Amstel Gold 2013

Posted on April 19, 2013 by hayley.davies

Finally some warm sun!

Last year, the Amstel Gold was a bit of a solo effort. But at 12 strong this year, I think it can be said we thoroughly all enjoyed the challenge – many taking on the 125km with a few biting the bullet and going for the full 250km.

What with the weather being so unfriendly in what felt like a ‘forever-winter’, there were some doubters in the peleton as to how their legs were going to carry them across the course due to a lack of training. But we needn’t have feared, as the adrenaline and excitement of taking part in one of Holland’s longest standing cycle races kicked in and we were off (especially with the 30kmph tail wind in the first 25km!)

Now of course, it wouldn’t be a Cyclodam trip without a couple of hiccups and memories to take away with us. 2x car breakdowns – 1 on the way out, 1 on the way back; 1 pair of forgotten cycling shoes, 2 crashes, both thankfully nothing serious – a spectacular summersault from Roel into a muddy and wet ditch and Amavel being taken out from behind; getting lost on route and doing 270km instead of 250km (and still missing, come dinner time!); but ultimately, some fantastic weather (hurray to warm sunshine), some great cycling and a weekend we won’t forget thanks to our well earned medals.

All winners!

As always, the route was well marked (well, the 250km is clearly questionable) and the road well managed thanks to the very appreciated marshalls, who with 17,000 participants on their bikes eager to get to the finish in the best time possible, stopped cars at junctions and made sure the race was not only safe but enjoyable too. As always, the free Amstel Beer and Tiger Balm massage was highly welcomed after some hard efforts up the final climbs of Sibbe and the Cauberg; as were the cocktails and dinner with our friends from Not Possibles. And for those that still had the legs – on to party with the locals of Valkenberg.

Chapeau to all who took part – here’s to next year!

Pave’ing the way – Tour of Flanders Sportive

Posted on April 8, 2013 by hayley.davies

The day before the pros ride the famous cobblestones us little gear pushers are allowed to attempt the same course. 17,000 under-prepared, lycra-clad triers start out at an unimaginably early hour in the morning to slowly circumnavigate the course that has been made famous by the best cyclists the world has ever seen.

The race starts, and at 1 km and our first mechanical! A mis-timed bunny hop causes a displaced spoke and a trip back to the mechanics at the start line for Alex.

The first pave section and the carnage starts, we are lined on both sides by upside-down bikes having their flat tires fixed by dutiful enthusiasts. One of the first cobbled sections is the infamous Koppenberg. Even the pros have to walk this one, its just too steep, too slippery and too narrow.

Here we appear triumphant at the finish line of the pros race. A day later a man known as Sparticus would triumph, another of the great names to go down in the history of the sport. Watching the professional race is scary, whatever technique they use for the pave, “float” or raw power, they go insanely quick.

Smiles replaced by relief (and tiredness) as we wait for Alex after the finishing refuel. Hamish has just demolished a lasagne brick.

Miracles do happen. The initial spoke incident aside, we mange to finish in Oudenaarde with no other mechanicals punctures included.

Lessons learnt:

Pave hurts
Cobblestones are called “pave” (tip: pronounce the “e”).
The theory of “floating over the pave” doesn’t exist.
Every stone hurts.
The first kms hurt your butt.
The last kms hurt your head.

After the race I swore I would never ride pave again. 3 days later I was being convinced that Paris-Roubaix was a good idea. See you at next year’s Flanders!!

– Ben

Riding into 2013 with Cyclodam

Posted on March 25, 2013 by hayley.davies

Welcome to another season of cycling with Cyclodam
It’s fantastic to see so many of you enthusiastically out on your bikes and I hope you’ll continue to ride with us through the coming season. A big welcome also to all of our new members, some local, some from afar!

We’ve got some fantastic rides, sportives and club trips coming up this year and I hope you’re as excited as I am about theseAs most of you know, I moved back to the UK in February; I’m a little gutted to leave you all behind and will miss our long Saturday rides to the beach in the sun, but much looking forward to catching up with some of you at Amstel Gold Race and our Alps trip in June!

Cyclodam Leaders
In the meantime, I know you’ll be well looked after by your Cyclodam leaders. Their aim is to make sure there are regular rides going out (specifically a mid-week evening ride (chain-gang) and a long weekend ride with possible brick session), identifying the route and making sure everyone’s happy. They’ll also look to cater for all abilities, with some beginner / recovery rides thrown in for good measure.

A big thank you to this lot in advance:
- Chloe Feinburg – Chloe will be looking after things in my absence so please thank her!
- Amavel
- Korneel
- Hamish

Giant Partnership
We’re continuing our partnership with Giant this year and I hope they’ve been as helpful to you as they have me. Don’t forget to pop in and introduce yourself as a Cyclodam member. They’ll be more than happy to help you with bike-related issues and questions. As a paying member, don’t forget there are also some happy-perks too – details to come.

Membership Fees
Membership fees are now due for the 2013 season. We’re sticking with our friendly €25 cover which helps with any admin costs, our continued efforts with partnerships and some of the social sessions and additional classes we arrange (i.e. maintenance & nutrition classes etc). If you’ve already paid for the 2013/14 season; thank you! If not…
****
Can I urge you all to please pay this by the end of March using the following link:
Paypal
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Of course, in return I’ll pass on details of the perks I mentioned above!

Club Kit
I’m currently registering us with Champion Systems as our new clothing partner. They are world renowned at supplying some of the best pro teams and local sporting clubs. Their kit is fantastic quality but not more expensive any one else. Girls, you’ll also be happy to hear there is specific women’s kit. Plus, once we’ve made our first bulk order there will be no limitations to additional orders which is great if you want a replacement or extra piece. Details on costs to come (please use existing chart for guidance); but please show your interest by sending me an email me[/url] with your requirements – what you want & size.

Liability Insurance
We did have a number of accidents on our rides this season – with some spectacular road-rash and injuries to talk of. Besides health insurance, I urge you all to purchase liability insurance. Most high-street banks offer policies starting from €2 per month*.

Last but not least, I hope you all have a fantastic season. Don’t forget to share your photos on Facebook and #keepcycling!

Hayley x
@cyclodam
www.cyclodam.com
www.facebook.com/cyclodam
www.strava.com/cyclodam

*Disclaimer: Please note that Cyclodam is a social-cycling group. We cannot be held responsible for any accidents or injuries incurred; cycling in organised events (organised and/ or not organised by Cyclodam) or as individuals. Members join and ride at their own risk.

Impatience kills

Posted on October 23, 2012 by hayley.davies

Dear Cyclists of Amsterdam,

Impatience will kill you.

Yet again on my way to work this morning, I witnessed an impatient cyclist try and skirt around the side of a lorry/HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) at a T-junction. And yes, as a result of their impatience (and stupidity) they were floored as the lorry tried to pull out of the junction.

Now, I appreciate you were brought up on roads made for cyclists, where vehicles respect you and you’re given the freedom to cycle. But sometimes, the roads are also shared by larger vehicles, and quite rightly so. Vehicles that are a lot bigger than you, a lot heavier and need a lot more respect.

Not only do they require more space on the road to maneuver than say, your average car; but visibility to the driver is also limited. They can’t be expected and definitely don’t have a 360 degree view of what’s around them; particularly of traffic coming from behind or down the side.

So, do me, yourself, other road users and the driver of the lorry a favour. Next time you see such a vehicle at a junction (or on the road full stop); please give it the respect it needs, and respect your life. Try and save that extra 30 seconds on your journey and you could be lucky to get back on a bike again at all.

Happy cycling.
Hayley

Road Cycling 101

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Korneel

I’m Korneel and I recently joined Cyclodam. I’ve been cycling for only three years and could never have imagined I would be so addicted. For me, its all about the bike and I cycle year round on my Cannondale CAAD9 (with some pretty awesome rims). Below are some tips I’ve picked up along the way and hope they’ll help you find the passion for cycling too!

Riding
First rule is: you decide what feels good. Don’t be discouraged by this old geezer overtaking you with over 40k/hour. For all you know he is an ex-pro. You are riding for yourself, not for anyone else (I hope). Once you get the hang of it, you can work up the tempo and increase the distance. Slowly increase time on the bike and take plenty of rest. A day of rest can be just as valuable as another day training. When on the bike, keep in mind that giving it all is not in your best interest if you want to build stamina. Build up to at least 90 minutes riding easily, you should be able to talk but at the same time feel you are doing some exercise. This is your aerobic zone.

Steering & Braking
If your steer is lined up properly leaning on the shifters should give you a comfortable and easy braking position, like Jens Voigt is displaying below. This will be the position you will spend most of the time on the bike. In the second image you see Robert Gesink riding a more easy, coasting or touring manner, holding the middle part, no braking possible, so you need to anticipate. When you move into the drop bars, it’s really only in odd conditions or down hill turns, that you want to brake. At least you should have anticipated it. You can just grab them with your index finger. It should be enough. Andy Schleck shows in the last image.[imagebrowser id=1]

Foods, Drinks and clothing
Bring a sports drink, pre-mixed, or your own mix, on your rides. Your body only has enough energy for the first 20-30 minutes, then it needs to shift gears. If you supply sugars you can keep going, if you are too late, your body already switched. This takes time and switching back takes more time, so if you’re too late, you will bonk. Food takes longer to kick in, it depends on your body and you just need to figure this one out for yourself.

Bad fitting clothing will be annoying and do spend some money on good shorts. A good pad (or ‘chamois’) will make the difference between comfort and sore bottom. A bib allows for more comfort than a normal short in breathing.

Eat before you are hungry.
Drink before you are thirsty.
Rest before you are tired.
Cover up before you are cold.
Peel off before you are hot.
Don’t drink or smoke on tour.
Never ride just to prove yourself.
- Paul de Vivie, aka Velocio

Equipment
You should buy equipment that you want and like. Nothing is worse than buyers remorse, it just takes away the fun. But be reasonable, that 5.000 euro carbon bike doesn’t add anything for you right now. On the road there are a couple of invaluable things you need to bring:

new innertube.
We all run flat every now and then. A patchkit is not really usefull, just replace the tube.
levers & pump
No questions here I guess, otherwise it will make sense when you run a flat.
Multi mini tool
I don’t leave home without it. This little gem might be the difference between a 10k walk home and a ride home.

To get you all set Giant has a nice Quick-Fix pack.

I think that about covers what I would tell anyone who starts riding. If you have any questions, drop a comment and I’ll try to answer!

Ride Report – Falling in love with the Waterlands

Posted on November 21, 2011 by david.smith

By Hayley:

Looking around my bedroom this morning, it occurred to me that not even a year has passed and things have changed significantly. This time last year, there wouldn’t have been a pilates mat in sight, let alone an expensive pair of trainers, cycling shoes and countless amounts of lycra!

When I first considered buying a bike; I knew I was investing a lot of money and taking a risk, but a larger part of me thought it would probably end up sitting in the garage collecting cob-webs, not kilometers!

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But how wrong I was. It has to be one of the best investments I’ve made to date. Not only do I feel fitter and healthier (we’re almost in December and I haven’t yet had a cold and my asthma is surprisingly good), but I’ve made a wealth of fantastic friends, have a training and race plan for 2012 (!) and my passion for Cycling has changed just about every aspect of my life, from who I socialize with, what 80% of my conversations are about (sorry to my non-cycling friends about that one!), where I book a holiday and how can I get my bike there, right down to what I want for my career.Ok, some of you may say I’m obsessed, I’d just say I’m passionate!

On Saturday, 4 brave winter Cyclodammers hit the road at a reasonable time of 11am to beat the cold (and guarantee if we stopped for a warm drink and something to eat that somewhere would be open!), and headed North across the Ij, for a 50km ride through the ‘Waterlands’, a connection of villages with more dikes than roads. It’s here that I first fell in love with being on the bike and a great appreciation for the Dutch countryside.

The views along this route are stunning. Quaint cobbled villages with small Dutch fishing houses (or ‘Stolpboerderijen’ as they’re apparently named – square houses with a pyramidal roofs), long wide tow-paths with KMs of water meeting the horizon on one side, and farmland scattered in cows, sheep and birds/ducks the other. Saturday happened to be one of the most stunning winter days so far this year and yet again I fell in love with being on the bike again.

It’s one of those routes that is fast if you want it to be, but given my off-season 25kmph rule, it’s also one that you can be at peace with your surroundings and happy to take it in at a leisurely pace (well ok, I wasn’t agreeing with this statement a number of months back when we got caught in 30kmph winds!). If this happens to be my last long ride in Holland for 2011, then I’m certainly not complaining and can’t wait to get back out there with fellow members of Cyclodam in the Spring.

RE·COV·ER·Y: RETURN TO A NORMAL STATE OF HEALTH, MIND OR STRENGTH

Posted on September 29, 2011 by david.smith

The weather in Amsterdam at the moment is amazing – I believe this is what they call an Indian Summer and I’m certainly not complaining!

The past 2-3 weeks have seen me do nothing but recover from a hip-flexor strain. This was mental torture, particularly after investing numerous hours and kms training in the past 4-5 months.

After an extremely successful sport massage from the lovely Jonathan Goerlach on Saturday; I was finally able to spin a comfortable, although frustratingly slow, 20km on Sunday; followed by no pain in the next couple of days – hallelujah!

Now, after 2-3 weeks of little to no exercise, getting back in the saddle is not easy, especially when you’re hitting the road on your own (thanks Cyclodammers ) like I did on Wednesday night. It was a beautiful evening, so I was very at peace with my surroundings (see photo), but there was a BIG mental barrier stopping me from fully enjoying my ride. Not fully confident on how my hip-flexor would take the ride (and still a lot of stabalisation work to do), I was taking it relatively easy – then again after 2-3 weeks of no exercise my body wasn’t having it any other way! I was releived and happy to be on the bike again; but 23km later and I’m starting to worry I’ve lost my love for spinning the kms. This made me realise and appreciate that there’s a lot more to recovery than just fixing a part of my body.

Tonight though, I was very much more excited to be getting back on the bike in new kit (see photo), with Monica – and boy, what a difference it made! Having someone to pace you, and generally chat to makes it that much easier.. there was no ‘little man’ on my shoulder complaining that I couldn’t make it to the next village without a breather; the competitive streak and motivation was strong. I was falling back in love with the bike and my boday again. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to increase the kms this weekend, and enjoy the last of this wonderful weather, in preperation for Barcelona in 2 weeks

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See the full gallery on Posterous

The most bike friendly place on earth 2011 – Amsterdam

Posted on September 29, 2011 by david.smith

It’s official Cyclodammers – Amsterdam is now the most bike-friendly place on earth according to Copenhagenize, an international consultancy based in Copenhagen specialising in bicycle planning, marketing and communications. Amsterdam has been highlighted as having superb infrastructure and facilities, outstanding advocacy, both political and non-political. The cycling atmosphere is relaxed, enjoyable, and as mainstream as you can get. This is the one place on the planet where fear-mongering about cycling is non-existent and it shows. The only criticism is the lack of sign-posting (couldn’t agree more!) and of course the ‘terrorising’ scooters. They recommend a more innovative approach to cycle-share schemes – we’ve all seen the hundreds of bikes left to rust on canal sides.

I have to say though, it would be a little surpising if we weren’t voted no.1. And, I look forward to reporting back on how Barcelona shapes up as 3rd best biking city in a few weeks time.

in·ju·ry: A particular form of hurt, damage, or loss

Posted on September 19, 2011 by david.smith

My biggest fitness aim this year was riding the Dam-tot-Dam Fietsen Classic, a total of 105km, from Dam Square in Amsterdam centre, heading north through the waterlands and looping back again.

Training had been going particularly well; in the past 3 months we had started clocking up 100km a day at weekends, with additional 2 x 30-40km week rides building in different training techiniques such as high-cadance riding and sprint intervals. In this time, I had not only managed to increase my stamina and distance, but my average riding speed to 30-33kmph; pushing a comfortable 40kmph when drafting. I felt comfortable and confident that I could finish (weather dependant) in 4 – 4.5hour. But this wasn’t to be…

To tri-or not to try
With the nights drawing in, the weather getting miserablly colder and wetter as we slowly (and prematurely) approach winter, the thought of not being able to get my endorphin hit so regularly worries me. Monica (who I don’t think I need to introduce any more) recommended I joined the same local gym so that we can train together. Now, I’ve joined gyms before. I’ll go once or twice and then the novelty wears off. This was however when I didn’t particually have something to train for or focus on; and my main worry is that all the hard work I’ve put in over the last 9 months will quickly disappear over the winter months. However, joining a gym with someone else and having that extra motivation seems to have paid off. It also turns out that a lot of other cyclists we’ve been out riding with are members too; as I happened discovered half-way through a spinning class a few weeks back.

Now, I’m not much of a runner – I’ve never particularly enjoyed it and if I think about it, it’s a big mental barrier – I find it slow and hard to break. But to my surprise, it seems the hard work on the bike has paid off, making the transference of fitness a lot easier and to my total amazement I’ve been able to run a few km without any issues. This of course led to the triathlete-freak that is Monica, persuading me to participate in the Garmin Barcelona Triathlon in October. “You can do it.. come on… a bit of training and you’ll be fine”. ”Oh why the heck not!”… at least it’ll give me something else to focus on. So, I went home and signed up for the Super Sprint.

With 8 weeks to go Monica helped me put a training plan together based on Gale Bernhardt’s training books (I also own her Bicycling for Women book). 2 weeks in and my training is going strong, feeling very confident on the bike (with 2 weekends to go before the Dam-tot-Dam) and I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the treadmill – taking little steps and building up my stamina. Getting back in the pool after such a long time was interesting too.

Disaster strikes!
A week to go before Dam-tot-Dam I had a weekend off at Bestival – the only exercise I’d be getting is trudging through the mud and dancing like a looney to as many bands possible. I’d gone pretty hard on the bike that week and also managed to up the pace on my run of 3km and was ready for a break. However it seems that wearing wellies for 4 days straight and standing on my feet at a festival for a long period of time wasn’t in agreement with my hip-flexor or adductor muscles. I was in pain! This is a disaster. On a visit to the doctors on my return he confirmed the worse (although he’s pretty rubbish – he can never can give you a 100% diagnosis, let alone 50%), and prescribed anti-inflammatories and physiotherapy. Not to mention no strenuous physical activity – which puts a halt to any training! I don’t think I’ve felt more gutted about something. This meant the worst news of all – no Dam-tot-Dam for me

A new focus
Accepting that all the hard work I’ve put in won’t be paid off this time round was difficult – more than I’d ever expected. I think the definition of injury is just – I wasn’t only hurting from the damage to the muscles, but at the loss of not participating. Seeing all the other riders pass by yesterday (albeit absolutely drenched from a 2 hour torrential downpour) was pretty heartbreaking. However, there’s no point in drowning my sorrows in something I can’t change, and the focus now is getting fit again so that I can not only participate in the triathlon but enjoy it and the week of biking that follows. With 3 weeks of training left, I can’t say that I’m not nervous about being in a fit enough state- but only time will tell! Wish me luck.

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Dutch courage

Posted on August 19, 2011 by david.smith

My housemate recently moved from London to Amsterdam. The first time we met was at a picnic in the park – looking at my bike, there was a clear sign of worry on her face –“I haven’t ridden a bike since I was a kid… I can’t do it”. Obviously, this was the wrong thing to tell me – 2 minutes later; she’s riding round the park on my town-bike after some encouragement and realization that it’s not as hard to get peddling again as she thought. A few weeks later we bought her a bike – and now if we go out anywhere, the bike has to come too – no excuses, rain or shine!

The hardest thing about getting back on wheels in Amsterdam, is the sheer number of other cyclists, a complete contrast to the UK! The Dutch have grown up on bikes (I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bike involved in the conception!). They’ve somehow learnt to ride, one hand on handle bars, the other holding a phone/umbrella, balancing bags of groceries, computer/handbag on the front and a friend on the back… it’s an art! They dart in and out of other cyclists, ding their bell at you as they pass and don’t bother looking to make a turn – if anything – they’re a hazard!

This makes a big difference to riding in the UK – and I’m not shy to admit that the reason I didn’t ride a bike in London was the sheer amount of vehicular traffic. I was fortunate enough to have decent quiet roads around me growing up, riding a bike regularly and encouraged to ride on the road. At the age of 11, I did a cycling proficiency course, now known as Bikeability – which of course not only encouraged regular biking but provided the confidence to ride on the road without feeling intimidated. This, in my opinion, is the key to feeling comfortable sharing a road with cars.

Recently, Cycletta announced that due to a lack of sign-ups (a shame in itself), the woman’s 40km cycling events will unfortunately no longer take place on closed roads. I’ve noticed quite a number of participants upset by this on the premise that this was the reason they were taking part, many of whom haven’t been on a bike in a number of years and are using the events to find the confidence again. Although I can understand the disappointment and anxiety of the event not being closed-road – I actually think it’s a good thing in the long run, after all – a network of bike lanes aren’t going to appear overnight. Obviously Cycletta aren’t going to release a group of woman on their bikes to a busy A-road – they’ll be doing what they can to ensure the participants have a safe and fun ride; discouraging local residents to use their cars at the time the group will be passing through and marshals along the route. I can only urge the participants to see this as an introduction to confident riding – which I hope in time will encourage future use of the bike in their own time, in and around their home towns… confident road cycling only comes from regular experience, and the Cycletta events will provide a good introduction to sharing the road safely and confidently. And, if you’re still not sure, there are plenty of websites providing advice on sharing the road, including TfL’s guide, the Highway Code for cyclists and tips and course information from Bikeability.

I think my housemate will also agree – the more she gets on her bike and the more she shares the road with cars, and the crazy Dutchies, the more confident and happy she is to do so!

Cyclodam

Setting wheels in motion

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