Five in a row

Posted on 5th Jun 2022 by essiep

Summary for the week. Warming up after a cool weekend. Strong sun and little rain.

Ridden the Zing, Jake and the Paddy Wagon this week. The first day felt hard and was rather disheartening, but as the week wore on – it felt more natural. I’ve worked away most weekends on DofE so that has interrupted my cycling habits.

Rides were 36.1+ 51.7+27.9+ 21.5+32.6 = 169.8km
So that’s 104 miles in 5 days. I’m happy with that even with the low pace of several.

Some repairs are pending. My summer road shoes are falling out of shape, the left tends to tilt my foot outwards which then changes the whole leg. My left knee sweeps outwards with each stroke and lowers the prower into the pedal that side. Those Carnac shoes are ancient, I’ve forgotten when I bought them, probably in the 90s. A new pair are on order.
Secondly, the headset on the Jake cross bike has gone notchy so I’ll get replacement races soon too. Next problem is lubrication in gear cables. Muc-off lube tends to dry up quickly making gear changes hit & miss. I’m going to try a heavier grade of oil. Maybe confine the thin dry lube to the shifter mechaisms.

New gravel routes.

Posted on 19th May 2022 by essiep

18°C, Kona Jake, full sun with a light SW breeze.

Sought out several new gravel routes across farm lands. This was very fine.

The shoes feel much better than the road pair. The Carnacs I use with Look pedals seem to be distorting out of shape. The left one, especially has a twist that effects the pedal stroke.

Still chilly

Posted on 26th Apr 2022 by essiep

14°C, light E, full sun.

That was a long warm-up. We’re heading rapidly towards May. It looks like the coldest May on record is coming.

My warm-up was labourious but I pressed on only the middle section felt okay. I don’t know why. I’ve had four few days off and would normally need a warm-up ride. This felt different.

Rivington 55

Posted on 21st Apr 2022 by essiep

Kona Zing, 19°C, brisk E, breeze, bright sun.

Before setting off, I gave the bike a minor service. The main problem is sticky gear changes. I applied plenty of dry lube to gear cables and sheaths. The effect was immediate, lever pressure is lower, and most shifts are quick. Then later, a problem on one of the steeper climbs was the chain shed into the hub. That’s a simple screw adjustment to solve.

It’s been a fabulous day. The traffic was reasonably light and ths sun very bright. Spring is in full swing with light pink cherry blossom and vivid green foliage on show everywhere. Actually, I felt a little nostalgic about going to Rivington. I passed Biby’s Farm where I worked a few years ago and had a good time. I took some groups walking past the resevoirs and recognised some of the routes.

There were hazards though. The mottled shadows sometimes hid deep potholes which this bike doesn’t handle too well.

1st Quater summary

Posted on 31st Mar 2022 by essiep

Rides from New Year to last day of March 2022

Normally I guage the start of the year aiming to get 1,000 miles done by Easter. Since Easter is the movable feast, I’m taking the last day of march this year. Easter has a range of a month, and it can be any sunday between March 22 to April 25. That puts the median easter at 11th April, but that seems like an awkward date to use.

The total for this time period is 1,687km, = 1,041 miles. Just inside!

Monthly total, (added retrospectively).

Equinox eve.

Posted on 20th Mar 2022 by essiep

10°C, brisk chilly SSE breeze. Endless blue sky

Single speed ride with manageable SSW wind. Feeling fit and set a decent pace for March. Made possible by blazing sunshine in a cloudless blue sky.

Official Legend.

Posted on 8th Mar 2022 by essiep

8°C, strong SSE, sunny and dry.

Sunny and dry, so I couldn’t resist taking the Zing out. It ran well and was all fun. Passing a primary school, I saw the kids leaning over the fence towards the road. They wanted their balls that were in the road. They called out so I stopped to get them. There were four which I flung back over. How grateful were they? They shouted out “you’re a legend”. So it’s official!

1st day of Spring

Posted on 1st Mar 2022 by essiep

8°C, cloudless blue sky, light Northerly.

Mawdsley pumping station.

50 miles in the sun. Okay, it wasn’t that warm but I had a new base layer to test. It feels like merino wool but isn’t. After 3 hours it was still not clammy and remained warm. Excellent for £22.

Spring soon.

Posted on 26th Feb 2022 by essiep

8°C, stiff W breeze. Dry and sunny.

After the weather we’ve had! 3 named storms last week and some bouts of heavy showered including hail. My average milage has really suffered.

The original idea was to go out on the cross bike. Infuriatingly, it has a flat tyre. It didn’t respond to reinflation so I left it for today and headed out on the heavy Mustang.

Gales, gales gales.

Posted on 22nd Feb 2022 by essiep

8°C, strong SW, mostly sunny

Kona Jake: it’s such a good bike for me. The fit feels natural and it’s light and reasonably quick. There were a few placesa where I had to carry it over fallen trees (felled by one of the recent gales. We’ve had 3 named storms over the last week. There is debris everywhere. The beech is a mix of dead grass torn from plants and masses of human rubbish.

It’s been a worrying time at home for the roof. Last time it was like this, i had to climb a ladder and replace missing tiles. It’s fun riding in the wind at times. Some directions I can on ly do 6mph standing on pedals and then I return at 30 mph with no effort.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

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