Coming Soon. Is it a good idea to buy carbon directly from China?

Flyxii Frame. Flyxii Bars. Undamaged cardboard box. But will they work?

We've all heard about them, and some of us have been tempted by the promise of cheap carbon with no apparent shortcomings. But are the new crop of Chinese factory outlets selling carbon bike products worth the gamble?

I have almost completed my journey from placing orders with Flyxii to placing my bum on the finished bike. In fact, the only thing i'm waiting for right now is a seatpost ... from the UK!

When I've had time to ride the bike, I shall write a detailed article on just how good or bad the experience was.

Watch this space....

Fatal1ty Interview 2012

Whilst posing for his Press photo, Fatal1ty continued to frag n00bs with his spare hand

When the E-Sports scene was emerging from the primordial soup of freshly drawn 3D, I was head admin at ESReality.com and found myself covering perhaps the most exciting time in E-Sports.

 During this frenetic period there emerged a handful of players who transformed the FPS genre into an art-form. They gathered fans as their "demos" went viral through the online gaming community. As the fan-base grew, the handful of players found themselves presented with sponsorship deals.

 First there was the unbeaten, Ferrari winning legend that is Thresh. His impact on a largely HPB * scene was seismic. Never before had a gamer been spoken about in playgrounds, offices and pubs with such awe.

 And then, in 1999 came Fatal1ty. Effectively surfing in on the first E-Sports wave, Fatal1ty shafted his way through the Quake3 crowd with brutal efficiency. Totalling over $500,000 in prize money, he has reigned victorious in a staggering 5 different games. Holding titles in Doom 3, Alien vs. Predator 2, Unreal Tournament 2003, Quake III and Painkiller, he is unmatched.

Breaking Evens

Having spent the first Sportive of 2011 dragging myself up the daunting slopes on the Dragon Ride in Wales, I decided to iron out the bumps for my next big event. To this end I searched for route profiles that didn't look like a cardiogram of a twenty stone smoker running for the chippy before it closes. Eventually I found what I was looking for. Flat out in the Fens looks refreshingly uniform on the profile. In fact, short of riding on a frozen lake, this route is about as flat as you can get in the UK.

My First Winter

This morning I rode past a rabbit which was standing in the middle of a frost-laced A- road, staring blankly at the oncoming traffic. I didn't stop, I was far too cold and if I had stopped I would have felt like an idiot. The rabbit was probably suffering the effects of mixomatosis, but to all intents and purposes the little grey bag of fluffy bones looked frozen and suicidal. Standing there with a vacuum chill sucking the air out of its lungs, cars thundering past on both sides, staring fixedly along the white lines, the rabbit looked how part of me felt. This was my first experience of Winter on a bike, and it has left me uncomfortably numb.

The Shakespeare 100 mile Sportive 2011

The clouds on the day foretold the approach of strange weather...

Sunday 11th September 2011

Two days before the Shakespeare 100, the weather forecast had settled on torrential rain around the county of Warwickshire. On top of that, meteorologists were predicting Hurricane Katia would start sweeping across the UK on the same day. In a typically chipper text, my friend Mark advised me to bring along "arm warmers and base layer". I was thinking more along the lines of an extra duvet and a good sleep in. However, with my first proper competition on the horizon I had no choice but to endure 100 miles of whatever the Gods could throw at me.

Site Summary - Alive for 3 Months .. and counting!

How to convert a back room into a (very cramped) studio

I'm approaching the 3 month mark at thegamingcyclist and have uploaded a bunch of articles. It's a good time to "signpost" the newly arrived reader.

This blog came about as a way of storing my articles somewhere I wouldn't lose them (including my Freelance submissions). It was started the same week my friend Rupert Hirst started his blog based on the premise "If I can't buy, borrow or find something then I guess I will just have to make it!".  I've found Blogging to be quite good fun, so I've continued updating regularly.

Here is a summary of thegamingcyclist so far ...

Dragon 2012 Preparations. Week 6

 

This week, more advice from the T-1000 Terminator

It's back to the grindstone this week with a temperatures diving beneath zero throughout the country. It's also been another school day with Steve "T-1000" Malone giving me advice on how to use three white bags of powder efficiently...