Category Archives: Cycling

Another record

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11C, rain. CR:60

Only to echo last week, the GCSE results are out today, likely to be the 24th consecutive year of higher results. The changed course structure will get some of the credit this time, it’s more modular now, so girls will probably do better. This story is worn out.

BBC The Education minister wants to end modularity, so perhaps we’ll see the boys catch up from nest year. The Daily Mail report was interesting, in almost every respect, they got their fact diametrically opposite to the truth. They said boys were closing the gap (the gap has widened), that the yearly grade inflation (which they blamed on Labour) had finished (the increase is about the same as last year). They couldn’t have got it more wrong. Why do people buy this newspaper, everything they print is wrong?

Later: Sunshine after an afternoon decorating. Rode for 60 miles and felt really strong. No aches, stiffness or discomfort, the ride simply flowed nicely. The end of the summer holidays is often like this.

A snake and a fire

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21°C, Clear, dry & dusty: CR 30 miles.

Rode back from a lunchtime care stop, there was a snake weaving its way across the road. Wow! Probably a grass-snake, it looked grey with a zig-zag down its back. It wriggled away too fast for me to get a photograph.

Fire on the horizon: to the East, perhaps beyond Measham was this thick oily fire billowing up above the light clouds. [ Update: it was a fire in Ashby-de-la-Zouch)

First wasp sting of the year: It got me just under the tongue of my cycling shoe. After a few hours though it hasn’t gone itchy like in the past. However, since it stung below the shoe-tongue and through sock, I didn’t actually get to see it as I rode, looking down and rummaging with my fingers. It was more important to brake and get off the bike without injury from falling off. It was strange, for the rest of the ride, the odd sensation moved down to my toes. Perhaps that was the result of swelling restricting blood flow. I sound like an expert don’t I? you know that hollow bit where the tendon joins the top of your foot, the one that pulls your big toe? It should have a hollow to the side. It doesn’t on my right foot any more.
Still, it’s been a very nice day, finished off with some alcohol-free German beer and bed by 10.

Cuckoo

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18°C, 3 sharp showers, SW. CK: 55miles

Found a cuckoo in the road today, a victim of roadkill. Quite a beautiful bird; it looks, in many ways, like a hawk except in a few details. The beak is straight & the claws not oversized like a sparrowhawk (which is about the same size). Not sure that I’ve ever seen a cuckoo before, though they are heard on every camping trip over the past few years.

Single-speed bikes are supposed to have mechanical advantages over deraillier geared bikes. The straight chainline promised long chain wear, but this turns out not to be. Perhaps the chain on mine is of poor quality, but the fact is it’s worn out after only 750 miles. Also, the headset bearing has gone notchy too which suggests that these componants are poor quality to keep the price down. I really don’t want to replace a chain after less than a year’s use again.

Avian miracle II

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23°C, wall to wall blue. CK:50 miles

Riding near Mawdsley Lancs., I saw a bird lying in the road. As I passed, it was obvious that it was still alive. So I turned around and went back, if left it would get driven over. It was a bull-finch, sitting in the pale sun-bleached tarmac with one leg sticking out at an awkward angle. So ( like last time) I picked it up with one hand, and suddenly it flew away towards a tree with other passerines swirling round.

Further proof that I can do miracles, as if any were needed.

I suppose it had an injured leg that prevented it jumping enough to take off. A very similar thing happened a few years ago in Leicestershire, I have blogged about it here but can’t locate it right now.

Index joy

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28°C, crisp sun. CR:80.5 miles

The efforts on Tuesday have borne fruit; the Campy gears are not indexing perfectly but they have stopped slipping unpredictably. That does mean the summer bike is a pleasure to ride once more. How long has it been?

Cabled

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16°C, showers.

vinetrumpetAnother one that I can’t name. It’s a climber with coiled up tendrils that hold onto other plants. The flowers are striking, though only about 1/2 inch long, shaped like little pitcher plants.

Gears’ index: I removed the cables and cleaned out every little connector, end stop and so on. It feels smooth now and the gear changes work properly. Caution though, they’ve been perfect while changing gears in the shed in the past. But on a longer ride, difficulty develops. Frustrating and mystifying in equal measure.

still no indexing

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20C, Sun.

Carpet cleaning machine: Rug-doctor is surprisingly effective. It’s noisy and can’t get into the pokiest corners of my attic but it does turn the soapy water into the appearance of old cold coffee. Strangely satisfying, in a domestic way.

Campag-8 gears still don’t index, even after replacing the cassette today. I’m just as puzzled and annoyed by this problem as the last time I posted about this. I really don’t want to upgrade the drivetrain to 10-speed or worse to get a slick gear-change. Those systems are fiddly, difficult to tune and unnecessary.  There is really no need for more than 8 gears (x2) on my bike. I’m not just saying that just because I’m a single-speed bike rider.

What is the solution to this?

Indexing

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18C, Sun+ 1 shower, Sth wind, RA:60 miles

Summer bike: I used to regard this as my ‘best’ bike, it’s more difficult now while the gears persist in playing up. They still don’t index properly across the middle of the 8 cogs. It’s the middle three that give all the trouble, changing gear is fine at first, but after a few hundred yards the chain jumps onto the smaller cog. There could be a number of reasons for this:

  • Worn cogs
  • dropout alignment
  • snagging inside the (new) cables
  • dragging cable sheath underneath the handlebar tape

I remain baffled and slightly irritated by this. It’s going to take yet more time & money to fix. Oh well, next weekend I’ll ride the fixed-wheel.