Be Excellent To Each Other

Says Mr No Helmet Is Contributory Negligence (even if I am mostly off-highway and 99%-daylight).

I didn't say that.

But get rid of it, it looks geeky. Stick a flashing LED on if you need to ride at night.

Reflectors are good for brief periods of poor weather where an LED may not be very bright but headlights reflecting back are.

One supposes it is down to personal preference.

Just back from an epic ride. Despite winds that at times made cycling a chore, I managed to get down to the sea and did a total distance of 57 miles.

Suffered from a few showers, but the wind was the main problem. At one stage I was maxing it downhill at 18mph on a hill that is good for 30mph. I also managed to overtake a lycra clad dick on a racing bike. Hopefully they didn't hear me go "yes" as I sped past.

I think the 60 mile mark might be achievable, but probably not this year. That would have been a really fun ride but the weather did spoil it a tad.

You're doing it wrong. You're meant to go by as if you're taking it easy, even if your heart's trying to burst through your chest & your lungs are on fire

Coolest overtaking I've ever seen was some old tweed wearer on a cruiser passing a pair of lycra roadies while smoking a pipe*
*He was bloody fast though, at times I was struggling to keep pace.

I wasn't trying too hard. It was downhill so I was able to build up speed before they could see me.

Proof I reached my goal below. Pity I couldn't hang around or even go to the beach. I had planned a small circular route by the sea but I was so behind due to the wind that I aborted that detour, and doubled back to the main 49 mile circuit.

The problem with these days out is that I can't really hang around anywhere due to time. Even stopping for snacking, drinks etc can add up very quickly.

About 4pm I cycled past the bakers in Brockenhurst, and fancied a cake. They only had a selection of interesting looking iced buns left. I'm not usually a fan of iced buns but the one I had was delicious! Worth 950 bananas and I must reccomend all BEEX'ers visit there and buy a bun if passing.

I assume that's the time/available decent weather and light factor rather than fitness, chap? I don't think that having done 50 you'd have any trouble with 60, other than finding a decent route. Nowt worse than throwing in a loop just to make up the numbers. I wimped out of the 60 mile ride to work today, just drove to where I used to live and did the 15 miles in, 15 miles back, and that was quite hard enough in that wind. Very odd conditions - got annoyed by non-indicating twit and drafted, finding 34 kph easy, then got passed by a hybrid while finding 27 difficult. I do at least seem to be over a spate of punctures - three in a row!

It's time and weather. Light is only a problem later in the year. For the long rides, I cycle across some of the highest and most exposed parts of the New Forest. Experience tells me that if the local forecast (Southampton) is saying gusts of 30mph or above, it will be very difficult up there. Basically the wind will be unrelenting as there is no cover. I once tried to go up there with 40mph+ gusts. Impossible. Couldn't even keep the bike straight and the rain was horizontal.

Today the forecast was 28mph Westerly, which is doable. I almost didn't go but I've been waiting for a gap for 2 weeks. In areas with cover it was fine. I also won't go that way at weekends at this time of year because of the mental daytrippers and level of traffic.

If you are doing that speed (approx 20mph) I assume you have a hybrid. I'm on a mountain bike with road tyres. So my average speed is usually something like 10.5mph

Road bike for me, so I'm an impostor in this thread, but generally interested. I don't quite hit 20 but yes, point taken - these last few weeks have been a bit hairy cycling in London from time to time, let alone more exposed areas.

did my 3rd bike ride today on my new mountain bike, still being killed by the hills, but managed almost 5 miles today (if it was on the flat, I could do a lot more, I'm fine, until I start heading home, where the climb just kills me...) most of it on road, building up to the off road stuff, want to get my muscle memory back a bit first.

Gears seem a bit hard to get into, so might need to sort that out, I imagine this is a case of tightening/loosening some screw(s) or other? is this something that's easy to do, or am I likely to make matters worse?

Malc

It's taken much less time to recover this time, despite adding 50% to the distance.

Malc

If they're indexed gears you could end up making it worse. Can be a bit fiddly to adjust. Never had those fancy things when I were a lad.

After a bit, the gear cables stretch, so need a bit of tightening. Check at the mech end that the boltsholding the cables in are tight, then you might be able to twiddle an adjuster on the shifter to increase tension. The screws on the rear mech define how far back and forth it can move ( gear 1-8, for example) so shouldn'tneed adjusting.

Pushing up hills is no bad thing. I remember the first ride I didn't have to push like yesterday. Keep a constant cadence and get out of the saddle for those king of the mountains points.

This Google Street View shows the incline quite well, most of my cycling is done on the level of the road the shot's taken from, wheras I live up near those houses at the back..

Malc

Yeah, 3 or 4 years ago, I could climb easily, but even then I didn't really tackle anything as steep as where I live now...

Malc

There should be an adjuster on the handlebar you can gently twiddle. Try to remember at what point you started though so you don't make it worse and make small adjustments each time.

In terms of distance, you need to build it up. Don't be a afraid of stopping. Ironically the first 5 miles are often the hardest even on 50 mile rides. I got back on Tuesday and felt I could have done a few more miles but the first 5 miles were a bitch.

More importantly, you have just revealed you have easy access to Luscombe Cool Ginger Beer all year around. Git.

The first five miles get me every time. Hell

The first five miles get me every time. Hell, the first two usually tire me out something rotten, but if you push past them you'll find the next part okay until the next wall quite a while later.

It's the first mile or so that gets me, mostly because I have to* sprint up the hill outside my house & it takes me a wee while to recover from that. Everything else is a piece of piss by the time I get my breath back
*Nae gears, if I slow too much I have to get off & push.
It's not really to be recommended either, there's no time to warm up those muscles.

If I was on the flat, or sensible inclines, I could have done a lot more, it's just knowing I have the climb at the end of it (and I had time pressure too) forced me to head home sooner than I would have liked.

Malc

Being the only Mountain Bike Racer that I am aware of on BeeX, both cross country and downhill, I'd like to share MaliA's guide to riding up hills:

Riding up hills is where you make the time up. Riding up hill saps everyone's energy and for a long time. This is your chance to make it happen, and for them to really suffer. Starting last from the race grid , I made it up to 6th overall due to my ability to get a bike up a hill faster than the 39 people in front of me over 3 laps of a wet, greasy 9 mile course.

"How did you do this?" I hear you ask. Let me explain.

The trick to tackling hills is to start off with in the correct gear. You want to hit the very beginning of the hill with as much momentum as possible. This means speed. Physics dictates this. Also, take on a whole lot of water before you hit one, as you don't want thirst distracting you.

If you are running a 3x8 drivetrain, then this makes things a lot easier. Shifting down from the front cogs is a pain in the arse, and requires you to ease off pedalling to shift from the middle to the inner ring, avoid this, as much as you can. So, shift down into the inner ring before the climb, and go for the smaller cogs. So You want something like 1x8 just before the terrain goes uphill. Many people forget that total chain length across different ratios is often the same.

As you hit the slope, if it is offroad, shift your weight backwards slightly, this unweights the front wheel, and lets to cross roots and holes a lot more easily. Shift down the gears to keep your cadence up, as momentum is everything, if you stop pedalling, then you stop climbing. Look ahead to see if you need to get out of the saddle to power up shorter steeper inclines, but sit down again, as standing up wastes energy if it is a longer climb. The back wheel gives you the traction you need, so keep the weight on it as and when it is needed.

Gravity isn't your friend in this sort of situation, but cadence is, if you can't keep the pedals turning, shift down a cog, or stand up until you get the momentum back and sit down again. Shift before the problem arises, though. Just don't forget that the climb is hurting the other person a whole lot more than it is hurting you, as you've read my words and you've already got 4 more cogs to shift down to, they probably haven't, and you've got that edge, as you are going to beat them going up by such a margin, it won't matter if they can make it up going downhill.

When you do pass them, don't look back, just keep going on. The next gear change to keep the cadence is more important than how far back you are dropping them by. Anyone can pass anyone else on the flat or downhill, going up is where it counts.

On road, cadence is the king, just keep it up and use the gears, stand up to power through those shorter, steeper inclines.

Downhill? Just don't fucking crash, you made all that time going up, so don't worry about going down. Use it to spin up and clear the lactic acid from the climb and grab a breather, take a water bottle swig then look forward to the next climb.

Now its getting icy, should I change back to my fat tyres or will the thin speedy ones be OK? Remember I am often on untreated roads.

So far they've been fine on the leaves although things seem to be better than last year as they have come down slower.

In the grand scheme of things I don't think it should make too much difference.

I only fell off on the ice on a single day last year. Although I did fall off 7 times on that day in the space of 45 minutes.

[makes mental note that if he sees inch thick ice on the road, to turn back]

I'm possibly going to get some hakka pellita style tyres for mine if I actually get it finished this winter.

Yeah, there's a theory that skinny tyres on cars allow more traction in patchy ice conditions. On a bike I don't think it makes any difference as the main problem when grip goes is always the high centre of gravity. Last year I hit ice on a corner and did a spectacular pirouette 270 degrees in one direction and 180 degrees the opposite direction and managed to stay on Don't think I could ever repeat that.

If it is sloppy and there is no one about, you'll be fine. If there are school girls about, you are going to fall off.

My bike is away for the winter now. I'll only end up fucking myself up if I dare use it, and I'm not sure I like the feeling of burning cold lungs anyway.

Pussy. I was out yesterday and it was lovely. Just need lots of layers and a hat. After 10 minutes you won't feel the cold. You just need to be aware of ice and certainly be aware that after 4pm you'll be struggling to see any potential hazards even with lights.

A couple of years ago I was up on the New Forest in the snow. Brilliant ride, got back and my water bottle was pretty much frozen solid. Think it never went above -5.

Get a camelbak, your body heat will stop the water freezing. Handy for carrying tools and shit as well.

That doesn't sound fun at all. Why would I do something that isn't fun?

It can and will freeze in the tube, though, if you don't keep an eye on it.

It's great fun. Crisp air, amazing views, all the fair weather cyclists have fucked off and you have the roads to yourself. You can therefore break your usual habit of ignoring everyone and give a hearty wave to fellow true cyclists who go out in all weathers like yourself.

You are all wrapped up and warm, it's great.

Its only frozen on that occasion. For shorter rides I don't take water (90 minutes or less) unless its baking hot.

Yeah, it's lovely out there. I'm still in shorts, though Richmond Park made me reconsider that this morning. Fine after that. There are still masses of cyclists in that London, though - feels like more than a few weeks ago, perhaps there are a few making a point! But with a hat and gloves I don't notice the temperature, except for my right toes. Some overshoes would fix that, I guess, but it's doable for a 15-20 mile ride.

Going 25mph downhill in the open country for a mile might make you change your mind.

You're not wrong. About 2 miles in Richmond Park was noticeably colder than the rest of the urban type bit. I'll go for the full coverage this evening.

Winter bike types might want to note that Sports Direct are flogging trackie bottoms for 6 quid a pop in their shops. Bought 2 pairs for winter cycle action. Would have preferred double layer shell suit type bottoms as I have already although I managed to rip my current pair by catching it in the chain.

Just downloaded an update for my Garmin thing and there are some handy dandy new features. But the most striking thing was on the new flashy charts I can see I have already exceeded last years milage. 2177 miles so far this year, 1700 in total for 2009. 233 hours in the saddle so far. I guess by the end of the year I may well have spent 10 days riding!

Can also now plot cycle rides onto Google maps which is rather bloody neat. It'll even let you do a a thing where you can see where you were and at what time. The accuracy is terrifying as you can even see what side of the road you are on. So where I cover the same road, on the outward bound journey I am on the left, but I return on the right (if you see what I mean). I thought GPS's weren't supposed to be quite that accurate!

That sounds cool. Could just be making an educated guess based on knowing a) it's a road, b) we drive on the left, and c) you got back home so you're not a lunatic, though. Next time, swerve into the other lane.

Nope. It can see where I where I pulled over on the hill on the way home earlier to turn my lights on. It appears to be accurate down to about 2 metres.

Just looking at my ride times of my regular 13.9 mile circuit (the one I do when I need to be back within a certain timeframe), today I did an appalling time of 1 hour 28 minutes, but on Friday I did it in 1 hour 19 minutes. Similar conditions etc. Cannot pinpoint what the problem is. There's literally a 17 minute span of times, the best being 1 hour 13, the worst being 1 hour 29.

Of course weather, can play a big factor. Is the wind behind you? Are you battling against crosswinds that manage to work against you for most of the journey? Is it pissing it down?

Thing is though Friday and today were near identical conditions. So go figure.

In which case: crikey.

http://bicycletutor.com/

How to fix stuff

Ta much, bookmarked!

Tis good, but I'm happier getting oily hands on my copy of Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance than my laptop ;-)

I got that for Christmas 2009. I still haven't actually looked through it, even though my gears desperately need adjusting, and the bike needs a bloody good bit of overall maintenance. I should definitely make sure I do that before I start my riding again this year, as it'd be a terribly expensive waste of money to break this bike.

Dimrill's Sheldon Brown's site is bloody handy too.

It's a great book and very easy to follow. Obviously just dip into the sections that need attention.
It's unlikely you'll break your bike and unless it's a really high end model the parts won't be expensive to replace.
Cleaning it will probably rectify a lot of the issues you might have. Tweaking the gear cables will probably make the shifting smoother and it's easy enough following the relevant sections in the book.
Check the chain for wear — if it's stretched beyond a certain amount then you run the risk of wearing out both the crank and the rear cassette which are both more expensive and more difficult (in so much that you will need specialist tools) to replace.