HARO BIKES

Mount Ventoux, Moon Lights, RSP Asteri, Club Des Cingles, Cairngorm CC Race Weekend, DMR Bikes, Turbo Trainers, Diamondback Kids Bikes, Sealskinz........

Well I think Autumn is finally here, so now is the time to consider if you need new lights or not? At Mikes Bikes we have a full range of winter lights starting at £9.00. Back due to popular demand is the RSP Asteri 3 selling at £79.99 (4/5 Bike radar 2009), great light for commuting on those dark highland roads and why not back it up with our new Smart helmet lights at £9.00, we are also stocking the popular Sigma Karma, tried and tested in the local woods by Mike on his Cyclo Cross last winter. New for 2010 we have a range of Moon Lights starting at £12.99 up to £74.99 for the Moon Xpower 300. We have a range of lights available for Demo - pop into the shop.

Our stock of Sealskinz products have also now arrived and new for this winter are - 'Winter Cycle Gloves' and as a result of the cold winter of 2009/2010 we have also invested in 'Extra Cold Weather Gloves' for the winter bike enthusiasts, retailing at £35 and £40 respectively they are well worth the money.

With a decent set of winter lights, the right footwear and clothing there really is no excuse for not biking in the winter, but for those of you who would rather stay indoors in these dark bleak nights then why not invest in a Turbo Trainer - suitable for 26" or 700c wheels. Currently we have the Jet Black Mag2Pro Trainer in stock at £129.99.

Although I don't think the weather is putting off the local boys who are frequently found at the jumps in Aviemore, one of them is Cal our Saturday boy showing off his stuff on his Ashton Effect. Mikes bikes is constantly updating its Jump/Trials/BMX range and is now a DMR dealer with the 24" wheel Drone in stock and more arriving later in October. We are also waiting delivery of the new Diamondback kids bikes which will be in stock in time for Christmas.

Anyway enough about the weather, it was good to see a great turn out for the Cairngorm CC Race weekend earlier this month and fantastic to see local club members riding in the new club tops sponsored by Mikes Bikes. Well done to all the local competitors of the other events which have been going on this month namely the CAT and the Ben to Cairngorm Race where a number of locals did very well - young and old!!

Mike, Dougie and a few mates (John Archibald, Chris Ogle)  are now proud and exhausted members of the Club De Cingles, a very exclusive club !Entry does not involve rolled up trouser legs or knocking cupboard doors!!  Qualification involves completing all three road ascents of Mount Ventoux in a day. The 1st ascent was rapid due to a Triathlon running concurrent with the Mikes Bikes team, however it proved too fast as the next ascent took its toll on all the boys with serious "bonking" occuring all over the hill. Mike was delighted when an accident closed the road, unfortnately Cjhris ( in his fluent french), managed to secure an early passage through the paramedics. Dougie, deserves the title Ironman, despite severe exhaustion and virtually falling from his bike at the Tommy Simpson monument on the 2nd attempt, he managed to finish the 3rd climb, (after the delightful man at the Tourist Board in Sault told us he looked "c'est Mort") . Dougie finished in very cold tempretures at 9pm , followed by the team car with headlights to light the way, awesome performance for a runner Dougie!!

The Cyclo Cross season starts on Sunday, so look out for the updates and see how Mike performs on his new Ridley ( for an old guy!) and pop into the shop to see what he has done with his Raleigh U6 Cross frame. We have just seen the 2011 Merida Crossers, and they look Awesome, particularly the "entry" level model at £999.99, the frame has an unbelieviable attention to detail, with much bracing at the Headtube, and proper cross gearing.