Bronte Wheelers cyclocross training, Keighley, W Yorkshire - Sean McKibben

My first time at the Bronte Wheeler's cross training (the club named because they are based near Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters).  Intervals around a football pitch, then twisty mini races around cones and then pursuits around a little oval.  Blimey, cross hurts.  If I keep this up, I'll get fit.  My bike handling skills are comical but they improved in the space of a couple of hours.  There were about 20 riders there and the coach was none other than Chris Young!  For those who don't know, he is a UK cyclocross and mountainbike legend.  He must be in his late 40s now but he's still going strong.  His 15 year old son was there too, fit as a butcher's dog.  It's real bike racing heartland around here.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to present a new feature, provisionally entitled 'Real Bikes'.  While it's nice looking at the latest carbon superbike, frankly I've become a bit bored of it - there's so much BS hype associated with it all now.  To be honest, I prefer to look at the handmade bike show pictures.  Old git, I know.  Anyway, I also love to look at proper bikes that people ride.  Nothing better than a bike race HQ, scoping out the trick but scuffed race bikes - or even the pictures of the pros' bikes, which are usually well-used and a bit idiosyncratic.  So to start us off, I present my Fort cross bike.  Bought in 2003 from Pearsons in Sutton, where it had been sitting for a year until I made them an offer they couldn't refuse.  Columbus Foco steel frame, 9 speed Ultegra gruppo.  It's had a hard life, four 3 Peaks then in Vancouver became part-time winter bike, part-time mountainbike surrogate on the North Shore mountains, and was thrashed around the Pacific Northwest cross circuit for a while by Jeff, who complained constantly that nothing on it worked properly.  Now almost everything works and I am taking it tomorrow to get its seized BB out.  Just got some new wheels, tough if heavy Fulcrum Racing 7s.  An indication of the punishment the Fort has received is that these are the 5th set of wheels it has had - a pair of Ambrosio Evolutions, a pair of Mavic Cosmos and two pairs of Bontragers preceded the Fulcrums.

Let's see your steeds.