James: I love cycling. I mean, it's blooming great. You get moments like
this [unintelligible 00:00:08] this and even this, but I guess you love cycling,
too. Hence why you're watching this video, but what are the things that our cyclists love about
our very special sport? Now, I came up with a long list, but I have had to narrow it down to just 10.
Without further ado, let's get going. [music]
Lets kick off with freedom. I love the sense of freedom that cycling gives you. I mean,
think about it, you can head out your door and go just about anywhere. I mean, you don't even have
to have a planned route or planned destination. Actually, it's quite nice just heading out on your
bike, having no planned route, just take a few left, few right turns. The one thing I would say,
though, is try not to get lost and end up being out for hours and hours on end, or
try not to take a few wrong turns and end up in Prince Charles's back garden and ending
up getting escorted out. Yes, been there. Isn't saving money just a great thing. Yes,
and you can save money when riding your bike. All that money you spend commuting, so petrol costs,
tax, bus tickets, train tickets and the list is endless. Actually, who am I kidding? Well, scrap
that because all that money you're going to save, you're going to spend on something bike-related,
aren't you. Yes, I know you. Gold chain, wheels, frame, helmet, nice jersey, and yes,
a nice pair of socks. I mean, we've all got to treat ourselves every now and again, don't we?
This is probably my all-time favorite one. Yes, you guessed it. The famous cafe stop. I mean,
can you imagine that smell of coffee and fresh cakes when you rock up sweaty on your
bikes? Yes. I didn't actually like coffee until I started riding and now I can't imagine life
without it. I even bought a really, really, really expensive coffee machine. Yes, it did happen. True
story. You don't even need an excuse to stop at a cafe when you're out on your bike. Even with your
mates, it's actually polite to have a coffee stop mid ride or even post ride. One thing to remember,
though, is you can easily lose half a day chatting absolute shit with your mates. Yes, does happen.
Bear with me on this next one because it's a little bit soppy, but it's true. You can meet
some of your best friends through cycling. I mean, sharing your hobby of cycling. They
can always turn out to be friends for life. I mean, you could go through some changing times,
riding through some pretty horrific weather, getting very cold, but you end up getting a
stronger friendship through it. I mean, think about it, they could even become your best
cafe friend. It's also good to have a good riding buddy with you when you hit the dreaded headwind,
because all you have to do is, "Excuse me, mate. Can you-- Yes, if you go in the front,
I'll sit behind and job's a good'un. Free ride home." Yes. I pulled that one out a few times.
I've got to be honest, there's nothing I hate more than a solid headwind. We've all been there,
haven't we? You head out your door, ride down the road, you put out stupid amount of watts and you
go nowhere. Yes, it's really, really, really annoying, but the other thing is it's great
when you get a super duper massive tailwind. I mean, you end up flying. I could ride for
hours and hours on end with a tailwind. I mean, it feels like someone's pushing you and you're
flying down at 30-50K an hour. Love it. Actually, Ollie learned this trick where he took a train up
into the headwind and had the tailwind the whole way down. If you check out his Strava, that's the
reason he's done so well. I on the other hand, bit harder than that, I do loops. Take the rough
with the smooth. I got to do the headwinds and then I get rewarded with the tailwinds.
You know that feeling of riding down smooth tarmac, freshly laid. I mean, there's no
feeling like it. I guess the frustrating thing is it never really lasts that long. No, you
spend about 400 meters on perfectly laid tarmac and then it's back to the potholes. Actually,
Manon did say that if she had a perfect bit of tarmac, she would ride up and down it. Can't say
I've ever done that, but what I have done is gone to a beautiful country where they've spent a lot
more money on their roads and there's nothing quite like it, is there? Just riding with the sun
on your back and perfectly laid tarmac. If that's where you live, you are very, very, very lucky.
Another one that's top on my list is descending. I mean, yes. We put a lot of energy, a lot of power
and sweat and tears to get to the top of the climb. Then there's that feeling when you crest
it. Suddenly you can forget about the power and concentrate on the descent, concentrate on those
swooping corners, the best line, the adrenaline rush, the speed. I mean, there's got to be
nothing quite like it. I have to say, I love, love, love, love, love a good descent, especially
if they're ones like in Majorca. It's like being on a bobsleigh run. Oh, just amazing. I mean, yes.
Now, if you are a time trialist, this is your absolute guilty pleasure. Yes, it's the sound
of the disc wheels and those deep section fronts. All you can hear is [unintelligible 00:06:18] Yes,
the sound of the wind hitting those disc wheels makes you feel like you're going a hundred miles
per hour. There's nothing quite like it. What I think we should do is record it and play it
as white noise when you go to sleep, because it's that kind of noise that just makes you
put more power out. Hold on, I'm getting into the zone now [unintelligible 00:06:39]
Now, I've got to be honest, this one doesn't happen to me that often, because, well,
I love my sleep, but when GCN crew set me an insane challenge, I do it and I get to see these
amazing mornings. Yes, it's that morning where you wake up in the crisp fog, the temperature's low,
the sun hasn't just risen. You ride out on your bike, you see the sun rising and it's super quiet.
You can hear a pin drop. It's like you've got the whole world to yourself. I guess it's
like you've already won, isn't it? You've already got a big headstart on the day.
I just kind of wish I did it more, but it's just hard getting out, but when you're out, dreamy.
The last one on my list is a big one. Yes, it's you discovering GCN. I mean, think about it.
If you weren't a cyclist, you didn't love it, you didn't have the passion, you wouldn't have
discovered our beautiful channel. You wouldn't have relaxed in front of your TV watching
some of us, some of us suffer. Yes. Thank you for being a great ambassador to our sport.
I hope you enjoyed this video. I hope it kind of shined a light on some of the things we
love about our very sport and maybe you can put some of these points in action.
Maybe if you didn't do a cafe stop before, make sure you even do one or maybe even two.
I guess, well, I'll see you in the next video. Don't forget, of course, to give it a big thumbs
up and let me know what you think about this video or if you've got any more things that you love
about cycling that I haven't put in our list, then put it in that conversation below. I'll see you in
the next video. Hopefully there won't be one that I'm suffering in. Fingers crossed, one can hope
and dream. Right, I'm off for a coffee. [00:08:46] [END OF AUDIO]