Rider Profile

Rider: Madeline Crosswaite

Bike: Wilier Triestina – Izoard XP 2013

  Road/Racing Cyclist

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Madeline and I’m currently a student at the University of York. I have spent much of my life in the Yorkshire Dales in various locations and as such have a great love for the beautiful countryside that surrounds me. At the moment I am in my final term of University, so I’m hoping to go on to postgraduate teacher training. 

What was your first experience of road cycling?

I’m not sure whether I had one defining first experience as I pretty much dived right into road cycling. I would say, however, that my memories of the first few months involved coming to the realization that cycling alone in bad weather was truly character building. In comparison, cycling with other people in glorious weather left me with a euphoric feeling that I still get after these kinds of rides.

And how did this affect your attitude as a road cyclist now – what kind of things do you look for in a ride?

I would say that in the early days of riding the key thing for me was trust. Trusting that the people around me would look out for each other and feeling comfortable riding with them. Now I also need to trust in my bike, my own judgments and perceptions. 

Madeline, you consistently put in very high weekly mileages – do you have any tips on recovery between daily long distance rides? Also, how do you fit this in with you daily life?

Interesting question. To be honest, it is all I have ever known since starting out. As the old saying goes, ‘it doesn’t get easier you just get faster’ (so can cover even more miles). After really tough rides I find that if I have time a timed 30 minute nap it can really help. I think allowing your body to be completely still for a short period of time seems to work wonders for me. I fit it into my daily life by being as organized as possible, but this also means I rarely have a lie in…

You’ve recently got back into road racing after spending a lot of time working on your climbing and endurance over the winter months. How have you found this transition?

I would say my true pleasure comes from long, hilly rides, so I can’t say I’m elated about this. It is nice to test myself riding in big groups again but in many ways it has shown me how easy it is to get into a training rut which I need to avoid in the future.

How do you prepare in terms of nutrition for your rides? Do you have any tips?

Oats, oats and more oats. Every day for breakfast without fail. I also add them to homemade bread and other baked goods. I find eating large amounts of food on the bike hard, so I tend to stock up on carbohydrate rich foods a couple of hours before. Top tip? Don’t underestimate your energy needs. I have dragged a few people home who have done this and it’s never pretty…

 What is the story behind your bike?

I started on a much lower spec bike than I ride now. I feel it is important to allow room for progression with bikes so as you improve your skills and fitness you can improve your kit alongside. I spent many of my early days having cleat falls, so I’m glad it was on a bike that I wasn’t particularly precious over. I bought my current bike – the Wilier – from my local bike shop. I had used a basic Shimano thumb shifter system on my old bike, so I was drawn to Campagnolo as a group set. It allowed me to continue on this system but offered way superior quality. I chose the Wilier because I am a sucker for aesthetics and tradition. I was lured in by the brand’s notoriety, heritage and the elegant shape of the bike. Due to my enjoyment of hills I wanted a light bike, hence the choice of carbon.

  What is your most memorable ride and why?

I think the one that will probably hold the most significance for me is a ride in early December on which I first met my current boyfriend (sorry for being soppy). This wasn’t just because it had long lasting repercussions for my life more broadly, but it was also an epic ride within itself. It was in early December, only four of us, wandering the Yorkshire Wolds, hitting sheet ice constantly both uphill and downhill. We were on our way, rather randomly, to a Christmas fair in Sledmere. A true test for me at the time, as I was still a pretty new rider, yet I just remember the jovial attitude of the whole ride and the brilliant blue winter sky.

Do you have any plans or goals for the future as a road cyclist?

Rider Profile

  Rider: Will Turner Bike Pictured: Dolan Track Champion

  Road, Commuter and Fixed Gear Cyclist

  Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Will and I’m a 4th year Physics student at the University of Liverpool. I used to be heavily into cycling but recently I’ve spent more time with ultra high vacuum chambers and quantum field theories than I have with energy gels and lycra. Hopefully with the summer fast approaching that will all change. What was your first experience of cycling?

I have been interested in cycling in one way or another for as long as I can remember, before my interest in road cycling developed I had a Giant STP ’07 - I still kick myself for selling this bike since it was incredibly fun to ride. Despite this, I acquired my first road bike at around the age of 16 and I’ve been hooked to road cycling ever since. The sense of freedom and exploration was – and still is – incredible. I grew up in Cheshire, which is an excellent location for cycling. I could get on my bike, go in any direction and be on great roads without even planning a route. But Cheshire did have its downsides; hills are still relatively new to me.

And how did this affect your attitude as a road cyclist now – what kind of things do you look for in a ride?

Growing up with such easy access to nice roads has definitely made riding in Liverpool seem like more effort. No ride should start with a ten-mile fight to get out of the city, but perhaps I’ve been spoilt with awesome roads in the past. I tend to look for decent views and smooth roads, as long as you have those you can ignore the wind, rain or snow.

What is the average week like for you? How do you fit cycling around your study workload?

The last few weeks have been hectic. I’ve been trying to finish up my dissertation whist my supervisor insists the next data run will make us famous. I have definitely done more miles commuting to university than proper riding; I can only hope that sprinting those three-miles every day has maintained a little bit of fitness…

  Since you spend more time commuting through the city at the moment, do you have any tips for other commuters who don’t have the time for epic road rides?

Well, for starters you want a bombproof bike. I use a Boardman Hybrid Pro from back when they used to make decent bikes. The riding position is comfortable but not too relaxed, it has incredibly powerful hydraulic disc brakes – which you can rely on no matter the weather – and eyelets for mudguards and panniers. Depending on your journey, a nice wide range of gears is always good; the Boardman has an 11-32 cassette making the ‘climb’ into university easy when I’m still half asleep.

Two products I couldn't live without are my Mission Workshop Rummy bag and the KNOG Blinder Road 3. Mission Workshop really know how to make good messenger bags. I’ve had mine for about three years and I’ve used it every single day in the worst of the British weather. It’s still as good as new. You can fit pretty much anything you’d want to carry in it and know it’ll be bone dry when on arrival at your destination. However, one downside in the summer is that there is a large section of the bag on your back, so sometimes you get a little sweaty – but it’s a small price to pay for such a good bag.

Next, the KNOG light. I never thought I’d be giving a front light so much praise, but it’s perfect. It has a simple fitting mechanism which keeps it in place perfectly but still lets you change the light over to another bike in seconds. I’ve had it since release – around six months now – and I can count the amount of times I’ve charged it up on one hand.

    When you get out on your bike, how do you prepare in terms of nutrition? Do you have any tips?

Before a ride I’ll eat some porridge with plenty of golden syrup and raisins (and maybe some scrabbled eggs if I’m still hungry). Then, a banana just before heading out and then I stick to energy gels during the ride.

  What is the story behind your collection of bikes?

I have quite a few bikes, each with their own story. 

Boardman Hybrid Pro

An excellent commuter bike. The end. 

Rose Pro Carbon 3000

Sadly, my Boardman Road Comp was involved in an accident with a typical Liverpool driver, so I treated myself to a new steed. I must say the Rose website is a dream to use, allowing you to customize any aspect of the bike to really make it feel really individual. 

Dolan Track Champion

After building many single speed and fixed gear bikes from old steel racing frames for friends (and myself), I wanted to treat myself to a new build which could put up with the roads of Liverpool. So, I went to the Dolan warehouse and picked up their Track Champion frame. By adding some Pro-Lite wheels and a decent crankset I had an incredibly quick bike for running around on – and a track-legal bike for any trips to the velodrome. Do you have any plans or goals for the future as a road cyclist?

  Rider: Simon Spier Bike: Opera Bernini 

Road Cyclist

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Simon, 24 years old and perennial student – I’m firmly of the philosophy that if you stay in education long enough then they’ll eventually start paying you. Also, I ride intermittently with the University of York Cycling Club. What was your first experience of road cycling like?

Road cycling proper? Awful. Whilst at university in Manchester I naively turned up for the cycling club’s first early winter hill-training session out in the peaks. This was probably my second or third time riding in a group and much to the dismay of the other riders I rolled up enthusiastically, armed with ineffective clothing, equipment and anatomy. Needless to say within the first climb of the day I was dropped and proceeded to spend the next few hours simultaneously weeping and trying not to black out as I ground my bike up to the Cat and Fiddle Inn where the group had kindly stopped to wait for me, inside, amongst residue of long-ago-eaten cakes and sweets. And how did this affect your attitude as a road cyclist now – what kind of things do you look for in a ride?

Once my wounded pride had healed I adopted a quiet respect for the accomplished climber and told myself that one day I would too be able to make it to the Cat and Fiddle Inn without boring everyone stiff with waiting. I guess since then I have really just wanted to develop in all aspects of road cycling to a modest degree – keeping a reasonable pace over an extended distance and building up the endurance, particularly over rolling terrain. At least now I don’t get dropped straight away…

What would you say is currently the main drive for you as a cyclist? 

After establishing a fairly solid base over this Winter I am looking forward to the summer months to test out the limits of my endurance. I would like to complete at least one Century and start building up a portfolio of non-stop rides of 50+ miles. A number of mates in my current club are already at this level so I suppose my main drive is to get be able to keep up with them to make the most of Summer riding – particularly as the Tour is coming to York and I know there is going to be some great riding centered around it.

What is the average week for you? How much do you ride and how do you fit this in with your day-to-day life? 

As a postgraduate humanities student actual classes are few and far between. When you start to test the limits of the ‘why do today what you can put off ‘til tomorrow?’ approach to studying, it seems 3-4 longish rides per week are possible. But when inevitably your life starts crashing in on you, usually three-quarters of the way through the term, 1-2 rides per week is the norm. I have a routine 35-mile loop that I do when time is tight – a good one for weekday mornings and recovery rides – and longer rides are supplied by the Saturday club run, or when someone nice is willing to show me the way.

How do you fuel your rides? What do you eat before, during and after a ride? Do you prepare bike food yourself – if so, do you have any tips?

I took this great Peanut Butter Flapjack recipe off of the Lyle’s Golden Syrup website (guess what the main ingredient is?) which are absolutely delicious. However, they’re a nightmare to eat whilst on the bike and don’t wrap them in tinfoil because it won’t come off.

I really love chocolate and sweets and stuff and that is probably one of the main reasons I carry on cycling – I’d balloon if I stopped. So no advice to give nutrition-wise I’m afraid. In fact, I’ll most likely be relying on this website to correct my terrible diet. 

What is the story behind your bike? 

I bought it from my Uncle – an enthusiastic hobbyist who used it extensively for crits, time trials and road races until he decided to pack it in to take up scuba diving. Opera is one arm of the Pinarello brand so the quality of the bike is more than adequate for my current riding lifestyle, and should I want to dip my toe in the world of racing I think it’s got the spec to handle it in the short-term. Aptly enough for an arts student, Opera name all their bikes after Italian artists (Leonardo, Canova, Cellini, to name a few). Mine, the Bernini, adopts the name of the seventeenth-century architect and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, and I think the bike represents a refined mixture of craftsmanship and aesthetics that a connoisseur like old Bernini would have appreciated.

 What is your most memorable ride and why?

 The above outlined debacle in the peaks is a memorable ride I’d rather forget. The most memorable for the right reasons was a weekend riding around Snowdonia this spring. As someone fairly new to the sport I found the scenery beautiful and the roads challenging – it was an absolute joy.

Do you have any plans or goals for the future as a road cyclist?

In the days leading up to my first ever crit race – York Sport Day @ the races 1 – I heard a lot of people mention ‘the shock to the system’ that bicycle racing is. I didn’t take this advice lightly and I decided to prepare for the loss of my racing virginity with the appropriate contraception methods; training sessions at the track, lonely solo interval sessions and a day off before the race. Fortunately – but what I now believe to be unfortunately – I didn’t experience quite the ‘shock’ I expected. Ok, so I experienced the hardest thirty minutes on the bike I’ve had in my life, but I finished without incident in a race packed with crashes and didn’t get dropped. I enjoyed the experience and was very content with my mid-table finish considering it was the first time I had raced. So, without hesitation, within a few hours of crossing the line I signed up for my next race. Same place, same category, four weeks from then.

Four weeks passed. For most of that time period I felt confident I would improve on that initial result. I thought that each race I entered would add the experience needed to eventually get myself on the podium. I felt like I could achieve a good result. I was very, very wrong. At York Sport Day @ the races 3 I discovered the shock to the system that everyone had mentioned. It was a shock I probably needed. However, in the minutes leading up the race I was oblivious to this impending doom. I went through the same routine as the last time. I picked up my race number (the dreaded #13), I nervously shivered amongst spectators of the races leading up to mine and I choked down an energy gel for what I hoped would be a sugary boost for my legs.

Eventually I took to the track to warm up and the nerves began to settle. I thought about what lines I’d take around the track. I knew I’d be quick in the corners; 4th Cat races are a nervous affair, especially around the tight hairpin at the York circuit. My confidence grew slightly. I pulled up at the starting line not too far from the front of the group and immediately began to think of the extra advantage this might give me. Perhaps this would allow me the opportunity to remain at the front of the pack for the race? Obviously not.

The starting whistle went and I immediately pushed hard. But to my surprise this did little to advance me through the field. I sat there, destroying my legs for no reason. The headwind was strong on the back straight, but everyone had to deal with it. Why was it affecting me so much? So I sat on a wheel. It didn’t help. Still the legs were being destroyed and I distinctly remember thinking that it wasn’t this hard the first time. Around six or seven laps later, all of which were spent dismantling my legs further, I received the shock. My thighs began to feel like jelly before it’s even solidified. Racers glided past me and before I knew it I was alone. No wheels to sit on, no one to sprint back to, nothing. I felt sick. I wondered if it was the energy gel, I wondered why it felt so tough.

Giving up crossed my mind, but I pushed on alone to finish the race in what felt like last place (although thinking back there were a few other lonely souls behind me, I hope). This was the shock to the system I needed. As far as I can tell, the moral to ‘the shock to the system’ story is as follows. Racing bikes as a beginner will suck at times, no matter how much you enjoyed your first race. You will want to give up, your legs will hate you and you will wonder why you forked out the entry money to feel this kind of pain and disappointment in yourself.

Don’t give up. Think positively. All that horrible, horrible pain will mean the muscles needed to win in the future will be that bit stronger, that bit more used to pushing hard. Put those feet up and recover. I am now even more aware of tactics than the first time – when to push, when to sit on a wheel, when to ease off – and this is vital for racing in the future. Don’t dwell on the bad, just take the little victories when you can, otherwise you won’t enjoy going fast on your bike. Who doesn’t want to enjoy that? Remember though, just because you lost your racing virginity and enjoyed yourself does not make you a Casanova on the bike next time.

Aside from eating before (and during) a long ride, being properly hydrated is equally important when on the bike. Unfortunately, drinking two 750ml bottles of tap water on a long summer ride is not the most appealing form of keeping yourself hydrated. In addition, if you’re apathetic about what’s in your bidon, you’ll be apathetic about drinking from that bidon, increasing the chances of being poorly hydrated and getting cramp all-too-far from home.

Hence, energy powders like High5 Energy Source sachets are a sweet, tasty addition to the average cyclist’s water bottle, helping us to keep hydrated and energized throughout the longest of rides. However, these powders – like most sports nutrition – do come at a cost. For example, a pack of twelve High5 Energy Source powder sachets comes in at an R.R.P. of £12.99, meaning filling up your water bottle for five or six rides a week will set you back almost as much as £7. Therefore, a months worth of riding could cost as much as the average gym membership and potentially even more if you’re filling up two bottles per ride. Considering many of us cycle because it’s an essentially free form of keeping fit once we own a bike, this kind of cost is far from appealing. I haven’t even mentioned the amount of sugar these kinds of sachets include, which is an important consideration for those using cycling as a way to lose weight.

For me, a good alternative to energy powders is hydration tablets. These usually cost less and help the body to absorb water more efficiently during exercise, making them a logical and cheaper option for those putting in high mileages on the road. The energy source lost by switching can simply be replaced by packing a bit of food, such as jam sandwiches, in your jersey pocket. For a cost comparison, a 20 tablet tube of High5 Zero Electrolyte Drink has an R.R.P. of £6.99.  So, using the same riding statistics as the example used for energy powder, a week of riding using these hydration tablets comes in at a cost of around £2. Yes, it’s still not free, but considering it’ll make that boring tap water that bit more drinkable and efficient at hydrating you on a ride, I think it’s a small price that makes a lot of difference.

I’ve experimented with a variety of electrolyte tablets, some of which have indeed been disgusting (avoid the Nuun Active Hydration strawberry lemonade flavour like it’s green cheese at the back of the fridge). Ultimately, I’ve stuck with 3 varieties from different brands; the berry flavour of High5 Zero, the pineapple and mango flavour of Science in Sport Go Hydro, and the tropical variety of Nuun Active Hydration. The Nuun Active Hydration tubes work out the more expensive and have only 10 tablets per tube, but considering these tablets produce the tastiest drink of the three brands I splash out the extra cash when I fancy a bit of a treat (albeit a pretty boring treat). When I’m running low on supplies I simply search the internet for whatever is the cheapest at the time – sometimes costing as little as £3 – making that monthly cost of cycling come down even further.

One could say that you can make your own isotonic or hydrating drink in the kitchen at home, but more often than not this is a time consuming and messy process to be taking part in before a ride. Plus, if the recipe goes wrong you're going to have a water bottle full of disgusting, undrinkable liquid. Hence, I swear by electrolyte tablets for their ease of use and relatively low cost in comparison with other sports nutrition products. After all, at least I’m not paying to go to the gym.