By Matt Dowler, Assistant Product Manager at Boardman Bikes
It’s amazing how quickly winter creeps up on you. My final road race of the 2016 season feels like it was only yesterday. I can still taste the sweat rolling down my face whilst turning myself inside out for 2 hours with the temperature in the high 20s, but in reality it was mid-August, almost 2 months ago. They say time flies when you’re having fun, and since I’ve started at Boardman, I’ve definitely been busy. Eurobike was a mad week of running between meetings followed by evening rides in the mountains (and a couple of overseas KOMs). The NEC Cycle Show was similarly hectic, and launching our new website involved quite a few late nights. That probably explains why I’m reaching for base layers for the morning commute without having noticed the last two months of warm weather in 2016 – winter is nearly here.
I didn’t have the most successful of race seasons this year to be honest. I’ve come close on many occasions, but in truth I’ve not had the endurance to fire on all cylinders at the key points in races. A quiver of 11th places and a solitary 9th is about all I have to show for my efforts this year, despite putting out some of the best power numbers I’ve ever achieved and beating some long standing PBs in mid-week time trials. Without a doubt, the root cause of these poor results lies in the lack of endurance training I did during last winter. In an attempt to balance work, cycling, general life and an overly energetic dog I went for a quality over quantity strategy, only clocking 6 or 7 hours a week, and that was when I wasn’t making excuses for the weather, or man flu. This was enough to keep my fitness ticking over during the colder months, but not enough to build a full season of racing on.
This winter however, will be different. This time around I’m well prepared. I’ve been working with our suppliers on the CXR Winter Road Upgrade range since Eurobike at the end of August. I’ve put in hundreds of miles on multiple tyres to pick the best option for winter riding: the Vittoria Rubino Pro Control G+ 3C (to give it its full name) is enhanced with Graphene to change the consistency of the rubber depending on how it is loaded, and offers a great balance of speed, grip and durability for winter conditions. I’ve picked a 28mm width which can be run at lower pressures, giving better comfort and grip for rough winter roads. Combining these with solid, rattle free SKS Bluemels mudguards in an attractive matt-black finish means all 3 versions of the CXR Winter Road Upgrade bikes are ready for anything that you come across out on the road during the colder, darker months.
I’ll be running a CXR 9.0 Winter Road Upgrade for my training and commuting over the coming months. With a bike that has been designed specifically for the rigours of winter road riding, I’ll have no excuse not to get out, even as the light fades and the mercury falls. I’ve had a couple of weeks off the bike since the end of the season, so I’m itching to get stuck back into training. The plan over the next 2 months is to build up the miles to develop a strong base as a foundation for next season’s racing. I’ll be throwing in a bit of intensity to keep things interesting though – the CXR 9.0 is also a great Cyclocross race bike, with Vittoria ‘cross tyres also included in the Winter Road Upgrade package, so I’ll be riding some local league events to add some top end fitness and hone my bike handling skills.
