Todays ride

[jameso]

You got some pics of your roadpacking iron horse please James...

https://twitter.com/TorinoNiceRally/sta ... 3984923648 - does this work? I don't post many pics here since flickr cut me off from uploads : /

[redefined_cycles]

You got some pics of your roadpacking iron horse please James...

https://twitter.com/TorinoNiceRally/sta ... 3984923648 - does this work? I don't post many pics here since flickr cut me off from uploads : /

(Jameso' road-packer)

Thats lovely that James. My first road bike (about 5 years ago, when i finally realised the roadside drains might not swallow the thin wheels) was a Condor retro-racer thing in the same flavour (Reynolds 631). Bet yours rides just as beautifully.

Couldn't see the name btw of that beauty of yours....

Badges: Lost Lanes (unless you already decided)...

I'll try and get a pic of the Condor (though you might not like what i did to it)...

[jameso]

Thanks Shafiq... No name bike. My geo/spec, Lee Cooper's brazing. UK made tubes and construction anyway, got a bit of a thing about domestic manufacture these days - as in, make it out of domestic materials rather than this crazy thing of shipping Reynolds tubes to Asia to have them welded and shipped back, just to get the badge tick. Something I was guilty of in the past that makes no sense to me now. This frame was partly an interest in what you can do with lugs (I love lugs) if you want a non-standard geometry (I love tinkering with that stuff) and partly to get to grips with how old steel tube dimensions ride - just lovely as it turns out. Interestingly different ride feel to my Colnago that has basically the same tube dimensions if you were being mechanical about it and ignoring the fluting. Anyway... /:ugeek:

Lost Lanes patch - good call, it's a cert. That's what this bike is for. Have found myself appreciating the UK landscapes a lot more in recent years. Jack's books have been a real armchair travel aid during the CV19 limitations and this bike was the result of having a month and a half furloughed and time to focus on it. Hoping to get to Wales on it soon, a week's worth of Lost Lanes Wales inspired riding.

[wriggles]

That looks perfect James. Cant fault it. Well done

[PaulE]

James, that lools amazing! Just needs campagnolo record and it's perfect...

Is anyone on here the person who was riding through ringinlow near Sheffield on Sunday afternoon in a BB jersey (black and green one, in case there were more than 1!) I was trying to say hi as I drove past but it was a tad busy

[jameso]

Thanks Paul, cheers Andy. I planned to use some older Campagnolo but Shimano is far easier to get wider ratios from for now, had most of the drivetrain in the spares box. Thinking of a Campagnolo set up for a round 2 build. I do prefer the ergopower shape. Higher running costs though.. unless I figure out the Shimergo hacks. The NOS Hugi hub is on a Shimano freehub.

I'll try and get a pic of the Condor (though you might not like what i did to it)...

go on, show us

[FLV]

Really nice that is

[faustus]

Like that a lot, very tidy and well thought out indeed. Lugs, Reynolds and Zefal pump remind me of all my brothers bikes, which is basically the 1987 Peugeot road bike catalogue (below). I like your thoughts on the tubing, it makes a lot of sense. Oh, really nice colour too!

[pistonbroke]

As the postponed Badlands event is looming, 7 weeks away, I've been ramping up the training by exploring the hills to the north of us. Off bright and early this morning and nearly ran over a sleeping snake within a km. Followed a fox along the trail for a bit then climbed up to about 500m on loose gravel tracks. The weather was a bit cloudy so kept the full force of the sun at bay, a cool wind also helped. Got to a plateau with a large farm with views to die for.

The farm was clearly a summer grazing for the white goats that this area is known for, the smell was pretty pungent and they were pretty curious about this oddly dressed human.

The loop was just under 50km and 100% off road, not even crossing tarmac, with 900m of uphill, a perfect 31/2 hour workout.

[jameso]

Like that a lot, very tidy and well thought out indeed. Lugs, Reynolds and Zefal pump remind me of all my brothers bikes, which is basically the 1987 Peugeot road bike catalogue (below). I like your thoughts on the tubing, it makes a lot of sense. Oh, really nice colour too!

Thanks .. That Peugeout is a cracker (Mavic kit?), from my era of discovering the TDF and wanting a posh road bike. Mid to late 80s. And thinking now- if Hinault and Lemond rode the way they did on slim steel bikes..

[redefined_cycles]

I'll try and get a pic of the Condor (though you might not like what i did to it)...

go on, show us

Got it as a broken down frame/bike for the handsome sum of about £300 with a roundtrip to London to collect it. All very well worth it. Added a standard 1 and 1 8th stem with an adaptor for the (also added) Columbus carbon fork from Tritons.


Got it looking like this and did my first pannier trip on it on part of the Way of the Roses.


Used my Craghoppers jacket on way back from Lancaster

[Post was a bit longer but then the thread gave me a bad gateway so will just include the pics... of Boris renamed Earnie who got lost to/due to Covid and Egen who's renamed from Legend but is steel (cos its real but not as comfy as Incosolable (the Condor)]




Egen in mechanical form


Oooh look... found a pic of Inconsolable in '*stupid mode' after all.


there's one of Boris/Earnie whos carbon flavoured (who wants that hey ), may the frameset live long...

*With 50 or 60mm carbon FSA aero tubs on which incidentally made the Canyon faster that the 'aero' carbon Focus Izalco Max they were donored from...

[jameso]

^ I see some Campagnolo on the Condor, nice..
The Legend looks like a very fast bike hiding under Sunday casual wear : ) 10/10 for the graphic redesign, I like that.

[Boab]

115 km yesterday afternoon and evening. Cut it slightly short as it started chucking it down and I fancied a pint at the pub.


116 km this morning. Tired from yesterday and going to bed late, stuck to the road after all the rain overnight.


Considering going stupid on Thursday, plus seriously considering July BaM at the weekend.

[redefined_cycles]

^ I see some Campagnolo on the Condor, nice..
The Legend looks like a very fast bike hiding under Sunday casual wear : ) 10/10 for the graphic redesign, I like that.

Thanks James... Not sure if the Legend is fast but from his CV it does seem it must have something to it...

[ScotRoutes]

We went to Farr

DSC_1387 by Colin Cadden, on Flickr

[Bearlegged]

Is that 40, Farr sign anywhere near Forfar?

(Or possibly East Fife?)

[sean_iow]

Anyone who's followed the VV Explored thread might have seen that I think there are 3 more tiles I can get by a trip along a section of beach. I went the long way home and rode past the top of the cliff to see what the access is like. The steps down to the beach have been closed for a few years but the Council's idea of what's safe to use and mine don't fully align

Here's the fenced off access steps



There are wooden steps down the cliff/slope but some sections have been damaged by landslip and the very bottom section is missing altogether. It's unlikely it will ever get repaired as these days they'd want someone to design it and take responsibility for the security and expected design life and on a slope like that it's just not possible to predict these things. Here's the beach I need to get to



There is access further along the coast so I could just use that and go along the beach and back but where would be the fun in that? I had a poke about - well just walked down the worn path around the fence - and most of the steps are still there and in places someone has tied on sections of ladder to fill in the gaps. The start of the steps are visible here



I think it is possible to get back up from the beach so the plan will be to start at this end, run along the path at the top of the cliff, drop down to the beach further along, back along the beach to collect the 3 missing tiles then scramble up the steps/slope The tides should fit in with my finishing work by next week so hopefully get it done then.

[RIP]

You still down there Sean? Hello? Hh-aa-LLLLOOOOOOOOO? Oh . He was a good bloke that Sean was, I've always said it.

Out for my constitutional. River trail, canal, woods, bridleway, old railway, home. Depressing number of "camp fire" patches in the woods. The wardens are leaving little signs now:





..and guard wolves as well ... give it a try in Hafren, Stu....

[Boab]

Getting rather annoyed with the poor show weather lately, and have been doing more road riding to avoid slippery local trails as a result. Woke up yesterday, noted it was dry, but overcast and miserable looking; 10% chance of rain said the weather app. I then sat having a coffee, watching the garden get wetter and wetter. Not due to rain, more that persistent penetrating drizzle that a low cloud passing over brings with it.



So rather than planning a multi-surface route, or a pure road route, I decided to freestyle it. I headed out and over a couple of local sectors that I know to get horrifically bad once it's rained. I figured that if they weren't too bad, I'd continue picking up bridleways and byways, otherwise I'd stick to the road.



Two and a half hours later, I found myself at High Lodge, Thetford Forest, ragging it around half of the Lime Burner Trail, before heading back home. The trails were mostly fine, with the usual borderline unridable sand the further you went into the Brecks.



I got wet from riding through what felt like a low level cloud. I got wet when it actually started pissing it down. I got wet cycling through long grass, bracken and alongside overhanging gorse bushes. I also got wet cycling down this byway...



Glad I decided to head out, rather than sitting on the sofa. Also glad I went multi-surface, rather than sticking to the tarmac.

[sean_iow]

I got a drenching from an irrigation sprayer the other day, as I rode down the track I was looking at the puddles and thinking they must have had a fair bit of rain when I suddenly realised where the water had come from, by then it was too late (couldn't be bothered) to turn back so just went for it. I was surprised how wet I got as I went under it.

The annoying thing is that when I've been running in the intense heat the last few weeks they were always too far into the fields to get a cooling drenching, but when I'm on the bike on an overcast day it was mainly irrigating the track

[redefined_cycles]

Yesterdays ride actually.. as quick as poss.

So I'd rebuilt the commuter called Egen (orginally Legend by a chap thats lovely but often forgets to smile called Bertoletti) into mechanical form. Last it'd been ridden was about a year ago with Di2 (yes... I did drill into the seattube officer ). Jameso commented on it that it looks fast. Not arguing at the time with his analysis as James knows geometry better than I....

Happy to report, yes, you're right James, even though it 2kg frame without forks as opposed to Earnie (Canyon Ultimate CF) who was 1kg frame. I still managed to get strava telling me that I'm trending faster, whatever that means. Even though I weighed it in post ride at 15.5kg including all luggage/bits/PPE....

Sorry about that but just wanted to give a bit of pre/post ride commentary. So I woke up at 0331 or thereabouts. Quickly got ready and did my early morning prayers which would save me finding a decent spot midroute before the sun came up. I was out of the house by about 0405 and as noone likes to be late for work I pushed it all the way there. 0640 arrived and glad to report it was a lovely ride and the mechanical gearing I'd added hadn't made me miss my Di2.

Highlights of the ride in.... thinks and thinks... Well I suppose the lack of traffic as usually by about 0600 traffic wiuld be starting to make a tiny scene. Felt like closed roads all the way in and didn't see the walkers about 25 miles in who I used to see throughout the winter months. Hope they're ok.


Anyway, shift went nicely as it always does All Praise to God and before I know it, its time to be heading home. This is the bit thats almost new to me as I'd been doing the ride in semi regularly over the past 4 years or so. Just recently decided to try and ride back aswell and back in the day this return leg would take about 4 hours (ride in about 2h and 30 mins). So quickly got ready with a quick ablution so I'm prepared to quickly say my prayers enroute lest I run out of time...

Departed at about 2045 armed with 2 bottles of water (one being dilute from the ride in), pack of skitttles and a Nature Bar in choc along with some broken dry oat Asda special round things (can't call em biscuits but more like dry thingies!). Plan was to try and ensure I've made as much prigress of the 40 miles before the sun sets. Bout 8 miles in with still decent light I stopped for some reason... maybe to take a pic or have some Skittles...

It definitely wasn't to takw this beauty though as Im pretty certain that was when I was at least 15ish miles into the ride.


Got home at about 0005 which was almost record timing fir me. Stopped about 3 times enroute and a 4th to say my eve/night prayers which I combined as its a ease allowed to the traveller (difference of opinion in the matter in case ever anyone's told otherwise). The other 3 stops I would say for taking pics or eating but really its cos I was tired. The return leg is always a killer in comparison to the ride in.

Highlights of the return journey were:

• 2 baby deers that I almost confused for kangaroos and momentarily confused
  A hedgehog in the road who I didn't know how to save as were in a national speed limit and I just didn't know how to move a prickly thing
  The noisy birds, both on way in and out
  Managing to capture the shot above of the dusk whilst leaving North Yorkshire
  The baby hedgehog stood by the side of the road near Rothwell who I did manage to IMO save as I ushed him the other way towards the bushes

Image taken with 'flash' on for your viewing... sorry to the hedgehog

[pistonbroke]

by sean_iow » Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:42 am

I got a drenching from an irrigation sprayer the other day

Yesterday's ride was in an area new to us in Castellon. The 40km route finished with a 10km descent into a spectacular ravine which ended at the base of a dam. The noise from the outflow and the drop in temperature greeted us before we saw what we had to ride through to get back up to the village where we'd started. Retreat back up the ravine wasn't a sensible option so we rode through it, it was one of the scariest things I'd done in a while as the force of the spray was tremendous and combined with greasy wet rock, there was a real chance of being blown off the bike. By the time we got back the 5km to the village, we were dry again but not a little shaken.

[Boab]

Puts the light dusting of water I got off that fenland irrigation sprayer into perspective...

[jameso]

It was 1am when I got back so no longer today's. After a short Friday ride and back for a beer and dinner I went out ~10.30 pm to look for the comet. And there it was. Not suprised that it was really there, just that I got to see it - I went out to see the last meteor shower (Lyrid) and only saw a few in over an hour and wasn't too hopeful as there was a bit of cloud in the low NNW area. It's quite easy to see by eye and binoculars helped. Quite something to see, it's just a dot of light with a fading tail, not really large or dramatic, but to know what it is I'm seeing... well I'm always in awe of the night sky. It was wonderful to see a comet there among the stars on a fairly clear night, looking totally static while moving across space at 17,500 mph, 65 million miles away. And it just keeps going, a 6700 year orbit. My simple mind is blown by it all (while understanding the static bit and the arc from speed vs distance etc, ha). Recommended, will be visible for a week or so more I think.

Will try and post a photo but there's far better efforts online than my small RX100 just rested on a trig point could get.

Another reason for a night ride on a clear night right now is the Persieds - planning a bivi trip 11-13th Aug if the skies will be clear.
https://earthsky.org/?p=165416

[sean_iow]

Todays Run...

In case anyone was worried (Reg) I made it safely back from the run along the beach to collect the 3 bonus VeloViewer tiles I started at the chine with the collapsed steps and headed west along the coastal path at the top of the cliff for 5 miles, then dropped down the access to the beach and headed east. It looked a long way back, I had to get round the point on the right of the pic below and get back up the slope to avoid being cut off by the incoming tide.



As the tiles only just overlap the beach I kept as close to the water as possible which meant running on loose sand and shingle. The shingle is all round stones as they've been tumbled by the waves for millennia so it was like running on marbles, glad I didn't bring the bike or it would have been a 5 mile push along the beach Once back level with where I started but at beach level I was faced with this



But I could see the path where people have been scrambling up. You can just make out the remains of the steps.



Someone has kindly installed some sections of ladder in the gaps so that made the last section easy.



The result of this is I now have a 10x10 VV Max Square. That is definitely the largest I can get on the Island so to improve I'll have to start a square on the mainland.