It’s that time of year again – World Champs weekend is approaching and it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to walk away with the stripes.

Once all the usual bickering and squabbling subsided Ric’s Fox hat was passed around with the top ten World Cup riders (plus two ‘wild cards’) safely ensconced within.

Here are the team’s draws and their subsequent reactions;

Danny Walter (Editor) Aaron Gwin + Mick Hannah

“That’s alright, I’m happy with Gwin – I’ll take that. Sick Mick… Erm, less so. I’d back Gee to do the double though!”

Rosee Woodland (Dep. Editor) Marc Beaumont + Sam Blenkinsop

“Happy with that, Marc’s brilliant and Blinky is the third best rider in the world. I think Peaty will do it come race-day.”

Kim Wills (Ops. Ed) Sam Hill + Nick Beer

“I’m not overly confident with my draws! No-one knows with Hill though and I’ve just proof read a Zoom report with Nick Beers name in it so… I’d put money on both Athertons this weekend.”

James Blackwell (Art Editor) Gee Atherton + Greg Minnaar

“I feel ecstatic although I’d trade both of them for Steve Peat! I’ve tried bribing Carl with cakes but he’s not having any of it…”

Carl Milligan (Asst. Art Editor) Steve Peat

“Euphoric, elated and over the moon. I’ve already spent the money I’ve yet to win!”

Ric McLaughlin (Staff Writer) Brendan Fairclough + Cam Cole

“Boom! Brendawg! Yeah, why not – I’ll take that. This COULD be the big win that catapults him into the big time and Cam Cole is technically the most improved rider over last year. My money would go on Gee or Steve though. Or Gwin. I bloody love Gwin, me.”

So who’s your money on?!

The 2010 UCI World Cup – if I had to describe it in one word it would have to be ‘wow’! After a bullish start to the season by Greg Minnaar, Gee Atherton clawed his way back after a disappointing 2009 to take his maiden World Cup overall crown.

The venue for the final show-down was World Cup debutant Windham, NY. From the point of view of a swotty bike journo, this is exactly how you want the final round of a championship to end up. Two guys at the top of their game, seven points in it and an unproven track which neither had ever ridden before.

After an eventful qualifying session the margin was slimmer again with Minnaar coming home in fourth and Gee in fifth. That was it down to four points…

The two were now set-up for a back-to-back shoot out come Sunday afternoon – a straight fight for the crown.

All three Monster Energy Specialized riders had spells in the hot seat along with various other World Cup regulars but the real meat in the pie was yet to come.

From the first split on it was clear that Gee was giving it everything. He wasn’t going to waste time on a gamble of Minnaar having problems, nor was he simply riding for a podium – he was in this to win.

Minnaar’s run on the other hand never looked as fluid. He’d injured his elbow earlier in practice and was down at the opening two splits. He began eating back into the deficit during the third but it was just too much to ask – he crossed the line 0.37 secs down on Gee.

Fastest qualifier, Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Steve Peat, was hauling on his run and was eating time out of the already celebrating Atherton before a big off at speed in the final split put the brakes on a disappointing 2010 for the big lad from Sheffield.

Yeti’s Aaron Gwin had qualified second and was in the mood to give the home-fans something to shout about whilst securing third spot overall. It wasn’t to be however, Lapierre’s resident Kiwi Sam Blenkinsop tonked home in third earning himself the same spot overall and leaving Gwin in fourth in both the race and the overall.

So, what will a maiden overall World Cup crown do for Gee’s confidence on the way into this weekend’s World Champs? What do you reckon?

We ran a quick look at this last Thursday on our Facebook site but here’s a bit more beef…

The iconic American brand’s trail-slaying 575 has had a few tweeks for 2011. We’ll get to those in a minute but first off we’ll give you a few minutes to drink in that paint job…

Ok? Cool.

The 25th anniversary colour scheme has been running on the factory World Cup team’s bikes all year and now Yeti fans will get the chance to actually buy the instant collectors classic look on the 575. It’ll be available as a frame kit comprising of custom turquoise Fox Floats and a Chris King headset/BB combo all for £2,895.

Numbers will be extremely limited – that’s all we can get out of them so you can rest assured that they will be a rare old beast.

The 575 has also been fettled somewhat with a new tapered headtube and a bolt-thru rear end. Also new from Yeti this year will be their
new Big Top 29er.

More on that when we see one!

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Paul Smith, Cycling Plus tech guru and ace photographer, knew exactly what he wanted to get his new wife as a wedding present – a retro bike. He couldn’t find an off-the-shelf model, though, so he made one…

Now Smiffy’s attention to detail is legendary – he spends hours polishing his Storck – and when it came to creating the prefect present to give to Gillian at their wedding yesterday (28th August) he became obsessively anal! He picked up a 1974 Raleigh Mixte that had seen better days and then spent about four months beavering away secretly in the garage to create this incredibly sweet looking machine for his fiancé (now Mrs Smith).

Cycling Plus art ed. Warren was Smiff’s best man and says that Paul took around two weeks simply getting the stitched leather bar tape perfect!

With help from a few of the top people who make up the British bike industry Paul got the bike beautifully painted and had all the shiny bits chromed or titanium nitrided.

As you might expect the bike theme continued on the big day and Paul, Warren and a number of guests arrived at the wedding on bikes.

Congratulations to Paul and Gillian from everyone here at Cycling Plus!

I confess to being a bit of a hardtail purist, not for any overly zealous reason I should add – I like thrashing the tyres off a good full suspension bike as much as any.

But it’s just that for many riders who’ve been mountain biking for more than 15 years, it will be on hardtails that they cut their biking teeth. And it’s the same for me.

But ask any rider of that era what material was king and the chances are they’ll become all misty-eyed and wax lyrical about steel’s zing, spring and indefinable thing. For many, those years are shrouded in fond memories of dust, endless trails, Mr Whippy skies and steel. They were the halcyon days for True Temper, Tange, and Reynolds tubing. And, no doubt, seen through rose-tinted lenses as progress is, generally, a good thing.

In recent years, however, steel’s fallen out of favour, which is a genuine shame. But although steel may not be a wonder material or in vogue, it’s a thoroughly pragmatic alloy to make bikes from: weldable and fixable simply all around the globe, it usually gives warning by way of a crack – rather than a catastrophic snap – prior to failing. It’s also reasonably light and, with a good tubeset like triple-butted Reynolds 853, gives a uniquely comfortable ride feel.

The good news is steel is now enjoying a resurgence. To highlight this we’ve tested six steel hardtails vying for British riders’ affections and pitches them mano-a-mano in our new issue – What Mountain Bike 113, on-sale now – to see if they can really cut it on today’s trails and for today’s riding styles – not just for self-indulgent pootles down memory lane. Ahem.

Team Cycling Plus will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team. This week Kay gets to grips with her Garmin…

Team Member: Kay Bowen

36 year old Kay from Southampton is a very active person. She overcame thyroid cancer last year which has inspired her to try a whole host of new activities, including sailing, tennis, skiing and triathlons. As a triathlete, she already does a lot of cycling, but is keen to work on this aspect of her training. Her goals are to sustain longer distances and to go on a cycling holiday

My Garmin now tells a tale – I am uploading my rides and runs and will soon be able to repeat them to see how I am improving, although I can feel I am improving, without looking at zones or heart rates – hills that were a struggle now being a joy, and new hills tackled without fear. Despite the freak northern weather (rain) I have got out there and enjoyed the time on the bike, with some exploring of new lanes and routes, including a unusual flat bit of road in the Meon Valley, where I spotted 3 other cyclists. I am getting quite good, I think, at perfecting the nod of recognition, slight smile and secret handshake required from the brotherhood of road bikers. I even smile at mountain bikers – hope that’s ok with everyone?

One exciting ride down a hill on my homeward stretch involved 3 ladies tacking (excuse my mixed sporting metaphors) up the hill across its entire width, quickly followed by 2 fast cars, a deer running alongside me and a horse and cart. Somehow the Garmin told me my heart rate was too low – surely not with all that excitement to contend with? Looking at the stats, it dropped to 40bpm, which is beep worthy as my resting is 60. Clearly Garmin have figured out that I might be dead, or near to, and its worth beeping me – but could they send a 999 call with my exact position if it drops that low again?

I finally went along to the swim club training at Esporta on Tuesday night, and loved the drills and pushed myself to swim well and fast. Well, as well and as fast as I can, and still breath and have fun. I am looking forward to building that in to my weekly program. I also got my money’s worth out of my gym membership by fixing up a hour with Andy, one of the gym staff, who has a more progressive approach to exercise that I love – we went out in the rain to run around the car park so I could try out being more ‘centred’ in my running. Essentially, his philosophy is to enjoy moving your body, to love what you are doing and be in the moment, not desperate to reach a goal. This almost spiritual sense of the value of exercise resonates with me and I will book in another chat and wonder time with Andy – a real find of a mentor.

I got a puncture at the end of a ride – and Rob sat me down with tyre levers and an inner tube and I wrestled with them for nearly half an hour but I did it. Finally getting my hands dirty!

And to finish the week – a 3 hour Evans Ride It! from Liphook in Hampshire. I was doing the ‘fun’ route ( 17 miles) with 9 year old Hannah. Unfortunately the choice of route was not much fun for the first 6 miles, being on fast country lanes with a lot of traffic. The rest of the route was fine, lots of ups and downs and I kept Hannah going by shouting out our top speeds down hills, but she needed a lot of support. Road riding with her is not much fun for me – I am so worried about the speed of traffic and am trying to protect her all the time. I found the area a bit of a rat run for Chelsea tractors, to be honest, and would have been better off taking her out at home. Evans meet and greet was good, but still no goodie bag at the end – how about an Evans branded mug with a free tea or coffee inside it guys? Cheap, free advertising and would raise the events from ‘does the job’ to ‘ah – they care!’

Who are Team Cycling Plus?

Team Cycling Plus powered by Verenti are readers Andy Ward, Kay Bowen, Malcolm Ratcliffe and Sam Shaw. We’ll be following them in the magazine for the next few months as they train towards their personal cycling goals under the guidance of Team Wiggle’s Ben Simmons and we will be publishing their weekly trials and tribulations here too. For regular updates check our twitter page and the Team Cycling Plus facebook page.

Since returning from our jaunt over to Ireland (read more in issue 254) my Transition Covert long-termer has had me scratching my head a bit.

What started off as a soggy feeling rear end quickly turned into a big white hobby horse. The Covert was using up seemingly all of it’s travel on even the short tarmac hop to work and climbing felt like I had a trailer on tow!

Enough was enough so off came the Fox RP23 shock, out came the jiffy bag and on went the TF Tuned address. After only a couple of days Fin from TF got back to me with the news that I had blown a seal head.

TF stripped it, serviced it, fitted a PUSH factory tuning kit and dyno tested it. I also took the opportunity to have a pair of RacingBros ultralight shock mounts fitted as well.

It’s pretty mental how many internal parts the PUSH tune removes – that’s another bag for the ‘random stuff you may never need but won’t throw out’ box then!

Fin’s set the shock up to suit my riding style a bit better too so I’m off on an all-dayer tomorrow to give it a good caning.

Keep an eye on MBUK Machines to get the full low-down on how I get on…

This weekend Rubens Barrichello will be driving his 300th Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. So, what do you give a millionaire Brazilian F1 star who (probably) has everything to celebrate such a landmark? An electric bike of course!

Now, for dedicated roadies it’s easy to be a little sniffy about electric bikes. Why on earth do we need a battery and a motor when we’ve got legs and lungs? (And, to be honest, in the recent past electric bikes haven’t exactly been objects of desire.) But with many big brands adding presentable e-bikes to their ranges, new companies making bikes that don’t look like mobility aids and high street giants like Halfords going electric, powered pedalling is on the up.

Ruben’s electric bike is pretty special – it’s a one off Storck Raddar Multiroad Carbon painted up in the colours of his Williams-Cosworth FW32. The road bike afficionados amongst you will, of course,  know German brand Storck because of it’s high end superbikes. And the Raddar is a high end e-bike –  it weighs less than 18kg, has a carbon fibre frame, advanced gear shift electronics,  hydraulic disc brakes and is powered by 250W sport specification Swiss-made electric motor.

The standard Raddar will be on sale in the UK soon and it will join an ever increasing number of e-bikes – including the bespoke electric bikes from GoCycle,  Ebco Eagle and A2B Metro. Huge companies including Trek are also going electric – the American giant has its Ride+ range which are essentially ordinary urban bikes with a power pack and motor. Giant too is powering it’s bikes with the Twist range. And my wife can’t speak highly enough of the power boost she gets when riding a Halfords Urban Mover Mounatin Bike up Bath’s steep hills. You can even power buy a powered sportive ride – although that might be considered cheating – by investing in a Cytronex powered Cannondale Supersix.

Finally remember the silly rumours about Fabian Cancellara and his ‘powered’ rides at this year’s Spring Classics? You could always fit a Gruber Assist motor for the ultimate in discreet power. It certainly looks as if electric bikes are on the up – there’s even a British Electric Bicycle Association – and if they’re good enough for a bloke with 11 GP wins to his names they’re good enough for us!

Look out for a test of the latest e-bikes in an upcoming issue of Cycling Plus.

Team Cycling Plus will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team. This week Sam’s doesn’t cope well with getting man flu…

Team member: Sam Shaw

29 year old Sam who lives in Stirling weighed in at 20stone in 2006. But through discovery of his love of bikes he has shed over 6stone and is still losing. Beginning with tentative 5km commutes, working up to include an 18km detour with 360m climbs, and now braving sportives and time trials, Sam’s newfound obsession has changed his life. His goals are to get down to 13stone and wear lycra with pride.

How do cyclists handle a week of illness? Simple answer: badly.

I use my bike every day for transport to and from work, I use it to control my weight, get exercise, train for events, for enjoyment, to save fossil fuel (not money – we all know that cycling’s NOT cheaper than driving a car once you invariably get stricken with upgradeitis), to feel good and for a whole host of other reasons that are mainly for my own benefit. The other thing is that I really love riding the Verenti Millook! So when it comes to not being able to cycle for a week, I really feel lost. This illness, some would call it ‘man flu’, started with a heavy cold which then turned into an ear infection; so a visit to the doctors and some antibiotics to clear that up, but the pain was still there in a different place; so a visit to the dentist for a root canal treatment on a tooth that had become infected. It really wasn’t a good week.

It did leave me time to ponder why we ride and what we miss about riding when we cant, for whatever reason. I don’t have the physical or mental ability to stick myself on a bike and hammer the pedals when I’m feeling absolutely rotten, like Pro Tour riders do. My livelihood depends on me being at work, not being on the bike so there’s always going to be a compromise if cycling when ill is going to affect my work. So the decision to drive to work and not do a single minute of training for the last week really had a pre-determined outcome. It was particularly hard to stomach this week though as it was the last big week of training prior to a 10 mile TT I have on the 19th August, then the 100mile, Ken Laidlaw Sportive on the 22nd of August, to which my training has been tailored for the last few weeks. The last thing I wanted to do was to prolong my illness and potentially miss either of these rides so I had to accept that the bike would be waiting for me when I feel like getting back on it.

This still doesn’t make it any easier though; even when lying in bed dozing with a temperature, I’m thinking of what I’m missing – what training other people will be doing. And that’s what gets us on our bikes. We enjoy cycling for many different reasons, I think I love it for them all judging by the answers I read whenever there’s a “why do you love cycling” question posed on the internet or in print. Ultimately we will always have our reasons for wanting to get back on the bike, we all know the story of Tommy Simpson who heroically died trying to complete the ascent of the Ventoux but sometimes we just have to accept that we’re ill and we’ll get back on soon enough!
Who are Team Cycling Plus?

Team Cycling Plus powered by Verenti are readers Andy Ward, Kay Bowen, Malcolm Ratcliffe and Sam Shaw. We’ll be following them in the magazine for the next few months as they train towards their personal cycling goals under the guidance of Team Wiggle’s Ben Simmons and we will be publishing their weekly trials and tribulations here too. For regular updates check our Twitter page and the Team Cycling Plus Facebook page.

Team Cycling Plus will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team. Andy nearly gets third place in his Open TT…

Team Member: Andy Ward

Serious cyclist, 41 year old Andy from Leicester, commutes to his job as a doctor, competes in a number of sportives, and enjoys the challenge of a hilly climb. Last year he did the London to Paris, and this year he has already achieved his goal of going on a cycling holiday to the Alps with his mates and now he’s had a go at time trialling too.

This weekend I took part in my first Open Time Trial. The event was organised by the Ratae Road Club and followed the same 10 mile course that my own club, Leicester Forest, uses for its evening series.
I was keen to do as well as possible, and to at least beat the standard time set by the Veteran Time Trials Association, so I could claim a medal. I had a good session on the Turbo trainer on Sunday, riding at “threshold” for 5 minute intervals with one minute recovery. This was possibly the hardest turbo session I’ve ever done and after just 25 minutes I was exhausted. I commuted to work on the Verenti, taking a long ride home, trying to improve my endurance. Ben advised that I should do the club TT on the Thursday night as a warm up for the weekend. The weather was atrocious with strong winds, heavy rain and a miserable ride home. I still managed a personal best of 25:08 so was starting to feel confident for the weekend.
The Open TT had a field of 70 riders ranging in age from 21 to an amazing 84. The riders were split into 3 categories based on previous best times over the distance. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a veteran of just 3 previous TTs, I was put in the C category. The A category contained some strong riders including a national champion in Geoff Platts, who was the rider 1 minute in front of me. A great opportunity to learn from a master I thought. Unfortunately I only saw him ride for the 10 seconds it took him to go round the next corner. By the time I reached the straight section of the course I think he must have been over the horizon!
As for my performance, I managed 25:13, enough to qualify for a medal from the VTTA, but slower than my personal best. The last section was into a very strong headwind, which took the stuffing out of most, although not the winner Matt Bottrill who posted a mindboggling 20:12.I was absolutely wiped out at the end. I did get a moment of excitement in the event HQ as the winners of each category were announced, briefly being awarded 3rd until someone noticed that there was another rider faster than me. That rider was 45 seconds ahead, it might as well have been 45 minutes, maybe next year!

Who are Team Cycling Plus?

Team Cycling Plus powered by Verenti are readers Andy Ward, Kay Bowen, Malcolm Ratcliffe and Sam Shaw. We’ll be following them in the magazine for the next few months as they train towards their personal cycling goals under the guidance of Team Wiggle’s Ben Simmons and we will be publishing their weekly trials and tribulations here too. For regular updates check our Twitter page  and the Team Cycling Plus Facebook page.

So I don’t know whether you noticed but it rained at the weekend. Not exactly the end of the world, but a bit of a downer for the guys behind Dorset’s Big Bike Bash.

No matter. We fired up the Wrecking Crew Vito Sport anyway and headed down sarf for some fun and games, and a bit of a soaking.

We rocked up to be told that the XC hot laps race was starting any minute, so Weaver and Jimmer quickly chucked on some riding gear and grabbed a long termer each and got stuck in. Jimmer only managed two laps at full sprint, getting knocked out after an awkward crash put him at the back of the pack.

Weaver lasted a little longer, but was severely handicapped by deciding to race his Scott Voltage FR30. Probably a leetle bit heavy for that sort of thing.

We chowed down on some awesome bacon sarnies, fought off the wasps which seemed to be everywhere, and watched the dabs contest, which at one point looked like it was going to be won by a four year old on a BMX. He was so little he could just weave in and out of all the trackstanding goons at full pelt. Bless.

Weavs had a crack at the dual slalom, and was doing fine but got distracted when Jimmer started talking to the guys from the local wildlife trust, and examining all their weird and wonderful creatures – bat preserved in perspex anyone?

Highlight of the day was definitely the MBUK lake jump, with prizes going for the best tricks, and the most painful looking landings! Look out for a full report in the next issue, out September 22, date fans…

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Cool London bike shop and builders Condor Cycles are reinforcing their presence in the stylish retro-leaning market by reintroducing their Paris brand in the UK. Here’s a sneaky peak of the kind of fancy lugged detailing you can expect on the bike when it is launched at this year’s bike show in Earls Court. We’re told that the colour scheme is going to be quite contemporary, and there’s no new as to whether the range will include once of the funkiest bike designs ever, the Paris Galibier.

Here’s what Condor’s Clair Beaumont as told us so far:

‘The Paris –Tour de France built by Condor is being reintroduced at the London Cycle Show this year for the style conscious modern rider. The model makes its return not as a one off show special but as a production frame for the 2011 range.

The fillet brazed frame keeps its traditional looks and artisan styling. Using the original bi lamination design around the headtube, we’ve opted to bring the bike up to date using modern technology and recreating ornate headtube using laser cut bi-lams. The frame tubing is constructed from triple-butted lightweight steel, heat treated for tensile strength. The brake bridge is further reinforced with matching detailing.

The frames are built in Italy just like the rest of the Condor range.
Available with single speed or road drop out – frame, fork and headset the price will start at around £1000.

We can’t wait to sling a leg over it.

Team Cycling Plus will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team.  Malcolm has his BEST EVER cycling experience as he takes on the Etape Hibernia…

Team member – Malcolm Ratcliffe

Malcolm from Erdington is determined to shed some of his 17stone before his 45th birthday this October. To do this he hopes to take his cycling to the next level with Team Cycling Plus, by extending his 10-20mile rides, and include a sportive or two in his season. As well as losing weight, his goals include regularly commuting the 10miles to work and doing a London to Paris charity ride.

All can now be revealed; following my hush hush trip down to the Cycling Plus bike cave last week, feeling more Morocco Mole than Secret Squirrel, and absconding with a bike bag to transport myself and the Millook, but to where…?

Early August the call went out from Cycling Plus HQ for a volunteer to tackle a ride even the hardened staff writers were too frightened to take on.  They disguised this with excuses of, you know school holidays people off with the family blah, blah, blah; people off sick blah, blah, blah …but we all knew this would be a difficult event from which we might not return.  I was ready with all my excuses to but as one by one my Cycling Plus team members deserted me I was the only one left to be counted and my flippant initial response of, ‘well if no one else wants to go I’ll make up the numbers’, came back to haunt me as I received my final instructions to join the inaugural hosting of Sky Ride Etape Hibernia.

Sponsored by the same team as Etape Caledonia, Sky and organised by IMG the pedigree was assured. So with a VIP entry through my Cycling Plus credentials it was time to panic.

What have I let myself in for?  It was Friday evening and I was packing for the flight out to Shannon the following day.  As you’ll have noted from recent blogs my saddle time over the past few weeks has been somewhat missing and thus the thought of completing 82 miles around an ‘undulating’ course gave me cause for concern.  Add to that, man flu contracted the week before and my anxiety levels were past screaming pitch.  I’d already tried to squirm my way out on the excuse of the aforementioned highly contagious pandemic disease but to no avail, I was still booked to go.

Probably like most weekend cyclists I had never had the need to try and fit a bike into small carry on luggage to cart off to foreign climes.  Luckily the flight was with Aer Lingus who had a slightly more generous baggage allowance than some of the low cost airlines.  That being said this was still to be a sharp learning curve, both for the bike and myself.  I laid out all the tools and packing material I thought I’d need and set to work.  Neil at Cycling Plus had generously sent me some ‘how to fit your bike into an A4 jiffy bag’ instructions which like a typical man I chose to ignore.  My thought process was simple, less in more, and so I first tried the bag for size without taking anything off.  No joy, the bike was far too big and I could see at least some disassembly would be required.  I popped off the front wheel, easy no tools required, thank you Tullio Campagnolo for the invention of quick release skewers.  I had a quick go at the rear wheel but decided this would leave the rear derailleur vulnerable and I had no wish to remove that so I tried the bike for size again and low and behold, Madonna del Ghisallo of Italy, the patron saint of cycling was smiling on me and the bike fitted, mostly.  With the handle bars removed and the seat post pushed down there was little left poking out so having removed the pedals for safe measure, put the front wheel in a separate wheel bag and packed a load of bubble wrap into every available space it was time to zip up the bag and pray.

To comedy fans of a certain age David Schneider is best known for his role as Tony Hayers, the BBC executive at whom Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge desperately pitched the idea of a TV show called Monkey Tennis. Next month, though, Schneider is getting on his bike to take part in The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride in the South West and he’s made a short video to promote it….

In a bid to encourage people to sponsor him in for the 70km Challenge Ride from Honiton to Teignmouth in Devon, the actor and writer has created a three minute video – click on the link below – with the help of Rapha Condor Sharp’s Dean Downing.

David Schneider and the Tour Ride

“I’m really looking forward to doing this cycle ride for The Prostate Cancer Charity – if ‘really looking forward’ also means ‘slightly bloomin’ dreading it’, says Schneider who also appeared in the The Day Today,  ” I ride a lot in London but have never really cycled in the countryside, where apparently there are green fields and also things called hills and nice views. I’ve always meant to do something like this and now The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides are giving me the chance to take on a stretch of the Tour of Britain and raise awareness of prostate cancer.

“I also thought I would make an awareness-raising comedy video as my slender skills base includes making comedy. The hope is that it will also get people to watch the funny and donate some money,” explains Schneider who recently trained around London’s Richmond Park on a tandem with former Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson. “I am going to be training in earnest over the next few days and I am looking forward to the big day itself. If I – an urban middle aged man who thinks physical exercise is stroking a cat – can take on a challenge like this, anyone can, so I would urge people whatever their ability to put their name down for The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides today.”

The Prostate Cancer Charity is staging three events across the UK, this September, as part of its ‘Unite ByCycling’ initiative, which aims to raise awareness of prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the UK, as well as to raise funds to fight the disease. As well as the South West, people will be able to take to two wheels for an official stage of The Tour of Britain route, in Stoke-on-Trent and London.

It’s that time again. The new issue of MBUK has hit the shelves and we’re all making excuses to get away from our screens and get a butcher’s at the latest issue.

Of course, we spend a whole month beavering away on every edition, and way more than that planning. But no matter how many times you’ve seen something on screen, it doesn’t compare to having it right in your sticky paw.

So what’s all the fuss about this month? Well, first up we’re taking you endurance riding. With the season about to draw to a close (boo!) now’s the time to tool up for those mega events at the end of the season, or just grab a mate and some sarnies and head out into the wilderness for as long as you dare.

The lads from DMR hoon over to Holland for an MBUK Mission Impossible and we check out the chilled riding vibe in Nelson, BC. Time to book some plane tickets! You might want to store your maxed out credit card in the handy wallet we just happen to be giving away…

The Wrecking Crew hit up Cwm Carn on their big bikes and we’ve also got the full low down from BikeRadar Live, including the chance to win some goodies. And a hamster in a sock. You don’t want to miss it!

The latest issue of MBUK is out today. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest news, reviews and monkey tennis reports. Well, two out of three anyway.

Team Cycling Plus will be updating you each week with the highs and lows of their training as part of the team. This week Kay notices the rise of the Mamil…

36 year old Kay from Southampton is a very active person. She overcame thyroid cancer last year which has inspired her to try a whole host of new activities, including sailing, tennis, skiing and triathlons. As a triathlete, she already does a lot of cycling, but is keen to work on this aspect of her training. Her goals are to sustain longer distances and to go on a cycling holiday

Team Member: Kay Bowen

I read with amusement a recent newspaper article about ‘Mamils’ (Middle aged men in lycra) and thought immediately of my friend and recent training buddy Josh, who is slowly sinking into the cycling trap of buying lycra by the kilo. It certainly seems that cycling provides a hit for men that women haven’t caught on to yet – and bib shorts might be the reason why. Gosh, what a faff when you need to pee. I have to take everything off my top half to achieve a usually simple task. Or should I wear the braces bits over my fabulous logoed Verenti top? I dread to think what it will be like in the winter. I have been a little slack this week, by my high standards, despite having put in a slow ride in a different county and a usual 2 hour plus Saturday ride, my swimming has been recreational and the only thing I am pleased with is putting in a few runs and feeling much more ‘run fit’ – much needed boost for the duathlon which is creeping up, 4 September. I sometimes feel a bit fed up at the thought of getting out there, and that is when a training partner helps – sadly with one in France and the other on crutches I am out putting in any miles I do put in, alone. Still, once I am out there I am loving it, and I have mixed it up a bit this week with some aerobics and Pilates classes for fun, I want to be enjoying the bike and exercise and the challenges, not getting resentful of the black and red beast….

The other beast in my life, my Garmin 705, was the centre of frenzied activity at the Sailing club on Saturday afternoon, as a fellow cyclist and sailor, Ian, who has a Garmin 500, offered to show me the tricks he has learned. We managed to put in some landmarks and download a route, kindly provided by another sailing cyclist, Phil. Phil rides virtually the same patch as me, and now I have one of his routes to try out. I pointed out that I would need to cycle to his front door first to start the route and that I am not stalking him. I tested out the ‘Go home’ feature, and it beeps and tells me when to turn. It’s initial choice of route was unusual, but it doesn’t mind me ignoring it and then recalculates the best route, which I knew anyway. It does worry me that in unknown territory it might take me a long way round, but I would get there eventually and I am keen to download more rides and then do them say, a month apart, so I can see how I have improved. Unfortunately, I didn’t press start until nearly home, so my first upload is of a 1 mile stretch from the main road to my house. The pre-programmed way points we found in the Garmin included a café in London and Garmin Taiwan, both bemusing and places I have never been and would not have thought were top of anyone’s lists. Still, great progress thanks to the lack of wind keeping sailors ashore and happy to while away a few hours fiddling. Cheers guys!

Who are Team Cycling Plus?

Team Cycling Plus powered by Verenti are readers Andy Ward, Kay Bowen, Malcolm Ratcliffe and Sam Shaw. We’ll be following them in the magazine for the next few months as they train towards their personal cycling goals under the guidance of Team Wiggle’s Ben Simmons and we will be publishing their weekly trials and tribulations here too. For regular updates check our twitter page twitter.com/cyclingplus and the Team Cycling Plus facebook page.

Can you legally wear headphones while riding? The answer might surprise you.

One of the more common negative cycling stereotypes is that of a tuned-out rider blissfully unaware of his surroundings as he pedals along, lost in the music blaring from his headphones. The reasons cyclists ride with earbuds are as varied as the riders themselves. Music may motivate some to train harder, while others like the way it helps filter out wind noise. Also, moving to music is an ancient tradition dating back to the dawn of human culture. For some, listening to music while riding is just a perfect way to combine two beloved activities.

Although detractors say it’s unsafe, that’s not necessarily true. Most headsets for portable devices are designed in a way that does not inhibit outside sounds from reaching the ear. And in most states, it is not illegal to wear earbuds or a headset while riding. Of course, if you’re listening to music at ear-damaging volumes, outside sounds may be drowned out, but no law requires vehicle operators to be able to hear. If the law did require that, motorists would not be allowed to crank their stereos up and deaf people would be prohibited from operating vehicles. The fact is, when riding we rely less on our ability to hear other vehicles–an imprecise source of information regardless of how fine-tuned our ears are–than we do on sight, along with our balance and our body’s sense of itself in space and time. Thus, even if headphones did impair hearing–and generally they don’t if you’re listening at a reasonable volume out of a single earbud–it’s still possible to safely operate a bicycle.

However, if wearing headphones while riding is against the law in your state (see box), you face potential penalties for doing so. Although the most common one is a traffic ticket, there are potentially more serious ramifications: If you are involved in a collision and you were wearing headphones in violation of the law, you may be found to be liable for negligence even if the other person was also negligent.

The Law: Riding with Tunes
Only five states regulate the use of headphones by cyclists, and generally the limitations are directed at all vehicle operators. Two of those states–Florida and Rhode Island–prohibit any use of headsets. The intent is to ensure that vehicle operators won’t inhibit their ability to hear sirens and vehicle horns.

The other three states that regulate the use of headsets–California, Delaware and Maryland–prohibit their use in both ears; in these states, one ear must be left uncovered. Maryland makes an exception to this law for riders on bike paths.

Some states make a distinction between headsets used for playing music or other recorded material and those used for cell phones. For example, Florida lifts its ban on earphones when they’re used with a cell phone. In fact, as more states begin to regulate mobile-phone use, vehicle operators are increasingly being required to use hands-free devices.

Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, JD.