I was totalling my miles up in my head on the way home today and crossing everything I had that I didn't get a puncture, like yesterday.
I bizarrely blew the end off my pump when inflating the new tube yesterday and forgot to slip another one in my bag despite keeping a spare at work as well as at home, tube that is not pump.
I reckon despite not riding to work every day overall I'm averaging nearly 10 miles a day . I doubt I'll be able to keep it up but but I'd be delighted to hit 300miles for the month.
I think that would be a personal record especially for a winter month , I'll have to speed up however as I was blown off by 2 other cycle to workers pretty easily today.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Thursday, 19 January 2012
New helmet
Only managed 20 mile in the saddle this week and none of it on Miranda, She's gathering dust in the garage until the weather changes or I buy some mudguards which was pretty much my plan anyway.
In the meantime the ever durable Muddy Fox Seeker Mega work horse soilders on.
On the plus side I did get myself a new road helmet in TK Maxx today bought it because it was very good quality but cheap. Usually I wear and swear by BELL Helmets but at £17 which is a full £70 off its 2008 selling price this was too good to turn down.
I had no choice in colour but got the traditional Liquigas green/blue colour way
Here is what Wiggle has to say about it
In the meantime the ever durable Muddy Fox Seeker Mega work horse soilders on.
On the plus side I did get myself a new road helmet in TK Maxx today bought it because it was very good quality but cheap. Usually I wear and swear by BELL Helmets but at £17 which is a full £70 off its 2008 selling price this was too good to turn down.
I had no choice in colour but got the traditional Liquigas green/blue colour way
Here is what Wiggle has to say about it
Top Features of the Briko Arrow Helmet 07
The exact helmet that Liquigas rider Danilo Di Luca wore on his way to victory in this years 2007 Giro d'Italia. Briko's most aggressive helmet with superior features.
- Extemely aerodynamic design
- Carbon cage for ultimate lightness
- In moulding structure
- Ergonomic and washable interior
- Micrometric adjustable retention system
- The product is certified following European Bike Helmet standards
- Padding with different thickness to perfectly adjust to various head's shapes
- Incorporating Retention System 1: The roll-off pre-vention "Microblock System", which holds the helmet firmly on the head even during a fall, while eliminating dangerous helmet rotations that might leave vital parts of the head uncovered. To offer full protection, all the materials are subjected to rigorous tightness and extreme stress trials. The dimensional capacity of each helmet is tested to ensure that minimum points of coverage and an optimum angle of visibility are guaranteed. The In-Moulding tech is the process in fusing a PC shell to an internal EPS shell. By fusing the 2 shells, this kind of helmet is reinforced in crucial areas around vents, resulting in light, cool and tough helmets.
Monday, 9 January 2012
No balancing act
Just another 10 mile slog to Belfast today lite mizzle, managed to fall on to the wing of a car at traffic lights couldn't get my foot out of the cleat in time.Definitely would have failed my cycling proficiency test- !!!. Trying to think and balance was just too much for me
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Fitted some SPD's
Fitted the Raleigh with shimano M520 spd pedals from my Genesis MTB today and took the Team sprint a quick spin round the block to check them out. they seem fine.
I intend to fit proper road pedals in time but they are a great pedal and will do for now plus I'm sure they are half the weight of the rat traps that where on it.
I intend to fit proper road pedals in time but they are a great pedal and will do for now plus I'm sure they are half the weight of the rat traps that where on it.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
What's happening !!!
7th January 2012 What's happening !!! No wind No rain what can I blame my slow times on now.
Just a 10 mile run home in the dark
57 miles for the week I need to get a move on but bad weather and work commitments get in the way excuses excuses.
Just a 10 mile run home in the dark
57 miles for the week I need to get a move on but bad weather and work commitments get in the way excuses excuses.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Ten Windy Miles
5th January 2012 Just managed ten miles today but you could maybe add 5 more to that as I seem to have been pedalling into the wind and not moving.. It made the rain seen insignificant. Must shout "Rule 5" at myself in an Alan Partridge style when I look in the mirror tomorrow morning
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
I feel like Jacque Cousteau
4th January 2012 - Back on the old faithful Muddy Fox for my commute, a 20 mile round trip it was warmer than it looked this morning and I had to stop to take my hat off but it was the life aquatic on the way home and I got SOAKED to the skin, the gears where playing up a bit too.
The Muddy fox could really do with a service if I'm honest.
Miranda will have to stay in until the weather gets better or I get her some crud catchers, you couldn't do with out mudguards till about June in this country. I borrowed some bike tools and will fit the SPDs off my Genesis as a tempory measure until I decide what I'm doing about pedals. I sort of need new shoes anyway as my current MTB ones are nearly 3 years old so I might go totally roadie with LOOK style pedals and shoes to match or just buy new Shimano M520's in white and continue to use mountain bike shoes. Availible funds will dictate rather than anything else, it was only with a healthy birthday gift from my wife that i could afford the Raliegh Team sprint in the first place even at £150 times are hard as they say.
The Muddy fox could really do with a service if I'm honest.
Miranda will have to stay in until the weather gets better or I get her some crud catchers, you couldn't do with out mudguards till about June in this country. I borrowed some bike tools and will fit the SPDs off my Genesis as a tempory measure until I decide what I'm doing about pedals. I sort of need new shoes anyway as my current MTB ones are nearly 3 years old so I might go totally roadie with LOOK style pedals and shoes to match or just buy new Shimano M520's in white and continue to use mountain bike shoes. Availible funds will dictate rather than anything else, it was only with a healthy birthday gift from my wife that i could afford the Raliegh Team sprint in the first place even at £150 times are hard as they say.
Monday, 2 January 2012
Miranda's first ride
2nd January 2012 I'm off for my first ride on a road bike in 33years. This is also my first ride on an aluminium bike ever as all my other bikes are steel of one sort or another and my first go with shimano's brake lever integrated gear shifting..
After a tentative start trying to get my feet in to the strap and cage pedals. I head for the sea, well sea level any way and begin what turned out to be a 5 mile climb up in to the local hills. Sounds worse than it was as this only took me to around 600ft but still it got the lungs going and it was over 3 weeks since I'd last been on a bike.
First impressions of the bike are good its stable even with what to me seem like treacherously thin tyres, the over sized handle bars are a nice width and give a feel of quality, the ride of the aluminium frame does not seem to be too harsh and the V section wheels seem strong enough.
I test the brakes on the way down and leave black rings around what had previously been virgin white rims. There's not much feel to the brakes to start with and my concerns about the painted braking surface move to the forefront of my mind as it starts to rain when I come down the sweeping S- Bends of the old Newtownards TT circuit. there seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of rubber building up on the rims and the ability to stop or slow down. This is probably just the brake pads bedding in but I don't think I'll be washing the rubber off the braking surface when I clean the bike.
I certainly wasn't flying down the hill but did push on a bit it top gear as my confidence grew in the 28mm tyres to get round the bends in the wet and deal with the uneven road surface, I even used the drop bars more to try out the position than out of any great necessity. I was surprised by the lack of any great sensation of speed compared to using a mountain bike where its all tyre noise and wind in the face but may be I was more cautious than I thought.
In total I covered 17 miles in relative comfort on the first run out. I deliberately choose a hilly route over a longer flat one as I wanted to get an impression of the bike rather than my ability to cover big miles.
Over all I'm pleasantly surprised the riding position is comfortable with lots of options where to place your hands compared to an MTB, The saddles not too bad either on first acquaintance but this is always a matter of personal preference and every thing worked as it should.
The gearing which I thought at first, on the climb, was a bit notchy turned out to be fine. I suppose the gears are wider spaced than I'm used to but the combi levers are fantastic on both the up and down shift. Clean quick changing with just a flick of the fingers of push of the thumb and a credit to the staff at Decathlon who asked for an hour to check the bike over / set it up before I took it home.
The first run out then was a good work out for me with all the hills and a chance to get used to the ways of road cycling and being close to faster moving traffic again some motorist don't give you much room.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5238545
After a tentative start trying to get my feet in to the strap and cage pedals. I head for the sea, well sea level any way and begin what turned out to be a 5 mile climb up in to the local hills. Sounds worse than it was as this only took me to around 600ft but still it got the lungs going and it was over 3 weeks since I'd last been on a bike.
First impressions of the bike are good its stable even with what to me seem like treacherously thin tyres, the over sized handle bars are a nice width and give a feel of quality, the ride of the aluminium frame does not seem to be too harsh and the V section wheels seem strong enough.
I test the brakes on the way down and leave black rings around what had previously been virgin white rims. There's not much feel to the brakes to start with and my concerns about the painted braking surface move to the forefront of my mind as it starts to rain when I come down the sweeping S- Bends of the old Newtownards TT circuit. there seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of rubber building up on the rims and the ability to stop or slow down. This is probably just the brake pads bedding in but I don't think I'll be washing the rubber off the braking surface when I clean the bike.
I certainly wasn't flying down the hill but did push on a bit it top gear as my confidence grew in the 28mm tyres to get round the bends in the wet and deal with the uneven road surface, I even used the drop bars more to try out the position than out of any great necessity. I was surprised by the lack of any great sensation of speed compared to using a mountain bike where its all tyre noise and wind in the face but may be I was more cautious than I thought.
In total I covered 17 miles in relative comfort on the first run out. I deliberately choose a hilly route over a longer flat one as I wanted to get an impression of the bike rather than my ability to cover big miles.
Over all I'm pleasantly surprised the riding position is comfortable with lots of options where to place your hands compared to an MTB, The saddles not too bad either on first acquaintance but this is always a matter of personal preference and every thing worked as it should.
The gearing which I thought at first, on the climb, was a bit notchy turned out to be fine. I suppose the gears are wider spaced than I'm used to but the combi levers are fantastic on both the up and down shift. Clean quick changing with just a flick of the fingers of push of the thumb and a credit to the staff at Decathlon who asked for an hour to check the bike over / set it up before I took it home.
The first run out then was a good work out for me with all the hills and a chance to get used to the ways of road cycling and being close to faster moving traffic again some motorist don't give you much room.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5238545
Sunday, 1 January 2012
What I got for my money
I had looked at the Raleigh Team Sprint before during my November pondering about whether to buy cash or buy on the cycle to work scheme the respective budgets being Under £500 or around £1000.
I had ruled it out and decided that the best I could do under £500 was a Decathalon B'Twin Triban 5
with its nice carbon forks and carbon rear seat stays.
This bike got good reviews and at the time seemed to me the one to go for. On the other hand I really liked/wanted a Moda Rubato a beautifully finished bike built around a very light set of wheels the whole thing weighing in at only 8.59kg
In reality it was one of the few £1000 bikes that came in well under the magic 10kg mark.
So when initially looking at the Raleigh what had impressed me was the styling, quality of finish and price which at that time it was retailing at around £300 and still is in most shops.
The rrp is a hopeful £400 but only the big names seem to stick to the rrp. Raleigh obviously was once a big name and is trying to make a come back under new ownership with a race team and some expensive bikes in thier line up however what put me off the Team Sprint was the 12kg weight and the white wheels which even in the shop had big black rubber marks where the brakes make contact with the test bikes wheels.One of the few mentions I could find of the bike on line expressed concern about the braking ability of the bike in the wet with the contact area for the brakes painted.Any way here is the spec and the sales blurb courtesy of Evans Cycles
Frame:
I had ruled it out and decided that the best I could do under £500 was a Decathalon B'Twin Triban 5
with its nice carbon forks and carbon rear seat stays.
So when initially looking at the Raleigh what had impressed me was the styling, quality of finish and price which at that time it was retailing at around £300 and still is in most shops.
The rrp is a hopeful £400 but only the big names seem to stick to the rrp. Raleigh obviously was once a big name and is trying to make a come back under new ownership with a race team and some expensive bikes in thier line up however what put me off the Team Sprint was the 12kg weight and the white wheels which even in the shop had big black rubber marks where the brakes make contact with the test bikes wheels.One of the few mentions I could find of the bike on line expressed concern about the braking ability of the bike in the wet with the contact area for the brakes painted.Any way here is the spec and the sales blurb courtesy of Evans Cycles
The Raleigh Team Sprint 2011 Road Bike brings back a great Raleigh name, the ideal introduction to riding with STI gears. With it's stunning look you will be the envy of your friends. This Bike runs on 28mm tyres and with mountings to allow fitting of carrier and mudguards this makes it suitable for anything from commuting to light touring.
Frame:
- AL6061 Aluminium Race Style
- Fork:
- Steel Unicrown Racing Fork
- Front Derailleur:
- Shimano 2300
- Rear Derailleur:
- Shimano 2300
- Number of Gears:
- 16
- Shifters:
- Shimano 2300
- Chainset:
- Miranda
- Chainrings:
- 50/34 tooth
- Cassette:
- 12/25 tooth
- Pedals:
- Toe Straps
- Front Brake:
- Alloy Calliper
- Rear Brake:
- Alloy Calliper
- Brake Levers:
- Alloy
- Handlebars:
- Alloy Drop Bar
- Stem:
- Alloy Ahead Stem
- Rims:
- Deep Section Alloy Rims
- Front Hub:
- Quick Release Front Hub
- Rear Hub:
- Quick Release
- Front Tyre:
- 28mm
- Rear Tyre:
- 28mm
- Saddle:
- Raleigh Road Saddle
- Weight:
- Approx. 12kg
- I wasn't looking to be "The envy of my friends" but the basic Shimano group set and mostly no name components are standard at this price point it takes you to spend £500 or so to get into Shimano Sora and even then its not the full group set. The 28mm tyres showed some thoughts towards comfort and the ability to fit mudguards might be a benefit in the future should I take to road cycling and it becomes my daily commuter.I knew if I liked the bike and used it regularly I would be changing the components as a matter of course in the years to come as wear, tear and the ravages of the British roads took its toll.
- My current daily commuter the Muddy Fox is like Triggers brush off only fools and horses, the only parts that remain of the original bike are the frame, stem, handle bars and cranks with most of the other parts having been replaced 3 times.
- There is however no getting away form the12kg weight of the Raleigh although I did smile to myself when I dismantled it to put it in the car, the frame its self is quite light with alot of the weight being in the wheels. This shows good potential for future upgrade as I had found out while looking at the Moda Rubato you can get some very light wheels.All I need now is for Chain Reaction to flood again so they can have another mega sale.
- Now it was time for my first ride on Miranda.......... That's the name I've given the bike, after one of the nicest brand named components on the bike, the Miranda Crank Set not the clumsy but very funny cyclist and comedienne Miranda hart.
New Year and a New Beginning
Hey what do you know I'm a road cyclist now !!!!!!!!!.
After months of pondering and looking at new and second hand bikes I finally made a purchase in Decathalon of all places. I'm a big fan of the cycle to work scheme having already bought a lovely Genesis mountain bike in it a few years back.. The reason I say lovely is it doesn't get used much, I bought new tyres for it in June and they are still not fitted. I do however manage to slog it in to work around 3 days a week on my trusty and much loved 21 year old Muddy Fox Seeker Mega. 10 miles there and 10 miles bike with not much else cycling wise done in between. If the boss lets us away at a reasonable time on a Friday I'll take the long way home making it a whopping 22 miles with all weekend to recover.
My hankering for a road bike began with the desire to take part in some charity events over the summer but lacking confidence in my ability to go further than about 25miles it never happened. It took me to November to get a new for code the cycle to work scheme and then with the current economic climate and no prospect of a pay rise I thought the money was better in my bank account and decided to look for a fixer upper as I didn't need another expensive ornament.
So roll forward to just after Christmas and I'm in Decathlon looking for bib tights for my son to replace the ones I got him off e-bay that did not fit..I spot a row of shiny new road bikes that seem to be too cheap to be true. I had a reasonable clue of spec and things at the budget end of the market from the research I had done in November so I new this was a bargain.yet still pondered about making a purchase for a couple of days.
Finally on the 1st January 2012 I purchased my first road bike for over 30 years a brand new 55cm Raleigh Team Sprint for the princely sum of £150 I really couldn't turn it down at that money .
After months of pondering and looking at new and second hand bikes I finally made a purchase in Decathalon of all places. I'm a big fan of the cycle to work scheme having already bought a lovely Genesis mountain bike in it a few years back.. The reason I say lovely is it doesn't get used much, I bought new tyres for it in June and they are still not fitted. I do however manage to slog it in to work around 3 days a week on my trusty and much loved 21 year old Muddy Fox Seeker Mega. 10 miles there and 10 miles bike with not much else cycling wise done in between. If the boss lets us away at a reasonable time on a Friday I'll take the long way home making it a whopping 22 miles with all weekend to recover.
My hankering for a road bike began with the desire to take part in some charity events over the summer but lacking confidence in my ability to go further than about 25miles it never happened. It took me to November to get a new for code the cycle to work scheme and then with the current economic climate and no prospect of a pay rise I thought the money was better in my bank account and decided to look for a fixer upper as I didn't need another expensive ornament.
So roll forward to just after Christmas and I'm in Decathlon looking for bib tights for my son to replace the ones I got him off e-bay that did not fit..I spot a row of shiny new road bikes that seem to be too cheap to be true. I had a reasonable clue of spec and things at the budget end of the market from the research I had done in November so I new this was a bargain.yet still pondered about making a purchase for a couple of days.
Finally on the 1st January 2012 I purchased my first road bike for over 30 years a brand new 55cm Raleigh Team Sprint for the princely sum of £150 I really couldn't turn it down at that money .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)