Month: December 2015


Dec
2015

Essential Cycling Kit for Year Round Cycling

categories: All posts, Kit

black and white bikeFirst things first! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was kind to you! Hopefully he brought you some great additions to your cycling wardrobe and kit bag. The festive period at OCG HQ has been a really relaxing one with some much needed family time and lots and lots of laughs. *cue happy face*. Needless to say, I’ve consumed my body weight in good food and all things chocolatey and I’m feeling the need to get back to some regular exercise!

I can hardly believe it’s about to happen, but as 2015 draws to a close (was this the quickest twelve months ever for you too!?), I’m thinking about what kind of cycling challenges I’d like to undertake during 2016. Traditionally I’m a roadie. I love cycling on the open road, but my head is being turned by off-road cycling and getting closer to nature. Getting to grips with a different kind of cycling and the challenge of learning a whole new set of skills is really appealing. And of course the big pulling factor, is that we have our summer holiday booked! We are planning a couple of weeks in the French Alps with some down hill mountain biking! *cue very excited face!*

Ordinary Cycling Guy (Mr OCG) participated in the Pass’Portes du Soleil this last summer so he has some first hand experience, but me? Nope, Nada! Not a bit of proper mountain biking experience! *cue research* (more…)


Dec
2015

More to B’twin than first meets the eye

categories: All Post
B'Twin
The B’Twin Village, Lille, France

Just when you think you know what a brand is all about…

If I say ‘B’Twin’ to you it conjures the image of a cheaper brand aimed at novice cyclists, right? Well, yes, you’re right, but you’re also very wrong. There’s a lot more to B’Twin than meets the eye.

Ordinary Cycling Girl was recently invited by Decathlon UK to visit the B’Twin Village in Lille, France. For those of you who are not familiar with B’Twin, it’s Decathlon’s cycling brand and as I’m sure many of you are already aware, the brand comes with a very good reputation for offering decent bikes at low prices. However, here in the UK, at least, it’s probably the brand you are likely to suggest to your pal who’s considering their first road bike or mountain bike, rather than your enthusiastic club cyclist who’s looking to add to his N+1 collection. But don’t be quite so quick to dismiss it for the more experienced cyclist too. (more…)


Dec
2015

Review: The Heritage Jersey from Svelte

categories: Kit, Reviews
Svelte Heritage Jersey
The Heritage Jersey from Svelte

Please welcome my better half to the Ordinary Cycling Girl review panel! Let’s call him Ordinary Cycling Guy for ease; it fits with the blog initials! Here he is with his review of the Heritage Jersey from new British brand, Svelte.

Thanks to Ordinary Cycling Girl (my wife!) for asking me to review the Heritage Jersey from Svelte.

Now, unlike my slender other half, I am a robust MAMIL who fell in love with cycling once rugby became too painful. The flash, heavily emblazoned offerings of many manufacturers are not a ‘good look’ for me. I like to go for understated but hopefully still good-looking kit which, if you care about quality, means expensive! Svelte’s stated aim is to offer ‘stylish, high-quality bike clothing at competitive prices’. This sounds like good news…. (more…)