Lots of servicing........ not much riding!

Well since my last update things have been hectic back home. The kids activities and work commitments have taken their toll on my riding, only a hundred or so miles in about three weeks!

Been busy on the maintenance side though. As the weather is improving many people are digging their old steeds out of the garden sheds and garages, only to find that some urgent maintenance is required before they can ride. Cue... Richies Cycling Services.

Other than this the final preparation for the RAAM is almost upon us and all being well we depart for the USA early in June... British Airways and volcanic clouds permitting!
Bye for now.

Dijon, Burgundy RAAM trip

We're now back from our final overseas preparation trip, to the fantastic french region of Burgundy. A five day trip which consisted of much team planning, discussions and most importantly team building. The four riders rode over 500km in a two day period whilst myself and the remainder of the support party concentrated on the aforementioned issues.

A great time was had by all. Myself (team mechanic) and Marco (crew chief) managed to get a good few rides in ourselves, and in addition to working on the team bikes, I serviced and made good some bikes that were owned by the accommodation owners.

Good trip all round, and to summarise I now feel that we're almost ready to tackle the RAAM in earnest. With only around 4 weeks until we depart for the USA, there will be plenty of final planning and preparation to be done, which we now are confident will happen smoothly. Fingers crossed huh!

Next bike stuff for me, working on a London2Paris organised charity trip this coming weekend.
Bye for now

RAAM training in Dijon, France.

Today I'm off on my travels again, this time to Dijon, France with the Sharp4Prostate RAAM team. This trip will be the final overseas training exercise before departing for the USA in June.

The weather looks good and as we're going out two and a half days before the team riders myself and the team director should get a couple of days to get some eagerly awaited miles in ourselves!
Once the team riders arrive it will be into full team support mode.
Not sure what to expect down in La Suze, but I'm pretty certain the roads will be fantastic with a minimal amount of traffic. Plenty of vineyards and I daresay some climbing will be included.

The bikes are looking good, so does the weather, the volcanic ash appears to have ceased interfering with international travel, so lets go ride and enjoy!
I'll be trying to keep the blog updated using my new smart phone, so fingers crossed.
Bye for now...

Richie's Cycling Services!

I'm now happy to announce that 'Richies Cycling Services Ltd' is officially launched. I am able to offer any aspect of mobile bicycle servicing, repairs and even bike build. This service can be carried out at the customer's location or at my secure workshops, collection and delivery can be arranged in most cases. I also supply replacement & spare parts, tools, sports nutrition supplements and cycling apparel.

Event support is a service which I intend building upon. I'm currently providing freelance services to organisations that arrange corporate and charity challenges. These activities are nearly always in need of mechanical support, and I've been involved in this area for several months now. As a keen cyclist I'm often used as a cycling mechanic, where I'm able to ride the whole trip with the group. This enables me to actively engage with them, and naturally gain their confidence when dealing with or advising on their mechanical problems & technical questions.

I will be teaming up with other mobile cycle mechanics in the near future, where with our joint resources we will be able to provide our professional services at much larger events.

              Watch this space for the new website which is currently under construction!