The Bicycle Club

Bikes, though wonderful, can sometimes be a little confusing to use. This is especially true when considering how to use bicycle gears. There are a number of variations with gear components, and things can seem complicated – especially for beginners! Sometimes, we just need a little helping hand. This includes learning how to get the most out of the gears on our own bike, as well as knowing when to change gear, or even which gear we should be in.  Understanding Bike Gears Understanding how to use bicycle gears can be tricky, especially when you’re new to cycling, or haven’t ridden in a while.  However, getting the most out of your gears, and understanding when it’s best to change gear,…

Dear Readers, PEZ-Fans, and citizens of the world –This morning I called Kevin at Ironfly Internet (solid company who built and host the PEZ site) – and asked him to block Russian access to the PEZCyclingNews main site.Russia ranked 39th on our list of readers by country for the past 12 months, and my Google stats counted almost 2,600 visit from Russian IP addresses.This is a tiny number, and insignificant to the viability of PEZ – both commercially and creatively. While I welcome readers from every country on earth, blocking this small amount of readers will have little to no impact on the daily functioning of PEZ.What I do hope to accomplish – is to inspire the rest of my…

There are moments in a cyclist’s life that fill all of the senses. The excitement and speed of a long straight downhill. The dread when you scan the horizon, knowing the road you’re on is the only one around, and it’s going up and up. Seeing the lights of an open café, when you really need a break, or some food.  These moments are a response to how you might be feeling on a ride, and often catch you unawares. However, there are ways you can plot and plan a way to find the places that inspire these feelings. Or avoid them! It’s a little bit old-school these days to set off for a ride without knowing your route in…

Mid-Week Takeaways: Cobble Classics Scorecard: UAE Looks Unstoppable While Quick-Step Flounders: Spencer Martin breaks down takeaways from Omloop, Kuurne, Le Samyn, and Laigueglia, and why Jumbo-Visma & UAE are poised to overturn Quickstep’s Spring domination as we head into this weekend’s Strade Bianca.– This article is an excerpt from the Beyond the Peloton newsletter. Sign up here for full access. –Watch the most comprehensive live & ad-free coverage of the Strade Bianche 2022 on GCN+. Go deeper and get interactive with live polls & quizzes, plus rider profiles, race updates, results & more plus stream original and exclusive cycling documentaries. Watch it all with GCN+ on any device.First win for WoutThe first month of the pro cycling season might have…

You may be on your way to work, a night out, or just to hang out with friends on a sunny afternoon. Whatever the occasion, if you want to wear a dress or a skirt, there’s no reason for this to stop you from hopping on your bike. It can be perfectly practical to cycle in a dress – either through choice, or necessity. When looking for cycling clothing for our bottom half, we’re bombarded with options for trousers or shorts – no matter what kind of ride we’re undertaking. There are trousers, including jeans and chinos, to suit every kind of cycling journey. However, it’s fair to say that dresses and skirts are barely included within the huge range…

Race Report: After the disappointment for the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyls in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Fabio Jakobsen swooped past the last break of the day with 50 metres to go for the win in Kuurne. Lotto Soudal managed to get second place ahead of Hugo Hofstetter, Daniel McLay and Giacomo Nizzolo.Fabio Jakobsen won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2022. The Dutch leader of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl was the first to finish in the streets of Kuurne after an entertaining race of 195 kilometres. The last escapees were only caught in the final metres, but after that Jakobsen was clearly faster than Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Hugo Hofstetter (Arka-Samsic).Ready to goThe route is a little different this year. The Oude Kwaremont is not included…

Race Preview: Saturday sees the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad kick off the ‘proper’ 2022 season with the first Belgian Classic race of the year. The Flemish race has everything we ever wanted from a Northern Classic – Short, stiff climbs, cobbles and race deciding weather conditions. Ed Hood gives us his Omloop preview.Het Nieuwsblad – A race for hard ridersPEZ soothsayer and mentor Vik reckons that all races thus far in 2022 are irrelevant. Sorry, Wout Poels, Remco Evenepoel, Nairo Quintana, Alessandro Covi, Benjamin Thomas. . .Sorry Wout, it means nothing!He has a point; sunshine and photo ops arent going to feature this Saturday. Quilted jackets, bobble hats, frites and pils surely will though. Temperatures near freezing, bone cutting winds and…

Whether you’re cycling to work every day of the week, or intermittently, there are few things worse than getting soaked on your journey. Rain tends to make you cold, even in the summer. But on a winter’s day it’s a miserable experience to be wet and freezing, knowing you still have miles ahead of you. Unfortunately, as a regular bike commuter there’s no avoiding wet days in the UK, where it rains around 170 days of the year. But happily, there are plenty of waterproof clothing options to keep you dry and warm, even on the foulest of days. In this guide, we’ll cover the different types of waterproof gear you may need. How to Stay Dry While Cycling in…