tortilla

no not the mexican corn or flour tortilla, i am talking about the spanish potato based omelet.

back in the 1990's i used to visit friends maybe once per year in bilbao in the basque country of northern spain.  the great thing about staying with them was the home cooking which was mainly cooked by molly the matriarch of the household and an exceptional cook of spanish and basque cuisine.  i will never forget those trips which left me with a fond memory for spanish food.

one of my favourites is the tortilla, it is so simple and easy to do and so delicious.  to this day i vividly remember being shown how to make, what my basque friends would call an authentic tortilla, in the kitchen of their apartment.  i do not know if their version of a tortilla is different to that of other areas in spain but either way here is my friends recipe.

serves 4

7-8 large free range eggs
2-3 medium to large potatos
a lot of extra virgin olive oil

- peel the potatos and chop them into small squares roughly 1cm square.
- whisk the eggs until they are fluffy
- pour enough olive oil into a large shallow base frying pan (you need one with a lid) to fill the bottom to roughly half a centimetre depth. do not scrimp on this otherwise the tortilla will not turn out as it should.
- heat the pan until the oil is sizzling hot.
- add the chopped potatos to the pan and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes turning the potatos regularly so they do not burn.  then turn the heat to medium and keep regularly turing the potatos so they are evenly frying for another 10 minutes or until they appear to be cooked and softening.
- turn the heat to medium low and add the whisked eggs to the frying pan so they cover the fried potato chucks.
- place the lid on the pan and leave to cook for another 10 minutes.
- after 10 minutes turn the heat to low and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the egg on the top of the tortilla is cooked.
- once cooked take the lid off the pan and place a large plate over the pan.  then with oven gloves on tightly grip the frying pan and plate so they are held firmly together and turn over.  remove the frying pan and what you should be left is a tortilla that looks something like the image above.

a favourite way for my basque friends to eat their tortilla was to let it cool down then cut it into slices and use as the filling in a baguette, the ultimate potato and egg sandwich.  the way i like to eat tortilla is with loads of side salad.  it makes for perfect recovery food after a hard ride or run due to it being high in protein, carbs and fats (all good fats!).  it will also make excellent party food to accompany the forthcoming cobbled classics starting with the tour of flanders this weekend.  tortilla, a side salad and a chilled bottle of duvel. on egin! or should i say smakelijk!

the return of the flying scotsman

if there were more graeme obree's on this earth the world would be a better place. inspiring.

velo club walcot

in may of last year betty and i relocated from london to bath to embark on a new and exciting chapter in our lives.  we had both been living in london for many years and decided that although we enjoyed life in the big smoke it was time for a change of scenery.  it was an idea we had been toying with for a couple of years. the then imminent birth of our daughter spurred us on to take the final plunge and move.
with both betty and i being big fans of the outdoor lifestyle closeness to the countryside was a key prerequisite, as was having continued easy access to city culture.  after having lived in europes largest city for so long we needed to smooth our transition into a slower pace of life and not incur too  much of a traumatic culture shock on ourselves.  bath seemed like the perfect choice.

for me personally where ever we decided to move to needed to have great cycling country.  over the previous few years we had been making occasional visits to bath to see some good friends chris, sarah and their two children.  chris was big into his cycling and whenever i took my bike with me he would take me out on rides in the beautiful countryside that surrounds the city.  it was making those visits that planted the seed in my mind to make our relocation choice bath and after some discussion a fair bit of persuasion on my part betty agreed.

by the time we moved to bath though the only people we had known, chris and sarah, had moved away about a year before.  this meant that although i was surrounded by all that great countryside i did not know the best bike routes.  i decided the remedy for this was to join a cycling club.  by doing that i would get to meet new people and ride with them through the countryside they know so well.

it was will from cadence bike shop, close to where we i live in the weston area of bath,
that first put me onto velo club walcot.  actually it was not just vc walcot's rides that he told me about but all the options available, ranging from the rides starting from cadence every saturday morning, through to bath cc and the sunday rides organised by vc walcot.  i settled on introducing myself at the next vc walcot ride which sets off from outside the guildhall in the centre of bath every sunday morning at 9.30am.
i suppose the rest is history as they say.  i have been on many of vc walcot's sunday rides since first introducing myself to them last june.  i have become a member of the club and i have even represented them in last years annual hill climb tt.  joining vc walcot has been one of the best things i have done since arriving in bath.  not only have i been able to gain much needed knowledge of fabulous cycling routes through them but more importantly it has given me the opportunity to meet like minded people who like me have a passion for riding bikes and enjoying the countryside.

i had never been a member of a cycling club before i joined vc walcot but i guess some clubs can be a bit intimidating and possibly take themselves too seriously.  not vc walcot, their friendly inclusive approach appeals to me and since joining them they have honestly been nothing but welcoming. in the last few days vc walcot have launched a new website which i would suggest reflects on a new figor and energy running through the club. what a perfect time for it to happen as well.  spring has sprung, the cycling season is now in full swing with flanders and roubaix just around the corner it is exciting times.  vc walcot have plans for lots of events this year.  to keep up to date with what is happening at the club check out the new site.  vc walcot, a real social network for cyclists.

vc-walcot.com

the lionheart sportive

longleat is an english statley home and currently the seat of the marquesses of bath.  set in over 900 acres of land, in the county of wiltshire, it is noted for it's elizabethan country house, landscaped gardens and safari park.  it is also the start and finishing point for the lionheart sportive which took place last sunday 18 march.  i doubt there are many grander locations from which to base a sportive than here.

the organisers provided two lengths of route, 100km or 160km (actually i made it 163km to be precise.  after riding 160km the last three kilometres are very noticeable!) and i in my wiseness and having not ridden anywhere close to the distance for at least a year chose to ride the longer route.

it has been a fair few years since i have paid to enter an organised ride since i figured i could just as easily go out with my friends and ride our own sportives for free.  sportives are not cheap and at £28 the entry fee for the lionheart was no exception to this rule.  relatively speaking though i would suggest the lionheart was just about value for money.

on the positive side, the route was very well sign posted with plenty of marshals at key points plus a couple of motorbike out riders patrolling various sectors of the course.  the food stations were exceptional with a full on buffet provided at every stop (there were three or four in total for the longer distance).  when i say buffet i am talking sandwich's, cakes, rolls, fruit, sweets, hot drinks, cold drinks, the works.  i commented at the time that i had never seen such fantastic food stops having previously experienced in past sportives arriving at some shitty little stand with nothing more than some manky flapjacks, bananas, oranges and some energy drinks.  no, these stops were the real deal.  at the finish every rider was presented with a finishing medal, plus a goodie bag including the latest copy of the comic plus a couple of other bits like tire levers (actually they could have been a tad more generous with the goodie bag).  the best thing though was the complementary hot pot (yes back to food again) which was a piping hot vegetarian bean stew with cheese and bread.  man it tasted so good after being on the bike in the cold for so long.  there was of course race timing which has to be a given at sportives these days doesn't it?  my time was an exceedingly average 6:36:38 which got me a bronze medal.  last but not least, indeed most importantly, the route was beautiful featuring some of the most stunning countryside in the south west of england and with just over 2000 metres of climbing there were just enough hills to provide a good test without it being over the top.  it is only march after all.

on the negative side i have only two major gripes.  i am told there were around 1200 participants in the event.  do you know how many portaloos there were?  ten.  that makes for very long queues especially when everyone is trying to hydrate properly and needs to take a couple of pisses as well as maybe needing to drop the kids off!  we would not want to be carrying extra unnecessary weight around now would we?  more loos next time please organisers.  the second issue i have is aimed at both the riders and the organisers.  i saw dozens of empty gel and bar wrappers on the road as i cycled along.   a lot of people must be delusional, they must have thought they were pro's and that all the litter was going to be picked up behind them, no!  what they did was litter up and spoil the very countryside they were enjoying cycling around.  i do not only blame the riders though, i did not once hear the organisers reminding people not to throw their litter on the floor.  next year they need to make more of an effort to bring this issue to peoples attention in the hope that at least some numb skulls will simply put their sticky gel wrappers in one of their multiple rear pockets after using it's contents.  rant over!

overall though i was very happy with my lionheart experience, it even stayed dry for us!  if you are looking to ride a sportive in one of the most picturesque parts of britain then the lionheart needs serious consideration.  there is a good chance i will be back for more next year.

http://www.thelionheart.co.uk/

the commentator

What is the project?

In 1976 Danish Filmmaker Jorgen Leth made the legendary sports and cycling film, A Sunday in Hell, about the Paris Roubaix cycling race. It defined a genre and helped put the Paris-Roubaix on the global sporting map. Leth now comments on the race for television.

We plan to follow Leth as he prepares for and comments on the race. We’ll be with him from his hotel in Paris until the end of the race at the Roubaix Velodrome. Along the way our team of photographers and filmmakers will shoot footage of the race, crowds and Leth himself caught up in the excitement of sport. We’ll capture the intense effort of contemporary pro racers, and will be sure to include stars from cycling’s past.

The Commentator will screen all over the world as part of the Bicycle Film Festival programming.



more information can be found on the project here.

via trackosaurus rex

don't look back

i was commuting to work by bicycle a couple of days ago as i do once or twice per week. it was a journey like any other day, nothing unusual. it was however, the first time i have consciously considered the action of looking back or to be more specific the act of turning ones head backwards to see what is happening behind whilst cycling forward. it is an action i make many times on every trip by bicycle and although not difficult, there is a skill involved in doing it. turning ones head needs to be done quickly since keeping the eyes firmly on what is happening in front is primary in terms of road safety awareness. looking back though is also part of road safety awareness, for example, when moving out into the middle of the road to pass a stationary vehicle it is important to glance back to make sure the road is clear prior to making the manoeuvre. it is for a different reason though that i write this anecdote as it has more to do with the need to see if somebody else on a bicycle is gaining ground on me.

back to my cycle commute and as i road along batheaston high street towards bathford i sensed there might be somebody behind me on a bicycle. i looked back and sure enough there was a cyclist and not only that but they were doing all they could to catch up to me. a few years ago i would probably have attempted to drop the hammer at this point and leave the other cyclist behind me. these days though, and i like to think a little more wisely, if i feel an eager cyclist catching up to me i will slow the pace a touch and allow them to pass me where upon i will hop on and use them to help draft me along for as much of the journey as i can. i even take sadistic pleasure in seeing them sometimes struggle as the realisation dawns on them that maybe it was not such a good idea to take the lead.

to finish this commute anecdote off i pedalled along with the dude in front and me behind until we reached the turning for bathford hill where the gradient ramps up to lactic threshold proportions. just before the gradient became serious the dude stood up to apply power and his chain fell off, there was nothing for me to do but cycle on past. it was not quite like andy schleck's mishap on the port de balès where alberto contador took advantage of schleck's chain jamming but it was similar. i pedalled on up the hill with a smug grin on my face but even though i knew the dude was far behind i still felt the compulsion to look back a couple of times before i summited the hill to see if he was catching back up.

the reason i tell this story is because at the moment i had first turned my head to see the cyclist behind me i was reminded of eurosport's coverage of the cycling and in particular david harmon who always likes to take the opportunity to comment whenever a rider looks back to see where the next rider or group behind is. according to harmon, who incidentally i think is the finest cycling commentator around, a rider should never look back, rather they should channel all their energy into staying away for as long as possible, ideally until they reach the finish line. i am sure from a physicist's perspective harmon has a point, however, i would argue it is nye on impossible, even for a professional rider with exemplary technique and will not to look back. i would argue that the act of looking back to see if somebody else is catching up is as deep rooted as human kind itself, the theory of fight or flight comes to mind. the act of looking back is an innate survival mechanism which to this day we still have need for. i would therefore like to offer some sage advice to mr harmon and that is to decline from commenting on the disadvantages of riders looking back, just accept it as something none of us can help ourselves from doing, even the pro's.

höllentour / hell on wheels

released in 2005 höllentour or hell on wheels, to give it it's english name, records the 100th anniversary of the 2003 tour de france from the perspective of germany's team telekom.  it is certainly one of my favourite cycling movies of all time even though it was made in the bad old days when riders were epo'ed up to their eye brows!  riders featured include eric zabel, andreas klöden, Alexandr vinokourov and lance armstrong. need i say more?

marathon crash race

if you are in los angeles on the weekend of 17/18 march 2012 then maybe you might want to crash the los angeles marathon course and race through it's streets car free, only thing is it is a 4am rolling start.  to pre register click here.  surely we can do this for some marathon courses in the uk too?

i wonder if anyone has done the double yet by riding the race then running the marathon that same day?

RACING THE END ------(Marathon Crash Race 2011) from Warren Kommers on Vimeo.

vandeyk nightstream

i have been profiling bicycle offerings from the usa and italy of late and rightly so since both countries have a rich history of producing bicycles of exceptional quality.  it is refreshing though to take a look at a new kid on the block called vandeyk who hail from another country with a deep history in producing bicycles, that of germany.  based in stuttgart, the home of automobile giants porsche, vandeyk like their legendary neighbours share an ethos for design and art.

vandeyk contemporary cycles is a creative design house for hand built bicycles. an elaborately curated collaboration of experts in fields as diverse as design, art, handmade bicycle frame building and photography - aspiring to built perfectly functional art objects on two wheels. the bicycles are immaculately handcrafted in the smallest detail and strictly limited. working with the approach of a creative platform, future collections will include further inspiring co operations and influences.

the first thing that struck me when i first saw the aptly named nightstream was the paint job.  the stealth black base colour accented with colourful lines across the frame and forks will no doubt ensure the nightstream will turn heads especially since only twenty five will be produced worldwide making the nightstream collection (there is a nightstream mountain bike too made to equally limited numbers) one of the most limited editions in the bicycle manufacturing world.  even sighting one of these bikes being ridden along the street will be an extremely rare event!

specification

frame - columbus xcr stainless steel tubing, handbuilt (tig welded)
fork - enve composites
paint - highest-grade liquid paint
gruppo - shimano dura-ace di2
wheelset - chris king r45 / enve composites / sapim cx-ray
skewers - tune
headset - chris king inset
bar/stem - enve composites
seatpost - enve composites
saddle - fizik
tires - continental

price: eur 16.800,00

http://www.vandeyk.de/

children's cycling caps by red dot cycling

below are a few images of my daughter isabella modelling two beautifully crafted, custom made, children's cycling caps created by my good friends carolle and richard of vancouver based red dot cycling.

although red dot cyling do not currently hold inventory of children specific cycling caps they will be happy to produce custom requests, as they did for me, with prices starting at around $32.00 usd per cap depending on the type of fabric used.

my wife and i are very happy with the two caps we received for our daughter.  both are made to the highest standard and will no doubt get plenty of wear as we head into the spring and summer months.

you can contact red dot cycling as well as see all of the other fabulous items they produce by visting them here.

photos: bettybhandari

firefly cross titanium

although we are well and truly into the road season with the first of the belgian semi-classics having already been raced last weekend and the forthcoming montepaschi strade bianche and paris-nice ramping up the excitement this weekend i am still geeking over cyclocross bikes and specifically this eye catching cross titanium from boston based bike builders firefly

also available in stainless steel this model is built using 3/2.5 titanium tubing sourced from the best aerospace tubing suppliers.  every titanium frame firefly make is tailored to the rider, with tube diameters, wall thicknesses, butt profiles, and shapes selected specifically to the customers requirements.

of specific interest on this frame is the integrated seat post, internal cable routing along the top tube and as with all firefly frames exquisite welding and signature wishbone seat stay.  this particular model comes equipped with enve cross fork, enve deep section carbon tubular wheels, zipp crankset, chris king head set and what looks like a cinelli ram carbon integrated bar and stem.

the usa has a habit of producing arguably the finest artisan bike builders in the world such as hampsten, vanilla and moots to name only a few with firefly certainly falling into this category.  if your looking for that one ride that will last a life time then the cross titanium needs serious consideration.

complete custom bikes: $5,190 to $10,000+

custom frameset Price: $3,950

fireflybicycles.com