Bumper day for Strava

Here at LeadOut, we love strava, it seriously motivates us to get out , get riding and set some fast time. We also have the perfect companion in the form on the QuadLock iPhone5 bike mount selling really well in our store.

Well it seems its not just us that is raving about it..

On Sunday, after 20,000 cyclists had embarked on a 100-mile course through London and Surrey, and the inaugural RideLondon-Surrey Classic pro race had been won by Frenchman Arnaud Demare, hundreds, if not thousands, of people uploaded their rides to Stava. Team IG Sigma Sport’s Peter Hawkins, who finished 74th overall in the pro race, certainly did.

What’s really interesting is that Hawkins is one of a handful of professional cyclists signed up to Strava. And as we found during the Tour de France with Laurens Ten Dam, that allows us unprecedented access to just how fast and hard the pros race. We all knew that pros are fast, now we know just how fast they are with complete transparency.

And they work hard too. Hawkins averaged 162 bpm and hit a maximum heart rate of 198 bpm during the 221km race. With just 2,107m of climbing, including three ascents of Leith Hill and once up Box Hill, the pace was high with an average speed of 42.7 km/h. We can also see that he hit a top speed of 112 km/h on the Leith Hill descent. That’s closed roads for you.

Hawkins, along with a handful of other pros using Strava, have also toppled many KOMs along the route, significantly raising the level of hundreds of segments on the closed road route.  No one will be troubling the top of the leaderboards on any of those roads until the 2014 edition of the race. Here's his full ride on Strava.

Did you ride yesterday and upload your ride to Strava?

Jens Voigt- Insight into an animal

My Favorite Enemy

Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

 
For a cyclist, pain is a familiar—and valuable—companion
 
By Jens Voigt
 
It is not a big secret that I have an interesting relationship with pain. Pain is good! Most people who follow the sport know that I think this. But the big question is why.

First of all, I like the feeling because it proves you are still alive—because you are aware of something, even if it’s a sensation most people consider bad. After my awful downhill crash in the 2009 Tour de France, at a really high speed, doctors had to stitch me back together. When I woke up afterward, the first thing I did was to actually check all my body parts to make sure they were still there and functioning. I started out with my fingers, seeing if I could move them. And I was honestly happy that my fingers shouted at me when I wiggled them. That meant I was still able to feel them and ­control them. Then I checked my legs. Again, I was happy to hurt when I tried to move them. My whole entire body communicated distress, but this showed me that everything was going to work once it all healed. I felt bad everywhere, but I knew this meant I would become healthy again.

During my recovery from that crash, pain proved very handy—it forced me to take it easy on my workouts. I was so eager to return to the sport that sometimes I would start pushing too hard in my exercise regime. When I did, my body would scream its resistance so much that I had no choice but to back off.

Read on...

Lead-Out introduces...

ILE Ultimate Photographers Bag.
Available at www.lead-out.co.uk

Check out this cool video from the guys in California. 
ILE produce bags that were created while in the saddle of a bicycle. On the way to the local crit or cross race, or riding home with a bag of groceries. They are designed with strength and simplicity in mind, and the style and elegance found in cycling itself. 

ILE use the toughest materials and the best machines, to make durable bags of all types. Lifetime warranty on materials and craftsmanship. Each bag is handmade in the San Francisco bay area of California

The Ultimate Photographers Bag :: Prime from Inside Line Equipment on Vimeo.

Injury 101

If you have been injured lately you will know how massively frustrating it can be! Fortunately, here is a good article from the guys at Precision Nutrition on how to deal with it, and not to ignore what seems to be a little niggle!

How to get in great shape, even after an injury

For most guys, an injury means skipping the gym for months at a time. Sometimes, they retire their workout clothes for good.

But here’s the good news: there’s always a way to work around an injury and build the body you want. This post will show you how.

+++

When I hit the loose gravel, I knew I was in trouble.

That’s when I did the very thing you’re not supposed to do during a motorcycle skid: I put my left foot down.

The good news is that the bike didn’t drop; I made it through the roundabout on two wheels.

The bad news is that knee ligaments, even strong ones like mine, aren’t meant to withstand massive torque.

Screw it! What’s a little knee pain?

I knew something felt weird and a little “off”, but there wasn’t much pain. It might have been the distraction of trying to keep the bike upright. Or maybe the fight or flight hormones kicking in.

But since I was on my way to the gym when it happened, I didn’t think twice about it. 

Read on...

Gear Review

Introducing Gear Review

Check out the new page to our blog, bringing you opinion and info on some of the hottest gear.
First up to get the VAM look are the Bont Vaypors!

Bont Vaypor 

Overview and Spec: Bont Vaypor

At £225 the Bont Vaypor are certainly at the premium end of the market! The near top of the line shoes from claim to be super stiff, super light (225g) and claim to offer optimal power transfer from leg to pedal as a result of a very low stack height. The innovation doesn't stop there, with a heat mouldable upper area to the shoe, the Bont's can claim to be at the leading edge of the market.


Based on the successful ctt-one, the Bont Vaypor Road shoe continues Bont’s development in shoe technology. Whilst maintaining the lateral forefoot support synonymous with all Bont cycling shoe models, the Vaypor now has a reduced carbon height around the toe box area and an all new Suede L liner. The base is made by hand by sandwiching cross weave carbon and uni-directional carbon fibre which is embedded with epoxy thermo setting resin. The fibres are hand laid in the matrix according to the strain they will have to bear. Super Mould Technology allows you to obtain a custom fit from a stock boot. 

Read On...

Ups and Downs of Circles

VAM insight- Alex's thoughts

So things have been going very well for me of late- VAM Performance has been kicking off nicely, we have a great range of gear online, our new website has just launched and online sales are going well- oh and the expansion is set to continue!!

Also in my private life I have been enjoying some good cycling form. 11th place in the Brenig Road Race- a big regional event, was a pleasing result. Couple that with 3rd place the week before and then 5th place in an evening Crit race made for a happy chap.

However in cycling as in life things can turn quickly, a crash in a mid-week crit race where I felt very strong, coupled with a bout of man-flu- which will most likely mean a weekend of planned racing being missed, makes for an un-happy chap.

So I am sat blogging feeling a little sorry for myself. 'Pull yourself together' is on order I think! As if the last week proved anything that while things can turn from good to bad quickly, they can also do the very opposite- so time to get on the Paracetemol, get better and get back out fighting!!

Have a good weekend riding, running and racing,
Alex, VAM

Joys of joining a club and the cafe run!

Cycling can be a very lonely sport! Battling away against the wind and rain on your own for upwards of 4 hours- all in the name of enjoyment!

Group at the club ride cafe stop

It can of course however, be a great way to socialise and make new friends. Joining a club and getting out for the weekend runs and competing in evening time trials has been one of the best decisions I have made!

It has provided a great boost to my fitness- riding with those stronger that you is the quickest way to develop and committing to a group of friends is a sure fire way to combat any motivation problems!

Not only this it can be a great environment to learn more about what equipment to get, training methods, injury advice and also a great way to find out about racing and time-trialling.

Oh and the major upside- cafe stops are a great way to try some of your local area's best cake! Careful mind- or you will have to keep cycling a lot longer to burn off all those calories!!
So get out there- find a club and get riding (and eating!!)

Bank Holiday- sunny recovery ramblings!

Get that recovery in!!

Beautiful sunshine on a bank holiday morning at Lead-Out HQ should usually mean lots of miles getting logged up and even a few KOMs coming our way on the cycling revolution that is Strava.
However I was away racing over the weekend and racked up 160 hard miles over Saturday and Sunday meaning that I am pretty much forced to rest up today.

Despite the miles over the weekend I always feel like I am missing out if I am not on my bike when the sun is shining but sometimes you just have to suck it up and plant your bum on the sofa or in front of the computer for the afternoon.

Its made all the more difficult seeing the tweets, Facebook status' and strava rides being posted up -many recorded with our awesome iPhone 5 bike mount!! ; )

Ah well, recovery is an often over-looked part of training and not given the respect that it deserves. Having said that I am certainly looking forward to getting back out on the bike tomorrow morning before moving onto sourcing some great new products for Lead-Out. Knowing sod's law it will be grey, dull and blowing a gale!!

Safe riding

Gym chimps

Ok so I am not a massive guy with bulging biceps, thunder thighs and smashing down the protein shake after one rep on the bench press- and I am glad!!
All gyms have their 'chimps' or maybe 'queens' - I bet you can think of them in your gym? Talking loudly about the fight they got involved in recently, sprawling over the gym equipment, checking themselves out a LOT and preening themselves constantly.
Is this attractive to the opposite sex? They seem convinced, I am less so... Surely there can't be a bigger display of vanity and insecurity! That said I may be willing to try if it gets results!

Suffering!

The past few weeks I have 'raced' in a few time trials with my local cycling club. I think myself as much fitter than the average person and regularly cycle 75+miles on a weekend ride, so the thought of a series of trials on a weekday evening consisting of 10,25 and 6 miles respectively don't seem to difficult right?
Not so! To cut a long story short I have discovered to the detriment of my legs and pain threshold that no matter how short the races or how fit and prepared you are heading to these kind of things they hurt!
In fact if they don't hurt and you feel comfortable, then you are not trying hard enough- no matter what the race, long or short, fast or slow, if done right you will be suffering at the end!
So now I have established some decent PB's including 1h05m for the 25 on a standard beautiful Bianchi (with aero bars and a silly helmet) I am ready to start the next round of trials and suffer even more! All in the name of fun right....