At long last, I've managed to get a 50 mile road ride in this year I was beginning to think I hadn't got it in me - and now I'm back I'm not sure that I have...

Didn't want it to be too taxing so I only took in one serious climb, then spent the rest of it up on the Moors. I thought I'd taken in some roads I'd not done before, but no and yes, some of them I had done before back in 2018, I noticed that Xandro Meurisse had one of the best segment times on the road, he was completing in the Fleche Wallone on Wednesday. Dylan van Baarle's name was up there too. from the tour of Britain back in 2015. Xandro turns up on quite a few local segments, presumably because he used to race for the An Post team.

Got to see - and hear - my first Curlew of the year up on Beeley Moor. I was beginning to think they hadn't returned this year, but I think the local farmers are doing different things in their fields this year.

I moved the saddle back on the gravel bike and it was much more comfortable, but I ended up with intense pain in my right foot when I got home. I'll bring it forward a couple of mm, but it could be that when I re-tightened my cleat bolts the cleat moved out of position. Another thing to check *sigh* still I;m over 2,000 miles for the year now

https://www.strava.com/activities/11225626574/

Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
Boston - Don't Look Back

Quote from: David L on April 19, 2024, 04:10:19 PM

Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on April 19, 2024, 02:47:33 PMGot train tickets to Newcastle through Trainsplit to replace the ones I've returned to Cross Country trains at a much cheaper price 

Trainsplit? Was that set up by Mussolini?

Unfortunately not. You get your ticket in several bits and still the trains don't run on time

Got train tickets to Newcastle through Trainsplit to replace the ones I've returned to Cross Country trains at a much cheaper price 

Quote from: Slim on April 19, 2024, 12:45:33 PMYes, and Mussolini made the trains run on time.

I think I could put up with Fascism if that happened 

Where's the modern Mussolini?

Booked train tickets to Newcastle a couple of days ago at a good price. Got an email today saying the train would not now stop at Chesterfield 

Should be getting a refund, hopefully for the whole lot but as they were advanced singles might not get the return journey refunded.

Fortunately I only have neighbours on one side. Couldn't say what they look like as I've seen them about twice in the ten years they've lived there. They probably don't think much of us as the 20 feet of garden from our house to the boundary fence is overgrown - but it's a wildlife garden innit...

Previous neighbour was a funny so and so, a widow woman, one minute she'd be nice ang chatty and giving you a bottle of beer, next minute she'd be flying round on a broomstick emptying cauldrons of boiling Lizard Lungs onto the house.

She only really fell out with Mrs S though, which is funny as Mrs S is the nice one and I'm the ignorant curmudgeon 

Still pondering and still on the gravel bike. Quite like the gravel bike, it's a bit more of relaxed geometry which is now nice at my age. Probably needs a new saddle, gets a bit hard feeling after 20 miles or so, might just shift it back a bit though, might help.

Strava tells me that I've ridden today's ride five times, all have been on the gravel bike, it goes up one bit of road which is probably best ridden on a gravel bike. I have been up on a road bike, but the state it's in now is atrocious. What I did like was the fact that today was the fastest I've ridden it, gives the old morale a bit of a boost.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11209190681

Paid my (our) mortgage off after the first time I got made redundant, got a decent pay off so it made sense once I found gainful employment again. Saved me jumping through hoops to claim on the Mortgage repayment insurance second time I got made redundant. Also made it easier when the next lot of gainful employment I found wasn't as well paid.

Whilst I'm pondering the best way to attack the removal of my stuck disc pad retaining screw - I really don't want to get a Bike Shop involved as I don't want them to see how the front brake was down almost to metal on metal (my fault, I knew it wanted doing, but kept putting it off) - I got the Gravel bike out again for the first time since January. I need to put a new rear tyre on it, I've had one since December, but you know, I'll do it tomorrow...

Then again I'm only riding it on roads, so a minimal tread pattern will do. Had a nice ride on it, as fast an average speed as yesterday, faster even, but less climbing was involved.

I tightened my cleat bolts on Saturday, I'd been getting clicking from the cleats when walking so thought they might be loose. They were. Tightened up there's still a click. Arse. Maybe it's the bottom bracket...

31 miles done today, 345 for March and 1,926 for the year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11201919219

And well done Kataryzna Niewiadoma for winning the women's Fleche Wallone. A popular winner there.

Best plucky Brit was Flora Perkins in 36th.

Well done plucky Brit Stevie Williams (We'll forget he's Welsh today) for winning La Flèche Wallonne. Luke Rowe called him out as the winner with about 50km to go because the weather was so filthy just like in Wales

Well, I've just got some new cycling kit. Well, I haven't because Mrs S will be giving it to me for my birthday.

I like to be well dressed and it's a nice looking bit of Le Col kit, white top with a Cobalt Blue band and black bib shorts.

Le Col are the DFS of cycling kit, should have been £250 but they had 25% off and I'd earned a £50 voucher from some Strava challenge so it came in at £137.50. Still not cheap, but on the verge of being semi good value.

Today was a get pissed off with cycling day. Well, not pissed off with cycling, but pissed off with bicycles day.

I thought things didn't seem quite right on my ride and a quick look down at the seatpost revealed it had dropped a bit. I was hoping that it would stick, but no, it kept on dropping lower and lower, so much as I don't like stopping I stopped and raised it hoping that I didn't over torque the bolt. No need to worry about that as the gradual decline started again. So that was one thing to sort out when I got home.

Another was the sound of front disc pads rubbing against the disc rotor and giving a bit of a metal on metal sound when I braked. Yes, I could see that I should have put in new pads a couple of weeks ago but inertia had led me to ignoring it. Yes, I did have some pads in stock. Could I undo the retaining bolt to the pads though? Could I heck as like, it had seized up and with it only having a flat head screw it soon got stripped. Arse. Best case I might find a way to get it out. Worst case new disc caliper.

It was a nice ride though, if a bit of a shame to be back in bib tights and a long sleeved top. No rain though.

https://www.strava.com/activities/11194275156

Quote from: Thenop on April 15, 2024, 04:57:01 AM2016 - Spin Spin Spin
A laid back dreamy tune (an edit), seems to be a cover but I don't know the original, backed with Go Around Once and acoustic balled.

It was written by an American folk singer Terry Callier


Motorpsycho's version is closer to the cover by HP Lovecraft