Winter road training can be a bit of a slog - the weather is unkind, you go home from a run with road salt crunching on your teeth and there is way too much bike cleaning involved for my liking. Once a week with my good friends at GGCC is about my outdoors limit and even then it's the prospect of some good banter that makes me drag myself out of bed.

Contrast that with trying your hand at track riding. In early November , just as the dark nights were getting colder and wetter I did just that at the new velodrome in Glasgow. All of a sudden I had discovered a way of riding a bike that doesn't involve climbing hills, the bike doesn't get dirty, the weather doesn't change and if you get dropped you at least get to see the bunch again... and again... and again!

I finished my accreditation process in mid-December and by that stage was well and truly hooked on the exhilaration of track cycling. I had been along to the Wednesday night Scottish Cycling track league on many

With freezing temperatures and snow forecast for the weekend, wouldn't it be great to get the shorts on and be riding in sunnier climates!

The pro road season is underway this past weekend with the Tour Down Under. Now in its 15th edition, this race has established itself as a permanent fixture on the road calender.

It's easy to see why the riders like to open the year with this event.

Despite the long haul flight for the European riders to get to south Australia, great weather, great temperatures, wide open roads, good surfaces, terrific scenery and great food will make it all worthwhile.

I have not been as far south as Adelaide where the tour starts,nor have I visited Australia in their summer, but my experiences of riding in Oz were just as described.

Once I found a bike to ride, (which was not easy on the north Queensland coast) I enjoyed long sunny miles riding (on our side of) the road, along busy, wide, rolling coastal routes

A super busy end to the year in store at Dales with our ever popular 4 day sale proving to be a real hit once more. Deals a plenty with tills ringing and joyful smiles all round, so from this high how do we keep you guys entertained for the coming month of January?

Well, on your next visit to the store you will find a continuation of the popular "BOGOF" deals as seen in the four day sale. These deals proved to be a big hit with many buying armfuls of their favorite kit, with energy bars taking number one slot. Along with many of you developing arthritic jaws we also predict a demand for more of the same deals. BOGOF'S are here to stay and beyond January we plan to introduce new deals on a monthly basis to keep you happy!

What else? Well, we have number of buy in deals due next week that are strictly one off's, when the stock's gone it's gone. Due to land, we have bulk stock of the following goodies lined up..... FSA

What a night Last night for the members, friends, family and supporters who made it along to Dales Cycles for the official launch of what is going to be a very exciting partnership between Glasgows fastest growing cycling club & the city's oldest cycle shop.

After a late night at Dales Cycles on Dobbies Loan, the deal is sealed and the 2013 season has been kicked off in great style, with a massive turnout of 100+, supplier specialists, trick gear on display, charity cheques, raffles, a BBQ & the coolest cake ever!



Glasgow Green Cycle Club can proudly announce that they are officially sponsored and supported by Dales Cycles and a big Thank-you

Well set up suspension will make a huge difference to your bikes performance, but setting it up once & never performing basic maintenance, is pretty futile, especially during the british winter. The maintenance side of things is often overlooked until its to late but there are a few basic & uncomplicated things you can do to keep everything working well, until its service time. So lets look at some of the basics.

Keeping the shock and forks clean is a big must. After a ride wipe them down with a rag making sure theres no dirt or grit on the moving parts as this could cause major problems with scoring to the forks or shock and could turn into a costly repair. It's as simple as using some warm water to clean them down, then a bit of GT85 to remove any moisture thats hanging around after you dry them. Make sure you clean all the dirt from around any travel indicator rings too, so they dont scratch your stanchions.

You dont have to "lube" your forks after cleaning,