Got some more peddling in. Better had before the weather turns shite for 6 months. 37 miles all in and 1 puncture. Christmas is coming.
I've kind of let myself down this year on the cycling front, last road ride I think was Skye in June, back onto Zwift now - damn I'd forgotten how hard it is compared to real riding. MTB will be out soon, but bored of the local trail centres so looking at more natural stuff, I've got a Garmin 1030 on the road bike, but never used it off road or any guidance device off road for that matter, how does it fair?
I've started using Kamoot to look for inspiration, or even the NCN website or FB page has some good stuff. Even Google maps with the cycle icon clicked can be useful. Can't help with the device question, looking at a wahoo myself.
This week i have mainly been.........breaking spokes in my rear wheel!!! 700c wheel with Alfine 8spd in it with 36 spokes. 2 went a few weeks ago then 3 more last week. All on the disc side and at the nipple end. Very odd Have had to dig out my old Paul Hewitt tourer for commute duty.
did a paltry 5 miles then a rear puncture and this is where it got complicated. About to assemble up and (luckily) decided to put some air in new inner tube to help fitting. No matter every which way I tried, I could not get air to enter inner tube, I knew it wasn't the Schrader valve because it didn't work on the old one, and I couldn't understand that it could be the pump because with finger over outlet, air would definitely pressurise and escape as or similar to normal. It was dark so mostly under a streetlamp but this was/is a right conundrum and finally gave up over half an hour and started walking. Got lazy and advantages of an old bollocker of a bike, and it being a wide-section kevlar tyre, decided to (very slowly) cycle whenever there was grass and lean forward if on tarmac (we've all done this I know) and journey included around 75% of grass so a lucky escape overall, went by in no time as still had my music.
undeterred i'm just about to set out in a minute it's Firework city out there right now, have new tyre pump and even found out why I had too much friction on rear wheel rotation - brake caliper had been nudged somehow.
Love that, so much so I went and had a look at it today for myself. Probably shouldn’t have left a Lancia out in the rain overnight.
I have done bits of the North Downs Gary. I’ve yet to get a bike rack, and I’ve yet to start getting into the habit of putting bike in car and starting further afield if you see what I mean, there is someone on here who has done a lot of the South Downs but I’m not sure that he would want to post extensively at the moment. If my health continues then I hope to do some of the South Downs in the future. The popular beauty spot Newlands Corner near Guildford sits on the North Downs for example.
From my recent water-logged, windswept excursion north of the border on the only day it didn’t rain Kirroughtree - Galloway.
Not much to photograph as you can see, around 12 miles and nice early eclipse although picture doesn’t do it justice. Definite frost and headphone battery dropped out early as a result but kept them on because it kept my ears warm.
Back on Zwift now couple of nights a week, way to wet and windy here to go outside let alone contemplate two wheels. Any other Zwifters?
