5861 miles in total so far
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Calculations calculatons
So - if my last calculations were on 26th July pm. That means i have done a further 75 commuter rides at 27.1 miles = 2032.5 miles.
Plus -
1 lakeland weekend of about 30 miles
local rides around Lee & Cragg Quarry about 30 miles
Riding to Bolton for 2 days Jury service about 25 miles
1 Long Mynd weekend of about 30 miles
total = 115 miles
As this is an estimate I will call it 100. So 2132.5 miles to add. means this year i have done
Plus -
1 lakeland weekend of about 30 miles
local rides around Lee & Cragg Quarry about 30 miles
Riding to Bolton for 2 days Jury service about 25 miles
1 Long Mynd weekend of about 30 miles
total = 115 miles
As this is an estimate I will call it 100. So 2132.5 miles to add. means this year i have done
Thursday, 17 November 2011
In the darkness no one can see your grimace
So it's definitely winter now! Carrying two panniers is noticeably more tiring in the wind and with a few fast rides this week my legs are really feeling it. All good though....
My bike is need of a new chain and chain rings. When i put any pressure on the peddles it makes a horrible grinding noise that was quite off putting but I am getting used to it now. I have brought the Rohloff specific chain ring remover and a very large wrench but still need a workshop chain whip. Then i will have all my tools ready and will just need to get the rings and chain.... Will be lovely to get it sorted. Earlier this month i changed the oil in my hub so that should be good for another 5000kms.(6 months)April / May 2012
As i get the hang of riding with additional clothing Spring seems a very long way away now....but a new chainset will make it all feel quite refreshing.
My bike is need of a new chain and chain rings. When i put any pressure on the peddles it makes a horrible grinding noise that was quite off putting but I am getting used to it now. I have brought the Rohloff specific chain ring remover and a very large wrench but still need a workshop chain whip. Then i will have all my tools ready and will just need to get the rings and chain.... Will be lovely to get it sorted. Earlier this month i changed the oil in my hub so that should be good for another 5000kms.(6 months)April / May 2012
As i get the hang of riding with additional clothing Spring seems a very long way away now....but a new chainset will make it all feel quite refreshing.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Last week of Summer time
As quickly as my summer top was on, now it has gone. In this the last week of summer time - it's been getting cold and wet.
At the start of Sept I was called in to do Jury duty in Bolton which meant a change of commuter route. It rained heavily both days and made me realise that in heavy traffic, it's really nice to have a cycle path. The route i take in to Manchester is well laid out.
I have been riding a lot with roadie dudes which has been a real eye opener to how strong their lungs are. Granted, I am riding a heavy, un-aerodynamic climbing frame but all the same, I can cope for so long but there are a couple of guys that after a few miles I just can't keep up.
We visited the velodrome at the start of October and saw the National Championships. Really good fun, the girls loved it to but i did keep wondering what would happen when one of them threw a piece of cheese on the track wiping out Hoy and Kenny and the like!
A week later I was riding back and got chatting with a roadie dude who said he had done a couple of races in the UCI Senior races, nice guy who flew up the hill away from me when i was said i was jiggerred.
Have been riding with the girls in the trailer a few times which is really good fun. Does make for a pretty knackering time of it though!
My spinning is going well but legs are generally nackered these days. I went riding with the guys last weekend and did Long Mynd and Eastridge Woods. Fantastic couple of days of very different riding - Love my bike so much.
At the start of Sept I was called in to do Jury duty in Bolton which meant a change of commuter route. It rained heavily both days and made me realise that in heavy traffic, it's really nice to have a cycle path. The route i take in to Manchester is well laid out.
I have been riding a lot with roadie dudes which has been a real eye opener to how strong their lungs are. Granted, I am riding a heavy, un-aerodynamic climbing frame but all the same, I can cope for so long but there are a couple of guys that after a few miles I just can't keep up.
We visited the velodrome at the start of October and saw the National Championships. Really good fun, the girls loved it to but i did keep wondering what would happen when one of them threw a piece of cheese on the track wiping out Hoy and Kenny and the like!
A week later I was riding back and got chatting with a roadie dude who said he had done a couple of races in the UCI Senior races, nice guy who flew up the hill away from me when i was said i was jiggerred.
Have been riding with the girls in the trailer a few times which is really good fun. Does make for a pretty knackering time of it though!
My spinning is going well but legs are generally nackered these days. I went riding with the guys last weekend and did Long Mynd and Eastridge Woods. Fantastic couple of days of very different riding - Love my bike so much.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Danger Panda and i saw a crash!
The other day when going home i was stopping at a junction where a car was pulling across a line of traffic and a racer flew past me and slammed straight into the car - Ow!! he snapped his frame in half and either dislocated or broke his thumbs. again, Ow!! I really feel that other than under / over taking buses and trucks this is the most hazardous activity. Officially it would be the car drivers fault. It is a common occurrence caused by polite drivers leaving space for drivers to pull across traffic. I had stopped because I saw them pulling across. a timely reminder for me to be continually vigilant.
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Summer Top
Well a few months have passed very smoothly on the biking front.
I competed in the Singletrack Classic Weekender at the start of July which was as always a lot of fun. The cross country ride was really enjoyable this year but doing it billy no-mates meant the Saturday was a bit boring and I didn't stay to enjoy the evening festivities. I finished the Downhill with a very similar time to last year and although I messed up on the hill climb and log ride, durrr, (2 minutes penalty) I finished the cross country in the same place as i did last year - 34 out of 182. Not bad but next year i really do intend to do better and get down into those 20s - maybe.
Mark gave me a summer flourescent top yesterday and it really feels like I skim through the wind although it also means i feel particularly naked which certainly speeds you up.
A couple of weeks before another mad adventure on the bikes in the Lake District so i need to get off road again and get moving about above my bike.... My cadance and HB monitoring is going really well and I am undoubtadly smoother and more skillfull on the road now.
For now though - I have totalled up my mileage and it looks like I am at 3725 miles.
Crickey!
I competed in the Singletrack Classic Weekender at the start of July which was as always a lot of fun. The cross country ride was really enjoyable this year but doing it billy no-mates meant the Saturday was a bit boring and I didn't stay to enjoy the evening festivities. I finished the Downhill with a very similar time to last year and although I messed up on the hill climb and log ride, durrr, (2 minutes penalty) I finished the cross country in the same place as i did last year - 34 out of 182. Not bad but next year i really do intend to do better and get down into those 20s - maybe.
Mark gave me a summer flourescent top yesterday and it really feels like I skim through the wind although it also means i feel particularly naked which certainly speeds you up.
A couple of weeks before another mad adventure on the bikes in the Lake District so i need to get off road again and get moving about above my bike.... My cadance and HB monitoring is going really well and I am undoubtadly smoother and more skillfull on the road now.
For now though - I have totalled up my mileage and it looks like I am at 3725 miles.
Crickey!
Friday, 10 June 2011
Cadence & Heart Rate are king
Seems like ages since I blogged - Thanks to Mark I now have a heart monitor, I have been using it for 3 days and today was my first day with it on my handlebars.
Heart monitor
178bpm max, weather and traffic effects my speed so much that it can get quite annoying. If I accept these two aspects and rather than use speed as a measure of my activity and use cadence and heart bpm as a way of measuring myself. I think I have more control over the activity and I think will mean i am less annoyed by the weather or traffic.
I need to do a full week but i seemed to max out at 178 this morning and had been able to keep it up over 160 for pretty much the duration of the 50 mins in and 55 back yesterday. Tonight though i couldn't do this at all though and really had to fight to get it up to 168 just for a few seconds. It is Friday tonight though. More use is needed for me to understand it better.
We went camping near Coed LLandegla with Kel, Jon, Aim and Dave and took the girls in the trailer on the blue route. They were really thrown about on the rough sections but loved it and when we finished they seemed to be really excited. I was able to over take a few people on the climb which was nice, ( the girls slept on the way up) of course I don't know if they had already done the loop 10 times that day but it felt good anyway. After that we need to get them helmets though!
I was leading a shaven legged girl on a little bike this morning and he said when we stopped at the lights he caught me up and said 'How do you make something so heavy go so fast'. Which made me feel really good. I laughed and just said that I liked the reliability. It is a real boost when people say that sort of thing.
Over the last few weeks My bottom bracket was getting more and more wobbly so i ordered some new bearings and replaced them. Fantastic - some real saving will be made there over the coming years. It seems that I am getting through my bearing in a few months! It's nice to be getting all the tools though and actually this challenge is giving me that. I brought a new larger adjustable spanner, and longer 8mm hex key (formally called an Alan Key).
I measured a new top speed of 36.8mph
All is going well, I have now completed XXXXmiles.
Heart monitor
178bpm max, weather and traffic effects my speed so much that it can get quite annoying. If I accept these two aspects and rather than use speed as a measure of my activity and use cadence and heart bpm as a way of measuring myself. I think I have more control over the activity and I think will mean i am less annoyed by the weather or traffic.
I need to do a full week but i seemed to max out at 178 this morning and had been able to keep it up over 160 for pretty much the duration of the 50 mins in and 55 back yesterday. Tonight though i couldn't do this at all though and really had to fight to get it up to 168 just for a few seconds. It is Friday tonight though. More use is needed for me to understand it better.
We went camping near Coed LLandegla with Kel, Jon, Aim and Dave and took the girls in the trailer on the blue route. They were really thrown about on the rough sections but loved it and when we finished they seemed to be really excited. I was able to over take a few people on the climb which was nice, ( the girls slept on the way up) of course I don't know if they had already done the loop 10 times that day but it felt good anyway. After that we need to get them helmets though!
I was leading a shaven legged girl on a little bike this morning and he said when we stopped at the lights he caught me up and said 'How do you make something so heavy go so fast'. Which made me feel really good. I laughed and just said that I liked the reliability. It is a real boost when people say that sort of thing.
Over the last few weeks My bottom bracket was getting more and more wobbly so i ordered some new bearings and replaced them. Fantastic - some real saving will be made there over the coming years. It seems that I am getting through my bearing in a few months! It's nice to be getting all the tools though and actually this challenge is giving me that. I brought a new larger adjustable spanner, and longer 8mm hex key (formally called an Alan Key).
I measured a new top speed of 36.8mph
All is going well, I have now completed XXXXmiles.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
back to it then --
So after a couple of long weekends and some days off i am back on it! I feel very sluggish actually but it's all good.
My total is now 2259.5 miles which is fantastic. During my break i completed the Dyfi Enduro which is a 40mile off road. It was great to have my big suspension back on the bike and the big grippy tires.
My total is now 2259.5 miles which is fantastic. During my break i completed the Dyfi Enduro which is a 40mile off road. It was great to have my big suspension back on the bike and the big grippy tires.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Calculations calculatons
Right time to catch up on my figures - so I need to add a mile for each day I have ridden, which by reckoning is 61 days. I will add 61 miles to the total before adding on my recent mileage. So -
Total 1694miles up to the 4th April means I need to add 9 days or 243miles. New Total 1937 miles.
A fantastic ride home tonight - empowered with a light tail wind and the vision of hugs from the girls gave me an Avg Speed of 16.56mph!
I am e-mailing my data and will compile them at some point - the problem is though that each days has a lot of variables. Wind is the biggest factor, day of the week next, traffic last.
I am learning a lot about my riding though. My optimum cadence seems to be moving between, 95 and 105 this is where i am most powerful but letting it run up to 110 is good too and letting it drop down to 92 is ok. When i let it lower this far and i change up it can be quite hard though to push my cadence back up to match up the speed..... all good fun.
Total 1694miles up to the 4th April means I need to add 9 days or 243miles. New Total 1937 miles.
A fantastic ride home tonight - empowered with a light tail wind and the vision of hugs from the girls gave me an Avg Speed of 16.56mph!
I am e-mailing my data and will compile them at some point - the problem is though that each days has a lot of variables. Wind is the biggest factor, day of the week next, traffic last.
I am learning a lot about my riding though. My optimum cadence seems to be moving between, 95 and 105 this is where i am most powerful but letting it run up to 110 is good too and letting it drop down to 92 is ok. When i let it lower this far and i change up it can be quite hard though to push my cadence back up to match up the speed..... all good fun.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
new bits and new donations
Thanks to Pete and Steve for their donations this week - it really is very much appreciated.
I added Dave's 29er wheel to the fixed forks and fitted it with a 700c x 32 touring tyre which seems so thin but definitely evens out the rough ride. I also fitted a Sigma 1609 STS so now have a more accurate trip measurement - Apparently i am doing 27 miles a day not 26! Oops, I will have to add on a few miles then to my total. I was also able to measure other data from my ride - my average and top speeds but also time taken and most interestingly for me at the moment, my cadence. so the stats from today were.
Distance: 27 miles
Time taken: 1hr 49mins 36 secs
Morning time take: approx 53mins
Afternoon time taken: approx 54mins
Avg speed: 15.08mph
Max speed: 31.90mph
Avg cadence: 106 rpm
I did find myself doing something new as the last big climb levels out but remains a climb and that was to shift up a gear and spin up to a healthy cadence, I could see I was gaining about 2mph by doing this and I went from 10 to 16mph by doing this.
106 is a relatively high average cadence but strangely one i feel pretty happy with at the moment. MarkW suggested that it would be good for me to drop down slightly and power a bit more - we'll see. With my 14 progressive gears i need to do a little research but i suspect that a gear is about 10rpm so what i will need to do is learn to get out the saddle to spin up to speed and try to hold it at that pace, maybe letting it drop to 95 before changing.... not sure yet.
I will get some photos of my Frankenbike, or JekylnHydebike, or cutnshut. I love it, it's so ridiculously developed now, it's very me!
Excellant fun.
I added Dave's 29er wheel to the fixed forks and fitted it with a 700c x 32 touring tyre which seems so thin but definitely evens out the rough ride. I also fitted a Sigma 1609 STS so now have a more accurate trip measurement - Apparently i am doing 27 miles a day not 26! Oops, I will have to add on a few miles then to my total. I was also able to measure other data from my ride - my average and top speeds but also time taken and most interestingly for me at the moment, my cadence. so the stats from today were.
Distance: 27 miles
Time taken: 1hr 49mins 36 secs
Morning time take: approx 53mins
Afternoon time taken: approx 54mins
Avg speed: 15.08mph
Max speed: 31.90mph
Avg cadence: 106 rpm
I did find myself doing something new as the last big climb levels out but remains a climb and that was to shift up a gear and spin up to a healthy cadence, I could see I was gaining about 2mph by doing this and I went from 10 to 16mph by doing this.
106 is a relatively high average cadence but strangely one i feel pretty happy with at the moment. MarkW suggested that it would be good for me to drop down slightly and power a bit more - we'll see. With my 14 progressive gears i need to do a little research but i suspect that a gear is about 10rpm so what i will need to do is learn to get out the saddle to spin up to speed and try to hold it at that pace, maybe letting it drop to 95 before changing.... not sure yet.
I will get some photos of my Frankenbike, or JekylnHydebike, or cutnshut. I love it, it's so ridiculously developed now, it's very me!
Excellant fun.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
all good as March powers on - 1489 miles down. Big weekend ahead.
I thought i should post now as probably wont have time over the weekend. I am going to be lazy and get the bus in tomorrow! I am going to North Wales for a couple of massive off road days with the lads I really think it would be a good idea to have at least one rest day. So that's my excuse and I am sticking with it.
To recap - last weekend Kel and Jon came up and we went out for a couple of pootles. One around Rivington on the flat with the girls in the trailer, damn they are heavy but seemed to enjoy the trailer and it handled really well. The other around Lee Quarry making use of the new link route. Both short and simple but good to get my bike fitted back with the bouncy forks and big tires.
My spinning has been going well, I am finding that it takes me a good 20mins to warm up and then I am flying. I am also finding that my climbs can be very fast when i spin in the saddle but it is incredibly tireing. After i have 2 days off next weekend i will be able to really let loose and see how much power I can put down through fast moving pedals. I am very aware at the moment that I have a lot of riding planned and don't want to hurt myself.
Bike is good, legs are good and the weather has been good.
I have bought a bottom bracket bearing tool so hopefully will be bale to service that part of my bike for pennies in the future....
Oh, One final point, I wore my cycling shorts for the first time last night and it felt really good, much cooler. Maybe not in the fashion sense!
To recap - last weekend Kel and Jon came up and we went out for a couple of pootles. One around Rivington on the flat with the girls in the trailer, damn they are heavy but seemed to enjoy the trailer and it handled really well. The other around Lee Quarry making use of the new link route. Both short and simple but good to get my bike fitted back with the bouncy forks and big tires.
My spinning has been going well, I am finding that it takes me a good 20mins to warm up and then I am flying. I am also finding that my climbs can be very fast when i spin in the saddle but it is incredibly tireing. After i have 2 days off next weekend i will be able to really let loose and see how much power I can put down through fast moving pedals. I am very aware at the moment that I have a lot of riding planned and don't want to hurt myself.
Bike is good, legs are good and the weather has been good.
I have bought a bottom bracket bearing tool so hopefully will be bale to service that part of my bike for pennies in the future....
Oh, One final point, I wore my cycling shorts for the first time last night and it felt really good, much cooler. Maybe not in the fashion sense!
Sunday, 13 March 2011
spinny spinny and a day on the hills.
so a full week last week, everyday spinning of course! and today Sunday 13th was a day with Sam up on Scout Moor. 20miles in total and damn tiring. All good though and it was great to see the new sections up at Cragg Quarry. The new pump track and Lee Quarry was massive but not yet bedded in completely but it was busy and felt like a good place to be. We also stopped off at the cafe at the bottom of the hill and had some fantastic cake and coffee served by a really nice woman. I think it was called Poppy's.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
speedy spinning
sinning my gears seems to be going well. I know it's Tuesday but I seemed to be able to get a bit more power down through the pedals today. without a cadence meeter it's difficult to judge but I am counting, 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 and think if I can count that 4 times in 10 seconds then I am up near to 100rpm. the hardest part is to remind yourself that it's better to be in a lower gear.... but I am definitely getting there.
Like I said it's Tuesday and I suspect I will have a different perspective by Friday.
Like I said it's Tuesday and I suspect I will have a different perspective by Friday.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
1096miles done. Kind of a quiet week
I had kind of a quiet week really, which is good I guess. The spinning has been gong really well although a couple of times when people have over taken me I have had to pay special attention not to chase them down but rather to keep my gears spinning and not forcing it. It a change for me but my knees seem to be fine now so phew!
We are now into March which will prove to be an interesting and possibly knackering month...... we will see.
The weather looks good for the morning - if a bit cold. it should be clear and without wind.
We are now into March which will prove to be an interesting and possibly knackering month...... we will see.
The weather looks good for the morning - if a bit cold. it should be clear and without wind.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
nearly 1000 miles! all is good
spinning in the week was great, it really helped to save my legs and knees I think. I am starting to plan now for what could be a bit of a mammoth March.I have Sam coming over on one weekend, keljonaimdave coming over on another and on the 25th the Snowdonian adventure.
If I am going to do each work day as well I am not going to be getting many rest days.......
If I am going to do each work day as well I am not going to be getting many rest days.......
Thursday, 24 February 2011
knees are fixed now my legs ache!!
it's been a good week, since raising my saddle and spinning all week my knees are fantastic. Now i just have sore legs as I am training my muscles in a new way. All going well though.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
4715 to go
Missing last Monday, Feb 14th, I only did 4 days last week.
My knees were aching after last weekend so i decided to spin more in the hope that less pressure would ease the problems. It does worry me a bit, I would hate it if my knees gave way........ Anyway, Monday tomorrow and a full week of riding ahead of me..
My knees were aching after last weekend so i decided to spin more in the hope that less pressure would ease the problems. It does worry me a bit, I would hate it if my knees gave way........ Anyway, Monday tomorrow and a full week of riding ahead of me..
Monday, 14 February 2011
4819 to go. great riding this week
After riding, Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday I took friday off in prep for a long weekend including today, Valantine's day. On Friday afternoon though i removed my rack and P8 forks replacing them with my foxes, and fitted a mud tyre, new bottom bracket, new chain and a cleaned out headset. She felt fantastic and was a very easy move to make.
On Saturday morning I took part in Hit The North 2.5, 'the resurrection'. A fantastic ride for chairty in North Manchester. Very muddy and a lot of fun. I started at the back (around 170th) and slowly over took loads of people to finish 52nd. It was more of a good laugh than a serious bit of racing for me as I caught up behind a lot of guys on cyclocross bikes most of the time. A few of the cyclo guys were flying and to be honest it was funny to see them in the same field as the rest of us mere mortals.
So a really fun event and with the 10 miles back on the road after I finished my 16 miles, 2hr 10mins, race gave me another 26 miles to add to my tally. totally 4819.
On Saturday morning I took part in Hit The North 2.5, 'the resurrection'. A fantastic ride for chairty in North Manchester. Very muddy and a lot of fun. I started at the back (around 170th) and slowly over took loads of people to finish 52nd. It was more of a good laugh than a serious bit of racing for me as I caught up behind a lot of guys on cyclocross bikes most of the time. A few of the cyclo guys were flying and to be honest it was funny to see them in the same field as the rest of us mere mortals.
So a really fun event and with the 10 miles back on the road after I finished my 16 miles, 2hr 10mins, race gave me another 26 miles to add to my tally. totally 4819.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
what a great week in the end. + 130miles
So a really interesting week for me on the bike. I actually went through a grieving process for my fox forks. I appear to have come out stronger for it though. On Thursday and Friday night i fired all the way back from Bury (4 miles up hill) in top gear and out the saddle! Wind assisted i grant you but felt great all the same.
So another full 5 day week of 130 miles pushes me past the 500 mile mark and i now only have 4949 miles to go. Fantastic.
Wet and windy head wind on the morning though. and a dark start as well........
So another full 5 day week of 130 miles pushes me past the 500 mile mark and i now only have 4949 miles to go. Fantastic.
Wet and windy head wind on the morning though. and a dark start as well........
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
So i decided to stop complaining
and pushed hard on the way home, i decided i couldn't take another night of mopping so got out the saddle and hammered it home. It was a much better ride and i let the bike do it's thing over the rough stuff focussing on my legs fireing me by, and it worked. I cleaned out the hotbox for my Rohloff tonight and finished off the install of the forks. My home made mudguard seemed to work a treat this morning and on the way home. I think i am going to bat on with the 26" wheel till i can borrow a 29er wheel from Dave at the end of Feb. Might need to get a road tyre for it....
A good day...
A good day...
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