Cycling

I cycle.

Earlier in 2009, I was trying to decide how best to replace my bike (a Raleigh Firefly of my Dad’s that I began using after he got a road bike), and eventually decided that for an all-purpose general use bike, that would be suited to using in the area around where I live, my best bet would be a mountain bike.

I wondered about a 29er, however found an article online from a highly reputable source which advised against them, I also decided to go for a well known, reputable brand with good components (after replacing nearly everything on the old Raleigh mountain bike) in the hope of not needing to replace too much too frequently.

I eventually settled for a Specialized Hardrock, however did very quickly find that the SRAM x4 Rear Mech was nowhere near up to the job, so replaced it with an x7 for less than £40.

In the average week, I’ll spend a fair few hours in the saddle. Due to my other commitments I tend to miss out on going on long rides during term time, so I make up for it by cycling wherever I can locally. Meetings and events locally give me journeys of 15-40 miles each depending on the route I take.

Whenever I do go cycling for the sake of it, I keep a record on MapMyRide.com, and am currently playing with their API to get some information in here.