25/10 on Wednesday 23 June 1976.  Won by Dave Smith - Unity CC. Others on the start line included 'Nipper' Adams, Bruce Bursford, George Bettis, Gordon Hart, Dave Keeler, Joe Summerlin and Alan Shorter.  Great times!

 

If anyone has any other 'hidden for anything up to 40 years' photos of me in my youth, I'd be delighted to see them ... furry side-burns and all!

 

What exactly happened to the bike that received just under FIVE THOUSAND hits on Ebay without receiving a single bid?  Well I had to pull the plug early I'm afraid!

 

After many heart wrenching tear-jerking hours of burning late night candles, the decision to finally let go of my 1983 Competition Record Breaking and Multi-National Championship winning bike was taken.  Thanks to much publicity by the Timetrialling Forum, LFGSS, Retrobike and Jason Rourke I am very pleased to be able to announce to the many genuine cycling enthusiasts who made contact with me urging me to carefully consider the time trialling historic merits of such an individual beast that a suitable home has finally been found.

 

Full details of the 'Saviour' and final resting place for HRH will be released shortly.

 

Thank you everyone who showed concern.

 

Caught on camera ... out training (as in 'riding my bike' ... not 'the status or condition of a person who has been trained: athletes in 
top training').

 

It's a long time since anyone stopped to take a photo of me out training. In fact it would go back to the early 80s when someone stopped in a lay-by near The Trinity Foot (near Swavesey .. no more!) on the A604 (now A14).  If it was YOU, I never did get to see the end product. Wouldn't it be a bloody miracle if you happened to read this and sent me a copy?

 

This one is courtesy of that very nice man Davey Jones on his way back from the F1.

 

 

Jack's just received his extended project result. Big 'A'.
 

Well done buddy.  Job done  :-)

I had a ride in one of these (left) today ...



... after getting mowed down in broad daylight (on a straight stretch of wide open road) by a white van. "Sorry I didn't see you" is no bloody excuse. The guy was driving without due care and attention ... surely?  

He's going to be getting a bill for a new pair of Sidi Vernice's, some Assos oversocks and a pair of T F1 Mille RX bib knickers (after wrecking mine).  Thankfully no bones broken and the bike appears to be okay.  Mentally battered though.

Not a day goes by when I don't spare Gareth Evans a thought and instances like this just ram home the fact that we're all extremely vulnerable out there.  So ride safely folks.

These are VERY nice!



If you like Costa Coffee's Mochas you'll love these.

Highly recommended ... lovely jubbly and all that!

Get yours from Velotech Services.



'Any publicity is good publicity' ... what you've been saying about the site ...

       

             ‘the articles are almost unreadably badly written, woefully cliquey, and the website layout is dire’

             ‘Do I not like that?’
             ‘Cammish … the Los Angeles bottler’
             'So Money Supermarket.com’
             ‘that's an ugly throwback website’
             ‘0/10 for SEO      1/10 for design      9/10 for content’

Hmmm ... not sure how I missed this ... but there are some good interviews HERE

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to have ridden with lots of VERY fast time triallists. If done properly, team time trials can be great fun to ride. If not, they can be purgatory!  Find out about the hammerings I've had ... HERE​
I'm confused! Find out why HERE

I'm also very angry.  I'll tell you why now.  

Tootling home from Cambourne with Jack in the motor yesterday afternoon when we were confronted by a Landrover coming at us from the opposite direction swerving all over the shop. It JUST missed us ... and the car behind us ... before unceremoniously doing a 'flip' and ending up 'parked' in the ditch behind us.  We stopped to see if everyone was ok only to see the driver scrambling out of his cab with a bottle in his hand which he promptly lobbed over the hedge into the field.  Surprisingly (!!!) he said he was ok and didn't want anyone to call either an ambulance or the Police. Not surprisingly (!!!) we called the latter and had our fingers crossed that they'd arrive on the scene before the scumbag's friends with something big enough to pull his vehicle out of the ditch. Drunken motorists and drivers on their mobile phones make my blood boil!​

 

The demise of                                                     ... go HERE

For a week in paradise ... go HERE
You can't really fault a bike that takes you to more National Championships and records that you care to remember can you?  My 1983 Brian Rourke is / was (as I've still got it!) one such bike. For more details ... go HERE

Please do not adjust your vertical hold. Go HERE

bottom of page