What's in a Name?

Just when the whole getting on a bike to go to work thing is becoming a bit of a chore, and you wonder why you’re not just getting the bus, you get a few days away form it (ideally standing in a muddy field in Berkshire) and then the first ride back makes you remember why you do it all over again. There’s something about the familiar roll of a bike under you that makes sense, even when you think you’re over it. You might have worked out that I’ve just spent the required number of days waiting in a field for 80s rock cover bands to take the stage (and listening to a large number of excellent bands, eating ostrich burgers and drinking beer) to have very much enjoyed slinging a leg (legs always get slung in writing about bikes) over a bike again, even if it’s only for the short hop to work.

While I was away the bike world did not stop. Obviously there was the thrilling finale to the Downhill World Cup where Gee Atherton managed to claim the title in a season that went right down to the wire, and the expectation of the World Championships this coming weekend, if anyone can work out what day or time it’s actually happening on, but there was more…

In road news, the Garmin-Transitions team will be on Cervelo bikes next season and thus have yet another name chance to Garmin-Cervelo, which I learned about on a website which seems ideally catering for me, as it also suggests no the adverts that I should “take my family hunting in Nebraska” as the Archery season is due to start. Nothing says family holiday to me more than shooting animals with arrows.

In Mountain Bike news I was excited to see that Ducati have managed to get someone to put their name on a bike. It always upsets me that companies who take pride in their quality when it comes to the motor vehicles they build, are quite happy to have their logo on a decidedly average bicycle. I guess it ensures that noone who’s committed to the brand will accidentally enjoy cycling under their own power rather than with a big fat engine.

Lastly, in safer-to-cycle-than-here news Copenhagen is dealing with the problem of anti-socially parked bikes by moving them and giving them a little bit of TLC on the way. That beats the hell out of super-glueing the locks, although I guess that locks are not exactly an issue if the bikes can be moved that easily. I’d be tempted to park my bike somewhere awkward just to get my tyres topped off and my chain lubed.

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