Category Archives: Travel

Best without wind.

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Cycle fixed: Distance: 55.6mi, time: 03:27:33, pace: 3:44min/mi, speed: 16.1mi/h. On 42×16.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/557777869
On low rolling lands and light wind you can find perfect single-speed bike conditions. Even the hills don’t seem as intimidating as on a windy day.
Tendonitus flared up yesterday during a long drive. It does seem to get aggravated by long periods of sitting still. Three and a half hours of cycling has soothed most of it away. Odd how that happens.
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This Laburnum at work is in full bloom, whereas mine at home shows no yellow at all. Perhaps view are different varieties. I know not.
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What’s in the box?

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3C, sunny and still.

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Been shopping? For the first time in about 20 years, I have bought a new pair of wheels for a racing bike. Previously, all the wheels I have, were built using hubs with replacement rims. Sometimes, the bearings needed renewing, sometimes just packing with grease. They can be re-used many times so the layout cost can be spread over a decade.
The bike is quite old with its 8-speed cassette. So. I may have to fiddle with this wheel set which was designed for 11-speed gears. The local bike shop said they will work with 8-speed using two spacer washers.

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They are Mavic Aksium wheels. This rear hub is laced with 20 spokes, straight laced on the left, and 2-cross on the right. The front is all straight laced. Each spoke is a flat blade with no bend, which is the point where they might break. I tend to break spokes.
The pair feel light to me and ring clearly when tapped. That should mean they are well built.
More later, I can’t fit them today anyway.
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Purposeless Walking

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15ºC, light wind but heavy rains.

The BBC have posted a Magazine article that hits the spot. It’s worth sharing here because i can relate to it so well. I don’t  go out in all night walks, but do value the very long outing. Also it’s important to ignore your phone and don’t listen to music as you go.

A the heart of this for me is thinking time. The effect is the same while cycling alone, it’s time to chew over thoughts in your head as the miles wheel by.

Do take the time to read it.

Ogwen Valley, Easter.

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14~9C, barely any wind, clear.
Tonight will get cold. It’s still and quiet here in this valley in North Wales. I got here about three in the afternoon, made camp and decided there was time for a walk.
Camp is about a km from Tryfan, which I you to climb tomorrow. It is a rough scramble, so I never wanted to inflict that on Rosie.
It’s as strange walking without her as I thought would be. Somehow, it feels wrong. Enough sad thoughts, I am here to unwind and enjoy myself.
I walked 5 miles today along the eastern end of the Glyderau- a quiet area, the hordes in west from here. I saw no-one.
The Welsh hills are still straw in colour, there is green between the old dead plants from last year, but it’s yet to get going.
Mosses look bright enough though.
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First walks of the year are hard on the front of thigh muscles. I swear every time to train them up to get ready, but never I do.

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New season.

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Cycling, Distance: 63.23mi, time: 04:25:43, speed: 14.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/535495432
First ride on the racing bike this year. It’s running as I left it, apart from new cables and bar tape. Though this tape looks all “retro”, it’s rather slippery compared to the spongy type on the other bikes.
The bottom braket still creaks, and the gear cables are a bit too short. Still, it was a great to ride; I always say that each spring.
Finally, there was no sign of the tendonitus that was a worry as recently as yesterday. Does that suggest that there is something about the winter bike that aggravates it? I have exercises to do which seem to help quite the problem with quick results.
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Clockwise.

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Fixed gear ride- Distance: 62.91mi, time: 03:59:48, pace: 3:49min/mi, speed: 15.7mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/520722496
Rode a fairly familiar route, but this time clockwise. Some junctions look quite different which is why I took a few wrong turns.

Descending Bannister Hill was a surprise, it looks so steep going down that tipping over the bars is quite possible.
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No Sunday ride.

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9C,hail, sun and showers.
No ride today- so I filled in a job application, chopped wood and fixed up the summer racing bike.
It’s not right though, the local bike shop put new bearings and free-hub, but it feels wrong. The axle is this enough but there is free play in the wheel when fitted into the drop-outs. I suspect that the free-hub is not the right one. The gear change seems okay, though I have wet to ride it.

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The garden is coming to life. After this coming week of frosts, I can plant all the bulbs. Tomorrow is said to be the coldest this year- and we’re out of winter now.

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Hulme End.

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4C, SW brisk with heavy showers.
DofE- staff training day. This was a re-newal of our navigation qualification. For us, a nice walk around the limestone landscape of northern Staffordshire.
The next stage is a national award, this one cannot be used outside Walsall jurisdiction. A national award is more use for those of up when want to move on. I think he called it the low-life assessment.
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Only problem was nagging aches from that long standing Achilles tendon problem. Every time I think it is healed, it comes back. Frustrating.
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Over the bars for a face-plant.

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11C,brisk Westerly, dry, bright.
Driving but stuck behind a bike club in Stafford. In a complex of roundabouts, one bloke turns to pick up something dropped. He then struggled to get back on to the group in the Saturday traffic. With the group already split in by cars. He had more trouble passing cars between the bunches.
Then, suddenly he was flicked into the air over his bike. A white car had stopped to let turning cars by. The bike’s brakes hadn’t stopped him fast enough, he hit the white car from the back.
By the time I got there, was wheeling his bike to the bus-stop to recover. The young woman driver walked over, visibly annoyed. She was not too happy to see a middle-aged man face printed on her rear window.
It’s understandable how this happened. The guy had his adrenaline up, he wanted to get back to the safety of the bunch. He pushed on, dodging cars only to foul up.
Walking wounded, hope his bike is okay. She will have to wash the sweaty image of a surprised face off the rear window when she gets home.
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