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Posted on September 30, 2016 by Paul

Q & A with Veloviewer

Like many riders we’re big fans of using Strava as a method of recording our rides and keeping an eye on what our mates are up to.

I’ve known Ben from Veloviewer for a while as we used to ride for the same cycling club and have used his site since it’s earliest days. I recently caught up with him and he kindly agreed to answer a few questions for our blog.

You’ve been going since 2012 – what’s the story behind Veloviewer ?

The VeloViewer website as you know it today first came into being as a result of me wanting to refresh my website coding skills and have a play around with the d3 javascript library. I saw that Strava had an API and saw a few gaps in their website so that was what I focused on. It was never really intended to be publicly available but after a few of my cycling club mates asked to have access the word just spread slowly around the world.

It is still just me that works on VeloViewer but since February 2016 I’ve been lucky enough to be able to quit my day job and focus on the site full-time.

Roughly how many users have you got at the moment ?

Since Strava updated their API back in July 2013 I’ve been able to keep track of the number of unique users I’ve had connecting their Strava accounts to the site which has just hit 200,000. Obviously not all of these are PRO or PRO+ or I’d have retired to somewhere far warmer and sunnier than Sheffield by now! I also get a lot of users just viewing the segment profiles and visualisations which don’t require the connection of a Strava account.

Who are your cycling heroes ?

Ever since I started riding properly when I was about 13 my cycling hero has been my older brother, Tony. He was pretty good in his day (he’s not too shabby even now) but being 3 years older than me I spent many an hour suffering while looking at his back wheel. Fortunately things did even out eventually.

I suppose in all aspects of life I’ve always preferred to be inspired be people I actually know or meet so don’t tend to have heroes in the traditional sense. Often from an athletic perspective the most inspiring people are those that are less fit/fast but far more determined to succeed than I could ever be.

Rolling on the flat or hitting the hills ?

Hills every time! The first 4 years of my cycling life were spent living in South Lancashire which meant a good hour or two of flat roads at the start and end of every ride. Since moving to Sheffield back in 1993 I’ve only ridden out East (the flat direction) the once and have no desire to head that way again!

What is your favourite climb ?

Tricky one. I was lucky enough to ride up Passo Stelvio from the North East earlier this year, the top section of which is by far the most impressive stretch of road I’ve ridden. It also helped that I took it at a steady pace and was able to enjoy the view! However the climb I enjoyed the most was up the valley from Venosc to La Bérarde (http://veloviewer.com/segment/7525179). Not a col so no real summit to be rewarded with but the views along the entire length of the climb are just exceptional and the pizza at the restaurant in La Bérarde was fantastic. Locally you can’t beat Mam Nic.

How did the relationship with Team Sky come about?

One of my cycling club mates mentioned that he had overheard Ben Swift on their Rotherham chain gang talking about Team Sky using my profiles during the 2015 season. I also already knew that a number of other teams and riders were using the profiles but on hearing the confirmation that Team Sky were using it I thought I needed to get in touch to try to arrange something more formal. I managed to get in contact with Team Sky’s Simon Jones (Head of Performance Support and Innovation) and talked through what extra I could offer over and above what VeloViewer was already providing and they were sold on the idea. One of Team Sky’s main directeurs sportifs Dario Cioni was a long time user of VeloViewer and along with Nicolas Portal we built up the public functionality of the VeloViewer Route Details page and also added a bunch of exclusive functionality that only they get with a goal of providing a one-stop-shop for all of their race-recon needs. All of their directeurs sportifs now use VeloViewer for the majority of their race planning and team presentations.

What bikes are you riding at the moment and which is your favourite ?

I treated myself to a BMC SLR01 at the beginning of the year and I’m very impressed with it. Perfect for the hilly, Classics terrain around Sheffield. I’ve also got an old (2007) Specialized Enduro but to be honest that very rarely gets ridden these days. Some of my best riding memories are on that bike though like heading down the Mega-Avalanche course at Alpe d’Huez (not in the race mind you). The most fun I have these days is on my CX bike riding all the great bridleways on our doorstep giving a great, quick-fix in my lunch hours. I just love the do-it-all nature of the bike and being able to keep away from the traffic as much as possible.

How’s the Veloviewer team / club going ?

The team was set up initially so I could personally promote VeloViewer in the autumn hill climbs that I was doing. Since coming up with VeloViewer I was always excited by the idea of having some branded kit so once VeloViewer was set up with British Cycling and the RTTC I got some nice kit made and gave a set away to some friends that were doing the same races. That’s all it is really.

Veloviewer was originally designed with cyclists in mind. Are you getting participants in any other sports onboard and which is the strangest sport using your site?

VeloViewer has always been used by triathletes and there have been a number of running and swimming specific features in there for quite a while, but it will work equally well for any type of sport that’s uploaded to Strava. Plenty of people use it for skiing, especially cross-country skiing. I think seeing a paragliding 3D profile must have been the most interesting/strange things to look at!

Posted on September 21, 2016September 21, 2016 by Paul

The Century Club

I’ve got a couple of mates who I ride with once a month. We’ve known each other a few years through an old cycling club that has fallen by the wayside and kept bumping into each other at various events.

When we get together our family know that on that day our calender will have the all day box ticked on it, because what starts as a gentle roll to a nice cafe for lunch will inevetably turn into an epic ride.

During one of outings the subject came up of a suitable challenge for next year. Our rides are usually a minimum of an old fashioned imperial century so a simple plan was hatched.

The aim of the game for next year (if you haven’t guessed by now) is to ride a century each calender month. Whilst this sounds easy on paper whilst it’s late Summer, the short days and foul weather of the early months of the year will be a true test.

Velotastic is not offering any prizes – if you need a roundel patch as your motivation you’ve come to the wrong site ! However what you will need is strength, stamina and motivation. It does not matter if you ride and imperial or metric century either.

A friend of Velotastic, Chris Sidwells has written a book on the Best 100 mile routes to give you a little inspiration and avoid you just entering 12 sportives.

If you are up for it and want to give this challenge a go, don’t forget to use the hashtag #centuryclub and think about joining our Strava Club so you can share your rides with fellow travellers. I’ve also created a Facebook page so you can hook up with other Century Club riders and share your stories.

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Paul

Fresh Mugs

Anyone who rides will probably tell you that cafe culture is an integral part of cycling. Whilst many of us crave the solitude of a solo ride, you can’t beat the craic of a few mates at a cake stop.

Since their introduction to our product portfolio three years ago, our mugs have proved immensely popular, with owners including grand tour stage winners and cyclists in over a couple of dozen countries.

We’ve just added a fresh design to our collection. Celebrating the hard man’s hard man, Bernard Hinault aka the Badger, we’re sure this new design will be a hit with a fans of old school bare knuckle cycling.

Get yours here.

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Paul

Caffeine

Earlier this year we started working with Verge sport offering high quality custom clothing. As a result of this collaboration we thought it would be great opportunity to get our creative juices flowing again and manufacture some cycling jerseys that featured some of our own designs.

The first design we have come up with is the Caffeine Racer jersey . This design uses their best selling race fit jersey and as the name suggests is based around one of our other passions – coffee.

Initially available in men’s sizing from small to XL and with features such as technical fabric, a full length zip and gripper arms we’re sure this design will be popular on the weekend cafe run.

If you are after some custom clothing for you, a group of friends or your club organisation with no minimums why not see what Verge can do for you.

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Paul

Run to the Dun – the Dunwich Dynamo

The Dunwich Dynamo has been a ride that’s been on my list for a while. Held on the weekend nearest to the full moon in July, the ride goes from London to the village of Dunwich 180 km away on the Suffolk coast.

This ancient hamlet was once a major international port and had a population greater than London in Medieval times. The ravages of time and coastal erosion have however take their toll and the village has less than a couple of hundred inhabitants now.

The event started in 1993 when a group of London based cycle couriers thought it would be fun to ride to the coast on fixed bikes. Since then the event has grown and there are over a thousand riders taking part. Unlike most sportives here is no entry fee – just turn up and ride.

The riders congregate at London fields. The range of bicycles was amazing – from deep rimmed Colnago’s to ex Postman’s bikes. As I had a couple of trains to take I chose to use a folding bike which I had fitted with a hub dynamo, Brooks Cambium saddle and slicker tyres to make life a little easier. My clothing choice was a Routier merino jersey, a Verge Shorts and Gilet for the early hours to keep my core warm. Naturally this ensemble was finished off with a pair of Handlebar Mustache socks.

At roughly 8 o’clock riders slowly start heading east. The atmosphere was convivial with no pushing and shoving all riding as a huge Critical Mass style ride out through the streets of London.

After around an hour of urban riding we reached Epping Forest and the sprawl of buildings was slowly replaced by trees and fields. There is only one official feed station on the Dun Run at roughly half way in Sudbury which is run to raise money for the firefighter’s charity. However many pubs had bikes outside with riders partaking in ad-hoc re-fuelling.

As we passed through small Essex villages, many of the locals were out in their gardens cheering us on and enjoying the spectacle. Then it went dark and the mass of riders started to spread out a little. The navigation was quite simple – just follow the back light of the bicycle in front.

Occasionally there would be a train of faster club riders stretched out and riding with purpose. If I was on my racing bike I would probably be among them, but riding at a slower pace gave me more chance to enjoy and reflect on the ride.

After a stop for a brew and a burger at Sudbury the effects of night riding started to kick in. All sense of time and distance went out of the window. The kilometres on my GPS seemed to take ages to click down. And then suddenly it was dawn. With just 20 km to go a glorious sunrise could be seen on the horizon which coincided with arriving at one of the impromptu feed stations that had been set up by the kind folk of Suffolk.

Suddenly I was at Dunwich. This sleepy backwater had been taken over for a morning and the peace of riding through the night was broken by cars, coaches and trucks and people getting some normality back in their life. I carefully made my way onto the pebble beach, stood my bike up and rested my head down for an hours well deserved sleep before heading off for an early breakfast at six in the morning.

More information.

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Paul

Pro Cycling Trumps

We’ve just had a re-stock of the every popular Pro Cycling Trumps and have added some new flavours to our inventory. This card game is great to take down the pub or even bring out at a cafe stop and also pass a few hours whilst you are on holiday. Suitable for kids of all ages (including big ones).

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Paul

Welcome to the Syndicate

We must have admit we are mixed about crowdfunding. There are lots 0f ideas out there – some good, some bad and some that never quite pull it off.

However now and again somebody comes up with a concept that is so simple that it’s a blinder. One of those is the Townie Syndicate Lever+ (no connection to any other Syndicates BTW !).

Unless we are going touring we like to ride with the minimum of kit and caboodle and travel light. A pair of levers, an small multitool, a pump and an innertube. Most of the time if we need more than that we can phone home and get rescued. However a lot of the time the multitool is the achilles heal as it has way more tools on it than we need and adds quite a bit of heft.

Here’s the original campaign video:

The Lever+ is a simple but brilliant solution to this. A 3D printed tyre lever with space inside to store a a pair of allen keys with several ends on them all held together with a velcro strap that you can attach your tube and pump too.

Available in Orange, Green and Blue, get yours here.

Posted on April 28, 2016June 1, 2016 by Paul

Our latest project – The Routier Merino Jersey

Our latest project the Routier short sleeve jersey has taken over a year from initial concept to becoming a reality.

The tourist routiers were the independent riders in the Tour de France that competed with no support and with the odds stacked against them. We thought this name which gives a nod to cycling’s heritage was a strong choice for our new merino jersey.

The original idea was to have made a short sleeve jersey made to our specifications from pure merino wool. We wanted to produce a product that fitted in with our existing brands and we could proudly say was Made in Britain.

We knew that whilst we had the ideas about what we wanted with over 30 years riding experience we needed to partner with the skill set to produce a jersey to our exacting standards.

After a few false starts we found a Leicester based company that specialised in high end garment manufacture who had an established track record in making quality cycling clothing.

Our idea was for a minimalist design for maximum comfort. Our logo is discreetly placed on the back pocket so that the embroidery backing does not come into contact with the skin. We have added a full length zip fly to act not only as a baffle but also to prevent the YKK zipper coming into contact with the skin. There is a zip garage on the collar to stop the zip rubbing on your chin.

The back pockets are not designed to be overloaded – if you want to carry a waterproof we recommend a saddle bag. We have added a polyester mesh liner on the inside the back pockets to stop them stretching and also to reduce the risk of items puncturing the merino fabric. There is also a small separate inner pocket on the rear to keep your keys and money for the coffee shop.

[box]Why Merino ?

We chose superfine merino because we knew that it would be soft against the skin and not have that itchy feel to it. Merino also is both breathable and insulating and due to us using a relatively light weight it dries quickly.

As animal lovers we wanted to go to a source where the sheep were ethically reared and that the people who were milling the product were looked after too which lead us to one of Australia’s leading merino producers. Wool is a natural product made and is biodegradable when disposed of. Once sheared, sheep grow a new fleece in around a year so it is a very sustainable product.

Merino is also anti-bacterial and odour free which your mates will appreciate at the coffee stop. [/box]

We’ve been testing the Routier jersey since last summer on the roads of the Peak District and have racked up several thousand kilometres up hill and down dale in it.

Our first batch are made in indigo blue with a cayenne stripe. When we have sold the initial production run of fifty jerseys we will re-manufacture the Routier in a different colour combination. This means that every Routier jersey is a limited edition and a little bit special.

To purchase your Routier jersey check out our webstore.

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Paul

Davanti Bikewear

We are pleased to announce that we are the UK dealer for Davanti Bikewear.

Davanti are a Dutch designed high end cycling clothing company that has a cult following in Belgium and the Netherlands. (We discovered them when we were browsing in a bike shop in Brugge).

The brand has been established a couple of years and has built up a reputation for designing quality products which are very rider focused and are squarely aimed at the race / performance end of the market.

One of the things that Davanti sponsor is a fixed bike criterium series, the Dutch Crit Cup…

Like a lot of the kit we sell we’ve been testing it hard for a few months so that we are confident in what we sell. The Liam jersey that we are intially stocking is a lightweight summer jersey so this left us with a bit of a challenge on how to see whether it was up to the job when we received it in November. The solution we came up with was to ride it at the velodrome. Anyone that has ridden the track will tell you that there is no such thing as soft pedalling – it’s warm, dry and relentless and really shows up any failings in summer kit as you just end up with the ‘boil in a bag’ syndrome. We’re please to say that the Liam jersey passed this test with flying colours and it regulated our temperature just fine.

Initially we are keeping things simple and offering their top end Liam jersey and matching Jayle shorts from their alpha range, but plan to expand on their range when things get established.

Posted on April 18, 2016June 2, 2016 by Paul

Online retailers – We’re not all the same.

When I started Velotastic one of the hardest things I had was not selling to customers but getting businesses to sell to me.

I originally imported parts from contacts I had on the continent, but one of the problems I had was the consistency of supply so I decided to contact some of the leading UK wholesalers to try and source items that would fit in with the feel of my brand.

To my surprise I was hit by ambivalence at the best and downright arrogance at the worse. The nub of the problem was that I was not a bricks and mortar store (despite working out of a business centre) and was going to undercut my local bike shop. I found that this was ironic as the wholesalers I was talking to sold products to some of the biggest online box sellers out there !

The one thing I was definitely was not trying to do was compete with my local bike shop. I did and do feel that bike shops have there place and still use one on a regular basis to do the jobs I cannot do myself and buy the parts I do not stock from them.

The aim of Velotastic is to fill the gaps. It would be crazy for my local shop to carry some of the items I do, but because I have built up a reputation I can rotate my stock by selling enough to a global audience.

After speaking to several smaller online speciality retailers I discovered my experience was not unique. Many had hit this wall and had to think outside the box with how to get their venture going.

Fortunately in a way they did me a favour. It forced me to look to people who for whatever reason did not distribute via wholesalers. People like myself who were not huge corporations but micro businesses trying to do their own thing.

Please support your smaller retailers – both online and your locally run bike shops. Not all online retailers are out their with the intent of destroying the high street. Many of us want to run businesses selling goods that you cannot buy in your local stores – we want to be different.

Your business really does make a difference to us. And our profits keep the local economy going and not the share holders of venture capital companies happy.

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Paul

The other Belgium

For the past few years I’ve been heading over to Belgium for a weeks riding. Instead of heading for Oudenaarde and it’s classic climbs I’ve been staying just north of Brugge on the edge of the polder.

This low lying land that sits just behind Belgium’s 42 km coastline is often overlooked by cyclists who just pass through it heading south. However what they miss in their eagerness to hit the bergs is a hidden gem.

The are is abundant with well maintained quiet rural roads and pan flat terrain. Navigation is very simple. Pick up a map from a book store or local tourist office and there are cycle routes criss crossing the area. Key junctions are numbered so riding is a case of a rather elaborate dot to dot.

The area is very accessible for a mini break on the ferry to Zeebrugge – sail on Friday, ride on Saturday and return home by Sunday morning.

For more information on cycling in Belgium check out the Fietsroute website.

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Paul

Behind the Cap

Cycling sponsors tend to come and go. Many stick around for a year or two, fulfil their commitments and then disappear into the rear view mirror of cycling history. Others like Lampre and Quickstep have seemed to have been around for ages. But what products are these companies actually trying to promote ? Some are household names, but others are a little more obscure especially to cycling fans outside the sponsor’s home market.

Molteni

The super team of the early seventies made famous by probably the greatest cyclist ever, Eddy Merckx. Sometimes confused with the kitchen company of the same name, Molteni were a sausage maker from Arcore, just outside of Monza. The team ran from 1958 to 1976 with a total of 663 wins. Not sure how many extra sausages were sold though.

Team Z

The Z in Team Z stands for Zeta Vetements – a French children’s clothing store. The team’s origins can be found in the Peugeot cycling team and were known as Vétements Z-Peugeot (1987), Z-Peugeot (1988-89), Z-Tomasso (1990), Z (1991–92) the team went onto become Gan (1992-1998) and Credit Agricole (1998-2008).

Notable riders in the Z years when the kit had the pop art style exploding graphics were Greg Lemond and Robert Millar two of the coolest riders in the peloton. Back in the nineties many of us rode in this kit emulating our heroes. Little did we know that they were acting as a billboard for baby grows.

St Raphael

in 1954 St Raphael became one of the first extra-sportif(company outside of the cycling industry) sponsors of professional racing. The French drinks company manufactures an aperitif that contains quinine and cocoa amongst other things.

In the 1950’s St Raphael and its sister company Rapha sponsored riders including Tom Simpson, Jaques Anquetil, Raphaël Géminiani and Jean Stablinski.

Mercatone Uno

This Italian supermarket chain that specialises in white goods were the title sponsors for teams from 1992-1995 and 1997 to 2003. It’s second stint as being a title sponsor came about when the Carrera team folded and their manager Davide Boifava wanted to build a team around its star rider Marco Pantani.

Mercatone Uno allegedly withdrew its sponsorship in 2003 on Pantani’s retirement with many of the team moving to Barlowworld.

Brooklyn

Often confused with the New York borough due to Spike Lee wearing a cycling cap in the 1986 film ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ and early Nike adverts, Brooklyn were an Italian chewing gum manufacturer that named its product after the famous bridge.

The Milanese company sponsored a cycling team in the 1970’s and its most famous riders were brothers Erik and Roger de Vlaeminck who were the greats of cyclocross and the Paris Roubaix.

Mapei

Italian based Mapei sponsor cycling due to a love of the sport and their brightly coloured logo’s are instantly recognisable. Despite not having sponsored a team for over a decade the company still is actively involved in the promotion of its brand through cycling.

Mapei manufactures tile adhesive and grout. Whether there are a lot of tilers that like cycling is a different subject all together.

Kas

The bright yellow Kas jerseys are synonymous with 80’s Irish cyclist Sean Kelly. The Spanish brand manufactures a fruit based soft drink and is now owned by Pepsi.

The brand may be unfamiliar in many countries it is available in cycling mad Spain and France.

Salvarani

Sponsors of a cycling team from 1963 to 1972, Salvarani manufacture kitchen components. The team’s most famous rider was Felice Gimondi who won the world championship in 1972. After Salvarani withdrew their sponsorship the team became Bianchi-Campagnolo – two of the biggest names in Italian cycling.