Author Archives: essiep

New season.

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Cycling, Distance: 63.23mi, time: 04:25:43, speed: 14.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/535495432
First ride on the racing bike this year. It’s running as I left it, apart from new cables and bar tape. Though this tape looks all “retro”, it’s rather slippery compared to the spongy type on the other bikes.
The bottom braket still creaks, and the gear cables are a bit too short. Still, it was a great to ride; I always say that each spring.
Finally, there was no sign of the tendonitus that was a worry as recently as yesterday. Does that suggest that there is something about the winter bike that aggravates it? I have exercises to do which seem to help quite the problem with quick results.
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Poorly LP12

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My Linn Sondek can barely turn the platter. The motor has very little torque. They are two phase 12v as far as I know. My guess is that one channel has failed on the Valhalla board or the motor itself. The former is quite an expensive repair. It is one that failed once before, not long after I bought it in 1986. Back then, it was covered by the guarantee.
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Here it is with the platter removed while I check the belt.
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Wind down.

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14C,westerly, few showers.
No ride today. A listless latent cold kept me off the bike, this last few days. Some bike fixing done- cables and new bar tape.
I have piles of marking like slag-heaps. It’s not going to do itself you know.

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Movable feast.

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9C, bit grey.
I don’t like the clock change outside a holiday. Work today has been like struggling with a hang-over. Holidays should be fixed in my view. Another reason for disestablishment.
Good news today- Japan has been ordered to stop whaling.

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Clockwise.

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Fixed gear ride- Distance: 62.91mi, time: 03:59:48, pace: 3:49min/mi, speed: 15.7mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/520722496
Rode a fairly familiar route, but this time clockwise. Some junctions look quite different which is why I took a few wrong turns.

Descending Bannister Hill was a surprise, it looks so steep going down that tipping over the bars is quite possible.
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No Sunday ride.

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9C,hail, sun and showers.
No ride today- so I filled in a job application, chopped wood and fixed up the summer racing bike.
It’s not right though, the local bike shop put new bearings and free-hub, but it feels wrong. The axle is this enough but there is free play in the wheel when fitted into the drop-outs. I suspect that the free-hub is not the right one. The gear change seems okay, though I have wet to ride it.

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The garden is coming to life. After this coming week of frosts, I can plant all the bulbs. Tomorrow is said to be the coldest this year- and we’re out of winter now.

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Hulme End.

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4C, SW brisk with heavy showers.
DofE- staff training day. This was a re-newal of our navigation qualification. For us, a nice walk around the limestone landscape of northern Staffordshire.
The next stage is a national award, this one cannot be used outside Walsall jurisdiction. A national award is more use for those of up when want to move on. I think he called it the low-life assessment.
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Only problem was nagging aches from that long standing Achilles tendon problem. Every time I think it is healed, it comes back. Frustrating.
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Over the bars for a face-plant.

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11C,brisk Westerly, dry, bright.
Driving but stuck behind a bike club in Stafford. In a complex of roundabouts, one bloke turns to pick up something dropped. He then struggled to get back on to the group in the Saturday traffic. With the group already split in by cars. He had more trouble passing cars between the bunches.
Then, suddenly he was flicked into the air over his bike. A white car had stopped to let turning cars by. The bike’s brakes hadn’t stopped him fast enough, he hit the white car from the back.
By the time I got there, was wheeling his bike to the bus-stop to recover. The young woman driver walked over, visibly annoyed. She was not too happy to see a middle-aged man face printed on her rear window.
It’s understandable how this happened. The guy had his adrenaline up, he wanted to get back to the safety of the bunch. He pushed on, dodging cars only to foul up.
Walking wounded, hope his bike is okay. She will have to wash the sweaty image of a surprised face off the rear window when she gets home.
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