Pro ultimate gloves

I've just ordered these. I had a pair of Madison with silk liners that I got from Decathlon at Thurrock. They did the job but are now starting to fall apart so as we are now in a bit of a cold snap I've chosen these.
They are Pro's first go at gloves, with the Ultimate being the most expensive.
They have a wind resistant membrane on its upper and a fleece lining inside. They are warm down to minus five but as they are a windproof glove they are no more than shower proof. They have anti-slip on the palm but apparently it is thin and might not be to everyones liking. I like thin gloves though because I like to feel the road through my handlebars. My wife thinks that's a fettish. The cuff is long enough to pull over your jacket sleeves and soft enough to catch your nose drips.
RRP is £24.99 but I found these at Parker International for £19.95

This ain't right

Already we've started. As I write this I'm throwing my pen up in the air and stamping the kitchen table with my head. When we started this we all agreed that no matter what the product we will review it.

Paul has just texted me. He has a product and a picture.

I'm not reviewing it but I will include it.

Silver band aid. He went riding earlier and as he was getting off his bike he scraped his shin on his pedal.

That's it, back to seriousness.

Quit smoking with Wayne

Now this is weird. Wayne one of our group is a smoker. He smokes about 20 a day. Now as a cycling purist I find this remarkable. How the hell he can do it I'll never know. He even has a fag while going along.
There is a picture of him somewhere all in his finery smoking under a banner supporting The British Heart and Lung Foundation at the beginning of a charity ride we were doing once. I'll try and find it and post it on here.
Anyway, he has now stopped for 4 days. I know it's not long but he thinks he will never have another again. When we asked how he knows this he has replied that his neuro linguistic programming has been changed forever. He has found a download on the net which you can burn onto CD or MP3 then listen to it. It's by a bloke called Rob Mellor and the download lasts about 40 minutes. Wayne does say though that you should listen to it away from distractions. Probably the pub knowing Wayne.
Going on, the programme costs $47 which at current conversion rates is I don't know.
Wayne seems ok with it so if you do smoke then give it a go.
Quit Smoking

Find a route with SUSTRANS

Sustrans if you didn't already know is the co-ordinator of The National Cycle Network. The network offers over 12,000 miles of routes on traffic free paths, quiet roads and traffic calmed roads. They also claim that 75% of the UK population live within 2 miles of a route. How good is that!?
Having used the network, the boys and I are regulars on these routes, we have found all the routes to be well signed and connects to towns and villages very well on pretty safe roads and paths.
Try and find a route near you at SUSTRANS
If you explore their site you can also find a section with routes posted by other users for your local area. A very good resource for finding new routes for your training or family bike ride.

For Goodness shakes

If you train then you must refuel afterwards. I used to just drink water after a ride along with a sandwich but the next day my legs hurt. I was ok when I got on the bike but I would have an ache still. I always thought it was lactic acid built up overnight when I slept. How wrong I was!
I now use For Goodness Shakes. They cost about £1.20 each but I've currently found them at ASDA for 95p. They are also running a deal. Buy 2 for £1.50.
Northumbria University has recently conducted some research into them and it confirms that products containing protein aid recovery better than water or carbs alone.
From my own experience I find that they do work. I don't ache anywhere near how I used to the following day and the cost I don't find excessive as I spend more on my lunchtime sandwich than one of these. They have a long shelf life so you can stock up with these and they are also quite filling. Four flavours available, Chocolate which is very thick and some people could find sickly, superberry, my favourite, banana which is very nice and organic vanilla, which whilst nice it does leave an aftertaste and is also more expensive than the others. Probably because it is organic. They are good though.

Alligator iLink sealed alloy gear cable system

The Alligator system looks good and aims to improve performance. Without a shadow of a doubt the design will definately turn heads. The cables are half the weight of standard cables. 27 grams per metre and the full linked system should be able to stay clean aiding performance level. They're available for brakes as well. As no-one has tried these yet our only concern is whether or not fully sleeved brake cables will make for a sponginess sensation when braking. If anyone tries these can you please let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me. Thanks.
£33.99 at Clee Cycles

Lifeline Syn Lube

I have 4 bikes at present. I ride everywhere.
I was riding to work the other day which is terrible really as I work shiftwork until midnight and then have to ride home with my eyes shut. Some people will think that's not late but I say to the doubters try doing that when your three year old daughter gets you up at 6.30 EVERY morning.
Anyway riding home I noticed that my drivetrain was sounding a bit rough. You really notice it at night when all around is silent. I also like squeaky brakes in a residential area late at night!
Anyway my drivetrain on my Marin Novato work horse was rough so the following morning I went to apply my usual Sturmey Archer oil when I realised I had none left. Reason for this is that I must apply said syrup 3 or 4 times a week literally, but as this is my work/pub bike I don't tend to use decent stuff on it. Anyway my mate Mike had a couple of weeks earlier given me a bottle of Syn Lube so I thought I would try that. Well I must say I'm impressed. I managed to go all week without re-lubing which was probably about 11 hours riding before I had to lube up again. The week was dry so wet times have yet to be tested. I also found pretty low friction and the drivetrain I could hardly hear.
£5.99 bargain!
Available at Wiggle

Northwave Biomap bike performance footbeds

In other words, innersoles.
I suffer with my feet. In my normal walking shoes I have to wear special innersoles called Orthaheel which are brilliant for excess pronation which is what I've got. What happens is my foot rolls excessively when walking and causes all the ligaments to stretch in my foot. Believe me it hurts!
I also suffer to a degree when cycling so this is where Northwave could come in. My condition when cycling is known as hot foot and is caused by a lack of support from the shoe and this is down to compressing nerves and arteries when pedalling. This innersole aims to reduce this by giving you the support where needed whilst ensuring no power is lost when pedalling. Northwave also claim that these innersoles help with delaying lactic acid build up.
They work by using memory foam so when your foot presses against the innersole the foam can 'read' where the support needs to go.
Apparently one of the 'mob' has found these at Jim Walker.co.uk retailing for £24.99.
I'm actually gonna try these as at the moment I'm using £1.99 ones from my local shoezone shop.

Why I'm Here

As this is my first post I suppose it's only right to justify myself on the world wide web.
This is a cycling blog. I know, there's loads of cycling blogs but this one's a bit different.
I cycle. I love it and I'm not gonna deny it. I love the thrill of taking a hair pin at some ridiculous speed and I love not being able to talk for ten minutes after my ride because I'm going to be sick from the exhertion I have just put in.
I cycle on my own or with a group of friends from my younger days or with anybody at my work who mentions they are taking it up. I will always offer my services to newcomers.
Anyway I digress. This blog is about cycling as I said, but my friends and I are concerned about current cycling blogs. Don't get us wrong, some of them are brilliant but what we have found is that with cycling you can spend an awful lot of money on it. Sometimes justified sometimes not. But where can you go to get information on products that are available? Most magazines will only review products that have been given to them from manufacturers and the majority of the time they are something a cyclist wouldn't entertain.
So from now on you can come here. My friends and I spend a lot of money each week feeding our passion. One of us is always buying something to enhance our time on the bike or just to look flash so whilst sitting in the pub after one of our efforts it was decided that each week one of us will either buy a product or look at something we would like to have and review it, with the results published here.
There's 25 of us in our group so I promise, as long as we get the readership we can continue this blog.
You never know, it could be a laugh.