HARO BIKES

Always on the lookout for cycling in the media, we were interested to spot Boris Johnson in the Press and Journal from a photoshoot for "Summer of Cycling"

Known for being a keen cyclist, the Lord Mayor is seen here on his Raleigh AT30. If you want to emulate Boris, Mikes Bikes has a good selection of male and female specific bikes from Raleigh's AT range and you can get some blonde hair dye from Boots upstairs.  

Mike is a bit puzzled. If the Devlin brothers wanted to walk over the Bealach Na Ba, why did they take bikes with them?

I met a regular visitor to Mikes Bikes the other day on a brand new Ridley Orion road bike. I knew he hadn't bought it at the shop so, even though I probably shouldn't have, I came straight out and asked him where he had got it because its difficult to get a bike serviced by the internet. So, he told me that he had been out at the north end of the village when he had met the Olympic cycilist Rebecca Romero (famous for that Powerade advert) on a Ridley Orion and in full Team Katusha racing lycra.

They got to talking and she invited him back to her holiday chalet. When they got there she put her bike against the wall, stripped out of her lycra, laid back on the sofa and told him he could have whatever he desired. You're way ahead of me - he took the Ridley. Which, when you think about it, was the wise choice. The lycra would never have fitted him! 

Last Wednesday the M-Trax crew took on the single track at Badaguish in the company of two old guys on Diamondback's finest race machines. Sally and Julia laid down their intentions early on with a determined ascent that left Ian (unrecognisable on a red bike and non-colour co-ordinated gear) in breathless pursuit. Despite the obvious advantage afforded by momentum, Ian gallantly brought up the rear on the first descent. With Mike in the lead showing the way, the three M-Trax were the tasty filling in a Diamondback sandwich. On the second descent, Ian kindly lent me his DBR Race 2 which he had thoughtfully set up for road racing. Despite the high saddle and the lack of grip provided by training shoes on SPD pedals I was impressed by the responsiveness and feedback. Meanwhile Ian nailed the red trail on my M-Trax with lowered saddle and platform pedals before switching back to the DBR for the next uphill. His body might be letting him down but there's nothing wrong with his cycling mind!

Tonight we're off to Wolftrax. We've noticed that "the nights are fair drawing in" and given that I'll be missing the next fortnight doing professional development (road biking in Provence) this will probably be the last of our daylight visits. The Knog Frogs have been flying out of the shop as people prepare for darker nights and we sold our first set of Sigma lights this season, a sure sign that the summer is coming to an end!

If you're down in Edinburgh for the festival look out for the guy on the piano bike. Euan was telling me that he has some video footage on his phone of a guy who is pedalling a full size piano round Edinburgh. It has to be seen to be believed!