Category Archives: Winter Bike

3 weeks off. Back now.

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Kona Jake: cold 6°C, brisk SE, sunny & dry.

2nd ride of the day.

Three weeks off due to a long heavy cold with a persistent cough. There were times with fever and others when it seemed never ending. The turning point was during our holiday in Mallorca. The hotel has a good gym which I used several times a day.

Now I’m back. I’ve lost form (as you’d expect) and ended with a dry cough. Oddly, riding I felt the weight on my arms & shoulders. I thought I’d worked upper body in that gym. It’s going to take a good month to come back.

Was it COVID?

Warm November.

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15°C, grey, dry & warm. There’s a brisk S wind from the Azores.

No rack.

Mustang, I’ve taken the rack off and was surprised how much it weighs. I’d swear that  the bike rides lighter now. Anyway, I had a very nice ride despite the dull sky.

It had everything today, muddy lanes, fast open lanes, steep climbs & a section of canal towpath.

I enjoyed that ride thoroughly. Right to the end, I had plenty of energy but daylight was running out as was the charge in my front light. Just 100m from home, the light went out.

Mustang service.

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12°C, light offshore breeze, dry & grey

Mustang,

Most of today was a much needed service for the Mustang. To Start with, it was filthy and neglected. So I started with a deep clean and lubrication. The chain was badly stretched so I put a KMC 8 on and then the gears skipped. That means the cassette is worn too. I do have a spare 12-28 so that went on. It’s meant as a stopgap (but I may keep it).

Then I did a longer test ride (10 miles) and it runs nicely except for a creaking saddle.

Mustang: in fog

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9°C, still with some sunshine, later – must turning into fog

Mist, later – fog

Mustang: We’ve had a dry & warm November so far. It’s changing now and fog marks the change. As I’m on the mustang with Schwalbe CX30 tyres. I took a route off road in parts. Near Burscough, I turned down a tow paths through the worst of the fog. Mist turned to fog very quickly but there was no mention on the weather sites (BBC & Metoffice). The last 5 miles was rather stressful with the visibility. It’s not my view but that of any following vehicles that’s a concern.

The Arrow bike is in a bit of a state. I stopped riding it when the bottom bracket stripped the threads in the frame. Today, I pulled it out to clean it up. The chain is worn and the frame looks tatty, there are spots of rust in the paint. Should I scrap it?