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The weather isn't always best or even ok for alleycats in Helsinki, but riders of the storm race anyways.

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Rider Profile: Simon

  Rider: Simon Spier Bike: Opera Bernini 

Road Cyclist

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Simon, 24 years old and perennial student – I’m firmly of the philosophy that if you stay in education long enough then they’ll eventually start paying you. Also, I ride intermittently with the University of York Cycling Club. What was your first experience of road cycling like?

Road cycling proper? Awful. Whilst at university in Manchester I naively turned up for the cycling club’s first early winter hill-training session out in the peaks. This was probably my second or third time riding in a group and much to the dismay of the other riders I rolled up enthusiastically, armed with ineffective clothing, equipment and anatomy. Needless to say within the first climb of the day I was dropped and proceeded to spend the next few hours simultaneously weeping and trying not to black out as I ground my bike up to the Cat and Fiddle Inn where the group had kindly stopped to wait for me, inside, amongst residue of long-ago-eaten cakes and sweets. And how did this affect your attitude as a road cyclist now – what kind of things do you look for in a ride?

Once my wounded pride had healed I adopted a quiet respect for the accomplished climber and told myself that one day I would too be able to make it to the Cat and Fiddle Inn without boring everyone stiff with waiting. I guess since then I have really just wanted to develop in all aspects of road cycling to a modest degree – keeping a reasonable pace over an extended distance and building up the endurance, particularly over rolling terrain. At least now I don’t get dropped straight away…

What would you say is currently the main drive for you as a cyclist? 

After establishing a fairly solid base over this Winter I am looking forward to the summer months to test out the limits of my endurance. I would like to complete at least one Century and start building up a portfolio of non-stop rides of 50+ miles. A number of mates in my current club are already at this level so I suppose my main drive is to get be able to keep up with them to make the most of Summer riding – particularly as the Tour is coming to York and I know there is going to be some great riding centered around it.

What is the average week for you? How much do you ride and how do you fit this in with your day-to-day life? 

As a postgraduate humanities student actual classes are few and far between. When you start to test the limits of the ‘why do today what you can put off ‘til tomorrow?’ approach to studying, it seems 3-4 longish rides per week are possible. But when inevitably your life starts crashing in on you, usually three-quarters of the way through the term, 1-2 rides per week is the norm. I have a routine 35-mile loop that I do when time is tight – a good one for weekday mornings and recovery rides – and longer rides are supplied by the Saturday club run, or when someone nice is willing to show me the way.

How do you fuel your rides? What do you eat before, during and after a ride? Do you prepare bike food yourself – if so, do you have any tips?

I took this great Peanut Butter Flapjack recipe off of the Lyle’s Golden Syrup website (guess what the main ingredient is?) which are absolutely delicious. However, they’re a nightmare to eat whilst on the bike and don’t wrap them in tinfoil because it won’t come off.

I really love chocolate and sweets and stuff and that is probably one of the main reasons I carry on cycling – I’d balloon if I stopped. So no advice to give nutrition-wise I’m afraid. In fact, I’ll most likely be relying on this website to correct my terrible diet. 

What is the story behind your bike? 

I bought it from my Uncle – an enthusiastic hobbyist who used it extensively for crits, time trials and road races until he decided to pack it in to take up scuba diving. Opera is one arm of the Pinarello brand so the quality of the bike is more than adequate for my current riding lifestyle, and should I want to dip my toe in the world of racing I think it’s got the spec to handle it in the short-term. Aptly enough for an arts student, Opera name all their bikes after Italian artists (Leonardo, Canova, Cellini, to name a few). Mine, the Bernini, adopts the name of the seventeenth-century architect and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, and I think the bike represents a refined mixture of craftsmanship and aesthetics that a connoisseur like old Bernini would have appreciated.

 What is your most memorable ride and why?

 The above outlined debacle in the peaks is a memorable ride I’d rather forget. The most memorable for the right reasons was a weekend riding around Snowdonia this spring. As someone fairly new to the sport I found the scenery beautiful and the roads challenging – it was an absolute joy.

Do you have any plans or goals for the future as a road cyclist?

 I have racing in the back of my mind, but I think for this season I will concentrate on my own personal development before throwing myself in with thirty or forty other guys on a closed circuit. Hill climbs are an attractive prospect as they come later in the year when I might have got a decent level of fitness established. Other than that, I hope to cycle to lots of nice places with lots of nice people and just enjoy the journey.