Went out for a couple of hours on the now-finished Surly 1×1. Now it’s got some “real” brakes on it it’s just a lot more rideable. Well, stop-able. Some big fat tyres on now, providing a whole inch (maybe half an inch) of suspension.
I did the local loop, taking in Giants Seat (including the giant bomb hole slope of death and pain) and Philip’s Park.
Saw loads of blokes on very shiny new full sussers.
Went for a longish ride last night – the usual “ride to Ramsbottom, do a loop then ride back” routine. It was dead windy last night and whilst it gave me a helping hand on the way there, coming back was a pain in the arse.
We were blown off our bikes on more than a couple of occasions and I reckon there were 70mph gusts on the tops of the moors.
We went down the cheeky trails in the “two valleys”, except we only did one valley due to the slow progress.
I almost bonked! The first time in yonks, I must be getting a bit blasé about feeding and ensuring I’ve enough in the tank to complete the ride. Thank God for mince pies. Glad I took a geared bike.
Yesterday was a pretty good day. I had a component-geek-tastic tour of the Hope factory in Barnoldswick. I own a lot of their gear, brakes, hubs, headsets, skewers, etc and regard it as among the best you can buy.
Anyway, we’re doing some work for them so I jumped at the opportunity to meet them.
It’s a really old mill, full of amazing CNC milling machines that cut and mill a billet of ali into a component. Did you know that they’re all then polished with a compound made from walnut shells? I didn’t.
Hopefully nobody saw me dribbling.
I went for a ride last night too – the first one since the duathlon 2 weeks ago. It was tough. It’s incredible how quickly a break from training has an effect. I didn’t feel less fit, just lacking a bit of strength. The rest has done me good though; I didn’t have that niggling pain in my left thigh at all.
I was riding the new singlespeed. I’ve finally sold the Kona and built up a SS-specific frame. It’s cromoly steel so good pound heavier than the Kona but the horizontal dropouts mean that I’m not relying on the tensioner any more.
It does look a bit like a 50’s shopping bike with that high top tube though….
I’m out for a long ride with Phil tonight. Hipflask and mince pies…
We’ve just got back from a weekend in Disneyland, Paris. If I’m honest, I was a bit cynical before we went but after spending a few days there my attitude’s changed. Ok, it’s really expensive and you do get annoyed from time to time after the 10th hour of queuing and being shoved around by ignorant French folk, but the kids absolutely loved it. Rachael’s only 8 months and she just smiled and laughed all weekend.
Michael broke his rollercoaster duck a few times over.
I got some great photos and went on Space Mountain a few times.
The hotel was nice.
BUT. The fabled “Gallic Shrug” tends to wear thin after a bit. Whatever you’re complaining about (and there was a few things to moan about. “Room for improvement” you could say), this bloody irritating expression seems to be the only response you’re ever likely to get from one of the locals. Grrr.
Debbie got food poisoning on our last day there, which sucked big time.
Anyway, here’s up close and personal with Tigger:
I had a meeting with a customer late afternoon yesterday. They just so happened to be 10 miles down the road from Llandegla…so what am I to do? A night ride, solo, in a Welsh forest is probably a stupid thing to do but sometimes you’ve just got to grab any opportunity you can to scare yourself silly.
Meeting ended after 5pm and by then it’s properly dark. I’d heard that night riding at Llandegla is frowned upon but I decided that given I’d taken the trouble to bring a bike with me, I was going to drive over there and do it anyway. The alternative was sitting in the traffic on the M56.
Starting on the red route, my helmet light was casting the usual spooky shadows that you see when shining 20 watts of halogen into a forest. Still, that made me put the power down a bit more.
The start of the black route appeared and from that point it was a terrifying mix of berms, cautious covering of brakes and the occasional locking up of the rear wheel.
Back at the car within 90 minutes. A short ride, but way off the thrill scale.
Jase 