Today's Bike Ride

I've had mixed experience cycling along canals.... perhaps 8 years ago i decided to follow the canal from Coventry to Rugby. My only experience having been running along the Cov Canal.

For a few miles it was lovely on the towpath. Then the towpath just stopped and was basically a trod in the grass. Not ideal on my dad's road-bike which was too small for me anyway.

I did fall off at one point, and it was only the thickness of the vegetation which prevented me from ending up in the water.

By the time i got to Rugby i'd had enough and cycled to the station, and lumped the bike onto the first train home.

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Originally Posted by Travs

I've had mixed experience cycling along canals.... perhaps 8 years ago i decided to follow the canal from Coventry to Rugby. My only experience having been running along the Cov Canal.

For a few miles it was lovely on the towpath. Then the towpath just stopped and was basically a trod in the grass. Not ideal on my dad's road-bike which was too small for me anyway.

I did fall off at one point, and it was only the thickness of the vegetation which prevented me from ending up in the water.

By the time i got to Rugby i'd had enough and cycled to the station, and lumped the bike onto the first train home.

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Yep.

I have done the full Leeds-Liverpool canal (in both directions) and one does need to focus on the highlights - which are few and far between. There is one section where, as you describe, the narrow grass path slopes down to the water so on greasy grass and a moment's inattention...
:(

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Originally Posted by Marco

You do an impression of Alejandro Valverde disappearing over the edge?

Gutted to see AV crash out of the Vuelta; worse still it's been reported that he's fractured his right clavicle. It'll be a duller race without him

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Absolutely.

And the older he gets the less we hear of his "chequered history" from mediocre commentators who now recognise he is a real star.

There is a good network of bridleways in the countryside to the north of Loughborough, and since the recent dry weather means that conditions were going to be good underwheel, I decided to re-acquaint myself with some of them. After a bit more than a mile of bridleway riding, I came to a gate with a notice:

FARM LIVESTOCK. KEEP GATE SHUT.

The instruction was being obeyed: the farm livestock was keeping the gate shut. To be more specific, a bloke with a ring in his nose had parked himself on the other side of the gate, such that it couldn't possibly be opened, while his lady friends in the field got on with their lunch. Given the contrast between my mass of 60-something kg and his mass of several hundred kg, I decided that there would not be much point in trying to argue about "Public Right of Way". So I retreated, and after a diversion of about 3 miles arrived at a point about 500 metres from that firmly shut gate.

This wasn't the last incident involving a gate on my ride. The blood on my left brake lever is from a cut in a finger sustained in a battle with a stubborn, rusty gate latch.

103km 119m to Glückstadt and back

Diverted by the Black Combe Dash English Champs. counter last weekend I returned to the bike this week with a 42 miles (2800 feet) and 25 miles (2000 feet) pootle around the usual places contemplating the news that the new 12 speed electric Dura - Ace R9200 has been released at £4350 with power meter.

Cycling's comic, having only allocated 4 pages to this news, promises 10 pages next week in which it will ask if Dura - Ace is "too expensive for ordinary riders?"

I would have thought 10 words would suffice to address this key issue of our time - but then I ride cheap old Campagnolo.

I bought some SIS gels this week and with them came a "free" Ineos Grenadier bidon. I noticed that the valve doesn't work properly so the bidon is useless. In the context of the Vuelta - perhaps a subtle metaphor for the Ineos team?

Tour Of Britain goes through the Lake District tomorrow. I don't know exact route, but stage starts in Carlisle, down into the Lake District, along side of Ullswater, Pooley Bridge, Tirril, Penrith, then uP over Hartside to Alston, before finishing in Gateshead.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Thanks also for reminding me of Ineos's lack of Vuelta success; although not quite over yet, it looks I'll be finishing second behind the Welsh maestro in the 'predict the grand tour winner' competition.

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I might have got the winner but my second and third were well wide of the mark!

Anyone heard about the drought in 9spd parts? The foundries in PRC that make the high carbon steel shut down for corona, so now the supply chain has no plate to punch chain links out of. Levers aswell, i've heard, are in short supply. That said, i won't have any problems, due mainly to the fact that this terrible situation will have no effect whatsoever on the supply of 7400 and 7800 Dura Ace bits.

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Originally Posted by Travs

Tour Of Britain goes through the Lake District tomorrow. I don't know exact route, but stage starts in Carlisle, down into the Lake District, along side of Ullswater, Pooley Bridge, Tirril, Penrith, then uP over Hartside to Alston, before finishing in Gateshead.

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I was up in the Lakes earlier than expected so caught the sprint at Penrith.
Took a few pictures - got a good one of Cav.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/shakeyp/2j4E7e

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Originally Posted by PeteS

I was up in the Lakes earlier than expected so caught the sprint at Penrith.
Took a few pictures - got a good one of Cav.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/shakeyp/2j4E7e

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Nice Pics, shame you didnt get a shot of ex fellrunner Mark Donovan as he came through his hometown in 9th place overall.

Been a great weeks racing

It was shaping up into an interesting stage, but alas i was busy with work so switched the tv off as they were heading out the other side of Penrith. Caught a glimpse of the peleton going through the village (but sadly they missed the lead group going through as the adverts were on!)

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Originally Posted by Marco

Thanks for tipping me off about the imminent (October) release of Dura-Ace R9200.

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I don't think I have ever seen a reference to this site on here so

www.disraeligears.co.uk

...is mind blowing.

(It is nothing to do with the over-rated, pop music combo I believe was known as Cream)

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Originally Posted by Marco

I was well aware of this site, but decided not to share it as I thought it might be a rabbit hole too far to lose hours of time down ...



What you didn't mention, and I only found out a few days ago, was that as well as launching Dura-Ace R9200, Shimano also launched Ultegra R8100, which is also a fully electronic 12 speed groupset

The real question then, is why anyone would buy the 12 speed electronic R9200 for a street price of around £3000, when they could buy the technically same, (but slightly heavier), 12 speed electronic R8100 for a street price of around £2000.

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Indeed but this begs the question of whether Shimano expect to actually sell many Dura-Ace sets (outside arrangements with Pro teams) or whether it is more about creating an image for the wealthy. Madison (the distributors) claim they will sell every set they receive.

My seat just broke. Anyone of you guys experienced anything similar?

My longest road ride today at 52 miles and 5250ft. All went well till a bumble bee hit my mouth and stung me on the bottom lip. Hurt like hell an cycled 25 miles with it swelling up like an inner tube. Went down pub after to rehydrate and had to drink 2 pints through a straw, locals all took the p***!

Having done my 10th fell race for 2021 last weekend (Ilkley Moor) my bike mileage has suffered (2200 only so far) but my son is doing the Fred Whitton tomorrow so I thought I'd go out today for a pootle to empathise: Bolton Abbey, Appletreewick, Burnsall, Bardon Fell,...29 miles and 2500+ feet.

I think the FW is a bit longer and higher than that - but, well, it's the thought that counts.

Thinking of bees, inner tubes and Marco: I think I have stopped repairing inner tubes - life is short and all that - but when I see others on this thread ride 10 year old tyres and like the smell of glue, I feel feckless, profligate and racked with guilt.:o

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Originally Posted by Marco

When I was working long hours I calculated that in view of the cost of my precious free time it was actually cheaper to fit a new inner-tube, (particularly if I could buy them cheap/bulk), rather than repair a puncture. This was also exaggerated by the fact that modern puncture repair kits didn't seem to do what they were supposed to do (and used to do).

A change of circumstances, and the purchase of a Park Tools puncture repair kit, has swung the balance the other way. On the subject of tyres, a front gets very little wear and although I don't have accurate annual mileage figures, it is only since my operation that I am doing clearly over 1000 miles a years (and this is spread across two bikes). Each to their own, but I tend to swap the front tyre to the back wheel after three years, preferring to have better grip on the front.

It is also worth mentioning that matured tyres wear better. Back in the early 1980s, Pro bike teams used to mature tyres in dark cellars, (a bit like cheese, but with a different smell), for 2-3 years before use as it improved the puncture resistance and wear. As I tend to buy tyres when they are cheap, rather than when I need them, I end up keeping them for up to 5 years before they get fitted to a wheel.

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Noted.

Being as old as I am, buying tyres for use in 5 years time might be somewhat optimistic.:)

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Originally Posted by Marco

You can buy matured tyres, otherwise know as old stock

Earlier in the year I bought some of these from a reputable retailer at a very good price

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a1d7598d_b.jpg

I won't say how much I paid in case someone makes me an offer! (Only available in Red, 23mm and Slick) :)

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With graphene?

I pondered punctures today as I laboured up the side of Great Knoutberry Hill between Dent Railway Station and Garsdale Head thinking that it would be a long walk back to my car parked in Dent. I first went to Dent 50 years ago (a rich friend owned a second home there!) and then for a few years the wonderful Whernside race was organised by Lyon Equipment. The main road to Dent is from Sedbergh but the route from the south is glorious along a narow road, adjecant to Deepdale Beck and deep in its valley, that includes four road gates that have to be opened (and closed) - so not for those in a rush.

The B6259 from Garsdale Head to Kirkby Stephen is another magical ride. It shares a valley with the Settle-Carlisle railway and the road and railway criss cross and one sees the splendid viaducts (not the hyped Ribblehead) along the way. And the ride back to Sedbergh from Kirkby Stephen has its diversions if you look at an OS map.

And would you believe that a Castle Cement train pulled by a 66XXX pootled by to mark the occasion of my visit? Oh my.

So 35 miles, 2400 feet (but most of them within a couple of miles) on a glorious autumn day.

My Father is always telling me he doesn't buy green bananas anymore...

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Originally Posted by Graham Breeze

Noted.

Being as old as I am, buying tyres for use in 5 years time might be somewhat optimistic.:)

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Originally Posted by brett

My Father is always telling me he doesn't buy green bananas anymore...

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My mother is 99 in December and I changed a battery in her smoke alarm this week and told her it had been in for 4 years.

She looked at me a bit thoughfully. :)

Today I broke 100,000m of cycling elevation gain for 2021. If any Brits here;):cool:, that's about 300,000 feet

Probably the first year that I managed, on any sport. "Help" came from covid (home office gave more time and flexibility, plus didn't swim so I cycled more), and the fact that I've been running injuried for a very long time (I could run, so I cycled more).

I'm very happy.

And so you should be!

I took on the Cambrian Coast Sportive Big Dog route on Saturday which was one of my main objectives this year. I was a bit apprehensive prior to the event, having only done 500 miles on the bike since my shoulder op in March, but decided to give it a go thinking I could always divert to one of the shorter routes.

A cloudy but dry Aberdyfi saw me set off at 8am. A flattish trundle to Tywyn and on to Arthog. The usual route goes over the bridge to Barmouth and then back over the Mawddach estuary on the rickety wooden bridge at Penmaenpool. The Barmouth bridge is closed so the route was diverted along the Mawddach Trail which is an old railway line. No problem for me but when I got to Penmaenpool and headed back towards Arthog on the road I saw dozens of cyclists heading in the opposite direction. This caused me to doubt my nav skills but I carried on and turned left up to Cregennen Lakes which was a steep 15% + series of hairpins.

Once at the lakes at the first feed station it became clear that the reason that I had earlier seen cyclist going in the opposite direction was that they didn't want to take their precious machines on the trail so did an out and back on the tarmac to Penmaenpool and back to Arthog.

A ride down into Dolgellau and then up to Cross Foxes and feed station 2. It started to rain on the way up to Bwlch Oerddrws so I stopped, with others, to put a waterproof on. They were amused that I put an OR hooded running jacket on rather than a fancy skintight expensive cycling one and their amusement increased when I passed them on the drop into Dinas Mawddwy sounding like a yacht with billowing sails!

Once in DM the jacket was off as was the rain and I took it steady up to Llanymawddwy as I knew what was coming. At the bottom of Bwlch y Groes I selected my lowest gear and ground it out. Two young lads came alongside me, one of whom pushed on the other saying "he's a machine". I replied " don't try to keep up with him as its a long drag" but off he went dancing on his pedals. Guess what. Three quarters of the way up I passed them both, sheepishly pushing their bikes. They weren't the only ones.

Whilst there is no shame in running out of steam I was quietly amused as I passed some very expensive bikes, which included Bianchi, Pinarello and a Specialized Tarmac, being taken for a walk by their riders!

I found BYG a lot tougher than on my recce but I had 3'000feet in my legs this time but once over the top, and half way around, the drop into Llanwychllyn was lovely. The next 15 miles of single track gated road towards Trawsfynedd was fantastic. Very lumpy and remote, apparently known as "The Ranges". Views over to Arenig Fawr and Rhobell Fawr. Shortly before reaching Trawsfynedd a left took us into Coed y Brenin, fantastic views of the Rhinogs, and over more lumpy terrain to the picturesque village of Llanfachreth, start of Ras Rhobell Fawr which I shall be at on Nov 6th.

Downhill to the main road and then steeply up through Brithdir to Cross Foxes before a short climb and then a fantastic downhill and predominately flat run in through Tywyn and the finish in Aberdyfi.

A total of 100 miles, 9'850 feet in 7hrs 32min excluding feed station stops. All hills climbed without stopping and really chuffed to get around considering how little cycling I have done. Shoulder a bit sore though now, mainly from pulling on the bars and also from the numerous cattle grids!

A really well run event with great feed stations supplying Sausage Rolls, Bananas and Flapjack. I carried my own food but all I consumed from it was one gell on the climb up to Brithdir but I wish I hadn't as it made me feel sick!

If a tough scenic ride floats your boat then I would recommend this.

I just need to get around the 3 Peaks in a decent time now and this years goals complete.

Good luck at the 3 Peaks Llani... i shall be spectating... running over from Ribblehead via Ingleborough to the finish.

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Originally Posted by Llani Boy

Whilst there is no shame in running out of steam I was quietly amused as I passed some very expensive bikes, which included Bianchi, Pinarello and a Specialized Tarmac, being taken for a walk by their riders!

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Ah those Pinarello riders - more show than go.:)

Great effort Llani, taking in some of Mid Wales finest scenery. Love the Llanymawddwy Valley. Have you ever been up to the source of the Dyfi?

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Originally Posted by Llani Boy

I found BYG a lot tougher than on my recce but I had 3'000feet in my legs this time but once over the top, and half way around, the drop into Llanwychllyn was lovely. The next 15 miles of single track gated road towards Trawsfynedd was fantastic. Very lumpy and remote, apparently known as "The Ranges". Views over to Arenig Fawr and Rhobell Fawr.

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That road is called Dol-y-Moch according to the list here: https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/...Roads_in_Wales . It is indeed a great ride. I particularly liked the view of Moel Llyfnant: on the Arenig Fawr race (which I ran the day before cycling over Dol-y-Moch) you just go up and down a steep, grassy slope on the north side of the mountain, but from the south it's a much more dramatic scree slope.

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Originally Posted by MattPo

Great effort Llani, taking in some of Mid Wales finest scenery. Love the Llanymawddwy Valley. Have you ever been up to the source of the Dyfi?

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I have: on a very hot day last Summer, I had finished my water on the walk up Aran Fawddwy from Llanuwchllyn, and descended where the crags end on the ridge to Drysgol, to refill my bottles from the headwaters above Creiglyn Dyfi.

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Originally Posted by Travs

Good luck at the 3 Peaks Llani... i shall be spectating... running over from Ribblehead via Ingleborough to the finish.

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Thanks Travs. Hopefully I might bump into you somewhere on the day.

I am not particularly looking forward to it as I hate running on paved sections and I find that they can cause one to run at too fast a pace especially in long races. Only doing it as it is one of the iconic races to do.
I'd love to get around in under 4 hrs but won't be holding my breath.

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Originally Posted by MattPo

Great effort Llani, taking in some of Mid Wales finest scenery. Love the Llanymawddwy Valley. Have you ever been up to the source of the Dyfi?

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Thanks Matt. No I haven't but like AK have viewed it from the Arans and have dropped off the ridge through Drws Bach (little door) to Drysgol and down into Cwm Cywarch. That was over 30 years ago so a return visit is overdue.

As we are in that area I have never been able to fathom why Llanymawddwy and Dinas Mawddwy are in the Dyfi valley and not the Mawddach!

Whilst in Llani I called into Talerddig Bakery shop for some Chelsea Buns. Speaking to the owner she told me that when the bakery closed in Talerddig all the shops were sold off and hers is now the only one with that name which she intends to keep. All the baking is now done in Tywyn and over the border in Wem. The recipes are the same for many items including the Chelsea's which are delicious:p

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Originally Posted by Llani Boy

As we are in that area I have never been able to fathom why Llanymawddwy and Dinas Mawddwy are in the Dyfi valley and not the Mawddach!

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A long time ago, when the people from the dinas and the llan walked to their nearest market town, Dolgellau, they were so strong and fit that they didn't even notice that they had walked over a bwlch into a different valley. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Marco

The forecast heavy rain arrived, so I repaired the two punctured inner-tubes and looked at the blown out one. This is what the valve looked like before I took the inner-tube out

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a91d2fdd_b.jpg

As it definitely had something rattling inside, I cut open, (to grievous personal discomfort as it was a top end Continental one), the inner-tube and this is what I found

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a069c7bd_b.jpg

The metal part to the left is the bottom, working part, of the Presta valve and is 16mm long. Worryingly, the top part, which will be at least this long, is missing. No doubt I will put my foot on it at some time when I haven't put anything on my feet

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Interesting!

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Originally Posted by Marco

The forecast heavy rain arrived, so I repaired the two punctured inner-tubes and looked at the blown out one. This is what the valve looked like before I took the inner-tube out

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a91d2fdd_b.jpg

As it definitely had something rattling inside, I cut open, (to grievous personal discomfort as it was a top end Continental one), the inner-tube and this is what I found

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a069c7bd_b.jpg

The metal part to the left is the bottom, working part, of the Presta valve and is 16mm long. Worryingly, the top part, which will be at least this long, is missing. No doubt I will put my foot on it at some time when I haven't put anything on my feet

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So much for top end Continental inner tubes and Valves !

Postponed from April, this weekend finally sees my favourite one day race take place. The hell of the north, Paris Roubaix is this Sunday and will of course be compulsory viewing - in fact other than an early run, I doubt much else will get done.
The bookies favourite is of course Wout van Aart but I think he looked tired at the worlds after what has been a long season so I'm going for Mathieu van der Poel, starting to look back to near his best. However this race is notoriously unpredictable so a good outside bet would be Kasper Asgreen or maybe Zdenek Stybar and it would be really good to see Tom Pidcock cap a fabulous season off with a podium finish.

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Originally Posted by Marco

I said planned, as I didn't get there as HS2 had shut the road again. This is the seventh time they've shut it, so far (and four of them have been unannounced), and yet no work has started - they've spent the last two years building their depot car park and building, re-building and then re-building again their village of site huts

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Ah but it's worth it. Fracking, HS2 - I guess I'm just a visionary.

And think of the stories you will tell your grand children about how your training was interrupted by the construction of the greatest railway to be built in the UK since Robert Stephenson. :)

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Originally Posted by JohnK

So much for top end Continental inner tubes and Valves !

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It's all about quality control. The top end ones will use the same valves as the cheap ones, but every tube will be inspected in some way; mostly to make sure all the parts are fitted/bonded correctly. The cheap ones will have no quality control in the process whatsoever, but it's a simple process and the chances are everything got done properly. The quality control is needed to gain ISO9000 accreditation, but costs money which gets passed on to the end user. If you're buying tubes, buy cheap; if you're buying mechs, buy expensive...you want them to be looked at closely so you don't get stranded on the A58M on christmas day trying to be the first person to ride the whole Leeds inner ring road.

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Originally Posted by Marco

As the 'incident' happened upstairs on the landing,

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Bicycle mechanical operations "upstairs on the landing" Marco?

Perhaps I should not ask but do you live in an upside-down house? ;)

I hope David has got the fire on at The Craven Arms tommorrow.

What a ride by Lizzie Deignan today! Otley's finest. Dad, John is a past V60 winner of the 3 peaks and Mum, Carol a past womens winner of the Full Tour of Pendle. Good genes must help.

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Originally Posted by MattPo

What a ride by Lizzie Deignan today! Otley's finest. Dad, John is a past V60 winner of the 3 peaks and Mum, Carol a past womens winner of the Full Tour of Pendle. Good genes must help.

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A fine ride by Lizzie to hold off Vos and what an addition to her palmares to be first woman to win Paris-Roubaix.
Yes I know this race can be a lottery but that is why it is such a spectacle and such compelling viewing. I loved the fact the Trek-Segafredo got 2 riders on the podium yet the team car had a puncture.
Hopefully tomorrows race lives up to expectations.