Forty mile Fridays

 

I have set myself another challenge for the year. Ride to the London office as often as possible.

I visit the main office near Oxford Circus once a month. Last year I rode there in October and November. December and January didn't happen; it was too cold and icy. February is done, it was tougher than normal. I think because I haven't ridden much more than ten miles in one go for a while. I've been in the garage on the trainer. 

The roads were busy, even with bike lanes and low traffic sections there were a lot of stops. It's the accelerating away from junctions that takes a toll. I don't know how I'd do it everyday. A few club mates do even through the really bad weather.

I've been tracking my calories and exercise in a new way with a Garmin 935 smartwatch. There is so much tech, you can monitor almost anything.

It's shown me I need to eat more most days. Especially on Saturdays when I have the club rides. Doing forty miles everyday to work would mean a massive increase in food, I'm not sure I could eat enough to cope. I was very tired over the weekend too, maybe a combination of a big mile week and the return to sixty plus mile Saturdays.

My daily requirement without all of those miles is easily covered, in fact it would be very easy to over eat. A sedentary livestyle could see the pounds/kilos pile on.

I save money and it isn't slower than public transport, it's certainly more consistant.

The route except near schools is enjoyable. These roads are full of cars; parents dropping kids off. I'll try to schedule my cycle commute during the holidays.

My laptop and office cloths go in a backpack. It's not waterproof, so that is a concern. I've used carrier bags to wrap my laptop and office cloths so far. It's something I'll need to look at. An alternative could be the saddle bag I bought for bikepacking. It's waterproof; I just wonder if it will fit in the holder securely and not swing about with the computer inside. My back wouldn't get sweaty as it does with my present arrangement.

Touring gear

My new bike doesn't have mudguard mounts, so I can't attach the rack I've used in the past.

 

There are many solutions. Some are racks that connect to a modified axle, or clamp to the frame. They also need a separate bag. It adds to the cost and weight. Another option is a setup that attaches to the seat post and saddle rails. Overall cheaper and lighter they don't hold as much and may be prone to swaying from side to side.

I went for the latter with the new bike. I only had a change of cycling clothing, something to wear off the bike and the the various cables and chargers for my electronics.

The new setup is from Restrap, it holds fourteen litres. Initial impressions are that, as you can see, it sits very close to road bike wheel. The website does say I need more space under the saddle. Hopefully it won't sag so much that it touches the tyre. One of the straps that wrap around the seat post isn't long enough, it being an aero shape. Should be okay though. No problems with the Kona.

Having the opening at one end means packing needs a little more thought. The other bag is top loading, so I can get to anything easily. With this type I have what I might need during the day packed last. At the end of the ride I remove the bag by undoing one clip. Much easier than unthreading the multiple straps from the rack. And the holder comes off quickly too; the rack needs tools. 

The Kona has new handlebars. The bar bag didn't fit on the old one; the cables and hoses get in the way. The extra section on the front gave me lots of room. I also wanted them flatter so these were perfect. I'm not sure if I'll need to trim them, so for now there is a bit sticking out from the grips. It'll need a new saddle too.

The rack was used last year to Cornwall and with panniers in 2011 for Paris and along the South Downs Way in 2012. I packed way too much in those early days, although it did include a full size camera and a mini tripod.  

my setup for the ride to Cornwall in 2022

panniers for Paris in 2011, it looked the same for 2012 except for much more mud

I'll get out for a test ride when the roads are more conducive to outdoor riding. Hopefully that won't be too long. 

2024 and beyond

It's early 2023 and my cycling plans for the year are well in hand. I just need a final confirmation then the accomodation for the two trips can be booked.

What to do after that?

I've wanted to venture abroad: Spain and France are reachable by ferry so no flying needed. Northern France will use over a day in each direction, which is okay. Any further will shorten ride time and require train travel. Adding my bike onto a booking in this country will potentially be troublesome enough without a language barrier. Spain is further; using four days.

How can I make it interesting and limit travel?

I could do mainland coast to coast rides; across each of the countries in the UK.

Most C2C's take the shortest distances, England is normally across the northern counties. I'll go from most easterly to westerly. To save you googling; it's Lowestoft Ness to Lands End. Around 430 miles over six or seven days should be okay.

Scotland is Peterhead to Ardnamurchan lighthouse; much shorter at 240 miles, it will take longer to get there and back though.

Wales is a little different, my route will be north to south and won't start at the most northerly point. It's too far away from a rail line to make practical sense. The route will be from Llandudno to Rhoose. Only 175 miles.

Then the hardest travel destination: Northern Ireland. The most direct way to get to Belfast by train and ferry is via Dublin. It doesn't have a western coast line, the border with Eire comes first. So I have a rough idea to travel until I reach the edge and then turn right and ride around the outer extremities back to Belfast. Should be about 277 miles, depending on the final route.

In fact travel to the start and finish of each ride could be tricky. The cycling will definately be the easy bit.

I'll see a lot of the country, which I think we should all do. As long as it causes as little environmental impact as possible.

Link to clip art creator.

New bike, first impressions.

I picked up my new bike during a really cold period in Dec. Way too icy to risk riding. Link to that post. So I had to walk past it to the turbo trainer for a whole week. Each time wondering if the weather would improve by the weekend.

The sparkly iridescent midnight holographic colour scheme as it's called looks good. It should be even better in full sunlight. It got lots of complements from the club. Depending on the angle of light you can see purple, green and blue; maybe more will show themselves as the days get brighter.

From the first few yards it felt efficient; that's the best word for it. The bike reacts to every input much more keenly. It accelerates and climbs more easily; cornering feels more stable. 

It's lighter so that will account for some of the improvement, the frame is stiffer and it's more aerodynamic. The geometry is more race focused, which gives the cornering the extra sharpness. But it's not too extreme, even quite strong sidewinds don't throw it off line. I can feel road imperfections more acutely, not so much I dread riding it.

The roads were wet, with some big puddles; at one point the road was flooded to a depth of around a foot. Having disc brakes really paid dividends over the rim brakes of my previous road bike.

I know it's only the first sixty miles; but it's already delivered what I'd hoped it would. I can't wait to attack the time trials next year, and go touring on it. 

It's really lifted my spirits, and restored my mojo.

19 days

December has been grim, I have hardly been outside. I've ridden on the trainer for thirteen days. Mostly because of the weather. I'm more risk averse than I used to be, a little snow didn't always stop me.

a picture from a time when I did take risks

But now it does, and I think for good reason. Earlier in the month I thought six days was a long time to be stuck indoors. The monthly miles have nosedived as has my motivation. I've missed a few days in the garage. Sometimes I was busy; I could still have fittted in a ten mile session, but I didn't.

Now it's warmed up the heavy, persistant rain has returned. I hope this won't stop me riding over the Christmas period.

Oxted cycling club have some rides organised for tomorrow. I also intend get out every day for the rest of the year. 

Hopefully my motivation will return.

New bike day

My last brand new bike was a Raleigh Chopper.

Since then bikes have been secondhand. My brother gave me a Peugeot mountain bike, which was replaced with a two year old Kona Blast. Next was a very old Carrera road bike. I bought the Giant Defy in May 2019, it's now ten years old.

Over the years my priorities have changed: I want to compete in time trials, ride faster and further, and have better brakes. While making the latest steed faster, this years carbon wheels have been a slight backwards step as far as stopping is concerned, especially in the wet. 

I have been saving a long time for this purchase. I sold most of my photography gear to fund it as well. It wasn't getting used and was loosing value as technology improved. I still have a small digital camera and lenses that will work with Nikon film cameras so I haven't severed all links with that hobby. Hiring equipment is easy should the need arise.

I'm not sure how much value the Defy has, the wheels are still worth a fair bit. I should think someone from my club will buy them.

The new bike is a fairly custom build, because I had some specific parts in mind. Standard sizing from a mainstream manufacturer would have supplied handlebars that were too wide, and the price point would have compromised on the type of wheels I wanted. I avoided additional purchases and having to sell the unused parts. I was also able to tweak other parts of the bike to improve the fit. The stem, it joins the handlebars to the forks, comes in many lengths. Ross had a few for me to try.

This whole process is another reason to consider your local bike shop. It's not always cheaper to buy online or from a chain store. I don't expect any problems, but if there are I'm not reliant on support over the phone or email. He is just a very short walk from my house.

The frame is from LavitaVelo the wheels are from Hunt, both UK based. The rest is from the usual suspects. Ross at Ross Cycles spec'd it after we chatted about what I wanted.

He also took pictures at various stages of the build. Another option only open to you if using a bespoke or local bike shop. 

to slam or not to slam

 

When I've ridden it for a few miles we can alter the handlebar and saddle height. Swap the stem as well if needed.

bike nearly finished

I haven't ridden it yet; way too icy outside. A review will follow.