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What bikes do you own?
I have recently got myself a typical winter training bike in the form of an Avanti Giro. Last winter I finally discovered full-length mudguards…they allows you to wear white and keep it that way. Living in Somerset you’re spoilt for options and places to ride, good hills are only ten miles north or south, it’s great to get away across the Mendip or Quantock hills. Last year though I started riding the velodrome at Newport. I have a special Fast Forward carbon bike, which feels great when building acceleration on the boards. My bike for life though is my Litespeed Archon Ti bike. Climbing hills on it is what I sum up as ethereal.
What’s the biggest rush achievable on a bike?
Coming down from the top of the banking at track full gas with 250m to go.
How did you end up in the cycling trade?
I originally started in ‘93 after stopping bike racing in New Zealand. I was an internal account manager for Avanti Bikes, before moving to a telecomms company. When I moved to the UK in 2000, I intented to continue in network operations, but soon felt fed up with corporate Britain and happened upon a temp role at Schwinn/GT (who purchased Carratti Sport). In 2001 David Lane started Paligap and I was invited to take the position of operations manager. Over the years and through building relationships with suppliers and customers it led me to become Paligap’s senior product manager.
Tell us about your day-to-day role at Paligap:
It is quite varied. I have a small team working next to me in Tessa Jones and Simon Beatson. My primary role is looking after purchasing and brand management of products from Powertap, CycleOps, Saris. Also Ritchey, Fast Forward, CNP and recently Selle San Marco.
How can dealers get in touch for a chat about the brands?
We’re always available to chat with dealers, especially at shows, but freely available to answer questions at the office or when we get out on the road with the account mangers. We also offer the chance to come to the Paligap office and meet at our showroom.
