This site is a slightly tongue in cheek nod to all of those cyclists who train hours on end, spend small fortunes on kit and bikes, and turn out regularly to race but have never won a single thing. The perpetual tryers, the not so elite, the mid pack ramblers and the dreamers who help to make up the numbers.
I have been riding bikes since I can remember. Sometimes there have been periods where life takes over, and cycling has taken a back seat for a while. And then there have been times when cycling has been everything (and I mean everything).
I am now 45 years of age, with four kids, a full time job and a mortgage. I have finally come to accept that the achievements I dreamt of as a kid are never going to happen. I am overweight, of average fitness and not as quick as I once was.
So, here I am sharing my continuing journey of mediocre performance and disappointing results.
Lets face it, there are more of us making up the numbers than there are standing on the podium.
What is the red lantern?
The lanterne rouge is the competitor in last place in a cycling race such as the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French for “Red Lantern” and refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train or the brake van of a freight train, which signalmen would look for in order to make sure none of the couplings had become disconnected.