Category Archives: Travel

Lakes, hills and Aljezur

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Cloud, then bright sun, 27C.
GPS MapMyRide! Distance: 78.31mi, time: 05:19:18, pace: 4:05min/mi, speed: 14.8mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/670187733
Rode many hills and a few dead ends, but the hire bike makes big hills likable. It was not until near the cafe stop at Aljezur that the sun came out.
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So most of the big climbs were under white cloud.
One of the rear spokes worked loose, I can blame the climbs for that. I hit no potholes all day- the roads are pretty good here. Traffic was very light too.
I am going to be famous! on the ride back, the Google Streetview car passed the other way. I will give them six months to post then have a look on Google Earth. I know my face will be blurred, but I will know it is me. That gives me six months to prepare for the rigours of fame on the World Wide Wonder Web.

That was a very satisfying day.

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End of the world.

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23C grey sky.
Tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 13.31mi, time: 55:32, pace: 4:10min/mi, speed: 14.4mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/669112035
Rode out beyond Sagres to the lighthouse which marks the most SW point in Europe. It’s flat and rocky there with cliffs on all sides to the Atlantic. Slight mist is developing which must be very striking in stormy weather.
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I have the same bike again and plan a ride that pushes deeper inland tomorrow.
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Cork woodland.

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27C brisk NW sea breeze. Bright sun.
Hired bike: rode MapMyRide! Distance: 50.04mi, time: 03:31:11, pace: 4:13min/mi, speed: 14.22mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/665367287
Great ride in the Algarve nature reserve. The main feature was a long twisting ascent up to the wind farm. Then followed a fast descent to the west on an empty road.

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Cork Oak trees.


That was good so I stopped at the bottom to read the map. I wanted another route to take me back up so ride it again. But then it was obvious how little water there was left in the bottles. That became my priority, so I resumed the route and look for a cafe. Carrapeteira has a nice square with a few places to buy water.
The return was a faster cruise along sweeping roads.
Traffic have a wide berth but they do tail-gate each other badly.
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The bike was quite likable, comfortable and smooth; not bad for a hire bike. It has an aluminium frame with carbon forks. The guy said he got them for €800 each. The frame seems good with costs cut on components. I really liked the new style Tiagra shifters, the up-shift lever is in a more natural place and it’s clunkiness sir a good feature in my view.

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Less than good.

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24C, evening sun, NW wind.
Hire bike– took it out for a spin to check it out for fit and adjust.
Not a successful ride- at about 4 miles out, both tyres punctured. The front went flat quickly, the back waited until I finished fixing the first. Good that the cycle-hire have me 2 tubes and a folding tyre. I needed both.
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The pump supplied was not good enough to get these tyres up to a safe pressure.

Two punctures and a nervous ride back did not make for confidence for tomorrow. I want to do a big ride inland and make a day of it. I hope all will be well.
Tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 11.96mi, time: 48:51, pace: 4:05min/mi, speed: 14.69mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/664553703

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I know how to live it up.

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20C,not a cloud, light sea breeze.
Never done this before in the 11 years I have had this car. I have wax polished it.

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It’s a little tricky, the instructions on the bottle make it sound easy. The car does need to be spotlessly clean. The polish is a milky liquid that should be left to dry. Then within a big soft cloth, you buff it off. Easy, but the dry chalky stuff really sticks to any flaws or bits of dirt to show how bad you are at washing.

Shall I try it on my bike?

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Dragonflight.

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Wheat, nearly ripe.

The same field,

22°C,light N breeze, bright sun.
Tracked ride with- MapMyRide! Distance: 34.1mi, time: 02:14:53, pace: 3:57min/mi, speed: 15.2mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/657090975
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Dragonflies, dozens were on the wing today. Is there any poetry in the way they look like antique biplanes, these fabulous creatures from a time long, long before?

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Service race-8

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24°C sunny, no breeze.
Yesterday’s ride was no twithout problems. At 45 miles, the gear change became heavier and sticky. Up-shift was unreliable but I knew what it was. Out of sight, inside the cable the wire was frayed. It snags and forced me to double-shift and back for the rest of the day. With experience, I knew the fault immediately.
Once opened up, it was clear. A single strand of wire in the cable had coiled up inside the sheath.
Today, I fixed it and changed the cable route too.

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I have been looking at new bikes too. There are two complete bikes that fit my needs and size. A Kona Jake and a Raleigh Revenio. Both are cyclo-cross bikes with disc brakes. I want more reliable braking in rain. Normal brakes are poor when the rims are wet. Discs should solve that. These two makes are suitable because the top-tube length is right for me (22.5″ or 60.5cm).
I hate short frames. In the 1990s, top tubes were mostly 21.5 inches for all frame sizes. That is mad, the size should be in proportion to the frame size; not fixed to suit the brazing jig.
In the mid 90s, I had both my made-to-measure frames built with 23″ top-tubes. At the time that was the only way to get a frame that fits me. These days, there is another choice: off-the-peg.

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100 with two diversions.

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24C max. N breeze. Sunny start and end, cloud in between.
Tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 101.85mi, time: 07:13:05, pace: 4:15min/mi, speed: 14.11mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/654671465

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I couldn’t see how deep this flood was. In this situation, it’s a good idea to wait for a car to drive through, that would show how deep the water is. Two cars appeared, but each stopped for a long time then turned around. They daren’t try it either. The water stretched from that left hedge and over the R. Anker on the right into the wheat field to the right. If I could predict the highest part of the road’s camber, then a ride through is possible. The edges of the road were completely hidden so I scrapped the idea.
I went along the A5 for a few miles instead. What a horrible road to ride on.
The other diversion was to avoid the traffic diverted from the closed A38. Presumably, there had been a smash in the middle afternoon.

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15.3

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22C, milky close, rain to come.
The most annoying punctures, more annoying than the other annoying punctures happen at home. This one hissed itself flat when I pulled the pump head off the value. The effort of flicking that lever and pulling it off after blowing up to pressure has split the tube at the value base.
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And on the ether hand, my weight is coming down. Cycling is more fun when I weigh less than 14st.7. For the last month or two, I have been over 15st. I topped 15st.7 which is way too much.
I blame snacking and no twice daily dog walk.
Parti-poodles look like a good choice. I may even get a lad next time.
Cycling-

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100,000 miles.

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17C, sunny with brisk wind.
Just driven the first 100,000th mile in my car, a 2002 Passat.

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I have driven most of that distance though the car stands, unused, outside my house. I caught it nearly 12 years ago. It should be viable for another 5 years. The only costs, therefore, are normal maintenance repairs.

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