The Weekly Rider - Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is a coach for Cycling Queensland especially with the Junior Programme, and with Let's Ride and She Rides for Cycling Australia.
He analyses the physiology of riders with Kerrie Meares for the Track Cycling Academy, bores friends to tears with Tour de France trivia, still rides a 10 speed and makes rustic furniture for people who like rustic things and want to sit down.
Name: Michael Jordan
Where do you live: Arana Hills, QLD
Dream Bike
Now this varies on any given day. A Baum. Clean, crispy lines, no swooshes, swoops or twizzly bits. Steel. Actually made by people with things. Mechanical shifting that you, even occasionally, have to encourage to move rather than with any batteries, flashing lights or USB chargable modern stuff.
Then also a McLaren Venge in all it's unapologetic brutality, but with Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbons on as I like to play in the hills. It may not be the match of wheels to frame anybody else would select but it could be mine. For now.
What is your favourite local ride
Hundreds of options exist where I live. I live in the Hills District, north of Brisbane. There's a 25km loop with 500m of climbing on my doorstep. Home before people even notice I've gone. Hugely effective for fitness that one. Most of my degree was Exercise Physiology and I do work in this area now. Shorter, faster, lumpier rides are underrated for one's form. Not overly social mind you.
What is your current cycling goal
My goal is primarily the coaching I do. I work with She Rides, I work with the brilliant 'Let's Ride' schools programme. That is great fun and a highlight of my week. I'd like to be the Lanterne Rouge, if I'm needed, for the Gold Coast Peaks Challenge again, which is lovely ride I totally recommend! I did it this year but ate too much at lunch. I was hungry and as we were riding slower than we would if we selected our own speed, so the body wasn't really in 'sports mode' if that makes sense? So I ate lunch. It rebelled at the top of Springbrook. I rode on but such things aren't optimum and I needed to have a few km's in a Bicycle Network vehicle to rejoin the ever-remarkable, fellow lanterne, Steve Weir, a few km's ahead. I'd like to do this again. Minus the car journey. And minus the third sandwich.
When I am on the bike I....
Forget how far you can go. That is unless I'm on my mountain bike where I realise how much harder it is. I'm happy when i'm in a fit enough state to have a chat whilst climbing. That said, there are slopes at the back of the Gold Coast where it is similar to taking off in a plane - slower, obviously - as the view of the valley below changes with each corner. So I suppose I like to fly.
How did your love of bikes come about?
We used to watch the Tour de France at home, where I grew up in the South of England. We had a highlights package of 30 mins between 6.30pm and 7pm, just about 3 or so hours after the actual stage had finished and I used to be glued to the TV to see Pedro Delgado, Robert Millar, Laurent Fignon then, later, Miguel Indurain ride. So I bought a road bike when friends were buying mountain bikes. I rode a lot and found my running speed increased unrecognisably, which then saw me taking athletics more seriously as I always enjoyed it, we did it at school and I needed less kit!
Share a cycling memory
Too many, too many. But from the start it would be buying my Super Confex jersey at Geoffrey Buttler Cycles in Croydon (just south of London) as it was in the discount section whilst my friend Bradley bought the Carrera one as it was what Claudio Chiappucci wore. What were we? 13? Yeah, that'd be it. Back in the days... Riding without a phone (as it was attached to the kitchen wall), on steel beaded tires we couldn't change out on the road, school holidays, cheese and pickle sandwiches in the jersey pockets where the gels are now, the sunshine... back in the days.
I love to ride because....
Where to start? 'Because' is an answer. Possibly a rubbish answer, possibly not a classic writers answer but there we are, a fitting one.
La Velocita. Review.
As we are well into winter everyone is asking me about lights, however, I think you should be riding with front and rear lights all year round, no matter what time of day or night, terrain, country or city, bike paths or roads.