Racelite, 11°C, sunny and dry.
My fitness has declined. Although I swam twice a week and ridden at weekends, it’s still low. On the upside, the racelite has a replaced Chorus rear mech and the cables are well lubricated. The gearshift is brilliant now!
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.
26°C, calm with light E. Hot and humid
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.
Bright sun, 22°C, brisk SW wind, humid and dry.
In school holidays and fully recuperated. I’m still nursing that ankle injury but the problem is all about stiffness now. The Achilles tendon sides have gone back to hollow (as normal). I’m wearing barefoot shoes most of the time now. They are working very well. Returning to running is still out of the question. Maybe in the new year….
Further, there is something I learnt from this injury; continue exercise when you have balanced recovery time with effort time. This applies to this week’s rides. The recovery time is there each day because I’m not in work. That’s how you can ride every day without degradation.
Racelite; 20°C, light SW, sunny
23°C, light breeze, full sun.
Chain guages are invaluable. If you replace a chain before too long, then you don’t have to replace the cassette. My Zing passed the test, which is strange – it’s done 1,400.
The Racelite bike I was on failed the 0.75 and the 1.0 measure. That means a new chain is urgent.
Later: fitted a chain, but it skips over the cogs. Now need a new cassette. Nobody seems to have any in stock.
18°C, no cloud, light E, feels like summer.
I still think this old bike is a good one. It needs a minor service, bearings and lubricant but it still ran well today.
12°C, brisk NW, bright sun. Dry
Many busy roads, even starting out- my road as so full I had to wait for a gap. On quieter roads,drivers took the opportunity to put their foot down. I miss lockdown. Let’s have one every year, pandemic or not.
The new bike is not quite ready to do a proper ride but this was good.
19°C, no wind full sun.
The best ride of the year? Quite possibly! I did curtail the route slightly when a seat rail broke. It did fail in the diagonal section which meant no change in the saddle shape. That meant a comfortable ride home with only the occasional knock when the break opened and closed.
It was a tremendous ride, belting along at speed was comfortable and in perfect conditions.
Micycle 