What type of bicycle should I buy ?

So you’ve decided you want to start cycling. But like any person getting into a new sport, you’re confused by the jargon and conflicting information. These days with the help of Google and the rise in popularity of cycling, it’s a lot easier and hopefully some of the info below will also be of help. Read More

Strong mind

What do you tell yourself ?

When it’s too cold to get out of bed and even colder outside? When you look out of the window and all you see is, well nothing, except the rain? When you’re yo-yoing off the back and there’s 50km still to go ? When you’ve get a flat and it’s pi**ing down ? Sometimes the Read More

Be prepared. Avoiding puncture rage in 4 (or 5) easy steps.

There’s nothing worse than hearing that tell-tale hissing sound while you’re out for a spin. Even worse if it’s raining. Altogether rage inducing  if it’s both wheels. So, in the words of those boys with the weird hand-shakes and long ties, the scouts, not bankers; “be prepared” Here’s what I carry. 1 spare tube in Read More

5 ways to save energy and finish stronger

There’s nothing worse than seeing your local cycling group, slowly ease away from you. For a while you try and stick with them, yo-yoing off the back, until eventually they creep away at such a seemingly slow pace, that your brains says it should be easy to get back on. Your legs say something completely Read More

Is it rude to use that word this soon ?

The days are short, and for most, that means hopping on the old IDT to “keep the legs going” I’m not sure I can call myself lucky, but I’ve never had too much of a problem motivating myself to use one. But there are a few things I do to make it more appealing. I have everything Read More

Gift ideas for your inner cyclist.

With the (sorry) Christmas period speeding towards us, people are naturally thinking of possible gifts for their family, friends or even themselves :-) There are some very unusual and useful cycling related items out there and I’ll be posting details of some of the ones I find interesting. First up is the Bamboo Bike Wall Clock Read More

Gianni Ponzi - Optimistic Cyclist

Where did the name come from ?

I always feel as if I can accomplish something on the bike even when clearly, I can’t. Go for a spin of 30km (almost) after 5+ years with zero exercise and a fat belly form eating too many jambons  while driving 3hrs to work an back every day. What’s wrong with that ?  Nothing. But I Read More

Staying dry (ish) in the rain.

I don’t really like the rain. I’m fine with a downpour but that non-stop drizzle that gets in everywhere and goes on for weeks (feels like weeks anyway), really bugs me. Strangely though, I don’t mind cycling in the rain. When I was racing, the concentration would generally block everything out. Knowing that most of Read More

Making the most of wind

Not the dodgy kind coming out of your behind :-D. The one created by mother nature. It would be very difficult to find a cyclist who hasn’t experienced a day when they’ve had to crawl their way home in what feels like a raging storm. Ok, sometimes it probably is a raging storm. So how Read More

Do you have a power meter ?

I work in the IT industry and I’m a bit of a gadget freak. I think I was one of the first to try out a power meter in this neck of the woods back in 2008. A PowerTap, which people genuinely asked me if it was a dynamo. The PowerTap helped to really spread the word Read More

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