Blog

Had a great morning today looking at some great cars on Hartlepool Marina,some classics from many years ago,some specialist kit cars which looked amazing aswell as other vehicles.Great weather too!!!!The owners of these vehicles should be proud of them,some looked as good as the day they left the factory and have clearly been cared for with imense pride.
I only had time to be there for an hour but managed to get a few pictures snapped and have posted them up on Flickr,please check them out here.Thanks to all who drove there cars and rode there motorcycles to this great event,its much appreciated.

What did Formula 1 fans think of todays China GP.......for me what a race!! It had it all. Whats becoming even more clear is tyres are the key factor in this seasons F1,not just about conserving them during the race but ensuring you have plenty of fresh sets available as Lewis Hamilton showed.The 3 stop strategy worked a dream today for Lewis and Mclaren and he pulled off some stunning overtaking moves,admittedly helped when other drivers where on worn tyres,nontheless a great drive by Hamilton.
Red Bull though are still the team to beat though in my opinion.

Finally De Blob 2 on PS3........anyone played this and what do you think?  I ask because im thinking about getting this game having read some great reviews and impressions from people who have played it.Ive never played the previous game and having seen it cheap at a videogame store its got me thinking about purchasing it.Any views would be most appreciated.

Take care.

Bikes and games.

A few things have been happening since my last blog so i thought i would share some brief thoughts.Firstly i got a new pair of tyres for the Colnago C50hp which i mentioned in a previous blog.The bike is kept off the roads during the winter months as i dont see the point in riding a £4k road bike in the salt and crud fested roads so i use my Ridley Orion instead.
The last few weeks ive stripped the bike down and been cleaning and greasing it in prep for the next few weeks when hopefully weather permitting i can get out on the roads with it.

My Colnago C50hp on Flicker

If you kindly click on my flickr page the new tyres are on and ive also put some Fizik microtex bar tape on aswell,not much else needed doing so its ready to go........as soon as the salt dissapears off the roads!

As for other things,well ive been playing a lot of Top Spin 4 and Moto GP 10/11 on the ps3 and i have to say im really enjoying them,Top Spin especially is one of those games that just feels right to play,the animations are superb and it plays fantastically well.Moto GP is a tough game but as mentioned before its a game that if you persist with it it rewards you well.I must admit though having seen some early footage of SBK 11 due out in May that game looks potentially to be something special.

I recently contributed to the Japanese earhquake/tsunami appeal via the playstation network,i felt it was the right thing to do and although it wasnt a huge amount of money i hope other psn users join in too,its a very worthy cause.

Take care!

 

Japan

As i sit typing this blog its a dull and wet Sunday lunchtime and playing in the background is the bbc news channel showing the latest images from the horrific earthquake and then tsunami in Japan.The pictures i see from many thousands of miles away shock me everytime i see then,the destructive force mother nature has wreaked on a country i have so much admiration for is truly beyond belief.

Ive been engrossed by the coverage on tv,internet and radio over the last 72 hours or so and have wondered what it must be like to experience something so awful and so devastating,i live near the coast and simply cannot imagine what it must be like and what the people of Japan are going through at this moment.It seems that the country survived the earthquake reasonably well,or as well as can be expected with the buildings and infrastructure  designed and built with eathquakes in mind, but it was the tsunami thats caused the devastation.
My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected.

Seeing whole towns and villages getting swepped away by the sheer force of the water is a truly horrific sight but can anyone survive such devastating destruction?Latest estimates say possibly around ten thousend people may have lost there lives,but in my own opinion i wouldnt be surprised if it turns out to be ten times more than that,i sincerely hope im wrong but i cant help feeling as the hours,days and weeks pass by the true impact of this disaster will become only too apparant.

The attention now seems to be focusing on the nuclear power plants,especially in Fukushima which could have even more serious consequences for the area and beyond.Im no expert in theses matters but seeing the explosion on tv yesterday and now hearing that the authorites in Japan fear that another reactor is having cooling problems i really do start to think that we could have another disaster immeniantly.From an ever increasing exclusion zone to more people getting effected by radiation im very suspicious about what we are'nt being told.Are the Japanese authorities being transparent....or is it simply a case of its too early to say whats happening and what the effects are?.Im sure over the next few days all will become clearer.

The news coverage on the BBC and Sky whether on tv or online has been very informative and ive found it very usefull but last night i listened to the Stephen Nolan show on Radio 5 Live and was fully engrossed in the discussion,it was great to listen to the various experts on the show who made a lot of sense about the reactor situation in Fukushima and the possibilitys of what if/could happen.

Finally im going to help in anyway i can whether that be a donation or volunteering my services in anyway i can,i hope others do to.Its the least we can do to get this magnificent country back on its feet.

bloggin..

Lets kick off this blog with some thoughts then,firstly the ipad 2 reveal last week.Theres no doubt the redesign looks better,lighter,slimmer and faster....and at the same pricepoint as the original.Whats not to like,thanks Apple! Interesting to see the price coming down now on the original,i see at Comet its a reasonable £329,i wonder when we will see the first sub £300 price.Hmmmm

Next week sees a crazy release week for videogames,with 4 of my eagerly awaited releases all arriving on the same day!Yakuza 4,Top Spin 4,Motorstorm Apocolipse and Moto Gp 10/11.Why do publishers do this,its been going on for years and yet they still complain when a game doesnt sell to its expected level.Very odd...anyway having played demos of all the games i will probably buy them....but more of a staggered purchase instead of getting all 4 on day 1 and probably not giving some of them the time they deserve.
Good to hear the  new DLC for Pes 2011 gets released next week,Konami have really got there act together with this series and all bodes well for future games.

Really cant wait for the motorsport season to get fully underway,last weeks WSBK at Phillip Island was fantastic to watch,Repsol Honda and Casey Stoner in particular look super quick in Moto GP testing,the F1 seasons only a few weeks away and that promises to be interesting to say the least what with all the rule changes [especially the tyres,oh and Mclaren sadly looking in trouble with there car design] and the British Touring car championship and British Superbikes getting underway in early April.I really cant wait to see those.

Bell Volt cycling helmet review

This is my review of the Bell Volt cycling helmet which i have used extensively over the last 6 months.
My previous cycle helmet was a Giro Ionos which i had for just over a year and while the helmet was ok i decieded i wanted to try something different for a change and after looking around and researching various manufactures i went for the Volt from Bell.


Bell Volt/Pro Cycling magazine

  First impressions are fantastic,it has a real premuim feel and look about it.The colour is a mix of black and carbon with a hint of gunmetal along the vents which really stand out and give the helmet a bold look.If feels light to hold and although there are lighter helmets available i found that when your out cycling i hardly know its there.Fully adjustable to cater for all shapes and sized heads its easy to get a fit that feels "just right" and with plenty of pads inside its a comfy helmt to wear.

When out riding you can instantly feel the vents working and on hot days they are a godsent,the same goes for the internal pads which do a good job of soaking up the sweat especially on my brow although i still have to wipe my brow from time to time its no problem.

Massive vents on the rear!

This does everything that a good cycle helmet should do,protects your head in a crash [thankfully i havent tested that part yet!!],the vents work really well keeping my head cool on hot days,it looks fantastic,its lightweight and fits me perfect.Everyones heads are different shapes/sizes so i would definatly try before you buy [the same advice goes for any helmet].

The helmet was on offer for £115 instead of the usual £135 to £140 which in the end sealed the deal for me.
The Bell Volt.........highly recomended

Some thoughts.

Firstly well done to Carlos Checa in todays World Superbike Championship where he took a double win on the Ducati,i had a feeling the double was on the cards today as i mentioned in an earlier blog,in testing he was on the pace and the Ducati seems to suit Phillip Island,whether the bike/rider combination can be consistantly at the front for the season we shall have to see but good luck anyway.

Onto more serious matters though with the horrific events that seem to be happening in Libya.I am certainly no expert on these matters,i can only go off what i read on the web,in newspapers,listen on the radio and watch on the rolling news channels like BBC and Sky news but some of the reports are frightening.For example Gadaffi's got snipers on rooftops to shoot protesters in Tripoli and even bombing his own people.Is this for real,how on this earth can anyone do this to there own people...people who just want to protest and express there views.I find these events shocking and my thoughts are with the people of Libya who must be going through hell at this momemt in time.

I read this morning on twitter from a hugely respected journalist Frank Gardner that Libya will give all its familys $400 dollars which sounds like a sweetner eg to restore some order in the country and stop the protests.Seems like a desperate measure from Gadaffi to try and remain in power,whether it works or not i suppose only time will tell.With events in Tunisia,Bahrain and Egypt it makes me wonder where next?

Motorcycling

This weekend sees the start of the 2011 World Superbike Championship in Australia and if first practice is anything to go by then Carlos Checa looks odds on for a potential double win the way hes riding it.Max Biaggi on the amazing Aprillia must start the season as favourite but on a personal level i would love to see a few others give him a hard time this season including Leon Haslam on the BMW,Tom Sykes on the new Kawasaki ZX10 and Jonathan Rea on the beautifull Castrol Honda Fireblade.Good luck also to Eugene Laverty in his first season in WSBK on the Yamaha R1,in testing hes looked really good but whether he can deliver in a full race distance is yet to be seen....not long to go now though.

I got MCN on wednesday as usual [have done for the last 20 years] and read a great review of the new BMW 6 cylinder touring bike,ive never been a fan of tourers and have usually got my kicks on Yamaha R6's and Suzuki Bandits but this thing looks pretty good......but its the engine note that blows me away....just listen to it and watch the video courtesy of MCN here.You have to agree its pretty special.

MotoGp 10/11 Videogame impressions

So its been just over a week now since the demo for MotoGp 10/11 arrived on PSN and having played it extensively i thought i would blog some impressions of the game.Firstly i didnt get on at all with last years version,the physics just didnt feel right at all,couple that with average graphics and horrible engine sounds and the superior but not perfect SBK X and MotoGP eneded up getting traded in after a few months.I wished for a return to the heady days of MotoGP 2 on the Xbox,wow what a gem of a game that was!

So to 10/11 then and after the suberb intro movie first impressions werent good,i changed the gearbox to manual as i prefer all my racers that way and Hmmm ok the graphics had improved and so had the audio but.......the brakes didnt work!!!  then the bike just understeered through the corners....and the camera angle felt odd indeed as if i wasnt in control of the bike at all.I came close to deleting the demo and thinking once again another year and another poor MotoGP game....thankfully i didnt.
Camera angle changed to style A,a few tweeks to the suspension and wheelbase and lastly all the assists off....lets try it again and after a steady few laps pounding round Mugello slowly but surely the game started to feel better,the bike was doing what i wanted and felt more like a GP bike should.It still catches me out from time to time,a missed braking point here and a highside there but im now liking it alot.Mix that with great engine noises [especially the Ducati] and competative AI riders then the game has got alot of positives.Whether the more casual gamer will put the time and effort into the game to get the best out of it i dont know but if you persist i think the game will pleasantly surprise you.Persistance is the key word though.

Finally will i be buying it when its released in mid March, yes i think i will and aslong as i put the time into it i think at this stage i will be rewarded with a good,solid and competative MotoGP game.

Videogames

Back in 1992 i bought my first games console,a Sega Megadrive.When i played it i instantly became addicted with many stand out games including Fifa International Soccer,Road Rash [why doesnt a game developer recreate a modern day Road Rash??] and many more.It was my first foray into gaming and to this day and beyond a real passion of mine.
On September 29 1995 the UK lauch day had arrived for the Playstation and at 0900 a.m i walked into my local Future Zone shop,debit card at the ready and bought a Playstaion,Ridge Racer,Toshinden,Wipeout,a memory card and extra controller.Wow what a day that was,the next level of videogames had arrived and we slowly started to see videogames not as a nerdy hobbie but slowly but surely become mainstream.

Ive been luck enough to own all the major consoles over the years from Dreamcast to Xbox,Wii to DSi,360 to PS3 and enjoyed everyone on there respective launch days.Theres a real buzz from getting a new console on day one,its hard to explain but im sure im not the only one who thinks this.

Ive always had an interest in the industry itself,from how games are made and designed to there marketing campaigns,although ive sadly never been involved.Ive seen how the trade has changed aswell,with Game expanding massivley and now shutting some stores and Grainger Games seemingly growing bigger and bigger.
I want to talk about Game though,i would regulary pop into my local store whether just to browse,chat with the nice and friendly staff or purchase a new release.It puzzled me though 3 or 4 years ago why they would charge full price for a new release where as the competitors would undercut them.It came as no surprise when my local store aswell as others shut and i did wonder if Game would end up closing all together.I havent bought much from Game over the last year,GT5 Signature edition is about it,i prefer Grainger,Shopto or even the supermarkets for a cheaper price but its interesting to see what direction the company are now taking with there play now trade later offer not just with the 3DS but also with software too.Its an interesting and exiting venture for Game and for the gamers too,i await with interest how this works out.

Im currently playing the demo of MotoGp 10/11 as i have alot of experiance of theses games dating back to the original game on Xbox all those years ago [and fondly remeber playing it on xbox live] and will blog some impressions of that at a later date and today sees the release of the Yakuza 4 demo which i am eagerly awaiting too.

My Training bike.

This is my Ridley Orion,a training bike i use when the the weather isnt so great.Purchased just over 2 years ago again from biketraks its another great carbon road bike offering a good level of performance with reasonable comfort too.Ive only felt the need to change the tyres to a more training orientated Schwalbe Lugano which offer good grip in the colder months aswell as great puncture protection,they are a tyre i would highly recomend.
A lot of people give admiring glances of the bike and theres little doubt the colour scheme does suit the bike well,the only thing i would change if i had the money would be some lightweight carbon wheels like these from ffwdwheels.I hear a lot of positive comments about these and would one day love the oppertunity to try them.
So these are my road bikes and i cant recommend them highly enough,any questions or comments please feel free to ask.

My cycling history blog continued

So its fair to say since i took up cycling i caught the bug,but i fancied a new bike,something special.In 2008 my search began and thanks to a good friend he recommended a cycle shop in a beautifull part of North East England called Great Ayton http://www.biketraks.com/
Having never been to that part of the world before i set my sat nav and 40 minutes later found the shop easily.Its a small shop but packs alot of quality kit in from the latest ranges of road and mountain bikes.My budget was £4k and i wanted something custom built.I looked at pinerellos,bianchi,giant and others but the one make that stood out was Colnago,specifically the C50 HP.In black carbon with white logos this looked awesome.....and was incredibily light too.The staff there where knowledgable and very friendly and helped me sooo much picking out top quality components from Sella Italia,spinergy and Shimano dura ace.A week later the bike was ready for collection and here it is

OMG   i couldnt wait to try this out.

The first ride out i had i couldnt believe the difference to my old Carrera Vanquish.I thought that was a good bike to ride but this was in another league [as it should be for the price!].Responsive,stiff yet compliant,smooth,quick steering i could go on....it blew me away.The Shimano dura ace gears where so smooth and precise,the entire transmission was just so quiet and hassle free,amazing.

From someone who just wanted a bike to lose some weight and get a bit fitter i had now really up the ante lol.My mileage moved up to around 30 to 70 mile 4 times a week with the odd 100 miler depending on the weather but the Colnago made at all so effortless.This truly is the best bike i think i will ever own.

Let me start off with the carbon wheels from Spinergy.They have a aluminium rim so conventional brake blocks can be used and the wheels have been superb.Ive had no issues with that whatsoever,light yet stiff they are perfect and suit the bike well.The tyres where Schwalbe stelvio which although where fine i changed them after a year to Schwalbe Ultremo's.......wow not only have they amazing grip but ive never had a puncture in 2 years of use with them!! I cant recommend the tyres enough and as they have now worn down im getting a new pair of Ultremo R1's in the coming weeks[i will blog my impressions of these in a future post].I havent felt the need to change much with the bike apart from new bar tape from fizik,a new carbon bottle cage from Zipp and an updated wireless cateye computer.All have been perfect,no problems at all.
A new bottom bracket was required late in 2010 which was a surprise but this has been the only blot on the colnago,everything else has been exceptional.

So there it is,my Colnago C50 HP.I doesnt get used in the winter months as i dont see the point in riding in our salt covered roads on a 4K superbike so its currently in the spare room waiting for spring to arrive..early i hope.I do use another bike during the winter months as atraining bike,just to keep my legs spininning and my fitness levels up...thats a Ridley Orion and that will be on my next cycling specific blog coming up shortly.
Many thanks for reading...and safe cycling!

My Daily blog

So another day dawns and i thought i would share some of my thoughts on my interests.

Cycling is a key interest for me,the health benefits are very clear to see but it also can make you feel better about yourself and after a long ride in the saddle as it gives you a real sense of achievement.I would like to start by telling you how and why i started cycling in the first place.As a 30 something i suddenly realized that i was not getting the exercise i  should and that the weight was slowly starting to appear...especially around the waistline!

Running has never really appealed to me and neither have gyms and the last time i rode a bike was nearly 20 years ago.My first thoughts where "its about time i looked into getting a bike,start loosing some weight" so around 6 years ago in 2005 i visited  my local Halfords store.Most of the bikes where mountain or off road bikes but i wanted a racing bike,i had one in my youth and loved the ease at which i could ride for miles,the thin wheels and drop handlebars made the miles disapear with ease where as a mountain bike on the road with its big chunky tyres and sit up riding position didnt hold much appeal.

After much research on the internet and several trips to my local bike shop aswell as halfords i went for this...a carrera vanquish,£400 from halfords.I remember collecting it on a friday morning,putting it in the back of my car and driving off to the sea front in Seaton Carew,a warm fleece and thick gloves put on and away i went,first time on a bike in 20 years and......................i didnt fall off lol.Phew! 

That first ride was surprising because it felt so natural and easy,admittadly i just took my time getting used to the brakes and gears and the way the carrera handled but it felt great to ride..and really easy too.Anyway after 20 minutes or so i was content and as i only wanted to slowly build my self up i called it a day.

For the following month because the weather was dry i got out on the bike 4 or 5 times a week,happy to ride at 30 to 60 minute intervals and building up a sweat,i could tell i was getting a reasonable work out as my legs would ache after a day or two....but that was to be expected.

A couple of worthwhile additions to any road bike are a wireless cycle computer and some "clip in" pedals.The computer was invaluble as it calculated my distance,time,speed etc which i found very usefull.The pedals though where recomeneded by a friend,they are odd because as the description goes you "clip into"them.At first i thought what if i cant release my foot at a junction or traffic lights........bang!! i fall over lol but after practising in my shed just clipping in and out it came quite easy thankfully.They really are great though as when you power through the pedal strokes all that energy is being used to the full effect.The shoes and pedals are from Shimano,a well known and respected brand even when i was a child i knew about and i have to say they served me well.From lycra leggings and bike specific jackets  and jerseys theses are all items that i would eventually wear because not only do they feel so comfortable to wear but they wick away sweat from the body and keep me feeling refreshed,i will talk about theses items aswell as my favourite cycle helmets and glasses in another blog post.

So for three years the Carrera Vanquish served me well,i would regulary ride between 10 and 25 miles 3 or 4 times a week,my weight seemed to just drop off me which was amazing,i changed my diet eating more salads and fresh fruit and veg too and it really was a change for the better.But in 2008 i fancied a change,a new bike was on the cards.The Carrera had been great,it served me well but i fancied something lighter and a bit more special.Time to look about and see whats on offer.

Believe me things get even better as i discovered the wonders of Italian carbonfibre cycle manufacturers,i will show more in my next blog.Many thanks for reading.