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  • First ride: Ridley Helium SLX

    The brand new, custom painted Ridley Helium SLX had been sat staring at me for 3-weeks. I’m a bit funny with riding a new bike without a proper fitting session and I simply hadn’t had time. But when Tiesj Benoot won Strade Bianche on it, I dropped everything, put on the nearest cycling clothes (lucky for you no photos of that catastrophe) and headed out into the Girona sunshine.

    A new bike normally feels strange on the first ride. Especially because this time, I decided to trial a new saddle. I’ve had some numbness troubles downstairs and determined to fix that, will test the Eat Sleep Cycle Fizik saddle fitting programme (Test any saddle before buying). I am starting with the Antares which is wider than my previous Arione. Idea being the sit bones rest on it rather than that important nerve which eventually causes numbness. For the first few rides, the sit bones hurt a bit, but that’s a sign of a good position.

    In addition, this was the first time I’d used Rotor cranks. Since they are manufactured in Madrid it seemed fitting to have them on our rental and race bike fleet. I know, you can’t fault Shimano, but I wanted to give it a go. I’m not sure if it’s the shape of the Rotor cranks or if they genuinely are better but they felt good from the offset.

    Other upgrades on the bike include the legendary Fatboys, the creation of Drew Gill at Spin On These (http://ridefullgas.com/). I could write a blog just on these wheels which have broken the age-old idea of narrow tyres and high pressure. The opposite results in more comfort, more grip and a better looking bike! Finished with the new Ultegra shifters, brakes and derailleurs, what is left is a very light and attractive looking bike.

    From the off-set the bike felt stable, if not a little high at the front. The Helium has a reasonably large stack and I´m used to riding slammed race bikes. Due to a combination of back problems and more riding in the high mountains, I’m open to giving a higher front end a go.

    Instantly I noted great responsiveness when accelerating to beat the red lights out of town. The bike felt super stiff. Once into the countryside things started to speed up and in the aero position, I was pushing 50 km/hr easily. A great start!

    It was the first climb that signed and sealed my decision to ride the Helium this year. As the bike is the race choice of our sponsored race team “Rocacorba Racing” it only seemed fit for that climb to be Rocacorba. At nearly 1,000 meters it’s tough, with gradients of over 14% in places.

    As soon as the slope steepened the bike just seemed to ride away from me, begging to be ridden faster, jump out the saddle on the bends instead of cruising around and keep the pace up all the way to the top. Wow, the bike is light and yes I noticed a big difference from last year’s race bike (a Guerciotti).

    Chatting to several other professional riders in Girona who also ride the Helium, we´ve heard plenty of stories of the bike being under the legal limit of 7 Kg. But us amateurs don´t need to worry about that and every gram in our favor is potentially more kudos!

    All that was left was the ride down and a combination of the Fatboys and bike stiffness made that very enjoyable. The slightly higher stack was not detrimental to the descent.

    Last and not least, the bike looks great. Ridley´s custom paint jobs are top notch, with a full colour palette and several designs to choose from. I went for a stealth look, with a touch of Rocacorba Racing blue, but below you’ll see just how adventurous you can be with it…

  • Nutrition For Cyclists

    All cyclists have felt it… A tiredness that stops legs from spinning, head dipping, dizzyness, confusions and a general unhappiness. Such a sudden change from “wohooooooo I´m the Tour de France champion” to “I hate cycling!” How can this be?

    We asked Gemma Sampson, Accredited Sports Dietitian & Performance Nutritionist (Dietitian Without Borders) for an expert opinion.

    What is the bonk in nutrition terms?

     

    It’s like running out of fuel when you’re driving in a car. Your body stores carbohydrate as glycogen in the muscles or glucose in the bloodstream to use as fuel during exercise. When you bonk, your blood sugar levels are low and you’ve used up most of your muscle glycogen.

    You’ll feel lethargic, lacking energy, sleepy, slightly confused with jelly legs, reduced power and a higher heart rate. It may be difficult to talk and you may feel quite emotional.

    What should you do when it happens?

     

    You need to get your blood sugar levels up quickly, so it’s important to eat something with carbohydrate that’s quick and easy to digest. For example an energy gel, dried fruit or some sweets. Follow this up with an energy bar or something more substantial to keep you going longer.

    Is it dangerous? Should you find food very quickly?

     

    If your blood sugar levels get extremely low it can be dangerous to your health. But the biggest risk, particularly when riding on the road is the possibility of crashing or injury when feeling lightheadedness, dizzy or confused.

    Getting some carbohydrate into your system quickly and getting your blood sugar levels up to normal will help improve your concentration to keep you safe on the road.

    How to avoid it?

     

    Prevention is always better than cure! Eating carbohydrates in the form of foods or drinks during your ride will help keep your blood sugar levels up and maintain your glycogen stores.

    Exactly how much you need will depend on how long or how hard you are riding, as well as how trained you are.

    For rides over 60 minutes aim for 30-60g of carbohydrates per hour. Make a note to start eating early and often, every 20 or 30 minutes rather then forgetting to eat or drink until it’s too late.

    To learn more about nutrition with Gemma Sampson visit her website, dietitianwithoutborders.com

  • A Grand Départ we will never forget

    This weekend we opened the doors to our brand new Girona Hub, a pretty momentous & proud moment in our short (but intense) history.

    Our early blog readers will remember how Eat Sleep Cycle started: in August 2016 we ran our first tour from Girona to Biarritz with a rented Enterprise van and 6 intrepid clients. In November 2016 we opened a tiny local in the Barri Vell and stocked it with 7 Cinelli rental bikes.  That winter we developed our blog into a website, added some tours and started to take more & more rental bookings. By April 2017 we had a fleet of 20 Orbea bicycles and were opening a second premises just over the plaza.

    We thought we had made it but had little idea about the surge in business to come. The 2017 season was bonkers & brilliant. We ran tours across the Pyrenees, recced new itineraries in the Dolomites & Picos mountains, rented bikes, guided rides around Girona and worked all the hours we could. By the end of 2017 we knew we needed more bikes which, in our 20 bike-hook HQ, was not an option. We started taking bookings for 2018 and worked out we needed around 70 bikes to meet the demand of early bookers. We went to see out of town storage units, considered a 3rd local on the same plaza & tried convincing (ie. bribing) our landlord to rent us his garage.

    Then one day in December Lee walked past a beautiful glass locale on Placa Catalunya, located next to popular cafe +Cub, with a sizable Terraza. There was a ‘For Rent’ sign on the door with a number to call. Lee called it & the wheels started turning.

    Fast-forward two months (nothing takes very long at Eat Sleep Cycle) and we are the proud tenants of Carrer del Vern, 3. We have 70 beautiful Ridley rental bikes (now including Gravel & Mountain bikes), two workshop spaces, a bike fit studio, a bike rental pick-up space and a beautiful retail space showcasing kit made in Catalunya, Worx Bikes and leading brands Assos & Ridley.

    Friday night was opening night and we were overwhelmed by the turnout. Our Hub was THE place to be seen on Friday night. It was a party packed with people who’ve been part of our journey – family, friends, teammates, club members, our lawyer, our builder, the ladies from Tourist Info, town hall representatives, pro riders, colleagues from other cycling businesses & journalists all flocked to the Hub. We overflowed out the door and onto the terrace, people were jammed into both floors, queuing to get in and see the new space. It was a very proud few hours for the team.

    +Cub (our new favourite neighbours) welcomed us by running a bar for the event with delicious juices, cava & beers. Silvia (our new favourite employee) baked an Eat Sleep Cycle cake to die for (prepared with the pastry chef from El Celler Can Roca no less!) and ESC volunteers kept everything running behind the scenes.

    We followed the opening night with a weekend of cycling, offering free guided road, gravel & mountain bike rides, a trip to the Rocacorba Food Truck and a delicious lunch at +Cub. We hosted a Retul Bike Fit talk by the legend that is Emi Molina from VeloLoveFit, we offered massages by Gabinet Medic Girona, we launched our race teams Rocacorba Racing & Els Àngles Racing.

    The whirlwind weekend is over and now we’re working in the Hub and turning our attention to delivering an epic 2018 of cycling. Here’s to the next chapter in the journey, we cannot wait!

    Photo Gallery by George Harper

  • Vision for a new type of Bike Shop

    It’s just under 4-weeks until the opening of our new Girona Hub and you are all invited! https://www.facebook.com/events/157923644829501/

    The Hub, as we are calling it, is the culmination of learning from 2 previous smaller shops in Girona, hours of debate, benchmarking, research and endless sketches by our more creative third, Louise. We love keeping our old sketches and notes, because often, our initial concept which is based on pure imagination and passion, is the one we end up going for. As soon as we start thinking about the cost of rent and reform, persuading the right brands to be there, ideas normally get downscaled and it’s easy to lose the ability to think big. For the Hub we are thinking very BIG.

    Everyone at Eat Sleep Cycle is a passionate cyclist and has their own childhood memories of their local bike shop. A place they went to gaze at a bike they couldn’t afford, ask about the latest frame material (oooooh carbon fibre!), or persuade the mechanic that their bike is more important than the other 8 he has to do, to make that weekend race.

    What is happening to our poor local bike shops? Just like many other digitised industries, it’s getting harder and harder to make a buck and many are forced to close. The brutal truth is a bike shop can not sell clobber and compete with online retailers. It’s definitely time to rethink the local bike shop, so much so that we´ve come up with a completely different name for ours.

    The Eat Sleep Cycle Hub will be an inviting space to hang out, meet your friends for a ride, or chat to us about anything to do with cycling. You can break your legs in our “Pain room” or enjoy a massage in our “Recovery room”. Top class mechanics are on hand to solve any problems with your bike. If you do fancy a new bike, make sure it’s the right fit with our Retul fitting service. Or maybe you just want to try another discipline and rent a gravel or mountain bike for one day. Whether you are a pro, weekend warrior, or just starting out, we want to meet you. This is not an elitist center for the fittest but a place to go if you love cycling.

    Plan your dream holiday escape anywhere in Europe with our trip planners. Of course there will be bike clobber, but it will be carefully selected by us so you’ll only see the best and latest stuff on our shelves. It will be like a cycling heaven! Is that thinking big enough?!
    Of course we couldn’t deliver all these speciality services without working with other local businesses and experts and that’s what makes the ESC Hub a collaboration with the community. Through our club and mens/ womens race teams we will continue to give back to the community and develop cycling in Girona.

    Don’t take my word for it. Come and check it out for yourself! https://www.facebook.com/events/157923644829501/

  • “I don’t ever know what I’m looking for in this state, but I know when I find it”

    Cycling around Andalucia in southern Spain over the last few days has been a bit of an adventure, to say the least.

    Was it really Wednesday morning when we left Girona, collected a bike in Barcelona and drove 1,000 kilometres south to Granada for a recce trip of Andalucia for tours we plan to deliver?

    It’s hard to believe the answer is ‘yes’ because so much has happened in the meantime and we’d be a week summarising it all!

    From Fabio’s uplifting music and interesting conversation to Kris and Rico’s incredible back-stories to my own brother bursting out of an important meeting in London to make a late-night flight to Malaga to be with us, it has been a whirlwind 48 hours.

    At Eat Sleep Cycle we are driven by adventure and in the beginning when Louise said “I want our company to be a company that delivers epic trips in incredible places  where we get to meet awesome people” that I knew I’d found the right person to go into business with.

    We rode through endless fields of olive groves on today’s ride, we saw a shepherd at work in the middle of nowhere, we stopped for pictures every 5 kilometres and by the time we got back to the hotel we were as exhilerated as could be.

    But as the sun was high and I had some energy, I tacked on a few kilometres to see what I might find. Little did I know what was yet to come.

    I don’t ever know what I’m looking for in this state of curiosity, but I know it when I find it.

    I fancied a beer so I headed for the bullring where I found a wonderful little bar with the friendliest staff and the most succulent smell of ham hanging from the roof told me I’d come to the right place.

    Dressed in lycra and carrying a bike I expected to be told get the hell out, but instead, the owner (Borja) greeted me and asked could he take my bike for a ride.

    “Only a few metres,” he promised…“I did an ironman four years ago and I haven’t cycled since.” I could tell from his figure he probably wasn’t joking.

    “Hablas ingles?” he quizzed. “Si, y Irish tambien!” “Ah, Irlanda, mencanta!”

    Jackpot.

    We started talking and soon we started drinking. And then we started eating. “Una tapita mas por Brian Cantador,” he instructed to two very attentive waiters dressed in brilliant white shirts and waistcoats as black as night.

    He wanted to know everything about Eat Sleep Cycle, Ireland, what I thought of Spain and how we can work together.

    Yes, the guy owns one of the most famous vineyards in Spain, “and probably the world” he laughed again, his mouth half-full of barbecued chicken.

    “We have clients from all over the world, Taiwan, Australia, America, China”.

    Another beer, another tapita, another couple join us, we kill an hour easily.

    Next, it’s the behind-the-scenes tour of the bullring and it’s complex matrix of underground caverns and vaults.

    One room, reserved only for royalty (see pic below), is opened after some argument with the restaurant manager because nobody argues with Borja and wins.

    “This is where you can bring your big groups, the special groups.”

    We could have stayed talking for hours but instead he said, “come to our vineyard Sunday and bring your group. Lunch is on us. You won’t be disappointed.”

    One of the guys on the trip is celebrating his birthday in the next few days….and we could not think of a better present than to tell him this at dinner tonight.

    Louise, is that good enough for you??

     

  • Riding Gravel in Girona: An Interview with Peter Gaskill

    Want to add some new adventure to your road riding? Perhaps you should get out on some gravel! But, you say, I love the quiet paved roads around Girona — why do I need to venture onto gravel? We asked Eat Sleep Cycle guide and gravel-Godfather of Girona Peter Gaskill for the low down on gravel cycling in Girona. 

    Why ride gravel?

    Well, gravel rides are on even quieter routes, and you’ll see that stuff in between those paved roads that you never knew existed. You’ll experience amazing views and abandoned farmhouses, you’ll follow small streams, and you’ll just go deeper into the Catalunya that you already love.

    What skill level do I need to enjoy riding gravel?

    For gravel riding you only need a moderate level of bike handling skills — it’s nowhere near as tricky as mountain biking. The skills are easy to pick up, and the new gravel bikes, with their wide low-pressure tires and disc brakes, make the transition easy and comfortable.

    Can I mix road & trail?

    A good gravel bike is equally at home on asphalt as it is on gravel, so you can connect your gravel adventure with the paved roads you may already know. And if you thought the number and variety of paved roads in the area are good, you’ll be amazed that there are even more gravel routes. You can choose from flat and easy unpaved roads all the way to high and narrow tracks. Your knowledge of the area will quickly expand as you discover new connections between valleys and the roads you regularly ride. Compared to mountain biking, you’ll find a gravel bike will take you farther into the countryside and cover a greater variety of terrain, owing to the bike’s comfort both on and off asphalt.

    How can I find great gravel routes?

    Ride with friends who already know the back roads or go out exploring with a good map and a spirit of adventure. Either way, you will be rewarded with that out-there feeling of being a little on the wild side. And the après-ride beer will be that much more satisfying!

    You can rent a Gravel road bike from us & hire a Gravel bike guide for your trip to Girona in 2018! Or why not sign up to our Girona Gravel Experience and enjoy the best gravel routes in the region?

  • Cycling Climbs of Girona: #3 Sant Marti Sacalm

    Sant Marti Sacalm is THE 20-minute power test cycling climb of the Girona region and if you come here for a visit you can´t leave without giving it a blast, as we say in Eat Sleep Cycle language.

    At 5.2 miles, or 8.6 kilometres it´s not particularly long and at an average of 7% it´s not leg-breakingly steep either, which is probably why I like it so much.

    But there´s a lot more to it than that  and in no particular order, it´s a climb with a paved road all the way to the top with your reward being absolute solitude and a pretty basic cafe.

    If you´re really going well you can ride it in the big chainring – though the steepest section is inside the opening few hundred metres so be careful not to go into the red zone here as you´ll pay for it later.

     

    To reach the start, you simply ride west out of town through Salt, Bescano and Angles before swinging down right at the roundabout there and on towards Olot.

    After 10 kilometres of undulating road on a hard shoulder you´ll reach the town of Amer but before you exit it you´ll see a sign left for Sant Marti Sacalm.

    Enjoy the last breaths that you can call your own because when you reach the top of the plateaux and see that road snaking around to the left, that´s what you´re looking for.

    Yes, Sant Marti goes up and up and up and up and up. It doesn´t level off ONCE so just settle in and find your rhythm.

    The key to a good time here – and I´m just outside the top 50 guys to have went up it so I´m hardly an expert, is ride within yourself for the first two minutes until you´re over the steep stuff.

    Then prepare to suffer for the rest of it.

    If you´re lucky like I was you´ll have someone just hanging ahead of you to help drag those last few beats out of your heart.

    I recorded a pretty embarrassing average of 169 beats a minute for my effort, so I´m convinced there´s loads more in me on this climb…though probably not the six minutes I need to beat Simon Yates´time.

    VITAL STATS

    Distance: 5.2 miles/8.3 kilometres

    Average grade: 7%

    Max. Grade: 11%

    Altitude at the top: 816m/2,346ft

    Elevation difference from the bottom: 605metres

  • Cycling Climbs of Girona: #2 Els Angels

    Els Angels, often mistakenly called “Hells Angels” by Girona newcomers (a simple error in pronunciation, not down to its difficulty…read on) is the climb that got me to Girona. Tired of poor training routes around my work for lunchtime escapes, I was determined to do any job that had good riding on the doorstep. So when I zoomed in on the windy switch backs of Els Angels in Google Maps, the base of which happened to be 500 m from the office, I knew that job was for me.

    Funnily enough, when we (Louise and I) moved to Girona, the very next day was the annual hill climb competition up, you guessed it, Els Angels. It’s part of the annual Girona Cycling Festival run by Bike Breaks, the best cycling festival I’ve seen and I love to participate in every year.

    The night before the competition I thought I better check out the climb. Louise had really bad cramps that week. Foolish me had booked an apartment on the 4th floor with no elevator and that had aggravated her legs. So it was a lone recce of a climb that was to become an integral part of my life.

    The first thing that hit me is it is literally 5 mins out of Girona center. I didn’t even have to stop at a traffic light to get there. A common complaint from locals is it isn’t enough time to warm-up. Anyhow, there I was at sunset in June cruising up this beautiful wooded climb thinking “I’m in paradise…..ah yes, a race tomorrow, must take note of bends…and stuff”. A few things came to light. It’s reasonably long at just a smidgen over 10 km. It flattens off and even descends at least twice. That’s a nightmare for keeping a high power going but a lovely break if you are cruising up. It has a bit of everything – long straights, switch backs, hidden sections in trees and open sections staring out onto the mountain range. It’s a truly special experience.

    You know you are at the top when you see a large cross. If you are feeling strong at that point you can do the 500 m extra to the Santuari of Els Angels where you will be treated to stunning 360 degree views.

    The day of the hill climb came. I pushed Louise to the start line, she could only pedal with one leg. Our hopes of her winning the posh watch (to pay our first months rent) were blown so the pressure was on me. But there was no way I could beat these local guys. Great excuse to pay the man a visit though, its my favourite place to be.

    I ALWAYS go off to hard on TT’s, especially up hill. But on a short one that isn’t always bad, it depends how badly you can bury yourself within your own pain and suffering! I just went as fast as I could, span those pedals at the highest cadence I could whilst pushing as hard as I could. I wasn’t looking at any numbers which all would have told me to stop. At the top I collapsed, you could tell I’d tried hard put it that way.

    When I was called up for first place I couldn’t believe my ears. With a time of 22:40 I’d managed to secure the watch. We’d be staying in Girona after all.

    Girona Cycling Els Angels Hilll Climb Granfondo

    Last June was my 3rd Hill Climb competition. It never gets any easier. Though the climb itself only averages a measly 3%, when you go full gas it really hurts! I have beaten that first time by over a minute, now at 21:32 (14th on Strava with a pretty prestigious crew). Its my claim to fame, one of the only races I’ve ever won and a piece of suffering I like to re-visit every year to check I’m still cycling enough.

    VITAL STATS

    Distance: 10.1 km
    Average grade: 3.0%
    Max. Grade: 8%
    Altitude at the top: 414 m
    Elevation difference from the bottom: 344 m

  • Cycling Climbs of Girona: #1 Sant Hilari Sacalm

    My introduction to Sant Hilari couldn´t have been any worse; a freezing cold gilet-less descent on January 7th, 2012 followed by my training partner hitting the deck VERY hard and escaping the sharp edge of a steel road barrier by the width of a tyre.

    He can count himself lucky he got away with a night in hospital, half a dozen stitches over his right eye and a broken bike.

    Yes, that´s the first thing about Sant Hilari Sacalm: you never descend into Anglés between December and March because it´s just too dangerous.

    Now, it IS possible, but how much can you enjoy a slippery descent that could wipe you out in a millisecond?

    Take my advice; climb Sant Hilari Sacalm from Anglés and descend into Santa Coloma de Farners. And enjoy sun on your face for most of it.

    This is a Girona Classic and is still, three years on, one of favourites because the only thing I love more about the climb is the descent. And from Santa Coloma de Farners it´s a pretty flat run home, save for the little ´kicker´in Sant Dalmai which I always use as a burial ground for my final effort of the day.

    Now, back to the climb. The quickest way to get there is head west out of Girona through Salt, Bescano and Anglés, a 20-kilometre ride.

    Next you take the GI-542 to Sant Hilari Sacalm and once on it you just stay riding the whole way.

    From bottom to top it´s 25.4 kilometres at a very generous 2.6% average gradient.

    Everybody has a gradient they´ll feel suits them best and for me, this is mine.

    The gradient allows you to settle into a really comfortable, smooth rhythm without much need for changes in gear. In fact, it´s so gentle that if you´re fit you can do it in the big chainring.

    The maximum gradient is ´just´ 7% and this is just after the midway point by which time you´re probably well warmed up and into your stride.

    Starting at 144 metres you climb to 810, so it´s not exactly in the clouds and thus you won´t freeze at the top unless you´re completely under-prepared.

    The climb is ideal for a 20-minute power-test as it´s very quiet and relatively traffic-free.

    The only place where you´re likely to get held up is in Osor about 9 kilometres in.

    After this, the grade is a solid 4-5% for around 6 kilometres but you´re rewarded with a flat section and some very gentle stuff at 1-2% for the rest.

    You know you´re almost at the top when you see the water tanks on your right-hand side on the last few corners and when the road yawns out ahead of you with a slight rise at the end, that´s your cue to sprint!

    The climb is as peaceful as they come with a river flanking the right-hand side for much of the way up before it disappears from view.

    The surface is paved the entire way, though do be careful on corners as there´s often leaves and gravel. It´s very possible to crash hard going up this hill so take care and don´t push it too hard on those switchbacks.

    I love the climb because it offers great peace amd you don’t have to be that fit to get up it. By that I mean there are no steep gradients that require you to get out of the saddle.

    My own personal record is around 50 minutes though I haven’t really tested myself in well over a year now.

    Maybe it’s time for another showdown…stay tuned!

    VITAL STATS

    Distance: 25.4k

    Average grade: 2.6%

    Max. Grade: 7%

    Altitude at the top: 815m

    Elevation difference from the bottom: 675m

     

     

     

  • A brand-new look for Eat Sleep Cycle

    It was a key moment in the Eat Sleep Cycle journey when our good friend and web designer Hollie told us that we needed to re-brand. It hurt a little bit knowing that our trusty logo (a collection of triangles and circles mushed together on Microsoft Word to make a mountain and some bicycles) just wasn’t going to cut it as the company grows. She put us in touch with a designer (and cyclist) in Oz and he set to work sprucing us up.

    It was a fun and necessary journey, thinking about how we wanted to present ourselves to the world, our core values and our company mission. Eat Sleep Cycle is our mantra and at the core of what we do, that means good food, good rest and, most importantly, damn good rides.

    Our signature images are epic landscapes, our natural habitat for our collection of tours. Our logo is our company name and mantra, two orange dots a homage to our two cyclists and a pair of bicycle wheels. Our icon is a mountain, for we would be nothing without them. We Eat, Sleep, Cycle them and then attempt to conquer the next one.

    Our colours are not testosterone driven, they are subtle and elegant like the beautiful act of riding a bike. Our overall feel is relaxed, fun, epic and inclusive. For the bicycle is for everyone who wants to join the ride. Our feel is modern and fresh, as the bicycle is our future.

    To outgrow our homemade logo in just over a year isn’t a reason to mourn, it’s a reason to pop the corks and celebrate, an excuse to order custom paint jobs for our rental bike fleet and an excuse to order beautiful new cycling kit.

    The result? Eat Sleep Cycle is no longer Lee, Lou & Brian, it’s a European Cycling Tour operator with international ambitions and we’re determined to be the best.