Today's Bike Ride

[felltrumpet]

I had an afternoon off in lieu of lots of extra-curricular stuff done this year.
Set out from Derby to Ashbourne and then Carsington. Lovely time and decent pace then…
My front brake calliper sheared off the bolt running through the forks as I was braking at a junction and ripped the cable out from under the bar tape. Thankfully I was able to use my back brake and found a verge rather than a Land Rover or quarry wagon.
It must have worked loose without me realising on bumpy roads. Could’ve been so much worse.
Patched it up and back home, just in time for children pick up (though in full gear to embarrass the eldest daughter).
62km 860m 2hr7min (not including the fixing stop!)

[PeteS]

Well done - you made it home! And in a good time.
I had a similar mechanical brought on by continually riding on rough roads where my stem worked loose and chose to do so on a long downhill at 15%! Scary stuff..

[Wheeze]

46 miles and 4,200 feet of climb. Put a nice glow into the legs!

[molehill]

Was that on the roads or chasing Rod over the hills?

[molehill]

I did manage a ride today, but very windy and proceeded with caution as nearly blown off at times.
26 miles and 3750ft up the reservoir and back, slow but relieved to arrive home safely.

[PeteS]

Likewise here. I managed 52k with just over 1000m climb but it was very windy and hard work at times. A few descents were a bit more hairy than I would have cared for with a buffeting side-wind making for a stern test of bike handling.

[Wheeze]

I had wind plus a thunderstorm as I approached the top of the tumble. Not what you want at 1800ft!
I'm really enjoying the enforced transition to bikes but I am really struggling with drop handlebars. I cant go onto the drops for long before my neck calls time. Makes it hard on big descents.

[Travs]

Not coming out of retirement for the Four Fans in a couple of weeks then Wheeze? I'm sure you'd make a good sweeper.

[JohnK]

Having a rummage in the attic today I re-discovered my original BROOKS COLT saddle from 1979 that served me really well through a decade of Road Time trialing and Long distance cycle touring.

I got used to all the comments with regard to plastic saddles being lighter etc, and was happy in the knowledge that my backside stayed a whole lot more comfortable over long distance road races etc, than that of a lot of my fellow competitors and the fact I never suffered from Hemorrhoids (piles) was another bonus that I put down to the saddle.

Anyway not having any proofride to hand (don`t even know if you can still get it) I am going to treat my rediscovered saddle to a quick feed of Dubbin before ditching the not very good (I.M.O.) modern plastic saddle and fitting my Brooks leather beauty in its place on my current bike and hope that my anatomy has not changed so radically that I am going to have to spend another 300 + miles breaking the saddle in again.

So fingers crossed and hopefully I will have been re-united with a very intimate close friend

[PeteS]

You can get Brooks proofide at Wiggle/Chain reaction or direct from brooks.

I had a Brooks swallow saddle for years but that got absolutely soaked once and was never the same again. I've replaced it with a Cambium on my Genesis Croix de Fer and although the saddle is waterproof, it is sadly made in Italy and not in the Smethwick factory.