7°C, light NE, clear and dark.
I screwed up today by forgetting my swimming kit. Most Tuesdays, I swim near work before going home. There’s a respite in the weather though, so I drove home and got on the bike. Conditions were good and the ride lasted an hour and a half. Much further and the lights’ battery life is less certain.
10°C, v strong westwind. Rain to return.
A brief show of sunshine changed my plan this afternoon. I was setting up to do some wallpapering but an unexpected spell of dry presented itself. I’ve barely ridden this last few weeks, all the while it’s been either cold and icy or heavy rain.
Grey, wet and rain, 4°C & light N.
November is usually thoroughly miserable, it’s the wettest month here and rapidly darkens towards our shortest day.
I’ve been regularly swimming this last month. Usually for about 45′ after work at the Uni.
11C, fresh but bright. Getting sunny, light SE breeze.
I’ve been too ill to ride this week. I’ve not even walked to the outdoor gym. I don’t know what it was but I had no energy and many, many sleeps, I barely went out.
Anyway, out I’ve been. This actually may be the last ride on this bike this year. There were several places where my narrow, smooth 25c tyres precariously rolled over compacted black mud. One of them while being closely tailgated by an impatient car.
17°C, light rain and sunny bits.
Mustang; well chosen bike for the muddy sections although it’s a slow ride. The only problem is my foot still hurts. It’s not my Achilles now, more the ligaments on top of my smaller toes. Unlike the tendon pain, it doesn’t ease after a break. I don’t get what’s going on.
Besides, there were good rainbows on the way back. Not only double, but they overlaid Infront of hedges. We’re used to them standing on the horizon, but not today.
Another notable: in one village, the traffic in front was held up and weaving. Soon the cause came into view. Peahens were wandering about in the road. It seems they were trying to cross. Soi got off and shoed them over to release the waiting traffic. Then they waddled over to other birds in a small estate. Problem solved.
Here’s a puncture that should be easy to fix, but …
It’s okay to get punctures every year or so, but here are other problems. The tyre would hold pressure for about ten minutes before dropping 10psi. I called into the supermarket for shopping anyway and shopped before dealing with it. By the time I got out it was obvious a wheel change was necessary.
The problem was getting the locknut off. The locknut key skipped off and refused to release the wheel. Even supporting the spanner on the jack didn’t help. That means the wheel is stuck. A passing bricklayer in a van tried an electric drivers but no luck. It was fast.
Next try, the supermarket had tyre sealant aerosols listed, that would inflate and seal the tyre temporarily (enough to get home). They were out of stock. Finally, I used the pump and blew it up to 30psi to see how far I could get. I got home with 3 stops to reinflate. At least that saved paying for recovery.
When this is fixed, I’ll put the black winter wheels on.
22°C, milky sun and a light SW.
I’ve been unwell for over a week now. Nothing serious but enough to deter me from cycling. Today, I ventured out but was aware of the empty feeling all the while.
26°C, calm with light E. Hot and humid
Kona Paddy Wagon, sunny & warm, no wind 21°C, dry
Today’s conditions are idewal for riding the single-speed. It’s windless and warm. I whizzed along at a comfortable pace.
New cockpit on the old bike.
Today, I fitted a new stem and bars to the Racelite. The fit has been wrong for a long time, the reach being far too long. I fitted a compact pair of bars which means less drop and reach.These actually came from two previous bikes – the Mustang and then the Kona Zing. That Mustang now has flared gravel style bars which I decided on after getting the cyclo-cross bikeAdded to that, the stem is 20mm shorter (and possibly slightly angled higher. The result is that the inner bars line up with the front hub.
The old bars were Cinelli 66/44s. . Anyway, in the same fixing things session, I put new Cinelli bars on the Zing just so it wasn’t standing there with brake levers hanging. It’s a shame really because the new bars look great. The Cinellis have an ovalised aero section on the tops which are probably more comfortable for the hands. The Racelite bars had a plastic channel for the gear cables. This time, I put the channel behind the bar which gives a similar effect. Aero is not that important to me, but the extra area to rest hands is the real bonus.
I don’t know what’s happening with the Zing yet but I’m told it is covered under the lifetime guarantee.
All the work this morning was justified on this 45km ride. I’m back in love with this bike. Not only is it more comfortable, but the front end feels lighter too. The shorter stem accounts for this as well as the shift in centre of gravity.
Micycle 