Cyclotherapy: The Pyrenees beckon

By Simon O'Hagan

Like Christmas, the Etape arrives so much quicker than you think it will. Back in the winter, slogging through the Hertfordshire rain, the challenge of the amateurs' stage of the Tour de France seems so far off that it's hard to keep the goal in focus. Things stay like that for quite a long time. Then they start to speed up - and now the big day on Sunday is hurtling towards me.

The ride will be spectacular - 160kms from Pau to the top of the Hautacam, one of the great Pyrneneean ascents, via another, the Col du Tourmalet. Back in 1993, on holiday nearby, I watched the Tour go over the Tourmalet. It was a Miguel Indurain year. I can still picture the moment the riders came into view, far away in the valley below. I never imagined then that one day I'd cycle up the same road myself.

Cyclotherapy: On your bike, Boris

By James Daley

When Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London, I was devastated. Politically, Boris and his chums don't stand for the same things I do, and while Ken could prove to be a bit of an unknown quantity, I admired his principles and his ability to get things done.

                                 

Furthermore – somewhat surprisingly – Ken had built himself rather a good track record when it came to cycling. While he was never once spotted on two wheels himself in his eight years as Mayor, he did invest millions of pounds in improving the capital's cycling infrastructure, helping to almost double the number of people cycling during his time at the top.

Cyclotherapy: From National Bike Week to the Etape

By Simon O'Hagan

While acknowledging National Bike Week's superb achievement in raising cycling's profile and encouraging people to take to the saddle, I shame-facedly admit that the bit of NBW that means the most to me is the breakfast stop that's set up on my route to the office. So it was with some regret that I missed out on this year's event as it coincided with some days off work. Instead of riding to and from work across town I was pottering about at home and watching the Euro footy. Ah well, there's always next year.

Not that my bike stood around unsued last week - far from it. 

Cyclotherapy: Bike crash TV

By Simon Usborne

I was horrified to glance up at Sky News yesterday and see this crash, which took place during the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday.

The footage shows Luxembourg rider Frank Schleck overshooting a tight bend. He unclips his shoes before he's catapulted over the crash barrier. The end of his career? His life? His race, surely? Not so - watch to the end. No wonder he's kissing that crucifix as he crosses the line.

Cyclotherapy: Trying Triathlon - report

By Simon Usborne

So, I did it. After weeks of erratic preparation I set the alarm for 5am on Sunday and made my way to Windsor for my first triathlon. I spent much of the night fretting. A forgotten pair of goggles would ruin the swim; a puncture on the bike.... Or I could take a wrong turn on the run, my brain, by then, having turned to mush. Would I get round and would I beat my 3-hour target?

 

Cyclotherapy: Trying triathlon - update

By Simon Usborne

So, just two days to go until what might be the toughest day of my life - my first triathlon at Windsor. I'm feeling the butterflies already and am making last-minute attempts to get race fit. I went for a run around the Isle of Dogs yesterday and panted all the way, having to stop twice on what can't have been more than a 6km route. Things went slightly better last Saturday morning, when I put in a non-stop, 45-minute 10km at Dulwich Park.

Of course that was without the small matter of a 1500km swim and a 40km bike ride beforehand, but if I can get close to that time on Sunday I'll be happy.

Cyclotherapy: A night to remember

By Simon O'Hagan

For drama and spectacle it's hard to beat a city-centre bike race as dusk is falling with riders flashing past and the crowd hammering their encouragement on the advertising hoardings on the finishing straight.

Such was the scene at the second Smithfield Nocturne on Saturday night when the streets around London's historic meat market were given over to the kind of two-wheel pageant more commonly associated with the cycling-mad capitals of Continental Europe.

Cyclotherapy: Leading a Critical Mass

By James Daley

I had some friends in town, visiting from Texas last week, and decided that there could be no better way to show them my city than by taking them on the Critical Mass cycle ride. For those of you who aren't familiar, the London "Mass" (as it's often known) meets on the last Friday of every month, setting off from under Waterloo Bridge at around 7pm.

It's simply a gathering of cyclists (around 700 last week, I reckon), who reclaim the streets of the capital and block off the traffic for a few hours, allowing the cyclist to enjoy their great city without the hindrance of any motorised vehicles.

Cyclotherapy: One way (or another ...)

By Simon O'Hagan

Good performance by CTC boss Kevin Mayne on the Today programme this morning when discussing the move to allow cyclists to cycle the "wrong" way down one-way streets. Up against petrol-head Tiff Needell, Mayne wasn't shrill and defensive like I'd have been, but measured and reasonable.

Credit too to Needell for keeping things above the slanging-match level that tends to characterise the cyclist v motorist debate.

Cyclotherapy: Fuzzy logic

By James Daley

I miraculously recovered my mountain bike from the police station last week, more than six weeks after it had been confiscated from some railings by Trafalgar Square in London. I never expected to see it again – and it was great to be reunited with it. But I'm still none the wiser as to why it was taken in the first place, and I am out of pocket to the tune of £40, having had to replace the lock that the police presumably destroyed.