“What’s in that tiny, cute envelope?” asked my wife when I brought up the post.

“I’ve no idea, it is addressed to you”

“Hmmm, I can’t think what that could be” she muttered as she wandered off to open it in the other room.

After a few seconds she burst out laughing and sheepishly wandered back into the kitchen and asked me to hold out my hands and close my eyes.

It is my birthday coming up soon, so I assumed this was an early gift.

She dropped something into my cupped palms, and I opened my eyes to see these.

“I must have got the measurements wrong!”

I’d been talking about getting some magnetic signs for the business to put onto the side of the car for when we’re doing our tours.

She thought this would be a nice thing to gift me.

She’d gone to the effort of contacting my friendly designer who’d given her the original design files and then gone onto a supplier site to order.

The only issue with the order was that she’d not noticed the dimensions were in mm not cm.

So, we now have Borne Cycling signs for our matchbox cars!

All of which got me thinking on how we can obsess about measurements in cycling.

We all know that your bike needs to fit you well to avoid discomfort and injuries when we ride, especially when our rides get longer and more challenging.

I always remember a mate of mine telling me many years ago that if you couldn’t see your front hub (i.e. it was obscured by the handlebar) when you were riding then you were pretty well fitted to your bike.

Seems a little simplistic to me nowadays but I still remember that and there’s something inside of me that still checks.

Bike fitting has come on a long way since then however, and I saw an interesting film on GCN yesterday demonstrating a really high tech way of ensuring you’re comfortable on the bike.

Personally, I couldn’t tell if my saddle was changed by a mm or 2. But I have certainly experienced that dreaded saddle slip on a ride and you notice when your seat starts to drop drastically, and you end up with your knees coming up near your ears when pedalling.

But I know there are riders who are super sensitive to this kind of thing – and will swear that they can feel if their saddle is marginally too high, or too low.

I am due a bike fit, as the last one I had was 8 years (and 3 bikes) ago now.

And it was a revelation when I got it done back then. I found out my seat was a couple of cms to high, and too far back and my stem was too long. Those changes meant I never again got a saddle sore. And made my riding so much more comfortable.

I’d be especially interested to go back and to hear their opinions on the recent high profile trend of shorter cranks. This has had a lot of publicity recently, and there’s a good podcast about the pros and cons over at The Escape Collective.

The “short” version is that perhaps they’re not for everyone. Switching them out is no guarantee of increased comfort or performance.

And ultimately going to see a professional bike fitter is a good way to figure out what works for our us, and for our cycling goals.

Think about getting your own bike fit done before the summer season really kicks in and those long rides start racking up. Yes, they seem pricey, but we often drop big amounts on a new pair of shoes or bib shorts, yet they’re no guarantee of increased comfort.

But a bike fit really does make the difference.

Just be sure that when you do make any changes that you’re using the right unit of measurement.

Featured Tours

I’ve got spots free on a couple of trips that might be of interest.

1) A four day early season trip to do some climbing and warm weather riding in Provence at Mont Ventoux. This is a four day trip staying Weds night through to Sunday afternoon near to Bedoin. It’s a no frills trip, with accommodation in a B&B and without our usual massage and on road support. But what you do get is great company, guiding and riding some incredible roads. The price of the trip is CHF 950 and if you’re interested we can also arrange transport from Geneva. Let me know by dropping me an email.

2) There are 2 places still free on the Maratona dles Dolomites week. This is the gold standard of cycling weeks, culminating in participation in the most beautiful sportive in Europe. Read all about it here and you can book directly through the website if you’re keen.

New T-Shirts

I’ve designed some T-shirts which are for sale on the site – just a small selection for now. I’ve made Bornes for some famous climbs and I hope you like them. If there are any climbs you’d love to see on a t-shirt, just drop me a line and let me know.

What I’ve been listening to whilst writing

Radiohead – OK Computer

I’ve been re-listening to this all-time classic album after stumbling across a performance of Paranoid Androidon Later with Jools Holland. My kids were pretty stunned by the clip. “How is this all one song?” was a memorable quote. I’d forgotten quite how incredible the entire album is, and how weird and different it was at the time of release. Not to mention what followed from the band.

I was lucky enough to see them a few times in those early days – they even headlined a show in my hometown when Kid A was released.

Nowadays I have to listen on headphones as my wife is categorically NOT a fan.

Measuring Up

Seasons Change