One man's epic quest to cycle 200 miles each month. Also includes bike maintenance how-to's, hints and tips, cycling routes, reviews and whatever else crosses my mind.
Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Review: Morgan Blue Syn lube.
When I was ordering the 105 upgrade parts for Awesom-O, I saw this lube at the bottom of the screen in the 'You might also like...' section so, on a whim, I ordered a bottle. If you've read my blog before, you'll know I am a complete tart for a new chain lube and this one is looking like it might be a perfect bad weather lube. When I installed the new 11 speed chain on Awesom-O (an FSA team issue that I must have ordered in a sale sometime in the past) I noticed it wasn't covered in that horrid Cosmoline-like stuff chains normally are so I was able to apply one drip per links without having to clean the chain first.
The first thing that struck me was how thick the stuff is, it took a couple of minutes for each drip to sink into the link which was a new one on me! I've been out on the newly lubed, upgraded Awesom-O and I have to say, it's the quietest, smoothest chain lube I've ever used. I suspect it will attract a lot of road grime so keeping the outside of the chain wiped clean will be critical but it's looking like a very good winter lube so far. The bonus with it being so thick is that it's ideal for jobs where an oil is traditionally too thin and grease won't penetrate enough such as the springs in SPD pedals.
Sunday, 4 December 2016
December 2016.
3rd december: I took Awesom-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was a pleasant enough day, chilly and breezy but nothing too arduous. It was an uneventful ride but one thing really struck me, the roads were absolutely filthy! I suspect it was mainly from tractors but there was a section behind Kirkby where an HGV had misjudged a corner and it's trailer tyres has crunched the edge of the high grass verge down onto the road. There was one positive road-related thing I noticed however, I don't know why but they are retarmacing more and more sections of the road in Knowsley Industrial Park. They've always been pretty on the ball in terms of repairing potholes and damage around drain covers etc so this is further icing on the cake. Anyhow, a pleasant enough ride to kick December off and 27.1 miles on the spreadsheet.
4th December: I got out and did the OCR this evening as another pre-work week brain awakener. The weather was fairly average, cool and not too windy. It was a fun ride, my legs felt pretty good and the leaves are starting to clear so I managed to spot and avoid the big cracks in the tarmac unlike the last couple of times. I definitely came up with a 'note to self' for the last hundred yards or so - 'Slow down!' - there are a few sections of greasy mud and it's a miracle I haven't fallen off yet... Anyhow, another 15.6 miles.
7th December: In a rather round about way, I managed to get an afternoon ride in today. As it's Christmas, and to try a quench my thirst for another n+1, I've decided to get Awesom-O a custom paint job. After an afternoon of Googling and checking out various forums and blog posts, I read of a place in Liverpool called C & G Finishes. They've been around since the 60's and I believe they used to do a lot of the painting for the many local frame builders back when most bikes were still made in the UK. They don't have a website but I emailed them via Yell and got an email from a guy called Gerry who said to visit the shop if I wanted to see what colours they offered. So, I booked half a days flexi and headed into Liverpool. Gerry seemed like a nice bloke when I mentioned that they were quite hard to find and that I'd only seen them mentioned on a couple of forums, he gave me a wry smile and said the order book was always full and they didn't need to advertise, always a good sign!
We chatted for a bit and when I asked whether they used glass beads or sand for the paint removal he explained that they use steel shot blasting to get the old paint off as it leaves a better key on the steel for the paint to stick to which was interesting. They did have some colour sample swatches on bits of hardboard but he said they could do any colour really, within reason, but I've decided to go for plain cream. When I asked how much it would be to do the forks as well he said that because they were doing the frame anyway, it wouldn't cost any more to do the forks so they're going to be plain black. Anyhow, that's a job for spring lined up as Awesom-O's a winter bike so I told Gerry I'd see him sometime in the new year and headed home and did the OCR plus the farm track for another 21.2 more miles.
10th December: Awesom-O's shifting has never been great and the cassette was looking a bit worn so I started today by replacing the cassette and the rear gear inner to try and improve the shifting a bit. I then headed out to do the OCR and had what was, for me, a first. I was about 50 yards past two blokes with a large gangsta-type dog when I heard loud, angry barking and this huge dog is running along side me barking it's head off trying to decide whether to attack me or not! Weirdly, I wasn't that worried and my adrenaline didn't kick in but I was quite relieved when, after about 30 yards of chasing me, it decided to obey it's yelling owner and go back to them. I carried on and realised it may be time to call quits on the OCR for the the winter because it's just getting muddier and muddier and I had to give Awsom-O a proper wash when I got home. Anyhow, my legs felt good, Awesom-O is shifting very well and it was a fun ride and exactly 22.0 more miles for December.
14th December: I managed to get out tonight and do a route I've not done before which combined bits of various other of my routes. One quite cool thing was that as I slowed down for a corner on Outlet Lane I looked down and there was a tiny mouse crossing the path in front of me. It looked a bit startled but carried on once I'd stopped and got to the other side of the path.
This was followed shortly by a rather cretinous incident which annoyed me somewhat. I was cycling down Intake Lane when a driver coming towards me around a bend refused to dim his full beams. At least he knows the internationally accepted gesture for wanker now, anyway. Anyhow, an enjoyable enough ride overall and another 18.7 miles.
17th December: Well, it was an awesome ride today for two reasons. Firstly, I decided to spend my Christmas money from my parents on Awesom-O! I bought 105 5800 shifters, both mech's (I thought the rear one would be usable buy I'd forgotten it's a 10 speed), a Ritchey handlebar and an 11 speed cassette from Wiggle and I had a spare FSA chain in my spares box so on Saturday morning I had a large coffee and got started. It was nerve wracking but by taking it easy, downloading Shimano's workshop guides and watching a few Youtube videos, I got him done!
Secondly, it was fairly foggy but patchy when I set out on the ride (I did the same one I did on the 14th but added Siding's Lane) but by the time I was coming back down the by-pass, it was an absolute pea souper! There was a ned on a mountain bike and a jogger coming towards me and I didn't see them until I was about 15 yards away but luckily they'd seen my front light. I had to stop in Sidings lane to rotate the bars up a bit to get the shifters in a comfortable position and the left shifter still needs to come up a bit but I was extremely pleased with the new 11-speed Awesom-O, his shifting is really flawless now! A fun ride and another 19.4 miles for December.
19th December: I'd booked today off because it felt wrong doing a full week right before Christmas so I managed to take Awesom-O out this afternoon. I did what was basically the local 27 but instead of doing the bit through the industrial park, I took Perimeter Road which is basically a road that allows HGVs to go around it rather than having to go through it. The weather was ok, not too cold and not too windy so it was a pleasant enough ride and 25.6 more miles.
21st December: I was determined to get out for a ride tonight because getting a few miles in was very important and the weather is going to be seriously grim for the next few days. I needed just 9.9 miles to hit the yearly target so I headed out to another hybrid of my various local rides.
I did the farm track and back where I saw the hare again, he leapt out of the field, ran across the path in front of me and ran down into the opposite field which was very cool and then headed back in via Coach Road, Ben Lane and Intake lane and then through the village stopping at the chippy to buy a few mini spring rolls on the way. Anyhow, I did it and there are still a few days to go so let's see what happens... 15.6 miles with a total of 2405.7 so far.
24th December: I took Awesom-O out today because we're currently experiencing storm Barbara and I wanted to say I had cycled through it. It was pretty windy so I ended up cycling up and down the by-pass a couple of times and then came all the way back down and home via the industrial estate and the shared use path. A very windy ride and 16.4 more miles.
25th December: Well, today was another first in my cycling career. I was just going to do the OCR because it was still extremely windy but as I got half way down, I could see a gang of kids on scramblers coming towards me. Oh well I thought I'll head back to the bypass and go exploring instead. I wasn't that lucky however because as I was heading up the bypass, the bikers came past me and headed up the bypass, half of them on the cycle path and the other half wheelying up the road. To be fair, they were reasonably well behaved, I stuck to the left of the path and they rode past me quite safely and one of the pillion passengers made me chuckle, he was clutching a green plastic 5L petrol can - refuelling on the go! Anyhow, an extremely windy ride, especially around Crawford and King's Moss where it's very exposed and quite elevated, and another 17.1 miles.
26th December: I fancied trying a new route today so I drew one that entailed heading down the East Lancs and then heading cross country to Billinge from behind. It turned out to be quite a hard ride. I know Billinge is quite elevated and my village is only a few metres above sea level so I knew there may be a bit of climbing involved. What I didn't realise is the climb started at the East Lancs and didn't relent until I was actually in Billinge!
One slight downer was a visit from the puncture fairy. I'd decided to stop at the Co-op on the way home to grab some groceries and felt my rear tyre going down very slowly over the last mile or so. It's only a 700 yard walk to my house from the Co-op but I couldn't be bothered pushing the bike so I wasted a CO2 capsule inflating the tyre again and rode it home. The climbing, and the fact that it still very, very windy made it a hard ride but quite satisfying once I got back in and another 13.3 miles.
27th December: I started off today fixing Awesom-O's back tyre which by now was completely flat. I took it off and found 3 or 4 seperate bits of glass well embedded in the tread, all of which appeared to have penetrated right down to the puncture protection layer. Anyhow, I winkled them all out and replaced the tube and headed out to do the farm track and back. It was a fairly uneventful ride apart from cycling past four neds on mountain bikes on the way back down the farm track, I heard a fair amount of effing and jeffing as I went past but I had startled them by shooting past them unannounced. Anyhow, 15.8 more miles.
31st December: I was hoping to get out and do 30+ miles today because my mate Joe challenged me to hit 2,500 miles for the year. I headed out on Awesom-O to do the local 27 with Billinge tacked on but the bloody puncture fairy visited again just as I was heading down the farm track. I was so cheesed off I called my dad for a lift. As it turned out, there was no reception so I had to bite the bullet and change the tube AGAIN. Anyhow, not trusting the tyre by this point I headed home via the most direct route possible for a miserly 12.4 miles but a pretty respectable 2,480.7 for the year which after the disappointing result last year was very pleasing!
4th December: I got out and did the OCR this evening as another pre-work week brain awakener. The weather was fairly average, cool and not too windy. It was a fun ride, my legs felt pretty good and the leaves are starting to clear so I managed to spot and avoid the big cracks in the tarmac unlike the last couple of times. I definitely came up with a 'note to self' for the last hundred yards or so - 'Slow down!' - there are a few sections of greasy mud and it's a miracle I haven't fallen off yet... Anyhow, another 15.6 miles.
7th December: In a rather round about way, I managed to get an afternoon ride in today. As it's Christmas, and to try a quench my thirst for another n+1, I've decided to get Awesom-O a custom paint job. After an afternoon of Googling and checking out various forums and blog posts, I read of a place in Liverpool called C & G Finishes. They've been around since the 60's and I believe they used to do a lot of the painting for the many local frame builders back when most bikes were still made in the UK. They don't have a website but I emailed them via Yell and got an email from a guy called Gerry who said to visit the shop if I wanted to see what colours they offered. So, I booked half a days flexi and headed into Liverpool. Gerry seemed like a nice bloke when I mentioned that they were quite hard to find and that I'd only seen them mentioned on a couple of forums, he gave me a wry smile and said the order book was always full and they didn't need to advertise, always a good sign!
We chatted for a bit and when I asked whether they used glass beads or sand for the paint removal he explained that they use steel shot blasting to get the old paint off as it leaves a better key on the steel for the paint to stick to which was interesting. They did have some colour sample swatches on bits of hardboard but he said they could do any colour really, within reason, but I've decided to go for plain cream. When I asked how much it would be to do the forks as well he said that because they were doing the frame anyway, it wouldn't cost any more to do the forks so they're going to be plain black. Anyhow, that's a job for spring lined up as Awesom-O's a winter bike so I told Gerry I'd see him sometime in the new year and headed home and did the OCR plus the farm track for another 21.2 more miles.
10th December: Awesom-O's shifting has never been great and the cassette was looking a bit worn so I started today by replacing the cassette and the rear gear inner to try and improve the shifting a bit. I then headed out to do the OCR and had what was, for me, a first. I was about 50 yards past two blokes with a large gangsta-type dog when I heard loud, angry barking and this huge dog is running along side me barking it's head off trying to decide whether to attack me or not! Weirdly, I wasn't that worried and my adrenaline didn't kick in but I was quite relieved when, after about 30 yards of chasing me, it decided to obey it's yelling owner and go back to them. I carried on and realised it may be time to call quits on the OCR for the the winter because it's just getting muddier and muddier and I had to give Awsom-O a proper wash when I got home. Anyhow, my legs felt good, Awesom-O is shifting very well and it was a fun ride and exactly 22.0 more miles for December.
14th December: I managed to get out tonight and do a route I've not done before which combined bits of various other of my routes. One quite cool thing was that as I slowed down for a corner on Outlet Lane I looked down and there was a tiny mouse crossing the path in front of me. It looked a bit startled but carried on once I'd stopped and got to the other side of the path.
This was followed shortly by a rather cretinous incident which annoyed me somewhat. I was cycling down Intake Lane when a driver coming towards me around a bend refused to dim his full beams. At least he knows the internationally accepted gesture for wanker now, anyway. Anyhow, an enjoyable enough ride overall and another 18.7 miles.
17th December: Well, it was an awesome ride today for two reasons. Firstly, I decided to spend my Christmas money from my parents on Awesom-O! I bought 105 5800 shifters, both mech's (I thought the rear one would be usable buy I'd forgotten it's a 10 speed), a Ritchey handlebar and an 11 speed cassette from Wiggle and I had a spare FSA chain in my spares box so on Saturday morning I had a large coffee and got started. It was nerve wracking but by taking it easy, downloading Shimano's workshop guides and watching a few Youtube videos, I got him done!
Secondly, it was fairly foggy but patchy when I set out on the ride (I did the same one I did on the 14th but added Siding's Lane) but by the time I was coming back down the by-pass, it was an absolute pea souper! There was a ned on a mountain bike and a jogger coming towards me and I didn't see them until I was about 15 yards away but luckily they'd seen my front light. I had to stop in Sidings lane to rotate the bars up a bit to get the shifters in a comfortable position and the left shifter still needs to come up a bit but I was extremely pleased with the new 11-speed Awesom-O, his shifting is really flawless now! A fun ride and another 19.4 miles for December.
19th December: I'd booked today off because it felt wrong doing a full week right before Christmas so I managed to take Awesom-O out this afternoon. I did what was basically the local 27 but instead of doing the bit through the industrial park, I took Perimeter Road which is basically a road that allows HGVs to go around it rather than having to go through it. The weather was ok, not too cold and not too windy so it was a pleasant enough ride and 25.6 more miles.
21st December: I was determined to get out for a ride tonight because getting a few miles in was very important and the weather is going to be seriously grim for the next few days. I needed just 9.9 miles to hit the yearly target so I headed out to another hybrid of my various local rides.
I did the farm track and back where I saw the hare again, he leapt out of the field, ran across the path in front of me and ran down into the opposite field which was very cool and then headed back in via Coach Road, Ben Lane and Intake lane and then through the village stopping at the chippy to buy a few mini spring rolls on the way. Anyhow, I did it and there are still a few days to go so let's see what happens... 15.6 miles with a total of 2405.7 so far.
24th December: I took Awesom-O out today because we're currently experiencing storm Barbara and I wanted to say I had cycled through it. It was pretty windy so I ended up cycling up and down the by-pass a couple of times and then came all the way back down and home via the industrial estate and the shared use path. A very windy ride and 16.4 more miles.
25th December: Well, today was another first in my cycling career. I was just going to do the OCR because it was still extremely windy but as I got half way down, I could see a gang of kids on scramblers coming towards me. Oh well I thought I'll head back to the bypass and go exploring instead. I wasn't that lucky however because as I was heading up the bypass, the bikers came past me and headed up the bypass, half of them on the cycle path and the other half wheelying up the road. To be fair, they were reasonably well behaved, I stuck to the left of the path and they rode past me quite safely and one of the pillion passengers made me chuckle, he was clutching a green plastic 5L petrol can - refuelling on the go! Anyhow, an extremely windy ride, especially around Crawford and King's Moss where it's very exposed and quite elevated, and another 17.1 miles.
26th December: I fancied trying a new route today so I drew one that entailed heading down the East Lancs and then heading cross country to Billinge from behind. It turned out to be quite a hard ride. I know Billinge is quite elevated and my village is only a few metres above sea level so I knew there may be a bit of climbing involved. What I didn't realise is the climb started at the East Lancs and didn't relent until I was actually in Billinge!
One slight downer was a visit from the puncture fairy. I'd decided to stop at the Co-op on the way home to grab some groceries and felt my rear tyre going down very slowly over the last mile or so. It's only a 700 yard walk to my house from the Co-op but I couldn't be bothered pushing the bike so I wasted a CO2 capsule inflating the tyre again and rode it home. The climbing, and the fact that it still very, very windy made it a hard ride but quite satisfying once I got back in and another 13.3 miles.
27th December: I started off today fixing Awesom-O's back tyre which by now was completely flat. I took it off and found 3 or 4 seperate bits of glass well embedded in the tread, all of which appeared to have penetrated right down to the puncture protection layer. Anyhow, I winkled them all out and replaced the tube and headed out to do the farm track and back. It was a fairly uneventful ride apart from cycling past four neds on mountain bikes on the way back down the farm track, I heard a fair amount of effing and jeffing as I went past but I had startled them by shooting past them unannounced. Anyhow, 15.8 more miles.
31st December: I was hoping to get out and do 30+ miles today because my mate Joe challenged me to hit 2,500 miles for the year. I headed out on Awesom-O to do the local 27 with Billinge tacked on but the bloody puncture fairy visited again just as I was heading down the farm track. I was so cheesed off I called my dad for a lift. As it turned out, there was no reception so I had to bite the bullet and change the tube AGAIN. Anyhow, not trusting the tyre by this point I headed home via the most direct route possible for a miserly 12.4 miles but a pretty respectable 2,480.7 for the year which after the disappointing result last year was very pleasing!
Saturday, 3 December 2016
The mystery of the single crank seal solved!
A few months ago, I had Awesom-O's crankset off to clean them and I noticed a small black washer on the floor near the bike. I though to myself "Hmmm, he doesn't need a spacer on that side because there isn't one on the other side" so I didn't put it back on. A while after this episode, I had a good Google and found a Shimano instructional PDF that showed the washer should be there! Puzzled, I took Awesom-O's crankset off again and had a good look at the chainring side. I noticed that there was a fine rubber seal built into back of the crank to prevent
any moisture getting between the crank and the bottom bracket bearing and thus into the bottom bracket shell. Well, a flash of inspiration told me the mysterious washer was the equivalent of the rubber seal on the chainring side! It took a lot of Googling to find the part number but I eventually did and ordered one which I fitted back on Awesom-O (metal showing side to the crank, all rubber side to the bottom bracket) and I've since ordered a couple as spares. The Shimano part number is 20018939 and I found them on sale here.
any moisture getting between the crank and the bottom bracket bearing and thus into the bottom bracket shell. Well, a flash of inspiration told me the mysterious washer was the equivalent of the rubber seal on the chainring side! It took a lot of Googling to find the part number but I eventually did and ordered one which I fitted back on Awesom-O (metal showing side to the crank, all rubber side to the bottom bracket) and I've since ordered a couple as spares. The Shimano part number is 20018939 and I found them on sale here.
Thursday, 3 November 2016
November 2016.
2nd November: The first cold night ride of the year... I was determined to get the first cold ride of the year under my belt so given that we're finally experiencing some properly cold weather I decided to head out after work this evening. The BBC website said 5c so I decided to dress warm. I had my Nike top over a t-shirt finished off with my new Aldi cycling top. I also had on my new Planet X long bibs, my fleece gloves, my fleece beanie and my new overshoes. I was taking no chances. Somewhat nervously, I got Awesom-O out and headed off to do the local 21. The first couple of miles felt very cold on my face but I soon warmed up and started enjoying the ride.Overall I felt pretty warm even though it was around 2-3c and was quite sweaty when I got in after a fast, pretty enjoyable ride. My torso was quite warm when I got in but I had occasionally noticed the wind blowing through my arms so I treated myself when I got in and ordered a Rapha long sleeved winter base layer. It wasn't cheap but I've heard that they're awesome quality and that, with just a jacket over it, it keeps you warm right down to freezing temperatures so I can't wait for it to arrive! Anyhow, a successful start to November and 21.3 miles.
5th November: I took Awesom-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was pretty cold but I was plenty warm enough with a t-shirt under my new Aldi Pro cycling jacket. As I got onto the bypass I was cheesed off to find it was pretty windy and, equally annoying, for some reason my legs took ages to kick in. I was about eight or nine miles out before my legs woke up properly. Anyhow, it stayed dry and it was an enjoyable enough ride for winter with a not so cool average of 15.9 miles. 27.4 more winter miles.
8th November: Well tonights ride was an interesting one! It had rained all day and was still chucking it down when I headed out after work to do the local 21 knowing it was going to be a very Rule #9 ride. I was wearing my Aldi cycling top over my new Rapha base layer with my Planet X long bibs and the new overshoes in the hope of staying warm and dry. It was pretty successful, too, My clothes were absolutely soaked when I got in but the Rapha was still pretty dry (apart from the pits - sorry!) and my legs were warm so I guess they make a pretty successful ensemble (although I've got my eye on a Parentini Mossa 2 for Christmas).
I had a close shave coming back down the Lancs though, I was cruising along at about 16 mph just thinking how poor the visibility on the path was because of the glare from oncoming traffic when I looked up and two neds on mountain bikes with no lights whatsoever shot past me on my left at a combined approach speed of a good 30 mph. Luckily we didn't crash but I can do without meeting dickheads like that on my rides. Despite my legs feeling awesome, my average speed proved to be the same as on my previous ride so it proves, one again, that cyling can be a strange sport sometimes. Anyhow, it was 21.2 more miles.
12th November: I took Aweson-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. The weather was ok, overcast and maybe around 10c so I wore my new Aldi cycling jacket over a t-shirt and ended up unzipping the jacket because I was melting. It was breezy rather than windy so it was quite an enjoyable ride overall and my average was 16.3 mph which was better than the last couple of rides. There was tons of standing water everywhere because of all the rain we've had recently but my overshoes kept my feet dry blasting through the puddles which was very cool. 27.2 more miles.
13th November: More fucktardary on the roads... I wanted to get out on Awesom-O tonight to clear my head a bit before the start of another week down't pit so I chucked on the Rapha and the Aldi and headed out. It was extremely mild, maybe 12c and not windy so it was ideal weather for a night pootle. I decided to risk the mud and fallen leaves and give the Old Coach Road (the OCR from now on) a go and it was all going normally until I turned left off the roundabout and headed up Ormskirk road. There in front of me pedalling along the main road were two lads on mountain bikes in dark clothes and no lights! Darwin would be tutting in his grave. Anyhow, I carried on and survived the Old Coach Road although I did have a dicey moment near the end when I hit a narrow muddy section at about 16 mph and the front and rear wheels started sliding around independently of each other. Anyhow, I escaped unscathed and it was another 15.5 miles for November.
15th November: I managed to get out after work this evening so I took Awesom-O out to do the OCR again. I necked a mug of Whittard's Bourbon Espresso made in my Aeropress before I set out and I don't know if this was why but my legs have never felt so good!
From the second I left the house my legs felt awesome. Ironically I forgot to press start on the Garmin so I didn't actually record the ride but I suspect it was a great time. The weather was dry and pretty mild so an extremely enjoyable ride and another 15.6 miles.
17th November: I officially hate the puncture fairy! I decided to push my luck tonight and do the OCR ride again as I wanted to test my new Exposure support cell with my Diablo front light. It's a supplementary battery pack that connects to the light via the charging port and effectively doubles the run time. Because I need the light on full blast for 20 minutes it takes to do the road, I find myself switching between high, low and pulsing a lot on the ride to ensure it gets me home. The added runtime means I can stop worrying about the light getting me home and enjoy the ride more. Anyhow, the puncture fairy... I got a few hundred yards down the road when I felt my front rim bouncing on the ground with each pedal stroke. It was dark and very blowy but I managed to find a splinter of glass in the tyre, remove it, and fit a new tube and inflate it with a CO2 cartridge and be on my way. I was cycling along the Lancs, almost at Windle Island, when I felt my rear rim bounding along the ground! Not to worry I thought, I have another tube and CO2 cartridge so, all thoughts of an early night rapidly fading, I replaced the tube. I couldn't feel anything stuck in the tyre so I inflated it and headed across Windle Island to the bypass. By this point however the tyre was as flat as a pancake again so I ended up with a 40 minute walk back to my house. An eventful ride and 14.7 miles.
19th November: Awesom-O's in bits at he moment as I get his tyres sorted out so I took the Giant out to do the local 21 this afternoon. It wasn't too cold and the wind was pretty light so it was quite a fun ride, my legs ached a bit though but I guess that's because my legs are getting accustomed to Awesom-O's geometry. I got close passed on the East Lancs by a minicab driver in a Mondeo estate which was pretty annoying but I've often thought people only become minicab drivers because they're too stupid to be criminals. Anyhow, the Giant wasn't too mucky when I got in but I gave him a good wash anyway and it was another 21.5 miles for November.
20th November: I took Awesom-O out this evening for another pre-working week head clearer. It was a fun ride, not too cold and not much wind and I still haven't come off on the wet leaves which is always good. After the double puncture the other day I've ordered new tyres for Awesom-O so this might have been my last ride on the Conti 4 Seasons, they've done roughly 2,200 miles which isn't a lot but I don't trust them any more and they weren't amazingly puncture resistant in the first place. Another 15.7 miles for November.
24th November: Awesom-O has new shoes! I've officially retired the 4 Seasons partly because they were getting a bit long in the tooth and partly because I just fancied a change! Michelin have just brought out a new range of tyres, the 'Power' series. There's a light weight racing tyre, an endurance model and a tough winter model. I chose the middle one called 'Endurance'. Michelin have spent two years developing the tyres using some of their technology from road and motorbike tyres and they claim lower rolling resistance, better puncture protection and more grip.
The Endurance is billed as an all-rounder with extra puncture protection and lower rolling resistance which is why I chose them for Awesom-O. I only did the local 21 miler tonight but I'm very impressed, they're definitely a lot faster rolling than the 4 Seasons. I felt they felt slightly harsh but I may have over inflated them a bit so I'll report back. I did have an amusing encounter coming back down the Lancs though. I could see a young couple about forty yards ahead jogging together. As the bloke spotted me, he moved to one side so I could pass and the girl suddenly grabbed him shrieking "F*cking hell, I nearly sh*t myself then. I thought he was a car and was going to get me!". The Exposure Diablo strikes again! It was a cold but calm night and another 21.9 miles. This was quite a significant ride because the overdraft is gone, I'm at 2,202 miles for 2016 and I've got another few days to build up a surplus!
27th November: I escaped this afternoon and ended up doing a bit of a hybrid route. It was a lot warmer than it has been recently with a fair amount of blue sky so quite a nice ride overall. I ran the new tyres at 75 and 80 psi and they still felt quite solid which I guess is because there's plenty of rubber in them, they are an endurance tyre after all, but they are noticeably faster rolling than the old Conti's. I did a lap around the fishing pond at Sidings Lane and then what would have been the local 27 but, instead of heading up Sineacre Lane after the farm path towards Kirkby, I carried on down and did the OCR. As I came out of the farm path and carried on down the main road I was reminded that one of the many downsides of winter is getting gritted by passing gritting lorries (I got gritted on Thursday as well going down the Lancs). I don't what's in grit these days but I didn't hear any salt pinging off Awesom-O but the wagon did leave a very strong smell of fertiliser in the road after it has passed which was odd. Anyhow, an enjoyable ride and another 22.4 miles.
30th November: Well, the final ride of November was fun and uneventful. I took Awesom-O out after work to do the OCR again. It wasn't too cold or windy but it was quite misty and damp so felt colder than it probably was. Anyhow, I soon warmed up and enjoyed the ride, my legs felt good as well which is always nice and Awesom-O was nice and muddy when we got back which is par for the course for this time of year. I will clean him but it can wait until the weekend this time, it's too cold! The final total for November was 241.2 which is pretty good around 160 miles to do in December...
5th November: I took Awesom-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was pretty cold but I was plenty warm enough with a t-shirt under my new Aldi Pro cycling jacket. As I got onto the bypass I was cheesed off to find it was pretty windy and, equally annoying, for some reason my legs took ages to kick in. I was about eight or nine miles out before my legs woke up properly. Anyhow, it stayed dry and it was an enjoyable enough ride for winter with a not so cool average of 15.9 miles. 27.4 more winter miles.
8th November: Well tonights ride was an interesting one! It had rained all day and was still chucking it down when I headed out after work to do the local 21 knowing it was going to be a very Rule #9 ride. I was wearing my Aldi cycling top over my new Rapha base layer with my Planet X long bibs and the new overshoes in the hope of staying warm and dry. It was pretty successful, too, My clothes were absolutely soaked when I got in but the Rapha was still pretty dry (apart from the pits - sorry!) and my legs were warm so I guess they make a pretty successful ensemble (although I've got my eye on a Parentini Mossa 2 for Christmas).
I had a close shave coming back down the Lancs though, I was cruising along at about 16 mph just thinking how poor the visibility on the path was because of the glare from oncoming traffic when I looked up and two neds on mountain bikes with no lights whatsoever shot past me on my left at a combined approach speed of a good 30 mph. Luckily we didn't crash but I can do without meeting dickheads like that on my rides. Despite my legs feeling awesome, my average speed proved to be the same as on my previous ride so it proves, one again, that cyling can be a strange sport sometimes. Anyhow, it was 21.2 more miles.
12th November: I took Aweson-O out this afternoon to do the local 27. The weather was ok, overcast and maybe around 10c so I wore my new Aldi cycling jacket over a t-shirt and ended up unzipping the jacket because I was melting. It was breezy rather than windy so it was quite an enjoyable ride overall and my average was 16.3 mph which was better than the last couple of rides. There was tons of standing water everywhere because of all the rain we've had recently but my overshoes kept my feet dry blasting through the puddles which was very cool. 27.2 more miles.
13th November: More fucktardary on the roads... I wanted to get out on Awesom-O tonight to clear my head a bit before the start of another week down't pit so I chucked on the Rapha and the Aldi and headed out. It was extremely mild, maybe 12c and not windy so it was ideal weather for a night pootle. I decided to risk the mud and fallen leaves and give the Old Coach Road (the OCR from now on) a go and it was all going normally until I turned left off the roundabout and headed up Ormskirk road. There in front of me pedalling along the main road were two lads on mountain bikes in dark clothes and no lights! Darwin would be tutting in his grave. Anyhow, I carried on and survived the Old Coach Road although I did have a dicey moment near the end when I hit a narrow muddy section at about 16 mph and the front and rear wheels started sliding around independently of each other. Anyhow, I escaped unscathed and it was another 15.5 miles for November.
15th November: I managed to get out after work this evening so I took Awesom-O out to do the OCR again. I necked a mug of Whittard's Bourbon Espresso made in my Aeropress before I set out and I don't know if this was why but my legs have never felt so good!
From the second I left the house my legs felt awesome. Ironically I forgot to press start on the Garmin so I didn't actually record the ride but I suspect it was a great time. The weather was dry and pretty mild so an extremely enjoyable ride and another 15.6 miles.
17th November: I officially hate the puncture fairy! I decided to push my luck tonight and do the OCR ride again as I wanted to test my new Exposure support cell with my Diablo front light. It's a supplementary battery pack that connects to the light via the charging port and effectively doubles the run time. Because I need the light on full blast for 20 minutes it takes to do the road, I find myself switching between high, low and pulsing a lot on the ride to ensure it gets me home. The added runtime means I can stop worrying about the light getting me home and enjoy the ride more. Anyhow, the puncture fairy... I got a few hundred yards down the road when I felt my front rim bouncing on the ground with each pedal stroke. It was dark and very blowy but I managed to find a splinter of glass in the tyre, remove it, and fit a new tube and inflate it with a CO2 cartridge and be on my way. I was cycling along the Lancs, almost at Windle Island, when I felt my rear rim bounding along the ground! Not to worry I thought, I have another tube and CO2 cartridge so, all thoughts of an early night rapidly fading, I replaced the tube. I couldn't feel anything stuck in the tyre so I inflated it and headed across Windle Island to the bypass. By this point however the tyre was as flat as a pancake again so I ended up with a 40 minute walk back to my house. An eventful ride and 14.7 miles.
19th November: Awesom-O's in bits at he moment as I get his tyres sorted out so I took the Giant out to do the local 21 this afternoon. It wasn't too cold and the wind was pretty light so it was quite a fun ride, my legs ached a bit though but I guess that's because my legs are getting accustomed to Awesom-O's geometry. I got close passed on the East Lancs by a minicab driver in a Mondeo estate which was pretty annoying but I've often thought people only become minicab drivers because they're too stupid to be criminals. Anyhow, the Giant wasn't too mucky when I got in but I gave him a good wash anyway and it was another 21.5 miles for November.
20th November: I took Awesom-O out this evening for another pre-working week head clearer. It was a fun ride, not too cold and not much wind and I still haven't come off on the wet leaves which is always good. After the double puncture the other day I've ordered new tyres for Awesom-O so this might have been my last ride on the Conti 4 Seasons, they've done roughly 2,200 miles which isn't a lot but I don't trust them any more and they weren't amazingly puncture resistant in the first place. Another 15.7 miles for November.
24th November: Awesom-O has new shoes! I've officially retired the 4 Seasons partly because they were getting a bit long in the tooth and partly because I just fancied a change! Michelin have just brought out a new range of tyres, the 'Power' series. There's a light weight racing tyre, an endurance model and a tough winter model. I chose the middle one called 'Endurance'. Michelin have spent two years developing the tyres using some of their technology from road and motorbike tyres and they claim lower rolling resistance, better puncture protection and more grip.
The Endurance is billed as an all-rounder with extra puncture protection and lower rolling resistance which is why I chose them for Awesom-O. I only did the local 21 miler tonight but I'm very impressed, they're definitely a lot faster rolling than the 4 Seasons. I felt they felt slightly harsh but I may have over inflated them a bit so I'll report back. I did have an amusing encounter coming back down the Lancs though. I could see a young couple about forty yards ahead jogging together. As the bloke spotted me, he moved to one side so I could pass and the girl suddenly grabbed him shrieking "F*cking hell, I nearly sh*t myself then. I thought he was a car and was going to get me!". The Exposure Diablo strikes again! It was a cold but calm night and another 21.9 miles. This was quite a significant ride because the overdraft is gone, I'm at 2,202 miles for 2016 and I've got another few days to build up a surplus!
27th November: I escaped this afternoon and ended up doing a bit of a hybrid route. It was a lot warmer than it has been recently with a fair amount of blue sky so quite a nice ride overall. I ran the new tyres at 75 and 80 psi and they still felt quite solid which I guess is because there's plenty of rubber in them, they are an endurance tyre after all, but they are noticeably faster rolling than the old Conti's. I did a lap around the fishing pond at Sidings Lane and then what would have been the local 27 but, instead of heading up Sineacre Lane after the farm path towards Kirkby, I carried on down and did the OCR. As I came out of the farm path and carried on down the main road I was reminded that one of the many downsides of winter is getting gritted by passing gritting lorries (I got gritted on Thursday as well going down the Lancs). I don't what's in grit these days but I didn't hear any salt pinging off Awesom-O but the wagon did leave a very strong smell of fertiliser in the road after it has passed which was odd. Anyhow, an enjoyable ride and another 22.4 miles.
30th November: Well, the final ride of November was fun and uneventful. I took Awesom-O out after work to do the OCR again. It wasn't too cold or windy but it was quite misty and damp so felt colder than it probably was. Anyhow, I soon warmed up and enjoyed the ride, my legs felt good as well which is always nice and Awesom-O was nice and muddy when we got back which is par for the course for this time of year. I will clean him but it can wait until the weekend this time, it's too cold! The final total for November was 241.2 which is pretty good around 160 miles to do in December...
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Review: Wiggle dhb Neoprene Nylon overshoes.
One of the things I've always suffered from cycling in the winter is cold hands and toes, I guess I just have poor circulation. Cold hands are pretty easy to deal with and I now have various types of gloves to use when cycling, depending on the weather. The thing I always suffer from, wet weather or dry, is frozen toes. I've come back from long, wet winter rides before where it's taken 20 minutes in a hot bath for my toes to turn back from grey to pink and regain any sensation at all.
I knew overshoes existed of course but some weird, stubborn part of my mind always thought they were a bit too roadie for me (especially when you see people wearing them in the height of summer!) so I ignored them. Anyhow, I bit the bullet and bought a pair from Wiggle for the princely sum of £19. Fitting the size smalls over my old size 7 Shimano MTB shoes was a struggle but they fit very well in the end so I headed out to do the Old Coach Road tonight, in 8c weather, to test them really hoping they'd work. The result? warm feet! My feet weren't hot and sweaty but they were 'normal', no sense of feeling cold at all. I'm a convert !
I knew overshoes existed of course but some weird, stubborn part of my mind always thought they were a bit too roadie for me (especially when you see people wearing them in the height of summer!) so I ignored them. Anyhow, I bit the bullet and bought a pair from Wiggle for the princely sum of £19. Fitting the size smalls over my old size 7 Shimano MTB shoes was a struggle but they fit very well in the end so I headed out to do the Old Coach Road tonight, in 8c weather, to test them really hoping they'd work. The result? warm feet! My feet weren't hot and sweaty but they were 'normal', no sense of feeling cold at all. I'm a convert !
Thursday, 13 October 2016
A plea to all cyclists leaving reviews for cycle clothing!
Clothing sizing can vary enormously between brands, especially where cycling clothing is concerned. It isn't just between brands either, it can be even more evident between different countries; if you've ever ordered what you thought was your size from an Italian brand of clothing you may be in for quite a surprise when you try it on.
With this in mind can I just ask that if you leave a product review for the item you bought, please give the size you ordered and your own measurements and how the garment fitted? For example:
"I bought these shorts last autumn and they're fantastic!"
doesn't really help other people trying to decide what to order. A review along the lines of:
"I'm a skinny 5' 11" with a 32" inside leg and I ordered the medium. They were pretty tight so I took them back and got the large which fitted perfectly"
gives people browsing the web a lot more useful information to base their purchasing choice on.
Just a passing thought!
With this in mind can I just ask that if you leave a product review for the item you bought, please give the size you ordered and your own measurements and how the garment fitted? For example:
"I bought these shorts last autumn and they're fantastic!"
doesn't really help other people trying to decide what to order. A review along the lines of:
"I'm a skinny 5' 11" with a 32" inside leg and I ordered the medium. They were pretty tight so I took them back and got the large which fitted perfectly"
gives people browsing the web a lot more useful information to base their purchasing choice on.
Just a passing thought!
Sunday, 2 October 2016
October 2016.
1st October: It rained most of the morning today so I got a fair bit of maintenance done. I took the cranksets off both bikes to give them a good clean because muck does tend to build up between the cranks and the bottom bracket. I also took the rings off Awesom-O and found a solid black crust on the inside of the rings that I suspect is the residue from Muc-Off's vegetable oil based chain lube that I no longer use. I deep cleaned Awesom-O's chain last week before the Manchester to Blackpool and after I gave it the second application of Purple Extreme I noticed the rollers between the outer plates looked really wobbly so I checked the chain and found the .75% end dropped right through! The chain only had 916 miles on it but I whipped it off and fitted a new one so with his clean rings and chain, Awesom-O was looking pretty smart. Anyhow, the sun came out in the afternoon so I did the local 27 on him. It was overcast but a bit sunny and there wasn't much wind which was refreshing. I also had a first on the way back in. I was doing 18.1 mph (I'd just glanced down at the Garmin) along the shared use path when a grey squirrel shot out in front of me. He instantly span round and shot back into the undergrowth in a perfect V-shaped path. I know my heart missed a beat and I'm pretty sure his missed a few too! Anyhow, 27.2 miles to kick October off.
2nd October: It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day today, without much wind, so I hopped on the Giant and headed off up the bypass. As I occasionally do, I was suddenly hit with a sense of boredom with my usual route so I decided to go wandering instead.
I stayed out for a good hour exploring places I haven't been for a while, including a lap around the fishing pond at Sidings Lane which got the Giant rather muddy. My legs felt very strong so it was pretty enjoyable ride overall and it was another 17.9 autumnal miles.
4th October: Not a perfect ride tonight, I must admit. The weather was looking promising so I headed out at 6 o'clock planning to do the local 21. I had the new See.Sense Icon on the back of the bike and a coin-cell blinking white light on the front because the evening are definitely drawing in. Anyhow, the ride was going great and my legs felt really strong coming back down the East Lancs when I turned around and saw my back light had turned off! I managed to get back in the pitch dark in one piece by staying on minor roads away from the traffic for the last few miles but I was not impressed. It was lucky I'd taken the front blinky light as well because cycling down the shared use path in the pitch dark was an interesting experience, at least I could make out the vague outline of where the path was! A sketchy 21.5 miles.
8th October: It was another gorgeous, sunny autumn day today with barely any wind so I headed out on the Giant to do the local 27. Before I went however, I decided to replace the front brake pads. They've got around 3,000 miles on them and, although not particularly worn, they were looking a bit tatty. Pads changed, I headed out for the ride. It was chilly but warm when out of the wind so it was a pretty enjoyable ride, my legs felt very strong and I ended up with a decent average of 16.9 mph which was good. The front brake was fairly poor as the pads need to bed in still but they should be back to normal after a couple of more rides. Anyhow, another 27.2 miles for October.
15th October: It was a beautiful autumn day today so I took the Giant out to do the local 27. It was fairly windy but actually pretty warm when I managed to get out of the wind. Apart from a couple of dickheads close passing me around the back of Kirkby it was a pretty good ride. I was wearing my new Planet X winter bib longs and my Aldi Pro cycling top to so I ended up virtually cooking myself so I guess I'll leave the longs until winter really kicks in. Anyhow, 27.2 more miles.
19th October: I managed to get out for a late ride after work this evening and it was a first for two reasons. Firstly, it was the first fully dark ride of the year and secondly, it was the first ride with Awesom-O's new wheels! I've never really been happy with the back wheel since I smashed it into a pothole last winter so when I noticed Hunt did a rim brake wheelset specifically designed for winter riding for £229 I bit the bullet and ordered a set.
It was a very enjoyable ride, my legs felt great and I didn't get as hot as I did last Saturday. It was about 8c and I was wearing my new Planet X long bibs and the Aldi jacket over a t-shirt and I was sweaty when I got in but I didn't feel boiled. The new wheels are awesome, super smooth and stiff but really comfortable. It's hard to explain why but I've always found the Aksiums quite harsh, the Hunts definitely feel comfier somehow. Anyhow, an extremely enjoyable ride and 21.5 more miles for October.
25th October: I took Awesom-O out tonight to do the Old Coach Road to do two things. Firstly, I wanted to see how the new Hunt wheels were on the extremely poor surface and secondly to see how warm the new dhb overshoes kept my feet. It turned out to be an extremely pleasant ride. The new wheels were definitely a bit smoother than the Aksiums and I got home with 'normal' feet. It was barely 8c and the mesh panels in my Shimano MTB shoes meant my feet would normally be pretty icy when I got in but they were absolutely fine - result! Another 15.5 miles for October.
27th October: It was quite a fun ride tonight except for one annoying incident. It's been dry for a few days so I took the Giant out to do the local 27, we're having a warm spell at the moment so I left the overshoes at home. As I was heading along Sineacre lane past a row of a few houses my front wheel hit a pothole with a very loud noise I can only describe as sounding like someone belting a wall with a carbon fibre pipe. I fully expected the tyre to go down but miraculously it didn't which was strange so I carried on. When I got home there wasn't a speck of damage to the bike or the wheel so I guess carbon fibre bikes are tougher than some people say! Anyhow, quite an enjoyable ride and 27.2 more miles.
29th October: It rained all morning today but stopped in the afternoon so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I wanted to do 25 miles so I planned to do the local 27 but stop a mile short of the end of the farm track. It was an odd ride, there was no wind but it was very overcast and what the Scots call 'dreich', damp and grey. On most rides I want to ride as hard as possible but on this one I was strangely content to just ride at my own pace and take things as they came. One real high point was that I saw the hare again! As I was halfway down Hall Lane, he popped out of the hedge, hopped across the road and down the pavement a bit and then disappeared through a gap in the hedge. He's absolutely huge and I'm really pleased he's well. I ended up diverting down the farm track to try and take a decent pic of Awesom-O (seemingly impossible, the Celeste-like green paint throws the auto white balance of any camera out of whack it seems) so it ended up as 25.9 miles.
Well, I was going to squeeze in one more ride for October to finally banish the 2016 overdraft but I didn't so the month goes out with a respectable enough 211.1 miles on the clock. The overdraft is down to a miniscule 0.7 miles so, winter weather permitting, that shouldn't be too much of a chore.
2nd October: It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day today, without much wind, so I hopped on the Giant and headed off up the bypass. As I occasionally do, I was suddenly hit with a sense of boredom with my usual route so I decided to go wandering instead.
I stayed out for a good hour exploring places I haven't been for a while, including a lap around the fishing pond at Sidings Lane which got the Giant rather muddy. My legs felt very strong so it was pretty enjoyable ride overall and it was another 17.9 autumnal miles.
4th October: Not a perfect ride tonight, I must admit. The weather was looking promising so I headed out at 6 o'clock planning to do the local 21. I had the new See.Sense Icon on the back of the bike and a coin-cell blinking white light on the front because the evening are definitely drawing in. Anyhow, the ride was going great and my legs felt really strong coming back down the East Lancs when I turned around and saw my back light had turned off! I managed to get back in the pitch dark in one piece by staying on minor roads away from the traffic for the last few miles but I was not impressed. It was lucky I'd taken the front blinky light as well because cycling down the shared use path in the pitch dark was an interesting experience, at least I could make out the vague outline of where the path was! A sketchy 21.5 miles.
8th October: It was another gorgeous, sunny autumn day today with barely any wind so I headed out on the Giant to do the local 27. Before I went however, I decided to replace the front brake pads. They've got around 3,000 miles on them and, although not particularly worn, they were looking a bit tatty. Pads changed, I headed out for the ride. It was chilly but warm when out of the wind so it was a pretty enjoyable ride, my legs felt very strong and I ended up with a decent average of 16.9 mph which was good. The front brake was fairly poor as the pads need to bed in still but they should be back to normal after a couple of more rides. Anyhow, another 27.2 miles for October.
15th October: It was a beautiful autumn day today so I took the Giant out to do the local 27. It was fairly windy but actually pretty warm when I managed to get out of the wind. Apart from a couple of dickheads close passing me around the back of Kirkby it was a pretty good ride. I was wearing my new Planet X winter bib longs and my Aldi Pro cycling top to so I ended up virtually cooking myself so I guess I'll leave the longs until winter really kicks in. Anyhow, 27.2 more miles.
19th October: I managed to get out for a late ride after work this evening and it was a first for two reasons. Firstly, it was the first fully dark ride of the year and secondly, it was the first ride with Awesom-O's new wheels! I've never really been happy with the back wheel since I smashed it into a pothole last winter so when I noticed Hunt did a rim brake wheelset specifically designed for winter riding for £229 I bit the bullet and ordered a set.
It was a very enjoyable ride, my legs felt great and I didn't get as hot as I did last Saturday. It was about 8c and I was wearing my new Planet X long bibs and the Aldi jacket over a t-shirt and I was sweaty when I got in but I didn't feel boiled. The new wheels are awesome, super smooth and stiff but really comfortable. It's hard to explain why but I've always found the Aksiums quite harsh, the Hunts definitely feel comfier somehow. Anyhow, an extremely enjoyable ride and 21.5 more miles for October.
25th October: I took Awesom-O out tonight to do the Old Coach Road to do two things. Firstly, I wanted to see how the new Hunt wheels were on the extremely poor surface and secondly to see how warm the new dhb overshoes kept my feet. It turned out to be an extremely pleasant ride. The new wheels were definitely a bit smoother than the Aksiums and I got home with 'normal' feet. It was barely 8c and the mesh panels in my Shimano MTB shoes meant my feet would normally be pretty icy when I got in but they were absolutely fine - result! Another 15.5 miles for October.
27th October: It was quite a fun ride tonight except for one annoying incident. It's been dry for a few days so I took the Giant out to do the local 27, we're having a warm spell at the moment so I left the overshoes at home. As I was heading along Sineacre lane past a row of a few houses my front wheel hit a pothole with a very loud noise I can only describe as sounding like someone belting a wall with a carbon fibre pipe. I fully expected the tyre to go down but miraculously it didn't which was strange so I carried on. When I got home there wasn't a speck of damage to the bike or the wheel so I guess carbon fibre bikes are tougher than some people say! Anyhow, quite an enjoyable ride and 27.2 more miles.
29th October: It rained all morning today but stopped in the afternoon so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I wanted to do 25 miles so I planned to do the local 27 but stop a mile short of the end of the farm track. It was an odd ride, there was no wind but it was very overcast and what the Scots call 'dreich', damp and grey. On most rides I want to ride as hard as possible but on this one I was strangely content to just ride at my own pace and take things as they came. One real high point was that I saw the hare again! As I was halfway down Hall Lane, he popped out of the hedge, hopped across the road and down the pavement a bit and then disappeared through a gap in the hedge. He's absolutely huge and I'm really pleased he's well. I ended up diverting down the farm track to try and take a decent pic of Awesom-O (seemingly impossible, the Celeste-like green paint throws the auto white balance of any camera out of whack it seems) so it ended up as 25.9 miles.
Well, I was going to squeeze in one more ride for October to finally banish the 2016 overdraft but I didn't so the month goes out with a respectable enough 211.1 miles on the clock. The overdraft is down to a miniscule 0.7 miles so, winter weather permitting, that shouldn't be too much of a chore.
Saturday, 1 October 2016
Review: Topeak Mini 9 multitool.
I nipped over to Halfords across the road from work the other day to buy a new multitool as my current one (a Topeak x-tool) is rather rusty and corroded. In the end, I decided on a Topeak Mini 9. Let me start by saying, this thing is cute! It's tiny and comes with a small neoprene case for it which I don't use as I suspect it will act as a moisture trap and rust the tool prematurely.
It has all the tools you might need for a road bike: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 mm Allen keys, a T25 Torx driver and a Philips screwdriver. A flat bladed screwdriver is largely redundant on modern bikes so it's absence isn't an issue. I've mic'd the Allen keys and they're all a microscopic 0.02 or 0.03 mm under spec which is very good indeed. All in all? Awesome value for a little over a tenner!
It has all the tools you might need for a road bike: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 mm Allen keys, a T25 Torx driver and a Philips screwdriver. A flat bladed screwdriver is largely redundant on modern bikes so it's absence isn't an issue. I've mic'd the Allen keys and they're all a microscopic 0.02 or 0.03 mm under spec which is very good indeed. All in all? Awesome value for a little over a tenner!
Monday, 12 September 2016
September 2016.
4th September: Well, the first ride of September proved to be quite an embarrassing one! I got about two miles up the village bypass and got a puncture in my rear wheel. I fitted a new tube easily enough but I couldn't find anything embedded in the tyre that might have caused the puncture so once it was repaired I was paranoid about it puncturing again.
Because I was meeting mum and dad (and the vicar!) for lunch at 2 o'clock I decided to abandon ship until I could confirm the tyre was going to stay up so I had a pootle around the village and got back for a quick shower before lunch. The mileage? A massive 7.5 to start September off!
7th September: I headed out to do the local 27 after work tonight, it was overcast but very warm with light winds so it was a hot, sweaty ride. It was shorter than I'd planned because I'd barely got a mile along the farm path and found it was closed! I thought I'd nip through anyway because I was on a bike not a car when I spotted a large sign saying it was closed to cyclists as well - arse! Anyway, I guess people need water so I'll just have to wait for them to finish. 22.5 more miles.
8th September: I really didn't want to go out today but I'm low on miles so I dragged myself out and did the Old Coach Road. It was overcast and very windy but actually quite warm out of the wind. A very bumpy 15.2 miles.
10th September: I did what's left of the local 27 this afternoon. It started off very overcast and a bit chilly but with virtually no wind which is a rarity. Now I'm using my new Topeak Joe Blow pump I decided to do an experiment. I inflated my tyres to 75 and 80 psi to see how comfortable they were. They were comfy but the front on still felt very hard and the rear felt slightly in danger of a snakebite puncture were I to hit a pothole. Next ride, I'm going to inflate them to 70 and 85 psi and see how I get on. Anyhow, the sun came out half way around and it turned into a gorgeous sunny day so a nice ride overall and it was the ride that took the Giant over the 3,000 mile mark which is cool. 23.2 more miles.
11th September: I did the same ride again this evening but with 70 psi in the front tyre and 85 psi in the rear one and I think I've cracked it! Some of the roads on my route, especially around the back of Kirkby, are appalling and the lower pressure in the front tyre made riding such roads much more comfortable.
I don't think they'd withstand a hard pothole hit at this pressure but for day to day riding it's ideal. It was a gorgeous late summer evening (see the pic, taken at the part of the farm track that's closed off), warm and not too much wind, so a very enjoyable ride and 23.3 miles in the bag.
15th September: I was dying to get out on the bike tonight so I necked a mug of Aeropress coffee after work and headed out on the Giant. It was quite windy but the last day or two have been sunny and extremely warm so it was a nice ride overall and perhaps the last chance to top up my tan before autumn sets in. I averaged 17.1 mph which was cool and it was another 22.8 more miles for September.
17th September: I headed out to do the local 27 and found that the farm path is fully open again which was a bonus. It was fairly windy but otherwise it was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. On the odd occasion I was out of the wind it was actually quite hot so there's clearly life left in summer yet. A good ride and 27.1 miles.
18th September: My mate Joe has finally bought a bike and signed up with Map my Ride so today's ride was a test ride to see if he got an email when I uploaded my ride. The weather was ok so I did the Old Coach Road on the Giant. It was quite a pleasant ride and another 15.6 miles for September.
25th September: It was my third BHF Manchester to Blackpool night ride today, a night I'd been looking forward to for ages. The BBC website said it would rain all night so I decided to take Awesom-O because he has mudguards. I had the traditional chicken fried rice at about 8 o'clock so I'd be full of carb's and headed to Manchester. I managed to get out with the second pod of riders and I felt great heading out of Manchester, it was drizzly but my legs felt good and I was making good progress. At about the twenty five mile mark I fumbled my water bottle and lost it but I thought I could get some water at the feeding station at the 40 mile mark so I wasn't too worried. Just as we left Preston, the slight drizzle turned into a full on downpour. The rain started washing the salt out of my helmet pads so it felt like acid in my eyes and I ended up taking my helmet off and clipping it to my backpack for about five miles until the rain slowed down a bit and I could ring out the front pad. At the 40 mile mark, the feeding station turned out to be an empty car park so that was my last chance to get a drink and I felt I was starting to run out energy slightly. I think being completely soaking must have been using a lot of calories so I necked a gel and carried on. The gel seemed to last about 5 minutes so I ate a Co-op milk chocolate cookie and carried on. The cookie kicked in after a few minutes so I tagged onto a couple of other riders and the sight of Blackpool spurred us on to quite a fast finish.
At this stage, the event usually involves standing around for an hour and a half freezing to death waiting for the bus back to Manchester. This year however, the Beach House bistro was open. I went in and got a coffee and, at the manager's suggestion, sat in the seating area which had huge heating lamps on the wall which were bliss. I was getting warm but it was about 20 minutes before my legs stopped shaking from the cold! Anyhow, to my surprise, my time was 2h 54m which I was pretty pleased with and I'm definitely doing it again next year! 51.3 very wet miles.
29th September: I finally managed to meet my mate Joe for a ride after work today, something we'd been trying to arrange for ages. I took the Giant and he was on his new Giant Escape 3. We did a ride I designed in Map my Ride a few todays that Joe has already done once before.
Apart from some heavy traffic it was quite an enjoyable ride, windy but not too bad and the ride had some nice quiet trails on it. Joe is doing ok, he was a bit knackered but managed pretty well. He has good traffic sense and is fairly confident so that bodes well for the future. He also has a decent cadence when pedalling which is great, I hate seeing people grinding along in a high gear prematurely wearing their knees out. My first 8.0 miles with Joe!
Well, September goes out with another positive mileage figure, 217.5 miles, which is good. It's been quite a good month generally. I got my central heating up and running which is awesome, I conquered my 3rd Manchester to Blackpool night ride and finally got out on a ride with Joe and his new bike. Here's hoping the weather in October stays positive...
Because I was meeting mum and dad (and the vicar!) for lunch at 2 o'clock I decided to abandon ship until I could confirm the tyre was going to stay up so I had a pootle around the village and got back for a quick shower before lunch. The mileage? A massive 7.5 to start September off!
7th September: I headed out to do the local 27 after work tonight, it was overcast but very warm with light winds so it was a hot, sweaty ride. It was shorter than I'd planned because I'd barely got a mile along the farm path and found it was closed! I thought I'd nip through anyway because I was on a bike not a car when I spotted a large sign saying it was closed to cyclists as well - arse! Anyway, I guess people need water so I'll just have to wait for them to finish. 22.5 more miles.
8th September: I really didn't want to go out today but I'm low on miles so I dragged myself out and did the Old Coach Road. It was overcast and very windy but actually quite warm out of the wind. A very bumpy 15.2 miles.
10th September: I did what's left of the local 27 this afternoon. It started off very overcast and a bit chilly but with virtually no wind which is a rarity. Now I'm using my new Topeak Joe Blow pump I decided to do an experiment. I inflated my tyres to 75 and 80 psi to see how comfortable they were. They were comfy but the front on still felt very hard and the rear felt slightly in danger of a snakebite puncture were I to hit a pothole. Next ride, I'm going to inflate them to 70 and 85 psi and see how I get on. Anyhow, the sun came out half way around and it turned into a gorgeous sunny day so a nice ride overall and it was the ride that took the Giant over the 3,000 mile mark which is cool. 23.2 more miles.
11th September: I did the same ride again this evening but with 70 psi in the front tyre and 85 psi in the rear one and I think I've cracked it! Some of the roads on my route, especially around the back of Kirkby, are appalling and the lower pressure in the front tyre made riding such roads much more comfortable.
I don't think they'd withstand a hard pothole hit at this pressure but for day to day riding it's ideal. It was a gorgeous late summer evening (see the pic, taken at the part of the farm track that's closed off), warm and not too much wind, so a very enjoyable ride and 23.3 miles in the bag.
15th September: I was dying to get out on the bike tonight so I necked a mug of Aeropress coffee after work and headed out on the Giant. It was quite windy but the last day or two have been sunny and extremely warm so it was a nice ride overall and perhaps the last chance to top up my tan before autumn sets in. I averaged 17.1 mph which was cool and it was another 22.8 more miles for September.
17th September: I headed out to do the local 27 and found that the farm path is fully open again which was a bonus. It was fairly windy but otherwise it was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. On the odd occasion I was out of the wind it was actually quite hot so there's clearly life left in summer yet. A good ride and 27.1 miles.
18th September: My mate Joe has finally bought a bike and signed up with Map my Ride so today's ride was a test ride to see if he got an email when I uploaded my ride. The weather was ok so I did the Old Coach Road on the Giant. It was quite a pleasant ride and another 15.6 miles for September.
25th September: It was my third BHF Manchester to Blackpool night ride today, a night I'd been looking forward to for ages. The BBC website said it would rain all night so I decided to take Awesom-O because he has mudguards. I had the traditional chicken fried rice at about 8 o'clock so I'd be full of carb's and headed to Manchester. I managed to get out with the second pod of riders and I felt great heading out of Manchester, it was drizzly but my legs felt good and I was making good progress. At about the twenty five mile mark I fumbled my water bottle and lost it but I thought I could get some water at the feeding station at the 40 mile mark so I wasn't too worried. Just as we left Preston, the slight drizzle turned into a full on downpour. The rain started washing the salt out of my helmet pads so it felt like acid in my eyes and I ended up taking my helmet off and clipping it to my backpack for about five miles until the rain slowed down a bit and I could ring out the front pad. At the 40 mile mark, the feeding station turned out to be an empty car park so that was my last chance to get a drink and I felt I was starting to run out energy slightly. I think being completely soaking must have been using a lot of calories so I necked a gel and carried on. The gel seemed to last about 5 minutes so I ate a Co-op milk chocolate cookie and carried on. The cookie kicked in after a few minutes so I tagged onto a couple of other riders and the sight of Blackpool spurred us on to quite a fast finish.
At this stage, the event usually involves standing around for an hour and a half freezing to death waiting for the bus back to Manchester. This year however, the Beach House bistro was open. I went in and got a coffee and, at the manager's suggestion, sat in the seating area which had huge heating lamps on the wall which were bliss. I was getting warm but it was about 20 minutes before my legs stopped shaking from the cold! Anyhow, to my surprise, my time was 2h 54m which I was pretty pleased with and I'm definitely doing it again next year! 51.3 very wet miles.
29th September: I finally managed to meet my mate Joe for a ride after work today, something we'd been trying to arrange for ages. I took the Giant and he was on his new Giant Escape 3. We did a ride I designed in Map my Ride a few todays that Joe has already done once before.
Apart from some heavy traffic it was quite an enjoyable ride, windy but not too bad and the ride had some nice quiet trails on it. Joe is doing ok, he was a bit knackered but managed pretty well. He has good traffic sense and is fairly confident so that bodes well for the future. He also has a decent cadence when pedalling which is great, I hate seeing people grinding along in a high gear prematurely wearing their knees out. My first 8.0 miles with Joe!
Well, September goes out with another positive mileage figure, 217.5 miles, which is good. It's been quite a good month generally. I got my central heating up and running which is awesome, I conquered my 3rd Manchester to Blackpool night ride and finally got out on a ride with Joe and his new bike. Here's hoping the weather in October stays positive...
Sunday, 4 September 2016
Review: M:Part Micro CO2 inflator.
I've ween waiting for ages to review this inflator but, ironically, I haven't had a puncture! Anyhow, I had a puncture today so was finally able to test it. At just a tenner, this is a brilliant little device. Sure, you can buy fancier alloy ones that are a few grams lighter but as it only weighs 50 grams anyway I didn't see the point.
To use you just make sure the knob is in the closed position and screw in a 16g threaded CO2 cartridge. You then screw the orange alloy nozzle onto the valve and carefully open the knob. When the tyre feels hard enough, just close the knob and un-thread the nozzle from the valve and you're on your way. It comes with a foam insulating sleeve to stop it freezing in your hand in use but I filed it under 'something else to lose' and just wrap one of my cycling mitts around it in use. All in all, top product!
NB: When you inflate a tyre with CO2, it is important to empty the tyre when you get home and re-inflate it with air. CO2 is soluble in rubber and the tyre will go down over a couple of days as the CO2 diffuses through it if you leave it as is.
To use you just make sure the knob is in the closed position and screw in a 16g threaded CO2 cartridge. You then screw the orange alloy nozzle onto the valve and carefully open the knob. When the tyre feels hard enough, just close the knob and un-thread the nozzle from the valve and you're on your way. It comes with a foam insulating sleeve to stop it freezing in your hand in use but I filed it under 'something else to lose' and just wrap one of my cycling mitts around it in use. All in all, top product!
NB: When you inflate a tyre with CO2, it is important to empty the tyre when you get home and re-inflate it with air. CO2 is soluble in rubber and the tyre will go down over a couple of days as the CO2 diffuses through it if you leave it as is.
Friday, 5 August 2016
August 2016.
August 5th: It's been a hard month to start so far, we've had rain and gales which is a bit odd given that it's early August. Anyway, I got out after work and did the local 27 but I started with a couple of quick maintenance/repair jobs.
I cleaned up the Hunt wheels and fitted the Conti Grandprix GT tyres with inner tubes, I've given up on tubeless for the time being but the Hunts are a lot lighter than the Giant wheels so it makes sense to start using them again.
The rear brake has long felt like it wasn't contributing much so I decided to change the inner cable. It turned out to be quite easy, I cut through the inner by the caliper and then peeled the front of the hood back and tied the lever against the handlebar. This reveals the little cast end on the cable so you just give the cut end a push to give you something to grab and pull the old cable out. It turned out the end ten or eleven inches of inner was fairly orange and mucky which explains the lack of rear braking. I lubed the new inner with Purple Extreme and fitted it pretty easily.
The other issue was the right brifter. It was very loose and rattly so I suspected that some kind of return spring had fallen out so I took a closer look. I spotted that the caliper didn't moved as I pulled the lever so I started by winding out the barrel adjuster on the caliper. By the time I'd unwound the adjuster about 6 mm, the caliper hadn't moved and the slack was gone - fixed! I don't know how but the inner cable had mysteriously lengthened itself. Anyhow, I'll wind the adjuster back in and fit a new cable tomorrow to permanently fix the issue.
The ride started cloudy with some blue spots and finished fairly sunny. It was breezy rather than windy so quite a pleasant ride overall; rear braking restored, rattle gone and and it was 27.3 miles to kick August off.
6th August: I can't remember a lot about this ride as I did it last Saturday and I've been too lazy to write it up until now... Anyway, I did the local 27 and I do remember it was hot. It was one of the rare rides where arms and legs were sweating when I got back in which doesn't happen very often. I'm also guessing it was very windy because my average was only 16.1 but that's nothing new this year. A sweaty 27.1 miles.
13th August: I've not been out since last weekend because of the weird weather we've been having; It was almost as if a week from last November has been spliced into this August. It's been cool, overcast, rainy and windy which is quite bizarre at this time of year. Anyhow, today was better, blue skies full of white clouds and fairly warm although still very windy. It was quite an enjoyable ride, while I was waiting to turn left at Windle island the wind dropped and it was actually pretty hot so a good ride for the tan and 27.2 more miles for August.
14th August: Well today's ride turned out to be embarrassingly short... I kept getting distracted and then, just before I finally did set off, dad texted saying we were eating at 5 which is pretty early. Anyhow, I did the ride where I get half way up the bypass, cut down Dairy Farm road, do the half of the Old Coach Road between there and the East Lancs and then head back via Alec's hill. I felt pretty strong up Alec's hill but Map my Ride said I've done it 28 seconds faster before, go figure?! Anyhow, it was a paltry 10.6 miles.
17th August: The weather's been absolutely gorgeous for the last couple of days so I headed out after work tonight and did the local 21. I normally drink Old Brown Java coffee from Whittard but I've been lazy recently and bought Lavazza red beans from Asda the last couple of times I've run out, it's ok but very average flavour-wise.
I finally bought half a kilo of Whittard's Old Brown Java beans and had a mug before I set out. I don't know whether it's the high mileage I did in July or the coffee but my legs felt amazing. Even though I came down the shared use path which is quite slow, and stopped at the chippy for curry and chips, I did it at an average of 17.2 mph, which was very good. 21.8 caffeine fuelled miles for August!
20th August: It was a real slice of autumn today, it was grey, overcast and very windy with a lot of rain predicted. Strangely, despite the weather, my legs felt awesome and it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've done for ages. Having seen the weather forecast I'd just fitted a set of SKS Chromoplastic Longboards to Awesome-O so he got his first outing of the summer. As it turned out, there was barely any rain but the Longboards kept me dry blasting through the puddles. 21.5 more miles.
21st August: Cycling is weird. The weather today was much like it was yesterday except perhaps even windier. Yesterday's ride was awesome but today's felt like an absolute chore. What's even weirder is that despite one ride being awesome and one being a pain, my average speed for both rides was the same, 16.4 mph, go figure... Anyhow, 22.3 more miles.
24th August: After a hard day at work I necked a mug of Old Brown Java and headed out to do the local 27 on the Giant. It was overcast and warm but best of all, hardly any wind!
Like Saturday's ride, my legs felt very strong all the way around and I ended up with a 16.8 average which is always good, especially for an after work ride. Best of all, I saw the hare again. He was sitting in the stubble and when he saw me, he ran about 100 yards away from me and then jinked left and ran another 100 yards before he was out of site. There's something very mystical about hares and I'm glad he looked to be fit and healthy.
26th August: Another ride I didn't type up at the time... Anyway, I did the local 27 and it was sunny with clouds but drizzled a bit right at the end. The wind was fairly light though which is always a bonus and it was 27.1 more miles for the month.
29th August: Well that was an eventful ride! It was hot and sunny with clear blue skies but fairly windy so I set out to do the local 27. First of all, something got in my helmet and either stung or bit me on the head which really hurt. Secondly, I saw a helicopter hovering in the distance and that one side of the M58 was solid cars and a quick Google when I got in revealed there's been a fatal car crash on the M58. Thirdly, there had just been a bad crash at Windle island as I crossed it with a black BMW smashed into one of the islands and police just arriving. To cap the ride off, there was a large ginger cat lying dead on the side of the by-pass which is always sad. On the plus side, my legs felt great from the minute I left the house, I'm beginning to think doing 400 miles in July has really brought me on a level fitness-wise. Anyhow, it was 27.4 more miles for August.
Well, after having no central heating for the last two winters, I'm finally getting my boiler replaced in eight days time. This has lead to operation 'Try and get my house looking like it hasn't been occupied by squatters for the last couple of years' and a lot of cleaning and tidying. Because of this, I didn't get a final ride in for August but it still goes out with a fairly respectable 239.5 miles on the clock. The overdraft for the year is down to 29.3 miles which is about a tenth of what it was earlier in the year so here's hoping for an Indian summer this autumn!
I cleaned up the Hunt wheels and fitted the Conti Grandprix GT tyres with inner tubes, I've given up on tubeless for the time being but the Hunts are a lot lighter than the Giant wheels so it makes sense to start using them again.
The rear brake has long felt like it wasn't contributing much so I decided to change the inner cable. It turned out to be quite easy, I cut through the inner by the caliper and then peeled the front of the hood back and tied the lever against the handlebar. This reveals the little cast end on the cable so you just give the cut end a push to give you something to grab and pull the old cable out. It turned out the end ten or eleven inches of inner was fairly orange and mucky which explains the lack of rear braking. I lubed the new inner with Purple Extreme and fitted it pretty easily.
The other issue was the right brifter. It was very loose and rattly so I suspected that some kind of return spring had fallen out so I took a closer look. I spotted that the caliper didn't moved as I pulled the lever so I started by winding out the barrel adjuster on the caliper. By the time I'd unwound the adjuster about 6 mm, the caliper hadn't moved and the slack was gone - fixed! I don't know how but the inner cable had mysteriously lengthened itself. Anyhow, I'll wind the adjuster back in and fit a new cable tomorrow to permanently fix the issue.
The ride started cloudy with some blue spots and finished fairly sunny. It was breezy rather than windy so quite a pleasant ride overall; rear braking restored, rattle gone and and it was 27.3 miles to kick August off.
6th August: I can't remember a lot about this ride as I did it last Saturday and I've been too lazy to write it up until now... Anyway, I did the local 27 and I do remember it was hot. It was one of the rare rides where arms and legs were sweating when I got back in which doesn't happen very often. I'm also guessing it was very windy because my average was only 16.1 but that's nothing new this year. A sweaty 27.1 miles.
13th August: I've not been out since last weekend because of the weird weather we've been having; It was almost as if a week from last November has been spliced into this August. It's been cool, overcast, rainy and windy which is quite bizarre at this time of year. Anyhow, today was better, blue skies full of white clouds and fairly warm although still very windy. It was quite an enjoyable ride, while I was waiting to turn left at Windle island the wind dropped and it was actually pretty hot so a good ride for the tan and 27.2 more miles for August.
14th August: Well today's ride turned out to be embarrassingly short... I kept getting distracted and then, just before I finally did set off, dad texted saying we were eating at 5 which is pretty early. Anyhow, I did the ride where I get half way up the bypass, cut down Dairy Farm road, do the half of the Old Coach Road between there and the East Lancs and then head back via Alec's hill. I felt pretty strong up Alec's hill but Map my Ride said I've done it 28 seconds faster before, go figure?! Anyhow, it was a paltry 10.6 miles.
17th August: The weather's been absolutely gorgeous for the last couple of days so I headed out after work tonight and did the local 21. I normally drink Old Brown Java coffee from Whittard but I've been lazy recently and bought Lavazza red beans from Asda the last couple of times I've run out, it's ok but very average flavour-wise.
I finally bought half a kilo of Whittard's Old Brown Java beans and had a mug before I set out. I don't know whether it's the high mileage I did in July or the coffee but my legs felt amazing. Even though I came down the shared use path which is quite slow, and stopped at the chippy for curry and chips, I did it at an average of 17.2 mph, which was very good. 21.8 caffeine fuelled miles for August!
20th August: It was a real slice of autumn today, it was grey, overcast and very windy with a lot of rain predicted. Strangely, despite the weather, my legs felt awesome and it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've done for ages. Having seen the weather forecast I'd just fitted a set of SKS Chromoplastic Longboards to Awesome-O so he got his first outing of the summer. As it turned out, there was barely any rain but the Longboards kept me dry blasting through the puddles. 21.5 more miles.
21st August: Cycling is weird. The weather today was much like it was yesterday except perhaps even windier. Yesterday's ride was awesome but today's felt like an absolute chore. What's even weirder is that despite one ride being awesome and one being a pain, my average speed for both rides was the same, 16.4 mph, go figure... Anyhow, 22.3 more miles.
24th August: After a hard day at work I necked a mug of Old Brown Java and headed out to do the local 27 on the Giant. It was overcast and warm but best of all, hardly any wind!
Like Saturday's ride, my legs felt very strong all the way around and I ended up with a 16.8 average which is always good, especially for an after work ride. Best of all, I saw the hare again. He was sitting in the stubble and when he saw me, he ran about 100 yards away from me and then jinked left and ran another 100 yards before he was out of site. There's something very mystical about hares and I'm glad he looked to be fit and healthy.
26th August: Another ride I didn't type up at the time... Anyway, I did the local 27 and it was sunny with clouds but drizzled a bit right at the end. The wind was fairly light though which is always a bonus and it was 27.1 more miles for the month.
29th August: Well that was an eventful ride! It was hot and sunny with clear blue skies but fairly windy so I set out to do the local 27. First of all, something got in my helmet and either stung or bit me on the head which really hurt. Secondly, I saw a helicopter hovering in the distance and that one side of the M58 was solid cars and a quick Google when I got in revealed there's been a fatal car crash on the M58. Thirdly, there had just been a bad crash at Windle island as I crossed it with a black BMW smashed into one of the islands and police just arriving. To cap the ride off, there was a large ginger cat lying dead on the side of the by-pass which is always sad. On the plus side, my legs felt great from the minute I left the house, I'm beginning to think doing 400 miles in July has really brought me on a level fitness-wise. Anyhow, it was 27.4 more miles for August.
Well, after having no central heating for the last two winters, I'm finally getting my boiler replaced in eight days time. This has lead to operation 'Try and get my house looking like it hasn't been occupied by squatters for the last couple of years' and a lot of cleaning and tidying. Because of this, I didn't get a final ride in for August but it still goes out with a fairly respectable 239.5 miles on the clock. The overdraft for the year is down to 29.3 miles which is about a tenth of what it was earlier in the year so here's hoping for an Indian summer this autumn!
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Replacing a Shimano Press-Fit, or BB86, bottom bracket.
There are a ridiculous number of competing bottom bracket standards in the bike world at the moment but I eventually established that mine (on a 2015 Giant Defy Advanced 2) was what is called a BB86 bottom bracket. The bottom bracket shell is 86.5 mm wide, 41 mm in internal diameter and accepts a 24 mm axle. The increasingly creaky nature of mine, and the fact that it has 2506.6 miles on it, led me to decide to replace it.
I ordered the bottom bracket and a Park Tool BB86 bottom bracket removal tool from Wiggle, made a red-neck bearing installer and got to work. It was very easy job, I could probably do the whole job again in five minutes, involving some basic tools and a smear of grease.
Firstly, to make the installation tool you'll need to visit B&Q and pick up a length of M12 threaded rod, a pack of M12 nuts and a pack of heavy duty square washers.
You need to saw off approximately seven inches of the threaded rod and smooth the cut end with a file. At one end, using plenty of thread locker, jam two of the nuts together to form a solid fixed end. Now add a square washer and one of the two dies that come with the Park Tool remover. Do the same at the other end but use one nut and leave it free so you can tighten it when you're pressing the new cups into the bottom bracket shell.The materials for this cost less than £9 and because there were four square washers in the pack I was able to make a second tool for my mate Phil at work. If you bought two packs of square washers, you could make four tools for about £11 - red-necking it for the win!
Secondly, here's a quick look at the grease I use on bikes. It's Finish Line grease with teflon. I've used it since it first appeared in the very early nineties when it came in a black tube with white writing. I've seen loose ball bottom brackets packed with this stuff looking absolutely perfect after a couple of brutal Scottish winters of mountain biking abuse.
If anything, I think it's actually improved since then, it used to be white and slightly translucent looking but now it's a sort of cream colour and smoother and stickier.
Anyhow, here's how it's done:
1. Loosen the two 5 mm bolts that hold the crank to the axle and use a Hollowtech II tool to unscrew the plastic adjustment plug from the axle.
2. Here's a pic with it removed. It's a good idea to smear some grease on the internal threads in the end of the axle when you're re-assembling later.
3. Now finish loosening off the two 5 mm allen bolts and, making sure you lift the retaining tab in the gap between the bolts, wiggle the crank off the axle.
4. You now need to unhook the chain from the chainring and carefully let it rest on the BB shell. You can now grab the driveside crank and pull the whole assembly out of the bottom bracket. You may need to bang the exposed end of the axle with the heel of your hand to get it moving.
5. You now need to insert the narrow end of the removal tool though one side of the bottom bracket and pull it until you hear the splayed end of the tool click into place behind the bottom bracket cup.
6. Using a fairly heavy metal hammer, hit the solid end of the tool sharply to get the cup moving and then a few more times to remove it. Mine wasn't difficult, it took three moderate blows and the cup popped out. Remove the central sleeve and remove the other cup. I found I had to insert the tool from the other side, narrow end first again, because the splayed end wouldn't seat behind the remaining cup easily from the now open side.
7. It surprised me how much muck and soil was in the bottom bracket shell. Needless to say, remove as much of it as you can now
8. Get the area as clean as you can and smear a good layer of grease around the inside of where the new bearing cup is going to seat in the shell.
9. With the seating area clean and greased, mount the new bearings either side of the shell (not forgetting to slot the central sleeve into one of the cups) and then assemble the red-neck bearing press through the whole assembly. Do the free nut up finger tight keeping everything as lined up as you can and then start turning the nut with an 19 mm spanner. I was expecting potential trouble at this point but the cups pressed in beautifully, one side seated first and when it was seated the other side followed it in. Tighten until you're sure both cups are flush with the frame but don't go mad; this is a bike, not a cylinder head.
10. And there you have it, job done - a nice new bottom bracket fitted. Re-assembly is easy, just put everything back in the order you removed it.
When you're re-attaching the non-drive side crank, you snug the crank onto the axle using the black screw in plug. Do it barely hand tight, just until you're the crank is seated but the whole crank assembly still spins freely. Now tighten the two 5 mm bolts, alternating between the two until they're both nice and snug.
Update since buying a torque wrench: The suggested value for these bolts is 12-14 nm. Tighten them alternately but bare in mind that once both bolts are at the correct torque value, the one you tightened first will have loosened slightly so tighten each bolt to the chosen value at least twice.
I ordered the bottom bracket and a Park Tool BB86 bottom bracket removal tool from Wiggle, made a red-neck bearing installer and got to work. It was very easy job, I could probably do the whole job again in five minutes, involving some basic tools and a smear of grease.
Firstly, to make the installation tool you'll need to visit B&Q and pick up a length of M12 threaded rod, a pack of M12 nuts and a pack of heavy duty square washers.
You need to saw off approximately seven inches of the threaded rod and smooth the cut end with a file. At one end, using plenty of thread locker, jam two of the nuts together to form a solid fixed end. Now add a square washer and one of the two dies that come with the Park Tool remover. Do the same at the other end but use one nut and leave it free so you can tighten it when you're pressing the new cups into the bottom bracket shell.The materials for this cost less than £9 and because there were four square washers in the pack I was able to make a second tool for my mate Phil at work. If you bought two packs of square washers, you could make four tools for about £11 - red-necking it for the win!
Secondly, here's a quick look at the grease I use on bikes. It's Finish Line grease with teflon. I've used it since it first appeared in the very early nineties when it came in a black tube with white writing. I've seen loose ball bottom brackets packed with this stuff looking absolutely perfect after a couple of brutal Scottish winters of mountain biking abuse.
If anything, I think it's actually improved since then, it used to be white and slightly translucent looking but now it's a sort of cream colour and smoother and stickier.
Anyhow, here's how it's done:
1. Loosen the two 5 mm bolts that hold the crank to the axle and use a Hollowtech II tool to unscrew the plastic adjustment plug from the axle.
2. Here's a pic with it removed. It's a good idea to smear some grease on the internal threads in the end of the axle when you're re-assembling later.
3. Now finish loosening off the two 5 mm allen bolts and, making sure you lift the retaining tab in the gap between the bolts, wiggle the crank off the axle.
4. You now need to unhook the chain from the chainring and carefully let it rest on the BB shell. You can now grab the driveside crank and pull the whole assembly out of the bottom bracket. You may need to bang the exposed end of the axle with the heel of your hand to get it moving.
5. You now need to insert the narrow end of the removal tool though one side of the bottom bracket and pull it until you hear the splayed end of the tool click into place behind the bottom bracket cup.
6. Using a fairly heavy metal hammer, hit the solid end of the tool sharply to get the cup moving and then a few more times to remove it. Mine wasn't difficult, it took three moderate blows and the cup popped out. Remove the central sleeve and remove the other cup. I found I had to insert the tool from the other side, narrow end first again, because the splayed end wouldn't seat behind the remaining cup easily from the now open side.
7. It surprised me how much muck and soil was in the bottom bracket shell. Needless to say, remove as much of it as you can now
8. Get the area as clean as you can and smear a good layer of grease around the inside of where the new bearing cup is going to seat in the shell.
9. With the seating area clean and greased, mount the new bearings either side of the shell (not forgetting to slot the central sleeve into one of the cups) and then assemble the red-neck bearing press through the whole assembly. Do the free nut up finger tight keeping everything as lined up as you can and then start turning the nut with an 19 mm spanner. I was expecting potential trouble at this point but the cups pressed in beautifully, one side seated first and when it was seated the other side followed it in. Tighten until you're sure both cups are flush with the frame but don't go mad; this is a bike, not a cylinder head.
10. And there you have it, job done - a nice new bottom bracket fitted. Re-assembly is easy, just put everything back in the order you removed it.
When you're re-attaching the non-drive side crank, you snug the crank onto the axle using the black screw in plug. Do it barely hand tight, just until you're the crank is seated but the whole crank assembly still spins freely. Now tighten the two 5 mm bolts, alternating between the two until they're both nice and snug.
Update since buying a torque wrench: The suggested value for these bolts is 12-14 nm. Tighten them alternately but bare in mind that once both bolts are at the correct torque value, the one you tightened first will have loosened slightly so tighten each bolt to the chosen value at least twice.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
July 2016.
2nd July: Well, July started with one of the most Rule #9 rides I've done in a while. It was very cloudy with the odd patch of blue sky but it was incredibly windy, more like November than July. On top of that, it chucked it down for about quarter of an hour half way around just to add to the fun. I managed to average 16.0 mph though which I was surprised by given the wind but quite pleasing. One cool thing about this particular ride was that I passed the 7,000 mile 'distance since I started cycling again' marker which is a decent milestone! Anyhow, 26.9 miles to kick July off.
3rd July: I noticed my inner chain ring was looking particularly gross before today's ride so I took the crankset off the bike and thoroughly degreased and cleaned the rings. I then headed out to do the local 21 with the farm track. It was a gorgeous sunny summer day but the wind from yesterday was still around, albeit not quite as horrendous.
I was enjoying the ride so I decided to extend it a bit. I started it by climbing Alec's hill and decided to carry on and come back via King's Moss and Crawford. It was very windy but very warm when the wind occasionally dropped. I averaged 16.2 mph as well which was pleasing. Also, I've ordered a 105 crankset for the Giant to replace the non-series RS 500 crankset so I'll finally have a full matching groupset. Anyhow, 32.0 more miles.
6th July: I booked the day off work today because the BBC weather website was saying there'd hardly be any wind. As it turned out, it was overcast and fairly breezy but very warm when the wind dropped so a lot nicer than the last couple of rides.
I did the local 21 with the farm a quick diversion to take this picture, and added a few miles by staying on the East Lancs and coming home via Carr Mill dam and Billinge. As you can see in the pic, I fitted the new 105 crankset before I set off and I must say, I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's light and stiff and I think it looks absolutely fantastic and really complements the rest of the bike. Anyhow, it was sweaty ride but fun and a decent average speed of 16.1 mph and 33.1 more miles.
9th July: I did the local 21 today with the farm track added on (from here on in to be known as the local 27. It was a lot less windy than it has been recently but there were lakes and puddles from the recent rain everywhere so the bike needed a proper wash afterwards. On the plus side, my legs felt great and I averaged 16.7 mph which was pretty good and the baby rabbits were out in force on the big grass verge behind Kirkby which is always cute. Another 27.4 miles for July.
10th July: It was a bit of a weird ride today. The weather was pleasant enough so I set out to do the local 21 because I was meeting my folks for a pub lunch at 2 o'clock and didn't have a lot of time. For some reason, as soon as I set off my legs just felt like Bambi legs and I was struggling a bit. By about mile 18 they were feeling a bit better and I was puzzled to see I'd averaged 16.5 mph when I uploaded the ride, I though it would've been down in the low 15's, anyhow, an odd ride but it was 21.6 more miles.
13th July: I booked the day off work today and ended up with a rather strange ride, weather-wise. The sky was blue but full of white clouds so it was cool for a few minutes then warm for a few minutes as the sun shone through the moving clouds. The wind was pretty strong but dropped for a while every twenty minutes or so which was odd. Also, I did my usual trick of assuming that because it had been dry and sunny all day, the route would be too. Of course, because of all the recent weather there was a lot of mud and, especially in the woods near Billinge, so the bike needed a thorough wash when we got in. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.0 mph which wasn't bad given the wind and climbs and it was 32.0 more miles for July.
16th July: I did the local 27 again today. The weather was strange for July, it was warm and overcast but with quite a cool wind which felt chilly with just a t-shirt and bibs on. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.5 mph despite getting stuck behind a family with young kids cycling along the by-pass for a while. The total was 27.0 miles which, rather bizarrely, took the July total to exactly 200 miles; plenty of time left to work on the mileage overdraft!
17th July: And again... There was a coolish wind like yesterday but the clouds were largely gone so it was quite a warm, sunny ride. The wind was quite strong but I managed to average over 16 mph so not a bad ride overall and good for keeping the sun tan topped up and 27.2 more miles.
21st July: I went out today to do the local 27 but ended up getting diverted by a road closed sign at the left turn traffic light at the back of Kirky. I ended up cycling down a long straight road along the edge of Kirkby which ended up on the main road so I ended up cycling through the middle of town, something I haven't done for a long while. A somewhat reduced 24.2 miles.
23rd July: It was a warm day today without much wind so I headed out to do the local 27. The road blocked sign was there but being a Saturday there were no workmen there doing anything so I decided to ignore the sign and see what was going on. It turns out they were coating the road on the bend with that weird grippy beige coating. It was a fast ride with a 17.5 mph average and another 26.5 miles.
25th July: I got out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was fairly windy so not as fast as the last ride but an enjoyable ride nonetheless and I stopped at the Subway as I left the industrial park for a tuna sub which is always nice. Another 27.2 miles.
27th July: My new sports glasses from Optilabs arrived today so I dragged myself out to do the local 21 after work. It was overcast and fairly windy but quite warm overall.
The glasses felt a bit weird but I'm sure I'll get used to them, they certainly keep a lot of wind out of your eyes though which is pretty cool. One slight downside is that I can no longer glance over my shoulder to check for cars when turning right but I'm sure I'll adapt a new technique. 20.8 more miles.
29th July: I got out after work tonight with aid of a mug of Old Brown Java and did the local 27 again. It was overcast but warm enough so not too bad. It was quite windy but a pretty enjoyable ride overall and another 26.5 more miles.
30th July: I got out and did the local 27 today. The weather was better than it has been, it was blue sky full of white clouds and quite warm. I'm getting used to the glasses now and enjoying the lack of wind in my eyes, I'm getting better at looking behind me as well which is probably a good thing! Anyhow, another 26.8 miles.
31st July: I managed to get out early this afternoon and drag myself around the local 21 for a final 21.7 miles. The weather was same old, same old ie blue skies but with lots of big white clouds floating around and quite warm out of the wind. I chose this distance knowing it was going to contribute to quite a significant event (for me!) in that it was the highest mileage I've ever done in a month - 400.9 miles! My mileage overdraft for the year was nearly three hundred so by having a bumper July, it's now less than seventy so roll on the rest of the year!
3rd July: I noticed my inner chain ring was looking particularly gross before today's ride so I took the crankset off the bike and thoroughly degreased and cleaned the rings. I then headed out to do the local 21 with the farm track. It was a gorgeous sunny summer day but the wind from yesterday was still around, albeit not quite as horrendous.
I was enjoying the ride so I decided to extend it a bit. I started it by climbing Alec's hill and decided to carry on and come back via King's Moss and Crawford. It was very windy but very warm when the wind occasionally dropped. I averaged 16.2 mph as well which was pleasing. Also, I've ordered a 105 crankset for the Giant to replace the non-series RS 500 crankset so I'll finally have a full matching groupset. Anyhow, 32.0 more miles.
6th July: I booked the day off work today because the BBC weather website was saying there'd hardly be any wind. As it turned out, it was overcast and fairly breezy but very warm when the wind dropped so a lot nicer than the last couple of rides.
I did the local 21 with the farm a quick diversion to take this picture, and added a few miles by staying on the East Lancs and coming home via Carr Mill dam and Billinge. As you can see in the pic, I fitted the new 105 crankset before I set off and I must say, I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's light and stiff and I think it looks absolutely fantastic and really complements the rest of the bike. Anyhow, it was sweaty ride but fun and a decent average speed of 16.1 mph and 33.1 more miles.
9th July: I did the local 21 today with the farm track added on (from here on in to be known as the local 27. It was a lot less windy than it has been recently but there were lakes and puddles from the recent rain everywhere so the bike needed a proper wash afterwards. On the plus side, my legs felt great and I averaged 16.7 mph which was pretty good and the baby rabbits were out in force on the big grass verge behind Kirkby which is always cute. Another 27.4 miles for July.
10th July: It was a bit of a weird ride today. The weather was pleasant enough so I set out to do the local 21 because I was meeting my folks for a pub lunch at 2 o'clock and didn't have a lot of time. For some reason, as soon as I set off my legs just felt like Bambi legs and I was struggling a bit. By about mile 18 they were feeling a bit better and I was puzzled to see I'd averaged 16.5 mph when I uploaded the ride, I though it would've been down in the low 15's, anyhow, an odd ride but it was 21.6 more miles.
13th July: I booked the day off work today and ended up with a rather strange ride, weather-wise. The sky was blue but full of white clouds so it was cool for a few minutes then warm for a few minutes as the sun shone through the moving clouds. The wind was pretty strong but dropped for a while every twenty minutes or so which was odd. Also, I did my usual trick of assuming that because it had been dry and sunny all day, the route would be too. Of course, because of all the recent weather there was a lot of mud and, especially in the woods near Billinge, so the bike needed a thorough wash when we got in. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.0 mph which wasn't bad given the wind and climbs and it was 32.0 more miles for July.
16th July: I did the local 27 again today. The weather was strange for July, it was warm and overcast but with quite a cool wind which felt chilly with just a t-shirt and bibs on. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.5 mph despite getting stuck behind a family with young kids cycling along the by-pass for a while. The total was 27.0 miles which, rather bizarrely, took the July total to exactly 200 miles; plenty of time left to work on the mileage overdraft!
17th July: And again... There was a coolish wind like yesterday but the clouds were largely gone so it was quite a warm, sunny ride. The wind was quite strong but I managed to average over 16 mph so not a bad ride overall and good for keeping the sun tan topped up and 27.2 more miles.
21st July: I went out today to do the local 27 but ended up getting diverted by a road closed sign at the left turn traffic light at the back of Kirky. I ended up cycling down a long straight road along the edge of Kirkby which ended up on the main road so I ended up cycling through the middle of town, something I haven't done for a long while. A somewhat reduced 24.2 miles.
23rd July: It was a warm day today without much wind so I headed out to do the local 27. The road blocked sign was there but being a Saturday there were no workmen there doing anything so I decided to ignore the sign and see what was going on. It turns out they were coating the road on the bend with that weird grippy beige coating. It was a fast ride with a 17.5 mph average and another 26.5 miles.
25th July: I got out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was fairly windy so not as fast as the last ride but an enjoyable ride nonetheless and I stopped at the Subway as I left the industrial park for a tuna sub which is always nice. Another 27.2 miles.
27th July: My new sports glasses from Optilabs arrived today so I dragged myself out to do the local 21 after work. It was overcast and fairly windy but quite warm overall.
The glasses felt a bit weird but I'm sure I'll get used to them, they certainly keep a lot of wind out of your eyes though which is pretty cool. One slight downside is that I can no longer glance over my shoulder to check for cars when turning right but I'm sure I'll adapt a new technique. 20.8 more miles.
29th July: I got out after work tonight with aid of a mug of Old Brown Java and did the local 27 again. It was overcast but warm enough so not too bad. It was quite windy but a pretty enjoyable ride overall and another 26.5 more miles.
30th July: I got out and did the local 27 today. The weather was better than it has been, it was blue sky full of white clouds and quite warm. I'm getting used to the glasses now and enjoying the lack of wind in my eyes, I'm getting better at looking behind me as well which is probably a good thing! Anyhow, another 26.8 miles.
31st July: I managed to get out early this afternoon and drag myself around the local 21 for a final 21.7 miles. The weather was same old, same old ie blue skies but with lots of big white clouds floating around and quite warm out of the wind. I chose this distance knowing it was going to contribute to quite a significant event (for me!) in that it was the highest mileage I've ever done in a month - 400.9 miles! My mileage overdraft for the year was nearly three hundred so by having a bumper July, it's now less than seventy so roll on the rest of the year!
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