As promised, an update on the Stelvio 707's I purchased earlier in the week. Wore them for the first time this morning as I took my Ridgeback Solo Fixed on a 50 mile ride down to the North Somerset Coast and back and I have to say I am very impressed. Needed to play around with the cleat positions a little during the ride to Clevedon (around 12 miles) but otherwise they where extremely comfortable. The first 30 miles where reasonably flat with the only hills being short out of the saddle affairs and I didn't really notice i had the shoes on. The last 20 miles included a couple of longish climbs and i didn't notice any flex in either the sole or the shoe, no pinching or rubbing and the laces stayed nice and tight the whole trip. I am doing the Gospel Pass Audax in a couple of weeks so will let you know how they are after a proper all day ride but so far, so good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
A blog for random thoughts from a middle aged, ICT obsessed cyclist. See my other blog, ieduc8.blospot.com, for my thoughts etc on iOS devices, especially iPads in education. The accompanying website is: sites.google.com/site/blokeonabikesite/
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
New Shoes
My trusty old Shimano cycling shoes finally gave up the ghost this week after 10 years of sterling service which left me in a bit of a dilemma, what should I replace them with? For a long while I was a fan of team kit and would go to great lengths to get matching jerseys, shorts, socks etc but of late I have become a fan of good quality retro kit (merino wool jerseys and the like) so my search began for a suitable pair of shoes. Now ideally, I would like to tell you I bought a pair of Dromarti Sportive shoes but at £145 a pair, I fear I didn't. Instead, after much deliberation, I purchase a pair of Exhustar Stelvio 707 shoes from SJS Cycles. I ordered them on Wednesday, SJS e-mailed me to say they where dispatched on Thursday and Parcel Force duly attempted to deliver them today (rant why do they try to deliver during working hours? I know it's cheaper but honestly! Rant over). Luckily, they dropped the parcel off at my local Post Office so by 4.30 this evening, I was clunking around the house in my new shoes. Brilliant. Very smart they are too, check out the picture:
OK, so not the best picture (I took it on my phone) but they seem to be well constructed and certainly look the part.
Searching the forums revealed that, like Shimano shoes, they do tend to come up small. I normally fall somewhere between a UK 8.5 and 9 so I took advice and ordered a UK 9.5. The shoes seem to fit well, they are narrow and long (I have about 2cm to spare in the toe box, which is ideal for me) but I would recommend trying before you buy if you can.
I haven't worn them on the bike yet but shall try them out on Sunday and report back.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
OK, so not the best picture (I took it on my phone) but they seem to be well constructed and certainly look the part.
Searching the forums revealed that, like Shimano shoes, they do tend to come up small. I normally fall somewhere between a UK 8.5 and 9 so I took advice and ordered a UK 9.5. The shoes seem to fit well, they are narrow and long (I have about 2cm to spare in the toe box, which is ideal for me) but I would recommend trying before you buy if you can.
I haven't worn them on the bike yet but shall try them out on Sunday and report back.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A man, a bike and an obsession!
OK, I have been meaning to do this for quite a while but between other projects (my iOS blog) and general apathy, I have never got around to it until now. As I explained in the description and about me, I am a middle aged teacher with an unhealthy ICT obsession and an equally unhealthy cycling obsession. I intend this blog to be a selection of random thoughts and musings as I cycle my way around various parts of the country.
I tend to do mainly Audax rides these days as time for training is limited and to be honest, I just feel a little too fragile for racing these days. I do attempt the occasional Sportive ride but really, I like the idea of Audax and really want to get up to the sort of distances that would allow me to dream of London-Edinburgh-London or Paris-Brest-Paris. Having said that, at the moment, the thought of a 300k gets the goose bumps going although I did comfortable complete one 200k Sportive (The Black Rat) and two 200k Audaxes and one 150k Audax last year as well as innumerable 100k rides so maybe its not that far off?
Anyway, the season is starting, the GPS is fully charged (me and maps do not make for a straightforward journey) and events have been entered so please watch this space. The rides (GPX and mapmyride links) will be written about here and posted on my website. Enjoy.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I tend to do mainly Audax rides these days as time for training is limited and to be honest, I just feel a little too fragile for racing these days. I do attempt the occasional Sportive ride but really, I like the idea of Audax and really want to get up to the sort of distances that would allow me to dream of London-Edinburgh-London or Paris-Brest-Paris. Having said that, at the moment, the thought of a 300k gets the goose bumps going although I did comfortable complete one 200k Sportive (The Black Rat) and two 200k Audaxes and one 150k Audax last year as well as innumerable 100k rides so maybe its not that far off?
Anyway, the season is starting, the GPS is fully charged (me and maps do not make for a straightforward journey) and events have been entered so please watch this space. The rides (GPX and mapmyride links) will be written about here and posted on my website. Enjoy.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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