English
On Saturday I was at Cycle 09 in Earls Court to support my sponsors and take part in some Questions and Answers on stage with fellow cyclists and the world’s leading ladies in their own different disciplines of cycling, Victoria Pendleton (Track Sprint Olympic Champ), Rachel Atherton (Downhill World Champ) and Hollie Avil (Triathlon U23 World Champ).
I got the day off to a great start visiting the Wiggle crew and spending time with visitors and fans answering questions about my experience on the Focus Izalco Chrono and Cayo that I have been riding this year and then also signing some autographs and hearing some of the fans’ own experiences this year. I also got to see the new models for 2010 and if it is possible to improve on the ’09 range there will be some great bikes for you next year! In the last few weeks since my season ended I have been winding down doing some riding but not on my road bike, instead I have been riding a mixture of road and trails on the Focus Mares cross bike, kitted out with Ritchey bars and stem, Sram red and Continental tubs glued on to some prototype wheels being developed for next year by Walser Cycles.
It’s a great carbon fibre frame and although my skills are a little ‘rough’ having not been off road since last winter I felt comfortable on the bike and quickly gained confidence and more speed as I got used to the handling and sliding around on the loose surface.
After the time with Wiggle I was on stage for the first Q&A of the day and had some nice questions from the girls of Herne Hill Youth Cycling Club and, they presented all of us with a club hat which looks smart and has their website on www.hhycc.com [so I will be checking up on you!!] Following that I spent some time with Action Medical Research www.action.org.uk/get_involved/cycling who organised the Ride 24 which I went to this summer and saw for myself how much fun everyone had while helping raise money for a great charity. AM also have a series of 100 Mile events around Britain so check out their website for one locally. I had a nice time to finish off the afternoon at British Cycling and even started one of children’s bike testing ‘races’ or sessions depending on how the children chose to complete their time trying out a variety of different bikes on a small circuit which also tested their skills and speed!
Like every year, when I visited Cycle 09 I also bumped in to a lot of friends and even people who I had not seen for a long time! It was thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it to everyone with even the smallest interest in cycling… I say this because on the Adult ‘Bike’ Test Track I saw one person zipping around on a 3 wheel tricycle / scooter with a motor and no pedals what so ever… but it looked a lot of fun and if it helps spread the benefits of cycling then I’m all for it!
Best wishes, Nicole
To view Nicole & Andy’s answers from the Cycle O9 question time session with Wiggle please view the links below.