We were excited at the prospect of meeting Ian Cleverly. After all he’s the managing editor of what many regard as the best cycling magazine on the planet. Yes, excited and not just a little bit intrigued because, from what we understood, he doesn’t immediately fit the bill of a typical Rouleur reader: a punk who played in a 1980’s band called King Trigger; a self confessed technophobe who turns his nose up at Garmin computers and Strava data; a Cyclo Cross fanatic and lover of the aesthetics of steel framed bikes.
Rouleur started up in 2006 when founder, Guy Andrews, came up with the idea of a cycling magazine that offered a bit more than “fitness specials, pictures of bunch sprints and road tests of £1000 bikes.” The vision was to produce a beautiful magazine with serious writing in it for the discerning cyclist. It fitted in perfectly with Rapha’s philosophy at the time and Simon Mottram (Rapha’s CEO) put his backing behind it.
Read MoreWe wrote several posts about what we wanted for Christmas - but what was actually waiting for us under the Ride Velo Christmas tree? We thought we'd share our new goodies with our lovely readers.
Read MoreThursday night saw Vinopolis open its doors for the Rouleur Classic event and the suited and booted cognoscenti of the affluent London cycling community, most of whom appeared to have come straight from their desks across the river in the Square Mile, or wherever it is that hedge fund managers, bankers and corporate lawyers park their tailored but trim derrieres on weekdays. Eager to get their cycling fix before donning the Rapha and deserting their loved ones for their Sunday morning rides with their top-of-the-range carbon machines, this well-to-do crowd queued round the block before the 6pm start.
Read MoreI’d just done the Etape du Tour 2014 in the Pyrenees and had nearly dropped out after a freezing and wet descent of the Tourmalet, but somehow managed to keep it together to finish the bloody thing. My girlfriend and I crossed the border out of France and into Spain in pursuit of sunshine, warmth and being able to get a meal after 2 O’clock so ended up in Girona, a beautiful and ancient Cathedral City in Catalonia. Walking across the Plaza de Independencia one day I couldn’t help admiring a couple of beautiful Cervelo road bikes propped up against a pillar. And there, enjoying a post ride beer, was David Millar with his teammate, Dan Martin, in full Garmin team kit.
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