I’m clinging to the rear wheel of Ribble’s CEO Andy Smallwood on the asphalt of the Ribble Valley as the midwinter sun descends at an alarming speed. Both the ascents of Birdy Brow and Walker Fold are traversed as we rue the time spent waiting for our atomic (if belatedly delightful) vegetable soup to cool at another Lancastrian cycling haunt, the Cobbled Corner café in Chipping.
These are the roads where, in the winter of 2011, Bradley Wiggins built the base that propelled him to his Tour de France win the following summer. And I imagine Sir Brad, a man who once raced on a Ribble, would approve of the brand’s new aero-focused Ultra SL R that’s propelling me back to the brand’s flagship store in Clitheroe. A bike complete with sculpted and proprietary handlebars, an elimination of bar tape and a 1,050g frame that’s actually more aerodynamic with my 500ml bottle of Vimto attached.
It’s my first experience riding on the blacktop of the Ribble Valley, but both brand and the surrounding titular valley have plenty of history with the team at . Deputy editor and Burnley boy John Whitney’s formative cycling years were honed on this very tarmac (and remain his favourite place to ride), while most of my own cycling milestones – debut century ride, hill climb, Fred Whitton and more – have been aboard a Ribble in the form of their sub-£1k carbon R872 ride from 2016 and my current
