It's not just you Anthony, its definitely doing something special. And so is the Cow Parsley!Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
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It's not just you Anthony, its definitely doing something special. And so is the Cow Parsley!Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
Cycling in to tomorrow's strike action will make it 51m worth of riding in this week, and the risks are just as they were last year. Nearly got taken off last night by a left turner who had not indicated; i'm sure he thought it was my fault as i accelerated onto the roundabout matching him yard for yard, but probably didn't understand i have to get a run at it like that, because if i set off from standing i couldn't get up to speed quick enough to avoid the cars coming toward me.
Llani, how big is your garden, or how small is your mower? Is it a fisher price mower, the one with the balls that bounce around in the perspex window?Quote:
A chilly end to the day too, when after 5 hours lawn mowing, I decided to give the legs a spin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Not my garden Mr B but some of my neighbours. That’s why I’m always knackered at this time of year as I’m on my feet all day mowing/strimming grass.
My garden is like a jungle, a similar case to the cobblers children that have no decent shoes!
Managed to fit in a road ride today at 26 miles and 2200ft, was going quite well for me and felt ok, been struggling a bit lately.
Best was that my achilles didn't hurt all ride, I stopped trying to run and even walking for several months now but riding has been a bit of a pain with every turn of the peddle. Miraculously no problem today so hopefully back on the mend.
Another 25 miler today, but feeling it on the final few miles of hills to home.
Brought my total for the week to 101 miles and 9500ft, my aim is to be able to sustain the 100m a week by mid summer. It might take a while yet (it's the constant hills not the miles that knacker me after time), but Ive been slowly creeping up since mid March.
Well done Moley . Keep at it.
Just a regular 34 miles (2400 feet) to Bolton Abbey, Burnsall, Grassington, Cracoe, Rylestone etc. My bike knows the way and I just have to keep her upright. Really this route just follows the River Wharfe and the tourist honey pots passing which I feel so superior and holier than thou as I ride past the full-to-bursting car parks.
But then today - my cup ranneth over as, descending to Bardon Tower, I recognised a skinny, tall, athletic rider on a scarlet steel frame (?), climbing the hill wearing a kaleidoscope Mapei top and, I think, not wearing a helmet. Clearly a man who challenges convention thought I. On thinking about time and place it seemed to me that said rider might have been taking his normal three pints of pleasure in the ale houses of Appletreewick. But I cannot say.
Having checked I was on the big ring I was delighted to exchange pleasantries across the broad highway and then off we sped to our individual destinies.
56m in the dales today, en route to get tanked up with refreshment at the craven arms I had cake at the Washburn heritage centre and a sarnie at parcevall hall. Near barden tower I glanced across the road and happened to spot a veteran gentleman in a vintage 70s jersey that looked like Graham Breeze, but his face was obscured a bit by the wearing of a bicycle helmet. At the eleventh hour I decided it was GB and shouted a greeting. He was moving quite slowly and I wondered if a mechanical malady or wardrobe malfunction had occurred; hopefully I didn't bugger off into the distance leaving him stranded like Brett did.
At the parcevall hall tea room my Reynolds 853 Raleigh frame was being admired when I came out. The young man stated that he was, "getting good vibes from it". On the way down craven cross I hit a bump at 35 and got a scary moment of rear wheel bounce.
Obviously downhill :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Still so crushed... veteran?... that today I could not leave the house for agonising between Mercatone Uno - Bianchi - Girmi or St Raphael - Geminiani - quinquina. Eventually I settled for my reserve top - a plain yellow one. To even own a yellow top might be thought presumptious or worse - but I only bought it in a Sale as a reserve top.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Anyway after all my angst I only had time for a 23 mile ride although I did find almost 2000 feet of climb. On the winding descent down to Eastby near Skipton a BMW overtook me (ha!) and then had to keep braking for all the curves so I found myself doing 38 mph rather too close to his rear bumper. I did think of giving him a cheery wave to encourage him to get a move on but then thought he might decide instead to suddenly test his brakes and I might find myself joining him in the front passenger seat by way of the rear view window to continue the conversation.
Even with newly-sandpapered Campagnolo brake blocks.:)
Why do you rub them down? Does it improve friction? The brakes on my winter/work donkey are terrible and i've been wondering about needing new rims.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
My rear brake was squealing embarrassingly long and loud. It is due to vibration so sanding the shiny layer of grit/gunge off the block face, cleaning the rims and making sure the block and rim are in good flat contact remedies the shrieking problem. Helps the brakes work better and the rims last longer.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
I think Specialised are to stop supplying bikes with rim brakes. I deliberately chose rim brakes on the road bike but my Boardman ADV has disc brakes and for off-road riding that makes sense, much as I dislike them.
I've never heard of sandpapering brake blocks before. Cleaning your rims, yes - I do this after virtually every ride.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
With rim brakes some particles of grit/sand/salt (in winter) can get onto the rims and is then forced into the metal of the rim when braking. If you clean the rims regularly then you prevent a build up of contamination, and hopefully prevent a particle from being forced some depth into the rim.
If you don't clean your rims then you can end up with grooves on your rims which reduces your braking area. It also makes the rim wall thinner and will eventually lead to the rims failing when riding the bike. If you have access to a Vernier gauge you can measure the thickness of your rim walls.
In most cases cleaning the rims and fitting new blocks should solve poor brake performance. If the rims have deep grooves I'd change them. Rims are relatively cheap, and it only takes me about an hour a wheel to take off an old rim and build in a new one. Importantly, if you do this you will need to measure the ERD (effective rim diameter) of your existing rims and buy ones the same - otherwise you'll need new spokes and for the cost and effort you may as well have bought a new pair of wheels.
Not just me. I 've just found two videos on youtube recommending it amongst other approaches like cleaning the rims.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
When I had rim brakes, I always made sure the rim was clean after a ride and an occasional resurfacing of the block with a bit of Emery paper when changing a wheel is also good idea.
Blocks get bits of hard grit etc embedded in them and freshening them up does them good, leaves a less polished surface and prevents damage to the rim.
However, I'm sure I have posted on here about my wholesale conversion to disk brakes and wouldn't be without them on road or MTB. Rims are fine in the dry but in the wet on a steep descent....!?
I must admit that in all my years of cycling, this issue of grit on brake blocks causing wear on rims has never really entered my consciousness.
A few years ago, when I collected my bike from the local bike shop after a repair, they pointed out that the rim on one wheel was getting dangerously thin. But the rim had done many years of service, so I put it down to normal wear and tear (and I did get it replaced).
As for steep descents in the wet: I have just got used to starting to apply the brakes well before I actually need to slow down!
Oh yes disc brakes stop you better but they look so... clunky.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I don't carry any of those shopping bags under my saddle or elsewhere either
It's a matter of sleekness and style...aesthetics. :)
I'm sure that my next bike (which could be many years away) will have disc brakes, as it's pretty difficult to get a road bike without them nowadays. In the mean time, I'm very happy with rim brakes.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I'm not sure about how suitable disc brakes are for me, because my total rider plus bike is so light (under 70kg). I haven't used my rear brake since 1994 (and I can remember where), because it will pretty much instantly lock the wheel (I'm still using a single pivot side-pull on the rear, should I need to use it).
The advantage for me with rim brakes is that I can't lock the front wheel, even though I can lift the rear wheel easily with hard braking in dry conditions. Wet weather braking is not as good, but then again I wouldn't want to have massively effective braking in slippery conditions, because with low total weight it doesn't tend to end well. As all contributors have said, keeping your rims and blocks free of contaminants will improve the performance of rim brakes, and this is especially so in the wet.
Of course Brett on his Cinelli F/W just uses brute strength on the pedals to stop on a sixpence -I've heard his front brake is just a dummy.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
In the parallel universe of cycling, there is a branch of the sport called fixed gear crit racing. Those of you 'in the know' will know a 'crit' is a criterium - a French word for 'laps around the town' style of races (like Kermesse racing in Belgium and the Netherlands).Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
Fixed gear = fixed wheel in old money, so fixed gear crit races are 'laps around the town' races on fixed wheel bikes. To spice things up a bit more, brakes are banned meaning that all braking is done by applying a back pressure on the moving pedals (which is a lot harder than it sounds). In Italy they have night races under street lighting too, just in case it wasn't dramatic enough already.
When I discovered this, a year or two ago, I realised that this had just the right balance of danger/skill/stupidity to make it suitable for me - but they don't do it in this country, as British Cycling don't want to touch it with a barge-pole.
In the name of research, I did try some fixed gear crit training on the local single track farm track with four 90 degree bends in quick succession. I can therefore report that bringing a bike down from 20mph to 12mph for the bends is relatively easy, but actually stopping the bike completely is very difficult as you require a huge amount of torque at a very low cadence.
And for me, ending up in a hedge trying to avoid a tractor on a steep, narrow, wet Welsh lane. That was the turning point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
To be fair, my fixie which is all about aesthetics has rim brakes but is staunchly used only for nice dry and, flatish, sunny commutes like today.
Damn good job he doesn't have to do kirkstall road, or try and avoid pissed up tramps on the urban cycleways around armley gyratory. They erect tents on the grass that borders the gyratory centre in summer, they just chill out watching the rat race go by getting blind pissed on turps. My foot got sucked into my mudguard by the front wheel last week as I tried to avoid another sprinkling of Beeston diamond dust near the evening post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
I don't think any gentleman would be found near Armley.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Good place to build a prison though.:)
The prison is actually quite a nice looking building, it's modelled on some sort of castle and has a medieval gated style entrance. I've only been there once, as a visitor I hasten to add.
62m was ridden in the heat today, a route Graham will be partly familiar with; Leeds-Otley-Ilkley-Bolton Abbey-Appletreewick-Burnsall-Linton-Cracoe-Embsay-Barden, then same route back to Leeds. I arrived at the craven arms dripping with perspiration and in dire need of refreshment, which came by way of 2 chilled pints of sir william craven lager, a cask ale wouldn't have been cold enough. I decided not to stop at the fountaine inn and instead pushed on in the soaring temperatures to the boozer in embsay, where i had a pint of knowle spring, as there was no lager not brewed by that awful outfit Marston Coors. They had some pseudo spanish brew called madri, but i know it's just coors by some other name. With the tailwind, i was cruising at the high 20s on the way towards linton.
As i settled into the climb up the fell out of embsay i marvelled at how fast ice cubes were melting in my water, and at how much water i was consuming. Before long i arrived at st peter's church hall in addingham for tea and cake, there was no seating so i sat in the entrance hall. On the way back into ilkley a pair of corsa twats gave me a long blast on the horn and gobbed off out of the passenger windows of their cars. They turned off up grove rd. to skip the lights, so i gunned it through the town centre hoping to see them again at the other side for a chat; they must have been ilkley residents as i never saw them again. It's frustrating how you always bump into people you don't want to see, but when there is someone you really want to find they are nowhere to be found.
Probably about 3000' of climb today.
Got out mid morning before the heat became very heated, a hilly route round local lanes and planned a hill I have only visited once before. First hour was good but began to flag after that.
Said hill near did for me, ride was all single country lanes with high banks and no escape from the sun, electronic gadget on the bike said the steep bits (it averaged 9%) were 17% and 31c, which explains why I only just made it without a dismount near the end. But Moley prevailed to the top 💪.
Slowly home for just over 25 miles and 2500ft. Phew, cycling in a moleskin coat is not for the weak.
Gritfest camped on the show field this evening, for the weekend. Looking good but I fear a lot of riders ( all camping) may be wishing they had considered the basics of outdoor activities.
Midge cream 😱, worst year here in ages.
Met a few riders in the pub this evening, some have come a long way, from Derbyshire? Couldn’t understand a word he was saying but seemed like a sound bloke.
Will have a pootle about on the bike tomorrow and encourage/abuse them.
https://gritfest.co.uk/
£120 plus extras. More money than sense Moley. I hope they get eaten alive!
Did think of giving it a go once, but didn’t see the point in paying to ride round the tracks I go on any time I like.
Gritfest has been a great success and they have headed out on day 2 on another sunny, warm day.
Yesterday I took the road bike out and saw some of them go through at the top end of the course - gave me a 34 mile 4500ft ride (slowly as I was hung over).
At the finish a big bunch of riders hadn't turned up so they couldn't download the results, about 50 of them were found in the local pub a mile up the road and dragged back!! Very good riders in the race including someone who has done the TdF 6 times, lying 3rd.
Evening the organiser Matt Page had invited locals to come on site, beer tent, food and live band, so a few of us went down, lovely evening and the beer was too good :D. Band was great so we upped and danced 😱, then at the end they awarded a prize to the best dancer - didn't see that coming......I won. Prize is a new out WTB titanium gravel bike saddle that retails at £125. Excuse to buy a new bike to put it on!!!
Dad dancing at 70 years old, and winning, hope for us all yet.
The standard 50m to the craven arms and back today. On the way towards Howgill on the lanes a rider coming the other way called me a effing c u nxt tues, I told this to the next guy on the road behind him and he said there had been a problem with some guy in a car. You just get some odd shit sometimes. The roads were in a bit of a state, covered in sticky crap from rain and tree sap, bits and bobs kept getting sucked up under the front mudguard. 3 pints of pale and a yorks pudding with onion gravy at the pub, plus tea and 2 slices of cake at st peters.
One of my regular rides, at 36miles and 4600ft. I added an extra hill, up and back and had a bit of a dig at it, put me up to 2nd on the V70 strava segments. Pleased with that even if only 11 in our age group have made it up there, it is quite sttep in places!
Did struggle on the way home in the heat but still on my average overall speed so mustn't complain, steadily getting better.
Another road ride today, 30 miler, brings my 28 day block total to 335 miles and 31,400ft. Can feel the improvements now but also my legs are pretty shattered and starting to go backwards (junk miles) so off fishing for a few days tomorrow and an easy week.
Stung by a wasp on my belly today, bloody thing was still inside my top when I got home and no idea how it got in there 👿
Could have been far, far worseQuote:
Originally Posted by molehill
Very good, and made me look at my figures for the last 28 days. I don't always remember to take my Garmin (and I don't record trips to friends etc), and I don't always remember to start it straight away - particularly when I'm riding with others.Quote:
Originally Posted by molehill
Mr Garmin tells me I've ridden 248 miles in the last 28 days, which isn't that far behind you. The big difference, however, is that it only included 8093ft of ascent - which illustrates how mountainous the terrain is on which you're riding
Yes, there’s no escaping the hills here in mid Wales, mainly because I do most riding on minor remote roads that avoid traffic. I could follow the Towy valley down the main roads, dodging lorries and traffic, not my cup of tea. So it’s all hills, up or down every ride whether I like it or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Down in Mid Wales for a funeral on Tuesday so Monday evening had a lovely spin on the bike. Up through the coolness of the Hafren Forest to the Osprey view point at Cwm Biga. I thought I could make out couple of chicks on the nesting platform and one adult seen in a nearby tree.
On to Penforddlas then back to Cwm Biga, along the shoreline of Clywedog Dam before up very steeply past the Angling Club turnoff. It has to be at least 20% and crossing a cattle grid at that gradient is always a heart in mouth moment. At least it was dry. Down the other side, steeply up again to the Red Road and down to Glan y Nant and home to Llanidloes.
A warm and breezy 26 miles, 2,600 feet in 1hr 55min on tired legs from the Bakewell Pudding Race.
Take care on those cattle grids - a friend slipped whilst riding across one and needed surgery on a fractured hip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
50m today, standard route with no extra hills. I was going to head back past burnsall after my boozy stop off at the craven arms, so I could get in the climb out of the village, but rain stopped play and it was a mad dash down the lanes to st peters church hall for tea and cake. There was a fierce tailwind and I was cruising through Ilkley at 29mph on the way back. It was a verbal abuse free day, too.
Not feeling so great this last week and the ride felt grim all the way, so added no extra hills to the normal loop. About 35 miles and 4100ft, very surprised to finish in my fastest time ( by several minutes) and some personal segment records.
Think my legs are getting stronger without me noticing, look forward to riding hard when I feel fresh.
I think it's probably that as you're doing more mileage your muscles are becoming better co-ordinated, and you are now producing more power for the same level of effort.Quote:
Originally Posted by molehill
I have read several times that even pro cyclists have to ride X thousand miles at the start of the season before they regain their top efficiency. There is some dispute about the value of X, but a lot of coaches seem to think it's about 2