The London Bike Show is one of those events that acts as a bit of a teaser for the season ahead. Taking place at the beginning of the new calendar year, just when our thoughts are starting to turn to the cycling season ahead, it provides us with a little nudge - a wake up call.
Some will need little reminding of the targets they have set themselves for the year ahead while others might need a little jolt to turn their thoughts towards more intensive, targeted training. Shows like this one can act as a refresher course, giving us an opportunity to take stock and assess what we might need to up our game.
It's a chance for cyclists to congregate, to meet and greet the suppliers and manufacturers of the machines they ride and the accessories and clothes they wear; to talk to the experts and exchange experiences and opinions. More often than not, there's also a sneak preview of some of the new and upgraded kit that will shape the season ahead.
We're sure shows like this attract the full spectrum of visitors, from casual bargain-hunters to those looking for a new helmet to match their new bibs, right the way up to the seasoned racer in search of a brand new bike. All are drawn to shows like this; moths to the light.
As you stroll round, it doesn't take long to hit the hunger, thirst and tiredness sweetspot, yet on you trudge to stand after stand - never entirely convinced you've seen everything and increasingly weighed down by the carrier bags full of glossy catalogues you'll never read again.
We came away from the Show having met up with friends old and new but it was one manufacturer's ad slogan that crystallised our thoughts about shows of this nature, acting as a timely little reminder of something so easily over-looked in the presence of such a vast collection of shiny new kit. It simply read: 'Don't let your body let your bike down'.
February has provided many UK-based cyclists with their first sightings of snow this winter. It's meant any training programme has to include either a turbo or rollers session to keep us safely ticking over. The more privileged among us may have imitated the pros and jetted off to the warmer climates of Majorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Girona or Andalusia.
But for the rest of us the only real positive factor about this time of year is the fact that the days are slowly but surely starting to lengthen.
Coming hot on the heels of the Tour Down Under at the start of the pro racing season, the Dubai Tour is one of the latest additions to UCI calendar. It ran for the first time last year and although it might sound more like a golf event than a bike race, this four-day tour neatly slots into the warmer climate early season events that attract the pros.
We've just come back from London cycle café Look Mum No Hands having witnessed the penultimate stage of this tour. It's a crazy, almost surreal experience to see a live televised sporting event in a setting that seems the stuff of far off dreams. For us, the days of just jerseys and bibs remain months away. This year's Tour leaders' jerseys were designed by British fashion icon Paul Smith and one was elegantly modelled by GC race winner Mark Cavendish (who also had the honour of donning another PS designed jersey when he won the 2013 Giro d'Italia points classification).
The Dubai Tour has whetted our appetite nicely for the season ahead. Bring it on we say!
