your daily bicycle log

Its 87F in Pittsburgh today, just saying, like.

Trying to ride my way out of a cold. I'm not sure if that's advisable, but I've got a race on Monday. Did a 33.5 mile loop in 1 hr 56 yesterday and then the exact same route in 1 hr 58 this morning. If I can keep losing 2 minutes a day I should be able to stretch it out to a good 7 hours by the autumn.

I got tossed of my bike by who knows what coming home from school this afternoon. something got caught in the rear wheel. I got my leg caught between the bars and frame as the bike went over. Nasty bruising I feel lucky that it didn't break anything.

eek!

im glad you're alright. it wasnt yr new wheel i hope?

yikes ed, glad yr alright

It was the old wheels, I was too cheap for fast shipping on the new ones. I am just stiff and bruised. I managed to bike the rest of the way home. Just kind of bemused as to what it was that got me.

Today: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=47267

Man, it was tough going. Just not quite fit enough, and also the enormous burger lunch + 2 beers made me almost pass out a few miles back. Very pleased we did it - it's a new route, a pretty good one - but it's not quite accurate to say I really enjoyed myself. Finishing on a mile long 8% hill wasn't the best, either.

There's some lovely countryside round that way.

And some good singletrack.

Fixie build is progressing, slowly. Waiting on tyres, cog. I can't fit the crown race and nor can friendly LBS, will have to try big chain LBS. Also how to fix v-brake lever to bars without removing the tape, hmmm...

The bigger problem is v-brake levers will be mountain diameter clamp which is a millimetre or so less than road bar diameter. When I did E's bike I faced this and it took a lot of filing on the break lever clamp to get it to fit.

of course this assumes you are using road bars of some sort.

Of some sort, yes... really it's a bit odd that the frame didn't come with caliper mountings.

Did my first longish ride for a while. Now feel mighty shattered.

about 4 or 5 miles quick yesterday

don't mean to be a dick but i can't resist...

wow that must have hurt

keep resisting the dick

no, i will not

Just back from more evening miles, even after the mighty tiredness. Feeling it, but feeling good.

Evans fitted my crown race in 2 minutes for free. So they're not all bad.

However, about an hour of powerdrilling with various now defunct dremel-type grinding attachements, and my brake lever is still microns too narrow.

New wheels arrived yesterday although probably won't get a chance to fit them before friday. Want to do an extensive tunes up, clean and grease of the mechanical components, a new rear break cable may be in order.

New wheels finally fitted, so much better. Just in time too a spoke broke on the way to the bar last night (I guess one that got hit in the accident).

Todays' fun and games is the East End Brewery Pedal Pale Ales Keg Tapping Ride:

http://www.eastendbrewing.com/node/706

Will no one selll me a properlyt sized seat post clamp!??!

SRSLY!!! all i want is a 30mm qr. none in lbs or evans, none in stock at chainreaction, the only on at wiggle is a salsa and i baulk at spending £20 on a clamp.

have planet x got any?

oh yeah they've got a 29.8, that would probably do - hopefully a friend who works in evans is sorting me out with a salsa though.

srsly tho who knew the cycling industry was even more in love with standards than the computer industry. 28.6, 29.8, 30.0, 31.4... i can understand the need for different frame sizes but that is ridic.

I did 2 laps of Richmond Park last night on my new fixed wheel lovely with my friend Liv, a fixie veteran who taught me the tricks of the trade. It was brilliant! Tough into the wind, tough on hills (but you know where you are, at least, and I didn't have to get off on any), and downright comical on descents. I managed just over 26mph, Liv tells me, which at 72 gear inches equates to about 125rpm I think. I felt like Chris Hoy at times!

Good stuff. Bloody good going. Which way round did you go? Clockwise or anti-clockwise? I only ask because, if anti-clockwise, I once made a MASSIVE BOTCH of that s-bend downhill bit, completely cowarded out of the turn, flew onto the verge and by a miracle also somehow flew over the ditch and bumped all over the shop but miraculously stayed on.

I haven't been up to Richmond Park for ages, used to live out that way, don't any more, but this I must rectify.

Anti-clockwise - the thought of going up Broomfield Hill does my head in on a geared bike! Your off-road adventure sounds terrifying - here's a video of it so you can relive the memories.

what tricks of the trade did you learn? I had my first fixie ride back into town from balham yesterday. pretty smooth, only one slightly nerve-racking encounter with an idiot in an automobile. fancy any richmond park action this w/end?

Not sure what tricks I've learned, though I am still repeating the old "don't stop pedalling" mantra to myself at regular intervals. Oh, there's "pedal like a loon downhill if there's an uphill straight after it", I guess? Otherwise it's just confidence, learning how the brakes behave, that kind of thing.

I actually have two RP rides already booked for this weekend - one with my teammates for the 24-hour relay race, and one a pootle with a friend who's trying to regain confidence on the bike after she had a nasty injury coming off her bike. But I'd theoretically be up for meeting up with you after the latter on Monday, 12.30 or so I guess?

so you can relive the memories.

Yes, that's pretty much how it was. Only worse of course.

xp that sounds good, if three RP rides in as many days isn't too much for ya.

I'd ride round there every day if I could. I used to do it in the summer before I went to work. If you get there earlier than the traffic gates are opened you practically have the place to yourself. One particularly memorable occasion, must have been about five in the morning, high summer, the promise of a hot day ahead, mist sitting in the hollows and over the water, and the deer just waking up and that wonderful view of London (clockwise), with the BT tower, Canary Wharf and the Millennium Wheel winking in the first rays of sun. A memory that will stay with me forever I think.

I do wanna take an early morning trip there sometime, might take a day off for it soon.

you wanna join us on mon?

I'd love to, fixed wheel as well, cos my geared bike is out of action, but I'm popping down to my brother's, who was just about to get his race license, but came off on the north Downs and got internal bleeding in his leg. He seems to be mending ok, but he won't be racing this season - giving him some moral support. Another time tho, for definite.

(That 'racing license' stuff by the way is strictly for my brother - I go backwards as soon as I hit an incline)

first rec ride of the year in which i actually felt good, a nice 45 miles.

there you go! climbs?

the main climb is 2600 ft, but varying gradient, mostly quite easy at about 4-5%. short section of 8-9%.

ive boycotted vino lately in order to shed some of the extra 10-12 lbs on me, but its not working. at all. considering getting hammered as i watch the nuggs in protest, which is bound to be rather unpopular in the household.

googleped says i burned 6000 calories. they need to work on that algorithm, because i doubt it was more than 1700.

6000 is like a 7 hour ride

Called off the Richmond ride due to prediction of heavy rain. Dunno what actually transpired there, but in central london it's drizabone and fucking roasting (although 'fucking roasting' for me apparently begins at about 22 celsius).

I don't know what's going on with the weather / the forecasts either. Going into the Bank Holiday weekend they were saying 'make the most of Saturday and Sunday because it's going to piss down on Monday' (or words to that effect). By last night the forecast had changed to 'London will bake in the sun - scorchio! - p.s. thunderstorms coming in the evening'. So I did 27 miles this morning and sure enough it pissed down for the last ten minutes (with a kind of stinging rain that felt like hail). I went to the park an hour ago and it was scorching sunshine.

The rain is coming up from the south by the looks of it - it's looking v v v stormy back towards Croydon, and it's starting to get really muggy.

I am borrowing Mark's bike, I live at the te top ofthe biggest hill in London, I may die - only need to lose what? 5 stone.....

Hope you get all the adjustments made okay, Chris - let me know if there are any problems. Hope you enjoy your first ride...

ta, that should be tomorrow, today has been taken up entirely with interview.