A treat for Lanzarote - new pedals for the Giant.

As I knew I'd be taking my pedals off to take to Lanzarote in May, I decided to upgrade to something a bit fancier. I was initially going to go for XTR SPDs but my mate Al at work (who rides about a 1,000 miles a month!) told me that there was known issue with the locking nut inside shearing and the whole pedal body coming away from the axle.

I decided to go for the previous generation of XT pedals in the end (they're only just the previous model, their replacements are just starting to appear in shops about now). They're a bit lighter than the 520s and look a lot smarter, I copper greased the threads and installed them to 30 ft/lbs of torque and took them for a spin. They need loosening off a bit but they're very smart, very smooth and are very comfortable - Shimano for the win again!

Sudocrem, not just for babies!

There are plenty of ailments and side effects associated with cycling a lot, few of which are glamorous or pretty. A common one that I suffer from is reddening at the top of my thighs caused by my cheap Aldi cycling longs rubbing. The easiest way to get rid of it is to wash the affected area thoroughly, dry it well and smear Sudocrem generously over the reddened areas.

I find it usually goes back to normal providing you repeat the above after every bath or shower you take for a day or two. I'm sure there are dozen's of high priced cycling-specific unguents out there 'designed' for cyclists but cyclists have been using Sudocrem for many years and probably always will! As a slight aside, I believe Sudocrem is also a pretty good remedy for jogger's nipple which I also get sometime depending on which base layer I've been wearing.

March 2016.

2nd March: I had the day off work today so I was determined to get out for a ride. It was horrendously windy (Storm Jake this time) but a gorgeously sunny spring day at the same time so a bit of a quandary..?

Any how, I headed out with the only plan being to avoid the main roads because of the wind. The wind was horrendous but for some reason I was determined to stay out and enjoy the sun for as long as I could. I ended up just wandering around exploring bits of various local routes. It was fun but my legs were burning by the time I got in from fighting the wind constantly and the Giant was absolutely filthy. Anyhow, it was 32.1 miles to get March started.

5th March: I started today by sorting the original Giant wheels out. I took a tyre off one of them to check something and found the rim tape was very dry and folded over in places so it needed replacing. I ended up buying some fabric stick on stuff I've never used before but was pretty impressive. I then refitted my favourite tyres, the Conti Grand Prix GT.

I've given up with the tubeless Hunt wheels, I just cannot get them to hold air reliably, they're currently languishing in my outside toilet while I decide what to with them.

All done, I took it out to do a 20 miler that avoided main roads as much as possible due to my somewhat late start. It was basically the Old Coach Road but doing the full length of the country road bit of the 24 miler and back on the way past it.

Because it was so sunny and spring-like, I decided to divert onto the 21 miler route and extend the ride. I was obviously in explorer mode again because I decided to have a look down a farm path that I passed the end of regularly. It turned out to be  rather scenic road that ended at a farm so I took a pic of the bike with my new Sony Experia Z5 Compact. Anyhow, just as the pic was taken it started raining so I turned round and headed home. I went past the village on the bypass and came back through the industrial estate and the shared use path to lengthen the ride a bit. The Conti's are as good as I remember them; they have an extremely low rolling resistance and a creamy smoothness. Anyhow, 20.3 more miles.

March 8th: I got out tonight on the Giant and did the local 21 again. It was breezy rather than windy which was a nice change although it was fairly cold; I wore two t-shirts underneath my running top and windbreaker so it was actually more enjoyable than I thought it would be and it was 21.1 more miles for March.

March 13th: The weather was absolutely gorgeous today, warm and sunny, so I took the Giant out and did the local 21. It was the first ride of the year wearing cycling shorts (apologies for the glare from my white legs to anyone I cycled past!) and just a t-shirt and running top so an awesome ride and long may the warm weather last. I averaged 16.9 mph as well which is my fastest average for a good while. Anyhow, 21.7 more miles for March.

March 14th: I had the day off work today and was planning a longer trip than usual, maybe Southport or Leisure Lakes. As it turned out, it was warm and sunny like yesterday but there was quite a strong cold wind so I did the local 21 miler instead for 21.4 more miles. My average for the first 3/5 of the ride was looking awesome, I was cruising for miles at 20-22 mph but the wind was howling in my face all the way along the East Lancs on the way back so I only ended up with 15.9 mph.

March 17th: I had another of my amusing encounters on tonight's ride. I'd done the local 21 and was coming back down the East Lancs towards Windle island when I ended up standing next to a guy with a mountain bike who was also waiting to cross. He mentioned that my front light was so bright that he'd thought I was a motorbike approaching him. Anyhow, we had a bit of a chat about various things and as we parted he said "Anyhow mate, I just wanted to congratulate you for having the brightest front light I've ever seen!". Strange but a ringing endorsment for my Exposure Diablo I guess and 21.7 more miles for March.

March 19th: I did the local 21 again today. It was cold and quite blowy but nothing out of the ordinary except for one thing. As I was cycling along the deserted stretch of road that runs behind Kirkby to the Industrial park, I noticed the left hand STI unit was very wobbly. I stopped and peeled the hood back and the bolt was totally loose! I tightened it up and was on my way in no time but a definite first. I stopped off at my parents house on the way back to pick up my new pedals (I've treated myself for Lanzarote so more to follow) so 21.3 miles in the bag.

March 20th: I usually meet my parents for a pub lunch at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon so I set out to do the Old Coach road at half twelvish. It was cool and blowy but quite bright so quite a pleasant ride. One thing you tend to forget in winter is how busy places can be as soon as the weather improves a bit, there were dog walkers everywhere! Anyhow, it was another bumpy 15.5 miles.

March 25th: I did the local 21 today, it was fairly warm but quite windy so a fairly fun ride. I ended up taking my fleece off and just wearing my running top over a t-shirt which is a sign spring is on the way hopefully. I tacked Alec's hill onto the ride on the way back which reminded me that that hill never gets easier but Lanzarote's quite hilly so I think some climbing training is probably a good idea! Anyhow, knackering but 22.4 more miles.

March 29th: I finally managed to get out today, I wanted to get out yesterday but we were experiencing Storm Katie and the wind was horrendous. I did the local 21 and it was one of those cool rides where the wind always seemed to be pushing me along wherever I was on the route, rare but always appreciated. It wasn't a perfect ride though, there were a lot of puddles around from yesterday and it chucked it down for the last few miles so I ended up hosing the bike down when I got in. Anyhow, not too bad and 21.8 more miles.

I was hoping to get another ride in for March to try and erode the deficit a little. The weather had other plans however, the high pressure has drifted away and it's been quite windy and rainy again. However, March still ended up as the first successful month of the year with a total of 219.3 miles which isn't too bad at all!

February 2016.

February 5th: I started February off with the local 21 miler It was 10 days ago so I'm don't remember the ride exactly but I rememberit fairly windy and it tried to rain a couple of times. It was a pretty uneventful ride except for my left SPD pedal trying to tip me off! I was approaching a T-junction in the industrial park and I unclipped as I slowed down to stop. When I actually stopped, my left foot was loose but wouldn't come off the pedal; I've had this happen before and I can only guess the front tip of the cleat somehow gets caught in the mechanism of the pedal. Anyhow, I managed to free my foot just before I hit the deck so disaster was averted and it was 21.1 miles to start February off.


So far, February is proving a tough month. We've had storm Henry and Imogen with the associated gales and rain and we've also had a few days of freezing weather and I don't want to risk sliding off and breaking a wrist or something so riding opportunities have been limited.

On top of this, I've started watching the walking dead because my friend Amy raves about it so much. I've subscribed to Amazon Prime for the 30 day free trial so I'm up against a time limit to get it all watched. I'm nearly at the end of season 4 so far and it is pretty awesome to be honest. Anyhow, I will persevere and try salvage something for the month...


February 15th: It was gorgeously sunny but freezing cold this weekend but by wearing my fleece scully instead of my helmet (naughty I know but a freezing head is not pleasant) I managed to get out and do the local 21 again. It's been 10 days since I managed to get out so the first few miles were a bit of an effort but my overall average was 16.0 mph which was pretty reasonable and it was another 21.5 miles.

February 23rd: It was a dry, sunny day today without much wind so I decided to take the Giant out for the first time since the end of October and do the local 21 miler. The front wheel on the Giant has had a problem since I last rode it, if you topped it off it would be fine for one ride but would be almost flat the next day. Anyhow, I removed it, cleaned all the gunked up rubber off the valve stem and used the Air Shot to re-seat the tyre. I added 40ml of sealant and replaced the valve core, inflated both the tyres and went out for a ride. The ride was fun, cold most of the ride but approaching freezing for the last few miles but thankfully hardly any wind. The good news is that the tyre is still rock hard this morning so I think the wheels is fixed and it's another 21.0 miles for February.

February 26th: I has a day booked off work today so I took the Giant out and did the local 21 again. It was an uneventful ride and it's awesome how fast it is compared to Awesom-O purely because it's so much lighter. Anyhow, 21.1 more miles for February.

Well, February ended up as another poor month due to the stormy weather with a measly 84.7. It seems to have been storm after storm after storm this autumn and winter which totally blows. If it is due to global warming, maybe the weather will compensate with longer, hotter summers? I almost hope so...

January 2016.

7th January: I was off work sick yesterday and today but I felt a lot better this afternoon so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I ended up doing a hybrid of my various local routes.

The strange little detour on the way back was me going to have a look at why the main road out of the village was closed; it turns out the recent floods had caused the brook alongside the road to rise and wash out the support under the pavement which has completely sagged over a length of about 20 feet! was It was blowy but not too bad and my legs felt great so it was quite a fun ride and 19.6 miles to kick off 2016.

10th January: I could feel a cold creeping up on me today so I decided to take Awesom-O for a spin to try and head it off. I ended up doing the local 21, it was very windy all the way around so not the most fun ride ever but it was 21.2 more miles for January.

17th January: Well, January's not going brilliantly so far. I've had a bad cold for the last week and today, just when I'm feeling a bit more human, I woke up to this!

Not exactly ideal cycling weather but the forecast isn't predicting any more snow and the temperature is supposed to stay a few degrees above zero for the next few days so I'll have to try and have a bit of a catch up.

23rd January: Well, I've not been out for nearly two weeks because I had a bad cold which was followed by a few days of icy weather. Anyhow, the weather's warmed up a bit again so I set out to do the Old coach road today. It was all going great until I left the Old coach Road and got onto the East Lancs - flat front tyre! Sod's law kicked in at this point as I found I had no spare tubes in my rucksack - arse! It was pouring down with rain at this point but I rode until the front tyre was totally flat and stopped to pump it up again. I found it would last about mile between inflations so I made it home eventually. It turned out to be a fragment of glass that had worked it's way into the tyre so it was quickly fixed. Anyhow, 15.0 more miles.

25th January: Had the day off work today but was feeling a bit motivationally challenged so I headed out to do the Old Coach road. It was horrendously windy but very bright and sunny day which was a bit odd. It was a hard ride but at least I didn't get a puncture this time! Anyhow, it was another 15.6 miles for January

31st January: Despite the howling wind (the tail end of storm Gertrude) and pouring rain it was very warm this evening so I decided to head out and do the Old Coach road again. It turned out to be one of those rides that was tough but enjoyable. The rain was blowing completely horizontally through my light beam but it was warm so even though I ended up soaked to the skin with my shoes full of water, it was a very enjoyable ride.

The total for the month was only 86.5 miles which isn't brilliant but I think January is naturally a poor month for cycling, at least it was this year. I got a couple of rides in then had a bad cold for 10 days. This was followed but a few days of very icy weather followed by storm Gertrude so the fates were against me but there's always summer (and Lanzarote!) to look forward to.

December 2015.

7th December: I headed out after work tonight to do the local 21 but after deciding very quickly that it was far too windy to cycle with traffic (we had storm Desmond yesterday and the day before, goodness knows what happened to storm Clodagh, it's been very windy recently...) I decided to do something I'd thought about doing for ages, cycling up and down the bypass on the cycle path.

I can't claim it was an interesting ride but it was rather strange in one respect. With the wind behind me going up the bypass it was like cycling in a vacuum; I was flying along at top speed and it was almost silent. As soon as I turned around and started heading back, into the wind, it was like cycling on the deck of a trawler with the wind howling off the fields - quite strange. Anyhow it wasn't an interesting ride but it was 20.4 miles to start December off.

9th December: I did the local 21 tonight after work. It was extremely blowy, but thankfully dry, and I spent a fair amount of the ride leaning slightly into the wind to stay upright; always a good time to remind yourself that cycling into a strong wind must be good training, surely? Despite the weather it was a fairly enjoyable ride, especially when the wind was behind me, and it's another 20.2 miles for December.

12th December: It had been been peeing down all day today so when it finally stopped at about six I dragged myself out to do the local 21. That was the plan anyway but a couple of indecisive moments saw the actual route I did being a hybrid of various local rides.

It was windy and there was a heck of a lot of standing water and semi-flooded roads but it was quite an enjoyable ride and my legs felt good and it was a much needed 20.9 more miles for December.

16th December: I had the day off work today to catch up on some chores so I managed to get out and do the same ride as above in the afternoon. It was blowy but dry so quite a nice ride overall. It was a day ride so my first ride in a while without my Diablo lighting the way which was nice and 21.4 more miles.

20th December: It was a gorgeous day today with sunshine and blue skies so I decided to head out and do the local 21. That was the plan until I got onto the bypass and found it was extremely windy and, as often happens on my rides, I decided to go exploring instead. I wanted to know where the road goes if you go past Warbrecks nursery and turn left at the the T-junction and ended up in Ormskirk coming home via Edge Hill college. The weather was warm enough but the wind was dangerous; there's a stretch of the road back from Ormskirk that's single carriageway with open fields on either side that had me leaning into the wind constantly and trying not to cycle into the pavement every time there was a brief lull in the wind. Anyhow, I survived and another much needed 15.6 miles for the month.

22nd December: I was knackered after work today but I manfully necked a cup of full-strength Bourbon Espresso, made in my stove top, and headed out into the night. I ended up doing another hybrid of my various local rides aiming to avoid as much traffic as possible.

It was windy (the beginning of storm Eva as it turned out) but much less than it has been recently and I felt great all the way around so a very enjoyable ride over all and 18.8 more miles for December.

28th December: I took Awesom-O today on the last day of the Christmas holidays and did the full local 24 miler. It was fairly windy (the start of storm Frank as it turned out) but not dangerously so like it was the other day and my legs felt strangely awesome all the way round which was a bonus. Anyhow, 24.4 more miles.

Well, I didn't make it out again for various reasons so the total for December was 141.7 and 2015 ended up at 2264.3 miles. Given the poor weather in January and a couple of bad months with my knee, ending up just over half a month down for the year was not a bad result overall. Also, I've just found out I might be being dragged on a week long family holiday 'probably somewhere in Spain' where I'll probably hire a road bike and disappear each day so here's looking forward to 2016!

Review: Schwalbe tyre levers.

Because I use Continental tyres, which tend to be fairly tight fitting, I've been using bog standard metal tyre levers for the past couple of years. They work well but they can scratch the anodising on your rims so I decided to try Schwalbe's plastic tyre levers instead. They are widely available and usually priced at around £3 for three.

I've used Park plastic tyre levers in the past and wasn't impressed, they tended to bend when trying to wrestle a particularly stubborn tyre on, so I was really hoping these would be better. By complete coincidence, when I examined the front tyre after hitting the pothole at the end of November it was flat so I decided to try the new levers. As it turned out, there was a thorn in the tyre which was quickly sorted with a new tube. The tyre levers are fantastic, they're very thin which makes them a cinch to get under the bead and they're extremely strong, they barely bend at all.

Overall, very impressed!