Introducing...
Every month, we introduce some of the Kingston Wheelers and Roger Merriman is here for May 2009. He joined the club a couple of years ago and is a pure cyclist, enjoying riding for the sake of it. No training sessions, just enjoyment.
Name: Roger Merriman
Age: 33
Any significant others? Sara, my wife.
Date you joined the Club: June 2007
Why did you join Kingston Wheelers?I had just joined Sara, up in London. And wanted to meet people and get to know the area, and when I'd turned up on a wet and horrible day on a old mountain bike, the six or seven Wheelers had waited at tops of hills and such.
What made you start cycling?I started as a kid, and haven't really stopped since.
What bike do you ride? On road, Old Red which is old and red and thats about the limit of what I know of her/him no serials etc, (1986 date stamp on derailer). A Giant Terrago fitted with mud tires be suprised how few MTB tires do mud any justice.
Give us a brief cycling background: I grew up in the Breacon beacons on a old railway line, in a gorge, thus I had quiet though very steep lanes and mountains on my doorstep. As a child started off with child's single speed bikes, and slowly moving on to geared bikes, and MTB's which allowed me to get much further as I could then get up at least most of the hills, the real wow moment was as a late teen getting a adult MTB which was good enought to allow for longer trips, and could be ridden a lot harder, though rockgarden's etc.
Go forward many years and a new MTB with front supension and disk brakes, is not far of the same one can see where one is going on rocky down hills if I want to stop sharp on a wet steep down hill I can! A few years on and I'm trying the road out, first with the old MTB with road tires not that bad, but heavy, I watch ebay and a old bike comes up, after it's had a safety check by the LBS I take it out, whoosh! I'm sold.
What was your best performance or ride?I'm not terribly competive so no races etc, so probably taking some friends for a loop around Talybont on Usk past Pen Y Fan on the old pre-Roman droving road. That was fun!
What was your worst day on the bike? Probably when commuting with the heavy hybrid and it's windy and your down to some silly gear trying to limp home into a headwind on bike that's set up like a sailing ship....
Who is your favourite pro or inspiration? I'm almost 100% sport free in that I don't watch football or Tour de France. I'm very impressed with how folks manage a full time job with racing and all that goes with it, my goal and inspiration at the moment is the Cuckoo which is one of the hills near my folks' place, 500ft in half a mile with some tasty ramps. I learnt to hill start a car there and walked home from school up that hill we have history, and it's the one if not the steepest hill I've seen.
What is your favourite bike food? Coffee, ie cafe stops with coffee and a bun, luckily I don't seem very prone to bonk so I don't take food with me but stop when I feel peckish.
Where is your favourite cycling location? With my unnatural love of steep hills I'd love to have a look at hardknott, I've only biked around a few areas, I do love the Surrey lanes though obvously I will always link to the Breacon Beacons, which do have some longish mild hills and some short sharp ones.
Most likely to say: Probably quite a lot
Least likely to say: Nothing.
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