17°C, light W, sunny.
That felt easy after yesterday’s slog. This route has several long straights where you can settle into a pace with effort. Below a threshold, it felt easy but step up and muscle burn builds up.
August sun
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Category Archives: Summer bike
500th mile
17°C, white cloud, light SW, dry.
Rode the 500th mile on the Zing. That went by quickly. Another 500 and it will need a new chain.
This is only the 2nd ride this week with other exercise taken up with 3 days walking. The total calorie count is, therefore – high. I’m still not losing any weight though.
Zing: 27.
16°C, W wind, strong still. Drying out.
Warm under leaden sky.
20°C, brisk S, dry humid and dull.
A warm humid air dominates today’s mood. Warm and heavy, the rain was an empty threat. He gears are still indexing badly.
Zing: Metric century
16°C, light NW-N breeze, cloudy and clearing.
A multi-bike ride again. Arrow-Zing-Arrow. 30 mile son the Zing in a loop. 2x 16 mile rides on the Arrow to my place and the rest on the new bike on a flat route. The gear change is still not perfect, one factor could be that the chain is too long.
The return included an amusing incident.On the long flat return from the coast along The Moss, I spotted a car partly blocking the single track road. It’s inside wheels were off the edge and two young women were there in a flap. The driver agreed to try when I offered a push. The younger looking one went slightly down the bank to push from the side. I warned her that it wasn’t safe, the car could slide down the bank on top of her. The car was solid with the inside front wheel spinning in clear air. The car was probably lifted on its suspension without any grip on the front wheel.
They asked whether I though it was recoverable- I thought so. Her boyfriend was on his way so I suggested he bring a plank to use ass a ramp. The worst that could happen is that te rope may break. If it does, I suggested and pointed towards a farm, try asking if they had a tractor to pull it out.
There wasn’t much I couold do, so I set off home. They were grateful though.
Kona Zing on the Australia route.
22°C, light NW, no cloud.
Yesterday was workshop time for the Zing. I swapped the wheels by putting Mavic Aksiums on and swapped tyres. While on that, I relaid the rear gear cable with a sheath under the bottom bracket. The hope is that it will reduce friction in an area vulnerable to road-muck. I had some frustration with indexing afterwards. However….
The gear cables seemed to bed-in during this ride to some extent. Perhaps internal cables are vulnerable to friction and trouble like this is normal, I dunno. As the miles rolled by, the gears seemed more accurate and gave no trouble on the climbs. Oh yes, I went up Bannister Lane climb. That went well. I’m getting a sense of this machine’s value.
3 rides.
23°C, light NE, no cloud.
I don’t know how this can happen, it’s not what I call ‘Parked‘. Clearly, there is a gouge where the car skidded off the road but no rubber on the road.
Anyway, I rode on the fixed to get my new Zing bike for a loop. It’s running well apart from sticky gears. The upshift is worst which suggests a snagging cable. The fit is good now too.
Zing; Proper ride
16°C, light breeze and no cloud
I put more effort in this time. The bike is still waiting for a longer stem, Speedo and bar-tape. They are all due tomorrow
Zing the First
15°C, light NW breeze, light cloud and dry.
First outing on the Zing. There are some changes due melon – a new saddle, stem and bar tape are in the post. It should be more comfortable after that. This afternoon I went out with a Raleigh saddle which was murder. Apart from that, it handled well, especially on corners; I came home happy.
Missing lockdown
12°C, brisk NW, bright sun. Dry
Many busy roads, even starting out- my road as so full I had to wait for a gap. On quieter roads,drivers took the opportunity to put their foot down. I miss lockdown. Let’s have one every year, pandemic or not.
The new bike is not quite ready to do a proper ride but this was good.
Micycle 