I had the TT bike out on demo this weekend to see if the
theory of the bike fit would translate into reality. Last week on the Retul rig
I had replicated the configuration that a full on TT bike would give me. This
meant sitting right over the chainset centre point with my elbows pretty well
over the steering tube head and my forearms largely ahead of the front wheel
axle. What does that mean? It's hard to describe to a non-cyclist, but the
easiest way I can get it across is to ask you to think of a mum on an ordinary
bike, with a baby chair on the cross bar. We've all seen those, haven't we?
Right, think of them switching places. Mum is now on the cross bar, with the
baby on the saddle behind. Still don't get it? You must have given your pal a
"backer", taking him home on the back of your bike with his feet on
the rear wheel nuts while you laboured away on the front. Essentially, your'e riding a bike wrong; you're too far forward. Basically the normal
way to ride a bike is to be "with" the bike, balanced, ready to shift
about as necessary. You wouldn't normally put yourself into a position where
you fundamentally had less control. Up till now, the only time I'd done
something so obviously and fundamentally "wrong" in terms of bike
setup was when I used to take my sister's bike to do my paper round when I was
9 years old. I'd lied about my age to get a job at Beauchamp's newsagents on
Harrowside in my seaside home of Blackpool. The market for bagging jobs (picking up people's luggage and
transporting it to the hotels) was getting tight due to a combination of
"Fat Jack" and his protection racket and a bunch of upstarts from up
Central undercutting us South Shore pioneer entrepreneurs. So I needed regular work.
Beauchamp's clearly weren't too fussy about the age laws. Officially I wasn't
allowed to work at all until I was 13, but by that ripe old age I'd already
been through two careers - bagging and paper delivery - and was in the bakery
game. But back at age 9, I was a very skinny kid, and I needed my sister Jenny's bike to actually carry the
papers. I balanced the bag on the pedal and walked it round. Once I'd finished
I could ride it, but I had to ride with one leg through the frame, as I
couldn't sit on the saddle and reach the pedals. My arms went straight up to
grab the handlebars, and I don't remember for certain but logic now tells me that I can't possibly have been able
to use the brakes. Now clearly, you wouldn't choose to ride a bike like that,
it makes no sense. And it's not safe, as I proved one day failing to get round a
corner and narrowly missing a car coming the other way. To this day, I have no
idea how I didn't go under the front of that car. I can still shut my eyes and remember the incident clearly. So since then I've worked hard
on having a bike that is fit for purpose: balanced, with good handling, decent
brakes and offering a reasonable amount of comfort. Until now, when I'm chasing
speed at the expense of all else. The TT bike gives me that, and the price I
pay is to perch myself in this strange, unnatural position which initially felt
like I was falling over the front of the bike as I am sitting so far forward.
But it's fast. And frankly, that's all that matters. I wanted more speed, and that's what I have unashamedly gone out and bought. I'm still training hard, but I have bought an advantage. Paid for it in hard cash.
I got the demo bike and went out along Chrissie Fields on Saturday, down towards the Golden Gate bridge and - crucially - past The Sports Basement which is the local hangout for all the local cyclists. I got well warmed up and got a little bit used to the twitchiness of the handling. There had to be a fair bit of commitment, as it was clear any mistake, any unseen rut in the road, anyone pulling out and making me swerve, would all end in burnt lycra and gravel rash. But the bike was fast. I went round the roundabout and back past Sports Basement on full gas, down on the tribars, legs pumping and heart pounding. A couple of guys were riding together in front of me, and just acted like the hare as I slipped into full greyhound mode and chased them down. "SWOOOSH!" I didn't just pass them; I absolutely smoked them. I was doing 30MPH on the flat, and loving it. I caught up with a car and he seemed to hold back a bit. Was he timechecking me? I couldn't tell but he kept pace for a while, and then I went past him, too. Before I knew it I was back at Chrissie fields lights where I had to stop. My legs were burning, my heart was pounding, I was full of adrenaline and grinning from ear to ear. I tried to look cool but my heaving chest and stupid grin gave it all away. I don't deny it, this is an expensive bike. I'm not defending buying speed like this. I simply don't care; I just love that bike!
