17°C,sunny, NE wind light.
Racelite, Distance: 51.60mi, time: 03:22:07,
http://mapmyride.com/workout/292874003
Good ride in sunshine. In shorts but not quite warm enough for sleeveless.
I can still feel my legs after descending Snowdon on Friday. No effect on cycling, but general fitness is a stride beyond last week. Here is my faithful dog in a canoe.
She was rather wobbly until I could persuade her to sit. Canoeing is good.
14-18°C, clear, no wind.
To repeat last weekend, rode 70 miles late a slightly better pace and far more comfortably. The saddle didn’t tilt this time. That careful work with a jewelry file on the ferrule worked as intended.
Picture of the day is a young oak tree that has grown in the time I have lived in this town.
…
18°C, clear blue, light wind.
Ride with MapMyRide! Distance: 80.92mi, time: 05:21 pace: speed: 15.09mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/273429400
The bike ran smoothly, all that work in the winter to replace bearings and so on, has transformed the bike. Gone are the annoying clicks, skipping gears and poor handling. It feels new, and more comfortable than I can remember for years.
Then, a natural phenomenon not seen by me for years. A dust devil swept across a ploughed field near Clifton Campville. I stopped to watch, fascinated. Not seen one since the early 1990s.
9°C, strong wind, rain. CK-41.0 mi.
Paddy-wagon ride in Lancashire flatlands. Very strong wind though and the GPS app crashed on save, so I have no proper record.
10°C, sunny.
Won on ebay, this unused hub for a Campagnolo 8-speed cassette. The splines are all the same size which would be a clue for an expert. But me, I don’t know what model it is. I only need the bearings and free-hub from it. The hub is of no use, it is drilled for 28 spokes only.
14°C, sun, cloudless.
Rode Racelite: MapMyRide! Distance: 35.95mi, time: 02:12, speed: 16.4mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/262780484
A day of firsts, first ride in shorts, first without a helmet, first butterfly in the garden, first bumble-bees. All that work on that bike has succeeded. Before setting off, I took the bottom-bracket out and carefully re-fit. The ride was silky smooth.
BTW: if I count the rides, this year to now, it’s over 1,200 miles.
No signs of any frogs. yet.
17°C, strong SW wind.
The crank that gave so much trouble yesterday did hold today. At home, I tightened with all my strength and took a rest before adding another eighth of a turn. It held through quite a vigorous ride home, 33 minutes is about as east as that route can be.
Relief.
10~16°C, windy with sun.
The bike felt good, to start with. I had to stop to adjust the saddle and then found the front brake loose. It was only tightened a few turns. Okay then for the next 4 miles. There is a big hill half-way, and this loosened the left crank. That damned bike shop didn’t finish the service properly.
Then the journey got really annoying. I tried 2 garages, a builder’s merchant, a plumber’s and even a bloke in a lorry. No-one had a 7mm Allen key. Everyone had 6 and 8mm keys (like I had).
I got there in the end, late. Not sure whether there is any permanent damage to the left crank. Those things are not cheap.
16°C, sun +rain showers. Sunday Ride tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 27.40mi, time: 01:47 speed: 15.2mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/workout/259040208 Good, if rather short ride. Heavy marking work-load, you see. The Racelite feels mighty fine, bar the bb noise. lodger has a pet.
My lodger has a new pet. It looks healthy enough, but that vivarium seems a bit small to me.
Did I ever tell you how much I hate marking? But then everybody grumbles about their job.
10°C, N wind, hardly any rain.
Racelite ride with MapMyRide! Distance: 39.04mi, time: 02:36:44, http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=5992020101417664513
First time out this year. The new headset makes it feel great on corners, smooth and accurate. There was a growing clicking from the bottom bracket which could be felt through the pedals by the end. Strange because that bearing is quite new. Nevermind, it was excellent ride where spring is just about given the all-clear to go. Very late but it’s here, just.
Micycle 