Black Anodized cheese…

Well that really didn’t go as planned.

Saturday Night: sort out bike and kit, newly purchased water bottles (without black mould), energy drink at the ready.

Sunday Morning: drive to start of Audax, put bike together, tighten up seatclamp. Thread strips out of seatclamp. Seatclamp appears to be made of some sort of black anodized cheese. Swear. A lot. Drive Home. Eat bacon sandwich. Steal clamp off wife’s bike. Ride 39 angry miles.

I can feel a strongly worded email to Specialized UK coming on.

In better news I now have a permanent job - woo hoo! I can actually start thinking about getting my favourite old frame built up again… I would be lying if I said I didn't have a spreadsheet for the build already...

Yesterday the UK got a good dose of snow. Rather than drive into work (which I have been doing recently – shame on me) I decided ride in the long way on the Love/Hate.

As I left the house just after 7am there was just a few snowflakes in the air and on the ground. Riding through Swithland woods the ground was completely frozen which very rarely happens in there. On to Bradgate Park for some early morning Cheeky Trails action and there was just a light dusting of snow but there was definetly more coming down. The trails were running superfast, say “Good Morning” to the deer, a muddy ditch that looks frozen but isn’t catches me out and pitches me over the bars landing on the hard frozen ground on the other side. Ouch.

Continue through Bradgate pausing only to take some photos of ducks and deer around a frozen lake, along with some gratuitous shots of the bike on the frosty ground. Its really coming down now.

Out of the park and up the hill to Markfield, 32:16 and Maxxis Minions at low pressures do not for easy road climbing make.

Past Billa Barra Hill and down the cheeky footpath trail to the Industrial Estate. There is a good covering on the ground but the frozen rutted mess of the footpath can be still felt underneath.

Into work for a hot shower and a Bacon Cob.

Spend more of the day looking out of the window at the snow coming down hoping it doesn’t melt. It doesn’t.

Ride the same way home but get a slush puppy enema between the fun snowbound offroad bits. Take in more Bradgate Park Trails and the singletrack in Swithland woods. Pausing briefly to take pictures of snow illuminated by lights.

Snow makes everything really hard work but Maxxis Minions work surprisingly well as snow tyres.


The big melt is due over the next 24 hours just in time for the Rutland and Beyond Audax I’m planning on doing on Sunday. The forecast is liking like rain/sleet and 2C temperatures. Joy.

Another Crispy Nightride and New Socks!

Out last night for the usual Tuesday night ride, more crispy frozen goodness. The Singlespeed has got its rigid forks back and it feels much better like that. With a set of squidgy Oury grips and some big fat Maxxis rubber to smooth out the rocky bits. I reckon its just about ideal for taking on the mountainous terrain around Leicestershire.
In lung news, it would appear that having a couple of lungfuls of Salbutamol before a ride seems to sort out my lungs a treat and they were fine in cold last night.


I am starting to become obsessed with cycling socks, I seem to wear them constantly apart from when I’m actually cycling! Its proper thick Merino sock under winter boot weather at the moment, so my burgeoning collection is just being worn whilst at work etc.

The latest additions:

Made by Sock Guy for Twin Six and supplied by Minx Girl/Russtler.

If you’re going to wear sock with pink skulls on you have to be fast, so I best get training that bit harder.

Hopefully if the forecasted snow turns up tomorrow, I'll have a nice snowy ride to and from work tomorrow. Might even get up really early and go via some cheeky trails!

Plan for the day…

1 - Spend the day daydreaming at work, read old copies of Dirtrag, surf the net, eat free lunch (woo yay!), write pointless nonsense.

2 - Go to job interview, try to do well.

3 – Drive to Ian’s, empty the contents of my car (bike, beer, kit) into his, change from suit to weekend scruffy wear, drive South Wales for a weekend of bike riding in the Sunshine!!!

We'll be riding at Afan Argoed on Saturday and then somewhere else on the Sunday.

Woooooooooohoooooooooooooo!

The all new Love/Hate – Wales version.

Apologies for the cleanliness of my bike, ie sorry its clean, its normally much dirtier.

The my Singlespeed mountain bike got a bit of a clean over the weekend, its also got a change of bars and grips going from a set of weird Mary Bars that I didn’t get on with and a set of worn out WTB grips back to the dialled bikes Pablo Escobar risers with a set of DMR zip grips.

The suspension forks that have been on the bike since the new year will stay put until after the weekend when are heading to Wales. Hopefully they’ll make the 46km Skyline trail at Afan Argoed a lot more comfy than last time. The last time I did that trail, I had a blister on one hand and really sore forearms. But that was with rigid forks and a pair of ergon grips that I really didn’t get on with. I should think it will be a much comfier experience.

In things that suck news: I appeared to get an asthma attack last night. Whilst riding up a hill at a fair old lick on the singlespeed my lungs got tight, I have been coughing well now since the event. It seems that the cold dry air triggered the attack. Hopefully my lungs will be all better for the weekend though. They are certainly better than they were last night which is progress.

Also in things that suck news: why is it that I now have to have a Yahoo account to use Flickr, I used to use my email as my login but now this apparently not good enough. Bit the same as blogger now liking you to use google accounts. That doesn't worry me so much as I use gmail, but there you go.

Friday night surreal road ride...

Good weekend? I had a nice one. Started in fine form on Friday night with a 17 mile nice and easy road ride which to me over 200 road miles for the month. However I had an Albino Stag cross my path in Bradgate Park (bad omen?) and further along I saw an OAP on a powered wheelchair in a balaclava. OAP IRA? Slightly surreal.

Saturday was a “shit to attend to” day but the Love/Hate got its old bars back after a dalliance with a set of daft Mary Bars. It also got a good clean and a new set of brake pads. It also has a freshly rebuilt rear hub with a fresh freehub. In non-cycling news Claire and I got attacked by geese and swans whilst trying to feed the ducks.

Sunday, out on the road bike. Lots of road miles. Longest training ride since the summer - 73.98miles. At the end of the ride I notice my saddle is right back on the rails, which explains why I’m sliding forward on the saddle. Doh! That’ll get sorted tonight.
This weekend a few of us are meeting in South Wales for a Day at Afan Argoed (most likely for the Skyline trail – 48km of fun) and then a day somewhere else. Woo yay!

Monster post! Frosty trails! Crap Hubs!

Woo yay!

Winter is here, out last night for our normal Tuesday nightride and the trails varied from chocolate slush puppy to rock hard frozen loveliness. A thin layer of frost covered most of the trails in Leicestershire biggest deer related tourist attraction which didn’t effect traction when climbing but as soon as you braked you pretty much guarantee’d locking up your rear wheel – mental fun!

However our favourite singletrack descent through the woods has now got a big tree over it which I can’t see getting moved anytime soon, though I’m sure a line around it will become apparent.

We had a covering of snow overnight and if it looks like it’s going to hang around until tonight I can see me heading out for some snowbound night ride action, but it’ll probably be gone by this evening dammit [12 midday and its gone boo!].

In further “isn’t bike kit crap news”…
I need to service my rear hub, the freehubs making bad bad noises and now the cones need adjusting as there is a bit of play. Luckily I have the exact same hub to use for spares and I have robbed a 10mm allen key from Ian, why do I not have a 10mm one? More to the point why do I continue to punish myself by buying cheap crappy hubs? Since I bought my Marin (now there was a decision based on too much thinking and not enough gut trusting),where my current front wheel originates from, I have got through the following rear wheels:

1x XT Hub with Mavic XM321 rim supplied by my local LBS – cause of death the hub internals died when the free hub body started to ream out the threads it was mounted on, however the I had to keep on adjusting the cones and the build quality was less than stellar.

1x Deore Hub with Mavic XM321 rim supplied by Chain Reaction Cycles, had to adjust the cones a bit but it was fine until I got to Morzine where everything went a bit wrong and I starting breaking spokes. But that could be due to the huge amount of (ab)use on the back of a the Prince Albert (a hardtail for the uninitiated) with Big-ish forks over the summer. Getting a couple of high speed pinch flats probably didn’t help matters either.

1 x Deore Hub with Mavic XM321 rim supplied by a robbing Frenchman in Morzine. The current wheel, still nice and true but the freehub hasn’t been great since day 1 and now the cones need adjusting. It will get the full strip down, swear at it, chase the bearings from under the fridge and put it back together with loads of grease and a healthy freehub.

However I have sworn never to buy a frickin Shimano hub again as they have rubbish seals however getting a cartridge bearing hub for under 75quid seems to be a bit of a task except for the DMR revolvers which are generic Taiwanese jobs. But that’s what I shall be buying next when this one finally dies.

Also note to self when lifting bike over fences to access trails of the cheeky sort hand bike over the fence to your mate with the non computer sensor side facing him otherwise you’ll not get any mileage collected for the rest of the ride. Grrrrrr

In mileage news, I’ll pass the 200 road miles mark the next time I head out on the roadbike which was sort of my aim for the month with just about a week to spare.

Other People’s Bikes Part 1.

Ian likes bikes, actually lets be a bit more specific, he likes bikes from the North.
He is a regular customer of one Mr Brant Richards, in fact he has his own parking space for when he dashes up to the grim Northern Industrial estate to pick up yet another Taiwanese lovely. He has bought 3 Planet X/On-One frames in the last 18 months and had one before that. He has also had a Cotic Soul but seeing as he rode it about every 4 months it had to go. Rumours that the Cotic was bullied by the other bikes for being up-its-self with its posh 853 tubing and posh Midlands ways, are yet to be confirmed.

Here’s the first of his brood a slidey dropouted inbred (named after the local inhabitants near Mr Richard’s home), and is currently fitted with Hope brakes and Pace forks. Ian has a penchant for unreliable British made technology it would appear.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/163772465_78b44400ec_m.jpg

He has also fitted a set of weird bars also by on-one called Mary bars (aka H-Bars for paupers or the married), which allow him to point his lights for night riding either to left or the right but never straight ahead.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/155846217_0688ebf1c5_m.jpg

A blue On-one Pompino, Pompino is Italian for a favour your Mrs does for you on your birthday.
Ian’s commute vehicle, after a bar swapping merry-go-round, he appears have gone with the flipped and chopped drop bars, with matching bar tape and whisky bottle corks in the ends. Niche.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/349271860_69b192f192_m.jpg

Twin illuminating marital aides keep his the car drivers away from his back wheel on the ride home from his Evilmegacorp job. Not sure why he has a yellow cockring around his seatpost though…

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/163772324_86cccf40b3_m.jpg

What you can’t see is that he has also fitted a phil wood cog to match the tattoo he has on his forearm, not sure what happens when he needs to change ratio though as it might look like a tattoo of a ex-wife’s name. Or maybe not.

Yet another 80mph trip to the grim North brought another frame back sunny Leicestershire.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/354202144_b23c5d7d90_m.jpg
Pictured here nestled amongst the rest of his babies, Ian is actually yet to ride it as he in a fit of madness trusted Dave Hinde to deliver a set of wheels for the new build, which he is currently waiting for and will be for at least another week I reckon. Continuing the daft bars theme it will be outfitted with a set of weird flared drops.