Fog and mud.

Posted on 1st Nov 2015 by essiep

I rode CX Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 35.67mi, time: 03:14:03, pace: 5:26min/mi, speed: 11.03mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1233102627
Woke to very dense fog; and a choice of Fixie or cyclocross bike for today’s ride. CX gets me away from the traffic in poor visibility and to safety.
I picked a familiar route and took a diversion in the last leg. Along Southport seafront, a few cyclists pedaled northwards, and I steadily passed them.
One guy was on a Fat Bike so I asked him about it. They’re intriguing machines, and bizarre looking. Anyway, an odd thing happened moments before- I got told off! It happened on filtering though a small group of less experienced cyclists. (See below)

The Fat-bike guy showed me a route thorough gravel roads to get me close to the return leg by canal. Excellent route, but the ‘Private Road’ signs were offputting. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere near the start. I never did find a level crossing.

Continue reading →

Fixed the longest.

Posted on 29th Jun 2014 by essiep

18C, N breeze, bright sun.
I rode fixed- Distance: 72.17mi, time: 04:42:03, pace: 3:54min/mi, speed: 15.3mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/626397815
This is most likely my longest ride on a fixed gear bike. I sometimes claim that riding fixed is worth about 10% distance on top of a geared ride. Also, I got up Bannister hill without too much difficulty. I got over the top gasping, but not painfully so. Not bad when I am still over 15 stone.

A great day in the saddle.

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Posted from a mobile.

Bannister Hill, 9.30″

Posted on 14th Jul 2013 by essiep

22°C, clearing. Perfect.
MapMyRide! Distance: 39.40mi, time: 02:21:42, pace: 3:36min/mi, speed: 16.6mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/327169155
Yesterday- broke my best time up Bannister Hill, today, broke it again. The strategy today was to keep up the pace after pud summit to High Moor which is the end of the Mapmyride climb. All this was done on the 42×16 Fixed Gear.
A fixed would make an excellent hill-climb bike for those end-of-season hill races. That is when you have carefully chosen the gear for if specific climb. This ride needs a gear that is not too low to take advantage of some false flats where you can build up speed.
Overall, the conditions were perfect and my fitness- much improved.

I have only just found how to take a screen-capture from this phone; so here, at last is a hill profile.

Middleton flat 17.

Posted on 30th Jun 2013 by essiep

17°C; SW wind, brisk, dry. Club ride, tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 53.14mi, time: 03:08:30, speed: 16.9mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/workout/315175737
They are a likeable club, none of the cliquishness that mar other clubs. Some guys were bemused by me spinning madly on the Southport sea-front stretch where we rode at 22mph and I had a 42×16 gear. A little app tells me that a pace like that is 138rpm. I kept the pace well enough. They stated that the average should be 17mph before we set off and my GPS app put the average within 0.1mph of that; not bad! Also, not bad- riding in a tight group on fixed was quite a success. Sitting close on a wheel was easier with control via the transmission rather than touching brakes and blipping on pedals alternately. Easier, more accurate and ultimately, more efficient.

Bannister hill

Posted on 17th Mar 2013 by essiep

6°C, some rain.

Busied today doing work things. I have a secret glider in the attic for the escape.
Rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 28.89mi, time: 01:44′ speed: 16.64mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=7630849290788667393
There is a gap in that route, probably the GPS signal was lost in the rain. I did get up Bannister hill in good time though. Next time I could ride up the big climb twice.

note for next weekend: replace the chain, it’s way over the limit. Fixed gear bikes certainly eat chains. Take wheel bearing tools too.

Fix the head-wind.

Posted on 3rd Feb 2013 by essiep

I rode fixed gear 42×17. MapMyRide! Distance: 43.36mi, time: 03:27:35, pace: 4:47min/mi, speed: 12.53mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=620135990495698553
Took a similar route to last week after I said I should do the same distance. Difference was that I rode up Bannister Hill (without a stop). The hill felt fine. No, that hill never feels fine, but it didn’t make me feel sick or wobbly afterwards. So that as fine as it can be. Even the wind failed to reduce my progress as much as last week. I could still pump the pedals round rather than grind them over on each stroke. I give myself a pat on the head for all that. Even the post ride recovery was reasonably painless. Okay, the road speed was low, but I argue that the air-speed was much higher in that westerly wind.

Parbold hill

Posted on 30th Sep 2012 by essiep

12°C , brisk westerly, light cloud. CK55 miles.
Saturday ride on the fixed, a good few hours ride that started with some difficulty- perhaps I didn’t have enough for supper before.
Anyway, I got up Parbold hill on the 42×16 gear without stopping. While not a very blog-worthy point, I get a lot of satisfaction from this first. Last winter, I could only make the summit with the last part on foot. Then in the 17 tooth gear I gasped to the top.
It seems that my physical energy has been liberated by that drop in work-stress.

Hot may

Posted on 27th May 2012 by essiep

27°C, lighter winds

Walked in Lancashire lowland farmland. Fantastic what you can find only a mile from home. A hot day in May.

Avian miracle II

Posted on 3rd Jul 2011 by essiep

23°C, wall to wall blue. CK:50 miles

Riding near Mawdsley Lancs., I saw a bird lying in the road. As I passed, it was obvious that it was still alive. So I turned around and went back, if left it would get driven over. It was a bull-finch, sitting in the pale sun-bleached tarmac with one leg sticking out at an awkward angle. So ( like last time) I picked it up with one hand, and suddenly it flew away towards a tree with other passerines swirling round.

Further proof that I can do miracles, as if any were needed.

I suppose it had an injured leg that prevented it jumping enough to take off. A very similar thing happened a few years ago in Leicestershire, I have blogged about it here but can’t locate it right now.

No punctures in Lancs

Posted on 27th Feb 2011 by essiep

8°C, W winds, no clouds (yesterday) CK:44 miles.

They don’t get as much showery weather as us- it’s the coastal climate I’d say. To pay back for that, there are the stronger westerly winds.

Nice long cycle ride in the black flatlands of Lancashire. The 42×17 is just right for that landscape, I have finally decided. In an ideal world, I’d change the handlebars for slightly wider ones 44cm ones (like my other bikes). Wider bars feel right when out of the saddle “honking”.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

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