Last Saturday we presented Blair with his renewed track bike as well as hosting the Lifecycle Christmas ride. It all started when Rod Stewart was having a look through Blair's old bikes and spotted a rusted frame with Legnano barely visible from years of neglect. Although the bike was 45+ years old and had seen better days, the hand-made steel frame was as tough as anything; it had endured a Commonwealth Games, three Stockwells and a bout of paint stripper. After seeing the bike in hibernation, Rod was ready to revive the Legnano for Blair's 60th birthday; however, he would need some help. So Rod set to work (sneakily behind the fox's back) on getting together the right people to bring the bike back to its former glory. He also took up a collection from all the regular group riders to help offset the considerable cost that was ahead.

On the first weekend of December each year the international Festival of Cycling is held in Christchurch. This is a major New Zealand event featuring the cream of New Zealand cycling. This year our own Laura Luxford was an invited guest for the two day event. 

Specialized have redesigned their top of the line road shoe for 2010. The Specialized Body Geometry S-Works Road Shoe is lighter, stiffer and more comfortable than it's predecessor. Some of the improvements over the 2009 model include a stiffer sole, better aeration with a mesh tongue, dual Boa dials for ultra fine tuning and most importantly a new colour scheme.

As some of you will no doubt know, Blair has been testing/riding the new Shimano Di2 groupset. It is built up on none less than the 2009 Specialized Tarmac S-Works SL2 frame.  The Di2 has really taken this bike to another level.

Shimano claims the new electronic shifting system is faster than the traditional mechanical cable system. The Di2 levers are a smaller, snug fit for your hands and the shifting of the gears requires less effort and reach than the standard STI shifters. The shift works by the rider just pushing buttons and the sensors relaying the message to the front and rear derailleurs via an electronic cable.