Saeco Cannondale Jersey- Best ever cycling kit?

The unmistakeablely brilliant Saeco Cannondale cycling Jersey

The best cycling kit ever- Saeco Cannondale

When I was growing up and watching the Tour De France on the television there was one man who added a degree of panache to the flat stages- Mario Cipollini

Since that period I've always had a love of the Saeco Cannondale kit and recently picked up the above jersey for a bargain on ebay. £20 for what was advertised as used a few times and I can testify that there's not a bobble or snag on the jersey.

The red colour is synonymous with the Ferrari car brand but to a cyclist it means- Team Saeco.

A true Tour De France Classic Jersey

Getting Uncle John ready for the cyclocross season

Some new Decathlon BTwin Micropore Bar tape fitted to match the Uncle John and my red Samcycling Team kit

September in Nottinghamshire means one thing for many

The Start of the Cyclocross Racing Season

We're lucky to have one of the best local cyclocross leagues in the UK with pretty much a race every weekend through Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as well as many Lincolnshire cyclo cross races within a relatively short drive.

Therefore i've been getting the cx bike ready for some mud and sweat.

I'll get to try them out at the start of September where I'll be working as mobile support at the Wolverhamton Marathon. Sadly it means I miss the start of the cross season and the first round of the Notts and Derby Serie but i'm putting something back into sport as a result.

New Frogglegs brakes from Empella to replace the weak old Planet X Brakes

White frogglegs on a cross bike look bling

Lezyne Steel Floor Drive- A new love enters my life

A month ago I was in mourning for my poor Joe Blow. It had lost the will and finally run out of puff.

Since then after much deliberation I have found a new love to enter my life

Lezyne Steel Floor Drive Track Pump- my new baby!

The Lezyne Steel Floor Drive Track Pump is a marvel of engineering and simplicity and has a retro edge to it's styling with an awesome wooden handle.

The amazingly scupted wooden handle on the Lezyne Steel Floor Drive Pump

The simplicity is confirmed with a fantastic screw on valve system which means you'll always have a secure connection between valve and inner tube for effective tire inflation. The valve also features a simple push down valve that reasons a few psi of pressure from the tyre each time to allow more accurate tyre pressures.

The valve system on the Lezyne Steel Floor Drive

Want One For Yourself?

The death of Joe Blow

Farewell my old and faithful friend for you have served me well through the last ten years

The death of my Joe Blow Sport Track Pump has hit me badly

You've serviced Peugeot, Ambrosio, Ribble, Langdale, Giant, Planet X and Kinesis bikes in that time and oulived them all. I've relied upon you time and time again. You've hit that magic 120 psi with little excess effort and I've taken you for granted as a result. You've done more than I could give you credit for in any review

Your lungs have now failed and it's time for you to go up to that bicycle shop in the sky

Rest in peace my trusty Joe Blow Sport Track Pump.

If this was a review I'd give you a 10 out of 10 for longevity. 10 years is a long time.

Mallory Park In The Rain 15.05.2012

Awesome race at Mallory Park in the rain 15.05.2012

Cycling in heavy rain has a marmite effect for many cyclists- you either love it or hate it. Personally as long as I can stay relatively warm I love it- especially as you see other riders' faces drop and become despondant.

The heavens opens prior to racing at Mallory Park last night (15.05.2012) in their newly expanded 2/3/4/W format. Coupled with temperatures around 5 degrees celcius it led to the initial battle being keeping warm. We even saw a number of riders racing in Assos winter jackets and about a third of the field raced in rain capes! You definitely needed a set of road bike tires for wet weather riding today!

You also know it's bad when the commisaire offers you your money back for entry if you choose not to race and it seems there were a few riders that made that choice however a big thank you must be sent out to Elaina Kennedy and the team last night for letting the racing go ahead. It must have been nasty for them simply standing on the sidelines.

Around 50-60 riders started although there were a good few that seemed to drop out and the conditions on the Mallory Park Tarmac were wet. If it was a motorbike race it wouldn't be particularly safe however fortunately with a number of 2nd cat riders in the field it tended to calm down some of the hap-hazard riding that you often see in 3/4th cat bike racing events.

Mallory Park Circuit

How did I get on?
After my ill fated last race at Birmingham in the cold, wet and wind I was rather nervous befor ethe start that my form would be ok- especially finding out that the Mallory Park Races were now 2/3/4 cat races so I'd be stepping up a level. In the end I had no need to be worried and felt fine throughout. The legs felt OK too considering i'd riden 220 miles over the previous weekend and felt some soreness still in my quads.

I finished in the main bunch. A break went late on with around 12-15 riders and just didn't seem to be coming back until late in the race. I felt ok helping the chase in some points at the front of the bunch but there wasn't really a full scale effort to catch the break and they subsequently stayed away. It seemed that people were more interested in looking after themselves then the end goal of catching the break so in a sense it was raced like a 3/4 cat race in the end. I did shout at one point when at the front for riders to start going through and off but either it wasn't heard or simply riders chose to ignore it.

Congratulations to Carl Dyson (2nd Cat) of Clay Cross RT for the win

What I've learnt from Mallory Park in the rain

• Strength is ok. I felt fine when the pace went hard
• I'm a little reluctant to attack at the moment. Couple of times I should have had a dig on Tuesday night but decided to play it safe, I need to take a few more chances in future races
• Fitness seems fine even racing up a level